Bleacher Report - Front Page

Come To Think of It: Chicago Bears Key To Victory is To Pressure Donovan McNabb

Bob Warja — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:12:49 -0500

The biggest difference between last week's tilt against the 49ers and this week's contest versus the Philadelphia Eagles is the quarterback play.

No, not Jay Cutler, although better ball protection for the Bears offense is a key. I'm talking about the difference between Alex Smith and Donovan McNabb.

For good QBs with time to throw the ball have picked apart the Bears defense. And McNabb is a much better QB than Smith at this point.

To avoid another Carson Palmer debacle, the Bears need to generate pressure on McNabb. With one less weapon to go to (Brian Westbrook is out with an injury), the defense needs to force bad decisions and off-balance throws from the Eagles QB.

That won't be easy.

Still, these teams seem strikingly similar. They both are desperate, coming off of two game losing streaks. Both have had trouble running the ball.

Despite 450 passing yards and two scores while tying his own franchise record with 35 completions, McNabb was unable to rally his team to victory against the Chargers last week.

Expect the Eagles to throw the ball a lot Sunday night, with McNabb utilizing tight end Brent Celek (46 receptions, 5 TD) and young wideouts DeSean Jackson (34 receptions, 621 yards, 6 total TD) and Jeremy Maclin (31 receptions, 4 TD), who both have speed to burn and excel at gaining yards after the catch.

If the Bears defense allows McNabb time to throw, he will pick them apart and the Bears will suffer yet another embarrassing defeat on national TV, come to think of it.

Why Luis Scola and Carl Landry are One of the Best PF Rotations in the NBA

Vikram Dimba — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:11:23 -0500

The Rockets are fully amidst the playoff picture in the Western Conference, something many analysts, and so called "experts," claimed wouldn't be the case. People are still trying to find the answers to how the Rockets continue to win without both Tracy McGrady or Yao Ming.

The defense? That can't be it, the Rockets numbers are down across the board from previous seasons. So then the answer becomes consensus, the often overused cliche "the sum of all parts is greater than one individual." The Rockets win by teamwork, team rebounding, and everyone having each other's back.

Heart and desire for the ball are qualities you can't teach. The Rockets have those qualities and execute that game-plan better than any other team in the league. But no matter how much a team effort is involved, a team has a star player, and one whom a team can rely on consistently every game. And that's the power forward rotation Rocket fans have come to know as, "Scolandry."

We all know about Pau Gasol, and Lamar Odom, or Carlos Boozer and Paul Millsap, but what about Luis Scola and Carl Landry? Could they have a legitimate argument towards being one of the top power forward rotations in the league? When I mean, "the top," I'm specifically referring to one of the top three to five rotations in the entire league.

With tonight's game against the Kings, Carl Landry scored 20 off the bench in what is slowly becoming a routine game for him - making him one of the top Sixth Man candidates in the league. Scola did his thing in the post grabbing yet another double double with 22 points, and 12 rebounds. Their season stats are as follows:

Luis Scola: 15.1 points per game, 9.9 rebounds per game on 51 percent from the floor.

Carl Landry: 15.1 points per game, 5.6 rebounds per game on 55 percent from the floor.

Put them up against the other top power forward rotations in the league; they'd compare favorably, in fact, likely be the most impressive.

30.2 points per game, 15.5 rebounds per game = Scola/Landry
28.1 points per game, 16.9 rebounds per game = Duncan/McDyess
33.3 points per game, 13.7 rebounds per game = Dirk/Humphries
23.1 points per game, 10.7 rebounds per game = KG / Sheed
28.0 points per game, 17.0 rebounds per game = Boozer / Millsap

31.4 points per game, 16.6 rebounds per game = Bosh/Johnson

Again, this is just a statistical breakdown, not the entire package, otherwise, KG and Sheed are obviously much better than the stats would indicate, especially when you factor in defensive impact. While on the other hand, combos like Bosh and Amir, or Boozer and Millsap lack defensively.

It's hard to judge, because for Dallas, Toronto, and San Antonio, it's more the impact of the superstar player, rather than a concerted one-two punch at PF. Obviously, you'd take Duncan, Bosh, Dirk, and KG over Scola, thus not making it much a comparison, but, how about over Boozer and Millsap?

They certainly play harder, which is no slight against Boozer and Millsap. Are slightly more efficient (though it's roughly equal, certainly not an advantage for either), slightly better defensively, and have been scoring at a higher offensive output this season.

In fact, Scola and Landry, both are shooting over 51% from the field, and are a more efficient duo than any of the others listed above, not counting Chris Bosh and Amir Johnson. Landry has become the Rockets go to player in the fourth quarter, and Scola after a rough start has been the Rockets most consistent player.

Defensively, they aren't special, but they've proven they can rebound the ball, and their "go get it nature," makes them at least average on that end of the floor, with their physicality, and in Landry's case, athleticism.

They may not possess the same name value, but it's time for Scola and Landry's name to be heard. The Rockets win with a team effort, but there's no doubt who's leading the charge, and that's one of the best power forward rotations in the league, Carl Landry and Luis Scola.

Comments are always welcome, topic is definitely up for debate.

California Golden Bears Dash Stanford Cardinal's Rose Bowl Hopes

Steven Resnick — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:54:02 -0500

Coming into tonight's game that featured the California Golden Bears against the Stanford Cardinal, most of the talk was about Cardinal running back Toby Gerhart and how the Bears were going to stop him.

Before the game even began the announcers for Versus the network that was airing the game had talked to defensive coordinator Bob Gregory of the Bears. Gregory stated that the goals were to keep Gerhart under 150 yards rushing.

In the first quarter it looked like that goal was probably not going to be in reach because Gerhart on the first Cardinal series took off with a 61 yard touchdown run on a third and two play.

The game didn't start very well for the Bears either. After three plays from scrimmage the Bears were already down 7-0. On the Bears first possession it didn't go very well either and the Bears were forced to punt.

On the next series the Bears defense was able to hold and force a punt by Stanford, but again the offense didn't look very good and were forced into another three and out. Bryan Anger came into punt and got his punt blocked by the Cardinal and lead to the second rushing touchdown of the Game for Gerhart.

So, at that moment it didn't look very good for the Bears. The team was down 14-0 and Kevin Riley and the Bears offense looked like they were in for another struggle.

But, on the next Bears possession Riley was able to get the Bears down the field into the red zone, but the Bears had to settle for a field goal. I believe even though the Bears only scored three points it showed that the Bears could move the ball against the Cardinal.

California's defense stepped up again forcing another punt for the Cardinal. Again the Bears marched down the field and got inside the red zone. Unfortunately, Riley made a bad throw to Shane Vereen and the ball was intercepted on a nice play by the Cardinal defense.

Again the Bears defense forced the Cardinal to punt. The Bears even with the interception by Riley seemed to have the momentum. Riley and Vereen helped get the Bears back down the field and this time the Bears punched their way through putting the game back to 14-10 and that's what the score was at halftime.

Since, the Cardinal elected to receive the ball to start the game the Bears got the ball to start the second half. It didn't seem like the start of the half on the kickoff was going to be good for the Bears because of a penalty that forced them to start at the eight.

But, again Riley and Vereen were able to march the Bears down the field for another touchdown which gave Cal their first lead of the game 17-14.

Although, on the kickoff by the Bears it looked like the Cardinal were at least going to tie the game up or possibly take the lead because of good return by the Cardinal and a personal foul.

Yet, another great stand by the Bears defense and a missed field goal let the Bears escaped unharmed after the penalty. Again the Bears were able to march down the field against the Cardinal and another touchdown for Vereen. Meaning that the Bears scored 24 unanswered points against the Cardinal.

Stanford finally got back on the scoreboard with Gerhart getting in for his third touchdown of the day, but the Bears took the wind out of the Cardinal sails by marching down the field again and this time Riley found Marvin Jones for a 12 yard touchdown.

That's when the game became interesting because the Cardinal were able to score again bringing the lead for the Bears to 31-28. It was the last six minutes of the game that was the most exciting or heartbreaking if you were a Cardinal fan.

It seemed like the Bears were going to go three and out and give the ball back to the Cardinal, but Verran Tucker made an oustanding catch along the sidelines to let the Bears be able to run more time off the clock and move the ball down the field.

Ultimately though the Bears were forced to put. Jim Harbaugh though made a horrific decision with just over four minutes left he chose to go for it on fourth and eight which gave the Bears the ball in great field position because the Bears were already in field goal range if the Cardinal didn't make it.

So, when the Cardinal went for it and did not get a first the Bears got excellent field position. Vereen was able to get the Bears a first down and instead of stepping out of bounds he stayed in forcing the Cardinal to use all three timeouts to stop the clock.

The Bears were only able to manage a field goal bringing the lead to 34-28. Tedford had his special team kick a short kick because of the dangerous return man the Cardinal had on the other side.

Which, mean that the Bears had to play defense with two minutes and 36 seconds left. It looked like the Cardinal were in position to win the game, but the Bears defense again stepped up with Mike Mohamed making the game changing play with an interception with just over a minute left.

The Bears were able to come out with a hard fought 34-28 victory over the number 14 team in the country.

As for Gregory's declaration of holding Gerhart to under 150 yards, the Bears did do that. Gerhart finished with 20 carries, 136 yards, and 4 touchdowns.

Vereen for the Bears acted like Gerhart as the man who just attacks the defense carry after carry. Vereen finished with 42 carries, 193 yards, and 3 touchdowns.

What was most impressive for the Bears were the four touchdown drives they went for 14 plays for 85 yards, 11 plays 92 yards, 10 plays 72 yards, and six plays 72 yards. The drive for the field goal was 10 plays 70 yards.

Meaning in those five scoring drives combined for 51 plays for 391 yards. Which also goes to show why the Bears ruled the time of possession nearly double that of the Cardinal.

Even with the time of possession in the Bears favor, the Cardinal nearly pulled off the victory. But, thanks to a great play by Mohamed on the interception the Bears came out victorious!

Andre Ward Defeats Mikkel Kessler To Win WBA Title

King J — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:46:47 -0500

Undefeated American boxer Andre Ward defeated WBA super middle weight champion Mikkel Kessler in front of his hometown crowd.

From the opening bell, it was apparent that Ward was the faster and more aggressive of the two fighters. Out-landing the champion and often times landing at will with out any answer from the Danish champion.

It appeared the speed of Wards' hands and foot work was just too much and confused Kessler from ever really finding his rhythm and getting into the fight. There were a serious of accidental headbutts that occurred from Ward's fighting stance of lunging forward head first. These headbutts caused Kessler to bleed both above and below his eye lid causing him to complain to his corner that he could not see.

Finally at 1:42 of the 11th round, the referee stopped the fight to have the doctor take a closer look. This resulted in a technical decision and going straight to the judges score cards to determine a winner. One judge scored it 97-93, and the other two scored it 98-92, all in favor for Andre Ward.

Andre Ward wins the WBA super middle weight title and obtains two points for his technical decision in the tournament.

In the post-fight interview, Ward wanted to give the glory of his win to God, and he felt Kessler had a tough time adjusting as he studied the fight with Joe Calzaghe.

Kessler complained in his post-fight interview of the referee being a "home judge referee". He expressed he never experienced a fight where he felt there was excessive holding and punching as well as intentional headbutts allowed by the ref. When asked if his cuts leave him at a disadvantage for his next fight in the tournament he responded that he felt the cuts were a disadvantage for him.

