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January 31, 2008

NFL Weekly Predictions: Super Bowl XLII

Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.

NY Giants vs. New England (-13)

Like kicker Lawrence Tynes, who still can't get the taste of Tom Coughlin's shoe polish from his mouth, the Giants hope the third time is the charm against the Patriots. New York ended its preseason with a 27-20 loss to the Patriots, then closed the regular season with a 38-35 loss. The Giants, 13-point underdogs, can avoid the triple play by stunning the 18-0 Pats in Glendale, Arizona, capping one of the greatest upsets in Super Bowl history.

"Nothing motivates like a bitter preseason defeat," says the reptilian Tom Coughlin, the first coach to fire and re-hire a kicker in the span of the same playoff game. "Tynes is lucky to still have a job. Of course, now he has to suffer the indignity of wearing a 'Caution: I make wide left kicks' bumper sticker. And Tiki Barber has questioned his leadership ability. But you're not a true Giant unless Tiki has questioned your leadership. Seriously, though, if you give any kicker three shots at the game-winner, he'll eventually make it. That even goes for Mike Vanderjagt. 'Canadian Missed' is now sharing a one-bedroom apartment with Scott Norwood. 'Hook, Tynes, and Stinker' was very close to joining that house of losers."

"Sure, beating the Patriots is a daunting task. They've got more wins than Hershel Walker has personalities, and they're a team that features the perfect combination of superstars and role players. And, if you get your scouting reports from the Chargers, the Pats' dirty tactics make Jack Tatum look like the Pope. Personally, I don't think Jack Tatum looks anything like the Pope, and I doubt Tatum knows Roman Catholics from Roman Gabriel, but it sure would be cool to see Tatum in a pope hat drop the hammer on a wayward parishioner straying across the middle."

"Anyway, we're 1-0 versus undefeated teams this year — we beat the 2-0 Redskins in Week 3. Of course, the Patriots have an edge in Super Bowl experience. They're 3-0 in their last three Super Bowls. More importantly, they're 3-0 versus the NFC in those games. Honestly, I don't know if they can be beat. Maybe if we got them in a back alley with Kelly Tilghman and Dana Jacobsen calling play-by-play with inappropriate language, as well as a few digs about their 'Patriot missiles,' and the Reverend Al Sharpton doing the color analysis, we've got a shot."

New England's magical season has been unforgettable, but not without a few minor bumps along the way. Bookending the Pats' regular-season domination and record-setting stats from Tom Brady and Randy Moss was the "Spygate" scandal in September and Moss' incident in Florida that led to the placement of a restraining order.

"Hey, since when is bitch-slapping illegal?" asks Moss, who was recently named president of the Ike Turner Fan Club. "In West Virginia, it's legal. In fact, it's encouraged. The same goes for Oakland. Just ask Art Shell. But this whole incident is clearly wack. It's no coincidence this went down in Florida. It's a conspiracy perpetrated by those sinister and bitter 1972 Dolphins. They lured me to Florida with the promise of a case of Garo Yepremian, which I thought was some new premium champagne. Turns out, Garo Yepremian is not a tasty beverage. But he was better looking than the Stankonian that tried to extort money from me. Look, I didn't do anything wrong. In fact, all I did was walk in, squirt water in her face, moon her, and leave early. Is that a crime?"

"Anyway, I'm going to make the most of this bogus charge. I'm organizing my own fraternal organization, modeled after the Moose Lodge, called the 'Loyal Order of Restraint.' Membership in this exclusive club gets you the usual fare, such as turkey shoots, bingo games, and legal advice in such matters as running over parking attendants and false imprisonment."

While Moss deals with his issues, Bill Belichick, never one to give a straight answer, has been particularly ambiguous when asked about the status of Tom Brady's high ankle sprain, suffered in the AFC Championship Game against the Chargers. Brady missed a few practices, and has been seen wearing a protective boot on his right foot.

"That's news to me," says Belichick. "Are you sure he wasn't skiing? All this Moss/Brady talk is ridiculous. This team is undefeated, and all the media wants to hear about is a restraining order and an ankle sprain. One more win and we make history. If you want a story, go ask Tom Cruise how he and his cronies are somehow responsible for that, for L. Ron Hubbard's sake. In the meantime, let Moss enjoy his time in Phoenix without talk of restraining orders. If he wants to enjoy the weather while wearing a Phoenix Suns jersey, then let him. But you might want to explain to him that 'PHX' is an abbreviation for Phoenix, and not a transitive verb. As for Brady, if you want information on his foot, ask Gisele Bundchen. She's knows Tom's foot in and out, up and down, and front and back."

Like his brother Peyton, Eli Manning hopes to win the Super Bowl in his first try, and go through Brady and the Patriots in the process. Last year, Peyton and the Colts knocked out New England in the AFC championship before finishing off the Bears in Super Bowl 41. Eli's task is tougher, as he faces a more talented Patriots team that is playing with history on the line.

"Am I nervous?" says Eli. "I'm not going to lie. I'm terrified. This is my first moment in the big game. Previously, my experience with Super Bowls has involved 50-cent shoe rentals and stale draft beer. Luckily, I have a brother who's a master at recognizing defenses, as well as deftly extracting the stuffing betwixt an Oreo cookie. Hopefully, when Peyton gives me the lowdown on the Patriots defense, he'll do it without the mildly homo-erotic overtones that existed in that soft-core Oreo commercial. I haven't been that creeped out since I was six and walked in on Peyton wearing nothing but black hightop cleats and panty hose, in homage to his heroes, Johnny Unitas and Joe Namath."

In their regular season loss to the Patriots, the Giants scored 35 points and scored touchdowns all four times they entered the red zone. Although it was a loss, that game may have been the catalyst for the G-Men's run to the Super Bowl, the result of three-straight road wins in which they were the underdog. What will it take for the G-Men to continue such a run and become Super Bowl champions? First of all, they'll have to "go out there like a bunch of crazed dogs and have some fun," a mantra legendary Giants linebacker applied not only to football, but also to scoring women, cocaine, and kitschy lightning bolt earrings. The Giants have to be aggressive on both sides of the ball, and a maniacal linebacker like L.T. would sure come in handy in chasing a gimpy Brady out of the pocket and into territory where a blindside hit, or a cheap helmet to the ankle, could do some damage. But the Patriot offensive line has protected Brady all year. There's no evidence to suggest they won't on Sunday.

Offensively, the G-Men will need a big game from their big-play wideout, Plaxico Burress, who's predicted a 23-17 Giants win. Burress had a huge 11-catch, 151-yard game against the Packers, but it's doubtful Belichick will allow that to be duplicated. As the Packers and their boneheaded coaching staff proved, you shouldn't try to mark Burress with an undersized cornerback, and then be stubborn enough not to make an adjustment when it's obvious said cornerback can't cover him. Belichick is only stubborn when it comes to straight answers and improvements to his wardrobe. And the last player dumb enough to guarantee a win over the Patriots, Pittsburgh's Anthony Smith, had a target on his back. Burress will, too, so expect Rodney Harrison to put a helmet there. Suffice it to say the Pats won't let Burress beat them.

Just before kickoff, honorary coin tosser, Senator John McCain (R-Arizona), does the honors at midfield, giving millions of Americans a demonstration of how they'll be selecting their President come November. New York wins the toss, and Manning takes the field, with Foreigner's "Feels Like the First Time" playing in his head. Belichick moseys out in a tank top cut from a sweatshirt, a headband, and red-and-white striped shorts. After leading his squad in a quick aerobic workout, Belichick send them out with a concise pregame speech — "Unleash Hell." After a quick three and out, the Pats take over, and Brady strolls onto the field, humming Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again." Brady quickly gets Moss involved, connecting on two short passes, as Moss breaks his other restraining order on having multiple-catch games. Later in the drive, Brady hits Wes Welker for a touchdown. The Giants come back and score to tie the game, and later, New England takes a 17-14 lead into the half.

During the Super Bowl halftime show, while most fans take a leak and television ratings take a plunge, rocker and Traveling Wilbury Tom Petty takes the stage with the hopes of jamming at midfield like the aging, butt-ugly, white rockers who laid the groundwork before him, such as the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, and Michael Jackson. Petty's veteran act was chosen to headline over more youth-appealing acts, such as R&B heartthrob and Tennessee Titans running back, the versatile Chris Brown, a duet from Busta Rhymes and LeAnn Rimes called "Country 'Bump'-kin/Bustin' Rimes," and R. Kelly's tribute to football and 14-year-old girls, called "Field and Stream."

Petty's NFL-themed act includes alternate versions of some of his greatest hits. In an ode to Ronnie Lott, Petty croons "You don't have to live like an am-pu-tee" from his 1979 blockbuster "Refugee." "Don't Come Around Here No More" tells the story of a New York Jet cameraman ejected from Gillette Stadium by the Patriots. "Mary Jane's Last Dance" chronicles Ricky Williams' return to the NFL, and "The Waiting" revisits Brady Quinn's draft day experience and subsequent, and current, battle for a starting job. In an unannounced performance to end the show, rapper Chuck D leads Public Enemy in a politically-charged rendition of "By the Time I Get to Arizona," although some of the militant attitude of the song is diffused by the comical sight of Flavor Flav wearing a full-sized 40-second play clock while shamelessly pining for Bridgette Nielsen.

With the halftime show in the books, Brady comes out blazing, visibly upset after word gets back to him that former girlfriend and mother of his child Bridget Moynahan starred in a commercial for GoDaddy.com that aired during the half. Moss catches a 30-yard touchdown strike to give the Patriots a 10-point lead. New York keeps it relatively close, but the Patriots salt it away with a late score, and win 30-21.

Brady humbly chalks up his win over a Manning in a Super Bowl as one of the several million things he's achieved in his life that Rex Grossman hasn't, and Randy Moss becomes the first corn-rowed recipient of the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player award. After learning that he's won a complimentary Doctorate of Madd Skillz degree from the University of Phoenix, he then announces that he's "going to Disneyworld, as long as it's 500 feet from that trick who slapped me with a restraining order."

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 11:34 AM | Comments (1)

Prop Bets and Drunken Monkeys

I have to knock out this article fairly quickly. In less than two hours, I will be taking my seat in the Drunken Monkey Open.

It's a private poker tournament with a buy-in of just a buck fifty, and it has a unique perk that I will get to in a minute.

If you are a beginning poker player, or even if you know what you are doing but are unwilling or unable to put your own money up yet, freerolls are a great way to earn money, and most of the players are terrible. You can fold your way into the money in some of them.

But there are two downsides to playing freerolls. One, they can be quite time consuming, as some sites will allow and get thousands of players. Most of them will be long gone by the end of the first hour, but it still can be a drain.

Secondly, there's a limit to how much you can really grow and improve by just playing freerolls. There's a very simple reason for this, and it's the same reason why you will be a better basketball player in 30 days playing one-on-one against Kobe Bryant than you will be playing 30 straight days against your fat uncle Murray.

There is a better way, and it is through private freerolls. There's approximately 90 billion poker forums on the web, and I belong to all of them, just to get passwords to the freerolls they host.

Since they are private and you have to jump through a couple minor hoops to get in it, the fields rarely hit four digits and sometimes don't even don't even hit three.

So there's less players to wade through to get to the money, but the tradeoff is that your opponents jumped through the same hoops and so are quite a bit better than your average public freeroller. But this is a good tradeoff, because it makes you a better player. Just click on the "private" tab of any poker site, peruse the tournaments' names, and with Google's help, you can work your way to the site or forum hosting the tourney.

Most of them have unimaginative names, like the beanepoker.com Wednesday Poker Tournament, so when someone bothers to call their private games something with panache, like the Drunken Monkey Open, I take notice.

Even though it's not technically a freeroll, the Drunken Monkey Open has a cool perk. I don't know if it has something to do with contractual obligations, but two pros, Scott Clements and Keith Sexton, will be playing in it ... and only 30 people have signed up for it thus far.

Scott Clements, whom I have seen on TV before, has tournament winnings of over a million in less than three years, and that was before he won the World Poker Tour North American Championship for $1.5 million in October.

Sexton is less known to me, but he has been runner-up in two WSOP events and a loads more WPT and WSOP cashes.

And I will be playing these guys tonight, for less than half the price of a pack of smokes. This is what makes poker great.

But how can I be talking about poker with the Super Bowl in just a couple days?

Each year, the various sportsbooks try to dream up new, inventive ways for you to bet on the game. Wagers made up out of thin air, like the goofy one-off bets you make with your friend that he can't eat five double cheeseburgers or whatever, are called prop bets.

The prop bets surrounding the Super Bowl are legion. There's tons of them, but this year, the bookmakers apparently decided "Screw it, were gonna do some bets just for larfs." Consider the prop bets surrounding the halftime performer, Tom Petty, at BetUS:

Smokes a joint during halftime show +2500
Has a wardrobe malfunction +10000
Streaks field during play +50000
Will smash a guitar onstage +5000
Will curse during performance +8000

What the numbers mean is that, if you bet a dollar that Tom Petty will smash his guitar onstage and he does, you win $50. If you bet a dollar that he will streak and he does, it's $500. I think I have that right. I'm a pointspread guy.

So do the odds, when compared to one another, quite make sense? I think the earnest analysis at Vegas Watch, where I picked up the scent, is both hilarious and captures my initial thoughts on the matter:

"I'm confused as to how the joint prop is the most likely. Tom Petty cannot smoke a joint during his performance. It's just not a possibility."

I can't add to that. Actually, I can. According to the odds, the folks at BetUS think it is more than three times more likely that Petty will smoke a joint onstage then just carelessly let the f-bomb drop.

It's not possible, is it? Bookmakers make money on this stuff; it's their livelihood. They know things before the rest of us do. Do they know something here we don't? Now I'm trying to decide how establishment Tom Petty is. I guess he's more capable of making a "f-you, status quo!" gesture like that than, say, Hannah Montana.

So I broke into BetUS offices to see if I could dig up any inside information. I couldn't, but I did discover they apparently decided on this wager awhile ago, before Tom Petty was decided and announced as the halftime entertainment. Here is the list of toke-up odds they were prepared to give other entertainers, in its entirety.

Tom Petty: +2500
The Cast of High School Musical: +40000
GWAR: +100
Menudo: +25000
Amy Winehouse: -2500

Posted by Kevin Beane at 11:28 AM | Comments (0)

January 30, 2008

The Knicks' Only Hope? Bill Simmons

The Knicks need help. And I can tell you exactly how to fix the team.

Hire Bill Simmons.

No, really. I'm serious. Just give me a chance to justify.

I promise you this has nothing to do with trying to get Simmons to notice my obvious talent, and maybe get me a job at ESPN. Imagine that lineup: Bill Simmons, Rick Reilly, and Alvin Chang. Sports Illustrated would have no chance against us.

And I promise this has nothing to do with the irony of proposing that the ultimate Boston guy take over a team located in Midtown Manhattan.

But this does have to do with giving credit where credit is due.

Thoreau had existentialism, Marx had communism, Smith had capitalism, Beane had moneyball and, now, Simmons has chemacterility.

If you've read the column, you know what it is.

In his words: "It's an amalgam of three concepts that have formed the foundation of the Duncan era in San Antonio: chemistry, character and (cap) flexibility."

In laymen's terms, it's the guide to winning in the NBA ... for now.

As Simmons pointed out, look at the dominant teams of the last decade, San Antonio and Detroit. They score very high on this chemacterility scale.

The Knicks and Blazers, on the other hand, are like a rich girl who just ran over a 4-year-old on a bike — through as much money as you can at the problem, come to court showing off that rocking body of yours, and hope for the best.

Never works.

The surprise teams this season have been the Hornets and the Blazers. Let's make a case study out of these two teams.

Portland Trailblazers

The last time Portland had a winning record was in the 2002-2003 season. They were 47-35, but they were an aging team. They were kind of like the stock market a few years ago: You knew it was going up now, but it was going to fall, and fall hard, very soon.

The team had Scottie Pippen, Arvydas Sabonis, and Rasheed Wallace to anchor a team into the playoffs. Pippen and Sabonis made the chemistry work, but they were obviously short on character and cap flexibility, with almost all their key players having bloated contracts.

Then the inevitable fall happened.

Pippen and Sabonis retired, and Mr. Personified Cancer, Darius Miles, joined the team. The next year, they finished .500.

Wallace was shipped out, and the team was led by surprise forward Zach Randolph and straight-from-high school youngsters Sebastian Telfair and Miles.

27-55.

It got worse. They drafted Travis Outlaw and Martell Webster the next two years — both of whom entered the draft out of high school.

21-61.

Their chemecterabilty was so bad that Rasheed Wallace would have improved their team's character and chemistry. Luckily, all the guys who didn't fit into their puzzle could be shipped out because of the third part of Simmons' brilliant

Then, finally, it happened.

Goodbye, Darius Miles. Travis Outlaw and Martell Webster, meet bench.

Welcome to Portland, Jarrett Jack, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Brandon Roy. And along with the three of them, welcome Mr. Character.

Year One of this new era was tough. Growing pains, you know. But that means the team is developing chemistry. And that also means the team gets a chance to determine what kind of character these players have.

Turns out Roy and Aldridge are good "character" guys.

And when you're a good guy, good things just happen to you ... like landing the No. 1 overall pick in the draft and getting Greg Oden.

Unfortunately, the Blazers lost Oden to injury this year, but guess what? Next year, they might just be one of the best teams in the league, especially since Aldridge will develop further with Oden on the bench.

The Blazers are a good example of how bad character and chemistry can ruin a team. And a great example of how these things can make a great team. Oh, and this year, they are on pace for about 50 wins.

New Orleans Hornets

The Hornets had an interesting situation in the 2002-03 season with Baron Davis and Jamal Mashburn. It looked as if the team was pretty good, and with a few extra pieces, they could make a run deep into the playoffs.

But remember the last part of Simmon's theory: cap flexibility.

Davis, Mashburn, and Jamal Magloire all had big contract that were hard to move. And although the team didn't have character issues, the chemistry was poor because any team with Baron Davis suffers chemistry problems. (He just doesn't seem to play within an offense.)

The team went from 47-35 in 2002-03 to 41-41 in 2003-04.

Then came the crash. In 2004-05, Davis, Lee Nailon, and J.R. Smith led the team to an 18-64 record. That team failed when it came to character and chemistry issues. Oh, and the talent part didn't work out so well, either.

So the Hornets decided to start over in 2005-06. They traded Davis for a few sticks of gum, and drafted Chris Paul. Then David West began to emerge after spending much time on the bench, and he was a great when it came to all three parts of chemacterility.

38-44.

In 2006-07, Smith was traded with veteran P.J. Brown for Tyson Chandler, and Peja Stojakovic was signed.

39-43.

Everyone the Hornets were signing and trading for were high-character players. And they were building a team, not throwing together the best players money can buy. Once Chris Paul came back from injury for the 2007-08 season, and Tyson Chandler emerged as one of the top centers in the league, this team was ready to dominate.

And they are doing just that.

This season, they are on pace for almost 60 wins. And they look eerily like the Detroit Pistons from a few years ago — tough defense, solid point guard play, and players who will not do anything stupid to cause distractions. Also, the chemistry is incredible. I see a lack of chemistry as a clashing of talent, and there is none of that going on here.

And as for the Knicks, let's try to describe them. Bad defense, poor point guard play, players who do stupid things, and too much talent clashing on the court.

So can Simmon's fix the Knicks? Probably. But would he?

There's no chance in hell.

Posted by Alvin Chang at 11:50 AM | Comments (0)

State of the Hoops Programs

With college basketball diving into conference play, it's time to take a look at the states of certain teams as they attempt to make a big splash in the next two months.

Kansas (20-0, 5-0 Big 12)

State of the Program: Solid. The Jayhawks have not only won, they've made it look easy. It seems as if Bill Self's team loves to show up and dominate the game regardless of the opponent, which is an attitude they lacked last year (see Oral Roberts). The question about how KU can handle March Madness lingers still in the hearts of Jayhawk fans, but for right now, you can't find a more impressive team so far than the one in Lawrence.

Indiana (17-2, 6-0 Big 10)

State of the Program: Not bad. Certainly 6-0 in the Big 10 says something great is happening in Hoosierland. However, the loss to a short-benched UConn squad definitely will be remembered when it's time to fill the brackets. IU has a great nucleus, and there is no question this team can go very far in March, including San Antonio. However, IU must prove it can rise to the occasion for the big games, and their next showdown with Wisconsin will say a lot.

Florida (18-3, 5-1 SEC)

State of the Program: Impressive. Billy Donovan loses almost all of his back-to-back national championship squad, and still manages to take a young team and mold them into a power, including a very impressive rout of Vanderbilt. The problem for Florida will be that, despite the youth, no one looks past a two-time champion, so the Gators have a trap game with Arkansas this weekend. However, the Gators are a hungry bunch, and Billy D will have them ready come March.

Arkansas (14-5, 3-2 SEC)

State of the Program: Questionable. This team has some talent (albeit they could use another good shooter or two), but this team is so inconsistent when it comes to heart that it makes them almost impossible to predict. Don't blame it on first year coach John Pelphrey, whose fiery attitude and intense desire to win have made this team win games that they would've lost a year ago (Missouri, Baylor, Alabama, etc.). However, how does this team beat Baylor and lose by 13 to Georgia? These guys need to find a way to gel to succeed in the postseason.

Drake (18-1, 9-0 Missouri Valley)

State of the Program: Dangerous. This team has Cinderella written all over them. They are solid in fundamentals, confident under pressure, and they just refuse to lose. Keno Davis has got to be up for National Coach of the Year. It's a lot harder than people think to go 9-0 in the Valley, yet the Bulldogs have done it in impressive fashion. Oh, and don't forget the win at Iowa and the blowout of Iowa State. This team is for real.

Oklahoma (14-5, 2-2 Big 12)

State of the Program: Dropping. The Sooners were impressive in December, but they remember the games in February and March more, and right now, the Sooners are struggling to open up conference play. OU must find another weapon inside besides Longar Longar, and feed Tony Crocker as much as possible to start taking off in conference play.

Washington State (17-2, 5-2 Pac-10)

State of the Program: Good. The Cougars are a great team, no doubt, and that Feb. 7 showdown with UCLA should be a lot of fun. However, Wazzu, which lacks the television exposure back east, can't afford the losses to Arizona and others in conference play. The Cougars must keep winning and staying at the top of the Pac-10 race to win fans over. However, I'd pay big money to see a rematch with Baylor again. What a game that was!

Posted by Jean Neuberger at 11:23 AM | Comments (0)

January 29, 2008

The Child is Father to the Man

If Vegas is right, the child may become father to the man this Sunday, as the New England Patriots remain double-digit favorites over New York's Football Giants in the days leading up to Super Bowl XLII.

The Patriots were begotten of Boston businessman Billy Sullivan's persistence throughout the late 1950s, along with a hand from Big Blue. After repeated snubbings from the NFL put it on life support, Sullivan's brainchild rose from the ashes of the Giants' loss in The Greatest Game Ever Played. The inspiration evoked by that one game was enough to cause a change in course; within a year, Sullivan founded the Boston Patriots as the last entrant into the rival AFL. Sullivan's son Patrick, himself a former Patriots GM, keenly remembers the passion of those early years.

"What stimulated my father to really push this was the Giants/Colts game in 1958," he recalls of Billy's intent to bring football to Boston. "He was so amazed at the drama of that game that he said, 'This is the future of sports in America, and we've got to be involved.'"

But that decision was a small step in comparison to the challenges that lay ahead. Carving a presence within the Giants' Northern Empire, which at that time stretched to the rocky shores of Maine, was an arduous process.

"Every weekend, CBS was pumping Giants games in, whether they were home or on the road," explains Sullivan of those formative years when the Giants were dominant on the gridiron and the NFL's blackout of home games did not affect much of New England. "An enormous fan base built up here because of that concentration of media that was really kind of rare around the country. There wasn't a better team to watch than the Giants."

More than two hundred miles away in a remote corner of New England, Raymond L'Ecuyer, a lifelong Giants fan and resident of Winooski, Vermont, was connected by that same lifeline.

"In the '50s, everybody was a Giants fan," says L'Ecuyer, now 80. "Every Sunday afternoon, CBS Channel 3 had New York Giants football. That's the only game you saw."

Winooski's partisanship was ultimately rewarded when the Giants established summer training camp at St. Michael's College in the mid-1950s. For L'Ecuyer and his neighbors, it was a magical time in this sleepy Green Mountains community. Sam Huff walked its streets; Frank Gifford taped shaving cream commercials; and within its borders were assembled a coaching staff featuring Jim Lee Howell, assistant Allie Sherman, and Hall of Famers Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry, who were all known to paint the town.

"Those four used to come into Winooski every night," recounts L'Ecuyer. "At seven o'clock, a car would pull up at the drug store, and there they were. They'd walk in and get their newspapers from the pharmacist, and they'd walk out."

As Winooski reveled in its celebrity, the rest of New England settled for unabated television access to the Giants. But in its southwesternmost reaches, another windfall was intensifying interest. Unable to get into home games at Yankee Stadium or even watch them on television, scores of fans would pierce the blackout bubble by heading for motels and pubs along the Connecticut Turnpike. These immigrant regulars became to the locals the fleshly confirmation of a phenomenon they had hitherto witnessed only through cathode rays. And the Giants community felt right at home in their new surroundings, so much so that in 1960, amid brewing competition from the AFL, the Mara family brought summer training camp out of the Green Mountains to the extended backyard of Fairfield County.

"They left Winooski when the American Football League was formed and the New York Jets became a team in that league," L'Ecuyer laments about the Giants' move. "The Jets were going to be training closer to New York City. That meant that most of your sportswriters would probably spend a lot of their time at Jets' training."

The new kids were known as the Titans in those early days and weren't to establish an organized camp until after they took their present name in 1963. The Giants nevertheless settled in for eight summers at Fairfield University and anchored that corner of New England's allegiance. But by then, the Patriots' influence was reaching beyond Boston proper.

"It started in 1963 when we played in the AFL championship," Sullivan says of the swell of interest in his family's team. "I think it was between 1963 and 1966 that the tables turned a little bit, and we started to develop a good base of Patriots fans as opposed to Giants fans. During the mid-1970s when the Giants struggled and we had several pretty strong teams, that kind of flipped it over. By then, a generation had passed."

It was a flip that reached the faraway stronghold of Fairfield County, where generational lines were being drawn down the middle of blue blood Giants households such as the Rooneys. The CBS correspondent and anchor leg of 60 Minutes has been a Giants fan his entire life, an influence of both his native New York and earlier generations.

"My father used to take me [to Yankee Stadium]," reflects Rooney, who raised his own family near Norwalk. "That's how I got started. Then I got my own tickets, and I think I've had my own tickets since the late 1950s."

When it came time to pass down the tradition, Rooney found a less than enthusiastic member among his clan.

"We did go to the games a couple of times," acknowledges Rooney's daughter Emily, the former executive producer of ABC's "World News Tonight" and current host of WGBH's "Greater Boston," "but I wasn't a football follower back then."

Now that she is, Rooney backs the Patriots. Nonetheless, the ensuing civil war doesn't mean the two don't speak.

"I usually call to razz him when the Giants lose," she admits with no hidden satisfaction.

Even the First Family of New England football is not immune to a little light-hearted rift.

"It's all in good fun," is how Amanda Belichick describes her Big Blue devotion, which germinated well after her famous father Bill's years as defensive coordinator in East Rutherford. "Most of my memories from when my dad was with the Giants were of my friends in kindergarten. I went to a Super Bowl, but that's not the memory I recall."

In the late 1990s, as the Belichicks bounced between the Patriots and Jets, Amanda sought neutral ground, not quite sure if the team she settled on might once again become her father's chief rival. Her search led her back to her childhood and the Giants, a non-binding referendum that found ratification when high school classmate Zak DeOssie was drafted last April.

"At this point in my life, one of the big reasons [for being a Giants fan] is because Zak plays for them, and he is one of my best friends," she says. "Being in the kind of business that my dad is in, you meet a lot of people. You're a fan of people."

Even one of the principal architects of the Patriots' football dominance knows split loyalties. Vice President of Personnel Development Scott Pioli grew up in New York as an avid Giants fan. In fact, his success in New England is in no small way indebted to those days. While attending Giants training camp at Pace University before his senior year of college, Pioli was introduced to Belichick. The two have remained together since, even as Pioli maintains close ties to his community and his Giants roots. Each year, Pioli joins the Giants in supporting the WEL Foundation, a non-profit established by high school football teammate and continued Giants fan John Luedke to assist the needy in their native Orange County and beyond.

"Scotty's a very caring and giving person," says Luedke of his lifelong friend. "That's one of the things that have made our relationship so close."

Like so many on opposite shores of the Hudson, it's a relationship that thrives because of its differences, rather than in spite of them. Even as the Patriots were walking through an undefeated regular season, Luedke imagined Pioli's Patriots reaching Sunday's Super Bowl but nevertheless refrained from booking his flight to Arizona so as to avoid jinxing his good friend. And now that the time has come, he could not be happier that the week's festivities include his Football Giants.

It will be a clash of the old and new guard of New England football. It will ignite familial and friendly rivalries. And by week's end, one team will be NFL champion, leaving the other to call them Daddy.

For a year, anyway.

Posted by Bob Ekstrom at 11:51 AM | Comments (0)

46 Days to Selection Sunday

With only five days since last week's report, there was less action to fill this week's column. But there were two results from this past week that speak to a resurgent power, highlighting a very difficult transition from a legend to the future, and the birth of a new star out West.

Arizona 76, Washington State 64
Arizona 84, Washington 69

And neither game was close to being that close.

The Arizona Wildcats are back.

It's been a long few years for the program. Though the streaks of 23 consecutive NCAA tournaments and 20 consecutive 20-win seasons remained alive, few Wildcats fans went into the 2006 or 2007 tournaments with much hope of anything. Marked by poor guard play, poor shooting, and soft defense, last year's first-round beating by Purdue felt very much like rock bottom.

And then this offseason provided the first steps in the always-knew-it-was-coming-but-hoped-it-never-would transition from the Lute Olson era.

Olson needed a spot for Kevin O'Neill, a former assistant at Arizona during the program's early glory years in the 1980s. Something had to be done to change the attitude of the program, and O'Neill was the man to do it.

Former player and current assistant Miles Simon has the Los Angeles recruiting base, plus is the only minority coach on the staff. Another former player, Josh Pastner, has done an incredible job recruiting Texas, and is a rising star coaching candidate in his own right (don't be surprised to see him land his own head gig in the next few years — and then one day succeed O'Neill with Arizona).

So Olson decided to move long-time assistant coach and confidant Jim Rosborough, the ultimate right hand man who had spent nearly three decades at his side at both Iowa and Arizona. According to the Arizona Daily Star, Rosborough was given a chance at a non-coaching position, but declined, saying he "was done" and calling himself a "non-person right now." It was a sad and unfortunate end to the relationship.

O'Neill and his defensive pedigree were added to the staff, with an unstated assumption (by the fans at least) he would one day take Olson's chair as the head man. Turns out, it was a short wait. Olson took an indefinite leave of absence shortly before the season began, and O'Neill was in command as interim head coach. Later, suffering from negative recruiting by opposing coaches casting the Wildcats program as in turmoil, Athletic Director Jim Livengood made it official — when Olson leaves for good, Arizona is O'Neill's program.

Last we heard, Olson was still coming back for next season. As an alum and former beat reporter covering the program, I will never, ever say Olson should do anything to the contrary. It's not hyperbole when I say I have more affection for Olson than either of my two grandfathers (that's more for a lack of opportunity on their parts, but whatever). I, and all Wildcats fans, revere Olson the way UCLA reveres John Wooden, North Carolina does Dean Smith, and Duke does Mike Krzyzewski. Olson isn't just a basketball coach. He is the single most beloved man in the city of Tucson. He is Arizona basketball. And whatever he wants to do is just fine with me.

But that doesn't mean it wouldn't be awkward. While Olson has stayed away this year, O'Neill has brought a new toughness and resolve the program hasn't had for some time. When they came back from down 20 to beat Texas A&M, it was there. When they took Kansas to OT at The Phog, it was there. When they came back to beat Illinois in Chicago, it was there.

Simply put, O'Neill brought the balls back to Arizona basketball. In just a few short months, this has become his team, molded in his balding, fire-breathing image. If Olson comes back, whose team does it become then? When Lute goes off on a player for doing something wrong, will the player look to O'Neill for affirmation? What if Olson and O'Neill disagree on how to handle a game plan? With O'Neill the chosen successor, how much can Olson really come down on him?

That's not to say it can't go well. O'Neill has always said the right things about this still being Olson's program, and that he's just warming his chair. And Olson isn't some egomaniac that's going to try and come in a "take back" the program. This can work because both men are classy individuals who have the kids' best interest at heart. They want to coach, and they want to win. Even if it gets awkward, they'll do what's in the best interests of the program.

Recall:

Arizona 76, Washington State 64
Arizona 84, Washington 69

Arizona hasn't had this impressive a weekend in some time.

The win over Washington State was a thing of beauty. Chase Budinger was a force on offense. Jordan Hill was blocking shots without getting into foul trouble. O'Neill was tearing into players for bad defense. Jerryd Bayless, the program's best freshman since Mike Bibby, was great on offense and shut down Cougars leading scorer Derrick Low. The student section roared like it hasn't in some time (and thankfully didn't rush the court, because UA should never rush the court after beating Washington State at home — no matter how highly the Cougars are ranked). The Cats got into the lane whenever they wanted and made 20-of-23 free-throw attempts. When they didn't get fouled, they made 55 percent of their field goal attempts — against the best defense in the Pac-10.

The win over Washington was pure dominance. Budinger made the leap into the "who the hell do you think you are trying to guard me?" zone. He made 5-of-10 three-pointers on his way to his third-consecutive 20-plus-point game. Bayless was even better, hitting 9-of-11 shots (including 5-of-6 from three) for a team-high 26 with six assists. Hill put up his sixth double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds. With five more blocks in this one, Hill finished the sweep with 11, never even picking up a fourth foul. Nic Wise was the ultimate Spark Plug, and Jawann McClellan the ultimate Glue Guy.

In the two games combined, the Wildcats made 59 percent of their field goals (50-of-85), 58 percent of their threes (25-of-43) and 83 percent of their free-throws (35-of-42). Like I said, they haven't had this impressive a weekend in some time.

On Thursday, it's O.J. Mayo and the resurgent Trojans at the Galen Center. On Saturday, it's the Bruins at Pauley. The Wildcats have been swept at both the past two years. And they may again this year, but they won't go down without a fight.

It's nice to be able to say that again.

***

Some of the other action from last Thursday through this past Monday:

THURSDAY

Duke 81, Virginia Tech 64 — It's hard to call the third-ranked team in the country under-rated, but it's not often you hear people talking about the Dukies in the national title conversation. But they should be. Duke has a versatile offense, with every guy capable of hitting a shot. Of their top seven, six shoot at 46 percent or better from the field. Four shoot better than 40 percent from three. Four average in double-figures in scoring (all the starters except Greg Paulus). Four average four rebounds or better per game. And four average two assists or better per game. This isn't the flashiest team Coach K has fielded, but it's well capable of making a run to the Final Four.

Sam Houston State 58, Stephen F. Austin 56 — The only two teams with double-digit RPI out of the 21st-ranked conference in the land (Southland), fought out a close one, decided when senior guard Shamir McDaniel hit a three-pointer with 20 seconds left to give Sam Houston State the come-from-behind victory. (Stephen F. Austin went for the win with a three at the buzzer and missed.) I mention it because either one of these teams could be the crazy 14-seed to knock out a three-seed.

Xavier 69, Dayton 43 — After questioning their internal fortitude last week, it's only fair I point out that when Xavier is on, they're really good. The best thing for them is to get shafted by the Selection Committee. If they get a five seed, they're well capable of getting over-confident and losing to a team like VCU or Kent State. But if they get saddled with a seven and play a 10 (usually one of the weaker BCS schools in the field), they can go on a run to the Sweet 16 like UNLV did last year.

UCLA 80, Oregon 75 — The Mac Court crowd was in full frenzy, yet the Bruins calmly went about their business and used their inside dominance (35-18 rebounding advantage) to pull out the game in the end. It had to especially painful to Ducks faithful that UCLA freshman Kevin Love, in his first game against his jilted home program, had as many rebounds as the entire Ducks team. Considering this was probably Love's one and only trip to play at Oregon, Ducks fans will have to resort to bullying Love's younger brother and friends in order to make themselves feel better.

FRIDAY

Northern Arizona 69, Weber State 56 — Just like Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston State, Northern Arizona has some potential as a bracket buster come March 20/21. They blew an 11-point second-half lead and lost on a late tip-in on Sunday to Idaho State, but the Lumberjacks are still the class of the Big West. Senior forward Kyle Landry leads the way with 17 points and 8.4 rebounds in just 25.6 minutes per game.

(So it's a bit of a reach. Blame the NCAA for not mandating there be some major conference action on Friday nights.)

SATURDAY

Memphis 81, Gonzaga 73 — Not to be a negative Nellie on what was a fairly dominating performance (at least in the second half), but Memphis' free-throw shooting sucks. They were just 19-of-32 in this one (59 percent) and sit at 58.6 percent on the season. As good as they are, they're going to get away with it for the most part. But when it comes to playing a team like UCLA (74.7), North Carolina (76.1), or Duke (69.9), those are points they're going to need to win a title. Going back to Michigan State in 2000, only one team (Connecticut in 2004) has won the championship hitting less than 69 percent of their free throws:

2007: Florida – 69.0
2006: Florida – 74.4
2005: North Carolina – 72.5
2004: Connecticut – 62.3
2003: Syracuse – 69.4
2002: Maryland – 72.6
2001: Duke – 69.6
2000: Michigan State – 73.5

One team within even ten percentage points of where Memphis now stands on the free-throw line. And as good as Derrick Rose is, he's not as nearly as dominant as Emeka Okefor was in '04. In other words, this is going to be a problem sooner or later.

Connecticut 68, Indiana 63 — Speaking of the Huskies, they are on a roll after ending the Hoosiers' 29-game home win streak. Connecticut still has some questions (maturity, consistency with their defensive intensity, three-point shooting), but they showed in this game they can play with anybody. And after beating Louisville on Monday night, UConn is only two games back of Georgetown for first in the Big East.

Kentucky 78, South Carolina 70 — With Georgia (road), Auburn (road), and Alabama up next, the Wildcats could be sitting on a 6-2 record in the SEC going into a big game at Vanderbilt on 2/12. After that, it's another very winnable trio with LSU (road), Georgia, and Arkansas. Like I said last week, do not be surprised when this team all of a sudden shows up on your bracket. The Selection Committee showed last year with Arkansas it doesn't take a great record out of the SEC to make it in.

Kansas 84, Nebraska 49 — The Jayhawks were like a traveling pro team playing groups of local yokels on the town square. 10 blocks? 14 Steals? A 25-5 advantage in assists? Sheesh.

Saint Louis 81, La Salle 74 — Take that, Archbishop Doody Pants!

Missouri 66, Colorado 62 — The big story wasn't the result of this game, but the fact Tigers' leading scorer Stefhon Hannah (14.7 ppg) hit the bar when the team got back to Columbia late Saturday night, then got hit in the face with an unknown object from an unknown source. Hannah's jaw was broken and now he's out for at least four-to-six weeks, possibly the whole season.

Now Hannah's a senior. He's old enough to go to a bar and get a drink. I'm not casting any stones on that. But this stuff just keeps happening to the Mizzou program. Granted, it's mostly Quinn Snyder's recruits who are getting into trouble (except for Mike Anderson's kid, who got a DUI), but, fair or not, this team is becoming the Cincinnati Bengals of the Big 12. They have to get some institutional control over the program, and they need to do it now.

Purdue 60, Wisconsin 56 — What we saw in this game was Purdue putting to use the lessons learned from tough losses earlier in the season to Clemson, Missouri, and Michigan State. Of course being at home helps, especially with a team this young. Regardless, this was the type of signature win the Boilermakers needed to propel them thorough the second half of the Big Ten schedule and into the postseason. Now they just need to avoid the let-down (a big bugaboo for young teams) against a very pesky and determined Iowa team on Wednesday night.

