The State of Sports

The State of Sports Sept 1st

2006-09-01T09:00:00.000-04:00

-College Football- Opening Weekend Previews

-Games to watch-
-California vs. Tennessee
-This non-conference matchup may be what the Vols need to get on track. California on the other hand boosts its highest preseason ranking in quite some time (1952). Will we see another dominant offensive performance by California this saturday? The Bears look strong with the rushing attack in running back Marshawn Lynch and passing with Nate Longshore. Longshore missed last season with a broken leg injury, and inherits a young recieving corps. Look for Cal to run the ball a lot.
Tennessee, on the other hand, looks to rebound after a dismal 5-6 performance last year. Head Coach Brad Fullmer has the advantage of playing such a good team early in the season, to prepare him for Florida (7th in the AP), Georgia (15th in the AP), and LSU (8th in the AP). Last season the problem was getting things going on offense. The Vols ranked 101st in scoring and 90th in overall offense. With second year starter Erik Ainge at the helm, maybe he can be the spark Tennessee needs this season. Last season the Tennessee defense was 2nd in the nation in rushing yards allowed (907 yards).
Although the Vols didnt graduate much on defense, and their rushing defense was really good, California will make this game interresting. California should win by at least a couple of touchdowns.
-Pick- California

-Notre Dame vs. Georgia Tech
-Notre Dame has certainly rebounded with their 9-3 record and Fiesta Bowl appearance last year. The Fighing Irish are certainly hungry for more as senior Brady Quinn returns this season after an impressive Junior year performance. Notre Dame also boosts the return of senior wide recievers Jeff Samardizja and Rhema McNight. Junior running back Darius Walker also returns for the Irish. Last season, Samardizja set a school record 77 receptions and Walker rushed for 1,200 yards and 9 touchdowns. Both look to be keys in an offense that could power the Irish to their first national title since 1988.
Georgia Tech looks to upset favored Irish (GT is -6.5) with the tandem of quarterback Reggie Ball and reciever Calvin Johnson. For the past two seasons Johnson was selected to be on the all ACC team. Last season he was also named an All American, despite being double teamed. He managed to catch 54 passes for 888 yards for the Yellow Jackets.
Last season Notre Dame ranked a mediocre 55th in total defense, and GT may look to exploit this disadvantage. Georgia Techs defense isnt all that good, but with eight starters returning on offense, that looks to be what they will be relying on.
Pick- Notre Dame

-Florida State vs. Miami
-In a rivalry game with so much on the line, both look to prove themselves on the national scene. Florida State comes off a disappointing Orange Bowl loss to Penn State, and boosts the return of sophmore Drew Wetherford. Wetherford led the team with over 3,000 yards passing, last season. He can only hope that the rushing attack is much better this year, as the Seminoles ranked 101st in rushing offense. On defense, Florida State will have a lot of youth, as nine starters were drafted.
After an embarrassing 40-3 loss to LSU in the Peach bowl, head Coach Larry Coker fired four assistants. He decided to shake things up by replacing the offensive coordinator, the offensive line coach, the running backs coach, and the linebackers coach. Hopefully this will do the trick as the Hurricanes have been 32-6 (since '03) and in the top 25, but have produced no championships or BCS apperances since '02.
The Hurricanes return junior David Wright as the quarterback, but he will be short-handed as running back Tyrone Moss, and reciever Ryan Moore are suspended for skipping study hall. This will be the eighth strait meeting in which both teams are in the top 15.
-Pick- Florida State

-Other games:
Arkansas vs USC- USC
Rutgers vs North Carolina- Rutgers
Syracuse vs Wake Forest- Wake Forest
Virgina vs Pittsburg- Pittsburg

Other Notes
-Im glad that the Sox found a way to deal David Wells to a contending team. He really wasnt helping out the cause as the Sox are now 8 games behind the Yankees and 6.5 games behind the White Sox in the wild card. The sox picked up the second best prospect in the Padres organization, George Kottaras. They really didnt have any youth in the catching position, since trading away Kelly Shoppach earlier in the season

-BC should have killed Central Michigan. I just dont know what to say. Then again, I didnt see the game, because of a fantasy football draft, and the Pats preseason game was on. There really is no excuse.

Thanks to ESPN and Yahoo for sources of information on the football previews

The State of Sports Feb. 11th

2006-02-10T22:31:00.000-05:00

Football

-Prediction: What will happen to Reggie Bush?
I know the NFL Draft is on April 28-29th, and thats like more than two months and a half away. However, I have been waiting for something big to make a post on my feelings. ESPN reports that the Houson Texans resigned David Carr today. This is an interresting move, because now we know, the Texans want to keep their future with Carr. There is no QB controversy, like there is in San Diego, but they wont draft a quarterback to make one either. The article remided us that Chris Mortenson reported less than a month ago that the Hiesman running back was going to the Texans.

I doubt this highly. I have three reasons why I dont think this is going to happen. These shots in the dark are ideas that I have played around with to several people, and gotten yea's and nay's about my comments. Other people think im just plain nuts. They are:

-1. The Texans already have a running back. Why would the Texans draft Reggie Bush when they already have Dominick Davis? My friend Chip made the argument that Bush was one of the best running backs in the league, and the Texans would never pass up the opportunity to draft him. Out of college, Bush is most likely already better than half the running backs in the league, was another point my friend made. One of those running backs he mentioned was 2003 rookie of the year Dominck Davis.
-The fourth round choice out of LSU has had an impact on this offense. He had a pretty bad season this year, so I can see why people would think the Texans would take Bush. But the offensive line just had a bad season. In his first two years the run blocking was decent when Davis averaged 1109 yards, 4.1 per carry and 11 TD's. Last year on a very bad offensive line he had 976 yards, and two touchdowns, on the ground.

-I still wonder who they would trade Davis away when he's a gurarenteed 1000 yard rusher who can run the ball well with power inside the goal line when in 2003, 8 of his 8 rushing touchdowns were from inside the red zone. In 2004, 12 of his 13 rushing touchdowns were from inside the opponents 20. Because he had a bad season, he is also on the cheap and could be signed to an lowball figure for an extension. In 2004, he made about $550,000. He's also young has lots of potential to the Texans.

-2. Why would the Texans draft a running back with a terrible offensive line? The preseason rank in CBS Sportslines fantasy football magazine of offensive line has the Texans ranked at 30th out of 32. Yeah, thats pretty bad. The statistic of that proves my point is the amount of times that Carr has been sacked this season (68 times). He had two good offensive line years in 03' (15 sacks) and 04' (49 sacks), but its noticeable that both had good seasons when the Texans had a good offensive line. Another amazing stat is that David Carr has been sacked 208 times in four seasons. The NFL career leader is John Elway, who's been sacked 516 times, in 13 seasons.

-The Texans need desperate help in this area and I think that they would probably draft someone like D'Brickashaw Ferguson from Virgina. Why the Texans would draft a lineman first when Reggie Bush, Vince Young, and Matt Lienhart first is on interresting idea. Which is why I think one of three things will happen: somone will trade up for the pick of Reggie Bush, the Texans will trade down to draft Ferguson, or they draft Bush and then trade him away for more picks on other team concerns. The third possiblilty is the most possible at this stage of the game. If I were to predict a possible scenario, I would go with possiblity 1 or 2 though.

-3. Why would the Texans draft Bush and tie up more salary cap space?
-First round picks have a have a history of commanding a lot of money. Eli Manning signed a record $54 million dollar contract. Alex Smith signed an even larger 6-year $49.5 million dollar deal. The NFL salary cap last season was $80.6 million dollars. Askthecomish.com has the figures as to how much teams have in terms of cap leway for those kind of numbers. Although the Texans have $14 million dollars in leway, most of that money is going to be used up for the extension on Carr. The Texans could always cut money off their payroll to make room, but that wouldnt make much sense when their payroll is pretty high.

