And the bet is in

Two homers each rooting for their team. Who wins? No one. Everybody loses. But my friend Banana Grabber and I have a bet going about the upcoming college basketball season, because we all know that college basketball is infinitely more fun than pro.

Here's the deal: BG is an MSU fan, and I'm an OSU fan. The Big 10 media picked the Buckeyes to finish third in the conference behind Michigan State and Indiana. In addition to that, Ohio State is currently unranked, and I've made my viewpoints clear on that.

Big Ten media obviously sees something that I don't, because they're not the only one. Gary Parish of Sportsline takes the exact same order of teams to finish for the conference title. In light of this I made a bet with BG that Ohio State will finish no lower than second in the regular season. I think this team is vastly underrated, and they'll get to play the whoa-is-me card for a while.

If I win: I have complete bragging rights over the self endorsed College Basketball expert (he's really an ass hat). But more importantly, I get a night of drinking on the house. And by "house" I mean he's paying the tab.

If he wins: Nothing happens. Kidding. He gets to smile like a kindergartener eating ice cream while drinking himself into a liquor induced coma paid for by yours truly.

I told him I'd only drink beer, but he's a selfish ass who'll head straight for the hard stuff. I don't have to worry about that, because I'll win.

Boo! Basketball is here

That really snuck up on us. Who new the Association was going to start their boring season. To be fair, the season doesn't really start until after the New Year, and doesn't ramp up until March or so. Maybe we should wait until then to do a preview; what the hell.

I guess this could be considered your very late NBA preview. Eastern Conference first, because it's the lesser conference. Yeah, it sucks, but it's the truth.

Atlantic Division
Tough not to pick the newly redesigned Boston Celtics and the do-or-die trades of Danny Ainge. He pulled off a trade that was indicative of management giving him very limited time to check the brainwaves of players, and build through the draft. That being said, he got some great proven talent in uniting Garnett, Pierce, and Allen. They could become only the 20th team to have three people average 20 points a game for a season; ironically the previous 19 have not won the championship. This division just about stinks on ice, so if you're keeping your head above water you've got a division crown.

Central Division
Nothing new here, the team that's won it the previous years is going to keep on winning the division: Detroit Pistons. They've still got the talent, even though it's a tad older, and a coach that's built for the regular season. He knows how to get the most from his players for exactly 82 games, and that takes a special kind of person. This division, however, is bound to be more competitive, boasting two much improved teams along with two teams that were on the edge last season, including Eastern Conference Champions Cleveland Cavaliers. Chicago is scary because they're youngsters are growing up, while Detroit's oldsters are growing old.

Southeast Division
Do they even play basketball in this part of the NBA? Washington will get everyone back healthy, and with Miami heading in the opposite direction (come on, they got Ricky Davis!) they should hold off the heat for their first division lead in what seems like forever. Arenas is one of the most intriguing personalities on and off the court, and he knows how to make the game fun. Also, Count Dracula can really coach. Miami, well, after winning the championship they've been heading in the opposite direction; it's pretty clear Shaq doesn't care anymore, and he's been sulking and eating White Castle all summer.

Well, that was easy, not that it really matters. Whomever comes out of the East will only get bludgeoned to death (death by Snu Snu) by the clearly superior Western conference. On to the eventual champions!

Northwest Division
How about the Denver Nuggets? They're always in the playoffs it seems like so why not win the division. George Karl is a coach that gets the most out of his players because they hate him, but whatever works. But I think the key here has to be the meshing of Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony. It didn't work right off the bat last year because they are both scorers and run somewhat different systems. Now that they've had some time to work together, they are going to be a lethal combo. Utah is right there, and they are going to be in a dog fight with Denver. What happens to AK-47?

Pacific Division
Wow, what a meat grinder, eh? Golden State is keeping all the talent that lead them to the best record second half of the season, and a win over the Mavericks. Phoenix is, well, Phoenix. Both Los Angeles teams are nothing to spit at, and if they stay healthy are going to be season ruiners. But, it's hard to go against a team with as many weapons as the Suns. They can just run you right out of a building in a matter of minutes and squash your little hopes of a W that night. The only good thing about that, is that they do it while making it look really fun! So, while you're getting embarrassed, you can look at the other bench and see them joking around. I love this game.

Southwest Division
Holy crap, two teams that back-to-back made it to the championship, and what's to say it won't happen again. The fact that either/both can win 60 games is not only a distinct possibility, but an imminent reality. For reasons unknown, I like Dallas here to recover from crushing defeats to end their seasons for the second year in a row. They've got so much talent it should be illegal. Wait, it is - there's this whole luxury tax thing, but that's really not the point. The point is that they're really good, and I'm picking over last year's NBA champions. It's not like I don't respect them, but, they're really boring and dirty. Enough said.

Wide World of Blog: Oct 30th Issue

So, once I again I missed a couple of days, but that's how it works around here. And this might as well be called the WWoB interview edition.

• One More Dying Quail interviews Erin Andrews. Yes, the Erin Andrews. It's amazing that he even got that interview, going back and forth with the ESPN PR Department. But, it's an interseting read. Tomboy = attractive? [One More Dying Quail]
• TBL, as always comes with the big non-female names. Although, I bet they were jealous when Erin talked to someone else. Either way, they've got who they think should be the replacement for Reilly SI, John Feinstein. [The Big Lead]
• Cheerleader gets trampled by a pack of football players? Funny. The fact that it has nothing sexual to do with it? Even funnier. [Awful Announcing]
• What's makes for a better story than a drunk wife of a college football coach verbally attacking a writer in a pressbox? Absolutely nothing. But the irony of her yelling for printing about her daughters DUI tells it all. [The Big Lead]
• Have to love this mentality: The other team won, but we're still better. That's what the loser always says! [AOL Fanhouse]

CFB Review: Top teams stay

College football review talks about the week that was in college football, about the good teams that won, and the good teams that lost. Look for it to wrap up the college football preview, and to gloat upon picking correct outcomes.

For the first time in what seems like a while, the top ranked teams in the polls kept their place, or at least the top seven did. Now, after three weeks, the curse of the second ranked team losing has been broken - even if it was due to some improbable work on the part of Boston College. Here's something to think about, if the top teams win out, it would be one of the most unexpected, and likely least watched championship games in recent history. It's like a mirror of the baseball playoffs!

There are so many games to go in depth into, like UConn/USF, Oregon/USC, or ASU/Cal. But, to be fair, I couldn't watch any of those games because of coverage. So, how about we just look at what turned out to be a a really ugly game between Georgia and Florida. I watched every minute of that game, and it was one of the ugliest games I've ever seen in my life. I'm not sure where the "high quality of play" or "intensity" went, but it was obviously missing in that game. Maybe I was just too much in shock after Georgia celebrated the first touchdown of the game by running onto the field as a team. Maybe it was the equivalently juvenile reaction of Urban Meyer having his team celebrate on the sidelines in reaction to that, but the combination of the two was both bush league and immature, it clearly made the game less important than how the teams felt about it. As much as Urban Meyer wants to refute the fact, it was obvious on the field on Saturday, without Tebow at 100% Florida just can't run its offense. His mobility and strength to run and take punishment is depleted when he has to take care of an injury. With that in mind, what was once a team with a stout defense and an exciting offense turned into a mediocre defense (42 points to Georgia) and a herky-jerky middle school type offense. Sure, when you're piling up the wins, everything is great, but when things start going a little down hill, the adversity can really get to you. Oh, and the curse of the ESPN Interview strikes again. This time, Tim Tebow was at the brunt of some Kenny Chesney love fest on College Gameday, only to be leveled during the game. Watching this entire game I came out with the same opinion that I came in, the drum I've been beating for some time now: SEC is just mediocre.

Best of the Rest.

Virginia Tech really let one get away against Boston College. After keeping the Eagles scoreless for nearly 58 minutes, they prevent-defensed themselves into allowing Matt Ryan to throw two touchdowns in a matter of two minutes. Anti Beamer ball.

Kentucky let their SEC brethren down by getting Croomed. Offensive explosion? Maybe for MSU, that put up 31 points against Kentucky. Heisman? I don't think so. 14 points at home against MSU in a loss is not the work of a candidate.

Oregon sent USC back into rebuilding with a solid win. From what there was to gather from the highlights, Oregon did what it's been doing all year. Win with a dynamic offense and a defense more solid than they're given credit for.

Nebraska let Texas off the mat when they had them dead to rights. Huskers need to turn in their blackshirts, and never refer to themselves by that name, until they keep someone from kicking their faces in. Nearly 300 yards rushing for Jamaal Charles, almost entirely in the 4th.

Kansas is for real. Texas A&M isn't what they used to be, but they're still a pretty solid team on offense and defense. Fat man Mangino has got something cooking in Kansas, maybe they won't be so quick to dismiss this team when basketball rolls around.

Another reason SEC is just mediocre: Tennessee beat South Carolina in overtime, after leading 21-0. Gamecocks responded by taking the lead late in the 4th on a field goal, only to leave too much time on the clock. Brash Vols defense and offense won the game for them. I just laughed.

Ohio State keeps on winning. A balanced defensive and offensive attack took control in Happy Valley to keep 100,000+ sitting on their hands. Believe it or not, this team is good. But there's no doubt they revel in this no-respect role.

Another real team from the Pac-10? Arizona State handed Cal its third loss in a row and picking off Longshore twice in a matter of minutes. This is the same team that won at Oregon, well maybe they're not the same team.

CFB Scores week 9 [Yahoo! Sports]
Losing to Croom can get you fired [AOL Fanhouse]

Pac-10 confused about rushing the field

The Pacific 10 conference has some really great teams in it, and the quality of play is extremely high, arguably the highest in the nation. They now have two teams in the top 10 that were unranked at the beginning of the season. That my friend, is depth and quality.

Speaking of which, they really have some problems figuring out this rushing the field thing. Now, as far as I can remember, rushing the field happens when a huge underdog pulls of an enormous upset, maybe over a first ranked team. Or possibly, rush the field when you just won a championship of some sort in a highly contested game.

But here's when you don't rush the field. You don't do it when you beat a team you're supposed to beat during the regular season. And as far as I can tell, both Oregon and Arizona State beat teams that they were both ranked higher than, and favored over.

I guess neither Oregon or Arizona State are used to this whole winning thing, but when you're beating teams you're supposed you celebrate in the stands, certainly not on the field. They also beat two teams that were picked to be the favorites in the Pac-10 this year. So congratulations to them. Here's to their meeting next week, and the eventual field rush. Cheers.

CFB Scores [SI.com]
Photo: Orange and Blue Hue

NFL: Gridiron Preview Week 8

Gridiron Preview is a weekly feature that will run all 17 weeks of the glorious NFL schedule, and then a sexy drown time for the playoffs. Don't look for betting advice here, even though we're almost always right.

What happened to Eric Mangini? Last year, he's the most coveted new brainchild of the NFL coaching circles, and this year he can't get out of his way to win a game. In fact, he did a complete 180 from last year. In 2006 he took a team that didn't have enough talent and took them to the playoffs; this year he took a team that did have enough talent and is keeping them out of the playoffs. This isn't entirely his fault, seeing as how he has Chad Pennington to work with, but it is his fault that he keeps on tarting him. I had to watch the Jets/Bengals game, so I saw exactly what was wrong with NYJ: they suck. Their defense really stinks, and Chad Pennington won't throw over 20 yards. Bench him, and put someone that puts some fear down field behind center.

Quite sadly, the game of the week and probably for next week involves Indianapolis. The Colts visit the Panthers, where Peyton Manning is looking to become the first quarterback to beat every other team. Panthers don't really have a lot to offer, seeing as how they have either Vinny Testaverde or David Carr going against Peyton Manning at the quarterback position. And while last week it didn't turn out to be completely disastrous, they're living on the edge giving the ball to either an 85 year old man or a huge bust, or both. John Fox mentioned this week that he might platoon quarterbacks. The scary part for this whole thing still ends up being Indianapolis playing outside. They won last week (convincingly) but historically that's just not their favorite place to be, because it really destroys their timing. What's it all add up to? See below.


Our Picks: We will pick 10 games against the spread for each week. One of these 10 has to be a Sunday night game, and the other has to be a Monday night game, that way we won't wimp out. The winner gets bragging rights. I had an off week, that Monday night killed me.

Records: Total (Last week)
Hermano: 30-24-5 (5-4-1)
DSC: 26-29-4 (6-4-0)

Packers at Broncos (-3).
Hermano - Broncos won a game last week that they shouldn't have won, so following that pattern, they are going to lose a game they shouldn't lose. Packers can't run, but Broncos can't do anything. Packers +3.
DSC - As they say, when in doubt take the points. Plus I'm not sure if you're aware, but Green Bay has this QB who's supposed to be pretty good. Packers +3.

Redskins at Patriots (-17).
Hermano - Just following the rules here. Always pick New England, no matter what the line is. Also, they're playing at home, where they haven't lost ever, it seems like. Washington's having a nice season. Not nice enough. Patriots -17.
DSC - Ok listen, I believe in the FU tour as much as the next guy, but how can I not take 17 points with a physical Washington defense? Plus Washington will run the ball to kill the clock. I'm taking the points. (if it were NE -10 or even 13 I'd take the Pats but...) Redskins +17.

And now, some games we might not have in common.

Saints (-3) at 49ers.
Hermano - This is the second time they'll be on the West coast and one time too many. The flight out there isn't short and neither is the defense. San Francisco had an embarrassing loss last week, and they'll look to rebound. Alex Smith is back. 49ers +3.
DSC - Alex Smith comes back, so does my picking of a home dog. 49ers +3.

Bills at Jets (-3).
Hermano - I don't like the Jets to do anything good this year, and for the first time, Bills are looking not horrible. With Johnathan Wilma out, their defense will be even worse. Bills +3.

Raiders at Titans (-7).
Hermano - I like the Titans a lot, and with Vince Young coming back, they're a different team. But Vince Young just wins games, he doesn't care about the spread unless he's an underdog. Raiders defense also nothing to scoff at. Raiders +7.

Giants (-10) at Dolphins.
Hermano - Dolphins are bad. Real bad. Giants on the other hand, are just getting better each game. That defensive line, specifically on third downs is something to behold. Giants -10.
DSC - I don't care. Dolphins suck. Gmen -10.

Colts (-7) at Panthers.
Hermano - See above. Home underdog, and 7 points is just too much for the Colts. Panthers +7.
DSC - Huge home dog but Vinny is starting and the Colts want to fuck someone up before next week's big matchup. Colts -7.

Eagles (-1) at Vikings.
Hermano - They got beat by da Bears on a late touchdown pass. They got beat by Brian Griese, that's practically unacceptable. Purple Jesus runs all over them. Besides, home dog, come on. Vikings +1.
DSC - Philly needs this win after shitting the bed last week. They get it. Eagles -1.

Steelers (-4) at Bengals.
Hermano - How pissed are the Steelers that they overlooked Denver last Friday night? I think they're at least four points pissed. Also, welcome to having your knee destroyed, Palmer. Steelers -4.
DSC - I have to pick a home underdog, so... um... why the fuck not? Bengals +4.

Jaguars at Buccaneers (-4).
DSC - Tampa got beaten by the Lions, Jacksonville is without their QB. Honestly, what the hell is wrong with the NFL, there are literally zero interesting matchups this week. That said, Tampa. Bucs -4.

Browns (-3) at Rams.
DSC - How do you even pick this game? Cleveland is GIVING points on the road? How does this happen. One of two things happen, Stephen Jackson runs for 80000 yards, or Cleveland wins big. I'm gonna bet wins big. Go Browns. Browns -3.

Lions at Bears (-5.5).
Hermano - I don't like picking the Lions in any capacity but there isn't a better game out there. That is a disclaimer. So, if anything I'm going to pick the Bears at home, because, I don't know, this division sucks. Bears -5.5.
DSC - Really? The Bears of this year has shown that they are 5.5 points better then a streaky Lions team? I don't think so. So now that I've gotten that out of the way, how about Tatum Bell. He's gonna be deactivated for this game. Goes from starter to off the squad in 2 weeks. Lions +5.5.

Photo: Bucs Power

Stern is anything but with refs

David Stern seems to be softening up in his older years. Maybe he's been drinking too much warm cocoa before bed and it's made him a big softy. Well that's not entirely true, since it just seems that he's gone soft on everyone except the players. Let's examine this recent rash behavior in chronological order.

Amare Stoudemire gets suspended.
This had to frustrate everyone that loved basketball, and those people are few and far in between anymore. In fact, this simple act almost single handily killed the, what up to that point, were extremely fun playoffs. The two best teams in the playoffs were facing off for the de facto championship, also known as the Western Conference crown. When Robert Horry hip checked Steve Nash into the benches, Amare and Diaw both stood up and crossed some imaginary line that the NBA had created to reduce enormous fights. Well, see for yourself I guess...



Either way, it's not the actual scrum that brought people to their feet, but the decision to suspend both Amare and Diaw for breaking the rule, one that is vague in description but clear on punishment. David Stern came on several radio shows defending his ruling, and sticking to the letter of the law, rather than the spirit of the rule, including an unwavering steadfast punishment for "breaking the rule". Short handed, Phoenix had no shot against San Antonio and the playoffs, from that point, weren't the same.

Knicks, sexual harassment is fun.
The New York Knickerbockers are a mess from the top down. They've got an almost illiterate owner, and a stubborn GM. These two have combined to create one of the most expensive and least productive teams to ever take the court in the NBA. But fear not, there's still plenty of room to flounder for this team. And that's just the on court problems.

Off the court the front office decided that their life wasn't exciting enough, and Isiah Thomas came through in the clutch again. He sexually harassed on of the female employees in the Knicks organization. And really you could stop right there, but the fact that this went to an incredibly ugly legal suit and that Dolan stood by him tells volumes about this organization. That of course is just the back story. The kicker is, that while they were in fact convicted of sexual harassment, David Stern would not levy penalties until after the appeal. This is quite a turn from laying down the hammer on the players, and while "frustrated" not doing anything to franchise itself. One would assume that the very public suit against a team is much more damaging than a player running on the field.

Referees love to gamble.
Tim Donaghy made this a dark ending to the NBA season, and one thought it couldn't get any worse once the ratings for the Finals were released. There's no need to rehash the entire thing but: Donaghy bet on games, got caught, and now no one trusts already crooked refs. Everyone remembers how upset Stern was when he came out to talk to the media, and how determined he was to find out everything about Donaghy, as well as the rest of the referees. Calling him a "rogue" and including strict rules about this in the league.

