Training camps for the NHL are now open and like usual, it seems that the Washington Capitals’ Alexander Ovechkin is making waves for something. This time, he has stirred a bit of controversy over NHL participation in the Olympic Games. During the summer, players from around the league attended Olympic camps and the process is underway to finalize national squads for the 2010 Winter Olympics taking place in Vancouver in February. However, there has been no commitment from the NHL about players taking part in the 2014 Winter Games. Why is this such a big problem for Ovechkin? The 2014 Olympics are taking place in his home country of Russia. Ovechkin has told ESPN that he will play in those games regardless of if the NHL sanctions his participation or not. So the big question becomes, what should happen in this situation?
"Nobody can say to me, 'You can't play for your country in the Olympic Games,'" Ovechkin said. Obviously, he should have every right to make this decision and I fully support his stance on the matter. When you consider that people can go off to war and die when they are 18-years old, surely an athlete should be able to go represent his county in the Olympics. Ovechkin told ESPN that he will risk suspension from the league and the Capitals to go to Russia and play if needs be. He also indicated that other Russian superstars like the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Evgeni Malkin and the Atlanta Thrashers’ Ilya Kovalchuk have pledged to play in the Games whether the NHL is formally attending or not. If this were to happen, it would put pressure on other Russian players to do the same and it could be a domino effect where other nations would want their top players participating as well. And if you talk to the NHL Players’ Association, it is clear that the players want to support International hockey and want to play in the Olympics. So what is the problem then? As always, the root seems to be money.
Olympic Games participation has apparently gotten mixed reviews from the owners around the NHL. It seems many do not want to shut down the league for two to three weeks, especially for games that will likely not be televised in prime time. Well, there you go. It’s all about the money. The greedy owners do not want to risk losing any revenue and they can’t stand to not make any money from home games for 2-3 weeks. This really makes no sense to me. First of all, during Olympic years, the NHL still plays a full 82-game schedule, so there would be no revenue loss from decreased ticket sales due to fewer games. And I thought that the Olympics are designed to showcase the sport. You know…having people watch the best athletes in a sport compete at the highest level. I don’t see how that could possibly decrease interest in the sport. Frankly, I don’t see how the NHL or the owners would be losing any money at all. The only risk, of course, is the potential that a star player gets injured. I can understand this concern. The Washington Capitals would surely be pissed off if Alex Ovechkin suffered an injury at the Olympics. If he would be out for an extended period, the Caps would risk losing many more games and potentially missing the playoffs, and that would then start to hit the owners’ pockets. However, any All-star competition is like that and you just can’t predict when and where an injury will occur.
But with every risk, there is a reward. The Olympics are a great showcase for the game of hockey and it will give the NHL tons of added exposure. I personally love watching Olympic hockey. The rink is bigger, so that gives an advantage to the more highly skilled players. The action is faster and the stars are allowed to shine. The talent level is amazing when you put the best players together on one team and the games are very exciting. Throw in all the drama of tournament play, the craziness of the fans, and the sheer desire of each and every player wanting to do well for their country, and you have the makings of an event you want to watch. In my opinion, the benefits of allowing NHL participation every 4 years in the Olympics outweigh the negatives. The owners need to recognize that the Olympics are for the good of the game and their greedy pockets will not be lightened by them.
Ovechkin is calling for a meeting of the NHL players to discuss participation in the 2014 Games. He also claims that the players, not the owners, are the ones losing money. He apparently is talking about “escrow”, the money taken out of the players' paychecks to ensure that the NHLPA-NHL split of league revenues is as mandated in the collective bargaining agreement. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was true and that is just one more reason why I hope the NHLPA and all the players stick to their guns and demand Olympic participation.
When it comes to a player of Ovechkin’s caliber, I think the league would be in a tough spot anyway. If Ovechkin did bolt for Russia to play in 2014, what would the league do? The NHL and the Capitals would be within their rights to suspend him, but would you really do that to one of the NHL’s brightest lights and the face of the Washington franchise? It might be possible to give special exemptions out to allow players to go and participate, but then that would toy with the competitive balance of NHL games that would still be happening those 2-3 weeks. I believe the NHL would be in a tough spot and they have no choice but to continue participating in the Olympics.
The bottom line here is that hockey is a great game and the Olympic Games are a great platform for it. People want to see the best athletes in the world competing at the highest level. When you bring it all together, there exists the chance that some magic will occur. All that will do is help the game of hockey, not hurt it. Unfortunately, the NHL still lags behind the other 3 major sports for exposure and fans. I really do not see how pulling out of the Olympics would ever help. I hope Ovechkin is able to lead the charge so that the NHL will fully participate in 2014. I know I will be watching if it happens.
The Game’s Quick Hits
ECW Recap: I was interested to see what would go down on last night’s ECW since William Regal lost to Christian in the ECW Championship match at Breaking Point. Right away it looked like we would get some answers as ECW GM Tiffany came out to the ring, but she was quickly interrupted by Regal, Ezekiel Jackson, and Vladimir Kozlov. Regal was in classic heel form as he complemented Tiffany on her looks and on the “great job” she is doing as GM. Of course this led right into Regal asking why his boys were banned from ringside at Breaking Point and he followed that up by asking for another shot at Christian’s title. Tiffany responded that she was only ensuring a 1 on 1 match at the PPV and that it is important to have different challengers for the championship, so Regal would not be getting another opportunity. Well I will certainly give credit for that. Unfortunately, Regal did look like a chump in losing 2 title matches to Christian, so I don’t really see why he should get another shot. Instead, Tiffany announced a #1 contender’s battle royal as the main event to see who would be next in line for a title match. Before she left though, Tiffany booked Regal, who was in a dapper suit mind you, in a match against the Hurricane. Regal and Hurricane had a short match which ended with Regal cracking his knee against Hurricane’s skull and picking up the win. Hurricane was then attacked after the match by Paul Burchill, who vowed to not stop until he showed everyone how much of a fraud Gregory Helms is. So it looks like that feud will continue.
Before the main event battle royal, Yoshi Tatsu was getting English lessons from Goldust. Yeah, I know. Anyway, Zack Ryder woo woo wooed his way into the locker room and Yoshi let him know that Goldust taught him how to say loser in English…which oddly translates to Zack Ryder according to Yoshi. So, the two proceeded to have a pretty good match. I am not sure how far up the ladder either one of these two can elevate, but they are solid hands in the ring and can put on a good performance. Yoshi was able to hit a kick to the back of Ryder’s head to pick up the win.
It was then time for the #1 contender’s battle royal, featuring 10 ECW superstars. I won’t give a long winded recap of it, but going into the match, I pretty much thought it was going to come down to Jackson, Kozlov, and Tommy Dreamer as the final 3. For some odd reason, the crowd was behind Goldust and wanted him to win. Sheamus was eliminated during the course of the match and then was able to hit a shot on Shelton Benjamin which caused his elimination. The two brawled on the outside of the ring, so it does indeed look like those two will have some matches in the near future. Surprisingly, Jackson did not even make the final 4 of the match. Goldust had a nice exchange with Ryder and Zack was able to outsmart Goldust and eliminate him. The final 3 were Ryder, Kozlov, and Dreamer. I thought for sure Kozlov was going to take it, but I was surprised again as Dreamer low-bridged Kozlov to eliminate him and then was promptly dumped over the top by Ryder. So folks, your new #1 contender for the ECW Championship is Zack Ryder. I give the WWE credit for giving someone new a shot and Ryder certainly has the ability to produce some good matches. It will be interesting to see how he does against Christian in the coming weeks. Woo woo woo indeed…
- The Philadelphia Eagles activated QB Michael Vick from the exempt list and he is now officially on their 53-man roster and is eligible to practice with the team, even though he is suspended for this week’s game against the Saints. The injury to QB Donovan McNabb seemingly forced the Eagles into doing this. To make room for Vick, the Eagles released WR Hank Baskett. The team had been trying to trade Baskett to get some value for him, but there were no takers. Philadelphia carried 7 wide receivers into the season on their roster, so it is not really a surprise that Baskett was let go. Vick will now practice Wednesday and be in the rotation with QB Kevin Kolb and newly signed QB Jeff Garcia. So it looks like the Eagles are hedging their bets that McNabb might not be able to play this week or even next week and want to get Vick some extra time. I still don’t think Vick is anywhere near ready to play at quarterback full time, but the practice reps will help him regardless of how he is used. It should be a great game this Sunday against the Saints and if it turns into a shootout and McNabb is not playing, things could be mighty interesting.
- In other Eagles’ news, sources are reporting that RB Brian Westbrook will now become a free agent after next season. So how is this possible when Westbrook signed a 5-year, $32 million extension last August? Apparently, there was a revision to the contract and buried in the 60 pages of legal junk and contract terms, the team had a clause to trigger the extension of the deal from 2011 to 2013. This clause is a $7 million option bonus due in 2010 and the Eagles did not exercise this clause. Therefore, there is no extension and Westbrook’s contract ends next year. To borrow a phrase from Dave Chappelle as Rick James, that is cooooold blooooded! Really, that is a savvy and calculating move to get out of the deal. With Westbrook’s history of injuries and the fact that he turned 30 on September 2, I can see why the Eagles are going to let him go. As everyone knows, running backs usually hit a wall at age 30 and almost become untouchable as far as some teams are concerned. It is extremely tough for an “older” running back to get a premier starting role and it looks like Westbrook will be hung out to dry. The Eagles did the same thing to Brian Dawkins this year and they might cut bait with Donovan McNabb as well. Philly fans will have to hope that the team can reload it seems.
- Kansas City Chiefs Coach Todd Haley said on Tuesday that QB Matt Cassel is still questionable and he is not sure whether he will be able to play this Sunday. If he still can’t go, QB Brodie Croyle will get the start once again. The Chiefs also have signed WR Bobby Wade after he was recently cut by the Minnesota Vikings. The Chiefs actually impressed me a little bit in their loss to the Ravens and I think they could steal a few wins this season if Cassel comes back healthy and gives them steady play. Wade will help their offense, but the defense is going to have to step it up because the Ravens and QB Joe Flacco ripped them to shreds.
- Oklahoma Sooners Coach Bob Stoops is not talking about QB Sam Bradford’s injury or giving any sort of indication as to how he is progressing. When asked about whether Bradford would be able to return this week or had resumed throwing, Stoops said he's "not even going to go there." Well it seems as though Stoops is borrowing a page out of Eric Mangini’s “secret” playbook. I can understand his decision though. In Oklahoma, any speculation about Bradford would likely dominate the news and Stoops wants to keep the focus on the field and on this weekend’s game against Tulsa. I highly doubt that Bradford would be ready to play this week, but when the October 3rd game against Miami rolls around, it might be a different story.
- USC QB Matt Barkley was unable to throw for the second straight day in practice, raising the possibility that he will not be able to play this Saturday against Washington. Backup QB Aaron Corp has been taking the reps with the 1st team offense and looks healthy and ready to play if needed. The injury to Barkley is only a bone bruise and not that serious, so it might be best to rest him if he is not 100% to avoid further injury. Washington is certainly a long ways away from being a powerhouse like in the past, so USC should be able to win with either Barkley or Corp behind center.
- The October 1st NHL opener between the Capitals and Boston Bruins is fast approaching and both teams are already dealing with the loss of a forward for the game. Capitals forward Tomas Fleischmann will miss the start of the regular season with a blood clot in his leg. The team thinks the clot might have formed during Fleischmann's long flight home to the Czech Republic at the end of last season and he will not return to practice until early October. That certainly is a little bit of a freak injury and not a good way to start for Fleischmann. He is an important role player for the Caps and he continues to slowly improve. He is still only 25-years old and he had a career high 19 goals last year. Every team needs secondary scoring, so Fleischmann’s absence doesn’t help at the start the season. For the Bruins, it looks like center David Krejci will not be ready to start the season after undergoing offseason hip surgery. There was hope he could beat the projections of returning in early November, but that now seems unlikely. Krejci was Boston’s second-leading scorer last year with 73 points even though he played in pain all year. He now wants to be 100%, so there is only a slight chance he makes the opener. Krejci is more important to the Bruins than Fleischmann is to the Caps, so I hope Krejci takes it easy and skips the opener.
- Boston Red Sox P Daisuke Matsuzaka returned from a 3 month stint on the disabled list and pitched 6 shutout innings to help Boston beat the Angels last night 4-1. DH David Ortiz also hit his record-breaking 270th HR as a designated hitter in the game. Matsuzaka is hoping to prove that he will be able to help the Red Sox in the playoffs and he is looking to get the #4 spot in the rotation locked down. It appears likely that Boston and Los Angeles are heading toward a 1st round matchup in the playoffs, so tonight might have been a preview of what the Angels can expect. Clearly, the Yankees are the favorite in the AL, but I would not count out Boston. The Red Sox have beaten the Angels the past 2 years in the 1st round of the playoffs, so if history holds, they could get a shot at the Yankees and a healthy and productive “Dice-K” will only help their chances if that happens.
- A group of seven Native Americans are trying to go to the Supreme Court because they find the Washington Redskins name offensive. The group claims that the name defames Native Americans and has been working since 1992 to have the Redskins’ trademarks declared invalid. Apparently, a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office panel ruled in their favor in 1999, but since then, other judges have ruled against them and have stated the group waited too long to bring their suit in the first place. Are you kidding me here? I really can’t stand stuff like this. The Redskins name does not defame anyone. The Washington organization is not trying to take advantage of Native Americans nor are they trying to make fun of them or insinuate that there is anything wrong with the group. It a freakin’ team mascot basically…proud Indian warriors going into battle and trying to strive for excellence and victory. Come on man, give me a break! These guys have spent 17 years doing this and I am sure they have dropped a great deal of money too. Don’t they have something better to do? I have always hated the Redskins football team, but I say that this is downright stupid and the organization is not trying to take advantage of Native Americans or put them down in any shape or fashion. I’m sorry, but this is not something THAT offensive. Get over yourselves.
Showing posts with label oklahoma. Show all posts
Showing posts with label oklahoma. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
NFL Division by Division Season Preview
The time is finally here. The final cuts have been made and the rosters have been trimmed down to 53. All of the meaningless preseason games are over and every team has a fresh start and a clean slate. Indeed, NFL kickoff weekend is upon us and the season starts on Thursday night with a great game between the Titans and Steelers. So today I wanted to give a general overview of how I see every division shaking out this year.
NFC East:
My Division Favorite – Eagles by a slight margin
Playoff Contenders – Eagles, Giants, Cowboys
The NFC East is always one of the best divisions in the NFL and it should be no different in 2009. I think it will be a knock down, drag out fight for the division title between the Eagles and Giants this year. Both teams come into this season looking very similar. The Eagles have been built around the defensive side of the ball for years and they have always gotten enough from QB Donovan McNabb (even through injuries) and RB Brian Westbrook to be perennial playoff participants. For whatever reason though, the Eagles just have not been able to get over the hump and a Super Bowl title has eluded them. After last season’s late surge, the Eagles come into 2009 with renewed hopes though. QB Michael Vick was given a 2nd chance by Philadelphia and he should be able to help the Eagles’ offense be more dynamic and unpredictable, but it remains to be seen how much he will help. The Eagles will once again hope that McNabb and Westbrook stay health and that they continue to get development from their receivers. The defense may not be as dominant as it has been, especially with the passing of Jim Johnson in the offseason.
The New York Giants are built the same way as the Eagles. They rely on a stingy defense to shut down other teams and then ask QB Eli Manning to do enough to manage the game while they pound it out on the ground. The problem for the Giants this year is at the WR position. After the sad situation with Plaxico Burress, the Giants have no big playmaker at WR. The loss of Burress clearly hurt the team last year, as Manning struggled to do anything in the passing game. The Giants did not do anything to bring in a dynamic WR this offseason, so those concerns remain. The Giants and Eagles should be battling atop the division and I really think it could go either way depending on how the two games between both teams shake out this year. I give the slight edge to the Eagles, but the Giants could easily walk away with the division title as well.
