Saturday 12/29 (Very) Quickie:Pats, CFB Bowls, Blazers, Ole Miss, More!

Pats: The countdown to 16-0 is on... (Per this NYT story, at least the Pats recognize that 16-0 is meaningless unless they win a Super Bowl; in fact, if they don't win a Super Bowl, all 16-0 does is turn a playoff loss into the biggest choke in sports history.)

Bowls Wrap: Matt Ryan ends college career with 3 TDs in BC W over Michigan St (BC has won 8 straight bowl games)... TCU beat Houston 20-13 in the Texas Bowl (because I know you weren't watching)... Oregon State tops Maryland in the Emerald Bowl (Yvenson Bernard: 177 yards, ending his career as the No. 6 all-time rusher in Pac-10 history)...

NBA: Sizzling Blazers win 12th straight... Dwight Howard's 29 and 20 was enough to counter Wade's 48 in a battle to show which team is Florida's best (it's Orlando)... AI scores 39 in Nuggets win over the Warriors...

NFL: Colts give Bob Sanders, arguably the best defensive player in the NFL, a 5Y/$37.5M extension (Does anyone else wonder how the Colts can continue to give out these massive deals to their stars and stay under the cap? Amazing.)

CBB: Ole Miss -- still unbeaten!... Meanwhile, Eddie Sutton is stuck at 798 wins because San Francisco lost to Weber State last night (Wouldn't it be ironic if he came back selfishly to win 800 games but USF didn't win another game this season under him?)

Tennis/Gambling: Maria Sharapova says women's tennis is clean. My response: How would she know? Does that mean if a reporter had asked her if the men's game is dirty a year ago, she would have said it wasn't? She has no idea.

This Jim Leyritz story is pretty nuts.

-- D.S.

Friday 12/28 A.M. Quickie:Giants, Pats, Wild Cards, Bowls, KG, More!

Today's Names to Know: Patriots, Giants, Titans, Browns, Vikings, Redskins, College Bowl Mania, Rich Rodriguez, Holiday Bowl, Bill Parcells, Amare Stoudemire, Kevin Garnett, Bobby Frasor, Dayton Flyers, More!

Patriots 19-0 Watch: 16-0 happens on Saturday night, the first time in NFL history a team will unbeaten in a 16-game season. That is, unless the Giants pull off a miracle.

My feeling is this: This game is WAY bigger than any playoff game the Giants might play. (Face it: The Giants aren't winning the NFC, let alone the Super Bowl.) Beating the Patriots tomorrow night ensures football immortality -- just ask the '85 Dolphins.

I just don't understand why the Giants aren't playing this game as if it IS their Super Bowl. It would be nice if they recognized that winning this is actually bigger than winning in the playoffs. It doesn't happen often, but it's the case this time.

I feel so obsessed about this point that I created a separate stand-alone post, directly beneath this one – or found through this link, including a guest appearance by uber-Giants fan Roger Director, author of the new book "I Dream In Blue."

More NFL This Weekend: I'm not even going to bother with making picks; not when all but four teams will be basically tanking -- playing not to get hurt or playing for draft position. Here are the four teams vying for a relatively meaningless 6th seed in the playoffs (neither is the 6-seed Super Bowl champ Steelers, don't kid yourself):

AFC: Titans vs. Browns. How can you not root for the Browns? (The entire AFC playoff bracket – the entire NFL playoff bracket – is a farce. No, Colts fans, your team isn't beating the Pats this year. "AFC runner-up" will actually be meaningful.)

NFC: Vikings vs. Redskins. How can you not root for the Redskins? (As much as you'd like to see Adrian Peterson in the playoffs – and make my preseason pick of the Vikings as a playoff team one of my finest predictions of 2007 – you can't deny the Sean Taylor Factor.)

Other than that, it will be interesting to see how the draft order shakes out.

Holiday Bowl: Texas beats Arizona State, 52-34, in another wild Holiday Bowl, including a crazy play where Mack Brown's stepson touched the ball on the sidelines, triggering a 12-minute review by officials, an overturned play and ultimately an ASU touchdown.

Awful Announcing has the video.
Sporting Orange has his MySpace page.

Weird plays aside, the win gives Texas momentum as a preseason Top 5 team in 2008. The question: Is Texas' outstanding RB Jamaal Charles coming back or jumping to the NFL?

College Bowl Mania!: Weekend Edition

Friday:
Champs Sports: BC vs. Michigan St. Expect points.
Texas: TCU vs. Houston. Regional appeal only.
Emerald: Maryland vs. Oregon St. Ehh: Pass.

Saturday:
Meineke Car Care: UConn vs. Wake. Underdog Bowl!
Liberty: UCF vs. Mississippi St. Smith vs. Sanders.
Alamo: Penn St vs. Texas A&M. Where's Mike Sherman?

Sunday:
Independence: Bama vs. Colorado. Bowl-Eligible Bowl!

CFB: West Virginia sues Rich Rodriguez over $4 million buyout. Rod's cronies seemed to imply that he didn't have to pay, so WVU is going to force the issue. Oh, he'll pay.

More NFL: Bill Parcells checks out Dolphins and attends his first practice, planning to "put a structure in place." No pressure or anything, though. Your future with the team is only riding on it.

NBA: Kevin Garnett is the leading vote-getter in All-Star balloting, ahead of last year's leader, LeBron. Nice to see fans recognizing Dwight Howard as worthy of starting; Tracy McGrady's inclusion, at the moment, as a starter in the West achieves the opposite effect.

Amare Stoudemire vs. Chris Kaman: In one of the most highly anticipated matchups of big men of the season, Amare (30 pts, 15 reb) got the best of Kaman (9 pts, 9 reb).

CBB: UNC beats Nevada, but loses reserve guard Bobby Frasor to a knee injury. Somehow, I think UNC will survive, but here's to a full recovery for Frasor.

CBB Weekend Preview: The Game of the Weekend is Pitt at Dayton. Don't be shocked when the Flyers beat the Panthers in Dayton.

More: Wisconsin at Texas, a good test for both teams. Tennessee at Gonzaga in Spokane is another Tournament-toughening game for both. Arizona at Memphis is yet another "name" game for the Tigers, who should roll.

Mid-Major Madness tonight: Butler at Southern Illinois. Despite SIU's .500 season, they still would represent a quality win for Butler, particularly on the road.

I will be posting all weekend and definitely on Monday, if you plan to drop by. If you won't be stopping by until after January 1, happy new year to you.

Save the Date if you live in NYC: Next Thursday, January 3. I will make my inglorious return to the podium for the Varsity Letters Reading Series. I am the opening act for Will Leitch, and the outstanding Dave Zirin is also in the lineup. Truly something not to be missed. I won't spoil what I'm reading, but I will say that it is based on work done on the blog and I am considering a "performance-art" component. Details: Thursday 1/3, Happy Ending, 302 Broome St. 8 p.m. FREE.

-- D.S.

The Giants' Super Bowl is Tomorrow:But Will They Recognize It?

Pats at Giants in the regular-season finale is bigger than any Giants playoff game, and the Giants should compete in it like it's their Super Bowl:

I appreciate that the Giants have to prepare for the playoffs, but does any fan really think that the Giants have a chance to win the NFC, let alone the Super Bowl? And even if they do win the NFC title, who cares? Like they wouldn't get mowed down in the Super Bowl?

Wouldn't it be even bigger for the Giants to deny the Patriots their 16-0 season than to win this year's meaningless NFC Championship?

History would certainly remember these Giants for that in a way that they wouldn't remember them for a playoff flame-out. (Want proof? The 1985 Dolphins.)

That's why the Giants should play in this game like it IS their Super Bowl; it IS their biggest game of the year. It IS bigger than any playoff game could possibly be.

Given the national simulcast on NBC, CBS and the NFL Network – and the fact that it's on a Saturday night of a four-day holiday weekend – it will be watched by more people than any of the Giants actual playoff games. It won't just make the Giants' season; if they can beat the Patriots, it will define their careers. It will finally give New York sports fans something they can hold over Boston fans, who spent 2007 kicking New Yorkers' asses up and down.

Roger Director is a Giants uber-fan who wrote a great book called "I Dream In Blue" that came out earlier this season. If you are a Giants fan (or simply appreciate books about rabid sports fandom), I highly recommend it.