Fast forward to the beginning of the week, it seems like half the league of refs is "rogue" as they have all been found gambling one way or another. Now, this is the perfect time to regain some respectability for the league and really lower the hammer on these guys: fire them, fine them, suspend them, something! No, Stern does nothing but apologize for the rules that he himself put in place. He even went so far as to say that the rules were "unrealistic, outdated and in need of a revision". Well that's some serious mea culpa there by Stern for the league, something we've never heard out of him before. In fact, they're going to review and change the rules for the refs. Well that makes perfect sense.

So, let me get this straight. Every ref knows about the rules, right? As in what they should do and not do, and it's pretty clear that all kinds of gambling during the season, and off-season is prohibited and thus induces punishment. Where is this punishment? Where's even a slap on the wrists! While Stern is right, that these rules are outdated, but shouldn't he change them after disciplining these guys in some way shape or form? Not that his first documented mea culpa isn't appreciated, but where was it when Amare made a similarly parallel mistake in getting up from the bench? The rules governing that are just as unrealistic and outdated as those covering the gambling, maybe even more so. It seems that Stern has a different set of ideas when punishing players as opposed to punishing the league itself.

But here's the odd part. Isn't all this negative publicity about sexual harassment and crooked refs much more damaging to the league image than a player getting up from a bench in front of an almost fight? I think so. His mea culpa shouldn't be to the refs, it should be to the fans.

Oh, and I'm apparently not the only one that feels that way.

Commissioner isn't nearly Stern enough [Chicago Sun-Times]
NBA Commissioner Stern won't discipline Knicks [Newsday]
Stern alters gambling restrictions on refs [New York Times]
NBA suspends Stoudemire, Diaw for leaving bench [ESPN]
Photo: Charles Dharapak [AP]

Genarlow Free!

Welcome Deadspin and Fanhouse readers...

Sitting in class I see the following headline on CNN:

"The Supreme Court of Georgia has ordered the release of Genarlow Wilson, imprisoned as a teen-ager in a consensual-sex case."

This is so new that his website: http://www.wilsonappeal.com/ doesn't have it up yet.

The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled 4-3 that his punishment was cruel and unusual. Now I'm not so sure about whether the legal argument for it is legit. However, I often argue in law school that we should sometimes use common sense rather than old laws that clearly provide a bad result. I think this was a situation where the SC of Georgia said "Screw it, this is ridiculous, let's find a way to make it work."

I can't wait to get my hands on that ruling (it's a 48 page PDF, read at your own risk). We will be talking about this in the future.

As you can see here I have previously written about the horrible situation Wilson was put in.

Earlier this year a county judge ruled the punishment cruel and unusual and reduced the sentence to one year and no sex offender registry. That was a great day for Wilson, however the Attorney General said he was going to appeal and Genarlow was back in prison.

We can only imagine how happy the Wilson family is today.

I also hope that Jesse Jackson or Rev. Al Sharpton will toss a college scholarship his way the way Jackson offered one to the Duke Non-Rape Scandal "victim".

This news is even better than when I found out his attorney's name was B.J. (I couldn't make that up if I tried)

I have to say some of the reasoning for the opinion sounds familiar:

"Although society has a significant interest in protecting children from premature sexual activity, we must acknowledge that Wilson's crime does not rise to the level of culpability of adults who prey on children" Majority Opinion

"Wilson was in jail based on a law meant to protect high school kids from old men. Not from classmates." DetroitSportsCity June 16, 2007

Let us all join in a standing slow clap for Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears and the other 3 Justices who ruled in Genarlow's favor

Court orders youth freed in consensual sex case [MSNBC]

CFB Weekend Preview: World's most irrelevant cocktail party

College football weekend preview will run weekly, and will take a quick gander at some of the upcoming games. Quick breakdowns and predictions will be included, but don't quote it on SportsBook, they'll still take your money.

Second week of the BCS, and things atop didn't change much; neither did things from the SEC fans. The masses are still clamoring about Ohio State's ranking, and the majority of them live south of the Mason-Dixon line, there's a surprise. Anyways, is anyone hearing anything about the World's Biggest Cocktail party? Because I'm not hearing a peep. What's supposed to be both a laissez-faire atmosphere to a highly competitive game between two quality opponents has turned into an after thought in the SEC. Weird, huh?

If I could watch one game this weekend, it would be USC visiting Oregon. Surprised it's not BC/VT? I'll tell you why. Although the Pac-10 has taken some hits the past couple of weeks after coming out with a sparkling record, it still contains some of the most exciting football in the country, even if that game doesn't include much defense. Also, let's remind everyone what's really at stake at Autzen stadium Saturday afternoon: the Pac-10 championship. Don't kid yourself, ASU is a nice story, and much like what OSU is doing we won't really know how good they are until they play these two guys. But the powerhouses that are chugging along right now are going to meet on the field this weekend. USC, we all know about them. They are the team that's won a handful of Pac-10 titles in a row but have struggled mightily this year. Much to their chagrin, they've already been handed a loss at a place they didn't deserve: dignity. Still, try as you might, you can't count USC out of any game because they've shown a propensity for playing best when everything is on the line. And don't kid yourself, this weekend it is. Oregon on the other hand has semi quietly recovered from the inter conference loss to what now looks to be a floundering Cal team. They have surgically and physically dismembered their opponents with what looks to be the most complete offensive team in the country. Dennis Dixon looks like the reincarnation of Vince Young, and he's playing near perfect football right now. If he is indeed drawing on the spirit of Young, USC is in trouble. This weekend though, in a hostile environment, USC comes together. No matter the circumstance, it's just tough to go against what will likely be remembered as one of the most dominant runs in college football history. USC 31, Oregon 30.

Other games to keep your eye on:

1. Boston College at Virginia Tech. This is only a big game because of the circumstance, and the result. It is not, in fact, going to be a good game to watch. Maybe it's because ACC football has been less than pleasant the last couple of years, or maybe because both teams have yet to do anything, but there's nothing I foresee exciting except the result of the game. Truth be told, I haven't watched much Boston College all year, simply because they haven't been on where I live, so it's not entirely my fault. And, besides that one debacle against LSU I haven't seen Virginia Tech play much either. I know Matt Ryan is good, he can really chuck the ball around. And I know Sean Glennon isn't good, because he looks like an offspring between a mop and a broom. Then again, VT has never been about quarterback play, but more special teams and defense. The real matchup here is the BC dynamic offense versus the VT historically good defense. I feel bad, and I really want to think differently, but I think BC wins this game. What's going to happen to the SEC! BC 33, VT 27.
2. California at Arizona State. As mentioned earlier, no one knows how good Arizona State is because they haven't played anyone of note yet. The bright side is, they haven't lost to any of them. No doubt ASU was looking forward to credit themselves with a real season when they beat California, it would certainly be their quality win, but now they face a quandary. California comes in limping, having lost its last two games, but only getting a mulligan on one. Here's the issue ASU has: at the beginning of the year, this looked like a legitimate game, but now if they beat California, they'll be down to three losses, and maybe more because they might go to a tale spin. With that in mind, Tedford has blown games with two quarterbacks this year already, so why not continue? ASU 48, Cal 28.
3. Florida vs. Georgia. Tim Tebow is injured, and they're bringing in a freshman safety to what already looks like a fairly rotten secondary. Luckily for them, they will be playing the air-offense deficient Georgia Bulldogs! Hey, where's all that conference depth they keep talking about? No, I won't let it go, but thanks for asking. Both these teams are 5-2, and are both looking to get their season back on track. Sure, Florida did it last week at Kentucky, but there's nothing better than beating someone at the World's Biggest Cocktail Party. For my money, nothing about football should ever be connected with cocktails, but hey, it's just me. If you want to drink a little foo-foo drink while watching men tackle each other, it's your prerogative. Different strokes for different folks. Here's the thing though, Mark Richt has some completely ludicrous record about SEC road games, the only question is whether they consider this a road game in his record. Really folks, he's like 23-3, it's kind of frightening. So, here's what's going to happen: without a weak secondary, and a reliable running game, and a banged up Tebow, Georgia will make their opponent one dimensional. From there, Richt will try to exploit Florida's perceived weakness. It's simple! Upset special: Florida 17, Georga 21.
   

Notes. Yes, I realize that Ohio State is playing its first "meaningful" game as well at Penn State. Vegas has it at 3, but Paterno things they're really screwed, because he's asking the crowd to help out. No, I mean physically come down and play. Either way, I didn't pick that game to keep an eye on, only because I already did a preview of it. So, enjoy that, while I enjoy talking about how SEC is taking a backseat.

Random College Basketball Preview Bits

My goodness. My beloved Indians are out of the baseball playoffs, I don't care about any NFL team, and both of the college football teams I mildly root for (MSU and GT) are floundering. But wait, it's only 1 week until November, which could only mean... yes you guessed it, a college basketball preview.

Not that this will be a top 10 teams list or conference previews (which will come when the season is actually about to start), but more of a random factoid/observations list for the upcoming season.

Kelvin Sampson losing his good image.
I don't know why, but college basketball coaches just get certain stigmas attached to them very early on that are completely unfounded. Most of them are correct and the coaches live up to their images which provides the justification for future judgments of other coaches. For example, Billy Donovan being a douchebag turned out to be quite true. And of course, Tom Izzo being the ultimate class guy has also been true. But sometimes we just hate or like a coach for no reason. Bo Ryan of Wisconsin just looks like a rat and a sneaky classless coach, but he turned out to be a very effective, classy (somewhat), and even funny guy. I used to hate that guy for no reason but now I respect him. And why does everyone like Jim Boeheim when he's just a mild-mannered talent wasting coach who's stuck in his old and ineffective ways? I mean, the Syracuse Zone? How far has that gotten you in the tournament lately (sans the freak Carmelo year)?
Well now it's Kelvin Sampson's turn. A coach from the Jud Heathcote recruiting tree who was all about mental toughness, playing physical and hard, and was classy in interviews obviously would get the good guy image attached to him. But in the matter of a year, he's abandoned his program that he helped build (Oklahoma) at the drop of a hat, did some VERY sneaky back-alley recruiting to steal top prospect Eric Gordon from Illinois, was punished for illegal phone calling for recruiting, and then recently was caught AGAIN for illegal phone calling. Suddenly, I'm putting this guy with the Jim Calhouns and the John Caliparis of the coaching world. Sampson is tarnishing the image of Big 10 college basketball. Oh well, it seems to make sense that the Big 10 was due for some bad news with its coaches. After all, we were on a roll with landing Tubby Smith and getting rid of Steve Alford and Tommy Amaker so something bad had to happen to recreate a sense of balance.

Brook Lopez gets suspended.
I know you're going to Stanford buddy, but I just can't understand how people seem to always get in trouble for academics. The schedule for college athletes (big time college athletes, anyway) is personally designed so that all you have to do is show up and you pass. It's seriously that easy. Actually, you probably don't have to show up all the time either, you just have to make it to a few important tests and you're golden. Studying probably isn't that important either with the level of ease of these classes. Just think of it as an investment of your future earning. Learn from Maurice Clarett, people. Make the grades (or at least the class).

Freshman Guards.
Derrick Rose! OJ Mayo! Eric Gordon! Oh my! These 3 already lottery pick guards are all coming in at the same time to college basketball and frankly... I don't really care yet. Some people have picked these 3 to the ALL-AMERICAN teams in the preseason without them having played a SINGLE MINUTE OF COLLEGE BASKETBALL. Are you serious? I don't care how many AAU clips you've seen, do not pick them as an all-american yet. Maybe an all-freshman team or top newcomer, but all-American? Let's wait and see what they can do first. Speaking of these guys, I have a feeling Eric Gordon will be pretty solid in the Big 10 but I just have a sense of unease about Derrick Rose and OJ Mayo, off-court wise. They are going to Memphis and USC respectively and are most definitely using these schools as a 1 year stepping stone to the NBA. Memphis just happens to be getting all these huge name recruits and USC for Mayo? Seriously? Something just seems off about it all, especially with OJ.

Cornell???
I know i'm being biased in talking about my alma mater but Cornell is widely considered the preseason pick of the Ivy League in basketball this year. Not really a big deal to the general basketball world, but if they accomplish this, they will be the first team that is not Princeton or Penn to win the Ivies in about 20 years. The last team to win the Ivies other than those two "powerhouses"? You guessed it, the Big Red. Their schedule includes playing Syracuse and Duke, so that should be quite interesting to watch. One of their players also includes Ryan Wittman, son of phenom coach Randy Wittman. Oh boy, i'm just jumping for joy at the possible basketball connections in my life.

Gus Johnson no longer allowed to scream.
It appears that they are toning down Gus Johnson by reducing how many games he gets to call in the NCAA tournament. This is a big shame. Why? Because:



Sampson: 'We had some issues' [IndyStar.com]
Floyd told Mayo didn't punch Hackett [SGV Tribune]

Slow day, blockbuster trade

This is exactly what happens when there's not one, but two slow days in a row. News like this comes out, and it's actually big news. Well, with respect to everything else goes on. So, here we go, Antoine Walker and shmucks traded for Ricky Davis and shmuck. To me this is extremely funny, because if there was ever a trade where you're not gaining or losing anything, this has to be it.

Miami got rid of Antoine Walker, Wayne Simien, and Michael Doleac only to get in their place Mark Blount and Ricky Davis. To be fair, I can't remember if I yawned or laughed when I saw this done. Did they just do it to do something? Hmm, we haven't improved our team, let's get Ricky Davis. Oh no, here's why.

Walker has fallen farther and farther out of favor with Miami coach Pat Riley since the Heat's 2006 championship, largely because of conditioning issues. But Minnesota might also have been convinced to shed its reservations and make the swap because Walker has only two guaranteed seasons left on his contract, one year less than Blount.

Fair enough, this is a contract thing. I get it, this is all business. But why would anyone want Ricky Davis for anything? Couldn't they have received one of the younger less carcinogenic players? At least Atnoine Walker has a new place, and thus can fit better since he's fat[ter] and still can't shoot for some enormous amount of money.

Walker wouldn't appear to fit in Minnesota's long-range plans, either, but concerns about Blount and Jefferson co-existing after some reported friction in their Boston days together served as another motivation for the Wolves to make the deal in addition to Walker's cap-friendlier contract.

So, let me get this straight. Minnesota took Antoine Walker and two [more] stiffs because Mark Blount has problems coexisting with Al Jefferson. And Antoine Walker, will do what, be the stand-up citizen and teammate he always is? Yes, I can't wait for the day.

On the other hand for Miami this is a great deal... why exactly? Mark Blount is transparent; no one really knows when he's on or off the court, as his production is equal at both times. And while they removed fat, worthless, and expensive team cancer Antoine Walker, they added younger, athletic, and equally worthless-expensive team cancer Ricky Davis. Yeah, I get it, with Wade injured they needed a consistent scorer who will eventually be relegated to the third or fourth position when Wade recovers. Oh... wait.

Davis has struggled at times to accept third- or fourth-wheel status in his various stops and has already played his way out of Miami once when Riley had him for an injury-plagued season (2000-01) and then traded him to Cleveland. Blount, furthermore, will have to prove he can earn minutes in Miami when Shaquille O'Neal is healthy.

Ricky Davis everyone. He of triple double fame.



Davis, Walker trade places [ESPN.com]
Photo: Findit

Wide World of Blog: Oct. 24th Issue

That's right, people are still talking about the BCS. And why not? I think this is why it was created. "Let's not have an exact way of figuring out the champion, that'll give the drunks something to yell about."

• As much as it pains me to link a UM blog, not only do they have good points, but it's extremely well written. Damn you people for thinking the same way as I do: SEC only great in the SEC. [Michigan Zone]
• Dan Shanoff makes a great point about the future of SI. If they want to become relevant, why not appeal to the masses, like us? Who better than Will Leitch to take over for Reilly? [Dan Shanoff]
• The funniest Top25 Blogpoll I've seen. ASU and VT shoot up an average of 10 spots after a bye week. Troy State at 22. USF after losing to unranked on the road down 9; South Carolina after losing to unranked at home down 2. [Losers with Socks]
• When I think Penn State, I also think of shit. Sure their team has been shitty of late, but this time their area outside the stadium is mirroring the team. Tailgating with not enough toilets won't be a problem for the locals. [the Pig Pen]
• Linking to a blog run by Michigan (the state) lovers, to a post written by an Ohio guy. Why? You'll have to see. Great point: Michigan should be a rival to Ohio in every sport, not just college football. [Ghosts of Wayne Fontes]

Sure, I'm a little late on some of these. But it's hard to get around on all the blogs every single day. Besides, I need to take a shower after linking an SEC blog, and two Michigan run blogs.

FSU quarterback shuffle

Haven't we been down this road before? Drew Weatherford, Xavier Lee. Xavier Lee, Drew Weatherford. It matters not who, or in which order they play, they will be on the losing end of a football contest. Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden announced Monday that Drew Weatherford will start against Duke.

The Seminoles hope Weatherford can get them back on track against Duke (1-6, 0-4) before a string of tough games, including three road contests against ranked teams: Boston College (No. 2 BCS and AP), Virginia Tech (No. 8 BCS and AP) and Florida (No. 11 BCS, No. 9 AP).

Haven't we been down this road before? If memory (and article) serves, just earlier this season, it was Weatherford that was not good enough to start when he was replaced September 29th (3 games!) in favor of Xavier Lee. Sometimes, in quarterback controversies people quote the old saying,"if you've got two quarterbacks, you haven't got one." In this case, Florida State doesn't have two, doesn't have one, and they don't even have a prayer.

Let's not kid ourselves, the Seminoles will get crappy quarterback play from either of these guys because they're both crappy quarterbacks. Time to put Lassie out of her misery.

Florida State pins hopes to Weatherford [ESPN.com]

Wide World of Blog: Oct. 22 Issue

It's been a while, and I guess that's what happens. However, this is really the schedule that something like this should be on, because I have to go out looking for stuff. Wink wink.

• One isn't enough. I wonder if some of these athletes have a pool to see who can impregnate the most women. I hope Caffey won, because he'll need all the money he can get after declaring bankruptcy when he once signed a $35 million contract. [The Big Lead]
• Gotta love Photoshop. Now we know exactly what's going on inside Les Miles' brain, because it certainly doesn't include good decision making. He certainly has some cojones always going for 4th and 1s and the wins. [EDSBS]
• Dumbledore is gay. If you don't know who Dumbledore is, or why it matters that he's gay, you are a fine human being. Apparently, he's a wizard in the Harry Potter books, and apparently this is news. World is weird. [CNN.com]
  

And, that's it for today, because I hate the Red Sox.

