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October 31, 2013

Around the League on NBA Opening Night

Okay, yes, opening night was last night, but this is the first night with a full slate of games. So I'll be liveblogging the festivities for a couple of hours, taking a peek at as many games as possible.

8:16 PM EST: So I got home from work a bit later than I wanted and missed the first half of the 7 PM tip-offs. I'm a Cavs fan, and the buzz around their opener at home against the Nets was whether or not Andrew Bynum would play. He hadn't been medically cleared to as of this afternoon, but I was given to understand that clearance could come at any moment. Or not. Checking the box score, he's playing! Hooray!

8:19 PM: I am also starting to think that +/- is a pretty useless stat in basketball. Anthony Bennett has 3 rebounds and 0 points for the Cavs and is +11. Tristan Thompson has 10 points on 4-7 shooting and is -10. Cavs lead by 1 at halftime.

8:25 PM: Wow, I also see the Sixers are leading the Heat by 1 early in the third quarter, and I am given to understand Philly burst out to a 23-2 lead. Playing the back end of a back-to-back is never easy, even for the Heat, and the Sixers have been given reams of bulletin board material from, well, everybody, saying they are going to challenge to be the worst NBA team of the modern era this year.

8:34 PM: The last year LeBron was with the Cavs, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce knocked them out of the playoffs with the Celtics. Now the same pair have keyed a 9-0 run for the Nets to give them the lead. They are the unkillable Chucky dolls to the Cavs, um, who is the protagonist in the Child's Play movies?

8:43 PM: I go to the bathroom and the Cavs are now up by 8 again. I am clearly bad luck for the Cavs and better switch.

8:44 PM: I switch Bucks/Knicks for probably the only time tonight because it is the only blowout this far with the Knicks up by 20. I've only heard bad about Milwaukee's uniforms, but I am glad they are re-embracing their red and green roots; why is this such a rare color scheme in sports? Too Christmasy?

8:50 PM: Knicks extend the lead to 25 at halftime. Iman Shumpert looks like a man I would not like to scrap with in a dark alley.

8:52 PM: The Celtics, like the Sixers, are given no chance to compete for a playoff spot, but while the Sixers continue to hang with the Heat, the Celtics are down by double digits to the Raptors.

8:53 PM: Kris Humphries with the last 3 points for the Celtics to cut the lead to 7. No word on whether his teammates asked Celtics brass not to bring him in because he was too much of a jackwagon.

8:59 PM: On the heels of a trivia question, the Raptors announcers on TSN2 have just spent the last several minutes waxing nostalgic about Vince Carter. They clearly still haven't gotten over the breakup, perhaps haven't even gotten out of bed and showered.

9:00 PM: This new delay-of-game rule, where the player can't touch the ball once it has gone through the net, is serious BS. Is this really taking up all kinds of time? And as the Raptors color man points out (I might as well praise him after I bury him), these players have been batting/tossing the ball back to the ref after buckets since grade school.

9:04 PM: The Celtics have come back all the way back from 16 down to tie it at the end of the third quarter, on a Brandon Bass dunk.

9:07 PM: The Wizards are a sexy pick for a huge resurgence, but they are down 10 at Detroit. I'm glad the Wizards are sticking with their Bullets-esque throwbacks.

9:08 PM: Nearly four minutes into the third quarter, neither the Wizards or the Pistons have missed a field goal (in the quarter, that is).

9:19 PM: Whoa, nearly missed the end of Sixers/Heat. Sixers up by a deuce with 27.5 seconds left.

9:21 PM: Shane Battier misses the three, Sixers get the rebound, and are shooting 2 with 19.1 seconds left ... and Evan Turner sinks them both. 13-1 run for Philadelphia. Spencer Hawes, of all people, has apparently keyed the run. Timeout Miami.

9:28 PM: The Sixers hang on to beat the Heat. That is, the consensus worst team in the NBA has defeated the consensus best team. This is why I love sports. It's the first time the Sixers have beaten Miami in the LeBron era in the regular season, in 15 tries. Michael Carter-Williams had 22 points and 9 steals, the steals being a pro-debut record. One more steal and it would have been a triple-double. I wonder if this is among the best statistical debuts in NBA history. He was not even a top 10 pick. Now on to the Nets/Cavs, tied with a minute left.

9:32 PM: Speaking of the unlikely, Anderson Varejao gives Cleveland the lead, not on a put-back or a post move but on a 15-foot jumper. 28.1 seconds left.

9:35 PM: Cavs pulling away from the Nets and I am really liking the way this evening is turning out. I'm pretty sure Austin Carr, the Cavs' color man, said, "Hell no!" after the Nets missed a three. And the Cavs do hang on to win.

9:39 PM: Back to Wizards/Pistons. Raptors hung on to beat Boston but I missed the ending.

10:11 PM: I don't know why I have stayed with this boring game for so long, but the Wizards did cut the lead from 14 to 6 so I gave them a puncher's chance. But the lead is back to 10 with 30 seconds left soooo ... Bobcats/Rockets. Bucks came back but New York hung on to win, just missed that ending.

10:15 PM: Make the Magic/Wolves, as while Yahoo reports the Rockets leading by 6, they actually have not updated a couple of minutes and Houston actually leads by 12. Minnesota leads by one with about four minutes left.

10:24 PM: Now 40 seconds left and NO ONE HAS SCORED since I've turned it here. These ... these are not good teams.

10:25 PM: Orlando finally regains the lead. They are 10.5-point underdogs.

10:28 PM: Orlando extends the lead to three with 12.5 seconds left. I checked the box score to see who was winning the Oladipo/Rubio battle, and, bizarrely, they are both 5-11 from the floor and 1-2 from the line. Both have 3 personal fouls, too. Kevin Love ties the game with a three.

10:29 PM: Arron Afflalo misses the buzzer-beater and the NBA has their first overtime game of the season.

10:50 PM: Wolves win comfortably in overtime and it is time for this intrepid reporter to turn off the broadcasting light.

Posted by Kevin Beane at 10:18 AM | Comments (0)

World Series Game 6: B Invincible

It isn’t exactly tempting the wrath of the Boston gods anymore, ladies and gentlemen. “Party like it’s 1918.” So said a fan’s none-too-large placard in the Fenway boxes, while Koji Uehara was at his office in the top of the ninth Wednesday night, three outs standing between himself, his Red Sox, and hysteria.

Time was that a placard with any mention of 1918 was hoisted up by the other guys’ fans. Usually but not exclusively Yankee fans, waving the long-broken actual or alleged Curse in the Red Sox’s faces, hoping the Red Sox would be hit with yet another sling or arrow of outrageous malfortune as they stood on the threshold of the Promised Land.

As Uehara went to work on Cardinals second baseman Matt Carpenter with two out and nobody aboard, there seemed to be no foreboding. No one in Fenway Park or anywhere else in Red Sox Nation asked themselves or the nearest available ears—as it was said a fourteen-year-old Red Sox fan in Shea Stadium asked his father in the press box—”OK, how’s it going to happen.” (If you have to ask, you’ve never known, never mind loved the Red Sox.)

Why, even the mere mention of the fact that the Red Sox hadn’t nailed a World Series at home since Babe Ruth was one of their pitchers, a still-occasional outfielders, and a late-game left field defensive replacement in the 1918 World Series, didn’t ignite an earthquake, a typhoon, a hurricane, or even a last-strike Cardinal uprising. And including Game Six, 1986 Series, as one of the often-enough shown highlights of Red Sox Games Six Past, didn’t cause nineteen nervous breakdowns per Red Sox fan, in Fenway Park or elsewhere.

All those things ignited was Uehara pulling Carpenter’s trigger for strike three with as nasty a splitter as he’s thrown all postaeason, the Red Sox’s third World Series rings in nine years, and the once-and-for-all goodbye to all that for any and every calamity, catastrophe, insult, injury, and transdimensional snakebite ever inflicted on 20th Century Red Sox teams who reached the mountaintop after 1918 only to kicked to the canyons below so cruelly.

B Strong? Try B Damn Near Invincible no matter what got in the way. Not even as tenacious a team of Cardinals as St. Louis has ever yielded forth. Not even Red Sox manager John Farrell inadvertently stirring, referencing, and resurrecting the ghosts of Red Sox disasters past, when he failed to pinch hit for rookie reliever Brandon Workman in Game Three and the gate opened to the obstruction loss.

Not even both these teams playing defense too often as though they were auditioning for the traveling company of whatever dramatisation of the 1962 Mets might be forming. Not even both these teams overall, otherwise, bringing team batting averages of .218 (the Cardinals) and .205 (the Red Sox) into Game Six.

Not even Michael Wacha, the rookie Cardinals righthander who seemed to have been designated as Superman this postseason but whose Kryptonite the Red Sox finally proved when David Ortiz, the eventual Series MVP, waited for a fourth straight changeup and launched it into the Monster seats in Game Two.

Not even Jacoby Ellsbury, their soon-to-be-free-agent centerfielder, busting up the rundown into which he got caught, eluding (in order) Cardinals reliever Kevin Siegrist, first baseman Matt Adams, shortstop Daniel Descalso, Carpenter, and Siegrist again, as if they were a gaggle of Wile E. Coyotes trying and failing to trap the Road Runner before he zipped into the next country with all the road behind him ripping up off the earth.

Beep-beep! And thanks for the reminder that this was a Weird Series until Game Five.

The Cardinals bailed Wacha out then with a little help from the Red Sox defense repaying the Game One generosity of the Cardinals’ defense. Nothing the Cardinals could do Wednesday night, alas, could bail the lad out after he’d pitched in and out of trouble in the first two innings but found himself with the bases loaded—thanks to a free pass to Ortiz but an unlikely plunk when his fastball ran in on Jonny Gomes’s elbow and up his forearm—and 2-1 on Shane Victorino in the bottom of the third.

Not with Wacha serving Victorino a fastball meaty enough for Victorino to blast off the Green Monster, missing a salami by about four and a half feet but still clearing the bases—with a lot of help from Gomes sliding straight on instead of by hook, meaning Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina missed sweeping a tag on his slightly raised leg across the plate—for an early 3-0 Red Sox lead.

Not with light-hitting Stephen Drew, taking an .067 Series batting average into Game Six, hitting Wacha’s first pitch of the bottom of the fourth into the Red Sox bullpen.

Not after Wacha’s evening ended in the same inning with Ellsbury whacking a one-out double off the bullpen wall and moving to third on Dustin Pedroia’s fly to right, before yet another free pass to Big Papi.

Not after Cardinals manager Mike Matheny lifted Wacha for, perhaps inexplicably, Lance Lynn, his Game Four starter and loser. And certainly not after Mike Napoli lofted a 1-1 flare to short center field, falling in for an RBI single, Gomes worked out a five-pitch walk, and Victorino flared another RBI single to left—which made him and his specially-made Stars and Stripes cleats only the third man in World Series history (Billy Rogell, Detroit, ’34 Series; Bobby Richardson, Yankees, ’60 Series, are the others) with two bases-loaded hits in a single Series game.

“I just made too many mistakes tonight,” Wacha said after the game. “You’ve gotta make pitches whenever it matters and I didn’t do that tonight. I was on six days’ rest tonight. Arm felt great, body felt great, I just didn’t make pitches.” The rook’s reserve had dissipated at last. His catcher Molina embraced him before he departed, a big brother saying, more or less, “You’ve got a long and excellent road to go in this game, and you gave us more than asked for. You’ve got nothing to be ashamed of.”

John Lackey, the hard-luck Red Sox starter in Game Two, pitched in and out of Game Six trouble like the veteran he is, doing just what he needed to do to escape, never dominant but never penetrable, never letting any Cardinal threat prove too big for him or his mates to handle until the seventh. With his heart still beating like a double bass drum kit but his tank running below empty at last.

He managed to talk (or was that bark?) Farrell into letting him stay on board after two inning-opening outs turned into second and third by way of Descalso’s single and Carpenter’s double into the left field corner, then what proved the lone Cardinal run on Carlos Beltran’s single to left. After Lackey wild pitched Beltran to second and walked Matt Holliday, even Lackey wasn’t going to say no when Farrell reached for the pen.

And it would be Junichi Tazawa keeping the Cardinals’ damage to that lone, almost excuse-us run by getting Allen Craig—whose compromised left foot probably did as much as anything else to leave the Cardinals prone to the possibility of this disappointment after their magnificent regular season and earlier postseason plunge—to ground out to Napoli at first tossing to Tazawa for the side.

It would be Workman working a spotless, nine-pitch eighth good for a lineout and two ground outs. And it would be Uehara getting back-to-back flies out to Gomes in left, from Jon Jay and Descalso, before he swished Carpenter—the National League’s regular-season hits leader—to tell Boston it was time to party like it was any damn year they pleased. Especially 2013, when the Red Sox shook off a nightmare 2012 and put a city wracked with grief over the Marathon bombings onto its back.

And it would be, ultimately, whom among the Red Sox’s and the Cardinals’ hitters would make his few hits count the biggest. If you didn’t count Ortiz, who would finish the Series 11-for-16 (he managed a strikeout somehow Wednesday night, when he wasn’t being walked four times, three intentionally) and got so far into the Cardinals’ heads that pitching around him proved a liability in the long run. Free pass in the third? Three-run double before the inning was over. Free pass in the fourth? Two RBI singles before that inning was over. No wonder Ortiz was named the Series MVP, even if you could make a case for Jon Lester. They were two of the most powerful intentional walks of all time.

Certainly a lot more powerful than anything the Cardinals’ bats could produce. The Red Sox pitching staff kept them to fourteen Series runs and a final .224 batting average (the Red Sox themselves hit a collective .211), and in Game Six clamped down even harder. Sure the Cardinals whacked nine hits in Game Six. Only one went for extra bases in the game. Only ten of their entire Series hits went for extra bases. And Holliday hit the only two bombs the Cardinals would hit, one of which was that pardon-et-moi belt in Game One—when the Red Sox already owned an 8-0 lead and Lester could have dared them to swing away.

Two years ago, David Freese was the man of the hour and possibly the century for the Cardinals with what he did in Game Six. Against the Red Sox he went 3-for-19 with one extra base hit, no runs batted in, and five strikeouts. His 2011 partner in dramatic crime, Craig, did manage to hit .333 in this Series, when he could be in the lineup, but he scored only one run and drove in none. Beltran, whose pre-Series mayhem was just about half the talk of baseball when Wacha’s pre-Series marksmanship wasn’t, hit .308 in the Series with no extra base hits, period, never mind nothing leaving the yard.

About the least thought on anyone’s mind was that winning this Series makes the Red Sox and the Cardinals historically even in World Series meetings. Each has won two against the other since they first tangled in 1946. Somehow, these Red Sox seem respectful of their history without letting it take as big a space in their folds as it had up to and including 2004. Surely they were aware, still, that the while 2004 busted 86 years of Twilight Zone-staged futilities, there was still one more drought to cure.

“We’re gonna have some fun here tonight,” said Lackey, once one of the most troubled Red Sox, gaining new perspectives without losing his pitching heart while waiting out a year recovering from Tommy John surgery. “It was an awesome atmosphere here tonight.” When he was lifted in the seventh, a Fenway audience once accustomed to booing him unaware he tried to pitch through ferocious pain roared love upon him as he tipped his cap approaching the dugout.

“This is for you, Boston,” Ortiz called over a PA-tied Fox Sports mike to the Fenway throng that lingered for the postgame hardware handouts, hiosting his Series MVP trophy toward them. “You guys deserve it. We’ve been through a lot this year, and this is for all of you, and all the families who struggled through that moment early this year. This is for all of you.”

Maybe the Red Sox playing for something bigger than themselves did as much to drive them to Wednesday night’s triumph, and through the Cardinals’ tenacities, as anything Farrell did to shepherd the team back to clubhouse cohesion and camaraderie after 2012 blew it to shards. A team planning only to pick up and dust off and get respectable again in baseball’s toughest division got a lot more than they or Boston bargained for as a result.

“Our goal from Day One was to be the best team that we could possibly be,” Victorino told Fox’s Ken Rosenthal. “We didn’t know we’d end up here.”

They turned out to be the best team in baseball, winning a World Series against a team that was the next-best team in baseball by a hair. And, a three-run double. And, perhaps, the most inadvertent destiny in 21st Century baseball.

Posted by Jeff Kallman at 3:02 AM | Comments (0)

October 30, 2013

Hoops Preview: Luaus & Layups

In the preview of this year's college basketball tournaments, you have to spend some time drooling over some warm weather destinations. The premier American destination to swoon over during the Winter has to be Hawaii. The palm trees, the beaches, the surf ... it's all part of the dream to take some of us away from our snowy, blustery, freezing surroundings. Each year, 14 college basketball programs get to visit this archipelago for some fun, sun, and basketball. Here's a peek at this season's lucky participants.

Maui Invitational (Nov. 25-27)

Obvious Team to Watch: This is a big year for Syracuse. The Orange will premiere in the ACC after a run to the Final Four in April. The team took some losses (Brandon Triche and James Southerland to graduation, Michael Carter-Williams to the draft), but the inside presence is back (C.J. Fair, Rakeem Christmas, Baye Moussa Keita). Add in a talented freshman class, led by heralded point guard Tyler Ennis, and another deep run in the NCAAs could be a possibility. What some in this circumstance might see as an afterthought, Jim Boeheim's crew might turn Maui into a chemistry experiment.

Under the Radar Team to Watch: This appears to be a tournament where most of the squads are rebuilding. But the turnover at Minnesota went straight to the top. After getting back to the NCAA tournament for the first time in three years, a second-game ouster to Florida still felt like a letdown to a program full of them over the last few seasons. Exit Tubby Smith and enter Richard Pitino ... you know, the son of the reigning championship coach. Quite a bit of talent has returned from last year's squad. We'll see how the old guard and the new leader mesh.

Best Early Matchup: California vs. Arkansas

The Bears lost to the Orange in the 2013 NCAA tourney and would like to get back this time around. Four of the five starters from last season's team are back, including point guard Justin Cobbs. But who will step up to be this season's Allen Crabbe? The Razorbacks return three starters from last season's squad. The senior class is hungry to secure the school's first NCAA bid since 2008. But who will replace the prowess of B.J. Young and Marshawn Powell? Coaches Mike Montgomery and Mike Anderson could find some answers in this matchup.

Best Potential Final: Syracuse vs. Gonzaga

Mark Few has raised this program to the point where they reload a bit at a time, allowing young talent to mix in with their older teammates. Life after Kelly Olynyk means that the leadership falls to David Stockton and Kevin Pangos. And along with the usual infusion of freshman talent, the 'Zags will receive the services of Providence transfer Gerard Coleman. If the 'Zags end up meeting the Orange, it will be fun to watch how the strengths of each team (GU's backcourt vs. SU's frontcourt) will offset the other.

Diamond Head Classic (Dec. 22, 23, 25)

Obvious Team to Watch: There are three Power Six programs in this field (South Carolina, Oregon State, Iowa State). The first two are coming off of 14-18 seasons that you would think should get better. The third will experience another year of turnover after the last batch of transfers fell to a perennial power in the NCAAs. That being said, none of these teams should be looked at early in this field. There are two squads that bring back all five starters from last season. One is Boise State.

The surprise of the Mountain West finished as one of the last four at-large teams to make the NCAAs. If it weren't for La Salle, maybe the Broncos make a run to the Sweet 16. Now, coach Leon Rice wants BSU to be tops in a league that features New Mexico, UNLV, and San Diego State. The football stadium's blue turf might turn green with envy if it's basketball brethren start off the season with one trophy and end with a shot at the trophy.

Under the Radar Team to Watch: The other team that returns its starting five is George Mason. Paul Hewitt is in his third season back in the mid-majors. He brings back a squad that finished with 22 wins last March. There will be the challenges of a new conference ahead (the Patriots join the Atlantic 10 this season). Just before that kicks into gear, though, they'll have a chance to play through a good field in Honolulu.

Best Early Matchup: Iowa State vs. George Mason

This will be your classic matchup of Power retooling against Mid-Major experience/cohesiveness. As I said above, the Patriots return all of their starters from last season. The Cyclones will have to rely on a couple of players from the past year to really get them going. Forwards Melvin Ejim and Georges Niang will have to carry ISU until the rest of the squad can mesh. But I have to give coach Fred Hoiberg a lot of credit. One thing he's been doing well in his three years on the job is molding pieces together ... and quickly.

Best Potential Final: George Mason vs. Boise State

Even though I'm an Iowa State alum, for purely basketball purpose, I want this game to happen. If it does, it should be one to note for March 2014. What could have easily been a Bracketbusters game if the format stayed intact, this meeting would have big implication for the next NCAA tourney. If both teams take care of business in their respective conferences, a win of this nature would just be a cherry on top. However, if both squads find themselves on the bubble come Selection Sunday, a matchup like this one could shift a balance.

Posted by Jonathan Lowe at 1:30 PM | Comments (0)

NASCAR Top 10 Power Rankings: Week 33

Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Matt Kenseth — Kenseth led 202 laps at Martinsville and finished second, unable to keep eventual winner Jeff Gordon at bay over the closing laps. Kenseth's runner-up finish forged a tie in the points standings with Jimmie Johnson.

"While I'm thrilled to be knotted atop the points standings with Johnson," Kenseth said, "Johnson isn't. In other words, Jimmie's fit to be tied."

2. Jimmie Johnson — Johnson finished fifth at Martinsville, three spots behind Matt Kenseth, as Hendrick teammate Jeff Gordon took the win. Kenseth and Johnson sit tied atop the points standings, 27 ahead of Gordon.

"While Greg Biffle confronted me," Johnson said, "Kenseth in-fronted me. If only Kenseth were as easy to handle as Greg Biffle, you could hand me the Cup right now."

3. Jeff Gordon — Gordon won for the first time this season, capturing the Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville and vaulting from fifth to third in the Sprint Cup points standings. He trails Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth by 27.

"I put myself back in the Cup picture," Gordon said. "Unfortunately, when I try to imagine myself as 2013 Sprint Cup champion, I just can't 'picture' it."

4. Kevin Harvick — Harvick finished sixth in the Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martisnville. He is fourth in the points standings. Twenty-eight out of first.

"If you saw the Trucks race," Harvick said, "you know I have a problem with drivers who have been 'grandfathered in.' Now you know why I'm leaving Richard Childress Racing. Those kids don't know what they're 'Dillon' with."

5. Clint Bowyer — Bowyer took third at Martinsville, posting his ninth top-five result of the year. He is sixth in the Sprint Cup points standings, 55 out of the lead.

"The 5-Hour Energy car finished third in the Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500," Bowyer said. "It seems that Goody's has taken 5-Hour Energy's concept and used it to their advantage. You could say they've put a 'new spin' on shots."

6. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. — Earnhardt came home eighth at Martinsville as Hendrick Motorsports placed three drivers in the top 10, led by Jeff Gordon's first win of the year. Earnhardt is seventh in the points standings, 56 out of first.

"Army National Guard renewed their sponsorship of the No. 88 car," Earnhardt said. "As you know, the fans of Junior Nation love the 'armed services,' especially if that arm is handing them a beverage."

7. Kyle Busch — After two fifth-place finishes in his last two races, Busch finished a disappointing 15th at Martinsville. He is fifth in the points standings, 36 out of first.

"How about Darrell Wallace becoming only the second black driver to win a NASCAR-sanctioned race?" said Busch. "Now, NASCAR's Drive For Diversity has a new slogan celebrating black heritage in NASCAR. It's called 'What A Race!'"

8. Greg Biffle — Biffle started 33rd and finished ninth at Martinsville. He is eighth in the points standings, 58 out of first.

"I made like my rear bumper," Biffle said, "and got all up in Jimmie Johnson's grill."

9. Brad Keselowski — After struggling at Talladega, Keselowski finished fourth at Martinsville, one of only two Fords in the top 10.

"All this controversy at Martinsville," Keselowski said, "and none of it involves me. Once again, I've been 'left out.'"

10. Carl Edwards — Edwards finished 12th at Martinsville and is now tenth in the Sprint Cup points standings, 76 out of first.

"Greg Biffle obviously needs a course in confrontation etiquette," Edwards said. "And I'm the man to do it. Of all people, I'm the one that knows how to teach a teammate a lesson."

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 10:55 AM | Comments (0)

October 29, 2013

Why Are the Jaguars So Bad?

Why Are the Jaguars So Bad?

How Bad Are They?

The Jacksonville Jaguars are 0-8. All of their losses are by double-digits. They have scored the fewest points in the NFL (86) and allowed the most (264). The 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers hold the record for worst single-season point differential, -287. The Jaguars are on pace for -356. They lose by an average of more than three touchdowns (22.25 ppg).

Jacksonville ranks last per game in the NFL in each of the following categories: points, yards, touchdowns, third down percentage, passer rating, points allowed, rushing yards allowed, rushing first downs allowed, rushing touchdowns allowed, passer rating allowed, sack yardage.

The Jags' team passer rating (64.2) is more than 40 points below what they allow (106.0). They've given up more than twice as much rushing yardage (1,294) as they've gained (531), and twice as many rushing first downs (71) as they've gained (34). They've allowed more than four times as many TDs (33) as they've scored (8). This year's Jaguars have a real shot at becoming the worst team in the NFL's Modern Era, the worst since ownership stabilized in the 1940s. As recently as 2010, Jacksonville was a pretty average team, 8-8. What happened?

Reasons For Decline

The most obvious difference is at quarterback. In 2010, David Garrard went 8-6 as the starting QB. He averaged 197 net yards per game, with 28 TDs, 19 turnovers, and a 90.8 passer rating. The team's other quarterbacks combined to go 0-2, and averaged 183 net yards per game, with 3 TDs, 5 turnovers, and a 61.8 passer rating. Evidently blaming Garrard for having Mike Thomas and Marcedes Lewis as his best receivers, the team drafted Blaine Gabbert and cut Garrard. Gabbert and Luke McCown combined to go 5-11, and averaged 144 net yards per game, with 12 TDs, 21 turnovers, and a 62.2 passer rating. Gabbert (66.4 career rating) has never improved, and Chad Henne (73.5 rating with Jacksonville) has been little better.

Garrard, playing with no-name receivers, posted above-average stats and a winning record in 2010. No other QB the Jags have tried in the last four seasons has come close to matching his performance. Offensive ranks (out of 32):

The offense has declined mostly for four reasons:

1. Sub-par quarterback play. Gabbert is not an NFL-level quarterback. Even as the team has upgraded its receiving corps with players like Justin Blackmon and Cecil Shorts, he's never taken the next step. On nearly every play, he's guessing. Henne is better, but not by much.

2. Maurice Jones-Drew. Long the team's only offensive standout, he didn't play much last year and hasn't looked good this season.

3. Coaching Instability. Over the last 2½ seasons, the Jags have had four head coaches (Jack Del Rio, Mel Tucker, Mike Mularkey, and Gus Bradley) and three offensive coordinators, running three different systems.

4. Bad drafting. Blackmon looks like he could become a star, but for the last seven years or so, the team's major acquisitions haven't worked out, and there are holes at almost every position. Free agency has largely failed to yield impact players, as well.

Defensive draft picks have fizzled, too, and the team's veterans — guys like John Henderson and Rashean Mathis — got old and eventually left. Pass rush has been a problem for years now. Ultimately, of course, these failures fall on the front office, particularly former general manager Gene Smith. Constantly changing coaches, expecting too much from Garrard and drafting Helpless Blaine Gabbert, failing to identify talent in the draft and free agency ... that's awfully poor management. The Jaguars today have a weak roster, so weak that it's tough to imagine them being competitive any time soon. Last year's Chiefs went 2-14, but had good personnel in place; the Jags are far worse.

Worst Team of All-Time?

Jacksonville has faced a very tough schedule so far. Six of their eight opponents have winning records, and the Jags should look better over the second half of their schedule, which is substantially easier. The opponents so far are 42-17, while the next eight are currently a combined 25-34, with only one winning record in the bunch. The Jaguars won't really get outscored by 356, and they probably won't go 0-16. But just in case they do, let's compare them to some of the worst teams of the Modern Era...

* The 1952 Dallas Texans went 1-11, got outscored 427-182 (an average of 36-15), and lost by double-digits 11 times. Their strength of schedule was .597, and they faced faced four playoff teams. In 1951, they went 1-9-2 as the New York Yanks. In '52, they moved to Dallas and all of their defeats were by at least 10 points, including a pair of 30-point losses to the NFL Champion Lions. Since going to Dallas didn't improve their luck, in 1953 they became the Baltimore Colts. They went 3-9 the next two years but stayed in Baltimore until 1984.

* The 1960 Dallas Cowboys went 0-11-1, got outscored 369-177 (an average of 31-15), and lost by double-digits 7 times. Their strength of schedule was .538, and they faced both playoff teams. As an expansion franchise, the Cowboys ranked last in the NFL in most major stats, including points scored, points allowed, turnover differential, and yards allowed. They ranked second-to-last in yards gained.

* The 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers went 0-14, got outscored 412-125 (an average of 29-9), and lost by double-digits 10 times. Their strength of schedule was .520, and they faced four playoff teams. Probably the worst team of the Modern Era, they were shut out five times, and in their best offensive game scored only 20 points.

* The 1990 New England Patriots went 1-15, got outscored 446-181 (an average of 28-11), and lost by double-digits 11 times. Their strength of schedule was .594, and they faced nine playoff teams. After a close loss in Week 1 and their lone win in Week 2, the Pats went 0-14 and lost by a combined total of 405-141, dropping 11 of their last 14 games by 13 or more.

* The 1991 Indianapolis Colts went 1-15, got outscored 381-143 (an average of 24-9), and lost by double-digits 10 times. Their strength of schedule was .504, and they faced seven playoff teams. This is the only Modern-Era team to be outscored by a single player over the course of a season (Washington's Chip Lohmiller, 149).

* The 2008 Detroit Lions went 0-16, got outscored 517-268 (an average of 32-17), and lost by double-digits 10 times. Their strength of schedule was .559, and they faced seven playoff teams. The offense, with an emerging Calvin Johnson, wasn't terrible. The defense ranks among the worst all-time, giving up at least 30 points 11 times.

* The 2009 St. Louis Rams went 1-15, got outscored 436-175 (an average of 27-11), and lost by double-digits 9 times. Their strength of schedule was .520, and they faced six playoff teams. Scored under 14 points in 12 of their games. Probably the worst team of the last 20 years, depending on what happens with Jacksonville.

* The 2013 Jacksonville Jaguars are 0-8, outscored 264-86 (an average of 33-11), and lost by double-digits all 8 times. Their strength of schedule is .712, and they've already faced five probable playoff teams. Their average margin of defeat is the worst since it became legal to throw a forward pass from any point behind the line of scrimmage.

The best comparison for the Jags right now is probably the 1982 Baltimore Colts. They went 0-8-1 in the strike-shortened season, against a very tough schedule (.648, eight playoff teams) and gave up more than twice as many points as they scored. The Jaguars are worse than that, but how much remains to be seen when the schedule eases up a little.

The Greatness of Calvin Johnson

Calvin Johnson is doing things only Jerry Rice had done. Calvin Johnson is doing things only Lance Alworth had done. Calvin Johnson is doing things no one else has done. Calvin Johnson is earning a nickname even cooler than Megatron.

I wrote this last year, too, and I'll repeat it to remind myself: it's too early in Calvin Johnson's career to say he's the best receiver I've ever seen. He is phenomenal, but Jerry Rice was phenomenal. Randy Moss was phenomenal. Alworth, Paul Warfield, Steve Largent, Marvin Harrison ... phenomenal. Those guys sustained greatness over long, productive careers, and it is too soon to say that Megatron is better. But I don't think any of them had a peak quite like Calvin Johnson.

This weekend, of course, Johnson gained 329 yards, the 2nd-highest single-game total in history. The record, 336 by Flipper Anderson, was set in overtime. This was Johnson's fifth career 200-yard receiving game, tying him with Alworth for the most ever. Johnson had two 200-yard games in 2011, plus a third in the playoffs. He had two 200-yard games in 2012. This week's game was his fifth or sixth in the last three seasons (depending on whether or not you count the postseason). This was only Johnson's 99th game (100 with playoff). Alworth played 138 regular-season games. Jerry Rice played 303. Johnson, barely 28, might only be halfway through his career. He's topped 200 six times in his last 27 games. It is reasonable to believe he might eventually double Alworth's record.

The single-season record for 200-yard games is 3, by Charley Hennigan in 1961 (and by Johnson in 2011 if you count his playoff game). Second-place is a six-way tie among Don Hutson (1942), Choo-Choo Roberts (1949), Alworth (1963), Don Maynard (1968), and Johnson twice (2011-12). That's three AFL seasons, one during World War II, and another by a one-year-wonder RB. Johnson is the only player in the last 45 years with two 200-yard receiving games in a season, and he's done it twice.

Even with passing records falling, seemingly by the week, 200-yard receiving games have not gotten cheap. If anything, defensive schemes have gotten so sophisticated that it's easy to devote extra coverage and prevent one guy from beating you — unless that one guy is Calvin Johnson. Since his rookie season, 2007, there have been 33 games in which a receiver gained at least 200 yards. Six of the 33 are by Megatron, and no one else has more than two.

Last year, Johnson tied Michael Irvin's single-season record for 100-yard receiving games (11) and broke the record for consecutive 100-yard receiving games (Hennigan and Irvin). His 122 receptions tied for the 3rd-most in history and he broke Rice's single-season yardage record, gaining 1,964 yards. He already has 96 receiving TDs, and will probably rank among the top four within a few seasons (Cris Carter is currently fourth, 130).

It's too early in Calvin Johnson's career to say he's the best receiver I've ever seen, but he's maybe the most exceptional receiver of the Modern Era. Enjoy the show, football fans.

Week 8 NFL Power Rankings

Top 10

1. New Orleans Saints
2. Denver Broncos
3. Kansas City Chiefs
4. Seattle Seahawks
5. San Francisco 49ers
6. Indianapolis Colts
7. Green Bay Packers
8. Cincinnati Bengals
9. New England Patriots
10. San Diego Chargers

Same order as last week, except that I dropped the Seahawks a little, and flipped the Niners with the Colts. I never downgraded Indianapolis for the Reggie Wayne injury, and he's worth at least one ranking slot.

Bottom Three

30. Minnesota Vikings
31. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
32. Jacksonville Jaguars

The Bucs, 18-point underdogs at Seattle in Week 9, aren't on a historically horrid pace like Jacksonville, but they are quite bad.

Click here for last week's article.

Posted by Brad Oremland at 2:34 PM | Comments (0)

Bad Starts Don't Always Sink a Season

There's a heck of a cloud lingering over certain parts of the East Coast right now. Most of it seems to hover over the upper part, particularly within a 50-mile radius or so covering New York City, New Jersey, and Philadelphia. However, this cloud also has broken off, clouding up the otherwise bright skies near Miami, Florida, as well as bringing pockets to upstate New York and over the Edmonton part of Western Canada.

It's the cloud of a losing record for the first month of the NHL season. And for many fan bases, a losing record is a disastrous way to begin a season, living up to the old adage that you can't win a championship at the beginning of the season, but you can certainly lose one.

However, all is not lost (though the Buffalo Sabres are certainly in precarious territory). No one wants to cap off October by being a number of games below the watershed mark of .500, yet a poor October can be caused by a number of things: chemistry, injuries, bad luck. More importantly, there's no reason why things can't turn around.

The most realistic way to establish sensible playoff contention is to be at .500 (or reasonable close) by Christmas. That means that for these teams, a reasonably winning record in November and December can bring them to that plateau. If they can achieve that, then they're in the middle of the dogfight, and a strong January or February can propel them into the playoffs.

It's not unprecedented, but it does take righting the ship in November as a first step. Win streaks ebb and flow for teams, and for most of these teams, a simple four- or five-game win streak can bring their heads above water. To get there, though, each of these teams needs to address what's been going wrong.

For the Florida Panthers, it's goaltending and defense. For the Edmonton Oilers, it's that taken to the nth degree. For the Philadelphia Flyers, it's offense — who would have thought that Steve Mason would be holding them in games? For the New York Rangers and Buffalo Sabres, it's pretty much everything.

The Sabres may have to look at this as merely a rebuilding year, but the Rangers certainly have the tools to do much better than this. Perhaps it's the adjustment period for adjusting to a new coach or perhaps it's the absurdly long road trip to start the season while the Madison Square Garden renovations finish. Injuries to Rick Nash and Henrik Lundqvist certainly don't help, but the pieces are in place for this team to do better.

For the here and now, though, fans shouldn't feel too defeated — even Buffalo Sabres fans. A burst of a win streak can quickly push things in the right direction; more importantly, the overcoming of adversity can set a team up for stronger resolve and smarter habits when the chips are really on the table after the turn of the calendar year.

Posted by Mike Chen at 2:05 PM | Comments (0)

October 28, 2013

The Unenviable Task

We're sitting here on Sunday with six teams undefeated and fighting for a spot in the title game, Fresno State and Northern Illinois ready to play BCS buster, and a whole lot of teams with one loss, watching and waiting for a chance at redemption.

Alabama, Oregon, and Florida State have the best routes to the final BCS title game. Baylor and Ohio State are beating on the door but with weaker resumes. The Tide have the benefit of being the most dominant team in the decade's most dominant conference, so they're the safest bet. Oregon and Florida State will present an all-out, dazzling display of show points in order to lure voters and computers to their side.

It's years like this one that made the BCS better than the old system, but not nearly good enough. But would the new system really work this year?

Picking two teams for the national title game is tough enough. Picking the top four teams is not clear-cut, either. And, while some years it may be the case, imagine what would happen if the committee had to decide this year, at this point.

If the four-team playoff started this year, it seems as if right now, Alabama, Oregon, and Florida State would be locks to be part of the playoff. All three failed to disappoint in blowout wins last week, and seem to be playing a notch ahead of the rest. That part seems pretty simple.

It's that fourth spot that gets awful tricky. Ohio State hasn't played an extremely tough schedule, though so far, they've played a tougher one than Baylor. They both played hapless Buffalo. The Buckeyes beat them, 40-20. The Bears walloped them, 70-13.

So, right now, Ohio State in the fourth slot and Baylor in the fifth is tolerable. However, should the Bears blitz through Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech in the next three weeks (Ohio State gets a triple-layer cake of Purdue, Illinois, and Indiana), then one would have to consider leaping Baylor over Ohio State. Could you imagine, though, the howling from Columbus? The retired E. Gordon Gee might step out again and speak in protest. And we've all heard enough from that guy.

Then, lest we forget, there's the Miami factor. The Hurricanes are undefeated and head into Tallahassee for a showdown with the Seminoles. Al Golden has done a remarkable job rebuilding the Miami program and, should they get past Florida State and win out, the Hurricanes will certainly try to claim their spot in the title game as well.

Should that happen, let the debate begin. While Ohio State and Baylor are ranked ahead of the Canes, Miami, if undefeated, would have some high quality wins, having knocked off Florida State twice, or Florida State once and Clemson in the title game. The Big 12 has only Baylor in the top 10, but three other teams in the top 20. However, this could change if Baylor routs all three, so style points might not work for the Bears. Ohio State is the highest of the three seeds, yet is the only Big Ten team in the Top 20 at this point. Does anyone want to be in a room making a decision between those three teams should they all go unbeaten?

There's more to this, though. Say the nightmare scenario happens: Alabama loses to LSU. Stanford beats Oregon. Ohio State trips up on a cake layer or Michigan. Baylor stumbles against Oklahoma. And Florida State falls to Miami, only to come back and beat the Canes in the ACC title game.

Lots of one-loss teams. No clear cut choices. Who would you pick? It's a situation in which there's not a right answer. Whatever is chosen would receive such heavy criticism that the only winners would be Paul Finebaum and other sports talk radio hosts.

Maybe eight teams really is the way to go. Personally, given the success of the FCS and Division II and III playoffs, I'd go 16. The reason? You just might get that December upset that no one guesses. If the breaks fell right, Jordan Lynch just might carry a Northern Illinois squad over Ohio State. Those games could happen. They make March a special month. They could do the same for December.

Regardless, we head into November with six teams fighting for two spots. Next year, the spots double, but the task could be just as unenviable. The carefully picked selection committee will have their hands full. How it plays out? Take a deep breath and wait.

Posted by Jean Neuberger at 4:28 PM | Comments (0)

World Series Game 4: Shazam!

You'd think Koji Uehara had pulled the proverbial rabbit out of his glove. Or, that he nodded, winked, wrote, "Look, Ma, game over" in the mound dirt before throwing to first faster than the proverbial speeding bullet. Turning the Cardinals' swiftest pinch-running rabbit into a dead duck and securing the World Series as a two-games-each deadlock.

You'd have to hunt long and hard to come up with the last time the Red Sox nailed a postseason contest on a walk-off pick-off. It never happened before. To them or anyone else in the history of major league baseball's postseason. And considering Game 3's finish you'd have been safer betting on it to happen to the Red Sox.

"It was the first time for me to end a game like that as far as I can remember," Uehara said after the game. The way this Weird Series is going, there's an excellent chance that it might not be the last, either.

Iif you'd blinked in the bottom of the ninth Sunday night, you would have missed the throw Uehara whipped to Mike Napoli at first. Clipping Kolten Wong, pinch running for Game 3's default hero Allen Craig, with Carlos Beltran at the plate and two outs, like a legless Road Runner.

Beep! Beep! Yurass! as the 1970s bumper stickers used to say. Usually with an image of Wile E. Coyote doing the unthinkable and holding the Road Runner in a choke hold. Beep! Beep! Yurass! And, by the way, thanks for saving manager John Farrell's, while we're at it. We'll get to that in a minute.

Rookie mistakes are probably as old as the World Series itself. And Wong made a beauty in the middle of the Red Sox making one of their own, sort of. The question of the hour was why on earth they decided Napoli — in as a late replacement for David Ortiz — should hold Wong close to the pad with a two-run lead and two outs. The run that needed to be prevented most was standing at the plate with a 1-1 count.

Then Wong led and leaned a little too far, and Uehara went shazam! About the only thing missing was the big phoomph! of thick white smoke as Napoli slapped a tag on the hapless Wong. It wouldn't have been an inappropriate exclamation point during a World Series that's gone from comedy of error to tragedy of error with farce owning several stops along the way.

All Wong wanted was to set himself to reach third or even home on any Beltran hit. "I knew I was dead once I went to plant and push off and I felt nothing go," said Wong after the game, in a quiet but admirable rookie show of accountability. "My foot slipped out and I was done." All he got was bagged and gagged so fast he could do nothing but pound his batting helmet to the dirt near the base in rage and sorrow.

And you thought the script for this Weird Series read that the Red Sox would disintegrate further following Game 3's disaster.

At least Sunday night the Red Sox didn't waste Jonny Gomes's electrifying tiebreaking 3-run homer, Clay Buchholz's nervy start, Felix Doubrount's magnificent middle relief, or John Lackey's (John Lackey's?) gutsy setup. Or make Farrell look ridiculous for contradicting his pre-Series thinking yet again and refusing to hand Uehara a five- or six-out save opportunity.

Buchholz hadn't been shy about his pitching shoulder fatigue. He had even said on more than one occasion prior to Game 4 that he might have maybe one more good start in him. Which probably caused no few people to begin questioning the talented right-hander’s fortitude until he actually went to work. He gave the Red Sox four solid innings with nothing, but off-speed stuff to serve up, some of it looking deceptive and most of it looking like trash. At times, you could taste assorted Cardinal hitters thinking they were going to hit that slop through the St. Louis Arch.

But Buchholz minded his real estate maps and mixed up the looks of his actual or alleged pitches. And it proved more than enough to keep the Cardinals to a single unearned run through the four, Matt Carpenter's one-out single in the third bad-hopping Jacoby Ellsbury in center field, allowing Carpenter to take second before Beltran singled him home.

He impressed the living daylights out of his fellow Red Sox on the ninth anniversary of the Olde Towne Team's (actual or alleged) cursebusting Series sweep against the Cardinals, not to mention the second anniversary of Freese's yanking the Cardinals from one strike before death to a Game 7. "Clay, he brought everything he's got," Ortiz marveled. "I have never seen Clay throwing an 88 mph fastball."

Lackey may have been a surprise pick out of the pen after Junichi Tazawa ended the seventh by retiring Matt Holliday on a strike-one grounder to second base. But given that it was his between-starts throwing day, Lackey put on a magnificent show of pitching through one baserunner that wasn't his fault.

