*Special note: Analysis of the new AP Top 25 Poll will be posted this afternoon and a full analysis of the results from WWE Breaking Point will be posted on Tuesday.
Yesterday was one of the best days of the year as far as I’m concerned. The opening Sunday of the NFL season is like Christmas morning. There is so much excitement and anticipation as we get to unwrap another year of the best sport on Earth. Being in Baltimore, I am a huge Ravens fan and the excitement for a great season is high around here. I am not a fanatic by any means though, but I do have to admit that my expectations for the team have slowly risen during the preseason. The Ravens seemingly got an easy opener against the lowly Kansas City Chiefs. So let’s analyze how it all went down.
Even before the game, the Ravens got some good news when Kansas City Chiefs QB Matt Cassel was finally declared inactive and would not start. That meant QB Brodie Croyle, who doesn’t really strike fear in defenses, would be under center for the game. In the first quarter, it looked like this game would be a total blowout. The Ravens’ defense was dominant and Kansas City was only able to manage 1 first down the entire half. They got nothing against the Ravens in the passing game and they were only able to manage a few decent runs. On offense, the Ravens came out swinging with the passing game. Baltimore was criticized last year for being too predictable and running the ball too much on early downs. But yesterday, they put an emphasis on throwing the ball early and often and did it a great deal on first down, unlike their approach last season.
QB Joe Flacco looked great. He made some really nice throws down the field and also showed good accuracy. He made good decisions and was brilliant on the Ravens’ only touchdown drive of the half. On a third and goal near the end zone, Flacco was able to scramble in the pocket and extend the play until he found RB Willis McGahee for a short 3–yard touchdown pass. This gave the Ravens a 10-0 lead and it looked like they would cruise. However, the offense started to bog down as Kansas City showed some good athleticism on defense. Kansas City also mixed in some luck by blocking a punt and recovering it in the end zone for a touchdown, cutting their deficit to 10-7 at halftime. So even though Baltimore controlled the first half and gave Kansas City nothing on offense, the scoreboard did not reflect the effort and it left the game in doubt. I admit to being a little worried because a few more bad bounces and the Ravens could have been in trouble.
In the second half, the Ravens needed to come out strong and try to put Kansas City away. You don’t want to let an underdog hang around because they start to gain confidence and they start to believe. Unfortunately, this did not happen as Flacco threw an interception that was returned inside the Ravens’ 10-yard line. The Chiefs punched it into the end zone and amazingly, they led 14-10 without moving the ball worth a damn on offense. Flacco continued to sling the ball around though and Baltimore answered with a Flacco 9-yard TD pass to TE Todd Heap to retake the lead.
Kansas City was able to finally move the ball on offense and caught a break when Croyle hit a jump-ball, 50 yard completion which set up a field goal to tie the game. The Ravens answered by slowly but surely taking control with their running game. Both RB Ray Rice and McGahee started to find some holes and the Ravens retook a 24-17 lead on a 1-yard TD run by RB Le’ron McClain. It was short lived though as the Chiefs were able to produce another good drive that ended with a Croyle TD pass to tie the game at 24-24 with about 5 minutes left in the game.
But Flacco and the Ravens would not be denied. Once again, they marched down the field and Flacco completed a beautiful 31-yard TD pass to WR Mark Clayton that put the Ravens up once and for all and they went on to win 38-24.
Flacco was brilliant in this game and he put up his first 300 yard passing game of his career. He finished 26-for-43 for 307 yards with 3 TDs and 1 INT. The Ravens amassed 501 yards of total offense, which is a franchise record. The offensive line did a great job providing Flacco with protection and he was extremely crisp and looked very mature. He looked better than he did at any point last season and his decision making was vastly better. Todd Heap also looked very good and if he can stay healthy, it will be an immense help to the entire offense. I also think that WR Kelley Washington can step in as a good #3 and make some big catches during the course of the year.
With that said, I still think the Ravens threw the ball too much yesterday, but they did send a message to the rest of the league that they are not just a running team. Baltimore will have to strike a balance though and get back to ball control and trying to dominant the line of scrimmage with their running game. Kansas City got very lucky to hang in the game as long as they did. The Ravens deserved a blowout victory for how well they played. But that is what a few bad breaks will do and good teams find a way to win even when they are not playing their best. I was pleased to see the Ravens overcome the errors and play well down the stretch. I saw a bunch of other stinker scores out there, so it is clear that not every team was hitting on all cylinders. My hopes remain high after this performance. It wasn’t a perfect opening game, but I saw a ton of good things out there on the field and it was a more than solid effort all the way around.
NFL Wrap Up:
Eagles 38, Panthers 10 – The biggest story of the day happened in Carolina. Even though I expected the Eagles to win this game, I did not expect this big of a blowout. The Eagles were dominant in this game and established themselves as a clear favorite in the NFC. But that is not the big story. Eagles QB Donovan McNabb was slammed by several tacklers on a 3-yard TD run in the 3rd quarter and the hit resulted in McNabb walking off the field with cracked ribs. At this point, there is no exact word on the severity of the injury or if McNabb will miss any playing time. Coach Andy Reid said “there’s a chance” he will play next week. This is not good news for the Eagles and especially for McNabb, who seems to find an injury hitting him every year. This could be an extremely painful injury to play through and even if McNabb does, it could severely limit his effectiveness and he would be putting himself at risk of further injury. If McNabb can’t go next week, the Eagles will have to go with QB Kevin Kolb and there will be no Michael Vick to back him up. Vick is suspended for 1 more game and will not be available until week 3. I’m sure there will be more news on this to come, but if McNabb misses extended time, it could make this dominant performance a distant memory. A healthy McNabb can take the Eagles far, but now we have a huge question mark.
On the flip side, the Panthers looked absolutely horrible. Panthers QB Jake Delhomme accounted for 5 turnovers, throwing 4 interceptions and losing 1 fumble. The Eagles’ defense totally dominated them and they looked nothing like the team that was undefeated at home during the regular season last year. As I speculated in my NFL season preview, I felt that the Panthers would fall off this year. After this performance, I am convinced that is a good call and it will be a supreme struggle for Carolina to regain confidence and get things going. They need to get back to running the ball and find a way to play some better defense. The aerial attack seems to be in bad shape and who knows what Delhomme will bring to the table in subsequent weeks.
Vikings 34, Browns 20 – Vikings RB Adrian Peterson put in a dominating performance to help make QB Brett Favre’s regular season debut with the team a rousing success. Peterson carried the ball 25 times and racked up 180 yards and 3 TDs on the day as he slashed the Browns’ defense to shreds. Favre did exactly what I expect he will do all season. He managed the game well and leaned on Peterson and the Vikings’ defense to do the heavy lifting. Favre was only 14-for-21 for 110 yards and 1 TD, but he did not turn the ball over and he did what was needed to win. The Vikings will be a serious threat in the NFC if they can duplicate this formula all year long. The Browns on the other hand were exactly what you would expect…bad. QB Brady Quinn really did not do anything in the passing game and the only spark they got was Josh Cribbs’ 67-yard punt return TD. Cleveland was also bad on defense and got destroyed by Adrian Peterson. Considering that the Browns will have to deal with the Steelers and Ravens 2 times each this season, it will be a long and mediocre year for the Browns.
Broncos 12, Bengals 7 – The Browns/Bengals game was downright ugly. It only gets a mention this high due to the bizarre ending that occurred. Both teams did squat on offense the entire game and with under a minute to play in the game, the score was 6-0 Broncos. However, the Bengals finally put together a drive on offense that was capped by RB Cedric Benson scoring on a 1-yard TD run to give Cincy a 7-6 lead. The game seemed to be over until a Kyle Orton pass was tipped by the Bengals’ defense and it fell right into the hands of Broncos WR Brandon Stokley. He then proceeded to run down the sideline 87 yards to score and give the Broncos a 12-7 victory. This is definitely one of the craziest finishes I have ever seen. But without question, this game proves that neither the Bengals nor the Broncos are a good team. I heard some so-called “experts” say that the Bengals will finish second in the AFC North and make the playoffs instead of the Ravens. The thought just makes me laugh. QB Carson Palmer was supposed to bring back some punch to the Bengals’ offense and that amounted to a whole bunch of nothing, at least in this game. I see an up and down year for both of these teams and neither will be a contender.
Jets 24, Texans 7 – The hype will probably hit a new level as Jets QB Mark Sanchez looked very good in his debut and he was able to guide New York to an easy 24-7 win over the Texans. Sanchez went 18-for-31 for 272 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT. Coach Rex Ryan also brought a little flavor of the Ravens’ defense and the Jets totally shut down Houston on offense. The Texans only got past midfield once in the first 3 quarters and they only gained 183 yards for the entire game. I may have to reconsider how good of a season the Jets can have now. If Sanchez can play this well and limit his mistakes and Rex Ryan can bring in some magic on defense like he had in Baltimore, then the Jets could follow the exact same formula that Baltimore did last year. Ryan knows first hand how to get a rookie QB and a good defense into the playoffs, and he could possibly get it done this year. As for the playoffs, it seems like the Texans will be a tease once again. If QB Matt Schaub and WR Andre Johnson get shut down like this on numerous occasions, the Texans will disappoint again and they will only be a .500 team at best.
Saints 45, Lions 27 – Saints QB Drew Brees had a record setting day as the Saints extended the Lions’ losing streak to 18 straight games. Brees threw for 358 yards and 6 TDs in the huge 45-27 win. The 6 TD passes was a Saints’ record and it was the first time a QB threw 6 TDs on opening day since 1959. Detroit rookie QB Matthew Stafford had a very tough day as he completed less than 50% of his passes and threw 3 INTs with only 1 TD. The Lions’ defense is still as bad as advertised and it will be another long year in Detroit. I still believe QB Daunte Culpepper should be starting for the Lions and I have no idea when they will get a win. The Saints’ performance was impressive today, but it was against the lowly Lions, so it might not mean that much. Brees will be a beast all season long, but it remains to be seen what happens when New Orleans faces stiffer competition. I still think New Orleans will miss the playoffs, but maybe this could be a magical season for Brees and he will just carry the whole team on his back and win enough shootouts to get the job done.
Cowboys 34, Buccaneers 21 – Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo had a career-best 353 yards passing and threw 3 TDs to guide Dallas to a 34-21 victory over the Bucs. It appears that Dallas may actually be fine without Terrell Owens and they may have enough weapons to score points and win games. Romo showed good chemistry with his receivers and the offense was just on a roll. The Buccaneers are going nowhere this season, so we will have to wait and see what happens when the Cowboys get into the meat of their NFC East schedule. Dallas was able to get a good pass rush going in this game and more performances like this will be needed for success. I think Dallas has a shot to battle for a Wild Card spot and this was a good start on the year. As expected, the Buccaneers will struggle this year and the defense is no longer dominant enough to win games for them. In fact, the defense may be starting to turn into a downright bad unit. They will struggle to win games all year.
Colts 14, Jaguars 12 – The Colts and Jaguars had a surprisingly defensive battle and Indianapolis needed two stops in the 4th quarter to escape with a 14-12 win. Colts QB Peyton Manning was able come up with a 300-yard passing game, but the lack of a running game hurt the Colts as RB Joseph Addai only had 42 yards rushing. The star of the game for the Colts was their defense. They did just enough to hold Jaguars RB Maurice Jones-Drew in check and the pass defense limited QB David Garrard to only 122 yards. The Colts lost WR Anthony Gonzalez to a knee injury and it was reported he strained ligaments in his right knee and could miss a few weeks. If the defense plays this well for Indianapolis, it will be a huge bonus and allow them to make another solid run at the playoffs. I have to think Manning will round into superior form like he always does and he will steal some victories for the Colts. I would have expected a more dominant performance at home in the opener, so I will remain a little weary as to how good they will be this season. The Jags will most likely struggle to put up points unless Jones-Drew runs wild. I just don’t see them staying consistent enough to be a real threat all year.
Falcons 19, Dolphins 7 – Like the Colts, the Falcons did not have that dominant of a home opener, but they did enough to get a win over the Dolphins. Atlanta QB Matt Ryan had a very solid day, as he went 22-for-36 for 229 yards and 2 TDs. TE Tony Gonzalez had a great debut, catching 5 passes for 73 yards and 1 TD. It is clear that Gonzalez will help the Falcons’ offense immensely. RB Michael Turner was held in check by the Dolphins, but I expect the Falcons to get cranked up as the season goes along. The defense was pretty sharp today and if they play this well all season, the Falcons could turn into a serious contender in the NFC. As I said in my season preview, the Dolphins will not do enough on offense this year and it showed today. The Dolphins were almost shut out and they got little production in the run game and QB Chad Pennington only managed 176 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT. Miami’s defense will be good enough to hold them in many games, but I believe the offense will let them down and I still think they miss the playoffs this year.
Giants 23, Redskins 17 – The Giants’ defense turned in a stout effort that was highlighted by a 37-yard fumble return TD by a healthy Osi Umenyiora, who played in his first game since the 2007 season after missing all of last year due to injury. The Giants were in control the entire game and they clearly showed that they are a step above the Redskins. New York did not have a great game on offense and there was no indication of who will become the go-to, game breaking receiver. Still, QB Eli Manning did enough to get the job done, while Redskins’ QB Jason Campbell did not. It is well documented that the Redskins tried to replace Campbell and it remains to be seen if he can drive the Redskins to victories. Washington has a soft schedule, but I just don’t see how they will become a playoff team, even with the money owner Daniel Snyder continues to spend. The Giants will wage a fierce battle with the Eagles for the division title, and those games between the two should be great.
49ers 20, Cardinals 16 – The big upset of the late afternoon games came in Arizona as the Cardinals got off to a bad start in defense of their NFC Championship. As I mentioned in my season preview, the loser of the Super Bowl has had trouble making the playoffs the next year and this performance from Arizona does not inspire confidence. This was a fairly sloppy game all around that was dominated by the defenses. The Cardinals had problems on offense in the preseason and they continued into this game. QB Kurt Warner and the rest of his offensive unit are just not meshing well and they look nothing like the NFC Champions. The defense was very good however, limiting 49ers RB Frank Gore on the ground and harassing QB Shaun Hill. The 49ers did absolutely nothing in the 2nd half, but on the one drive that mattered, Hill was great in directing an 80-yard march that he culminated with a game-winning 3-yard TD pass to Gore. I still think that Arizona can right the ship here, but they need to figure out what is wrong with their offense or they are going to miss the playoffs like so many other Super Bowl losers. Make no mistake, the 49ers will play hard in each and every game and they will probably pull off a few more upsets before the year is over.
Seahawks 28, Rams 0 – There is not much to be said about this one. QB Matt Hasselbeck got off to a shaky start by throwing 2 INTs in his first 3 throws, but then settled down to throw 3 TDs and lead the Seahawks to an easy win. The Rams looked like the same old Rams from last season. They got little on offense and poor play on defense. It will be another long year in St. Louis. It remains to be seen how good Seattle can be until they face tougher competition, but with the way Arizona looked today, I am starting to think that the NFC West title race could be closer than I thought.
Packers 21, Bears 15 – The Sunday night game was a typical slugfest that you would expect from the Packers and Bears. Both defenses showed up and gave the opposing quarterback a hard time, but it was Packers QB Aaron Rodgers who stepped up, while Bears QB Jay Culter faltered. Cutler had an extremely tough game and ended up throwing 4 interceptions. The Bears also made a costly mistake late in the game when they were up 12-10. They tried a fake punt in their own half of the field that failed and allowed Green Bay to hit a field goal and grab the lead. Cutler did manage to drive the Bears down for a field goal to take the lead back, but Rodgers fired a 50-yard TD to WR Greg Jennings with 1:11 left in the game to seal the victory. Green Bay lost a ton of close games last year, so it is a real confidence booster that they pulled this one out. It will be a hell of a battle in the NFC North, and if the Packers and Bears bring this type of defense to the Vikings, it will be something to see. Bears LB Brian Urlacher did not play in the 2nd half due to a dislocated wrist, so it remains to be seen how that could affect Chicago.
The Game’s Quick Hits
Quick results from WWE Breaking Point:
Jericho/Show defeat MVP/Henry to retain Tag Titles
Kingston defeats Miz to retain U.S. Title
Legacy defeats DX
Kane defeats The Great Khali
Christian defeats Regal to retain ECW Title
Cena defeats Orton to win WWE Title
Punk defeats Undertaker to retain W.H.C. (screwjob ending)
-Other NFL tidbits from the day: It was reported that signs are pointing toward 49ers’ unsigned 1st round draft pick Michael Crabtree electing to sit out the entire season and re-enter the NFL draft. Seriously, I can not believe this guy. As evidenced by San Francisco’s win over the Cardinals today, the 49ers under Mike Singletary are heading in the right direction and getting better. Crabtree could come in there and help the cause and be a part of the legacy of pulling San Francisco back up to an elite level. But no, this guy only wants to think about himself. He doesn’t think he is getting enough money and obviously has no concept of a sliding rookie wage scale. He also doesn’t think that the 49ers have a quarterback who can help him make Pro Bowls and making him a star. I say this is bullcrap and very selfish. I thought football was a team game and a wide receiver is supposed to try and make his quarterback better. I seriously have no patience for athletes like this. I hope that if Crabtree re-enters the draft, he is drafted by a team with quarterback issues and he falls flat on his face during his rookie season.