Indians Choke, no surprise

Pardon the slow turn around to talking about baseball, still a little depressed about last night. Bottom line, the Indians completely choked it away, and really found the worst time to lose three straight games in a season. Also, the worst time to lose a series since about the middle of August. But, what are you going to do? I think I'll pull a Manny, "It's not the end of the world, there's always next year." Besides, if we get too engrossed in the result it may damage us emotionally beyond repair.

I don't have much of a wrap up, and didn't really want to search for pictures of the Red Sox winning, but I have been watching Jonathan Papelbon do his Irish dance.

We all knew it was over on the third strike against Casey Blake - that is, not a real strike but a more figurative one. He came up with men on the corners and one out, and ended up grounding into an inning ending an rally-ending double play. Strike one. He botched an easy out against "the President" Jacoby Ellsbury and then didn't go after the ball that let him get to 2nd base. This also led to a home run by Pedroia, of all people, against Betancourt. Strike 2. He went clearly out of his assignment and didn't communicate with Jhonny Peralta letting a ball drop and go into the seats for a ground rule double, instead of a sure out. Strike 3. Game. Series. Season. That's all she wrote. From then on, it just unraveled and the team kind of gave up, they knew it was over too.

I'm going to hang my hat on that, but there are other key points from the series. Just as disappointed WCT has a somber but thorough low points for the Indians.

Always next year? I sure hope so.

Ok, so I guess I have to write something about baseball [The Ship of Fools]

Solomon Wilcots is the new Tim McCarver

It's not as if I was looking for someone new to replace the not-yet-booth-departed Tim McCarver, but you find love in unexpected places. Being that there was only one semi-interesting NFL game on today, the Bengals were playing the Jets, with background nose by Ian Iggle, and Solomon Wilcots. He is quite possibly the most annoying, and least talented A team analyst there ever was.

It's not that he doesn't know what he's talking about, but that he's completely wrong. It's as if, he's watching a different game than everyone else on the screen. His explanations for plays are inexistent, and his knowledge of the game is skewed. And while listening to his nonsensical drivel, I felt a feeling of deja vu, it's as if I had lived through this very recently - but he hasn't done any games. Lo and behold, it was the channeling of one Tim McCarver through the body of Wilcots, applied to football.

Just as bad. Just as annoying. And just as confusing.

Second place? Spencer Tillman.

When analysts go wrong [Buckeye Commentary]

CFB Review: Don't want to be number 2

College football review talks about the week that was in college football, about the good teams that won, and the good teams that lost. Look for it to wrap up the college football preview, and to gloat upon picking correct outcomes.


This week could have just as easily been called the Top 10 Turmoil Redux Redux, because for the second week in a row the top 10 found some turbulence - four teams dropped out and new ones took their place. Not only that, but for the second week in a row, the second ranked team in the nation lost (Cal was last week, and USF this week). This has to be more than parity, when there's such a consistency of losing at the top, and the lack of a consensus top 5, or even a top team. The fact is, that college football is down this year as a whole, just like college basketball was last year. Parity it may be, but don't excuse poor play by supposedly top teams - if that's what they have you believe they are.

What an incredible game Auburn-LSU came out to be, not that anyone expected any less. Trailing by three, on the opponents 23 with roughly 10 seconds to go at home, it's a no brainer to kick the field goal. But the ballsy Les Miles goes for the win, and the Flynn-to-Byrd connection pays dividends as they get a touchdown to the only man in the pattern with nary a second left on the clock. So, here's the thing, people are calling it ballsy; I'm calling it downright stupid. We have to distinguish between favorable results with good decision making - this decision being the latter. This decision was unspeakably bad, and not to pile or... wait, who am I kidding - this whole game was Les Miles' fault. There's no reason that this team should be down 10 points for the 2nd time in as many games at home, when they're playing two inferior teams on the physical side of the ball. All things being equal, LSU should have lost this game, if not by this stroke luck many are calling genius. Let's move on to a different area of the game - the defense. The vaunted LSU defense has been shredded two weeks in a row, and while the first could be attributed to an excellent quarterback (and I really believe that to be the case for Woodson), but Brandon Cox cannot fall into that category. Worst of all, it isn't fluke offensive plays that have caused such a pileup of yardage and points, but rather running the ball "right up the gut" to what was perceived as the strength of this defense.



Please, let's officially stop this SEC is the most awesomest, best, and deep conference in the country. It's really just getting annoying. What I watched this weekend of the televised games, and final scores of the SEC showed me that this conference is just more mediocre while others are less mediocre. They are certainly not great. I don't know who can possibly explain South Carolina losing at home to Vanderbilt as a show of depth in any conference. It doesn't end there. What was supposed to be one of the best teams in the conference in Tennessee got completely handled by an Alabama team that just recently lost to Florida State. Oh no, there's more. The same Ole Miss team that brought Florida to the brink of their first loss in their second game just lost to Arkansas 44-8, to get them their first conference win. Florida, thought to be an unstoppable force just recently ended a two game losing streak and beat Kentucky after a bye week. Didn't just beat them, put forty five on them. That's not so surprising because Kentucky doesn't play much defense, but hold on, they were just revered for their solid defense up the middle on an explosive LSU offense they beat just the other week. Congratulations SEC fans, your conference is just as mediocre as any other.

Best of the rest.
USF disappointed, and cost the Big East by losing Thursday night to Rutgers. All-in-all Rutgers probably deserved to win, since Ray Rice ran for a ridiculous 189 yards. You can't win by giving up that many rushing yards to one person. This is a blow to the Big East, because in reality, USF was their hope for the title game.

Michigan escapes Champaign with a victory. They capitalize on mental lapses on the part Illinois, or we could call them, "pulling a Zooker." Watch out, but Big Blue doesn't have a loss in Big 10 play, and the conference is once again going to be settled on that cold night in November.

Speaking of Big 10 play, Ohio State decides to let Michigan State back in before closing them out. After leading the Spartans by 24, they allowed two defensive touchdowns on back-to-back (and would have been another to-back) possessions to bring them to within 10. However, with Beanie Wells (31-221) and that defense, they pulled it out. Silver Bullets only allowed three points.

Why did Oklahoma let Iowa State hang around as long as they did? This team was absolutely explosive on offense first 5 games of the season, but the last couple have been entirely inconsistent. There's some believe that this team is too young to compete and keep it up.

There's nothing like playing Notre Dame to get yourself back on track. USC, after struggling several games in a row went in and beat on their little brother, shutting them out 38-0. But, this can't possibly be because of Charlie Weis. Genius at work.

CFB Week 8 scores [SI.com]
Photo: Doug Benc [Getty Images]

NFL: Gridiron Preview Week 7

Gridiron Preview is a weekly feature that will run all 17 weeks of the glorious NFL schedule, and then a sexy drown time for the playoffs. Don't look for betting advice here, even though we're almost always right.

We learned that New England is pretty damn good. They went into a fairly hostile (as much as fat Texans can be) environment and decided that when it counted and the game was on the line, they were going to smash the Cowboys' faces in. And that they did. They ran when they wanted to, where they wanted to, and with whomever they wanted to. They passed long and short, it's as if they knew what the Cowboys were going to run, and when. Tom Brady was nearly flawless, and he's single-handily carrying my fantasy team to overwhelming victories over my opponents. There's no reason that this team couldn't go 16-0 if it wanted to. No one is even a close second.

Game of the week is ugh, Indianapolis at Jacksonville. What a shitty game. Maybe we've all underestimated the Jaguars, because they've streaked to several wins in a row and I haven't even noticed. On the other hand, we have the injured, yet rolling down hill avalanche of offensive genius - Indianapolis Colts. Supposedly, the Colts will be at full strength again, so they don't have to depend solely on Dallas Clark to make any kind of pass plays down the field. Here's the thing though, the Jaguars are built on an ugly offense that runs the ball a lot, and an ugly defense that stops the run. Also, the Jaguars play outside. All these things usually combine for a perfect storm to really disrupt the fluidity of the Colts offense. Let's also remember that the Colts had surreal problems with the Jaguars last season, and back then they were championed by oft-injured unproducing, and since fired, Byron Leftwich. That is to say, there's no reason that with a better quarterback, and what looks to be another good running game they couldn't give everyone problems. The pick, of course, will follow.

Our Picks: We will pick 10 games against the spread for each week. One of these 10 has to be a Sunday night game, and the other has to be a Monday night game, that way we won't wimp out. The winner gets bragging rights. So, unless I counted wrong, we're idiots and only picked 9 games last week, so the totals will reflect as such. Also, on another note - not a good week for either.

Records: Total (Last week)
Hermano: 25-20-4 (3-4-2)
DSC: 20-25-4 (2-5-2)

Colts (-3.5) at Jaguars.
Hermano - Here's the thing, read everything I said about the Colts. I'm not sold on them because they have powder blue jerseys and are not tough. Really, they're a good team, but they're about to fall. Jaguars +3.5.
DSC - I have a feeling that Manning is getting really sick of hearing how great Tom is. Indy in a good one. Colts -3.5.

Steelers (-4) at Denver.
Hermano - This is bound to be a good game, about 5 years ago. It's time for Denver to make a change because they've been running in place for the last three years. Clearly Shannahan is no longer the answer there. Stillers roll. Steelers -4.
DSC - Denver = bad. Steelers -4.

And now, some games we might not have in common.

Vikings at Cowboys (-10).
Hermano - I think the Cowboys come back and win, but 10 is just too much to give. The purple people eaters have a pretty solid defense, and Adrian Peterson is about to carry this team anyways. Vikigings +10.

Cardinals at Redskins (-8.5).
Hermano - Washington lost a game they probably should have won last week. And, aren't the Cardinals starting Tim Rattay. Two starting quarterbacks = bad idea. Two starting quarterbacks injured = bad game. Washington -8.5.
DSC - Washington is pissed, Arizona is hurt and traveling. Racial Slurs for the cover. Washington -8.5.

Rams at Seahawks (-8.5).
Hermano - Seahawks lose an average of no games at home in a season, so far they're beyond it. They're pissed, and the Rams don't have anyone playing. Bulger is not a hero for coming back with bruised ribs. Seahawks -8.5.
DSC - Seahawks were embarrassed at home last week, they bounce back. Seahawks -8.5.

49ers at Giants (-9).
Hermano - Giants are on a roll. Say that three times fast. Their defense is starting to play well, and the 49ers are really suffering some injuries. Giants -9.

Falcons at Saints (-8).
Hermano - Remember when I said the Saints were done? Well, they still are, but that doesn't mean they can't win a few games along the way. Petrino is switching quarterbacks, but that's not the only problem on this team. Saints -8.
DSC - Saints are riding high but here comes Big Bad Byron, I think Atlanta steals this, much to my fantasy dismay. Dirty Birds +8.

Patriots (-17) at Dolphins.
Hermano - I learned my lesson in a week where I bet against them to cover a similar spread. Miami stinks, they lost to Cleveland. Patriots demolish them college style. Patriots -17.
DSC - It's 17 points but there is no reason to think the Fuck You tour ends here. Cheaters to cover. Patriots -17.

Jets at Bengals (-6.5).
Hermano - Hey Marvin Lewis, how were those years of 8-8? You wish you had one of those now, eh? Thank God the Jets are coming to town, a team that is just as inept on offense and defense. Bengals -6.5.

Ravens (-3) at Bills.
DSC - Edwards is starting, Buffalo won their one game. Ravens -3.

Chiefs at Oakland (-3).
DSC - Wow this one is going to be fun. But with no word on Vince Young's help, I can't pick the titan's game so I have to come here. Um, Lj is starting to get his groove back. Chiefs +3.

Bears at Eagles (-6).
Hermano - Just because nothing good is left, but I don't like this game. Bears are struggling, but Eagles aren't exactly setting the world on fire. Inconsistency on both sides causes issues. Bears +6.
DSC - The bears are having a tough year, this will continue. Eagles -6.

Buccaneers at Lions (-2.5).
DSC - Fact: it's more important to me to pick my team than to win. Don't believe me? Check the records. Go Lions. Lions -2.5.


Photo: Onion

CFB Weekend Preview: SEC weed out in session

College football weekend preview will run weekly, and will take a quick gander at some of the upcoming games. Quick breakdowns and predictions will be included, but don't quote it on SportsBook, they'll still take your money.

So, last week wasn't as boring as predicted, but come on, two top-2 teams falling nearly back-t0-back? That's almost unheard of, what a choke job weekend. On the other hand, it did create plenty of controversy, as Ohio State, defaulted to the number one spot, based solely on their name and numerical record. This has created some, tension, shall we say among the SEC loving populous. But hey, BCS is out, that's great news!

Gosh, it's so hard to pick a game to watch, but if there's a gun to my head, to watch one game this weekend, it would probably have to be Florida at Kentucky. The world must be upside down, when Florida has a better basketball team, and Kentucky has a better football team. No, I really don't believe that Kentucky has a better football team, not with three straight top-5 classes Meyer has brought into Gainesville. Florida is superbly talented, but equally young. This is the second week in a row that Kentucky is hosting a top-10 team, but if Florida had anything to say about it, it would be two top-5 teams. So, that means two sellouts for the Kentucky football stadium. Wildcats are riding high off their first enormous upset in as many as 50 years, and they've got Andre' Woodson behind center. He showed last week how good he is, tearing the LSU formidable defense left right and center. Florida is on the skids of a two game losing streak, which is probably the first such streak of Meyer's formidable slimy coaching career. With that said, they're certain to come out swinging in the same fashion they did against Ohio State last year when they were written off. Kentucky is not as good offensively or defensively as Florida, but the same can be said about their game against LSU. The real wild card here is Florida all-everything heart throb quarterback Tim Tebow, as he was the only one keeping Florida in the game in Death Valley. Having to stop a guy that moves as swift as a tree stump wasn't a hurdle, but a bulldozer with ballerina shoes surely will be. Tebow will regain his demi God-like status as he hands Kentucky their second loss. Fighting Tebows 41, Fighting Woodsons 27.

Other games that need your attention:

1. Auburn at LSU. This one is really going to be a blood bath on defense, so starting quarterbacks beware. The talent on these two defensive lines will no doubt anchor some teams in the NFL for years to come. Running room will be sparse, and the pocket won't hold long, so signal callers will need to keep their hot routes open immediately. I'm not sure who has any faith in Brandon Cox against this defense, but it's not me. The breaking point has to be how offensively challenged the Auburn Tigers are, even though they put up some quick points against Florida this is the same team that lit up the scoreboard with all of three field goals against the vaunted Arkansas defense. LSU on the other hand has its own issues. Hobbled senior quarterback Flynn has shown a propensity for erratic decisions and bad passes that have started to cost them games against good competition. If Les Miles keeps him in against this defensive line it could spell trouble, and a second loss in as many years for the Tiger faithful. If Periloux plays a significant amount, it certainly gives LSU another offensive weapon that can create positive gains from broken plays. Tommy Tuberville is a big game coach (having some unspeakable record against top-5 teams), and Les Miles is exactly the opposite, losing plenty of big games while at the helm. It's hard to imagine that this team would ever have a second loss, much less a losing streak, however all the stats will be thrown aside. If Periloux plays, they win big, if Flynn plays, the fans will have a tough time getting through the fourth - but I'll go somewhere in the middle. LSU 24, Auburn 21.
2. Michigan State at Ohio State. Faux #1 Ohio State hosts the team that ruined their season nearly 9 years ago to the day - the first BCS year, how eerie. Fans on both sides won't soon forget what happened on that night in Columbus. The parallels for this game are kind of scary: D'Antonio was the defensive coordinator for MSU that night, Ohio State was ranked #1, playing in Ohio Stadium, and again MSU is a huge underdog (this time 17). There's more to this game that meets the eye, and it's sad that an unranked team is going to be Ohio State's stiffest test to this point. There's plenty of voodoo dolls down in SEC country as we speak, throwing all sorts of curses on the overrated Buckeyes, but it's my opinion that we come through, and do so in a big way. I'll actually be at the game, and I'm really hoping this happens so I don't cry. There's no doubt that the players have seen the '98 OSU tape, and there's very little doubt that all sorts of "OSU Sucks" bashing has been on the walls of the training complex. After seeing this for a full week, the Buckeyes come out with something to prove. Ohio State 45, Michigan State 17.
3. In all fairness, this spot was secured for the possibility of the Rutgers-USF upset, which turned out to be a reality. However, I didn't get to write it in time, damn you Thursday night games. In its place, I have to substitute a middle-of-the-road Big Ten game, Michigan at Illinois. Some may not realize, but Michigan is actually unbeaten in the Big 10, mostly because they've stopped playing quality (Appalachian State, ha!) opponents and have not left the comforts of their abode. In fact, this is only the second game on the road for Michigan, the first being at the very hostile Northwestern. Illinois is, itself coming off an embarrassing loss to Iowa, in which they were completely stifled on offense. Illinois has lost the last 5 to Michigan, none by any less than 10 points, but some feel the tide is turning the way of the orange helmets. And with that, and the fact that Illinois has a mobile QB, runs the spread option, and has talent. Michigan 20, Illinois 30.

Heisman Lookout. Many are clamoring for the inclusion of Mike Hart to the Heisman Watchlist, and to catapult him to the very top. This is why I disagree: he doesn't do that Heisman thing. Meaning, he's a very solid and really good college back, but there's not that electric moment where he pushes his team to a win. He plays with great heart (that pun has been there for four years), he pushes the pile, and he never loses fumbles - but all in all, he just follows his blocker through that overpowering offensive line. Besides, 35 carries 120 yards is not Heisman, it's workhorse. Have a good time in college, that's the last football you'll be playing.

Notes. There was an interesting debate on ESPN right before the game started. Mark May made a great point about how if we were to blindly look at the resumes of USF and OSU without the names, there's no chance USF wouldn't have been ranked ahead. This much is obvious, at that time, USF had no losses, and two extremely good wins - two more than OSU. Robert Smith came back with a similar argument, but with USF against USC, if they hadn't lost. Mark May was adamant in saying USC would be ranked #1 if they were still undefeated, but in reality USF had the best resume out of those two as well, because at this point, USC does not have a signature win anyways; Nebraska turned out to be a complete fraud. At that point, May was completely speechless, and they went to commercial or changed the topic, it was an epic Trev Alberts moment. Oh, if you missed Stewart Mandel's article this morning, shame on you.

