Monday, October 09, 2006

The Five Best Arguments
(Coming Out of the Weekend)

(1) Are the Bears the best team in the NFL? If not, who is? If so, who's No. 2?)

(My answer: Yes, they are, as long as Rex Grossman stays healthy. No. 2? I'll begrudgingly say the Colts, even if the Ravens win tonight.)

(2) What punishment -- if any -- should Antrel Rolle get for his facemask on Larry Johnson?

(My answer: It looked pretty intentional to me. If Haynesworth got 5 games and is the new standard, I'd give Rolle at least 2 or 3.)

(3) Who is the better fit as Yankees manager in 2007: Joe Torre or Lou Piniella?

(My answer: Piniella. This team needs a kick in the ass. Not as badly as they need better pitching, but it won't hurt.)

(4) In each league, which team is best positioned to win the MLB LCS?

(My answer: Tigers, with pitching-pitching-pitching, and the Mets, with hitting-hitting-hitting.)

(5) How should fans rank these three teams: Florida, Michigan or USC?

(My answer: Just like that.)

-- D.S.

27 comments:

Brian in Oxford said...

1. I'm not voting against the Bears for a while. The Ravens can make their case for #2 tonight. Otherwise, yeah, the Colts. Good teams do occasionally struggle or mail one in, the great teams overcome that lethargy.

2. Yeah, that could be a couple of games. I wonder if he'll own up to it, at least, like Haynesworth, and NOT do the usual knee-jerk appeal. (Oh wait, that's BASEBALL)

3. Piniella as fire-lighter does seem like the better way to go at this point. But would a team of extremely highly paid players respond to that? Lou's best fits were in Cincy and Seattle, good teams where his personality could make a difference.

4. Detroit would seem like they might have to overcome a letdown of beating the Yankees, especially since it's their first postseason. I trust Leyland to get them level-headed. But Oakland's no slouch. I think the Mets may just juggernaut their way through the NLCS, so I'd put them in the spot, at least, of heaviest favorite of the four. (On paper, or on a computer screen, of course, is no guarantee of squat.)

5. Slight edge to Florida over Michigan (gut feeling only, not sure it would show up on the field that way), and USC fourth or fifth.

FreKy J said...

1) Bears are the best, period. 156-36 over their 5-0 start, and with their upcoming schedule, it looks like they're going to be 8-0 and outscore opponents 280-50.

2) He'll likely get a 1-game suspension, but I'd like to see 3 games. He could have easily broken Larry Johnson's neck, that's why the facemask penalty is so uptight that you get flagged for accidentally touching it at times.

3) Mark my words. The Yankees will get completely out of hand if Piniella manages the team. He's a maniac.

4) Tigers with pitching, Mets with surprise clutch pitching and hitting.

5) OSU 1, Florida 2, Michigan 3, USC 4, Louisville 5 (until the injuries catch up to them).

TBender said...

1. Has the Super Bowl been played yet? Ok.
2. Didn't see it, can't comment.
3. Torre. I don't think Pinella would be good for a team of business-like pros like the Yankees currently are. Plus, they need pitching more than anything. How's Lou's slider?
4. AL - Oakland, due to HFA--this should be a fun series. NL - New York, O-ffense. (But I'm not giving up the Cards' chances yet.)
5. Michigan, Florida, ...USC.

john (east lansing, mi) said...

1) Yessir, but whoever thought that Rex Grossman sentence would exist?
Although, I have trouble caring about the NFL, I don't get everyone's deal with it.

2) Haven't seen it. But, what do they do to those guys with the horse-collar tackles? If it was bad, sounds like it should be in line with the penalty for those. After all, Roy Williams alone has caused 20-25 missed games by HCT'ing.
According to Wikipedia, you get a 15-yard penalty and a possible league-imposed fine for this. So I guess, either Rolle gets that, or they need to bump up the Horse-Collar penalty.

3) That team needs somethin'. I don't know much about Lou, but I feel like it is time for Joe to go. How can everybody in that clubhouse even look at each other, after the last couple years? Steinbrenner cries all winter, everybody's a choker, and Joe doesn't have any answers for them.
If it weren't for Jim Leyland, I would ask what a manager's good for anyway, but after the season I've seen, I know better.

