Tuesday 12/12 A.M. Quickie:Devin Hester: The New Gale Sayers?

Devin Hester is the new Dante Hall: The Bears rookie return guy set a new NFL single-season record with his 6th return for a TD this season. And, more astonishing, it was his second of the night, a 42-27 Bears rout over the Rams.

Hester is the most potent offensive weapon the Bears have, which is saying something, considering he's a special teams player (but, then again, not saying much, given Rex Grossman and the otherwise iffy offense).

The real question is whether he'll be the only rookie to make the Pro Bowl -- for which he has now to be a lock. Is he a more deserving Rookie of the Year than Vince Young or Marques Colston? As the most effective player on the best team in the NFC, it's an argument.

NBA to go back to the old ball: This is the biggest news of the season (similar to the way the switch to the new ball was previously the biggest news of the season). It's a rare defeat for David Stern, but the bottom line is that he earns more goodwill – with players and fans -- by switching back than he does by trying to continue to prove he's smarter than everyone else with this ball idea. I think we'll look back on this three months of the "new" ball as the NBA's "XFL Moment." (I fully expect YaySports to print up "Free Orange Roundie!" T-shirts.)

Jerry Sloan won his 1,000th career game in style: With his Jazz extending their NBA-best record to 16-5 with a rout over the defending conference champ Mavs (including 31 and 11 from Boozer; seriously, WTF is he on this season?)

More signs Amare is back: Season-high 30 points last night in the Suns' win over the Magic, PHX's 11th straight win.

AI Trade Watch: After last night's 2-point loss to Portland (without AI, obvs – a difference that probably cost them the game), why wouldn't the Sixers throw in the towel, tank the rest of the season and promise fans that their intent is to re-build a new core around Top 2 draft prizes Greg Oden or Kevin Durant?

Freddy Adu traded from DC United to Real Salt Lake: If, in fact, Adu remains the biggest prospect (either for skills or marketing or both), I'm not sure why DC United would trade him. Maybe they know he's not long for MLS; I'm sure there's an EPL payday in his future.

So if you thought Jimmie Johnson's golf-cart injury sounded sort of sketchy (how do you get hurt while riding in a golf cart?), it is: Reportedly, he was sprawled across the TOP of the golf cart, which – indeed – is a good way of getting your ass flung off a golf cart.

College Hoops Top 25: I wonder if Air Force – one of two new teams to debut in this season's Top 25 (along with Notre Dame) – is for real. They've played a brutal schedule (mostly on the road) and have been successful doing it. Conference play in 2007 won't reveal as much as their non-conference schedule this fall. Tracking...

MLB Hot Stove: I predict that, despite reports of intractable problems, the Red Sox and Matsuzaka hammer out a deal by Thursday's deadline.

Fantasy Venting: You all know that I'm a fan of fantasy, but I am guided by the principle that everyone can/should play fantasy, but no one wants to hear about your team, specifically. We can talk about larger fantasy implications of a player's performance, but not the larger fantasy implications on your team. With that said, I have to vent: I scored the third-most points in my 14-team league, yet I finished tied for second-to-last. It's one of those seasons where you say: Why bother? Perhaps some of you can relate (or know someone in your league who can): Every league must have a "Hard-Luck Champion," who finishes with playoff-quality point totals but out of the actual playoffs bracket. The only solace? "Regression to the mean": If you can replicate Top 4 point-totals every season, you're bound to get the right week-to-week matchups to vault you into the playoffs. You hope.

-- D.S.

Weblog Awards: Shut Out!

I could/should pull a Stephen Colbert and feign some outrage that I wasn't nominated for "Best Sports Blog" in the 2006 Weblog Awards. (More accurately, I should kick myself for not surreptitiously nominating myself. Next year... and I'll be sure to get you all to nominate me, too!)

Anyway, I wanted to point you to the link. There are a lot of great blogs that didn't make the list (so I don't feel TOO badly), but there are a couple of terrific ones that did, including Will and Co. at Deadspin, MJD, Jamie Mottram for Mr. Irrelevant, Henry Abbott for TrueHoop, and -- in quite an amazing development -- the hilarious deviants at Kissing Suzy Kolber.

Here's the full list.

In the comments, I'd love to hear which sports blogs are your favorites. (Cough! Cough!) You don't have to read them every day (cough! cough!) or have followed them over from a successful mainstream site (cough! cough!). Just ones you think are particularly well done. (I'm only kidding with the coughs, obvs.)

-- D.S.

Monday 12/11 A.M. Quickie:LaDainian Rules, But Is Brees MVP?

This is one of those mornings where there are two stories so huge that they actually converge. In this case, it's LaDainian Tomlinson obliterating the NFL single-season TD record (with 3 games to play!) and the Saints obliterating the Cowboys (in Dallas) to pull into the NFC No. 2 spot and continue their dream season. Let's dig in...

The MVP case for Tomlinson: I don't like to curse, but there's only one phrase that comes to mind for what LaDainian Tomlinson is doing this season: Holy Shit.

"Holy shit" that he set the new single-season TD record (set only last season by Shaun Alexander) WITH THREE GAMES STILL TO PLAY. The ramifications of this are staggering: He very well could create the most unbreakable record in major sports.

And "holy shit": If we're watching the greatest single-season for an RB in NFL history, are we also watching the greatest running back in NFL history? Marty Schottenheimer thinks so, and – if you consider a single season an indicator – it's hard to argue with him. The MVP debate between he and Brees (presuming the Saints finish 1 or 2 in the NFC) will be phenomenal... and fierce. Because...

Saints: Best NFL team story ever? The question isn't whether the Saints are the NFL team story of the year; it's whether the Saints are the best NFL team story of all time.

Sure, it's only Week 14 -- there's plenty of time for the season to derail (though in the weak NFC, that would be a stretch) -- but after last night's primetime national-TV smackdown of the "contender" Cowboys (in Dallas, no less), they're storybook season just get even better.

They were already the new version of America's Team; how can you NOT root for them? (At the very least, how can you begrudge them success?) That was back when they were simply the crappy team giving a little hope to some hometown fans who needed it.

But now they have the second-best record in the NFC and control their own destiny not just for a home playoff game, but getting a first-round bye. And if you watched them steamroll the Cowboys last night -- and if you've watched the Bears recently -- the Saints are arguably the best team in the NFC.

