Today's Names to Know: Cam Newton, Kenny Rogers, John Bond, Sparky Anderson, TCU, Zenyatta, LeGarrette Blount, John Wall, Edgar Renteria, David Ortiz, Edison Pena, "You're ALL winners!" and More.
So, about Cam Newton. Let me just say outright that I am a Newton fan -- I fully 'fess up that if it was another player (or another team) that I liked less, I might have a different position.
That said, this feels like a lot more smoke than fire. Yes, the NCAA is investigating Newton. And let's stipulate to the story: An "agent"/runner named Kenny Rogers claiming to represent Newton's family approached MSU alum John Bond with an offer to deliver Newton for $180,000.
There hasn't been a direct link established from the agent to Newton or Newton's dad. Further, Auburn has known about the investigation for months -- think they aren't doing (or haven't done) their own due diligence before playing Newton all season long (and risking their season)?
Did Newton or his family get paid to sign at Auburn? Hard to say. There is some odd circumstantial evidence -- particularly the detail from that SI story about Newton last week where Cam wanted to go to MSU, but his dad "decided for him" that he would go to Auburn.
But that's not the same as direct evidence of a payment from Auburn boosters through a runner to Cam Newton's family. And that's probably the only point that matters:
Will Newton be ruled ineligible -- thus taking Auburn out of the national-title race (that they are right in the middle of) and taking Newton out of the Heisman race (that he leads)?
I don't think so. I think that ultimately the NCAA can't establish that direct link. Consequently, Newton stays eligible -- Auburn coach Gene Chizik wouldn't have been nearly as defiant ("...Eligible. Period. End of story.") if he knew something was coming up the pike -- and Auburn rolls along.
Is "NCAA investigating college football's best player" a big story? Yes.
Will there be a taint of scandal, even if the NCAA can't find anything actually improper done by Newton or his family? Yes.
But, in the end, barring any new information coming out that didn't surface over months of NCAA investigation, the allegations alone won't impact Auburn's national-title hopes as much as, say, losing to Alabama would.
UPDATE: Having received enough email calling me a Pollyanna on my take on this -- and reading plenty of folks I respect that would, if they read the above analysis, call me Pollyanna on this, I am moving toward this "Circumstantially, it sure seems like something iffy happened." However, I still think that the NCAA won't find the direct link they need to boot Newton. There is a much better chance of Auburn's title hopes being derailed by losing to Alabama than losing to the NCAA. Will Heisman voters boycott? Not enough. Again: Losing to Alabama will do more to hurt Newton's Heisman chances than this scandal.
*****
CFB Weekend Preview: TCU-Utah is a "Game of the Year" contender. It is among the single-toughest games any national-title contender will play this year. (It is certainly tougher than anything Boise State will play this year.)
If TCU loses, they are out of the national-title picture (unfairly, Utah doesn't seem to be given much of a shot, even if they win tomorrow and run the table).
If TCU wins -- on the road, at a Top 10-ranked BCS opponent -- they deserve to leapfrog Boise State (among polls and pollsters that don't already have them ahead of Boise) and into the coveted No. 3 position. Pick: TCU.
Speaking of leapfrogs, Alabama's surge gets a turbo-charge to their strength-of-schedule when they beat LSU -- a Top 10 team -- in Baton Rouge.
Last night: Boise was extremely happy that Virginia Tech survived Georgia Tech. (In other strength-of-schedule-watching, TCU -- presuming they can beat Utah -- would love for Baylor, who the Horned Frogs routed in September, to win at Oklahoma State.)
*****
RIP Sparky Anderson: To fans of a certain age, he was the manager of the legendary Big Red Machine. To others, he was the manager of those phenomenal 1984 Tigers. To younger fans, a Hall of Famer. By all accounts, a wonderful man beloved by those who played for him and fans who followed him. Condolences to his family, friends, former players and many fans.
*****
Must-See: Zenyatta at the Breeders' Cup. Few are arguing (yet) that she is the greatest horse ever -- although she's up there -- but a win would/should put her on the racing Rushmore. And why not say it: How about Zenyatta for Best Athlete of 2010?
(It's getting to that time of year to start thinking of contenders: Although stuff that happens in January and February is usually forgotten by the end of the year, I have to think the front-runner has to be Drew Brees, as a proxy for the entire Saints team.)
*****
NFL Week 9: My Most Intriguing Storylines
*Game of the Week: Bucs at Falcons
*Hmm: Colts at Eagles.
*Cowboys Schadenfreude Watch: at Green Bay
*Chiefs-Raiders: ...Meaningful?! In Week 9?!
*Fantasy Player to Watch: LeGarrette Blount
*****
NBA Last Night: Solid win for the Thunder. After getting shut down in LA by the Clippers, they went up to Portland and gritted out an OT win over the Blazers (Durant and Westbrook each had 28 points and 11 rebounds.)
And Tonight: John Wall makes his Madison Square Garden debut against a Knicks team that might be a little gassed after last night's run in Chicago (16 3s for NY!). I will be wearing my Wall t-shirt but will be watching from the couch.
*****
MLB Hot Stove: World Series MVP Edgar Renteria didn't have his $10.5M option picked up by the Giants -- it's not unremarkable or unreasonable (even if it is a little stark that so immediately after his role as team hero they would say "Aaand there's the door." Obviously, in hindsight, Renteria was worth far more than whatever the Giants paid him last season.) Renteria will always be beloved by Giants fans.
(Meanwhile, speaking of team folk heros and team options, the Red Sox picked up David Ortiz's option for the 2011 season. They still will presumably pursue Crawford or Werth to add to their lineup.)
*****
NYC Marathon: Will any racer get more cheers than the Chilean miner, Edison Pena, running the race?
(And another year goes by where I say "Gee, I really wish I would run the NYC Marathon. And another year goes by where everyone makes the Seinfeld reference "You're ALL winners!")
-- D.S.
Friday, November 05, 2010
Wednesday, November 03, 2010
11/04 Quickie: Moss, KG, Hokies, Sparky
PM UPDATE: RIP Sparky Anderson. Condolences to his family, friends and many fans in Cincinnati, Detroit and beyond.
Today's Names to Know: Randy Moss, KG, Charlie Villanueva, Colin Cowherd, John Wall, Virginia Tech, Eric Bledsoe, Sparky Anderson, Tommy Craggs and More.
Randy Moss to Titans: Good for Tennessee. Moss will love playing with Chris Johnson, will love playing alongside Kenny Britt and will love getting throws from Vince Young. His mercurial mindset will be right. Terrific decision by the Titans, with very little risk. It's so interesting to follow along as the conventional wisdom has gone from something along the lines of "It's Moss: What did you expect?" to "What a steal for the Titans!" (Still looking like a fool: Brad Childress.)
KG vs. Charlie Villanueva: Let's start with this -- I am entirely dubious about what KG says he said. I am inclined to believe Villanueva -- at the very least, give CV31 the TKO for taking to Twitter at the start of the day yesterday and putting KG on the defensive, to the point he had to put out that lame clarification, an entire day's news cycle later... more than enough time for KG to get mocked -- then, amazingly, mocked again after he produced his explanation. (CV31 even got the last word: "I know EXACTLY what I heard.") Next time, KG will just stick with the old tried-and-true misogyny: "F--- you, b----!"
Colin Cowherd on John Wall: Barely worth dignifying with a response, except to say that this was quite possibly one of the most ignorant rants ever uttered on sports-talk radio... which is saying something. Would it be so hard for Cowherd to double back, admit he was wrong and apologize? I swear to god, we've reached a point where "mainstream columnists" (and certainly radio hosts) are knee-jerk hysterics while bloggers (and I'm ready to chuck the "bloggers" class designation) are reasonable and measured.
CFB Tonight: Want to see up-close how far Virginia Tech has come from the Boise State loss (and subsequent shocker at home to James Madison)? They host the national game tonight. Very important game... for Boise State.
CFB: Latest BlogPoll from the group. (1) Oregon, (2) Auburn, (3) Boise, (4) TCU - despite my best intentions to get TCU ranked ahead of Boise. Oh well: Maybe after this weekend (at which point I will rank the TCU-Utah winner ahead of Boise, regardless).
Must-Read: Want to understand Oregon's offense? Read this.
NCAA clears RichRod in Michigan investigation: That doesn't mean that RichRod should -- or will -- keep his job. I wonder how many Michigan fans were hoping he would be implicated, to make it all the easier to can him? I don't think it makes a difference. Might be this offseason, might be next. But I think RichRod's departure is inevitable. (Then again, all coaches' departures are inevitable.)
NBA Last Night: The Hornets are still unbeaten. The Hawks are still unbeaten. Monta Ellis (39) is a scoring machine. Paul Pierce passes the 20K-points milestone. And rookie Eric Bledsoe is getting rave reviews for his performance last night leading the Clippers to a win over the bandwagon Thunder. (The Clips totally shut down Kevin Durant -- improbable!)
Sparky Anderson in hospice: The point is that you can only hope that the Hall of Fame manager is comfortable and that he and his family have some peace of mind.
Celebrations: Wow, did that Giants parade in San Francisco look fun. What a moment for fans there -- and those displaced Giants fans living though it vicariously via Twitter, texts, video, whatever.
Varsity Letters: NYC Tonight! Featuring Deadspin's Tommy Craggs, ESPN's Howard Bryant and author Dave Jamieson, who wrote "Mint Condition," a terrific book about the history of baseball cards. It's free and starts at 7. Details here.
-- D.S.
Today's Names to Know: Randy Moss, KG, Charlie Villanueva, Colin Cowherd, John Wall, Virginia Tech, Eric Bledsoe, Sparky Anderson, Tommy Craggs and More.
Randy Moss to Titans: Good for Tennessee. Moss will love playing with Chris Johnson, will love playing alongside Kenny Britt and will love getting throws from Vince Young. His mercurial mindset will be right. Terrific decision by the Titans, with very little risk. It's so interesting to follow along as the conventional wisdom has gone from something along the lines of "It's Moss: What did you expect?" to "What a steal for the Titans!" (Still looking like a fool: Brad Childress.)
KG vs. Charlie Villanueva: Let's start with this -- I am entirely dubious about what KG says he said. I am inclined to believe Villanueva -- at the very least, give CV31 the TKO for taking to Twitter at the start of the day yesterday and putting KG on the defensive, to the point he had to put out that lame clarification, an entire day's news cycle later... more than enough time for KG to get mocked -- then, amazingly, mocked again after he produced his explanation. (CV31 even got the last word: "I know EXACTLY what I heard.") Next time, KG will just stick with the old tried-and-true misogyny: "F--- you, b----!"
Colin Cowherd on John Wall: Barely worth dignifying with a response, except to say that this was quite possibly one of the most ignorant rants ever uttered on sports-talk radio... which is saying something. Would it be so hard for Cowherd to double back, admit he was wrong and apologize? I swear to god, we've reached a point where "mainstream columnists" (and certainly radio hosts) are knee-jerk hysterics while bloggers (and I'm ready to chuck the "bloggers" class designation) are reasonable and measured.
CFB Tonight: Want to see up-close how far Virginia Tech has come from the Boise State loss (and subsequent shocker at home to James Madison)? They host the national game tonight. Very important game... for Boise State.
CFB: Latest BlogPoll from the group. (1) Oregon, (2) Auburn, (3) Boise, (4) TCU - despite my best intentions to get TCU ranked ahead of Boise. Oh well: Maybe after this weekend (at which point I will rank the TCU-Utah winner ahead of Boise, regardless).
Must-Read: Want to understand Oregon's offense? Read this.
NCAA clears RichRod in Michigan investigation: That doesn't mean that RichRod should -- or will -- keep his job. I wonder how many Michigan fans were hoping he would be implicated, to make it all the easier to can him? I don't think it makes a difference. Might be this offseason, might be next. But I think RichRod's departure is inevitable. (Then again, all coaches' departures are inevitable.)
NBA Last Night: The Hornets are still unbeaten. The Hawks are still unbeaten. Monta Ellis (39) is a scoring machine. Paul Pierce passes the 20K-points milestone. And rookie Eric Bledsoe is getting rave reviews for his performance last night leading the Clippers to a win over the bandwagon Thunder. (The Clips totally shut down Kevin Durant -- improbable!)
Sparky Anderson in hospice: The point is that you can only hope that the Hall of Fame manager is comfortable and that he and his family have some peace of mind.
Celebrations: Wow, did that Giants parade in San Francisco look fun. What a moment for fans there -- and those displaced Giants fans living though it vicariously via Twitter, texts, video, whatever.
Varsity Letters: NYC Tonight! Featuring Deadspin's Tommy Craggs, ESPN's Howard Bryant and author Dave Jamieson, who wrote "Mint Condition," a terrific book about the history of baseball cards. It's free and starts at 7. Details here.
-- D.S.
11/03 Quickie: Wall, Heat, Moss, Shanny
John Wall breaks out, only 3 games in: As a Wizards fan (do I even need to add the "long-suffering" tag anymore?), Wall's 29-point, 13-assist, 9-steal (ahem: 8 turnover) game, leading the Wiz to a home-opening win over the Sixers was amazing to see. Let's not give Rookie of the Year to Blake Griffin just yet. Not while Wall is dazzling in the highlights and the box scores.
And let's not forget Wall doing the Dougie as part of his player intro.
Heat Watch: Another win, with LeBron as de facto point guard. He can call himself whatever he wants, but he is the team's passing engine (12 assists last night, but not a single rebound). This is entirely in line with Free Darko's "positional revolution," where old labels ("point guard" "shooting guard", etc) simply don't apply.
Who will claim Randy Moss? A non-playoff stinker with nothing to lose (Bills? Rams?) -- or a playoff contender willing to take the risk (Jets? Dolphins?) Someone will, and that team will have an instant pop of interest. Yes, I'm with the group that wants to see him on the Jets.
I love the story about Moss freaking out on the Vikings team caterer. And yet who among us hasn't had a moment of disappointment at a buffet? (Kidding.)
Mike Shanahan vs. Donovan McNabb, Cont'd: JaMarcus Russell? Really? That takes the story into a third day, then this: Kyle Shanahan said the coaches told McNabb he might be benched. Of course, McNabb immediately went to the media and refuted that. I don't trust the coaches. That's as a rule. But more specifically, I don't trust the Shanahans -- at least on this. Too many inconsistencies over the past few days.
Shawn Merriman waived, too: What a mighty-have-fallen moment.
Big East football expanding: TCU feels like a no-brainer, and Central Florida would be an awesome add -- although South Florida will never let that happen. But if you're going to add football schools, why wouldn't you add ones that are located in football-insane regions?
RIP Nick Bell: Cripes, so fast. The Mississippi State football player was diagnosed with cancer just a month ago. Condolences to his family, friends and the Mississippi State community.
MLB Hot Stove: Jeter Watch. Hal Steinbrenner on the Jeter contract negotiations: "There's always the possibility that things could get messy." That's what you call foreshadowing.
Managerial Carousel: Brewers hire Angels' coach Ron Roenicke. Won't help.
World Series hangover: Indeed, it was the least-watched Series ever (tied for that mark, at least), but it's such a useless designation. Doesn't take anything away from the Giants or their fans. If casual fans nationally didn't tune in because they were watching football or trick-or-treating or just not caring about the Giants or Rangers, it's only a big deal to Fox and its obligation to deliver some pre-determined audience level to advertisers.
NBA Contract Extension Deadline: Mike Conley? Didn't see that one coming. That guy has been overrated since the minute he got all that love in his one year at Ohio State -- and certainly when he was tabbed as a Top 5 NBA pick. That's not me with revisionist history in the wake of his mediocre NBA career; at the time of the draft, I was very bearish on his NBA potential. And yet... he gets paid! All it takes is one irrational team.
Women's Hoops: UConn as No. 1? YOU DON'T SAY.
MSG asbestos scare: Great to know I took my kid there last winter. Take a deep breath, kid! That's the smell ofKnicks failure carcinogens!
-- D.S.
And let's not forget Wall doing the Dougie as part of his player intro.
Heat Watch: Another win, with LeBron as de facto point guard. He can call himself whatever he wants, but he is the team's passing engine (12 assists last night, but not a single rebound). This is entirely in line with Free Darko's "positional revolution," where old labels ("point guard" "shooting guard", etc) simply don't apply.