Iowa Hawkeyes Take Page from Carl Spackler Playbook, Notch Ugly Win vs Gophers

Michael Maxwell — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:41:30 -0500

Can’t you just picture defensive coordinator Norm Parker making like Sandy, the head green’s keeper from Caddyshack in the pregame speech to his defense? Assistant green’s keeper, Carl Spackler of course would be the Iowa defense…lets say played by senior linebacker Pat Angerer. Perhaps the exchange was similar to this one from the all-time great movie:

Sandy : I want you to kill every gopher on the golf course!

Carl Spackler : Correct me if I'm wrong Sandy, but if I kill all the golfers, they're gonna lock me up and throw away the key.

Sandy : Not golfers, you great fool! Gophers! The little brown, furry rodents!

Carl Spackler : We can do that; we don't even have to have a reason. All right, let’s do the same thing, but with gophers!

Well, whatever Parker said or did to rev up his defense, it certainly worked on Saturday against the little brown, furry rodents. A stout defense was able to bail out an anemic offense time after time, as the Hawkeyes notched back-to-back shutouts of the Gophers for the first time since 1955-56.

Iowa has racked up a total of 10 wins this regular season for only the fourth time in school history. Not a single one of those wins came easy. It was no different against the Gophers.

The win ugly formula has worked all year for Iowa. What may seem ugly to us, I’m sure is a thing of beauty to Coach Ferentz. This car that isn’t the most shinny on the lot has continued to be a very reliable form of transportation this season.

On a day filled with tremendous defensive play from start to finish, perhaps their finest hour game when Minnesota was set up for 1st -and-goal on the Iowa two-yard line following a pass interference penalty in the end zone.

Two rushing plays up the middle are both stuffed by Pat Angerer and the d-line. An incomplete pass on 3rd down brought up 4th and goal. Down 12-0, it was a no-brainer to go for it.

Minnesota quarterback Adam Weber set up in the shotgun, but had no time to find an open receiver as Broderick Binns drew pressure and the sack was finished by Binns’ line mates Adrian Clayborn and Christian Ballard. If the Gophers couldn’t punch it across in that situation, they had little hope of crossing the goal line, period.

The Iowa offense, on the other hand has its share of struggles. Quarterback James Vandenberg took his lumps. Frequent well-timed blitzes by the Minnesota secondary stalled drive after drive and didn’t allow Iowa to get into much of an offensive rhythm.

Minnesota’s best scoring chance was set up on a fumbled center-quarterback exchange on the Iowa 29-yard line. Vandenberg finished the day 11 of 24 for 117 yards, one interception, zero touchdowns. He was sacked four times.

The running game was practically nonexistent after starting running back Adam Robinson left the game in the 2nd quarter after aggravating an ankle injury suffered a few weeks ago at Michigan St.

Throw in a blocked extra point on the only touchdown of the game, and it was very obvious to all that the Iowa defense is what brought home the bacon…err…bronze on this day. Floyd will reside yet another year in the atrium of the Jacobson Football Complex.

The Hawkeyes have held up their end of the bargain and done all they can to secure the best bowl possible. Iowa’s final bowl destination will now be determined based upon factors that are completely out of their hands.

There will be plenty of time to speculate on where they will end up. For now, lets just sit back, have a little turkey this week, and enjoy the tremendous season that was.

Come To Think Of It: Notre Dame's Charlie Weis Will Be Fired

Bob Warja — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:35:51 -0500

Saturday's stunning loss to UConn has sealed the fate of Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis, who has likely coached his last home game for the Irish.

Despite a show of support for their coach by the seniors prior to the game, Weis will be gone following the season.

"It was an idea that myself and two other guys had," quarterback Jimmy Clausen said. "It was Senior Day, but coach Weis has gone through a lot, and we're behind him 110 percent. And that's what we were trying to do today."

Weis had nothing to gain by beating UConn, really. But by losing, for the third straight week and for the second consecutive year to a Big East team on Senior Day, he surrendered all chance of returning for a sixth season.

As ESPN.com has reported, Unlike previous difficult losses, athletic director Jack Swarbrick didn't come into the media room after the game to answer questions. There was no need. Swarbrick has insisted that he will evaluate Weis at the end of the season and won't make any announcements until after next week's season finale at Stanford.

But there is nothing left to evaluate. The announcement will be a mere formality.

Weis now has a lower winning percentage than predecessors Bob Davie and Ty Willingham. He is 16-20 in the last three years. The Irish will be heavy underdogs to Stanford, and a defeat will guarantee a third straight non-winning regular season.

As usual, Weis deflected any questions about his own status, saying only that he felt "absolutely miserable" for the seniors.

"Today's not the day for me to reflect on things like that," he said. "I'll worry about me tomorrow."

In a strange, convoluted way, as in how a train wreck is tragic yet you can't turn your eyes away, the end of the Weis era will be a sad moment for the program. For the total blame cannot be pinned on him.

Yes, despite outstanding performances by QB Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate, and with several members of Weis's first full recruiting now fifth-year seniors, the Irish are losing again and that is simply not tolerable in their world.

Touchdown Jesus would not approve, come to think of it.

Cowards Permeate Official NFL Review Booth

Mike Allen — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:26:33 -0500

Much has been said about New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick opting to go for the first down from his own 28-yard line in order to salt away the victory against the undefeated Colts.

The decision was highly controversial, and in the end, it created a stir like nothing in recent time about a coach's decision in a key game like the one played that Sunday night in Indianapolis. It was billed as "The Game Of The Decade."

Belichick has been rolled over the coals because the Pats failed to make the necessary two yards for the first down. At least that is according to what the on-field officials determined as they handed the ball, and eventual victory, over to the Colts.

Truth be told, as you watch the video linked below, the Patriots did in fact make the first down. The video will prove it.

At the end of the play the scoreboard clock read 1:57. For some unknown reason, the on-field officials had the clock reset to 2:00. As we know, the decision whether to look at a play rests with the NFL officials in the booth for the final two minutes of the first half and the fourth quarter.

Here is the link to the video. Watch it, slow it down, stop and start it, and you will see the truth that the Patriots did in fact make the first down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0ZrvtmRbfo

The video clearly shows the following:

Faulk did, in fact, bobble the ball, slightly as was suggested. The bobble happened when he had his left foot down, short of the first down.

The video then goes on to show that he gained full possession at a time when his right foot was on the ground, well past the first down marker. It was then that he was pushed back by the Colts defender.

The fact that the official did not give him the forward progress vexed me, but not as much as what did NOT happen after that. That would be the review by the booth officials where the clock was reset from 1:57 to 2:00. The way the replay rule reads, it says that the booth officials have the option of having an official review in the last two minutes. That, to me, would include from when the clock reads 2:00 on down to 0.00

This was considered to be a key game. In fact, it was being billed as the game of the decade in some quarters.

That being so, the officials both on the field and in the booth should have done anything and everything to ensure that the final outcome was not determined by an incorrect call.

Even if they determined after looking at it that it was not a first down, I for one would at least felt that they did what they could. However, by not even looking at it smells to high heaven and leaves a very bitter taste.

All that I can determine is that the booth officials decided not to look at it for fear that they would have to overrule the on-field decision, and that they did not want to do that in Indy against the Colts.

Thus, they took the coward's way out.

This is yet one more example of the "Curse of the Tuck."

I believe that NFL officials are honest, and that for the most part, do the best job possible under difficult situations.

They are, however, human and human beings have a psyche. I believe that ever since that night in Foxboro when the "Tuck Rule" was legitimately used, NFL officials doing Patriot games have a psychological problem without them even realizing it. This is that in the latter stages of games, when they have the opportunity of making a decision that might aid the Patriots, they don't do it. They just allow a non-call to happen.

They psychologically have a mental block that wont let them reverse a call that would give the Patriots a late opportunity to salvage a game for fear that it would look like, once again, they were in the Patriots pockets.

So, what they do without even knowing that they are doing it, they take the coward's way out.

Toronto Maple Leafs Close to Landing Chicago Blackhawks' Brent Sopel?

Mark Ritter — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:11:26 -0500

Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter

During tonight’s Hockey Night In Canada broadcast, Pierre LeBrun, a very reliable source in the past, lamented that the Chicago Blackhawks may be pursuing a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The rumored deal would involve the Blackhawks shipping defenseman Brent Sopel, who has one goal and two points in 19 games played, to the Leafs along with a second round pick, for an undisclosed player from Toronto.

Sopel is currently making $2.5 million this season, has a $2 million cap hit in 2010-11 and, with the Hawks doing everything they can to save a little dough in order to squeeze in Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith into their long-term plans, he might be a player the Hawks are willing to part with.

In attendance at tonight’s game vs. Washington, (a game the Leafs won 2-1 in a shoot out by the way), was none other than Blackhawks assistant general manager, Kevin Cheveldayoff, adding some bite to the tasty rumor du jour.

As for which player or players would be going to the Hawks, it’s still a mystery. One has to believe that the apple of the Hawks' eye may include Nikolai Kulemin, Matt Stajan and Jiri Tlusty, all of whom are still young, all of whom have low-budget contracts which are expiring after the 2009-10 season.

There is also the possibility of a much larger deal at stake. The Hawks have long yearned for Leafs defenseman Tomas Kaberle, but his $4.25 million cap hit in 2009-10 would likely prove to be a stumbling block.

That said, if the Leafs could take a couple of contracts off the Blackhawks hands, say Sopel and centre Patrick Sharp, the Leafs may be willing to dangle the likes of Kaberle, whose contract expires at the end of the season.

Chicago needs to win now. Everyday that passes the Hawks look to be further and further under the gun to get a hold of their apparent salary cap issues.

To be honest, with Kane, Toews, Keith and others all in need of a big raise, the Hawks cap issues will only get worse, clearly, the time is now for Chicago.

No doubt about it, many in Chi-town will ask, “hey Ritter, what are you, high?” and, for the most part, I get your angst.

That said, when you consider the long-term cap space the Hawks would amass and the talent they would get back in return from the Leafs, this deal has the potential to be a blockbuster and a reality.

In order for a deal involving Kaberle to take place, Kaberle would have to be willing to waive his no-trade clause, which, historically, Kaberle has been hesitant to do in the past.

The carrot in the face of Kaberle is the opportunity to join a legitimate Stanley Cup contender, something that may take him 4-5 years to experience as a member of the Leafs.

The obvious question is: will Kaberle bite? It remains to be seen, but my bet is, given the Leafs huge struggles, Brian Burke may be willing to deal Kaberle and, if approached by Burke, Kaberle may take the opportunity and run with it.

One thing the Leafs are glaringly missing is a legitimate first-line centre. Clearly, Sharp would answer that need and, while it would be tough for the Leafs to see Kaberle go, they could always make a pitch for him in the off-season.

One thing is for sure. Anytime an assistant general manager or GM of any NHL club is in attendance at the Air Canada Centre, rumors will fly.

It’s often just fodder, but this time, I think it very well may be a case of “where there’s smoke, there’s fire”...how much smoke, nobody knows just yet...

Until next time,

Peace!

*** all Salary Cap numbers were found on nhlnumbers.com

Dear BCS System: You Suck

Will Holt — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:02:59 -0500

In two weeks Boise State and TCU will likely end their regular seasons exactly the same: Undefeated and left with no chance to win the national championship.