Here's how good Drew Brees is right now: By almost every measure, LaDainian Tomlinson should be running away with the league MVP award; not only has Brees thrown himself into the argument -- at his current pace, Brees is going to pull it off. His 5 TDs last night will help.

There have been more dominant teams in NFL history, but none of those had the Saints' universal appeal. There may have been more likeable underdogs in NFL history (and maybe not), but none was this competitive. Stay tuned: It's the best NFL story you're going to see.

Vince Young is my hero: That and more NFL Week 14 analysis here (or in the post below.)

NBA: Whither AI? He's still inactive. Doesn't it hurt the Sixers every game they don't play him? Can't the league step in with a one-time exception to the salary-match trade rules that can make this a little easier on everyone?

Meanwhile, the Suns won their 10th straight game, behind Amare's 7th double-double in his last 8 games. It only took him six weeks to reclaim his position among the NBA's elite.

MLB Hot Stove: With a Thursday deadline, it's looking more likely that the Red Sox won't be able to sign Matsuzaka, which keeps him out of the MLB market – this season – but leaves the Red Sox open to the Yankees poaching him when he's a complete free agent a year from now.

College Hoops Parity Watch: A season after losing to them in the NCAA Regional Final, Texas (now unranked) finally beat LSU (ranked No. 9), albeit needing OT and a virtual home game in Houston. Still, it continues the early-season pattern of extreme parity.

-- D.S.

The Five Most Intriguing NFL Results of the Day (So Far)

1. One win changes everything: The Giants looked like a team whose season had imploded; one win over the Panthers later, they're in control of the NFC Wild Card – and control their own destiny.

2. Oops, Vince Young did it again: Another game, another thrilling win for the Titans rookie. This time, he bolted for a 39-yard game-winning TD run in OT to win his Houston homecoming. Rookie of the Year?

3. Forget what you know, Part 1: Think the Colts are the team to beat in the AFC? Not after they allowed a franchise record 375 rushing yards in a 44-17 loss to the Jags. If Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor can run on them at will, what can LaDainian do in the playoffs?

4. Forget what you know, Part 2: Think the Pats have some magic playoff formula up their sleeve? Not after they were blanked by the Dolphins, in what was arguably the worst offensive performance of the Belichick Era, setting season lows in total yards and first downs. Tom Brady was sacked four times and threw for a whopping 78 yards.

5. Odds and Ends: With it's fourth win in a row, the Bengals look like the AFC Wild Card team to beat... Who had Chris Weinke starting for their fantasy team?... I'll say it again: What does it say about Donovan McNabb's value when Jeff Garcia can lead the Eagles to the playoffs?... I think the Chiefs, losing at home to the Ravens, just lost their last chance at making the playoffs... Just when Jets fans start to look beyond "moral victory," they suffer "crappy defeat"... Let's not confuse one decent game/win by Brett Favre over the 49ers as a "renaissance"... Sure, the Seahawks did quite a bit to lose the game, as much as the Cards did to win it, but for 'Zona, progress is progress... Now, I *know* you didn't start Artose Pinner on your fantasy team.

-- D.S.

Comments Question: Add your own intriguing observations in the Comments section. I'm quite sure they'll be more intriguing than mine, but that's why I think you all rule.

Sunday 12/10 A.M. Quickie:McFadden for Heisman? Yes...in 2007!

Unsurprisingly, Ohio State QB Troy Smith won the Heisman by an overwhelming margin. In a bit of a surprise, Arkansas RB Darren McFadden beat out Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn for second place. Given the certainty of the Smith outcome, it actually reaffirms my faith in the otherwise sketchy batch of 1,000 Heisman voters. (See my own Heisman vote – with McFadden as my ultimate pick – from Thursday.)

Looking ahead to 2007, McFadden -- just a sophomore this season -- becomes the overwhelming favorite to win the Heisman. (Others on the early-early radar: West Virginia RB Steve Slaton and Rutgers RB Ray Rice. Should be a great year for running backs.)

College Hoops: In a battle of two of the Top 3 teams on the West Coast, Gonzaga waxed Washington by 20 in Spokane. The third Top 3 team – top-ranked UCLA – got away with a 3-point win over trendy Texas A&M. UCLA is legit.

CFB Coaching Carousel: Dennis Erickson is back in the Pac-10, bolting from Idaho to Arizona State. So much for the hot rumor that AZ State was going to hire Norm Chow.

NBA: Iverson Rumors Overwhelm T'wolves. And, yet, Minnesota was motivated enough to beat the Bulls, snapping Chicago's 7-game W streak. KG reaffirmed his interest in getting AI, but T'wolves owner Glen Taylor insists that the financials wouldn't work out. Cripes: With KG and AI, couldn't they simply sign three guys from the local General Mills IM league and be competitive?

NFL Live-Comment Tailgate: Settling in for a day of NFL games? Use the Comments section below to weigh in on the developments of the day.

-- D.S.

Iverson to Be Traded From Sixers To...Where?

I didn't cover the AI trade situation this morning, but I've been watching the Wizards-Sixers game tonight, and there was the most candid interview I've ever seen. The Sixers owner just flat-out acknowledged that (a) AI asked for a trade, (b) he'll accommodate him, and (c) he's played his last game as a Sixer. What a refreshing comparison to his GM and coach, who dissembled all day.

But that's neither here nor there (sort of like those freakish gold Wiz unis). Here's my question for you:

What trade makes the most sense, both to the team that will acquire AI and for the Sixers to attempt to start to rebuild in the post-AI era?

(Meanwhile, I've been advocating that the Sixers trade AI for at least three years, despite the fact that he's one of the most entertaining players in the NBA and one of the few most fans would agree is worth paying to watch. Let's hope he lands in an interesting situation.)

Look forward to reading your trade scenarios in the comments section, and have safe and enjoyable weekends.

-- D.S.

NFL Week 14 Preview and Picks

At this point, we're talking about jockeying for playoff position, either for home-field advantage or simply to get in...

Bengals over Raiders: With five 7-5 AFC teams battling for two playoff spots, Cincy gets a gift with a near-lock for an 8th win.

Vikings over Lions: Who gives a shit? Has Matt Millen been fired yet?

Chiefs over Ravens: KC is another team in that AFC 7-5 dogfight. Baltimore is a rough draw (battling Indy, SD and NE for a first-round playoff bye), but playing in KC will be the difference.

Pats over Dolphins: Isn't this New England's annual trap game? I think Miami's about ready to pack it in, and the Pats are still a game behind Indy and SD for a first-round playoff bye.

