Today's Names to Know: Mike Vick, Brett Favre, Cooper Manning (apparently), Wade Phillips, Mark Sanchez, Brandon Jacobs (helmet), Bruce Gradkowski, Kyle Orton, Mike Tolbert, Tyler Colvin, Mark Dantonio, Troy Tulowitzki, CC Sabathia and More.
Week 2 in the NFL is so great, because so much is so hyped after Week 1, then you get the "just when you think you understand the NFL this season..." counter:
*Mike Vick is the new uber-star of the league, to the point where the biggest storyline of this week is whether Andy Reid actually benches his winning QB for the concussed, ineffective one.
*Favre: Ouch. We had the Dolphins-Vikings game on locally in NYC, and so I got the chance to watch Brett Favre's latest implosion up close. And the schadenfreude was no less narcotic than ever.
*Cowboys 0-2, too: Wade Phillips hasn't been fired... yet. But it is an inevitability.
*All those doubts about the Jets after the opening-week loss to the Ravens? They shut up the haters with that decisive win over the Pats. Sanchez and Brady went "Freaky Friday" on us.
(Darrelle Revis injured hamstring: Everyone kind of had to see this coming, right? Consider for a second that the Jets really started to roll AFTER Revis went out.)
*Manning Bowl II a rout: The most interesting Manning-related thing about the game -- otherwise a rout -- was that Cooper Manning and Ashley Manning suddenly dominated Google.
(Otherwise, the only interesting non-Manning related thing about the game was when Brandon Jacobs tossed his helmet into the stands -- inadvertently, he claims. Suspension?)
*What a shootout in DC: You're loving life if you had Matt Schaub in your fantasy league. Gotta feel for Skins K Graham Gano -- he had that OT game-winner NAILED, 'til Kubiak iced him.
*Wait: Suddenly the Bengals' D is stout?
*Wha...? The Bucs are 2-0. The Bears are 2-0. The Chiefs are 2-0. The Steelers are 2-0 with a 4th-string QB. Bruce Gradkowski is a hero. And Kyle Orton was awesome.
*This week's Rookie of the Year? Jahvid Best.
*Ultimate Fantasy Stud That Likely Was On Your League's FA Wire Throughout the Day: Mike Tolbert. (All you Ryan Matthews fans better have hit the waiver wire already.)
(Other fantasy studs: Darren McFadden -- yes, really/finally; LeSean McCoy; Matt Schaub.)
More:
*MLB Injury of the Year: Tyler Colvin, impaled by a piece of broken bat. That's one of those scenarios you always knew could happen -- it's pretty scary to watch. After scoring, Colvin was taken to the hospital, and his season appears to be over. Here's to a full recovery.
*Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio had a heart attack after MSU's thrilling "walk-off" OT win over Notre Dame? I don't blame him. (Although he DID call the thrilling play.)
*More CFB: Alabama is clearly the best team in the country.
*I'm sticking with TCU at No. 2, after they mauled a pretty good Baylor team.
*Oklahoma and Nebraska both did a lot to prove their elite status (of course, both have make-or-break games against Texas coming up soon that define their seasons).
*Biggest "status-raising" win of the CFB weekend? Arizona over Iowa.
*Next week's Game of the Week: Alabama at Arkansas, followed closely by Oregon State at Boise State.
(See my BlogPoll ballot here.)
*Troy Tulowitzki. (Despite the Rockies' loss -- that I was disappointed he didn't put up a multi-homer game yesterday shows what kind of month he is having.)
*Aaand, the Giants are back in 1st in the NL West.
*Said this yesterday, in case you missed it: I'm a "King Felix for Cy" person, but I suspect that CC's 20th win sealed up his AL Cy bid. Most voters like that kind of win-total milestone.
*I don't have big expectations for Don Mattingly in LA. (But I will for Joe Torre with the Mets.)
*Blog Font Survey: Enough people disliked the Arial font switch -- roughly the same number that really liked it -- that I am probably going to switch things back. However, almost every redesign in the history of the internet has been met with "Hate it! Switch it back!" from a fair number of people. Let's live with it for a week and re-vote on Thursday. Hopefully, some/many of the "hate it" folks will slide over to "ambivalent, at worst."
-- D.S.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
BlogPoll Top 25 Draft Ballot
A few tweaks near the top (if not AT the top), based on the respect I have for Air Force and that Nebraska and Texas both won on the road. And I'm more impressed by Arkansas winning on the road at Georgia than I am by Boise and Oregon running it up.
By the way, check out the odd blocks of SEC (low teens) then Pac-10 (mid-teens) then Big 10 (high-teens/20s); it's a testament to the relative strength of the leagues, but also to not having enough evidence yet to distinguish among them.
1. Alabama
2. TCU
3. Oklahoma
4. Texas
5. Ohio State
6. Nebraska
7. Boise State
8. Oregon
9. Utah
10. Arkansas
11. Auburn
12. South Carolina
13. Florida
14. Arizona
15. Stanford
16. Oregon State
17. LSU
18. Miami
19. Iowa
20. Michigan
21. Penn State
22. Michigan State
23. Wisconsin
24. Nevada
25. Fresno State
Looking ahead to next week: Alabama at Arkansas is the national headliner, and Stanford-Notre Dame should give the country (at least those not glued to Bama-Arkansas) a look at Andrew Luck, the best QB in the country. The night set gets a little bit more awesome: Oregon State at Boise State (playing both TCU and Boise State? you go, Oregon State!) and South Carolina at Auburn.
As always, would love your feedback on the ballot. Anything really out of whack?
-- D.S.
By the way, check out the odd blocks of SEC (low teens) then Pac-10 (mid-teens) then Big 10 (high-teens/20s); it's a testament to the relative strength of the leagues, but also to not having enough evidence yet to distinguish among them.
1. Alabama
2. TCU
3. Oklahoma
4. Texas
5. Ohio State
6. Nebraska
7. Boise State
8. Oregon
9. Utah
10. Arkansas
11. Auburn
12. South Carolina
13. Florida
14. Arizona
15. Stanford
16. Oregon State
17. LSU
18. Miami
19. Iowa
20. Michigan
21. Penn State
22. Michigan State
23. Wisconsin
24. Nevada
25. Fresno State
Looking ahead to next week: Alabama at Arkansas is the national headliner, and Stanford-Notre Dame should give the country (at least those not glued to Bama-Arkansas) a look at Andrew Luck, the best QB in the country. The night set gets a little bit more awesome: Oregon State at Boise State (playing both TCU and Boise State? you go, Oregon State!) and South Carolina at Auburn.
As always, would love your feedback on the ballot. Anything really out of whack?
-- D.S.
Sunday (CFB Hangover) Quickie
I had been eyeing this weekend as a "Prove-It" moment early in the season. Let's see who proved what:
Proved they are entirely legit:
*Arizona
*TCU
*Oklahoma
*Nebraska
*Arkansas
Arizona, TCU and Oklahoma beat good (even very good) teams. The Huskers and Hogs won on the road.
Proved little, if anything, despite winning:
*Auburn
*Texas
*Florida
*Wisconsin
*Michigan
Proved me very, very wrong:
*Houston
And then there is Alabama, which just rolls along. And when they beat Arkansas by 30 next week, it will be even more obvious.
Finally, let's give a shout-out to Michigan State for giving us the best ending of the college football season so far -- the fake FG in OT that turned into a "walk-off" game-winning TD. If you're a Michigan State fan, to have this kind of ending -- against Notre Dame, on national TV, playing in front of a frenzied home crowd and win-or-bust awesome -- had to be one of the most satisfying wins in years. (The play clock had expired? Oh well! In all seriousness, the refs should have reviewed that -- but it is virtually impossible in a "walk-off" setting.)
Expect the Spartans to enter my BlogPoll Top 25.
More:
*Troy Tulowitzki: Good gosh-a-mighty.
*Does cracking the 20-win barrier seal the AL Cy for CC?
*Back in front of the NL West? The Padres (via Ludwick)
*NFL Game of the Day: Pats-Jets. Set your rosters!
-- D.S.
Proved they are entirely legit:
*Arizona
*TCU
*Oklahoma
*Nebraska
*Arkansas
Arizona, TCU and Oklahoma beat good (even very good) teams. The Huskers and Hogs won on the road.
Proved little, if anything, despite winning:
*Auburn
*Texas
*Florida
*Wisconsin
*Michigan
Proved me very, very wrong:
*Houston
And then there is Alabama, which just rolls along. And when they beat Arkansas by 30 next week, it will be even more obvious.
Finally, let's give a shout-out to Michigan State for giving us the best ending of the college football season so far -- the fake FG in OT that turned into a "walk-off" game-winning TD. If you're a Michigan State fan, to have this kind of ending -- against Notre Dame, on national TV, playing in front of a frenzied home crowd and win-or-bust awesome -- had to be one of the most satisfying wins in years. (The play clock had expired? Oh well! In all seriousness, the refs should have reviewed that -- but it is virtually impossible in a "walk-off" setting.)
Expect the Spartans to enter my BlogPoll Top 25.
More:
*Troy Tulowitzki: Good gosh-a-mighty.
*Does cracking the 20-win barrier seal the AL Cy for CC?
*Back in front of the NL West? The Padres (via Ludwick)
*NFL Game of the Day: Pats-Jets. Set your rosters!
-- D.S.
Friday, September 17, 2010
09/17 Quickie: Jets-Pats, AZ-IA, Giants
Today's Names to Know: Bill Belichick vs. Rex Ryan, Michael Vick, Iowa-Arizona, Urban Meyer, Denard Robinson, Texas Tech fans, SF Giants, Reggie Bush, Derek Jeter, Black Eyed Peas, Ike Davis, Sue Bird and More.
After a week of "Ines-anity," I'm really looking forward to the weekend, when we can get back to arguing with each other about game results.
The NFL weekend is headlined by Jets-Pats (I'll predict a Pats romp); a likely Michael Vick start for the Eagles; and an awesome Sunday night match-up between the Giants and Colts.
The CFB weekend has a ton of intriguing "prove-it" games -- Iowa-Arizona is probably my favorite (I'm taking Arizona), but throw in Baylor-TCU, Texas-Texashhh Tech, Air Force-Oklahoma, Arkansas-Georgia, Florida at Tennessee and even ND-Mich St (in primetime).
CFB Picks: I'll take the ranked team in all of the Top 25 matchups (except AZ>IA), but if you are looking for an unranked-over-ranked Upset Special, I'm intrigued by Baylor over TCU and the end of the BCS-crashing-the-national-title-game meme.
Oh, and Denard Robinson going crazy on UMass. He turns an otherwise lame game into must-track.
Florida, Urban Meyer under scrutiny: I'm impossibly biased here. It is odd to try to argue that Meyer runs a disciplined program when so many of his players get arrested -- it is also hard to argue when he is so willing to give them second chances. I think he's right to be offended that people want to label the program "dirty" and that there is nothing to indicate -- aside from individual issues -- that he is doing anything but running the program as a whole the right way.
In theory, the Texas Tech student government idea to have the crowd be totally silent when Texas takes the field is kind of intriguing. In practice, it makes no sense and is doomed to sputter.
MLB Pennant Races: The Giants are now in 1st place in the NL West. Is that it for the Padres? Hardly, but you have to believe they feel that tickle in their throat.
In the AL, it is easy to keep a focus on the battle at the top of the AL East between the Yankees and Rays, but please note -- as reader Will M did to me -- that the Twins are rolling.
Oh, SURE, Reggie Bush: Returning the Heisman doesn't make you look guilty at all. The good news is that we all have been assuming he took the cash for years.
Jeter Cheater, Cont'd: Loved Rob Neyer's take on this. Reprising my take: It wasn't gritty gamesmanship; it was unfair deception -- lying -- that has no place in the game.
Entertainment: Black Eyed Peas for Super Bowl halftime? Really? The NFL was actually on kind of a roll with decent halftime acts. This is playing it as safe as it gets.
Site design tweak update: No favors with your voting -- nearly as many hated the switch to Ariel font from Georgia as liked it, with most of you not really caring one way or the other.
(I actually had gone into the vote saying to myself that if 20 percent of you hated the new font, I'd leave the old one. Can we live with it for the weekend and make a final determination on Monday?)
Enjoy your weekend. Easy fast, to my folks observing Yom Kippur.
(On a related note, for someone who pays attention to Jewish athletes, how did I not know that Ike Davis is Jewish? His mom is Jewish and while he isn't observant, he considers himself "culturally Jewish," and is actually letting his mom decide for him whether he should play tomorrow night during the holiday.)
Speaking of all-tie great Jewish athletes, congrats to Sue Bird and the Seattle Storm on winning the WNBA title.
Big week next week. Rest up.
-- D.S.
After a week of "Ines-anity," I'm really looking forward to the weekend, when we can get back to arguing with each other about game results.
The NFL weekend is headlined by Jets-Pats (I'll predict a Pats romp); a likely Michael Vick start for the Eagles; and an awesome Sunday night match-up between the Giants and Colts.
The CFB weekend has a ton of intriguing "prove-it" games -- Iowa-Arizona is probably my favorite (I'm taking Arizona), but throw in Baylor-TCU, Texas-Texashhh Tech, Air Force-Oklahoma, Arkansas-Georgia, Florida at Tennessee and even ND-Mich St (in primetime).
CFB Picks: I'll take the ranked team in all of the Top 25 matchups (except AZ>IA), but if you are looking for an unranked-over-ranked Upset Special, I'm intrigued by Baylor over TCU and the end of the BCS-crashing-the-national-title-game meme.
Oh, and Denard Robinson going crazy on UMass. He turns an otherwise lame game into must-track.
Florida, Urban Meyer under scrutiny: I'm impossibly biased here. It is odd to try to argue that Meyer runs a disciplined program when so many of his players get arrested -- it is also hard to argue when he is so willing to give them second chances. I think he's right to be offended that people want to label the program "dirty" and that there is nothing to indicate -- aside from individual issues -- that he is doing anything but running the program as a whole the right way.
