NFL Playoffs: Um, what?
Three of the four road teams won in the divisional playoff weekend. Two six seeds beat the top seeds for the first time ever. The unanimously considered worst team in the playoffs absolutely plastered one of the believed-to-be playoff-readiest teams. Home teams have won 3 of the 8 games so far.
Yeah, it's a weird NFL season.
So here we are. The Arizona Cardinals are hosting an NFC championship game. Baltimore and Pittsburgh will meet up in the AFC title game. I think one thing you can say is that these both look to be entertaining, up-in-the-air matchups. Right now, my gut's telling me all-Pennsylvania Super Bowl. But that could change.
The Panthers were clearly not ready to play for whatever reason. It took Steve Smith nearly three quarters to get a reception. Jake Delhomme had five interceptions and probably could have had ten. The Cardinals threw to Larry Fitzgerald with impunity because Carolina was more than happy to single-cover him and see what happened, even though Arizona didn't have anyone else worth covering on their team (don't give me Breaston - as my friend Mark would say, he is a 'prospect of the system'). Gotta give Arizona their due though - they played hard-nosed defense, forced Jake into some horrid decisions, and took advantage of the mistakes. They've proved a lot of people wrong this postseason.
The Chargers game was the only one that went about as expected. San Diego didn't have the answer to Pittsburgh's defense's question: How can you beat us? Expect the under on that AFC game (33 is the O/U right now).
Off the field: The Broncos are allegedly about to hire Josh McDaniels, offensive wunderkind from New England, as head coach. Gutsy move. Smart move? We'll see.
NCAAB: UNC 0-2, ND 45.
North Carolina's now 0-2 in the ACC. How about that? This one wasn't nearly as surprising as the BC defeat - Wake Forest is a top 5 team and is unbeaten. But this is still incredible. Everyone's pick to go unbeaten has gone USC football on us and dropped two in a row. The Tim Tebow of football (good player, charismatic, horrendously overrated by absolutely everyone), Tyler Hansbrough, went 3/12, but did shoot eleven free throws to tally a 17/11 double-double. Somehow, I'm not remotely surprised that "Psycho T" won his points from the line. He's basically Luke Harangody except the refs call fouls against his opponents.
Speaking of Harangody, his team stretched their nation's-longest home court winning streak to 45 games over the weekend by staving off Seton Hall by nine. The Irish were helped immensely by a stupid play by the Pirates' Jeremy Hazell. After putting Seton Hall up by four on the second of back-to-back steal-and-layups, Hazell yelled at the Irish's Ryan Ayers for no reason, drawing a technical. ND proceeded to sink two free throws, then a bucket, to tie it back up, and Seton Hall never gained control. Harangody struggled mightily at times from the floor, shooting 8/23, but scored 30 points, grabbed 16 rebounds (7 offensive) and earned himself a prickly defense from his normally easygoing coach, Mike Brey.
Brey talked after the game about the general media opinion that the national player of the year race is essentially down to Hansbrough, Oklahoma's Blake Griffin and possibly Davidson's Stephen Curry. He said, "It pisses me off. How the hell is that possible?" (Gotta say, the dude's got a point. The man's averaging something like 28 and 15 in conference play so far.)
In other business: Duke overcame a 19-14 first half (yes, that was the score) to beat FSU on the road...Clemson is still unbeaten too...Louisville edged Villanova on the road (they host ND tonight at 7 pm on ESPN)...Purdue finally won a Big Ten game over Wisconsin.
Watch tonight: Both Big Monday games on ESPN. Louisville will host ND at 7 in a huge Big East game for both (kicks off a stretch of five ranked teams in the next seven for the Irish), while Texas and Oklahoma go head to head at 9. Get a good look at Griffin, who is more than deserving to be in the discussion with Harangody and Hansbrough for national player of the year consideration.
NBA: The Bulls stink.
I'll be honest, the NBA is rapidly approaching NHL levels for me, only it's on TV so I can't avoid it. I follow the Bulls because I always have, but I can't stand to watch them these days because it's Derrick Rose and a bunch of crap. Actually, the rest of the Bulls sully the good name of crap. Chicago managed to lose - at home - to two of the worst teams in the NBA this week, Minnesota and Oklahoma City. They managed to beat two other bad teams, the Kings and Wizards, in the middle of that sandwich, but they're a joke. They've gone from team that was largely favored to win the East to complete laughingstock in just over a year. Good job, Paxson. Good job.
Other news: Al Horford's out a while with a knee bruise...a proposed three-team deal with the Mavs, Bobcats and Thunder seems to have fizzled.
Hot Stove: No real news. Pedro's talking with the Marlins, but they were supposed to get Manny too. Michael Young's apparently demanding a trade from Texas, but we'll just see what happens with that.
The Last Word:
Tim Tebow's coming back. Good for him. I was hoping he would. As I alluded to above, I think Tebow is very overrated, but it's always nice when a college star stays in college. I've grown to love college sports far more than their professional counterparts, and guys like Tebow - who, let's be honest, won't ever be a traditional quarterback in the NFL - are the reason. College allows things like Tim Tebow to happen. You can say it's lesser-quality football, and bemoan their lack of a 'true' national champion, but damn it, it's just entertaining.
Florida should be prohibitive favorites to win the national title again with Tebow back, especially if Percy Harvin comes back too, which some reports say he's leaning towards.
Happy Monday...
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Divisional Playoff Weekend II
Well, that went well. I was 0-for-2 on my picks, my team got blown out of the water by a team universally considered the worst of the final eight, and that team didn't even have their top wideout. I don't know that I've ever felt quite so gut-punched by the Panthers, even when John Kasay kicked the ball out of bounds in the Super Bowl.
It felt a lot like the 2005 NFC title game, when Carolina came into Seattle as a popular underdog and just got blitzed 37-7. Steve Smith was triple-teamed the entire game, but proved his worth by returning a punt for a TD in that game. I was actually reminded of it because Mark Jones broke a couple of good kick returns but didn't take any back, and I don't think Carolina has a kick return of any type for a TD since that game.
Anyway, take two:
Eagles at Giants (1 pm, Fox)
The two teams split the regular-season meetings, and the Eagles owned the Giants the second time around. New York just hasn't been the same since Plaxico Burress and Antonio Pierce went out clubbing. Except for one game (oh, against my Panthers, of course), they really just have not been the offensive team they were prior to that incident.