Rutgers 77, Pittsburgh 64 — And this was at the Zoo and on the heels of the Knights taking out Villanova to end a six game slide that left them in an 0-6 hole in conference play.

Two points:

1. And this is why it's a great idea to have all 16 teams go to the Big East Tournament. If it was still just the top 12, Rutgers would be sitting in the cold. Under the new rule, they get a chance to spring the upset, which we now know they can do.

2. Pittsburgh really needs Levance Fields back. Panthers head coach Jamie Dixon said after the game, "We usually find ways to win ... We didn't find a way, and that's probably the most disappointing thing." It's Fields who is usually the one finding that way. Unless he comes back in time for the postseason, Pittsburgh is a giant waiting to fall.

New Mexico State 100, Utah State 70 — Playing short-handed with the suspension of four players, included third-leading scorer Stephen DuCharm, Utah State lost its undefeated conference record and a 10-game win streak. Nevertheless, WAC leading scorer Jaycee Carroll (21.1 ppg on 53 percent shooting, 51 percent from three, and 93 percent from the free-throw line) has the Aggies in position to take the reins from Nevada as the WAC entrant in the Field of 64. And if they get there — watch out. Carroll is the kind of scorer who can will his team to an upset.

Virginia Commonwealth 76, Drexel 62 — Just a reminder not to miss VCU/George Mason tonight on ESPN2 (6 PM Central). It's going to be a good one.

USC 95, Oregon 86 (OT) — Some interesting stats:

Total points scored in the first half: 45
Total points scored in the second half: 103

Oregon took 21 more shots (71 to 50). The Trojans hit a much higher percentage (56 to 42.3).

Four of the five Trojans' starters played more than 40 minutes. O.J. Mayo, who played 41 in this one — the sixth time he's played the full 40 or more — is now averaging 36.3 minutes per game, tops in the Pac-10.

USC attempted more than double the number of free throws than did the Ducks (36 to 17). And this was at McArthur Court. Where's the home love?

For such a frenetic pace, there were only 19 total turnovers (10 by Oregon and 9 by USC). Isn't the Pac-10 supposed to be a defensive league now? (No.)

There are six teams within two games of first in the Pac-10 (including SC at 4-3). After losing to both the Trojans and Bruins, Oregon is in eighth at 3-5.

Brand Obama 55, Brand Clinton 27 — Make no mistake, this is nothing more than a marketing war between two pre-packaged branding campaigns. Sure the stakes are quite a bit higher, but, in the end, this Democratic primary is just another Coke/Pepsi or Bud/Miller. You pick which flavor suits you best and buy, buy, buy.

(Personally, I like Dr. Pepper and Coors Light. Does that make me a John Edwards supporter?)

SUNDAY

Xavier 77, Massachusetts 65 — Let's re-visit the three-or-four-from-the-A-10 predictions for a moment. The current standings:

Xavier: 5-1 (17-4)
St. Joseph's: 4-1 (12-5)
Charlotte: 4-1 (13-6)
Rhode Island: 3-2 (17-3)
Duquense: 3-2 (13-5)
Richmond: 3-2 (10-8)
Temple: 2-2 (9-9)
Dayton: 2-3 (14-4)
Massachusetts: 2-3 (13-6)
Saint Louis: 2-3 (11-8)
Fordham: 2-3 (8-9)
La Salle: 2-3 (7-11)
George Washington: 1-4 (5-10)
St. Bonaventure: 0-5 (6-13)

Lessons:

Dayton's loss to Richmond (RPI 139) on Saturday was hugely damaging to its at-large hopes. The wins over Pittsburgh and Louisville are only going to go so far. Any more slips, and they're going to need to make a deep run in the A-10 tourny to have a shot.

The Atlantic 10 needs to contract at least four teams. St. Louis belongs in the Missouri Valley, a lateral move that makes a lot more geographical sense. St. Bonaventure, Fordham, and La Salle belong in lower-tier conferences.

Massachusetts is strictly auto bid or bust.

Rhode Island still holds its destiny in its hands, but they need to take care of business starting Wednesday night at home against Richmond. They could also really use a home win over Dayton on Saturday. A loss there and I don't see how they jump the Flyers, who will have swept them, for an at-large.

St. Joseph's has a lot of talent, but losses to Holy Cross and Creighton were killers on their resume. They probably have to sweep Xavier (on the road February 10, at home March 6) and win at least one of their trips to Rhode Island (2/24) or Dayton (3/8). A home win over Villanova next Tuesday would help a great deal as well.

In the end, this is probably a two-bid league or less.

Florida 86, Vanderbilt 64 — Watch out for the Gators. They are going to be a tough, tough out come March. All five starters scored in double-figures in this one. They also had a 38-27 rebounding advantage and finished with 26 assists to just 10 turnovers.

As for Vandy, 17-3 still looks pretty good. But after the six-point loss to Kentucky, they've been blown out by 20 by Tennessee and 22 by Florida. They need to at least show up at Ole Miss on Wednesday night or they officially go on the free-fall watch list.

Miami (Fl) 75, Clemson 72 — That's a big win for the Hurricanes to stop the bleeding after a three-game losing streak to Boston College, NC State, and UNC. A win over Duke at Cameron on Saturday would put them right back on the right side of the bubble conversation.

Illinois 70, Northwestern 37 — When you almost get doubled-up by this Illini team, you know you have problems. Let's hope for Northwestern's sake they can beat Texas-Pan American at home on Wednesday, because they could easily lose every remaining game on their schedule after that.

MONDAY

San Diego 63, St. Mary's 55 — It's a tough road loss for the Gaels, but nothing of the sky-is-falling variety. The more interesting part is that San Diego plays in Jenny Craig Pavilion, which somehow I didn't know.

Jenny Craig? Really? That's the best you could do?

Seth Doria is a writer based out of St. Louis. For the only daily column that mixes sports, politics, and entertainment news in one, visit The Left Calf.

Posted by Joshua Duffy at 11:45 AM | Comments (0)

January 28, 2008

Super Simulation Sunday

When I first met my best friend Matt on college move-in day in August of 2002, he tried to persuade me to hang out with him by saying he had an Xbox and the newly released game Halo. I basically ignored him and thought he was a loser, until he mentioned that he also had an original Nintendo Entertainment System, a rare, top-loading original Nintendo even. The first words out of my mouth were, "What games do you have?" and the first words out of his mouth were, "Tecmo Super Bowl." Immediately, a life-long friendship was born.

Now most football junkies my age will understand my unbridled enthusiasm at these words, but for those of you who do not, I will simply say that Tecmo Super Bowl for original NES is most entertaining football video game ever. By today's standards, of course its graphics are poor, its playbook is too basic, and the fact that there are no penalties is of course ridiculous, but since I was 8-years old, I have studied this game and learned its ins and outs like a podiatrist studies the foot.

A ritual that we started beginning with Super Bowl XXXVII was simulating the Super Bowl, I'll show you some previous results as compared to what actually happened.

Super Bowl XXXVII

Simulated Score: Buccaneers 38, Raiders 28
Actual Score: Buccaneers 48, Raiders 21

The Raiders' running game is almost unstoppable with Bo Jackson and Marcus Allen. And the Buccaneers are worthless, so the Bucs winning was a surprise to me both in the simulation and in real life.

Super Bowl XXXVIII

Simulated Score: Patriots 31, Seahawks 21 (we had to use the Seahawks because the Panthers didn't exist in 1990)
Actual Score: Patriots 32, Panthers 29

Okay, so the second year wasn't a great situation, but at least the Patriots won, even if they didn't play the right team.

Super Bowl XXXIX

Simulated Score: Patriots 28, Eagles 24
Actual Score: Patriots 24, Eagles 21

This was truly a shocker to us. For those of you who are unaware, the Patriots' quarterback in Tecmo Super Bowl is Steve Grogan, who may be the worst quarterback in the game. The Eagles, on the other hand, are quite good with the Anonymous QB 12 at the helm.

Super Bowl XL

Simulated Score: Steelers 17, Seahawks 7
Actual Score: Steelers 21, Seahawks 10

Nothing too unexpected here, both the Steelers and Seahawks are pretty worthless, so a Steelers win and a low-scoring game seem logical.

Super Bowl XLI

Simulated Score: Colts 35, Bears 20
Actual Score: Colts 29, Bears 17

This was somewhat surprising. Neither team is great, but the Bears do have a dominant running game.

Super Bowl XLII

Simulated Score: Patriots 20, Giants 14
Actual Score: Patriots ??, Giants ??

Well, something was at work in this game, seeing as how the Giants were the Super Bowl champions of the 1990 season and the Patriots were a stellar 1-15. It was truly the best versus the worst and the worst came out on top. If that doesn't show the hand of fate on the outcome of the next Super Bowl, I don't know what does.

Here are a few notes about the simulated game that you can count on for Super Bowl Sunday:

(Note: All players' names are simply inferred from the 1990 roster to the 2007 roster.)

• Eli Manning will throw 3 interceptions (one on his very first pass attempt).


• Tom Brady will have a mediocre game with 1 touchdown pass and 1 interception. He will also be sacked 5 times by a tenacious Giants blitz. (Thank you, Lawrence Taylor.)


• Randy Moss will win the MVP trophy with an impressive 178 yards receiving and a touchdown.


• The Patriots will attempt an onside kick just before the end of the first half, but be unsuccessful.


• Eli Manning will have a chance to lead a game-winning drive with one minute to go, but will fail miserably.

Perhaps you will put more stock in the PS3 or Xbox 360 simulations, but we have been right for the past five years (well, at least four of five years thanks to the Panthers dilemma). I'm assuming that most other simulations will show the Patriots as champions, as well, so maybe you can simply believe all of them.

Posted by Andrew Jones at 11:49 AM | Comments (1)

January 26, 2008

Super Bowl XLII Office Pool Props

1. Winner: New England/NY Giants
2. Versus spread: New England (-13)/New York (+13)
3. Total points (game): over/under 53½
4. Totals points (first quarter): over/under 12½
5. Total points (second quarter): over/under 13½
6. Total points (third quarter): over/under 13½
7. Total points (fourth quarter): over/under 13½
8. Winner of coin toss: New York/New England
9. Result of coin toss: heads/tails
10. New England to: kick/receive
11. Number of team captains at midfield for coin toss (both teams): over/under 8½
12. Starting yard line of game's first possession: over/under 26½
13. First play from scrimmage: run/pass
14. Tom Brady passing yards: over/under 273½
15. Eli Manning passing yards: over/under 255½
16. Manning family Super Bowl wins after game: over/under 1½
17. Brady completion percentage: over/under 71½
18. Manning turnovers: over/under 1½
19. First penalty called on: New York/New England
20. Length of first penalty: over/under 5½
21. Laurence Maroney rushing yards: over/under 87½
22. Kevin Faulk total yards: over/under 67½
23. Randy Moss touchdowns: over/under½
24. Moss receiving yards: over/under 64½
25. Asante Samuel interceptions: over/under½
26. Is first official first down measurement a first down?: yes/no
27. Brandon Jacobs rushing yards: over/under 50½
28. Plaxico Burress receiving yards: over/under 91½
29. Burress touchdown receptions: over/under½
30. Kevin Boss receptions: over/under 3½
31. Manning touchdown passes: over/under 1½
32. Wes Welker receptions: over/under 7½
33. Michael Strahan sacks: over/under½
34. Osi Umenyiora sacks: over/under½
35. Square root of total points, both teams: over/under 7.2
36. Manning completions: over/under 24½
37. Brady touchdowns: over/under 2½
38. First penalty called on: defense/offense
39. Yardage length of first New York touchdown: over/under 4½
40. Yardage length of first New England touchdown: over/under 6½
41. Jersey number of first Giant to score a touchdown: over/under 27½
42. Jersey number of first Patriot to score a touchdown: over/under 39½
43. Mike Vrabel sacks: over/under½
44. Coaches' challenges: over/under½
45. Two-point conversion attempts (both teams): over/under½
46. Brady rush yards: over/under 1½
47. Amani Toomer receptions: over/under 4½
48. Stephen Gostkowski extra point conversions: over/under 3½
49. Length of longest field goal: over/under 41½
50. Largest lead of any team at any point: over/under 11½
51. Halftime versus spread: New England (-7½)/New York (+7½)
52. Add total points (both teams) at halftime: is sum odd/even
53. Add total points of final score: is sum odd/even
54. Time remaining at two-minute warning of second half: over/under 1:57½
55. New England first downs: over/under 24½
56. New York first downs: over/under 22½
57. Lawrence Tynes missed field goals: over/under½
58. Vince Wilfork tackles: over/under 5½
59. New England time of possession: over/under 31:53½
60. New York red zone efficiency: over/under 50½
61. Tie score at any point in fourth quarter?: yes/no
62. Total yards (both teams): over/under 673½
63. New York time of possession: over/under 29:58½
64. Jersey number of Super Bowl most valuable player: over/under 27½
65. Letters in last name of Super Bowl MVP: over/under 5½
66. New England penalties: over/under 5½
67. New York penalty yards: over/under 63½
68. Duration of game: over/under 3 hours, 23½ minutes

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 11:04 AM | Comments (7)

January 25, 2008

The Top 20 Clutch Playoff QBs

It's Brett Favre's fault. Most serious football fans know that the Green Bay Packers have historically enjoyed a singular homefield advantage in the playoffs. Until 2002, Green Bay had never lost a playoff game at Lambeau Field, where the Packers have been playing since 1957. In the six seasons since, they have suddenly lost three playoff games at Lambeau.

It's tempting to blame Favre. Without him, the Packers never lost at Lambeau. With Favre, they're 8-3. That's not terrible, but it's not the Lambeau mystique, either. Here's the really upsetting part, though: Favre, as much as anyone except maybe Vince Lombardi and Bart Starr, was responsible for that Lambeau mystique. He won his first seven playoff games at Lambeau Field and helped to establish the idea that opposing teams cannot come into Green Bay in January and expect to win. Since then, though, he's 1-3.

Entering that 2002 season, the Packers were 11-0 in postseason play at Lambeau Field. Then they suffered a shocking 27-7 loss to the Falcons, who were led by a promising young quarterback named Mike Vick. In 2003, the Packers predictably bounced back, albeit with an uncomfortably close overtime win over the Seahawks. You know, the game when Matt Hasselbeck chirped, "We want the ball and we're gonna score!" Then, in 2004, the unthinkable: a humiliating home-field defeat to the division-rival Minnesota Vikings. And this weekend, a tired and uninspired-looking Packer team went through the motions in a 23-20 loss to another heavy underdog, the New York Giants.

These were not great teams the Packers lost to. Both the 2002 Falcons and the 2004 Vikings were embarrassed in their subsequent playoff games. The 2007 Giants are playing well, but the Jimmy Johnson Cowboys they are not.

The point of this column is not to bash Favre; I'm half-joking about all of this. But Green Bay's third postseason loss at Lambeau — and more specifically, Favre's third postseason loss at Lambeau — got me thinking about quarterback success in the playoff, and I came up with a very simple way to quantify it.

The formula is this: a quarterback is eligible for points in any postseason game in which he throws at least 60% of his team's passes. He is awarded one point for every road victory, and penalized one point for every home loss. Thus, Sunday's NFC Championship Game is +1 for Eli Manning and -1 for Favre. The AFC Championship Game was +0 for both Tom Brady and Philip Rivers; since the home team won, neither player's score is affected. I also awarded one point for a Super Bowl win, though there is no penalty for losing the Super Bowl. Basically:

Road Win +1
Home Loss -1
Super Bowl Win +1

I used playoff results from 1990-2007, since it was in 1990 that the playoff field was expanded to 12 teams. A quarterback is only evaluated on results from the 1990 season and later. John Elway is in this study, but I did not include his playoff results in the 1980s. This also affected Randall Cunningham, Jim Kelly, Dan Marino, and Warren Moon.

Before I present the data, please let me address a glaring flaw here: it is not fair to judge a quarterback by his team's success. There are 10 other starters who affect the game on offense alone, not to mention substitutes, defensive players, special teams, and coaching decisions, or even quality opponents who got hot at the right time. Recognizing that this is hardly an authoritative study that should be used to judge quarterback greatness, here were the top scorers.

Number one surprised me a little: Tom Brady. He earned one point in 2001, for the Super Bowl win. The Patriots also won a road game in Pittsburgh that postseason, but Drew Bledsoe actually threw more passes than Brady, so no points for that one. One point in 2003, for that Super Bowl. Two points in 2004, for another AFC Championship Game victory in Pittsburgh, plus another Super Bowl. And one point in 2006, for a road win in San Diego. And of course, Brady is likely to collect a sixth point in Super Bowl XLII.

The rest of the list seemed a little off to me, so I added a new rule: bonus points for first-round byes. If a quarterback threw at least 2/3 of his team's passes during the regular season, and the team earned a first-round bye, I added a point for that, the logic being that a first-round bye is as good as a wild card win. This also helped the list to make a little more sense, pushing the Aikmans and Elways past the Delhommes and Dilfers. With this new rule, Brett Favre scored 0 points for 2007: +1 for a first-round bye, -1 for a home loss to New York. With this new system, 20 QBs scored +2 or better.

20) Dan Marino: +1

Okay, I lied. Only 19 players were +2 or better. Marino leads a group of seven that were all +1. The others, in alphabetical order, were: Drew Bledsoe, Randall Cunningham, Stan Humphries, Chad Pennington, Jake Plummer, and Vinny Testaverde. Does that sound like a group Dan Marino belongs in? This guy caught no breaks. For starters, his best years were in the 1980s, and those aren't credited in this exercise. But Marino was also cursed with lots of home wild card games, when points can only be lost. Because the Bills were so dominant for most of the 1990s, the Dolphins only earned one first-round bye (in 1992), and Marino lost his +1 for that when the Bills beat them in Miami.

In 1990, the Dolphins won a wild card game at home, then lost to the Bills. In '92, they got a bye, beat the Chargers 31-0 (at home, so no points for Marino), then lost to the Bills. In '94, they won a wild card game at home, then lost to San Diego. The Dolphins made the playoffs seven times in the 1990s, all with Marino at QB, and all he got was a lousy +1. The man deserved better.

19) Donovan McNabb: +2

He has points for a road playoff win in 2001 and for the first-round bye in 2004, but the Eagles also lost consecutive NFC Championship Games at home with McNabb, and those seasons registered as zeroes (rather than -1s) because of the first-round bye rule. Honestly, Donovan has been more successful in the regular season than the playoffs. His career postseason record is 7-6.

18) Kerry Collins: +2

He led the Panthers to a bye in 1996 and the Giants to a bye in 2000. The best thing I can say about Kerry is that he's never lost a playoff game at home. Career postseason record of 3-3.

17) Rich Gannon: +2

First-round byes in 2000 and '02. I hate to demean a fine quarterback like Gannon by writing this, but as far as this study goes, his record is basically identical to Collins'. I ranked him higher because Gannon was an all-pro and Kerry Collins is himself. Gannon's career postseason record was 4-4.

16) Eli Manning: +2

He's +3 so far this year, and if the Giants win Super Bowl XLII, he'll tie Ben Roethlisberger for the only +4 season ever. Assuming they don't win the Super Bowl, Little Manning will finish this season with a 3-3 career record in the postseason.

15) Trent Dilfer: +3

Do I feel bad for ranking Dilfer ahead of Marino, McNabb, and Gannon? Yes, I do. All three points came from the Ravens' 2000 Super Bowl season, which had a lot more to do with defense than Dilfer. His career playoff record is 5-1.

14) Steve Young: +3

Without the first-round bye points, Young is actually at -2, tied with Neil O'Donnell for the lowest of any QB I evaluated. He deserves this position, though, for a couple of reasons. One is that Young led the 49ers to an incredible five first-round byes, and putting your team in position to succeed is half the battle. Additionally, with all those home games in the playoffs, it's hard to score points, since you can only do that on the road or in the Super Bowl. Young also had the misfortune to lose home playoff games against Troy Aikman's Cowboys and Brett Favre's Packers. Stiff competition. Young finished his career with an 8-5 postseason record.

13) Peyton Manning: +3

The Good: Road wins in 2003 and 2006, plus a Super Bowl in 2006.

The Bad: A home playoff loss in 1999 and a quick elimination in 2005 after the Colts' 13-0 start.

The Ugly: This year's loss to San Diego.

12) Kurt Warner: +3

Two of his three points come from first-round byes. The other is from Super Bowl XXXIV, of which Warner was named MVP. His career postseason record is 5-2.

11) Brad Johnson: +3

Fine, Trent Dilfer he is not, but all three of Johnson's points come from 2002, when the Buccaneers rode their top-ranked defense — not Johnson's offense — to a first-round bye, a road win in the NFC Championship Game, and a Super Bowl victory. His career postseason mark is 4-3.

10) Ben Roethlisberger: +3

Man, things just never go as planned with this guy. He's been in six playoff games, not counting Super Bowl XL. Five of those six playoff games were won by the road team. Ben was on the losing end in 2004 (AFC CG vs. New England) and 2007 (Jacksonville), and on the winning side three times in the Super Bowl year. Career postseason record of 5-2.

9) Mark Brunell: +3

Forget the old, tired Brunell who started for Washington from '04-'06. Remember the young, talented scrambler who unexpectedly led Jacksonville, a second-year expansion team, to the AFC Championship Game in 1996. His career playoff record is 4-5, but we won't hold that against him.

8) Jim Kelly: +3

You might expect Kelly to be higher, with all of Buffalo's playoff success, and since I don't penalize Super Bowl losses. But the Bills didn't have many road games in which Kelly could earn points, and they never won the big one. His career playoff record was 9-7.

7) Steve McNair: +4

His big year was 1999, with a pair of road wins following the Music City Miracle. Without Tennessee's 1999 postseason run on the road, Manning and Brunell would both be +4. McNair's career postseason record is 5-5.

6) Brett Favre: +4

I know this is sacrilege, but can I suggest that Favre has been a pretty awful playoff quarterback since Mike Holmgren left Green Bay?

5) Jake Delhomme: +4

He's inconsistent about getting a team to the playoffs, and he's never led Carolina to a first-round bye, but the man can get some road wins. There was that double-overtime affair in St. Louis in 2003, followed by an NFC Championship Game victory in Philadelphia that propelled the Panthers to Super Bowl XXXVIII, plus a pair of road wins — over the Giants and Bears — in 2005. Delhomme has a 5-2 record in the postseason.

4) Mark Rypien: +4

Wait, hear me out. I swear that I can justify ranking Mark Rypien ahead of Brett Favre and Jim Kelly. Here's the thing about Ryp: he had a short prime, and we all know he wasn't half the quarterback those guys were. But the man did right in the postseason. In 1990, he got a road playoff win. In 1991, a first-round bye, a pair of blowouts (which count for nothing, since they were in Washington, but the combined score was 71-17) and a Super Bowl win, with Rypien winning MVP. And in '92, another road win before losing to the 49ers in San Francisco.

This is, of course, the only list — other than maybe "Best Rypiens" or something — that Mark Rypien is so high on. His career postseason record was 5-2.

3) John Elway: +5

Imagine how impressive his score would be if I counted the '80s. Elway's career postseason record was 14-7.

2) Troy Aikman: +7

The Super Bowls are +3, first-round byes are +3, and a road win in San Francisco was +1. Aikman also lost a point for that shocking home loss to the Cardinals in 1998. His career postseason record was 11-4.

1) Tom Brady: +9

What's really scary is that this could be +10 in a couple of weeks. It's much too early to crown Brady as the best quarterback of all time — I don't even think he's passed Peyton as the best QB of his generation, and what possible argument could you make to get him ahead of Joe Montana? — but this kid is really special. There's more to that +9 than just the QB, but there's a lot of Brady in those three Super Bowl rings.

This little exercise, awarding QBs points for the whole team's accomplishments and failures, is a bit silly, but look at Brady's score. Aikman is the only one even close to him! Now, sticking with the 12-team playoff gave me a very limited timeline, so Brady didn't have to contend with legendary winners like Sid Luckman, Otto Graham, Bart Starr, Terry Bradshaw, or Joe Montana. But that kind of dominance, is any context, is pretty impressive. It is very difficult, I think, to argue that Brady is not the greatest postseason quarterback of the last 20 years.

Posted by Brad Oremland at 11:40 AM | Comments (2)

January 24, 2008

51 Days to Selection Sunday

The goal when I started this was to write every week about the games the previous week that will have implications on Selection Sunday and the eternal quest for the perfect bracket, the Holy Grail for any college hoops fan.

Sure enough, it took a grand total of one week for me to fall gravely ill (104 temp and bad things at every end) and blow deadline by two days. And my wife wonders why Sports Illustrated hasn't called yet.

Anyway, the past ten days or so...

JANUARY 15

Michigan State 66, Ohio State 60 — In my daily picks on my blog (Left Calf, catch the fever!) I wrote the following sentence about this game: "(The) Spartans will come out fired up at home after pathetic showing at Iowa."

Sure enough, the Spartans did indeed come out fired up, racing to a 32-11 lead with three minutes to play in the first half. Then Ohio State finished the half on a 10-2 run to cut the lead to 13 at the break. And then the Buckeyes went on a 12-5 run over the first five minutes of the second half to cut what was a 21-point lead down to five.

This was the second time in eight days that Michigan State blew huge first-half leads, nearly costing them the game. The Spartans led Purdue 29-13 on January 8, then completely lost the lead before rebounding for the three-point win. These things happen to all teams, but when they happen more than once, you need to worry.

(They toughed out a good road win over Minnesota on Sunday, but that doesn't get them off the "You're better off betting the stock market than these guys" list. Call it the YBOBTSMTTGL.)

Wisconsin 80, Penn State 55 — Beating the Nittany Lions isn't exactly USA/USSR (or even USA/Finland), but it's an opportunity to point out the Badgers are very much a threat (if not the favorites) to win the Big Ten and play into the second weekend of the NCAA tournament. (I'm not ready to give them the third weekend yet, especially not after they barely eked out a three-point home win over woeful Michigan on Monday.)

After losing two stalwarts like Alando Tucker and Kammron Taylor, who scored 47 percent of Wisconsin's points last year, it would have been natural for Bo Ryan's team to suffer through a bit of a rebuilding job. But with the emergence of sophomore Trevon Hughes (from under eight minutes per game to more than 30), and much improved shooting from senior Michael Flowers (from 44 percent to 49 percent overall, 31 percent to 41 percent from three), the Wisconsin offense is just as stout as it was last year (based off Ken Pomeroy's efficiency rankings). And their defense is even better (from sixth to third in adjusted defensive efficiency).

In other words, while Packers fans are understandably devastated by their team's choke job against the Giants, at least they have Ryan and the Badgers (and lots of beer) to buoy their moods.

(If Eli Manning had thrown that bad of a pick in OT, all we'd hear about now was how much he sucked. Just because it was Brett Favre instead doesn't make it any less horrendous.)

Boston College 76, Miami (FL) 66 — Speaking of offensive efficiency (or the complete lack thereof), Miami took an astounding 76 shots in this game, making only 26 (31.6 percent). The Hurricanes backcourt of Jack McClinton and James Dews combined to shoot 12-of-40. After losing this game, plus their next two at North Carolina State (79-77 on Saturday) and at home to North Carolina (98-82 on Wednesday), what was 12-0 is now 14-4 with a 1-3 record in the ACC. They need to beat Clemson at home on Sunday to maintain any national legitimacy.

JANUARY 16

Temple 78, Xavier 59 — If ever you needed proof Xavier is not to be trusted, consider:

The Owls shot 13 of 27 from three (48 percent). Xavier was 6-of-20 (30 percent).

Xavier had 12 assists to 12 turnovers. Temple had 21 assists to 9 turnovers.

The Temple backcourt of Mark Tyndale and Dionte Christmas scored 45 points on 16-of-24 shooting (7-of-12 from three), with 12 assists and 14 rebounds. The Xavier backcourt of Drew Lavender and Stanley Burrell combined for 16 points on 7-of-16 shooting (2-of-7 from three), with seven rebounds and six assists.

Now consider the fact the Musketeers were 14-3 heading into this game (with a six-game win streak), while the Owls were just 6-8 (coming off a three-game losing streak) and you can see how one might question the status of Xavier's gonadical fortitude. Even after beating George Washington on Saturday to run their record to 15-4 (3-1 in the A-10), this team is a big, big question mark.

JANUARY 17

Louisville 71, Marquette 51 — This was one of the more surprising results of the week. Going in, I thought the advantage Marquette had in the backcourt (Jerel McNeal and Dominic James vs the Louisville pu pu platter of Edgar Sosa, Jerry Smith, Earl Clark and Andre McGee) would be more than enough to give the Golden Eagles the game. But two factors turned the outcome the other way:

1. Though McNeal and James outscored the Louisville Four 30-18, Marquette had only two assists in the entire game. They also didn't hit a single three-pointer (0-12). Credit Louisville's perimeter defense for shutting down what is still one of the best backcourts in the conference.

2. Louisville's David Padgett and Terrence Williams made 15-of-22 shots (68 percent) for a combined 37 points, while Marquette's Lazar Hayward was only 2-of-10 for six points. The Cardinals' dominance inside (finished with a 40-28 rebounding advantage) was more than enough to counter Marquette's scoring advantage outside.

George Mason 85, Hofstra 78 (2OT) — On its own, this result isn't all that impressive. As one of the best teams in the conference, the Patriots shouldn't have had to go into double overtime to put down a Hofstra team in complete ruins (4-13 after losing to VCU on Wednesday). However, when you add the fact GMU senior forward Will Thomas scored 29 points (12-of-15 shooting) in this one to the fact junior guard Dre Smith scored 34 (with a record-breaking 10-for-10 from three) in the Patriots' 96-75 win over James Madison on Saturday, and George Mason has the inside-outside scoring capability that is critical to pulling an NCAA Tournament upset.

The Colonial is going to be a one-bid conference this year. It's likely to come down to Mason or the Eric Maynor-led VCU Rams (first in the conference with a 7-1 record). Either way, be prepared to pick another upset from the Colonial on your bracket.

(Note: Mason and VCU play next Tuesday at the Patriot Center in Fairfax. The game will be on ESPN2. If you can break yourself away from day 10 of unnecessary Super Bowl hype, I highly recommend you tune in.)

Cleveland State 56, Butler 52 — Butler is going to be an interesting debate come Selection Sunday. On the one hand, the Bulldogs' only two losses are at Wright State and this game at Cleveland State. As one of the top ranked teams in the nation (number 12 when this game tipped), two close road losses in conference play shouldn't be looked down upon. Stuff happens, especially on the road.

But with just 10 games left in the regular season, you have to wonder if Butler could survive losing in the Horizon tournament and still land an at-large bid. They have some nice wins along the way (Virginia Tech, Ohio State, Florida State), but the W over Southern Illinois gets less impressive by the week (one of the causes for their less-than-stellar 146 non-conference strength of schedule). Their RPI is still a very-strong 23, but we learned from Missouri State a few years ago that an RPI in the twenties is no guaranteed ticket to dance.

Right now, Butler is in, and with a decent seed (Joe Lunardi has them at a 5). But they need to win their return games against Wright State and Cleveland State, and need to avoid a slip during a three-game road swing to Valparaiso, Wisconsin-Green Bay, and Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Otherwise, they could be looking at a situation where they have to get the auto bid in order to have a shot at reprising their Sweet 16 run of a year ago.

St. Louis 68, Rhode Island 61 — The Rams really couldn't afford to lose to a Billikens team just a week removed from scoring 20 points total in a loss to GW. As was the case in Rhode Island's loss at Dayton, Rams forward Kahiem Seawright (3-of-12 from the field) failed to support leading scorers Will Daniels (12 points on 5-of-12 shooting; fouled out in only 18 minutes) and Jimmy Baron (10 points on 4-of-12 shooting). If Seawright doesn't get his act in gear and start contributing to the offense, this Rams team is NIT at best.

Indiana 65, Minnesota 60 — It's an easy game to pass up on the scoreboard, but the Gophers played inspired in this one. They forced 24 turnovers from the Hoosiers, held Eric Gordon to just 12 points (in large part due to foul trouble), and had a chance late despite getting out-rebounded 39-21 and shooting just 3-of-17 from three. I know Tubby Smith has had far greater success in his career (the Gophers are 2-3 in conference after losing to Michigan State 78-73 on Sunday), but his coaching job this year may be his best ever.

Stanford 56, Arizona 52 — Odd story from this one: Arizona freshman guard Jerryd Bayless broke his shoe. For some reason, the Wildcats don't travel with extra pairs of shoes. Unfortunately, not a single other Arizona player wore the same size to give to Bayless (or at least nobody who could afford to be without shoes), so the Wildcats actually had to borrow a pair of shoes from Stanford so Bayless could keep playing. Bayless, averaging over 19 points per game, shot just 3 for 12 on the night and finished with 9 points. Arizona lost by four.

January 18

Bucknell 73, Holy Cross 65 — Check out the video highlights on the ESPN.com team home pages for some quality physical violence and coaches completely losing their cool.

January 19

Vanderbilt 92, LSU 76 — What in the name of Big Baby is going on with the Tigers? Now mired in a seven-game losing streak, LSU has gone 24-26 and just 5-15 in the SEC since their 2006 run to the Final Four. Losing Tasmin Mitchell after the first three games of the season hurt, but that doesn't cover all that ails John Brady. They can't shoot (SEC-worst 43 percent), don't pass (SEC-worst 11.94 assists per game), can't rebound (SEC-worst –3.1 rebounding margin), and aren't very good on defense (eighth in the conference in points allowed at 68.8 per game). When LSU football fans sober up from the "we'll just pretend it was legitimate" national title game, they're going to be mighty disappointed with what's become of their basketball program.

Purdue 74, Illinois 67 — So how is it that a 14-5 team with a 5-1 record in one of the premiere conferences in the country can't get even one vote in either poll? Well, the fact they haven't really beaten anybody good yet helps explain it (Louisville was a different team back then, Ohio State is still up and down), as does the fact the Big Ten basically stinks this year. But when Wisconsin comes to Mackey Arena on Saturday, they best come with their best. Matt Painter's crew will be ready to play.

Drake 79, Illinois State 73 — And welcome to the Top 25, Keno Davis. Drake's run may not be making major national headlines in the days of Tom Brady's footwear and the tainted bloodstream of baseball's record book, but the Bulldogs' 17-1 run is second only to the Patriots' drive for perfection in terms of improbable sports stories. It's incredible! It's fantastic! It's lots of adjectives that should be spelled out in caps and followed by numerous exclamation points!

Histrionics aside, this is a problem. Virtually nobody outside of the Valley's very limited regional television packages has seen Drake play. They've got a couple of games on ESPN's Full Court package, but who really spends that kind of dough on a pay-per-view package when there so many other games I can get for free? When the Bracketbusters pairings come up (February 4), ESPN has to give Drake a big-time opponent and feature them prominently on the TV schedule.

Drake is going to be on your bracket. Lunardi has them as a four seed right now. A four! And we know virtually nothing about them. Scary.

USC 72, UCLA 63 — Told you not to give up on the Trojans.

Maryland 82, North Carolina 80 — Told you the Tar Heels had a great shot at going undefeated.

Cincinnati 62, Pittsburgh 59 — Give Mick Cronin credit. He had a lot of work to do to turn the program around after the nuclear bomb that was the end of the Bob Huggins era. The Bearcats are winning with defense (Panthers only shot 42 percent), ball control (only 11 turnovers), and good shot selection (only 8 threes attempted — Nick Van Exel must be turning over in his grave).

You can't heap too much praise on a coach whose team is just 9-10 after losing to Connecticut on Wednesday, but they're still 4-3 in a Big East that's clean out of teams who can't be beat. An NIT berth (still a reach at this point) this year would be a very positive step forward for the program.

Kansas State 75, Texas A&M 54 — This one was even more surprising than the Louisville/Marquette game. The Wildcats just wrecked the Aggies every which way there was. If Michael Beasley (24.8 ppg, 12.6 rpg) and Bill Walker (16.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg) keep this up, they could very well knock off Kansas next Wednesday.

Arizona 79, California 65 — Two points:

1. Bayless had his own shoes. He scored a team-high 24 points with five assists. Arizona won.

(It's gotta be the shoes!)

2. Stats alone don't do Cal sophomore Ryan Anderson justice (30 points on 10 of 13 shooting, 7 rebounds in this one). The guy is so smooth. At 6-foot-10 and 240 lbs, he can play the power game with the conference's best. But he can also run the floor (and shoot) like a guard. On one play, Cal was on a fast break after an Arizona turnover and Anderson got the ball on the run a few steps shy of the three-point line. Normally, you wouldn't want a big guy to get the ball that far from the rim. Too many things can go wrong. But Anderson pulled up for a sweet three-pointer. Nothing but net. How many other 6-10 guys are doing that? If you like watching good basketball, you've got to watch this kid play.

And if you don't believe me, the stats tell the rest of the story: 21.9 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 52 FG%, 87 FT%, 46 3P%.

Kansas 76, Missouri 70; Virginia 84, Boston College 66 — I put these together because Missouri and Virginia are not to be trusted under any circumstances. Prototypical YBOBTSMTTGL. If you ever think about betting on either one of them, slap yourself in the face and think about something else. They have the talent to cover any spread, and the mental fragility to blow any lead. I'm telling you — stay away from Missouri and Virginia.

Let's just pray neither makes the tournament.

January 20

New England 21, San Diego 12 — Fourth-and-10 at the New England 36, down two scores, 9:21 to go. Chargers punt. Two timeouts left.

Kevin Faulk fair catches the punt at the New England 13. A little over nine minutes left.

Laurence Maroney for 12. Brady sacked for –8. Brady to Faulk for 7. Brady to Faulk (great diving catch) for 11. First down. A little over seven minutes left.

Maroney for 1. Timeout San Diego. One left. Brady to Donte Stallworth for 6. Brady to Faulk for 14. First down. A little over five minutes left.

Maroney for 2. Maroney for 3. Timeout San Diego. Last one. Maroney for 5. First down. A little over three minutes left.

Maroney for 4. Maroney for 2. Two-minute warning. Maroney for five. First down. A little over one minute left.

Kneel down. Kneel down. Super Bowl.

Of all the scoring drives the Pats put together this year, it was this non-scoring drive that was the most impressive. Brady was playing horrible (relatively speaking). The Chargers defense was swarming and desperate to get the ball back. And the Pats kept it for the final nine minutes of the game.

Say what you will about controversy this or controversy that, but you can't deny their greatness.

January 21

This is when I got sick. I'm sure I said something during the football game to deserve it. Whatever.

Georgetown 64, Syracuse 62 (OT) — Not to beat up on the Orange, because they've had a rough go since losing Eric Devendorf, but Jonny Flynn took 23 shots and had 2 assists. This was on the heels of 19 shots vs. 2 assists in a loss to Villanova a few days earlier. That's 42 shots to 4 assists in two games, not exactly what you're looking for out of your point guard.

January 22

Billy Gillispie's Reputation 72, Tennessee 66 — I'm not being snide. Kentucky is finally starting to look like the program Gillispie built with Texas A&M. They wear people out and find a way to score just enough points to get the W. With a relatively favorable schedule the rest of the way, don't be surprised to see the 8-9 Wildcats play their way into the bubble conversation.

January 23

Florida State 69, Virginia 67 — Told you not to trust the Cavs.

Memphis 56, Tulsa 41 — Next Wednesday, at Houston, the Tigers will be tested.

Seth Doria is a writer based out of St. Louis. For the only daily column that mixes sports, politics, and entertainment news in one, visit The Left Calf.

Posted by Joshua Duffy at 3:59 PM | Comments (0)

Super Patriots: Ranking the Super Bowl Teams

I was asked today which Patriots Super Bowl team is my favorite.

That's like asking me to pick which of my children is my favorite — or which Seasonal Sam Adams brew I like the best. It's nearly impossible to choose.

That said, I'm suffering from a massive case of writer's block tonight (no beer left, can't think without beer). Since I have no ideas of my own, I figured I'd give it a shot.

I'm leaving the 1985 Patriots off the list for a couple of reasons:

1) I can't take any team quarterbacked by Tony Eason seriously.

2) I was 6-years-old.

3) The Patriots weren't the best team in the AFC that season, they just caught an overconfident Miami Dolphins team in the AFC championship.

