Bleacher Report - Game Recap

Raptors Report Week Five: The Schedule Is Getting Better

Sachin Arora — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 20:49:37 -0500

Well, the Raptors' week this week was brutal to say the least.

After beating the Pacers at home, they got completely outplayed on the road by the Bobcats, and run over by the Celtics. They finally came home Sunday and took a loss to the Suns.

Record: 1-3

Performance on a Scale of 1-10: 4.5

Positives: Even after a second straight week of going 1-3, the Raptors still have some positives. Jarrett Jack is finally starting to play as well as he is capable of. The team has been able to keep themselves in games in the first half and have shown the ability to come back.

A big positive is that the Raptors schedule gets much easier from here on out.

Negatives: Hoo boy. Where do I start?

The defense has still been terrible, but that seems to be the case every week.

The offense has had a lot less flow in it lately, and Andrea Bargnani has been struggling with his shot. The Raptors seem to keep it close after the first half, but in the second half they seem to just lose it. Coach Jay Triano has no answers for opposing teams' bursts of offense.

Overall, this was a pretty disastrous week. When is Reggie Evans coming back? We sure could use him.

GO RAPS

Next Report : Sunday, December 6th

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Pete Carroll Sends a Message To Rick Neuheisel.

Brian Livingston — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 20:39:40 -0500

USC played its crosstown rival UCLA for the 79th time last night. While the Trojans have had three disappointing losses already this season, losing to the Bruins would only make matters worse.

Fortunately for Trojan nation, that would not be the case. As rivalry games go, it was pretty dull.

Both teams traded punts during the first half. It wasn't until the waining seconds of the fourth quarter that the most excitement would come. Leading 21-7 with 54 seconds the Trojans took a knee. This is where the mind games began.

Rick Neuheisel called timeout. Carroll would respond by calling a play instead of taking another knee. The play would result in a 48-yard touchdown catch from Matt Barkley to Damian Williams, much to the shock and excitement of the Coliseum crowd.

As I sat amongst a room full of USC alumni at their Saturday gathering place, I thought to myself why would Carroll do this? It wasn't until they flashed the ad that Neuheisel took out in the Los Angeles Times last summer stating, "The Football Monopoly in Los Angeles is officially over".

It was then I realized why he decided to throw with only 50 seconds remaining.

He may not admit it, but in my opinion that was Pete Carroll's response. Watching Pete Carroll since taking over at USC it is clear he does his talking on the field with his team instead of making statement's in the newspaper.

The usually laid back Carroll showed his enthusiasm after the play by raising both fists in the air and then subtlety pointed at the UCLA sideline.

While SC has dominated the football scene between these two lately, next years game will definitely have some intrigue to it. Like I said, the laid back Carroll made his statement on the field rather than off.

Most would consider what he did rubbing it in, but I would have to say both men knew why they did what they did.

This is a chess match between these two and right now, Carroll has the upper hand. The next move belongs to Neuheisel. Personally I like what Carroll did. I don't consider it running up the score one bit.

Maybe if the score was 50-7, then I'd have a problem with it , but as I said, this is a chess game and Carroll made a brilliant move. It was the defenses job to defend and they failed to do so.

They have no one to blame but themselves. I'm just glad the brawl didn't break out between the two after that had happened. It would've taken away from this rivalry if that had been allowed to happen.

What Carroll did was send a message to Neuheisel. It said "I haven't forgot what you said last August."

Neuheisel shouldn't have done something like that until the Bruins maybe won the Pac-10 or perhaps beat USC for starters. Then maybe he could've taken out that ad after he had accomplished something.

All that ad did was create bulletin board material for Carroll's Trojans. It will be interesting to see what happens between these two when they meet in Pasadena next December.

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El Clasico Breakdown: A Truly Even Affair Between Two Of Spain's Best

Sudip Bagui — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 20:02:27 -0500

Barcelona has claimed the first El Clasico of the season with a 1-0 win.

Many expected this game to be extremely high scoring, especially with the offensive forces on both teams. Many expected to see Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi dominate the playing field.

However, although there were some moments of brilliance from the stars, this game ended up being a very even affair. The defenses of both Madrid and Barca were able to effectively shut down Messi and Ronaldo for long portions of the game.

Both Pepe and Albiol were solid in the back. They closed down Messi when he started one of his trademark mazy dribbles and forced him to pass the ball away.

The offense of Barca wasn't clicking as it usually did, and even Xavi wasn't able to make his defense-splitting passes. It took a great cross for Dani Alves and a fantastic volley from substitute Ibrahimovic to decide the game.

Messi did lose the Real defenders late in the game to go one-on-one with Casillas but Casillas denied El Mesias the goal.

On the other side of the field, Madrid were surprisingly able to grind out more chances than their opponents.

Early on, Kaka set up Ronaldo to go one-on-one with Valdes, but Valdes saved CR9's shot with a great save.

Later on, Kaka was again the provider, this time setting up Marcelo, whose shot was superbly blocked by Barca captain Puyol.

Ronaldo was not shut down by the Barcelona defense as Messi was, although Puyol and Pique did a thorough job of stopping him when it mattered the most.

He was able to pull off some of his trademark stepovers and his speed did trouble the back line, but his crosses were always dealt with.

Kaka also did a good job, though he was slow to react many times. He was able to show his technique with some great dribbles and also set up his teammates with some great passes—but many times he was playing at a slower pace than the rest of his team.

The Barca midfield was not as dominant as it usually was; Madrid's passing was actually better than Barcelona's. Sergi Busquet's didn't impress at all. He was sent off for collecting two yellow cards and had almost no effect on the game.

Lassana Diarra may have been sent off by a red car, but that does not tell the whole story of his game. He was all over the field cleaning up loose balls and helping out the Madrid offense. He was a standout performer.

Both goalkeepers performed when called upon, saving similar shots from Messi and Ronaldo.

Between Xabi Alonso and Xavi, the former Liverpool star was the more mobile of the two. He was able to get better touches and better passes.

This El Clasico didn't see some amazing showboating from the stars of the team, but it was a thoroughly even affair. It was a great game, and a great goal was scored.

This game was a great example of football's beauty; the game was even but one moment of brilliance changed the entire outcome.

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Roma Comes From Behind Against Atalanta to Retain UWCC Title

Barney — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 19:59:47 -0500

Barney Corkhill's Unofficial World Club Championship (UWCC ) witnessed another defense today as champions Roma traveled to Bergamo to take on struggling Atalanta in Series A.

The home side came into this match looking over their shoulders at a potential relegation dogfight should they not improve fast. With just one win in five games, Atalanta needed to kick-start their season with a good result against an in-form Roma side.

However, their confidence must be in tatters after their last outing, a humiliating 1-0 loss to minnows Lumezzane in the Coppa Italia, throwing up one of the biggest shocks in the competition's history.

Roma would have been looking to capitalize on that, but at the same time would be weary of an Atalanta backlash. Entering the match with four straight unbeaten games, including a draw with league leaders Inter, they were understandably the favourites.

And, this time, the favourites came out on top as Roma came from behind to run out 2-1 victors.

Claudio Ranieri's men almost got off to the perfect start when, after just 10 minutes, the dangerous Mirko Vucinic found himself on the end of a sweeping counter-attacking move.

His shot was well saved by Atalanta goalkeeper Andrea Consigli, but Vucinic was left reflecting on what perhaps should have been the opening goal.

Instead, that goal came three minutes later, and Vucinic's misery was further compounded by the fact it went in at the other end.

A ball down the left hand side found Fabio Ceravolo in an alarming amount of space from Roma's point of view. The Italian proceeded to enter the penalty box before cutting inside Juan and curling his shot past the desperate dive of Julio Sergio to give the home side a shocking lead.

Juan was involved at the other end some 15 minutes later, this time gifted a chance to redeem himself and level the sides in one move.

A vicious free-kick from David Pizarro found the Brazilian centre-back who somehow headed over from close range. Had he scored, the flag would have more than likely gone up, but it was still a golden opportunity missed for the away side.

The first-half hero from last week, Francesco Totti, almost helped Roma to an equaliser 10 minutes later, as he won his side another free-kick.

John-Arne Riise stepped up to unleash a trademark thunderbolt, but the Norweigan's effort flew just over the bar.

Roma finally did get the all-important leveller right before the half-time interval, and it came from another set piece.

This time it was in the shape of a corner, and Pizarro's cross found Vucinic, who climbed considerably higher than his marker to head the ball home.

While going into the half-time break ahead may have done wonders for Atalanta's confidence, the equaliser seemed to have the opposite effect, and Roma took control in the second half.

Despite this, they weren't able to conjure up many clear-cut chances in the opening stages of the second half.

In fact, their first meaningful effort came 10 minutes in when Vucinic, alert as always, spotted Consigli off his line and tried to lob the Atalanta 'keeper. The idea was faultless, but the execution just let him down as it drifted past the post.

After benefiting from a comeback last week, that of skipper Francesco Totti, Roma finally completed a comeback of a different kind just after the hour mark and, once again, it was Vucinic who was the architect.

His delayed cross found the lung-bursting forward run of Simone Perrotta, who added the finishing touch with his head, leaving Atalanta manager Antonio Conte scratching the same part of his anatomy at the lack of marking.

While Roma's first goal seemed to deflate Atalanta, the second galvanized them, and this, along with Roma's willingness to defend their newly acquired lead, led to the home side seeing more of the ball.

Their two Simones teamed up to create a good chance, as Padoin sent in a cross for Tiribocchi, but the latter just couldn't make significant contact to tuck it inside the post.

Cristiano Doni then had a long-range effort of his own which Julio Sergio needed two attempts to gather.

The final moments produced a number of chances as Atalanta strove for the equaliser and Roma looked to hit them on the break.

Riise narrowly avoided turning the ball into his own net after a dangerous cross from Valdes before Tiribocchi claimed, perhaps too ambitiously, for a penalty after a tussle with Juan.

Tiberio Guarente flashed a diving header just inches wide as the time ran out for the home side, but it was Roma who could have had the final say.

Vucinic was once again involved as he fed the ball through to Totti, but the captain's shot was well saved by Consigli.

The result means Roma become the first UWCC Champions to win an away match since Chelsea beat Stoke on Sept. 12 of this year. Ceravolo's goal was also the 50th goal scored in UWCC title matches this season.

Almost 79 percent of voters in the poll correctly predicted that Roma would successfully retain their UWCC title against Atalanta, so well done once again to the majority!

Roma's run

Roma 2-1 Fulham (Roma become new champions)

Inter Milan 1-1 Roma

Roma 3-1 Bari

Atalanta 1-2 Roma

Roma's run

Roma 2-1 Fulham (Roma become new champions)

Inter Milan 1-1 Roma

Roma 3-1 Bari

Atalanta 1-2 Roma

( Click here to see the complete history of Barney Corkhill's Unofficial World Club Championship)

Roma's next title defence comes on Thursday as they host Basle in the Europa League. Could Basle become the greatest club side in the world?!

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Bears-Vikings: Vikes Have Too Many Weapons

Nathan Venegas — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 19:45:42 -0500

The Bears dropped another game on Sunday as they simply cannot stop the high-powered Vikings.

The Vikings are who we thought they were. (Couldn’t help myself.)

Minnesota displayed all their weapons and had the game in hand without relying on a heavy dose of Adrian Peterson to put the game away.

It’s scary when a team can dominate another team without using their best player.

The Bears offense got off to a promising start when it tied the game at seven early on, but it couldn’t get anything done after that.

The Vikings upped the pressure and dominated the line of scrimmage, keeping Cutler and Co. in check.

There isn’t much more too add other than the beat goes on for the Bears' lackluster season.

The poor play of the offensive line hurts everyone else on that side of the ball. Cutler doesn’t have time to throw the ball, Forte doesn’t have anywhere to run the ball, and the receivers can’t run their routes.

What’s most disappointing about this game is that the Vikings were without standout defensive back Antoine Winfield and they still couldn’t expose Minnesota's average pass defense.

The Bears continue to fall in nearly every rank of the NFL. Not even Chicago's special teams, a phase of the game they usually play very well, has been consistent this season.