Speaking of “diva” wide receivers, it was also reported that former Denver coach Mike Shanahan was planning to cut WR Brandon Marshall before he was fired. Shanahan felt that Marshall was really not that good and was too much of a headache. Without question, Mike Shanahan knows talent and knows how to coach, so this is a pretty telling statement. Marshall did not have a particularly good game today and the jury is still out on whether he will come close to matching his production from the past 2 seasons. I don’t know if Coach Josh McDaniels’ system is going to allow Marshall to thrive, so maybe they should continue to try and get rid of him. I still think he will try to play for money this season, so they might as well try to milk him.
- Seattle Mariners OF Ichiro Suzuki collected his 200th hit of the season last night. This was the 9th consecutive season that Ichiro has had 200 or more hits and that breaks the 108-year old record held by Willie Keeler, who had 8 straight seasons of 200 or more hits from 1894-1901. I don’t have much else to say here and I marvel at an accomplishment like this. Ichiro is one of the best pure hitters of our time and he is a surefire Hall of Famer.
- BMW Championship: Tiger Woods took the drama out of final round Sunday after his blistering course record 9-under par 62 that he shot on Saturday. He opened up a 7 shot lead and was expected to cruise home to victory. Tiger did just that as he shot a 3-under par 68 to finish at 19-under par, a full eight shots better than Jim Furyk and Marc Leishman. Tiger’s 6th win of the PGA Tour season was the 71st of his career, putting him just 2 behind Jack Nicklaus for 2nd most all-time. The win also gave Woods the #1 ranking in the FedEx Cup point standings heading into the last playoff event, the Tour Championship. He is followed by Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson, and Heath “If ya got ‘em” Slocum. If any of these five win the Tour Championship, they will win the FedEx Cup. Obviously, Tiger will go in as the favorite in 2 weeks and if I had to bet, I sure would not bet against him. Considering that Woods came up empty in the majors this year, I am sure he will treat the Tour Championship like a major and he will go out to win it.
- U.S. Open Update: After a long bout of rain delays, the sun finally came out and the men’s semifinals were able to take place. In the first semifinal, #3 seed Rafael Nadal looked totally out of it and was a step slow. He was blown off the court by #6 seed Juan Martin del Potro in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2. Nadal admitted that his strained abdominals played a factor, but del Potro blistered him with serves and forehands and was clearly better on this day. In the final, del Potro will have to face…who else, but #1 seed Roger Federer. The #4 seed Novak Djokovic tried his best to hang with Federer, but like he has done so many times before, Roger just turned up his game another notch and he dispatched of Djokovic in straight sets. Federer will now go for his 6th straight U.S. Open title and 16th Grand Slam title overall in today’s final.
The women finished up play in the nightcap of Sunday’s action and Kim Clijsters was able to complete her amazing comeback to the game after being away for 2 years due to having a baby. She took care of #9 seed Caroline Wozniacki to capture her 2nd U.S. Open Championship and become the first unseeded player to win the title. She is the first mother to win a Grand Slam title since 1980, so this is a pretty big accomplishment.
And in a related note, Serena Williams was fined $10,000 for her profanity-laced tirade directed at a linesperson who called a foot fault on her at a critical time in the match and eventually led to her defeat. The incident is still under investigation however, and more penalties could be levied against Williams. The $10,000 is less than 3% of her prize winnings at the Open, so I hope they hit her with more. There really is no excuse for what she did and an athlete should never abuse, whether verbally or physically, an official the way Serena did. It is possible she could be fined the entire amount of her winnings ($350,000) and I say she more than deserves it. If you want to make a statement that what she did will not be tolerated, then that is how you do it.
Showing posts with label tiger woods. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tiger woods. Show all posts
Monday, September 14, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
College Football Week 2 Review
On paper it looked as though this was going to be a pretty uneventful and unexciting weekend of college football action (outside of the huge USC-Ohio State game of course). But there was some great drama to be found after all, so let’s take a review of the important results:
#3 USC 18, #8 Ohio State 15 – It looked as though Ohio State was finally going to get the monkey off their back and get a huge win on a national TV stage, but they once again fell short. This was a very hard fought game and it heavily favored Ohio State’s style of play. It was a defensive battle that focused more on special teams and field position instead of sheer offensive firepower. For the most part, USC’s offense did not look that good. Freshman QB Matt Barkley looked like a freshman and the whole team did not do much until the final drive of the game. Barkley was finally able to step up and drove the Trojans 96 yards for the game winning touchdown. Ohio State looked a little better than USC on offense, but QB Terrelle Pryor did not have as much of an opportunity to create with his legs as he should have had. I will give credit to USC’s defense for keeping them in the game and giving the offense a chance to win it. At this point, I may have to concede that USC could be a real threat for the National Championship. However, I still think that Barkley’s inexperience will catch up to him one week and the Trojans will lose a game this year. Ohio State should not be ashamed of their performance, but this is not any sort of confidence booster and now they will have to try and fight back into BCS position. At this point, they will face a must win against Penn State to have a chance.
Michigan 38, #18 Notre Dame 34 – Once again, Notre Dame came up short in a big game that could have provided Coach Charlie Weis some breathing room from his critics and could have propelled Notre Dame towards a potential BCS Bowl game. This was a great college football game and will probably go down as one of the best in the storied Michigan-Notre Dame rivalry. Both teams traded shots at each other back and forth and neither defense played particularly well. Notre Dame’s defense certainly did not play the type of game that they did last week against Nevada. The star of the game turned out to be Michigan freshman QB Tate Forcier. He was cool and calm all day and made the big plays that Michigan needed. QB Jimmy Clausen and the Irish were just as good, but they made a mistake at the end of the game by throwing the ball and not trying to force Michigan to use their timeouts when they had a 3 point lead. That allowed Forcier to drive Michigan down the field and he won the game by throwing a 5-yard TD pass to WR Greg Matthews with 11 seconds left. This win now proves that Michigan is for real this season and I would expect them now to easily make a bowl game and they will most likely make the Top 25. I don’t think they will turn into a dominant team by any means, but they are going to overachieve this year. Notre Dame’s dream of a major BCS run is probably shot and they will settle down into a solid, but not spectacular year. Hopefully Lou Holtz is ready to eat some crow.
Houston 45, #5 Oklahoma State 35 – The biggest upset of the day came courtesy of the Houston Cougars, who went into Oklahoma State and came out with a 10 point victory. I did speculate in my preview that this would be a great test for Oklahoma State’s defense and it could be closer than some people thought. Chalk up a great prediction from me and mark it down as a miserable failure for Oklahoma State’s defense. They looked terrible out there and nothing like the team that shut down Georgia last week. The Cowboys let Houston totally dictate the pace of the game and it turned it into a shootout. Normally, the Cowboys are happy to play that type of game, but they were not as efficient as Houston on offense and they could not keep up. Houston QB Case Keenum looked great and he sliced up Oklahoma State’s defense. I have to say that the Cougars are definitely impressive and they have a ton of weapons on offense. They should be able to make a Bowl game this year and they could surprise more people along the way. Oklahoma State now needs to seriously regroup because I think they can kiss any BCS Bowl game dreams goodbye. You can not win on a consistent basis by winning shootouts. I thought their defense might be up to the challenge based on last week’s game, but it seems like it is not. It seems like the logical conclusion is that Georgia’s offense just came out flat and out of sync and that made the Cowboys look good.
#17 Utah 24, San Jose State 14 – Utah was able to extend the nation’s longest winning streak to 16 games, but it was not without a major fight. The game was tied 7-7 heading into the 4th quarter and Utah was finally able to shake San Jose State late in the game. Since USC killed San Jose State last week, this obviously proves that Utah might not be on a level with the likes of the Trojans. But a win is a win and Utah will try to march up the polls and see if they can be a BCS buster.
#19 North Carolina 12, Connecticut 10 – North Carolina needed a holding call in the end zone that resulted in a safety to narrowly avoid being upset by Connecticut. I also stated in my weekly preview that this could be a pretty good football game and was worth paying attention to. Obviously, it was pretty ugly and a defensive struggle, but it did almost produce an upset. Both defenses showed up in this game and neither team could do a damn thing on offense. I thought if North Carolina’s D showed up like it did last week, they would have little trouble winning. The only problem is their offense, especially the running game, stayed home. It seems like Connecticut will give every team they play a tough game and they could end up being a spoiler in the Big East. North Carolina could also be a factor in the ACC if their defense stays this strong, but will need more offense in those games to contend for a conference championship.
#21 Georgia 41, South Carolina 37 – Wow, was this a crazy game…so much for that old stat about these teams not being able to score more than 18 points against each other. This game was a back and forth slugfest that featured a kickoff return TD, an interception return TD, a safety, a blocked PAT, and tons of penalties. It came right down to the wire as well. South Carolina drove the ball all the way down to Georgia’s 7-yard line with 22 seconds left in the game, but QB Stephen Garcia’s 4th down pass was broken up on the goal line. You can never count out a Steve Spurrier coached team, so expect South Carolina to pull an upset at some point during the season. I don’t know exactly what to make of Georgia. They got the offense cranked up this week, but the defense fell apart after putting in a solid effort last week against Oklahoma State. It spells out inconsistency to me, and I believe Georgia will most likely not challenge LSU or Mississippi for the SEC West division title.
#25 Missouri 27, Bowling Green 20 – Missouri played an extremely bad first half and had to rally from 13-0 and 20-6 to beat Bowling Green. As good as Missouri QB Blaine Gabbert looked last week, he looked equally bad in the first half this week. He did recover to throw 2 TD passes in the second half to get a win for the Tigers. Missouri is still a young team and I do not really expect them to hang around the Top 25 all season. They seem likely to lose at least a game or two, but they should easily be able to make a Bowl game.
#1 Florida 56, Troy 6
#2 Texas 41, Wyoming 10
#4 Alabama 40, Florida International 14
#7 Penn State 28, Syracuse 7
#9 BYU 54, Tulane 3
#10 California 59, Eastern Washington 7
#11 LSU 23, Vanderbilt 9
#12 Boise State 48, Miami (OH) 0
#13 Oklahoma 64, Idaho State 0
#14 Virginia Tech 52, Marshall 10
#16 TCU 30, Virginia 14
#22 Nebraska 38, Arkansas State 9
#23 Cincinnati 70, Southeast Missouri State 3
#24 Kansas 34, UTEP 7
The above results are what you call taking care of business. As expected, there were a great deal of cupcake games out there and about half of the Top 25 feasted on them. Florida, Texas, and Alabama all got off to slow starts on Saturday. But by the time the 4th quarter rolled around, they had it in cruise control and were on the easy road to victory.
Penn State did look choppy again in their win over Syracuse, but they were never in danger and they had control of the game the entire time. Penn State will need to get better though because Ohio State, even with their loss to USC, looks strong and will really give the Nittany Lions a game.
Even though rain played havoc on them, LSU still looked shaky for the second week in a row and they let another underdog hang around. Vanderbilt was only down by one touchdown midway through the 4th quarter until LSU scored late to put the game away. It seems like LSU, Georgia, and Mississippi all look a little questionable to start the year and who knows what team will win the SEC West and get a shot at Florida in the SEC Championship game. But at this point, I am not sure any one of the three will be able to give Florida any sort of challenge.
Oklahoma, their defense, and QB Landry Jones tried to make a statement that they will keep fighting. They destroyed Idaho State and gave up only 6 first downs. TCU got off to a great start as well, as their defense only gave up 7 first downs the entire game.
The Game’s Quick Hits
- The Dany Heatley trade speculation is finally over as the Ottawa Senators traded Heatley and a fifth-round draft pick to the San Jose Sharks for Milan Michalek, Jonathan Cheechoo and a second-round draft pick. So it turns out that the rumored 3 team trade that I mentioned yesterday was indeed just a bad rumor. However, the Sharks were still involved in this deal. San Jose needed to do something to shake up their team after continued failures in the playoffs. Heatley is a dangerous scorer when he is focused and playing well, but it will remain to be seen whether he delivers in crunch time during the postseason. He should be able to help San Jose remain a top level team, but as it always is with the Sharks, things change in the playoffs. The Senators got some good value back in return, but I am not sure if it matches the value of a motivated Dany Heatley. Michalek is only 24-years old and had 23 goals and 24 assists last season. He is a good player with the potential to get better, but I doubt he will become a consistent 40-50 goal scorer. Cheechoo had a brilliant 2005-06 season when he scored 56 goals, but he has dropped off ever since. He had only 12 goals and 17 assists last year. Unless a change of scenery really sparks his career, he seems destined to just become a role player. So in my estimation, the Sharks got a good deal in this. But, we will have to wait until playoff time to see just how good of a deal it is.
- In other NHL news, the Calgary Flames have invited former All-star and Stanley Cup winner Theo Fleury to training camp for a tryout. The 41-year old Fleury has been away from the game for 6 years as he battled to get himself sober after alcohol addiction. Fleury had 455 goals and 633 assists in more than 1,000 career games with Calgary, the Colorado Avalanche, the New York Rangers and the Chicago Blackhawks between 1988 and 2003. Although I am not sure how much Fleury has left, this could be a really good story and I hope that he makes the team and gets to play in a game. I always appreciate a good comeback story and it is a big thing to overcome a substance abuse problem. Addiction can destroy your life, so I hope Fleury is able to stay on a good path and I wish him luck on his comeback attempt.
- Well it looks like the Richard Seymour saga is finally over. Late on Friday it was reported that Seymour was planning a trip out to California and would in fact report to the Oakland Raiders and be ready to play in Monday night’s game against the Chargers. It looks like the “5 day letter” did its job because Seymour did not get a new contract and did not get a promise that the Raiders would not slap the franchise tag on him next year. He will not lose any money this year, which he was in danger of doing by not reporting to Oakland. So now the story starts to come out. Seymour probably had a sense of what New England might have done with his contract status before the trade and he wanted the same from Oakland. Looks like it did not work at this point. The NFL is a business and it sucks for Seymour that he got shipped to the Raiders, but he is under contract so he has no right to start making demands. Again, I would think a player that has grown up in the Patriots organization would be a professional. Seymour was pushing it and I am glad to see that he blinked. His goal should be to have the best season that he can and then the money will take care of itself. It does him no good to bitch and moan and sandbag this season. He finally did break his silence on Saturday and says that the trade “blindsided” him and he claims he made no demands. He had personal issues to take care of and is excited to join the Raiders. Well that is nice to hear, but I am willing to bet there was some sort of talk about money and his contract.
- Brett Favre has been named a captain for the Minnesota Vikings this season after being with the team for only less than a month. So I guess this blows up the whole “schism” story right? There is no question that Favre is a tremendous leader and has a burning desire to play the game and to win. While he might not have gone about joining the Vikings in the “right” way, he is going to go in there and do the best he can. I still believe that Favre will be able to steady the offense for the Vikings, manage the game, make some big plays, and most importantly, lead them to victories. I still believe that the Vikings are the slight favorites to win the NFC North due to Favre’s presence.
- The Memphis basketball program got some bad news as it was revealed that sophomore forward Angel Garcia had torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and will miss the 2009-10 season. This is a big blow considering that Garcia, who is 6-foot-11 and missed last season due to NCAA eligibility issues, was expected to step up and help a team that is now down to 8 scholarship players. The loss of Coach John Calipari is going to hit Memphis hard I believe. I can see them slowly slipping away from being a national powerhouse. Calipari was the draw to the school and frankly, I have never even heard of their current coach, Josh Pastner. My prediction is that Memphis will go downhill until they hire another big name coach who has a proven track record of success.
- Major League Baseball will not take any actions against New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez for past performance-enhancing drug use. MLB was investigating Rodriguez to determine if he lied about the exact period of time he admitted to using PEDs. Apparently, the investigation did not turn up anything new and he will not be punished. I’m at least pleased to hear that they didn’t find out about any past use from Rodriguez. Even though he was using steroids for a few seasons, I still contend that Rodriguez is one of the best players in Major League history. The guy had his greatest year in 2007 when he was clean and even with a bad hip this season, he is still hitting home runs and being productive. Take away his “steroid years” and Rodriguez would still be a Hall of Famer. And in other Yankees’ news, SS Derek Jeter had 2 hits Friday night to pass Lou Gehrig on the Yankees’ all-time hit list with 2723. That is an amazing accomplishment to have, but unless Jeter goes on a tear and wins multiple World Series titles again, he will not be able to reach the great pantheon of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, and Mickey Mantle.