-USA Today reports that the Texans 2004 payroll was 97 million dollars (3rd in NFL). That number for 2006 will be significanly less, but I bet thier attendance figures werent very high. According to my ESPN almanac, the 7-9 Texans ranked 10th with 70,000 people in attendance for 2004. The Texans also had two of the top 25 highest paid players in that year as well. Defensive End Gary Walker made 11 million and Offensive lineman Todd Wade signed a new contract that paid him 10 million dollars that year.

-I dont think it would be wise for the Texans to even consider taking more chances by signing a running back that might put them in the hole. Their best chance would be to draft an offensive lineman for their stuggling line that desperately needs help. The NFL Draft is only 2.5 months away. Only time and ESPN will report what people are thinking and I bet the Texans will make no surprises about who they will pick. I think Reggie Bush will be the first one selected in the draft. I dont think he will end up on the Texans roster on draft day.

-BSC Bears:
-The Last Three games

-The BSC Bears go into their final stretch of the season facing Worcester (at home), Salem and Fitchburg (away). It should be interresting as the Men's team is all alone in third place. If we can win vs Worcester and Fitchburg, it should give us a really good chance at taking the 2-3 seed in the MASCAC Tournament. The Bears have to play very consistent and not
give the game away if they want to win.

-The Women's team is unbelievable. I would not be surprised if they won 2 out of the next 3 at Fitchburg and at home vs. Worcester. They need to stop turning the ball over. This is their only weakness to their superior all around game. I shake my head when I see a turnover, and yet I scream, yell, or cheer when I see them force one as well. They are plain downright nasty.

-The Alumni game went well this weekend as 2004 graduate, Billy Hymon took it home with an at the buzzer three point score to win it for the gold team. It was a good time seeing people you havent seen in a while, and going to town with lunch you dont have to pay for after the Men's game.

The State of Sports Feb. 6th

2006-02-06T10:54:00.000-05:00

-Football

-Superbowl Recap
I think that the Steelers were the underdogs the whole time. They were the team that nobody believed in. They were the team that forced turnovers, and made sure that their own turnovers werent capitalized on. Ben Rothlesberger was 9-21 for 123 passing yards and 2 Int's. Wow, what a line for a QB. The Steelers are hardly the passing team that they were down the stretch. I think that Seattle just couldnt stop their run. My gut feeling is that Pittsburg knew they had to pound the ball in the second half.

Seattle missed and failed to capitalize on its opportunites. If you look at Shaun Alexanders stats, 20 rushes for 93 yards, thats a pretty good day. Matt Hasselback was 26-49 for 273 yards, a TD and an Int. Its not like Pittsburg completely dominated on defense the entire game. But they failed to win the game because they couldnt get it done when it mattered the most. It might not also help that Seattle kicker was 1-3 in field goal attempts.

The Seattle defense was as good as advertised. If not for giving up a 75 yard run to Willie Parker, and a beutifully excecuted fake reverse pass to Hines Ward, it would have been a closer game. Roethlisberger did not have the touchdown, and the pass interference call on Darell Jackson was questionable. But those referee calls were at the beginning of the game. I dont think they had any impact on the game.

The better team won the game. It is as fair and simple as that. Jerome Bettis should now retire. Ive never been a big fan of "The Bus." Randel El so deserved that MVP award. Yeah Hines Ward may have caught the pass, but who absolutly fooled the entire audience. I think that was the bullshit call of the game, to be honest. You cant say that Roethlisberger is in the same category as Tom Brady, Marino, or Young, yet. His pass numbers were bad. Your only argument Steelers fans is that Ben ran the offense. Good job Bill Cower, you deserved this one.

To close up my recap, I just want to say that I was really disappointed in Seattles offense. Yeah, they got the job done, but when it mattered the most, they just failed to get it done. I am hopeful for the Seahawks, because they are a good team. Regardless, we will see if Shauns back next year.

-Random Thoughts:
-I thought that Bosoxguys Super Bowl diary was pretty good. I give a lot of props to that guy. When he gets a good idea, he can really run with it. I always am amazed by his ingenuity for coming up with these ideas ive never even would have considered. His dedication for the New England Sports is genuine, and I do believe that I will be the kind of die hard he will be when I am his age. Truly I have called you out man, and thanks for a good post.

-I also made a comment on his post, and said the following about the halftime show:
-"On the halftime show, my roomate said that Keith Richards was drunk during the halftime show. And what they do is they just shut off his guitar, and have Ron Wood play the lead. Richards was obviously plastered. He walks around the stage with his guitar just doing a lap. I think about it and its hilarious."
-Fact is, the Stones really werent that good. Maybe I just had to be there, and thats what it is. Dont get me wrong, I like to just jam out to Stones songs like the next guy, but they werent that good a selection. Maybe they should go back to MTV productions. It might make things more interresting.

-I was playing Tiger Woods golf until 6:35, so I missed Belichicks preview of defenses. Maybe that wasnt the best move, but its not like I missed the game. The commericals were interresting this year. I dont think ive seen more movie spot previews during a sporting event. I wonder if they were used as space filler, or if they were actually paid for by hollywood.
-The ESPN on the phone commerical was wicked cool. I think the Bud Light commericals with the "Magic Fridge" and the one "Streaker" were good laughs. I didnt grow up in the McGver era, but that one was pretty classic. The godzilla and robot Hummer commercial also drew a pretty warm spot as well.
-But this year they were pretty violent. Thinking about it, what kind of message are you sending to children who watch the Superbowl with the family. If I was ten, id prob go and smash my dads cell phone right about now. But, thats because I dont know any better, not because a commerical influenced me to do that. Maybe they were just playing it safe, because of what happened two years ago. I hope they get a lot better next year.
-Godaddy.com isnt a porn site, right?

The State of Sports Feb 4th

2006-02-04T22:34:00.000-05:00

-Football

-Super Bowl Preview
Im going to be perfectly honest. I really dont care about this Superbowl. I dont care who wins. I dont care who looses. I am getting drunk watching one of the most interesting Super Bowl matchups i've seen in 10 that i've been old enough to see. If there was going to be a least watched Superbowl, id have to say this one will so out-do the Baltimore-Giants game (least-watched game in history).

I've asked several people what they think about this matchup. Some say Pittsburgs defense is too unbelievable not to win this game. Others say Seattles got too good an offense with Hasselback and Alexander. One person said its gonna be a close low-scoring game. Bosoxguy has said four times that the final score will be 34-17. The pro-sports beat writer for my school newspaper said, "Supporting either one of these teams would be like saying that I support mediocrity." And I couldn't agree with Rudzi more.

You have Pittsburg, the team that everyone wrote off when they were bottom seeded and even lucky to get a wild-card spot. As though they destined to be in the Super Bowl, they beat Cincinati because Carson Palmer got injured, they beat Indianapolis because Payton Manning shit the bed, and they beat Denver because they stopped the running game. Pittsburg is also coached by Bill Cower. Man can this man make a photograph. The man could break the camera if it had a lens in it.

But, can he coach a football team. Among one of the most sucessful in the last ten years of the AFC, he has drafted well. He in the last three drafts he has drafted Heath Miller, Ben Roethlisberger, Troy Polamalu in the first round. Miller, a top TE from Virgina, has done an excellent job not only blocking in a run first offense, but spreading the defense thin with his passing threat down the middle. Roethlisberger, last years rookie of the year, has proven time and time again he can be a force. His two year quarterback record is 26-6. Polamalu has long hair. I cant think of any other person who just might make the NFL have a hair rule next year. Not only that but he has helped lead this defense to give up 86 yards per game (3rd NFL ranked).

I give props to Seattle. One of the most consistent teams over the course of the season, they carry one of the most potent offenses in the league. Led by former BC quarterback Matt Hasselback, he knows how to spread the ball around. If he doesnt get the job done, then NFL MVP Shaun Alexander will get the job done. And just like that, you have an offense that rivals that of the AFC tandem of Edgerin James, and Payton Manning. It's scary how this team has put up points (28.3) and yards (369.7) over the course of the season, being in the top two of both categories.

I have been saying for the past two weeks that Seattles got a very good offense and mediocre defense. I think that Pittsburgs got a good defense, but they are shaky on offense. This equals for a close game. I think Seattles got the intangibles, and thats who im picking. This should make for one of the most interesting/least watched superbowls ever.

