I figured I had to fill everyone in on what I saw last night because I’d imagine half the audience were blinded when they saw Craig Sager’s bright yellow blazer…

Yao Ming will be taking on a new role this year under new head coach Rick Adelman. Ming will be splitting time in the post and at the top of the key as a distributor. Ming looked fairly comfortable in this new role- the highlight being a quick pass down low to T-Mac for the slam. Ming had 25 points, 12 boards, and 3 assists.

There was so much talk this off-season about old players returning to action. Well, Dikembe Mutombo has never left and at 41 he’s still a strong defensive force to give Yao Ming a blow.

Kwame Brown looks to be in great shape. Unfortunately, athleticism won’t help turn his bricks into hands. Also, why does Kwame inexplicably end up guarding a point guard at the 3-point line at least 3 times a game?

Derek Fisher is a great addition to the Lakers. He can hit from the outside and can penetrate and dish (unlike Kobe). He’s a great hustle player and a good defender for his size.

Speaking of hustle, Ronny Turiaf hustles all over the place. He has got to have the biggest heart of anybody in the NBA. Can the doctors who performed his open-heart surgery confirm that?

Posted by Robbie Gillies at 8:01 PM | Email Author | Permalink |

Kobe Bryant scored 45 points and 18 in the fourth quarter, but despite these numbers he should take most of the blame for the Lakers loss last night to the Rockets. The Rockets knocked off the Lakers in Los Angeles 95-93. Kobe Bryant continues to try and do too much and has no faith in his teammates. But, Bryant’s lack of faith in his teammates is unwarranted.

Bryant is the most talented player in the NBA. He hits the shots no one else can hit and leaves people wondering how he does it. He has the prettiest stroke in the game and can hit from anywhere or with anyone guarding him. But, this doesn’t mean he should try and hit from anywhere and with any amount of people guarding him. There were many times when Kobe would drive to the hoop and be double and triple-teamed and still wouldn’t look to kick it out to his teammates for a wide open jump shot. Bryant had 4 assists, but with his ability to drive and draw defenders he should easily average 7-8 assists per game.

Instead of assists, he’s determined to take half the shots and carry the Lakers on his back on his ability to score alone. But, Bryant shot just 13 for 32 for a field goal percentage of 40%. The rest of the Lakers team shot 19 for 44 for 43%. I understand Bryant needs to be the Lakers main threat, but he needs to get his teammates involved.

The biggest problem for the Lakers were free throws and Kobe was no exception. The Lakers went 27 for 45 from the stripe for a 60% average. Bryant was just above that average at 66%. But, this is coming from a player that was 12th in the league last year in free throw percentage at 87%. Bryant missed 9 free throws, which has got to be close to a record for him.

There is no one close to his abilities on that team, and sometimes he takes bad shots because no one else can create like he can, or he gets stuck with the ball with a couple seconds left on the shot clock. But, Bryant needs to find the right balance and he was nowhere near the right balance last night.

Posted by Robbie Gillies at 7:48 PM | Email Author | Permalink |

"Dang."

That didn’t go so well, did it Gibbsy ol’ boy? That one surrrrre got away from us quickly…

And the nerve of that…that…that cheater on the other sideline, running up the score like that! I mean, 52-7?! I know we’re not a good team – no, really, have your seen our offense? We can barely score against Arizona. But sweet potato pie, that is embarrassing. Why, I should march right over there and give him a peace of my mind!

(Sighs.)

Forgive me, Lord. You know I won’t be getting angry at another man, especially on a Sunday. I’m just venting here.

I know what I’ll do – I‘ll just storm right off the field, without shaking his hand. Yeah, that’ll send the message. Then he’ll know for sure that I am hoppin’ mad!

(Pauses. Collects himself.)

(Looks up to sky.)

I know, I can’t do that either. I’ll go and shake his hand. But I’m not gonna like it! And I’ll make sure its real quick!

I can’t believe I left racing for this.

Posted by Ryan Hudson at 4:00 PM | Email Author | Permalink |

I realize that this isn't sports related, (unless you count the Big Monday commercials he did for ESPN back in the day), but I just wanted to take the time to say goodbye to Robert Goulet, a man who, sadly, I only knew because of Will Ferrell.
(warning: NSFW language in video below)

Goo-lay!

Posted by Ryan Hudson at 2:26 PM | Email Author | Permalink |

It seems rare that someone’s talk after the fact lives up to the impact of the actual statement. With high-profile apologies becoming the norm for anyone who’s in the public eye that actually has an opinion on something, there is a certain quality about Belichick’s defiance that I find, at the very least, refreshing.

That’s a little hard for me to admit, but it’s true.

I have to respect the guy for taking all the “rules” of sportsmanship, chewing them up, vomiting the remains all over the Patriots’ opponents, and then as he’s leaving, acting as if its business as usual. At least he’s honest about it. At least he’s backing up his on-the-field game plan of being a jerk by being just as big of a jerk with his off-the-field interviews. At least there are no phony apologies, no lines like “scoring a touchdown was not my intent by going for it on 4th down with a 40 point lead. I hope the fans will forgive me”. And as a result, we are all fascinated to watch it unfold.

Scott Boras should be taking notes.

Has his apology done anything at all to make him more likable? Did he really think asking for forgiveness would work? With both of these highly publicized stories dominating the sports scene, it really says to me that you’re pretty much screwed no matter what you say. But if you’re going to go out on a limb, if you’re going to do something that you know will get negative press, then you might as well dig in for the long haul and live the part.

Posted by Dave Nye at 11:53 AM | Email Author | Permalink |

It all starts with Tim Duncan. Their superstar plays a half court slow game and the most exciting offensive play is when he banks it off the glass. You know you’re not exciting when the best thing the announcers can talk about is your footwork.

Bruce Bowen is anti-exciting. He’s such a great defender, he makes the teams most exciting player seem boring. So, not only are the Spurs boring, but he makes the other team boring as well.

Tony Parker is the player that bothers me the most because he actually is exciting. But, the problem is I never expect it. I don’t get how someone that small manages to knife through 5 defenders and get to the hoop with ease. Can’t someone put a body on him? This would’ve never happened to an Eastern conference team from the late 80’s. He’d think twice about penetrating on Bill Laimbeer.

