NCAA Football Week 12 Reaction

I was in Boston this weekend so I was unable to catch anything but highlights, but I thought I'd just offer a quick reaction to what happened in Week 12 of college football. What we basically learned is that Charlie Weis will be out of a job very soon and Urban Meyer will not be the next head coach at Notre Dame. That was an absolutely terrible loss for the Fighting Irish this weekend because it was a game they absolutely had to have to at least try to save face on an already disappointing season. They were playing a UConn team that had been struggling recently after the death of CB Jasper Howard so if you want to say that UConn was motivated to win one for Howard, well you could say that about all the other games they've played without him. This was a game that Notre Dame was in control of early. Jimmy Clausen's 8 yard pass to Golden Tate, along with Clausen's 1 yard TD run, put the Irish up 14 early in the 2nd quarter. But the Irish defense, which has indeed been their greatest weakness this season, allowed the Huskies back in the game with Jordan Todman's 43 yard dash for a score and a late field goal making the game 14-10 at halftime. Motivation turned at that point as the game was nip and tuck the rest of the way. The Irish could not extend their lead against a UConn defense ranked 68th in the nation. And even though Notre Dame played surprisingly well in the 2nd half, a late field goal pushed the game into overtime. Both teams traded touchdowns in the first overtime, the Irish settled for a field goal, and UConn scored on a 4 yard touchdown run by Andre Dixon to win the game 33-30. So where do the Irish go from here? They got one game remaining against a much-improved Stanford team that will be angry after losing to Cal this week. So you're most likely looking at a 6-6 record with another appearance in a lesser bowl game for Weis and company. And Charlie Weis said it best during his press conference this week. "I wouldn't be surprised if they decided to fire me because 6-5 is simply not good enough". It is definitely not good enough, not for a Notre Dame team that can hang with any major team in the nation offensively. On the defensive side of the ball, Notre Dame is mediocre at best. Their last three coaches have been unable to solve Notre Dame defensively. And the academic demands of the school are drawing recruits away and pushing coaches into an uncomfortable position where they cannot necessarily get everyone they want. So what will become of Notre Dame in the future? They need a big name head coach (which they will not get) to turn this program around and to make it nationally prominent again. They need athletes who will perform up to their standard on the football field. They need playmakers and they need them on a consistent basis. I don't doubt the effort Notre Dame is putting on the football field, but effort does not guarantee you wins. This is a Notre Dame team without any pride or any heart. And they haven't had that in quite a while. Weis showed promise when he took USC down to the wire a few years ago. Notre Dame got excited and will now bite the bullet for their excitement. They need to show patience now because if they don't, then Notre Dame will never rebuild and will remain an average football team at best, relying on the strength of their storied history to undeservingly get into BCS bowl games.

In other action this week, we saw Oregon stave off a challenge from an Arizona team that has had an incredible season in the Pac-10. The game was back-and-forth all night long with QB Nick Foles leading Arizona back from an early 14-point deficit to put them up 24-14 early in the 3rd quarter. But as expected, the Arizona defense had trouble containing Oregon QB Jeremiah Masoli all night long as he threw for 3 touchdowns and ran for 3 touchdowns. They absolutely had no answer for him and could not contain LaMichael James at all either as he ran 19 times for 117 yards. But Foles kept Arizona alive throughout the game, going 30/46 for 314 yards and throwing 4 touchdowns passes. But at the conclusion of the 2nd overtime, it was Masoli who carried Oregon on his back to seal the victory and a possible Rose Bowl appearance should they beat Oregon State in two weeks. Kudos to Arizona for putting up a hell of a fight offensively against an impressive Oregon team. They unfortunately ended up on the wrong side of a game that could have gone either way because both defenses chose not to show up on Saturday night. Oregon controls their own destiny now. With a victory over Oregon State, they will meet Ohio State in the Rose Bowl on January 1st. And with Oregon State ranked 16th in the nation, that will be no easy task because it is a rivalry game and both teams will be hungry for that victory. I don't expect Oregon to book their trip to Pasadena so easily. Most definitely a game to watch in the coming weeks.

Elsewhere in the Pac-10, Stanford had no answers for Cal's backup running back Shane Vereen the other night as he absolutely torched the Cardinal defense for 193 yards on 42 carries and 3 touchdowns. And Vereen is not even their premier running back. For the Stanford defense, that is incredibly embarrassing to have the backup completely manhandle you at the line of scrimmage and basically allow for the Cal offense to control the pace of the game. Stanford hung tough though on the legs of RB Toby Gerhart, who ran the ball 20 times for 136 yards and scored 4 times. So it wasn't like Cal was blowing Stanford out early in the game, thereby making it unwatchable. The difference in the game ended up being the quarterback play as Cal QB Kevin Riley was able to manage the game for his offense and simply let Vereen take control at the line of scrimmage. Stanford QB Andrew Luck had a horrible game and threw the late interception that sealed the game for Cal. This was a game that the Golden Bears had to have simply because it showed that they could perform in a big game and with a win over Washington, gives them a decent shot at a New Years' Day bowl game. As for Stanford, they get a reeling Notre Dame team at home next weekend and should be able to get to 8-4 with no real problems, closing the book on a season of incredible development and vast improvement while also opening the doors on a potentially exciting future for the Stanford football program.

The biggest blunder of the week came in the LSU-Ole Miss football game this weekend. Everything that Ole Miss had to do to win the football game on Saturday was done. Jevon Snead didn't play outstanding but also didn't turn the football over. Dexter McCluster ran the ball 24 times for 148 yards and even threw a touchdown, backing up his outstanding performance last week against Tennessee with another outstanding performance. LSU blew an 8-point lead in the 3rd quarter by allowing McCluster's touchdown pass, a field goal, and a 3-yard TD run from Jesse Grandy. LSU QB Jordan Jefferson cut the lead to two on a 25-yard strike to WR Reuben Randle but could not convert the two-point conversion. And it seemed like LSU was on its way to a crushing defeat as Jordan Jefferson fired a desperate Hail Mary into the Mississippi night. To his surprise...THE BALL WAS CAUGHT!!!! What happened then, well you have to hurry down the field because the clock is running. There's too little time remaining to get the field goal unit on the field so you have to fire the ball into the endzone right? WRONG!!!! Les Miles instructs Jefferson to hurry the offense to the line of scrimmage so they can spike the ball. Time is running out, the game is nearing its end, will they get there in time? Jefferson gets there, spikes the ball, one problem...NO TIME LEFT ON THE CLOCK!!!! GAME OVER!!!!! LSU LOSES!!!!!! And what ensues after the game is another game in general...THE BLAMING GAME!!!!! Miles throws Jefferson under the bus by telling the press he didn't tell Jefferson to spike the ball. Apparently, Miles was signaling the official for a timeout but "I didn't relate that to the official apparently and that was the mistake." WHAT!!!!!! HOW DO YOU LET THAT HAPPEN!!!! YOU'RE THE HEAD COACH!!!! Miles admitted after the game that "the management at the back end of the game was the issue...It's my fault that we didn't finish first in that game." Again, YOU'RE THE HEAD COACH!!!! You are supposed to plan for every situation imaginable in the game. That is why YOU ARE THE HEAD COACH!!!!! You see there's very little time on the clock. The field goal unit could not get on the field in time, you have to tell your quarterback to go for the win, not spike the ball. That's horrible time management, that's poor play calling, that's just absolutely terrible head coaching. And to throw your quarterback under the bus like that...that's a shame. As a coach, you are expected to prepare for every situation imaginable. Miles wasn't expecting that pass to be completed and what happened...chaos ensued, panic surrounded, time ran out, the game...was over. And so too was LSU's shot at a 10-win season.