There are those who say neither team deserves the opportunity.

It is safe to assume those people are scared, illogical and fans of figure skating.

Clearly the best way to determine a champion is through a panel of judges, voters and computer-generated polls.

Well if that is the case then I would love to know why Division I football is the only NCAA sport not determined by a playoff.

Every sport run by the NCAA ends with various teams from around the country competing against one another to determine a champion. And the best part about the process is no one sits back and says, "We got robbed. A computer should have picked the winner."

The nation's best bowling team is determined at the lanes. The best swimming team settles the score in the pool. The best rifle team is crowned at the range.

Yes people. Rifle has a national championship. It does not sound scary that students are shooting guns. It is scary college football is that far behind the eight-ball.

At least the other 32 sports acknowledged by the NCAA earn a championship.

Back on June 24 LSU defeated Texas 11-4 in Game Three of the College World Series. When the game ended everyone who follows college baseball tipped their hat and acknowledged the Bayou Bengals were the best in the nation.

Too bad the same can't be said following the completion of the fabricated event known as the National Championship Game on January 7.

Regardless of which teams play in the game or who wins most fans will debate who the National Champion really is. Instead of celebrating the success of a team we are likely to remember how certain teams were denied the opportunity to prove their worth.

It's a shame that greed got the best of individuals that call themselves presidents at America's highest institutions of education.

Instead of whining and complaining it is time to establish a system that will produce a true national champion.

Those who despise the current BCS system want to see a playoff. The problem lies in how many teams do you include. Some will suggest the "Plus One System," while others think emulating college basketball's "Field of 64" is the way to go.

The "Plus One" System could go up in flames this year because there could be as many as five undefeated teams (Florida/Alabama, Texas, Cincinnati, TCU and Boise State).

A "Field of 64" would completely destroy the athlete's bodies.

The best solution possible is setting a field of 16 teams.

There are those who will quickly point out that the two teams who play in the National Championship will be playing four extra games.

To compensate for that I would propose that teams are forbidden to play non-conference games.

Calm down. Deep breath.

I know Florida State and Florida fans are going to be bent out of shape.

And those who love current installments of Ohio State and USC will be in an uproar.

But remember this is for the good of the game. Do you want great non-conference games in the regular season or do you want epic non-conference battles during the inaugural college football playoff?

Conference games will take on even more meaning because the 11 conference champions will earn an automatic bid to the post season.

This means Army, Navy and Notre Dame must join a conference. Sorry Irish fans, but no one is bigger than the NCAA. Well maybe Charlie Weiss literally is, but he won't be there much longer.

To take it one step further each conference will play a conference championship game between the top two teams. All ties will be broken by the respective conferences.

The regular season champion will host the conference championship game. This feature maintains the importance and drama of the regular season.

The automatic bid gives every team in the country an opportunity to win a national championship in football.

Imagine if the Temple Owls win the MAC this year and are given the opportunity to play Ohio State. The Owls would probably get blown out, but I can assure you Al Golden would embrace the opportunity to play the Buckeyes.

Five at-large teams would be selected to complete the sweet 16 following the conference championship games.

The first three rounds of the tournament would not be broken down by regions and would not be played on a neutral field. The highest seed (No.1 seed is the highest and No.16 is lowest) would host each game.

Can you imagine if TCU was given the opportunity to host three playoff games? And what if a program like USC had to come into town? I don’t anything about the campus at TCU, but it is safe to say it would bedlam there.

The possibilities are endless. The exposure some of these schools will receive is better than any non-conference schedule they previously played.

The remaining two teams would meet at a neutral field to determine the first National Champion. And when the game ends fans can debate about the play calling, the referees or anything else they want. But they will not be able to debate the national champion.

Fighting Illini Stay in Hot Streak, Roll Over Presbyterian

Frank Gasper — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:40:56 -0500

The Fighting Illini may not have had much of a challenge yet, but they are still dominating their opposition.

The Illini started out the year ranked No. 23. They haven't had to face a good team yet, so they aren't moving up in the rankings. But when it comes time for Big Ten play, how will they fare?

Today the Illini rolled over Presbyterian, 94-48. Their easiest win of the year. If they didn't beat them, I would probably cry for about a month.

Dick Vitale predicted them to be one of the best teams in the nation by the end of the year. Yes, Dick Vitale. The annoying, yet hilarious announcer. I think they have that amount of potential to be one of the top teams in the nation.

Their first 13 games, I would rank their schedule about four out of 10. That is how easy their non-conference schedule is. They should probably win all of those games.

If the Illini can keep this hot streak up for the rest of the year, then they have a chance at a dream of an ending.

Dolph Ziggler Continues to Lose When it Counts: My Latest Gripe

Shane H. — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:24:23 -0500

The man formerly known as Nicky from the Spirit Squad has been making his presence felt on the WWE's blue brand. Dolph Ziggler is one of WWE's future main eventers. Like the guy or not, he's got tons of talent.

Natural charisma, microphone skills, in-ring abilities, he's got all those things.

With that said, why are we witnessing this guy losing momentum?

From the middle of the summer until now, Ziggler has been embroiled in battles over the Intercontinental Championship. He is still without the necessary check in the "Wins" column.

July, at Night of Champions, Ziggler lost to then-champion Rey Mysterio. The next month at SummerSlam, same matchup, same result. After falling 0-2 to Mysterio, Ziggler was able to procure one more No. 1 contender spot. He would not face Mysterio for the belt though.

Mysterio would be suspended by the WWE for failing the Wellness Policy. Before starting his suspension, Mysterio dropped the Intercontinental title on an episode of SmackDown! to John Morrison.

Yes, Morrison swoops in and gets a title match with the departing Mysterio, all while Ziggler was next in line.

We are then treated to fantastic matchups between "The Shaman of Sexy" and "Mr. Ziggles." Prior to this past episode of SmackDown! , the two have had two matches for the Intercontinental Championship with Morrison winning one and a double count-out in the other.

Their third match was a two-out-of-three falls match on the Nov. 20 episode of SmackDown! . Morrison would reign supreme here, obviously.

So, Ziggler has had five shots, FIVE, for the Intercontinental Championship since July and has yet to claim the prize.

I understand someone's inability to grasp the brass ring, but this is the IC title; right now, it's the iron ring. You can't possibly tell me that these losses don't take a toll on a wrestler's credibility as champ.

Ziggler is worse off than the Buffalo Bills of the '90s because they only lost four in a row, not FIVE!

I'm all for a guy waiting his time. I'm all for guys paying their dues. I'm all for patience . But when is enough, enough?

I understand the curveball thrown, as third time is normally the charm when someone is going for WWE gold. But, the guy has been the only man the last four months to receive title shots for the IC title, outside of the one Morrison opportunity.

This isn't even counting his May match against MVP for the U.S Championship where Ziggler was on the losing end.

Now that he's lost this latest shot I'm not sure he'll be getting another shot immediately.

Unless the WWE plans on having Ziggler make an impact at Survivor Series and possibly be the sole survivor and eliminating Morrison, I'm not sure I can see him in the title hunt for the time being.

It doesn't help Ziggler's case that upcoming house shows have Finlay taking on Morrison. Of course, the cards for house shows are made in advance and are subject to change.

I ask you this WWE: Why should we continue to watch when this guy continues to lose when given the shot?

Shane Howard is a member of Hit the Ropes Radio Show. You can check out the web site here . HTR Radio airs every Sunday and Wednesday at 6 p.m. ET.

Be sure to join the Facebook group as well (click here ). Also, check out FOW and WR for your wrestling news, as well as my work there.

One NFL Fan Rant to Another!

thomas moreland — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:22:05 -0500

Refer to Photograph. " Damn, this phone number is smeared. I got to get some of that! Huh? Whats the play? C'mon Ben, distractions, distractions, distractions.

Their opponent, the inept Matt Cassell running for his life in every game, Kansas City Chiefs are horrible the last three seasons. A storied franchise in ruins. Hank Stram is pissed. Good Super Bowl win, back in the day, though.

Miami is an average team without a couple of big play wide receivers to throw the football for long patterns. Now it's the Ricky Williams show. Can the wildcat survive without Ronnie Brown?

They zapped Carolina, which isn't really beating anyone great this year. Jake is always a good name for a quarterback. Are Jakes usually in charge of stuff? Carolina is really inconsistent. I do not think they make the playoffs. Punchless Panthers.

That gets me to the almighty palace in Dallas, where individual pizza's can be $60-$100 each. People are mostly stupid at large events, and alcohol, disturbing their brains.

Washington is fun to watch the soap opera owner, I want to win, idiot. Get a coach, then go do something else. Build a pet shelter. Don't be a meathead, Snyder. Please get better, another storied franchise in shambles.

The Forty-Niners. Rah, Rah, Rah. Get a quarterback. A big name good quarterback. Singletary to Chicago. Get rid of that Lovie coach dude. Holmgren to coach Niners. There's a scoop for you. He Built a house in the Bay Area.

I am already sick of picking New Orleans and Minnesota to win week after week.What happened to putting out maximum effort and stepping up against good teams.

Who does Eli throw to if they double Steve Smith all the time. They better figure something out against Atlanta this week, or they are kings of suckdom.

Buffalo is horrible. T.0. who? Ah, hell. still the stats of a first ballot hall-of-famer.

Who can challenge the Jerry Rice stuff anyway? Those records will be around a while. Joe Montana forever.

Indianapolis rolls until they suck in a play off game and lose. Awe! Peyton can't get to Brady stuff. Please start your comments now, and end them in 2018 and we will add up who is better, Brady or Manning.

Dumb ass Giants. We want a Manning/Manning Super Bowl. Keep losing, if you don't try harder.

Can The Cleveland coach even walk very far? He is abusive and tyrant like? That's hilarious. Push him over. Little Jabba the Hutt will be gone from football a total failure.

The biggest loser could certainly use you in a coming season, huge blob like ogre coach. You are scary, dude.

Oh great Aaron Rodgers???? Beat the frickin Tampa Bay Bucs!!!!! Every game, every year, every time. Are you idiots?

I'm an NFL Quarterback with ADD. C'mon McNabb, go play right. and eat some clock. Your defense will win it. Don't call any time outs or get in an overtime game, or anything. Don't make any play decisions. Trust Coach Andy.

I am sick of Houston sucking all the time. Could the defense play at a professional level so Matt Schaub, Steve Slaton, and Andre Johnson, doesn't have to carry your slow asses the whole game.

Jacksonville has two good guys. That's it. That's funny.

The Chargers/Saints Super Bowl would be cool. Can the Chargers also play defense at a professional level so your team could be great? What your problems, idiots. Cover better. Concentrate. Don't look foolish.

I pick 'em right. Happy weekend little football mice.

Thomas [NFL Mikee] Moreland

Roy Halladay Is Not the Antidote to Halting the New York Yankees' Title Defense

PJ Ross — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:17:10 -0500

We have been subjected to every theoretical trade scenario under the sun since Roy Halladay was rumored to be available via trade last season.

There are dozens of hypothetical deals that send an entire farm system worth of players in exchange for Halladay and his contract, which expires after 2010.

National League clubs see Halladay as the key to defeating the New York Yankees in the World Series.

American League clubs are of the opinion that not only can Halladay help them in the playoffs, but acquiring him can stop the Yankees from getting far enough to defend their title.

No matter where Halladay is traded, if a deal does occur, the team that gains his services will have to negotiate with him after the season for a new contract.

