10/28 (ND! SF! Harden!) Quickie

Plenty to talk about...

*Notre Dame. It's almost a "'Nuff said" scenario.

Any lingering skepticism about their other wins -- and I had some -- is gone. If Kansas State was getting max credit for winning at Oklahoma as "Single-Best Win of the Year," then what do you give a team that won at Oklahoma in even more impressive fashion?

Spoiler alert: You make them No. 2 in the country, as Notre Dame deserves to be. There are four teams left with a realistic shot at playing for the national title: Alabama-LSU winner, Notre Dame, Kansas State and Oregon. And all four could conceivably go unbeaten.

Honestly? Oregon is probably the second-best team in the country, but USC's loss at Arizona yesterday makes the Ducks' tepid strength of schedule even more flimsy. Let's go back to the old idea: It seems unfair to punish them for it, but you can't reward Oregon for playing a patsy schedule.

(Let's remember what happened last year when they tried to boost their schedule strength by playing an elite SEC team -- they got walloped. This year's Oregon team is better -- but how much better?)

But let's not diminish the larger point: Notre Dame deserves to be part of that uber-elite group.

*Giants up 3-0 on Tigers in W.S.: It will be under-appreciated because the series will end in a sweep or maybe 5 games, but this is a wonderful Giants team every bit worthy of the championship it is about to claim.

(And I can't help but make this personal about the Nats and the Strasburg Shut-Down: The 2012 Giants are a pretty good example of why you can never take it for granted that you can simply make the playoffs again, let alone win a championship once you get there.)

*NBA Blockbuster: Thunder trade Harden to Rockets. OKC was never going to pay Harden what he wanted (or what he could command) -- a max deal. It is unreasonable to ask him to accept a huge haircut to keep the core together.

And so the Thunder shipped him to Houston for Kevin Martin -- a nice complement for the OKC Big Three, if not nearly the dynamic presence Harden was -- and Jeremy Lamb (a decent prospect) and a slew of picks, which is, if nothing else, "The Thunder Way."

I would argue that the Thunder are no longer on par with the NBA's super-elite, but the cynic would note that it's not like Harden showed up in the NBA Finals a year ago anyway. But chemistry is an interesting thing.

Meanwhile, the Rockets get something they have lusted after for years: A franchise player. The Lin-Harden backcourt is very strong, although hardly a championship contender. But at the very least, they have a go-to star (and go-to scorer).

*CFB Hangover: The tragedy of Marcus Lattimore. I'm sick to my stomach about his season-ending (and possibly/probably career-ending) injury. This is why I am so adamantly against the NFL Draft age minimum -- Lattimore would have been a 1st-round pick had he been able to enter the league after his marvelous freshman season. But mandated to stay in college, he had a serious knee injury last year and a devastating one this year.

If I'm star soph teammate Jadaveon Clowney, why would I play next season at South Carolina when I could spend the year training for the NFL Draft (and NFL) -- as if Clowney playing 13 more games next year (more accurately: putting his pro career at risk for 13 more games next year) would raise his stock higher than the Top 5 lock he is now?

*Florida loses to Georgia: Yes, I'm bitterly disappointed. The only consolation is that it goes hand-in-hand with expecting your team to win championships, a glorious feeling I hadn't had about this Florida team since halfway through Urban's final season in Gainesville. "Win or Fail" is brutal, but that's what I signed up for.

UPDATE: This week's poll -- with ND at No. 2, as foreshadowed above.

DanShanoff.com Ballot - Week 9

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama Crimson Tide	--
2	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	3
3	Kansas St. Wildcats	--
4	Oregon Ducks	--
5	Georgia Bulldogs	7
6	Florida Gators	-4
7	LSU Tigers	-1
8	South Carolina Gamecocks	3
9	Florida St. Seminoles	5
10	Ohio St. Buckeyes	--
11	Clemson Tigers	7
12	Louisville Cardinals	7
13	Oregon St. Beavers	-6
14	Oklahoma Sooners	-6
15	Texas Tech Red Raiders	--
16	Stanford Cardinal	--
17	USC Trojans	-8
18	Texas A&M Aggies	3
19	Mississippi St. Bulldogs	-6
20	West Virginia Mountaineers	-3
21	Louisiana Tech Bulldogs	3
22	Kent St. Golden Flashes	--
23	Toledo Rockets	2
24	Boise St. Broncos	--
25	Texas Longhorns	-3
Dropouts: Ohio Bobcats, Rutgers Scarlet Knights

SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings »

-- D.S.