It's going to be 1998 all over again in Columbus [Ghosts of Wayne Fontes]
Preview: OSU vs. MSU [Eleven Warriors]
Perfect Storm, Rutgers win deals blow to Big East [SI: Stewart Mandel]
Photo: EDSBS

BCS good for something: Argument

The BCS may not be very good at picking out the best two teams in the nation, according to everyone south of the Mason Dixon line, but it is great for creating argument. Whether it's an ESPN pundit, a blogger, or someone's mother, everyone seems to have an opinion on Ohio State defaulting the #1 spot in the BCS this week.

Why is there such angst? I'm sure much if it is due to the "undeserving" nature in which Ohio State made it to the championship game last year, only to be beat senseless by Florida. Or is it the 0-8 SEC record as far as anyone can remember. Because both of these facts clearly have everything to do with this year's team. Could it have to do with the Big 10 mediocrity, only to be helped along by the epic loss at Michigan to start the year? Or maybe SEC's perceived dominance over everything that is college football. It's everything, it's the first, the last, and and middle, combined with the passion of college football.

But why hate Ohio State? And why even care! It's the first week of the BCS standings, and while statistics bear out the fact that teams end up making it to the national championship game, this year is not one for statistics to behold. If everyone believes that Ohio State is indeed not as good as the #1 rating it received, then there's no doubt they'll show it in the five games remaining. Or even the next one, because they're destined to. It's not as if there's no games remaining, or even one - there's handful. Beyond that, knowing what's happened in college football this year, it's almost a certainty that a top 10 team will lose every single week. Isn't it a little early to call everything fraudulent?

The loudest voices of displeasure come from the SEC, where their recent conference depth has diluted them into believing this is true every year. It's as if when conference play starts and teams beat up on each other, it shows how weak every other conference is, but in the SEC, it shows how many great teams it has. Yeah, they're good, but the LSU game showed that LSU is not unbeatable, and two previous games for Florida showed the same things. USC showed they aren't unbeatable by losing to a 40 point underdog at home. It's pretty easy to get into the championship game - win all your contests. And if you don't win them don't blame someone else for their easy schedules or what have you, blame Les Miles.

A quick note on the SEC. Make no mistake, they have some pretty good teams this year, but this isn't last year, when half their conference, it seemed like, was a contender. The truth is, everyone can beat everyone else in that conference, and it's not a testament to their depth, it's a bottom line on mediocrity. Kentucky played without their starting tailback - and beat the unanimous best team in the country. Auburn lost to Mississippi State and went out to beat Florida at home. South Carolina got beat by LSU, and then went on to beat the crap out of Kentucky itself. So, by that circular logic why isn't South Carolina the best team in the SEC? In addition, it's not as if they go out and schedule tough out of conference games - Mr. Gator played Western Kentucky and Troy.

Is it OSU's fault that the schedule they created five years ago turned out to be a stinker? Or the fact that the Big 10, thought to be much improved this year with the likes of Michigan, Penn State, and Wisconsin flopped? I think not. The out of conference cupcakes are there every year, but it is OSU that has already played Texas, and has USC, Oklahoma, and Miami on their schedule in the upcoming years. Bottom line is, OSU's schedule is soft, and they haven't played a team that could challenge them, but in theory it's coming. What's also true, is that with the way this season is going we don't know if OSU is going to end up 12-0, 7-5 or anywhere in between from here on out.

Full disclosure: I am an OSU fan, and believe that while OSU has done something only a handful of D-1A teams have done - stayed undefeated - they probably don't deserve the #1 rating on accomplishment alone. The rating was handed by default when everyone in front of them lost to inferior teams and their starting position in the preseason polls. And I'd have no problem with USF being first. You know why? Because there's still almost half a season to go. With that said, who cares about this week, when the big games are yet to be played.

SEC fans pissed at OSU cakewalk to championship game [Fanhouse]
It's going to be 1998 all over again in Columbus [Ghosts of Wayne Fontes]
Please explain the logic to me [Men of the Scarlet and Gray]
Phto: Sports System

There's an MLB post season

In the face of adversity - and by that I mean, the TBS and FOX announcers - the Cleveland Indians are one game away from the World Series. I say this with apprehension, because as a Cleveland fan, I've seen this before. I'm not negative, I'm just jaded, and thus guarded until the outcome is already in hand. With that said, I'm incredibly excited about this, and I'm cheering every hit, every base, and every home run.

This is exciting for Cleveland, and it shows from Jacob's Field where the place is filled to 104% capacity and no one is sitting down, not even the handicapped old grandpa. They're waving towels, they're screaming at every pitch, and they are likely the difference in Paul Byrd hitting a blistering 90 mph on the radar gun. Cleveland Indians beat the Boston Red Sox last night by a score of 7-3, and even though the faithful were worried in the top of the 6th after back-to-back-to-back home runs, all ended up well. When Yettie Casey Blake gives you a home run, and old man river Kenny Lofton steals bases, you know something is going your way.

With Beckett going on Thursday, there's no doubt the atmosphere is going to be electric, and there isn't one Indians fan that isn't scared of what Beckett can do. He shut down the Indians in Game 1, and has been the only consistent player on the Boston Red Sox this entire post season. With a historic 3-0 comeback in their pocket, Red Sox faithful believe it's only a matter of time until the tide turns, but neutral fans don't see it that way. As always, biased fans are guarded.

I was thinking about this the other day though. How shitty must TBS feel for picking up this post-season, especially what they picked up? They had all the DS games, that included three sweeps, and one four-game series. They only pick up the NLCS, which was a thrilling 4 games in the middle of the night which pulled abysmal ratings. So, what TBS actually showed is just one paltry game above the minimum number of post-season games they could possibly show. Not only do they get the horrible time slots, but they've shown games which mostly have turned out to be stinkers. How much did they shell out for that celebrity loaded studio team to cover almost the smallest number of games possible.

This can be directly parlayed into a would-be matchup of Indians and Rockies in the World Series. If that turns out to be the case, just like the NBA Finals earlier in the year, it could be the least watched series in recent history. And, if you read the comments on Will Leitch's NY Times blog, it's dead on - no matter how much we hate the big market teams like Red Sox and Yankees, the truth is that they bring interest to the big games. They have the biggest fan bases (I guess that's why they're the big markets) and the bring the most fans and ratings to the games. Hate them if you wish, but it's teams like them, that make the sports world go round. Love them, or hate them, there's still a rooting interest either way.

Fair And Foul [NY Times Blog]
Cleveland tops Boston [Yahoo! Sports]

Syracuse WILL have a next coach

You know what they say. You don't want to be the guy that follows the guy. You want to be the guy that follows the guy that follows the guy. So, with that said, I'm sure Mike Hopkins feels great this morning, now that he knows that when Jim Boeheim retires, he'll definitely still be employed - and will head the Syracuse basketball program. That is fantastic news, since there's no timetable on when Jim actually hangs it up. And by "it" I don't mean basketball acumen, I mean choke jobs.

"Jim isn't going anywhere, but Mike is my next coach," athletic director Daryl Gross said, adding that it was premature to talk about the future because Boeheim has given no indication he plans to retire anytime soon.

"I'm going to coach how I played. I'm going to hug and kiss you after the game, and I'm sure during practice the competitive fire will come out a little bit," Hopkins said. "That's what's fun. I love the relationships in recruiting. I love the relationships in the community. This thing is a family. It's not about me or these other guys. It's about the bigger picture."

This has really become a fad, with a current coach naming his successor before he leaves. It sounds wonderful, but in most cases it's a recipe for disaster, even if it looks like a wonderful hug-a-thon in the athletic department. Not only does it box the assistant into their current job, but it creates unreasonably high expectations almost immediately. That is of course without trying to live up to the already high expectations that the fans have from their current coach. Which, in Syracuse's case lately has been, getting into the NCAA tournament by a thread.

If Boeheim's skill in picking a successor is half as good as coaching Gerry McNamara, the Orange know they're in good hands, because without him, they wouldn't have won "ten fucking games."



Boeheim names successor [SI.com]

WNBA Expansion

Seeing the quarterly statements in red did not deter WNBA President Donna Orender. Seeing paltry attendance numbers, and even worse ratings did nothing to sway the opinion that the WNBA was not doing well, or was not remotely interesting. In fact, even after one of the franchises disbanded, Donna did not steer from away from her ultimate goal - expansion.

The WNBA's Charlotte franchise was disbanded following the 2006 season, leaving the league without a team in the Southeast.

Borders has said she was not concerned that Atlanta's NBA team has ranked at or near the bottom of the league's attendance totals in recent seasons.

Seven WNBA teams had a drop in attendance in 2006 when the average was just under 7,500, nearly 3,400 below the 10,869 the league averaged in 1998.

Well, that pretty much says it all. The NBA has a hard time expanding, and their game is actually interesting to watch, and we certainly can't make that distinction for the WNBA. It's amazing that this story even exists. They bring a game that no one cares about to a town that doesn't care about basketball. Should be a happy marriage.

Report: WNBA awards Atlanta franchise for '08 [ESPN.com]

Wide World of Blog

It's been a while since we did a link round up. So, it's about time to note some of the excellent writing out there.

• The fact that Notre Dame is in the midst of one of the worst seasons in their history is great. But what's even better is that the players notice this and are jumping ship. Two quarterbacks, a tight end, and an offensive lineman are bailing, I bet Charlie is next [100% Injury Rate]
• Derek Jeter is clearly broken up over the Yankees early playoff exit. Under such duress he went to Miami and had a threesome with a couple of ladies, who we can only assume are really good looking. This of course would be unknown if they didn't want their parking validated. [Deadspin]
• College football voters are insane by definition. But we can't disagree with giving ASU a first place vote, seeing as how they're a major conference undefeated team. Others disagree. [The Big Lead]
• There's a new person ESPN is adding to their NBA coverage. It seems like 10 people aren't enough for a crooked league. However, this is actually a guy who brings knowledge - quite a change. [Awful Announcing]
• Busy writer/blogger/Fanhouse Everything Michael David Smith sits down with Larry Brown, in a cyber way of course. Quite the interview if you're into those things. It's surprising MDS even had time for a cup of coffee. [Larry Brown Sports]
  

Trent Green can't take a hint

Trent Green is dumber than we initially thought. It's not enough that he was almost pronounced DOA on the field not two weeks ago, but he's contemplating coming back.

"Right now my mind-set is to come back and play," Green said. "Everything has been real positive up to this point. That has given me great reassurance and given my family great reassurance."

A man, who by all measures should be dead right now, or at the very least a vegetable right now says that things are "real positive." That's fantastic. I would have said that if I were you too, when I got up from the gurney after being motionless. Back to what Dierdorf said - this isn't courageous, this is bordering on mentally insane. When does he take a hint, when he's getting fed through a tube? Oh, there's more.

"Everything turned out normal," Green said. "I wasn't having any symptoms in terms of dizziness or headaches or memory loss or balancing problems or sensitivity to light -- things that are associated with concussions."

Green became an expert on the subject while sidelined a year ago following a severe concussion with the Kansas City Chiefs. He sat out eight games and considered retirement.

The latest concussion was also considered severe, but symptoms were less serious, Green said.

I'm sure his wife and children feel the exact same way. That this "brain rattling" hit was just less severe than the others. And when a person is an expert on concussions, they're usually a doctor, not a person who's had them too many times to know when the effects are serious or not. Really Trent, I know you like playing, and sometimes you're halfway decent, but walk away now, when you can still... walk.

Not being a professional athlete, I cannot empathize with the kind of excitement that comes during game day, and the allure of playing until you're 50. Other athletes have had issues walking away like Jerry Rice, but Jerry Rice never suffered too many concussions. And others like Aikman and Young were forced to leave the game because they still wanted control of their bowels. Maybe these two should call Green and explain things to him in full.

It's either that, or Evander Holyfield has already gotten to him.

Green sets sights on returning [SI.com]
Phto: Whyfiles

Glorious weekend, Ohio fans

Well, the Northeast Ohio fans have not seen a weekend like this, since, well, no one even remembers. That's how bad it's been for the sports faithful that cheer for the Cleveland Indians, Cavaliers, Browns, and Ohio State Buckeyes. Although, the Buckeyes are the only team out of the set that actually ends up winning at times.

If you saw many happy faces where there's usually tears out of the dog masks, now you know why. All the pro (and almost pro - I'm looking at you, college football) teams in the state won. This is of course discounting the Bengals, who should not be confused with a real team.

Let's forget that the weekend starts on Friday night, because that's going out night, and nothing good ever happens then. Hoorah, nothing bad happened.

Here is your roller coaster of emotion, dear fan.

11:00 AM - Let's say you're tailgating for the Ohio State game, or trying to viciously sell your tickets for a fraction of the price you bought it for. It's a beautiful day, sunny, the only problem is that worthless Kent State is coming to town. No one, not even those clamoring for a Big East type schedule wants to continue watching these demolitions of teams that should be in high school. And especially no one wants to spend $60 to watch a game that will be over by halftime.

1:00 PM - And it was. Regardless, you dear fan, are happy that your team won, and there's still epic encounters in the college football world later in the day. As a fan of such, you will be watching, and eagerly hoping that the teams ahead (LSU, Cal) will choke on their on hairballs and lose.

4:00 PM - Kentucky has made a game of it, when LSU is hoping to run away and hide in their cage with the win. The cheers for the bluegrass state, around the Buckeye state are increasing.

7:15 PM - After three overtimes, and a 24 pack of Molson, the Wildcats pulled of an upset. I dare not use the word epic, because both teams are in the SEC, the king of all conferences. As such, they are all superior teams to any team in any other conference at any other time in the history of college football - except for the SEC itself. Woodson looks great, and another beer goes down with fervor as the #2 ranking is in our grasp.

7:16 PM - Oh shit. The Indians game is on. But, thanks FOX for the pre game show, the 7 o'clock promised first pitch is actually at some idiotic time like 7:17. But then again, thank you for waiting until the LSU game ends. You sirs, are on top of things.

9:50 PM - Oh happy days! Curiously misspelled and never corrected Jhonny gives Kurt the old heave ho as he knocks his pitch off the ladders in deep center. Are they still building this crappy field?

10:40 PM - Fuck. Game over. The empty and filled bottles of Molson and whatever's left (Milwaukee's Best) are being thrown on the lawn. Ramirez and Lowell go back to back for a 6-5 lead, and how small is this sandlot ballpark? They can bunt the ball out.

11:45 PM - Holy shit. Cal decided to shit the bed and have us waltz into first place in college football. Thank you kind sirs, it's much appreciated, and your fruit baskets are on their way.

1:40 AM - Oh happy days! Indians use Gagne as a punching bag to have a historic 7-run 11th inning, and a ball was hit about 500 feet, only the Volvo signed stopped it. That's safety. After rereading everything and listening to the calls, go to bed, Browns are on!

P.S. If you really do want to see a rollercoaster of emotion, the Indians live-blog is the place to go.

1:15 PM - Browns scored. Waiting for collapse.

2:00 PM - Browns scored. Waiting for collapse.

3:00 PM - Cleo Lemon and Ronnie Brown look like they just got free passes to the hall of fame - collapse beginning.

4:00 PM - Browns game over, and Derek Anderson was almost flawless (save for the 3rd quarter). A receiver out of Michigan (!!!) played well and made big catches. The Browns are on the way to the Superbowl after a 3-3 start. There's no need to save the rest of the beers for next weekend, it doesn't get any better.

Owens: New England not the best team

Terrell Owens must have been wearing his sunglasses during the game as well, because he didn't see what the rest of us saw: New England is one of the best teams ever. Not even going that far, Owens is still unsure that New England was the best team on the field, as he said in his post-game conference.

We see just how good New England is now, on both sides of the ball. They ran, they passed, and the stopped the offensive juggernauts Cowboys from doing any of that the entire game. This of course was all done without Richard Seymour, arguably New England's best defensive player on the field. It's certainly scary to think that they'll be even better, but I'm just really unsure that they can get any better. They seemed surgically perfect in a hostile environment against a good defense.

Make no mistake about it, the Cowboys are really good. The touchdown to Owens to bring the game within three was a big time drive, and put the pressure on New England to make plays. Unfortunately for them, New England made the plays. They ran with their third best running back, they passed to their third best receiver, and they blocked with their third best blocker.

Bottom line is, New England looks unstoppable. In fact, the only team that can stop the Patriots right now is the Patriots. There are two things that can happen that will lead to a loss for this team.

First of all, a team won't say anything about New England cheating, this will reduce the anger by Bill Bellichick to want to kick the other team's teeth in. If this is the case, the opponent can sneak up on them and give them a game. Secondly, in a couple of games, New England will lock up the AFC East, and thus will not care about their record from there.

Buy your Superbowl tickets Patriot fans, your team is awesome. Tom Brady is an incredible quarterback, and I only say that because he's on my fantasy team. And when he's not strangling baby goats, he's out throwing touchdowns.

CFB Review: Top 10 Turmoil, redux

College football review talks about the week that was in college football, about the good teams that won, and the good teams that lost. Look for it to wrap up the college football preview, and to gloat upon picking correct outcomes.

BCS rankings are out. All rejoice. By rejoice, I of course mean spit at them and ridicule the ridiculousness that is the BCS. Beloved Buckeyes are #1, but purely by default, because people are scared to put USF first. I understand the argument though, if they were, USF has two impressive wins to Buckeyes arguably none. The real issue here is with the AP voters, who clearly did not heed my letter to them. They have once again plastered first place votes to the skill it takes a 5 year old to due hand paintings. Understandable: OSU(50), USF(11), BC(1), because all these teams are undefeated, and thus should all have some viable first place argument. Inexplicable: OU(1), LSU(1). Yes, these teams looked pretty good for most of the year, and probably have the most talent this side of USC, but they've lost games, so they clearly do not have the resume to go, say, undefeated. Mixed feelings: Arizona State(1). At first, I thought this was "insanity" but they are undefeated and in a major conference. In fact, they lead the Pac-10. Let the debate begin.

If it looks like there's another issue of a Top-10 topsy turvy in college football, you're right. There's no better title than a second part to what happened earlier in the year - although possibly to a lesser extent.