4) Hells, yes, Dan. The Tigers' pitchers, now that they have tapered their way into the postseason, don't need nearly as much help as the bats, which I saw come alive this Friday and Saturday (after 2 months of rest), will provide. Oh, and the Tigers won more on the road. Not worried about spending more time in Oaktown.

And sure. The Mets will just keep hitting until they cover their cobbled-together rotation.

5) I'll grant your answer, even if I don't entirely agree. And yet, the fans and pollsters and computers ought to take something into consideration - history, Dan. Considering the fact that OSU and Michigan will be playing for #1 in November, why not make them #1 and #2, for the greatest Game of the Century ever?

The greatest sports rivalry ever (I'm ignoring any dissenters), one of the few meaningful (read: not in September between last year's national champions and another BCS bowl winner) #1 vs. #2 games ever played, with a national-title-game berth on the line? I'd spend another semester in school for that.

Anonymous said...

Michigan, Florida, (West Virginia), USC

I think I was the only one here who did not buy into the LSU/Auburn game as a battle of titans. I'm glad this past weekend helped my case.
Florida is definitely Top 5, but LSU and Auburn aren't impressive, imo, so I'm not hopping Florida over UM yet.

Mega said...

The Bears are the best.

Lou Pinella in a Yanks uniform? So a tough guy managing a bunch of overpaid egos? That would become pure comedy.

Michigan. Florida. USC.

Brian in Oxford said...

The no-losses-gets-you-in-the-title game doesn't work, especially if both teams are minor players....

(even more minor than WVU)

How about MAC champ versus the WAC? If they're the only ones going 12-0, then NOBODY is going to buy into that as a championship game.

(That would only encourage MORE cupcake scheduling)

ToddTheJackass said...

As a Red Sox fan, I'd love to see Piniella with the Yankees. The dude is seriously insane, and it'd be fun to watch him go ape shit anytime they don't win.

It'd make the Yankees actually easier and more fun to hate... if that's even possible.

Go Mets! Our brethren in Yankee hating!

john (east lansing, mi) said...

rafael -

I guess you missed some of my comments (all the way at the bottom) about the SEC Top Ten powerhouses.


richard -

Interesting thoughts that I hadn't even allowed to enter my mind yet. If Florida's schedule is really so tough, they have a great chance of dropping one, while Louisville is winning out for sure. And USC is so weak, they have no shot at running the table, if even one of those teams decides not to roll over for them. I have no doubt that USC doesn't belong in the Top 3.

So those crazy Cardinals will be going to... Glendale, apparently. To play in Cardinals Stadium (ok, UofP Stadium now), no less! And there's a frickin' Cardinal for the foolish Big Ten Champions to stomp on at midfield. I can't handle it.

Steve said...

Ohio St., Michigan, Florida, Louisville, West Virgina, Texas, USC

USC are a bunch of posers this year, they're lucky to be 7th.

TJ said...

3. Joe Girardi. But as I'm holding out for him to go to the Cubs, Pinella to the Yanks sounds fine to me.

5. Michigan, Florida, and friends. Right now I have WVU #4, but I can't really say they've earned it more or less than USC, or Louisville, or--hell--Missouri.

This one won't matter anyway. If UF and the OSU-Michigan winner both go undefeated, there's your Championship Game right there, all wrapped up in a bow.

john (east lansing, mi) said...

manninghamguy,

you are truly incredible.

I don't know how 2-6 weeks became "the rest of the season," but I do know that Michigan has plenty of weapons left, even if my favorite is out of commission for a little while. Arrington seems to be catching touchdowns quite ably, and Mike Hart is still running around the Metrodome.


I just hope Mario is ready to kick ass in Columbus (seems like a bad idea to try to make him play vs. Iowa).

Dammit. When did this happen, anyway? What did Sparty do to #86? I feel so guilty that I was at Comerica Park, I should've been there. Damn, damn, damn.

slaskaris said...

FLA, USC, Michigan
- Hate to bust the Manningham boys' bubbles but you guys are getting a little ahead of yourself. Be happy that people are considering you in the discussion at #2. But really, compared to FLA and SC, you boys have been just takin care of business over teams you should be beating. Other than an obviously overrated Irish team, you guys haven't beaten ranked teams like USC and FLA. ..And don't even try to come at me with homerism talk as I'm a VOL fan and hate the Gators.