Falcons over Bucs: Meanwhile, the NFC has four 6-6 teams battling for two Wild Card spots (with another three teams at 5-7 who actually still believe they have a shot). Atlanta gets a gift here.

Eagles over Redskins: Is Jeff Garcia really going to lead this team to the playoffs? That's hilariously amazing.

Panthers over Giants: Just fire Tom Coughlin and the retiring lame-duck GM Ernie Accorsi now and give the Giants fans SOME form of victory.

Colts over Jags: Tough luck for Jax (one of the AFC's 7-5 5.) to draw the Colts, particularly with Indy coming off a rare loss.

Titans over Texans: Forget Reggie Bush; where's the outcry that Houston should have drafted Vince Young? It's coming to town.

Seahawks over Cards: Seattle coasting into the playoffs?

49ers over Packers: I keep saying "Now THAT is the final insult to Brett Favre's staggeringly embarrassing career finish." And yet he keeps finding new ways.

Jets over Bills: Simply being in playoff contention in Week 14 puts Eric Mangini in position as Coach of the Year.

Chargers over Broncos: The AFC Game of the Week. The Broncos have the urgency of being one of those 7-5 teams, but the Chargers are playing for AFC HFA.

Saints over Cowboys: NFC Game of the Week. With a win, New Orleans is in shotgun position for the NFC's No. 2 playoff seeding and a first-round bye.

Bears over Rams: The only Monday Night drama is whether we'll have a Brian Griese sighting. (Over/under on the number of camera shots of Griese: 15.)

Comments Question: What are your picks for the most intriguing plotlines and X-factors of the weekend's games?

Friday 12/07 A.M. Quickie:Bonds, BoSox, Brady Q., Bama and More!

Barry Bonds to stay with the Giants: I hate to be the one to break it to Giants fans who might be disgruntled or annoyed that the team re-signed Barry Bonds (1Y/$16M), but he's the only reason the rest of the country might follow the team next season.

In fact, he makes the Giants THE must-see attraction on the road, not to mention will continue to pack the place at home. His assault on Hank Aaron's career home run record – which he'll presumably top some time next season – is the biggest storyline of the 2007 MLB season.

From a business perspective, the Giants would be insane not to take advantage of it, even if most of the media coverage and fan attention – particularly on the road – will be negative. No such thing as bad publicity, of course. Again, it's the only thing keeping that franchise on the national sports fans' radar.

Meanwhile, with their consistent support of Bonds (and, don't lie, you'd root for him too if he was on YOUR team) through both the MVP seasons and the subsequent PED scandals, Giants fans have earned the right to get the chance to watch THEIR guy break the record. For everyone involved, it was the only deal that made sense.

Otherwise, the MLB Winter Meetings were a huge dud. Oh, there were a few laughable contracts (Gil "55 Mil" Meche), but where was the Manny trade? Where was the Zito free-for-all? MLB has a new split: Instead of "big revenue/small revenue," it's "crazy spender/no-spender."

Oh, wait: Red Sox tampering? If there's one juicy story out of Florida, it's that there are rumors swirling (hardly under-the-radar) that the Red Sox might have done a little tampering with JD Drew opting out of his Dodgers contract and taking a huge deal with Boston. Tracking...

Willie Parker runs for 223 in Steelers romp over Browns: With a franchise as storied as the Steelers, it's pretty amazing to set the single-game record in anything, let alone rushing yards. Willie Parker continues to prove why the NFL Draft is a highly inexact science.

NBA: Suns 161, Nets 157 in 2 OT. I think the score says it all.

College Hoops Parity Watch: As quickly as unbeaten Alabama might rise to No. 4 in the polls, they get waxed by unranked Notre Dame in South Bend. Is it me or is the early-season parity in college hoops stronger than ever? (Is it just that teams are scheduling tougher opponents, looking down the road to impressing the NCAA Selection Committee?)

College Football Awards: I'm not quite sure why Brady Quinn beat out Troy Smith for the Maxwell Award, which is sort of a poor man's Heisman. Maybe Maxwell voters, recognizing that Smith was a Heisman lock, decided to throw Quinn a bone for his career body of work?

(Meanwhile, Penn State LB Paul Poluszny won the Bednarik for best defensive player, for the second year in a row. Interesting split with the Nagurski Award choice, which was Big Ten rival LB James Laurinaitis.)

CFB Coaching Carousel: Miami made a safe (but smart) choice in elevating defensive coordinator Randy Shannon to head coach. Amazingly, he becomes only the 6th black head coach in 1-A college football. Sorry: Amazingly embarrassing for college football.

Meanwhile, WVA coach Rich Rodriguez continues to weigh that offer from Alabama. Doesn't this parallel with a jury deliberation: The longer he takes, the less likely he is to take the job? If he really wanted it, wouldn't he have bolted at the chance? What kind of signal does it send to Bama fans that he isn't tripping over himself to accept?

Arlen Specter vs. the NFL: The Senator wants to look into the NFL's antitrust status, specifically because he doesn't like that he can't get Sunday Ticket on his local cable network (only on DirecTV). Now THAT's a populist stance; what fan doesn't agree with him?

"Ali Rap": There's a new ESPN documentary on tomorrow night after the Heisman show about Muhammad Ali's status as America's pioneer "rapper." I've seen the trailer, and it's phenomenal. (No, I'm not just shilling for my ex-employer.) This ain't SportsCentury, that's for sure. I would rank Ali as the most compelling athlete of all time. You watch him talking and -- even though he's obviously as much showman as spokesman -- you yearn for that kind of authenticity from today's most renowned "look-at-me" athletes.

-- D.S.

Thursday 12/07 A.M. Quickie:Troy Smith for Heisman? Why...NOT.

Troy Smith is going to win the Heisman. I don't have any specific scoop; like the rest of you, I simply assume this as fact.

Should the Heisman be for the most talented player in college football? The most valuable? Some combination?

Is Troy Smith really the best player in college football? Or does he get at least a little "Geno Torretta Bonus" for being the QB of the No. 1 team?

To steal a baseball stat, is Troy Smith's VORP (Value Over a Replacement Player) really that high -- or could you stick a serviceable QB in at Ohio State and do just as well? (See Krenzel, Craig)

If that's the case, maybe Smith isn't the best player in college football. And it's not like I'm nominating Brady Quinn. If Quinn played for any team but Notre Dame, he'd be at home, not in New York.