So, does anyone want to be number one? First the game that I could actually watch. What a great game between Kentucky and LSU this evening, and it lived up to the billing. To everyone who watched the same game, how can you possibly rank LSU high after seeing: 1) Les Miles 2) Matt Flynn. Together, the two create a formidable team for the biggest chokes ever. Besides Andre Woodson, Kentucky doesn't have... anyone. Their receivers suck, their line is just okay, they're best running back is out, and their defense is completely average. Yet they managed to beat a team that is more talented than them at just about every position, this had to go right to the top for LSU. And yes, Les Miles is a great humanitarian blaming himself for the loss, and not creating excuses, but, he's directly responsible for the loss. It shouldn't be praised, he should be lambasted. His 4th-and-1 "gutsy" decisions came back to finally haunt them. As Vegas Watch would say, don't confuse favorable results with good decision making: just because he keeps going for fourth downs doesn't mean it's the right decision. In this case, it's a little easier, seeing as how you have to get that first down, but why not put Periloux in there to run an option? Why make yourself extremely predictable for 3 straight plays? Anyway, let's give credit where it's due, and that's Kentucky. They made all the big plays down the field, and Andre' Woodson is a great mechanical quarterback. I've yet to see him "zip" a pass to his receiver, but he throws a great ball, and an accurate deep pass. Huge game in the SEC next week against a hungry Florida team, this should be quite a blood bath on both sides.

If you think Les Miles is just an average coach (I do), then Tedford is light years behind him. This is an extremely talented team, that should never, ever be caught losing to Oregon State. What a letdown for the Bears to lose on a completely bone-headed play at the end of the game. Could the loss be the exact reflection of how much Nate Longshore means to this offense? Absolutely. But how about playing some defense folks. Oregon State went to Cincinnati and got boatraced 34-3. The exact same team played Cal and put up 31 points - where is the onus on the defense to hold them to, I don't know 21? Cal had almost clear sailing to the National Championship and they let it slip away. With USC uncharacteristically down, they were the obvious choice to head to the Sugar Bowl, and maybe the most athletic. But just as the pressure was on, Tedford's Robo QBs broke under it like they have under his tenure. This has to be truly disappointing Sunday and Monday morning. On that note, here's another reason that it's difficult for a one-way wide receiver type player to win the Heisman. Because they are directly dependent on someone else to get them the ball. And when that doesn't happen, you see stat lines like this: DeSean Jackson 4/25. In a game when your best players really have to nail it down so there isn't a huge let down, Jackson receivers all four passes for a forgettable 25 yards. It's not entire his fault, but he's not devoid of it either.


Best of the Rest, which there wasn't a lot of.

I wish I had the "intestinal fortitude" to pick Illinois over Iowa, but I just went from a close Illini win. They, of course, in typical Ron Zook fashion choked to a less talented team on the road. Their more talented and all-everything QB Juice Williams had to be benched, and what better than a QB controversy mid-season? Credit Iowa for not packing it, and playing good defense. That offense is worthless though.

Here's where I should get a little credit though. The perfect storm for a Cincinnati loss came to fruition, as they coughed it up to Louisville on seldom-watched ESPNU. I can't say how bad or dominating this loss is, I just want to rub it in that I totally called it is all. Cincinnati will be there at the end of the year though, but I'm not so sure Brian Kelly will.

Is USC the new Michigan? They had the toughest time with unranked Arizona, at home of all places. They needed a late run by freshman Joe McNight to set up a field goal to really salt this thing away. After coming in with great expectations USC has let down this entire season, winning close against teams they should blow out, and of course losing at all.

When is NASCAR better than college football? Never. ABC took the race over the Oklahoma-Missouri game, but Gamecast was telling me it was close for a while. As expected, Oklahoma had too much talent, even though it's young, for Missouri to handle. Your new Big-12 North leader? World beater Kansas.

How did Auburn lose any games, specifically those to USF and Mississippi State with that defense? Seriously, give credit USF, but MSU?! Mind boggling. They held arguably the two best running backs in the SEC to a combined 85 yards. Auburn is a team that should be undefeated.

Wisconsin's overratedness finally caught up with them. They got humiliated at Penn State when they were starting Anthony Morelli, and a second string running back. Way to show up for the Big 10, what an embarrassment. Never believe in Wisconsin.


BCS Rankings, AP Poll [USA Today]
CFB Week 7 Scores [SI.com]
Photo: Ed Reinke [AP]

NFL: Gridiron Preview Week 6

Gridiron Preview is a weekly feature that will run all 17 weeks of the glorious NFL schedule, and then a sexy drown time for the playoffs. Don't look for betting advice here, even though we're almost always right.

What we learned is, the NFL has become college football. For a long time, college football was chastised for having so little parity, that from year to year, the polls didn't change, and only included the same clandestine colors playing for and winning the national championship. Well, the shoe is on the other foot. Now, South Florida and Boston College round out the top 5, and the entire top 10 has been through a shuffle through only half a season. The NFL, however, has seen the face of parity, and spat in it. New England won two championships in a row, and is now cruising toward 16-0. Last year's champion, Indianapolis, is still undefeated and is quietly the second bets team in the league. And now, "America's Team," is once again the best team in the NFC. They're blowing people out, they're playing dominant defense, and it's become a little boring to watch, when these teams are so much better than the rest of the league. Maybe it's time for a stricter salary cap? I don't know, disband the Patriots!

Game of the Week is once again not either on Monday night or Sunday Night. When is this flexible schedule going to start? Two undefeated teams are meeting to open the way to the playoffs, and not everyone can see the game - that is a disgrace NFL. Cowboys vs. Patriots is the easy call for game of the week, because we all want to know how good each of these teams are. No one, including myself, believes that the Cowboys are as good as they've played to this point, because they haven't played anyone. Their offense is ranked 1st in the league, but the opposing defenses have yet to crack the top-20. And, they really should have lost last week. The Patriots on the other hand, have been even more dominant, while still not playing anyone, but we all believe in them. Why? Bellichick vs. Phillips is the easy answer, and it's also the solution to this weekends game. The truth is, New England is the superior team because they've been there, everywhere before. Everything has changed over the past couple of years, except for Tom and Bill, and even though that sounds like the name of a goofy cartoon, it's really just the name of a dynasty. How is Tony Romo as such a young quarterback going to do against the officially complicated Bill Bellichick defense. We all remember what one young quarterback did, but everyone feels that this time, it's going to be quite different - especially with Romo's performance last week. The fact that it's on the road oddly is better for the Patriots, who will have a killer instinct, and be more focused to show everyone just how good they are.


Our Picks: We will pick 10 games against the spread for each week. One of these 10 has to be a Sunday night game, and the other has to be a Monday night game, that way we won't wimp out. The winner gets bragging rights. I have once again dominated by not putting any money on these games, and have broken things wide open.

Records: Total (Last week)
Hermano: 22-16-2 (5-4-1)
DSC: 18-20-2 (3-6-1)

Giants (-3.5) at Falcons.
Hermano - A home dog? Oh so hard to pass up. You're not going to hear this often, but the Giants are playing well. That's right, their defense is actually pretty good, and Eli Manning isn't throwing interceptions. Who knew that would be the key to winning. Giants -3.5.
DSC - Home dog, shitty road team. Plus I'm sick of seeing Strahan on EVERYTHING pimping his shitty book. Falcons +3.5.

Saints at Seahawks (-7).
Hermano - Like shooting kids in a barrel. Saints are done, they've Q-U-I-T'ed it. At this pace, they might not even win a game. Usually, this wouldn't be surprising for the 'Aints, but this has to be especially painful since they were in the NFC Championship game last year. Playing in Seattle is difficult, more so when you suck. Seahawks -7.
DSC - Alexander is banged up and the saints are coming off a close loss, so... fuck it. I JUST NEED BREES TO THROW SOMETHING TO SOMEONE BECAUSE MY FANTASY TEAM IS IN THE SHITTER. Saints +7.

And now, some games we might not have in common.

Rams at Ravens (-10).
Hermano - I don't love the Ravens, especially since the Browns beat them. But, their defense is still fairly good, and they're playing a JV team. Gus Frerotte is still playing, right? Alrighty then. Ravens -10.
DSC - I just don't like the ravens as people. Rams +10.

Texans at Jaguars (-7).
Hermano - Double take. Wait, what? Jacksonville sucks, and their defense, which was supposed to be their saving grace is just plain average. Also, Texans are quietly not the worst team ever, and Matt Shaub isn't terrible. Texans +7.
DSC - I've been pimping Houston all season, why not continue. Texans +7.

Titans at Buccaneers (-3).
Hermano - There's one thing Vince Young knows, and it isn't passing, or playing the QB position accurately; that one thing is winning. Whenever he's an underdog, he comes up huge, whether it's on the road or at home. Titans +3.
DSC - I'm supposed to give points with the Tampa team? Titans +3.

Panthers at Cardinals (-4.5).
Hermano - The Cardinals aren't half bad, and they came up big for me the other weekend by beating the Steelers. They have talent, they just have to be coached up. On the other side, Delhomme is just alr... David Carr isn't half ba... Vinny Testaverde is starting! That's all that needs to be said. Cardinals -4.5.
DSC - Holy hell this is a gimme. Vinny is likely to start. Man I love it. Cardinals -4.5.

Patriots (-6) at Cowboys.
Hermano - Deep breath. Not taking a home dog in this situation could be the downfall. However, Patriots are about to show how good they actually are, and Mike Martz Wade Phillips can't keep up with the coaching circle. Patriots -6.
DSC - I don't want to take a road team against a good home team, but the pats found a way to be slighted again, the FU tour continues. Patriots -6.

Redskins at Packers (-3).
Hermano - Packers started hot, but the Redskins have been steady. The real issue here is the fact that the Packers cannot run the ball. It's very difficult to win in this league when you are almost completely one dimensional. Redskins +3.
DSC - Newsflash: The redskins aren't that good. They just LOOK that good b/c they played the Lions. Packers -3.

Eagles (-3.5) at Jets.
Hermano - Who do we want back? Westbrook! When do we want him back? Now! You got him. In back-to-back weeks the Eagles looked both like world beaters, and losers, and there was one piece missing: Westbrook. And he's back. However, have to take one home dog. Jets +3.5.

Raiders at Chargers (-10).
DSC - This is apparently the week of indefensible picks. Raiders +10.


EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY – The Bounty On Tom Brady’s Knees Increased To $30 [KSK]
>Patriots at Steelers [NFL.com]
Dear Sean Payton, we're on break [Chicks in the Huddle]

Wide World of Blog: Oct 12th Issue

Everyone's getting ready for a pretty busy sports weekend: all sorts of baseball and football going on. Go Tribe.

• Not the first time NOIS did something cool, but this is definitely interesting. An interview with Scream A. Smith. HOWEVA'... [NOIS]
• Can this be the year for Cleveland breaks its championship drought? It would certainly be something, seeing as how Ohio's been coming up short at the highest level lately. Reincarnation of Major League. [Our Book of Scrap]
• Not to pile on the Sports Guy or anything. Hold on, who am I kidding? I think he's entirely annoying, and he's become exactly what he hates: an overbearing and arrogant national persona for one local team. And he's completely objective. [100% Injury Rate]
• Hey baby, how about we sneak away into some private area - where only two dozen people watch us make out instead of 90,000. Hilarious if true, but kudos to you, Rick Reilly. [The Big Lead]
• They may not be able to sell out a game, but their case: quality over quantity. Diamondback fans make the most of their paltry attendance numbers in violence and arrests. [Fanhouse]
• In football, offense wins games, defense wins championships. In baseball, it's the starting pitching that can bring you the ultimate prize. Are the Indians actually put together better for October rather than the summer? [Vegas Watch]
  

And there you have it. Have a great weekend

Enough with the fashion stickers

Football players are tough, manly guys. They hit each other for a living, try to beat the crap out of one another, and generally take and dole out physical punishment. So, why, for fuck's sake, are they doing the equivalent of bedazzling themselves in their uniforms.

I'm specifically talking about the under eye stickers that football (and baseball - but they're less manly by definition) players wear with all sorts of designs on them. They put the name or logo of their team, little messages, or even area codes where they can be reached. This is moronic.

The idea of the eye black is to reduce glare. That's it. It's not to make yourself pretty, or to let the girls know which hotel room you're staying in. And especially not for drawing little flowers for the other players to look at. It's stupid, and it's getting annoying.

First thought is, what if these strips actually reduce glare, what harm does it do decorate them a little, it's just clean fun. Well, that would really be just okay, even though it's still dumb to decorate something when you're about to go hit people. But it doesn't work, it doesn't reduce glare at all - that's what real eye black is for. Chris Hovan knows this, now he's a real man, he's eye black coming out of everywhere. It's either that, or he cries the darkest black tears history has ever seen. This is not only effective in reducing glare, but in showing your opponent that you're completely insane, and probably, the devil. Think of this as a two pronged approach to beat your opponent.

Maybe the lack of manly black tears is the reason Reggie Bush is having so many issues doing anything this season. While on the other hand, Hovan and his Buccaneer teammates are leading their pathetic division. It matters not. If you're going to pretty yourself up, go walk down the runway at a drag queen concert, don't play football.

Eyeblack [Helium]
Photo: Chris Hovan, Bush 619

Even adults lack common sense

Coaches sit in the living rooms of families and promise the parents to take care of their child. To be a surrogate father, if you will, to either a troubled youth, or one in need of guidance. This is what they're supposed to do, they're supposed to take care of the athletes on their team as if they were their own, and that's what the best coaches do. So, how can any parents send their children to Texas A&M under Dennis Franchione, when he can hardly take care of himself? When he himself does not have morals, and can't distinguish between simple rules.

Coach Fran is he admirably calls himself decides to show us he's still a scum bag, and should go back to selling cars, or something equally slimy. In the last couple of weeks, it has come to the attention of Texas A&M, that their coach was running his own website, CoachFran.com that gave inside information on the program. To get access to this VIP Newsletter, a member must pay $1200 on an annual basis.

It was first revealed two weeks that Franchione and McKenzie had been distributing the newsletter to a select number of boosters andsupporters the past three years in which insider information was given on player injuries, recruiting and sometimes critical evaluations of his players. Subscribers were charged a $1,200 annual fee that went directly to the company that ran CoachFran.com.

This is really stupid on two levels, and the fact that grown men are involved on both sides of this, is even more idiotic. Grown men, mind you, that should not only set an example with their actions, but teach young men how to act. Franchione had a man working directly for him, being paid from the money collected on the website to provide this newsletter, and the University knew nothing about this. The newsletter contained information about potential recruits (red alert) as well as on the field performance grades for the players. It went so far as to give the script of the first 14 plays to start the game, and red zone offense. I guess where I'm really lost is the fact that during this entire proceeding, no light went up in the coaches head that this is wrong. And how much did he make from this, maybe $20,000 in a year? He makes $2 million every year. I'm at a loss for words when I try to figure out what he was thinking to both start this, and let this continue for a matter of time. This is truly a special kind of stupid.

The other side of this formula, are the people that actually paid $1200 for this. Who goes to this website, shells out over a grand for a early subscription to this moronic thing. And not one of them goes, "Uh, Coach, I'm a booster and I want to do what's best for this program, do you think you could get in trouble for this?" No, not one, they paid the money that's going right into his pockets. Or worse, he could have been giving this money to players - we don't know this yet. The collection of stupid people involved in something like this is mind boggling.

The good news, Aggies, is that Franchione will not lose his job, but his assistant, Mike McKenzie will. I guess he'll have to go back to playing cornerback for the Saints. The not firing of Franchione may or may not have something to do with his 5-1 record so far, and sole possession of first place in the Big 12 South. The triumvirate of stupid is now complete. You're keeping the coach even though you're not sure if the NCAA is going to drop the hammer on you, for the most blatantly moronic act ever heard, all for a 5-1 record. It goes without saying that you deserve all sorts of sanctioned levied by the Nazi Collegiate Organization, since you're letting it all ride in hopes of a Big 12 championship. We all know that's not going to happen, because the coach is going to screw things up anyways - he does every year.

Not sure what's more surprising here. That he did it, or that we're amazed by it. This is the same guy that left the Alabama program as soon as he heard there were going to be sanctions imposed on them. And he didn't do it in some tearful Suzyn Waldmanesque manner, he did it via video conference to his players. This guy has no shame, no conscience, no courage, and no brain. He's like all the characters of the Wizard of Oz wrapped into one.

Franchione punished by A&M for violations [Houston Chronicle]
Photo: UA News

CFB Weekend Preview: Yawn

College football weekend preview will run weekly, and will take a quick gander at some of the upcoming games. Quick breakdowns and predictions will be included, but don't quote it on SportsBook, they'll still take your money.

This week has to be one of the most boring college football weeks in recent memory. In fact, ESPN is probably having such a difficult time finding where Gameday should go, that they should do one of those things where they sit in the big leather chairs. It's like they're waiting for their attorneys. I'm watching you baby arm. But really, this rivals the first weekend of the season, when most teams are playing 1AA opponents. I feel bad even writing about it.

If you could watch one game this weekend, you'll probably end up watching baseball. Yes people, that slow. There is a halfway decent matchup, most likely to be repeated in the Big 12 championship game: Missouri at Oklahoma. To be fair, even though seven weeks or so, I really don't know how good Missouri is, maybe it has to do with the fact that they aren't a historical football program. I just don't know, in fact, it seems that I may not know much about college football this year. Oklahoma is a sizable favorite, and even though Missouri was impressive in dispatching overrated Nebraska 41-6 last week, it still looks like a lot of people don't believe they can really compete. What do I see? I see a great offensive set with Chase Daniel finding the open man, almost always. I also see an offense that is created to compensate for the lack of actual physical talent (save for a few players). Oklahoma lost at Colorado (looking ahead), but Texas hung around more than it should have been allowed. I like Oklahoma big in this game, I think they're too athletic, and I'm still in love with local Ohio Boy Bob Stoops as a coach. Oklahoma 48, Missouri 21.