Meanwhile, I will enjoy watching the plethra of commericals that I am always impressed with. I will also enjoy the Rolling Stones halftime show. I sure hope they do "Miss You." I friggen love that song.

-Random Notes of Note:
-I try and be bold last Tuesday. I make a comment/post on The Away Teams blog after I try to attempt to answer a comment made about the catcher situation, and I get blasted. The other two members of the blog more-less copy an opinion of what Gammons said a month ago. I was being the random idiot that ive always been, but I think that my comment was rudly cast aside like a caller who doesnt know what they are talking about on WEEI. I may not subscribe to the RSS Service like other bloggers on this site, but I have continue to have valid and good opinions about sports in general. I may be random, but please if you dont like anything I have to say, dont toss it aside.

-If you would like to check out this weeks sports section of "The Comment" (my school newspaper) online, here is the link. I have three articles, the interview with Derek Thompson is good, and the superbowl preview is priceless. But unlike every online college newspaper you have to register, so buyer beware.

-The Sox deal with Gonzalez is interesting because they can still cut him if he doesnt make the squad. If an all-star caliber defense shortstop is makes a contract with the Red Sox and doesnt make the squad because hes getting replaced by someone internally, man would that be interresting.

The State of Sports Jan 30th

2006-01-30T11:06:00.000-05:00

-College Basketball

-BC finally beats Georgia Tech
It was one of those games where it was close the entire game. Just when you thought they would pull away and win by a slim lead, GT would just bounce right back into it. It was among the most sloppyest games ive seen BC play this season, and I wish they would play a lot more consistently. A game that started out bad from the beginning with both teams had a combined 9 turnovers, in 4 minutes of play, and one free throw scored by Jared Dudley. But they hung on for the victory, and thats the important thing.

One thing that I think really kills a team is turnovers. BC had 19, and GT had 20. I think Georgia could have beaten them by a lot more, had BC not played a decent defense. I think the BC defense got streched too thin at lots of points. They gave up the easy layup and the three pointer, from college range. This allowed GT to get back into the game, even when BC clearly had the game won, with 3-4 minutes to go.

One of the things I do like, however, was the press breaker that BC ran to stop the 2-3 zone full-court press that GT ran. GT was just forcing BC to make bad throws and mental errors, but they showed a lot of poise and got easy layups and created mismatches. The other thing that Eagle pointed out, was that Craig Smith had a good game, and he is just playing so consistently for them right now. Smith was 9-9 from the floor, had 13 rebounds, and 23 points on the game. One of BC's other strenghts is knowing how to score baskets by getting guys in the post, when a team plays a good zone defense on you. They were 2-12 (0-8 in 2nd half) from the three point range, and I give a lot of credit to BC for scoring points, the other way.

BC needs to play their best defense, they cant afford to make turnovers, or other mistakes if they want to beat Duke. I cant wait to read Eagles preview on what the keys to game are in this game. He follows and watches BC like a die-hard, and hes always got good points that I dont think twice about, when it comes to BC Basketball. After Duke, BC should have challenges with VT and Wake Forest (both 1-6 in ACC), and then they have Clemson, who almost beat NC State yesterday.

BC has definately stepped it up though. After dropping consecutive losses to GT and NC State, BC has won five in a row. They went from a 0-3 hole in the ACC to 4-3. I think they can play a lot better than they have and at least finish the season strong with a 4-5 seed in the ACC tournament. It should be an interresting week.

Random Thoughts:
-Mike Riess reports on his blog that Bill Belichick will be a pre-game analyst for Super Bowl XL (40 if you dont know roman numerals). I think this a great move for ABC because who tunes into the pre-game show. Last year I watched the game with my good friends at Northeastern. An hour before the game, they had musical guests on. When they announced that they were going to be Kelly Clarkson, Charlie Daniels, and John Fogerty, my friend Danny remarked "Whos John Fogerty?" My other friend Andrew then says to his suitemate, "Hey want to play some Madden?" And they switched off the pre-game.

I think adding Belichick as an analyst for this pre-game might boost the ratings up slightly. I still want to read the "Education of a Coach" book, by David Halberstam. Im still waiting for it to come out in paperback

-If your one of those people that doesnt know whats going on with the Coco Crisp deal, check out the Globe's Extra Bases blog. I think its a good wrap up, and has very good content thats been published over the weekend. I also liked reading Gammons this weekend. I was talking to my sports editor for the paper, and pretty much blew him off, because I was reading Gammons while talking to him on AIM.

-Olney makes a good point this afternoon, as lots of money was spent on middle relief this winter. I believe Gammons once said that "so many games are won and lost in the 7th or 8th inning, because you dont have a consistent setup man to set the stage for the closer to close out and win the ball game for you." I think this is the trend in baseball today. If a baseball francise wants to be competitive today you need a good middle relief-setup man in the bullpen.
-Olney has a chart that says that teams spent $232,215,000 on 47 total contract years for relievers compared to $265,425,000 and 34 total contract years for starters. While it was a small market for free agents this year, and both starting and relief pitchers really collected on money this year, teams focused on strengthening their relief corps. Especially when you dont have several pitchers leading the league in complete games with anywhere from 20-30 games. Pitch counts are watched religiously by pitching coaches in baseball today.

I liked his point, and I look forward to the many articles that ESPN will publish on the subject of middle relief this year.

-The Padres have reportedly signed future hall of fame catcher Mike Piazza to a two million dollar deal. I thought this was interesting because of the way that it was done. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Towers had his eye on Piazza then, but decided to wait and see when the time was right. I remember not even seeing Piazza's name in the list of interrested suitors, and the Padres werent on that list. Being subtle and quiet is the way to go sometimes. Its tricky, and its just so devilish. Towers played the right card here.

The terms of his contract allow for Piazza to have more control over where he bats. He is best suited for the #4 clean up spot, that last year, generated the most offense for the Padres. (.279, 19 homers, and 97 RBI's; Piazza was .261, with 19 homers and 62 RBI's total). The Padres are hurting for offense. The Dodgers look to contend with their revamped offense with Nomar, and Bill Mueller and the Giants with Barry Bonds returning all look to contend in that division. The Padres are in desperate need of offense and pitching, and it gives them an added advantage they really need.

Piazza, a veteran catcher, should give them solid numbers from the cleanup position, and leverage helping out a rotation that is young. Jake Peavy, Chris Young, and Shawn Estes should benifit from having the tandem of Doug Mirabelli and Mike Piazza. This also might have an impact on Chan Ho Park and his overpaid contract of 15 million dollars. Park has not had a good year since 2001.

The State of Sports Jan 29th

2006-01-29T10:09:00.000-05:00

Baseball

-Sox on free TV
Once again the Sunday Globe knows how to hit home. Shaugnessy's article writes about one of those things you look forward to every friday. Friday Night Baseball! Every Friday night I would turn off the radio and just sit back and watch some baseball (much to my little sisters dismay) in the living room, before anyone would get home. If I was old enough to drink, id be drinking beers, too. Man would it be heaven. But Shaugnessy brings up a very important point, What about the people that dont have cable?

Ever since the third grade, when I told kids that I didnt have cable at home, they said I was nuts. In fact, people still think my dads on drugs when I tell people I live without the Internet at home. But, my family is in the majority of people in this New England region that dont have cable. The only time I get to even see a Red Sox game live is when either I am there, or when im at school watching NESN up here. So, now all I have are the random games that will be broadcasted on Fox with Joe Buck and Tim McCarver. McCarver, by the way, is one of the worst analysts that I am forced to listen to on the air. He says the dumbest things, is a clear and biased Yankees fan (not that thats a bad thing), and his contract shouldnt be renewed.

There is only one article announcing that the Sox would no longer be broadcasting the games on public television. The Worcester Telegram and Gazette quotes the president of NESN, Sean McGrail as saying that it is a "natural progression." "The games of more than 30 other pro sports teams are televised exclusively on cable," so maybe it just makes sense. Also, McGrail says "a low single-digit percentage of viewers don't subscribe to cable or satellite TV." The reporter then asks the question "what about those die hard Red Sox fans who dont subscribe?" McGrails response: "One hundred and 26 of them or so were on NESN last year. How much of a diehard fan were you if you didn't watch all those games?"

