Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to any gentiles who read this blog.

here's a present for all, very cool article

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=3165287&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab3pos1

Some excitement still left for Week 17

The NFL has seen an unprecedented lack of parody this year, and for the first team in recent memory, there seem to be several dominant teams. Starting with the 15-0 Pats, the 13-2 Colts and Cowboys, and the 12-3 Packers, there could be 4 teams with 13 wins for the first time since the turn of the century. However, despite the fact that 10 of the 12 playoff spots have been filled, several games still have playoff implications. Tennessee and Cleveland are both still alive for the AFC's 6th and final playoff sport. The Titans travel to Indianapolis to play a Colts team with nothing to play for (Dungy has already admitted that Manning and Addai will both play a half at most), and the Browns host the 4-11 Niners. Should both teams win or both teams lose, the Titans have the tiebreaker.

Over in the NFC, the Redskins, Vikings and Saints are all still alive. The 'Skins are in the driver's seat, and are in a with a win. The Vikings need a win and a Skins loss or tie, while the Saints need a win and losses from both teams. The Redskins host the Cowboys (also playing a meaningless game), who will certainly be resting an already injured Terrell Owens. Minnesota finishes in Denver and the Saints will travel to Chicago.

Here are the games to watch in Week 17,

(Games with playoff implications)
Tennessee @ Indianapolis
San Fransisco @ Tennessee
Dallas @ Washington
Minnesota @ Denver
New Orleans @ Chicago

(Games with historic implications)
New England @ New York Giants

(Games to determine #3 and #4 seeds)
San Diego @ Oakland
Pittsburgh @ Baltimore



"Getcha Popcorn Ready"

The honeymoon is over..

I think it's safe to say America's obsession with Boise State is over. After their stunning win in last year's Fiesta Bowl, both America and the voters fell in love with the Broncos. A 2 loss team in the WAC, they still managed to stay in the top 25 at #24. After Broncos dropped the Hawaii Bowl to 7-5 East Carolina tonight, expect Chris Peterson's bunch to fall out of popular opinion and back into the sea of mid-major mediocrity. Not even another Ian Johnson on-screen proposal can save them.

NBA Rumblings

1) Don't look now, but the Oden-less Portland Trailblazers have won 10 in a row, and sit just one game behind division leading Denver. The young core of Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Martell Webster, Channing Frye and Jarrett Jack have brought Portland back into contention. Vets Steve Blake and Joel Przybilla have fit nicely into their roles, as the team is enjoying shocking success. With a strong young nucleus, this is a team that will compete in the West for the next 5 years. Imagine this 2008 lineup:

Blake, Roy, Webster, Aldrige and Oden: With Frye, Jack and Outlaw coming of the bench

This team is a better PG away from being the class of the West.

2) Unfortunately, it appears another Boston team is truly dominant. As much as I tried to write off the quick start as a hot streak, the Celtics really are this good. At 22-3, they have already built themselves a 9 game division lead, and are currently outscoring opponents by an average of 14 points per game. Rajon Rondo is developing into a very solid player, giving the Celtics the role player they needed. However, be wary if one of the Big Three goes down, as the teams only weakness is its lack of depth.

3) Today, Kobe became the youngest player ever to score 20,000 points, beating Wilt Chamberlain by approximately two weeks. Quite an impressive achievement, but Kobe is still just over half way to Wilt's all time record. Somehow, I don't see Kobe playing another 10-12 season and breaking this record. However, Kobe has to considered the most dominant scorer of this era. While guys like Shaq, Duncan, and LeBron will go down as better players, Kobe holds the title as the best scorer of the post-Jordan era, and there's still no one I'd rather have taking the big shot with the game on the line.

Week Wrap-Up

Apologies for the lack of posts the past few days, things have gotten hectic as I ended semester 7/8. Here's a few comments on some recent stories:

1) Gotta love the brilliance of Andy Pettitte, Brian Roberts and Fernando Vina. "I admit I took HGH once, but it was only to heal from an injury, and I NEVER took steroids." Their PR personnel is magnificent, as Andy came off smelling like a sweet rose. I'll leave it up to you whether or not these guys are full of crap, but regardless, this was the best way to explain the rumors and save face. Still no word from the Rocket yet, who has infinitely more explaining to do.

2) Florida State gets caught in an academic cheating scandal. In other shocking news, the sun rose this morning, and set later this evening. Surprise, surprise. I've been dubbing this team as a group of cheater since 1999, when they boasted several illegitimate players. Peter Warrick gets caught red handed in a robbery, and only misses TWO games. Chris Weinke shows up at the age of 26, and Sebastian Janikowski manages to maintain a 2.0 GPA while knowing approximately 4 words of English and never being spotted on campus. This has been a corrupt program for decades, and it is about time they got caught.