In theory, the Texas Tech student government idea to have the crowd be totally silent when Texas takes the field is kind of intriguing. In practice, it makes no sense and is doomed to sputter.
MLB Pennant Races: The Giants are now in 1st place in the NL West. Is that it for the Padres? Hardly, but you have to believe they feel that tickle in their throat.
In the AL, it is easy to keep a focus on the battle at the top of the AL East between the Yankees and Rays, but please note -- as reader Will M did to me -- that the Twins are rolling.
Oh, SURE, Reggie Bush: Returning the Heisman doesn't make you look guilty at all. The good news is that we all have been assuming he took the cash for years.
Jeter Cheater, Cont'd: Loved Rob Neyer's take on this. Reprising my take: It wasn't gritty gamesmanship; it was unfair deception -- lying -- that has no place in the game.
Entertainment: Black Eyed Peas for Super Bowl halftime? Really? The NFL was actually on kind of a roll with decent halftime acts. This is playing it as safe as it gets.
Site design tweak update: No favors with your voting -- nearly as many hated the switch to Ariel font from Georgia as liked it, with most of you not really caring one way or the other.
(I actually had gone into the vote saying to myself that if 20 percent of you hated the new font, I'd leave the old one. Can we live with it for the weekend and make a final determination on Monday?)
Enjoy your weekend. Easy fast, to my folks observing Yom Kippur.
(On a related note, for someone who pays attention to Jewish athletes, how did I not know that Ike Davis is Jewish? His mom is Jewish and while he isn't observant, he considers himself "culturally Jewish," and is actually letting his mom decide for him whether he should play tomorrow night during the holiday.)
Speaking of all-tie great Jewish athletes, congrats to Sue Bird and the Seattle Storm on winning the WNBA title.
Big week next week. Rest up.
-- D.S.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
09/16 Quickie: Jeter, Tulo, VY, Ariel
As you've surely noticed, I am experimenting with changing the blog's font from Georgia -- which it has been since the blog launched 4 years ago -- to Ariel, which is a little more in line with current design trends toward sans-serif fonts. What do you think? Take 2 seconds and fill out the poll on the right: Like/Dislike/Ambivalent.
In one interpretation, Derek Jeter is a "gamer" for pretending that the ball hit his hand when, in reality, it hit the bottom of his bat. In another interpretation, he showcased poor sportsmanship hardly worthy of The Captain.
In the end, it all comes down to whether you are a Yankee fan/Jeter slurper, in which case you see this as the former; if you aren't, you think it was a minor form of cheating. Check out the video here.
(That the Yankees took a 7th-inning lead on the Rays -- with whom they are battling for not just a division title but home-field advantage in the playoffs -- after Granderson hit a HR immediately after Jeter took his base seemed cruel, right up until the bottom half of the inning, when the Rays came up with a 2-run HR of their own -- Dan Johnson's second HR of the game -- to seal the W. With the win, the Rays took back 1st place in the AL East -- and a new layer was added to this nouveau rivalry.)
MLB Stud: Troy Tulowitzki, who had 2 HR and 7 RBI in the Rockies damn-near-must-win over the Padres, to finally take one in that series. Time to bust out my Tulo T-shirt jersey.
Milestones: Jose Bautista tied the Blue Jays franchise record for HRs in a season -- 47, tying George Bell in 1987... wow, I remember him in that season. I was 14. Cripes, I'm old.
The Heisman Trust is lame for not awarding the now-vacated 2005 Heisman to the runner-up, Vince Young. Cripes, it's just an award; it is the Miss America title of college football.
(VY says "Why would I want it?" Well, among other reasons, because you earned it and -- like it or not -- "Heisman winner" IS a big deal, even for a college football immortal like Young.)
The latest BlogPoll Top 25 is out, and of the 30 folks who gave Boise State a No. 1 ranking last week (including me), all 30 abandoned the Broncos. They plummeted to 5th.
College Football Tonight: Cincy at NC State. We're pretty far from my preseason prediction that Cincy was a Top 20 team. But NC State can edge close to the Top 25 with a win.
Mark Ingram will play for Alabama on Saturday versus Duke, at which point it will be even more obvious that Trent Richardson is the superior running back for the Tide.
Is Vincent Jackson headed to the Vikings? Apparently, it comes down to whether he has to sit out only 3 games for his "banned substance" suspension -- or 6 games, if an arbitrator says he owes the Chargers another 3 games sitting out because he is "roster exempt." (The theory is that if the arbitrator says V-Jax only has to sit out 3 games if he is traded, the Chargers will find a willing taker for him -- which everyone assumes is the Vikings. I don't understand why the Bolts still wouldn't find a willing taker even if Jackson gets a 6-game ban.)
LeBron is not popular, and -- in fact -- is the 6th-most disliked player in sports. This should come as no surprise to anyone.
I love Mark Cuban's superlative reaction, saying that LeBron's "Decision" was "the largest public humiliation in sports history," costing LeBron a hundreds of millions in market value.
Everyone assumes Erick Dampier will sign with the Heat, but it sounds like the Rockets are going to be aggressive about trying to claim him for themselves.
Steve Martin is on Twitter. Yes.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Sponsored Post: BFL Week 1 Dominance
Your weekly update on my travails in the Blogger Football League, sponsored by Procter & Gamble. For background, see this intro post.
It seems fitting that my team ("99 Percent Swagger") is tied to the Old Spice brand just when Old Spice introduces a psychedelic new ad campaign featuring Ray Lewis flying on a life-sized Raven.
It also seems fitting that after more than a decade of fantasy football mediocrity, I had -- in this league, in Week 1 -- perhaps my finest fantasy week of all time.
Let's review my starting roster, and you will understand why: Chris Johnson (selected with the No. 1 overall pick of the draft)... Tom Brady (selected with the final pick of the 2nd round)... and... well, with those two, it doesn't really matter, does it?
As it happens, I also started LaDainian -- really? -- and at WR: Garcon (dud), Floyd (dud) and Austin (stud), along with Antonio Gates (stud), Mason Crosby (stud) and the Bengals D (dud).
With that lineup, I led the league in scoring, nearly doubling up my opponent (managed by Fanhouse/CBSSports's Will Brinson, who in a bit of tough timing was tasked with creating the league write-up this week.)
This puts me in a rare position -- is my team actually kind of awesome? If Johnson and Brady and Miles and Gates (and even Crosby) healthy all year, can I win the league with 5 studs?
Looking ahead to Week 2, I play Matt Sebek's "Sweaty Ditkas," who won Week 1 with 80 points and features Brees, Best, Ronnie Brown and both Cards WRs (Breaston and Fitz).
The key match-up for me is Tom Brady vs. the Jets D. On the one hand, the Jets D is awesome; on the other hand, you know Brady and Belichick want to light them up. Motivation!
Anyway, I'm off to a start that is good enough to make me ask when things will inevitably go off the rails. I'm guessing Week 8 or so.
Click here to check out P&G's "Take It To The House" page on Facebook, which will keep you updated on all the happenings in the league.
The P&G Blogger Fantasy League (BFL) is a group of 12 online sports folks competing on the NFL.com fantasy platform for the chance to win a donation for a local charity, furnished by P&G. The NFL Entities have not offered or sponsored the sweepstakes in anyway.
It seems fitting that my team ("99 Percent Swagger") is tied to the Old Spice brand just when Old Spice introduces a psychedelic new ad campaign featuring Ray Lewis flying on a life-sized Raven.
It also seems fitting that after more than a decade of fantasy football mediocrity, I had -- in this league, in Week 1 -- perhaps my finest fantasy week of all time.
Let's review my starting roster, and you will understand why: Chris Johnson (selected with the No. 1 overall pick of the draft)... Tom Brady (selected with the final pick of the 2nd round)... and... well, with those two, it doesn't really matter, does it?
As it happens, I also started LaDainian -- really? -- and at WR: Garcon (dud), Floyd (dud) and Austin (stud), along with Antonio Gates (stud), Mason Crosby (stud) and the Bengals D (dud).
With that lineup, I led the league in scoring, nearly doubling up my opponent (managed by Fanhouse/CBSSports's Will Brinson, who in a bit of tough timing was tasked with creating the league write-up this week.)
This puts me in a rare position -- is my team actually kind of awesome? If Johnson and Brady and Miles and Gates (and even Crosby) healthy all year, can I win the league with 5 studs?
Looking ahead to Week 2, I play Matt Sebek's "Sweaty Ditkas," who won Week 1 with 80 points and features Brees, Best, Ronnie Brown and both Cards WRs (Breaston and Fitz).
The key match-up for me is Tom Brady vs. the Jets D. On the one hand, the Jets D is awesome; on the other hand, you know Brady and Belichick want to light them up. Motivation!
Anyway, I'm off to a start that is good enough to make me ask when things will inevitably go off the rails. I'm guessing Week 8 or so.
Click here to check out P&G's "Take It To The House" page on Facebook, which will keep you updated on all the happenings in the league.
The P&G Blogger Fantasy League (BFL) is a group of 12 online sports folks competing on the NFL.com fantasy platform for the chance to win a donation for a local charity, furnished by P&G. The NFL Entities have not offered or sponsored the sweepstakes in anyway.
09/15 Quickie: Sainz, Bush, MLB Races
Today's Names to Know: Ines Sainz, Clinton Portis, Reggie Bush, Kris Jenkins, Ryan Grant, Michael Vick, Jorge Posada, Jon Garland, Cole Hamels, David Ortiz, Denard Robinson, Chris Rainey and More.
Ines Sainz scandal: This is -- or at least should be -- very very simple. No reporter -- M/F, beat/guest -- should be treated with any level of sexual harassment. I appreciate the handful of thoughful, nuanced opinions, but largely my message is: Get over that, misogynists.
Clinton Portis apologizes for creepy, leery quotes about Sainz: With so much scrutiny on the issue, this was not unlike throwing up "finger guns" in a pre-game huddle in the wake of a gun investigation. (Not nearly as bad, but certainly a level of clueless that boggles the mind.) I'd be willing to bet that Portis is sorry for the commotion, but not for the underlying sentiment.
Reggie Bush forfeits 2005 Heisman: OK, seriously, what has to happen to give the Trophy to Vince Young, who so clearly deserved it? (And I'll credit Bush for a nifty bit of p.r. jujitsu, neutering the sentiment against him and avoiding the ignominy of having the award stripped from him.)
Broncos trade for Laurence Maroney: Creating the unstoppable Moreno-Maroney backfield. Cue your "Oh yeah!" (Maroney famously has a Kool-Aid Man fetish.)
Packers RB Ryan Grant done for the year, Jets DT Kris Jenkins done for the year: Both are painful losses. My question is: Which one hurts his team more? The Jets' D is solid without Jenkins -- see 2009; the Packers' offense is among the best in football, but Grant was a big reason for that... and replacement Brandon Jackson is no Grant. Verdict: Packers hurt more.
Mike Vick to start at QB in Week 2? Love this. Obviously, it is tough for Kevin Kolb -- it'll be tougher for him (and Andy Reid, too), when Vick plays awesome next week. (Meanwhile, I can't believe how surprisingly excited I am to see Vick playing and playing well.)
Padres-Rockies, Round 2: Who are these Padres of mid-September? Because they sure don't look like the bunglers of August and earlier this month.
Yankees-Rays, Round 2: And back the AL East lead goes to the Yankees (courtesy of a Posada HR in the 10th) This is going to go down to the final weekend.
13 Ks for Cole Hamels in a Phillies W: A sizzling Hamels would help make the Phillies the team to beat in the NL playoffs.
Remember David Ortiz's struggles earlier this season? He now has 30 HR.
2011 MLB schedule starts/ends earlier: Happy to have one of the earliest starts in MLB history (March 31) if it means the regular season wraps up before September is over and the playoffs are contained in October.
Denard Robinson for Heisman, Cont'd: The Michigan QB has taken the lead in the HeismanPundit straw poll.
Florida playmaker Chris Rainey arrested for stalking: What a moron. But I don't think his Florida career is over. Urban Meyer almost always gives his players a second chance, if they behave themselves. Then again, one of Meyer's big things is treating women with respect. I say Rainey is back on the field by LSU in the middle of next month.
Miss my bonus (media-navel-gazey!) post yesterday not-so-wildly speculating on Bill Simmons' big new project for ESPN? Check it out here.
-- D.S.
Ines Sainz scandal: This is -- or at least should be -- very very simple. No reporter -- M/F, beat/guest -- should be treated with any level of sexual harassment. I appreciate the handful of thoughful, nuanced opinions, but largely my message is: Get over that, misogynists.
Clinton Portis apologizes for creepy, leery quotes about Sainz: With so much scrutiny on the issue, this was not unlike throwing up "finger guns" in a pre-game huddle in the wake of a gun investigation. (Not nearly as bad, but certainly a level of clueless that boggles the mind.) I'd be willing to bet that Portis is sorry for the commotion, but not for the underlying sentiment.
Reggie Bush forfeits 2005 Heisman: OK, seriously, what has to happen to give the Trophy to Vince Young, who so clearly deserved it? (And I'll credit Bush for a nifty bit of p.r. jujitsu, neutering the sentiment against him and avoiding the ignominy of having the award stripped from him.)
Broncos trade for Laurence Maroney: Creating the unstoppable Moreno-Maroney backfield. Cue your "Oh yeah!" (Maroney famously has a Kool-Aid Man fetish.)
Packers RB Ryan Grant done for the year, Jets DT Kris Jenkins done for the year: Both are painful losses. My question is: Which one hurts his team more? The Jets' D is solid without Jenkins -- see 2009; the Packers' offense is among the best in football, but Grant was a big reason for that... and replacement Brandon Jackson is no Grant. Verdict: Packers hurt more.
Mike Vick to start at QB in Week 2? Love this. Obviously, it is tough for Kevin Kolb -- it'll be tougher for him (and Andy Reid, too), when Vick plays awesome next week. (Meanwhile, I can't believe how surprisingly excited I am to see Vick playing and playing well.)
Padres-Rockies, Round 2: Who are these Padres of mid-September? Because they sure don't look like the bunglers of August and earlier this month.
