The NFL season got off to a great start last week. There were some surprisingly close games as some teams looked better than we thought and some teams looked worse than we thought. The injury bug also bit particularly hard in week 1. Bears LB Brian Urlacher was lost for the season, Steelers S Troy Polamalu will be out 3-6 weeks with an MCL sprain, and Patriots LB Jerod Mayo will be out 6-8 weeks with the same injury. Will other star players go down to injury and will some of the trends we saw in week 1 continue into week 2? Let’s take a preview of all the NFL action and see:
Ravens (1-0) vs. Chargers (1-0) – This game has the potential to be extremely good and it will be a tough test for both teams. The Ravens looked pretty good in their opening week win over the Chiefs, but it was not a perfect performance. The Ravens did allow 24 points on defense to a 2nd string quarterback, but 14 of those points did come off of a punt block and a very short drive after a long interception return. I think it was a better performance than the scoreboard indicated, but there is room for improvement. QB Joe Flacco looked tremendous on Sunday as he had his first ever 300-yard passing game and 3 TD performance. Without question, Flacco looked more mature and in much greater control of the offense. Baltimore has now shown the ability to score through the air, not just on the ground.
To be successful against San Diego though, they will need good balance. The Chargers’ defense is very solid and the Ravens will have to mix it up. RB Ray Rice will need to have a good game and Flacco will have to continue to make good decisions and get all of his receivers involved. This becomes critical considering that the Ravens are on the road and making a cross country trip. For the Chargers, they will need to have a better performance than they did against Oakland. The Chargers are lucky to have escaped with a win and they were not playing their best. They allowed the Raiders to dominate the line of scrimmage and Oakland was able to move the ball on the ground. The Ravens will try to do the same with Rice in this game and he needs to be effective. The Chargers are dealing with injuries along the offensive line after week 1 and RB LaDainian Tomlinson is also fighting an ankle injury that could limit him in this game.
This should be a great game and based on the week 1 performances, I think I give the edge to the Ravens. The game against the Chiefs was closer than it should have been, but Baltimore looked in control for the most part. In the Chargers’ case, Oakland seemed to have more control of the game. The injuries on the offensive line could allow the Ravens to have a better chance at stopping LT and RB Darren Sproles and also allow them to get more pressure on QB Philip Rivers. If the Ravens can bring a similar offensive performance from last week to San Diego, I think they should be able to sneak out with a close win. I might have a little bit of a “homer” bias in this one, but what the hell.
*Note: Chargers RB LaDainian Tomlinson has officially been scratched for the game with a sprained ankle. While I do not think that this will devastate San Diego, it obviously does not help them and it gives another small edge to the Ravens.
Prediction: Ravens
Falcons (1-0) vs. Panthers (0-1) – This will be a huge matchup this week for both teams and the Falcons have a chance to get a quick 2 game lead over Carolina right off the bat. It would seem Atlanta is on pace to do that after the horrible start to the season for QB Jake Delhomme. Including last year’s playoff loss to the Arizona Cardinals, Delhomme has turned the ball over 11 times in his past 2 games. He looks extremely shaky and lacking in confidence. Coach John Fox has said that Delhomme’s role with the team is “unchanged” and he will remain the starter. The only way Carolina stands a chance is if Delhomme brings better play to the field on Sunday. The Carolina defense was shredded by the Eagles and it will not get much easier as they go on the road to Atlanta. The Falcons will have the advantage in the dome and QB Matt Ryan continues to improve. He already looks like he has great chemistry with TE Tony Gonzalez and is in better control of the offense in his 2nd year, just like Joe Flacco with the Ravens. RB Michael Turner had a subpar game against Miami, so he will be looking to bounce back in this one. Atlanta played a good defensive game against the Dolphins at home last week, and if they bring a similar effort this week, I don’t see how they lose. The turmoil in Carolina just does not lead me to think an upset will happen in this game. I’m taking the Falcons at home.
Prediction: Falcons
Vikings (1-0) vs. Lions (0-1) – I’m not sure that much analysis is needed on this one. Detroit lost their 18th straight game last week and it looks like it will move to 19 after this one. The Vikings are coming off of a solid week 1 performance, beating the Browns in Cleveland 34-20. Minnesota followed a winning formula that will most likely take them far this year. QB Brett Favre effectively managed the game and did not turn the ball over and he just let RB Adrian Peterson run wild. Peterson ran for 180 yards and 3 TDs in the win. The Vikings’ defense also did its job and pretty much shut down the Browns. If Minnesota continues to do this, they will rack up a lot of wins. The Lions had their moments last week, but once again they were soundly beaten. Saints QB Drew Brees lit up the Detroit defense for 6 TD passes in the Saints’ 45-27 win. Things will not get much easier for the Lions with Favre and Peterson coming to town. Lions QB Matthew Stafford did not look that good as he completed less than 50% of his passes and threw 3 interceptions. As I have been saying all along, I believe QB Daunte Culpepper gives the Lions a better chance to get a win in the first half of the season. Detroit will continue to suffer through Stafford’s growing pains and even at home, I see another loss for the Lions.
Prediction: Vikings
Packers (1-0) vs. Bengals (0-1) – This game should not be that much of a contest based on the performances we saw on Sunday. The Bengals looked horrible against the Broncos, even though it took a last-minute freak play for Cincy to lose. With QB Carson Palmer coming back healthy from injury, the Bengals were only able to find the end zone one time and it took them the entire game to get there. The Broncos’ defense is not as good as it used to be, so it is safe to say that the Bengals just flat out struggled. Their defense played well, but you have to consider that Broncos QB Kyle Orton was fighting a dislocated finger and could not throw the ball that effectively. The talk of Cincinnati possibly making a run at the playoffs seems very premature. The Packers on the other hand had a pretty impressive performance against the Bears on Sunday night. It wasn’t pretty, but NFC North rivalry games really aren’t supposed to be. QB Aaron Rodgers did what he had to do and looked good in leading the Packers to a game winning TD drive. The Packers’ defense was very good and they shut down Jay Cutler and forced him into 4 interceptions. The Pack always have a great home field advantage at Lambeau Field and I see nothing that tells me the Bengals will come close to pulling off an upset.
Prediction: Packers
Titans (0-1) vs. Texans (0-1) – Both of these teams are coming off of disappointing opening games, but for different reasons. The Texans were flat out embarrassed at home in losing to the New York Jets and rookie QB Mark Sanchez. Once again, the defense was not that strong and Sanchez did not come close to looking like a rookie last week, which is not a good thing if you are Houston. The Texans’ offense also did not show up on Sunday as they were dominated by the Jets and they had trouble even crossing midfield. The offense is supposed to be explosive and help carry Houston this season, but that was not the case in week 1. Now Houston has to travel to Tennessee to play an even better defensive unit. The Titans came close, but disappointingly lost at Pittsburgh in overtime. They did put in a strong effort, especially on the defensive side of the ball, and they deserved to win the game. They have had extra time to rest and prepare for this game, and I would expect them to win handily. Houston did beat Tennessee 13-12 late last year in Houston, but the Titans spanked them 31-12 last year in Tennessee. The Titans just look so much better and I would expect a score closer to what happened in Tennessee last season.
Prediction: Titans
Chiefs (0-1) vs. Raiders (0-1) – Before last Sunday, you would have thought this game would be a total stinker. But after the surprisingly strong efforts from both Kansas City and Oakland, this game could actually not be so bad. The Chiefs hung tough against the Ravens and amazingly had a chance to win the game. Their defense was not great though as the Ravens and QB Joe Flacco ripped them up pretty good. Backup QB Brodie Croyle was able to find some success against Baltimore’s defense, but it was not that good of a performance. The Raiders gave the Chargers all they could handle and actually outplayed San Diego for much of the game. They could not seal the deal however as QB Philip Rivers drove the Chargers to a game-winning TD late in the game. The Raiders did show an ability to run the ball and the offensive line looked good. QB JaMarcus Russell is still slowly developing, but is not at an elite level yet. This game has the look of a back and forth contest that will go down to the wire. Overall, I thought that the Raiders looked a little better than the Chiefs. Richard Seymour came in and had an immediate impact on defense for the Raiders and they look like they could have greater success in shutting down the Chiefs. If QB Matt Cassel is able to play though, that could swing things in Kansas City’s favor. Oakland did actually win at Kansas City last year, so they know what it takes. I will give the slight edge to Oakland in this game even on the road. They looked better in week 1 and Cassel could be a little rusty even if he plays.
Prediction: Raiders
Patriots (1-0) vs. Jets (1-0) – The AFC East schedule gets underway with a very intriguing game between the Patriots and Jets. You would think that the Patriots would have an easy advantage in this one, but New England’s less than impressive performance on Monday night has thrown some doubt into this game. The Patriots’ defense showed some holes against the Bills and suddenly it looked like the Richard Seymour trade might not have been the smartest move. The Patriots also lost LB Jerod Mayo to injury, so the task of rookie QB Mark Sanchez to put up points might not be as hard as it seems. I would have to think though that Bill Belichick would be able to come up with some schemes to make things hard on Sanchez. QB Tom Brady and the Patriots’ offense looked sluggish on Monday night, but they eventually got things going late in the 4th quarter when it mattered. Rex Ryan will give New England hell on defense, but I would think that Brady, Moss and company will be motivated to put in a better performance this week. I think they will also be driven by all the trash talking New York has been trying to do this week. Jets free safety Kerry Rhodes claims they want to “embarrass” the Patriots this week. That is easier said than done my friend. With the Patriots being on the road, this could be a very close game and I do think the Jets have a shot at an upset. But I do not feel inclined to take a gamble on a rookie quarterback in this one and I think the Patriots find a way to win again.
Prediction: Patriots
Eagles (1-0) vs. Saints (1-0) – Due to the murky situation with QB Donovan McNabb and his injured ribs, this game could turn out to be the most intriguing of the entire week. McNabb did not practice on Wednesday, but coach Andy Reid said that he was “progressing” and has also said that McNabb will do everything that he can to play. But if McNabb does play, how effective will he be? If he makes one or two bad throws because of his ribs, it could be the difference between a win and a loss. Having McNabb in the lineup certainly gives Philadelphia a better shot at winning. Backup QB Kevin Kolb has not looked that great in limited action and he has shown an inability to get the ball to the Eagles’ playmakers. If Kolb is the starter on Sunday, then the advantage will swing to the Saints. New Orleans will lean on the hot arm of QB Drew Brees, who threw 6 TDs last week in a blowout victory over the Lions. The Eagles’ defense will have to step up and play huge to contain Brees or this game will turn into a shootout and that will not favor Philadelphia with an injured McNabb or ineffective Kolb in the lineup. This game truly hinges on if McNabb plays and how good he looks if he does. If McNabb is out, I would have to go with the Saints to win, even on the road. If Donovan is actually able to come in and effectively run the offense, then the Eagles can pull out a close win at home. This one should be good and should be a true toss up.
*Note: On Friday afternoon, the Eagles officially listed McNabb as doubtful. So it looks like he will not play and that strengthens my thought that you have to favor the Saints.
Prediction: Saints
Redskins (0-1) vs. Rams (0-1) – The Redskins will get a chance to get back on track as the lowly St. Louis Rams come to town. Washington will be looking for revenge in this game after the Rams beat them 19-17 last season. I don’t expect a similar result this time around. St. Louis continues to struggle mightily on both sides of the ball. The Rams were shutout last week by the Seahawks and they might flirt with that again against a tough Washington D. I expect Albert Haynesworth to get after QB Marc Bulger in this one. The Redskins did not look that bad against the Giants last Sunday, but they certainly did not look that good in defeat. They will have to get RB Clinton Portis going and QB Jason Campbell will need to make smart decisions and get WR Santana Moss involved in the passing game. If they do that, they should be able to put up points against a bad Rams defense. There is talk that the Redskins could make a playoff run since they get games like this against St. Louis and also against the lesser teams in the AFC West. They can not afford to lose this game at home against St. Louis and I suspect they won’t.
Prediction: Redskins
Cardinals (0-1) vs. Jaguars (0-1) – The Cardinals got off to a bad start in defense of their NFC Championship by losing to the 49ers 20-16 at home. Things do not get that much easier because they have to travel east to Jacksonville. Historically, the Cardinals have performed very badly when they make east coast trips. It does not help that the offense continues to look out of sync and WR Anquan Boldin continues to battle injuries. The Cardinals will probably be desperate to try and get a win against a Jaguars team that does not look that much better. Jacksonville did go to Indianapolis and put in a hard fought effort in a 14-12 loss to the Colts. The Jaguars do not have an explosive offense by any means and if they hope to win this game, they will need RB Maurice Jones-Drew to be dominant on the ground and control the game. The Jaguars’ defense did hold Peyton Manning in check, so they stand a chance to pull this one out. I see this game as a total toss up. Arizona did get the east coast monkey of their back last year when they went to Carolina and dominated the Panthers. But even though this seems like a new Cardinals team, old habits could reform. I just think that Jacksonville will use the home field advantage and they will have just enough defense to win an ugly game.