4) Because of the 1985 Patriots, the Super Bowl Shuffle, Mike Ditka, and Refrigerator Perry all live on. I cannot forgive them for this.

It's amazing, after suffering through a 1-15 season, a 2-14 season, coaches like Pete Carroll, Rod Rust, etc. that I'm actually discussing my favorite Patriots Super Bowl teams.

This is not your parent's New England Patriots, that's for sure.

4) 1996 New England Patriots

The 1996 season started with a draft-day feud between Bill Parcells and Bob Kraft that carried over into the season and bubbled over in the playoffs.

Forgotten in the mess of Parcells' last season is exactly how good that draft was. The first three picks were all major contributors.

Terry Glenn was the controversial first round pick that signaled the beginning of the end of Bill Parcells in New England.

In the second round, the Patriots grabbed a safety out of Washington named Lawyer Malloy.

In the third round, they grabbed an undersized defensive lineman from Arizona that they thought they might be able to convert to a linebacker. His name was Tedy Bruschi.

The 1996 Patriots would not have beaten the 1996 Denver Broncos. Everyone in New England expected their season to end in Denver. But that didn't happen.

Mark Brunell put on one of the greatest playoff road performances in the history of the NFL in the divisional round. The upstart Jags pulled off a huge upset, setting up an AFC Championship Game in New England.

Big Play Willie Clay sealed the AFC championship for New England with an interception in the end zone, and the Patriots (only six years removed from 1-15, four years removed from 2-14) were heading to the Super Bowl!

Super Bowl week proved a disaster, as Bill Parcells spent most of the week negotiating a new contract with the New York Jets. The Patriots would eventually lose the Super Bowl, their head coach, and the better part of the next three seasons.

But this team was my generations first taste of NFL success, and for that they will always hold a spot in my heart.

3) 2003 New England Patriots

"They hate their coach."

Tom Jackson said the Patriots were dead after Week 1. They had cut their emotional leader and former team captain Lawyer Malloy just days before the season began, only to see him come back with another uniform and lay a 31-0 beat-down on them.

To make matters worse, Malloy was budding superstar Tom Brady's best friend on the team. Brady took the new hard and didn't hold back when asked about it.

It certainly looked like Tom Jackson was right.

The Patriots lost to the Washington Redskins in Week 4, leaving their record at 2-2.

They didn't lose again.

The team with no superstars on the defensive side of the ball, no big named wide receivers, and no running game to speak of won 12 straight regular season games, including the Patriots' defining moment — a game ending goal line stand against the Indianapolis Colts.

The Patriots became the first team to beat two current NFL MVPs in the same postseason, squeaking past the Titans then dismantling the Colts.

They played one of the most exciting Super Bowls ever, winning on a last second field goal.

Rodney Harrison was the key edition that season, taking over as the defensive leader when Lawyer Malloy was cut. He defined what the Patriots were: tough, smart, and intense.

In the Super Bowl, Harrison broke his arm making a tackle late in the fourth quarter. The Panthers were in the no-huddle and he didn't want to waste a timeout, so he stayed in the game.

Rodney Harrison, broken arm and all, made the tackle on the next play.

2) 2004 New England Patriots

Similar to the 2007 season, the 2004 Patriots were expected to win. That's not something we were familiar with in New England.

The 1996, 2001, and 2003 Patriots were not expected to win Super Bowls. In 2004, anything less would have been a disappointment.

By 2004, the legend of Tom Brady was in full gear, and he was only made better by the acquisition of Corey Dillon.

Corey Dillon had the best season of any running back in Patriots history. He was tremendous. The Patriots leaned on him heavily all season.

But it was the defense that made this team special. It was Troy Brown playing cornerback and Rodney Harrison playing Pro Bowl football. It was Tedy Bruschi becoming the best middle linebacker in the NFL for a season. It was Rosie Colvin recovering from a massive hip injury to become a playmaker.

People don't give them the credit they deserve. The 2004 New England Patriots were one of the greatest teams in NFL history.

The played the toughest playoff schedule in modern NFL history and walked through it easily. They were never challenged.

They humiliated the Colts, obliterated the Steelers, then systematically destroyed the Eagles in the Super Bowl.

Yes, it was a three-point Super Bowl victory, but it wasn't that close. The Patriots were never in trouble, were never worried, and never gave themselves the option of losing.

The NFL Network has the 2004 Patriots rated as the ninth best team in NFL history. Sounds about right.

(P.S.: Memo to the 1972 Dolphins — the 2004 Patriots would have mopped the floor with you.)

1) 2001 New England Patriots

I was sitting in the sixth row, on the 40-yard line, when Drew Bledsoe's Patriots' career came to an end.

Mo Lewis destroyed Bledsoe and introduced the world to Tom Brady.

This was a magical season. The 2001 Patriots were not the best team in the NFL that year (the Rams were) and they weren't the best team in the AFC (the Steelers were).

They just found crazy ways to win.

They won a game in Buffalo because David Patten was knocked out cold and his helmet touched out of bounds while the ball was touching him.

They won a game against the Jets because a former XFL wide receiver named Fred Coleman went bonkers.

They beat the Raiders in the playoffs because a fumble was correctly overturned, their kicker hit an impossible field goal, and their quarterback was absolutely perfect in a blizzard for the fourth quarter and overtime.

They beat the Steelers because of a punt return for a TD, a blocked field goal returned for a TD, and the fact that Kordell Stewart remembered he wasn't a legitimate NFL quarterback.

They just kept finding ways to win. When they met the Greatest Show on Turf in the Super Bowl, all of New England knew they'd find a way to win.

Tom Brady became Tom Brady during the last 1:21 of the Super Bowl that season. Up until that point, there were still people clamoring for the return of Drew Bledsoe.

One drive, one kick, one championship, and Tom Brady and the New England dynasty was born.

It was then and will always be the greatest sports related moment of my life.

I'm SeanMC.

SeanMC is a columnist for Bleacher Report and writes a column for Sports Central every other Thursday. You can read more articles by SeanMC in his Bleacher Report archive.

Posted by Sean Crowe at 1:52 PM | Comments (1)

January 23, 2008

The First Annual NBA Oscars

Remember when the Oscar for Best Picture used to always be a really good movie that everyone had seen and loved? You could have a real debate about which film should win because you had actually seen the nominees. Every year, there would be at least two or three movies that deserved to win and you didn't really care which of them won because they were all so good, capped off in 1995 when "Forrest Gump," "Pulp Fiction," and "The Shawshank Redemption" were all nominated. Then the winners got kind of weak and you found yourself thinking things like, "I hope 'Gladiator' wins, at least I've seen that" for a few years.

What does this have to do with anything you ask? Two things: first, the Oscars looked like they were back after three really good movies won Best Picture in a row: "Million Dollar Baby," "Crash," and "The Departed." Then, all of the sudden, this year's nominations were announced Tuesday and the academy blindsided us with an array of period pieces and Best Actor/Actress nominees from movies I've never heard of. No one I know that's seen "American Gangster" or "The Bourne Ultimatum" has said it was anything less than spectacular. Yet they get nothing but a supporting actress and best sound nomination, respectively.

And don't even get me started on "The Simpsons Movie" not getting any recognition for Best Animated Film. Is the category Best Animated Film/90-Minute Babysitter/Excuse to Get My Kids Out of the House? If so, then I apologize. I was under the impression that because "The Simpsons Movie" was animated, and a good film, that it might fall into the Best Animated Film category.

As you can see, I'm not going to take these oversights lightly, which leads me to my second point. The writers' strike has already robbed me of my favorite awards show (the Golden Globes, which covers both film and TV and everyone is hammered) and as I've noted, I'm not happy with the Oscars this year. I can't go an entire year without an awards show. I just can't.

That's why I've combined my two of my favorite things, NBA basketball and awards shows, to bring you the first ever NBA Oscars! Throw on your best tuxedo t-shirt and walk with me down the red carpet as we examine the list of inaugural nominees for the First Annual NBA Oscars!

Most Disappointing Season (Team)

Nominees
New York Knicks
Chicago Bulls
Utah Jazz
Miami Heat

And the winner is ... the Miami Heat!

This one is tricky for me because I am not disappointed in the Heat at all. In fact, I'm ecstatic. I absolutely hate the Heat, as I've documented in this space before. What disappoints me is that after an 8-32 start, everyone knows how terrible this team really is. They've stopped comparing Dwyane Wade to Jordan and have accepted the fact that Shaq is done. I don't even get the privilege of rooting against them for four games this April in the playoffs as they get swept again. So even though Utah made it to the conference Finals last year and are on the outside looking in this year, I'm still more disappointed that John Q. Basketball Fan finally realizes how bad the Heat truly are.

Most Disappointing Season (Player)

Nominees
Shaquille O'Neal
Kevin Durant
Jason Kidd
Tayshaun Prince

And the winner is ... Kevin Durant!

Each nominee in this category has been disappointing for a different reason. It is disappointing to see Shaq fall so hard from grace. It is disappointing to hear Jason Kidd just accept the fact that both he and his team have been grossly overrated for many years. Any Piston fan will tell you ad nauseam how bad Tayshaun Prince has been all year. But to me, the most disappointing thing about the first half of the 2007-08 season has been the fact that Kevin Durant is still a long way from being a superstar.

Maybe he'll turn into the super-scorer that I hoped he'd be coming out of college sooner rather than later, but based on what I saw from him at Texas, I thought he'd be more explosive than this. He's had more games where he scored in single digits (4) than in the 30's (2). He looks lost out there at times and his shot selection has been brutal. Maybe my expectations were too high coming in, but I thought by now he'd already had some games where he flirted with 40.

Most Surprising Player

Nominees
Marcus Camby
Brandon Roy
Andrew Bynum
Rudy Gay

And the winner is ... Andrew Bynum!

Although on second thought, maybe he should have won for most disappointing player after the brilliant start of the season he had put together, only to dislocate his kneecap when he was at the peak of his game so far. But I have to believe that everyone besides GM Mitch Kuptchack and his own personal Mr. Miyagi, Kareem, were surprised by how strong Bynum came on this season.

Bynum has averaged 14.6 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks and shot 65% from the field in the 25 games he's started this year. Either Kobe talking trash on a cell phone camera or the vote of confidence he got from management when they refused to trade him for Jason Kidd or Jermaine O'Neal last season has sparked life into the 20-year-old future superstar. His knee should heal up to right around 100% shortly before the playoffs. If Kobe can keep the Lakers afloat while Bynum's out (which he will), the Lakers could be an upset waiting to happen in the first round of the playoffs.

Most Surprising Team

Nominees
Boston Celtics
Los Angeles Lakers
New Orleans Hornets
Portland Trailblazers

And the winner is ... the New Orleans Hornets!

All apologizes to the Portland Trailblazers and your 13-game winning streak and 17-3 home record, but did anybody see New Orleans finishing the first half of the season with the best record in the Western Conference coming? The point guard play of Chris Paul has been outstanding, and stands as the main reason why the Hornets are where they are right now. Paul has joined the likes of Allen Iverson and Steve Nash as one of my favorite players watch with the ball. Even when he's not shooting well, he can still get to any place on the court he wants, and he does it with a certain flare that only great point guards possess.

Combine that with the fact that Tyson Chandler has continued to build on his breakout season of a year ago and developed into a very formidable big man and you've got one pretty unstoppable duo. Byron Scott has gotten the most out of his role players and even though I don't think they will finish the season with the best record in the conference, their play to this point has been both the most surprising and most impressive.

Best Performance by a Coach

Nominees
Byron Scott
Nate McMillan
Doc Rivers
Phil Jackson

And the winner is ... Phil Jackson!

First of all, let me say that Best Performance by a Coach is not the same award as Coach of the Year. I think the Coach of the Year should go to the coach who gets the most wins out of the least amount of talent at the beginning of the season. This season's front-runner is Nate McMillan. That is not the criteria for Best Performance by a Coach, however. To me, the best coaching job this season has been by Phil Jackson.

The reason is because in the past three seasons the Lakers have made a total of one major free agent signing (Derek Fisher) and gotten significantly better using young players that they have developed themselves. Phil Jackson has once again shown that he is a great basketball mind and teacher as he has taken a group of mostly low-talent but high-potential players and force-fed them the triangle offense for four seasons until it finally set in, and now the Lakers look like a machine on offense most nights. Whether it's Kobe scoring 48 like he did in Seattle or 18 like he did in the Denver game on MLK Day, the Lakers can score with any team in the league.

Add that to the fact that Jackson has somehow convinced Kobe to have his most unselfish season yet even amid the trade talks and I'd say that this has been one of Phil's all-time great coaching performances.

Best Team

Nominees
Boston Celtics
New Orleans Hornets
Detroit Pistons
Phoenix Suns

And the winner of tonight's biggest award is ... the Boston Celtics!

No surprise here. Boston is on pace to win 69 games. I'll admit I was skeptical at the beginning of the year, and I still have my doubts as to whether or not they can beat an elite team in a playoff series, but I have to give the Celtics a lot of credit. They have blown away my expectations and have done so in convincing fashion. However, as we've seen in recent years, teams that have the most success at year's end tend to make a significant roster move at some point during the season.

Maybe the C's will bring in a veteran point guard or big man and be the team that makes the best move. Maybe they are content with what they've got and will ride these guys into the playoffs. But rest assured that with buyouts and the trade deadline fast approaching, plenty of teams will get better between now and the end of the season.

Peaking early means nothing if you can't do it again in June. Nonetheless, congratulations to the fast starting Boston Celtics and their win of the First Annual NBA Oscars Best Team award.

Posted by Scott Shepherd at 11:58 AM | Comments (2)

Race and Golf: Let the Discussion Begin

Golfweek editor Dave Seanor lost his job last week over the image of a noose on the controversial cover of the magazine promoting the cover stories about Kelly Tilghman's lynch comment during the Mercedes-Benz Championship. In trying to defend an offense that was clearly worse than the original gaffe because of its premeditation, Seanor said that he made the call in an attempt to stir up intelligent discussion in the fallout of the comment.

While that was probably only part true — the other, larger part was to sell magazine subscriptions — I would like to take Dave Seanor up on his challenge. Since the Tilghman situation occurred, there has been very little in the way of intelligent discussion about race and golf.

White golf columnists have penned in the defense of Tilghman, claiming that she had no latent racist intent and that people should lay off of her. Some African-American columnists — outside of golf — have railed against her and called for her to lose her job. Many have clarified what exactly lynching means, and it does not imply a noose, per se.

Still, outside of defining why African-Americans are enflamed by Kelly Tilghman's slip of the tongue, an intelligent discussion is yet to be had about race and golf. There are so many questions to ask. One may wonder what participation in golf looks like related to African-Americans. Another could ponder why the game still has the stereotype of fatter, richer white men as the main group that play. Those are all questions surrounding the topic of perception and reality in the game of golf. Ultimately, for a sport that has always had a problem of inclusion, has golf made any kind of progress in attracting African-Americans to take up the game and eliminate attitudes of discrimination that have haunted the game for its entire existence?

The question is a two-parter and should be answered as such. Unfortunately, the golf industry does not have a lot of data that points to minority participation in the game. The last significant study conducted about minority participation was done by the National Golf Foundation in 2003. In their report, "Minority Golf Participation in the United States," NGF identifies that minority golfers make up about 15% of all golfers. Of the estimated 37 million golfers in the United States at that time, approximately 5.5 million of them were minorities. To be more specific for our conversation, 2.33 million African-Americans play golf. That is around 7 percent of all golfers.

It should be noted here that the study found that with an increase in income comes a more uniform participation rate among the races. Between 25% and 30% of all people that make more than $150,000 per year play golf. Before any conclusion about race is drawn, then, it must be remembered that a huge factor in determining participation in golf is wealth and ability to afford to play.

Still, the overwhelming majority of people playing the game, regardless of income, are Caucasian. That should give us pause. That data has to be put into some context. After all, only 15% of all white people play golf. The 7% of African-Americans that play golf also equates to the same percentage of total participation among African-Americans. Thus, while 85% of people playing golf are white, golf participation among whites is not spectacularly higher than African-Americans as a percentage of the population of each race.

That may be comforting to a white person looking to show that golf has improved in its willingness to welcome African-Americans to play. The reality, though, is that for every 10 people that go to a golf course, the odds say that one or maybe two of them will be African-American. The rest will likely be white since you cannot have half of a person (Asian-Americans make up about 4% of golfers). That is very telling of a game that still is yet to prove that its makeup can be more like the demographic makeup of the entire country.

To the credit of the game, though, youth involvement among African-Americans is increasing thanks to programs like the First Tee. Funded and sponsored by the golf industry, the First Tee is a program that seeks to encourage young people to take up the game, learn its positive values, and apply them to their lives off of the course. Over the life of its existence, the First Tee has had an exceptional retention rate and its growth has been meteoric. As of the end of 2007, there are 206 chapters of the First Tee nationwide and the program has introduced 1.9 million youths to the game.

That is all well and good, but the main question for our purpose is how many of those 1.5 million cited are African-American? According to the 2006 Annual Review of the First Tee, 20% of kids touched by the First Tee are African-American. Compared to that 7% figure for the total golf population, the First Tee is out in front and getting the game and its positive values to African-American kids. In total, that means nearly 400,000 African-American kids have been introduced to golf thanks to the First Tee. Ultimately, we do not have a lot of data to indicate if they stick with the game into adulthood, but this data presents a great start.

The participation picture ranges from cautiously optimistic to stunningly negative depending on which combination of smoke and mirrors you want to use. With an unclear perspective on playing the game, it may be difficult to know for certain if the game is in fact more inclusive of African-Americans. That means that we have to turn to how the game is perceived and presented in order to give us a clearer picture.

The perception of the game of golf is not good. With the exception of Joe Louis Barrow, CEO of the First Tee, and the world's greatest golfer, Tiger Woods, I would have a tough time naming for you incredibly prominent African-Americans in golf either in terms of the industry or public perception. I would add in Jim Thorpe, but not many people know about the Champions Tour. Now that I have eliminated those three choices for your response, answer for me the name of a prominent African-American person in golf. Got nothing? That is the perception of the game of golf.

White men rule the sport. It is that reality that drove Martha Burke wild in her heyday just four short years ago when she openly protested Augusta National's lack of women among their membership. That reality has not changed, but the emphasis has. For this discussion, the male part is not nearly as important as the white part.

The faces of the game, sans Tiger Woods, are all white. The Commissioner of the PGA Tour is white. The LPGA Tour Commissioner, Carolyn Bivens, is white. The incoming President of the USGA is white.

The outgoing President of the USGA, Walter Driver, is a member of prestigious Peachtree Golf Club. Not that anyone knows this, but Peachtree has exactly zero African-American members. It is within the rights of the club to have no African-American members (maybe there have been no African-Americans that have expressed interest in joining), but the fact that the President of the governing body of the game is a member of such club is very striking. More striking is that the USGA had to adopt a policy to exclude clubs from consideration for hosting their championships that lack diversity in their membership. It is hypocritical that is the case, but the policy was not adopted during Driver's tenure. It was done in 1991 after the PGA Championship at all-white Shoal Creek CC in Birmingham, Alabama. So I am saved from talking about another irony of golf.

Even if you had no clue about Walter Driver or even who he is, I am very certain that you know all about Augusta National. Though the membership roster is not public knowledge — nor does it have to be — the estimates for the number of African-American members of the club is limited to a handful. It was not until 1990 and in the wake of the Shoal Creek incident that Augusta National admitted its first African-American member.

The host of the world's most famous golf tournament has a very limited African-American membership. It is well within their rights to do so, but it certainly does not help the perception of the game when the on course history and lore of the Masters is compared to the history of racial isolation at the host club. The tournament organizers that are the face of the Masters and Augusta National are largely southern born, well-off white men. Outside of the discussion of race, there is nothing wrong with being born in the south or being white. Put them together and start talking about race in golf, though, and that quickly can become a subject that those within the game would rather avoid.

Augusta National is not alone, though, and is not alone in its impact on how golf is perceived. Professional golf is not exactly a shining example of racial diversity. Again, name for me any African-American person that plays professional golf. You're going to name Tiger Woods and that is it. Do not underestimate for a second that the greatest golfer in the world is part African-American, but the lack of African-American persons anywhere on the PGA Tour money list works hard against the case that golf has become more inclusionary.

Even still, Woods' perception in the African-American community appears to vary. Bloggers and columnists have railed against Woods' declaration that he is a mix of Asian, white, and African-American gene pools. They want him to actively identify more with being African-American than the other two parts of his genetic makeup. Some have even gone so far to say that Woods is not an African-American athlete. Critics have also scolded Woods for not being out in front on the comment by Tilghman, at least in the way they would want.

Woods, through his agent Mark Steinberg, declared this issue dead almost immediately. That reaction was not what many in the African-American community wanted to hear. Rather, they wanted to hear more along the lines of the reaction of Reverend Al Sharpton, who called for Tilghman's job on CNN air after the incident. Nevermind that he had claimed he had not seen the video or heard the audio of the incident, but it was his declaration that all racism must be purged (even the barely visible kind) that seems to have resonated with at least some African-Americans.

The critique of Woods may be warranted in some fashion as I wish he were more open with his views at times. Still, it is within his right to not speak them and to identify himself more broadly that just one part of who he is. The decision to do that appears to impact the perception that an African-American man is on top of the golf world in almost every conceivable way — sponsorship, on course dominance, and public appearance. That is incredibly telling.

Comments made by Fuzzy Zoeller in 1997 after Woods' first Masters jacket still sting in the realm of race relations. People who have no clue about golf could still tell you about what Fuzzy said. Maybe being named Fuzzy helps recollection of the incident, but the fact that a largely incidental public name is remembered that vividly speaks to the perception of race in golf.

The evidence seems to indicate that African-American people are only a small part of the game of golf, and that even Tiger Woods does not even appear to be helping the issue. That knowledge is not exactly groundbreaking, though. What would be constructive is to understand the reasons for a lack of participation among African-Americans and what can be done about it.

Statistically speaking, African-American people make less money than whites and have a lower rate of college graduation, which impacts earning potential. As with any group of people and golf, if you do not have the means to afford the game, then playing simply is not an option regardless of level of interest. Studies done by the NGF and former USGA Technical Director Frank Thomas indicate that people are driven away by the expensive nature of the hobby. Thus, if the stats indicate that a smaller percentage of African-Americans can afford the game compared to white, we now know at least part of the difference in participation.

Another issue is access to resources. A number of cities in the United States have excellent networks of public courses in both suburban areas and urban centers. Still, transportation can become an issue. In many cities, a high percentage of people do not own cars. That means public transportation is the only way to get to the course. Those networks may not be that attractive for loading and carrying golf equipment to and from the course. For kids in suburbs, they need parental support to drive them to courses in addition to the money needed for greens fees. Without time and the means to make that happen, participation for any group of people — young or old, African-American or white — is difficult.

Then there is always the influence of peers. This is a perpetuating cycle that works against the game, especially when it comes to minorities. People tend to take up hobbies with their friends. That is a fact of life regardless of race. Since less than one in 10 African-American people play golf and participation is skewed to the rich, it could very well be difficult to find golfing buddies to learn the game and play it. If people never even get started, then how could golf take off among African-Americans? Certainly, the First Tee is helping to that end by giving playing partners to youth through their chapters.

By getting them started early, kids can mature into golfers that do not need their friends in order to play. Still, the positive impact of that work will not truly be felt for years.

The issues of time, money, and resources, though, are issues that cannot be addressed by golf or the golf industry. Certainly, golf courses could offer discounted fees to kids (and do), and niche companies could introduce solid equipment at reasonable prices. Still, anything beyond that is either clearly bigoted in some fashion or simply will not work. That means that socioeconomic conditions have to change in order for participation among African-Americans to change for the better. It is a larger societal issue that impacts participation.

The golf industry does not help itself, though. With faces that are almost all white and male, the perception that golf is a sport that anyone can enjoy and even succeed in does not exist. The industry is also so widespread and scattered that golf cannot collectively make a conscious decision to make diversity a priority. Organizations — clubs and professional tours in particular — need to make individual decisions that best promote the game to all people in their communities. Not only does that mean encouraging people to play golf, but it also means examining and exorcising the demons of racial exclusion in the sport. Golf may not be able to fix its own problem, but it certainly can go a long way toward being ready when the things it cannot control are fixed.

Posted by Ryan Ballengee at 11:17 AM | Comments (0)

January 22, 2008

End of an Era, Beginning of Another?

The names seem to be changing rather quickly these days. Take a look at the players on the ATP or the WTA Tours having a great Australian Open and you will see a host of very young, very eager, and very talented players. On the women's side, you will find Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic, Anna Chakvetadze, Agnieszka Radwanska, Marion Bartoli, Agnes Savay, and Sybill Bammer. On the men's side, you find Novak Djokovic, Marin Cilic, Janko Tipsarevic, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and Philipp Kohlschrieber.

Gone from the Australian Open already are Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Roddick, Fernando Gonzalez, Marat Safin, and David Nalbandian. Losing women included Nadia Petrova, Amelie Mauresmo, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Serena Williams —Aall tour veterans who have been in the news for several years. None of them over the age of 28, and most in their early to mid-20s. The fall of "tour veterans," despite their young age, is becoming the rule more then the exception. Jelena Jankovic thoroughly outplayed Serena and has been at the top of the women's game for a year now. Andy Roddick leaving a big tournament at or before the quarterfinals is already not a big surprise. Has the new generation arrived?

Yes, King Roger Federer is still around, and so too is Maria Sharapova. Venus Williams, Daniela Hantuchova, and James Blake are also still playing. I'm seeing a trend though, and the "older" players more and more are losing early or more often. The game is changing quickly, maybe the quickest it ever has in its history. It doesn't seem that long ago, though I know it is, that players like Ken Rosewall, Rod Laver, John Newcombe, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, and Jana Novotna came up and played top-flight tennis for years. Even when these players were in their 30s, it was a surprise when they didn't reach at least the semifinals of a major tournament.

So why is it that I'm not surprised to see even Andy Murray out early? Listening to Pam Shriver talking about the Serena Williams loss you would think the number one seed lost. I don't know why, because Jankovic was seeded third and Serena seventh. The higher seed won. Should be that way. Maybe my colleague Pam can't believe that the Williams Era is over.

It's the time of the Serbs, the Croatians, the Russians, and the Polish. It's not rocket science. The players of this new generation are physically and emotionally talented. The pure brute force of the Williams' sisters just doesn't translate like it did just a few years ago. The one-dimensional power game of Roddick just can't stand up to the quick, well-rounded games of the newer men. The players are beginning to catch up to the racquet technology, as well.

The Australian Open has traditionally showcased a new player to the game. This year, though, the new surface in Australia was supposed to be more player-friendly than the old, rubbery Rebound Ace, and slightly faster. It was supposed to be the surface that allowed the top seeds and vets to reach the rounds their rankings and seeds said they should. Overall injuries are down, but the results couldn't have been more unexpected. The new court surface became the great equalizer. It has made it clear to see that younger players with more complete games and better skills can compete and win. I don't want to call it parity, because it still isn't that.

In just a few years, the game has changed dramatically. Tennis is truly the international game, and as the political and financial climate has changed, so too the top of the game of tennis. The age of pure power and athleticism is over. American dominance is a thing of the past. The Williams/Roddick period has come to an end. All hail the rest of the world.

Posted by Tom Kosinski at 11:09 AM | Comments (1)

Better Late Than Never: Thornton's Ascent

Guy Lafleur, Mario Lemieux, Mats Sundin, Mike Modano, Ilya Kovalchuk, Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby: all first overall draft picks implicative of hockey greatness. But few players in history have the elite distinction of sharing a record with Wayne Gretzky and Super Mario. Fewer players drafted first overall were marketed as a franchise-player for seven years, then traded early in a season while leading their team in scoring. And only one has turned such a transaction into an Art Ross and Hart Memorial Trophy (top scorer and MVP, respectively) in a single season: Joe Thornton, 2005-2006.

And that Gretzky/Mario comparison? In the past two seasons, no player has had more assists than Thornton. Including Thornton ('05-'06 and '06-'07), they are the only three players to notch consecutive 90+ assist seasons. With 716 points in 719 games, Thornton is gaining on one of the most impressive stats in hockey: a point per game career average, and he's only a multiple-point game away from it. After 47 games — just over half way through the season — and 56 points (15g, 41a), this year Thornton's on pace to average more than a point per game in five of his last six seasons. Impressive for a guy many thought wouldn't develop into a first line caliber center.

In the December 12, 2005, issue of Sports Illustrated, less than two weeks after Big Joe was dealt to from the Boston Bruins to the San Jose Sharks for forwards Marco Sturm and Wayne Primeau and defenseman Brad Stuart, writer Michael Farber was quick to confront the growing notion of Thornton as another underachieving number-one draft pick. "[There] is a sense among some GMs that while indisputably a first-rate center, Thornton, the top pick in the 1997 draft, won't ever make the leap from being a good player to one of the league's elite," argued Farber. "Thornton, whose Boston teams won one postseason series during his tenure, was eviscerated in the media while being held pointless as Boston blew a three-games-to-one lead against Montreal in the first round of the 2004 playoffs."

The 28-year-old, London, ON native has proceeded to silence his critics, emerging as one of the finest forwards in the league. His ability to dictate the tempo of a game with his debilitating puck control and flawless passing is contemporarily legendary. Thornton's line mate during his abridged first season with the Sharks, Jonathan Cheechoo — a winger known more for his funny last name than for his game — won the Rocket Richard Trophy for most goals in a season (56). Thornton's impact? Cheechoo's highest goal tally had been 28, just a season before Thornton's arrival. In six months skating beside Thornton, Cheechoo doubled his single-season goal production. It's true, as John Glennon of The Tennessean wrote two years ago, "more often than not, what Thornton begins, Cheechoo finishes." (In those 58 games, 38 of Cheechoo's goals originated from the blade of Thornton's stick.)

Thornton has evolved into the type of forward that makes the players around him better. The doubts have turned into accolades. Referring to the 6'4", 235-pound center's effectiveness in San Jose's 2006 playoff series against Nashville, Predator Brendan Witt was quick to acknowledge the threat. "The more time and space [Thornton] has, the more he can make plays," he remarked. But, this may not be entirely coincidental.

At the time of his trade, and despite inking a three-year, $20 million contract in the previous offseason, Thornton's tolerance for Boston's front office was festering. After taking a pounding in the press following the Bruins' implosion in the first-round of the 2004 playoffs, Thornton was quick to comment once he left town. "You see other GMs sticking up for their players," Farber quotes Thornton. "[This is] the way the Bruins do business. You come to expect it." Thornton, he continues, contended that his rapport with Bruins management had been unstable from the beginning. (This presents an entirely different set of questions, like why Thornton signed a multi-year extension if that relationship was so turbulent.) But much like Randy Moss upon his arrival to the 2007 New England Patriots, a fresh environment can quickly rejuvenate a player's perspective, and regenerate his performance.

How crucial is Thornton's contribution? Consider that in the past two and a half seasons, including his 23 games with Boston in '05-'06, Thornton has only been held pointless in 55 of 210 games. He has scored a goal or an assist — often times several of each — in almost 75 percent of his games since the opening face-off of 2005. So far this season, Thornton's 56 points is close to double Milan Michalek's 29, the Sharks' second leading scorer. Driven by his dominant performance, the Sharks' success rests considerably on Thornton's health. If he goes down, so does his team.

After a slow start this year, San Jose now sits third in the Pacific Division (57 pts) and Thornton is 11th in league scoring (second in assists behind Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby who has 63). The Sharks were expected to advance deep into the playoffs the past two seasons. They were eliminated in the Conference Semifinals in those two postseasons, but Thornton earned a fraction of "redemption," according to coach Ron Wilson, by getting a pair of playoff series victories under his belt. Thornton is essential to the Sharks' success, and the potential that has yet to materialize. If they continue playing as they have, those expectations will merely expand.

There is no doubt Cheechoo (7g, 7a) and San Jose captain Patrick Marleau (8g, 15a) have struggled this season, with a collective 37 points between them. And defensively, Thornton is flexing a +11 amid the team's -24. But the Sharks' consistence among the league's top five (well, sort of, the Sharks are in a four-way tie for fifth in the NHL as of this post) reveals that the fruits of Thornton's labor have disseminated more evenly down the bench. This is what makes Joe Thornton one the top players in the NHL. In this case, he's emulated the Great One: when faced with slumping teammates, he still finds a way to score.

But after a recent goalless drought that began on December 15 and stretched 15 games, asked before the sixteenth game if the streak was starting to agitate his approach, Thornton coolly replied, "I'm not that worried about it." That simple phrase illustrates his demeanor towards the game. Thornton is focused on furthering the Sharks' recent success. He had an active points streak and, more importantly, his team was (is) winning. Was he somewhat concerned? Probably, but he wasn't sweating the insignificant. He still finds a way to carry his team — an affirmation that Joe Thornton is one the NHL's premier stars.

That night, he scored.

Posted by Jeff DiNunzio at 11:03 AM | Comments (0)

January 21, 2008

The Psychology of Eli's Transformation

In the wake of a surprisingly competitive 120 minutes (and some change) of football, few things are as obvious to the masses as the stunning absence of the Manning we've come to know over the past several years. No, I'm not talking about the venerable Peyton — who's Colts were ousted from the postseason a full week earlier than public opinion will have had them been beaten. While he certainly was noticeably absent from championship weekend's contests, there is a more significant Manning missing from the games these days: Eli.

While in body and name, Eli is alive and well. We see that number 10 jersey in all the Giants games as do we see the mid-week interviews with that glib "I know something you don't" half-smile and that barely audible Louisiana drawl. But the Manning we see dropping back and chucking passes downfield in these playoffs is very different than the overmatched kid with gigantic expectations and monumental meltdowns that we've come to read about on the sports pages of all those New York City-based publications.

Looking back on a 2007 season that most would consider to be a less-than-ideal representation of his work, we see the games that made us scratch our collective heads in contemplation over how we all could have been so wrong in anointing this guy a superstar-in-waiting — 35-of-62, 367 yards, 2 TDs, 3 INTs, 1 fumble lost in a two-game span against division rivals Washington and Philly (both wins, by the way); 8-of-22, 59 yards, 1 fumble lost in a 13-10 win over lowly Miami across the pond; a 21-49, 4 interception performance in a Week 12 loss against Minnesota; that Week 16 game against Buffalo that, while ending in a win for the G-Men, many figured to be the final nail in the coffin for Eli as New York's resident QB of the future (7-of-15, 11 yards, 2 INTs, 5 fumbles).

Truth be told, the bookend games against Dallas Week 1 and New England Week 17 (which saw Eli hit on 68 percent of his passes for a total of 8 touchdowns) belie his overall season stats, which would have been considered average if your last name was Kitna, never mind that it is Manning.

But if you happened to watch that game against New England in the season's final week, you would have seen something stunning happen before your eyes. The young man seemed to "get it" — finally. That look of bewilderment that had been famously flaunted on many a NYC publication was replaced with an unmistakable look of determination. Those throws that floated over receivers' heads or came one second two late were no where to be found, replaced with pinpoint strikes thrown under duress and into coverage. The thinking was gone, replaced with innate instincts and the result was very, very good. This is, for those of us that watched the kid play in college, the Eli we thought the Giants would be getting on that famed draft-day trade.

Pressure does different things to different people. I once knew this kid — a classmate of mine — that could shoot a basketball better than anyone I'd ever met. It didn't matter where he shot from – 15, 20, even 25 feet out — nothing but net, one shot after another. He could dribble, too. And he had this intensity when you played him in a pickup game that was nearly unmatchable; he just couldn't be stopped when he went full out. But once you put even one man, woman, or child in the stands watching, his tent would fold. He'd fade back to average; sure, he would still hit a long jumper or two when he felt bold enough to let those shots fly, but he was so good in practice or on the street that it was stunning how little he contributed come game day.

Likewise, Eli was always known as a very self-assured little fella. Some called him cocky and arrogant, but most everyone acknowledged that the kid felt that he had all the talent he needed and the know-how required to use that talent. He could make every throw and just saw things others didn't see ... people tabbed him as amazing even back in his high school days ... the best of all the Mannings, they'd say. These types of folks are used to hearing how good they are. However, the moment that first question comes about their talent, the crossroads are reached.

Some (Michael Jordan, for example) take the bull by the horns, let their instincts take over, and go full throttle to that next level. Others, like my school buddy, fade to the back, preferring to blend in than to be made an example of. A very select few, for better or for worse, thrive to reach that next level struggle with how to get there because they are so used to doing the right thing without every really knowing what the "right thing" is. This is Eli's predicament.

As Eli was questioned as a rookie and beyond, he thought about those things he did to become the robotic precision passer many had him pegged as coming out of school. Shorten your stride, look off the safeties, square your shoulders, don't be tricked by those pro defenses — all these thoughts and more have cluttered the kid's brain over his first four seasons.

During that Buffalo game, it got so bad that he could no longer figure out the problem. He poured over film, thought through his mechanics, made the right read on the defenses ... what was going wrong? All those believers that said "wait and see" now couldn't be seen. He was on that island of self doubt that strands so many and he had to make a decision on how he wanted to move forward ... maybe he needed more film, maybe he had to think through his issues even further, maybe he wasn't as good as he thought he was.

Then came that New England game; no pressure to win for the fans, no need to worry about Monday's headlines, just a chance to play for pride with his teammates. They were playing the undefeated Pats, nobody gave them a shot, so just go out there, have fun, and sling it like you used to do, no worries.

And there it was, out of nowhere, the secret to his success. Those darts he threw in the face of blitzing safeties and linebackers were a thing of beauty. The drive he led his team on just before half-time was a clinic in leadership and efficiency. The scramble to his right followed by the laser thrown into coverage for a TD to Plaxico Burress was something we'd be hard-pressed to see Peyton do. This Eli played with a looseness we'd never seen before. He looked good and, more importantly, looked like Eli, not some robo-QB with steady mechanics and an almost annoying deliberation in the pocket.

Expectations had been lifted long enough for him to realize he was his own worst enemy. The moment popular opinion gave up on Eli was the very same moment that Eli realized that all he had done to this point in his career was done in an effort to fit the mold he had been cast into by that very same public opinion, and he had lost himself along the way. He went into that Pats game under-prepared and uncluttered with worry — and it worked out just fine. Liberated and free, he finally got a chance to see that he was the talent he'd always known he was and it didn't take the preparation that his brother has become renowned for ... and you know what, that's not a bad thing.

From here on out in Eli Manning's career, there will be bumps and there will be straight-aways. He'll have his good days and he'll have his bad; that is the nature of the beast. He seems to have a better handle on his own destiny these days, more control over those good and bad times. He has seemed to have rediscovered his past, realizing that what he could do is far greater than what he should do. He learned about a thing called over-preparation, which is a malady only the truly gifted have to deal with — all those thoughts getting in the way of instincts. He plays the game for his teammates and for himself now rather than for his fans or for his critics.

The irony is Eli's transformation will only be complete if he finishes what he started on that chilly Sunday at the end of the regular season against the world's greatest team, only this time he'll have to do it under pleasant Arizona skies against that very same world's greatest team and with the whole world watching.

Expectations be damned, he'd be best suited to go out there, have fun, and sling it like he used to.

You see, once you find yourself, you have nothing to lose.

Posted by Matt Thomas at 2:55 PM | Comments (1)

January 18, 2008

Bayou Bliss in '07, Bulldog Blitz in '08?

As the confetti fell and the fans in purple and gold celebrated wildly with LSU's 38-24 dominance of Ohio State in the Allstate BCS Championship Game, there was still a feeling of uncertainty as associated with this time of year. Once again, the Bowl Championship Series put two teams together in the championship game where there was much doubt if they belonged. The whispers of support for a playoff system became even louder when Georgia school president Michael Adams proposed an eight-team playoff to determine the FBS's national champion.

Adams does have a dog in the fight (no pun intended) as Georgia closed out its 2007 season as the hottest team in the nation, winning its last seven games, including a 41-10 thrashing of Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl. Be that as it may, Georgia, USC, Oklahoma, Missouri, and perhaps Kansas all sat on Monday and watched the Bayou Tigers take down the Buckeyes for the national title. Each of these teams provides intrigue heading into recruiting and next season. Here's a look at the early favorites to compete for heralded crystal football in 2008.