But, I think the biggest thing that makes them so boring, but also makes them the best team in the past decade, is their consistency. Every year they win 50-plus games and win at least their first round matchup. They never win 12 games in a row, but they never lose 3 in a row. There’s never any controversy surrounding that team. Drama is what makes sports interesting, but consistency is what wins. It’s also what put me to sleep while watching the Spurs slowly beat the Trailblazers tonight.

Posted by Robbie Gillies at 9:58 PM | Email Author | Permalink |

With Cutler marching down the field Brett Favre sat on the sideline with a look that said, ‘just give me one more chance’. The Packers defense held the Broncos to a field goal (this time not a game-winner for Elam) and Favre only needed one chance in overtime to end it.

The Packers were last in the league in rushing coming into the game. They averaged 20 rush attempts per game for 65.7 yards per game. But, playing against the Broncos can cure any team’s running problems. The Broncos are giving up a league worst 166 rushing yards per game. The Packers only had 105 rushing yards, but more importantly they were able to have a balanced offense. They passed 27 times and rushed 27 times. The Packers will have to get the running game going to continue winning in the cold months ahead.

The Packers defense has some big playmakers. Kampman is now tied for 2nd in the NFL with 8 sacks after recording 3 on Cutler Monday (Trent Cole leads with 9 sacks). Green Bay dominated the line of scrimmage on defense led by Cullen Jenkins. He was able to penetrate and push back the line. The Broncos who average 124.6 rushing yards per game were held to just 88. Aside from the strong defensive line, the linebacking core is amongst the best in the league. Nick Barnett and AJ Hawk are great tacklers that prevent any big plays in the running game.

But, the story on Monday night was Brett Favre doing what he does best. Favre and the Packers wide receivers challenged 2 of the best corners in the league and won. In the first quarter Favre looked left to freeze the safety then through deep down the right sideline to James Jones who beat Champ Bailey for a 79-yard touchdown. Then, on the first play of overtime, Favre faked the handoff and threw deep down the left sideline to Greg Jennings on Dre Bly for an 82-yard game-winning touchdown. It was Favre’s 36th game-winning drive in the 4th quarter or overtime and it was as if he planned it from the beginning. It was perfect symmetry attacking Bailey down the right side in the 1st quarter and Bly down the left side in overtime. They were the only 2 touchdowns Favre threw, but more importantly he didn’t throw an interception.

Cutler and the Broncos had the ball on 2nd and 1 from the 5-yardline with 25 seconds remaining and couldn’t convert. Cutler missed Brandon Marshall who was open on the outside and then the Broncos called a QB sneak that fell short and they barely got the field goal off. Cutler had a chance to end the game with either play, but he left the door open for Favre and Favre slammed it shut.

Posted by Robbie Gillies at 2:20 PM | Email Author | Permalink |

Adrian Peterson (Vikings)- Peterson was held to 70 yards on 20 carries. It’s just his 3rd game he’s been held under 100 rushing yards. He still leads the league in rushing, but Willie Parker is just 14 yards behind. Chester Taylor was given just 6 carries and it looks like Peterson might be finally given the starting job.

LaRon Landry (Redskins)- He had 15 tackles against the Patriots, but the Patriots dropped 52 on the Skins and passed for 334 yards. A Safety should not lead the team in tackles.

Ted Ginn Jr. (Dolphins)- Ginn was supposed to be this year’s Hester, but so far he’s been disappointing in his returning duties. He ranks 32nd in kick return average. But, he has become a bigger threat as a receiver. He was responsible for the Dolphins only touchdown on Sunday. The 21-yard touchdown was Ginn’s first in the NFL.

Patrick Willis (49ers)- The 49ers have lost 5 in a row and the only bright spot seems to be Patrick Willis. He recorded double digit tackles for the 5th straight week. The way the 49ers are playing, they will be able to draft a player of similar talent in next year’s draft.

Marshawn Lynch (Bills)- Lynch is the only rookie RB that has been the starter from game one and he has been given a big workload. He averages 21.1 rushes per game (3rd in the NFL). This week he carried 21 times for 80 yards. He has yet to break 100 rushing yards, but has been a consistent force for the Bills.

Darelle Revis (Jets)- 1 interception and 6 tackles, but he couldn’t make the big play on Lee Evans that resulted in the Bills only touchdown.

Reggie Nelson (Jaguars)- Nelson became one of just four rookies with more than one interception in the Jaguars victory over the Buccaneers. He became only the third player to intercept Jeff Garcia this season…he was also the third Jaguar. Nelson also led the Jags in tackles with 8 and has been a pivotal part of the Jaguars defensive success this season.

Greg Olsen (Bears)- Olsen is emerging as one of the best tight ends in the league and the Bears biggest offensive threat. In the Bears loss to the Lions, Olsen had 6 catches for 59 yards and the Bears only touchdown. After just 2 receptions in the first 4 games, Olsen has 19 receptions in the last 4 games.

James Jones (Packers)- Jones is second to Dwayne Bowe in receptions and receiving yards by a rookie. In Monday night’s game against the Broncos, Jones had 3 receptions for 107 yards. His biggest catch came in the first quarter when he beat Champ Bailey deep for a 79-yard touchdown.

Posted by Robbie Gillies at 1:16 PM | Email Author | Permalink |

Last week, Joe Buck appeared on Conan O'Brien and talked about how his friends text him weird words throughout his broadcasts, challenging him to work them into the game.

Naturally, Conan provided a phrase of his own: "jub jub."

Well, Joe Buck came through last night in Game One of the World Series.

Posted by Ryan Hudson at 10:31 AM | Email Author | Permalink |

Tim McCarver, he of terrible announcing fame, just gave his "Scouting Report" for Game One of the World Series tonight:

"Big Game...Give Beckett the Ball."

How in the hell is that a scouting report? Like, at all? It offered exactly zero insight. I seriously cannot believe this man has a job as one of the premier baseball analysts in the country.

Posted by Ryan Hudson at 7:37 PM | Email Author | Permalink |

He has scored 22 games of 50 or more points, has made 8-straight All-Star appearances, he’s been a 7-time All-Defensive selection, he scored 81 points in one game, and he’s the best and most entertaining player in the NBA…and you’re thinking of trading him?