Other games that need your attention:

1. LSU at Kentucky. Wait, shouldn't this be the game of the week? No, I don't think so, even though I was on the Kentucky bandwagon. I still like Andre Woodson a lot, but this is a terrible matchup for the Wildcats. LSU is just too good on both sides of the ball with their consistency and power on both offense and defense. This is specifically bad for Kentucky because LSU plays defense, and they do not. I'm not a huge fan of the transitive property but it works pretty good here. LSU beat South Carolina's brains in, even though it was in Death Valley. South Carolina and the OBC pretty much kept Kentucky under wraps, with a far less vaunted defense. This almost never works for football. I'd love to see Kentucky win, because it would tab LSU with a loss, but like many people I not only think they'll win, but they'll cover the nearly 10 points they're giving. Home crowd isn't enough to throw LSU off its game. LSU 37, Kentucky 17.
2. Illinois at Iowa. That's not really fair, because almost no Big 10 game this season ever deserves your attention. Watch out for Illinois though they are really talented, and not just with relation to the Big 10, but with relation to the entire country. SEC fans can start with their taunts, that Zook can turn around a program in two years, but couldn't sniff an SEC title game. That being said, this has to be looked at as a trap game. Illinois is coming off two consecutive wins against ranked teams for the first time since Red Grange has been there. But, both of these wins were at home, and against, overrated teams. If they're too high on themselves, a good defensive unit like Iowa can really cause issues. This is something you'll want to keep an eye on. Illinois 20, Iowa 17.
3. Louisville at Cincinnati. As mentioned earlier, this week is really a snoozer. However, this is a real game, and Cincinnati is a real team. ESPN is talking about taking Gameday to the USF/Cincinnati game if both teams are undefeated. Well, guess what, both of these won't be. This is an upset alert, and I'm giving the note to Brian Kelly early. First of all, taking Louisville because they're getting 10.5 is an easy call, but I like them for the straight up win. Cincinnati is really flying high, they just beat Rutgers for the second time in two years, they're undefeated, and their offense looks like the best show on turf. ESPN is talking about going to their games, and they're playing at home. They're confident, they're excited, and they're undefeated. This is a perfect storm for the Bearcats to get a dose of reality. Louisville 41, Cincinnati 40.

Heisman Lookout. So, who's this Matt Ryan fellow? We haven't spoken about him at all, and Todd McShay likes him as the clear favorite to win the bronze trophy. I'm not so sure anyone is a clear favorite at this point because all the pre-season guys are on teams that may really start to struggle in the next couple of weeks. Surely we can't continue to give it to the quarterback on the best team: Matt Flynn isn't one, and Booty just lost to Stanford. So, how about Matt Ryan going to ND and really puts his name on the list. As those pompous ND fans say, you get the Heisman Trophy by either play well for the Irish, or against the Irish.

Notes. Tony Joiner ended up playing for Florida in their loss to LSU, which is great. Nothing says that the program is in complete control of their athletes when the boosters can quickly pay off a guy about to press charges. This is an embarrassment. At least all other schools actually suspend the players that get in trouble, and Joiner got nothing but Captain removed from his name. What a deterrent.

This went under the radar, but Michigan also held out Marrio Manngingham in the win against Eastern Michigan for unspecified rule breakage. I'm going to go on a limb here and say that this convinient unspecified rule breaking happened several weeks before, and it just so happens that this is the week they could live without him. Notorious for reinstating without explanation, Lloyd Carr did a similar thing with Adrian Arrington this summer, when he realized their receiving core was going to be thin. He and Meyer went to the same school for winning.


Price of parity [SI.com: Stewart Mandel]
UM's Carr confirms: Manningham out vs. EMU [Detroit Free Press]

I Just Don't Get It: TO edition

I’ll admit it, I hate TO. That’s right, I HATE TERRELL OWENS. I think he’s obnoxious, selfish, annoying, yada yada yada. And for the most part I think he is what’s wrong with sports.

Now that I said that, I have to say that I think he’s getting a bad rap right now from ESPN/the media. Tonight on SportsCenter, they talked about the sign he put up in the cowboys locker room which says something to the effect of “Because of all the questions about the new 81, the original 81 will not be taking questions until Sunday”. ESPN reported this as if it was bad.

I just don’t get how this is bad. A man who has a history of being a loudmouth shuts up and essentially says “lets just play the game”. That is both reasonable and intelligent. So much so that I wonder who the hell told him to say it.

Could it be that TO has turned the corner? Everyone remembers how into Tony Romo he was when Bledsoe was the only option. It certainly was no surprise to see TO yelling at Romo on the sidelines as he threw pick after pick on MNF. However it was surprising that TO was not yelling in anger, but encouragement.

After the game, he also corrected a reporter when the reporter referred to the Pats as the “best team in football”. TO reminded the reporter that both teams are 5-0.

The Lions have a winning record at their bye week, NHL players look like I did when my girlfriend shrunk all my old t-shirts and I gained some weight (read: the New Jerseys SUCK), and Drew Brees remains a shitty fantasy quarterback…but what I just don’t get most is how TO suddenly seems like a voice of reason!

Detroit Sports City looks forward to TO’s continual transformation. He also is looking forward to the OSU/MSU game where he will get a chance to introduce diehard MSU fans to Columbus and OSU gamedays. Any suggestions from WSAS readers regarding how to show these Spartans how it’s really done (also bringing some non-football fans, must convert them too) should be sent to detroitsportscity@gmail.com

Owens not talking to media until after Sunday's game [ESPN.com]

Wide World of Blog: Oct. 10 Issue

So, that New York Yankees crying circus isn't over yet. And, I'm not sure if it's entertaining to watch everything crumble to pieces, or if it's really annoying already. I think in a few days I'll figure it out.

• Yankee love still not gone, eh? Well, I guess the Yankees are great if you got your Delorean up to 88 mph, and went back to 1998. Yeah, go Dynasty, if making the playoffs is a dynasty. [Why don't we get drunk and blog?]
  
• Marion Jones, I hope it was worth taking those steroids to now have your name in the papers. No one in this country cares, but every other country is ashamed of you. I hope you only took a little of it it too, that would make it that much more fun. [Baltimore Sun]
• ESPN, mad that they are no longer the first and only news outlet for people of ages 18-34 are reviewing what they should do. It's a good thing the blogs are here to help them out. [Ghosts of Wayne Fontes]
• Yeah, we all heard Suzyn Waldman cry and be extremely unprofessional. But there's more to it. Yankee apologists start... now. [MASS Live]

Hold on, I got something in my eye. The parity has come to blogging. As you can hear in my voice, it's really heart breaking. Let me compose myself.

Letter to the voters

Dear College Football Voters,

I'd like to take this area to thank you for your time in between brushing your teeth to complete your college football ballot, I know it's a tough task. To this end, voters, I'd like to give you a few pointers on casting votes, since they seem a bit haphazard.

First of all, I think it would be beneficial for both yourselves, and us (the audience) if you were all to get together once a year and decide what exactly is the criteria that you will be voting on. I think even when you're dead wrong, and completely off the consistency of your awful ratings will make life easier for all of us. The fans complain often about the results of the rankings which is similar to the officiating in the football games, but they can quantify that as, "well, at least it's consistently bad." If this were the case, there's a chance you'll hear less griping. I thought bringing this up first would get it out of the way, because it's never going to happen.

Second of all, it would be fantastic if you could watch some of the games. I know, I know, it's nearly impossible to watch all the games, but if you're voting, there's no reason you should be anywhere except in front of a TV all of Saturday. It is your duty and responsibility to see with your own two eyes what the team looks like - as you well know, the final score just doesn't tell the story.

Now that we're beyond things unreasonable to you, let's move onto what the voting should actually look like.

Some voters rank teams based purely on numbers: win-loss record, and strength of schedule of opponents. Others take a more simplistic approach and use their pre-season ranking as a basis for moving teams up and down based on pure outcomes - King of the Hill. Yet others, go completely to the opposite side of the spectrum, almost completely ignoring the record and going by the "smell test". Meaning, a team looks really good, and even though they lost a couple of games, they're still one of the best teams I think. In and of themselves all of these are flawed, but the truth, as always, lies somewhere in the middle.

Playing for the national championship isn't a right, it's something that is earned through 12 games of the regular season. It should be a combination of seeing a team on the field, seeing their competition, and seeing their record. Using anything but a combination of the aforementioned criteria just invites violence. Cowherd (think God he's not a voter) said he still thought Florida was one of the best teams in the country, even though they had two losses, and thus should be ranked high. Well, that may be the case, but by having two losses, they no longer have the right to play for the national championship and jump teams that play in major conferences and have no losses.

This is akin to any kind of bracket. It's not the best team overall that always wins in the end, it's just the best team that day, and that's the only fair way of doing it. George Mason went to the Final Four, and there's not one team that they beat that on paper, by record, or smell test that they were actually better than. I'm not advocating a playoff, I just don't think it works for college football. But I am advocating the use of the regular season as a playoff tournament to place people in the national championship.

There are teams who with early season losses automatically disqualify themselves from contention. By the end of the year, 10 weeks later, it's no longer the same team, they're more experienced, they're better, and they may be lighting the world on fire (see: USC 2002 - they didn't go the championship but looked like the best team). But it's just not fair to put them in the national championship even though they may be playing better now when they didn't play at that level during their losses.

Please, I urge you to consider multiple criteria in your decision. I urge you to be informed about the team and who they've played. And most of all, I urge you to watch the teams on the field and not just read the box scores. Because, when these things are lacking, you just look foolish.

Sincerely,
Hermano, We Suck at Sports

When analysis goes wrong [Buckeye Commentary]

Wide World of Blog: Oct 9 Issue

Good day for Cleveland, bad day for New York. You know what that means? Grown men crying, and New York media wearing their keyboards thin.

• Nearly a year ago, TBL did an interview with Jason Whitlock. Just like the Terminator, they and he are back with a second part of this interview. If there's one thing you read today, this better be it. [The Big Lead]
• For everyone that's in love with the Cowboys, be weary, we've seen this before. Last year's Bears where the talk of the NFL, and sex cannon might have gotten tail as good as Romo, but having mirror image years to each other can be scary. [Log's Blog]
• I thought Suzyn Waldman's obnoxious on-air orgasm, and diarrhea at the same time set women in broadcasting back a couple decades. She further retards their progress, with her, well retardedness. Also, she's really ugly. [Awful Announcing]
• I heard somewhere (certainly not TBS) that the Indians beat the Yankees. But Chip and his crew of Yankee flag wearers insist that the Indians did something improbable, slaying the giant that is the NYY. Who exactly is the Goliath? [The DiaTribe]

Yes, that's right, two baseball stories, by far the content that has been lacking throughout the season. But, just because it's lacking, doesn't mean I don't like it. I guess $200 million tastes like tears. Taste the sad.

Indians, one step forwad. Yankees, one step back.

Here's a newsflash to the New York media: The Indians won the ALDS. I know it's hard to believe that the $200 million payroll didn't automatically give you the championship banner, but crazy things like that happen. The only thing I have to say in condolences is the fact that you were beaten by a better team.

Tried and true formula for winning in the post season for the last 100+ years has been pitching and timely hitting. These are the two things the Yankees failed to do, seeing as how they had two two-out RBIs to the Indians' 15. But most importantly, all the Yankees fans, and media, and specifically TBS should at least admit that the Yankees weren't whiffing their bat for no reason. It's not as if they came up there, limping to get into the post season, with questions about their offense. They came in on a roll, specifically offensively after a turbo charged second half of a season.

As hard as it is to admit and comprehend, there was actually another team across from dugout, and the Yankees didn't beat themselves - they got beat. Indians starting pitching was, for the most part, very good. If we just talk about Carmona and Carston Charles, it was indeed incredible. Of all the praise Andy Petite got for Friday night's shutout through 7 innings (well deserved), it wasn't until two nights later that Carmona got given any credit for his three-hit 1-run 9-inning performance. Although, he was down 1-0 to Petite most of the night, he also allowed only 1 meaningful hit, while Petite had base runners and trouble all night long. Yes, there is a reason those big bats whiffed, and popped up and out - it was because of the guy toeing the rubber.

Of all the slack Wedge got for starting Byrd, everything turned out okay. I'm in the camp that it was still the wrong decision, even if it turned out in our favor. We should all give credit to Byrd however, to go out there while everyone was ragging on him and pitch what for him would be called a "gem". That was an incredibly gutsy performance, even if it seemed like he was on the edge of giving up a 5 run inning every time. He had plenty of base runners, and created plenty of momentum for the other team, but in the end, he went 6 innings, allowing only 2 runs - more than we ever expected from his outing.

It's liberating, and we can all exhale now that we've won, and at the same time may have been the straw that broke the back of the $200 million camel. And maybe, after the actual win, this is a close second in satisfaction.

Update: This really isn't a newsflash or anything. But I'm not the only one that feels this way.

Fuck off, TBS [Flyers Fieldhouse]
Photo: Al Bello [Getty Images]

Almost the smartest man on the face of the Earth

I'm sorry Monday Night Football, it will probably never happen again, but I passed up your game last night for baseball. I think you'll forgive me though. For one, you have Mike Tirico, Tony Kornheiser, and Ron Jaworski in the booth, and only one of you is even tolerable. Second of all, I am sadly a Cleveland fan, and as such, I wanted to wait and see with mine own two eyes the implosion that could have been by heady manager Eric Wedge. I cannot tell you it will never happen again, but next time I'll call, or something.

Either way, it turns out that I actually missed a pretty awesome game, or at least a pretty awesome 19 minutes. Because the rest was an official Dick Juaron unmitigated mess, or, as the rest of the league calls it, "Dick Juaron." I was following on Gamecast, and the last 4 seconds seemed to go on forever. I thought it just wasn't updating, but apparently, it actually did last forever - specifically for Bills fans.

You may ask, why I would, after such a horrible gut wrenching loss call myself an "almost" genius. Well, during our picks, I picked Buffalo +10.5, and that's not really all that surprising, having home dogs, and being a double digit line and all. But this is.

Cowboys (-10.5) at Bills
Hermano - Home dog? Check. A team that's due? Check. Is it cold as balls in Buffalo? Pretty sure. The perfect storm has arrived, and double digit points is too much. In fact, I think Bills win outright. Superbowl. Bills +10.5.

I was being facetious about the Superbowl, but I really did have a feeling that the Bills would win this game. And had not it been for a Grossman-to-Montana like transformation throughout the game, I would be the smartest man on the face of the Earth.

To win a game with a turnover margin of -5 is almost unheard of, and makes up for roughly 1% of all the possible outcomes. In a league where any turnover margin results in an 85% chance to win, it's quite historically significant that the Bills were able to overcome such gargantuan odds to give the game away. That's not really fair, I can't say they gave the game away because I didn't actually watch it. They choked when all they needed was one play to seal it. I think considering the outcome, this remains true, even if I had not seen the highlights of this. Congratulations to the Cowboys and Wade Phillips, but I still don't trust him, because look at what happened for 59 minutes.

Cowboys shock 100 awake Bills fans [Awful Announcing]
Cowboys vs. Bills Recap [Hot Chicks, Hot Picks]
Photo: Don Heupel [AP]

Wide World of Blog: Oct 8th Issue

What the hell is going on in football. Not just college, and not just pro, but together, this has to be the most inconsistent and odd year I can ever remember. While college is showing its parity, NFL is lacking, the opposite of what it's been. Must be confusing to people who bet money on these games.

• Olbermann should really expand his football viewing to college sports it, it would really improve his supposed to be funny segment on NBC's Football Night in America. I just can't believe Mike Patrick still has a job announcing games. [Awful Announcing]
• Everyone on the East coast is so tightly wound, while the surfers on the West are so laid back. But, with the bad sports weekend that was South California, how are some of the locals holding up? [Obscure Sports Quarterly]
• Practice? We talking about practice! Practice man, we here talking about practice! One would think that the Angels would consider practicing their swings before they get swept. But then again, maybe they Allen Iversoned it. [Larry Brown Sports]
  
• Can you really blame Sibu? I also like blonds with tattoos. I guess it's better that the Dutch stalwart orangutan male is interested in some kind of female, rather than none at all. [Times of India]

Okay, so only four today. But doesn't a story about a horny orangutan Romeo-Juliet-type story really count for two?

Trent Green: Foolish man

Unfortunately, in my area of the US, I got to watch my Browns get waxed by the best team in football. The only bright side is, that it was completely expected, so I wasn't upset about the outcome. I was upset, however, that they gave me hope in playing halfway decent (better than any other team) against the Patriots. It was both a reassuring, and soul crushing day. But, I digress.

Dan Dierdorf was doing the game. And of course, they did a live look in, to show that Trent Green had suffered another concussion by trying to stop a 300 lb man with just his head. After what looked like a vicious collision, ending with Green on a gurney for the second time in as many seasons, Dierdorf opened his mouth. In paraphrasing, he says, "You know, some may call it foolish to try and make that kind of play when you have a history of concussions. But, to me, it really showed what kind of a tough guy Trent Green is."

Really, this is no joking matter, because Trent Green has had a history of getting his head banged around, and this would be tougher to write if he were seriously injured - which he wasn't. But the bottom line, is that it wasn't gutsy, it was just plain dumb. To call for a reverse where a quarterback who's had concussion issues has to block is stupid to begin with. That Trent Green went ahead and did it, in such a terrible manner is even worse. Just because a player takes risks for his team doesn't automatically make him a gutsy player, sometimes that decision making has to be questioned. When does he ask himself to curtail his blitzkrieg play for a winless team in order to have a normal lifestyle 10 years from now? Of course, we should really question his decision making to willfully go to the Dolphins to begin with.

If there's one thing that Olbermann got right in his new gig on Sunday night, it's his new "Worst Person in the NFL" segment, at least this time. Once it was the uniforms, the other time it was everyone in Philadelphia, but this time, it was the man taunting an unconscious person: Travis Johnson. Now, to be fair, it could have been that Johnson didn't know Trent had lost consciousness, and was just animated about the defensive backup of his teammates. But no, even learning that Green was actually injured, Johnson didn't back down.

After the play, Johnson stood over Green and taunted him, drawing a 15-yard penalty. Johnson said he apologized to Kubiak for the penalty, but he went on an expletive-laced rant in the locker room, apparently because he didn't like the low block Green threw.

''It was a malicious hit,'' Johnson said. ''It was uncalled for. He's like the scarecrow. He wants to get courage while I wasn't looking and hit me in my knee instead of trying to hit me in my head. God don't like ugly, you know what I mean?''

Well, I'm not sure anyone but Olbermann can follow that by anything. I guess, maybe someone should send him the book, a Cliff's Notes version, or even the movie. But, if my memory serves me, it is the Lion that is looking for courage, and the Scarecrow is looking for a brain. I take that back, Johnson is right on the money. Green is indeed the Scarecrow, because he's still looking for his brain.

Texans kick 'em while they're down [Chicago Sun-Times]
Photo: Melissa Phillip [AP/Houston Chronicle]

CFB Review: Top 10 Turmoil

College football review talks about the week that was in college football, about the good teams that won, and the good teams that lost. Look for it to wrap up the college football preview, and to gloat upon picking correct outcomes.