(Meanwhile, I saw that the ceremony would only feature three players: Smith, Quinn and Darren McFadden. I'm not sure why they ever went away from bringing the five top players to NYC for the ceremony. Even though at least 3 of the players perennially knew they weren't winning, it was always such an honor to be invited to New York to the ceremony.)

If Heisman worthiness is a function of talent and singular value to a team, I'd give my vote to Arkansas sophomore RB Darren McFadden. The Razorbacks were a surprise SEC title game runner-up, and the entire offense ran (and passed) around McFadden.

It's no surprise that Arkansas' loss to USC to start the season came with McFadden unable to play due to injury. And, even though Arkansas signed the top high school QB in the country, the most effective QB on the team was... McFadden – whether he was running out of a throwback single-wing/"Wildcat" formation or throwing the ball with uncanny success.

Darren McFadden is college football's LaDainian Tomlinson. He is its most talented player and – given Arkansas' unlikely success – one of its most valuable (and, yes, more valuable to his team than Troy Smith was to his).

Two years ago, I gave Reggie Bush my Heisman vote over Matt Leinart, who ended up winning the award. At the time, Bush was the most talented player in college football – and I'm quite sure that Leinart wouldn't have been Leinart without Bush being Bush. I was right about who *should* have won, but a year early on who *actually* won.

My 2006 Heisman vote goes to Darren McFadden. He won't win this season, but – based on my track record – they might as well engrave his name on the Trophy for 2007. But he's the best player THIS season, too.

Comments Question: Given that Troy Smith WILL win the Heisman this year, a few questions: (1) Do you think, like me, that another player SHOULD deserve the award? (2) If not, who do you think should be No. 2? (3) Which player didn't get much consideration but should have?

Quick Take on Today's Biggest Storylines:

Barry Bonds on the defending World Champion Cardinals, whose fans are among the wholesomest in sports, would be hilariously awesome. I can't wait to see where he ends up.

Jason Schmidt signs with the Dodgers (3Y/$47M), which is fascinating because he's staying in the division, joining a team that could really use that super-top-line ace.

Wait: Are the Red Sox going to miss out on Matsuzaka? What a waste that would be.

Wait: Are the Red Sox going to sign Eric Gagne? I know they're moving Papelbon to the starting rotation, but...Gagne?

As I'm still in Chicago...:
*Signing Ted Lilly? The Cubs are off the deep end. And if they sign Gil Meche, too, will that make the Yankees players in the Zito auction? But not as off the deep end as the Royals, who after a decade of parsimony caught whatever spenditis the Cubs currently suffer from.
*Trading Freddy Garcia? The White Sox better get a big year from Brandon McCarthy.

How is Tom O'Brien going from BC, where he had the Northeast recruiting scene much to himself, to NC State, one of the most competitive recruiting markets in the country, an upgrade? And staying in the conference? He must have really seen he was never going to do better than his perennial 8 or 9 wins in Chesnut Hill.

If you were Rich Rodriguez, would you leave West Virginia – with an awesome chance to go unbeaten and make the BCS title game next season – for an Alabama program that is all impossible expectations (uh, and money)?

If you were Miami, would you hire Bernie Kosar, who has zero experience as a college football head coach? I sure as hell wouldn't.

College Hoops: Butler wins again. What I'd really like to see is an instant-classic matchup between Butler and Wichita State for "Most Legit Mid-Major" of 2006-07.

NFL: I'll take the Steelers over the Browns in an utterly meaningless game, then give you the rest of my picks for the week tomorrow.

-- D.S.

Wednesday 12/06 A.M. Quickie:Wait, Is T.O. the "Sportsman of the Year?"

I'm in Chicago right now, and – wow – the fans and media here hate Rex Grossman far more than you can understand simply from reading the local papers, etc. Meanwhile...

This is turning into "Sportsman of the Year" week: You've seen SI's pick (Dwyane Wade) and I chimed in with mine yesterday (Vince Young), but here's a very cool spin-off: Jamie Mottram of Mr. Irrelevant (and ringmaster of the excellent AOL Fanhouse blogs) got 50 leading sports bloggers (including me) to vote on their top 10 sports figures of 2006, yielding 226 nominees and a Top 40 list that's way more fun than anything from SI or any other mainstream-media outlet:

T.O. was Number 1, which – unlike other year-end lists – reflected reality: T.O. had to be the most blogged-about figure in sports of the year. Does that mean he's a good guy? Far from it. It more accurately reflects his status as the sports world's leading douchebag. But still, that should count for something, and it raises the ultimately interesting question about whether "Sportsman" of the year necessarily has to be about a hero, rather than the athlete/coach/etc who had the most impact on the sports year. Check out the link here.

MLB Hot Stove: Red Sox sign JD Drew to 5Y/$70M deal. $14 million a year is a steep price to learn the valuable baseball lesson about "regressing to the mean." And you'd THINK that that would clear the way for Boston to trade Manny. But oh no: The latest is that he's staying in Boston. (Healthy)Drew-Ortiz-Manny is a hell of a threesome: Ménage a ass-kicking. Meanwhile, who else thinks Greg Maddux will look a little strange in a Padres uniform? Guess he liked the SoCal weather.

Barry Zito update: Did the Rangers offer him a 6Y/$100M deal? You'd think that Tom Hicks would have learned his lesson about overpaying after the A-Rod debacle. Does this mean the Yankees will be bailing the Rangers out with a 50-cents-on-the-dollar trade in a few seasons?

Ripken speaks out on McGwire: Actually, he didn't want to talk about McGwire. Didn't want to talk about... hmm, could we say "the past?" Where have we heard that before?

NFL: The Saints got some bad news in an otherwise dream season when DT Hollis Thomas was suspended for the rest of the season for violating the league's steroid policy. Expect this to be swept under the rug much like every other NFL steroid violation.

NBA: It's rare to see David Stern make a misstep, let alone admit one, but he did about the new ball, saying he should have consulted with the players before installing it. Oh, NOW he says it...

Meanwhile, the league said no to the group that wants to buy the Grizzlies led by ex-Dukie Brian Davis because the group wasn't transparent enough about their financing. Sounds reasonable enough to me.

Oh, were there actual NBA games last night to talk about? How about Nash's 20 assists? Don't go using that as a springboard to argue he deserves a third straight MVP. Let's hope that era is behind us.