Meanwhile, the Eagles are one of the hottest teams in the league. They are 5-1 since the McNabb benching and were about a half-yard away from having a chance to be 6-0. Brian Westbrook is the best player on the field in this game, and I'm a big proponent of picking the team with the best player on the field unless there is a compelling reason not to (like, say, Tarvaris Jackson). That's why, in an upset, I'm taking the Eagles. Meaning Arizona will host an NFC title game. Oh, boy.
Chargers at Steelers (4:30 pm, CBS)
If San Diego were to win this game and Philly wins theirs, two teams that were a combined one game above .500 in the regular season would host conference title games, which would probably be the single most insane thing to ever happen.
But I don't see it. I don't see Darren Sproles ripping off 300 yards of yardage again. I don't see Phil Rivers being able to dissect the Pittsburgh defense, certainly not in that mud heap Pittsburgh plays on. I don't see Pittsburgh folding in a big spot like the Colts did in overtime and to a lesser extent, in the fourth quarter. I don't see "Seven" making a game-changing mistake or getting rattled by pressure. And I don't see San Diego beating the Steelers today. After all, at least one home team has to win, right?
More later, including Mike Brey's unusually prickly defense of Luke Harangody and UNC possibly going 0-2 in the ACC (???). Enjoy the games.
It felt a lot like the 2005 NFC title game, when Carolina came into Seattle as a popular underdog and just got blitzed 37-7. Steve Smith was triple-teamed the entire game, but proved his worth by returning a punt for a TD in that game. I was actually reminded of it because Mark Jones broke a couple of good kick returns but didn't take any back, and I don't think Carolina has a kick return of any type for a TD since that game.
Anyway, take two:
Eagles at Giants (1 pm, Fox)
The two teams split the regular-season meetings, and the Eagles owned the Giants the second time around. New York just hasn't been the same since Plaxico Burress and Antonio Pierce went out clubbing. Except for one game (oh, against my Panthers, of course), they really just have not been the offensive team they were prior to that incident.
Meanwhile, the Eagles are one of the hottest teams in the league. They are 5-1 since the McNabb benching and were about a half-yard away from having a chance to be 6-0. Brian Westbrook is the best player on the field in this game, and I'm a big proponent of picking the team with the best player on the field unless there is a compelling reason not to (like, say, Tarvaris Jackson). That's why, in an upset, I'm taking the Eagles. Meaning Arizona will host an NFC title game. Oh, boy.
Chargers at Steelers (4:30 pm, CBS)
If San Diego were to win this game and Philly wins theirs, two teams that were a combined one game above .500 in the regular season would host conference title games, which would probably be the single most insane thing to ever happen.
But I don't see it. I don't see Darren Sproles ripping off 300 yards of yardage again. I don't see Phil Rivers being able to dissect the Pittsburgh defense, certainly not in that mud heap Pittsburgh plays on. I don't see Pittsburgh folding in a big spot like the Colts did in overtime and to a lesser extent, in the fourth quarter. I don't see "Seven" making a game-changing mistake or getting rattled by pressure. And I don't see San Diego beating the Steelers today. After all, at least one home team has to win, right?
More later, including Mike Brey's unusually prickly defense of Luke Harangody and UNC possibly going 0-2 in the ACC (???). Enjoy the games.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Divisional Playoff Weekend
Well, this should be fun.
Ravens at Titans (4:30 pm, CBS)
This is probably the game I'm least sure about for the weekend. The Ravens' defense is really, really good, but I don't trust rookie quarterbacks on the road in the playoffs. Ed Reed is ridiculous. This is all stuff you've heard before.
If you make me pick someone, I'm taking the Titans. I think Kerry Collins will do just enough to win, and I'll take Chris Johnson to have a decent game against Baltimore's D, which is about as good as you can ask anyone to be. That one is about to start. We shall see. As I type this, Pac-Man Jones is on the CBS pregame show to talk about his being 'wronged' by ESPN, and he looks a little like Kimbo Slice. Without the giant beard anyway.
Cardinals at Panthers (8 pm, Fox)
This is my team - the Panthers. And I'm nervous. Everyone in the world thinks Carolina's going to kill the Cardinals because of their 8-0 home record, because of the Cardinals' East Coast ineptitude, and because of our running game. In my experience, when there's an on-paper playoff mismatch, it never turns out that way (18-0 Patriots, for example).
However, I still think the Panthers win. I'm just a little nervous that everyone thinks the game is over already, that's all.
I'll be back later today most likely with a post about today's college hoops action.
Ravens at Titans (4:30 pm, CBS)
This is probably the game I'm least sure about for the weekend. The Ravens' defense is really, really good, but I don't trust rookie quarterbacks on the road in the playoffs. Ed Reed is ridiculous. This is all stuff you've heard before.
If you make me pick someone, I'm taking the Titans. I think Kerry Collins will do just enough to win, and I'll take Chris Johnson to have a decent game against Baltimore's D, which is about as good as you can ask anyone to be. That one is about to start. We shall see. As I type this, Pac-Man Jones is on the CBS pregame show to talk about his being 'wronged' by ESPN, and he looks a little like Kimbo Slice. Without the giant beard anyway.
Cardinals at Panthers (8 pm, Fox)
This is my team - the Panthers. And I'm nervous. Everyone in the world thinks Carolina's going to kill the Cardinals because of their 8-0 home record, because of the Cardinals' East Coast ineptitude, and because of our running game. In my experience, when there's an on-paper playoff mismatch, it never turns out that way (18-0 Patriots, for example).
However, I still think the Panthers win. I'm just a little nervous that everyone thinks the game is over already, that's all.
I'll be back later today most likely with a post about today's college hoops action.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
The Rundown: January 9th, 2009
Today's top stories:
NCAAFB: Chomp, Chomp...the Gators are kings again.
So it wasn't a shootout. It wasn't even particularly well-played. But when the dust settled, Urban Meyer and Tim Tebow had their 2nd national title in 3 years, 24-14 over Oklahoma.