The Good: Their only TD drive.

This is a bit of a stretch but their wasn’t much good about this game. The Bears used short, quick passes to avoid the pressure early.

The Bad: Injuries.

Lance Briggs, Charles Tillman, Zachary Bowman, and Orlando Pace all got banged up. Pace hasn’t performed anywhere near to the level the Bears had hoped but Briggs and Tillman have been playing hard all season.

The Ugly: Pass protection.

I’ve given up on the offensive line making running lanes but now they’re putting Jay Cutler in harm's way on almost every play. No continuity on the line has led to the Bears' offense being completely ineffective against most teams this season.

The Difference: Being outmatched.

The Bears simply could not matchup against the Vikings' weapons. Being down to our third and fourth-string linebackers has been hurting the Bears all season. It's no surprise it was open season for Minnesota as the Vikings moved up and down the field at will.

Five Questions

Should we give Gaines Adams back to the Bucs?

Should the Bears rest Cutler the rest of the season?

How many picks were really Cutlers fault?

Do you want to punch Ron Turner every time he calls that quick WR screen?

Will the Bears be better next season?

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Bowling Green-Toledo: Falcons' Three Pronged Attack Dooms Rockets 38-24

Drew Gatewood — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 19:44:30 -0500

The three-headed monster of Tyler Sheehan, Freddie Barnes, and Willie Geter struck again, this time with the Toledo Rockets as its victim. Bowling Green advanced to 7-5 overall and 6-2 in conference with its 38-24 win over Toledo.

Tyler Sheehan had a quiet day in comparison to his usual output, only throwing for two touchdowns and 137 yards. Freddie Barnes had nine receptions for 69 yards and two touchdowns, while Willie Geter had 16 carries for 114 yards and three touchdowns. These scoring efforts helped bury any possible Rockets comeback in the second half.

The Falcons have finished their regular season and now await their bowl seating which, at 7-5, should be favorable for them. Their conference record is fourth best amongst MAC teams.

Bowling Green may become the beneficiary to the Big Ten’s inability to fill its eight bowl seeds. Current bowl projections have Bowling Green facing Southern Miss in the Eagle Bank Bowl. Other possible bowl games may include the Pizza Bowl, Humanitarian Bowl, and the St. Petersburg Bowl.

Freddie Barnes is only four receptions short of a bowl subdivision record. He currently has 138 receptions for 1551 yards and 16 touchdowns. He would certainty break this record during whichever bowl game Bowling Green gets into.

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OMG! Vince Young Drives For 99, Tenessee Titans Win Fifth Straight

Bryan Hollister — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 19:43:43 -0500

Chris Johnson had another 150+ yard effort in the matchup Sunday afternoon between the Tennessee Titans and the Arizona Cardinals, including an 85-yard rush for a touchdown in the second half.

But if you watched the same Titans game I did, then you're probably thinking, "Big fat hairy deal; did you see that catch?!?!?"

The catch I am referring to, of course, is the game-winning catch reeled in by rookie wide receiver Kenny Britt. After starting on their own one-yard line, the Tennessee Titans, led by resurgent quarterback Vince Young, drove 90 yards to the Arizona nine-yard line. But with time running out and a touchdown needed to win, they looked to be facing their first loss in the last five games.

They had already had to convert on 4th-and-long twice in the drive, both times on laser-accurate passes by a surprisingly efficient "Pocket Vince." In fact, Young had played well in the pocket all day; he really had no choice, seeing as the Cardinals had done a fabulous job of keeping him there the entire game.

Arizona had him there again, 4th-and-goal from the nine-yard line, with four seconds remaining in the game.

Then it happened.

For only the second time in the game, Young escaped the pocket, scrambled out, and then threw a high dart to the middle of the end zone.

Enter Kenny Britt. Elevating high above the five players surrounding him, Britt hauled in the pass, took a hit on the way down, and tucked the ball away securely to score the final touchdown of the game with no ticks left on the clock.

The stadium erupted, as it should have.

Britt's reception to score the game winner was sweet redemption from the previous series. After catching a 53-yard bomb from Young, Britt was blindsided, fumbling the ball and appearing to put a dagger in the heart of the Titans hopes of a come-from-behind win.

But Vince Young and company would have none of it. After the defense gave them one more shot (no thanks to punt returner Kevin Kaesviharn, who seems to have developed an aversion to catching punts), the offense took over at the one-yard line. Playing like a seasoned pro, Young calmly stood in the pocket on the Titans 99-yard final drive and continued to prove to his detractors that he is more than just a scrambler.

He's still young and he will still make mistakes from time to time, but with each passing game Young learns just a little bit more about what it means to be a professional quarterback.

His decision-making improves with each series. His accuracy is vastly improved. His pocket presence is beginning to take shape. The simple fact that defensive coordinators find it necessary to contain him there lends credence to his ability to gain yards with his legs.

And it would seem that keeping him inside might not be as detrimental as one might think; Young threw for 387 yards and a touchdown against Arizona Sunday.

With this win the Titans pull that much closer to pulling off the improbable, that being a 10-game streak to finish out the season and make the playoffs.

But with Chris Johnson running around like wildfire, and Vince Young continuing to step up his game, the improbable is beginning to look possible.

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Rooting Through the Rubble: Weekend Review

Kendall Salter — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 19:34:00 -0500

— Stanford just about sealed Charlie Weis' fate with their stunning 45-38 comeback win over Notre Dame in Palo Alto.

What made the victory even more significant was yet another exemplary performance by Cardinal running back Toby Gerhart. The bulldozing star has crafted a stunning Heisman resume in the span of four games, vaulting himself from regional standout to national superstar.

If there is any justice in the collegiate football world, Gerhart or Colt McCoy will be lifting the bronze trophy in a couple week's time. One problem with the fan reaction on the Farm, however. Your team just beat a 6-5 floundering Notre Dame team. Rushing the field looks—there's no other word for it—lame.

—TCU nails down an undefeated season in a purely ceremonial pounding of hapless New Mexico. This may be the best non-BCS conference team in the past few years.

The Horned Frogs probably won't get a shot at the national championship, but with their offense and the traditional outstanding Gary Patterson-coached defense, they could give any of the top three a tough contest. It's a shame that they most likely won't get the chance.

—South Carolina and coach Steve Spurrier made a huge statement in a startling home win over streaking rival Clemson. The Gamecocks held C.J. Spiller to just 18 yards on the ground, though Spiller did return a kickoff for a touchdown to start the scoring.

Much maligned quarterback Stephen Garcia had a misleading game, throwing for three touchdowns, but doing so on 10 of 21 passing and a measly total of 126 yards in the air.

His arm was hardly needed, however, due to the efforts of running back Kenny Miles, who amassed 114 yards on the ground for his biggest offensive output of the season. I don't buy the arguments that this game promotes SEC supremacy, however, because the game was at home in an intense rivalry situation, where South Carolina was more likely to succeed anyway.

—Georgia Tech disappointed against rival Georgia, a surprising result given their play in recent weeks. The Yellow Jackets came into this home contest as perhaps the hottest team in the country and instead allowed the Bulldogs to turn the tables on them.

In an ironic twist, it was the Bulldogs who ran rampant over Tech, compiling 339 rushing yards in a tense 30-24 win .

—Al Groh is out at Virginia. Mediocrity pays a price, and the Cavs' poor display in a lifeless home loss to rival Virginia Tech surely didn't help.

Ryan Williams, who should soon be garnering some All-American consideration, was terrific once again. The fantastic freshman scored four touchdowns to lead a rejuvenated Hokie offense. If you ever needed a reason to watch a middling bowl game featuring Virginia Tech, he is it.

—What on earth happened to Oklahoma State? Oklahoma and their defense redeemed itself after an embarrassing loss to Texas Tech by shutting out one of the Big XII's most prolific offenses.

Zac Robinson was dreadful, completing only nine passes in 21 attempts while the Cowboys' BCS hopes were dashed in Norman. It was an especially sweet win in a long and often miserable season for the Bradford-less Sooners, who now have something to build upon going into both its bowl game and next season.

—UCLA called a timeout inside a minute down 14 points and paid the price . It's hard to argue with Pete Carroll for his play call, going for the long bomb to pile on the cross-town Bruins.

The taunting that ensued from coach and team, however, and the subsequent posturing by both sides was disgraceful. There is a lot of emotion involved in any rivalry, especially when the schools are less than 15 miles apart, but that is not the way to display your program on a large scale.

The Bruin defense played very well. The final score is deceptive: USC scored one touchdown off a returned interception and another turnover was converted for a second score. However, it is clear that the powder blue and gold have a ways to go to claim significant progress in its efforts to close the talent gap in Los Angeles.

—Arizona finally put Arizona State out of its misery with a last-second 20-17 win in Tempe. One couldn't help but feel for normally outstanding wide receiver Kyle Williams, who moments after tying the game with a clutch touchdown catch, dropped a punt to give Arizona possession for its winning kick.

The Sun Devils will enter 2010 hoping to wipe clean the slate of two sub-par seasons, a rarity for this surprisingly consistent program.

—No word on whether Tim Tebow has been sainted after a typically outstanding five touchdown performance in his home finale against Florida State. Even for those who dislike Tebow for all of the hype and hysteria surrounding the ubiquitous star, one must appreciate what he has done in transcending the college game, becoming undoubtedly one of the greatest college players ever in the process.

His presence at Florida will be missed, by fans, coaches, and naysayers alike. They'll face a tough test with Alabama in the SEC championship game, though to doubt Tebow's ability to pull out a victory would be a mistake.

This game is must-see TV.

—Utah's spectacular comeback from a 14-point fourth quarter deficit went for naught. Max Hall threw a touchdown pass in overtime to win the Holy War and claim state supremacy once more.

These two programs have been building solid programs in the past decade—BYU building on the foundations of a traditionally powerful programs while Utah constructs a powerhouse around offensive innovation. A good BYU and good Utah are a huge plus for the Mountain West.

And, oh yeah. Max Hall really has it out for the University of Utah:

"I don't like Utah. In fact, I hate them. I hate everything about them. I hate their program, their fans. I hate everything," Hall said. "It felt really good to send those guys home."..."I think the whole university and their fans and the organization is classless," Hall said. "They threw beer on my family and stuff last year and did a whole bunch of nasty things. I don't respect them and they deserved to lose."

Now that's a rivalry. Hall will not be looked upon kindly by many for his harsh words, but at least he's not afraid to speak his mind.

—Washington State is completely hopeless. It's bad enough to lose 11 games for the second year in a row. But to be shut out against your rivals in the Apple Cup is perhaps the worst wound of all. Jake Locker continues to cement his status as a Husky star, having accounted for a passing and rushing touchdown to lead his team in a 30-0 rout.

Oddly enough, the win was the Huskies first over the Cougars in Seattle since 2003, and stopped a 2-game Cougar winning-streak in the series.

—And finally, Missouri somehow, someway managed to come away with a stunning 41-39 win over bitter rival Kansas in the Border War. They had to come from behind to do so, sacking Todd Reesing for a crucial safety in the final minutes before driving down the field in the waning moments of the game for the winning field goal.

It was sweet revenge for the Tigers, who had their potential game-winning kick blocked a season ago in the same stadium. Meanwhile, the program built by Mark Mangino at Kansas over the past few years continues to crumble.

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USC-UCLA Now Claims Center Stage as New Top Rivalry:

Scott Hansen — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 19:28:20 -0500

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVpyI6eWvwQ

Move over Oklahoma-Texas and the Red River Rivalry. Move over Army-Navy, the December annual battle between two of our proud service academies. Move over Notre Dame, widely thought to be USC's biggest rival.

USC's biggest rivalry is now with UCLA, and it is the biggest college football rivalry today. Los Angeles doesn’t have the NFL; it has USC and UCLA. It's bigger than Lakers-Clippers, and bigger than the Galaxy-Chivas matchup that can sometimes get outright brutal and proves futbol is a sport that actually matters in America today.

USC was donning their maroon home jerseys and UCLA wore their traditional powder blues, risking automatic timeouts due to an asinine Pac-10 rule that says the road team must wear white.