The Dallas Cowboys are hoping for a turnaround this season after releasing WR Terrell Owens and hopefully improving team chemistry. The problem though is that the Cowboys are really no different than they were last year and they are minus a future Hall of Fame WR. I am not sure Dallas will be able to take a step up and they should remain behind the Eagles and Giants. I think the Cowboys have a shot to battle for a Wild Card spot if they get some luck and bring consistent play to the field. They do have a good defense and QB Tony Romo can be one of the best in the league sometimes. As for the Washington Redskins, I see them as a .500 team and they should not challenge for a playoff spot. They have the talent to look like world beaters some weeks, but then other weeks they will look mediocre at best. I think they will lose enough divisional games to keep them in the bottom of the division.
NFC North:
My Division Favorite – Vikings by a small margin
Playoff Contenders – Vikings, Packers, Bears
Just like the NFC East, the NFC North is always a great division to watch. The games are rough and hard hitting and the division title race always seems to come down to the final week of the season. The addition of QB Brett Favre to the Minnesota Vikings gives them the edge to win the division this year in my opinion. In the past few seasons, the Vikings have been able to build up a really good defense and the drafting of RB Adrian Peterson instantly gave Minnesota a dangerous running game. However, inconsistent play and mistakes from the QB position has held them back. Brett Favre will be able to come in and offer stability to the position. He knows the offense like the back of his hand and I believe he will not have to be a gunslinger this year. If Favre is able to limit mistakes and lean on Peterson and the defense to do some heavy lifting, it should be a recipe for success. An injury to Favre would obviously derail this plan, but right now, Favre should only develop more chemistry with the offense and the Vikings should be in great position.
Behind the Vikings, it should be a great battle between the Packers and Bears. Both of these teams have the potential to sneak up and win the division if the Vikings run into problems and the Favre experiment does not work. The Packers will be driven by how good QB Aaron Rogers will be this year. Rogers is starting to show that he can be an elite level star in the league and he will carry the offense. The question is if he can get solid help from the running game and if he will get big play help from his receivers. The Packers will also need their defense to step up and try to allow Rogers to win games for them. The Bears have no trouble on the defensive side of the ball and now the franchise may have finally found an answer at QB with the acquisition of Jay Cutler. The Bears have relied on defense and a strong running game to win for years, but now they might be able to hurt teams through the passing game. The Bears still lack a weapon at WR though, so Cutler will only be able to do so much and it remains to be seen how quickly things will gel for the offense. I do think that the Packers and Bears both have a shot at contending for the Wild Card spots, and maybe the division, if they catch some breaks. And as for the lowly Detroit Lions, they will still suffer through a horrible season, but I do think they can get 2 or 3 wins this year. Expect growing pains from rookie QB Matthew Stafford, but if he develops, the Lions could finally be on a path to respectability.
NFC South:
My Division Favorite – Falcons by a small margin over the Panthers
Playoff Contenders – Falcons and Panthers
I feel that the balance of power has shifted to the Atlanta Falcons this year and I believe they will overtake the Panthers and win the division this season. QB Matt Ryan will only continue to develop and he has a wealth of weapons in RB Michael Turner, WR Roddy White, and newly acquired TE Tony Gonzalez. The Falcons also sport a pretty good defense and they should have enough to win the division this year. The taste of success, combined with playoff disappointment, should be enough to motivate Atlanta and give them confidence heading into this year. I don’t know what it is exactly, but I just have a feeling that the Panthers will not be as good this season. QB Jake Delhomme is another year older and the Panthers are still one dimensional in the passing game with WR Steve Smith. The Panthers can pound it out on the ground however, and they still have a really good defense, but I just have a hunch they will not be as good this season. They did not look particularly good against the Ravens in the most important preseason game, so maybe that skews my thinking. I do think the Panthers will strongly contend for a Wild Card spot though, but they could be shut out with the wealth of contenders from the NFC East and North.
The New Orleans Saints will be a fun team to watch with QB Drew Brees running their high powered offense, but I think their defense will hold them back and they will fall short of the playoffs again this year. The Saints pretty much rely on their offense to just outscore opponents, and usually that is not the way to go for long term success. One too many off days from the offense will bring about too many losses and I can only see the Saints being around .500 this year. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be bringing up the rear of this division. The Bucs are still fairly solid on defense, but they are far from the dominant unit they used to be. The Buccaneers biggest problem will be an anemic offense though. QB Byron Leftwich is not consistent enough and the team lacks enough weapons to get the job done. Add in a rookie head coach and I see a team that will be mediocre and finish below .500.
NFC West:
My Division Favorite – Cardinals by a decent margin
Playoff Contenders – Cardinals
The NFC West should basically be a one team division this year. The Arizona Cardinals have become the class of the division and they should have no trouble winning it and being the only playoff representative from the division. The loser of the Super Bowl has had trouble qualifying for the playoffs in the next season, but the weakness of the NFC West should prevent that problem for Arizona. QB Kurt Warner returns with his dynamic duo of WRs in Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin and the addition of rookie RB Chris Wells will really help the offense be potent. Throw in a solid and improving defense and the Cardinals should have no trouble winning the division.
The 49ers and Seahawks should be battling for 2nd place, but the ceiling for both of those teams should be around .500. Behind Coach Mike Singletary, the 49ers are slowly improving. The have a pretty tough defense, but are still held back by the offense. They will try to pound it out on the ground, but they lack the ability to have balance because the passing game is weak. Rookie WR Michael Crabtree could have really helped QB Shaun Hill, but he decided to be a fool and “diva” and his contract dispute will hurt the team. The Seahawks get a healthy Matt Hasselbeck back at QB, but even with the addition of WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh, the Seahawks will still be lacking on both offense and defense and they don’t have enough to make a complete turnaround from last year. The St. Louis Rams will most likely be in the basement of the division. Their only bright spot is RB Steven Jackson, but he is not enough to overcome the other problems and it will be a struggle for the Rams as they continue to try and rebuild.
AFC East:
My Division Favorite – Patriots by a solid margin
Playoff Contenders – Patriots and Dolphins
Barring another injury to QB Tom Brady or another bizarre scenario, the Patriots should be back on top of the division this year. It seems as if Brady’s shoulder is fine and the “injury” he suffered will just be a small scare. The Patriots looked great on offense in the preseason and Brady and WR Randy Moss look ready to pick up where they left off before Brady’s knee injury. The defense will be solid as usual for the Patriots and they should have no trouble winning the division. I think the Dolphins are primed to slip this year. They caught many teams by surprise last season, but they will not do so this year. The schedule is much tougher for the Dolphins and Tom Brady is back to 100% for the Patriots. That combination spells trouble and 2nd place for Miami. The Dolphins lack firepower on offense and I don’t think the methodical, no mistake philosophy will be enough. The defense should keep Miami in most every game, but they will come up short in too many. The Dolphins should still have a shot at a Wild Card spot, but the AFC is very tough and I would not be surprised if Miami’s schedule bites them and they miss the playoffs entirely.
The Jets and the Bills will be fighting to stay out of last place in the division. I probably have to give the edge to the Jets to finish 3rd. New Coach Rex Ryan has had first hand experience with a rookie QB, baring witness to QB Joe Flacco last year with the Ravens, so he should be able to support rookie QB Mark Sanchez in New York. I still think though that the Jets will not be able to do enough to make a playoff run. Their defense is solid but certainly not up to the Ravens’ level and they lack weapons on offense to really help Sanchez. The Jets will be solid and have a shot at .500. The Bills will end up being mediocre at best and will finish last. WR Terrell Owens was brought in to try and make the offense more explosive, but he will most likely be keyed on by defenses and he will not make that big of an impact. The offense looked terrible in the preseason and the defense is nowhere near being dominant enough to carry Buffalo. The Bills will struggle and it will be fun to see if Owens blows up this year.
AFC North:
My Division Favorite – Steelers BARELY over the Ravens
Playoff Contenders – Steelers and Ravens
As I have said a few times already, this should be one hell of a fight this season for the AFC North title. I can’t wait to see the two games between the Steelers and Ravens and the result will most likely decide the division. Both teams are built on defense and look to do enough on the offensive side of the ball to win. I am hearing many so-called “experts” say that the Ravens will miss former defensive coordinator Rex Ryan. You mean like the team missed Marvin Lewis when he left? That is a weak argument and I don’t think the people saying this realize how deep the Ravens are on defense. The Steelers still have an edge when comparing offenses however. QB Ben Roethlisberger has proven himself time and again as a star and he has a solid running game and WR Hines Ward to back him up. Ravens’ QB Joe Flacco is continuing to improve and develop though, and he looks to be better this year already compared to last season. The Ravens still have a good running game with RB Ray Rice improving and RB Willis McGahee now being the 2nd back to help spell him. Again, the Ravens could be held back because they have no game breaking WR, but Derrick Mason is as solid as they come and the Ravens have worked on getting Flacco to spread the ball around. Based on experience and a slight talent edge, I have to give the Steelers the edge to win the division. I think they find a way to be 1 game better than the Ravens, but I would not be surprised at all if Baltimore wins it because they have looked great in the preseason. No matter how it shakes out, both teams will make the playoffs.
The Browns and the Bengals will be fighting to finish in 3rd place, but it seems as though the Bengals have a solid edge over the Browns. Both of these teams have come into the past few seasons with hopes and promise and they somehow find a way to disappoint. The Browns are trying to rebuild around QB Brady Quinn (or QB Derek Anderson…who the hell knows with Mangini) and the Bengals are hoping a healthy QB Carson Palmer will bring more success this year. I do believe a full, healthy year from Palmer can bring more wins to Cincinnati, but I don’t think they have enough to make any sort of playoff run, even though a few misguided “experts” seem to think so. Clearly, the Ravens and Steelers are much better than the Browns and Bengals, so either team will be lucky to get a sniff at .500 this year. I expect the Browns to fall away though and be pretty bad while the Bengals should be able to hang in there. Make no mistake, the Browns and Bengals will still compete in every game, but they just do not have enough to get things done and they are looking at sub par seasons.
AFC South:
My Division Favorite – Titans by a small margin over the Colts
Playoff Contenders – Titans and Colts
The winds of change are slowly sweeping into the AFC South and the division now seems to belong to the Titans for the time being. Tennessee features a tough hitting and solid defense and a great running game. They are built just like the Steelers and Ravens and that is a good recipe for success. QB Kerry Collins remains the starter for the Titans and he will effectively manage the game and provide Tennessee with a lot of wins and a division title, building off of last year’s great regular season campaign. The Titans’ biggest challenge will come from the Indianapolis Colts, but the Colts are slowly starting to slip from dominance. The window is slowly closing on QB Peyton Manning. Coach Tony Dungy and WR Marvin Harrison are gone and the offense is not as explosive as it once was, but they do have young talent in place. The sheer greatness of Manning though will keep the Colts dangerous on offense and he will get the job done. The defensive unit in Indianapolis is still pretty good and I believe the Colts will be able to do enough to sneak into the playoffs. The AFC is going to be a slugfest this year, so I would not be shocked if Indy caught some bad breaks and not even made the playoffs. But then again, they could get hot and win the division outright. It should be a great battle.
The Houston Texans are starting to improve and there is talk that they could make a playoff run this year. I just do not see that happening. The Texans have many weapons on offense and success will hinge on whether or not QB Matt Schaub can stay healthy. He has already looked a bit shaky in the preseason, so I don’t know if that will happen. The Texans are held back by their defense. Mario Williams has developed into a dominating pass rusher and he is starting to justify his #1 overall draft pick status, but he needs more help. The secondary in Houston is extremely soft and I think these problems will be too much for Houston to expect a playoff berth this year. The Jacksonville Jaguars will most likely fall away and finish last in the division. I just do not see them having enough offense to contend and their defense is certainly not one of the tops in the league. Coach Jack Del Rio will have the Jags ready to play each week, but they do not have enough talent to be an elite team.
AFC West:
My Division Favorite – Chargers by a wide margin
Playoff Contenders – Chargers
Just like the NFC West, the AFC’s western division is a one team race. The Chargers should clearly be head and shoulders above the rest and they are a potential Super Bowl contender. The Chargers have an explosive offense and are good enough on defensive to get to double digit wins and win the division handily. Their top competition should come from the Denver Broncos, but there is so much turmoil in Denver that I don’t know how much of a challenge they can provide. Coach Josh McDaniels is trying to install a new system and get the team on board with it and he has had to already deal with the Jay Cutler situation and problem child WR Brandon Marshall. I am not convinced that QB Kyle Orton is the answer and the Broncos continue to have problems keeping a RB healthy. The defense has slipped in recent years and I only foresee a mediocre season at best. The Chiefs and the Raiders will be in the basement of the AFC West and they both have a long way to go to even reach respectability. I think this is the year that the Chargers finally avoid a slow start and they should beat up on their division rivals easily.
The Game’s Quick Hits
ECW Recap: ECW continues to be a fairly entertaining hour of television when the WWE allows the focus to be on in-ring action. I was pleased to see that tonight and glad the no-talent Abraham Washington did not grace my screen. The night started with a match between The Hurricane and Paul Burchill. These two have had a nice little feud going and even though there is nothing ground breaking here and it is only mid-card filler, they produced a pretty good match. I was pleased to see both wrestlers focus on their strengths and show a nice contrast. The Hurricane tried to use his speed and quickness, while Burchill relied on his strength advantage and tried to wear Hurricane down with power moves. The pace was good and the crowd was supportive of Hurricane and into the match. In the end, Hurricane won with an Eye of the Hurricane after Paul ran into Katie Lea on the ring apron. This was a solid effort all around and much appreciated. These types of matches need to happen more on Raw instead of stuff like the Hornswoggle garbage. It also seems as though Shelton Benjamin and Sheamus are headed toward a feud after an altercation they had following a tag team victory over Goldust and Yoshi Tatsu. I still believe Benjamin should be going after the ECW Championship or moved to Raw or Smackdown and challenge for one of the secondary titles. He can put on some great matches when given the chance. Let’s hope that he can produce some good things with Sheamus. I am still on the fence about the “Celtic Warrior”, but he is definitely the best of the “New Talent Initiative” wrestlers.
The main event featured ECW Champion Christian and Tommy Dreamer taking on Ezekiel Jackson and Vladimir Kozlov. We learned that Christian will be defending his belt against William Regal at Breaking Point, so this match turned into the WWE’s hard sell for the PPV tonight. The two sides put on a perfectly acceptable tag team match. As you would expect, Christian and Dreamer had to rely on speed and veteran savvy, while Kozlov and Jackson brought pure power. Jackson was showcased a little more in this match, looking very imposing and dominant at times and he was able to pick up the victory on Dreamer after a grab of the foot from Regal on the outside. The “Ruthless Roundtable” stood tall at the end of the night and we were left to wonder if Christian’s title reign would soon be over.
- Oklahoma could use some more good news, but they did not get any on Tuesday as Coach Bob Stoops told the media that star TE Jermaine Gresham underwent arthroscopic surgery on his injured right knee to determine the severity of cartilage damage. Unfortunately for the Sooners, the injury was not a simple removal of anything and the doctors determined that Gresham needed stitches to repair the cartilage, which will require a recovery time of 5 months and put Gresham out for the season. Gresham returned to school and put off the NFL for a year, so this is extremely bad news for him and could hamper his draft value. He was Oklahoma’s leading returning receiver this year and a real playmaker on offense. Now that he is out for the year, it is pretty much a given that the Sooners offense will suffer and miss his big play ability. At this point, I still stick to my view that Oklahoma will lose against Texas and now the game against Miami is looking more dangerous. It will take a huge effort and tons of determination for the Sooners to fight through this adversity.