Heisman winner Sam Bradford became something like the 35th Heisman winner in the last 37 years to lose his bowl game (I exaggerate. Slightly), and threw two interceptions against only two scores and 256 yards - pedestrian compared to his usual numbers. Tebow also threw two picks, but history will remember his jump-pass game-clinching TD to David Nelson and his most outstanding player award.
I find it interesting that the Gators have now won three national titles - and all three seasons have included a loss. Maybe Florida should go ahead and lose a game next September just to get it over with?
There's going to be a lot of talk of whether Tebow will go pro after this game (and to a lesser extent whether Bradford still should - it seems to be assumed that he will). If you ask me, Tebow - if he has a brain, and all indications are he does - should know that he's probably never going to be a true NFL quarterback. His best bet to take snaps would be in a system like the one he was in with Chris Leak in 2006, as a modified Wildcat-type QB. Therefore, why not come back? After all, no quarterback in college football history has ever been on three national championship teams. That seems like a pretty ideal goal for Tebow to shoot for - and with the talent the Gators will have coming back, it's more than possible.
Come back, Tim. Shoot for three!
MLB Hot Stove: Hoffman to Milwaukee.
Hope for the Brewers' sake that this works out better than their last attempt to sign a closer that was past his prime... one year, $6 million with an option for 2009, according to ESPN sources. Seems like a pretty good deal for Milwaukee if Hoffman does in fact have anything left. At worst he can't be worse than Milwaukee's pen last year...can he?
NCAAB: Minnesota pulls it out 52-49.
The Gophers needed to beat Iowa - probably more for their own confidence than anything. Should be interesting to see how they respond now, given the Big Ten looking like it may be more competitive than last season. Minnesota was down 13 in this game - sign of tenacity for coming back or sign of weakness for being down 13 in the first place?
Other Top 25 action last night:
#16 Arizona St 69, Oregon St 38 (ouch)
#18 Xavier 70, St. Louis 44
#20 Butler 64, Wright St 48
No Top 25 games scheduled for Friday night.
NBA: A.I. is back in Denver tonight with the Pistons.
Does this really mean anything? Anymore, guys make return visits to their former teams every other game. Iverson is hardly known as a Nugget. I think the real story here is Chauncey Billups, Denver's hometown boy, hosting HIS former team, the Pistons. You want to bet the Rocky Mountain fans will come out in force to re-emphasize that Billups is theirs now?
Oh, and: Boston/Cleveland tonight (8 pm, ESPN). Not quite the same luster since the Celts have dropped six of eight, but the Cavs are unbeaten at home. This is a good measuring stick for Cleveland - currently boasting the best record in the East. Big game for LeBron and Company...
The Last Word:
Check out Dana O'Neil's profile of Kent State's Tyree Evans. As a proud MAC alum, it's nice to see a MAC school getting some national play, even if it's for taking in a troubled recruit. And anything to take the conversation away from the 0-5 MAC football bowl showing...
Happy Friday!
Not a whole lot else going on in the sports world today, friends. Have a good Friday.
NCAAFB: Chomp, Chomp...the Gators are kings again.
So it wasn't a shootout. It wasn't even particularly well-played. But when the dust settled, Urban Meyer and Tim Tebow had their 2nd national title in 3 years, 24-14 over Oklahoma.
Heisman winner Sam Bradford became something like the 35th Heisman winner in the last 37 years to lose his bowl game (I exaggerate. Slightly), and threw two interceptions against only two scores and 256 yards - pedestrian compared to his usual numbers. Tebow also threw two picks, but history will remember his jump-pass game-clinching TD to David Nelson and his most outstanding player award.
I find it interesting that the Gators have now won three national titles - and all three seasons have included a loss. Maybe Florida should go ahead and lose a game next September just to get it over with?
There's going to be a lot of talk of whether Tebow will go pro after this game (and to a lesser extent whether Bradford still should - it seems to be assumed that he will). If you ask me, Tebow - if he has a brain, and all indications are he does - should know that he's probably never going to be a true NFL quarterback. His best bet to take snaps would be in a system like the one he was in with Chris Leak in 2006, as a modified Wildcat-type QB. Therefore, why not come back? After all, no quarterback in college football history has ever been on three national championship teams. That seems like a pretty ideal goal for Tebow to shoot for - and with the talent the Gators will have coming back, it's more than possible.
Come back, Tim. Shoot for three!
MLB Hot Stove: Hoffman to Milwaukee.
Hope for the Brewers' sake that this works out better than their last attempt to sign a closer that was past his prime... one year, $6 million with an option for 2009, according to ESPN sources. Seems like a pretty good deal for Milwaukee if Hoffman does in fact have anything left. At worst he can't be worse than Milwaukee's pen last year...can he?
NCAAB: Minnesota pulls it out 52-49.
The Gophers needed to beat Iowa - probably more for their own confidence than anything. Should be interesting to see how they respond now, given the Big Ten looking like it may be more competitive than last season. Minnesota was down 13 in this game - sign of tenacity for coming back or sign of weakness for being down 13 in the first place?
Other Top 25 action last night:
#16 Arizona St 69, Oregon St 38 (ouch)
#18 Xavier 70, St. Louis 44
#20 Butler 64, Wright St 48
No Top 25 games scheduled for Friday night.
NBA: A.I. is back in Denver tonight with the Pistons.
Does this really mean anything? Anymore, guys make return visits to their former teams every other game. Iverson is hardly known as a Nugget. I think the real story here is Chauncey Billups, Denver's hometown boy, hosting HIS former team, the Pistons. You want to bet the Rocky Mountain fans will come out in force to re-emphasize that Billups is theirs now?
Oh, and: Boston/Cleveland tonight (8 pm, ESPN). Not quite the same luster since the Celts have dropped six of eight, but the Cavs are unbeaten at home. This is a good measuring stick for Cleveland - currently boasting the best record in the East. Big game for LeBron and Company...
The Last Word:
Check out Dana O'Neil's profile of Kent State's Tyree Evans. As a proud MAC alum, it's nice to see a MAC school getting some national play, even if it's for taking in a troubled recruit. And anything to take the conversation away from the 0-5 MAC football bowl showing...
Happy Friday!
Not a whole lot else going on in the sports world today, friends. Have a good Friday.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
The Rundown: January 8th, 2009
Trying something new here. The biggest stories for your morning, delivered the night before!
Today's top stories:
NCAAFB: The FedEx Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game is tonight!