Yankees-Rays, Round 2: And back the AL East lead goes to the Yankees (courtesy of a Posada HR in the 10th) This is going to go down to the final weekend.
13 Ks for Cole Hamels in a Phillies W: A sizzling Hamels would help make the Phillies the team to beat in the NL playoffs.
Remember David Ortiz's struggles earlier this season? He now has 30 HR.
2011 MLB schedule starts/ends earlier: Happy to have one of the earliest starts in MLB history (March 31) if it means the regular season wraps up before September is over and the playoffs are contained in October.
Denard Robinson for Heisman, Cont'd: The Michigan QB has taken the lead in the HeismanPundit straw poll.
Florida playmaker Chris Rainey arrested for stalking: What a moron. But I don't think his Florida career is over. Urban Meyer almost always gives his players a second chance, if they behave themselves. Then again, one of Meyer's big things is treating women with respect. I say Rainey is back on the field by LSU in the middle of next month.
Miss my bonus (media-navel-gazey!) post yesterday not-so-wildly speculating on Bill Simmons' big new project for ESPN? Check it out here.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
What Would Bill Simmons Do, Cont'd
Now that Deadspin has publicly broken the story about Bill Simmons' emerging new venture within ESPN, I feel comfortable writing about it, because he is a big enough figure in sports media to make it really interesting to think about what it might be. Let's call this a follow-up post to the one I did a year ago, when Bill first started talking publicly about his ambitions beyond creating content himself.
I would classify the analysis in two categories: There's a clever, short answer and there's a grinding long answer. Let's start with the short answer:
(1) It doesn't matter what Bill does -- simply that he is doing something. Let me spin away from sports for a second, because I can think of a pretty good template:
"Peter Jackson presents [director you've never heard of]'s 'District 9.'"
The headline was Peter Jackson's association. That you'd never heard of the director didn't matter. That Jackson lent his credibility to the film was all that mattered. (That it turned out to be a great movie -- not insignificantly, made on a lean budget -- directly reflects Jackson's eye that made him so popular in the first place, of course.)
Whenever ESPN launches Bill's new initiative, the headline -- in effect -- is "Bill Simmons Presents..." It will give the project credibility. It will bring in an audience. And it will be successful.
This is the optimal scenario for Bill that I laid out last year, back when he was talking about starting his own thing: Given Bill's strengths, he is much better off letting ESPN manage the back-end and let him manage the creative part -- finding talent, shaping stories, lending his cred.
ESPN gets some credit for being entrepreneurially oriented, but not nearly as much as it should: From "PTI" and "SportsNation" and "30-for-30" on TV to aggressive entry into mobile and local to... well, whatever Bill launches in the next few weeks or months.
Part of that means giving smart people the freedom to flex -- obviously, that has become increasingly important to Bill and ESPN was wise to give him the budget and the room to do... well, again: Basically, whatever he wants.
(2) What specific forms does that take? Bill offered some foreshadowing in those interviews with the Huffington Post and Mediaite and NY Mag last fall -- he wants to encourage and develop and promote quality writing. ESPN uses a bunch of good writers already -- and obviously E-Ticket has had great success.
But Bill would presumably have the freedom to go out and find the best undervalued talent -- sports A&R, so to speak -- then use his brand and ESPN's platform to showcase their work and build their presence in the sports media ecosystem. So I think of it as a more nimble E-Ticket, a more honed version of the ESPN "Commentary" section. Bill used the analogy of "The National" -- recognizing that Deford had an abysmal sense for business.
Let's update the "National" analogy for today's media landscape. If I had to place a bet, I would say that Bill's project will be closer to a sports version of The Awl -- the reigning gold standard for quality writing by a range of talented contributors.
(I prefer "a sports Awl" to a construction of "like Page 2 used to be" -- among other reasons because Page 2's "golden era" was the product of a specific moment and specific strategy in pre-blog/pre-Facebook/pre-Twitter media history and it is folly to try to recreate it, rather than create something for today's reader and today's context.)
I suspect the "Awl" model because it is largely platform agnostic -- Bill doesn't seem to have an interest in creating the next great technology as much as he does leveraging technologies (podcasts, Twitter, web, TV) to distribute great content. The Awl model is about the writing first; ESPN, with its massive portal and platforms and reach and sales team, can handle the rest.
I have followed Bill's career for a long time -- back to the earliest posts at Digital Cities -- and I have never seen him more satisfied with something he has worked on (with justification!) than "30/30." He didn't create the content himself, but he set out a vision and helped others deliver on it. The logical next step is for him to to be a lead "show runner" -- to run his own product.
Let me echo something I said last year: I can count on one hand the number of people who could build a big, stand-alone sports-media product off their name brand -- Huffington-style (although she had the key help of some very savvy online content folks) or like Howard Stern.
Bill makes that short list. And, sure, it would have been intellectually interesting to see him strike out on his own -- how much funding could he have gotten for his own company, and how quickly? And how would he respond to the challenges of a pure start-up? But, frankly, why assume that risk when his goal is to build great products -- and ESPN will back him on it?
Ultimately, his best move was to leverage ESPN's resources to create his products (and it was in ESPN's best interests to give him that freedom and support).
Whatever Bill does next will scratch this latest entrepreneurial itch -- and will be the most interesting thing he has done so far. I suspect he is enjoying the process, and it will only inspire him to do more. That's a good thing for him personally, for the folks he is going to be working with (including ESPN) and for fans.
Looking back at my idle speculation on Bill's future from last fall, what I was really struck by was his fearlessness as it relates to failing -- not that he doesn't think he will fail, but that he doesn't mind if he fails... as long as he is taking a big swing.
Regardless of what he does, that mindset will be his greatest asset.
-- D.S.
I would classify the analysis in two categories: There's a clever, short answer and there's a grinding long answer. Let's start with the short answer:
(1) It doesn't matter what Bill does -- simply that he is doing something. Let me spin away from sports for a second, because I can think of a pretty good template:
"Peter Jackson presents [director you've never heard of]'s 'District 9.'"
The headline was Peter Jackson's association. That you'd never heard of the director didn't matter. That Jackson lent his credibility to the film was all that mattered. (That it turned out to be a great movie -- not insignificantly, made on a lean budget -- directly reflects Jackson's eye that made him so popular in the first place, of course.)
Whenever ESPN launches Bill's new initiative, the headline -- in effect -- is "Bill Simmons Presents..." It will give the project credibility. It will bring in an audience. And it will be successful.
This is the optimal scenario for Bill that I laid out last year, back when he was talking about starting his own thing: Given Bill's strengths, he is much better off letting ESPN manage the back-end and let him manage the creative part -- finding talent, shaping stories, lending his cred.
ESPN gets some credit for being entrepreneurially oriented, but not nearly as much as it should: From "PTI" and "SportsNation" and "30-for-30" on TV to aggressive entry into mobile and local to... well, whatever Bill launches in the next few weeks or months.
Part of that means giving smart people the freedom to flex -- obviously, that has become increasingly important to Bill and ESPN was wise to give him the budget and the room to do... well, again: Basically, whatever he wants.
(2) What specific forms does that take? Bill offered some foreshadowing in those interviews with the Huffington Post and Mediaite and NY Mag last fall -- he wants to encourage and develop and promote quality writing. ESPN uses a bunch of good writers already -- and obviously E-Ticket has had great success.
But Bill would presumably have the freedom to go out and find the best undervalued talent -- sports A&R, so to speak -- then use his brand and ESPN's platform to showcase their work and build their presence in the sports media ecosystem. So I think of it as a more nimble E-Ticket, a more honed version of the ESPN "Commentary" section. Bill used the analogy of "The National" -- recognizing that Deford had an abysmal sense for business.
Let's update the "National" analogy for today's media landscape. If I had to place a bet, I would say that Bill's project will be closer to a sports version of The Awl -- the reigning gold standard for quality writing by a range of talented contributors.
(I prefer "a sports Awl" to a construction of "like Page 2 used to be" -- among other reasons because Page 2's "golden era" was the product of a specific moment and specific strategy in pre-blog/pre-Facebook/pre-Twitter media history and it is folly to try to recreate it, rather than create something for today's reader and today's context.)
I suspect the "Awl" model because it is largely platform agnostic -- Bill doesn't seem to have an interest in creating the next great technology as much as he does leveraging technologies (podcasts, Twitter, web, TV) to distribute great content. The Awl model is about the writing first; ESPN, with its massive portal and platforms and reach and sales team, can handle the rest.
I have followed Bill's career for a long time -- back to the earliest posts at Digital Cities -- and I have never seen him more satisfied with something he has worked on (with justification!) than "30/30." He didn't create the content himself, but he set out a vision and helped others deliver on it. The logical next step is for him to to be a lead "show runner" -- to run his own product.
Let me echo something I said last year: I can count on one hand the number of people who could build a big, stand-alone sports-media product off their name brand -- Huffington-style (although she had the key help of some very savvy online content folks) or like Howard Stern.
Bill makes that short list. And, sure, it would have been intellectually interesting to see him strike out on his own -- how much funding could he have gotten for his own company, and how quickly? And how would he respond to the challenges of a pure start-up? But, frankly, why assume that risk when his goal is to build great products -- and ESPN will back him on it?
Ultimately, his best move was to leverage ESPN's resources to create his products (and it was in ESPN's best interests to give him that freedom and support).
Whatever Bill does next will scratch this latest entrepreneurial itch -- and will be the most interesting thing he has done so far. I suspect he is enjoying the process, and it will only inspire him to do more. That's a good thing for him personally, for the folks he is going to be working with (including ESPN) and for fans.
Looking back at my idle speculation on Bill's future from last fall, what I was really struck by was his fearlessness as it relates to failing -- not that he doesn't think he will fail, but that he doesn't mind if he fails... as long as he is taking a big swing.
Regardless of what he does, that mindset will be his greatest asset.
-- D.S.
09/14 Quickie: Jets, McCluster, Bragnac
Today's Names to Know: Dexter McCluster, Anquan Boldin, Legedu Naanee, Dexter McCluster, Reid Bragnac, CC Sabathia, Rafa Nadal, Denard Robinson, Vince Young, Oprah and More.
In case you missed it, that was Dexter McCluster flying by, en route to folk hero status in Kansas City and the No. 1 trending search ranking on Google. His sick even-better-than-Dante-Hall-ever-did punt return that proved to be the decisive score for the Chiefs in their unexpected upset over the Chargers.
That the Jets' offense was the albatross in a loss was not a surprise -- between the endemic mediocrity and the pressure from the terrific Ravens D, 6 first downs and 9 points seems about right.
Still: The Jets will go nowhere this season if the offense can't figure it out. (Remember when they made all those offseason moves to make a great D even better and folks were saying "Well, all they'll have to do is score 10 points and the D will take care of the rest." There you go.
I think it is not too early to see this as a huge problem that needs to be addressed now. The season is too short and the playoff field is too competitive not to panic as early as... today.
(The Ravens, meanwhile, seem to have solved a huge problem from last year with the introduction of Anquan Boldin into their offense.)
Meanwhile, anyone see Chiefs-over-Chargers coming? Speaking of D, it was a late-game four-down goal-line stand by the KC D that gave them what could be a season-defining win. I'm not saying the Chiefs are headed to the playoffs, but beating the division favorites on national TV in front of a frenzied home crowd is big. Besides, the Chiefs are easy for fans across the country to root for, especially because there isn't a ton of love for Phil Rivers and the Chargers.
(BTW: Legedu Naanee is a revelation, although fantasy GMs knew that someone was going to have to catch all those Rivers passes in the absence of Vincent Jackson.)
The Rays are in 1st place in the AL East. You can thank Yankee-killer Reid Brignac, who personifies "I wasn't even supposed to be here today." (It will be interesting how many Cy voters point to Sabathia's gem of a no-decision: A 2-hit shutout over 8 innings with 9 Ks.)
NL West Watch: The Padres held off the Rockies in Colorado to maintain their tenuous grasp on 1st place. I would call it a "must-win" for San Diego, but at this point EVERY game is a must-win for them. The loss snapped a 10-game winning streak for the Rox.
30-year-old baseball journeyman pitcher Bobby Cramer winning his first-ever MLB game is as good of a feel-good story as you'll see in baseball this year, especially if you are in your 30s (or older). Great must-read from King Kaufman about it.
Rafa Nadal won the US Open (finally) and completed his career Grand Slam. We are now in the Nadal Era.
Is Denard Robinson at the top of Heisman straw polls yet? If not, why not?
Good for Vince Young for publicly saying he would absolutely accept the 2005 Heisman Trophy if it was stripped from Reggie Bush. The Heisman Trust should take him up on it. It's not like he isn't worthy.
Unlike Oprah, I will not be giving away a free trip to Australia to all of you. Apologies!
-- D.S.
In case you missed it, that was Dexter McCluster flying by, en route to folk hero status in Kansas City and the No. 1 trending search ranking on Google. His sick even-better-than-Dante-Hall-ever-did punt return that proved to be the decisive score for the Chiefs in their unexpected upset over the Chargers.
That the Jets' offense was the albatross in a loss was not a surprise -- between the endemic mediocrity and the pressure from the terrific Ravens D, 6 first downs and 9 points seems about right.
Still: The Jets will go nowhere this season if the offense can't figure it out. (Remember when they made all those offseason moves to make a great D even better and folks were saying "Well, all they'll have to do is score 10 points and the D will take care of the rest." There you go.
I think it is not too early to see this as a huge problem that needs to be addressed now. The season is too short and the playoff field is too competitive not to panic as early as... today.
(The Ravens, meanwhile, seem to have solved a huge problem from last year with the introduction of Anquan Boldin into their offense.)
Meanwhile, anyone see Chiefs-over-Chargers coming? Speaking of D, it was a late-game four-down goal-line stand by the KC D that gave them what could be a season-defining win. I'm not saying the Chiefs are headed to the playoffs, but beating the division favorites on national TV in front of a frenzied home crowd is big. Besides, the Chiefs are easy for fans across the country to root for, especially because there isn't a ton of love for Phil Rivers and the Chargers.