With one out Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina hit a smash up the third base on which rookie third baseman Xander Bogaerts pounced like a seasoned veteran, saving at least a possible two-base hit. Bogaerts popped up from the dirt like a jack in the box, but couldn't throw on line to first, and Molina took second on the error. After a first pitch slider escaped catcher David Ross but was called a wild pitch regardless, Lackey simply got Jon Jay to pop out to shortstop and David Freese, continuing his overall postseason futilities, to ground out to the same position.

While we're at it, we should be saying, too, that the Red Sox didn't waste Shane Victorino's gift in the breach. Victorino turned up with a bad back and Farrell had a choice to make. Should he start Gomes over Mike Carp, knowing Lynn isn't half as sharp against left-handed hitters than against right-handed swingers like Gomes?

He picked Gomes, which might have sent a few shudders considering his occasional defensive liabilities and his futilities at the plate this Series thus far. And Gomes rewarded the skipper twofold.

First, he wrung a 10-pitch walk out of Lynn in the fifth following Ortiz's leadoff double and preceding another walk, to Xander Bogaerts, before Stephen Drew's sacrifice fly tied the game at one. Then, in the sixth, with Dustin Pedroia aboard on a two-out single to left center and Lynn out of the game after a pitch-around walk to Ortiz, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny decided Lynn had had enough and brought in sinkerball specialist Sean Maness.

Maness fed Gomes a ball low, a strike on the floor of the zone, another ball low, and a fourth sinker that Gomes fouled off the dirt to the left side. Then Maness threw the sinker that didn't sink, and Gomes sank it into the Red Sox bullpen.

In between the epic walk and the three-run bomb, Ortiz decided his mates needed a little dugout pep talk. "Let's loosen up and let's try to play baseball the way we normally do," Big Papi said he told them in the fifth. "I know we are a better team than what we had shown. Sometimes you get to this stage and you try to overdo things, and it doesn't work that way."

"It was like 24 kindergartners looking up at their teacher," Gomes would call it. "He got everyone's attention, and we looked him right in the eyes. That message was pretty powerful." Almost as powerful as the apple Gomes hit for teacher.

Unfortunately, Wong's unexpected walk-off pick-off was the worm in the Cardinals' apple. It wasted a solid start from Lance Lynn and Matheny's somewhat courageous decision not to hit for Lynn in the fourth with two on and two out while his man was on cruise control still. You could just hear Jack and Jill Fan bellowing for Craig right then and there.

But Jack and Jill Fan probably forgot Lynn had faced the minimum through four and would have only one hit to show for his first fifty pitches; Carlos Martinez probably wasn't available; and, former closer Edward Mujica — who'd be seen warming up on and off later in the game — isn't exactly tops on Matheny's go-to list these days when the situations get dicey enough. Not to mention Shelby Miller, yet another of the Cardinals' kindergarten corps, hasn't pitched in a month and he's probably the guy you go to when hell is about to freeze over.

Let's not forget, too, that Matheny is smart enough not to ask his half-compromised bullpen for five innings that will get him only slightly less revolt than pulling his starter in the fourth inning when all pistons still purr.

Farrell had no such issue in front of him when he decided to pull his gallant Buchholz and bring in Doubront. And Doubront pitched like a virtuoso until the bottom of the seventh, when he fell behind light-hitting Cardinals shortstop Daniel Descalso 3-0 with one out before he finally got Descalso out on a high pop, but served pinch hitter Shane Robinson (for reliever Randy Choate, who'd retired Ellsbury to end the top of the inning) a first pitch liner to left that bounded off the sliding Gomes's glove for a double.

Doubront yielded to Craig Breslow, whose earlier postseason invincibility has dissipated in the Series to a considerable extent. And Carpenter lined an RBI single sharply to right to make it 4-2.

Kindergarten corpsman Kevin Siegrist and veteran John Axford, another of the Cardinals' Closers Emeritus (he'd once done that job for the Brewers) ducked trouble in the eighth, the only blemishes Ortiz singling off Siegrist, his pinch runner Quinton Berry stealing off Axford, and Gomes working out another walk, before Axford threw Bogaerts one of the evening's filthiest curve balls for strike three on the inside wall and for the side.

Then came Uehara. With one out, then came Craig at last, batting for Axford. He might have driven one to the track in right, bounding off the fence, but his compromised foot meant nothing more than a single and the pinch running assignment to Wong.

Shazam!

Beep! Beep! Yurass!

At the rate this Weird Series is going, who's to say Game 5 won't end with a bullpen pitcher throwing out the would-be winning run at the plate?

Posted by Jeff Kallman at 12:43 PM | Comments (0)

October 25, 2013

Ranking the Preseason Hoops Tournaments

As he entered Michigan State's Breslin Center sitting atop a cannon, Tom Izzo must have wondered how he would top this next year. Izzo has become famous for kicking off the Spartans' seasons at Midnight Madness with attention-grabbing entrances, and his implied shooting from a cannon certainly met that criterion.*

(* Yes, I know once the lights went out, it wasn't Izzo who was shot from the cannon. Now had Les Miles entered on that cannon…)

But there's something symbolic about Izzo making such a flashy entrance at an event few outside of East Lansing even knew was going on. Unlike other sports, college basketball's beginning creeps up on us quietly and calmly says, "Hey." Heck, I only saw the clip of Izzo while watching college football the following day.

That's college basketball's problem across the board. No other major sport has so anonymous an opening. For the sport with the most glorious crescendo to its finish, college basketball opens like a conductor-less orchestra with each member starting a different song intermittently.

Unlike the dog days of August that precede college and professional football, college basketball's opening days are obscured by the noise of mid-season football. And unlike the bunting-adorned, sun-coaxing spectacles of Major League Baseball's opening day, college hoops teams open their seasons across a wide range of days and settings.

This low profile is really a shame, because the first few weeks of college basketball are unrivaled by any other sport. Teams engage in appetizer-sized tournaments, in many cases featuring glamorous matchups of elite programs. It's an early season hint at the big tournament to come.

However, as organizers have perfected a business model, tournaments have proliferated like bowl games, and just like bowl season, the college basketball tournament season has become gluttonously dilute. With so many classics and tip-offs on the calendar, here is a quick guide to the ones we should most look forward to this year.

5. Cancun Challenge (Key teams: West Virginia, Wisconsin; Semifinals begin November 26) Let's be honest: many of these tournaments are just excuses for some cold weather fan bases to travel somewhere warm. With a field that includes the Mountaineers, Badgers, Saint Louis, and Bowling Green, this seems like such an excuse. The Cancun Challenge is a much better draw for these fan bases than Battle at Buffalo, but a little more SPF 50-intensive.

4. Hall of Fame Tip-Off (Key teams: Louisville, North Carolina; Semifinals begin November 23) Many of these tournaments are brutally, horribly, spinning-Bankrupt-after-buying-the-last-vowel rigged. The Hall of Fame Tip-Off, for example, nominally includes eight teams, four of which will play their first "tournament" game on the road at one of the other four team's campus. Maybe not an even playing field, but fair enough, right?

Not quite. You see, the four host teams all advance into the semifinals in Connecticut automatically. Those campus site games are only part of the tournament in name.

Okay, but those four teams at least will make up a balanced mini-tournament, no? Well, the identities of two of those teams are North Carolina and Louisville, and the identities of the other two are Richmond and Fairfield. And wouldn't you know it, the Heels and Cardinals didn't draw each other in the semifinals.

So basically, this is an intriguing neutral floor game between defending champ Louisville and North Carolina making-believe that it is an eight-team, multi-site tournament.

3. Maui Invitational (Key teams: Syracuse, Baylor, Gonzaga, and of course, Chaminade; Quarterfinals begin November 25) Usually the most prestigious of the preseason tournaments, this year's Maui Invitational is a little light on glamour, but still seven deep in quality teams. It's held in the smallest gym most of these teams will ever play in (including practice), and the b-roll of the island will look particularly spectacular for the rest of us in late November.

It slides a little in these rankings because, apparently, there is something called "Maui on the Mainland" for a quartet of lesser teams. Certainly, by invoking the Maui name, this is at least being held in Southern California or somewhere on the west coast, right? How about Conway, South Carolina, the home of host participant Coastal Carolina. I don't get it either.

2. NIT Season Tip-Off (Key Teams: Duke, Arizona; Semifinals begin November 27) The nation's other most-anticipated freshman, Jabari Parker, will likely square off against the Wildcats and their top recruit, Aaron Gordon.

Duke makes a lot of appearances in the New York metro area, and it's always explained that it is for a) recruiting, or b) alumni. Does this really matter? Will the Wall Street Blue Devils donate more because Coach K makes an appearance in Madison Square Garden or the Barclay's Center every few years? Either way, Devils and Cats should provide one of the early season's best games in—say it with me—the World's Most Famous Arena.

1. Battle 4 Atlantis (Key Teams: Kansas, Kansas, Tennessee, Villanova, and Kansas; Elimination rounds begin November 28) The Jayhawks' November 28 tilt with Wake Forest in the Bahamas will be one of our first looks at freshman Andrew Wiggins against live competition (sorry, Towson). Bonus points for scoring a couple of intriguing breakout candidates in Tennessee and Villanova to pair with the Wiggins show; negative points for the "4" confusingly jammed into the name.

Honorable Mention

Keightley Classic (Key Team: Kentucky; First game is November 14) This is technically not a tournament, but a round robin that leverages the preseason tournament scheduling rules, but with five of the top dozen incoming freshmen, much of the country will be fascinated to see how this version of John Calipari's shuffled deck of talent turns out. We saw it go well in a dominating national championship two seasons ago, and we saw it crash and burn into the NIT last year. And speaking of that NIT, who is Kentucky's first draw in the Keightley Classic? Those very same Robert Morris Colonials that ended the Cats 2013 postseason.

The Wooden Legacy (Key Teams: Marquette, Miami, Creighton; Elimination rounds begin November 28) Most eyes will be on the Blue Jays' Doug McDermott, who is not only perhaps the country's best returning player, but also a bonus contestant on Saturday Night Live's "Dylan McDermott or Dermot Mulroney?" quiz show sketch. I guess the prospect of a Marquette-Miami 2013 Sweet 16 rematch might also be worth some people's attention.

Old Spice Classic (Key Teams: Butler, Memphis, Oklahoma State; Quarterfinals begin November 28) As we debate bubble teams every March, we inevitably see "Quality wins" on borderline teams' resumes and foggily try to remember when the seventh team out of the Big Ten beat the fourth team out of the Big 12. It's usually in these kinds of tournaments, filled with eight competitive and relatively even teams, each capable of being a nice feather in someone's cap four months down the road.

Posted by Corrie Trouw at 7:37 PM | Comments (0)

World Series Game 2: No Time For Generosity

Want to know what we learned from World Series Game 2? Easy. The St. Louis Cardinals aren't the only ones who can hand their opponent a game on an infield platter. When necessary, as it seemed to be Thursday night, the Boston Red Sox can be just as generous to just as much of a fault.

Let's put it this way: pending any further cases of the defensive trips, slips, and yips from either side, St. Louis second baseman Matt Carpenter's loft in the top of the seventh hereby goes down as the most powerful sacrifice fly of the 21st century, and Boston reliever Craig Breslow's attempt to bag Jon Jay at third in the same play sequence will go down as the wildest non-pitch pitch of the same time period.

The sad part was that the Red Sox managed to wrest the game back from Cardinals' phenom Michael Wacha, who didn't exactly look as phenom as he had earlier this postseason, with some swift enoughin-game supplemental study from the Red Sox and one swing from (didn't it figure?) David Ortiz.

All night long, the Red Sox did to Wacha what the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Pittsburgh Pirates couldn't. Even as he wrestled with the Red Sox order the first time, you could see their intent study of Wacha continuing. Their at-bats turned into wrestling matches with him by the time he started going a second time around the order.

Then, they wasted almost less time handing the game back to the Cardinals than the Redbirds had in handing the Red Sox Game One right out of the chute. Which wasted at least an even and possibly just superior mound performance from John Lackey, the Red Sox's elder starter, out of whom the Cardinals pried a mere run through the top of the seventh.

Believe it or not, and those who still have starry eyes over the amazing young flying Wacha-lenda may not believe it, through six full Lackey actually out-pitched the kid by a slight margin, despite being in a 1-0 hole thanks to Matt Holliday's Fenway triple (it caromed off the bullpen sidewall in center field and traveled around the track) and a run-scoring ground out by Yadier Molina. Lackey threw five more first-pitch strikes than Wacha and surrendered two fewer walks.

When manager John Farrell lifted Lackey following a one-out walk to the otherwise futile David Freese and a line drive single by Jay to right, Lackey — who usually has to be taken out of a game at gunpoint — couldn't possibly have expected his mates to pick this time to begin thinking they needed to return the Cardinals' Game 1 favors.

But Breslow got just careless enough with pinch-runner Pete Kozma (for Freese), the Game 1 pigeon, that on ball three to Daniel Descalso, starting at shortstop for Game 2, Kozma and Jay executed a double steal for which even Casey Stengel would have bought them filet mignons after the game. Then Descalso walked to load up the pads.

And Carpenter on the first pitch lofted a fly to none-too-deep left. Jonny Gomes hauled it down cleanly enough and threw home despite his cutoff man being within easy reach. About five feet closer to the plate and catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia might have grabbed it and possibly bagged Kozma crossing the plate. But the offline throw yanked Saltalamacchia to his own right and the ball squirted past him.

The good news was Breslow hustling to behind the plate area to back the play alertly. The better news was he had a dead bead on Jay, who'd scrambled back to second somewhat inexplicably as Gomes' throw took off, and then broke for third. The bad news was that Breslow's throw would have nailed Jay — if only it had been about ten feet lower in altitude, rather than flying into the box seats.

The worst news was a flaw in Red Sox thinking exposed at last. Inexplicably, they trusted Gomes as a kind of good luck charm even though he's not as strong a defender as Daniel Nava. It was a marvelous stroke of fortune that the Red Sox came into Game 2 6-0 in postseason games in which Gomes was the starting left fielder. Now it's 6-1. Like Wacha's absolute mound invincibility, that one's been punctured, but good, too.

Had Farrell thought to make his defensive switch for the seventh inning maybe the throw home comes online enough that Kozma runs into the side-retiring out instead of crossing the plate as the tying run. I know, you don't normally make defensive switches in the seventh. But the World Series isn't normal baseball, either.

Just like that, it didn't seem to matter that Wacha's early-and-often aura of postseason invulnerability was blown apart in the bottom of the sixth, especially once the Red Sox began reading and laying off his already-vaunted changeup. He walked Dustin Pedroia on four straight balls following strike one. Then, he let Ortiz fight him to a full count before throwing Big Papi a fourth consecutive changeup. And Ortiz sent it into the lower steps between two sections of Green Monster seats.

On the other hand, what on earth was Breslow still doing in the game with ailing but still formidable righthanded hitter Carlos Beltran coming up? Beltran had managed a soft line single in the top of the first, but was hitless otherwise, until now, with righthander Junichi Tazawa throwing in the pen and the Cardinals ahead by a measly run.

Sure enough, Beltran swatted a line single the other way, and Descalso scored the fourth Cardinal run easily. And, just as sure enough, now Farrell brought in Tazawa, and he got Holliday, also a right-handed swinger, to beat one into the ground for the side retiring groundout.

Nobody else scored the rest of the way. Too late. The Cardinals, who'd somehow been posssessed by the ghosts of the 1962 Mets in Game 1, managed to become the Cardinals again just in the nick of time in Game 2. The Red Sox, who'd shown the Cardinals' Game 1 stoogery no mercy, became the Three Stooges at the wrong time in Game 2.

There's a time and a place for returning favours. The World Series isn't it. The good news for the Cardinals: they shook off the Game 1 drubbing into which they blundered stoutly enough and cashed in on the Red Sox's short but profound Game 2 largesse.

The good news for the Red Sox: they split the first two League Championship Series games at home against the Tigers and wrestled back to win the pennant in six. That's bad news for the Cardinals, especially with the Red Sox having won two of three on the road against the Tigers before nailing it. And the Cardinals won't be able to serve up Adam Wainwright again until a Game 5, which doesn't seem likely to be anyone's elimination game. So far.

It must be part of the Red Sox charm. They can blunder their way into an early World Series tie and still have a slight advantage. But they'd better not get too comfortable with that knowledge. The Cardinals still have ways of discomfiting the prematurely comfortable. Even if they need a little help from their friends in the opposition uniforms.

Posted by Jeff Kallman at 11:44 AM | Comments (0)

October 24, 2013

NFL Weekly Predictions: Week 8

Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.

Carolina @ Tampa Bay (+7)

The 3-3 Panthers hit the road to Tampa for Thursday Night Football on the NFL Network, home of the league's 24-hour chucklehead station. Carolina evened their record with a 30-15 win over the Rams last week.

"I am the Panthers' unquestioned leader," Cam Newton said, "but Steve Smith is obviously our spokesman. He's not afraid to speak his mind; apparently, he has a filthy mind.

"Despite their winless record, we can't forget about the Bucs. Nor can we forget about the disinfectant wipes. The Bucs are backed into a corner, and that makes them dangerous and unpredictable. They could explode, or just as easily implode. I heard they had a players-only meeting the other day. Word has it the locker room was 'teaming.'"

The Buccaneers are still winless, 0-6 in Greg Schiano's second year as head coach. Schiano has promised that the Bucs "will be good."

"That's right," Schiano said. "We will be good. Even my players agree. They even believe we'll be better, better off without me.

"But let me qualify that statement, which will likely be the only thing in Tampa that qualifies for anything this year. This team will be good, eventually."

Schiano gives the Bucs an impassioned pre-game speech, demanding better play after handing the team a performance grade of "D" to match the locker room's sanitation rating.

Newton scores on 13-yard TD strike to Smith midway through the first quarter, giving the Panthers quick 14-0 lead. Not one to skip a trash-talking opportunity, Smith taunts safety Dashon Goldson, telling him the Bucs should invoke the "MRSA rule" before the score gets any worse.

Carolina improves to 4-3 with a 27-17 win. On Friday, sanitation workers spray down the facilities with Lysol. Schiano gets sprayed with "Axed Body Spray," and is fired.

Dallas @ Detroit (-3)

The Cowboys and Lions meet in a game that will never take place on Thanksgiving, and probably won't take place on January 19th, date of the NFC Championship Game. Dallas is now alone atop the NFC East after their 17-3 win in Philadelphia last week.

"We've now beaten every NFC East contender," Tony Romo said. "And I use the term 'contender' very loosely, as you would the term 'competent owner.'

"But we'll take our one-game lead. There's a reason it's called a 'one-game lead' — because it will probably last one game."

The Lions fell out of the lead in the NFC North with a crucial 27-24 home loss to the Bengals. Sam Martin shanked a punt with 26 seconds left that gave the Bengals field position that led to Mike Nugent's game-winning field goal.

"I have a question for the league concerning Ndamukong Suh," Jim Schawartz said. "Can he be fined for abusing a teammate? Because Sam Martin could use a good kick.

"Despite the loss, we were buoyed by the return of Calvin Johnson, who had nine catches for 155 yards and two touchdowns. Dez Bryant says he can do anything Megatron can. I believe he's right. Megatron can beat anyone. Bryant can do him one better. He can beat anyone, too, and his mother."

Dallas wins, 30-27.

Cleveland @ Kansas City (-9)

The Chiefs are still undefeated after their tough 17-16 win over the Texans and backup quarterback Case Keenum. Kansas City is 7-0, ahead of the 6-1 Broncos, who were toppled at Indianapolis on Sunday night.

"The Texans cut three players for smoking pot in one of our fine hotels," Alex Smith said. "And that brings us to Brandon Weed-en. He doesn't smoke pot, but he does crack, mostly under pressure. As they say, 'Cleveland rocks!'"

"I heard that a Browns' fan listed Brandon Weeden's job on Craigslist. That's funny. That's where the Chiefs used to find quarterbacks."

The Browns lost in Green Bay 31-13 last week and fell to 3-4, tied for second in the AFC North. Weeden was 17-of-42 for only 149 yards, with 1 touchdown and 1 interception.

"Brandon had a little bit of everything," Rob Chudzinski said, "and a lot of nothing. Forty-two passes indicates that he's not afraid to 'wing it,' which is exactly what I did when I chose him to start. Brandon's only been in the league two years, and he's already 29-years-old. He ages faster than he makes his coaches age."

The Browns bench Weeden in favor of Jason Campbell. Weeden says "thanks" and so do the Chiefs. The Chiefs assault Campbell, sacking him four times and forcing 3 turnovers. Jamaal Charles rushes for 97 yards and a score, and Kansas City wins, 27-10.

Miami @ New England (-7)

The Patriots lost 30-27 in overtime to the Jets, doomed by an odd penalty that gave the Jets new life after a missed field goal. New England was penalized 15 yards for "pushing a teammate on the line of scrimmage into the offensive formation."

"That certainly wasn't a make-up call," Bill Belichick. "It was, however, a made-up call. I hear the Jets tipped off the officials. I guess you can't blame the officials; they were just doing their job, but apparently not on the Jets' previous two field goals.

"I think we learned our lesson, which is it's a lot easier to circumvent the rule book when you don't involve the officials."

Miami fought back from a 14-0 early deficit to take the lead on the Bills, only to fall 23-21. The loss cost the Dolphins a chance to pick up a game on the division-leading Patriots, who lost to the Jets.

"We hope to leave with a win," Mike Wallace said. "That way, we can take our talents back to South Beach, as opposed to Aaron Hernandez, who took his talents to North Attleboro.

"And speaking of 'armed and dangerous' tight ends, Rob Gronkowski is back, and even with only one good arm, he's still better than most. He's almost at 100%, which in Gronk-speak is also known as '200 proof.'"

Tom Brady throws for 256 yards and 2 scores, both to Gronkowski, and the Patriots win, 31-20.

Buffalo @ New Orleans (-13)

The Bills shocked the Dolphins in Miami with a late Dan Carpenter field goal, securing a 23-21 win and a boost to their AFC East hopes. Buffalo is 3-4, last in the East, but only two games behind the 5-2 Patriots.

"Here's a surprising fact that may or may not be true," Doug Marrone said. "The Bills have never lost in the Superdome. Here's an even more surprising fact: the Bills have never played a Super Bowl in the Superdome."

The Saints return from a Week 7 bye with a solid 2-game lead over the Panthers. Drew Brees' favorite target Jimmy Graham will play despite a foot injury suffered in Week 6.

"Drew Brees is such a good quarterback," Sean Payton said, "he doesn't even need a backup. But he does have one. We call him the 'Katrina Victim,' because no one knows his name."

New Orleans wins, 34-24.

NY Giants @ Philadelphia (-7)

The Giants won for the first time this season, knocking off the Vikings 23-7 on Monday night at MetLife Stadium. Eli Manning threw for 200 yards and 1 touchdown.

"Most importantly," Tom Coughlin said, "he didn't throw a single interception. Of course, single interceptions aren't what kill us; it's multiple interceptions.

"We may be 1-6, but in the NFC East, that's only three games out of first. That's a manageable deficit, unlike Eli's salary cap hit."

The Eagles lost for the third time at home this season, falling 17-3 to the Cowboys, who assumed sole possession of first in the NFC East. Nick Foles was knocked out of the game with a head injury and relieved by Matt Barkley, who played like he had a head injury.

"Three points is unacceptable," Chip Kelly said. "At the University of Oregon, you don't see a 'three-pointer' until basketball season.

"Michael Vick is my starter, and if I ever say otherwise again this season, please remind me of our loss to the Cowboys. Otherwise, never remind me of our loss to the Cowboys."

Philadelphia wins, 27-23.

San Francisco @ Jacksonville (-17)

The winless Jaguars look to pull the upset as Jim Harbaugh and the 5-2 49ers face the Jacksonville in London's Wembley Stadium. The Jags lost 24-6 last week to the Chargers in Jacksonville and dropped to 0-7.

"This should be fun," Maurice Jones-Drew said. "We get to play in front of a stadium-full of people who know very little about American football. Usually, it's a stadium half-full of people watching players who know very little about American football."

With a 31-17 win in Tennessee last week, the 49ers remained hot on the tails of the 6-1 Seahawks in the NFC West. Colin Kaepernick passed for 199 yards and rushed for 68 yards.

"Colin was unstoppable," Jim Harbaugh said. "If I didn't know better, I'd say he was playing the Packers."

San Francisco wins, 27-13.

NY Jets @ Cincinnati (-7½)

The Jets shook up the AFC East standings with a 30-27 overtime win over the Patriots at MetLife Stadium. Nick Folk's field goal won it after his 56-yard miss was nullified by a Patriots' penalty.

"I hear that's the first time that penalty has been called," Rex Ryan said. "I think what that actually means is it's the first time that penalty has been called by the opposing coach. Officials usually wear vertical stripes; in some instances, those stripes can be crooked.

"We added David Garrard to our roster, which meant we had to drop Brady Quinn. So Mark Sanchez can now assume his old position. No, not quarterback, but the prettiest of pretty boys."

Like the Jets, the Bengals won with a field, beating the Lions in Detroit on Mike Nugents' 54-yard kick as time expired.

"Geno Smith said he will be an elite quarterback," Marvin Lewis said. "I'm amazed by his confidence, and his delusions.

"Andy Dalton is on the cusp of greatness himself. He may be the only quarterback in the league who can go from terrible to great in the span of one series."

The Jets win, 22-20.

Pittsburgh @ Oakland (+3)

The Steelers beat the Ravens 19-16, knocking off their rivals on Sean Suisham's field goal as time expired.

"We may be 2-4," Tomlin said, "and over two games behind the Bengals, but I think we can still win the NFC North. In Pittsburgh, I think they call that 'Immaculate Perception.'

The Raiders are rested after a bye week and ready to take on the visiting Steelers. Terrelle Pryor has emerged as a viable long-term option at quarterback for Dennis Allen's 2-4 squad.

"Terrelle's taken the quarterback job and run with it," Allen said. "What else is he going to do with it? We have the league's second-worst passing offense. At this stage, any reception would be immaculate.

"Mike Tomlin cut out all games in the Steelers' locker room? I just have a few questions to ask him. 'No kidding?' 'No joking?' 'You can't be serious?' Obviously, Mike ain't playing."

Pryor rushes for a score and passes for another, and the Raiders defense comes through with a late stop.

Oakland wins, 20-16.

Washington @ Denver (-13)

Peyton Manning's Indianapolis homecoming was spoiled in Denver's 39-33 loss to the Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Broncos are now 6-1, second to the undefeated Chiefs in the AFC West.

"At least this time," Manning said, "I was ready to leave Indianapolis.

"The Colts' defense had the perfect game plan. Apparently, the plan was to give up 33 points and still win. If the Colts wanted to make me feel at home, they succeeded, because that's exactly the type of defense I had while in Indy."

The Redskins won a shootout, outgunning the Bears 45-41 in Washington last week. Robert Griffin III passed for 298 yards and 2 touchdowns.

"You can now call him 'Robert Griffin The First,'" Mike Shanahan said, "because he looked like the 'old' Robert Griffin.

"It will be nice to return to Denver. I won two Super Bowls there. It appears that I'm a lot like John Fox, because he can't win a Super Bowl without John Elway, either."

Manning's right arm looked like a wet noodle against the Colts. So the Broncs protect him with the running game, as Knowshon Moreno, Ronnie Hillman, and Montee Ball combine for 165 yards on the ground. Manning throws for 264 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Denver wins, 40-31.

Atlanta @ Arizona (-2½)

The Falcons snapped a three-game losing streak with a 31-23 win over the Buccaneers last week. Harry Douglas had seven catches for 149 yards and a touchdown.

"For those of you who don't know," Mike Smith said, "Harry Douglas is the name of a real player, not some weird sexual euphemism."

The Cardinals were beaten back at home 34-16 by the Seahawks last week, dropping Arizona to the bottom of the NFC West. They'll try to rebound against an injury-plagued Atlanta team.

"This area is known for its dry heat," Carson Palmer said. "Many say my quarterbacking makes it known for its dry heaves. But this time, against the Falcons, I don't think we'll throw up; we'll throw down."

A nervous Palmer blows chunks during the coin toss, but recovers, and throws for 2 scores.

Arizona wins, 27-20.

Green Bay @ Minnesota (+10½)

In his first start as a Viking, Josh Freeman threw 53 times and completed only 19 for 190 yards and 1 interception in the Vikings' 23-7 loss to the Giants.

"Apparently," Leslie Frazier said, "team photos aren't the only thing Freeman doesn't show up for.

"Freeman may have suffered a concussion against the Giants. Or at least that's what we're saying, so as not to look like fools for immediately benching a player we just signed.

"Christian Ponder will start. Freeman's signing didn't sit well with Ponder. Usually, Ponder sits well, because we're often better off if he's sitting."

Green Bay, behind a balanced offensive attack, overwhelmed the visiting Browns, 31-13, last week. The win, coupled with Detroit's loss to the Bengals, left Green Bay alone atop the NFC North.

"It's first place against last place," Aaron Rodgers said. "I like our chances. In the past, the Vikes have been known for their erotic adventures. Sunday night, they'll be famous for their Quixotic adventures. Keep this in mind: if a Vikings says he's 'poking a windmill with his lance,' don't take it literally."

Green Bay wins, 31-16.

Seattle @ St. Louis (+11½)

The Seahawks whipped the Cardinals in Arizona last Thursday, improving their record to 6-1, tops in the NFC West. A win over the Rams will give the 'Hawks a 3-0 division record.

"We're anxiously awaiting the return of Percy Harvin," Pete Carroll said. "Harvin makes us even more of a dominating team. Once he's back in the lineup, opponents better watch out. If we have Percy, we won't have mercy."

Sam Bradford was lost for the season in the Rams' 30-15 loss at Carolina last week. Bradford tore his ACL; Kellen Clemens will take over the quarterbacking duties.

"Not only did we lose in Charlotte," Jeff Fisher said, "we lost our cool in Charlotte. Chris Long was ejected for throwing a punch at a Panther. Chris said he didn't flip off any fans at Bank of America Stadium. But if he did, so what? Some of those fans were throwing bottles at him. Even worse, some were asking, 'Howie doing?'"

The Seahawks force 4 turnovers, and Marshawn Lynch cashes in with 2 short touchdown runs, and is pelted by a hailstorm of Skittles from the St. Louis faithful.

Seattle wins, 31-13.

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 7:57 PM | Comments (0)

World Series Game 1: Getting the Drop on the Cardinals

It's not that the Boston Red Sox needed the help that badly Wednesday night, opening the World Series with a near-blowout win. But they certainly weren't going to complain if the St. Louis Cardinals wanted to help their cause early enough and often enough.

Surely the Cardinals got the advance notices on these Red Sox. They turn at-bats into duels to the death. They can pitch up (also down, in, and out) whenever the heat gets near microwave level. And if you make a mistake on them, they're not exactly inclined to give you a mulligan.

For their part, of course, the Cardinals also expected anything but sure-handed shortstop Pete Kozma, even in a shift against David Ortiz, to bobble a potential first-inning ending double play ball into the setup for a 3-run Red Sox first. Never mind expecting Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina to let a routine popup drop for a second inning leadoff hit.

When the expected met the unexpected in Game 1 the Red Sox came up alive and well with an 8-1 win in the books. And the Cardinals came up in more trouble than just their field slovenliness after Carlos Beltran's for-the-highlight-films robbery of Ortiz's potential grand slam turned into a Series-threatening rib contusion for the veteran right fielder who's their biggest bopper in the bargain.

The Red Sox hoped Jon Lester could take them into the game deep and they got better than they hoped. The Cardinals hoped Wainwright could keep the Red Sox grinders from playing their usual wait-it-out-and-whack attack. The Red Sox got better than they hoped for. The Cardinals weren't even half as fortunate.

Red Sox Nation probably expected nothing less than Mike Napoli stepping up with the bases loaded and one out in the first hitting a 3-run double for the early jump. It was how the Red Sox loaded the pads in the first place that nobody, including the Sox to their surprise and the Cardinals for dead certain, saw in the proverbial tea leaves.

With first and second Ortiz swung on a 2-1 count and the Cardinals playing the to-the-right-side shift against him. He bounced a not-too-impossible grounder to the right side of second base. Kozma on the shift ambled over. He stuck his glove out to get the toss from second baseman Matt Carpenter, who'd fielded it cleanly. Kozma moved as if to take the ball out of the glove to start a double play.

Except that the ball bumped off the glove web moments before Kozma's hand got anywhere near the glove. Incredibly, second base umpire Dana DeMuth, who had a dead-on view of the ball despite Dustin Pedroia dropping into a potential takeout slide in front of him, and could see only too plainly that Kozma never caught the hop, called Pedroia out.

Red Sox manager John Farrell needed no prompting. He hustled out of the dugout and asked for a full umpiring crew review. Crew chief John Hirschbeck called for the review. And then the crew reversed DeMuth. All hands safe. Cardinals manager Mike Matheny hurried out to holler, but Hirschbeck and company made the right call.

"There's five of us out here, okay?" said Hirschbeck, who was wearing a microphone all night and whose playback was proffered by FOX Sports a little later in the game. "And all five of us agreed 100 percent that it wasn't a catch. Our job is to get it right."

If there'd been more umpiring crews doing that diligent a job on tight, bang-bang, or so-called neighborhood plays, among other things, there wouldn't have arisen the movement for in-game instant replay. And for those philistines who still think going to instant replay next year is going to mean more unconscionable delays of game, be advised: It took longer for Hirschbeck and company to discuss the play and overturn the original call (about six minutes by my own estimate) than it took for four television replays to show there was absolutely no way Kozma got his throwing hand anywhere near his glove before the ball hit the web and fell.

All hands safe, and Napoli didn't wait too long for Wainwright to recompose himself. He took a ball outside and a ball low, before ripping a fat fastball on a high line to the gap in left center field and a carom off the Green Monster scoreboard. When Cardinals center fielder Shane Robinson bobbled the carom, even Ortiz from first could score on an almost leisurely stroll around behind Pedroia (one-out line single past second) and Jacoby Ellsbury (leadoff walk) after .

Wainwright might not have been that badly rattled once he escaped further first inning mischief, but nobody could explain what happened on 2-2 to Red Sox shortstop Stephen Drew opening the second. Drew popped one straight up the elevator shaft in front of the mound. Wainwright stepped down from the mound onto the grass and held his arms aloft as if to call off the infield. Catcher Yadier Molina trotted toward the mound. Either man could have had a bead on the descending ball.

And it hit the deck like a dead fish right between the Cardinals' battery.

These Red Sox don't let the other guys' brain freezes go unnoticed or unexploited. Catcher David Ross ripped a 1-2 pitch just over Carpenter's leap for a base hit. Ellsbury flied out to shallow left but Shane Victorino bounced one up to the hole at shortstop. Poor Kozma hustled for the ball only to come up short enough of handling it, and, as they used to say in the ancient times — you know, when innings like these two tended to go against the Red Sox's interest at the most fatal moment — the bases were full of Bostons again.

Wainwright and Pedroia fought a mini-epic that began with three balls and the final revelation that Wainwright's usually effective curve ball wasn't fooling the Red Sox a lick. Wainwright then threw a strike down the pipe, Pedroia fouled one outside of third base, then he stroked a base hit through the left side, eluding third baseman David Freese on the cross-dive, sending home Drew.

Then Ortiz turned on a 1-2 pitch and looked for all the world to have hit his second postseason grand slam in just over a week. Except that Beltran drew a bead on the low enough liner, chased it to the fence, took a small leap, and speared it after it cleared the fence — banging his right torso into it in the bargain. Ortiz settled for a sacrifice fly, but the Cardinals would be forced to take Beltran out of the game in the third.

Even without the key errors the Red Sox hitters played their normal game against Wainwright. No Red Sox swung on a first pitch until Ellbury fouled one off in the bottom of the second. They made Wainwright throw 31 pitches in the first inning and 60 through the first two, with Wainwright getting only four outs on his first 52 pitches.

And the Cardinals may actually have lost one critical element of their most recent October conquest. Freese — the MVP of both the 2011 National League Championship Series and the World Series; the man who yanked them back from the dead in that Series' Game 6 when the Cardinals were down to their final strike — had a storybook opportunity to yank the Cardinals back into this Game 1 with one swing.

Freese got to check in at the plate with the bases loaded and one out in the top of the fourth, thanks to a leadoff walk (to Jon Jay, not starting against Lester but back at his normal center field stand after Beltran's injury compelled moving Robinson to right) and two one-out singles (Allen Craig — in DH mode — and Molina).

He found himself ahead of Lester on 2-1. And he rapped a meek comebacker to the pitcher who tossed home post haste to nail Jay before Ross fired up to first to get Freese. As easy as 1-2-3, Freese's none-too-explosive 2013 postseason suddenly looked even more as though his staggering 2011 was merely one over-his-head postseason for the ages.

Just like that, the best Cardinal threat of the night went into the mist. Oh, they got a little uppity in the fifth thanks to Jonny Gomes momentarily mishandling Carpenter's two-out, low line single near the line, enabling Carpenter to have second while Robinson (one-out single) took third. Lester looked as though he had 'em all the way as he served Jay an inning-ending grounder to shortstop.

Ortiz's 2-run bomb in the seventh off St. Louis reliever Kevin Siegrist and Xander Bogaerts's sacrifice fly in the eighth off Carlos Martinez probably weren't needed to seal the Red Sox win, but they did serve a little bit of notice that the youthful Cardinals bullpen isn't exactly an invincible force. It might also have put a small spot of doubt into the Cardinals' relief corps: it was the first time the left-handed Siegrist had been hit for a left-handed homer at all.

On the other hand, Ryan Dempster, brought in to work the ninth in a situation that was anything but a save, shook off an excuse-me leadoff bomb by Matt Holliday and a 2-out single (Freese) to close things out with a pounding strikeout on Matt Adams.

The Cardinals-dropped-the-ball jokes probably began whipping around the world the moment Adams swung and missed on that one. It figures.

Maybe they'll learn to laugh at it all in due course. It might take winning the Series to accomplish that, and that could pose a problem. With or without their own contributions to the cause, these Cardinals didn't expect the Red Sox's advance notices to be that accurate.

Posted by Jeff Kallman at 11:08 AM | Comments (0)

October 23, 2013

NASCAR Top 10 Power Rankings: Week 32

Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Matt Kenseth — Kenseth survived to finish 20th at Talladega, seven spots behind Jimmie Johnson. Kenseth's 4-point lead became a four point deficit to Jimmie Johnson in the standings.

"I drove like I was expecting the 'big one,'" Kenseth said, "and it never came. So the fans weren't the only ones upset that there wasn't a big crash. I guess I should have been more aggressive. If I've been faulted for being anything, it's too 'laid back.'"

2. Jimmie Johnson — Johnson finished 13th in the Camping World RV Sales 500 at Talladega, leading a race-high 47 laps to earn two crucial bonus points. He took over the lead in the points, and holds a four-point edge over Matt Kenseth.

"I was playing 'catch' with points-leader Kenseth," Johnson said, "and I 'overthrew' him."

3. Kevin Harvick — Harvick, in the No. 29 Jimmy Johns Chevrolet, took 12th at Talladega and is fourth in the Sprint Cup points standings, tied with Kyle Busch 26 points out of first.

"This is the only way I can possibly share space with Kyle Busch," Harvick said.

"That was one of the least exciting Talladega races, despite the fact that cars were topping out at near 200 miles per hour. I guess that's why they call it 'full bore.'"

4. Kyle Busch — Busch posted his second consecutive top-five finish, taking fifth at Talladega. He is tied for third in the points standings, 26 out of first.

"I'm back in the championship hunt," Busch said. "But if I don't have a good finish at Martinsville, I'll likely be done. The last time I was 'officially eliminated,' I was taken off the road by a state trooper in North Carolina."

5. Jeff Gordon — Gordon led 19 laps at Talladega and finished 14th at Talladega, rendering unable to make up ground in the Sprint Cup points standings. He is now fifth in the Sprint Cup points standings, 34 behind Jimmie Johnson.

"Jimmie's got the lead," Gordon said. "Let's see if he can hold it. With Martinsville up next, history says he can. He's won eight races there, rewarded with a grandfather clock for each victory. It's just further proof that the five-time Cup champ's greatness is measure in 'times.'"

6. Kurt Busch — Busch came home 18th at Talladega and is now ninth in the Sprint Cup points standings, 61 out of first.

"We had Wonder Bread on the No. 78 Chevrolet," Busch said. "As if you needed more proof that I'm as white bread as they come."

7. Clint Bowyer — Bowyer finished tenth at Talladega, his first top-10 finish since a tenth at Dover. He is eighth in the points standings, 57 out of first.

"Kudos to 5-Hour Energy for their contribution to NASCAR," Bowyer said. "Like its name states, 5-Hour Energy will stay with you for a while, which is more than I can say about some of Michael Waltrip's other sponsors."

8. Greg Biffle — Biffle finished 11th in the Roush Fenway Racing No. 16 Ford, while teammate Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. took third. Biffle is seventh in the points standings, 53 behind Jimmie Johnson.

"That was a great run by Stenhouse," Biffle said. "He finished 30 places better than his girlfriend Danica Patrick. Contrary to popular belief, Danica is the one who is 'whipped.'"

9. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. — Running second on the final lap, Earnhardt's bid for victory at Talladega ended when the caution flew on the final lap, allowing Jamie McMurray to coast to victory. Earnhardt's second was the best result among Chase drivers, and moved him up to sixth in the points standings.

"I've made second a habit at Talladega," Earnhardt said. "And speaking of 'habits,' I've got as many wins this year as that lady wearing the habit — none."

10. Ryan Newman — Newman started 17th and finished ninth at Talladega, earning his 16th top-10 of the year.

"That was the most incident-free race at Talladega I've ever seen," Newman said. "Take it from me, that race was turned upside down."

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 10:43 AM | Comments (0)

October 22, 2013

NFL Week 7 Report

Five Quick Hits

* Sam Bradford, Brian Cushing, Leon Hall, and Reggie Wayne all suffered season-ending injuries this week. At least none of them got hit in the head, or the league might have to worry about player safety.

* The Houston Oilers lost two titans this week, former coach Bum Phillips and longtime owner Bud Adams, one of the original AFL owners who took a leap of faith in 1960. Both men made pro football better.

* Nice show of class by Indianapolis, giving Peyton Manning a standing ovation before the game.

* Steve Young and Trent Dilfer are so good on the MNF postgame, I don't know what Ray Lewis is doing there. They only need two analysts — the third is pointless — and Lewis frankly doesn't have anything to say.

* The Viking coaches did a disservice to fans and to the rest of the team by starting Josh Freeman on Monday night. He obviously was not ready to run their offense. Dilfer called it "a total lack of discretion and wisdom."

Thursday Night Game

Seattle Seahawks 34, Arizona Cardinals 22

* Russell Wilson has taken way too many sacks this year, but he did a nice job on Thursday of throwing the ball away when he was under pressure.

* In the first quarter, Kam Chancellor pancaked a pulling Eric Winston. Chancellor is giving up 70 pounds in that fight.

* NFL Network is a premium cable channel, and most people who subscribe are pretty big sports fans. So why doesn't NFLN offer a product that appeals to sports fans, rather than treating its audience like casual fans or clueless first-time viewers?

On many plays, rather than showing the field and the formations, we get a close-up of the quarterback's head. I think we all know what Carson Palmer looks like. And showing the lineups is so easy, but they don't even do that. You want to know who's on the line, or whether Bobby Wagner is active? Look it up online. The post-game show used to be must-see, but now it's just some former players trying too hard to have fun.

* I actually do like the NFL Network announcing booth, but Brad Nessler repeatedly referred to Larry Fitzgerald as a future Hall of Famer. This after saying the same thing last week about, of all people, Eli Manning. Fitzgerald is a remarkable player. He's had four 1,400-yard receiving seasons. But it is notoriously difficult for wide receivers to make the Hall of Fame, and if Fitz retired today, he would not get in. He didn't do well last season, he's battling injury this year, and he's 30. He's not a sure thing.

Mike Mayock, meanwhile, suggested that Marshawn Lynch "needs 20-25 carries a game." Whoa, there. Twenty-five carries a game? That is reckless and career-threatening. Here are all the players from the last 20 years to average 25 att/gm: Larry Johnson (2006), Shaun Alexander (2006), Edgerrin James (2001), Eddie George (2000), Jamal Anderson (1998), Jerome Bettis (1997). That's five out of six who ruined or seriously derailed their careers. No one should carry 25 times a game with any frequency.

Sunday, Early Games

New York Jets 30, New England Patriots 27 (overtime)

* The Patriots went 1/12 on third downs in this game and lost time of possession by 22:30. They also committed 100 yards in penalties, including two 15-yarders and a 30-yard pass interference.