10/26 (Friday) Quickie

Whatever "It" is, the Giants have it. Whether it's a three-HR barrage from Panda or a bunt dribbling just to the interesting side of the foul line or Prince Fielder carrying just a bit too much baggage in the trunk or yet another amazing performance from a starting pitcher, the Tigers now can't afford to drop even a single game back in Detroit.

CFB: I'm sure Notre Dame is reviewing the way Kansas State ground down Oklahoma in pulling its upset in Norman a few weeks ago. Notre Dame is built much the same way... on defense. But on offense, there is no comparison between tepid ND and bullying K-State. And so it is Oklahoma's defense -- not its more acclaimed offense -- that will be the defining unit of OU tagging ND with its first loss of the season.

Upset Special: Washington over Oregon State. (I want to pick Texas Tech over Kansas State, but I feel like Tech's win over West Virginia -- as devalued as it became after WVU's second loss last week -- was Tommy Tuberville's "big upset" for the year.)

Fandom: This is the most meaningful Florida-Georgia game of my 12 years of being a Florida fan -- no less than the championship game for the SEC East, which is no small feat, particularly for a Florida team that -- this time last year -- was stumbling through October. The improvement since then is monumental.

NFL Week 8 Highlights: Neither the Eagles nor the Steelers can really afford a loss this week to drop themselves to 3-4. The Eagles have to thwart the unbeaten Falcons; the Steelers have to try to contain RG3. Sunday's best game: When the Giants embarrass the Cowboys in Dallas.

Bucs beat Vikings: That was the Doug Martin everyone was raving about on the day of the 2012 NFL Draft.

NBA: David Stern is retiring. Adam Silver is getting a promotion. The NBA enjoys continuity within its leadership. Stern's legacy is the stratospheric growth of the sport -- Stern was as responsible for that as Bird and Magic or Jordan. If he was heavy-handed, it is hard to dispute the results and prove a negative that some form of weaker-willed leadership would have made the NBA bigger than it became or that it is right now. (FWIW, I'm looking ahead to who Silver will appoint as his deputy -- thus take over the role as Commish-in-waiting. Longtime readers know my personal affinity for and friendship with D-League commissioner Dan Reed, who I have for years said will ultimately become NBA commissioner, if a decade and a half from now.)

Tebow: I'm baffled by the SI poll of NFL players that Tim Tebow is the most overrated player in the NFL. I'm even more baffled in that it is far less of an indictment of Tebow than it is an indictment of the Tebow-obsessed sports media universe.

CBB: Andrew Wiggins -- the best player of the HS Class of 2014 -- has "reclassified" into the Class of 2013, making him the most sought-after recruit of the current crop and the clear favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick of the 2014 NBA Draft. (For what it's worth, he is so good that he would have been the No. 1 player of the class of 2012, even a year behind them. He is the best high school NBA wing prospect since LeBron -- right now, he is better than Kevin Durant was at that age.)

Last Word: Say it ain't so, Mo.

-- D.S.

10/25 (Panda) Quickie

Babe Ruth. Reggie Jackson. Albert Pujols. Pablo Sandoval.

Thanks to Mr. October, the "hit three home runs in a World Series game" milestone has an out-sized appeal with fans.

That it has only been done by a handful of players -- all legends -- extends the appeal. This is a club five times more exclusive than the "Threw a Perfect Game" crew.

That Sandoval was a non-factor in the Giants' 2010 World Series title run -- and largely an afterthought heading into this year's version -- adds to it.