That's it for now...check out my pro football column tomorrow. Bye bye for now

NFL Week 11 Preview

Turns out I was completely wrong about last night's Dolphins-Panthers game. Ricky Williams was able to successfully run the ball against the Carolina defense, carrying it 22 times for 119 yards and scoring twice. This put less pressure on Chad Henne as he threw the ball only 29 times, completing 17 for 172 yards and a touchdown. The Dolphins abandoned the "Wildcat" for the better part of the first half and did not use the formation until they scored their second touchdown, putting them ahead 14-3. However, Ricky Williams was still able to run the ball effectively and received help from Jake Delhomme who unsurprisingly led his team to within three points of the Dolphins last night but simply could not get the job done. So much for the Panthers rebounding this season. However, if Ricky Williams can hold it together for the remainder of the season, then the Dolphins have as good a chance as anyone to make the playoffs this year. They definitely won't win the division...but a wild card berth is not totally out of the question at this point.

As far as this Sunday goes, not too many stellar games on the tube. In fact, many of the games should be considered easy winnable games for the teams in contention for the playoffs this year. We may have to look to some of the meaningless games this weekend in order to find the most competitive. But even in those games we won't find much. Look at Cleveland vs. Detroit. This past monday has proven to me that the Browns may be the most dysfunctional team in the NFL. Yes, even more dysfunctional than the Al Davis funhouse out there in Oakland. I mean, look at that team. They have absolutely no offense. Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn are puppets of master "Mangenius", who is looking less and less like a genius every time the Browns take the field. He is trying to perform a great magic act every week by making all teams prepare for both quarterbacks. The problem with Mangini's deceptive tactics is that neither quarterback is very good. There is no spark to that team, no fire, no sense of urgency with every play. They embarrass themselves every week to the point where the press is asking Mangini if he should bring in LeBron James to save the franchise. I mean seriously where is the pride in Cleveland? Where are the ruthless mongrels of the dog pound? All we get every week are chihuahuas taking the field. This week, they get the Lions. And I think the Lions are gonna blow them out because the Browns are simply that awful. They need help and they need it right away and it's not going to come from King James or Jim Brown or anyone like that. It's gonna have to come from within. And the sooner the Browns realize that, the better off they'll be. As for Sunday, Lions in a landslide. You can mark that down.

I will now give you a quick breakthrough of how I think Sunday's games will end up...

Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys

This is a game the Cowboys should win and quite probably will win. But it won't be as decisive a victory as one would think. And here's why: The Redskins are fierce division rivals and they just came off an impressive win over a Broncos team that has truly fallen from grace. They may not have Clinton Portis but the Redskins are going to be pumped up against the Cowboys; treating it like a playoff game as they will play hard for lame duck coach Jim Zorn. In order for the Cowboys to win this game, they need to get their focus back. They need Romo to hook up with Miles Austin again. And they also need him to keep connecting with Roy Williams. The Dallas defense actually played well last week and against a bad Redskins offense, they should come up big. The key to the game is whether or not Dallas will be focused and hungry for a win. If they are, they will win hands down. If they're not, I still think they'll win but it'll be very close. Cowboys win 24-13

San Francisco 49ers at Green Bay Packers

To me, this is a toss-up game because both of these teams have been very erratic lately. The 49ers are coming off a season-saving win against the Bears but did not really play well on offense in that game. The Packers are also coming off a season-saving win against the Cowboys and left a lot of emotion out on the field in front of a packed Lambeau Field. If the offensive line can protect Aaron Rodgers (and they haven't all year) and give him time to throw to Donald Driver and Greg Jennings, then the Packers will win easily. But if Frank Gore torches the Packer defense for something like 23 carries for 120 yds and a couple scores, and Alex Smith starts connecting with Michael Crabtree, then the 49ers will get the upset. I don't know about this one, but since I like home-field advantage, Packers win 28-17.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Kansas City Chiefs

Despite the loss of Troy Polamalu, the Steelers are going to march into Arrowhead Stadium looking to take care of business on Sunday. They are angry, they are hungry, and they are going to take out their frustration on a Chiefs team that has struggled all year and barely beat the Raiders last week. Look for James Harrison to eat up Matt Cassell on Sunday, leading the Steeler defense as they overwhelm the Chiefs offense. Look for Big Ben to have a big day through the air, connecting with Santonio Holmes and new sensation Mike Wallace for a couple touchdowns. Easy win for the Steelers as they cruise to 7-3. Steelers 27, Chiefs 10

Atlanta Falcons at New York Giants

This is a game that both teams have to win. The Falcons have lost 3 of their last 4 and were embarrassed last weekend out in Carolina. Matt Ryan has not played well recently and the onus will be on him to connect with Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez because RB Michael Turner may be out with an ankle injury. But honestly, if the Falcons lose this game on Sunday, its not the end of the world for that team. Sure they will be 5-5 but they have many winnable games the rest of the way with their toughest games (Philadelphia and New Orleans) both played at home. I think they could still finish 10-6 and go into the playoffs with a full plate of confidence. But this is a game the Giants need to have. It's at home, they were given a big break last week from the Cowboys and Eagles. They need to get back to running the football and their defense needs to come out and show some pride. And with Aaron Ross coming back, the Giants might be able to do that and score the big victory. Giants 24, Falcons 17