* It took me forever to understand what Chris Jones did wrong on the controversial penalty that effectively gave New York the game. You watch the play, it looks like he's just ... blocking. That's a penalty now? But he pushed his own teammate forward into an opponent, and that is no longer permitted. I'm sure Jones never knew about the rule — I sure didn't — but it was the correct ruling.

It's unfortunate that the new rule hasn't been enforced until a critical situation like this. That's the same reason people were so upset about the Tuck Rule a decade ago. No one had ever heard about this rule, and then it suddenly appears on a pivotal play in the fourth quarter of a playoff game. There's no way Chris Jones was the first player this season to get behind a teammate and push on a field goal try. It's probably happened at some point in almost every game. I wish it had been called more consistently.

* Vince Wilfork and Jerod Mayo are both out for the season. New England's defense has lost its two best players. At least Aqib Talib is expected back soon.

Cincinnati Bengals 27, Detroit Lions 24

* A.J. Green and Calvin Johnson both gained exactly 155 receiving yards in Week 7.

* Andy Dalton passed for 372 yards and 3 TDs. Dalton is on my fantasy team, but I didn't play him this week. I started Tom Brady. Dammit.

* Cincinnati's top CB, Leon Hall, tore his Achilles and is out for the season. Big loss.

Washington 45, Chicago 41

* Kudos to the NFL for suspending Brandon Meriweather for two games. Meriweather is a headhunter, and he injures someone almost every game. Fines aren't enough. The league has to get this guy off the field. Permanently, in my opinion.

* Jay Cutler will miss several weeks with a groin injury, and Lance Briggs is out for 4-6 with a fractured shoulder. The Bears started 3-0 and looked like they might challenge Green Bay for the NFC North title. They're 1-3 since, and injuries are mounting.

* Look out, NFC East. Robert Griffin III is RG3 again. Griffin rushed for 84 yards, and if you double Pierre Garçon, he will complete 100% of his passes to TE Jordan Reed.

* This was only the second time in the last decade that the Bears have allowed 45 or more points. The Bengals beat them 45-10 in '09, and before that you have to go back to the Dick Jauron days.

* Not a great defensive performance for Washington, either. With Cutler injured in the second quarter, Josh McCown passed for 204 yards, a TD, and a 119.6 passer rating. On McCown's eight offensive drives, the Bears only punted once, with no turnovers. When your defense makes Josh McCown look like a superstar, you've got problems.

* That said, Washington scored its fourth defensive touchdown of the season. The defense has more first-half TDs (4) than the offense (3).

* In the first half, Chicago ran only 17 plays, with 7:59 time of possession. Out of 30 minutes!

* Washington's special teams woes continued. Joshua Morgan let a punt bounce at the 14-yard line and roll to the 1, then fair caught a punt at the 5. Uh, reverse those, Josh. Devin Hester scored his first return TD in two years, and the Bears recovered an onside kick that was overturned by one of the closest offsides penalties I've ever seen.

Perhaps most disturbing for Washington fans, Special Teams Coordinator Keith Burns doesn't know the difference between a kickoff and a punt. Even before the punt return TD, the team was kicking away from Hester on kickoffs. In his career, Hester has 13 PR TDs and 5 KR TDs. There is no kickoff returner in history who is so dangerous that you should kick away from him, and Hester is a much better punt returner anyway. He has one KR TD in the last six years. He's more likely to fumble than to reach the end zone.

Burns is the same guy who got called for a 15-yard penalty last week when he wandered onto the field during a play. Washington misses special teams captain Lorenzo Alexander (Cardinals), but it also misses longtime Special Teams Coordinator Danny Smith (Steelers). Burns is not doing a good job.

Dallas Cowboys 17, Philadelphia Eagles 3

* Michael Vick is rehabbing a hamstring, Nick Foles got a concussion, and Matt Barkley isn't ready for the NFL. It sounds like Vick will start Week 8, though he probably won't be totally healthy yet.

* The loss dropped Philadelphia to 0-3 at home, compared to 3-1 on the road. The Eagles haven't had homefield advantage since Donovan McNabb was the quarterback. The last time they won more games in Philly than on the road was 2009. Collectively, you have to go back to 1998 for the Eagles to have a better record at home than on the road. From 1999-present, they're 65-50 at home (.565) and 68-47-1 away (.591).

Buffalo Bills 23, Miami Dolphins 21

* The Bills won with defense. They held Miami to under 300 yards and under 20 first downs, with three turnovers. The critical play was Nickell Robey's interception return for a touchdown, one of five pick-sixes this weekend.

There have been 30 INT return TDs this season. Even as interception rates decline, the pick-six is more common than ever. I agree with Chase Stuart, who believes that the prevalence of short passing, and especially passes at or behind the line of scrimmage, explains the rise in INT TDs. You throw an interception downfield, the guy has to get through your whole offense to reach the end zone. Get picked on a one-step hitch to the sideline, and there's daylight — plus the defender probably caught it on the run. I don't think most coaches have realized how dangerous that play can be. It doesn't get intercepted a lot, but when it does, it often goes all the way.

Most pick-sixes by active players:

1. Peyton Manning, 25
2. Carson Palmer, 20
3. Drew Brees, 19
4. Ben Roethlisberger, 17
5. Eli Manning, 16

I know you were wondering ... Matt Schaub has 12, tied for 7th among active QBs. Ryan Tannehill has three, which is about average over the last two seasons. Chase posted an interesting chart which you can sort by pick-six percentage. Helpless Blaine Gabbert is the worst of any regular starter, but the real surprise is Matthew Stafford, who has thrown 11 pick-sixes in just 42 career games.

Carolina Panthers 30, St. Louis Rams 15

* Best point differentials in the NFC ... (1) Seahawks, +75, (2) Saints, +58, (3) Panthers, +56. All of Carolina's wins are by at least 15, and two of the three losses by less than 6.

* Sam Bradford tore his ACL and is out for the season. Kellen Clemens is the only other quarterback on the roster. There are rumors the team will sign Tim Tebow, but I'd rather they go with Vince Young, just to reunite him with coach Jeff Fisher. Those two get along great.

* The Rams do not have a rushing TD this season, only team in the league.

Atlanta Falcons 31, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23

* The severity of Doug Martin's shoulder injury is not clear, but the team insists it won't end his season. Rookie Mike James is the backup, but don't expect big numbers in fantasy.

* After three games, it has become apparent that Mike Glennon and Vincent Jackson are in love. In the past two weeks, Jackson has 19 catches for 252 yards and 4 TDs.

San Diego Chargers 24, Jacksonville Jaguars 6

* Maurice Jones-Drew rushed for 37 yards. For the season, MJD has 316 yards on 103 attempts (3.1 avg). The Jags as a team are averaging 2.9 yards per carry, which actually is not the worst in the NFL (Ravens, 2.8).

Sunday, Late Games

San Francisco 49ers 31, Tennessee Titans 17

* Following the 49ers' fifth punt in a row, Darrius Reynaud muffed the catch and Kassim Osgood recovered for a TD. We've all accepted for years that Steve Tasker is the greatest special teamer in history, but Osgood has to be in that discussion.

Kansas City Chiefs 17, Houston Texans 16

* Houston lost its fifth straight, but at least Case Keenum didn't throw a pick-six. Brian Cushing all kinds of messed up his leg and is out for the season again.

* Arian Foster also left the game with injury, a pulled hamstring. The Texans have a bye next week and his status going forward is not clear, but it's not a long-term injury.

Pittsburgh Steelers 19, Baltimore Ravens 16

* Let's be honest: there is only one playoff spot up for grabs in the AFC. The Bengals, Broncos, Chiefs, and Colts have spots pretty much sewn up already, and the Patriots are heavy favorites in the AFC East. That leaves one wild card. The Ravens are 3-4, a game behind the Chargers and Jets. The schedule is pretty forgiving until Week 15 or so, but the Ravens need to win their close games.

Green Bay Packers 31, Cleveland Browns 13

* I hate when throwback uniforms don't look at least a little like the current ones. I mean, at least the same basic color idea.

Indianapolis Colts 39, Denver Broncos 33

* Nice job by NBC identifying the three stars of the game: Andrew Luck (4 TDs), Robert Mathis (2 sacks, FF), and Vontae Davis. It's tough to evaluate defensive backs by traditional statistics, but Davis, who spent most of the night covering Demaryius Thomas one-on-one, was thrown at eight times, for a total of 4 yards.

* This was a weird game, with lots of punts and lots of points. The teams combined for 16 punts, including 12 three-and-outs, but also for 72 points, including 8 touchdowns.

* The Colts suffered a ton of injuries during the game, enough so I stopped keeping track. Two were noteworthy: Reggie Wayne tore his right ACL and meniscus. His season is over. There was no contact on the play, and Luck blamed himself for throwing behind Wayne, but it was a freak play. Samson Satele's third-quarter leg injury was not, caused deliberately by Denver's Kevin Vickerson. On the replay, it actually looked like Vickerson threw a punch, but Satele seemed to indicate that Vickerson twisted his leg. Either way, umpire Undrey Wash and side judge Laird Hayes — those two should get a sitcom — were both right there, and I don't know how neither one noticed.

* The Broncos, not used to losing, seemed to lose their composure in the third quarter. Denver committed 12 penalties for 103 yards over the course of the game. Even Peyton Manning seemed flustered. He didn't look like himself until the fourth quarter.

* The 2013 Broncos set the record for most points in the first seven games of a season, and will probably rank among the top single-season offenses in history. What interests me is that they are almost certainly the best offense ever for a team with a subpar offensive line. Every year, I make my Pro Bowl ballot public and I name an All-Pro team. I take both very seriously, and every game, I pay attention to offensive line play. No one on Denver's line is having a real good year.

* Awful game by Denver return man Trindon Holliday. He fumbled twice and lost one. He returned a kickoff to the 13-yard line. He let a punt bounce at the 12 and it was downed at the 2.

Monday Night Football

New York Giants 23, Minnesota Vikings 7

* Three hours of my life I will never have back.

* There's been some discussion this week about Minnesota trading Adrian Peterson. It's interesting, but it's probably not realistic. The Vikings aren't going to trade him just for a 1st-round pick and a throw-in, probably not for two 1st-rounders. They'd look to replicate the Herschel Walker trade, and no sane GM would risk the backlash that made the Vikings a decade-long laughing-stock when they traded for Walker.

Many people don't remember that Walker was a very good player after the trade. But the Vikings gave up so much to get him that he wasn't nearly worth the price. This is Peterson's 7th NFL season. How many RBs did enough after their first seven years that with the benefit of hindsight, you wouldn't give them up if you were offered a bounty comparable to the Walker trade? Only one, I think: Walter Payton. You could argue for Jim Brown or Barry Sanders, maybe Tiki Barber or John Riggins. But probably only Payton. Peterson's a special player, but history suggests that he doesn't have a lot of great seasons left.

The Vikings would face a backlash for trading Peterson, so any trade offer would have to blow them out of the water, an equivalent to the Walker deal 24 years ago. Thus, the only trade the Minnesota would accept is one no other team would make. I'd love to be wrong on this, because a Peterson trade would be fascinating, but I don't see it happening.

* After the trade, Walker rushed for almost 5,000 yards, with a 4.2 average, and led his team in rushing six times. He caught 300 passes for 2,500 yards, and gained over 1,300 yards from scrimmage in each of his next five seasons. He scored 52 touchdowns. He became one of the best kickoff returners of his generation, with 5,084 yards, 2 TDs, and a 23.6 average — better than Deion Sanders (22.7), Desmond Howard and Rod Woodson (both 22.2), Dave Meggett (22.1), or Eric Metcalf (20.8). Walker, in the 5-6 years immediately following the trade, was still one of the top five RBs in the NFL.

* Peterson's stated goal this season is 2,500 rushing yards. He's currently on pace for 1,363. He'll have to average 198.9 per game to meet his goal.

NFL Week 7 Power Rankings

Top 10

1. New Orleans Saints
2. Seattle Seahawks
3. Denver Broncos
4. Kansas City Chiefs
5. Indianapolis Colts
6. San Francisco 49ers
7. Green Bay Packers
8. Cincinnati Bengals
9. New England Patriots
10. San Diego Chargers

The Broncos haven't been impressive the last three weeks. They barely beat Dallas, played somewhat close against the awful Jaguars, and lost to the Colts. They have a sensational passing game, but everything else is below average.

Knowshon Moreno is a terrific blocker and a capable runner, but he's not explosive. Ronnie Hillman can't hang on to the ball. The offensive line is average. The pass rush is non-existent, though maybe that will change with Von Miller back. Wesley Woodyard's out, and the other linebackers aren't making plays. The defensive backfield is poor. All they have are the offensive "skill" players.

Bottom Three

30. New York Giants
31. Minnesota Vikings
32. Jacksonville Jaguars

Suzy Kolber insisted after the Monday Night failure, "It's still football," and Steve Young immediately responded, "No, it's not." I'm with Steve.

Week 8

Game of the Week

Cowboys at Lions
1:00 PM Eastern, FOX

With six teams on bye, there are no obvious must-see games in Week 8. Both of these teams are 4-3 and in the playoff hunt. The real appeal is the possibility of offensive fireworks. Tony Romo and Matt Stafford. Calvin Johnson and Dez Bryant. Reggie Bush, Jason Witten, the emerging Terrance Williams. Plus, you never know when Ndamukong Suh might assault someone.

Bet on football at SportsBettingOnline.ag.

Click here for the NFL Week 6 Report.

Posted by Brad Oremland at 12:14 PM | Comments (0)

NLCS Game 6: Daddy Took the T-Bird Away

There'll be no more fun, fun, fun for the 2013 Los Angeles Dodgers. Daddy took the T-Bird away in Busch Stadium last Friday. And you can spend all winter debating whether or not the Dodgers themselves gave him the ammunition on a platter.

When the Best Pitcher in Baseball (as they've been calling Clayton Kershaw for the past couple of years) brings less than his best game against the one team he couldn't really solve on the regular season, and the St. Louis Cardinals refuse to relinquish control of their at-bats, the third and fourth innings of Game 6 are what result. When a Dodger team taking a team .264 National League Championship Series batting average and a 0.91 team ERA into Game 6 plays the game as though those numbers were .064 and 9.91, instead, a combined shutout by Michael Wacha, Carlos Martinez, and Trevor Rosenthal is the net result.

When Wacha — a rookie barely heard of outside the Cardinals' zip code until he sent the division series against Pittsburgh (with Pedro Alvarez's mammoth solo bomb his only blemish) to a fifth game — outlasts Kershaw in Game 2 and makes a Game 6 return engagement a laugh and a half on behalf of his mates, a 9-0 combined 2-hit shutout and the National League pennant are the net results. And when Dodger manager Don Mattingly refuses to acknowledge a bitter reality staring him plain in the face, after the Cardinals ground Kershaw into powder in the bottom of the third, and sends a too-obviously-spent Kershaw out for the bottom of the fourth, a manageable and surmountable 4-0 deficit becomes a pennant-losing blowout.

Kershaw wouldn't blame anyone else. Hadn't he brought an 0.47 ERA in three October starts into Game 6? With obvious sadness, he faced postgame reporters looking to all the world like a kid who'd been caught rat-racing his father's car around town, forgetting to run the errands he promised along the way, and thus losing his keys to paradise.

"I didn't have it tonight, this one's on me," he said. "Just to know the guys have worked so hard to get here, I wanted to be part of the solution. I just didn't pitch good, man, I don't have an answer."

But it's also on a Dodger infield that allowed a few too many stoppable Game 6 grounders and bounders to turn into base hits. On a Dodger lineup that came to the plate looking as though they hadn't bothered looking at even three frames of Wacha video to find anything they could exploit or grind away. And, on a high-wire act in right field named Yasiel Puig, who rediscovered how allergic he often is to hitting cutoff men at the worst possible times Friday night.

Fairness requires us to say at least two of his ill-considered throws didn't really have that direct an impact on what was to come — Puig wasn't pitching, and he certainly wasn't managing the game, nor was he playing in the infield— but they only added to his contrapuntal reputation for exciting play and brain vapors, sometimes in the same inning, sometimes even on the same play. For most of the game Puig looked as though he'd been robbed blind in broad daylight. He — and, for that matter, his lineup mates — should have been looking straight at the Cardinals' lineup, for either fresh or remedial training in how to grind down a pitching ace with or without his best stuff.

So much for having fun, fun, fun. Somehow, the Dodgers forgot the kind of fun that made it possible for them to kick their way out of the sewer and the infirmary in June. Puig was the ignition switch then. Now he's the talented question mark. Does he learn from this? Does he sit down and watch and re-watch Game 6 and see in microcosm what not to do and how not to do it? Does anyone among the Dodger brain trust take him aside, quietly but surely, and begin his education in how to have fun, fun, fun without forgetting to put the right harnesses on that howitzer arm and the right eyes upon what comes his way at the plate?

Kershaw threw 48 pitches in the third inning heard 'round the world. The Cardinals fouled off 12 of them. They refused to swing as though they had six-run homers in mind, and also refused to let Kershaw strike them out. Matt Carpenter's 1-out, 11-pitch war with Kershaw will stand as maybe the hardest-fought, hardest-won at-bat in Cardinal history — including foulings off of five fastballs, two sliders, and one curve ball.

The 11th pitch is the one most likely to haunt Kershaw from now through spring training. He hung Carpenter a thigh-high slider, and Carpenter drilled it into the right field corner for a double. And that was just the beginning of the Cardinals' Eighth Amendment violations against the Dodger ace.

Carlos Beltran followed Carpenter and poked an RBI single into right center field that second baseman Mark Ellis, arguably, should have gotten a glove on at minimum and an out from at maximum. Puig retrieved it and threw all the way home — with no hope of bagging Carpenter, but with all the allowance Beltran needed to take second. Yadier Molina singled home the inning's second run, David Freese bounced a base hit into left field that also, arguably, should have been stopped in the infield and maybe turned into an out, and Matt Adams wrung a walk out of the clearly struggling Kershaw. Fairness, part two: Adams probably caught a phenomenal break. Home plate umpire Greg Gibson called ball four on strike three, a nice enough fastball at the knees. That strikeout probably would have kept the inning at two runs, after all.

But Adams was aboard and Shane Robinson, one of the sub scrubs on a Cardinal bench that spent the regular season as one of the league's weakest, making his first postseason start one for the memory books, squirted a two-run single through the right side of the infield. This, too, could have been stopped. But Robinson took second as Puig threw home again. The good news was that the throw might have had Freese dead on arrival except for the bad news: it arrived about four feet too high to make the kill.

Fortunately, after putting Pete Kozma on to load up the pads, Kershaw got a gift, dispatching Wacha on a called strikeout to end the carnage. Somehow, Kershaw kept the top of the Cardinal order quiet on a grounder and two flies in the fourth. Somehow, Mattingly took the measure of his man, committed to his heart without troubling to check whether the arm had anything left in the way of living up to it, and kept his bullpen quiet as the bottom of the fifth arrived. Three straight inning-opening hits including an RBI double by Adams and finally Kershaw's evening was finished. Finally, Mattingly went to the bullpen he probably should have had active at the earliest sign that Kershaw wasn't quite Kershaw.

Unfortunately, Ronald Belisario surrendered the sixth Cardinal run the hard way, when — with Kozma free passed again to load up the pads, presumably for an inning-ending double play — Wacha himself picked up a little of the lineup's don't-even-think-about-striking-out approach. He bounced one up to second base enabling Adams to score and the bases to stay loaded. J.P. Howell took over from there. Uh oh. A sacrifice fly (Carpenter), a wild pitch allowing Robinson to score, and an RBI single (Beltran). Then he got Matt Holliday to fly out for the side.

But Wacha continued keeping the Dodgers in complete suspended animation at the plate. He'd already wiped out a game-opening single by Carl Crawford by getting Ellis to dial Area Code 5-4-3. By the time the Cardinals hung up number nine, his only other interruption was a leadoff walk to Crawford in the fourth. A.J. Ellis would open the Dodger sixth with a double, but he might as well have pulled up a chaise lounge to observe the swinging strikeout (pinch-hitter Skip Schumaker), the line out to second (Crawford), and the ground out to the same real estate (M. Ellis).

"When Carpenter fought through that at-bat, all it did for me was give me a lot more confidence," Beltran said somewhere in the middle of champagne shampoos. "Watching him fight for that at-bat and being able to come through, I just went up there with the same mentality. I said,'Man, you need to fight. Right now.' And when I saw [my RBI single] go into right field, I was so happy that I got that run in off of this guy, who is so tough."

He had plenty of right to be happy. Beltran is riding his 37th postseason career RBI to his first World Series. At long last, he's shoved the ghost of 2006 — when, as a Met, he looked at strike three from his now-teammate Adam Wainwright to end Game 7 of that NLCS — into the nearest available trash bin.

Carpenter could only express sympathy for his vanquished third-inning challenger when it was all over. "I definitely think that was a frustrating at-bat for [Kershaw]," he told reporters. "I mean, he really was making good pitches. I was just finding ways to foul them off. And he kept coming at me. He kept fighting. And that was the ultimate fight, in terms of a battle in an at-bat, that I've ever had. And I definitely think it took something out of him."

What, aside from home for the winter, does it take out of these Dodgers that they didn't accomplish anything close to the Cardinals' plate grinding, their infield defense looked asleep at one switch too many, their crazy-gifted right fielder shakes off even the most minimal harness when it's needed most, and their manager was caught just unawares enough to let their ace take what proved a seven run beating instead of getting his pen men ready at the first sign the Cardinals had the grinder hooked up to the Mixmaster?

You almost thought nobody was going to win this one when three known aces with two Cys and two runner-ups among them — Kershaw, Wainwright, and Zack Greinke — could total five NLCS starts and only one win among them.

Now, however, you say goodbye to these Dodgers for the year, these ebullient goofs who couldn't quite remember that there was a job to do in the middle of their playtime. (Did we mention Puig, for all his Game 6 misadventures, wasn't even close to the worst Dodger flop? We won't count Hanley Ramirez, who wasn't even close to the same after being drilled in Game 1, but Andre Ethier hit .150 in the set and Juan Uribe — he who hit that mammoth, proved-to-be-division-series-winner — hit .130. Puig managed to hit .227, somehow.)

The worst part of it was that they didn't have to hark too far back to remind themselves.

The 2004 Boston Red Sox reveled in their image and actuality as fun-loving Idiots — and busted an actual or alleged 86-year curse. The 2010 San Francisco Giants saw and raised those Red Sox, kind of. "I'm still trying to figure out how to fit in with these morons here," crowed Aubrey Huff, a scrap heap pickup. Those Morons also included an MVP and a two-time Cy Young Award winner — and didn't let their near-Animal House style stop them from flattening the Texas Rangers in a five-game World Series.

It's enough to make you think these Cardinals, with their we're-the-men-around-here haughtinesses despite their own moments of mirth, should have prayed to get the Detroit Tigers in the World Series to begin Wednesday. Because this year's Red Sox are another fun bunch. One that just so happens to grind things out even harder than this year's Cardinals do.

The only ones of these Cardinals around for the 2004 steamrolling were Mike Matheny — then a catcher two seasons from calling it a career thanks to post-concussion syndrome, now the Cardinals' manager — and his then-rookie backup, Molina. Matheny's men had better hope his memory bank wasn't rattled enough to forget how the fun bunch actually can bury you in the Series.

"As much as I loved Joe DiMaggio," said Dodgers broadcast icon Vin Scully earlier in the week, answering a question about the Dodgers' exuberance and referencing the Yankee legend who played the game with all the emotion of a corpse, "I would hate to see eighteen Joe DiMaggios on the field."

You might have gotten that to a certain extent in a St. Louis-Detroit Series. You won't get that in the St. Louis-Boston rematch. The management ought to fine any Dodger — yes, even those not named Puig — who misses even one game of it.

Posted by Jeff Kallman at 10:42 AM | Comments (0)

October 21, 2013

Perfection Possibilities

Teams are lining up to see if they can make it to the end of the NCAA football season unscathed. Ten teams are in the hunt for prized undefeated status and the second half of the season will prove rather interesting indeed with so many teams remaining with a zero in the loss column. Let's take a look at the remaining undefeated teams and assess their chances on staying that way through the end of the regular season (not counting conference championship games).

Alabama: 55% chance to go undefeated in the regular season

When I looked at Alabama's schedule at the beginning of the year, I thought Texas A&M and LSU would be the big tests. A&M proved to be a test as the Crimson Tide won 49-42, allowing more than 40 points for the first time since 2007. What's miraculous is that despite A&M's 42 points, Alabama's defense is still ranked number one in the country allowing 11.3 points per game (before Saturday's games). While LSU will still be a challenge for the Crimson Tide, Alabama's last game of the regular season against Auburn seems to grow into a bigger challenge every week. This week Auburn beat Texas A&M in a shootout. If Auburn stays hot that could be a rather unexpected tough test for the Crimson Tide.

Oregon: 35% chance to go undefeated in the regular season

The Ducks beat Washington handily, but they still have to face the UCLA Bruins and win at Stanford, neither of which is a simple task. However, Stanford is a Thursday game and Oregon will have a few extra days to prepare for that game. Somebody was smart when they put that schedule together. Stanford has the same luxury, but that happens. Add to that a very losable game to a good Oregon State team on November 29 to close out the regular season and the Ducks have a typical tough schedule down the stretch. Of course they can do it, but I think they'll probably drop one along the way.

Ohio State: 70% chance to go undefeated in the regular season

With a relatively weak Big Ten, it's not a giant surprise the Buckeyes have been able to take care of business thus far. At arch-rival Michigan on November 30 will be the only real test before the Big Ten Championship game.

Florida State: 75% chance to go undefeated in the regular season

It's not often you see the final score between two top 25 teams turn out to be 63-0. That's what Florida State did to Maryland two Saturdays ago. And it's not often you see a matchup between two top five teams with a score as lopsided as 51-14 That's what the Seminoles did at Clemson. Florida State is seriously something special. They still have Miami and Florida on the schedule, but I think the Seminoles have a great shot at an undefeated run and voters will have a hard time refusing them a national title shot if they are undefeated.

Miami: 5% chance to go undefeated in the regular season

The Hurricanes' only game of difficulty thus far this year was at home versus an overrated Florida team. Last weekend they needed a fourth quarter comeback to beat the dismal Tar Heels of North Carolina. I think the Hurricanes are soon to be removed from the ranks of the undefeated teams. In two weeks, they play at Florida State and in three weeks they play at home vs. Virginia Tech. I don't see them coming out of those two games with two wins ... or even one win.

Baylor: 3% chance to go undefeated in the regular season

Is there a more exciting team in college football than the Baylor Bears? They average over 400 yards passing and over 300 yards rushing a game. Before Saturday's games, they were also ranked 17 in the country in defense. Granted, Baylor hasn't played any ranked opponents yet, but they're still awfully exciting. Their schedule down the stretch is too tough to expect a clean run. If they can go 3-3 through Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, TCU, and Texas I think Baylor will be doing all right.

Missouri: 20% chance to go undefeated in the regular season

If you saw this coming, you're a liar. The Tigers have been downright impressive. I think most college football fans expected Missouri to fold once they hit the heart of their SEC schedule, but thus far, they've beaten Georgia (and sent them into a tailspin of oblivion) and Florida. Next week they are at home versus South Carolina (who is coming off of a loss). If they get through the Gamecocks, they have some middle of the road SEC teams followed by Texas A&M in the final game of the regular season. Can the Tigers take the Aggies in a shootout? They took care of a pass-happy Georgia team. It could happen. But they'd never beat Alabama in the SEC Championship…would they?

Texas Tech: less than 1% chance to go undefeated in the regular season

Perhaps the five toughest games on Texas Tech's schedule are their final five games of the season: at Oklahoma; home vs. Oklahoma State, Kansas State, and Baylor' and finally at Texas. If they can win two of those games that will probably be a success, all five is all but impossible.

Fresno State: 15% chance to go undefeated in the regular season

It's perhaps a miracle that the Bulldogs are undefeated right now. Thinking they'll make it through the season undefeated has to be ridiculous, doesn't it? Fresno State opened the season with a thriller win over Rutgers in overtime. They squeaked a win over Boise State, 41-40. They almost lost at Hawaii to a fantastically terrible team. What's left besides a handful of similarly mediocre teams? If Fresno State does manage to escape the season undefeated, they shouldn't receive too much credit. Their schedule is about as boring as possible.

Northern Illinois: 55% chance to go undefeated in the regular season

The Huskies made an impression in 2012 and found themselves getting destroyed by Florida State in the Orange Bowl. Last year's results have made voters a bit hesitant to put Northern Illinois in a position to have another favorable bowl game if they go undefeated. But their chances of doing that are pretty good. Their only true test is at home vs. Ball State on November 13. At Toledo the following week might not be the easiest game in the world, but the Huskies' other three games are very close to the easiest games in the world: Eastern Michigan, Massachusetts, and Western Michigan.

In the end, I'd expect two or three teams to reach the end of the regular season undefeated. Hopefully there are two obvious choices for the last National Championship Game without a playoff system.

Posted by Andrew Jones at 1:41 PM | Comments (0)

ALCS Game 6: The Pennant That Wasn't in the Plans

John Lennon once sang that life is what happens when you're busy making other plans. The Boston Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers learned the hard way Saturday night that baseball's often what happens when you have other plans.

The Tigers planned to push this year's American League Championship Series to a seventh game, even in Fenway Park, as best they could. The Red Sox, who may have planned only to pick up, dust off, and get respectable again after last season's last place nightmares, planned only to avoid Justin Verlander in Game 7 as best they could.

In the end, and off the bat of one of the least likely of Red Sox stars, the Red Sox found ways to stick to their Game 6 plan and, while they were at it, stick the Tigers' Game 7 plans where the sun is usually kept at bay.

The Tigers planned no further for Max Scherzer to pitch like a Cy Young Award winner in waiting only to leave the game in the bottom of the seventh, after 110 pitches and a 2-1 lead, than they planned for Red Sox right fielder Shane Victorino to vaporize any plan for a Game 7 with one swing, two relievers later, in the same inning.

Max Scherzer's usually agreeable face, a slightly surreal union between Stan Laurel and the Looney Tunes' Beaky Buzzard, melted into an equally surreal union between heartbreak and dismay. Victorino overthrew the Tiger lead with a grand slam that turned Fenway Park into bedlam and the Tiger dugout into a funeral parlor. This guy had been 2-for-26 in the ALCS as he checked in at the plate. Where does he get off going salami?

The second guessers will be wondering for years to come why manager Jim Leyland lifted Scherzer with one out and two aboard, when Scherzer showed few if any signs of fatigue and is nothing if not a pitcher with considerable experience at sneaking out of trouble. Wasn't this the same Scherzer who came in in relief in Game 4 of the division series, loaded the bases all by his lonesome, and then struck out two hitters before getting a third to line out to center?

Hadn't he managed to sneak his way out of three jams earlier in the evening, including a play on Victorino's botched pop bunt in the third that made you wonder if he'd taken some remedial fielding training from Ozzie Smith? Scherzer had bounded off the mound and fallen into a slide as he held his glove under the pop and snapped the glove shut as his right leg crossed over his left to finish the slide. The skid marks on the grass told the story.

What was to worry, just because Jonny Gomes opened the bottom of the seventh with a double and, a swishout on Stephen Drew later, Xander Bogaerts wrung out a walk after Scherzer had him in the hole 1-2? Yet Scherzer's night ended as soon as Bogaerts arrived at first base, and Leyland brought in lefthander Drew Smyly to deal with left-handed Jacoby Ellsbury at the plate.

Ellsbury punched a grounder more or less up the pipe. Jose Iglesias, the former Red Sox shortstop prospect who's been a one-man highlight reel much of the LCS, ranged hard right to try for it behind second base. He might have been thinking of a shovel pass to launch a double play, never mind that Ellsbury would likely have beaten the play at first. Whatever he was thinking, the ball bouncing off his glove pocket onto the ground wasn't in his or the Tigers' plans, either, on a play like that.

This turned out worse than even Iglesias's Game 2 throwing error on a Gomes infield hit, moments before Jarrod Saltalamacchia lashed what proved the gamer. It left the Red Sox with the bases loaded, and it left Leyland to lift Smyly for right-hander Jose Veras. Against Victorino, the reformed switch hitter, who swore to hit right-handed the rest of the postseason no matter who was on the mound.

"I thought I'd give it a try, but it wasn't what I expected," said Victorino before Game 6, a career-long switch hitter, who had to put it on ice a good while along with the hamstring he tweaked in August, making life hitting left-handed a little too testy. Which is why his bid to hit left-handed against Anibal Sanchez in Game 5 jolted just about one and all.

"It just wasn't there," the right fielder said. "I saw the ball well, but I just wasn't comfortable with the swing and the whole approach. I felt as if I was trying to rush to get to everything. It's hard to change, especially since I hadn't done it for two months."

So Victorino clung to the right side. Until the seventh, it wasn't exactly his night. A ground out, a pop out to the mound, and a sixth-inning plunk. And as he went to work in the seventh things actually started according to the Tigers' overall plans.

Veras fed Victorino one nasty curve ball that wrapped around the inside of the plate for strike one. He fed Victorino a second nasty curve that broke low, allowing Victorino nothing but a self-defending swat foul up the third base line. Then, he fed Victorino a third curve. Only this one's nasty disappeared halfway to the plate, leaving it to travel just about up into Victorino's face.

And Victorino made sure it traveled post haste into the Green Monster seats. The Tigers' World Series hopes traveled south for all intent and purpose with it.

"Hey, let me tell you," crowed David Ortiz amidst the postgame champagne scalp treatments, "he's a money player, he's a money player. I knew he was going to come through at some point."

Oh, the Tigers still had two innings left to play, and Al Alburquerque did manage to strike out the side in the eighth, but did anyone really doubt that — after Junichi Tazawa bagged one out to get credit for the win and Craig Breslow pitched a blemish-free eighth — eventual LCS MVP Koji Uehara wouldn't let even a mere tough-chance infield single stop him from signing off on the Tigers' funeral?

Don't let anyone kid you. Even Uehara, who only seems unflappable, has his moments of fleeting doubt, though he's mature enough to joke about them. As might you be, too, if you'd started your American baseball life as a weak Baltimore starter before discovering, short range, that you had a fastball to die for and a splitter that could be tried by jury for first degree murder when it's late and close.

"To tell you the truth," Uehara said through his translator, about going out for the biggest save of his American Show life to date, "I almost threw up." He makes it sound as though that 5-out save in Comerica Park Thursday was child's play in comparison. Come to think of it, the Red Sox bullpen have made this postseason child's play so far: once the pennant was in hand, their resume showed a 0.43 ERA on one run in 21 innings' total work.

Actually, the Tigers probably shouldn't have anything much to be ashamed about. They did what they could with what they had, did their best to weather injuries (Miguel Cabrera's barking groin and catcher Alex Avila's almost series-long battering behind the plate) and invisibility (Prince Fielder), rode their stellar pitching as hard as feasible, and still came up Victorino.

Look deeper and it wasn't as unlikely as it seemed that Victorino had such a grand chance to put the Tigers to sleep. He checked in at the plate in the seventh 3-for-5 with the bases loaded in his postseason lifetime, including one such salami in his Philadelphia years. It's not exactly as though the Tigers got murdered by an out-of-character scrub with an invisible resume, even if Victorino was one of last winter's alternative targets among the free agency class.

Unfortunately, the Tigers managed to run themselves right out of a possible explosion of their own an inning before Victorino's mayhem. Victor Martinez had already overthrown the Red Sox's early 1-0 lead with a 2-run single off Boston reliever Franklin Morales, last seen working a little mop-up in Game 4. Brandon Workman relieved Morales, and Jhonny Peralta grounded into the kind of double play once thought part of the Red Sox repertoire, in now-ancient eras.

Peralta's grounder reached Dustin Pedroia at second. He tagged Martinez and whipped a throw home, catching Prince Fielder in a rundown that ended with Fielder hitting the deck like a whale falling out of a boat as Saltalamacchia tagged him out. Then, in the top of the seventh, Austin Jackson's one-out single off Workman went for nothing when Workman picked Jackson clean off first base. Iglesias managed an infield hit and Workman's miscue allowed Torii Hunter aboard safe, but in came Tazawa and Miguel Cabrera—whose barking groin has made him a sad imitation of his customary self — grounded out to short on 1-0 for the side.

All this almost made you forget the Red Sox pried that early 1-0 lead off Scherzer in the first place, when Bogaerts doubled to the rear of center field and Ellsbury scored him on a line bullet to right in the fifth. Breaking up a pitching duel between Scherzer and Clay Buchholz that wasn't exactly pretty or deadly efficient but enough to keep both teams at bay until then.

Or, that Pedroia damn near made it 3-0 two innings earlier with a drive off a Scherzer service that flew high enough down the left field line to have 3-run homer engraved in the hide. Two swift television replays showed the ball traveling barely a foot past the wrong side of the foul pole. Then, Pedroia grounded into an inning-ending double play.

Once upon a time that would have deflated the Red Sox almost completely. This time, the thought never crossed anyone's mind in the Red Sox dugout or the Fenway seats. That's what a complete, irrevocable reversal from the disaster of 2012 does for you. "A lot of guys bought into the team," Pedroia said after the game. "It seems like it has been someone different every night."

"There is something special about this team," said Victorino. "We have one mindset. Just like the song says, 'Every little thing is gonna be all right.' We still have one more step. We proved everyone wrong and have one more step to go."

Actually, they have four more steps to go. Against the Cardinals. Who aren't exactly the same Cardinals a somewhat different group of Red Sox rolled to bust the actual or alleged Curse nine years ago. Only one of those Cardinals still plays for them now, catcher Yadier Molina — the rookie backup to current Redbirds manager Mike Matheny. Only one of the Red Sox's beloved 2004 Idiots is still with them now: Big Papi.

The Cardinals who think they've just finished the fun-loving Los Angeles Dodgers a lesson in manners and pennants should know that these Red Sox are just as fun-loving without being quite as willing or able to forget how to play grind-it-out, swing-it-out, pitch-it-out, hit-it-out baseball. You can bet these Red Sox know these Cardinals aren't quite that easy to steamroll.

They'd have to. For the first time since 1999, the teams with baseball's best regular season records — identical 97-65 records at that — will tangle in the World Series. Come to think of it, teams whose butts were parked in first place in their respective divisions at regular season's end ended up playing for the now-consummated pennants. We're actually getting champions playing championship baseball this month.

And the Red Sox are going there on the bat of a fellow who was picked up last winter because — coming off the 93-loss, dead-last 2012 nightmare — they didn't expect to play for a pennant this season and said fellow was thought to be just enough to help them survive until contention time came around in earnest.

"The one thing that I like the most about this year, what makes it more special," Ortiz said, "is that nobody thought we were going to go this far."

Instead, Victorino drove home the exclamation point at the end of the sentence that would decree these Red Sox have discovered the pennant can be what happens when you actually made other plans.

Posted by Jeff Kallman at 12:05 PM | Comments (0)

October 18, 2013

Hoops Preview: Stop and Stare

The second installment of the 2013-2014 college tourney preview shifts the focus out West. Last year, I fondly reminisced about a time when highly-touted programs actually wanted to head to the Alaskan frontier to play basketball with the landscape of a Winter Wonderland. Now the tournament is trying to restore the luster that made it a standout before the turn of the century.

More than 2,300 miles to the south, an established tournament looks to add its own luster by attaching itself to the greatest coach in the sport's history. The event that paid tribute to John Wooden since 1994 was mainly a one-day doubleheader. Wooden's most known program, UCLA (he started his career at Indiana State), usually participated in the event. But this year brings about a change in the Santa Ana wind.

Great Alaska Shootout (Nov. 27-30)

Obvious Team to Watch: In a field that lacks star power, Tommy Amaker stands out like a sore thumb. It's extremely rare that your tournament would tout the lone NCAA tournament participant came from the Ivy League, but that'll be the case in Anchorage. The Harvard Crimson shocked New Mexico last March, and they should be even stronger this season (with Brandyn Curry and Kyle Casey returning from suspension). Basically, this is a lose-lose situation for Harvard, which, again, is a weird thing to say for an Ivy Leaguer. Win the tourney...no competition. Lose anywhere in the tourney ... possibly a bad loss for the selection committee's criteria.

Under the Radar Team to Watch: Just as unlikely as an Ivy League team being the favorite in a holiday tournament, the "big dog" school isn't usually the team most under the radar. TCU will be the first school from a Big Six conference to play in Alaska in three years. The Horned Frogs comes off a campaign where they only won two Big XII games. But one of them was the stunner of the season (the 62-55 win over Kansas). Trent Johnson has another young squad set to play, so even a couple of wins under their belts could be a big boost to their confidence.

Best Early Matchup: Indiana State vs. Tulsa

Indiana State tried to make things interesting in last season's Missouri Valley race. The Sycamores pushed Creighton and Wichita State (splitting the regular season series with both) before fading down the stretch. Tulsa got an infusion of energy with first-year head coach Danny Manning. The Golden Hurricanes kept their streak of winning season alive with a fairly young crew. Both teams will be looking to make an NCAA push later in the year, and this victory might provide a big feather in their "quality" cap.

Best Potential Final: Indiana State vs. Harvard

There's not a lot to add to this matchup. On paper, these are the best teams in this field. For the Sycamores, it would be a shot for two quality wins. For the Crimson, it may be the only win they can snag.

The Wooden Legacy (Nov. 28-29, Dec. 1)

Obvious Team to Watch: This actually isn't as easy as it looks. With four NCAA teams, another that was one step away, and an NIT-quality squad are in this field. Having said that, the favorite will probably be Creighton. Arizona State's Jahii Carson might be the most talented player to step on the floor during the event. However, Blue Jays star Doug McDermott is the one who has two All-American credits and preseason Player of the Year buzz.

Under the Radar Team to Watch: It's hard to go from Elite Eight to "under the radar," but that's what happened to Marquette. While two large pieces return to the block (Davante Gardner and Chris Otule), the backcourt has to be replaced. How Buzz Williams' team starts the season will depend on the production of the guys replacing Vander Blue and Junior Cadougan (possibly Todd Mayo and Derrick Wilson). One thing the Golden Eagles don't lack is toughness. But it's experience that might provide a big roadblock.

Best Early Matchup: Creighton vs. Arizona State

No question about this one. This is one of those matchups you could easily see again in the NCAA tourney. The two best players in the tournament will be on the same floor at the same time. And while they won't guard each other, I'd be hard-pressed to say that they won't keep track of the other's play.

Best Potential Final: Creighton vs. Marquette

There are many potential matchups that would be fun to watch. How would Carson and his backcourt mates do against Angel Rodriguez (who just transferred from Kansas State to Miami). What about the Golden Eagles battling the long, athletic players that Steve Fisher recruits to San Diego State? The most appealing final appears to be the tough, grinding gameplay of Marquette going up against a potential Player of the Year.

Posted by Jonathan Lowe at 2:31 PM | Comments (0)

NLCS Game 5: Fun, Fun, Fun

There's a little bit of Bob Prince in these Los Angeles Dodgers. Prince, the longtime voice of the Pittsburgh Pirates, loved to wrap up a broadcast of games in which the Pirates came back from certain, even overwhelming defeats, by crowing, "We had 'em all the way!"

Now that they've overthrown a 2-0 National League Championship Series deficit the sort-of hard way, you'd hear some Dodgers and think they were saying the same thing.

"All we have to do," said reserve Jerry Hairston, Jr. when they were pinned in the first two in St. Louis, "is get the ball back in the hands of our aces." These fun-fun-fun Dodgers don't forget not to let Daddy take the T-Bird away. Not without a fight, anyway.

"So little did those unsuspecting St. Louis Cardinals know," wrote ESPN's Jayson Stark, "as they were taking that three-games-to-one lead and reaching the precipice of a trip back to the World Series, that the Dodgers had them right where they wanted them."

What's next? Are we going to hear the rock-bottom-in-June Dodgers had the National League West right where they wanted them, too? Having fallen so low manager Don Mattingly's job was in mortal danger, then picked up, dusted off, and all but steamrolled their way to the division title with more than enough room to spare?

Still, Hairston had a point. The series was strange enough already with the Cardinals hitting .232 as a team against Los Angeles pitching in the first three games but holding a 2-1 lead regardless.