Prediction: Jaguars
Seahawks (1-0) vs. 49ers (1-0) – Surprisingly, this game will determine who will grab the early 1st place lead in the NFC West. The 49ers are coming off a big upset win at Arizona to start the year. Their defense looked very good in shutting down QB Kurt Warner and the rest of Arizona’s potent attack. QB Shaun Hill will not really impress you with his stats, but he does enough to manage the offense and he gives San Francisco a chance to win games. To win this game though, the 49ers will need some help from RB Frank Gore on the ground. It remains to be seen how good Seattle will be this year. They turned the ball over on 3 of their first 4 possessions last week, but since it was against the Rams, it did not hurt them. QB Matt Hasselbeck calmed down and guided the Seahawks to a 28-0 win. Seattle has won their past 2 trips to San Francisco and both victories were lopsided contests. But the 49ers are improving under coach Mike Singletary and they are starting to believe that they can have success. Seattle is fighting some injuries and that could make the difference. This should be a very close game and I will give the edge to the home team and take the 49ers.
Prediction: 49ers
Bills (0-1) vs. Buccaneers (0-1) – Buffalo almost shocked the NFL on Monday night by upsetting the Patriots. However, defensive breakdowns and a costly fumble allowed New England to come back and steal a victory. The Bills did show signs of life though and their offense played better than it did in the preseason. QB Trent Edwards still needs to get on the same page with WR Terrell Owens and they need to come up with some more big plays down the field. They will have their chance against a Tampa Bay team that gave up three long touchdown passes to the Cowboys last week. The Buccaneers’ defense is a shell of its former self and they are no longer a dominant unit. That does not bode well for their prospects of winning because the offense is not getting the job done either. QB Byron Leftwich is just not an explosive passer and Tampa Bay has to hope that RB Cadillac Williams can get going for them to have any shot to win. Considering that Buffalo’s defense looked surprisingly good against New England and the fact that the Bills are at home, the definite edge goes to Buffalo.
Prediction: Bills
Steelers (1-0) vs. Bears (0-1) – Pittsburgh opened up defense of their Super Bowl title with a less than impressive victory over the Titans. They did what good teams do though. They found a way to win even when they weren’t playing their best. The Titans are no pushover, so it was a good win. The Steelers lost Troy Polamalu to a sprained knee for 3-6 weeks, but the Bears unfortunately did that one better by losing LB Brian Urlacher for the season with a dislocated wrist. This game figures to be a defensive slugfest, but the loss of Urlacher should have a bigger effect on the Bears. QB Ben Roethlisberger and the rest of the offense have had extra time to prepare for this game and I would expect a better effort. I am not sure how the Bears will be able to put up points against Pittsburgh’s defense, even without Polamalu. Chicago was horrible on offense against the Packers and QB Jay Cutler looked particularly bad as he threw 4 interceptions. Cutler has vowed that he will be better, but I don’t think it happens this week. It should be another ugly game, but the experience and championship quality of the Steelers will be enough for them to go to Chicago and pull out a victory.
Prediction: Steelers
Broncos (1-0) vs. Browns (0-1) – This is another game that could turn out to be downright ugly. Both the Broncos and the Browns looked pretty bad in their opening games and Denver pulled off a miracle play to pull out a victory. QB Kyle Orton’s dislocated finger really hampered his ability to throw the ball effectively and the Broncos did next to nothing on offense. If they hope to pull out a win this week, they will need more from rookie RB Knowshon Moreno and the running game. The Broncos actually have a good shot at going to 2-0 because the Browns were just as bad last week. They allowed Vikings RB Adrian Peterson to run all over them and I am sure Denver will be trying to do the same. QB Brady Quinn really struggled and if the Browns have any hope of winning, he is going to have to get some things going with WR Braylon Edwards. This game could be another toss up, but I think the home field advantage will tip the scales in Denver’s favor. Cleveland could easily rise up, play better, and steal a win, but I think the Broncos will do enough on both offense and defense to amazingly get to 2-0.
Prediction: Broncos
Cowboys (1-0) vs. Giants (1-0) – The Cowboys officially open up Cowboys Stadium in the regular season on Sunday night. This looks to be another really tough game to call. You would think that Dallas would have the advantage with all the emotion of the 1st regular season game in their new stadium and having 100,000+ people there rooting them on. However, I can remember back to last year when everyone thought they would win their final game in the old Cowboys Stadium. The Ravens went in there and beat the Cowboys, so it is not a given that Dallas will ride the emotion to a win. The Cowboys did look good in their win against Tampa Bay. QB Tony Romo looked like he had very good chemistry with his wide receivers and he had a career day in terms of passing the ball. He will have to duplicate that performance and get good protection from his offensive line against a good pass rush of the Giants. Some help from Marion Barber would be welcomed as well. The Giants will need to bring the good defensive effort that they had against Washington to Dallas in order to win. QB Eli Manning made some plays in the passing game last week, but he is still lacking a big play threat. RB Brandon Jacobs and RB Ahmad Bradshaw will have to try and control things on the ground for New York. This game is very tough to call, but I think I will have to give the edge to the Cowboys. Jerry Jones and the whole organization have been looking forward to this game and I think Dallas will rise to the occasion to get the job done.
Prediction: Cowboys
Monday Night: Colts (1-0) vs. Dolphins (0-1) – The Monday night game features the Colts traveling down to Miami to play the Dolphins. The Colts were not that impressive in week 1 as they barely beat the Jaguars 14-12 at home. QB Peyton Manning did his part with a 300-yard passing game, but the team lost WR Anthony Gonzalez to a knee injury and they did not run the ball well. RB Joseph Addai will have to give Manning some more support against a tough Dolphins defense that plays well at home. Miami’s problems continue to be on the offensive side of the ball though. They were horrible against the Falcons last week and only put up 7 points. QB Chad Pennington’s dink and dunk throws does not get the job done and Miami can not get into a shootout with Peyton Manning. Both teams seem to be not as good as last year and again, this is a tough one to call. Even on the road though, I will have to stick with the brilliance of Manning and go with him to find a way to lead his team to a victory.
Prediction: Colts
The Game’s Quick Hits
Friday Night Smackdown: I have to say that Smackdown was a fairly uninspiring show this week. The action just felt pretty flat and nothing of real excitement happened. I find it funny that this happens with the reappearance of Batista on Friday nights. The Animal opened the show and claimed that he was excited because his contract with Raw was up and he finally got to make his own choice about his career and he decided to go to Smackdown. Thankfully, Chris Jericho interrupted and delivered his usual solid promo, telling Batista that he is pathetic for pandering to the fans and that he better recognize that Chris Jericho is the face of Smackdown. Batista told him that he has heard “to be the man, you have to beat the man”. He gave Jericho a spinebuster and this set up a main event match between the two. Unfortunately, they gave the main event about 5 minutes and as you would expect, Batista got the victory. At the end of the show, the Big Show was asked for his thoughts backstage and he challenged Batista to a match next week…wonderful. I really hope the WWE is not going to do something stupid like having Batista win the Unified Tag Team Championship by himself. I am already irritated at seeing Jericho being jobbed out in such a short match to Batista and I would be insulted if “creative” pulled a stunt like that.
The other main thing I wanted to see tonight was how they would explain the screwjob that CM Punk and Teddy Long pulled on the Undertaker that occurred at Breaking Point. Sadly, there were no answers to this and it looks like we will get a drawn out drama. The referee in the match, Scott Armstrong, was interviewed and all he said was that he answers to people higher than himself and even though it made him sick, he did what he was told for his family and to keep his job. Teddy Long then came out to the ring and he admitted it was a conspiracy. But again, all he said was that he did what he did because he did not want to end up on the unemployment line. So it looks like we will have a rehash of the “higher power” angle. It soon got absurd as Long went to his limo and we got a cheesy sequence where the Undertaker was the driver and he locked Teddy in the limo. We even got lightning and smoke in the backseat of the limo…yeah, exciting. CM Punk did come out to address the crowd and he cut another great heel promo about how he is better than all of us, but he offered no explanation for what happened at Breaking Point.
The other action that occurred was nothing of note. John Morrison beat Mike Knox in a decent match which featured Dolph Ziggler on commentary. Ziggler put himself over and was then called “Mr. Ziggles” again after the match by Morrison. The Hart Dynasty got a win over Cryme Tyme, so I can only hope that they will start to get a better push and will be allowed to shine. Melina got a non-title win over Michelle McCool, who continued to act like she had an injured knee. And Drew McIntyre apparently took out R Truth backstage again and that prevented him from making his match against Charlie Haas. McIntyre delivered his under hook DDT to Haas to make his point. McIntyre has a decent look and I am interested in seeing him in an extended match.
#10 Boise State 51, Fresno State 34: If Boise State wants a shot to be a BCS buster, they need to run the table in the WAC. The Broncos got a severe test as they visited Fresno State. This game looked like it would be a blowout early. Boise got an interception return by Winston Venable and a 60-yard TD run by D.J. Harper to help them build a 24-3 lead. They were dominating on the defensive side of the ball early and Fresno State looked totally overmatched. However, Fresno State RB Ryan Mathews exploded in the latter stages of the 2nd quarter. He scored on runs of 69 and 60 yards to pull Fresno State back into the game and make the score 24-17 at halftime. The huge runs from Mathews seemed to totally energize Fresno State as the game turned into a slugfest in the 3rd quarter. Both teams went up and down the field and moved the ball on each other. The teams traded field goals and touchdowns as the game went into the 4th quarter with Boise State barely hanging onto a 34-27 lead. The Broncos were on the move to start the 4th though and punched in another TD for a 41-27 lead, but then Ryan Mathews stuck again. He went 68 yards to the house once again and brought it back to a 7 point game. But once again, Boise State punched back with a 67-yard TD pass from QB Kellen Moore to RB Jeremy Avery. The back and forth action and big plays were just unbelievable. Finally though, the Boise State defense rose up and forced a turnover on downs deep in their own territory. Jeremy Avery then struck again with another 60+ yard play as he rushed it deep into Fresno State territory and the Broncos kicked a field goal to seal the game away and Boise held on for a 51-34 victory. This was an absolutely crazy game and Boise did show some cracks on defense. But many people said that Fresno could give them a challenge and annually, the Bulldogs usually do give Boise State a game. This win is just another hurdle that Boise has now cleared as they will try to march forward to a BCS Bowl game. They showed a great deal of heart and determination to continue to punch back and pull out this win on the road.
- The Boston Bruins traded winger Phil Kessel to the Toronto Maple Leafs for two first-round draft picks and a second-round draft pick and Kessel subsequently signed a 5-year, $27 million contract with the Leafs. This trade has been rumored for a while now as it was clear Kessel did not see eye-to-eye with Bruins coach Claude Julien and he had already rejected a new contract from Boston. I think losing a 21-year old player who has great upside is not a great thing for Boston. Toronto continues to try and rebuild their team and Kessel will now be a centerpiece. I think Toronto could challenge for a playoff spot this season and Kessel should be leading the charge. The Bruins will survive this trade just fine and will still be one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. It is certainly not a trade that will shift any major power in the East, but it will make waves.
- The Philadelphia Eagles officially listed QB Donovan McNabb as doubtful for this Sunday, so it appears he will not be able to play. This means that QB Kevin Kolb will get the start against the Saints. This obviously will hurt the Eagles and now I believe the Saints have to be favored for the game. Kolb has not shown us much of anything and until he does, you would have to bet against him. Unless the Eagles’ defense has a huge game and can totally shut down Saints QB Drew Brees, I don’t think Philly will be able to put up enough points to win.
- Sources indicate that USC will go with QB Aaron Corp as their starter today against Washington after QB Matt Barkley has been unable to practice all week. Barkley is still battling a shoulder bruise and has not been able to throw. The reports say that Barkley will resume the starting role when he is back to being healthy. This probably will not hurt the Trojans that much. Corp was supposed to be the starter and had the job in the spring, but then he got hurt and Barkley was extremely impressive and grabbed the role away from him. The only concern for USC will be if Corp tries to press and do too much against Washington. He might want to try and impress the coaches in an attempt to get more playing time and that could lead to mistakes. The Trojans will have to be careful and work hard in this game against the Huskies, but they should still have too much for Washington to deal with and USC will pull out a victory.