The bottom line is its a business. You try to make a lot of money for the highest revenue possible. Obviously the people at NESN really dont care about the people who can't watch, or cant afford to watch the Red Sox on TV. It's a damned shame that you now are forced to choose to pay the heating bill or watch the best team in baseball on live cable.

Someone should have a petition online to petition the people at NESN. Thousands of people who dont have access to cable should be able to say how they feel on this matter. If I knew how to build a website, I would do it. I would even fund the project. I would stand on a soapbox and let my voice be heard, along with anyone else who is out there with me.

I just hope it isnt a small number.

The State of Sports Jan 28th

2006-01-28T10:38:00.000-05:00

-Baseball

-Worth the Riske?
After what seemed like a week out of the ice age, it just seemed to last forever. Constantly checking Dirt Dogs for even a shred of evidence as to whats going on with the trade. Sitting in front of my computer checking away messages on AIM and playing Tiger Woods golf. It was like I had nothing better to do all week. Of course there's class, lunch and work. But when you're a die hard everyone else, you just look everywhere for a story. I have done more reading this week on the possible Coco Crisp deal than I have for reading this semester.

But, now Crisp is coming to Beantown. And just like that Boston now has a center fielder. Even better than that they have a leadoff hitter that just might be able to get on base. The offense is critical for this. This is because you need someeone who can get on base at the top of the order, so Ramirez and Ortiz can just do their thing. It doesnt help to get on base at the bottom of the order either for Crisp to move runners over. The Sox also just filled a hole the size of the San Andreas fault in centerfield.

In what seems like years ago, when I first heard about the deal, I liked that David Riske was in it. I spent the better part of a half hour on Monday researching the numbers on Riske. His numbers indicate that he would be better suited as a leftie-righty specialist more than anything else. He has held lefties to a career .205 average and rightys .244 average. Last season he held lefties to a .213 batting average (in 29 IP) and rightys to a .204 average (in 43 IP). The role he had last year was as a setup man for 60 year old closer, Bob Wickman. He also doesnt give up many walks or gets strikeouts, he just gets outs. Its what the Red Sox really need in the back end of the bullpen.

They also got this kid named Josh Bard, who batted .196 in 36 games last year. Hardly a backup catcher worth putting on the roster for a spot, I think you will be seeing him at Pawtucket for a majority of the season. He's not worth adding to the roster when you have veterans John Flaherty and Ken Huckaby competing for a roster spot. If anything, hes going to play out the year as trade bait in a midseason aquisition. Or maybe hes just insurance in case something were to happen to any one of the other three catchers. You can just ask the Astros, you always need insurance.

The Sox gave up prospect Andy Marte. Who knows how the 22 year old infielder will turn up? He could be a Albert Puljois, a Julio Franco, or a complete bust. You just dont know with prospects. The highly touted Marte, will wind up being the third baseman for the Indians next year. The Sox also gave up Kelly Shoppach to add backup value for a catcher that was never going to replace team captain Jason Varitek.

The Sox also are giving up Mota. The 3 million dollar headache that has been the buzz over the last few weeks. The Sox admitted on Friday to have just viewed the medical reports and not gotten a physical for the players. I think the reason for this was because the front office worked really hard on this deal, and it was around the time of Thanksgiving. But this approach may have almost cost them Manny Delcarmen. To make up for their lack of intelligence, they are paying off 1 million off Mota's salary and giving them a minor league player to be named later.

When you look at the trade, the Red Sox just look so much better, than the Yankees and Blue Jays do on paper. With a lineup that will be tough to beat, a veteran rotation, and a solid bullpen, they could contend in their division. Of course it isnt even spring training, but I am very optomistic.

The State of Sports Jan 22nd

2006-01-22T11:02:00.000-05:00

-Baseball

Theo and The Front office
Chris Snows article on the Red Sox front office is what I call riveting. Snow has had some excellent coverage in the last month, and it shows here when he interviews Blue Jays GM J.P. Riccardi, Damon and Varitek agent Scott Boras, and Padres GM Kevin Towers. Its long, but a good read and I highly suggest you read it.

This article backs up what ive been saying all along. People think that Epstein is going to use Ben and Jed as puppets, and he is going to run the background of the front office. I for three months have been saying otherwise, and Snow basically says that Epstien still would have made the same moves.

The sooner people begin to understand this the sooner they begin to relize that Epstien will be annonced as a consultant to somebody next week. But O'Shaunnessy, Olney, and Pete "The Meat" Sheppard will still cry murder over the fact that Epstien is the man behind the mask of the Red Sox front office. I emplore you to watch the stories come out saying that whatever role for Epstien that is given, he's just going to run the office. I emplore you to watch how people are going to say that Epstien should be the Red Sox President of Baseball Operations.

I love how the Globe has the following poll on its website. What should Theo's role be, is with his return? The number of responses is 24,945 people.
-53.3 percent of the people think he should be the President of Baseball Operations
-24.8 percent of the people think he should be the new GM
-17.4 percent of the people think he should have Lucchino's job
-4.6 percent of the people think he should be a consultant
Thats what people think, and thats what people want to hear. And I predict we will be hearing more of it.

If anything is not positive about the article, is that Towers thought the process in talking to the Red Sox about possible deals, is it took time. But things like that happen in an organization. People need to get caught up to speed and deliberation must be made on what the next move is going to be. While this may be a drawback in the Sox front office, it is nothing like how unorganized the Baltimore Orioles are described to be.

Playoff Preview
I think Carolina isnt going to get the job done today. They have Julius Peppers and Deshaun Foster out today. Not only that, but Nick Goings is thier starting running back. He could come out of nowhere like Samkon Gado did, but I highly doubt it. The reason why the Panthers beat up on the best defense in the league is because thier running game was so good. The Bears gave up a season high 434 yards. This is because they pounded the ball down a defense that I think just got worn out. Even though they were coming off a bye, the Panthers kept the defense on the field all game. And Delhomme got the job done in the air with AP Comeback Player of the Year Steve Smith.

Another reason the Panthers were so good last week is because of Julius Peppers stopping the run. Peppers is so good at what he does for this Carolina defense. The Panthers must have depth, but their run defense is going to be at the mercy of Shaun Alexander. I'm going with Seatle in a blowout.

Pittsburg is just a team that never gives up. I hate the Steelers with a passion, but think they stand a chance against this the Denver Broncos. Unlike the Patriots, Pittsburg doesnt turn the ball over much. The Patriots just didnt have a good game, and turned the ball over a lot. I also think the Pittsburg has a better chance of stopping Denver's lethal running game. I pick Pittsburg in a low scoring 20 point (for both sides) game.

The State of Sports Jan 20th

2006-01-20T10:02:00.000-05:00

-Baseball

-Theo Epstien returns to the Sox
I am not in the least shocked by the return of the man who ended the Red Sox 86 year World Series drought, the myth of him wearing a gorilla costume out of Fenway Park, the legend of what continues to be a soap opera with the organization. This afternoon's edition of "The offseason" is sponsored by NESN, to bring you a view inside the world of the Red Sox front office. Starring Larry "Hard Ass" Luccchino, Ex-GM Theo Epstien, Siamiese twins seperated at birth: Ben Cherrington and Jed Hoyer, Manny "Cant' make up my mind today or tomorrow" Ramirez, and David "west coast here I come" Wells. Frequent guest apperances by Dan Shaunnessy, Buster Olney, Peter Gammons, and Pete "The Meat" Sheppard. But always remember, things are not what they appear to be. Events may or may not be happening in real life. You can always ask John Henry what he thinks, after the show.

That is the exaggerated version of what it feels like. I seriously would like to know what is going on here. I could direct you to any number of what the writers are spitting out of the printig press today, but thats redundant. I, however, will direct you to the Extra Bases blog, which kindly has that listing for you. You can also read Dan Shaunessy's ill fated attempt to convince Red Sox Nation that he once again is the only one that really knows whats going on, because there is a big flat no comment from Theo, Larry, and John Henry.