With 44 seconds left and cruising to a 21-7 lead, USC coach Pete Carroll called on his true freshman signal caller Matt Barkley to put the pigskin in the air. Off of a play action, Barkley calmly drilled a wide-open USC receiver to score yet another touchdown on UCLA instead of running out the clock on its Hollywood rivals.

Carroll celebrated much like he had won yet another BCS title or a Heisman Trophy, and it renewed this once proud rivalry.

It was a sight that resembles that of Gary Beban or O.J. Simpson running to Heisman Trophy victories.

With USC players hootin' and hollerin' on the sidelines to taunt their rival, UCLA took exception to the hootenanny as USC went halfway across the field with 44 seconds remaining.

And just like that, a rivalry was reborn. A play-action pass for a touchdown with less than a minute left, a massive sign of disrespect toward your opponents.

UCLA says, "You got us this time. But you are coming to our house next year."

This rivalry is now bigger than Florida/Florida State, the Civil War in Oregon, and the Apple Cup in Washington. Bigger than Notre Dame, thought to be USC's biggest rivalry until Saturday. USC never disrespected Notre Dame.

Pete Carroll and his Trojans would often get a nice lead and coast to victory. Carroll has too much respect for Notre Dame to run it up on them. He obviously doesn't respect UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel, the most overrated coach in the history of college football.

How many programs can Neuheisel screw up before he's proved as a phony? He proved at Colorado and Washington that he is nothing but a rule breaker and a cheat.

There was a fight after a bogus timeout call on the field last season, the first year Carroll returned to the tradition of wearing home colors on the road to respect the history of the rivalry, but not the rivalry itself. Back in the '60s and '70s when both programs mattered, running up the score was fair play. Not in 2009.

It's not cool anymore. Running up the score is history. If you win your games, there is enough parody in college football that only the strongest will go unbeaten for 12 regular season games. Enough teams will lose that you will always have a chance to win the big one.

USC has made a living off of doing it, and now the vaunted football factory has an 8-3 season. USC beat Notre Dame and UCLA, a big success for USC backers.

The Trojans could very well play its way into a third meeting with Nebraska, one of the greatest college football programs ever, in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego. It would be a sell out crowd, and many at home would watch the battle on ESPN. The game would definitely be the pick of the bowl litter.

USC wouldn't run the score up on Nebraska. Carroll respects Nebraska's program too much. He loves the history of the game; he respects and embraces their forefathers too much to ignore the “N” on Nebraska’s headgear.

This is all assuming that Nebraska’s defense wouldn't shut down Matt Barkley and pound on the chink in USC's armor. It could be the victory that Nebraska fans would use to finally signify their return to the circle of college football big boys.

USC-Nebraska would be outstanding every year, but USC cares too much about Notre Dame, UCLA, Oregon, Stanford, and Oregon State. They have too many rivals.

And in 2010, more people will be watching than ever before.

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New York Jet Defense, Revis Harass Carolina Panthers in 17-6 Win

Nick Antonicello — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 19:10:51 -0500

The New York Jets played there most complete game of the season since toppling Tom Brady and New England Patriots in Week Two (16-9) as Darrelle Revis scored the team's first defensive touchdown of the season in a 17-6 victory.

The Jets improved to 5-6 with five games to play with playoff possibilities still on life support.

While mathematically still in the hunt, the Jets will need to virtually run the table at 10-6 and hope for the best with various tie breakers working against Gang Green.

The defense harassed Panther quarterback Jake Delhomme all day long as he continued to play the worst football of his career.

Delhomme finished 14 for 34 for 130 yards and 4 more INT's that led to two Jet scores. The Jets got to Delhomme 3 times as he overthrew receivers and looked erratic all day long.

The running game was no better as the Jets held DeAngelo Williams to just 40 yards on 16 carries of which 18 came on one carry. Jonathan Stewart carried the ball 9 times for 35 yards and 13 came on one carry. Take away the two big ground gainers, and the Jet defense held the Panthers to just 44 yards all day long!

The only bright spot for the Panther offense was the fact Williams reached the 1,000 yard mark as he pushed his overall total for the season to 1,022.

Mark Sanchez distributed the ball well today as 5 receivers made receptions with Dustin Keller grabbing 4 balls for 68 yards and Braylon Edwards catching an additional 3 balls for for 40 yards. While Sanchez didn't throw any touchdowns, he managed the game well with a magnificent 13 of 17 for 154 yards and just one INT.

A silence fell over the Meadowlands in the second half when Sanchez was forced out of the pocket and ran to his right looking for the first down marker. The Panthers Richard Marshall grabbed the rookie from behind and forced him out of bounds with Sanchez apparently grabbing at his left knee.

Sitting out for three plays, Sanchez returned after Kellen Clemens briefly took control of the offense and the Jets were forced to punt. Clemens looked flat as he underthrew his receiver and it only confirmed the need for the franchise to get themselves a legitimate back-up for Sanchez as the weather gets colder and the possibility of injury greater in the season's waning weeks.

Only Jet owner Woody Johnson and GM Mike Tanenbaum can explain why this franchise refuses to invest in a real back-up for the rookie Sanchez!

Upon his return Sanchez threw an ill fated interception which could have opened the door for another second half collapse and Panther comeback.

Steve Smith would make a spectacular catch in the end zone despite great coverage by Revis, but Jet Head Coach Rex Ryan challenged the ruling on the field and Carolina was forced to settle for a John Kasay field goal to make the score 14-6 with about 12 minutes left to play.

The final score came with roughly four minutes to play as Jay Feely booted a 47-yard field goal to extend the Jet lead to 17-6 all but sealing the victory.

After weeks of Rex Ryan talking about his defense, the unit led by Darrelle Revis actually came to play.

Revis proved again why he is an elite, shutdown defender as he held Pro Bowler Steve Smith to just two receptions and no touchdowns. Revis doubled his interception total for the season at four and the Jet defense looked every bit aggressive against the run holding the Panthers to just 75 yards on the ground.

Thomas Jones had another good outing with 75 yards on 25 carries increasing his season yardage total to 959 on a total of 216 carries. With 5 games remaining, Jones is poised to reach 1,000 yards for the fifth consecutive time next week as he improved his all-time yardage total to 8,774 and his 57th lifetime rushing touchdown.

The Jets received some help with the Buffalo Bills defeating the Miami Dolphins 31-14 which leaves both clubs tied at 5-6. Unfortunately for the Jets, the Dolphins hold all tie breakers and the Jets would love to see the New Orleans Saints knock off the Patriots Monday night which would leave New England at 7-4 and the Jets just two games behind in the loss column with five to play.

The Jets will play division rival Buffalo on Thursday in Toronto, Canada in what should be regarded as a neutral site as the Jets seek to get back to .500 in a must win scenario. The Jets are catching a break as they'll play indoors versus playing at night in chilly Orchard Park where the Jets have historically played poorly in sub zero conditions in past December contests.

With Mark Sanchez showing lots of guts and managing the offense quite well, the Jets just might be able to play themselves back to respectability with the faint hope of a playoff spot should they continue to win while getting some needed help along the way.

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Arizona-Arizona State: Five Things We Learned This Week

Tom Phillips — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:15:45 -0500

1. In His Blood

For all of the criticism Alex Zendejas got after the Oregon game, he made up for it against ASU.

Zendejas followed in his uncle Max's footsteps, hitting the game-winning field goal as time ran out to win the game for Arizona.

Max Zendejas is famously known for beating ASU not once but twice on fourt-quarter field goals in Sun Devil Stadium. Zendejas' field goal in the 1983 victory kept ASU out of the Rose Bowl.

For Alex, missing chip shots has been his credo this year. He has fans holding their breath when he kicks extra points.

The game-winner showed that he has the same clutch blood that is in his family's genes.

This kick may have been the one to give the younger Zendejas, and fans, the confidence they both need in the kicking game.

2. Special Play

Special teams ended up being the key to Arizona's victory on Saturday.

ASU's Kyle Williams muffed a punt that was recovered by Arizona's Mike Turner at the Sun Devil 22 yard line. That was the key play that set up Zendejas' game-winner.

Orlando Vargas, Arizona's special teams guru, came up big when he blocked a punt then he came up even bigger when he picked the ball up and walked into the endzone for his first-career touchdown.

Vargas' play ended up being a crucial play for the Cats. Without the blocked punt and return for a touchdown, they would have lost the game.

On a day when the offense struggled, the special teams play is what won the game for the Cats.

3. A Tale of Two Teams

The Wildcats suffered from a hangover on Saturday but not the kind that you get in Vegas.

They had a psychological hangover from the Oregon game, the disappointment of losing that was clear with how the Cats played.

They came out flat and played that way all game. Minus the touchdown run by Keola Antolin, the Wildcats didn't move the ball well against Arizona State.

Some of this could be contributed to Arizona State having the best defense in the Pac-10 statistically, but the Cats just seemed to be going through the motions.

This team did not look like the same squad that almost took down Oregon last week.

Hopefully, the big win over the Sun Devils will allow the Cats to play better next week when they play USC.

4. The Catch Relapse

Kyle Williams second touchdown catch in the endzone was reminiscent of an infamous play that happened over 30 years ago, one that haunts Wildcat fans.

The Catch.

Every Wildcat fan is haunted by John Jefferson's diving catch in the back of the endzone to beat Arizona and it looked like that was how it would play out again for the Cats.

Williams made a great diving catch on fourth and 12 to tie the game with two minutes left. It sucked all of the life out of Wildcat fans after forcing a fourth and long after getting a touchdown called back on a penalty.

Luckily, ASU fans will now be haunted by The Muff.

5. By Scott

With Nick Foles nursing a broken left hand, Arizona played backup QB Matt Scott for his first extended playing time since Iowa.

Scott ran the zone-read offense, meaning he handed the ball off or kept it and ran it himself depending on where the defense was. He didn't throw a single pass while in the game.

I thought he did very well faking the handoffs and running when he kept it himself.

His running ability gives Arizona a different aspect that ASU wasn't prepared for. Future opponents will be on the lookout for it now.

Extra Knowledge

Arizona was due for a fluke play to go their way. When Kyle Williams dropped the punt, the football gods smiled on the Cats for the first time all season.

The Washington and Cal games both went against Arizona. It seems as though the universe always has a way of evening itself out.

Hopefully there is one more in store for Arizona.

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Blue Jackets-Flames: Post-Game Analysis

Ed Cmar — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:59:15 -0500

Rather than do the usual drone of a narrative game recap (I'm not that clever, and really, I'm not that lyrical), I'd like to do a quick n' dirty analysis of last night's game, between the Blue Jackets and the Calgary Flames.

So, here's what went well, what went OK, and what was abysmal:

The Good:

* The CBJ playing solid, Hitch-like hockey for 54 minutes. Lots of energy, tight checking and solid goaltending. I know, I know, hockey's a 60 minute game. I'll get to those dreaded 79 seconds, in a later light section.

* Jared Boll is back, and, is that a scorer's touch I see? Great transition, going from drawing a goaltender's interference penalty, to coming out of the penalty box, and scoring a goal on a stellar feed from Brassard.

* Kristian Huselius with two great primary assists, as well as a Shootout Goal. It's amazing as to how well he's brought the energy to his game, since coming off of IR, "allegedly." Much like the Ottawa game, "Juice" has truly been the CBJ's best player, on the ice. Now, about those far too many passes and Sportscenter, Top 10-candidate plays...

* Nice to see Jan Hejda and Rusty Klesla playing solid defense; here's hoping that pairing continues. I think continuity of pairings could be one problem that's occurred, particularly with Tyutin's early season struggles.

* Rick Nash getting the CBJ on the board, on another fine feed from Huselius. Nash also registered a +1, for the evening. I know, to quote a certain local TV color analyst, "It was a goal-scorer's goal" (then again, he also said that about LaPerier's second goal of the campaign, the other night...sigh)

* Another Power Play (PP) tally, and 1-of-2, overall...is this really the same team who was 30th, in this category, last year?

* Two goals in the expanse of 53 seconds. Way to fight back, and get the crowd re-energized!