- Cleveland Cavaliers guard Delonte West was arrested Thursday after an officer pulled him over for speeding on a motorcycle while carrying two loaded handguns and a loaded shotgun in a guitar case. West was riding a Can-Am Spyder motorcycle and he cut off an officer who then pulled him over and found the loaded weapons on him. Well this is just another boneheaded move by another athlete. West’s first mistake was speeding and cutting off a police officer. Why he ever decided to do that is beyond me. I have no idea why he was packing that much heat and it seems pretty foolish. If you are going to take risks like that, at least take the proper precautions. I am not sure if West will be disciplined or not, but this is the type of thing that can distract a good team like the Cavaliers and take the focus off the goal of winning a championship. These actions from West are just one step away from him pulling a “Plaxico Burress”, so I hope he will use better judgment in the future.
Showing posts with label boise state. Show all posts
Showing posts with label boise state. Show all posts
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
AP Top 25 Poll - Week 2 (9/14/09)
Amid the excitement of NFL opening Sunday, the new AP Top 25 poll was released yesterday afternoon. Let’s take a look at how things shake out for this week:
1 Florida (56) 2-0, 1491 pts, PR: 1
2 Texas (1) 2-0, 1404 pts, PR: 2
3 USC (1) 2-0, 1396 pts, PR: 3
4 Alabama (2) 2-0, 1328 pts, PR: 4
5 Mississippi 1-0, 1145 pts, PR: 6
5 Penn State 2-0, 1145 pts, PR: 7
7 Brigham Young 2-0, 1122 pts, PR: 9
8 California 2-0, 1058 pts, PR: 10
9 LSU 2-0, 951 pts, PR: 11
10 Boise State 2-0, 945 pts, PR: 12
11 Ohio State 1-1, 840 pts, PR: 8
12 Oklahoma 1-1, 835 pts PR: 13
13 Virginia Tech 1-1, 749 pts, PR: 14
14 Georgia Tech 2-0, 683 pts, PR: 15
15 TCU 1-0, 609 pts, PR: 16
16 Oklahoma State 1-1, 445 pts, PR: 5
17 Cincinnati 2-0, 407 pts, PR: 23
18 Utah 2-0, 405 pts, PR: 17
19 Nebraska 2-0, 365 pts, PR: 22
20 Miami (FL) 1-0, 364 pts, PR: 20
21 Houston 2-0, 341 pts, PR: NR
22 Kansas 2-0, 271 pts, PR: 24
23 Georgia 1-1, 260 pts, PR: 21
24 North Carolina 2-0, 250 pts, PR: 19
25 Michigan 2-0, 169 pts, PR: NR
Dropped from rankings:
Notre Dame 18
Missouri 25
There was not a great deal of movement in the top 10 this week and most of the teams held steady. Florida continues to be the overwhelming #1 in the country, again receiving 56 out of 60 1st place votes. USC’s win over Ohio State was good enough to siphon 1 first place vote away from Texas. The top 4 remained the same and the biggest fall of the week was suffered by Oklahoma State. Their loss at home to Houston cost them 11 spots as they tumbled all the way down to #16. The loss also exposed Oklahoma State’s defense and they are not as strong as they appeared last week. This will be a big problem against the high powered offenses in the Big 12 and I suspect that the Cowboys will be suffering at least 1 or 2 more losses this year. They will seriously need to regroup if they hope to still score a major Bowl game invite at the end of the year. The defense needs to find some answers or QB Zac Robinson and WR Dez Bryant need to kick it into another gear.
Speaking of Houston, the huge win for the Cougars leaped them into the Top 25 at #21. It has been 18 long years since Houston has been in the Top 25. Back then, QB David Klingler led the Cougars and they were ranked as high as #10. However, blowout losses to Miami (FL) and Illinois dropped them out of the Top 25 and they haven’t been a player on the national scene since. Houston will hope for a better and longer stay this time around. I was highly impressed with the Cougars’ offense and they can light up the scoreboard with the athletic talent they have. In a small bit of irony, I think Houston could be this year’s Oklahoma State. They will rely on the offense to try and outscore their opposition and hope the defense can do enough to protect the win. This was the formula Oklahoma State used last year and now Houston will have to do the same. If they keep scoring like they did Saturday, they could have a really good season.
Also joining the Top 25 party this week are the Michigan Wolverines. As I expected, their huge win at home against Notre Dame was good enough to sneak Michigan into the poll at #25. This is the 1st time Michigan has been ranked since the end of the 2007 season. It appears that the Wolverines are for real and will be a player this season. They are entering a soft spot on their schedule, so if they can avoid a letdown, they will stay in the poll. I now expect Michigan to obviously overachieve this year, but I still don’t think they are up to Ohio State and Penn State’s level yet. The loss by Notre Dame dropped them out of the Top 25 completely and they were joined by Missouri. The shaky win against Bowling Green was not enough to keep the Tigers in the poll.
Ohio State’s loss to USC only cost them three positions in the poll as they dropped from #8 to #11. I will be interested to see how the Buckeyes rebound. The loss is not a season killer, but now they will have to win their huge game against Penn State later this year to have a shot at a BCS Bowl game. Confidence could be an issue as Ohio State continues to fall short in big games.
The “BCS busters” all had a good week 2 and they continued to inch up the rankings. BYU jumped 2 spots from #9 to #7, Boise State also jumped 2 spots from #12 to #10, and TCU slid up one spot to #15. All of these teams will control their own destiny if they continue to win.
The biggest jump inside the Top 25 this week belonged to Cincinnati. I guess that a 70-3 massacre of Southeast Missouri State is worth something after all. Cincinnati jumped up 6 spots from #23 to #17. After not being ranked at all to start the season, Cincinnati could now become a major player if they keep winning. The Big East is a part of the BCS, so the Bearcats are now the long and away frontrunners to score a major Bowl game bid for the 2nd consecutive season.
Finally, the less than impressive wins by Georgia and North Carolina put them perilously close to falling from the rankings. Georgia’s defense did not show up against South Carolina and the Bulldogs were lucky to outscore them and produce a goal line stand at the end of the game to steal a 41-37 win. Georgia fell from #21 to #23. The Tar Heels needed a holding penalty in the end zone which gave them a safety to defeat Connecticut on Saturday, 12-10. The close call dropped UNC 5 spots from #19 to #24.
1 Florida (56) 2-0, 1491 pts, PR: 1
2 Texas (1) 2-0, 1404 pts, PR: 2
3 USC (1) 2-0, 1396 pts, PR: 3
4 Alabama (2) 2-0, 1328 pts, PR: 4
5 Mississippi 1-0, 1145 pts, PR: 6
5 Penn State 2-0, 1145 pts, PR: 7
7 Brigham Young 2-0, 1122 pts, PR: 9
8 California 2-0, 1058 pts, PR: 10
9 LSU 2-0, 951 pts, PR: 11
10 Boise State 2-0, 945 pts, PR: 12
11 Ohio State 1-1, 840 pts, PR: 8
12 Oklahoma 1-1, 835 pts PR: 13
13 Virginia Tech 1-1, 749 pts, PR: 14
14 Georgia Tech 2-0, 683 pts, PR: 15
15 TCU 1-0, 609 pts, PR: 16
16 Oklahoma State 1-1, 445 pts, PR: 5
17 Cincinnati 2-0, 407 pts, PR: 23
18 Utah 2-0, 405 pts, PR: 17
19 Nebraska 2-0, 365 pts, PR: 22
20 Miami (FL) 1-0, 364 pts, PR: 20
21 Houston 2-0, 341 pts, PR: NR
22 Kansas 2-0, 271 pts, PR: 24
23 Georgia 1-1, 260 pts, PR: 21
24 North Carolina 2-0, 250 pts, PR: 19
25 Michigan 2-0, 169 pts, PR: NR
Dropped from rankings:
Notre Dame 18
Missouri 25
There was not a great deal of movement in the top 10 this week and most of the teams held steady. Florida continues to be the overwhelming #1 in the country, again receiving 56 out of 60 1st place votes. USC’s win over Ohio State was good enough to siphon 1 first place vote away from Texas. The top 4 remained the same and the biggest fall of the week was suffered by Oklahoma State. Their loss at home to Houston cost them 11 spots as they tumbled all the way down to #16. The loss also exposed Oklahoma State’s defense and they are not as strong as they appeared last week. This will be a big problem against the high powered offenses in the Big 12 and I suspect that the Cowboys will be suffering at least 1 or 2 more losses this year. They will seriously need to regroup if they hope to still score a major Bowl game invite at the end of the year. The defense needs to find some answers or QB Zac Robinson and WR Dez Bryant need to kick it into another gear.
Speaking of Houston, the huge win for the Cougars leaped them into the Top 25 at #21. It has been 18 long years since Houston has been in the Top 25. Back then, QB David Klingler led the Cougars and they were ranked as high as #10. However, blowout losses to Miami (FL) and Illinois dropped them out of the Top 25 and they haven’t been a player on the national scene since. Houston will hope for a better and longer stay this time around. I was highly impressed with the Cougars’ offense and they can light up the scoreboard with the athletic talent they have. In a small bit of irony, I think Houston could be this year’s Oklahoma State. They will rely on the offense to try and outscore their opposition and hope the defense can do enough to protect the win. This was the formula Oklahoma State used last year and now Houston will have to do the same. If they keep scoring like they did Saturday, they could have a really good season.
Also joining the Top 25 party this week are the Michigan Wolverines. As I expected, their huge win at home against Notre Dame was good enough to sneak Michigan into the poll at #25. This is the 1st time Michigan has been ranked since the end of the 2007 season. It appears that the Wolverines are for real and will be a player this season. They are entering a soft spot on their schedule, so if they can avoid a letdown, they will stay in the poll. I now expect Michigan to obviously overachieve this year, but I still don’t think they are up to Ohio State and Penn State’s level yet. The loss by Notre Dame dropped them out of the Top 25 completely and they were joined by Missouri. The shaky win against Bowling Green was not enough to keep the Tigers in the poll.
Ohio State’s loss to USC only cost them three positions in the poll as they dropped from #8 to #11. I will be interested to see how the Buckeyes rebound. The loss is not a season killer, but now they will have to win their huge game against Penn State later this year to have a shot at a BCS Bowl game. Confidence could be an issue as Ohio State continues to fall short in big games.
The “BCS busters” all had a good week 2 and they continued to inch up the rankings. BYU jumped 2 spots from #9 to #7, Boise State also jumped 2 spots from #12 to #10, and TCU slid up one spot to #15. All of these teams will control their own destiny if they continue to win.
The biggest jump inside the Top 25 this week belonged to Cincinnati. I guess that a 70-3 massacre of Southeast Missouri State is worth something after all. Cincinnati jumped up 6 spots from #23 to #17. After not being ranked at all to start the season, Cincinnati could now become a major player if they keep winning. The Big East is a part of the BCS, so the Bearcats are now the long and away frontrunners to score a major Bowl game bid for the 2nd consecutive season.