Anyway, I emailed him for his reaction to my theory, and here's what he replied with, an amusing take -- through ultra-blue-hued glasses, as you'll see. Here's his reply in full:

I was asked yesterday by someone how the Giants should handle this weekend's game against the Patriots. My first question is, the New England who? Then I recalled: they are one of those upstart American Football League franchises who we let into the NFL a few years back. I looked at the person asking me this question and tried to hide my disgust. Does anyone suggest Big Blue should lay down for a team whose insignia is a guy in a funny suit bending over and taking a dump?

I don't think so.

I take the notion that the Giants need to duck for cover against New England as a blood libel. If anyone should be scared and knocking knees, it's the Patriots. If I'm Randy Moss, I'm feigning injury so I don't have to get creamed by Aaron Ross. If I'm Teddy Bruschi, I'm feigning stroke-like symptoms so I don't have to get my brain waves re-arranged by Brandon Jacobs's knee. If I'm Tom Brady, Giselle Bundchen or whoever is his girlfriend of the moment, is asking me, 'What's wrong, Tommy, how come you can't get it up all week?' and I'm having so respond like the lamebrain I am, 'Jeez, Giselle, I guess I'm afraid of playing the Giants. I can' get them out of my mind. Just let's cuddle.'

Chromosome-challenged Big Blue fans can worry all they want about whether or not Osi gets injured. Their thinking goes, we can beat Tampa and then maybe go into Green Bay and win and then be playing for the NFC championship -- but only if Burress's ankle is ok.

The first thing you should ask yourself is, 'What would Shockey! do?" We know the answer. Strap it on.

I imagine a great Giants Big Blue war council at Gallagher's -- Well Mara and Giff and Robustelli and LT and Rosey Brown and Big Red and Harry Carson....they're all there and are they going to say, 'sure, play to lose against New England and hope nobody gets hurt?' I don't think so.

Somewhat more seriously....the upside of playing all out and beating the Patriots is huge. Winning this game is not only a notch in the belt, but a gigantic morale booster. We win this game, we kick New England's ass, and we're the toughest team on the block...and we don't simply hope we can get past the first round in the playoffs, we know we can win the Super Bowl. Simple as that.

I look for Eli to have a big game. He outplays Brady. Throws three TD passes. Giants win 31-20. We are the New York Giants. We make the ground shudder. We make the clouds assemble. And any team, no matter what their record, better hope their ambulances are gassed up. The New England who, again?

It's incredibly rare to have a moment for a playoff team when a regular-season game (at the end of the year, when playoff status has already been clinched) is more important than a playoff game.

In this case, this year -- when the Super Bowl title is all but ceded to the Pats (or, if Pats playoff calamity ensues, an AFC team, most certainly) -- this game is WAY more important than any playoff game for the Giants and Giants fans.

I'm torn: On one hand, I would love to see the history made. It would silence the '72 Dolphins alums; it would set up a 19-0 run; it would set up the biggest upset in sports history if the Pats somehow happened to lose along the way in the playoffs. All good things.

On the other hand, I can't stand Pats fans. (I actually think Bill Belichick is phenomenal, and I'm a huge fan of his. I respect the talent of the players and respect their achievement this season. But Boston sports fans are insufferable enough as it is. 16-0? 19-0? Yeesh.)

These are the emotions that EVERY fan is bringing to this game. Either outcome is actually acceptable. There is no reason for the Giants to try to do anything BUT win this game as if their entire legacy rested in the balance. Because it does.

-- D.S.

Charlie Weis from Notre Dame to Dolphins?

So there's this Romeo Crennel-to-Miami rumor, presumably because Bill Parcells is running the Dolphins and Crennel is a protege of Tuna's. But let me throw out my own twist on this decent theory that Parcells would tap a protege:

What if Parcells instead pursued... Charlie Weis? Everyone can see that Weis is an iffy fit as a college coach, but as a PRO head coach -- hell, isn't that what he wanted before he got to Notre Dame? Let's steal the signs why Weis is the ideal fit:

Weis is a Parcells protege. He is the perfect guy to revive a sorry NFL offense; tutor the Dolphins' franchise QB (whether it's John Beck or whoever the Dolphins could draft in April); and -- most important -- escape a sinkhole situation in South Bend that turned ugly in 2007.

Heading into his fourth year as Notre Dame head coach, Weis hasn't accomplished what he set out to do -- restore the program to its former glory. Actually, he just produced the single most humiliating season in program history. It's not crazy for him to say: "I want out." (Fans certainly don't begrudge the honest Notre Dame fan who is willing to say "See ya.")

If Weis returns to the pros, both he and Notre Dame get a terrific "out" -- "hey, it's the NFL... it's Parcells... how could he say no?" Weis gets to be the NFL head coach he always wanted to be, under a mentor who provides ultimate protection; Notre Dame gets to back out of a coaching move they may have learned to regret -- and to re-set with a real college coach and a cupboard stocked with young talent.

I think it's just so crazy that it just might work. I should clarify: This is total speculation on my part. You know me: I don't "do" original reporting. But I do enjoy a good theory. (h/t: Pro Football Talk, for the original break about Crennel and Parcells; total inspiration)

UPDATE: See the most recent comment I approved. The guy has a point, of course. If Weis and Parcells hate each other, that's a deal-breaker. Then again, Crennel was a Belichick guy, too. So I presume that "working for Belichick" can't be a deal-breaker. All other reasons this make sense still apply, particularly the "easy out" for both Weis and ND to end the ill-fated relationship.

-- D.S.

Thursday 12/27 A.M. Quickie:NFL Net, Motor Mania, End-of-07 Awards

Today's Names to Know: NFL Network, Motor City Mania, Curtis Painter, Dan LeFevour, Holiday Bowl, Eddie Sutton, Mark Prior, Monta Ellis, Kevin Durant, 2008 CFB Predictions, Top 40 Sports Names of the Year and More!

NFL Network to broadcast Pats 16th win on CBS *and* NBC (in addition to the NFL Network). The NFL turns this from what could have been a debacle into a HUGE win, giving the league an unprecedented platform for its biggest regular season game in decades. (Except they're still using Bryant Gumbel, right? Oh, the national humiliation!)

Most-watched regular-season game ever? Not only should this be the highest-rated Saturday football game in history (not a high bar), but it could be the most watched regular-season game (network, cable, whatever) in decades. This is the closest thing that the NFL will get to a regular-season Super Bowl; it's the perfect storm: It's history, it's the one team that is a proven ratings monster AND it's a Saturday night of a holiday weekend.

One big question: Can NBC and CBS run their own pre-game or halftime or post-game or in-game shows? Because, if so, I would load up their pre-game shows and also go to hyper-quick cut-ins before and after commercial breaks to give their on-air talent the chance to impact the broadcast. Forego the ad revenue for the chance to add value to the game and build the brand.

It's going to be fascinating to see if more fans tune in to NBC or CBS to watch the game: Which network will truly be able to lay claim as America's national football network?

(Another question: Why didn't ESPN or Fox get their chance to simulcast the game, too? I get Fox: It's an NFC network; but is ESPN limited to only MNF games? If so, how did NBC get the Saturday game when they are a Sunday network? Is the theory that NBC would have claimed the Pats-Giants game as a "flex" game? Like CBS wouldn't have protected it?)

Motor City Bowl: Hope you picked the "over." 99 combined points tied the second-highest point total ever for a bowl game that ended in regulation, and Purdue edged Central Michigan 51-48 on a last-second field goal. Early in the 3rd, this thing was a Purdue rout.

QBs were the stars: Curtis Painter set a Purdue passing record with 546 yards. Meanwhile, CMU's Dan LeFevour had 292 yards passing (4 TDs) and 114 yards rushing (2 TDs). For the record, he finished the season with 27 passing and 19 rushing; undoubtedly, he will join Tim Tebow in the "20/20 Club" next season.

Tonight's Bowl Mania: Pac Life Holiday Bowl! Arizona State vs. Texas. ASU was a late-season unbeaten, but a team that few (if any) ever thought would REALLY go unbeaten all the way. Texas lost to Kansas State (again) and Oklahoma, in back-to-back weeks, then lost their season finale to rival Texas A&M. All in all, a pretty crappy year.

Player to Watch: John Chiles, Texas' backup QB. The true freshman electrified UT fans with his ability to run the ball, a nice complement to Colt McCoy's single-threat passing skills. Here's hoping Mack Brown flashes a couple of Chiles packages to give UT fans some hope that a McCoy-Chiles two-QB system next year can help the Longhorns survive what sizes up as a brutally top-heavy Big 12 next season to make a run at a national title.