Then Hyun-jin Ryu and two relievers shut them out Monday, beating an Adam Wainwright who almost pitched even-up with Ryu, something almost forgotten in the hoopla over Yasiel Puig's effervescent slump-busting triple. The second liners dueled it out Tuesday, Lance Lynn prevailing over Ricky Nolasco, but then Zack Greinke pitched the game of his postseason life Wednesday and, at long enough last, as Stark phrased it, somebody's Cy Young Award winner — pending or past — actually won a game.

Not that he did it the easy way himself. He put himself into the bases-loaded/nobody out hole in the top of the first. Almost the way the Detroit Tigers' Max Scherzer (you're pretty safe calling him a Cy Young winner in waiting, too) did in a second relief inning before the Tigers finally rid themselves of the Oakland Athletics in their division series. This time, it was a sandwich of two flare singles (Matt Carpenter, Matt Holliday) wrapped around a four-pitch walk to Carlos Beltran.

Greinke looked to all the world like a fellow who awoke with the sun pouring through his bedroom window, went to his front door to collect his newspaper, and saw a tornado approaching the moment he opened his door. Would that all tornados could be dissipated the way Greinke dissipated that threat. He struck out Matt Adams on a 2-2 curve ball more voluptuous than Jayne Mansfield, and fed Yadier Molina a very similar breaker that could end up only one way, a step-and-throw double play ball to third.

But did he have to give back the two runs the Dodgers gave him to work with in the second right off the proverbial bat? Juan Uribe had singled home Adrian Gonzalez and Greinke himself singled home Puig for the 2-0 lead, but with one out in the top of the third Carpenter singled to right, Beltran tripled to the rear end of Dodger Stadium, and Holliday doubled to about the same zip code.

Lucky for Greinke that Gonzalez was in a particularly frisky mood in the bottom of the third, driving a two-out launch so far over the right field fence they're not sure it didn't end up in the back yard of Casey Stengel's former home in nearby Glendale. Gonzalez couldn't resist taking a poke at Wainwright's commentary on his Mickey Mouse stuff following a Game 3 double, making a mouse-ears sign when he returned to the dugout.

Gonzalez swears he's going to retire the gesture. An informal polling of assorted Dodgers seems to hope he keeps it in the act. One vote in favor is Carl Crawford, who joined in the long ball fun Wednesday with a one-out shot of his own in the fifth for the fourth Dodger run. "Me, too!" said A.J. Ellis's bat in the bottom of the seventh, as it sent a one-out, two-strike service from reliever Edward Mujica into the left field bleachers. "I got one more!" hollered Gonzalez's bat in the bottom of the eighth, when he hit a second blast, though far short and wide of the zone into which he launched the first.

This was getting all too simple for Greinke and the bulk of the Dodger bullpen. So naturally closer Kenley Jansen had to make the top of the ninth a hair raiser — and it wasn't even a save situation in the first place. He didn't get his first out, striking out Molina swinging, until Holliday (leadoff double) and Adams (single to shallow center field) hung up the third Cardinal run. Puig loped to his left for what looked like Jon Jay's very routine fly to right until the hard late-day sun nailed him and he lost the ball's path shortly before it hit the grass. Somehow he managed to flip a U-turn and get the ball before it got Jay more than a single.

Then you could hear St. Louis's heart beating ten miles a minute with one of their patented Mr. Octobers, David Freese, coming up with two on, one out, and the Cardinal deficit down to 6-3. This time, though, Freese looked at ball one before striking out on three straight pitches. Pete Kozma's RBI single seemed almost like an excuse-us run, but Jensen flattened pinch-hitter Adron Chambers for the game with a nasty fastball that snuck to the upper outside corner and froze Chambers like a fish.

Quite a turnabout from Game 4, when Holliday and pinch-hitter Shane Robinson, the latter swinging clearly over the heads of the Cardinals' generally weak bench, cleared the fences en route the 4-2 win that put the Dodgers in the 3-1 hole in the first place. And the Cardinals still have some recent history working against them: they were up 3-1 in last year's LCS until the eventual World Series-winning San Francisco Giants upended them dramatically enough. (Among other things, the Giants out-scored the Cardinals 20-1 in those last three games.)

They'd like to avoid history repeating itself. They like their chances with a rematch between Michael Wacha and Clayton Kershaw. There's just one problem with that. The Dodgers seem to like their chances just a little bit more. Even with Hanley Ramirez remaining a question mark thanks to the hairline rib fracture he's handled since getting plunked in Game 1.

And how about let's have enough of that chazerei regarding how much of a party the Dodgers seem to be having while playing this NLCS? (How about someone explain why the Dodgers didn't answer in kind after Lynn buzzed that upstart, dare-to-have-a-ball Puig in Game 4?)

"If you're not having fun in the playoffs," Gonzalez said after the Dodgers banked Game 5, "then you don't deserve to be here."

Funny thing, that. The Giants sure looked like they were having fun, fun, fun last October, too. And Daddy couldn't quite take the T-Bird away.

Posted by Jeff Kallman at 10:31 AM | Comments (0)

October 17, 2013

The Strange Odyssey of Kenny G

Before he's consigned to the dustbin of history, I wanted to write a few words about a backup quarterback who has done some amazing things despite perhaps the most inauspicious introduction one can have in major college football.

Ohio State was caught holding the bag a bit in 2009. In that year, Terrelle Pryor had established himself as the Big Quarterback on Campus, which hastened the transfers of two other candidates, Antonio Henton and Rob Schoenhoft. This left the Buckeyes with just two scholarship quarterbacks, and Jim Tressel and his staff decided they did not want a walk-on running the third team in practice.

The problem: when it was time for Ohio State recruiting coordinator John Peterson to go find and offer a scholarship to a quarterback appropriate for a high major, they were all gone.

Meanwhile, in Houston, Kenny Guiton was caught holding the bag a bit. He was a solid quarterback for an elite program (Eisenhower High School) and had put up nice enough numbers his junior year to get offers from BCS programs. Granted, not the Texases, Oklahomas, or USCs of the world, but Rice, Kansas, Northwestern, Iowa State, and Houston. He decided he would make his decision slowly and deliberately.

Then, two things started to work against him: his senior year was not statistically as gaudy as his junior year, and pundits started raising questions about his size: lean and unimposing, even for a dual-threat quarterback.

Rice rescinded their offer. As did Kansas, Northwestern, Iowa State, and Houston. When it was time for Guiton to fish or cut bait, he had two offers remaining: Wyoming, and ... Prairie View A&M, the school you may remember from the nineties when they set an epic losing streak of 80 games.

Guiton was set to accept PVAMU's offer when Peterson flew down to Houston to talk to him. Less than a week later, the number of schools making him an offer had improved to three: Wyoming, Prairie View A&M, and Ohio State. Even hardcore Buckeye fans had to scour the internet to find out anything about this kid.

Four years later, Guiton is a senior and in the Ohio State record books. He connected on the longest play in OSU history on a 90-yard touchdown pass to Devin Smith, and against Florida A&M he threw for 6 touchdowns, a school record for a game (he accomplished it in one half).

Yes, Guiton, a senior now, is still a backup, and so he will remain unless Braxton Miller gets injured (again). But in his second-string capacity, he's got 15 touchdowns against 4 interceptions, and a quarterback rating deep in the hundreds. Perhaps more impressively, before the season started he was voted to team captaincy by his peers (8 are chosen by team vote, Guiton was third).

Assuming Braxton Miller stays healthy, will we hear from Guiton again? Probably not. There are rare occasions when a college backup makes it in the NFL (Matt Cassel is one, and Billy Joe Hobert and Mark Brunell switched off a lot at Washington in the early '90s), but such an exception thus far seems reserved for "pro-style" quarterbacks.

But this kid, with one foot on the field at Prairie View A&M, has gone on to set records at one of the most storied programs in college football, and that makes me happy. So let's not forget about him just yet.

Posted by Kevin Beane at 7:06 PM | Comments (0)

NFL Weekly Predictions: Week 7

Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.

Seattle @ Arizona (+7)

Thursday Night Football comes to Glendale, home of the 3-3 Cardinals, as the NFC West-leading Seahawks invade. Arizona lost 32-20 in San Francisco last week, hampered by 4 turnovers.

"Carson Palmer is like the 'chupacabra' of quarterbacks," Bruce Arians said. "As of yet, no one knows if he's for real. But I'll tell you what creature is real — the 'Honey Badger.' Tyronn Mathieu is possibly the NFL's best athlete. He's so fast, he appears grainy and out of focus on film.

"We expect Thursday's crowd to be loud. Seattle has the '12th Man,' but we expect the University Of Phoenix Stadium crowd to out-noise them by 'degrees.' It's the hottest ticket in town, and if you don't have one, you're probably out of luck. But might I suggest you try Rashad Johnson's '4½ Finger Discount' at his ticket brokerage 'Stub Hub.'"

Seattle emerged with a sloppy 20-13 win over the visiting Seahawks last week, running their record to 5-1.

"This game is slated to start at 8:35 Eastern Standard Time," Pete Carroll said. "That means it starts three hours earlier, local time. If form holds, it may even be over sooner.

"I hear that USC is looking for Lane Kiffin's successor. It's not often one can say 'success' in reference to Kiffin, but I just did. Unlike me, Lane's not a great coach. Like me, he's a great recruiter. Given my budget, I'm pretty sure Lane could put together a solid team."

As part of the NFL Network team, Kurt Warner is on the house on Thursday. Warner draws cheers when he picks the Cardinals in the upset, but boos when he refuses Arians' offer of a one-day contract.

The Seahawks seem ripe for the picking, but so does Palmer. Seattle wins 20-18 on a late Steven Hauschka field goal as time expires.

Tampa Bay @ Atlanta (-9)

Tampa is still winless after a 31-20 loss to the Eagles last week. In the wake of the release of Josh Freeman, the team also had to deal with three cases of MRSA.

"For Christ's sake," Greg Schiano said, "don't ever again ask me 'What's the spread?' MRSA is no joking matter. Unlike my personality, it is highly infectious. If only it were as easy to get rid of as Freeman.

"But believe it or not, this is a blessing in disguise for us. Now, I'm the second-most dangerous entity eating away at this team."

The Falcons come out of their bye week with a 1-4 record, and what looked to be a promising year has become a rebuilding year. Julio Jones was lost for the season with a foot injury in Atlanta's 30-28 loss to the Jets in week 5.

"Julio is done for the season," Mike Smith said, "and Roddy White and Steven Jackson are nursing injuries. They are our three best receivers. It appears that we have a similar problem to the Bucs' MRSA outbreak, and it's 'catching.'

"We surely don't want to lose to the winless Bucs. As the standings, as well as a U.S. map, suggests, you can't go further south in the NFC South than Tampa."

Georgia Dome officials open up the gates several hours early and offer any and all fans a free cootie shot, under the condition that they chant "Circle, Circle, dot, dot. Now you've got your cootie shot."

Atlanta wins, 28-24.

Cincinnati @ Detroit (-2)

Cincinnati beat Buffalo last week to improve to 4-2, and now holds sole possession of first place in the AFC North.

"I was pleased to see Andy Dalton throwing with such confidence," Marvin Lewis said. "Now, we'll see if he shows that same confidence in the face of Ndamukong Suh. If you're a white quarterback, and Andy is, you've got to be on your guard around Suh. Compared to Suh, the Washington Redskins aren't racist. But, as far as body parts go, Suh shows no favoritism — he is an equal opportunity destroyer."

The Lions picked up a vital road victory with a 31-17 win in Cleveland last week, led by 3 touchdown passes from Matthew Stafford to tight end Joseph Fauria. At 4-2, Detroit is tied with the Bears atop the NFC North.

"Fauria was an undrafted free agent," Stafford said. "Now he's a fantasy darling, not to be confused with 'Fantasy Darlings,' where he worked as a bouncer before signing.

"We can win without a huge contribution from Calvin Johnson. This team is far from one-dimensional. We may even be two-dimensional, or three-dimensional. That would be '3D,' which is amazing, because in Detroit, we're not used to any 'D's.'"

Johnson grabs 5 catches for 45 yards and a short touchdown in limited action, and the Lions remain unbeaten at home.

Detroit wins, 31-27.

Chicago @ Washington (even)

Chicago kept the Giants winless with a 27-21 win last Thursday in Chicago, buoyed by two touchdown passes from Jay Cutler to Brandon Marshall. The Bears now face a 1-4 Washington team desperate for a win.

"As you know," Cutler said, "I'm married to Kristin Cavallari. She's quite a looker. Eli Manning even threw her a glance, and it was intercepted.

"Now, the Redskins are hungry. They've obviously been distracted by the controversy surrounding their nickname. Honestly, I can't imagine Washington with another nickname, just as I can't imagine Mike Ditka with any other name, especially 'Senator.'"

Despite a more mobile and healthy-looking Robert Griffin III, Washington lost 31-16 in Dallas last Sunday. That left the 'Skins 1-4 in the NFC East.

"Hey," Griffin said, "I don't know what the big deal about being called a 'Redskin' is. Coach Shanahan's called that every day, and he doesn't mind."

Prior to the game, a banner protesting the "Redskins" nickname flies overhead, ironically pulled by an Apache helicopter carrying a payload of Tomahawk missiles, Red Man chewing tobacco, and Cherokee cigarettes.

Washington suffers a loss, and so does the irony.

Chicago takes an early lead and repels a late Redskin comeback.

Chicago wins, 30-26.

St. Louis @ Carolina (-7)

The Rams played their best game of the year in a 38-12 win in Houston last week, and improved their record to 3-3, two games behind the Seahawks in the NFC West.

"I don't condone cheering an injury to a player," Jeff Fisher said. "One should never downplay an injury, unless it's in the form of a $765 million settlement."

The Panthers blew out the Vikings 35-10 last week, powered by four total touchdowns from Cam Newton. Now 2-3. Carolina trails only the 5-1 Saints in the NFC North.

"That was a Heismann-worthy performance by Cam," Ron Rivera said. "Some say the jury is still out on whether Newton is a 'poseur' or not."

Carolina wins, 27-16.

San Diego @ Jacksonville (+7)

Phillip Rivers and the Chargers took down the visiting Colts 19-9 last Monday, and are now 3-3 in the AFC West, well behind the undefeated Broncos and Chiefs.

"People knew our offense was potent," Rivers said. "I think our defense proved their capabilities against the Colts. So beware, Jaguars. Not only are we bringing our 'A' game to Jacksonville, we're bringing our own no-shows. This may be the first NFL game blacked out in the visiting team's market.

"My wife just gave birth to our seventh child. As you might have guessed, we're practicing Catholics. And boy do we practice. Sometimes, we even have two-a-days."

After a 35-19 loss in Denver last week, the Jaguars are 0-6, but there were plenty of positives to be gained from the loss. Jacksonville moved the ball consistently, and forced three Denver turnovers.

"I think this game proved two things," Gus Bradley said. "The Broncos and the Jaguars are both overrated."

Sunday's game will surely be blacked out locally, as tickets are readily available. They're so available, the Ticket Oak is on "leave."

Rivers throws 2 touchdown passes, and the Chargers win, 24-21.

Buffalo @ Miami (-8)

The Dolphins are 3-2, good for second behind the 5-1 Patriots in the AFC East. With a bye week under their belt, they'll look to end a two-game losing streak when the Bills visit Sun Life Stadium.

"This game is taking place on October 20th," Joe Philbin said. "That's 10/20, six months after 4/20. 4/20 is the date when Ricky Williams emerges from his van; if he sees his shadow in his grow-light, then he'll remain retired for six more months. So, on Sunday, we can expect another Ricky sighting. Here's hoping my running backs come out of their shell, also."

The Bills lost 27-24 in overtime to the Bengals last week, falling to 2-4, last in the AFC East. Quarterback Thad Lewis was solid even in defeat, with 2 touchdown passes and no interceptions.

"Thad injured his foot," Doug Marrone, "but we expect him to play. We've signed journeyman Matt Flynn to the roster just in case. When Flynn joins a team, they call the quarterback corps the 'Bass Guitar,' because it now has four strings."

Miami wins, 24-20.

New England @ NY Jets (+4½)

Tom Brady's 17-yard touchdown pass to Kenbrell Thompkins with five seconds left gave the Patriots an improbably 30-27 win over the Saints last week. It was Brady's only TD of the day, and the win handed the Saints their first loss of the year.

"We're 5-1 without Rob Gronkowski," Brady said. "Just imagine how great we'll be with him. Gronk is awesome. How awesome is he? He's so awesome, he didn't even play against the Saints and he matched Jimmy Graham stat for stat.

"What are the two words fans are dying to hear in New England? It used to be 'not guilty.' Now, it's 'medical clearance.'"

The Jets were manhandled by the Steelers 19-6, held to only 267 yards total offense and no touchdowns. Geno Smith was sacked three times, bringing his NFL-leading total to 21.

"Geno still has a problem with holding on to the ball too long," Rex Ryan said. "It could be worse, though; Mark Sanchez 'held on to the ball' for four years too long."

Brady throws 2 touchdown passes, if Gronkowski plays, and one if he doesn't.

New England wins, 23-17.

Dallas @ Philadelphia (-2½)

The Eagles used big days from DeSean Jackson and Riley Cooper to down the Buccaneers in Tampa 31-20 last week. The two combined for 184 yards receiving and 3 touchdowns.

"I told Darrelle Revis he couldn't cover me," Jackson said. "What rhymes with 'boast?' 'Toast.'

"As for Cooper, he was white hot. He's really responded well to circumstances to a problem he alone created. He's got a cross to bear, and defensive backs to burn."

The Cowboys bounced back from their loss to the Broncos with a 31-16 win over Washington. Dallas is 3-3 and tied with the Eagles for the lead in the NFC East.

"It's never easy playing in Philadelphia," Tony Romo said. "Fans there cheer injuries to the opponent, believe it or not. Just ask Michael Irvin. He got carted off the field on a stretcher back in 1999. It didn't bother Irvin, though. He was always willing to pay the price, on the field or off. Mostly off."

The Cowboys will be without DeMarcus Ware and DeMarco Murray. For Big D, those are big "De's."

Philadelphia wins, 34-28.

San Francisco @ Tennessee (+4½)

Tennessee fell in Seattle last week, downed by the swarming Seahawks' defense and general ineffectiveness from quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Titans are now 0-2 with Fitzpatrick as the starter.

"Our offense is built on the concept of mistake-free play from the quarterback," Mike Munchak said. "Unless Ryan can step up his play, I think we may be better off with quarterback-free play."

San Francisco remained one game behind the Seahawks in the NFC West with a 32-20 win over the Cardinals last week. Vernon Davis had 180 yards receiving and 2 touchdowns to lead the 49ers.

"Vernon is a monster," Colin Kaepernick said. "He's a freak in the weight room. Before Aldon Smith's situation went south, it was nothing to hear a teammate look at Vernon and say, 'Man, look at those guns.'"

San Francisco wins, 20-14.

Baltimore @ Pittsburgh (-3)

The Steelers won for the first time, bullying past Geno Smith and the Jets 19-6. Pittsburgh limited New York to only 267 yards of total offense.

"This was the kind of physical victory the Steelers are known for," Ben Roethlisberger said. "Usually, though, we're known for more than just one.

"Mike Tomlin has cracked down on fun. We can no longer play games in the locker room. That's too bad, because we need all the winners we can find in the locker room."

The Ravens are 3-3, one game behind the Bengals in the AFC North.

"This is Ravens/Steelers," John Harbaugh said. "You can go ahead and throw out the records, but make sure you don't hit Jacoby Jones in the head with them."

Pittsburgh wins, 22-20.

Cleveland @ Green Bay (-11½)

The Packers took a narrow 19-17 win in Baltimore, earning their first road win of the year. Green Bay won its second in a row, and at 3-2, are hot on the tails of the Lions and Bears for the division lead.

"That's right," Rodgers said. "Bears and Lions have tails. Packers don't have tails, but, according to Greg Jennings, they have 'asses.' I think he's referring to me. But since when has anybody listened to what a Viking has to say? That is, since That's Incredible went off the air."

The Browns lost to Detroit 31-17 after blowing a 17-7 halftime lead. Brandon Weeden was inconsistent, and mystified many with an odd backhand pass.

"Weeden just needs to make better decisions," Rob Chudzinski said. "Bad decisions on this team aren't limited to quarterback play. Our draft scouts are equally to blame. Apparently, they're partial to overrated quarterbacks and expendable running backs. Very seldom do we say 'Bingo!' after a draft pick. We have, however, been known to say 'Mingo!'"

Green Bay wins, 29-22.

Houston @ Kansas City (-7½)

Houston's season went from bad to worse last week in a 38-13 home loss to the Rams. Matt Schaub left the game in the third quarter after suffering an ankle injury.

"Matt left the field," Gary Kubiak said, "and some fans cheered. I was sickened, but only because all of them didn't cheer. In short, it was a bad decision by the fans. In their defense, they've only had one this season. Interestingly enough, when Matt gains a handicap, the team loses one."

Kansas City pounded Terrelle Pryor and the Raiders, 24-7. The Chiefs intercepted Pryor three times and sacked him 10 times to keep their record spotless.

"We'll have to account for J.J. Watt," Andy Reid said. "He's a one-man wrecking crew. Coupled with Schaub, the Texans have a two-man wrecking crew."

Kansas City wins, 20-17.

Denver @ Indianapolis (+7)

Peyton Manning returns to Indianapolis for the first time since his release from the Colts. Indy is planning a tribute to Manning to honor his time as a Colt.

"This may be the biggest regular-season game in Colts history," Jim Irsay said. "This city is buzzing. There's not a vacant hotel room to be found. Indy is bulging at the seams. Dare I say it's 'herniated?'"

The 6-0 Broncos head to Indy after a surprisingly tough 35-19 win over the Jaguars last week. Manning knows the Colts are a dangerous team, especially after last week's loss in San Diego.

"I hear Irsay and the Colts are planning a tribute to me," Manning said. "I think Irsay did misspeak — he meant to say 'tribunal,' not tribute.'

"I'm just happy Von Miller is back. We really missed his defensive capabilities. Von must have an STD, because it burns us when he pees. Hopefully, he can stay clean. I'm sure the NFL wants him to 'P' himself. With that being said, Irsay can go 'F' himself."

How bad does Manning want to beat the Colts? So bad, he'll do it with surgical precision.

Denver wins, 41-24.

Minnesota @ NY Giants (-3½)

Eli Manning threw 3 more interceptions in the Giants' 27-21 Thursday night loss in Chicago last week. Manning has thrown a league-worst 15 interceptions, and the G-Men are now 0-6.

"Defensively, we'll have to slow down Adrian Peterson," Tom Coughlin said. "This is a night game, which is definitely an advantage for Peterson, because he not very good at 'mourning.'"

The Vikings are 1-4, last in the NFC North. Josh Freeman will start at quarterback.

"We expect to have success on offense against the Giants," Leslie Frazier said. "Their defense is terrible. Everyone knows a punter is useless against the Giants. Therefore, we've signed Chris Kluwe, because he is the epitome of a 'useless punter.'"

The Giants may be winless, but the Vikings have it worse. Why? Because they're the underdogs.

New York wins, 35-27.

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 4:02 PM | Comments (0)

October 16, 2013

Fantasy College Hoops, The Dream

You know what's awesome? College basketball.

You know else is awesome? Fantasy sports.

You know what's even more awesome than one awesome thing? Two awesome things put together. (Math!)

So tell me please why fantasy college basketball isn't sweeping the nation. Seriously. This is the Internet era. We've found damn near every potential amusing waste of time available to mankind, and we don't have this yet?

I'm sure there are some sites with versions out there, but not the big boys of Internet Sports. ESPN doesn't have it. Yahoo! doesn't have it. FOX Sports doesn't have it. CBS has fantasy college football, but not fantasy college hoops.

I can go online and find hotness rankings of English Premiere League wives and girlfriends, but I can't talk smack to my friends after Travis Bader from Oakland University drops 30 on UMKC in the middle of January?

Damnit, Jim!

Well, I'm not going to stand for it. I'm not a programmer and I don't have any investors lined up to start up a new site, but I do have a laptop and a place to publish. And so I'm going to do what I can: pretend it does exist and write the first-ever Sports Central Fantasy College Basketball Draft Preview.

First, we've got to set up the rules. We're going old-school roto with 10 categories: Points, Rebounds, Assists, Turnovers, Assist-to-Turnover Ratio, Steals, Blocks, Three Pointers Made, Field Goal Percentage, and Free Throw Percentage. Basketball positions are the most amorphous of any sport, so I'm not putting any rules on what positions you can play.

Now putting together a real draft guide would take a couple of months, and I only had a couple of days between when I thought of this and deadline, so I'm going with just the top 75. Remember value is all about a player's total profile, so you have to take into account a player's horrible free throw shooting when looking at his high rebound totals (hello, Mitch McGary).

One last thing before we get going: this is about college production this season, not draft status. So although Kentucky may have an NBA all-star team, not even John Calipari knows right now how all the production is going to shake out. Same with Kansas. Yes, Andrew Wiggins is going to be a stud. And maybe he puts up a 25 ppg, 11 rpg season like Kevin Durant did as a freshman. Or maybe he puts up numbers more like Shabazz Muhammad (17.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg) or Harrison Barnes (15.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg). Would it be a terrible decision to draft Wiggins high? Not necessarily. But I want a sure thing in the top half of my draft, and that's what these rankings cover. Let somebody else chase the hype.

With that said, the top 25:

1. Doug McDermott, Sr., Creighton — The top player on the board with 23 points, 7.7 rebounds, 77 three-pointers made, 54.8 field goal percentage and 87.5 free throw percentage last year. The going may get a bit tougher in the "Big East," but not so much you would take him off the top spot.

2. Shabazz Napier, Connecticut — Napier does exactly what you would want out of a lead guard, both in real life and fantasy. He scores (17.1 per game), passes (4.6 assists per game), rebounds (4.4 per game) and plays solid defense (2.0 steals per game). His 44% field goal percentage isn't stellar, but his 82% free throw shooting is. Added bonus: half of a mid-major schedule in the new American Conference.

3. Jahii Carson, So., Arizona State — Carson burst on the scene as a freshman, averaging 18.5 points, 5.1 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game. His shooting was also extremely good for such a young guy charged with handling the ball so much (nearly a 30% possession usage rate according to Ken Pomeroy's calculations). His turnovers were a bit high at 3.5 per game, but his assist-to-turnover ratio (1.43) was still good and you can expect it to get even better with another year under his belt.

4. Elfrid Payton, Jr., Louisiana-Lafayette — Payton may not be a household name, but he should be after averaging 15.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.4 steals per game as a sophomore for the Ragin' Cajuns last year. And after spending the summer working out with some of the country's best talent as part of the Team USA U-19 squad, Payton should be even better this season. Look out, Sun Belt.

5. Marcus Smart, So., Oklahoma State — Smart went through some growing pains as a freshman (40% from the floor, 3.4 turnovers per game), but don't let that deter you. Even amid his inconsistency last year, he averaged 15.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 3.0 steals per game. With even just a modest improvement across the board, you've got yourself a stud to build your team around.

6. Russ Smith, Sr., Louisville — Smith comes back for one more college go-around after averaging 18.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.1 steals last season. With another summer under his belt, he should be able to push up that scoring average into the 22-23 range, plus hopefully pick up his 41.4% shooting percentage.

7. Tyler Haws, Jr., BYU — The junior averaged 21.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1.3 assists per game last year while hitting 48 percent of his shots from the floor and nearly 80 percent from the free throw line.

8. Travis Bader, Sr., Oakland — Bader returns for his senior season after averaging over 22 points per game last season, including 12 games of 25 points or more. He'll also help you out with the three-pointers (NCAA-high 139 made last year) and free throw percentage (88.6%), but not so much with the field goal percentage (39.4%).

9. Augustine Rubit, Sr., South Alabama — There were exactly zero guys in college basketball last year who averaged 20 or more points and 10 or more rebounds per game, but Rubit came pretty close at 19.4 and 10.4. Add in his shooting percentages (48% FG, 79% FT) and that's a top-10 ranking.

10. Javon McCrea, Sr., Buffalo — McCrea won't dominate any particular category, but covers several very well after averaging 18 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game. Add in the 56% field goal shooting and 71% average from the free throw line and you've got a guy who can anchor several categories without killing you in any.

11. Kyle Vinales, Jr., Central Connecticut State — Northeast Conference represent! Vinales averaged over 21 points per game last year and hit 81.1 percent of his free throws. He also averaged 3.8 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game, which is nice added value from a 20+ ppg scorer. The 41.1 field goal percentage hurts, but you can make that up elsewhere.

12. Corey Hawkins, Jr., UC Davis — Hawkins averaged 20 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists in his first year at UCD after transferring from Arizona State. He made over 47 percent of his shots from the floor and 84 percent from the free throw line. The Big West is an uptempo league, and Hawkins is capable of putting up monster scoring numbers (went over 30 five times last year).

13. TJ McConnell, Arizona — McConnell sat out last year after transferring from Duquense, but he is going to have a monster season for a loaded Wildcats team this year. As a sophomore with Duquense, McConnell averaged 5.5 assists, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.8 steals per game. And although he won't score more than 12-14 points per game, he is a very good shooter from the floor and free throw stripe.

14. Rasheed Sulaimon, Duke — You'll notice there isn't a whole lot of projecting going on with these ranking. You just never know how college kids will deal with new roles. But Sulaimon returns to a Duke squad that lost a huge majority of its offense with Seth Curry, Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly. Not only can you expect a big increase in Sulaimon's 11.6 scoring average, you can expect big increases in every other category as well.

15. Jerrelle Benimon, Sr., Towson — Benimon will help you in scoring (17.1), but the real separator is his rebounding (11.2). The 1.9 blocks and 2.5 assists per game from your leading rebounder is a nice touch, as well.

16. Devon Saddler, Sr., Delaware — His 19.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game (plus 82% free throw shooting) make him a worthy pick, but his high turnovers (3.2 per game) and poor shooting from the floor (42%) knock him down the board a bit.

17. Alan Williams, Jr., UC Santa Barbara — Like Benimon, Williams will represent in the scoring category (17.1 ppg last year), but will dominate in rebounding (10.7) and blocks (2.3). Add in the quality free throw percentage (72.4%) and you've got yourself a nice well-rounded player.

18. Kevin Pangos, Jr., Gonzaga — Like with Sulaimon, this is a projection based on not only Pangos' talent, but the opportunity in front of him with the departures of Kelly Olynyk and Elias Harris. Pangos is the team's returning scorer at 11.9 points per game, adding 3.3 assists, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game. He's also an 80%-plus free throw shooter and can knock down the long-range shots with 78 threes as a sophomore. This ranking is a bet on the scoring average going up to the 18 ppg range, with 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals per game.

19. Marshall Henderson, Sr., Ole Miss — Okay, so you know he's getting suspended at least once, but imagine having Henderson on your team when he goes on one of his hot streaks. He averaged 20.1 points per game last year with 138 threes. He also hits his free-throws, which is nice. Entertainment value may not be a roto category, but it's a nice bonus.

20-21. Joseph Young and Mike Moser, Oregon — These two get lumped together as newcomers to the Ducks. After averaging 18.0 points per game last year with Houston, Young is still waiting to hear from the NCAA on whether he will be allowed to play this season in Oregon. If he gets the waiver, he instantly becomes a scoring force in a high-tempo Ducks attack. As for Moser, who will be eligible as a fifth-year senior, injuries kept him below peak performance last year at UNLV, averaging just 7.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. But now healthy, he has a chance to reclaim the form that saw him average 14 points and 10.5 rebounds per game two years ago for the Rebels. As with all fantasy drafts, sometimes you have to take risks.

22. TaShawn Thomas, Jr., Houston — With Joseph Young off to Oregon, Thomas will have ample opportunity to build on his 16.9 points-per-game average from last year (on 55% shooting from the floor). Add in his 9.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.7 blocks, and that's a great second-round pick.

23. Saah Nimley, Jr., Charleston Southern — Going through this exercise, it was very rare to find a guy who could give you over 15 points, five rebounds and five assists per game. Nimley does exactly that at 15.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg, and 5.0 apg, and he hit 77 threes to boot.

24. Josh Davis, Sr., San Diego State — Davis transfers to San Diego State from Tulane and will be immediate eligible as a fifth-year senior. With the Green Wave last season, he averaged 17.6 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. He also knocks down his shots at 49% from the floor and 72% from the charity stripe.

25. Anthony Ireland, Sr., Loyola Marymount — Over 20 points per game with 4.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and nearly two steals per contest. Shooting percentage isn't great (41% from the floor), but at least you get 65 threes in the mix.

The next 50:

26. Venky Jois, So., Eastern Washington (12.3 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 2.0 apg, 2.4 bpg, 49% FG, 71% FT)
27. Isiah Sykes, Sr., Central Florida (16.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 4.5 apg, 2.3 spg)
28. Billy Baron, Sr., Canisius (17.2 ppg, 5.0 apg, 4.1 rpg, 82% FT, 66 threes)
29. Troy Huff, Sr., North Dakota (19.2 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 2.4 spg)
30. Bryce Cotton, Sr., Providence (19.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.9 apg, 98 threes)
31. Wesley Saunders, Jr., Harvard (16.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.8 spg, 52% FG, 73% FT)
32. Marcus Thornton, Jr., William & Mary (18.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.8 apg, 83% FT, 93 threes)
33. Kendrick Perry, Sr., Youngstown State (17.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 4.1 apg, 1.9 spg)
34. Andre Hollins, Jr., Minnesota (14.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.4 apg, 81% FT, 81 threes)
35. Travis Betran, Sr., Austin Peay (17.2 ppg, 84 threes)
36. Shawn Long, So., Louisiana-Lafayette (15.5 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 2.0 bpg)
37. Kareem Jamar, Sr., Montana (14.2 ppg, 5.9 rpb, 4.0 apg, 49% FG)
38. Davon Usher, Sr. Delaware (18.8 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 61 threes last season at Mississippi Valley State)
39. Anthony Drmic, Jr., Boise State (17.7 ppg, 80 threes)
40. Ryan Anderson, Jr., Boston College (14.9 ppg, 8.0 rpg)
41. Trey Sumler, Sr., Western Carolina (18.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.9 spg, 83% FT)
42. Isaiah Armwood, Sr., George Washington (11.9 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 2.3 bpg, 51% FG)
43. Antoine Mason, Jr., Niagara (18.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg)
44. Roberto Nelson, Sr., Oregon State (17.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.4 apg)
45. Cory Jefferson, Sr., Baylor (13.3 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.9 bpg, 61% FG, 70% FT)
46. Cole Dickerson, Sr., San Francisco (15.2 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 47% FG, 48 threes)
47. Alex Francis, Sr., Bryant (17.4 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 57% FG)
48. George Beamon, Sr., Manhattan (Fifth-year senior back after only playing four games last year. 19.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 49% FG, 80% FT, 61 threes two years ago)
49. Chaz Williams, Sr., Massachusetts (15.5 ppg, 7.3 apg, 4.2 rpg, 2.0 spg)
50. DeAndre Kane, Sr., Iowa State (15.1 ppg, 7.0 apg, 4.4 rpg last year with Marshall)
51. Andrew Wiggins, Fr., Kansas (Come on, I couldn't really leave out Wiggins, could I?)
52. Sean Kilpatrick, Sr., Cincinnati (17.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 82 threes)
53. R.J. Hunter, So., Georgia State (17.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 73 threes)
54. Damion Lee, Jr., Drexel (17.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 83% FT, 62 threes)
55. Duke Mondy, Sr., Oakland (12.0 ppg, 5.1 apg, 4.4 rpg, 3.0 spg)
56. Dez Wells, Jr., Maryland (13.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 3.0 apg, 53% FG)
57. Jordan Bachynski, Sr., Arizona State (3.4 bpg, 58% FG)
58. Bernard Thompson, Jr., Florida Gulf Coast (14.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.8 spg, 54 threes)
59. Jordan Reed, So., Binghamton (16.6 ppg, 9.5 rpg)
60. D.J. Covington, Sr., VMI (15.0 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 3.0 bpg, 56% FG)
61. Dyami Starks, Jr., Bryant (17.7 ppg, 95 threes)
62. Joel Wright, Sr., Texas State (17.9 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 46% FG, 77% FT)
63. Rian Pearson, Sr., Toledo (17.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 45% FG, 73% FT)
64. Aaron Gordon, Fr., Arizona (since we're taking freshman now, a great all-around game)
65. Murphy Burnatowski, Sr., Colgate (17.4 ppg, 5.1 rpg)
66. Ryan Boatright, Jr., Connecticut (15.4 ppg, 4.4 apg)
67. Stephen Maxwell, Jr., Cal State Northridge (14.6 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 56% FG)
68. Jimmy Hall, So., Hofstra (12.7 ppg, 9.4 rpg)
69. Majok Majok, Ball State (10.7 ppg, 9.8 rpg)
70. Sim Bhullar, So., New Mexico State (10.1 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 2.4 bpg, 62% FG)
71. Jason Brickman, Sr., LIU Brooklyn (8.5 apg)
72. Tymell Murphy, Sr., Florida International (14.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 57% FG)
73. David Laury, Jr., Iona (13.1 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 53% FG)
74. Andrew Harrison, Fr., Kentucky (a lot of talented kids at Kentucky, but Harrison will dominate the ball from day one; still, turnovers and shooting percentage will be casualties)
75. Dwight Powell, Sr., Stanford (14.9 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 47% FG, 80% FT)

Posted by Joshua Duffy at 7:39 PM | Comments (0)

NASCAR Top 10 Power Rankings: Week 31

Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Matt Kenseth — Kenseth finished third in the Bank Of America 500, one spot ahead of Jimmie Johnson, and extended his lead from three to four in the Sprint Cup point standings.

"There's one person I want to keep at arm's length," Kenseth said, "and that's Johnson. Everyone else doesn't matter, except for Carl Edwards, who needs to stay two arm lengths away."

2. Jimmie Johnson — Johnson faltered on the race's final restart and fell to seventh before charging for a fourth-place finish. He now trails Matt Kenseth by four in the points standings.

"I feel like I may have given one away there," Johnson said. "Restarts have troubled me all year. And restarts mean I have to re-finish. And clearly, as a two-year title draught would suggest, I don't finish like I used to."

3. Kevin Harvick — Harvick finished sixth at Charlotte, posting his third-straight top-10 result. He is 29 behind Matt Kenseth in the points standings.

"I'd like to say I still have a chance to win the Cup," Harvick said, "but the facts don't support that. You could say I don't have a leg to stand on. And you can say the opposite about Tony Stewart."

4. Kyle Busch — Busch finished fifth at Charlotte as arch-nemesis Brad Keselowski won the Bank of America 500. Busch is fifth in the Sprint Cup points standings, 37 out of first.

"I guess I'm more like Keselowski than I would care to mention," Busch said. "Apparently, we're both stupid, and neither of us has a chance to win the Cup."

5. Jeff Gordon — Gordon won the pole on Thursday and took seventh in the Bank of America 500. He has five top-10 finishes in six Chase races, and is fourth in the points, 36 out of first.

"Talladega next on the schedule," Gordon said, "and anything can happen. Usually, when I ask for a miracle, I try to speak to God. Nowadays, it's a little easier — I just talk to Clint Bowyer."

6. Kurt Busch — Busch posted a 14th in the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet at Charlotte, and is seventh in the points standings, 59 out of first.

"I don't condone my brother Kyle's characterization of Brad Keselowski as 'stupid,'" Busch said. "Kyle obviously thinks he's advocating NASCAR's 'Drive For Diversity' when he, as the pot, calls the kettle 'black.'"

7. Clint Bowyer — Bowyer finished 11th in the Bank of America 500 and improved one spot in the points standings to eighth. He trails Matt Kenseth by 63.

"Things could get very interesting at Talladega," Bowyer said. "Not as interesting as things got in Richmond, but interesting nonetheless.

"Because of NAPA's pulled sponsorship, Michael Waltrip Racing will run only two full-time teams in Sprint Cup next year. Michael tried his best to do more, but sometimes, you just aren't able to manipulate the outcome."

8. Brad Keselowski — Keselowski recovered from trouble in the pits to win for the first time this year, taking the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte.

"I made a full lap with the jack stuck under my car," Keselowski said. "That's the least I can do. I simply returned the favor — that jack's been giving me lifts all tear.

"And speaking of 'jacks,' Kyle Busch is a lot like a jack, in that there's always a 'let down.'"

9. Greg Biffle — Biffle finished 16th at Charlotte, and is now sixth in the points standings, 58 out of first.

"There will be an NCAA football game at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2016," Biffle said. "It will likely be the most passing ever seen at a NASCAR track."

10. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. — Earnhardt finished 15th at Charlotte, one lap down. He is ninth in the Sprint Cup power rankings, 66 out of first.

"I'm ready for Talladega," Earnhardt said, "and so are the fans of Junior Nation. They go absolutely crazy in the 'Dega infield. So crazy, in fact, that they're known as the 'Infield-els.'"

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 10:40 AM | Comments (0)

October 15, 2013

NFL Week 6 Report

Week 6 Headlines

Injuries

Injuries were the big story in the NFL this week. We got off to a bad start when it was reported during the week that Julio Jones would miss the rest of the season, but on Sunday, many significant players went down, including James Jones, Randall Cobb, Matt Schaub, Lardarius Webb, Aqib Talib, Jimmy Graham, Danny Amendola, Darren Sproles, Jerod Mayo, DeMarco Murray, DeMarcus Ware, and Calais Campbell. Those are all pretty big names, and while not all of the injuries were serious, none of those players finished their games. Of note: most suffered lower-body injuries. The NFL is trying to protect heads by instead targeting knees. That's not the right way to address player safety.

Also not the right way to address safety: letting Webb stay in the game following his concussion. Everyone who saw the play could tell he had gotten rocked. We're told that there's an independent neurologist at every game to monitor head injuries. What is this guy doing, playing Candy Crush? Instead of continuously introducing new rules that interfere with the game and increase the risk of other season-threatening injuries, let's start by actually enforcing the procedures we're told are in place. The league is taking the easy way out on player safety, treating it as a P.R. problem instead of a serious issue. The people in charge have made it clear they don't care about the players, but it's never too late to start doing the right thing.

Crowd Behavior

Last year, when Kansas City fans cheered the injury to Matt Cassel, Joe Posnanski quoted a friend he calls the Insider: "Many people now go to games to be heard. They want their complaints registered ... Going to a pro football game isn’t fun anymore. I don’t think it’s even supposed to be fun. If you want fun, you invite over some friends, get some beers, some chips, and you watch the game on TV." I think the Insider's argument is overstated but insightful. Many people go to games not to have fun, but to be heard.

You hear this a lot from older people, that NFL crowds are nasty now, that you can't bring your kids, that it's more pleasant to stay home and watch on television. Maybe I'm getting old, because that's increasingly my feeling. Going to games frequently isn't fun; often it is stressful. But I don't think this is about growing old or getting grumpy, and I don't believe it's about nostalgia for imaginary days when everyone in the stadium was courteous. I go to baseball games, hockey, MLS, college basketball, and I don't see the same thing. People don't go to those games expecting to yell obscenities at the field, provoke opposing fans, or boo their own players.

Football, more than any other sport, encourages the crowd to feel like it's part of the game. Crowds do influence the game, visibly. But there's no respect for the athletes. American football is developing a culture that borders on hooliganism in European soccer leagues. Rather than attending the game to have fun, people go to express their anger and unhappiness. Booing doesn't help anyone perform better, and cheering injuries is sick and wrong. Do your team a favor and stay home.

Thursday Night Game

Chicago Bears 27, New York Giants 21

* Let's start with Eli Manning. He threw 3 interceptions in this game, his fourth 3-INT performance in six games. He's tossed 15 picks already, the most through 6 games in the last 27 years, and on pace for 40. The Giants' 23 turnovers are most in the NFL, and already more than all of last season (21).

Fixing this one problem would immediately make New York a contender in the weak NFC East. Kansas City went 2-14 last year, with a league-worst -24 turnover differential. This year, the Chiefs are +12 and undefeated.

* Brad Nessler said after Manning's third pick, "That is not Eli Manning's fault." Wrong. Nessler was trying to defend Eli because the pass was tipped. But the pass was tipped because it was too high and behind the receiver. It was not catchable for his receiver, and might have been intercepted without the tip.

* Nessler went on to opine that Eli is "probably heading" to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. That's likely wrong, too. Eli is not an outstanding QB. You can't select someone for the sport's highest honor because of two games, when the rest of his career is so uneven. Eli is this generation's Jim Plunkett.

* Brandon Jacobs rushed for 106 yards on Thursday night, his highest total since 2010. The Giants caught Chicago off-guard with draws, and repeatedly ran outside when the Bears stacked the middle, getting bottled up inside and forcing defensive backs to tackle the gigantic Jacobs.