That the Panda hit two of his homers off of Justin Verlander -- the most dominant pitcher of the current era -- makes his version more impressive than any of the other guys.

Just like that, Pablo Sandoval has ensured his little place of baseball immortality. If the Giants win the Series, what Panda did last night is what everyone will remember.

If the Giants lose the Series, what Panda did last night will still be the most memorable thing from this series (not unlike Derek Jeter's walk-off HR in the 2001 WS).

Typically, playoff series are said not to "start" until a road team wins a game. But given the expectations for Verlander, the pressure is on Detroit.

And if Pablo Sandoval does nothing else this series, he has done enough already.

More:

NBA: SI picks the Heat to beat the Lakers in the NBA Finals. Don't disagree.

Kobe: Out for the rest of the preseason. Honestly, he could sit out half the regular season -- like Dwight Howard, all that matters is that he is healthy for the playoffs.

NHL: Islanders moving to Brooklyn. Clearly, I love this.

NHL Lockout: Was there even a question the full season wouldn't be played?

CFB: Braxton Miller will play vs. Penn State - it isn't the weekend's biggest game (it isn't even in the Top 5), but it has Upset Special potential, a season-maker for PSU.

What are those Top 5 games? In this order: (1) Florida-Georgia, (2) Notre Dame-Oklahoma, (3) Texas Tech-Kansas State, (4) Oregon State-Washington (Upset Special), (5) Mississippi State-Alabama. And watch Kent State upending unbeaten Rutgers.

CBB: Adding injury to insult, UCLA frosh Shabazz Muhammad -- dealing with NCAA eligibility issues -- injured his shoulder yesterday in practice. He is the presumptive No. 1 overall pick of the NBA Draft next year. Given that UCLA has him for just a year, they might want to get him back ASAP; if I was Muhammad, I would err on the side of protecting my professional future.

NFL vs. Concussions: This Washington Post piece is worth a read.

Good read: Chuck Culpepper on Jeremy Lin, via SportsOnEarth.com.

NFL Week 8: Pink penalty flags are a great idea and will look awesome on TV.

Service-y! Don't forget to set your fantasy lineups, particularly if you have any Bucs or Vikings. (Pick: Vikes.)

-- D.S.

10/24 (World Series) Quickie

It is very possible that yesterday was the slowest sports day of the year, although there was a healthy stream of day-after coverage of the Giants winning the NLCS and the Bears as (possibly) the NFL's best team. That means that this morning is truly slow, right up until we get to tonight's World Series Game 1.

For the record, I'll say Giants in 7, because they are on a roll* and because they never seem to make it easy on themselves, so beating Justin Verlander in Game 7 seems to be the most absurd path possible.

* - The bookend to pundits who fit their narratives based on the result of the game, I fit my narratives based on the fuzzy concept of "momentum" heading into games (thus my persistent weakness for picking defending-champion teams to repeat.)

Flying back East from LA to DC this afternoon, but (the promise of) in-air wi-fi means that I can hopefully update Quickish with good stuff throughout the day. In the meantime, check out a selection of things I have already picked out for today, led by -- what else? -- the World Series.

-- D.S.

10/23 (Giants) Quickie

Los Angeles -- I typically dislike West Coast time, but wrapping up the NLCS Game 7 by 9 p.m. last night was kind of tremendous. I understand the appeal.

I'm going to project here: Because I didn't fully appreciate the incredible run by these 2012 Giants -- down 0-2 in the NLDS, down 3-1 in the NLCS -- I assume that many other fans didn't fully appreciate it either.

The reality is that it is incredible -- as incredible of a feat as we have seen in baseball since the Red Sox came back from 0-3 in the 2004 ALCS. In its own way, it is even more improbable.

Consider that the Giants needed a career-best outing from Barry Freaking Zito. Then a career-best outing from Ryan Vogelsong. With both coming against the most pressure-tested lineup in baseball.

Matt Cain's performance in Game 7 was almost insubstantial by comparison -- at least Cain was expected to pitch well (if not THAT well).