And don't try and say that whole event's name before the game begins. The champ will be crowned before you're finished.
There's been plenty of intriguing discussion back and forth on this game. I think most would agree that, if nothing else, it's the most up in the air title game we've had since probably the 2003 LSU/Oklahoma(/USC) tilt. People forget this when breathlessly calling the 2005 USC/Texas game the best ever, but a lot of people, myself included, figured USC would win that one rather easily. This time around, the general opinion seems to be that Florida will win (ESPN's vote, I believe, has the Gators favored about 60/40), but I'd say most of us don't really know what's going to happen. Florida has a very good defense and a very good offense, led by the speedsters Jeff Demps, Percy Harvin and Chris Rainey, and that guy who won a Heisman once too. Brandon Spikes leads the Gators' D, and he's also the one taking part in the back and forth smack talk with Oklahoma. ("Sam Bradford hasn't faced an SEC defense." "Well, Tim Tebow hasn't had to beat a Big 12 quarterback!")
Oklahoma counters with this year's Heisman winner, Sam Bradford, and the highest-scoring offense in college football history. Oklahoma scored 60 pretty much every time they stepped on a field this year, but I really doubt they're expecting that to happen against Florida. However, Oklahoma is incredibly formidable offensively, and they're absolutely loaded with weapons. DeMarco Murray, Chris Brown, J
Seriously, though: When did conference pride become such a big deal? I don't remember a lot of this prior to 2006, but ever since Florida crushed Ohio State in that year's title game, it seems like every conference's fans go overboard trying to outdo each other in the trash-talk department, with SEC fans generally agreed to be the most ridiculously over the top.
Anyway, tonight's game (8:30 pm, Fox), should be a very good, very close game. I'll take the Gators to win. My bowl confidence picks (which are in shambles), have five confidence points on the Gators, with a tiebreaker score of 35-31. So I'll go with that. Should be a heck of a show.
Other news: BC fired Jeff Jagodzinski after all after he interviewed with the Jets...Urban Meyer says he's in favor of Mack Brown of Texas, Kyle Whittingham of Utah, Pete Carroll of USC, and pretty much anyone else who feels like it voting their own team #1 in the coaches' poll after the national title game even though it violates their agreement...Georgia's Matt Stafford and Knowshon Moreno, both first-round locks in the NFL draft, are going to jump...Navy's coach, whose name is impossible to spell, got a contract extension.
NCAAB: The Big East rules the roost in college hoops.
Now, in college basketball, the conference pride thing becomes a much, much bigger deal. Your schedule has a huge effect on where you're seeded, which can have a direct effect on your chance to win the national title. Yes, it's true that in college football your conference plays a part, but for the most part, teams can control that by simply winning all their games. In college hoops, you can be a top-of-the-heap team in your league (say, the SEC), but you're still probably not going to get thought of as highly as a 5th or 6th place team from a better league (the Big East or ACC, most years).
That's why I feel comfortable saying that the Big East rules the roost in college basketball. During the Duke/Davidson game last night, the ESPN ticker for in-progress games involving ranked teams was all Big East teams except for Boston College's game with Harvard. (Which the Eagles lost, giving the Crimson their first-ever win over a ranked team. Good job.) Of course, with nine ranked teams in the league, ESPN has little choice but to run such a ticker. Nine of the top 22 teams in the country, in fact, hail from the Big East. Oddly, no other teams from the league are receiving votes in either poll, but seriously: NINE.
All that needs to be said on the subject is that Georgetown opened Big East play by visiting Connecticut, hosting Pitt, and traveling to Notre Dame, all in the period of a week. All those teams are in the top 13. The Hoyas are 1-2 in league play after that stretch. Care to wonder how often that happens with other conferences? Another "the Big East is ridiculous" note: Notre Dame will play seven out of eight games during one month-ish long stretch against ranked teams! (Full disclosure: One of those is against non-league foe UCLA.)
It should be very entertaining to see what develops in this war-of-attrition league. League teams will have a few breaks in between the gauntlet (Rutgers, DePaul, South Florida, St. John's), but even those are not gimmes. (ND has already lost to the Red Storm, and the Scarlet Knights gave top-ranked Pitt a fight.)
Also of note from last night: How about Michigan coming back from down 20 to take down IU in overtime? The Hoosiers have now played pretty well in a losing effort twice in league play. You have to figure the wins will come, but this was nothing less than a choke job on their parts. The Wolverines have as many good wins as anyone in America, but playing like this is a good way to keep them out of the big dance. Luckily for them they stole the win anyway, thanks to IU shooting 2/7 from the line in the extra frame.
Last night's Top 25 scores, with the home team in bold:
#2 Duke 79, Davidson 67 (Steph Curry had 29 points)
#3 UNC 108, College of Charleston 70
#9 Syracuse 85, DePaul 68
#15 Marquette 81, Rutgers 76
#21 Louisville 71, South Florida 57
Harvard 82, #24 Boston College 70
Gonzaga 89, #25 Tennessee 79 (OT)
Game to watch tonight:
#19 Minnesota at Iowa (7 pm, ESPN2). Not a lot going on tomorrow in the world of college basketball, but if the Golden Gophers want to be taken seriously nationwide, they need to win games like this: where they're clearly the better team but are playing a league road game. Tubby Smith's done a good job rebuilding Minnesota quickly, and starting 2-1 in the Big Ten would be a good way to get things rolling in preparation for what they hope is a berth in March.
NBA: What's up with Boston?
The Celtics were not only roundly considered the best team in the NBA and favorites to repeat after the first month and a half of the season, but talk was that they'd break the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls' record of 72 wins after they won 19 in a row at one point. Well, that's down the drain after they lost yet again last night, this time at home to Houston and some guy named Von Wafer who hit a game-winning trey. It's their sixth loss out of eight and sends them to eight losses overall, so talk of record-breaking is up in smoke. In fact, Boston is in danger of falling to the 3 seed in the Eastern Conference if the season ended today. They're already behind Cleveland and are only a half-game up on the best team no one knows, the Orlando Magic.
If you ask me, it's not a big deal. The Lakers won three straight titles without really trying in a game before April, so a few regular-season losses aren't going to kill Boston. It's worth asking the question of whether it may affect their playoff aura of invincibility, but then again, this team was taken to seven games by an under-.500 team last spring.