Halladay has said that he will offer an exclusive negotiation window for whatever team he is on, albeit not the Blue Jays, so at least if he is moved, the team will more than likely be getting more than just a one-year rental.

The newly re-emerging rumors that multiple teams have been in contact with the Blue Jays regarding the ace are great for rumor mills, but I don't think the supposed deals on the table are worth the cost of the 32-year old.

Let me just say that I'm not trying to devalue Halladay's ability.

He is the best pitcher in the junior circuit and still has a number of years with top-notch production remaining in his right wing.

But the team that brings him on board has to have other top-of-the-line pitchers to aid him, because his arm alone will not win a World Series.

The team that gets him needs to be committed to throwing him three times in a seven-game series, because unless you have the plan to ride your big gun through it all, then it's not worth selling the farm system for him.

We found out in the World Series between the Phillies and Yankees that the key to winning the championship does not lie in one pitcher.

Yankees' manager Joe Girardi laid out a three-man rotation, anchored by C.C. Sabathia, and stuck to it.

Girardi also had the benefit of free agent signing A.J. Burnett and the seasoned veteran Andy Pettitte to support the workhorse Sabathia.

Charlie Manuel, on the other hand, was hesitant to outline a definite postseason rotation, and his decision to not bring back his ace, Cliff Lee, on three days rest was catastrophic.

Manuel's decision was complicated by the less than impressive season turned in by former ace Cole Hamels and the lack of a solid third starter to rely upon.

By not committing to his ace, Manuel put Phillies in a poor position for Game Seven had they made it that far.

If the Phillies had managed to force a Game Seven, they wouldn't have had Lee available for the epic finale because he was used in Game Five instead of Game Four.

The decision made by Manuel relegated his ace virtually useless, and without the backup of one or two top-end arms in the starting rotation, it made the acquisition of Lee a moot point.

What I'm saying is there is no good done in trading for Halladay if you don't have a quality staff to back him up.

Even more troubling is that trading for him will require either jeopardizing your future or destroying your current roster.

Halladay has stated that he only wants to go to a winner, and that makes a trading a lot more restrictive for the Jays.

It develops into a catch-22 because whatever chips are exchanged for him can't significantly hurt the team he is going to because it might devalue the team to the point that Halladay doesn't want to pitch for them.

That leaves the other option, which is sending an army of top-end prospects for Halladay.

Sure, it sounds tempting to put all of your eggs in one basket and go for broke in 2010, but you can't run an organization in that manner.

Sending a litany of top-prospects to the Jays may sound tempting, but just ask the Seattle Mariners how their trade for, at the time, ace Erik Bedard worked out.

Bedard has battled injuries for the past two seasons while Adam Jones, the main player traded for Bedard, enjoyed an All-Star season that he recently capped off with a Gold Glove award.

Now, clearly Halladay is a much higher-caliber pitcher than Bedard, but the point to take away is that the Mariners stunted the future growth of the team by sending away the talented centerfielder Jones.

In my opinion, whichever city acquires Halladay will be sorely disappointed when he is unable to deliver a World Series title by himself and then the organization is left with little in the bank of their farm system.

There is, however, one daunting exception that could place Halladay in an elite rotation.

If Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro can secure the Doc to go along with Lee and Hamels, the Phillies will then have that scary top-three rotation to ride throughout the postseason just like the Yankees did this past fall.

And as a Dodgers fan, that scares the life out of me.

UCF Looks to Ride Momentum To Bowl Game Victory

Wes Goldberg — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:55:34 -0500

Photo courtesy of ucf.edu

With the last UCF home game drawing to a close, the thoughts of students and fans are drawn to the bowl season. With seven wins, the Knights are more than bowl eligible, and fans are craving the next big win.

For those that do attend home games, it has been an exciting bunch. The first game of the season, a come-from-behind victory against the Samford Bulldogs with Rob Calabrese at the helm, UCF looked a bit rusty.

But since then, with Brett Hodges taking control, UCF has added a couple more games to UCF’s “Classic Moments.”

The first one that comes to mind for most is the fourth quarter comeback against Marshall. The game, being played the Sunday night of Halloween weekend, did not draw a large crowd.

But, and what seems to be the theme of the season, those that did attend were in for a show, and a memory.

The next big win was an unforgettable win against a 13th ranked Houston for UCF’s first win over a ranked opponent. Again, the few that did attend witnessed history, and possibly the biggest ever victory for UCF’s football program.

Surely building on the momentum of the Houston game, in the last home game of the season UCF routed Tulane 49-0. Those that were there saw UCF at their finest, holding Tulane to negative-30 yards rushing and not allowing them to score a single point, even with the backups in. After a standing ovation by fans, UCF’s sights turn to a competitive UAB team.

While it is a conference game, it does not hold much importance. After East Carolina’s win against UAB, the Knights are officially eliminated from the C-USA championship game as East Carolina and Southern Mississippi are left to battle for the East Division spot. The only importance to the game is to simply finish with a better record and earn bragging rights against another conference team.

All focus is now on the question: What bowl game will UCF be playing in?

ESPN projects that UCF will play Troy in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, or Middle Tennessee State in the Eagle Bank Bowl, which is played in Washington D.C.

No one is complaining that UCF is bowl eligible for the third time in five seasons, but the buzz seems to be that fans want to play a game of more importance, or at least proximity.

Many want to play the USF Bulls in St. Petersburg in a redemption match. It is also possible that UCF could play FSU in the Eagle Bank Bowl, which would draw much attention and give UCF a shot to leap frog the struggling Seminoles in the state of Florida.

The momentum from the recent victories over Marshall and Houston is building as UCF is playing the best football it has played all season.

The Tulane blowout only adds to the Knight’s thunder, and students are confident that the team will earn it’s first-ever Bowl Game victory this time around.

But next week is UAB, and we are taking it one game at a time.

Boxing: Mikkel Kessler, Andre Ward Make Weight and Are Ready For Battle

King J — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:48:12 -0500

According to a press release, both Mikkel Kessler and Andre Ward make weight for their super middle weight WBA title fight taking place in Oakland, Calif. on Showtime's Super Six World Boxing Tournament.

Mikkel Kessler 42(32)-1, the WBA super middleweight champion weighed in at 167 lbs. Andre Ward 20(13)-0 weighed in at 166.5 lbs.

Kessler, also known as the Viking Warrior was the early predicted favorite by most media to win the tournament.

The WBA champion hails from Denmark and only has one loss on his record to former top pound-for-pound retired undefeated Joe Calazaghe.

Ward, also known as S.O.G.(Son Of God), is an undefeated American Olympic gold medalist who is from the Oakland area, where the fight is taking place Saturday night.

Many of the media and experts favor Ward as the sleeper underdog of the tournament.

In the first round of the tournament, both American fighters lost their first-round fights. Taylor loss by a brutal knock out by Arthur Abraham, and Andre Direll lost in a close decision to WBC champion Carl Froch.

Ward has some redemption to do for the American fighters and pride with his first ever title shot this Saturday night.

The other four tournament fighters made their predictions on this Saturday's fight.

“Mikkel Kessler will win because of his strength and ring experience,” said Carl Froch. “I’m pulling for the U.S. guys. I can’t say why from a boxing standpoint but we are all U.S. Olympians.

"It’s a matter of those (European) guys being cocky. Carl Froch has been very cocky, and he knows his boxing skills are nowhere close to mine.

"Kessler is a pretty relaxed guy. He’s not too cocky by any means. I like him a lot, but I am still going for our guys.” - Jermain Taylor

“Because I have not ever seen an Andre Ward fight live or on tape, I cannot say much. But Kessler is the favorite in this fight nevertheless.

I have seen Kessler fight many times, and he is very clever and very strong. I have to give the advantage to Kessler because of his strength, experience and cleverness.” - Arthur Abraham

“I'm going with Ward.” - Andre Dirrell.

Floyd Mayweather Celebrated Manny Pacquiao's Victory at Club XS

King J — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:38:18 -0500

Last Saturday night, Floyd Mayweather Jr celebrated Manny Pacquiao's victory over Miguel Cotto at Club XS at the Encore Casino in Las Vegas.

Right after the super mega fight of Manny Pacquiao vs Miguel Cotto last Saturday pretty much only one man's name was being mentioned on everyone's mouth on who would be Pacquiao's next victim. That name was Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Floyd is the last undefeated American No. 1 pound for pound fighter who retired two years ago to open the No. 1 pound for pound title to be acquired by Manny Pacquiao.

Ever since Floyd's retirement, Manny has been winning over more fans with his exciting all-action style of fighting, knocking out his opponents rather than winning a comfortable decision.

So now that Floyd is back from retirement and still riding high over his one-sided dominating performance over Juan Manuel Marquez, a fighter that Pacquiao struggled with at the lower weight classes, what was Floyd doing right after the Pacquiao destruction of Cotto?

Well Floyd was seen celebrating in club XS. It was a $50 cover charge. It could have been because it was fight night and the club promoters knew they could charge whatever they desired.

Last Saturday night after the fight, Club XS had many celebrities in the house. A few members of my entourage were shaking hands with NFL New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs, who had his own special VIP table in the club and who was also in attendance at the weigh-in the day before, hyping up both the Filipino and Puerto Rican crowds.

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., 41(30)-0-1 son of the legendary Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., was also at club XS. Chavez Jr. just fought on the under card to a unanimous decision over Troy Rowland in what was his first fight at the middleweight division.

Julio's next fight may continue to be at middle weight, as he is still debating which weight class he will be campaigning to fight at.

But then of course the biggest celebrity that everyone had their eyes on was Floyd Mayweather Jr who had the biggest VIP table in the club with the biggest entourage as well.

From what one can see Floyd had four very large tall muscle bound body guards surrounding his table, blocking off any unwanted clubbers.

So who was sitting with the fighter known as Pretty Boy? Singer and reality star Ray-J was seen at his table, as well as hip hop mogul P. Diddy, Puerto Rican rapper Fat Joe, who was obviously quite down from the devastating result of Puerto Rican fighter Miguel Cotto being stopped in the 12th round, and about another six members of his entourage who were seen holding large expensive bottles, drinking, dancing, laughing and having a good time.

According to HBO interviews Floyd is known to spend $10,000 a night at clubs even though he himself does not drink alcohol.

However, seeing how his entourage was drinking an endless amount of expensive bottles like it was water I can see how the bill might actually come out to $10,000.

The club was very dark, and Floyd and his entourage were sitting high up in their seats looking down at their table in what seemed to be some sort of game they were playing?

Floyd was moving very fast back and forth, up and down which reminds me of how truly superior his speed is in the ring.

Mayweather appeared to be very happy and celebrating. But what was the exact reason? Was it because Pacquiao just won the biggest hardest fight of his career?

Or was it because Mayweather was happy that he would most likely be next to fight Manny in what many experts are already calling the highest grossing fight in boxing history?

Or was it because Floyd was a bit jealous at all of the love and recognition Manny was receiving from all of the media that night from the big win in such a big fight with Cotto?

Whatever the reason was Floyd seemed to be happy and if this fight with Manny Pacquiao indeed gets officially signed, sealed, and delivered, he will be even happier, no matter what the result, win, lose, or draw for he will make more money than ever before.