I’d never rooted for an NBA team and when in the summer of 2004 I decided I was going to move to Los Angeles I picked the Lakers as my team. I missed out on the Lakers three-peat and Championship appearance in 2004 and since then they’ve struggled through mediocrity. Yet, I continue to watch just about every game largely because of one player.

I have to watch every game because I never know what Kobe is going to do. Is this a game where he’ll go off for 50 points? Will he hit yet another game winning shot? Or will it simply be a sick dunk or reverse lay-up through the entire defense that will make it worthwhile?

If you trade Kobe, not only will you not get anywhere near trade value in return, but you will lose one of the top five most exciting and talented players ever. You will go down in history as being nvolved with trading the most dominant Center ever and the best offensive player ever. Is that what you want your reputation to be?

Look at past trades of superstars in their prime. Since trading Shaq, you haven’t gotten out of the first round. And what type of talent did you get in return?
-Brian Grant- is he still in the league?
-Lamar Odom- Good player but no heart and constant injuries.
-Caron Butler- Who you traded for Kwame “Brickhands” Brown.

How about when Charles Barkley was traded to the Suns? The 76ers didn’t make the playoffs for the next 6 years and who did they get in return…Jeff Hornaceck, Tim Perry, and Andrew Lang. Wait and that team missed the playoffs for 6 years straight?

Need another example? Jason Kidd traded to the Nets. The Nets hadn’t made it out of the first round since 1984. Kidd joined the Nets in 2001 and they’ve now made the playoffs 6 straight seasons including 2 NBA Finals and 4 Conference Finals.

If you think you’re going to get equal value you’re crazy. The Cavs aren’t trading James and the Heat aren’t trading Wade; not that either of those would be equal value anyways.

Don’t even think that Bryant is past his prime. Bryant’s only 29 years old and has had 16 of his 22 50-point games in the past two seasons. The closest player to compare Bryant to is Jordan. They both are fueled by competition and perfection. Jordan started his second three-peat at 32 years old. Bryant has at least 6 more great years barring a serious injury and I want those 6 years to be here in LA.

Posted by Robbie Gillies at 10:03 AM | Email Author | Permalink |

Sometimes, when the team you support, the team you devote countless time to, loses, the last thing you want to do is think about said team. For example, let's say you are an Indians fan. The last thing you'd want to see, most likely, was a reminder of how close they were to the World Series. Well, the Cleveland Plain Dealer thought otherwise:

"Because of newsprint deadlines, Plain Dealer reporter John Horton had to prepare a pair of stories for every Indians game: a version if the Tribe won and another if the team lost...The following is a rough draft of the Indians-win story from Sunday night. There are spaces, marked in bold, where additional details would have been built in."

Look, it even had clever puns!

"...[T]he Tribe secured a playoff toehold by stepping on the New York Yankees in the Division Series.

The Boston victory provides the boost out of the Championship Series.

Now it's time to for the team to go even higher.

Like, say, over the Rockies."

It must be fun to a Cleveland sports fan.

Posted by Ryan Hudson at 9:55 PM | Email Author | Permalink |

Turns out he's still standing at home plate admiring his home run from game 4...

Posted by Robbie Gillies at 9:07 PM | Email Author | Permalink |

Calvin Johnson (Lions)- Led the Lions with 37 receiving yards. No, that’s not a typo. The Lions “high-powered” offense’s leading receiver had just 37 yards. Johnson also rushed for a 32 yard touchdown, although it didn’t look like 4.32 40 speed.

Adrian Peterson (Vikings)- Alright, this looks more like rookie numbers…Peterson had 12 carries for 63 yards and a touchdown and fumbled once. Have to question the play-calling though. Peterson had just one carry in the 4th quarter in a game that was tied at 14-14. Forget rookie, he leads the NFL in rushing. You have to get him the ball.

Ted Ginn Jr. (Dolphins)- With the release of Chris Chambers, Ginn will get more balls his way. On Sunday he caught 3 for 37 yards. He had had just 3 receptions through the Dolphins first 6 games.

Patrick Willis (49ers)- Willis had 13 tackles (11 solo) in the 49ers loss to the Giants. That’s his fourth game with double digit tackles. He leads all rookies with 63 tackles and is 15 tackles ahead of the second highest rookie total (Darrelle Revis)

Marshawn Lynch (Bills)- Lynch’s numbers never look THAT impressive but 98 total yards against this Ravens defense is impressive. The Ravens are averaging 71.9 rushing yards per game and Lynch had 84.

Dwayne Bowe (Chiefs)- Bowe led the Chiefs in receiving yet again with 84 yards on 3 catches, including a 58 yard strike that set up the game-winning touchdown. He is destroying all other rookies in receptions (29) and receiving yards (499)

Greg Olsen (Bears) –Another strong performance for Olsen. He had 4 catches for 48 yards. That makes 3 straight games with 4 or more receptions.

Posted by Robbie Gillies at 7:55 PM | Email Author | Permalink |

Florida’s defensive strengths and weaknesses were exposed Saturday against Kentucky. Kentucky’s Andre’ Woodson put up over 400 yards for just the second time in his career and 5 touchdowns matching his career high set earlier this year against Florida Atlantic. Yeah, Florida’s secondary is pretty bad. Andre’ Woodson is a great quarterback, but that 400 yards could have easily been 500 yards. He missed 2 wide open touchdowns when Florida’s cornerbacks weren’t within 3 yards of Kentucky’s wide receivers.

Florida’s secondary is very young with just one cornerback and two safeties that are upperclassmen. They were beaten deep time after time and couldn’t tackle very well on the screen passes that Kentucky throws all the time. Florida has just 5 interceptions this season. Only eight teams in Division 1 have less interceptions than the Gators.

But, while Florida’s secondary is weak, they make up for it with great quarterback pressure from their front four and linebackers. Last week, LSU, perhaps the best defense in football, couldn’t sack Woodson once. Kentucky’s offensive line is very solid and gave Woodson plenty of time to work. But, Florida managed to sack Woodson 6 times. Florida applies pressure with speed pass rushers whereas LSU’s pressure usually comes from being stronger than their opponents. Kentucky’s offensive line is big and physical and was able to stop LSU’s pressure, but they couldn’t handle Florida’s speed.