1. Georgia

The only thing more promising for the Bulldogs than their seven-game winning streak to end 2007 is that 17 starters that will be back in 2008. Mark Richt has brought Georgia back to the elite and had his team playing better than anyone in the last half of the season. Some can argue that it was the 'Dawgs, and not the Tigers, that were the SEC's best.

On offense, Matthew Stafford returns as a third year starter with Mohomed Massaquoi as his top target. Rising sophomore sensation Knowshon Moreno brings 1,334 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns to the backfield to give Georgia balance on offense. There is a road game at Arizona State on Sept. 20 that will be difficult and midseason games against LSU and Florida, but if the Bulldogs maintain their momentum from last season, it should be no surprise to see them in Miami on the second week of January.

2. USC

The Trojans did it again. This time, Illinois was the victim in the Rose Bowl. For the third time in five years the Trojans wowed the country with a dominating performance over a Big Ten opponent. The talent at USC is evident, but there are a few questions. John David Booty and tight end Fred Davis are among the notables leaving on offense. On defense, DL Sedrick Ellis, Lawrence Jackson, and possibly LB Rey Maualaga leave as the heart of the defense.

However, the Trojans are loaded and will have talent and depth at each position soon to be open. Junior Mark Sanchez, who filled in for Booty this year, is the odds-on favorite to take over as the Trojans' signal-caller, but Arkansas transfer Mitch Mustain will challenge for the job in the spring. Talented sophomore Joe McKnight and backfield mate C.J. Gable will head up a stacked core of running backs, while Patrick Turner returns to lead the receiving corps and an additional Razorback transfer, Damien Williams, will be opposite Turner on the field. Tough non-conference games wait at Virginia to start the season, and the mighty Buckeyes head to the Coliseum for what will be a highly anticipated matchup. Arizona State, Oregon, Cal, and Notre Dame head to L.A. this season in a favorable home schedule.

3. Oklahoma

Sam Bradford hopes to avoid the sophomore slump in leading the Sooners to be the favorite in the Big 12 in '08. After setting the FBS record for touchdown passes by a freshman in a season, Bradford will not have his big-play target Malcolm Kelly, who opted for the NFL draft. He will have leading receiver Juaquin Iglesias returning to Norman. Allen Patrick leaves at running back, but promising freshman Demarco Murray may carry the load after 764 yards and 13 TDs in his rookie season. The defense will need to improve, but with Bob Stoops as head coach, that unit will look to bounce back from their embarrassment against West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl. Now if only Stoops can get his team to win a bowl game in January again.

4. Florida

The Gators' offense showed the full potential of the spread offensive Urban Meyer envisioned when he first came to Gainesville. The defense, however, let them down in games against LSU, Georgia and Michigan. The unit is talented and full of youth that will learn from their miscues in '07, despite losing DE Derrick Harvey to the NFL. Markihe Anderson and Joe Haden should improve as the starting CBs. On offense, Tim Tebow should have USC transfer Emmanuel Moody to give him the threat at running back the Gators so desperately needed last season. Andre Caldwell departs the receiving corps, but back are Cornelius Ingram (if he does not declare for the draft) and virtuoso Percy Harvin to give the returning Heisman winner plenty of options in the passing game. Also in their favor: Florida plays nine of its 12 regular season games in the Sunshine State.

5. Missouri

Forget that Missouri blew a chance to play in New Orleans for the national championship against Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game. The Tigers were 11-0 against all teams not in crimson and white and had an impressive showing in a 38-7 demolishing of Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl. Chase Daniel returns as an early Heisman favorite, and freshman All-American Jeremy Maclin is sure to continue to turn heads as one of college football's premier playmakers.

Losing leading rusher Tony Temple, who had a huge game in the Cotton Bowl, and All-American Center Adam Spieker, will be tough. However, the Tigers will not play Oklahoma, Texas A&M, or Texas Tech next year, and if they can get past an improved Illinois team in St. Louis to begin the season, they could begin a fast start to the season to make a claim in the top 3 of the rankings.

***

Missing from the list most notably are defending champion LSU Tigers and the runner-up Ohio State. Gone from this years championship team is All-Americans Glenn Dorsey and Craig Steltz, WR Early Doucet, and most importantly the reliable Jacob Hester and steady Matt Flynn. With Keiland Williams taking over at running back and Ryan Perrilloux the choice to take the snaps, the Tigers' offense should not suffer. If their defense can replace the playmakers in Dorsey and Steltz, the SEC race will be fun to watch.

Ohio State will have both starting receivers back in Brian Hartline and Brian Robiskie. Todd Boeckman will look to improve on his solid season in '07 and Chris "Beanie'" Wells may be the best running back in the country. The defense will lose pass rush specialist Vernon Gholston, but will be boosted by the return of DB Malcolm Jenkins and All-American LB James Laurinaitis. Add to the equation a projected monster recruiting class and the Buckeyes could keep the Big Ten trophy in Columbus for '08.

Of course, if 2008 is anything like 2007, this list could be shaken up. Here's to a great 2007 and preparation for recruiting and Signing Day 2008.

Posted by Brian Cox at 11:19 AM | Comments (3)

Something Different to Do in 2008

When the year begins, one of my favorite activities is to grab the ATP and the WTA calendar and chalk down my predictions, decide which tournaments I can fit into my schedule to attend. I usually go further and write an article full of predictions for the year. This time around, I decided to point out some lesser known events, ones that you will not read about much in the general media coverage.

One bit of advice: if you decide to attend any of these events, try not to be a typical tourist. Get involved with the local people, talk to the workers at the events, as local workers of the events can give you much better tips than the most accomplished tourist guide. I would be more than happy to provide details and contact information to local people and point him/her in the right direction in order to have the best experience possible.

The obvious choice would be the Australian Open, the most fan-friendly Slam of the year. But if you live in that part of the world, and your schedule allows it, you should consider the Gallipoli Youth Tennis Cup (GYTC) to be held at Melbourne Park on April 19-24. As the name indicates, it is an ITF junior event, but its meaning and the people involved in its organization separates it from many other calendar ITF junior events.

The Australian Open's Director, Tennis Australia's Director of Player Development and the former NCAA Men's Tennis Team Champions University of Illinois' Head Coach Craig Tiley announced the tournament to the press, along with representatives of the Australian Turkish Business and Industry Mehmet Ali Karamemis and Umit Oraloglu. Another big name involved in the event is Pat Cash, who will act as the Ambassador of the historical event.

Why so many big names involved, and why is it historical? Gallipoli was the key battle during World War 1, in which Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, and France lost many soldiers battling the Turkish forces. A movie has been made on the historical battle in 1981 called "Gallipoli," directed by acclaimed director Peter Weir, starring Mel Gibson. There is also a commemoration day on April 25th of each year in Australia to honor the fallen soldiers of this period called the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (Anzac) Day. Oraloglu, who has been involved in the organization of the event since its nascent days, has informed me that there will be several junior players from Turkey also participating in the event.

I have always enjoyed watching big ITF junior events and seeing some future champions such as Stefan Edberg, Thomas Muster, and Andre Agassi before they became household names. It is a challenge to predict as you watch these juniors to see which ones could possibly become top-20 players in the following three years. I guessed it right with Muster and Agassi, but I missed it badly with Edberg at the time. That was my first honest confession of 2008!

Another lesser-known event, but one that finds itself on the WTA Tour calendar, is the Palermo WTA event on July 7-13. It is one of the smaller events on the WTA calendar, the atmosphere in the tournament is very intimate, and the beautiful town of Mondello is only a few minutes away from the tournament site. If you like culture, Palermo, only 20 minutes away from the tournament site, is one of the most interesting cities in Italy from a historical point of view. It is culturally different than the rest of Italy, as is the rest of Sicily, and everything from food to architectural tendencies show various influences of past cultures of this island in the very southern tip of Italy.

As to the tournament, I watched Agnes Szavay win her first major WTA title and begin her climb to a top-20 position by the end of the year. The venue is small, therefore you get to see the action up close, and the crowd is very passionate, especially if there is local flavor in the match. The surface is clay, most major European clay court specialists participate in the tournament before they start making their way to United States for the U.S. Open Series.

Finally, squeezed between two Masters Series event and Kremlin Cup, the ATP Basel Indoors event in Switzerland will offer perks for a small tournament that makes it worthwhile. One of the most picturesque towns in central Europe, Basel is the third largest city in Switzerland, whose habitants usually speak at least two or three languages either fluently or at least proficiently. Many fantastic sites to visit are within a short and comfortable train ride from the city, but if you choose to remain in Basel, the city offers the visitor some wonderful restaurants and some smaller art-oriented cultural events.

Once again, the atmosphere is more intimate than bigger tournaments during that period. It's held October 20-26 indoors, the surface is carpet. World number one and Basel native Roger Federer plays it every year and that alone may be worth the price of the ticket.

As I have mentioned in the beginning of the article, any reader whose interest is peaked by this article can feel free to contact me for more information. Believe me, you will not regret any of these trips, and you might just start making this kind of trip an annual habit as this writer has done for many years.

Posted by Mert Ertunga at 11:12 AM | Comments (2)

January 17, 2008

NFL Weekly Predictions: Conf. Championships

Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.

San Diego @ New England (-14)

New England's quest for the perfect season continues with a date with the Chargers in a rematch of last year's divisional playoff game, a dramatic 24-21 Patriot win in San Diego. It was a heartbreaking defeat for the Chargers, who had to stomach the spectacle of the Patriots celebrating on the Chargers mid-field logo.

"As I recall," says Bill Belichick (Magnet), "LaDainian (Uncle) Tomlinson accused me of having no class. Well, L. (B.L.) T. is right. I have no class. I have three rings, and none of them are 'class' rings. In Tomlinson's house, even the phones have no rings. Prince Albert has more hardware than L.T. All joking aside, we realize that most people want to see us fail. Well, you're either with us or against us. And if you're against us, then you're simply not Patriotic. So, essentially, the 1972 Dolphins support terrorism.

"In any case, we won't take the Chargers lightly, although we should. San Diego gave up 402 yards passing and forced only one punt against the Colts. That has to have Tom (Slim) Brady and Randy Moss (-ed Salad) salivating. Sure, the Jaguars held Moss to only one catch, but that was at the expense of Wes (We Have No Bananas) Welker's nine catches and Ben (Elementary My Dear) Watson's two touchdowns. Randy's been playing decoy lately, so I think we'll let him work underneath on Sunday."

"Normally," says Moss, "the only slant route I run is a trip for Chinese takeout. But if that's what coach wants me to do, I'll do it. If one catch results in a 31-20 win, then so be it. It's interesting that making one catch for the 16-0 Patriots means I was covered, while one catch for the 3-12 Raiders means I'm lazy. Coach Belichick has made me appreciate the skill it takes to block downfield. Who knew that pushing off had dual purposes: blocking and getting open?"

Norv (Trick) Turner vanquished the NFL's model of decency, the fair and good Tony Dungy, in the Chargers somewhat surprising 28-24 win over the Colts in Indianapolis. Now, Turner's attention turns to eradicating the NFL's resident evil, the cold and calculating Belichick, the man who severs ties with former colleagues with the same dull and uneven cutting manner used on the sleeves of his ratty, hooded sweatshirts. With the Patriots opening as a decided favorite, Turner and the Chargers know it will take a nearly perfect performance to strike down New England and avenge last year's playoff loss, as well as Week 2's 38-14 defeat in Foxboro.

"Let's not take anything away from Belichick," says Turner. "Sure, he's only a slightly better dresser than Nick Nolte in a mug shot, but he knows football, and he's certainly a master game-planner. And, contrary to popular belief, he doesn't have cloven hooves, nor does he have a mysterious '16-0' mark on his scalp. Of course, you can't believe every insane claim made by Gregory Peck, who has to be the biggest homer ever for the 1972 Dolphins. Look, another dead guy pulling against the Patriots. Atticus! Atticus!

"Anyway, to advance to the Super Bowl, we'll have to be flawless, much like I was when I shredded every single note to 'Michael, Row the Boat Ashore' and 'As T.O. Gently Weeps' on 'Guitar Hero,' or when I raised the price of a barrel of oil to $150 and forced Americans to buy $4.00 per gallon gasoline, which results in a perfect score on the Middle East's hottest new video game, 'Qatar Hero.' As for the Patriots offense, primarily we need to make Brady uncomfortable in the pocket. That means we have to hit him as often as we can, or just once, if it knocks him out of the game. I don't want to say there's a bounty on Brady, but I've already wired some upfront money to Shawne (Robin Hood and His Band of) Merriman's offshore account in the Cayman Islands."

The Chargers gave up their share of yards to the Colts, but each of those yards came with a cost. The San Diego secondary laid hit after hit on Indy receivers, and once hit Reggie Wayne so hard that Terrell Owens cried. If Peyton Manning can have his way with the Charger secondary, then Brady certainly can. I mean, really, if you can have your way with a Brazilian supermodel, then taking advantage of Drayton (The Flashpoint of the L.A. Riots Was the Intersection of) Florence (and Normandy), Quentin Jammer (I Hardly Knew Her), and Marlon (Nanny) McCree should be no problem. Antonio (Eat) Cromartie will likely get Moss duty, and hope that a temporary restraining order placed on completions to Moss will be effective. The key for the San Diego backfield will be pounding the Patriot receivers with big hits after catches and hopefully forcing fumbles, or at least intimidating Moss, Walker, and cronies into some easy tipped passes for interceptions. Moss has been known to get "alligator arms," and, on those occasions, he often sheds "crocodile tears."

San Diego can't win this game without forcing a few turnovers, a few huge special teams plays, and some serious pressure on Brady. They may pull off one of those, but all three? Doubtful. Belichick has a scheme for every situation, including planting someone to run on the field in a Colts jersey to be creamed by a Patriot, as the crowd boos, then cheers. See, it pays to be a 14-year-old girl in a Patriots jersey in the RCA Dome. Crybaby. Belichick reaches into a hat and pulls out the name of the player who will be the star of the game. It's Kevin Faulk, who catches a touchdown pass and has 103 total yards. Donte (Two Carolina Panther Cheerleaders in a) Stall (Is) Worth (Another Look) adds a score. New England wins, 31-16.

NY Giants @ Green Bay (-7)

The celebration in Green Bay began on Saturday, after the Packers beat the Seahawks 42-20, and continued well into Sunday, culminating when the final gun sounded in the Giants 21-17 over the top-seeded Cowboys. That New York win gift-wrapped a home-field conference championship game for the Packers, and they'll host the G-Men on Sunday in frigid Green Bay.

"It may be too early to do the 'Super Bowl Shuffle,'" says Favre, "but now is the perfect time to do the 'Curly Lambeau Shuffle.' Talk about a home-field advantage. With temperatures forecast to be like a Vince Young Wonderlic score, in the single digits, we feel like we have the upper hand. Like well-diggers' asses, or witches' titties, we feel right at home in that temperature. More importantly, we don't have to hear any more about Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson's Mexican escapade, or Terrell Owens' bad ankle. The last time an ankle in Dallas got this much publicity, Nate Newton was being taken away in shackles. And what's the big deal about Romo and Simpson? No one made a big deal when I crossed the border with a beauty with a nice rack. Of course, I was just returning from Saskatchewan with an eight-pointer, but, nevertheless, it wasn't news, despite the fact that we shared a hotel room for the night.

"As for the Giants, who would have thought it would have been Eli Manning, and not Peyton, standing in the way of a Tom Brady/Brett Favre Super Bowl? Actually, I'm less concerned with Eli than with the New York defensive line. Michael (His Wife's Gone A-) Strahan is the second-most dangerous gap-toothed threat to my security, right behind Condoleeza Rice, and (My) Osi (Weighs a Ton) Umenyiora, well, that name alone sounds like something I should run from, or at least wear protection to prevent."

The Giants will try to leave Green Bay with their third-straight road playoff win and a berth in the Super Bowl. So far, the G-Men have done it with their ferocious pass rush and the steady play of Manning, who has been efficient and nearly error free in wins over Tampa Bay and Dallas.

"Of course, it didn't hurt that Tony Romo didn't know how to throw the ball away before taking a sack," says Manning. "His mind was obviously elsewhere, possibly in a daydream about carne asada. But don't cry for him, Argentina, or Terrell Owens. And please, don't tell me that I'm 'coming of age.' That term always reminds me of Disney cartoons, or a heartwarming tale of young acolytes finding manhood, thrust upon them by kindhearted Catholic priests. Anyway, confidence is high. I repeat, confidence is high. I've already received warm wishes of good luck from a cavalcade of New York icons, including Roger Clemens, with whom I discussed 'Rocket Science.' A word of advice when taking to Roger: never say 'inject' when you mean to say 'interject.' And if he says 'B-12,' whatever you do, don't say 'Bingo!'

"It was an odd feeling, though. I felt like I was being secretly audiotaped and videotaped at the same time. Then Eric Mangini walked by and winked. In any case, people have questioned the necessity of winning three consecutive road wins to make the Super Bowl. Well, that's hogwash. We've already won two. We only need one to get to Arizona. Sure, it will be cold in Green Bay, so it will be bad news for players with ice water in their veins. All the players, as well as the fans, will have to deal with many of the same weather-related issues, most notably 'frozen balls.'"

If the Packers can successfully manage the pressure from the G-Man rush, and Favre can clumsily sidestep the heat when protection breaks down, then the Giants are in trouble. That rush, and the sacks, hurries, knockdowns, and smackdowns that accompany it, has taken all the pressure off on the New York secondary. Given sufficient time, Favre can attack as he pleases, with short, intermediate, or long routes to his favorite targets, Greg (Shooter) Jennings and Donald (Hard) Driver. The long passes will be risky, of course, because it's not easy catching a 60 miles per hour Favre pass in five-degree weather. Of course, in the extreme cold, the Pack will try to establish the run with Ryan (Under the Radar) Grant.

The Giants will counter with their own power running game and Brandon Jacobs (Ladder), and their receiving tandem of Plaxico (This Cold Weather Makes Me Say) Burress and Amani (Exchange) Toomer, as well as emerging tight end Kevin (Who's the) Boss (? It's Bruce Springsteen). In the end, the weather, the Lambeau Mystique (a new fragrance by Faberge), and the aggressive Packers defense is too much for the Giants. Much like Foxboro in January was to Peyton Manning, Green Bay become Eli's Waterloo, and Manning faces exile at home for the Super Bowl, while the Lambeau public address system blares the ABBA hit from its speakers as he dejectedly leaves the field. Green Bay wins, 23-14.

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 12:25 PM | Comments (0)

The Valley of Change

At the very top of the college basketball totem pole, things have been exciting, but also, have been according to plan.

Coming into the 2007-08 season, North Carolina, Kansas, UCLA, and Memphis were the consensus top teams in the country, and thus far, have a combined ultra-gaudy mark of 62-1.

Of those four, UCLA and Memphis have each given tour-de-force performances against elite teams. Memphis' came on December 22 in an 85-71 picking apart of Georgetown, while UCLA's came this past Saturday against previously unbeaten Washington State in a not-nearly-as-close-as-it-seemed 81-74 game.

Kansas and North Carolina have each had their share of quality RPI wins and blowouts over less-talented teams, but none have registered as the statement games that UCLA and Memphis have put in.

That being said, I don't think any of these teams will run the table in their conferences and my opinion on the top two teams in the country could very well change by January 20, much less March 20.

After all, the journey and the subsequent the peaks and valleys that come with a 16- or 18-game league schedule is one of the things that makes college basketball great.

One of the overlooked great things about this season in particular has been the Missouri Valley Conference.

Yes, everyone's been talking about The Valley for years now as a great conference, which it undoubtedly is. But this year, the Valley is amazing because the teams that had been consistently in the league's bottom three places have risen up to occupy the league's top three places this season. And yet, still, depending on how you categorize the Atlantic 10, the Valley is the nation's top mid-major conference.

The last time anyone of Drake, Illinois State, and Indiana State finished a season in the Valley over .500 in league play was in 2002 when Illinois State finished 12-6.

This season, with each Valley team having played its fifth game on Saturday, Drake and Illinois State each have unblemished 6-0 records, while Indiana State is 4-1. Illinois State and Indiana State have each beaten the Valley's two NCAA tournament representatives from a year ago in Southern Illinois and Creighton.

The top three owe their success to improvements on defense. A year ago, Drake and Indiana State were the two worst defensive teams in the Valley, allowing opponents to score 1.14 and 1.07 points per possession in conference, respectively. Illinois State gave up 1.05 per possession. All three clubs have turned that number to under one this season. Illinois State and Drake now lead the conference in points allowed per possession with 0.83 and 0.87.

Good defensive teams are hardly anything without scorers, Illinois State has one of the best in the Valley with shooting guard Osiris Eldridge. Eldridge was the Freshman of the Year in the Valley last year and could very well take the step up to full-blown Player of the Year as a sophomore as he is averaging 15.3 points per game and 6 rpg.

Drake's Josh Young is also a top scorer in the Valley, averaging 16.3 ppg, but the sophomore injured his ankle against Indiana State and is out indefinitely. Guard Leonard Houston and forwards Jonathan Cox and Klayton Korver (Kyle's brother) picked up the scoring slack in Drake's win on Saturday against Missouri State and will be expected to in Young's absence.

Indiana State's scoring punch comes in the strength of its three top guards, Marico Stinson, Gabriel Moore, and Harry Marshall. All three average in double figures for the Sycamores.

The three schools, in this election year, are all getting fantastic early returns on coaching hires. At the end of last season, Royce Waltman, who had been at Indiana State for a decade, and Illinois State's Porter Moser were let go by the programs. Dr. Tom Davis, the former Iowa coach, retired as Drake head man last year.

In Des Moines, Davis' son, Keno, took over the Bulldogs and is having results very reminiscent of the success Tony Bennett is currently having at Washington State after taking over for his father, Dick, at the end of the 2005-06 season.

Illinois State hired former Kevin Stallings and Bill Self assistant Tim Jankovich to take over for Moser, while Indiana State went in-conference for their coach, picking Dana Altman assistant Kevin McKenna.

Speaking of Altman, despite the emergence of Drake, Illinois State, and Indiana State to the Valley forefront, the familiar name of Creighton might end up at the top of the Valley heap when the season is over.

The Bluejays are struggling to replace the over 42 ppg that left with Nate Funk, Anthony Tolliver, and Nick Porter and are turning the ball over at a higher rate this season. But freshman guard P'Allen Stinnett and senior forward Dane Watts are both very talented players that could put the team on their backs and lead Creighton to a familiar NCAA tournament slot. The Bluejays will play Drake two times in eight days starting on January 22, and could easily make up the two-game league deficit to the leaders that way.

Southern Illinois and its six consecutive NCAA appearances cannot be taken lightly in the Valley, despite the Salukis already having nine losses and three in conference.

The Valley of this season is simply not as strong as it was two years ago, when six of the 10 teams were in the NCAA tournament picture, with four getting bids.

What we've seen thus far does suggest that this season's Valley could be just as predictable as that year, even if it does result in the league's first one-bid campaign since — guess who — Illinois State did it in 1998.

Posted by Ross Lancaster at 12:07 PM | Comments (1)

The One-Year Dynasty

I've lived in Delaware for about five years now. I live in the more populated Northern portion of the state (the rest of the state is referred to by locals as "slower lower" Delaware). It's part of the Philadelphia media market, so I'm surrounded by Eagles fans, Phillies fans, and Sixers fans. The Philadelphia market, in turn, is a Penn State market collegiately. Makes sense. It's the state's flagship school. It makes less sense for Delawareans to be big Penn State fans, particularly in this day and age. It's not their state's flagship school, and if you need to cheer on a program bigger than the University of Delaware, both Maryland and Rutgers are closer.

I point this out to my native-Delewarean, no-particular-connection-to-the-Commonwealth-of-Pennsylvania Penn State fans, just to good-naturedly needle them for being sheeple and just rooting for who the tee-vee tells them to root for.

But it is what it is. I only explain it because I want to establish that the majority of upper Delaware collegiate sports fans are Penn State fans. This will be important later. Write it down.

I've already written about how this may be the greatest college football season ever, at least if you love upsets.

But this also may be one of the greatest NFL seasons forever, because it has a storyline not seen in 35 years — an undefeated team.

I was born in 1976. Two years later, the NFL went to the 16-game schedule they have today. The 16-game schedule is all I know. It's an ingrained reference point. 10-6 means you are playoff-caliber. 12-4 means you are outstanding. 14-2 or 15-1 means you have the caliber of champions. 16-0 doesn't exist, doesn't compute, has never happened.

Until now, of course. We have a new, strange equation to grapple with. Do we like it?

Depends. I often say that the only good thing that will come of a New England Super Bowl victory and the first 19-0 season is that it will shut up the '72 Dolphins and their insufferable champagne phone call each year when the last undefeated team goes down. No offense to them but, a slight majority of the U.S. population was not alive when they turned their trick, and they did it in a 14-game regular season.

I don't believe the two extra games the Patriots had to play makes their potential feat any more impressive than the Dolphins'. But I do think the 14-game season gives us unfamiliar, unmelodic equations. 12-2, what's that? 10-4? Life has always been divided by 16. Did Red Grange play with you guys?

Every other factor weighs against the Patriots. Some people think Tom Brady is a pretty boy, or Randy Moss is a thug, and of course, Bill Belichick is as warm as Nome. Then there was that whole cheating thing, which cost the Patriots a first round draft-pick and holds as the largest fine ever levied against an NFL coach.

Boston already holds the championship on a major sport, and is the best bet to wrap-up the third sport with the best record in the NBA as of this writing.

I haven't mentioned the less-than-sporting ways they've closed out several of their games, most notably against the Redskins.

So there are lots of reasons not to be behind the Patriots. But the single largest reason is something else.

It has to do with something I write about in this space constantly: the upset. People love them. I certainly love them (I've probably used the David-Goliath metaphor 800 times in this column, and Lord knows I ain't retirin' it), and America loves them, too.

Sometimes I wonder, though, if I overstate America's love for the upset. I actually hear people complain about parity and pine for the Dynasty teams — any sport — of yesteryear. It boggles my mind. Only fans of dynasty teams can enjoy dynasties, no? Apparently not.

On the other hand, consider that every single time the Patriots step on the field now, the prospect of, not just an upset, but a historic upset, presents itself to their opponent. We have never, ever seen a juggernaut like the Patriots, if we aren't pushing 40 at minimum. It's a powerful, exciting thing, and it makes their games exciting. To be sure, the ratings for Patriot games are through the roof.

But are we turning on the TV in numbers we haven't done in years hoping to see history being made, or history being denied? I think I have my answer.

I watched the Patriots' final game of the regular season at a bar here in Delaware. It was a Saturday night, you'll recall, and the place was packed. You also recall that they faced the Giants, the most hated team in the hearts of Eagles fans, save Dallas.

At the same time, Penn State played in the Alamo Bowl against Texas A&M. As I established before (you did write it down as I asked, right?) this is Penn State country. There were three big screens in this bar. One had Penn State on, one had on Patriots/Giants, and one had on a basketball game no one was watching (Pitt/Dayton, for posterity). Several Penn State jerseys were visible in the crowd.

And yet, it was immediately clear that it was the Giants/Patriots game that people truly wanted to watch. Attention only returned to Penn State during commercials.

On the second play from scrimmage, Eli Manning hit Plaxico Burress over the middle for a 52-yard gain for the loathsome Giants.

The whole bar roared with thunderous cheers. Behold the power of the upset, and how it captures our imagination. If the Patriots do hoist the Lombardi trophy, do not be surprised if the University of Phoenix Stadium crowd showers them with boos.

Posted by Kevin Beane at 11:10 AM | Comments (1)

January 16, 2008

10 Ways the Chargers Can Beat the Patriots

In Las Vegas, the New England Patriots are 14.5-point favorites over the San Diego Chargers for the AFC Championship Game on Sunday. I would bet my first-born son that the Chargers will cover that spread. I'd bet both my sons that the Chargers will go so far as to beat the Patriots on Sunday except for two things:

1. My wife would kill me.
2. I don't have children ... or a wife.

Just look at the last seven games for the Patriots. If New England's been poor at anything this season, it's in covering their spreads. Their 31-20 victory over Jacksonville marked the sixth time in the last seven games that they didn't cover their spread. And the one time they did, against Pittsburgh, they only covered by a half-point.

Las Vegas is giving New England far too much credit, especially in a game against a Chargers team that matches up so incredibly well against Tom Brady and Co.

Here are 10 things the Chargers need to (and will) do on Sunday afternoon to beat the Patriots:

1. Get Philip Rivers in a rhythm

He's got the most yards so far in the postseason and I don't care if it's eight-yard outs to Antonio Gates or 30-yard slants to Chris Chambers or playing pitch-and-catch with LaDainian Tomlinson and Michael Turner, passing the ball is the only way to spread a New England linebacking corps that's aging and do precisely what it takes to do to beat the Patriots, which is...

2. Run, run, run as fast (and hard) as you can

This should be number one, but it hinges on Rivers and the Chargers receivers loosening up an overrated New England defense. Any defensive coordinator in the league would love to lean on the legs of Pro Bowler LaDainian Tomlinson and his league-leading 1,474 yards. You've got to outrush the Patriots if you're to have any chance at winning. Don't believe me? Here's every game the Patriots won by four points or less:

November 4th: NE 24, IND 20 — Joseph Addai (IND), 122 yards
November 25th: PHI 28, NE 31 — Brian Westbrook (PHI), 52 yards
December 3rd: NE 27, BAL 24 — Willis McGahee (BAL), 138 yards
December 29th: NE 38, NYG 35 — Brandon Jacobs (NYG), 67 yards

You've got to run and run it often if you're going to...

3. Dominate the time of possession

In all of the above games, the opposing team had at least 28 minutes time of possession. You've got to keep Wonderboy off the field so he has a chance to get cold and you have a chance to...

4. Make interceptions

In the five games where the Patriots won by 10 points or less, Tom Brady threw five interceptions. In the other 11 games? Three interceptions. Combined. Brady's thrown more balls to receivers in the end zone (50) than punter Chris Hanson's has attempts (44). The Chargers have the best intercepting-secondary in the league, taking 30 passes away from opposing quarterbacks. You've got to take chances away from Brady, or at the very least...

5. Hit him and hit him hard

If you can't end a series, end a down. The teams that come the closest to beating the Patriots hit him and hit him hard. The four teams that came within a score of beating them had nine sacks on Brady. The other 12 teams? Twelve sacks combined. The Chargers had the fifth-most sacks in the league (42). It'll be a test for Chargers defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell to get pressure on the least-sacked, least-pressured quarterback in the league. That's why a more realistic goal might be to...

6. Lengthen Brady's field

It's naïve to think Brady won't be on the top of his game on Sunday afternoon. Realistically, the goal should be to win the special teams battles and coach up your kick and punt coverage teams. The Chargers have the sixth-best punt coverage team in the league, limiting returners to 6.5 yards a return, and have the fourth-best kick coverage team in the league, limiting returners to only 19.9 yards a return. Brady always must be on the long field. And Brady has to be throwing to receivers that are being tackled by a Chargers defense that's thinking...

7. Punish the receivers

They're going to catch passes. Wes Welker and Randy Moss have 210 receptions between them. Jabar Gaffney, the fourth-string wide receiver, has 449 yards, a 12.5 YPC average, and 5 touchdowns. The Chargers defense needs to punish Welker, Moss, Donte Stallworth, and Gaffney for every step they take after the catch so that they can...

8. Get into the Patriots' heads

I'm not buying what Bill Belichick is selling. The Patriots are playing under more pressure than any other team. Brett Favre's retirement, Eli Manning proving to New York he was worth the 2004 draft day debacle, Norv Turner silencing his critics — it's all overshadowed by the Patriots' pursuit of perfection. They're under enormous amounts of stress not to blow it and a few big hits might...

9. Show that you're the more physical team

Their defense is overrated and their offense looks like Madden on Easy Mode. Jar some helmets loose, knock out some teeth, and let Shawne Merriman loose. It's Super Bowl or bust. C'mon, Chargers, you need to...

10. Make this a Cinderella season

Norv Turner takes over a 14-2 Chargers team only to lead his team to more losses in the first four weeks than all last season. He's crucified for not using L.T. as much as you should use last year's league-leading rusher and Philip Rivers plays so badly he doesn't look like he should be playing second-fiddle to Drew Brees ... he should be playing third or fourth. Then you turn it around, win the last six of the regular season, physically dominate a physically dominating Tennessee Titans team, and go into the RCA Dome and Billy Volek hands the ball off to Michael Turner for the victory. There's something in the water in San Diego. Bottle it up and send it to Boston, because you'll need every ounce of that glass slipper to...

11. Beat the goddamned Patriots

Yeah, it's 11, but I hate Brady. I hate Belichick. I hate the fact that Patriots aren't looking to just one-up the 1972 Dolphins — they're looking to two-up them, going 19-0 if they win the Super Bowl. Brady & Co. need to be knocked down a couple of notches and I'd rather stop them before they get to the Super Bowl and enjoy a nice win by Brett Favre over the Chargers.

Posted by Ryan Day at 11:59 AM | Comments (69)

Yearning For a Return to the Glory Days

I remember the good old days.

The golden era of the NBA.

I recall with love watching Magic Johnson float a sky hook over the original "Big Three" to steal a playoff game in the Boston Garden, unheard of in the '80s. I remember "There's a steal by [Larry] Bird." I can still hear, "Shot over [Craig] Ehlo ... Good! The Bulls win! The Bulls win!"

Maybe I was spoiled. I started watching the NBA at the greatest time for professional basketball, where arguably the best laced them up and went at it for love of the game, not for their next contract.

As spring turned into summer, my dad and I would sit down and consume the entire NBA Finals. I sat and watched Bird and Magic meet up over and over again. As the '80s turned into the '90s, I watched the "Bad Boys" relinquish their reign, unceremoniously, to Michael Jordan and the Bulls. And as a dynasty unfolded before my eyes, I was treated to Patrick Ewing's Knicks and Jordan's Bulls taking part in some of the best series ever.

Now what?

Free agency and money have taken away the passion that ruled the NBA. The incessant need to protect NBA players with flagrant foul calls has taken the hard foul away from the playoffs. All that's left is a weak imitation of a league I once loved.

The best team in the NBA is a squad with three all-stars and a bunch of other guys. Do you think these guys would have even made the playoffs back in the day? It's true, the NBA now features better athletes, but not better basketball players. If you think this statement is false, I implore you to watch a game from the '80s and watch how everyone played defense, everyone could hit a mid-range jumper, and everyone played team ball.

Obviously, the game changes and the league now reflects that, but worse than that is the state of the proud franchises that once ruled the NBA. Boston, until this year, was in the doldrums. One of the all-time greats, Bob Cousy, was ashamed to wear Celtics Green before the new three revamped the greatest championship franchise in the NBA.

The Lakers have been caught in an undertow of mediocrity since Shaquille O'Neal left town. Their star player, Kobe Bryant, requested a trade this past offseason and many felt General Manager Mitch Kupchak was on his way out. The Lakers no longer sold-out games, and even local media had them pegged for another less than stellar season. Luckily for Los Angeles fans, who pay top dollar to watch a team that has not won a playoff series since 2004, the Lakers are playing well over their head and currently have the top record in the West.

On the other side of the coast, Chicago was rumored to be ready to welcome Bryant to the United Center. For some reason, however, GM John Paxon thought it was a better idea to hold on to Luol Deng, and keep the chemistry that had Chicago reach the playoffs two straight years. That's not the only ridiculous action Paxon has done since Chicago started playing meaningful April games again, however. Paxon paid top dollar for Ben Wallace and then traded away a younger Wallace in Tyson Chandler. He then went and drafted Joakim Noah when there was a pressing need for a low-post scorer and Kevin Garnett itching to come to Chicago. Paxon didn't pull the trigger on two of the top players in this or any generation and now the Bulls are running nowhere.

Over the Christmas Holidays, Paxon fired Head Coach Scott Skiles because he had lost the confidence of his team. Now, Noah has been suspended for actions detrimental to the team. In fact, the players voted to extend his suspension. To top it all off, Chicago is the most underperforming and disappointing team in the NBA at week's end. The Bulls have come a long way from many believing this team was the favorite to win the East this year.

Head further East, and it gets worse. One word: Knicks.

It's been a long time since people in New York could hold their heads high in Madison Square Garden. If Cousy had a hard time showing Celtic pride, imagine what the likes of Clyde Frazier, Willis Reed, and Patrick Ewing are thinking of the current Knicks that get on the court night in and out. The debacle starts from the top and works its way down.

James Dolan has turned the franchise upside down and what Isiah Thomas has done to the Knicks is downright criminal. It started with the Knicks' poor play since Thomas became in charge of creating a competitive team. It got worse when Thomas took over. And it got embarrassing when Anucha Browne Sanders accused Thomas of sexual harassment, and Dolan stood by him. Can you tell me in what other corporate environment would Thomas be allowed to keep his job? It's not like he's doing a great job; the Knicks are terrible.

Then if things could not have gotten worse, Thomas lost all faith and trust of his players.

The Knicks head honcho told Stephon Marbury on a flight to Phoenix that he was no longer the starting point guard. Marbury exploded on the flight, returned to New York the next day missing a game against the Suns. Thomas then told Jamal Crawford to poll his teammates on whether they wanted Marbury to be allowed to play the next night against the Clippers.

The Knicks voted unanimously to bench Marbury.

So Thomas, who called for the vote, played Marbury 34 minutes in the game.

I remember a time when you looked at the paper at any time during March, April, May, or June and you would see Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, or New York at the top of their respective division. Now it seems in this day and age, the only thing we can expect are greedy players, isolation plays at the end of games where everyone stands around and lets one man win or lose, and the fall of the once-great franchises.

I just hope the good old days aren't the last I can remember of good basketball.

Posted by Wailele Sallas at 11:11 AM | Comments (0)

January 15, 2008

NFL Championship Weekend Preview

Over the last week, many people — especially those who work for CBS, FOX, or the NFL, but plenty of others, too — have hyped the second round of the playoffs as "the best football week" of the year. What we actually got was one terrific game, one pretty good game, and a pair of car wrecks.

Seahawks at Packers

This was the first car wreck. After two lost fumbles by Ryan Grant and an early 14-0 Seattle lead, it looked like a blowout, and a blowout was what we got, but the Seahawks were on the losing end. Two or three years ago, Brett Favre might have fallen apart in this kind of game, trying to win everything by himself, right away. Instead, we saw Favre at his best, classic Favre, even, and the Packers won with terrific defense and a record-breaking rushing performance from Grant. Favre and the Green Bay coaching staff deserve a ton of credit for the way they handled the early deficit. Halfway through the third quarter, the Seahawks knew they were beat, and they were just going through the motions, waiting for the nightmare to be over. It made for a boring second half, but the Pack looked terrific. That was probably as fine a coaching job as I've seen all season.

Jaguars at Patriots

This was the terrific game. I hope you'll forgive this when so many people played well, but I can not say enough about the quarterbacks. Tom Brady, after an early coverage sack, was untouchable. He and Peyton Manning are so far ahead of every other quarterback in the game today, I can't think of another time when two QBs have so totally ruled the league. Steve Young and Favre in the late '90s? Dan Marino and Joe Montana in the '80s? John Unitas and Bart Starr in the early 1960s? Sammy Baugh and Sid Luckman? Anyway, having said that, I was also very, very impressed with David Garrard. He had a fantastic season, he had a great game and a valiant effort against New England, and I'll look forward to seeing him run Jacksonville's offense in 2008.

Chargers at Colts

The ugliest game of the weekend. The offenses played well; I'm not sure I've ever seen Philip Rivers look so good. Then again, it's easy to look good when no one is playing defense. San Diego couldn't muster much of anything on defense until halfway through the fourth quarter, but I have seldom seen a unit look as ill-prepared for a game as Indy's defense did on Sunday. I don't know if it was too much time between games, or underestimating their opponent, or just bad coaching and bad play, but it was ugly to watch. Bob Sanders, the AP Defensive Player of the Year, was invisible. The Colts never put any pressure on Rivers. Their linebackers and DBs overpursued, got out of position, sold out on fakes, missed tackles, missed some more tackles, and generally stunk up the joint. San Diego won by virtue of having the less-bad defense, not by playing a great game. Damn, what a stinker.