- BMW Championship: Tiger Woods entered the weekend and the 3rd round of the BMW tied for lead and had a chance to take control of the tournament. Mission accomplished. Tiger was on absolute fire as he shot a course record 9-under par 62 to finish at 16-under par for the tournament. This gave him a 7 shot lead over Brandt Snedeker and Marc Leishman. I said yesterday that I expected Tiger to take care of business this weekend and win, but I didn’t expect this good of a performance today. When Woods plays like this, he is impossible to beat and everyone is fighting for second. Not much else to say on this. Tiger will cruise home to victory tomorrow and grab the FedEx Cup points lead heading into the Tour Championship, the final event of the Playoffs. It seems like it will be a tall task for anyone to beat him.
- U.S. Open Update: Rain held off enough to allow for play to continue at the U.S. Open and #3 seed Rafael Nadal wasted no time finishing up his quarterfinal match against #11 seed Fernando Gonzalez. Nadal dusted him off quickly, winning 7-6, 7-6, 6-0, and he will now face #6 seed Juan Martin del Potro tomorrow in one semifinal. The women had their semifinals next after another lengthy rain delay and the match between unseeded Kim Clijsters and #2 seed Serena Williams ended in bizarre fashion. Williams was down 1 set and 5-6, 15-30 when she faulted on her first serve and then was called for a foot fault on her second serve. Serena then proceeded to yell at the lines official who made the call and told her “I will stuff this ball down your f**king throat”, among other things. Williams had already received a code violation earlier in the match for slamming her racquet, so this second offense cost her a point at 15-40 and the match was over. This was totally crazy and certainly something that I have never witnessed before. Clijsters had dominated the action and obviously, Williams was frustrated. The foot fault call by the official was a bad judgment call at that point in the match, but the way Williams lost her cool and what she said was uncalled for and she paid the price. Clijsters now moves onto the final to face #9 seed Caroline Wozniacki, who beat unseeded Yanina Wickmayer in straight sets.
#3 USC 18, #8 Ohio State 15 – It looked as though Ohio State was finally going to get the monkey off their back and get a huge win on a national TV stage, but they once again fell short. This was a very hard fought game and it heavily favored Ohio State’s style of play. It was a defensive battle that focused more on special teams and field position instead of sheer offensive firepower. For the most part, USC’s offense did not look that good. Freshman QB Matt Barkley looked like a freshman and the whole team did not do much until the final drive of the game. Barkley was finally able to step up and drove the Trojans 96 yards for the game winning touchdown. Ohio State looked a little better than USC on offense, but QB Terrelle Pryor did not have as much of an opportunity to create with his legs as he should have had. I will give credit to USC’s defense for keeping them in the game and giving the offense a chance to win it. At this point, I may have to concede that USC could be a real threat for the National Championship. However, I still think that Barkley’s inexperience will catch up to him one week and the Trojans will lose a game this year. Ohio State should not be ashamed of their performance, but this is not any sort of confidence booster and now they will have to try and fight back into BCS position. At this point, they will face a must win against Penn State to have a chance.
Michigan 38, #18 Notre Dame 34 – Once again, Notre Dame came up short in a big game that could have provided Coach Charlie Weis some breathing room from his critics and could have propelled Notre Dame towards a potential BCS Bowl game. This was a great college football game and will probably go down as one of the best in the storied Michigan-Notre Dame rivalry. Both teams traded shots at each other back and forth and neither defense played particularly well. Notre Dame’s defense certainly did not play the type of game that they did last week against Nevada. The star of the game turned out to be Michigan freshman QB Tate Forcier. He was cool and calm all day and made the big plays that Michigan needed. QB Jimmy Clausen and the Irish were just as good, but they made a mistake at the end of the game by throwing the ball and not trying to force Michigan to use their timeouts when they had a 3 point lead. That allowed Forcier to drive Michigan down the field and he won the game by throwing a 5-yard TD pass to WR Greg Matthews with 11 seconds left. This win now proves that Michigan is for real this season and I would expect them now to easily make a bowl game and they will most likely make the Top 25. I don’t think they will turn into a dominant team by any means, but they are going to overachieve this year. Notre Dame’s dream of a major BCS run is probably shot and they will settle down into a solid, but not spectacular year. Hopefully Lou Holtz is ready to eat some crow.
Houston 45, #5 Oklahoma State 35 – The biggest upset of the day came courtesy of the Houston Cougars, who went into Oklahoma State and came out with a 10 point victory. I did speculate in my preview that this would be a great test for Oklahoma State’s defense and it could be closer than some people thought. Chalk up a great prediction from me and mark it down as a miserable failure for Oklahoma State’s defense. They looked terrible out there and nothing like the team that shut down Georgia last week. The Cowboys let Houston totally dictate the pace of the game and it turned it into a shootout. Normally, the Cowboys are happy to play that type of game, but they were not as efficient as Houston on offense and they could not keep up. Houston QB Case Keenum looked great and he sliced up Oklahoma State’s defense. I have to say that the Cougars are definitely impressive and they have a ton of weapons on offense. They should be able to make a Bowl game this year and they could surprise more people along the way. Oklahoma State now needs to seriously regroup because I think they can kiss any BCS Bowl game dreams goodbye. You can not win on a consistent basis by winning shootouts. I thought their defense might be up to the challenge based on last week’s game, but it seems like it is not. It seems like the logical conclusion is that Georgia’s offense just came out flat and out of sync and that made the Cowboys look good.
#17 Utah 24, San Jose State 14 – Utah was able to extend the nation’s longest winning streak to 16 games, but it was not without a major fight. The game was tied 7-7 heading into the 4th quarter and Utah was finally able to shake San Jose State late in the game. Since USC killed San Jose State last week, this obviously proves that Utah might not be on a level with the likes of the Trojans. But a win is a win and Utah will try to march up the polls and see if they can be a BCS buster.
#19 North Carolina 12, Connecticut 10 – North Carolina needed a holding call in the end zone that resulted in a safety to narrowly avoid being upset by Connecticut. I also stated in my weekly preview that this could be a pretty good football game and was worth paying attention to. Obviously, it was pretty ugly and a defensive struggle, but it did almost produce an upset. Both defenses showed up in this game and neither team could do a damn thing on offense. I thought if North Carolina’s D showed up like it did last week, they would have little trouble winning. The only problem is their offense, especially the running game, stayed home. It seems like Connecticut will give every team they play a tough game and they could end up being a spoiler in the Big East. North Carolina could also be a factor in the ACC if their defense stays this strong, but will need more offense in those games to contend for a conference championship.
#21 Georgia 41, South Carolina 37 – Wow, was this a crazy game…so much for that old stat about these teams not being able to score more than 18 points against each other. This game was a back and forth slugfest that featured a kickoff return TD, an interception return TD, a safety, a blocked PAT, and tons of penalties. It came right down to the wire as well. South Carolina drove the ball all the way down to Georgia’s 7-yard line with 22 seconds left in the game, but QB Stephen Garcia’s 4th down pass was broken up on the goal line. You can never count out a Steve Spurrier coached team, so expect South Carolina to pull an upset at some point during the season. I don’t know exactly what to make of Georgia. They got the offense cranked up this week, but the defense fell apart after putting in a solid effort last week against Oklahoma State. It spells out inconsistency to me, and I believe Georgia will most likely not challenge LSU or Mississippi for the SEC West division title.
#25 Missouri 27, Bowling Green 20 – Missouri played an extremely bad first half and had to rally from 13-0 and 20-6 to beat Bowling Green. As good as Missouri QB Blaine Gabbert looked last week, he looked equally bad in the first half this week. He did recover to throw 2 TD passes in the second half to get a win for the Tigers. Missouri is still a young team and I do not really expect them to hang around the Top 25 all season. They seem likely to lose at least a game or two, but they should easily be able to make a Bowl game.
#1 Florida 56, Troy 6
#2 Texas 41, Wyoming 10
#4 Alabama 40, Florida International 14
#7 Penn State 28, Syracuse 7
#9 BYU 54, Tulane 3
#10 California 59, Eastern Washington 7
#11 LSU 23, Vanderbilt 9
#12 Boise State 48, Miami (OH) 0
#13 Oklahoma 64, Idaho State 0
#14 Virginia Tech 52, Marshall 10
#16 TCU 30, Virginia 14
#22 Nebraska 38, Arkansas State 9
#23 Cincinnati 70, Southeast Missouri State 3
#24 Kansas 34, UTEP 7
The above results are what you call taking care of business. As expected, there were a great deal of cupcake games out there and about half of the Top 25 feasted on them. Florida, Texas, and Alabama all got off to slow starts on Saturday. But by the time the 4th quarter rolled around, they had it in cruise control and were on the easy road to victory.
Penn State did look choppy again in their win over Syracuse, but they were never in danger and they had control of the game the entire time. Penn State will need to get better though because Ohio State, even with their loss to USC, looks strong and will really give the Nittany Lions a game.
Even though rain played havoc on them, LSU still looked shaky for the second week in a row and they let another underdog hang around. Vanderbilt was only down by one touchdown midway through the 4th quarter until LSU scored late to put the game away. It seems like LSU, Georgia, and Mississippi all look a little questionable to start the year and who knows what team will win the SEC West and get a shot at Florida in the SEC Championship game. But at this point, I am not sure any one of the three will be able to give Florida any sort of challenge.
Oklahoma, their defense, and QB Landry Jones tried to make a statement that they will keep fighting. They destroyed Idaho State and gave up only 6 first downs. TCU got off to a great start as well, as their defense only gave up 7 first downs the entire game.
The Game’s Quick Hits
- The Dany Heatley trade speculation is finally over as the Ottawa Senators traded Heatley and a fifth-round draft pick to the San Jose Sharks for Milan Michalek, Jonathan Cheechoo and a second-round draft pick. So it turns out that the rumored 3 team trade that I mentioned yesterday was indeed just a bad rumor. However, the Sharks were still involved in this deal. San Jose needed to do something to shake up their team after continued failures in the playoffs. Heatley is a dangerous scorer when he is focused and playing well, but it will remain to be seen whether he delivers in crunch time during the postseason. He should be able to help San Jose remain a top level team, but as it always is with the Sharks, things change in the playoffs. The Senators got some good value back in return, but I am not sure if it matches the value of a motivated Dany Heatley. Michalek is only 24-years old and had 23 goals and 24 assists last season. He is a good player with the potential to get better, but I doubt he will become a consistent 40-50 goal scorer. Cheechoo had a brilliant 2005-06 season when he scored 56 goals, but he has dropped off ever since. He had only 12 goals and 17 assists last year. Unless a change of scenery really sparks his career, he seems destined to just become a role player. So in my estimation, the Sharks got a good deal in this. But, we will have to wait until playoff time to see just how good of a deal it is.
- In other NHL news, the Calgary Flames have invited former All-star and Stanley Cup winner Theo Fleury to training camp for a tryout. The 41-year old Fleury has been away from the game for 6 years as he battled to get himself sober after alcohol addiction. Fleury had 455 goals and 633 assists in more than 1,000 career games with Calgary, the Colorado Avalanche, the New York Rangers and the Chicago Blackhawks between 1988 and 2003. Although I am not sure how much Fleury has left, this could be a really good story and I hope that he makes the team and gets to play in a game. I always appreciate a good comeback story and it is a big thing to overcome a substance abuse problem. Addiction can destroy your life, so I hope Fleury is able to stay on a good path and I wish him luck on his comeback attempt.
- Well it looks like the Richard Seymour saga is finally over. Late on Friday it was reported that Seymour was planning a trip out to California and would in fact report to the Oakland Raiders and be ready to play in Monday night’s game against the Chargers. It looks like the “5 day letter” did its job because Seymour did not get a new contract and did not get a promise that the Raiders would not slap the franchise tag on him next year. He will not lose any money this year, which he was in danger of doing by not reporting to Oakland. So now the story starts to come out. Seymour probably had a sense of what New England might have done with his contract status before the trade and he wanted the same from Oakland. Looks like it did not work at this point. The NFL is a business and it sucks for Seymour that he got shipped to the Raiders, but he is under contract so he has no right to start making demands. Again, I would think a player that has grown up in the Patriots organization would be a professional. Seymour was pushing it and I am glad to see that he blinked. His goal should be to have the best season that he can and then the money will take care of itself. It does him no good to bitch and moan and sandbag this season. He finally did break his silence on Saturday and says that the trade “blindsided” him and he claims he made no demands. He had personal issues to take care of and is excited to join the Raiders. Well that is nice to hear, but I am willing to bet there was some sort of talk about money and his contract.
- Brett Favre has been named a captain for the Minnesota Vikings this season after being with the team for only less than a month. So I guess this blows up the whole “schism” story right? There is no question that Favre is a tremendous leader and has a burning desire to play the game and to win. While he might not have gone about joining the Vikings in the “right” way, he is going to go in there and do the best he can. I still believe that Favre will be able to steady the offense for the Vikings, manage the game, make some big plays, and most importantly, lead them to victories. I still believe that the Vikings are the slight favorites to win the NFC North due to Favre’s presence.
- The Memphis basketball program got some bad news as it was revealed that sophomore forward Angel Garcia had torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and will miss the 2009-10 season. This is a big blow considering that Garcia, who is 6-foot-11 and missed last season due to NCAA eligibility issues, was expected to step up and help a team that is now down to 8 scholarship players. The loss of Coach John Calipari is going to hit Memphis hard I believe. I can see them slowly slipping away from being a national powerhouse. Calipari was the draw to the school and frankly, I have never even heard of their current coach, Josh Pastner. My prediction is that Memphis will go downhill until they hire another big name coach who has a proven track record of success.
- Major League Baseball will not take any actions against New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez for past performance-enhancing drug use. MLB was investigating Rodriguez to determine if he lied about the exact period of time he admitted to using PEDs. Apparently, the investigation did not turn up anything new and he will not be punished. I’m at least pleased to hear that they didn’t find out about any past use from Rodriguez. Even though he was using steroids for a few seasons, I still contend that Rodriguez is one of the best players in Major League history. The guy had his greatest year in 2007 when he was clean and even with a bad hip this season, he is still hitting home runs and being productive. Take away his “steroid years” and Rodriguez would still be a Hall of Famer. And in other Yankees’ news, SS Derek Jeter had 2 hits Friday night to pass Lou Gehrig on the Yankees’ all-time hit list with 2723. That is an amazing accomplishment to have, but unless Jeter goes on a tear and wins multiple World Series titles again, he will not be able to reach the great pantheon of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, and Mickey Mantle.
- BMW Championship: Tiger Woods entered the weekend and the 3rd round of the BMW tied for lead and had a chance to take control of the tournament. Mission accomplished. Tiger was on absolute fire as he shot a course record 9-under par 62 to finish at 16-under par for the tournament. This gave him a 7 shot lead over Brandt Snedeker and Marc Leishman. I said yesterday that I expected Tiger to take care of business this weekend and win, but I didn’t expect this good of a performance today. When Woods plays like this, he is impossible to beat and everyone is fighting for second. Not much else to say on this. Tiger will cruise home to victory tomorrow and grab the FedEx Cup points lead heading into the Tour Championship, the final event of the Playoffs. It seems like it will be a tall task for anyone to beat him.
- U.S. Open Update: Rain held off enough to allow for play to continue at the U.S. Open and #3 seed Rafael Nadal wasted no time finishing up his quarterfinal match against #11 seed Fernando Gonzalez. Nadal dusted him off quickly, winning 7-6, 7-6, 6-0, and he will now face #6 seed Juan Martin del Potro tomorrow in one semifinal. The women had their semifinals next after another lengthy rain delay and the match between unseeded Kim Clijsters and #2 seed Serena Williams ended in bizarre fashion. Williams was down 1 set and 5-6, 15-30 when she faulted on her first serve and then was called for a foot fault on her second serve. Serena then proceeded to yell at the lines official who made the call and told her “I will stuff this ball down your f**king throat”, among other things. Williams had already received a code violation earlier in the match for slamming her racquet, so this second offense cost her a point at 15-40 and the match was over. This was totally crazy and certainly something that I have never witnessed before. Clijsters had dominated the action and obviously, Williams was frustrated. The foot fault call by the official was a bad judgment call at that point in the match, but the way Williams lost her cool and what she said was uncalled for and she paid the price. Clijsters now moves onto the final to face #9 seed Caroline Wozniacki, who beat unseeded Yanina Wickmayer in straight sets.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Jeff Hardy and WWE Breaking Point
Well I had planned to only offer my thoughts on the upcoming WWE Breaking Point PPV this Sunday, but then a small piece of news hit late in the afternoon: “Jeff Hardy Arrested for Drug Trafficking, Multiple Felonies”. All I can say is wow. Hardy was arrested on charges of trafficking controlled prescription pills and possession of anabolic steroids. A search of his home yielded 262 Vicodin prescription pills, 180 Soma prescription pills, 555 milliliters of anabolic steroids, powder cocaine and drug paraphernalia. The charges against Hardy include:
- Felony trafficking in opium
- Two counts of felony possession with intent to sell or deliver a Schedule III controlled substance
- Felony maintaining a dwelling to keep controlled substance
- Felony possession of cocaine
- Misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia
Again, wow. I honestly could not believe it when I heard this news and it is pretty sad. I was not shocked to hear about Jeff Hardy being in a situation with drugs due to what he has done in the past, but all this? Obviously the worst of this is the intent to sell and distribute. He can be a druggie and take all he wants, but when you try to sell the stuff, then that is going down a bad road.