Plus the Marco Scutaro story. Plus the Hunter Pence hit, which was one of those things that just crystallizes that -- at least through the NL pennant -- this was one of Those Years for San Francisco.

All you can ask is that your champs prove themselves somehow worthy of the title. I'm not sure I can think of a process more amazing than the one that the Giants have gone through over the past three weeks.

I know there is an inclination to root for the Tigers because they haven't won since 1984 (as opposed to just two years ago for these Giants), but the way SF has gotten here makes them the sentimental favorite to finish it off with a World Series title.

Ideally in 7 games, after some kind of insane series comeback.

More:

*Are the Bears the best team in the NFL? I wouldn't trust them to win three straight games in the playoffs (presuming they win the NFC North), but they are among the elite.

*NFL to drop Pro Bowl? Good. (Does anyone need to say anything more?)

*NBA GMs pick Heat to repeat: Of course they did. What exactly are the other options?

*CFB: Already feeling a tense lead-up to Notre Dame at Oklahoma, this weekend's marquee game. But does anyone think that ND isn't going to get drilled? (In that case, merely keeping it close will be a moral victory that qualifies ND for what increasingly looks like an inevitable 10-win slot in a BCS-level bowl game.)

-- D.S.

Monday (Jam-Packed) Quickie

I'm actually in L.A. today, but arrived last night too late to zip over to Staples to watch the Dwight Howard Lakers debut. Probably for the best. So much to cover...

*NLCS Game 7: Not much more you can ask for. Two teams -- only the most recent two defending MLB champs -- that consistently win these kind of elimination games, so the slogan for tonight is "Something's gotta give."

*Game 6: After being down 3-1, it is pretty incredible that the Giants have gotten career-best starts from both Barry Zito and Ryan Vogelsong at exactly the moment they were most-needed.

*NFL Week 7 notes:

*MNF Tonight: This time it's personal. I'm tied in a fantasy match-up. I've got Calvin Johson and my opponent has Brandon Marshall. If that wasn't enough, I have Joique Bell and he has Mikel Leshoure. It is the most exciting fantasy finish I have ever experienced and the definition of why fantasy football rules.

*Sports x Politics: I'm kind of loving ESPN's campaign to get you to watch MNF via the (essential) WatchESPN app while you watch the Presidential debate on TV. Sounds good to me.

*CFB Hangover: There is no question -- Kansas State's resume is stronger than Oregon's (as is Florida's). If you avoid watching Oregon's insane highlights and simply focus on who they have played (and beaten soundly), they just aren't there yet. Two wins over USC (regular season and Pac-12 title game) and a win over a then-unbeaten Oregon State will help Oregon's cause tremendously. But until then, let's celebrate what a juggernaut K-State is.

*More: "Florida is Back" meme. I have been a Florida fan for 12 seasons and I can't remember -- and in asking more seasoned Florida fans than me, anyone else can't remember -- a Florida-Georgia game as big as this one coming up on Saturday: It is the SEC East title game. Forget Florida's position in the BCS or national-title picture -- winning the SEC East this year would be a HUGE accomplishment. (And, conversely, losing the game this weekend would be particularly tough.)

*Heisman Watch: Collin Klein surges into the lead, and as long as K-State stays unbeaten -- no matter what happens with the BCS -- he will win the Heisman, although Mante Te'o is a lock to earn the coveted "defensive player gets invited to New York for the ceremony" finalist placement.

*NBA: Dwight Howard's Lakers debut. The NBA quote of the season? Kobe to Dwight before the tip: "Let's play some mother-f@#$ing ball." Let's not get caught up in how Howard looked last night -- or any game this regular season. He and the Lakers will be judged entirely on whether they win an NBA title. (Not even wrenching the West title back from OKC will be enough, although it is necessary -- if not sufficient -- to the season's success.)