Before you jump on me, take note I do think Michigan is playing great and should continue winning until their match-up with OSU. I just think everyone should relax with the poll tak until Nov or at least until the BCS poll comes out.

GO VOLS!!!

MP said...

1. For the moment, yes. Do I think they'll win it all? No.

2. 3 games minimum. It was a vile and unnecessary act.

3. NEITHER! The Yankees need young blood, in the lineup, the pitching, and the coaching. The old philosophy simply isn't working in New York anymore. Why not get some fresh faces everywhere?

4. Detroit, simply because Oakland hasn't shown any ability to get to the Series; St. Louis...because I give the benefit of the doubt.

5. Michigan, USC, Florida

john (east lansing, mi) said...

slaskaris -

You'll be hard-pressed to find me struggling with vocabulary often, but I have little choice but to call you a fucking idiot.

Compared to USC, Michigan has only been taking care of business against teams we should beat?

If you were talking about, say, Louisville or something, I would see where you were going with this. But have you missed the whole boat on the whole USC-just-barely-beat-Washington-at-home story, hot on the heels of the USC-had-trouble-with-WSU one?

USC is a joke.

And Florida hasn't blown away any great competition either. I watched the last drive against your Vols. Gritty. But not dominant. Not undeniable. I kept tabs on the Alabama game. I was worried about UF (my good buddy's a Gator) for about, what, 3.5 quarters? I've said it before, and I'll say it again - I'm not at all convinced by LSU; if they end up with 5 losses, let's just say I won't be too surprised. UF sure did beat them though. But UM has beaten a lot of teams pretty soundly - including ND, on the road (I think ND and Tennessee are pretty even, actually).


I'm sorry if you're still mad about Peyton's Heisman (he wins the NFL game, so I'd say he got a fine deal), but I'm not gonna let you get away with spouting complete bullshit irrational arguments.

Maher said...

1. Right now the bears are the best team, yes. At this time last year the Colts were, how'd that work out?

2. If you are going to suspend players for facemasks then what about chopblocks? Late hits out of bounds? Helmet to helmet on the QB? This is the NFL, not NFL flag football. All I hear on ESPN is that football is about heart and wanting it more and effort. Do you want to castrate the play of the NFL by making defenders play 2 hand touch? Did you see Troy P's hit on LT last night? Looked a little dirty, but that's the NFL. Hit them in the wallet, don't take away PT for going "too hard".

3. If you want to go younger with more energy for the Yanks, then hire Girardi. If the club wasn't fired up for Joe in game 3 as is being reported on the WWL, then how is Sweet Lou going to fix that? Have you heard him do play by play? It makes me fall asleep. 4 rings every 10 years is fine by me, and I'm sure every other team out there would take winning their division every year. If you want to fire Torre, then La Russa should be gone if the Cards don't win it all this year.

4. Best positioned? Tigers/Mets. Who will probably win? A's/Mets (if just so Dan can shower us all with told you so's :) )

5. Michigan, Florida, a few other teams, USC.

Maher said...

apparently mheis needed 3 posts to get his point across.

do they even call the horse collar? I've seen it a few times in front of the refs and nothing came of it.

richard, I have to disagree. As a Bucks fan USC doesn't scare me. I can't wait to play them in the home and home coming up. Florida intrigues me, but I'd love to see Florida play OSU or MICH @ our stadiums in late november. good luck with that. Michigan is the only team out there that scares me. Rutgers? Boise St? wow.

john@thewhore, you are a refreshing voice of reason on these boards even though we are sometimes at odds. Just wanted you to know that sweetie.

Maher said...

then they'll be 3-1 and tied for 1st in the AFC West?

and they'll still have jake plummer at QB and Shanni calling plays...the guy that can't win without Elway.

Tim said...

Chris -

No, I didn't think it was intentional either, but I also admit to being a Cardinals homer, so I'm biased. I just didn't see it like he was trying to grab his face mask, let alone twist it. It looked to me like he was trying to wrap him up when LJ went down, so he get helmet mostly. And yes, I have LJ on one of my fantasy teams too. Can't we all just get along?

