NFL
The major news to come out of the NFL so far this week is the Buffalo Bills firing Head Coach Dick Jauron yesterday. Perry Fewell will take over the job on a interim basis until owner Ralph Wilson starts calling Bill Cowher, Mike Shanahan, and/or Mike Holmgren to fill the position next season. At 3-6, the Bills weren't headed anywhere special this year. But they could have at least let Jauron finish out the season. Granted this was a team that had serious playoff expectations for this year, especially with the premier signing of Terrell Owens. But of course, everyone could see that the Bills were suffering from a delusion and were obviously not going to surpass the Patriots as the dominant team in the AFC East overnight. I still think they should have let Jauron retain the job on a lame duck status because seriously, there are far worse teams in the NFL right now than the Bills. Recent reports suggest that the Bills are interested in Mike Shanahan, even going so far as to start the process of arranging a meeting with the former Broncos coach. Obviously, that move would send shock waves up and down the AFC East. But I don't think its about the coaching in Buffalo but rather the core group of players. What the Bills need is another massive overhaul of personnel if they want to compete with the Tom Bradys and Peyton Mannings of the world. And what fans in Buffalo have to do is be really patient because this kind of overhaul may not come for a really long time.
In other news, Jets offensive tackle Damian Woody leaked to the press the other day that Head Coach Rex Ryan broke down and wept in front of his players during a team meeting. And of course, the entire New York media was on top of that, beginning to question who the real Rex Ryan is? Rex Ryan is still the same guy he was before these reports came out. He is a fiery head coach who clearly has the support of his locker room. He is a guy that players want to play for and want to win for. But he is also a rookie Head Coach in the first year of his tenure in New York. And let's not forget, he's in New York...not exactly a safehaven from the press. So for Ryan to say that he wants to seek out the advice of fellow and former head coaches like his father Buddy Ryan or Jack Del Rio, its not exactly a sign of weakness. He is learning on the job, just like his quarterback is right now. Sure this season may be lost but the Jets are a team of the future. This kind of behavior is not something to be overly concerned about.
And a prediction for tomorrow night's game in Carolina....I think the loss of Ronnie Brown will really affect the Dolphins. It will put a lot of pressure on Ricky Williams to carry the running game to success and force Chad Henne to throw the ball a little more than he should for a team built on the "Wildcat". And I don't think the Panthers will shoot themselves in the foot. Or should I say I don't think Jake Delhomme will shoot himself in the foot. The Panthers look like a team on the rebound and could make waves come the end of the season. Panthers win 27-17.
MLB
The major news in baseball coming out right now are the end-of-the-year awards being handed down on a daily basis. If I recall correctly, the MVP's aren't announced until next week I don't think. However, I think the AL MVP is Joe Mauer's to lose because his statistics this year were unbelievable for a catcher and because he put the Twins on his back and carried them to the playoffs without Justin Morneau behind him at tat. The NL MVP will go to Albert Pujols, who finished in the Top 3 in batting average, HR's and RBI's this year and quite simply put up the best offensive numbers on a consistent basis over anyone in the National League this year. So expect those two guys to get the MVP awards next week. This week, however, Zack Greinke won the AL Cy Young award. Not surprising to me in the least as Greinke put up a 2.16 ERA and struck out 242 batters this year. Those are pretty impressive numbers considering the team he plays for is the Royals. So those 16 wins were 16 hard-fought wins and Greinke truly deserved the Cy Young this year. But I must say if playoff performances were considered as part of the process, then CC Sabathia wins this hands down. But since it is only for the regular season, I guess I cannot complain too much that Sabathia was voted 4th behind Greinke, Felix Hernandez, and Justin Verlander. Ce-la-vi though as the Yankees have a World Series. Anyways, I think Lincecum will take his 2nd NL Cy Young this year simply because Carpenter and Wainwright will split the vote. But we shall see...
I also have no problem with Jim Tracy and Mike Sciosia winning Managers of the Year. Tracy deserved it for quite simply just turning the Rockies season around after a terrible start, going 74-42 and sending the Rockies into the playoffs. Tracy was rewarded with a three-year contract today, which kind of reminds me of the deal Charlie Weis got with Notre Dame after that close loss to USC a few years ago. We'll see if Tracy can make the Rockies a consistent contender in the NL West for years to come. Sciosia too was well-deserving of Manager of the Year, just guiding his team past the surging Rangers after the death of Nick Adenhart and managing them as far as the ALCS. Sciosia is regarded by some as the best manager in baseball and he certainly proved it this year by just taking all the talent around him and using Adenhart's death as a source of inspiration to get the Angels past their playoff nemesis in the Red Sox. So again, well-deserved rewards for both managers to end the 2009 baseball season.