CFB Coaching Carousel: Wake's Jim Grobe said he is staying at Wake. Doesn't anyone want the Alabama job? Apparently, WVA's Rich Rodriguez might. He reportedly had "informal" discussions with the school. We know what that means: Way closer to a deal than anyone knows. And, given the lack of love for Bama by potential coaches, Rich Rod knows he's leading a seller's market.

College Hoops: What have we learned so far about the young season? Parity rules. Think Gonzaga is all that? Whap: They lose to Washington State. Think Texas A/M is this year's breakthrough team? Bam: They lose to last year's breakthrough team, LSU, the same team they lost to in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. You might as well have flipped a coin to pick who was going to win the 22 Okla St-21 Syracuse game (Okie State won... in Syracuse's backyard of NYC.)

You have to take anything Ben Johnson says with a grain of salt, but he insists that his problems at the '88 Olympics were the result of a conspiracy led by rival Carl Lewis. Track and field is so sketchy -- particularly back then, before most people really knew about steroids -- that I'd argue that anything is possible.

And, finally, if you live in NYC and are looking for fun tonight, I highly recommend heading to Happy Ending (302 Broome) for the latest installment of the Varsity Letters Reading Series. This month's event features Jack McCallum from Sports Illustrated, Josh Prager of "The Echoing Green" and Brad Snyder, who wrote an interesting book about Curt Flood. I should mention that the series is under new management; I have passed host and management duties along to Carl Bialik of the Wall Street Journal's excellent "Daily Fix" and Gelf Magazine. Should be a great event – and it's FREE – so head on over there (8 p.m. start time) to check it out. Here's a link.

-- D.S.

Tuesday 12/05 A.M. Quickie:Who's YOUR Sportsman of the Year?

Dwyane Wade wins SI Sportsman of the Year: Amazingly, this award continues to be relevant; it's probably the most sports-culturally relevant thing SI does all year (aside from the occasional cover-story scoop).

Anyway, I can't disagree with the choice. Wade emerged from the shadow of LeBron AND Shaq to not only lead the Heat to its first NBA title, but to become perhaps the most respected player of his generation.

Comments Question: Who would you pick as your "Sportsperson of the Year?" Why? And who would round out the Top 5 on your ballot? That's an awesome question that should keep the comments section hopping.

(Personally, I would have given it to Vince Young. I know it's hard to credit something that happened in early January, but VY had the best individual performance in the biggest and best game of the sports year -- and perhaps college football history.)

Quick notes on today's biggest storylines:

Jeff Garcia: 315 yards and 3 TDs! Who saw that coming? Kudos to anyone who started him in their fantasy league, particularly if you're in playoff contention.

Schiano staying at Rutgers: You know what? Good for him. What an awesome decision, and I hope he can turn them into a perennial Big East contender. With Ray Rice returning next year, it's a possibility.

Laurinaitis wins "Heisman for defense": Because a defensive player will never win the Heisman, the Nagurski award is the de facto Heisman for defensive players. And Ohio State LB James Laurinaitis became the first sophomore to win it, beating out rival Michigan CB Leon Hall and Florida S Reggie Nelson (my choice), along with Gaines Adams and Patrick Willis. Hmm: Laurinaitis on the '07 Heisman watch list?

Thankfully, the Florida-Michigan-BCS hysteria appears to be waning after a fierce 24 hours after the announcement. But USA Today released the coaches' ballots, and there's one notable choice: The only Big Ten coach to rank Florida ahead of Michigan was Illinois coach (and ex-Florida coach) Ron Zook. You can't blame him, of course, but you can bet that Michigan will take that out on Illinois next season.

MLB Winter Meetings: "Where's Manny Going?" is the hot storyline from the first day, but the Cardinals quietly locked up their anchor SP Chris Carpenter for 5 more years (at $65 million).

NBA: (1) Big night for my favorite NBA player, Gilbert Arenas, who had 38 points helping the Wiz snap the Mavs' 12-game winning streak. (2) Meanwhile, if you want to see why the Jazz are doing so well, check out the box score of their win over the Bucks. Start with Boozer's 30 and 13. (3) The Magic win again. In Sacto no less at the tail end of a road trip. Amazing. They're for real.

I'm on the road traveling this morning so posts might be light until the afternoon...

-- D.S.

Monday 12/04 A.M. Quickie:BCS Decision: The Morning After

I'm already sick of the BCS griping.

I don't have a problem with pollsters vaulting Florida over Michigan. The case was compelling. The results were unanimous.

I don't think Michigan would have stayed number 2 if they had played their game versus Ohio State on December 2, instead of 2 weeks ago. In fact, I think Florida's margin would have been even more decisive. (Though I do think the Big Ten should move the Michigan-OSU game later in the season to more closely mirror the timing of the other conferences' championship games.)

I don't think it's invalid for voters to have used "Michigan had their chance" as one piece of their criteria; it's as close to a real playoff as college football had this season.

(I do think it's invalid for voters to have used "Michigan wasn't the conference champ" as criteria; in theory, why can't the second-best team in a conference be the second-best team in the country?)

I don't think that Jim Tressel should ever be allowed to vote in the coaches' poll ever again, for opting out this final (and most important) vote of the season.

I don't think that Michigan fans and apologists have much room to gripe after dropping out of the Number 2 spot in all three human polls, including the AP media poll, which presumably has no stake in the outcome beyond getting it right (and maintaining a sense of superiority over the other human polls).

I don't think that everyone should presume that Ohio State will romp over Florida in the title game. As noted on ESPN last night, this Florida team is awfully similar to that gritty 2002 Ohio State champ. Left unsaid was that this Ohio State team is awfully similar to that 2002 Miami runner-up; they looked like an unbeatable juggernaut, too.

I don't think the BCS system works either, but I don't think that the various playoff suggestions I've heard are without their own massive flaws.

(For example, if you thought there was a debate over No. 2, how exactly do you expect to resolve the "Who's Number 4?" debate in a mythical 4-team playoff:

One-loss Louisville from the weak totally underrated Big East? One-loss Wisconsin, with that sorry schedule and a THIRD team from the Big Ten? Two-loss LSU, who didn't even make their own conference title game? Two-loss USC, who up until Saturday night was everyone's consensus Number 2? Or unbeaten Boise State, who – aside from a win over Oregon State – played a sorry non-BCS schedule en route to an unbeaten season?

If you thought a debate over two teams for one title-game spot was insane, try arguing over five teams for one playoff spot. And that's just this year: The problem is that from year to year, there might be no debate -- like last year, when a playoff would have been ludicrous -- or there might be even more teams in the mix.)

