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November 30, 2010

NFL Week 12 Power Rankings

Five Quick Hits

* The Hall of Fame has announced this year's semifinalists. My preferences to advance: Tim Brown, Cris Carter, Don Coryell, Dermontti Dawson, Chris Doleman, Marshall Faulk, Kevin Greene, Lester Hayes, Curtis Martin, Willie Roaf, Ed Sabol, Deion Sanders, Shannon Sharpe, Aeneas Williams, George Young.

* Four best teams for turnover differential: Eagles (+14), Falcons (+11), Patriots (+11), Steelers (+11). Combined record of those teams: 33-11.

* CBS ran a very powerful feature Thursday on former Bengals WR Chris Henry and his mother, Carolyn Glaspy. You've probably heard about it by now, but if you haven't seen the video, use the link in the previous sentence, or click here to watch it on YouTube.

* Two teams already have 100 penalties this season, the Lions and Raiders. Two others, the Dolphins and Falcons, have fewer than 50.

* I rag on Jon Gruden a lot. Don't worry, he deserves it. But this week, Gruden called a blocked kick right before it happened. All right, I'm impressed. I even kind of liked his rant on how Commissioner Goodell shouldn't let the NFC West champion into the playoffs. His faith in the Commissioner is certainly misplaced, but I don't have a problem with his premise.

***

A pair of very good players were ejected from the Houston/Tennessee game this weekend. Andre Johnson and Cortland Finnegan got into a straight fight, ripping off each other's helmets and throwing punches. Johnson connected to Finnegan's face at least three times. Both players were thrown out of the game, but the NFL announced on Monday that neither would be suspended. Instead, they were fined $25,000 each.

I've been a vocal advocate of the league's player protection policies, but they're being handled wrong. In fact, I believe they're counter-productive. An aggressive hit on a receiver, even something that probably wouldn't have drawn a flag 12 months ago, can draw a $50,000 fine, but deliberately throwing punches at someone with his helmet off gets half that? Albert Haynesworth cleats Andre Gurode's face and gets a multi-game suspension, but Andre Johnson rips off Finnegan's helmet, punches him three times, and gets a slap on the wrist? Hell, he can sign and sell his game ball and make back his fine money.

And honestly, what's the point of these fines? If you make $5 million a year, $25k is 0.5% of your salary. Half a percent. That's an inconvenience. If playing recklessly draws a couple fines like that, but earns you an extra $200 grand on your next contract, the aggressive play is worth it. Suspensions are the only way to send these guys a message, and as far as I can tell, everyone agrees on that. I'm sure the commissioner's office knows it. But they don't care.

So if the fines aren't changing player behavior, what are they doing? They're pissing people off. Players are angry, and I don't entirely blame them. The fines are arbitrary, pointless, and plainly unfair. Someone who accidentally injures a player gets the same fine as two guys who deliberately start a fricking fist fight? Come on. These fines are nothing but a PR exercise. It's the worst kind of hypocrisy to make a big show out of doing something to prevent bad behavior, when you know that it doesn't do anything to actually prevent that behavior. If the NFL were serious about player conduct and safety — and I think it's obvious at this point that it is not — the league would be dishing out suspensions. Weak. Dirty play should earn suspensions and ejections; the fines are worse than pointless.

Anyway, below are our Week 12 power rankings. Brackets show last week's rank.

1. Atlanta Falcons [4] — Five straight victories, including three against teams with winning records. Since drafting Matt Ryan in 2008, the Falcons have been a tremendous home team, while struggling on the road. Atlanta's next three games are all away, but they're unlikely to crash and burn, with two of those three against the hapless Panthers and Seahawks. The test is Week 13, against Tampa Bay. Michael Turner is quietly having a very good year: 974 rush yards, fifth-best in the NFL, with a 4.4 average, 7 TDs, and no fumbles.

2. Green Bay Packers [1] — Really, they could still rank at the top. If the game had been in Green Bay, or even on a neutral field, that three-point loss easily could have been a three-point win. In any case, let's hold off on the doom-and-gloom forecasts; the Packers will be fine. Three of the last five games are at home, and the next two are against opponents with a combined record of 6-16. Greg Jennings, after a slow start in the first five games (avg 3 rec, 37 yds, 0.6 TD), has come alive in the six games since (avg 6 rec, 107 yds, 1.0 TD).

3. New England Patriots [3] — Three tough games coming up: Jets and Packers at home, Bears on the road. Rookie CB Devin McCourty continues to have a good season, intercepting two passes against the Lions on Thursday. McCourty leads the Patriots in interceptions (5), INT return yards (110), and passes defended (12). That said, New England ranks dead last in pass defense, allowing 288.5 yards per game. That will happen when opponents are always trying to catch up.

4. Baltimore Ravens [5] — Ray Rice had a 76-yard TD reception called back on a very questionable penalty this weekend, but he still finished with 132 yards from scrimmage. Early in the season, the Ravens seemed a little fascinated by their upgraded receiving corps, with Anquan Boldin and T.J. Houshmandzadeh. Over the past four games, though, Rice has re-emerged as an important weapon in the receiving game, with 23 catches for 253 yards. He's a dynamic player, and Baltimore is a better team when he's getting 20-25 touches a game. There's a nice balance on offense right now, and the defense is playing the best it has all year. At the beginning of the season, I picked the Ravens to go 10-6, but miss the playoffs. If they win next week, though, I think they're the favorites to represent the AFC in Super Bowl XLV.

5. Philadelphia Eagles [2] — The offense is very good. The defense is just okay, and on Sunday, it got torn apart by Jay Cutler (247 yards, 4 TDs, 146.2 passer rating) and Matt Forte (117 yards, 8.4 average). Ten of Philadelphia's 11 opponents have scored at least 17 points, with Chicago posting a season-high 31. Two Philadelphia defenders are having good seasons, though: Trent Cole has 9 sacks, and Asante Samuel, who missed the Bears game with a knee injury, leads the NFL in interceptions (7).

6. San Diego Chargers [10] — Heaven help the rest of the league if they can run like that in their remaining games. We've known all year that Philip Rivers would take care of business, but this team has come alive with adequate special teams, a good running game, and exceptional defense. Antonio Garay had a quiet statistical game against Indianapolis — two tackles, that's it — but Cris Collinsworth raved about him, with reason. At age 30, starting for the first time in his career, he's stepped in for Jamal Williams and been the anchor for the top-ranked defense in the league. As if the Chargers need any more help, they're about to begin a three-game homestand.

7. New Orleans Saints [7] — DE Will Smith had a great game on Thursday: sack, forced fumble, interception ... but over the weekend he was arrested for domestic abuse. Jonathan Vilma also played very well against Dallas. Maybe it sounds strange to compliment two defensive players after the Saints allowed 457 yards and 27 points, but they also caused seven fumbles and an interception.

8. Pittsburgh Steelers [8] — Two weeks ago, Shaun Suisham wasn't even on an NFL roster. Sunday, he hit four 40-yard field goals to give Pittsburgh an overtime win in a game that never should have been so close. The Steelers committed 10 penalties for 107 yards, including a "roughing the passer" call against James Harrison, the 107th 15-yard penalty of his career. Next Sunday's matchup in Baltimore may be the most important AFC game of the regular season. I know Jets/Pats is on Monday night, but those teams are already 9-2. The loser of Pittsburgh/Baltimore might actually miss the playoffs.

9. New York Jets [9] — Overcame the poor decision-making of Mark Sanchez for a 16-point victory on Thanksgiving, but as Joe Theismann remarked, "You're gonna play teams that are a whole lot better than the Cincinnati Bengals." He could have added, "And the Texans, and the Browns, and the Lions..." The Jets are 4-0 since getting shut out against Green Bay, but their opponents are a combined 13-31, and all the games have been close. Brad "One Shoe" Smith (h/t Rich Eisen) made two fantastic plays this week, but the other 59:30 of the Bengals game was basically even.

Brad "One Shoe" Smith is one of those nicknames I really hope sticks. Smith's performance on Thursday drew comparisons to Billy "White Shoes" Johnson, who undeniably had one of the coolest nicknames in sports. Smith lost a shoe during his kickoff return TD, and the symmetry of the nicknames is natural. Plus, it's a cool story. Imagine explaining to your son or daughter 15 years from now that Smith got the nickname because he lost one of his shoes on a long return, but just kept running until he got the end zone. Folks starting calling him "One Shoe", and the name stuck...

10. Chicago Bears [15] — This is what I wrote almost two months ago, in Week 5, when I had the Bears ranked 18th: "A forgiving schedule makes it perfectly realistic that the Bears might win 11 or 12 games this season. It probably won't be that many, but don't be surprised if this team is 8-3 or 9-2 going into Thanksgiving. The Bears travel to Green Bay in Week 17, for a game that could decide the NFC North." Keep an eye on that Week 17 matchup. Peanut Tillman is having perhaps his best season: 4 forced fumbles, 3 INTs, 2 fumble recoveries, and 50 solo tackles, third on the team behind Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs.

11. Indianapolis Colts [6] — It's easy to fawn over Peyton Manning, but he's all this team has. The offensive line is subpar. The RBs are bad. Reggie Wayne is having his worst season in memory. The defense is a mess of injuries and can't stop the run. The Colts have dropped three of their last four, but the loss to San Diego, ugly as it was, doesn't mean that much. The Chargers have won five of their last six against Indianapolis; they just have this team's number. And Manning's four interceptions — well, it's a misleading statistic. The first two, he was being hit and the throw went awry. The third resulted from uncalled pass interference. The fourth was desperation, utterly predictable. In fact, I called it from my couch. "If Manning goes back in, he's going to throw another pick." So throw this game out. In fact, it's hard to see anyone but Indy winning the AFC South. But the Colts have problems all over the field.

12. New York Giants [11] — As usual, Eli Manning is the most exciting quarterback in the NFL. He leads the NFL in passing touchdowns (23) and he's second in interceptions (16). You don't know what's going to happen when Eli lets go of the ball, but one way or the other, it's gonna be a big play. Last season, when the Giants fell to 30th in points allowed, they ranked 18th in sacks, averaging two per game (32 total). This year, the G-Men already have 31 sacks, almost three per game, though they still can't keep opponents out of the end zone. It would help if the team weren't -6 in turnovers.

13. Miami Dolphins [18] — The offense looks much better with a real QB. The Dolphins also used the Wildcat effectively for the first time all season, with Ricky Williams (95 yards) and Ronnie Brown (85) combining for almost 200 yards on the ground. In the absence of Brandon Marshall, Chad Henne connected with seven different receivers and passed for over 300 yards. 100.3 may be a bad fever, but it's a good passer rating. Sorry, I'll go sit in the corner now.

14. Kansas City Chiefs [16] — Lead the NFL in fewest turnovers (8). NFL's top five in scoring: Patriots, Chargers, Eagles, Chiefs, Colts. Yeah, Kansas City has a top-five offense. Top five in passer rating: Michael Vick, Tom Brady, Philip Rivers, Matt Cassel, Ben Roethlisberger. Yeah, Cassel is playing like a top-tier QB. Over the last three weeks, Cassel is 70-for-109 with 895 yards, 10 TDs, and no interceptions, a 120.4 rating. Some of that came against a soft Denver defense "protecting" a four-touchdown lead, and the other defenses weren't exactly the '85 Bears, either, but I think it's time to regard Cassel as a top-10 QB. My top 10, right now, in alphabetical order: Brady, Drew Brees, Cassel, Peyton Manning, Kyle Orton, Rivers, Aaron Rodgers, Roethlisberger, Matt Ryan, Vick.

15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers [14] — The self-proclaimed best team in the league still hasn't beaten anyone with a winning record, and has been outscored by its opponents (223-219). But the remaining schedule is not bad, and Tampa is probably even money to sneak into the playoffs. The Bucs have gotten good production out of their young defensive players, but lost rookie safety Cody Grimm, who broke his leg Sunday and has been placed on injured reserve.

16. Oakland Raiders [12] — Lost time of possession by an incredible 23 minutes in Week 12. The Raiders only had the football for 18:22 of a 60-minute game. Jacoby Ford had another big showing (108 rec yds, rec TD, 101-yd KR TD), but the defense couldn't get off the field, and Bruce Gradkowski did not play well. Jason Campbell is a better passer, but he takes way too many sacks, and Gradkowski is better about that. Campbell is a little better as a scrambler, too. There's no right choice, but if it were me, I'd start Campbell.

17. Jacksonville Jaguars [19] — David Garrard rushed for 41 yards and a touchdown, but he had a poor passing game: 162 yards, an INT, and a 57.1 passer rating is bad enough, but add 4 sacks for 41 yards and a fumble, and it's 121 yards on 39 plays (3.1 per play, which is miserable) with two turnovers. The Jags are last in the NFL in turnover differential, -13.

18. Houston Texans [21] — Broke a four-game losing streak with a shutout win over a division rival. Arian Foster is having one of the great seasons by any RB in history, and this weekend was no exception, but the other hero was Glover Quin, who intercepted 3 passes. Foster led Houston in both rushing (143 yards) and receiving (75), his second 200-yard performance of the season. Foster has four of the top 20 single-game performances for yards from scrimmage this season, including two in the top 10. No one else is in the top 10 more than once or the top 20 more than twice.

19. Cleveland Browns [20] — Overcame the return of Jake Delhomme to edge Carolina at home. Delhomme, Colt McCoy, and Seneca Wallace have all thrown about the same number of passes this season, between 95 and 127. Wallace has the best rating, 88.5, followed closely by McCoy (85.3). Delhomme's rating, with the same offensive line and the same receivers, is 54.2. But Peyton Hillis is a beast, and the Panthers are terrible, so Cleveland won anyway. It would be nice to get Wallace or McCoy back for Week 13.

20. San Francisco 49ers [23] — Three wins in the last four, though the loss was an ugly 21-0 shutout. The nationally-televised NFC West matchup on Monday night represented the worst of this division, which, as a whole, is 17-27 and has been outscored by 247 points. Apart from divisional games, the West is 10-20 and gets outscored by 8.2 points per game. Frank Gore reportedly fractured his right hip and is out for the season.

21. Dallas Cowboys [22] — Rookie receiver Dez Bryant looks like an Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate, but following his three strongest receiving performances, he's been limited to 3 catches for 8 yards in the last two weeks. Bryant was held without a reception against New Orleans, and was visibly petulant on the sidelines. Even at age 22, you expect a man to conduct himself like a professional. Terence Newman has had some great games on Thanksgiving, but at age 32, he seems to be nearing the end of the line, and has really played poorly this season. Maybe he can hang around as a safety; Newman led the Cowboys in tackles on Thursday.

22. St. Louis Rams [24] — Facing a miserable Denver defense — the league-worst scoring defense and 31st in opponents' passer rating (102.1) — they had their best offensive performance of the season. But don't be fooled, this is still a really bad offensive team.

23. Buffalo Bills [27] — Last week, I pointed out that they were last in the NFL in field goals. This week, they kicked three. The Bills started 0-5, losing every game by at least 5 points. Since the bye, they're 2-4, with all the losses by just a field goal, three of them in overtime. If not for OT, the Bills would have a winning record since the bye. All four of those losses came against teams with records of at least 7-4.

24. Minnesota Vikings [28] — Three straight weeks under 20 points, and now Adrian Peterson has a sprained ankle. Minnesota's dormant defensive line, dominant in recent years but mostly invisible in 2010, rose up and dominated Washington for the Vikings' first road win of the season.

25. Washington Redskins [17] — It's not Donovan McNabb's fault. The offensive line has got to be one of the two or three worst in the NFL, the top two RBs are out and the backups can't play, the receiving corps is weak, and the defense has allowed the most yards in the NFL. I must have criticized LaRon Landry's coverage skills half a dozen times, but the team sure could have used an aggressive tackler who hits with authority this weekend. Goat of the week: Perry Riley, whose penalty called back a Brandon Banks KR TD that would have put Washington ahead 20-17 in the fourth quarter.

26. Tennessee Titans [13] — They were 5-2 when Kenny Britt got hurt. Since then, they're 0-4. The free-fall isn't about adding Randy Moss, it's about subtracting Britt and playing a quarterback who can't perform at the NFL level. Tennessee probably is not a realistic playoff contender any more, but if Kerry Collins can't come back soon, they appear to be one of the very worst teams in the league. The next three games are all at home, and all against division opponents. Five of Tennessee's last six are against AFC South foes.

27. Detroit Lions [25] — Jason Hanson is one of the greatest kickers in NFL history. He's 7th all-time in scoring, ahead of guys like Nick Lowery, Jan Stenerud, and Adam Vinatieri. He's 5th all-time in field goals, and 1st all-time in 50+ yarders. In Week 9, the Jets' Trevor Pryce dove at Hanson's knees after a kick. Pryce got a 15-yard penalty, and Hanson got a knee injury that has kept him off the field ever since. Hanson may return before the end of the season, but he's 40 years old, so nothing is guaranteed. Pryce may have ended the career of one of the best kickers ever, with a dirty play, but he was neither fined nor suspended by the league. The NFL cares about player safety? B.S.

28. Seattle Seahawks [26] — One of two teams, Oakland being the other, to lose time of possession by more than 20 minutes in Week 12. That means the other team held the ball twice as long as you. The Seahawks rank 29th in offense (299 yds/gm) and 30th in defense (399 yds/gm), a 100-yard deficit per game. In the last month, Seattle is 1-4, losing by a combined score of 89-168, an average of 16 points per game.

29. Denver Broncos [29] — Haven't held anyone under 20 points this season, and they've allowed at least 29 three games running. Last season, Elvis Dumervil led the NFL in sacks. This year, he's on injured reserve. Dumervil's absence isn't the only reason this defense is so horrid, but it's a major factor. In fact, I wonder if I didn't give him enough credit last year.

30. Cincinnati Bengals [30] — In Week 12, Carson Palmer threw multiple interceptions for the fifth time this season, including three games in a row. Only Eli Manning has more (6), and Palmer is now 26th in passer rating.

31. Arizona Cardinals [31] — Why on earth does a team called the Cardinals wear black uniforms? Come on, red. Cardinal red! There's no way Arizona was going to win on Monday night, but the refs sure preferred San Francisco. Every close call went against the Cardinals, including by far the biggest of the night, a mysterious penalty that nullified LaRod Stephens-Howling's huge kickoff return. The game was an embarrassment. Steve Young called it "non-competitive football" and "painful to watch." Matt Millen proclaimed, "There's nothing the Cardinals did today that resembled a drive." Facing a 3-7 team that lost its best player halfway through the first quarter, Arizona still got blown out. Hands-down the worst game I've watched this year.

32. Carolina Panthers [32] — Second five-game losing streak of the season. Don't tell Carolina there's parity this year.

Posted by Brad Oremland at 7:47 PM | Comments (0)

2010 Tennis Comes To an End, Finally

With a thunder of applause, and a bit of ale-driven cheers, the 2010 professional tennis year came to an end yesterday. Roger Federer stood tallest, defeating nemesis Rafael Nadal in three sets at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London. It was a good match, and I for one am glad it's over.

This is the latest I've ever had a tennis season go. It's just a day before December, and I actually had my fill of turkey here over three days before I got to see the last serve of the season. On the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour, 2010 was a year where they began to introduce measures to add excitement to the season and begin to shorten it. The men's tour, on the other hand, wanted to hold on to 2010 as long as it could.

I can't necessarily disagree with the championship itself, as it drew, by most accounts, a quarter of a million fans over the eight-day tournament, which, by just about any account, is a smashing success, pun intended. For most of the world, this time is devoid of a lot of professional sports, so it is easy to view and it is a welcome change to soccer. Here in America, however, it had to compete with the Thanksgiving holiday, a full professional football schedule, and some of the best college football games in years.

This year's men's finals matches were all top-notch, with very good performances by Robin Soderling, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray. The tournament got its top two seeds for the final, as well. It's the way I guess you would want 2010 to end, with the two top men playing for the last title of the year.

Federer won the match mostly on the fact he was well rested, having not been truly tested in all his round robin matches. Nadal had a marathon semifinal with Andy Murray and came into the final with about three quarters of a full tank. Federer and Nadal traded shots and games over the first two sets, but in the third and final, it was clear Nadal had run out of steam.

As I sat watching some of the match replays online, I couldn't help but flash back to matches between legends Bjorn Borg and Guillermo Vilas. Federer and Borg are cool, had incredibly complete games, and moved quickly, but with the grace of a ballerina. Vilas and Nadal, well, have the muscle and spin and are like bulls on the court, bludgeoning you with every lefty forehand and every huge backhand. As with Borg/Vilas, in the end, grace beats bulls, and Federer came out on top of Nadal.

One thing I will agree with the English tabloids is that while this is a rivalry, it's the most civil rivalry I've seen since Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall. The tennis was great, but there was at times a missing excitement. You could not feel any fire in the belly. Only blue, icy flames.

So now the season is over. The WTA season changes did little to really help performance of its top athletes and didn't help guarantee the big players, either. Injuries still played their part, including a six-month disappearance of Serena Williams due to an off-court foot injury. Venus, Maria Sharapova, and Justine Henin also suffered physically. This left the game to the young girls, and while it's nice to see the next generation, season-ending No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki still isn't a complete player yet. I'm happy to see Kim Clijsters take another U.S. Open title and also to win the season-ending tour championships over Wozniacki.

I'm still left feeling a little cheated by the women. Serena Williams finished 2010 fourth in the world, although she only played six tournaments all year. That just isn't right. Players like Sammy Stosur and Francesca Schiavone played a full season and their hearts out, both making the French final (Schiavone winning it). Finishing in the season-ending rankings below both Venus and Serena just seems wrong.

Overall, 2010 was a good year internationally for tennis, but the effects of the world financial crisis and the state of the global economy are starting to be felt. I'm glad now that the season is over. Congratulations, Roger. Happy holidays, Kim, Rafa, Caroline, Vera, Andy, Andy, Novak, and the rest of both tours. See you all in six weeks down under.

In the coming weeks, it's that time again: my annual tennis Christmas wish list for 2010. Can you guess what will be on my list?

Posted by Tom Kosinski at 10:15 AM | Comments (3)

November 29, 2010

A Chance to Give Thanks

The Thanksgiving weekend has now come and gone, and, for one, I certainly am grateful for the chance to express my opinion to be read by thousands ... um, hundreds ... okay, a couple of people. That's why I'm going to veer this column to two different areas. The first deals with a fact of sporing life that has reared its head yet again.

For all that has occurred this season around college football, the major players in the hunt for the BCS championship have all had something go in their favor. No matter how large the student body, everyone had something put in place to keep them alive to this point. So to those left after Saturday's leftovers, what are they thankful for?

Pac-10 Champion Oregon — Cal Offense and Giorgio Tavecchio

The Ducks have speed for days, and that's been too much to overcome for their foes in the Pac-10. The offense is one of the most potent in the nation, and their defense seems to stiffen more as the game goes on. However, Cal found something out. The Bears were undefeated at home going into its showdown two weeks ago, but that didn't make up for the fact that they were 5-5.

Somehow, though, Cal held Oregon to 15 points. They only allowed one offensive touchdown. And for all that ... the Bear offense couldn't take advantage. On the second play of the fourth quarter, Tavecchio lined up for a 24-yard field goal. He made it. But ... there was an inexplicable illegal motion penalty. Tavecchio missed the ensuing 29-yard attempt, and, three drives later, the Ducks ran the final 9:25 off the clock. I'm not saying that Oregon would have ultimately lost had they gone down 16-15, but it would have been interesting to find out how they played under extreme pressure.

SEC West Division Champ Auburn — Lightning in a Tank

No matter what comes to light surrounding the Tigers' quarterback, Cam Newton has been this year's Tim Tebow. The team's uncanny ability to come back from several deficits (including Friday's 24-point difference against Alabama) has been solely based on the play of Newton. Although this may come back to bite the program he plays for later on, he has been close to unstoppable in the present time. South Carolina gets another shot at him this coming Saturday. But hell, the way things go in this sport, who's to say the Tigers don't get their shot at the crown with a loss.

Mountain West Champion TCU — Nevada

What Boise State loses, the Horned Frogs gain. Over the last two seasons, the resurgent Dallas-based program has been one of the most consistent in the country (along with said Broncos). It appeared, though, as if a Boise win would have put the Smurf Turf Boys slightly ahead in the battle of "first team out." Now, the Frogs are clearly in that position. If something were to happen to Auburn or Oregon, Andy Dalton and his crew might just get their chance on the biggest stage.

Pac-10 BCS contender Stanford — A Lucky QB

The Cardinal were a team on the rise last season, but the loss of all-everything running back Toby Gerhart made some wonder if there would be a slight drop-off. However, that just brought out the skills of an all-everything quarterback in Andrew Luck. His stats (2,746 yds, 24 TD, 7 INT, 70.2 comp. %) have kept him in the minds of some of the Heisman voters that hailed him in August.

Big Ten Co-Champs Wisconsin and Ohio State — University of Iowa

Both teams had to visit Iowa City for their showdown with the Hawkeyes this season. Both teams won by very slim margins (the Badgers by 1 and the Buckeyes by 3) on short runs with under two minutes left in the game. Because of this, both teams ended up with identical records. But for this co-champ thing to work, both squads needed one more thing from the Hawkeyes.

They got it when the Black and Gold trounced Michigan State on the Spartans trip to Kinnick Stadium. Not only did this keep Sparty from running through an unblemished season, but it knocked them far enough down the totem pole that they will certainly end up the third wheel in this 11-1 (7-1) trio. Now, with Saturday's results, it appears Bucky will by Rosy and Buckeyes will fill another one of the BCS bowls. Michigan State? I've heard Orlando is lovely this time of year.

Big 12 Co-South Division Champ Oklahoma — Revisionist History

Saturday night, the Sooners continued their dominant ways over Oklahoma State, basically denying the Cowboys a shot at their first Big 12 Championship Game appearance. It also set up a three-way tie between OU, OSU, and blazing-hot Texas A&M. Do you guys remember when the last three-way divisional tie was? Try the Big 12 South, circa 2008.

That year, OU benefited from Texas' last-second loss to Texas Tech, which ended up creating the logjam between the Sooner, Longhorns, and Red Raiders. That year, Texas beat Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry contest. However, it was early enough for Boomer Sooner to recover.

This year, Texas A&M beats Oklahoma three weeks ago, but it was early enough for them to recover since Oklahoma State started a stretch (on Sept. 30th) that pushed the Aggies under the radar. In the end, it appears that the team that vanquished Oklahoma dreams of sneaking into the Championship Game won't get the chance to realize any BCS dreams of their own.

For teams such as Boise State, LSU, and Oklahoma State, their offerings of thanks were all rebuffed this weekend, even though all will have another game to prepare for. Now, I'm going to invoke the intro to the column, because it's time to give up the feeling of graciousness for a bit.

As pretty much anybody that follows college football knows by now, Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee talked about how teams such as Boise State and TCU don't deserve a shot at the national championship. If you missed the quote, here is a portion of it.

"I do know, having been both a Southeastern Conference president and a Big Ten president, that it's like murderer's row every week for these schools. We do not play the Little Sisters of the Poor. We play very fine schools on any given day.

"So I think until a university runs through that gauntlet that there's some reason to believe that they not be the best teams to (be) in the big ballgame."

First of all, I get it. The man has had the experience of working with these BCS power conferences for years now. I'm certain that most, if not all, of the Presidents of these Universities feel the same way. Personally, I'm a fan of Missouri and an alma mater of Iowa State, two examples (although not the best ones) of teams from a power conference.

However, when you start parsing schedules and pointing to the fact that a tradition or a name means practically everything, then you have to take a second to think. I understand that there may not be as many potholes to navigate in the WAC, or the MAC, or the Sun Belt. But how can you blame them for playing in their own conference, then signing up to supposedly get pummeled by your conference?

After last summer's carousel called Conference Realignment, it's apparent that geography doesn't particularly drive the bus anymore in this sport. In this process, schools sought out the chance to "relocate," but they couldn't just go out and claim that they were shifting to a new home.

Mr. Gee, do you feel these teams need a tougher schedule? Do you believe they wouldn't have an undefeated run through your conference foes? Prove it. Unless you can come up with a new configuration that excludes the lesser conferences, invite tell the Pac-10 to invite Boise State to join. Tell the SEC or Big 12 to sign TCU up. Hell, go tell Jim Delaney to open your conference's doors to Ohio or Temple. All this is doing is inviting these programs to the party and not letting them in the door. You don't think someone would eventually complain or smash a window to get in? Wouldn't you be insulted if you were in that position?

Do I expect you and your buddies to do this? No. That would mean giving up too much of the pie for you guys. But until you extend a solution, might I advise that you please refrain from talking out of both sides of your mouth, sir. It just isn't as well arranged as that bow tie of yours.

Maybe that's why I'm truly grateful for college basketball.

Posted by Jonathan Lowe at 7:24 PM | Comments (0)

The Five Biggest Things Wrong in MMA

I'm a huge NFL fan. Football isn't perfect. There are a lot of rules, strategies, and league policies I hope will change. Most of them probably won't, but some of them will. I'm also a big MMA fan. In this sport, though, I have less confidence that what needs to change will do so.

Organized professional football has been around for about 90 years. Over that time, the game has changed dramatically. Not just with regard to strategy and skill, but to the rules, which are dramatically different than they were in the sport's infancy. In fact, the rules are still changing today; almost every season, there's an important new rule or "point of emphasis."

Go back 20 years in the NFL, and we had six divisions instead of eight, 10 teams in the playoffs rather than 12, no such thing as illegal contact, far less stringent unnecessary roughness regulations, wedges permitted on kickoffs, the current replay and challenge system wasn't in place, so on and so on. The NFL recognizes that problems arise even in a healthy, popular sport, and when those problems arise the league takes action to address them. MMA needs to start doing the same thing.

The five biggest things wrong in MMA:

1) Sub-standard judging.
2) Out-of-date rules, particularly those adapted from boxing.
3) Boring fights with little obvious action.
4) Poor officiating.
5) Match-making handcuffed by reluctance to cross-promote.

Sub-Standard Judging

There are three reasons we see immediate rematches in MMA: (1) freak stoppages due to injury, (2) upset of an outstanding champion, (3) bizarre decision by judges or referee. Last weekend at UFC 123, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson won a controversial split decision victory over Lyoto Machida. Rampage was visibly surprised by the verdict, and admitted in a post-fight interview that Machida probably deserved an immediate rematch. UFC commentator Joe Rogan enthusiastically agreed, as did the partisan Detroit crowd, which had supported Jackson throughout the evening.

Earlier on the card, Nik Lentz won a stunning decision over Tyson Griffin. I didn't see the fight, but I haven't seen anyone defend the decision, either. Nothing — nothing — will destroy a sport faster than lack of legitimacy.* If you want fans to care about your product, they have to believe in a level playing field, that the competitor who wins deserves to. Major League Baseball realized this almost a century ago, enacting a zero-tolerance policy (including lifetime bans) for those who arranged unfair results for the benefit of gamblers. Other sports leagues have experienced similar crises on a lesser level.

*Unless War Machine fights Junie Browning. That would destroy it, too. Heaven help us all.

Mixed martial arts is not obviously threatened by gambling or fix attempts, but it nonetheless faces a legitimacy crisis whenever a fight goes to decision. The judges are less educated, less qualified to assess the bout, than many of the fans in the arenas and sitting at home. It is, or should be, completely unacceptable to have anyone but the most qualified observers deciding fights that go the distance. If MMA is to become a mainstream sport, or even a stable fringe sport, correcting this inadequacy is absolutely critical. We need judges who are nothing less than experts. Judges also should have better access to video and instant replay, so fights don't hinge on partially blocked views.

Anticipatory rebuttal: Don't tell me fighters need to finish. Don't re-hash any of this "never leave it in the hands of the judges" stuff. Yes, the only guaranteed way to win a fight is with a finish, and I'm all for encouraging fighters to be aggressive. But if decisions are going to be part of the sport, they need to be fair. There's no reason for fans or fighters to settle for anything less. Accepting something unfair is stupid, and I believe most MMA fans are smarter than they're often given credit for. Judging needs to be improved, and there are obvious ways to do it: better judges, and a system of accountability for those who are unqualified.

For you die-hards out there — and by "die-hards", I mean Bellator fans — Zoila Frausto is Bellator's new champion in the women's 115-pound division, despite having lost both of her last two fights in the eight-woman tournament. Frausto was outclassed by both Jessica Aguilar and Megumi Fujii, but was awarded startling decisions over both, dealing Fujii her first-ever loss and getting a wholly undeserved belt around her waist. If you care about the sport, or about fairness in general, this is an outrage. Subpar judging is the single most problematic issue in mixed martial arts today, and addressing it should be the top priority of anyone serious about growing or promoting the sport.

Out-of-Date Rules and Boring Fights

Baseball stats guru Bill James has written eloquently about MLB's failure to adapt its rules and address problems that arise in the sport. He describes the view of baseball as a sort of "perfect machine" which never requires maintenance. Similarly, mixed martial arts has issues that need to be addressed, and neither the promotional organizations nor the U.S. state athletic commissions seem interested in doing anything about them. This attitude assumes nothing can change: "Well, this sucks, but I guess it's part of the sport." In many cases, it doesn't have to be.

I despise the 10-point must system in MMA. I guess it works okay in boxing, but in a three-round fight with so many facets, it's simply not effective. Almost every round is scored 10-9, so there's effectively no difference between a dominant round and a toss-up round that is basically even. Instead of judging round-by-round, we should just look at the entire fight. In the main event of UFC 123, Jackson may have edged out the first two rounds, both of which were very close, before decisively losing the third. Judging the fight as a whole, it would be obvious who deserved to win: Lyoto Machida. But the round-by-round scoring allows a fighter who overall was on the losing side of things to nonetheless pull out disappointing decision victories.

We also need a more consistent policy on point deductions. Too often, a ref will stand there and repeatedly yell at a contestant to stop doing something illegal, or even threaten to take a point, without ever following up on it. Grabbing the fence to prevent a takedown can be the difference in a fight. If it's a foul, there should be a penalty. Why not have a firm policy of one warning, then a point?

Another issue that needs to be addressed is prolonged inactivity, the sort of thing that gets fans in the arena booing and fans at home changing the channel or vowing not to shell out for the next pay-per-view. Every sport has rules against stalling. Delay of game penalties, the shot clock in basketball, and so on. MMA desperately requires something to prevent, or at least limit, stalling tactics in the cage. There are provisions in place for referees to re-start the fight in a standing position, and end a fight or penalize a participant when he refuses to engage. I forget which referee it was who threatened to declare a no-contest amidst the endless circling of Rob McCullough and Marcus Hicks at WEC 39, but that guy is my hero. Or, at least he was that night. I'm afraid it might have been Dan Miragliotta, who definitely is not my hero.

The problem is that these referee powers are exercised infrequently and inconsistently. Many refs, especially those with less experience, are actually trigger-happy, standing up fights they have no business interfering with. There need to be clear and explicit rules in place to help referees determine when and how to step in, and those rules need to be aggressive about encouraging action. Mixed martial arts is fundamentally an entertainment business:

* Fighters compete because sponsors and promoters pay them.
* Those sponsors and promoters make money because people watch the sport.
* People watch because it's entertaining.
* Too many boring fights, and people stop watching.

That means no more money coming in, and failing to address this problem could quite literally kill the sport. On the other hand, resolving this issue and making the sport more exciting could help it grow. A network television deal for the UFC would benefit everyone. Fans who are used to paying for the privilege of watching fights would no longer have to do so. Sponsors would reach a far larger audience. The sport itself would reach a larger audience and inevitably grow, translating to bigger paydays for both the fighters and the promoter. MMA is not a perfect machine. Tweak the rules to get a little more action, a little less inaction, and an explicit ban on deliberate stalling, known variously as lay-and-pray, wall-and-stall, and their stand-up cousin, endless circling.

Anticipatory rebuttal: "If you don't want to be held down for 15 minutes and lose a decision, stop the takedown." There are skills fighters can develop to discourage lay-and-pray, particularly takedown defense and a terrifying offensive guard. But when a fighter who lacks those tools ends up against someone like Jake Shields or Chad Mendes or Cole Konrad, it's the fans who really lose. I'm not saying we stand up fighters who are active on the ground, improving position and throwing strikes and attempting submissions. All MMA needs is the same rule every other sport has: a prohibition against deliberate stalling. If you gain a position from which your opponent cannot escape, but you do nothing with it, you are deliberately wasting time in the fight. That means wasting fans' time. It's bad for fans, and it's bad for the sport.

I'm not saying we cut all the boring fighters or stand up a fight if the guy on top can't get an arm triangle right away. I'm just saying we prevent deliberate stalling. There's nothing sporting about it, so it shouldn't be part of the sport. This is a no-brainer.

Poor Officiating

Referees make mistakes in every sport. In mixed martial arts, though, there are a huge number of questionable decisions, including early stoppages, late stoppages, premature stand-ups, and more. In Aaron Simpson's fight with Mark Muñoz this weekend, at one point Simpson got the fight to the ground and appeared to gain a position resembling mount at the exact moment referee Marc Fennell stood the fight up. Fight fans shudder when they see a ref they don't know — the early stand-up is just a matter of time.

I've seen fights re-started when one contestant had a dominant position, was actively improving position, and even in the middle of a submission attempt. Boxing refs are not qualified to officiate mixed martial arts. It's a different sport, and if you don't understand grappling and submissions, you're going to screw it up. There is no excuse for unqualified refs. The promotional organizations and athletic commissions need to make sure all refs are knowledgeable, and training courses should be required.

Josh Rosenthal is an experienced referee, but earlier this month, he let Urijah Faber choke Takeya Mizugaki for a long time after Mizugaki was already unconscious. Some fans were initially afraid Faber might have killed him. This is not Faber's fault. I'm not even sure it's Rosenthal's fault; the angle was really tough for him to see, and no good ref wants to stop a fight too early. Most sports have more than one referee. So should MMA. I don't propose adding a fourth person to the cage, but a couple refs working outside could help prevent situations like Mizugaki's, as well as help identify illegal strikes and better enforce rules against holding the cage or grabbing your opponent's shorts.

Anticipatory rebuttal: It's nothing personal, Mr. Mazzagatti.

Reluctance to Cross-Promote

A century ago, boxing was the most popular sport in the world, and the heavyweight champion was the most famous athlete in the world. Numerous factors have contributed to boxing's decline, but the most obvious is that the best fighters often do not face each other. Look at Manny Pacquiao/Floyd Mayweather. That's never going to happen. Fans lose interest when the best guys outclass all their opponents. There's no drama, and no clear champion. You're watching a mere athletic competition with none of the thrill of actual sport. One of the ways in which MMA is superior to boxing is that the fights that need to happen usually do. Occasionally, however, they're hamstrung by cross-promotional barriers.

If you don't want to see people like Alistair Overeem, Nick Diaz, and Eddie Alvarez compete against the best the UFC has to offer, I don't want to be your friend. But those fights will never happen. The UFC has nothing to gain by making those fights, and Strikeforce has little incentive to cooperate with Bellator, who in turn has no reason to raise the profile of yet-smaller organizations. This is unlikely to change, and there's no obvious solution, but it is a problem.

Honestly, I can live with this one. It's frustrating, certainly, but if this were the biggest problem in MMA, that would mean a lot of progress had been made on more important issues.

Anticipatory rebuttal: Yes, those guys are every bit as good as the guys you see in the UFC. Don't tell me Fëdor Emelianenko hasn't fought anybody; he's beaten five former UFC champions. Overeem is a monster. Diaz won five fights in the UFC, and he's only improved since then. Alvarez and Gilbert Melendez might be the best lightweights in the world. There's only way to find out. If the UFC was really superior, guaranteed of winning, it would set the fights up and prove itself, blow the competition out of the water once and for all. There are plenty of champions in other organizations who probably couldn't compete with top-tier UFC fighters, but there are also some who almost certainly could. It would be nice to know for sure, and it might save us from some of the endless rematches Zuffa seems to be pursuing these days.

November 2010 UFC Rankings

The rankings below are exclusively for the UFC, so you won't see names like Fëdor Emelianenko or Hector Lombard on these lists.

Heavyweight (206-265 lbs)

1. Cain Velasquez
2. Junior Dos Santos
3. Brock Lesnar
4. Shane Carwin
5. Roy Nelson
6. Frank Mir
7. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
8. Ben Rothwell
9. Brendan Schaub
10. Cheick Kongo

Make it Happen: Lesnar vs. Nelson

Nelson is a great test for Lesnar. He has knockout power, top-notch grappling, and a mighty chin. Lesnar is the superior athlete, but Nelson has the size and skills to compete with him, to force Lesnar into a fight where he can prove himself to fans who doubt him after the loss to Velasquez.

Thank You, UFC, For: Backpedaling on Lesnar/Mir III

*yawn*

Light Heavyweight (186-205)

1. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
2. Lyoto Machida
3. Rashad Evans
4. Jon Jones
5. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
6. Ryan Bader
7. Thiago Silva
8. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
9. Forrest Griffin
10. Rich Franklin

Make it Happen: Rampage/Machida II

It was a close decision that could have gone either way; the fighters and fans deserve a more decisive result. Failing that, 'Page should face the winner of Jones/Bader or Griffin/Franklin, with a title shot on the line. Jackson vs. Griffin II, leading to a rematch with Shogun, would be intriguing. In the meantime: Machida vs. Jones. Styles make fights.

Thank You, UFC, For: Griffin vs. Franklin

Two big names who are probably a little past their primes, but still relevant in the division. This fight is not official yet, but it's expected for UFC 126.

Middleweight (171-185)

1. Anderson Silva
2. Chael Sonnen
3. Yushin Okami
4. Vitor Belfort
5. Demian Maia
6. Nate Marquardt
7. Alan Belcher
8. Wanderlei Silva
9. Michael Bisping
10. Chris Leben

Make it Happen: Wanderlei Silva vs. Marquardt

Two ferocious strikers trying to prove they're not done. This has Fight of the Night or Knockout of the Night written all over it.

Thank You, UFC, For: Okami's Title Shot

Brother has earned it. Don't renege, UFC.