3) Rich Rodriguez to Michigan. If I am to take credit for Petrino's departure, I'll have to take a hit here, as this one surprised me. I honestly don't buy into the fact that Rodriguez is a great coach. He took over a successful program with a ton of incoming talent, and despite playing in a weak conference with a weak OOC schedule, could not land a BCS championship. Not to mention coaching his team to one of the biggest choke jobs in NCAA history, a final week loss to hapless Pittsburgh (led by Dave Wannestedt) to fall out of a guaranteed national championship berth. With Miles and even Greg Schiano saying no, it appears they didn't have more attractive options, but I personally don't love this fit for the maize and blue.

Kudos to Schiano by the way. Here's a guy in the midst of creating a national powerhouse from scratch and having the opportunity to hear his name mentioned with Bobby Bowden, Joe Paterno and Frank Beamer, as coaches who have single handedly built college football powerhouses. The allure of the big name job did not sway him, and give credit to Shiano for staying loyal.

4) 1-13!! The Dolphins finally pulled one out, with an overtime victory over the Baltimore Ravens. I did not celebrate like we won the Super Bowl as the team did, but I am certainly glad the team will stay out of the record books for eternal infamy. I give the guys credit, as it has looked the previous two weeks as if the team had given up. Cam Cameron somehow kept the team motivated, and may have saved his job in the process. The win takes a lot of pressure of the team, and will allow them to play with slightly more confidence. Next up: play with a tremendous amount of pride defending the '72 Dolphins as the only undefeated team ever. For the Phish to have a shot in New England, they will have to play a flawless game, with incredible passion and hope to catch the Pats on an off day. I would bet infinite money against it, but oh boy, what a story it would be...

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Shanahan

Erratic teams are a norm in sports, and the phrase "You never know which team will show up" has been beaten to death. But this year's Denver Broncos have taken this to a new level. Every week it seems a different team has shown up, as I have pegged the Broncos at some point in the year as anything from a Superbowl contender to a team worthy of a top 5 draft pick. Granted, this is a team with an inexperienced quarterback, a running back by committee approach, and is still grieving the death of Darrent Williams from New Years. However, explain the volatility in some their performances this year.

Week 5: San Diego 41, Denver 3
Week 7: Denver 31, Pittsburgh 28

Week 9: Detroit 44, Denver 7
Week 11: Denver 34, Tennessee 20

Week 14: Denver 41, Kansas City 7
Week 15: Houston 31, Denver 13

A nightmare team for gamblers, the Broncos are simply a crapshoot. Here are their 2 remaining games and my predictions:

Week 16: @ San Diego. Denver 55, SD 10
Week 17: Minnesota. Min 62, Denver 3.

The 'Mitch' Hunt

All things considered, I think the MLB dodged a bit of a bullet yesterday. Regardless of Senator Mitchell's request, the names are, and will continue to be the story. As I said in my previous post, baseball could not afford an iconic player to be named in these investigations. Granted, Bonds and Clemens are about as big as you can get, but both of these guys had already been convicted in the public eye. The judgment has been out on Bonds for years and anyone who doesn;t suspected a 40+ year old pitcher winning Cy Youngs is not in touch with reality. Additionally, while great players, both Bonds and Clemens are hated figures. Arguments can be made for both as the greatest hitter and pitcher of all time, but neither is loved nor revered. The saddest name is Andy Pettitte, a star pitcher with a reputation as clean as a whistle. Pettitte is a guy no one had pegged, and is the most surprising name in the lot of all-stars including Miguel Tejada, Eric Gagne and Paul Lo Duca. Obviously, Paulie being named is a dissapointment to those Mets fans that learned to love him over the past few years. But with his incredible passion for the game, and psychotic competitive nature, I can't say I'm shocked he tried to get an edge. It's certainly not a good day for baseball, but my initial reaction, and one that appears to be echoed around the league is, "It could have been a lot worse."

The Mitchell Report Looms...

I can't even fathom how many professional baseball players will be sitting home tonight waiting for the other shoe to drop. This would be the real story, how many baseball players are wondering whether or not they will named tomorrow? It's like waiting for a jail sentence, a career ending jail sentence. I will not begin to speculate who will be named, because that's all it would be, speculation. However, nothing said tomorrow will be good for baseball, and some news could be potentially devastating. The best that the MLB can hope for is that no iconic players (Jeter, A-Rod, Ortiz, Vlad, DWright, etc) get named in the report. The Jose Guillens and Jay Gibbons' can be absorbed, but if a role model type player gets named in the Mitchell Report tomorrow, it could be a deadly blow.