*Lance stripped of Tour de France titles: We all knew it was coming. It is still the most powerful symbolism of this entire affair, because it was the TdF titles that turned Lance Armstrong into LANCE and his story into the "Live Strong" campaign and charity that has done so much to fund cancer research and provide hope to people dealing with cancer, themselves or their family/friends. Earlier in this portion of the episode, I used to feel a lot of anger and bitterness toward Lance. As I read details of what a mastermind he was of all of this, I still feel angry. But mostly I feel sad for the people who put their faith in him. Then I feel angry again towards him. Hell of a legacy for him.

-- D.S.

This Week's BlogPoll Top 25 Ballot

It's a hell of a debate over "Who's No. 2?" Your contenders: Florida (with the best resume), Kansas State (with the best road wins) and Oregon (with the flashiest offense). (No offense, ND fans.)

For now, I notch Florida ahead of K-State for the totality of Florida's resume (in this order: home win over LSU, home win over South Carolina, road win over A&M, road win over Tennessee) over Kansas State's pair: incredible win at Oklahoma and blistering of West Virginia in Morgantown.

Things will work themselves out to some extent: Florida eventually has to play Alabama. But if the question is whether Kansas State should get the BCS nod over Oregon, the answer is -- at least based on resumes through this weekend -- yes.

DanShanoff.com Ballot - Week 8

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama Crimson Tide	--
2	Florida Gators	1
3	Kansas St. Wildcats	1
4	Oregon Ducks	-2
5	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	--
6	LSU Tigers	--
7	Oregon St. Beavers	3
8	Oklahoma Sooners	--
9	USC Trojans	9
10	Ohio St. Buckeyes	1
11	South Carolina Gamecocks	-4
12	Georgia Bulldogs	--
13	Mississippi St. Bulldogs	3
14	Florida St. Seminoles	-1
15	Texas Tech Red Raiders	7
16	Stanford Cardinal	1
17	West Virginia Mountaineers	-8
18	Clemson Tigers	-4
19	Louisville Cardinals	--
20	Ohio Bobcats	--
21	Texas A&M Aggies	--
22	Texas Longhorns	1
23	Rutgers Scarlet Knights	1
24	Louisiana Tech Bulldogs	1
25	Toledo Rockets	--
Dropouts: TCU Horned Frogs

SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings »

10/19 (TGIF) Quickie

*The Yankees get swept: Did Baltimore take all the fight out of them? Did the Jeter injury deflate them? Was the team profile ripe for a postseason flop? Most accurately, the Tigers' awesome starting pitching did in New York. Hard to remember a team folding so badly in the LCS.

A Quickie truism: If it is in the best interests of baseball that the Yankees be competitive, it is even more in the best interests of baseball that the Yankees fall short of a championship, preferably in the most humiliating way possible.

*Cards up 3-1 on the Giants in NLCS: They are the defining baseball franchise of the past decade, and if the Red Sox' title breakthrough got more publicity and the Yankees spent more money, it is the Cardinals that are one win away from being as close to a dynasty as we have had since the Yankees crapped out in '04 (or possibly '01). Head over to Quickish for a tip to a Jeff Passan column about the most fascinating thing about these Cardinals: Not only have they gotten this far this season without Albert Pujols, it's almost as if they are better off without him.

*NFL Week 7: Ravens-Texans is the best game of the week -- let's see how a Lewis- and Webb-less Ravens D handles Houston's offense... RGIII getting his first taste of the DC-NY rivalry between the Redskins and Giants (who also happen to be the team to beat in the NFL right now) is the most must-see match-up... And yet! The storyline that will earn the most attention is whether Rex Ryan will have Mark Sanchez hand the ball off to Tim Tebow, rather than having Tebow take snaps directly before running with the ball.

*49ers grunt past the Seahawks: Not a pretty one, which is a testament to Seattle's defense and -- if you believe the morning-after quarterbacking -- a testament to eroding faith Jim Harbaugh has in QB Alex Smith. The 49ers could be the best team in the league -- would they really bench Smith for rising backup Colin Kaepernick? If any coach has the wherewithal to do it, it's Harbaugh.