Other NBA notables: Danny Granger had 37 points and the game-winning three to single-handedly beat Phoenix out West...Randy Foye scored 32 and led Minnesota (?) to their fourth win in a row...Dwight Howard fell just short of a 20-20 game, but his team beat Atlanta on the road anyway.
What to watch for tonight:
Only two games tonight, and neither of them are of note (Knicks at Dallas; Clips at San Antonio). Take the night off if you're an NBA fan I guess.
NFL: The Mangenius got another job already.
Eric Mangini was unemployed only about a week until the Cleveland Browns snapped him up. After their short-lived Bill Cowher hopes went away, Mangini was probably the best option Cleveland had left. He can't really be judged on last season in New York, if the reports that he wasn't a big fan of the Brett Favre thing all along are true. It is humorous that Cleveland replaced the former Patriots' defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel with...another former Patriots' defensive coordinator.
Cleveland was an underrated soap opera last year (as a Brady Quinn fan, I kept a close eye on the situation). It wasn't quite as bad as Oakland, but between the Derek Anderson fiasco, Kellen Winslow, Jamal Lewis saying his team quit, Braylon Edwards dropping anything that came his way, and Phil Savage dropping f-bombs on e-mailers left and right, it was quite the circus. I sometimes wonder if Braylon dropped his bottle of 5-Hour Energy numerous times during filming of his incredibly wooden commercial for the product.
Despite all this, there's talent there. A lot of it, in fact. There's a reason Cleveland was supposed to be good. You know, before failing to score an offensive TD in the final six games of the season (!!!). Mangini has a franchise QB, a good wideout if he ever learns how to catch, and one of the league's most explosive tight ends, in more ways than one, to work with. We'll see what he can do.
Other news: The Pac-Man era is over in Dallas: he was released...Tomlinson almost certainly won't play in Pittsburgh this weekend with a torn groin tendon...Anquan Boldin may miss the Cards' round 2 game in Carolina...Brian Westbrook is a go for the Eagles/Giants game.
MLB's Hot Stove: Smoltz to Boston.
At this point, it's just getting ridiculous. Any remotely desirable free agent appears to be a lock to go to Boston or New York. If you ask me, as long as neither team makes the World Series, as occurred in 2008, they're not overly relevant. The Sawx are also apparently going to sign Rocco Baldelli, which is an interesting move. Baldelli's well-publicized condition should make for interesting material as he heads to Press Heaven, Boston.
Other signings: The Dodgers may grab Trevor Hoffman...Jason Giambi's headed back to Oakland!...the Reds sign Jerry Hairston Jr...and Baltimore imports a Japanese pitcher.
Last Word:
Sadly for the NHL, the Jarko Ruutu biting incident isn't even a new low for the league. Ruutu was suspended two games for taking a bite out of the Sabres' Andrew Peters. Does anyone even notice anymore? Apart from the Winter Classic (a fantastic idea), the NHL just doesn't seem to matter anymore. That's too bad, because hockey is fun as hell to watch in person.
Enjoy your day, everyone.
Today's top stories:
NCAAFB: The FedEx Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game is tonight!
And don't try and say that whole event's name before the game begins. The champ will be crowned before you're finished.
There's been plenty of intriguing discussion back and forth on this game. I think most would agree that, if nothing else, it's the most up in the air title game we've had since probably the 2003 LSU/Oklahoma(/USC) tilt. People forget this when breathlessly calling the 2005 USC/Texas game the best ever, but a lot of people, myself included, figured USC would win that one rather easily. This time around, the general opinion seems to be that Florida will win (ESPN's vote, I believe, has the Gators favored about 60/40), but I'd say most of us don't really know what's going to happen. Florida has a very good defense and a very good offense, led by the speedsters Jeff Demps, Percy Harvin and Chris Rainey, and that guy who won a Heisman once too. Brandon Spikes leads the Gators' D, and he's also the one taking part in the back and forth smack talk with Oklahoma. ("Sam Bradford hasn't faced an SEC defense." "Well, Tim Tebow hasn't had to beat a Big 12 quarterback!")
Oklahoma counters with this year's Heisman winner, Sam Bradford, and the highest-scoring offense in college football history. Oklahoma scored 60 pretty much every time they stepped on a field this year, but I really doubt they're expecting that to happen against Florida. However, Oklahoma is incredibly formidable offensively, and they're absolutely loaded with weapons. DeMarco Murray, Chris Brown, J
Seriously, though: When did conference pride become such a big deal? I don't remember a lot of this prior to 2006, but ever since Florida crushed Ohio State in that year's title game, it seems like every conference's fans go overboard trying to outdo each other in the trash-talk department, with SEC fans generally agreed to be the most ridiculously over the top.
Anyway, tonight's game (8:30 pm, Fox), should be a very good, very close game. I'll take the Gators to win. My bowl confidence picks (which are in shambles), have five confidence points on the Gators, with a tiebreaker score of 35-31. So I'll go with that. Should be a heck of a show.
Other news: BC fired Jeff Jagodzinski after all after he interviewed with the Jets...Urban Meyer says he's in favor of Mack Brown of Texas, Kyle Whittingham of Utah, Pete Carroll of USC, and pretty much anyone else who feels like it voting their own team #1 in the coaches' poll after the national title game even though it violates their agreement...Georgia's Matt Stafford and Knowshon Moreno, both first-round locks in the NFL draft, are going to jump...Navy's coach, whose name is impossible to spell, got a contract extension.
NCAAB: The Big East rules the roost in college hoops.
Now, in college basketball, the conference pride thing becomes a much, much bigger deal. Your schedule has a huge effect on where you're seeded, which can have a direct effect on your chance to win the national title. Yes, it's true that in college football your conference plays a part, but for the most part, teams can control that by simply winning all their games. In college hoops, you can be a top-of-the-heap team in your league (say, the SEC), but you're still probably not going to get thought of as highly as a 5th or 6th place team from a better league (the Big East or ACC, most years).