CBB: Eddie Sutton is coming out of retirement to take over at San Francisco? At the risk of an incredibly tasteless joke, what the hell is USF AD Debra Gore-Mann been drinking that she thinks that's a good idea?

Sutton is at 798 career wins and apparently wants to use this team to see himself reach 800; it is unclear whether he cares at all about the kids or program. He never even visited the school before accepting the job.

I appreciate that the school and the players will get more attention now from Sutton than before (none), and I presume the USF president and AD are just as complicit in this mockery.

NBA Last Night: The Bulls still stink, even without Scott Skiles. Doesn't help that their first game of the Post-Skiles Era was against the defending champs; the Spurs beat the Bulls by 15.

NBA Stud of the Night: Monta Ellis, who had a career-high 35 points leading the Warriors to a win over the T'wolves.

MLB Hot Stove: Mark Prior signs with Padres for 1 year/$1 million. Is that what you'd call a "hometown discount?" Or just a "pity discount?" If they're doing it to attract fans, can they expense it against their marketing budget?

Sports Law: MSG settled with that ex-Rangers cheerleader who sued for sexual discrimination. If only they were as smart about the last one. (Actually, if only they were smart enough to avoid the sexual discrimination in the first place.)

CFB Superlatives: In my latest Deadspin CFB guest-post, I bust out the extra-shallow season-ending superlatives, including 5 quality predictions for 2008. Let me recap my top predictions for next season.

Biggest Game of the Year: Ohio State-USC
National Championship Game: USC-Florida
Heisman Winner: Percy Harvin
Big Headline: "Plus One" approved (gack)
Coaching Move: Notre Dame fires Weis

Baseless, unaccountable predictions are one of my favorite parts of the end of the year.

Yahoo Sports' Top 40 Names of 2007: For the second year in a row, Jamie Mottram included me in his panel of sports bloggers determining the Top 40 sports names of 2007. (What he didn't tell me was that it would be the lead story on the front page of Yahoo.com yesterday.)

It's a really fun list, headlined by Michael Vick, but scattered with both memorable names and pithy commentary from those on the voting panel (I was shut out ). Here's a link: Definitely today's must-read.

Sports Blogs: Draft Kevin Durant actually interviews Kevin Durant. I suppose this would be like me interviewing Tim Tebow. (You readers who are following my added-bonus Twitter feed would know I was actually in Tim Tebow's hometown of St. Augustine over the weekend. No, I was not stalking him – although I did hope for a sighting. No luck.) Question: If you could talk in person with one athlete, who would it be?

-- D.S.

Wednesday 12/26 A.M. Quickie:Bynum, Blazers, Clemens, LeFevour, LDT!

Today's Names to Know: Andrew Bynum, Kobe Bryant, Blazers, Kevin Durant, Motor City Bowl, Dan LeFevour, LaDainian Tomlinson, SEC hoops, Miami Northwestern H.S. and More!

NBA on Christmas Day: Lakers beat Suns. The Suns-Lakers game, the day's headliner, was supposed to be a team showcase of a popular favorite to win the NBA title (Phoenix) and an individual showcase of a popular favorite to win the NBA's scoring title (Kobe).

Instead, Andrew Bynum stole the show. Bynum had a career-high 28 (with 12 rebounds and 4 assists), tag-teaming with Kobe to lead the suddenly feisty Lakers past the Suns.

But the Lakers' success isn't because of Kobe: It's because of the emergence of Bynum, who has gone from trading chip a year ago to one of the league's Top 10 most untradeable players. Not bad for a player who snuck in under the wire of the league's irrational draft-age rule. Yeah, skipping college SURE seems to have hurt Bynum's development.

Roger Clemens Defense Tour ramps up: Clemens lawyer Rusty Hardin said he has started his own investigation into the claims about Clemens made in the Mitchell Report. Somehow I think "Rusty Hardin Report" won't have the same resonance.

Maybe the attorney, surely knowing that Clemens was going to be fingered by Brian McNamee, should have executed a damage-control strategy of pre-emption, rather than post-emption.

Meanwhile, Hardin revealed that Clemens will make himself available to a wider range of media than just 60 Minutes after he appears on the show on the night of January 6.

(Preview of Clemens' interview with Mike Wallace: "No. No. No. Deny it. No. No. No." There: Saved you an hour.)

More NBA on Christmas Day: In the nightcap, the Blazers won their 11th straight in what was supposed to be a clever showcase of Greg Oden vs. Kevin Durant. Oden didn't play (which hasn't stopped the Blazers from being the surprise team of the season) and Durant had 23 points, 3 above his rookie-leading scoring average.

Cavs beat Heat: This wasn't surprising. On the other hand, neither of these teams is going to win the East this season. (As one commenter pointed out: Did LeBron plan on 12 assists and 25 points on 12/25? Nice call!)

College Bowl Mania: Motor City Bowl! Purdue vs. Central Michigan. Ahh: A 3-5 team in the Big Ten vs. the MAC Champ. Actually, if you avoid the snobbery, it should be a pretty exciting match-up between two teams who run the spread offense and a sophomore QB who might just give Tim Tebow a run for his money as the best dual-threat QB in the country.

Player to Watch: Dan LeFevour, the Central Michigan sophomore QB who became only the second QB ever to throw for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in the same season. (The other to do it? Vince Young.) Say what you want about Tim Tebow's "20/20" season (and I have), but LeFevour was "23/17," which ain't bad. And even Tebow didn't hit the "3000/1000" mark.

MNF Remainders: It will be another NFL rushing title for LaDainian Tomlinson. If the Chargers beat the Raiders (heh: "if"), they will win the AFC's No. 3 seed, which isn't a bad spot: They get to host the Wild Card game against either Cleveland or Tennessee.

JaMarcus Russell to start in Week 17: Well, why shouldn't he? It's a meaningless game for Oakland, and Russell is the presumptive starter for 2008; the more "live" reps he can get now, the better.

CBB: Kentucky schadenfreude. Just back from a quick trip to SEC country, and wow, there's a lot of schadenfreude about Kentucky and Billy Gillispie, who might not make it past this year if Kentucky can't get over its weak early start and show signs of potential.

UK fans shouldn't count on super-frosh Patrick Patterson, who is already the best player in the SEC, but likely a one-and-done player en route to the NBA. Enjoy the NIT experience, kid! As for Gillispie, you have to wonder if Kentucky could pry John Calipari away from Memphis if Coach Cal can win a national title this season with one-and-done Derrick Rose.

(Sure, things ain't fantastic for Florida basketball either, but compared to the mess Kentucky, things look fantastic.)

Meanwhile, Ole Miss looks like one of those "unbeaten-through-December" teams that produces a regular season to remember, followed by a high seeding in the NCAA Tournament, followed by a first-weekend flame-out. But hats off to Mississippi on a sizzling start.)

High School Football: Miami's Northwestern claims the mythical national championship given out by USA Today. Their season included a signature win, nationally televised, over Texas' Southlake Carroll on ESPN. It also included an offseason scandal that threatened to see the season cancelled before it even started.

-- D.S.

Tuesday 12/25: It's a (Very) Quickie Xmas

Holiday + Travel day = Rare "off" day on Tuesday.

That doesn't mean I can't wish you and yours a wonderfully happy and joyful Christmas, if that's how you celebrate today. MOT'ers like me enjoy Chinese food and a movie, plus lots of "A Christmas Story," a movie that transcends any specific religious observance.

Best wishes to all. Catch you tomorrow morning at the usual time!

-- D.S.

Tuesday 12/25 (Very) Quickie

It's too bad the Bulls aren't playing on the NBA's signature day of the year, because given the fact they just fired coach Scott Skiles, that would have been AWK-waaard!

Anyway, yes: The NBA's Xmas Day games are its biggest (and best) day of the season: Bigger than the All-Star Game. Bigger than the Playoffs. Yes, even bigger than the Finals. (Just look at last season's Finals TV ratings debacle.)

But the Christmas Day games are different: The league hand-picks the match-ups that are the very best. More importantly, everyone is watching, because there's nothing else to watch. The league has the day to itself on the sports calendar, especially this year.

My biggest problem with the NBA is that the regular season is relatively meaningless -- just ask Mavericks fans. Given that, the Christmas Day games become the high point between the Draft nights: The NBA's winter and summer solstices.