This article was originally posted HERE

Notre Dame Loses: Charlie Weis Era Possibly Coming to a Close

Christopher Chavez — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:32:27 -0500

When Connecticut's Andre Dawson ended up in the end zone after a four-yard touchdown run in the second overtime, he secured a 33-30 Huskies win over Notre Dame. But Dawson's run may have done more than given Notre Dame its fifth loss on the season; it may have marked the end of the Charlie Weis era for Notre Dame football.

Connecticut coach Randy Edsall acknowledged that this season was very rough for his team and for the school. Edsall recently stated that his squad not only had to face tough teams, but that they also experienced a stunning and surprising tragedy and a lot of heartbreak.

Edsall was emotional after the win and said that the game ball would be given to the family of slain cornerback Jasper Howard. After the game he pointed to the heavens and said "No. 6. Jazz, this one's for you!"

Edsall choked up and said that this was the "best win we've ever had." With the victory over Notre Dame, Connecticut improved to 5-5 on the season. This win was the first for the Huskies since its voctory over Louisville on October 17, a game that was played just hours before Jasper Howard was killed outside the school's student union.

Even with all of the emotion from Connecticut's side, Notre Dame's loss most likely means that Weis will be fired as the head coach. Weis is in his fifth year, and will be lucky to see a sixth.

In order for him to have any chance at saving his job, Weis needs to pull off an upset against Stanford next week. However, a victory over a ranked Cardinal team may not be enough for Weis' chances. Many fans and college football critics believed that Weis needed to win today's game and then have his team give an inspired performance next week at Palo Alto for him to stay on as the Irish's head coach.

But things rarely go as planned for Notre Dame under Weis' direction. The Irish started the season 6-2, but have now lost three straight. With a loss next week at Stanford, Notre Dame would finish with a .500 for the second straight year.

During the telecast of the game on NBC today, a clip was shown of Charlie Weis' hiring back in 2004. At his press conference, Weis stated, "If you think they hired me here to go .500, you've got the wrong guy." Looks like Notre Dame did get the wrong guy.

Weis was hired because of his reputation as a great offensive play caller. Fortunately for Notre Dame fans, Weis has not failed in to deliver on that side of the ball. During his first two years, Weis was able to give Fighting Irish faithful back-to-back BCS berths, led by a potent combination of Brady Quinn and Jeff Samardjiza.

More recently, Weis has been fortunate to rely on the services of Jimmy Clausen at quarterback and Golden Tate at wide receiver. On Saturday, Tate set the single-season school record for catches (83) and yardage (1,295). All of this proves that Weis is one of the better offensive coaches and recruiters in the country. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for his defense.

The game on Saturday was further proof of Weis' defensive shortcomings. The Irish surrendered a combined 244 rushing yards to the Huskies' Andre Dixon and Jordan Todman, most of that coming in the fourth quarter. It is painful to imagine what Stanford's Toby Gerhart might inflict upon the Fighting Irish defense next weekend.

Notre Dame's Athletic Director, Jack Swarbick, has decided not to discuss Charlie Weis' future until after the Stanford game. He also said that money will not be a factor in the decision.

One would imagine that it is time for Notre Dame to make a change.

They should hire a complete coach, and not just a guy that knows how to call offensive plays. They made that mistake with Weis and should not make it again.

Week 12 NFL Predictions: Playoffs or Not?

thomas moreland — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:20:38 -0500

Green Bay plays Detroit in the early Thanksgiving game. The Packers have good match-ups and can control this game. Take Green Bay to be at 7-4 possibly.

Dallas has a showcase game against Oakland in the house that Jerry built. Dallas wins on Thanksgiving, almost always. Home teams on holidays are money.

The last Thanksgiving game is Denver at home against the Giants. Both teams need the win. Denver and the home crowd should win a close one.

Seattle is at the St. Louis rest stop in the NFL. Seattle gets a win at last.

Miami at 5-5 can handle Buffalo, and stay in a playoff race, A string of wins is needed.

Cleveland travels to Cincinnati and gets mauled by the hungry Bengals. The Bengals will be at a healthy 9-2, and the second-best team in the AFC.

Houston can put themselves in a nice position, and maybe a 7-4 record. This would be my upset pick of the week. Houston at home. Matt Schaub gets points every week. Take care of the football, Houston.

Atlanta will outscore Tampa Bay by double in a rout in Atlanta. The Falcons have to win this one, for early playoff implications.

Philadelphia has Washington, at home, where they are really good. In the Eagles scheme must be balance. Could be low scoring, with the pass defenses. Take the Eagles at home.

Carolina has nothing to lose at 4-6 now, so the Jets get caught by the I don't care, fancy-free style, which will beat you sometimes. Delhomme looks unbeatable in this one. Panthers win in upset.

The Forty-Niners host the Jags and can win this game, with defense. Stop one receiver, and one running back and you win. Simple formula if you can pull it off. San Francisco wins big in this one, however. Frank Gore, two Touchdowns.

San Diego should have no trouble with Kansas City in a division game. The Chargers at home are a comfortable pick.

Minnesota wins their home game against Chicago for a chokehold on that division. New Orleans and Minnesota is going to be a good one.

The Cardinals on the road have been great, so is the clunker due? Tennessee is desperate to get this win at home. I think they get after Warner early, and Chris Johnson gets a couple of early scores.

Tennessee wins a close one at home.

They just keep getting better, as Pittsburgh travels to Baltimore to face the Ravens. Pittsburgh and Baltimore really need the win here. This will be a war. Steelers just seem better than the Ravens this season. Take Pittsburgh in another close one.

New England travels to New Orleans in a big Monday Night Football game. I like Tom Brady to win this game on the last possession.

For the season, I am around 106-52 in my pick articles with no point spreads. In my weekly point spread articles, I am 91-67 approximately following Week 11 action.

Have a great week and good luck to all your teams.

Thomas [NFL Mikee] Moreland

Jashaun Agosto: Young Basketball Star Is Almost Not Human, Literally

Frank Gasper — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:19:57 -0500

Jashaun Agosto, a Seattle kid who was on the news one day, ended up being on YouTube. A couple million views later, he is a star.

He works out every day from 4-8 p.m. That is crazy. He is clearly dedicated to his basketball. He just works, and works, and works.

Between his legs, easy. Behind his back left and right, easy. Behind the back and through the legs at the same time, easy. Behind the back and through the legs in every way, also known as the spider, makes it look easy.

Spider while walking, easy. Two balls dribbling, easy. Two balls dribbling between the legs, easy. Two balls between the legs and behind the back, while walking, easy. I could just go on and on.

The scary thing is, his dad doesn't even push him. Everything Jashaun does, is his own decision. Jashaun does always go to his dad for guidance to make him better though.

This kid is also ripped. He does 200 pushups, 200 situps and 150 one-leg squats before bed every night.

He plays 2 on 1 with his older brother and cousin. It is a "make it take it" game. It kind of gets boring for his brother and cousin because he makes it, and takes it, and makes it, and takes it, and makes it, and continuously does that.

His fifth grade team is so good, they play against sixth graders, and easily beat them. He will drive in against the biggest kids, and beat them!

He is also a track-runner. He runs a mile in an amazing time of 4 minutes and 50 seconds! That is faster than any 11 year-old ever in competition.

Doctors tested why he could run so good. They tested how much oxygen his lungs could take in, and he tested off the charts!

This kid is just so good. He says his goal is to make it to the NBA. I personally think he has an extremely great chance.

The kid eats, drinks and breathes basketball. I would love to see him in college or the NBA, just dominating.

Larry Brown: Allen Iverson Needs You

Dwyane Montell — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:05:15 -0500

Allen Iverson is officially out of options.

The New York Knicks even turned him down. It is amazing how delusional the GM's and executives are in the NBA. They don't want to sign a player who can still average 25-30 points per game and carry a team to the playoffs if he is in the right situation. They say Iverson is a distraction and that they think he stunts the younger players growth.

What they really think is that he is a thug who is selfish and a brat. What they don't know is that he is one of the nicest players in the league and has matured a lot since he was 23. They don't know he does the most charity in the league and that he is a family man.

They see the cornrows, tattoos and the baggy clothes and get scared or think that he is a thug. They think Iverson is a brat and a distraction because he says things that they don't like.

They don't understand that Iverson isn't a push over and he won't take a back seat to anyone if he knows and the whole world knows he is better than the player ahead of him. He is the realest player in the league and he speaks his mind everytime and people think he is selfish because of that.

Yeah he has done some bad things in his life that have lead people to think he is a bad person, but all these league executives see are the negative articles. Everyone wants to read about how the scary guy with cornrows and tattoos is getting into trouble or is destroying a team. These people know that only negative Allen Iverson articles sell.

It definitely isn't his basketball ability that is preventing him from getting on a team; he is arguably one of the top 25 players of all-time. He is one of the greatest scorers to ever play the game and currently only Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal and Tim Duncan have accomplished more things in this league than him.

He is a 10 time all-star and two time all-star game MVP as well as the 2001 League MVP. Iverson was the 1996 Rookie of the year and has four scoring titles. He averages 27 ppg for his career and 6.2 apg and 30 ppg in the playoffs for his career which is second all-time.

Iverson has 24,020 points and over 5,500 assists. In 2001, he single handedly took the Philadelphia 76ers to the NBA Finals. His best assets were Eric Snow and Aaron McKie. There has not been a less talented team in the Finals.

My point is Iverson's resume speak for itself, and if anyone is saying he is not getting signed because of his basketball abilities they are crazy.

A career like that deserves to end in a good way. When Iverson was with Denver his goal was to win a ring and complete his resume. He was shipped to Detroit and people said he needed to shoot less shots and not dominate the ball as much. Iverson did just that.

He took a career low 14 shots and played a career low 27 mpg while touching the ball only four times a quarter—major sacrifice if you ask me. He still managed to average 17.5 ppg and make the all-star team but people said he washed up and said he should come off the bench. In the summer, teams showed no interest in Iverson and he had to sign with Memphis. Everybody knows how that went.

Now Larry Brown, the one coach who knew how to coach Iverson the right way, is calling teams telling them to sign Iverson. Iverson and Brown had major problems when they were together in Philly. Brown figured out how to make the Sixers a winner and constructed a team around Iverson; they went to the Finals in 2001.

Larry Brown, currently coach of the Charlotte Bobcats, is calling teams and telling them Iverson would be a good fit for them —but nobody is listening.

One thing I don't get is if Brown thinks Iverson is still a good fit, why doesn't he just sign Iverson to his team? Everybody wanted Iverson to sign with the Bobcats in the offseason and thought it would be a good situation for both sides. The Bobcats would get a scorer and Iverson would be on a team where he can prove to everybody that he was still a great player.

But Larry Brown said there would not be enough play time for Iverson because he already has four guards. Those guards are: DJ Augustin, Gerald Henderson, Raymond Felton and Flip Murray. All four guys are not better than Iverson and have not accomplished much in the league. If Larry Brown cares so much about Iverson, why can't he just trade one of those players and sign Iverson?

Iverson may be forced to retire; Larry Brown can save this from happening. Brown is the only coach in the NBA who understands how to coach Iverson and he may be the only one who thinks he still can play at a high level.

Brown should trade one of those four guards and have a three guard rotation with Iverson, with Iverson playing at least 35 mpg. With him, the Bobcats could make the playoffs.

Iverson, Raymond Felton, Stephen Jackson, Tyson Chandler and Gerald Wallace would make a great starting line up and Iverson could be the go to guy while Jackson could be the second option. If Iverson likes his role, which he probably will if he gets the minutes, then the Bobcats would not have any problems.