* Tim Jennings intercepted two passes and returned one of them for a TD, but he has got to be the worst tackler in the league.

Sunday, Early Games

Cincinnati Bengals 27, Buffalo Bills 24 (overtime)

* I think it was Michael Strahan who remarked that Cincinnati seems to play to the level of its opponents. That's one possibility, but the other is extreme home-field advantage. In Cincinnati, the Bengals are 3-0, with victories over the Packers and Patriots, plus their only double-digit win of the season (Pittsburgh). On the road, the Bengals are 1-2, including an 11-point loss to the Browns and this week's nail-biter in Buffalo. Both of those teams are better than people expected, but they're still games the Bengals probably should have won without too much drama.

The Bengals are 2-point underdogs in Detroit next week. If you have any Bengals on your fantasy team who are not A.J. Green, you should probably bench them in Week 7.

Green Bay Packers 19, Baltimore Ravens 17

* John Kuhn pulled a Leon Lett this week, touching a blocked punt and allowing the Ravens to regain possession.

* The Packers lost two of their top three receivers, James Jones and Randall Cobb, in the first half. Jones has a PCL sprain and should return in Week 7 or 8. Cobb broke his leg and is probably out for 6-8 weeks.

* The other big story out of this game was that the Ravens went for it on 4th-and-goal in the second quarter, turning the ball over on downs. They passed up an easy field goal and lost by 2. But they also left Green Bay pinned at the 1-yard line. That matters. With no room to operate, the Packers went three-and-out, and the Ravens got the ball back in Green Bay territory. A kickoff probably would have given the Packers another 20 yards and room to run their offense. It's not like the Ravens just gave away three points. More on this in the Patriots/Saints summary below.

St. Louis Rams 38, Houston Texans 13

* Matt Schaub is the best quarterback on Houston's roster. Last year, he passed for 4,000 yards, 10 more TDs than INTs, and a 90.7 passer rating. Trying to replace him with a nobody like T.J. Yates is stupid. But cheering for injuries is never okay. It was just as sickening when this happened in Kansas City last year.

* The Texans have outgained their opposition by 857 yards, 51 first downs, and 42:12 time of possession. They've been outscored by 71.

The 2011 Packers allowed more yards than they gained, but went 15-1. They led the league in turnover differential, red zone percentage, and fewest penalties. They were also near the top of the league in every special teams category: field goals, punting, returning. The Texans gain plenty of yardage, and they're not allowing much, but they do everything else wrong.

Detroit Lions 31, Cleveland Browns 17

* On Sunday, Detroit linebacker DeAndre Levy intercepted his fourth pass of the season.

Kansas City Chiefs 24, Oakland Raiders 7

* Sebastian Janikowski missed a 51-yard field goal this weekend. The kick was short. When's the last time Janikowski was short from inside 60?

* The Chiefs have a big-play defense. Through six games: 31 sacks, 10 interceptions, 8 fumble recoveries, and 4 touchdowns. They lead the NFL in all of those categories.

* Jamaal Charles is listed at 5-11, 199 lbs, but he leads the NFL in rushing TDs of 1-2 yards. Last year, Charles was never used in goal-line situations. All five of his rushing TDs were more than 10 yards, and three of them were at least 80.

Philadelphia Eagles 31, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20

* No Michael Vick, no problem. Nick Foles passed for 3 TDs and ran for a fourth, with no turnovers.

Carolina Panthers 35, Minnesota Vikings 10

* Maybe Adrian Peterson was handled differently this week because of his son's death, but having Matt Cassel drop back 49 times and hand off to Peterson 10 times doesn't strike me as a formula for success. The Panthers got ahead early, and I don't expect Bill Musgrave to call runs when his team's down by 25, but even in the first half, it was 21 dropbacks for Cassel and 7 gives to AP. Is there some confusion as to who's the best player on this offense?

Pittsburgh Steelers 19, New York Jets 6

* Rookie QB Geno Smith vs. Dick LeBeau defense = not fair

Sunday, Late Games

Denver Broncos 35, Jacksonville Jaguars 19

* A season-low in scoring for the Broncos, who average 44.2 points per game.

* The Jags put up a valiant effort, but they still became the first team since the 1984 Houston Oilers to lose each of their first six games by double-digits.

Seattle Seahawks 20, Tennessee Titans 13

* Seattle kicker Steven Hauschka briefly left the game with an injury, and the team sent punter Jon Ryan in to attempt a 22-yard field goal, but a flubbed hold resulted in a return TD for the Titans. Teams should go for the end zone when their kickers are out. Touchdowns are worth twice as much as field goals, and two-point conversions are worth twice as much as extra-point kicks. Two-point conversion rate is just barely shy of 50%, and without your kicker, short field goals and extra points are not automatic. Go for it.

San Francisco 49ers 32, Arizona Cardinals 20

* Calais Campbell suffered a neck injury in the fourth quarter, but he apparently is fine and may play in Thursday's game against Seattle.

* Frank Gore keeps losing out on goal-line work. Gore, who has scored double-digit TDs only once (2009), has rushed for 477 yards and 3 TDs. Kendall Hunter and Anthony Dixon have rushed for a combined 145 yards and 5 TDs. Gore's getting almost 80% of the rushing yardage, and under 40% of the touchdowns. Show some love to your workhorse, Jim Harbaugh.

New England Patriots 30, New Orleans Saints 27

* The Day in Boston, Graphed.

* Bill Belichick was so tickled by the Patriots' win that he opened the postgame press conference with not one but two jokes. What's next, no comment from Rex Ryan and Mike Smith having a sweary meltdown?

* Tom Brady threw a perfect game-winning touchdown, and it's tough to succeed with Aaron Dobson dropping on-target passes, but Brady did not look sharp in this game. Is this Brady's most impressive season? No, and that's a foolish question. Is water dry? You're talking about an all-time great quarterback who currently ranks 16th in yards, tied for 12th in TDs and TD/INT differential, and 23rd in passer rating. He's taking sacks at the highest rate (6.3%) since his first season as starter. Brady played with sub-par receivers for the first half of his career, too, and he never had a 79.5 passer rating. To suggest that this is even among his best seasons is ludicrous. It's clearly false, not even a valid opinion.

* Jimmy Graham is scheduled for an MRI, and Danny Amendola obviously got a concussion, but early indications are that Darren Sproles, Jerod Mayo, and Aqib Talib escaped without major injuries. Mayo's shoulder is probably the most worrisome.

* On every channel, NFL analysts criticized Baltimore's John Harbaugh for his aggressive decision on 4th-and-goal. Almost no one criticized the Saints' Sean Payton for being so conservative at the end of the fourth quarter. The Patriots went for it on 4th down from their own 24-yard line, and the Saints stopped them, taking over with a 24-23 lead and 2:46 left to play. New Orleans ran twice, threw an incomplete pass, and kicked a field goal to make it 27-23. New England called two timeouts, but the whole exchange only used 22 seconds.

On the ensuing possession, Brady immediately threw an interception, so New Orleans got the ball back with a 4-point lead and 2:16. A handoff to Khiry Robinson burned 6 seconds and New England's final timeout. Another run used 10 seconds, up to the two-minute warning. A final run used :40 and the Saints punted. You know the rest. If the Saints had picked up a first down on either possession, or gotten a touchdown instead of a field goal, they would have won easily. But instead of running their normal offense — the 2nd-best in the NFL — they kept everything on the ground and prayed for time to run out.

In Baltimore, Harbaugh's decision didn't yield any points, but it did improve field position and force the Packers to waste a possession. Payton's decision left his team without any time to mount a comeback. Criticizing coaches for boldness, but not for being conservative, encourages them to play boring football — and it's bad strategy. Most announcers and analysts are so timid and risk-averse, it's pathetic. I'm actually embarrassed for them for being such cowards.

Dallas 31, Washington 16

* DeMarco Murray sprained his MCL and is unlikely to play in Week 7. He should return before the Cowboys' Week 11 bye, maybe as soon as Week 8. DeMarcus Ware's quad injury will reportedly keep him out for 3-4 weeks.

* Both teams had assistant coaches called for 15-yard penalties. Never seen that before.

* Washington finished with 433 yards of total offense, compared to 213 for Dallas. How do you outgain your opponent by 200 yards and lose by two touchdowns? Really bad special teams and red zone play.

* Other than special teams, the fundamental difference in this game: the Cowboys' front seven dominated Washington's offensive line.

Monday Night Football

San Diego Chargers 19, Indianapolis Colts 9

* Adam Vinatieri and Nick Novak combined for three 50-yard field goals in this game. Pretty good.

* The Chargers ran exactly 50% more plays (72) than the Colts (48) and won time of possession by 17 minutes.

Best Quarterbacks Ever

Joe Posnanski posted a survey recently, asking readers to rank the greatest QBs of all time 1-5. He posted the results this weekend, and I was pleasantly surprised at how reasonable they were, even honoring older QBs like John Unitas, Otto Graham, and Sammy Baugh. All three made my top five, along with Peyton Manning and Joe Montana. I actually regard Dan Marino and Fran Tarkenton as basically equal to Montana, but those were my five.

Posnanski guessed that Manning, who easily topped Tom Brady in the poll, would have trailed at the beginning of the season. Perhaps he's right, but I doubt it. Manning won by so much that I can't imagine it's only from the last six weeks. He has a longer career and bigger counting stats, and much of Posnanski's readership is sabermetric-friendly, less likely to be swayed by team accomplishments like Super Bowl rings.

I feel — and felt before the season — that Manning is the greatest quarterback in NFL history. He makes more jaw-dropping plays than any passer I've ever seen. He owns the line of scrimmage and has changed the way quarterbacks are expected to play. He's changed the way defenses have to play. He's the ultimate field general, maybe the smartest player ever at his position.

Manning also has one of the quickest releases ever seen, and he's always been masterful at avoiding sacks. He has probably the best play-fakes in history. He throws one of the most accurate deep balls in history, and he runs the best two-minute drill. Tom Brady is an amazing quarterback, a first-ballot Hall of Famer and in my top 10 all-time. But other than QB sneaks and maybe decision-making under pressure, I can't think of anything he does better than Manning.

NFL Week 6 Power Rankings

Top 10

1. Denver Broncos
2. New Orleans Saints
3. Seattle Seahawks
4. Kansas City Chiefs
5. San Francisco 49ers
6. Cincinnati Bengals
7. New England Patriots
8. Green Bay Packers
9. Indianapolis Colts
10. Baltimore Ravens

The Chiefs are 6-0, but they haven't played anyone with a winning record. Their opponents are a combined 11-25. They'll be No. 2 in a lot of power polls this week, but I think even 4th is probably too high. Their best win so far was probably 17-16 over Dallas, at home.

Bottom Three

30. New York Giants
31. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
32. Jacksonville Jaguars

If the Giants can manage three turnovers in every game, they'll fall to 31 pretty quick.

Week 7

Game of the Week

Broncos at Colts
8:30 PM Eastern, NBC

Two good teams, with the better team on the road, would make this Game of the Week even if it wasn't Peyton Manning's return to Indianapolis. Has anyone else noticed that Manning wears Colts colors in his Buick commercial? Not that I expect them to dress him in orange, but he's clearly doing Colts-Blue-and-White. It's very tasteful.

It's a fascinating matchup, in part because I'm not sure who has the familiarity advantage, Peyton on his old teammates, or the Colts on Peyton. I might guess the latter, but I just don't believe Indianapolis has the firepower to keep up with Denver. It's not a team built for shootouts, and every Broncos game this season has been a shootout. I'd guess Denver wins, by more than a touchdown.

Fantasy Waiver Moves

DeMarco Murray and Randall Cobb were the impact injuries this week, but there aren't obvious replacements for them. Murray's backup, Lance Dunbar, is also recovering from injury, and the Cowboys' second-half committee wasn't impressive on Sunday night. Cobb's absence elevates James Jones, but he is (1) also injured, and (2) already owned in most leagues.

If you need a tight end for the bye week, consider Jordan Reed (WAS). A rookie third-round pick, he plays faster than his 4.7 40, and he's the top TE on a team that could use a big, athletic receiver. Heath Miller (PIT) is also available in many leagues. He's caught six passes each of the past two weeks, for a combined 154 yards. He's a proven performer and Ben Roethlisberger looks for him in the red zone.

More and more leagues are transitioning to FAAB, and if yours is one of them, you should play the matchups on defense. Unless you already own the Bears, Chiefs, or Seahawks, make a small-money ($1-3) move almost every week so you're facing someone like the Jaguars or Jets or Raiders. The Lions (CIN), Chargers (at JAC), Packers (CLE), and Dolphins (BUF) are available in most leagues, and all should produce some value in Week 7.

Click here for the NFL Week 5 Report.

Posted by Brad Oremland at 1:59 PM | Comments (0)

October 14, 2013

ALCS Game 2: Tight, High, Wild, Grand

This is the way the Red Sox used to lose in the big games, right? Just when they thought it was safe to put a lead and a game into their pockets, say in an American League Championship Series, either the other guys would come up big to tie and then win on some surrealistic mistake, or someone in the Red Sox brain trust would overthink himself right into disaster. Right?

These, most definitely, are not your father's or your grandfather's Red Sox.

Get damn near no-hit in Game 1 en route a 1-0 loss? Get close enough to no-hit in Game 2 and fall into a 4-run hole in Game 2? Find yourselves with the bases loaded and two out and a big bomber literally flips the Tigers — one in particular — upside down to tie it in the bottom of the eighth? Squirt the winning run home after it got into scoring position in the first place on a wild throwing error and took third on a wild pitch?

Nothing to it, folks. And even the Fenway faithful were kind enough to wait until Tigers right fielder Torii Hunter could stand up straight and stay aboard before they let David Ortiz have his 42 guns.

No way was Ortiz going to get a mere 21 after he adjusted on Detroit closer Joaquin Benoit's first pitch, a nice, slightly nasty, slightly below belt high changeup, thrown almost as hard as a pure fastball, and sent it on a high line over the right field fence. Hunter ran it down to the edge of the fence and, though he didn't quite get a glove near it, he bumped the fence and flipped onto his head into the Red Sox bullpen.

The Red Sox bullpen catcher caught the bomb. Boston police officer Steve Horgan, stationed in the bullpen, threw both arms in the air as the ball cleared the fence. Then, when he saw Hunter land on his dome, he checked on the normally ebullient outfielder and called for help. Horgan's upraised arms in the bullpen have gone viral. It's not impossible that his re-enactment of the pose astride Red Sox owner John Henry outside Fenway Park might go likewise.

But it won't go quite the way Ortiz's game-tying grand slam will. Or, the way Jarrod Saltalamacchia's game-winning single will. Even Boston's Finest have limits to their in-game charisma.

"That's what he does," Tigers starter Max Scherzer said after the Red Sox banked the unlikely 6-5 comeback win Sunday night. "He's an amazing hitter. He's an amazing postseason hitter. He's clutch. Any given moment, a swing of the bat he can always take you deep."

That isn't exactly the way the Tigers thought the first Fenway leg of the ALCS would end. Not when they wrestled a 1-0 Game 1 win and rode Anibal Sanchez's surrealistic, almost-no-hit performance to the early advantage. Not with 21-game winner Scherzer throwing everything including his kitchen sink at the Red Sox in Game 2 and taking a no-hitter to two outs in the Red Sox sixth, until Shane Victorino dropped a single to left center and Dustin Pedroia doubled him home.

That seemed almost like an excuse-me kind of run after what the Tigers unhorsed in the top of the sixth. With still-ailing Miguel Cabrera hitting a one-out, ball-one pitch into the Green Monster seats to open the carnage. With Prince Fielder rifling a double off the wall on the first pitch and Victor Martinez doubling him home. With Alex Avila — who'd singled home the game's lone run prior to the start of this inning — launching another one over the Monster one out later.

The second guessers began going to work practically the moment Fielder crossed the plate. Why wasn't there enough action in the Red Sox bullpen to lift Clay Buchholz, who'd given the best he had but whose tank was running on empty clearly enough, right then and there? Only after Avila's launch did manager John Farrell turn to his pen, bringing in Brandon Workman to keep the Tigers to a mere 4-run sixth and a 5-1 lead that seemed, with Scherzer's mojo working triple overtime, insurmountable.

"You got to give credit to Scherzer," Ortiz said graciously. "He was on tonight."

It was until Tigers manager Jim Leyland decided Scherzer had had enough at 108 pitches and decided to turn it over to his bullpen for the bottom of the seventh. Despite two of the three scheduled Red Sox hitters being left-handed, Leyland went to Jose Veras to open. Veras took care of Stephen Drew leading off with a simple groundout, but Will Middlebrooks took care of Veras with a high double.

Then Leyland brought in lefty Drew Smyly to face left-handed Jacoby Ellsbury. And Smyly probably surprised everyone in the park from the dugouts forward by walking the Red Sox center fielder. Which put a slight crimp into Leyland's tactical thinking right then and there. He wasn't planning on that pass. So out came Smyly and in came Al (I Knew I Shoulda Made That Left Toin at) Alburquerque, who's been nothing but lethal against right-handed hitting all year. (Since the All-Star Break, the right-handers hit a puny .130 against him.)

It turned Victorino around to his left side, though. Alburquerque can turn it up against lefthanders when he needs to, and he pounded Victorino on a 2-2 swishout. But Dustin Pedroia, apparently ignoring Alburquerque's resume for the moment, singled to right, and Red Sox third base coach Brian Butterfield alertly stopped Middlebrooks at third despite two outs and all hands on base running.

Leyland could have gone to lefthander Phil Coke to face Ortiz, except that Coke hadn't pitched in Show competition since mid-September ... and, until then, left-handed hitters spent 2013 feasting on Coke for a .299 batting average against him. So Leyland went to his closer, Joaquin Benoit, a right-hander with a changeup that tied left-handed hitters up into a paltry .194 average off him on the season.

Benoit's first pitch may not have been that far out over the plate, and it might have been just enough below the beltline to give a lesser hitter a fit, maybe swinging over it, maybe beating it into the ground for an inning-ending out. But this was David Ortiz, and he did what great hitters do. He looked to have adjusted in early swing, and drove it high enough and far enough.

"You don't want to face David Ortiz in that situation," said Hunter, whose head-first bullpen landing after he nearly got a glove on the ball hadn't robbed him of his marbles, clearly enough. "Everybody in the whole world knows he can beat you."

"I got my boy Torii chasing everything out there," Ortiz said after the game. (Ortiz and Hunter have been friends since their days with the Minnesota Twins.) "Nine time gold glove. You never know, and he almost got that ball."

With one lethal swing Big Papi turned Fenway Park into the country's largest outdoor insane asylum and the ALCS onto its head, never mind what the drive did to poor Hunter. The Tiger bullpen that looked at least as dangerous in Game 1 as their vaunted starting pitchers have looked so far — they combined with Sanchez to take a no-hitter to within two outs of completion Saturday — looked like paper Tigers as Game 2 crawled to its unlikely finish.

The only way anyone could have gotten Hunter out of the game after he flipped for Ortiz's drive was probably at gunpoint. And even then...

"This," the smiling outfielder said affirmatively after it was over, "is the postseason. I'd die on the field for this. You're not going to take me off this field. I was trying my best to just stop that ball from going over the fence. I'd sacrifice my body if I have to. I've done that my whole career."

He was the third of Red Sox closer Koji Uehara's three swift outs in the top of the ninth. Rick Porcello relieved Benoit for the bottom. And Jonny Gomes grounded a 1-2 pitch to shortstop that was slow and weak enough to beat out even on one leg. Someone should have gotten the memo to Tigers shortstop Jose Iglesias. He grabbed it and threw as though he had Gomes all the way, except that Gomes had first in hand and the ball inexplicably sailed into the Red Sox dugout.

Fielder barely made a move to block the ball, which would have held Gomes at first. Instead, the Tigers had to deal with the leadoff hitter in scoring position and nobody out. Then, Porcello fell into a 2-1 hole against Saltalamacchia that became a 3-1 canyon when his pitch shot past Avila behind the plate and handed Gomes third on a plate.

Those guys are playing what used to be Red Sox baseball when crunch time arrived! you could hear Fenway's ghosts whispering among themselves.

And then Saltalamacchia cued one hard and fast right beneath Iglesias's hard dive. Gomes ran home yanking his batting helmet off his head with about three or four steps left before crossing the plate, windmilling both arms wildly. The Red Sox had begun pouring out of the dugout to celebrate at just about the moment his hand reached the helmet in the first place.

"I tell you what, man," Ortiz said when it was over, "the postseason is something that works both ways for you. It can go well if you stay calm. Or it can go bad if you try to overdo things."

Spoken like a man who knew he and his mates tried overdoing it just a little in Game 1, to no avail, but did nothing more than what they could and did do in Game 2 when it mattered the most. Including taking just advantage enough when the opposing manager tried overdoing things in the bottom of the eighth.

FOX Sports reporter Erin Andrews interviewed Saltalamacchia near the dugout when it was all over. Well, she was trying to interview him. "It took never giving up, a lot of big at bats," the Red Sox catcher began. "Obviously, pulling in that home run there was huge for us. It just got us back in the game energized."

Saltalamacchia was finishing the last sentence as Victorino slunk out of the dugout with the Gatorade tank in hand to let him have it. Except that Andrews got about 99 percent of the orange shower. She wasn't exactly complaining.

Posted by Jeff Kallman at 1:48 PM | Comments (0)

Counterpoint: Lane Kiffin is Not Horrible

From time to time, the sports world is united in overwhelming agreement on one issue. As an anti-social contrarian, Sports Central's Corrie Trouw is often compelled to disagree. This is one of those cases.

Two weeks ago, the college football world awoke with squeals of delight upon learning that USC had fired widely loathed head coach Lane Kiffin. Sunday brunch was garnished with a healthy helping of schadenfreude as details of Kiffin's unceremonious dumping at the LAX airport emerged.

The man many believe failed his way up the college football food chain thanks to nepotism and good references finally got his comeuppance. Substance triumphed over style, and oh, how satisfying that triumph was.

But just for a few moments, allow me to make a different case. Lane Kiffin may not be Bear Bryant, but instead Kiffin seems more like an average coach who fell victim to a cocktail of bad circumstances and inflated expectations.

The Oakland Years

The narrative of Kiffin's meteoric rise and fall in Oakland has been rewritten several times in the past five years. As the story goes, former Raider owner-czar Al Davis visited USC in 2007 to meet then-Trojan assistant Steve Sarkisian, only to be charmed by another Southern Cal staffer, Kiffin.

This is probably the most perplexing step in the Kiffin ascent. Were Kiffin truly as inept as his current grave-dancers would claim, this advancement would be hard to envision. Certainly Davis made several unilateral moves, many unorthodox, but the picture (later embellished by Davis himself) of Kiffin bamboozling an eccentric old man is painted with the broadest of brushes.

When Kiffin was fired after a 5-15 start to his Oakland career, most blamed Davis' impulsiveness. That sentiment grew as Davis and Kiffin engaged in a bizarre battle over the remaining portion of Kiffin's contract, which Davis sought not to pay because he believed Kiffin's dismissal was with cause. The strangest moments came shortly after Kiffin's ouster, when Davis labeled his former coach a "liar" and showed a unique level of vitriol considering the number of coaches he previously fired. It is important to remember that at this point in 2008, most football fans sympathized with Kiffin as a figure.

On the field, Kiffin's short stint in Oakland was no better than poor. His .250 winning percentage makes that clear, though like his following stints, this record needs to be considered in context. The Raiders Kiffin inherited were in disarray following a 2-14 year. Kiffin was saddled with not just a rookie quarterback, but the legendarily terrible JaMarcus Russell. And given Davis' historical level of influence and Kiffin's age, it seems safe to assume the coach deserves little blame for Russell's acquisition.

Following a 4-12 first season, Davis fired Kiffin after a 1-3 start. Neither of these performances can be spun into anything even good-adjacent. But plenty of NFL coaches have slogged through poor first years, especially when inheriting bad teams, only to perform better in later years. Between the organizational disarray in Oakland and a dismal quarterback millstone around his neck, the fairest grade for Kiffin's Raider years is "incomplete."

The Tennessee (month and) Year

The turning point for Kiffin's image undoubtedly came in Knoxville. From December 2008 to January 2010, Kiffin shifted from a still rising coaching prospect still mostly unsullied by his Oakland tenure to a villain throughout college football's promised land. While Kiffin flashed threads of his former boss Pete Carroll's devotion to competition, Kiffin immediately stepped on toes by choosing to jab at SEC top dog Florida and others he came up against on the recruiting trail.

And while most remember Kiffin's on year in the SEC for its brashness, very few remember what came before it.

The 2008 Volunteers opened the season ranked in the top 25, proceeded to lose in prime time to an unmemorable UCLA team, and lost on homecoming to Wyoming. Phillip Fulmer was fired after the team finished 5-7 in what seemed like the low point of a decade-long slide toward mediocrity.

In December of 2008, everything about Tennessee football was bland except its bright orange uniforms. As the team fell in the SEC pecking order, recruiting suffered and fans and boosters grew restless. Only a decade removed from a national championship, the program begged for an injection of excitement.

Kiffin not only represented that excitement, he spouted it proudly. For a fan base sick of being dominated by Florida, hearing a new coach promise to sing the fight song in Gainesville after a win must have sounded sweeter than "Rocky Top."

The convenient memory of Kiffin's 2009 Volunteers is of a 7-6 team beaten soundly in a December bowl and frayed by a lack of discipline. But this omits a few key points.

Phillip Fulmer's 2008 recruiting class was ranked 35th by Rivals.com. The 2009 class, which Kiffin closed in his first two months on the job, was ranked 10th; the 2010 class that would sign a few weeks after his departure was ranked 9th.

Furthermore, despite a forgettable 7-6 record, that 2009 team came a field goal attempt short of knocking off top-ranked Alabama in Tuscaloosa and routed a ranked South Carolina team on Halloween. No, Kiffin was not hired for moral victories, but these were signs of a young coach breathing life into a decaying program.

The SoCal Return

The part of Kiffin's character assassination I have never understood surrounds his move from Tennessee to USC. Kiffin is treated as a carpetbagger, but he simply left a program already adrift in dangerous waters for a chance to sit upon the throne in his professional Camelot. Maybe this violated some Quixotian ideal alive in some fans' minds, but in an industry where coaches embrace all sorts of unsavory back channels in the pursuit of advancement, Kiffin simply said, "yes," when asked whether he wanted what had to be his most preferred job.

Furthermore, Kiffin embraced USC in its darkest hours. With Carroll possibly fleeing L.A. ahead of the NCAA mob, Kiffin knew he was inheriting a USC program about to be weakened, eventually through a postseason ban and scholarship reductions. The narrative in which Kiffin is a ladder-climbing self-promoter unconcerned about whom he has to climb over doesn't usually make these allowances.

Now to be clear, Kiffin had his fairest chance at success at USC. He was even graded on a curve, one in which a 10-2 year in 2011 was considered good enough to sit atop the 2012 preseason polls, but really only covered a rotting foundation façaded by Carroll-recruits Matt Barkley and Marqise Lee.

Kiffin's firing, while strangely timed, was well earned. As 2012 landed with a thud and 2013 began spiraling away, AD Pat Haden had more than enough evidence that, given the lofty expectations and potential of USC, Kiffin was not likely to grow into the job as the sanctions ebbed.

But this does not mean Kiffin is an awful coach. USC is a great program, indisputably one of the game's top handful of destinations. Patience is short and greatness is a job requirement. Kiffin has not, to this point, been anything close to a great coach, but the jump to brand him as a clothes-less emperor are extreme.

Here's a more nuanced telling of his story, warts and all:

Lane Kiffin is not a sympathetic man. He does not exude the pure positivity trademarked, ironically, by his predecessor, Carroll. In his press conferences, especially as a college head coach, Kiffin chose a mistakenly brusque tenor. This works for Nick Saban and Urban Meyer; their rough edges are gilded by the spoils of prolonged success. When your resume is short on experience and credibility, you can't stare the media into submission through direct confrontation.

Kiffin is also not an obvious genius, at least not at this point in his career. Some men earn the respect of a room within a few minutes of entering through the efficiency and economy of their knowledge. Chip Kelly and Jim Harbaugh never had to work to win Pac-12 media and fans; they just won games and let their success earn them plaudits. Kiffin never blew people away, other than that fateful day with Davis.

In Adam Grant's Give and Take, the Wharton professor suggests one reason people who are especially generous succeed is because life is just easier when others are rooting for you instead of against you. Achievement through the dominance of will or mind makes for catchy Pinterest material, but most of us need a little help from both friends and strangers in key moments.

Kiffin's greatest downfall is not a lack of football knowledge or general intellectual capacity. He certainly never broke out as a star coach, but in each stop, he had moments of success.

He has a long way to go to work back to the early heights he reached. But most of the college football world is wrong; when nothing less than greatness is sufficient, even pretty good looks like abject failure.

Posted by Corrie Trouw at 11:49 AM | Comments (0)

October 13, 2013

NLCS Game 1: Beltran 3, Dodgers 2

You'd be hard pressed to find any member of the St. Louis Cardinals in deep shock that Carlos Beltran saw fit to win Game 1 of the National League Championship Series just about by himself. They're not necessarily surprised that Beltran decided, somehow, to drive in all three St. Louis runs. They're not even taken aback that, just for good measure, Beltran himself cut down the would-be Los Angeles Dodgers two-all tiebreaker.

But they might have wished he hadn't taken thirteen innings to do it.

"Understand," Beltran said after his single down the right field line off Dodger reliever Kenley Jensen meant a 3-2 Cardinals win, "this is not about me. In order for a team to win a ballgame, a lot of things need to happen right, the right way. We have to pitch, we have to play defense, and we have to come through offensively."

It took almost five hours to get the game to the two on, one out, game-winning stroke. At the rate things were going until the bottom of the 13th began in earnest, there may have been reasonable fears that both teams were going to empty their bullpens and start reaching for starting pitchers.

And it was a game that looked at times as though the Cardinals were so anxious to make the Dodgers feel welcome in Busch Stadium that they were trying to hand them the game on a platter. When the Dodgers weren't looking so anxious to be honorable guests that they seemed trying to hand the Cardinals likewise.

Rookie Joe Kelly, the Cardinals' starter, wasn't exactly working spotlessly against Dodgers starter Zack Greinke, when he ran into third-inning trouble with Crawford doubling a one-strike pitch to left and moving to third on an infield groundout, before Hanley Ramirez and Adrian Gonzalez walked back to back to load the pads.

Kelly got lucky when Yasiel Puig bounced one right back his way, but then he forged his own rotten luck when he threw a certain double play ball home instead of ending the inning. Oh, sure, he nailed Crawford. But he fed Jose Uribe a fat enough first pitch to swat up the pipe for a two-run single.

Lucky for Kelly that Greinke ran into bottom of the third trouble after striking out both David Freese and Pete Kozma to open. Kelly himself singled his way on, Matt Carpenter wrung a full count walk, and Greinke then fell into the hole 3-1 to Beltran. Beltran promptly blasted the next pitch off the top of the right center field wall to send Kelly and Carpenter home with the tying runs.

Kelly had company in his mental mistake misery in the seventh, by which time he was out of the game in favour of Randy Choate. Yadier Molina opened with a base hit to left but Jon Jay bounced one back to the box. Greinke had plenty of time to nail Molina for the force. Then Freese lined one to Puig playing right field, and Puig — you'd have thought he was a fifth infielder on this one — whipped a perfect strike into first to catch Jay flatfoot trying to scramble back to the pad.

That wasn't Jay's only mental mistake on the night. The usually astute Cardinals center fielder started on the bad path when Mark Ellis ripped a triple into left with one out in the 10th. Lucky for Jay, he had Beltran on the other side of the outfield and Michael Young, filling in for Adrian Gonzalez, coming to the plate after Hanley Ramirez was handed a free pass. Young lofted a fly to right center lazy enough for Beltran to call off Jay, haul it down and throw Ellis out at the plate.

They'll be scratching heads for days trying to conjugate why Dodgers manager Don Mattingly removed Gonzalez for pinch runner Dee Gordon in the Los Angeles eighth after Gonzalez worked out a leadoff walk … and elected not to hit and run with Puig at the plate against St. Louis reliever Carlos Gonzalez. Puig's force-out grounder left you wondering, why not hold onto Gonzalez and hit and run with him aboard and then lift him for the pinch runner?

Or hold onto Gonzalez, period? Michael Young isn't Adrian Gonzalez, and he isn't a whole lot of Michael Young anymore, either. Gonzalez had a better chance of not lofting that lazy fly to Beltran in the tenth. And lifting Gonzalez really hurt the Dodgers two innings later. Because after Carl Crawford opened with a base hit and took second on Ellis's sacrifice, guess who got the free pass again so the Cardinals could pitch to Young? And guess who was pitched to and dialed Area Code 6-4-3, on a night the Dodgers went 1-for-10 with men in scoring position?

Oh, yes. Between them, Kelly pitched stoutly enough and Greinke pitched the way you expect him to pitch, tenacious and unshakeable, even after he was pried for the tie in the third. Greinke lasted eight innings before the Dodgers began emptying the pen (Brian Wilson for two innings, J.P. Howell for one, Withrow for an inning and a third, and Jensen); Kelly lasted six before the Cardinals started their running of the bulls. (Choate, Martinez, Trevor Rosenthal for two, John Axford for one, Lance Lynn — once thought of as a possible Game One starter until manager Mike Matheny opted for Kelly — for two.)

Only nobody's going to remember those two. They may not even remember Puig, the Dodgers' super-rook, looking like a virtuoso veteran in right field, but an overanxious freshman going 0-for-6 at the plate. Beltran made bloody well sure of both.

"That's a preview," Beltran said after the game, practically predicting a seven-game dogfight between the two teams. "Today was a good game and that's what it's all about. They didn't want to lose and we didn't want to lose."

Posted by Jeff Kallman at 11:52 AM | Comments (0)

October 12, 2013

Tigers Advance on Shades of Gray

Sonny Gray is learning the lessons rookies usually learn if they intend to build careers as good as Gray's performance in American League division series Game 2 was. It's a shame he had to learn a couple of key ones in a win-or-be-gone game that sends the Detroit Tigers to the American League Championship Series and not his own Oakland Athletics.

It takes awhile for rookies to learn what to do when their curve balls aren't working quite right, their fastballs have early inconsistencies negating setups for the curves, and the other guys — who probably studied enough film of Game 2 preparing for him, and who figured out it was time to be patient at the plate against the kid with the live stuff — begin sitting on those fastballs.

"Fastball command, as a starting pitcher, is a key for every game," Gray said manfully enough after the 3-0 ousting, "and tonight, I was just up. I was 1-0, 2-0 a lot, and you just can't do that. Eventually it's going to come back to hurt you, and tonight it did."

And it takes about as long for them to figure out that, when they stop going away to one of the American League's most dangerous hitters, even if said hitter has been ailing of late, and they come just enough up and just enough under the letters, they're going to get creamed.

Which is exactly what Miguel Cabrera did to Gray and the A's in the top of the fourth Thursday night. Busting up a scoreless tie that was already hard enough earned, Cabrera's 2-run homer (every other commentator seems to have said it, so I might as well join the fun) felt an awful lot like the jack St. Louis's David Freese belted against Pittsburgh rookie Garret Cole in their Game 5 the night before.

On a night Justin Verlander looked too much like his classic self, too much like the pitcher who beat the A's in Game 5 last year, catching the A's swinging anxiously and taking a no-hitter to the seventh inning, Gray was spotted early and often by Tigers manager Jim Leyland. He told the TBS broadcasting crew in a between-innings interview that Gray wasn't as sharp as he'd been last weekend.

Indeed, Gray needed help from the Tigers to squirm out of a second-inning jam and he got it, too. From Prince Fielder, taking off for second on a hit-and-run. The problem was Gray striking out Jhonny Peralta (restored to shortstop, giving the Tigers a slightly better outfield defense via Don Kelly in left, considering Verlander's strikeout volumes and fly ball tendencies), which caught Fielder flatfooted almost halfway to second. A 2-4-3-6 sequence of throws and Fielder's rundown ended with the inning.

Even so, Gray himself managed somehow to keep the Teigers hitless until the fourth. Torii Hunter cued a one-out, full-count fastball up the pipe for the game's first hit. Cabrera checked in at the plate. All series long the A's had kept Cabrera quiet with a diet of pitches away. Nobody now seemed to think about reminding Gray, "Sonny, he may be hurting but he can still be swinging. This is the guy you can't afford to come a little bit in on."

"We were trying to get in there on him a little bit," Gray admitted after the game. "It stayed out over the plate a little too much." That's like saying it flew, parabolically, a little too much over the left field fence, ricocheting off some steps behind the fence and back onto the field.

Gray should only know that Cabrera respects him already. "To me, he's a great pitcher," he told reporters amidst the Tigers' celebration. "The first time we saw him, he pitched an excellent game. Today, we were able to be patient, try not to make mistakes and tried to wait and swing at our pitch ... We had a different plan."

Somebody also didn't think about advising Gray, "Look, Sonny, you've got a great career ahead of you. But this isn't Game Seven of the 1965 World Series. You're not Sandy Koufax. (Relax, kid, nobody else is, either.) And you can't live on one pitch in an elimination game." Gray may have been unable to throw his curve ball for strikes early enough and often enough, but it wouldn't have been a terrible idea to show a few more curve balls just to plant a few ideas.

Why pitch the comparatively inexperienced Gray instead of the extremely experienced Bartolo Colon? Easy. A's manager Bob Melvin went with both Gray's virtuoso Game 2 and his overall 1.66 ERA in O.co. Coliseum. He also went with one sobering item on Colon's resume: Colon hasn't beaten the Tigers since 2003 and has 8 losses in 14 starts since against them.

Gray hadn't faced the cream of the league's hitters prior to Game 2, really, since coming up late in the season, but he sure didn't pitch Game 2 as though the quality of the opposing lineup terrified him.

Not that it would have mattered all that much as one after another A's bat looked like a paper cutout against Verlander. The Tigers' right-hander could have thrown the A's cantaloupes and Thursday night's A's wouldn't have hit him for much more than two measly singles. (Yoenis Cispedes in the seventh; Josh Reddick in the eighth.)

Oh, for the A's to have the gift of Joaquin Benoit all over again. It's not that Benoit was necessarily the second coming of Jose Valderde, the man he supplanted following Valverde's 2012 postseason implosions, but Benoit and his 22 saves since taking the closing gig in June suddenly didn't look like a guy who'd mounted a 2.01 ERA on the regular season.

And with two outs, Jed Lowrie dumped a quail into center field. Then, Benoit plunked Cespedes with a 2-2 changeup, though you could see the Tiger dugout growling that Cespedes swung. Two out, two on, and the tying run coming up. The problem was that Seth Smith was only too well aware of it. Never mind just why he was hitting in the lineup ahead of a fellow (Brandon Moss) with thirty bombs on the regular season.

Patience is a virtue against Benoit. You time his fastball, you avoid his changeup as though it's carrying swine flu. The one thing you don't do against this guy is try hitting a 6-run homer on every swing. Ball one. Called strike. Fastball high, ball two. Did Smith forget completely how Benoit bagged him to end Game 4 — when Smith was also the potential tying run?

For that matter, did Smith — who's been around a bit — forget how he'd been the closing out of the 2007 World Series for the Colorado Rockies? When Boston Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon struck him out with a flourish?

You guessed it. Here comes a fastball. No timing, swinging under it, half-lazy fly to right, Smith hanging his head in disgust out of the batter's box, and Hunter can't wait to snap his glove around the ball. Then, Verlander lets himself breathe like a human being in the dugout, and Hunter takes a very pregnant pause, arms stretched, before trotting in to the mound, for the victory performance of the Maori haka dance made popular by the New Zealand rugby team.

Six times the A's have taken division series to a fifth game. They've lost all six of them. Thursday night was the only mathematical elimination game these A's faced this year. These A's, who'd been 30-to-1 shots at getting to the postseason at all, whose payroll combined with Tampa Bays was barely more than the Washington Nationals' alone, also forgot one of their critical strengths: using the whole roster.

You may have noticed that of the six hits the A's managed against Verlander this series three of them came from right-handed hitters. But Chris Young and Kurt Suzuki got no swings at all, against Verlander or any other Tiger pitching this set. Melvin, like his boss Billy Beane, loves to play the matchups. Packing the lineup with left-handed hitting against a Verlander who was more vulnerable to right-handed hitting all season long went against their usual grain.

"Our guys are frustrated with the way the game went and some of the at-bats," Melvin said after the game. "Then again, we still have a lot to be proud of. We expected to go a little further than this this year. But at the end of the day, we did have a great season. It was a little more disappointing this year than it was last year."

The day's ended for these A's. The Tigers' day has just begun. Only they've got their own recent history to overthrow even with Verlander, Max Scherzer, Fielder, Cabrera if he's fed anything else over the middle or a little in, and Hunter, whose clubhouse presence has been as invaluable as his play. Including now, they've been to four postseasons in eight years. They've lost two World Series (including last year's staggering sweep by the San Francisco Giants) and one ALCS. (To the Texas Rangers, who'd lose the 2011 World Series dramatically enough.)

How long the Tigers' day lasts from here depends on several things. Particularly the Red Sox.

Posted by Jeff Kallman at 6:21 PM | Comments (0)

October 11, 2013

The Cardinals Close the Pirates' Storybook

The team who lived and died by almost anything except big power on the regular season bombed themselves into the National League Championship Series Wednesday night. It started with a guy who's familiar enough for October pyrotechnics, and it was insured by a guy who grew up rooting for the team he helped the Cardinals vanquish.

Two years ago, David Freese guaranteed he'll never have to buy his own steak in St. Louis again with his one-strike-sway demolitions upon the Rangers in the World Series. Thursday night in the second inning, Freese's 2-run homer staking the Cardinals to an early 2-0 lead guaranteed he won't even have to buy his own appetizers, either.

"He's a stud," said Cardinals starter and winner Adam Wainwright. "He's a big-time player at big-time moments. And that's what we expect of him and that's what he continues to deliver."

Likewise two years ago, Matt Adams was working his way through the Cardinals' system after going in the 23rd round of the 2009 draft. Where Freese shone was where he could only aspire. Thursday night in the eighth inning, though, there he was, squaring off against Pirates reliever Mark Melancon for a two-run homer providing all the insurance the Cardinals might need.

And despite the impeccable pitching of Gerrit Cole otherwise, these Pirates just didn't have quite enough to overthrow a Cardinal juggernaut that entered the postseason off a 12-4 regular season finish and sent Wainwright out to put them away in Game Five Thursday night.

The Pirates and their hearty, hardy fans had waited only too long to get anything like a taste of postseason play again. In 2011 and 2012 they made tantalizing runs in the National League Central until a pair of second-half taperings away. This year, they stayed the course long enough and solid enough to make the wild card game. Then, they slammed Cincinnati up against the wall in that game to get to this division series.

It wasn't even close to enough.

And when Wainwright threw a nasty curve ball through Pedro Alvarez's bat with two on after two quick outs in the top of the ninth, Busch Stadium exploded even more noisily than PNC Park had upon the Pirates' demolition of the Reds. Almost more noisily than the Cardinals pouring toward the mound and out of the dugout.

"Every time we turned around," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle told reporters after it was all over, "Wainwright got in the way tonight. The at-bats got better, the approach got better, but he kept making pitches."

Neither the Pirates nor the Cardinals hit any kind of overall spectacular over the set prior to Game 5. The Pirates' team division series batting average coming into the game was .189 with a .268 team on-base percentage; the Cardinals, .192 and .284. Adams had been reaching base at a reasonable pace (.353 division series OBP entering Game 5), but nothing much else; Freese (.154 BA, .267 OBP entering Game 5) had been one of the Cardinals' most conspicuous flops at the plate until Thursday night.

But with Jon Jay aboard on a two-out walk in the bottom of the second, Freese fouled off two before Cole hung him a breaking ball too delicious to resist lining into the Pirates' bullpen in left. Adams barely had time to check in at the plate in the bottom of the eighth before Melancon — who'd surrendered one homer all regular season—served him a fastball practically down the pipe, and Adams punted it twelve rows up the right field bleachers.

If he keeps that up, for however long the Cardinals' postseason stay lasts, Adams might threaten to leave Allen Craig—the first baseman for whom Adams stands in, the major leagues' leading hitter with men in scoring position, the victim of a left foot sprain that kept him out of the division series and may yet limit him to pinch hitting if anything in the LCS or beyond—the half-forgotten man.