Reports are saying that his brother and current WWE superstar, Matt Hardy, bailed him out and Jeff was quick to jump on Twitter. He said to not believe everything that you read and expressed his wish that the media would try and portray stories accurately. I am not sure exactly what he is talking about, but what else would you expect him to say at this point? My only speculation is that he will claim he never sold anything or intended to sell anything. The fact that he has so much of it could turn out to be a bad assumption by the cops, but I doubt it. The news stories make it seem like this was an ongoing investigation on Jeff and they finally busted him. They must think they have a solid case to bring those charges on him.
I think it is a safe assumption that Jeff Hardy’s WWE career is now over. I can’t see how they can bring him back at this point. Vince McMahon is trying to make the WWE more family friendly, so bringing back a wrestler who had drug charges thrown on him seems highly unlikely. I am sure at this point that McMahon and the WWE have to be fuming. They caught a lucky break that Jeff dropped the title to CM Punk at Summerslam, but this will still reflect poorly on the company. Hardy was getting a major push on TV and was portrayed as such an inspiration and positive influence. Of course if you have been following things, CM Punk portrayed Hardy as a fraud and said he probably was still high on prescription drugs and everything else. My, my, my…how life imitates art sometimes. Here’s a wild thought on all this too. I wonder if the WWE would dare touch this on their programming. The chances would be slim I’m sure, but CM Punk could get MASSIVE heat if he came out and told everyone that he was telling the truth about Jeff the whole time. A feud with Matt Hardy could be big around this, but I am sure McMahon does not even want to touch it.
Granted, I am not that much of a Jeff Hardy fan, but I did respect his in-ring work and I respected what he did to help put CM Punk over. He did not complain about losing the title or anything like that and he even worked an extra month after his contract expired to help the company and go out the right way. Because of all that, this whole situation now saddens me. Jeff Hardy was portrayed as a guy who made some mistakes, but he took responsibility for them and had turned his life around. Now, it seems like he really hasn’t changed at all. Even if he was to somehow beat these charges, and on the possession ones I don’t see any way in hell how he does that, his legacy is now ruined.
Jeff was supposed to take some time off and come back refreshed and continue on with a great career. But that is not going to happen. I can’t believe the stupidity that it takes for him to put himself in this situation. There are a whole other set of issues now as well. Has Jeff been popping pain pills this entire time? Did the WWE ever let him slide on a drug test? There are many questions now that can’t be answered and who knows if they ever will be. I understand how tough and painful it must be for wrestlers, so I could find a way to give Jeff a pass if he is addicted to pain pills. Addiction can be a bitch and millions of people struggle with it. But I have to draw a line with the cocaine and these allegations that he was trying to distribute. Those are bad choices that fall directly onto Jeff Hardy’s shoulders and he has no one to blame but himself.
So in the final analysis of my initial thoughts on this, I have to say I am just disappointed in Hardy and I hope he gets some help. Obviously he still had some demons in his life that he needs to deal with. I will not crucify the man totally until more facts are known, but this looks bad for him. He had such a good thing going with this last WWE run and now he has flushed it all down the toilet. On a more positive note, let’s get to my Breaking Point PPV preview that I had ready to go for today.
It is time once again for a WWE PPV and the company continues on the trend of trying to make each one have a certain theme. This Sunday will be called Breaking Point and the idea is that all main event matches will have a submission stipulation. I will give credit to the WWE for trying this tactic to increase PPV buys. The different themes give fans something to look forward to and it does break them away from the endless monotony of placeholder type PPVs until each of the “Big 4” roll around. So let’s take a look at the card and I will offer up my thoughts and predictions.
“I Quit” Match for the WWE Championship
Randy Orton (c) vs. John Cena
Once again we are “treated” to another match between Orton and Cena. The feud between these two just seems so old at this point and it feels like we have seen everything there is to see. In actuality, the two had not squared off one on one for a long while until Summerslam last month, but the fact remains that this confrontation has been recycled from years ago. I predicted that John Cena would walk out of Summerslam with the title and I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong. Many thought that the Summerslam match was an overbooked mess, but the WWE had not had a crazy atomsophere like that in a while and I thought it was fun to see. The swerve of letting Orton walk out with the title was a good thing, but knowing that we had Breaking Point coming up, I immediately thought Orton’s reign would only last a few more weeks. John Cena’s whole character and career is built on a never give up, never say die attitude. Cena is a “soldier” and he never quits. There is no way in hell that Cena will say “I quit” at Breaking Point. Unless the WWE recycles the Rock’s trick of knocking the guy out and then playing a recording of his opponent saying “I quit” from a promo like he did with Mick Foley, Cena is walking out with the belt. The only way that doesn’t happen is if something occurs to make the match a no contest.
Prediction: John Cena (new WWE Champion)
Submission Match for the World Heavyweight Title
CM Punk (c) vs. The Undertaker
As expected, Jeff Hardy dropped the title to CM Punk at Summerslam and then lost a “loser leaves WWE” title rematch on Smackdown. I give Hardy a ton of credit for going out the right way and helping to make Punk into a mega-heel before taking his sabbatical. I will definitely miss the Hardy-Punk feud, but the WWE did a good thing by transitioning directly into a Punk-Undertaker feud. At the end of Summerslam, the lights went out and Punk quickly found himself standing over The Undertaker instead of Jeff Hardy and then he ate a chokeslam for his troubles. The Deadman had returned and had his sights set on Punk and the World Title. Teddy Long quickly booked a Submission Match for Breaking Point and I expect a good match between the two. Punk is insanely hot right now as a heel and The Undertaker will always have the crowd behind him. The money in this feud will be in the chase and I don’t see how they can have Punk drop the title so soon. Obviously, The Undertaker, like John Cena, is not someone who is going to give up and submit. Because of that, I see no other call to make but to say that this match will somehow be a no contest or a DQ. I really don’t know how they will do it, but Punk will escape with the title and this feud will continue.
Prediction: No contest or DQ ending, Punk retains
ECW Championship
Christian (c) vs. William Regal
With the formation of William Regal’s “Ruthless Roundtable” which features Ezekiel Jackson and Vladimir Kozlov, this feud for the ECW Championship has been fairly intriguing. I love William Regal’s snobby, arrogant character and he is a perfect challenger for Christian, especially with the muscle behind him. Considering that the match at Summerslam lasted only 8 seconds and was only designed to put over the “Roundtable”, I really have no idea how this match will go. If Christian beats Regal, it seems like the feud would be over and Regal would be out of chances. But then does Christian go on to try and keep Jackson and Kozlov off his back? I ultimately think that Jackson or Kozlov would benefit from a title run, but I am not sure they are ready for it or even if they are worth it at all. I might be going out on a limb here, but it makes the most sense if Regal wins the title with the help of Jackson and Kozlov and then uses them to try and keep Christian from regaining it. The major story arc on ECW seems to be Regal trying to take over things with his henchman, so having the title makes that seem more plausible.
Prediction: William Regal (new ECW Champion)
Submissions Count Anywhere
D-Generation X vs. Legacy
Well this is certainly a different spin on a match stipulation and it really just means this match will be a brawl that should go all over the ringside area and beyond. Legacy put in a really solid performance against DX at Summerslam. I thought Legacy should have won the match to really establish themselves as legitimate threats. Triple H and Shawn Michaels did put in a good effort to make Rhodes and Dibiase look good, but in the end, it is wins and losses that count. I am actually glad that the feud is continuing and I hope Legacy is able to get a big win. The WWE has two great young talents and they need to start letting them shine and get some bigger victories under their belt. Legacy was able to get some heat back by laying out John Cena and DX during Dusty Rhodes’ GM night and hopefully they carry the momentum to this match. Again, with a submission stipulation, it is tough to envision Triple H or Michaels tapping out. However, I can see a scenario where Legacy viciously attacks a knee/leg and is able to get a submission out of it. Against my better judgment, I am going to predict that Legacy gets their big win in this match. If not, the WWE is seriously making them look like chumps and I feel that is just plain stupid. But don’t say I didn’t mention that DX might just destroy them and bury them.
Prediction: Legacy
Unified Tag Team Championship
Chris Jericho and Big Show (c) vs. MVP and Mark Henry
So it looks like Cryme Tyme got their chance in the sun at Summerslam and they quickly will be forgotten when it comes to the Tag Team Title chase. Now the thrown together tag team of Mark Henry and MVP will challenge for the gold. This outcome seems pretty predictable to me and I do not see how Jericho and Big Show can lose here. I will say this though…I could see WWE shocking everyone and putting the titles on Henry and MVP as a sort of “reward” for MVP and Henry actually getting over a little bit with the crowd and especially to Henry for not getting hurt and pulling off a face turn. JeriShow needs to drop the belts to a team who could use the rub though. I think Legacy or the Hart Dynasty are perfect candidates and could benefit immediately, but all three teams are heels, so the WWE would most likely not set up those matchups. I have to wonder if DX will get a shot at JeriShow like I have speculated before. It would be a good little feud and the match(es) would be pretty good as well, but DX does not need the tag titles. Unless they win them and promptly lose to Legacy or the Hart Dynasty, it is a waste. I really do not know what WWE has planned for Jericho and Show, but I don’t think they should be losing to Henry and MVP.
Prediction: Jericho and Big Show (retain titles)
Singapore Cane Match
The Great Khali vs. Kane
I was really hoping that we would not get “treated” to another PPV match between these two but it seems as though we are. I suppose it is better for a solid talent like Kane to make a PPV payday instead of being left out. This match could turn into a real spectacle if they allow it, but it will likely be the same slow and plodding match like they had at Summerslam, except this time they will be hitting each other with canes. If the WWE is determined to drag this feud on, then I have to think Khali will pick up the victory. He introduced the Singapore cane into the equation, so I have to go with him for the win.
Prediction: The Great Khali
The Game’s Quick Hits
Friday Night Smackdown: Once again, Smackdown was a pretty good watch this week and the show got off to another great start. The Undertaker came out to start the show and cut a promo on CM Punk, stating that he would collect his “soul” at Breaking Point and make Punk submit to his Hell’s Gate submission hold. Punk answered and cut another brilliant promo. He is just locked in on his character and manipulating the audience like a puppet master. The way he is bagging on the fans about being seduced by The Undertaker’s “magical” powers because their minds are in a doped up haze is just gold. Punk let The Undertaker know that he will make him tap out to the Anaconda Vice at Breaking Point and this set up the main event, a submission match between Punk and Matt Hardy. The two put on another good performance in the ring and did a nice enough job focusing on attacking different body parts since it was a submission match. The finish was pretty obvious as CM Punk quickly and suddenly slapped on the Anaconda Vice and made Hardy tap out. The very end of the show featured a nice touch of having the lights go out and the bell toll and when they came back on, Punk no longer was grasping his title. The Undertaker was at the top of the ramp holding Punk’s gold up high. I thought the show did a pretty good job at hyping Breaking Point and that’s all you can ask.
There wasn’t anything else earth shattering on this episode, just some good in-ring action. Finlay and Mike Knox battled it out in a pretty good “Belfast Brawl”, which saw Finlay come out on top after a shot with the shillelagh. I do like to see a good garbage match every now and then, and these two put on a solid match with copious amounts of chair and trash can shots. The Unified Tag Team Champions, Chris Jericho and The Big Show, had a decent match with Cryme Tyme. Show knocked out JTG with a huge punch which allowed the champs to get a win and gain some momentum heading into their title defense against Mark Henry and MVP at Breaking Point. Finally, John Morrison and Dolph Ziggler had a nice little back and forth on the mic. Ziggler demanded his title shot that he earned, but only on “his terms”, and Morrison responded by calling him “Mr. Ziggles”. The WWE is now trying to build up more of a feud between these two after plans changed because of Rey Mysterio’s suspension. The Morrison/Ziggler Intercontinental Title match has been pulled from Breaking Point and the rumor is because the WWE wants them to have some matches together first on the house show circuit. I really do not agree with this because I believe both Morrison and Ziggler are talented enough to put on a good match and they should be given the chance on PPV.
- NHL sources have told ESPN that the Ottawa Senators have finally reached a 3 team deal to trade Dany Heatley. The proposed trade would send Heatley to the San Jose Sharks, the Sharks’ Patrick Marleau to the Los Angeles Kings, and the Kings’ Alexander Frolov and Jarret Stoll to the Senators. There is only one catch though. As of right now, the GMs of all three teams have denied the report and say the speculation is complete bull. I hope that the story is not bull because this Dany Heatley saga has gone on way too long. The guy wants out of town in Ottawa, so get him out of town! I’m not sure San Jose is a good destination for him though. The Sharks are kings of the regular season, but always find a way to choke in the playoffs. Imagine the scrutiny on Heatley if he goes there and the Sharks continue to fall short in the postseason. Heatley seemingly doesn’t like the spotlight and pressure on him, but he will feel it full force in San Jose if he contributes to their playoff woes. I’m not sure if getting rid of Marleau is a smart move for San Jose, but something has to change there and shipping away players is one way to try it. Maybe a new lease on life in LA will be good for Marleau. Frolov’s production has dropped the past two seasons, so a change of scenery could serve him well. Stoll can help the Senators on the power play, so all in all, this seems to be a beneficial trade all around…if the rumor is true of course. Stay tuned…
- Usually when you take on the NFL, or any sports league or company for that matter, it is tough to win. But defensive tackles Kevin and Pat Williams of the Minnesota Vikings received a win in appeals court on Friday when the court ruled that the NFL can not suspend the players for violating the league’s anti-doping policy. The Williamses both tested positive for a banned diuretic during training camp in 2008 after they took the over-the-counter supplement StarCaps. It did not state on the label that it contained the diuretic -- which can mask the presence of steroids. I have to applaud the court on this decision, especially considering that neither Williams has tested positive for steroids. Companies should not get away with failing to disclose each and every ingredient that is contained in a supplement. Since there is no other evidence showing Kevin and Pat Williams taking steroids, I feel the suspension is bogus. They might be guilty of bad judgment by taking the supplement in the first place, but if the diuretic was not listed, then they should not be punished, clear and simple.
- Well it looks like I have to man up and say I was wrong on my speculation about Shawne Merriman. San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis has dismissed Tila Tequila’s accusations against Merriman and the case is now closed. She said there was insufficient evidence to prove that Merriman committed a crime. So it looks like Tequila did get herself drunk and was probably acting stupid. I will give credit to Merriman now because it seems like his story about trying to stop her from driving is the truth. That actually shows some responsibility on his part, something that Tequila obviously did not have that night. Now Tequila deserves to get bagged on because she tried to ruin Merriman’s reputation and hell, she might have been trying to go after some of his money. Maybe she can hook up with that woman trying to extort some money from Ben Roethlisberger. Next time though Shawne, cool it with the 4 am parties and don’t even put yourself in that situation.
-Other NFL News and Notes: Well as if the world didn’t already know, Cleveland Browns QB Brady Quinn was taking the snaps with Cleveland’s first-team offense on Friday, a clear indication he will be the starting QB on Sunday. Like I have said before, Eric Mangini looks like a fool with his little “let’s keep this a big secret” garbage. He is not giving the Browns any sort of advantage and I think it is disrespectful to the Cleveland fans. He should be more open about what is going on with the team, especially when it comes to who is starting at QB. Hey, maybe that is why they didn’t list Brett Favre on the Jets’ injury reports last year…Mangini wanted to keep it a big secret…
Kansas City Chiefs QB Matt Cassel continues to practice and his knee continues to improve. He is now expected to be a game-time decision for Sunday’s game against the Ravens. He says that if he is able to walk and go out there, he is ready to play. Matt, I’ll say this one more time…just sit this one out so the Ravens’ D doesn’t hurt you any more…thank you, drive through…
The TV ratings for last night’s NFL opener between the Steelers and Titans shows that the NFL is still king when it comes to sports. The game scored a 13.8 overnight rating, which is equivalent to over 10 million homes watching. This is the highest rating for an opener in 7 years. The game certainly was fun to watch and a great way to open up the 2009 season.
Denver Broncos WR Brandon Marshall declined to comment on Friday about his recent suspension from the team. He politely, but firmly, told a reporter that he was not talking about anything. Marshall could face a fine for not making himself available to the media at least one day during the week of practice leading up to Sunday’s game, but the NFL usually sends a warning first. Hey, I have bashed the guy on here before, but today I will give him some credit. This is exactly what he should do…shut up and play some football and do what you are supposed to do like an adult.