Allen Iverson's career may just be ending and when we look back on it five to 10 years from now there is always going to be that dark ending to it. Larry Brown saved Iverson's career in 2001 when nobody wanted to trade for him, and now he has the chance to save it in 2009 when nobody wants him.

Allen Iverson is the "answer" for the Bobcats and Larry Brown is the "answer" for Iverson.

Denny Hamlin Settles Score With Brad Keselowski—Maybe

Mary Jo Buchanan — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:56:28 -0500

On lap 35 of the final Nationwide race at Homestead, Denny Hamlin made good on his promise to get even with Brad Keselowski. Hamlin hooked Keselowski in the rear and spun him out.

The feud between both drivers has been longstanding. In fact, Hamlin and Keselowski have tangled at various times since the 2008 season.

By Hamlin's count, Keselowski has wrecked him once at Watkins Glen last year and again at Dover this year. Hamlin also contends that Keselowski forced him into a three-wide wreck at California this season, as well as blatantly wrecking him at last weekend's Nationwide race at Phoenix International Raceway.

Keselowski on the other hand downplays his confrontations with Hamlin, stating that most of the issues are "just racing deals." Of their most recent confrontation at Phoenix International Raceway, Keselowski said, "We just got in a pushing match. I don’t really hold any grudges."

"I don’t know why he wanted to do that," Keselowski continued. "It’s just the way racing is, I guess.”

But Hamlin was not willing to let the issue go, vowing to "get even" with Keselowski the next chance that he could. His opportunity came in the early laps of the Ford 300, the season finale for the Nationwide Series.

On lap 35, Hamlin found himself right where he wanted to be, directly behind the No. 88 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet of his nemesis Keselowski. And Hamlin took full advantage, hitting Keselowski in the rear and sending him spinning.

Over his car radio, Hamlin said, "Look at this, all the guys down pit road are laughing at me. Every guy from every team that he ever took out is laughing. This is hilarious."

Even Keselowski seemed a bit amused saying to his crew over his radio, "That was fun. Give me four tires."

NASCAR, however, did not find the incident the least bit funny and deemed the pay back spin as intentional. NASCAR officials penalized the No. 11 of Hamlin one lap for rough driving.

In spite of the penalty, Hamlin finished the race in the fifth position. Keselowski also battled back from his spin, finishing in the 12th position.

After the race, Keselowski did not even acknowledge the confrontation with Hamlin until pressed by the media. He focused instead on congratulating race winner and Nationwide Series champion Kyle Busch.

When asked specifically about the incident on lap 35 between himself and Hamlin, Keselowski reiterated that he thought it was "pretty funny." But then he continued philosophically saying, "You know, I don't really hold any grudges. I'm ready to move on. Hell, I've already moved on."

"Hopefully, he feels the same way," Keselowski said of Hamlin. "I have a feeling when he wakes up in the morning, he's not going to feel any better about himself."

"He's got a lot of problems on and off the race track and I don't think spinning me is going to make him happy," Keselowski said. "That's just my take on it."

Hamlin had his own take on the incident and it was, of course, a bit different. "I feel great right now," Hamlin said enthusiastically. "It was well worth it."

"The sun was bad at that point and I'll use that as my excuse," Hamlin continued. "The fact is, I wasn't going to give him an inch."

"I thought when I went down pit road after the race that I had won," Hamlin said. "I've never seen so many crews applaud and give the 'thumbs up' on the way by."

"It just shows you all the cars he's torn up in the past," continued Hamlin. "All the teams, they feel a little redemption anyway."

"We'll never be even in that sense," Hamlin said. "I'm grateful to CJ giving me the opportunity to race this weekend and pay back my debts."

Hamlin acknowledged that while NASCAR is a self-policing sport, they also had to penalize him for the "deliberate" retaliation. "I wasn't mad about that at all," Hamlin said of his one lap penalty. "My objective was to win the race first and take care of him (Keselowski) second."

"There's going to be other days when we're racing and he's still going to think about it when I'm in his rear view mirror," Hamlin continued. "Obviously the scales are tipped a little bit more in my favor but still tipped a little bit too much."

After the race, NASCAR President Mike Helton was asked about the confrontation and NASCAR's reaction. "Our job is to maintain law and order," Helton said. "We honestly want the spirit and the character and the enthusiasm to come out but there is a point where NASCAR says 'enough is enough' and that's just the order part."

While Keselowski and Hamlin are finished with their Nationwide battles, the two are set to take the track together for the Cup finale Sunday afternoon at Homestead. Keselowski qualified in the 27th position, while Hamlin is well behind him, starting the race in the 38th spot.

Is the Hamlin vs. Keselowski battle over? It may be for now, but most likely this ongoing feud between these two drivers will not only continue but also carry over into next year's competition.

Clippers-Nuggets: No Announcers, No Problem

Jose Salviati — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:48:07 -0500

It's sad when the game becomes an afterthought.

Think back to the 1989 World Series. The story should have been the all No-Cal Series, The Battle of the Bay, but instead that match-up will forever be known as the Earthquake World Series.

The 2006 Soccer world Cup was marred by a Zidane headbutt. Most casual fans of the game, which would represent most soccer fans in the US, will remember that loss of control rather than the eventual Champion. It was Italy.

Last night the Clippers finally were able to put a full game together and defeated the Denver Nuggets. They have had leads before but never showed the composure necessary to maintain them.

Until last night.

Last night, the Clipper bench out scored the Nugs 54-21. Last night the Clippers looked like a team ready to make some noise.

Rasual Butler contributed off the bench, Baron Davis led and was a calming influence as the lead shrunk and Marcus Camby reminded everyone he is a former Defensive Player of the Year award winner with a stuff of a Carmelo Anthony shot.

Last night, the Clippers looked like a team.

Sadly, the story today is not whether or not this game represents a step in the right direction (it does).

We aren’t as concerned about whether the team can build on this win as they await the return of Eric Gordon and the debut of Blake Griffin (they will).

No, the story is about their announcers' suspensions.

I have written plenty on the subject and will refrain from doing so again here except to say that it's a shame how that event dulls a quality Clipper win.

It’s also a shame that I promised not to gloat because I really, really want to.

As you know, the Clipper Crystal Ball called this game. It predicted a good game by Camby (he of the emphatic block on Anthony) and a final score of 103-98 with the advantage to the Clippers.

Final score last night was 106-99 Clippers.

I would like to point out that some doubted the power of the CCB (Clipper Crystal Ball).

That some scoffed at the notion the team from Los Angeles had a chance against the powerhouse from Colorado. But, I'll refrain.

Doing so would only take away from the win and make the game an afterthought; I refuse to do that.

Oklahoma Sooners Take Huge Step Back Against Texas Tech Red Raiders

Allen Kenney — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:46:29 -0500

In their 2008 matchup with the Texas Tech Red Raiders, the Oklahoma Sooners scored their first touchdown six minutes into the game. It marked the first of nine scores in a 65-21 victory .

In Saturday's 41-13 Tech win , OU picked up its only touchdown of the game in the 53rd minute.

With one game remaining in a frustrating season, the embarrassing beatdown suffered in Lubbock showed that OU's offensive about-face from last year is all but complete. Think of it as about a 165-degree turnaround—heading the wrong way, of course.

A drop-off in production from last season's prodigious totals wouldn't have been shocking, especially given all the offensive talent standing on the Sooners' sideline. Still, who could have foreseen such a dramatic collapse?

The vaunted Sooner defense certainly deserves its fair share of the blame for Saturday's boondoggle. However, the putrid performance on the other side of the ball had a large hand in the D's tough day. Time and again, OU's failure to generate first downs, let alone points, put Tech in good field position against a group of defenders who were gradually wearing down.

It was a vicious cycle for the Sooners, as the Red Raiders chewed up the clock on offense and their defenders rested on the sideline. Tech finished the game with a 14-minute advantage in time of possession.

The floodgates opened early in the second half. If I recall correctly, Tech scored on something like 15 straight drives, interrupted only to give OU opportunities to go three and out.

So, how did Tech and defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeil shut the Sooners down? Well, as was the case two weeks ago at Nebraska and two weeks before that against Texas, the OU run game flat-out sucked. Running backs Chris Brown and DeMarco Murray rushed for a total of 51 yards on 18 carries, a shade under three yards per carry.

As a result, the Red Raiders put the onus on quarterback Landry Jones to beat them, and the redshirt freshman again failed to deliver.

Jones ended the game with not-terrible numbers: 18 completions on 35 attempts, 262 yards, one touchdown and an interception. The 51 yards accumulated on the aforementioned touchdown in the fourth quarter underscores the passing game's impotence on Saturday, though. (As if the measly 13 points the Sooners scored wasn't proof enough.)

The glass quarter-full take on the latest dismal performance by the offense is that no team could overcome the nonstop slew of injuries OU's offense has suffered this season. The latest blow came when center Ben Habern went down early in the game on Saturday with a broken fibula. That upheaval, particularly in the front five, has crippled whatever chances the Sooners had of coalescing.

However, even if you're willing to cut coach Bob Stoops and his team some slack for all the adversity they've faced this season, the lack of improvement on offense is a major cause for concern going forward. Keep in mind that it wasn't Ndamukong Suh and Jared Crick of Nebraska whipping a massively underachieving offensive line Saturday.

By OU's standards, 2008 is a lost cause. If the lumps the Sooners are taking now aren't helping the core of the 2010 squad get better, that's a frightening thought.

For more of Allen Kenney's analysis of college football and the Oklahoma Sooners, check out Blatant Homerism.

The New Profile Page Says It All!

Suzette Lampard Brantley — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:42:51 -0500

To Whom It May Concern,

I would like to say...no shout...THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! The new profile page says it all. Whoever is responsible for this change is a visionary and deserves an award.

The design is eye catching. The description under the author's picture is classy. Just about any stat on said author is right there as soon as you pull up their profile. But it is the right hand side of the screen that just ROCKS!

The new ranking system is just what some ego hounds have been hoping for.

I, on the other hand adore the medals. There are so many ways to be awarded an honor, it actually reminds me of the Miss Congeniality award. The old way was good, but this is outstanding.

I may not amount to a hill of beans, but my article may be fun enough to spark a few good comments followed by follow ups and replies and voila! A bronze medal.

Whether a writer has a flash of greatness or is as consistent as a pothole in the French Quarter, there is an award for it. Heck "honorable mention" is still great, especially when there are so many intriguing writers on the site.

Be it a "Great Read" or an "Editor's Pick," there is an award for that too.

Ranking by number of articles written, comments made, and number of reads gives even a casual visitor a closer look at the author and a bit more knowledge about the Bleacher Report site.

The sky is the limit to where it can go from here. I am sure there will be those who do not agree with the change, then again their glass is probably always half empty. With any luck there will be an award for that, too!

There seems to be a few glitches, but I am sure those will be worked out in the next few days. Did anyone else become a "contributor" from "scribe" or was that just me? In case anyone is wondering: I'm going for one of those comment awards...again.

Mom and Dad always told me, "It's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game." I knew it all along!

Happy writing to one and all, and to all a good night.

Marquise Walker: Young Prodigy Is YouTube Star

Frank Gasper — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:41:19 -0500

Look up Marquise Walker on YouTube.