Giants at Cowboys

I have no complaints about the quality of the game, but it was certainly disappointing to see Tony Romo, after the great season he had, play like Joey Harrington. Actually, Joey doesn't deserve that. He had a pretty decent 2007, and it's probably unfair to use him as a byword for bad quarterback play. I even suspect the Cowboys would have had a better chance with Harrington than with Romo on Sunday. The last quarterback who I saw make so many bad decisions in one game was Eli Manning, but Little Manning was just fine in this game. The Giants' defense got an assist from the Cowboys — how did they ignore Marion Barber in the second half? — but I was hugely impressed by its performance on Sunday. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo should really get some head coaching interviews.

The Crystal Ball

Chargers at Patriots

I underestimated San Diego last week, and I hope I'm not doing it again now, but I don't see the Chargers beating New England next week, and I'll be a little surprised if they keep it close. Forget the injuries — Rivers, LaDainian Tomlinson, Antonio Gates, Luis Castillo, Nate Kaeding — and the Patriots' substantial home-field advantage in frosty Foxborough. Forget the 38-14 beatdown New England threw down on the Chargers earlier this season and last year's Patriot win in San Diego that knocked the Bolts out of the playoffs. The Chargers, talented as they are, don't have the firepower to keep up with New England.

Their defense didn't look good against Indianapolis, and it probably won't look any better against New England's record-setting offense. Jacksonville's personnel dictated the "nothing cheap and nothing deep" strategy that allowed Brady to set a postseason record for single-game completion percentage, and the Chargers won't do that. Their strength is in a strong rush and pressure on the quarterback. The problem for San Diego is that their defensive backs are going to be eaten alive by the Patriots' receivers.

On offense, San Diego's weaponless attack — with Tomlinson and Gates gimpy — isn't likely to do much of anything against New England's defense. The Pats' defensive unit isn't what it once was, and there are vulnerabilities, but it's not going to fall apart the way the Colts' did. I believe New England will win, and win big. Let's say 14 points.

Giants at Packers

Everyone loves Championship Sunday, and I'm looking forward to it as much as anyone, but wouldn't this weekend be more exciting if we had Colts at Patriots and Packers at Cowboys? We've been looking forward to those rematches for a long time, and Colts/Pats has become this almost mythical playoff ritual. Why mention this now? Well, Dallas and Green Bay would be a tough game to handicap. But I believe Green Bay will tear the Giants apart.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but the Giants ran hardly any plays against Dallas; 44 offensive plays in a game is ridiculously low. Their longest drive was eight plays long and ended in a punt. Their time of possession was 23:30. The Cowboys actually outgained them by over 100 yards. The G-Men were efficient on offense and scored touchdowns instead of field goals, with no turnovers. But they won with defense, especially that nasty pass rush that had Romo so rattled in the fourth quarter. The Packers can shut down everything the Giants did well in the Divisional Round.

You think Charles Woodson and Al Harris won't eat Little Manning for dinner? Do you think the Packers will sacrifice Favre the way Dallas failed to protect Romo? Will they abandon their game plan in the second half? New York's defense is not any better than Seattle's, and Green Bay embarrassed the Seahawks this weekend. The Packers have an outstanding offensive line and a quarterback whose strength is handling a pass rush. They are equipped to handle everything the Giants do well, and unless Eli turns into Peyton and Tiki Barber un-retires, I don't know how New York is going to match points with the Packers. Green Bay wins by 10.

Posted by Brad Oremland at 12:34 PM | Comments (0)

60 Days to Selection Sunday

Throughout the NFL season, we took a look at each game of each week in a feature we called "In the Box." It was a good way to ensure we got a comprehensive look at all the teams, not just those everybody else was talking about.

In trying to figure out a format for covering college hoops this year, I figured I might as well try the same trick. Each week, we'll look at 25 games from the previous week, looking for lessons learned, interesting tidbits, or just an inappropriate joke or two. Hey, go with what works, right?

Two months to March. Let's see where we're at.

(Game pool from last Wednesday, 1/9, through Monday, 1/14.)

WEDNESDAY

North Carolina State 54, North Carolina Central 29 — Who cares? Nobody, really. But consider this: after this game, the poor Eagles of North Carolina Central stood at a miserable 1-21. Not only is that a terrible record, that's an incredible number of games for barely a week past New Year's. And 19 of them were on the road, including places like Duke (lost 121-56), Florida (105-51), Davidson (98-50), Akron (96-49), Creighton (88-54), and Nebraska (71-28).

So here's the question: who the hell would send their kid to play here (or at fellow 1-A Independent Presbyterian, at 2-20)? Was it a choice between this or prison? This or your feet cut off? Seriously. What's the rational here?

Dayton 92, Rhode Island 83 — You'll be seeing both of these teams come Selection Sunday, so start paying attention now. In this game, the stars did what they were supposed to do. Dayton guard Brian Roberts (20.1 ppg, 4.5 apg) led his team with 23 points and seven assists. The Rhode Island duo of forward Will Daniels (19.3 ppg, 7.4 rpg) and Jimmy Baron (16.2 ppg, 41% from three) combined for 51 of the Rams' 83 points. That's three-fifths of you're All-A-10 team showing you why their teams are a combined 29-3.

The difference in this one was the other guys. For Dayton, Andres Sandoval, Marcus Johnson, and Kurt Huelsman combined for 36, nearly double their average production. For Rhode Island, Kahiem Seawright scored only four points and fouled out in 24 minutes. Dayton also had a 27-9 advantage in points off the bench.

The two teams play again February 2. To even up the series (or make any noise in March), Rhode Island is going to need more than just Daniels and Baron. Seawright is the key.

St. Joseph's 98, Massachusetts 92 — The St. Joseph's duo of Ahmad Nivens and Pat Calathes combined for as many rebounds (27) as the entire UMass team (which got out-rebounded by the entire Hawks team by 17). Travis Ford's crew has some nice wins (at Syracuse, at Boston College), but losses like this one, plus at Northern Iowa and IUPUI earlier in their non-conference schedule, has them looking like an NIT team.

Charlotte 82, Clemson 72 — Chalk this one up to the hangover from Clemson blowing an opportunity to knock-off North Carolina three days earlier. Still, games like these hang on your resume. If the Tigers fall apart in the second half like they did last year (four of their final six, and six of their final nine, are on the road), this game could loom large in the selection debate.

Cincinnati 74, Syracuse 66 — The Orange are in trouble. They have two of the most gifted freshmen in the country in Jonny Flynn (13.9 ppg, 5.5 apg) and Donte Greene (18.9 ppg, 8.2 rpg), but they were woefully thin even before losing Eric Devendorf for the season. To think coach Jim Boeheim can continue to rely on his freshmen to play 35+ minutes per game and hold up through March is expecting too much. (The two combined to shoot just 7 of 22 in a 20-point loss to West Virginia on Sunday.)

Southeastern Louisiana 61, Sam Houston State 58 — And there go Sam Houston State's at-large chances. (It also put a stop to the ridiculous two AP voters who insisted on putting the Bearkats on their ballot even though they're nowhere close to being one of the top 25 teams in the country.)

Tennessee 85, Mississippi 83 — No coach received a bigger present this past offseason than Bruce Pearl did when the NCAA granted Iowa transfer Tyler Smith a hardship waiver, allowing him to play immediately instead of sitting out the year. He and Arizona transfer J.P. Prince have turned a very good team into a legit national title contender. (Now if they would just quit with the stupid head-band thing...)

Arizona State 64, Arizona 59 (OT) — Not only did the Wildcats lose to bitter rival ASU, but the loss put Arizona is the exclusive club of teams to be knocked out of the rankings twice so far this season (joining Southern Cal and North Carolina State). Actually, they had already been knocked out of the AP Poll a week earlier thanks to the home loss to Oregon, but this game was the final nail for the college coaches who make up the ESPN/USA Today voting block.

Two notes of importance:

1. ASU freshman guard James Harden, averaging 18.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, is really, really good. Right now, he's on the Pac-10 All-Freshman team with USC's O.J. Mayo (19.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg) and Davon Jefferson (11.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg), Arizona's Jerryd Bayless (19.7 ppg, 4.6 apg), and UCLA's Kevin Love (16.6 ppg, 10.2 rpg).

2. Bayless didn't play in this one, or the losses to Memphis and Oregon. For all the talk about sophomore forward Chase Budinger, this is Bayless' team. Budinger just isn't alpha dog enough to tell his teammates to get the eff out of the way and let him handle it. That's what Harden did in this game, and what Bayless did against Houston in Arizona's 85-71 win on Saturday.

THURSDAY

Louisville 63, West Virginia 54 — Both of these teams depend on streaky shooters who have more bad days than good. The difference is that Louisville can rebound and play enough defense to grit out a win when the shots aren't falling. The Mountaineers can't.

USC Upstate 73, Gardner-Webb 59 — Remember when the Gardner-Webb upset at Kentucky was mentioned in the same breath as Appalachian State/Michigan in college football? Just goes to show first impressions aren't all they're cracked up to be.

George Washington 49, St. Louis 20 — These are not good times to be a St. Louis sports fan. (Unless you think giving up an all-time-great defensive third baseman in Scott Rolen in exchange for Troy Glaus is a good move, in which case things are going awesome.)

(Seven points in the first half! Seven! They stabbed Brad Soderberg in the back for this?)

Washington State 73, Southern Cal 58 — I really want to slam O.J. Mayo for being a cancer and poison and all that stuff. He's taken nearly double the number of shots as the next closest Trojan (264 to Dwight Lewis' 135). He's taken as many three-pointers (101) as Lewis, Daniel Hackett and Angelo Johnson combined. He averages almost four turnovers per game. And the guys around him are worse than they were last year, not better (with sophomore forward Taj Gibson suffering the most).

Okay, so maybe that is a slam, but I'm not writing off the Trojans just yet. Sometimes teams take time to adapt to a new way of running the show. They still have the talent. They still have a good coach. And, as we learned from the San Diego Chargers of the NFL, not all poor starts are created equal. Sometimes things click and turn around. Let's see how they do against UCLA on Saturday.

FRIDAY

Why don't they play good games on Fridays? It's not that I don't respect the MAAC and Patriot League, but would a weekly Big 12 Friday night showdown hurt? Even a WAC or Mountain West showdown would suffice.

SATURDAY

Florida 72, Auburn 56 — Through a less-than-grueling first two months (non-conference SOS of 307), Gators coach Billy Donovan has done a great job getting his kids ready to play a tough SEC schedule. Dick Vitale can go on and on about cupcakes this and that, but when your rotation is comprised of five freshmen, three sophomores and a junior, there's no point in throwing them against a murderer's row. Now they have some confidence in what they're doing heading into the meat of their schedule, with four of their next six on the road (at Ole Miss on Wednesday, Kentucky at home, at South Carolina, Vanderbilt at home, at Arkansas, at Tennessee).

North Carolina 93, North Carolina State 62 — And it could have been much worse. People are talking about Memphis possibly going undefeated, but the Tar Heels are the better bet. A look at their remaining regular season schedule: at Georgia Tech, Maryland, at Miami (FL), BC, at Florida State, Duke, Clemson, at Virginia, Virginia Tech, at NC State, Wake Forest, at BC, Florida State, at Duke.

There are some tough games there, no doubt. Miami will be pumped at home to make a statement. FSU is always capable of springing the upset. UNC lost at NC State last year. Duke is Duke. But this is the best team Roy Williams has fielded since coming over from Kansas. They can shoot (49 percent overall, 38 percent from three), pass (ACC-best 18.2 assists per game), rebound (ACC-best +11.8 rebounding margin) and defend when they need/want to (13-point first half for the Wolfpack). Don't be surprised if the Heels are 30-0 heading into Cameron Indoor Stadium. Let's just make sure we have some Ludens and a doctor ready for Dickie V. This could be dangerous.

Kentucky 79, Vanderbilt 73 (2OT) — Could this be the stepping stone for Kentucky? Maybe, but it's still a rough road. Back-to-back road games at Mississippi State (tonight) and Florida (Saturday) is a tough way to build momentum. Then again, Billy Gillispie's reputation is no accident. He hasn't forgotten how to coach just because he bailed on Texas A&M. A win Tuesday and we've got something to talk about. Win tonight and Saturday, and it's a whole new season for the Wildcats.

Missouri 97, Texas 84 — Despite the final score, Texas is still the better team. The Tigers rode the emotion of the crowd, hit some key long-range bombs, and the Longhorns let the game get away in the second half. Missouri did the same thing to Purdue earlier in the season, turning a tight game in the second half into a double-digit victory. But put these two on a neutral court 10 times, and the Longhorns are winning at least seven.

Marquette 92, Notre Dame 66 — Two lessons:

1. Marquette can make a run in the NCAA tournament. Their backcourt of Jerel McNeal and Dominic James is built for March. (Remember, McNeal was hurt at the end of last year and didn't play in the Big East Tournament or their first-round loss to Michigan State.)

2. No matter what Notre Dame is seeded come March, pick against them if they are playing a team with dominant guards. Tory Jackson and Kyle McAlarney combined for just 14 points on 6-of-16 shooting (2-of-8 from three) with 8 turnovers in this one.

UCLA 81, Washington State 74 — A lot's already been written about this game, but I wanted to point out that Wazzu's Derek Low is really fun to watch. After a miserable first half during which the Cougars were just trying to keep from getting run out of the gym, Low, who picked up two early fouls and was held scoreless through the first 20, almost single-handedly brought them back from the dead. He scored 24 in the second, including a stretch where he scored 19 of Washington State's 22 as they cut the deficit to single digits. They ran out of time in the end, but the second half showed the Cougars are very much in UCLA's class, and a threat to make a deep run in the Tournament.

Purdue 75, Ohio State 68 — Just wanted to point out my preseason sleeper has recovered from their Wofford-Iowa State double-slip to win three of four, with the only loss a three-point nail-biter at Michigan State where they came back from down 29-13 to almost knock off the then-sixth-ranked team in the country.

California 69, Oregon State 59 — Poor Jay John. Coaching Oregon State in the Pac-10 is like coaching the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the AL East. There's just too much mountain to climb.

Kansas State 84, Oklahoma 82 — Freshmen forwards Michael Beasley (Kansas State) and Blake Griffin (Oklahoma) combined for 59 points on 23-of-32 shooting with 25 rebounds. Both will be playing in the NBA next year.

Iowa 43, Michigan State 36 — Quote from last week: "Iowa is going to upset some people before it's said and done. New coach Todd Likliter, in his first year after leading Butler to the Sweet 16, has the Hawkeyes playing inspired."

Aside from just gloating, the lesson is that top coaches are the single most important element to having a successful college program. Likliter has taken a team that was bad before losing Tyler Smith and Adam Haluska, and made them a tough-as-nails cohesive group. Great coaching is the only way you take a team that makes only 11 field goals in 40 minutes of basketball and still upset a top-10 team.

SUNDAY

Duke 87, Virginia 65 — With Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith, and Taylor King coming off the bench, Coach K has a solid eight guys he can rely on (nine if you include sophomore forward Lance Thomas). The Dukies are flying under the radar nationally, but they've got some noise in them come March. This is a much tougher team than last year's squad the got knocked out by Virginia Commonwealth in the first round.

MONDAY

Pittsburgh 69, Georgetown 60 — There's something missing from this Hoyas team. They haven't found a way to replace Jeff Green's fire, and it's going to cost them in the end. This team is tops on the Upset Watch list.

As for Pittsburgh, give them credit. They're one of the most mentally tough squads in the nation. Assuming Levance Fields comes back for the Tournament, they could surprise some people.

Kansas 85, Oklahoma 55 — If you want to see a great rivalry game, tune into ESPNU this Saturday at 8 PM central. KU at Missouri. It's going to be loud.

Seth Doria is a writer based out of St. Louis. For the only daily column that mixes sports, politics, and entertainment news in one, visit The Left Calf.

Posted by Joshua Duffy at 12:06 PM | Comments (1)

January 14, 2008

College Football Bowl Season Recap

Bowl season came, and bowl season went. Pop quiz: who played in the PapaJohns.com Bowl? Didn't think you knew. Then again, with 32 bowls and silly corporate names that many writers consider signs of the apocalypse, sometimes it can be hard to keep up. Seriously, do you think Wake Forest's goal at the beginning of the year was to win the Meineke Car Care Bowl?

So to help orient ourselves in the myriad of bowls, I took the Liberty (Bowl) of renaming the bowl games. Which was a lot easier after the fact.

Holy Crap, The-Bowls-Started-Already Bowl

Utah beats Navy in a 35-32 thriller in what was formerly known as the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl. (And you wondered why I felt the need to re-name them.) Good start, gonna be a nice season. Except that the first one usually catches most people with their pants down. Figuratively.

The Vegas Disadvantage Bowl

Okay, let's be honest here. A bunch of college players go to Sin City for a bowl after its coach was fired. And that team has to face BYU, a team of Mormons. Not to be stereotypical, but the temptations of Vegas are more likely to effect 18-21-year-old UCLA players than, well, even the most risque on the Cougars, most of whom are into well into their 20s and have already been on their Mormon missions to other countries. Face it, those kids aren't going to be on the tables at 7 AM when they realize it's already light outside. We have found an advantage that goes well beyond home field noise. By the way, how isn't UNLV good at football? Being used to it has to help. Final: BYU 17, UCLA 16.

The Early Bowl Pick'em Buster Bowl

In what was formerly known as the Hawaii Bowl, many thought Boise State would run over East Carolina. Thanks to last year, everyone knows who Boise State is. Most didn't know what colors East Carolina wears. And so in the latest fantasy craze, most people picked Boise State with a pretty high confidence rating. (You can always tell it's officially a craze when ESPN wastes time catering to it on "SportsCenter." For the uninitiated, you pick all 32 bowls and rank them according to confidence, which determines the points you get if the pick is correct.) But the Broncos were playing in a bowl of notably less prestigious this year and were presumably thrilled to just be in Hawaii rather than Boise in late December. And the Pirates had Chris Johnson. ECU had a built a 38-14 lead with Johnson on his way to 408 all-purpose yards, 223 on the ground.

Boise State, not ones to go quietly into the unbearably pleasant Hawaiian night, made a comeback and then created another magical bowl moment when Marty Tadman picked up a fumble off a miraculous bounce and returned it for a touchdown with 1:25 left to tie it while the Pirates tried to run out the clock. Unfortunately, the stunning twist came too fast this time, leaving enough time for ECU to drive for the winning field goal. Stupid Tadman, he should have known better. (Or Boise State shouldn't have run a mere cover-2 with East Carolina needing a big chunk of yards, allowing a 36-yard pass down the sideline to the Boise 23.)

The Petrino Bowl

When Purdue went to half up 34-13, you probably pulled a Petrino, i.e. gave up on it halfway through. And who would have blamed you? Bobby Petrino bailed on an entire franchise midseason in Atlanta. You simply walked away from a MAC team being stomped in the Motor City Bowl; not exactly a sports-fan felony. But after a furious Chippewa comeback and Purdue last-second field goal to win it, the dedicated (or really bored) few were rewarded with die-hard dividends in the form of a great game. By the way, Purdue quarterback Curtis Painter's 526 passing yards are still sinking in for me.

The Letdown Bowl

Arizona State was supposed to have turned a corner with Dennis Erickson. Texas didn't have as good a year as it had hoped, but was still a good Texas team. Plus, it was the first bowl between two BCS conference schools. Should have been a good Holiday Bowl. Instead, Arizona State didn't make the trip to San Diego in a Texas-sized, 52-34 beatdown. Fun.

The Awkward Social Contrast Bowl

Anti-edifice vs. anti-establishment. Attack helicopters vs. activist hippies. F-16s vs. F-authority. Missiles vs. munchies. Yes, Air Force vs. Cal. Explosive and delicious.

Yes, I'm just using stereotypes. But they're fun, and sports are all about the bad, overdrawn clichés, so just relax and roll with it. Ironically, it was Cal's air-strikes that decimated the Falcons, although it was sad to see Air Force quarterback Shaun Carney, who had been shredding Cal with the Academy's option attack, go down in a close game with a brutal knee injury, ending the senior's career and costing his team a potentially dramatic shootout finish. Once he was done, the Falcons had no answers on either side of the ball.

Related note: the funniest thing I saw this season was outside the stadium at Cal where Tennessee fans that had made the trip gawked up at the "tree people" outside stadium, a group of hippies literally hanging out in trees with posters talking about how good trees were. (Generally Berkley locals, not associated with the school: Cal people generally just roll their eyes.) The visitors from the South were unimpressed, but amused. "I feel like I am at the zoo," one said, and I couldn't disagree.

The Validation Bowl

Missouri ventured into the Cotton Bowl, disappointed that the FedEx Orange Bowl snubbed the Tigers in favor of a Kansas team that didn't beat a single high quality opponent. Rather than pack it in and sulk (See Cal, 2004 Holiday Bowl) the Tigers went out and fried a coach-less Arkansas team, 38-7.

The Carr Bowl

The Capital One Bowl proved a few things. One, Mike Hart is physically capable of fumbling. Twice inside the five. After not fumbling in 1,002 touches. It also proved the Big Ten isn't completely and utterly worthless, and that SEC does not directly translate into Better Than You. It proved that Tim Tebow was pretty much the only weapon Florida had (and what a good one he is), but it also showed this year's Gator team was in desperate need of a running back and, well, an entire defense.

But mostly it proved that the Wolverines respected the hell out of Lloyd Carr and played their butts off for their outbound coach. Whether fired or retired, whether Michigan was right of expecting more of the program than the 1997 National Title and a trio of Rose Bowl appearances in the last five years (like beating Ohio State once in a while), seeing Carr carried off during the dramatic 41-35 victory was one of the high points of bowl season.

The Why Didn't We Invite Georgia Bowl

Instead, Illinois received an invitation to the game formerly known as the Rose Bowl Presented by Citi. With Big Ten champion Ohio State backing into the BCS title game, the folks in Pasadena could have paired the two hottest teams in the country, USC and Georgia. Instead, it invited a three-loss team tied for second in the Big Ten. Tradition, meet my friend mediocrity; he'll be replacing you. And Illinois, meet USC; they will be beating you like a drum for four quarters to the beat of 49-17.

The Why Didn't the Rose Bowl Invite Georgia Bowl

Sure, the Nokia Sugar Bowl was glad to have an SEC team, but the game was a mismatch. The hottest team in the SEC (better than Oklahoma last year) steamrolled an undefeated WAC team with an underwhelming schedule (not as good as Boise State last year). Result: a statement win for the 'Dogs. The statement was that Hawaii had no more business playing Georgia than Illinois did of playing USC. And so neither USC nor Georgia got the chance to prove themselves against an elite team, negating the chances of a split national title via AP dissension.

The Déjà Vu Bowl

Oklahoma has to hate Glendale at this point. Two Tostitos Fiesta Bowls have been played at the new arena there. Twice an underdog has embarrassed the Sooners. This one was considerably less embarrassing than the collapse to Boise State, considering West Virginia was a flop against Pittsburgh from the BCS title game, and no team beat the Mountaineers in a game Pat White started and finished. But as the Sooners watched the track meet that is West Virginia, they had to wonder what they have to do to win in the new building. On the other side, West Virginia proved you can win a bowl game with an intern head coach, unlike UCLA, Arkansas, or Texas A&M. Guess when your coach bails on you it gives a little more motivation to show him up than when he's forced out.

And congrats on the win, Bill Stewart, and the removal of the interim tag from your title. You will need every ounce of good will with the numerous loose cannons in the fan base in that state. Just ask the family of outgoing Rich Rodriguez about the death threats it has been getting. Maybe his departure makes more sense than was first apparent.

The Should Have Seen That Coming Bowl

Kansas was in the FedEx Orange Bowl when most thought Missouri should have been. Virginia Tech was a perennial power in the ACC that thought it had a beef to play in the BCS title game despite the fact that LSU danced on them with glacier spikes to start the year. It was just too much for a basketball school that appeared to be in over its head in a bowl as though it were Notre Dame. You know, back when Notre Dame went to bowls.

But Kansas never trailed in the 24-21 win. And there were signs that this could happen. The ACC has now lost eight straight BCS bowls. The Hokies have lost four of them. Kansas last lost a bowl to Philip Rivers and North Carolina State in 2003. (Okay, so they've only played one since then...) More relevantly, Virginia Tech has a very stoppable offense, with a quarterback that threw for 200 yards just three times, and a starting running back that finished the year with a 3.7 yards per carry average. Kansas, meanwhile, was the type of well-coached team that would limit the Hokie defense/special teams' ability to win the game alone, and with an offense that racked up 44 points a game to lead the nation, you knew there wasn't going to be a 13-10 game coming. And with the clear cut third-best Big 12 team beating its champion among other results, the ACC may have taken a bigger hit this bowl season than the Big Ten.

Disclaimer: I still say Missouri should have been in this game. The media story line was that Kansas proved it belonged. No, Kansas would have proven that by beating the second-best team in the Big 12. Or one better than fourth-best. The Tigers would have kicked the Hokies in the gut even harder. But Kansas did prove it was on the level of a lower-tier BCS team this year, and with Mark Mangino doing a great job there, it should be a fun team to watch beyond this season.

The January Who Gives a Crap Bowl(s)

Rutgers pummels Ball State? Tulsa decimates Bowling Green? Wow, I'm so glad they invented these bowls to kill time before the title game. They do know there were NFL playoffs that weekend, right?

The We Had to Crown Someone Bowl

Okay, LSU showed that it was deserving to be among consideration for best team in the land after outclassing Ohio State. But West Virginia, Georgia or USC all would have given the Tigers a better game, and while LSU's resume may be better than all the others, they backed into a title that no one else seemed to want.

LSU at least won its conference (or even its division, Georgia), didn't have any horrible losses (looking at you, USC, I don't even care who was injured), didn't choke in their final game (ahem, West Virginia), and had a decent non-conference win against Virginia Tech to go with a tour of the SEC. They did dodge Georgia, but still, at least as good as any other two loss resume, save that they lost in their second to last game.

But we all know what we want. We wanted a playoff. Or at least The I Wish They Would Just Play One More Bowl ... Bowl. Give say USC or West Virginia or Georgia a crack at an LSU team that hasn't played a true top four team this year. (Missouri, despite an impressive Cotton Bowl throttling of Arkansas, had two cracks at the only conference champ it faced, and Oklahoma twice proved too strong.)

And yet, we deal with the stubborn commissioners of the Big Ten (afraid that their dogs would lose as big in a playoff fight as they have in four straight BCS Bowl losses) and of the Pac-10 (keeping top-dog USC, often the hottest team in the country come January, on a chain just to protect its precious Rose Bowl).

So maybe next year, we can have a bowl called The They Finally Removed Their Heads From Their ... Bowl. But I wouldn't count on it. Besides, Toys-R-Us would probably buy the rights anyways.

Posted by Kyle Jahner at 11:11 AM | Comments (3)

January 12, 2008

Tigers Taking Aim at Perfection

The New England Patriots aren't the only team shooting for perfection.

In fact, there are several teams shooting, passing, and dunking their way to undefeated seasons in this year's installment of college basketball. But only one team has the perfect mix of veteran leadership, youthful energy, overall team athleticism, and the luxury of inferior competition to pull it all off. Say hello to the bullies of Conference USA: John Calipari and his precocious Memphis Tigers.

Now I know what your thinking. Aren't these the same Tigers who slice through their buttery Conference USA schedule every year with national championship hype before petering out in the Elite Eight? Yes. A year ago, Calipari's team went 30-3 on the year, with all three losses coming to non-conference opponents, and finished the season on a 22-game winning streak before being bested by the Buckeyes one game away from the final four. The Tigers had a similar disappointment in 2006, when their run through the tourney ended with a loss to UCLA in the Elite Eight.

But this season is different. Memphis sailed unscathed through the first wave of quality non-conference competition, not only surviving, but dominating good teams from big conferences. Before starting league play earlier this week, the Tigers defeated Oklahoma, Connecticut, Cincinnati, Arizona, and mighty Georgetown, with each victory coming by 10 points or more. Not many teams have those kinds of quality wins.

The Tigers do. They also have an experienced leader in junior Chris Douglas-Roberts (conveniently nicknamed "CDR"), an athletic 6'7" guard who dominates his smaller defenders. He leads the team in scoring and clutch performances, scoring 33 points at Connecticut and 24 versus Roy Hibbert and the Hoyas. His physical, athletic style pairs nicely with the lightning speed of standout freshman Derrick Rose, whose abilities as a playmaker are matched solely by his abilities as a distributor. Then there's forwards Robert Dozier and Joey Dorsey, hyper-athletes with NBA futures that regularly throw down dunks on mediocre Conference USA scrubs.

In addition to a lethal starting five comprised of athletic, experienced upper-classmen and a fast, talented freshman, Memphis boasts a key characteristic of a team poised to make a run at the title — depth. The Tigers have 10 players that average 10 or more minutes a game. Those reserves aren't just getting minutes, they're scoring points, as well. Calipari's crew has seven players who average seven points or more a game.

Recipe for perfection: take one immensely talented team coached by a proven winner, and add 11 overmatched Conference USA teams. The Tigers take on Marshall, Rice, Southern Miss, and Tulsa before rejoining the real-world of college hoops for a showdown at home with Gonzaga on January 26. They must then run the Conference USA gauntlet consisting of such formidable foes as Houston, UTEP, Southern Methodist, UCF, UAB, and Tulane before facing their final hurdle in the race to perfection, a February 23 battle with the Tennessee Volunteers, also on the Tigers' home court.

Sure, other teams are still unbeaten. But they are either pretenders (sorry, Vanderbilt) or face brutal conference schedules (Kansas, Washington State, North Carolina). Memphis, with all the ingredients in place, looks like the best bet in years to finish perfect, resurrecting old memories of Jerry Tarkanian, Larry Johnson, and the 1991 UNLV Runnin' Rebels — the last team to finish the regular season undefeated.

A late-season stumble isn’t out of the question for anyone, but there is a hunger in this Memphis team. If they make it to the Big Dance unblemished, Calipari and his Tigers could use their depth and athleticism to muscle their way to a perfect season, a national championship, and a claim to being one of the greatest teams in college hoops history. If not, Memphis could be bound for another late-round exit.

Posted by John Hocter at 11:12 AM | Comments (1)

January 11, 2008

Will Federer Finally Sink Down Under?

Roger Federer is the favorite in Australia, don't get me wrong. To suggest otherwise would be borderline crazy.

For the first time in years, however, it looks like the outcome of a Grand Slam is not a foregone conclusion. In Paris, it's been [Rafael] Nadal, Nadal, and more Nadal, and everywhere else, it's been Federer. But for the first time since Marat Safin won the 2005 Australian Open (11 slams have come and gone since then), could we possibly see someone other than Nadal or Federer holding the trophy at the end?

It's not so much that the 26-year-old Swiss is losing a step; it's simply that men's tennis is finally welcoming some other top contenders with open arms. David Nalbandian erupted from the depths of an abysmal 2007 season to win the final two Masters Series events of the year and he upset Federer in both. David Ferrer started last season ranked 14 in the world and he was up to fifth by the end. Andy Murray almost qualified for the year-end Masters Cup despite missing both the French Open and Wimbledon with a wrist injury. Novak Djokovic soared from 16th at the start of 2007 to third in the world; and a solid third at that. He did so by reaching the fourth round in Australia, the semis of both the French Open and Wimbledon, and the final of the U.S. Open. Djokovic also captured two Master Series events.

In other words, while it's still a Federer/Nadal party at the top, finally others are invited.

What does this mean? It means that instead of going ahead and handing the title to Federer, the draw of Grand Slam event is finally, thankfully worth analyzing.

Top Quarter of the Draw

It's only the second toughest quarter in this year's draw, but this section has it all. It boasts the best player in the world — perhaps soon-to-be best ever — in Roger Federer. It's home to young up-and-comers (American John Isner and Croat Marin Cilic), and it's home to cagy veterans (Frenchmen Fabrice Santoro and Sebastien Grosjean and Korean Hyung-Taik Lee). It has clay-court specialists (Chilean Nicolas Massu, Spaniards Nicolas Almagro and Fernando Verdasco, and Argentine Juan Monaco), big servers (Isner, Czech Tomas Berdych, and Australian Chris Guccione), and two of the biggest forehands in the sport (American James Blake and Chilean Fernando Gonzalez). If you're a fan, this is the section of the draw on which you look with the keenest of interest. If you're a player, it's one in which you'd rather not participate.

Best First-Round Matchup — Fabrice Santoro vs. John Isner. The contrast in styles here will be amazing to watch. Isner will try to blow the veteran off the court with massive serves, while the Frenchman will try to frustrate the youngster by slicing and dicing him to death. The bad news is that the winner of this one gets Federer in the second round; otherwise the potential for a deep run in Australia would be very real. Isner burst onto the professional scene last summer with a surprising, third-set-tiebreaker-filled run to the final of the Legg Mason Classic in Washington, D.C. He also won two matches at the U.S. Open and took the first set off Federer in the third round. Santoro, meanwhile, is looking good so far in 2008, as he is currently in the semifinals of the Sydney Medinbank International. Prediction: Santoro beguiles Isner throughout the match and the American hangs tough before fading in a tough five-setter.

Best Potential Matchup — James Blake vs. Fernando Gonzalez, fourth round. This would be a rematch of last year's fourth-round clash that failed to live up to any hype. Gonzalez simply didn't allow it to live up to high standards. As he did to everyone he faced in the 2007 Australian Open not named Federer, Gonzalez blasted inexplicable winners from all over everywhere and ran a discouraged Blake right off the court in straight sets. Neither one is playing great tennis right now, but if they each get three matches under their belts prior to this showdown, then look out for some incredible shot-making, especially of the forehand variety. These two have played eight times; Blake won the first three and the Chilean has won the last five in-a-row.

Most Intriguing Storyline — Both of last year's finalists are stacked together in this rough quarter of the draw. Federer and Gonzalez would meet three rounds earlier than they did last year Down Under, but it will be no easy task even getting to a rematch. Federer gets the winner of Santoro and Isner in the second round and could play Tomas Berdych in the fourth. In addition to Blake registering on his radar screen, Gonzalez has to face either Chris Guccione, who is on fire in Sydney this week, or the always-tough veteran Hyung-Taik Lee in the second round. Federer should get through this section, but it won't be cakewalk, especially not when you compare this quarter to the rest of the draw.

Favorite — Roger Federer

Bottom Section of the Top Half

This is the hardest part of the draw, and that's probably not even debatable. The talent here — while sometimes inconsistent — is just sick. Marat Safin, Juan Carlos, and Lleyton Hewitt (and even Thomas Johansson) are all Grand Slam champions. Novak Djokovic, Marcos Baghdatis, David Ferrer, and David Nalbandian have shown they are capable of joining that group in the near future. Radek Stepanek, Nicholas Kiefer, and Dmitry Tursunov can flip their "on" switches at any moment and when on, they are scary. And then there's Ernests Gulbis, whose third-round massacre of Tommy Robredo at last year's U.S. Open (of which I witnessed every point from the front row) is the standard by which I shall judge all future tennis performances. He's still probably a year or two away from stardom, but if he catches fire again, the Latvian could wreak havoc on the veterans in this section.

Best First-Round Matchup — Gulbis vs. Marat Safin. Oh, what I would pay to witness this in person. If nothing else, this one is going to be some kind of fun. Neither one of these guys has ever met a shot he didn't like. ESPN is probably too uninformed to think of airing this match live, but perhaps HBO will pick it up, because this is going to redefine the term "heavyweight fight." It's not for a title, but it will feature non-stop, back-and-forth, vicious punching. Just as boxers are often bloodied and bruised following a bout, the stats of this Gulbis/Safin collision won't look pretty. Gulbis and Safin know only one speed on the court. It's all about hitting winners, winners, and more winners. While the winners are going to come early, often, and in spectacular fashion, this match could — if it goes five — also feature more unforced errors than any other in the entire tournament. Prediction: in a match that will leave both the contestants and fans gasping for air, Gulbis maintain his composure and outlasts the volatile Russian in a topsy-turvy five-set thriller.

Best Potential Matchup — David Nalbandian vs. David Ferrer, fourth round. This would be a rematch of last year's epic five-setter in the third round of the U.S. Open. I was right next door on the Grandstand as that match was taking place, but never made my way in. The announcement, "Ladies and gentlemen, Louis Armstrong Stadium is currently filled to capacity; please enjoy the action on the outer courts," reared its annoying text on nearby TVs throughout the almost five-hour affair. Ferrer eventually prevailed 7-5 in the fifth. Nalbandian, however, exacted revenge later on at the Masters Series Paris in another high-quality match. The Argentine and the Spaniard are two of the best players on the ATP Tour right now, and if Nalbandian is 100 percent for the Australian (his back is currently an issue), this match will prove it.

Most Intriguing Storyline — Will Nalbandian's back prevent him from continuing this hot streak? He was the hottest player in tennis at the end of 2007 so it would be a major shame if an injury hinders his chances Down Under. After sleep-walking through most of last season — he lost fourth round at both the Australian and French Open and third round at Wimbledon, and he never made it past a quarterfinal of any tournament — Nalbandian exploded out of nowhere in the last three weeks of the year. He stunned the field in Madrid to win the Masters Series event there, and he did so by upsetting the top three players in the world in consecutive rounds: Nadal in the quarters, Djokovic in the semis, and Federer in the final. Two weeks later, Nalbandian proved the Madrid win was no fluke by capturing a second straight Masters Series shield in Paris. There he took out Federer, Ferrer, and Nadal in the process; he beat Federer in straight sets in the third round and destroyed Nadal 6-4, 6-0 in the final. If his back allows, Nalbandian could very easily be the one to emerge from this brutal quarter of the draw.

Favorite — Novak Djokovic

Top Half of the Bottom Section

This is not the softest section of the draw, but it is by far the most up for grabs. Nikolay Davydenko is the top seed here and you can go ahead and pencil him into at least the fourth round, but he could have serious problems with Andy Murray and/or Richard Gasquet. Both of those youngsters are playing great tennis at the moment and should control the destiny of this quarter. Mikhail Youzhny and Stanislas Wawrinka, both of whom are looking good early in 2008, could have something to say about that. Ivo Karlovic is someone who never want to face; not at any point in a tournament. Little fanfare will accompany this portion of the draw, but in terms of following its progress, this could be the most interesting quarter to track for tennis aficionados.

Best First-Round Matchup — Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. Andy Murray. This is simply a blockbuster opening-round matchup that would be much better suited as a second-week clash. Both youngsters are on top of their games at the moment. Tsonga, a promising 22-year-old Frenchman, reached the semifinals in Adelaide in the first week of January and his tournament featured straight-set wins over Gulbis and Lleyton Hewitt. Last year in three Grand Slam appearances, he gave Andy Roddick a tough battle in the first round of the Australian, reached the fourth round of Wimbledon (lost to Gasquet), and then won two rounds at the U.S. Open before falling to Nadal. It looks like Tsonga is ready for the big stage, and he'll have to be against Murray.

Want a tell-tale sign of how good the 20-year-old Scot was in 2007? Well, he finished the season ranked 11 in the world and narrowly missed qualifying for the Masters Cup despite missing most of the summer — including the French Open and Wimbledon — with a wrist injury. Picking up where he left off, Murray kicked off his 2008 campaign with a dominant performance in Doha to capture the title there. It's a shame one of these two rising starts will be bounced in the first round here. Prediction: Murray's stellar return game blunts Tsonga's power and the Scot prevails in four relatively close sets.

Best Potential Matchup — Richard Gasquet vs. Murray, fourth round. Gasquet, 21, really began to fulfill his potential last season. The Frenchman posted a milestone win over Andy Roddick in an epic quarterfinal duel at Wimbledon before losing to Federer in the semi-finals. That tournament propelled Gasquet to an appearance in his first ever year-end Masters Cup. He is 2-0 in head-to-head meetings with Murray, the most recent coming just a few months ago at the Masters Series Paris. If both are on top of their games — and it looks like they are — this one will be a lot of fun to watch.