The Cardinals slapped some stylish leather in squelching the occasional Pirate rally and keeping them to almost an excuse-me run, which they picked up in the top of the seventh. After back-to-back infield singles, Alvarez missed sending a Wainwright fastball into the seats by a foul tick, then hopped one off the first base pad and over Adams's head to send Justin Morneau home. But Russell Martin forced Alvarez at second for the side.

Pete Kozma, the Cardinals shortstop, looked like Ozzie Smith in the fourth when he dove and caught Neil Walker's sinking liner and threw out Morneau, who isn't exactly that far removed from a cement mixer as a runner, anyway, and even the hardiest Pirate fans had to know their heroes were practically in deep cement.

One key might have been the Pirates' inability to set tables for Andrew McCutchen, their perennial MVP candidate. How bad was it? McCutchen batted 20 times in the entire division series and only once did he hit with a man aboard. He managed to collect five hits and two walks entering Game Five and batted .357 coming in. What were his table-setters doing entering Game Five? How does a combined 1-for-32 strike you?

And why didn't Hurdle, otherwise handling things very finely all set long, find some way to shuffle his lineup, give McCutchen a few opportunities to move or drive in runners, and take advantage of Alvarez's and Martin's quality at-bats? Other than saying of Starling Marte and Walker, his enfeebled table-setters, "They're due."

For what? Morneau hasn't hit one into the seats since he became a Pirate in August, but a .370 OBP in 25 games — that's higher than Marte and Walker's combined division series OBP entering Game 5 — might have given a manager an idea about moving him up near the top of the order. Walker came into Game 5 with no hits and one walk in 17 plate appearances. Marte had 16 plate appearances coming in and had nothing but a leadoff bomb in the eighth inning of Game 2 plus one walk otherwise to show for it. And in Game 5, the pair of them went a combined 0-for-7 with one walk.

If that's table-setting, don't even think about the main course.

Unfortunately for these Pirates, Wainwright was the main Game Five course. Unfortunately, they waited too long to push Wainwright against the wall in earnest. That was a pretty game ninth inning two-out rally they tried to mount. A shame that Wainwright is even more game. Too much game even for Alvarez. Never mind these Pirates, whose season was described as storybook often enough, and who stand to make another serious and probably fun run of it in 2014.

All that was missing was the happy ending in the Pirates' clubhouse. Wainwright, Freese, and Adams made sure that ending belonged in the Cardinals' clubhouse. They'd like to make something similar happen at the Dodgers' expense.

Posted by Jeff Kallman at 12:27 PM | Comments (0)

October 10, 2013

NFL Weekly Predictions: Week 6

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

NY Giants @ Chicago (-7½)

Thursday Night Football features the 3-2 Bears hosting the 0-5 Giants in a battle of the two NFL quarterbacks most likely to carry a man purse. While the Giants are winless, the Bears have lost two in a row after a 0-3 start.

"I'm frustrated," said Brandon Marshall. "Mainly because I feel I should be getting the ball more. And the only way I know how to deal with frustration is to talk, incessantly. And, if my mouth could talk, it would say 'I'm open.'

"I expect a big game against New York. Let's face it, the Giants' defense can't stop anything, except opponents' losing streaks."

New York's defensive woes continued in a 36-21 loss to the Eagles last week. The G-Men gave up 439 total yards including 140 on the ground, while Eli Manning threw 3 interceptions, and leads the NFL with 12.

"No one's questioning Eli's ability," Tom Coughlin said. "Everyone's questioning his last name, though."

The Giants picked up linebacker Jon Beason from the Panthers in a trade, adding a player who is likely the only one with a right to complain about being traded from a 1-3 team.

As you'd expect from a new father, Cutler "feeds the baby," targeting Marshall 10 times. Marshall catches 8 for 124 yards and a touchdown, and the Bears win, 34-24.

Green Bay @ Baltimore (+2½)

The Packers tightened the race in the NFC North, whipping the Lions 22-9 at Lambeau Field. Green Bay is now just a game behind the 3-2 Bears and Lions.

"That was a huge win," Aaron Rodgers said. "I know the Lions were short-handed. Apparently, Detroit without Calvin Johnson is a lot like Detroit with Matt Millen.

"Sadly, Clay Matthews has a broken thumb that will keep him out for a month. Clay is our defense's outspoken leader. Likewise, Terrell Suggs plays the same role for the Ravens. T-Sizzle still thinks Roger Goodell was responsible for the Super Bowl blackout. With the big game scheduled for MetLife Stadium in February, it appears Goodell might be responsible for the Super Bowl whiteout."

Baltimore is 3-2 after beating the Dolphins 26-23 in Miami last week, powered by two touchdowns from Ray Rice and four field goals from Justin Tucker.

"And we've done it all without Joe Flacco," John Harbaugh said. "But really, who needs Flacco? Certainly not his pregnant wife. The Flacco's have two children. That means Mrs. Flacco has 'delivered' one more time in her life than Joe."

It has to be insulting to the Ravens. They are the defending Super Bowl champions, are coming off a win, have a better record than the Packers, and are at home, yet are still underdogs. It's a big slap in the face, and everybody knows the Ravens aren't in to S&M.

Flacco and Rodgers casually discuss #MightyWings prior to the game, then Flacco, for the first time in a while, actually outplays an opposing QB.

Baltimore wins, 27-24.

Philadelphia @ Tampa Bay (even)

Josh Freeman was released two weeks ago, and the Mike Glennon era began with a loss to the Cardinals. Greg Schiano and his Buccaneers look for their first win of the season as the 1-5 Eagles visit Raymond James Stadium.

"I think when all is said and done," Schiano said, "both Josh and I will have left our marks in Tampa lore. In other words, we'll both be 'history.'

"Mike Glennon is our quarterback. He has one important characteristic that Freeman lacked, and that's absolute submission to my will. When I say 'Jump,' Glennon asks 'How high?' When I said 'Jump' to Freeman, he didn't answer, he just did, off the bandwagon."

Michael Vick suffered an injured hamstring in Philly's 36-21 against the Giants last week. He'll miss Sunday's game; Nick Foles will start.

"Foles is perfectly capable of running my up-tempo offense," Chip Kelly said. "The point of running such an offense is to wear down the opposing defense. It's working, but at the expense of our own defense. Our record might be 2-3, but as for my special offense, it's got a perfect record, in defeating the purpose."

Tampa wins, 28-24.

Carolina @ Minnesota (-3)

The Panthers fell to 1-3, dropping a 22-6 decision at Arizona, as Cam Newton threw 3 interceptions and was sacked 7 times.

"It's imperative we win on the road this week," Ron Rivera said. "Otherwise, I might be asked by owner Jerry Richardson to 'stay home.'

"Of course, this is Cam's team, so he needs to take charge. In order to save my job, I need Newton to carry this team like he carried Auburn to the national championship. In other words, I need him to go 12-0."

The Vikings returned from England victorious, and now hope to build on that victory against a struggling Carolina team.

"We know the Carolina a dangerous team," Leslie Frazier said. "And when you back a Panther into corner, there's no telling where you'll end up. Possibly in a car trunk. Or on the winning sideline.

"I've been a coach on the hot seat before, so I know what Rivera's going through. And, despite our records, our respective owners can't say our names without mentioning 'first place.' Of course, it's when they say 'Why did I hire him in the first place?'"

The Vikes just signed Josh Freeman. Now, Frazier just has to decide on a quarterback: Freeman, Christian Ponder, or Matt Cassel. It's his decision to make, which pundits are calling the 'Les' of three evils."

Freeman sits, Cassel starts, Minnesota loses. Carolina's front seven clamps down on Adrian Peterson, and Newton throws for two scores and rushes for another.

Carolina wins, 27-16.

Pittsburgh @ NY Jets (-1)

Powered by three touchdown passes from rookie Geno Smith, the Jets stunned the Falcons 30-28 in Atlanta. New York is 3-2 in the AFC East, one game behind the Patriots.

"Geno actually looked like a quarterback," Rex Ryan said. "Mark Sanchez has been seeking that look for years, but still can't get it right.

"Geno completed passes to eight different receivers. I guess Santonio Holmes is the only disgruntled receiver on this team now. For a former peddler of drugs, I can only say 'deal with it.'"

The Steelers bye week ended, surprisingly, without a loss. They'll look for their first win this season at MetLife Stadium, site of Super Bowl XLVIII.

"The only thing Pittsburgh-related about the Super Bowl will be the weather," Mike Tomlin said.

"We'll have to better on defense. Some say are defense is too old. They may have a point. Dick Labeau used to be the oldest member of our defense."

Labeau dials up, fittingly, on a rotary phone, some defensive schemes foreign to Smith, forcing the rookie in to two big turnovers. Ben Roethlisberger throws 2 touchdowns, and the Steelers win, 19-16.

Oakland @ Kansas City (-10)

The Chiefs kept their record spotless, earning a hard-fought 26-17 win in Tennessee last week. K.C.'s 5-0 start is their best since 2003 and kept them tied with Denver atop the AFC West.

"We feel like we can challenge the Broncos for the division," Andy Reid said. "Their offense is unstoppable, and their defense is arguably the NFL's best, especially if you believe the adage, 'The best defense is a good offense.'

"Don't forget. This team was 2-14 last year under Romeo Crenel. I've already more than doubled that win output. Take it from any woman who's ever known me, I'm no Romeo."

The Raiders are now 2-3 following their Monday night win over AFC West rival San Diego. Terrelle Pryor passed for 223 yards and a touchdown after missing one game with a concussion.

"Terrelle showed a lot of courage," Dennis Allen said, "just to pass the concussion tests. He was a little confused, though, but only because he's not used to being rewarded for remembering details.

"We're so confident in Terrelle's ability that we released Matt Flynn, possibly the most overrated quarterback since the last quarterback we released. While Terrelle can beat you with his arm and legs, Flynn only gets paid like he can."

Kansas City wins, 24-17.

St. Louis @ Houston (-7)

After a 2-0 start to the season, the Texans have lost three straight, the latest a 34-3 blowout in San Francisco. Matt Schaub threw 3 interceptions, including one returned for a score, before being replaced by T.J. Yates in the fourth quarter.

"Schaub is still our starter," Gary Kubiak said. "He gives us the best chance to win. Unfortunately, our opponents can say the same thing.

"Fans are confronting Schaub at his house, which is not cool at all. Matt's a resilient fellow, and he's found the perfect way to handle them. He just throws the intruder a football, and they immediately start running away from him."

The Rams are 2-3 after last week's 34-20 win over the lowly Jaguars, forcing 5 Jacksonville turnovers while snapping a three-game losing streak.

"Schaub's confidence is on the injury list," said Rams defensive end Robert Quinn, "because it's questionable. If you asked Schaub who his favorite member of Mötley Crüe is, he'd surely 'pick Sixx.' If you look on his scalp, you'll see a birthmark that reads 'Pick 666.'"

Schaub manages the game quite well, and the Texans ease the pressure on their QB by running the ball 39 times for 222 yards. Schaub fails to throw any TD passes, but makes a TD reception when his pass from the Rams' six-yard line is batted back into his hands. Schaub makes the grab and jaunts into the end zone for a touchdown, his very own pick-6.

Houston wins, 31-16.

Cincinnati @ Buffalo (+3)

The Bills lost starting quarterback E.J. Manuel to a knee injury in Thursday's 34-23 loss in Cleveland. Thad Lewis will take over as the Bengals visit Rich Stadium.

"Thad was promoted from the practice squad," Doug Marrone said. "Clearly, in Manuel's absence, Thad is the best man for the job. Believe me, he's had lots of practice."

Cincinnati posted their best defensive effort of the year, swarming Tom Brady and the Patriots, 13-6.

"For those who doubted it," Marvin Lewis said, "defense is alive and well in the NFL. We play it well, as to teams who oppose our offense.

"Our defense is so good, it's even made Pacman Jones relevant again. And Pacman likes defense so much, he's even got his own team. And they're good. Pacman was found not guilty in an assault case in which he was charged with punching a woman. I knew he was innocent. He's never hit anyone."

The Bengals intercept Lewis three times, and A.J. Green catches 2 touchdown passes.

Cincinnati wins, 28-13.

Detroit @ Cleveland (+1)

Brandon Weeden is back as starter after Brian Hoyer was lost for the season with an ankle injury in Cleveland's 37-24 win over the Bills last Thursday.

"I feel like I have my confidence back," Weeden said. "Bernie Kosar may have refused to 'blow;' I refuse to 'suck.' So, I'm out of the dog house, and right back into the 'Dawg Pound.'"

The Lions hope to rebound after last week's 22-6 loss to the Packers that dropped Detroit to 2-3. It was the Lions' 22nd consecutive loss in Green Bay.

"We obviously aren't fond of Wisconsin," Jim Schwartz said, "especially Dominic Raiola. He verbally assaulted some members of the University of Wisconsin band. Allegedly, he called them, and I quote, 'members of the University of Wisconsin band.' And I'm sure he specifically targeted the woodwind section.

"Hopefully, we'll play better in Ohio. Calvin Johnson is expected to play. His knee is a little tender, but Calvin is a warrior. He's used to playing with pain. After all, he's been a Lion for six seasons."

Cleveland rocks Matthew Stafford, and Weeden throws for 2 scores.

Browns win, 27-23.

Tennessee @ Seattle (-8)

The Seahawks return to CenturyLink Field after falling for the first time this year, a 34-28 loss to Andrew Luck and the Colts. Seattle still holds a one-game lead over the 49ers in the NFC West.

"You can't win 'em all," Pete Carroll said. "Just ask the NCAA."

Ryan Fitzpatrick, in his first game as starter, threw two late costly interceptions that sealed the Titans' loss to the Chiefs last week. Fitzpatrick will remain the starter while Jake Locker recovers from a hip injury.

"I know Fitzpatrick went to Harvard," Mike Munchak said, "but that smarts."

Seattle wins, 27-9.

Jacksonville @ Denver (-28)

The 5-0 Broncos are 28-point favorites over the 0-5 Jaguars, a point spread which is the highest since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970.

"We've no doubt made bettors a lot of money," Peyton Manning said. "That's why we'll be asking for a 'cover charge.' Luckily for the Jaguars, it's also 'Ladies' Night.'"

Gus Bradley knows there is a tall task ahead for the Jaguars, on the road, in a hostile environment, against arguably the NFL's best team.

"If odds could truly be stacked," Bradley said, "ours would be a mile high. I'm not saying we'll cover, but we surely won't cower."

Denver wins, 45-13.

New Orleans @ New England (-3)

Drew Brees had his way with the Chicago defense last week, throwing for 288 yards and 2 touchdowns in the Saints 26-18 win in Chicago. New Orleans is 5-0 and in command of the NFC South.

"What happened to the Falcons?" Sean Payton said. "They were on the brink of the NFC title last year. Now, they're battling to stay out of the NFC South cellar. But look on the bright side, Mike Smith — your playoff record can't get any worse.

"Our lead in the South is insurmountable. It's much too early to begin resting starters, but it's not too early to start calling our run to the division title the 'Gulf Coast.'"

New England returns home after losing for the first time, 13-6 to the Bengals in Cincinnati last week. Tom Brady's streak of 52 games with at least 1 touchdown pass came to an end.

"You'll see two of the NFL's best tight ends," Tom Brady said, "in Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Graham. Graham is known for his 'slam dunk' touchdown celebrations. Gronkowski is known just for his celebrations."

Bill Belichick, the master of mind games, doesn't disappoint, and replaces the toilet paper in the Saints' locker room with super-absorbent Bounty. It's just enough to knock the Saints off their game.

New England defends home turf with a 23-20 win.

Arizona @ San Francisco (-11)

San Fran pummeled the visiting Texans 34-3 last week at Candlestick Park, harassing Matt Schaub into three interceptions. Now 3-2, the 49ers trail the Seahawks by one game in the NFC West.

"We still think we're the best team in the West," Jim Harbaugh said. "We let the Seahawks off easy the first time we played, mainly because we didn't 'test' them."

At 3-2, Arizona is in the hunt in the NFC West, and they have the defense to match those of division rivals Seattle and San Francisco.

"Did Donte Whitner really change his name to 'Hitner?'" said Carson Palmer. "He must be touched in the head. But I can relate. I've thought of changing my name several times. Instead, I just left Cincinnati, then left Oakland."

San Francisco wins, 24-17.

Washington @ Dallas (-5)

Tony Romo's record-setting day was spoiled by a late interception that led to Denver's game-winning field goal in a 51-48 Broncos' win. Romo threw for 506 yards, the all-time Cowboy record, and 5 touchdowns.

"There's a fine line between breaking a record," Jerry Jones, "and a broken record. But I'll stand by Tony through thick and thin. Of course, with a turnover like that one, Tony will have to answer the question about the 'big one.' And I think he has, because everyone knows he can throw the big one."

Washington, which had a Week 5 bye, is 1-3 and just½ game behind the 2-3 Cowboys and Eagles in the NFC East.

"Even in Washington," Robert Griffin III said, "that's a manageable deficit.

"We are rested and healthy, and I think you'll see the best of the 'Skins in Dallas. I've had a week's rest, which is plenty as far as I'm concerned, but three weeks short of being ideal, according to Mike Shanahan."

It's another shootout in Dallas. This time the Cowboys come out on top, 34-31.

Indianapolis @ San Diego (+1½)

The 4-1 Colts sit atop the AFC West with a 4-1 record after last week's come-from-behind 34-28 win over the previously unbeaten Seahawks. They'll face a stiff challenge when they visit Quallcomm Stadium for Monday Night Football.

"I think we proved ourselves as legitimate Super Bowl contenders," Andrew Luck said. "And I've proven myself as an elite quarterback. There's little that separates me from Peyton Manning, except for about one second in the 40-yard dash."

Indianapolis wins, 30-27.

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 3:17 PM | Comments (0)

Maxwell's Surreal Hammer

You expect to see tigers in the circus, but you don't expect them to perform a high wire act. (Do you?) Someone forgot to tell the Detroit Tigers and, specifically, Max Scherzer that little fact in the top of the eighth Tuesday.

Scherzer had said he'd be available to come out of the bullpen before the game. Manager Jim Leyland certainly must have appreciated that. As he said he might if it came to that, he brought Scherzer in to pitch the seventh and eighth. Even Leyland couldn't have expected what his man, the best pitcher on staff this season, had in store for the eighth.

Load the bases with nobody out? Strike out the next two and get the fifth toughest man in the Show to strike out to line out to center? Like Scherzer could do it in his sleep? Sure. Just another day at the office.

Bad enough the Tigers spent most of the day playing catch up before finally finishing the Oakland Athletics off for Game 4 of their American League division series. You could imagine one or two Tigers asking each other as Scherzer pressed on in the eighth, "Is this nineteenth nervous breakdown really necessary?"

And Scherzer's no help, either. "It was surreal," he told reporters after the Tigers finally shuddered their way to an 8-6 win. "Maybe it's not the ninth inning, but that's the stuff you dream about pitching–bases loaded, eighth inning, no outs and I was able to do it." Sure, Max. Channel the A-Team. We love it when a plan comes together, too.

Assuming, of course — after the Tigers wrung their way back to a 5-4 lead in the seventh — that the 3-1 walk to Brandon Moss leading off, Yoenis Cispedes doubling to somewhere in the nether regions of right field to set up second and third, and a free pass to Seth Smith to load the pads—was the eighth inning plan in the first place.

You had to see Scherzer's mug, normally a study in the unholy union between a Looney Tune and laughing gas, to believe it as he pitched on. As if he was saying, to himself and maybe to his catcher Alex Avila, "We do this kind of stuff to 'em all through the picture."

A called strike, three straight balls, two fouls, then striking out Josh Reddick on a swing that had the look of a man who'd gotten his 3-2 fastball one pitch earlier, swung like he could reach the lake on the fly, fouled it off ridiculously, and now took a downtown swing on a Scherzer changeup that did the cha-cha-cha all the way low and inside.

Three fouls to open from Oakland catcher Stephen Vogt, then an equally violent swing right through Scherzer's gasball.

Alberto Callaspo, pinch hitting, in a classic at-bat, missing a double down the left field line by the hair of his chinny chin chin over the foul line, taking a pass on Scherzer's changeup, fouling another one off, taking two more balls, then hitting a high liner that Quentin Jackson in center field awaited like an inheritance check and caught almost as if to say, "What took you so long?"

I don't know as I write whether Leyland wanted to thank or spank Scherzer after that hair raiser. But at least we have an idea why Leyland brought in his previously-designated Game Five starter, if it got that far, to spell Doug Fister after Fister, starting the game, allowed three runs and seven hits in six innings' work.

"We took our best shot," Leyland told reporters. "And we had to, because we were behind the 8-ball a little bit. We took that shot and, hey, both teams are going to have a good pitcher going two days from now."

For the Tigers, it'll be Justin Verlander, coming off an off (for him) regular season, but pitching brilliantly against equally brilliant A's rookie Sonny Gray in Game 2. (It doesn't hurt the Tigers' chances that in last year's ALDS Verlander threw a Game 5 shutout in O.co. Coliseum to send the Tigers to the League Championship Series.) For the A's, it was supposed to be Bartolo Colon, whose rotation turn it would be come Game Five, but Gray could be an option on normal rest and considering his masterful Game 2.

Until Scherzer's one-man impersonation of the Flying Wallendas, the early game looked as though Jed Lowrie and Coco Crisp had designs on winning the game for the A's by themselves. That was Lowrie, the former Red Sox comer, singling home Crisp (also a Red Sox once) with one out in the top of the first to start. That was also Lowrie and Crisp teaming up again in the top of the fifth, with Crisp aboard on a one out single and Lowrie with two outs sending one over the right field fence.

Alas, that was Jhonny Peralta — one of the regular season's Biogenesis bad guys, returned from his suspension but playing left field with Jose Iglesias settled in well at shortstop — tying things up in the bottom of the fifth. With Prince Fielder (leadoff single) and Victor Martinez (followup single) aboard, Peralta swung on Oakland starter Dan Straily's 2-2 service and served it into the left field bleachers.

After Crisp singled home Vogt off Scherzer with one out in the top of the seventh, Martinez had an idea about re-tying the game at four. He hammered a one strike pitch toward the right field fence. Reddick tried leaping for it and couldn't grab it. Replays showed a fan behind the railing atop the wall reached for the ball, though not over the yellow home run line.

The umpires called for a replay review after Reddick and Crisp protested interference. Crew chief Gary Darling said on review that it didn't look as though Reddick had a real chance at grabbing the drive. I saw about five replays myself and it looked extremely close even without a fan or two swiping at the ball.

Later in the inning, Jackson dumped a single into shallow right that sent home Andy Dirks, pinch running after Peralta followed Martinez's disputed dinger with a double. After Scherzer finished playing the daring young man on the flying trapeze, Oakland reliever Ryan Cook found himself with the bases loaded and two outs and Brian Anderson coming in to spell him. Anderson wild-pitched pinch runner Hernan Perez home and surrendered a 2-run double to Omar Infante.

Tigers closer Joaquin Benoit performed his own little high wire act in the top of the ninth, surrendering a 2-out, 2-run single to Cespedes before a showdown with Smith. Smith fouled off three Benoit heaters and then swung nowhere near Benoit's changeup hitting the deck.

None of which got even close to comparing to the Scherzer show.

"It's such a different experience," he told reporters. "To be able to get out of that jam, I mean, that's something I'll never forget. That's something I'm not [normally] asked to do, and tonight, I was."

I suspect that if you were to ask Leyland if he'd actually asked Scherzer to load the pads with nobody out before blasting his way out of it, Leyland might tell you. But then he might kill you. Whether he'd do it before or after reading Scherzer the riot act just might be one secret Leyland takes to his grave.

Posted by Jeff Kallman at 1:13 PM | Comments (0)

October 9, 2013

Most Famous No. 100 Player in History

The year is 1984 and the location is the U.S. Open in New York. In the first round, the 12th-seeded player and one of the most buoyant characters of the Golden Age of tennis "Disco" Vitas Gerulaitis plays a little-known South African player by the name of Derek Tarr. Gerulaitis wins in three straight sets and Tarr gets in his car later that day to drive back to his residence in Birmingham, Alabama. He's planning on driving for a day, take a break, and arrive the next day to his destination.

At the press conference, a journalist asks Gerulaitis to compare the skills of John McEnroe and Martina Navratilova, who happen to be the No. 1 players in the world in men and women, respectively. The days of being politically correct are not here yet and women's tennis is still climbing the steep hill to equal prize money in tournaments. Gerulaitis bluntly says that 95% of the women don't know how to play tennis and that is why Navratilova is so dominant, that men's tennis rankings are much deeper. Then he casually adds fuel to the fire by claiming that he bets his $2 million dollar home in Long Island that the No. 100 men's player in the world would beat Navratilova.

Ironically, he is not aware that the guy he has just beaten in the first round, Derek Tarr, happens to be ranked 100 in ATP that week. Wheels begin turning in the media and Gerulaitis' claim is all over the wires. Everyone has an opinion to add, including well-known players of the period. Harold Salomon, ex-French Open finalist who was contemplating retirement, claims he can take Navratilova on "anytime, anywhere." Ilie Nastase says he will put on a skirt and still beat Navratilova. Navratilova claims on a given surface she could have a chance. Chris Evert-Lloyd disagrees with her rival and says that even male college players or men over 40 could beat the top women. Derek Tarr's name gets around in the media, but he is nowhere to be found.

I recently talked to Derek, whom I have known for a long time, about those days. He has been an American citizen since 1986 and still lives in Birmingham, Alabama.

But first, let's clarify the chronological context. The concept of "social media" is about two decades into the future, Internet has yet to be invented, and the only cell phones in the early 1980s are the size of a large coffee maker. The idea of carrying around a cell phone has yet to turn the corner. Thus, while Derek is driving back to Birmingham for a day and a half, he is completely oblivious to the mayhem back in New York gravitating around Gerulaitis, Navratilova, and his name.

He arrives the next day and finds himself baffled when a friend asks him if he would play "that" match with Navratilova. After inquiring about what his friend meant, Derek slowly begins to understand that there has been a lot of noise about an encounter between him and Navratilova back in New York, while he was driving. He even tries to get in touch with Gerulaitis to learn what happened from the horse's mouth, but Gerulaitis is not at home and he talks to his mom for a bit.

Gerulaitis later distorts the purpose of the call to the media saying that Derek called to talk to his mom and that "he is so nervous he can't sleep." Derek quickly points out to me that it's either Gerulaitis' mother's misinterpretation or that Gerulaitis' effort at being entertaining in front of the journalist. Derek simply wanted to talk to Gerulaitis to get the full scoop. In any case, Derek takes a break for a few days to rest at his lace. Eventually, the tournament moves on and other stories replace this one — this is the year of the famous "Super Saturday" at the U.S. Open.

In retrospect, Derek regrets not having pursued the affair while it was hot and on the front page. Derek was in and out of top 100 few times in the early 1980s and his career-high ranking was 87 in 1983. He has notable ATP wins over Tim Mayotte, Henri Leconte, and a young Andre Agassi. He says that he should have gone straight back to New York and talked it up, and promote the idea of a possible battle of the sexes match between him, the No. 100 player, and Navratilova, keeping Gerulaitis' claim on the front page.

Back then, only a small portion of the players have agents, and Derek is not one of them. He adds that having an agent would have helped in this particular situation. The agent would have known who to get in touch with and what is required to increase the chances of such an encounter taking place. Few weeks later, Derek does indeed get in touch with an agent who, in turn, gets in touch with Navratilova's agent. The latter says that Navratilova has no plans to play any male player under any circumstances at any moment in the future. Derek admits that he may have missed a potentially lucrative opportunity by not adding fuel to the fire when the topic was hot. He finishes with a smile: "I guess I had my 15 minutes of fame."

Posted by Mert Ertunga at 1:27 PM | Comments (0)

NASCAR Top 10 Power Rankings: Week 30

Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Matt Kenseth — Kenseth finished 11th at Kansas and maintained the lead in the Sprint Cup points standings. He leads Jimmie Johnson by 3.

"Believe it or not," Kenseth said, "having my points lead sliced wasn't my biggest 'slide' of the day. That Kansas track is slick! My teammate Kyle Busch had so many spins, even Clint Bowyer was impressed."

2. Jimmie Johnson — Johnson finished sixth at Kansas, five places ahead of Matt Kenseth. He trimmed Kenseth's lead in the Sprint Cup points standings from eight to three.

"Kenseth certainly feels the pressure," Johnson said. "He's hanging on to the points lead by a thread. And we all know you can't have a noose without first a thread.

"It's very fitting that we're leaving the Hollywood Casino 400 in a very tight race for the Cup, because for those who thought Kenseth was running away with the championship, all bets are off."

3. Kevin Harvick — Harvick dominated the early stages of the Hollywood Casino 400 and led 138 of 267 laps on his way to the win, his third of the year. He is now third in the points standings, 25 out of first.

"After months of talking about going to Stewart-Haas Racing," Harvick said, "I finally 'made a move.'"

4. Kyle Busch — Busch had all kinds of trouble at Kansas, spinning several times until ultimately ending his day after slamming the wall with 68 laps to go. He is now fourth in the points standings, 35 out of first.

"I couldn't keep the tires on the track," Busch said. "There was nothing 'Hollywood' about my performance, mainly because I was lacking 'key grip.' As they say, 'M&Ms don't melt in my hands, but my steering wheel does.'"

5. Jeff Gordon — Gordon took third in the Hollywood Casino 400 as Kevin Harvick took the win. Gordon is fourth in the Sprint Cup points standings, 32 out of first.

"I had a cordial discussion with Kurt Busch after the race," Gordon said. "I gave him an earful, which was quite difficult, because cosmetic surgery left Kurt with less than a full ear."

6. Kurt Busch — Busch posted his best finish of the Chase, taking second behind Kevin Harvick at Kansas. He is seventh in the point standings, 47 out of first.

"Kyle entered Sunday's race only 14 points out of the lead," Kurt Busch said. "He left 35 out of the lead. I guess he gives new meaning to the term 'backup' car."

7. Joey Logano — Logano finished fourth at Kansas, the top Ford finisher in the Hollywood Casino 400. He is 10th in the points standings, 59 out of first.

"Brad Keselowski signed an extension through 2017 to remain with Penske Racing," Logano said. "In related news, Keselowski said he 'deal with' Kyle Busch later."

8. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. — Earnhardt finished eighth in the Hollywood Casino 400, nabbing his 17th top 10 of the year. He is eighth in the points standings, 54 out of first.

"Danica Patrick was out of the race in a hurry," Earnhardt said. "Apparently, 'Go' time came early on Sunday.

"As you've probably heard, Danica and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. star in a Colt Ford country music video for his song, 'Drivin' Around Song.' Rumor has it that the tune samples Pink Floyd's 'The Wall.'"

9. Greg Biffle — Biffle finished 13th at Kansas and is sixth in the points standings, 44 behind Matt Kenseth.

"I've fallen so far behind in the points," Biffle said, "Tony Stewart will probably 'recover' before I do."

10. Clint Bowyer — Kansas native Bowyer came home 14th in the Hollywood Casino 400, and is now ninth in the points standings, 55 out of first.

"I'm not sure where this Hollywood Casino is," Bowyer said, "but I'd sure like to find the roulette wheel and take it for a 'spin.'"

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 11:49 AM | Comments (0)

October 8, 2013

NFL Week 5 Report

Thursday Night Game

Cleveland Browns 37, Buffalo Bills 24

* Brian Hoyer tore his ACL and will miss the rest of the season. E.J. Manuel sprained his knee and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks.

* Brandon Weeden replaced Hoyer, entering the game to what Deion Sanders and the NFL Network crew agreed was "a disrespectful amount of boos." Booing backups is not cool. Next man up, and he'll do his best. As it happens, Weeden led the Browns to more points (23) than Hoyer (0).

* I did enjoy Cleveland's response to idiot return man Greg Little. He fielded the opening kickoff 6 yards deep in the end zone, an easy down for possession at the 20-yard line. Except he didn't down the kick. He ran it out and got tackled at the 8-yard line. He took the next kickoff even deeper, 8 yards back, and brought it out all the way to the 10. Where he fumbled. The refs missed the fumble, but when Bobby Rainey downed the next kickoff, he got a long, loud cheer.

* If the Browns were a good organization, they would have changed their personnel by now. You either cut Little or fire your special teams coach. Either the returners aren't being coached, or they're not listening and need to be replaced.

* The Bills activated QB Thad Lewis from the practice squad, and he is expected to start Week 6. Cincinnati's defense is a very appealing play in fantasy.

Sunday's Games

Indianapolis Colts 34, Seattle Seahawks 28

* The Colts have given opponents the fewest penalty yards in the NFL (147). Little things like that can swing close games, and the Colts have won a couple of pretty close games.

* If not for Pass Fest '13 in Dallas, this would have been the obvious game of the week, a down-to-the-wire matchup of good teams, with improbable big plays on both sides.

* I didn't see it, because my FOX affiliate thought I'd be more interested in Eagles/Giants, a matchup of teams with a combined record of 1-7.

Philadelphia Eagles 36, New York Giants 21

* Eli Manning has thrown 12 interceptions, the most in the first five games of a season since 2005 (Daunte Culpepper). Matt Schaub (9 INT) thinks Eli is throwing too many picks.

* Thom Brennaman called the interceptions "un-Eli-Manning-fashion-like." Setting aside his atrocious treatment of the English language ... Eli has led the NFL in interceptions twice before, and he's been in the "top" five two other years. He has thrown multiple INTs 43 times in his career, about 1 out of every 3 games. This was his third 3-INT game of the season, and he's tied with Peyton for most 3-INT games of any active player (16), but Peyton has been in the league for seven years longer.

* In standard fantasy scoring, Eli had a good game, 15 points. He completed 46% of his passes, tossed 3 picks, and drew a passer rating of 56.1. I wish "just throw it a lot" wasn't an effective fantasy strategy.

* Eli's 65.8 passer rating this season is about the same as Christian Ponder's (65.9), lower than Chad Henne's (73.2), and much lower than Schaub's (76.9). We won't even discuss Tony Romo (114.3) and Philip Rivers (110.5), because that would be insulting to a clutchy clutchster like Eli. If the Cowboys had Eli, they would have beaten Denver, because unlike Romo, he doesn't throw careless interceptions. He certainly outdueled Peyton in Week 2.

* The Giants have been outscored by 100 points this season, 182-82. Only Jacksonville is worse (-112), and no one else is below -50. New York's third down percentage (26%) is even lower than Jacksonville's (29%), and the Giants are -13 in turnovers, worst in the NFL.. Everyone keeps talking about how the NFC East is weak and the Giants aren't out of it. They are out of it. They're terrible. Fine, they're only two games back, but they're not good enough to make up the deficit, and the Cowboys are better than their record shows.

* Michael Vick ran 7 times for 79 yards before leaving the game with a hamstring injury, including several designed runs. Nick Foles played well in Vick's absence, but it will be interesting to see how Chip Kelly's game plan changes if Vick misses time.

Cincinnati Bengals 13, New England Patriots 6

* The Bengals are 3-0 at home, including marquee wins over the Packers and Patriots. They are 0-2 on the road, including a loss to the Browns.

* Former Bengal Boomer Esiason: "The thing that concerns me about the Bengals, though, they are just not scoring points offensively. They are not getting enough big plays."

* Even before the bad weather set in, New England couldn't get its offense going. The Patriots punted on five of their first six drives, with the other ending in a lost fumble.

New Orleans Saints 26, Chicago Bears 18

* Chicago's defense is in trouble. Allowing 26 points to New Orleans is nothing to be ashamed of, but the Bears have also faced weak offenses like Cincinnati, Minnesota, and Pittsburgh. They've allowed over 20 points in every game and rank 27th in points allowed (140). Last year, it was November 19th by the time Chicago had allowed 140 points. That's Week 11.

* The Bears have given up 25 pass plays of 20+ yards, 2nd-most in the NFL (Broncos). They rank 30th in sacks (8).

* Don't blame Lance Briggs. He led the team on Sunday, with 11 solo tackles, including 3 for a loss. But Lovie Smith and Brian Urlacher are gone, Henry Melton is out for the season, Charles Tillman is battling injury, and Julius Peppers has been invisible. Melton's backup, Nate Collins, tore his ACL on Sunday, and he's out for the season as well.

Kansas City Chiefs 26, Tennessee Titans 17

* Alterraun Verner didn't intercept two passes this week, but he did deflect three. Verner looks like a Pro Bowler.

* The Chiefs went 1/12 on third downs, committed 9 penalties, and went 1/4 in the red zone. The ball is oval. Sometimes it just bounces your way.

Green Bay Packers 22, Detroit Lions 9

* This game ceased to be competitive as soon as Calvin Johnson was ruled out. Green Bay did a nice job containing Reggie Bush (44 rush yds, 25 rec yds).

* Clay Matthews broke his thumb, and ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that he's likely to miss a month. Huge loss for Green Bay.

Baltimore Ravens 26, Miami Dolphins 23

* Jake Long has not played well for the Rams, but Miami misses him. The Ravens sacked Ryan Tannehill six times, and Tannehill has taken by far the most sacks in the NFL (24). He's getting dropped on 11.7% of his pass attempts, compared to 6.7% last season. Of course, not all of this is on the line. Tannehill needs to get rid of the ball more quickly. When everyone's covered, throwing the ball away is a good play.

* Ray Rice's third-quarter TD was set up by 55 yards of questionable pass interference penalties. I'd really like to see P.I. capped at 15 yards.

* A lot of passing records have fallen in the last five years. The new ones don't even feel special; you just wonder if they'll last more than a year or two. I think the NFL could make four small rules tweaks that wouldn't mess with the game, but could rein in the passing madness a little:

1. Cap defensive pass interference at 15 yards.

2. Make offensive pass interference a point of emphasis, especially with regard to blocking downfield while the ball is in the air. This could particularly curtail those annoying bubble screens and one-yard hitches.

3. Make "defenseless receiver" penalties reviewable. I get that the league doesn't want referees using video to second-guess judgment calls, but whether or not a player was hit in the head is not a judgment call, it's something that can be confirmed with a replay. Fifteen-yard penalties are huge, and this could allow defensive backs to sort of play football again.

4. Do more to protect defensive linemen, especially by limiting what blockers can do to their knees when they aren't looking.

St. Louis Rams 34, Jacksonville Jaguars 20

* Chad Henne played badly last year, and he doesn't look like a miracle-worker this season, either. But he has shown low-level NFL-caliber play. Henne and Helpless Blaine Gabbert have roughly the same number of pass attempts this season, 95 for Henne and 86 for Gabbert. But their results are wildly disparate:

Henne is not the long-term answer, but it's hard to imagine Gabbert ever becoming an acceptable NFL quarterback. He's JaMarcus Russell without the attitude problem.

* More on Jacksonville below, in the "Game of the Week" section.

Arizona Cardinals 22, Carolina Panthers 6

* In his first game of the season (back from suspension), Daryl Washington had 8 solo tackles, 2 sacks, and an interception. Altogether, the Cardinals sacked Cam Newton 7 times.

* Newton has 123 rushing yards, sixth among QBs. He's behind Alex Smith and Andrew Luck, more than 100 behind Russell Wilson, Terrelle Pryor, and Michael Vick. Newton is on pace for 492 yards and 4 rushing TDs. That's a lot, but it's not up to his usual standards.

He's still running effectively, just not as often. Newton's running is what sets him and this offense apart, and he needs to do it more frequently.

Denver Broncos 51, Dallas Cowboys 48

* This game was cloying. At first, it was sweet seeing so many big pass plays. But by the fourth quarter, I was sick of it and craving some defense. Everyone's calling this the game of the year, and I get that we haven't seen that kind of offense since the AFL, but a great game, a Game of the Year, has some decent defensive plays, too. The Broncos in particular got embarrassed on Sunday. Their 4-man pass rush was a disaster. It's a good thing the only team they face before Von Miller comes back is the Jaguars.

* The teams combined for 1,039 yards, 99 points, 11 touchdowns, and 1 punt. The Broncos at one point had five straight touchdown drives. The Cowboys had four.

* Through five games, Wes Welker has 7 TD receptions. He had 6 all of last year. His career-high is 9, and he'll probably break that halfway through the season. None of this proves that Peyton Manning is better than Tom Brady, but Welker's transition has been remarkably smooth.

* It's hard not to guess at which single-season records Manning will break this season. I'll say he sets new records for passing TDs and passer rating, but not yardage.

* Peyton Manning and Tony Romo are notorious chokers, and both threw second-half interceptions this weekend. If this game had been quarterbacked by a couple of clutch winners, like Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger, maybe fans could have actually seen some quality passing.

* Kurt Warner: "How much does one guy have to do for a team to help them win? I mean, obviously against Peyton Manning, they needed him to play great for 60 minutes. He did it for 58 and they lose ... they need somebody else to step up and make plays. 500 yards and 5 touchdowns, that should mean a win every day of the week, even if you make a mistake in the last 2:00."

San Francisco 49ers 34, Houston Texans 3

* Lawrence Taylor is the only player ever to win Defensive Player of the Year back-to-back, in 1981-82. I have to believe J.J. Watt will become the second. He's amazing.

* Four times, the 49ers kicked off and the Texans began their drives inside the 20-yard line, three of them inside the 15. In the second quarter, Keshawn Martin fielded a kick 7-8 yards deep in the end zone and ran it out. To the 9. Returning the ball that deep means you'd have to be the best returner in the league just to get back to the 20. This should be an easy call, almost literally a no-brainer: there would have to be something wrong with your brain to make you consider returning it.

Not only would you have to average 27 yards per return to get back to the same yard-line you can reach by kneeling, so many more things can go wrong when you choose to return the kick:

* Your blockers can draw penalties for holding or block in the back.
* You and your teammates can get hurt. Kickoff returns are high-risk plays.
* You might fumble.

It seriously shocks me that NFL teams allow players to do this. Don't you have special teams coaches who work with the returners and teach them not to do this? Don't you have coaches who know how to bench a player who hurts the team? At the NFL level, it's totally inexcusable to just give away yardage like that, especially given the other risks.

* After only five games, Schaub has thrown 4 interceptions returned for touchdowns, tied for the most any quarterback had all of last season. He tossed three picks against San Francisco. It was bad, and he's getting hammered for it. But people are acting like he's a terrible player, not a quality QB who's had a couple of rough games.

If he is terrible, it's a new problem. Schaub has actually proven over the other 80 games of his Texans career that he is not interception-prone. His 2.60% interception percentage is better than the career marks of Peyton Manning (2.63%), Drew Brees (2.66%), Ben Roethlisberger (2.88%), Matt Hasselbeck (2.93%), Eli Manning (3.35%), and most of the rest of the league. He threw 12 picks all of last season, about the same as Peyton Manning (11) or Matt Ryan (14). His career-high is 15, in 2009. But that year, he passed for 4,770 yards, with a 98.6 rating, and made the Pro Bowl. He's never had an interception problem. Being turnover-prone, that's just not a hole in his game.

Since this isn't characteristic of his play, does it make more sense to support him and give him a few weeks to rebound, or to launch a campaign to replace him with T.J. Yates?

* Schaub is one of five players who threw 3 INTs this weekend. I get that Schaub's had the TD returns, but no one is ready to hang Eli Manning, Cam Newton, Carson Palmer, or Philip Rivers. Last week, no one burned jerseys of Jay Cutler, Joe Flacco, Helpless Blaine Gabbert, or Ryan Tannehill (partly because no one owns Gabbert jerseys, true). Schaub's four straight weeks with a pick-six set a new record, breaking the old one held by ... Peyton Manning and John Elway. This happens, even to Hall of Famers.

Oakland Raiders 27, San Diego Chargers 17

* I miss irrefutable evidence. If the announcers are surprised that a call gets upheld, it's not necessarily a problem, but if they're caught off guard when the ref decides to overturn the call on the field, that's almost always a mistake.

* Jeff Triplette's crew did not perform well in this game. I don't think they were biased toward or against either team, they were just incompetent.

* Late in the fourth quarter, the Raiders unveiled one of the least effective defenses in NFL history. When the Chargers gained 60 yards on three plays, in under a minute, Dan Fouts wondered, "Do I dare call it a prevent defense? It's not preventing anything."

Monday Night Football

New York Jets 30, Atlanta Falcons 28

* The Jets' coaching staff did a fantastic job on Monday's game. They were well-prepared, but their philosophy and approach to a superior opponent — aggressive, unconventional — was exactly what the situation called for.

* MNF was the first time the Jets scored 30 points in a game since October 17 of last year, in a 35-9 win over the Colts.