Who will claim Randy Moss? A non-playoff stinker with nothing to lose (Bills? Rams?) -- or a playoff contender willing to take the risk (Jets? Dolphins?) Someone will, and that team will have an instant pop of interest. Yes, I'm with the group that wants to see him on the Jets.
I love the story about Moss freaking out on the Vikings team caterer. And yet who among us hasn't had a moment of disappointment at a buffet? (Kidding.)
Mike Shanahan vs. Donovan McNabb, Cont'd: JaMarcus Russell? Really? That takes the story into a third day, then this: Kyle Shanahan said the coaches told McNabb he might be benched. Of course, McNabb immediately went to the media and refuted that. I don't trust the coaches. That's as a rule. But more specifically, I don't trust the Shanahans -- at least on this. Too many inconsistencies over the past few days.
Shawn Merriman waived, too: What a mighty-have-fallen moment.
Big East football expanding: TCU feels like a no-brainer, and Central Florida would be an awesome add -- although South Florida will never let that happen. But if you're going to add football schools, why wouldn't you add ones that are located in football-insane regions?
RIP Nick Bell: Cripes, so fast. The Mississippi State football player was diagnosed with cancer just a month ago. Condolences to his family, friends and the Mississippi State community.
MLB Hot Stove: Jeter Watch. Hal Steinbrenner on the Jeter contract negotiations: "There's always the possibility that things could get messy." That's what you call foreshadowing.
Managerial Carousel: Brewers hire Angels' coach Ron Roenicke. Won't help.
World Series hangover: Indeed, it was the least-watched Series ever (tied for that mark, at least), but it's such a useless designation. Doesn't take anything away from the Giants or their fans. If casual fans nationally didn't tune in because they were watching football or trick-or-treating or just not caring about the Giants or Rangers, it's only a big deal to Fox and its obligation to deliver some pre-determined audience level to advertisers.
NBA Contract Extension Deadline: Mike Conley? Didn't see that one coming. That guy has been overrated since the minute he got all that love in his one year at Ohio State -- and certainly when he was tabbed as a Top 5 NBA pick. That's not me with revisionist history in the wake of his mediocre NBA career; at the time of the draft, I was very bearish on his NBA potential. And yet... he gets paid! All it takes is one irrational team.
Women's Hoops: UConn as No. 1? YOU DON'T SAY.
MSG asbestos scare: Great to know I took my kid there last winter. Take a deep breath, kid! That's the smell of
-- D.S.
Tuesday, November 02, 2010
Sponsored Post: Off the Schneid!
Your weekly update on my travails in the Blogger Football League, sponsored by Procter & Gamble. For background, see this intro post.
This is a very special edition: This week, I write the uber-wrap-up post for the entire league.
Let's start with this great news: I'm off the schneid. After taking a beating for the past two weeks, I upended Jerod's Midwest Sports Fans (formerly 5-2, with a No. 2 league ranking) to reclaim my mojo. Did I learn my lesson about talking trash? Hardly: Jerod, you left your winning margin -- Benjarvus Green-Ellis (2 TDs and two-dozen fantasy points) -- on your bench. Hope starting Fred Jackson was worth it. (It wasn't? Oh...no.) No, seriously, we've all been there. And I appreciate you extending your neck out so I could step on it en route to climbing back onto a winning streak. I have now jinxed myself for at least the next three weeks.
Around the rest of the league:
*Another big win for the league's top-ranked team: Diana's Fresh 2 Death -- and that was with 4 starters on the bench with bye weeks. Umm, Diana: You might want to do something with Randy Moss. (Or not!)
*Punter's DayQuil Fighter of the NyQuil kept pace with Diana at 6-2 in the league. Brad Childress could take a lesson: Punter kept Brett Favre benched for Kyle Orton. Brinson's Fuzzy Gullets enjoyed a 1-game win streak before taking a few steps back to 2-6 on the season.
*Stephanie's For a Better Looking Tomorrow -- trying to keep pace with me atop the X Division -- avoided a bye-week dropoff with sat starting RBs Brandon Jacobs and LeSean McCoy with 15 points from Mike Tolbert (while sitting 11 points from Chargers teammate Ryan Matthews). It helped that she had Janikowski powering FGs and a Rams D that had 3 sacks and 3 INTs. It also helped she was playing Levy's Press Coverage team.
*Two pivotal games between pairs of 3-4 teams: Winners hit .500 and have a decent shot at a run for the playoffs; losers drop to 3-5 halfway through the season and have a tough row to hoe:
Sebek's Sweaty Ditkas needed every bit of his league-high 116 points to knock off Phil's Team Gunaxin, which had 114 points -- higher than any other team this week. In this week's "Bad Beat," Phil's reasonable decision to start Steven Jackson (6 points) over Thomas Jones (8 points) cost him the win, despite starting Week 8 fantasy stud Calvin Johnson, who led all WRs and RBs in points this week.
Meanwhile, Schatz's DVOA vs. GERD used a huge Monday night from Arian Foster to power past Bassett's What Would Revis Do, which held a lead heading into Monday night that proved unsustainable.
Nearly halfway through the season, Diana and Punter lead the league at 6-2. Three teams (including mine) are 5-3. Sebek and Schatz pull up to 4-4. The larger point: The playoff spots are wide open right now.
Looking ahead to next week: The Game of the Week is between Punter (6-2) and Stephanie (5-3), but keep your eye on Sebek coming off that league-leading points week against top-ranked Diana's Fresh 2 Death.
Check out P&G's Take It To The House page on Facebook. Be sure to look for the new contest where you predict the players who will have the top 5 rushing or receiving plays from scrimmage, and if you get them all, you win some insanely good prizes.
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.
This is a very special edition: This week, I write the uber-wrap-up post for the entire league.
Let's start with this great news: I'm off the schneid. After taking a beating for the past two weeks, I upended Jerod's Midwest Sports Fans (formerly 5-2, with a No. 2 league ranking) to reclaim my mojo. Did I learn my lesson about talking trash? Hardly: Jerod, you left your winning margin -- Benjarvus Green-Ellis (2 TDs and two-dozen fantasy points) -- on your bench. Hope starting Fred Jackson was worth it. (It wasn't? Oh...no.) No, seriously, we've all been there. And I appreciate you extending your neck out so I could step on it en route to climbing back onto a winning streak. I have now jinxed myself for at least the next three weeks.
Around the rest of the league:
*Another big win for the league's top-ranked team: Diana's Fresh 2 Death -- and that was with 4 starters on the bench with bye weeks. Umm, Diana: You might want to do something with Randy Moss. (Or not!)
*Punter's DayQuil Fighter of the NyQuil kept pace with Diana at 6-2 in the league. Brad Childress could take a lesson: Punter kept Brett Favre benched for Kyle Orton. Brinson's Fuzzy Gullets enjoyed a 1-game win streak before taking a few steps back to 2-6 on the season.
*Stephanie's For a Better Looking Tomorrow -- trying to keep pace with me atop the X Division -- avoided a bye-week dropoff with sat starting RBs Brandon Jacobs and LeSean McCoy with 15 points from Mike Tolbert (while sitting 11 points from Chargers teammate Ryan Matthews). It helped that she had Janikowski powering FGs and a Rams D that had 3 sacks and 3 INTs. It also helped she was playing Levy's Press Coverage team.
*Two pivotal games between pairs of 3-4 teams: Winners hit .500 and have a decent shot at a run for the playoffs; losers drop to 3-5 halfway through the season and have a tough row to hoe:
Sebek's Sweaty Ditkas needed every bit of his league-high 116 points to knock off Phil's Team Gunaxin, which had 114 points -- higher than any other team this week. In this week's "Bad Beat," Phil's reasonable decision to start Steven Jackson (6 points) over Thomas Jones (8 points) cost him the win, despite starting Week 8 fantasy stud Calvin Johnson, who led all WRs and RBs in points this week.
Meanwhile, Schatz's DVOA vs. GERD used a huge Monday night from Arian Foster to power past Bassett's What Would Revis Do, which held a lead heading into Monday night that proved unsustainable.
Nearly halfway through the season, Diana and Punter lead the league at 6-2. Three teams (including mine) are 5-3. Sebek and Schatz pull up to 4-4. The larger point: The playoff spots are wide open right now.
Looking ahead to next week: The Game of the Week is between Punter (6-2) and Stephanie (5-3), but keep your eye on Sebek coming off that league-leading points week against top-ranked Diana's Fresh 2 Death.
Check out P&G's Take It To The House page on Facebook. Be sure to look for the new contest where you predict the players who will have the top 5 rushing or receiving plays from scrimmage, and if you get them all, you win some insanely good prizes.
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.
11/02 Quickie: Giants, Moss, Shanahan
Today's Names to Know: Giants, Tim Lincecum, Edgar Renteria, Cliff Lee, Randy Moss, Mike Shanahan, Colts, Luol Deng, Al Horford, Harrison Barnes and More.
San Francisco Giants, World Series Champs. Tim Lincecum throws a memorable gem. The ageless Edgar Renteria wins MVP. Giants fans get something they haven't had in more than a half-century. Read last night's post-game post here.
(Something worth adding: Look back to the start of the postseason. How many "experts" picked the Giants to win it all? I couldn't find any. That's what you call a quality playoff ending.)
What next for Cliff Lee? He will be welcome back in Texas. He will be given a mega-sized contract offer by the Yankees. Other teams will be in the mix -- I suspect he lost a few million by losing both World Series starts; he also lost that "postseason invincible" tag. My guess: He stays in Texas, which will match the Yankees offer. And he never again comes as close to a championship as he did this past week.
Vikings will waive Randy Moss: Where to start? He was outspoken, but why did the Vikings trade for him if they didn't plan to use him aggressively? Consider that they gave up a 3rd-round pick for an ineffective 4-week player rental, which could be argued was the single-worst trade in recent NFL history. (And it's coming out that Brad Childress didn't ask his owner -- or basically tell anyone -- before making the decision. Aaand... that might be all for the head coach. Not immediately, but at the end of a let-down season.)
And where does Moss go next? At the top of the waiver wire are teams that have no shot at the playoffs but sure could use him (probably not THAT much); at the bottom of the waiver wire are teams in the playoff chase that can't risk the distraction (despite the tantalizing upside). Plenty of teams could use his talent; few -- if any -- will want his baggage.
Mike Shanahan under pressure: His bone-headed move to bench Donovan McNabb with 2 minutes to go in the game on Sunday (for Rex Grossman!) was compounded by his feeble attempts to explain it. The big question is: With that move (and cover-up), did he irredeemably lose the team? The Redskins media certainly seems to have soured on him.
(By the way, I only very rarely heard people refer to me as "Shanny" growing up, but I kept seeing "Shanny" in my Twitter feed in reference to Shanahan, and it made me look twice every time. Of course, I wouldn't be so dumb as to bench Donovan McNabb for Rex Grossman with 2 minutes to go and about to start what would be a game-tying/-winning drive.)
NFL MNF: Colts beat back Texans. Feels like years -- or at least a half-season -- since the Texans toppled the Colts back in Week 1. Now, Indy feels in control of the AFC South -- as usual.
NBA Last Night: Luol! The Bulls' Deng scored a career-high 40 in a Bulls win over the Blazers. Meanwhile, the Kings went to 3-1 and the Clippers remain winless (Griffin: 17 and 8).
Al Horford gets 5Y/$60M deal with Hawks: He deserved it, and I don't just say that because he is one of my favorite players in the league. Undersized at center, Horford is solid defensively, a good passer and nimble, while good enough to be counted on for a double-double every night. Atlanta might be stretched thin with all these big deals, but Horford's was a good one to get done. He would have been coveted as an FA next summer (if there WAS a "next summer").
CBB Preseason All-Americans: This is usually a pretty good foreshadowing of who will be postseason A-A. Loved seeing freshman Harrison Barnes on the 1st team. He becomes the first freshman ever to make the preseason team (since the team started in '86-87).
And while he deserves it -- he is the odds-on favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft -- this "first-time" situation feels like a panicky make-up call for the AP's egregious preseason misses through the years, most recently John Wall a year ago.
The Death of Declan Sullivan, Cont'd: For those interested in the punitive measures that could be taken against Notre Dame, criminal charges appear to be out (mystifyingly), but a Forbes writer pegs the potential civil (financial) punishment at $30 million. Still doesn't seem like enough. (h/t: Emma Carmichael)
Vote. Take the 15 minutes or hour or whatever and go vote, thoughtfully.
-- D.S.
San Francisco Giants, World Series Champs. Tim Lincecum throws a memorable gem. The ageless Edgar Renteria wins MVP. Giants fans get something they haven't had in more than a half-century. Read last night's post-game post here.
(Something worth adding: Look back to the start of the postseason. How many "experts" picked the Giants to win it all? I couldn't find any. That's what you call a quality playoff ending.)
What next for Cliff Lee? He will be welcome back in Texas. He will be given a mega-sized contract offer by the Yankees. Other teams will be in the mix -- I suspect he lost a few million by losing both World Series starts; he also lost that "postseason invincible" tag. My guess: He stays in Texas, which will match the Yankees offer. And he never again comes as close to a championship as he did this past week.
Vikings will waive Randy Moss: Where to start? He was outspoken, but why did the Vikings trade for him if they didn't plan to use him aggressively? Consider that they gave up a 3rd-round pick for an ineffective 4-week player rental, which could be argued was the single-worst trade in recent NFL history. (And it's coming out that Brad Childress didn't ask his owner -- or basically tell anyone -- before making the decision. Aaand... that might be all for the head coach. Not immediately, but at the end of a let-down season.)
And where does Moss go next? At the top of the waiver wire are teams that have no shot at the playoffs but sure could use him (probably not THAT much); at the bottom of the waiver wire are teams in the playoff chase that can't risk the distraction (despite the tantalizing upside). Plenty of teams could use his talent; few -- if any -- will want his baggage.
Mike Shanahan under pressure: His bone-headed move to bench Donovan McNabb with 2 minutes to go in the game on Sunday (for Rex Grossman!) was compounded by his feeble attempts to explain it. The big question is: With that move (and cover-up), did he irredeemably lose the team? The Redskins media certainly seems to have soured on him.
(By the way, I only very rarely heard people refer to me as "Shanny" growing up, but I kept seeing "Shanny" in my Twitter feed in reference to Shanahan, and it made me look twice every time. Of course, I wouldn't be so dumb as to bench Donovan McNabb for Rex Grossman with 2 minutes to go and about to start what would be a game-tying/-winning drive.)
NFL MNF: Colts beat back Texans. Feels like years -- or at least a half-season -- since the Texans toppled the Colts back in Week 1. Now, Indy feels in control of the AFC South -- as usual.
NBA Last Night: Luol! The Bulls' Deng scored a career-high 40 in a Bulls win over the Blazers. Meanwhile, the Kings went to 3-1 and the Clippers remain winless (Griffin: 17 and 8).
Al Horford gets 5Y/$60M deal with Hawks: He deserved it, and I don't just say that because he is one of my favorite players in the league. Undersized at center, Horford is solid defensively, a good passer and nimble, while good enough to be counted on for a double-double every night. Atlanta might be stretched thin with all these big deals, but Horford's was a good one to get done. He would have been coveted as an FA next summer (if there WAS a "next summer").
CBB Preseason All-Americans: This is usually a pretty good foreshadowing of who will be postseason A-A. Loved seeing freshman Harrison Barnes on the 1st team. He becomes the first freshman ever to make the preseason team (since the team started in '86-87).
And while he deserves it -- he is the odds-on favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft -- this "first-time" situation feels like a panicky make-up call for the AP's egregious preseason misses through the years, most recently John Wall a year ago.
The Death of Declan Sullivan, Cont'd: For those interested in the punitive measures that could be taken against Notre Dame, criminal charges appear to be out (mystifyingly), but a Forbes writer pegs the potential civil (financial) punishment at $30 million. Still doesn't seem like enough. (h/t: Emma Carmichael)
Vote. Take the 15 minutes or hour or whatever and go vote, thoughtfully.
-- D.S.
Monday, November 01, 2010
Congrats, Giants: World Series Champs
Congratulations to San Francisco Giants fans on their World Series title.
You had a likable team, built on terrific homegrown starting pitchers who elevated their performance in October. Tim Lincecum's 8-inning, 10-K start in Game 5 will be instantly immortalized within the fan base -- even baseball history.
Speaking on Lincecum, he now has that coveted championship to go with his multiple Cy Young awards and status as one of the best -- if not the best -- pitcher in his league. No matter what else happens in his career, he has this singular intersection of talent and title.