*CFB Weekend: The game of the week is South Carolina at Florida, which -- ironically -- doesn't do a ton to settle the SEC East. USC would have the tie-breaker over Florida and Georgia, but even if Florida beats South Carolina, if they lose next week to Georgia, the Bulldogs are in the driver's seat in the East. Let's keep things simple: If Florida wins, they remain in the national-title picture for one more week.

*Speaking of national-title simplicity: The same goes for Kansas State -- if they win in Morgantown, K-State collects a second Win of the Year (to go with winning at Oklahoma) and look very good to run the table (until the inevitable baffling loss). If they lose to West Virginia -- and despite the evidence of K-State's fortitude displayed in Norman, I'm saying they will -- they (and the Big 12) are out of the national-title picture.

*Upset Watch: BYU won't beat Notre Dame -- although BYU's defense combined with ND's defense means the game will be close enough to make Irish fans sweat -- but I'm intrigued by Texas A&M playing at home versus LSU. Johnny Manziel is as tough of a player as LSU has faced this season -- then again, Manziel hasn't come close to going up against a D as tough as LSU (not even Florida's, which let Manziel go crazy in the 1st half before clamping down on him in the 2nd.) Nope, my upset pick is 2-4 Utah beating 5-0 Oregon State in Corvallis and ruining OSU's thus-far-perfect season.

*Oregon rolls over Arizona State: The Ducks got to 40+ so blindingly fast that Oregon ripping through the rest of its schedule feels like the most foregone conclusion in college football. (Even Alabama -- for all its might -- feels like it would give the SEC East winner a puncher's chance in the SEC title game. Oregon? They're not going to get stopped until -- as usual -- they run into an elite SEC defense.)

*NBA: It is a testament to LeBron being the NBA's center of gravity that the biggest NBA story of the week is whether the Lakers are angling to sign LeBron after the 2014 season. At least that's only two years away -- remember when we were a full four years from LeBron's free agency when we started talking about him leaving Cleveland for the NYC area?

FWIW, after LeBron wins another title or two with Miami -- and, coming off of last season, that is the most likely outcome -- he may very well see his next frontier as conquering LA and bringing a title back to the Lakers (particularly if he beats the Lakers in either of the next two NBA Finals).

Enjoy your weekend.

-- D.S.

10/18 (Midweek) Quickie

The A-Rod-to-Marlins idea was far-fetched, but I appreciated the spirit in which it was delivered.

If I was the Yankees, I'd trade him, even if it meant eating his massive contract. If I was another team -- yes, particularly the Marlins -- I would absolutely pick him up... if the Yankees picked up the tab.

This won't end soon -- even if the Yankees' season ends imminently. But I could see it ending by mid-December. Can you envision the Yankees taking A-Rod into spring training next year? I can't.

Then again, the Yankees have much bigger problems than A-Rod and his contract. Much bigger.

NLCS: It's hard to not respect the Cardinals, begrudgingly or otherwise. Epitome of "playoff team."

NFL: Welcome back, Terrell Suggs. Will almost certainly lift a Ravens D reeling from the loss of Lewis and Webb.

Tebow: If Tebow does get touches as an RB (meaning, not a QB who takes direct snaps and runs like a RB, but a full-fledged RB taking handoffs from a QB), my only question is when he gets "RB" eligibility in fantasy. Some smart platform is going to do it this weekend, if he really does take a handoff.

NBA: Kevin Love out 6-8 weeks. Between Love's injury this season and Rubio's injury last season, a promising franchise remains theoretical.

CFB Tonight: Do yourself a favor and watch Oregon at Arizona State. This is the Ducks' first real road game, and even if ASU isn't going to pose a challenge, you've got to see Oregon's offense first-hand. It's a great appetizer for a very strong weekend of games.

-- D.S.

10/17 (Yankees) Quickie

A little more than a decade ago, ESPN's Buster Olney put out a book called "The Last Night of the Yankees Dynasty," hubbed around the 2001 World Series loss and the decaying infrastructure of a team that had dominated baseball for a half-decade.