Finally, the less than impressive wins by Georgia and North Carolina put them perilously close to falling from the rankings. Georgia’s defense did not show up against South Carolina and the Bulldogs were lucky to outscore them and produce a goal line stand at the end of the game to steal a 41-37 win. Georgia fell from #21 to #23. The Tar Heels needed a holding penalty in the end zone which gave them a safety to defeat Connecticut on Saturday, 12-10. The close call dropped UNC 5 spots from #19 to #24.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
New AP Top 25 Poll
I have a huge post coming tomorrow which will offer an NFL season preview division by division. So let's take a look now at the new AP Top 25 Poll just released a short while ago:
1 Florida (56) 1-0, 1493 pts, PR: 1
2 Texas (2) 1-0, 1424 pts, PR: 2
3 USC 1-0, 1355 pts, PR: 4
4 Alabama (2) 1-0, 1331 pts, PR: 5
5 Oklahoma St. 1-0, 1201 pts, PR: 9
6 Mississippi 1-0, 1095 pts, PR: 8
7 Penn State 1-0, 1082 pts, PR: 9
8 Ohio State 1-0, 985 pts, PR: 6
9 Brigham Young 1-0, 984 pts, PR: 20
10 California 1-0, 971 pts, PR: 12
11 LSU 1-0, 890 pts, PR: 11
12 Boise State 1-0, 882 pts, PR: 14
13 Oklahoma 0-1, 782 pts, PR: 3
14 Virginia Tech 0-1, 652 pts, PR: 7
15 Georgia Tech 1-0, 630 pts, PR: 15
16 TCU 0-0, 523 pts, PR: 17
17 Utah 1-0, 404 pts, PR: 19
18 Notre Dame 1-0, 383 pts, PR: 23
19 North Carolina 1-0, 338 pts, PR: 21
20 Miami (FL) 1-0, 315 pts, PR: NR
21 Georgia 0-1, 294 pts, PR: 13
22 Nebraska 1-0, 266 pts, PR: 24
23 Cincinnati 1-0, 248 pts, PR: NR
24 Kansas 1-0, 196 pts, PR: 25
25 Missouri 1-0, 126 pts, PR: NR
Dropped from rankings:
Oregon 16
Florida State 18
Iowa 22
Florida remains strong as the clear #1 in the country, receiving 56 out of 60 1st place votes in the poll. The 2 votes that the Gators lost went to Alabama, who moved up one spot to #4 after an impressive win over Virginia Tech. Alabama looks like they will again be a huge threat this season, especially if their defense continues to be this strong. Florida may actually get a challenge from them this year. Oklahoma State's big win over Georgia was able to jump them up four spots to #5. I'm not sure if Oklahoma State will be able to maintain that ranking all year or if they are really that good. However, if their defense can come anywhere close to matching the high level of the offense, then maybe the Cowboys will be a huge surprise this season. The losses by Virginia Tech and Georgia in these games dropped them 7 spots to #14 and 8 spots to #21, respectively. Both will now have to try and regroup to climb back up toward major bowl game consideration.
The biggest shakeup in the poll comes as a result of BYU's upset win over Oklahoma. BYU was able to leap 11 spots and enter the top 10 at #9. This win now positions BYU for a run at the National Championship, let alone a BCS game. The strength of schedule will obviously hurt BYU, so they will need a great deal of help along the way. But an undefeated season would now assure them of a BCS bowl game it would seem. On the flip side of that game, Oklahoma tumbles 10 spots down to #13. They will now have to hope they can survive until QB Sam Bradford returns and then make a very impressive run to have any shot at the BCS Title game. A BCS Bowl game bid is still possible, but the Sooners are now really behind the eight ball.
Boise State's big win over Oregon was able to inch them up 2 spots to #12 as they try to now keep pace with BYU as the BCS buster this season. The loss dropped Oregon from the top 25.
Notre Dame was also able to make a big leap, up 5 spots to #18 after blowing out Nevada. The Fighting Irish passed the first test of the season, but it remains to be seen if they can handle the pressure all year and stay in for the long haul.
The last big shakeup in this week's poll comes from Miami's huge upset win over Florida State last night. Miami now shoots into the poll at #20, while Florida State drops out of the top 25 entirely. Miami looks like they are for real this season, but they will need to play better on defense. The same goes for Florida State, and I believe they will be able to recover and still have a good season.
Rounding things out...Cincinnati jumped into the top 25 at #23 after beating up on Rutgers. The Bearcats now look to be the clear favorite in the Big East and the talk of them falling off seems to be overblown. Iowa's struggles with Northern Iowa caused them to fall out of the top 25 and allowed Missouri to sneak in at #25 this week.
1 Florida (56) 1-0, 1493 pts, PR: 1
2 Texas (2) 1-0, 1424 pts, PR: 2
3 USC 1-0, 1355 pts, PR: 4
4 Alabama (2) 1-0, 1331 pts, PR: 5
5 Oklahoma St. 1-0, 1201 pts, PR: 9
6 Mississippi 1-0, 1095 pts, PR: 8
7 Penn State 1-0, 1082 pts, PR: 9
8 Ohio State 1-0, 985 pts, PR: 6
9 Brigham Young 1-0, 984 pts, PR: 20
10 California 1-0, 971 pts, PR: 12
11 LSU 1-0, 890 pts, PR: 11
12 Boise State 1-0, 882 pts, PR: 14
13 Oklahoma 0-1, 782 pts, PR: 3
14 Virginia Tech 0-1, 652 pts, PR: 7
15 Georgia Tech 1-0, 630 pts, PR: 15
16 TCU 0-0, 523 pts, PR: 17
17 Utah 1-0, 404 pts, PR: 19
18 Notre Dame 1-0, 383 pts, PR: 23
19 North Carolina 1-0, 338 pts, PR: 21
20 Miami (FL) 1-0, 315 pts, PR: NR
21 Georgia 0-1, 294 pts, PR: 13
22 Nebraska 1-0, 266 pts, PR: 24
23 Cincinnati 1-0, 248 pts, PR: NR
24 Kansas 1-0, 196 pts, PR: 25
25 Missouri 1-0, 126 pts, PR: NR
Dropped from rankings:
Oregon 16
Florida State 18
Iowa 22
Florida remains strong as the clear #1 in the country, receiving 56 out of 60 1st place votes in the poll. The 2 votes that the Gators lost went to Alabama, who moved up one spot to #4 after an impressive win over Virginia Tech. Alabama looks like they will again be a huge threat this season, especially if their defense continues to be this strong. Florida may actually get a challenge from them this year. Oklahoma State's big win over Georgia was able to jump them up four spots to #5. I'm not sure if Oklahoma State will be able to maintain that ranking all year or if they are really that good. However, if their defense can come anywhere close to matching the high level of the offense, then maybe the Cowboys will be a huge surprise this season. The losses by Virginia Tech and Georgia in these games dropped them 7 spots to #14 and 8 spots to #21, respectively. Both will now have to try and regroup to climb back up toward major bowl game consideration.
The biggest shakeup in the poll comes as a result of BYU's upset win over Oklahoma. BYU was able to leap 11 spots and enter the top 10 at #9. This win now positions BYU for a run at the National Championship, let alone a BCS game. The strength of schedule will obviously hurt BYU, so they will need a great deal of help along the way. But an undefeated season would now assure them of a BCS bowl game it would seem. On the flip side of that game, Oklahoma tumbles 10 spots down to #13. They will now have to hope they can survive until QB Sam Bradford returns and then make a very impressive run to have any shot at the BCS Title game. A BCS Bowl game bid is still possible, but the Sooners are now really behind the eight ball.
Boise State's big win over Oregon was able to inch them up 2 spots to #12 as they try to now keep pace with BYU as the BCS buster this season. The loss dropped Oregon from the top 25.
Notre Dame was also able to make a big leap, up 5 spots to #18 after blowing out Nevada. The Fighting Irish passed the first test of the season, but it remains to be seen if they can handle the pressure all year and stay in for the long haul.
The last big shakeup in this week's poll comes from Miami's huge upset win over Florida State last night. Miami now shoots into the poll at #20, while Florida State drops out of the top 25 entirely. Miami looks like they are for real this season, but they will need to play better on defense. The same goes for Florida State, and I believe they will be able to recover and still have a good season.
Rounding things out...Cincinnati jumped into the top 25 at #23 after beating up on Rutgers. The Bearcats now look to be the clear favorite in the Big East and the talk of them falling off seems to be overblown. Iowa's struggles with Northern Iowa caused them to fall out of the top 25 and allowed Missouri to sneak in at #25 this week.
Labor Day Quick Hits
Hope everyone enjoyed a safe and relaxing Labor Day holiday. Let’s take a look at what happened around the world of sports and wrestling yesterday.
The Game’s Quick Hits
Monday Night RAWind: When they announced that Bob Barker was going to be the special guest host this week, I immediately thought this could be a downright disaster and that it made no sense. After watching the show last night, I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised. Instead of having Barker do something truly stupid, they were able to mix him in and let him do what he does best, entertain. The WWE had Barker mix in some Price Is Right (or Price is RAW for the evening) games and they led to action that we saw in the ring. That was a pretty smart move. The crowd was very receptive to Barker and except for the schilling of his book, this was a well played night for the guest host concept.
The night started out with Santino, Jillian Hall, I.R.S., and Chris Jericho playing a pricing game on a “Best of Smackdown DVD”. Jericho was his usual smug self and wanted no part of it and he eventually confronted Barker, who had a nice interaction with Jericho. The whole thing led to a rematch from last week between Jericho and MVP. They both put on another solid match and as you might expect, MVP picked up the win this week after Jericho won last week. The pricing game segment came back later in the evening and that eventually led to a Bodyslam Challenge between Mark Henry and The Big Show. The same formula was followed and Henry won the match by slamming Show. While there was nothing spectacular in here, the matches did a good job of at least making the Unified Tag Team Championship match this Sunday at Breaking Point look important. MVP and Henry were made to look like legitimate threats, even though I believe it would be a mistake to have them win and take the belts off Jericho and Show.
In other significant developments, Cody Rhodes was given some time on the mic before a match with John Cena to explain why he did not attack Randy Orton after Orton gave his father, last week’s guest host Dusty Rhodes, an RKO at the end of the night. Granted, Cody is not great on the mic, but he got his point across that he is putting his career over his family and he will prove that he is making the right choice. He then threw in that he would make John Cena tap out in the upcoming match, so I knew that we were looking at either a Cena win or a DQ finish. And sure enough, Randy Orton ran in to cause a DQ after Cena and Rhodes put on a pretty good match. I was pleased to see the DQ because it would have been pointless to have Cena fight off Cody’s attempts at making him submit, only to “hulk up” and crush him. We already know Cena is like Superman, so I am glad I was spared the shtick tonight.
The main event of the evening was set up by Triple H and Shawn Michaels spinning the big wheel...well, pressing a button and watching the wheel spin on video…and having their opponents randomly selected. Randy Orton was one of the opponents selected and the other was…Chris Masters? Now why and how is Chris Masters making the main event of Raw? It made no sense to me and even if it looked cheesy from the whole “random” standpoint, it should have been Ted Dibiase main eventing with Orton. I will give Masters credit, though. He didn’t look that bad in the ring and he, along with Orton, and DX put on a pretty good tag team match. They did not let the match slow to a snail’s pace and there was some good drama near the end. DX picked up the win with stereo submission holds and were then attacked by Legacy. DX, Rhodes, and Dibiase fought all the way through the arena and out to the backstage lot where Legacy was able to steal a car and drive off. Orton slithered back to the ring to say a few words and this prompted Cena to come back out for a brawl. Cena got the upper hand early, but Orton was able to hit a spike DDT and then an RKO on a chair to stand tall over Cena to end the evening.
All in all, I thought this was a pretty good show going into the PPV. Raw has recovered nicely the past 2 weeks after the dismal post-Summerslam show. All of the main event feuds got some good and logical exposure and I believe that Breaking Point could be pretty interesting. Once again, it is clear that the best shows are the ones that cut down on stupid and idiotic segments and offer more wrestling. This show was chock full of backstage segments and shenanigans, but at least tonight they made some sense and had a purpose. And it was also nice to see Chavo Guerrero actually wrestle in a serious match against Evan Bourne…but of course they ruined it with Hornswoggle interfering. I guess you can’t win them all.
Miami, FL 38, #18 Florida State 34
Wow, what a way to end the long Labor Day weekend and first week of the college football season. Miami and Florida State put on a show in what was an awesome game. They traded punches back and forth and the game featured 6 lead changes. The pace of the game was fairly slow in the first half as both defenses held the game in check and Miami led 14-10 at halftime. But things really changed in the second half. Both teams were able to find a rhythm and it was big play after big play as the scoreboard was lit up. Miami took the lead with a 3-yard TD run with 1:53 left in the game, but then almost looked like they wanted to give it right back, hitting a weak squib kick on the kickoff and giving Florida State excellent field position on the Miami 49-yard line. Florida State QB Christian Ponder drove the Seminoles all the way down to the Miami 2, but threw three straight incompletions, the last one going through the hands of a receiver and to the ground as time expired. The star of the game clearly was Miami QB Jacory Harris. He looked extremely poised and much better than he did at any point last season. He made big completions when he had to and was able to lead his team to victory. Both of these teams look like serious contenders for bigger bowl games, but they both will have to try and sure up things on the defensive side of the ball. Miami could now be a huge spoiler and even challenge for the ACC title if they can carry this momentum. This loss will not kill Florida State just yet, but it is an obvious disappointment and they need to regroup. The Miami game against Oklahoma on October 3rd is now looking even better, especially with the question mark that is Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford…and speaking of that…
- As of right now, Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford is officially out 2-4 weeks. It was revealed on Monday that Bradford has a Grade 2 or Grade 3 sprain of his AC joint in his shoulder and it will be “a week or two” before his shoulder is reevaluated to see if he can stay on the now projected return timetable. Coach Bob Stoops said everything depends on how Bradford heals and how he is feeling, but the Sooners will be without him for “a while”. Bradford will not need to undergo surgery and reports indicate that he has already started on physical rehab for the shoulder. Obviously, this is good news for Oklahoma. The injury could have been more serious, but there exists the possibility that it could still linger on for weeks and hamper Bradford when he does return. Bradford smartly took out an insurance policy when he decided to return to school and put the NFL off for one more year. Hopefully Bradford himself and Oklahoma do consider Bradford’s long term health and future in this situation because he will still have the potential to be a top draft pick. Rushing him back will not do Oklahoma any good. My best guess right now is that Oklahoma wants to have him ready for the October 17th game against Texas. They stand no chance of winning that game without him. As I talked about yesterday though, this whole situation could set Oklahoma up for a loss at Miami, especially with how they looked tonight. I am not sure that the Sooners will be able to handle Miami without Bradford, and even with him, the game against Texas will be hard to win.