Bobby Saban, er, Petrino

As predicted on this very blog a weeks ago, Bobby Petrino has jettisoned from the NFL to take the Arkansas head coaching job. You will read several articles over the next few days bashing Petrino for leaving, explaining how he only cares about himself and always looks for the better job. However, in this case, can you truly blame him for wanting out of Hotlanta? He was brought to to Atlanta solely to bring his run and gun offense to Michael Vick and Co. The Falcons dumped Schaub, brought int Joe Horn, and hired Bobby Petrino all to make Michael Vick all the more comfortable. As it turns out, quick Vick was most comfortable in a bark-a-lounger (pun intended) watching two dogs fight until death. So instead of getting an enormously talented, yet slightly under achieving franchise player, Petrino got Joey Harrington, a washing up Byron Leftwich and gulp, Chris Redman. (Not to mention half a season without Warrick Dunn).

Can you really blame Petrino for leaving because 'this isn't what he signed up for'? Can't the team fire him without any public scrutiny because it 'wasn't what the signed up for'? If the Dolphins fire Cam Cameron because they didn't 'sign up for 0-16', will anybody blame them? I am not one to defend 'scoundrel coaches' as I despise Nick Saban about as much as the '07 Patriots. ( I still laugh every time Les Miles says 'I will be the LSU coach'). However, in this case, I give Petrino a pass, because he was brought in here to work with Mike Vick, and the only thing Vick will be working on for the next 23 months is lawnscaping duty. Not to mention, he took about a $2 million per year pay cut to head back to college, so the greedy argument doesn't work here either.

P.S. Can we get a better Monday night game than New Orleans/Atlanta? Can someone force ESPN to adopt the flex system, because I really don't think Chicago/Minnesota next week will be much better, especially when it could be Jacksonville/Pittsburgh.

The inevitable..

It's going to happen. Both of them. The Dolphins are going to go 0-16. The Patriots are going to go 16-0. And there is nothing Eric Mangini, Don Shula, Anthony Smith, John Beck or Cleo Lemon can do about it. The Dolphins had their chances, 6 games decided by 3 points or less. They got a gift from God in the form of the great equalizer, an unplayable turf and a scoreless game late into the 4th quarter. Nothing seems to be able to derail destiny, the first 0-16 team in NFL history. The team has given up, and you can see it on the field. While early in the season they fought hard, and kept it close, they have lost all motivation on both sides of the ball. They don't want to be playing football, and they want this to come to an end. Well luckily for them, in three weeks time, they'll get their wish, along with the historic distinction.

As for the Pats, it seems their mini-slump has passed, and days of steamrolling opponents have returned. With two upcoming home games against the lowly Jets and the hapless Dolphins, the only semi-test will come in East Rutherford in Week 17 against the G-Men. Although the Giants front 4 is a tough match-up for the New England Offense, Eli Manning vs Belichick is a frightening thought. This team will go 16-0, but the playoffs may get interesting. Both Dallas and Indianapolis get better by the week, and although this has been one of the dullest regular seasons in recent memory, January may just make up for it.

Tebow wins the Heisman

As predicted by my flawlessly accurate poll, Tim Tebow took home the Heisman Trophy tonight. It's hard to argue with the pick, considering he had 41 total TDs, became the first QB in history with 20 rushing and 20 passing TDs, and did in the toughest conference in college football. His performance and statistics speak for themselves, and he lead the Gators to a 9-3 record and a spot in a New Year's Day bowl game as a sophomore. However, it begs the question, what is the Heisman Trophy for? Like the MVP in baseball, there seems to be certain qualifications for the award.

1) You must be a skill position player
2) You must play in a BCS conference
3) Your team must have a successful year
4) You must have eye-popping statistics
5) You must be an upperclassmen

Occasionally, we've seen one of these qualifications left unmet, and this year Tebow became the first exception to to rule #5. Interestingly enough, there doesn't seem to be a qualification "You must be the most outstanding player in the country." For if this were a qualification, the award could only go to Darren McFadden. Yes he missed a few games, and yes his team doesn't have the prestige of Florida, but in this blogger's opinion, the award should go to the most outstanding player in college football, and that is Darren McFadden. (It was Dennis Dixon but his injury cost his team a shot at the national title, a Pac-10 championship, and a bowl outside of El Paso, Texas). Congratulations to Tebow, who is certainly not undeserving of the award, but McFadden would have gotten my vote. Well, maybe 2nd after Jo-Lonn "Bone Crusher" Dunbar.