Maher said...

but i'm sure the kids from South Park will be happy!

Maher said...

you didn't take reggie bush at #1? :)

john (east lansing, mi) said...

Joe -

Now there's an argument I can put in my pipe and smoke. Thanks for playing. (you win this round)

My money's on ND over USC, though (not that ND should be super proud, but USC is sure to be ranked).

In late November we'll have more to talk about, and it will be on. Please be ok, Manningham.

CMFost said...

1) Are the Bears the best team in the NFL? If not, who is? If so, who's No. 2?)

#2 is Not indy, it is probably Baltimore or Denver. I think Indy is the worst of the undefeateds and will be going down soon

(2) What punishment -- if any -- should Antrel Rolle get for his facemask on Larry Johnson?

2 games - it was not intentional

(3) Who is the better fit as Yankees manager in 2007: Joe Torre or Lou Piniella?

Torre he knows how to keep this team together

(4) In each league, which team is best positioned to win the MLB LCS?

A's better pitching and Cardinals eperience and pitching

(5) How should fans rank these three teams: Florida, Michigan or USC?

Florida
West Virginia
Michigan
USC

John Paul Manahan said...

(1) Are the Bears the best team in the NFL? If not, who is? If so, who's No. 2?)

The Bears are the #1 team. i would go with the Chargers (they lost to baltimore, but SD has balance and the powder blue)

(2) What punishment -- if any -- should Antrel Rolle get for his facemask on Larry Johnson?

Maybe a game or 2. It is like an excessive hit suspension.

(3) Who is the better fit as Yankees manager in 2007: Joe Torre or Lou Piniella?

Torre, but maybe we can hire Girardi AND Piniella. And yes, get some pitching.

(4) In each league, which team is best positioned to win the MLB LCS?

Detroit - Mets in the 2006 World Series (Mets in 6)


(5) How should fans rank these three teams: Florida, Michigan or USC?

Florida - plays in the scorched earth called SEC

UMich - all eyes on the Buckeyes

USC - they have a lot to prove...

xcdannon said...

1) Yes, Chicago is tops.
You could argue for a few teams at #2 (Indy, San Diego, maybe Baltimore still) but my pick is Denver, IF they can get that offense to kick it up a notch, which i think they can.

2) 4 games. The NFL has to send a message about sportsmanship, and so far Goodell has sent a few strong messages...

3) Torre. I think that the whole judging the Yankees on a "championship standard" is crap. Why do we make the Yankees out to be so special. Torre is not the GM who has run out of / failed to develop and keep minor league talent. That's the real problem, is that the Yankees keep having to trade for/buy established talent, not the management of the players. Torre's record speaks for itself, any other franchise and there wouldnt even be a discussion.

4) Tigers, even though Oakland was impressive in taking down the Twins and all their momentum.
Mets, because even if I'm pitching, they're still gonna be in the game

5) I ranked them
(Ohio State)
2 - Florida
(WVU)
4 - Michigan
(Louisville)
6 - USC

The heroin sheik said...

1) The bears are about as solid as an NFL team can get. I wouls have to say the chargers are number two. Rivers looked pretty good last night. i would have liked to have seen LT get more yards but mostly it is because he is on my fantasy team.

2) Haven't seen it so dont have an opinion.

3)I hate the yankees so seeing how lou sucked in st pete I say let him ruin that team.

4) Detroit has some of the best pitching I can remember. Not quite as good starting as the braves of the mid 90's but better from the bullpen. In the NL I want to say the mets but I think all their injuries might catch up to them this round So I have to go with the cards.

5) Id have to say OSU, UF, UM. If the gators could just start playing good at the start of the game and not only in the second half they would be a lock for number one in my book.

slaskaris said...

Homer John,
I think you need to relax, buddy. I was just sayin that I believe USC has beaten more quality teams thus far than Michigan. I'm not saying they will be there at the end of the year but as of right now, they have been takin care of business (a W is a W). They are hardly a joke but my real point was that Michigan is a solid top 5 team but FLA has a little more bragging rights to be #2 (AT THIS MOMENT). Wait till your boys play OSU and then brag how they should be at the top.

...actually none of this talk matters as everyone should just wait till November before any of us care this much about polls. Period.