That's why I feel comfortable saying that the Big East rules the roost in college basketball. During the Duke/Davidson game last night, the ESPN ticker for in-progress games involving ranked teams was all Big East teams except for Boston College's game with Harvard. (Which the Eagles lost, giving the Crimson their first-ever win over a ranked team. Good job.) Of course, with nine ranked teams in the league, ESPN has little choice but to run such a ticker. Nine of the top 22 teams in the country, in fact, hail from the Big East. Oddly, no other teams from the league are receiving votes in either poll, but seriously: NINE.
All that needs to be said on the subject is that Georgetown opened Big East play by visiting Connecticut, hosting Pitt, and traveling to Notre Dame, all in the period of a week. All those teams are in the top 13. The Hoyas are 1-2 in league play after that stretch. Care to wonder how often that happens with other conferences? Another "the Big East is ridiculous" note: Notre Dame will play seven out of eight games during one month-ish long stretch against ranked teams! (Full disclosure: One of those is against non-league foe UCLA.)
It should be very entertaining to see what develops in this war-of-attrition league. League teams will have a few breaks in between the gauntlet (Rutgers, DePaul, South Florida, St. John's), but even those are not gimmes. (ND has already lost to the Red Storm, and the Scarlet Knights gave top-ranked Pitt a fight.)
Also of note from last night: How about Michigan coming back from down 20 to take down IU in overtime? The Hoosiers have now played pretty well in a losing effort twice in league play. You have to figure the wins will come, but this was nothing less than a choke job on their parts. The Wolverines have as many good wins as anyone in America, but playing like this is a good way to keep them out of the big dance. Luckily for them they stole the win anyway, thanks to IU shooting 2/7 from the line in the extra frame.
Last night's Top 25 scores, with the home team in bold:
#2 Duke 79, Davidson 67 (Steph Curry had 29 points)
#3 UNC 108, College of Charleston 70
#9 Syracuse 85, DePaul 68
#15 Marquette 81, Rutgers 76
#21 Louisville 71, South Florida 57
Harvard 82, #24 Boston College 70
Gonzaga 89, #25 Tennessee 79 (OT)
Game to watch tonight:
#19 Minnesota at Iowa (7 pm, ESPN2). Not a lot going on tomorrow in the world of college basketball, but if the Golden Gophers want to be taken seriously nationwide, they need to win games like this: where they're clearly the better team but are playing a league road game. Tubby Smith's done a good job rebuilding Minnesota quickly, and starting 2-1 in the Big Ten would be a good way to get things rolling in preparation for what they hope is a berth in March.
NBA: What's up with Boston?
The Celtics were not only roundly considered the best team in the NBA and favorites to repeat after the first month and a half of the season, but talk was that they'd break the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls' record of 72 wins after they won 19 in a row at one point. Well, that's down the drain after they lost yet again last night, this time at home to Houston and some guy named Von Wafer who hit a game-winning trey. It's their sixth loss out of eight and sends them to eight losses overall, so talk of record-breaking is up in smoke. In fact, Boston is in danger of falling to the 3 seed in the Eastern Conference if the season ended today. They're already behind Cleveland and are only a half-game up on the best team no one knows, the Orlando Magic.
If you ask me, it's not a big deal. The Lakers won three straight titles without really trying in a game before April, so a few regular-season losses aren't going to kill Boston. It's worth asking the question of whether it may affect their playoff aura of invincibility, but then again, this team was taken to seven games by an under-.500 team last spring.
Other NBA notables: Danny Granger had 37 points and the game-winning three to single-handedly beat Phoenix out West...Randy Foye scored 32 and led Minnesota (?) to their fourth win in a row...Dwight Howard fell just short of a 20-20 game, but his team beat Atlanta on the road anyway.
What to watch for tonight:
Only two games tonight, and neither of them are of note (Knicks at Dallas; Clips at San Antonio). Take the night off if you're an NBA fan I guess.
NFL: The Mangenius got another job already.
Eric Mangini was unemployed only about a week until the Cleveland Browns snapped him up. After their short-lived Bill Cowher hopes went away, Mangini was probably the best option Cleveland had left. He can't really be judged on last season in New York, if the reports that he wasn't a big fan of the Brett Favre thing all along are true. It is humorous that Cleveland replaced the former Patriots' defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel with...another former Patriots' defensive coordinator.
Cleveland was an underrated soap opera last year (as a Brady Quinn fan, I kept a close eye on the situation). It wasn't quite as bad as Oakland, but between the Derek Anderson fiasco, Kellen Winslow, Jamal Lewis saying his team quit, Braylon Edwards dropping anything that came his way, and Phil Savage dropping f-bombs on e-mailers left and right, it was quite the circus. I sometimes wonder if Braylon dropped his bottle of 5-Hour Energy numerous times during filming of his incredibly wooden commercial for the product.
Despite all this, there's talent there. A lot of it, in fact. There's a reason Cleveland was supposed to be good. You know, before failing to score an offensive TD in the final six games of the season (!!!). Mangini has a franchise QB, a good wideout if he ever learns how to catch, and one of the league's most explosive tight ends, in more ways than one, to work with. We'll see what he can do.
Other news: The Pac-Man era is over in Dallas: he was released...Tomlinson almost certainly won't play in Pittsburgh this weekend with a torn groin tendon...Anquan Boldin may miss the Cards' round 2 game in Carolina...Brian Westbrook is a go for the Eagles/Giants game.
MLB's Hot Stove: Smoltz to Boston.
At this point, it's just getting ridiculous. Any remotely desirable free agent appears to be a lock to go to Boston or New York. If you ask me, as long as neither team makes the World Series, as occurred in 2008, they're not overly relevant. The Sawx are also apparently going to sign Rocco Baldelli, which is an interesting move. Baldelli's well-publicized condition should make for interesting material as he heads to Press Heaven, Boston.
Other signings: The Dodgers may grab Trevor Hoffman...Jason Giambi's headed back to Oakland!...the Reds sign Jerry Hairston Jr...and Baltimore imports a Japanese pitcher.
Last Word:
Sadly for the NHL, the Jarko Ruutu biting incident isn't even a new low for the league. Ruutu was suspended two games for taking a bite out of the Sabres' Andrew Peters. Does anyone even notice anymore? Apart from the Winter Classic (a fantastic idea), the NHL just doesn't seem to matter anymore. That's too bad, because hockey is fun as hell to watch in person.
Enjoy your day, everyone.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Ball State Gives Up On Football, Lets Hoke Walk
I'm so very disappointed in my alma mater today.