Welterweight (156-170)

1. Georges St-Pierre
2. Jon Fitch
3. Jake Shields
4. Thiago Alves
5. Josh Koscheck
6. B.J. Penn
7. Martin Kampmann
8. Carlos Condit
9. Matt Hughes
10. Dong Hyun Kim

Make it Happen: Kampmann vs. winner of Kim/Nate Diaz

Kim is 4-0-1 in the UFC. Diaz is 2-0 at welterweight and looks better than ever. The winner of this bout is a contender at 170, and deserves a fight with a top-10 opponent.

Thank You, UFC, For: Condit vs. Chris Lytle

A pair of exciting, well-rounded fighters on impressive win streaks. Honestly, there's a lot to be excited about in this division. I swear 170 is the UFC's deepest weight class right now.

Lightweight (146-155)

1. Frankie Edgar
2. Gray Maynard
3. Kenny Florian
4. George Sotiropoulos
5. Ben Henderson
6. Evan Dunham
7. Sean Sherk
8. Takanori Gomi
9. Jim Miller
10. Joe Stevenson

Make it Happen: Sherk vs. loser of Edgar/Maynard

Sherk's win over Dunham was one of those questionable judging decisions, but Sherk looked good. He's been in MMA for over a decade, and he's only lost to Matt Hughes, Georges St-Pierre, B.J. Penn, and Frankie Edgar. If Sotiropoulos or Dunham get de-railed on their paths to the title, the winner of this fight can step in to fill the void.

Thank You, UFC, For: Winner of Edgar/Maynard vs. Winner of Henderson/Anthony Pettis

The UFC/WEC lightweight unification bout. Fans have been wondering for a while now how the top lightweights in the WEC would fare against their UFC counterparts. We're about to find out.

Lighter Weight Classes

I won't rank the new 135- and 145-pound divisions until they've actually been contested in the UFC, but I'm excited for Jose Aldo vs. Josh Grispi. If you've never seen Aldo, he's a wrecking machine, maybe the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Grispi was pulled from a previously arranged bout with Erik Koch so he could face Aldo for the title, and it was the right move. Grispi is on a 10-fight win streak, including victories over Mark Hominick and Jens Pulver.

At 135, Urijah Faber has to face the winner of the title fight between Dominick Cruz and Scott Jorgensen. Faber is a legend in the sport, a huge draw for the new weight divisions, and probably a slight favorite against either fighter.

UFC 123

I scored the main event 29-28 for Machida. The first two rounds were very close, so I had it 19-19 going into the third, which Machida obviously won. Any scoring system that awards a victory to a fighter who was outclassed overall needs to be corrected, but let's not pretend Rampage dominated those first two rounds. They could have gone either way. Jackson certainly had the edge in cage control, but he landed almost nothing apart from a few knees on the cage, and he never had Machida in trouble. The only time either fighter was in danger or close to finishing was the third round. I understand people scoring the first two rounds for 'Page, but I was surprised by the decision.

There was no ambiguity in Penn's victory over Hughes, a KO just 21 seconds in. Penn's next fight reportedly will be against Jon Fitch, headlining the UFC's return to Australia. That's a great matchup, a test for both fighters. I think people are too quick to throw dirt on Hughes, though. He got caught, it can happen to anybody. It happened to George St-Pierre a couple years ago, and it didn't mean GSP was no longer a great fighter. Plus, this loss was to B.J. Penn, who — in case you missed it — is pretty good. Yeah, it was a decisive loss. Hughes is coming off a decisive win over Ricardo Almeida, who is no joke.

Meanwhile, George Sotiropoulos continues to roll at 155, with a submission finish over Joe Lauzon. The native Australian will next face Dennis Siver at UFC 127 in Sydney, a mismatch on paper, and Sotiropoulos should be drawing very close to a title shot at lightweight. The other match that merits mention was the staring contest between Maiquel Falcao and Gerald Harris. The crowd showered Auburn Hills with boos after a fight that saw no action for fully half of the first 15 minutes. The first-round feeling-out process took three minutes. Falcao didn't throw a strike until about 2:45 in, and Harris didn't land anything. The second round was a one-sided beating, but the third round was devoid of action until about the last 15 seconds.

It obviously won't happen, but I wish the UFC would cut Falcao to send a message to fighters and fans that the UFC cares about fans and that the fighters have a responsibility to perform. Falcao didn't earn a paycheck on Saturday night, he just collected one anyway. This was Anderson Silva-esque. Kimbo Slice and Houston Alexander think there was too much pointless circling in this fight. Kalib Starnes thinks these guys were too reluctant to engage. Jake Shields thought the fight was boring.

Strikeforce held a Challengers event on Friday night, but — no joke — I fell asleep during the event. I was awake for the schooling Strikeforce rules director Cory Schafer laid on Mauro Ranallo, but I dozed through most of the event. Wake me when Diaz fights Mayhem Miller or Overeem and Fëdor come back.

Posted by Brad Oremland at 4:36 PM | Comments (1)

November 26, 2010

NFL Weekly Predictions: Week 12

Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.

Jacksonville @ NY Giants (-9)

Tom Coughlin and the Giants face the Jaguars, a team Coughlin coached from 1995-2002, with the hopes of ending a two game skid in which the G-Men have lost divisional games to the Cowboys and Eagles. Four Eli Manning turnovers doomed the Giants in last week's 27-17 loss in Philadelphia, as New York fell out of a tie for the division lead.

"I still question whether the ground can cause a fumble," said Coughlin. "But there's no question whether Eli can cause a turnover. Usually, when a quarterback 'takes a dive,' it benefits the Giants. Just ask Michael Strahan."

Jacksonville nipped the Browns 24-20 last week, buoyed by a 75-yard screen pass to Maurice Jones-Drew that set up Jones-Drew's game-winning 1-yard TD run. The Jags have won three straight, are tied with the Colts for the AFC South lead, and hold the tiebreaker over Indy.

"If I say 'Hail Mary' one more time," Jack Del Rio said, "I'll be legally obligated to sign the Virgin Mary to a contract. It seems we've put the fear of God into our opponents."

Hakeem Nicks is out for three weeks with a leg injury, giving Manning one less receiver to target, and yet another reason to throw interceptions. But this time, Manning limits his turnovers and employs a new trick he learned from Derek Jeter, the feet-first slide, and the Giants end their skid.

New York wins, 27-21.

Tennessee @ Houston (-3)

The Titans fell in overtime 19-16 to the visiting Redskins, as two unsportsmanlike penalties on the Titans aided Washington's drive for the winning score. That wasn't the biggest meltdown of the day, however, as Vince Young tossed his jersey and shoulder pads into the stands and stormed out of LP Field without talking to reporters or teammates.

"In a case of 'fight or flight,'" Jeff Fisher said, "it appears Vince chose 'flight,' with another weak 'pass' that again validated the notion that he's a good 'running' quarterback. But Vince got a little too emotional when he tossed his pads and jersey into the crowd. Now, there's no truth to the rumor that they landed right beside Brandon Jacob's helmet.

We've put Vince on the season-ending injured reserve list. Hopefully, this will give him time to think and reflect. We'll be fine without him. And I hope Vince Young will remember, this old man don't need him around, anyhow."

The Texans fell to 5-5, as a near-comeback from a 23-7 deficit became a heartbreaking 30-27 loss. Houston's defense allowed the Jets to march the length of the field for the game-winning touchdown with ten seconds left.

"Our prevent defense failed us," said Gary Kubiak. "Of course, as being the 31st-ranked defense in the NFL will attest, we're possibly the only team in the NFL that plays prevent defense all the time. Now we're 5-5 and well on our way to a final record of 8-8, which would give us our third such record in the last four years. The Bears may claim to be, but it's apparent the Texans are the true 'Monsters of the Midway.'"

The struggling Texans could slip right back into the division race with a win. And, if they can't win at home against a divided Tennessee team starting Rusty Smith at quarterback, then they don't deserve to be on the same field with Randy Moss.

Houston wins, 24-20.

Green Bay @ Atlanta (-1)

The Packers pasted the Vikings 31-3 in Minnesota, led by 4 touchdown passes from Aaron Rodgers. On Sunday, Rodgers will face his youthful counterpart in Atlanta, Matt Ryan, who has the Falcons atop the NFC South with an 8-2 record.

"As the Green Bay quarterback," said Rodgers, "I'm always being measured against Brett Favre, just not with a ruler. But I've finally done something Favre couldn't, and that's get Brad Childress fired."

Atlanta's stellar start has the town of Atlanta talking Super Bowl, in between lap dances and visits to the Waffle House. Ryan has clearly established himself as the team's leader, and his team will need every bit of that leadership against the hot Packers.

"Not that I want to mention Favre again," Ryan said, "but he started his career as a Falcon before being traded to the Packers. Obviously, Rodgers had bigger shoes to fill than me. And I think we've both done very well. Apparently, we both fill shoes better than Favre can 'fill' a text message picture. However, Rodgers and I are a lot like Favre in one way, in that we 'won't settle.' We're both thinking Super Bowl."

Packers win, 30-27.

Carolina @ Cleveland (-11)

The Browns return home to Cleveland Stadium after a tough 24-20 loss in Jacksonville last week, a loss that dropped Cleveland to 3-7. They'll be heavily-favored against a struggling Panthers team dealing with numerous injuries and an unsettled quarterback situation.

"Homes games at Cleveland are a big deal," said Eric Mangini, "mostly for the fans, but also for Shaun Rogers, as home games mean no travel, and thus no airport security screening. But let's be serious. Rogers is a greater threat to national security than he is to the Panthers offensive line."

The Panthers hung tough against the Ravens last week before two Brian St. Pierre interceptions were returned for touchdowns by Baltimore.

"It's a little known fact," John Fox said, "that 'St. Pierre' is also the French patron saint of 'surrender.' Brian certainly lived up to his namesake, surrendering 14 points to the Ravens. I never thought I'd say this, and I'm sure the Browns organization would agree, but it looks as if we'd have been better off keeping Jake Delhomme. It's an even less-known fact that Jake shares his surname with the patron saint of fried chicken and interceptions."

Colt McCoy injured his ankle in last week's loss. If he can't play, Delhomme will start, and the Panthers will be able to say, for the first time in years, that they're happy about it.

Browns win, 19-14.

Minnesota @ Washington (-3)

It's a battle of gun-slinging quarterbacks, as Brett Favre, who's not afraid to whip it out, leads the Vikings to FedEx Field to face the Redskins and Donovan McNabb, who's been known to throw it up. The 3-7 Vikings looked terrible in last week's 31-3 loss at home to the Packers, and the meltdown led to Brad Childress' firing on Monday. Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier was named interim head coach.

"This was a popular decision in the locker room," said Percy Harvin. "Our bulletin board was littered with Old West-themed 'Brad Childress: Not Wanted' posters. Vikings' ownership obviously didn't consult with players on this decision. Had they done so, Chilly would have been gone sooner, because we gave up on him long ago.

"Anyway, this calls for a celebration, and celebrations in Minnesota call for chartered boat excursions on Lake Minnetonka in the vessel known as the SS Natch. Frazier seems like a coach who would gladly condone such a voyage as long as things don't get out of hand. So, if he'll turn one cheek, we'll gladly spread the others. And if he cares to join us, he's more than welcome. It surely wouldn't be the first time a 'Leslie' has been on the Natch."

McNabb and the 'Skins are 5-5, and still cling to slim playoff hopes. A home win over the struggling Vikes will certainly enhance those aspirations.

"I think I've proven," McNabb said, "that I can competently run the 'two minute offense.' But really, is our 'two-minute offense' that different from our 4-, 6-, 8-, 10-, or 12-minute offenses. They all end in field goals anyway."

The Vikings rally around Frazier, and Tarvaris Jackson takes a few snaps at quarterback, scoring on a 4-yard run in the second quarter.

Minnesota wins, 26-17.

Pittsburgh @ Buffalo (+5)

The Steelers bounced back from Week 10's 39-26 loss to New England by overwhelming the visiting Raiders 35-3, buoyed by a big day from James Harrison. The Steelers are 7-3, tied with the Ravens for first in the AFC North, with a week 13 showdown in Baltimore looming.

"I'm not sure what Big Ben said to Seymour," said Harrison, "but he was obviously talking 'smack.' Anyway, I'm just happy our offensive line was there to help Ben up. There's nothing unusual by that. Even when Ben's surrounded by five offensive lineman, there's still a great chance he'll get knocked down.

"But Jason Campbell is no Tom Brady, nor is Ryan Fitzpatrick. But Fitzpatrick is a Harvard graduate, so we know he's got a good head on his shoulders. I humbly graduated from Kent State, so, in a 'meeting of the minds,' Fitzpatrick would probably win. Unless we're wearing helmets."

After a 0-8 start, the Bills have won two in a row, the last a 49-31 whipping of the Bengals in Cincinnati. Ryan Fitzpatrick blistered the Bengals for 316 yards and 4 touchdowns, and will likely be forced to attack the Steelers through the air.

"I hear the Steelers," Fitzpatrick said, "upon hearing of my Ivy League education, took to nicknaming me 'Ryan Leaf.' Haha. They should not underestimate me. In two games against AFC North competition, I've thrown for 690 yards and 8 touchdowns. Heck, the only think more offensive in Buffalo are C.J. Spiller's Twitter comments."

Steelers win, 31-13.

Kansas City @ Seattle (+1)

The Chiefs ended a two-game skid with a convincing 31-13 win over the Cardinals to run their home record to 5-0. Now the Chiefs face the up-and-down Seahawks, who are 3-1 at Qwest Field and, at 5-5, lead the NFC West.

"Seattle is always tough at home," Todd Haley said, "but we certainly have no fear about facing them. There's no trepidation in my voice, and Josh McDaniels will vouch for me, when I say 'I'm not shaking.'

"Now, as for Dwayne Bowe's proclamation that 'We're going to win it all,' I think that's code for 'I'll pay the shipping costs on the planeload of escorts due in town the week of the Denver game.' But let's be serious. Whose bulletin board would a Dwayne Bowe quote be posted on, besides his own?"

Seattle lost to the Saints 34-19 last week, and with a win, hope to put some distance between themselves and their NFC West counterparts.

"The Chiefs are coming to town," Pete Carroll said, "and their reputation precedes them, as does Bowe's mouth. But we'll be more than ready. We're 3-1 at Qwest Field, so, to paraphrase Bowe's quote, I doubt Kansas City will be winning 'at all.' When teams pay a visit to Seattle, they lose. Now, when I paid for a recruit to visit USC, we both won."

Matt Hasselbeck throws for 2 scores, and the Seahawks defense limits the Chiefs rushing attack to 99 yards.

Seattle wins, 23-13.

Miami @ Oakland (-3)

The Raiders look to rebound from last week's 35-3 beat down in Pittsburgh, a loss that snapped Oakland's three-game winning streak and dropped them out of a tie for first in the AFC West. In that game, Richard Seymour slapped Ben Roethlisberger, drawing an ejection from officials and cheers from women. Seymour avoided a suspension, but was fined $25,000 on Monday.

"If you heard my apology," Seymour said, "you probably noticed the insincerity in my voice. If you didn't, then the background music of the Gap Band's 'Oops Upside Your Head' certainly made it abundantly clear. I say to Roethlisberger, 'I don't like you.' And, no matter how hard you try, you can't 'force' me to like you. Not even in a bathroom."

Miami's season has taken a downward turn since injuries sidelined Chad Pennington and Chad Henne. Tyler Thigpen filled in last Thursday, but was ineffective in a 16-0 loss to the Bears.

"As you know," said Tony Sparano, "Miami historically has seen more quarterbacks than the NFL Combine. There will never be another Dan Marino; hopefully, there won't be any more Tyler Thigpen.

"Our two Chad's, Henne and Pennington, are so injury prone, they wouldn't last a minute in Oakland. And I'm not even talking on the field; I'm talking about in the stands of the Black Hole."

Raiders win, 26-16.

Philadelphia @ Chicago (+3½)

It's a showdown of 7-3 NFC powers as the East-leading Eagles and Michael Vick head to the Windy City to face the Bears, who share the North's top spot with the Packers. The Bears, who shut out Miami 16-0 last Thursday, will have their hands full with Vick, who has the Eagles primed for a deep playoff run.

"If you ask me," Andy Reid said, "I think the stellar play of Vick has made us all forget what's happened in the past. Think I'm wrong? Who remembers Kevin Kolb?"

The Bears defense was dominant against Miami, and if a win over the Eagles is in the cards, the Chicago defense will have to limit the effectiveness of Vick.

"What's more dangerous than Vick's feet?" Lovie Smith said. "Jay Cutler's right arm. There's no in-between when Cutler throws. It's either a whizzing bullet for a completion, or a lazy, across-the-body throw into traffic that's intercepted. That's why I can say he's 'scary good' and mean it. One of the perils of having a rifle arm is the danger of shooting yourself in the foot."

For every step forward the mighty Bears defense takes, the offense takes two back. Against a gambling Eagles defense, that won't cut it. Although Cutler doesn't lead the NFL in interceptions, he probably leads in passes that should have been intercepted.

Vick throws for 3 touchdowns, and the Eagles force 3 Cutler turnovers.

Philadelphia wins, 22-16.

St. Louis @ Denver (-4½)

Despite a 4-6 record, the Rams are only one game behind the Seahawks, who lead the NFC West with a 5-5 record. A tough matchup with the up-and-down Broncos awaits at Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium.

"They say Josh McDaniels is a players coach," Sam Bradford said. "I hear players dream of playing for Josh McDaniels. And I hear even more players dream of being traded by McDaniels.

Me? I'm happy right where I am in St. Louis, where a 4-6 record is not only tolerated, it's celebrated. I can't imagine what 5-6 will feel like. It doesn't make us bowl-eligible,' but it could make us 'NFC West-leading eligible.' Of course, playing in Denver is never easy. There's the chance someone could run up the score on you. And that applies to the home team, as well."

The Broncos bounce back from Monday night's defeat, and Kyle Orton tosses 2 touchdown scores, while Champ Bailey picks off Bradford and returns it for a score.

Denver wins, 30-16.

Tampa Bay @ Baltimore (-9)

The Ravens pummeled the injury-riddle Panthers 37-13 last week, as the Baltimore defense matched the offense in touchdown production, with two. With a win over the Bucs and a Steeler win in Buffalo, Week 13's Pittsburgh-Baltimore showdown at M&T Bank Stadium will be for the outright AFC North lead.

"Defense wins championships," John Harbaugh said. "Just ask Brian Billick. But no matter how pumped we are to host the Steelers next week, we can't look past the Bucs. If they are the NFC's best team, then we are clearly in the wrong conference."

The Bucs are 7-3 in the competitive NFC South, and have won two straight after last week's 21-0 victory in San Francisco. Tampa Bay is 4-1 at home, while Baltimore is undefeated in four games at M&T Bank Stadium.

"I still contend we're the best team in the NFC," Raheem Morris said. "Some may beg to differ, while others may forego the begging and just differ. Either way, I stand by my words. They say talk is cheap, but if it isn't, then it looks like we'll be meeting the Chiefs in the Super Bowl."

Baltimore wins, 30-23.

San Diego @ Indianapolis (-3)

The Chargers continue to dig themselves out of an 0-2 start, and, at 5-5, trail to Chiefs in the AFC West by only a game. They'll face the Colts in a battle of the NFL's top two passing teams in a game that is sure to have playoff seeding implications. The Colts are coming off a 31-28 loss at New England, while the Chargers have won three straight after defeating the Broncos 35-14 on Monday.

"I'm impressed by Rivers' competitiveness and desire," Manning said. "Some people may be turned off by that attitude, but I respect it. I'm in the minority, though. But for Chargers fans and God, everyone else hates Rivers. Amazingly, Rivers is on pace to break Dan Marino's yardage record, set in 1984. And he's also on pace to match Dan Marino's Super Bowl wins milestone.

As you know, the Manning's and San Diego don't mix. My brother Eli refused to play for them, and that just happens to be the only time Eli's ever been compared to John Elway. And I haven't faired too well against the Chargers, even throwing 6 interceptions in a game in San Diego back in 2007. Apparently, there was still a little bit of Eli in San Diego."

Vincent Jackson returns to action for the Chargers, finally hitting the field after a long contract dispute. He'll be sorely needed, as the Bolts are faced with several injuries at the wide receiver position.

"Vincent is a vital component to our success," Norv Turner said. "Hence, his new nickname, 'Germane Jackson.'

This is a crucial game for the Colts, not only for their AFC South aspirations, but also for playoff seeding importance. A win could be the difference in a playoff game on the road, or at home in Lucas Oil Stadium. Manning deciphers Ron Rivera's defensive scheme 1:48 into the first quarter, and picks apart the Chargers defense for 357 yards and 3 touchdowns. Robert Mathis forces a late fumble to preserve the win.

Indianapolis wins, 30-24.

San Francisco @ Arizona (-3)

NFC West bottom-feeders face off on Monday Night Football as the 3-7 Cardinals host the 3-7 49ers in a game that even John Gruden is having trouble getting excited about. ESPN is expecting the lowest ratings ever for a Monday night game, and although the game will be televised locally, the rest of the country may experience a blackout.

"I doubt 'big brother' will even be watching," Ken Whisenhunt said. "But don't discount the importance of this game. Sure, we're both 3-7, but a win keeps the victor in the division race, as sad as that sounds. The NFC is wide-open. I count six legitimate NFC Super Bowl contenders, six if you include teams from the NFC West. There's parity in the NFC, as well as in the NFC West, where the teams are equally bad. And there will be equality when the division is settled, because the NFC West winner will have an equal number of wins and losses."

As it turns out, quite a few people are "watching," and they see the fired-up Cardinals turn 3 49er turnovers into 17 points. Arizona wins, 27-14, and afterwards, it's rumored that the 49ers are "looking" for a new coach.

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 7:04 PM | Comments (1)

A Beautiful Game Trapped in a Horrible System

I've got to admit I'm at a crossroads with college football right now.

To be frank, the sport is corrupt. This is not a new thing. Cecil Newton allegedly trying to pimp out his kid for 200 grand is only the latest example. Anybody who watched the ESPN documentary on former Oklahoma running back Marcus Dupree knows that the exploitation of young athletes has been a core cultural value in big time college football for a long, long time.

Really, this transcends college football, and even sports in general. Any time you have adults making money off of kids, you will have corrupt individuals serving their own financial interests. These kids aren't kids anymore to these people. They're raw materials to be used in the making of a billion-dollar product. They're a chance at some free cash. And anything else that gets in the way is ancillary to the goal of getting paid.

Compounding the issue is the complete hypocrisy surrounding the NCAA. While boosters and agents and runners flood the sport with cash, the kids themselves are upheld to impossibly high standards. Southern California running back Dillon Baxter was suspended last week for accepting a ride in a golf cart. Granted the school is on ultra high-alert for any signs of impropriety on the heels of the Reggie Bush fiasco, but when catching a ride in a golf cart constitutes an illegal extra benefit, the system is dumb.

Of course this is nothing new to any of you. We all know the issues. We all see the hypocrisy. And yet we tune in anyway. Why? Because the game is great. Just as there is no questioning the seedy underbelly to big time college sports, there is also no questioning the greatness of college football.

From spring ball through the bowl games, hundreds of thousands of fans cheer their guts out from the Deep South to the Great Lakes to the coasts of the Pacific. These people aren't stupid. They aren't just being tricked by a fancy media campaign to dig into their wallets. College football is as much a fabric of the American culture as baseball, and even more so depending on geography. And it's great. It is truly great.

And so this is where my crossroads comes in. I am disgusted by the exploitation that goes on in big time football. Really, it's sickening the way these adults take advantage of kids who have no clue what's going on. These grown men and women don't give a damn about the kids. They just want to serve their own interests, whether it's school prestige for the boosters, a new contract for the coach, a free car for a friend or cold hard cash for the uncle "with influence." It's grotesque, and it makes me want to turn away and never look back.

At the same time, I have to keep reminding myself that the stories we hear are such a minor part of the actual college football landscape. We have a tendency in today's media culture to take an anecdotal story and blow it up into a national trend. Now the anecdotes are adding up in big time college football. Something is definitely rotten. But that doesn't devalue all of college football.

When Army and Navy kick off on December 11, money will have nothing to do with anything. It will be just a bunch of kids playing for their school, their legacy and, most importantly, their teammates. It will be the same all over the country. Most of these kids didn't get offered a nickel beyond scholarship, room and board to go their schools, and many of them not even that. And most of them will never play a down of professional football. Their college careers exist solely for the experience of strapping on the pads, lining up with their teammates and seeing what they can do.

And that's the beauty of sports. When the kids get on the field, everything else disappears. Cam Newton may still be embroiled in the middle of a nasty controversy he likely had nothing to do with creating, but when Auburn faces Alabama on Friday, it will just be 22 kids on the field at a time, fighting for one another. And no matter how nasty the rest of the world gets, the purity of the game can never be truly tarnished.

And so like most of you, I'll continue to hold my nose and tune in. I may hate how college football is run. I may hate the greedy vultures who line their pockets at the expense of mostly poor unsuspecting kids. But I love the game. And on this Thanksgiving week, I'm grateful that love endures.

Posted by Joshua Duffy at 3:11 PM | Comments (3)

November 25, 2010

Parker Needs More Style When He Cheats

A little more than a year ago, Tiger Woods changed the game when it comes to cheating on your wife. He had sex with a waitress. In the parking lot. While she was menstruating. And that was just something he did while he was on the way to cheat on his wife.

Then, when his wife found out, she didn't just calmly release a statement and take all of his money, she woke him up and chased him out of the house with a golf club, leading him to slowly crack his car into a tree.

There's no going back from that. Just like in golf, Tiger set the gold standard in cheating on your wife. And now, just a year later, we have another high-profile case of an whose marriage is going down in flames because of the amount of women he cheated on his wife with.

Except this time, it's a whole lot more boring. Tony Parker-Longoria cheated on his famous actress wife, Eva Longoria, by hooking up with a broad, chatting with her on Facebook, and then banging a teammate's ex-wife. Yawn. Tiger Woods cheated on his wife more than that on his honeymoon.

Stories like Parker's used to mean something. Now he just comes off like a Tiger Woods wannabe. It's like he isn't even trying. If he really wants to cheat on his wife, it's going to take more than a few salacious text messages these days. At least, it will if he wants anyone to respect him after it's all said and done.

Forget cheating with a gorgeous woman you already vacation with and are intimate with. That's some lame crap that Greg from accounting would pull. Tony needs to step his game up.

For starters, Tiger got points for mixing in a few slumpbusters every now and then. Tiger plays the Perkins waitress card? No choice for Parker but to get down and dirty with the she-male working the register at the Waffle House at 3 AM. And if he really wants to make news, he's probably going to have to release a sex tape of him tossing her grits right there on the counter.

Parker couldn't even get his wife to go crazy, and popular culture has told me that Hispanic women get upset at the slightest injustice.
Or, if Parker is really going to make news, maybe he should've run a one-man train on a gaggle of circus clowns. He could set a Guinness World Record for biggest gangbang in smallest car.

If he wanted to help headline writers at the New York Post, he could've snuck into a zoo and cheated on his wife with a Tiger, prompting weeks of "Tony (and) the Tiger" headlines.

I feel like the whole "sleeping with his co-worker's ex-wife" thing is just ripped from an episode of "Desperate Housewives."

However, if he actually orchestrated this entire saga along the plot-lines of one of his wife's episodes, then he would get major points. That would be a delightful twist, especially since his wife plays a character that cheated on her husband like it was going out of style.

Maybe Tony orchestrated the whole thing along one her character's story arcs, testing Eva to see if she'd pick up on the subtle clues. That's like the Da Vinci Code of cheating.

Or maybe Tony is only as good at cheating as he is at basketball. Pretty average unless you put him around some special players.

We deserve more, Tony. If you're going to be man enough to say those vows in front of some people from your entourage and some tabloid photographers, you have to be man enough to break those vows with a vengeance.

Who will be the next Tiger Woods? The sports world will just have to keep waiting.

Posted by Mark Chalifoux at 12:52 PM | Comments (1)

November 24, 2010

NFL Weekly Predictions: Thanksgiving Games

Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.

New England @ Detroit (+7)

Thanksgiving in Detroit gets underway when the 8-2 Patriots pay a visit to Ford Field to face the 2-8 Lions, who have lost three straight and haven't won on Thanksgiving since 2003. Last week, Brady and the Patriots out-dueled Peyton Manning and the Colts, 31-28, and Brady tied Brett Favre's NFL record of most consecutive home starts won by a starting quarterback, at 25.

"I have a lot for which to be thankful," Brady said. "My health, my hair, impeccable jaw lines, domineering supermodels, frumpily-dressed coaches, ambiguous NFL rules defining pass incompletions, unheralded white teammates, timely Manning interceptions, and Thanksgiving games in Detroit. I've been known to benefit from the 'Tuck Rule'; on Thursday, I plan to benefit from the 'Turk Rule,' which says Detroit can't win on Thanksgiving.

Shaun Hill will start again for the Lions, again filling in for injured quarterback Matthew Stafford, whose shoulder injuries have shelved him for seven games this year.

"Luckily," said Jim Schwartz, "Stafford won't need surgery on his shoulder. Matthew's had a ton of MRIs of his shoulder this season, making it the most photographed joint in the NFC North, well ahead of Brett Favre's.

"But does it really matter who's throwing, as long as Calvin Johnson's catching? The simplest play in our playbook is the one in which our quarterback throws the ball up for grabs in the direction of Johnson. We call it the 'Calvin and Lobs.'"

Schwartz is right. It doesn't matter who's throwing for the Lions, particularly when Brady is throwing for the Patriots, and psychotically raging when his teammates don't perform to his expectations. The Lions take a quick 7-0 lead, but the Pats, behind 341 yards passing and 3 touchdowns from Brady, finish off the Lions.

New England wins, 38-21.

New Orleans @ Dallas (+1)

The Cowboys are 2-0 under new head coach Jason Garrett after last week's 35-19 win over the Lions. That winning streak will be tested when the defending Super Bowl champion Saints visit Cowboys Stadium. Last year, Dallas ended New Orleans undefeated season, as the Cowboys beat the 13-0 Saints 24-17 in New Orleans.

"I've really been impressed with the team as of late," said Jerry Jones. "It may have taken three months, but finally there's a Super Bowl-worthy team in Dallas. And we're honored to be playing them.

"You're probably aware that I jetted to Las Vegas just days after jettisoning Wade Phillips. Ironically, I had no luck at the card tables, but I returned to Dallas to find a 'two of a kind' in the win column. And surprisingly, the odds went up for the Cowboys winning the Super Bowl ... in 2011."

The Saints appear to be rounding into 2009 form, and have won three in a row after last week's 35-19 win over the Seahawks. Drew Brees passed for 382 yards and 4 touchdowns, and will test a Dallas secondary susceptible to the big play.

"You can throw 'on' the Cowboys," Brees said. "And you can throw 'at,' 'around,' 'over,' and 'between' them. Now, if you asked tongue-tied former Cowboy Emmitt Smith what I'm getting at, he might reply 'propositions.' That answer might apply were the subject Michael Irvin. But it's not. I'm talking about 'prepositions,' and the one that applies most to Dallas' secondary is 'by,' which happens to rhyme with 'bye.' Revenge is a dish best served cold, but speed is a dish best served 'burned,' as is 'toast.' And in Dallas, we'll be playing 'butter ball.'"

The Saints are a Garrett Hartley missed chip shot field goal from owning the best record in the NFC. The Falcons are aware of that, and so is Sean Payton, who would love to win in Dallas, where he was an assistant coach from 2003-2005. The Saints fake a long Hartley field goal, which leads to the first of five New Orleans touchdowns. Hartley saves his leg for the playoffs, and kicks 5 extra points.

New Orleans wins, 35-27.

Cincinnati @ NY Jets (-9)

The Jets stunned the Texans last week, winning 30-27 on Santonio Holmes' 6-yard touchdown reception with 10 seconds left, just moments after the Texans took a 27-23 lead with 55 seconds remaining. It was the latest in a run of dramatic wins by the Jets, most keyed by clutch plays from Holmes, whom the Jets acquired from the Steelers for a fifth-round pick in the offseason.

"It would be hard to measure Holmes' impact," said Rex Ryan, "by just touchdowns, receptions, grams, or ounces. The kid goes all out all the time. It's safe to say you won't see more hustle out of anyone. But like Santonio, I know a good deal when I see one. More than anyone, Santonio understands the value of commerce, and our trade with the Steelers was a typical exchange of goods, one you'd likely see on most an everyday street corner.

Now, the Bengals are a team in turmoil. And I believe 'turmoil' loosely translates to 'Time for U to Replace Marvin or it's Too Late.' Or so I've heard. Darrelle Revis is really looking forward to locking down Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens. This will be a first for Darrelle. No, not a game in which he faces Ochocinco and Owens. But because 'Revis Island,' although it's been the site a many a shipwreck, it's never been home to a trainwreck. Until now."

Meanwhile, the 2-8 Bengals blew a 31-14 halftime lead in a 49-31 loss to the Bills last week, Cincinnati's seventh-straight loss, the longest streak in the NFL. Since nothing else seems to be, revenge may be a motivating factor for the Bengals, who were knocked out in the first round of the playoffs last year by the Jets.

"That loss was tough to swallow," said Ochocinco, "but surprisingly easy to Tweet about. Sure, going from division champs to the team with the worst record in the AFC is hard to tolerate. But, I can manage, thanks to the support of my sidekick T.O. and our numerous self-promotion endeavors. Amidst such adversity, we still know we're great, and that makes us 'Legends of the Fall.'"

Owens called Revis just an "average" corner. Revis takes the good-natured banter in stride, then proves to Owens that an "average" corner can hold him to a "below-average" game.

Jets win, 27-13.

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 7:13 PM | Comments (0)

NASCAR Top 10 Power Rankings: Week 36

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Jimmie Johnson — Johnson finished second at Homestead, easily overcoming Denny Hamlin's 15-point lead entering the race, to capture his fifth-straight Sprint Cup title. Johnson handily outdistanced Hamlin, who finish 14th, by 39 points, and Kevin Harvick, who finished third, by 41.

"It's 'one for the middle finger,'" Johnson said, "as opposed to Kyle Busch's '25,000 for the middle finger.'

But my fifth title is one I'll certainly remember, as well as one that others will find it hard to forget. Five championships is a lot, but I want to remain humble, as well as hungry. Therefore, when people ask me how many Cups I've won, I'll simply say a 'handful.'"

2. Denny Hamlin — Hamlin found trouble early at Homestead, making contact with Greg Biffle on lap 23 and sliding through the infield grass. With his splitter damaged, Hamlin was forced to make numerous pit stops for repairs, and never completely recovered. He finished 14th, and ended the season second in the points, 39 behind Jimmie Johnson.

"I wasn't the only Joe Gibbs driver to slide through the infield grass," Hamlin said, "and see his hopes go up in flames. But there's always next year. Unfortunately, Johnson says the same thing, and as we know, with five titles under his belt, he's always next year."

3. Kevin Harvick — Harvick appeared to have the race lead after pit stops during a lap 187 caution, but NASCAR officials nabbed him for speeding on the entry to pit road. He was sent to the back of the field, but quickly made his way back to the front. However, with Jimmie Johnson's second-place finish, Harvick's third was little to no consolation. Harvick ended the year third in the points, 41 out of first.

"I sent one Joe Gibbs driver and one Kasey Kahne crewman to the infield care center," Harvick said, "and barely turned heads. Yet I'm penalized for exceeding a snail's pace entering the pits. Sounds like I wasn't the only one who got screwed."

4. Carl Edwards — Edwards won the Ford 400 at Homestead, dominating with 190 laps lead on the way to his second straight win. He finished fourth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 229 behind Jimmie Johnson.

"That's what I call ending the season on a high note," Edwards said. "The high note, that is, of the fat lady singing, because as soon as I crossed the line, it was 'over' for everyone but Jimmie Johnson. Now, I hesitate to call myself the favorite to challenge Johnson for next year's Cup. That was the consensus in 2008, when I won nine races and was anointed the next Cup champion. I followed that with a winless 2009 with Aflac as my primary sponsor. Maybe the duck on the hood of my car explains the egg laying."

5. Matt Kenseth — Kenseth finished ninth in the Ford 400, his 15th top-10 result of the year. He finished fifth in the point standings, 328 behind Jimmie Johnson.

"Congratulations to Johnson," Kenseth said. "The 'Drive For Five' is complete. And for all those conspiracy theorists who think NASCAR favoritism helped Johnson to the Cup title, they'll be saddened to know that Johnson's quest in 2011 has unofficially been titled 'The Fix For Six.'"

6. Greg Biffle — Biffle finished 10th at Homestead, posting his 19th top-10 finish of the year. Biffle and Denny Hamlin made contact on lap 23, sending Hamlin's No. 11 FedEx Toyota spinning through the infield grass.

"I vowed at the beginning of the year that I would have an impact in the Chase," Biffle said. "Well, Jimmie Johnson isn't the only one who can say 'mission accomplished.'"

7. Kyle Busch — Busch, seeking his second consecutive weekend sweep of winning all three series races, came up short at Homestead, crashing when Kevin Harvick bumped him into the wall on lap 243. Busch's No. 18 M&Ms Toyota burst into flames, and Busch directed some heated words towards Harvick afterwards.

"Harvick is a reckless buffoon," Busch said. "He's a menace to notoriety. We all know M&Ms melt in your mouth, but it's obvious he wanted to find out if Kyle Busch melts in the M&M's car. I don't. I just boil."

8. Tony Stewart — Stewart scored his first top-10 since winning at California on October 10th with an eighth in the Ford 400. He improved two places in the points to seventh, and completes the season a distant 401 behind Johnson.

"Congratulations to Jimmie Johnson," Stewart said. "He may deserve a hand, but he'll probably need two to indicate Cup titles 6 through 10."

9. Jeff Gordon — Gordon blew his engine on lap 199, ending a disappointing 2010 season with even more disappointment. He was winless this year, his second winless season in the last three, and tumbled three places in the points to ninth.

"Last week," said Gordon, "my attack on Jeff Burton showed just one of the many ways I can 'lose it.' This week, I lost an engine, and another race. But there's a silver lining to Jimmie Johnson's fifth Sprint Cup title. His championship allowed me to reach a milestone, as now I've become the only active four-time Cup champion. Thanks, Jimmie!"

10. Clint Bowyer — Bowyer came home 12th at Homestead, finishing the season tenth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 467 out of first.

"I can certainly share in the disappointment that my teammate Kevin Harvick must be feeling," said Bowyer. "NASCAR obviously has it out for Richard Childress Racing. First, I win in New Hampshire, and the next thing you know, my car has failed inspection. At Homestead, Harvick takes the lead, and boom! Here comes a penalty for speeding. Jimmie Johnson may not, but at least NASCAR recognizes us as a threat to his reign."

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 2:27 PM | Comments (0)

November 23, 2010

NFL Week 11 Power Rankings

Five Quick Hits

* Many of us travel during the holidays, and U.S. air travel has recently become incredibly invasive. Security need not and should not mean degrading invasions of privacy. Learn more at FlyWithDignity.org and WeWontFly.com, and ask your representative to co-sponsor HR 6416: The American Traveler Dignity Act. You can also sign a petition to investigate the TSA. Some links contain images of the TSA's new full-body scans, which may be NSFW.

* Pittsburgh was called for 14 penalties on Sunday, resulting in 163 yards and 5 first downs for the Raiders. The Steelers won by 32.

* NFL Network employs too many recent players and coaches. These guys have friends in the games they're commenting on, and most of them are openly biased. How can we trust what you say?

* Best sack percentage in the NFL: Peyton Manning (2.7%), Drew Brees (3.0), Tony Romo (3.2), Eli Manning (3.3), Shaun Hill (3.8).

* Worst: Jay Cutler (10.9%), Jason Campbell (10.8), David Garrard (8.9), Michael Vick (8.6), Matt Moore (8.3).

***

The Vikings have fired Brad Childress. I suppose it had to be done. But this is a coach who had a winning record (39-35), reached the NFC Championship Game last season, and got a contract extension in the offseason. But who needs a coach with that kind of track record?

Some people draw eerie parallels between the Lincoln and Kennedy assassinations. I do the same between the firings of Wade Phillips and Childress. Both coaches had winning records. Childress' Vikings were 1-2 in the postseason; Phillips was 1-2 in the postseason with Dallas. Both the Vikings and Cowboys are now 3-7. Both coaches led their teams to divisional titles and playoff wins in 2009, and both received contract extensions in the offseason. Both were fired after home losses to the Packers. Eerie, right?

Honestly, it's weird to see coaches fired like this. Mid-season firings aren't terribly common, especially for coaches coming off such successful seasons, and even more so when those coaches recently received contract extensions. Appearing on "SportsCenter," Steve Young spoke about the firing of Childress: "There's something very awkwardly wrong ... something's really amiss, and firing the head coach certainly is not going to fix that."

Look, I don't mean to beat this into the ground, but Brett Favre is just a huge issue here. He publicly butted heads with Childress, he's a constant distraction off the field, and his awful play is a huge part of the reason Minnesota is 3-7. If Favre had actually retired, I'm confident Chilly would still have a job. Favre had more authority on this team than Childress did, and when you have a player, rather than a coach, running the team, disaster is always imminent. This is particularly true when that player is moody, self-centered, and obsessed with his own image and legacy.

I don't mean to absolve Childress of all blame. Certainly, he didn't have a warm relationship with his players, and he never earned Favre's respect. But people said the same things about Tom Coughlin in 2006 and 2007 that they have about Childress this year. I think the Vikings were front-runners. Remember how they ran up the score on the Cowboys and Giants at the end of last season? But they couldn't deal with adversity themselves. After facing an incredibly weak schedule in 2009 and going virtually injury-free, they fell apart when not everything went their way this time around.

More on this in the Vikings section, but for now, on to the Week 11 power rankings. Brackets show previous rank.

1. Green Bay Packers [2] — Last year, people talked about Aaron Rodgers choking against Favre and the Vikings. Rodgers in four games against Favre: 95-of-143, 1,267 yards, 11 TD, 3 INT, 111.3 passer rating. Favre in those games: 74-of-126, 935 yards, 8 TD, 4 INT, 89.9 rating. After Week 10, some people had Green Bay ranked behind New Orleans. Both teams were 6-3, but the Packers had a much harder schedule (.444) than the Saints (.407) and had outscored their opponents by far more (+78) than the Saints (+50). If you're paying attention, I don't see how you get New Orleans ahead. The Packers have won four in a row and outscored their last three opponents by a combined total of 85-10, an average of 28-3. They'll be underdogs in Atlanta in Week 12, but no one has played better the last month. Green Bay leads the NFL in point differential (+106) by a margin of 5 touchdowns (Pittsburgh, +70).