11 years later, the Yankees are still a perennial playoff team, but it really feels like a break point now: The energetic Orioles seem to have sapped New York's energy; the Yankees are about to get swept out of the ALCS, a complete humiliation.

Jeter is out. Rivera is out. I would never bet against either, but between age and injury, you just don't know how effective they will be in 2013 and beyond. The rest of the lineup is largely punchless -- and if/when Cano and Granderson and Teixera aren't hitting HRs, it's a huge problem.

And then there is the A-Rod issue, which is really just a money issue -- he is owed $120M over the next five years, and he is so ineffective, they won't play him in a must-win playoff game, among other signals that he is all but done as a useful contributor.

I'm not sure the Yankees can spend their way to a title again -- they aren't better-positioned than the Tigers (clearly); they aren't better-positioned than the Rangers or Angels. The Orioles will clearly regress next season, but the Rays won't, the Jays are always on the cusp and the Red Sox -- while even more of a mess than the Yankees -- are a couple of well-financed moves from being a threat, if not a contender.

Yankees fans have every right to be unenthusiastic -- they have championship expectations, and this team isn't even close (and looks to be getting further away by the day). And it is good for the game that the swath of Anti-Yankees Nation gets to revel in a little bit of schadenfreude.

More:

*Lance: He's leaving Live Strong. Nike is dropping him. These two things are way more symbolically meaningful than the USADA report or the various tell-alls by his former colleagues.

*ALCS: Justin Verlander is a joy to watch. Take in his playoff starts now, so you can tell your kids about it when he is inducted into the Hall of Fame.

(Sidebar: How many active pitchers feel like HOF locks? Rivera, obviously. Verlander. At this rate, King Felix. Probably Cliff Lee. Probably Roy Halladay. Probably CC Sabathia. Maybe Andy Pettitte. Possibly David Price. Possibly Clayton Kershaw. That seem right?)

*NFL: Firing the defensive coordinator won't help the Eagles. At what point will they finally figure out that Andy Reid isn't getting them to the top?

*More: Not sure there's a more overrated NFL exec than Mike Holmgren, who was a terrific coach but always felt like a huge stretch as a GM/President. His final (and most obvious) failure was not putting the trade package together to get the Rams' 1st-round draft pick to acquire RGIII.

*CFB: The minor knee injury to Bama QB McCarron feels like ominous foreshadowing of the Tide falling short of what initially felt like an inevitable national title. (Now, you could probably plug in the third-string QB and they would still run over people -- and it's not like McCarron plays D, which will always keep Alabama in games -- but don't undervalue his role as a leader.)

*Remainders: The new Nets court looks terrific on TV.

-- D.S.

10/15 (Busy Weekend) Quickie

Am I still recovering from the Nats' excruciating loss on Friday night? Yes. But yesterday was Jonah's 4th birthday, so that party -- superhero-themed -- kept me occupied.

As there is no natural sports tie-in to Captain America (Jonah's favorite), then the hook is that one of his favorite gifts was a pair of Bauer hockey pants that he had been coveting to round out his hockey gear. Not going to lie: He looked faster/tougher on the ice on Saturday while wearing them.

Meanwhile, much like our house, let's zip around to clean up a busy weekend:

*NFL Week 6: The pivot point where early-season narratives (The Texans look like Super Bowl contenders! The Falcons and 49ers are the class of the NFC!) start to erode -- the Packers and Giants we saw yesterday are closer to what real contenders look like than the performances we see across the league in Weeks 1-5.

*Team of the Week: Seahawks! With all due respect to the Lions (let's be honest: the Eagles are not particularly good) and the Packers (who did nothing more than finally play up to their potential), Seattle's comeback win over the Patriots wasn't just the best win of Week 6, but the best win of the year -- the kind of awesome performance (with the whole country watching) that should make everyone forget about the MNF "Fail Mary" debacle that gifted them a win. The Seahawks earned this one, and in the process punched in the nose a team that most of the country can't stand.