Again, I'm not arguing against a playoff. I'm just saying it creates new issues that don't really solve the problems we've got now. "Deciding it on the field" doesn't really fly when you've left 4 arguably worthy teams out of a 4-team playoff field.

Finally, if you want the "Oh, the humanity!" moment of the year in sports, just take a look at some of the ridiculous ballots from the Harris poll. It gives the media a convenient punching bag, but when you look at the voting pool, it's totally random and some ballots are a joke. (FanIQ has some highlights -- or lowlights -- of the human poll balloting.)

Here's the bottom line: It's a broken system, and everyone knows it. It was unfortunate that one arguably worthy team had to be left out. (BTW, Michigan's claim pales in comparison to Auburn's in 2004.) And after a day of massive recriminations today, it'll be time to look forward, not dwell in bitterness, and fans will look ahead to a worthy title game.

-- D.S.

More Quickie takes, including five on the NFL:

(1) Oh, so THAT's what all the Reggie Bush hype was about...

(2) Holy smokes, is Rex Grossman bad...

(3) Has Tom Coughlin been fired yet...?

(4) So much for the Dolphins as a surging would-be playoff team...

(5) I should have had followed my gut about Vince Young in my Friday picks...

More CFB: After Rutgers' loss at West Virginia on Saturday night to sort of taint an otherwise Cinderella season, perhaps Greg Schiano realizes that he'll always have trouble beating Louisville and WVA if he stays with Rutgers, while at Miami, he could own the otherwise soft ACC. When Miami talks with him today, I think he'll listen more closely than he would have last week.

College Hoops: Let's not forget that karma is a boomerang: The same night that Florida made the BCS title game, the defending champ hoops team lost at Florida State. That back-to-back title has never looked like a shakier proposition. Meanwhile, Greg Oden didn't look SO dominating in his debut, but again, it was just a debut. Wait until March. Yikes.

MLB Hot Stove: The annual winter meetings start today, with the top storylines being: (1) Bonds, (2) Manny, (3) Zito, (4) Schmidt.

BCS Results: Ohio State vs. Florida

Florida in. Michigan out. There's a few minutes left to analyze it before it's not worth it anymore and we need to move on to looking ahead to the actual games. Thoughts on the choice? The other BCS games? How it will play out?

NFL Live-Comment Tailgate

In my Florida-Michigan hysteria, I almost forgot that there was an NFL slate of games today, whose top storylines have a BCS title-game feel, circa 2006: Vince Young leads the Titans to a shocking upset of the Colts, and Reggie Bush scores 4 TDs in a Saints win over the 49ers. Deliver your own quick-hit NFL analysis in the Comments section. (Or continue the raging Michigan-Florida debate below...)

CFB Debate of the Year: Florida or Michigan?(330-Plus Comments and Counting...)

Update: Coaches poll is out. Florida is No. 2, Michigan is No. 3. In an interesting note, Jim Tressel asked to abstain, which I think is completely fraudulent. Don't accept the privilege of affecting the sport, week-in and week-out, then cop out in the one week when it matters most. I hope he's never allowed to participate in the coaches' poll again.

ORIGINAL POST: I'm hesitant to start a new post about the Michigan-Florida debate, because the post from Saturday has generated more than 330 contributions, shattering the previous total and making it the most commented-on post ever for this blog. (I highly recommend scrolling down and checking it out.)

But it's a new day, and everyone has had a chance to sleep on the decision: Florida or Michigan?

If you were a voter, who would YOU rank No. 2? What SHOULD they do? What's fair? What's right? What's best for college football? What's best to determine the right team to play for this year's title?

There is a particularly compelling angle: Should "Michigan had their chance" be considered a legitimate argument for Florida? If you think Michigan is the unquestioned No. 2 team in the country, probably not. But they're not, and I think "had their chance" isn't nearly as illegitimate as some might be arguing.

(I wonder if Kirk Herbstreit - who made the most impassioned and high-profile plea against the "had their chance" argument last night -- would be saying the same thing if, hypothetically, Florida was unbeaten, and Ohio State was a 1-loss Big Ten champ vying for a spot in the national title game versus 1-loss LSU, runner-up in the SEC and a team Florida had already beaten.)

The other thing Michigan backers are saying -- including Lloyd Carr -- is that Michigan shouldn't be penalized for not playing the last two weeks. I think that's bogus. That would mean that your biggest ranking criteria is "inertia."

There is no evidence that Michigan is anything but the same team that ended the season two weeks ago. However, since then, there is new evidence that Florida should be considered and weighted better than they were two weeks ago.

In other words, forget the number of the ranking next to Michigan's name two weeks ago or last week. With the entire body of work from the season now in place for both teams, has Florida proven itself better than Michigan -- or more worthy to play Ohio State for the title? I argue yes.

Here's the best news for BCS-haters: It's the best-case scenario to trigger some kind of change to the system. (But don't hold your breath. And don't expect a playoff to fix the type of controversy we're having now: Picking one team over another -- whether it's "Who's Number 2?" today or "Which team coming out of four bowls should be in the Plus-One title game?" or "Who's snubbed in a 4- or 8-team playoff?" there will always be controversy.)

Anyway, I digress: Michigan or Florida?

(By the way, there's a very easy way to deliver justice: Provided that the team picked for the BCS title game beats Ohio State -- iffy on so many levels -- and the team snubbed for the title game wins its bowl game, the AP can simply vote to award its share of the title to the snubbed team, like they did with USC following the 2003 season.)

Oh, and one more thing: As mentioned on the comment board below, it's going to be absolutely fascinating to see how the various Harris poll and coaches' poll (and even the AP poll, though that doesn't count toward the BCS) voters did their ballots. Who has which team number 2? (And are there any shenanigans where they don't rank Michigan and Florida in some combo at No. 2 and No. 3? Any other pick should obliterate that voter's future as a pollster.) I would imagine that there will be great incentive for rogue pollsters -- Harris poll, probably -- to vote some crazy stuff if only to make themselves the story. I cannot wait to see the data.

CFB Saturday Live-Comment TailgateFINAL UPDATE: Ohio State vs...?!?!

UPDATE 2!: Before this game, if you told me that USC would lose, I would have had a hard time deciding between Michigan and Florida. But based on Florida's performance in the SEC title game win over Arkansas -- combined with Michigan's previous opportunity to beat Ohio State -- I couldn't argue more strenuously for Florida to play Ohio State in the BCS title game.