* Nice to see that large crowd of 17,772. Yes, it was a Saturday, and yes, OSU's regular season is over, but, also recall, in a transient (so many folks being from other parts of the country, visiting their families over the holiday weekend) city, such as ours, and, having come off a four-game swoon (not that we're bandwagon-jumpers, here in the capital city...no, not us) quite a pleasant surprise, and a throaty crowd, at that.

* Nice to see Mark Methot register a goal. I think he's been an underrated performer, this season.

The OK

* Steve Mason, for the first 54 minutes, was pretty darn good. Then came that 79-second span, in which those two behind-the-net goals continued to plague him. Wait, I'm not done in my assessment of his performance...

* Brassard picking up an assist. While he was upping his game, a bit, he still looked tentative and was a bit loose with the puck.

* Jason Chimera. 10 games (no points), and counting. So much for the "garbage" I'd heard that I was wrong about Chimmers. Like last year's hot start, he's back to being Chimmers.

* Nice to see those game replays, after calls were made, something that's slowly improving, with the game ops crew. We could still do without the "old standards" like Kiss Cam (hey, inaugural season 2000-2001 called, and that's over).

The Bad - The Really Bad:

OK, here goes:

* Steve Mason in the shootout. No excuse for stopping 1-of-4 shots, in that portion of the game. Wasn't this the guy who stopped, in succession, Malkin, Letang and Crosby in a shootout? Is it me, or does he not challenge the shooters, as much, in the shootout? Mase, I love ya, but, the next time Mathieu Garon's in a shootout, take copious notes. Before certain analysts say this wasn't Mase's fault, in this portion of the game, yeah, it was.

* Jake Voracek and RJ Umberger. Both are really struggling; it might be a case of paralysis by analysis.

* Well, the league's onto the CBJ's achilles heel: it's the lack of digging out and moving out pucks behind the goal line. This had shades of 2003-2004...heck, shades of all seasons up to 2008-2009, written all over it. They might want to devote loads of practice time to correct this.

* Mike Commodore. Ugh...there's not enough deodorant for this analysis. It might be time for a few healthy scratches, until he gets back in game shape. He's killing the team. Hey, I have a question: why was Commodore out there, for BOTH goals, in that 79-second span?

* The CBJ going into prevent mode, right up to the two-goal onslaught. Get the pucks deep, stay on the attack, and bury them.

What's Next

The Jackets stay three games above .500, and gain a point. Next up, the team who became last season's Nashville Preds, the St. Louis Blues.

The CBJ need to come out, with energy, and take the Blues out, early, then bury them. No more prevent mode, no more blown leads. The fragility's got to end.

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Buccaneers-Falcons: Tampa Two Not Enough for Victory Number Two

JC De La Torre — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:35:59 -0500

For awhile, the Bucs went in the time machine and looked like the team of old. They were grinding out a defensive battle with a hard-hitting defense, knocking out the Atlanta Falcons best two offensive playmakers—QB Matt Ryan and RB Michael Turner.

The Bucs held Atlanta to 75 yards rushing and sacked Falcon QBs six times. The Falcons came into the game ranked 11th in the league rushing and tied for fourth in the league in least sacks surrendered.

They held the Falcons, the eighth-highest scoring offense in the NFL, to just 13 points most of the way.

This is the type of defense the Buccaneers fans remember seeing their football team play.

Unfortunately, it wouldn't be enough, as Atlanta's backup quarterback Chris Redman led the Falcons on a 15-play, 59-yard drive to the winning touchdown with 0:26 left in the game.

The Bucs appeared to have the Falcons stopped, but a defensive holding penalty on rookie Derrick Roberson gave Atlanta new life.

The replay showed some incidental contact on the border of the 5-yard area where contact is allowed. It was a ticky-tack call that seems to happen against bad teams.

The Bucs still refused to give in, continuously turning Atlanta away. The Falcons had eight opportunities inside Tampa Bay's 10-yard line.

Finally, on their second fourth-and-goal opportunity, Redman fired a pass to Roddy White, who was double-covered but somehow came up with the football in the end zone for the 20-17 lead.

The Bucs defense didn't get much help from the offense in the second half. Twice, Tampa Bay had great field position, but both time failed to add to the lead.

The first time after a three-and-out by the offense, the Bucs made the curious decision to attempt a fake punt.

Punter Dirk Johnson threw an incomplete pass but more importantly, injured his hamstring while scrambling around.

The second opportunity, with 2:30 left, instead of punting the Falcons deep into their own territory, head coach Raheem Morris put Connor Barth in to attempt a 51-yard field goal. Barth put plenty of leg into it but pulled it wide right.

It gave the ball to the Falcons with terrific field position to set up Redman's heroics.

Freeman recovered well from his rough outing last week, playing one of his best games statistically. He was a solid 20-for-29, 250 yards, 2 touchdowns, including a beautiful 42-yard strike to Antonio Bryant, one play after hitting Bryant for a 38-yard gain.

While the defense certainly played much better under Morris' direction, Freeman played well, and the special teams showed up again with a blocked punt—the one area of the team that remains a mystery is the Buccaneers running game.

Tampa Bay managed a paltry 73 yards on the ground, averaging just 2.8 yards a rush.

So where do you assign blame for the latest failure?

It's hard to give it to the defense, even though they wilted late in the game but they were on the field for 76 plays and surrendered only 297 yards.

They sacked the QB, stopped the run and pretty much looked like a Buccaneer defense for the first time this season.

You can say a lot of that was due to Ryan being knocked out of the game and Redman taking over, but Redman played pretty well, going 23-for-41, 243 yards and 2 touchdown passes.

The Bucs were getting pressure on Ryan and stopping the run before he was injured.

Still, they failed to get off the field at the end of the ballgame for the second time this season.

You could blame it on the offense, who managed just 17 points. Still, Freeman looked good, making some big-time throws and connected on the plays necessary to give the team the lead.

But the Bucs failed to take advantage of field position and pad the lead.

You could blame it on coaching, as Morris made some bad decisions down the stretch of the game like the fake punt, the attempt of a long field goal instead of playing field position, running Derrick Ward (and his 2.2 yards a carry) instead of Earnest Graham or Cadillac Williams.

You could even blame it on special teams, when Quincy Black jumped offsides during a punt on 4th-and-2, eventually leading to a field goal...three points was the difference in the ballgame.

You could blame it on discipline. Tampa Bay was penalized eight times for 52 yards, including the idiotic penalty on Jeremy Trueblood for taking his helmet off.

Illegal motion penalties, and of course, the defensive holding call during the final drive that gave the Falcons new life.

It's another loss, which improves their draft position. At the end of the season, it won't mean anymore than any of the other 10 losses this season.

Still, for the first time this season on defense, you feel that the Buccaneers finally have something to build on.

Welcome back, Tampa Two...how we missed you!

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Blue Jackets—Flames: Post Game Analysis

Ed Cmar — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:35:53 -0500

Rather than do the usual drone of a narrative game recap—I'm not that clever, and really, I'm not that lyrical—I'd like to do a quick n' dirty analysis of last night's game, between the Blue Jackets and the Calgary Flames.

So, here's what went well, what went OK, and what was abysmal:

The Good:

* Nice to see Jan Hejda and Rusty Klesla playing solid defense—here's hoping that pairing continues. I think continuity of pairings could be one problem that's occurred, particularly with Tyutin's early season struggles.

* Another Power Play (PP) tally, and one of two, overall...is this really the same team who was 30th, in this category, last year?

* Two goals in the spanse of 53 seconds. Way to fight back, and get the crowd re-energized!

* Nice to see that large crowd of 17,772. Yes, it was a Saturday, and yes, OSU's regular season is over— but, also recall, in a transient — so many folks being from other parts of the country, visiting their families over the holiday weekend —city, such as ours, and, having come off a four-game swoon — not that we're bandwagon-jumpers, here in the capital city...no, not us...quite a pleasant surprise, and a throaty crowd, at that.

* Nice to see Mark Methot register a goal. I think he's been an underrated performer, this season.

The OK:

* Steve Mason, for the first 54 minutes, was pretty darn good. Then came that 79 second span, in which those two behind-the-net goals continued to plague him. Wait, I'm not done in my assessment of his performance...

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Déjà Vu: Indianapolis Colts Stymie Houston Texans on the Road Again

Nick Mordowanec — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:34:08 -0500

Is it just me, or do you expect the Indianapolis Colts to always come back from big deficits?

Whether you do or you don’t, it always seems to happen. Sunday’s contest between the still-undefeated Colts and Houston Texans was even more entertaining to watch than last year’s game.

You remember last year’s game in Houston, don’t you?

The Colts were down 17 points in the second half and seemed to be on the edge of losing to their young AFC South rivals. But Peyton Manning threw a touchdown, Robert Mathis forced a fumble on then-quarterback Sage Rosenfels and Gary Brackett ran back a Rosenfels fumble caused by a helicopter-like hit in mid-air.

It was a near-epic collapse…until now.

The Colts came out Sunday as if they were sleepwalking, going through the motions and making Matt Schaub look like the next Fran Tarkenton. The defense was struggling as well, giving up more points in the first quarter (14) than they usually give up in entire games.

The Colts fell down 20-7, making people in Houston and all around the country wonder whether this would be the day in which Indianapolis was going to lose their first game of the season.

And then something funny happened in the second half–an almost identical recreation of last season’s game between both teams.

Manning charged back by firing a touchdown pass to his favorite receiver, Reggie Wayne. Manning then found Dallas Clark on a short pass to make it 21-20 game.

And with Houston still with a chance to redeem itself and take back the game, Clint Session stepped in front of a Shaub pass and took it the house. Pick-six, eight point game and hopes and dreams shattered.

The Colts’ Craig Simpson even added insult to injury, shedding a group of tacklers and scampering for a touchdown. Simpson’s effort made it a 35-3 run and sealed the Colts’ 11th consecutive victory.

Still undefeated and still finding ways to win, it was almost as if Martin Scorcese himself was writing the script. The only question which remains is how long Indy can continue to come out of its periodic slumps and still win games.

They did it against New England, and now they have done it to Houston for the second straight year. A team with a no-panic coach and a veteran quarterback continue to defy the odds.

This is nothing new for a franchise which has won at least 11 games for an NFL record-seven straight years, and good teams know how to win close games.

And as long as Manning is at the helm, the Colts will never be counted out.

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers Suffer Heartbreak In Atlanta

Tom Edrington — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:07:05 -0500

For 59 minutes and 37 seconds, Raheem Morris coordinated and his Tampa Bay Buccaneers put forth one great defensive effort in Atlanta.

It was that 23 second mark that sent it all down the drain.

With just 23 seconds to play Sunday in the Falcon-Dome, backup quarterback Chris Redman fired one laser of a pass to Roddy White and the Buccaneers had their hearts broken.

Heartbreaking was the 20-17 final tally that spelled the 10th loss of the season for Tampa Bay.

It was heartbreaking because Morris showed why he should have been the defensive coordinator for this team, and perhaps not its head coach.

The return to the old "Tampa Two" was a breath of fresh air for this trampled defense. The Jim Bates nightmare was gone.

There were no long bombs by Atlanta, there were no long runs, in fact, not much running at all. Atlanta managed just 75 yards on the ground. It's not a misprint. SEVENTY-FIVE yards rushing, not 275!

Six sacks and constant pressure on the quarterback. It was enough pressure to get Atlanta starter Matt Ryan out of the game after the first series.

Yes, the breaks were going Tampa Bay's way. Ryan out with an injury and running back extraordinaire Michael Turner would follow him to the bench early, taking two key Falcon weapons away.

Yes, we all saw it with our own eyes. The defense was thriving. Players were swarming to the football, passes were broken up and runners were gang-tackled. Looked like an old Tony Dungy team.

Indeed, Josh Freeman did his part with 20 completions for 250 yards and a pair of TDs, one to Antonio Bryant, the other to Cadillac Williams, of all people.

It was a Tony Dungy era kind of score. It was 10-10 at the half and lo and behold, 17-13 going into the final 15 minutes with the Bucs ahead. First time all year they weren't behind.