The Xmas Day games are not about the regular season, and they are not about the playoffs. They are purely about entertaining us -- about driving TV ratings, of course, but accomplishing that through the most compelling matchups and letting that pull the sleigh.

Ho ho ho...

-- D.S.

Happy Belated Festivus!

Perhaps my favorite "holiday" of the year... and I missed it, both yesterday (day-of) and this morning (day-after)! Shame on me. Well, add it to the Airing of Grievances...

Monday 12/24 A.M. Quickie:Pats, W'cards, Kobe, Clemens, FFL, More!

Today's Names to Know: Fantasy Football Misery, Patriots, NFL Network, Vikings, Redskins, Browns, Titans, Jaguars, East Carolina, Kobe, Jimbo Fisher, Roger Clemens and More!

I'll get to the Pats and 15-0 and looking ahead to 16-0 (even if fans won't be able to watch it) in a second. First, a bit of fantasy-related navel-gazing....

Fantasy Hell: Snatching Championship Defeat from the Jaws of Glory! In 10-plus years of playing fantasy football, I have never played for a championship. This season, if you recall, I ended up playing in 5 leagues, which wasn't much fun on a week-to-week basis, because I had rooting interests virtually everywhere.

But, in one league, I made it to the finals (as an 8th seed, no less – it has been a glorious playoff run). In the title game, my opponent was struggling. I wasn't doing great, but after the Sunday afternoon games, I had Adrian Peterson going and needed about 7 or 8 points from him to win the title. I figured with the Vikings playing at home with a playoff spot on the line, a spectacular (even modest) Peterson show was all but guaranteed.

"All but," indeed. Peterson was contained, symbolic of the Vikings' choke. I lost the title by a mere 4 points.

Now, I can't blame it on Peterson; at the last minute, I thought I was being SO smart by swapping Morten Andersen (who hadn't really done much for me this season) for Mike Nugent, who I figured was a better bet. Andersen had 9 points; Nugent was shut out.

Whatever: I lost the closest I had ever come to fantasy football glory. Losing by 4 was way worse than being blown out. And it sucks far worse than I ever thought it would.

Did any of you win your fantasy league title? Or, like me, lose in the title game?

Patriots roll on to 15-0: Even if the Giants hadn't clinched their Wild Card spot and thus have no reason to do anything but show up next week, the Pats were going to rout them and close out the season 16-0.

I'm actually pretty excited: There is an entire generation of sports fans – say, anyone under 40 – who have never experienced a team playing this well. Given the limitations of the free agency/salary cap era, we're watching the greatest regular season in sports history. (Were the '85 Bears more dominant? Possibly, but they weren't perfect.) Also, I can't stand the '72 Dolphins.

There are also the records to be broken: Tom Brady for TD passes in a single season. Randy Moss for TD catches in a single season. The Pats, as a team, for several records. All of which make this the ONLY storyline of Week 17 worth following. And rooting for.

(After all, if the Pats don't go 16-0, it wouldn't make a loss in the playoffs – if it happens at all – the Biggest Bust In Sports History. But that's a dream: They ain't losing.)

NFL Network Mayhem: Now, let's forecast the biggest story of Week 17, by far, or perhaps even the entire season: The Pats' final game – the history-making game – is on the NFL Network. That means that the majority of the country won't be able to see it. That is not good for fans OR for the NFL. And the outcry will be THE story of the week in sports. Again, that is not good for fans OR the NFL. Tracking...

Playoff Outlook: Aside from tracking the Pats, we're looking at two 6-seeds that are up for grabs.

In the AFC, the Browns are trying to fend off the Titans; now, the 6-seed in the AFC this season might be meaningless, but not if you're a Cleveland fan and expected to win about 4 games this year. What a one-season turnaround for the Browns. There's a fine argument to be made that, if they make the playoffs, Romeo Crennel deserves Coach of the Year ahead of Bill Belichick. (By the way, in the AFC, the 2-seed is as meaningless as the 6-seed, if you think the Pats have a manifest destiny to win the conference and the Super Bowl.)

In the NFC, the Vikings are on the verge of totally choking away what seemed like a lock of a Wild Card spot; with their win in Minnesota last night, the Redskins merely have to beat a Cowboys team with ZERO reason to do anything but show up in D.C. and let the clock run out to make the playoffs. It's a heartwarming turnaround story for a team that was hit so tragically by the death of Sean Taylor just a few weeks ago.

Looking Ahead to Next Week: The only thing worth following is the Pats' attempt at 16-0 (and all accompanying single-season records – individual AND team – that they are poised to shatter)… and that's on the NFL Network. Yeesh, that's grim.

More from Sunday: Again: If the Jaguars played in the NFC, we would be talking about them as the conference's team to beat; as it stands now, they will merely be an unusually tough out on the AFC side – I would say that the Jags are the biggest threat to the Pats in the AFC ("threat" being relative… no team is really a threat, but the Jags are a bigger threat than the Colts, Chargers or Steelers)…

In one game, Derek Anderson kind of ruined an entire season's worth of good feeling, but given his slow start, it was a fitting bookend to his Browns career (which will surely be pushed aside for Brady Quinn in 2008)...

Mostly, it was one of those late-season weeks where playoff teams are playing not to get hurt and the difference between that and "tanking" are hard for me to figure out. Next week should be even worse, so don't tell me "tanking" is abhorrent to the NFL way; it's more like the norm.

College Bowl Mania: East Carolina shocks Boise State in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, 41-38. Maybe Boise State was suffering a let-down after last season's magic Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma, or maybe a let-down after losing their Game of the Year to Hawaii. Or maybe it was just too much Chris Johnson.

Know the name: Chris Johnson, the ECU star who set an NCAA bowl record with 408 all-purpose yards. (Let's break it dow: 223 yards rushing, 32 yards receiving, 153 yards on kickoff returns.) In another parallel with last year, it was another Johnson (Boise State's Ian) who stole the bowl season with a wild performance (and engagement).

NBA: Kobe becomes the youngest-ever to 20,000 career points. Now: What's your bet on where he ends up on the final career scoring list?

Consider: Kobe will end the SEASON in the Top 25 (probably just behind Allen Iverson). He'll crack the Top 20 after 2008-2009. He'll crack the Top 15 after the 2009-10 season. He projects to easily clear the Top 10 after the 2010-2011 season.

Top 5 all-time would be 27,410 points, passing Moses Malone. But No. 4 is Wilt at 31, 419. So let me place my bet today at No. 5.

Florida State's Jimbo Fisher won't leave FSU for West Virginia: Yes, even with all of the Noles' many on-field and off-field problems. This was Fisher's "out," his chance to escape the vortex of gloom that threatens to hover over the FSU program for the next half-decade (or longer, depending on NCAA sanctions over this academic scandal). But he's sticking by Bobby Bowden and the FSU program. Good luck with that.

Roger Clemens makes his defense on YouTube: Points for taking advantage of populist new media opportunities, but does anyone really believe him?

(Isn't there a very simple way to solve this: Can't he sue George Mitchell for zillions in defamation? Maybe he won't sue because he can't.)

Again, to those of you logging in today but ducking out tomorrow for the holiday, the merriest of Christmases.

I'm gearing up for 24 hours of "A Christmas Story," only one of the greatest films ever created.

-- D.S.

Sunday 12/23 (Very) Quickie

I'm about an hour outside of Jacksonville... should I make my first pilgrimage to see "my" "favorite" team play in person today?

College Hoops Feast: Watched more college hoops yesterday than I had any other day all season long. Yesterday's day-/night-long run of good games made me feel like the season finally started. Headlining the day: Memphis is the best team in the country... (Yes, even better than UNC, who has yet to rack up a win as impressive as the Tigers over the Hoyas.)

More: I'm still sticking with UCLA to win the national title... Michigan State racked up a huge win over Texas, establishing them as the Big Ten's team to beat (again)... Oregon might as well call itself Upset U., because they seem to be the Top 25 always on the wrong end of results against unranked teams this season... How legit is undefeated Ole Miss? They beat previously undefeated Clemson... Oh, and Florida will NOT be repeating as champs.

Bowl Mania: B YU needed a blocked FG to beat fiesty UCLA... New Mexico won its first bowl in nearly a half-century, blanking Nevada in a virtual home game... Cincy beats Southern Miss, giving first-year coach Brian Kelly extra momentum heading into 2008, where the Bearcats could be favored to win the Big East.