NBA
Surging starts for the Phoenix Suns and the Atlanta Hawks are not really surprising considering the depth and talent that both teams have on their starting lineups and benches. What is more surprising to me are two teams in particular, namely the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Spurs have been plagued by injuries to both Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. As a result, their record out of the gate is an unspectacular 4-4 with a mini-showdown against the 8-3 Dallas Mavericks coming up tonight. I think the Spurs will be there in the end of course. The 2nd half of the season will show who the real Spurs are and who we thought they were going to be when the season started. A team with Duncan, Parker, Richard Jefferson, and Manu Ginobili anchoring their starting lineup. The thing that might hurt the Spurs is the age factor but I still think they are a playoff team in the West. The Oklahoma City Thunder are off to a 6-5 start, with wins over seeming powerhouses in the Orlando Magic, San Antonio Spurs, and Miami Heat. They also have close losses to the Portland Trailblazers and an overtime loss to the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. This is a phenomenal start for the Thunder, being led by Kevin Durant who is slowly becoming one of the best players in the NBA. He is a efficient scorer and can get the ball in the hoop whenever he wants to. His defense needs to improve a bit but once it does, don't be surprised if the Thunder are still in it towards the end of the season. Also, the Knicks considering adding Allen Iverson to their team...at this point, the Knicks are willing to try anything and should try anything because they simply cannot get any worse than they have been. Letting Iverson hog the ball for them would not be such a bad thing. Hell, they might win a few more games than they should. I know one guy who would love The Answer at MSG. Hopefully, he starts contributing to this blog real soon.
NCAA Football
The Ohio State-Michigan rivalry used to be something of great luster; something golden and special that you could look forward to every year. The last decade has proven that the days of Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler are over. Now, the only thing you can look forward to every year is Jim Tressel sticking it to every single Michigan coach that graces the sidelines against the Buckeyes. Tressel is 8-1 against the Wolverines and has Ohio State primed to hand Rich Rodriguez a beating on Saturday afternoon. Ohio State is already smelling the roses after securing their trip to Pasadena in an overtime thriller against Iowa. So maybe they won't put up their best effort against a Michigan team that started out strong but is 1-6 in their last 7 games....1-6...those proud Wolverine alums can't be screaming "GO BLUE" about anything or anyone out there in Ann Arbor. Michigan is about to go 5-7 this year, facing their 2nd straight season without appearing in a bowl game. And those impatient fans who scream "GO BLUE" every Saturday, well you should see them calling for Rodriguez's head just below Michigan Stadium with the golden boy himself shouting "Let them eat cake".
Another coach on the hot seat is Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis. And from the looks of it, Notre Dame is about to eat another large contract as they will most likely let Weis go and will attempt to go after the likes of Brian Kelly and Urban Meyer. That is of course if they can bribe them to leave their good situations at Cincinnati and Florida. I think they could actually get Kelly but let's face it, Urban Meyer has a great thing at Florida and he is not leaving anytime soon. Not when he can keep sticking it in Lane Kiffin's face every time Tennessee loses to Florida. As for Weis, he needs a convincing win over UConn this saturday and another convincing win over Stanford on Thanksgiving weekend to march into their bowl game and convincingly win that. That is a tall order considering Stanford just laid 51 on Oregon and 55 on USC. They can score...and Notre Dame's defense cannot get a stop when it counts. So for Weis, the seat is burning right now so much that the flames are starting to eat him alive. Can he pull himself out of the fire? Only time will tell...
NCAA Basketball
Lots of what our new contributor Mr. Wendth said is true. Last night's close games featuring Kansas, Michigan State, and Kentucky opened up a lot of eyes concerning those three teams. Kansas barely survived Memphis, winning only by 2 over what appears to be a newly revamped squad minus "Coach Cal" as Bri likes to call him. Kansas doesn't have much to worry about with this game. They are still a very talented team led by Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins and shouldn't have any stiff competition throughout the season. But they will need their leaders to step up big time when it counts. One close game against Memphis is not the end of the world. A recent poll says that Kansas looked like the most vulnerable team last night over Michigan State and Kentucky. But I agree with Bri in saying that Michigan State is not the 2nd best team in the country. In fact, as the season progresses, I see a lot of potential upsets that Michigan State could fall into, particularly when they have to play the likes of Purdue, North Carolina, Texas, or Ohio State. They won't be ranked #2 at the end of the year that's for sure. But that doesn't mean they won't make the tournament because they obviously will. As for Kentucky, "Coach Cal" was very happy with his team last night even though they fell behind by 18 points. "I wanted to see what we were made of. In the huddle, they (his players) were saying 'We're not going to lose this.' Hey, this was kind of fun." Indeed, Kentucky fought hard against the likes of Miami, OH. And John Wall showed that he has the potential to be the freshman sensation everyone is hyping him up to be. But can they come back from 18 if they play teams like Kansas or Michigan State or Texas? That will be the true test for Calipari's group as the season progresses and they start to play those better teams.
I've decided not to talk about the NHL because I simply don't feel like it and because I don't really follow hockey that much. Same goes for soccer unfortunately.
As I said above, this will be a weekly thing occurring every Hump Day. I hope you enjoyed the debut column. Stay tuned for more exciting things from my colleagues in James Emeigh and Brian Wendth. Bye bye for now!!!
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