Look for teams to continue to try and exploit Florida’s secondary and use a lot of screen passes and delayed draws to keep Florida’s pass rushers honest.

Posted by Robbie Gillies at 5:26 PM | Email Author | Permalink |

Saturday’s matchup of Florida versus Kentucky pitted two players that mean more to their teams than probably any other players in college football. Kentucky’s quarterback, Andre’ Woodson, and Florida’s quarterback, Tim Tebow, both showed they are great leaders and elite players that will make an impact on the next level. But, Tim Tebow is by far the biggest weapon in college football.

Florida’s entire offense revolves around Tim Tebow. He accounts for 73% of the Gators offense, either through rushing or passing yards. Tebow can bench 400 pounds. Well, to be fair, no one knows exactly how much Tebow can bench. The coaches at Florida won’t allow him to bench more than 400 pounds. He can take on any safety and most linebackers and usually win. Early in the 3rd quarter against Kentucky, Tebow took off from the shotgun and took on two safeties (415 pounds combined), he hit them head on and drove them back three yards and would have pushed them both back for a 5-yard touchdown if a third Wildcat hadn’t come over to help out. Tebow has rushed for 578 yards and that’s against the SEC that has some of the best defenses in the nation.

Because of his ability to run the ball, defenses must respect him as a dual threat. How many times have you seen a quarterback play-action fake to himself? Well, twice Tebow did this quite effectively, and the second time put the game away. The first time put the Gators up 14-7 when Tebow leaned forward then pulled back and fired a perfect pass to Louis Murphy for a 66-yard touchdown. The second time came with just over 2 minutes remaining in the game. Tebow looked left, dipped his shoulder as if to run, then went deep down the right sideline to Percy Harvin for 40 yards down to the 2-yard line. All it takes is the slightest movement by Tebow and the defense has to respect the run. The very next play Tebow ran it in from 2 yards out. It was his 8th straight game with both a rushing and passing touchdown. But, even when it looks like he can’t possibly pass the ball the defense still needs to respect the pass. With under 20 seconds left in the first half, Florida set up in a run formation and Tebow did what only he does; the jump pass touchdown. He hit Aaron Hernandez for the 1-yard touchdown.

Tebow can do it all and more. His final line was 18 for 26 for 256 yards and four touchdowns, and he rushed for 78 yards and one touchdown. Tebow got a lot of hype last season behind Chris Leak, but many wondered if he could handle the load all by himself. Turns out he can handle the load at quarterback and running back. Tebow is only a sophomore and already has become the most exciting player in college football. In early September, Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel, predicted Tebow would win multiple Heisman’s and go down as one of the best college football player’s ever. At the time this seemed like hyperbole, but having seen Tebow multiple times now I believe the hype.

Posted by Robbie Gillies at 5:26 PM | Email Author | Permalink |

I had the opportunity to attend my first Redskins game of the season yesterday as they hosted the Arizona Cardinals. Although my family has season tickets, I live in Philadelphia, making it a challenge for me to make it to many games.

Observations:

-Cardinal fans do not travel well, or possibly don’t exist. My friend asked me as we got to the stadium, “Over/under, 11 cardinals fans we see today.” Although I knew there would be few fans, I had to say over, I mean, 11 is quite a small number. By the end of the game, the count was at 2 people who were noticeably Arizona fans (wearing some sort of apparel or cheering for the Cards). As we walked back to the metro stop we spotted 8 more jerseys/hats/etc, bringing the grand total to 10. Sure, Arizona is not exactly close to Landover, Md., but only 10 fans? There are more people in the DC chapter of the OJ Simpson fan club.

-The Redskins offense is woeful. I know that the O-line is banged up, but wow, 160 total yards? Gibbs and Saunders clearly used the O-line injury problems as an excuse to call a conservative game, and luckily the defense bailed them out of another sorry performance. After the game Gibbs said in his press conference, “we took some shots…” I don’t know what game he was watching, but it wasn’t the same one that I was. I wish Gibbs did take some shots, of vodka. Maybe if Gibbs and Saunders pounded 5 or 6 shots before the game they’d be willing to throw over 10 yards downfield once or twice a game.

-Redskins fans love Chris Cooley. Particularly white fans, especially fat old white men. Cooley is the most popular jersey owned by Skins fans, which I find a little surprising.

-Didn’t Greg Williams used to blitz? When he came to the Redskins he was all about complex blitz packages to rush the opposing team into making mistakes. The last two weeks he’s been content to rush 4 (or less) and leave it up to his coverage. I’m not second guessing his decisions, since the defense has been playing well. However, it would have been nice to pressure Kurt Warner on 3rd&8 from the 10 at the start of the 4th quarter. Warner had 8 seconds to sit back and wait for something to open up, eventually it did and he hit Boldin for a TD. Warner was playing with one arm and has a history of fumbling the ball when he gets hit, yet the Skins were content to rush only the front 4 (again, or less) all day long and it almost bit them in the ass.

All in all it was an entertaining game, but I think I might have lost 3 years of my life due to stress accrued in the last 3 minutes if that game. (How do you let someone recover an onsides kick that easily? He practically sat there and waited for the ball.) At least Washington got the win, because up next week are Ryan’s Patriots in New England who seem eager to make everyone in the NFL hate them by beating teams by 20+ points a game and generally acting like pompous asses. We can lose that game (and probably will), but I hope Sean Taylor gets confused and spear tackles Bill Belichick and breaks his body into pieces.

Posted by Jeff Briggs at 2:10 PM | Email Author | Permalink |

Rutgers fans serenaded South Florida with chants of “overrated” prior to the game and South Florida lived up to that billing. Rutgers defeated South Florida 30-27 behind a stellar workhorse performance by Ray Rice. Penalties hurt South Florida (10 for 99 yards) but this game exposed South Florida as simply a solid college football team. South Florida’s defense couldn’t live up to the billing and the Bulls chances of a National Championship disappeared about as quickly as they came.