FSU won't bring 36 players to Music City Bowl: Do they owe it to Kentucky (or FSU fans) to forfeit? (Hey, how about if we put together an all-star team of all players from bowl-eligible teams who aren't playing in bowls?)

NFL: Cowboys beat Panthers: No, Jessica Simpson didn't show up... yes, Terrell Owens' ankle injury is worth tracking as Dallas attempts to win the NFC for the right to lose to the Pats in the Super Bowl. Apparently, John Fox's job is totally safe in Carolina.

NBA: Chris Bosh scores 42 in a Raptors loss to the Suns. But needless to say, Bosh seems fully recovered from that early-season injury.... How about Yi's season-high 29?... Dwyane Wade: Buzzer-beater -- yeah, he's ready for his Xmas Day game against LeBron.

-- D.S.

12/22 (Very) Quickie: CBB Hoops, FAU, Simpson, Blazers, MMA-weather, More!

For the however-many of you checking the blog or your RSS feed today and this holiday weekend...

CBB: What a day today! We get what is arguably the non-conference game of the year (Georgetown vs. Memphs), another battle between Top 10 teas (Michigan St vs. Texas) and a rematch of last season's national title game (Florida vs. Ohio State).

CFB: Florida Atlantic beats Memphis in the New Orleans Bowl (which I overlooked yesterday in my weekend bowl preview). QB Rusty Smith and FAU looked solid when I saw them play Florida; it's a great win for FAU in their first-ever bowl game. Howard Schnellenberger once again proves himself a program-maker.

NFL Tonight: Cowboys vs. Panthers. The most intriguing storyline is how many fans will show up with Jessica Simpson heads on sticks to try to "distract" Tony Romo.

NFL: Taylor to Pro Bowl? Word around Jacksonville (where I am this weekend) is that Fred Taylor will get Willie Parker's Pro Bowl spot after Parker asked Taylor to fill the role after his injury. (Taylor was also first-alternate, but Parker's gesture was extremely gracious.)

NBA Stud Team: The Blazers win their 10th straight. Yes, 10th! And they beat the Nuggets, a division leader. Heading into the league's Christmas Day milestone, is there a bigger surprise this season than the Blazers' success? No, including the Celtics' success.

Stud Player: Kevin Durant scores 27 in Sonics beat Raptors. Hadn't talked much about Durant since the season's first weeks, but he is quickly establishing himself as every bit the scorer he was projected to be.

MLB: Josh Hamilton traded from Reds to Rangers. Hamilton was one of the great baseball comeback stories of the decade. Apparently, the Reds felt they got enough of the "back."

MLB PED Scandal: Sid Fernandez and Pete Rose Jr. were linked to Kirk Radomski. You'd think Rose would be linked to... gambling, naturally. As for El Sid: Steroids? That would explain some things... if a side effect of steroids was turning you into a fat-ass.

More CFB Bowl News: If you had Tennessee winning their bowl, you might want to reconsider now that three starters are academically ineligible for the game. Three bowl games today. Enjoy!

Boxing: "MMA-weather?" Is Floyd Mayweather going to switch to MMA? Needless to say, it would be the biggest news in the sport's history. And, to amp it up, Mark Cuban is going to back him through his HDNet Fights promotional company.

AP Male Athlete of the Year: Tom Brady. Thank you, AP! How much more sensible and smart is that pick than, say, Brett Favre. Brady is a deserving winner (although, like SI, the AP would have been better served picking the Florida starting 5 as AthleteS of the year).

(AP Female Athlete of the Year: Lorena Ochoa. Didn't the AP once pick Marion Jones as their Female Athlete of the Year? Do they want to say anything about that now?)

Deadspin Xmas Poem, 2nd Annual: If you missed it on Deadspin yesterday. So which DSCommenter.blogspot.com contributor is going to send me the poem working in all the main DSCommenter names?

-- D.S.

Friday 12/21 A.M. Quickie: Najeh, Tuna, Picks, R-Rod, Grimsley, More!

Today's Names to Know: Najeh Davenport, Bill Parcells, Levance Fields, Poinsettia Bowl, Jason Grimsley, Jon Papelbon, Gabe Kapler, Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson, Yao Ming, Stuart Scott, Sports Blog Tournament Update, Holiday Wishes and More!

Steelers beat Rams, 41-24: Najeh Davenport! So which fantasy football owner in their league finals on the back of Pro Bowl RB Willie Parker swapped out Parker for backup Najeh Davenport yesterday, foreseeing Parker's injury and Davenport's TWO touchdowns and insanely productive night of action. (No, I'm not talking about your "Hamper Dump Fantasy League," where Davenport remains the Tomlinson of the league.)

Meanwhile, Willie Parker's leg is broken, which is such a shame in a Pro Bowl season where he was leading the league in rushing. Here's to a full recovery for him and another big season next year, for one of the great running back stories of the decade in the NFL. (Not to seem to callous, but if people are thinking about a Pro Bowl replacement, Fred Taylor would be an honorable choice.)

Parcells to Dolphins, Cont'd: Like Dolphins fans, I am looking ahead to what Bill Parcells might do in the offseason, starting with what could/should be the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. Go the franchise QB route (a la Bledsoe) with Brohm, even though the Fins used a 2nd-rounder on Beck a year ago? Get a franchise tackle in Jake Long? Get a franchise D-lineman in Glenn Dorsey? Or, maybe, trade down for more picks?

Meanwhile, did you hear how effusive Bill Belichick was about the 1972 Dolphins? How genius of The Genius: The '72 Fins look like even BIGGER jerks for their dissing and criticizing the '07 Pats… they can root against them, but you can't deny the '07 Pats as a spectacular team. Beating the Dolphins today will be sweet for Belichich – even sweeter now that Bill Parcells is attached to the team.

Oh, and it'll be extra-sweet for Belichick to top the 1972 Dolphins' 14-0 regular season by beating the Dolphins to take the Pats to 15-0.

This Week's Top 5 NFL Storylines:
(1) Pats 19-0 Watch Continues
(2) NFC Wild Card Madness: Vikings control destiny.
(3) AFC Wild Card Meh-ness: Jags', Browns' to lose?
(4) Fantasy Football playoffs: Are you in your title game?
(5) The Race for the Bottom: So who's tanking?

The Picks (Home team in ALL CAPS)
Cowboys over PANTHERS (HFA Watch)
BILLS over Giants (Game of the Week)
Packers over BEARS (Rivalry game)
BENGALS over Browns (Makes Cincy's season)
LIONS over Chiefs (Kitna will fall short)
COLTS over Texans (Mario vs. Peyton)
SAINTS over Eagles (Must-win for Saints)
JAGUARS over Raiders (Wild Card lock-up?)
CARDS over Falcons (Tank Watch!)
Bucs over 49ERS (Don't tank, Niners!)
TITANS over Jets (Mus-win for Tennessee)
PATS over Dolphins (Oh, the symbolism!)
SEAHAWKS over Ravens (Troy Smith starts)
VIKINGS over Redskins (SNF)
CHARGERS over Broncos (MNF)

CBB: Pitt beats Duke in thriller at the Garden: I was lucky enough to be on a JetBlue flight last night that let me catch the 2nd half and the OT. Levance Fields' game-winning 3 was heavy on the cojones, with Pitt down by 2. And DeJuan Blair (15 pts, 20 reb, 3 blocks) is one of my new favorite players this season: Dominant in the paint AND he plays with amazing enthusiasm… Meanwhile, Oklahoma upset No. 20 Gonzaga.

College Hoops This Weekend: What a lineup of great games, topped by Georgetown-Memphis, which on paper is arguably the best game of the year: A match-up of two teams for whom anything less than a Final Four is a failed season.

Rich Rodriguez fires all holdover Michigan assistants: What else did you think was going to happen? He's got to bring in his own group. Besides, would you really WANT this group?

(Don't cry for them: They get to coach through the bowl loss to Florida AND they get paid through the end of the 2008 season… a nice little golden parachute. Credit Lloyd Carr for protecting his guys by giving them that two-year deal last year, probably knowing that this past season was going to be his last.)

But really: How awkward must things be in the football offices as Carr and his staff prepare the team for the bowl game, ? (Cue "The Office" theme song, with clips of Rod and Carr participating in the annual Michigan football program White Elephant Christmas gift-giving party.)

Poinsettia Bowl: Utah beats Navy in a barn-burner. (Actually, given how lame the first half was, it was a second-half barn-burner.) Can't ask for a better kick-off to bowl season, except if you wanted to see Navy cap a spectacular season with a bowl win. But Utah in bowl games is close to as much of a lock as there is in college football.