Most Intriguing Storyline — Who will emerge from this wide open, free-for-all section? When Nikolay Davydenko is the top seed in a section of the draw, you know it's anyone's ballgame. That's not to say Davydenko isn't rock solid, because he is, but the Russian racks up rankings points by beating up on lower-ranked players. Rarely does he beat the top players (in fact he is a combined 0-18 against Federer, Nadal, and Roddick. Throw James Blake and Lleyton Hewitt into the mix and he's a combined 0-28). Davydenko would be ripe for the picking if he runs into an in-form Murray or Gasquet. Tsonga, Mikhail Youzhny (who just won in Chennai), Stanislas Wawrinka (who just reached the final in Doha), and huge-serving giant Ivo Karlovic also lurk in the dangerous waters of the draw's third quarter.

Favorite — Andy Murray

Bottom Quarter

Was Nadal's uncle and coach, "Uncle Toni," the master of Australian Open draw ceremonies? You would almost think that after a close inspection of the bracket. Nadal's section is by far the easiest. While it's still far from simple, it's nothing like what will be going on in the top half. Nadal should cruise into the fourth round, where he could meet compatriot Carlos Moya, which would be tough but not anything out of the ordinary for a fourth-round Grand Slam matchup. Andy Roddick most likely awaits in the quarterfinals; that's also tough, but again nothing Nadal would have hoped against prior to the draw's release. Quite unlike the free-for-all in the above quarter, I would be absolutely stunned if the semifinal representative from this quarter is someone other than Nadal, Roddick, or Moya.

Best First-Round Matchup — None. This section is arguably the weakest of the four, but another reason for the lack of quality opening-round matchups is that it's littered with qualifiers. Perhaps the way the qualifiers fall into the bracket will produce a first-round match worth watching, but that's yet to be seen. For now it looks like Carlos Moya vs. Stefan Koubek, Jarkko Nieminen vs. Frank Dancevic, and Davydenko vs. Michael Llodra (who just won in Adelaide) seem most likely to deliver the goods. A potential second-round all-American clash between Donald Young and Andy Roddick would be of serious interest to U.S. tennis fans.

Best Potential Matchup — Carlos Moya vs. Rafael Nadal, fourth round. The mentor and the pupil, both from the tiny Spanish island of Mallorca, have already squared off in 2008. That semifinal match in Chennai has most likely clinched being the best three-set match of the whole year and we are only two weeks in. Nadal prevailed 6-7 (3), 7-6 (10), 7-6 (1) and saved four match points in the process. It lasted a ridiculous three hours and 55 minutes. That's right — three hours and 55 minutes for just three sets. Anything close to that in Australia would have to be considered not only the best match of this quarter, but also the best match of the whole tournament.

Most Intriguing Storyline — Which Mallorcan — if either — will navigate his way to the semi-finals and beyond? There's really not much in this quarter of the draw to write home about other than the presence of Nadal and Moya. Just that, however, should be enough to peak the interest of hardcore tennis fans. Moya is intriguing because he is already 31-years-old, but he still had a resurgence of sorts in 2007, reaching the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open en route to climbing up to 18th in the world. A fan favorite, Moya is in the twilight of his career (even though he is still playing great) and this could be his last chance to make serious noise Down Under.

Nadal is still just 21, but there are concerns about his physical style of play and grueling match schedule already taking tolls on his body. His form in Australia should be a good indicator of whether or not Nadal is ready to go for 2008 and primed to maintain his stranglehold on the No. 2 ranking (or even move up to No. 1?). Yes, Andy Roddick is up there at the top of this section and he would most likely be the quarterfinal opponent for either Nadal or Moya. But Roddick's results have been modest recently and it would not be surprising at all if he bowed out to one of the Spaniards.

Favorite — Rafael Nadal

Overall

It's too early in the year for predictions. Or maybe, for the first time in what seems like ages, it's just too hard.

So I think I'll just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. I advise you all to do the same.

The year's first Grand Slam is upon us, and for the first time in a while, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal could see their stranglehold on major titles come under serious pressure. SC's Ricky Dimon takes a look at the loaded field of 128 in his analysis of the 2008 Australian Open draw.

Posted by Ricky Dimon at 11:34 AM | Comments (8)

January 10, 2008

NFL Weekly Predictions: Divisional Round

Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.

Seattle @ Green Bay (-9)

For several years, Matt Hasselbeck has been haunted by a recurring nightmare involving a coin toss, a vow of victory, and a dreadlocked black man named Al. Despite the conclusions of several psychiatrists, Hasselbeck insists the root of the problem is not the memory of his father losing his mother in a poker game. Instead, the more likely culprit is the emotional damage resulting from his famous answer to winning the overtime coin toss in a playoff game in Green Bay in 2004: "We want the ball, and we're going to score!" As everyone knows, Packer cornerback Al Harris intercepted Hasselbeck's pass and returned it for a score to eliminate the Seahawks, 33-27.

"Hey, it's all about redemption," says Hasselbeck. "I'm about as far removed from a Jamaican reggae music legend as possible, and the closest I've come to smoking weed is sniffing the used coffee grounds at my local Starbucks, and I've never been to the magical country of Rastafaria, but I can sing my own 'Redemption Song.'"

"I'm certainly thrilled that Matt likes to sing," says Brett Favre, who, like Hasselbeck, brings a wealth of playoff experience to the table, as well as other pieces of furniture. "I never took him for a Bob Marley fan. He seems more like a Human League or Spandau Ballet kind of guy. But crooning won't help him live down that interception. Matt can seek redemption, via song or some other route, but he won't get it. I hope he's aware that Al Harris is still here. Al's interception was one of many historic moments in Lambeau Field history. When Al made that pick, he did a little singing of his own. He went, 'I will sing this victory song, 'cause I'm already gone. Yes, I'm already gone. And I'm feelin' strong. I will sing this victory song.' Afterwards, we smoked a victory bong. Fittingly, that win put us in the divisional round against the Eagles."

"Anyhow, I've got something that Matt doesn't. No, not a 12-ounce Super Bowl ring, but one MVP vote from the Associated Press, while Tom Brady got 49, and Matt got zero. I didn't know John Madden was a member of the AP, but apparently he placed his vote 30,000 feet in the air while having a panic attack. I hear he was seated next to William Shatner, who swore he saw an alien creature tampering with the plane's wing. I guess that's what happens when airlines outsource mechanical work. Now, I'd like to tell Matt that winning the Super Bowl is not all it's cracked up to be, especially when Mike Holmgren is your coach. Has Matt ever tried to carry that behemoth off the field on his shoulders? I did that after Super Bowl XXXI and separated both shoulders and suffered a compressed C5 vertebrae. Of course, I played golf the next day."

Road playoff wins are like hair on Hasselbeck's balding dome — there are few. And Green Bay's lost only two home playoff games in history, one to Michael Vick and the Falcons in 2003, and the latest to the afrocentric Vikings and Randy Moss in 2005. Those were two cold days in Hell. The Seahawks will try to put pressure on Favre, and hopefully force him into some underhanded throws, or better yet, some of the throws he made against Dallas earlier this year. Green Bay has the defensive backfield to match up with Seattle's wide receivers, or at least two of them. Charles Woodson has recovered from his toe injury, but not from the effects of the tuck rule, and Harris knows Hasselbeck's tendencies, and the Seattle signal-caller has been known to tip his hand on occasion. Not on the field, mind you, but from reading the Seattle playbook at bedtime to his brat kids, who'll unload a playbook secret just for a sleeve of Smarties. In the end, Favre will place the game in the hands of one of his receivers, who often turn short passes into big gains.

Packers win, 27-24.

Jacksonville @ New England (-11½)

Jacksonville head coach Jack Del Rio is charged with the unenviable task of devising a scheme to slow the record-setting New England offense, which scored 589 points this year. Paramount to that endeavor is limiting the impact of the Tom Brady to Randy Moss connection, which accounted for 23 touchdowns.

"They're certainly a record-setting duo," says Del Rio, admiring a signed two-point conversion guide sheet, courtesy of Mike Tomlin. "Much like Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney produced record sales back in 1984 with 'Ebony and Ivory,' Moss and Brady have topped the charts with the 'Ebonics and Ivory' aerial assault. Of course, there's probably no chance that Moss will turn white in the future, nor that Brady will dump Giselle Bundchen for a one-legged gold-digger whose sole intent is to milk his estate dry, but whom is a surprising wiz on Dancing With the Stars."

"Anyway, we're under no illusions. We know that to beat the Pats, we'll have to score with them. Sure, that's a tall order. Their offense is a fine-tuned machine, comparable to a McLaren Formula 1 car screaming at 18,000 rpm through the tunnel at Monte Carlo. Conversely, our offense is more like a souped-up John Deere pulling a weight sled at a high school dirt track tractor pull. Don't forget, though. That McLaren was slowed by the weight of a 1,000-page dossier of Ferrari technical secrets, and the Pats are weighted down by the aftermath of the 'Spygate' affair.

"Not that it should take anything away from their accomplishments. I just want to be notified should they intend on filming me, so I can at least dress for the occasion. I could wear the fresh JDR suit and tie, but I think the weather in New England calls for the normal coaches attire accented with the black leather jacket. Black leather was always lucky for my childhood hero. No, I'm not talking about Adam Cartwright of Bonanza fame. I'm referring to Arthur Fonzerelli, hoss. Nothing against Cartwright, but I think the ability to make out with a chick with just the snap of a finger is much more impressive than just getting Little Joe out of bind after bind."

With the Jaguars likely to attack with the run, much of the responsibility of stopping them will fall on the talented but aging linebacking corps of Junior Seau, Mike Vrabel, Adalius Thomas, and their outspoken leader, Tedy Bruschi.

"Say, say, say what you want," says Bruschi, pumping iron to the tune of his favorite Billy Squier song, 'The Stroke,' "but the spying scandal had absolutely nothing to do with our success this year. People see perfection and automatically want to find a flaw. Well, perfection is commonplace here. You can find it in our record, and you can find it in the pictures posted in Tom Brady's locker. I just wish we didn't have to insert a quarter every time we want to view those pictures. But it's money well spent. Tom's lucky. That doggone girl is his. As for that bowling ball on legs Maurice Jones-Drew, three fingers craftily applied will put a stop to him. That'll be when I use three fingers to inform him that I'm a three-time Super Bowl champion. Hopefully, after that, he'll take it easy on this old man and won't plow me into the ground."

The three feet of snow that the Jaguars had hoped for on Saturday won't materialize, so the high-scoring New England attack won't be slowed by the white stuff. Snow or not, Jacksonville's game plan should remain the same: Fred Taylor here, Maurice Jones-Drew there, and a few designed quarterback runs by David Garrard sprinkled in between. Provided they have success on the ground, the next key to success in scoring touchdowns and not settling for field goals. Field goals against the Patriots are practically worthless, especially since Brady will pick apart the Jags' secondary. I give the Jags a chance if they score four touchdowns, force two turnovers, and Randy Moss mysteriously disappears (not like he did as a Raider, but legitimately, from a kidnapping). At this point, I wouldn't put anything past the 1972 Dolphins.

Brady and Moss combine for two scores, Wes Welker adds 17 receptions for 49 yards, and New England wins, 35-16.

San Diego @ Indianapolis (-9)

Facing a 6-0 halftime deficit against the scrappy Titans, the Chargers finally stopped bickering with themselves long enough to storm back for a 17-6 win and a rematch against the Colts, whom San Diego beat 23-21 in Week 10. It was the Chargers first playoff win in 13 years, and justification in the distorted minds of Chargers' brass that canning Marty Schottenheimer was a brilliant strategic move.

"Hey, did you just say 'Chargers,' 'playoffs,' and 'win' in the same sentence?" asks Peyton Manning. "Shouldn't there be a 'no' in there somewhere? Hush your mouth. But congratulations, Chargers. With your win, you saved mankind from having to suffer through a Tennessee/New England divisional round game, which probably would have been even less competitive than a Britney Spears/Kevin Federline custody battle. And fans don't have to view a third Jacksonville/Indy game. We all know what the outcome of that would be. And we get our chance for revenge against the Chargers. You know, they ended our 2005 undefeated season, and they beat us this year, thanks to my six interceptions. That just goes to show you that the Mafia can get to Peyton Manning."

"But really, is it necessary to cry after a wild card victory, as Norv Turner did? What is this, Norv? Your daughter's wedding? Tony Dungy didn't cry after his first wild card victory. He just stood there like he did when he won the Super Bowl. And is LaDainian Tomlinson the biggest pouter in the NFL? How many times do we have to see shots of him sitting on the bench with a sour look on his face? Look, L.T., if you're not getting the ball enough, then maybe your yards per rush average should be greater than 1.5. If you need a priceless Peyton Manning pep talk, or guidance in tricking out your minivan, then I'm your guy. You feeling me? You love it."

"Look, I have emotions," says Tomlinson, "just like Hillary Clinton. Here's a tip, Hillary. If you're not going to get a facelift, wear a helmet and visor. Sure, it's a little more bulky than that paper bag Bill has you wear, but it's intimidating. And we all know that intimidation wins elections. But enough about politics. The only vote that matters is the Pro Bowl vote, and the Hall of Fame vote when I'm eligible for entry. Hopefully, never having won a Super Bowl won't keep me out."

Tomlinson always plays with a chip on his shoulder when he faces the Colts, and he comes out blazing. L.T. rushes for a six-yard touchdown early, and the Bolts take a 14-13 halftime lead. The Colts make the necessary adjustments, including assigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Bob Sanders L.T. duty, as well as piping in a Marty Schottenheimer speech into the San Diego locker room. Sanders gets on Tomlinson like a cheap suit, and Manning finds Dallas Clark and a healthy Marvin Harrison for second-half scores.

Indianapolis wins, 30-20.

NY Giants @ Dallas (-7 1/2)

With a near flawless 20-of-27, 185-yard, two-touchdown performance in the Giants 24-14 win over Tampa last week, Eli Manning is the toast of the town. With his first playoff win as a starting quarterback, Manning finally has the monkey off his back, a monkey now charged with grooming responsibilities to the larger and older monkey extricated from brother Peyton's back three years ago.

"It's nice to finally get that damn dirty ape off my back," says Manning. "But I guess I didn't have it as bad as Charlton Heston had it. That poor guy had an entire planet of simians busting his chops. And it's nice to get those Barber brothers, Tiki and Ronde, off my case. I fully expect Marion Barber III to have nothing but good things to say about me leading up to the Dallas game. That 'III' means he must be the third Barber brother, but that could be a misread on my part. Anyway, it's finally good to be Eli Manning. Sunday will be an all-Manning day. First, Peyton and the Colts host the Chargers, then I lead the Giants into Dallas. Finally, my pops, Archie, hosts Spike TV's Good Pets Gone Bad vs. Ultimate Fighters. And, I've been asked to appear on I Love New York and A Shot at Love With Tila Tequila, as well as the spinoff to those two series, Average Joes Looking For Hos. Tony Romo's found his dream girl; maybe I'll find mine, to love, cherish, and break down game film."

In Dallas, Terrell Owens is set to star in his own television show, A Shot of Cortisone With the Dallas Trainer. Owens suffered an ankle sprain on December 22nd, and has been fervently rehabbing with a regimen that includes electrical stimulation, hot and cold compression, and owner Jerry Jones constantly whispering in his ear that he's "the greatest wide receiver of all-time, and my hero." Early indications are that Owens will be a game-time decision, but judging by his history of playing with injuries, Owens should be a go, albeit not at full-strength.

"People have questioned my loyalty, dedication, ethics, coachability, suicide attempts, and pretty much each and every one of my characteristics," says Owens. "But never my toughness. On one good ankle or two, I can still beat a Giant cornerback, and outmuscle a safety over to help. Just a few injections of Lidocaine and B-12, and I'll be like new."

Just before airtime, Joe Buck walks in on broadcast partner Troy Aikman applying some eye shadow and concealer.

"Dude," says a disgusted Buck.

Aikman pretends to moon Buck, disgusting him even further.

Even with Owens at less than his best, the Cowboys have plenty of options on offense, such as (Maid) Marion Barber, (Oran) Julius Jones, Jason (Once) Witten (Twice Shy), Patrick Crayton (For a Girl Like You), (What in the) San Hurd (Is Going on Here?), Terry Glenn (Hur), Anthony (Blame it on the) Fasano (-Va), and Nick Folk (You and the Horse You Rode in On). Tony Romo has the agility to move around in the pocket and avoid the Giants' pass rush, and Wade Phillips has promised that Romo won't have to hold on field goals. Furthermore, Manning has one more playoff win than Romo, which just has to burn Romo up. Dallas has the home-field advantage, and Jessica Simpson is hundreds of miles from Dallas, locked in a bomb shelter in Sioux City, Iowa 500 feet below the earth's surface at the behest of Romo. It's a tight one, but the Cowboys advance with a 27-23 win.

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 11:59 AM | Comments (3)

The Obligatory "Jim Rice HOF Snub" Column

Another year goes by and once again, the Baseball Writers' Association of America proves they lack the mental prowess required to elect baseball players to the Hall of Fame.

Too many of these so-called-experts vote based on personal feeling, team and player allegiances, and stubborn misconceptions.

They're either too dumb, too lazy, too ignorant, or too stubborn to do the research required by their Hall of Fame voting responsibility. I'm so sick and tired of this crap that I honestly don't care anymore.

But I'll take one more crack at the "for the love of God, why the hell isn't Jim Rice in the Hall of Fame" column that I've written every year since he became eligible.

I'll even go slow this time, so the baseball writers can follow what I'm saying.

(Editor's note: A recorded version will be made available for the 20% of baseball writers that are completely illiterate.)

It's simple stuff, really.

To make the Hall of Fame, you needed to be dominant in your era. You need to be respected and feared by your opponents. You need to matchup against the greatest players in the history of the game.

Jim Rice meets all of those qualifications.

Don't believe me? Let's take a look at the facts.

Can you tell me what the following baseball players have in common: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Mel Ott, Hank Greenberg, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Duke Snider, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Frank Robinson, Hank Aaron, Billy Williams, and Jim Rice.

Give up?

They're the only Hall of Fame eligible baseball players who averaged .300 and hit 300 or more HRs over a 10-year period. Only 15 players in the history of baseball have done this (not counting active players).

Every one of those players has been elected to the Hall of Fame — except for Jim Rice.

In 1973, Hank Aaron and Billy Williams finished their 10-year stretches of .300 and 300 HRs. This tremendously rare feat was not accomplished again until Jim Rice did it between 1974 and 1984. He was the only player to accomplish this in his era (technically, he did it three times as he also accomplished this from 1975 to 1985 and from 1976 to 1986).

Over the 16 years he played in the major leagues, he led all other American League players with 382 HRs and 1,451 RBI.

And he's not in the Hall of Fame?

He's the only guy to ever have a season where he led MLB in HRs, RBIs, and 3Bs.

He had 400 total bases in 1978, which is something that at the time hadn't been accomplished in 41 years.

He was the only American League player to hit 46 home runs between 1969 and 1987. The only player to reach 46 HRs over a 17-year stretch. Not exactly the juiced ball/player era we're living in today.

Still not sure of his credentials? I'll continue...

Since the BBWAA began electing players into the Hall of Fame, only 17 players with more than 350 HRs and a career average over .290 have been eligible for the Hall of Fame. Sixteen of them are in the Hall of Fame. The 17th player is Jim Rice.

Only one player in major league history had three consecutive seasons with 35+ HRs and 200+ hits. His name was Jim Rice.

Babe Ruth and Jimmie Foxx once had three straight 39 HR, .315 average seasons. Nobody else has done this. Except for Jim Rice.

Want to talk about an unprecedented stretch of continued dominance? Between 1975 and 1986, Jim Rice is first in hits, first in multi-hit games, first in RBIs, first in go-ahead RBIs, first in total bases, first in outfield assists, second in runs scored, second in slugging, second in extra base hits, third in HRs, and eighth in batting average.

No other player appears in the top 10 of all of those categories.

But baseball writers insist year after year that he's not Hall of Fame worthy.

Are you kidding me?

Jim Rice did this without the help of performance-enhancing drugs. He did this in an era where power hitters and for-average hitters were never the same guy. He did this in an era where hitting 30 HRs in a season was actually something special.

Steroid freaks like Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds have cheapened the HR and made us all forget that a great power hitter used to be defined as someone who could top 20 HRs.

Just because 180-pound second basemen push 20 HRs these days doesn't make what guys like Jim Rice accomplished in the pre-steroid era any less amazing.

Jim Rice's career ended in 1989 because he could no longer hit a baseball. Maybe if he had PEDs (or laser eye surgery, for that matter) at his disposal he could have played a few more years and artificially elevated his career statistics up a few more notches?

If he had played three more years and averaged six HRs per season he would have reached the magic 400, making him a sure-fire Hall of Famer.

Are you telling me that if he had the same "stuff" at his disposal that, say, Barry Bonds has at his disposal he wouldn't have been able to do that?

Short of playing a few more seasons, maybe if he treated the writers better while he was playing he'd be in the Hall of Fame? Maybe if he did a few more interviews he'd get a few more votes?

After all, one of the unwritten requirements for the baseball Hall of Fame is keeping the writers happy. If you don't play nice with the media, you're apparently not a great baseball player. Regardless of how you performed on the diamond.

Well, screw the baseball writers.

Jim Rice is a Hall of Famer, even if the BBWAA is too stupid to recognize it.

I'm SeanMC.

SeanMC is the owner of Boston Sports Rants and is also a frequent contributor at The Bleacher Report. His columns will appear every other Thursday on Sports Central.

Posted by Sean Crowe at 11:50 AM | Comments (0)

January 9, 2008

NFL Mock Awards and Divisonal Forecast

Last Saturday night, ABC aired a fairly important pair of presidential debates in New Hampshire. If you couldn't be bothered to watch them live, because they were up against playoff football, this column is for you.

Before my predictions for the divisional round of this year's playoffs, let's attend to a few items concerning the 2007 regular season, beginning with Sports Central's sixth annual All-Loser team, an NFL all-star team made up entirely of players whose teams missed the playoffs.

2007 NFL All-Loser Team

QB Drew Brees, NO
RB Brian Westbrook, PHI
FB Tony Richardson, MIN
WR Brandon Marshall, DEN
WR Braylon Edwards, CLE
TE Kellen Winslow, Jr., CLE
C Matt Birk, MIN
G Eric Steinbach, CLE
G Shawn Andrews, PHI
OT Joe Thomas, CLE
OT Jason Peters, BUF

DT Pat Williams, MIN
DT Haloti Ngata, BAL
DE Jared Allen, KC
DE Mario Williams, HOU
OLB Lance Briggs, CHI
OLB Thomas Howard, OAK
ILB Brian Urlacher, CHI
ILB Patrick Willis, SF
CB Lito Sheppard, PHI
CB Ken Lucas, CAR
FS Ed Reed, BAL
SS Sean Jones, CLE

K Robbie Gould, CHI
P Michael Koenen, ATL
KR Devin Hester, CHI

Honorable Mentions: Adrian Peterson (RB, MIN); Larry Fitzgerald (WR, ARI); Tony Gonzalez (TE, KC); Darnell Dockett (DT, ARI); Kevin Williams (DT, MIN); Karlos Dansby (OLB, ARI); Josh Cribbs (KR, CLE)

Offensive Loser of the Year: Brian Westbrook, RB, PHI
Defensive Loser of the Year: Jared Allen, DE, KC
Most Valuable Loser: Westbrook

And as long as we're on the topic of losers, the best and worst among this season's NFL announcers, in the booths and the studios:

Best play-by-play: Sam Rosen, FOX

Worst play-by-play: Bryant Gumbel, NFLN

Best color/analysis: Ron Jaworski, ESPN, and John Madden, NBC

Worst color/analysis: Tony Kornheiser, ESPN, and Cris Collinsworth, NFLN and NBC

Best studio analysts: Curt Menefee, FOX; Keith Olbermann, NBC; Boomer Esiason, CBS; and (I hate myself for this) Deion Sanders, NFLN

Worst studio analysts: Keyshawn Johnson, ESPN; Terry Bradshaw, FOX; Bill Cowher, CBS

Most improved: Mike Tirico, ESPN, and Deion Sanders, NFLN

Most disappointing: Collinsworth and Cowher

Praise For 2007

CBS: No sideline reporters? Love it. Keep up the good work.

ESPN: I don't miss Michael Irvin in the studio.

FOX: Jay Glazer seems to be most reliable "insider" around these days.

NBC: Getting Keith Olbermann back into sportscasting is the best move of the century.

NFLN: Airing the Week 17 Giants/Patriots matchup on free stations gave the NFL the moral high ground over cable companies.

All I Want For 2008

CBS: Your studio guys lost their personalities. The show would be more fun if someone finds them.

ESPN: Kornheiser was better this year, and he's still the worst announcer in the league. Please have him stick to PTI.

FOX: Sweet heaven, get rid of Joe Buck.

NBC: If Al Michaels could restrain himself from sharing his political opinions during football broadcasts, he and Madden would easily be the best booth combo in the league.

NFLN: Bryant Gumbel doesn't understand football. This network, most of all, has no excuse not to find someone better.

Divisional Forecast

And finally, some quick predictions for this week's games.

Seahawks at Packers

The toughest game of the weekend to call, especially after the way Seattle manhandled Washington's offensive line on Saturday. I think the Packers will give Brett Favre better protection than that, and the 'Hawks will miss their homefield advantage. Packers by a field goal.

Jaguars at Patriots

Possibly the most intriguing matchup of the divisional round. The Patriots have looked vulnerable in the last month, and the Jags are a lot better than the Eagles, Ravens, and Giants. I'm not picking against the Pats at home this week, but I don't think a Jacksonville win would be shocking. Patriots by 10.

Chargers at Colts

This is the one I don't think will be close. I know San Diego has given the Colts trouble the last few seasons, but the Chargers looked like pretenders last week, the Colts are clearly the better team, and the game is in Indianapolis. Colts by 20.

Giants at Cowboys

The Giants haven't lost on the road since Week 1. The Cowboys haven't been impressive since their Week 13 win over Green Bay. Terrell Owens might not play. This is a tempting upset pick, but I just have no faith in the Giants. Dallas by six.

Posted by Brad Oremland at 11:51 AM | Comments (0)

Where Did All the Good Players Go?

Okay, so my title may be a little misleading; there are tons of great players in the NBA. In fact, my personal belief is that we are living in the most talented era of basketball all-time.

Nonetheless, there are a number of big-time players that are simply missing the mark this year and causing their teams a lot of frustration by doing so.

As the saying goes, "what goes up, must go down." That phrase certainly applies to what has happened this year to the following five players:

1. Tracy McGrady

Houston's megastar has turned into a mega-disappointment. This was supposed to be Houston's year. They stacked up on depth by adding Steve Francis, Luis Scola, Mike James, Aaron Brook, and Bonzi Wells (who was a Rocket last year, but hardly considered one by Jeff Van Gundy). With all their talent, it seemed as though the team would finally have the secondary scoring they needed to back up Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady. But things didn't turn out the way they were supposed to.

The Houston Rockets (17-17) are 2.5 games back of a playoff spot while McGrady's points, assists, and rebounds have all gone down. On top of that, he has been as fragile as ever, causing an anonymous NBA player to dub him "half man, half a season."

2. Shaquille O'Neal

I'm not blaming him completely for the Heat's collapse this year, as he has been dealing with injury troubles (back). Nonetheless, it's shame to see Shaq struggle so much for Miami (8-26) when they are in desperate need for a leader to turn their season around.

While Dwyane Wade has also been struggling with injuries and slumps, it is much more inexcusable for Shaq to be on such a consistent decline. Every year, Shaq says "screw it" to coming to camp in shape and expects the season to be his warm-up for the playoffs. That mentality is the main reason why Miami may not be heading to the postseason in 2008.

3. Stephon Marbury

The simple fact that you're thinking "Stephon Marbury doesn't belong on a list with McGrady and Shaq" proves how far this guy has fallen off. He is the epitome of disaster. He's Terrell Owens and Chad Johnson combined, but without any highlight-reel plays left in the tank.

Here are three quotes that Marbury made in an interview with Bruce Beck on "Mike'd Up" I'm guessing he'd probably want to erase this interview from history if he could.

• "Me trying to be the leader of the team, it's to try to convince them of a way, how we can go steal a trophy. People are going to think we're crazy for talking like that, but if you believe it, you can achieve it." (Note: The Knicks are 8-24.)
• "I think I'm going to average like 10 points, like 12, 13 dimes, like 2, 3 assists and about 4, 5 rebounds." (Note: Marbury is averaging 13.7 points, 4.5 assists, and 2.2 rebounds ... oh, and since "dimes" and "assists" are the same thing, I think he meant 2-3 steals. He is currently averaging 0.9 steals per game.)
• "Isiah Thomas is a "man's man and he can see the light." (Note: Stephon Marbury and Isiah Thomas have had a number of difficulties since the offseason interview.)

4. Zach Randolph

Let's face it, any list about disappointments would be incomplete without have New York written all over it.

Last year, Randolph was a 20-10 guy with the Blazers, but this year, his stats are a touch worse. But the main thing we've learned about Randolph is that he can put up great stats, but he does so in a way that hurts his team.

This year, he was supposed to be the guy that saved the Knicks. Sure, tons of analysts saw trouble brewing by putting him alongside Eddy Curry, but the Knicks felt as though they were going to be contenders. You all know what happened. The Knicks are amidst one of the most troublesome years that I can remember and Randolph's old team, the Blazers, have turned into a contender without making any major changes. Zach Randolph is the new poster boy for addition by subtraction.

5. Jermaine O'Neal

If you were to organize Jermaine O'Neal's 12 seasons in the NBA into three chapters, they would read like this.

Chapter 1 (1996-2000): Promising Youngster — In this stage of his career, Jermaine O'Neal was a young Portland Trailblazer that was headed for the big-time. Everybody knew he was going to be good, it was just a matter of gaining maturity and confidence.

Chapter 2 (2001-2005): On Top of His Game — When Jermaine O'Neal was traded to Indiana, the team was going through a supposed rebuilding phase after losing three starters (Rik Smits, Mark Jackson, and Dale Davis), as well as their coach, Larry Bird. O'Neal ensured that the rebuilding phase wouldn't be a difficult, carrying on the playoff tradition that Pacers fans had grown used to while also leading them to an NBA-leading 61-21 record in 2003-04. Unfortunately, the Pacers failed to ever make any major damage in the playoffs.

Chapter 3 (2006-2008): Injury Prone Has-Been — Since the 2004-2005 season, Jermaine O'Neal's points have be on a consistent decline from 24.3 down to his current average of 15.8. He has also failed to play in more than 70 games a year in eight of his 12 seasons in the league. While extremely talented, Jermaine is no longer considered a premier center in the league, nor can he be relied on as being the best player on his team.

Indiana is currently 1.5 games out a playoff spot and looking to deal O'Neal. The only problem is that nobody seems to want him.

Honorable Mention: Dwyane Wade, Ben Wallace, Emeka Okafor, Kirk Hinrich, and Andrea Bargnani

Posted by Chad Kettner at 11:43 AM | Comments (0)

Jim Rice and the Fear Factor

As I write, an ESPN poll has 15,905 votes cast and 67 percent of those saying Jim Rice should be going to Cooperstown, as against 33 percent saying he shouldn't. Surely, there will be those Boston writers who covered the man in his prime and may be surprised by the popular sentiment, considering Rice in his playing days may not have been thought the most popular fellow on the block.

But you note that an awful lot of the evidence marshaled on behalf of Rice is the fear factor — the image he has as having been one of the single most feared men in the game whenever he stepped into the batter's box.

He was as fearsome looking as he was fearsomely hitting, both in physical presence and if you take his career statistics at face value and ignore things like his home-road splits. This was the quintessential stereotype of the Fenway Park hitter, a right-handed bombardier who hit like a Hall of Famer at home and like short enough of one on the road, a differential too gaping to brush aside too readily. His home slugging surely kept pitchers thinking on the road, but Jim Rice actually turns out not to have been quite so feared as his reputation has left him.

There are ways to measure the fear factor if you're so inclined. One of them? Well, let's look at how often this man was put on base intentionally because an enemy pitcher decided the last thing he needed was to get slaughtered by a Rice cannon shot. You'd think a man that intimidating would be taking first base on the house at a rate alarming enough, and you might have thought that way even before it became as much a predictable part of a Barry Bonds story as the accusations of actual or alleged performance-enhancing substances.

But you're going to have to convince me that a man is genuinely feared when 10 percent of his lifetime walks are intentional passes.

Ten percent. That's how often Jim Rice got first base on the house, out of all the walks he accumulated. That's also how often Jack Clark, a contemporary, got first base on the house out of all the walks he accumulated. And Jack the Ripper isn't going to Cooperstown anytime soon. (And the one free pass Clark should have received, but didn't, was when Tommy Lasorda decided it was safe for Tom Niedenfeuer to pitch to Clark with two on, first base open, and the Dodgers an out or two from the 1985 World Series. Clark hit one into Casey Stengel's back yard for a three-run homer nobody in Los Angeles will ever forget, and the Cardinals held the Dodgers off in the bottom of the ninth to go to the World Series.)

Now, consider the intentional walk percentages of a few more Rice contemporaries: among Rice's contemporaries: Dave Kingman (12 percent), Reggie Jackson (12 percent), Dave Winfield (14 percent), Cal Ripken (9 percent), Mike Schmidt (13 percent), George Brett (21 percent), Dave Parker (25 percent), Andre Dawson (24 percent).

Disallow for the moment that some of the above weren't that great at taking walks in the first place. And, bear in mind that walk totals don't account for those unintentional intentional bases on balls. (You know: the kind in which pitchers pitch around the fellow without setting up for the free pass, keeping the repertoire just beyond reach, but throwing full power rather than eephus lobs.) Given that, you'll have a hard time convincing me that a man whose walks were 10 percent intentional was that much feared against some of his contemporaries.

Dave Kingman was feared slightly more than Jim Rice based on the foregoing tallies, and King Kong turned out to be anywhere but a Hall of Famer. Mr. October speaks for himself; Iron Cal speaks likewise, and based on the foregoing tally he was almost exactly as feared as Rice. Dave Parker and Andre Dawson were actually twice as feared as Rice; the Cobra isn't really likely to go to Cooperstown, while the debate will probably continue about the Hawk.

Dave Winfield, Mike Schmidt, and George Brett were more feared than Rice based on the above tally, but their Hall of Fame cases were (and remain) incontrovertible.

Just for a yuk-yuk, I decided to check four earlier contemporaries. This one may surprise you. Whom would you say among the following foursome was the most feared hitter? Did I hear Mickey Mantle? Did I hear Willie Mays? Did I hear Frank Robinson? Did I hear Hank Aaron? Well, I have a surprise for you: the descending order of fear factor, based on their lifetime intentional walks percentage, is precisely the reverse of the order in which I named them. Aaron: 20 percent. Robinson: 15 percent. Mays: 13 percent. Mantle: 7 percent.

Right then and there, that should end any and every argument (there are those still foolish enough to make them, and they're pretty lame to begin with) about whether or not Hank Aaron belongs in the Asgard of sluggers merely because he lasted long enough to pass Babe Ruth on the bomb list without "spectacular" (read: 50+ bomb seasons) single-season tallies. Tell me why a guy who got to first base on the house 20 percent of the time should be considered less fearsome than three guys who got it 15 percent or less, even if you give Mantle his allowance for all those injuries and Mays his allowance for two years' military service.

And if you think only the big bombers strike fear into the hearts of enemy pitchers, be advised that Roberto Clemente's lifetime walks were 27 percent intentional.

But I digress.

Hearing enough about so-called Fenway hitters — and Rice, to repeat, resembles the stereotype when all is said and done — you can't be all that surprised that he hasn't gotten to the Hall of Fame just yet. When you slug 87 points lower on the road; when you reach base .044 percent less on the road; and, when pitchers on the road fear you a lot less (Rice has 23 less intentional walks on the road) than they do in your own playpen, it's going to hurt your Hall of Fame chances.

Rice has his anomalies. For one thing, like Dale Murphy (whose home-road split is probably the major reason he, too, isn't going to Cooperstown, dearly though so many want to see him there because he was so likable a superstar), Rice defies the percentage match of right-handed hitter versus left-handed pitcher. Both men hit right-handed pitching a lot less often but a lot more productively than they did left-handed pitching; Rice's lifetime batting average against the portsiders is 20 points higher, but he drove in 683 more runs against the starboard siders. I don't know if that's enough to balance or mitigate his gaping home-road splits. But I do know that the right-handers weren't always paying attention to how Rice was battering run production out of them — they gave him three fewer intentional walks.

Rice was also a better man than he was given credit for being, in fact. He was thought a pain in the butt with some of the press and perhaps a few teammates. (Bill Lee, for one, wasn't exactly Rice's biggest fan.) But if you wanted just to talk the game and were willing to wait for him to decide it was good, Rice (rather like Eddie Murray, in fact) could actually be a very enlightening interview.

Peter Gammons, who covered Rice during his Boston Globe heyday, from Beyond the Sixth Game: What's Happened to Baseball Since the Greatest Game in World Series History:

Part of the reason Rice hadn't received what he felt was his due [by 1978] was his personality. Not that any manager ever disliked him, for, as [Don] Zimmer once said, "He's a manager's player — write his name in the lineup every day, he gives you a hundred percent and never says anything." Once, when the fans were booing Zimmer and demanding his firing in 1979, Rice walked into the manager's office after a particularly tough loss and said, "Don't worry, Skip, I won't let them get you. You're a good man, and it's not your fault."

He could be jovial and sometimes even loud on buses ... but Rice's quiet, sometimes moody nature made him one of the targets of extra players like Frank Duffy, Jack Brohamer, and Steve Renko who pointed out that one of the problems with the Red Sox of that era was that, as Duffy once said, "The team gets off a plan and twenty-five players go off in twenty-five different cabs."

As he reached 30, Rice relaxed and seemed to have more fun with his teammates. He also had begun to relax with the media, which from Salem to Seattle viewed him as one of the game's most distant, arrogant, and temperamental stars. To some of the writers who traveled with the team, Rice was never particularly difficult. If he made an out or an error that had some effect on the outcome of the game, he would explain what happened honestly. "What I don't like," he'd say, "is to stand there in the middle of a crowd of reporters and microphones to announce how wonderful I am because I hit two home runs. The game comes back to haunt you when you boast, and, anyway, you can say it better than I can. You get paid to say nice things about me better than I can say them. When there's something to explain, I'll explain it." And he usually does.

Rice never talked a lot about racism and the Red Sox; it first cropped up publicly in a Sport magazine story in 1978, and he quickly issued a statement denying the quotes attributed to him. But, privately, Rice would talk about the Red Sox and their whiteness, and he talked about it rationally and sensibly. "I don't believe that [then-president] Haywood Sullivan or [then-general manager] Ed Kasko are racists," he said. "No way. They've been too good to me. But they don't go after black athletes. How many scouts do we have in the cities? How many scouts do we have getting black players out of certain areas? I'm not saying it's racism, it's just poor scouting. When you look at some of these scrawny white boys we have around here, you wonder who's scouting." With the reference to "white boys," he laughed.

And stories enough have filtered forth about Rice going out of his way for numerous people without caring who did or didn't know about it, even if he wasn't one to announce it or reveal it in retrospect.

A good and decent man, at least until injuries and exhaustion finally got him in his final few seasons; a remarkable baseball player when all was said and done. For one three-season skien in particular (1977-79), Rice played exactly the way you'd expect a Hall of Famer to play. The Red Sox wouldn't have won at least two pennants and gotten to at least one single-game playoff that broke New England's heart without him; they couldn't quite finish off at least one World Series without him (he was injured and couldn't play in 1975), and he wasn't even close to enough to help them win another. (He hit .333 with six runs scored, six walks, and nine hits, including a double and a triple, but he had no runs batted in, in the 1986 heartbreaker.)

It won't diminish what he meant to some remarkable Red Sox teams if Jim Rice, with or without the fear factor actual or alleged, just didn't quite reach enough of the way to what was needed — at least a more sustained peak value, and a far more narrow home-road split — to put him over the line from mere greatness into the Hall of Fame.

Posted by Jeff Kallman at 11:03 AM | Comments (1)

January 8, 2008

Pigskin and Twine

I was scheduled to begin my second season as a Sports Central college hoops columnist today, but I'm having a hard time turning the page on the NFL season. I guess that's what happens when your team is three games away from immortality.