(BTW: Legedu Naanee is a revelation, although fantasy GMs knew that someone was going to have to catch all those Rivers passes in the absence of Vincent Jackson.)
The Rays are in 1st place in the AL East. You can thank Yankee-killer Reid Brignac, who personifies "I wasn't even supposed to be here today." (It will be interesting how many Cy voters point to Sabathia's gem of a no-decision: A 2-hit shutout over 8 innings with 9 Ks.)
NL West Watch: The Padres held off the Rockies in Colorado to maintain their tenuous grasp on 1st place. I would call it a "must-win" for San Diego, but at this point EVERY game is a must-win for them. The loss snapped a 10-game winning streak for the Rox.
30-year-old baseball journeyman pitcher Bobby Cramer winning his first-ever MLB game is as good of a feel-good story as you'll see in baseball this year, especially if you are in your 30s (or older). Great must-read from King Kaufman about it.
Rafa Nadal won the US Open (finally) and completed his career Grand Slam. We are now in the Nadal Era.
Is Denard Robinson at the top of Heisman straw polls yet? If not, why not?
Good for Vince Young for publicly saying he would absolutely accept the 2005 Heisman Trophy if it was stripped from Reggie Bush. The Heisman Trust should take him up on it. It's not like he isn't worthy.
Unlike Oprah, I will not be giving away a free trip to Australia to all of you. Apologies!
-- D.S.
Monday, September 13, 2010
BlogPoll Monday: 1 Bama, 2 TCU
If one substantial point of the college football poll is to figure out the top 2 teams in the country for the purpose of pairing them to play for the national title, then I'd qualify this week's poll as a huge shake-up: After loving Boise for 2 weeks -- preseason and Week 1 -- I bumped them from the No. 1 spot on my ballot... after a bye week. They didn't even play.
But Virginia Tech did, and lost to 1-AA James Madison -- a fine team, but more importantly, proving VT isn't nearly as good as we gave Boise credit for a week ago. I'm fine with the whiplash; the point of every subsequent week of the season is to introduce more evidence into the poll. For example: Alabama made Penn State -- a solid if not elite team -- look like a Division II team.
This week's poll, pending your comments:
1. Alabama
2. TCU
3. Ohio State
4. Boise St
5. Oregon
6. Utah
7. Oklahoma
8. Iowa
9. Auburn
10. Texas
11. Florida
12. Houston
13. Nebraska
14. South Carolina
15. Air Force
16. Stanford
17. Miami
18. Arkansas
19. Oregon St
20. Arizona
21. LSU
22. Denard Robinson
23. Fresno St
24. Wisconsin
25. Baylor
Next week's big games: Baylor at TCU, Air Force at Oklahoma, Iowa at Arizona, Florida at Tennessee, Arkansas at Georgia, Wake Forest at Stanford, Houston at UCLA.
But Virginia Tech did, and lost to 1-AA James Madison -- a fine team, but more importantly, proving VT isn't nearly as good as we gave Boise credit for a week ago. I'm fine with the whiplash; the point of every subsequent week of the season is to introduce more evidence into the poll. For example: Alabama made Penn State -- a solid if not elite team -- look like a Division II team.
This week's poll, pending your comments:
1. Alabama
2. TCU
3. Ohio State
4. Boise St
5. Oregon
6. Utah
7. Oklahoma
8. Iowa
9. Auburn
10. Texas
11. Florida
12. Houston
13. Nebraska
14. South Carolina
15. Air Force
16. Stanford
17. Miami
18. Arkansas
19. Oregon St
20. Arizona
21. LSU
22. Denard Robinson
23. Fresno St
24. Wisconsin
25. Baylor
Next week's big games: Baylor at TCU, Air Force at Oklahoma, Iowa at Arizona, Florida at Tennessee, Arkansas at Georgia, Wake Forest at Stanford, Houston at UCLA.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
09/13 Quickie: Lions, 'Boys, Vick, Arian
Today's Names to Know: Calvin Johnson, Alex Barron,Mike Vick, Arian Foster, Chris Johnson, Rashard Mendenhall, Stewart Bradley, Mike Martz, Wes Welker, Ravens-Jets, Kevin Durant, Alabama, SF Giants, Colorado Rockies, Cliff Lee, Tiger Woods, Sue Bird and More.
What a wild start to the NFL season -- and a crazy weekend in general.
What a wild start to the NFL season -- and a crazy weekend in general.
*Calvin Johnson's non-TD: If that doesn't turn out to be the greatest catch of the 2010 season, it sure as hell has "greatest incomplete pass of the 2010 season" locked up.
(Sure seemed like a catch to me.)
*Dallas Cowboys' non-TD: On the other hand, zero sympathy for Dallas for losing out on a game-ending TD when offensive lineman Alex Barron -- currently a Top 10 Google Trend (and, notably, the only non-VMA trend among the Top 10) -- was flagged for an obvious holding penalty against Brian Orakpo, sealing the largely unexpected win for the Redskins in McNabb's debut.
*Mike Vick steps up: Given how ineffective Kevin Kolb was before he left with that seeming concussion, I have to believe Eagles fans would be happy to leave Vick in there, even if Kolb is healthy enough to start next week. In fact, I'm sure many Eagles fans are wondering if they win the game, outright, if Vick plays the entire game and not just when Kolb's injury forced him in.
Naturally, Andy Reid insists that Kolb will return to the starting job if he is healthy enough for it. Let's hear it, Eagles fans (because the rest of us are with you): Boo!
(Worth noting, Vick's post-game tweet: "Thanks for all the support, but let's keep in mind we lost the game. No reason to celebrate and our leader k kolb went down." Rehabilitation.)
(Sure seemed like a catch to me.)
*Dallas Cowboys' non-TD: On the other hand, zero sympathy for Dallas for losing out on a game-ending TD when offensive lineman Alex Barron -- currently a Top 10 Google Trend (and, notably, the only non-VMA trend among the Top 10) -- was flagged for an obvious holding penalty against Brian Orakpo, sealing the largely unexpected win for the Redskins in McNabb's debut.
*Mike Vick steps up: Given how ineffective Kevin Kolb was before he left with that seeming concussion, I have to believe Eagles fans would be happy to leave Vick in there, even if Kolb is healthy enough to start next week. In fact, I'm sure many Eagles fans are wondering if they win the game, outright, if Vick plays the entire game and not just when Kolb's injury forced him in.
Naturally, Andy Reid insists that Kolb will return to the starting job if he is healthy enough for it. Let's hear it, Eagles fans (because the rest of us are with you): Boo!
*Arian Foster breaks through: The player this week who had thousands of fantasy football GMs saying "He was available for plenty of rounds -- why didn't I take him?!"
It wouldn't have meant as much if the effort didn't complement a Texans win over the Colts -- rare enough as it is, regardless of who is starring. Is this the "Finally?!" year for Houston?
(If not for Foster, everyone would be focusing on Peyton Manning's monster fantasy game -- or Chris Johnson's awesome start, putting him well on the pace -- at least after one game -- for his goal of 2,500 yards.)
One other RB Name to Know: Rashard Mendenhall. Now THAT was a way to finish a game -- and a hell of a gift for fantasy owners: A TD and an extra 50 yards rushing.
It wouldn't have meant as much if the effort didn't complement a Texans win over the Colts -- rare enough as it is, regardless of who is starring. Is this the "Finally?!" year for Houston?
(If not for Foster, everyone would be focusing on Peyton Manning's monster fantasy game -- or Chris Johnson's awesome start, putting him well on the pace -- at least after one game -- for his goal of 2,500 yards.)
One other RB Name to Know: Rashard Mendenhall. Now THAT was a way to finish a game -- and a hell of a gift for fantasy owners: A TD and an extra 50 yards rushing.
*Stewart Bradley concussion: Speaking of Eagles concussions, Andy Reid should expect to get scrutinized for his ill-advised decision to put Bradley back into the game after his seeming concussion. (So much for the NFL's concussion-awareness program. That lasted... zero weeks.)
*Flying back from Jacksonville to NYC yesterday afternoon, I had the Pats-Bengals game on my in-flight TV, and damn if the Pats didn't look awesome on offense (Welkah!) and way better on D than anyone expected them to.
*Tebow Watch: 2 touches (including the 3rd play of the game), 2 carries, 2 yards and a Broncos loss after David Garrard has one of his best games ever as a pro -- almost like he was trying to make a statement that any thought the Jags might have had about drafting Tebow to be QB of this Jaguars team was entirely unnecessary.
*Debuts: Hell of a winning one for Pete Carroll (and a hell of a loss for the 49ers). And the mere fact that Sam Bradford didn't snap in two makes his debut a success (despite the 3 picks and losing the game. 55 passing attempts?)
And say this for Mike Martz: The Bears may not win many games, but they will be wildly entertaining. (And as long as you're not making the playoffs anyway, isn't it better to be entertaining? Just ask the Browns fans.)
*And NFL Week 1 hasn't even had its best game yet -- that would be Ravens at Jets in tonight's MNF season-opener (not sure how many folks will stick around for Chargers-Chiefs).
More:
*USA Hoops wins gold at the World Championships: The problem with expectations is that the team was in a "gold-or-bust" situation, so winning gold brings "As you should have!" rather than "Way to go!" That said: This was a breakthrough month for Kevin Durant. It is going to be fascinating to see how things work in London in 2012, if the superstars return to the team for the Olympic tournament.
*Alabama-Ohio State are 1-2 in the polls, same as last week. The biggest difference is that while Boise is still No. 3, their support with No. 1-votes eroded; my Saturday feelings about it -- as a Boise-is-No.-1 voter in the preseason and last week -- were foreshadowing.
*MLB Pennant Races: As expected, the Giants finished the weekend tied for 1st with the Padres in the NL West. And they could nudge ahead as early as tonight, when the Padres head to Denver to play the Rockies (who are themselves only 1.5 GB the division leaders after having won 10 straight games).
Oh and the Phillies pulled ahead of the Braves for sole possession of 1st in the NL East. (Over in the AL, the only question is whether the Rays will catch the Yankees for the AL division title. Cliff Lee!)
*Tiger Woods being bounced from the FedEx Cup feels like an entirely appropriate finish to this worst-year-of-his-career. The bigger question: How far does it extend into next year?
*WNBA Finals: Sue Bird, greatest Jewish basketball player?
*Flying back from Jacksonville to NYC yesterday afternoon, I had the Pats-Bengals game on my in-flight TV, and damn if the Pats didn't look awesome on offense (Welkah!) and way better on D than anyone expected them to.
*Tebow Watch: 2 touches (including the 3rd play of the game), 2 carries, 2 yards and a Broncos loss after David Garrard has one of his best games ever as a pro -- almost like he was trying to make a statement that any thought the Jags might have had about drafting Tebow to be QB of this Jaguars team was entirely unnecessary.
*Debuts: Hell of a winning one for Pete Carroll (and a hell of a loss for the 49ers). And the mere fact that Sam Bradford didn't snap in two makes his debut a success (despite the 3 picks and losing the game. 55 passing attempts?)
And say this for Mike Martz: The Bears may not win many games, but they will be wildly entertaining. (And as long as you're not making the playoffs anyway, isn't it better to be entertaining? Just ask the Browns fans.)
*And NFL Week 1 hasn't even had its best game yet -- that would be Ravens at Jets in tonight's MNF season-opener (not sure how many folks will stick around for Chargers-Chiefs).
More:
*USA Hoops wins gold at the World Championships: The problem with expectations is that the team was in a "gold-or-bust" situation, so winning gold brings "As you should have!" rather than "Way to go!" That said: This was a breakthrough month for Kevin Durant. It is going to be fascinating to see how things work in London in 2012, if the superstars return to the team for the Olympic tournament.
*Alabama-Ohio State are 1-2 in the polls, same as last week. The biggest difference is that while Boise is still No. 3, their support with No. 1-votes eroded; my Saturday feelings about it -- as a Boise-is-No.-1 voter in the preseason and last week -- were foreshadowing.
*MLB Pennant Races: As expected, the Giants finished the weekend tied for 1st with the Padres in the NL West. And they could nudge ahead as early as tonight, when the Padres head to Denver to play the Rockies (who are themselves only 1.5 GB the division leaders after having won 10 straight games).
Oh and the Phillies pulled ahead of the Braves for sole possession of 1st in the NL East. (Over in the AL, the only question is whether the Rays will catch the Yankees for the AL division title. Cliff Lee!)
*Tiger Woods being bounced from the FedEx Cup feels like an entirely appropriate finish to this worst-year-of-his-career. The bigger question: How far does it extend into next year?
*WNBA Finals: Sue Bird, greatest Jewish basketball player?
Saturday, September 11, 2010
CFB Hangover: Uh, So About Boise...
It is fairly remarkable that Boise State didn't even play today, and yet their season of hopes for a shot at playing in the BCS championship game imploded when Virginia Tech lost to James Madison.
I have had Boise State ranked No. 1 since January, in the preseason and in Week 1. The latest ranking was partly a function of the offseason, but mainly a function of the credit I gave them for beating a seemingly great team.
And now, under the weight of further evidence -- fodder for any "resume-based" ranking -- I will take that No. 1 designation away. Virginia Tech won't even be ranked.
I reject the "But Virginia Tech was ranked No. 6 at the time" -- every win should be re-interpreted in light of new evidence. In this case, the new evidence is damning: Boise State's win -- its close win -- over Virginia Tech isn't nearly as impressive as it was a few days ago.
More notes from the weekend:
*Would you like to see a No. 1 team in action? Hopefully, you watched Alabama dismantle a Penn State team that will likely end the season inside the Top 20. The Tide made Penn State look like a 1-AA team. So much for that questionable Alabama D.
*Last point about Alabama: If it wasn't obvious before, Trent Richardson is better than reigning Heisman winner Mark Ingram. And it doesn't appear to be close.
*OK: While I'm not sure if Ohio State would have won as big if they were playing away from the Horseshoe, I have to give them credit for beating a solid -- if not great -- Miami team.
*Two words: Denard. Robinson. There isn't a more exciting player in college football, and he has catapulted himself to the top of the Heisman race.