South Florida couldn’t handle the powerful running style of Ray Rice. Rice is one of the best backs in college football and if his team hadn’t lost consecutive games to Maryland and Cincinatti, we’d be talking about him for Heisman; especially after the last 6 days. Rice ran the ball 36 times for 196 yards and 3 touchdowns against Syracuse on Saturday. After that type of workload, what would Rice do just 6 days later? He ran the ball 39 times for 181 yards. That’s 75 carries in 6 days and his second half was just as effective as his first. South Florida’s rush defense came into the game giving up an average of 106.3 rush yards, Rice had 94 yards at the half. South Florida hadn’t allowed a 100-yard rusher in 15 games. Who was the last to do it? Ray Rice.

Rutgers defense turned up the pressure in the second half. In the first half, South Florida quarterback, Matt Grothe, was 9 for 13 for 113 yards and he also ran the ball 7 times for 55 yards. In the second half he was 8 for 21 for 134 yards and had 11 carries for 3 yards. Rutgers sacked Grothe 7 times; 6 of them in the second half. Rutgers also held South Florida in 3rd down situations. The Bulls converted just 1 of 13 3rd downs.

Rutgers took advantage of South Florida’s weakness. The Scarlet Knights got pressure on Grothe and kept him in the pocket in the 2nd half and Ray Rice ran right down the middle of South Florida’s defense. South Florida has one of the fastest defenses in college football. The proof is how they held Steve Slaton to 54 rushing yards in their win over West Virginia. But, Ray Rice ran right at the Bulls and simply overpowered them. Late in the 2nd quarter, Rice ran left and George Selvie, who leads the nation in sacks and tackles for a loss, threw his 255-pound body at Rice who stiff-armed Selvie so hard that he went the complete opposite direction. Rice might be the most powerful running back in college football and his ability to carry the load was ultimately the difference in this contest.

Now that South Florida’s National Championship hopes are crushed they will focus on winning the Big East where they still have games against Cincinatti and Louisville. With South Florida’s loss, another unlikely team will be in a position to make a National Championship game. Boston College will most likely move into the second spot in the BCS, but they have to travel to Blacksburg to take on Virginia Tech next Thursday. Maybe this whole BCS mess will end up working out in the end…

Posted by Robbie Gillies at 11:41 PM | Email Author | Permalink |

The Rockies and Indians are giving hope to baseball fans of mid-major markets everywhere. These two teams have two of the lowest payrolls in baseball and have taken out teams that tried to buy their way to success. The Rockies took out the Phillies and the Indians took out the Yankees and are on the verge of eliminating the Red Sox. While Major League Baseball might not like that the major markets being eliminated from the postseason, baseball fans should be glad that it takes more than money to win a World Series.

The Rockies have the 6th lowest payroll in baseball at $54 million and they knocked off the Phillies who had a payroll of $89.5 million. The Phillies spent $25 million on pitchers that didn’t even play in the postseason; Adam Eaton made $7.2 million; Jon Leiber made $7.83 million; and Freddy Garcia made $10 million. These three pitchers had a combined record of 14-21 during the regular season. The Rockies’ Jeff Francis had 17 wins during the regular season and cost $750,000.

The Indians have the 8th lowest payroll at $62 million and they eliminated the Yankees whose payroll was more than three times the Indians ($190 million). The Indians highest paid player is C.C. Sabathia at $8.75 million. The Yankees had 11 players that were making over $10 million.

Red Sox fans continually complain about the Yankees buying their way into the World Series, but the Red Sox have by far the second highest payroll. Sure, Sox fans can complain, but how about a team like the Devil Rays whose entire team’s salary is roughly equivalent to Jason Giambi?

I’m happy the Rockies will most likely be playing the Indians in the World Series, but it might be a bad thing for baseball. Major League Baseball is the only major sport without a salary cap and this season underdogs have come out on top, but there’s a reason the Yankees have won a quarter of the World Series. In the NFL, every fan thinks their team has a chance every year, but not in baseball. Maybe that’s why twice as many American’s named football over baseball as their favorite sport. MLB needs to take a cue from every other major sport and implement a salary cap, so more teams like the Indians and Rockies have a chance at glory.

(Here’s the link to MLB Salaries in 2007)

Posted by Robbie Gillies at 10:58 PM | Email Author | Permalink |

Yes, Robbie beat me in fantasy football this past week. And this was despite a total of 0.5 points from all three of his WRs. But what is even more astonishing than me managing to lose to Robbie and his one horse team (LT) is how backwards all of fantasy football has been this season.

For the first three to four weeks, all the talk was about how the top 3 picks weren’t performing up to their expected level. Now LT has turned things around and seems back on track to be the #1 player in the league. LJ finally found his way into the end zone for the first time this week thanks to the lackluster Bengal’s D. Stephen Jackson, however, is still injured, and still in St. Louis, where nothing is going right this season. Continue to look at the fantasy football and you’ll see the oddities of this season go beyond the top 3 and their slow start.

For example, the #3 QB (and #3 player overall) in my league at this moment is none other than Browns QB Derek Anderson, who wasn’t even a starting QB on a team thought to be one of the worst in the league at the start of the season. Where is consensus #1 fantasy QB stud Peyton Manning? Well, he is performing about as expected; around 20 fantasy points a game, but is the 5th highest scoring QB so far. What QB is averaging just about the same number of points per game? The answer is Brian Griese, despite his two interceptions thrown per game and the fact that he just looks awful.

Top surprise RBs at this point include Ronnie Brown, a guy who was fighting for his starting job and playing time at the start of the season, LaMont Jordan, who was pure fantasy poison last year (when I had him, of course), and Adrian Peterson, who everyone thought would be good, but not this good this soon. That leaves typical first round RBs further down the list. Players like Willie Parker, Shaun Alexander, Reggie Bush, and Frank Gore all are underperforming fantasy afterthoughts like Jordan. Don’t even get me started on the season of my first round pick, Laurence Maroney. I understand that he’s injured now, but even before the injury the odds of him finding the end zone were about the same as finding a used condom in Travis Henry’s bedroom.

What does all this mean for the rest of the fantasy season? My guess is not very much. Things tend to work themselves out in the fantasy world for the most part. There is a reason RBs are taken over QBs. Expect the numbers of the Derek Anderson to fall off and players like Gore to start performing (assuming they can keep healthy). If you have a player out performing his expectations, now would be a good time to trade, while the value is still high. However, if you have Adrian Peterson, I don’t know if I’d part with him for anything short of Tom Brady or LT.