- The Richard Seymour watch continues as he failed to report to the Raiders for the 2nd straight day. Raiders Coach Tom Cable said he has nothing new to report and nothing has changed, Patriots Coach Bill Belichick refuses to talk about it since the Patriots no longer have the rights to Seymour, and the NFL is saying to get a statement from the teams. This is quickly starting to turn into some drama now. Reports are saying that Seymour had no advanced warning of the trade and right now, things such as his contract and his role with the Raiders and what they expect from him need to be “worked out”. As I stated yesterday, this move must suck for Seymour, but he really needs to be a professional about it and report to the team or at least give a statement. I would have thought he learned some class and professionalism from the Patriots, even though they did deal him a tough hand. In the NFL, business is business.
- Philadelphia Eagles QB Michael Vick spoke to a group of 200 students on the first day of classes at Nueva Esperanza Academy, a North Philadelphia charter school. He warned the students not to bow to peer pressure and to make good choices that will allow you to be a leader and not a follower. Vick offered himself up as an example of what happens when you lose focus and how your life can go down a bad path. I am happy to see that Vick is getting out in the community and trying to do some good work. As I have stated before, if he can work to make a positive difference and stay on course himself, then the 2nd chance he is getting in the NFL is totally justified. I hope that more schools and organizations give Vick a chance to make a positive impact and not just sit back and bitch and moan about how Vick is bad for young people. That will solve nothing.
- The captain’s selections are in for the 2009 President’s Cup: Ryo Ishikawa, who at 17-years old will be the youngest player ever in the competition, and Adam Scott were chosen by Captain Greg Norman for the International team and Captain Fred Couples chose 2009 U.S. Open Champion Lucas Glover and Hunter Mahan for the United States team. Scott’s selection was a bit curious considering the fact that he has fallen to 53 in the world rankings and is suffering through the worst year of his career. Glover and Mahan bring experience to the U.S. squad, as they also were the Captain’s picks 2 years ago. The President’s Cup is a very fun event to watch, even though it is not at the level of the Ryder Cup. I love seeing the match play format, as well as the different foursome matches. There is some real drama that is created and I still say that even though on the surface golf might not seem that exciting, it really can be some of the best competition that you can watch if you are a sports fan.
- I thought this tidbit was worth mentioning with the U.S. Open going on right now. The new head of the men’s tennis tour, Adam Helfant, said that the tour is planning an All-star event in March to try and boost the sport’s popularity. He said the top players are in favor of the event, which would include a skills competition, celebrity doubles matches, and an awards show. Helfant wants to try and create more buzz at the beginning of the year for tennis, something he claims other sports do well. While I think this is a noble cause Helfant is trying to do, I don’t think it will do much good. Tennis is more of a niche sport that will always appeal to a segment of the population, but it will never grow to the heights of the four major professional sports in America. Tennis is a great recreational sport and it will always be around, but it can only grow so much. Unless you can somehow bring along new stars that grow to the level of guys like John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg, and other greats, AND have them develop intense rivalries, tennis will always lag behind in viewership and popularity. That’s just the way it is.
- U.S. Open Update: The women’s side of the draw has reached the quarterfinals and #2 seed Serena Williams still has not really been tested as she cruised by #10 seed Flavia Pennetta 6-4, 6-3. In the other women’s quarterfinal of the day, Kim Clijsters routed #18 seed Li Na 6-2, 6-4 to reach the semifinals against Williams. This is an amazing run by Clijsters after being away from the game for 2 years and the match with Serena has the potential to be very intriguing. On the men’s side, a huge upset occurred as #2 seed Andy Murray was blitzed and totally outplayed in losing to #16 seed Marin Cilic, who won in straight sets 7-5, 6-2, 6-2. Cilic will now play #6 seed Juan Martin del Potro in the quarterfinals. Men’s #3 seed Rafael Nadal lost the first set to #13 seed Gael Monfils, but Nadal was able to eventually wear down Monfils as he slowly faded away and Nadal won in 4 sets. Nadal will now face #11 seed Fernando Gonzalez, who advanced by beating #7 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 4 sets.
NFC East:
My Division Favorite – Eagles by a slight margin
Playoff Contenders – Eagles, Giants, Cowboys
The NFC East is always one of the best divisions in the NFL and it should be no different in 2009. I think it will be a knock down, drag out fight for the division title between the Eagles and Giants this year. Both teams come into this season looking very similar. The Eagles have been built around the defensive side of the ball for years and they have always gotten enough from QB Donovan McNabb (even through injuries) and RB Brian Westbrook to be perennial playoff participants. For whatever reason though, the Eagles just have not been able to get over the hump and a Super Bowl title has eluded them. After last season’s late surge, the Eagles come into 2009 with renewed hopes though. QB Michael Vick was given a 2nd chance by Philadelphia and he should be able to help the Eagles’ offense be more dynamic and unpredictable, but it remains to be seen how much he will help. The Eagles will once again hope that McNabb and Westbrook stay health and that they continue to get development from their receivers. The defense may not be as dominant as it has been, especially with the passing of Jim Johnson in the offseason.
The New York Giants are built the same way as the Eagles. They rely on a stingy defense to shut down other teams and then ask QB Eli Manning to do enough to manage the game while they pound it out on the ground. The problem for the Giants this year is at the WR position. After the sad situation with Plaxico Burress, the Giants have no big playmaker at WR. The loss of Burress clearly hurt the team last year, as Manning struggled to do anything in the passing game. The Giants did not do anything to bring in a dynamic WR this offseason, so those concerns remain. The Giants and Eagles should be battling atop the division and I really think it could go either way depending on how the two games between both teams shake out this year. I give the slight edge to the Eagles, but the Giants could easily walk away with the division title as well.
The Dallas Cowboys are hoping for a turnaround this season after releasing WR Terrell Owens and hopefully improving team chemistry. The problem though is that the Cowboys are really no different than they were last year and they are minus a future Hall of Fame WR. I am not sure Dallas will be able to take a step up and they should remain behind the Eagles and Giants. I think the Cowboys have a shot to battle for a Wild Card spot if they get some luck and bring consistent play to the field. They do have a good defense and QB Tony Romo can be one of the best in the league sometimes. As for the Washington Redskins, I see them as a .500 team and they should not challenge for a playoff spot. They have the talent to look like world beaters some weeks, but then other weeks they will look mediocre at best. I think they will lose enough divisional games to keep them in the bottom of the division.
NFC North:
My Division Favorite – Vikings by a small margin
Playoff Contenders – Vikings, Packers, Bears
Just like the NFC East, the NFC North is always a great division to watch. The games are rough and hard hitting and the division title race always seems to come down to the final week of the season. The addition of QB Brett Favre to the Minnesota Vikings gives them the edge to win the division this year in my opinion. In the past few seasons, the Vikings have been able to build up a really good defense and the drafting of RB Adrian Peterson instantly gave Minnesota a dangerous running game. However, inconsistent play and mistakes from the QB position has held them back. Brett Favre will be able to come in and offer stability to the position. He knows the offense like the back of his hand and I believe he will not have to be a gunslinger this year. If Favre is able to limit mistakes and lean on Peterson and the defense to do some heavy lifting, it should be a recipe for success. An injury to Favre would obviously derail this plan, but right now, Favre should only develop more chemistry with the offense and the Vikings should be in great position.
Behind the Vikings, it should be a great battle between the Packers and Bears. Both of these teams have the potential to sneak up and win the division if the Vikings run into problems and the Favre experiment does not work. The Packers will be driven by how good QB Aaron Rogers will be this year. Rogers is starting to show that he can be an elite level star in the league and he will carry the offense. The question is if he can get solid help from the running game and if he will get big play help from his receivers. The Packers will also need their defense to step up and try to allow Rogers to win games for them. The Bears have no trouble on the defensive side of the ball and now the franchise may have finally found an answer at QB with the acquisition of Jay Cutler. The Bears have relied on defense and a strong running game to win for years, but now they might be able to hurt teams through the passing game. The Bears still lack a weapon at WR though, so Cutler will only be able to do so much and it remains to be seen how quickly things will gel for the offense. I do think that the Packers and Bears both have a shot at contending for the Wild Card spots, and maybe the division, if they catch some breaks. And as for the lowly Detroit Lions, they will still suffer through a horrible season, but I do think they can get 2 or 3 wins this year. Expect growing pains from rookie QB Matthew Stafford, but if he develops, the Lions could finally be on a path to respectability.
NFC South:
My Division Favorite – Falcons by a small margin over the Panthers
Playoff Contenders – Falcons and Panthers
I feel that the balance of power has shifted to the Atlanta Falcons this year and I believe they will overtake the Panthers and win the division this season. QB Matt Ryan will only continue to develop and he has a wealth of weapons in RB Michael Turner, WR Roddy White, and newly acquired TE Tony Gonzalez. The Falcons also sport a pretty good defense and they should have enough to win the division this year. The taste of success, combined with playoff disappointment, should be enough to motivate Atlanta and give them confidence heading into this year. I don’t know what it is exactly, but I just have a feeling that the Panthers will not be as good this season. QB Jake Delhomme is another year older and the Panthers are still one dimensional in the passing game with WR Steve Smith. The Panthers can pound it out on the ground however, and they still have a really good defense, but I just have a hunch they will not be as good this season. They did not look particularly good against the Ravens in the most important preseason game, so maybe that skews my thinking. I do think the Panthers will strongly contend for a Wild Card spot though, but they could be shut out with the wealth of contenders from the NFC East and North.
The New Orleans Saints will be a fun team to watch with QB Drew Brees running their high powered offense, but I think their defense will hold them back and they will fall short of the playoffs again this year. The Saints pretty much rely on their offense to just outscore opponents, and usually that is not the way to go for long term success. One too many off days from the offense will bring about too many losses and I can only see the Saints being around .500 this year. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be bringing up the rear of this division. The Bucs are still fairly solid on defense, but they are far from the dominant unit they used to be. The Buccaneers biggest problem will be an anemic offense though. QB Byron Leftwich is not consistent enough and the team lacks enough weapons to get the job done. Add in a rookie head coach and I see a team that will be mediocre and finish below .500.
NFC West:
My Division Favorite – Cardinals by a decent margin
Playoff Contenders – Cardinals
The NFC West should basically be a one team division this year. The Arizona Cardinals have become the class of the division and they should have no trouble winning it and being the only playoff representative from the division. The loser of the Super Bowl has had trouble qualifying for the playoffs in the next season, but the weakness of the NFC West should prevent that problem for Arizona. QB Kurt Warner returns with his dynamic duo of WRs in Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin and the addition of rookie RB Chris Wells will really help the offense be potent. Throw in a solid and improving defense and the Cardinals should have no trouble winning the division.
The 49ers and Seahawks should be battling for 2nd place, but the ceiling for both of those teams should be around .500. Behind Coach Mike Singletary, the 49ers are slowly improving. The have a pretty tough defense, but are still held back by the offense. They will try to pound it out on the ground, but they lack the ability to have balance because the passing game is weak. Rookie WR Michael Crabtree could have really helped QB Shaun Hill, but he decided to be a fool and “diva” and his contract dispute will hurt the team. The Seahawks get a healthy Matt Hasselbeck back at QB, but even with the addition of WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh, the Seahawks will still be lacking on both offense and defense and they don’t have enough to make a complete turnaround from last year. The St. Louis Rams will most likely be in the basement of the division. Their only bright spot is RB Steven Jackson, but he is not enough to overcome the other problems and it will be a struggle for the Rams as they continue to try and rebuild.
AFC East:
My Division Favorite – Patriots by a solid margin
Playoff Contenders – Patriots and Dolphins
Barring another injury to QB Tom Brady or another bizarre scenario, the Patriots should be back on top of the division this year. It seems as if Brady’s shoulder is fine and the “injury” he suffered will just be a small scare. The Patriots looked great on offense in the preseason and Brady and WR Randy Moss look ready to pick up where they left off before Brady’s knee injury. The defense will be solid as usual for the Patriots and they should have no trouble winning the division. I think the Dolphins are primed to slip this year. They caught many teams by surprise last season, but they will not do so this year. The schedule is much tougher for the Dolphins and Tom Brady is back to 100% for the Patriots. That combination spells trouble and 2nd place for Miami. The Dolphins lack firepower on offense and I don’t think the methodical, no mistake philosophy will be enough. The defense should keep Miami in most every game, but they will come up short in too many. The Dolphins should still have a shot at a Wild Card spot, but the AFC is very tough and I would not be surprised if Miami’s schedule bites them and they miss the playoffs entirely.
The Jets and the Bills will be fighting to stay out of last place in the division. I probably have to give the edge to the Jets to finish 3rd. New Coach Rex Ryan has had first hand experience with a rookie QB, baring witness to QB Joe Flacco last year with the Ravens, so he should be able to support rookie QB Mark Sanchez in New York. I still think though that the Jets will not be able to do enough to make a playoff run. Their defense is solid but certainly not up to the Ravens’ level and they lack weapons on offense to really help Sanchez. The Jets will be solid and have a shot at .500. The Bills will end up being mediocre at best and will finish last. WR Terrell Owens was brought in to try and make the offense more explosive, but he will most likely be keyed on by defenses and he will not make that big of an impact. The offense looked terrible in the preseason and the defense is nowhere near being dominant enough to carry Buffalo. The Bills will struggle and it will be fun to see if Owens blows up this year.
AFC North:
My Division Favorite – Steelers BARELY over the Ravens
Playoff Contenders – Steelers and Ravens
As I have said a few times already, this should be one hell of a fight this season for the AFC North title. I can’t wait to see the two games between the Steelers and Ravens and the result will most likely decide the division. Both teams are built on defense and look to do enough on the offensive side of the ball to win. I am hearing many so-called “experts” say that the Ravens will miss former defensive coordinator Rex Ryan. You mean like the team missed Marvin Lewis when he left? That is a weak argument and I don’t think the people saying this realize how deep the Ravens are on defense. The Steelers still have an edge when comparing offenses however. QB Ben Roethlisberger has proven himself time and again as a star and he has a solid running game and WR Hines Ward to back him up. Ravens’ QB Joe Flacco is continuing to improve and develop though, and he looks to be better this year already compared to last season. The Ravens still have a good running game with RB Ray Rice improving and RB Willis McGahee now being the 2nd back to help spell him. Again, the Ravens could be held back because they have no game breaking WR, but Derrick Mason is as solid as they come and the Ravens have worked on getting Flacco to spread the ball around. Based on experience and a slight talent edge, I have to give the Steelers the edge to win the division. I think they find a way to be 1 game better than the Ravens, but I would not be surprised at all if Baltimore wins it because they have looked great in the preseason. No matter how it shakes out, both teams will make the playoffs.
The Browns and the Bengals will be fighting to finish in 3rd place, but it seems as though the Bengals have a solid edge over the Browns. Both of these teams have come into the past few seasons with hopes and promise and they somehow find a way to disappoint. The Browns are trying to rebuild around QB Brady Quinn (or QB Derek Anderson…who the hell knows with Mangini) and the Bengals are hoping a healthy QB Carson Palmer will bring more success this year. I do believe a full, healthy year from Palmer can bring more wins to Cincinnati, but I don’t think they have enough to make any sort of playoff run, even though a few misguided “experts” seem to think so. Clearly, the Ravens and Steelers are much better than the Browns and Bengals, so either team will be lucky to get a sniff at .500 this year. I expect the Browns to fall away though and be pretty bad while the Bengals should be able to hang in there. Make no mistake, the Browns and Bengals will still compete in every game, but they just do not have enough to get things done and they are looking at sub par seasons.