As wonderful, incredible, amazing as the 2008 football season was to watch Ball State rise as high as 12th in the polls - almost assuredly as high as they will ever go - it is just as disheartening to see that Ball State's leadership has absolutely no intention of keeping it going, or even attempting to.
Brady Hoke, the coach and architect of the 12-0 start, bolted BSU for San Diego State over the weekend. It is, at best, a lateral football move and is probably more like a downgrade. Hoke's salary will be more than twice what it was at BSU, so he has that going for him. But all reports are he would've stayed if Ball State had done one simple thing...give his assistants the raises they deserved.
The offer on the table for Hoke was 390,000 dollars a year (SDSU will be paying him 700k a year for 5 years). But when Hoke asked president Jo Ann Gora about raises for his assistants - you know, like Stan Parrish, who's only one of five finalists for the national asst. coach of the year award, or Mark Smith, who, as much as he was shredded by people like me the last few years, actually put together a pretty solid defense this year - Gora said no.
That was it. Hoke was gone. A Ball State alum. A great guy. Exactly the kind of person Ball State should have representing their football program and their university. Done.
This was the equivalent of Notre Dame saying thanks but no thanks to Frank Leahy after the four straight undefeated seasons in the late 1940s. Florida dumping Steve Spurrier after he won the 1996 national championship. Nebraska chasing out Tom Osborne after his back to back titles in the mid-1990s. Simply a humiliating day.
Ball State should be ashamed of itself. They could get a new coach who's better. I really doubt it. This university has shown no aptitude for achieving anything in athletics. Ronny Thompson saga, firing the women's volleyball coach after his 1st losing season out of EIGHTEEN, pick your humiliating move. This school, for all its talk of achieving, seems to have no desire to achieve what would give us the most publicity.
As wonderful, incredible, amazing as the 2008 football season was to watch Ball State rise as high as 12th in the polls - almost assuredly as high as they will ever go - it is just as disheartening to see that Ball State's leadership has absolutely no intention of keeping it going, or even attempting to.
Brady Hoke, the coach and architect of the 12-0 start, bolted BSU for San Diego State over the weekend. It is, at best, a lateral football move and is probably more like a downgrade. Hoke's salary will be more than twice what it was at BSU, so he has that going for him. But all reports are he would've stayed if Ball State had done one simple thing...give his assistants the raises they deserved.
The offer on the table for Hoke was 390,000 dollars a year (SDSU will be paying him 700k a year for 5 years). But when Hoke asked president Jo Ann Gora about raises for his assistants - you know, like Stan Parrish, who's only one of five finalists for the national asst. coach of the year award, or Mark Smith, who, as much as he was shredded by people like me the last few years, actually put together a pretty solid defense this year - Gora said no.
That was it. Hoke was gone. A Ball State alum. A great guy. Exactly the kind of person Ball State should have representing their football program and their university. Done.
This was the equivalent of Notre Dame saying thanks but no thanks to Frank Leahy after the four straight undefeated seasons in the late 1940s. Florida dumping Steve Spurrier after he won the 1996 national championship. Nebraska chasing out Tom Osborne after his back to back titles in the mid-1990s. Simply a humiliating day.
Ball State should be ashamed of itself. They could get a new coach who's better. I really doubt it. This university has shown no aptitude for achieving anything in athletics. Ronny Thompson saga, firing the women's volleyball coach after his 1st losing season out of EIGHTEEN, pick your humiliating move. This school, for all its talk of achieving, seems to have no desire to achieve what would give us the most publicity.
Monday, December 8, 2008
One-Line Bowl Breakdowns
EagleBank Bowl - Navy vs Wake Forest:
Triple option and the home field in DC? Advantage Middies.
New Mexico Bowl - Colorado St vs Fresno St:
Anytime, anywhere for FSU coach Pat Hill means Albuquerque this year.
magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl - Memphis vs South Florida:
Not exactly where USF wanted to be playing a 'home' game this bowl season.
Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl - BYU vs Arizona:
Chance for the Cats to make a name for themselves by winning the first bowl with a ranked team.
R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl - Southern Mississippi vs Troy:
Ten bucks if you can name one player on either of these teams without looking.
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl - Boise St vs TCU:
After Ball State's loss, this is now the "not in a BCS bowl" national championship game.
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl - Hawaii vs Notre Dame:
This is what ND's reduced itself to - a bowl game off the mainland on Christmas Eve.
Motor City Bowl - Florida Atlantic vs Central Michigan:
CMU in Detroit for the 3rd year in a row in a real yawner of a matchup.
Meineke Car Care Bowl - West Virginia vs North Carolina:
I remember when bowl games at least used to have a real name after the sponsor's name.
Champs Sports Bowl - Wisconsin vs Florida St:
Wisconsin almost lost to a I-AA team - FSU was almost ranked at the end of the season.
Emerald Bowl - California vs Miami:
I thought this bowl was in Seattle (Emerald City) for a couple of years. Nope - it's Emerald Nuts.
Independence Bowl - Northern Illinois vs Louisiana Tech:
6-6 MAC teams should never, ever, ever get a bowl bid.
Papajohns.com Bowl - NC St vs Rutgers:
Rutgers started the year 1-5 and I'm impressed with their in-season turnaround.
Valero Alamo Bowl - Missouri vs Northwestern:
Both these teams should be in better bowls but got passed up for more name teams.
Roady's Humanitarian Bowl - Maryland vs Nevada:
I can't imagine any scenario in which a fan of either school would go to Boise for this.
Texas Bowl - Rice vs Western Michigan:
I'm guessing few new subscribers to the NFL Network earmark this one as the reason.
Pacific Life Holiday Bowl - Oklahoma St vs Oregon:
First bowl of the year with two ranked teams, and this should be a very good one.
Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl - Houston vs Air Force:
Gotta think this bowl jumped at the chance to get an academy, given the name.
Brut Sun Bowl - Oregon St vs Pittsburgh:
It's a long way from Pasadena to El Paso for OSU. And from Miami to El Paso for Pitt.
Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl - Boston College vs Vanderbilt:
There are many bowls with essentially a home team this season, and this one might be the oddest.
Insight Bowl - Kansas vs Minnesota:
Minnesota has no right to be in a bowl despite their 7-5 record. This should be a massacre.