Posted by Jeff Briggs at 2:23 PM | Email Author | Permalink |

Falcons coach Bobby Petrino deserves a pass. He took the job thinking he would have Michael Vick to design schemes for, but now he’s stuck with Joey Harrington. Petrino has very few offensive weapons. Only Tom Brady could make this core of wide receivers look decent and Alge Crumpler hasn’t been the same since knee surgery.

Looks like Adrian Peterson’s collarbone is just fine. Not only is he a shoe-in for Offensive Rookie of the Year, but he’s also one of the most unassuming people you’ll meet. He’s always focused and sets his goals high. His goal for this season was to win the Super Bowl and be named the Super Bowl MVP. Sorry Adrian, but until you learn to throw the ball the Tavaris Jackson-led Vikings won’t be Super Bowl bound.

The Bears have bigger problems than their quarterback. The once vaunted Chicago defense is struggling more than Rex Grossman receiving snaps in the shotgun from Stevie Wonder. The Bears are giving up 361.3 yards per game, good for 27th in the NFL. In the Bears last four games they’ve given up an average of almost 17 points in the 4th quarter.

The Dolphins are the worst team in the NFL. But, with two games against the Bills and one more against the Jets, the chances of them going winless are slim. But, they do play the Patriots this week, so chalk up another loss and let EVERYONE ask which is more likely- Patriots going undefeated, or the Dolphins going winless.

I'm glad the Bengals are back to being the Bungles. It was a shame that that word play couldn’t be used for the past few years. Not sure if Bungles sound more like a children’s musical band OR the love child of Pringles and Bugles.

Eric Mangini needs to give up on Pennington. Shannon Sharpe might have said it best this week when he told America that, “The girl that delivers my newspaper has a stronger arm than Chad Pennington.”

So, when is it okay to start talking about the Patriots going undefeated?

Fantasy owners who had the number one pick everywhere are rejoicing. That’s what we expect out of LT- ridiculous video game-like stats. Way to make my opponent and co-worker look stupid. Yeah, I’m calling you out Jeff Briggs.

Posted by Robbie Gillies at 4:12 AM | Email Author | Permalink |

Gaines Adams (Buccaneers) – Adams recorded his first sack of the season in a win against the Titans. Well, it was recorded as a sack, but he simply touched down Vince Young after Young was tripped up by LenDale White. Adams did also have 5 tackles.

Adrian Peterson (Vikings) - Rookie watch? Try MVP watch. Peterson had a franchise record 224 rushing yards. It was a franchise record for rushing yards by a Viking and a franchise record for rushing yards against the Bears. He leads the NFL with 607 rushing yards (80 more than LT), and his 6.3 yards per carry is the most by any running back with at least 40 carries. Clear the mantle for Offensive Rookie of the Year and you might want to make some room for the MVP trophy- if not this year than soon enough.

Aaron Ross (Giants) – Picked off Joey Harrington for this 3rd interception in the past two weeks. Looks like offensive coordinators might have to stop trying the old pick on the rookie cornerback routine.

Dwayne Bowe (Chiefs) – Bowe had 4 catches for 48 yards in a win against the Bengals. He leads all rookies in receptions (26) and yards (415).

Jon Beason (Panthers) – He’s filling in nicely for Dan Morgan. This week he racked up 9 tackles to lead the team in a win over the Cardinals. He’s second only to Patrick Willis in tackles by a rookie.

Greg Olsen (Bears) – He’s becoming a big target for the Bears. He added 5 receptions for 63 yards in the loss to the Vikings. Olsen has had some trouble getting open, but he catches everything that hits his hands.

Posted by Robbie Gillies at 12:32 AM | Email Author | Permalink |

There was no “Bluegrass Miracle” this time around. No premature Gatorade showers or answered hail mary’s, just a great football game between two great teams and Kentucky happened to pull out the victory. If you look at the stats you’d think LSU won the game. LSU rushed for 261 yards and averaged 5.2 yards per carry, they turned the ball over just once to Kentucky’s two turnovers, and they held the ball for almost 7 minutes more than Kentucky. So, Heisman hopeful Andre Woodson must have had a ridiculous game to lift the Wildcats over the top-ranked Tigers, right? Not exactly…Woodson put up decent numbers, but it was Kentucky’s offensive line that made this victory possible.

For Kentucky to win this game they had to establish the run and allow Woodson to make plays. Coming into this game, LSU was ranked fourth in rushing defense, allowing just 58.5 rushing yards per game. If Kentucky couldn’t establish the running game, LSU’s defense would be able to sit back and make life miserable for Woodson. But, Kentucky managed to gain 125 yards on the ground. While their three yards per carry average might not be impressive, it allowed them to have a balanced offensive game. Kentucky ran the ball 41 times and passed 38 times. This balanced offensive attack kept the LSU defense honest and allowed Andre Woodson time in the pocket.

Kentucky’s offensive line provided time and space for Woodson to work. LSU came into the game averaging over 3 sacks a game, but they never got to Woodson. Late in the 2nd quarter they didn’t even come close. With just over one minute remaining in the 2nd half, Woodson saw a hole open up that the announcers said a Mack truck could’ve gotten through, and he was able to jog 12 yards into the endzone. This protection allowed Woodson to be comfortable and confident in the pocket which in turn allowed him to gain 250 passing yards on an LSU defense that was allowing an average of under 140 pass yards per game.

Woodson deserves a lot of credit for this win. He had great timing for when he was under pressure and was able to get rid of the ball. No greater example was the game-winning touchdown in triple overtime, where he released the ball just before getting nailed in the back. But, Woodson should be singing the praise of that offensive line because any success he has is dependent on that strong front four who outplayed the number one defense in the nation and kept the Wildcats in the hunt for an SEC Championship.

Posted by Robbie Gillies at 10:49 PM | Email Author | Permalink |

My Sundays are pretty simple. I wake up, slog through a couple hours of work for graduate school and then proceed to watch literally 12 straight hours of football. It usually begins with either a terribly boring Ravens game or a boringly terrible Redskins game. So goes life living in the DC-Metro area without DirecTV.