- Philadelphia Phillies P Brad Lidge and manager Charlie Manuel had a talk on Wednesday to discuss Lidge’s role with the team. Lidge claims they had a good talk and are “on the same page”. But Manuel refuses to say whether the struggling Lidge will get his job back as closer. So could this situation spell doom for the Phillies? I think it is possible that they can overcome it, but I believe Lidge needs to find another role for the rest of the season. The numbers do not lie. Lidge is 0-7 this season with a 7.11 ERA and he has blown 10 saves. Manuel says that he still sees Lidge as a closer, but how can he be trusted with numbers like those? Confidence is a huge deal for a pitcher and even though Lidge and Manuel are saying the right things, I have to believe that Lidge is not in the best state of mind. One bad outing in the playoffs can make the difference between a World Series Championship and coming up short. I can only think of the possible horror for the Phillies if the Yankees’ bats get a hold of Lidge in the World Series. My solution to this would be to consider using P Jaime Moyer or P Pedro Martinez as the closer. Pedro has proven he still has gas left in the tank, and maybe it would be the best move to stick Moyer back in the rotation for the playoffs and let Martinez close. Or, they could just move Moyer to role. I have to think he could be good for one strong inning. Whatever the Phillies decide, they need to address this and take care of it by October.
- BMW Championship Update: Tiger Woods played a solid round yesterday and was within striking distance of the lead on Friday. He took advantage of it, shooting a 4-under par 67 to grab a share of the lead after 2 rounds with Mark Wilson at 7-under par. Both Woods and Wilson have a one shot lead over a group of 4 players at 6-under, which includes Padraig Harrington and 1st round leader Rory Sabbatini. As I stated yesterday, Tiger seems to be finding a groove and that is not good news for everyone else. He has won 4 times at Cog Hill and he plays well in the Chicago area. Due to his recent disappointments, I am expecting a really good weekend from Tiger and I think he will close the deal this time and win the tournament. If he doesn’t, then the talk will only grow and he will have to find some way to get his air of invincibility back. FedEx Cup point leader Steve Stricker continues to struggle and is at 3-over par. It now looks like he will lose the points lead to Woods heading into the Tour Championship.
- U.S. Open Update: Rain forced the postponement of both women’s semifinals and the conclusion of the Rafael Nadal/Fernando Gonzalez match. The schedule is now in disarray and for the second straight year, the men’s final will happen on Monday at the earliest. Rain is in the forecast tomorrow, so everyone might still be playing the waiting game.
- Felony trafficking in opium
- Two counts of felony possession with intent to sell or deliver a Schedule III controlled substance
- Felony maintaining a dwelling to keep controlled substance
- Felony possession of cocaine
- Misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia
Again, wow. I honestly could not believe it when I heard this news and it is pretty sad. I was not shocked to hear about Jeff Hardy being in a situation with drugs due to what he has done in the past, but all this? Obviously the worst of this is the intent to sell and distribute. He can be a druggie and take all he wants, but when you try to sell the stuff, then that is going down a bad road.
Reports are saying that his brother and current WWE superstar, Matt Hardy, bailed him out and Jeff was quick to jump on Twitter. He said to not believe everything that you read and expressed his wish that the media would try and portray stories accurately. I am not sure exactly what he is talking about, but what else would you expect him to say at this point? My only speculation is that he will claim he never sold anything or intended to sell anything. The fact that he has so much of it could turn out to be a bad assumption by the cops, but I doubt it. The news stories make it seem like this was an ongoing investigation on Jeff and they finally busted him. They must think they have a solid case to bring those charges on him.
I think it is a safe assumption that Jeff Hardy’s WWE career is now over. I can’t see how they can bring him back at this point. Vince McMahon is trying to make the WWE more family friendly, so bringing back a wrestler who had drug charges thrown on him seems highly unlikely. I am sure at this point that McMahon and the WWE have to be fuming. They caught a lucky break that Jeff dropped the title to CM Punk at Summerslam, but this will still reflect poorly on the company. Hardy was getting a major push on TV and was portrayed as such an inspiration and positive influence. Of course if you have been following things, CM Punk portrayed Hardy as a fraud and said he probably was still high on prescription drugs and everything else. My, my, my…how life imitates art sometimes. Here’s a wild thought on all this too. I wonder if the WWE would dare touch this on their programming. The chances would be slim I’m sure, but CM Punk could get MASSIVE heat if he came out and told everyone that he was telling the truth about Jeff the whole time. A feud with Matt Hardy could be big around this, but I am sure McMahon does not even want to touch it.
Granted, I am not that much of a Jeff Hardy fan, but I did respect his in-ring work and I respected what he did to help put CM Punk over. He did not complain about losing the title or anything like that and he even worked an extra month after his contract expired to help the company and go out the right way. Because of all that, this whole situation now saddens me. Jeff Hardy was portrayed as a guy who made some mistakes, but he took responsibility for them and had turned his life around. Now, it seems like he really hasn’t changed at all. Even if he was to somehow beat these charges, and on the possession ones I don’t see any way in hell how he does that, his legacy is now ruined.
Jeff was supposed to take some time off and come back refreshed and continue on with a great career. But that is not going to happen. I can’t believe the stupidity that it takes for him to put himself in this situation. There are a whole other set of issues now as well. Has Jeff been popping pain pills this entire time? Did the WWE ever let him slide on a drug test? There are many questions now that can’t be answered and who knows if they ever will be. I understand how tough and painful it must be for wrestlers, so I could find a way to give Jeff a pass if he is addicted to pain pills. Addiction can be a bitch and millions of people struggle with it. But I have to draw a line with the cocaine and these allegations that he was trying to distribute. Those are bad choices that fall directly onto Jeff Hardy’s shoulders and he has no one to blame but himself.
So in the final analysis of my initial thoughts on this, I have to say I am just disappointed in Hardy and I hope he gets some help. Obviously he still had some demons in his life that he needs to deal with. I will not crucify the man totally until more facts are known, but this looks bad for him. He had such a good thing going with this last WWE run and now he has flushed it all down the toilet. On a more positive note, let’s get to my Breaking Point PPV preview that I had ready to go for today.
It is time once again for a WWE PPV and the company continues on the trend of trying to make each one have a certain theme. This Sunday will be called Breaking Point and the idea is that all main event matches will have a submission stipulation. I will give credit to the WWE for trying this tactic to increase PPV buys. The different themes give fans something to look forward to and it does break them away from the endless monotony of placeholder type PPVs until each of the “Big 4” roll around. So let’s take a look at the card and I will offer up my thoughts and predictions.
“I Quit” Match for the WWE Championship
Randy Orton (c) vs. John Cena
Once again we are “treated” to another match between Orton and Cena. The feud between these two just seems so old at this point and it feels like we have seen everything there is to see. In actuality, the two had not squared off one on one for a long while until Summerslam last month, but the fact remains that this confrontation has been recycled from years ago. I predicted that John Cena would walk out of Summerslam with the title and I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong. Many thought that the Summerslam match was an overbooked mess, but the WWE had not had a crazy atomsophere like that in a while and I thought it was fun to see. The swerve of letting Orton walk out with the title was a good thing, but knowing that we had Breaking Point coming up, I immediately thought Orton’s reign would only last a few more weeks. John Cena’s whole character and career is built on a never give up, never say die attitude. Cena is a “soldier” and he never quits. There is no way in hell that Cena will say “I quit” at Breaking Point. Unless the WWE recycles the Rock’s trick of knocking the guy out and then playing a recording of his opponent saying “I quit” from a promo like he did with Mick Foley, Cena is walking out with the belt. The only way that doesn’t happen is if something occurs to make the match a no contest.
Prediction: John Cena (new WWE Champion)
Submission Match for the World Heavyweight Title
CM Punk (c) vs. The Undertaker
As expected, Jeff Hardy dropped the title to CM Punk at Summerslam and then lost a “loser leaves WWE” title rematch on Smackdown. I give Hardy a ton of credit for going out the right way and helping to make Punk into a mega-heel before taking his sabbatical. I will definitely miss the Hardy-Punk feud, but the WWE did a good thing by transitioning directly into a Punk-Undertaker feud. At the end of Summerslam, the lights went out and Punk quickly found himself standing over The Undertaker instead of Jeff Hardy and then he ate a chokeslam for his troubles. The Deadman had returned and had his sights set on Punk and the World Title. Teddy Long quickly booked a Submission Match for Breaking Point and I expect a good match between the two. Punk is insanely hot right now as a heel and The Undertaker will always have the crowd behind him. The money in this feud will be in the chase and I don’t see how they can have Punk drop the title so soon. Obviously, The Undertaker, like John Cena, is not someone who is going to give up and submit. Because of that, I see no other call to make but to say that this match will somehow be a no contest or a DQ. I really don’t know how they will do it, but Punk will escape with the title and this feud will continue.
Prediction: No contest or DQ ending, Punk retains
ECW Championship
Christian (c) vs. William Regal
With the formation of William Regal’s “Ruthless Roundtable” which features Ezekiel Jackson and Vladimir Kozlov, this feud for the ECW Championship has been fairly intriguing. I love William Regal’s snobby, arrogant character and he is a perfect challenger for Christian, especially with the muscle behind him. Considering that the match at Summerslam lasted only 8 seconds and was only designed to put over the “Roundtable”, I really have no idea how this match will go. If Christian beats Regal, it seems like the feud would be over and Regal would be out of chances. But then does Christian go on to try and keep Jackson and Kozlov off his back? I ultimately think that Jackson or Kozlov would benefit from a title run, but I am not sure they are ready for it or even if they are worth it at all. I might be going out on a limb here, but it makes the most sense if Regal wins the title with the help of Jackson and Kozlov and then uses them to try and keep Christian from regaining it. The major story arc on ECW seems to be Regal trying to take over things with his henchman, so having the title makes that seem more plausible.
Prediction: William Regal (new ECW Champion)
Submissions Count Anywhere
D-Generation X vs. Legacy
Well this is certainly a different spin on a match stipulation and it really just means this match will be a brawl that should go all over the ringside area and beyond. Legacy put in a really solid performance against DX at Summerslam. I thought Legacy should have won the match to really establish themselves as legitimate threats. Triple H and Shawn Michaels did put in a good effort to make Rhodes and Dibiase look good, but in the end, it is wins and losses that count. I am actually glad that the feud is continuing and I hope Legacy is able to get a big win. The WWE has two great young talents and they need to start letting them shine and get some bigger victories under their belt. Legacy was able to get some heat back by laying out John Cena and DX during Dusty Rhodes’ GM night and hopefully they carry the momentum to this match. Again, with a submission stipulation, it is tough to envision Triple H or Michaels tapping out. However, I can see a scenario where Legacy viciously attacks a knee/leg and is able to get a submission out of it. Against my better judgment, I am going to predict that Legacy gets their big win in this match. If not, the WWE is seriously making them look like chumps and I feel that is just plain stupid. But don’t say I didn’t mention that DX might just destroy them and bury them.
Prediction: Legacy
Unified Tag Team Championship
Chris Jericho and Big Show (c) vs. MVP and Mark Henry
So it looks like Cryme Tyme got their chance in the sun at Summerslam and they quickly will be forgotten when it comes to the Tag Team Title chase. Now the thrown together tag team of Mark Henry and MVP will challenge for the gold. This outcome seems pretty predictable to me and I do not see how Jericho and Big Show can lose here. I will say this though…I could see WWE shocking everyone and putting the titles on Henry and MVP as a sort of “reward” for MVP and Henry actually getting over a little bit with the crowd and especially to Henry for not getting hurt and pulling off a face turn. JeriShow needs to drop the belts to a team who could use the rub though. I think Legacy or the Hart Dynasty are perfect candidates and could benefit immediately, but all three teams are heels, so the WWE would most likely not set up those matchups. I have to wonder if DX will get a shot at JeriShow like I have speculated before. It would be a good little feud and the match(es) would be pretty good as well, but DX does not need the tag titles. Unless they win them and promptly lose to Legacy or the Hart Dynasty, it is a waste. I really do not know what WWE has planned for Jericho and Show, but I don’t think they should be losing to Henry and MVP.
Prediction: Jericho and Big Show (retain titles)
Singapore Cane Match
The Great Khali vs. Kane
I was really hoping that we would not get “treated” to another PPV match between these two but it seems as though we are. I suppose it is better for a solid talent like Kane to make a PPV payday instead of being left out. This match could turn into a real spectacle if they allow it, but it will likely be the same slow and plodding match like they had at Summerslam, except this time they will be hitting each other with canes. If the WWE is determined to drag this feud on, then I have to think Khali will pick up the victory. He introduced the Singapore cane into the equation, so I have to go with him for the win.
Prediction: The Great Khali
The Game’s Quick Hits
Friday Night Smackdown: Once again, Smackdown was a pretty good watch this week and the show got off to another great start. The Undertaker came out to start the show and cut a promo on CM Punk, stating that he would collect his “soul” at Breaking Point and make Punk submit to his Hell’s Gate submission hold. Punk answered and cut another brilliant promo. He is just locked in on his character and manipulating the audience like a puppet master. The way he is bagging on the fans about being seduced by The Undertaker’s “magical” powers because their minds are in a doped up haze is just gold. Punk let The Undertaker know that he will make him tap out to the Anaconda Vice at Breaking Point and this set up the main event, a submission match between Punk and Matt Hardy. The two put on another good performance in the ring and did a nice enough job focusing on attacking different body parts since it was a submission match. The finish was pretty obvious as CM Punk quickly and suddenly slapped on the Anaconda Vice and made Hardy tap out. The very end of the show featured a nice touch of having the lights go out and the bell toll and when they came back on, Punk no longer was grasping his title. The Undertaker was at the top of the ramp holding Punk’s gold up high. I thought the show did a pretty good job at hyping Breaking Point and that’s all you can ask.
There wasn’t anything else earth shattering on this episode, just some good in-ring action. Finlay and Mike Knox battled it out in a pretty good “Belfast Brawl”, which saw Finlay come out on top after a shot with the shillelagh. I do like to see a good garbage match every now and then, and these two put on a solid match with copious amounts of chair and trash can shots. The Unified Tag Team Champions, Chris Jericho and The Big Show, had a decent match with Cryme Tyme. Show knocked out JTG with a huge punch which allowed the champs to get a win and gain some momentum heading into their title defense against Mark Henry and MVP at Breaking Point. Finally, John Morrison and Dolph Ziggler had a nice little back and forth on the mic. Ziggler demanded his title shot that he earned, but only on “his terms”, and Morrison responded by calling him “Mr. Ziggles”. The WWE is now trying to build up more of a feud between these two after plans changed because of Rey Mysterio’s suspension. The Morrison/Ziggler Intercontinental Title match has been pulled from Breaking Point and the rumor is because the WWE wants them to have some matches together first on the house show circuit. I really do not agree with this because I believe both Morrison and Ziggler are talented enough to put on a good match and they should be given the chance on PPV.
- NHL sources have told ESPN that the Ottawa Senators have finally reached a 3 team deal to trade Dany Heatley. The proposed trade would send Heatley to the San Jose Sharks, the Sharks’ Patrick Marleau to the Los Angeles Kings, and the Kings’ Alexander Frolov and Jarret Stoll to the Senators. There is only one catch though. As of right now, the GMs of all three teams have denied the report and say the speculation is complete bull. I hope that the story is not bull because this Dany Heatley saga has gone on way too long. The guy wants out of town in Ottawa, so get him out of town! I’m not sure San Jose is a good destination for him though. The Sharks are kings of the regular season, but always find a way to choke in the playoffs. Imagine the scrutiny on Heatley if he goes there and the Sharks continue to fall short in the postseason. Heatley seemingly doesn’t like the spotlight and pressure on him, but he will feel it full force in San Jose if he contributes to their playoff woes. I’m not sure if getting rid of Marleau is a smart move for San Jose, but something has to change there and shipping away players is one way to try it. Maybe a new lease on life in LA will be good for Marleau. Frolov’s production has dropped the past two seasons, so a change of scenery could serve him well. Stoll can help the Senators on the power play, so all in all, this seems to be a beneficial trade all around…if the rumor is true of course. Stay tuned…
- Usually when you take on the NFL, or any sports league or company for that matter, it is tough to win. But defensive tackles Kevin and Pat Williams of the Minnesota Vikings received a win in appeals court on Friday when the court ruled that the NFL can not suspend the players for violating the league’s anti-doping policy. The Williamses both tested positive for a banned diuretic during training camp in 2008 after they took the over-the-counter supplement StarCaps. It did not state on the label that it contained the diuretic -- which can mask the presence of steroids. I have to applaud the court on this decision, especially considering that neither Williams has tested positive for steroids. Companies should not get away with failing to disclose each and every ingredient that is contained in a supplement. Since there is no other evidence showing Kevin and Pat Williams taking steroids, I feel the suspension is bogus. They might be guilty of bad judgment by taking the supplement in the first place, but if the diuretic was not listed, then they should not be punished, clear and simple.