2. Philadelphia Eagles [1] — In Week 7, the Titans beat them 37-19. Since then, Tennessee is 0-3 and the Eagles are 3-0. I've heard some analysts express the sentiment that Michael Vick should be the leading candidate for league MVP. Vick has played seven games. I will grant that he played very well, but Tom Brady and Drew Brees and Peyton Manning and Philip Rivers and Aaron Rodgers have each played 10 games, 43% more than Vick. I'm willing to consider the possibility that Vick has been more valuable, on a per-game basis, than those other quarterbacks, but not 43% more valuable. That's ridiculous.

3. New England Patriots [4] — Since the bye, five of their six opponents have scored at least 20 points. New England leads the NFL in scoring (28.9/game), but ranks 30th in total defense (398 yards/game) and 23rd in points allowed (24.2). Recently, the Patriots have me remembering the Falcons, Lions, and especially the Houston Oilers of the early '90s. Last week, when the Pats introduced their starting offense, it included four wide receivers. You know what that was called, right? The run-and-shoot. This offense faded from the NFL partly because teams that built their personnel around the run-and-shoot, emphasizing four-receiver sets, had trouble holding leads, as epitomized by The Comeback in the 1992 playoffs. On Sunday, New England did run effectively at times, but also nearly surrendered a 17-point fourth-quarter lead.

4. Atlanta Falcons [6] — Every week, Matt Ryan looks more like a top-tier quarterback. He averages 252 passing yards per game, with 18 TDs and 5 INTs this season. He also has a great sack percentage (3.8%), sixth-best in the NFL. I don't know if there's room in the Pro Bowl for Ryan this year (Brees, Rodgers, Vick), but he's really having a good year. The Falcons have won four in a row and eight of their last nine. The next two weeks offer serious challenges: Green Bay at home and the Buccaneers in Tampa.

5. Baltimore Ravens [7] — Ed Reed intercepted his 50th pass, and Ray Lewis his 30th, on the same weekend Tampa's Ronde Barber intercepted his 40th. Lewis became only the seventh linebacker to intercept at least 30 passes in the regular season. Baltimore is undefeated at home and .500 on the road. The good news: four of the six games left are in Baltimore. Billy Cundiff easily leads the league in touchbacks; 29 of his 51 kickoffs were down in the end zone.

6. Indianapolis Colts [3] — I've always liked Ryan Diem, the Colts' right tackle. I voted for him to make the Pro Bowl three times and I named him the most underrated tackle of the decade on my All-'00s Team. But Diem has become a real liability, routinely getting beat and drawing penalties. He's holding this offense back. The Colts are 6-4. In each of those four losses, they've been handled by an opposing RB: Arian Foster (231 yards), Maurice Jones-Drew (105), LeSean McCoy (95), and BenJarvus Green-Ellis (96). You beat the Colts by running, and/or intercepting Manning three times.

7. New Orleans Saints [9] — Three straight wins, all by double-digits, following their uninspired 4-3 start, which included losses to the 3-7 Browns and Cardinals. Pierre Thomas may not have a job waiting for him when he finally returns from injury. The team has played its best football with Christopher Ivory carrying the ball. Drew Brees has thrown more interceptions in the last six games (14) than he did all of last season (11).

8. Pittsburgh Steelers [10] — What's the difference between Pittsburgh's Mike Wallace and Philadelphia's DeSean Jackson? Basically nothing. Wallace is one year older, but has one less year of NFL experience. They both have 33 catches this season, Wallace for 759 yards and 8 TDs, Jackson for 652 and 5 TDs. Jackson also has 95 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground. They're both remarkably fast, and continuing to improve. Who would you rather have? Very tough call. Jackson is probably the safer bet, a little bit more of a known quantity, but I'll go with Wallace.

9. New York Jets [11] — Santonio Holmes has been a play-maker the last three weeks, averaging 6 receptions, 105 yards, and a touchdown. The Jets are eking out unimpressive victories, but they're 8-2, and Mark Sanchez is threatening to become a franchise QB. Last year, Sanchez averaged 163 passing yards per game, with 12 TDs and 20 interceptions. This season, he's at 231 yards a game and has twice as many TDs (15) as INTs (7), plus outstanding play with the game on the line. He's not an elite passer yet, but at the rate he's improving, he might be in 2011.

10. San Diego Chargers [13] — I'm getting a little tired of being told how good Philip Rivers is. He's terrific, probably the best QB in the NFL, but I dislike being told what to think. NFL pundits have spent the last 2½ seasons trying to convince everyone that Rivers was not a top-tier quarterback, that Manning, Brady, Favre, and maybe Brees stood head and shoulders above everyone else. Now, they have to work overtime to convince everyone that Rivers is in their league, that it's not some sacrilege to compare anyone to the Mighty Manning and the Bountiful Brady. Just tell it straight from the beginning. Rivers has been an elite QB, as good as anyone in the game, for almost three years now. It's a shame he has to be chasing a single-season passing record to finally get that recognition. Honestly, the yardage record just isn't that big a deal — or at least shouldn't be — in today's NFL. If Rivers doesn't break it this year, someone will get it next season, or the year after. It won't last in this passing environment, and the new record, whenever it's set, won't stand for 26 years.

11. New York Giants [5] — Began last season 5-0 before finishing 8-8, out of the playoff race. Under Tom Coughlin, the Giants are 41-15 (.732) in the first half of the season but 20-30 (.400) in the second half. It's hard to believe that's coincidence, though I'm not sure why the Giants invariably seem to fade in November and December. Turnovers continue to be a huge problem, and following a 3-interception, 2-fumble bonanza in Philadelphia, the Giants now lead the NFL with 30 turnovers. Hakeem Nicks, the team's leading receiver, reportedly will miss the next three weeks.

12. Oakland Raiders [12] — Pittsburgh's great run defense presented a bad matchup, the secondary got burned without Nnamdi Asomugha, and Oakland suffered through 6 sacks, 3 turnovers, and a 21-3 halftime deficit. The loss dropped Oakland to 1-4 on the road, though the team is 4-1 at home.

13. Tennessee Titans [8] — In a free-fall and could rank much lower than this. Following a 5-2 start that included double-digit wins over the Giants and Eagles, the Titans have lost three in a row and apparently will start third-string QB Rusty Smith next week. Kerry Collins is still nursing a leg injury, while Vince Young's situation seems more complicated. Young tore a flexor tendon in his thumb and has been placed on IR, but it seems that his behavior has rendered Young unwelcome regardless. Young had become a malcontent, and cutting ties with him may be necessary at this point, but Smith's play in Week 11 did not inspire confidence.

14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers [16] — There were more shutouts in Week 11 (two) than in the previous 10 weeks combined (GB def. NYJ, 9-0). The Bucs contained Frank Gore (12 att, 23 yds), doubled their season sack total, and finished +2 in turnovers, with three defensive stops on fourth down. That'll win a lot of games.

15. Chicago Bears [17] — Brian Billick, following Jay Cutler's 16-of-25, 156 yard, 0 TD, 1 INT, 3 sack performance on Thursday night: "I've never seen a more useless number in my life than quarterback rating ... Jay Cutler at 64, you'd say that's bad. No, he had a good game today." Uh, no, he didn't. Just because the Dolphins dropped three potential interceptions and Cutler didn't screw up so badly that he blew a game in which his defense pitched a shutout does not mean he played well. The Bears scored only 1 touchdown, on a drive that featured 10 runs, including the score, and only three passes, one of them incomplete. NFL teams average 22.2 points per game. If the Dolphins had scored 22 on Thursday night, no one would have pretended that Cutler played well. Having a great defense does not make you a good quarterback. Kicker Robbie Gould did have a fine game, with 3 field goals, including a 50-yarder, and 2 touchbacks on kickoffs.

16. Kansas City Chiefs [20] — We can disagree over Todd Haley's decision not to shake Josh McDaniels' hand after he felt the Broncos ran up the score in Week 10, but I suspect he won the admiration of his team. Bill Cowher used to do that kind of thing, too, sticking up for his team and turning the heat on himself. Maybe the inspired Chiefs backed their coach's play on Sunday, or maybe a home game against the Cardinals was always a recipe for success. The Chiefs are 5-0 at Arrowhead, but 1-4 on the road. Matt Cassel is +14 in TD/INT differential, second-best in the NFL (behind Brady, +15, and tied with Rivers).

17. Washington Redskins [21] — Consistent point production: Washington has not scored more than 30 points or fewer than 10 in any game this season. Titans coach Jeff Fisher is a Buddy Ryan disciple, the defensive coordinator for the 1990 Eagles, so it's appropriate that Fisher oversaw an encore performance of the infamous body bag game, with eight Washington players injured during the game. Earlier injuries had already left Washington thin in the defensive backfield this weekend, and Nate Washington repeatedly beat Philip Buchanon, though Reed Doughty stepped in nicely for LaRon Landry.

18. Miami Dolphins [15] — With a third-string QB under center, they had 39 pass plays and handed off 7 times. QB Tyler Thigpen had as many rushing attempts (6) as Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams combined. The Bears had more rush attempts (40) than the Dolphins had rushing yards (39). Brian Urlacher said after the game, "We thought they'd try and run it; they didn't ... we thought they were gonna try and run it more. They didn't do it as much as we thought." Dolphins HC Tony Sparano defended the play-calling in his postgame press conference, but there's no excuse for that. Terrible coaching, plain and simple. Thigpen was a deer in headlights.

19. Jacksonville Jaguars [23] — Lead the AFC South, with a better division record than Indianapolis and a head-to-head victory in Week 4. The remaining schedule, though, is brutal — an 0-6 finish, while unlikely, is not out of the question. Four of the games are away, and none of the opponents are worse than 4-6. Maurice Jones-Drew has three straight 100-yard games.

20. Cleveland Browns [14] — Lost a pair of heart-breakers following back-to-back wins over the Saints and Pats. The Browns netted 6 turnovers against Jacksonville, but couldn't mount a consistent offense or turn field position into points. I'd like to see them upgrade the offensive line and receiving corps this offseason. Colt McCoy sprained his ankle this week, and it is unclear who will start at quarterback in Week 12.

21. Houston Texans [19] — Arian Foster became the first player to top 1,000 rushing yards this season, joined by Denver's Brandon Lloyd and Atlanta's Roddy White, both of whom are over 1,000 receiving. Five straight opponents have scored at least 29 points when facing the Texans. Astonishingly, they do not have the worst scoring defense in the NFL. The Arizona Cardinals have allowed 292 points this season, five more than Houston.

22. Dallas Cowboys [29] — Jon Kitna's career-high passer rating is 87.4, from his 2003 campaign with the Bengals. So far this season, at age 38, his rating is 89.7. The team has turned to a more run-oriented offense with Jason Garrett as head coach instead of offensive coordinator. The Cowboys host New Orleans on Thursday afternoon.

23. San Francisco 49ers [18] — Now 31st in scoring. There are five teams winless on the road this season, all in the NFC: the 49ers, Lions, Panthers, Rams, and Vikings. The good news is that San Francisco has plenty of time to correct that, with four road games remaining on the schedule. The bad news is that the 3-7 Niners have four road games remaining on the schedule.

24. St. Louis Rams [22] — Steven Jackson averaged five yards per rush against Atlanta, so naturally he carried 11 times and Sam Bradford threw 42. That's not a wild comeback attempt, either — the Rams didn't trail by more than 6 until the fourth quarter. That's bad coaching. The Rams rank 27th in yards per game and 28th in scoring. Maybe they would be higher if they put the ball in the hands of their best player (Jackson) instead of a QB who ranks 27th in passer rating.

25. Detroit Lions [24] — Worst road record in the NFL, 0-6. Other teams are also winless, but none who have already played six away games. The Lions have the early game this Thursday, hosting the Patriots, the first of three consecutive home games.

26. Seattle Seahawks [26] — This weekend, Marshawn Lynch had 7 carries, 4 catches, and 2 lost fumbles. Ahmad Bradshaw thinks you've got butterfingers, Marshawn. The Seahawks kicked two 20-yard field goals in this game. When you're playing a team that is better than you, it's just essential that you take some chances and make the most of opportunities. If you're at the 2-yard-line, you need a touchdown.

27. Buffalo Bills [30] — Two-game win streak following a trio of 3-point losses. The Bills are last in the NFL in field goals, with only 9 all season, less than one per game. This weekend, Rian Lindell missed his only field goal attempt (from 33 yards), but went 7/7 on extra points. Buffalo is tied for 14th in PATs.

28. Minnesota Vikings [25] — Why is everyone so convinced that Favre gives Minnesota the best chance to win? The Vikings are 3-7 and rank 30th in scoring. Favre leads the NFL in interceptions and ranks 32nd in passer rating. How much worse could Tarvaris Jackson realistically be? In 2008, Jackson passed for 9 TDs and 2 INTs, with a 95.4 passer rating. Unlike Favre, he's also a good scrambler, and he is not 300 years old (he's 27). People talk about this kid like he's a proven failure, just because he didn't light it up as a rookie. Look, not everyone can be Dan Marino. Why not see what you've got in Jackson? Let's be honest: Favre is easily the worst QB to start every game this season. He's been terrible (10 TD, 17 INT, 69.8 rating). The Vikings have nothing to gain by continuing to play him. If they play Jackson, they might improve, plus they can learn about their options for 2011 and beyond.

29. Denver Broncos [27] — I've written repeatedly that Champ Bailey is the most overrated player in the NFL. He's good, a legit Hall of Famer when his career is over. He's not among the top 10 cornerbacks of all time, but he's probably in the top 20. Being overrated is not the same as being bad, but this is a college star, first-round draft pick with a memorable name, who played well enough early in his career to get a good reputation and makes enough big plays that most pundits ignore his many bad ones. After Monday night's 35-14 beatdown, Stuart Scott declared, "Champ Bailey's just redunkulous. Matt, how does the future Hall of Famer get his 48th career pick?" Matt Millen replied, "He gets it because the ball hangs in the air. It's not some — he was beat. A better throw on that one would've been a big play." Story of Bailey's career.

30. Cincinnati Bengals [28] — Seven losses in a row, a streak that is likely to continue when they travel to New Meadowlands Stadium to face the Jets in the late game on Thursday. The Bengals overcame 2 Johnathan Joseph interceptions and a 124-yard rushing day from Cedric Benson to lose against Buffalo in Week 11. Cincinnati is now last in the NFL in sacks (10), with less than half the league average (22).

31. Arizona Cardinals [31] — In 2009, they were 14th in total offense and 11th in scoring. This season, they're 31st in total offense and 26th in scoring. Could they really be any worse with Matt Leinart?

32. Carolina Panthers [32] — The defense actually had a decent game against Baltimore, but this is shaping up to be one of the worst offensive teams in memory. Carolina ranks last by a wide margin in both yards and scoring. The second-worst offense averages 23 more yards and 4.3 points per game more than the Panthers.

Posted by Brad Oremland at 5:34 PM | Comments (2)

Once Upon a Time on Fast Courts

More than a week ago, the Paris ATP Masters Series tournament ended with Robin Soderling's victory, at the same time bringing the regular tournament calendar of the ATP Tour to a close. It was a fantastic tournament that often lacked thrills in the past years due to its date in the calendar; it is the last tournament of the year before the ATP World Tour Finals, going on this week in London. Some players are tired and exit early, some simply choose not to play it by declaring injury, having guaranteed their spot in the rankings and in London.

This time around, everyone played it except Rafael Nadal, and they gave their best effort, resulting in some mind-blowing matches, including two semifinals that got as close as it gets to a "Super Saturday" version of a non-slam tournament. Gaël Monfils defeated Roger Federer after saving five match-points in a match that saw all three sets go to tiebreakers. In the other semifinals, Robin Soderling defeated in a similar fashion the 30-year-old serve-and-volleyer Michael Llodra in a third set tiebreaker after having saved himself three match-points.

It was a strange Saturday as the Federer/Monfils match featured an overwhelming amount of aces and quick winners for a match that featured two players who usually prefer to win their points from the baseline by setting up the point. The Soderling/Llodra match, on the other hand, featured one big-hitter and a natural serve-and-volleyer who is having his best year on the tour at his late age. One would think that it will be a match of few good shots, short rallies, and not much shot-making. They were wrong. The quality kept climbing throughout the match, climaxing in the final set; both players hit one amazing winner after the other and they even had some breath-taking rallies from the baseline.

In the meantime, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray found themselves left behind. More importantly, the tournament left everyone to wonder if fast courts, a disappearing commodity in tennis, were indeed needed more in the sport. If anything at all, the Paris tournament showed that fast courts do not necessarily result in boring matches and lack of spectacular points. It turned out to be one of the most entertaining tournaments of the year.

Djokovic was the first one to comment on the fast courts at Palais Omnisport de Bercy that Murray later called the fastest that he had ever played on "since joining the ATP Tour." Djokovic admitted that it was refreshing to play on fast courts for a change because it forced the players to go the net more. Case in point: Andy Murray switched to serve-and-volley after falling behind against David Nalbandian, only to come back and win in three sets. He tried the same tactic against Monfils in the quarters after losing the first set. He did come back to tie at one set all, but Monfils proved too tough in the third set. Roger Federer mixed in plenty of serve-and-volley throughout his matches. Even Soderling, who is rarely seen at the net, saved a crucial match point against Llodra by coming to the net, before walking out with a victory.

And then there was Michael Llodra. In a year in which Taylor Dent announced his retirement, Llodra remains perhaps the sole player who is successful on the ATP Tour using a pure serve-and-volley style game. Yet despite being a doubles specialist, he has had a very successful season in singles, climbing to a career-high number 23 on the ATP ranking, playing a major role in France reaching the Davis Cup finals, and defeating Nikolay Davydenko and Djokovic before succumbing to Soderling in Paris to end his great season. Finally, his style of play offered plenty of spectacular points and remarkable athleticism.

So what is it? Is the plug being pulled too soon on fast courts? This is assuming that it is not already pulled (emphasizing the past tense) and that is apparently saying too much. We all know about the much-slower courts at Wimbledon. If you were not aware of it, watch how Roger Federer adjusted his style of playing on the grass courts of Wimbledon over the years. Look at his matches in his first years at Wimbledon versus how he stays back in the later years. And this week in London, Rafa commented already on the courts at London, saying that they play a bit slower this year.

Paris tournament showed that the players themselves would perhaps agree that the plug is effectively being pulled too soon. Djokovic was not the only one finding himself longing for faster courts. Murray added to his above comments that he wished there was more variety of surfaces, and that he likes "the different surfaces and what they bring." Andy Roddick did not stay quite either; with his usual dry humor, he added that it has become "monotonous" and that "it feels like there is a slow court available nine months of the year." Federer also commented on the faster surface, reminiscing that he remembered when Pete Sampras, Goran Ivanisevic, and Cedric Pioline were playing like that on the circuit.

Is this enough to dissipate the precarious image that fast courts bring boring tennis to the table? It is difficult to say, but when some of the top players comment negatively on the slow demise of fast courts within the circuit, when the tournament with the fastest court on the calendar (according to Murray) offers so many thrilling matches coupled with high quality tennis, and finally, when a pure serve-and-volleyer finds the opportunity to go toe-to-toe with the top talents on the Tour, one is left to wonder if that image is indeed nothing but imagination running astray.

Posted by Mert Ertunga at 11:07 AM | Comments (4)

November 22, 2010

The Bane of Auto-Bids

This year has been quite an anomaly in college football. TCU and Boise State have been making noise for a few years and everybody seems to keep hoping that they'll finally make the coveted step into the National Championship Game.

Coming from what are considered the weaker conferences of the Mountain West and the WAC, these two teams' undefeated records never carry them very far on their own. They've done everything in their power to get more challenging games on the schedule and have succeeded to some extent, but the impressive, early non-conference wins lose their luster as the conference schedules begin.

Every week it seems TCU and Boise State win 50-something to less than 10. Are people bored with these blowouts? Do they find them continually unimpressive?

I think there has never been enough credit given to teams who make their first games of the season the most challenging. Instead of scheduling a game they are sure to win just so they can work some kinks out, TCU and Boise State both scheduled games against teams that entered the season ranked in the top 25.

Other than their opponents, Oregon State and Virginia Tech, how many other teams had this challenge? Not very many; LSU defeated North Carolina, who was ranked No. 18 at the time and fell off the map completely. That was the only other pairing of top 25 teams in Week 1. It's probably of little surprise that only four teams from the top 25 lost in Week 1, the fourth being Pittsburgh who lost to Utah, who has spent every week other than Week 1 unranked.

TCU is set. After defeated perennial cinderella sister Utah and surviving the scare of San Diego State in their last two games, the Horned Frogs need only to beat a dismal New Mexico team to be assured of a BCS bowl game.

Boise State doesn't have it so easy. They play at the No. 18 Nevada Wolf Pack this coming week and while a win might boost them over TCU in the BCS standings, a loss will most unfortunately mean they'll have no chance at a BCS bowl game and that is just plain sad.

Ohio State lost to Wisconsin. Wisconsin lost to Michigan State. Michigan State lost to Iowa and all of these teams have a legitimate shot at the Rose Bowl or another BCS bowl game, having one loss to a ranked opponent. Why would Boise State not receive consideration despite one loss?

The problem for Boise State and TCU, however, is not the Big Ten; it is the Big East. Come to think of it, the problem for the three one-loss Big Ten teams is the Big East, as well.

The Big East has no teams ranked in the top 25 in any ranking system. West Virginia boasts its best record at 7-3. It looks as though either West Virginia or Pittsburgh will end up representing the Big East in a BCS game against an opponent that will most likely destroy them.

I realized that it is possible in the Big East for a school to win the conference, but not be bowl eligible. They play seven conference games and five non-conference games with no conference championship game. Upon going 0-5 in non-conference games and 5-2 in conference games, a 5-7 team could feasibly win the Big East. What trumps what in this scenario, bowl eligibility or the automatic BCS bid for winning the conference? No information seems to be available on this scenario. If you find some, do enlighten me.

So who is going to make it into the BCS bowl games with one slot of what are supposed to be the top 10 teams in the country goes to the underachieving Big East.

Oregon still has to defeat No. 22 Arizona and Oregon State, neither of which will be cake walks, to attain its No. 1 status and enter into the National Championship Game.

Auburn has an even tougher road, playing at No. 11 Alabama and vs. No. 17 South Carolina at a neutral site.

The breakdown, I believe will be like so:

Pac-10 — Oregon and/or Stanford
Big Ten — Wisconsin and/or Ohio State or Michigan State
Big 12 — Oklahoma State or Oklahoma or Nebraska or Missouri
SEC — Auburn and/or LSU or South Carolina
ACC — Virginia Tech or Florida State or North Carolina State
Big East — West Virginia or Pittsburgh
Mountain West — TCU
WAC — Boise State

Decision makers are going to have a hell of a time deciding who is in and who is out. The Big Ten is already a debacle with three good one-loss teams and only two from a conference can go, so we're very likely looking at a one-loss power conference school that won't be in a BCS game. Reminds me of Missouri a few years back.

Not only that, if Oregon, Auburn TCU and Boise State all win out, we're not only face with one Big Ten one-loss team being left out, but potentially two.

The six conferences will have their automatic bids. TCU and Boise State will have the first at-large bids given to them, then there are only two spots left for four potential one-loss teams, Stanford, LSU, and the two Big Ten teams that didn't win the conference.

What a mess! In some years, one loss schools like Wisconsin, Stanford, LSU, Ohio State, or Michigan State would be considered for the National Championship Game, but this year, they'll be left out of the BCS system completely.

The automatic bid system needs to be reworked. I've pleaded for consistency for conference championship games in the past and it seems like the Pac-10 (soon to be 12) and the Big Ten (really 11, soon to be more) are heading in that direction, but the Big East is still a problem.

A team that wins its conference and has four losses is a team that doesn't necessarily deserve to be a team playing in one of the five premier bowl games.

I think there should be an immediate implementation of a clause that says, "Automatic Bid Conferences that cannot produce a team with three or fewer losses will lose their automatic bid." Perhaps that number should even be changed to two.

Posted by Andrew Jones at 7:16 PM | Comments (2)

Greg Oden: Biggest Draft Bust Ever?

Over the years, the NBA has seen its fair share of historically bad draft busts. Many of these players were selected in one of the top two picks. Michael Olowokandi, Darko Milicic, and Kwame Brown all fall into that boat and were all picked within the last 15 years. But none of those players, or any before 1995, may be as colossal a bust as Greg Oden.

Last week, Oden was ruled out for the entirety of the 2010-11 season. Since being drafted No. 1 overall in the summer of 2007, Oden will have missed two whole seasons with two micro-fracture knee surgeries (one on each knee), the vast majority of one season with a fractured knee cap, and part of another with a chipped knee cap. At this point, it is reasonable to question how much Oden can actually put on his knees when he comes back, given his big frame and three knee operations in four seasons.

In total, Oden has played 82 career games, averaging 9.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Accounting for advanced metrics, Oden has been an above-average rebounder (according to rebound percentage) and turnover-prone (according to turnover percentage). However, in the instances where he has been able to play, Oden has never averaged more than 24 minutes a game.

It's inevitable at this point to compare Greg Oden to Sam Bowie. After all, both were highly drafted by the Blazers and play somewhat similar positions, albeit with Bowie more of a passer and outside shooter. At this rate, Oden may have to be mentioned on his own. Through a similar point in his NBA career (four years after being drafted), Bowie had played 119 games, for 10.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. However, after his stint in Portland came to an end after the 1988-89 season, he played four seasons with the Nets, never missing more than 20 games in any season with New Jersey, averaging 12.8 ppg and 8.2 rpg in those seasons.

We don't know if Oden will ever put up that type of productivity after he comes back, because he hasn't reached that stage yet. Two bad knees don't bode well, though.

People don't consider Bowie one of the biggest draft busts ever solely based on what Bowie himself did. He's considered as such due to the fact that Blazers passed up on Michael Jordan to take the former Kentucky star. The same holds true for Oden. Kevin Durant is already one of the top five players in the league, and turned 22 less than two months ago. In time, the historical chasm between Oden and Durant could be as wide or wider than that of Bowie and Jordan.

Relativity matters when talking about things like draft busts. Strictly speaking, LaRue Martin is probably the worst player to ever be taken No. 1 overall in an NBA Draft (by the Blazers, as well), averaging just over 5 points a game in four seasons. Hall of Famer Bob McAdoo was picked second, but Durant is probable to be remembered more fondly than McAdoo after his career is over. This is also why we consider Ryan Leaf, who it is said the Colts were debating to take over Peyton Manning in the 1998 NFL Draft, the greatest football bust ever, and not a No. 1 pick like Ki-Jana Carter.

The fall of Oden is even more remarkable when taking into account all the hype surrounding the 2007 draft and his selection. Draft experts were confident that Oden was the sure thing, with Durant being the potential pick more ready to be a star in a few years. Oden was, at a minimum, supposed to evolve into the next Patrick Ewing and his ceiling was assumed to be much higher.

During the 2006-07 college season, Durant vastly outperformed Oden, putting up the most dominant freshman season in the history of the game. Yet, because Oden's Ohio State was a more loaded team with more scoring options and due to his injured right wrist, Oden was still considered the best player on the board. A 25 and 12 performance in an NCAA title game loss to Florida only served to cement that status.

Hindsight is always 20-20, but in Tuesday's game between Ohio State and Florida, Buckeye freshman big man Jared Sullinger showed off about as much offensive skill in the post in 34 minutes of action as Oden did in that whole season in college. Oden's relative lack of offensive game that season should have been a warning, and was pointed out by the few experts who thought Durant would be the better pick.

With Oden on the verge of having his career written off due to injury, Portland has bigger things to worry about, such as Brandon Roy's lingering knee issues. The Blazers are still a quality team, but if Roy, their best player, continues to miss time throughout the season, the team's eventual playoff status could be in major doubt.

Posted by Ross Lancaster at 4:27 PM | Comments (4)

November 20, 2010

New Coach Not Garrett-eed

The Dallas Cowboys may have found their unlikely new head coach for 2011 and beyond. Spending the first half of the season floundering as the offensive coordinator whose play calls made fans shout in anguish and bewilderment, Jason Garrett's job seemed just as much in jeopardy as head coach Wade Phillips'. When the decision went ahead to fire Phillips, Garrett's promotion to head coach was seen as little more than a makeshift necessity with which to finish the season.

For most of the year, the 2010 Dallas Cowboys could do nothing right, on the field and off. Their season has already been deemed a failure beyond repair after reaching the halfway mark at 1-7. Despite their talent, the team's execution has been a train wreck, and their overall discipline and team chemistry has been even worse ... and that was before their stud quarterback was sidelined with a fractured collarbone thanks to the Giants defense in Week 7.

Part of the problem was that coach Wade Phillips was not the kind of man who can earn the respect of a locker room full of tough-as-nails padded gladiators. His x's and o's intelligence is not reinforced by an imposing presence, fiery demeanor, or even a relentless persistence at keeping players accountable. Wade Phillips is none of these things. Instead, he is short and soft-spoken. He is kind-hearted, compassionate, forgiving, and trusting. And despite his age, he seems just a bit naïve beyond his years. Indeed, Wade Phillips always reminded me of the character Butters from "South Park" if he was all grown up.

It is also possible that the players made a conscious effort to try to respect the head coach and get behind what he would say to them in the beginning. The Tony Romo-to-Terrell Owens Cowboys may have also been a team talented enough to win regardless of who coached them.

In Phillips first year in '07, they earned the top seed in the playoffs and continued to be competitive through '08 and '09, winning their first playoff game since 1996 last January. Now it was year four of Wade, perhaps the same old sayings and mantras and routines begin to wear thin on the players as they fell into their season-long slump. It is my belief that they stopped taking the man seriously and lost the desire to play hard for him.

So when Phillips finally did get the axe from owner Jerry Jones, leaving Garrett at the helm, he brought with him a more youthful energy, a bona-fide game-film diligence that established offensive coordinators have to have (and Garrett was considered to be one of the best offensive coordinators in football just three years ago, even if he was considered one of the worst at present), and a fresh desire to succeed and impress now that he finally had that head coaching job he had always wanted.

The problem was he was inheriting a demoralized 1-7 team on the road against the New York Giants, the recently crowned best team in the NFC after their 41-7 drubbing of Seattle.

And yet the team that doused the Giants with a cold dose of reality last Sunday evening at new Meadowlands Stadium was far better, played far smarter and far more disciplined than the hot mess they were in Week 7 on Monday night. The differences were so staggering that the Giants failed to make the proper adjustments all game.

The defensive back who intercepted Eli Manning on 3rd-and-goal at the 1 and returned the pick 101 yards the other way for a backbreaking score, Bryan McCann, had never had an NFL interception before. Sounds like someone had tweaked the goal line defensive package and placed McCann in a position to succeed against Eli.

Or how about the short, harmless-looking screen pass Jon Kitna threw to Felix Jones on the left side on 3rd-and-10 at the Cowboys own 29. Yeah, that one that somehow turned into a stunning 71-yard Cowboys touchdown when it was supposed to be a three-and-out. Maybe Garrett realized the Giants' left side was immensely vulnerable to just such a play. Having played the Giants prior to last week, this is all certainly feasible.

And suddenly backup quarterback Jon Kitna, of whom nothing was expected of, is now perfectly in sync with his star rookie receiver Dez Bryant, and is throwing deep balls right on the money for Bryant in the open field, something the first-string Romo could not do consistently.

It appears Garrett was pressing all the right buttons in a game the Cowboys would appear to have little incentive to win aside from the divisional rivalry with the Giants. They have virtually no chance to make the playoffs and thus save their season. So what finally did motivate this Cowboys team after half a season?

Right now, the Cowboys are playing for little other than coach Jason Garrett. If he can rally the troops and they start winning now, knock off heavily favored teams on the road and upset point spreads, owner Jerry Jones may just think twice about naming a head coaching successor during the 2011 offseason.

Next on Dallas' schedule is the Lions at home, which could and should be an easy victory if the team is able to build on this momentum. Following that, they play the Saints, Colts, and Eagles in succession. Daunting, yes. But two wins out of those three would open up eyes around the league, much like Cleveland did after beating the Saints and Patriots in back-to-back weeks. From there, Jerry Jones and the Cowboys could be clear on their way to keeping Garrett for good.

And so the team that didn't want to win badly enough for themselves may just do so for their interim head coach.

Posted by Bill Hazell at 1:41 PM | Comments (2)

November 18, 2010

NFL Weekly Predictions: Week 11

Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.

Chicago @ Miami (-1½)

The Bears are far from undefeated, the Miami quarterback is definitely not Dan Marino, and the Chicago team's rap skills are lacking, although there are rumors of an 'NFC North Division Title Shuffle.' Other than that, Thursday night's Bears/Dolphins matchup still probably won't remind anyone of 1985's contest, when the undefeated Bears strolled into Miami on a Monday night and left as 38-24 losers.

"I remember the 'Super Bowl Shuffle' fondly," Julius Peppers said. "I was a young, impressionable 6'4," 230-pound kid growing up in rural North Carolina. That song, as well as the domination of the Bears defense, inspired me to become what I am today — a dominating defensive player who doesn't rap. That rap brought tears to my eyes, and blood to my ears.

Now, the 1985 Bears couldn't carry a tune, but they could carry an offense. The 2010 Bears can do the same. We've carried our offense so much this year, they should come with a handle. But we like our offense, and Jay Cutler deserves all the credit in the world, because win or lose, we can blame it on Cutler."

The Dolphins lost Chad Pennington for the season against the Titans, and Chad Henne re-injured his knee, paving the way for Tyler Thigpen's first start as a Dolphin. He'll face the stingy Bears defense, allowing only 16.2 points per game, second in the NFL.

"Facing Peppers, Brian Urlacher, and the rugged Bears defense scares me," Thigpen said. "So, that makes two weeks in a row in which a Miami quarterback cried when he found out he would be starting. In Chicago, quarterbacks don't cry. Instead, people cry because of them."

It's a nationally televised game, which means Peppers will be going all out. And the Bears will tee off against an offensive line that may be without left tackle Jake Long. Quarterbacking will keep the Dolphins in it. Not their own quarterbacking, but that of Cutler, who throws 2 interceptions.

Bears win, 23-20.

Buffalo @ Cincinnati (-5)

The Bills won for the first time last week, holding off the Lions 14-12 in Buffalo, paced by 2 touchdowns from Fred Jackson. Now the Bills will look to make it two in a row against a Bengals team that has lost six in a row.

"We just validated the Chargers' contention," said Chan Gailey, "that you can win without Shawne Merriman. Who would have thought? Washed-up reality skank Tila Tequila actually has more staying power than Merriman. It's too bad their romance didn't last. They were a perfect match, right down to their 15 minutes of fame."

Cincinnati's nightmare season continued in a 23-17 loss in Indianapolis, a game the Bengals possibly could have won if not for 5 turnovers. A loss to the Bills would give both teams identical 2-8 records, tied for worst in the league, and would likely cost Marvin Lewis his job.

"I'm not sure how many losses it will take for Coach to get fired," said Chad Ochocinco. "I imagine it's proportionate to nails in a coffin. Unlike years past, there's been no 'sucking face' here in Cincy. Take way the 'face,' and you have just 'sucking.' Beating the Bills would likely 'save face,' though. As you know, I haven't been very happy with my role as of late. So it's hard for me to offer a positive testimonial for Coach Lewis. But, if the price is right, I'll happily sing the praises of pistachios. That makes me Terrell Owens' 'Nutty Buddy,' which is another fantastic opportunity for me to market myself."

Cincinnati wins, 28-16.

Cleveland @ Jacksonville (-3)

The Jaguars pulled out a huge 31-24 victory over the Texans, winning on David Garrard's 50-yard Hail Mary pass that miraculously landed in the hands of Mike Thomas after the Texans' Glover Quin batted the pass down. With the win, the Jags improved to 5-4, one game behind the Colts, with the always tough Browns coming to town.

"That play," Jack Del Rio said, "will inevitably lead to much debate on the virtues of batting the ball down as opposed to intercepting it. I for one, support the 'bat down' theory. I suspect Houston would now subscribe to the 'Texas Hold 'Em' theory."

A week after whipping the Patriots, the Browns took the Jets to the limit before falling 26-20 late in overtime. They'll try to deny the Jags their third straight win.

"And to accomplish that," Eric Mangini said, "we'll have to do it on the ground, behind the tough running of Peyton Hillis, whom I like to call the 'other white Peyton.' As you know, we traded Brady Quinn to the Broncos for Hillis back in May. That trade continues to pay off for us, while the Broncos continue to pay for it. It's called 'getting something for nothing,' as opposed to 'getting nothing for something,' which is what we now call paying Jake Delhomme $7 million this year."

The Browns continue to ride their big offensive line and Hillis, proving that once you go Hillis, you never go back. Hillis rushes for 136 yards and a touchdown, and the Browns defense forces 3 turnovers.

Cleveland wins, 22-20.

Houston @ NY Jets (-7)

The Jets became the first team in NFL history to win two consecutive overtime games on the road, shocking the Browns on Santonio Holmes' 37-yard touchdown catch with 16 seconds left in overtime. At 7-2, the Jets are off to their best start since 1986.

"Holmes has come up big for us time and time again," Rex Ryan said, "especially in the three overtime games we've won this year. Often, with the game hanging in the balance, I'll look into Santonio's eyes, and that glazed look tells me he's ready to make a play, and I trust him to do so. If sure he's heard this often, but 'I'm buying what he's selling.' We've definitely shown the ability to win the close games, particularly close games against teams that shouldn't be in close games with us. I'd like to see more of a killer instinct from my players, but I think it's hard for a team to show that when their coach only tells them how great they are, even after narrowly defeating a clearly inferior team. They've had their 'Hard Knocks' ... maybe what they need now is some 'tough love.'"

The Texans will try to snap their three-game losing streak in New Meadowlands Stadium, where the Jets are 2-2. Houston lost its last game in heartbreaking fashion when David Garrard's 50-yard desperation heave fell into the hands of Mike Thomas after being batted down by Texans' cornerback Glover Quin.

"The Jags were lucky," said Andre Johnson, "and Mike Thomas was in the right place at the right time to pick that ball out of the air. He's a lucky 'plucker.' But let's not feel too bad for Quin. He did what you're taught in that situation. No, not to lose the game, but to bat the ball away instead of trying to intercept it. Plus, he became the first player named Quin to complete a pass in the NFL this year."

New York wins, 26-21.

Washington @ Tennessee (-7)

Randy Moss' debut as a Titan was anything but impressive, with only 1 catch for 26 yards in Tennessee's 29-17 loss to Miami. It was a performance that Moss surely wouldn't feed his dog, but served up to the millions of Moss fantasy owners nonetheless, who were forced to "eat it."

"Hey, Randy had 1 catch in his final game with New England," Jeff Fisher said. "So, at least he's consistent. And he's quiet on the field, which matches his demeanor in post-game interviews. There's no need to overreact, however. I have no intentions of releasing Moss. It would pain me to let Randy go, only to see him crucified in the media, and made the subject of an off-Broadway musical called 'Little Orphan Randy.'"

Washington's Donovan McNabb played the entire game in Monday night's painful 59-28 loss to the Eagles, and it seems maybe his benching against the Lions was justified. His performance against the Eagles doesn't offer much evidence otherwise. Of course, now it's hard to complain about a benching when it's followed by a five-year, $78 million extension, including $40 million guaranteed.

"Apology accepted!" McNabb said. "Coach Shanahan and I are on the same page now. More importantly, Daniel Snyder and I are on the same page, or at least our signatures are. Just ask Albert Haynesworth. The Redskins are notorious for giving out 'fat' contracts. Frankly, there's only one thing worse than the timing of my new contract, and that's the timing between me and my receivers."

Had you told Shanahan before the season that someone would "drop 59" on the Redskins this year, he likely would have told you it would have been Haynesworth. Big Albert's return to Tennessee is a forgettable one, as Chris Johnson rushes for 110 yards and a score, and Moss scores his first TD as a Titan.

Tennessee wins, 21-17.

Green Bay @ Minnesota (+1)

After last week's 27-13 loss in Chicago, the Vikings are 3-6 and three games out of the NFC North division lead, and the futures of Brad Childress and Brett Favre become more unclear by the day. Owner Zigi Wilf has said Childress won't be fired this year, and Favre has been characteristically cryptic when queried about 2011.

"The chances of getting a straight answer from me," Favre said, "are about as good as those of a teammate dedicating Jackson Brown's 'Stay' to Childress. Now, I soon may be feeling more heat from the NFL over the Jenn Sterger situation. She just recently convened with NFL investigators, and a talk with Roger Goodell may be imminent. Goodell was 'briefed,' which is exactly what got me into this mess. So, the headlines may soon read 'Sterger, Goodell Meet,' whereas earlier this year they read 'Sterger, Favre Meat.'

The Packers beat the Vikings 28-24 in Week 7, and will look to validate that win with another, this time in Mall of America Stadium, where the Vikes are 3-1 this year.

"It's unfortunate," Aaron Rodgers said, "that whenever we play the Vikings, Favre is the big story, no matter how well the Packers are doing. It's quite frustrating. Sometimes, I get the urge to take a snapshot of my junk and text it to an attractive stadium worker, just for the attention. Luckily, there's an app for that, and thanks to my phone, I've been able to resist that urge."

In what is likely his final game against the Packers, Favre goes out with a bang, tossing 2 touchdown passes, and Adrian Peterson rushes for 135 yards.

Vikings win, 27-24.

Baltimore @ Carolina (+9)

After falling to the Falcons last Thursday, the Ravens maintained their AFC North lead thanks to Pittsburgh's 39-26 loss to New England. Baltimore has had 10 days to prepare for the 1-8 Panthers, and for a team in a tight division race, wins over such teams are imperative. Ray Lewis understands the importance of Sunday's game.

"If we lose, we fall to 6-4," quoth the Raven. "6-4. I'm no Edgar Allan Poe aficionado, but I understand that Poe, much like a Carolina Panther cheerleader intertwined in a lustful embrace with another, 'liked his liquor.'"