From there, it’s on to the 4 o’clock games, which, if my prayers have been answered by this point, features more than two touchdowns. By this time in the afternoon, I’ve become very intimate with Yahoo! StatTracker. Also, my legs are beginning to numb.

But wait, there’s more! The fact I have seen roughly 49 previews to the night’s “60 Minutes,” allows me to skip it, feeling as though I already know what will be said, and instead I watch the over-crowded “American Football Night in America. For Americans.” It is pretentious and has way too many former players, but it satisfies my fix for that day’s highlights, for the time being.

But my real “highlight” (hey-o!) comes at 11:30 p.m., East Coast Time, usually just as the SNF game is wrapping up.

If you haven’t seen it yet, and you actually get the NFL Network, do yourself a favor, and check out “NFL Gameday.” It’s billed as “The definitive Sunday night wrap up of the day that was in the NFL,” and it is exactly that.

What makes it so good? They focus on the highlights. Novel concept, right? While ESPN seemingly shows less and less game footage and more and more time spent with talking heads who have NO idea what their own head is talking about (yes, I’m staring directly at you, Emmitt Smith. A leopard has spots, not stripes, you moron), the NFL Network has gone the opposite way, and show basically 90 minutes of highlights, with the occasional interjection from Deion Sanders and Steve Mariucci.

But when they do add something, it works. The chemistry between them, and show host Rich Eisen, oozes through the screen. Plus, Deion is pretty funny, especially when he says the Minnesota safety was about to “pop two hamstrings” trying to catch Devin Hester.

As long as ESPN continues its downward slide (remember when “Baseball Tonight” was watchable?), it will to continue to lose viewers. There is a reason the NFL Network is the fastest growing channel in cable-TV history.

Posted by Ryan Hudson at 5:50 PM | Email Author | Permalink |

Colt Brennan just played himself out of the Heisman picture, but did enough to keep his team in the BCS picture. Hawaii came back from 14 down with under 4 minutes to go in the 4th quarter to win 42-35 in overtime against San Jose State. Colt Brennan had one of the worst games of his life but led his team when it counted most.

Brennan put up over 500 yards passing and 4 touchdowns, but had 4 interceptions and completed under 60% of his throws. In their first nationally televised game of the season Brennan and the Warriors looked completely unprepared for the spotlight. But, when your team averages an NCAA best 53.8 points per game, you are always in the game.

Brennan looked dreadful through the first 55 minutes of this game. He had spent much of the summer studying film to learn how to dissect defenses, apparently to prepare for the next level, but Brennan could not figure out San Jose State’s defense throwing into double and triple coverage multiple times. Brennan locked onto his athletic receivers downfield and San Jose State’s secondary just read Brennan’s eyes. Brennan had one interception brought back 24 yards for a touchdown and another intercepted at San Jose State’s goal line.

Prior to the last 5 minutes of regulation and overtime, Brennan had completed just 53% of his passes, and had thrown 4 interceptions, but then a different Colt Brennan emerged. Brennan completed 11 of his last 13 pass attempts for 124 yards and 3 touchdowns. Brennan looked stoic all night, but after rushing for a 1-yard touchdown that tied the game he pumped his fist and finally looked like the leader Hawaii desperately needed all night.

Had Hawaii lost this game they would have had no chance at a BCS Bowl game, but now their hopes are still alive. Hawaii will not be able to rely on miraculous recoveries against teams like Boise State and Washington. Brennan will need to play with that intensity he found late in the game or else this team will have no chance against the better opponents coming up on their schedule.

Posted by Robbie Gillies at 12:11 AM | Email Author | Permalink |

If Sunday didn’t prove to the Jets that they need to make a quarterback change, then they’re in for a rough season. Chad Pennington is not a bad quarterback. He completes a high percentage and usually makes few mistakes. He does a great job with the strengths that he has, but his upside is very limited and the Jets will not win with him.

Maybe if the Jets had a strong running game they could stick with Pennington. Unfortunately, the Jets are tied for 31st in the league at 3.0 yards per carry. Maybe if the Jets had a strong defense they could rely on Pennington to manage the game. But, the Jets defense is ranked 27th in points per game allowed at 27.6 points per game. Pennington is not the type of quarterback that can win with these team deficiencies.

Pennington’s weaknesses were made glaringly evident this Sunday against the Giants. Coming into the game Pennington had thrown just 2 balls over 20 yards. On Sunday Pennington attempted 6 passes over 20 yards, 2 were caught because of great efforts by Lavernues Coles, 3 were incomplete and one was picked off on the goal line by rookie cornerback Aaron Ross. Without a deep threat, the Jets offense has no chance of putting up points.

Aaron Ross intercepted Pennington twice and those two plays are the reasons Pennington cannot remain the Jets quarterback. With the Jets driving and down by just four, Pennington heaved the ball (seemingly as far as he could), into double coverage, 23 yards to the endzone and it was easily picked by Ross. Then, with 3:30 left in the fourth, Pennington threw a 4-yard pass to the right and Ross jumped the route and took it 43 yards for the score that put the game away. Ross was able to play up on the receivers knowing that Pennington could not take the deep shot. When a rookie cornerback is figuring this out, you have a problem.

The Jets have tried to build around Pennington. They have Cotchery and Coles that are both great at short passes and yards after the catch. The Jets also signed Thomas Jones who is a great pass catching running back. But, the Jets offense is still struggling. I don’t know if Kellen Clemens is the answer, but Pennington certainly isn’t. At 1-4, the Jets have almost no chance of making the playoffs and should concentrate on figuring out their identity without Chad Pennington.

Posted by Robbie Gillies at 1:50 AM | Email Author | Permalink |

Last week, after watching Brett Favre set the record for most touchdowns passes of all time, Rhett Nichols, a junior at Wisconsin University mentioned how ridiculous announcers have gotten when describing Brett Favre: “I don’t know how many times they make reference to how old he is yet he can still get it done. And it’s not just the announcers that are getting carried away. The director of the games will show shots of Favre just randomly even when the Packers are on defense. It was outrageous and I knew I had to do something.” Rhett did what any college student would do when faced with a problem about sports: he made a drinking game about it. “We have our normal Sunday Night Football game where we have rules like you drink every time they toss to a reporter on the sideline, or when Madden draws on the screen, or when he says something inaudible, but I thought with Favre playing on Sunday night we had to make a new game.”