*Apologies to Oklahoma fans, for doubting you.
*Apologies to all fans, for foisting Georgia Tech on you as a Top 10 team.
*My doomsday prophesy for Florida against South Florida looked pretty good for about a quarter and a half, in one of the hottest game conditions I have ever personally experienced. Despite the eventual rout, Florida did little to prove they are anything close to elite.
*Who would have guessed that Steve Spurrier's salvation at South Carolina would come in the form of a running back? But freshman Marcus Lattimore is that good.
Preliminary BlogPoll Top 10:
1. Alabama
2. TCU
3. Ohio St
4. Boise St
5. Texas
6. Utah
7. Iowa
8. Auburn
9. Oklahoma
10. Oregon
3. Ohio St
4. Boise St
5. Texas
6. Utah
7. Iowa
8. Auburn
9. Oklahoma
10. Oregon
Complete poll coming tomorrow evening. Roughly looking at 11-25 like this: Houston, Nebraska, South Carolina, Air Force, Miami, Florida, Oregon St, Arkansas, Arizona, Wisconsin, Stanford, LSU, Michigan, Fresno St,
More:
*Kim Clijsters: Go Moms!
*Federer KO'ed: Did anyone NOT want to see Fed-Nadal?
*USA Hoops: Game of the Decade today vs. Turkey (at Turkey). Kevin Durant will have to have the game of his life, frankly.
*Is Vernon Davis worth more money than any tight end in NFL history? Frankly, it doesn't really matter what any of us think -- he's being paid like it.
*Latest hero in the NL West see-saw: Tim Stauffer.
*While I was recovering from the Gator game and relaxing while watching late-afternoon college football, Penn State women's volleyball was a couple miles away on the UF campus in Gainesville having their 109-match streak snapped by Stanford.
*Um, yeah: So it's only the first Sunday of the NFL regular season. Setting aside Thursday night's opening game, Week 1 is here. Settle in!
-- D.S.
Saturday (Panicked) Quickie
This is strange. This is my 10th season as a Florida football fan -- 6th of the Meyer Era -- I have never felt as uncertain about a Florida game outcome as I am about today, when the Gators play South Florida at the Swamp.
Not last year at LSU in the "Tebow post-concussion" game. Not any of the "win-or-else" games in 2006 or 2008. Not even last year's SEC title game against Alabama.
But a combination of factors have me freaked about Florida losing to USF:
(1) The way Florida played last week. In a word: Dreary, particularly the offense. (And now comes word Florida may be without its kicker.)
(2) USF QB BJ Daniels. I polled folks yesterday trying to figure out if Florida had ever played as talented of a dual-threat QB in the Meyer Era. No one could think of any.
(3) For USF, this is their national-championship game. I would argue they care more about winning this game than winning the Big East title. Florida simply can't care as much.
Again, I have never been as uncertain about a Florida game's outcome as I am today. I really do think there is a serious chance they are going to lose. Winning would be a relief, not a thrill.
(Perhaps, with expectations like those, it should be the other way around: When you least expect it, shouldn't the win be particularly thrilling? Hmm: Have to consider that.)
So there's my agita for the day. I can only imagine how fans of national contenders are feeling whose teams are in even tougher match-ups: Ohio State, Miami, Oklahoma, FSU, Penn State... I suspect that Alabama fans feel pretty comfortable about where things are.
What a great day in college football: From the Swamp at noon to the couch at 3:30 for OSU-Miami and Oklahoma-FSU to the 7 p.m. kickoff of Alabama-Penn State.
More this morning, briefly:
*What a brutal result for Marshall fans. I watched most of that game and the Herd had that thing won... right up until they started playing not to lose.
(Houston did nothing in routing UTEP last night to change my mind that they are a Top 20 team that is being too easily dismissed by the pollsters. Keenum didn't even throw a TD.)
*Did I say "Monday" about the Padres officially losing their lead in the NL West? I meant Friday.
*Roy Halladay for NL Cy? I can get behind that. (I am absolutely behind the "King Felix for AL Cy" movement. Would be an even bigger moment for voters than picking Greinke in '09. Felix pitches today, and I suspect all the voters will be paying attention.)
*Fantasy Stud: Nelson Cruz, a star on my fantasy team -- which, naturally, earned a bye-week in the consolation bracket. Can use those HRs next week, Nelson!
*Injury Watch: Johan Santana's shoulder. Let's keep an eye on that in 2011. A brutal Mets season gets even worse. Hey, at least their single-A team in Brooklyn is playing for a league championship.
*Schadenfreude alert: Bruce Pearl.
*Villanova football into the Big East? It's not a bad idea: Nova is a 1-AA power, and 1-A status with Pennsylvania and New Jersey's recruiting base could yield a pretty good team. (Also, the league wouldn't have to expand the hoops league to bring in a new football team.)
*USA Hoops: World Basketball Championship semifinal vs. Lithuania, no easy game. Again: Team US is a failure if they don't win gold. So winning today is obviously a must.
*Although I was in Gainesville, I did not see Penn State women's volleyball extend its record winning streak to 109 matches last night against the Gators.
*Good gosh, Tiger really does suck right now.
Happy birthday to my father-in-law! Happy to be able to be in Gainesville with him to celebrate. Um, let's hope it doesn't include a Florida loss.
-- D.S.
Friday, September 10, 2010
College Football Preview/Picks
Another week, another game I'll watch in person at The Swamp -- the final chance I'll have to watch Florida first-hand this season.
Unlike last week, I have very low expectations. Unlike last week, I'm ditching my Tebow jersey as gameday shirt of choice. Oh, and BJ Daniels scares the hell out of me. (Not quite as much as nutjobs threatening to burn the Quran, but still.) For USF, this is a national-championship-level game; can't say that I think UF feels the same way about it. Very very nervous.
There are a ton of marquee games -- a Florida loss at home to South Florida would trump all of them. Let's take a pass through the schedule. Enjoy the weekend!
1 Alabama over 18 Penn State -- And it won't be close.
2 Ohio State over 12 Miami -- GOTW. Very very close.
4 TCU over Tennessee Tech
5 Texas over Wyoming
6 Nebraska over Idaho -- NU still overrated.
7 Oregon over (at) Tennesse -- Let's see 70+ here.
8 Florida over South Florida -- Umm...Upset Special?!
9 Iowa over Iowa St
17 Florida State over (at) 10 Oklahoma -- Upset Special
11 Wisconsin over San Jose St
13 VA Tech over James Madison
14 Arkansas over LA-Monroe
15 Georgia Tech over (at) Kansas
16 USC over Virginia
19 LSU over at Vanderbilt
20 Utah over UNLV
21 Auburn over Mississippi State -- Thursday night.
22 Georgia over (at) 24 South Carolina
23 West Virginia over Marshall
25 Stanford over (at) UCLA
More games of note:
Notre Dame over Michigan
Houston (DS-ranked!) over UTEP
Washington over Syracuse
Cal over Colorado
Air Force over BYU
Northwestern over Illinois St
-- D.S.
Unlike last week, I have very low expectations. Unlike last week, I'm ditching my Tebow jersey as gameday shirt of choice. Oh, and BJ Daniels scares the hell out of me. (Not quite as much as nutjobs threatening to burn the Quran, but still.) For USF, this is a national-championship-level game; can't say that I think UF feels the same way about it. Very very nervous.
There are a ton of marquee games -- a Florida loss at home to South Florida would trump all of them. Let's take a pass through the schedule. Enjoy the weekend!
1 Alabama over 18 Penn State -- And it won't be close.
2 Ohio State over 12 Miami -- GOTW. Very very close.
4 TCU over Tennessee Tech
5 Texas over Wyoming
6 Nebraska over Idaho -- NU still overrated.
7 Oregon over (at) Tennesse -- Let's see 70+ here.
8 Florida over South Florida -- Umm...Upset Special?!
9 Iowa over Iowa St
17 Florida State over (at) 10 Oklahoma -- Upset Special
11 Wisconsin over San Jose St
13 VA Tech over James Madison
14 Arkansas over LA-Monroe
15 Georgia Tech over (at) Kansas
16 USC over Virginia
19 LSU over at Vanderbilt
20 Utah over UNLV
21 Auburn over Mississippi State -- Thursday night.
22 Georgia over (at) 24 South Carolina
23 West Virginia over Marshall
25 Stanford over (at) UCLA
More games of note:
Notre Dame over Michigan
Houston (DS-ranked!) over UTEP
Washington over Syracuse
Cal over Colorado
Air Force over BYU
Northwestern over Illinois St
-- D.S.
2010 NFL Season Preview Mania
A few (sort of belated) thoughts on the 2010 NFL season:
*There isn't a scenario where there can be an ending as dramatic as last season's -- the historically woeful Saints winning a championship, with the key play an unlikely onside kick that I consider to be the single greatest play in the history of the NFL. Anything -- everything -- after that is a let-down, including (perhaps especially) a Saints repeat.
*However, I am a sucker for repeats in sports and think the Saints will repeat as NFC champs.
*I probably should take the Colts in the AFC, but I want to reward the Ravens for upgrading their passing to match the terrific Ray Rice on the ground (plus the D).
*No team is more worth watching than the Jets -- Rex Ryan proved that during this season of "Hard Knocks."
*For a long time this summer, I was honestly thinking that Tim Tebow had a shot at NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year -- say, if he scored 7-10 TDs on single-wing plays, plus made all sorts of other key plays, like short-yardage 1st-downs. I'm not convinced Josh McDaniels is ballsy/innovative enough to use him that aggressively, which would -- of course -- change my prediction. The safer bet is CJ Spiller.
*I fully expect Sam Bradford to break in half before the season is over. It's not that I think he'll play 16 games, which is a struggle for even the heartiest QB; it's that I don't think he'll make it through six.
*Things will not go nearly as well for Brett Favre this season as they did last season. And Donovan McNabb will be a flop in DC. (T.O. in Cincinnati, on the other hand, will do really well.)
*Big Ben's return in Week 5 will be one of the Top 3 biggest events of the season. It shouldn't be, but it will be.
Season Predictions:
NFC East: Giants (WC: Cowboys)
NFC North: Packers
NFC South: Saints (WC: Falcons)
NFC West: 49ers
NFC Champ: Saints
AFC East: Pats (WC: Jets)
AFC North: Ravens (WC: Steelers)
AFC South: Colts
AFC West: Chargers
AFC Champ: Ravens
Super Bowl: Ravens over Saints
What are you picking?
-- D.S.
*There isn't a scenario where there can be an ending as dramatic as last season's -- the historically woeful Saints winning a championship, with the key play an unlikely onside kick that I consider to be the single greatest play in the history of the NFL. Anything -- everything -- after that is a let-down, including (perhaps especially) a Saints repeat.
*However, I am a sucker for repeats in sports and think the Saints will repeat as NFC champs.
*I probably should take the Colts in the AFC, but I want to reward the Ravens for upgrading their passing to match the terrific Ray Rice on the ground (plus the D).
*No team is more worth watching than the Jets -- Rex Ryan proved that during this season of "Hard Knocks."
*For a long time this summer, I was honestly thinking that Tim Tebow had a shot at NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year -- say, if he scored 7-10 TDs on single-wing plays, plus made all sorts of other key plays, like short-yardage 1st-downs. I'm not convinced Josh McDaniels is ballsy/innovative enough to use him that aggressively, which would -- of course -- change my prediction. The safer bet is CJ Spiller.
*I fully expect Sam Bradford to break in half before the season is over. It's not that I think he'll play 16 games, which is a struggle for even the heartiest QB; it's that I don't think he'll make it through six.
*Things will not go nearly as well for Brett Favre this season as they did last season. And Donovan McNabb will be a flop in DC. (T.O. in Cincinnati, on the other hand, will do really well.)
*Big Ben's return in Week 5 will be one of the Top 3 biggest events of the season. It shouldn't be, but it will be.
Season Predictions:
NFC East: Giants (WC: Cowboys)
NFC North: Packers
NFC South: Saints (WC: Falcons)
NFC West: 49ers
NFC Champ: Saints
AFC East: Pats (WC: Jets)
AFC North: Ravens (WC: Steelers)
AFC South: Colts
AFC West: Chargers
AFC Champ: Ravens
Super Bowl: Ravens over Saints
What are you picking?
-- D.S.
09/10 Quickie: Saints, NFL Week 1, More
Don't forget to join in the NFL Pick 'Em group (or the College Football Pick 'Em group), both "Daily Quickie Readers."
Today's Names to Know: BJ Daniels, Drew Brees, Brett Favre, Tom Brady, Miles Austin, Ray Lewis, Auburn, Terrelle Pryor vs. Jacory Harris, NL West, Carlos Gonzalez and More.
Gainesville, Fla. -- It's pretty strange that the biggest storyline of the sports weekend here is whether some nutjob is going to burn the Quran.
But, hopefully, that's now a non-issue, and we can concentrate on what I gauge around town as not nearly enough panic that Florida could lose tomorrow. Let's leave that there.
Saints beat Vikings in opener: And if, like me, you fell asleep before the game ended -- you didn't miss much. That opening Saints drive was one of the biggest sports teases of all time. Still: The NFL is back. No complaints.
(Um, to follow that last part up: Last night's game was the most-watched NFL season opener ever. Yes, ever. And it was NBC's most-watched game since 1997, essentially the pre-internet era. Partly it was "any football is good football," but there's no question that if it was Raiders-Bills, fewer fans would watch than "Saints-Favre.")
Giants bop Padres: 1 GB with 3 more to play head-to-head this weekend. By Monday morning, I think we'll have a new leader in the NL West. (Hardly a bold prediction, given San Diego's slide the last few weeks.)
Gainesville, Fla. -- It's pretty strange that the biggest storyline of the sports weekend here is whether some nutjob is going to burn the Quran.
But, hopefully, that's now a non-issue, and we can concentrate on what I gauge around town as not nearly enough panic that Florida could lose tomorrow. Let's leave that there.