The Panthers showed a little life in last week's 31-16 loss in Tampa, but their defense surrendered some huge third-down conversions that likely cost them any chance of winning.

"For once," John Fox said, "it's comforting to hear the yell of 'Get off the field!' and know it's not specifically directed at me. But it's not such a bad thing that our defense has to stay on the field. Our ground game has suffered in the absences of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. There's no rush on the field, so really there's no rush to get off the field."

Baltimore wins, 30-17.

Arizona @ Kansas City (-7)

A mere two weeks ago, the Chiefs were riding high on top of the AFC West, with a solid lead in the division and a trio of struggling division rivals. Now, after last weeks' 49-29 loss in Denver, the Chiefs lead is gone, and they're tied with the Raiders, with the surging Chargers just a game behind.

"Luckily," said Todd Haley, "after two tough road losses, we're returning to the comfort of Arrowhead Stadium, where we are undefeated this year. Many people have stated that after such a fast start, the Chiefs would be 'coming back to the field,' and they were right. Now, I realize I erred by not shaking Josh McDaniels' hand after the Denver loss. I've since apologized. When I said 'I didn't mean it,' I was referring to the apology, of course."

Haley takes out his frustrations on the Cardinals, who are coached by his former boss, Ken Whisenhunt. Kansas City runs the Cards into the ground, rushing for 198 yards, as the Chiefs bounce back and destroy the Cards, 34-14.

Afterwards, Whisenhunt, gracious in defeat, offers Haley not only his hand, but his old job back.

Detroit @ Dallas (-9)

The Cowboys stunned the Giants 33-20 last week in the Meadowlands, punishing the home-standing Giants, who had recently been anointed by many as the NFC's best team. On Sunday, the Cowboys face the Lions in a tune-up for a Thanksgiving visit from the defending Super Bowl champion Saints.

"Some may call this a case of 'too little, too late,'" said Jason Garrett. "Quite the opposite, it's a case of 'too much, too late.' The Giants didn't know what hit them. I imagine it's a similar feeling to accidentally firing a bullet into your thigh. I realize I'm just the interim coach now, but I've got the full backing of Jerry Jones. But so did Wade Phillips. I know I have my doubters, and many people, most notably Ron Jaworski, would love to see John Gruden as the new Cowboys coach."

The struggling Lions lost their 25th straight road game, a 14-12 decision to Buffalo, breaking their own NFL record set from 2001 to 2003. They'll try to snap that streak against the revitalized Cowboys.

"I hear Cowboys Stadium has a spacious visitors' locker room," Jim Schwartz said. "That's good, because the Lions need their space on the road, especially when they're traveling with the monkeys and albatrosses that accompany such a road winless streak. But I hear the home locker room is the most luxurious around. It's also adjacent to the Cowboys Hall of Fame, and after Dallas' failures this year, it's said that both rooms are full of busts."

The Lions hang tough, but the Cowboys come away with a 30-27 win.

Oakland @ Pittsburgh (-9)

Not only were the Steelers knocked back in to last week in Sunday night's 39-26 whipping at the hands of the Patriots, they may have been walloped all the way back in to 1972. Wasn't that the last meaningful Oakland at Pittsburgh game? This Sunday's game won't match that 1972 playoff epic for importance or historical significance, but it does pit two division leaders that both need wins to stay atop their divisions.

"Hopefully," Ben Roethlisberger said, "we'll use this loss as a 'wake-up call,' which would make it my second, and first from someone other than Roger Goodell. I think Mike Tomlin provided a wake-up call of his own when he cut kicker Jeff Reed. Reed's always been called 'erratic.' Up until recently, that word was used to describe his behavior, not his kicking."

His players may not, but Al Davis remembers the "Immaculate Reception" like it was yesterday.

"At my age," Davis said, "28 years seems like a day. That also happens to be the last time I got screwed. But the Raiders/Steelers rivalry has been dormant for too long. These teams really don't like each other, so I expect to see a lot of trash talk, cheap shots, and yellow flags. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised to see a red flag, because Roethlisberger and Sebastian Janikowski are in the same place. You want to see the opposite of an 'immaculate reception?' Take those two to a bar full of women."

Roethlisberger regains his form, throwing for a touchdown and rushing for another. James Harrison sacks Jason Campbell twice, and Troy Polamalu returns a pick for a score.

Pittsburgh wins, 27-12.

Atlanta @ St. Louis (+3)

The Falcons made their case as the NFC's best team last Thursday with a 26-20 win over the Ravens, as Matt Ryan exploited Baltimore's shaky pass defense with 316 yards and 3 touchdowns, with two of those TD passes to Roddy White. Of course, that win would lose much of its significance should the Falcons fall to the 4-5 Rams, who are 4-1 at home.

"The once vaunted Baltimore defense is showing signs of weakness," Mike Smith said. "Ironically, the Ravens' defense came here to Atlanta, but we 'took it to them.' And we proved one of two things: that we can do that to anybody, or anybody can do that to them. The Rams are certainly formidable at home. But their home record can be deceiving. They've only beaten one team with a winning record, so they haven't seen anything quite like us. So, on Sunday, they can relieve the glory days of Kurt Warner and company, because we'll be showing them the 'Greatest Show On Their Turf.'"

Falcons win 30-19.

Tampa Bay @ San Francisco (-3 1/2)

The 49ers have already vanquished the marauders from across San Francisco Bay this year, beating the Raiders 17-9 in week 6. Now, the Niners will face an invasion from the 6-3 Buccaneers, who won 31-16 last week over the Panthers.

"I'm impressed by what Raheem Morris has done with the Bucs," Mike Singletary said. "But he's kidding himself calling the Bucs the NFC's best team. He's obviously suffering from 'delusions of grander.' I didn't hesitate to name Troy Smith the starter. He's earned it with his play, and he's earned the respect of his teammates. Now, when I call our team the 'Men of Troy,' it has no connection to Homeric literature, nor does it have any connection to San Francisco nightclub of the same name."

Morris and the Bucs certainly don't lack for confidence. They'll need it for a tough stretch of upcoming games, when they travel to Baltimore before hosting the Falcons.

"I can't back down from my statement now," said Morris. "I've got my team believing they're the NFC's best. What's at the other end of the spectrum? The NFC's West."

Frank Gore rushes for 121 yards and a touchdown, and Smith throws two scores to Vernon Davis.

San Francisco wins, 24-21.

Seattle @ New Orleans (-12)

The Seahawks are 5-4 after last week's 36-18 win in Arizona, and now hold sole possession of first place in the NFC West. They'll face the Saints, 6-3 and fresh off a bye week, with Reggie Bush set to return for the defending Super Bowl champs.

"The Seahawks lead their division," said Sean Payton. "That's 'big.' That division is the NFC West. That's 'easy.' Hence, the 'Big Easy,' the site of Sunday's game."

Seattle's Matt Hasselbeck returned to action after missing a game with a 333-yard, 1-touchdown day in a 36-18 win over the Cardinals. However, he injured his left wrist in the game, and is in a cast. Pete Carroll expects Hasselbeck to be ready in time for Sunday's game.

"Matt's upset about his wrist injury," said Pete Carroll. "But he'll surely cheer up when we get his teammates to sign his cast. When I coached at USC, it took more than just a cast to get a signature from a football player. It took money. And he often needed it on or before signing day. As you know, the NCAA eventually caught up with my shenanigans. Of course, the university itself was clueless. Obviously, at USC, there are a lot more 'checks' than 'balances.'

Hasselbeck should be ready to play on Sunday. If the cast isn't off by Sunday, it will be soon thereafter. I figure it's New Orleans — if we throw enough beads at it, the cast will come off."

The Saints, coming off a bye week, should be well-rested and eager to display their attacking brand of defense. They force 4 Seahawk turnovers, and Drew Brees throws for 3 scores.

New Orleans wins, 34-17.

Indianapolis @ New England (-3)

Sunday afternoon's Colts/Patriots showdown will be all about the quarterbacks, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, who have waged epic battles over their careers. At 7-2, the Pats are tied for the AFC East lead, while the Colts lead the AFC South outright with a 6-3 record.

"You probably saw me berating my teammates on the sideline early in the Pittsburgh game," Brady said. "That's not unusual. Earlier this year, I told Randy Moss to cut his hair. This time, I told my teammates to grow some.

Manning and I want more than anything to beat each other. And we'll both give all we have to do so. But our extreme competitiveness is matched only by our respect for each other. Win or lose, I'll give Peyton a call on the phone. And, without fail, I can expect him to answer after 'one ring.'"

Manning will have to be at his sharpest, and will lead a Colts team missing several starters to injury.

"I guess Brady's comments warrant a rebuttal," Manning said. "Rebuttal? I think that's what Brett Favre expected in return when he texted Jenn Sterger. But let's be serious for a moment. I would never send a picture of my privates to anyone, much less a nubile stadium employee. If that picture were to fall into the wrong hands, there's a good chance I'd soon be nicknamed 'Colt 4.5.'

People who know me know I wouldn't show myself like that. Heck, I have a hard time showing my hand at the line of scrimmage."

Patriots win, 34-31.

NY Giants @ Philadelphia (-3)

Much like the boos cascading down upon a fallen opponent from high above in the cheap seats of Lincoln Financial Field, the Giants came back down to earth, losing convincingly 33-20 to the Cowboys. They'll look to rebound against the Eagles, with the winner awarded sole possession of first place in the NFC East.

"We got put in our place by a band of Cowboys bent on vengeance," said Eli Manning. "You could say we were 'posse-whipped.'"

The Eagles were flawless in Monday night's 59-28 destruction of the Redskins, a win that avenged an earlier loss to the Redskins and further established Michael Vick as the most dynamic and versatile offensive weapon in the NFL. Vick passed for 4 touchdowns and ran for two others in the win.

"I can finally agree to what PETA's been saying all along," Reid said. "Michael 'had no conscious.' Hopefully, Michael's got more where that came from. To my 'Philly Idol,' I cried 'more, more, more' with a rebel yell."

The Eagles enter with all the confidence in the world, while the Giants come with theirs shaken. Tom Coughlin no doubt had a few choice words for the Giants this week, and they'll respond. Besides, the Eagles are in the same position the Giants were last week — as everybody's pick as the NFC's best. That's a temporary position.

New York wins, 26-24.

Denver @ San Diego (-9)

Denver's 49-29 win over the Chiefs had to come as music to the ears of the Chargers, who enjoyed the spectacle of bitter rivals squaring off with a result that left one team bitter and the other overconfident. Kansas City's loss dropped the Chiefs into a tie with the Raiders for the division lead, with San Diego only a game behind, with three of their next four games against division foes.

"So, the Broncos scored 49 on the Chiefs," Philip Rivers said, "and the Raiders scored 59 on the Broncos. There not much, if anything, you can say 'in defense' of those two efforts. Sure, we may not be in first, but it would be hard to say we're not the favorites in the West. The Chiefs are fading, the Raiders are owned by Al Davis, and the Broncos can't beat us without Ed Hochuli. Are the Broncos contenders? Did they call Travis Henry, father to 11 children, the 'Trojan Horse?'"

The Broncos had been an afterthought in the AFC West race until last week's win over the Chiefs. Now, with a win over the Chargers, they could possibly pull to within a game of the division lead.

"I can understand Todd Haley's refusal to shake my hand," Josh McDaniels said. "They didn't touch us all game; why start then?"

Chargers win, 38-21.

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 9:35 PM | Comments (0)

College Basketball Odds and Ends

I know I start off about six of my columns each year with, "This is my favorite time of the year!" But dear readers, I'm just enthusiastic about life, and this is yet another one of those favorite-time-of-the-year periods: when college football and college basketball converge.

We're already seeing upsets start to creep in in basketball, such as South Dakota State's victory over Iowa, and it continues a trend I have been keeping an eye on: the — what do you call resurgence that happens the first time? Surgence? — of the Dakotas in college sports.

As recently as 2003, their were no Dakota-based teams in D1. Now there are four: North Dakota, North Dakota State, South Dakota, and South Dakota State. Three of the four have knocked off a big opponent in football, basketball, or both. Besides SDSU's win over Iowa, South Dakota has beaten Minnesota in football. But North Dakota State has collected the most scalps, having defeated Marquette and Wisconsin in basketball and Minnesota in football. In fact, Minnesota's football team is hilariously just 2-2 against Dakotan opponents since 2006, with those wins coming by 1 and 3 points.

The only omission is North Dakota, but you needn't feel sorry for them. They may not have a big football or basketball victory, but they are big powers in college hockey, making 18 trips to the Frozen Four and winning seven. Additionally, their logo looks like the Chicago Blackhawks' younger cousin, the Art History major.

In a basketball game I did watch, South Dakota (they're the Coyotes) were trying to knock off one of the lower-hanging fruits of major college basketball, Nebraska. They came up just short, losing by 8, but it was an entertaining game. Nebraska has a sophomore from Germany they are excited about, Christian Standhardinger.

Now, since Nebraska is joining the Big Ten next year, and I probably watch more Big Ten basketball than any other conference save the MAC, I will be hearing Standhardinger's name a lot, which gives me plenty of time to concoct the perfect insulting nickname such a fertile valley as "Standhardinger" gives us.

But in looking at his bio on the Nebraska basketball home page, he's he's actually half-German, half-Filipino. I know, I know. Yet another Filipino-German basketball player in the corn belt! But is it nice knowing that there's a student prowling the halls of Nebraska who looks like Apolo Anton Ohno, but sounds like Ranier Wolfcastle.

In other college basketball news, Nike Labs U, I mean Oregon, unveiled their new court. Feast your eyes on this bad boy.

Although I appreciate garishness in sports more than most, I reflexively hate any aesthetic Oregon tries, and so I did with this, especially when I thought that which outlined the court is what you find outside a Eugene frat house when a pledge has too much to drink, but no, those are trees.

And ... I like it. I do. I think more schools can make a theme out of their entire court background. Boise State, what about a blue court to go along with the blue turf? A background of corn for Nebraska? A lane and key at Notre Dame made from the leprechaun logo's fist? Coach K's face writ large on Coach K Court?

Finally, I leave you with three big games for this weekend:

Kentucky at Portland, Friday 10:30 EST, ESPNU

I'm not quite sure how Portland managed to get Kentucky to come all the way across the country for this one, but they did, and it will be a chance for the Pilots to get a big win and take their turn as The Team Most Likely to Challenge Gonzaga in the WCC.

Wisconsin at UNLV, Saturday 7 PM EST, Versus

In football this year and now in basketball, Wisconsin also goes out West to let the Rebels play host. In that one, the Badgers won by 20. I think they win this one, too, by about half that.

LSU vs. Memphis at Tupelo, Mississippi, 5PM EST, CBS College Sports

Tupelo! You may be asking why these once-proud programs trying to make a resurgence to their glory days of yonder are playing in Elvis' hometown. Well, keep wondering, because my researching skills have failed me.

Posted by Kevin Beane at 12:35 PM | Comments (1)

November 17, 2010

Crawford to Yankees?

Besides Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford is possibly the most talented free agent on the market. He is near the top in stolen bases every year, he can hit above .300, and he is young. No team doubts the difference that Crawford can make.

Thus far, Crawford has seen some interest thrown his way. The Angels seem to be the leading contender in the contest, with the Red Sox also in the mix. However, while these teams have talked about hauling in the left-handed outfielder, the future doesn't look too bright for these negotiations. That's not good for Crawford, or for these teams.

Baseball-Reference.com has released estimated payrolls for the 2011 season. It accounts for currently signed players, estimated arbitration deals, and other in-club obligations. These numbers will allow us to see how much money each team has available, and we can gauge how that team will act in the free agent market.

Let's begin with the leading contender, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. They have long been a team that runs, and runs, and runs. They love speed and athleticism, and Crawford fits that mold more than anyone in baseball.

According to the Baseball-Reference.com estimations, the Angels will have a payroll of $125 million in 2011. Over the past three years, they have averaged a salary of $110 million. As it stands, the Angels will be increasing their salary to an all-time franchise high, and it is unlikely that they will be able to add to that total with the $20-$25 million that Crawford is expected to make.

Next is the Boston Red Sox. They, too, would love to bring in Crawford. The Boston outfield has been has been extremely uncertain for the past few years, and Crawford would provide a spark in Fenway Park for years to come.

But, like the Angels, the Red Sox have a problem. They have an estimated payroll of $137 million in 2011, just $6 million below their three-year average. In Boston's case, they would need to come up with around $20 million to pay for Crawford, and that is not taking into account other free agents the Red Sox have targeted, such as Jayson Werth.

There are two possible situations that can arise from this situation: (a) Crawford takes a pay-cut from either the Red Sox or Angels, who will be able to find some extra cash, or (b) Crawford takes an even bigger pay-cut from a team like the Yankees, who will wait until Crawford sees no other bidders.

The second scenario is the most likely one. As it is, no team besides the Angels, Red Sox, or Yankees even pretends they can afford to bid on Crawford. Even if the Angels or Red Sox can find some extra cash, they will still be competing with the Yankees, who have an estimated 2011 payroll that is $48 million less than their three-year average.

The Yankees are likely going to give Lee around $30 million, and they will still have around $18 million less. That is less than Crawford expects to make, but it looks to be the most money available. It will be an interesting ride, but either way, it appears that Crawford can expect a little less than he would have hoped for.

Posted by Jess Coleman at 4:04 PM | Comments (0)

NASCAR Top 10 Power Rankings: Week 35

Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Denny Hamlin — Hamlin lead 190 of 312 laps at Phoenix, but a late stop for fuel cost him a chance at the win and nearly cost him the points lead. He entered the race with a 33-point lead, and after finishing 12th, left with a 15-point edge over Jimmie Johnson.

"Points can evaporate as quickly as gas," Hamlin said. "But you can tell Jimmie Johnson that Denny Hamlin isn't 'going away.' He can say that the magnitude of the situation got to me, but the truth is, the only pressure I was feeling was fuel pressure."

2. Jimmie Johnson — Johnson finished fifth in the Kobalt Tools 500, conserving fuel over the final laps, and cut deeply into the points lead of Denny Hamlin, who had to pit for fuel with 14 laps remaining. With one race remaining, Johnson trails Hamlin by 15 points.

"Hamlin's 33-point lead is now 15 points," Johnson said. "And speaking of things that were 'cut in half,' the '48' pit crew became the '24' pit crew in Phoenix.

This is the closest Chase For the Cup in history with one race to go. There are three drivers with a shot at the Cup, which is three times what I'm used to. This Chase may be different from all the others, in that someone may actually get 'caught.'"

3. Kevin Harvick — Harvick bounced back from a pit mishap to score a sixth at Phoenix, and positioned himself for a decent shot for the Sprint Cup championship. Harvick is 46 points behind Denny Hamlin, and will need a solid finish at Homestead, along with trouble for Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson, for an unlikely championship.

"I have no problem wishing ill will on others," Harvick said. "But, as Hamlin can attest, I've even better at directing ill-will toward others.

Hamlin and Johnson have proven to have the most formidable cars this season, race in and race out. But there's something that travels even faster than they do, and that's bad news."

4. Carl Edwards — Edwards ended a 70-race winless streak, taking the Kobalt Tools 500 for his first Sprint Cup win since Homestead in 2008. Edwards also won Saturday's Nationwide Wypall 200 to complete the weekend sweep. He is now fourth in the Sprint Cup standings, 264 out of first.

"Kyle Busch may have done it first with his double-barreled middle finger display last week in Texas," Edwards said. "But I'm proud to say I'm the latest to pull off the 'flippin' double.'"

5. Jeff Gordon — Gordon finished 11th at Phoenix, as handling issues handicapped his efforts and placed him on the verge of his second winless season. He is sixth in the point standings, 338 out of first.

"I'm not sure what I've lost more of this year," Gordon said. "Races, or respect for Jeff Burton. Once again, Chad Knaus has proven that he's the most astute crew chief in the business. On Johnson's final pit stop, Knaus immediately called for Johnson to conserve fuel, while the tactic didn't even cross Mike Ford's mind until much later. So, it seems I'm not the only Hendrick driver who's capable of beating someone else to the punch."

6. Matt Kenseth — Kenseth finished seventh in the Kobalt Tools 500, his second straight top-10 finish and 13th of the year. He is now fifth in the point standings, 311 out of first.

"Carl Edwards had a great week in Phoenix," Kenseth said. "He's got plenty to build on for next year. Greg Biffle's got two wins this year, but I believe he's ready for this year to be done. I am as well, but to a greater extent. Collectively, you can call us 'Done and Doner.'"

7. Kyle Busch — Busch finished an uneventful 13th at Phoenix, one week after being fined $25,000 for an obscene gesture directed at a NASCAR official at Texas. Busch now sits seventh in the points, 347 out of first.

"I guess paying $25,000 for a middle finger," Busch said, "is what's known as having your 'emotions in check.'"

8. Greg Biffle — Biffle benefitted from several frontrunners falling short on fuel to pull out a fourth-place finish at Phoenix, his ninth top-five of the year. He improved one spot in the Sprint Cup point standings to eighth, 349 out of first.

"This Chase For the Cup has had everything," Biffle said. "Trash talk, physical confrontations, flying car parts, and failed inspections. Or, as I like to say, 'a Carl Edwards career retrospective.'"

9. Joey Logano — Logano finished third at Phoenix, his 16th top-10 result and fifth consecutive finish of seventh or better.

"I've served notice that I'll be a force to contend with next year," Logano said. "Hopefully, I'll be a force to contend with in the Chase, and not out. My recent finishes make one thing crystal clear, though. And that's that I'll have a good view for the finish of this year's Chase."

10. Kurt Busch — Busch started third and finished ninth at Phoenix, posting his 17th top-10 finish of the year. He moved up one spot to tenth in the point standings, and trails Denny Hamlin by 429.

"This is shaping up to be the most exciting Chase finish in history," Busch said. "The anticipation is overwhelming. Everyone, and not just racing fans, is talking about Hamlin, Johnson, and Harvick. So much that even my ears are burning. And I lost all feeling in those years ago."

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 11:11 AM | Comments (0)

November 16, 2010

NFL Week 10 Power Rankings

Six Quick Hits

* I know I'm not the only one who cringed at NFL Network's Thursday night booth of Bob Papa, Matt Millen, and Joe Theismann, but they actually did a nice job. Less nice: cameras repeatedly missing the beginnings of plays.

* That said ... Theismann on Deion Sanders: "I think one of the top five greatest players ever to play the game." Cuckoo. He might be one of the top five greatest cornerbacks ever to play the game. Greatest players? Absurd.

* Nice final drive in that game by Matty Ice. The nickname may be derived from a crappy beer, but the "Ice" moniker is an apt description for the Falcons' cool-headed QB. Also, beautiful fingertip catch by Michael Jenkins. Atlanta doesn't win without that.

* In the NFL, going out of bounds doesn't stop the clock until the last two minutes of the first half or the last five minutes of the second. Someone has got to teach Troy Aikman this rule. On Sunday, he criticized Ahmad Bradshaw for staying in bounds with about 5:30 remaining. This isn't the first time Aikman has made this mistake while announcing a Giants game.

* I mostly rag on announcers, but how impressive was it that Ron Jaworski called a double-reverse right before it happened? Technically, it was a reverse off an end-around, but basically the same thing. Props, Jaws.

* One extra this week so I can complain that FOX parlayed the Meadowlands power outage into three plays of the Rams/Niners game and three commercial breaks. Later, we got the Cowboys running out the clock on a two-touchdown win instead of the finish of a contest that went into overtime. This is football, not a soap opera. Show a damn game.

***

I'm a stats guy. If you've ever read my column, I don't need to tell you that, but even if this is your first time here, it'll become obvious pretty quickly: there are numbers, ranks, averages all over this baby. But often, people don't seem to think beyond the statistics, and it leads them to untenable conclusions.

This weekend, Greg Gumbel told viewers that the Colts' Jacob Tamme has been "the best tight end in football the last couple weeks." Now, certainly Tamme has played well, but I just don't see how you can say that. For all the things he's done well, he's also missed a lot of catchable passes, and he doesn't really block at all. If you're looking at a stats sheet to tell you who the best TE was in Weeks 8 and 9, I suppose you would say Tamme. But if you were watching him play, you'd probably go with someone else.

Furthermore, I heard someone — probably Gumbel, I guess — mention something to the effect that Reggie Wayne was having the best season of his career. That's crazy. I think Wayne is having his worst season since at least 2005, probably since '03, before he even really became a star. Wayne's stats coming into this weekend were very good, maybe even the best of his career. But he's not getting open the way he did last year, he's dropping passes in a way that he never has, and he's not making the jaw-dropping catches that really became his trademark the last few seasons.

Last example, though there are tons more if you go beyond this one weekend and just the broadcasts I watched: Bill Cowher, with the oft-repeated lunacy that Brett Favre is "coming off his best year." Cowher was coaching in the mid-90s, when Favre won three straight MVP Awards, so this is just inexcusable. I'm such a stats guy that I'm going to use stats to show that Cowher was looking at the wrong stats; if that's the sort of thing that makes your eyes glaze over, I swear there are power rankings in here somewhere. Scroll down a little and you'll come to them.

Okay, let's take 1995, Favre's first MVP season, and 2009, and look at some basic numbers:

1995: 359-570, 4,413 yards, 38 TD, 13 INT, 99.5 rating
2009: 363-531, 4,202 yards, 33 TD, 7 INT, 107.2 rating

Statistically, I think those are about even. He passed more efficiently last year, but in '95, had more yards and more TDs, plus he was ahead in all the stats you don't see here, things like sacks and rushing. So the numbers are close. But in context, it's not close.

Those '95 stats were compiled against a much harder schedule (.492) than the '09 numbers (.441) — basically, add a win to every opponent the Vikings played last year, and see if the numbers come out the same, or turn both those games against the Lions into games against the Dolphins or somebody. But also, consider that in 1995, Green Bay's leading rusher was Edgar Bennett (1,067 yds, 3.4 avg, 3 TDs), so defenses played to stop the pass. In 2009, Favre was handing off to Adrian Peterson (1,383 yds, 4.4 avg, 18 TDs), so most defenses played to stop the run. That opened up a lot of things for Favre downfield, and it created play-action opportunities that weren't there in '95.

Of course, Favre also got to pass to Peterson. In 2009, he played with an all-pro RB, plus Sidney Rice, Percy Harvin, and Visanthe Shiancoe. That's an all-pro RB, Pro Bowl WR, Offensive Rookie of the Year, and a tight end who caught 56 passes for 11 touchdowns. He also had two offensive linemen in the Pro Bowl. Altogether, 10 Vikings made the Pro Bowl last season.

In '95, Favre was passing to Robert Brooks, Mark Chmura, and Bennett. His No. 2 wideout was Mark Ingram (39 rec, 469 yds, 3 TDs). Apart from Favre, the only Packers to make the Pro Bowl were defensive end Reggie White and Chmura, who got in because, well, someone had to. There were no great TEs in the NFC that year, but Chmura had decent numbers, so he got the nod. In this golden age of tight ends, Shiancoe didn't, but I don't see a whole lot of room between them.

One offensive teammate in the Pro Bowl (barely) in '95, versus five offensive teammates in '09, against a harder schedule, with defense geared to stopping the pass instead of the run? I don't think it's even close any more. But we still haven't adjusted these stats for 15 years of context. In 1995, the average passer rating was 77.5; last season, it was 81.2. Favre's rating in 2009 was higher, but that's partially because offensive play-calling has changed. He now throws shorter, high-percentage passes that result in more completions and fewer interceptions. In '95, Favre averaged 12.3 yards per completion, compared to 11.6 last year. In '95, 6.7% of his passes went for TDs, compared to 6.2% last year. That's the difference between playing quarterback in the mid-90s and late-00s.

Beyond all the numbers, though, consider this: you have a player who, in his perfect athletic prime, ages 26-28, won three MVP awards and a Super Bowl championship with a bunch of mostly anonymous teammates. Do you really want to suggest that this guy was better at age 40, putting up similar numbers with better teammates, a weaker schedule, and a more favorable environment for passing and play-calling? With apologies to Cowher — and he's certainly not the only one who's suggested this — it's ridiculous. Favre was mediocre in '08 and he's been terrible in 2010. To suggest that a guy whose prime was more than a decade ago suddenly had his best season at age 40, sandwiched between two pretty bad seasons, simply doesn't make sense.

But if you look at statistics like completion percentage or passer rating, and ignore all the others, you can reach conclusions like that — conclusions that don't make sense. I'm a stats guy. I love that we have numbers to help us quantify the obvious, identify the less obvious, and put accomplishments into context. But statistics are the beginning of this conversation, not the end of it. If all you're looking at is the numbers, you're missing a lot of what's important.

Now, on to the power rankings. Brackets indicate previous rank.

1. Philadelphia Eagles [4] — I moved them into this position on a provisional basis Sunday night, even before their Monday night demolition job. The Eagles had a 280-yard, 28-point first quarter. The Colts had a 256-yard, 23-point game this weekend. Mike Tirico: "Philadelphia has 5 touchdowns. The Redskins have run 12 plays." Michael Vick is playing by far the best football of his career. Can you imagine if this guy'd had a coach while he was in Atlanta?

2. Green Bay Packers [8] — I wrote last week that I believe they have a top-five quarterback and the best defense in the NFL. They've won three straight, tied with Atlanta and Oakland for the best current streak in the league. But the Raiders didn't play anyone good, and the Falcons, who have struggled on the road, won all three at home. Green Bay erased its demons against Minnesota, shut out the Jets, and got Wade Phillips fired. This team had a lot of injuries, and is presumably healthier coming out of the bye. I'm sure they'll lose their next two now that I've ranked them here, but the Packers are as hot as anyone right now.

3. Indianapolis Colts [5] — How does a great team finish +5 in turnovers and only win 23-17? Answer: it doesn't. The Colts aren't a great team. They might be if everyone was healthy, but a lot of important players are not, and right now the Colts are just a good team. Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis need to recapture their high level of play from earlier this year, and Pierre Garçon needs to play more like the hungry rookie from a D-III college and less like a guy who can afford to drop passes and keep his job. And a lot of people need to get healthy.

4. New England Patriots [10] — Opened up a 23-3 lead at Pittsburgh before a few late scores made it respectable. The Pats have won six of their last seven, and they should be favored at home against the Colts in Week 11. Indianapolis has taken four of the last five from New England, but the Colts are missing so many people right now, and the game is in Foxborough. New England's defense has poor stats, but good players. Defensive lineman Mike Wright is quietly playing very well.

5. New York Giants [1] — Eli Manning threw his 100th interception on Sunday. Since Eli made his first start on November 21, 2004, his brother Peyton has tossed 69 interceptions. Eli has thrown more INTs this year (13) than anyone but Brett Favre, and the Giants rank 30th in turnovers, better only than the Cardinals and Panthers. Ahmad Bradshaw is having a fine season (838 yds, 4.8 avg, 5 TDs, plus receiving), but he's fumbled five times and lost four of them.

When Joe Buck was discussing the unlikelihood of a 20-point New York comeback, noting that the team hadn't come back from that kind of deficit since 1950, Troy Aikman countered, "It's been a long time since the New York Giants have had the type of offensive play-makers they have now." I suspect Troy either has a different definition of "a long time" than I do, or suffered multiple concussions that affect his memory.* Didn't the Giants recently have Tiki Barber, Plaxico Burress, Amani Toomer, and Jeremy Shockey? And you'd rather have Bradshaw, Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham, and Kevin Boss? Look, Bradshaw and Nicks are having great seasons, and Manningham made some nice catches this weekend, but it's not close. The Giants had better offensive play-makers just a few years ago.

* Sorry for the concussion joke. Wait 'til you get to the Steelers section.

6. Atlanta Falcons [9] — Won three straight, all at home. Four of the next five are on the road, and that's when we'll find out whether this team is legitimately great or just pretty good. If it seemed like Millen couldn't shut up about Atlanta's offensive line play on Thursday night, there was good reason — that's where the game was won and lost. The Falcons' interior line — Justin Blalock, Todd McClure, and Harvey Dahl — is exceptional, and the defensive line just dictated to Baltimore's offense throughout. I was watching MLB Curtis Lofton, who is among the league leaders in tackles, as a potential Pro Bowler. Lofton was okay, but what I saw was guys like Jonathan Babineaux making plays to get Lofton free.

7. Baltimore Ravens [3] — In the last five games, the defense has limited Tom Brady and positively shredded Chad Henne, but gotten burned by Kyle Orton (314 yds, 104.5 rating), Ryan Fitzpatrick (382 yds, 106.9 rating), and Matt Ryan (316 yds, 101.8 rating). Baltimore still has a good defense, but tied for 23rd in both sacks and turnovers, it's not a great defense. Pass rush and cornerback play are the biggest problems. Jarret Johnson was terrific in '09, but he's been a non-factor this season.

8. Tennessee Titans [2] — Miserable passing performance in their first game with Randy Moss. Kerry Collins went 9/20 for 51 yards (50.2 passer rating) and left the game with a calf injury. Vince Young went 9/18 for 92 yards, with a TD and a pick (60.4 rating). Young also rushed for 15 yards, took two sacks, and lost a fumble. Collins' calf strain will keep him out for at least the immediate future, so the offense goes back to Young. Now is the time to stock your fantasy team with Titans. Next three weeks: Washington, Houston, Jacksonville. Those teams are all in the bottom five in total defense.

9. New Orleans Saints [11] — I love Drew Brees, but this is crazy. Brees leads the NFL in pass completions (261), but he's fourth in yards (2,587). Philip Rivers has 215 completions, 2,944 yards. It's not a mainstream stat, but I actually really like yards per completion as a sort of "degree of difficulty" gauge. Anyone can complete a five-yard swing pass, but those bombs downfield are high-risk plays. Brees' yds/comp is 9.9, which is incredibly low. Rivers is at 13.7, which leads the NFL. This is not an indictment of Brees so much as a reflection of the Saints' offense.

10. Pittsburgh Steelers [6] — Points allowed during Ben Roethlisberger's suspension: 9, 11, 13, 17. Points allowed since Big Ben returned to the lineup: 10, 22, 20, 21, 39. That's 12.5 without and 22.4 with, a huge, significant difference. Hines Ward missed most of Sunday's game with a "neck injury" that looked an awful lot like a concussion. But why shouldn't we trust someone who has admitted he lies to doctors about concussions? All I can say is, I can see some players or some teammates kind of questioning like, Well, it's just a concussion/neck injury. I've played with concussions/neck injuries before. I would go out there and play. This game is almost like a playoff game. It's almost a must-win. I guess Ward isn't really dedicated to the team, and cares more about Alzheimer's/dementia/depression/neck injuries than the team. Man, talk about soft.

11. New York Jets [7] — Second consecutive overtime win against a sub-.500 opponent. The Jets keep winning, and that's something, but realistically, when's the last time they looked really good? Week 4, pounding Buffalo? LaDainian Tomlinson is still playing well, but he's slowed down. Hopefully that's a coincidence rather than an indication that he can't keep up a high level of play for 16 games any more.

12. Oakland Raiders [12] — Teams that have won four of their last five games: Colts, Falcons, Giants, Jets, Patriots, Raiders. Oakland hasn't played anyone better than 5-4 this season. Next week: at 6-3 Pittsburgh. If the Raiders win, they make the top 10. Maybe the top 5.

13. San Diego Chargers [13] — Lots of good teams had byes in Week 10: Packers, Saints, Raiders, Chargers. That matters. Look how hard the players' union is fighting for two byes if the league moves to an 18-game schedule. Having a late bye can really help a team make a late-season playoff push, and all four of those teams are trying to do just that.

14. Cleveland Browns [14] — Holy crap, look at their schedule over the last five weeks: Falcons, Steelers, Saints, Patriots, Jets. I think 2-3 with an overtime loss is pretty heroic in context. Josh Cribbs dislocated four toes on his right foot but is expected to play in Week 11. Peyton Hillis is in the middle of an awesome season, but he has got to stop fumbling. So does Chansi Stuckey.

15. Miami Dolphins [15] — Down to their third-string quarterback. Chad Pennington is lost for the season, suffering his 3,017th shoulder injury Sunday and probably ending his career. Chad Henne is also out, with a knee injury, and Tyler Thigpen is expected to start in Week 11. Left tackle Jake Long was also hurt against Tennessee, and is likely to miss the next game. Bad timing for key injuries: this week's game, against Chicago, is on Thursday night.

16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers [21] — They're 6-3, with wins over — get ready — Cleveland, Carolina, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Arizona, and Carolina again. Those teams are a combined 14-40 (.259). If the Bucs make the playoffs, I am going to throw a damn hissyfit.

17. Chicago Bears [25] — You can't beat the master. Sure, Jay Cutler threw two interceptions this weekend, including one in the end zone, but Brett Favre topped that with three picks and a lost fumble in Chicago's 27-13 win. I hate to be one of those guys getting on Julius Peppers' jock, but what a difference he's made for this defense. Peppers commands double-teams and holds, so he hasn't put up big numbers, but he's created opportunities for guys like Israel Idonije (5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles) and helped the Bears improve from 21st in points allowed to second, an improvement of better than a touchdown per game (23.4 to 16.2). Brian Urlacher is obviously part of this, too, but Peppers has made the bigger difference.

18. San Francisco 49ers [24] — Started 0-5, won three of the last four. Troy Smith reportedly has captured the starting QB job from Alex Smith, and it's hard to think that's not the right move. Troy Smith did take an alarming number of sacks (5) in the overtime win against St. Louis, going 0/11 on third down, but for the season, he has a passer rating of 116.6, compared to 75.0 for Alex Smith. Neither of the 49ers' top two receivers are wideouts; the team is led by RB Frank Gore (41 rec) and TE Vernon Davis (37). Hopefully the new QB can coax some production out of his WRs. Checkdowns can get you out of trouble, but they don't win games.

19. Houston Texans [19] — Allowed 30 points for the fourth time this season, and haven't held anyone under 20. Who has the worst defense in the league? Houston ranks 31st in yardage, points, and first downs allowed, tied for last in turnovers. Several other teams have compelling cases, but that's my vote. My friend GG, whose fantasy team has basically been Philip Rivers and a prayer, won huge this week while Rivers was on a bye. Homegirl picked up David Garrard and Josh Scobee and rode a trio of Jaguars (MJD) to a big win. Facing Houston's defense = fantasy gold.

20. Kansas City Chiefs [16] — Dwayne Bowe, now tied for the league lead in receiving TDs (9), became the first Chief since Otis Taylor to reach the end zone five games in a row. Bowe showed promise his first two seasons, but this is his most explosive campaign, with career highs in yards per reception, yards per game, and touchdowns.

21. Washington Redskins [17] — Washington hasn't been done like that since the War of 1812. This team has allowed 96 points the last two weeks. Here's the short version of what's wrong. The offensive line is terrible, especially the right side. Stephon Heyer is a disaster. There's no pass rush. Fine, they've picked up a few sacks and Brian Orakpo draws a holding call once in a while. There's no consistent pressure. The safeties are awful in pass coverage. LaRon Landry, as many good plays as he's had this season, is an 88-yard touchdown pass waiting to happen. Kareem Moore is basically the same, except without the "good plays" part. The receiving game is Santana Moss and Chris Cooley and screens to RBs no one has heard of. They need another reliable wide receiver. Also, despite a bye, the coaching staff seemed totally unaware that they would be facing Vick on Monday night. I can't recall a worse defensive gameplan.

22. St. Louis Rams [22] — Tied for the NFL lead in sacks (28), tops in sack yardage (198). James Hall has 7.5, Chris Long 5.5. They played well enough to win in San Francisco, and almost did. Four of the Rams' five losses this season have been by 4 points or less: 4, 2, 1, 3.

23. Jacksonville Jaguars [23] — Michael Vick leads the NFL in passer rating. David Garrard is second (104.9). It helps that defenses concentrate on shutting down the ground game, but Garrard plays with an undistinguished receiving corps, and he's putting up big numbers. Garrard obviously is not in the same discussion as people like Peyton Manning and Philip Rivers, but he's a good player who seldom gets the credit he deserves.

24. Detroit Lions [20] — They've played a tough schedule (.531) and outscored their opponents (+13). I want to rank them highly, but they just seem pathologically unable to hold leads or win close games. That's not a good team. Jahvid Best got off to a nice start, but he's averaging 3.1 yards per carry. Kevin Smith (3.9) might be a better option.

25. Minnesota Vikings [18] — Favre, who leads the NFL with 16 interceptions, threw the 30th regular-season pick-6 of his career this weekend. Adrian Peterson is second in the NFL in rushing, and the Vikings rank 27th in points per game. Here's a really weird stat: the Vikings are actually 0-3 when Peterson carries at least 25 times. Husain Abdullah intercepted 2 passes on Sunday.

26. Seattle Seahawks [26] — Since the bye, the Seahawks are 3-2 ... and have been outscored by 31 points. Last year, the 'Hawks snagged Aaron Curry with the fourth pick in the draft, and while it might not be fair to label Curry a disappointment, he hasn't yet capitalized on his potential. Curry had perhaps the best game of his pro career in Week 10, leading Seattle in tackles, with two sacks and a forced fumble. Lions castoff Mike Williams also had a big game, 11 receptions for 145 yards.

27. Denver Broncos [28] — Twenty-point win coming off the bye. What more is there to say about Kyle Orton and Brandon Lloyd? This week, a little praise for linebacker Mario Haggan, who had three sacks and forced a fumble against Kansas City.

28. Cincinnati Bengals [27] — Longest losing streak in the league, six straight. I don't know if I've ever seen a team more consistently raise its play in garbage time, when the outcome of the game is already decided. Carson Palmer has a 65.5 passer rating when leading or tied, 92.5 when trailing.

29. Dallas Cowboys [30] — It took me a long time to drop them this low, and it will take more than a week for them to work their way back up. I've been known to suggest pretty wild conspiracy theories from time to time, so I might as well let fly with another. What are the chances that Jason Garrett, as offensive coordinator, deliberately sabotaged the offense to get Wade Phillips fired so he could become head coach?

30. Buffalo Bills [31] — C.J. Spiller got hurt, so Fred Jackson rushed for 133 yards and a TD, with 6 catches for 37 yards and another TD. I still don't understand why a team that had Marshawn Lynch and Jackson used its first draft pick on a running back. This team has a lot of holes.