Buster Posey enjoys a spoiler of a rookie season: Posey should give Cal Ripken Jr. a call about early-career uber-success, and how to savor it -- not to take it for granted. This may be it.
1954 -- the last time the Giants won the World Series -- was a long time ago. Anyone less than retirement age of 65 or older has no recollection of the Giants as a world champ.
Speaking of which, you know who I'm most fascinated by? Edgar Renteria, the 34-year-old shortstop who won a title in his 2nd full year in the majors in 1997 at age 20, then an NL pennant at age 27 with the Cards, and now a career bookend world championship with the Giants, with 2 huge HRs in the World Series -- including the decisive 3-run shot in Game 5 that earned him the honor of World Series MVP. Love the heroes in their mid-30s!
Lincecum. Cain. Bumgarner. Posey. Uribe. Ross. Renteria. Wilson. For Giants fans, they are instantly immortal. This accounting of instant history is my favorite part of every World Series.
Congratulations, Giants fans. Enjoy it -- not just now, but for years to come.
-- D.S.
You had a likable team, built on terrific homegrown starting pitchers who elevated their performance in October. Tim Lincecum's 8-inning, 10-K start in Game 5 will be instantly immortalized within the fan base -- even baseball history.
Speaking on Lincecum, he now has that coveted championship to go with his multiple Cy Young awards and status as one of the best -- if not the best -- pitcher in his league. No matter what else happens in his career, he has this singular intersection of talent and title.
Buster Posey enjoys a spoiler of a rookie season: Posey should give Cal Ripken Jr. a call about early-career uber-success, and how to savor it -- not to take it for granted. This may be it.
1954 -- the last time the Giants won the World Series -- was a long time ago. Anyone less than retirement age of 65 or older has no recollection of the Giants as a world champ.
Speaking of which, you know who I'm most fascinated by? Edgar Renteria, the 34-year-old shortstop who won a title in his 2nd full year in the majors in 1997 at age 20, then an NL pennant at age 27 with the Cards, and now a career bookend world championship with the Giants, with 2 huge HRs in the World Series -- including the decisive 3-run shot in Game 5 that earned him the honor of World Series MVP. Love the heroes in their mid-30s!
Lincecum. Cain. Bumgarner. Posey. Uribe. Ross. Renteria. Wilson. For Giants fans, they are instantly immortal. This accounting of instant history is my favorite part of every World Series.
Congratulations, Giants fans. Enjoy it -- not just now, but for years to come.
-- D.S.
Media: Levinsohn, Dube Will Boost
Two media-industry notes with relevance to sports:
*Yahoo has brought in Ross Levinsohn to run operations in the Americas. In keeping with the meme from the past few weeks, Levinsohn is another example of sports pacing online innovation; back in the mid-90s, he was in charge of SportsLine, then moved over and ran Fox Sports Interactive -- that was before a steep ascent to run all of Fox Interactive. Now he's back to run all of Yahoo. Levinsohn's sports-centric DNA can only going to be a good thing for Yahoo's Sports team, which was already pacing the company's content strategy.
*AOL has brought in Jonathan Dube to run its News and Information group, which includes Sports. Dube is another longtime industry vet -- I've been in online media for 15 years and Dube has been a fixture of leadership for as far back as I can remember. Like Yahoo, AOL's larger content strategy was materially incubated on the sports side; in Fanhouse, Dube has a huge engine of content production to feed AOL's portal-powered audience. Again: It's only going to be a good thing for Fanhouse that Dube is overseeing the group as part of his larger news portfolio.
*Last one, and it's a repeat from an item in the Quickie post earlier this morning that I added late: Congrats to ESPN.com's Howard Bryant for winning the 2010 Online Journalism Award for Online Commentary/Blogging (Large Site division). He was the ONLY nominee -- across all OJA categories -- from sports, and so it was nice to see him win. Given how awesome the online sports journalism community is -- large and small -- we should all feel like we won a piece of the award.
*Yahoo has brought in Ross Levinsohn to run operations in the Americas. In keeping with the meme from the past few weeks, Levinsohn is another example of sports pacing online innovation; back in the mid-90s, he was in charge of SportsLine, then moved over and ran Fox Sports Interactive -- that was before a steep ascent to run all of Fox Interactive. Now he's back to run all of Yahoo. Levinsohn's sports-centric DNA can only going to be a good thing for Yahoo's Sports team, which was already pacing the company's content strategy.
*AOL has brought in Jonathan Dube to run its News and Information group, which includes Sports. Dube is another longtime industry vet -- I've been in online media for 15 years and Dube has been a fixture of leadership for as far back as I can remember. Like Yahoo, AOL's larger content strategy was materially incubated on the sports side; in Fanhouse, Dube has a huge engine of content production to feed AOL's portal-powered audience. Again: It's only going to be a good thing for Fanhouse that Dube is overseeing the group as part of his larger news portfolio.
*Last one, and it's a repeat from an item in the Quickie post earlier this morning that I added late: Congrats to ESPN.com's Howard Bryant for winning the 2010 Online Journalism Award for Online Commentary/Blogging (Large Site division). He was the ONLY nominee -- across all OJA categories -- from sports, and so it was nice to see him win. Given how awesome the online sports journalism community is -- large and small -- we should all feel like we won a piece of the award.
BlogPoll Monday: 1 Auburn, 2 TCU
I feel compelled to keep saying this: I'm a huge fan of Boise State. Back in January, I had them pegged as my preseason No. 1 team. Back in August, I gave them my very first No. 1 ranking.
In a one-game situation, I think Boise Statecould would beat any team in the country.
That does NOT necessarily make them the No. 1 team in the country. And, based on what they have done so far this season, that does NOT make them one of the Top 2 teams in the country this week, as the AP would want you to recognize. For the record, I have Boise at No. 4 -- most notably: behind TCU, but ahead of Alabama.
Who you play matters. And it isn't just a function of putting multiple wins over Top 25 teams on your resume -- as others have, certainly Auburn and Oregon.
It is the week-in-week-out grind. I said this over the weekend: It is entirely speculative, but if Boise had to play an SEC or Big 12 or Big Ten or Pac-10 schedule, they would do very well. But the chances of walking through it without a single loss is unrealistic.
I don't begrudge Boise their place as BCS outsider and they certainly are doing everything they can with the schedule they have, rather than the schedule the rest of us would want them to have.
But -- specifically at this point of the season -- any voter who puts Boise at No. 1 or No. 2 either is doing it to spite the BCS or is unfairly discounting strength of schedule; either is a violation of the kind of sincere intellectual commitment fans expect from a poll voter.
(You may now laugh at that last statement.)
The point is this: If Alabama runs the table -- which would include upcoming wins over LSU and Mississippi State (both ranked), then Auburn (a Top 2 BCS team), then the SEC title game (presumably against the team that beat them -- also a Top 20 team) -- they will have earned a spot in the national title game ahead of an unbeaten Boise State. At the very least, we are going to have a vigorous debate about that.
We have talked about this before: If unbeaten Boise takes a BCS title-game spot from 1-loss Alabama, I could absolutely see SEC commish Mike Slive seceding from the BCS, as early as this coming offseason. (And he probably should.)
You could make a similar case for a 1-loss Oregon or a 1-loss Big Ten champ or a 1-loss Big 12 champ.
The team I feel worst for? TCU, which finally vaulted Boise State in the BCS rankings -- as they should, given their superior strength of schedule -- but has the chance of being shut out of the national championship game in favor of Boise, even after TCU beats Top 5 Utah on the road next week. I really hope the Horned Frogs win and voters are hit with a sledgehammer that TCU has earned more rankings respect this season than Boise.
Strength of schedule should matter -- a lot, actually. I'm not talking about for differentiating between teams ranked No. 5 and No. 20. I'm talking about as it is incorporated in picking the Top 2 teams, the teams that in our wacked system, get to play for the national title.
This is hard, because I want to see Boise get a shot. And I certainly want TCU to get a shot -- probably even more than Boise. At at least one of them won't.
But I'm left feeling like this: You can want to see the BCS implode or "die," but if you think Boise making the BCS title game ahead of a team with a more worthy resume is somehow a net-good for college football, you are compounding the BCS's original sins. The BCS will have not only corrupted the sport, but they will have corrupted the media and fans who support it.
That said: If you want to see the BCS implode, root like crazy for Boise to make the title game ahead of a 1-loss SEC champ Alabama. But that doesn't make it right.
The problem with my logic is wondering where it stops: Does unbeaten Boise have a better resume than a 2-loss team? The same reasoning would apply about Boise's unlikelihood of making it through a top conference schedule unscathed.
At the very least, it helps tilt the debate, make it a little more palatable.* You want Oregon to lose vs. Arizona or Oregon State. You want Alabama to lose to LSU, then beat Auburn, then have Auburn lose to a mediocrity like Florida (!) in the SEC title game. You want Wisconsin to lose to Northwestern. You want the top of the Big 12 to collapse under the weight of its own transitive property.
Because all things being equal, strength of schedule has to matter. It should matter. It's why TCU-Utah next weekend is so important: Here are two Top 5 teams, playing each other, giving the winner the kind of elite, signature win that so many other contenders can't match. Especially Boise.
-- D.S.
*This is all moot if Oregon and Auburn run the table. For better or worse, no matter how Boise and TCU finish, they will finish behind unbeaten Oregon and Auburn, and at that point, you can only hope that Boise gets a shot in the Sugar Bowl against Alabama and TCU gets a shot against a 1-loss Big 12 champ in the Fiesta. Or, frankly, playing each other, with the AP actively giving their half of the national title to that game's winner. That is the only kind of "jury nullification" that matters -- mid-season protest votes with Boise ranked ahead of Auburn, when the resumes are so clearly differentiated, are lame.
In a one-game situation, I think Boise State
That does NOT necessarily make them the No. 1 team in the country. And, based on what they have done so far this season, that does NOT make them one of the Top 2 teams in the country this week, as the AP would want you to recognize. For the record, I have Boise at No. 4 -- most notably: behind TCU, but ahead of Alabama.
Who you play matters. And it isn't just a function of putting multiple wins over Top 25 teams on your resume -- as others have, certainly Auburn and Oregon.
It is the week-in-week-out grind. I said this over the weekend: It is entirely speculative, but if Boise had to play an SEC or Big 12 or Big Ten or Pac-10 schedule, they would do very well. But the chances of walking through it without a single loss is unrealistic.
I don't begrudge Boise their place as BCS outsider and they certainly are doing everything they can with the schedule they have, rather than the schedule the rest of us would want them to have.
But -- specifically at this point of the season -- any voter who puts Boise at No. 1 or No. 2 either is doing it to spite the BCS or is unfairly discounting strength of schedule; either is a violation of the kind of sincere intellectual commitment fans expect from a poll voter.
(You may now laugh at that last statement.)
The point is this: If Alabama runs the table -- which would include upcoming wins over LSU and Mississippi State (both ranked), then Auburn (a Top 2 BCS team), then the SEC title game (presumably against the team that beat them -- also a Top 20 team) -- they will have earned a spot in the national title game ahead of an unbeaten Boise State. At the very least, we are going to have a vigorous debate about that.
We have talked about this before: If unbeaten Boise takes a BCS title-game spot from 1-loss Alabama, I could absolutely see SEC commish Mike Slive seceding from the BCS, as early as this coming offseason. (And he probably should.)
You could make a similar case for a 1-loss Oregon or a 1-loss Big Ten champ or a 1-loss Big 12 champ.
The team I feel worst for? TCU, which finally vaulted Boise State in the BCS rankings -- as they should, given their superior strength of schedule -- but has the chance of being shut out of the national championship game in favor of Boise, even after TCU beats Top 5 Utah on the road next week. I really hope the Horned Frogs win and voters are hit with a sledgehammer that TCU has earned more rankings respect this season than Boise.
Strength of schedule should matter -- a lot, actually. I'm not talking about for differentiating between teams ranked No. 5 and No. 20. I'm talking about as it is incorporated in picking the Top 2 teams, the teams that in our wacked system, get to play for the national title.
This is hard, because I want to see Boise get a shot. And I certainly want TCU to get a shot -- probably even more than Boise. At at least one of them won't.
But I'm left feeling like this: You can want to see the BCS implode or "die," but if you think Boise making the BCS title game ahead of a team with a more worthy resume is somehow a net-good for college football, you are compounding the BCS's original sins. The BCS will have not only corrupted the sport, but they will have corrupted the media and fans who support it.
That said: If you want to see the BCS implode, root like crazy for Boise to make the title game ahead of a 1-loss SEC champ Alabama. But that doesn't make it right.
The problem with my logic is wondering where it stops: Does unbeaten Boise have a better resume than a 2-loss team? The same reasoning would apply about Boise's unlikelihood of making it through a top conference schedule unscathed.
At the very least, it helps tilt the debate, make it a little more palatable.* You want Oregon to lose vs. Arizona or Oregon State. You want Alabama to lose to LSU, then beat Auburn, then have Auburn lose to a mediocrity like Florida (!) in the SEC title game. You want Wisconsin to lose to Northwestern. You want the top of the Big 12 to collapse under the weight of its own transitive property.
Because all things being equal, strength of schedule has to matter. It should matter. It's why TCU-Utah next weekend is so important: Here are two Top 5 teams, playing each other, giving the winner the kind of elite, signature win that so many other contenders can't match. Especially Boise.
-- D.S.
*This is all moot if Oregon and Auburn run the table. For better or worse, no matter how Boise and TCU finish, they will finish behind unbeaten Oregon and Auburn, and at that point, you can only hope that Boise gets a shot in the Sugar Bowl against Alabama and TCU gets a shot against a 1-loss Big 12 champ in the Fiesta. Or, frankly, playing each other, with the AP actively giving their half of the national title to that game's winner. That is the only kind of "jury nullification" that matters -- mid-season protest votes with Boise ranked ahead of Auburn, when the resumes are so clearly differentiated, are lame.
11/01 Quickie: Favre, Bum, BCS, LeBron
Today's Names to Know: Brett Favre's chin, Drew Brees, Steve Weatherford, Donovan McNabb (or perhaps Rex Grossman?), Calvin Johnson, Raheem Morris, Jerry Jones, Madison Bumgarner, Cliff Lee, BCS, LeBron, Maurice Lucas and More.
The usual Monday NFL zip-through:
*Chin up, Favre fans: Now that we know -- or at least have been told -- that Brett Favre's chin injury isn't serious (but really, how could it not be a concussion?), we can talk about it as a form of catharsis. That's not meant to wish any sort of injury on him, just that the shot felt loaded with irony, given all the "will he/I or won't he/I" jawing of the past week.
Meanwhile, he played enough of the game to peg him with at least some of the blame for yet another loss.
*Boo dat? (Ugh. Sorry.) You have to figure that if the Superdome crowd was ever going to be really noisy for a regular-season game, it would be on Halloween night -- let alone in primetime, against one of the elite teams in the league. And they were, giving the Saints enough of an advantage to slip past the Steelers in the 4th quarter and, potentially, regain some of their mojo from the loss to the Browns last week.
Jets shut out: It's one thing to lose. It's another thing to get shut out -- especially when your D holds the other team to 9 points. (And following a bye week, no less!) It's back to "Hard Knocks"-level impotence for the Jets O. (You can knock Jets punter Steve Weatherford -- and Rex Ryan certainly did -- but someone on that team needed to be thinking offense.)
*Leave it to the mercurial Chargers to knock off the surging Titans. Unclear if there is a more unpredictable team in the NFL this season than San Diego.
*McBenched: Given how he responded a year ago to being benched, maybe Donovan McNabb will have a similar reaction next week, after it happened yesterday. But probably not. (Seriously, Shanahan: With 2 minutes to go in a winnable game? Welcome to Redskins media frenzy.)
*They just keep winning: Chiefs (in an ugly one that nearly ended in a tie)... Bucs (in a wild one -- LeGarrette Blount!)... Raiders (?!?!)
*Troy Smith! (Speaking of the London game: Touchdown, Tim Tebow.)
*Fantasy Player of the Day: Calvin Johnson (who was an obvious start anyway), with a hat-tip to Matt Stafford (who wasn't... and if you did start him, more power to you). And if you're looking for a RB, it has to be LeGarrette Blount from the Bucs, with 120 yards and 2 TDs. (Special shout-out to Miami's Dan Carpenter, who hit 5 FG for the 2nd straight game.)