- The Detroit Lions have decided to go with rookie QB Matthew Stafford as their starting QB heading into the season. Coach Jim Schwartz stressed with the media that Stafford won the job and QB Daunte Culpepper did not lose it. As I have talked about before, I do not think this is the right move at this point. Without question, Stafford is the future of the franchise and the experience will help him. But the Lions are still a bad team and they do not have that much talent around Stafford. They are also desperate for a win after enduring the NFL’s first 0-16 season and they have lost 17 straight games overall. I believe that Culpepper should have started the season and been in there until the Lions broke through and got a win. Let’s face it, the season will be a disaster for Detroit and Stafford could always come in at mid-season and start to get his career rolling. Culpepper is a seasoned veteran and he came to camp this year motivated and in great shape. He would give the Lions the best opportunity to win a game right now. Instead, the Lions will have to put up with the growing pains of Stafford and if they lose 4…5…6 games in a row to start the year, the pressure will only mount on him. I think this is a bad move at the beginning of the season. Good luck to Stafford though…hope he can do something for this dismal franchise.
- As if it would be any shock otherwise, San Diego Chargers LB Shawne Merriman says that he did not harm Tila Tequila on Sunday and that he was only trying to prevent her from driving drunk. He says that she had been drinking and he was only looking out for the safety of Tequila, who he describes as a female acquaintance and not his girlfriend. Reports seem to suggest that paramedics and Sheriff’s deputies did not believe that Tequila had any serious injuries. Well this is certainly why I did not want to speculate on anything until more details came out. I can buy Merriman’s story that Tequila got seriously hammered and he tried to stop her from driving. If she was in an altered state and that drunk, it could be plausible that she tried to fight him and then in her mind she was “choked and falsely imprisoned”. We’ll have to see how this all plays out, but again, this is not a welcomed distraction for the Chargers.
- After being traded, Richard Seymour has still not reported to the Oakland Raiders. There has been talk going around that Seymour was extremely upset at being traded and one report said a friend close to Seymour is saying he might not even report at all. But Raiders Coach Tom Cable told the media that he has spoken with Seymour and he wants to play with the team. Seymour still needs to report and take a physical before the trade is official. I don’t blame Seymour for being mad, as he is going from the penthouse to the outhouse in the NFL. But he does need to be a professional about this and report to Oakland to try and make the best of things. He will still be getting paid well, so he needs to be an adult about this and do things the right way.
- Other NFL News and Notes: Cleveland Browns Coach Eric Mangini says that he has decided on who will be the Browns’ starting QB, but he will be keeping it a secret. Before Monday’s practice, Mangini has not yet told QB Brady Quinn or QB Derek Anderson who won and he believes that keeping it a secret gives the team a competitive advantage because it forces teams to prepare for 2 QBs instead of one. Oh give me a break with this garbage. The Browns need all the help they can get, but this isn’t going to do much good. I expect the Vikings to beat the Browns no matter who is starting at QB. Stop creating “drama” Mangini and get on with it.
As expected, the Denver Broncos have reinstated WR Brandon Marshall and he is now eligible to play in Denver’s season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals. I’ve already made my feelings known about this guy, but this is probably the right move by Denver. They can’t just pay the guy to sit around and most likely, if he wants to get out of Denver, he will have to make some plays on the field and try to make an impact. The Broncos look to be in disarray, so they need all the playmakers they can get on the field. Hopefully Marshall can at least shut his mouth and play some football.
Titans RB LenDale White said he doesn’t think stomping on the “Terrible Towel” of the Steelers is so bad and he will do it again if he has the chance. "If there's a towel in the stands, I will stomp on it. I don't care who gets mad. ... If they throw a towel at me, I'm going to kick it and stomp all over it. If they don't want their towel stomped on, keep it out my face." This just makes me laugh imagining this guy running his mouth to a reporter about this. Hey, being a Ravens fan, I hate the Steelers as much as the next guy…but LenDale, just shut your mouth and play some football. This towel business is just plain silly.
Kansas City Chiefs QB Matt Cassel returned to the practice field Monday with a brace on his knee and his status for Sunday’s game against the Ravens is uncertain. Coach Todd Haley only said it was a positive sign that Cassel returned to practice. In my opinion, the Ravens will stomp Kansas City no matter who is starting at QB, so they should just rest Cassel if he is not 100% because the Ravens defense would knock him around and get to him all day.
The Eagles have cut QB A.J. Feeley and the move now leaves QB Michael Vick as the team’s number 3 QB. Definitely a smart move by Philly, they just had better hope QB Donovan McNabb does not get hurt in the first 2 games because all they have behind him is QB Kevin Kolb. In fact, a significant injury to McNabb will probably derail the Eagles’ entire season because Vick is not ready at this point to be a full time starter and Kolb is extremely untested…
- It seems as if Tiger Woods is starting to take offense to my posts about him struggling with his game and having no chance to win tournaments and even being in danger of losing the FedEx Cup. Tiger came out on absolute fire yesterday in the final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship, shooting a final round 8-under par 63 to jump up to -12 overall. Tiger actually was a bit disappointed with his round and had chances to get as low as 60. He ran out of steam however, and the golf course was playing too easy to think he had any chance of winning. That honor went to “Mr. September” Steve Stricker, who birdied his final two holes to shoot a 4-under par 67 and finish at -17 overall, which was good for a 1 shot win over Scott Verplank and Jason Dufner. The final round of the tournament was a very fun watch. About a dozen players flirted with the lead and there was some really great shot making going on. Stricker’s win vaulted him over Tiger for the top spot in the FedEx Cup point standings. He certainly has the momentum and now the task is on him to keep it up. Tiger seemed to find his game on Sunday and he will have to take that into the final 2 tournaments because it seems that everyone is hungrier than ever to knock Tiger down a peg. It should be fun seeing how the final two events in the playoffs play out.
- Boise State has decided not to suspend Byron Hout for his actions at the end of last week’s Oregon/Boise State game. Hout slapped Oregon RB LeGarrette Blount’s shoulder pads and verbally taunted him which led to Blount punching Hout. Coach Chris Peterson claims that Hout is being disciplined and that a suspension is not warranted. I actually disagree with this. Hout initiated contact with Blount and there is no place for taunting after a victory like that. Since we are talking college here, Boise State can not take money away from Hout, so the only reasonable punishment would be a suspension. He should have been suspended for one game, so I think Boise State is wrong not doing it.
- MLB News and Notes: American League home run leader Carlos Pena of the Tampa Bay Rays is now out for the year after being hit in the hand and breaking two fingers. Pena was hit by Yankees P C.C. Sabathia in the opener of a day-night doubleheader. This obviously is news that the fading Rays did not need to hear and it seems like they are dead in the water as far as the playoffs go. The Rays had a great run last year, but I believe it was too much to expect a repeat this year…The Pittsburgh Pirates lost yesterday to the Chicago Cubs 4-2, ensuring they would have a losing season for the 17th consecutive year. This is a major league record and also a record for any of the four major professional sports in North America. The Pirates are just a joke and at least it is one jab that everyone can take at Pittsburgh. Of course at this point, I’m sure everyone from Pittsburgh just laughs at the Pirates as well before they throw the Steelers and the Penguins in your face…
- U.S. Open Update: The amazing and remarkable run of 17-year old American Melanie Oudin continued at the U.S. Open as she once again came from behind to beat #13 seed Nadia Petrova 1-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3. This was the third straight seeded player that Oudin has knocked out and she is now in the quarterfinals. On the men’s side, #1 seed Roger Federer continued his march toward a sixth straight title by winning his 38th consecutive match over #14 seed Tommy Robredo in straight sets. American John Isner, who took out #5 seed Andy Roddick, was eliminated in 4 sets by #10 seed Fernando Verdasco. Number 4 seed Novak Djokovic also advanced in straight sets.
The Game’s Quick Hits
Monday Night RAWind: When they announced that Bob Barker was going to be the special guest host this week, I immediately thought this could be a downright disaster and that it made no sense. After watching the show last night, I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised. Instead of having Barker do something truly stupid, they were able to mix him in and let him do what he does best, entertain. The WWE had Barker mix in some Price Is Right (or Price is RAW for the evening) games and they led to action that we saw in the ring. That was a pretty smart move. The crowd was very receptive to Barker and except for the schilling of his book, this was a well played night for the guest host concept.
The night started out with Santino, Jillian Hall, I.R.S., and Chris Jericho playing a pricing game on a “Best of Smackdown DVD”. Jericho was his usual smug self and wanted no part of it and he eventually confronted Barker, who had a nice interaction with Jericho. The whole thing led to a rematch from last week between Jericho and MVP. They both put on another solid match and as you might expect, MVP picked up the win this week after Jericho won last week. The pricing game segment came back later in the evening and that eventually led to a Bodyslam Challenge between Mark Henry and The Big Show. The same formula was followed and Henry won the match by slamming Show. While there was nothing spectacular in here, the matches did a good job of at least making the Unified Tag Team Championship match this Sunday at Breaking Point look important. MVP and Henry were made to look like legitimate threats, even though I believe it would be a mistake to have them win and take the belts off Jericho and Show.
In other significant developments, Cody Rhodes was given some time on the mic before a match with John Cena to explain why he did not attack Randy Orton after Orton gave his father, last week’s guest host Dusty Rhodes, an RKO at the end of the night. Granted, Cody is not great on the mic, but he got his point across that he is putting his career over his family and he will prove that he is making the right choice. He then threw in that he would make John Cena tap out in the upcoming match, so I knew that we were looking at either a Cena win or a DQ finish. And sure enough, Randy Orton ran in to cause a DQ after Cena and Rhodes put on a pretty good match. I was pleased to see the DQ because it would have been pointless to have Cena fight off Cody’s attempts at making him submit, only to “hulk up” and crush him. We already know Cena is like Superman, so I am glad I was spared the shtick tonight.
The main event of the evening was set up by Triple H and Shawn Michaels spinning the big wheel...well, pressing a button and watching the wheel spin on video…and having their opponents randomly selected. Randy Orton was one of the opponents selected and the other was…Chris Masters? Now why and how is Chris Masters making the main event of Raw? It made no sense to me and even if it looked cheesy from the whole “random” standpoint, it should have been Ted Dibiase main eventing with Orton. I will give Masters credit, though. He didn’t look that bad in the ring and he, along with Orton, and DX put on a pretty good tag team match. They did not let the match slow to a snail’s pace and there was some good drama near the end. DX picked up the win with stereo submission holds and were then attacked by Legacy. DX, Rhodes, and Dibiase fought all the way through the arena and out to the backstage lot where Legacy was able to steal a car and drive off. Orton slithered back to the ring to say a few words and this prompted Cena to come back out for a brawl. Cena got the upper hand early, but Orton was able to hit a spike DDT and then an RKO on a chair to stand tall over Cena to end the evening.
All in all, I thought this was a pretty good show going into the PPV. Raw has recovered nicely the past 2 weeks after the dismal post-Summerslam show. All of the main event feuds got some good and logical exposure and I believe that Breaking Point could be pretty interesting. Once again, it is clear that the best shows are the ones that cut down on stupid and idiotic segments and offer more wrestling. This show was chock full of backstage segments and shenanigans, but at least tonight they made some sense and had a purpose. And it was also nice to see Chavo Guerrero actually wrestle in a serious match against Evan Bourne…but of course they ruined it with Hornswoggle interfering. I guess you can’t win them all.