- Well it looks like I have to man up and say I was wrong on my speculation about Shawne Merriman. San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis has dismissed Tila Tequila’s accusations against Merriman and the case is now closed. She said there was insufficient evidence to prove that Merriman committed a crime. So it looks like Tequila did get herself drunk and was probably acting stupid. I will give credit to Merriman now because it seems like his story about trying to stop her from driving is the truth. That actually shows some responsibility on his part, something that Tequila obviously did not have that night. Now Tequila deserves to get bagged on because she tried to ruin Merriman’s reputation and hell, she might have been trying to go after some of his money. Maybe she can hook up with that woman trying to extort some money from Ben Roethlisberger. Next time though Shawne, cool it with the 4 am parties and don’t even put yourself in that situation.
-Other NFL News and Notes: Well as if the world didn’t already know, Cleveland Browns QB Brady Quinn was taking the snaps with Cleveland’s first-team offense on Friday, a clear indication he will be the starting QB on Sunday. Like I have said before, Eric Mangini looks like a fool with his little “let’s keep this a big secret” garbage. He is not giving the Browns any sort of advantage and I think it is disrespectful to the Cleveland fans. He should be more open about what is going on with the team, especially when it comes to who is starting at QB. Hey, maybe that is why they didn’t list Brett Favre on the Jets’ injury reports last year…Mangini wanted to keep it a big secret…
Kansas City Chiefs QB Matt Cassel continues to practice and his knee continues to improve. He is now expected to be a game-time decision for Sunday’s game against the Ravens. He says that if he is able to walk and go out there, he is ready to play. Matt, I’ll say this one more time…just sit this one out so the Ravens’ D doesn’t hurt you any more…thank you, drive through…
The TV ratings for last night’s NFL opener between the Steelers and Titans shows that the NFL is still king when it comes to sports. The game scored a 13.8 overnight rating, which is equivalent to over 10 million homes watching. This is the highest rating for an opener in 7 years. The game certainly was fun to watch and a great way to open up the 2009 season.
Denver Broncos WR Brandon Marshall declined to comment on Friday about his recent suspension from the team. He politely, but firmly, told a reporter that he was not talking about anything. Marshall could face a fine for not making himself available to the media at least one day during the week of practice leading up to Sunday’s game, but the NFL usually sends a warning first. Hey, I have bashed the guy on here before, but today I will give him some credit. This is exactly what he should do…shut up and play some football and do what you are supposed to do like an adult.
- Philadelphia Phillies P Brad Lidge and manager Charlie Manuel had a talk on Wednesday to discuss Lidge’s role with the team. Lidge claims they had a good talk and are “on the same page”. But Manuel refuses to say whether the struggling Lidge will get his job back as closer. So could this situation spell doom for the Phillies? I think it is possible that they can overcome it, but I believe Lidge needs to find another role for the rest of the season. The numbers do not lie. Lidge is 0-7 this season with a 7.11 ERA and he has blown 10 saves. Manuel says that he still sees Lidge as a closer, but how can he be trusted with numbers like those? Confidence is a huge deal for a pitcher and even though Lidge and Manuel are saying the right things, I have to believe that Lidge is not in the best state of mind. One bad outing in the playoffs can make the difference between a World Series Championship and coming up short. I can only think of the possible horror for the Phillies if the Yankees’ bats get a hold of Lidge in the World Series. My solution to this would be to consider using P Jaime Moyer or P Pedro Martinez as the closer. Pedro has proven he still has gas left in the tank, and maybe it would be the best move to stick Moyer back in the rotation for the playoffs and let Martinez close. Or, they could just move Moyer to role. I have to think he could be good for one strong inning. Whatever the Phillies decide, they need to address this and take care of it by October.
- BMW Championship Update: Tiger Woods played a solid round yesterday and was within striking distance of the lead on Friday. He took advantage of it, shooting a 4-under par 67 to grab a share of the lead after 2 rounds with Mark Wilson at 7-under par. Both Woods and Wilson have a one shot lead over a group of 4 players at 6-under, which includes Padraig Harrington and 1st round leader Rory Sabbatini. As I stated yesterday, Tiger seems to be finding a groove and that is not good news for everyone else. He has won 4 times at Cog Hill and he plays well in the Chicago area. Due to his recent disappointments, I am expecting a really good weekend from Tiger and I think he will close the deal this time and win the tournament. If he doesn’t, then the talk will only grow and he will have to find some way to get his air of invincibility back. FedEx Cup point leader Steve Stricker continues to struggle and is at 3-over par. It now looks like he will lose the points lead to Woods heading into the Tour Championship.
- U.S. Open Update: Rain forced the postponement of both women’s semifinals and the conclusion of the Rafael Nadal/Fernando Gonzalez match. The schedule is now in disarray and for the second straight year, the men’s final will happen on Monday at the earliest. Rain is in the forecast tomorrow, so everyone might still be playing the waiting game.
Friday, September 11, 2009
College Football Week 2 Preview
The opening weekend of the college football season was definitely exciting. We had Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford’s injury leading to BYU’s upset over the Sooners…Oregon RB LeGarrette Blount losing his mind after Boise State scored a huge win over the Ducks…Alabama and Oklahoma State looking strong in their huge wins…and a great end to the weekend with a classic between Miami and Florida State. Will week 2 be just as exciting? On paper, it doesn’t seem that way. You would think it was a bakery with all the cupcake games out there. But nevertheless, it should be a good weekend of action and there is one huge game everyone will be watching. Let’s take a look at a preview of the action:
#1 Florida (1-0) vs. Troy (0-1) – Seems as though the Gators will be in another charitable mood on Saturday to dish out a beat down to an overmatched opponent. Florida cruised in their opener, crushing Charleston Southern 62-3. The competition gets a little tougher this week, but not that tough. Troy did go to the New Orleans Bowl last season and could hang around for a quarter, but they do not have anywhere near the personnel necessary to stop Florida on defense or match them on the scoreboard with their own offense. Troy lost 31-14 to Bowling Green last week and has lost 8 straight games to ranked teams, so expect another massacre for Florida by the final gun. We will not get a true measure of how good Florida is this year until they get into SEC play.
#2 Texas (1-0) vs. Wyoming (1-0) – Texas easily started their quest toward a National Championship with a 59-20 win over Louisiana-Monroe. Things should not really get much tougher this week as the Longhorns travel to Wyoming to face an overmatched Cowboys team. Texas now looks in prime position to win the Big 12 with Oklahoma’s early season struggles and they look motivated to get better this week. They were not happy that they gave up 20 points to Louisiana-Monroe, even though 10 of those points came in the 4th quarter when the starters were out of the game. Wyoming was last among FBS teams in scoring last season, but they have installed a no-huddle, spread offense this season and it got them a 29-22 win last week over Weber State. Unfortunately, Texas is not Weber State and the Longhorns should easily beat the Cowboys, who haven’t beaten a ranked team since 2002 and have never beaten a team ranked higher than #11. I would expect a win by at least 4-5 touchdowns.
#3 USC (1-0) vs. #8 Ohio State (1-0) – Without question, this is the marquee matchup of the week and the game everyone will be watching. USC had no trouble last week as they routed San Jose State 56-3. Ohio State struggled at home to beat Navy 31-27. So does that make this game a foregone conclusion? I don’t think you can say that, but there is no doubt that USC looks to have the edge and Ohio State needs to deal with recent demons. Over the past 3 seasons, the Buckeyes have struggled in high profile games and they can’t seem to get a huge win on national TV. This includes an embarrassing 35-3 loss to USC last year. Last week’s struggle will not help their confidence, but they do have home field advantage in this game. USC freshman QB Matt Barkley will get his first real test of his young career and he might be overwhelmed. He does have a powerful running game to back him up though, and Ohio State’s defense did look shaky against Navy. All in all, I do think the edge lies with USC and I would expect them to pull out a victory in this one. Ohio State is more than capable of winning, but I will stick with recent history.
#4 Alabama (1-0) vs. Florida International (0-0) – This is another baker’s special here as Alabama should have no trouble in this game. They are coming off of a huge 34-24 win over Virginia Tech and the talk about another run at the National Championship is well underway. The Crimson Tide defense was stifling against Virginia Tech and they only let up a few big plays in an otherwise dominating performance. The Tide did have a let down last year in their 2nd game, an uninspiring 20-6 win against Tulane, after a big opening week win over Clemson. That should serve as a learning lesson though for this team and Florida International, who are only 6-37 on the road since they started the football program in 2002, will be totally overmatched in this game.
#5 Oklahoma State (1-0) vs. Houston (1-0) – Oklahoma State got off to a huge start last week by beating Georgia 24-10 and vaulting up to #5 in the country. They will now have the challenge of trying to stay motivated and not play down to their competition as they enter a stretch of games against weaker opponents before opening Big 12 play. Houston will provide a decent challenge to the Cowboys. They feature an explosive offense and play a wide open style that can score points. These two teams played last September and Oklahoma State won a 56-37 shootout. This game will be a great test to see if Oklahoma State’s defense is really improved this year. The Cowboys could suffer a letdown and this game could be closer than some people think. Houston has won 2 straight games against ranked opponents and the all-time series between these two is tied at 9-9-1. I expect the Cowboys to prevail in this one, but it could be interesting for a while.
#7 Penn State (1-0) vs. Syracuse (0-1) – This figures to be another lackluster game as Syracuse visits Penn State in a rematch of last year’s 55-13 blowout win for the Nittany Lions. Penn State has won 22 straight games at home against unranked opponents and that streak should continue. Penn State had no trouble beating Akron last week 31-7, although they did play poorly in the 2nd half and will look to correct that this week. Syracuse will be totally overmatched and it does not help that former Duke point guard Greg Paulus is still adjusting back to being on the football field in live games after not playing since high school. This one could be ugly and be over early.
#9 BYU (1-0) vs. Tulane (0-1) – BYU is coming off one of the biggest wins in school history and the challenge against Tulane will be not to have a letdown. Florida State visits BYU next week, so this could be labeled as the classic “trap” game. BYU can afford no letdowns if they want a shot at a BCS Bowl game this year. However, Tulane struggled at home last week in a 37-13 loss against Tulsa, so they probably will not offer much resistance against the Cougars. BYU’s defense looked extremely solid against Oklahoma and Tulane’s offense was pretty bad last season, only scoring 16.7 points per game. BYU should score early and often and have no trouble putting this one away as they prepare for a huge game next week against the Seminoles.
#10 California (1-0) vs. Eastern Washington (1-0) – After beating up on Maryland last week, Cal should have no trouble at all doing the same to Eastern Washington. Heisman Trophy candidate RB Jahvid Best ran wild over the Terps and did the same to unranked competition last year. The Golden Bears should have no trouble blowing out an overmatched Eastern Washington team. Things will get much tougher when they hit Pac 10 conference play, so they had better enjoy the cupcakes now.
#11 LSU (1-0) vs. Vanderbilt (1-0) – SEC play begins for both these teams as Vanderbilt travels to LSU. LSU is trying to bounce back from last year’s disappointing 3-5 record in SEC games, the first season below .500 for the Tigers since 1999. LSU has won the past 5 meetings with Vanderbilt, but the teams have not played since 2005. LSU got off to a good start last week, surviving the longest road trip in program history and beating Washington 31-23. Coming back home should be welcomed for the Tigers and they should be able to win this game fairly easily. Vanderbilt was ranked as high as #13 last year, but they have slowly slipped off and are in the middle of the pack as far as SEC teams go. LSU can not afford a slip up, especially at home against an unranked opponent, if they have hopes of a big time Bowl game this year. So I would expect them to be focused and take care of business in this one.
#12 Boise State (1-0) vs. Miami, OH (0-1) – Boise State is coming off of a huge win against Oregon, which now gives them an inside track at going undefeated and getting a BCS Bowl game berth. Even though some may say Boise State could suffer a letdown this week, it seems highly unlikely. Miami (OH) has not beaten a ranked team since 2003 and they finished 2-10 last season. They also suffered the second worst season-opening loss in school history last week, a 42-0 drubbing at the hands of Kentucky. Expect Boise State to roll in this one.
#13 Oklahoma (0-1) vs. Idaho State (0-1) – Oklahoma will try to move forward after the 14-13 loss to BYU and the loss of QB Sam Bradford for up to a month and TE Jermaine Gresham for the entire year. It will be a struggle for Oklahoma to hang in there now, but they should not struggle this week. Even without Bradford, Oklahoma should beat up on Idaho State. Oklahoma has won 24 straight games at home and Idaho State has lost 16 straight on the road and has not beaten an FBS school since 2000. Idaho State also managed a MASSIVE 37 yards of offense last week against Arizona State. You do the math on this one…
#14 Virginia Tech (0-1) vs. Marshall (1-0) – Virginia Tech will try to rebound from a disappointing loss to Alabama in their opener last week. Tech had hopes of potentially making a run at the BCS Title game, but now they have to try and work back for a shot at any BCS Bowl game. The defense was pretty shaky and needs to improve and Tech’s offense needs to get more consistency. They only hung in against Alabama because of a few big plays. Virginia Tech should have an easy time with Marshall, who has not beaten a ranked team since 2003 and have lost their last eight attempts at it. Tech has also not lost a home opener since 1995, so the odds are on their side. I would expect a better defensive effort and Marshall’s defense will not be strong enough to hold Tech off the scoreboard.
#16 TCU (0-0) vs. Virginia (0-1) – TCU begins their season this week as they visit Virginia, who was embarrassed last week in losing to William & Mary at home 26-14. William & Mary is not even an FBS school and Virginia struggled mightily on offense. That does not bode well for the Cavaliers as they go up against one of the best defenses in the county. TCU only gave up 18 touchdowns last year and led the nation in yards from scrimmage allowed per game. There is always a chance TCU could be flat in their first game, but this game should not be that close. The Horned Frogs have high expectations and are coming off their highest final poll finish since 1959. Expect a big win for the Mountain West favorites in this one.
#17 Utah (1-0) vs. San Jose State (0-1) – Utah will look to extend the nation’s longest winning streak to 16 games as they take on a San Jose State team that was spanked by USC 56-3 last week. Utah has won 10 straight non-conference games, as well as their last 8 road games, and they should be able to continue the streak this week. San Jose State looked totally overmatched against USC, giving up 620 yards and only gaining 121. Utah is no USC, but they are certainly way too much for San Jose State to handle.
#18 Notre Dame (1-0) vs. Michigan (1-0) – This game has now turned into a big one and will be the 2nd marquee matchup in the Top 25 of the week. Notre Dame and Michigan are trying to build their programs back up and recapture past glory. It seems as though Notre Dame has the better prospects of the two and they enter this game favored to win. QB Jimmy Clausen was nearly flawless last week against Nevada in Notre Dame’s 35-0 victory. If he can duplicate that performance and the offensive line and defense continue to improve, Notre Dame will be tough to beat. Michigan rallied around Coach Rich Rodriguez and beat back allegations of NCAA rules violations to beat Western Michigan 31-7. They have shutout Notre Dame in two of the past three games at home and lead the series 11-7 at Ann Arbor. It will take a big effort though for Michigan to win because Notre Dame looks like they might meet some of the hype this year. I don’t think Michigan is that far along as a team and Notre Dame should win this game.
#19 North Carolina (1-0) vs. Connecticut (1-0) – This has the potential to be a pretty good football game in my estimation. It might not turn out that way however, if North Carolina repeats the defensive performance they had last week against The Citadel. The Tar Heels forced 4 turnovers and only allowed 30 yards rushing. Connecticut lost star RB Donald Brown to the NFL, so they will not be as dynamic this year. They put in a good rushing performance last week against Ohio and they need even more if they hope to pull the upset. It will also require better QB play from Zach Frazer. North Carolina pulled an upset of Connecticut last year 38-12 at home. Can the reverse happen this time around? I think it is possible, but the loss of Donald Brown might be too much to overcome and I expect a Tar Heels victory.
#21 Georgia (0-1) vs. South Carolina (1-0) – This game could turn out to be downright ugly and a real defensive struggle. Since Steve Spurrier became South Carolina’s coach, neither team has scored more than 18 points in a game. You also have two teams that struggled mightily on the offensive side of the ball last week and it is the SEC opener for both squads, which tend to be played close to the vest. Georgia obviously has to be deflated after losing to Oklahoma State and Spurrier has had 2 extra days to prepare for this one, so it could be good. I have to believe that Georgia will be desperate to avoid a 0-2 start and they will find a way to win this one. A loss would be an absolute disaster for them and the dreams of a BCS Bowl game will be a distant memory.