*Quote of the Day: "I'm very, very, very sorry to our fans. You should have better than this." -- Jerry Jones, whose Cowboys are an absolute mess. Routed by the Jags? Yikes.
*****
World Series: Is it over? Thanks to new Giants franchise hero Madison Bumgarner, it sure feels like it is. Up 3-1 with 2 of the next 3 games in SF, only needing to win one? With the way the Giants are pitching -- let alone hitting Texas pitching -- that seems like an insurmountable gap.
The good news: We get one more Lee-vs-Lincecum match-up. At least the Rangers get one more shot with their ace. (Then again, so do the Giants... and you're excused if you are wondering -- based on WS performances -- whether Cain and, now, Bumgarner join as team ace pitchers.)
*****
BCS: It's Oregon 1 and Auburn 2, a flip-flop of last week's ranking. It would seem the computers like Oregon's win at USC more than Auburn's win at Ole Miss. Pay very very close attention to Schlabach's column on Alabama controlling its own destiny, because he is spot-on.
(Meanwhile, did you see how TCU moved up to No. 3, flip-flopping with Boise? That is strength-of-schedule continuing to kick in -- as it should. The AP voters look ridiculous putting Boise at No. 2. Either they are doing it on "rep" or as a protest vote of the BCS. Either way is intellectually lazy at best and dishonest at worst. And I say that as someone who thinks Boise is a great team.)
More on the BCS and this week's BlogPoll ballot coming later this morning.
*****
LeBron on "The Decision": "If I had to go back on it, I probably would do it a little bit different... I don't know what I would [have done], but I definitely would have changed it." Well, it's a start.... I have a few simple suggestions:
Don't make it a televised "event."
Don't let Jim Gray host it.
Don't wait 20 minutes before announcing.
Don't use kids as props.
Don't use a phrase like "I'm taking my talents to...."
Again, the problem wasn't with the decision to go to Miami. It was with the Decision to make such an awkward, off-putting spectacle of it.
*****
Uniforms: Can the Rams just move back to the old-school unis, please? They looked awesome yesterday. (Speaking of which, the Pats' retro red uniforms are so much better than the futuristic blue ones they use normally.)
*****
RIP Maurice Lucas, a key member of the classic 1977 NBA Champion Portland Trail Blazers. Per The Works, visit BlazersEdge for worthy commentary and memories.
*****
Congrats to ESPN.com's Howard Bryant for winning the 2010 Online Journalism Award for Online Commentary/Blogging (Large Site division). He was the ONLY nominee -- across all categories -- from sports, and so it was nice to see him win. Given how awesome the online sports community is -- large and small -- we should all feel like we won a piece of the award.
-- D.S.
The usual Monday NFL zip-through:
*Chin up, Favre fans: Now that we know -- or at least have been told -- that Brett Favre's chin injury isn't serious (but really, how could it not be a concussion?), we can talk about it as a form of catharsis. That's not meant to wish any sort of injury on him, just that the shot felt loaded with irony, given all the "will he/I or won't he/I" jawing of the past week.
Meanwhile, he played enough of the game to peg him with at least some of the blame for yet another loss.
*Boo dat? (Ugh. Sorry.) You have to figure that if the Superdome crowd was ever going to be really noisy for a regular-season game, it would be on Halloween night -- let alone in primetime, against one of the elite teams in the league. And they were, giving the Saints enough of an advantage to slip past the Steelers in the 4th quarter and, potentially, regain some of their mojo from the loss to the Browns last week.
Jets shut out: It's one thing to lose. It's another thing to get shut out -- especially when your D holds the other team to 9 points. (And following a bye week, no less!) It's back to "Hard Knocks"-level impotence for the Jets O. (You can knock Jets punter Steve Weatherford -- and Rex Ryan certainly did -- but someone on that team needed to be thinking offense.)
*Leave it to the mercurial Chargers to knock off the surging Titans. Unclear if there is a more unpredictable team in the NFL this season than San Diego.
*McBenched: Given how he responded a year ago to being benched, maybe Donovan McNabb will have a similar reaction next week, after it happened yesterday. But probably not. (Seriously, Shanahan: With 2 minutes to go in a winnable game? Welcome to Redskins media frenzy.)
*They just keep winning: Chiefs (in an ugly one that nearly ended in a tie)... Bucs (in a wild one -- LeGarrette Blount!)... Raiders (?!?!)
*Troy Smith! (Speaking of the London game: Touchdown, Tim Tebow.)
*Fantasy Player of the Day: Calvin Johnson (who was an obvious start anyway), with a hat-tip to Matt Stafford (who wasn't... and if you did start him, more power to you). And if you're looking for a RB, it has to be LeGarrette Blount from the Bucs, with 120 yards and 2 TDs. (Special shout-out to Miami's Dan Carpenter, who hit 5 FG for the 2nd straight game.)
*Quote of the Day: "I'm very, very, very sorry to our fans. You should have better than this." -- Jerry Jones, whose Cowboys are an absolute mess. Routed by the Jags? Yikes.
*****
World Series: Is it over? Thanks to new Giants franchise hero Madison Bumgarner, it sure feels like it is. Up 3-1 with 2 of the next 3 games in SF, only needing to win one? With the way the Giants are pitching -- let alone hitting Texas pitching -- that seems like an insurmountable gap.
The good news: We get one more Lee-vs-Lincecum match-up. At least the Rangers get one more shot with their ace. (Then again, so do the Giants... and you're excused if you are wondering -- based on WS performances -- whether Cain and, now, Bumgarner join as team ace pitchers.)
*****
BCS: It's Oregon 1 and Auburn 2, a flip-flop of last week's ranking. It would seem the computers like Oregon's win at USC more than Auburn's win at Ole Miss. Pay very very close attention to Schlabach's column on Alabama controlling its own destiny, because he is spot-on.
(Meanwhile, did you see how TCU moved up to No. 3, flip-flopping with Boise? That is strength-of-schedule continuing to kick in -- as it should. The AP voters look ridiculous putting Boise at No. 2. Either they are doing it on "rep" or as a protest vote of the BCS. Either way is intellectually lazy at best and dishonest at worst. And I say that as someone who thinks Boise is a great team.)
More on the BCS and this week's BlogPoll ballot coming later this morning.
*****
LeBron on "The Decision": "If I had to go back on it, I probably would do it a little bit different... I don't know what I would [have done], but I definitely would have changed it." Well, it's a start.... I have a few simple suggestions:
Don't make it a televised "event."
Don't let Jim Gray host it.
Don't wait 20 minutes before announcing.
Don't use kids as props.
Don't use a phrase like "I'm taking my talents to...."
Again, the problem wasn't with the decision to go to Miami. It was with the Decision to make such an awkward, off-putting spectacle of it.
*****
Uniforms: Can the Rams just move back to the old-school unis, please? They looked awesome yesterday. (Speaking of which, the Pats' retro red uniforms are so much better than the futuristic blue ones they use normally.)
*****
RIP Maurice Lucas, a key member of the classic 1977 NBA Champion Portland Trail Blazers. Per The Works, visit BlazersEdge for worthy commentary and memories.
*****
Congrats to ESPN.com's Howard Bryant for winning the 2010 Online Journalism Award for Online Commentary/Blogging (Large Site division). He was the ONLY nominee -- across all categories -- from sports, and so it was nice to see him win. Given how awesome the online sports community is -- large and small -- we should all feel like we won a piece of the award.
-- D.S.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Sunday Quickie: CFB's Big Four
We are down to a "Big Four" in college football -- the four teams left with a clear-cut claim on being in the national-title game:
*Auburn
*Oregon
*Boise State
*The winner of next week's TCU@Utah game.
Neither Auburn nor Oregon have the stout defense of a typical national champion. Boise plays an easy schedule. The TCU-Utah winner probably has the strongest claim after next week.
At the very least, yesterday eliminated two teams from the chase: Michigan State and Mizzou, both exposed on the road -- admittedly against very good opponents. Iowa is a Top 20 team that is a couple plays from being unbeaten; Nebraska is a Top 10 team. It is hard to win on the road against great teams -- which is why we should give credit to Oregon for winning at USC (if some, if not as much, to Auburn for winning at Ole Miss).
And why we should give a TON to TCU if they win at Utah next week, which I predict they will. Whoever wins that game, it will be arguably the single-best win by an unbeaten team this season (which is why the game's winner should vault over Boise State, whose entire resume is built on a single "quality" win).
We are only 9 weeks into the season and we are already down to 4* unbeaten contenders.
Here's the thing: Auburn still has to play Alabama. Oregon still has to play at Oregon State. You can hate the BCS, but also enjoy the game of "knockout" that we are watching the past month.
(The only team that seems to get a pass on those "knockout" challenges is Boise. Can you imagine if Boise had to play at Air Force one week then play TCU the next? Or Oklahoma then Nebraska? Or even at Northwestern then at Iowa? At best they'd prove themselves through their resume; at worst, they simply wouldn't make it through without a loss.)
Tentative top of my BlogPoll ballot: (1) Auburn, (2) TCU, (3) Oregon, (4) Boise, (5) Utah.
World Series: Rangers get in the game. Texas got its must-win (hero: Mitch Moreland); and, yet, tonight is another. (Honestly, I didn't watch a minute of the game, because I was watching Oregon-USC. Let's revisit tomorrow if/when the Rangers tie up the Series and send it to a Lee-Lincecum Game 5.)
NFL: Will Brett Favre play? Well, HE says he will. Because, y'know, it's HIS decision, not -- say -- the coach's. This is so typical Favre. I'm sure Brad Childress will start him, if only because Favre just told him to. Wouldn't want to let giving the Vikings the best chance of winning the game get in front of messing up that personal games-started streak.
John Wall Watch: Wow. Two games into his NBA career, he puts up a huge game: 28 points on better-than-50% FG shooting (and 2/3 shooting from 3), 10 FTAs (making 8) and 9 asissts (with only 3 turnovers). Of course, the Wizards lost, but is that really Wall's fault?
(If Derrick Rose -- 39 last night in a Bulls win -- really is the NBA template for Wall, I'll take it.)
New-look Knicks same as the old-look Knicks: Losing, this time in their home opener.
More NBA: So much for Tony Parker heading for the Knicks next summer. (Think Parker is concerned about his long-term economic impact from the lockout?) More than anything, this feels like an odd choice for the Spurs -- George Hill has been looking like a great Parker replacement, in the event he chose to bolt.
Oh, and three words for you: Roy. Helu. Junior. Good gracious, what a game he had.
Happy Halloween. I'm going as a Florida football fan relieved that the team finally won an ugly one, rather than being on the other side.
-- D.S.
*Auburn
*Oregon
*Boise State
*The winner of next week's TCU@Utah game.
Neither Auburn nor Oregon have the stout defense of a typical national champion. Boise plays an easy schedule. The TCU-Utah winner probably has the strongest claim after next week.
At the very least, yesterday eliminated two teams from the chase: Michigan State and Mizzou, both exposed on the road -- admittedly against very good opponents. Iowa is a Top 20 team that is a couple plays from being unbeaten; Nebraska is a Top 10 team. It is hard to win on the road against great teams -- which is why we should give credit to Oregon for winning at USC (if some, if not as much, to Auburn for winning at Ole Miss).
And why we should give a TON to TCU if they win at Utah next week, which I predict they will. Whoever wins that game, it will be arguably the single-best win by an unbeaten team this season (which is why the game's winner should vault over Boise State, whose entire resume is built on a single "quality" win).
We are only 9 weeks into the season and we are already down to 4* unbeaten contenders.
Here's the thing: Auburn still has to play Alabama. Oregon still has to play at Oregon State. You can hate the BCS, but also enjoy the game of "knockout" that we are watching the past month.
(The only team that seems to get a pass on those "knockout" challenges is Boise. Can you imagine if Boise had to play at Air Force one week then play TCU the next? Or Oklahoma then Nebraska? Or even at Northwestern then at Iowa? At best they'd prove themselves through their resume; at worst, they simply wouldn't make it through without a loss.)
Tentative top of my BlogPoll ballot: (1) Auburn, (2) TCU, (3) Oregon, (4) Boise, (5) Utah.
World Series: Rangers get in the game. Texas got its must-win (hero: Mitch Moreland); and, yet, tonight is another. (Honestly, I didn't watch a minute of the game, because I was watching Oregon-USC. Let's revisit tomorrow if/when the Rangers tie up the Series and send it to a Lee-Lincecum Game 5.)
NFL: Will Brett Favre play? Well, HE says he will. Because, y'know, it's HIS decision, not -- say -- the coach's. This is so typical Favre. I'm sure Brad Childress will start him, if only because Favre just told him to. Wouldn't want to let giving the Vikings the best chance of winning the game get in front of messing up that personal games-started streak.
John Wall Watch: Wow. Two games into his NBA career, he puts up a huge game: 28 points on better-than-50% FG shooting (and 2/3 shooting from 3), 10 FTAs (making 8) and 9 asissts (with only 3 turnovers). Of course, the Wizards lost, but is that really Wall's fault?
(If Derrick Rose -- 39 last night in a Bulls win -- really is the NBA template for Wall, I'll take it.)
New-look Knicks same as the old-look Knicks: Losing, this time in their home opener.
More NBA: So much for Tony Parker heading for the Knicks next summer. (Think Parker is concerned about his long-term economic impact from the lockout?) More than anything, this feels like an odd choice for the Spurs -- George Hill has been looking like a great Parker replacement, in the event he chose to bolt.
Oh, and three words for you: Roy. Helu. Junior. Good gracious, what a game he had.
Happy Halloween. I'm going as a Florida football fan relieved that the team finally won an ugly one, rather than being on the other side.
-- D.S.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Saturday (Very) Quickie: Heat, Ducks
Heat crush Magic: I thought Miami would be motivated last night -- home opener, playing the rival Magic, doubters from earlier in the week -- but I didn't expect a 26-point beat-down.
If the Heat can throttle the Magic -- a top-tier NBA team -- after playing together for only two other regular-season games, imagine how good they can be after 20... 40... 60... 82.
It was an affirmation (for fans) or a rebuke (for haters): The Heat are who they thought they are.
CFB Saturday: There is still at least one big game for Oregon to lose, even if they win at USC tonight. Say the same thing about Mizzou (playing at Nebraska today, but still having to play the Big 12 CG). Say the same thing about Utah (playing at Air Force today but still having to play TCU).
But that's not the case for Michigan State. If the Spartans don't lose at Iowa today, they will very likely run the table, giving them at least a puncher's chance of making the national-title game -- particularly if the other unbeatens from the BCS conferences take a loss.
The Spartans ARE the popular pick to be the unbeaten to fall today (I'll agree), but they have done pretty well for themselves confounding expectations.
It would be lame if at least one of the four unbeatens facing resume-starring tests on the road didn't lose. I'll say Oregon rolls, Mizzou falls, Utah wins (but not nearly as impressively as TCU beat Air Force last week) and Michigan State... loses.
World Series comes to Arlington, Texas, as the Rangers host their first World Series game ever: That's a nice little moment for the region, but the fact is that if the Rangers don't win tonight, they are losing the Series. Only down 2-0, but tonight is must-win.
More NBA: Rajon Rondo (24 assists) is off to an awesome start this year... Monta Ellis Watch: No 46-point outburst but 11 assists -- and a Warriors W... Blake Griffin: Double-double.... First Ws of the season: T'wolves, Grizz, Pacers, Raptors... The Nets are 2-0. (2-0!)
(Love the Rockets getting Erick Dampier -- between Yao, in limited minutes, Brad Miller and now Dampier, does any team in the NBA have more depth of quality in the post than Houston?)
Favre Watch: He practiced, but will he play? That he practiced indicates that he probably will play -- or at least start. Wouldn't want to mess up Favre's streak.
Vincent Jackson reports to Chargers: But won't be available until late November. Given that the Chargers' season is already over, his presence won't help much. Too little too late.
Notre Dame: Can someone explain why the city or state prosecutors aren't looking into whether a crime was committed? This isn't merely -- cripes, "merely" -- an OSHA violation. I'm not talking about the civil suit that Sullivan's family should bring; this is the criminal charges the state should bring. God forbid lawyers who work for the state of Indiana (or the city of South Bend) prosecute the head football coach at Notre Dame.
-- D.S.