Saints beat Vikings in opener: And if, like me, you fell asleep before the game ended -- you didn't miss much. That opening Saints drive was one of the biggest sports teases of all time. Still: The NFL is back. No complaints.
(Um, to follow that last part up: Last night's game was the most-watched NFL season opener ever. Yes, ever. And it was NBC's most-watched game since 1997, essentially the pre-internet era. Partly it was "any football is good football," but there's no question that if it was Raiders-Bills, fewer fans would watch than "Saints-Favre.")
Big new deal for Tom Brady: It is impossible to imagine this NOT having happened. He's only the face of the franchise and one of the Top 3 QBs in the league -- certainly for the next 4 years of his extension. What they've done is punt on the awkwardness of the eventuality he is let go.
Big new deal for Miles Austin, too: From undrafted to massive contract makes Austin one of the most interesting NFL talent-develpment stories of the past decade -- not unlike Brady, frankly. But...
...Isn't it less about talent development than a poster for the failure of the talent-evaluation/"draftnik" industry, that one of the elite WRs in the NFL could so comprehensively go unnoticed?
This isn't whiffing on an undrafted player who goes on to be a serviceable practice-squad player; this is missing on a player who almost instantly became one of the Top 5 receivers in the sport.
Ray Lewis calls out the Jets: "No excuses" with Revis back on the roster. There are a couple things to love about this -- (1) Lewis so willing to talk smack; (2) making one of the best games of Week 1 even better; (3) affirming the Jets have become a national NFL brand.
Auburn gets one in Starkville: While many of the other Top 25 teams are racking up cupcake wins this weekend, Auburn earned an SEC road win -- no small thing. Not sure if Auburn looked like a Top 10-crasher, but certainly confirmed their Top 20 status.
What a weekend in college football: Ohio State-Miami is the headliner. Alabama-Penn State should affirm how good Bama is. Florida State-Oklahoma is one of the top "prove-it" games of the month. Even Notre Dame-Michigan is intriguing beyond the recent "which team can generate more schadenfreude." And that's all without upsets (see above -- gulp).
Ray Lewis calls out the Jets: "No excuses" with Revis back on the roster. There are a couple things to love about this -- (1) Lewis so willing to talk smack; (2) making one of the best games of Week 1 even better; (3) affirming the Jets have become a national NFL brand.
Auburn gets one in Starkville: While many of the other Top 25 teams are racking up cupcake wins this weekend, Auburn earned an SEC road win -- no small thing. Not sure if Auburn looked like a Top 10-crasher, but certainly confirmed their Top 20 status.
What a weekend in college football: Ohio State-Miami is the headliner. Alabama-Penn State should affirm how good Bama is. Florida State-Oklahoma is one of the top "prove-it" games of the month. Even Notre Dame-Michigan is intriguing beyond the recent "which team can generate more schadenfreude." And that's all without upsets (see above -- gulp).
Is there any less of a story than LeBron reportedly going to attend the OSU-Miami game? I do like the "worlds-colliding" element: LeBron is an Ohio State fan -- he almost certainly will lure Terrelle Pryor to his shoe brand -- but he will have to directly spurn his new fans in Miami, who almost assuredly are rooting for The U.
This is not unlike the way he watched the Indians-Yankees playoff series while wearing a Yankees cap. The only redeeming thing about LeBron being a Buckeyes fan is that you can hardly call him a front-runner for a team that so rarely actually makes it to the front. I cannot believe I have now spent 200 words on LeBron's rooting interest in the Miami-tOSU game.
Giants bop Padres: 1 GB with 3 more to play head-to-head this weekend. By Monday morning, I think we'll have a new leader in the NL West. (Hardly a bold prediction, given San Diego's slide the last few weeks.)
More awesomeness from Carlos Gonzalez: Ultimately, I think Joey Votto gets the nod from NL MVP voters because (a) Votto will be in the playoffs and Cargo won't be, and (b) voters love the historic weight of Cincinnati versus the nouveau riche-ness of Colorado. (See Tulowitzki's Rookie of the Year runner-up finish a few years back.)
Team USA routs Russia: No, this has nothing to do with 1972. Good god, people: Let it go. If you are under the age of 50 -- 50! -- you have zero recollection of this event in sports history. Let's focus on what should be plenty challenging semifinals tomorrow, shall we? (A US-Turkey finals would be nutso -- at least the crowd environment.)
Carmelo to the Bulls for Joakim Noah? If the Nuggets were extremely lucky, they would get to pull off this deal -- and without having to take on Luol Deng's albatross salary. The fact is that Denver should be wanting to get something back for Carmelo; Noah feels like about as much value on the dollar as the Nuggets will get.
NFL Labor Pains: Anyone actually think they'll reach a deal by November? This is the union chief Smith posturing as
Scandals, Cont'd: More problems for UNC football?
NFL Labor Pains: Anyone actually think they'll reach a deal by November? This is the union chief Smith posturing as
Scandals, Cont'd: More problems for UNC football?
Branding: If they told you they were switching it from "IndyCar" to "IRL" -- instead of the other way around -- would you know (or care)?
Coming later today: The Shallowest NFL Preview Ever (now Later Than Ever!) and CFB weekend picks.
-- D.S.
Coming later today: The Shallowest NFL Preview Ever (now Later Than Ever!) and CFB weekend picks.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
NFL Preview Delayed, Saints-Vikes Pick
Wasn't able to finish my short -- yet shallow! -- NFL preview post today. I will publish it on Friday morning. For now, I can merely make my pick on tomorrow's season opener: Saints over Vikings.
Complete Week 1 picks coming Friday. Don't forget to sign up for the ESPN NFL Pick 'Em group (Daily Quickie Readers) before tomorrow night's game.
(I'll give you a hint about the season preview: I pick the Saints to repeat as NFC champs, losing to the Ravens in the Super Bowl.)
L'shana tovah, friends.
Complete Week 1 picks coming Friday. Don't forget to sign up for the ESPN NFL Pick 'Em group (Daily Quickie Readers) before tomorrow night's game.
(I'll give you a hint about the season preview: I pick the Saints to repeat as NFC champs, losing to the Ravens in the Super Bowl.)
L'shana tovah, friends.
Happy 5th Anniversary, Deadspin
Five years ago today, Deadspin launched.
In my opinion, Deadspin has had such an impact on the sports-media landscape -- pound-for-pound, as much as anything in sports media in the 15 years of the "internet era" -- that it is even possible to splice sports' internet era into "pre-Deadspin" and "post-Deadspin."
Of course, that could also be shorthand for "pre-blogosphere" and "post-blog" (and you could make the same argument about Gawker, beginning in 2003).
Deadspin was and is important for its individual contributions to the landscape -- the stories broken, the talent incubated, the epic posts -- but probably just as important (if not more) for its symbolism:
Not simply "fan perspective" in sports media (which had been around arguably since 1995 or even earlier and was shifting inevitably) but the tip of the effort when it came to changing -- upending -- the relationship that existed between sports, its mediators and fans.
"Fan perspective" media was largely dominated by "me" (with exponentially more of that now); Deadspin was (and remains) far more concerned with "we" -- down to the literal "royal 'we'" deployed by founding editor Will Leitch. "We" are fans; "they" are, by implication, everyone else.
It was this combination -- of actually being a linchpin when it came to consuming sports in a new and different way and of symbolically representing the shifting balance of power between sports-media producer and consumer -- that is Deadspin's legacy and that has held up over the last half-decade.
The landscape has shifted seismically since September 8, 2005 -- and will continue to shift. More choice is one factor; seemingly everyone claiming to represent "we" is even more interesting.
Deadspin, like every other sports media company (or media company period), will have to iterate and evolve and test and risk; as much as anything, these first five years give Deadspin the foundation and the permission to stake out a powerful place over the next five years.
Congratulations to everyone who has contributed to its success -- editors, commentors, tipsters, linkers, lurkers, contributors, subjects, supporters -- and here's to more anniversaries to celebrate.
-- D.S.
(Wow, just went back and found this: My promotion of Deadspin's launch in the Daily Quickie on September 9, 2005. Very small item along the right side. Innocent times!)
In my opinion, Deadspin has had such an impact on the sports-media landscape -- pound-for-pound, as much as anything in sports media in the 15 years of the "internet era" -- that it is even possible to splice sports' internet era into "pre-Deadspin" and "post-Deadspin."
Of course, that could also be shorthand for "pre-blogosphere" and "post-blog" (and you could make the same argument about Gawker, beginning in 2003).
Deadspin was and is important for its individual contributions to the landscape -- the stories broken, the talent incubated, the epic posts -- but probably just as important (if not more) for its symbolism:
Not simply "fan perspective" in sports media (which had been around arguably since 1995 or even earlier and was shifting inevitably) but the tip of the effort when it came to changing -- upending -- the relationship that existed between sports, its mediators and fans.
"Fan perspective" media was largely dominated by "me" (with exponentially more of that now); Deadspin was (and remains) far more concerned with "we" -- down to the literal "royal 'we'" deployed by founding editor Will Leitch. "We" are fans; "they" are, by implication, everyone else.
It was this combination -- of actually being a linchpin when it came to consuming sports in a new and different way and of symbolically representing the shifting balance of power between sports-media producer and consumer -- that is Deadspin's legacy and that has held up over the last half-decade.
The landscape has shifted seismically since September 8, 2005 -- and will continue to shift. More choice is one factor; seemingly everyone claiming to represent "we" is even more interesting.
Deadspin, like every other sports media company (or media company period), will have to iterate and evolve and test and risk; as much as anything, these first five years give Deadspin the foundation and the permission to stake out a powerful place over the next five years.
Congratulations to everyone who has contributed to its success -- editors, commentors, tipsters, linkers, lurkers, contributors, subjects, supporters -- and here's to more anniversaries to celebrate.
-- D.S.
(Wow, just went back and found this: My promotion of Deadspin's launch in the Daily Quickie on September 9, 2005. Very small item along the right side. Innocent times!)
09/08 Quickie: Boise, Bush, UK
Today's Names to Know: Boise State, Reggie Bush, Kellen Moore, Luis Scola, Tiger Woods, Enes Kanter, Joey Votto, Phillies, Mat Latos, Lew Perkins, Matt Ufford, Tim Tebow, Deadspin and More.
Cripes, the drama about Boise yesterday -- and, presumably, for the rest of the season.
I net out -- for now -- in a couple of ways:
(1) I think they are the best team in the country, based on preseason prognostication and one week of on-field proof. So count me in the "Boise rules" camp, I guess.
(2) I think that any poll voter who didn't have Boise as their No. 1-ranked team this week should have their ballot taken away, because voting should be (mostly) on what you've done so far.
In fact, in the long and illustrious history of the mainstream pollsters being laughably wrong, that Boise got only 8 1st-place votes in the haughty AP poll (just 7 flipped to Boise from the preseason poll) and ZERO in the epically tainted Coaches' poll is an indictment. (I remain entirely curious how many of my BlogPoll colleagues will join me this week ranking Boise at No. 1. I hope, as a percentage, it is much higher than the AP voters.)
(3) I think the only thing that everyone -- me, included -- should be focused on as it relates to rankings and BCS fates is where we are THIS week. For THIS week, Boise is a Top 2 team.
(4) I wish people would stop worrying about where Boise will end up after the first Saturday in December. You'd think CFB fans would know enough to know crazy results always happen.
(Um, except last year, when they didn't. But we'll conveniently overlook that.)
More on the radar this morning...
*Reggie Bush-Heisman SNAFU: Oh, just take the freaking thing away from him already. But only if you're going to give it to Vince Young. If you're just going to "vacate" it, forget I asked.
*Speaking of Heisman, it only took one week of college football games for my preseason Heisman pick Kellen Moore to take over the lead of the HeismanPundit straw poll.
*Luis Scola has been unstoppable at the World Basketball Championships. Brazil found out yesterday. Is the US going to find out, too?
*Speaking of the Worlds, let's just go ahead and presume that Turkish big man Enes Kanter won't be playing for Kentucky next season.
*Tiger on Ryder Cup team. Prediction: He is going to play amazingly and it is going to jumpstart the next phase of his career. Because he can subordinate himself -- the "solo Tiger" thing -- to playing for something else (the team). Please don't ask why I didn't give LeBron the same analysis about going to Miami.
*The Phillies are in first in the NL East. With 20-odd games to go, anyone give the Braves a shot to take it back? (I don't.)
*Milestones: Trevor Hoffman hits 600 career saves. (Meanwhile, Jim Thome has tied Frank Robinson for 8th on the all-time HR list.)
*MLB Fantasy Stud: Mat Latos, who may also be the only thing -- at least after last night's very quality start -- separating the Padres from the oblivion of not reaching the postseason.
*Yet another reason (via Neyer) to love Joey Votto.
*But that's only to keep pace with Carlos Gonzalez -- Triple Crown Watch.
*How will Tim Tebow do this season? There's a Teblog post for that.
*Kansas AD Lew Perkins retires immediately: Nothing sketchy about that.
*Matt Ufford of WarmingGlow and KSK is one of my favorite writers and favorite people. Please consider donating to his (hilariously humiliating) effort to raise money for Wounded Warriors.
*Happy 5th anniversary, Deadspin. I'll have a post about this birthday later today.
*Also coming today: Shallowest. NFL Preview. Ever.
*Don't forget to join in the NFL Pick 'Em league (groupname: Daily Quickie Readers). And enter your picks by tomorrow night's kickoff!
*No posting tomorrow, out of respect for the Jewish holidays. In my own interpretation, I will have a post on Friday.
-- D.S.
Cripes, the drama about Boise yesterday -- and, presumably, for the rest of the season.
I net out -- for now -- in a couple of ways:
(1) I think they are the best team in the country, based on preseason prognostication and one week of on-field proof. So count me in the "Boise rules" camp, I guess.
(2) I think that any poll voter who didn't have Boise as their No. 1-ranked team this week should have their ballot taken away, because voting should be (mostly) on what you've done so far.