College Bowl Mania This Weekend:
Papajohns.com Bowl: Southern Miss vs. Cincinnati (Saturday). USM is in between coaches; Cincinnati has one of the best coaches in college football. Pick: Cincy.

New Mexico Bowl: Nevada vs. New Mexico (Saturday). Not particularly a sexy matchup, and doesn't this smack of bowl nepotism? Pick: Nevada.

Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl: BYU vs. UCLA. (Saturday) The Bruins are another team in between coaches; meanwhile, BYU might be the second-best non-BCS-conference team behind Hawaii. Pick: BYU

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl: Boise State vs. East Carolina (Sunday). Boise State is a long way from last year's BCS triumph, arguably one of the Top 5 bowl games of the decade. Pick: Boise State.

NBA Last Night: What a game on TNT between the Nuggets and Rockets. Double-OT, a last-second one-point win by the Nuggets at home. Carmelo with 37 (and a career-high 16 rebounds) and Iverson with 36. Yao with 26 and 19.

Must-Read: From Free Darko, about Julian Wright, who I happened to see play in person a week ago -- but more importantly, FD remembered that before the 2007 NBA Draft, I said Wright would be "the most Free Darko player" in the draft class. Here's the link. (h/t: NBA.com's excellent Court Reporters blog, for the DS name-check in citing this FD post.)

Jon Papelbon's dog ATE the World Series clinching baseball: First of all, what the hell is Papelbon doing with the ball? Shouldn't it be on display at Fenway or in the Hall of Fame? Second, it's just sitting on his counter? If you had a World Series-clinching ball, wouldn't you, like, have it in a nice container on the mantle or something?

MLB PED Scandal: The release of Jason Grimsley's affidavit to the Feds came, oh, about two weeks after it would have any impact. Two weeks ago? "Bombshell!" After the Mitchell Report? "Yeah…and?"

(Although to be fair, Grimsley named Sammy Sosa, who was missing from the Mitchell Report. Sosa-haters have been waiting on this moment, I'm sure.)

Jewish Sports Heroes: Red Sox A-ball manager Gabe Kapler is back in baseball as a player, signing a one-year deal with the Brewers. The moment he is in the same lineup as Ryan Braun will truly be a glorious one. Hanukkah comes late this year!

Stuart Scott cancer diagnosis revealed: Here's to a full recovery for him in his battle.

Sports Blog of the 2007 64-team tournament: DanShanoff.com is up against MetsBlog and it could be ending before we even get to the Sweet 16! Help out and vote now! (Ugh: It's a rout. Hat-tip to the MetsBlog folks for a fantastic effort in rallying their readers to support them.)

Question: When you lose in a bracket-style tournament, what's the etiquette? Are you supposed to support the team that ousted you (Transitive Property?) or are you supposed to want to see them destroyed (Revenge Factor?).

Happy holiday weekend to you and your family: If you aren't planning on being online between now and after Christmas. I put together my second annual "Night Before Christmas" poem for Deadspin, which should be running today. (Here's last year's.) It's a spin-off of my longtime "Night Before Christmas" poem for Page 2, one of my favorite pieces to write each year. If you want a trip in the Way-Back Machine, here you go.

-- D.S.

Sports Blogger of 2007 TournamentI'm Being Crushed By MetsBlog! Vote Now!

Thanks to your votes, I have moved on to Round 2 of the Sports Blogger of the Year 64-blogger tournament. I'm now locked in a struggle with mighty MetsBlog, swamping me by a 10-to-1 voting ratio. Here's the link: Vote now! Tell your friends! Rally for the cause! And thanks!

Thursday 12/20 A.M. Quickie:Parcells, Celtics, Schilling, Bowls, More!

Today's Names to Know: Bill Parcells, Plus One, Celtics, Knicks, Curt Schilling, Bobby Bowden, Big Ten football, Memphis hoops, College Bowl Pick 'Em and More!

Bill Parcells to run the Falcons Dolphins! What a turn of events. Instead of hope for Falcons fans, another massive disappointment/humiliation.

And for Dolphins fans, between the win last Sunday and potential for hiring Parcells today, this might be their best week in years. Nice little holiday gift.

(It really doesn't matter which woebegotten franchise he takes over; both need his help.)

NFL Tonight: Steelers-Rams. Yeah, I'll be taking the Steelers, who are coming off that tough loss at home (their first) to the Jaguars.

CFB: NCAA honcho Myles Brand supports the ridiculous and regressive "Plus-One" playoff idea. To recap: (1) Reseeding the Top 2 teams after the bowls have been played as usual is ridiculous, patently.

(2) Finding a Top 4 to play "semifinal" bowls before a "Plus-One" title game COULD work... if the difference between the No. 4 team and the No. 5 (or 6 or 7 or 8) team was clear. But it's usually not.

For example: Please explain how you would parse this season into a 4-team playoff. Ohio State and LSU? (Sure.) Oklahoma? (Over Kansas? OK, although Oklahoma lost to two unranked teams, while Kansas lost once, to a team that was No. 1 in the last week of the season.) But let's stipulate to it. One spot to go...

USC? (Can't get over that loss at home to Stanford; how can you pick USC over Virginia Tech? Because USC is hot at the end of the season? OK, fine: If that's your standard, Georgia earns in ahead of USC.) So without trying too hard, I got 5 teams for 4 spots, with no way to fairly decide.

Celtics lose at home (finally): Well, at least ONE team in Boston will lose this fall. The Celtics' perfect home record was snapped by the Pistons (of course it was Detroit).

If the Knicks suck and they beat the LeBrons by 30, what does that say about the Cavs?

More: Is Alonzo Mourning's career over? If so, it was a Hall of Fame career.

MLB PED Scandal: Guess how many players appeared in front of Congress? Zilch. What a difference between this hearing and the famous "Don't want to talk about the past" circus.

Curt Schilling doesn't believe Roger Clemens: Beyond the argument Schilling makes (provocatively, that Clemens should be stripped of his Cy Youngs and wins after 1997), this post put the signature on what has been the sports blog experiment of the year, the next evolution from Gilbert Arenas' pioneering effort in 2006 (which continued in 2007). Schilling's transparency and direct pipeline to the fans (and media) is the model for any athlete.

Must-Read: The Year in Schadenfreude, by Fanhouse's Brian Cook. Fantastic recap, as we head into the time of year when year-end recaps are the norm. Here's the link.

College Bowl Mania: Poinsettia! Utah vs. Navy, where they are simultaneously celebrating an amazing season (headlined by that dramatic, once-a-half-century win at Notre Dame) and lamenting the loss of coach Paul Johnson to Georgia Tech.

FSU academic scandal: The NYTimes correctly points out that if the scandal forces forfeits, that drops Bobby Bowden on the career wins list; with perhaps only one season to go in his career, he can't afford to give away too many Ws.

Big Ten Ref Scandal: I'm two days late to this, but this was yet another piece of crackerjack, headline-making investigative reporting by Yahoo Sports. Let's get to the story...

Did the Big Ten use a ref who was sketchy? (Say, sketchy enough to make some questionable calls? Some, say, "Donaghy-like" calls?)

Here's the thing: I'm quite sure that there are refs with, um, "incentive issues" in every sport, perhaps working almost every weekend or every night.

It's part of the game, and you just hope it never affects your team – or stays at the margins, where most of the expert gambling or point-shaving goes on.

(Take it from a guy who watched a Northwestern running back – on the take – fumble on purpose in an otherwise meaningless game against Iowa. Seriously: My era at Northwestern was like Point-Shaving U.)

College Hoops Tonight: Duke vs. Pitt at Madison Square Garden. One of the Top 5 games so far this season – the first real test for both teams (and a clip-n-save result until March).

(Last night: Memphis rolls on. Given the expectations for this team, anything less than a trip to the Final Four is an utter failure. On the "Utter Failure Spectrum," not nearly as bad as the Patriots not winning the Super Bowl, but certainly more of an utter failure than any other team – including UNC or UCLA – not making the Final Four.)

College Bowl Pick 'Em: Last chance! Sign up using the link on the right. Group name: Daily Quickie Readers. No password needed!

-- D.S.

Wednesday 12/19 A.M. Quickie:Parcells, Pro Bowlers, Clemens, Vitale, More

Today's Names to Know: Bill Parcells, Roger Clemens, Florida State, John Salmons, Dick Vitale and More.