New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Saints have struggled recently against teams they should beat easily. The Panthers gave them all they could handle in the Superdome. The Rams gave them all they could handle in St. Louis. And now its the Bucs turn. Ever since Josh Freeman took the starting job, the Bucs have started to look decent offensively. However, since their defense can't stop anybody, expect the Saints to just light up the scoreboard on Sunday. Drew Brees has not played that well lately and he will need an ego booster in this game especially going into next week's showdown with the Pats. I think he has a great day on Sunday, but the Bucs will keep it close because the Saint defense is banged up. They just signed Chris McAlister because two of their cornerbacks are injured and Darren Sharper sat out last week's contest. The Saints get the win, but it will be closer than the experts think. Saints 34, Buccaneers 24

Buffalo Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars

The Bills abandoned their season this week by firing coach Dick Jauron. They weren't going anywhere with Jauron but owner Ralph Wilson decided it was time to say "hey, better luck next year." Perry Fewell's first order of business: to start Ryan Fitzpatrick Sunday against the Jaguars. The only justice I see in this is that T.O is now in his own personal hell. The only way it could get worse for him is if he played for the Browns or the Raiders. Owens isn't catching his fair share of balls and the hyped-up passing game of the Bills has been an absolute failure this season. The Bills have not had an efficient rusher this year and their defense just got shredded by Chris Johnson and the Titans. The Jaguars, on the other hand, are coming off a big win against the Jets and are sitting pretty at 5-4. They have four winnable games over the next month before heading into their battle with Indy at home. If they can sweep those games and have Maurice Jones-Drew carry the team on his shoulders, the Jags will be the surprise team of the NFL season. And I think they start off with a nice victory over the Bills on Sunday. Jaguars 28, Bills 16

Indianapolis Colts at Baltimore Ravens

A lot of people are thinking that this is the week the Colts will lose their first game. And at first, I thought the same thing. But after watching the Ravens struggle against the Browns on Monday night, I am convinced that this is not the game where perfection ends for Peyton and company. The Ravens defense looked impressive Monday night, but it was against the Browns. If you look collectively over the course of this season, the Ravens defense is not what it used to be. Sure they still have Ray Lewis and Ed Reed making plays and leading the team. But in big games this season, their defense has simply not showed up. They've lost tough games to Cincinnati, gave up 33 points in a heartbreaker to Minnesota and 27 in a heartbreaker against the Pats. Not to mention their offense cannot score enough points to outlast the Colts. Joe Flacco has not thrown a touchdown pass the last two weeks. And he really needs to do that if he's gonna lead the Ravens to victory on Sunday. I feel the only way the Colts lose this Sunday is if they come up flat after their huge win last week over the Pats. But I think Peyton won't let that happen. Colts 24, Ravens 20

Seattle Seahawks at Minnesota Vikings

This is an easy one. The Seahawks have definitely not played up to their potential this season. Crucial injuries on the defensive side of the ball, combined with a lackluster season from Matt Hasselbeck, has left the Seahawks on the outside looking in in the NFC West. They are 0-4 on the road this season and have not been close in any of those games. And they're going up against Brett Favre and Adrian Peterson on Sunday. Look for the Vikings defense to shut down Hasselbeck and company and look for Peterson to have a monster day against a defense that quite simply has missed their flights to every road game this season. Vikings 34, Seahawks 17

Arizona Cardinals at St. Louis Rams

The Rams played very hard and very tough last week against the Saints, leaving it all on the field and not holding anything back. Can they put up the same kind of effort against another tough offense this week? Perhaps...but the Cardinals have been perfect on the road this season. And Kurt Warner seems to be lighting it up lately, finding connections with his receivers in Fitzgerald, Boldin, and Steve Breaston. Beanie Wells is also starting to become a valuable addition in the backfield for the NFC Champions as well. In order for the Rams to win, they will need more stops on defense than what they had last week against the Saints. And they will need both Steven Jackson and Marc Bulger to have big days offensively. That is a tall order for a team that has only won 1 game this season. But head coach Steve Spagnuolo has his team playing hard. And if fans in St. Louis are very patient enough, then things will start to turn for the Rams eventually. But not on Sunday. Cardinals 31, Rams 20

New York Jets at New England Patriots

This is a game that the Jets need to have. This is also a game that the Patriots want to have. The Patriots are obviously very angry and very frustrated about last week's loss to Indianapolis, a game they controlled all night long and should have won easily. But somehow they lost. And now New England fans are bickering and mumbling about the genius of Belichick and the greatness of Brady. Same thing goes for the Jets as well. Jet fans are not happy about Rex Ryan crying in the locker room. Nor are they happy with their overrated defense and their playboy quarterback. So this division game is huge on so many levels and both teams will want it bad. For that reason, I think this game will not be a blowout. It will be closer than the spreads are letting on and the Pats may have to claw and scratch to get a victory. Both teams will be motivated to play. Both teams will be motivated to win. But in the end, the Patriots survive and all will be well in Foxboro for now. Patriots 27, Jets 17

Cincinnati Bengals at Oakland Raiders

This could potentially be a trap game for the Bengals but don't count on it. Coming off a huge emotional win at Pittsburgh last week, the Bengals are now flying high and have a very easy schedule the next three weeks before heading up to Minnesota. Their key this week will be not to lose focus against a very lackluster, very disappointing Oakland team. The game is on the road in Oakland, a place where the Raiders can play hard when they want to. Just look at what they did to the Eagles earlier this season. The problem with Oakland (among their many problems) is that they cannot score at all. And since they have just benched JaMarcus Russell for pretty much the remainder of the season barring any injury, don't look for them to be scoring a lot of points anytime soon. I think the Raider defense plays well on Sunday and keeps Cincinnati at bay for a while. But when it starts to go deeper in the 2nd half, look for the Bengals to pull away on the arm of Carson Palmer and the legs of Cedric Benson. Bengals 23, Raiders 3

San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos

This is the game of the week in my opinion but I have a feeling it's not going to be close. It is deja vu all over again only this time it's a little bit earlier in the season, which means there's still time for the Broncos to turn their season around. The Broncos have lost three games in a row, including a tough loss last week to the Redskins. The Chargers have won four in a row, including a lucky win over the Giants two weeks ago. Last time this happened, the Chargers came out and destroyed the Broncos on both sides of the ball. I pretty much expect the same thing to happen again, especially since Kyle Orton may not be able to go and the Denver defense has lost its edge and its fire over the past three weeks. Look for Philip Rivers to find Vincent Jackson many times throughout the day. And look for LaDainian and Sproles to eat up the Broncos run defense. Chargers 34, Broncos 13

Philadelphia Eagles at Chicago Bears

This is a very tough game to predict because both teams are in desperate need of a victory. For the Eagles, Brian Westbrook could be out for the rest of the season, which means that Andy Reid will get to do what he loves to do: Pass the Ball!!! Expect McNabb to throw the ball constantly against a Bears defense that has not played well recently but I don't expect the Eagles to tear it up offensively. In order for the Bears to win, they need to not only contain the Eagles passing game, but they also need their quarterback to step up and lead. Crybaby Cutler needs to stop turning the ball over and he needs to simply put the ball in the hands of Devin Hester and Johnny Knox and make big plays up and down the field. Matt Forte needs to establish himself on the ground and the Bears have to come out and play with a little pride. This is the perfect opportunity for them to do that. It's a nationally televised game. Their season is on the line. What's it gonna be? Bears 23, Eagles 20 on a field goal by Robbie Gould.