If the Heat can throttle the Magic -- a top-tier NBA team -- after playing together for only two other regular-season games, imagine how good they can be after 20... 40... 60... 82.
It was an affirmation (for fans) or a rebuke (for haters): The Heat are who they thought they are.
CFB Saturday: There is still at least one big game for Oregon to lose, even if they win at USC tonight. Say the same thing about Mizzou (playing at Nebraska today, but still having to play the Big 12 CG). Say the same thing about Utah (playing at Air Force today but still having to play TCU).
But that's not the case for Michigan State. If the Spartans don't lose at Iowa today, they will very likely run the table, giving them at least a puncher's chance of making the national-title game -- particularly if the other unbeatens from the BCS conferences take a loss.
The Spartans ARE the popular pick to be the unbeaten to fall today (I'll agree), but they have done pretty well for themselves confounding expectations.
It would be lame if at least one of the four unbeatens facing resume-starring tests on the road didn't lose. I'll say Oregon rolls, Mizzou falls, Utah wins (but not nearly as impressively as TCU beat Air Force last week) and Michigan State... loses.
World Series comes to Arlington, Texas, as the Rangers host their first World Series game ever: That's a nice little moment for the region, but the fact is that if the Rangers don't win tonight, they are losing the Series. Only down 2-0, but tonight is must-win.
More NBA: Rajon Rondo (24 assists) is off to an awesome start this year... Monta Ellis Watch: No 46-point outburst but 11 assists -- and a Warriors W... Blake Griffin: Double-double.... First Ws of the season: T'wolves, Grizz, Pacers, Raptors... The Nets are 2-0. (2-0!)
(Love the Rockets getting Erick Dampier -- between Yao, in limited minutes, Brad Miller and now Dampier, does any team in the NBA have more depth of quality in the post than Houston?)
Favre Watch: He practiced, but will he play? That he practiced indicates that he probably will play -- or at least start. Wouldn't want to mess up Favre's streak.
Vincent Jackson reports to Chargers: But won't be available until late November. Given that the Chargers' season is already over, his presence won't help much. Too little too late.
Notre Dame: Can someone explain why the city or state prosecutors aren't looking into whether a crime was committed? This isn't merely -- cripes, "merely" -- an OSHA violation. I'm not talking about the civil suit that Sullivan's family should bring; this is the criminal charges the state should bring. God forbid lawyers who work for the state of Indiana (or the city of South Bend) prosecute the head football coach at Notre Dame.
-- D.S.
Friday, October 29, 2010
The Tragedy of Declan Sullivan
The more I read and think about this, the more angry and outraged I become at Notre Dame's seemingly obvious negligence. I think about this less as a fan (or even as a knee-jerk Notre Dame hater) than as a parent.
Did you see Sullivan's tweets? When I first saw them yesterday, it was like a punch in the stomach. I got choked up. I got angry -- at Notre Dame, at Brian Kelly.
I know the Sullivans' son was fiercely loyal to the football program and to Notre Dame, but I hope the family sues Notre Dame and Brian Kelly for the amount of the school's NBC contract. I hope that the police investigate and ultimately charge the school and the coach for whatever crime is on the books that could qualify. ND's/Kelly's regrets don't feel like nearly enough.
I hesitate to try to deploy Sullivan and this tragedy as some kind of moralizing metaphor about the state of big-time college football. Let's think about this as a discrete decision by the coach and school, one of the worst -- and most negligent -- decisions in the history of college football.
Up until this week, I had actually been a fan of Brian Kelly's -- which was strange, because I am a tried-and-true Notre Dame hater. But now I can't think of Brian Kelly or the institution of Notre Dame without feeling bile build up in my throat. I'm not sure that will ever go away.
-- D.S.
Did you see Sullivan's tweets? When I first saw them yesterday, it was like a punch in the stomach. I got choked up. I got angry -- at Notre Dame, at Brian Kelly.
I know the Sullivans' son was fiercely loyal to the football program and to Notre Dame, but I hope the family sues Notre Dame and Brian Kelly for the amount of the school's NBC contract. I hope that the police investigate and ultimately charge the school and the coach for whatever crime is on the books that could qualify. ND's/Kelly's regrets don't feel like nearly enough.
I hesitate to try to deploy Sullivan and this tragedy as some kind of moralizing metaphor about the state of big-time college football. Let's think about this as a discrete decision by the coach and school, one of the worst -- and most negligent -- decisions in the history of college football.
Up until this week, I had actually been a fan of Brian Kelly's -- which was strange, because I am a tried-and-true Notre Dame hater. But now I can't think of Brian Kelly or the institution of Notre Dame without feeling bile build up in my throat. I'm not sure that will ever go away.
-- D.S.
10/29 Quickie: Giants, Wall, Boo!
Today's Names to Know: Halloween candy, Matt Cain, John Wall, Heat vs. Magic, Brett Favre, Tony Romo, Matt Cassel, Troy Smith, Tim Tebow (in London!), Russell Wilson, Kyrie Irving, Jamie Moyer, Jose Guillen, Declan Sullivan and More.
First, a Quickie tradition: What is the best Halloween candy of all time? Or, probably more relevant, what's the candy you are most hoping to get on Sunday night? (For those of us with kids, it's more like "steal" and/or "tax your kids' bag.") I'm going to go with mini-Twix.
Now: The Giants. Wow. An even-bigger ass-kicking than Game 1. And where Lee and Lincecum were pounded, Matt Cain was the ace -- with a performance like that on a World Series stage, Cain's respect rating with fans just skyrocketed.
I'm trying to hold the line with the old NBA adage "It's not a series until someone wins a game on the road," but baseball is different than the NBA. Sure, the Rangers could get a jolt of energy -- or hitting -- from heading back to Arlington, but that is a big hole they have to climb out of, winning 4 of the next 5, including at least 1 of 2 back in San Francisco, where they were just neutered.
John Wall's NBA Debut: It was almost unfair, that he had to make his first NBA start against the Magic, a team that is at worst among the league's elite and at best is probably the No. 2 team in the league behind the Lakers. It was definitely unfair that Wall is surrounded by some of the worst supporting cast in the NBA.
Wall shot horribly, which was not unexpected. He also had 9 assists, which -- considering the bumblers he's playing with -- is remarkable. And there were glimpses of his phenomenal speed. When he doesn't have to deal with Dwight Howard -- only one of the Top 3 defensive post players of the past two decades -- he will be fine.
Tonight: Magic at Heat, for the Miami home opener. The NBA is so smart -- this is one of the marquee match-ups of the entire season. The Heat started with back-to-back games, but had last night off; the Magic will be directly coming off last night's game, but it was a snoozer. Should be a great game.
NFL Week 8: It's all about Brett Favre. Yet again. Ugh. But this time, it actually IS kind of intriguing -- if only because of the streak. Will he sit? Or will he hobble out on it? Does he hobble out to start the game -- selfishly (and Favrishly) preserving the streak -- then sit?
Does he try to actually play on it, which can only result in even more Favrian endings (INTs, pick-6s) than usual? Please don't tell me that he limps out there in Foxboro and leads the Vikings to an upset win over the Pats. My mind would implode.
Speaking of decisions about QBs: Should the Cowboys sit Tony Romo for the rest of the season? Why not? It's not like they are making the playoffs -- particularly by the time Romo would be ready to come back, 6 or 8 weeks from now. Why risk further injury that could impact NEXT season? Just shut him down, put him up in the coaches' box and help him refine his football IQ.
More Week 8 Storylines I Like:
*GOTW: Steelers at Saints.
Playing at home, N.O. drops to .500?
*Jets get back to playing.
I'm not even a fan and I kind of missed them.
*The Chiefs move to 5-2?
Well, they play the winless Bills in KC.
*Fantasy intrigue: Troy Smith
If you have Ryan/Cutler/Flacco, why not use Smith?*
*Tim Tebow in London!
'Allo, Timmy!
(* - In fact, in one of my leagues, I have Matt Ryan, and picked up Smith to sub for him this week. Of course, in that league -- a keeper -- I am 1-6 and a perennial bottom-feeder. I should have just said "Screw it" and picked up Tebow as my starting QB this week. If Josh McDaniels hadn't given Tebow that ridiculous DNP last week during the zillion-to-zilch beat-down by the Raiders, I very well might have. But if Tebow won't play in THAT kind of game, when will it ever happen?)
CFB: Florida State falls in typical Thursday night fashion. Ranked teams that play on the road on the ESPN-televised Thursday Night game against talented motivated (unranked) opponents always seem to lose. We talked about this yesterday. But let's trickle this result to the national-BCS picture:
What Boise State really needed was for FSU to go unbeaten in the ACC (11-1 overall and undoubtedly ranked in the Top 10), then lose to a similarly ACC-unbeaten Virginia Tech (10-2, with 10 straight wins and huge momentum), which would make Boise's season-opening win over Virginia Tech that much stronger. These derivative points matter!
(PS: NC State QB Russell Wilson is kind of awesome. Or at least he was last night.)
CFB Weekend Preview: Four great games with national-title implications, notable because all four contenders go on the road against very good teams, which should either produce at least one upset or a hell of an addition to the team's resume (one that Boise is hard-pressed to match).
*Oregon at USC: Don't be fooled. Ducks in a rout.
*Michigan State at Iowa: Upset Special!
*Mizzou at Nebraska: Upset! Season-maker for Huskers.
*Utah at Air Force: Compare how Utes do to how TCU did.
CBB: Duke is No. 1, by a wide margin, in the preseason AP poll. Of course they are -- only the most stacked returning champ since Florida in 2007. (Key difference: That Florida team brought back everyone; this Duke team loses the hugely valuable Jon Scheyer and Greg Zoubek to graduation, even if they are replaced by the talented Kyrie Irving and the growth of the Plumlees.) Still saying they won't repeat (with my nod to Michigan State). That means I would give Michigan State my No. 1 vote in the preseason, right?
Careers: The Phillies released ageless Jamie Moyer. I really hope he latches on with another team. He is still good enough to be better than a typical replacement pitcher, and his Methuselah storyline is one of the best in the MLB regular season.
Scandals: The potentially soon-to-be-World-Series-champ Giants involved in an HGH scandal?! Say it ain't so?! (I'm kidding: But Jose Guillen -- not on the Giants post-season roster, but on the Giants roster, more largely -- IS involved in an HGH situation. After the Bonds Era -- and giddy by the state of their team right now -- I am quite sure that the Giants fans COULD NOT CARE LESS. And neither will you.)
The Tragedy of Declan Sullivan, Cont'd: I put this last not because it is the least important, but because it is the most, and I didn't want to diminish it by shoving it in between something as insignificant as a World Series blurb and a college football weekend preview. In fact, the more I read and think about this, the more angry and outraged I become at Notre Dame's seemingly obvious negligence. I wrote a longer post, which will publish at noon if you want to see it and comment.
Light posting all weekend, as usual. If you won't be stopping by, have a great weekend. If you have kids, enjoy the Halloween spectacle. In my 4+ years as a parent, I have a renewed appreciation for it. My older kid, 4, is going to be a shark. My younger kid, 2, has a choice of hand-me-down costumes, but my current favorite is him going as the miniature giraffe from the DirecTV commercials.
-- D.S.
First, a Quickie tradition: What is the best Halloween candy of all time? Or, probably more relevant, what's the candy you are most hoping to get on Sunday night? (For those of us with kids, it's more like "steal" and/or "tax your kids' bag.") I'm going to go with mini-Twix.
Now: The Giants. Wow. An even-bigger ass-kicking than Game 1. And where Lee and Lincecum were pounded, Matt Cain was the ace -- with a performance like that on a World Series stage, Cain's respect rating with fans just skyrocketed.
I'm trying to hold the line with the old NBA adage "It's not a series until someone wins a game on the road," but baseball is different than the NBA. Sure, the Rangers could get a jolt of energy -- or hitting -- from heading back to Arlington, but that is a big hole they have to climb out of, winning 4 of the next 5, including at least 1 of 2 back in San Francisco, where they were just neutered.
John Wall's NBA Debut: It was almost unfair, that he had to make his first NBA start against the Magic, a team that is at worst among the league's elite and at best is probably the No. 2 team in the league behind the Lakers. It was definitely unfair that Wall is surrounded by some of the worst supporting cast in the NBA.
Wall shot horribly, which was not unexpected. He also had 9 assists, which -- considering the bumblers he's playing with -- is remarkable. And there were glimpses of his phenomenal speed. When he doesn't have to deal with Dwight Howard -- only one of the Top 3 defensive post players of the past two decades -- he will be fine.
Tonight: Magic at Heat, for the Miami home opener. The NBA is so smart -- this is one of the marquee match-ups of the entire season. The Heat started with back-to-back games, but had last night off; the Magic will be directly coming off last night's game, but it was a snoozer. Should be a great game.
NFL Week 8: It's all about Brett Favre. Yet again. Ugh. But this time, it actually IS kind of intriguing -- if only because of the streak. Will he sit? Or will he hobble out on it? Does he hobble out to start the game -- selfishly (and Favrishly) preserving the streak -- then sit?
Does he try to actually play on it, which can only result in even more Favrian endings (INTs, pick-6s) than usual? Please don't tell me that he limps out there in Foxboro and leads the Vikings to an upset win over the Pats. My mind would implode.
Speaking of decisions about QBs: Should the Cowboys sit Tony Romo for the rest of the season? Why not? It's not like they are making the playoffs -- particularly by the time Romo would be ready to come back, 6 or 8 weeks from now. Why risk further injury that could impact NEXT season? Just shut him down, put him up in the coaches' box and help him refine his football IQ.
More Week 8 Storylines I Like:
*GOTW: Steelers at Saints.
Playing at home, N.O. drops to .500?
*Jets get back to playing.
I'm not even a fan and I kind of missed them.
*The Chiefs move to 5-2?
Well, they play the winless Bills in KC.
*Fantasy intrigue: Troy Smith
If you have Ryan/Cutler/Flacco, why not use Smith?*
*Tim Tebow in London!
'Allo, Timmy!
(* - In fact, in one of my leagues, I have Matt Ryan, and picked up Smith to sub for him this week. Of course, in that league -- a keeper -- I am 1-6 and a perennial bottom-feeder. I should have just said "Screw it" and picked up Tebow as my starting QB this week. If Josh McDaniels hadn't given Tebow that ridiculous DNP last week during the zillion-to-zilch beat-down by the Raiders, I very well might have. But if Tebow won't play in THAT kind of game, when will it ever happen?)
CFB: Florida State falls in typical Thursday night fashion. Ranked teams that play on the road on the ESPN-televised Thursday Night game against talented motivated (unranked) opponents always seem to lose. We talked about this yesterday. But let's trickle this result to the national-BCS picture:
What Boise State really needed was for FSU to go unbeaten in the ACC (11-1 overall and undoubtedly ranked in the Top 10), then lose to a similarly ACC-unbeaten Virginia Tech (10-2, with 10 straight wins and huge momentum), which would make Boise's season-opening win over Virginia Tech that much stronger. These derivative points matter!
(PS: NC State QB Russell Wilson is kind of awesome. Or at least he was last night.)
CFB Weekend Preview: Four great games with national-title implications, notable because all four contenders go on the road against very good teams, which should either produce at least one upset or a hell of an addition to the team's resume (one that Boise is hard-pressed to match).
*Oregon at USC: Don't be fooled. Ducks in a rout.
*Michigan State at Iowa: Upset Special!
*Mizzou at Nebraska: Upset! Season-maker for Huskers.
*Utah at Air Force: Compare how Utes do to how TCU did.
CBB: Duke is No. 1, by a wide margin, in the preseason AP poll. Of course they are -- only the most stacked returning champ since Florida in 2007. (Key difference: That Florida team brought back everyone; this Duke team loses the hugely valuable Jon Scheyer and Greg Zoubek to graduation, even if they are replaced by the talented Kyrie Irving and the growth of the Plumlees.) Still saying they won't repeat (with my nod to Michigan State). That means I would give Michigan State my No. 1 vote in the preseason, right?
Careers: The Phillies released ageless Jamie Moyer. I really hope he latches on with another team. He is still good enough to be better than a typical replacement pitcher, and his Methuselah storyline is one of the best in the MLB regular season.