Bill Parcells to run Falcons football operations? Wow. What a U-turn by the Falcons -- it would be such a P.R. and strategic coup for a team smacked down by both the Vick and Petrino scandals.

If this works out, huge credit to owner Arthur Blank for making the boldest move possible. For Parcells, it's a good deal: The Falcons have nowhere to go but up and really need to remake their entire image.

(And, hey, the Falcons sure could use a starting QB: How 'bout Parcells fave Vinny Testaverde?)

NFL Pro Bowlers, The Top Storylines:
Sean Taylor starting: Symbolic gesture of the year in sports.
Starting QBs are Brady, Favre: Well-earned, both.
Rookie sensation: Adrian Peterson. Much-deserved honors.
Biggest snub: Fred Taylor. He deserved it over Joseph Addai.

Roger Clemens goes the "denial" route: I wouldn't keep him out of the hall for the cheating, but I would keep him out of the Hall for lying to fans.

Mitchell proffered at least a minimum of evidence, which you can take for what you will; Clemens offered only his word, which you should take for very little.

If he is telling the truth in his denial, the damage from the Mitchell Report will never be undone; if he is lying, he has just looked all fans in the face and lied to them -- that's brutal.

Here is the question, although it will never be answered: Has Andy Pettitte personally ever seen Roger Clemens do steroids? Let's have someone ask him.

(Meanwhile, isn't there a way for the Feds to call Clemens as a witness in a small case against Brian McNamee, if only to force Clemens to testify under oath -- and either perjure himself or reveal his denial is b.s. by taking the 5th?)

Must-Read: The ghostwriter of Canseco's "Juiced" sent a fascinating Letter to the Editor to the New York Times. Here's a link.

Bud Selig and Don Fehr agree to meet to talk about making baseball's drug-testing policy stronger: "Agreeing to meet" isn't anything close to the same as "agreeing on a deal."

MLB Hot Stove: Are the Mariners about to sign Carlos Silva?

Florida State suspends 25 players in academic-fraud scandal: With those kind of numbers, it will be interesting to see what kind of team they will field in the Music City Bowl against Kentucky.

West Virginia Coaching Search: Assistant Bill Stewart is interim coach, but that's only because they have to play a bowl game. Presumably, he will not be Rich Rodriguez's replacement. Stewart may be a fine man and a fine coach, but in this hiring era, he's not "name" enough.

CFB: Tim Tebow named AP college football player of the year. (And, based on the photo of him floating around the Web with an unnamed hottie, he may also be considered as AP's "playa" of the year.)

NBA Stud: John Salmons, who scored a career-high 31 in a Kings win over the Nets. I have been tracking Salmons as a fantasy value pick-up all season long, but haven't pulled the trigger because I keep expecting him to cool off. Instead, he just keeps getting better, it seems.

College Hoops: Kansas seemed to have a little bit of trouble with Georgia Tech... Texas earned a quality non-conference win over a mid-major with a gritty win over Oral Roberts.

Get well, Dickie V: I'm not the world's biggest Dick Vitale fan as an analyst, but I appreciate what he does for the sport of college hoops -- and, of course, I wish him a full and healthy recovery. (Meanwhile, I think fans who haven't yet grasped Jay Bilas' TV brilliance will be pleasantly surprised by a Dan Shulman-Jay Bilas TV tandem.)

Don't forget to vote for this lowly 14-seed in the 64-blogger tournament. (Warning: Site holding the tournament is nominally NSFW... lots of pics of bikini-clad people.) Vote here/now!

-- D.S.

Tuesday 12/18 A.M. Quickie:Vikes, Saban, Rod, Roy, Blogs, Bowls, More!

Today's Names to Know: Minnesota Vikings, Adrian Peterson, Nick Saban, Rich Rodriguez, Brandon Roy, Mike Dunleavy, Mariano Rivera, Fernando Vina, Blogger Tournaments, Bowl Mania and More!

Vikings win 5th straight, zero in on NFC playoffs: The 20-13 win over the Bears wasn't pretty (4 turnovers), but it was effective enough to bring Minnesota within at least one scenario that has them clinching an NFC playoff spot as early as next week. (Rookie of the Year lock Adrian Peterson: 20 carries, 78 yards, 2 TD.) Who saw the Vikings' playoff surge coming?

Must-Read: Fanhouse's Michael David Smith gets an inside look at how "Monday Night Football" is put together. Here's the link.

Did Nick Saban's agent contact West Virginia about its new head-coaching opening?

True or not, this rumor is spectacularly awesome – the best kind of rumor, because it could/should send fans of both the principal teams (along with every other college football fan, along with a few particularly bitter Dolphins fans) into a frenzy. Can you imagine if Saban left Alabama after a season for West Virginia?

(Aside from the sleaziness -- and, given that it's college football coaches and Saban in particular, how un-sleazy do you expect it to be? -- it isn't a bad thought. If you want to compete for national championships, it is easier to do it at West Virginia, where you rule the conference, than it is at Alabama, where the conference rules you.)

Rich Rodriguez welcomed to Michigan: Sure, there are lingering doubts that he's not a "Michigan man," that his spread offense won't take in the Big Ten, that he lost (when it mattered most) to Dave Wannstedt.

But otherwise, how can a Michigan fan NOT be excited? The fact that he's NOT a "Michigan man" should be considered a plus; the marriage of Rod's spread and a creaky Big Ten should lead to on-field pyrotechnics (especially if he adds super-prep Terrelle Pryor); and that loss to Pitt won't be remembered in Ann Arbor if he can beat Jim Tressel.

(Ryan Mallett Update: DS.com reader Eric H. thinks that Mallett ends up at UCLA, becoming Norm Chow's latest strapping young QB who turns into a star. It's not a bad theory at all.)

NBA Stud Team: Suns beat Spurs in San Antonio. Here's the thing about the NBA season: This win was meaningless. Call me when the Suns KO the Spurs in the playoffs.

More: Blazers win 8th straight, behind Brandon Roy's 24 points and 8 assists. Roy is working on an All-Star-caliber season and the Blazers are the biggest surprise in the league. (Hey, weren't they supposed to stink without Greg Oden? Just imagine when he returns next season....)

NBA Stud Player: Mike Dunleavy, who scored a career-high 36 in the Pacers' win over the Knicks (including 22 in the 3rd quarter.) Again, this is Mike Dunleavy we're talking about.

MLB Hot Stove: Mariano Rivera finalizes deal with Yankees for 3Y/$45M. Mo plays a key part of the Yankees' "old-new" strategy.

Mitchell Report: Having tons of names in the Report didn't scare the Dodgers away from signing another Mitchell name, catcher Gary Bennett.

Fernando Vina admits using HGH: If he was smart, he would volunteer to become ESPN's permanent "PED Analyst."

Hot meme: Using HGH to rehab injury before it was outlawed by MLB isn't so bad and certainly isn't as bad as using illegal steroids.

(If you applied the same standard to amphetamines as MLB PED hysterics did to HGH, it would cover ALL players and go back 50 years.)

Best Sports Blogger of 2007 Bracket: As reported yesterday, I'm seeded No. 14 in the South Region, with a very tough match-up against the 3-seed Brothers Mottram of Mister Irrelevant. Let's produce a world-shaking upset! Vote here. Vote now. (Warning: Browser opens to pictures of people in bikinis. SFW? Your call.) Support the cause! (Voting ends Wednesday. Coming tomorrow: A look at the rest of the bracket.)

CFB Bowls Preview: My latest Deadspin column, published yesterday, breaks down every single bowl game, along with its sponsors and a prediction.

Reviving a Daily Quickie tradition, see if you can match the sponsor to the bowl game:

Sponsor
Konica Minolta
R&L Carriers
Brut
Bell Helicopter
San Diego County Credit Union
Roady's
FedEx
Allstate
Sheraton
AutoZone
Pacific Life
AT&T
Pioneer
Valero
PetroSun
Gaylord Hotels

Bowl
Liberty
Music City
Cotton
Gator
Alamo
Independence
Armed Forces
Las Vegas
Hawaii
Holiday
Sugar
Fiesta
Orange
Humanitarian
Sun
Poinsettia
New Orleans

Answers found in my Deadspin post. Don't forget to sign up to compete in my Bowl Pick 'Em. Use the link on the upper-right. Group name: Daily Quickie Readers. No password needed; it's an open group.

-- D.S.

Monday 12/17 A.M. Quickie:Fins, Pats, NFL, Coach Rod, A-Rod, More!