* Sweet heaven, Atlanta's defense is awful.

* So is the right side of its offensive line. Center Peter Konz, guard Garrett Reynolds, and tackle Jeremy Trueblood got killed by the Jets. The Falcons miss longtime center Todd McClure just as much as they miss having Roddy White healthy. Those two players are probably the difference between 1-4 and 4-1. All of Atlanta's losses are by seven or less.

* Matt Ryan passed to Jacquizz Rodgers and Jason Snelling nine times. All nine were complete, gaining a total of 25 yards. There's a touchdown in there, and a pretty big first down, but that's under three yards per completion. It's not a good play, or at least not on first and second down.

NFL Week 5 Power Rankings

Top 10

1. Denver Broncos
2. New Orleans Saints
3. Seattle Seahawks
4. Kansas City Chiefs
5. Indianapolis Colts
6. San Francisco 49ers
7. Cincinnati Bengals
8. Green Bay Packers
9. New England Patriots
10. Dallas Cowboys

Tony Romo reminded us of potentially serious holes in Denver's defense, but the Cowboys couldn't overcome "the unstoppable robotic terror that is the 2013 Denver offense." It's way too early for any serious Super Bowl speculation, but Peyton Manning and Drew Brees met in Super Bowl XLIV after both their teams began the season undefeated.

Bottom Three

30. New York Giants
31. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
32. Jacksonville Jaguars

In the wake of Josh Freeman's release, will the Bucs rebound, or go completely off the rails? I'm kind of hoping for rebound, because we already have one train wreck this season and don't need another.

Week 6

Game of the Week

Saints at Patriots
4:25 PM Eastern, FOX

A matchup of two great quarterbacks (Drew Brees and Tom Brady) and two Bill Parcells disciples (Sean Payton and Bill Belichick). New Orleans looks like the more consistent offense and more dangerous defense, but the game's in New England, and you can never count out the Patriots. Featuring teams with a combined record of 9-1, this is easily the biggest game of Week 6. The Patriots are favored.

In its own weird way, Jaguars at Broncos is the second-most interesting game of the week. Denver is favored by 28, the most in NFL history. The Broncos scored as many points in Week 5 as Jacksonville has all season. Denver actually averages 46 points, compared to 10 for the Jags.

An equally striking stat ... 20 first downs per game is a pretty normal average. 30 NFL teams average 16-24 first downs. The other two are the Broncos (29.4) and the Jags (14.8).

Upset of the Week

I am disbanding this section, because my rules (pick against a team favored by more than 3) keep forcing me to predict victories for teams I don't actually expect to win. But I still think if NFL pregame shows are going to have their analysts predict "upsets," they need to choose actual surprises, not Pick 'Ems. It looks ridiculous when all four analysts pick the same team. If everyone expects them to win, that's obviously not an upset. I am reminded, though, that I miss King Kaufman's What The Heck pick of the week, choosing a huge, overwhelming underdog, because, what the heck. This year, he could just pick Jacksonville every week and see if they win a game.

Click here for the NFL Week 4 Report.

Posted by Brad Oremland at 2:02 PM | Comments (0)

Goodbye, Atlanta Braves, Yet Again

Here it is, plain and simple. A man who inspired an awful lot of people to urge the Los Angeles Dodgers to purge last winter sent them to the National League Championship Series with one swing Monday night. The National League's most dominant relief pitcher of the year was nowhere to be seen in the bottom of the eighth to stop him.

And a man who still insisted on managing as though it were some time in June instead of some time in October has a winter's worth of second guessing ahead of him, refusing even to think of Craig Kimbrel going out to try for a six-out save, one that might have kept the Atlanta Braves playing.

But there Kimbrel wasn't in the bottom of the eighth, with the Braves up 3-2. Not even after Yasiel Puig (The wild horse is loose! Dodger broadcast legend Vin Scully, calling it on radio, crowed) opened by swatting David Carpenter's 2-2 fastball right past first baseman Freddie Freeman on the dive, pulling into second base in such a Road Runner-like blink the only thing missing was Puig chirping "Beep! Beep!" as he rounded first.

And there was Juan Uribe, fouling two bunt attempts, demurring on two close pitches, something not ordinarily thought to be programmed into his software, then sending Carpenter's hanging slider parabolically into the left field seats. Leaving Dodgers manager Don Mattingly able send his closer out for the ninth to secure the 4-3 triumph at the end of one of baseball's most surrealistic known postseason days.

And, leaving Carpenter to take the rap that ought to belong to his manager. "It was my fault," the pitcher told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I'm the reason that we're not going back to Atlanta tied 2-2. I'll take the responsibility for it every time. I let the guys down. It kills me. It kills me to have to say that."

That's nothing compared to how it's likely to kill Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez to have to say, "Maybe I should have brought in Kimbrel after Puig hit the double."

It was a day on which St. Louis Cardinals rookie Michael Wacha got thatclose to no-hitting the Pittsburgh Pirates, magnificently, until Pedro Alvarez busted up the no-hitter and the shutout with a shot that landed about five right field bleacher rows short of landing in the Allegheny River. Still, the Cardinals hung on for dear life to make sure Matt Holliday's two-run shot in the sixth held up to force a fifth division series game of their own in their home playpen.

It was also a day on which the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays wrestled mightily back and forth, with a few miscues but a lot of arduous, refuse-to-die play, until the bottom of the ninth. In yet another win-or-be-gone game the Rays ended Game Three of their American League division series when Koji Uehara, the Red Sox closer who's been the next best thing to the untouchable for three months, threw Tampa Bay backup catcher Jose Lobaton a nifty little splitter on which Lobaton swung as though wielding a five-iron, the blast deflecting off a fan's glove and into the cownose ray tank behind the center field fence.

Not to mention a day on which Oakland Athletics closer Grant Balfour and Detroit Tigers designated hitter Victor Martinez emptied the benches in the ninth with a little verbal repartee to interrupt, just momentarily, a 6-3 Game 3 A's win in Detroit that proved the A's didn't necessarily have to out-pitch the Tigers to beat them–they could, and did, out-slug them to do it.

All of which almost paled next to what the Dodgers wrung out Monday night to close the day out. Up to and including Uribe swinging for the most dramatic Dodger hit since Steve Finley — defying the San Francisco Giants' pulling the infield and the outfield in with the bases loaded — lofted one over the right field fence to finish a 7-run National League West-winning bottom of the ninth in September 2004.

Gonzalez had no thought about bringing in Kimbrel at any time in the eighth, never mind to start the inning. Not even after Puig went off to the races leading off, with Dodger Stadium screaming madly. "I think six outs is something we weren't even talking about in the dugout," Gonzalez said after the game.

Would he prefer they be talking about it most of the Braves' winter to come? It's liable to be a very lively topic of conversation now that the Braves have lost a sixth straight postseason set since 2001 because of it.

Things were mighty interesting before that, of course. The Dodgers went to their ace Clayton Kershaw to start on three days' rest, which should have told you something right there. Mattingly may have his in-game flaws now and then, but with the chance to put the Braves away once and for all he decided to send his no-questions-asked lancer out on three days' rest and no second thoughts.

Thanks in part to that faith and to Uribe's inability to resist when a slider hangs in front of him, Mattingly may have the option of sending a better-rested Kershaw out to open the LCS as a result.

Given the circumstance Kershaw pitched magnificently enough, allowing only 2 unearned runs and 6 hits in six innings. The bad news was those two runs — setup in the fourth on an infield throwing error and a wild pitch — eradicating the early lead Carl Crawford handed his mates single-handedly. He became the first Dodger since now-first base coach Davey Lopes (Game 6, 1978 World Series) to open a postseason game long, flogging one into the right field pavilion, and he hit one several rows back in the lower right field seats his next time up.

On the other side of the mound, Gonzalez stayed with his pick, veteran Freddy Garcia, who'd been plucked from the scrap heap, rolled a sub-2.00 ERA down the stretch for the Braves, and probably had Gonzalez thinking his postseason experience would be just the thing to go with Monday.

And it was. Garcia almost out-pitched Kershaw — almost. He allowed only Crawford's two solo bombs, scattered 8 hits total over six innings otherwise, walked 2, but struck out 6, and might have been the story of the game otherwise for the Braves. Or he might have shared it with Jose Constanza, pinch hitting in the top of the seventh and busting a two-all tie with an RBI single off reliever Ronald Belisario.

Gonzalez, alas, will have to live with the move he didn't make.

Contrast that to Rays manager Joe Maddon making the eye-rubbers that paid off big earlier in the day. He sacrificed his designated hitter in the eighth in Tampa Bay, when Wil Myers came up with leg cramps, sending the day's DH, Matt Joyce, to play right field instead of, say, reserve outfielder Sam Fuld (who'd score as a pinch runner in short order), knowing he'd have eight more lineup slots to worry about the pitcher's slot he now had to pencil in.

Then, in the top of the ninth, the Rays up by a run, Maddon double switched, putting Lobaton in the pitcher's lineup slot and writing in closer Fernando Rodney to bat in catcher Jose Molina's nine hole. (Maddon admits he has a taste for National League baseball when the feeling's right.) Rodney might blow the save — with an open base Maddon elected to pitch to Dustin Pedroia with the infield back, and Pedroia swatted a game-tying RBI groundout to shortstop — but Lobaton got to hit in the ninth with two quick outs (including Evan Longoria, he of the mammoth 3-run homer in the fifth off Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz, tying things at three) and nobody aboard.

Lobaton swung right through Uehara's first splitter. Then came the one that didn't split quite right, the one that assured the Rays once again would live to play another day. Maddon managing off the chart, appropriate to the time of year even if there might have been a head scratch in reaction, made that happen. Gonzalez managing by the book, inappropriate to the time of year, apparently believing the best closer in the league couldn't get him six outs.

He didn't have any qualms about asking Kimbrel for a four-out save in Game 2, but he couldn't bear the thought of asking Kimbrel for a six-out save in a game the Braves absolutely had to win. You tell me whether this is going to prove worse than the Braves' September 2011 collapse, one saved from eternal infamy only because that year's Red Sox collapsed even worse in the same month.

Kimbrel was said to have been standing with hands on hips and a look on his face described as something between disgust and pain during the ninth inning. After Dodgers closer Kenley Jensen hammered the final nails into the Atlanta coffin, Kershaw was in the middle of a clubhouse champagne and beer shampoo, joining his manager in getting hugs and a well-done from a fellow who'd been there, done that, and enjoyed a few champagne shampoos of his own once upon a time: Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax.

"You don't want it to ever end the way we ended today," Gonzalez mourned. "But we had the right guy out there. Carp has been good for us. There is nothing to be ashamed of."

Carpenter was good for the Braves on the regular season. That 1.78 ERA and 0.99 WHIP in 56 assignments speaks for itself. But so does Kimbrel's 1.21 ERA/0.88 WHIP, not to mention a third straight league leadership with 50 saves.

These Braves, who managed to shake off a few hiccups and a few dubious deals to post the National League's best regular season record, deserved better than regular season managing in a win-or-be-gone game.

All they have to do is look at who's going to the NLCS on their dime, because their manager — who isn't without his own in-game hiccups, and whose job was on the line in June before that spectacular in-season resurrection — remembered what time of year it really was Monday night.

Posted by Jeff Kallman at 10:01 AM | Comments (0)

October 7, 2013

The ACC, Not Just For Basketball

It's no secret that the dominant force in college football for the last decade has been the SEC. It has won the last seven BCS national titles, and usually features a litany of 10 win-plus teams that end the season ranked in the top 15 in the country. Going back even further in time, the SEC has controlled the BCS era, winning nine out of 15 possible BCS titles.

Meanwhile, within some of the same geographic footprint, the ACC has been none of those things. Since the BCS was instituted in 1998, the conference has only won one title, Florida State's Sugar Bowl win over then-Big East member Virginia Tech to close out the 1999 season. The Seminoles also have the conference's two other championship game appearances, with none coming since January 2001.

When Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College entered the conference in 2004 and 2005, it signaled that the conference was aiming to be a top football conference. That hasn't exactly happened.

In all BCS games, the ACC has a dismal 3-13 record, including a 2-7 record after the mid-2000s expansion. Now, after adding Syracuse and Pitt this year, and Louisville coming to replace outgoing Maryland next year, the conference seems to be expanding more in line with its basketball-powerhouse roots.

But now, in the final year of the BCS, the ACC has its best chance since the heyday of Bobby Bowden and Chris Weinke to win a title.

And the end of Saturday, 17 teams in FBS remained unbeaten. Just three conferences, the ACC, the Pac-12, and the Big 12 featured three undefeated teams.

We know that, thanks to conference championship games in the case of the ACC and Pac-12, and a round-robin schedule for the Big 12, only one team at maximum from each league can get by the first Saturday of December unscathed. The ACC, due largely to the gap between those three teams and the other 11 in conference, looks fairly likely to have an unbeaten team.

For the Big 12, while Oklahoma, Texas Tech, and Baylor all look strong, it doesn't have the look of a conference where a team is dominant enough to sweep through nine conference games without a down Saturday. The Pac-12 is a deeper league in which the Oregon States of the world have a history of knocking off top teams.

Meanwhile, in the ACC, the cupboard looks bare after Clemson, Florida State, and Miami. The next best teams, by record, are Virginia Tech, Pitt, and Maryland, all of whom have one loss. Virginia Tech could have easily lost three games by now, two of which were against East Carolina and Marshall. Pitt was throttled in its one test against Florida State, and the same goes for Maryland.

Clemson and Miami also have marquee wins to this point, each coming over an SEC East team, Clemson's over Georgia in August, and Miami's over now-resurgent Florida a couple weeks later. After taking down, teams with upper-echelon SEC talent, games against the likes of North Carolina and Pitt aren't as difficult.

For a few years now, Clemson and Florida State has deservedly gained reputations as teams with BCS- or championship-level talent that usually can't put it together in the biggest games, or fall vulnerable to teams with far less talent. For Clemson, the phenomenon is even known as "Clemsoning" on social media and college football blogs. This year, it doesn't look like either team will fall victim to trap games or abundant disappointment as easily as say, Florida State did at NC State a year ago.

On Saturday, FSU freshman Jameis Winston continued to prove that his highly touted status coming to Tallahassee was no fluke, putting up 5 touchdowns against Maryland. Impossibly, he looks to be a freshman Heisman Trophy candidate just one year after Johnny Manziel won it. The 'Noles defense responded to its critics after allowing 34 points at Boston College by shutting down previously unbeaten Maryland to the tune of a shutout and just 33 rushing yards.

In the upstate of South Carolina, Winston's counterpart at Clemson is a Heisman candidate in his own right. Like Winston, Tajh Boyd also threw for 5 touchdowns this weekend. In a game where many picked Syracuse to cover a two-touchdown spread, Clemson jumped on the Orange for three first-quarter touchdowns and never looked back for a 35-point win. Like Florida State, Clemson's defense has been solid, too, giving up more than two touchdowns just once, against Georgia's excellent offense.

For Miami, the ridiculous offensive numbers are in the running game, where Duke Johnson is averaging 6.8 yards per carry, and backup Gus Edwards is going for 6.6 per tote. The Hurricanes are less likely to go unbeaten, but they're still the clear favorite for the Coastal Division.

In the ACC, the biggest game of the year happens in less than two weeks, when Florida State travels to Clemson on Oct. 19. That game will almost certainly decide the Atlantic Division, and will also probably determine which ACC team has the best chance at a national title. In a conference that hasn't had a lot of recent luck, the final year of the BCS may be one of the ACC's best.

Posted by Ross Lancaster at 5:21 PM | Comments (0)

"He's Not Going to Hear the End of It"

Reality check: it's going to be up to all the Tampa Bay Rays as much as rookie Wil Myers as to whether or not Myers' lapse Friday marks him for the rest of his career. The good news, if you don't count Myers himself owning his mishap, is that he can't pull the Rays back in an American League division series by himself. Nor can he sink them all by himself.

And he sure as hell couldn't stop the Boston Red Sox from finishing what they started, a 11-2 Game One, Fenway Park bushwhacking, all by himself, either. He needed lots of help accomplishing that, and the Rays did their part to provide it, unfortunately.

"[A]ll of us kind of reiterated the fact that he's not going to hear the end of it," Rays third baseman Evan Longoria told reporters after the carnage finally ended. "Tomorrow he's going to hear it. If we come back here, they're going to remember. These are good baseball fans. They understood the importance of that play and how it changed the course of the game. Hopefully he's able to turn the page."

"It," of course, was the crowd chanting "My-ers! My-ers!" almost from the moment he vapor locked in right center field as David Ortiz's fourth-inning fly dropped its landing gear and headed for the turf.

The Rays had jumped Jon Lester for a 2-0 lead when Sean Rodriguez (in the second) and Ben Zobrist (in the fourth) sent solos over the Green Monster. With Dustin Pedroia aboard on a leadoff single in the bottom of the fourth, Ortiz lofted Tampa Bay starter Matt Moore's 2-0 service. Myers ambled back signaling he had it, then — almost inexplicably — froze off the ball, with center fielder Desmond Jennings close but not close enough, and the ball hit the turf and bounced into the bullpens for a ground rule double.

"I don't know what happened, man," said Boston pitcher Ryan Dempster, who was watching up close and personal from the bullpen himself. "I was in between both of them. I was watching the ball come, and all of a sudden I heard footsteps on the warning track. They were Jennings'. Myers was camped under it, and all of a sudden, footsteps. Even I looked over."

Still, Moore had Mike Napoli on 1-2 when the Red Sox first baseman popped out to second base. Unfortunately, Jonny Gomes — facing his original team, and perhaps itching for a little revenge over their leaving him off their 2008 postseason roster — jumped on a strike-one pitch and lofted one all the way out to the Monster that grazed it before hitting the track and not Rodriguez's glove on a play attempt, thus doubling home Pedroia and Ortiz to tie the game. Moore struck out Jarrod Saltalamacchia on three pitches and it looked as though the Rays would get out of the inning with a tie.

Looks aren't everything. Moore himself helped facilitate what began next, when he arrived at first base covering just a step too late to stop Stephen Drew from beating out his infield single, whacked almost nonchalantly toward first baseman James Loney. With two outs Gomes took off almost the moment the pitch left Moore's hand in the first place. Moore seemed so occupied with the play at first, facing away from the plate, he didn't even think about Gomes blasting all the way home, the Boston outfielder sliding as though he expected a throw and springing up as though he was shocked to see none.

Then Moore had Will Middlebrooks down 0-2, but Middlebrooks doubled into the left field corner to score Drew all the way from first. Finally, it looked like the Rays would escape in no worse than a 4-2 hole when Moore struck out Jacoby Ellsbury. Except that catcher Jose Lobaton let the pitch escape and Ellsbury alertly darted to first as Middlebrooks likewise took third. And Shane Victorino sliced a strike-one pitch through the right side of the infield for the fifth run of the inning, before Pedroia, who'd started the carnage in the first place, grounded out to second.

Myers would say after the same he saw Jennings out of the corner of his eye, that nobody distracted him (there was speculation someone in the bullpen tried to deke the rook with an "I've got it!" shout), that nobody did anything except himself miscalculating on the play. He was too occupied with owning his mistake to suggest what should have been obvious, that the Rays could have escaped with no worse than a tie.

Almost. "I messed it up, and it won't happen again," Myers told a throng of reporters after the game. "That play kind of gave them a spark, and a good team takes advantage of it."

Victorino agreed. "That Myers play obviously gave us some momentum," he told reporters. "All those kind of things and it became a snowball effect. Plays like that happen. You've got to thrive and you've got to get as many runs as you can when a mistake like that is made."

Part of the Rays' problem was that if you didn't count the solo homers Lester — who'd started his day's work by striking out the side swinging in the top of the first — was in cruise control. The next part of the problem was what the Red Sox did in the fifth, as Moore was running out of petrol vividly enough. With one out and two on (Napoli, one-out double; Gomes, intentional walk), Saltalamacchia atoned for his previous inning's swishout with a two-run double to left.

Wesley Wright relieved Moore, swished Drew, and put Middlebrooks on intentionally to pitch to Ellsbury, who swatted one up the pipe to send home Saltalamacchia. Chris Archer came in to see Victorino beat out a grounder to shortstop before swishing Pedroia to keep the carnage at a mere 8-2.

Somehow, the Rays' bullpen managed to keep the frisky Red Sox in check until the eighth inning. With Jamey Wright in for the Rays, Ellsbury opened with a single and stole second as Victorino prepared to single him home. Pedroia singled Victorino to third and Ortiz worked himself to a full-count, bases-loading walk and Napoli worked himself to an RBI walk on four straight balls following one called strike. Pedroia then came home as Gomes hit into a step-and-throw double play, leaving Ortiz on third for Saltalamacchia to single him home.

When it was finally over, the Red Sox had equaled a few precedents. They were baseball's first postseason club to have all its starters hit and score at least one run since the 1936 Yankees (in the World Series). They were the first since the 2001 Diamondbacks (Game 6, World Series) to score 12 or more runs in a postseason contest. And this was the first Red Sox team since 1999 (against the Indians in Game 4, ALDS) to have 8 or more hits with men in scoring position in a postseason game.

And it made the Rays — who'd won three win-or-be-gone games in three different cities to get to Fenway Park and the division series in the first place, and who'd surrendered pitching horse James Shields to the Kansas City Royals last winter to get the touted Myers in the first place — look momentarily humbled.

None more so than the likely American League Rookie of the Year.

"These are the moments where you either fold up the tent or you rise to the occasion," said Longoria, continuing to hold his teammate's back. "I'm hoping that he rises to the occasion. We need him. I think that he will be able to respond. He's a tough kid. If you take the positive out of it and say, 'That's not going to happen again, I'm not going to make that mistake,' then you're better off, you're a better player for it."

Besides, those Fenway chants can be murder if you let them.

Posted by Jeff Kallman at 11:18 AM | Comments (0)

October 6, 2013

Oakland's Shades of Gray

When a special performance by a great pitcher trying to shake off an off year (for him) ends up going for nothing, you can't help feeling for him. When he's matched just about pitch-for-pitch by a touted but barely tested rookie having the game of his young career thus far, and in an American League division series no less, you can't help hoping there was a good stiff drink awaiting him when it was all over.

The bad news is that the sole irrevocable law of sports is that somebody has to lose. The worse news is when you watch a great veteran and a hungry rookie going mano-a-mano on the mound and they give you all the evidence you need that neither of them deserve to lose.

A Justin Verlander who punches out 11 men in 7 innings' work — including 6 called punchouts out of his first seven Ks — and leaves with a shutout in the works following as magnificent a pitching duel as the postseason has seen in recent years is a man who can hold himself proudly. Even on a night when he was outlasted by a Sonny Gray who spent about half the season in the minors with two callups, including the one that saw him taking struggling Tommy Milhone's place in the rotation, but who made a small rush of noise when he won the American League West division clincher.

Gray's only Saturday night blemish was striking out two fewer than Verlander while surrendering the same number of hits (four) and one more walk. He manhandled the Tigers equal to Verlander's manhandling the Athletics. And he, too, left with a shutout in the works.

"Runs get tougher and tougher to come by the deeper you go in a game like that," said Athletics manager Bob Melvin after the game. "And you had two starting pitchers who were just electric tonight."

"This," said the Tigers' grand old man, manager Jim Leyland, in the post-game press conference, "is postseason pitching. That's what you saw tonight at its absolute best. Everybody had to battle at their best tonight because both pitchers were outstanding."

And in the end it came down to the Detroit bullpen running out of fuel first, and in the bottom of the ninth. When Al Albuquerque, fresh off a 2-punchout beginning to close the Oakland eighth, got pried open by two base hits (Yoenis Cespedes, Seth Smith) and didn't dare pitch to Josh Reddick with that no-out scenario, putting him on and yielding to Rick Porcello.

And Stephen Vogt — a rookie catcher with a mere sixteen RBIs and a mere .242 batting average on the regular season, who'd fought Verlander arduously in the seventh, fouling off five straight before taking a ball, fouling another, taking another ball, fouling one more, then striking out on a high bullet — shot one past Detroit shortstop Jose Iglesias with the infield in for the game-winning single, Cespedes running home as though his train was about to leave the platform without him.

Gray and Verlander were the first starting pitchers in postseason history to strike out nine or more each without surrendering even an unearned run. But Gray's poise — especially in the top of the third, when Torii Hunter looked ready to bark and bite after a high and tight fastball, causing the rookie to do nothing but bear further down and strike him out on the next three pitches — in hand with his stupefying postseason debut made him even more the story than Verlander's gallant performance and Vogt's game-winner.

It didn't help that he struck out the side magnificently in the third — including no less than Miguel Cabrera swinging violently through Gray's fastball for the third out. That strike-em-out/throw-em-out double play ending the fourth was no excuse-me stuff, either. But to find another major league rookie who threw eight scoreless or more with nine strikeouts or more in postseason play, you have to reach back to the first Reagan Administration, when Baltimore's Mike Boddicker did it to the White Sox in the 1983 American League Championship Series.

"There was a lot of adrenaline going, especially early," Gray told ESPN after the game. "And you couldn't ask for a better finish than this, but there was adrenaline, and this place was packed."

Gray seemed respectful of Verlander without necessarily seeming intimidated by facing him. "There's been a lot of talk," he said. "It seemed like a lot of people weren't giving us a lot of a shot to win this game." Pause for the traditional rookie smooshie of a pie in the puss before he can finish the thought. (Vogt got the walk-off smooshie and a Gatorade shampoo.) Then, he said he'd be ready to pitch wherever and whenever.

"It was must win for us," Gray said. "We knew that going in."

That's a polite way to describe the position in which the A's were left by Max Scherzer's Game One demolition night. That performance should have put the lie to charges that Scherzer's pitched biggest this year only when he's had a boatload of run support.

He had only three runs to work with but her struck out 11 in 7 innings (who the hell did he think he was — Verlander?), his only legitimate mistake being the meatball he served Cespides in the bottom of the seventh, a meatball Cespides promptly served into the left field seats. But he shook that off to get the next three outs like he'd been waiting for them with open arms.

Still, even Scherzer's jewel just might be outshone by the Gray-Verlander duel that evened the set at a game apiece. Even an A's fan would have to admit Verlander pitched just too well to have to lose. Even a Tigers fan would have to admit they'd been manhandled by Gray as if he'd been doing it for far more seasoning than he actually has.

A banner hung on the middle deck rim of the O.co Coliseum said it best: Forecast: Sonny with Chance of Strikeouts.

Posted by Jeff Kallman at 2:04 PM | Comments (0)

October 4, 2013

Pirates Bring the Swag, Reds Bring the Drag

This one's going to take a good while for the Cincinnati Reds to live down. No matter how far the Pittsburgh Pirates go from Tuesday's National League wild card game.

Losing six of their final eight, including five straight to the also-ran New York Mets and then to the Pirates was bad enough. But the way the Pirates and their fans bastinadoed the Reds 6-2 Tuesday night was ridiculous enough that you swore Joe Morgan, the Hall of Famer who factored big on the ancient Big Red Machine, couldn't decide whether to look disgusted or heartbroken in his PNC Park seat.

Nobody likes to hear or deploy "choker." Nobody wants to think a team like this season's Reds gagged on the pressure, whether or not the pressure was of their own making. Unfortunately for the Reds and their fans, second baseman Brandon Phillips deployed it after the loss. And it's probably even money whether Reds fans will be more outraged than his teammates by it.

"We deserve everything. We choked. We did. I don't care how people really feel, or my teammates, how they feel about what I'm saying right now, because it's the truth. Either you win or you go home, and I'm going home, and the last place I want to be is on my couch. I don't want to do that. But it happened today and it sucks, man. I mean, it's terrible."

This is the guy who, just days earlier, was asked to pick his all-swag team (that's "swag" as in "swagger," not perks, dollars, and bling) and found his own club lacking in the swag department except for himself. Now, after the Pirates showed a lot more swag without necessarily being fools about it, Phillips didn't single out anyone else on his own club for an apple in the throat. But he still hit the brakes and backpedaled as fast as his mouth could travel:

"What message am I sending? It's not a message that I'm sending. I mean, I choked. I didn't do nothing today. I mean, what'd I do today? Tell me, what did I do? Did I get any hits, did I get any RBIs? I choked. I didn't do nothing to make the team win. And, like I said, it's on me. It's not the team's fault, it's my fault. I had opportunities to really come through for the team and I didn't do that."

The fact that Phillips played despite a lingering swelling above his left shin from a foul ball in the last regular-season game is, according to him, entirely beside the point.

Maybe the Reds should have seen their humbling coming in the second inning, apparently. When their starting pitcher, Johnny Cueto, bothered most of the season by a sore and sprained lat muscle, pitching the wild card game only because of Mat Latos's pitching elbow bone spurs, surrendered a leadoff bomb to Marlon Byrd—picked up from the Mets in an August deal—and the PNC Park crowd let him have it with a singsong "Cue-toooo! Cue-toooo!" chant. The short, but husky right-hander who entered the game 8-2 lifetime at PNC Park was rattled almost the moment it began.

First, Cueto dropped the ball with Russell Martin checked in at the plate. Then, Cueto actually delivered the ball to the plate. And Martin—the former Dodger whom the New York Yankees let walk to free agency last winter — delivered it over the left center field wall. "For the rest of Johnny Cueto's career," tweeted Yahoo! Sport's Jeff Passan, who was in the ballpark for the unique drop and drive, "every time he goes to PNC Park, they're going to chant 'Cue-to, Cue-to, Cue-to' the whole damn time."

It might happen elsewhere around the National League, too. Cueto probably had no real business pitching such a win-or-be-gone game after having pitched in only three previous between June and September and showing rust at assorted points in those three.

Cueto should probably be thanking Todd Frazier for helping him escape further second inning trouble. After Pirates starting pitcher Francisco Liriano swatted his way on with a single and Starling Marte followed to set up first and second with two out, Neil Walker fouled one high off third that careened toward the stands. Frazier scampered over and dove into a camera pit to make a circus catch on it.

All this in the middle of Liriano putting on as good an impression of Sandy Koufax as a lefthander today can muster. Not only did he have the Reds resembling the Bad News Bears early and often, with his 90-mph sliders finding swift ways to avoid the barrels of Cincinnati bats, but Liriano got through the first three innings unblemished, while Pedro Alvarez fatted the lead to 3-0 with a sacrifice fly in the third.

Oh, the Reds got a little frisky in the top of the fourth after Liriano uncharacteristically plunked Shin-Soo Choo to open. Ryan Ludwick, whose return from the disabled list didn't quite galvanize the Reds as highly as they and their fans hoped, hit the first pitch on the screws for a single to left, setting up first and second for Joey Votto.

But Liriano swished Votto on three pitches. Up came Phillips on an 0-for-1 night thus far, and he popped out behind second base. Jay Bruce's single to left to send home Choo seemed like a temporary tease for Reds fans, especially when Frazier got swished for the side. The Reds, after all, were in the hole 3-0 before they hit anything past the infield.

The Pirates got even friskier once Cueto was allowed to lure Liriano into a leadoff groundout and serve Marte a 2-0 double to left. Out went Cueto, in came Sean Marshall, and into the deep regions of left field went Walker's RBI double.

Marshall took no chances with Andrew McCutchen, walking the Pittsburgh bellwether to set up the potential double play. Only he walked Justin Morneau, the stretch drive pickup from the Twins, unintentionally. That brought in J.J. Hoover, who didn't exactly beat as he swept as he cleaned, another run coming in while Byrd forced Morneau at second—after the otherwise-should-have-been double play ball bounded off the wrist of Phillips, Mr. Swag, who retrieved it almost sheepishly to throw to second. Then Hoover got Alvarez to force Byrd likewise for the side.

Two Cincinnati relievers later, Martin unloaded again, taking Logan Ondrusek in relief of Alfredo Simon over the left field wall on a full count to open the bottom of the seventh. By the time Choo parked a 2-2 service from Liriano's relief, Tony Watson, over the right field wall, it seemed almost like an excuse-me shot from a Reds offense that would finish the night on a 5-for-42 slump with men in scoring position.

"'It's very difficult to come down to one game, especially the way we played," said Reds manager Dusty Baker after the game. "We got outplayed big time."

The big time is what Liriano, signed in the offseason after a forgettable 2012 split between the Twins and the Chicago White Sox, came to the ballpark prepared to deliver, according to his mates. He turned up in a smart-looking suit. Carrying a bag packed for St. Louis.

"He had the expectancy to win," McCutchen crowed after the game. "When he showed up with his suit on, that got me hyped up."

The Reds' big bats were almost left at home. Or might as well have been. Votto and Phillips went 0-for-4 each, including a combined 0-for-6 with men in scoring position. Jay Bruce had his RBI, but also struck out twice. Ludwick did pick up three hits but had nothing much else to show for them, the catcher himself not looking close to a hundred percent since his own return.

And — just as the Washington Nationals did when they had a 6-0 lead in Game 5 of last year's division series — these Reds hitters, mostly, approached each plate appearance looking to hit 6-run homers on every swing. They were putty in a Liriano's hands, in other words. The Pirates weren't looking to hit 6-run jobs every at-bat, and Liriano didn't try striking out every man he faced on the first pitch.

"You get in this atmosphere," Martin told reporters after the game, "and hitters are going to be overaggressive; they're going to be hunting fastballs. [Liriano] has the ability to make his changeup and his slider look like fastballs. That's what worked for us. We used their aggressiveness against them by throwing off-speed pitches early in counts and getting contact like that."

Essentially, the Pirates played the kind of heads-up, heads-in baseball that helped them break their long, longer, longest nightmare of double-decades disaster. If the black-clad PNC Park crowd was in the game from the first pitch, having their first taste of postseason baseball since the last days of the first Bush Administration, well, anyone in a Reds uniform who didn't expect to have to deal with that simply didn't have his head in the whole of the game.

These Reds have found the postseason vexing since 2010, when the Philadelphia Phillies swept them out of a division series almost in a blink that only began with Roy Halladay's no-hitter. In last year's division series, when they had the San Francisco Giants down two to open on the road, they managed to get overthrown in three straight at home.

And the second guessing of Baker's don't-sweat-the-small-stuff managing style begins all over again. Is he just too much a players' manager to have his team appropriately inflamed for the big ones? Has he still not yet figured out how to manipulate his pitching staff when one big gun is wounded and the one he's compelled to start instead is rusted after a long enough disablement? Has he lost his ability to motivate as he's heightened his ability to accommodate?

The Reds will have all winter and a 2014 season to find those answers, since Baker's contract doesn't expire until then, and they could lose Choo and veteran pitcher Bronson Arroyo (whom the Pirates battered last Saturday, in his possible final start as a Red) to free agency.

Those answers may be easier to find than trying to explain how Cueto let the fired-up crowd in a road ballpark where he normally thrives get into his head and his hand. Or how to keep Phillips from running his mouth instead of the bases. Or how the Pirates brought the swag and the Reds, the drag.

Posted by Jeff Kallman at 1:37 PM | Comments (0)

The Cardinals Open with a Belt(ran)

The single most conspicuous failure in Carlos Beltran's postseason life came at the hands of the guy whose back he took hold of Thursday. But don't ask Adam Wainwright too many questions about it. He doesn't want to break the spell of now, when they're teammates, and Wainwright might need Beltran's swing in support again before their St. Louis Cardinals go home for the winter.

It was Beltran in a New York Mets uniform who was frozen like a bag of Birdseye vegetables for strike three to end a 2006 National League Championship Series they got to within a whisker of winning in seven thrilling games. It was Wainwright who threw the subzero curve ball that left Beltran stunned at the plate and a packed Shea Stadium stunned with him.

"You know," Wainwright told reporters after the Cardinals demolished the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-1, in Game 1 of their National League division series. "I don't know how I got him out there. And I don't really care. But who knows. I may not even be here right now if I hadn't gotten him out in that situation. My career could have gone a completely different way. Who knows? But I'm real glad he's on my team now. I know that."

In New York, of course, that's practically the only way they remember Beltran. That and the knee troubles that often got in the way of his otherwise very productive Met seasons. In St. Louis, of course, they treat Beltran like the big (Red)bird, and for reasons having nothing to do with the manner in which Wainwright iced him to send the Cardinals hurtling toward a World Series ring.

And after Thursday, they're going to treat Beltran like an eagle. Why not? Bet you didn't know that Beltran now has 15 lifetime postseason home runs, which entitles him to look Babe Ruth squarely in the eye. Except that that isn't exactly part of Beltran's makeup. He'd rather thank God for so many chances to play in the postseason, never mind that he's yet to play in a World Series, than square up the Bambino.

"Just God gave me the opportunity to be in this situation, and me being able to come through," he told reporters. "But that doesn't come with nothing. It comes with coming to the ballpark every day and preparing yourself to try to go out and have a good game."

Sometimes it comes with A.J. Burnett on the mound in the third inning, Wainwright and Matt Carpenter on base ahead of him, a seductive pitch arriving in his wheelhouse, and an effortless-looking power swing.

"I almost got caught up in the moment," Wainwright admitted. "I threw my hands up in the air as soon as he hit it, I knew it was gone. Then I realized I had to run."

Burnett didn't look like a candidate for drawing and quartering over the first two innings. He let only a walk to Matt Holliday interrupt his first inning feast of ground outs to second. And he flicked a Cardinal swarm in the bottom of the second squarely off his shoulders when, with second and third and one out, he seduced Daniel Descalso into a step-and-throw double play.

But he let Wainwright work him for a full count walk to open the third and Carpenter to slice a 3-1 single to right to continue. Then, after falling behind 2-1 to Beltran, Burnett threw a belt-high service that gets lesser men arrested for impersonating a professional baseball player if they let it pass unmolested.

Beltran isn't one of those men. He did exactly what his surname says. Belted and ran. The only thing standing between his parabolic 3-run homer and the edge of the upper deck was the right field foul pole.

And that was just the beginning of the Cardinals' boarding party. The Pirates, who'd made hash of the Cincinnati Reds just two days earlier, looked like they barely knew what was hitting them. Holliday followed Beltran with a double to the gap in right center. Matt Adams was sent diving across the plate when he was hit on the leg. Yadier Molina walked on full count to set up the ducks on the pond. And Jon Jay wrung a second straight full-count walk to send home Holliday.

Then came David Freese, who calls Beltran Mr. October but has his own splendid case for sharing that title. With nobody out still. On 2-2 Freese shot one the other way, down the right field line. Home came Adams and (on a throwing error) Jay.

That left Burnett as only the eight starter in Show history to be bastinadoed for seven earned runs with six or less outs on his jacket in a postseason game, the first since the Roberto Hernandez formerly known as Fausto Carmona (Game 6, 2007 American League Championship Series) and the first in the National League to achieve it since Brad Penny (Game 2, 2003 NLCS).

Burnett would prefer not to remain in such extinguished company.

"Hopefully," he mourned after the game, "we can turn it around and give me a chance to get that ball again. I was not able to repeat a single delivery all day, that's the bottom line." The hope rests with Pirates manager Clint Hurdle, and he wouldn't commit to naming Burnett his starter if the set goes to a fifth game.

Jeanmar Gomez came in from the pen after Jay crossed the plate. He got three outs so promptly that even the Cardinals had to be mildly surprised to see the merry-go-round come to a dead stop. In fact, until Jay scored in the bottom of the fifth on another Pirate error, this time shortstop Clint Barmes throwing a should-have-been double play ball wild enough to let Jay head home after pulling up to third.

Wainwright, of course, sailed right along, refusing to let such a little thing as Pedro Alvarez hitting the first pitch of the fourth inning into the right field seats bother him. About the only spot of real trouble came in the top of the third when Barmes hit one on the screws that looked like extra bases flying up the third base line. Or, it looked that way until Freese dove hard right to spear it in mid-flight.

Wainwright needed the extra insurance about as much as Hurdle probably needed a stiff drink or three by then, but Molina took out the extra policy on the dime of the Pirates' usually virtuoso center fielder Andrew McCutchen in the bottom of the sixth. With Adams on board with a two-out walk, Molina lofted one into the right center field gap that should have left nothing worse than second and third, except that McCutchen mishandled the ball, letting Adams carry home the ninth St. Louis run.

Cardinals reliever Carlos Martinez didn't let Freese hog all the defensive glory for himself. He picked off Russell Martin's eighth-inning bouncebacker while falling away from the first base line and still whipped a throw to first to get his man. Cardinals manager Mike Matheny could be seen by one and all mouthing, "What a play!!" And who could blame him?

It was a night on which two Cy Young Award candidates, Wainwright and the Los Angeles Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw, opened their respective NLDSes by making their opponents look like target practice. Kershaw whipped the Atlanta Braves, 6-1, in Atlanta, striking out twelve in seven innings' work, including a string of six straight, and getting a little help from his friends, most notably Adrian Gonzalez whacking a 2-run homer in the third off Kris Medlen, fattening the score to 4-0 at the time.

And, it was a night on which the Cardinals exposed Burnett's most glaring 2013 weakness—on the regular season he was 5-7, 4.22 ERA, and only six quality starts in 16 starts on the road.

None of which loomed as large as Beltran's blast and the shipwreck it launched on the Pirates. "Some guys," Carpenter said, "just have a knack for a big game and he's one of them." The Cardinals would love nothing more than to have Beltran's knack swing them to 10 more October wins. Including the four that end with World Series rings on their fingers.

Posted by Jeff Kallman at 11:23 AM | Comments (0)

October 3, 2013

Liveblogging the AL Wild Card Game

Welcome to the first Slant Pattern that's on location! No, I'm not at the game, but I am at Scotty's Elm Street Saloon in downtown Dallas, Texas, where I will attempt to liveblog the game.

I've done this several times before, but as this is a bar, I'm giving myself the further handicap of not being able to hear the television. If you know me, you know half my shtick is making fun of announcers and commercials. On the plus side, the Rays defeated the Rangers to make it into this game, so I'm not elbow-to-elbow with Ranger fans. They are all at home crying into their Yu Darvish commemorative plastic cups.

These teams are quite evenly matched, and indeed, per Steven Goldman's excellent preview, right down to similar strengths and weaknesses. Both teams come in scorching hot, with the Rays finishing off the season 9-2 and the Indians 10-0 (the Rangers, the third team in the derby, went 7-1). On one hand, the Indians got 9 of those 10 wins over the three worst teams (by record) in the AL, and the Rays won their season series over the Tribe comfortably. On the other hand, the Indians ended the year with a better Pythagorean W-L record (92-70, which was also their actual record, vs the Rays 87-83).

Both teams are starting rookie pitchers who have been surprisingly outstanding. Alex Cobb sports 2.76 ERA, and Danny Salazar's ERA is 3.12. Salazar started the year in AA and didn't even garner a mention in the glut of starting pitchers the Indians went into spring training with.

8:08 PM EST: David DeJesus just sent Michael Bourne back to the warning track with the second pitch of the game, and as a Tribe fan, I'm already nervous.

8:12 PM: Bam, Salazar struck out the last two to lower my blood pressure.

8:20 PM: Indians also go down 1-2-3, but not before the umps tried to gift a call to the Tribe before an umpire conference and a reversal. Exhibit #879 of "no one acknowledges when horrible calls go against your own team, except I do (pats myself on back)."

8:27 PM: No rookie jitters here. Through three half-innings, we have yet to see a baserunner.

8:38 PM: Cobb blinks first as Ryan Raburn doubles to the centerfield wall, but it was a 2-out hit and Asdrubal (how many little kids call him ass-dribble? a lot, I hope) Cabrera can't bring home the bacon.

8:42 PM: So of course Delmon Young homers. 1-0, Rays.

8:48 PM: Salazar gets out of the inning with no further damage, and I have daymares of a 1-0 final.

8:49 PM: Thought I will hate them for the next 2+ hours, I normally like the Rays, and I think they underwent the most successful brand repurposing in brand history. They started out as the Devil Rays, as in the sea creature, and fans naturally called them simply the Rays, so that's all they are now, officially, as in the thing the sun does.

8:55 PM: They just showed a stat which I believe said the Tribe was 38-55 this year against teams with winning records. That sounds about right. You know how some teams play to the level of their opponents? That's not the Indians. They get pasted by better teams and destroy worse teams. If I saw that stat correctly, it makes them 52-15 against teams with losing records.

9:07 PM: This sports bar is playing a lot of country music and I do not approve.

9:10 PM: The bar's lone big screen is occupied by (per request of a customer who got in before me) a early-season NHL matchup between the very-not-local Sabres and Red Wings. I disapprove most vociferously.