*Player of the Week: RGIII: Not just a decent game coming off his concussion, but his best game yet in the NFL -- his 76-yard TD run to seal the win was arguably the most exciting play of the season so far, across the league.

(BTW: There's no question that Aaron Rodgers had the most impressive statistical game of the week -- and more than a little bit to prove after Green Bay's slow start. But RG3's concussion was THE story of the NFL this week -- that he came up as big as he did makes him the most intriguing player of the week. Let's also give some credit to Russell Wilson.)

*Nats hangover: I'd rather lose excruciatingly in the playoffs than either (a) get blown out in the ultimate game or (b) not make the playoffs at all. That said: Those of us who think the Strasburg shut-down was an epic mistake have that bitter affirmation to keep us warm during Hot Stove season.

*Yankees: If New York was going to poop the bed in the ALCS -- and that includes its fans simply tuning out (when they're not booing) -- they might as well have forfeited Game 5 against the Orioles and let a team (and fan base) with some competitive spirit have the spot.

*More Yankees: No, seriously, after Justin Verlander destroys them tomorrow and they're in an 0-3 hole, the only question is whether they'll have enough pride to avoid a sweep or just pack it in.

*Jeter: Much like Jeter's insistence that he keep his spot at shortstop when A-Rod arrived -- even though A-Rod was demonstrably better in the field -- I can't see Jeter doing anything but demanding he get to return to shortstop after his injury recovery, even if the reconstructed ankle will make him even more limited in the field than before (which is saying something). As with Mo Rivera, I hope he comes back at whatever "full strength" is for a 39-year-old -- ahem -- and has a productive year.

*NLCS: The only consolation for Nats fans should be that the Cards are going to hack their way to the NL pennant -- the Giants' starting pitching is a mess, and that is exactly what St. Louis feasts on.

*BCS: It's hard to get too worked up about Alabama-Florida at 1-2 -- if it all plays out like the computers seem to expect, they'll play each other in a knock-out game in the SEC title game (I don't even think Florida gets past South Carolina next week, let alone the rest of the schedule, including a trip to Tallahassee in the season finale that will be a season-maker for Florida State if Florida is unbeaten at the time.) The reality remains: It's going to be Alabama-Oregon in the NCG.

*More CFB Hangover: It was fun while it lasted, West Virginia. They can re-enter relevancy -- if not the national title picture -- by giving Kansas State its first loss of the season next Saturday.

-- D.S.

This Week's BlogPoll Top 25 Ballot

Alabama, Oregon... Florida? That's just about the kiss of death for the Gators heading into a huge game against South Carolina, which is coming off a brutal loss at LSU. Meanwhile: West Virginia's BCS hopes are all but over (and possibly Geno Smith's Heisman campaign?), but I predict WVU plays the spoiler next week by beating currently unbeaten Kansas State. I rank Notre Dame in the Top 5 but don't recognize their legitimacy after they were gifted that terrible call to hold off Stanford. But, again, as of now, there is zero BCS drama: It's Alabama-Oregon, because both are going to win out.

DanShanoff.com Ballot - Week 7

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama Crimson Tide	--
2	Oregon Ducks	--
3	Florida Gators	2
4	Kansas St. Wildcats	2
5	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	3
6	LSU Tigers	4
7	South Carolina Gamecocks	-3
8	Oklahoma Sooners	1
9	West Virginia Mountaineers	-6
10	Oregon St. Beavers	4
11	Ohio St. Buckeyes	-4
12	Georgia Bulldogs	-1
13	Florida St. Seminoles	-1
14	Clemson Tigers	1
15	TCU Horned Frogs	-2
16	Mississippi St. Bulldogs	3
17	Stanford Cardinal	--
18	USC Trojans	--
19	Louisville Cardinals	1
20	Ohio Bobcats	1
21	Texas A&M Aggies	1
22	Texas Tech Red Raiders	--
23	Texas Longhorns	-7
24	Rutgers Scarlet Knights	--
25	Louisiana Tech Bulldogs	-2
Dropouts: N.C. State Wolfpack

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