Honestly no one knows what is going to happen. I could say that I predicted quite some time ago that Theo was going to be in the background, and hes been advising Jed and Ben ever since he left on moves to make. While I realize that maybe there was a slight difference of philosophies between Theo and Larry, this whole power struggle thing is ridiculous. In fact, its what makes the soap opera what it is. The very conflict that is being emphasized here is something that Globe writer Chris Snow picks up on.

Snow implies that "There also appeared to exist a divide in philosophies -- Epstein's desire to somewhat retool the club around pitching and defense and younger players even if public scrutiny was harsh, juxtaposed against ownership's perceived resolve to spend on older, established players." This philosophy must be what is perceived to be what Gammons said a while ago. He said that people in the Lucchino camp supported a deal to bring Damon back, instead of going out to find a replacement. The replacement idea was supported by the co-general managers camp.

Maybe thats all it really was. Maybe the Red Sox were waiting until they could figure out some way to rearrange the heirarcy in the front office. I think thats all it really was. Theo maybe wanted one of two things: 1) A temperary leave from the office for a vacation, until things died down and 2) Look to see what his other options were. Oh yeah, and if we need any advice, we have your cell phone number. That's what it was.

So as we look to the week ahead, what will unfold in this new edition of "The Offseason." Will Jed and Ben be moving their office from the great view of inside Fenway to the janitors closet with Theo's return? Will Larry "Hard Ass" Lucchino be showing up to the press conference next week? What implications on Theo's return have with Manny demanding a trade again this week? And will John Henry make up some new position for a complete "re-arrangement" of the front office? This should make for a very interresting week.

-Random Notes:
-The Red Sox signed Willie Harris to a minor league deal, and I think this could be the replacement fourth outfielder, to replace the role that Gabe Kapler had with the team. It is also possible that Kapler could return as the fifth outfielder for the Sox down the stretch. All the Sox need to do now is trade or sign an centerfielder. According to Sporting News writer, Ken Rosenthal, the Sox could trade David Wells to the Padres for Roberts, or the Giants for Steve Finley (whos making 7 million dollars this year). Eric Wilbur reports, that the Sox might trade 3rd base prospect Andy Marte to the Indians for Crisp. Crisp is supposed to make $365,000, but is arbitration eligible. It also might be a multi-player swap, because Marte might be worth a little more than a CF replacement. Wilbur also thinks Cora will be the starter at SS next year.

Pictured- Coco Crisp making a catch

-I think this is one of the best comments ive heard about Division III basketball in quite sometime. After the OT loss to UMass Boston, their head coach says this to me: "I dont care what you say, or how much money people pay for division 1 basketball games, but playing at this kind of level truly is college basketball." I agree with him. I must also mention the Tinsley Center also had a full house, and 1000 screaming fans yelling defense in the last 2 minutes for the Bears, was awesome.

-More on playoff predictions and the Reggie Bush article I keep talking about.

The State of Sports Jan 18th

2006-01-18T10:28:00.000-05:00

-Baseball

-Clubhouse matters, and Arbitration hearings
I try to never worry about the Red Sox clubhouse. In fact, I know for a fact that David Wells really liked the clubhouse. Two days after Game 3 of the ALDS, comes this comment from "Boomer:"
-"Its probably one of the greatest clubhouses ive ever been in"..."Its stupid how much fun it is"

Once again, I think the Sox management really knows what they are doing. Departing is the hardest working player on the team (Mueller), club house joker (Millar), and rockstar (Damon). Coming into the season are Mike Lowell and Lorretta, (two people with really hard work ethic), clubhouse joker Huckaby. And who needs Damon, when you have Ortiz, Ramirez, and Arroyo?

No I never take a second look at the the clubhouse and worry about a problem. When you have a front office that does there job and looks for players with ingredients for a good clubhouse chemistry, on and off the field, I think its something you cant find anywhere else. This is one of the ingredients that helps build team character and helps win championships. Bradford's article about Ken Huckaby is pretty good today, and helps establish my point.

As for the arbitration hearings, the Sox now have two eligible people. They had Mota and Graffanino, but both signed a one year 3 million dollar contract, and 2 million, respectively. Snow said in the Globe today that they were looking to go long-term with Arroyo, to buy out his arbitration eligible years. Fact of the matter is, Arroyo is "a pitcher likely to make 30 starts, win 10-15 games, and post an ERA in the mid-to-low 4s." I think Arroyo is one of those guys you can stick at the back end of a rotation, or at long relief, and get innings out of him. A young pitcher, who posted career highs in wins (14) and innings (205.1) looks like he is one of the more reliable starters in the American League.

His junkball kind of pitching is more of what this rotation needs. You dont want to have a four game homestand and have guys throwing the same kind of heat that Pedro had a few years ago. I honestly would rather have a power pitching player (Beckett), control pitcher (Schilling/Wells), sinkerball/fastball pitcher (Clement), knuckleball pitcher (Wakefield), and junkball pitcher (Arroyo) in one rotation, rather than one or two of one combination. It shakes things up for the other team. It throws them off. This rotation has veterans and looks to help out the young guys that will be the future of the starting 5. While the Sox look like they are rebuilding, thier starting rotation doesnt have me worried either.

Beckett also is arbitration elgible. The interresting comment that Snow made, was that the Sox look for a one-year deal, instead of going long term. The reason for this is because Beckett " is new to the team, new to the American League, and comes with some injury concerns (finger blisters and right shoulder tendinitis)." So this means that if Beckett has a season, look for him to command a high contract. I dont think there will be much adjustment to this League for a power pitcher like Beckett.

As for the blister problem, Gordon Edes has pointed out in two seperate interviews with Beckett, it was more of a humidity problem, more than anything else. Beckett is quoted on saying "The training staff here has some ideas of some stuff I've been doing and some stuff I haven't been doing. We're going to give them all a shot and see if we can shake this thing." And the problem came up "it seemed like I either had a shutout or had given up less than two runs."

For both arbitration eligible pitchers, I think the Sox will do their best to not make the cases go to an arbiter, if it really comes down to that.

-Random Notes:
-Insider reports that "The Boston Herald also reports the Minnesota and Memphis deals would most likely be straight up for Michael Olowokandi or Lorenzen Wright, and Earl Watson would be the target if something gets worked out with Denver." If Cleveland got involved, Marcus Banks would be in the deal. Celtics need to get rid of the 6-year, 40 Million dollar hit, that he is taking. The Celtics need more leg room to work with, that way, they can put some money else where. Blount averages 13.1 points per game and 4.4 rebounds. Last season, Blount averaged 9.4 points and 4.8 rebounds. I think any move to get rid of Blount is a step in the right direction.

-Im glad BC won last night. Holy Cross was on BC's tail the entire night, and BC just let them stick around, because they didnt guard the perimeter well. But, BC got really lucky because Holy Cross had players in foul trouble, so they played off BC a little bit, and BC drove the basket/shot some threes, and built a solid 7-9 point lead to work with. Holy Cross is a 9-9 team that they struggled with. If BC really wants to win ball games, they have to play better defense, and try something else that works. Eagle sites those among some of the problems that BC has, after the loss to NC State. I dont watch many BC games, because of work, but this one looks sloppy and if BC really wants to play well on a tough ACC schedule ahead, they need to play up to the competition. They face Miami and NC on the road, and then Georgia Tech and Duke at home for their next four games.

-I saw bits and peices of the Illinois-Indiana game, and I was blown away at the first half defense of Illinois. Then I was surprised when Indiana just went nuts with the threes, to put the score at 24-28 at halftime. When I flipped back to the game, after the BC game was over, and Killingsworth had 19 points in the second half, I was amazed. He is the definition of a big man, that more basketball teams need. I think both teams played really good defense, even though they let each teams back into the game, it just shows the amazing depth that the Big 10 has this year.