9:12 PM: Desmond Jennings with a 2-run double for the Rays. I haz a sad. Activity begins in the Indians bullpen. But at 9:14 he gets out of it. 3-0 Rays going to the bottom of the 4th.

9:18 PM: Someone put "Burning Down the House" by Talking Heads on the jukebox. I approve.

9:24 PM: Carlos Santana doubles with 1 out, bringing up Michael Brantley, who's second in the AL at .375 with RISP. C'monnnnnn...

9:27 PM: Brantley comes through with an infield hit that the Rays are protesting strenuously, including Joe Maddon coming out of the dugout, but replays show was the right call.

9:29 PM: Cobb keeps throwing to first. Brantley hasn't been a serious threat to steal in a couple years. I like this.

9:31 PM: Three pitches, four throws to first. For a guy who has 21 steal attempts all year. Resultantly, he walks the next batter. Bases loaded, 1 out for the Tribe.

9:33 PM: And Ass-dribble grounds into the most depressing double play of my life. The Indians grounded into the fewest double plays in the majors this year.

9:39 PM: Salazar walks the opening batter for the Rays and ... I'm thinking, one more baserunner and Francona has to pull him. Oh look, he is pulling him. I didn't see who was coming in yet, but Indians manager Terry Francona said he'd be willing to use staff ace Justin Masterson in this game, and I think he has to. The bleeding needs to stop, the Rays bullpen isn't that great, and it's only the fifth inning. I know 3-0 is not 7-0, but this game is do or die.

9:41 PM: EDIT: It's actually Marc Rzepcnynski (27 APP, 0.79 ERA. I'll take it).

9:48 PM: EDIT: He just faced one batter, whom he retired, and now Bryan Shaw comes in.

9:53 PM: Yan Gomes, the first Brazilian to play in the bigs, a man who took over for Carlos Santana behind the plate because of his defensive skills, throws out the Rays runner to end the inning. Momentum? Much work, but a climbable mountain for the Tribe, down 3-0 going to the bottom of the fifth.

9:56 PM: And Gomes leads off the bottom of the fifth with a double.

9:59 PM: Lonnie Chisenhall moves Gomes to third with a single. The Tribe must take advantage of this opportunity.

10:04 PM: Bourne strikes out, and Nick Swisher grounds into what would have been a double play if anyone had been covering third. I want to do a lot more cussing than "ass-dribble" right about now.

10:07 PM: Jason Kipnis grounds out. The Indians get runners on the corners with no one out and cannot score. Going to the sixth, 3-0 Rays.

10:14 PM: Shaw retires the Rays 1-2-3 in the sixth, and the cameras continually show Masterson warming up in the bullpen. Can I just say Terry Francona is a great manager? Cobb looks ready to break, and he saves Masterson, the Indians best pitcher, for that point. That is better than what I suggested earlier. Make no mistake though, the Tribe's back is still against the wall.

10:20 PM: I think Santana just got hosed by the third based umpire on a 3-2 pitch where the home plate ump appealed to third. He didn't go around.

10:28 PM: Our old foe Jennings leads off the Rays 7th with a single and Francona brings in Masterson, one hitter too late.

10:35 PM: Masterson lives up to his name, and masterfully strikes out two and grounds out one. Three more innings for the baseball team I love to advance.

10:39 PM: Other baseball news: they just showed a bit piece about how Dan Uggla has been left off the Braves postseason roster ... among qualifying second basemen, he has had the worst BA bar one other player among 2nd baseman in the last ONE HUNDRED YEARS. Good move, Hotlanta.

10:44 PM: Chisenhall, batting .225 on the year, strokes a one-out single with a runner on first and the Indians are in business again. Just before that, they showed a shot of David Price in the Rays in the bullpen. Is there a single player who represents the entire history of the Rays franchise more than Price? No disrespect intended to Evan Longoria, but I submit not.

10:48 PM: With two outs and two on, Maddon finally pulls the plug on Cobb. In this era of over-specialization of pitchers, both managers, I submit, have had slow hooks tonight.

11:00 PM: Masterson allows two singles with nobody out, and oh dear I don't believe the Cleveland Indians are advancing in the 2013 postseason.

11:04 PM: The Tribe gets out of the jam with a double play and a line out. The jukebox plays a live version of "Down Under" by Men at Work. I wrote about that song in a piece about Australian sports in this very space a few years ago. Let this be an omen.

11:17 PM: Mexican avocados are always in season, informs a TBS commercial that will not make a dent on avocado sales. But! The Metallica pinball machine next to the big screen will give you a national weekly high score if you play well enough, it says.

11:26 PM: The jukebox (which must be auto-playing as I am the only person here) is now playing Paul Simon's "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" on the jukebox. Quite a departure from Toby Keith anthems of conservatism. In baseball news, Justin Masterson has been yanked. God Save the Indians, Long Live the Indians.

11:41 PM: The Rays add another run. Last chance gas for the Indians, down 4-0 going to the bottom of the ninth. Fernando Rodney, who has been terrible this year, in to pitch for the Rays.

11:48 PM: (expletive)

Posted by Kevin Beane at 7:54 PM | Comments (0)

NFL Weekly Predictions: Week 5

Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.

Buffalo @ Cleveland (-4½)

The Bills are 2-2 after knocking off the Ravens 23-20 last week, led by a defense that picked off Joe Flacco five times. Rookie E.J. Manuel has been solid, and appears to be the Bills' long-term answer at quarterback.

"There's excitement along Lake Erie," Doug Marrone said. "Fans are excited about our 2-2 start. Of course, four games do not make a franchise. At least that's what Marv Levy likes to tell himself."

The Browns are 2-2, tied atop the AFC North win the Ravens and Bengals. Brian Hoyer has led Cleveland to two consecutive wins since taking over for Brandon Weeden.

"I've become somewhat of a cult hero in Cleveland," Hoyer said. "That's opposed to Weeden, who was an occult hero, because his presence as starter was beyond human comprehension.

"Speaking of cult heroes, Bernie Kosar was arrested for DUI early Sunday morning. Arresting officers said he was slow and lethargic, much like in his playing days. But whatever you do, please don't ask Bernie about 'The Drive.'"

Hometown hero Hoyer leads the Browns to a 23-20 win, throwing 2 touchdowns, one to Jordan Cameron.

New Orleans @ Chicago (even)

The Saints remained undefeated with a 38-17 win over the Dolphins on Monday night in front of a loud Superdome crowd. Drew Brees threw 4 touchdown passes, including two to his favorite target, tight end Jimmy Graham.

"This game will be of great interest to Mike Ditka," said Graham. "He really wants to be on the field, and I wouldn't mind being an NFL talking head for a day. I told him I'd trade places with him, but it will cost him his entire draft."

The Bears were knocked from the ranks of the unbeaten with a lopsided 40-32 loss to the Lions in Detroit. Jay Cutler threw 3 interceptions, lost a fumble, and was sacked 3 times.

"Much like our defense against the Lions," Mark Trestman said, "Jay went backwards. He's still a youngster at 30 years, but people will still call him 'old Cutler.'

"Defensively, we'll have our work cut out for us against the Saints. Success today comes through the air, and the rules are geared to make sure that happens. The NFL is a passing league, and by that, I men passing a kidney stone is easier than defending against the pass."

New Orleans wins, 30-27.

New England @ Cincinnati (-2)

The 4-0 Patriots head to "The Jungle" to face the 2-2 Bengals, who lost 17-6 in Cleveland last week. Rob Gronkowski is not expected to play, but is scheduled to be ready in week 6 when the Pats meet the Saints.

"Gronkowski is really anxious to play," Brady said. "He's chomping at the bit. Much like a former New England tight end, Gronk is a 'caged animal.'

"Sadly, we lost Vince Wilfork for the season with a torn Achilles' heel. Vince was our best defensive player. He was known for often occupying two players on the offensive line, as well as two servers in the buffet line."

The Bengals' offense was stagnant in a 17-6 loss last week in Cleveland, as they managed only two Mike Nugent field goals.

"We'd like to see a little more out of our offense," Marvin Lewis said, "and so would our defense. They're not ones to point fingers, but they won't hesitate to 'give' fingers."

Former Bengal and Patriot Chad Johnson serves as honorary coin-tosser before the game. A thrilled Johnson head butts the teams' captains, and the toss goes awry when he woozily bolts from the field with the silver dollar. Fittingly, in a game between the Patriots and Bengals, Johnson is asked to leave.

New England wins, 24-17.

Detroit @ Green Bay (-6½)

The Lions took sole possession of first in the NFC North with a convincing 40-32 win over the Bears last week. Detroit rushed for 159 yards and will likely try to attack the Packers on the ground as well.

"Reggie Bush piled up 139 yards on the ground with a touchdown," Jim Schwartz said. "That warranted a pat on the back, the game ball, and a discreet lump-sum payment to his parents.

"Some have accused former Bear Israel Idonije of giving us the Bears' defensive calls. Is that a surprise? My name is Schwartz; of course I've got Israel on my side."

The Packers used a bye week to pick up the pieces from a 1-2 start. It starts with a defense that is giving up nearly 30 points per game.

"We'll have to step up on defense," Mike McCarthy said. "Calvin Johnson will get his catches, but we'll have to limit big plays from Bush. Bush is a dangerous weapon, and, unlike the Heisman Trophy, you can't take that away from him. We know Bush is the key to the Detroit offense, therefore we're launching an investigation to determine how to stop him."

Aaron Rodgers throws for 341 yards and 4 touchdowns, outgunning Matthew Stafford and the Lions for a 40-27 win.

Kansas City @ Tennessee (+3)

Kansas City powered past the Giants last week to move to 4-0, tied with the Broncos atop the AFC West. They'll put their unbeaten mark on the line in Nashville against the 3-1 Titans.

"Take that, Jim Harbaugh," Alex Smith said. "I left my heart in San Francisco, and I also left an 'ass' there, too.

"I'm no Colin Kaepernick. And why would I want to be? He's a novelty quarterback. The read option is just a fad. Kaepernick is a 'flash in the Pan Francisco.'"

Tennessee flattened the visiting Jets 38-13 last week, forcing four Geno Smith turnovers as the Titans improved to 3-1. The win was a costly one, as Jake Locker suffered a hip injury and will miss 4-8 weeks.

"Jake got sandwiched between two Jets," Mike Munchak said. "I think that last happened when Mexican reporter Ines Sainz visited Jets camp back in 2010. Much like Jake's x-ray, her hips don't lie either.

"In Jake's stead, we'll start Ryan Fitzpatrick. Ryan is a Harvard graduate, and reportedly aced the Wonderlic test. Former Titan Vince Young didn't go to Harvard, and he reportedly 'deuced' the Wonderlic test."

Fitzpatrick throws a costly late interception, and the Chiefs remain undefeated with a 19-10 win.

Seattle @ Indianapolis (+2½)

The Seahawks overcame a 20-3 deficit to shock the Texans 23-20 in overtime last week. Now 4-0, they'll challenge the 3-1 Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium.

"What a big interception by Richard Sherman," Pete Carroll said. "You know, he predicted before the game that he'd return a pick for a touchdown. Usually, when Richard is called a 'man of his word,' it's because he's always talking."

The Colts are 3-1 after pummeling the Jaguars 37-3 in Jacksonville last week. Indy is tied with the Titans for the AFC South lead.

"Seattle may have the '12th Man' at home," Andrew Luck said, "but fans at Lucas Oil Stadium are known as 'The Greasers.' They're often terrorized by the Socs, but that's not important.

"Anyway, the 'Greasers' love me. I'm adored in Indianapolis, and in Denver."

There's an interesting matchup at running back: Marshawn Lynch, who averages nearly four yards per carry, versus Trent Richardson, who averages barely three. It's "The Beast" versus "The Least."

Lynch gets the best of Richardson, and the Seahawks overcome a slow start to take a 27-23 win.

Jacksonville @ St. Louis (-11½)

The hapless Jaguars are 0-4 following last week's 37-3 loss to the Colts, and are clearly the NFL's worst team. Blaine Gabbert tossed 3 interceptions and completed only 17-of-32 passes.

"There was a 'Tebow, Why Not?' banner flying over the stadium last Sunday," Gus Bradley said. "More than likely, that will be the only Tebow 'signing' this year.

"But I think a visit to St. Louis is just what Gabbert needs. It's the home of the Gateway Arch. I plan to have Blaine throw a ball through the Arch. Some say it's good luck. I don't know about that, but it will be nice for Blaine to hit a target."

The Rams lost 35-11 last Thursday to the visiting 49ers and fell to 1-3, last in the NFC West.

"Let me just state for the record that I'm not interested in the Southern California head coaching job. First of all, it doesn't pay enough. But what do I care about players' salaries?

"I expect us to be well-prepared. We've had 10 days to prepare for the Jaguars. That's 11 too many."

Gabbert gets the start, but not the finish after being yanked for Chad Henne early in the second quarter. Once again, Gabbert is benched, but this time he's nailed to it to keep him there.

St. Louis records 6 sacks and forces 4 turnovers, while Sam Bradford throws for 3 touchdowns as the Rams win, 31-13.

Baltimore @ Miami (-3)

Joe Flacco's 5 interceptions doomed the Ravens in a 23-20 loss in Buffalo last week. Baltimore fell to 2-2, still good enough for a three-way tied for the AFC North lead.

"We lost a lot of players from last year's Super Bowl-winning team," John Harbaugh said, "so Joe may be trying to do too much. Expectations weigh heavily on him, as do his Super Bowl ring and his wallet.

"You may have heard that Terrell Suggs contends that Roger Goodell played a role in the Super Bowl blackout. Ray Lewis made the same accusation. And we all know Ray doesn't lie. If what he says is true, then Goodell should get exactly what's coming to him. That is, unless there's some type of obstruction of justice."

The Dolphins had their perfect record tarnished with a 38-17 loss on Monday night in New Orleans.

"As bottle-tossing strippers go," Mike Wallace said, "Baltimore may have the best in the NFL. But Miami's strippers are talented in their own right. They might not throw bottles at heads, but they sure know how to puts cans in your face."

As a gesture of good will, the Dolphins' front office offers injured Raven Jacoby Jones accommodations in their finest luxury box, "Suite P," fully stocked with champagne and a construction helmet, for his protection.

Miami wins, 22-20.

Philadelphia @ NY Giants (-2½)

The Giants are 0-4 after last week's 31-7 loss in Kansas City. In their four losses, the G-Men have given up an average of 36 points per game.

"Yes, we are 0-4," Tom Coughlin said. "But on the bright side, we're only two games behind the Cowboys in the NFC East standings. That's practically a tie.

"I've got the support of my players. Justin Tuck will punch anyone that doubts me, and Antrel Rolle says he believes we can go 12-0 the rest of the way. In addition, Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood have offered their support with a Blind Faith concert in my honor."

The Broncos blitzed the Eagles 52-20 in Denver last week, spurred by an unstoppable Peyton Manning. After a promising start to the season, Philly has lost three in a row by a combined score of 111-66.

"I guess it's only fitting that the former Oregon coach had 50 dropped on him," Chip Kelly said. "But I think my good buddy, Nike's Phil Knight, can help me out. We're 1-3, and that's pathetic, so much so that we don't even want to be seen in public. Phil can surely provide us with a new uniform that makes us virtually unrecognizable."

If you like defense, then you must hate professional football. If you're looking for "defense," try a Tom Coughlin press conference after a loss. But don't expect the Eagles and G-Men to pull out all the stops on defense, because there won't be any.

New York wins, 35-31.

Carolina @ Arizona (+2)

The Panthers, fresh off a bye week after a 38-0 win over the Giants, invade Glendale to face the 2-2 Cardinals.

"My sympathies go out to Rashad Johnson for the loss of part of his finger," Cam Newton said. "There are lessons to be learned by this tragedy: football is a dangerous sport, and, always 'tip' your waiter.

"Now, we may be 1-2, but in the NFC South, that's not too bad. Sure, the Saints maybe 4-0, but I'd be willing to put money in a secret fund for a forbidden incentive plan that they won't run away with the division."

The Cardinals picked up a crucial road win with a 13-10 come-from-behind effort in Tampa last week, scoring 13 fourth-quarter points.

"We did this for Rashad Johnson," Bruce Arians said. "All week, we talked about winning one for the 'Tipper.' You may have noticed the uniform patch we wore in his honor — it read '3/4.'"

The rested Carolina defense stifles Carson Palmer and the Cardinals, although a late TD pass to Larry Fitzgerald makes it close. Newton scores on a short run late in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

Carolina wins, 20-11.

San Diego @ Oakland (+4½)

AFC West rivals do battle as the 1-3 Raiders host the 2-2 Chargers in the Black Hole, where the Raiders are 1-1. Because of the Oakland A's playoff game, kickoff has been pushed back to 8:35 local time.

"That just supports our team motto," Dennis Allen said, "which is, 'We're gonna lose, sooner or later. This just goes to prove that baseball is the only place in Oakland where you'll find 'A's.'"

Philip Rivers passed for 401 yards and 3 scores in the Chargers' 30-21 win over the Cowboys in San Diego last week. It was Rivers' second 400-yard passing game of the season.

"I think Norv Turner's vision for the Chargers has finally been realized," Rivers said. "All we needed was his absence."

San Diego wins, 31-23.

Denver @ Dallas (+7)

The Broncos blew out the Eagles 52-20 last week, led by 4 touchdowns from Peyton Manning, who now has 16 on the year. He'll face a Dallas defense that surrendered 401 yards through the air to Philip Rivers in Week 4.

"I'm on pace to throw for 6,000 yards and 64 touchdowns," Manning said. "Possibly against Dallas on Sunday. The air may be thin in Denver, but air is the only thing stopping the ball from flying through the air against the Cowboys."

Tony Romo and the Cowboys will have to score to keep up with the Broncos; offense, which averages 45 points per game.

"I don't know what can stop Manning," Romo said, "short of a pile driver. That would be called a 'Denver Pyle-driver.' That would truly be an amazing thing, mostly because The Dukes of Hazzard's Denver Pyle has been dead for 15 years."

Denver wins, 38-34.

Houston @ San Francisco (-7)

A second-half collapse last week left the Texans with a 23-20 overtime home loss to the Seahawks. Matt Schaub's ill-advised pass late in the fourth quarter was intercepted and returned for the game-tying score by Richard Sherman.

"There was a fan burning Schaub's No. 8 jersey after the game," Gary Kubiak said. "I kept trying to extinguish it, but, much like Schaub himself, it kept 'starting.'

The 49ers seem to be back on track after manhandling the Rams 35-11 in St. Louis last Thursday.

"Schaub's confidence is shaken," Patrick Willis said. "Maybe instead of lighting fire to him, Texans' fans should light a fire under him."

San Francisco wins, 23-19.

NY Jets @ Atlanta (-9)

The Falcons are 1-3 after last week's 30-23 loss to the Patriots. A win on Monday night is imperative, as the alternative is a 1-4 hole that last year's NFC South champs may find inescapable.

"I don't see us falling into a 1-4 hole," Mike Smith said. "You dig?

"We know what to expect from Geno Smith. The last time there was a black, mobile quarterback in Atlanta, dogs were nervous, and the Falcons had a running game."

The Jets were hammered 38-13 last week in Tennessee, done in by 4 Geno Smith turnovers. The Jets are 2-2, tied for last in the AFC East.

"I'm stunned," Rex Ryan said, "that we were actually 2-1."

The Jets lean on their running game, because it serves two important purposes: it keeps the ball out of Matt Ryan's hands, and it keeps the ball out of Smith's hands. The Jets stay in it until the end, but the Falcons use their passing game to pull out a 24-19 win.

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 7:43 PM | Comments (0)

October 2, 2013

What a Difference a Day Makes

The Boston Red Sox won 28 more games in 2013 than they did in 2012, the best improvement in baseball. Their 97 wins were tied for tops in the Majors, and that will ensure them home field advantage for as long as they play this autumn. It also gets them four full days of rest, and for a team and fan base who complain as much as they do about the demands of the MLB schedule, you'd think that would be welcomed news. Apparently not. It seems they only wanted three.

With last year's introduction of a second wild card team in each league, MLB also restored some rewards to divisional winners. Finishing first is the only way to avert Bud Selig's newest revenue-generating monster, the winner-take-all play-in, where the Cincinnati Reds just saw their 162-game body of work wiped out over the course of nine innings last night.

The St. Louis Cardinals will now host the Pittsburgh Pirates to open the NLDS on Thursday, while Boston doesn't start with their wild card opponent until Friday. They won't even know who it is until tonight, leaving a bastion of ingrates within Beantown calling the long layoff that accompanies the top American League seed an unfair burden. As it happens, they have some history on their side.

Take last year. The Detroit Tigers went into the 2012 World Series with five days' rest by virtue of having swept the New York Yankees. On the other hand, their National League opponent, the San Francisco Giants, had only one day off. The Tigers must have spent all their time on the golf course. After hitting .271 and slugging .399 through a combined 7-2 ALDS and ALCS schedule, they fell off to .159 and .246, respectively, and were swept by the Giants.

Colorado may own the longest and most devastating postseason layover in the history of the game. They entered the 2007 World Series on a 21-1 run, largely on the strength of a pitching staff that posted a composite 2.08 ERA through the NLDS and NLCS, but those arms rusted considerably after nine days off. The Rockies were swept by the Red Sox, who, playing on only two days' rest, put up 29 runs — all earned &mdash in four games.

And in 2006, the Tigers hit .297 on a 7-1 ride to the World Series, but after a six-day break, they fell below the Mendoza line at .199 and were dispensed in five games by a Cardinals team that had only one day to prepare for them.

Baseball is not physically grueling like other major sports, including Major League Soccer. Unlike football or basketball, you can play it every day. Even twice a day. It is more akin to a game of skill that requires daily repetition to maintain a sharp edge.

In baseball, first-round byes and long rests are a hindrance. And while the other ALDS matchup between the Tigers and Oakland A's does not open until Friday either, both teams will be coming off identical four-day rests. The Red Sox, on the other hand, will be sitting in idle trying to keep its engine revved with intra-squad games while its yet-to-be-determined opponent is playing meaningful games. What's more, if Tampa Bay survives, they'll ll come into Boston on a crest that has required them to win on both Saturday and Sunday to force a wild card tie, then in Texas on Monday night, and again in Cleveland tonight. Talk about battle-tested.

Monday's tie-breaker was not the fly in Boston's pennant ointment since it was played on a planned travel day. The deliberate pace of this year's schedule owes more to baseball greed. Selig & Company realized long ago the considerable fortune that could be reaped by slicing up baseball into more divisions and expanding its October guest list. They weren't about to leave a nickel on the table by scheduling concurrent postseason games carried on competing networks who would discount their broadcasting rights bids to reflect a shared market. Last year, both wild card games were played on the same day. This year, they've been spread over two.

Other than the MLB coffers, the biggest winner of this subtle addition of an extra day may well be tonight's winner. Cleveland can start ace Ubaldo Jiminez (13-9, 3.30 ERA) in both ALDS Games 1 and 5 on normal rest, while Tampa Bay will have their southpaw duo of Matt Moore (17-4, 3,29) and reigning Cy Young Award winner David Price (10-8, 3.33) lined up for Games 1 and 2, with either ready for Game 5 duty. This is particularly advantageous against the Red Sox, given Boston's perennial problems against lefties.

If all this hyperbole about an extra day on the schedule tells us anything, it's that baseball is by far the most hyper-analyzed of any major sport. Look, it's the postseason. By virtue of its selective nature, there are only supposed to be good teams with good players still remaining. If the Red Sox and their fans don't want to take on the best, they've been there and done that enough in the last four seasons. Time to try something new.

If we're going to lobby for any change, it should be for a cessation of the nit-picking over trivialities and inconveniences, especially from teams and fans that have never been here before ... or, in any event, in a very long time.

Posted by Bob Ekstrom at 1:38 PM | Comments (0)

NASCAR Top 10 Power Rankings: Week 29

Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Matt Kenseth — Kenseth finished 7th at Dover, failing in his quest to become the first driver to win the first three Chase For the Cup races. Kenseth leads Jimmie Johnson by eight points in the standings.

"The No. 20 Toyota sported the 'Let's Do This' logo at Dover," Kenseth said. "That's opposed to Clint Bowyer's No. 15, which read 'I Did This.'"

2. Jimmie Johnson — Johnson captured a big win at Dover, taking the AAA 400 as Joe Gibbs Racing rivals Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch finished 7th and 5th, respectively. Johnson trails Kenseth by eight in the Sprint Cup points standings.

"Kenseth won't have this championship handed to him on a silver platter," Johnson said. "Why? Because that platter is full, because I just served notice on it."

3. Kyle Busch — Busch led 30 laps and finished fifth at Dover, posting his 14th top-five of the year. He is third in the point standings, 12 behind Matt Kenseth.

"I'm tired of playing second fiddle to Kenseth," Busch said. "I'm used to being called a 'tool,' not an 'instrument.'

4. Jeff Gordon — Gordon finished fourth at Dover as Hendrick Motorsports took three of the top four spots, with Jimmie Johnson winning. Gordon is fifth in the points standings, 39 out of first.

"I'd say I'm doing pretty good," Gordon said, "considering I was a wild-wild card addition to the Chase.

"My odds are slim and my chances are fat. It appears that for my fifth Sprint Cup championship, the 'wait' is on."

5. Kevin Harvick — Harvick finished sixth in the AAA 400 at Dover, recording his 15th top 10 of the year. He is fourth in the Sprint Cup points standings, 39 out of first.

"Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, and Kyle Busch are slugging it out at the top," Harvick said, "while I'm merely an afterthought. I, along with others, am what you call a 'sleeper.' That's because if I win the Cup, someone will have to wake me up, because I was obviously dreaming."

6. Greg Biffle — Biffle took ninth at Dover, the top finisher among Roush Fenway Racing drivers. He is sixth in the point standings, 41 out of first.

"I heard Clint Bowyer did yoga before Sunday's race," Biffle said. "Ironically, I find myself in a similar position, because it's a 'stretch' to believe either one of us has a chance to win the Cup."

7. Clint Bowyer — Bowyer finished 10th in the AAA 400 after starting 23rd and leading one lap. He is eighth in the points standings, 51 out of first.

"Luckily," Bowyer said, "5-Hour Energy will remain as the primary sponsor of the No. 15 car. I guess I talked them in to staying. You could say I put a positive 'spin' on the situation."

8. Kurt Busch — Busch finished 21st in the AAA 400, three laps off the pace. He is now ninth in the points standings, 55 out of first.

"We had four new pit crew members at Dover," Busch said. "You could say Furniture Row Racing 'benched' some guys. It didn't seem to make much of a difference, though, because our chances to win the Cup have been put to bed."

9. Ryan Newman — Newman finished eighth at Dover and is now seventh in the points standings, 48 behind Matt Kenseth.

"Quicken Loans is following me to Richard Childress Racing," Newman said. "Unlike Stewart-Haas Racing, they didn't leave me hanging."

10. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. — Earnhardt started on the pole and finished second to Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson at Dover. He is 10th in the points standings, behind Matt Kenseth.

"I won the pole with a record lap at Dover," Earnhardt said. "It was a historic moment for Junior Nation, because they had good reason to do a pole dance and a lap dance.

"I thought my four tires would catch Johnson's two. Four is usually better than two. Likewise, five is always better than zero."

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 10:05 AM | Comments (0)

October 1, 2013

NFL Week 4 Report

Last week, I wrote, "The NFL obviously does not take concussions seriously ... Terrelle Pryor pretty obviously gets knocked unconscious, and then plays two more downs before anyone checks to see if he has a concussion." NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell released a statement this week indicating that the incident was handled properly. It was apparent to anyone who saw the play that Pryor had gotten KO-ed, but the NFL has no problem with him staying in the game. If Commissioner Goodell is happy with the way Pryor's concussion was handled, he's going to see a lot more lawsuits from players with CTE.

People think boxing and mixed martial arts are brutal, but if the same thing happened to Pryor in a UFC fight, the match would be stopped immediately and the athlete would land on a 45-day no-contact list. The NFL is nowhere near that kind of safety standard, but Roger Goodell thinks they're doing great. Sure, Commish. Keep up the good work.

Thank You, Schedule-Makers

Four teams have a bye in Week 5. Those four teams have a combined record of 2-14 (Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Washington).

Thursday Night Game

San Francisco 49ers 35, St. Louis Rams 11

* Game summary, from announcers Brad Nessler and Mike Mayock, late in the third quarter...

MAYOCK: "San Francisco's averaging over 6 yards a rush."

NESSLER: "And the Rams haven't had a rush of 6 yards tonight."

The 49ers outrushed the Rams 219-18. Frank Gore had three rushes of at least 18 yards. St. Louis averaged less than one yard per attempt (19 att, 18 yds) and had no rushing first downs.

* Nessler and Mayock are by far the best announcers covering the NFL. Ness is the best play-by-play man, and Mayock is just light years ahead of the other analysts. But NFL Network doesn't provide a high-quality broadcast. The camera work is noticeably below the level you get from NBC and ESPN, there aren't enough instant replays, the sideline reporting is useless fluff, and they don't show the starting lineups. Even if they want to keep their idiotic "Difference Makers" feature, that doesn't preclude taking 20 seconds of their 3½-hour broadcast to show the lineups.

* The last 2:00 of the first half took 22 minutes.

* "I can't figure out the psychology behind this Rams offense," said Deion Sanders after the game, "Because it's atrocious." Sanders several times pointed the finger at offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, and I have to agree with him. The Rams have two explosive deep threats at wide receiver (Chris Givens and Tavon Austin), but all their throws are underneath. Hall of Fame quarterback Y.A. Tittle said of speedy wide receiver Del Shofner, "I hated to see Shofner reduced to catching short patterns. It's like making Mickey Mantle a pinch hitter, or asking him to bunt." Givens and Austin, at this point in their careers, aren't half the player Shofner was, but the Rams still shouldn't be asking them to bunt. Schottenheimer, the former OC for the Jets, is making Sam Bradford look a lot like Mark Sanchez.

* It's easy to see why a winning culture seems to follow Anquan Boldin. You can rhapsodize all you want about Jay Cutler throwing his shoulder into a defender, but Boldin's touchdown Thursday night was a much better example of giving exceptional effort on a critical play. I don't think there are 10 receivers in the league who I'd take ahead of him.

* In the last minute of the first half, the 49ers kicked off, leading 14-3. Rookie returner Benny Cunningham fielded the kick halfway into the end zone and ran it back to the 14-yard line. Fortunately, a penalty forced a re-kick. Once again, Cunningham took it five yards deep and ran it out. He reached the 19-yard line. His two returns cost the Rams :08 and lost a yard compared to if he had just downed it.

* If I was an NFL coach, I would fine my returners every time they brought a kick more than two yards out of the end zone and we started inside the 20-yard line. The first one would cost $1,000, and I'd double it every time they did it again. This is the most common, easily preventable mistake in the league today. There's not a single game in which you don't see some selfish halfwit return a kick he should clearly down. I would also fine the upback for not insisting the returner down it.

* Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Staley was injured at the end of the game, but the injury is less serious than his screams led people to believe.

Sunday's Games

Seattle Seahawks 23, Houston Texans 20 (overtime)

* Houston scored 20 points in the second quarter, none in the other four (including two possessions in overtime).

* I hate to repeat myself every week, but look at the final stats. Yardage: Houston 476, Seattle 270. First downs: Houston 29, Seattle 15. The Texans cut down on turnovers and improve their red zone play, they're one of the top five teams in the league.

* Matt Schaub threw a pick-six for the third week in a row. Houston's had two close losses, and those errant throws were critical. This week's was particularly painful, an awful decision and an equally bad throw. But I'd like the football world to ease up on Schaub a little bit.

In The Baseball Hall of Shame 4, Bruce Nash and Allan Zullo relate the story of Rudy York's 1943 season. York was not popular with his Detroit Tigers teammates, but he was a good hitter. He got off to a bad start in '43, though, and the fans began to boo him. His play only went downhill, and the fans booed even louder. It was a vicious cycle. York became tentative and performed terribly, while the fans booed him every time he came to the plate, every time he handled the ball in the field, every time his name was announced.

According to Nash and Zullo, "At the end of July, the Detroit sportswriters came to his rescue. They wrote columns condemning the public persecution of Rudy York and asked for understanding ... the booing of Rudy York quieted down. Within a few days it had died completely. Jeers gave way to cheers. Buoyed by the new support of the fans, York began swinging with his old carefree abandon." In August, York hit .330, with 17 home runs and 42 RBI, compared to 13 HR and 40 RBI in the previous four months combined.

I understand why disappointed fans boo their home players. But it seldom helps the situation, and sometimes it just adds to the pressure and makes things worse. Schaub has four straight seasons with a passer rating over 90, and he passed for over 4,000 yards in three of the four. He's never had an interception problem before and he led clutch fourth-quarter comebacks in Weeks 1 and 2. Some time this offseason, a consensus developed in the media that Schaub wasn't clutch enough, and his play to this point has done nothing to quell the argument. But for heaven's sake, go a little easy on the guy. He's a good player.

Minnesota Vikings 34, Pittsburgh Steelers 27

* Adrian Peterson's stated goal this season is 2,500 rushing yards. He's currently on pace for 1,684. He'll have to average 173.3 per game to meet his goal. He's amazing, the best RB in the league, but this goal is just not reachable in a 16-game season. It's like saying you want to swim to Jupiter.

* Jared Allen had a really big game, too: 2.5 sacks and a pass deflection.

* The Steelers are 0-4 for the first time since 1968. It's easy to blame offensive coordinator Todd Haley, but he's not the only problem. When you give up 34 to the Vikings and make Matt Cassel (123.4 passer rating) look like Aaron Rodgers, you've got to point the finger at defense. And the critical play on offense, Ben Roethlisberger's sack-fumble, was classic Ben. He's been doing that since long before Haley arrived.

Cleveland Browns 17, Cincinnati Bengals 6

* Andy Behrens: "If the Browns are trying to tank, they're terrible at it." Brian Hoyer is 2-0 as starting quarterback, but the real credit goes to the Cleveland defense, which forced 2 turnovers and made two stops on fourth down.

Buffalo Bills 23, Baltimore Ravens 20

* Both C.J. Spiller (ankle) and Fred Jackson (knee) left this game with injuries, which makes the rushing stats even more stunning. In the first half, the Bills had 25 attempts for 116 yards (4.6 avg), with 5 first downs and a TD. The Ravens had 7 attempts for 15 yards (2.1 avg), no first downs or scores.

By game's end, Buffalo finished with 55 attempts for 203 yards, with 10 first downs and a TD. The Ravens had 9 attempts for 24 yards, no first downs or TDs.

* The Bills play again on Thursday, so there's not much time for Spiller and Jackson to get healthy, but early indications are that both will play, with Jackson a little more likely than Spiller.

Detroit Lions 40, Chicago Bears 32

* Remember what we all expected from Reggie Bush when he was drafted out of USC? That's what he looks like this season. Credit offensive coordinator Scott Linehan for getting the most out of Bush.

* Bettors, I believe in the trap game. I mentioned last week that it seemed strange for Detroit to be favored over 3-0 Chicago. The Lions covered the spread and won even more easily than the final score shows. This is why it's so hard to win in Vegas: when you see a really appealing line, sometimes it's because the bookmakers are begging you to bet that way. The point spread that looks like a lock is frequently a trap.

Kansas City Chiefs 31, New York Giants 7

* Victor Cruz caught 10 passes for 164 yards and a touchdown. All other Giants receivers combined caught 8 for 53 yards.

* The Giants rank 28th in first downs (17.5/gm), dead last in third down conversions (11) and third down percentage (23%). Their offensive line is a mess, and they miss Ahmad Bradshaw.

* Half of Kansas City's defense is going to make the Pro Bowl.

Arizona Cardinals 13, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10

* Dan Marino made a good point about blaming Josh Freeman for Tampa's 0-3 start: "Two of their losses, when he left the field they were winning." Freeman has not played well this season, but he's put the team in a position to win and watched his defense blow leads.

* Mike Glennon is not ready. Arizona loaded the box to stuff Doug Martin (27 att, 45 yds). Glennon passed 43 times for 193 yards — under 4.5 per attempt — and threw 2 interceptions, with a 55.7 passer rating.

* It sounds like the Freeman situation is pretty toxic, and the Bucs have to cut or trade him sooner rather than later. But letting things reach this stage was a serious mistake. The same thing happened in Jacksonville in 2011. David Garrard was not voted a team captain, and the Jags cut him. They've been terrible ever since, with QB play that simply is not NFL-caliber. It's too early to give up on Glennon, but it's tough to ignore the parallels. The Bucs should start looking at guys like Kerry Collins, Matt Leinart, anyone who can come in and go 3-13 while they get Glennon ready for next year. They can't handle this the same way Jacksonville did.

Indianapolis Colts 37, Jacksonville Jaguars 3

* The Jaguars have lost 28-2, 19-9, 45-17, and 37-3. That's a combined 129-31, an average score of 32-8. One of those losses came against the Raiders, who are probably the next-worst team in the NFL. I genuinely wonder if Jacksonville would beat the Calgary Stampeders right now.

* In the second and third quarters, Jacksonville had 5 straight three-and-outs.

* Season-stats ... the Jaguars have been out-rushed 657-196, 115 yards per game. Their quarterbacks have combined for 1 TD and 7 INTs. If I were head coach Gus Bradley, I'd reach out to Byron Leftwich. And David Garrard. And Mark Brunell.

* The Jags are double-digit underdogs against the Rams in Week 5. The Rams have lost their last two games by 24 points each.

Tennessee Titans 38, New York Jets 13

* With 6 passing TDs, no interceptions, and a 99.0 rating, Jake Locker has been among the surprises of the new season. But he left Sunday's game with a hip injury and is expected to miss at least a month. Look for Ryan Fitzpatrick to play in Locker's stead.

Denver Broncos 52, Philadelphia Eagles 20

* It's tough not to compare the 2013 Broncos to the 2007 Patriots. I won't start with the "on pace for" bits this early in the season, but Denver has scored 49, 41, 37, and 52. All four wins were by at least 16 points.

* Scary thoughts ... Week 6, Jaguars at Broncos, and Week 8, Washington's horrid defense comes to Denver. Those games could be painful to watch if you don't like the Broncos or you're playing against Peyton Manning in fantasy.

* Manning has 16 touchdown passes and 39 incompletions, one TD per 2.4 incompletions. The single-season record for TD-to-incompletion ratio is 1:3.3, set in 2004 by ... Peyton Manning (49 TD, 161 incomplete).

* When Rodney Harrison called Manning the greatest QB he's ever faced, people tweeted that Manning wasn't clutch enough. That is absurd. The man who runs the best two-minute drill in the history of the sport isn't clutch? In NFL history, there are only two 17-point comebacks in the last 5:00 of a game. Both were led by Manning. He also led the biggest comeback ever by a road team, the biggest ever on Monday Night Football, the biggest in Conference Championship Game history, and five straight fourth-quarter comebacks in 2009.

Playoffs? Start with that 18-point comeback against the Patriots in the 2006 AFC Championship Game, a Super Bowl MVP Award against one of the best defenses in recent memory (the 2006 Chicago Bears), and a perfect passer rating in a wild card game. But you've also got his performance against the 13-3 Chiefs in 2003 (304 yds, 3 TD, 138.8 rating), his massacre of Denver the next year (458 yds, 4 TD, 1 INT, 145.7 rating), his domination of the sensational 2009 Jets defense (377 yds, 3 TD, 123.6 rating), and arguably a couple others.

As Harrison pointed out, Manning hasn't always had teammates who put him in a position to win, especially his defense. Has he underperformed in the playoffs a few times? Of course. He goes to the playoffs every year and he's faced some really tough defenses. He forced throws sometimes, he got flustered by the pass rush, he was rusty because he hadn't played in three weeks. Happens to everyone. Tom Brady tossed 2 INTs and got a 62.3 passer rating in the loss to Baltimore last year. He was even worse when they met in '09. John Elway was on the wrong side of two of the biggest blowouts in Super Bowl history. Brett Favre threw 6 interceptions in a playoff game in the 2001 season. Joe Montana got benched in '87.

If you're going to dismiss the most influential quarterback of the Modern Era, a player who has won four MVPs, set important single-season and career records, turns every receiver he plays with into a superstar, takes the fewest sacks in history, runs the best two-minute drill, and gets his team to the playoffs every year, if you're going to throw all that out the window because of a handful of games, gosh, I don't know what to tell you. You do realize it was Rahim Moore who got burned on that Hail Mary in the playoff loss last year, and not Manning?

San Diego Chargers 30, Dallas Cowboys 21

* Speaking of misplaced blame directed at quarterbacks — don't worry, we will all find a way to hold Tony Romo responsible for Terrance Williams' fumble at the 1-yard line.

* Weird coincidence with the Texas teams this week: Dallas, like Houston, scored all its points in the second quarter.

Washington 24, Oakland 14

* The official play-by-play lists 11 players injured during the game, but that doesn't even include Oakland running backs Darren McFadden and Marcel Reece, both of whom left in the first quarter, or Washington's Alfred Morris, who missed the final 20:00 with a rib contusion. Washington has a bye in Week 5, and Morris isn't expected to miss any games. McFadden's hamstring will likely keep him on the bench for a week or two, but at the moment he's expected back no later than Week 8, after Oakland's bye. At which point he will immediately re-injure himself.

New England Patriots 30, Atlanta Falcons 23

* Vince Wilfork tore his Achilles and will probably miss the rest of the year. Huge loss for the Patriots.

* NBC reported that New England is playing seven undrafted rookies. This team just plugs people in and keeps winning.

* Tony Gonzalez was a monster throughout this game. Cris Collinsworth said early on that Gonzalez was the best he'd ever seen at making catches away from his body, and I tend to agree with him. Fantasy football analyst Scott Pianowski pin-pointed Gonzalez's strength: he doesn't need to be open to be productive. Late in the game, the Patriots used two men to jam Gonzalez at the line, like the gunner on a punt return. Kudos to NBC for highlighting that.

Monday Night Football

New Orleans Saints 38, Miami Dolphins 17

* Steve Young made an interesting point after the game: defenses spent the off-season concentrating on how to stop the read-option and defend mobile QBs like Cam Newton and Colin Kaepernick. That could open things up even more for traditional pocket passers like Peyton Manning and Drew Brees.

* This game was close for 29 minutes, until a Ryan Tannehill interception set up a Saints touchdown that made it 21-10. Tannehill had little chemistry with his receivers. He made bad decisions, his throws were late, and he held the ball way too long. Those are mistakes young players make, and he should improve over time, but it's hard to take the Dolphins seriously as a contender until those issues get resolved.

* The Saints present matchup problems for any defense, but Miami just had no plan for Darren Sproles, and late in the game, there were frequent coverage breakdowns. Really an ugly showing for a team hoping to make an impression on a national audience.

NFL Week 4 Power Rankings

Top 10

1. Denver Broncos
2. Seattle Seahawks
3. New Orleans Saints
4. Green Bay Packers
5. New England Patriots
6. San Francisco 49ers
7. Kansas City Chiefs
8. Cincinnati Bengals
9. Miami Dolphins
10. Atlanta Falcons

After the top three, all of these teams have obvious problems and weaknesses. The big games in Week 5 should go a long way towards helping us begin to sort things out.

Bottom Three

30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
31. Oakland Raiders
32. Jacksonville Jaguars

Tampa Bay represents a trio of terrible teams including the Steelers and Giants. Any of them could be in the bottom three.

Week 5

Game of the Week

Seahawks at Colts
1:00 pm Eastern, FOX

Another tough road test for Seattle, and a chance for the Colts to show they're for real. Indianapolis shut down the 49ers, and there are some similarities between San Francisco's offense and Seattle's, most notably their mobile QBs. Look for both teams to lean heavily on their run games and for most of the big plays to come on defense.

This is the first of four tough games in a row for the Colts. They get undefeated teams at home (Seahawks, Broncos) and dangerous 2-2 teams on the road (Chargers, Texans). If they win two of those four games, they'll be in good position for a playoff run. If they go 1-3 but the win is against Houston, they'll still be in good position for a playoff run.

Upset of the Week

I'm terrified of picking road teams in Thursday night games, but I'll say Bills over Browns. Cleveland is 2-0 with Brian Hoyer, but that could come crashing down at any point, and Buffalo has played everyone tough this year. The injury to C.J. Spiller doesn't seem like a major concern at this point, because Fred Jackson has outplayed him anyway. Hoyer gets sacked 4 times and intercepted twice, and Buffalo does just enough to win a low-scoring, ugly game.

Click here for the NFL Week 3 Report.

Posted by Brad Oremland at 2:13 PM | Comments (2)