In fact, in the long and illustrious history of the mainstream pollsters being laughably wrong, that Boise got only 8 1st-place votes in the haughty AP poll (just 7 flipped to Boise from the preseason poll) and ZERO in the epically tainted Coaches' poll is an indictment. (I remain entirely curious how many of my BlogPoll colleagues will join me this week ranking Boise at No. 1. I hope, as a percentage, it is much higher than the AP voters.)
(3) I think the only thing that everyone -- me, included -- should be focused on as it relates to rankings and BCS fates is where we are THIS week. For THIS week, Boise is a Top 2 team.
(4) I wish people would stop worrying about where Boise will end up after the first Saturday in December. You'd think CFB fans would know enough to know crazy results always happen.
(Um, except last year, when they didn't. But we'll conveniently overlook that.)
More on the radar this morning...
*Reggie Bush-Heisman SNAFU: Oh, just take the freaking thing away from him already. But only if you're going to give it to Vince Young. If you're just going to "vacate" it, forget I asked.
*Speaking of Heisman, it only took one week of college football games for my preseason Heisman pick Kellen Moore to take over the lead of the HeismanPundit straw poll.
*Luis Scola has been unstoppable at the World Basketball Championships. Brazil found out yesterday. Is the US going to find out, too?
*Speaking of the Worlds, let's just go ahead and presume that Turkish big man Enes Kanter won't be playing for Kentucky next season.
*Tiger on Ryder Cup team. Prediction: He is going to play amazingly and it is going to jumpstart the next phase of his career. Because he can subordinate himself -- the "solo Tiger" thing -- to playing for something else (the team). Please don't ask why I didn't give LeBron the same analysis about going to Miami.
*The Phillies are in first in the NL East. With 20-odd games to go, anyone give the Braves a shot to take it back? (I don't.)
*Milestones: Trevor Hoffman hits 600 career saves. (Meanwhile, Jim Thome has tied Frank Robinson for 8th on the all-time HR list.)
*MLB Fantasy Stud: Mat Latos, who may also be the only thing -- at least after last night's very quality start -- separating the Padres from the oblivion of not reaching the postseason.
*Yet another reason (via Neyer) to love Joey Votto.
*But that's only to keep pace with Carlos Gonzalez -- Triple Crown Watch.
*How will Tim Tebow do this season? There's a Teblog post for that.
*Kansas AD Lew Perkins retires immediately: Nothing sketchy about that.
*Matt Ufford of WarmingGlow and KSK is one of my favorite writers and favorite people. Please consider donating to his (hilariously humiliating) effort to raise money for Wounded Warriors.
*Happy 5th anniversary, Deadspin. I'll have a post about this birthday later today.
*Also coming today: Shallowest. NFL Preview. Ever.
*Don't forget to join in the NFL Pick 'Em league (groupname: Daily Quickie Readers). And enter your picks by tomorrow night's kickoff!
*No posting tomorrow, out of respect for the Jewish holidays. In my own interpretation, I will have a post on Friday.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
BlogPoll Tuesday: Boise State, TCU 1-2
Peggy: "I can't tell the difference anymore between something good and something awful."
Don: "Well, they're very close."
-- Mad Men, "The Suitcase" (9/5/10)
*****
In one interpretation, the first Top 25 ballot after the season starts is even noisier than the preseason ballot.
The preseason ballot is entirely fluffy. The ballot after a single week of games does its best to bake in what we saw on the field -- so-called "resume ranking" (who won, who they beat, how they won, where they won) -- but the data sample is so limited that it is impossible to put that play on the field in any sort of meaningful context.
It is easy to be seduced by the routs (see Oregon) or the pinball numbers (see Auburn) or overlook shoddy opponents or punish teams for not winning impressively enough (see Florida, Oklahoma, Wisconsin -- all plunged into the 20-25 range... or USC, out of the Top 25 entirely).
But then there is that bit of Week 1 clarity -- at least the clarity that I subscribe to: When a good team beats a good team. I give the winning team a LOT of credit (and I give the losing team a lot of credit too, presuming they make a game of it).
That made it easy to rank Boise State No. 1. Now, I'm going to try really hard to avoid any (largely vapid) triumphalism from having them ranked No. 1 in the preseason. But I hope that at least gives me the credibility to question anyone who doesn't have Boise ranked No. 1 this week. It is a bandwagon I'm happy to make room on.
It also made it easy to rank TCU No. 2 -- aside from Boise State, no team beat a better opponent this week than the Horned Frogs.
(To my point above, I refuse to penalize Virginia Tech or Oregon State for losing to, this week, the Top 2 teams in the country. In fact, the fact that both played each so tough makes me think that they proved more about how good they are than "1-0" teams who blew out cupcakes.)
Do things get murky? Absolutely. Why do I credit Utah only up to a point? Would I have ranked Oregon in the Top 5 if they hadn't scored 70 points but, say, merely something in the 40s, like Miami or Ohio State? Am I accounting for defense? Obviously, I can't watch every game to understand the full context of how points were scored or allowed.
Again: Week 1 is messy. With each passing week, there is more data -- not just who you beat this week, but how your previous week's wins stand up against increased context:
Ohio State-Miami is huge. FSU-Oklahoma is huge. Alabama-Penn State and Oregon-Tennessee will tell us a lot more about the Tide and Ducks than this past Saturday's romps. Mississippi State almost surely will enter the Top 20 if they beat Auburn on Thursday night. The Georgia-South Carolina winner will be ranked. Florida can move up if they look better against South Florida than they did against Miami of Ohio. The Notre Dame-Michigan winner probably crashes into the 20s.
For now, this is the best I can do -- without your help. But now I request that you please take a look and offer your suggestions, guidance, opinions and critiques in the comments. I will submit a revised ballot by tomorrow a.m.
1. Boise State
2. TCU
3. Alabama
4. Oregon
5. Ohio State
6. Utah
7. Texas
8. Georgia Tech
9. Miami
10. Iowa
11. Auburn
12. Florida State
13. Virginia Tech
14. Oregon State
15. Houston
16. West Virginia
17. Nebraska
18. Arkansas
19. Penn State
20. Arizona
21. Florida
22. Fresno State
23. BYU
24. Oklahoma
25. Wisconsin
(Out from last week: USC, Cincy, Pitt, Navy, Washington)
-- D.S.
Don: "Well, they're very close."
-- Mad Men, "The Suitcase" (9/5/10)
*****
In one interpretation, the first Top 25 ballot after the season starts is even noisier than the preseason ballot.
The preseason ballot is entirely fluffy. The ballot after a single week of games does its best to bake in what we saw on the field -- so-called "resume ranking" (who won, who they beat, how they won, where they won) -- but the data sample is so limited that it is impossible to put that play on the field in any sort of meaningful context.
It is easy to be seduced by the routs (see Oregon) or the pinball numbers (see Auburn) or overlook shoddy opponents or punish teams for not winning impressively enough (see Florida, Oklahoma, Wisconsin -- all plunged into the 20-25 range... or USC, out of the Top 25 entirely).
But then there is that bit of Week 1 clarity -- at least the clarity that I subscribe to: When a good team beats a good team. I give the winning team a LOT of credit (and I give the losing team a lot of credit too, presuming they make a game of it).
That made it easy to rank Boise State No. 1. Now, I'm going to try really hard to avoid any (largely vapid) triumphalism from having them ranked No. 1 in the preseason. But I hope that at least gives me the credibility to question anyone who doesn't have Boise ranked No. 1 this week. It is a bandwagon I'm happy to make room on.
It also made it easy to rank TCU No. 2 -- aside from Boise State, no team beat a better opponent this week than the Horned Frogs.
(To my point above, I refuse to penalize Virginia Tech or Oregon State for losing to, this week, the Top 2 teams in the country. In fact, the fact that both played each so tough makes me think that they proved more about how good they are than "1-0" teams who blew out cupcakes.)
Do things get murky? Absolutely. Why do I credit Utah only up to a point? Would I have ranked Oregon in the Top 5 if they hadn't scored 70 points but, say, merely something in the 40s, like Miami or Ohio State? Am I accounting for defense? Obviously, I can't watch every game to understand the full context of how points were scored or allowed.
Again: Week 1 is messy. With each passing week, there is more data -- not just who you beat this week, but how your previous week's wins stand up against increased context:
Ohio State-Miami is huge. FSU-Oklahoma is huge. Alabama-Penn State and Oregon-Tennessee will tell us a lot more about the Tide and Ducks than this past Saturday's romps. Mississippi State almost surely will enter the Top 20 if they beat Auburn on Thursday night. The Georgia-South Carolina winner will be ranked. Florida can move up if they look better against South Florida than they did against Miami of Ohio. The Notre Dame-Michigan winner probably crashes into the 20s.
For now, this is the best I can do -- without your help. But now I request that you please take a look and offer your suggestions, guidance, opinions and critiques in the comments. I will submit a revised ballot by tomorrow a.m.
1. Boise State
2. TCU
3. Alabama
4. Oregon
5. Ohio State
6. Utah
7. Texas
8. Georgia Tech
9. Miami
10. Iowa
11. Auburn
12. Florida State
13. Virginia Tech
14. Oregon State
15. Houston
16. West Virginia
17. Nebraska
18. Arkansas
19. Penn State
20. Arizona
21. Florida
22. Fresno State
23. BYU
24. Oklahoma
25. Wisconsin
(Out from last week: USC, Cincy, Pitt, Navy, Washington)
-- D.S.
09/07 Quickie: Boise, Boise, Boise(!)
Not only was last night's Boise State win over Virginia Tech likely the most important college football game of the season, but (given those stakes) it is unlikely we will see a more exciting game, either.
Consider: A huge game with massive national implications not just living up to the hype -- but actually exceeding it.
But really: Did anyone actually think that if/when VA Tech gave Boise the ball back with 90 seconds left and no timeouts -- hell, if it was 19 seconds left -- that Boise wouldn't march right down the field and score?
(This was the most obvious reality that the game produced, and VT's limp performance on their last possession was only slightly more staggering than Musberger and Herbstreit basically conceding the game on Boise's behalf, when the rest of us knew exactly what was coming.)
And so we have a clear No. 1 team for this week's rankings: Boise State. I can pack away my preseason predictions and mainly rely on a team's resume; no team had a bigger or better win this first week of the college football season than Boise.
Most importantly, it was memorable. And it needs to stay memorable -- even nostalgic. Because when we get to mid-October or mid-November and Boise's schedule stinks and the haters are howling and voters are questioning whether Boise is worth one of the top 2 spots in their poll...
...they need to remember last night's win -- most notable for Boise's unwillingness to see their dream season implode, even against a Top 10 team, basically on the road, only in Week 1.
*****
Here's a preview of my BlogPoll ballot, mulled over late into last night: (1) Boise St, (2) TCU, (3) Alabama, (4) Oregon, (5) Ohio St. (Florida: 20th. USC: Unranked.) It's a mess. Come back at 12:3o today and see for yourself -- comments, critiques, etc. welcome, as always.
I love how people are like "This win could be big for Boise!" and "This win keeps Boise's BCS hopes alive!" Well, of course it does! "Hopes?" Folks can obviously disagree with me ranking Boise State at No. 1 in the preseason, but I can't understand how anyone wouldn't have them No. 1 this week -- you don't have to be a "resume-ranking" purist to credit Boise for presenting the best evidence -- on the field, in the 2010 season, given admittedly limited information -- that they are the best team in the country right now.
(I can already tell this "Boise State vs. Everyone Else" meme is going to be the most annoying storyline of the season. Sincere passions on both sides, but you're not going to convince anyone to switch opinions. It's OK for now, because we're within 12 hours of it being relevant, but is this going to be a "thing" every weekend from here on out? It's wearying, especially on Twitter.)
Here's what Boise State has to root for: That Virginia Tech runs the table. That Oregon State -- who BSU plays in a few weeks -- is a Top 3 team in the Pac-10. And that all the other contenders lose at least once in their conferences...
...And, most importantly, that voters are simultaneously sophisticated enough to recognize Boise's exceptionalism against a relatively weaker conference schedule -- yet stupid enough to merely look at overall records and say "Well, Boise is the only undefeated team!" en route to ranking them 1 or 2. This seeming contradiction is at the heart of Boise's BCS hopes.
*****
More:
*No team in baseball needed a win more than the Padres did yesterday, snapping that (season-killing?) 10-game losing streak. The Giants won, so SD is clinging to a 1-game lead that no one really thinks will hold up over the season's final 20-some games.
*If TJ Housh wanted to play for a contender that could use him, I completely understand how Ray Lewis' case to him was going to be compelling enough for the WR to sign with Baltimore. (The Ravens are the new Jets?)
*Of course, with Revis back, maybe the newer Jets are the new Jets.
*Does anyone really care where Matt Leinart ends up as the backup?
*Will anyone really watch the "T.Ocho Show?"
*In case you missed it over the long weekend, my fantasy baseball team tanked in the final week of the regular season, and not only did I fall out of the playoff field, but I fell into the second division... again.
I had never finished in the top half of my league, let alone made the playoffs. The streak continues. I think I might have to fire the manager for this year's depressing collapse. (Team MVP: Felix Hernandez, who kind of knows what I'm talking about.)
*More fantasy navel-gazing: I had my final football draft last night -- a KSK keeper league in which I finished last in 2009 but keep a solid core of Andre Johnson, Ray Rice and LeSean McCoy. After giving up my keeper draft slots, my first pick was in the 3rd round, and although I needed a QB and a complementary WR, I had decided to reach for either Jahvid Best or CJ Spiller, if either were available. Both were. Personally, I prefer Spiller -- particularly in a keeper league -- but for some reason I can't think of this morning, I took Best. I'm now wondering what the hell I was thinking. (As for my holes at QB and WR, I ended up with the best of slim pickings in Round 5 and beyond by taking T.O. -- ugh -- and getting lucky with Matt Ryan in the 6th.)
*The NFL begins in two days. Don't forget to set your fantasy rosters. My NFL preview is coming tomorrow. (Thursday is Rosh Hashanah and I won't be posting.)
-- D.S.
Consider: A huge game with massive national implications not just living up to the hype -- but actually exceeding it.