I won't predict the Monday night game between the Titans and Texans until Sunday night because I'm running late. Going to Boston this weekend to hang with some close friends. Enjoy the weekend of sports. Hopefully my colleagues put some stuff up as well.

NCAA Football Top 5 Week 12

This is a column that won't last too long simply because the college football season is almost over. However, I thought I would just offer my analysis on what I think are the Top 5 games this weekend in college football. And I always like to start from the bottom up so let us begin with...

#5 Ohio State at Michigan

Normally, this is a game that you would see on the top of my list come this weekend in November. Yet as i pointed out disappointingly the other day, the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry is caught in a kind of stalemate right now. One team is significantly better than the other on both sides of the ball, that being the Buckeyes of course. They are on their way to the Rose Bowl come New Years' Day and would love nothing better than to go into Michigan and just pound on their most hated rival. I don't see this game being close at all, unless of course Michigan comes out and plays with a little pride and heart. But even then, I still don't see them upsetting the champions of the Big Ten. The key to the game will be for Tate Forcier to limit his mistakes and try to be consistent throwing the football against a very talented but very young Ohio State defense. And that is a lot to ask from the freshman sensation. I do expect Terrelle Pryor to have a decent game in Ann Arbor, possibly throwing and running the ball into the end zone about 3 or 4 times. And in the end, it will be Ohio State overpowering Michigan 31-9

#4 Penn State at Michigan State

The last time Joe Paterno rolled into East Lansing with his group of Nittany Lions, Penn State ended up losing the game 35-31. Paterno seemingly got his revenge last year by absolutely destroying a Michigan State team that was ranked 15th in the nation by a score of 49-18. But I'm sure that in the back of his 78-year old mind Paterno remembers that crushing defeat two years ago at the hands of the Spartans, and he would love nothing better than to go back to East Lansing and get a big win, thereby ending the regular season with a 10-2 record and a possible BCS At-Large bid. However, as much as Paterno remembers losing that game two years ago, so too do the Spartans remember getting manhandled last year in Happy Valley. And Michigan State has been playing well lately, scoring 30 points in each of their last three games (albeit against Minnesota, Western Michigan, and Purdue) and almost upsetting a very good Iowa team. They just became bowl-eligible last week with their comeback win over Purdue so a victory over Penn State would do a lot to impress bowl committee members. The key for Michigan State will be for quarterback Kirk Cousins to keep his team in the game, which he has done so by not turning the ball over lately (only 1 INT in his last 5 starts). And the Michigan State defense has to find a way to contain QB Daryll Clark and RB Evan Royster. If they are able to do that and limit Penn State offensively, then they will have a good shot to win. Will they win? Absolutely not. Penn State wins 34-17

#3 LSU at Ole Miss

This is a game that Ole Miss is surprisingly favored in but not by much, only 3 points. And I like to think this is one of those games where home-field advantage plays a lot into the spread. As people around me know, I am a firm believer in the power of home-field advantage and I really do think it can have the ability to decide a crucial game where everything is on the line and teams are fighting for their very lives. You could say that Ole Miss is fighting for a little respect in the very deep, very talented SEC conference. And what a better way to get it than to upset #8 LSU at home before a capacity crowd. If Ole Miss is gonna win this game, they are going to have to rely on Jevon Snead to be very accurate with the football and to not make many mistakes against a defense that can get pressure on the quarterback with all that speed. However, I think what will ultimately decide the outcome of this game will be whether or not Dexter McCluster can have another outstanding game like the one he had against Tennessee. If he can find lanes, make cutbacks, and control the pace of the game by running the ball against the LSU defense, then Ole Miss will walk away victorious on Saturday. Will they do it though? I don't think so. LSU wins 34-24

#2 California at Stanford

Everybody remembers the famous 1982 game between Cal and Stanford. For those of you who don't, basically Stanford was about to win the game over Cal and of course the band was out on the field just yearning to celebrate a terrific victory. Cal's Kevin Moen started out with the ball, and after a series of laterals and lobs, ended with the football in the end zone and the win for the Golden Bears. Will this Saturday's showdown between Cal and Stanford live up to the wildness and the controversy surrounding that 1982 game? Probably not, but we still should see a very entertaining game featuring a Cal team looking for some respect within the Pac-10 and a newly revamped, very talented Stanford team. Every time it seems like Cal is about to make its move in the conference, they always shoot themselves in the foot. This year has featured times where their offense disappeared in showdowns against Oregon and USC. And after a three-game winning streak when it seemed like Cal was about ready to seize control of their own destiny, they fumble themselves against Oregon State. Yet once again we see the same picture as they came back the following week and upset 17th-ranked Arizona at home. And now they travel to Stanford, a team that has soundly defeated both Oregon and USC in the past two weeks with spectacular offense and very few mistakes. If Cal is going to make a statement in the Pac-10, its gonna have to be now. Finishing their season with wins over Stanford and Washington will give them a 9-3 record, a possible New Years' Day bowl game, and an outside chance at a BCS At-Large. But don't count on it. Stanford's offense has been unstoppable over the last two weeks. Coach Jim Harbaugh has this team right where he wants them to be. And if they hadn't lost to Arizona earlier in the season, we would be talking about a possible Rose Bowl showdown against Ohio State with this team. Still, staring a possible 9-3 season in the face with winnable games against Cal and Notre Dame (both of which are at home) means an incredible season for the Cardinal and a program well on its way to returning to national prominence. In case you couldn't tell, Stanford wins this weekend 38-21.