It was a tough day to be a top 10 team in college football on Saturday. There will certainly be some unlikely and surprising finds come Sunday afternoon when the AP casts their ballot, but that's not to say it's not well deserved. Not necessarily well deserved by the teams up there now, but the void created by the losers has to be filled with someone. This was "Gut Check" Saturday, but that's only because ESPN ran out of alliteration adjectives.

Obviously, a monumental upset at the Colosseum this past weekend, and that's the only place to start. Upstart, and worst team in the Pac 10 Stanford came in and dealt a crushing blow to colossal 40 point favorite USC. The invincible aura of the Trojans has been slowly peeled away, as major assistants and top ranked players have fled and graduated. And now, are things so symbolic that Pete Carroll would lose to Stanford in both his first and last year at USC? Now that would be a fitting end to one of the most dominant 6 year runs in college football history. More importantly, where does this upset rank in the hall of great upsets? I say, it's got to be in the top five. We've already had the greatest upset of all time earlier this year, but this isn't the overrated and underachieving Michigan, this is a team that brought back the entire defense. This is a team that was playing at home, where they haven't lost in a million years, and this team has been the model of efficiency that entire time. When an unranked team beats a ranked team, it's one thing. When they beat a team ranked in the top 2, on the road it's unheard of. Add to that, the fact that Jim Harbaugh was shooting his mouth off before the game, it was going to be truely, a massacre. This is surprising and stunning, and this may be the turning point for both USC and Carroll.

Best of the rest

LSU came back from a 10 point deficit twice to hand Florida its second consecutive loss. If Urban Meyer doesn't like to lose in general, I can't imagine he was too pleasant to deal with afterwards. Using multiple fourth-down conversions and a couple of quarterbacks, Les Miles got his first gritty win. This was truly a heavyweight battle to watch.

Wisconsin was living on the edge, and finally fell off. They met reality in the name of Rashard Mendenhall, Juice Williams, and Arrelious "Rejis" Benn. It's hard to win without playing a smidge of defense, and Wisconsin learned this. Be weary of these Illini, they've got talent, and Ron Zook finds it easier to win the Big 10 than the SEC.

Oklahoma sent Texas reeling, but set themselves straight. A week after both suffering striking upsets of their own, Texas showed that they were true to form, and it wasn't an upset at all. Oklahoma on the other hand, rushed and passed to victory, and a likely Big 12 title.

Kentucky proved to us, they're still a basketball school. After jumping on the bandwagon, it clearly couldn't handle the weight, when the Wildcats choked at a defensive minded South Carolina team. I bought into the hype.

In the battle of Big 10 heavyweights, one proved to be a contender, and one a pretender. Boasting the best offense in the conference, Purdue only got on the board against scrubs, with under a minute in the game. On the other hand, OSU worked with precision and purpose, and even through 3 turnovers completely dominated their counterpart.

Missouri, a team I've not seen play but once is the best kept secret in the Big 12. While everyone (including myself) is in love with Oklahoma, Chase Daniels is running the sweetest passing game in the conference. They're clearly the class of the Big 12 North, but no one expected them to thrash Nebraska so thoroughly.

I swore I wouldn't write about Rutgers until they played a real team. As it turns out, Cincinnati for real, and showed it on Saturday. After being down 17-7 early, they regrouped to put the game away with 3 touchdowns in the third quarter. This team is for real, and should be in the Top 10.

To recap - three more Top 10 teams lost, to add to the five from last week. It would have been three different from last week, if Super Tebow could pull the upset in Death Valley. By all rational though, the unthinkable loss at Michigan to start the year should have put all favorites on alert, thus preventing upsets at all. I'm surprised that every coach doesn't show a clip of stunned fans or final score to their players when they're favored by 40 to get 100% effort. That's just mind boggling.

Uh, USC did not beat Stanford by 200 [Fanhouse]
Photo: Lisa Blumenfeld [Getty Images]

NFL: Gridiron Preview Week 5

Gridiron Preview is a weekly feature that will run all 17 weeks of the glorious NFL schedule, and then a sexy drown time for the playoffs. Don't look for betting advice here, even though we're almost always right.

Oh, how things can change in a week. Sure, the baseball and football seasons claim to put emphasis on every single game when the end of the season depends on it. But in football, it is actually every week that matters because there's only so many of them. For some teams, the season, only a quarter through, is already over. For others, there's light at the end of the tunnel.

What we learned is that you shouldn't mess with the Patriots. They got offense, they got defense, they've got special teams, and I'm pretty sure they've got a contract with Satan. There is nothing that this team does bad, or even remotely bad. They're so loaded, it's not even funny, in fact it should be illegal. They just sent another team packing into the off season, and maybe even took them back 20 years. Randy Moss looks reborn, and the offense is moving the ball with deft precision. The defense has always been a staple of their team, and they're still missing their two best players. It's just not fair. There's never any turmoil, never any issues. No fighting, no scrapping, even when things aren't going their way. This team is not a team, it's a group of cloned robots with no emotion. They both depress me and amaze me at the same time, and I'm not sure which is worse.

Who knew, when they were making up the schedule, that the game of the week could end up being Tampa Bay at Indianapolis. I mean, yeah, anything including Indianopolis sends the studio execs for a cleanup at "Isle Four," but Tampa Bay for the last couple years might as well have been wearing their Clementine uniforms. I'm still not sure how that team is effective in any manner, but they've certainly got a tougher road to climb now that their offensive lineman and running back are out for the season. Both Chucky and Garcia seem reborn, but it's no surprise for Jeff, since he's coming home to Carmella every night. I'd be reborn in the morning as well. The Colts are playing well, but it'd be a stretch to say impressive. Just last week the got bit by the injury horse fly, taking down three of their best players, including the rarely audible Marvin Harrison. Fear not Colts fans, it should still be enough to beat Tampa Bay in the battle of who's less injured. The only mystery here is, whether it'll be a nail biter, or a snoozer. However, in honor fhte great Albino, it gives me pleasure to post pictures of the stunningly beautiful wife Carmella.


Our Picks: We will pick 10 games against the spread for each week. One of these 10 has to be a Sunday night game, and the other has to be a Monday night game, that way we won't wimp out. The winner gets bragging rights. Last week, I once again proved dominance while not betting any real money

Records: Total (Last week)
Hermano: 17-12-1 (7-3)
DSC: 15-14-1 (6-4)

Cowboys (-10.5) at Bills
Hermano - Home dog? Check. A team that's due? Check. Is it cold as balls in Buffalo? Pretty sure. The perfect storm has arrived, and double digit points is too much. In fact, I think Bills win outright. Superbowl. Bills +10.5.
DSC -This just in, Dallas is good. Cowboys -10.5.

Bears at Packers (-3.5)
Hermano - Anyone that is needed for this game is currently in the hospital, or practicing in the Cowboys facility. People loved the Griese move, but what of it now? Is he still the most popular person in Chicago? Packers at home. Favre and Lofton love the fountain of youth. Tough to go against scary man Hawk. Packers -3.5.
DSC -Green Bay has this little known QB named Brett Favre. Also, I got a first hand look at the bears and MAN they are bad. Packers -3.5.

And now, some games we might not have in common...

Chargers at Broncos (-1)
Hermano - I think it's time to strip the genius label, this team has barely held its head above water. Travis Henry might be done for a year, and even though they never hurt for running backs, what they have back there is almost worthless. San Diego needs this more. Charges +1.
DSC - I HATE this game. Both teams suck. LT has to win one game on his own and I think this is it. Charges +1.

Ravens at 49ers (-3.5)
Hermano - So, let me get this straight. This team just lost by 20 some points, and their quarterback is out for this game. Ravens got humiliated, so it's not like they're going to be motivated or anything. May have overestimated the 49ers this season. Ravens +3.5.

Seahawks at Steelers (-6)
Hermano - Horrible week last week for Pittsburgh on the road, but that was without Polamalu because of some stomach issues. Also, the passing game didn't miss a beat without Hines Ward - I had my doubts about Santonio, but he is money. Steelers -6.
DSC - Pitt needs to make amends for last week, Seattle traveled across the country. Steelers -6.

Browns at Patriots (-17)
Hermano - Home town (my hometown) team getting three scores, and it still isn't enough. Last two times I picked against the Browns, they made me look like a fool, but so did the Patriots. And, I just happen to think the Patriots look like world beaters. Patriots -17.
DSC - The great FUCK YOU tour continues. Patriots -17.

Jets at Giants (-3.5)
Hermano - I didn't pick the Jets to make the playoffs did I? Didn't think so. Anyways, no part of the Jets offense or defense looks good, and the Giants are actually playing well. Their 12 sacks may be a taste of things to come on the defensive line. Giants -3.

Buccaneers at Colts (-10)
Hermano - Double digit may be too much, the Colts, who I don't feel have been that dominant. Also, the injury bug is starting to hit the Colts, and they'll want to sit down a couple of people. This will be a tight one. Buccaneers +10.
DSC - This is very clearly a "Tampa lost their starting running back and an offensive lineman and need some time to gel" pick. Colts -10.

Falcons at Titans (-8.5)
Hermano - Joey Harrington! His weeks week of playing well is gone, and here comes the real Harrington. How often can you bet against Vince Young anyways. This guy may not have the stats, but he has the wins. Incredible. Titans -8.5.

Panthers at Saints (-3.5)
Hermano - Okay, now that they're not making the playoffs, the pressure is off and they can play loose. Plus, the Panthers are starting David Carr on the road, and when has he ever done anything? Saints really break out this game. Saints -3.5.
DSC - David Carr is starting and my fantasy team NEEDS Brees to play better. So uh, that's why I'm taking the Saints off the bye. Saints -3.5.

Lions at Redskins (-3.5)
DSC -The Lord wants the Lions to break this 0-20 streak. Also, I like the Lions. Lions +3.5.

Dolphins at Texans (-9)
DSC - It was between this one and the Atlanta. And while i'm positive that Joey will screw up the game, I'm not positive that it'll be 9 points worth. So I take this one. Also, I like the Texans. Texans -9.

Cardinals (-3.5) at Rams
DSC - Gus is starting. He also once gave himself a concussion celebrating. That's not something you ever live down. Cardinals -3.5.

You wanted Griese, you got Griese [Ghosts of Wayne Fontes]
Henry facing one year suspension [Dallas Morning News]
Photo: Stat Leader

Wide World of Blog: Oct 5 Issue

So, there's some freetime today, let's look around and see the talent.

• I know Derek Jeter is used to every woman he sleeps with, or double teams with Dwayne Wade looking like this, but I'm not. And if he can hit a high fastball while knowing he'll take out his sexual frustration on this, I bow down to thee. [Wasting Company Time]
• I bought into the hype. I thought he was all that, and a bag of chips. It's a good thing I wasn't the only one, as Kentucky choked going to South Carolina and losing. Spurrier needs credit though, he coached 'em up. [The Big Lead]
• No, that's not selfish at all. Putting yourself ahead of team success and worrying about your future development as opposed to winning games. That's not the definition of selfish or anything. Seriously though, Phillies won't get to a game 4 anyways. [Fanhouse]
• For a guy that's never worked for anything in his life (NFL included), is it really surprising that Roy Williams doesn't tip anyone? I'm calling bologna on this whole story. Pizza Hut, bless their horribly made pizza souls, took lemons and created lemonade. Come work for us! [Deadspin]
• Lou, I don't get it. Your team didn't win 116 games, so why are you choking in the post season so early? Shouldn't you at least get to the CS before doing this? At least you don't have to start Zambrano on short rest anymore. [the Pig Pen]

Not so bad. You got to check out Gabrielle Union on a really slow day.

LeBron James, front runner

LeBron James could not have had anything uglier on, if he had been dressed by Craig Sager himself.

He came to Jacob's field sporting his newly unbent Yankee hat a la CC Sabathia. He sat in seats comped by the Indians, he sat among Indians fans, and I have absolutely no problem with that. In fact, I respect it. If you're really a fan of a team, and I mean really a fan, you'll take your teamwear and you'll put it on in a hostile environment, on the road, or wherever you are. Because, if you're a fan, you're always proud of your team, no matter if they're losing, winning, or getting arrested. So, kudos to you, King James, for having the cojones to cheer for the team you're a fan of.

And I don't understand why Cleveland fans have a problem with that. Don't they cheer for their Indians when they're on the road? I certainly do.

But, there is a problem with what LeBron did. It'd be fine if he grew up a Yankee fan in New York, playing in Rucker Park. But LeBron's not a fan, he's a front runner.

He said, in his interview that he cheered for the Yankees in baseball, the Cowboys in football, and Bulls in basketball. The latter, of course being a sacrilege in this wonderful city of Cleveland, because one Michael Jordan (LBJ's favorite player) tore this city's heart out many a time. People move, their parents have influences on who they like, and what sport they like, and it's not entirely uncommon to see people root for teams that are in other parts of the country.

But, what, I ask you, are the chances that he roots for three completely separate teams, in different areas of the country (while never living in these areas)? Compound that, by the fact that all these teams were enormous championship presences during the 90s while LeBron was growing up around Cleveland. It is not his choice of teams that should be distressing to Cavaliers fans, but his reasons for those teams. His fandom or lack there of was quickly evident last night. LeBron turned his Yankees ballcap backwards, and motioned for his entourage to leave when "his" team was being spanked.

To Cleveland fans, it shouldn't be distressful that he's not a fan of the Indians, but rather, not a fan at all.

Indians take game 1 [Halftime Adjustments]

Wide World of Blog: Oct 4 Issue

I think I should stop being a slacker, and do links. But, keep my slacker card, and you know, my real job, by not doing them every day. So, here we go.

• Eric Wedge broke many a hearts in Cleveland by mismanaging his pitching staff the last couple of years. Mark Shapiro broke many hearts by not getting any viable closers. Indians have the best kept secrets in setup men though, so what's going to happen? Dear Eric Wedge... [Vegas Watch]
• We never really know what happens in the Far East anymore, but we do know that they no longer tie together the feet of women because they want men to be born. Oh, wait, they do? And they put them in a lake for two hours while they do it? Go Communism. [100% Injury Rate]
• Is someone really accusing blogs of at the same time being worthless, and having an effect on how ESPN reports their news? I thought blogs were just an annoying pimple on the ass of mainstream media. Apparently they're more like Drew Brees's birthmark... to him. [Awful Announcing]
• Tony Joiner is just an ambitious do-gooder. It's a shame this sad fate has befallen him just because he decided to pick up cars from the impound lot while doing his morning jog at 5 am. [Nation of Islam Sports Blog]
• The girls over at Hot Chicks Hot Picks are running a contest, but someone stole their idea for prizes - expect cat fights. Seriously though I won some imaginary money using their picks, soon I'll work up the cojones to do this sport betting thing for real. [Hot Chicks Hot Picks]
  

Phew, that's a lot of links in one post.
So, seriously, they're going to start giving me real work soon, so how's two times a week sound? Good? Great.

CFB Weekend Preview: Death Valley

College football weekend preview will run weekly, and will take a quick gander at some of the upcoming games. Quick breakdowns and predictions will be included, but don't quote it on SportsBook, they'll still take your money.

Hey, aren't we almost at BCS rankings week? I can't wait till more worthless rankings come out so that we can tear them to shreds. If you watched football last team, and your team had hopes of a national championship, they're now dashed - which makes things extremely fun. Most of the games now is like when a divorcee cries herself to sleep every night, the beginning of the end. Some of those teams, however, can start a rebuilding processes immediately this week, the only problem is, their hope for a championship is no longer solely in their hands. And, no matter how much SEC fans slop over their conferences (overrated this year, by the way), there aren't going to be two teams from that conference in the championship game. I'm sure Charley is devastated.

If you could watch one game this weekend, it better be the late-game match up of two top 10 teams. Florida travels to the LSU for a game that was circled on many a calendars. However, both of these teams come into this game not without controversy. LSU didn't play their best against Tulane, and really let them hang around too long; many have attributed this to packing it in early to practice for the Gators. But beyond that, Matt Mauck Flynn is noticeably struggling because of his injury, he can't move as well, and some of his throws are really off target. Is there a QB controversy to start highly touted backup Ryan Periloux? Florida comes in with much bigger issues, however, the biggest one of which has to be their loss. Certainly this game lost some of its luster last weekend when the Gators lost at home to a then unranked Auburn squad. The loss revealed issues that were otherwise masked in lopsided wins, such as the absence of a reliable running back, and the bad secondary. Speaking of a very thin secondary, their best player and captain Tony Joiner was arrested, and since released. As of now, we still don't know his standing with Meyer or for this game. Surely, Urban would like to have him back there, being the only experienced player of the four. Urban Meyer has a great record in high pressure games, and Les Miles does not. Les Miles, however has been much better this year, and his defense is immensely talented. If this was at Florida, I'd pick LSU to shit themselves like they did last year, but with the home crowd behind them, they send Urban into a cocaine induced coma after a second loss in a row. They might ask for his head. LSU 34, Florida 20.

Other games that need your attention:

1. Oklahoma at Texas. Well, they're in Texas - this game is being played in Dallas. Another game tainted by the surprising (Oklahoma) and devastating (Texas) losses last week is still the marquee game in the Big 12. It should also decide the Big 12 championship, because Big 12 North sucks. Either way, Texas is really reeling, and have never been a Top 10 team since the first stinker they put up against Arkansas State. It wasn't as if they were overlooking them because they were playing UCF next weekend or anything. Everyone pegged Kansas State for the win last week, so that was no surprise. Why? Well, I agree that they really miss Vince Young. Well, him, and the rest of their team that's wearing burnt orange in the county jail right now. Oklahoma I've been really high on, and while the loss to Colorado pushes their progress back, that was obviously a look-ahead loss, because they were cruising by three scores for about three quarters. Don't expect them to give up that kind of margin to offensively challenged Unihorns. Oklahoma is more ready, more athletic, and have got the better coach, playing in Texas shouldn't be a problem, since they steal most of best recruits from there, so it's really a homecoming, and the game will play out as such. Oklahoma 37, Texas 14.
2. Kentucky at South Carolina. Wait, Kentucka' is a top 10 team? In all seriousness, I think this team is for real, and Andre' Woodson is unreal. In fact, I think he's good enough to win the Heisman trophy in Kentucky, and good enough to carry his team to some big wins. They're undefeated and boast a very balanced and methodical offense, run by the aforementioned Woodson. On the other hand, OBC has changed his stripes and is now winning with a dominating defense (at South Carolina!?) instead of an imaginative offense. They're at home, they're at night, and they're the sexy pick. Here are the problems: their best defense player Jasper Brinkley is out for the season, and their "big" win at Georgia is overrated, as are they. The Smelley offense can't keep up with Kentucky, and Rich Brooks gets the key to the state. Kentucky 31, South Carolina 19.
3. Nebraska at Missouri. The real surprise here is that there are two ranked teams in the Big 12 North playing each other. It seems like Missouri was for 5 straight weeks, I haven't seen highlights of them, nor their scores scroll on the bottom of any ESPN broadcast. Nebraska, on the other hand has been busy getting embarrassed on the defensive side of the ball. In back to back weeks they gave up at least 40 points a game (USC, Ball State), and both games have been at home. Missouri plays all sorts of offense, and they play it very well at home. This could cause problems for the defense deficient Huskers. So, are they celebrating now that Bill Callahan is there for a while? They shouldn't be. Missouri 44, Nebraska 21.
4. Ohio State at Purdue. Ohio State is back to their old tricks, fielding a dominating defense, numbers of which have been inflated with inferior competition. Purdue is back to to their old tricks of a multi-faceted offense, numbers of which have been inflated with inferior competition. In the end, we still don't know what these teams realistically have to offer. We do know that for whatever reason, Ohio State struggles with Purdue, Holy Buckeye in 2002, OT win in 2003, and a loss in 2004 have been the late outcomes. Unlike a lot of people, I feel this is a trap game, for about three quarters. Ohio State 30, Purdue 17.