Things were really going Tampa's way when Jason Elam missed a short field goal attempt with 6:30 left. Yes, it looked like Morris' first road win was in the offing. All that stood between the Bucs and victory was 60 yards and two and a half minutes. Surely the defense would hold up.

Redman moved the Falcons to the Bucs 10 with but 49 seconds left. The Falcons would have not one or two or three but SEVEN shots at the end zone. And that five-yarder to White was the lethal blow.

Surely the Bucs deserved better.

They regained respect because the defense did not get wiped all over the turf. The defense was solid. It was proud. It was not the embarrassment that Bates had saddled the team with for 10 weeks.

Which begs the final question: why did Raheem do this to us? Why didn't he take over sooner?

This entire mess could have been avoided had he only stayed the defensive coordinator and not the head coach.

But now, perhaps he can remain as both.

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Clemson Tigers Forget To Show Up Against South Carolina Gamecocks

Jacqueline Kirby — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:02:10 -0500

The rivalry has been alive since the 1880s and Clemson has dominated the nine of the past 10 meetings at Williams Brice Stadium. Unfortunately, it looks like the Tigers forgot their purpose on Saturday.

This is the 107th time the two teams have faced each other and Clemson fans were definitely disappointed after the match.

Clemson suffered a few bad turnovers and could not overcome them. It seemed as the game went on, more stuff kept going wrong and the team could not get their act together.

Many of the South Carolina fans say it serves us right after all of the bragging we have done since the last time they won in 2006. This win was also big for Steve Spurrier, who has not done anything for the Gamecocks all season before the game.

Clemson's Heisman contender, C.J. Spiller, did not have his best game either, which may seriously affect his chances at the trophy.

This was an unfortunate end to the regular season. Winning the rivalry game would have lifted the spirits of the team and the fans going into the ACC Championship game this weekend in Tampa.

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Barcelona Vs. Real Madrid: Ibra Steals The Limelight In El Clasico

Christopher Potter — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:00:38 -0500

Cristiano Ronaldo suffered defeat on his long—awaited return to La Liga action after two months out with a recurrence of an ankle injury.

Barcelona 's big—money summer signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic found the net with a crisp strike early in the second—half to win three points for the Catalan club, as they swapped places with Real Madrid to return to the summit of La Liga.

After Sergi Busquet's red card had reduced the home team to ten players, a late spell of pressure from an organized and technically gifted Madrid got the home crowd on the edge of their seats. But a combination of the vociferous local support and the Blaugranas' ability to stay calm and retain possession left the visitors frustrated and pointless.

With last season's goal fests fresh in the memory and Madrid's outrageous recruitment drive, football fans the world over were expecting an epic encounter.

In truth, the game was high on quality, but low on real chances and controversy.

Pep Guardiola received a major boost before the game when his superstar forward Leo Messi passed a late fitness test.

The Argentine took up his place on the right side of a three—man attack, alongside Andres Iniesta and the bain of the Irish, Thierry Henry.

For the visitors, lone striker Gonzalo Higuain was ably supported by €150 million duo Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo.

4—3—3 against 4—2—3—1.

One criticism leveled against Real Madrid in recent years has been that the team is sloppy on defense and suffers from individual errors and lapses of concentration.

Despite the club spending heavily to bolster its attack, Pellegrini has always maintained that the balance of the team was crucial to its success.

This different attitude was evident from tonight's match as Lassana Diarra and Xabi Alonso produced assured performances in nullifying Henry and Messi for most of the match.

And after the Madrid defence had managed to soak up some early pressure, Ronaldo, Kaka and Higuain began to excel in the link—up play and ability to counter—attack at pace. In fact, Ronaldo was twice denied by home goalkeeper Victor Valdes after 20 minutes as 'els merengues' threatened to take the lead. Puyol, inspirational as captain and impeccable in defence, lunged moments later to block Marcelo’s goal—bound effort.

Going in at half—time, Pellegrini was certainly the more contented of the two managers.

Guardiola would need to find a way through a well—organized Madrid defense, who had closed down space well in the opening period and managed to silence the majority of the 98,000 fans who had crammed into Barca's soon—to—be—revamped concrete cauldron in the North—West of the city.

Looking to the bench for winning solutions, it was a tale of two strikers; the imposing figure of Swedish talisman Zlatan ‘Ibra’ Ibrahimovic for the home team, and the precocious talent of French youngster Karim Benzema.

There was no surprise when Guardiola brought off Henry, ineffective and sluggish, after 51 minutes.

Four minutes later, ‘Ibra’ met Dani Alves’ superb center with a sweet left—foot volley past Iker Casillas.

Just as Barcelona looked to consolidate their lead, local player Busquets inexplicably handled the ball in the midfield and was dismissed or his second bookable offence within the space of 12 minutes. Guardiola was not amused!

Moments later, Ronaldo headed Marcelo’s cross over the bar, the last contribution of note from the Portuguese forward.

Benzema replaced ‘CR9’ with 25 minutes remaining. Ronaldo, although targeted by the home crowd, produced a tidy and accomplished display.

Real looked to force the issue with 15 minutes remaining, Raul replacing full—back Alvaro Arbeloa.

Thereafter the game opened up, as Messi and Benzema both came close to scoring a goal.

Lassana Diarra lashed out at Xavi to even up the numbers, consequently easing the pressure on the home defense.

As the referee blew the whistle for full—time, the camera shot to a very contented Puyol, for whom a clean sheet and three points was a just reward for his commanding performance at the heart of his side’s defense.

Barca back to the summit of the league, but as Iker Casillas pointed out in his post—match interview, this was a ‘missed opportunity’ for Real Madrid who, despite conceding territory and possession for much of the match, had enough chances to return south with a result.

Real’s Director General Jorge Valdano was visibly disappointed, but encouraged by his team’s composure and ‘maturity’ in such a context, words which will not provide much comfort for the club’s supporters.

FULL TIME: F C Barcelona 1 (0) – Real Madrid 0 (0)

GOALS: Ibrahimovic 55’

SENT OFF: Busquets 62’ Diarra 88’

POSSESION: FCB 57—43 RM

SHOTS ON TARGET: FCB 3—2 RM

CORNERS: FCB 6—6 RM

FOULS: FCB 17—25 RM

MAN OF THE MATCH: Carles Puyol

ATTENDANCE: 98,000

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Philadelphia Eagles—Washington Redskins Notes

DMtShooter Five Tool Tool — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 16:47:00 -0500

If you didn't know the standings of the teams coming into the game, you'd have thought that the Eagles were the team with the terrible record.

An onside kick, going for it on fourth down twice in the first 12 minutes of game play, two QB draw plays with the backup...it didn't exactly scream out confidence in your personnel. Or that Cap'n Andy was expecting anything but a 60-minute hairpull, despite the Redskins being, well, terrible. And he got exactly what he expected.

Fox pointed out how everyone was playing the run on a third and one QB draw by Michael Vick. In other words, Washington has actually watched the tape of the 2009 Philadelphia Eagles.

In regard to Redskins QB Jason Campbell, I've just never been scared of a QB who reads plays off a wristband. It looks like a little kid who hasn't studied for a test.

How you keep a bad team around: do not defend third down, and make the opponent's touchdowns downright easy. I had hopes of the defense gelling in the stretch run, like they've done many times before in the Reid Era, but it's overstating the case to think they looked like that today. Once the offense turned the tide, perhaps. But they'll need more than that to win playoff games.

Fox cited the Redskins' injuries, and yes, they've been decimated. But it's kind of telling that so many games are lost to bad franchises. You see this a lot in the NBA; guys that find the training room more interesting than the field in a lost year. If it walks like a dog and barks like a dog, and routinely blows fourth quarter leads...

Did you have 10 minutes left in the second quarter for Sav Rocca's first terrible punt of the day in your pool? I had the time right, but the wrong quarter. It's so hard to win that bet. And thanks to Eldra Buckley for a remarkably dumb 15 yard penalty to make that one more memorable. It takes a team wide effort to look like a worse team than the Redskins.

Don't forget that Campbell to Eagles CB Asante Samuel, with two picks in the late going in the second quarter, is your margin of victory today. Yes, Washington is really bad.

With nine seconds left in the half, the Redskins recovered a squib kick and gave themselves a chance at the Hail Mary, but couldn't keep Trent Cole from a speed sack of Campbell. Is there a more dispiriting play for an offense than a sack against prevent coverage? I say no. Or, at least, hope so.

Of course Redskins TE Fred Davis registered his longest career catch and an eventual touchdown today. Can we please draft for this next year, Capn Andy? We finally got that No. 1 WR problem taken care of. Hope springs eternal for a stud LB.

Down to a terrible team with the defense taking third downs off, Fox's Darryl Johnston talked about how the crowd wasn't into the game. Well, when you give up eight of 10 third down conversions, and your laundry is playing its annual inexplicably awful game against the division's poor stepchild, it's not exactly a good thing to watch. Honest. And if I had a dollar for all of the missed tackles today, the blogging would be very lucrative indeed.

Notable: TE Brent Celek not making the play on three straight catchable balls. What is, "What a young and inconsistent offensive team does, Alex?"

Did you enjoy Johnston's mouth job for the Skins offensive line before their fourth false start penalty, followed by a holding call that prevented a first down? I know I did.

After yet another drop by Celek, McNabb was hit while throwing to set up a pick, and we're well in the range of this game being over. Utterly maddening, but at least Washington was too paranoid of turnovers to get the killshot touchdown. Hey, there are coaches that are worse than whatever is managing the Skins these days!

Does any announcing team praise players for moments in plays that are wiped out by penalty more than Fox? Perhaps head trauma is contagious.

McNabb finally stopped throwing it to Celek, and the result was three straight throws to the surprisingly emerging Avant, two of which netted 68 yards. Unfortunately, that also led to Avant being on the ground. Man, I hate Redskins games.

Vick on a rollout missed Celek by a mile, and I'm pretty sure that Eagle Fan has had just about enough of Vick by now. McCoy then took over for a screen, run, and first, followed by a huge hole for Weaver to get it to the one. Eldra Buckley is the short yardage back of the week that isn't Leonard Weaver, and two straight plays get a big fat nothing.

The utterly unsurprising play action to Celek failed, and yes, Eagle Fan, you have seen this movie before; thankfully, a Skins penalty kept this from being fourth down. I want to play poker with Andy Reid. I'm pretty sure I could get a read on him. Or that he'd keep asking the table what hands are the best.

Finally, Green tried Buckley off to the side, and the left side executed for six. An utterly maddening timeout to discuss the two-point conversion call followed, because the team clearly couldn't think ahead for a wildly important play call, but Shady McCoy refused to let that happen with a fantastic play for the conversion on a shuffle pass.

Just unreal balance there, play of the day. If he doesn't make it, maybe Green still wins this game, but I'm not sure; it brought the Mo Men Tum in a big way.

Good kickoff coverage continued the wave, and after a ridiculously easy deep out, the defense got a stop. The offense then did everything but win it by taking four minutes off the clock and setting up the chip shot field goal. Notable on the drive were a number of strong runs from McCoy and Weaver, then a fantastic sideline fly to Maclin; there is no doubt in my mind that Donovan's playing some of his best ball ever right now.

On a third and five, he throws a perfect dart to Maclin that moved the chains, ate three Washington timeouts, and got the ball in close, and he also had the presence of mind to slide on a failed rollout to keep the clock moving. Akers converted to give them the lead, 27-24, with 1:48 left.

After an outstanding kickoff from Akers, and coverage from Moises Fokou, the Skins started at their own 16 with 104 seconds left and no timeouts. Heavy pressure on Campbell forced an incomplete on first, as Cole continued to own his matchup.

Davis was open on a deep slant on second and ten, but couldn't bring it in. A blitz doesn't quite get there on third and ten, but a saving tackle forced a fourth down, and the Skins inexplicably seemed to forget that they needed a yard to keep the game alive.

The refs turned a blind eye to a possible roughing the passer call, mostly, one suspects, because they were too offended by the stupidity to give them another chance, and that was that. 27-24, Green.