Here's what it's going to come down to: How many human voters -- Harris poll and Coaches' poll -- will vault Florida over Michigan based on the SEC championship? (And what will the computers do with the new data? Isn't it worth pointing out that if UCLA beat USC and USC beat Notre Dame that Michigan's single high-quality win of the season -- over Notre Dame -- continues to look less and less impressive?)

All records being equal:
1a. Florida won the SEC title.
1b. Michigan didn't win the Big Ten.
2. Florida played a tougher schedule.
3. Florida had more quality wins.
4. Michigan had their shot vs. Ohio St.

You don't have to be a Florida fan -- just someone who loves college football -- to understand that the only title game that makes sense, justifies the bodies of work and upholds the fairest sense of competition in an otherwise murky process is to pit Ohio State versus...Florida. Let the debate begin.

(PS: The real winners in all this are all all the folks who want to see a playoff system. No matter who gets picked -- Michigan or Florida -- it should help accelerate and facilitate the creation of a playoff... which, as all of you know, I have yet to hear of a system that doesn't create as many problems as it purports to solve. But that's a debate for another day, because we've got a hell of a debate going right now...)

UPDATE!: I don't care if USC wins -- the way they've played today, they don't deserve to play in the national title game. Let's hope they lose and make it a non-issue. If voters/ESPN hold "style points" against Florida recently, they sure as hell better hold it against USC right now. Meanwhile, Florida is playing their best game of the season, TD notwithstanding. I hope voters are paying attention -- I can imagine they're a little focused on USC-UCLA right now... -- D.S.

Our last regular-season CFB Saturday Live-Comment Tailgate of the year. I'd be all nostalgic if it wasn't for the compelling game storylines: Rutgers to BCS? Wake Forest to BCS? USC to title game? Florida BCS controversy? Michigan scoreboard-watching? And, of course, Army-Navy.

Have your say in the Comments section all day long. (Oh, and since there's no real Quickie-style wrap-up today of the biggest storylines -- CFB and otherwise -- coming out of last night and this morning, please feel free to drop in your own news items, complete with your own spin. The rest of us will pile on.)

-- D.S.

Is Craig Smith the NBA's Best Rookie?(Related: Could I Really Be Right? Wow.)

Friday Quickie! | CFB/BCS Mania! | NFL Picks!

One of the hottest blog-feuds going right now is between Dave Berri and ESPN.com's John Hollinger, two of the leading voices in the world of statistical analysis in the NBA, which only in the last season or two has really gotten the pub it deserves. (See TrueHoop for a good recap.)

Berri has a really interesting book, The Wages of Wins, that you might have heard of (Malcolm Gladwell has praised it) and that I definitely recommend as one of the more fascinating -- and controversial -- reads from 2006.

Berri also has a blog, which regularly has some pretty interesting arguments and analysis, which brings me to this post: Berri had a post casting some statistical skepticism that Adam Morrison is truly the leading candidate for NBA Rookie of the Year after the first month.

This was of particular interest to me, because in yesterday's A.M. Quickie post, I handed out my first-month NBA Awards and gave Rookie of the Year to Craig Smith. His stats were pretty good for a rookie, but what swayed me was that of the group of ROY contenders, Smith was the only one from the second round – there's got to be a bonus for exceeding expectations. After all, Top 10 picks are SUPPOSED to contribute. But my analysis was highly qualitative.

I emailed Berri today asking him if I was on to something with my pick, and he replied that, in fact, yes: Craig Smith is the most productive rookie using his Win Score per-minute statistic (adjusting for position played). Here are the top six in that category:

1. Craig Smith
2. Paul Millsap
3. Kyle Lowry
4. Ronnie Brewer
5. Shelden Williams
6. LaMarcus Aldridge

Here's what I (Dan) find fascinating: Millsap was ALSO a second-round pick, which to me speaks volumes about the inexact science of the NBA Draft, as well as the opportunities for recognizing inefficiencies in the marketplace.

In the case of Smith and Millsap, two undersized power forwards, there was/is an obvious draft obsession these days with "length," which undoubtedly placed a discount on Smith and Millsap's talent based on their physical measurements alone.

Does this marks a watershed moment for the stereotypical college hoops "tweener?" More likely, they are two exceptional players who ended up in particularly good contexts to maximize their potential.

With thanks to Dave Berri, I now have some quantitative muscle to back up my qualitative arguments. And anytime I can bolster one of my wilder theories, it's a good day.

-- D.S.

NFL Week 13 Picks:Who Else is Sick of Romo Mania?

Earlier Today: Friday Quickie | CFB Breakdown

Chargers over Bills: LaDainian is going to shatter the all-time single-season TD record. How close can he come in a single game?

Bears over Vikings: Keep that Chicago snow on the field.

Chiefs over Browns: It's nice to know that Larry Johnson doesn't have a problem with either coach.

Jets over Packers: The "final indignities of Favre" keep piling up. The latest: Favre can't win on snowy tundra of Lambeau.

Colts over Titans: But I reeeeeeeally want to pick Vince Young to lead the upset. That would be a week late, though.

Rams over Cardinals: When does the Pete Carroll Era begin?

Pats over Lions: Avert your eyes.

Saints over 49ers: Another 300-yard day for Brees?

Falcons over Redskins: Vick plays better on the road.

Texans over Raiders: Is this the Brady Quinn Bowl?

Dolphins over Jags: Two teams going opposite directions.

Cowboys over Giants: I'm already sick of Romo Mania.

Steelers over Bucs: Not many teams have the honor of being worse than the defending champs.

Broncos over Seahawks: I've been saying it for more than a year: Jay Cutler is for real.

Panthers over Eagles: National TV debacle in Philly.

Whee: I'm already 1-0 on the week! (Bengals)

Comments Question: What are your most intriguing storylines of the NFL schedule this week? What are the X-factors to watch?

CFB Weekend Preview: Last One!Dare I Defend the CFB System? (Eh...Sort Of.)

Friday Quickie is here (or below). Meanwhile...

Who else is more than a bit sad that this is the last Saturday of non-bowl college football?

Regular readers know that I have argued for a long time that college football's regular season is just one long de facto double-elimination playoff -- and that one loss usually does the trick.

I think it's pretty amazing that over the course of the season, a contenders' pool of 119 teams has been whittled down to, at most, 4 teams (with 2 of the 4 still with a chance to stumble).