The State of Sports Jan. 17th

2006-01-17T09:26:00.000-05:00

-Basketball

-Maybe Doc Rivers has to get fired
I am not the biggest Celtics fan, but even the die hard Celtics fans and basketball fans are questioning their own team. I will give you a case in point. I watched the away messages on AIM the night of the triple overtime loss and I read 5-6 of the same messages: "Watching the Celtics blow it in overtime." This message is echoed throughout many in the Boston and National media outlets. What I can figure out is, why would the Celtics trade Paul Pierce, if they can just solve the problem by getting a new coach. Isnt Pierce the team leader, that is supposed to help them out by scoring as much as he can, every night, and trying to get people more involved and motivated in the game.

The Celtics lack two main things, at this point in the season, that has been mentioned on Boston.com blog ,"The Green Room" and in Bill Simmons article last week. Fact is they disregard two of the many different fundamental ways you play the game: Preventing turnovers and defense. You have to win ball games by playing defense. Apparently the lesson of the New England Patriots affected everyone else in the US, except franchises in the city of Boston.

While this is hardly the comparison that I should use, it makes you wonder sometimes. My basketball team (BSC Bears, D3 basketball) are 6-6. They very easily could be 10-2, if they had played defense in 4 of those games by a combined 9 points. Fact of the matter is, they can stay in the game with their really good offense in 3-point shooters, and big men who know how to get to the paint, and at the foul line. I have only seen a few Celtics games this year, they seriously lack a defense, to close the deal. They go through the motions like this games over, and go into complete shut down mode. While my basketball team wouldnt dare do that (because the coach would be riding them), this Celtics team does that. Also, there are some really bad turnovers that are made that should just never happen. The Celtics average 16.6 turnovers a game. That's ranked 29th out of 30 teams in the NBA. There is absolutley no accountability for the starters they have in there.

Its almost as if Doc is playing players because thats how much they are getting paid, and if you spend 15 million dollars on a Center, then by golly maybe he should have a lot of playing time. Thats the business aspect of things. But, I think its the wrong stratagy. I think you should be playing a steady rotation of starters that is Blount, Ricky Davis, Dalonte West, Pierce, and LaFrentz. But use your rookies and second year players to get some experience. I also realize that when your a coach, you like to see consistency, and while not all of your first and second year players are consistent and hardly worth starting, you have to give people the opportunity.

The NBA is interresting because you have to play your starters that are on the cap, or your rookies that you need to find playing time for. Practice is what makes perfect, and what better time to start, as the celtics are 7 games behind and 9 games below the .500 mark. Sometimes I wonder what Celtics team im going to be reading and hearing about the next day. Will it be the team that almost beat the 20-5 Detroit Pistons, or the team that is 0-2 and plays down to the dead last place 10-26 Atlanta Hawks. Fact of the matter is, the Celtics lack some kind of consistency. I think they are more inconsistent than anything else, with the kind of offensive and defensive performances that you see night in and night out.

The Celtics need to do something fast about this situation. You dont want to waste time with your rookies and second year players, and money on people who are eating up the salary cap. The management needs to make a decision before the wrong one is made.

Maybe they should get rid of Doc. Maybe they should trade away team leader, and backbone of this team, Paul Peirce. Maybe they should play who on the basis of who deserves it more. Maybe this team can put up enough points to get to .500. Maybe they should start to play more rookies, and put the veterans on the bench.

What I think they should do is look for the decision that situates the future of the team. Look to see what will save money, but bring experience at the same time. All I know is this: Rivers coaching style is driving fans nuts. When I ask if people want to watch the Cetics game, I sure dont want to hear, why would I just want to watch them blow it, coming from the fans that are more into it than I am.

-Random Thoughts:
-Gammons writes a good article at the rebuilding of the expansion teams that were added in the last expansion (Arizona, Florida, Tampa Bay, and Colorado). He points out of what each team needs to do in order to suceed in their division. In Colorado, they have to get back to even again, and out of the red. Arizona is trying to get a mix of veterans, and young guys to form a competative team. Florida just has stadium issues; and now has an influx of talent to work with. And Tampa Bay might just wind up being the Cleveland Indians of the mid 90's. Great offense, but poor starting pitching. Gammons can be bold, but it just takes a while to see his point.

-I think this article published in Sundays Globe further illustrates my point above.

-I said to my sports editor last night that the Patriots coaching staff is like the Duke coaching staff. I think that any assistant in both organizations is worth their weight for a high level position, because of who is at the top, and how the organization is run. Thats why you see three big moves in the last two years with Crennel to the Browns, Wiess to Notre Dame, and now Mangini to the Jets. This organization just has so much coaching talent, and Bilechick just keeps bringing people in. Its just like Duke, and how Krzyewski and how he prepares his assistant coaches.

Pictured- New Jets head coach Eric Mangini

-I was completely wrong on three of the four games I previewed. I promise to make it up to the readers this week. I know I can do better than that. Preivews and a story on Reggie Bush that I have been planning for a while, in the works for later this week.

The State of Sports Jan 15th

2006-01-15T08:16:00.000-05:00

-Football

-New England Patriots loose postseason streak

Before I start to comment on last nights loss, I would like to mention some after the game comments from the press conference interview. All quotes are being taken from the blog that Mike Riess has on Boston.com. Quotes of note:

- “It’s hard to win when you give the ball away.” -Belichick, on the turnovers
- "I was I was proud of the effort all year. I thought we fought hard and I thought they fought through a lot of the adversity. We just didn’t play well enough today." -Belichick, on the game
- "It was a game of big plays. They made more than we did." - Belichick, on the Champ Bailey Pick

-"Its a very disappointed locker room. Denver made a lot of really great plays. I can't complain because I have been on the other side of those plays in years past." -Brady, on mood of team
-“It was very loud, but we have experienced that before. We had a few false starts early and we got settled down. Once we got settled down, we were able to move the ball.” -Brady, on the crowd noise

-“It’s always nice to win against a team that you know, you’re going against the best, from a coaching standpoint –- offense, defense and special teams." -Shanahan, Opening Statement

-“Our special teams were huge"..."Those guys came out with some huge plays and when you get that kind of field position against a team like that, you have to capitalize." -Rod Smith, on Special Teams play

-"After having experiences playing at Mile High and hearing that place shake, to be completely honest, I was a little upset last year [with the crowd]. I think we just changed the course of Invesco Field being a wine and cheese crowd." -John Lynch, on the crowd
-“You can fluster him every play, you can hit him every play, but he’s going to keep fighting. You better play 60 minutes against him. That’s what it took today.” -Lynch, on Brady

-“A lot of guys in this locker room fought hard. We just didn’t finish. We’re not blaming the whole game on the referees. They didn’t beat us. Denver did.” -McGinest, on the game

I think Willie McGinest's quote just says it all right there. New England just made sloppy and stupid turnovers, and Denver took advantage of it. Anytime that happens, its just very hard to win a game. Denver converted 17 points off of turnovers in this game. Most of these turnover were in the red zone, which makes it even harder for the defense to react, and try to stop the play when there is a variety of plays that can be run.

The Patriots tried to be methodical. They knew they had to control the clock and the momentum of the game, so they themselves would make plays and make things happen on the offensive, defensive, and special teams end. But they really shot themselves in the foot. While holding the Broncos to 96 yards rushing (after averaging 156 per game), and keeping Jake Plummer from really spreading the ball around (197 passing yards and a TD), you really cant complain with the defensive performance. The Pats tried to prepare for this all week.

Maybe it was a mental thing. Maybe it was the crowd. Maybe it was the fact the pats had 8 penalties for 82 yards. Maybe Tom Brady just didnt have the best stuff out there today. Maybe Corey Dillion should have had a better performance. Maybe they should have run more screen passes. Who really knows what happened. I do know this: turnovers killed the Patriots. It is uncharacteristic to give up even one or two turnovers in a game. This is something on the mind of the coaching staff for next year.

You have to take into consideration that the Patriots didnt give up all season. Tom Brady indicated in his postgame interview that they had been going in and out of practice for the past seven weeks. Thats a two month stretch where the Pats had gone 7-2. You have to hand it to Bill Bilichick and his coaching staff. In a season that you would have said, "Oh its over," with a 4-4 start. The Pats make some adjustments, wait on injuries and go on a 6-2 run. I couldnt be more pleased than that.