Anyway, a few notes on this weekend's divisional games before a quick rundown on the state of college hoops.

All four home teams in this weekend's NFL divisional playoff games have opened as more than a touchdown favorite. Dallas is at -7.5 over the Giants, Green Bay -8 over Seattle, Indianapolis -8.5 over San Diego, and New England -11.5 over Jacksonville.

You could make a case all four dogs have a good shot at covering, if not winning outright.

The Giants have won eight road games in a row, while Dallas hasn't played a meaningful game in a month. The status of Terrell Owens' ankle will be questioned all week, and with good reason. Without a healthy T.O., the Dallas offense is good, but not great. The Giants would be able to use more man coverage on the outside, giving them greater flexibility in defending Jason Witten in the middle. With a healthy T.O., the coverage has to slant, opening holes for everybody else. Plus, Owens is Dallas' main deep threat. If he can't stretch the field, the Cowboys won't be able to make as much use of their play-action game.

The question with Seattle isn't so much their offense against the Packers defense, but whether the Seahawks' front seven that caused so much havoc for the Redskins can accomplish the same feat with Brett Favre and the Packers. Within the miracle season of Favre (and you'll be hearing about that a whole lot this week), this one truth remains evident: when pressured, he will make dumb decisions that result in interceptions. It's been that way his entire career. Why would he change now? How the Pack offense handles Patrick Kerney and Julian Peterson will determine the outcome of this game.

Of the four, I'd probably give the Chargers the lowest odds in pulling the upset this weekend. They may have beaten the Titans, but it was far from an impressive showing. Albert Haynesworth, Kyle Vanden Bosch, and the rest of the Titans' defensive front manhandled the Chargers' offensive line at times. LaDainian Tomlinson only ran for 42 yards on 21 carries. And now they may be missing Antonio Gates after yet another cheap shot by the dirty Titans. (Shades of Bobby Wade taking out Rodney Harrison's knee last year. Oddly enough, that benefited the Colts, as well.)

Anyway, now the Chargers leave sunny San Diego for the "We Don't Pump in Crowd Noise" Dome in Indianapolis. And instead of a hobbled Vince Young, it's Peyton Manning on the other side of the line. Can they win? Yes. Any given Sunday, as they say. Will they? No.

Jacksonville. At first glance, it looks like a bad matchup for New England. The Pats have shown one weakness this season, and it's stopping the run game. Anybody who watched Willis McGahee run for 138 yards and a touchdown in early December knows the Jags' duo of Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew presents a tremendous challenge for New England. If Jacksonville can control the clock with Taylor and Jones-Drew, then use its incredibly physical defense to frustrate the Pats' offense, the Jags can pull the upset.

With that said, Jacksonville winning this game would mean the following: David Garrard and Jack Del Rio beating Tom Brady and Bill Belichick in a playoff game in Foxborough. Of all the arguments that can be made in either direction, that is the biggest difference between these two teams: Hall of Fame QB and Hall of Fame head coach at home vs. good QB and good head coach. I just can't get past that.

Also, I don't think the Jags can cover Randy Moss. The Colts' Reggie Wayne had a combined 17 receptions for 289 yards and a TD in two games. Denver's Brandon Marshall had 7 catches for 133, Houston's Kevin Walters 12 for 160, Tampa's Joey Galloway six for 115 and a TD, New Orleans' Marques Colston 10 for 159, and Pittsburgh's Hines Ward 10 for 135 on Saturday. The Jags were 4-3 in those seven games, losing twice to Indy, 29-7 and 28-25, and to the Saints 41-24. With Moss, Wes Welker, Donte Stallworth, Jabar Gaffney, Ben Watson, and Laurence Maroney, the Pats have more than enough weapons to score in the 30-point range. Is it realistic to expect the Jags to match that?

One other point, and I hate to say it, but if ever there were a game in which officials would throw a few calls toward the home team, it would be this one. A Pats/Colts AFC Championship Game would be a record-setter for the league and its television partners. A Pats-Packers/Cowboys Super Bowl would break all records, for hype and ratings. If you believe in such things (we know the Ravens do), the Jags could be facing a little bit more of an uphill battle. I'm not saying it's going to happen, but it bears watching.

***

On to college hoops with 15 things you should know:

15. The Arizona State Sun Devils are for real. They've got wins over LSU, Xavier, and Oregon already, and are a very legit threat to beat Arizona tomorrow night if Wildcats freshman point guard Jerryd Bayless doesn't play (questionable with a knee sprain). Herb Sendek is coach of the year in the Pac-10 right now.

14. The Atlantic 10 may well place four teams in the NCAA tournament. Rhode Island is 14-1 with a win at Syracuse. Dayton is 12-1 with wins over Louisville and Pittsburgh. Xavier is 12-3 with wins over Indiana, Kansas State, Virginia, and Auburn (by an average margin of 23). And Massachusetts is 11-3 with wins at Syracuse and Boston College. I don't think all four will get in (my guess is UMass falls off), but three is a very likely possibility.

13. The chemistry with O.J. Mayo just isn't there for Tim Floyd and the USC Trojans. With the Washington schools in L.A. this weekend, followed by a trip to Pauley, then up to the Oregon schools, SC, already 0-2 in conference, is in danger of getting buried early.

12. All you need to know about the Missouri Valley is this:

Drake 12-1 (3-0)
Illinois State 11-3 (3-0)
Indiana State 8-5 (3-0)
Northern Iowa 10-4 (2-1)
Creighton 10-3 (1-2)
Wichita State 8-6 (1-2)
Missouri State 8-7 (1-2)
Southern Illinois 6-8 (1-2)
Bradley 7-8 (0-3)
Evansville 5-8 (0-3)

Crazy.

11. North Carolina's Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington may be the best backcourt I've seen all year. And Tyler Hansbrough is a beast. For some reason, I always forget this.

10. Kent State is a 12-5 upset waiting to happen.

9. Iowa is going to upset some people before it's said and done. New coach Todd Likliter, in his first year after leading Butler to the Sweet 16, has the Hawkeyes playing inspired.

8. Texas A&M is going to win 25+ games and land a top-three seed. Their only remaining regular season games against teams currently ranked in the top 25 are a home-and-home with Texas and the regular season finale at home against Kansas.

7. There's not a single trustworthy team in the entire Big East. Notre Dame PG Tory Jackson is still up and down. Syracuse was sorely lacking in depth before losing Eric Devendorf for the year. The Louisville guards can't shoot. Pittsburgh has been hit hard by injuries to Mike Cook and Levance Fields. Villanova is relying too heavily on Scottie Reynolds, and it's showing. West Virginia is weak inside, meaning they can only win if their outside shots are falling. As weak as West Virginia is inside, they just out-rebounded Marquette 30-22, raising questions about the Golden Eagles' ability to compete in the post. As 34 percent, Connecticut is the worst three-point shooting team of the conference's contenders. And Georgetown hasn't found its replacement for Jeff Green as the guy to take and make the big shot.

The Big East is still going to pack the bracket with seven or eight teams, but I don't know who out of that pack you could say with any degree of confidence will be playing past the Sweet 16.

6. The notion of Memphis going undefeated is ludicrous. Conference USA has way more depth this year than in the past few years. That's not to disparage the Tigers, but the undefeated talk is retarded at this point in the season.

5. Things aren't going to get any easier for Kentucky. They still have two against Vanderbilt, two against Tennessee, two against Florida, and one each against Arkansas and Mississippi. It could be a struggle just to finish .500 in a very disappointing first year for Billy Gillispie.

4. Vandy freshman center Andrew Ogilvy is getting all the pub in the Commodores' 15-0 start, but don't forget about senior Shan Foster, who has hit an incredible 53 percent of his 122 three-point attempts. Foster leads the SEC in scoring at 21.1. Ogilvy is second at 19.3.

3. Don't sleep on Ohio State.

2. Tennessee was good before they got J.P. Prince back. Now, they're just incredible. Their February 23 game at Memphis may be a Final Four preview.

1. Memphis, North Carolina, Kansas, and UCLA are your four one seeds. I still like Tennessee and Indiana to the Final Four with the Tigers and Bruins. Memphis is still the pick to win.

Seth Doria is a writer based out of St. Louis. For the only daily column that mixes sports, politics, and entertainment news in one, visit The Left Calf.

Posted by Joshua Duffy at 11:48 AM | Comments (0)

January 7, 2008

Are Two "Best" Teams in Title Game?

I'm sorry, but as much as a college football fan as I am, I really can't get too excited about tonight's BCS National Championship Game between Ohio State and LSU. It's not that I don't care about either of these teams — I grew up rooting for Ohio State back in the Woody Hayes era — but I really don't believe the two "best" teams in the nation are playing in the game. And that's why I'm jumping back on my bandwagon calling for a playoff system of some sort.

If you'll recall my article of a couple months ago, I pretty much nailed it that Ohio State would be playing in this game, and spelled out a number of scenarios that would have needed to occur to keep LSU out. Well, here they are, but I'm not so sure they'd both be here if a playoff was conducted.

Let's say there was an eight-team playoff, using the top eight from the final BCS standings. Here's how the matchups would look: No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 8 Kansas; No. 2 LSU vs. No. 7 USC; No. 3 Virginia Tech vs. No. 6 Missouri; and No. 4 Oklahoma vs. No. 5 Georgia. Now, let's check out the matchups based solely on the outcomes of the bowl games thus far.

Of the top four teams, I think only one would win their game. Kansas struggled with Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl, hanging on for a 24-21 victory. I don't think the Jayhawks could go to the Horseshoe and beat the Buckeyes, or even on a neutral field. Next, I think that USC, back to their NFL-like ways evident in their 49-17 rout of Illinois in the Rose Bowl, would handle LSU either in Baton Rouge or on a neutral field.

In the next game, I think it would be close, but I believe Virginia Tech would beat Missouri in Blacksburg, but the Tigers would prevail in a neutral location. Using the actual bowl outcomes, with Missouri winning big over Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl and the Hokies losing to Kansas, the Tigers get the nod — plus they had a better average point spread for the season, winning by a margin of two points more than Virginia Tech did.

Finally, with Oklahoma losing the Fiesta Bowl to West Virginia and Georgia humiliating Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl, the Bulldogs would oust the Sooners either in Norman or on a neutral field.

Now it gets tricky. Based on a lowest-rank vs. highest-rank pairing, USC would travel to Ohio State and Missouri would face Georgia in Athens (or they would be played on a neutral field in a bowl-type game). Again, I don't think USC is going to lose to anyone at this point in time, so they beat the Buckeyes and move into the championship game. I also think Georgia is the better team when matched up against Missouri, so they would face the Trojans for the national title. USC wins that game, 26-24.

Of course, that's what I think would happen if a playoff was conducted this season. You may have a different opinion. You might think that Ohio State and LSU would end up in the title game anyway. Or, you might be a fan of Georgia or USC or Kansas and think that one of them would play for the championship if given the chance. Regardless of how you feel, the fact is we're stuck with a team that lost twice during the regular season and another that hasn't played in nearly two months battling for the most coveted and honored award in college football — the national championship. Good luck to both the Buckeyes and Tigers, and maybe the game will be exciting, despite my lack thereof emotionally.

Posted by Adam Russell at 11:46 AM | Comments (3)

Low-Key Endings For Two NFL Iron Men

The final week of the NFL regular season may have been dominated by the New England Patriots and their quest for a perfect record, but quietly and without much fanfare two of the league's longest tenured and classiest players slipped into retirement. Bryant Young (36-years-old, with 14 seasons behind him, and Vinny Testaverde (44, 21 seasons), went out in games against Cleveland and Tampa Bay, respectively. In stark contrast to the start of their careers, barely anyone watched them go.

Testaverde came into the league in 1987 as a number one draft pick and with a Heisman Trophy tucked under his arm. Young was drafted in 1994, seventh overall by a team destined to win that year's championship. Both had the football world at their feet. It didn't quite work out as planned for either of them, but for different reasons.

Vinny Testaverde came out of the University of Miami, hot on the heels of Bernie Kosar and Jim Kelly. He had the stronger arm of the three, but had some question marks about his composure and decision making, mostly on the strength of his 5 interceptions in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl against Penn State. Like Kosar, he wasn't fleet-footed and needed a solid offensive line to protect him. Unfortunately for Testaverde, he was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who had a poor team and an offensive line with more holes than a Die Hard movie plot.

He never really stunk in Tampa, despite the regular cacophony of boos from the crowd. He didn't have it in him to carry a bad team either, but then not many quarterbacks do.

Troy Aikman had a poor first year in Dallas, but the front office were shrewd enough to realize they had a difference-maker behind center, so they constructed a roster to help him play to his strengths. The Bucs couldn't, or wouldn't, do that and Testaverde paid the price.

I've often been of the opinion that quarterbacking is about the time and the place. Would that well-known shelf-stacker Kurt Warner have emerged from complete obscurity to have two of the greatest seasons in NFL history if Trent Green hadn't gone down early in 1999? Or if Dick Vermeil had preferred Joe Germaine as his backup? Or if Adam Timmerman, Orlando Pace, and Ryan Tucker hadn't been in front of him for those two glorious years?

Testaverde was no Brett Favre, Troy Aikman, or even Kurt Warner. He wasn't Trent Dilfer or Jeff Hostetler, either, but he was at least as good. But they have the rings because they were in the right place at the right time.

He followed his Miami predecessor Kosar to the Cleveland (then Baltimore) Browns, where he enjoyed some success, going to the 1996 Pro Bowl. He moved on to the Jets and again made a Pro Bowl. Nothing that will get you a seat at Canton, but a solid career and long enough to rank him sixth all-time in passing yards, attempts, and completions. But he was at his physical peak during his time in Tampa where there was no supporting cast.

My abiding memory of Vinny will be that unbelievable night in the Meadowlands in October 2000. Down 30-7 in the fourth quarter, Testaverde suddenly became Joe Montana for 15 minutes, throwing four touchdown passes to four different receivers, including fleet-footed eligible tackle Jumbo Elliot. John Hall nailed a 40-yarder in OT to complete the comeback.

In complete contrast to that night in New Jersey, Testaverde ended his career on a final play kneel down, "six-tight diamond," called into his headset by his son Vincent in the city where it all started.

Through all the hype about his Heisman, the number one pick, the booing, the questions about his eyesight, and everything that goes with a high-profile NFL career, Testaverde remained dignified and grounded.

''No matter what, even through everything, he is a gentleman and always will be,'' said his wife of 16 years, Mitzi.

The exact same thing could be said of Bryant Young. In an era where the stories of NFL players often appear in the news rather than sports section, Young was a consummate professional and a leader in the locker room. He won a record eight Len Eshmont Awards, voted by his fellow Niners to the most courageous player on the team. These meant as much to him as his four Pro Bowl selections.

Young was a standout high school player in Illinois. Notre Dame and Lou Holtz came calling, and in the late-'80s/early-'90s, it was hard to say no to such a national powerhouse. He started for three-years and looked ready for the pros from day one. He had the size, the quick feet, and was disciplined. Nobody, even Mel Kiper, Jr., was surprised when his name was called out seventh on draft day 1994 by Paul Tagliabue.

His career couldn't have begun any better. Surrounded by a great roster, one of the best of the decade, the Niners steamrolled San Diego 49-26 in Super Bowl XXIX. Bryant Young must have thought that Lombardi Trophy was the first of many. Instead, it was his career highlight as the team succumbed to financial chicanery, front office mismanagement, the coaching carousel, and the aging of key personnel.

Young could have caused a stink, forced a trade, or whined to the press about "respect" and wanting to win. He didn't — to the Niners' credit — both sides stayed loyal even after a sickening double leg fracture in 1998. Young switched from being the highlighted DE in a 4-3 system to being a lunch pail grinder in a 3-4 without a whimper. His main task was to hold up offensive linemen whilst LBs like Patrick Willis made the glory plays.

Ultimately, his role descended into doing the selfless, dirty work in the trenches, something that goes unnoticed in the stats box on Monday morning.

"Regardless of what his stats are, his opponents will tell you he's the best in the game," linebacker Jeff Ulbrich said. "He's constantly doing little things that don't get noticed on the field."

That sort of work makes it tough to get to Canton, but Young's career is at least as meritorious (though less high-profile) as both Dan Hampton's and Howie Long's who are both enshrined.

He hung up his cleats because there is no end in sight to the Niners' futility and at 36-years-old, the future is now.

"I felt I couldn't muster up another year. I really felt this was the year we turn it around and make something happen. I felt this was the year we turned the corner. For whatever reason, it hasn't been what we'd hoped," said Bryant before his last game at Candlestick.

In one way, Bryant Young is a lucky man. The Niners moved up in the 1994 draft to select him and he got a Super Bowl ring in his first season. Dan Wilkinson, the first overall selection, enjoyed a fruitless career with four different teams. Young played his entire professional life in the same city and came to be loved by the community. But the final feeling is of a man, like Testaverde, who left the game without achieving what he deserved, given his stellar commitment to his profession.

"Bryant Young is the ultimate professional and ultimate 49er," said former teammate Jeff Garcia. "The guy has been an ambassador for the team in the sense he is everything you want, not out of a player, but out of a person. He is the type of person you want your son to be like."

In any era, there is no finer compliment than that.

Posted by Mike Round at 11:25 AM | Comments (0)

January 5, 2008

The Fan Outrage Outage

When the brilliant James J. Patterson started SportsFan Magazine roughly a decade ago, one of the cornerstones of its foundational ideology was outrage: fans upset about the ethics, ethos and, most importantly, the economics of professional sports in modern times. That led to cover stories about everything from fans suing teams to the art and science of ticket scalping. It also led to a reoccurring theme throughout the magazine's print run, which was how corporations had successfully purchased the fun in all American sports and stored it under lock-and-key in some kind of underground vault.

Advertising and other assorted corporate whoring has crept into every facet of sports, from the way they're presented to the way they're funded to the way they're remembered. Stadiums have sponsors. Highlights have sponsors. Athletes have sponsors, and those sponsors have sponsors. It's a small miracle that other professional sports have somehow avoided the blatant advertising on uniforms and equipment that NASCAR trail-blazed.

A great litmus test about the over-commercialization of sports is the way the game is presented on the radio. Take baseball, for example: the differences between coverage today and, say, 25 years ago are startling. Every single occurrence in games seems sponsored today, from the first pitch to the last moments of a post-game show. Back in the day, sponsorship seemed obvious, folksy and quirky: the local food market sponsoring a home run, or the homer announcer doing a live-read between innings. Today, it's engrained and, in many cases, nearly subliminal.

In the words of one of most popular pieces in the halls of SFM HQ: where's the outrage? Has the complete assimilation of sports by corporate culture caused us to give up the fight? Do we all just accept naming rights, constant sponsorship, and the undeniable ability of corporations to usurp the integrity of our games as unavoidable and irreversible?

I remember, in the not-to-distant past, a fan culture that was outraged over the fact that college bowl games had become de facto commercials for its sponsors instead of distinct experiences for college athletes and fans. Or maybe I'm the only idiot who'd rather tell his grandkids about playing in the Peach Bowl rather than the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

See, it used to be the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, but then the grilled chicken ate the peach. Now we have bowl games that have never been anything but corporate advertising ventures, like the PapaJohns.com Bowl.

Now obviously, the argument for all of this corporate whoring is that it subsidizes college and professional sports. Papa John's helps create a bowl game for deserving college players, and that bowl game raises revenue for the schools and their conferences and the NCAA. ESPN Regional Television, according to Wikipedia, "owns and manages the bowl's operations, sponsorships and marketing."

So everybody wins, right? Well, not always. According to FOX Business News, there have been no less than 19 deals for over $100 million for stadium and arena naming rights over the last decade. A recent story by FBR quoted Jim Grinstead — publisher of Revenues From Sports Venues, "a Nashville-based company that tracks how stadiums and arenas make money" — as saying that "fans do better when those deals are struck because the team has the cash to invest in the players without it coming out of the ticket prices."

"Fans do better?" Players, and their agents, do better. Teams do better, if they're not criminally mismanaged despite their high-priced talent. But fans? Grinstead mentions ticket prices, which is sort of ironic: for all the corporate whoring in professional sports, can you remember an announcement that a team had signed on with a major sponsor at the same time it announced ticket prices would decrease?

Me, neither. But much like the infiltration of commercialization in sports, I guess the continued fleecing of fans is just implicit these days.

Greg Wyshynski is also a weekly columnist for SportsFan Magazine. His columns appear every Saturday on Sports Central. You can e-mail Greg at [email protected].

Posted by Greg Wyshynski at 11:57 AM | Comments (1)

January 4, 2008

Striving For a New Year's Goal

Welcome to 2008, with hopes, dreams, and promises for everyone. No, I'm not talking about NBA title contenders. I mean everyone else — the common folk — those of us in the real world. This is the time of season where everybody makes a resolution for a new year. Everything from getting in shape to owning less clutter gets put through the ringer once "Auld Lang Syne" starts perking up in the crowd.

But what about the professional basketball players? They're people, too, right? They must have something to try and improve on, just like everybody else. What could those guys have been thinking about during their New Years' Eve parties?

I will try to double my efforts

Players are usually known to be prolific in one or two offensive categories. Great big men look to pile up points and boards, while the fantastic guards attribute their success to scoring and giving out dimes. However, there are a few ballers whose goals are a little loftier. These are the "triple-threats," the ones who provide all three facets of the offensive game to their teams.

At the dawn of 2008, two men stand out ahead of the rest in this regard. Jason Kidd has been throwing triple-doubles at old vets and young rookies since entering the league in 1994. The Nets' on-court leader had 94 stat lines (in the regular season) with two digits in these categories as of December 22nd and is third all-time in the Association's history. LeBron James could be on his way to joining that top five before all is said and done. The Cavaliers' star has already put up 14 regular-season "T.D." lines, and he's only 23.

Both men can accomplish this feat any night, continually letting fans wonder, "Can either man make the improbable happen?" The improbable, you ask? A triple-double for an entire season. The only man to accomplish that is Oscar Robertson (30.8 ppg, 12.5 rpg, 11.4 apg in 1961-1962). Right now, Kidd looks to be the front-runner (11.5 ppg, 10.6 apg, 8.6 rpg), but King James (28.8 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 7.6 apg) might need to complete it if his team wants to talk about a postseason.

I will own my own domain

For the second season in a row, Orlando has gotten off to a nice start. The Magic have beat up on the East, going 14-5 during the first 33 games. They play fantastic away from the Amway Arena, displaying a 15-5 road record. However, this team just can't seem to get going at home. Maybe they've been spending too much time on the thrill rides, but a 7-6 mark seems a tad puzzling.

It's even more surprising when compared to the other division leaders. No other team in that position has more than five home losses or is winning at less than a 70-percent clip. At this rate, the Magic might want to try and enter the playoffs as a fifth-seed, or at least not give Goofy and Donald season tickets.

I will change my philosophy on living

It was only back to June of 2006 when everybody saw Pat Riley as a genius on the sidelines for the first time in years. He brought in Shaquille O'Neal and a core of veteran role players, while dusting off his coaching skills to lead the Miami Heat to their first NBA title. But something went wrong on the way to now. The players got old, the coach got frustrated, and the team is in shambles at 8-23.

Utah was last year's surprise (for the entire season) squad. With a youth movement leading the way, the Jazz ended up winning the Northwest Division and making it to the Western Conference Finals. Things also started off well this year. Then, the Wasatch crew found out how tough expectations were. Still floating along at 17-16, Utah hopes to instill a little bit of energy in their recent trade of disgruntled guard Gordon Giricek for Philadelphia 76er shooter Kyle Korver. A win on Monday night against the smoking Portland Trailblazers seemed to put one foot in the right direction.

Then there is the disappointment known as the Chicago Bulls. A team with a nucleus of young talent looked oh so splendid at the beginning of the season. However, their knack for slow starts hasn't worn off yet. And that wore thin on Bulls management as they bumped the leader of the band, namely coach Scott Skiles, off his podium on Christmas Eve. Now in search of a new identity, can Chicago salvage their pride and make a postseason push?

I will get more organized

It might be due to lack of experience, lack of talent, or lack of will, but something can be said for sloppy play on the court — it gets your team plenty of losses. And this year is no different. When it comes to giving opportunities, it's not just how many you give your opponent, but the number you take away, as well. Heading in the new year, five teams have a turnover give-to-take ratio of more than two per game. Wanna guess where most of these teams stand? You guessed it. At the bottom of the list.

Minnesota (4-26) and Seattle (9-22) can blame the youth, while New York (8-21) and Memphis (8-22) can just blame pure dysfunction. The other team on this list would be the New Jersey Nets, which might explain their 14-16 record (or could it have something to do with Boston being in the division?). Either way, these teams might want to think about cleaning up their play before someone above their heads decides to clean house.

I will get out there and meet new people

Are you in a rut? Need a fresh start? How about a switch. That's what the Boston Celtics did this past offseason when they decided to forgo the rebuilding phase and brought in Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. The two have teamed with Paul Pierce to be the most formidable force in the early part of the season. Their 26-3 record also harkens back to the days of the great Celtics' squads of the '80s.

For a team that went the opposite route, let's look at the defending Eastern Conference champs in Cleveland. The Cavs made it to the Finals in '07 on the strength of LeBron James alone (well, almost alone). Unfortunately, instead of adding or building, Danny Ferry and company stayed pat. The team didn't even have everybody available by the season opener, as both Sasha Pavlovic and Anderson Varejao held out for new contracts. The result? A 14-17 record and tied for ninth in the conference. LeBron's a strong fella, but he can't carry the load forever.

No matter what the reason, everyone has one resolution they want to see out this year. That would involve holding up the Larry O'Brien trophy in June. I mean, everybody's gotta have goals ... even those lovable New York Knicks.

Posted by Jonathan Lowe at 11:45 AM | Comments (0)

MLB Ill-Equipped For Global Politics

Much in the way the United States government's foreign policy is a complex and sometimes unfathomable, inconsistent exercise in supposed worldwide diplomacy, it should be noted that in 2007 Major League Baseball vastly increased its global reach, similarly leaving foreign governments, economists, and U.S. business leaders scratching their proverbial heads.

But questions need to be asked, as the 2008 MLB season approaches, as to whether America's Pastime has bitten off more than it can chew in entering the world of global politics. In order to remain a successful and positive example worldwide, it must not alienate certain countries while at the same time disguise its craving for riches garnered off the backs of the impoverished.

Major League Baseball was not originally setup to necessarily grow the sport globally. It was always assumed, perhaps naively so, that the best baseball players in the world would end up in the U.S. And to its credit, MLB has thought outside the box in the past couple of decades. But now it does so with the risk of discriminating against some groups or cultures while rewarding others at the behest of the almighty dollar.

To wit, there has been a growing hostility between Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and the U.S. government, most notably when Chavez gave a speech at the United Nations in November 2006 and referred to U.S. President George Bush as "el diablo" or "the devil." Since that time, Chavez was re-elected for another six-year term as President of Venezuela in December 2006 and most recently in December 2007, the Venezuelan people, by a slim margin, defeated Chavez' constitutional referendum to amend the constitution in order for him to remain President indefinitely.

Chavez has already made plans to nationalize certain industries in Venezuela, since he took office in 1999. He is a socialist and self-admitted revolutionary. Namely, electricity and oil and the telecom industries would be state controlled. And the vast oil reserves Venezuela enjoys has but enhanced Chavez' control and position amongst world leaders.

But since the 1980s, the people of Venezuela, who once lived in a thriving country due to its oil resources, have also been its victims and now face rampant unemployment closing in on 20%, with little savings for secondary education. After oil prices plummeted in the '80s, the government devalued the country's currency. Since that time, the people of Venezuela have had to deal with civil unrest. And the Venezuelan capitol, Caracas, has presently earned the unpleasant distinction of having the highest per capita murder rate in the entire world.

Ironically, subsequent to the '80s, the age of the multi-million dollar major leaguer greeted many Venezuelan players, and some speculate as the direct result of the country's poverty. At one time a family hoped their children would end up become professionals, not professional baseball players, which was never seriously looked upon as a credible way to make a living.

In 1989, however, that all changed. The Houston Astros took the risk of becoming the first MLB club to build an academy in Venezuela, through the efforts of then scouting director Andres Reiner, in hopes of developing baseball players on a regular basis. The thinking was that it was an untapped goldmine of a country of 25 million. Soon, other teams followed and there were as many as 19 team-sponsored academies. The likes of Luis Aparicio, Tony Armas, and Andres Galarraga were among its first superstars. Their successors included shortstops Omar Vizquel and Ozzie Guillen. More recently, its superstars include pitchers Johan Santana, Carlos Zambrano, Kelvin Escobar, and Francisco Rodriguez; outfielder Magglio Ordonez; shortstop Carlos Guillen; third basemen Melvin Mora and Miguel Cabrera; catcher Victor Martinez; among other high quality players.

There were between 45 and 50 Venezuelan players on major league rosters at any one time during the 2007 season, which has remained stagnant for the past few years. However, Venezuelan players still represent the third largest group of major league players from any one country, after the U.S. and the Dominican Republic, which numbered 105 players in 2007.

But in the past five years, due to the country's heightened violence, crime and kidnappings of high profile athletes, there are but nine teams which still have academies that remain in Venezuela. And in addition to the concerns that MLB has about the security and safety of its players and representatives, there is also equal concern about the future intentions of Hugo Chavez and his possibly nationalizing the sport of baseball.

In 2006, current Orioles third baseman Melvin Mora contacted Jim Duquette, the Orioles former Vice President of Baseball Operations, about wanting to build his own academy in Venezuela. Duquette advised Mora to speak to MLB's Vice President for International Operations, Lou Melendez. Melendez' response to Mora's interest was, "I'm just telling you that there are movements afoot there that may impact what you want to do. When you see certain industries that are being nationalized, you begin to wonder if they are going to nationalize the baseball industry in Venezuela."

Mora then took it upon himself to meet with the Venezuelan Sports Minister Eduardo Alvarez. With the help of Mora, Melendez setup a meeting with Alvarez in early 2007. At that time, Melendez was assured that nationalization of baseball was not on the agenda.

But two proposals were received by Melendez thereafter from Venezuelan officials as to how Venezuela would like MLB to do business there. They included mandates such as certain employee and player protections with MLB, that MLB clubs pay 10% of player's signing bonuses to the Venezuelan government, and to require players to apply for a license to participate as professional athletes. There also was a proposal for the Venezuelan Baseball Federation to have a hands-on role over the operations of the MLB academies.

On its face, the proposals do not look egregious. In fact, the players recruited and signed in the Dominican Republic are often victims of aggressive "buscones" or unauthorized agents who take advantage of them and their parents, leaving them with little of the agreed upon advances by MLB teams.

After all, since players in both Venezuela and the Dominican Republic are not subject to the First Year Draft Rule, they can be signed as young as the age of 16, as long as they turn 17 by the following July. While many of these players are drop-outs from school, much more so than in Venezuela, many never make it to the big leagues, and are left with broken promises and sometimes penniless after they put all of their time and effort into training. This unfortunately makes it far easier for MLB to have its way, so to speak, with prospects from the Dominican Republic.

But Melendez interpreted these mandates from Venezuela by stating, "I made it clear to Minister Alvarez that we don't pay federations for signing players anywhere in the world, and we don't expect to do so. It's certainly not a way to conduct business." In fact, MLB has no intentions of complying with any of Venezuela's requests, as it cut off its communications with any parties of either sport or government bodies there in March 2007. MLB fears that it would prove more costly to sign Venezuelan players under such mandates.

However, Mr. Melendez either needs to be informed or needs to refresh his memory that earlier in 2007, the NY Yankees, sanctioned by MLB, signed a working agreement with the Peoples' Republic of China, (PRC) in the first ever contract between MLB and the Chinese Baseball Association, which is under the auspices of the Communist government of China. MLB is also providing the Peoples' Republic of China's National Olympic Team with former U.S. MLB manager Jim Lefebvre, who is the manager of the Peoples' Republic of China's baseball team that will compete in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.

The NY Yankees and MLB will also be lending additional coaches and equipment to the PRC National team prior to the 2008 Olympics. The Yankees additionally have an agreement to start development of Chinese players in Communist China with eventual plans to build academies there.

MLB is also in preliminary talks about the aftermath of the Fidel Castro regime of Cuba, upon his death. MLB is drooling at the thought of building academies there, as well, and formal discussions have taken place within MLB according to MLB Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations, Joe Garagiola, Jr. "There may not be any significant changes with our relationship with Cuba in the near term, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be thinking about these things," he said at the start of the 2007 MLB season.

Meanwhile, Puerto Rico, after 69 years went without its winter league operating this 2007-2008 offseason, due to budget shortfalls of its league development. MLB has yet to take a stance on the state of baseball in Puerto Rico which must adhere to the same rules of U.S.-born players, having to finish high school and be 18 years of age to sign a minor league contract, attend a junior college, or complete at least three years of a four-year college and/or be 21 years of age if the third year is not completed. It hardly seems fair for a small Caribbean island, although a territory of the U.S, to not be able to compete on an even playing field with either Venezuela or the Dominican Republic. But without the funding to develop its young prospects, it appears Puerto Rico has become too costly an investment for MLB.

And Panama, literally a banana republic, once the home for Chiquita Bananas International, until it moved to Costa Rica where labor was cheaper, also has largely been ignored by MLB. Only five major leaguers from Panama remained on MLB rosters in 2007, most notably NY Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera and Houston Astros outfielder Carlos Lee. Hall of Famer Rod Carew also hailed from Panama. But Panama development would require a long-term investment. And there too the national baseball federation is at odds with MLB.

Korea and Japan have players which are developed in their own countries, with which MLB clubs can then negotiate for hefty sums. The individual pro teams in Japan require a complex posting process and upwards of $50 million per player in addition to multi-year deals for the player. Such an example was the signing of Daisuke Matsuzaka by the Boston Red Sox at the start of the 2007, for his services for three years. The total posting fee as well as his contract was well over $100 million. But after all, the Red Sox got a ready-made big leaguer without having to invest in his development. So the thinking is that it is worth such cost.

What this all comes down to is not some noble attempt for MLB to spread baseball throughout the world, such as the U.S. government would like us to believe that globalization is about democratizing the rest of world. It is all about the dollar, no matter if young boys and men of the Dominican Republic are exploited, or whether Venezuelan's are threatened with the possibility of losing their now national pastime. And why MLB can negotiate with Communist China, but does not see fit to redevelop baseball again in its own territory of Puerto Rico, also deserves questioning.

But if MLB does not proceed with caution and realize it has not merely entered the domain of industrial globalization but the world of global politics and diplomacy, it could prove damaging. After all, the good of the game and human decency should still be a priority for MLB. And when it comes time for MLB to count its $6 billion revenue dollars it realized from the 2007 MLB season, it perhaps should take heed, in order to remain accountable for its actions, before it becomes political fodder with unrealized repercussions on the world's stage.

Posted by Diane M. Grassi at 11:31 AM | Comments (0)

January 3, 2008

NFL Weekly Predictions: Wild Card Round

Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.

Washington @ Seattle (-3½)

For the third straight year, the Seahawks face an NFC East opponent in the playoffs, and, so far, that has been good luck for Seattle. In 2005, the Seahawks beat the Redskins on their way to the NFC title; last year, Seattle beat Dallas 21-20 to advance to the divisional round.

"Whereas the NFC East used to mean a sure Super Bowl win, particularly if they were playing Buffalo," says Matt Hasselbeck, "now they're simply a stepping stone to playoff advancement. Sure, we've had our share of luck, though. If not for a slippery Tony Romo finger, we would have lost last year. But enough about Romo and his index finger; I shudder to think where he or it's been. We're concerned solely about the Redskins, and we will surely welcome the D.C. natives to Qwest Field. Heck, if President Bush and Vice President Vader, I mean Cheney, want to join them, we won't even arrest them for war crimes, like the patriotic folks of Brattleboro, Vermont have threatened to do should Cheney and his sidekick show their faces in that fine city. I have no idea why Bush and Cheney would care to visit such a place, lest they want to be united in holy matrimony. Not that there's anything wrong with that."

The Redskins season has seen more ups and downs than a lava lamp, or a Minnesota Vikings cruise ship in choppy waters. The 'Skins survived a four-game losing streak from Weeks 10 through 13 before a four-game winning streak salvaged their season. Unlike his high-scoring teams of old, Joe Gibbs has shown that this version of the 'Skins can win in gritty, down-and-dirty, and unspectacular fashion.

"Unspectacular fashion?" says Gibbs. "I guess you're not talking about Clinton Portis' clothing essentials. Somebody tell that cat that he's not a member of Parliament-Funkadelic. Then you should also explain to him that Parliament-Funkadelic is not the legislative body of the United Kingdom. Anyway, Portis provides the backbone for this team, along with our defense and my leadership, described by some as 'quiet,' and by others as 'clueless.' If we get down 10-0, we don't panic. Sure, we're not going to win 42-10, but with our style of play, we know we can come back from such a deficit, with or without Doug Williams, Gary Clark, or an unknown running back who's now serving time for cocaine possession. That's assuming I can remember that consecutive timeouts are not allowed. I guess this isn't college basketball. Timeout miscues or not, we're one of the hottest teams in the playoffs. I guess we're what you'd call this year's 'dangerous' playoff team. Three weeks ago, there was a name for that 'dangerous' team. They were called the Minnesota Vikings."

Washington's running game and defense will keep them in the game, but the arm of Hasselbeck, the foot of Josh Brown, and the collective body parts of Seattle's vaunted "12th Man" cheering section, with newest member Shaun Alexander, will lead the Seahawks to victory. Seahawks win, 22-19.

Jacksonville @ Pittsburgh (-1½)

It would seem the Jaguars have a decided mental edge over the Steelers, with the knowledge that they've already gone to Pittsburgh once this year and won. In Week 15, the Jags and charismatic frontman Jack Del Rio went to Heinz Field and ran for 224 yards in a 29-22 defeat of the Steelers. This time, Pittsburgh will be without leading rusher Willie Parker, who broke his leg in Week 16 and is out for the season. But revenge will be on the mind of the 10-6 Steelers, who have lost three of their last four.

"I'm expecting nothing less than a turf war," says Del Rio. "And, since the game is in Pittsburgh, I expect nothing less than a lopsided win, with that shabby turf on the losing end. Even running back Fred Taylor has said that the Steelers should invest in new turf. Hey man, that's bulletin board material, but not for the Steelers. For us. It's advantageous for us to play on a field that even a bulldozer would have trouble navigating. Playing in quicksand plays perfectly into our gameplan, which calls for at least 40 rushes and as few passes to our wide receivers as possible. 'Deep Threat' is not in my vocabulary, although it is in my video collection.

"As far as the Steelers wanting revenge, well, revenge is something only losers desire. But I'm not one to start a war of words. I'm Jack Del Rio, a man known for his charm, style, and calm demeanor, in the locker room as well as the with the ladies, with whom my panache and ability to rap in hybrid English and Spanish, known as 'Spanglish,' has earned me the nickname 'Rio Suave.' As for the home-standing Steelers, we're going to eat them raw like sushi."

The Steelers rested several starters, including quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, in their 27-21 loss to the Ravens last week. It was a game that meant little to Pittsburgh, who could have jumped one seed in the AFC standings had San Diego lost to Denver. The Chargers won, so Pittsburgh kept the No. 4 seed.

"Look, we gave the Ravens a win," says Roethlisberger, "with the hopes that a victory over their hated rivals, us, would have saved Brian Billick his job. As you know, having Billick as an opposing coach in our division is a good thing. Apparently, Ravens' ownership had other ideas, specifically winning, so they tossed Billick and his grandfatherly reading glasses out like yesterday's news. Now, the Jaguars are well-coached, and Del Rio and his Jack-booted thugs always come ready to play. I have to admit that the Jags probably don't get the respect they deserve. With an 11-5 record and the league's third-highest rated passer, you'd think they'd command more respect. But that respect will come. As soon as Peyton Manning retires and the Jaguars win an AFC South title, they'll get it. And, it wouldn't hurt to win a playoff game under Del Rio."