AFC South:
My Division Favorite – Titans by a small margin over the Colts
Playoff Contenders – Titans and Colts
The winds of change are slowly sweeping into the AFC South and the division now seems to belong to the Titans for the time being. Tennessee features a tough hitting and solid defense and a great running game. They are built just like the Steelers and Ravens and that is a good recipe for success. QB Kerry Collins remains the starter for the Titans and he will effectively manage the game and provide Tennessee with a lot of wins and a division title, building off of last year’s great regular season campaign. The Titans’ biggest challenge will come from the Indianapolis Colts, but the Colts are slowly starting to slip from dominance. The window is slowly closing on QB Peyton Manning. Coach Tony Dungy and WR Marvin Harrison are gone and the offense is not as explosive as it once was, but they do have young talent in place. The sheer greatness of Manning though will keep the Colts dangerous on offense and he will get the job done. The defensive unit in Indianapolis is still pretty good and I believe the Colts will be able to do enough to sneak into the playoffs. The AFC is going to be a slugfest this year, so I would not be shocked if Indy caught some bad breaks and not even made the playoffs. But then again, they could get hot and win the division outright. It should be a great battle.
The Houston Texans are starting to improve and there is talk that they could make a playoff run this year. I just do not see that happening. The Texans have many weapons on offense and success will hinge on whether or not QB Matt Schaub can stay healthy. He has already looked a bit shaky in the preseason, so I don’t know if that will happen. The Texans are held back by their defense. Mario Williams has developed into a dominating pass rusher and he is starting to justify his #1 overall draft pick status, but he needs more help. The secondary in Houston is extremely soft and I think these problems will be too much for Houston to expect a playoff berth this year. The Jacksonville Jaguars will most likely fall away and finish last in the division. I just do not see them having enough offense to contend and their defense is certainly not one of the tops in the league. Coach Jack Del Rio will have the Jags ready to play each week, but they do not have enough talent to be an elite team.
AFC West:
My Division Favorite – Chargers by a wide margin
Playoff Contenders – Chargers
Just like the NFC West, the AFC’s western division is a one team race. The Chargers should clearly be head and shoulders above the rest and they are a potential Super Bowl contender. The Chargers have an explosive offense and are good enough on defensive to get to double digit wins and win the division handily. Their top competition should come from the Denver Broncos, but there is so much turmoil in Denver that I don’t know how much of a challenge they can provide. Coach Josh McDaniels is trying to install a new system and get the team on board with it and he has had to already deal with the Jay Cutler situation and problem child WR Brandon Marshall. I am not convinced that QB Kyle Orton is the answer and the Broncos continue to have problems keeping a RB healthy. The defense has slipped in recent years and I only foresee a mediocre season at best. The Chiefs and the Raiders will be in the basement of the AFC West and they both have a long way to go to even reach respectability. I think this is the year that the Chargers finally avoid a slow start and they should beat up on their division rivals easily.
The Game’s Quick Hits
ECW Recap: ECW continues to be a fairly entertaining hour of television when the WWE allows the focus to be on in-ring action. I was pleased to see that tonight and glad the no-talent Abraham Washington did not grace my screen. The night started with a match between The Hurricane and Paul Burchill. These two have had a nice little feud going and even though there is nothing ground breaking here and it is only mid-card filler, they produced a pretty good match. I was pleased to see both wrestlers focus on their strengths and show a nice contrast. The Hurricane tried to use his speed and quickness, while Burchill relied on his strength advantage and tried to wear Hurricane down with power moves. The pace was good and the crowd was supportive of Hurricane and into the match. In the end, Hurricane won with an Eye of the Hurricane after Paul ran into Katie Lea on the ring apron. This was a solid effort all around and much appreciated. These types of matches need to happen more on Raw instead of stuff like the Hornswoggle garbage. It also seems as though Shelton Benjamin and Sheamus are headed toward a feud after an altercation they had following a tag team victory over Goldust and Yoshi Tatsu. I still believe Benjamin should be going after the ECW Championship or moved to Raw or Smackdown and challenge for one of the secondary titles. He can put on some great matches when given the chance. Let’s hope that he can produce some good things with Sheamus. I am still on the fence about the “Celtic Warrior”, but he is definitely the best of the “New Talent Initiative” wrestlers.
The main event featured ECW Champion Christian and Tommy Dreamer taking on Ezekiel Jackson and Vladimir Kozlov. We learned that Christian will be defending his belt against William Regal at Breaking Point, so this match turned into the WWE’s hard sell for the PPV tonight. The two sides put on a perfectly acceptable tag team match. As you would expect, Christian and Dreamer had to rely on speed and veteran savvy, while Kozlov and Jackson brought pure power. Jackson was showcased a little more in this match, looking very imposing and dominant at times and he was able to pick up the victory on Dreamer after a grab of the foot from Regal on the outside. The “Ruthless Roundtable” stood tall at the end of the night and we were left to wonder if Christian’s title reign would soon be over.
- Oklahoma could use some more good news, but they did not get any on Tuesday as Coach Bob Stoops told the media that star TE Jermaine Gresham underwent arthroscopic surgery on his injured right knee to determine the severity of cartilage damage. Unfortunately for the Sooners, the injury was not a simple removal of anything and the doctors determined that Gresham needed stitches to repair the cartilage, which will require a recovery time of 5 months and put Gresham out for the season. Gresham returned to school and put off the NFL for a year, so this is extremely bad news for him and could hamper his draft value. He was Oklahoma’s leading returning receiver this year and a real playmaker on offense. Now that he is out for the year, it is pretty much a given that the Sooners offense will suffer and miss his big play ability. At this point, I still stick to my view that Oklahoma will lose against Texas and now the game against Miami is looking more dangerous. It will take a huge effort and tons of determination for the Sooners to fight through this adversity.
- The Richard Seymour watch continues as he failed to report to the Raiders for the 2nd straight day. Raiders Coach Tom Cable said he has nothing new to report and nothing has changed, Patriots Coach Bill Belichick refuses to talk about it since the Patriots no longer have the rights to Seymour, and the NFL is saying to get a statement from the teams. This is quickly starting to turn into some drama now. Reports are saying that Seymour had no advanced warning of the trade and right now, things such as his contract and his role with the Raiders and what they expect from him need to be “worked out”. As I stated yesterday, this move must suck for Seymour, but he really needs to be a professional about it and report to the team or at least give a statement. I would have thought he learned some class and professionalism from the Patriots, even though they did deal him a tough hand. In the NFL, business is business.
- Philadelphia Eagles QB Michael Vick spoke to a group of 200 students on the first day of classes at Nueva Esperanza Academy, a North Philadelphia charter school. He warned the students not to bow to peer pressure and to make good choices that will allow you to be a leader and not a follower. Vick offered himself up as an example of what happens when you lose focus and how your life can go down a bad path. I am happy to see that Vick is getting out in the community and trying to do some good work. As I have stated before, if he can work to make a positive difference and stay on course himself, then the 2nd chance he is getting in the NFL is totally justified. I hope that more schools and organizations give Vick a chance to make a positive impact and not just sit back and bitch and moan about how Vick is bad for young people. That will solve nothing.
- The captain’s selections are in for the 2009 President’s Cup: Ryo Ishikawa, who at 17-years old will be the youngest player ever in the competition, and Adam Scott were chosen by Captain Greg Norman for the International team and Captain Fred Couples chose 2009 U.S. Open Champion Lucas Glover and Hunter Mahan for the United States team. Scott’s selection was a bit curious considering the fact that he has fallen to 53 in the world rankings and is suffering through the worst year of his career. Glover and Mahan bring experience to the U.S. squad, as they also were the Captain’s picks 2 years ago. The President’s Cup is a very fun event to watch, even though it is not at the level of the Ryder Cup. I love seeing the match play format, as well as the different foursome matches. There is some real drama that is created and I still say that even though on the surface golf might not seem that exciting, it really can be some of the best competition that you can watch if you are a sports fan.
- I thought this tidbit was worth mentioning with the U.S. Open going on right now. The new head of the men’s tennis tour, Adam Helfant, said that the tour is planning an All-star event in March to try and boost the sport’s popularity. He said the top players are in favor of the event, which would include a skills competition, celebrity doubles matches, and an awards show. Helfant wants to try and create more buzz at the beginning of the year for tennis, something he claims other sports do well. While I think this is a noble cause Helfant is trying to do, I don’t think it will do much good. Tennis is more of a niche sport that will always appeal to a segment of the population, but it will never grow to the heights of the four major professional sports in America. Tennis is a great recreational sport and it will always be around, but it can only grow so much. Unless you can somehow bring along new stars that grow to the level of guys like John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg, and other greats, AND have them develop intense rivalries, tennis will always lag behind in viewership and popularity. That’s just the way it is.
- U.S. Open Update: The women’s side of the draw has reached the quarterfinals and #2 seed Serena Williams still has not really been tested as she cruised by #10 seed Flavia Pennetta 6-4, 6-3. In the other women’s quarterfinal of the day, Kim Clijsters routed #18 seed Li Na 6-2, 6-4 to reach the semifinals against Williams. This is an amazing run by Clijsters after being away from the game for 2 years and the match with Serena has the potential to be very intriguing. On the men’s side, a huge upset occurred as #2 seed Andy Murray was blitzed and totally outplayed in losing to #16 seed Marin Cilic, who won in straight sets 7-5, 6-2, 6-2. Cilic will now play #6 seed Juan Martin del Potro in the quarterfinals. Men’s #3 seed Rafael Nadal lost the first set to #13 seed Gael Monfils, but Nadal was able to eventually wear down Monfils as he slowly faded away and Nadal won in 4 sets. Nadal will now face #11 seed Fernando Gonzalez, who advanced by beating #7 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 4 sets.
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.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Is Oklahoma's Season Finished?
With Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford going down to a shoulder injury Saturday night, the big sports debate of the day is whether or not Oklahoma’s season is finished. Bradford suffered a sprain of his AC joint in his shoulder and was scheduled to undergo an MRI to find out the extent of the damage. This type of injury can keep someone out for at least 2-4 weeks, but in Bradford’s case, it could be longer because of the stress he would put on his shoulder throwing the football. Team doctors said on Sunday that they will continue to look at Bradford’s shoulder over the holiday weekend and there are a number of rehab options that could be done. At this point, there is no specific timetable for his return. So does this injury totally ruin Oklahoma’s season? To a certain extent, I think it does.
The injury itself already cost Oklahoma the game against BYU. Pollsters do take injuries into account, but without question, this loss stings. Oklahoma is now at a huge disadvantage in the chase to make it to the BCS Championship Game. The Sooners have lost their star player and leader and they now have to find another way to hang on and win some football games. Oklahoma does have two fairly easy games coming up. Idaho State and Tulsa will be traveling to Oklahoma to play them and the Sooners should be able to win both of those games. They will need their defense to remain outstanding just like it was against BYU. The Sooners also need their running game to produce and carry the load to help QB Landry Jones. Jones looked pretty much lost in the 2nd half against BYU, and he does not look like he can drive the Sooners down the field with his arm to put points on the board. The offensive line will also need to quickly gel because they are Oklahoma’s biggest weakness. Bradford was only hit 43 times last season and on the drive that ended with his injury, Bradford was hit 3 times alone. The unit will have to improve, or it could be a longer season for Oklahoma than many anticipated.
A bigger test for Oklahoma will come on October 3rd when they travel to Miami. Miami will play their first game against Florida State tonight, so it remains to be seen just how good the Hurricanes will be. But without question, Miami is improving and if they look good, a Sooners team without Bradford could be ripe for an upset when they travel down to Florida to face them. As of right now, it appears that Bradford would be able to make it back on the field by the time Oklahoma faces Texas on October 17th. This was expected to be the deciding game between the two teams in the Big 12 South, but now it takes on a much different look. Without Bradford, the Sooners would have no shot to win that game. But even if Bradford is back by then, how good will he be? Just coming out of camp and only getting one half worth of work, I am thinking Bradford could still be rusty and trying to develop a rhythm with the offense. I would expect Texas and QB Colt McCoy to be in top form by the time this game occurs, so even with a healthy Bradford, I now believe that Texas will be a big favorite to win this game.
The only chance Oklahoma has right now to even come close to the BCS Title game would be for them to run the table and win every single game and then hope that every other team out there suffers one loss. Oklahoma would have to look impressive in beating Texas and then they would have to regain an air of dominance by the time the end of the season rolls around. Even if they accomplish all of this, they still might get shut out of the title game. They still have an opportunity to make a BCS Bowl game, but that could be on shaky ground at this point.
With the way the offensive line looked last night and depending on how severe Bradford’s injury is, I think the Sooners will most likely lose at least one more game this season. Another loss would be devastating and it would kill any hopes of a BCS game. Oklahoma will still have to travel to Kansas and Nebraska and those will be tough games that they could lose. If Oklahoma State is the real deal this year and their defense improves, they could beat Oklahoma in the last game of the regular season. The uphill climb for Oklahoma to make it back to the National Championship game this year has now turned into a mountain. Bradford’s injury will cost him a shot at repeating as the Heisman Trophy winner and it may just cost Oklahoma a great season. Good is not good enough when it comes to Oklahoma football, but it might be all they can hope for now.
Today is Labor Day here in the United States, so I hope that everyone has a safe and relaxing day. As always, tons of things happening in the world of sports, so let’s take a look at what went down on Sunday.
The Game’s Quick Hits
#8 Mississippi 45, Memphis 14 – The score of this game does not indicate how close it was. Mississippi had a great deal of trouble hitting their stride and they did not look like the #8 team in the country until the 4th quarter. The Rebels were able to eventually wear down Memphis and overcome a subpar performance from star QB Jevan Snead. The running game and defense of Mississippi carried the team to victory. They were only up 17-7 heading into the 4th quarter. Memphis was driving and had a chance to get closer until they failed on a 4th and short play. From there, Mississippi turned on the jets and beat down Memphis until the final whistle. After the opening weekend, it seems as though Alabama has the inside track to win the SEC West. But remember, this was the opening weekend and there is a great deal more football to be played. There is no doubt that Snead will be better and there are some great SEC Conference games to come.
- Sunday got off to a surprising start as the New England Patriots traded defensive lineman Richard Seymour to the Oakland Raiders for a 2011 first round draft pick. Seymour is only 29 years old, is a 5 time Pro Bowler, and matched his career high in sacks last season, which makes this a very curious move. Obviously, Seymour still seems to have a great deal left in the tank, so I have no idea why the Patriots made this move. Seymour had become an anchor of the Patriots’ defense and to just deal him away for a draft pick in ’11 does not seem that smart. Maybe the Patriots see some bad things coming and they felt Seymour’s production would fall off really soon, but there is no evidence yet to support that. However, he is in the last year of his contract and will be crossing the age of 30, so maybe it is a calculated and smart gamble by New England. The Raiders get immediate help for their defense, but this has to really suck for Seymour. He goes from a team that will be making a run at the Super Bowl to a team that will barely make a run at staying out of the basement of the AFC West. The Raiders will still be a bad team this year and now the question will become: does the loss of Seymour have any ill effect on the Patriots? A healthy Tom Brady all year might be able to compensate nicely for any defensive drop off, so we will just have to see how it plays out.
- San Diego Chargers LB Shawne Merriman was arrested early Sunday on suspicion of choking and restraining his girlfriend, reality TV “star” Tila Tequila. Tequila was taken to the hospital while Merriman was arrested and charged with battery and false imprisonment. Wow, I wonder if Merriman was drinking too much tequila or maybe just ate the worm and started acting the fool. Obviously, this is an unwanted and unneeded distraction, especially when Merriman should be focusing on returning to top form after missing last season with an injury. I will not speculate or comment on what might have went down, but only say that it is disgusting if he did in fact choke and restrain her. There is no excuse for a man to physically assault a woman. This is just another case of piss poor judgment and I would not be surprised if Roger Goodell looked into this and suspended Merriman for a game or two. San Diego should have no trouble winning the AFC West, but this type of attention and situation is not what the team needs with one week until opening day.