Scandals: The potentially soon-to-be-World-Series-champ Giants involved in an HGH scandal?! Say it ain't so?! (I'm kidding: But Jose Guillen -- not on the Giants post-season roster, but on the Giants roster, more largely -- IS involved in an HGH situation. After the Bonds Era -- and giddy by the state of their team right now -- I am quite sure that the Giants fans COULD NOT CARE LESS. And neither will you.)
The Tragedy of Declan Sullivan, Cont'd: I put this last not because it is the least important, but because it is the most, and I didn't want to diminish it by shoving it in between something as insignificant as a World Series blurb and a college football weekend preview. In fact, the more I read and think about this, the more angry and outraged I become at Notre Dame's seemingly obvious negligence. I wrote a longer post, which will publish at noon if you want to see it and comment.
Light posting all weekend, as usual. If you won't be stopping by, have a great weekend. If you have kids, enjoy the Halloween spectacle. In my 4+ years as a parent, I have a renewed appreciation for it. My older kid, 4, is going to be a shark. My younger kid, 2, has a choice of hand-me-down costumes, but my current favorite is him going as the miniature giraffe from the DirecTV commercials.
-- D.S.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Sponsored Post: Just Keeps Getting Worse
Your weekly update on my travails in the Blogger Football League, sponsored by Procter & Gamble. For background, see this intro post.
My swagger from three weeks ago has withered. Two weeks ago, I got steamrolled. And last week, I got smoked again, this time by Diana from National Football Post. Brady stunk. Chris Johnson stunk. Miles Austin? Well, you saw what happened to Tony Romo. I'm in a post-hubris doom spiral.
So what happens this week? I'm facing another rising power, Jarod from Midwest Sports Fans, who is 5-2, riding a 2-game winning streak and the No. 2-ranked team in the league. I've got Brady, hopefully slicing up the Vikings; Chris Johnson (who knows?); LaDainian (back from the bye week!); and the 3-headed WR situation of Miles Austin (ugh); Kevin Walter (eh); andMalcom Floyd Michael Crabtree, live from London. I am not confident.
Consider that: I have gone from "I am SO winning this league" to "I am not confident."
I need a win. Badly. At this rate, they're going to strip me of my "swagger" label.
Check out P&G's Take It To The House page on Facebook. Be sure to look for the new contest where you predict the players who will have the top 5 rushing or receiving plays from scrimmage, and if you get them all, you win some insanely good prizes.
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.
My swagger from three weeks ago has withered. Two weeks ago, I got steamrolled. And last week, I got smoked again, this time by Diana from National Football Post. Brady stunk. Chris Johnson stunk. Miles Austin? Well, you saw what happened to Tony Romo. I'm in a post-hubris doom spiral.
So what happens this week? I'm facing another rising power, Jarod from Midwest Sports Fans, who is 5-2, riding a 2-game winning streak and the No. 2-ranked team in the league. I've got Brady, hopefully slicing up the Vikings; Chris Johnson (who knows?); LaDainian (back from the bye week!); and the 3-headed WR situation of Miles Austin (ugh); Kevin Walter (eh); and
Consider that: I have gone from "I am SO winning this league" to "I am not confident."
I need a win. Badly. At this rate, they're going to strip me of my "swagger" label.
Check out P&G's Take It To The House page on Facebook. Be sure to look for the new contest where you predict the players who will have the top 5 rushing or receiving plays from scrimmage, and if you get them all, you win some insanely good prizes.
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.
10/28 Quickie: Giants, Lee, NBA Debuts
Today's Names to Know: Cliff Lee, Tim Lincecum, Freddy Sanchez, Monta Ellis, Blake Griffin, John Wall, Troy Smith, FSU, Barry Bonds, Tony Bennett, the Nets(!) and More.
There is a strong argument to be made that sports is at its most fascinating when the entirely unexpected happens.
Cliff Lee vs. Tim Lincecum: Ace vs. Ace, right? This will be a low-scoring nail-biter, right? Staked to an early 2-0 lead, Lee is going to cruise, right?
Instead, it was an offensive explosion. Lee was shelled. Lincecum was OK -- relative to an 11-7 runs-fest -- but this was hardly the promised pitchers' duel.
This goes back to those predictions people make about how things will shake out: The Rangers won't get out of the ALDS, remember? The Giants have no shot against the Phillies' rotation. Well, the Giants have no shot against the Rangers -- at the very least, Cliff Lee is unstoppable.
[Aside: The predictions business has gotten silly (if it wasn't already); everything is either triumphalist "Told you so!" but rarely "Jeez, I was totally wrong -- y'know, I was really just guessing." (Yes, I'll include myself in that indictment). That's when folks aren't hedging to try to have it both ways; beware of predictive statements that are fueled by those assertive positions "might" and "could."]
I love a superlative as much as anyone, and I loved the idea that in Cliff Lee, we were watching the best postseason pitcher of the past quarter-century.
But I found myself liking the unexpectedness of him getting smacked around even more.
Tonight: CJ Wilson vs. Matt Cain. Is it too early to call this must-win for the Rangers? (Well, yes, but still....)
*****
NBA Opening Night, Part 2. 13 games, with plenty of notable performances:
*The Heat win their 1st. (Now, um, .500!)
Wade (30 pts) shook off Game 1 FG problems.
*The LeBron-less Cavs beat the Celtics.
Transitive: Cavs > Celtics > Heat. Cavs > Heat!
*Breakout Star: Monta Ellis. 46 points!
Eclipses Curry's 25p/11a and Lee's 17p/15r/6a
*Blake Griffin: 22/14 in his NBA debut.
With a monster dunk to score his first 2.
*Stud: Luis Scola 36/16
Yao who?
*Bandwagon Thunder beat Bulls
Westbrook looked even better than KD.
*The Nets win!
(Yes, really!)
Tonight: The debut of the John Wall Show. (I harbor no illusions: The Wizards are going to get rocked down in Orlando by the Magic, my pick to win the East. But I'm eager to see Wall.)
*****
NFL Mid-Week: Troy Smith is your intriguing fantasy pick-up of the week. He could have a brutal game -- even worse than Alex Smith -- or maybe he has one of those unexpected awesome days. I'm not suggesting he will pull a Ryan Fitzpatrick from last Sunday, but if your regular QB has a bye week, why not?
Favre Watch: Willing to give it "a try." Why does everything with Favre feel like he is posturing for maximum self-glorification? (Um, because he is?) Let's not lionize him for trying to gut it out and play on that gimpy foot. Why isn't the question: "Is a half-speed -- or quarter-speed, whatever -- Brett Favre better than a full-strength Tarvaris Jackson?"
*****
CFB Tonight: FSU at NC State. The 'Noles are rolling through the ACC, but a Thursday night ESPN game on the road against the fiesty Wolfpack has all the makings of a trap game. If FSU gets through this one, its surge up the polls will continue.
(Looking ahead: FSU gets UNC and Clemson in Tallahassee before finishing the ACC regular season at Maryland. They host the Gators before a potential match-up in the ACC title game with VA Tech, which might have a 10-game winning streak by then.)
BlogPoll Top 25: The group has Oregon at No. 1 and Auburn at No. 2. The pro-Boise (anti-BCS) crowd will protest, but few fans would complain about the ridiculous numbers these two teams would put up in a title-game match-up.
Meanwhile: Boise State is No. 2! (In the initial NCAA wrestling poll!)
*****
Barry Bonds Watch: How comfortable -- even (dare I say) happy -- did Bonds look among the Giants faithful last night? He says he wants to return as a hitting coach, and I say: Why not? If Mark McGwire can do it, Bonds can do it. I've never considered Bonds the "teacher" type, though.
*****
Tony Bennett: What a treat that was last night (no pun intended).
*****
This story about the Notre Dame student, Declan Sullivan, who was killed when the football film tower collapsed, is horrible. Condolences to his family and friends and the entire ND community.
-- D.S.
There is a strong argument to be made that sports is at its most fascinating when the entirely unexpected happens.
Cliff Lee vs. Tim Lincecum: Ace vs. Ace, right? This will be a low-scoring nail-biter, right? Staked to an early 2-0 lead, Lee is going to cruise, right?
Instead, it was an offensive explosion. Lee was shelled. Lincecum was OK -- relative to an 11-7 runs-fest -- but this was hardly the promised pitchers' duel.
This goes back to those predictions people make about how things will shake out: The Rangers won't get out of the ALDS, remember? The Giants have no shot against the Phillies' rotation. Well, the Giants have no shot against the Rangers -- at the very least, Cliff Lee is unstoppable.
[Aside: The predictions business has gotten silly (if it wasn't already); everything is either triumphalist "Told you so!" but rarely "Jeez, I was totally wrong -- y'know, I was really just guessing." (Yes, I'll include myself in that indictment). That's when folks aren't hedging to try to have it both ways; beware of predictive statements that are fueled by those assertive positions "might" and "could."]
I love a superlative as much as anyone, and I loved the idea that in Cliff Lee, we were watching the best postseason pitcher of the past quarter-century.
But I found myself liking the unexpectedness of him getting smacked around even more.
Tonight: CJ Wilson vs. Matt Cain. Is it too early to call this must-win for the Rangers? (Well, yes, but still....)
*****
NBA Opening Night, Part 2. 13 games, with plenty of notable performances:
*The Heat win their 1st. (Now, um, .500!)
Wade (30 pts) shook off Game 1 FG problems.
*The LeBron-less Cavs beat the Celtics.
Transitive: Cavs > Celtics > Heat. Cavs > Heat!
*Breakout Star: Monta Ellis. 46 points!
Eclipses Curry's 25p/11a and Lee's 17p/15r/6a
*Blake Griffin: 22/14 in his NBA debut.
With a monster dunk to score his first 2.
*Stud: Luis Scola 36/16
Yao who?
*Bandwagon Thunder beat Bulls
Westbrook looked even better than KD.
*The Nets win!
(Yes, really!)
Tonight: The debut of the John Wall Show. (I harbor no illusions: The Wizards are going to get rocked down in Orlando by the Magic, my pick to win the East. But I'm eager to see Wall.)
*****
NFL Mid-Week: Troy Smith is your intriguing fantasy pick-up of the week. He could have a brutal game -- even worse than Alex Smith -- or maybe he has one of those unexpected awesome days. I'm not suggesting he will pull a Ryan Fitzpatrick from last Sunday, but if your regular QB has a bye week, why not?
Favre Watch: Willing to give it "a try." Why does everything with Favre feel like he is posturing for maximum self-glorification? (Um, because he is?) Let's not lionize him for trying to gut it out and play on that gimpy foot. Why isn't the question: "Is a half-speed -- or quarter-speed, whatever -- Brett Favre better than a full-strength Tarvaris Jackson?"
*****
CFB Tonight: FSU at NC State. The 'Noles are rolling through the ACC, but a Thursday night ESPN game on the road against the fiesty Wolfpack has all the makings of a trap game. If FSU gets through this one, its surge up the polls will continue.
(Looking ahead: FSU gets UNC and Clemson in Tallahassee before finishing the ACC regular season at Maryland. They host the Gators before a potential match-up in the ACC title game with VA Tech, which might have a 10-game winning streak by then.)
BlogPoll Top 25: The group has Oregon at No. 1 and Auburn at No. 2. The pro-Boise (anti-BCS) crowd will protest, but few fans would complain about the ridiculous numbers these two teams would put up in a title-game match-up.
Meanwhile: Boise State is No. 2! (In the initial NCAA wrestling poll!)
*****
Barry Bonds Watch: How comfortable -- even (dare I say) happy -- did Bonds look among the Giants faithful last night? He says he wants to return as a hitting coach, and I say: Why not? If Mark McGwire can do it, Bonds can do it. I've never considered Bonds the "teacher" type, though.
*****
Tony Bennett: What a treat that was last night (no pun intended).
*****
This story about the Notre Dame student, Declan Sullivan, who was killed when the football film tower collapsed, is horrible. Condolences to his family and friends and the entire ND community.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
10/27 Quickie: Heat, World Series, Boise
Today's Names to Know: LeBron, Dwyane Wade, Kobe, Steve Blake, Cliff Lee, Kristen Lee, Tim Lincecum, Tony Romo, Boise State, Sandy Alderson and More.
The Heat will be fine.
It was the first regular-season game of roughly 400 they will play together over the next five years. They played a highly motivated championship contender, on the road.
They will never again score just 9 points in a 1st quarter. (Nine! As an opening statement, it was like I wanted to bottle the schadenfreude of those first 12 minutes and save it forever.) It is unlikely that D-Wade will shoot that badly (although it is tempting to blur correlation and causality with LeBron as his new co-star).
They could have really used a healthy Mike Miller (then again, the Celtics were without Perkins and West).
Still: It is hard not to watch last night's game and see it as foreshadowing for the Heat's situation next May -- initially overmatched, furiously rallying, ultimately falling short.
Wow, is it going to be a long regular season.
*****
More NBA: The Lakers will be fine, too. Kobe didn't shoot great (what else is new?) but Pau Gasol was dominant. Most promisingly, the defending champ's offseason imports -- Matt Barnes and Steve Blake (Mr. Clutch!) -- fit in well, right from the start. Meanwhile, the Rockets are an underrated team. Between a nominally healthy Yao and Brad Miller, they showed they have a full-time NBA center. Kevin Martin is like a poor man's Kobe.
*****
World Series Game 1: Cliff Lee vs. Tim Lincecum is must-see. The Rangers appear to be the favorites, but it seems crazy to count out the Giants -- their pitching has just been too good over the last month. Games will be close, and that's the biggest thing that MLB needs.
Meanwhile, it is now cool to bemoan talk that most fans don't care about this match-up and to hype the series as must-see. I think this is more reflexive contrarianism to the initial "Dud!" (which started long before the LCS were resolved) than it is actually loving this match-up.
Here's where I net out: You should watch because it's the World Series. It doesn't matter who is playing in it -- what matters is that we get dramatic moments on a championship stage. Lee vs. Freak is a pretty good place to start.
Prediction: Rangers in 7.
Related: Sounds like the players' union is open to expanding the playoffs to include more Wild Cards. I am a fan, although I appreciate why the issue is contentious with purists. That said: Given that the Wild Card was the single-greatest baseball innovation of the past 30 years (since, say, free agency in the 1970s), fears of "more as less!" are entirely overblown.
*****
No Romo: On the bright side, he doesn't need surgery. On the brighter side, it's not like the Cowboys were making the playoffs anyway. And on the brightest side, if your fantasy team's QB situation has been terrible, why not try Jon Kitna?
*****
Boise State rolls, again: Of course they did. That's because they are a phenomenal team -- it was unfortunate that their ESPN-televised appearance last night was overshadowed by the must-see NBA game over on TNT. It is also because their schedule is flimsy. I think you can simultaneously admire Boise's awesomeness and nick them for the lightweight resume.
(Meanwhile, my preseason pick of Kellen Moore for the Heisman might have been seen as a little pie-in-the-sky, but I think a strong argument could be made that he is the No. 2 contender right now -- behind Cam Newton -- and obviously worthy of the finalists' invite to New York City.)
*****
MLB Hot Stove: Mets to hire Sandy Alderson as GM? Alderson has a long track record of success, although you could hardly call him one of the innovative young minds in baseball (as you might about GM runner-up Josh Byrnes). Like so many companies in New York, the Mets obviously were won over by the gray-haired gravitas and inevitable nods of approval from the baseball Establishment. What they really needed was a 21st-century re-boot; Alderson, while esteemed, isn't it.
Speaking of re-ups: Looks like the Yankees are going to extend Joe Girardi, despite this October's failures. A few mores seasons with, say, Cliff Lee will help.
Oh, and it sounds like Lee's wife didn't like the vibe thrown off by Yankees fans during the ALCS. It's easy to paint the entire fan base as boorish, but unfair: The Yankees' bigger problem seems to be fans leaving games too early, not rooting too priggishly. Besides, when Lee is on THEIR team, Yankee fans will love him -- just ask Roger Clemens.
*****
Favre Watch: Brad Childress is getting it from both sides. One day, he is scrutinized for seeming to rip Favre publicly (when in reality Childress was only expressing what everyone who watched the game was thinking); the next day he is getting fined $35K by the league for criticizing the refs. The only common link is that everyone finds it fun to criticize Childress.
*****
CBB: It was unlikely that Memphis' Josh Pastner was going to be able to create such an awesome recruiting class without at least one piece of it -- in this case, super shooting guard Jelan Kendrick -- fraying. Kendrick has been suspended from the team and may or may not return. That's never a good sign, when a team isn't even into November yet. Still: High expectations for the Tigers; they are so loaded, they will be fine.