31. Arizona Cardinals [29] — There are good players on this defense: Calais Campbell, Darnell Dockett, Joey Porter, Kerry Rhodes, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Adrian Wilson ... and yet, the Cardinals allow over 400 yards a game and have given up 261 points, worst in the NFL. They miss Karlos Dansby, and they miss an offense that could keep them off the field.

32. Carolina Panthers [32] — Reserve RB Mike Goodson played well in relief of ... well, a lot of people, and Jimmy Clausen finished without any turnovers. But the defense stepped up to extend their losing streak, getting owned both in the air and on the ground. The Panthers have been outscored by over 100 points this season. Here's something weird: the only opponent not to score at least 20 points against Carolina this year was the New Orleans Saints, who won 16-14.

Posted by Brad Oremland at 7:46 PM | Comments (0)

Square Pegs and Round Holes

Last week, the AP Preseason All-American teams came out. So if you are keeping score, from the time Gordon Heyward's title-game half-courter missed to the start of this season, games played: zero; AP All-American teams: one. The lowlight, as happens from time to time, was North Carolina's Harrison Barnes' recognition as a First Team All-American ... days before he ever played against live college opposition.

This is, of course, no fault of Barnes'; all he did was play well enough in high school to inspire the hype. And as much as we might be tempted to excoriate the writers, they are merely using recent history as their guide. If we fast forwarded to March, would it shock you to learn Barnes (or another newcomer) was one of the five best players in this country? The writers simply acknowledged that freshmen now emerge not only as players on the college basketball scene, but often as key pieces.

And that brings us to the premise itself. Beyond being a display of faux-credibility for the AP, is there any point in voting for preseason awards at this point? Of course not. An award, by definition, is bestowed for performance or merit. It is recognition, essentially, that "you did this well." So recognizing players for what they might do in the future on a platform they have never been on before is laughable. A process that once had merit has been rendered obsolete by new realities.

This is the conundrum the NCAA faces. College basketball has sold its soul to David Stern and realized a fairly lucrative return in the process. The NBA's age limit rule redirected the stream of young talent back to the NCAA riverbed, but it has washed away any academic credibility the body's student athletes had in the process.

College basketball is now a glorified AAU league. Core players flow in and out of programs so quickly that traditional team building is virtually impossible. Each summer, teams scramble to restock their pantries with another season's worth of groceries, well aware that few of those items will be around to mix with next week's. Only the poorest are growing anything in their own gardens.

Unfortunately, the motivations of all parties point to this system persisting. The NBA enacted the age limit to protect its teams from having to scout and draft high school players. Even just one year of forced college basketball acts as an excellent filter to determine a prospect's viability. In exchange, the NCAA gleefully accepts one-and-dones like a cartel middleman taking his cut.

And then there are the players. They did not have any say in the age limit rule, and if they were to be organized somehow, they would certainly oppose it. But the NCAA's dirtiest secret deters any kind of prep revolution. If college basketball has become an extension of AAU ball, what is to stop Nike, Adidas, or anyone else from starting a league for 18-year-olds to showcase their skills (not to mention develop relationships with the apparel companies) before they are eligible for the NBA? One word: boosters.

For whatever reason, wealthy backers of major programs care deeply whether their schools win in March. But it is not only the depths of their passion they are willing to plumb for these programs; more essentially, it is their bank accounts. I will pass on making irresponsible unproven claims about specific schools, but there is so much smoke around most college basketball hotbeds and high profile recruits that only the most blindly devout would deny the blazing wildfires of corruption raging around the country.

So as the college basketball season cranks into full swing this week, enjoy that McDonald's All-Americans enroll in your school and feign engagement in scholarship. It makes for great television, and I will be doing the same right alongside. But can we stop pretending that, at the sport's highest levels, the entire production is anything nobler than a draft lottery audition?

Corrie Trouw is the founder of Pigskinology.com.

Posted by Corrie Trouw at 11:04 AM | Comments (0)

November 15, 2010

Auburn's Win is College Football's Loss

Vince Lombardi said winning isn't everything, it's the only thing.

That quote has stuck in my head as the Cam Newton controversy has swirled around the college football world.

If you're a sports fan, you know the story. And, according to the Birmingham News, it appears that Newton's father, Cecil, admitted to the possibilities of solicitation, but said the rest of his family didn't know and neither did Auburn.

The school creed asks to "believe in Auburn." Excuse me if I don't.

Do I believe John Bond and Mississippi State? Absolutely. For one, Bond has nothing to gain with this issue. Second, MSU sent warning to the SEC in January. They, nor anyone else at the time, were aware that Newton would be a one-man force; the best player in college football at the moment. Third, since this story broke, Bond's story, as well as State's, have not wavered. Cecil Newton and Kenny Rogers, however, have made some changes here and there.

Take an objective view here: If Guy A and Guy B tell you two different sides to a story, but Guy B changes his story around a couple of days later, which guy are you most likely to believe?

Meanwhile, on the Plains, the Tiger athletic department has gone from a vigorous defense to a complete sea of no comments. Auburn's take is simple: they've won with Cam, they know they can't win without Cam, so rain or shine, they're playing Cam all the way through.

When you hire a law professor from heated rival Alabama, that's a sign they're willing to fight until the end, even if the NCAA rules state otherwise. They're going to thumb their nose at the rest of the college football world. Ineligible or not; they're going with the man that got them there.

This bravado could bite them, but not before thousands of division title shirts and hats are sold. Add conference title and possible BCS title souvenirs and Auburn knows it's worth risking the wrath of the NCAA to dance in the flames of scandal. They've done it time and time again.

Five times, Auburn has committed major NCAA violations. It seems as whenever Alabama wins a national title in football, Auburn gets caught with both hands in the cookie jar. Then again, even Auburn's national title, in 1957, came from the AP despite a bowl ban from Auburn being ... that's right ... on probation.

Auburn is "all in" all right. All in for themselves.

The NCAA rule isn't that opaque when it comes to solicitation. They've said it often this past week that "the solicitation of cash or benefits by a prospective student-athlete or another individual on his or her behalf is not allowed under NCAA rules."

So, sadly for college football, and for Cam Newton, even if you take Cecil's word that he was oblivious to the matter, Newton should be declared ineligible, a decision that haunts college football at its core. It puts a black cloud on the Heisman, whether Newton gets it, or whether he doesn't, when the nation knows he's in a class by himself on the field.

For football's sake, Auburn needs to lose. The less awards bestowed upon the Tigers this year, the less chance for an epic catastrophe to hit the football world. Sure, it won't pull Auburn out of the fire, but at least we'd assure ourselves of not seeing the national title pulled this season.

Had Georgia hung on to that 14-point lead, at least this issue would've lost some fire. There would have been a sigh amongst the football purists. At least, if anything, controversies surrounding the BCS title game would've circled around making the choice between TCU and Boise and not something as sickening as this.

We're used to the former. The latter paints an awful picture.

Posted by Jean Neuberger at 6:24 PM | Comments (19)

The NBA's Empire Mentality

We're now into the third full season since Memphis Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace traded Pau Gasol to the Los Angeles Lakers, and the general consensus coming in was that things aren't so bad. The lopsided deal back in February of 2008 seems to have found equilibrium, with both sides claiming benefits. But then the Lakers ran off eight straight wins to open this season when a championship hangover was in order, while the Grizzlies are still searching for an identity at 4-7. The wounds have been re-opened, and this trade now needs to be re-examined for the sham it was.

Everyone remembers the panic wave that washed over the NBA when Memphis sent its franchise player to Hollywood. Former Grizzlies coach Mike Fratello wasted no time in criticizing the trade, and San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich opened the floodgates when he called Wallace's actions "beyond comprehension." Wallace himself would later acknowledge it as "the gift that never goes away."

But last winter, it started to. Prevailing thought was that the Grizzlies had actually gotten some value of their own out of the deal. Even Popovich admitted it "has served them well in the future, which is now." Pundits had taken a valium on the matter, and it was stamped a "win-win."

Yet, almost three years later, the jury is still deliberating that whole Grizzlies improvement thing. The initial body snatch sent Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, and the retired Aaron McKie to Memphis for Gasol. Brown, the player Steven A. Smith called a "bona fide scrub," was the centerpiece in this payroll dumping scheme. The only game Kwame ever had was an expiring overpriced contract. His most endearing attribute was that he wouldn't be in Memphis the following year.

Nor, as it happens, would the others. For Crittenton, these were the days before the undiscovered star landed his role opposite Gilbert Arenas in the 2010 adaption of How the West Was Won. Players who carry large guns into the locker room are usually compensating for other inadequacies, and in Crittendon's case it was a head for high-stakes poker. McKie was living out his retirement in a volunteer job when Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak, who never renounced rights to the ex-Laker, put him back on the payroll only to throw him in as a book-balancing measure. He was back off the payroll three months later.

Lakers apologists point to the second infusion of bodies this trade brought the Grizzlies, starting with Pau's younger brother, Marc. Dumpy, unproven, and not even in the country at the time, he was a generic equivalent that happened to share the name brand. He has since proven some worth as a double-double threat, but baby brothers can't always bring it like the original. Just ask Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Memphis soon dealt Crittenton to Washington to reacquire their own 2010 first-round pick. This landed them Xavier Henry, but only after a lengthy holdout by the former Kansas guard. The Grizzlies also picked up the Lakers' first round picks in 2008 and 2010. The former turned out to be the weed-toking Darrell Arthur; the latter was only a slight up tick over the Grizzlies' own second-rounder, which they gave up in the trade.

The biggest Grizzlies plus seems to have come from salary cap parole. The spare cash lying around after Brown came off the books gave Wallace the ability to take on swingman Zach Randolf's contract after his acquisition from the Clippers. But that's not all. In the broadest distribution of wealth since Jesus' five fish and twelve loaves, nine of Memphis' 15 current roster spots have been attributed to money freed up by Brown. There's even enough left over to finish the Interstate 22 connector into Memphis. Looks like that Wallace gift that never goes away has become one that keeps on giving.

Except, of course, on the court.

At best, this deal made a bad team mediocre, and the NBA is full of mediocre teams. The Grizzlies have gone 77-134 since trading Gasol, and caught only a faint whiff of the postseason last year. This was never about them getting better. It was always about returning the Lakers to glory.

That is, after all, what Commissioner David Stern and the NBA wants. It's good for the league when Boston and Los Angeles are winning, even more so when they're facing each other in the Finals. These two franchises have combined for more than half — 33 of 64 — of all championships since the NBA came into existence. None of the other three major sports comes close to that concentration of dominance. But by 2007, both were orbiting aimlessly like a cigarette butt about to be flushed down the toilet.

The Celtics finished the 2006-07 season at 24-58, missing the playoffs for the second straight year. The Lakers went 42-40 and were one-and-done for the second straight year. Worse, both Paul Pierce and Kobe Bryant seemed ready for a change of venues by season's end. That's when Boston miraculously came by Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, with Timberwolves' GM Kevin McHale being the key tool. Part of the equation was in place; the Celtics were a league-dominant 36-8 on February 1, 2008 when the Lakers got their guy.

Gasol balanced the equation immediately: the Lakers closed on a 29-9 run and got to the Finals against the C's. They've gone on to win the last two championships, and their stranglehold on the Larry O'Brien doesn't look to weaken any season too soon. "Pau Gasol changed the landscape of basketball in the NBA," Popovich said last December in a statement of the obvious.

Again, more than the other three major sports, NBA talent invariably migrates to major markets. Stars just don't stay in Toronto and Cleveland long enough to win titles. There are no Peyton Mannings or Sidney Crosbys or Tim Lincecums in pro basketball, and the league turns a paler shade of vanilla with each passing season. The days of San Antonio or their ilk winning it all are long gone. It's funny how we so readily accept the "win-win" label when it applies to Boston and Los Angeles loading up, but damn those Miami Heat for trying their own creative twist to combat these empires.

As custodians of non-coastal superstars, McHale and Wallace owed a fiduciary responsibility to their respective markets, to the league, and to the fans. Both let us down. Each should look at himself in the mirror for his part in proliferating this empire mentality that exists in pro basketball, but as fans we too should look at ourselves for embracing it.

Posted by Bob Ekstrom at 4:18 PM | Comments (1)

November 14, 2010

The Wrong Expansion For Baseball

"We try every way we can do to kill this game," Sparky Anderson once intoned, "but for some reason, nothing nobody does never hurts it." The master of the double negative may have to change his opinion sooner than you think.

Baseball has been hurt enough since Anderson uncorked that ungrammatical but sage observation — by actual or alleged performance enhancing substances, by its government's continuing demurral on full-fledged replay where championships are concerned, by its inability to convince youthful African-Americans today that the sport Jackie Robinson and company integrated so magnificently in the first place is still a sport of relevance, aspiration, and respect to them.

But the Major League Baseball Players Association, a union which is very, very good when it's good — and very, very bad when it's bad — threatens to succumb to one of the least attractive among those thoughts which have crept periodically from commissioner Bud Selig's mind. "There is sentiment among a substantial segment of players," says Michael Weiner, the still-seasoning new executive director of the MLBPA, approaching the first World Series to be played during his leadership, "to consider expanding the playoffs."

Selig a month earlier spoke on the subject. "We have less teams than any other sport," he purred. "We certainly haven't abused anything."

That's what you think, Commissioner. And that's what the players' union threatens to be thinking.

The National Football League invites a little more than a third of its teams into its postseason. The National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League invite a little more than half its teams into their postseasons. The thinking now, if you can call it that, is that baseball could expand the division series — an innovation of dubious merit to begin with, more often than not — to a best-of-seven, following the path of the League Championship Series which expanded from best-of-five to best-of-seven in 1985.

"There are some players who have expressed an interest in that, as well," Weiner says. "Obviously, you've got to look at everything together. But I think we can have a very healthy discussion with the commissioner's office when bargaining begins [in January] about these issues."

How about a very healthy discussion with people whose interest in baseball amounts to the common good not necessarily being the same thing as making money for the owners and/or the players, which seems to be the animating drive behind the subject Weiner revisits?

And, while we're at it, let's remember that one thought toward accommodating an expanded postseason involves a regular-season shortening. Good luck getting the owners on board with that. Not to mention some players. Adding wild card teams (one possible option) or expanding the postseason series (another option) would indeed impact upon them, if you take the word of Jeremy Affeldt, relief pitcher, San Francisco Giants. (As in, the world champion San Francisco Giants.)

To expand the postseason, Affeldt says, you would need indeed to shorten the regular season. "That's a lot of games and that's a long time," he continues. "Even in the playoffs now we're going potentially to November 5. Sometimes they think we're just robots, but you've got to think of potential injuries. On pitchers, that's a lot of throwing. Position players, some play every game all year. It just takes a toll on the body. If they're going to do that, they've got to think a lot about the ramifications."

Some thoughts have had it that baseball government could return the regular season to the 154 games each league played per season until 1961, when the American League expanded for the first time. (One of those expansion franchises is about to engage the Giants in the World Series.) Others ponder what sort of mischief might be inspired by that recession, considering what was provoked almost unwittingly by the original schedule expansion: Ford Frick's execrable attempt to dilute and demean what proved to be Roger Maris's breaking of Babe Ruth's single-season home run record.

(Frick's ignorance: Ruth himself, for whom Frick once made his way as a ghost writer, first broke the single season home run record by passing a man who played a 112-game season. You can look it up. Frick's hypocrisy: after he proclaimed any record broken after 154 games would be marked as a separate and perhaps unequal record, Sandy Koufax smashed the National League single-season strikeout record in 1961, formerly held by Christy Mathewson, and nobody — including Frick, who said nothing known on the matter — thought it worthy of dilution, demeaning, or detachment.)

Other thoughts (mine, though I'm sure I'm not alone) have it that baseball government could keep the 162-game season but make a few other adjustments. Adjustments such as eliminating the wild card. Such as allowing the division winner with the regular season's best record sit out round one while the other two division winners play a best-of-three. Such as the winner of that quick round meeting the aforesaid best-record division winner in a best-of-five League Championship Series. Such as thus restoring the World Series to its proper primacy.

This would require baseball government and baseball governed alike to adjust their thinking toward defining proper championship, or restoring its meaning. Toward pondering just how the television ratings might in fact improve if viewers thought they were watching a genuine championship contest. There is something amiss when a National Football League contest between two execrable teams out-rates an eagerly-anticipated showdown between Cliff Lee and the Empire Emeritus in the American League Championship Series.

(While we're at it, pondering, too, how to convince television government that there is far more to baseball than the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox — and I write as a Red Sox fan, mind you — while convincing baseball government its longtime habit of public self-denigration has gained it nothing while allowing sports of lesser athletic or aesthetic appeal to subsume its position.)

Look at the combatants in the World Series. One of them hadn't won a World Series in three tries since somewhere between the Army-McCarthy hearings and Joseph McCarthy's censure by the Senate. The other hadn't even gotten to a World Series since its birth as a franchise in 1961. When it was born in Washington, a city whose baseball legacy included long eras of futility, a couple of scattered pennants, one World Series championship in which the deciding game was won by a Hall of Fame starting pitcher (Walter Johnson) in relief, and one only half-exaggerated image: Washington — First in war, first in peace, and last in the American League.

This year's World Series combatants were cobblings from assorted and sundry home developments, and assorted and sundry other castoffs, misfits, and underratings. They also boast some of the most attractively talented pitching in this year's game, including but not necessarily limited to Game One's opposing marksmen, Cliff Lee and Tim Lincecum.

Those Rangers — they meant, at long enough last, that all four original expansion franchises have reached the World Series at least — were relentless, mostly modest, and preponderantly enthusiastic for the battle. Until they ran into the Giants, that is. And they were a far cry from the team whose now-former owner thought the key to solving its once-chronic pitching trouble, in which the staff suffered a ferocious case of run hemophilia, was to spend $250 million on ... a shortstop. (A shortstop, by the way, who grew up to play third base for the Yankees and look at strike three for game, set, and Ranger pennant.)

These Giants — a far cry from the last Giants World Series competitor, the 2002 crew whose domineering figure was a misanthrope with outsize talent and thrice that size a sense of privilege and entitlement, whose very presence turned the clubhouse into a zone of not-so-dynamic tension — were relentless, motley, and reveled in their layabout character(s) while playing baseball with the cheerful zing we used to find in sandlot kids or summer camp contests.

If you're interested in peculiar appeal, consider this: The Rangers' new principal owner could have finished the World Series as the only man to win a ring as a pitcher (with the Miracle Mets) and as an owner. (He may get the chance again sooner than you think: the Rangers look built for another few years' serious contention, give or take a few nips and tucks.) And one player (Bengie Molina, catcher) stood to win a World Series ring no matter who wins the showdown, since he played almost two-thirds of the season with the Giants before he was traded to the Rangers.

And baseball thinks the ways to solve baseball's image and primacy problems is to expand a postseason that teeters close enough to the brink of diluted meaning as it is. I won't object if you claim I had the first three words of the previous sentence wrong.

Beating the MLB odds is easy when you follow the baseball picks offered by top handicappers.

Posted by Jeff Kallman at 2:42 PM | Comments (5)

Theme Songs For Tennis Players

With the tennis season drawing to a close, I thought I would do something a little different. In 2002, I can remember attending the Davis Cup encounter between Great Britain and Sweden. Much of the day is a blur, yet one thing that has etched itself into my memory was the use of entrance music.

Great Britain strode onto the court to "Let Me Entertain You" by Robbie Williams, while Sweden, rather predictably, opted for an ABBA song. The song in question was "The Winner Takes it All."

The purpose of such a musical entrance, one can only assume, is to excite the crowd and help to create a better atmosphere. Alternatively, in the case of Sweden's choice of music, it was a warning to the British of what they would have by the end of the contest.

With this in mind, here are a few possibilities for tennis players' theme songs.

It is worth noting that the rest of the article shouldn't be taken too seriously. The contents of the article are supposed to be somewhat jovial. Anyone who forms an unnatural attachment with a sportsperson and/or can't allow jokes to be made at their expense shouldn't read any further.

Roger Federer: "The Nutcracker: Overture" by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Word on the street would have you believe that Roger Federer knows how to move his feet. Federer gracefully glides across the court, much like a ballet dancer, hence the ballet music when he strides onto court.

Furthermore, Federer's all-round elegance on and off the court blends nicely with the ambiance of classical music.

Alternatively ... how fitting. Roger Federer is boring. He has no personality whatsoever. Classical music is boring; where are the guitar solos? Federer and classical music are a match made in heaven.

Andy Murray: "New York State of Mind" by Billy Joel

No matter what time of year it is, pundits bang on about Murray's best chance of winning a major is at the U.S. Open. Could it be that is mind, for 50 weeks of the year, is elsewhere?

Andy Roddick: "O Fortuna (from Carmina Burana)" by Carl Orff

Roddick's lack of success could well be as result of luck deserting him at crucial moments. Or, more likely, Roddick lacks the talent to consistently compete with the big boys.

"O Ingenium."

Marat Safin: "Glory Days" by Bruce Springsteen

Perhaps, Marat can try these modified lyrics for size.

"When I was younger, I was a great tennis player
I could hit that yellow ball right past you
Now I'm only a fool boy
Yeah, I won some big matches
But it's all in the past now
I just spend all my time thinking about

Glory days
Well, they passed me by..."

Maria Sharapova/Ana Ivanovic: "She's Everything" by Brad Paisley

"She's everything I ever wanted
She's everything I need"

The deluded ramblings from much of the male population, whose sole reason for their interest in women's tennis has very little to do with tennis.

Posted by Luke Broadbent at 1:37 PM | Comments (0)

November 11, 2010

NFL Weekly Predictions: Week 10

Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.

Baltimore @ Atlanta (-1)

The NFL Network's first of several Thursday night games feature the NFC South-leading Falcons hosting the AFC North-leading Ravens in a game that is sure to be watched by millions ... online.

"That's right," Matt Ryan said. "NFL Network is slightly less available than Randy Moss for after-game interviews. Unlike Moss, though, their address never changes.

We know that preparation is the key when facing the Ravens. And that preparation includes intense film study, crisp practices, and face shields on all helmets. Now, we're undefeated at home, which makes us hospitable hosts. I won't let an alleged spitting incident cloud my sportsmanship, however. Win or lose, I'll shake each of the Ravens hands after the game, and graciously welcome them to the after-game party at Atlanta's Cobalt Lounge."

The Ravens stuffed the Dolphins 26-10 last week, and will look to physically outman the Falcons in the same fashion.

"All spitting accusations aside," Ray Lewis said, "this team seems to have its nasty streak back. I'm not sure whether Le'Ron McClain did our did not spit in Channing Crowder's face. I know Le'Ron's a black man, but I'll be damned if he's not the spitting image of Bill Romanowski.

Whatever the case, Channing knows not to run his mouth before he plays the Ravens. We shut him up, and if we could put that in a soup can, we'd call it 'Clam Crowder.'

Anyway, if Le'Ron did spit in Crowder's face, it was probably just an accident. Le'Ron probably just had a bad taste in his mouth. And, it seems, Crowder left with one."

Luckily for the Falcons, the forecast calls for no chance of precipitation, although there's a chance that someone will make it "rain" in one of Atlanta's fine stripping establishments. But the forecast does call for an 80% chance of Ed Reed intercepting Ryan to preserve a Ravens win.

Baltimore wins, 20-16.

Tennessee @ Miami (+1)

The Titans assumed a share of the AFC South during their bye week, thanks to Indianapolis' loss in Philadelphia. It capped an eventful week in Nashville, as the Titans snatched Randy Moss off waivers after the Vikings released the enigmatic wide receiver.

"Indeed," Jeff Fisher said, "we used our bye week wisely. Not only did we rest our weary legs, but we also added Moss to our team. And Randy finally got his bye week, but it's definitely not the first week in which he's done nothing.

Anyway, with three teams in one year, Moss is the NFL's version of a gypsy. That being said, this has to be the first time he's been accused of being a good 'speller.' But Minnesota's loss is our gain. Already, Moss' No. 84 Titans jerseys are selling like hotcakes. I'm just hoping that Randy, unlike hotcakes, doesn't 'go bad' after three weeks. If it does, that's okay. I know exactly what I'm getting into by signing Moss. Heck, Randy's got a tattoo across his chest that reads 'Results may vary.'"

Against the Titans, the Dolphins will be looking for their first home win this year. The big question is, "Can Miami win at home?" The bigger question, however, is "Did Baltimore's Le'Ron McClain spit in the face of Miami's Channing Crowder, as Crowder alleges happened in the Dolphins' 26-10 loss to the Ravens last week?"

"Apparently," said Tony Sparano, "both McClain and Crowder have trouble keeping their mouths shut. But since Channing is my player, I tend to believe his story. That makes McClain a dirty player. If you're a player who responds to routine trash talk by spitting, then you, son, have a problem. And that problem is called 'ass-ed reflux.'"

Chris Johnson rushes for 109 yards, and turns a short screen pass into a 57-yard touchdown jaunt in which he jukes Crowder, leaving the linebacker grasping for air and spitting in the wind.

Titans win, 26-20.

NY Jets @ Cleveland (+3)

The 3-5 Browns look to make it two-for-two against the AFC East's best, fresh off a 34-14 whipping of the division-leading Patriots, a game in which Browns head coach Eric Mangini got the best of his former boss, Bill Belichick.

"As awkward handshakes and uncomfortable midfield liaisons go," Mangini said, "that was one of my favorites. I'm just disappointed Belichick wouldn't look at me, eye to eye, man to Mangini, and congratulate me properly. There seems to be a great divide between us. No, I'm not talking about our relationship. I'm talking about our winning margin."

The Jets overcame a 20-10 fourth quarter deficit to stun the home-standing Lions 23-20 last week, a win which gave the Jets the outright lead in the AFC East but did little to support the idea that they are a dominant team. After a Week 7 bye week, the Jets have looked ordinary is a 9-0 loss to Green Bay and last Sunday's win.

"I refuse to badmouth this team," Rex Ryan said, "except on HBO. I still say we're the best team in the NFL. I may have graying hair and a mild case of dandruff, but that gives me the 'frosted flakes' to say 'They're great!' As you may know, my twin bother Rob is the defensive coordinator, and the sexier of the Ryan brothers. We both adhere to the defensive principles that our dad, Buddy, promoted during his 27 years in the league, although neither Rob nor I have yet to punch our offensive coordinator. We're fairly young, so there's still time to make Dad proud."

Rex Ryan nearly chokes when he realizes that he has to game plan for Peyton, but he recovers when he realizes it's Peyton Hillis, not Peyton Manning. Ryan is flabbergasted when he finds out that Hillis has 644 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, and even more stunned when Mark Sanchez tells him that Hillis has his own reality show on MTV, called "The Hillis." Ryan buys it, and promises to shut down Hillis and force Colt McCoy to beat the Jets.

New York wins, 23-13.

Cincinnati @ Indianapolis (-6)

The Bengals bring their traveling sideshow to Lucas Oil Stadium, where the 5-3 Colts look to bounce back after last week's 26-24 loss in Philadelphia. Peyton Manning was uncharacteristically subpar last week, throwing only 1 touchdown against 2 interceptions.

"Admittedly," Manning said, "I wasn't myself. Heck, even my parents mistook me for Eli. But I welcome the Bengals, especially Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco, to Indianapolis. I've been telling myself to watch The T. Ocho Show. Unfortunately, prior commitments, and the bounds of good taste, have prevented me from doing so. Sometimes, 'can't miss' TV becomes 'did miss' TV.

I have the utmost confidence in our defense stopping 'Batman and Robin.' And, in keeping with the 'Batman' theme, you can call me the 'Joker.' As such, there's no way the Cincy defense can read my, can read my, no they can't read my 'Joker' face."

The Bengals have dropped five straight games, and barring a string of miracles, their reign as AFC North champs will end. Cincinnati is 2-6, in last place in the division.

"I'll even admit," said Owens, "that it's sad when I'm the glue holding this team together. That's because I'm sticking it to all the teams that thought I was washed up, all 31 of them. I'm having a great year, so despite our record, I'm all smiles. Not so for Ochocinco. He's starting to pout, and his effort is lacking. He discussed the matter on his new social networking site, 'Quitter.' And you can check out our new tandem show on VH1, called 'Whine and Cheese.'"

Colts win, 27-24.

Houston @ Jacksonville (-1)

After a 4-2 start, the Texans have lost two-straight, and now face the 4-4 Jaguars in Jacksonville, as both teams need a win to keep pace with the division-leading Titans and Colts. Houston's major flaw lies in its pass defense, ranked last in the NFL, giving up 298 yards per game through the air. David Garrard will certainly try to target this fatal weakness.

"I hear the Texans owner just ordered a search of the Houston locker room," David Garrard said. "It appears Bob McNair was looking for some quality defensive backs. From what I gather, it was not a very thorough search. Like the Texans' pass defense, the search lacked 'coverage.'

Our owner, Wayne Weaver, ordered a similar shakedown, in search of illegal drugs in the Jacksonville facility. You can imagine everyone's surprise when a searcher exclaimed 'Jack pot!' Never fear. It was just a false alarm. They didn't find any marijuana in Jack Del Rio's office."

Del Rio is clean, and all the drug paraphernalia left Jacksonville with Matt Jones back in 2009, except for the "Matt Jones Official 'More Pounce For the Ounce" Mirror and Razor" set.

Jacksonville wins, 34-31.

Minnesota @ Chicago (+1)

Prior to Minnesota's 27-24 overtime win over the Cardinals, Brett Favre stated that the Viking's season could have a storybook ending. If the season unfolds like last Sunday's win over the Cardinals, then Favre could be right. He tossed 2 touchdown passes in the last four minutes to send the game into overtime, then led the Vikes downfield in overtime, and Ryan Longwell kicked the game winner.

"And you know how I like my storybook endings," Favre said. "With plenty of 'text.' But with my 446-yard, two-touchdown performance, my legendary status is still intact, and I may be the most popular man in Minnesota. Heck, if I could have foreseen this rise in popularity, I would have surely declared myself a candidate in the gubernatorial race. People all over the state are saying there's 'nobody like Brett Favre.' Here in our locker room, everyone's saying 'Nobody likes Brad Childress.' Of course, you've probably heard that Vikings owner Ziggy Wylf considered firing Childress after Childress released Randy Moss without consulting with Wylf. It's too bad Wylf could only 'consider it,' as opposed to being able to 'consider it done.'"

The Bears beat the Bills 22-19 in Toronto behind two touchdown passes from Jay Cutler. Cutler also rushed for 39 yards and committed only 1 turnover in probably what was his most efficient game this year. He'll need that same efficiency against a Vikings defense that will likely come after him with pressure from a defense that sacked Derek Anderson 6 times last week.

"Well, I'm no Derek Anderson," Cutler said. "And I'm sure Derek Anderson will be overjoyed to hear that. But I am efficient. In this offense, I provide all the drama. That's opposed to Minnesota, where it takes four to six players and one coach to provide all the drama. Of course, without Favre, there would be no drama. It's ironic that when he opened his fly, he opened Pandora's box, as well."

The Vikes and Bears duel in a game with a decisive Republican stamp, as both offenses keep things extremely conservative. Tied at 17 late in the forth, Favre overrides Childress' decision to take a knee on 3rd-and-8, and instead hits Percy Harvin for the first down, which leads to Ryan Longwell's game-winning field goal. In the locker room afterwards, Chilly berates Favre as he celebrates with his teammates. Favre accuses Childress of "male-pattern blandness,' then texts him a picture of his schlong.

Minnesota wins, 20-17.

Carolina @ Tampa Bay (-7)

After last week's 27-21 loss in Atlanta, it's clear that as far as the Buccaneers are concerned, the true "NFC's best" is not Tampa, but Detroit's Jahvid. Although they battled gamely, the Bucs eventually fell to the Falcons, repelled by an Atlanta goal-line stand that preserved the victory. Now, Tampa hosts the 1-7 Panthers, whom the Bucs beat 20-7 in Week 2.

"There's no reason to think we can't lick a Panther in Tampa," Raheem Morris said. "And there you have your 'Carolina Panther cheerleader quote of the day.'

Now, just because we lost doesn't mean I still can't speak confidently and carry a large, laminated play sheet. Because I will. I 'talk the talk'; Carolina will 'walk the plank.'"

The Panthers lost to the Bucs in Tampa 20-7 in Week 2, and seem even less likely to avenge that loss after last week's 34-3 loss to the Saints. In that game, Carolina lost Matt Moore for the season. Jimmy Clausen replaced him, but was yanked by John Fox in favor of third-stringer Tony Pike.

"You know what they say about a 'three-quarterback day?'" John Fox said. "It leads to a 'four-alarm fire.' All this talk in the NFL lately about head-hunting has me intrigued, because I'll certainly be in the job market next year, and a head hunter seems like a logical choice."

Not only are the Panthers unsettled at quarterback, but their running back situation is in shambles, as well. Both Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams are questionable, which means Clausen will have the hopes of Panther Nation riding on his gently sloping, slightly effeminate shoulders.

Tampa wins, 22-9.

Detroit @ Buffalo (-3)

The Bills are still winless after dropping a 22-19 decision to the Bears in Buffalo's annual game in Toronto. With the loss, the Bills joined the Broncos in the ranks of teams with losses in multiple countries.

"Historically," said Ryan Fitzpatrick, "the Bills are 0-3 in games in Canada, and 0-4 in Super Bowls. So that makes Buffalo 0-7 in games Canadians don't care about. We can't win one for the 'gipper,' nor can we win one for the 'hoser.'

But that could change with the addition of Shawne Merriman to our team. Merriman is no longer one of the most feared hitters in the NFL. Not by far. When Merriman gets on the field Sunday against the Lions, you can best believe knowledgeable Bills fans will point and exclaim 'Lite's out.'"

The Lions will face the Bills without Matthew Stafford, who injured his right shoulder late in Detroit's 23-20 overtime loss to the Jets last week. It was Stafford's second shoulder injury this season. The first, suffered in Week 1 against Chicago, cost him five games.

"We'll have to rely on Shaun Hill," said Jim Schwartz. "We all are confident he can do the job. The talent is there, and so is the experience. He's started five games this year. So he's been 'in there' more often than Stafford's shoulder."

The law of averages says the Bills should win. But that same law says Calvin Johnson should have a big game after only one catch for 13 yards last week.

Lions win 31-28 behind 2 touchdown catches from Johnson.

Kansas City @ Denver (+1)

Todd Haley described the Chiefs' 23-20 overtime loss to the Raiders as "one of the ugliest" he's ever been a part of. Kansas City was flagged 12 times for 100 yards, while the Raiders committed 15 for 140. Those and various other mistakes contributed to the Chiefs loss, which left them only a half-game ahead of the Raiders and one and a half up on the Chargers.

"Despite committing even more penalties than us," Todd Haley said, "the Raiders won and are now hot on our error-prone tails for the division lead. I guess it's true, as Sebastian Janikowski can verify, that sloppy seconds can still be very satisfying.

While our record at home is perfect, we're only 1-3 on the road. Apparently, we like to import not only submissive women to town, but submissive teams as well."

The struggling 2-6 Broncos return to action after a bye week, which followed their 24-16 loss to the 49ers in London.

"Although it's probably too late," Josh McDaniels said, "we're still trying to find our identity. We've searched high and low, mostly low, towards the bottom of the rankings, but to no avail. Are we the team that beat the Titans 26-20, or the team that lost to the Raiders 59-14? President Pat Bowlen is trying to figure me out, as well. Am I a fiery coach, or a 'fire-y' one?

Now, you may have heard that Tim Tebow is writing an inspirational memoir. No, it's not called Jump Pass Your Way to Success and Enlightenment. Actually, it's much more. Incorporating his love of church music, as well as incorporating the notoriety of explicit Brett Favre texts, it's going to be a book of 'hims.'"

Clearly, the Chiefs are a better team, but how will they respond after a tough road loss in the altitude of Invesco Field? By pounding the ball inside the tackles, and with a tough defense that hounds Kyle Orton. Plus a little trickery on special teams.

Chiefs win, 26-23.

Dallas @ NY Giants (-13½)

While debate still rages concerning who the NFC's best team is, the Cowboys have confirmed, verified, and endorsed that they are among, if not the, NFC's worst. And there will no doubt be more "L's" coming, allowing the 'Boys to clinch the title as the NFL's worst. Their latest debacle was last Sunday night's 45-7 beating in Green Bay that left the Cowboys at 1-7.

"It turns out," Jerry Jones said, "that my 'votes' of confidence in Wade Phillips were just simple cases of bad spelling on my part. What I meant to say were 'vetos' of confidence.

Now, last week I reiterated my previous reiterations that Wade Phillips is still the coach. However, after we fell down 28-0, I felt compelled to amend my statement that 'Wade Phillips won't be fired this year' to 'Wade Phillips won't be fired this game.'

True to my word, Phillips wasn't fired this year or this game. He was fired this instant. I put the 'So long' in 'What took you so long?'"

Up next for the poor Cowboys are the Giants, the NFC's hottest team with five straight wins, most in convincing fashion.

"I can certainly sympathize with Phillips," said Tom Coughlin. "I've dealt with rumors of my firing on a number of occasions. Mostly by flashing this shiny Super Bowl ring.

But don't cry for Phillips. Thanks to Jones, Wade's got quite a collection of 'last straws' with which to occupy his time. He should be better off, as should the Cowboys."

With choices such as Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham, and Steve Smith from which to select, it's tough for Manning to choose a favorite target. Not against the Cowboys, though. Manning hones in on Dallas cornerback Mike "Bullseye" Jenkins, who gets beaten repeatedly, and makes the cover of Monday's New York Post, accompanied by the headline "Weekend at 'Burn'-ies.'"

New York wins, 34-16.

Seattle @ Arizona (-3)

The Seahawks managed a paltry 7 points, 8 first downs, and 162 yards of total offense in last week's 41-7 loss to the Giants. Sounds awful, but in the crazy world of the NFC West, that's still good enough to keep you in first place! Seattle, at 4-4, is tied with St. Louis atop the West, so a win in Sunday's contest at University of Phoenix Stadium would keep the Seahawks on top.

"That's a heck of an incentive," said Pete Carroll. "And if my players now are any thing like my players were at USC, they're highly motivated by incentive."

The Cardinals could very well find themselves in first place with a win and a St. Louis loss in San Francisco. If that scenario plays out, there would be a logjam atop the West, with four teams knotted at 4-5, and the 49ers a game behind at 3-6.

"The NFC West is obviously a testament to parity," Ken Whisenhunt said. "And that's a fact that is sure to be 'parodied.' Heck, I'll start. It's clear that the West will only place one team in the playoffs. So, let it be known to sexually-active teens out there — the NFC West firmly supports 'berth' control."

Arizona wins, 27-21.

St. Louis @ San Francisco (-6)

The 2-6 49ers could play their way right back into the NFC West hunt with a win over the Rams, who are tied atop the division with a 4-4 record.

"Winning in England certainly boosted our confidence," Mike Singletary said. "Mine as well. Had we lost, I could have become the first NFL coach to be fired 30,000 feet over the Atlantic Ocean. That surely would have put a damper on my initiation to the 'Mile-High Club.'"

The Rams are one of the NFL's youngest teams, led on offense by 23-year-old Sam Bradford and on defense by 23-year-old James Laurinaitis.

"Sam's one-sixteenth Cherokee," said Laurinaitis. "I'm one-half Road Warrior. Add those fractions, and you get nine-sixteenths. Nine out of 16 would give us a 9-7 record, and I believe that would be good enough to win the West, by two, maybe three games."

Bradford throws for 2 scores, and Laurinaitis records 14 tackles, a sack, 2 passes defended, and 1 flying shoulder block.

Rams win, 23-22.

New England @ Pittsburgh (-4)

The Patriots suffered a humiliating 34-14 loss in Cleveland last week, and now must face another AFC North road team, this time the physical Steelers, 6-2 after Monday night's 27-21 win in Cincinnati. New England was held to 283 yards of total offense, and will have to be nearly perfect against a Pittsburgh defense ranked fourth in the NFL.

"The Patriots will take a tumble down in the power rankings," Ben Roethlisberger said. "Obviously, they aren't as good as they thought they were. Who hits harder? James Harrison? Or the Patriots, slapping themselves on the back? They'll find out Sunday night. Harrison may be lethal, but he's not against delivering a few 'Pats on their backs.'"

Tom Brady will need to be his sharpest against the Steelers, as the Pats will likely be forced to pass against a Pittsburgh defense notorious for its rush defense. He has promised to be up to the task.

"My team is like my hair," Brady said. "I have no problem putting them on my shoulders," Brady said. "We have a history with the Steelers. And, although I have no ill will towards Roethlisberger, I'd very much like to outplay him, and dedicate it to all the girls I've loved before. Ben and I are such different quarterbacks. His scrambling ability is uncanny. I'm more of a traditional pocket passer. I'm a loyal user of moisturizer; Ben's more of a lubricant kind of guy. I lock my bathroom doors from the inside; he from the outside. I wear suits; Ben settles them."

The Patriots should put up more of a fight than they did against the Browns, and Brady's savvy and leadership will keep them in the game. In the end, though, the Steelers defense makes a late fourth-quarter stop, as Troy Polamalu, unlike last Monday night, is the pancaker and not the pancakee, with a big hit on tight end Aaron Hernandez.

Steelers win, 24-23.

Philadelphia @ Washington (+3)

The 4-4 Redskins host the 5-3 Eagles in a key NFC West contest, and Donovan McNabb will be eager to impress his former team, particularly with his knowledge of Washington's two-minute offense, as well as his cardiovascular conditioning.

"As I've said before," McNabb said, "I think it's hilarious that there's the notion that I don't know the Redskins offense. Heck, I knew the Redskins' offense when I was in Philly! I'm still offended that I was replaced by Rex Grossman. We're worlds apart talent-wise. I may suck wind; Rex just sucks. Of course, he does more closely resemble John Elway than I."

Grossman is no Elway, nor is McNabb. And Shanahan is no Andy Reid.

Eagles win, 24-21.

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 6:46 PM | Comments (0)

Someone Tell Joakim Noah to Shut Up

I'm tired of players like Joakim Noah whining like little bitches about Kevin Garnett. Noah is the latest in the long line of NBA tattle-tales who has a beef with Garnett and I hate everything about it. Most especially, I hate that Noah just made me use the phrase tattle-tale about a grown adult.