As with any escape win, especially at home, it's hard to feel too great about the game, if for no other reason then there was a disturbing amount of things that need to get better, and shouldn't look like that in late November. Vick, Rocca, Celek, Trotter, and Reid all had big lapses in this game that would have just killed them against a good team.

But a win is a win is a win, Redskin Fan continues to have Big Misery, and they are still in contention for the division and wildcard. There's also the fact that their QB is playing some of the best football of his life, and so long as that's true, they've got a puncher's chance, especially if the skill players make plays. Moving on...

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Ibrahimovic's Strike Gives Barcelona a 1-0 Win Over Real Madrid

Andrew Jordan — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 16:03:04 -0500

In the most hyped game in La Liga this weekend, defending La Liga Champions FC Barcelona defeated Real Madrid 1-0 at the Camp Nou in Barcelona to retake the lead in La Liga and defeated a Galactico team consisting of players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, and Karim Benzema.

There was also emphasis put into the matchup between Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Ronaldo, as both players are considered the best in the world.

This would be the first time they faced each other since Ronaldo was on Manchester United during May's Champions League final, which Barcelona won 2-0.

The atmosphere at the Camp Nou was incredible before the match even begun between these two giants, as both sides were looking to win, but only one side would come out of the Camp Nou victorious.

Early in the first half, Real Madrid and Ronaldo had the best chance, as Kaka delivered the ball to Ronaldo in a great shooting opportunity, but Ronaldo's shot was kick-saved away by Barcelona keeper Victor Valdes, which completely stunned Ronaldo.

Throughout the rest of the first half, both sides had their chances, but neither side was able to get past the opposing keeper and at the half, the game was scoreless, which was surprising due to the offensive qualities of both sides.

Early on in the second half, Pep Guardiola replaced the inefficient Thierry Henry with Zlatan Ibrahimovic hoping that it would provide dividends, and Guardiola's move worked to perfection in the 56th minute.

Ibrahimovic was able to capitalize on a pass from Dani Alves by volleying it to the far post past Real keeper Iker Casillas, giving Barcelona a 1-0 lead.

However, shortly after the goal, Barcelona's Sergi Busquets got his second yellow card for a handball, which got him sent off for the final half hour of El Clasico.

After Busquets' red card, Ronaldo got one more chance before getting substituted for Karim Benzema, who got several great chances after coming on, but he too could not beat the Barcelona defense.

And even after the addition of Raul for Alvaro Arbeloa, Real were still unable to get anything done against the Barcelona defense, which was rock solid all night long.

At the ending of the match, Messi should have been able to score on Casillas on a one on one, but his shot was right at Casillas, who ricocheted it away from the goal.

Right before the final whistle, Lassana Diarra got his second yellow card for a tackle on Xavi, which sent him off.

But despite what Diarra did, the game didn't change anymore after that, and the 159th edition of El Clasico ended with a 1-0 win for FC Barcelona.

With the win, Barcelona will take a two-point lead in La Liga, and we will now have to wait until April 11 at the Bernabeu for the rematch between these two Spanish giants.

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What CFB Playoffs Can Produce: The Mizzoula Miracle, The Comeback

Scott Hansen — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 15:29:16 -0500

Reasons Why A College Football Playoff would be the best thing ever for $1,000, Alex.

Buried under over-hyped rivalries on Saturday, the game of the day took place in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. Unbeaten Montana was hosting upstart South Dakota State, a program that gave a team such as Minnesota all it wanted in a three-point loss in November.

South Dakota State played a murderous schedule in division formerly known as Division I-AA terms. The running Rabbits played Northern Iowa, losing to BCS candidate Iowa by one point. Then highly-ranked Southern Illinois, who gave Marshall a panic and has past victories over Northern Illinois under its belt.

SDSU’s rival North Dakota State beat Minnesota in the past. These teams are no joke.

These programs are not known for feasting on talent in traditional college football producing hotbeds of Texas, California, and Florida. The same holds true for states like Montana and South Dakota. Division I programs, the ones that play in the Bowl Championship Subdivision, aren’t exactly pounding the pavement in northern states for Big 12 or Big 10 talent.

High school football is high school football. Upper echelon programs miss the boat on players from the Rocky Mountains all the time. These players, under the plentiful scholarship days, would be snapped up by Nebraska or Colorado. Many of the players would eventually find All-Big 8 careers waiting on them upon their arrival for their big chance.

The difference between college football’s big-time of network television and the teams that are hoping for a playoff berth in what used to be I-AA has closed dramatically. Appalachian State proved it over the vaunted Michigan in the past, it wasn’t such an upset and people make it out to be. Players from these smaller schools are drafted into the National Football League all the time, and many have outstanding careers.

South Dakota State’s running Jackrabbits were 8-3 coming into the game against the powerful, juggernaut Grizzles, unbeaten again in 2009. Montana is a two-time national champion, running the gauntlet of the playoffs in 1995 and 2001.

We all remember darling Marshall storming through the I-AA playoffs with the likes of Chad Pennington, Byron Leftwich, and Randy Moss pounding the “little guys”. Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, when he was at Youngstown State winning championships, knows how good Marshall was all too well. The Penguins under Tressel had no answer for Moss and Co.

SDSU came to play in Mizzoula. Quarterback Thomas O’Brien got the Jackrabbits off to a fast start; tossing two touchdown passes to Colin Cochart for an early 14-0 lead after one quarter of play.

After a SDSU field goal, Montana ripped off 14 unanswered to close the gap in just 27 seconds. After a Chase Reynolds touchdown plunge of one-yard, Andrew Selle’s touchdown strike just 27 seconds later put the Grizzles down just three at 17-14.

O’Brien engineered two touchdown drives and a field goal make before halftime. O’Brien got the party started hitting Cochart for the third time already in the contest before Kyle Minnett scored from one-yard out. Kyle Harris booted his second field goal, this one from 39 yards, and the Jackrabbits had a commanding 34-14 lead in one of the toughest places to play in the country.

SDSU expanded the lead to 41-14 early in the second half. Corey Jeske snapped up a blocked punt in the end zone to give the Jackrabbits a seemingly insurmountable lead of 27 points.

Montana struck back with 6:45 left in the third stanza, with Thomas Brooks-Fletcher scoring from two yards out to bring the Grizzles within 20. Minnett answered by plunging in from one-yard out again, giving SDSU a 48-21 lead with 5:40 left in the third quarter.

It took Montana just 15 seconds to answer. Marc Mariani started to etch his name into the minds of Montana fans for eternity with a 98-yard touchdown off a kickoff return. It was Mariani’s first contribution to the scoreboard on the day, but it’s a name SDSU fans would learn to shake out of future nightmares. A missed point after would leave the score at 48-27, SDSU still a commanding advantage.

In the fourth quarter, Mariani started to chip away at the lead on his own. His 15-yard touchdown grab from Selle on the first play of the fourth quarter brought Montana to within two touchdowns at 48-34. Could Montana embark on the comeback of the ages after being down by almost four touchdowns early in the second half?

Over seven minutes later, Reynolds scored from one-yard out to bring Montana to within striking distance at seven points, 48-41. With 4:11 remaining, Reynolds scored again to tie the game from one-yard out again. The comeback was almost complete.

Then with 1:08 remaining, the impossible was realized. Selle calmly picked out Mariani for the go-ahead score from four yards away to put Montana ahead. The comeback was complete.

With SDSU’s O’Brien pressing for the equalizing touchdown, Severin Campbell picked off O’Brien and hauled it back 32 yards for the touchdown with :45 remaining to put the game out of reach for SDSU.

Montana scored the final 40 points of the game, including 34 points in the fourth quarter alone to complete the comeback for the ages.

Mariani finished with three touchdowns on the day, and ended with 12 receptions for 171 yards and those two huge touchdowns. Selle threw for 309 yards on 27-of-43 passing for three scores.

It’s a game those in Montana will be talking about for years. And it was a day where former Division II power SDSU, just recently up from the third division of college football within the decade, will rue a missed chance to win the holy grail of small-time college football.

A playoff game between Nebraska and Iowa would produce an equal amount of excitement on the field of play. Those two defenses dueling it out on the national stage to advance in the playoffs. It would be a matchup that would set football back 50 years, a defensive struggle, but it’s why those in America’s Heartland would talk about that game for the next two decades.

And that’s what we are missing out on during the Bowl Championship Series era. It’s a sad reality, and the fans are missing out on what could be. Much like SDSU will be for years after their near miss.

College football fans deserve better. Montana and South Dakota State would have never played in 2009 had it not been for a playoff system. And look at the reward?

Answer: This is the reason why college football playoffs would be a huge hit with the fans.

Question: What is the game between Montana and South Dakota State in 2009, Alex.

Correct.

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10-Man Zenit Gun Past Spartak Moscow into The Champions League

Sergey Zikov — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 15:26:43 -0500

Chelsea-Arsenal. Real Madrid-Barcelona. Two matchups that would make any true football fan salivate profusely.

Four of the world's best clubs going head-to-head. But a rivalry dipped in hate that certainly flies under the radar a bit are two of the most successful Russian clubs, Spartak Moscow and Zenit St. Petersburg. It's a rivalry that seems to grow in strength every year, this one being no exception.

When Vladimir Bystrov made headlines in the summer, transfering from Spartak back to Zenit, fans were up in arms. For several different reasons.

Spartak fans loathed the weath of the Gazprom-backed Zenit side, who had just snatched one of their best players in the heat of their title pursuit. Meanwhile, Zenit supporters shared mixed reactions, some welcoming him back with pride but others jeering him zealously because of his actions as a member of Spartak.

And it's never a rivalry without sky-high implications.

While Spartak already locked up a Champions League berth for the 2010-11 season and second place in Russia, Zenit needed three points to stay in third place if they wanted a chance at Europe's highest level of football.

To begin the match, Zenit would be wearing black arm bands, honoring the victims of a train bombing that killed 26 passengers en route from Moscow to St. Petersburg. The tragedy effected the families of several Zenit youth players.

A very edgy beginning to the match, as everyone expected, saw midfielder Szabolcs Huszti take a yellow card only four minutes in. This surprised absolutely nobody at the Petrovsky Stadium, as referee Stanislav Sukhina has a history of awarding more cards than he probably should, especially to Zenit players. Under his officiating, Zenit averages about five yellows, a red card and a half per match.

Both sides flying around the pitch almost figured someone would score in the first ten minutes, but it would not be the case. Spartak missed it's pair of chances, both trying to get premier striker Welliton into the match.

Although the tempo toned down a bit after the initial track meet, the tempers did not. Both sides continued to "feel each other out" defensively, trying to figure out what their counterparts could or couldn't do.

But a controversy struck in the 43rd minute, as Huszti was awarded his second yellow card of the half. After winning a free kick in the attacking third, Huszti wanted to get a quick start and flipped a pass ahead to Bystrov while Spartak was hardly set. Sukhina blew the play dead, called Huszti over and showed him a red card for the seemingly bookable offense.

So far, the three cards that Sukhina had awarded, two to Zenit and one to Spartak, all of them had been on aggressive tackles that were absolutely worth a booking.

However, sending a key player off for a fast re-start of play in a match with implications of the Champions League, makes nearly no sense whatsoever. When Zenit captain Aleksandr Anyukov and his assistant Igor Denisov went to protest, even the majority of the Spartak players seemed confused about the decision as well.

Huszti is unmercifully sent off.

But that was that. Huszti was done and Zenit was reduced to 10 men just before half time.

Only nobody told veteran Konstantin Zyryanov. After failing to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, the 32-year-old scored one of the biggest goal in his Zenit career, taking a perfect free kick that Spartak keeper Soslan Dzanaev only saw at the last possible second. And with one incredible stroke of luck, the blue-white-sky blues ran into the lockers with a 1-0 advantage.

Zyryanov celebrates his thunderous strike.

But, as Anatoliy Davydov well knew, one goal was hardly enough to beat a high-octane offense like Spartak down a man.

To begin the second half, Davydov pulled off ineffective Turkish striker Fatih Tekke in favor of former Chelsea hitman Mateja Kezman, who nearly had an immediate impact. Taking a pass and slicing through the Spartak defense, he only missed by a few yards to the wide side of Dzanaev.