*****
Nearly full NBA schedule tonight as most of the league tips off: The Heat are in Philly. It'll be interesting to see how they do with a back-to-back road game against a seemingly overmatched team with fresh legs... Amare makes his Knicks debut in Toronto... Durant's SRO bandwagon Thunder get a national-TV game against Rose's Bulls... Carmelo starts what will be his final season in Denver... Blake Griffin's NBA regular-season debut against the weary legs of the Blazers playing on back-to-back nights... DeMarcus Cousins shows the T'wolves what they missed by not drafting him... The John Wall Show will wait until tomorrow night in Orlando.
-- D.S.
The Heat will be fine.
It was the first regular-season game of roughly 400 they will play together over the next five years. They played a highly motivated championship contender, on the road.
They will never again score just 9 points in a 1st quarter. (Nine! As an opening statement, it was like I wanted to bottle the schadenfreude of those first 12 minutes and save it forever.) It is unlikely that D-Wade will shoot that badly (although it is tempting to blur correlation and causality with LeBron as his new co-star).
They could have really used a healthy Mike Miller (then again, the Celtics were without Perkins and West).
Still: It is hard not to watch last night's game and see it as foreshadowing for the Heat's situation next May -- initially overmatched, furiously rallying, ultimately falling short.
Wow, is it going to be a long regular season.
*****
More NBA: The Lakers will be fine, too. Kobe didn't shoot great (what else is new?) but Pau Gasol was dominant. Most promisingly, the defending champ's offseason imports -- Matt Barnes and Steve Blake (Mr. Clutch!) -- fit in well, right from the start. Meanwhile, the Rockets are an underrated team. Between a nominally healthy Yao and Brad Miller, they showed they have a full-time NBA center. Kevin Martin is like a poor man's Kobe.
*****
World Series Game 1: Cliff Lee vs. Tim Lincecum is must-see. The Rangers appear to be the favorites, but it seems crazy to count out the Giants -- their pitching has just been too good over the last month. Games will be close, and that's the biggest thing that MLB needs.
Meanwhile, it is now cool to bemoan talk that most fans don't care about this match-up and to hype the series as must-see. I think this is more reflexive contrarianism to the initial "Dud!" (which started long before the LCS were resolved) than it is actually loving this match-up.
Here's where I net out: You should watch because it's the World Series. It doesn't matter who is playing in it -- what matters is that we get dramatic moments on a championship stage. Lee vs. Freak is a pretty good place to start.
Prediction: Rangers in 7.
Related: Sounds like the players' union is open to expanding the playoffs to include more Wild Cards. I am a fan, although I appreciate why the issue is contentious with purists. That said: Given that the Wild Card was the single-greatest baseball innovation of the past 30 years (since, say, free agency in the 1970s), fears of "more as less!" are entirely overblown.
*****
No Romo: On the bright side, he doesn't need surgery. On the brighter side, it's not like the Cowboys were making the playoffs anyway. And on the brightest side, if your fantasy team's QB situation has been terrible, why not try Jon Kitna?
*****
Boise State rolls, again: Of course they did. That's because they are a phenomenal team -- it was unfortunate that their ESPN-televised appearance last night was overshadowed by the must-see NBA game over on TNT. It is also because their schedule is flimsy. I think you can simultaneously admire Boise's awesomeness and nick them for the lightweight resume.
(Meanwhile, my preseason pick of Kellen Moore for the Heisman might have been seen as a little pie-in-the-sky, but I think a strong argument could be made that he is the No. 2 contender right now -- behind Cam Newton -- and obviously worthy of the finalists' invite to New York City.)
*****
MLB Hot Stove: Mets to hire Sandy Alderson as GM? Alderson has a long track record of success, although you could hardly call him one of the innovative young minds in baseball (as you might about GM runner-up Josh Byrnes). Like so many companies in New York, the Mets obviously were won over by the gray-haired gravitas and inevitable nods of approval from the baseball Establishment. What they really needed was a 21st-century re-boot; Alderson, while esteemed, isn't it.
Speaking of re-ups: Looks like the Yankees are going to extend Joe Girardi, despite this October's failures. A few mores seasons with, say, Cliff Lee will help.
Oh, and it sounds like Lee's wife didn't like the vibe thrown off by Yankees fans during the ALCS. It's easy to paint the entire fan base as boorish, but unfair: The Yankees' bigger problem seems to be fans leaving games too early, not rooting too priggishly. Besides, when Lee is on THEIR team, Yankee fans will love him -- just ask Roger Clemens.
*****
Favre Watch: Brad Childress is getting it from both sides. One day, he is scrutinized for seeming to rip Favre publicly (when in reality Childress was only expressing what everyone who watched the game was thinking); the next day he is getting fined $35K by the league for criticizing the refs. The only common link is that everyone finds it fun to criticize Childress.
*****
CBB: It was unlikely that Memphis' Josh Pastner was going to be able to create such an awesome recruiting class without at least one piece of it -- in this case, super shooting guard Jelan Kendrick -- fraying. Kendrick has been suspended from the team and may or may not return. That's never a good sign, when a team isn't even into November yet. Still: High expectations for the Tigers; they are so loaded, they will be fine.
*****
Nearly full NBA schedule tonight as most of the league tips off: The Heat are in Philly. It'll be interesting to see how they do with a back-to-back road game against a seemingly overmatched team with fresh legs... Amare makes his Knicks debut in Toronto... Durant's SRO bandwagon Thunder get a national-TV game against Rose's Bulls... Carmelo starts what will be his final season in Denver... Blake Griffin's NBA regular-season debut against the weary legs of the Blazers playing on back-to-back nights... DeMarcus Cousins shows the T'wolves what they missed by not drafting him... The John Wall Show will wait until tomorrow night in Orlando.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
NBA Preview: Heat or Bust
From the minute they joined forces, the Heat winning the NBA championship -- or not -- was going to be the biggest (and certainly the most dominating) storyline of the season.
That they will not win the championship -- thwarted by the infinitely more title-toughened Lakers -- will be the season's defining moment.
But I will go one step further than that: I don't think that the Heat -- at least not in the 2010-2011 season -- will even win the Eastern Conference title. I will take the Magic.
In fact, unless the Heat finish with the best record in the East -- they likely will, obviously depending on the injury situation (which caveats every preview everywhere) -- I think they lose in the East semis to the Celtics, who will finish 3rd in the conference behind the two Florida teams.
Is failure fatal for the Heat? Hardly. But that would be one opportunity of the next five-year window gone. And Dwight Howard is only getting better, as are the Thunder. (Not to mention the uncertainty over whether or not Year 2 of the Heat will even happen, period.)
And the Heat falling short of a title certainly smacks of failure, in contrast to the Celtics' Big Three, who were able to come together in their first year and win a championship.
(Sidebar: After a lifetime of hating the Celtics, the Heat have managed to give me something I never thought I would experience -- I find the Celtics nominally likable. I know.)
The Heat are where the Lakers (and, at least for the past three seasons, the Celtics) have been: Championship or failure. I foresee failure. At least for now -- which is all that matters.
As with the past few seasons, there are only a handful of teams with a serious chance of winning a title: Lakers, Heat, Celtics, Magic.
I am ecstatic to add a potential contender to that list: The Thunder. But! The difference between giving the Lakers a series and winning 4 series of their own is the biggest leap in the sport.
(I would also add the Spurs to the list of contenders. So let's give the Thunder half-credit for being nearly on the list and the Spurs half-credit for being nearly off of it.)
But that's it: Four teams, maybe five, that are competing for a championship. Everyone else is rising (Chicago, Milwaukee), rebuilding (DC, Sacto -- among others), fading (Dallas) or floundering (Denver, Atlanta).
It feels kind of pointless to predict how teams will finish within their conferences or within their divisions. What's the point who the 6-seed in the West is going to be? They're all behind the Lakers anyway. Is that too defeatist? Too realist?
I'm not suggesting the rest of the league doesn't have its compelling storylines. Kevin Durant is going to cruise to MVP. Blake Griffin is going to win Rookie of the Year. Perhaps Carmelo Anthony will get traded.
The two dozen or so NBA also-rans are fun to watch for their individual talents (John Wall will be a draw on the road and I predict will win a starting spot on the East All-Star roster) or their efforts to give their fans some kind of vision -- some hope -- for what the future might look like.
(Rather than force a segue here, let me just recommend the new Free Darko book covering the history of the NBA. Like their previous book, it is visually gorgeous and full of FD-awesome essays covering, well, this history of pro basketball. Essential for any NBA fan.)
Speaking of the future, it is impossible to talk about the 2010-2011 season -- as much as we might want to avoid it -- without talking about the lockout in 2011.
It is hard to believe that a league that feels like it is going through a Renaissance would cut things off so severely. There are positions on both sides that would be good to see: The one I feel most strongly about is giving owners the ability to cut under-performing players with terrible contracts; the biggest scourge on the league the past decade -- the owners' own fault, of course -- was the way seemingly half the league was hamstrung from refashioning themselves into competitive products because of terrible deals they did. Take a page from the NFL and allow more contract flexibility.
But let's not talk about things like lock-outs and strikes and seasons cancelled.
Let's focus on happier thoughts: Like the Heat falling short of an NBA title.
Who is your pick to win the NBA title? More interestingly, where do you see the Heat finishing? Any other predictions and/or awards are welcome, too.
-- D.S.
That they will not win the championship -- thwarted by the infinitely more title-toughened Lakers -- will be the season's defining moment.
But I will go one step further than that: I don't think that the Heat -- at least not in the 2010-2011 season -- will even win the Eastern Conference title. I will take the Magic.
In fact, unless the Heat finish with the best record in the East -- they likely will, obviously depending on the injury situation (which caveats every preview everywhere) -- I think they lose in the East semis to the Celtics, who will finish 3rd in the conference behind the two Florida teams.
Is failure fatal for the Heat? Hardly. But that would be one opportunity of the next five-year window gone. And Dwight Howard is only getting better, as are the Thunder. (Not to mention the uncertainty over whether or not Year 2 of the Heat will even happen, period.)
And the Heat falling short of a title certainly smacks of failure, in contrast to the Celtics' Big Three, who were able to come together in their first year and win a championship.
(Sidebar: After a lifetime of hating the Celtics, the Heat have managed to give me something I never thought I would experience -- I find the Celtics nominally likable. I know.)
The Heat are where the Lakers (and, at least for the past three seasons, the Celtics) have been: Championship or failure. I foresee failure. At least for now -- which is all that matters.
As with the past few seasons, there are only a handful of teams with a serious chance of winning a title: Lakers, Heat, Celtics, Magic.
I am ecstatic to add a potential contender to that list: The Thunder. But! The difference between giving the Lakers a series and winning 4 series of their own is the biggest leap in the sport.
(I would also add the Spurs to the list of contenders. So let's give the Thunder half-credit for being nearly on the list and the Spurs half-credit for being nearly off of it.)
But that's it: Four teams, maybe five, that are competing for a championship. Everyone else is rising (Chicago, Milwaukee), rebuilding (DC, Sacto -- among others), fading (Dallas) or floundering (Denver, Atlanta).
It feels kind of pointless to predict how teams will finish within their conferences or within their divisions. What's the point who the 6-seed in the West is going to be? They're all behind the Lakers anyway. Is that too defeatist? Too realist?
I'm not suggesting the rest of the league doesn't have its compelling storylines. Kevin Durant is going to cruise to MVP. Blake Griffin is going to win Rookie of the Year. Perhaps Carmelo Anthony will get traded.
The two dozen or so NBA also-rans are fun to watch for their individual talents (John Wall will be a draw on the road and I predict will win a starting spot on the East All-Star roster) or their efforts to give their fans some kind of vision -- some hope -- for what the future might look like.
(Rather than force a segue here, let me just recommend the new Free Darko book covering the history of the NBA. Like their previous book, it is visually gorgeous and full of FD-awesome essays covering, well, this history of pro basketball. Essential for any NBA fan.)
Speaking of the future, it is impossible to talk about the 2010-2011 season -- as much as we might want to avoid it -- without talking about the lockout in 2011.
It is hard to believe that a league that feels like it is going through a Renaissance would cut things off so severely. There are positions on both sides that would be good to see: The one I feel most strongly about is giving owners the ability to cut under-performing players with terrible contracts; the biggest scourge on the league the past decade -- the owners' own fault, of course -- was the way seemingly half the league was hamstrung from refashioning themselves into competitive products because of terrible deals they did. Take a page from the NFL and allow more contract flexibility.
But let's not talk about things like lock-outs and strikes and seasons cancelled.
Let's focus on happier thoughts: Like the Heat falling short of an NBA title.
Who is your pick to win the NBA title? More interestingly, where do you see the Heat finishing? Any other predictions and/or awards are welcome, too.
-- D.S.
10/26 Quickie: Romo, Favre, LeBron
Today's Names to Know: Tony Romo, Jon Kitna, Brett Favre, Miami Heat, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Derek Dooley, Free Darko, Paul the Octopus and More.
NBA Season Begins: Longer preview coming at noon-ish. But needless to say the world revolves around the Heat -- which is awkward, given that they aren't actually going to win the title. That said: Miami's failure makes the season a lot more compelling.
Read the complete preview later, but here are a few key picks:
Finals: Lakers over Magic
MVP: Durant (ROY: Griffin)
Heat-Celtics tonight: Speaking of which... here's a preview of how the playoffs might play out: With the C's KO'ing the Superfriends.
(Even if the Heat win tonight, the game quickly illustrates the NBA's "regular-season" problem: The games -- particularly between top teams -- are utterly meaningless. I mean, they are fun to watch for their own sake, but they foreshadow nothing as it relates to the playoffs.)
Giants end Cowboys' season: Well, effectively, anyway. Up 20-7, the Cowboys gave up 31 straight points -- that was the insult on top of Tony Romo's shoulder injury, which will keep him out 6-8 weeks. It's not like it matters: The Cowboys' season is over. They won't make the playoffs. They might as well tank to get as high of a draft pick as possible.
Favre Watch: "Everting avulsion." I have no idea what that means, as an injury. I do know that "avulsion" sounds like the feeling the vast majority of fans have for Favre. The larger point is that there is a good chance his 291-game streak of starting games could be over.
Here is the question: Why is this even Favre's decision? Why doesn't the coach say: "I'm going to play whichever QB gives us the best chance to win. And, this weekend, Gimpy McGee here simply isn't better than Tarvaris Jackson." Fin.
LeBron's new TV ad: It is entirely (if typically) provocative, and I end up walking away from it mesmerized by the aesthetic genius of the spot yet totally aggravated by LeBron's attitude. I presume that's the point. Watch.
CFB: What in the world was Tennessee coach Derek Dooley talking about? Protip: It's never a good idea to compare yourself to the Nazis. It's bad enough to reference the Nazis about someone ELSE, let alone YOURSELF. He's like Godwin's Law, run through a Tennessee translator.
Books: If you like the NBA, you'll love Free Darko's new book, out today. Highly recommended.
RIP: Paul the Octopus. A better sports prognosticator than 99.9 percent of sports "experts."
-- D.S.
NBA Season Begins: Longer preview coming at noon-ish. But needless to say the world revolves around the Heat -- which is awkward, given that they aren't actually going to win the title. That said: Miami's failure makes the season a lot more compelling.
Read the complete preview later, but here are a few key picks:
Finals: Lakers over Magic
MVP: Durant (ROY: Griffin)
Heat-Celtics tonight: Speaking of which... here's a preview of how the playoffs might play out: With the C's KO'ing the Superfriends.
(Even if the Heat win tonight, the game quickly illustrates the NBA's "regular-season" problem: The games -- particularly between top teams -- are utterly meaningless. I mean, they are fun to watch for their own sake, but they foreshadow nothing as it relates to the playoffs.)
Giants end Cowboys' season: Well, effectively, anyway. Up 20-7, the Cowboys gave up 31 straight points -- that was the insult on top of Tony Romo's shoulder injury, which will keep him out 6-8 weeks. It's not like it matters: The Cowboys' season is over. They won't make the playoffs. They might as well tank to get as high of a draft pick as possible.
Favre Watch: "Everting avulsion." I have no idea what that means, as an injury. I do know that "avulsion" sounds like the feeling the vast majority of fans have for Favre. The larger point is that there is a good chance his 291-game streak of starting games could be over.