He was bitching about the Celtics' big man to ESPN Chicago.

"He's a very mean guy ... where's the love? None at all. Ugly, too," Noah said.

Let's stop it right there. First, you can't say "where's the love?" and follow it with a dig, albeit a dig that is weaker than the American dollar (that's what you call "forcing a slightly-dated topical reference"). Second, there is only one person in this entire world that Joakim Noah can call ugly, and that's his mother. Because she has to be uglier than him.

Noah is hands-down the ugliest player in NBA history named Joakim. He should be at the forefront of the cause to judge a player by his personality traits alone, not by the abnormal shape of one's face and ridiculous hair. Joakim Noah looks like the product of his mother having sex with a genetically-disadvantaged troll doll.

There are dozens of Facebook groups dedicated to chronicling the ugliness of Joakim Noah, including one that proclaims him to be the "the best women's basketball player in the NBA."

This is even coming from a Joakim Noah guy. I like the way he plays and I think he's one of the best rebounders in basketball. But there's no questioning that he is not a handsome man. And I hate that I even had to type those words.

Apparently, Noah hates Garnett now even more because he is "mean" and it breaks Noah's ugly little heart because he had a Kevin Garnett poster in his room growing up.

"I was in admiration of the guy and he kind of shut me down ... he's not nice. I talk a lot of trash out there, but c'mon, be a little sensitive. Be sweet."

I really hope he was just trying to be dumb on purpose and everyone blew his comments out of proportion or this is the dumbest quote about the Garnett fiasco. How does Noah work in "sweet and sensitive" into his trash-talking?

"Hey, Garnett, you're old! But, you're aging with a delicate grace and you will forever be revered by players in future generations."

The NBA is interesting now in part because there are some rivalries, there are some bad guys. Sports needs that. Fans that pour their heart and soul into a game get irked when they see their star quarterback getting a little too friendly with his boys from the opposite team just seconds after a crushing loss.

Of course, guys will always have those relationships with players from other teams, it's just better when they fans don't have that constantly flaunted in their face. And it's even better when players openly disdain other teams/players. It makes rivalries more interesting. The only time Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Milquetoast said something interesting was when he said he hated the Pittsburgh Steelers. He didn't hate them because the Steelers hated him first and were meanie-heads, he hated them because they are a rival (and also endangered his career in his first playoff game).

Garnett is supposed to be mean to guys like Noah. They are opponents. He's a fading superstar, of course he's not going to gracefully hand over the reins to the next generation.

This cavalcade of pettiness towards Garnett is just boring now. I don't care if he called Charlie Villanueva a cancer patient. The only problem with that is it's not very clever trash-talk, but that's to be expected from a player that skipped college. I don't care if Joakim Noah's idol doesn't treat him with the same fondness of two old ladies in a bridge club.

It's better for the fans this way. And it's best for the fans when we can just forget how ugly Joakim Noah really is, rather than being confronted with it constantly when he judges other people's looks.

Posted by Mark Chalifoux at 12:45 PM | Comments (3)

November 10, 2010

NFL Week 9 Power Rankings

Five Quick Hits

* This weekend, the NFL and its television partners highlighted Veterans Day, including players with combat experience. One you've probably never heard of, but should have: All-Pro tackle Al Blozis.

* All anybody wants to talk about is the drama, but how about some love for Greg Camarillo, who probably saved Sunday's game for the Vikings by hustling and knocking the ball away from Kerry Rhodes for a touchback?

* As bad as their defense is, the Cardinals actually lead the NFL in defensive touchdowns (5). Should be 6.

* Brett Favre passed for over 400 yards in the overtime win, the first time he's topped 400 since December 1993. For all the records he holds, it's surprising to hear about things like this. Favre is now tied for 24th in 400-yard passing games. Actually, I think he's even a little lower than that, but it's tricky finding game data for players like Norm Van Brocklin and Johnny Unitas who had some big games before 1960.

* The record for 400-yard games: Dan Marino, 13. Peyton Manning will probably break a lot of records before his career is over, and he's second to Marino (8), but I actually don't think he's likely to catch him.

***

Philadelphia fans, what the hell is wrong with you?

Do you have no sense of shame? Do you have any conception of the difference between right and wrong, between what is and is not okay? How did it strike you as remotely acceptable to boo at the top of your lungs after Austin Collie's injury? I realize the penalty call was questionable, but there's another person lying on the field, completely motionless. A man's long-term health is in question, and you're concerned about a 15-yard penalty in a game? When you come up with priorities, how do you arrive at the conclusion that the 15 yards are more important?

I realize there are plenty of Eagle fans who didn't boo this weekend, even plenty who were probably appalled by the behavior of their compatriots. But to those of you who did boo ... what the hell is wrong with you?

As we get to the power rankings, this is your midseason reminder that we're looking at current power, a right-now ranking. Week 1 is ancient history; let's look at, if two teams met next weekend, who's better? Brackets show last week's rank.

1. New York Giants [2] — Average 401 yards per game on offense, 251 on defense. They average a 150-yard advantage compared to their opponents. The Giants have won five in a row, including some ugly blowouts, but there are some questions about this team. It hasn't faced quality opposition during the win streak, and injuries on the offensive line could become a problem. The Giants, and specifically their quarterback, Eli Manning, have had some consistency issues over the years, so that's worth keeping an eye on, too. This team has a terrific pass rush, but a week after the Seahawks yielded eight sacks against Oakland, the Giants registered none in the 41-7 victory this weekend.

2. Tennessee Titans [3] — Lead the NFL in points per game. They've scored at least 20 in seven of their eight games, failing to meet the mark only against Pittsburgh in Week 2. The Titans also have a good defense, with unheralded stars. Jason Babin and Dave Ball combine for 13 sacks. Michael Griffin has 4 interceptions. Middle linebacker Stephen Tulloch is among the league leaders in tackles, a player who has earned serious Pro Bowl consideration.

3. Baltimore Ravens [5] — Five wins in their last six games, with the loss in overtime against the Patriots. Beat the Dolphins easily, winning time of possession by 17 minutes, but settled for too many field goals. Baltimore went 1/7 in the red zone this week, kicking three field goals under 30 yards. It wasn't a big deal this time, but against stronger opponents — like New England — it's the difference between winning and losing. You need to get a couple of those into the end zone.

4. Philadelphia Eagles [11] — Sacked Peyton Manning three times and intercepted him twice, the most success any team has had against him this season. The defense as a whole has just been okay this season, above-average but not really special. Ernie Sims, though, has really been a positive addition. The stars of the show, however, are still Trent Cole (7 sacks) and Asante Samuel (5 INT). The Eagles have been flagged for double-digit penalties in consecutive games and are now 2nd in the NFL in penalty yardage (652). Philadelphia is a remarkable 12-0 after the bye under Andy Reid.

5. Indianapolis Colts [4] — For those who haven't already heard, Collie apparently suffered a concussion, but nothing that should impact his immediate health or ability to continue his career. With so many receivers going down, Jacob Tamme has stepped up and become a productive weapon. If he has somehow slipped through the cracks and is available in your fantasy league, he looks like a must-add right now. But Tamme is not Dallas Clark, and on Sunday he missed a couple passes Clark probably would have reeled in. The Colts are 2-3 on the road.

6. Pittsburgh Steelers [6] — Tied (with Philadelphia) for the best turnover differential in the league (+9). The AFC playoff picture is really crowded. Three divisions have very strong wild card contenders, and only two of them can qualify. Among the Jets and Patriots in the East, Colts and Titans in the South, and the Ravens and Steelers in the North, someone's getting left out. Maybe even two of them depending on what happens with the Chiefs, Chargers, and Raiders in the West. Pittsburgh has a critical game in Week 10, at home against the Pats. It's not a must-win, but the loser could have an uphill climb to the postseason. LT Max Starks, perhaps the team's best offensive lineman, will likely miss the remainder of the season with a neck injury.

7. New York Jets [7] — Allowed 20 points for the third time in four games, and easily could have lost to Detroit this weekend. Trevor Pryce should (but won't) be fined and suspended for diving at Jason Hanson's knees. The NFL's injury prevention program needs to be about more than P.R., and taking out someone's knees can destroy his athletic ability, end his season or career. Both teams were called for 11 penalties this weekend (22 total), resulting in over 200 penalty yards.

8. Green Bay Packers [10] — Best defense in the NFL. Only the Jets allow fewer points per game, but the Packers lead the NFL in sacks (28), interceptions (14), and opponents' passer rating (68.3). They've also scored 4 defensive touchdowns. Cris Collinsworth dissed Aaron Rodgers on Sunday night, although it sounded like he meant to compliment him: "Aaron Rodgers now is just becoming one of those elite quarterbacks in the league, maybe not up there yet with the top three, top four, but just behind them." Really? I don't see how you can rank Rodgers any lower than fourth or fifth at this point. The top group, in my mind, is Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Philip Rivers, Rodgers, and maybe Tom Brady. Rodgers is accurate, athletic, and has a fantastic quick release. I can't imagine who else might be ahead of him at this point. Maybe a healthy Tony Romo?

9. Atlanta Falcons [8] — Lost in Week 1, 6-1 since. A pair of long returns by Tampa's Micheal Spurlock made this week's game closer than it should have been, but the Falcons were clearly the superior team for the other 59½ minutes, with an advantage of 12 first downs, 8 minutes' time of possession, and almost 100 yards. Roddy White, who injured a knee last weekend, has indicated he'll be ready for the team's Thursday night matchup with Baltimore in Week 10.

10. New England Patriots [1] — They were a weak no. 1 last week ("I'm not happy about this"), so this shouldn't be interpreted as a diss of the Browns, or even a major re-evaluation of New England. The Browns dominated them in Week 9, and the Patriots' highlight may have been the versatility of Wes Welker, who kicked the second successful extra point of his career. Most fans first became aware of Welker in 2004, when he was a special teamer for the Dolphins, scoring on a kickoff return and filling in at kicker after Olindo Mare got hurt.

11. New Orleans Saints [15] — Lead the NFL in third down percentage (47.5%), and they've held three of the last four opponents to 10 points or less. But the Saints have played very probably the easiest schedule in the NFL this season. Their opponents are a combined 30-42, which is bad (.417), but are even worse than that record implies. It seems like the Week 5 loss to Arizona was a wake-up call for the sleepwalking Saints, who are 3-1 since, including a victory over the Steelers and a pair of serious beatdowns against division foes, the kinds of win New Orleans had last season.

12. Oakland Raiders [16] — Three straight wins. Remarkable game from rookie Jacoby Ford, who had 6 catches for 148 yards and scored on a kickoff return. The Raiders probably aren't a favorite to win the AFC West, because the Chiefs have an easy remaining schedule and the sky is the limit for San Diego, but Oakland is 3-0 in the division, with wins over all three other teams, and has to at least be considered a playoff contender at this point.

13. San Diego Chargers [14] — Look out, AFC, the Chargers are making their annual belated run. Even without Antonio Gates and despite getting another punt deflected, the Bolts went on the road and beat a decent Houston team. People talk about what Peyton Manning is doing without Dallas Clark, Austin Collie, and Anthony Gonzalez. How about what Rivers is doing minus Gates, Malcolm Floyd, and Legedu Naanee?

14. Cleveland Browns [20] — Consecutive wins over the Saints and Patriots, by a combined 33 points. In 2008, innumerable injuries forced Peyton Hillis, the 14th-string fullback for the Broncos, into a starring role. Hillis was effective, averaging 5.0 yards per carry and scoring 5 TDs in four starts at tailback. In '09, Hillis got a grand total of 13 carries, and the team traded him after the season. Now, the Broncos have the worst run game in the NFL (538 yds, 2.9 avg, 5 TD) and Hillis is a monster (644 yds, 4.8 avg, 7 TD). It's not like Hillis came out of nowhere as a runner. The Broncos saw what he was capable of as a rookie two years ago. But who needs ball-carriers when you can pass 50 times a game?

15. Miami Dolphins [9] — Maybe the hardest schedule in the league so far, with games against the Ravens, Steelers, Jets, Packers, and Patriots. Miami's offense is bad, 28th in points per game, with a season-high of just 23. Chad Henne has thrown an interception in six straight games, and is one of only four players with more INTs than TDs (Brett Favre, Matt Hasselbeck, Henne, Donovan McNabb) in at least 200 attempts this season.

16. Kansas City Chiefs [12] — The last undefeated team in the league this season, they're 2-3 since the bye. This is a legit defense, though. Rookie safety Eric Berry has already shown a lot of promise, and if not for Ndamukong Suh, would probably be the midseason front-runner for Defensive Rookie of the Year. Berry has two sacks, two interceptions, and is second on the team in solo tackles (34). The ever-improving Tamba Hali is tied for third in the NFL with 8 sacks. Kansas City is 4-0 at home, 1-3 on the road.

17. Washington Redskins [13] — Dropped four spots in their bye week, partly because I'm re-evaluating the team — they're +8 in turnovers, which is third-best in the NFL, but they're not good at anything else — but mostly because I elevated the Saints, Raiders, Chargers, and Browns after good performances. If Washington completes a season sweep of Philadelphia next Monday night, it'll jump right back up to the edge of the top 10.

18. Minnesota Vikings [19] — The inmates are running the asylum. I know they squeaked out a win over Arizona this week, but Brad Childress just has no meaningful authority. This is what happens when you have someone like Brett Favre or Terrell Owens on your team. If you had asked me in 2004, I never would have believed this, but at this point I'd rather have Owens in my locker room than Favre. They're basically the same person, but Favre is desperately trying to keep himself relevant, and Owens for now is largely letting his play speak for itself.

19. Houston Texans [17] — Best rushing team in the NFL. They're sixth in yards per game, but first in average per carry, touchdowns, and first down percentage. The Texans balance their excellence on the ground with perhaps the worst defense in the league, and Matt Schaub continues to disappoint after his excellent '09. He hasn't been terrible, but he hasn't been a standout, either. Arian Foster lost a TD to the Calvin Johnson Rule this week. I know it goes against every instinct we have as humans, but receivers have got to stop breaking their falls on these catches. Both hands on the ball, guys.

20. Detroit Lions [18] — Two wins in their last four, with the losses against the Giants and Jets. Here's how they beat the Jets instead of losing in overtime: kicker Jason Hanson gets injured, and the Lions score a touchdown following the penalty. Instead of sending out a rookie defensive tackle to kick the extra point, go for two. Almost half of all two-point conversions succeed, and the Lions have one of the best offenses in the NFL. Their chances of making the two were probably about as good as their chances of making the kick, but it's twice as valuable.

21. Tampa Bay Buccaneers [21] — For years, you could count on it. Watch the Bucs play on television, and at some point, one of the announcers would mention that they had never returned a kickoff for a touchdown. This was true from the team's inception in 1976 up until 2007, when 24-year-old Micheal Spurlock finally took one back all the way. And there was much rejoicing. Then, in 2008, Clifton Smith returned a kickoff for a TD. So did Sammie Stroughter last year, and Spurlock again yesterday. After 31 seasons in the wilderness, the Bucs now have a KR TD in each of the past four years.

22. St. Louis Rams [22] — Only three home games left, which is bad news when you're 4-1 at home, 0-3 on the road. The Rams are tied for first place in the worst division in football. The NFC West is a combined 9-15 in non-division games (.375).

23. Jacksonville Jaguars [24] — There are six 4-4 teams. All six have been outscored by their opponents this season. This ranges from the respectable (St. Louis and Washington) to the miserable: Miami, Houston, Seattle, and Jacksonville have all been outscored by more than 30 points, the Jags by 61.

24. San Francisco 49ers [25] — Considering how good Frank Gore is, the offense is sort of magnificently bad. Gore puts up huge numbers, but — like Corey Dillon in his prime, or Steven Jackson now — he's kind of tough to evaluate because the people around him are so bad. I would entertain arguments that Gore is the best RB in the NFL.

25. Chicago Bears [26] — Jay Cutler is this baffling mixture of great and terrible. Every once in a while, he'll make a truly exceptional throw, but just as often he's way off-target or forcing one into double-coverage. I just don't see much difference between Cutler the last year and a half and Rex Grossman in 2006. Chicago has wins over 0-8 Buffalo, 1-7 Carolina, 1-7 Dallas, 2-6 Detroit, and 6-3 Green Bay, though the division wins were a fluke (GB) and arguably a robbery (DET). You'd be hard-pressed to find a 5-3 club with lower quality of victory.

26. Seattle Seahawks [23] — Two straight blowout losses, a combined 74-10 beating. This was Seattle's third game of the season held to single-digit scoring, and the team now ranks 31st in points per game (16.2). The Giants out-gained them 487-162 on Sunday.

27. Cincinnati Bengals [28] — Five losses in a row since their 2-1 start. Last season, when they won the AFC North, the Bengals had an average pass rush, about 2 sacks per game (34). This season, they're 31st, averaging less than one per game (7). Defensive ends Antwan Odom and Jonathan Fanene are both out, Odom for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing drugs, and Fanene because of a hamstring. The only Bengal with more than 1 sack is a safety, Chris Crocker.

28. Denver Broncos [29] — Brandon Lloyd leads the NFL in receiving yards, by a huge margin (82). He's on pace for 1,756, which would be the third-highest mark in history. This is Lloyd's 8th season, and he's already set a career high for yardage. Lloyd looked like an emerging superstar way back in 2005. Looking back at my columns from that year, I wrote that he was "emerging as a receiver", "may have the best hands in the NFL," and voted for him to make the Pro Bowl. He didn't have the numbers, but watching him, you saw the potential. I never thought it would re-surface, but the skills have always been there.

29. Arizona Cardinals [30] — Somehow started 3-2, including a win over the Saints. They're 0-3 since the bye. This week, up 24-10 in the fourth quarter, they blew a lead and lost in overtime. Honestly, they were outplayed. Minnesota had twice as many yards, twice as many first downs. The Cardinals also allowed the Vikings to double their previous sack total, giving up 6 to a team that had been averaging less than 1 per game. Arizona stuck around with special teams, red zone defense, and luck.

30. Dallas Cowboys [27] — The ugly game on Sunday night was even uglier with NBC trying so hard during the broadcast to fire Wade Phillips. Well, it worked. This marks Wade's third partial season as an NFL head coach ('85 Saints, '03 Falcons), which has to be some kind of record. For a guy who's 82-61 (81-54 before this year's debacle), he sure doesn't get much respect. The Cowboys have allowed at least 35 points for three weeks in a row.

31. Buffalo Bills [32] — Yeah, they're 0-8, but at least they're putting up a fight. The last three losses are all by just a field goal. A good team wins one or two of those, and the Bills are a bad team, but the Panthers have cornered the market on badness right now. Next week, in a home game that will actually be in Buffalo, the Bills host the team that invented repeated close losses to good opponents, the Detroit Lions. These teams don't seem able to win, no matter how well they play, so I'm betting on a tie. Jairus Byrd, who intercepted 9 passes as a rookie, has none this year.

32. Carolina Panthers [31] — Held to 7 points or fewer in half their games, and now they've lost starting QB Matt Moore, who had the lowest passer rating in the NFL (55.6). Their loss to the Saints in Week 9 was so sufficiently ugly that I would prefer not to provide any details, in consideration of more sensitive readers.

Posted by Brad Oremland at 4:31 PM | Comments (2)

NASCAR Top 10 Power Rankings: Week 34

Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Denny Hamlin — Hamlin won at Texas, leading 31 laps in the AAA Texas 500 to wrest the points lead in the Sprint Cup standings from four-time defending Cup champ Jimmie Johnson. Hamlin entered with a 14-point deficit and left with a 33-point advantage.

"The No. 11 Fed Ex Toyota was awesome," Hamlin said. "That's what you call a five-star, triple-A, one-asterisk performance. My victory completes the season sweep at Texas, proving that I 'don't mess in Texas.'

Of course, I'm no longer the 'hunter'; now I'm the 'hunted,' and the proud owner of two imitation six-shooters. I'm the big gun now, so, among Joe Gibbs Racing drivers, I'm the straight shooter, while Kyle Busch is the loose cannon."

2. Jimmie Johnson — Johnson finished ninth at Texas, behind his two closest Chase competitors, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick, who finished first and sixth, respectively. Johnson is now second in the point standings, 33 behind Hamlin.

"33 points is by no means an insurmountable lead," Johnson said. "If asked by a distinguished gentleman if I could overcome such a deficit, I would confidently state, 'I'm able to mount that, sir.'

But I could stand here and blame it all on my pit crew. They made so many errors, I wanted to go 'Jeff Gordon' on them. Which is actually what I did when Chad Knaus dumped the 48 crew for Gordon's pit team."

3. Kevin Harvick — Harvick battled to a sixth-place finish in the AAA Texas 500, keeping himself solidly in the hunt for the Sprint Cup championship. Harvick is third in the point standings, 59 behind Hamlin in first, and 26 behind Johnson.

"There's a dogfight for the Sprint Cup," Harvick said, "and a 'catfight' over Jeff Burton's driving of the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet. Both Burton and Jeff Gordon are well out of contention for the Sprint Cup, so I don't know why all the fuss. Their conflict is much like the remnants of their cars after their accident last Sunday — a 'meaningless scrap.'"

4. Matt Kenseth — Kenseth equaled his best finish of the year with a second at Texas, nearly taking the checkered before succumbing to Denny Hamlin's charge. Kenseth jumped three places in the standings to fourth, 325 out of first.

"I had the lead," Kenseth said, "but I couldn't hold it. You could say I 'lost first,' while my teammate Greg Biffle lost 'first and second.'"

5. Jeff Gordon — Gordon, who last won 18 months ago at Texas, came nowhere near winning on Sunday, finishing 37th after being wrecked by Jeff Burton under caution on lap 190. An angry Gordon charged Burton, shoved the driver of the No. 31 Caterpillar, and took a few swings at Burton as officials separated them.

"I've finally ended my winless streak," Gordon said, "but only because I let my emotions 'get the better' of me."

6. Kyle Busch — Busch finished 32nd at Texas, after a spin on lap 159 set off a chain of events that tried the limits of Busch's emotions. After pitting, Busch was penalized a lap for speeding on the exit. Then, while serving his penalty, Busch gave a NASCAR official a long and hard look at his middle finger. Busch was then penalized another lap for unsportsmanlike conduct, and finished two laps down.

"Say what you will," Busch said, "but that finger was there to remind me that I needed to be in first gear. If NASCAR officials don't believe my explanation, then they are full of 'shift.'"

7. Tony Stewart — Stewart was running sixth when he gambled during a caution on lap 328, opting for four tires while the other front-runners remained on the track. Stewart restarted 16th, and although he made up five places to finish 11th, he would have been better off staying out. He is now eighth in the point standings, 363 out of first.

"You know age and experience has changed me," Stewart said, "when there's a race with fisticuffs and a middle finger, and I'm involved in neither."

8. Carl Edwards — Edwards finished 19th at Texas, the low man in a solid day for Roush Fenway Racing. Teammate Matt Kenseth finished second, while Greg Biffle led the most laps, 224, on his way to a fifth.

"I hate losing," Edwards said, "almost as much as I hate winning, the Nationwide race, that is, and having to shake Brad Keselowski's hand as series champion."

9. Greg Biffle — Biffle led 224 of 334 laps in the AAA Texas 500 and finished fifth, his eighth top-five result of the season. Biffle's No. 16 Red Cross Ford was easily the class of the field, but he lost first and second gear with about 30 laps to go. He improved two places in the point standings to ninth, 372 out of first.

"Of all the drivers who had a right to be upset," Biffle said, "I feel I'm the one who should have gone off the deep end. Instead, I showed restraint while Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch unloaded a season's worth of frustrations.

Busch was particularly volatile last Sunday. I think it runs in the family. His brother Kurt was cursed with too much 'ear,' while Kyle was cursed with too much 'finger.'"

10. Joey Logano — Logano finished fourth at Texas, leading 30 laps on his way to his 15th top-10 result of the year, best among non-Chasers. Logano has top-10s in his last four races, and has served noticed that he'll be a contender for the Cup next year.

"It's hard not to become a better driver," Logano said, "with the abundance of good examples being set for me by the veteran drivers. Between fights, failed inspections, foul language, and middle fingers, I feel I can finally become the driver I was meant to be."

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 10:03 AM | Comments (0)

November 9, 2010

Not Feeling Blue About St. Louis

When the NHL preseason predictions came in, absolutely no one could have predicted the St. Louis Blues as only having one regulation loss in the first six weeks of the NHL season — not even Blues President Jon Davidson. And yet here we are heading into the second week of November and the Blues have been nearly unstoppable. Remember, this St. Louis squad was an up-and-coming group two years ago that took a big step back in last year's non-playoff year that could have very well been pegged as part of the learning curve. How have these Blues done it?

During the offseason, veterans Keith Tkachuk and Paul Kariya essentially finished off their NHL careers (Tkachuk retired, while Kariya stayed indefinitely out due to post-concussion syndrome). That cleared quite a bit of cap space for the Blues, but they didn't go for the quick fix. After all, they'd tried that already by trying to get players like Tkachuk, Kariya, and Bill Guerin some years back, and it allowed them to float along in that range between pretty good and mediocre, but never really turning the corner for the better. This year's Blues squad is different.

The easy way to sum up the Blues is that they're young and cheap. At an average age of just under 26, gone are the days of heavy veteran contracts weighing down the club while taking ice time. Instead, the team is counting a wide range of up-and-coming players, from blueline stud Erik Johnson to skilled youngsters like T.J. Oshie and Patrik Berglund. St. Louis's "veterans" include old men like Brad Boyes (28) and Alex Steen (26) on the forward group.

It really is about youth, and so far, it's working. The forwards haven't produced any true standouts, though fan favorite leads the team in scoring going at about a point-per-game, while other players like Steen, Matt D'Agostini, and David Perron are contributing by committee. In fact, veterans Boyes and Andy MacDonald haven't really done too much this season.

On the blueline, there's a little more veteran presence, as Eric Brewer and Barret Jackman provide the experience. The centerpiece is Johnson, though — not to be confused with Jack Johnson in Los Angeles, though both young Johnsons found time on the 2010 U.S. Olympic Team. Entering his third NHL season, Johnson is living up to his status as a former first-overall pick. Last year, he had 10 goals and 39 points as a sophomore, and while he's off to a slower start this season, there's no question that Johnson is going to be wearing the blue note for years to come.

Is it all about youth, then? Yes and no. The forwards are scoring by committee and the defense is showing to be plenty dedicated, but the bigger story is the play of new goaltender Jaroslav Halak. You might recall Halak had a pretty interesting playoffs last year for the Montreal Canadiens, shutting down a few fellows named Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. When the Habs elected to keep Carey Price over Halak, plenty of Montreal fans wound up scratching their heads (or worse), and so far, they're proving to be right. Halak's numbers are carrying right on from his playoff performance, with a goals-against under 1.5 and a save percentage over .940. Those are unreal numbers — and they're certain to return to earth at some point this season. The only question is when.

That leads to the bigger picture about these Blues. Leading the league six weeks into the season is one thing, but can they sustain it? We saw a similar effort last year with the Colorado Avalanche, when Craig Anderson played the best hockey of just about any goaltender's career, let alone a career journeyman trying to grab a number one spot. In Colorado, the combination of Anderson's stellar netminding and plucky young forwards lasted about 1/3 of the way through the season before the road bumps hit. At that point, Colorado's early season cushion began to dissolve, and they fought tooth and nail for their playoff spot.

Will that happen to the Blues? There are certainly similarities, but considering that Halak is more battle-tested than Anderson, his highs and lows shouldn't dip quite as much. And as Halak goes, so go the Blues; he gives St. Louis a chance to win every night. The biggest concern, then, is the scoring-by-committee forwards. Teams that rely on that often hit an ugly dry spell at some point, and it'll be up to Halak to weather the storm when — not if — that happens.

Posted by Mike Chen at 11:37 AM | Comments (0)

Gwynn's Legacy Could Have Profound Impact

This Major League Baseball postseason, a direct plea was made by Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ6) to the managements of MLB, the Texas Rangers, and the San Francisco Giants.

He requested, in a letter dated October 25, 2010, to "Ban the use of tobacco products during the World Series." Congressman Pallone was specifically making reference to the use of smokeless tobacco products and the impact upon youth who see MLB players routinely using the product during MLB games.

As the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee's Chairman of its Subcommittee on Health, Congressman Pallone is "concerned about the free advertising the tobacco industry receives and, more importantly, the influence this exposure has on young people."

But the Congressman's appeal itself could fall on deaf ears, if only because the message is coming from the United States Congress. And the American people have already but had a belly full of Congressional hearings with respect to athletes' use of anabolic steroids and performance-enhancing substances.

In fact, Congressman Pallone has held a hearing already this year, on April 14, 2010, on smokeless tobacco use and the impact it has on youth.

But after all of the federal government's time and taxpayer resources spent on the so-called prevention of health risks tied to performance-enhancing drugs, athletes have already moved on to the next undetectable drug of choice, such as variations of human growth hormone (HGH).

And what have the American people have been left with after all of this? Two upcoming federal perjury trials of once guaranteed baseball Hall of Famers Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.

Since MLB has a policy in place in its minor leagues system banning the use of smokeless or chewing tobacco, it believes it has discouraged the use of the product in MLB. However, it is estimated that a third of all MLB players still use the product. And Congressman Pallone in his letter to MLB cites that approximately 15% of high school athletes use smokeless tobacco.

And the question must be asked, if MLB is encouraged by its minor leagues program, in effect since 1993, how does it account for 33% of its big leaguers using the product today, when most all of them went through the minor league system when the ban was in place?

The point is that neither Congress nor MLB can mandate behavior, but can only outlaw the use of smokeless tobacco. For MLB, it would have to ban smokeless tobacco in its MLB clubhouses and on its fields of play.

And unless state or federal laws are passed that make tobacco an illegal product in the U.S., neither the government nor MLB can either legislate or potentially scare people into a desired outcome. That is still the job of parents and educators, with respect to our young people.

But something that might have a profound impact on our young people and even those players currently playing both in MLB and its minor leagues is the real-time experience of those former players who have been struck down by illness and cancer, which may be the direct or indirect result of using smokeless tobacco.

It was learned in October 2010 that Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn has parotid cancer, otherwise known as a malignancy of the salivary gland or a lymph node of the mouth. Mr. Gwynn had two prior benign tumors, both removed in the past decade, and had been cancer-free.

When another tumor recently surfaced, this time he was not so lucky. He will receive approximately eight radiation treatments, which his doctors believe will leave him cancer-free with prescribed follow-up care.

Mr. Gwynn made a personal and public speculation that he thought there might be some correlation between his use of smoking tobacco, during his MLB playing career. "I haven't discussed that with doctors yet, but I'm thinking it's related to dipping," he said recently.

And it should be noted that Mr. Gwynn continued his use of chewing tobacco even after he had already had his two benign tumors removed.

After all, the addictive nature of smokeless tobacco contains the same nicotine and habit forming properties as cigarettes. And unfortunately, it is also well-known that chewing tobacco contains as many as 28 carcinogens or cancer-causing agents.

The medical literature indicates that "dippers" on average consume up to 10 times the amount of cancer-causing agents than do those who smoke tobacco cigarettes.

Although there have not been scientific studies done to date specifically with regard to parotid cancer and smokeless tobacco use, other types of oral cancers, as well as numerous other cancers and their relationships to smokeless tobacco, have been well-documented.

But especially since there is no currently accessible data on smokeless chew and parotid cancer, given Mr. Gwynn's status, not only as a Hall of Famer, but as the baseball coach at San Diego State University (SDSU), it offers a wonderful opportunity for him to not only educate himself on the potential harm of using chewing tobacco, but to inform the young people he directly works with and by extension the community at-large.

There are already some in the medical community arguing as to whether Mr. Gwynn could have fallen victim to cancer as a direct result of the use of chewing tobacco. However, there should not be an argument, but rather a call for the necessary conclusive data.

As with any type of cancer, there is not necessarily a cause and effect, nor is it ever so cut and dried with cancer patients, such as explaining those patients who wind up with lung cancer yet they never smoked at all.

More importantly is that Mr. Gwynn's outreach would do far more than would another Congressional hearing or an idle threat by MLB to ban chewing tobacco.

Tony Gwynn could perhaps have the biggest impact yet on informed choice, rather than fear of another mandate. And while tobacco products remain legal, that perhaps should be the message: to make an educated choice.

We wish Tony Gwynn nothing but good health going forward and hope that he can add to his already shining example and legacy, at the very least by encouraging good oral health; an issue that gets scant attention if ever addressed to our young people at all.

As Congressman Pallone states in his letter, "The players are role models whose practices can have a real impact that goes beyond their direct use of chewing tobacco." And that is whether they like it or not. As such, they can make a positive difference, too.

Posted by Diane M. Grassi at 10:47 AM | Comments (0)

November 8, 2010

Is Boise State vs. TCU Still Possible?

Earlier in the season, it looked like No. 23 South Carolina would stop the SEC from appearing in the BCS Championship Game when the Gamecocks beat the Crimson Tide (No. 12). The other SEC powerhouses didn't look like BCS contenders as LSU (No. 5) only looked lucky and Florida (No. 22) fans suddenly were calling for Urban Meyer's termination. Now, however, Auburn (No. 2) has a clear path to the BCS title game.

Oregon (No. 1) is rolling over its opponents by virtually scoring at will, which leaves the question: can the Broncos and Horned Frogs make a permanent dent in the BCS cartel and force a plus-one scenario earlier than anyone expected by meeting in the BCS title game?

Boise State (No. 4) and TCU (No. 3) looked poised to rain on the BCS parade with a non-BCS matchup in the title game, but within a few weeks, the SEC and Pac-10 staked claims to the BCS title game.

Is it possible for a Boise State vs. TCU BCS Championship Game? Anything is possible, but like a 7-6 NFL team, the Broncos and Horned Frogs need a lot of help with only a few games left.

SEC

Cam Newton and Auburn quietly climbed the BCS standings, while one-loss Alabama found themselves poised to run the table so they could defend their title. This weekend, LSU may have finally eliminated Alabama (No. 12) and put Auburn in the driver's seat for a BCS title game berth. A win against Georgia is all that is needed for Auburn to get in the SEC Championship Game and a victory there will most likely get them in the BCS title game.

An Alabama victory in the Iron Bowl against Auburn would give the Tigers their first loss. A loss in the SEC Championship Game against either Florida or South Carolina would give Auburn two losses late in the season, which could be too much for the Tigers to overcome.

If Auburn clinches an appearance in the SEC Championship Game and loses to Alabama in the process, could a one-loss LSU or two-loss Auburn get in the BCS Championship Game? LSU and the 2007 season have proven that a two-loss SEC team is still a threat to teams like Boise State and TCU.

The LSU Tigers play Mississippi and No. 15 Arkansas in the final weeks of the season and without an appearance in the SEC title game, it would probably be impossible for them to leapfrog Boise State and TCU. With the way LSU has won this year, they are clearly not a team that should be counted out at any point.

Big Ten

This BCS conference has a series of attractive one-loss teams, but none appear to be ranked high enough this late in the season or have enough games against highly-ranked teams for them to rise to No. 1 or 2 in the BCS. No. 13 Iowa's loss against No. 18 Arizona early in the season has and will continue to haunt them as they will face No. 9 Ohio State on Nov 20. Both of those teams could have used that game to make a case for a BCS title berth.

No. 11 Michigan State's luck in not facing Ohio State has doomed their chances along with their Iowa loss. No. 7 Wisconsin could end up the highest ranked Big Ten team, but that would only clinch them a spot in the Rose Bowl or their pick of another BCS game, not the title game.

ACC

The ACC's main impact on the BCS will be how No. 20 Virginia Tech finishes its season. If they can continue to win and finish as the ACC champion, Boise State will benefit because of the Broncos' win earlier in the season against the Hokies.

Big East

The Big East doesn't appear to have any impact on the BCS title game this late in the season.

Big 12

No. 8 Nebraska will need to win out and hope the Big 12 South champion enters the Big 12 Championship Game ranked in the top 10 in the BCS standings, setting up a Big 12 title game with some late season meaning. If No. 10 Oklahoma State enters the Big 12 Championship Game and Nebraska wins, the Huskers could leap frog a few teams. The Huskers would need Oregon or Auburn to stumble to get in the title game, but jumping over the Broncos and Horned Frogs may come easy with a Big 12 title.

Nebraska has remaining games against Kansas, No. 25 Texas A&M, Colorado, and the possible Big 12 championship, which combined could help them vault into the BCS title game, but because it is late in the season and they are currently ranked No. 8, it would be a tough climb to the top.

Baylor will have an impact on the BCS title game, as they will face No. 16 Oklahoma in their final game. If Baylor can win out, it will help TCU. TCU's victory over Baylor earlier has helped the Horned Frogs, and with victories over the No. 25 Aggies and Sooners in their final games, the Bears could keep helping the Horned Frogs.

Pac-10

Oregon controls its own destiny like Auburn with regards to an invitation to the BCS title game. The Ducks will face Arizona, but No. 6 Stanford's beatdown of the Wildcats doesn't inspire much confidence for a Duck loss.

The team that is flying under the BCS radar is Oregon State. They have lost to TCU and Boise State and will face Oregon in the intense Civil War on December 4. What if going into that game TCU and Boise State are still ranked No. 3 and No. 4, Auburn sits with one loss, and Oregon then loses to the Beavers, will true BCS chaos ensue? Also, Oregon State will play Stanford Nov 27. Oregon State is 4-4, but if they were to get on a hot streak, they would have a major impact on the BCS. Their losses to Boise State and TCU, combined with wins over Oregon and Stanford, could propel Boise State or TCU into the title game.

Boise State and TCU

Boise State will play three of their last four games on national television on Friday nights. In addition to wins, the Broncos will want to impress the voters with style points in those games. Boise State's date with a ranked No. 21 Nevada on Nov. 26 could be their last best shot to impress the computers and voters.

TCU has two games left and it is doubtful San Diego State and New Mexico will help their BCS title game hopes with anything but style points.

Oregon and Auburn control their own destiny and winning out will most likely guarantee their appearance in the BCS title game. Winning out may be slightly easier for Oregon than Auburn, however. Nebraska also may stand in the way of Boise State and TCU, as well. Boise State and TCU may end up relegated to other BCS bowls and hopefully they won't be forced to play each other three years in a row.

Posted by Vito Curcuru at 8:27 PM | Comments (2)

Let the Cliff Lee Sweepstakes Begin

If you thought the 2010 season was exciting, you ain't seen nothing yet.

Now that free agents are hitting the market, there's one player who everyone is watching. Wherever he ends up, that team is going to pay out the nose for him. And he'll be worth every cent.

The Texas Rangers made their first World Series appearance ever this year, and while the acquisition of Cliff Lee was supposed to provide a boost (and a little insurance in the postseason), the lefty was just a shade less than his usual complete domination of opposing hitters (4-6, 3.98), he is still, without question, the crown jewel for any team shooting for a ring, this year's World Series performance notwithstanding.

The Rangers, for their part, would love to have him back, although team president Nolan Ryan has made some rather ambiguous comments concerning the signing of Lee.

"You know, it's hard for me to speculate because I don't know where this is gonna go," said Ryan. And then he drops this rather nebulous line on us: "What some people think is realistic another person might not think is realistic."

There you go. Read between the lines, folks.

While Ryan made it clear that the team hasn't entered into negotiations with Lee, he also gives the impression that the Rangers would be hard-pressed to match or exceed another team's offer. And when I say "another team," I really mean the New York Yankees. And so does Ryan.

After all, this is a team that nearly went completely down the tubes until Ryan and Co. took over. And while the team thought to be at the forefront of the chase (the Yankees, of course) is carrying a massive payroll already, they've proven time and again that they have no problem whatsoever with expanding that payroll a great deal.

With the lackluster performance of Yankees starters this postseason, bringing Lee to the Big Apple is the paramount issue for New York's front office. On top of that, CC Sabathia's ever-expanding waistline as he enters his 30s in 2011 will likely bring his stats back down to Earth very quickly. With all due respect to Mr. Sabathia, he's about one Big Mac away from 300.

While Lee has remained close-mouthed about his foray into free agency, a fan sighting of Lee buying a couple pairs of boots stirred debate as to whether Lee might be staying with the team, after all. Surely, everything he does from now until he signs a contract will be analyzed and scrutinized. But as for the boots, when you crush the opposition on a regular basis, you can pretty much wear anything you want.

Knowing now that the Rangers and Yankees are at the forefront of the bidding war, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN has the Nationals (!) as a potential candidate to snag Lee:

As reported on ESPN.com:

"The Nationals are looking for a top-end veteran starter, and Lee would help sell some tickets and fill the enthusiasm void in Washington while Stephen Strasburg recovers from Tommy John surgery. If the Nationals fail to land Lee, they'll look for pitching elsewhere on the free agent market or try to swing a deal for a James Shields, Matt Garza, or another starter who might be available in trade. One problem is, the Nats have no interest in parting with young middle infielders Ian Desmond and Danny Espinosa, so GM Mike Rizzo's trade chips are limited."

This becomes a bit more important when you take into account Texas starter Scott Feldman's knee surgery, effects of which could alter his mechanics significantly entering Spring Training in 2011. Going 7-11 with a 5.48 ERA in the regular season doesn't help him, either.

With Stephen Strasburg out of commission for next year, and the Nats struggling to fill seats as it is, landing a top-notch starter is a must. As for the Yankees, they have a lot on their hands already with Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera entering free agency, as well. Jeter finishing his career and reaching 3,000 hits with another team would be pure sacrilege in the eyes of Yankees fans.

A word for Hal Steinbrenner: riots have started over less than this kind of issue.

On top of that, the Yankees front office has had its hands full with the back-and-forth bickering between manager Joe Girardi and now former pitching coach Dave Eiland, who was fired soon after their disappointing postseason performance. On October 30th, an anonymous source stated that there was friction between Girardi and Eiland as early as May, when Eiland took a 30-day leave of absence from the team, citing "personal reasons." No question as to who would win that little tug-of-war; Girardi is reaching the same level of respect and admiration that former manager Joe Torre possessed in his best years as Yankees manager.

As for Derek Jeter, Steinbrenner has been at war with Jeter's agent, Casey Close, who said that Jeter's value to the Yankees "cannot be overstated." Once cooler heads prevail, the Yankees are essentially obligated to re-sign him, lest he move on and reach 3,000 in another uniform. God forbid.