Miami, FL 38, #18 Florida State 34
Wow, what a way to end the long Labor Day weekend and first week of the college football season. Miami and Florida State put on a show in what was an awesome game. They traded punches back and forth and the game featured 6 lead changes. The pace of the game was fairly slow in the first half as both defenses held the game in check and Miami led 14-10 at halftime. But things really changed in the second half. Both teams were able to find a rhythm and it was big play after big play as the scoreboard was lit up. Miami took the lead with a 3-yard TD run with 1:53 left in the game, but then almost looked like they wanted to give it right back, hitting a weak squib kick on the kickoff and giving Florida State excellent field position on the Miami 49-yard line. Florida State QB Christian Ponder drove the Seminoles all the way down to the Miami 2, but threw three straight incompletions, the last one going through the hands of a receiver and to the ground as time expired. The star of the game clearly was Miami QB Jacory Harris. He looked extremely poised and much better than he did at any point last season. He made big completions when he had to and was able to lead his team to victory. Both of these teams look like serious contenders for bigger bowl games, but they both will have to try and sure up things on the defensive side of the ball. Miami could now be a huge spoiler and even challenge for the ACC title if they can carry this momentum. This loss will not kill Florida State just yet, but it is an obvious disappointment and they need to regroup. The Miami game against Oklahoma on October 3rd is now looking even better, especially with the question mark that is Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford…and speaking of that…
- As of right now, Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford is officially out 2-4 weeks. It was revealed on Monday that Bradford has a Grade 2 or Grade 3 sprain of his AC joint in his shoulder and it will be “a week or two” before his shoulder is reevaluated to see if he can stay on the now projected return timetable. Coach Bob Stoops said everything depends on how Bradford heals and how he is feeling, but the Sooners will be without him for “a while”. Bradford will not need to undergo surgery and reports indicate that he has already started on physical rehab for the shoulder. Obviously, this is good news for Oklahoma. The injury could have been more serious, but there exists the possibility that it could still linger on for weeks and hamper Bradford when he does return. Bradford smartly took out an insurance policy when he decided to return to school and put the NFL off for one more year. Hopefully Bradford himself and Oklahoma do consider Bradford’s long term health and future in this situation because he will still have the potential to be a top draft pick. Rushing him back will not do Oklahoma any good. My best guess right now is that Oklahoma wants to have him ready for the October 17th game against Texas. They stand no chance of winning that game without him. As I talked about yesterday though, this whole situation could set Oklahoma up for a loss at Miami, especially with how they looked tonight. I am not sure that the Sooners will be able to handle Miami without Bradford, and even with him, the game against Texas will be hard to win.
- The Detroit Lions have decided to go with rookie QB Matthew Stafford as their starting QB heading into the season. Coach Jim Schwartz stressed with the media that Stafford won the job and QB Daunte Culpepper did not lose it. As I have talked about before, I do not think this is the right move at this point. Without question, Stafford is the future of the franchise and the experience will help him. But the Lions are still a bad team and they do not have that much talent around Stafford. They are also desperate for a win after enduring the NFL’s first 0-16 season and they have lost 17 straight games overall. I believe that Culpepper should have started the season and been in there until the Lions broke through and got a win. Let’s face it, the season will be a disaster for Detroit and Stafford could always come in at mid-season and start to get his career rolling. Culpepper is a seasoned veteran and he came to camp this year motivated and in great shape. He would give the Lions the best opportunity to win a game right now. Instead, the Lions will have to put up with the growing pains of Stafford and if they lose 4…5…6 games in a row to start the year, the pressure will only mount on him. I think this is a bad move at the beginning of the season. Good luck to Stafford though…hope he can do something for this dismal franchise.
- As if it would be any shock otherwise, San Diego Chargers LB Shawne Merriman says that he did not harm Tila Tequila on Sunday and that he was only trying to prevent her from driving drunk. He says that she had been drinking and he was only looking out for the safety of Tequila, who he describes as a female acquaintance and not his girlfriend. Reports seem to suggest that paramedics and Sheriff’s deputies did not believe that Tequila had any serious injuries. Well this is certainly why I did not want to speculate on anything until more details came out. I can buy Merriman’s story that Tequila got seriously hammered and he tried to stop her from driving. If she was in an altered state and that drunk, it could be plausible that she tried to fight him and then in her mind she was “choked and falsely imprisoned”. We’ll have to see how this all plays out, but again, this is not a welcomed distraction for the Chargers.
- After being traded, Richard Seymour has still not reported to the Oakland Raiders. There has been talk going around that Seymour was extremely upset at being traded and one report said a friend close to Seymour is saying he might not even report at all. But Raiders Coach Tom Cable told the media that he has spoken with Seymour and he wants to play with the team. Seymour still needs to report and take a physical before the trade is official. I don’t blame Seymour for being mad, as he is going from the penthouse to the outhouse in the NFL. But he does need to be a professional about this and report to Oakland to try and make the best of things. He will still be getting paid well, so he needs to be an adult about this and do things the right way.
- Other NFL News and Notes: Cleveland Browns Coach Eric Mangini says that he has decided on who will be the Browns’ starting QB, but he will be keeping it a secret. Before Monday’s practice, Mangini has not yet told QB Brady Quinn or QB Derek Anderson who won and he believes that keeping it a secret gives the team a competitive advantage because it forces teams to prepare for 2 QBs instead of one. Oh give me a break with this garbage. The Browns need all the help they can get, but this isn’t going to do much good. I expect the Vikings to beat the Browns no matter who is starting at QB. Stop creating “drama” Mangini and get on with it.
As expected, the Denver Broncos have reinstated WR Brandon Marshall and he is now eligible to play in Denver’s season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals. I’ve already made my feelings known about this guy, but this is probably the right move by Denver. They can’t just pay the guy to sit around and most likely, if he wants to get out of Denver, he will have to make some plays on the field and try to make an impact. The Broncos look to be in disarray, so they need all the playmakers they can get on the field. Hopefully Marshall can at least shut his mouth and play some football.
Titans RB LenDale White said he doesn’t think stomping on the “Terrible Towel” of the Steelers is so bad and he will do it again if he has the chance. "If there's a towel in the stands, I will stomp on it. I don't care who gets mad. ... If they throw a towel at me, I'm going to kick it and stomp all over it. If they don't want their towel stomped on, keep it out my face." This just makes me laugh imagining this guy running his mouth to a reporter about this. Hey, being a Ravens fan, I hate the Steelers as much as the next guy…but LenDale, just shut your mouth and play some football. This towel business is just plain silly.
Kansas City Chiefs QB Matt Cassel returned to the practice field Monday with a brace on his knee and his status for Sunday’s game against the Ravens is uncertain. Coach Todd Haley only said it was a positive sign that Cassel returned to practice. In my opinion, the Ravens will stomp Kansas City no matter who is starting at QB, so they should just rest Cassel if he is not 100% because the Ravens defense would knock him around and get to him all day.
The Eagles have cut QB A.J. Feeley and the move now leaves QB Michael Vick as the team’s number 3 QB. Definitely a smart move by Philly, they just had better hope QB Donovan McNabb does not get hurt in the first 2 games because all they have behind him is QB Kevin Kolb. In fact, a significant injury to McNabb will probably derail the Eagles’ entire season because Vick is not ready at this point to be a full time starter and Kolb is extremely untested…
- It seems as if Tiger Woods is starting to take offense to my posts about him struggling with his game and having no chance to win tournaments and even being in danger of losing the FedEx Cup. Tiger came out on absolute fire yesterday in the final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship, shooting a final round 8-under par 63 to jump up to -12 overall. Tiger actually was a bit disappointed with his round and had chances to get as low as 60. He ran out of steam however, and the golf course was playing too easy to think he had any chance of winning. That honor went to “Mr. September” Steve Stricker, who birdied his final two holes to shoot a 4-under par 67 and finish at -17 overall, which was good for a 1 shot win over Scott Verplank and Jason Dufner. The final round of the tournament was a very fun watch. About a dozen players flirted with the lead and there was some really great shot making going on. Stricker’s win vaulted him over Tiger for the top spot in the FedEx Cup point standings. He certainly has the momentum and now the task is on him to keep it up. Tiger seemed to find his game on Sunday and he will have to take that into the final 2 tournaments because it seems that everyone is hungrier than ever to knock Tiger down a peg. It should be fun seeing how the final two events in the playoffs play out.
- Boise State has decided not to suspend Byron Hout for his actions at the end of last week’s Oregon/Boise State game. Hout slapped Oregon RB LeGarrette Blount’s shoulder pads and verbally taunted him which led to Blount punching Hout. Coach Chris Peterson claims that Hout is being disciplined and that a suspension is not warranted. I actually disagree with this. Hout initiated contact with Blount and there is no place for taunting after a victory like that. Since we are talking college here, Boise State can not take money away from Hout, so the only reasonable punishment would be a suspension. He should have been suspended for one game, so I think Boise State is wrong not doing it.
- MLB News and Notes: American League home run leader Carlos Pena of the Tampa Bay Rays is now out for the year after being hit in the hand and breaking two fingers. Pena was hit by Yankees P C.C. Sabathia in the opener of a day-night doubleheader. This obviously is news that the fading Rays did not need to hear and it seems like they are dead in the water as far as the playoffs go. The Rays had a great run last year, but I believe it was too much to expect a repeat this year…The Pittsburgh Pirates lost yesterday to the Chicago Cubs 4-2, ensuring they would have a losing season for the 17th consecutive year. This is a major league record and also a record for any of the four major professional sports in North America. The Pirates are just a joke and at least it is one jab that everyone can take at Pittsburgh. Of course at this point, I’m sure everyone from Pittsburgh just laughs at the Pirates as well before they throw the Steelers and the Penguins in your face…
- U.S. Open Update: The amazing and remarkable run of 17-year old American Melanie Oudin continued at the U.S. Open as she once again came from behind to beat #13 seed Nadia Petrova 1-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3. This was the third straight seeded player that Oudin has knocked out and she is now in the quarterfinals. On the men’s side, #1 seed Roger Federer continued his march toward a sixth straight title by winning his 38th consecutive match over #14 seed Tommy Robredo in straight sets. American John Isner, who took out #5 seed Andy Roddick, was eliminated in 4 sets by #10 seed Fernando Verdasco. Number 4 seed Novak Djokovic also advanced in straight sets.
Friday, September 4, 2009
A Mysterious Suspension...Or Not?
The big story in WWE land this week occurred outside of the ring as Intercontinental Champion Rey Mysterio was suspended for 30 days by the company for a Wellness Policy violation. The suspension became effective on Wednesday, which allowed Mysterio to participate in the Smackdown tapings. I will not reveal what happened at this point, but it definitely will be worth watching tonight based on reports I have read. The ‘net was clamoring for details as to what happened and speculation was running rampant. After watching “The Rise and Fall of WCW” DVD, I actually thought that they might have caught Rey on the juice. If you look at Mysterio back in his WCW days, he looked extremely small and not very muscular. Looking at Rey now, my opinion is that he has bulked up very noticeably. Now I am not trying to accuse Mysterio of juicing and hey, it could be possible that he has worked out like a mad man over the years and legitimately put on the muscle, but it is my opinion that he is carrying more on his small frame than he should be. It turns out though that the WWE did not bust Rey for steroids, but rather painkillers.
Reports started to surface that Mysterio gave an interview with Spanish language newspaper The Record and he claimed in the interview that he was not at fault for this; it was the WWE’s fault. Wow, big mistake there Rey. Mysterio told the newspaper that he had a legal prescription for the substance that triggered a positive result. Now under the WWE’s Wellness Policy, a wrestler has up to 72 hours after a positive test result to produce proof that the substance in question has been taken for a legitimate medical purpose and they have a prescription for it. Mysterio claims that his doctor failed to clarify one of the discovered substances and that when the WWE asked for the proof, Rey was out of the country promoting Summerslam. When he returned to the states, he was informed of the suspension and was also told his doctor would “take care of it”, but that did not occur.
The fact that these details have emerged and that Rey vehemently denies he is at fault could be the least of his worries. The interview that Mysterio gave to The Record was not authorized by the WWE, so you can just imagine how Vince McMahon felt about that. All interviews that WWE performers give need to be cleared by management and Rey did not get clearance for this one. As you could expect, McMahon was extremely mad and reports indicate that there was a conference call held to determine what they could possibly do to “send a message” to Mysterio and other talent. Consideration was given to unmasking Mysterio on Smackdown. This did not occur and I feel that was the right move. If they did not pull the trigger on that during Rey’s hot feud with Chris Jericho, then it would make absolutely no sense to do it over this. Mysterio’s unmasking could still make the company money at some point in the future, so that was a smart decision. There was also talk of making Rey’s exit a “blink and you’ll miss it” type of thing, but that did not happen either. It seems like the one thing that was decided on was to publicize the incident instead of burying it. On WWE.com on Wednesday, Mysterio’s suspension was the top headline. Usually in the past, suspensions did not make the front page and could only be found in WWE’s corporate section. So this could have been part of the punishment. No other word has come out in regards to additional penalties, but I would not be surprised to see Mysterio buried down the card and losing matches when he comes back.