Even with 10 men, Zenit was carrying the play through the midfield and forcing Spartak's offensive-minded backline to defend. On the fifth corner conceded by the men in red, Zenit finally capitalized. An unusual source, central defender Nicolas Lombaerts headed home from five yards out, looking very much like fellow Belgian backliner Thomas Vermaelen of Arsenal.

Just like that, the locals had a two goal advantage.

Following the goal, Spartak boss Valeri Karpin made a strange substitution, taking off attacking midfielder Quincy Owusu-Abeyie, who had a fairly productive match through the first 55 minutes. But, Karpin's itch was correct. Immediately after Owusu-Abeyie came off, Spartak started to look like the offensive juggernaut everyone imagined they would up a man.

But no matter, they could not crack the nut that is Vyacheslav Malafeev. A rare occurance, he was not picked as one of the best three keepers in Russia.

Making save after save, none more spectacular than stealing a goal away from Ibson, who couldn't believe his rotten luck inside the box.

In pursuit of an opening goal, Spartak quickly became frustrated. Three seperate players were handed yellow cards, all coming in the attacking third of the field. Not only were they handing possession back to Zenit to clear, but seeing valuable time evaporate off the clock.

But as soon as Champions League fever began to spread throughout the stadium, substitute defender Malik Fathi poaches a goal past Malafeev on the far post, giving Spartak life and silencing the 21,000 strong in blue.

Just like that, 2-1.

Luckily, it was just too little, too late for Spartak. And like they were crowned champions, St. Petersburg was utopia as they knew their beloved club would be headed back to the UEFA Champions League.

Malafeev embraces goalkeeping coach Nikolai Vorobiev.

Match Notes

Zenit finishes the 2009 campaign with 54 points, its highest point total since the club won the UEFA Cup in 2007-08. Although Lokomotiv Moscow also finished with 54 points, the men from Petersburg carried a better goal differential.

Aleksandr Anyukov, Konstantin Zyryanov and Vladimir Bystrov were all named as the best at their respective position by the RFU for 2009. Igor Denisov, Igor Semshov, and Fatih Tekke were also named to the Top 33 list.

Zenit will almost surely be in the market for a new striker during the winter transfer period, as it is widely speculated that Tekke will return to Turkey next season. However, 20-year-old Pavel Ignatovich, who recently won the Russian youth title for Zenit, could see considerable playing time in 2010.

By guiding the club back to the Champions League, the search for a new manager may have finally ended. Anatoliy Davydov is the man for the job.

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Bedlam Brutality: Salty Sooners Snuff Out Cowboys' Offensive Attack

Allen Kenney — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 15:19:28 -0500

On ESPN GameDay Saturday morning, the dreamiest analyst in college football, Kirk Herbstreit, humiliated one of the sport's proudest programs.

Herbie cut up a nice little lowlight package of plays from Oklahoma Sooners' humbling loss last week to Texas Tech. He caught Sooner defenders loafing in spots and flat-out quitting on a number of plays late in the 41-13 blowout loss to the Red Raiders.

Right about now, the Oklahoma State Cowboys are probably wondering where that group went.

To say OSU's offense "struggled" in its 27-0 loss to OU would be like saying OSU booster T. Boone Pickens' investment in the Cowboys' football program is "underperforming." A smattering of the Pokes' putrid offensive statistics :

six total first downs, all of which came in the first half and three of which came on OU penalties;
14 punts after going 0-14 on third-down conversion opportunities;
averages of two yards per passing attempt and 4.7 yards per completion;
an average of 2.1 yards per rushing attempt.

It was like watching a replay of the Texas Tech game in reverse. While the Cowboys couldn't get anything going offensively, the Sooner offense took off after halftime.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Landry Jones settled down after a shaky first half, and OU running backs DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown gashed a clearly gassed OSU defense that got little chance to rest as their teammates on the other side of the ball faltered.

Unlike the Tech game, it was the kind of dominating defensive performance that OU fans had grown accustomed to in an otherwise disappointing season.

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

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Oakland Raiders Need to Break the 80/20 Rule On Defense

BW Black — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 14:21:59 -0500

Despite the one-sided score line, the Thanksgiving game in Dallas was not all bad news for Oakland. Yes, the Raiders were out-gained; yes, it wasn’t close; yes, it was another big loss following a victory, but there were certainly some plus points for this young Silver and Black team.

On offense, Bruce Gradkowski looked after the ball, with no turnovers. Darren McFadden had 10 touches for 66 yards and is beginning to show flashes of the play-making ability the Raiders so badly need. Even Darrius Heyward-Bey got in on the act, scoring his first NFL touchdown.

On Defense, Oakland showed some invention with Trevor Scott operating in the “Elephant” position, registering five solo tackles including two sacks. However, the only “Elephant in the room” as far as this defense is concerned is big plays. On 82 percent of plays (46 out of 56) the Raiders were excellent, giving up just 22 percent of the yardage (110 out of 494 yards). This means that for 82 percent of plays (against an excellent Cowboys team) went for an average of just 2.39 yards per play.

The problem is that the other 18 percent of plays (10 out of 56) went for 78 percent of the yardage (384 out of 494 yards). A team cannot be competitive whilst giving up this number of big plays.

The 82 percent of plays gives the Raiders hope they can emerge from their slump. The addition of some power in the middle of this defense (nose tackle and middle linebacker) during free-agency could turn this from a patchy defense into a dominant one.

Looking again at the roster, the Raiders now have 28 players who can form the backbone of a winning team:

Offense: Bruce Gradkowski, Darren McFadden, Michael Bush, Justin Fargas, Chaz Schilens, Louis Murphy, Zach Miller, Mario Henderson, Robert Gallery, Cooper Carlisle, Samson Satele, and Cornell Green.

Defense: Richard Seymour, Greg Ellis, Matt Shaughnessy, Gerard Warren, Tommy Kelly, Jay Richardson, Trevor Scott, Thomas Howard, Kirk Morrison, Nnamdi Asomugha, Chris Johnson, Tyvon Branch, and Michael Huff.

Special Teams: Shane Lechler, Sebastian Janikowski and Jon Condo.

The essential thing for Oakland is to not waste the last five games. The Raiders still need another 10 players, including Heyward-Bey, Mitchell, Russell and Myers to come to the party to enable them to finish the season with 38 “keepers” on the roster, which would be an excellent launch pad for 2010. Add five veterans through free agency, five rookies and five "projects" and there is no reason to believe the Raiders cannot be a winner next season.

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ASU's Mistakes and Turnovers Keep the Territorial Cup in Tucson

Kristian Siuta — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:56:15 -0500

Arizona State's season ended on a very symbolic note, a crucial error that cost the Sun Devils a victory. Mistakes, turnovers, and penalties have held Dennis Erickson's maroon and gold back for the past three seasons, and yesterday against the Arizona Wildcats, that story was evident.

The Duel in the Desert lived up to its billing, however, late in the first half the Arizona Wildcats began to pull away. With Arizona State struggling on offense, the punt team was sent out onto the field to try and change field position.

Well, Trevor Hankins and the rest of the special teams definitely did that, although, the game was changed in the favor of the hated Wildcats, not the Sun Devils.

Hankins's punt was blocked by Orlando Vargas, and then Vargas completed the game-changing play by scooping up the ball and racing down the sideline for a 23-yard touchdown return.

All the emotions and momentum that ASU built up from Senior Day appeared to be evaporating into the Arizona sky.

However, a senior leader that most fans never wanted to see on the field again, brought the Sun Devils back into contention a revitalized the Sun Devil Stadium crowd.

Senior quarterback Danny Sullivan replaced Samson Szakacsy late in the second quarter, and from that point on the ASU offense operated with a purpose.

Believe it or not, the running game ran with intensity, power, and innovation. Erickson featured Senior tailback Dimitri Nance in counter and trap running plays that ASU has not used all season. Nance finished his career at ASU with an outstanding performance carrying the ball 23 times for 115 yards.

Just as it has been all season, the running game allowed for Erickson to call play action passes and burn the U of A secondary. Sullivan's favorite target throughout the contest was Kyle Williams.

Williams' big play potential was evident picking up critical first downs and hauling in two sensational touchdown passes.

Although Williams has displayed his big-play ability throughout his career, but the Scottsdale native has always taken a step back and made some downright game-changing mistakes as well, and yesterday was a perfect example of that.

With ASU down by 11, Erickson needed a big play to turn the momentum in the Sun Devils favor. So, Erickson dialed up a play for Williams, and then Sullivan found him racing across the field towards the sideline. Williams turned the play into a 44-yard touchdown and cut the lead to five points.

Erickson was about to attempt a two-point conversion; however, Williams was elated, so much so that he removed his helmet while he was still in the end zone. Erickson was then forced to send out Thomas Weber for the extra point.

Then, with the score reading: Arizona 17, ASU 10, Erickson and quarterback Danny Sullivan engineered a very impressive fourth quarter drive both through the air and on the ground with Dimitri Nance.

But with their backs against the wall, on a 4th-and-13, Sullivan rolled to the right and found Williams in the back of the end zone to tie the game at 17.

With under two minutes left, the Arizona State defense responded each and every time in the second half, and the Sun Devil defense did just that in the waning moments of the game.

The Wildcats were forced to punt to Kyle Williams and rely on their defense that had let them down the whole fourth quarter. Unfortunately, the Sun Devils never had a chance to test the U of A defense for a third time in the fourth quarter.

Williams went back to receive the punt, and in traffic the senior called for a fair catch; however, the catch was never made. Williams muffed the punt and the Wildcats recovered the ball deep in Sun Devil territory.

Unfortunately, as they say, "the rest is history."

The Wildcats kept the football on the ground to chew up the remaining time on the clock, and then sent out Alex Zendejas to kick the game winning 32-yard field goal with no time remaining.

The Duel in the Desert has always been a roller coaster affair filled with high intensity and emotion and this contest was nothing short of that. Williams was the player of the game for good and bad reasons, it is unfortunate that his career will be remember by that mistake on that final punt, but that is just how the 2009 season has gone for Dennis Erickson and Arizona State.

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Didier Drogba Leads Chelsea to A Simple Three Points Against Arsenal

Maire Ofeire — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:33:51 -0500

Three more points for Chelsea and what looks like another season of woe for Arsenal in the English Premier League as the Pensioners overcame the Gunners with relative ease at The Emirates.

Arsenal started the game well, running at Chelsea and creating half-chances. However, none of these chances were capitalised on as the Arsenal players seemed afraid to take any shot in anger.

Carlo Ancelotti's men dealt easily with anything thrown at them while Drogba and Anelka caused continual problems at the back with their pace and power.

The sucker punch came as a double whammy shortly before half-time as a combination of Drogba and terrible defending lead to the home side's undoing.

If Arsene Wenger didn't realise he had problems before, he surely must now.

Up front, Eduardo Da Silva was all at sea. The Gunners badly missed the influence of Robin Van Persie who they somehow must do without for most of the season.

Andrey Arshavin played well for the opening twenty minutes before looking decidedly disinterested once again.

Making only his second start of the season, Samir Nasri floated in and out of the game and has to take his share of the blame for letting Ashley Cole free to swing in the two killer crosses.

Bacary Sagna had another day to forget as his defending was average and attacking threat awful.

Twice the Frenchman failed to close down Cole who swung in two crosses that most strikers dream about.

Didier Drogba showed perfectly the benefits of having a powerful target man as he snuck in between Vermaelen and Gallas to slot home.

The second goal came minutes later as once again Cole whipped in the ball, except this time Drogba was spared the effort of scoring as Vermaelen turned into his own net.

Why Manuel Almunia did not shout and come and collect is anyone's guess as first Gallas and then Vermaelen failed to clear.

Arsenal came out all guns blazing in the second half, but to no avail as Drogba put the nail in the coffin with a well taken free kick. Again Almunia has to be called into question as he moved to his right where the wall was covering.

If the result taught us anything it is that Arsenal cannot do the basics well and upon doing the basics Chelsea won. They defended well, played as a unit, whipped in balls, used their physical presence, and went home with three points.