- Recently fired offensive coordinator Turk Schonert took at shot at the Buffalo Bills and Coach Dick Jauron after he was fired on Friday with this choice quote he offered during a phone interview with Buffalo TV station WIVB: “He wants a 'Pop Warner' offense. He limited me in formations, and limited me in plays. He's been on my back all offseason." Damn, that is some great stuff. You have to love a team imploding and being in turmoil even before the season starts. I am wondering if it will even be much of a spectacle this year if WR Terrell Owens blows up after what has happened already. The Bills look like they are falling apart and will end up being pretty bad this year.
- Seattle Mariners OF Ichiro Suzuki became the second fastest player to reach 2,000 career hits on Sunday. He hit a double for his 2,000th hit and he did it in his 1,402nd major league game. Counting his hit total from his playing days in Japan, Ichiro has 3,278 hits in his baseball career. Without question, Ichiro is one of the best pure hitters the game has ever seen and he will certainly be a future Hall of Famer. He will get to the 200 hit plateau for the 9th consecutive year as well, which would be a new MLB record.
- Once again, the conditions were perfect for scoring at the Deutsche Bank Championship and Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson could do nothing but watch as they struggled to find their games and made no charge on moving day. Woods and Mickelson both shot rounds of 1-over par 72 as they both moved backwards and fell out of contention. The course was slightly tougher on Sunday, but Steve Stricker, Retief Goosen, and Sean O’Hair navigated things just fine and they enter the final round tied for the lead at 13-under par. It should be a great finish as there are a dozen players within 3 shots of the lead. As I stated yesterday, Tiger is just not dialed in here and I predicted he would not be moving up to challenge for the win. He now needs to try and fix his inconsistent play if he hopes to win the FedEx Cup. Steve Stricker continues to look great and he is making a real charge to win the Cup. Stricker hit an amazing second shot with his hybrid club to within 5 feet and he drained the eagle putt on 18 to put him in a tie for the lead. A victory Monday will put him atop the FedEx Cup standings. Tiger usually rises to the occasion, so it would not shock me at all if he is able to find his game and win the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup. He won’t be winning today however.
- Sources indicate that suspended Oregon RB LeGarrette Blount made a phone call to Boise State coach Chris Petersen on Saturday to apologize for his actions and he was also able to apologize to Byron Hout, the Boise State player who Blount punched at the end of the Oregon/Boise State game Thursday night. It is good to hear that Blount has taken the first step to deal with this situation and hopefully will be able to benefit from it. It is a sad situation because Blount not only lost the rest of his college career, but he might have also lost his chance to make the NFL. It is a good lesson to others that you can not lose your cool and you need to always act in a respectful manner, especially when it comes to athletic competition. Hopefully Blount can work to become a better person from all this.
- Reports indicate that Allen Iverson has a face-to-face meeting with executives from the Memphis Grizzlies scheduled for Monday as the two sides seem to be coming closer to an agreement. Memphis is the only team that has actively pursued Iverson this offseason and it seems like it will be his last option. There is no doubt that Iverson is starting to enter the twilight of his career and he needs to accept the fact that he is going to have to come off the bench now. He is not getting any younger, but he still has something to offer to the game. Iverson has been one of the greatest players and scorers the past decade in the NBA, but his time in the sun is dwindling. Iverson should have been looking to get a championship ring and tried to sign with a contender and just accept the reality that his skills are starting to diminish at 34. But I guess every athlete has to cope with this and I hope Iverson can find some peace with it all and not turn into a distraction if he does go to the Grizzles, or anywhere else for that matter.
- U.S. Open Update: Well is seems as though with all the excitement of college football on Saturday, I missed noticing that women’s #1 Dinara Safina was bounced from the tournament. Wow, what a shocker. I was all over that and said there would be no way she would win the tournament. Kudos to me on that. The #3 seed on the women’s side, Venus Williams, was also upset on Sunday afternoon as unseeded Kim Clijsters beat her 6-0, 0-6, 6-4. Clijsters is making her return to the game after a two year absence and she seems to be in good form and is now a dangerous threat. Number 2 seed Serena Williams is now the highest seed left and she is still looking for a test as she easily beat #22 seed Daniela Hantuchova 6-2, 6-0. On the men’s side, #3 seed Rafael Nadal needed to take a 10 minute injury timeout to have his abdominals worked on, but he was still able to beat #32 seed Nicolas Almargo in straight sets to move into the 4th round. No other significant upsets occurred as the men hit the round of 16.
The injury itself already cost Oklahoma the game against BYU. Pollsters do take injuries into account, but without question, this loss stings. Oklahoma is now at a huge disadvantage in the chase to make it to the BCS Championship Game. The Sooners have lost their star player and leader and they now have to find another way to hang on and win some football games. Oklahoma does have two fairly easy games coming up. Idaho State and Tulsa will be traveling to Oklahoma to play them and the Sooners should be able to win both of those games. They will need their defense to remain outstanding just like it was against BYU. The Sooners also need their running game to produce and carry the load to help QB Landry Jones. Jones looked pretty much lost in the 2nd half against BYU, and he does not look like he can drive the Sooners down the field with his arm to put points on the board. The offensive line will also need to quickly gel because they are Oklahoma’s biggest weakness. Bradford was only hit 43 times last season and on the drive that ended with his injury, Bradford was hit 3 times alone. The unit will have to improve, or it could be a longer season for Oklahoma than many anticipated.
A bigger test for Oklahoma will come on October 3rd when they travel to Miami. Miami will play their first game against Florida State tonight, so it remains to be seen just how good the Hurricanes will be. But without question, Miami is improving and if they look good, a Sooners team without Bradford could be ripe for an upset when they travel down to Florida to face them. As of right now, it appears that Bradford would be able to make it back on the field by the time Oklahoma faces Texas on October 17th. This was expected to be the deciding game between the two teams in the Big 12 South, but now it takes on a much different look. Without Bradford, the Sooners would have no shot to win that game. But even if Bradford is back by then, how good will he be? Just coming out of camp and only getting one half worth of work, I am thinking Bradford could still be rusty and trying to develop a rhythm with the offense. I would expect Texas and QB Colt McCoy to be in top form by the time this game occurs, so even with a healthy Bradford, I now believe that Texas will be a big favorite to win this game.
The only chance Oklahoma has right now to even come close to the BCS Title game would be for them to run the table and win every single game and then hope that every other team out there suffers one loss. Oklahoma would have to look impressive in beating Texas and then they would have to regain an air of dominance by the time the end of the season rolls around. Even if they accomplish all of this, they still might get shut out of the title game. They still have an opportunity to make a BCS Bowl game, but that could be on shaky ground at this point.
With the way the offensive line looked last night and depending on how severe Bradford’s injury is, I think the Sooners will most likely lose at least one more game this season. Another loss would be devastating and it would kill any hopes of a BCS game. Oklahoma will still have to travel to Kansas and Nebraska and those will be tough games that they could lose. If Oklahoma State is the real deal this year and their defense improves, they could beat Oklahoma in the last game of the regular season. The uphill climb for Oklahoma to make it back to the National Championship game this year has now turned into a mountain. Bradford’s injury will cost him a shot at repeating as the Heisman Trophy winner and it may just cost Oklahoma a great season. Good is not good enough when it comes to Oklahoma football, but it might be all they can hope for now.
Today is Labor Day here in the United States, so I hope that everyone has a safe and relaxing day. As always, tons of things happening in the world of sports, so let’s take a look at what went down on Sunday.
The Game’s Quick Hits
#8 Mississippi 45, Memphis 14 – The score of this game does not indicate how close it was. Mississippi had a great deal of trouble hitting their stride and they did not look like the #8 team in the country until the 4th quarter. The Rebels were able to eventually wear down Memphis and overcome a subpar performance from star QB Jevan Snead. The running game and defense of Mississippi carried the team to victory. They were only up 17-7 heading into the 4th quarter. Memphis was driving and had a chance to get closer until they failed on a 4th and short play. From there, Mississippi turned on the jets and beat down Memphis until the final whistle. After the opening weekend, it seems as though Alabama has the inside track to win the SEC West. But remember, this was the opening weekend and there is a great deal more football to be played. There is no doubt that Snead will be better and there are some great SEC Conference games to come.
- Sunday got off to a surprising start as the New England Patriots traded defensive lineman Richard Seymour to the Oakland Raiders for a 2011 first round draft pick. Seymour is only 29 years old, is a 5 time Pro Bowler, and matched his career high in sacks last season, which makes this a very curious move. Obviously, Seymour still seems to have a great deal left in the tank, so I have no idea why the Patriots made this move. Seymour had become an anchor of the Patriots’ defense and to just deal him away for a draft pick in ’11 does not seem that smart. Maybe the Patriots see some bad things coming and they felt Seymour’s production would fall off really soon, but there is no evidence yet to support that. However, he is in the last year of his contract and will be crossing the age of 30, so maybe it is a calculated and smart gamble by New England. The Raiders get immediate help for their defense, but this has to really suck for Seymour. He goes from a team that will be making a run at the Super Bowl to a team that will barely make a run at staying out of the basement of the AFC West. The Raiders will still be a bad team this year and now the question will become: does the loss of Seymour have any ill effect on the Patriots? A healthy Tom Brady all year might be able to compensate nicely for any defensive drop off, so we will just have to see how it plays out.
- San Diego Chargers LB Shawne Merriman was arrested early Sunday on suspicion of choking and restraining his girlfriend, reality TV “star” Tila Tequila. Tequila was taken to the hospital while Merriman was arrested and charged with battery and false imprisonment. Wow, I wonder if Merriman was drinking too much tequila or maybe just ate the worm and started acting the fool. Obviously, this is an unwanted and unneeded distraction, especially when Merriman should be focusing on returning to top form after missing last season with an injury. I will not speculate or comment on what might have went down, but only say that it is disgusting if he did in fact choke and restrain her. There is no excuse for a man to physically assault a woman. This is just another case of piss poor judgment and I would not be surprised if Roger Goodell looked into this and suspended Merriman for a game or two. San Diego should have no trouble winning the AFC West, but this type of attention and situation is not what the team needs with one week until opening day.
- Recently fired offensive coordinator Turk Schonert took at shot at the Buffalo Bills and Coach Dick Jauron after he was fired on Friday with this choice quote he offered during a phone interview with Buffalo TV station WIVB: “He wants a 'Pop Warner' offense. He limited me in formations, and limited me in plays. He's been on my back all offseason." Damn, that is some great stuff. You have to love a team imploding and being in turmoil even before the season starts. I am wondering if it will even be much of a spectacle this year if WR Terrell Owens blows up after what has happened already. The Bills look like they are falling apart and will end up being pretty bad this year.
- Seattle Mariners OF Ichiro Suzuki became the second fastest player to reach 2,000 career hits on Sunday. He hit a double for his 2,000th hit and he did it in his 1,402nd major league game. Counting his hit total from his playing days in Japan, Ichiro has 3,278 hits in his baseball career. Without question, Ichiro is one of the best pure hitters the game has ever seen and he will certainly be a future Hall of Famer. He will get to the 200 hit plateau for the 9th consecutive year as well, which would be a new MLB record.
- Once again, the conditions were perfect for scoring at the Deutsche Bank Championship and Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson could do nothing but watch as they struggled to find their games and made no charge on moving day. Woods and Mickelson both shot rounds of 1-over par 72 as they both moved backwards and fell out of contention. The course was slightly tougher on Sunday, but Steve Stricker, Retief Goosen, and Sean O’Hair navigated things just fine and they enter the final round tied for the lead at 13-under par. It should be a great finish as there are a dozen players within 3 shots of the lead. As I stated yesterday, Tiger is just not dialed in here and I predicted he would not be moving up to challenge for the win. He now needs to try and fix his inconsistent play if he hopes to win the FedEx Cup. Steve Stricker continues to look great and he is making a real charge to win the Cup. Stricker hit an amazing second shot with his hybrid club to within 5 feet and he drained the eagle putt on 18 to put him in a tie for the lead. A victory Monday will put him atop the FedEx Cup standings. Tiger usually rises to the occasion, so it would not shock me at all if he is able to find his game and win the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup. He won’t be winning today however.
- Sources indicate that suspended Oregon RB LeGarrette Blount made a phone call to Boise State coach Chris Petersen on Saturday to apologize for his actions and he was also able to apologize to Byron Hout, the Boise State player who Blount punched at the end of the Oregon/Boise State game Thursday night. It is good to hear that Blount has taken the first step to deal with this situation and hopefully will be able to benefit from it. It is a sad situation because Blount not only lost the rest of his college career, but he might have also lost his chance to make the NFL. It is a good lesson to others that you can not lose your cool and you need to always act in a respectful manner, especially when it comes to athletic competition. Hopefully Blount can work to become a better person from all this.
- Reports indicate that Allen Iverson has a face-to-face meeting with executives from the Memphis Grizzlies scheduled for Monday as the two sides seem to be coming closer to an agreement. Memphis is the only team that has actively pursued Iverson this offseason and it seems like it will be his last option. There is no doubt that Iverson is starting to enter the twilight of his career and he needs to accept the fact that he is going to have to come off the bench now. He is not getting any younger, but he still has something to offer to the game. Iverson has been one of the greatest players and scorers the past decade in the NBA, but his time in the sun is dwindling. Iverson should have been looking to get a championship ring and tried to sign with a contender and just accept the reality that his skills are starting to diminish at 34. But I guess every athlete has to cope with this and I hope Iverson can find some peace with it all and not turn into a distraction if he does go to the Grizzles, or anywhere else for that matter.
- U.S. Open Update: Well is seems as though with all the excitement of college football on Saturday, I missed noticing that women’s #1 Dinara Safina was bounced from the tournament. Wow, what a shocker. I was all over that and said there would be no way she would win the tournament. Kudos to me on that. The #3 seed on the women’s side, Venus Williams, was also upset on Sunday afternoon as unseeded Kim Clijsters beat her 6-0, 0-6, 6-4. Clijsters is making her return to the game after a two year absence and she seems to be in good form and is now a dangerous threat. Number 2 seed Serena Williams is now the highest seed left and she is still looking for a test as she easily beat #22 seed Daniela Hantuchova 6-2, 6-0. On the men’s side, #3 seed Rafael Nadal needed to take a 10 minute injury timeout to have his abdominals worked on, but he was still able to beat #32 seed Nicolas Almargo in straight sets to move into the 4th round. No other significant upsets occurred as the men hit the round of 16.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Sore Sooner Shoulder downs Oklahoma
I thoroughly enjoyed watching all the great action today on college football’s opening Saturday, although one thing did irritate me. I have no idea who decided that people in Baltimore should get the Michigan vs. Western Michigan game over #9 Oklahoma State vs. #13 Georgia. I was highly pissed off seeing this because I was looking forward to watching a great game between two top 15 teams. When you have regional coverage and you have two teams from Michigan, shouldn’t that game only go to the surrounding areas around Michigan? Total bullcrap! Anyway, let’s take a look at some of the important results from yesterday’s games:
#20 BYU 14, #3 Oklahoma 13 – Without question, the biggest story from yesterday’s action was the injury to Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford. Bradford took a hard hit late in the 2nd quarter and his throwing shoulder was driven into the ground. He ended up being diagnosed with a sprained AC joint in his shoulder. This type of injury usually will keep a player out 2-4 weeks depending on the grade of the sprain and how much pain the player can deal with. With Bradford out in the 2nd half, the game became a real defensive struggle. Both Oklahoma and BYU came to play on the defensive side of the ball. Oklahoma backup QB Landry Jones could not get anything going and BYU was able to hold Oklahoma’s run game in check. A late surge and huge drive was orchestrated by BYU QB Max Hall, who won the game for BYU by throwing a 7-yard TD pass with 3:03 left in the game. Obviously, this win is huge for BYU and it now gives them a huge boost and will allow them to try and become the latest BCS buster. For Oklahoma, the hopes of a National Championship season may now be over. They will have to rely on their defense and running game until Bradford can return. Bradford may now be hard pressed to make a run at winning the Heisman trophy for a second straight season. Pollsters do take injuries into account, but Oklahoma will have to make a major statement when Bradford returns and hope their offensive line gels because they were the source of Oklahoma’s problems last night.
