Monday, January 03, 2011

1/03 Quickie: 7-9, Bowls, More

This is a big week: Quickish launches a week from today. Connect with it through Facebook and Twitter, because I'm going to have a bunch of pre-launch beta invites to give out.

7-9! As a fan of novelty and the superlative, I cannot be anything but delighted that the 7-9 Seahawks made the playoffs, becoming the first sub-.500 team to break the barrier. (And, for superlative fans, becoming arguably the worst NFL playoff team of all time.) Now watch them upend the defending champs next week.

The NFL playoff field overall is tantalizing, if only because so many folks think the road teams will dominate in next weekend's Wild Card round. Great: The more uncertainty the better.

Yikes: Sorry, Giants fans.

Black Monday: So which NFL coaches get fired today? Tom Coughlin's job is safe. Eric Mangini's won't be. Gary Kubiak could be axed in Houston and hired in Denver a few days from now. Jack Del Rio is, as always, a push.

CFB Bowling: Stanford vs. VA Tech in the Orange Bowl tonight. Stanford has awesome enough individual stories -- Jim Harbaugh, hottest football coach in the country (college or pro) and Andrew Luck, the presumptive No. 1 pick of whichever NFL Draft he chooses to enter -- to make the game a must-see.

TCU Hangover: Meanwhile, I'm trying desperately to find the hour in the next day or so to write up the moral case for AP Top 25 voters ranking TCU at No. 1, regardless of the outcome of the Auburn-Oregon game. I think the crux is: Your flimsy "ballot integrity" doesn't trump your mandate to promote the integrity of the sport.

Charlie Weis as Florida's Offensive Coordinator: Sorry, not a fan. I don't begrudge anyone putting their family first ahead of their career -- hell, that's how I want it to be -- but that doesn't mean I want the offensive coordinator of my elite college powerhouse to do it.

I want someone who is NOT interested in "work-life balance" or a "quality of life" move; I want someone who is willing to put everything aside for the job. That's how Urban Meyer did it, and it's what made him the best -- even if it ultimately burned him out.

Maryland hires UConn's Randy Edsall: Zzz....

Tim Tebow Watch: In 2 starts and 13 other assorted snaps, he accounted for 11 TDs. In the preseason, I pegged him for 7-10, and that was considered a Tebowphile's pipe dream. If he got the same 16 games started as Sam Bradford, he would have easily surpassed Bradford's 19 total TDs -- and made the choice for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year a lot more interesting. All in all, a pretty good rookie season.

NBA: L-ack!-ers? Uh, it's one thing for the Lakers to lose decisively to the Heat on Christmas Day. It's another thing for them to get blown out at home by the Grizzlies. Panic time.

MLB Hot Stove: Adrian Beltre to the Rangers? That makes a lineup with a fair amount of pop even more dangerous.

More later.

-- D.S.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I will admit, as someone who didn't think that Tebow could cut it as an NFL QB. I was extremely impressed with what he's done so far this season.

That being said, I shall eat my crow for saying he couldn't cut it. You're probably eating a lot more about all the crap you talked about Bradford though. :)

Michael W said...

Last time a 7-9 team made the playoffs, they got out of the first round! Sure, it was the 7-9 Rams beating the 8-8 Seahawks, but still!