#22 Nebraska (1-0) vs. Arkansas State (1-0) – Nebraska got off to a good start last week by beating Florida Atlantic 49-3, but the defense was described as “soft” by head coach Bo Pelini. The Cornhuskers gave up 358 yards to Florida Atlantic and were not as physical as they could have been. They can probably get away with that again this week, since Arkansas State is only a slight step up in competition. Nebraska needs to be careful though because Arkansas State does have some talented athletes and the Cornhuskers have a huge game against Virginia Tech next week, so this could be another so-called “trap” game. However, I would still expect a pretty big victory for Nebraska here.
#23 Cincinnati (1-0) vs. Southeast Missouri State (1-0) – All the talk about Rutgers winning the Big East this year has gone away after Cincinnati pounded the Scarlet Knights 47-15. The win set the Bearcats up as the favorite to win the Big East once again and propelled Cincinnati into the Top 25. They look to be a more dangerous team than people expected and they should destroy Southeast Missouri State, who has been outscored 174-13 in their last three games against FBS schools.
#24 Kansas (1-0) vs. UTEP (0-1) – Kansas will be looking to win a non-conference road game for the first time since 2003 and the return of star WR Dezmon Briscoe could help that. Briscoe was suspended for the first game of the season for a violation of team rules during the spring. His return could strength an already talented team, who should be able to handle UTEP. The Miners lost to Buffalo last week 23-17 and Kansas is certainly much more talented. UTEP has lost 9 straight times to ranked opponents dating back to 1997 and they are 3-44 all-time against ranked teams. Even with the odds in their favor, Kansas is not planning to overlook UTEP and that should lead to a big win.
#25 Missouri (1-0) vs. Bowling Green (1-0) – Missouri had an impressive opening win last week against Illinois and the performance has sparked hope that the team can have a good year even after graduating one of the most successful classes in school history and losing Chase Daniel and Jeremy Maclin. If they can get solid play from sophomore QB Blaine Gabbert, it could be a better than expected year for the young Tigers. Bowling Green will provide a good test, but they are a notch below Illinois. Bowling Green did defeat Missouri back in 2001 and 2002, teams that were also coached by Gary Pinkel. They also sport an 11-8 record against major conference teams since those seasons, so Missouri will have to come prepared to get a victory.
The Game’s Quick Hits
Recap: Steelers 13, Titans 10 OT – The NFL season got off to a great start last night, even if it wasn’t very pretty. Pittsburgh was able to make enough clutch plays to escape with a 13-10 overtime win over the Titans. The first half of the game was a total defensive struggle and neither team looked particularly good on offense. The Steelers looked worse though as they could not run the ball and only got going in the final two minutes of the half. The defense held them in the game, even though All-Pro safety Troy Polamalu left the game due to injury. A Titans player fell on his left knee after a blocked FG and it was reported after the game that Polamalu sprained his MCL and could be out 3-6 weeks. They are fortunate that the injury is not any worse and their defense is strong enough to survive for a few weeks without him. The Steelers finally were able to move the ball in the second half by relying on the arm of QB Ben Roethlisberger. After Tennessee grabbed a 10-7 lead late in the game, Roethlisberger got the Steelers going for a tying field goal and then was driving the Steelers down for the winning score in regulation, but WR Hines Ward fumbled on the Titans’ 5-yard line. However, Pittsburgh won the coin toss and Roethlisberger drove them right down the field for a game winning 33-yard field goal by K Jeff Reed. Once again, the Steelers used the formula of strong defense and clutch play from Roethlisberger, who was 33-for-43 for 363 yards with 1 TD and 2 INTs, to win. They really need to get the running game in order though, considering Tennessee held them to only 36 yards rushing. Pittsburgh also needs to improve on converting short yardage plays. They stunk it up in that area last night and that could cost them sometime this year if they are not careful. This loss will by no means hurt the Titans in the long run. They played a tough game and the defense looks fierce. I think they will be fine and can be a force when it comes to playoff time. Both teams made a statement that they will be contenders this year.
Recap: #15 Georgia Tech 30, Clemson 27 – In what was a game of back and forth momentum, Georgia Tech barely escaped with a 3 point win after squandering a 24-0 lead. Early on it seemed like this game would be a blowout. Clemson came out extremely flat and blew great field position by making costly mistakes and turning the ball over. This allowed Georgia Tech to build a 24-0 lead on the strength of a long TD run, a punt return TD, and a fake FG which resulted in a TD pass from kicker Scott Blair. From that point on however, Clemson’s defense stepped up and Georgia Tech could do absolutely nothing offensively. The Tigers stuffed the running game and Georgia Tech’s passing game was dreadful. Clemson scored 27 straight points to take the lead, but then they fell apart. Georgia Tech finally put together two late drives for field goals and escaped with a 3 point win. From what I saw, if a team is able to contain the Yellow Jackets’ spread option run game, they can be beat. QB Josh Nesbitt looked extremely shaky throwing the ball and he only completed 3 of 14 passes and threw 2 interceptions. That is not the way to get it done. I think Virginia Tech’s defense could easily stuff Georgia Tech and I am not sure if Georgia Tech will be able to hang in there for a major Bowl game this year. Clemson has enough offensive weapons to stay in games and they will always be a tough opponent for anyone in the ACC this year.
- Well it seems as though Minnesota Vikings QB Brett Favre just can not stay out of the news these days. Favre told the media on Wednesday that the New York Jets knew about his torn biceps tendon last season, but they did not list him on any injury reports. Favre also said that he was receptive to sitting out and would have done so, but he was encouraged to keep playing even though he felt he was starting to hurt the team. Teams in the past have been fined anywhere from $10,000 to $25,000 (no draft picks have ever been taken though) for not being forthright on injury reports and the NFL is now looking into Favre’s statements. New York Jets’ GM Mike Tannenbaum stated that he will take responsibility and cooperate in a league investigation for not listing Favre, and said that he should have been listed as “probable” during the final 5 games last year. If you ask me, this comes as absolutely no surprise. The Jets were trying to fight for a division title last year, so surely they did not want to let teams know that Favre had an injury. They probably did not want the media circus and distraction that would have come along with reporting it either. Like it or not, an injury is a target, so everyone kept quiet about it. I don’t agree with the practice of doing this because the rules about reporting injuries should be followed for competitive fairness. Who knows if the NFL will end up fining the Jets, but at least it seems Favre will be levelheaded this year and sit down if he is hurt and not jeopardize team success.
- No doubt that it is a new world out there as the Shawne Merriman/Tila Tequila saga is playing out on Twitter. The two are exchanging charges and countercharges on their feeds. Tequila is planning to meet with the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office on Friday as the investigation will continue to determine whether or not Merriman will be charged. Merriman is sticking to his position that he was only trying to help Tequila because she was drunk and he intends to clear his name and get to focusing on football. Tequila counters by saying Merriman is lying and she will not be a victim in all this, especially when someone lays their hands on her. This seems like it will just turn into a bizarre situation, but as I stated before, I don’t think Tequila is on a witch hunt here. She most likely is well off financially and Merriman has more to lose here, so of course he will deny any wrongdoing. I guess we will have to see what charges, if any, get levied against Merriman to determine how serious this could have been.
- Other NFL News and Notes: Recently traded defensive lineman Richard Seymour continues to not report to the Oakland Raiders and the Raiders have responded by sending him the dreaded “5 day letter”, which means he has 5 days to report to the team or be suspended. He is listed on the Raiders’ 53 man roster, so if nothing were to happen before Monday night’s game against the Chargers, he would still collect a paycheck for the game. Now I understand Seymour’s displeasure with the sudden trade and having to leave a championship caliber team, but I do not condone highly paid athletes getting money for nothing. I am pleased to see Oakland giving him an ultimatum because he does not deserve any money or special treatment here. Seymour is starting to now look childish and unprofessional in all this. At this point, I say suck it up and go play.
The Vikings have released WR Bobby Wade just days before the season opener. This seems to be a puzzling move considering that Wade has led the Vikings in receptions the past 2 seasons. The addition of Percy Harvin obviously means fewer balls to go around, but you never know when injuries will pop up and I would think Minnesota would want to have as many weapons as possible. Harvin battled some injuries at Florida and WR Bernard Berrian has been slowed by a hamstring injury already. I don’t think this is that smart of a move and Minnesota better hope they stay healthy.
It was announced Thursday that NFL fans’ whose local teams’ games are blacked out will be able to watch them for free online, though not until after midnight. Commissioner Goodell said that the league understands that the economy is making it harder to buy tickets, so I suppose this is a compromise and better than nothing. Many have said the league should be sensitive to the economic times and waive the blackouts for this season so fans can watch their local teams’ games. On the other hand, giving away the product for free would not encourage people to try and go buy tickets. The NFL has a product it is trying to protect and I understand the business part of it. I certainly do not want things to get to a point where I would have to buy games on Pay Per View or something of that sort. But due to how bad things are in this economy, I think it is a unique time and they should allow the blackouts to be waived for this season only. They can revert back to the usual rules next season when things will hopefully be better in economic terms.
John Madden is back in the NFL and will be an unpaid “special adviser” to Commissioner Roger Goodell and mostly have influence on the NFL competition committee. This is a really cool move in my opinion. Without question, Madden is one of the most knowledgeable people out there when it comes to the game of football and I am glad that he will be offering his opinions and advice to try and improve the game. Madden has a love and passion for the NFL and I am sure he will be able to help in some capacity.
- BMW Championship Update: The second to last FedEx Cup Playoff event got underway yesterday and Rory Sabbatini and Steve Marino were able to jump out to a 1-stroke lead after firing 5-under rounds of 66. Bo Van Pelt and Marc Leishman each shot 4-under rounds of 67 and Tiger Woods is in a pack of players who shot 3-under rounds of 68. This is pretty much an all-star tournament with the top players in the world, so getting off to a good start is desirable. Without question, this is the best round that Tiger has shot to open a tournament in the past few weeks and he seems to have figured some things out. These last two events will determine the FedEx Cup Champion, so it is the perfect time for Tiger to rise to the occasion. I give him a great shot to win this week. FedEx Cup point leader Steve Stricker did not get off to such a great start. He suffered a three putt bogey on his last hole as he shot a 1-over par 72 for the day. Now he will be in the position to have to chase Woods, unlike last week when Stricker was hunting Tiger.
- Miami Heat all-star guard Dwayne Wade says that the contract extension talks are now over and he will be focusing on the upcoming season. As expected, Wade is not signing any extension with the Heat right now and is looking at testing free agency next summer. Obviously, this is not surprising and I do not blame the guy. That is how it works in sports with free agency and players have every right to go out and try to get as much money as they can. I certainly would do the same if I had the opportunity. Next summer might be crazy as LeBron James, Wade, Chris Bosh, and Amare Stoudemire could all hit free agency. Teams are trying to clear cap room now and we could see a huge power shift in the NBA. It will be fun to see what goes down and I bet Wade will probably have a monster season again this year, carrying the Heat on his back to the playoffs.
-U.S. Open Update: Things are starting to wind down at the U.S. Open and the only single’s action today was the last two men’s quarterfinals. In the first one, #6 seed Juan Martin del Potro rallied after losing the first set to beat #16 seed Marin Cilic 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1. We still do not know who his opponent will be because the night match between #3 seed Rafael Nadal and #11 seed Fernando Gonzalez was postponed due to rain with Nadal leading 7-6, 6-6.
#1 Florida (1-0) vs. Troy (0-1) – Seems as though the Gators will be in another charitable mood on Saturday to dish out a beat down to an overmatched opponent. Florida cruised in their opener, crushing Charleston Southern 62-3. The competition gets a little tougher this week, but not that tough. Troy did go to the New Orleans Bowl last season and could hang around for a quarter, but they do not have anywhere near the personnel necessary to stop Florida on defense or match them on the scoreboard with their own offense. Troy lost 31-14 to Bowling Green last week and has lost 8 straight games to ranked teams, so expect another massacre for Florida by the final gun. We will not get a true measure of how good Florida is this year until they get into SEC play.
#2 Texas (1-0) vs. Wyoming (1-0) – Texas easily started their quest toward a National Championship with a 59-20 win over Louisiana-Monroe. Things should not really get much tougher this week as the Longhorns travel to Wyoming to face an overmatched Cowboys team. Texas now looks in prime position to win the Big 12 with Oklahoma’s early season struggles and they look motivated to get better this week. They were not happy that they gave up 20 points to Louisiana-Monroe, even though 10 of those points came in the 4th quarter when the starters were out of the game. Wyoming was last among FBS teams in scoring last season, but they have installed a no-huddle, spread offense this season and it got them a 29-22 win last week over Weber State. Unfortunately, Texas is not Weber State and the Longhorns should easily beat the Cowboys, who haven’t beaten a ranked team since 2002 and have never beaten a team ranked higher than #11. I would expect a win by at least 4-5 touchdowns.
#3 USC (1-0) vs. #8 Ohio State (1-0) – Without question, this is the marquee matchup of the week and the game everyone will be watching. USC had no trouble last week as they routed San Jose State 56-3. Ohio State struggled at home to beat Navy 31-27. So does that make this game a foregone conclusion? I don’t think you can say that, but there is no doubt that USC looks to have the edge and Ohio State needs to deal with recent demons. Over the past 3 seasons, the Buckeyes have struggled in high profile games and they can’t seem to get a huge win on national TV. This includes an embarrassing 35-3 loss to USC last year. Last week’s struggle will not help their confidence, but they do have home field advantage in this game. USC freshman QB Matt Barkley will get his first real test of his young career and he might be overwhelmed. He does have a powerful running game to back him up though, and Ohio State’s defense did look shaky against Navy. All in all, I do think the edge lies with USC and I would expect them to pull out a victory in this one. Ohio State is more than capable of winning, but I will stick with recent history.
#4 Alabama (1-0) vs. Florida International (0-0) – This is another baker’s special here as Alabama should have no trouble in this game. They are coming off of a huge 34-24 win over Virginia Tech and the talk about another run at the National Championship is well underway. The Crimson Tide defense was stifling against Virginia Tech and they only let up a few big plays in an otherwise dominating performance. The Tide did have a let down last year in their 2nd game, an uninspiring 20-6 win against Tulane, after a big opening week win over Clemson. That should serve as a learning lesson though for this team and Florida International, who are only 6-37 on the road since they started the football program in 2002, will be totally overmatched in this game.
#5 Oklahoma State (1-0) vs. Houston (1-0) – Oklahoma State got off to a huge start last week by beating Georgia 24-10 and vaulting up to #5 in the country. They will now have the challenge of trying to stay motivated and not play down to their competition as they enter a stretch of games against weaker opponents before opening Big 12 play. Houston will provide a decent challenge to the Cowboys. They feature an explosive offense and play a wide open style that can score points. These two teams played last September and Oklahoma State won a 56-37 shootout. This game will be a great test to see if Oklahoma State’s defense is really improved this year. The Cowboys could suffer a letdown and this game could be closer than some people think. Houston has won 2 straight games against ranked opponents and the all-time series between these two is tied at 9-9-1. I expect the Cowboys to prevail in this one, but it could be interesting for a while.
#7 Penn State (1-0) vs. Syracuse (0-1) – This figures to be another lackluster game as Syracuse visits Penn State in a rematch of last year’s 55-13 blowout win for the Nittany Lions. Penn State has won 22 straight games at home against unranked opponents and that streak should continue. Penn State had no trouble beating Akron last week 31-7, although they did play poorly in the 2nd half and will look to correct that this week. Syracuse will be totally overmatched and it does not help that former Duke point guard Greg Paulus is still adjusting back to being on the football field in live games after not playing since high school. This one could be ugly and be over early.
#9 BYU (1-0) vs. Tulane (0-1) – BYU is coming off one of the biggest wins in school history and the challenge against Tulane will be not to have a letdown. Florida State visits BYU next week, so this could be labeled as the classic “trap” game. BYU can afford no letdowns if they want a shot at a BCS Bowl game this year. However, Tulane struggled at home last week in a 37-13 loss against Tulsa, so they probably will not offer much resistance against the Cougars. BYU’s defense looked extremely solid against Oklahoma and Tulane’s offense was pretty bad last season, only scoring 16.7 points per game. BYU should score early and often and have no trouble putting this one away as they prepare for a huge game next week against the Seminoles.
#10 California (1-0) vs. Eastern Washington (1-0) – After beating up on Maryland last week, Cal should have no trouble at all doing the same to Eastern Washington. Heisman Trophy candidate RB Jahvid Best ran wild over the Terps and did the same to unranked competition last year. The Golden Bears should have no trouble blowing out an overmatched Eastern Washington team. Things will get much tougher when they hit Pac 10 conference play, so they had better enjoy the cupcakes now.