From the Winter Meetings

To my dozens of readers:

The last few, and next few days are hectic for me, as they are the last of my academic career. Posts will appear more frequently starting Friday. Terrible timing with the winter meetings and all, but such is life. A few comments so you can get your fix:

1) I'm extremely dissappointed that the Ravens didn't pull off the upset last night. They badly outplayed the Patriots, and seemingly had the game won on 3 different occasions. However, as much as the Ravens want to blame the refs, they have no one to blame for themselves. After taking a 7 point lead, they had the ball inside the Pats 30, and Boller threw an awful interception. They had two more chances to eat clock after that, and went 3 and out both times. The holding call on Scott was a very tough call, but not necessarily the wrong one. It looked like holding, but I don't agree with making that call in that situation. Nonetheless, the Ravens need to stop whining and learn how to close out a game.

2) I can't stand the Santana rumors any more, and don't believe anything you hear until there is a press conference. I still think the Twins are holding out to get Ellsbury and Lester, and I think that's why a deal has not been struck. And although Steinbrenner claims the Yanks are "out of it", if the Twins call and say they are willing to except Hughes, Cabrera and Prospect X, we'll see how out of it they are. However, I do think its a two team race.

3) Kudos to the Tigers for pulling off a deal like that. They get two studs in their prime for a group of prospects of which it would be shocking if two of them approach level of Willis and Cabrera. This puts the Tigers right at the top of the AL with the Red Sox, and if Willis returns to form, have fun facing Verlander-Willis-Bonderman in the playoffs, not to mention a middle of the lineup with Cabrera and Magglio. Yikes.

4) Sadly, it's beginning to look bleak for the Mets chances of acquiring an ace. The fact is simple, our prospects are weak, and no one wants them in any combination. Let this be a lesson to the team. As I stated in one of my earliest posts, the Mets need to spend more focus on scouting, and with 2 first rounders and a sandwich pick, what a great year to start. Nevertheless, I'm still holding out hope Omar pulls something off..

- Scott
That's all for now. Check back on Friday for more.

Wow

There's very few other appropriate responses, than Wow. When I put concocted my VT into the National Championship game scenario, I could never have predicted I was a Tennessee TD away from its fruition.

First, LSU plays a mediocre game against Tennessee, but holds on for the win, securing the SEC title. In a conference which is universally regarded as the toughest, the Tigers lost 2 games, both in triple overtime. A home loss to unranked Arkansas on the last day of the regular season is a very tough pill to swallow, but clearly the voters found a way.

Second, West Virginia lays one of the biggest eggs in college football history. Of all the losses by top ranked team to unranked teams in 2007, this one has to be the biggest choke job. With a BCS title shot in their future, and nothing but a 4-win, Dave Wannestedt led Pittsburgh team at home left in their way, the Mountaineers score just 7 points and lose 13-7 to Pitt. I read earlier that even had WV pulled that game out in the final seconds, many voters would likely have ousted them from the #2 spot. To play that poorly with so much at stake against a flat out bad football team at home, is the ultimate choke job. Kudos to Pitt and the worst head football coach in America for pulling the upset, but the Mountaineers won't soon forget this missed opportunity.

In the final game, Mizzou gets blown out by Oklahoma. Not a shocker here, Oklahoma is more balanced, better coached and more experienced. Mizzou put up a good fight for a half, but the Sooners are just simply the superior team. It would have been a great story to see the Tigers play for the title, but the conference title game came back to bite them in the ass. There's been a lot of talk about giving teams the option to decline a bid to the conference championship, a move that would benefit a team like Mizzou when an extra can only hurt them. I'm not a proponent of this, as I am a fan of the Conference Championships, but I think all leagues should be required to have them. Further, I think Chase Daniel lost his Heisman chances last night, as he didn't play well enough in a must win. It's down to Tebow and McFadden, and regrettably, I'd have to give the nod to Tebow.

This left the BCS in complete disarray, leaving 7 teams with a legitimate argument to play for the National Title.

1-loss teams.

Ohio State- the only conference champion with 1 loss. OSU won a soft Big 10, and played an even softer out of conference schedule. However, the Buckeyes get the de-facto auto bid, despite losing to unranked Illinois and only beating 1 team that finished in the top 25.

Kansas- the only other major conference team with only 1 loss. KU played a schedule ranked 106/119, and its most impressive with came over #24 Kansas State. The Jayhawks failed to win their conference, or even play for their conference title.