So with all this said, the big question is: who is really at fault in this situation? After giving it some thought, I think I side with the WWE on this one. First of all, they have a clear Wellness Policy that the talent should be well aware of by now. You can make jokes about how effective this policy really is, but the fact remains that it does exist and performers have been suspended in the past. Because of this, Rey Mysterio can not claim any sort of ignorance on the matter. Second, why did Mysterio not inform the WWE when he first got the prescription? Correct me if I am wrong, but shouldn’t a wrestler (or any athlete in any sport for that matter) let the company know about what drugs they will be putting in their body right away, especially when drug testing is in place? I say the answer is yes and either Mysterio or his doctor dropped the ball. If this was a legitimate prescription in the first place, then why not be upfront about it?
But let’s say fine, Mysterio did not have to report this right away and he felt he was doing nothing wrong. That’s all well and good, but what happened to the 72 hour period to produce proof then? I think Mysterio is just making his international trip into an excuse. Don’t we have phones? Don’t we have fax machines? If Mysterio was alerted to his positive test, why wasn’t he on the phone right away with his doctor and telling him to send the WWE proof of the prescription? It seems to me that Mysterio was too lazy or too cocky and he dropped the ball. Or maybe there is more to this story. Maybe the prescription that Mysterio received was something he should not have gotten in the first place. I don’t know and I am not going to try and crucify the man, but it seems clear that he messed up on this, not the WWE. All the WWE was doing was trying to abide by their policy and not make it into a joke by letting a popular performer slide.
Reports also indicated that Mysterio was expected to talk to management at the Smackdown tapings in an effort to explain his side of things and try to get the suspension overturned. Obviously, that did not occur and I believe it would have been very foolish if the WWE even entertained the idea of overturning it. If they were to do that, it would open up a bad can of worms, so to speak. It would allow for other wrestlers to try and skirt the system and take whatever drugs they want and then come back later and say “my doctor forgot to send you the prescription” or some other excuse. Rey got caught being dumb or lazy and even if this wasn’t totally his fault, he now has to pay the consequences.
I have to wonder if all of this could have been avoided. If Mysterio had injuries still nagging him, then he should have asked for time off. I am a little sick and tired of hearing the notion that a guy will “lose his spot” if he takes time off. Rey must realize how popular he is and how much the WWE wants him to connect to their Latino audience. I think it would be highly unlikely that he would “lose his spot” if he took some time off to heal up a little. Look at what Chris Jericho did. He took 2 years off and came back to a pretty good spot. People are also speculating that Jeff Hardy is now going to do the same. I think it is foolish to believe you will become a nobody if you need to take some time off to rest your body, especially when you are the top Latino star in the company. And maybe if the WWE just allowed Rey to lose the IC Title to Dolph Ziggler and not drag it out so long, then Mysterio could have done that and then took a few weeks off.
All in all, this is just seems like a sad situation that probably did not need to happen. It is my belief though that the responsibility ultimately fell on Rey Mysterio and he messed something up. Even if he did not intend to “cheat”, I think he would have had proper time and opportunity to fix the situation before he got a suspension. I hope that Rey uses the time off to rest his body and hopefully he can come back and not be made a joke of. It would benefit both parties to fix the situation and be professional about it from this point on.
The Game’s Quick Hits
Ravens Notes: The Ravens had their final preseason game last night and defeated the Atlanta Falcons 20-3 to finish the preseason 4-0. As everyone knows, the last preseason game does not feature significant playing time for the starters and coaches mainly use the game to figure out which players will make the cut and be on the 53 man roster. So there is not much to report from last night, although I did like what I saw in the 1st quarter. The Ravens mostly sent out the second unit defense, but LB Terrell Suggs did see his first action of the preseason after recovering from injury. Suggs looked pretty good and was able to record a sack. This definitely bodes well for the defense and it looks like all systems are a go for week 1. QB John Beck also did a nice job driving the offense to a touchdown on their first series. I was encouraged by the play of WR Demetrius Williams. He looked pretty good and caught some nice balls, so maybe he will be able to step up and be the productive #3 WR that the team needs behind Derrick Mason and Mark Clayton. Another consistent target for QB Joe Flacco will only help get the Ravens where they want to go.
Boise State/Oregon Recap: The college football season kicked off with a marquee matchup between #14 Boise State and #16 Oregon. Many said that Boise State had to win the game to have any hopes of a BCS bowl game and if they did win, they would have a shot at going undefeated. Well it seems that Boise State was ready for the challenge as they beat Oregon 19-8. The first half was dominated by Boise State as they took a 13-0 lead into the half. Boise had no trouble moving the ball on offense and actually should have been up by 20+ points. Trouble in the red zone prevented this however. Oregon looked absolutely horrible in the first half, recording no 1st downs and developing no rhythm on offense. In the second half, it was more of the same as Boise State drove right down the field to score and make it 19-0. Oregon finally made a 1st down midway through the 3rd quarter and they were able to get some momentum and scored to make it 19-8. The game got very sloppy after that though and both teams traded turnovers and missed opportunities as the clock ticked down to zero. Boise dominated the game in terms of time of possession and ball control while Oregon looked completely overmatched and not prepared for the game and that is surprising to see from a highly ranked Pac 10 team. I am not sure that Boise can beat the elite level teams this year, but they got the win they needed to start the season. And on a final note, that idiot Oregon RB LeGarrette Blount should be suspended for at least one game for that cheap sucker punch he pulled on a Boise State player. There is no place for that crap and his ass wrote a check with his mouth that his ability could not cash on the field.
- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fired offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski Thursday morning and replaced him with quarterbacks coach Greg Olson. Jagodzinski turned down the Bucs offer to take over as the quarterbacks coach. If you remember, Jagodzinski was formerly the head coach of Boston College and was fired when he went against the university’s wishes and interviewed for the New York Jets head coaching vacancy that ultimately went to Rex Ryan. Sources are saying that conflict has been brewing since early in training camp and Jagodzinski was not suited to be an offensive coordinator and his style of teaching and general coaching philosophy was made for head coaching. Well gee, that shouldn’t take a genius to figure out. It seems like Jagodzinski really screwed up in this situation. He had a great job at Boston College, but he obviously let ambition get in the way. He reached for an NFL head coaching job too early in his career and he had to move down to a coordinator position that now seems like he was not suited for. This will not reflect well on him and I don’t know if he can expect to get another good head coaching position like he had at Boston College. I think he has now set his career back a few years and it was a dumb move for him to make.
- Back to the Michael Vick watch around here…Vick was expected to see extensive action and start the 2nd half at QB for Philadelphia in their final preseason game Thursday night. Sources reported that Vick did in fact meet with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to talk about his possible full re-instatement to the league for the regular season and it was announced in the afternoon that Goodell would allow Vick to be eligible again in week 3, effectively suspending him for 2 games. So it looks like the speculation was true on this and I think the decision is a fair one. Vick seems to be adjusting well and I have heard no reports of Vick taking any missteps. On the field Thursday night, Vick scored his first touchdown since returning to the field. He was able to score on a 2-yard run after faking a handoff early in the second quarter which gave the Eagles a 14-7 lead at the time. But that was as good as it got for Vick. He looked rusty and was sacked 4 times, threw an interception and lost a fumble. He was 7 for 11 for 26 yards and ran the ball 7 times for 35 yards. Obviously, you could not expect a magnificent performance after so long away, but it is clear that Vick is far from being dynamic right now. He will not be able to get back on the playing field for three weeks, so the Eagles had better hope Vick is able to shake off the cobwebs and perfect a few gadget plays in practice because he won’t help Philly if he plays the way he did tonight.
- Other NFL News and Notes: In an interview with USA Today, Bengals WR Chris Henry says that the suspensions he has received from the NFL have helped him to focus and try to improve himself to be a better professional. Henry has been arrested 5 times and has missed 14 games due to his conduct since being drafted in 2005. QB Carson Palmer says he has seen the changes in Henry and Henry has been Cincinnati’s best WR in the preseason. This is good to hear and I hope Henry stays on the right path. Under normal circumstances, I would say that this guy doesn’t deserve any more opportunities, but he has “done his time” with the suspensions and if he has truly learned his lessons and has grown up, more power to him…In shocking news, Vikings QB Brett Favre will not play in the team’s preseason finale against Dallas on Friday. Wow, who could have predicted that? Feel the sarcasm people! There were also reports coming out that said the Vikings were gauging interest in the trade market for QB Tarvaris Jackson. I’m not sure if this is such a wise move. Jackson has shown slow improvement and potential and he may inherit the starting job next year if Favre moves on. However, it seems unwise to keep 4 QBs on the roster, so maybe dealing T-Jack is the best move. Time will tell…
- One of the NBA’s great defensive players retired on Thursday as Bruce Bowen called it a career at the age of 38. Bowen helped the Spurs win three NBA championships this decade and was named to the NBA all-defensive 1st or 2nd team every year from 2000-2008. Bowen decided to step away to pursue off-court business and community projects and is also considering a career in broadcasting. I wish Bowen well in whatever he decides to pursue. He was one of the classy guys in the NBA and one hell of a defender on the perimeter. Bowen is the kind of player that every team needs to be successful and his legacy will be cemented with the great Spurs teams of this decade. Congratulations to him on a fine career.
- In order to spice up the world of golf, it seems like Tiger Woods wants to create a little verbal sparring and cause some controversy…well, maybe. On the eve of the Deutsche Bank Championship, Tiger said that Ernie Els did not work hard enough after undergoing major knee surgery back in 2005. He said that Ernie is not a really big worker physically and that you need to work hard to come back from an ACL injury. I am not sure what prompted those comments or what Els might think of them, but Tiger is probably right. Since 2006, when Els announced he had a 3 year plan to challenge Tiger for the #1 world ranking, Ernie has only gone backwards in the rankings and is now just starting to show signs of regaining his form. No one works harder at his craft than Tiger Woods, but that seems like a pretty good shot he is taking at Els. I think it is the truth though because Ernie Els was great in the first half of the decade and he has been slowly sliding downward since then.
- Reports are saying that the New York Mets will not change the dimensions of Citi Field for the 2010 season despite the lack of home runs being hit. Injuries are hurting the cause of course, but the Mets have hit only 77 home runs and Citi Field is averaging 1.67 HRs per game compared to 2.15 in Shea Stadium last year. I’m wondering why this is even being debated and talked about. I realize that fans want to see the excitement of home runs, but no one ever said that hitting homers is a guarantee. The ballpark is how it is and people should stop complaining. There is a great deal more to the game than jacking out home runs and if they bring the dimensions in, then the opposing teams will have a better shot at hitting them just like the Mets will. The Mets should focus on building a better team that doesn’t choke every year instead of worrying about the ballpark. Be happy you have a brand new facility and play the damn game.
- U.S. Open Update: American Melanie Oudin pulled off the biggest upset of the U.S. Open so far by beating #4 seed Elena Dementieva 5-7, 6-4, 6-3. This was then followed by #5 seed Jelena Jankovic being ousted in a 3rd set tiebreaker by Yaroslava Shvedova. Women’s #1 seed Dinara Safina again needed 3 sets to survive and advance past the 2nd round. Seems like it is only a matter of time before she gets bounced and I would pretty much guarantee she will not win the tournament. At this point, who knows who will win on the women’s side with all these upsets happening? One the men’s side of the draw, it was business as usual once again with no major upsets occurring and #5 seed Andy Roddick moving on.
Reports started to surface that Mysterio gave an interview with Spanish language newspaper The Record and he claimed in the interview that he was not at fault for this; it was the WWE’s fault. Wow, big mistake there Rey. Mysterio told the newspaper that he had a legal prescription for the substance that triggered a positive result. Now under the WWE’s Wellness Policy, a wrestler has up to 72 hours after a positive test result to produce proof that the substance in question has been taken for a legitimate medical purpose and they have a prescription for it. Mysterio claims that his doctor failed to clarify one of the discovered substances and that when the WWE asked for the proof, Rey was out of the country promoting Summerslam. When he returned to the states, he was informed of the suspension and was also told his doctor would “take care of it”, but that did not occur.