#4 USC 56, San Jose State 3 – For the first quarter of this game, USC looked extremely sluggish and it seemed as if talk of contending for a National Championship, let alone a Pac 10 title, might be a little wishful thinking. Oh how suddenly things can change. USC quickly kicked it into gear in the 2nd quarter and ending up cruising and blowing out San Jose State. Freshman QB Matt Barkley started slow, but he settled into the game going 15-for-19 for 233 yards and 1 TD and let the Trojans’ powerful running game and stingy defense take over. Barkley and the Trojans will get a much tougher test when they travel to Ohio State next week. Before this week, many assumed that Ohio State would go into that game as the favorite, but that might change this week…
#6 Ohio State 31, Navy 27 – And the reason why it might change is because Ohio State received a huge scare at the hands of Navy. Ohio State did not have many problems moving the ball and scoring, but the problem was that they struggled getting a handle on Navy’s triple option offense. The Buckeyes also made a crucial mistake by going for a 4th and 2 instead of kicking a field goal that would have given them a 32-14 lead. Instead, they were stuffed and the momentum changed for Navy. They were able to eat up huge chunks of yards on the ground and kept making big plays until they got to within 29-27. The dream of a monumental upset died though when Navy threw an interception on the 2-point conversion and Ohio State returned it for 2 points of their own to win the game 31-27. Navy is certainly no slouch and they come to play every week, but now many are wondering how good Ohio State will be this year. We will find out next week and USC might be favored to win even on the road. It will most likely come down to how USC freshman QB Matt Barkley handles the pressure of his first huge college game.
#5 Alabama 34, #7 Virginia Tech 24 – The score of this game was certainly closer than it should have been. I really enjoyed watching this one as it was a hard fought contest and pretty fascinating. Alabama was not very sharp early on in this game and they allowed Virginia Tech to hang in it by giving up a kickoff return touchdown, coughing up two bad turnovers, and committing a few silly penalties. While this was happening, Alabama was absolutely punishing Virginia Tech when it came to ball control and the ground game and ended up outgaining Virginia Tech 498-155 in yards. The talent gap between the two teams finally showed up in the 4th quarter as Alabama was able to pull away and win the game. The Crimson Tide defense looks like a beast and if the offense can continue to improve, Alabama might have a shot to give Florida a run if the two meet in the SEC Championship game. Virginia Tech has a great deal of work to do, but it seems like they still might be able to have success in an obviously weaker ACC.
#9 Oklahoma State 24, #13 Georgia 10 – As I mentioned earlier, I was very mad I did not get a chance to watch this game on TV. Georgia got off to a very quick start, driving right down the field and taking a 7-0 lead. It seemed as if this might be a mismatch, but the Oklahoma State defense surprisingly stepped up huge and held Georgia in check until the Cowboys’ offense was able to shake out of a sluggish start. QB Zac Robinson hooked up with his star receiver Dez Bryant for 2 TDs and Oklahoma State was able to cruise home to victory. The performance of the defense is a great sign for Oklahoma State. Many assumed that they would need to try and win shootouts and outscore their opponents every week, but that might not be the case. The Cowboys could end up being real players in the Big 12 now, especially with the early struggles of Oklahoma. Georgia will obviously need to find some answers on offense or they will not be able to make a serious challenge in the SEC. It looks like replacing Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno might be a tough task.
#11 LSU 31, Washington 23 – Washington was able to put in an inspired effort to hang with LSU, but it was not enough for them to pull off a victory. I was surprised that Washington was able to hang with LSU for so long, but I guess the 2500 mile road trip actually can take a toll. LSU was able to put together some good drives in the 2nd half to take over the game and they looked pretty solid. It should be a great race in the SEC West this year, but Alabama would have the inside track in my opinion.
#12 California 52, Maryland 13 – Well my home state Terps put in a thoroughly embarrassing performance last night. I thought they might be able to hang close with Cal, but it is obvious that they are nowhere close to Cal’s level this year. Costly turnovers and numerous mistakes killed Maryland and Cal RB Jahvid Best just ran wild over them. I’m sure Cal was looking for revenge in this game after last year’s loss at Maryland, but it was worse than that. I am getting a bad feeling that the Terrapins are just not that good this year and they might struggle to make a bowl game. However, the entire ACC had a hard time this weekend, so maybe Maryland can have enough success in the conference to get to .500 and be bowl eligible.
#22 Iowa 17, Northern Iowa 16 – This game almost turned into the biggest upset of the weekend. It was a mighty struggle for Iowa. They were able to develop no sort of rhythm on offense and they blew many opportunities that would have allowed them to put the game away. I did remark in my preview that Northern Iowa is one of the top teams in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) and they could hang around in this one. That prediction was absolutely true as Northern Iowa looked like the more together team out there and they almost were able to use that to overcome the talent gap. Iowa had to block two 40-yard field goals in the final seconds to avoid the upset. Iowa will need to make some serious improvements or it could be a very mediocre season for them.
#23 Notre Dame 35, Nevada 0 – Maybe all the talk about Notre Dame being a serious contender is actually true. The Fighting Irish turned in an extremely impressive performance as they beat up on Nevada in every facet of the game. QB Jimmy Clausen looked more mature and he seemed like he was in mid-season form as he threw for 315 yards and 4 TDs. Notre Dame had huge plays on offense and their defense was able to keep Nevada’s running game and QB Colin Kaepernick in check and off balance. It seems as though Notre Dame may hang around all year and they could surprise everyone.
#1 Florida 62, Charleston Southern 3
#2 Texas 59, Louisiana-Monroe 20
#9 Penn State 31, Akron 7
#15 Georgia Tech 37, Jacksonville State 17
#19 Utah 35, Utah State 17
#21 North Carolina 40, The Citadel 6
#24 Nebraska 49, Florida Atlantic 3
#25 Kansas 49, Northern Colorado 3
As you can see, 1/3 of the Top 25 was able to take care of business and cruise in their “cupcake” games to start the year. Florida and Texas looked pretty sharp and they could be on a collision course for the BCS Title game in January.
And on two final notes…it seems as though Michigan was able to rally around Coach Rich Rodriguez and they beat Western Michigan with no trouble at all. And in Tennessee, the Lane Kiffin era began with a 63-7 stomping of Western Kentucky. I hope Lane enjoys this one because it might be a different story when Tennessee plays Florida.
The Game’s Quick Hits
NFL Cut Down Day: One of the most surprising cuts happened early in the morning Saturday as it was reported the New York Giants cut WR David Tyree. Tyree was one of the heroes of Super Bowl XLII, making a tremendous against his helmet catch to prolong the winning drive for the Giants. Obviously, Tyree did not develop into enough of a big play receiver for the Giants to keep him. If anything holds the Giants back this season, it will most likely be the lack of a threat at WR.
Even though QB Colt Brennan is on IR and out for the season now, the Redskins cut former Missouri QB Chase Daniel. This comes as a bit of a surprise since I though Daniel had some potential and was a solid QB at Missouri. Of course when we are talking QBs and the Redskins, Daniel Snyder will not be satisfied until he gets a superstar at the position. The Redskins will now only carry QBs Jason Campbell and Todd Collins on the 53 man roster.
Another big surprise was The Raiders cutting QB Jeff Garcia. I have no idea why in the hell Oakland would cut him, but I guess that is why the franchise continues to lose year after year. The Raiders lured Garcia to Oakland with hopes that he would have a fair shot to beat out JaMarcus Russell for the starting job, but it is obvious now that Al Davis was not going to give up on Russell and demote him. I believe though that Garcia would be a team player and accept the role and the Raiders are fools for not keeping him because it is always a good thing to have a solid backup QB in the NFL. Hopefully Garcia can find another job out there because I believe he still has some juice left and he can help a team.
The Bills ended up cutting RB Dominic Rhodes after signing him in the offseason. With RB Marshawn Lynch being suspended for three games, it seems puzzling that the Bills did not stick with a solid veteran back like Rhodes. And with the performance of their offense in the preseason, the Bills need all the help they can get.
- Sean O’Hair was able to fire a 7-under par 64 to catch the steady Jim Furyk at 12-under par and share the lead after the 2nd round of the Deutsche Bank Championship. The pristine conditions in the morning allowed a slew of players to shoot low rounds and set the pace between 8 and 12-under par after two rounds. Tiger Woods played later in the day and again was not able to put everything together. He did manage to sink some putts on the back 9 however, and ended up shooting a 4-under par 67 to put him 7 shots back at 5-under par heading into the final two rounds. I still maintain the opinion that Tiger is too far off of his best game to have a chance to win this tournament. He is fighting his putter too much and at a tie for 28th place, I think too many people are between him and the top of the leaderboard. He almost made me eat my words last week, but I don’t think he gets that close this time. Unless he goes out and shoots a 63 or 64 tomorrow…
- MLB News and Notes: Yankees closer Mariano Rivera had a bullpen session on Saturday and reported no pain in his sore left groin and might be able to return to the mound on Sunday. Obviously, the Yankees need a healthy Rivera to have a shot at winning the World Series. A big hitting lineup will only take you so far and it is going to take solid pitching and someone who can close down games to get the job done. Rivera is still in fine form this season, leading the majors with 38 saves…A federal judge has dismissed Roger Clemens' defamation suit against his former trainer, Brian McNamee and Clemens can not file the suit again, only appeal it. This was a pleasing bit of news to see. I have no love for Roger Clemens and have always though he was an arrogant jackass to be quite honest. It seems pretty obvious that he was using performance enhancing drugs, yet he continues to deny it in hopes of saving his chances to make the Hall of Fame and chooses to try and sue his trainer, who I believe is telling the truth. Of course this could end up being a money grab attempt by McNamee, but when the guy is only a trainer, I don’t think he was lying to Congress. I hope something comes out later to bust Clemens further because I can not stand the guy and his attitude.
- The United States soccer team rallied from a 1-0 deficit to defeat El Salvador 2-1 in a World Cup qualifying match last night. Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore scored for the U.S., who is now in prime position to qualify for their 6th straight trip to the World Cup. Congratulations to the U.S. team on a nice win. Although soccer will never become a huge phenomenon in this country and the U.S. stands no chance in hell of winning a World Cup any time soon, it is still nice to see them get to compete with the best in world every four years. I am not trying to hate on soccer, but it is just a fact that the best athletes in this country choose to play football, baseball, and basketball over soccer. Soccer is the only sport out there in most of the rest of the world, so I can not foresee a time when U.S. soccer will be on top of the world.
- Reports are saying that Indy Car racer Danica Patrick will start to race in some NASCAR events next year and may begin a transition to the NASCAR circuit. Sources are saying that she will not give up Indy Car racing entirely and would only compete in select Nationwide and Truck Series events next year. She will not take a full plunge into NASCAR until she is sure she could do well and is looking to take a path similar to the one Tony Stewart took. I will give some credit to Patrick for actually proving over time that she has the skills to compete. She has steadily improved in the Indy Car standings every year and has shown potential. I used to think that she was just a hype machine and would fizzle out, but she does have talent. I would still like to see her actually win some races, but maybe that is still to come on the horizon.
- U.S. Open Update: Things are starting to get interesting as we hit the first weekend of the U.S. Open. Andy Roddick, who came in as the #5 seed and brimming with confidence after his epic Wimbledon final with Roger Federer, was taken out in the 3rd round by 55th-ranked John Isner in five sets. Men’s #1 seed Roger Federer, who got tested by #31 seed Leyton Hewitt, and #4 seed Novak Djokovic both needed four sets to survive and advance. Federer got off to a slow start by losing the first set, but he showed his championship will to win by playing through it and reeling off 3 straight sets to win. On the women’s side, the surprise of the tournament continues to be 17-year old American Melanie Oudin, who beat #29 seed Maria Sharapova 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.
#20 BYU 14, #3 Oklahoma 13 – Without question, the biggest story from yesterday’s action was the injury to Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford. Bradford took a hard hit late in the 2nd quarter and his throwing shoulder was driven into the ground. He ended up being diagnosed with a sprained AC joint in his shoulder. This type of injury usually will keep a player out 2-4 weeks depending on the grade of the sprain and how much pain the player can deal with. With Bradford out in the 2nd half, the game became a real defensive struggle. Both Oklahoma and BYU came to play on the defensive side of the ball. Oklahoma backup QB Landry Jones could not get anything going and BYU was able to hold Oklahoma’s run game in check. A late surge and huge drive was orchestrated by BYU QB Max Hall, who won the game for BYU by throwing a 7-yard TD pass with 3:03 left in the game. Obviously, this win is huge for BYU and it now gives them a huge boost and will allow them to try and become the latest BCS buster. For Oklahoma, the hopes of a National Championship season may now be over. They will have to rely on their defense and running game until Bradford can return. Bradford may now be hard pressed to make a run at winning the Heisman trophy for a second straight season. Pollsters do take injuries into account, but Oklahoma will have to make a major statement when Bradford returns and hope their offensive line gels because they were the source of Oklahoma’s problems last night.
#4 USC 56, San Jose State 3 – For the first quarter of this game, USC looked extremely sluggish and it seemed as if talk of contending for a National Championship, let alone a Pac 10 title, might be a little wishful thinking. Oh how suddenly things can change. USC quickly kicked it into gear in the 2nd quarter and ending up cruising and blowing out San Jose State. Freshman QB Matt Barkley started slow, but he settled into the game going 15-for-19 for 233 yards and 1 TD and let the Trojans’ powerful running game and stingy defense take over. Barkley and the Trojans will get a much tougher test when they travel to Ohio State next week. Before this week, many assumed that Ohio State would go into that game as the favorite, but that might change this week…
#6 Ohio State 31, Navy 27 – And the reason why it might change is because Ohio State received a huge scare at the hands of Navy. Ohio State did not have many problems moving the ball and scoring, but the problem was that they struggled getting a handle on Navy’s triple option offense. The Buckeyes also made a crucial mistake by going for a 4th and 2 instead of kicking a field goal that would have given them a 32-14 lead. Instead, they were stuffed and the momentum changed for Navy. They were able to eat up huge chunks of yards on the ground and kept making big plays until they got to within 29-27. The dream of a monumental upset died though when Navy threw an interception on the 2-point conversion and Ohio State returned it for 2 points of their own to win the game 31-27. Navy is certainly no slouch and they come to play every week, but now many are wondering how good Ohio State will be this year. We will find out next week and USC might be favored to win even on the road. It will most likely come down to how USC freshman QB Matt Barkley handles the pressure of his first huge college game.
#5 Alabama 34, #7 Virginia Tech 24 – The score of this game was certainly closer than it should have been. I really enjoyed watching this one as it was a hard fought contest and pretty fascinating. Alabama was not very sharp early on in this game and they allowed Virginia Tech to hang in it by giving up a kickoff return touchdown, coughing up two bad turnovers, and committing a few silly penalties. While this was happening, Alabama was absolutely punishing Virginia Tech when it came to ball control and the ground game and ended up outgaining Virginia Tech 498-155 in yards. The talent gap between the two teams finally showed up in the 4th quarter as Alabama was able to pull away and win the game. The Crimson Tide defense looks like a beast and if the offense can continue to improve, Alabama might have a shot to give Florida a run if the two meet in the SEC Championship game. Virginia Tech has a great deal of work to do, but it seems like they still might be able to have success in an obviously weaker ACC.