2-loss teams

LSU- champions of the best conference in the nation. Both losses came in triple overtime, but the home loss to unranked Arkansas on the last day of the season is tough.

Oklahoma- Big XII champs, and beat the #1 team in the country by 21 points (Just ask Bob Stoops, he'll tell you). But two losses to unranked teams really killed them.

Virginia Tech- going into the day, VT was the next highest conference champion. Further, VT did not lose to an unranked team, and both losses were to the #2 team in the country at the time. Further, VT actually ended up with the toughest strength of schedule of the teams left (4/119). However, a 41 point loss to fellow 2-loss LSU is the argument killer.

Georgia- the next highest ranked team, and one of the hottest teams in the nation. But the Bulldogs, like Jayhawks, failed to even qualify for the conference title game.

USC- many, including myself, feel the Trojans are actually the best team in the country. Both losses came without starter John David Booty, and the team has played extremely well of late. However, any team that loses to Stanford has a tough case to make.

To me, you have to win your conference if you want to play for the national title. The current system is admittedly flawed, but it's what we have to work with right now. The system only allows for 2 teams to play for the title, and as such, both teams should have to be conference champions.

This eliminates Kansas and UGA.

After that it becomes difficult, but to me, it came down to who won the toughest conference. The answer to that is LSU, and I believe that's why the voters put them in at #2. Oklahoma also leapfrogged many teams, going from #9 to #3. Interestingly enough, has VT been ranked #3/#4, they might have edged out LSU in the BCS. Due to their strength of schedule, VT was the #1 team in the land according to the computers, and had the human polls been kinder, the Hokies might have sneaked in.

Nonetheless, if you have to only give two teams a chance, I believe the two most deserving teams got in. I'm glad Hawaii gets a chance to play in a BCS game, and I'm outraged that the Orange Bowl picked Kansas over Mizzou. If this year in college football doesn't push the stubborn powers at be toward a playoff, nothing will. Just for fun, imagine this playoff after 2007.

6 conference champions get in, 2 at large (Georgia and Hawaii). Using the BCS to determine seedings, these would be the match-ups.

#1 Ohio State vs #8 Hawaii
#2 LSU vs #7 West Virginia
#3 Virginia Tech vs #6 USC
#4 Oklahoma vs #5 Georgia

Now tell me that wouldn't be fun...

ACC Champs

In one of the uglier games I've seen in awhile, VT successfully got its revenge on BC, knocking off the Eagles 30-16 for the ACC title. Barring a situation where LSU, West Virginia and Missouri all lose (coupled with some help for the voters) Tech will play in the Orange Bowl, likely against Kansas or Georgia. Tyrod Taylor looked awful for most of the game, except for a 31 yard run in the 4th quarter which set up the game winning touchdown. Glennon was the star of the game, completing 18 of 27 for 174 yards and 3 TDs. As stated before, I am not huge fan of the two headed system, and have been screaming for Beamer to just start Taylor. Glennon has proved me wrong in a big way, looking outstanding the past 4 weeks, after being abysmal in both of VT's losses. The defense was suspect for much of the first half, but shut down Matt Ryan and the BC offense after Tech blocked an extra point and returned it for 2 points in the first half. Going into half tied at 16 was enormous, considering how poorly we played in the first half, as BC controlled the ball for 21 minutes. The defense took over in the second half, and both stud LBs, Vince Hall and Xavier Adibi, came up with huge picks after being MIA for most of the game. Kudos to Cam Chancellor for a couple of ferocious hits. A great job by the coaching staff to rally this team down the stretch after a heartbreaking loss to BC. This is a team that although isn't one of the 3 best teams in the country, could give anyone a game, and if Tech did somehow sneak into the BCS title game, I'd love our chances against the Buckeyes.

Also of note, BC's MLB is named Jo-Lonn Dunbar, and introduced himself as "The Bone Crusher". Nullis.

A comeback for the ages...

Monday Night Miracle, Red Sox over Yankees, take a back seat. Last night, I completed a 7 cups to 1 comeback in a game of beer pong. Myself and partner Scott Stern found ourselves down 7 cups to 1 before the comeback began. I sunk the 7 cup, to force the rack, and Scott came back with cups 6 and 5. On the next turn we doubled up (knocking off cups 4 and 3) and on the send back I hit cup 2, earning myself "heating up" status, as per NBA Jam Rules. After our opponents missed, I sunk the last cup to go "on fire" and then hit it again to ice it. I have received word that the match will be played on ESPN Classic tonight at 9:30 CST.