Today's Names to Know: Greg Camarillo, Tom Brady, Vikings, Jags, Brett Favre, Michael Spurlock, Tony Romo, Jessica Simpson, Fred Taylor, Jamal Lewis, Matt Moore, Rich Rodriguez, Terrelle Pryor, A-Rod, Scott Boras, Brandon Roy, Ty Lawson, Wake Forest men's soccer and More!

UPDATE: One enterprising blogger has created a 64-name tournament to name Sports Blog of the Year. I am a 14-seed in the South region, going head to head with 3-seed Mister Irrelevant, a combo of the Mottram Brothers, Jamie and Chris (no slight intended, CM!). Let's pull an upset! VOTE NOW/HERE.

Dolphins win: 0-16 Oblivion averted! It took OT and it took a home game against the Ravens (who appear to have simply given up following the near-miss against New England), but who cares?

The Dolphins will not go winless for the season. This is huge enough that it eclipses the Pats' streaking to 14-0 as the biggest story of the NFL Weekend.

Greg Camarillo may do nothing else for the rest of his NFL career, but after scoring the game-winning TD, his name will live on in triumph among Dolphins fans; he will never have to buy a drink in Miami again.

Pats win: 19-0 still alive! 14-0 ties the record for best regular-season start. They can set a new record next week.

(Of course, as it has been since the beginning of the season, anything less than a Super Bowl title is a failure of all-time epic proportions.)

BUT: How many fantasy owners who rode Tom Brady to top seeds in their league playoffs found themselves bounced out on the back of Brady's unusually weak individual stats?

Playoff Watch: NFC. The four divisions are locked up by the Cowboys, Packers, Seahawks and Bucs. The Giants (9-5) and Vikings (7-6) would be the Wild Card teams if the season ended today, but it doesn't.

The Saints and Redskins (both at 7-7) stand to gain with wins and help. You can be sure they are rooting for the Bears against the Vikings tonight. Five other teams are also still mathematically in the WC race.

Playoff Watch: AFC. It's all but figured out. The Steelers and Browns are both in right now at 9-5, but it's unclear which will win the division and which will be the Wild Card. The Jags (10-4) are a near-lock for the Wild Card. The Titans (8-6) need to win AND get help.

Milestone Watch: Brett Favre set the career yards-passing record. Still shouldn't qualify him for SI Sportsman of the Year, but I'm going to let that go now.

More Milestones: Michael Spurlock became the first Bucs player ever to return a kickoff for a TD. Doesn't that seem like a strange stat in this day and age? (It's like no Mets pitcher ever throwing a no-hitter, except you'd figure that KO returns for a TD would be much, much easier to accomplish.)

Tony Romo should be embarrassed: Not for his Cowboys losing at home to the Eagles, but for allowing his girlfriend Jessica Simpson to wear a PINK No. 9 Cowboys jersey, setting back the "women-as-fans" movement about a decade or so.

(Meanwhile, Brian Westbrook taking a knee at the 1 when a TD could have been his, because it made more strategic sense to let the clock run out than to score, was the Play of the Weekend -- but the Worst Fantasy Football Play In The History of Fantasy Football.)

Chargers sizzling: San Diego clicking JUST enough to tease the majority of fans who are anti-Pats that there might be one team in the AFC that can stop New England in the playoffs...

Jaguars, NFC's Best? Wow, the Jags actually won in the cold (against a previously unbeaten-at-home playoff-quality team, no less)... If the Jaguars were in the NFC, after a breakthrough they-can-win-anywhere win like this, we would be talking about them as being the best team in the conference... It's going to be very cool to see Fred Taylor (147 yds, 1 TD) finally make his first-ever Pro Bowl this week...

More: Speaking of unlikely Pro Bowlers, how about Jamal Lewis (Sunday-high 163 yards rushing)... Oh, NOW Vince Young has his breakout game?... Earnest Graham has a good shot at Fantasy Waiver Pick-Up of the Year... Congrats to Matt Moore, the Panthers QB got the W after becoming the fourth starting QB for Carolina this season...

MNF: Bears-Vikings. How can you not be rooting for Adrian Peterson to lead the Vikings to the playoffs? With so many teams in the NFC at the Wild Card periphery, if you would like the final two weeks of the season to be insane, you are rooting for the Bears.

Michigan hires Rich Rodriguez from West Virginia: What a coup for Michigan, which had been a mockery during their coaching search.

Instead, they end up with arguably the best coach on the market -- yes, that includes Les Miles.

Now, the only pause for Michigan fans would be that Coach Rod was completely baffled by that great coaching mind, Dave Wannstedt.

Still: It gives Michigan (and the Big Ten) some much-needed sizzle. And it sets back WVU, which had become a consistent Top 10 contender.

One huge recruiting implication: Dual-threat QB Terrelle Pryor, the top player in the country, has put Michigan among his list of finalists, and I am predicting he follows Coach Rod to Ann Arbor, giving the Wolverines a player who is like the love-child of Pat White and Tim Tebow. (And Michigan has a slick freshman RB coming in next year, Sam McGuffie, who will be Coach Rod's Steve Slaton from Day 1.)

(Presumptive Michigan 2008 starting QB Ryan Mallett couldn't be a worse fit with Rod's offense -- Mallett, one of the Top 3 QB recruits a year ago, is 6-6 and plodding. Have to believe he'll go elsewhere. Hmm: Texas? Texas A&M? Houston? Another school in Texas?)

More: WVU fans are, understandably, a little ticked off. But as great as the WVU job was (and as great of a fit as Rod was there), Michigan is an even better job with legendary upside. (For older WVU fans, they can simply look at former WVU coach Bobby Bowden, who left to take over at a rising program called Florida State.) Should be intriguing to see who they hire to replace him. Rodriguez won't coach WVU in the Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma, which is as good as giving the Sooners the game.

(The most pressing question, of course: Will Rodriguez have any hand in preparing Michigan for the Cap One Bowl against Florida? I presume the deal is that Lloyd Carr will get his swan song. As the Gators break out the spread offense and beat Carr senseless with it, I'm sure Michigan fans will happily accept defeat and simply proclaim, "That could be us next year.")

Trip in the Way-Back Machine: September 14, 2006, when Maryland was playing West Virginia and I floated the notion that Michigan's coaching short-list (should they jettison) had Rich Rodriguez at the top. This was two weeks into the blog's existence; it even earned me my first email from MGoBlog's Brian Cook. 15 months later, I would like to say "Told you so!" (Wow, go back to those September 2006 blog posts: Having no job apparently gave me all sorts of enthusiasm and stamina to write posts all day, about interesting single topics, etc. Wild.)

MLB Mitchell Report fall-out: Alex Rodriguez said on "60 Minutes" that he never used PEDs, because – frankly – he never felt the need to. Given that the Mitchell list was populate with aging, hurt or just plain mediocre players, that's not such a crazy line for A-Rod to push.

(Jose Canseco said he couldn't believe A-Rod wasn't in the Mitchell Report. Given how ahead of the parade that Canseco has been on steroids in baseball -- forget your problems with him personally or his delivery issues, but the guy has been the biggest truth-teller in the whole mess. If he would just get a personality transplant, he could have been the hero in this thing.)

He was also 6 weeks too late in expressing remorse for the way his contract opt-out happened during World Series Game 4. If he was so aghast by his agent's ploy, why didn't he say something the next day?

Speaking of Scott Boras: He isn't going to win by defending player HGH use in the media; on the other hand, if he is looking to prove to clients (and potential clients) that he's willing to say or do anything to be their agent, it was an understandable gambit. After all, he has been neutered by the A-Rod fiasco.

Meanwhile, the Orioles, who -- along with the Dodgers and the two Yankees pitchers -- took the brunt of the Mitchell Report, aren't sitting pat. They are actually questioning the report. I'm sure that will make Bud Selig none too pleased. (By the way, the O's should also answer for the coincidental, day-before timing of their Tejada trade.)

MLB Hot Stove: Are the Mets and Yankees going to get into a little bidding war over Mark Prior?

NBA Stud: Brandon Roy with the double-double and the W.

CBB Stud: Ty Lawson, who had a career-high 26 for No. 1 UNC in a win over Rutgers.

NCAA Men's Soccer: Wake Forest wins the title. And, once again, Ohio State makes it to a national championship game only to fall short. Are they the Buckeyes or the Bridesmaids?

-- D.S.