With Jeter and Rivera in the free agent mix, signing Lee is not going to be easy. Lee turned 32 this year, so it's doubtful that he will be offered a long-term contract. The Yanks have Alex Rodriguez's gargantuan albatross of a contract around their necks until 2017, unless they find another team ignorant enough to take him, his humongous ego, and that God-awful contract on.

Hal Steinbrenner is going to have to walk carefully though this mess, or else he risks the ire of Yankee fans everywhere. As for Lee, it's very doubtful that the little tête-à-tête between Rangers CEO Chuck Greenburg and Steinbrenner will have any effect on the Lee sweepstakes. With such a player as Cliff Lee on the table, things can get nasty, very quickly, especially when you consider the garbage his wife Kristin had to tolerate from Yankee fans.

As for Lee, he had only this to say concerning Yankees fans:

"I brush that off as fans being fans. You can't control 50,000 people and what they're going to do," Lee said Tuesday, the day before pitching Game 1 of the World Series for Texas. "There were some people that were spitting off the balcony on the family section and things like that, and that's kind of weak, but what can you do?"

I can't say I would be so understanding about that. And apparently, neither was she: "The fans did not do good things in my heart ... When people are staring at you, and saying horrible things, it's hard not to take it personal."

Even after Kristin Lee dealt with some of the worst treatment Yankees fans have to offer, she is (allegedly) still high on New York. Considering the money that's going to be thrown at Lee's feet, a little rowdiness in the stands is a non-issue.

However, if Lee goes to the Yankees, there are still a few quality hurlers in the mix. Andy Pettitte (11-3, 3.28 ERA in 2010) could end up back in the Lone Star State, and even at 38, he's a strong presence in the rotation and in the clubhouse. Jorge De La Rosa would be a great addition, as he is only recently beginning to harness his exceptional talent. Problem is, nearly every free agent starting pitcher is either in his early 30s or well past that, and as we all know, signing a pitcher to a long-term contract has been less than ideal for many teams.

What this all boils down to is this: Cliff Lee is easily one of the best lefties in the majors since the heyday of Randy Johnson, and maybe the best in the game. Any other pitcher, comparably, is the consolation prize. Expect massive fallout in NY if Steinbrenner fails to sign Lee, especially with A.J. Burnett malfunctioning and Javier Vazquez completely losing his focus, not to mention the shaky bullpen, which will likely be without Kerry Wood, who recorded a stellar 0.69 ERA in 24 appearances (26 innings) with New York, but likely will be moving on as his option was declined.

Wherever he goes, his presence makes a good team great, and a great team outstanding. Texas has the potential to be a much better team, especially with the continuing growth and development of SS Elvis Andrus, who could conceivably become one of the greatest shortstops of our time. But everything hinges on Cliff Lee's decision.

For a while, it will probably be all you hear about, as well it should be. And in a time of massive overspending on free agents, Cliff Lee is worth whatever he gets. And for those of you who disagree, when the postseason hits, you'll understand.

Posted by Clinton Riddle at 2:17 PM | Comments (0)

November 5, 2010

Is the Bronx Zoo Returning?

If you followed the Yankees in the latter half of the 20th century, you know why the team earned the title "The Bronx Zoo." From fights between Billy Martin and Reggie Jackson, to routine managerial firings, to passenger seat managing from George Steinbrenner, the Yankees were an absolute mess.

As 2010 comes to a close for the New York Yankees, we are beginning to see a new mess emerging. Ambiguous, mixed feelings are being bounced around, and it seems as though everything can go wrong for the Yankees in the upcoming offseason. Sure, they will win, but it may come at a very damaging cost.

Luckily for the Yankees, there is no clear resemblance to what went on in the '70s and '80s. There is no fight within the front office, or between the players. However, while there may be no fighting going on, there may be a sense of betrayal.

It all starts with Derek Jeter. While we know he is going to be back, there are no clear answers to what exactly his contract will say. Many will argue that the old "blank check" analogy may come into play here, but that is anything but true.

The Yankees are not happy with the result of 2010, and will likely go after Cliff Lee as a result. They are not going to waste money on Jeter, especially if they feel he isn't as valuable as he used to be. He will obviously expects a pay-cut, but it may be a cut he wasn't expecting. And if there is something that can make Jeter's image turn ugly, it's money.

Then we move to the Yankees pitching coach, Dave Eiland. Brian Cashman announced today that Eiland will not be returning in 2011. He mentioned that the reason was "private," but also hinted that it was influenced by a lack of production from the Yankees pitching staff during the postseason.

Again, we are unclear what the feelings are within the clubhouse. The words we are hearing are ambiguous, and that is never a good sign. Eiland will be gone, so his feelings won't matter, but I can't imagine that this won't stir up some harsh feelings within the Yankees' clubhouse.

A.J. Burnett is next. As he cleared out his locker, he declined to comment to reporters on Sunday. Suddenly, we are beginning to hear about possible trade rumors regarding Burnett. If the Yankees address those rumors, it will have lasting emotional effects on Burnett. With multiple years left on his contract, the last thing the Yankees need is a fight between him and the Yankees front office.

Trade rumors have also begun to surface for Joba Chamberlain. Word is that the Arizona Diamondbacks may have some interest in the right-handed relief pitcher. Again, trade rumors will not have positive effects on any player, especially one that is so young as could be around for a very long time. Not to mention the damage the Yankees have done to him already.

Nobody doubts that the Yankees are going to win. No matter what situation they are in, the Yankees are always going to be equipped to bring in the best talent. However, that doesn't mean things will go as smoothly as they have in the past. Winning does not wash away harsh feelings and anger. For the Yankees, they stare that right in the face. And now is their last chance to avoid it.

Posted by Jess Coleman at 2:55 PM | Comments (0)

November 4, 2010

NFL Weekly Predictions: Week 9

Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.

NY Jets @ Detroit (+3½)

The Jets were humbled in last week's 9-0 loss to the Packers in New Meadowlands Stadium, New York's first shutout since a 10-0 loss to the Bears in 2006. New York fell to 5-2, and trail the Patriots by a game in the AFC East.

"Actually," said Mark Sanchez, "there was a shutout as recently as 2008, when Jenn Sterger graded Brett Favre's text message. According to her, that's one measurement they didn't bring out the chains for. But make no mistake, we'll rebound, and rebound well against the Lions. The Packer loss taught us a lesson, and that lesson is that when you're placed on a pedestal, sometimes you can get too high."

Detroit's Matthew Stafford returned from a shoulder injury in a big way, throwing 4 touchdowns, three to Calvin Johnson, in a 37-25 win over the Redskins. That connection will need to be on target again Sunday if the Lions are to upset the Jets, who are undefeated on the road this year.

"Sure, the Jets have a tough secondary with Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie," Stafford said. "Sure, not many receivers can get off Revis Island, or Cromartie Cove, for that matter, but Calvin's proven he can go coast-to-coast on anyone. I'm sure Calvin can expect double-teams, and even triple-teams. Believe it or not, Calvin's been triple-teamed before, in Week 1 in Chicago, on 'The Anti-Catch,' when he was outdone by two Bears defenders and one NFL rule book."

Johnson is a 'bear' to defend, and that makes him the only dangerous bear in the NFC North. But between Revis, Cromartie, and a Jets defense that will keep Stafford guessing, mostly wrong, New York will keep Johnson in check, which still means 98 yards receiving and a score for Johnson.

New York wins, 31-17.

Tampa Bay @ Atlanta (-9)

After yet another fourth quarter comeback, the Buccaneers are 5-2, and deadlocked with the Falcons for the NFC South lead. If Tampa succeeds in knocking off the Falcons at home, then Raheem Morris' proclamation that the Bucs are the NFC's best will gain considerable credence.

"Josh Freeman has shown himself to be a 'clutch' quarterback," Morris said. "That's in stark contrast to those Arizona quarterbacks, who can be classified as nothing less than 'brake' quarterbacks, for when they have the ball, their offense stops. Josh, and the whole team, has shown a flair for the dramatic. None of our five wins has been routine. As someone who was named after one of Grandmaster Flash's sidekicks, I can tell you that our victories constitute a 'Furious Five.' After Josh pulls out another fourth-quarter win this Sunday, they'll be calling him 'unflappable,' which is exactly what you would call a Falcon with its wings clipped."

The Falcons can very well claim to be the conference's best team in their own right, with their own 5-2 record and a win over the defending Super Bowl champion Saints.

"Sure, the Tampa secondary looks good when playing catch with Arizona quarterbacks," Matt Ryan said. "And Freeman has made a habit of engineering fourth quarter dramatics. He's obviously got ice water in his veins. That's opposed to Morris, who's got sugar water in his veins. How else, besides sugar-coating, could he claim that the Bucs are the NFC's best?

But he could have a point. This year, judging by a quick glance at the standings, being the NFC's best means you still suck."

Can Ryan outduel the upstart Bucs and Freeman? Is "Matty Ice" the dumbest nickname ever for an NFL player? Yes to both.

Falcons win, 31-26.

New Orleans @ Carolina (+6½)

The Saints rebounded from a dismal performance in a Week 7 loss to Cleveland with an emphatic 20-10 win over the Steelers, a win that improved New Orleans to 4-3, one game behind the Falcons and Bucs in the NFC South. Known more for their offense, the Saints slowed the Steeler offense with a variety of blitzes and disguised coverages that nullified the Steelers downfield passing game.

"We threw everything at Ben Roethlisberger," Payton said, "including the bathroom sink, which comes in handy when you're trying to wash away sin. We'll try our best to unsettle the Panther quarterback, as well. No, we won't be tossing any kitchen or bathroom fixtures at him, although that would be bewildering in its own right. We'll be chucking a spiral notebook at him, because nothing confuses a Panther quarterback more than his own playbook."

The Panthers will need a mistake-free game from their quarterback, and hope that their running game produces, thus taking pressure off the quarterback.

"It's not easy finding a quarterback of the future," coach John Fox said. "Of course, when I say I'm looking for a quarterback of the future, I don't mean for years to come. I mean for Sunday. And it's never an easy decision choosing a quarterback. It's very time consuming, so much so that I've formed a corporation to handle those duties. It's called 'Choices Ltd.'"

The Saints are due for a letdown after an emotional and important home win. But, not only are the Panthers sympathetic, they're also pathetic, and New Orleans capitalizes on 4 turnovers. Drew Brees passes for 2 touchdowns, and the Saints win, 27-13.

Arizona @ Minnesota (-9)

The Vikings are 2-5 after a 28-18 loss in New England, a game in which Brett Favre was knocked out of late with a cut to his chin that required eight stitches. Among the fallout from the loss was the abrupt release of Randy Moss, who had just 1 reception, and afterwards criticized the Vikings coaching staff.

"We call that 'Catch and Release,'" Brad Childress said. "We could no longer tolerate Randy's attitude. It was a distraction, and when something becomes a distraction amidst the Favre saga, you know you've got a distraction on hand. Favre can't walk, but the B.S. sure can. Chalk it up to a lesson learned, and a third-round pick wasted.

Maybe Randy did have relevant information on the Patriots' tendencies and signals. That's debatable. The truth is, Randy had even more knowledge on how to beat the Vikings, and, as we've seen, he wasn't afraid to use it.

We could no longer tolerate Randy's effort, or lack thereof. It would be incredibly ironic if Randy ended up with the Patriots. It would be even more ironic if Randy agreed to talk about the situation in an interview with Hustler magazine."

The Cardinals are 3-4 and are giving up over 28 points per game. That could spell trouble against a Minnesota team itching to explode and build momentum for two division games in Weeks 10 and 11.

"Not only will Randy Moss' name not appear on the scouting report," said Arizona safety Adrian Wilson, "it won't be showing up in the box score either. Then again, what's new about that?"

The Vikings are far from out of the race in the NFC North. Of course, a loss to the Cardinals would undoubtedly end those hopes. But a win over Arizona, and successive wins over the Bears and Packers, and the Vikes are back in business.

Adrian Peterson rushes for 168 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Minnesota takes a 30-14 win.

New England @ Cleveland (+5)

The Patriots are 6-1 and on top in the AFC East after a 28-18 win over the Vikings in Foxboro, which was Tom Brady's 25th consecutive home win as a starter, one short of Brett Favre's NFL record. Favre's record will be safe for this week, as the Pats head to the Dawg Pound to face former Bill Belichick disciple Eric Mangini and the Browns.

"Oh, I never lose at home," Brady said, "unless you get my wife involved. Then the losses start piling up. I think you can easily make a case that we are the NFL's best, at unloading players we no longer deem useful to teams we teams we no longer deem as capable of driving a hard bargain. Indeed, there's a sucker born every minute, and every 30 seconds in Minnesota. We got Randy Moss for a fifth-round pick, and traded him for a third-round selection. It's the basics of Economics 101 — buy low, sell high. The Vikings thought they had a steal by getting Moss. And after his 1-reception performance last Sunday, I would tend to agree. He was 'quite a catch.'"

The Browns and Mangini will try to out-scheme the master of the scheme, Bill Belichick, who will most certainly design a game plan to confuse Colt McCoy or whomever the Browns start at quarterback.

"Colt will be tested," Mangini said. "He'll have to make snap decisions in the face of extreme pressure while trying not to look foolish. Heck, it will be just like a pre-draft sit-down film study session with John Gruden. Most likely, we'll see the same result — Colt's shattered confidence."

Patriots win, 21-14.

San Diego @ Houston (-3)

With Monday night's loss to the Colts, the Texans fell out of a tie for the AFC South lead. Indy, behind Peyton Manning and a fire-up defense, avenged a Week 1 loss to Houston, as the Texans played with little urgency, possibly as a result of having their locker room searched for performance-enhancing drugs at the behest of team owner Bob McNair.

"That's funny," said Philip Rivers, "because the Colts said there was no 'sweep.' I hear they found no banned substances, although they turned up evidence of 'overtraining' in Brian Cushing's locker. I see no need for a search of our locker room now that Shawne Merriman's packed his vials and left. However, I would recommend a comprehensive sweep of our front office to see if there's a competent general manager there. Anyway, it's with sadness that I say farewell to Merriman. But I won't fret, because I'm sure he'll find another home. As a matter of fact, I hear the Redskins are working him out at quarterback."

The Chargers will go to Houston with the hopes of not extending a winning streak, but establishing one. They haven't won more than one game in a row this year.

"That's right," said Arian Foster. "When you talk about the Chargers and 'streaks,' you can't help but reference their streak of falling short of the Super Bowl. What we wouldn't give for such a streak. I don't think Houston's seen playoffs since the Astros."

What do the Chargers need to do to win? It's what they don't need to do that matters, and that's turn the ball over. Maintain possession, and their unstoppable offense will take care of the rest. So, they really don't need to jump through hoops to win. But they do need to go through "Gates" to win. Antonio Gates, that is.

San Diego wins, 31-24.

Chicago @ Buffalo (+1)

The Bills have lost two straight overtime games, the latest a 13-10 loss in Kansas City in which Rian Lindell missed the potential game-winning kick, moments after having a successful kick negated by a Kansas City timeout just before the kick. Lindell's second attempt hit the right upright, and Ryan Succup won it later with a 35-yard kick.

"That's when 'icing' becomes 'icing on the cake,'" said Chan Gailey. "At least for the other team.

Does it bother me that we're in last place? Not at all, and now that you 'bring up' the rear, we're playing our tails off. There's no 'quit' in this team, but there sure could be soon if we sign Randy Moss."

The Bears are 4-3 and coming off a bye week, and Jay Cutler spent a restful week successfully avoiding DeAngelo Hall, who snatched four Cutler passes in the Bears Week 7 loss to Washington. Cutler will likely be forced to attack the Bills secondary, the NFL's sixth best, unless the Bears can kick start their anemic rushing attack.

"Mike Martz offenses aren't known for their rushing," Lovie Smith said. "But I'd like to put more emphasis on rushing, to judgment, that is, that Martz's offense isn't working. Maybe I acted hastily by trading for Cutler. Unlike what Cutler says about throwing at Hall, I wouldn't 'do it again.'

In light of what's going on in Washington, I'd like to set in motion a scenario that would please all parties: Cutler to Washington and a reunion with Mike Shanahan, Donovan McNabb to the Bears, and Randy Moss to Chicago. I say it's a great time for another doomed 'Lovie' affair."

Bills take their first win of the year with a 22-19 win.

Miami @ Baltimore (-5½)

The Dolphins grabbed another road victory last week, beating the Bengals 22-14 in Cincinnati behind five Dan Carpenter field goals. 4-3 on the year, the 'Fins are undefeated on the road, yet winless at home. So, Sunday's showdown at Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium should play right into Miami's hands.

"Yes, it should," said Tony Sparano, "That's exactly what we thought about that fumble in the Pittsburgh game, known now as the 'Miami (C)Heat, and it literally did play into our hands. But that just goes to show you that nothing can be taken for granted in the league, except Randy Moss' lack of effort.

But we expect the Ravens to be fired up, and show a better defensive effort than they did against the Bills. It's an away game for us, so we'll be ready. So, when Ray Lewis shouts 'Not in my house!' before the game, it will be a familiar refrain for us, because with an 0-4 record in Miami, there's been a lot of 'not' in 'our house.'"

With Pittsburgh's Sunday night loss, the Ravens are back in first in the AFC North, and hoping to remain there with a win over the Dolphins.

"The pieces are in place for this team to make a championship run," John Harbaugh said, in a statement to the press cleared by Ray Lewis. "Ed Reed is back from hip surgery, and his impact was immediately felt two interceptions and a forced fumble. That's amazing! Three turnovers in Ed's first game back. To that, I say 'Hip Hip Hip Hooray!'"

The Dolphins have the NFL's top-rated offense, at scoring in multiples of three. Kicker Dan Carpenter has kicked 18 field goals and only 11 extra points. That means the Miami offense stagnates. It also means that Carpenter has casually trotted on the field more than Randy Moss.

Baltimore wins, 27-23.

NY Giants @ Seattle (+5½)

It's a battle of division leaders as the Giants travel to Qwest Field to face the 4-3 Seahawks, who lead the topsy-turvy NFC West, the only division is football in which a 2-6 record is good enough for last place and good enough to stay in the division hunt. Or so say the 49ers.

"The 49ers are the team to beat," said Matt Hasselbeck. "I'm not afraid to admit it, and neither are the other five teams that have defeated them. But the 49ers have something that no other team in the NFL has, and that's a win on two continents. They beat the Raiders in America, and the Broncos on European soil. And check this — both of their wins were by eight-point margins. Apparently, 'eight is enough' for the 49ers, and I'm guessing the same applies to the winner of the NFC West."

"Did Hasselbeck say something about European soil?" said a befuddled Eli Manning. "Europena soil? That's got to hurt worse than passing a kidney stone. And speaking of throwing bricks, I've tossed my share of ugly interceptions. Eleven to be exact, which ties me for the NFL lead with Drew Brees. That puts me in good company, which is something my brother Peyton is sick of hearing from me. And speaking of 'brothers,' the Hasselbeck's are one of the lesser-known brother quarterback tandems in the league. There's Matt and Tim, although Tim's no longer in the league. Of course, they can't hold a candle to the Manning's, on the field or off. Peyton and I are a marketing machine. The Hasselbeck's? Let's just say there have been more Bigfoot sightings than Hasselbeck's in commercials."

Hasselbeck suffered a concussion in last week's brutal loss to the Raiders. That's the bad news. The good news? He'll forget about that concussion upon suffering his next one against he Giants.

Manning tosses an interception and loses one fumble, but throws for 3 touchdowns. And the Giants, much like Archie and Olivia Manning surely have done, walk away saying, "We'll take the good with the bad."

New York wins, 30-16.

Indianapolis @ Philadelphia (-2)

Lincoln Financial Field will be abuzz when the Colts and Peyton Manning face Michael Vick and the 4-3 Eagles, who look to stay one game behind the Giants in the NFC East.

"Yes, you heard right," said Andy Reid. "Vick is the starter, and he will remain so well into the game. And, by golly, if need be, he'll stay in there to run our two-minute offense. Frankly, I'm appalled at Mike Shanahan's treatment of Donovan McNabb. Not only is it an affront to McNabb, it offends me that Shanahan thinks McNabb incapable of running the two-minute offense, and believes his conditioning is lacking as well. Then, to bench him for Rex Grossman, then have JaMarcus Russell work out for the team? It makes me want to vomit."

The Colts are back in a familiar position, first place in the AFC South, after a 30-17 win over the Texans, a win which avenged Week 1's 34-24 Houston win.

"Hey, it was nice of the Texans to keep it warm," Manning said. "But they should be proud. They took one of two from us. That's a .500 winning percentage, which for the Texans is exceptional. But we've suffered a rash of injuries this year. Apparently, Bob Sanders is contagious. For the Colts, it's as hard keeping players off the injured list as it is keeping a drunken punter out of a canal. Luckily, we've got Pat McAfee back after a one-game suspension. Hopefully, he's learned his lesson that you should never 'drink and dive.'"

Colts win, 35-31.

Kansas City @ Oakland (-2½)

After the freak show that is Halloween in the Black Hole, it's hard to believe Oakland Coliseum could bear a more frenzied atmosphere. But that will likely be the case when the AFC West-leading Chiefs invade Oakland to face the Raiders, who have blown out their last two opponents by an average score of 46-8.

"Many people," said Tom Cable, "the San Diego Chargers included, would consider Sunday's game a 'masquerade ball,' featuring two teams no one expected to be on top in the West. But here we are, and there's a 'face off' for bragging rights in the AFC West. We're used to having results that took years off of Al Davis' life. In the last two week's, we've surely added years to his life. But either way, Al's still getting older."

Win or lose, the Chiefs will leave Oakland with the division lead. Kansas City has won in Oakland in each of the last seven years.

"We love going to Oakland as much as we hate to leave," Todd Haley said. "Ask any Raiders fan who's suffered through seven straight losing seasons, or ask any Chief who's been around for those seven seasons. They'll both tell you that the Raiders are a hard habit to break."

Raiders win, 24-16.

Dallas @ Green Bay (-9)

After a humiliating 35-17 loss to the Jaguars in Dallas, the Cowboys are 1-6, last in the NFC East, and the loss was such that owner Jerry Jones felt compelled to issue an apology to fans.

"Who knew the Cowboys would be 1-6 and basically out of the playoffs this soon?" said Jerry Jones. "Talk about being 'won and done.' Of course, we're used to the 'out of the playoffs' part; it's the 1-6 part that's really surprising.

Now, if I wasn't so intent on showing my face around here, I'd be ashamed to show my face around here. And speaking of 'masks,' there's no disguising the team's flaws. Our running game is weak, and our defense is suspect. In year's past, when you mentioned the word 'suspect' in relation to the team, you were often speaking of some of our best players. Not this year."

The Packers surprised many, themselves included, with a 9-0 win on the road against the Jets, as the Packers defense was bent, but did not break, despite giving up 123 more yards than the Jets' defense.

"We did something that hasn't been done all year," said Clay Matthews. "No, I'm not talking about shutting out the Jets. I'm talking about playing up to expectations."

Jones was right to apologize to fans. But should Jerry also apologize to NBC, for ruining what looked to be a matchup of NFC superpowers when the NFL schedule was released? No, not at all. Millions of people will still tune in, because it's hard not to look at a train wreck.

Packers win, 30-23.

Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati (+3½)

The reeling Bengals host the Steelers, as Pittsburgh and Ben Roethlisberger look to avenge two losses to the Bengals last year. Cincy, a full three games behind the Steelers and Ravens in the AFC North, has lost four straight, and need a win to maintain any hopes of a playoff berth.

"Terrell Owens and I live for games like this. 'Batman and Robin' love prime time games, especially when the villainous Ben Roethlisberger will be present with a nefarious scheme to defeat us. As you may know, Roethlisberger's alter-ego is 'The Diddler,' and, unlike most, he doesn't assume his role in a phone both by disrobing, he does so by disrobing others in another confined space, a bathroom."

The Steelers will bring their hard-hitting brand of defense, legal or not, to Paul Brown Stadium with the intent of inflicting pain, real or figurative, on the Bengals. Last week, linebacker James Harrison drilled Drew Brees with a questionable hit that the NFL reviewed as an incident of hitting a defenseless quarterback with the crown of a helmet.

"I think Dennis Green once famously said 'If you want to crown them, then crown their asses,'" Harrison said. "I want to, so I did. And Drew Brees is the reigning Super Bowl MVP, so I consider it a 'Crown Royal.' Now, I promise I won't hit a defenseless quarterback on Sunday in Cincinnati. Of course, with Carson Plamer on the field, I can'' guarantee I won'' hit an 'offense-less' quarterback."

The Pittsburgh defense contains the Bengals offense, and Roethlisberger undresses the Cincinnati secondary.

Steelers win, 24-13.

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 8:28 PM | Comments (0)

MLB Logos, Past and Present (Pt. 2)

What do you mean you missed the first part of my series on MLB logos? I'm not sure I can really forgive you, but if you check it out now, it'll be a start.

On to the AL West and NL East!

TEXAS RANGERS

The current AL champions only had five primary logos in their existence, and my favorite of the bunch is one they used only for one year.

Incidentally, is the another state that incorporates their geographic shape into their logos more than Texas does? Just off the top of my head, the Rangers, the Astros, the Stars, the Dallas Texans (now the Kansas City Chiefs), Stephen F. Austin, and the basketball courts for both Texas A&M and Texas. I've even seen a high school that incorporated Texas' shape into their logo. A college, I could understand, but a high school? Is this like the flagship high school of Texas?

OAKLAND A'S

The A's primary logo has been pretty boring over the years, although their '70s logo is pretty cute, (the shoes! "swingin'!"). Their alternate logos, on the other hand, have been worth talking about. They rolled out this one, which I love, in 1993. By the way, why do sports teams like the A's and Alabama use an elephant logo, but no one names themselves "the Elephants?"

Anyway, just a year after busting out the menacing elephant logo, they made a slight but ridiculous change to it, thus ruining it. In 1999, they upped the ante again. When you think of the A's, you think of an elephant made of legos and playing croquet, right?

ANAHEIM ANGELS

Let's say you attended an Angels game in 1992. And let's say you got conked in the head by a foul ball, and the last thing you saw before your world went black was their primary logo at the time.

In 2002, you finally, miraculously awaken from your coma! You see their new primary logo.

What you won't know is that they also used two completely different primary logos within those 10 years, plus another tweak, not to mention the whole California Angels/Anaheim Angels/Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim thing. This franchise is the most schizophrenic in baseball. Their punishment should be a permanent change to their Gene Autry Memorial logo.

SEATTLE MARINERS

The trident logo was one of my childhood favorites, along with Milwaukee's logo of the time. Then in 1987, they replaced it with the most boring logo imaginable

At least they have gotten away from that these days, but still, who wants to join me in starting up a "bring back the trident!" petition?

FLORIDA MARLINS

I have less to say about the Marlins than any other team in the majors. They are 17-years-old, and have never really changed anything other than tweaks in that time. It's not a bad logo. It's not a good logo. It's just an average logo. Change it already.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS

Not a lot of history to go on here, either, even if you include their history as the Montreal Expos. I do have two anecdotes, however.

1) When I was a kid, I asked my mom what the J and the B stood for on the Expos' cap and jersey. She laughed and said it was an M. Do you see it, though? The first third of the M being a J, the second two thirds being a lower case B?

2) I went to a DC United (the soccer team) game this summer at RFK stadium. I sat at the end of my row, and I noticed that each end-row seat had a DC United sticker on it. I peeled mine away, which revealed a "Washington Nationals Inaugural Season" logo sticker underneath it. Am I proud of my vandalism? Yes.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

They are another one that exchanged a cool logo for a boring one in the '90s.

I know I usually deride childish logos, like the elephant-with-sunglasses thing for the A's, but for some reason I kind of like the more literally childish alternate logo of the Phillies from the 1970s. And if you peruse all their logos throughout the years, can you tell me that one that does not fit with the rest? Find the bizarre avian outlier.

NEW YORK METS

Firstly, why are they allowed to have an N intertwined with a Y? Why don't the Yankees sue them for that (the Knicks are even worse offenders)?

Secondly, can we have Mister Met fight to the death with the Reds' mascot, so we can have just one baseball-headed man to rule us all?

ATLANTA BRAVES

(The time: 1970 in Atlanta. The place: a modest two-story home. The scene: a man tries to teach his 4-year old grandson about baseball.)

GRANDPA: Baseball is a great sport, Junior! Your ol' Grandpa played it in the army, not 200 yards from the barracks! That was dubyah dubyah two.

JUNIOR: sucks his thumb silently)

GRANDPA: And the Atlanta Braves are a great team! They have Hammerin' Hank! They used to be in Milwaukee. But they came down to Hotlanta because they are the greatest baseball team in the world and they wanted to be closer to your Grandpa!

JUNIOR: (sucks his thumb silently)

GRANDPA: Now Junior, it's important for a boy to get started in baseball early. That's why I got you this ball and glove! We'll start practicin' tomorrow!

JUNIOR: (sucks his thumb silently)

GRANDPA: Secondly, we're gonna make you a proper Braves fan! I got you a hat, a t-shirt, and a blanket with their logo — real, real, real, real big! (holds up blanket)

JUNIOR: (screams, cries, runs out of the room)

THE END

Unbelievably, the Braves used one version or another of this logo for 35 years.

Posted by Kevin Beane at 7:03 PM | Comments (1)

November 3, 2010

Flipping the Switch On

It's been an offseason of discontent with LeBron James, jubilation over Kevin Durant, anxiety about free agency, and near apathy for the world championships. Last week, though, that all stopped. The season got underway with the crowning of a defending champ, the resurgence of a revamped NBA finalist, and the unveiling of the talents in South Beach.

With so many eyes now focused on the professional game itself, there was a lot to take in (and even more to speculate about). What, you may ask? These are some of the revelations I took out of week one.

All Together Now ... Just Breathe

Okay, the Heat were trotted out into enemy territory for the league-wide opener against the squad that will more than likely challenge them for Eastern representation in the Finals. Boston was more than ready for the latest incarnation of the Big Three (which they had put together only three years ago). I had a chance to catch some of the second half and noticed that the Celtics were in control. I had to admit that I wasn't too upset about the result.

But for all those gleeful smirks from all the LeBron haters across the country, the dream disaster was short-lived. Miami came out Wednesday and laid a nice whippin' on Philadelphia (the 76ers needed a big fourth to make the score respectable). Then, in another early showdown, the Heat opened their home schedule by putting a complete whippin' on Orlando. Now people might go back to saying that James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh are ready to deliver on the 70-win expectations of others.

We've got to chill and let these guys gel. Are they world beaters? No. Could they be? Pretty much. I'm not big either way on this team yet. But, along the way, it should be fun to watch them terrorize some folks.

The Leaders of the Pack

The Lake Show will be tough to beat. After a big comeback against the Rockets, I'd watch out for a nice jolt to start the season. Kobe Bryant and his posse dispatched Phoenix Friday and crushed Golden State Sunday. Sure, we'll have the midseason swoon from the purple and gold. We'll question whether this team has the hunger. We'll ask if Bryant is too beat-up or too old to continue on. In the end, though, they'll be there at the end. Who will challenge them for the Western title in May?

Shuffling Through the Murkiness

Behind the Lakers, there's a mosh-pit of contenders looking to force themselves towards the stage. A lot of people look at Oklahoma City as the second banana to beat this season. Their win against Chicago was a good start. However, they struggled to finish off a win at Detroit, then got housed at home by Utah. These guys are still young and should get more consistent by the turn of the year.

I'm still high on Portland. I think they were where OKC was two years ago. Now, this may be the time to take the next step. A back-to-back sweep against Phoenix and at the Clippers might not provide the strongest competition, but it does bode fairly well early. The Blazers have three more back-to-backs before the middle of November (including one that started with a Monday night loss in Chicago). Get through that, and the next set aren't for another month.

Two key home-and-home battles over the next couple of weeks might be an slight indicator of who'll be a third challenger in the conference. Dallas is involved in both of them. The Mavericks will take on Denver this week (Wednesday and Saturday), then gets New Orleans in two weeks (Monday the 15th and Wednesday the 17th). And a second meeting with Memphis (a Grizzlies win on Friday) could really show the Mavs where they stand in the pecking order.

Needing a Reboot

There are those out there that might say Yao Ming is a bust. I'm not one of them. When healthy, he's a consistent force inside. Of course, he can't stay healthy. This makes me curious when looking at his current situation in Houston. Coming off of last year's injury to his foot, the Rockets are limiting his minutes (a limit of 24 when he plays). He's had some impact in his two appearances (23 points, 17 rebounds in 2 appearances), but how much will his body let him come back?

Meanwhile, Blake Griffin hadn't even made an impact on the NBA before last Wednesday. A knee injury in the first preseason game wiped out the whole year for 2009 number one overall pick. Now he's got his shot to shine. An impressive 20 points and 14 boards against Portland announced his arrival. Four games in, his 16.8 ppg and 10.3 rpg put him at the head of this rookie class. Unfortunately, the impact hasn't been felt in wins. Being with the Clippers might do that to you. It'll be interesting to find out if he can turn that around.

We're Counting the Early Returns

Tuesday is Election Day, and don't look now, but who's leading the Atlantic Division district? Yeah, yeah, Boston's there. But the New Jersey Nets? The "couldn't win a game until December '09" Nets? That's right. Devin Harris and Brook Lopez seem to be taking well to new coach Avery Johnson. Plus, having Mikhail Prokhorov as their owner might ignite a spark.

Of course, it's early in the day, and more precincts have yet to be counted. However, I expect the Nets to have more checked ballots than all of the '09 campaign before the midday (I'll say Dec. 17th at Toronto). When all the votes are counted, I think they'll fall just short of playoff election (two games shy of making the postseason).

In the end, the usual suspects should be grappling to hold the Larry O'Brien Trophy. But if the first week is an indicator, how we get there might be a bit more entertaining this time around.

Posted by Jonathan Lowe at 5:11 PM | Comments (0)

NASCAR Top 10 Power Rankings: Week 33

Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Jimmie Johnson — Johnson finished seventh on a wild day at Talladega, avoiding trouble and maintaining his points lead. Johnson was running up front late, but could find no help in the draft and faded slightly at the end.

"I'm not surprised I got no help," Johnson said. "It's me against the world out there. But, as four consecutive Sprint Cup championships will attest, I'm the world-beater."

2. Denny Hamlin — Hamlin lost the draft midway through the Amp Energy Juice 500, falling a lap down and fearing the worst in his quest for the Sprint Cup. But he got draft help from fellow Toyota driver David Reutimann, as well as several cautions, to methodically work his way back to the front. Hamlin finished ninth and now trails Jimmie Johnson by 14 in the point standings.

"I saw the Cup flash before my eyes," said Hamlin. "I believe that's called a 'see' cup, which is a common sight on a casual stroll through the Talladega infield.

I was quite surprised that Kyle Busch offered to drop back and help me regain the draft. It was a touching gesture, one in which I won't press charges, and one that surprised me greatly. You could say Kyle 'blinded me with alliance.'"

3. Kevin Harvick — Harvick was edged by Richard Childress Racing teammate Clint Bowyer in a photo finish at Talladega as A.J. Allmendinger's flipped behind them. Harvick's runner-up finish trimmed 24 points off of Jimmie Johnson's points lead, and he now trails Johnson by 38.

"The last time Bowyer had a .002 edge," Hamlin said, "he failed inspection. But I'm surprised Clint didn't get behind me and let me slip ahead for the win. That would mean Clint's 'got my back,' which is what I would expect after what I did to Denny Hamlin in Clint's honor."

4. Jeff Gordon — Gordon was drafting with teammate Jimmie Johnson when engine trouble forced him to pull out of line with about 12 laps to go. Gordon rebounded, and the two hooked up again and we're charging with three laps remaining. Unfortunately, they could get no help from anyone else in the field. Gordon finished eighth and is now fourth in the points, 207 behind Johnson.

"I wrote off my chances for the 2010 Sprint Cup weeks ago," Gordon said. "With a new sponsor coming in for 2011, I prefer to look forward. And by looking forward, as opposed to looking backward, I'm more likely to see a victory."

5. Kyle Busch — Busch was a force at Talladega, leading as late as lap 175, before getting shuffled back in the draft and fading. He finished 25th, and fell one place in the point standings to fifth, 230 out of first.

"I'm sure Denny had an empty feeling falling out of the draft and a lap down," said Busch. "I can certainly relate, because my proposal to drop back and help him was an 'empty' offer."

6. Carl Edwards — Edwards finished 17th in the Amp Energy Juice 500, as A.J. Allmendinger's crash with one lap to go halted Edward's expected charge to the front. Edwards remains sixth in the Sprint Cup point standings, and trails Jimmie Johnson by 247.

"I'm proud to say I led a lap at Talladega," Edwards said. "Heck, I think there were 24 other guys that led at least one lap, including Kurt and Kyle Busch. So, in hindsight, I guess it wasn't that special, because everybody and his brother led a lap."

7. Clint Bowyer — Bowyer raced side by side with Kevin Harvick as the two took the white flag, but A.J. Allmendinger's crash negated a last lap battle, and the result then rested in the hands of NASCAR officials. After several minutes of deliberation, Bowyer was declared the winner of the Amp Energy Juice 500, his second win of the Chase.

"It doesn't matter how I win," Bowyer said, "NASCAR still feels the need to question my results. Sure, my name is 'Clint,' but that's no reason for NASCAR to be 'dirty' and 'harry' me."

8. Matt Kenseth — Kenseth led 13 laps and finished 16th at Talladega after taking the middle line late in the race and finding no drafting help. That put a damper on Kenseth's potential charge to the front, and left him eighth in the point standings, 324 out of first.

"Roush Fenway cars were running 16th, 17th, and 19th when the caution came out," Kenseth said. "It's a rare occasion we all have the chance to work together, much less agree to it."

9. Tony Stewart — After a flat tire left him a lap down for much of the race, Stewart finally regained the lap with the "Lucky Dog" free pass on lap 180, Stewart was up to 11th and anticipating a decisive charge to the front. But, as Talladega luck would have it, he was tagged from behind in a lap 187 five-car wreck, ruining his charge and leaving him with a disappointing 31st-place finish.

"The huge, destructive crash to which we've grown accustomed," Stewart said, "never materialized. It wasn't the 'big one, but it still cost us our race. It's a theory that I've been advocating for much of my adult life, and that's the notion that 'size doesn't matter.'"

10. Jeff Burton — Contact with Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s No. 88 car on lap 133 sent Burton's No. 31 Caterpillar Financial car into the wall and sliding to a fiery stop. Burton finished 41st, and fell two places in the points to 10th, 352 out of first.

"Earnhardt, Jr. is NASCAR's most popular driver," Burton said. "So, it's with a nod to a classic Tom Cruise movie when I say I was 'top-gunned' when Junior sent me for the 'turn and burn.'"

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 11:06 AM | Comments (0)

November 2, 2010

NFL Week 8 Power Rankings

Five Quick Hits

* Wow, that didn't take long. The Vikings will waive Randy Moss after just four games. What's the over/under on how long it takes the Bengals or Cowboys to sign him?

* Jon Gruden: "Guy's a great player; something's missing. I'd like to know what it is." Well said. Moss' next team will be his fifth. How can a player this talented, a future Hall of Famer, keep getting shipped out of town? Something's missing.

* This weekend, James Laurinaitis led the Rams in tackles, with a sack and an interception. He's been doing this for a year and a half now. This kid can play.

* For years, the Packers would play one home game a year in Milwaukee instead of Green Bay. That's almost unthinkable now, the way Lambeau Field's aura has gotten. In Week 9, the Bills will play a "home" game in Toronto. I'm sure Toronto has plenty of Bills fans, but I just don't think it's the same advantage the Packers got in Milwaukee, and it's certainly not the same advantage the Bills get in Buffalo. It's probably better than the homefield advantage the 49ers got in London.

* The San Francisco Giants are World Series champions. Congratulations to Edgar Rentería and the rest of the team.

***

Between FOX and NBC, I don't know how many times I heard the phrase "America's Game of the Week" yesterday. One would have been too many. That's an eight-syllable phrase, so it takes a long time to get through, plus it's presumptuous and irritating, and in FOX's case at least, it's inaccurate. The biggest problem is this: you can’t give yourself a nickname. My favorite discussion on the subject is from Sports Night (skip to the 5:27 mark and watch to about 6:18, or if you're not in a hurry, start at 4:30 or 4:55).

With no further ado, power rankings. Brackets indicate last week's rank.

1. New England Patriots [4] — I'm not happy about this. The Patriots have obvious flaws, and easily could have lost a couple games they won. But the other top teams have the same kind of issues. The Giants have a turnover problem, the Titans can't keep their QB healthy, the Colts can't keep anyone healthy, the Steelers and Jets just lost, and neither they nor the Ravens have been dominant even in their wins recently. This weekend, the Vikings out-gained New England both rushing and passing, and won time of possession by more than 10 minutes. The Pats' defense made some critical stops in short-yardage situations on Sunday. Neil Paine presents compelling evidence that the Patriots aren't likely to keep this up.

2. New York Giants [5] — I hate when people crow about "parity" in the NFL, like we didn't just have the only 16-0 team in history (2007), the only 0-16 team in history (2008), and two teams at 13-0, with a shot at going undefeated if they'd really wanted to (2009). For now, though, there does seem to be unusually little difference between the best teams and the worst. Hey, remember when the Giants had the "Earth, Wind, and Fire" backfield in 2008? Ahmad Bradshaw, who in 2010 is on pace for 1,618 yards, back then was Fire, the weakest of the three.

3. Tennessee Titans [3] — Vince Young re-injured his ankle, but the bigger concern has to be Kenny Britt's hamstring. Kerry Collins has proven he's capable, and the team has confidence in him. I doubt Damian Williams or Lavelle Hawkins can step in for Britt as easily. This may sound odd about a game in which the officials called 18 penalties and threw someone out, but Bill Leavy's crew missed a number of calls on Sunday, though not noticeably favoring either team.