Here is the question: Why is this even Favre's decision? Why doesn't the coach say: "I'm going to play whichever QB gives us the best chance to win. And, this weekend, Gimpy McGee here simply isn't better than Tarvaris Jackson." Fin.
LeBron's new TV ad: It is entirely (if typically) provocative, and I end up walking away from it mesmerized by the aesthetic genius of the spot yet totally aggravated by LeBron's attitude. I presume that's the point. Watch.
CFB: What in the world was Tennessee coach Derek Dooley talking about? Protip: It's never a good idea to compare yourself to the Nazis. It's bad enough to reference the Nazis about someone ELSE, let alone YOURSELF. He's like Godwin's Law, run through a Tennessee translator.
Books: If you like the NBA, you'll love Free Darko's new book, out today. Highly recommended.
RIP: Paul the Octopus. A better sports prognosticator than 99.9 percent of sports "experts."
-- D.S.
Monday, October 25, 2010
10/25 Quickie: Favre, Ben, Pats, Auburn
Today's Names to Know: Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers, Brad Childress, Bill Belichick, Ben Roethlisberger, Mike Singletary, Matt Cassel, Josh Freeman, Darren McFadden, Ryan Fitzpatrick, DeAngelo Hall, Auburn, Oregon, BCS, Allen Iverson, More.
"Favriest" Favre game ever? With plenty of contenders, I'd like to submit last night as the most classic example of "Classic Favre" games:
*At Lambeau, in primetime, throwing 3 INTs (including the decisive pick-6) but doing just enough to keep the game interesting until the final minute.
*Oh, then limping off the field with next week's start -- and his "iron man" streak -- in doubt.
*And letting one-time understudy Aaron Rodgers beat him for the first time.
*And we will potentially look back and see that as the moment the Vikings' playoff hopes ended.
*And his coach publicly chiding him ("You can't throw it to them" -- um, has Brad Childress never seen Favre play before?)
*With a little Sterger-scandal spice thrown in for good measure. (So Favre admits to calling Jenn Sterger but won't cop to the photos? He'll never learn.)
*****
Let no one say that Ben Roethlisberger had extinguished all his good karma while dealing with his suspension. That fumble/non-fumble (or TD/non-TD) was not the refs' finest moment.
4th-and-Belichick: Once again, Bill Belichick is being ripped for going for it on 4th-and-short late, and once again I find myself in the position of defending him about it. It doesn't matter that the play wasn't successful or even that it almost led to a game-tying Chargers FG; it was the right call to make, and I was glad to see him do it again, even after the heat he took after last season's Colts ending. It shows that Belichick doesn't care at all about the critics (as he shouldn't).
If there was any indication that this won't be the Saints' year, losing to Cleveland in the Superdome sure seems to qualify.
The 49ers' biggest humiliation yet? Losing to the Panthers.
The AFC West is the Chiefs' division to lose. You read that right.
And break up the Bucs!
Raiders rout: I was on a flight yesterday and watched the entire thing. Yes, I'm in the tank for Tebow, but you're telling me Josh McDaniels couldn't find some snaps for him? Come on.
Fantasy Players of the Week:
QB: Ryan Fitzpatrick
RB: Darren McFadden
WR: Kenny Britt
(And Fantasy IDP Player of the YEAR has been locked up by DeAngelo Hall.)
Tonight: Giants-Cowboys. Worth watching only for the potential Cowboys schadenfreude.
*****
BCS: Auburn, Oregon are new 1-2. Per yesterday's equivocation, I have no real complaint about the new BCS ranking, although I would say that:
(1) TCU has a stronger resume than Boise (particularly after thrashing Air Force);
(2) Mizzou is underrated sitting behind Michigan State, although I'm not quite sure how much further to lift them, even after they beat last week's BCS No. 1. But the computers, which have the Tigers at No. 2, are more correct than the human pollsters, who inexplicably have Mizzou at 8.
The formula is pretty simple for both Auburn and Oregon -- win out and they will play for the national title. (Imagine Cam Newton vs. Chip Kelly's hurry-hurry-hurry-up offense: It would be a wild game.)
But Auburn still has to play Alabama. And Oregon still has to play at Oregon State. Absolutely no guarantees there. (I see less of a threat for Oregon at USC next week, and watch for Oregon to leapfrog/flip-flop with Auburn at the top of the BCS on the strength of that win.)
Of the others, Boise's case really rests on the ascension of current BCS No. 24 Nevada (and No. 23 VA Tech!) Michigan State's case only gets stronger when they play BCS No. 18 Iowa next week. (Then again, they could lose.) Mizzou is the same way with BCS No. 14 Nebraska (ditto about losing.) No. 4 TCU has the strongest resume-builder left of all: Unbeaten No. 8 Utah. If TCU beats Utah, I would hope voters would reward the by jumping Boise.
BlogPoll preview: (1) Auburn, (2) TCU, (3) Oregon, (4) Mizzou, (5) Boise, (6) Utah, (7) Alabama, (8) Michigan State, (9) Oklahoma, (10) Wisconsin. (No. 11: Ohio State.) Full ballot here.
*****
World Series: You have two choices -- ignore/dismiss the Series because the teams involve lack cachet (although it's hard to argue that it lacks star power -- Lee and Lincecum, not to mention Hamilton and Posey, are must-see) or embrace the novelty. Give it a chance!
*****
NBA: Season preview and picks coming tomorrow. It's not all about the Heat, but the Heat obviously are a big part of the season's thesis.
It's official: Allen Iverson -- one of the most exciting and talented players in the history of basketball -- is going to play in... Turkey.
-- D.S.
"Favriest" Favre game ever? With plenty of contenders, I'd like to submit last night as the most classic example of "Classic Favre" games:
*At Lambeau, in primetime, throwing 3 INTs (including the decisive pick-6) but doing just enough to keep the game interesting until the final minute.
*Oh, then limping off the field with next week's start -- and his "iron man" streak -- in doubt.
*And letting one-time understudy Aaron Rodgers beat him for the first time.
*And we will potentially look back and see that as the moment the Vikings' playoff hopes ended.
*And his coach publicly chiding him ("You can't throw it to them" -- um, has Brad Childress never seen Favre play before?)
*With a little Sterger-scandal spice thrown in for good measure. (So Favre admits to calling Jenn Sterger but won't cop to the photos? He'll never learn.)
*****
Let no one say that Ben Roethlisberger had extinguished all his good karma while dealing with his suspension. That fumble/non-fumble (or TD/non-TD) was not the refs' finest moment.
4th-and-Belichick: Once again, Bill Belichick is being ripped for going for it on 4th-and-short late, and once again I find myself in the position of defending him about it. It doesn't matter that the play wasn't successful or even that it almost led to a game-tying Chargers FG; it was the right call to make, and I was glad to see him do it again, even after the heat he took after last season's Colts ending. It shows that Belichick doesn't care at all about the critics (as he shouldn't).
If there was any indication that this won't be the Saints' year, losing to Cleveland in the Superdome sure seems to qualify.
The 49ers' biggest humiliation yet? Losing to the Panthers.
The AFC West is the Chiefs' division to lose. You read that right.
And break up the Bucs!
Raiders rout: I was on a flight yesterday and watched the entire thing. Yes, I'm in the tank for Tebow, but you're telling me Josh McDaniels couldn't find some snaps for him? Come on.
Fantasy Players of the Week:
QB: Ryan Fitzpatrick
RB: Darren McFadden
WR: Kenny Britt
(And Fantasy IDP Player of the YEAR has been locked up by DeAngelo Hall.)
Tonight: Giants-Cowboys. Worth watching only for the potential Cowboys schadenfreude.
*****
BCS: Auburn, Oregon are new 1-2. Per yesterday's equivocation, I have no real complaint about the new BCS ranking, although I would say that:
(1) TCU has a stronger resume than Boise (particularly after thrashing Air Force);
(2) Mizzou is underrated sitting behind Michigan State, although I'm not quite sure how much further to lift them, even after they beat last week's BCS No. 1. But the computers, which have the Tigers at No. 2, are more correct than the human pollsters, who inexplicably have Mizzou at 8.
The formula is pretty simple for both Auburn and Oregon -- win out and they will play for the national title. (Imagine Cam Newton vs. Chip Kelly's hurry-hurry-hurry-up offense: It would be a wild game.)
But Auburn still has to play Alabama. And Oregon still has to play at Oregon State. Absolutely no guarantees there. (I see less of a threat for Oregon at USC next week, and watch for Oregon to leapfrog/flip-flop with Auburn at the top of the BCS on the strength of that win.)
Of the others, Boise's case really rests on the ascension of current BCS No. 24 Nevada (and No. 23 VA Tech!) Michigan State's case only gets stronger when they play BCS No. 18 Iowa next week. (Then again, they could lose.) Mizzou is the same way with BCS No. 14 Nebraska (ditto about losing.) No. 4 TCU has the strongest resume-builder left of all: Unbeaten No. 8 Utah. If TCU beats Utah, I would hope voters would reward the by jumping Boise.
BlogPoll preview: (1) Auburn, (2) TCU, (3) Oregon, (4) Mizzou, (5) Boise, (6) Utah, (7) Alabama, (8) Michigan State, (9) Oklahoma, (10) Wisconsin. (No. 11: Ohio State.) Full ballot here.
*****
World Series: You have two choices -- ignore/dismiss the Series because the teams involve lack cachet (although it's hard to argue that it lacks star power -- Lee and Lincecum, not to mention Hamilton and Posey, are must-see) or embrace the novelty. Give it a chance!
*****
NBA: Season preview and picks coming tomorrow. It's not all about the Heat, but the Heat obviously are a big part of the season's thesis.
It's official: Allen Iverson -- one of the most exciting and talented players in the history of basketball -- is going to play in... Turkey.
-- D.S.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Sunday Quickie: Mizzou, Giants
This is an awesome college football season, especially compared to last year. Think back: The 2009 season was static -- everything came down to a single game (Florida vs. Alabama) and there was little dispute that these were the top two teams. Or, at the very least, that the winner of that game deserved a shot at the national title.
This season? Uncertainty, maxed out. How many folks watched Mizzou -- beyond highlights -- for the first time yesterday, as they thoroughly outplayed the top-ranked team in the country? The Tigers looked terrific. And if Oklahoma was the best -- per the BCS -- then doesn't the team that beat them have a strong claim?
How about Auburn, which knocked off an unbeaten Top 10 BCS contender of its own? Is there any dispute that Auburn QB Cam Newton is the guy to beat for the Heisman? (Don't pay attention to talk that he HAS to beat Alabama. He's having the closest thing to a dominant season as I have season since Tebow in '07, and TT was on a 4-loss team.)
The only thing that feels certain is that Oklahoma wasn't the last contender to lose. Oregon could lose -- as soon as next weekend at USC. Michigan State could lose -- as soon as next weekend at Iowa. Mizzou could lose to Nebraska. Auburn could lose vs. Alabama. TCU and Utah play head-to-head.
My only problem with Boise State -- and remember that I have been saying they were the best team in college football this season since last January -- is that they don't face anything remotely like these challenges. We know Boise could beat any team in the country on a one-off basis. But could they go undefeated playing the complete schedule of the other contenders? Even TCU/Utah's schedule feels qualitatively better by an order of magnitude. The computers' algorithmic "strength-of-schedule" metric is a necessary component to human frailties.
Where do we stand after 8 weeks? On the one hand, we could have six unbeaten teams at the end of the season -- an apocalypse I have been (erroneously) predicting for a decade -- but on the other, we could have just two: Boise State and the TCU-Utah winner. The likely reality in the middle is the real mess.
But, unlike last year, at least the path to the final BCS standings is strewn with exciting upsets and, more importantly, tremendous performances by winning teams. It is easy to experience the schadenfreude when Alabama or Ohio State or Oklahoma loses, but it is all the sweeter when it's not fluky, when the teams that knock them off have earned it entirely.
*****
As I think about my Top 25 ballot, I am torn by this Boise problem. Mizzou and Auburn beat VERY good teams. TCU throttled an Air Force team that nearly beat Oklahoma in Norman. Oregon passed the sniff test. And even if Michigan State barely survived, they were playing on the road against a Top 40 BCS team coming off a bye week. The good news is that the regular season continues to weed out also-rans.
1a. TCU
1b. Boise
1c. Utah
1d. Auburn
1e. Oregon
1f. Missouri
OK: Stop right there. While I am fairly certain that Alabama will prove itself to be one of the top 6 teams in country -- inevitably taking the spot of the TCU-Utah loser -- and while I appreciate that Michigan State is still unbeaten, this feels like a clear-cut Top 6.
But how to organize those six feels ridiculous. My Top 3 last week -- TCU, Boise, Utah -- are still strong, but Auburn, Oregon and Mizzou racked up impressive wins that, if strength-of-schedule matters, should catapult them closer to the top. My "ranking" is not a cop-out, but I'd love your input on how to organize it at the top.
*****
Congrats to SF Giants fans: The Phillies were a very very good team -- a veritable dynasty in the NL -- and the Giants should feel awesome about toppling them.
There will be a common meme that a Rangers-Giants World Series will be a popular failure. Far more compelling is the idea that it is impossible to predict an obvious winner.
-- D.S.
This season? Uncertainty, maxed out. How many folks watched Mizzou -- beyond highlights -- for the first time yesterday, as they thoroughly outplayed the top-ranked team in the country? The Tigers looked terrific. And if Oklahoma was the best -- per the BCS -- then doesn't the team that beat them have a strong claim?
How about Auburn, which knocked off an unbeaten Top 10 BCS contender of its own? Is there any dispute that Auburn QB Cam Newton is the guy to beat for the Heisman? (Don't pay attention to talk that he HAS to beat Alabama. He's having the closest thing to a dominant season as I have season since Tebow in '07, and TT was on a 4-loss team.)
The only thing that feels certain is that Oklahoma wasn't the last contender to lose. Oregon could lose -- as soon as next weekend at USC. Michigan State could lose -- as soon as next weekend at Iowa. Mizzou could lose to Nebraska. Auburn could lose vs. Alabama. TCU and Utah play head-to-head.
My only problem with Boise State -- and remember that I have been saying they were the best team in college football this season since last January -- is that they don't face anything remotely like these challenges. We know Boise could beat any team in the country on a one-off basis. But could they go undefeated playing the complete schedule of the other contenders? Even TCU/Utah's schedule feels qualitatively better by an order of magnitude. The computers' algorithmic "strength-of-schedule" metric is a necessary component to human frailties.
Where do we stand after 8 weeks? On the one hand, we could have six unbeaten teams at the end of the season -- an apocalypse I have been (erroneously) predicting for a decade -- but on the other, we could have just two: Boise State and the TCU-Utah winner. The likely reality in the middle is the real mess.
But, unlike last year, at least the path to the final BCS standings is strewn with exciting upsets and, more importantly, tremendous performances by winning teams. It is easy to experience the schadenfreude when Alabama or Ohio State or Oklahoma loses, but it is all the sweeter when it's not fluky, when the teams that knock them off have earned it entirely.
*****
As I think about my Top 25 ballot, I am torn by this Boise problem. Mizzou and Auburn beat VERY good teams. TCU throttled an Air Force team that nearly beat Oklahoma in Norman. Oregon passed the sniff test. And even if Michigan State barely survived, they were playing on the road against a Top 40 BCS team coming off a bye week. The good news is that the regular season continues to weed out also-rans.
1a. TCU
1b. Boise
1c. Utah
1d. Auburn
1e. Oregon
1f. Missouri
OK: Stop right there. While I am fairly certain that Alabama will prove itself to be one of the top 6 teams in country -- inevitably taking the spot of the TCU-Utah loser -- and while I appreciate that Michigan State is still unbeaten, this feels like a clear-cut Top 6.
But how to organize those six feels ridiculous. My Top 3 last week -- TCU, Boise, Utah -- are still strong, but Auburn, Oregon and Mizzou racked up impressive wins that, if strength-of-schedule matters, should catapult them closer to the top. My "ranking" is not a cop-out, but I'd love your input on how to organize it at the top.
*****
Congrats to SF Giants fans: The Phillies were a very very good team -- a veritable dynasty in the NL -- and the Giants should feel awesome about toppling them.
There will be a common meme that a Rangers-Giants World Series will be a popular failure. Far more compelling is the idea that it is impossible to predict an obvious winner.
-- D.S.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