The fact that these details have emerged and that Rey vehemently denies he is at fault could be the least of his worries. The interview that Mysterio gave to The Record was not authorized by the WWE, so you can just imagine how Vince McMahon felt about that. All interviews that WWE performers give need to be cleared by management and Rey did not get clearance for this one. As you could expect, McMahon was extremely mad and reports indicate that there was a conference call held to determine what they could possibly do to “send a message” to Mysterio and other talent. Consideration was given to unmasking Mysterio on Smackdown. This did not occur and I feel that was the right move. If they did not pull the trigger on that during Rey’s hot feud with Chris Jericho, then it would make absolutely no sense to do it over this. Mysterio’s unmasking could still make the company money at some point in the future, so that was a smart decision. There was also talk of making Rey’s exit a “blink and you’ll miss it” type of thing, but that did not happen either. It seems like the one thing that was decided on was to publicize the incident instead of burying it. On WWE.com on Wednesday, Mysterio’s suspension was the top headline. Usually in the past, suspensions did not make the front page and could only be found in WWE’s corporate section. So this could have been part of the punishment. No other word has come out in regards to additional penalties, but I would not be surprised to see Mysterio buried down the card and losing matches when he comes back.
So with all this said, the big question is: who is really at fault in this situation? After giving it some thought, I think I side with the WWE on this one. First of all, they have a clear Wellness Policy that the talent should be well aware of by now. You can make jokes about how effective this policy really is, but the fact remains that it does exist and performers have been suspended in the past. Because of this, Rey Mysterio can not claim any sort of ignorance on the matter. Second, why did Mysterio not inform the WWE when he first got the prescription? Correct me if I am wrong, but shouldn’t a wrestler (or any athlete in any sport for that matter) let the company know about what drugs they will be putting in their body right away, especially when drug testing is in place? I say the answer is yes and either Mysterio or his doctor dropped the ball. If this was a legitimate prescription in the first place, then why not be upfront about it?
But let’s say fine, Mysterio did not have to report this right away and he felt he was doing nothing wrong. That’s all well and good, but what happened to the 72 hour period to produce proof then? I think Mysterio is just making his international trip into an excuse. Don’t we have phones? Don’t we have fax machines? If Mysterio was alerted to his positive test, why wasn’t he on the phone right away with his doctor and telling him to send the WWE proof of the prescription? It seems to me that Mysterio was too lazy or too cocky and he dropped the ball. Or maybe there is more to this story. Maybe the prescription that Mysterio received was something he should not have gotten in the first place. I don’t know and I am not going to try and crucify the man, but it seems clear that he messed up on this, not the WWE. All the WWE was doing was trying to abide by their policy and not make it into a joke by letting a popular performer slide.
Reports also indicated that Mysterio was expected to talk to management at the Smackdown tapings in an effort to explain his side of things and try to get the suspension overturned. Obviously, that did not occur and I believe it would have been very foolish if the WWE even entertained the idea of overturning it. If they were to do that, it would open up a bad can of worms, so to speak. It would allow for other wrestlers to try and skirt the system and take whatever drugs they want and then come back later and say “my doctor forgot to send you the prescription” or some other excuse. Rey got caught being dumb or lazy and even if this wasn’t totally his fault, he now has to pay the consequences.
I have to wonder if all of this could have been avoided. If Mysterio had injuries still nagging him, then he should have asked for time off. I am a little sick and tired of hearing the notion that a guy will “lose his spot” if he takes time off. Rey must realize how popular he is and how much the WWE wants him to connect to their Latino audience. I think it would be highly unlikely that he would “lose his spot” if he took some time off to heal up a little. Look at what Chris Jericho did. He took 2 years off and came back to a pretty good spot. People are also speculating that Jeff Hardy is now going to do the same. I think it is foolish to believe you will become a nobody if you need to take some time off to rest your body, especially when you are the top Latino star in the company. And maybe if the WWE just allowed Rey to lose the IC Title to Dolph Ziggler and not drag it out so long, then Mysterio could have done that and then took a few weeks off.
All in all, this is just seems like a sad situation that probably did not need to happen. It is my belief though that the responsibility ultimately fell on Rey Mysterio and he messed something up. Even if he did not intend to “cheat”, I think he would have had proper time and opportunity to fix the situation before he got a suspension. I hope that Rey uses the time off to rest his body and hopefully he can come back and not be made a joke of. It would benefit both parties to fix the situation and be professional about it from this point on.
The Game’s Quick Hits
Ravens Notes: The Ravens had their final preseason game last night and defeated the Atlanta Falcons 20-3 to finish the preseason 4-0. As everyone knows, the last preseason game does not feature significant playing time for the starters and coaches mainly use the game to figure out which players will make the cut and be on the 53 man roster. So there is not much to report from last night, although I did like what I saw in the 1st quarter. The Ravens mostly sent out the second unit defense, but LB Terrell Suggs did see his first action of the preseason after recovering from injury. Suggs looked pretty good and was able to record a sack. This definitely bodes well for the defense and it looks like all systems are a go for week 1. QB John Beck also did a nice job driving the offense to a touchdown on their first series. I was encouraged by the play of WR Demetrius Williams. He looked pretty good and caught some nice balls, so maybe he will be able to step up and be the productive #3 WR that the team needs behind Derrick Mason and Mark Clayton. Another consistent target for QB Joe Flacco will only help get the Ravens where they want to go.
Boise State/Oregon Recap: The college football season kicked off with a marquee matchup between #14 Boise State and #16 Oregon. Many said that Boise State had to win the game to have any hopes of a BCS bowl game and if they did win, they would have a shot at going undefeated. Well it seems that Boise State was ready for the challenge as they beat Oregon 19-8. The first half was dominated by Boise State as they took a 13-0 lead into the half. Boise had no trouble moving the ball on offense and actually should have been up by 20+ points. Trouble in the red zone prevented this however. Oregon looked absolutely horrible in the first half, recording no 1st downs and developing no rhythm on offense. In the second half, it was more of the same as Boise State drove right down the field to score and make it 19-0. Oregon finally made a 1st down midway through the 3rd quarter and they were able to get some momentum and scored to make it 19-8. The game got very sloppy after that though and both teams traded turnovers and missed opportunities as the clock ticked down to zero. Boise dominated the game in terms of time of possession and ball control while Oregon looked completely overmatched and not prepared for the game and that is surprising to see from a highly ranked Pac 10 team. I am not sure that Boise can beat the elite level teams this year, but they got the win they needed to start the season. And on a final note, that idiot Oregon RB LeGarrette Blount should be suspended for at least one game for that cheap sucker punch he pulled on a Boise State player. There is no place for that crap and his ass wrote a check with his mouth that his ability could not cash on the field.
- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fired offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski Thursday morning and replaced him with quarterbacks coach Greg Olson. Jagodzinski turned down the Bucs offer to take over as the quarterbacks coach. If you remember, Jagodzinski was formerly the head coach of Boston College and was fired when he went against the university’s wishes and interviewed for the New York Jets head coaching vacancy that ultimately went to Rex Ryan. Sources are saying that conflict has been brewing since early in training camp and Jagodzinski was not suited to be an offensive coordinator and his style of teaching and general coaching philosophy was made for head coaching. Well gee, that shouldn’t take a genius to figure out. It seems like Jagodzinski really screwed up in this situation. He had a great job at Boston College, but he obviously let ambition get in the way. He reached for an NFL head coaching job too early in his career and he had to move down to a coordinator position that now seems like he was not suited for. This will not reflect well on him and I don’t know if he can expect to get another good head coaching position like he had at Boston College. I think he has now set his career back a few years and it was a dumb move for him to make.
- Back to the Michael Vick watch around here…Vick was expected to see extensive action and start the 2nd half at QB for Philadelphia in their final preseason game Thursday night. Sources reported that Vick did in fact meet with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to talk about his possible full re-instatement to the league for the regular season and it was announced in the afternoon that Goodell would allow Vick to be eligible again in week 3, effectively suspending him for 2 games. So it looks like the speculation was true on this and I think the decision is a fair one. Vick seems to be adjusting well and I have heard no reports of Vick taking any missteps. On the field Thursday night, Vick scored his first touchdown since returning to the field. He was able to score on a 2-yard run after faking a handoff early in the second quarter which gave the Eagles a 14-7 lead at the time. But that was as good as it got for Vick. He looked rusty and was sacked 4 times, threw an interception and lost a fumble. He was 7 for 11 for 26 yards and ran the ball 7 times for 35 yards. Obviously, you could not expect a magnificent performance after so long away, but it is clear that Vick is far from being dynamic right now. He will not be able to get back on the playing field for three weeks, so the Eagles had better hope Vick is able to shake off the cobwebs and perfect a few gadget plays in practice because he won’t help Philly if he plays the way he did tonight.
- Other NFL News and Notes: In an interview with USA Today, Bengals WR Chris Henry says that the suspensions he has received from the NFL have helped him to focus and try to improve himself to be a better professional. Henry has been arrested 5 times and has missed 14 games due to his conduct since being drafted in 2005. QB Carson Palmer says he has seen the changes in Henry and Henry has been Cincinnati’s best WR in the preseason. This is good to hear and I hope Henry stays on the right path. Under normal circumstances, I would say that this guy doesn’t deserve any more opportunities, but he has “done his time” with the suspensions and if he has truly learned his lessons and has grown up, more power to him…In shocking news, Vikings QB Brett Favre will not play in the team’s preseason finale against Dallas on Friday. Wow, who could have predicted that? Feel the sarcasm people! There were also reports coming out that said the Vikings were gauging interest in the trade market for QB Tarvaris Jackson. I’m not sure if this is such a wise move. Jackson has shown slow improvement and potential and he may inherit the starting job next year if Favre moves on. However, it seems unwise to keep 4 QBs on the roster, so maybe dealing T-Jack is the best move. Time will tell…
- One of the NBA’s great defensive players retired on Thursday as Bruce Bowen called it a career at the age of 38. Bowen helped the Spurs win three NBA championships this decade and was named to the NBA all-defensive 1st or 2nd team every year from 2000-2008. Bowen decided to step away to pursue off-court business and community projects and is also considering a career in broadcasting. I wish Bowen well in whatever he decides to pursue. He was one of the classy guys in the NBA and one hell of a defender on the perimeter. Bowen is the kind of player that every team needs to be successful and his legacy will be cemented with the great Spurs teams of this decade. Congratulations to him on a fine career.
- In order to spice up the world of golf, it seems like Tiger Woods wants to create a little verbal sparring and cause some controversy…well, maybe. On the eve of the Deutsche Bank Championship, Tiger said that Ernie Els did not work hard enough after undergoing major knee surgery back in 2005. He said that Ernie is not a really big worker physically and that you need to work hard to come back from an ACL injury. I am not sure what prompted those comments or what Els might think of them, but Tiger is probably right. Since 2006, when Els announced he had a 3 year plan to challenge Tiger for the #1 world ranking, Ernie has only gone backwards in the rankings and is now just starting to show signs of regaining his form. No one works harder at his craft than Tiger Woods, but that seems like a pretty good shot he is taking at Els. I think it is the truth though because Ernie Els was great in the first half of the decade and he has been slowly sliding downward since then.
- Reports are saying that the New York Mets will not change the dimensions of Citi Field for the 2010 season despite the lack of home runs being hit. Injuries are hurting the cause of course, but the Mets have hit only 77 home runs and Citi Field is averaging 1.67 HRs per game compared to 2.15 in Shea Stadium last year. I’m wondering why this is even being debated and talked about. I realize that fans want to see the excitement of home runs, but no one ever said that hitting homers is a guarantee. The ballpark is how it is and people should stop complaining. There is a great deal more to the game than jacking out home runs and if they bring the dimensions in, then the opposing teams will have a better shot at hitting them just like the Mets will. The Mets should focus on building a better team that doesn’t choke every year instead of worrying about the ballpark. Be happy you have a brand new facility and play the damn game.
- U.S. Open Update: American Melanie Oudin pulled off the biggest upset of the U.S. Open so far by beating #4 seed Elena Dementieva 5-7, 6-4, 6-3. This was then followed by #5 seed Jelena Jankovic being ousted in a 3rd set tiebreaker by Yaroslava Shvedova. Women’s #1 seed Dinara Safina again needed 3 sets to survive and advance past the 2nd round. Seems like it is only a matter of time before she gets bounced and I would pretty much guarantee she will not win the tournament. At this point, who knows who will win on the women’s side with all these upsets happening? One the men’s side of the draw, it was business as usual once again with no major upsets occurring and #5 seed Andy Roddick moving on.
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