#9 Oklahoma State 24, #13 Georgia 10 – As I mentioned earlier, I was very mad I did not get a chance to watch this game on TV. Georgia got off to a very quick start, driving right down the field and taking a 7-0 lead. It seemed as if this might be a mismatch, but the Oklahoma State defense surprisingly stepped up huge and held Georgia in check until the Cowboys’ offense was able to shake out of a sluggish start. QB Zac Robinson hooked up with his star receiver Dez Bryant for 2 TDs and Oklahoma State was able to cruise home to victory. The performance of the defense is a great sign for Oklahoma State. Many assumed that they would need to try and win shootouts and outscore their opponents every week, but that might not be the case. The Cowboys could end up being real players in the Big 12 now, especially with the early struggles of Oklahoma. Georgia will obviously need to find some answers on offense or they will not be able to make a serious challenge in the SEC. It looks like replacing Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno might be a tough task.
#11 LSU 31, Washington 23 – Washington was able to put in an inspired effort to hang with LSU, but it was not enough for them to pull off a victory. I was surprised that Washington was able to hang with LSU for so long, but I guess the 2500 mile road trip actually can take a toll. LSU was able to put together some good drives in the 2nd half to take over the game and they looked pretty solid. It should be a great race in the SEC West this year, but Alabama would have the inside track in my opinion.
#12 California 52, Maryland 13 – Well my home state Terps put in a thoroughly embarrassing performance last night. I thought they might be able to hang close with Cal, but it is obvious that they are nowhere close to Cal’s level this year. Costly turnovers and numerous mistakes killed Maryland and Cal RB Jahvid Best just ran wild over them. I’m sure Cal was looking for revenge in this game after last year’s loss at Maryland, but it was worse than that. I am getting a bad feeling that the Terrapins are just not that good this year and they might struggle to make a bowl game. However, the entire ACC had a hard time this weekend, so maybe Maryland can have enough success in the conference to get to .500 and be bowl eligible.
#22 Iowa 17, Northern Iowa 16 – This game almost turned into the biggest upset of the weekend. It was a mighty struggle for Iowa. They were able to develop no sort of rhythm on offense and they blew many opportunities that would have allowed them to put the game away. I did remark in my preview that Northern Iowa is one of the top teams in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) and they could hang around in this one. That prediction was absolutely true as Northern Iowa looked like the more together team out there and they almost were able to use that to overcome the talent gap. Iowa had to block two 40-yard field goals in the final seconds to avoid the upset. Iowa will need to make some serious improvements or it could be a very mediocre season for them.
#23 Notre Dame 35, Nevada 0 – Maybe all the talk about Notre Dame being a serious contender is actually true. The Fighting Irish turned in an extremely impressive performance as they beat up on Nevada in every facet of the game. QB Jimmy Clausen looked more mature and he seemed like he was in mid-season form as he threw for 315 yards and 4 TDs. Notre Dame had huge plays on offense and their defense was able to keep Nevada’s running game and QB Colin Kaepernick in check and off balance. It seems as though Notre Dame may hang around all year and they could surprise everyone.
#1 Florida 62, Charleston Southern 3
#2 Texas 59, Louisiana-Monroe 20
#9 Penn State 31, Akron 7
#15 Georgia Tech 37, Jacksonville State 17
#19 Utah 35, Utah State 17
#21 North Carolina 40, The Citadel 6
#24 Nebraska 49, Florida Atlantic 3
#25 Kansas 49, Northern Colorado 3
As you can see, 1/3 of the Top 25 was able to take care of business and cruise in their “cupcake” games to start the year. Florida and Texas looked pretty sharp and they could be on a collision course for the BCS Title game in January.
And on two final notes…it seems as though Michigan was able to rally around Coach Rich Rodriguez and they beat Western Michigan with no trouble at all. And in Tennessee, the Lane Kiffin era began with a 63-7 stomping of Western Kentucky. I hope Lane enjoys this one because it might be a different story when Tennessee plays Florida.
The Game’s Quick Hits
NFL Cut Down Day: One of the most surprising cuts happened early in the morning Saturday as it was reported the New York Giants cut WR David Tyree. Tyree was one of the heroes of Super Bowl XLII, making a tremendous against his helmet catch to prolong the winning drive for the Giants. Obviously, Tyree did not develop into enough of a big play receiver for the Giants to keep him. If anything holds the Giants back this season, it will most likely be the lack of a threat at WR.
Even though QB Colt Brennan is on IR and out for the season now, the Redskins cut former Missouri QB Chase Daniel. This comes as a bit of a surprise since I though Daniel had some potential and was a solid QB at Missouri. Of course when we are talking QBs and the Redskins, Daniel Snyder will not be satisfied until he gets a superstar at the position. The Redskins will now only carry QBs Jason Campbell and Todd Collins on the 53 man roster.
Another big surprise was The Raiders cutting QB Jeff Garcia. I have no idea why in the hell Oakland would cut him, but I guess that is why the franchise continues to lose year after year. The Raiders lured Garcia to Oakland with hopes that he would have a fair shot to beat out JaMarcus Russell for the starting job, but it is obvious now that Al Davis was not going to give up on Russell and demote him. I believe though that Garcia would be a team player and accept the role and the Raiders are fools for not keeping him because it is always a good thing to have a solid backup QB in the NFL. Hopefully Garcia can find another job out there because I believe he still has some juice left and he can help a team.
The Bills ended up cutting RB Dominic Rhodes after signing him in the offseason. With RB Marshawn Lynch being suspended for three games, it seems puzzling that the Bills did not stick with a solid veteran back like Rhodes. And with the performance of their offense in the preseason, the Bills need all the help they can get.
- Sean O’Hair was able to fire a 7-under par 64 to catch the steady Jim Furyk at 12-under par and share the lead after the 2nd round of the Deutsche Bank Championship. The pristine conditions in the morning allowed a slew of players to shoot low rounds and set the pace between 8 and 12-under par after two rounds. Tiger Woods played later in the day and again was not able to put everything together. He did manage to sink some putts on the back 9 however, and ended up shooting a 4-under par 67 to put him 7 shots back at 5-under par heading into the final two rounds. I still maintain the opinion that Tiger is too far off of his best game to have a chance to win this tournament. He is fighting his putter too much and at a tie for 28th place, I think too many people are between him and the top of the leaderboard. He almost made me eat my words last week, but I don’t think he gets that close this time. Unless he goes out and shoots a 63 or 64 tomorrow…
- MLB News and Notes: Yankees closer Mariano Rivera had a bullpen session on Saturday and reported no pain in his sore left groin and might be able to return to the mound on Sunday. Obviously, the Yankees need a healthy Rivera to have a shot at winning the World Series. A big hitting lineup will only take you so far and it is going to take solid pitching and someone who can close down games to get the job done. Rivera is still in fine form this season, leading the majors with 38 saves…A federal judge has dismissed Roger Clemens' defamation suit against his former trainer, Brian McNamee and Clemens can not file the suit again, only appeal it. This was a pleasing bit of news to see. I have no love for Roger Clemens and have always though he was an arrogant jackass to be quite honest. It seems pretty obvious that he was using performance enhancing drugs, yet he continues to deny it in hopes of saving his chances to make the Hall of Fame and chooses to try and sue his trainer, who I believe is telling the truth. Of course this could end up being a money grab attempt by McNamee, but when the guy is only a trainer, I don’t think he was lying to Congress. I hope something comes out later to bust Clemens further because I can not stand the guy and his attitude.
- The United States soccer team rallied from a 1-0 deficit to defeat El Salvador 2-1 in a World Cup qualifying match last night. Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore scored for the U.S., who is now in prime position to qualify for their 6th straight trip to the World Cup. Congratulations to the U.S. team on a nice win. Although soccer will never become a huge phenomenon in this country and the U.S. stands no chance in hell of winning a World Cup any time soon, it is still nice to see them get to compete with the best in world every four years. I am not trying to hate on soccer, but it is just a fact that the best athletes in this country choose to play football, baseball, and basketball over soccer. Soccer is the only sport out there in most of the rest of the world, so I can not foresee a time when U.S. soccer will be on top of the world.
- Reports are saying that Indy Car racer Danica Patrick will start to race in some NASCAR events next year and may begin a transition to the NASCAR circuit. Sources are saying that she will not give up Indy Car racing entirely and would only compete in select Nationwide and Truck Series events next year. She will not take a full plunge into NASCAR until she is sure she could do well and is looking to take a path similar to the one Tony Stewart took. I will give some credit to Patrick for actually proving over time that she has the skills to compete. She has steadily improved in the Indy Car standings every year and has shown potential. I used to think that she was just a hype machine and would fizzle out, but she does have talent. I would still like to see her actually win some races, but maybe that is still to come on the horizon.
- U.S. Open Update: Things are starting to get interesting as we hit the first weekend of the U.S. Open. Andy Roddick, who came in as the #5 seed and brimming with confidence after his epic Wimbledon final with Roger Federer, was taken out in the 3rd round by 55th-ranked John Isner in five sets. Men’s #1 seed Roger Federer, who got tested by #31 seed Leyton Hewitt, and #4 seed Novak Djokovic both needed four sets to survive and advance. Federer got off to a slow start by losing the first set, but he showed his championship will to win by playing through it and reeling off 3 straight sets to win. On the women’s side, the surprise of the tournament continues to be 17-year old American Melanie Oudin, who beat #29 seed Maria Sharapova 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
College Football Season Preview
The college football season begins in earnest tonight with a huge game at 10:15 pm ET on ESPN featuring #14 Oregon at #16 Boise State. Since the season is now upon us, I just wanted to offer up a few thoughts about the college football scene this year. I believe that the 2009 college football season has the potential to be an epic one. All you have to do is start at the top. I can’t recall a time when 3 excellent players and Heisman Trophy contenders from arguably the top 3 schools in the nation all returned to school and put the NFL off for a year. Florida QB Tim Tebow, Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford, and Texas QB Colt McCoy should make things very exciting for college football fans in ‘09. And without question, these three will be instrumental in guiding their teams toward a national championship.
While I expect a great season of football and some awesome games, I think there are only a handful of contenders for the title and I do not anticipate a dark horse making a run. Florida is clearly the favorite to repeat as National Champion. They are returning all 11 starters on defense and the return of Tebow will keep their high powered offense rolling. I have stated before that I do not like Tim Tebow, mostly because of how the media tends to portray the guy as perfect. I respect his will to win and compete, but I feel that he will just turn out to be one of those college phenoms who eventually fall flat when they get to the NFL. With that said though, the guy is a beast on the college level and I don’t think he will let the team get lazy. I see Florida cruising to win the SEC East and then most likely matching up with Alabama, LSU, or Mississippi for the SEC Championship which they should also win. Due to the SEC being the toughest conference, Florida should be able to withstand one loss as long as it is not in the SEC Championship game. Someone could surprise them, which does seem to happen every year, but they will be favored to win every single game and make it to the BCS Title game.
Florida’s likely opponent in that game could be decided on October 17th when Texas takes on Oklahoma. Last year, Texas won the game 45-35, but due to a crazy rule in the Big 12 that uses BCS standings as one of the tiebreakers to determine a division champion, Oklahoma beat out Texas for the Big 12 South Division Title and were then able to parlay that into a Big 12 Championship win and a shot at the National Title. I don’t expect such shenanigans this year and the winner of this game will likely win the Big 12 South and be able to get to the BCS Title game. The game should be one hell of a shootout between Bradford and McCoy. McCoy is the trendy pick this year for the Heisman Trophy and many people are taking Texas to make it to the BCS Title game. I tend to agree and have to jump on the bandwagon. I believe Texas will find enough motivation from last year’s disappointment to win the game and the Big 12 and get their shot this year. If that happens, McCoy will most likely have the inside track on the Heisman and it will be a spread the wealth situation: voters could be hesitant to give out a 2nd Trophy to Bradford or Tebow and all three could end up with one by December. If Oklahoma is able to beat Texas in this game though, expect Oklahoma to take on Florida in a BCS Championship rematch from last year.
I honestly believe that the only other team outside of the “big 3” this year to have a shot at the National Championship is USC. The Trojans always have a wealth of talent and Pete Carroll is a master at recruiting, so USC will always have a good team. Over the past few seasons though, they have fallen short and I expect the same this year. USC has handed the QB job to freshman Matt Barkley. Now Barkley was the most sought after recruit last year and by all estimates, the kid is very talented. But he is still a true freshman and I believe that USC will suffer one Pac 10 loss in the middle of season and that will kill their title chances. I think Barkley will end up having one game where he makes too many mistakes and it will cost USC. I expect Cal and Oregon to try and make a run at the Trojans for the Pac 10 title, but USC should be able to hold them off and win the Pac 10.
Outside of those four teams, the football will still be great and so will some of the teams. I just think that no one else will have a shot at the National Title. The Big 10 conference should come down to a great battle between Ohio State and Penn State. The two teams will meet at Penn State on November 7th and the game could decide who wins the Big 10 Title. Penn State was able to go to Ohio State last year and win for the 1st time since joining the conference. So you can expect Ohio State to be looking for payback this year. I think Ohio State has the better team by a slight margin, but playing away from Columbus could make this dead even. I have no idea who will win this game, but no matter what happens, I believe that both of these teams will not be able to do enough to get into the BCS Title game.
The ACC should have a pretty balanced conference this year, but no BCS Title contenders to speak of. Virginia Tech is the favorite in the Coastal Division, but the loss of star RB Darren Evans to a torn ACL is a big blow. Georgia Tech seems like they will be able to offer a challenge to Virginia Tech in the division and the game at Georgia Tech on October 17th could be the decider. Florida State seems to be on the upswing and should be able to win the ACC Atlantic Division and play either VA or GA Tech for the ACC Championship. I think Florida State might be able to pull the “upset” on Virginia Tech this year if that becomes the matchup. Obviously when it comes to the ACC, I am a Maryland Terrapins fan, but it seems like it will be a down year for them. I have heard no talk about them contending in the ACC so it seems like 7 or 8 wins is probably the ceiling, but hopefully they can still make a bowl game this year.
Outside of those big conferences, I don’t think there will be any legitimate contenders or huge surprises. I don’t see the Big East being particularly strong this year. There is a lot of talk about Rutgers taking a step forward and knocking off Cincinnati for the Big East Conference Title, but no team from the conference will be a player for the national title. I have heard a TON of talk about Notre Dame being a real dark horse this year, but I don’t envision that happening at all. The Fighting Irish are returning most of their team which did show flashes of brilliance last year, but I can not picture them going undefeated and making the National Championship game like Lou Holtz is trying to push on ESPN. QB Jimmy Clausen and the offense should be good and I think 9 or 10 wins is a strong possibility and maybe they might sniff a BCS game, but they will lose at least once and that will kill any national title hopes.
And finally, there is always talk of the smaller schools making a run at the BCS and it seems like BYU and Boise State are once again in the running and being talked about as trying to make it happen this year. That makes tonight’s opener against Oregon an extremely crucial game for Boise State. Boise State almost went undefeated last year and if they are able to beat Oregon tonight, then they will have a great chance of not being beaten in 2009. Considering they are starting the year ranked #16, they could make a serious claim for getting to the title game if they win out. The strength of schedule will obviously hurt them, but a BCS game would be all but guaranteed if they finish off a perfect season. Oregon will be looking for revenge after losing to Boise 37-32 in 2008, so it should be one great game tonight.
So the bottom line is that the college football season should be a great one this year and I am really looking forward to all the great games. In the final analysis, I have to put the best odds on a Florida vs. Texas matchup in the BCS Title game. Oklahoma and USC have a chance to play spoiler in my opinion, but clearly Florida has the advantage in trying to repeat as National Champions this year.