#1. Oregon at Arizona

Who would have thought at the beginning of the season that this matchup between Oregon and Arizona would be the most important game of Week 12 NCAA Football? Probably not you and definitely not me. It is strange to see USC completely fall apart here in the end of the season. But I think its awesome because for the first time in a long time we are able to see a different Pac-10 team in the Rose Bowl Game. And I don't know about you, but that is a big relief because I'm tired of seeing USC dominate every Big Ten team they face in the Rose Bowl every year. It's good to know that Ohio State will at least get a competitive game from one of these two squads. Basically, if Oregon wins this game on Saturday, they all but clinch their trip to Pasadena and a showdown with the Buckeyes. However, if Arizona finds a way to win at home and win out, then they will be the ones booking passage to Pasadena. To me, that is a very tall order for an Arizona team that has been very decent throughout the year but quite frankly, has not been tested on a very consistent basis. Their only big win so far this season has come against Stanford, a victory that is looking more and more impressive as the weeks progress. Their only other major opponent this year was Iowa, a game that was very competitive from start to finish but also a game that was mainly controlled by the Iowa defense. And in each of their three losses this year, Arizona has been unable to control the opponent's running game on defense, allowing over 100 yards rushing in their three losing efforts. It will be a tough task for Arizona to contain Oregon running back LaMichael James, who has rushed for over 1,100 yards this season and has been a vital part to Oregon's success. Not to mention trying to stop QB Jeremiah Masoli who has been an absolute playmaker in nearly every game this year. The odds are stacked against the Wildcats? Can they pull through in the final stages of the season? Can they survive showdowns with Oregon and USC? I don't think they can...Oregon wins 45-24

The Hurricane is Coming

Alright fellas a thank you to Leonard for adding me on this and wanting my insight. I know half of the people I want to school with love to make fun of my opinions on sports but quite frankly, I don't give two fucks. A quick overview of my loves and hates in sports. Favorite teams are the Bears, Celtics, and Red Sox, don't have a die hard favorite college football team, and like a couple college basketball teams, but none specifially anymore. A few people that you will constantly hear me bitching about because well quite frankly, they suck, are Jim Calhoun, Arod, Pau Gasol, Skip Bayless, Anderson Varajeo, Dave Weber, and the list will increase as time goes on.
Enough about me, not that important.
College basketball season has begun rocking and one thing that stands out about watching the early run of games is that there is no clear frontrunner this season. Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State all narrowly escape getting pantsed on opening night, anthough for 'tucky fans, it would be nothing of a surprise siing the last two seasons they've been taken out by VMI and Gardner Webb in their opener. Bottom line with them though, don't ever say they're too young to win it this year. The big knock on the Cats this year is the youth on the floor isn't going to translate into a title when up against the likes of grizzled vets like Cole Aldrich and Kansas. Coach Cal will have this team dancing into the National Championship game, just hoping we don't see Mario Chalmers suiting up again to send Cal off a loser and making his bajillion dollar investment into the pocket of an AAU coach for a point guard a failure once again. As far as the Spartans of MSU go, well they play in the Big 10, so yea...they suck.
Not even sure what to think of the Big East this year. Really, it's a very strange season. Normally my thought now would be to say the Big East is the Jr. NBA and someone from there will go dancing in the end unless they all kick each other ass all year long to the point where they limp into the Final 4. Let's be real, if the Pac-10 tournament had a 6 OT game going on, fans would've arrived about the time the second half tipped off and been too pissed to wait around after the 3rd OT because they exceeded the west coast fan's time limit at a game. Too many things to do over there like see Tony Franco coach the defense.
Back to the Big East, 'Nova and West Virginia will be there in the end, Louisville will be there after Pitino decides he's out for blood to stick it to every fan who holds up a "No means no" sign in an arena (I cannot wait for the new white and black men at the Dunk to hold up anti-Pitino signs and hear Pitino in the huddle tell Samardo Samuels to tell them to shut the fuck up and see him go out for 40 and 20 and slap Keno's ass on the way by and say it would help to get out of a matchup zone for once when you play a team with a good big man, you're not in the MVC anymore buddy). Rounding out my top 5 for the B.E. I like Notre Dame to surprise some people with Harangody taking home Nat'l Player of the Year and rounding out the top 5 is Syracuse, who really isn't as bad as they looked against D2 juggernaut LeMoyne (joke, guys). Uconn well, they can fuck themselves, maybe Calhoun will go cycling again and never come back for the benefit of the world, and Georgetown, they'll crumble apart just like last year. Need a shooter fellas.

Quick NBA note, I'll go back to this in detail tomorrow as I will likely do as the NBA is by far my favorite sport to talk about, but a couple of early season things that have caught my attention:
1) 3 teams can win it this year. That's it. No the Hawks aren't one of these.
2) Allen Iverson, you have one option left as a player.
3) Danny Ferry, you are on par with Isiah as a GM.
4) The Grizzlies and Clippers will never be good in our lifetime.

Don't want to talk too much about this all today since I do want to go home, but I'll start it off with the contenders in the league this season. The Celts, Lakers, and Nuggets are the only three teams that have ANY shot this year (barring any sort of trade such as 2 years ago when Gasol gets traded for KWAME BROWN). I can see the Spurs fleecing someone like that. The Celts proved why they are and why they aren't the best team in the first 12 games of the season. When rested and clicking, they have no holes on the roster. None. When Rasheed isn't putting up 10 3's a game and making 2 of them, Eddie House isn't clanking, Pierce and KG aren't hurting, and Scal isn't in the arena, they are a well oiled machine, but this is what we've seen recently, and old team that is settling for playing down to their talent.
The Lakers haven't had that flaming metrosexual Pau Gasol play yet this year and rumor is that his hammy is a lot more beaten up than first noted. There is no timetable for his return and in the meantime, the Lakers have won games, but have needed overtimes to beat the likes of the Thunder and got thoroughly manhandled by the Nuggets the other night. If Pau comes back in time to do that "i'm going into labor fist pump" one more time this year, they have a shot, but if they shoot themselves in the head thinking that Artest can carry an offensive load in place of Gasol, well then we have a comedy show on our hands. Note to Jack Nicholson- don't drop your beer if Artest comes flying into the stands, he may think it's a guy 10 rows back and charge him, however it would be fantastic to see Sasha Vujacic try to be a tough ass and run into try to "protect" him and wind up getting smoked in the face. Just hope that Stephen Jackson and the Bobcats aren't in town that night or else he'll surely join in the fun.
The Nuggets are good too, but need to see a full season from them to annoint them as the overwhelming frontrunner. The Magic- way to go in picking up Vince Carter, that may ahve single handedly been the most retarded move I have seen since the Knicks traded for Steve Francis. How in holy Hell did anyone expect him to not only take a team back to the Finals, but to put them over the hump? This guy is the definition of a player that was a stud out of college, made himself a cool nickname, won a dunk contest, and all of a sudden found out his knees are as fragile as Manute Bol's and whenever asked to shoulder a load, tweaks an ankle and loses 2 seasons worth of games. I hate Vince Carter with an overwhelming passion since the days when people said he was the better pick than Paul Pierce in that draft. A Finals MVP and about 21489035019753 more games played later, I think its fair to say that question was answered.
Love the story of that draft by the way, one of the most humerous episiodes of why some teams, well, suck. It all starts in the draft people. Teams that don't draft well are never ever ever gonna win. Let's travel back for a moment in history and relive this June day in 1998. I will spit out for you the top 10 picks in this draft, let's look at their careers to this day, and how the teams that took them are faring. History repeats itself and the teams drafting habits have not changed 11 years later, so its fair to assume that if they fucked up that draft, they fucked up plenty more along the road.
With the first pick in the draft, the ... select Michael Olowokandi

The logic behind this pick, "Well we need a big man, this guy put up great number at the University of Pacific, he's kind of goofy but put up great college numbers even though the tallest guy in his conference other than him was about 6'7, but what the hell, we're the Clippers, let's do it.