When Ben Watson sprinted faster than Champ Bailey down that field to come out of no where and tackle Champ Bailey, it just makes you smile. It made me think, a draft pick well spent. I mean, a big tight end sprinting down the field, faster than one of the fastest corners in the league (even though Bailey admitted at the 30 he was running out of gas), you cant complain. It shows that this team has heart. They kept turning the ball over and man they just kept on coming back, and trying to make this a one-two possesion ball game.

I think the off season will be interresting for the Patriots. It will be a transition. They have a lot of players to think about on the cap, and draft picks to assess. With the kind of talent the Patriots have, you can only wonder how the Pats will do next season. If theres one thing I know about this organization, I know that they will know how to make a postseason run for next year.

Photo: John Lynch and Tom Brady embracing in a post game hug and congradulations on a good game

Photos courtesy of the Boston Globe Sports Section

The State of Sports Jan. 13th

2006-01-13T12:39:00.000-05:00

-Football

-Second Round of the NFL Playoff Preview: (NFC Teams)

-Washington at Seattle (Sat. 4:30) FOX
When I asked my friend Carmine who would win this game, his reply was : "If the Seahawks loose this game, they should be banished from the leauge for three seasons." His point while invalid right on the money, figuratively speaking. Fact of the matter is, Seattle has played to win games all season. They can run the ball down your throat with league MVP Shaun Alexander and quarterback Matt Hasselback knows how to spread the ball around. However, their defense is mediocre (17th in yards given up per game) and is overshadowed by their offense that puts points on the board.

The Redskins on the other hand have a defense that just is very physical. They are expected to give the Seahawks quite the game. Last week, they faced the second best defense in the league with Tampa Bay. They not only shut down the league rookie of the year, but the teams top receiver, Joey Galloway. In watching that game, it was a well defensive game played by Washington.

This game will be different. I dont think Clinton Portis will rush for more than 100 yards in this game. The Redskins might get in the redzone, but they will get stopped in the running game, forcing 'Skins QB to pass, and he will get stopped. The Seahawks will grind the clock down with drives, instead of just trying to rush, rush, and more rushing with Alexander. They will try to challenge this Redskins linebackers and secondary to stop him. The score wont even be close. The Seahawks are too good a team to get beaten.

-Pick- Seahawks, the spread is 9, id give them more

-Carolina at Chicago (Sun. 4:30) FOX
Chicago has the best defense in the NFL this year. Hands down, they can and will dominate the game with their starting defensive line, linebackers, and secondary. In fact, the Bears are in the top 5 in about every single category in defense. This includes sacks, interceptions, and tackles. Not only that, but they have the AP defensive player of the year, linebacker Brian Urlacher on their team. The only problem: The Bears are 28th in the league in total offense. And second to dead last in 3rd down conversions.

Maybe this is Delhommes game to shine. Last time these two teams faced off, he threw two picks and the Bears were up 10-0. According to John Clayton, of ESPN, the Bears have had 34 turnovers this season. Of those 34 turnovers, they have converted 104 points or 40% of thier total offense has come from turnovers. So the game plan for Carolina is very simple. Dont turn the ball over. I think the Bears will stop the run. My good freind Adam predicts Carolina killing Chicago with the running game. Deshaun Foster ran well last week, but that was versus a pretty banged up defense in the Giants. I really think they will pressure Delhomme to throw the ball downfield.

The Carolina defense is more than likely going to stop the pass and the run for the Bears. They are the Alabama Crimson tide of the NFL. The tide couldn't put up points, but they could stop you at the goal line at the 1, with fourth and goal. The Carolina defense is ranked 5th in points per game (16.2) and 3rd (behind Chicago) in yards given up per game. Carolina also stopped Eli Mannings high powered offense and held the #2 rushing yard running back to 13 rushes for 41 yards.

Despite what my friend Adam thinks will be a blowout, I think Rex Grossman has played more consistently in the past two weeks, and will spread the ball around just enough to keep a balanced running/pass attack. Who am I kidding with that statement? I also think the Bears will create turnovers, and make this game a field goal game.

-Pick- Chicago in a low scoring game

The State of Sports Jan. 12th

2006-01-12T15:49:00.000-05:00

-Football

-Second Round of the NFL Playoff Preview: (AFC Teams)

-Patriots at Denver (Sat. 8:00) CBS
I have heard many things about this game. And its only been five days since ive heard that New England was playing Denver. This game is being hyped up by both media outlets in their respective towns, and its all people seem to want to bring up. Wibur seems to bring out the best in this factor, in his blogpost today. Forget Mannys problems. Forget Alito's possible confirmation by the Senate. Forget the fact that maybe this isn't the Bruins and Cetics year. Its all about the Patriots. The defending World Champions.

Denver thinks this is thier opportunity. Since the end of the John Elway Era, the Broncos have seen three playoff games in the last six years, and lost all of them. In those six years, the Broncos have seen two different quarterbacks, five different running backs, and one good playmaking reciever. The fans think this is the year. The fans know this is the game to shock America.

Denver went out and added a defensive line so that it could constantly rotate and bring fresh bodys in to counter whatever offensive line is out on the field and keep the pressure on the quarterback. Belichick noted this in his press conference yesterday. The Broncos also focus the key to their game is ball control. They lead the league in time of possession (32:42 average). In focusing on ball control, they outscore their opponents by scoring early (81-44 in the first half), and scoring late (143-61 in the second half).

They have experienced running back Mike Anderson at the helm, who has rushed for 1,014 yards and 12 rushing touchdowns. To complement him, you also have Tatum Bell who has rushed for 921 yards and 8 touchdowns. Denver hardly turns the ball over. In fact, quarterback Jake Plummer has thrown 7 ints all season. No other 16 game starting quarterback has done that this season. His main target is Rod Smith. Smith was 3rd in the AFC in receptions (85) and 4th in the AFC in receiving yards (1105).

Denver has its fare share of holes, however. According to Mike Riess (of the Boston Globe).
Denver is weak on third-down offense (36.2 percent; 22nd in NFL), pass defense (227.7 yards per game; 29th in NFL), kickoff coverage (25.3 yards allowed per runback; 29th in NFL), and lack of pass rush (28 sacks in 613 attempts; 32nd in NFL).

Bosoxguy and myself talked at length about the keys to the game. He said the following:
-Create as many 2nd and 3rd long opportunitys as possible. This basically means shutting Tatum Bell and Mike Anderson down. This really is the backbone of the Denver offense. Denver is second in the league in rushing yards per game (158.7 per game)
-That way the Patriots defense must keep Jake Plummer from moving the ball around, and finding holes in the secondary.
-The battle for turnovers is a must in this game. The Patriots cannot afford to loose fumbles, and Tom Brady cannot afford to throw interceptions. Denver finished with a plus 20 turnover differential on the season (36 takeaways and 16 giveaways; second best in the NFL).
-New England must also establish a running game. Dillion and Faulk are among the best pass-rush receiver tandum in the NFL. Dillion must rush for 75 yards or both must combine for 100 plus, on the day. New England cant afford to have as many first and long situations, like they did last week, against Jacksonville.

I would like to add that the other key to the game for Tom Brady has got to expose Denvers weak secondary. Denver drafted three rookie defensive backs. Although they have corner Champ Bailey, and veteran saftey John Lynch, Denver is ranked 29th in the NFL in pass coverage. Brady should have a field day. Patrick Pass was the main running back, earlier in the sesaon for the Pats. Now they have Dillion and Faulk are the running game now.

The Patriots are also a better team than they were when they played the Broncos. According to the depth chart, the Pats have Richard Seymour, Artrell Hawkins, and Teddy Bruschi playing in this game. Bruschi didnt return until after the bye week and Hawkins hadnt been signed yet. They also had Ellis Hobbes on the bench, because he was a rookie corner in a complex defense. Their other corners were Randall Gay, Autro Freeman, and Duane Starks, and two of them are currently on the IR. They have been replaced by Hawkins, and Ellis Hobbes. My point is this is a better defense than the one that faced the Broncos week 6. A better defense than the one that faced them and gave up 178 yards on 34 carries.