Chick-fil-A Bowl - LSU vs Georgia Tech:
The Jackets might be the best team no one is talking about right now - they ended up BCS-eligible.
Outback Bowl - South Carolina vs Iowa:
Pretty good matchup of under-the-radar teams from the SEC and Big Ten.
Capital One Bowl - Georgia vs Michigan St:
The annual matchup of 'teams that look good until you realize that they beat no one who matters.'
Konica Minolta Gator Bowl - Clemson vs Nebraska:
Gotta give Dabo Swinney credit for getting the Tigers here.
AT&T Cotton Bowl - Ole Miss vs Texas Tech:
A tremendous job by Houston Nutt to get the Rebs here, but their prize is a beatdown loss, assumedly.
AutoZone Liberty Bowl - Kentucky vs East Carolina:
Why is this bowl on Jan. 2nd? Answer me that. The spate of post-New Year's crappy bowls annoys me.
International Bowl - Connecticut vs Buffalo:
See what I mean? This one's on Jan. 3rd. Toronto thrilled to get two nearby teams.
GMAC Bowl - Tulsa vs Ball St:
BSU might have ended up here regardless of their MAC title game defeat.
Rose Bowl - Penn St vs USC:
Is anyone going to take PSU in this game?
FedEx Orange Bowl - Virginia Tech vs Cincinnati:
The Orange locking itself into the ACC champ is why there's never a good Orange Bowl matchup.
Allstate Sugar Bowl - Alabama vs Utah:
This might be the best bowl matchup besides the national title game.
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl - Texas vs Ohio St:
A 3rd straight BCS humiliation for the Buckeyes as Texas takes out their Big 12 snub on them.
FedEx National Championship Game - Florida vs Oklahoma:
The last good matchup in the national title game was three years ago. This one might end that streak.
Triple option and the home field in DC? Advantage Middies.
New Mexico Bowl - Colorado St vs Fresno St:
Anytime, anywhere for FSU coach Pat Hill means Albuquerque this year.
magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl - Memphis vs South Florida:
Not exactly where USF wanted to be playing a 'home' game this bowl season.
Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl - BYU vs Arizona:
Chance for the Cats to make a name for themselves by winning the first bowl with a ranked team.
R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl - Southern Mississippi vs Troy:
Ten bucks if you can name one player on either of these teams without looking.
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl - Boise St vs TCU:
After Ball State's loss, this is now the "not in a BCS bowl" national championship game.
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl - Hawaii vs Notre Dame:
This is what ND's reduced itself to - a bowl game off the mainland on Christmas Eve.
Motor City Bowl - Florida Atlantic vs Central Michigan:
CMU in Detroit for the 3rd year in a row in a real yawner of a matchup.
Meineke Car Care Bowl - West Virginia vs North Carolina:
I remember when bowl games at least used to have a real name after the sponsor's name.
Champs Sports Bowl - Wisconsin vs Florida St:
Wisconsin almost lost to a I-AA team - FSU was almost ranked at the end of the season.
Emerald Bowl - California vs Miami:
I thought this bowl was in Seattle (Emerald City) for a couple of years. Nope - it's Emerald Nuts.
Independence Bowl - Northern Illinois vs Louisiana Tech:
6-6 MAC teams should never, ever, ever get a bowl bid.
Papajohns.com Bowl - NC St vs Rutgers:
Rutgers started the year 1-5 and I'm impressed with their in-season turnaround.
Valero Alamo Bowl - Missouri vs Northwestern:
Both these teams should be in better bowls but got passed up for more name teams.
Roady's Humanitarian Bowl - Maryland vs Nevada:
I can't imagine any scenario in which a fan of either school would go to Boise for this.
Texas Bowl - Rice vs Western Michigan:
I'm guessing few new subscribers to the NFL Network earmark this one as the reason.
Pacific Life Holiday Bowl - Oklahoma St vs Oregon:
First bowl of the year with two ranked teams, and this should be a very good one.
Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl - Houston vs Air Force:
Gotta think this bowl jumped at the chance to get an academy, given the name.
Brut Sun Bowl - Oregon St vs Pittsburgh:
It's a long way from Pasadena to El Paso for OSU. And from Miami to El Paso for Pitt.
Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl - Boston College vs Vanderbilt:
There are many bowls with essentially a home team this season, and this one might be the oddest.
Insight Bowl - Kansas vs Minnesota:
Minnesota has no right to be in a bowl despite their 7-5 record. This should be a massacre.
Chick-fil-A Bowl - LSU vs Georgia Tech:
The Jackets might be the best team no one is talking about right now - they ended up BCS-eligible.
Outback Bowl - South Carolina vs Iowa:
Pretty good matchup of under-the-radar teams from the SEC and Big Ten.
Capital One Bowl - Georgia vs Michigan St:
The annual matchup of 'teams that look good until you realize that they beat no one who matters.'
Konica Minolta Gator Bowl - Clemson vs Nebraska:
Gotta give Dabo Swinney credit for getting the Tigers here.
AT&T Cotton Bowl - Ole Miss vs Texas Tech:
A tremendous job by Houston Nutt to get the Rebs here, but their prize is a beatdown loss, assumedly.
AutoZone Liberty Bowl - Kentucky vs East Carolina:
Why is this bowl on Jan. 2nd? Answer me that. The spate of post-New Year's crappy bowls annoys me.
International Bowl - Connecticut vs Buffalo:
See what I mean? This one's on Jan. 3rd. Toronto thrilled to get two nearby teams.
GMAC Bowl - Tulsa vs Ball St:
BSU might have ended up here regardless of their MAC title game defeat.
Rose Bowl - Penn St vs USC:
Is anyone going to take PSU in this game?
FedEx Orange Bowl - Virginia Tech vs Cincinnati:
The Orange locking itself into the ACC champ is why there's never a good Orange Bowl matchup.
Allstate Sugar Bowl - Alabama vs Utah:
This might be the best bowl matchup besides the national title game.
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl - Texas vs Ohio St:
A 3rd straight BCS humiliation for the Buckeyes as Texas takes out their Big 12 snub on them.
FedEx National Championship Game - Florida vs Oklahoma:
The last good matchup in the national title game was three years ago. This one might end that streak.
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