The rules were simple:
1. Any time they mention Favre by name = take a sip
2. Mention of Favre’s age = take a sip
3. When Favre gets praised = take a sip
4. Any time they cut to a reaction shot of Favre= drink until they cut away

“I knew it would be difficult, but through the first quarter I was pretty sure I could make it through the whole game.” An unofficial tally through the first quarter had them mentioning Favre by name 25 times, references to his age 6 times, and 12 reaction shots of about 4 seconds each. “I had gone through about 4 beers through the first quarter. But it never let up. They showed shot after shot of Favre and that montage in the 2nd quarter really hurt.”

Rhett managed to stick it out until late in the 4th quarter, but, “When the Bears scored that touchdown to go up 27-20 with under 2 minutes remaining I knew I had no chance. Brett Favre being given the ball with a chance to mount a game-tying drive in the 4th? He was all over the screen and the announcers couldn’t stop talking about him.”

Rhett passed out just before Favre threw to the endzone and was picked off with 1 second remaining in the game. “I was so close. But, I have no regrets. Hey, it turned out better than when I played take a shot every time Kobe takes a shot. I don’t recommend anyone trying that one.”

Posted by Robbie Gillies at 4:57 PM | Email Author | Permalink |

LSU proved that they are the number one team in the nation. But, they didn’t prove it in a blowout, they proved it by sticking to their game plan and capitalizing on the few mistakes Florida made.

Florida was near flawless in the first half. They were facing an LSU defense that was giving up an average of under 175 total yards per game and yielding under 7 points per game. Florida managed 197 total yards in just the first half and led the Tigers 17-7.

The second half continued in much the same fashion. Florida led 24-14 going into the 4th quarter, after a defensive breakdown led to a wide open Percy Harvin 37-yard touchdown. But LSU never panicked and continued to run the ball. In the 4th quarter LSU ran the ball 17 times and passed it just 5 times. LSU converted on three fourth downs, including a 4th and 3 touchdown pass to cut the lead to 24-21, and a 4th and 1 from Florida’s 7-yardline instead of going for the game-tying field goal. LSU’s defense created these opportunities, intercepting Tim Tebow early in the 4th quarter. The interception led to a 4-yard touchdown pass to Demetrius Byrd. On Florida’s ensuing possession, LSU’s defense forced their first 3 and out of the day. LSU marched down the field eating up over 8 minutes on a 15-play drive that resulted in the game-winning touchdown on a 2-yard run by Jacob Hester.

LSU’s defense never looked dominating, but they were playing against a Florida offense that was averaging over 40 points per game. The defense had their problems with Tim Tebow (who wouldn’t) but they made plays in the 4th quarter when it counted most. LSU simply stuck to their game plan and took care of business and now there are no doubts they are the number one team in the nation.

Posted by Robbie Gillies at 5:27 PM | Email Author | Permalink |

The Wildcats are in for a rough stretch if Andre’ Woodson plays like he did tonight. The numbers for Woodson don’t look terrible, 23 for 40 for 227 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception, but three crucial mistakes swung the game in South Carolina’s favor.

On Kentucky’s second offensive play, Woodson was sacked and fumbled the ball that was recovered by Linebacker Eric Norwood and returned 19 yards to put the Gamecocks up 7-0. In the 2nd quarter, after marching 44 yards to the 9-yardline, Woodson put up an errant throw under pressure that was picked off by Captain Munnerlyn, just Woodson’s second interception of the season. Then, on the first possession of the second half, while Woodson was being taken down by Casper Brinkley he tried to pass it out in the flat to his fullback, but the pass went backwards and was scooped up by Eric Norwood who returned it 47 yards for his second touchdown.

South Carolina’s defense deserves a lot of credit. South Carolina boasts the number one pass defense in the nation. Coming into the game their defense was giving up just 106.4 pass yards per game. They constantly pressured Woodson who usually handled the pressure well, but the mistakes he did make were huge. Norwood’s two defensive touchdowns were the difference in this game.

The final score is no indication of how well Kentucky’s defense played. South Carolina had just 188 yards of total offense through 3 quarters and in the 3rd quarter they tallied negative 15 yards. Kentucky controlled the line of scrimmage on defense and linebacker Charles Woodyard made numerous big plays. But, in the fourth quarter the Wildcats couldn’t stop South Carolina. Kentucky allowed almost as many yards in the fourth quarter (163) as they did in the first three quarters (163).

Woodson played decent against a very tough defense, but it doesn’t get any easier for Kentucky. Kentucky now has nine days to prepare for the number one team and defense in the country; LSU. Woodson will have another chance to show that he’s deserving of the Heisman hype and that his Wildcats are contenders and not pretenders in the SEC.

Posted by Robbie Gillies at 11:55 PM | Email Author | Permalink |

-Isiah Thomas would be punished for his current actions by being forced to coach a WNBA team. No, I don’t think it will make him respect women, but if the punishment is having to watch 34 games of women’s basketball he’ll never sexually harass a woman again.

-There have been a lot of retired players talking about making comebacks. Reggie Miller, Charles Oakley, Scottie Pippen, Shawn Kemp, Penny Hardaway, and Allan Houston have all expressed interest in playing basketball this season. I’d let them start their own team and to appeal to their demographic the team would be located somewhere in Florida. They could be the Florida Fogies. But, instead of being an NBA team, I’d start a new league…the NBAARP. I’m sure more players will join to supplement their social security checks.

-The Sonics want to move to Oklahoma City, but Seattle wants to keep an NBA team. Also, there is a growing list of NBA players that are unhappy with their current situation. Here’s how to solve both problems: Let the Sonics move to Oklahoma City and give Seattle all of the disgruntled NBA players. The team would have Baron “I want a new contract” Davis at point guard, Kobe “I can’t do this by myself” Bryant at shooting guard, Shawn “I’m not appreciated” Marion at small forward, Andrei “I hate Jerry Sloan’s system” Kirilenko at power forward, and just for irony sake I’d add Tim “I don’t complain about anything” Duncan. Who in Seattle wouldn’t pay to see that?

Posted by Robbie Gillies at 8:33 PM | Email Author | Permalink |