Now- Not even in the league.

The Team- Yup, the Clips, same team that went on to take the likes of Yaroslav Korolev in the Lottery.

Pick #2- Mike Bibby by the Grizzzz

Logic- Needed a PG, best in the class.

Now- Still in the NBA, put together a solid career, but wouldn't you know the Grizz would later trade him for White-Chocolate Jason Williams and Bibby would go on to be a part of arguably the best team to never win a championship in the 2000's.

Pick #3- Raef LaFrentz

Logic- Good in college, but come on.

Now- Raef was better known for his expiring contrac tup until last season and now is out of the NBA. The Nuggets went on to stink up many more drafts until Joe Dumars and the Pistons threw them a bone and took Darko over 'Melo. Phew, saved the Nug's ass on that one Joe.

Pick #4 and #5- Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison (traded for each other on draft night)

Logic- Raptors and Warriors each took the guys and said what the hell, why don't we just swap them. (The conspiracy theorist would say that the Warriors saw Carter's physical and said get him the fuck outta here) Jamison has had an above average career, but as far as taking a team to the top, neither have some close. And the nickname "Air Canada" that Vince took then ditched is more of an insult than a compliment, right?

Now- Both hurt, both on their 3rd team, and you guessed it, both going nowhere.

Pick #6- Robert "Tractor" Traylor

Logic (Stupidity)- No this isn't a joke. This actually happened. Dallas took him here but in reality this may have been the best move in the history of the Dallas Mav's franchise. Why? No i'm not on crack. Team president Donny Nelson immediately shipped him to the pathetic Bucks for their draft choice at pick #9. Wait 'till we see who this turns out to be.

Now- Tractor Traylor has been arrested on drug charges, and there's a rumor his diet in 2004 could've fed a starving nation. He is long gone from the NBA after maybe one of the worst lottery pick careers we've ever seen.

Pick #7- Jason "White Chocolate" Williams

Logic- Blew away the crowd at the Rookie game this season with the Kings with his ridiculously (stupid) passes and was traded away the following year for Bibby after a team realizeed he couldn't lead an offense.

Now- Well, he's had quite a roller coaster of a career, but got his ring with the Heat a few years back. The ring gives you respect, but those tattoos he's got take that respect all back.

Pick #8- Larry Hughes

Logic- I remember this part of the draft vividly. As a Celtics fan I'm sitting in my family room yelling please, please, please Philly don't take Pierce. Pierce is on the verge of tears in the Green room as projections said he was going to be a top 3 pick, going as high as #2. The rumors all day leading up said that if Pierce slid, the Sixers needed that guard. Well, he slid, and the Sixers took Hughes. WOW. Yes! Giving high Fives to everyone around me, I scream out that only two picks remain, we just need PP to slip pas the Bucks, who hold the 9th pick (owed to Dallas).

Now- Hughes has one good season in his career, which he cashed into a huge contract with the Cavs, and now finds himself on the Knicks for the sole purpose that his contract is up after the season and in time for it to be off the books for the summer of 2010.

Pick #9- Dirk Nowitzki

Logic- Lot of hype on this guy heading in. Tall, skinny, white guy from Germany that apparently can shoot but nobody thinks his game can translate. Comparisons to Larry Bird's stroke and athleticism drew laughs from many. Fell to the Bucks, who I guess felt that their cafeteria wasn't getting enough love and wanted the Tractor, so they shipped Dirk off to Dallas or Traylor. Ouch.

Now- Dirk's an 8 time all star, 4 time all NBA first team, MVP, likely Hall of Famer, and nearly carried a team to the title. He's done ok.

Pick #10- Paul Pierce

Logic- No brainer- Even Rick Pitino can't fuck this one up.

Now- After bandwagoners all across New England swore him off after he vented his frusteration that he was sick and tired of having Ricky Davis and Tony Delk as his sidekicks, he bites the bullet, gets his help, and outduels LeBron and Kobe for a title and Finals MVP. Will likely finish as the leading scorer in Celt's history before it's all said and dont and the #34 will join the others in the rafters. We all knew it on Draft Day, the obvious choice, even Pitino couldn't fuck it up.

Will go down as one of the most lopsided drafts ever- and the reason the Clippers will always be the Clippers.

Other news and thought of the NBA-

• Allen Iverson, you want to be the man for one more season, you have one more team to try that on. The Knicks. They have clearly nothing to play for this season and have the aforementioned Larry Hughes starting at the 2. Sign with them AI, it's your last hope as a pro.
• Danny Ferry, did you really thing Shaq was the answer? You said no to Amare last year because you didn't want to take on the money, and this was your answer? It's ok though, Amare's a free agent after the seasons over, you can get him again, because you'll have the cap space once LeBron flips you off on the way out of town.

I'll dig into a little pro and college football, as well as maybe some baseball tomorrow.

Hump Day Walkaround

Welcome to Hump Day Walkaround, a column where we focus on the major issues involved in all sports. That includes the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NCAA (only football and basketball)...maybe soccer if I feel like it. Maybe we can get a guest commentator for that but I'm not sure yet. Anyways, this column will be featured every Wednesday, or "Hump Day", which of course is the politically incorrect nickname for Wednesdays. So without further adieu, let us begin with the NFL...

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!!!