4. Indianapolis Colts [7] — Three wins in a row, the best current streak besides the Patriots (5) and Giants (4). A bunch of guys stepped up and had big games for the Colts on Monday night, especially on the offensive and defensive lines. Dwight Freeney had 2 sacks, and that's a great game, but he also created constant pressure and really disrupted Houston's passing game. I think Freeney is better now, at age 30, than he was at 25. This sounds crazy, but I wonder if Peyton Manning, who's 34, isn't having his best season, too. I guess he's probably not — that 2004 season was one for the ages. But there's just no question that Manning is playing better this season than he did in either of the past two, when he won league MVP (both years). His current stats, projected for 16 games: 4,992 yards, 34 TD, 5 INT, 101.4 rating. You could double the interceptions and that's still a phenomenal, MVP-type season.

5. Baltimore Ravens [6] — The Steelers and Jets have been my top two the last couple of weeks, but now they drop behind a team that has beaten both of them. The Ravens are 3-0 at home, but their biggest wins (see previous sentence) both came on the road. Ed Reed had a big game in his return from injury last week, and his performance only figures to improve as he gets back into the flow of playing.

6. Pittsburgh Steelers [1] — Were they better before Ben? During Roethlisberger's suspension, the Steelers had a better record and averaged more points per game, while allowing fewer. I wrote earlier this season that Charlie Batch has performed well when he has played in place of Roethlisberger. So has Byron Leftwich. I don't dispute that Ben is a better quarterback, but the play-calling changes when he's in there. Pittsburgh has lost two of its last four, and a controversial last-second win over Miami kept that from being three of the last four. The team plays its third straight road game in Week 9.

7. New York Jets [2] — Came into the weekend leading the league in turnover differential, but they were -3 in Week 8. Against Green Bay, the Jets had 100 more yards of offense, more first downs, much better third down percentage, and more time of possession. But they committed 6 turnovers to Green Bay's none: 1 lost fumble, 2 interceptions, and an incredible three failed fourth-down conversions. They also missed a 37-yard field goal. Here are how the Jets' drives ended on Sunday: punt, punt, failed conversion, fumble, punt, interception, punt, punt, missed field goal, interception, failed conversion, failed conversion, end of game.

8. Atlanta Falcons [8] — In the Matt Ryan Era, this has been a much better team at home (16-3) than on the road (9-11). Watch for a rollercoaster in the coming weeks: three of the next four games are at home, followed by three straight away games, then a pair of division matchups at home to close out the regular season.

9. Miami Dolphins [10] — Teams with a winning record and a turnover differential worse than -2: Dolphins (-4), Giants (-5), Saints (-5). We think of Miami as a conservative team: running, defense, limited mistakes. Miami's MVP so far might be placekicker Dan Carpenter, 3rd in the NFL with 65 points and 2nd in field goals (18). He hasn't missed from under 40 yards, and is 13/13 since the bye, including a pair of 50-yarders.

10. Green Bay Packers [13] — Banged-up defense came up big against the Jets, earning the first shutout of the 2010 season. Tight end Donald Lee so far has not proven an adequate replacement for Jermichael Finley, who was placed on injured reserve after Week 6. Finley averaged 50 yards per game. Lee is averaging 10, up to a whopping 16 since the injury. Aaron Rodgers with Finley: 258 yards/game, 89.7 passer rating. Without Finley: 233 yds/gm, 72.2 rating. The Packers lead the NFC in point differential (+40).

11. Philadelphia Eagles [11] — Third in the NFL in rushing average. Leading rusher LeSean McCoy averages 4.5 yards per carry, which is good, but not really exceptional. However, the second and third leading rushers do have great averages. Michael Vick is at 7.2, and DeSean Jackson checks in at 11.2 on 6 carries. I predict that if Vick starts the rest of the season, Philadelphia will finish in the top half of the NFL in rush attempts for the first time since 2002. That year, the Eagles were led by Duce Staley (269 att), Dorsey Levens (75), and Donovan McNabb (63). Brian Westbrook came in fourth (46).

12. Kansas City Chiefs [12] — Huge game from Jamaal Charles: 22 rushes for 177 yards and 4 receptions for 61 yards. That ties Arian Foster (Week 1) for the most yards from scrimmage in a game this season (238). Rounding out the top five: Jahvid Best (232), Kenny Britt (225), Terrell Owens (222). Charles leads the NFL in rushing average (6.47) by almost a full yard. The single-season record is 6.40, by Jim Brown in 1963 (min. 150 attempts).

13. Washington Redskins [9] — Do I have to write about this stupid benching Donovan McNabb thing? Fine, real quick: dumb idea. I don't care how bad McNabb's "cardiovascular endurance" is, the backup is Rex Grossman. This isn't Sonny Jurgensen or Steve Young sitting on the bench. Last week I wrote, "Washington should cut return man Brandon Banks. He's good for one serious mistake every game." This week he returned one kickoff for a touchdown and had another TD called back by penalty, while avoiding any obvious mistakes. Banks is the smallest player (5'7", 149 lbs) in the NFL. Other players listed at 5'7": Rock Cartwright, Stefan Logan, Darren Sproles, LaRod Stephens-Howling, Garrett Wolfe. Other players listed at under 175 lbs: Deon Butler and Dexter McCluster (170), Wolfe (171), and Drew Coleman (173). The king of small players was Buddy Young, a 5'4" stick of dynamite who played for the Colts in the '50s, and before them, the New York Yankees of the AAFC. Young was so good that (like Sproles) he earned significant playing time on offense, despite his size. He was a good runner in the AAFC (5.5 yds/att), but in the NFL he was most effective as a receiver out of the backfield, averaging 16.6 yds/rec. Young's kickoff return average (27.9) is 6th best all-time.

14. San Diego Chargers [17] — Incredibly, managed to have another punt blocked this week. Mike Scifres, whom I chose as the punter for my All-Decade Team, is having an awful year. His punts either get blocked or returned for TDs, and on Sunday he muffed a perfect snap and cost his team an extra point. Kris Brown fantasy owners curse you, Scifres, for costing them a point. In other special teams news, I love Darren Sproles, but he has got to start catching the ball on punt returns. He let a couple bounce and put his team in poor field position. I say nice things about the Chargers when they lose, and mean things when they win.

15. New Orleans Saints [19] — Finally got a big win. At the beginning of the season, we thought the Vikings and 49ers were big wins, but those teams are now a combined 4-11; we were wrong. A double-digit victory over the Steelers on a national broadcast, however, is a big win. I don't understand this team's last month. In Week 5, the Saints somehow lost to Arizona. The next week, they thrashed the 5-2 Buccaneers. In Week 7, they got embarrassed by the Browns, and now this. They lose to two bad teams and get convincing wins over the good ones. New Orleans only has three home games remaining.

16. Oakland Raiders [24] — Won three of their last four, including a victory over the Chargers and a pair of routs. They rank among the top 10 in offense and defense. The latter just ruined Seattle this week, sacking Matt Hasselbeck 8 times and holding the 'Hawks to 1/16 on third down. I don't see how they can send Jason Campbell back to the bench after the way he's played the last two weeks. You've got momentum right now, and you can't bench the hot hand. It won't matter next week, though, because they host the Chiefs, who have won in Oakland for seven years in a row.

17. Houston Texans [15] — Brian Cushing looked lost on Monday night. The 2009 Defensive Rookie of the Year, Cushing moved to middle linebacker this week to replace the injured DeMeco Ryans. Maybe he'll grow into the role, but right now it looks like the Texans have cut off their nose to spite their face. Losing Ryans was bad enough, but you can't fix the problem by neutering a great player, forcing him out of position. Don't let one injury weaken you at two positions. DE Mario Williams also was invisible for most of the game. The one defensive player who impressed me was DT Amobi Okoye. He didn't make a lot of plays, but he was double-teamed on almost every snap and he got some pressure on Manning. It wasn't a superstar performance, and I'd like to see him come out of the game a little less often, but that's a guy who can make plays and set things up for his teammates.

18. Detroit Lions [26] — This doesn't seem quite right. Last week, I wrote, "There's a good chance they'll upset Washington in Week 8." Why do they rise eight spots for something I already thought they were going to do? Maybe I'm just giving them a new look, treating them more as the 2010 Lions and less as the same team that went 2-30 the last couple of years. In the last month, they've beaten a pair of 4-4 teams, one of them in a rout. They lost by 8 to the Giants and 2 to the Packers, both on the road. Those are not bad losses. Maybe this is too high for a team that hasn't shown it can win close games with any consistency, but these Lions are no joke. Detroit leads the NFC in scoring. Calvin Johnson (9 rec, 101 yds, 3 TD) was obviously the star this weekend, but Cliff Avril, Ndamukong Suh, and Kyle Vanden Bosch had 2 sacks each in the win over Washington. The game featured 18 punts and 17 penalties.

19. Minnesota Vikings [14] — I've moved them behind the Lions. Both teams are 2-5, but the Lions have outscored their opponents (+18) and the Vikings have been outscored by their opponents (-15), against virtually equal strength of schedule, 28-24 and 28-23. The Vikings have kept it close against good opponents, but the teams Minnesota has actually beaten have a combined record of 3-11 (.214). The Vikings have now gone three straight games without a sack from their defense, for the first time in the club's 50-year history. If I'm a Minnesota fan, I'm much more concerned about the seemingly constant injury issues of Percy Harvin than those of Brett Favre. Tarvaris Jackson might actually be an upgrade at this point, but they can't afford to lose Harvin.

20. Cleveland Browns [18] — Surely there is something interesting to be said about the Browns during their bye week. Okay, got it. They have a funky schedule coming up. The next two games are at home against AFC East powerhouses (Pats, Jets). Then they play the '95 expansion teams (Jags, Panthers), followed by three straight on the road. That's cold, a three-week road swing in December. They close with a pair of divisional matchups at home (Ravens, Steelers). Predicted record: 5-11, but one they can build on. Don't fire Eric Mangini. Unless they go 2-14. Then you can fire him.

21. Tampa Bay Buccaneers [20] — Eight teams are 5-2. The season point differentials among those eight: +51, +49, +45, +41, +36, +22, +20, -27. One of these things is not like the others! The Bucs are not a great team; they might be a good team. So far, though, they haven't beaten anyone with a winning record, and only one of their wins is by more than a field goal. After years in the wilderness, this team seems to be finding an offensive identity, but the win this weekend was really about playmaking defense, to the tune of 4 interceptions, including an Aqib Talib touchdown. Talib has 5 picks this season.

22. St. Louis Rams [21] — Without exaggeration, one of the worst offenses in the NFL. They are 29th in scoring, fourth-worst in the whole league. The defense, 6th-best, is the reason this team has four wins. Against a cupcake schedule — only one opponent over .500, the 5-2 Bucs — and with one of the best running backs in the league (Steven Jackson) they still can't find the end zone. I am just mystified by the apparent consensus that Sam Bradford should win Offensive Rookie of the Year. I mean, he doesn't have a lot to work with and he hasn't messed things up too badly, but he's 26th in passer rating. What about Jahvid Best, Mike Williams, Dez Bryant, Aaron Hernandez? Hey, why not Maurkice Pouncey, the starting center for the Steelers? Or ... this might be too crazy ... what about waiting until the season is more than halfway over to even start speculating on these things?

23. Seattle Seahawks [16] — Atrocious game in Oakland, and not just a fluke. Seattle obviously is not quite as bad as it looked in Week 8, but the team ranks 25th in passing, 27th in rushing, 28th in scoring, and 30th in total yardage. The offense blows. Since scoring a season-high 31 points in Week 1, the Seahawks have averaged just 15.3 per game, and they haven't exactly been playing the Jets every week.

24. Jacksonville Jaguars [28] — With apologies to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow...

There was a football team,
Who had a teal uniform,
Despite being in the NFL.
When it was good,
It was very good indeed,
But when it was bad, it was horrid.

25. San Francisco 49ers [30] — The NFC West is so bad that the 2-6 Niners are only 2½ games out of the division lead, which is not out of the question with 5 division games remaining. Every team in the NFC West has been outscored by its opponents this season. Troy Smith didn't light the world on fire (only 19 pass attempts), but he managed the game, and right now the team will take that. The 49ers still have an outside shot at the playoffs if they can just limit their mistakes.

26. Chicago Bears [23] — Dropped three spots during their bye week. This shouldn't happen. I had them too high, I think, and teams like Detroit and Oakland too low. After a 3-0 start, the Bears have lost three of their last four. The team has allowed 31 sacks this season. No one else has more than 23. The Bears are also one of only three teams to throw at least 12 interceptions already. The others are ranked 30th and 31st.

27. Dallas Cowboys [22] — Forgive me for being Johnny One-Note, but I don't get this at all. They just lost their starting quarterback, but they have a run-blocking line and a stable of good RBs. On Sunday, Jon Kitna dropped back to pass 53 times, and handed off 17 times. This is insanity. I wouldn't let Jason Garrett call plays for a Pop Warner team. Terry Bradshaw, who played with a broken collarbone, summed up the Tony Romo situation well: he shouldn't play. The Cowboys aren't going anywhere this season, and it's not worth risking the long-term health of a franchise quarterback to finish 5-11 instead of 4-12. What if the Cowboys get hot and somehow find themselves in the playoff race, Curt Menefee asked. "If they're hot, they don't need him," replied Bradshaw. That was before the Cowboys dropped to 1-6. They're not getting hot; they're not making the playoffs.

28. Cincinnati Bengals [27] — Everyone has penciled in LaDainian Tomlinson for Comeback Player of the Year, and that's hard to argue with, but how about Terrell Owens? He's in the top 10 in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving TDs. The Bengals have lost four in a row, but Owens has been a pleasant surprise on the field, having his best season in years. In 2009, he finished with 829 yards and 5 TDs. This season, he already has 629 yards and 5 TDs.

29. Denver Broncos [25] — Statistically a top-10 offense, but they're 22nd in scoring. This is not just about turnover differential (-4) or special teams (Matt Prater missed an extra point on Sunday). The Broncos rank 22nd in third down percentage, which is incredibly low for a team that passes as well as they have. But they can't run the ball, so they end up with lots of 3rd-and-long, and they can't reliably convert short yardage when they do get it. Tim Tebow has a role to play in this offense, but it is not replacing Kyle Orton as the starting quarterback. Orton and Brandon Lloyd are all this offense has.

30. Arizona Cardinals [31] — As I was trying to figure out whether or not they should rank ahead of Denver, I pondered which was the most embarrassing loss of the season so far. Was it the 41-10 beatdown the Chargers laid on Arizona, or the 59-15 whipping Oakland administered to the Broncos? Tough call.

31. Carolina Panthers [29] — Average 12.1 points per game, worst in the NFL. Second-worst is the Browns' 16.9. The second-worst offense is still 40% better than Carolina's. What else do you need to know?

32. Buffalo Bills [32] — Consecutive three-point losses to good teams, so they may be on the way up. I am deeply skeptical of tackle statistics, but Paul Posluszny apparently was in on 18 tackles against Kansas City, 11 solo and 7 assists. Kyle Williams sacked Matt Cassel twice, making him the team leader with 3. In their battle to avoid 0-16, the Bills have three winnable games coming up. If they still haven't won by Thanksgiving, things start to look pretty grim.

Posted by Brad Oremland at 9:03 PM | Comments (1)

A Bunt, a Bomb, and the Giants Win

Oh, what a feeling it must be to be Aubrey Huff and Edgar Renteria. Not that it feels any less marvelous to be just among the San Francisco Giants — as in, the World Series-winning, drought-breaking, first-time-living-on-the-Bay-Series-winning San Francisco Giants.

But a key retread from among the castoffs and misfits their own manager calls the Dirty (Couple of) Dozen and a broken down infielder on the possible threshold of retirement, but with the World Series' Most Valuable Player award in his hands, have a lifetime of bragging rights about which to brag to their grandchildren in due course.

All Huff did was something he'd never been called upon to do in his career until Monday night in Rangers Ballpark at Arlington to finish setting the table for all Renteria did to remind people of whence he came in the first place over a decade earlier. If Renteria was serious in his hints toward retirement before the Series began, he couldn't have picked a bigger bang with which to go out.

The man who first entered America's baseball consciousness with the 1997 Series-winning RBI hit in the 11th inning just might be leaving it with what proved to be a Series-winning bomb.

With one seventh-inning swing against Cliff Lee, Renteria drove an exclamation point onto the finish of what began as the pitching duel everyone expected in Game 1. But it took until Game 5 for the duel to materialize, and it took Huff — a man whose career until Monday showed a possible allergy to sacrifice bunts, a man who proudly bragged about wearing a red thong under his uniform for luck, saying without apology that he had to do something to "fit in with these morons" — dropping maybe the most powerful bunt in Giants' history, if not World Series history, to finish setting Renteria's podium in the first place.

Until the seventh, Lee and Tim Lincecum worked the shootout everyone thought they'd work in Game 1, before the Giants chipped and clipped Lee while Lincecum served just enough to keep things close before the Giants cracked it open wide and wide again against a Texas Rangers club making its franchise-first World Series date.

Come Monday, Lee and Lincecum went at it hammer and tongs. Or so it would look if you were only reading the box score. If you were actually watching the game, Lincecum looked the way Lee was supposed to look. But Lee showed vulnerabilities enough that it might have been just a matter of time before his formerly invincible armor was vaporized.

Because you're not really going that much toe-to-toe against Lincecum when Pat Burrell lines one of your services to the back of left field for a hard hit out. You're not really Lincecum's match when Freddy Sanchez smashes one up the pipe that requires you yourself to leap for a snap to turn a likely base hit into an out. You're not really going to beat Lincecum when Buster Posey lines one of your meatiest offerings into the right field corner and foul by mere inches. Or, when Posey sends a high liner deep to right center that doesn't become an extra base hit only because Nelson Cruz can and does run it down and haul it away.

The line drives were zinging off the Giants' bats early enough and often enough that, sooner or later, they were bound to find destinations other than Ranger gloves. Which is precisely what happened in the top of the seventh. Three hard swings. Three hard swats. One ground single, one line single, one three-run bomb. Right then and there the Series was all but over.

Cody Ross opened the proceedings with a sharp grounder up the pipe on 1-2, the ball scampering just off second base and into center for a single. Juan Uribe fouled off a pair of fastballs before hitting a bullet liner, also up the pipe, for another single.

Up came Huff, attacking Lee's first service like a Great Dane attacking a steak and dragging it up the first base line, probably shocking everyone in the house. Including his own mates. Including his own manager, who had spent the postseason being remarkably unshocked at anything that transpired up to this point. The only thing that kept the Giants from loading the bases on that play was Lee himself making a diving stab at the ball and shoveling it to first baseman Mitch Moreland as he completed his dive.

"I'll be honest," Huff huffed after it was all over. "When I went up there, I didn't feel like I had a chance. So even though I got the bunt sign, I was going to do it anyway."

The only thing standing between Renteria and glory now was Burrell. He started by calling time, then lined one foul down the left field line, called time again twice with Lee taking long delays between pitches, took a low curve ball, swung, and missed on a high changeup, then struck out swinging on a cutter that started away and broke right back to the middle.

It was probably the biggest strikeout of Lee's evening, and it didn't matter in the end. He threw Renteria one high cutter and one high and away changeup. Then, he threw Renteria a chest-high cutter right over the middle. And Renteria's swing sent it cutting the air right between left and center on its way over the fence.

The net result, once Lincecum shook off a solo launch by Cruz in the bottom of the seventh, then breezed through the bottom of the eighth, before handing off to The Beard to Fear for the bottom of the ninth, is that these Giants — these Morons, who refused to let any one man stand above the team and got just about every man on the roster to pitch in, swing in, and dive in — have a World Series ring coming for the first time since they landed on the Bay in the first place.

A Giants team with five future Hall of Famers on its roster couldn't pull the trigger in 1962. A Giants team with three aging future Hall of Famers on its roster couldn't get past the League Championship Series in 1971. A Giants team with spunk and funk got waylaid by an earthquake and the Bash Brothers in 1989. A Giants team with Barry Bonds and a cast of journeymen got shoved aside brutally by another star-crossed franchise who overthrew them in Game 6 and then nailed down Game 7 for their first Series triumph.

This edition had maybe one or two bona-fide stars, three at most, all as yet to affirm their credentials as Hall of Famers in waiting. Two Cy Young Awards to the contrary, nobody knows yet whether Lincecum will finish his career in Juan Marichal's stratosphere, or Gaylord Perry's.

Nobody knows whether Posey — a likely Rookie of the Year — will finish his anywhere within sight of those occupied by Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, or Orlando Cepeda. Or, whether this collection of journeymen, spare parts, and spare bodies that wouldn't have raised so much as half an eyebrow on other clubs, won't be shifted around just a trifle for the races to come.

Right now, so far as San Francisco is concerned, those three entities are somewhere only Mays had ever been able to go, never mind that it happened when the Giants' home address was New York. And these Giants, whose New York history was as illustrious as their San Francisco history had heretofore been somewhere between hideous and hilarious, make Paul Bunyan resemble Tom Thumb.

And these Rangers, full of spunk in their own right, but barely as colorful as the Morons By the Bay, could have shown nothing sadder than their three biggest plate threats going down meekly enough in the bottom of the ninth Monday night, even with a mere three-run deficit.

Josh Hamilton, whose resurrection from the depths made such a heartwarming story all season long — looking at strike three right down the pipe. Vladimir Guerrero, who'd come up big enough for the Rangers this season, after spending years punishing them in Los Angeles Angels silks — grounding first service to Renteria at shortstop for an out. Cruz, who'd performed no few magnificent moments earlier in the Rangers' postseason prowl — fighting Brian Wilson gamely to a full count, then helpless as Wilson smashed a high cutter right through his swinging bat.

And to think that not a week ago the entire world thought Cliff Lee was invincible. Now, the Freak stood where Lee was supposed to stand. Which was wholly fitting considering everyone thought his regular season was such a disappointment by comparison to his two Cys and others were beginning to wonder whether Matt Cain — who pitched so magnificently in Game 2 while rolling up a non-existent postseason ERA — wasn't really the better pitcher.

In a way it didn't matter. The Giants' pitching depth so outclassed the Rangers', while the Rangers' solid enough offense was put to sleep early enough and often enough, that it was entirely possible the Giants could have lured Marichal out of the broadcast booth, and Marichal could have gotten the Rangers out even if trying just one of his once-legendary high kicks might have sent him flopping onto his back.

Lee's image as a postseason sheriff might have overshadowed the solidity of the Giants' staff coming into the World Series. It was almost easy to forget the Giants' major league-leading 3.36 staff ERA on the regular season; almost easy to forget that their rotation had the majors' second-best rotation ERA and their bullpen the majors' second-best bullpen ERA.

Now it won't be too difficult to remember that the Giants' Series rotation — the first all-homegrown Series rotation since the 1986 Boston Red Sox — finished the Series with a 2.36 ERA. Or that the whole Giant staff kept the Rangers to a .190 Series batting average and three-hit the Rangers twice.

These Rangers who looked so authoritative in plowing past Tampa Bay and the Empire Emeritus to get to the Series in the first place, who had only ever been shut out once at home on the season, who looked on paper like the slightly superior team, ended up looking just too badly overmatched by these Giants. The best news for Ranger fans, even if they lose Lee to another team, since he's expected to file for free agency and might not be an affordable re-hire, is that this Rangers club — with a solid farm system, a solid lineup heart, and solid enough pitching that just wasn't enough to out-pitch the Giants — looks built to contend for another few years.

But so do these Giants, even if the only thing they need to boost is their offense. Right now, however, they're going to be fitted for the rings that eluded a lot of better-on-paper Giants clubs by the Bay. And Monday night they owed a big-time debt to a shortstop who spent most of the season fighting injuries and losing his job, only to take it back when Juan Uribe seemed to falter and Pablo (Kung Fu Panda) Sandoval seemed to lose his stroke at the plate.

What Sandoval lost, Edgar Renteria managed to regain. At precisely the points when it mattered most to the Morons By the Bay.

"I don't normally show emotion when guys hit home runs like that," said Ross, who'd hit some rather succulent home runs this postseason. "But this was a special one, especially for him. Just where he came from, not knowing if he was even going to play this year, or next year, and possibly thinking about retirement."

"Sat on the bench all year," Posey warbled. "Hits two clutch home runs and is going out a World Series champion."

And to think that Renteria before the game had kidded outfielder Andres Torres in the batting cage that he was liable to hit one out in Game 5. "I was joking," Renteria insisted. "But it went out."

It went out, and it signed the Giants' lease on the Promised Land with a bang.

Posted by Jeff Kallman at 4:46 PM | Comments (0)

November 1, 2010

Unparalleled Parity

There is as much parity in college football this year as there has been in a very long time. Eleven of the top 25 teams weren't ranked when the season started, including five of the top 15.

That's one-third of the highest-ranked teams that weren't ranked at all just two months ago. Below is a look at the current top 25, including where each team was ranked in the preseason, along with a short analysis for all of them, as well.

1. Oregon

Preseason ranking: 11

The Ducks were viewed as a great team with a high ceiling, but coming off a Rose Bowl loss to Ohio State, they weren't thought of as elite. Fast forward to the home-stretch of the season, and they're the favorites to win the national championship.

This is due in no small part to Chip Kelly's quick-strike offense, which seems unstoppable so far. With their Heisman candidate LaMichael James shredding defenses, this team is probably the best bet of any of the automatic qualifiers to finish the season undefeated.

2. Auburn

Preseason ranking: 22

The Tigers have thrived in a very tough SEC, largely due to the efforts of their previously much maligned Head Coach Gene Chizik. His game-plans have simply worked to this point, and with Heisman Trophy favorite Cameron Newton at QB, don't expect that to change anytime soon.

But as good as Chizik and Newton have been for this team, I don't like their chances to finish the season undefeated. Not because I think they'll regress, but because their final game is on the road against the Crimson Tide.

3. TCU

Preseason ranking: 6

The Horned Frogs have had a boring season, but for a team that doesn't automatically qualify for a bowl game, that's a fairly desirable type of season. All they have to do is hang around long enough to edge out some of the bigger BCS schools.

With an average margin of victory of 35 points, I would like their chances of remaining undefeated if they didn't have to play their next game on the road against fifth-ranked Utah.

4. Boise State

Preseason ranking: 3

I would love to be able to point out some reason the Broncos have lost ground in the rankings, so that this didn't turn into a "Bashing the BCS"-type analysis, because that wasn't my intent with this article. But at a certain point, some of a flawed system's many short-comings must be pointed out.

Boise State not only has remained undefeated, but since the initial ranking, they've beaten two top-25 teams. Maybe winning at 23rd-ranked Nevada will propel them into the top two, and a BCS championship chance, but right now, the Broncos and their fans probably feel cheated, and I can't say I blame them.

5. Utah

Preseason ranking: Unranked

The last of three non-automatic qualifying teams in the top five, the Utes may just be the most impressive. They've gone from fringe of the top 25 to legitimate, albeit small, chance at a national title, and they've done it in less than two months.

If they can win their next game at home against TCU, they might just be the third-ranked team in the nation this time next week. With No. 2 Auburn playing at Alabama in the final week, that just might be enough to get them into the national championship game.

6. Alabama

Preseason ranking: 1

The Crimson Tide started as a nearly unanimous number one, and have only faltered with a loss on the road against South Carolina. With an unstoppable running game and a good defensive effort, they find themselves still hanging around in the national title discussion.

If they beat Auburn at home on November 26, they may just be a top-two team when final BCS poll is released. Whether or not they deserve to jump past Boise State, Utah, or TCU with such a win, I think the voters will put them there anyway.

If they end up playing Oregon for the championship game, it would be one of the most interesting matchups in recent memory. With the likely TV rating that game would bring, the BCS will make sure it happens if both teams win the rest of their games.

7. Nebraska

Preseason ranking: 8

The Cornhuskers started the season ranked high mostly due the carryover of their success from last year, which was predicated upon a stout defense. So, after winning seven of eight games so far, they're ranked about where they should be and haven't really surprised anyone to this point.

But I don't think they're as good as they were last year, mostly due to a regressing defense. The loss of Ndamukong Suh has probably been the driving force behind a negative trend that has the team giving up 25 points per game on the road this year. With both of their remaining road games against conference opponents with a better than .500 record, they might just lose again, and drop out of the top 10 in the process.

8. Oklahoma

Preseason ranking: 7

Despite dropping one spot in the rankings, the Sooners have actually played better than some people thought they would. One rain-soaked road game against a top-15 conference opponent is all that stands between them and the top spot right now.

They're doing just fine this year, and Landry Jones is every bit as good as advertised. They probably don't have very legitimate title hopes at this point though, especially given that they have road games against Baylor and Oklahoma State, both of whom have explosive offenses.

9. Wisconsin

Preseason ranking: 12

They've beaten two very good teams (Ohio State and Iowa), and their only loss was on the road against an equally good team (Michigan State). If they had any remaining games against great teams, I might think they could jump up in the rankings, but at best, they'll end up ranked sixth at the end of the year.

10. LSU

Preseason ranking: 21

Having the Tigers here is a bit of a head-scratcher to me, especially given that they've hardly exceeded expectations, but are 11 spots higher than in the preseason. Les Miles escaped the wrath of LSU fans everywhere in the game against Tennessee by dumb luck. They should have lost that game and it would have been his fault.

Still, I realize rankings aren't based on ifs, so I'll admit that they deserve to be in the top 25. I just don't think they're one of the 11 best teams in the nation, and I'd be surprised if they don't lose at least two more games by the end of the year.

11. Ohio State

Preseason ranking: 2

The Buckeyes have been disappointing, and don't have a chance to get back in the championship discussion. On the bright side, Terrelle Pryor has matured as a QB, so if he sticks around for one more year, they might be ranked just as high in next year's preseason poll.

12. Missouri

Preseason ranking: Unranked

Without a terrible defensive performance in the first quarter against Nebraska, the Tigers might be ranked in the top five right now. Blaine Gabbert is a tremendous talent, and he finds a way to make the necessary plays. Hopefully for Tigers fans, he sticks around for another year in Columbia.

13. Stanford

Preseason ranking: Unranked

They dominated the Ducks early in their game on October 2, then they fell apart. They've been very impressive since, and they'll be ranked around No. 10 at the end of the year. Andrew Luck is the best pro prospect in the nation, and he'll be successfully moving the ball against NFL defenses this time next year.

14. Michigan State

Preseason ranking: Unranked

The Spartans didn't even get a vote in the preseason poll, yet they found themselves at No. 5 going into their game last week. They're much better than people thought they were, but they're probably only the third best team in their conference.

15. Arizona

Preseason ranking: Unranked

Rounding out the list of five teams currently in the top 15 that were unranked at the beginning of the season, the Wildcats are one of the most enigmatic teams in the nation. The next three weeks will show where exactly they are talent-wise, and if they win all three games, they may just be a top-10 team.

16. Iowa

Preseason ranking: 9

The Hawkeyes have played the exemplification of an up-and-down season. With great expectations to start, they lost to Arizona, then bounced back with three good wins in a row, and went on to lose a home game by 1 point. Now they're fresh off a 31-point victory over a top-five opponent. All in all, the Hawkeyes have been disappointing, but they're still a good team.

17. Oklahoma State

Preseason ranking: Unranked

The Cowboys have a great offense, and they can score on any defense in the nation. Their defense is suspect, though, and can't really be trusted to stop many teams. It's a simple analysis for a simple team. They're going to lose at least two more games by the end of the year.

18. Arkansas

Preseason ranking: 17

I've said it before, and I'll say it again — Ryan Mallett is not a clutch QB. In the biggest games the Razorbacks have played in this year, Mallett has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns. He's got great talent, but the Razorbacks' defense isn't good enough to make up for his big mistakes.

19. South Carolina

Preseason ranking: Unranked

The Steve Spurrier-led Gamecocks have exceeded expectations so far, beating then-top-ranked Alabama, and taking current No. 2 Auburn to the brink on the road. The only thing keeping them from a top 10 spot is an inexplicable loss to Kentucky.

20. Mississippi State

Preseason ranking: Unranked

The Bulldogs have come as close as anyone else to beating Auburn this year, losing 17-14 in their second game. This team is better than their record says they are, and the Crimson Tide could very well lose if they take them too lightly on November 13. Any team that holds Auburn to two touchdowns can play with anybody in the nation.

21. Baylor

Preseason ranking: Unranked

The Bears have been a pleasant surprise to this point, and they've only been held to less than 30 points in a game once this year, and that was on the road against No. 3 TCU. If they win the rest of their games, they might be in the top 15 at the end of the year.

22. Virginia Tech

Preseason ranking: 10

They're far from the most disappointing team in the nation this year, but a home loss to James Madison is just embarrassing for a supposedly elite team. They're not as good as people thought they were in the preseason, but they're not as bad as people thought they were after week two, either.

23. Nevada

Preseason ranking: Unranked

The Wolf Pack should have beaten Hawaii, and if they had, they'd probably be at least five spots higher right now. After starting as strong as they did, their fans will probably be disappointed with the result of this season if they don't beat Boise State at home on November 26. They might just compete in that game, but I don't see them winning it.

24. Florida State

Preseason ranking: 20

The Seminoles and their fans were probably still upset with their 30-point loss to Oklahoma when they beat rival Miami by 28 points. After Thursday's loss to North Carolina State, they're probably looking ahead to their last game of the year against Florida. If the can win that game and the three preceding it, they might be ranked higher than they were in the preseason when the final poll is released.

25. North Carolina State

Preseason ranking: Unranked

The Wolfpack can play well on both sides of the ball, but they have little opportunity to jump in the polls for the rest of the year. Still, they're a lot better than anyone gave them credit for a couple months ago.

***

Teams that were ranked in the preseason, but aren't anymore:

Florida (4)
Texas (5)
Miami (13)
USC (14)
Pittsburgh (15)
Georgia Tech (16)
North Carolina (18)
Penn State (19)
Georgia (23)
Oregon State (24)
West Virginia (25)

Looking at this, I couldn't help but focus on the fact that not only are five of the preseason top 25 no longer ranked, but they've been replaced by teams that weren't ranked at all at the time.

Given this, I can't believe we still rely on a system that factors in preseason polls when deciding the national championship matchup. But that's an entirely different discussion.

Posted by Paul Foeller at 7:32 PM | Comments (1)

Move Over, Idiots ... Meet the Morons

This one's already shaping up to be a brain bender. It might well stay that way even if the San Francisco Giants end up winning the thing in four straight. It might well stay that way even if the Texas Rangers pick themselves up, dust themselves off, start all over again, and remind the Giants what usually happens when you pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger.

The Giants got away with pulling that mask Wednesday night and then left no witnesses behind. That's how profoundly they committed police brutality against the Rangers, caring not a whit for any potential ramifications, even while the Rangers showed a little moxie and pecked away at the Giants like gnats swarming the rancho. It wasn't enough to overthrow the Giants, but at least the Rangers put up a fight.

But the Giants didn't have to pull the mask off anyone Thursday. They just sent their badly-unsung slinger out to keep the Rangers from horsing up; then — with a mere 2-0 lead and a few Ranger threats looming — they took complete advantage of the Ranger bullpen's sudden inability to find the strike zone unless it was over, under, sideways, down, or all the above.

They took a literal walk in the (AT&T) Park — actually, four straight eighth-inning walks, all starting on ball one without a strike; two with not a strike to be seen except, perhaps, by Neftali Feliz, the Texas closer who wasn't even seen warming up but who couldn't be blamed if he'd decided to picket the pen; and, two of them with the bases loaded.

It must have been perverse relief — no, let's rephrase that. It was already perverse relief, once Darren O'Day (who'd relieved starter C.J. Wilson following a gutsy performance) was lifted after surrendering a measly single following two inning-opening swishouts, to get the left-hander-to-left-hander platoon advantage, and the Ranger bulls to follow (Derek Holland, Mark Lowe, Michael Kirkman) brought either their walking papers or their gasoline hoses to the mound.

After the fourth of those walks, it was two-run single, two-run triple, RBI double. The Rangers were probably lucky that the Giants didn't RBI for the cycle before Kirkman finally managed to swish Freddy (Double Trouble) Sanchez for the long-overdue side.

And the big wheel of the mind keeps on turning. How on earth could Rangers manager Ron Washington not even think about sending Feliz out, even with a 2-0 deficit on his hands? Never mind Feliz's job description, there are times, in the World Series in particular, when you need a stopper and you needed him like five minutes ago.

Washington needed a stopper like right then and there rather than let Holland — a starter by trade, a young starter at that, who hadn't gone to the mound in eight days, showing what Washington didn't figure out when Cliff Lee on nine days' rest got chipped and dipped — walk the bases loaded and the first of the inning's runs home.

At minimum, he needed a stopper when Holland started the proceedings by walking Nate Schierholtz on four straight pitches. At maximum, he needed a stopper when Holland continued them by loading the pads in the first place courtesy of four more straight balls, to Cody Ross. At the moment, once Holland walked Aubrey Huff to send Buster Posey home, Washington forgot he had a game-over closer and went to Lowe — who had pitched three innings since undergoing May back surgery.

Under ordinary circumstances, you wouldn't be thinking about handing your closer the ball and asking him for a four-out save. Ordinary circumstances being, in this case, that your closer has had some work over the previous week. Feliz hadn't poked his nose out of his hole since the Rangers nailed the pennant in Arlington a week ago this writing. He probably should have been given a little work Wednesday night, even in a lost cause, just to get his World Series feet wet and shake a little rust.

All Washington got for that kind of thinking was Holland, Lowe, and Kirkland probably walking off the mound a collective mess, their confidence meanwhile walking off into the mist somewhere between old Candlestick Point and Alcatraz.

Maybe part of the problem is that the Rangers take themselves a little too seriously when they ought to be having the time of their lives. It isn't every year you get to be part of the team that yanks you into the first World Series in your franchise's half-century existence.

This isn't to say that the Giants' pitching staff has let them off with a mere warning. The only thing less in evidence than any sense of the Rangers' ability to have fun is Matt Cain's postseason earned run average.

He doesn't have one.

Everyone was so knotted up pondering the shootout at the fantasy factory that was supposed to have been Cliff Lee versus Tim Lincecum that they probably lost sight of Cain's Game 2 command and control. He'll be the first to admit he caught a phenomenal break when Ian Kinsler missed a leadoff bomb by possible millimeters in the top of the fifth Thursday. The ball hit the top of the wall and rebounded to the field; Cain, like Kinsler, thought it hit something just behind that wall, enough for a homer.

He shrugged, shook it off, got two straight ground outs, handed Mitch Moreland a free pass to dispatch Wilson (there's no designated hitter in the National League park, remember — which was why Washington thought he could live without power-hitting but defensively worn down Vladimir Guerrero in Game Two) and keep it scoreless.

The way he was pitching Thursday, Cain almost didn't need Edgar Renteria reaching back to a once-illustrious postseason past — it was he who shot the walkoff RBI single that gave the Florida Marlins the Game 7, extra-inning triumph in 1997 — and rifling one into the left field seats in the bottom of that inning. Or Juan Uribe shooting one right back up the pipe to send Cody Ross (a leadoff walk) home in the bottom of the seventh. Hell, Guillermo Mota, once a lights-out Dodger setup man, probably needed the ninth-inning work an awful lot more than Cain needed him to take on the relief job.

Renteria is having a possible last laugh. He spoke of retirement during his injury-riddled season; he lost his job to Uribe, and he snuck into the postseason because Pablo (Kung Fu Panda) Sandoval (who'll be the DH for the Giants in Texas) has been having a rather harsh time unhorsing himself. Renteria had nothing entering the World Series except two runs scored in the first National League Championship Series game, and an RBI single and a bomb in the Giants' seven-run eighth in the second NLCS game.

"I don't know where I am going to be next year," he told reporters after Thursday night's festivities, "so I feel I need to enjoy this as much as I can." He came to the right place. The Giants, of course, are having a Series-long party.

You thought the 2004 Boston Red Sox wore the self-appointed sobriquet of the Idiots with shameless pride? Wait until you get a load of this Dirty Couple of Dozen. They make the Idiots resemble constipated androids. Ask Cain how he gets to sleep the night before his first World Series assignment and he deadpans, "Close your eyes."

Ask Aubrey Huff — one of the Giants' rescues from the Geriatric Hotel and Resort — about the lucky red thong he's been wearing probably since he signed on the dotted line in the first place, and he deadpans just as plainly, "I'm just trying to fit in with these morons. I have to go a little bit over the top just to try to fit in. I'm probably very tame compared to this group."

Makes you not want to even think about the sartorial foundations into which slip the Kung Fu Panda, Pat the Bat, the Beard to Fear, and the Freak. On the other hand, as Huff goes on, "As weird as we are, it's strange to say that the weirder you are, it seems like the more you win."

So that explains how the 2004 Red Sox were able to stare right in the eye the final out of a likely sweep out of that year's American League Championship Series ... and then believe it was just a matter of time after Dave Roberts stole second, David Ortiz hit the walk-off bomb, and Curt (Old Blood and Sox) Schilling found a way to keep a tendon sheath sheathing. Except that that doesn't really explain anything. Those Idiots (against whom Renteria himself made the final World Series out, as a St. Louis Cardinal) may prove to have had nothing on these Morons.

But the Morons so far have plenty on the Rangers even as the Series moves to Arlington. Their own manager may call them (and Bruce Bochy means it affectionately) a collection of castoffs and misfits, but these Morons are making their manager look like a genius and themselves look like honor students.

And while it's technically premature to write the Rangers' obituary just yet, with three games at home looming, ponder this, if you will. The man who says the way you get to sleep the night before the biggest game of your life to date is just to close your eyes is also the man whom the Rangers will get to face again, in Game 6, if they should win three straight at home and force the Series back to San Francisco.

"I'M IN LOVE WITH A BUNCH OF IDIOTS!" said a placard held aloft in Fenway Park during the Red Sox's stupefying 2004 postseason romp. "WE'RE IN LOVE WITH A BUNCH OF MORONS!" is liable to be the dominating placard held aloft in AT&T Park if the Series gets back there.

But if a comparable placard shows up in Ranger Ballpark at Arlington over the next few days, the Rangers have a big job to do of making it seem like isolated disgruntledness. A job that may only begin with loosening up and lightening up in the name of bearing down. They're in mortal enough danger of losing a World Series without it being said that not even their own temporarily-dethroned postseason pitching priest could keep them from blowing it to a bunch of Morons.

Posted by Jeff Kallman at 4:49 PM | Comments (0)