#11 LSU (1-0) vs. Vanderbilt (1-0) – SEC play begins for both these teams as Vanderbilt travels to LSU. LSU is trying to bounce back from last year’s disappointing 3-5 record in SEC games, the first season below .500 for the Tigers since 1999. LSU has won the past 5 meetings with Vanderbilt, but the teams have not played since 2005. LSU got off to a good start last week, surviving the longest road trip in program history and beating Washington 31-23. Coming back home should be welcomed for the Tigers and they should be able to win this game fairly easily. Vanderbilt was ranked as high as #13 last year, but they have slowly slipped off and are in the middle of the pack as far as SEC teams go. LSU can not afford a slip up, especially at home against an unranked opponent, if they have hopes of a big time Bowl game this year. So I would expect them to be focused and take care of business in this one.
#12 Boise State (1-0) vs. Miami, OH (0-1) – Boise State is coming off of a huge win against Oregon, which now gives them an inside track at going undefeated and getting a BCS Bowl game berth. Even though some may say Boise State could suffer a letdown this week, it seems highly unlikely. Miami (OH) has not beaten a ranked team since 2003 and they finished 2-10 last season. They also suffered the second worst season-opening loss in school history last week, a 42-0 drubbing at the hands of Kentucky. Expect Boise State to roll in this one.
#13 Oklahoma (0-1) vs. Idaho State (0-1) – Oklahoma will try to move forward after the 14-13 loss to BYU and the loss of QB Sam Bradford for up to a month and TE Jermaine Gresham for the entire year. It will be a struggle for Oklahoma to hang in there now, but they should not struggle this week. Even without Bradford, Oklahoma should beat up on Idaho State. Oklahoma has won 24 straight games at home and Idaho State has lost 16 straight on the road and has not beaten an FBS school since 2000. Idaho State also managed a MASSIVE 37 yards of offense last week against Arizona State. You do the math on this one…
#14 Virginia Tech (0-1) vs. Marshall (1-0) – Virginia Tech will try to rebound from a disappointing loss to Alabama in their opener last week. Tech had hopes of potentially making a run at the BCS Title game, but now they have to try and work back for a shot at any BCS Bowl game. The defense was pretty shaky and needs to improve and Tech’s offense needs to get more consistency. They only hung in against Alabama because of a few big plays. Virginia Tech should have an easy time with Marshall, who has not beaten a ranked team since 2003 and have lost their last eight attempts at it. Tech has also not lost a home opener since 1995, so the odds are on their side. I would expect a better defensive effort and Marshall’s defense will not be strong enough to hold Tech off the scoreboard.
#16 TCU (0-0) vs. Virginia (0-1) – TCU begins their season this week as they visit Virginia, who was embarrassed last week in losing to William & Mary at home 26-14. William & Mary is not even an FBS school and Virginia struggled mightily on offense. That does not bode well for the Cavaliers as they go up against one of the best defenses in the county. TCU only gave up 18 touchdowns last year and led the nation in yards from scrimmage allowed per game. There is always a chance TCU could be flat in their first game, but this game should not be that close. The Horned Frogs have high expectations and are coming off their highest final poll finish since 1959. Expect a big win for the Mountain West favorites in this one.
#17 Utah (1-0) vs. San Jose State (0-1) – Utah will look to extend the nation’s longest winning streak to 16 games as they take on a San Jose State team that was spanked by USC 56-3 last week. Utah has won 10 straight non-conference games, as well as their last 8 road games, and they should be able to continue the streak this week. San Jose State looked totally overmatched against USC, giving up 620 yards and only gaining 121. Utah is no USC, but they are certainly way too much for San Jose State to handle.
#18 Notre Dame (1-0) vs. Michigan (1-0) – This game has now turned into a big one and will be the 2nd marquee matchup in the Top 25 of the week. Notre Dame and Michigan are trying to build their programs back up and recapture past glory. It seems as though Notre Dame has the better prospects of the two and they enter this game favored to win. QB Jimmy Clausen was nearly flawless last week against Nevada in Notre Dame’s 35-0 victory. If he can duplicate that performance and the offensive line and defense continue to improve, Notre Dame will be tough to beat. Michigan rallied around Coach Rich Rodriguez and beat back allegations of NCAA rules violations to beat Western Michigan 31-7. They have shutout Notre Dame in two of the past three games at home and lead the series 11-7 at Ann Arbor. It will take a big effort though for Michigan to win because Notre Dame looks like they might meet some of the hype this year. I don’t think Michigan is that far along as a team and Notre Dame should win this game.
#19 North Carolina (1-0) vs. Connecticut (1-0) – This has the potential to be a pretty good football game in my estimation. It might not turn out that way however, if North Carolina repeats the defensive performance they had last week against The Citadel. The Tar Heels forced 4 turnovers and only allowed 30 yards rushing. Connecticut lost star RB Donald Brown to the NFL, so they will not be as dynamic this year. They put in a good rushing performance last week against Ohio and they need even more if they hope to pull the upset. It will also require better QB play from Zach Frazer. North Carolina pulled an upset of Connecticut last year 38-12 at home. Can the reverse happen this time around? I think it is possible, but the loss of Donald Brown might be too much to overcome and I expect a Tar Heels victory.
#21 Georgia (0-1) vs. South Carolina (1-0) – This game could turn out to be downright ugly and a real defensive struggle. Since Steve Spurrier became South Carolina’s coach, neither team has scored more than 18 points in a game. You also have two teams that struggled mightily on the offensive side of the ball last week and it is the SEC opener for both squads, which tend to be played close to the vest. Georgia obviously has to be deflated after losing to Oklahoma State and Spurrier has had 2 extra days to prepare for this one, so it could be good. I have to believe that Georgia will be desperate to avoid a 0-2 start and they will find a way to win this one. A loss would be an absolute disaster for them and the dreams of a BCS Bowl game will be a distant memory.
#22 Nebraska (1-0) vs. Arkansas State (1-0) – Nebraska got off to a good start last week by beating Florida Atlantic 49-3, but the defense was described as “soft” by head coach Bo Pelini. The Cornhuskers gave up 358 yards to Florida Atlantic and were not as physical as they could have been. They can probably get away with that again this week, since Arkansas State is only a slight step up in competition. Nebraska needs to be careful though because Arkansas State does have some talented athletes and the Cornhuskers have a huge game against Virginia Tech next week, so this could be another so-called “trap” game. However, I would still expect a pretty big victory for Nebraska here.
#23 Cincinnati (1-0) vs. Southeast Missouri State (1-0) – All the talk about Rutgers winning the Big East this year has gone away after Cincinnati pounded the Scarlet Knights 47-15. The win set the Bearcats up as the favorite to win the Big East once again and propelled Cincinnati into the Top 25. They look to be a more dangerous team than people expected and they should destroy Southeast Missouri State, who has been outscored 174-13 in their last three games against FBS schools.
#24 Kansas (1-0) vs. UTEP (0-1) – Kansas will be looking to win a non-conference road game for the first time since 2003 and the return of star WR Dezmon Briscoe could help that. Briscoe was suspended for the first game of the season for a violation of team rules during the spring. His return could strength an already talented team, who should be able to handle UTEP. The Miners lost to Buffalo last week 23-17 and Kansas is certainly much more talented. UTEP has lost 9 straight times to ranked opponents dating back to 1997 and they are 3-44 all-time against ranked teams. Even with the odds in their favor, Kansas is not planning to overlook UTEP and that should lead to a big win.
#25 Missouri (1-0) vs. Bowling Green (1-0) – Missouri had an impressive opening win last week against Illinois and the performance has sparked hope that the team can have a good year even after graduating one of the most successful classes in school history and losing Chase Daniel and Jeremy Maclin. If they can get solid play from sophomore QB Blaine Gabbert, it could be a better than expected year for the young Tigers. Bowling Green will provide a good test, but they are a notch below Illinois. Bowling Green did defeat Missouri back in 2001 and 2002, teams that were also coached by Gary Pinkel. They also sport an 11-8 record against major conference teams since those seasons, so Missouri will have to come prepared to get a victory.
The Game’s Quick Hits
Recap: Steelers 13, Titans 10 OT – The NFL season got off to a great start last night, even if it wasn’t very pretty. Pittsburgh was able to make enough clutch plays to escape with a 13-10 overtime win over the Titans. The first half of the game was a total defensive struggle and neither team looked particularly good on offense. The Steelers looked worse though as they could not run the ball and only got going in the final two minutes of the half. The defense held them in the game, even though All-Pro safety Troy Polamalu left the game due to injury. A Titans player fell on his left knee after a blocked FG and it was reported after the game that Polamalu sprained his MCL and could be out 3-6 weeks. They are fortunate that the injury is not any worse and their defense is strong enough to survive for a few weeks without him. The Steelers finally were able to move the ball in the second half by relying on the arm of QB Ben Roethlisberger. After Tennessee grabbed a 10-7 lead late in the game, Roethlisberger got the Steelers going for a tying field goal and then was driving the Steelers down for the winning score in regulation, but WR Hines Ward fumbled on the Titans’ 5-yard line. However, Pittsburgh won the coin toss and Roethlisberger drove them right down the field for a game winning 33-yard field goal by K Jeff Reed. Once again, the Steelers used the formula of strong defense and clutch play from Roethlisberger, who was 33-for-43 for 363 yards with 1 TD and 2 INTs, to win. They really need to get the running game in order though, considering Tennessee held them to only 36 yards rushing. Pittsburgh also needs to improve on converting short yardage plays. They stunk it up in that area last night and that could cost them sometime this year if they are not careful. This loss will by no means hurt the Titans in the long run. They played a tough game and the defense looks fierce. I think they will be fine and can be a force when it comes to playoff time. Both teams made a statement that they will be contenders this year.
Recap: #15 Georgia Tech 30, Clemson 27 – In what was a game of back and forth momentum, Georgia Tech barely escaped with a 3 point win after squandering a 24-0 lead. Early on it seemed like this game would be a blowout. Clemson came out extremely flat and blew great field position by making costly mistakes and turning the ball over. This allowed Georgia Tech to build a 24-0 lead on the strength of a long TD run, a punt return TD, and a fake FG which resulted in a TD pass from kicker Scott Blair. From that point on however, Clemson’s defense stepped up and Georgia Tech could do absolutely nothing offensively. The Tigers stuffed the running game and Georgia Tech’s passing game was dreadful. Clemson scored 27 straight points to take the lead, but then they fell apart. Georgia Tech finally put together two late drives for field goals and escaped with a 3 point win. From what I saw, if a team is able to contain the Yellow Jackets’ spread option run game, they can be beat. QB Josh Nesbitt looked extremely shaky throwing the ball and he only completed 3 of 14 passes and threw 2 interceptions. That is not the way to get it done. I think Virginia Tech’s defense could easily stuff Georgia Tech and I am not sure if Georgia Tech will be able to hang in there for a major Bowl game this year. Clemson has enough offensive weapons to stay in games and they will always be a tough opponent for anyone in the ACC this year.
- Well it seems as though Minnesota Vikings QB Brett Favre just can not stay out of the news these days. Favre told the media on Wednesday that the New York Jets knew about his torn biceps tendon last season, but they did not list him on any injury reports. Favre also said that he was receptive to sitting out and would have done so, but he was encouraged to keep playing even though he felt he was starting to hurt the team. Teams in the past have been fined anywhere from $10,000 to $25,000 (no draft picks have ever been taken though) for not being forthright on injury reports and the NFL is now looking into Favre’s statements. New York Jets’ GM Mike Tannenbaum stated that he will take responsibility and cooperate in a league investigation for not listing Favre, and said that he should have been listed as “probable” during the final 5 games last year. If you ask me, this comes as absolutely no surprise. The Jets were trying to fight for a division title last year, so surely they did not want to let teams know that Favre had an injury. They probably did not want the media circus and distraction that would have come along with reporting it either. Like it or not, an injury is a target, so everyone kept quiet about it. I don’t agree with the practice of doing this because the rules about reporting injuries should be followed for competitive fairness. Who knows if the NFL will end up fining the Jets, but at least it seems Favre will be levelheaded this year and sit down if he is hurt and not jeopardize team success.
- No doubt that it is a new world out there as the Shawne Merriman/Tila Tequila saga is playing out on Twitter. The two are exchanging charges and countercharges on their feeds. Tequila is planning to meet with the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office on Friday as the investigation will continue to determine whether or not Merriman will be charged. Merriman is sticking to his position that he was only trying to help Tequila because she was drunk and he intends to clear his name and get to focusing on football. Tequila counters by saying Merriman is lying and she will not be a victim in all this, especially when someone lays their hands on her. This seems like it will just turn into a bizarre situation, but as I stated before, I don’t think Tequila is on a witch hunt here. She most likely is well off financially and Merriman has more to lose here, so of course he will deny any wrongdoing. I guess we will have to see what charges, if any, get levied against Merriman to determine how serious this could have been.
- Other NFL News and Notes: Recently traded defensive lineman Richard Seymour continues to not report to the Oakland Raiders and the Raiders have responded by sending him the dreaded “5 day letter”, which means he has 5 days to report to the team or be suspended. He is listed on the Raiders’ 53 man roster, so if nothing were to happen before Monday night’s game against the Chargers, he would still collect a paycheck for the game. Now I understand Seymour’s displeasure with the sudden trade and having to leave a championship caliber team, but I do not condone highly paid athletes getting money for nothing. I am pleased to see Oakland giving him an ultimatum because he does not deserve any money or special treatment here. Seymour is starting to now look childish and unprofessional in all this. At this point, I say suck it up and go play.
The Vikings have released WR Bobby Wade just days before the season opener. This seems to be a puzzling move considering that Wade has led the Vikings in receptions the past 2 seasons. The addition of Percy Harvin obviously means fewer balls to go around, but you never know when injuries will pop up and I would think Minnesota would want to have as many weapons as possible. Harvin battled some injuries at Florida and WR Bernard Berrian has been slowed by a hamstring injury already. I don’t think this is that smart of a move and Minnesota better hope they stay healthy.
It was announced Thursday that NFL fans’ whose local teams’ games are blacked out will be able to watch them for free online, though not until after midnight. Commissioner Goodell said that the league understands that the economy is making it harder to buy tickets, so I suppose this is a compromise and better than nothing. Many have said the league should be sensitive to the economic times and waive the blackouts for this season so fans can watch their local teams’ games. On the other hand, giving away the product for free would not encourage people to try and go buy tickets. The NFL has a product it is trying to protect and I understand the business part of it. I certainly do not want things to get to a point where I would have to buy games on Pay Per View or something of that sort. But due to how bad things are in this economy, I think it is a unique time and they should allow the blackouts to be waived for this season only. They can revert back to the usual rules next season when things will hopefully be better in economic terms.
John Madden is back in the NFL and will be an unpaid “special adviser” to Commissioner Roger Goodell and mostly have influence on the NFL competition committee. This is a really cool move in my opinion. Without question, Madden is one of the most knowledgeable people out there when it comes to the game of football and I am glad that he will be offering his opinions and advice to try and improve the game. Madden has a love and passion for the NFL and I am sure he will be able to help in some capacity.
- BMW Championship Update: The second to last FedEx Cup Playoff event got underway yesterday and Rory Sabbatini and Steve Marino were able to jump out to a 1-stroke lead after firing 5-under rounds of 66. Bo Van Pelt and Marc Leishman each shot 4-under rounds of 67 and Tiger Woods is in a pack of players who shot 3-under rounds of 68. This is pretty much an all-star tournament with the top players in the world, so getting off to a good start is desirable. Without question, this is the best round that Tiger has shot to open a tournament in the past few weeks and he seems to have figured some things out. These last two events will determine the FedEx Cup Champion, so it is the perfect time for Tiger to rise to the occasion. I give him a great shot to win this week. FedEx Cup point leader Steve Stricker did not get off to such a great start. He suffered a three putt bogey on his last hole as he shot a 1-over par 72 for the day. Now he will be in the position to have to chase Woods, unlike last week when Stricker was hunting Tiger.
- Miami Heat all-star guard Dwayne Wade says that the contract extension talks are now over and he will be focusing on the upcoming season. As expected, Wade is not signing any extension with the Heat right now and is looking at testing free agency next summer. Obviously, this is not surprising and I do not blame the guy. That is how it works in sports with free agency and players have every right to go out and try to get as much money as they can. I certainly would do the same if I had the opportunity. Next summer might be crazy as LeBron James, Wade, Chris Bosh, and Amare Stoudemire could all hit free agency. Teams are trying to clear cap room now and we could see a huge power shift in the NBA. It will be fun to see what goes down and I bet Wade will probably have a monster season again this year, carrying the Heat on his back to the playoffs.
-U.S. Open Update: Things are starting to wind down at the U.S. Open and the only single’s action today was the last two men’s quarterfinals. In the first one, #6 seed Juan Martin del Potro rallied after losing the first set to beat #16 seed Marin Cilic 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1. We still do not know who his opponent will be because the night match between #3 seed Rafael Nadal and #11 seed Fernando Gonzalez was postponed due to rain with Nadal leading 7-6, 6-6.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
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.
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