Arsenal lacked any communication between goalkeeper and defence while any attack was played out in front of the Chelsea back-line who never looked threatened.

The stats may tell you Arsenal had more possession, but it all counts for nothing if it is played out in the middle of the park. Chelsea were happy to take their chances as they came and looked like they had another gear in attack if needed.

Unlike Arsenal, Chelsea's two front men allowed them the opportunity to either play down the middle with cutting passes or else to whip in dangerous balls.

With Eduardo, Vela, and Arshavin not known for their heading skills and all not tall or overly physical this was not an option for the Gunners and in the end they couldn't breach Chelsea's well organised unit.

Indeed, even if Arsenal had Nicklas Bendtner available there seems to be no player capable of whipping in a dangerous ball for Arsenal.

Bizarrely, at half-time, Wenger replaced Arsenal's only protection of the back four Alex Song with Theo Walcott who for a finish became invisible.

Carlos Vela came on for the ineffective Eduardo and created little although he had limited chances.

Samir Nasri was replaced by Tomas Rosicky all too late with the Czech having no chance to influence the game.

Perhaps it is now time for Arsene Wenger to stop with the excuses and start fixing the problems. This wasn't a freak result, you don't do the basics right, you don't deserve to win.

As for Chelsea, they look like the team to beat this season and Carlo Ancelotti should take pride in the unit he has created.

The Pensioners will be the team to beat come May while Arsenal now fall back into the group fighting for a Champions League place.

As it stands the Gunners are behind bitter rivals Tottenham albeit with a game in hand. Arsenal fans don't like losing the North London bragging rights, Arsene Wenger take note.

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Chelsea's 3-0 Victory Over Arsenal Doesn't Prove Anything

Owen Watson — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:16:54 -0500

Chelsea extended their lead over Manchester United at the summit of the Premier League with a 3-0 win against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium this afternoon.

Glancing at the scoreline and you might think the Blues dominated the game. I’m sure there will be many that will criticise Arsenal’s lack of height in midfield and say Chelsea won the physical battle.

That’s not the case.

In reality, Chelsea were fortunate to go in at half-time two goals to the good. They took the lead by virtue of a hopeful cross into the box by Ashley Cole, this was met in the box by Didier Drogba who seemed to mishit his shot. His attempt looped up off the crossbar and bounced off the post before spinning into the back of the net.

Three minutes later and Thomas Vermaelen conceded an own goal in a similar fashion, with ex-Gunner Cole providing a cross that span off the Belgian’s foot and into his own top corner.

The game was effectively over at this point. Chelsea have only conceded eight goals this season, so for Arsenal to score three in 45 minutes of football would have required a huge upset.

Lady luck failed to shine on Arsenal for a third time just after half-time, as they had a goal chalked off for a dubious foul against Petr Cech by Eduardo. Referee Andre Marriner decided Eduardo had kicked the ball out of the ‘keepers hands to set-up Andrey Arshavin.

It looked as though this was the wrong decision, as Cech didn’t have control of the ball when Eduardo made contact.

Arsenal looked to lose heart after this moment. Wenger, to his credit, tried to seize back the momentum by making three quick-fire substitutions. Unfortunately for the Frenchman, these didn’t work and Chelsea killed the game with a third goal in the final stages.

It was an excellent goal by Drogba, a wonderful free-kick by the Ivorian that left Manuel Almunia stranded.

Of course Chelsea’s excellent defence must be acknowledged, whenever Arsenal engineered even the slightest opening there was always a blue shirt there to snuff out any danger. Chelsea were magnificent in blocking and stifling the Gunner’s attacking play.

This task was made easier by a two-goal advantage, which allowed Chelsea’s midfield to drop deep and neutralise Arsenal’s advances.

Chelsea deserve the plaudits for seeing out the game, they are an effective team that are world class at defending a lead, but to suggest that this game demonstrates Chelsea are a cut above Arsenal would be a mistake.

Fortune was ultimately the deciding factor.

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Kings Over Hawks: Royal Flush Ends Circus Trip

TAB BAMFORD — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:11:22 -0500

Most years, the Chicago Blackhawks would be thrilled to come home from their annual Circus Trip with nine of a possible 12 points. But after winning the first four games of the trip in overwhelming fashion, only getting one point in the final two games leaves the feeling that the Hawks let something get away.

The Blackhawks tried to bounce back after being shut out in Anaheim, but again struggled to get their offense going. The defense was significantly better than it was on Friday afternoon, but the groove on offense took two periods to appear on Saturday night in Los Angeles.

In the first, the Hawks shut down the Kings just as they did in Chicago a couple weeks ago. The score ended tied at zero, but the Hawks only allowed four shots on Cristobal Huet.

The second period saw more shots getting to both goalies, and the Kings getting on the board first. Wayne Simmonds got the puck past Huet to make the score 1-0 Kings.

However, the Hawks killed three penalties in the second period, as they effectively got back to their excellent defense on the penalty kill; the Hawks allowed all three goals in Anaheim with a man advantage, but entered action as the second best penalty killing team in the league.

In the third, Jonathan Toews got the Hawks back onto the scoreboard after over 153 minutes between goals with a nice putback of a rebound in traffic to tie the game. Patrick Kane threw a hard shot at Jonathan Quick that escaped his grasp, and Toews was there to capitalize. Quick had a magnificent game for Los Angeles, saving 32 of 33 shots he faced in the game to earn the win.

The game extended through a lackluster overtime period, and then came the shootout. Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane were Chicago’s first two shooters, and both failed to beat Quick. Anze Kopitar and Jack Johnson scored on Los Angeles’ first two attempts on Huet, and the game ended with the Hawks receiving just one point for the 2-1 loss.

Dustin Byfuglien served two more penalty minutes in the game, while Brian Campbell and Niklas Hjalmarsson also spent time in detention. Duncan Keith had an assist on Toews’ goal to give him ten points in his last ten games.

The loss delays coach Joel Quenneville achieving 500 career victories until the Hawks return home on Dec. 1, when they host Columbus.

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Juventus-Cagliari: Ratings in Black and White

Adamo Digby — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 12:38:23 -0500

After the terrible showing in Bordeaux on Wednesday night, it was vital Ciro Ferrara failed to get his Juventus team firing again in Sardina. Cagliari came into this game in great form, while Juve were reeling.

Ferrara made some very strange tactical choices and his team were out-thought, out-played and overwhelmed by Cagliari who simply worked harder and played better. Another 2-0 loss for a team expected to push Inter to the title.

Gianluigi Buffon: 6.5

Not really at fault for either goal, and made one or two vital blocks. Was let down in the worst way by the team in front of him, leaving him cruelly exposed on both goals.

Martin Caceres: 6.5

One of the only Juve players to emerge with any credit. Was still beaten a couple of times, but at least he put forth the effort, and also put some urgency into a pedestrian Juve attack. PLAYER OF THE DAY

Cristian Molinaro: 3.5

Hard to know where to begin. Simply not good enough to be at such a club. Crossing woeful, passing worse. Actually managed to miss the ball, kick his own shin and give away a throw whilst attempting a back heel.

Giorgio Chiellini: 6.5

Playing between Cannavaro and Molinaro whilst stemming the flow of blood from his nose, yet still having to cover three positions. Easily Juve's player of the season so far, he needs help in defence in the transfer window.

Fabio Cannavaro: 3.5

Beaten time and time again, never more so than on the second goal. He looked so slow today it was pitiful. His worst performance in any game you care to mention, including his time at Inter.

Momo Sissoko: 6

Gave away fouls, free kicks, and came close to being sent off on a number of occasions. Despite that, he was far from being the worst player on show, which says all you need to know about today's effort.

Christian Poulsen: 6

Again played better than his usual efforts in Bianconeri. Fast coming up to top form, although Juventus keep losing with him in the starting XI. Perhaps even his best is just not good enough?

Diego: 6

Another game, another lineup built around the trequartista, another disappointing below par performance. No creativity, devoid of ideas. What makes this worse is that Ferrara has no desire to find a plan B.

Mauro Camoranesi: 6

Not up to the consistent high standards he has set for himself over the past six weeks. Frustrated and isolated he struggled to make any impact on the game but, unlike many of his team mates, at least he put the effort in and tried to change the game.

Claudio Marchisio: 5.5

Unfit, out of position, and clearly uncomfortable with both. Did well to last an hour after so long out of the side, The fact he was back in the starting XI was one of the only positives for the Old Lady and her fans.

Madness from Ferrara to field him in the position he did when Del Piero and Sebastian Giovinco are better suited, and he should have played where Poulsen was.

Amauri:5

Unlucky to have both a goal disallowed and to be booked instead of earning a definite penalty. However, on current form he might do well to try obtain a San Marino passport as Italy and Brazil are unlikely to come calling.

Substitutes

Del Piero: 6.5

The only player offering creativity, Juve vastly improved with il Capitano on the field.

Giovinco: NM

Only given ten minutes.

Tiago: NM

No time to have any influence on the game as he came on too late.

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Nikolay Davydenko Crushes Juan Martin Del Potro To Win ATP World Tour Final

Nima Naderi — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 12:33:56 -0500

Barclays ATP World Tour Final—London

Russian workhorse Nikolay Davydenko put forth a flawless performance on Sunday at the O2 Arena in London, defeating US Open champion and world No. 5 Juan Martin del Potro, 6-3, 6-4.

The final Tour-level match of 2009, which took one hour and 24 minutes to complete, was dominated by the precision and early ball-striking of the Russian.

Losing a mere five points on his first serve in the first set, Davydenko converted on his only required break of serve at 4-3.

Racing through the first set without any indication of nerves, Davydenko appeared fixated on the overall task of winning the biggest title of his successful career.

Placing three aces and winning 63 percent of his second serve points, Davydenko remained in cruise control over his lanky adversary.

Del Potro, who displayed a jaded demeanor throughout the straight set defeat, couldn't combat the angles and efficient play of his diminutive opponent.

Even though Davydenko gave up seven inches in height, 30 pounds in weight, and seven years of wear-and-tear on the circuit, his indefatigable ability to stay hungry and focused regardless of how much tennis was in his body remained the story of the match.

Del Potro, who squandered two break point chances in the second set, was broken at love in the ninth game in routine fashion.

Losing only eight service points in the second set, Davydenko released a scream of joy when Del Potro missed his final forehand of the day.

In a year which began with a variety of foot injuries to start the season, Davydenko's rise in the second half of '09 is worth noting.

Winning in Hamburg and Umag after The Wimbledon Championships, Davydenko followed up his clay results with rock-solid performances in Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai.

Improving to 5-0 in Tour finals this season, Davydenko increased his head-to-head winning margin over Del Potro to 3-1 with Sunday's win.

Davydenko expressed the virtues of his tremendous achievement during the post match trophy ceremony.

“For me it was amazing,” Davydenko said. “Coming here as No. 7 and winning the tournament, it was surprising for myself.”

Taking home $1,500,010 for his fine week of tennis, the conservative Russian raced to his player's box to share kiss with his supportive wife.

Del Potro, who will end the year ranked No. 5 in the world, summed up Davydenko's consistent play throughout the week in his second placed speech.

“He beat everybody, so he’s a worthy champion,” Del Potro said.

Davydenko's next challenge will be to translate his surge in second half of the season to the Grand Slam events in 2010.

Defeating all four Major winners this week, Davydenko certainly has the game and fitness to rule a two-week Grand Slam tournament.

Both finalists will now enjoy a much needed offseason and begin preparations for their trip to Australia in January.

Davydenko is scheduled to compete in the Doha, Qatar event the first week of the year, while Del Potro is slated to take part in the Kooyong Classic the week before the start of year's first Major.

Well folks, that wraps up a long but enjoyable year of tennis from the ATP World Tour. I hope you've enjoyed my coverage from the start of the season, and if you still fancy some tennis in your life, no need to worry.

Davis Cup action is just around the corner, with finals action taking place next week in Barcelona between Spain and the Czech Republic.

Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco are set to take on Radek Stepanek and Tomas Berdych.

Talk soon, tennis fans.

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