Heisman Lookout. This is a crucial week for one Andre' Woodson, because he is going up against a statistically good defense. If he puts up good numbers it'll put him on the inside track to hold the bronze trophy. What a huge upset this will be over pre-season favorite Darren McFadden. The race isn't over, but McFaddy has to lift his teams to a couple of wins, also the head-to-head somehow holds weight. I called Steve Slaton, and Pat White and told them to send back those Heisman Watchlist gift cards, they no longer need them. We'll see you guys in the NFL.

Notes. Clemson is playing Virginia Tech, and they're two ranked teams, but they also reside in the ACC. I'm not sure what's going on in that conference, but there isn't one team in it that I take seriously. Don't believe in Clemson, because they are coached by a Bowden, and sooner or later they'll blow things. It's in their blood.

Florida football captain arrested for burglary [Washington Post]
Texas is missing Vince Young type leadership [Stewart Mandel]
Photo: Albany Herald

Look at the bright side, he didn't stab him

In another awkward story, it shows kids these days do not like competition. University of Jacksonville (the running back powerhouse) has come upon hard time in its offensive backfield department, as a second running back was brought up on charges. These charges stem from a competitive atmosphere to get on the field between Rudell Small and Cecil Coltrane. It seems that, out of fear of being dropped on the depth chart Coltrane (great name) planted 20 grams of marijuana in Small's dorm room.

Coltrane started Jacksonville's first two games while Small was recovering from an ankle injury. In the third game against UNC-Pembroke, Small ran for 112 yards and tied a school record with five touchdowns. Coltrane gained 40 yards. Five days later, Small was arrested.

At a time where there's so many scholarships for so many talented players, some still find that stooping to illegal measures will cover their inadequacies. According to the article, charges against Small have not been dropped, even though he was reinstated to the team, they are still investigating. All that being said, at least Coltrane just put down some wacky tobaccy, as opposed to stabbing him in the leg. It's like saying, you don't have to go home, but you need to get the hell out of here.

Jacksonville backup admits to planting drugs in starter's dorm [Sportsline]
Ex-backup punter sentenced to 7 years [AP]

Marvin Lewis, meet futility

When Marvin Lewis took over the Bengals, they were considered one of the worst franchises in all of sports. Starting from the very top, the management was not committed to winning, and made it known to the city and its fans. Their highly ranked draft choices piled up from years of inadequate coaching, handcuffed in part by the frugal nature of the Brown family. This was one of the only teams in the league that also lacked a scouting department.

In came, Marvin Lewis, of defensive genius fame, and sporting a newly shined Superbowl ring from his time in Baltimore.

The results were slow, but when Cincinnati beat then unbeaten Kansas City in "The Jungle" everyone knew they had arrived. Big armed, and no longer Heisman-trophy-cursed quarterback at the helm, the studious talent, lead by example on and off the field. A team that by everyone's account should have been led by its defense was now lighting things up with explosive and talented players on offense. They hit 8-8, and the next year won the division and flew into the playoffs. Things are looking up.

But since the time Kimo von Oelhoffen tore Carson's knee to shreds, the avalanche of success has come crashing down. Two years in a row, now, great things were expected from this team, be it winning the division, or in other ways qualifying for the playoffs, this team was to be reckoned with. But ever since that day, mediocrity is the word. As in the last calendar year, the highly touted Bengals are a mere 6-11.

At the fear of falling into last place in an already bad division, the Bengals had high expectations for the Monday night meeting with the best team in the league. Those high expectations turned sour when they were completely humiliated on national television.

Chad Johnson screaming like a little girl on the sidelines. Defense not being able to field an entire unit. Players questioning play calls. Coaches and players calling this team immature. And no more Monday off days for these guys. Is the whole thing falling apart? Marvin Lewis, meet futility.

You may indeed be a great X's and O's coach, but motivation might be lacking. The players have given up listening to you, but I think they've done the same to their parole officers as well. It's not completely your fault, it's just your situation. As a franchise, they've never been a winner, they've always stunk. Yes, they had their years of going to the Superbowl, but those days are now nearly 20 years behind, besides those handfuls, there's been nothing to be proud of as a Bengals fan.

There have been seedlings of success. Hope. But be weary of buying into this, and investing emotionally, because as history has continually shown you, it's hard to win as a Bengals fan.

Bengals lose 34-13 [WLWT Cincinnati]
Trying to fix what's broken [Cincinnati Enquirer]
Photo: Michael E. Keating [The Enquirer ]

The road to hell is paved with good intentions

How fair is, when a guy is just being a good Samaritan and gets nailed for it? It's not as if he stood by and let his girlfriend's car sit idly in an impound lot. Oh no, Tony Joiner, senior safety and captain for the Florida Gators did something about it.

Florida senior captain and starting safety Tony Joiner was arrested early Tuesday by Gainesville police as he was allegedly attempting to remove a car from va towing company after it had been impounded.

The towing bill was $76.

This is after a devastating loss the Florida team suffered at the hands of Auburn at home, for their first loss this season. Joiner is the only good player left in an extremely thin and inexperienced secondary, really the Achilles heel of this ultra talented team. This same team travels to #1 LSU this weekend, for a much anticipated match up (up till this past weekend) and the extreme test for this year.

It'll be interesting to see how Urban Meyer reprimands his best player in the secondary, and if he'll miss the game in Death Valley. The mainstream media, specifically Doug Gotlieb, crucified OSU for their own legal transgression, while ignoring the Bengals minor league system that is Texas. It'll be interesting to see how he reacts to everyone's new darling UF is seen in the national spotlight with similar off-the-field issues.


Florida safety arrested, charged with burglary [USA Today]
Arrest handcuffs Henton [Dispatch.com]

Lloyd, Ron, Chad. We love you.

I don't think between myself and DSC we've appropriately professed our love for the threesome currently at the head of Michigan Football. Seeing as how the two of us are OSU fans, we love them to death. We love Lloyd (Carr), we love Ron (English), and we love Chad (Henne). The fearsome threesome have combined for a golden era of OSU football, single-handedly gifting us three wins in a row, and for the most part five out of the last six.

Now, some have assumed that Lloyd Carr will coach out his last year at Michigan this year, and ride off into the sunset after a national championship run. This was, of course, foiled in the two humiliating losses to start the season, and now the pundits are giving Lloyd till the end of the season before he leaves forever. We don't want this to happen, and we believe Bill Martin and Sue Coleman need to be aware of the fact that there's a contingent of us that want them to stay, stay forever.

With that in mind, the brilliant mind of DSC has drafted a petition to the above mentioned heads of Michigan, the athletic program, and partially the NCAA to keep the three-headed Michigan Football Monster in Ann Arbor forever. That is, to ensure the betterment of all that love college football.

So, please, sign the petition to make sure these will stay in their posts forever.

Link can be found here: http://www.petitiononline.com/suck5p0r/petition.html

And, for your viewing pleasure, here is the text of the petition.

To: University of Michigan Athletic Department

We the undersigned hereby request that Bill Martin (Athletic Director), Mary Sue Colman (President), and the Regents of University of Michigan, offer to Head Coach Lloyd Carr and Defensive Coach Ron English lifetime contracts effective immediately. In addition, the undersigned request that the NCAA bestow upon Quarterback Chad Henne endless eligibility.

We make this request due to the three gentlemen's quality of work and promotion of excellence in college athletics. Coaches Carr and English, through endless work, have shown that you do not need any specific skill to obtain and maintain a major coaching job. Further, they have shown millions of children across the country that the ability to change, specifically when things are not working, is vastly overrated.

Henne has been an inspiration to thousands. For years football fans have been forced to root for players with good throwing arms and swift feet. Not since the years of Rodney Peete have fans had the opportunity to cheer on such a quarterback. Henne's willingness to give all players a chance to catch his passes, specifically the defensive players, just shows his desire to foster an inclusive environment.

By allowing the University of Michigan the opportunity to have Carr, English, and Henne helm the Wolverine Football program in perpetuity, the NCAA has the opportunity to benefit the school, Big 10 Conference, the NCAA as a whole, and the entire fandom of sports.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

Update: As Anonymous commenter pointed out, the University of Michigan President's name is in fact Mary Sue Coleman. Our apologies, it was an oversight. The text in the post is updated, however the actual petition is read-only once submitted, and cannot be altered. One can only hope that they understand our true feeling even though the name isn't accurate. Maybe Jim Harbaugh can parlay our intention to the department.

Wear your team colors

There hasn't been a rant for a long time, so I think I'm about due.

While I'm sitting at a local alcohol/sports establishment, watching my beloved Buckeyes take the field, I'm seeing more and more of the moronic fashion that is: wearing pink jerseys. And it immediately made me think of this. You know what? I'm really fed up with this. And this isn't just for Ohio State fans, this is fans of every sport, as I've seen pink Yankees hats, and other various multi colored team paraphernalia. Most importantly, in this case, this is clothing that is of a color other than the team colors.

Why, why in hell would you make green colored Yankees hats, or Indians shirts, or OSU shorts? I don't get it, I don't fucking get it. Teams have their colors, and specifically in this case, scarlet and gray are pretty damn good colors - they go with anything girls. As for any other team, they have their colors, and the whole point is that these colors signify the team, in some way shape or form. You chose the team, so whether you have a nauseating combination of maize and blue, or a vomit inducing combination of orange and purple, those are your colors. Midway through, you can't scrap that, and say, "Hey, this jersey doesn't match my pants, I think I should wear red Florida gear."

Guys, you're even less excused if that's possible, from this phenomena. Wearing green Ohio State shirts? You should be ashamed of yourselves, all of you. Not only Ohio State fans, but fans all around the world, shame on you.

I can only think of two, very weak, excuses for even making team paraphernalia with colors other than the combination of team colors. And they're in no particular order.

1. St. Patrick's Day - This on slides by barely, but on this day, everything is green. So, all of you morons with your green Yankees and Red Sox shorts, hats, and thongs, you can wear them out today because everything is blasting green. However, how about, I reserve the right to punch you in your testicles (outside for men, inside for women) if you decide that September 3rd is wearing-green-team-shirt day. I'll concede one day, but I'll still give you a "the eye".
2. Breast Cancer Awareness Month - Alright, I'll give you this. If you have a pink ribbon on your pink jersey, and you wear it during this month, I'll let it slip. All jokes aside, I think it's really cool when MLB uses pink bats to both raise money, and get awareness out there. So, you have, really, one viable excuse for wearing pink anything if, in fact, your team color isn't pink. But, I get to tweak your nipples if you wear them any other day. I think that's plenty fair.
   

If you're a guy, and your girlfriend/wife/boyfriend/sister wears something that isn't team colored, you're opening yourself to punishment. Your testicles have now become collateral damage to your horrible decision making.

Have some pride in your team, people, wear their colors.

Girl Sports Fan [Why don't we get drunk and blog?]
Photo: College Gear

CFB Review: Kiss your dreams goodbye

College football review talks about the week that was in college football, about the good teams that won, and the good teams that lost. Look for it to wrap up the college football preview, and to gloat upon picking correct outcomes.

Alright, well, I don't know where to start. Friday through Saturday night was just about some of the most exciting college football I've seen in a long time. It's been years since there was such a monumental shakeup in the college football rankings, and it was exciting to watch, except for those teams that lost. In fact, what made it so great, was the fact that it came unexpected, since this wasn't named by ESPN before it all went down. Deep breath, it'll take a while to get through all these games, starting at the top.

A lot of people are now off the Oklahoma bandwagon, when they lost to Colorado, but I'm not. I still think they're a really good, talented, and deep team that was caught looking ahead on the road - and hey, they're not the only ones. That being said, this is a terrible loss for a team that's had a bad recent history playing against quality opponents. After playing a long schedule of cupcakes and blowing them out, this team looked like world beaters, but this loss proved that they're not only human, but that they may even be less. Stoops, as good as he's been, has to take the brunt of this loss, after putting his team on cruise control when they were up 24-7. I still like them to come out of the Big 12, which isn't saying much, because I'd sooner take the MAC as a stronger conference. Big 12 is weak, but like the Big East in 2003, they still have a BCS bid. Much credit should go to Dan Hawkins, after looking like a fool leaving Boise State, he's now scored a huge upset (yes, even bigger than BSU over Oklahoma last year) at his new gig, and it's not over.

I told you, Auburn is not as bad as they seem, and they're good at the part that will cause UF problems - the defensive line. Even with their best defensive player out (Quentin Groves), Auburn beat Florida twice. This is a big win for Auburn, and a healthy loss for Florida. They have been riding high, but their defense is just not that great; a defense that carried them to the title last year. They, once again let them down, and Florida, how does it feel when you're the favorite now, and everyone's gunning for you? Really though, I think this is a combination of looking ahead and being too cocky, because it never fails, when ESPN does a whole 20 minutes interview on your quarterback, that your team ends up losing. Only good will come of this for Florida, because now they'll be more concentrated on winning instead of being rock stars. Auburn, left for dead, is now back in the chase for the SEC, provided Groves is healthy. I just wish I had the cojones to pick this upset - I came close, when I said it would be a tight game, but couldn't pull the trigger on predicting a shocking win. Some people aren't taking this loss as well as others. I found this video over at Buckeye Battle Cry, and as an OSU alum, it's the best thing I've seen in years.



I saw USF #6 in the nation in the AP poll, and thought that it's too high for them. But, you know what? There's no one I'd rank ahead of them, so it's well earned bulls. They out muscled a West Virginia team we all thought was unstoppable, and made not one, but two Heisman trophy candidates look completely average. I watched the entire game, and it's no fluke, USF is that good. That defensive line is extremely fast and athletic, and their defense in general is what's going to carry them. But, what a great season for Jim Leavitt, the only coach the USF program has ever had is leading them into uncharted waters, and he looks unflappable - probably rubs off on his team. Where does WVU go from here? There's a blueprint on how to stop them, and now the Big East championship is out of their control. Rodriguez still has a wealth of talent on offense, but they need to learn how to pass. As good as their running game is, it's been shown the can be stopped.

The next two top-10 losses I'm going to group together, because I never bought into them. Sure, I may be the pot calling the kettle black, but these teams haven't played anyone of note, and now lose to the first semi-respectable team on their docket.

Texas got their doors blown off by Kansas State, at home. This is inexcusable, although, predicted by yours truly. I was never sold on Texas, and Mack Brown is back to his old tricks. This isn't looking ahead, this is pure getting the wood laid down on your face - Kansas State was just better. Next up, Rutgers, whom I have no intention of watching until they play someone, anyone ranked. They lost to freaking Maryland, at home; the same Maryland that lost a 20 point lead to Wake Forest the week before. Don't even talk to me if you play more than one 1-AA team in a season and then lose to Maryland. Keep chopping wood.

That about does it for the Top 10 losses. No, I didn't forget about a thrilling win by Cal, but it's hard to put it above four of the top 10 teams losing to unranked teams, on the road and at home. So, here we go.

Best of the Rest

California showed they might be the best team in the Pac 10, by going to Oregon and winning an all out battle. Who knew there was any semblance of defense being played in the Pacific, when Dennis Dixon was intercepted on back-to-back possessions, you knew it was over. They made a valiant comeback, only to have their hopes fumble through the end zone. If you somehow didn't know DeSean Jackson, well, now you know. Alright, now I'm sold on Cal, they look really good. In all fairness, this might have been the highlight game, if I were able to watch it, but thanks to ABC's regional coverage the Midwest kicked my balls. Speaking of which...

Wisconsin outlasted Michigan State in a confused game, where each team thought they were Pac 10, and not Big 10. Defense was clearly optional in this game, as teams combined for 700 yards of offense, by the first half. All that being said, this was an incredibly fun game to watch because it was up and down. Two defensive coaches must have had ulcers on the sidelines with these kinds of numbers, and neither of these teams is doing anything at the end of the season. Michigan State is on the right track though, D'Antonio makes them look respectable.

Penn State, say hello to Rejis Benn, you're allowed to tackle him. I guess they saw Wisconsin and decided to take cues, because Benn ran through, and around all the white shirts with no names. This was a BTN game, so I only saw the highlights. It's about three games late into the benching Morelli plan. I don't know who's the backup, but it's time to find out.

USC had a scare at Washington, or did they? The score ended up being 27-24, and Washington couldn't recover an onside kick to make things even more interesting, but this game was sloppy. Pete Carroll obviously didn't feel threatened by the Huskies, because his team jumped out early, and then hung on, while falling asleep at the wheel. USC is too good.

Alabama, say hello to your new spot: unranked. I guess one win over an unranked opponent at home isn't enough to catapult you into the top 25. This team is overrated, and Nick Saban is no genius, yet. Stay tuned next year, when he actually has players. On the bright side, FSU finally got a semi-respectable win, and found a quarterback who doesn't suck completely in the process.

All in all, what a horrible weekend to be a ranked team. But then again, maybe it's time to scrap the preseason rankings till week 4 or 5. They have once again shown to be completely moronic, and maybe detrimental to teams that have to dig their way out of an early grave.

CFB Scoreboard Week 5 [SI.com]
Photo: Doug Benc [Getty Images]