Week 10 NFL Recap

Week 10 did not exactly get off to a bang as the NFL Network opened its football coverage with the Chicago Bears and the San Francisco 49ers. Good Lord, can the Bears actually get a legitimate quarterback who can actually LEAD their team to the promised land? I mean seriously, when the Jay Cutler trade was announced back in April, I can remember Bears fans acting completely ecstatic and unbelievably enthused. It was like Christmas had come early this year because finally, they had an elite quarterback fresh off a stellar season with the Broncos and a world-class defense that could hold its own against anyone in the league. It seemed like the stars had aligned for Bears fans everywhere....how wrong they were. We should have seen it coming when Brian Urlacher went down for the season with a severely dislocated wrist. But then a victory over the world-champion Steelers delayed the inevitable, making it seem like the Bears were truly among the elite teams in the NFL. And then what happened? 45 points to the Bengals, 41 points to the Cardinals...need i say more? And then this abomination from Crybaby Cutler. 52 pass attempts, 307 passing yards, 5 interceptions...hmm, not exactly Pro Bowl material. And what does he do throughout the course of the game...he blames his teammates, as if throwing 5 interceptions couldn't possibly be his fault. His quote after the game, "I think the offense as a whole needs to apologize" DUH!!!!!!!! 6 points against the 49ers in a must-win game is completely unacceptable from a team that had high hopes for itself entering the season. Sitting at 4-5 right now, the Bears' hopes are slowly fading away with Philadelphia and Minnesota coming up next. Can they pull it together? We shall see...

Sunday's matchups featured a slew of great games, particularly the ones that were hyped up throughout the week in the Bengals-Steelers and Colts-Patriots. Before covering those games, let's just go around the league real quick and see what happened. The Saints's perfect record was put in jeopardy yesterday by THE RAMS? Hmm...how very interesting. Many assumed that the Saints would have no problem with the Rams and would simply go marching in to St. Louis no questions asked. Drew Brees was not godlike yesterday as he only threw for 223 yds with 2 TD's and 2 INT's. The Rams were very competitive throughout the day and seemed to treat the game like their personal Super Bowl. At halftime, the score was 14 all and the game was close throughout the course of the day. But in the end, the better teams always find a way to win these games and the Saints did exactly that. They move on to 9-0 with the lowly Buccaneers coming in next week and then the Pats in 2 weeks on Monday Night Football. Also, this week saw the Jets and their GQ quarterback begin to dive further into oblivion with a tough loss to the Jaguars. Ever since their phenomenal 3-0 start, the Jets have won 1 of their last 5 games and that was against the RAIIIDEERSSSS. Yesterday's loss to Jacksonville has demonstrated two things; that the Jets defense is terribly overrated and cannot make a stop when it counts, and that Rex Ryan and his team should keep their mouths shut from now on because they're not very good. And another thing, I don't understand what the big deal is with Maurice Jones-Drew taking a knee at the end of the game. Clearly, the offense was going to run victory formations and take knees to center the chip-shot field goal. And they did not want to give the ball back to Sanchez, who had just led his team down the field to give the Jets the lead. It's not terrible thinking and the Jaguars ended up winning the game anyway. But the Jets are in trouble that's for sure. With a stop in Foxboro next weekend against an angry Pats team, all is not well in the Meadowlands for one New York team.

And all would not be well with the other New York team either had both the Cowboys and the Eagles took care of business in Green Bay and San Diego this week. Fortunately for the Giants, the Packers defense showed up and absolutely manhandled the Cowboys offense in the Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field. The only Cowboy score came in desperation in the final two minutes as Romo hurled one to the right corner of the endzone and found Roy Williams. But the Cowboys could not establish a running game nor get their main weapon Miles Austin on track against a Packer defense that had surrendered 38 points to the Buccaneers last week. There were some out there who called this a trap game for the Cowboys. And indeed, they were right. Coming off a big division win against the Eagles last week, along with another division matchup next week against the Redskins, the luck of the Cowboys finally ran out on Sunday as Romo, Wade, and good ole Jerry Jones lose their battle to Cheesehead nation. Eagle nation also has a lot to be concerned about as McNabb and company went out west and got struck by lightning in a big way. Upon hearing that he was going to be a father, LaDainian Tomlinson was so excited that he ran the ball 24 times for 96 yards and scored 2 TD's. The Eagles defense, which hasn't been the same since the passing of their coordinator Jim Johnson, was stifled by a vintage Tomlinson yesterday as he was the main focus of the Charger running game yesterday. They were also befuddled by a good performance by Philip Rivers, who is once again stepping up his game in the latter part of the season. Beware the Chargers now in the AFC West. They have won four in a row now since starting 2-3 and meet the division leading Denver Broncos next week in a pivotal showdown. And since the Broncos have lost three in a row, including a bad one against the Redskins yesterday, I'd say the Chargers are looking pretty good right now. As for the Eagles, now that Brian Westbrook is out indefinitely with his second concussion this season, the onus is now put on Donovan McNabb to put points on the board and carry the Eagles the rest of the way. He almost led them to a comeback win yesterday, but they need to find a way to balance their running game with their passing game and hope that their defense can get their problems solved real fast. If they don't, the Cowboys might run away with the division. But don't sleep on the Giants. If they cleaned up their act this week, they could be right back in this thing. We shall see...

Now, for the two big matchups of this past week. Let's start with the Bengals and the Steelers. This was not exactly an offensive juggernaut of a game yesterday. The only touchdown of the game came on a 96-yard kickoff return from Bernard Scott of the Bengals. The rest of the offensive output came from Shayne Graham and Jeff Reed. It was a defensive struggle from start to finish, each team trying to match each other on the scoreboard and constantly settling for field goals. The stats were not pretty. Carson Palmer and Ben Roethlisberger were not Tom Brady and Peyton Manning yesterday. Cedric Benson left the game in the 2nd quarter with a hip flexor, carrying the ball only 7 times for 22 yards. Rashard Mendenhall did not have a great game against a terrific Bengals defense with only 36 yards rushing. But I think the biggest part of the game that turned the tables in favor of the Bengals was when Troy Polamalu left the game with his 2nd knee injury of the season. Once again, the Bengals were able to capitalize on that, capably moving the ball down the field and in the end, getting more field goals than the Steelers and winning an enormous game on the road against the defending world champs. The Bengals have a cakewalk of a schedule the next 3 weeks as they face Oakland, Cleveland, and Detroit respectively. They should be 10-2 heading into their next big game against the Vikings and I do not see them getting caught in a trap next week against a team as horrible as Oakland. This is a good Bengal team that is focused, sharp, and mentally tough. Hopefully, they can maintain that as they seem to be headed on cruise control into the playoffs this year.