Bunches of videos of a short kid from Chicago playing basketball will appear. If you haven't looked it up yet, you are probably thinking what is the big deal about a kid from Chicago playing basketball? Well, I am going to tell you.

That kid is the definition of a prodigy. I have watched many videos of him and every time I see them, I just think wow.

He has met more NBA and college players than most people would in a lifetime—and he is only about 10 years old!

Just to name some people he has met: Jeffery Jordan, Kevin Durant, Dee Brown, Luther Head, Jamaal Tinsley, LeBron James, Jermaine O'Neal, Chris Duhon and T.J. Ford...and that isn't even all of them!

He says he has a 9/10 chance of making the NBA when he is older. He may be cocky, but I think he has the right to be.

The kid can hit threes like crazy. Just shot after shot after shot. He can drive to the hoop and he can dish the ball with ease.

He is probably the most known kid under 13 on YouTube. Most of his videos have about 130,000 to 600,000 views. Not the most, but for a 10 year old kid, that is pretty good.

If you want to see more.

http://www.youtube.com/user/y2kozi .

Charlie Weis: Not Good Enough

Ed Leiser — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:31:19 -0500

"You're a 6-5 football team, and that's just not good enough."

You remember those words, don't you Irish fans?

That was a direct quote from Charlie Weis at his first press conference as the head coach at the University of Notre Dame.

After hitting rock bottom (again) Saturday, Weis' squad is 6-5 and looks as lost as any other college football program has been in the last decade.

Really, what else is there to say?

Just in the last three weeks, they've lost to a glorified High School team (Navy), a team coached by a former NFL castoff in Dave Wannstedt (Pitt), and now a team who has been playing at the FBS level for less than a decade and is very much considered a "basketball school."

Weis' career winning percentage leaves so much to be desired, and the 14 home losses he's suffered in five seasons can make your head spin.

Syracuse, Navy (twice), and UConn have walked confidently into South Bend huge underdogs and have delivered what would have been considered shocking upsets of the "mighty" Fighting Irish.

Simply put, that cannot happen.

Bob Davie was 24-7 at home in his tenure as Notre Dame coach. Yes, that Bob Davie.

Where do you go from here? You really have to wonder when, if ever, the climb will begin for the Irish to get back to respectability.

A decided schematic advantage?

Everyone and their brother remembers this cocky phrase uttered by Chuck at his first press conference.

And, yes, for a while, you really did believe that Notre Dame had an advantage over their opponents strictly because of Charlie Weis' play-calling.

The upset of then-No. 3 Michigan, the USC "Bush Push" game, and even the Fiesta Bowl game vs. Ohio State showcased Weis' ability to out-scheme, out-coach, and out-plan his opponents.

The problem, of course, is that two of those three games resulted in losses (USC, Ohio St).

Talk all you want about decided advantages on your coaching staff, but actions speak louder than words. And the Irish have not been acting like a team with a "decided schematic advantage."

Irish nose tackle and upperclassman Ian Williams agrees. He addressed the media after the loss to Navy, saying, in general, that his team was out-coached by Navy. He indicated that the Navy team was more prepared than his Irish team.

When your own players throw you under the bus like that, there's something seriously wrong.

Offensive fireworks, Defensive duds

His offense has, for the most part, delivered on his promises of lighting up the scoreboard and putting up gaudy numbers. He has coached two Heisman Trophy-caliber quarterbacks and several NFL-type receivers along with steady running backs.

Besides the disaster 3-9 season a few years back in which the offense was non- existent, Notre Dame has been able to score points.

But it's a two-way street, Charlie, and you have to play defense in college football. As the head coach, you have to take responsibility for your defense as well, even if you don't call their plays or run their schemes.

When looking at this Irish roster, you see virtually all offensive contributors as former four and five-star athletes coming out of high school. They were the cream of the crop.

Same story for the defense. But why haven't they produced like the offense?

One word. Coaching.

This Irish defense is the most athletic unit in Weis' tenure in South Bend...by far.

Instability in the defensive coaching staff and poor tackling, among other things, have doomed the Notre Dame defense.

What good is an offense that scores 30 points a game when you field a defense that gives up 31?

Mishandled players

We just saw the latest example of a mishandled Notre Dame player. Let's reintroduce ourselves to Zach Frazer. The Notre Dame backup quarterback turned UConn starting quarterback ultimately gets the last laugh.

Notre Dame and Charlie Weis used to have a rule in place where a player was granted his transfer provided he didn't transfer to a school that would be on a future schedule for Notre Dame.

That rule has just backfired. But he's not the only mishandled player.

When you have an offense that features Jimmy Clausen, Golden Tate, and Michael Floyd (all of whom will be in the NFL in less than 24 months) you should be in the hunt for a BCS bowl, if not a national championship.

You may never again see a more dynamic threesome playing football in South Bend. Think about that for a second....ouch, it hurts.

UConn and Navy can only dream of getting a player a third as good as those athletes.

The constant re-shuffling of the defense is just another example of mishandling players, as is the daily kicker/punter status.

Memo to future Notre Dame coach: play the best 11 players on defense and stick to it. Also, find a capable kicker and punter.

When senior Eric Maust toes off several punts of less than 30 yards, you show him the door. You find a kid that can do the job. Same story for the kicker.

Jimmy, we hardly knew ye

Jimmy Clausen will likely leave South Bend for the riches and glamour of NFL life.

I support his decision 100%. It would be utterly stupid of him to return for a senior year at Notre Dame.

Clausen will leave Notre Dame as a man who didn't deliver on his lofty hype, but through no fault of his own.

When you have a once-in-a-lifetime quarterback like Clausen, you simply must strike while the iron is hot.

Whoever is under center next year for Notre Dame (with Dayne Crist possibly out and Evan Sharpley gone) will have the biggest shoes to fill in college football, with the exception of maybe Tim Tebow.

Even after three years with Clausen at the helm, I feel like I'm getting the short end of the stick with him, again through no fault of his own.

He is what you think about when you think of elite college football quarterbacks.

Rocket arm, accurate ball, ice water in the veins, tough as a brick, Clausen has the tools to succeed.

He is not the quarterback of a 6-5 team.

He is special, and Notre Dame and Charlie Weis literally just wasted his talent in a three-year span that brought nothing but pain and heartache.

(Insert Coach Name Here), welcome to Hell

So, you're a hot coaching prospect and Notre Dame is interested in you, huh?

My advice: run and hide.

After swinging and missing three times in a row now (Bob Davie, Ty Willingham, Charlie Weis), what can Notre Dame do to bring in the right guy to man the ship?

It is the ultimate Catch-22. When you're winning consistently every Saturday, you're the "savior" of Notre Dame and the man to "return the glory" to South Bend. Do you really want that pressure?

Charlie Weis was that man three years ago. It didn't work out too well for him.

On the other hand, if you lose consistently in South Bend, then it's off with your head. Who in their right mind wants that?

Sure, they'll pay you tons of money. So will every other major NCAA program though.

Urban Meyer, in your dreams. Jon Gruden, you wish. Mike Belotti, Mike Shanahan, Bill Cowher, not a snowball's chance in hell.

If it is Brian Kelly, who is the hot name around South Bend now, what difference can he make?

He's guiding a small-market team from Ohio in a weak conference. While his resume speaks for itself, how is he any different from previous Notre Dame coaches?

Can he graduate his players and deal with the higher academic standards? Can he face the media scrutiny every Saturday? Can he use his talented roster to his advantage and win double-digit games?

Lots of questions, but in South Bend right now, no answers.

In Charlie Weis' five-year stint at Notre Dame, one thing you cannot overlook is the dignity and grace his teams have shown.

You really can't kill yourself when you see a small, scrappy Navy team come into South Bend and steal a victory. Those young men have bigger fish to fry, and we certainly appreciate all their sacrifices.

And you really have to be a robot to not get a little choked up at Randy Edsall's UConn team that is dealing with the loss of one of their teammates, Jasper Howard. Seeing Edsall's post-game interview gave me goosebumps.

But you can respect your opponents and still deliver wins. They won't measure your respect percentage, just your winning percentage.

Lou Holtz's teams beat the daylights out of Navy, Air Force, and the Army year in and year out, while at the same time respecting them and thanking them for the service.

It's about wins and losses, Charlie.

And in that department, you are just not good enough.

Farewell, Charlie Weis.

Halladay and Granderson Perfect Fits as Chicago Cubs—Neither Likely to Be One

Jack Stentwiller — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:20:06 -0500

Rumors ran wild this past week about the potential of the Cubs trading for Roy Halladay or Curtis Granderson.

What is sad is that the Cubs have the highest payroll in the league, and both of these players are going to be considered too expensive.

What's worse? Both of these players would fulfill enormous needs for the Cubs. In fact, they are the two biggest needs of the current Cub team.

Despite the Milton Bradley experiment, the Cubs lineup is still extremely right handed and more lefties should be targeted. Granderson would be a perfect fit. Although he does not have great OBP numbers, he does have experience at the top of the lineup and fills a need in CF.

He is also the "anti-Bradley", in the sense that he is a great clubhouse guy, Chicago native, and only 28-years old.

While I would categorize the likelihood of Granderson becoming a Cub as unlikely, Halladay coming to the Northside falls somewhere between pigs flying and Sammy Sosa turning into a white guy (wait, maybe that is a bad example). Regardless it is very unlikely.

Timing is everything. The Cubs were big spenders when they needed SP depth and corner outfielders. Two expensive dissapointments and Ted Lilly later, the Cubs are locked into expensive, long term contracts with players on the wrong side of 30.

What are their needs now? A frontline starter and CF/leadoff man. There are two for the taking, but the Cubs cannot afford to be spenders after swinging and missing on Bradley, Fukudome, and Soriano.

It is disappointing. It is, however, what happens when you make mistakes on free agents. The Yankees did it, and it took getting Jason Giambi, Carl Pavano, etc. off the books before they could make another run.

The Cubs are in the same boat. It is time for fans to be patient. This team is seriously flawed in places, but it is going to take clearing some bad contracts before the team is able to seriously address their needs.

Maybe when Halladay and Granderson are even older and on the free-agent market, the Cubs can overspend for multiple years for them then. Until then, we have to keep dreaming.

Timing is everything, and the timing simply does not work in the Cubs favor in the short term. Halladay and Granderson will help other ballclubs.

The 2010 Cubs will look an awful lot like the 2009 Cubs.

Cecil Fielder's Home Run Joyride Nearly 20 Years Ago

Greg Eno — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:07:30 -0500

I’m a little early on this, I admit. I’m jumping the gun, but this time they can’t call me back to the starting blocks.

You heard it here first, then.

When the Tigers gather for spring training in about three months—it can’t get here fast enough, by the way—it will be 2010 and you can say it.

It’ll be 20 years since Cecil Fielder knocked 51 homers out of the confines of American League ballparks on behalf of the Tigers.

Yep—1990. Even the most mathematically challenged can figure out that 2010 minus 20 equals 1990.

Go ahead and use a calculator anyway, if you wish. But you’ll get 20 years since Cecil clubbed his way into the history books.

Fifty dingers might not seem like much nowadays, but no Tiger had hit that many since Hank Greenberg was thrilling the folks at Briggs Stadium in the 1930s and ’40s. Hank, in fact, almost hit 60—he clobbered 58 in '38.

But unlike Greenberg, who was a product of the Tigers’ farm, Cecil was an outsider. Actually, he wasn’t acquired so much as imported.