But really: Did anyone actually think that if/when VA Tech gave Boise the ball back with 90 seconds left and no timeouts -- hell, if it was 19 seconds left -- that Boise wouldn't march right down the field and score?
(This was the most obvious reality that the game produced, and VT's limp performance on their last possession was only slightly more staggering than Musberger and Herbstreit basically conceding the game on Boise's behalf, when the rest of us knew exactly what was coming.)
And so we have a clear No. 1 team for this week's rankings: Boise State. I can pack away my preseason predictions and mainly rely on a team's resume; no team had a bigger or better win this first week of the college football season than Boise.
Most importantly, it was memorable. And it needs to stay memorable -- even nostalgic. Because when we get to mid-October or mid-November and Boise's schedule stinks and the haters are howling and voters are questioning whether Boise is worth one of the top 2 spots in their poll...
...they need to remember last night's win -- most notable for Boise's unwillingness to see their dream season implode, even against a Top 10 team, basically on the road, only in Week 1.
*****
Here's a preview of my BlogPoll ballot, mulled over late into last night: (1) Boise St, (2) TCU, (3) Alabama, (4) Oregon, (5) Ohio St. (Florida: 20th. USC: Unranked.) It's a mess. Come back at 12:3o today and see for yourself -- comments, critiques, etc. welcome, as always.
I love how people are like "This win could be big for Boise!" and "This win keeps Boise's BCS hopes alive!" Well, of course it does! "Hopes?" Folks can obviously disagree with me ranking Boise State at No. 1 in the preseason, but I can't understand how anyone wouldn't have them No. 1 this week -- you don't have to be a "resume-ranking" purist to credit Boise for presenting the best evidence -- on the field, in the 2010 season, given admittedly limited information -- that they are the best team in the country right now.
(I can already tell this "Boise State vs. Everyone Else" meme is going to be the most annoying storyline of the season. Sincere passions on both sides, but you're not going to convince anyone to switch opinions. It's OK for now, because we're within 12 hours of it being relevant, but is this going to be a "thing" every weekend from here on out? It's wearying, especially on Twitter.)
Here's what Boise State has to root for: That Virginia Tech runs the table. That Oregon State -- who BSU plays in a few weeks -- is a Top 3 team in the Pac-10. And that all the other contenders lose at least once in their conferences...
...And, most importantly, that voters are simultaneously sophisticated enough to recognize Boise's exceptionalism against a relatively weaker conference schedule -- yet stupid enough to merely look at overall records and say "Well, Boise is the only undefeated team!" en route to ranking them 1 or 2. This seeming contradiction is at the heart of Boise's BCS hopes.
*****
More:
*No team in baseball needed a win more than the Padres did yesterday, snapping that (season-killing?) 10-game losing streak. The Giants won, so SD is clinging to a 1-game lead that no one really thinks will hold up over the season's final 20-some games.
*If TJ Housh wanted to play for a contender that could use him, I completely understand how Ray Lewis' case to him was going to be compelling enough for the WR to sign with Baltimore. (The Ravens are the new Jets?)
*Of course, with Revis back, maybe the newer Jets are the new Jets.
*Does anyone really care where Matt Leinart ends up as the backup?
*Will anyone really watch the "T.Ocho Show?"
*In case you missed it over the long weekend, my fantasy baseball team tanked in the final week of the regular season, and not only did I fall out of the playoff field, but I fell into the second division... again.
I had never finished in the top half of my league, let alone made the playoffs. The streak continues. I think I might have to fire the manager for this year's depressing collapse. (Team MVP: Felix Hernandez, who kind of knows what I'm talking about.)
*More fantasy navel-gazing: I had my final football draft last night -- a KSK keeper league in which I finished last in 2009 but keep a solid core of Andre Johnson, Ray Rice and LeSean McCoy. After giving up my keeper draft slots, my first pick was in the 3rd round, and although I needed a QB and a complementary WR, I had decided to reach for either Jahvid Best or CJ Spiller, if either were available. Both were. Personally, I prefer Spiller -- particularly in a keeper league -- but for some reason I can't think of this morning, I took Best. I'm now wondering what the hell I was thinking. (As for my holes at QB and WR, I ended up with the best of slim pickings in Round 5 and beyond by taking T.O. -- ugh -- and getting lucky with Matt Ryan in the 6th.)
*The NFL begins in two days. Don't forget to set your fantasy rosters. My NFL preview is coming tomorrow. (Thursday is Rosh Hashanah and I won't be posting.)
-- D.S.
Monday, September 06, 2010
09/06 Labor Day Quickie
Boise State-Virginia Tech tonight might be the biggest college football game of the season. That's a tough claim to make in Week 1.
Here's what we know:
If Boise State wins, they stake a claim to No. 1 this week (per "resume" ranking) and give themselves a marquee win to support getting a spot in the BCS title game if they go unbeaten.
If Boise loses, their dream of crashing the BCS title game -- and probably any BCS bowl -- is over. Doubters will say "Told you." And we lose a key storyline of the season immediately.
The stakes are not insubstantial. On the one hand, if Boise played a tougher schedule, they would have more than just this (and, arguably, Oregon State in 3 weeks).
On the other hand, as far as single-game challenges go, playing (and beating) arguably the best team in the ACC is one of the toughest tests any team will take on this season.
We don't know much this early into a season. But we do know that this is a big game.
For the record, I think Boise rolls (an unsurprising prediction from someone who thinks they are the best team in the country) and the debate is so on.
More: Jets and Darrelle Revis come to a deal. At the very least, it makes this week's Hard Knocks a lot more interesting. Season finale drama!
(Does Revis play offense? Because that's where the Jets have looked listless this past month. Maybe his return will energize the entire team.... The point is that he is the best player on the team, and they weren't going anywhere without him.)
Another season, another second-division finish in my baseball fantasy league. Losing 8 of 10 categories to a hungry playoff contender this week cost me what would have been my first-ever top-half-of-the-league finish. It feels entirely appropriate that my Team MVP was Felix Hernandez, who has had a Cy-worthy season on a second-division loser. (And who had two brilliant starts this week, particularly yesterday. Give him the Cy, voters.)
It's Labor Day. Get back to relaxing...
-- D.S.
Here's what we know:
If Boise State wins, they stake a claim to No. 1 this week (per "resume" ranking) and give themselves a marquee win to support getting a spot in the BCS title game if they go unbeaten.
If Boise loses, their dream of crashing the BCS title game -- and probably any BCS bowl -- is over. Doubters will say "Told you." And we lose a key storyline of the season immediately.
The stakes are not insubstantial. On the one hand, if Boise played a tougher schedule, they would have more than just this (and, arguably, Oregon State in 3 weeks).
On the other hand, as far as single-game challenges go, playing (and beating) arguably the best team in the ACC is one of the toughest tests any team will take on this season.
We don't know much this early into a season. But we do know that this is a big game.
For the record, I think Boise rolls (an unsurprising prediction from someone who thinks they are the best team in the country) and the debate is so on.
More: Jets and Darrelle Revis come to a deal. At the very least, it makes this week's Hard Knocks a lot more interesting. Season finale drama!
(Does Revis play offense? Because that's where the Jets have looked listless this past month. Maybe his return will energize the entire team.... The point is that he is the best player on the team, and they weren't going anywhere without him.)
Another season, another second-division finish in my baseball fantasy league. Losing 8 of 10 categories to a hungry playoff contender this week cost me what would have been my first-ever top-half-of-the-league finish. It feels entirely appropriate that my Team MVP was Felix Hernandez, who has had a Cy-worthy season on a second-division loser. (And who had two brilliant starts this week, particularly yesterday. Give him the Cy, voters.)
It's Labor Day. Get back to relaxing...
-- D.S.
Saturday, September 04, 2010
College Football Quickie Hangover
UPDATE: I can already tell you who will be 1-2 in my next BlogPoll Top 25 -- the winner of Boise State/VA Tech at No. 1, and TCU at No. 2.
While the rest of the country (mostly) took on cupcakes, TCU played a very solid Beavers team and made a statement that their Top 6 ranking is justified.
(Here is something else to consider: Boise State plays Oregon State in 3 weeks -- wow, kudos to OSU for scheduling BOTH Boise and TCU -- and you can bet comparisons will be made.)
If there is such a thing as a moral victory, it was achieved by UNC last night: Down a dozen or so suspended players, they played gamely against a talented (if typically underachieving) LSU team. "Expectations management" matters: UNC will earn points for avoiding a blowout. (I mean: Look at Yates -- 412 yards passing with 3 TDs. Patrick Patterson, what's up?)
Forget John Brantley or Garrett Gilbert or Aaron Murray -- the Denard Robinson Award for most impressive QB making his debut (see what I did there?) was arguably Northwestern's Dan Persa, who threw and ran the Wildcats past Vandy on the road.
But there are plenty of other candidates, including Penn State (true) freshman Rob Bolden and Auburn's Cam Newton, the ex-Florida/ex-JUCO transfer.
The best "debut" of the day, of course, went to BC's Mark Herzlich, who missed all of last year battling cancer, but came back to lead BC to a season-opening W.
More notes from the night set:
*The Jake Locker Bandwagon took a hit at BYU.
*More BlogPoll: So much for my preseason bullishness on Cincinnati.
EARLIER:
If it makes you feel better -- call it "Swampenfreude" -- sitting in the Swamp watching Florida today was damn near painful. It was, by far, the most frustrating game of the Meyer Era.
In part it was the snap problem. In part it was the play-calling on offense. In part it was the overall lack of intensity and focus. In part it was the stifling heat, combined with a cold I'm battling.
What a treat that Florida's utterly pedestrian performance led ESPN's highlight shows tonight. And, given their Top 5 ranking (not for long!), probably appropriate.
If they get the muffed center-QB exchanges right, they probably score 50+ and this is a non-issue. But they didn't, and so it IS an issue. They looked terrible.
HOWEVER: At least I'm not an Ole Miss fan. Kudos to ESPN for bringing fans the 2nd OT and that combination of the Jax St TD on 4th-and-15, followed by the brilliant 2-point conversion.
Holy s--t: Denard Robinson. (Of first-time starting QBs, Georgia's Aaron Murray played great. John Brantley and Garrett Gilbert were so-so.)
Speaking of first-timers, congrats to Brian Kelly on his first win as coach of Notre Dame. (And you know how much it pains me to say that.) Should be a very interesting match-up next week with Michigan. Strong debut for Jimbo Fisher at FSU, too.
I'm going to give Robinson my Player of the Day, but here's a shout-out for Kenjon Barner, who had 147 yards and 5 TDs (4 rush, 1 rec) replacing the suspended LaMichael "Who?" James.
Here's how things net out: It's a lot easier to be concerned about teams that didn't look good in games (cough-Florida-cough) that should have been blowouts than accurately evaluate teams that destroyed their overmatched opponents.
Settling in for TCU-Oregon State, with an eye on LSU-UNC and Northwestern-Vandy.
Non-college football notes:
*Jim Thome > Mark McGwire
*Sam Bradford > Matt Leinart
*Mark Prior > San Diego Padres
-- D.S.
While the rest of the country (mostly) took on cupcakes, TCU played a very solid Beavers team and made a statement that their Top 6 ranking is justified.
(Here is something else to consider: Boise State plays Oregon State in 3 weeks -- wow, kudos to OSU for scheduling BOTH Boise and TCU -- and you can bet comparisons will be made.)
If there is such a thing as a moral victory, it was achieved by UNC last night: Down a dozen or so suspended players, they played gamely against a talented (if typically underachieving) LSU team. "Expectations management" matters: UNC will earn points for avoiding a blowout. (I mean: Look at Yates -- 412 yards passing with 3 TDs. Patrick Patterson, what's up?)
Forget John Brantley or Garrett Gilbert or Aaron Murray -- the Denard Robinson Award for most impressive QB making his debut (see what I did there?) was arguably Northwestern's Dan Persa, who threw and ran the Wildcats past Vandy on the road.
But there are plenty of other candidates, including Penn State (true) freshman Rob Bolden and Auburn's Cam Newton, the ex-Florida/ex-JUCO transfer.
The best "debut" of the day, of course, went to BC's Mark Herzlich, who missed all of last year battling cancer, but came back to lead BC to a season-opening W.
More notes from the night set:
*The Jake Locker Bandwagon took a hit at BYU.
*More BlogPoll: So much for my preseason bullishness on Cincinnati.
EARLIER:
If it makes you feel better -- call it "Swampenfreude" -- sitting in the Swamp watching Florida today was damn near painful. It was, by far, the most frustrating game of the Meyer Era.
In part it was the snap problem. In part it was the play-calling on offense. In part it was the overall lack of intensity and focus. In part it was the stifling heat, combined with a cold I'm battling.
What a treat that Florida's utterly pedestrian performance led ESPN's highlight shows tonight. And, given their Top 5 ranking (not for long!), probably appropriate.
If they get the muffed center-QB exchanges right, they probably score 50+ and this is a non-issue. But they didn't, and so it IS an issue. They looked terrible.
HOWEVER: At least I'm not an Ole Miss fan. Kudos to ESPN for bringing fans the 2nd OT and that combination of the Jax St TD on 4th-and-15, followed by the brilliant 2-point conversion.
Holy s--t: Denard Robinson. (Of first-time starting QBs, Georgia's Aaron Murray played great. John Brantley and Garrett Gilbert were so-so.)
Speaking of first-timers, congrats to Brian Kelly on his first win as coach of Notre Dame. (And you know how much it pains me to say that.) Should be a very interesting match-up next week with Michigan. Strong debut for Jimbo Fisher at FSU, too.
I'm going to give Robinson my Player of the Day, but here's a shout-out for Kenjon Barner, who had 147 yards and 5 TDs (4 rush, 1 rec) replacing the suspended LaMichael "Who?" James.
Here's how things net out: It's a lot easier to be concerned about teams that didn't look good in games (cough-Florida-cough) that should have been blowouts than accurately evaluate teams that destroyed their overmatched opponents.
Non-college football notes:
*Jim Thome > Mark McGwire
*Sam Bradford > Matt Leinart
*Mark Prior > San Diego Padres
-- D.S.
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