The big game of the night was obviously the New England Patriots against the Indianapolis Colts. And until the fourth quarter of that game, the game was honestly nothing to write home about. The Pats were dominating the Colts offensively all night long, gaining 477 yards of total offense and leading the Colts 31-14 early in the fourth quarter. But alas, Peyton Manning managed to get his team back in the game late, cutting that deficit down to 34-28 on a four-yard run by Joseph Addai. And this is what everyone has been talking about all day long...the controversial fourth down call by Bill Belichick. Personally, I think Kevin Faulk actually got the first down on the forward progression and that the referees spotted the ball in the wrong place. However, because Bill Belichick used his final timeout on the last Colts possession, he was unable to challenge the spot of the ball. Therefore, the Patriots turned the ball over on downs and left Peyton Manning with a short field to work his magic against the Patriots defense. Sure enough, that's exactly what happened as Manning found Reggie Wayne in the back of the endzone for the go-ahead touchdown. Perfect season saved...final score 35-34...every Patriots fan has a sleepless night...every Boston sports radio show condemns Belichick. Now, I disagree with the idea of going for it on 4th down. I understand the idea that if you convert the fourth down, then the game is virtually over and everyone salutes Belichick for a terrific victory over an undefeated Colts team. But you simply cannot run the risk of not converting the fourth down and giving Peyton Manning the short field to work with. He will burn you everytime and he did so last night. And you especially cannot do it when you have no timeouts left and the game is on the line. You must have faith in your defense in that situation, who granted put the seed of doubt in Belichick's mind after allowing Manning to drive down the field twice and cut the lead to 6. But you have to do it in that situation. You have to give Manning a longer field to work with and at least make him work for the victory. Because honestly, did you really think the Patriots were gonna win that game when the ball is on their 29 yard line and Peyton Manning is staring at you in the face? This was an uncharacteristic blunder by Bill Belichick and it most definitely cost them the game. But alas, all is not lost in Patriot land. The Pats are still sitting pretty atop the division with a 6-3 record. And they most certainly have to be proud of the fight they took to the Colts last night. They should have won that game and should be recognized today as perhaps the 2nd best team in the NFL right now. Trust me Pats fan...all of this is forgotten if Brady and company crush the hapless Jets next week at home and then go down to the Big Easy and stun the soon-to-be 10-0 Saints. Then everyone will start to give credit where credit is due. And Belichick will look like a genius again. Brady will be hailed and exalted on high once more. And all will be right with the world. But for now, consider this a bump in the road for what could be a potentially memorable season.

That's all for now...the Ravens are in sound control right now over the absolutely horrible Cleveland Browns. God help that team...they need Mike Holmgren to come next year in the worst way because this team simply has NOTHING on offense. Granted though the score was 0-0 at halftime so what does that tell you about the Ravens? Personally, I think they could upset the Colts next week but I'm not sure now. Anyways, look for this to be a regular thing every week for the rest of the season. If there's a big game on Monday Night Football, then this column will be pushed a day because obviously, proper attention must be given to that game. Hope you enjoyed it dear readers. Bye bye for now!!!

#27

AND THE NEW YORK YANKEES ARE THE WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS OF BASEBALL!!!!!!!!! Sorry, I had to get that out of my system. The New York Yankees are obviously my favorite baseball team and I simply cannot contain my joy and happiness over the fact that the Yankees are once again World Series champions. I'm probably not as happy as Mr. Emeigh is that the Yankees defeated the Phillies in 6 games, but I'm sure he will let you in on how happy he is when he posts his reaction and commentary on what this World Series means in Yankee history. That is enough of my biased commentary for one day. Now, on to my reaction and commentary on Game 6.

There were many experts out there who were very hesitant to predict the Yankees would win in 6 games. I don't know why. I mean, with Pedro Martinez pitching on the mound for the Phillies (and this is not vintage Pedro Martinez), how could you not give the Yankees a slight edge in this game, especially when they're at home in the Bronx. I could understand if the game was on the road in Philadelphia but I mean come on now. This was a team that finished with the best record in the major leagues. This was a team that took care of business against the Twins in the first round of the playoffs and were able to get past their postseason nemesis in the Angels with no real problems. And up until Game 6 actually began in New York, all I could hear on sports talk shows was concern over Andy Pettitte pitching on three days rest. Yes, I can buy the argument that Pettitte hadn't pitched on three days rest since 2006. I can also buy the argument that his best playoff numbers have never occurred in the World Series. I can also buy the skepticism of a possible Game 7 looming in the Bronx, with the Phillies having some momentum after completely bashing A.J. Burnett in Game 5. All that was washed away on Wednesday night, as Pettitte did not pitch great as he went 5.2 innings and gave up 3 earned runs. However, the Yankees potent and explosive lineup were able to back him up enormously in Game 6, giving Pettitte a little leeway in the early innings to put pressure on the Phillies to match the Yankees in the run column. The potency and explosiveness actually came from one guy on Wednesday night and that of course is Hideki Matsui or "Godzilla". And boy did he just launch a major attack on Pedro the other night. My god, Pedro never fails to prove that the Yankees will always be his daddy and it just seems really funny to me that they were able to clinch their 27th with him on the mound. With that being said, Matsui was absolutely brilliant on Wednesday night, going 3 for 4 with 6 RBI's and winning the World Series MVP with I believe the fewest at bats in a championship series ever. And that is just an amazing statistic because Matsui was limited to pinch-hit duty in Philadelphia because he simply cannot play the outfield anymore. Matsui won this game for the Yankees on Wednesday night, driving in all Yankee runs with the exceptions of Mark Teixeira's RBI single that scored Jeter in the 5th inning and proved why he was the appropriate choice for World Series MVP.

The Yankee bullpen was absolutely spectacular on Wednesday night, shutting down the Phillies in the later innings and just handing the ball to Mariano Rivera in the 8th inning to close the door on this World Series. Kudos to Joba Chamberlain and Damaso Marte (who looked like the Damaso Marte we thought we were getting last year when he came from the Pirates) for providing an easy path to Mariano, who looked crisp and sharp in securing another championship for the storied Yankee franchise. This should not discredit the effort the Phillies put into this World Series. They were indeed a worthy opponent with an absolutely star-studded lineup led by Chase Utley, who was absolutely unstoppable in this series. And I'd have to agree with what the experts are saying right now, which is that the Phillies have a better shot of making it back to the series next year than the Yankees do right now. I would say that's a fair argument because if the Phillies can add another decent pitcher to back up Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels in their rotation, then they will definitely be the favorite heading into next season. The Yankees, though still a very explosive team, will have some questions concerning the back end of their rotation. Pettitte will only be getting older and do the Yankees want to start cashing in on their future by putting Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain back in the rotation? Also, what will they do with Chien-Ming Wang? Should they go out and spend money again on a big-name pitcher? These are questions that will be answered in due time, but for now, the Yankees will enjoy their 27th World Series title as they march along the Canyon of Heroes in Manhattan and receive the keys to the city from Mayor Bloomberg. And that is indeed a truly great thing if you're a Yankee fan.