One of those teams (Ohio State) is in. USC is in with a win. Florida has an argument if USC loses, but first they have to beat Arkansas (and I'm not sure they can/will). Michigan had their chance but couldn't close the deal (though if both USC and Florida lose, Michigan backs into the title game in the Rematch No One Really Wants To See.)

That's it. Over 15 weeks, 119 teams is down to either 4, 3 or 2 teams, depending on tomorrow's results and your CFB worldview.

In every other sport with a traditional playoff, teams can lose – not just once or twice, but lots of times – yet still get a shot at the title. It produces a decisive champion but devalues the regular season.

Only college football is so exclusively brutal that even a single off week can kill a team's title chances -- and two off-weeks end the season.

It's what makes college football's regular season the best in sports by a ridiculously wide margin – because it's the only one where every game -- every week -- is meaningful.

We can agree that college football should have some sort of playoff system (though I have yet to hear of any system -- from a 4-team playoff to an 8-team playoff to a "Plus-One" after the bowls are over -- that doesn't create as many problems as it solves.)

But we can also agree that the sports world gets a little less intense now that every Saturday, week-in and week-out, won't be its own quasi-playoff elimination round.

Meanwhile, here's where we stand for tomorrow's games:

If USC beats UCLA, they're in the national title game. (And they will beat UCLA. But wouldn't it be deviously fun if they didn't?)

Presuming USC wins, if Florida beats Arkansas, the Gators are in the Sugar Bowl, with a legit (if futile) gripe about their BCS-title-game worthiness. This is the result BCS-haters should be rooting for...

...Because if Florida loses and USC wins, even the biggest BCS-haters have to agree that the system worked this season.

(And again: The worst-case scenario is that both Florida and USC lose, with Michigan backing into the national title game and a rematch that no real fan could possibly think is good for the sport. Actually, no: The worst-case scenario is that USC loses, Florida wins and somehow, Michigan still ends up in a rematch with Ohio State, with Florida shut out. I don't write that as a Florida fan; I write that as a college football fan.)

To sum up:
USC win/Florida loss: Current system works!
USC win/Florida win: Argument for playoff!
USC loss/Florida loss: Sucks for everyone!
USC loss/Florida win: The sport is ruined!*
(* - Presuming UF still can't jump Michigan.)

Plus: There are two conference title games – one official, one unofficial – that are worth watching, because they represent college football's two biggest Cinderella stories of the season:

In the ACC, how can you NOT be rooting for Wake Forest to beat Georgia Tech and claim the ACC's BCS spot.

And in the Big East, if Rutgers wins at West Virginia, they win a BCS ticket to the Orange Bowl and complete college football's biggest Cinderella story since Northwestern went to the Rose Bowl in 1995.

And, in the ultimate rivalry game, you can't beat Army-Navy.

Be sure to drop by the blog all day Saturday for our final College Football Live-Comment Tailgate of the 2006 regular season.

-- D.S.

Friday 12/01 A.M. Quickie:Eva, Kobe, WhoDey?, LSU, Zito, More

Tony Parker and Eva Longoria got engaged? Here's the over-under of the day: What will come first -- the Spurs' next title or the TP-Eva divorce? I'll take the latter.

More on the top storylines of the day:

Bengals beat Ravens: I could imagine these Bengals playing the role of last year's Steelers in the playoffs: Get in as the 6-seed and make a run. The Bengals have an improving defense that stymied the "Billick Offensive Juggernaut" and an offense that always has the potential to put points up, but last night, against one of the league's best defenses, did just enough to win.

Kobe scores 52: So much for all the talk that his knee problems will keep him from being the same old Kobe we know and talk about the morning after a scoring binge. (Even more impressive is that he did it against the NBA-leading Jazz. And even more impressive than that is that he had a 30-point quarter, which matches his best quarter from the 81-point game. Amazing.)

LSU to Rose Bowl? This is GREAT on one level: It's a chance for the SEC doubters/haters in the Big Ten (Michigan fans, specifically) to get a taste.

This is IFFY on two levels:

Good "Iffy": If Florida loses to Arkansas, then the Rose Bowl becomes an optimal "3-vs-4" matchup.

Bad "Iffy": If Florida loses to Arkansas, how can the Rose Bowl pass over a 2-loss Gators team that BEAT this 2-loss LSU team head-to-head? (And since the BCS has an out-dated rule that each conference gets a max of 2 spots, the Gators will be shunted off to the CapOne Bowl.)

Forget the Rose Bowl talk (and, for that matter, the SEC championship game): The most important, must-see game of the weekend is Rutgers at West Virginia. A win for RU would put give them the Big East title, put them in the BCS (Orange Bowl) and complete a Cinderella season. (Honestly, if Rutgers wins, I'm not quite sure why the Rose Bowl wouldn't pick Rutgers to play against Michigan.)

Bama coaching search: Spurrier in or out? He says he's staying at South Carolina. Alabama must have really screwed up the offer.

Wade can't lead Heat past Pistons: As long as Shaq is healthy for the playoffs, it's an empty win for Detroit.

(If Joe Dumars was offered Orlando's entire roster for Detroit's entire roster, straight up, do you think he'd make the deal? I'd ask the same thing of Pat Riley. The Magic's 5-year outlook seems much better than the Heat or Pistons' 5-year outlook.)

MLB Hot Stove: Zito-palooza! It's gotten to the point where we simply add "palooza" to any premier free-agent pitcher's last name. (See "Pavanopalooza.") He met with the Rangers, who are like the "nouveau riche" version of the Yankees and Red Sox: They have the money to spend and interest in spending it, but can't seem to convert that into playoff appearances. I like the CW that has Zito joining the Mets.

Bud Selig to retire in 2009: Let's start the speculation now about who would be the best choice to replace him: Peter Gammons? Larry Lucchino? Bob Costas?

I've got an unconventional (if predictable) choice: Theo Epstein. Give him a 30-year contract and watch the New Golden Era of baseball begin.

College Football: Rules to be Central Michigan, which won the MAC championship game over Ohio. Bring on the... uh, GMAC Bowl?

College Hoops: Sucks to be Dan Monson, who resigned (read: was axed) from Minnesota after running the program into the ground. Wonder if he looks back on that Gonzaga program he left and says, "Um...do-over?"

Final thought: I guess Eva's rumored fling with Mario Lopez didn't take. Or TP didn't have a problem with it.

-- D.S.