The Heinz Field turf has had three weeks off since the Jags ran it ragged in Week 15. That should have given it sufficient time to grow roots and withstand a few hard cuts. Jacksonville wore down the Steelers then, and that's in the game plan for Saturday. Pittsburgh has big play capabilities through the air, but with Parker out, expect the Jags to stop the Steeler running game early and double-team the deep routes. David Garrard throws for a touchdown, and Josh Scobee kicks three field goals. Jacksonville wins, 23-20.

NY Giants @ Tampa Bay (-2½)

The Giants, who have lost three straight playoff games, head to Tampa Bay to face the Buccaneers, who have not won a playoff game since 2002, their Super Bowl year. That run of futility would partially explain the sour and pained expressions often seen on the faces of New York head coach Tom Coughlin and his Tampa counterpart, John Gruden. Even on bright sunny days with visions of job security in front of them, each man has been known to slam a rolled-up play sheet to the ground and curse the name of Tiki Barber, Keyshawn Johnson, or some other hated former player, with the look of a man passing a kidney stone etched upon his visage.

"Believe it or not," says Gruden, "I'm a fairly happy guy. You give me a solid but aging defense, depth at running back, a wiley veteran quarterback, and two opposing cheerleaders provocatively intertwined in a local bar's bathroom stall, and I'm as happy as a lark. Sure, my expression may lead you to believe that I should be chanting 'nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea' while auditioning for a Pepto Bismol commercial, but facial expressions can be misleading. Look at Bill Belichick. Does he look like a man whose team is 16-0? No, he looks like a man who went 1-15 and has his future hanging on the decisions of Bill Parcells, the man who wears a belt not to hold his pants up, but as a gentle reminder of where his belly ends and his booty begins. Anyway, Belichick is a happy man, happy face or not. And so am I.

"This may be the finest coaching job in Tampa since Monte Kiffin coached the Bucs to the Super Bowl back in the 2002 season. I took the credit for that, but Monte received an Old Spice gift set for his troubles. As far as the Giants go, job No. 1 will be ensuring protection for Jeff Garcia against the fearsome four in red and blue. No, not from American Gladiators Gemini, Thunder, Nitro, and Lace, with your host, Mike Adamle, but Michael Strahan and company. But Garcia's been there before. He whipped these very Giants as an Eagle last year. He's one cool customer, and if I were ever stuck on a pirate ship at sea, or in the end zone of Raymond James Stadium, I'd want him there to shiver my timbers for a good jolly rogering."

The Giants are brimming with the confidence that comes to the loser of a 38-35 game to the invincible Patriots, armed with the knowledge that a Manning will lead them into battle. Unfortunately, that Manning is Eli, not Peyton. Eli is 0-3 as a starter in the playoffs, and, as always, will have weighty expectations on his shoulders.

"Hey, Rome wasn't built in a day, was it?" asks Manning. "I'm sure while they were building that place, they ran into their share of problems and delays, some of which may have been caused by costly interceptions. And I'm sure Rome didn't have the unreasonable expectations of living up to an older and much more successful city pressuring its every move. You know, I love Peyton like a brother, but it took him a few tries before he achieved glory. Look, all I need is one playoff victory to move out of a last-place tie with my father, Archie Manning, and mother, Olivia, on the Manning family all-time list of playoff victories."

Prior to the game, Tiki Barber's twin brother, Ronde, poses as Tiki in an interview and questions Manning's leadership and manhood. Later, Ronde, as himself, picks off Manning once and suitably harasses Plaxico Burress. Garcia employs his guile, savvy, craftiness, and nimble feet long enough to hit Joey Galloway with a 50-yard touchdown bomb somewhere along the way. Buccaneers win, 21-17.

Tennessee @ San Diego (-8½)

Like the Jacksonville/Pittsburgh matchup, Sunday's Tennessee/San Diego throwdown is a rematch of a regular-season game won by the visiting team, a 23-17 Chargers win in overtime. In that game, San Diego linebacker Shawne Merriman suffered a knee injury on a hit he claimed was intentional, and possibly ordered by Titans head coach Jeff Fisher.

"Hey, it makes for great television, doesn't it?" says Fisher. "Why do you think this is the Sunday's late game? Fans want to see carnage, and with Merriman 'roid-raging for revenge, and Albert Haynesworth always a threat to get footloose, they're likely to see it, and maybe a few gang initiation brawls could break out. Merriman's ingested more illicit drugs than Velvet Revolver, and god forbid Albert hears a Kenny Loggins' song, or Patrick Swayze singing 'She's Like the Wind.' Actually, I ordered a cheap hit on Swayze years ago for singing that buttery silliness, but that dad gum Swayze is a slippery fellow, especially when wearing a wet suit and a Richard Nixon mask. If Gary Busey and Johnny Utah have a hard time catching Swayze, then how can I expect my hired guns to catch him? But Swayze's status is secondary to my quarterback situation.

"Is Vince Young's injured quadriceps serious enough to keep him out of the lineup? It will be a game-time decision. I guess I'll ask Vince on Sunday if he's ready to go. That's a simple 'yes-no' question, so I expect a correct answer. With Vince, Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? is not a television show; it's a legitimate question. Obviously, Vince gives us the best chance at victory, but Kerry Collins is certainly capable, and should Washington quarterback Todd Collins lead the 'Skins to victory, Kerry would be motivated to become the second Collins to lead a road team to a wild card win. I think Kerry would call that a 'double.'"

The Chargers enter the playoffs with six straight wins, second only to the Patriots' 16. It was a streak that took the Bolts from a 5-5 record and demands for Norv Turner's firing to an 11-5 record and the AFC West title.

"Six straight wins?" says Turner. "That's something. I guess you could call that 'Norv Turner Overdrive.' Now, 'NTO' probably never reached the Holy Grail of rock immortality by having its image on an 74-ounce plastic cup of Slurpee from 7-11, like BTO, Bachman-Turner Overdrive. But let me tell you. We're hot and ready to make a run. It you think we were playing well, then you ain't seen nothing yet. Once we beat the Titans, we'll head to Indianapolis, where we'll be takin' care of business. That is, assuming Peyton Manning throws six interceptions and Adam Vinatieri misses two field goals, including the game-winner. One playoff win should keep my job safe. But you never know, not with A.J. Smith's itchy trigger finger. He just signed a five-year extension, which, by my interpretation, sounds like San Diego management thinks his firing of Marty Schottenheimer after last year's 14-2 season was the right thing to do. I believe it was. Marty lost a playoff home game. He should have been canned. I guarantee we won't lose a playoff home game."

Both coaches will play it close to the vest initially, relying on their respective running attacks to at least get them in field goal range. Mistakes made by quarterbacks Vince Young and Philip Rivers will be costly and regrettable, much like their teams' decisions to draft them. Tennessee will keep it close, but if LaDainian Tomlinson gets the ball 20-25 times, he'll eventually be the deciding factor, no matter how well Haynesworth and the Titans' rush defense perform. San Diego wins, 26-19.

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 11:59 AM | Comments (0)

Slant Pattern Quick Hitches

It's been an exhausting sports week, with the bowl games, the English Premiere League, and the New England Patriots' rise to epic status. The action has been thick and not too pleasant. For me, it culminated minutes ago by watching my Akron Zips go down in double overtime to Dayton, who was fresh off a throttling of Pitt on the same floor. Look for Akron to lose at he buzzer of this year's MAC Championship Game. Again.

With the dreary storylines of football (is any neutral fan happy about the Patriots' record-breaking year? Is anyone else sick of the underlying BS on the line when the Big Ten plays the SEC in football?), I'm starting to feel ready to turn my attention back to college basketball. This weekend begins the transition from the non-conference part of the schedule to conference for about half the teams. Here are the games shaping up to be the most interesting on Saturday. All times Eastern:

Kansas at Boston College (Noon, ESPN)

Kansas is undefeated and has only been tested thrice, at home to Arizona and at USC and Georgia Tech. Boston College is probably roughly equal to Georgia Tech, and has a nice win over Rhode Island to counter losses against Providence and UMass.

Oregon at Arizona, (2 PM, FOX Sports Network National)

Funny to see Kevin O'Neill, who did nothing special at Tennessee, Northwestern, and the Toronto Raptors, essentially fail upward and become the interim head coach (and designated successor to Lute Olson) at a program more marquee than any of them. He'll take on an Oregon team that is among that glut of teams (UCLA, Washington State, and perhaps USC and Stanford) that will challenge for the them for the Pac-10 crown. This is a strong league.

St. Mary's at Texas (6 PM, FOX Sports Southwest/ESPN Full Court)

Did you know that St. Mary's is 12-1, was ranked earlier in the year, and has defeated Oregon, Seton Hall, Drake, and San Diego State? They might be the best team in the West Coast Conference, and that includes Gonzaga. They probably haven't faced a team as tough as Texas yet, and they haven't ventured out on the road much.

Arkansas at Baylor (8:30 PM, FOX Sports Southwest/ESPN Full Court)

Baylor's another team you probably didn't realize is good. Just two years after being barred from playing any non-conference games for NCAA violations in the aftermath of the ugly Patrick Dennehy murder, Baylor is 11-1, their only loss being a three-point defeat to No. 4 Washington State. Arkansas is 11-2 themselves, but their only win over a big conference school is Missouri. I'll be very interested in seeing the spread on this one, and if the linesmakers don't give due respect to Baylor, I'll be ready to jump on it as I see Baylor winning here by at least 4.

Washington State at Washington (10:00 PM, FOX Sports Northwest/FOX Sports Pacific)

The knock on undefeated Washington State is that they haven't really beaten anyone more impressive than a Gonzaga team which definitely is a step behind several iterations of their glory seasons. So the schedule makers seem to correct this by pitting the Cougars against their arch-rivals on the road to kick off their Pac-10 season. Although Washington is a step below those teams vying for a conference title, the talent is there to be competitive and they will be super-pumped for this one.

I don't know if it's FOX Sports' call or not, but it's nuts to me that they would make this game available only regionally, but give Oregon State vs. Arizona State to the whole country earlier that day.

***

Longtime readers of the column know that I try to stay informed about sports that are popular elsewhere, but not in the US. Team ball sports, to clarify. Except cricket. I'll pass on that.

I've essentially narrowed down the sports that I want to start following, become knowledgeable about, and then act superior to you because of it: Rugby League, Rugby Union, Aussie Rules Football, Gaelic Football, and Hurling.

I've also decided upon a novel approach to get acclimated to these sports: video games. Interestingly, all the above sports have games made for them, and conveniently, all for the same system: PS2.

I don't have a PS2 yet, but with the release of PS3 I know I can obtain one inexpensively. And in the meantime, I can play one video game for these sports on my PC, as can you.

vNES is a lovely site where you can play hundreds of old NES games online for free. Interestingly, the owner of the site has fought back legal challenges (I imagine more are on the horizon) because you cannot download the games or play them offline, you can only play the flash conversions the author has written directly on the site.

I'll play some of these games with a sports theme and write a retro review on them periodically. What a better one to start with than Aussie Rules Footy, by Mattell?

Aussie Rules, at it's heart, seems simple enough to follow. They play it on an oval field, with four long poles at each end (think foul poles, or field goal uprights without crossbars). You fight your way in close to the poles, and if you successfully kick it through the middle uprights, that's six points. Kicks through the outer uprights are worth one.

The graphics seem about on par with most Nintendo games. What frustrated me was that, you would think that trying to play a video game based on a sport you don't know would be difficult in terms of knowing what to do; for me, knowing what to do seemed simple enough, I just couldn't do it. I didn't win a single face-off, or whatever they call it in Aussie Rules, no matter what buttons I hit. While I could occasionally steal the ball off my opponent, they could take it off me at will. You have to try to catch the kicks of your teammates (those that are not destined for the posts), but I couldn't catch or "intercept" a single kick.

The most amusing part of the game is when the ball goes out of bounds. The screen would switch to a flat-topped Aussie who would either say "Out of Bounds" or "Out of Bounds, on the Full." I don't know what "on the full" means, but it occurred when it went out of bounds near the posts, and the team that kicked it out surrendered possession. If the ball went out of bounds anywhere else, then one player would do like a soccer throw-in, except behind his back. As you might guess, I won zero of those throw-ins.

In the end, I lost 75-2, but I still recommend the game and would encourage my readers who are not familiar with the sport to head over to vNES, try it out, and see if you can discover any fundamentals I missed, and report back in the comments. Happy New Year.

Posted by Kevin Beane at 11:57 AM | Comments (2)

January 2, 2008

The Price of Perfection

Perfection doesn't come easy.

For the New England Patriots, the perfect record of 16-0 came with some bumps, bruises, and accusations of "spy gate" tactics.

Right from the beginning of the season, Patriots coach Bill Belichick was answering questions about spying. The Patriots opened the season against the New York Jets and it turned into a drama filled game with NFL security confiscating a video camera from Patriots video assistant Matt Estrella. During the game, Estrella was filming the Jets' play signals from the sideline and with that comes the questions, answers, fines, and punishment.

Belichick issued a statement of apology "to apologize to everyone that has been affected."

He then spoke with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell about the interpretation of the rule on using video. In the NFL Games Operations Manual, it clearly states "no recording device of any kind is permitted to be in use in the coaches' booth, on the field, or in the locker room during the game."

If that doesn't explain it clearly, then Belichick is kidding everyone, because he then issued another statement in which he apologized for what he called a mistake in his interpretation of the rules and denied ever using videotape to gain an advantage while the game was underway. Goodell, however, didn't believe him and fined him $500,000 and the Patriots $250,000. The Patriots were also punished by forfeiting their 2008 first-round NFL draft selection.

Just as in baseball, should an asterisk be placed by their cherished perfect record? Should a call be placed to Marc Ecko? In real life, this is called cheating, stealing, lying, and spying. This season should be noted as the season that the Patriots were using practices that don't go along with the game of football.

The Patriots' rise to stardom didn't come easy. They have been in the spotlight several times for other practices that don't make a team look too well in the paper or on television. Back in 1990, they were part of a sexual harassment scandal involving former Boston Herald sportswriter Lisa Olson. While reporting from the locker room, Olson was sexually and verbally abused by Patriots players in their locker room and was noted as a "classic bitch" by team owner Victor Kiam. Then NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue did an investigation and fined players Zeke Mowatt for $12,5000, Michael Timpson for $5,000, and Robert Perryman for $5,000. The team was also fined for $50,000 for their actions, which made national television and several members of them media banishing the Patriots for their actions.

There was also the whole Bill Parcells and Robert Kraft falling out, in which Parcells left to join the Jets. While that happened, there was a merry-go-round of players and coaches switching teams to either be with the Jets or the Patriots. For the 1999 season, Pete Carroll was handed the reigns, but was fired after subpar team performance. Then after Carroll was fired, Parcells decided to leave the Jets and handpicked Bill Belichick to take over as head coach. That lasted one day with Belichick leaving a note that he quit to take over the Patriots.

It has been noticed that the team's attendance and play on the gridiron has improved since Robert Kraft bought the team in 1994. Prior to Kraft, the Patriots won the AFC East three times and made the playoffs six times, with their AFC championship berth in 1963 and their trip to the Super Bowl. Under Kraft and Belichick, they won the AFC eight times, made the playoffs nine times, and won the Super Bowl three times in four trips. Also, since 1996, every Patriots game at Foxboro and Gillette stadium has been sold out.

"I think you always feel better when your record is better than when it isn't," Belichick said at his December 27th press conference. "But still, the most important thing is to, after the game, turn the page."

A page that has seen the good and bad of the New England Patriots.

Posted by Joe Boesch at 11:41 AM | Comments (0)

Grading the MLB Offseason Moves

While the one name that was repeatedly tossed around in trade talks this winter (Johan Santana) still remains in Minnesota, there were a flurry of deals done. Some via trades, and others coming from free agency, or simply re-signing their own players. Here is a list of the most notable in each category, along with a grade for the team(s) involved.

Trades

1. November 19: Angels receive Jon Garland, White Sox receive Orlando Cabrera

In terms of one-for-one trades, this was probably one of the more lopsided deals to go down in a while. Sure, the Halos needed some help with their starting pitching, but is it worth it to give up a shortstop coming off an 80+ RBI, 20 SB, .300 season? Garland has shown flashes of how great he could potentially be, but it's almost as though he is baiting you with those great performances, and then, when you put the whole thing together, it's just not that impressive (see Rex Grossman). 10-13 with a 4.23 ERA? Also, you're looking a paying him $12 million to be the third starter on that team. In addition, the Angels were forced to take one of their biggest trading chips, Brandon Wood, off the table for any other big moves they may have had planned (i.e. Miguel Cabrera or Santana). I really feel like the ChiSox got a steal here.

Angels: C; White Sox: A-

2. November 28: Twins receive Delmon Young, Brendan Harris, and Jason Pride. Rays receive Matt Garza, Jason Bartlett, and Eduardo Morlan

This one amazed me based on how young the principles of the trade are. Normally, you are not going to see a guy who finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting get moved the following year, and you also may be a little reluctant to trade your best prospect for an outfielder who is still relatively unproven. Well, both happened here. The Twins knew that Torii Hunter was not going to stay unless they threw him at least $20 million a year for 5-6 years (he turned down a three-ear, $45 million offer reportedly), so they went out and got one of the biggest prospects to come down the pipe in a long, long time.

Delmon Young was the No. 1 prospect of not only the Rays, but for all of baseball. He has a big bat, and has speed to go with it. The only thing that could slow his progress is his discipline at the plate (struck out 127 times last year). Garza is a pitcher who definitely has the goods, and showed it when he threw 15 scoreless innings in his call-up last year. I give the edge to the Rays in this one because of the fact that their organization is literally crawling with right-handed outfielders that can hit for power and run. Also, they landed two starters in Garza (slotted as No. 3 in the rotation) and Jason Bartlett, who will start at short.

Twins: B, Rays: B+

3. December 5: Tigers receive Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera. Marlins receive Andrew Miller, Cameron Maybin, and the rest of the Tigers' minor league system

This is simple. When do want to win, now or later? For the Tigers, it's clearly now. In addition to this one, they also pulled a 2-1 deal with Atlanta involving two prospects for Edgar Renteria. Then, Detroit threw out this bombshell during the winter meetings. Sure, Willis didn't look impressive last year, but keep in mind where he'll be pitching half his starts at now. Comerica Park is a notoriously good park for pitchers, so expect a bit of a turnaround this season.

The cornerstone of this deal has to be Miguel Cabrera, though. This guy's first few seasons have been compared favorably to that of A-Rod's. He was a one-man wrecking crew in Miami, and now that he will be surrounded by guys like Renteria, Curtis Granderson, and Magglio Ordonez, look for his numbers to perhaps make a jump from their already outstanding level (2006: .320, 34 HR, 119 RBI). Miller and Maybin were considered untouchable ever since they reached AA, but a deal like this only comes along once and a while. When you have the opportunity to land a No. 1 or No. 2 starter and a surefire all-star slugger, you have to do whatever you can to get it done.

Detroit: A+, Florida: B

4. December 12: Astros receive Miguel Tejada. Diamondbacks receive Luke Scott, Troy Patton, Matt Albers Dennis Safarte, and Mike Constanzo

I have always loved Miguel Tejada and how much of a fierce competitor he is. He certainly will help the clubhouse morale in Houston. However, to me, this is a lot to give up for him. The O's get tremendous financial flexibility after dumping Tejada's $12 million a year contract. Plus, they pick up Patton and Albers, who were at one time considered to be candidates to be in Houston's starting rotation. The O's needed pitching help, and they certainly got that here.

Houston: B, Baltimore: A-

5. December 14: Diamondbacks receive Dan Haren and Connor Robertson. Oakland receives Brett Anderson, Dana Eveland, Greg Smith, Chris Carter, Aaron Cunningham, and Carlos Gonzalez

If you're Arizona, you just don't have a choice here. When you get a chance to matchup an established ace with Brandon Webb in a relatively weak division, you have to do it. The last time they tried this experiment with Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling, they turned up roses in 2001. Also, Haren's contract is absolutely ludicrous. He is basically signed through 2010 and will receive $16.25 million over the next three years. The A's get a bunch of prospects, but it remains unknown as to what kind of impact they may have, whereas it is clear that adding Haren gives Arizona the best 1-2 punch in baseball.

Arizona: A+, Oakland: C+

Free Agents

1. Torii Hunter: Signed by Angels, 5 years, $90 million

I said all along that Hunter was the most intriguing player in the market given the fact that he's got all the tools a baseball player needs. He hits for average, power, has a ton of speed, and is the best defensive center fielder of this decade. While I love Hunter, the fact that he went to the Angels was surprising give that they just gave Gary Matthews, Jr. a five-year, $50 million contract last year. What exactly does this mean for Matthews? Well, a move to left field is likely, which means he'll have to adjust to playing a corner outfield position. You really can't go wrong with Hunter, but the years and the dollars don't quite add up to me. I'm thinking that a four-year, $64-68 million deal would have been a fairly good range for him.

Grade: B

2. Andruw Jones: Signed by Dodgers, 2 years, $36.2 million

If you told me that this deal would happen three or four years ago, I would be pretty much all for it. However, given Jones' near meltdown at the plate last year, and the fact that he's played 11 years in the majors really makes me question this one. He obviously still has power and plays a great center field, but his plate discipline is questionable at best. Right now, you're looking at a guy that can hopefully hit around .270, but will likely end up more around .240 to .250. The Dodgers are really taking a financial risk in signing Jones for this kind of money, granted it is only for two years. What I will say is that L.A. needed power in their lineup, and Jones does fit that billing. I just think it may not be enough for the Dodgers against the kind of pitching that is in the NL West.

Grade: C+

3. Francisco Cordero: Signed by Reds, 4 years, $46 million

I understand how important closers are, but this is one of the biggest head-scratchers I've seen in a long time. Not only because of the amount of money, but the team is also a mystery to me. The Reds have David Weathers, who got them 33 saves last year, and opted to bring in another closer? Their entire outfield is banged up, and they are in desperate need of bringing in a power hitting first baseman, but yet they signed a closer for over $11 million a year? This is totally perplexing. Cordero has great stuff, but the cost is way too high here, especially with Adam Dunn's impending free agency.

Grade: D

(Just to throw this in, Eric Gagne signed with the Brewers, Cordero's former team, for $10 million next season ... has the whole world gone crazy?)

4. Kosuke Fokudome, Signed by Cubs, 4 years, $48 million

Desperate teams do desperate things. In feeling a need to make some kind of impact after a mediocre '07 campaign, the Cubs felt a need to strengthen their lineup by going after Fokudome. While this Japanese import has certainly shown he can put up great numbers overseas, it's still unknown if he is going to end up being a smash or a bust. This is the risk of going after Japanese players. Also, he had his season cut short last year when he had surgery to remove bone fragments from his right elbow. This just seems like an act of pure desperation in where an obvious part of their team, starting pitching, needed to be filled, and instead, they go with another power hitter on a team that already has Soriano, Derrek Lee, and Aramis Ramirez.

Grade: C

Other notable Japanese signings:

Hiroki Kuroda, SP, Dodgers, 3 years, $35.3 million
Masahide Kobayahi, RP, Indians, 2 years, $6.5 million
Yasuhiko Yabuta, RP, Royals, 2 years, $6 million
Kazuo Fukumori, RP, Rangers, 2 years, $3 million

5. Aaron Rowand, Signed by Giants, 5 years, $60 million

Of all the free agent signings, this is one of the ones I most agree with. Rowand is simply a solid baseball player who gives nothing less than 100% on every play. He just turned 30 last season, and after a great season in Philly, cashed in big time on his performance. It will be interesting to see how he does in Pac Bell, but given that Barry Bonds is out in San Fran, the Giants needed someone who could drive in runs besides Pedro Feliz (who is still a free agent) and Ray Durham. The lineup was in desperate need of a power bat, and while Rowand will not solve all of their problems, he has a shot of reproducing his '07 season if the Giants give him protection in the lineup.

Grade: A-

Re-Signings

1. Alex Rodriguez: Re-signed with Yankees, 10 years, $275 million

Where do we even begin here? Sure, he's the best hitter in the game. That cannot be argued. However, what can be questioned is how he is in the big spots. He has shined in the regular season, but has been a goat in the postseason. One of these years, it's likely he'll break through and snap out of this. Much like Peyton Manning, I feel like if A-Rod keeps knocking on the doorstep, eventually it will fall. However, to give him a deal that could net him as much as $300 million with incentives is almost laughable.

Look, the Yankees were basically bidding against themselves because no one had the kind of deep pockets to land him. In the end, I think they overspent by about $40-50 million to keep their own guy. So much for hometown discounts. The best thing for Rodriguez would be to get out of the spotlight of New York and try to restart his career elsewhere. Sure, he may win MVPs with New York, but he may also lose his mind in the process with the ever-amounting pressure on him to win something meaningful with the Yankees.

Grade: B-

2. Mike Lowell: Re-signed with Red Sox, 3 years, $37.5 million

A move that simply had to be made. If the Sox went after A-Rod, they would have alienated a ton of Sox fans because of what has happened in the Sox/Yankees rivalry involving Rodriguez. Lowell played out of his mind last year, and while a certain degree of that could be attributed to the fact that he was going to hit the market for the first time in his career, I feel like when you look at his career, he's really only had one off-year with the Marlins in '05, and that's been about it.

Lowell was absolutely critical to the Sox' success in the early parts of the season when Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz were struggling at the plate. Lowell is a former Gold Glove winner, and is one of the best defensive third basemen in the game. His presence on the Sox is invaluable, and if he had gone off somewhere else, who knows what would have happened with the Sox as the market for third basemen was anything but deep.

Grade: A+

3. Andy Pettitte: Re-signed with Yankees, 1 year, $16 million

I'll say this: at least they're trying. They're trying to recapture the magic of those mid-'90s teams by keeping one of its members around. Still, you have to wonder about this. Sure, the Yankees are in desperate need of front-line starters to keep pace with the Red Sox, who hold a distinct advantage in that department as of right now. He did finish ninth in the AL in innings, so his stamina has not deteriorated too much. This is one of those deals where it's almost like, well, what else can they really do?

Grade: B

Other Yankee re-signings:

Exercised $16 million option on Bobby Abreu
Jorge Posada, 4 years, $52.4 million
Mariano Rivera, 3 years, $45 million
Jose Molina, 2 years, $4 million

Amount of money spent by the Yankees to keep their own guys: $408.4 million

4. Luis Castillo: Re-signed with Mets, 4 years, $25 million

This is a lot for Castillo considering his stolen bases has plummeted for the last few years. He still plays above-average defense, though, which is why the Mets put down the kind of money they did to keep him. Also, he's a .300 hitter, which is something the Mets needed at the top of their order. He will be the table-setter for David Wright, Carlos Beltran, and Carlos Delgado.

Grade: B

5. Kerry Wood: Re-signed with Cubs, 1 year, $4.2 million

What a wild card this is. Most of the talk about Wood, along with Mark Prior (who signed with the Padres) has always centered around the words "what if." What if Wood and Prior had stayed healthy? What if Kerry Wood could become a dominant closer? These are just a few of the questions Cubs fans and baseball fans alike have been curious about. While Wood will likely never get a full, clean bill of health, you have to believe that any kind of contribution he can make for this team will make that $4 million completely worthwhile, whether it be to start again, or to be a setup man for Ryan Dempster.

Grade: B

Posted by Rich Lyons at 11:38 AM | Comments (7)

January 1, 2008

In the Box: NFL Week 17

So there you have it, the 2007 regular season in the National Football League. Twelve teams get to go on to the final stage. Twenty sift through the excuses and what nows. Happy New Year's, everybody.

The Patriots are the favorites. We all know this. They've won all 16 since they kicked off for real in September, and have more pressure than any other team remaining. Making history is great. But going undefeated in the regular season only to lose in the playoffs would be the wrong kind of history.

A playoff loss would make the Pats the greatest team never to win the Super Bowl. Every time another team made it to 12-0, 13-0 or beyond, it would be "remember when New England went undefeated, only to choke when it really mattered." We'd see yet-to-exist highlights of Tom Brady and company with their heads down as the Titans/Chargers/Steelers/Jaguars/Colts/NFC champ celebrate one of the biggest playoff upsets of all-time. If New England fans think they got sick of Bill Buckner highlights, just wait. This could be worse.

With that in mind, the other 11 teams, in order of potential to create massive heart failure throughout New England and beyond (at least through O'Fallon, Missouri).

11. Tennessee — Give them credit. They shut down Jim Sorgi when they needed to. Winning at San Diego will be a different matter.

10. New York Giants — The great thing about the Pats/Giants game was that in the fourth quarter, I told the crowd of Pats haters around me that it was about time for Eli Manning to throw a horrible pick that would cost them the game. Two plays later, it happened. Also, the Giants' clock management down two scores with under four minutes left was horrible. If I was a Giants fans, I'd be shopping for a new TV right now, because I would have broken mine. Maybe they squeak by Tampa on Sunday, but I doubt it.

9. Washington — The Redskins are the worst story turned into the best story of the past month, but they have the toughest road to the title. I love the resurgence of Todd Collins, the re-emergence of Santana Moss, the return to greatness by Joe Gibbs (whose numerous coaching flubs nearly cost Washington its season), the toughness of Clinton Portis, and the incredible passion with which the Skins defense is playing. But asking a team to go to Seattle, Dallas, and Green Bay in three consecutive weeks and win all three is a tall, tall order.

8. Tampa Bay — Give the Bucs full respect for an under-the-radar great season. Their defense has gone from over-the-hill to the third stingiest in the league in points allowed. Barrett Ruud, with 114 tackles, three forced fumbles, and two interceptions, was a monster all year, while Derrick Brooks continued his Hall of Fame career with his 12th consecutive season with 100 or more tackles. I like them over the Giants this weekend, but I don't think that offense can keep up with Green Bay (their likely second-round opponent) or Dallas.

7. Seattle — On paper, they should be able to compete with anybody. Patrick Kerney, possibly the best free-agent signing of any team the past offseason, paired with 2006 free-agent Julian Peterson for 24 sacks. Only Dallas' DeMarcus Ware and Greg Ellis combined for more with 26.5. The offense can spread anybody out, and their offensive line is better than at any point in the post-Steve Hutchinson era. So why do I have my preseason NFC Super Bowl pick so low on the totem poll? Because the Seahawks are not to be trusted on the road.

6. Pittsburgh — Three factors: a first-time coach in the playoffs, the loss of Willie Parker, and, as we saw a few weeks ago, Jacksonville is a terrible matchup for the Steelers.

5. San Diego — It comes down to who has a better shot in the divisional round, the Chargers at Indianapolis or Jacksonville at New England. Having watched every Pats game this year, let me say I'm absolutely terrified of the Jags running game against a Patriots defense whose main weakness is stopping the ground game. The Chargers gave Peyton Manning fits back in Week 10, and it still took a missed Adam Vinatieri chip shot with 1:31 left to finish off the W. Anybody want to bet on Manning throwing another six picks and the most clutch kicker in NFL history missing a 29-yarder with the season on the line?

4. Jacksonville — Just because I'm worried about Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew doesn't mean I think David Garrard, with Reggie Williams and Dennis Northcutt his top two receivers, can keep up with Tom Brady, Randy Moss and Wes Welker. There's a huge gap there, and it would take a monumental effort by the Jacksonville defense to keep the game close enough to where the Jags can use their advantage on the ground.

3. Green Bay — It's not that the Packers can't go down to Texas and beat the Cowboys. It's that I can't put Green Bay ahead of the Dallas after watching the Cowboys rip the Packers' D for over 400 yards and 37 points in Week 13.

2. Dallas – They've got everything you need. Tony Romo can make all the throws, plus make something out of nothing, a crucial asset in playoff football. Terrell Owens can beat any corner one-on-one, forcing the coverage to slant his way. Jason Witten forces the coverage to stay honest in the middle. Patrick Crayton is good enough to take advantage of the space created by T.O. and Witten. Marion Barber can make yards on any defense, and Julius Jones isn't nearly as inept as some believe (he's going to be a steal in free agency, but that's another column). And, most importantly, they have the offensive play calling in Jason Garrett to orchestrate the attack. If there's one thing I'm not sold on, it's the secondary. They get protected by a great pass rush, but, if the opposing protection holds, Terence Newman and Travis Henry can be beat.

1. Indianapolis — I will feel personally robbed if we don't get a Colts/Pats rematch in the AFC Championship game January 20. This is Yankees/Red Sox. This is Celtics/Lakers. This is North Carolina/Duke in college basketball, Joe Frazier/Muhammad Ali in boxing, Canadians/Maple Leafs in hockey, Celtic/Rangers in soccer, India/Pakistan in cricket, Spackler/gopher in Caddyshack. This game has to happen. It just has to.

Predictions (because I don't get paid without them):

Wild Cards — Seattle over Washington, Tampa Bay over New York, San Diego over Tennessee, Jacksonville over Pittsburgh

Divisional — Seattle over Green Bay ("We're going to take the ball and we're going to score!"), Dallas over Tampa, Indianapolis over San Diego, New England over Jacksonville

Championship Games — Dallas over Seattle, New England over Indianapolis in an all-time classic

Super Bowl — New England over Dallas in the most hyped game in any sport ever

***

It would be pointless to go through each game of this past weekend, so just some notes:

I ended up one game off my Ravens doomsday prediction, thinking Pittsburgh would have something to play for in the finale. I get bonus points for predicting Brian Billick would get canned. Of all my predictions this year, I'm most proud of this one and calling the Colorado Rockies in the playoffs. (I'm least proud of picking the Packers to go 5-11 and the Texas Rangers in the playoffs.)

Whoever replaces Billick in Baltimore should hand Troy Smith the starting job and build from there.

Rex Ryan should replace Billick in Baltimore.

With the seventh pick in the NFL draft, the New England Patriots select...

The Rams should fire Scott Linehan, but they won't because they have the most dysfunctional front office in the league and they refuse to make a move until at least a year after it became painfully obvious to everybody but them.

If the Rams don't draft Jake Long (OT, Michigan) at No. 2, they should be immediately contracted.

Why did Marv Levy have to step down? The Bills have had two great drafts under his leadership. It's not his fault they all got hurt.

The Dolphins made a great hire with Bill Parcells, and he was spot on with firing Randy Mueller. I'd hold on to Cam Cameron, though. I'd like to see how having Parcells to tutor him would help Cameron adjust to being a head coach. If Cameron goes, I'd like to see Rob Ryan (Oakland defensive coordinator) get a chance. He's from that Parcells-Belichick tree, so it could be a good fit.

The Jets have to fire Brian Schottenheimer. It's that simple.

Illinois LB J. Leman is going to help somebody's special teams next year. I think he can have a Larry Izzo-type career.

Five candidates to have big bounce-backs next year: Larry Johnson, Frank Gore, Marvin Harrison, Marc Bulger, Javon Walker.

Five candidate to fall off next year: Bobby Engram (94 catches, 1147 yards, 6 TD), Derrick Mason (103 catches, 1087 yards, 5 TD), Shaun McDonald (79 catches, 943 yards, 6 TD, a Mike Martz guy without Mike Martz), Kurt Warner (3419 yards passing, 27 TD, 17 INT, probably loses his job back to Matt Leinart), Brett Favre (4155 yards, 28 TD, 15 INT, the thing about miracle seasons is they usually don't happen twice in a row).

One guy who almost made the fall-off list: Jamal Lewis. He had a great year with 1304 yards and 9 TD, but he's playing for a big deal. If Cleveland gives it to him, does he come back with the same intensity as he did after being cast off by Baltimore last year?

You think Brandon Marshall is going to put up 102 catches, 1325 yards, and 7 TD again? You think Travis Henry is going to bounce back? Betting on what will happen in Denver is like betting on which Spears sister is going to get pregnant next. Will it be Britney with three or Jamie Lynn with two by her 18th birthday? Good freaking luck.

Seth Doria is a writer based out of St. Louis. For the only daily column that mixes sports, politics, and entertainment news in one, visit The Left Calf.

Posted by Joshua Duffy at 3:21 PM | Comments (0)

Blazing a Trail in December

When compared to other big market sports towns, Portland, Oregon doesn't have a ton going for it, and that's putting it mildly. The weather isn't great, it's not what you would call a vacation hotspot (and nowhere close to one, either), and oh yeah, it only has one professional team that gets muted, half-hearted coverage around the country. In short, it doesn't have much of a national identity. And for the past few years, neither have the mediocre Trailblazers.

That all appeared to change when Portland won the 2007 NBA draft lottery and the rights to select freshman phenom Greg Oden and his ungodly power and dominance in the paint, whether attacking or protecting the basket. For a heartbeat, Portland seemed relevant again for the first time since the late-'90s-early-'00s Jailblazers era.

Apparently, the prize possession of the team was a freshman with an awkward middle-aged look to his face and body, and yes, a creaky right knee. Before Oden could step on an NBA court, he was on a hospital bed having microfracture surgery and the words "rebuilding year" became linked with the franchise very quickly. When the season started, they sure played like that was the case, going 5-12 out of the gate.

Now that black-and-white team out West with the identity crisis proudly boasts a 13-game winning streak and only a single loss in the month of December, as they have risen to an 18-12 record and are now tied for first in the Northwest Division with the star-studded Denver Nuggets.

This begs the question: without Oden around, just who are these guys on this streak that play practically under the cone of silence out in Portland? Well, that's what I set to find out.

The consensus is the Trailblazers are a young team through and through. Most of the players' names are more notable for their college careers than anything they've done in the pros up to this point. Their quiet leader, second-year guard Brandon Roy, had shouldered the load by leading the team in points (21.5) and assists (6.5) during the streak en route to back-to-back NBA player of the week awards. That's roughly two baskets and two passes more than he was averaging in November.

Roy can't win 13 games in a row by himself though, and he's gotten some help from sources both likely and unlikely. Second-year forward LaMarcus Aldridge has been steady throughout both good times and bad this year. Aldridge is averaging 17.9 points per game and 7.6 rebounds, as well. After a relatively quiet rookie season, Aldridge may be on his way to showing he will be just fine in the big time.

More surprising, however, is the play of fifth-year man Travis Outlaw, a forward with a career scoring average of merely 7.5 ppg. Outlaw has doubled that output during this streak, adding a crucial third option to the offense. Outlaw also began the streak with a game-winning shot in Memphis, a six-foot runner at the buzzer on December 3rd to make the final score 106-105. Outlaw had to catch an inbounds pass with 2.8 seconds left and make a play just to get his team their first road win of the season in nine tries.

Two games later, the Blazers were facing a 112-107 deficit in overtime against Milwaukee, but came back and won on a Brandon Roy driving layup in the final minute.

While the schedule they have faced during this run is hardly imposing, they have in fact beaten conference finalist Utah and division rival Denver twice each. Also included in this package is an impressive 12-point win over the surprise New Orleans Hornets, who are suddenly thriving in the West at 20-10. If they want to extend the streak, though, they will have to go through the Jazz a third time on Monday (and yet again a fourth time on January 5th if they still haven't lost by then).

It is fitting the Jazz seem to be such a common opponent for the Trailblazers these days. While Utah is currently struggling at the .500 mark, the Jazz showed last year that an anonymous unproven young team that works hard and plays inspired, unselfish ball together can make a considerable dent in the Western Conference playoffs. Last year's Jazz team stunned the Rockets in Game 7 in Houston, then went through Golden State in five games before succumbing to San Antonio in the West Finals.

Along the way, the country learned that Carlos Boozer could be a team leader and Deron Williams, a quick, quiet unproven guard who could crossover dribble and drive the lane with the best of them, not unlike Roy, could simply take over against any opponent, from time to time. Portland is getting a good chance to study that blueprint, and perhaps, may be looking in the mirror.

Their last win, a dominant 25-point drubbing of the 76ers, shows the streak is as strong as ever and continues to show a young nucleus playing beyond the sum of its parts, even without its most talented name on the roster. At this point, the Blazers have also accomplished another difficult feat. Despite their location, market, rough fortune, and lack of a true superstar (did I mention ESPN's blatant East Coast bias?), the Trailblazers are slowly becoming the talk of the league. They're the little team in a vacuum that could, and now no one wants to play them.

Perhaps by the time Greg Oden suits up for the Trailblazers next year, instead of coming to a team weak enough to earn the first overall pick, he will be improving a team fresh off a playoff run.

Posted by Bill Hazell at 11:27 AM | Comments (1)