The Game’s Quick Hits
- The Vancouver Canucks and G Roberto Luongo agreed to a 12-year contract extension worth $64 million over the life of the deal and costing an average yearly salary cap hit of $5.35 million. Luongo was entering the final year of his previous contract, so this staves off him entering free agency next year. Even though this is a huge deal and one of those funky front-loaded deals that the NHL has said they will monitor, I have to say it is definitely a smart move for the Canucks. Luongo is arguably the best goalie in the NHL and elite goaltenders are hard to come by. If Vancouver let him walk next year, they would likely spend years and years trying to replace Luongo. If you watched his performance against the Blues in the first round of the playoffs last year, you will see how good this guy is. He is a game changer and can literally steal numerous games for the Canucks over the course of the season and the playoffs. I believe that he is good enough to carry a team on his back to a Stanley Cup and if Vancouver is able to keep the team together and add another piece or two, they will be dangerous and serious contenders to win the Cup for years to come.
- Well, this Ricky Rubio story continues to try and cling to the news wires. Rubio stated Wednesday that he is still committed to the NBA, but he wants to keep playing in Spain right now because a move to the Timberwolves would be “too risky and complicate his life.” Wow, ok. So you have a team in the best league in the world wanting to bring you over and pay you millions of dollars to play basketball and that would just mess up your life? Am I hearing that right? I guess this guy really is still an 18 year old kid. Maybe I am being too hard on the guy and he just wants to stay close to home. But on the other hand, he is already making big money and he made the decision to enter the NBA draft and says the NBA is his goal, so this is just looking like a joke now. The Timberwolves are looking like fools in all this and should have traded Rubio’s rights to another team who could afford to wait or find another way to get the buyout done. Instead, a team that is hurting for talent just wasted a top 5 draft pick this year…brilliant!
- The fun just keeps rolling on for Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez. Days after allegations surfaced that Michigan violates NCAA rules which limit the amount of time players can practice, it is now being reported that Rodriguez was business partners with a banned Clemson booster in a failed real-estate venture that led to a $3.9 million lawsuit. The details of this are pretty boring, so I won’t get into them, but this seems to be just another distraction for Michigan and it makes you wonder if anything else will be dug up now that people are looking at Rodriguez intensely. Some financial adviser is claiming that Rodriguez is a victim of a fraudulent real estate Ponzi scheme in all this and he has done nothing wrong. We’ll see, but if Clemson banned this guy as a booster, then who knows what underhanded dealings might have been done in the past. And as a semi-related note, players from Michigan’s bitter rival Ohio State, as well as Coach Jim Tressel, came out in support of Michigan and said they believe that Michigan is following the rules and the players who want to be better are going above and beyond the 20 hour per week limit in order to become better. The more I am hearing about this, the more I believe that Michigan might not be guilty of anything. Every top college program is going to have players who are workaholics and are going to push themselves and I don’t think the coaches are necessarily making it mandatory. In anything, you have to put in the work to get better.
- The Denver Broncos are said to be “carefully monitoring” any public comments the New York Jets make that might indicate the team is trying to tamper with suspended WR Brandon Marshall. There is talk that the Jets might try to make a play for Marshall, but there has been no contact between the two teams about a trade and the Broncos want it known to Marshall that the only outcome to his behavior improving is playing for the Broncos. However, later in the day it was reported that if the Broncos were to do a trade with the Jets, they would want LB David Harris to be a part of deal because they would want a player back who could immediately contribute. So I guess there are no “talks” until there are talks huh? Hell, if I were the Broncos I might welcome the tampering! Marshall seems like he just wants to be a headache for them and he could become a poison to the team. The guy is very talented though and they can not give him away for nothing to another team, so this just seems like it will continue to be a bad situation.
- Other NFL News and Notes: Sources are saying that people within the Philadelphia Eagles organization believe that Commissioner Roger Goodell will make a decision on Saturday about Michael Vick’s possible full re-instatement to the NFL. These sources are also saying that the Eagles believe Vick will be suspended for the first 2 games of the season. This is pretty much exactly what I expected would happen, so it will be interesting to hear what news comes out over the weekend…Miami Dolphins RB Ricky Williams negotiated his own 1-year contract extension that will keep him with the team through 2010. Williams has had his share of problems in the past, but I will give him credit for turning things around and still being a productive RB at 32. His coaches and teammates have praised his work ethic and leadership, so I will just say good luck to him on a good season…Bengals QB Carson Palmer, who is recovering from a sprained ankle he suffered on August 14th, will not play in the team’s final preseason game, but will be ready for week 1. Sources indicate he has finally made significant strides and is doing everything now in practice. Well the Bengals needed some good news. They stand no chance of being any good without Palmer, but the fact remains that even with him, I say that Cincinnati will have a mediocre year again, especially with the Ravens and Steelers in the division…And it seems now that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL will not be signing Adam “Pacman” Jones after all. Real great reporting yesterday then by whoever said it was a done deal…
- U.S. Open Update: Women’s #17 seed and two-time Grand Slam winner Amelie Mauresmo was the latest notable upset victim at the U.S. Open, getting crushed 6-4, 6-0 by Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada in the second round. The women’s side of the draw also saw the #14, #15, and #20 seeds go down in a tough day on the courts for some of the ladies. The men’s side of the draw saw no notable upsets on day 3 and included Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal advancing.
While I expect a great season of football and some awesome games, I think there are only a handful of contenders for the title and I do not anticipate a dark horse making a run. Florida is clearly the favorite to repeat as National Champion. They are returning all 11 starters on defense and the return of Tebow will keep their high powered offense rolling. I have stated before that I do not like Tim Tebow, mostly because of how the media tends to portray the guy as perfect. I respect his will to win and compete, but I feel that he will just turn out to be one of those college phenoms who eventually fall flat when they get to the NFL. With that said though, the guy is a beast on the college level and I don’t think he will let the team get lazy. I see Florida cruising to win the SEC East and then most likely matching up with Alabama, LSU, or Mississippi for the SEC Championship which they should also win. Due to the SEC being the toughest conference, Florida should be able to withstand one loss as long as it is not in the SEC Championship game. Someone could surprise them, which does seem to happen every year, but they will be favored to win every single game and make it to the BCS Title game.
Florida’s likely opponent in that game could be decided on October 17th when Texas takes on Oklahoma. Last year, Texas won the game 45-35, but due to a crazy rule in the Big 12 that uses BCS standings as one of the tiebreakers to determine a division champion, Oklahoma beat out Texas for the Big 12 South Division Title and were then able to parlay that into a Big 12 Championship win and a shot at the National Title. I don’t expect such shenanigans this year and the winner of this game will likely win the Big 12 South and be able to get to the BCS Title game. The game should be one hell of a shootout between Bradford and McCoy. McCoy is the trendy pick this year for the Heisman Trophy and many people are taking Texas to make it to the BCS Title game. I tend to agree and have to jump on the bandwagon. I believe Texas will find enough motivation from last year’s disappointment to win the game and the Big 12 and get their shot this year. If that happens, McCoy will most likely have the inside track on the Heisman and it will be a spread the wealth situation: voters could be hesitant to give out a 2nd Trophy to Bradford or Tebow and all three could end up with one by December. If Oklahoma is able to beat Texas in this game though, expect Oklahoma to take on Florida in a BCS Championship rematch from last year.
I honestly believe that the only other team outside of the “big 3” this year to have a shot at the National Championship is USC. The Trojans always have a wealth of talent and Pete Carroll is a master at recruiting, so USC will always have a good team. Over the past few seasons though, they have fallen short and I expect the same this year. USC has handed the QB job to freshman Matt Barkley. Now Barkley was the most sought after recruit last year and by all estimates, the kid is very talented. But he is still a true freshman and I believe that USC will suffer one Pac 10 loss in the middle of season and that will kill their title chances. I think Barkley will end up having one game where he makes too many mistakes and it will cost USC. I expect Cal and Oregon to try and make a run at the Trojans for the Pac 10 title, but USC should be able to hold them off and win the Pac 10.
Outside of those four teams, the football will still be great and so will some of the teams. I just think that no one else will have a shot at the National Title. The Big 10 conference should come down to a great battle between Ohio State and Penn State. The two teams will meet at Penn State on November 7th and the game could decide who wins the Big 10 Title. Penn State was able to go to Ohio State last year and win for the 1st time since joining the conference. So you can expect Ohio State to be looking for payback this year. I think Ohio State has the better team by a slight margin, but playing away from Columbus could make this dead even. I have no idea who will win this game, but no matter what happens, I believe that both of these teams will not be able to do enough to get into the BCS Title game.
The ACC should have a pretty balanced conference this year, but no BCS Title contenders to speak of. Virginia Tech is the favorite in the Coastal Division, but the loss of star RB Darren Evans to a torn ACL is a big blow. Georgia Tech seems like they will be able to offer a challenge to Virginia Tech in the division and the game at Georgia Tech on October 17th could be the decider. Florida State seems to be on the upswing and should be able to win the ACC Atlantic Division and play either VA or GA Tech for the ACC Championship. I think Florida State might be able to pull the “upset” on Virginia Tech this year if that becomes the matchup. Obviously when it comes to the ACC, I am a Maryland Terrapins fan, but it seems like it will be a down year for them. I have heard no talk about them contending in the ACC so it seems like 7 or 8 wins is probably the ceiling, but hopefully they can still make a bowl game this year.
Outside of those big conferences, I don’t think there will be any legitimate contenders or huge surprises. I don’t see the Big East being particularly strong this year. There is a lot of talk about Rutgers taking a step forward and knocking off Cincinnati for the Big East Conference Title, but no team from the conference will be a player for the national title. I have heard a TON of talk about Notre Dame being a real dark horse this year, but I don’t envision that happening at all. The Fighting Irish are returning most of their team which did show flashes of brilliance last year, but I can not picture them going undefeated and making the National Championship game like Lou Holtz is trying to push on ESPN. QB Jimmy Clausen and the offense should be good and I think 9 or 10 wins is a strong possibility and maybe they might sniff a BCS game, but they will lose at least once and that will kill any national title hopes.
And finally, there is always talk of the smaller schools making a run at the BCS and it seems like BYU and Boise State are once again in the running and being talked about as trying to make it happen this year. That makes tonight’s opener against Oregon an extremely crucial game for Boise State. Boise State almost went undefeated last year and if they are able to beat Oregon tonight, then they will have a great chance of not being beaten in 2009. Considering they are starting the year ranked #16, they could make a serious claim for getting to the title game if they win out. The strength of schedule will obviously hurt them, but a BCS game would be all but guaranteed if they finish off a perfect season. Oregon will be looking for revenge after losing to Boise 37-32 in 2008, so it should be one great game tonight.
So the bottom line is that the college football season should be a great one this year and I am really looking forward to all the great games. In the final analysis, I have to put the best odds on a Florida vs. Texas matchup in the BCS Title game. Oklahoma and USC have a chance to play spoiler in my opinion, but clearly Florida has the advantage in trying to repeat as National Champions this year.
The Game’s Quick Hits
- The Vancouver Canucks and G Roberto Luongo agreed to a 12-year contract extension worth $64 million over the life of the deal and costing an average yearly salary cap hit of $5.35 million. Luongo was entering the final year of his previous contract, so this staves off him entering free agency next year. Even though this is a huge deal and one of those funky front-loaded deals that the NHL has said they will monitor, I have to say it is definitely a smart move for the Canucks. Luongo is arguably the best goalie in the NHL and elite goaltenders are hard to come by. If Vancouver let him walk next year, they would likely spend years and years trying to replace Luongo. If you watched his performance against the Blues in the first round of the playoffs last year, you will see how good this guy is. He is a game changer and can literally steal numerous games for the Canucks over the course of the season and the playoffs. I believe that he is good enough to carry a team on his back to a Stanley Cup and if Vancouver is able to keep the team together and add another piece or two, they will be dangerous and serious contenders to win the Cup for years to come.
- Well, this Ricky Rubio story continues to try and cling to the news wires. Rubio stated Wednesday that he is still committed to the NBA, but he wants to keep playing in Spain right now because a move to the Timberwolves would be “too risky and complicate his life.” Wow, ok. So you have a team in the best league in the world wanting to bring you over and pay you millions of dollars to play basketball and that would just mess up your life? Am I hearing that right? I guess this guy really is still an 18 year old kid. Maybe I am being too hard on the guy and he just wants to stay close to home. But on the other hand, he is already making big money and he made the decision to enter the NBA draft and says the NBA is his goal, so this is just looking like a joke now. The Timberwolves are looking like fools in all this and should have traded Rubio’s rights to another team who could afford to wait or find another way to get the buyout done. Instead, a team that is hurting for talent just wasted a top 5 draft pick this year…brilliant!
- The fun just keeps rolling on for Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez. Days after allegations surfaced that Michigan violates NCAA rules which limit the amount of time players can practice, it is now being reported that Rodriguez was business partners with a banned Clemson booster in a failed real-estate venture that led to a $3.9 million lawsuit. The details of this are pretty boring, so I won’t get into them, but this seems to be just another distraction for Michigan and it makes you wonder if anything else will be dug up now that people are looking at Rodriguez intensely. Some financial adviser is claiming that Rodriguez is a victim of a fraudulent real estate Ponzi scheme in all this and he has done nothing wrong. We’ll see, but if Clemson banned this guy as a booster, then who knows what underhanded dealings might have been done in the past. And as a semi-related note, players from Michigan’s bitter rival Ohio State, as well as Coach Jim Tressel, came out in support of Michigan and said they believe that Michigan is following the rules and the players who want to be better are going above and beyond the 20 hour per week limit in order to become better. The more I am hearing about this, the more I believe that Michigan might not be guilty of anything. Every top college program is going to have players who are workaholics and are going to push themselves and I don’t think the coaches are necessarily making it mandatory. In anything, you have to put in the work to get better.
- The Denver Broncos are said to be “carefully monitoring” any public comments the New York Jets make that might indicate the team is trying to tamper with suspended WR Brandon Marshall. There is talk that the Jets might try to make a play for Marshall, but there has been no contact between the two teams about a trade and the Broncos want it known to Marshall that the only outcome to his behavior improving is playing for the Broncos. However, later in the day it was reported that if the Broncos were to do a trade with the Jets, they would want LB David Harris to be a part of deal because they would want a player back who could immediately contribute. So I guess there are no “talks” until there are talks huh? Hell, if I were the Broncos I might welcome the tampering! Marshall seems like he just wants to be a headache for them and he could become a poison to the team. The guy is very talented though and they can not give him away for nothing to another team, so this just seems like it will continue to be a bad situation.
- Other NFL News and Notes: Sources are saying that people within the Philadelphia Eagles organization believe that Commissioner Roger Goodell will make a decision on Saturday about Michael Vick’s possible full re-instatement to the NFL. These sources are also saying that the Eagles believe Vick will be suspended for the first 2 games of the season. This is pretty much exactly what I expected would happen, so it will be interesting to hear what news comes out over the weekend…Miami Dolphins RB Ricky Williams negotiated his own 1-year contract extension that will keep him with the team through 2010. Williams has had his share of problems in the past, but I will give him credit for turning things around and still being a productive RB at 32. His coaches and teammates have praised his work ethic and leadership, so I will just say good luck to him on a good season…Bengals QB Carson Palmer, who is recovering from a sprained ankle he suffered on August 14th, will not play in the team’s final preseason game, but will be ready for week 1. Sources indicate he has finally made significant strides and is doing everything now in practice. Well the Bengals needed some good news. They stand no chance of being any good without Palmer, but the fact remains that even with him, I say that Cincinnati will have a mediocre year again, especially with the Ravens and Steelers in the division…And it seems now that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL will not be signing Adam “Pacman” Jones after all. Real great reporting yesterday then by whoever said it was a done deal…
- U.S. Open Update: Women’s #17 seed and two-time Grand Slam winner Amelie Mauresmo was the latest notable upset victim at the U.S. Open, getting crushed 6-4, 6-0 by Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada in the second round. The women’s side of the draw also saw the #14, #15, and #20 seeds go down in a tough day on the courts for some of the ladies. The men’s side of the draw saw no notable upsets on day 3 and included Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal advancing.
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