The Tigers left the continent and traveled to the Far East to wrangle Fielder away from a Japanese team, also called the Tigers (Hanshin). Big Daddy, as he was called, had fled the country either because he was attracted to sushi or because he couldn’t stand playing behind Fred McGriff. Or both.

Fielder was a Toronto Blue Jay but McGriff was dug in deep as the Jays’ first baseman. McGriff was about Cecil’s age but he was Big Daddy’s superior, at least in the Blue Jays’ eyes. McGriff swung lefty and maybe that’s what hurt the right-handed hitting Fielder.

Anyhow, Cecil played for Hanshin in 1989 and the Detroit Tigers, in need of a first sacker, remembered what Fielder could do from his days in the AL East. So they sent a team of envoys to Japan and the result was that Fielder signed with them in January 1990.

The Tigers’ first player from Japan and he was an American. Go figure.

Not much was made of the signing, other than the Tigers had filled a hole at first base. How it would turn out was anyone’s guess.

After 14 games, Fielder had three home runs. Not bad; about a 34-homer pace.

Not bad turned into pretty good, and pretty good turned into “This guy’s hotter than wasabi!”

Fielder slammed 10 home runs in his next 15 games, including three in, you guessed it, Toronto.

But it wasn’t just that Fielder hit home runs. It was how he hit them.

He looked like he was swinging a toothpick, which is what all the big dudes make even 40-ounce bats look like. Fielder was big and muscular and should have been wearing a football helmet, not a batting helmet.

He cocked his bat just before he swung—another staple from the slugger’s repertoire. And while he connected with nothing but air a whole bunch of times, pity the poor baseball that he didn’t miss.

A Cecil Fielder home run came in three varieties—towering, lasered, and crushed. No one had punished baseballs in Detroit before him, or since. He was the strongest man to wear the Old English D not named Willie Horton or Marcus Thames.

One afternoon, Fielder took Oakland A’s pitcher Dave Stewart downtown—downtown Lansing, that is. He drove a baseball over the left field roof at Tiger Stadium, which was by far the harder of the two roofs to clear.

Fielder kept knocking home runs throughout the summer of 1990, and around the All-Star break it was whispered: could Cecil hit 50? He had 28 and there was still about half a season to go.

Damon Runyon must have written the script from the afterlife and sent it down to Detroit, because going into the last game of the season—in New York, no less—Fielder had 49 dingers. If he was going to reach 50, he’d have to do it in Roger Maris-like fashion—in Yankee Stadium on the season’s final day.

Manager Sparky Anderson placed Fielder second in the batting order, to give him an extra at-bat if necessary. He didn’t need it.

In the fourth inning, with Tony Phillips on base, Fielder jacked a baseball off someone named Steve Adkins deep into the upper deck in left field in the Bronx. Number 50. Then, as if to make sure in case they added wrong, Fielder hit another, in the eighth inning. Number 51.

They usually don’t take kindly to Japanese imports in Detroit, but they made an exception in the case of Cecil Fielder.

It’ll be 20 years ago, coming up. No Tiger player—Cecil included—has come close to 50 since then.

Big Daddy, to Detroit from Toronto via Hanshin, Japan. Not the shortest route between two points, unlike his home runs. But it worked out.

Three-Headed Monster at Point Guard Leaves Tough Decision for George Karl

Rich Kurtzman — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:03:13 -0500

What team is deeper than the Nuggets at point guard?

Nobody. Nil. Nada.

That is, according to Denver head coach George Karl. “We have the best third point guard in the NBA,” the wise old coach told The Denver Post Tuesday.

With Anthony Carter returning from a strained hip injury, the same one that kept him out of four games last year, he gives Karl another option in the backcourt.

But, it also takes minutes away from rookie phenom Ty Lawson, which may add to the bad rap A.C. has already received from fans.

Karl touched on it Thursday in The Denver Post saying, “I’ll be honest, I think sometimes the fans have been too hard on A.C. And not to respect what he does is, I think, fanatically fanlike.”

But really, is the fans’ criticism of the aging player warranted?

This is Carter’s fourth season with the Nuggets and 11th overall, and he was the starter in the Allen Iverson year. At the time, he was solid, but never spectacular—and last year even speaking of Carter as solid came into question.

His speed has declined greatly, and with it, his ability to be Denver’s best perimeter defender—a title Karl gave him two years ago. As Carter’s speed has slipped, so have ball-handling skills and decision making.

His turnovers were up to two per game in 2008-09, but likely the mistakes that plague the minds of Nuggets fans the most are two errant in-bounds passes by A.C. in the Western Conference Finals last May against LA.

Both happened late in games Denver had a chance to win, but instead the ball and hopes of making the NBA Finals were thrown away by Carter.

Certainly, as I surround myself with some of the most diehard Denver fans for games, the dislike for Carter is evident.

Sarcastic comments of, “Great D A.C.” or, “Nice pass” are frequent. As are more direct disses like, “Carter can’t cover him,” or the simple, “Carter sucks!”

Even when I read the headline of this piece to my roommate he couldn’t help to say, “One of the heads is slower than the others.”

Let’s make it clear, A.C. is a decent NBA player, and we as fans may be too hard on him as Karl alluded to.

But, Nuggets fans started noticing his deficiencies before this offseason brought the young and explosive Ty Lawson—although Lawson’s arrival has left Denver dudes (and dudettes) clamoring for more P.T. by the rookie.

Carter’s numbers are down across the board from last year, from points (5.3-3) to assists (4.7-2.1) to shooting percentage (.43-.33), and Lawson has excelled early in the season.

Lawson’s 9.9 points, 3.1 assists and one steal per game are all better numbers than the veteran has put up, and Lawson’s intangibles are another reason he should backup Billups.

Ty Lawson is literally lightning quick and faster than a speeding car. It’s almost as if Ty is breaking the “Law Son” as he easily strides down the court faster than anyone and darts in and out of opponents on his way to the hoop.

And even though it seems coach Karl is grasping onto the Anthony Carter that was, defending him at every turn, Lawson has been rewarded with more minutes (21.6-17.1) and basically the second point guard position.

Lawson performed well last night in that reserve role, despite the Nuggets loss to the Clippers, as he went 3-4 on three pointers and ended with 12 points.

And really, no matter who is the No. 2 or 3 point guard, Denver’s depth at the position will bode well for them as the season goes on, especially if there are any injuries that arise.

Look for the three-headed monster to be back in full force tonight for Denver against Chicago at 7 p.m. as Anthony Carter is expected to return from injury, adding depth to the Nuggets already deep bench.

Chargers: Norv Turner Has Been a Better Than Average Coach in San Diego

Ian Philip — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:54:15 -0500

After the Chargers totally blew that game against the Baltimore Ravens this season, I wrote the following:

Every year, I write articles about how big a moron Norv Turner is, and then have to retract my statements at the end of the year.

Not this time.

Now I find myself defending Norv to folks who really don't know what they hell they're talking about.

You constantly hear about how the Chargers handed Norv the keys to a 14-2 team and there was a fall off the next year because of Norv.

I may have even said the same thing myself, but it was a stupid statement.

Since 1999, only one team that finished 14-2 or better equaled that record the following year:

1999 Jacksonville Jaguars 14-2
2000 Jacksonville Jaguars 7-9

2001 St. Louis Rams 14-2
2002 St. Louis Rams 7-9

2003 New England Patriots 14-2
2004 New England Patriots 14-2
2005 New England Patriots 10-6

2004 Pittsburgh Steelers 15-1
2005 Pittsburgh Steelers 11-5

2005 Indianapolis Colts 14-2
2006 Indianapolis Colts 12-4

2006 San Diego Chargers 14-2
2007 San Diego Chargers 11-5

2007 New England Patriots 16-0
2008 New England Patriots 11-5

When the Chargers fell back to earth and went 11-5 the next season, it was no different than other teams who kept the same coach the next season.

The team still made it to the AFC Championship Game despite injuries to Nate Kaeding, Philip Rivers, LaDainian Tomlinson, Shawne Merriman, Jamal Williams, and Antonio Gates.

I remember the Chargers blowing that 2006-2007 game against the New England Patriots and losing my mind.

We all know Marty had to go after that. Norv Turner has NEVER gone 'one and done' in the play-offs. Marty went one and done at home with both a 12-4 and 14-2 team.

Like it or not, Norv has won the AFC West two seasons in a row. People like to say that it's because the Denver Broncos keep choking, but the fact is Norv has not had a bad season yet in San Diego. The slow starts are just frustrating, but the fast finishes are excellent.

Despite the 8-8 finish, Norv did some amazing coaching in 2008. Anytime a team starts out 4-8, due to injuries, it's acceptable in other cities for the team to just hang it up and get 'em next year.

In San Diego, under the historic guidance of guys like Junior Seau and Rodney Harrison, it is not.

Norv Turner's even keel and belief in his system has been a steadying influence that has resulted in a team that puts it all together from about mid-season on.

When Norv was hired, that's what he guaranteed. The team would be playing its best football at the end of the season, and that is what has happened.

When you hear this nonsense about Norv's terrible reign has the Raiders head coach, keep one thing in mind. Who the hell has won in Oakland since Rich Gannon, Tyrone Wheatley, Jerry Rice, and Tim Brown got old in a hurry?

No one, so get that out of your mind.

Turner was with the Washington Redskins seven seasons. He had a winning record in four of those seven seasons.

If you throw out the first two years, which were CLEARLY rebuilding years, Norv only had one losing season in Washington. Even Bill Cowher had losing years with the Steelers.

When Norv got the steel toe boot in Washington in 2000, the team was 7-6. They finished 8-8. Norv was replaced by none other than the beloved Marty Schottenheimer, who was promptly fired in 2001 after a second straight 8-8 season which started off with a disastrous 30-3 pounding by the San Diego Chargers; whose offense was coached by Norv Turner.

Funny thing is, Marty then beat Norv out for the head coaching job in San Diego in 2002, but kept Norv's offense after Norv refused to stay on as offensive coordinator.

Then Norv replaced Marty as the head coach in San Diego in 2007.

Norv really only drives us insane because the Chargers' slow starts, but keep this in mind when you are throwing your fit along with myself:

2007 11-5: The team had to get used to the new coaching staff. The team started off a mediocre 5-5. Once the team came together, however, I'm sure we can agree that the 2007 Chargers where one of the best teams to come around in a while until injuries derailed what may have been a Super Bowl Championship season.

2008 8-8: The injuries from 2007 carried over to the start of the 2008 season. Coupled with a last second TD pass from Jake Delhomme of the Carolina Panthers and two ridiculously blown calls by Ed Hochuli, the Chargers had to claw their way out of an 0-2 start. Once again, the team rallied and took down the Colts in the playoffs.

2009 6-3: None of us has ever experienced the rash of injuries like we did in San Diego to start the season after the team finished the pre-season in great health. With injuries to Ryon Bingham, Tomlinson, Williams, Jacques Cesaire, Merriman, Phillips, and on and on, the Bolts once again stumbled out of the gates 2-3. They have proceeded to win four in a row for the sixth straight season and are back in the AFC West title hunt.

So remember, Norv hasn't let the Chargers flop yet. Would you rather the Bolts be 12-4 or 14-2 and lose the first playoff game every year or at least winning in the playoffs?

The Chargers just need some breaks to fall their way. The window is not closing on San Diego. Not at all.