This game is no cake walk. Both defenses will play physical and you know the Pats always find ways to win and come ready to play. The second half will be an adjustment period. Both quarterbacks will step up to the plate and try and deliver their team the victory. Its too bad one team has to loose in the process.

-Pick- New England, in a close game in the 20 point range.

-Pittsburg at Indianapolis (Sun. 1:00) CBS
Unlike the Denver Broncos, Pittsburg is looking for redemption. Since winning the AFC Championship in 95' they havent made a Superbowl since. The Steelers are 5-5 in the postseason, and have lost the 2004, 2001, and 1997 AFC Championship games. How frustrating it must be. Riding on momentum is a key for them right now. After taking out Carson Palmer on the second play of the drive, Pittsburg defense absolutly shut Cincinati down, and they won the game.

Who knew one of the best performers of the game was going to be injured like that. Had he not been injured, Cincinati might have been able to make it a ball game. Palmer is a playmaker. He didnt give up, when the Colts were ahead by a touchdown in that game. He just kept throwing the ball downfield. He tried to expose the weak Colts secondary. Instead, he was replaced by a decent quarterback in Kitna, who hasnt reguarly started since 2003.

A majority of people think that the Colts havent been playing well lately. After loosing to the Chargers in Week 14, the Colts have tried to play back-up Jim Sorgi, and get him some NFL experience. Sorgi, has actually thrown the ball well, but it wasnt enough to beat the Seahawks. In, the last game of the season (a 13-16 victory), the Colts barely ran the ball well, and Sorgi absolutley took over in that game. But thats why you play rookies in meaningless games; to see what they can and cant do. Also, the suicide of Tony Dungy's son, will have an impact on that team. People say it just effects them the head coach in a negative way.

But the Colts are a team that you dont mess with. They have a very good front seven on defense with Dwight Freeny and Corey Simon, who know how to pressure a quarterback. The Colts are also 2nd in points scored per game (27.4) , and 3rd in yards of offense per game (362.4). Their defense has also gotten better this year as they are ranked 11th in yards per game, as opposed to last years mark of 28th in the league. I think Payton Manning and Edgerrin James is always dangerous, and it will be a close game.

Pittsburg has a very good defense that could stop the Colts in thier tracks, like the Patriots did last year. They are ranked 3rd in the NFL in points per game (16.1), 4th in yards given up per game. But I think the Colts defense is just better at making turnovers. Ben Rothlesberger may have played his balls out, versus a good Cincinati Bengals defense, but I dont think it will get the job done. I think the Colts will stop the run as well.

-Pick- Colts, by a touchdown in a 20 point scoring game

The State of Sports Jan. 8th

2006-01-08T09:14:00.000-05:00

-Book Reviews

-Chasing Stienbrenner: Pursuing the Pennant in Boston & Toronto
-By- Rob Bradford
Rob Bradford, beat writer for the Lowell-Sun, wrote this book before the spring training of 2004. So we are moving through the 2003 season following both the Red Sox and Blue Jays front offices. It has a lot of stuff on the beginning of the season, and the end of the season outcomes, but nothing really on the middle of the season. You expect for good MLB coverage on the amateur June draft, like the awesome chapter in Moneyball, but it is hardly that. You go in thinking this book is about George Steinbrenner, but it hardly even mentions his name. Bradford paints the portrait of JP Riccardi, Kevin Millar, Brandon Lyon, and other players of the 03' season so well. But the book fell way short of my expectations.

On the bright side, he does make a good point. He mentions the fault of the bullpen by committee that the Sox opened the season with. He mentions of all people, Brandon Lyon, who actually plays an important role in this book. I was hoping for an intricate look inside a front office, and got that. I was looking for him to maybe paint the portrait of Theo and his front office and how they worked together. I was hoping to maybe use that as proof that Theo really maybe is just sitting out and advising the current front office. The only thing I can draw, is that they worked as a team. There really was no drama, and it was like your typical accounting office, down to the fantasy football draft.

I was disappointed, but maybe you wont be. Maybe you will walk away from this book with something else. I will use this book as the low and Moneyball as the high when it comes to books about a francises front office. This book makes you appreciate the small market teams, like Toronto a little more.

-Perfect I'm Not: Boomer on beer, Brawls, Backaches, and Baseball
-By- David Wells
The David Wells autobiography really is as good as advertised. I bought this book in October, and put it on the backburner most of the time to write this blog. However, I should have finished it way sooner than I did. He makes you look at things from the players point of view. He is not your typical player, because hes a guy. Your typical guy. Beer drinking, woman chasing, average joe guy. Thats the point of view you see. Forget, that he is somewhat of a hothead. Hes a normal guy, just like anyone else, and thats the point of view you have to read the book from.

Theres something about David Wells ive liked. Hes consistent. Hes good for 13-15 wins a year. Hes one of the oldest pitchers in baseball, and (hopefully) still going to pitch for the Sox next season. His stories are priceless, on the many pranks he had, and his inside look at inside a major league clubhouse. He just goes season from season to season when he started out in the Blue Jay farm system, and up through the 02' Yankee season. He literally breaks it down, and tells it like it is. I think that is one of the best qualitys of the book.

I can see why Roger Clemens was mad about Wells being half drunk, while pitching a perfect game. Wells literally makes it sound like being drunk "enhanced" his pitches, and it was one of the best things to ever happen to him. I mean, 6-7 pages for quite the story. Wells literally braggs about it. But, that's just Boomer for you. This book is a must read, and im glad I waited for the book to come out in paperback. If only he had waited until he was out of baseball.

-Patriot Reign
-By- Michael Holley
Of all the books ive read, this is probably one of the most soundly written books ive read. Holley wanted to write this after the first superbowl season (over the Rams), but the Pats fell short of everyones expecations. But, the irony is you realize that both Scott Pioli and Belichick make some key moves to help out the ball club. Both go out and win another championship. Holley paints a picture of both men and thier quest to put out the best on the field, without mentioning the cap numbers. You dont even think twice about the money aspect of things, because that's not what this book is about.

This book is about the New England Patriots. This book is about the front office, the world champion coaching staff, and its players. This book is about the ups and downs of football. You get the look on how Belichick tries to find ways to win.

Towards the middle of the book, Holley starts mentioning who they played on a week-by-week basis, and I just love how he does it. It makes you think, "where was I when this happened?" I love that, because thats what makes being a Pats fan so interresting. Holley doesnt even have to say what happened, you just get this reminder. And then you remember. This is one of the keys that makes this book so good.

Holleys many Belichicks anecdotes never seem to run out. The charm of the Patriots, and its players never runs dry in this book. You see a side of Tom Brady that you so totally want to see. One of those players who loves to play when the game is on the line. Thats when he wants to shine, and compete for a title. You see, the struggle of how the Pats in the early 90's were just bad with Parcells, even though he won an AFC championship. Then you see the contrast of how really good Belicheck really is. The comparing and contrasting of two really good coaches is very good.

I highly recommend this book to any football fan, any sports fan, and my dad (who really doesnt care about sports that much). This easy read is for anyone who likes to read about a front office in the "cut-throat" nature of the NFL, and anyone who just likes to read.

-Bridgwater State Coach Joe Farroba, and Bosoxguy both recommended that I get "Education of a Coach, "by Redford, but I will wait until it comes out in paperback.

The State of Sports Jan. 4th

2006-01-04T13:38:00.000-05:00

-College Football

-Bowl games: Last Look
I didnt get my predictions in for the BCS Bowl games, but on the record I will site my predictions as said in the school newspaper, The Comment:
-Fiesta Bowl- Game that will go down to the wire. You have to love the out of state rivalry. Pick- Ohio State
-Orange Bowl- If FSU is that good to beat Miami and Va. Tech they will beat Penn State. I dont think they will. Pick-Penn State
-Sugar Bowl- Both defenses are good, but Georgia has the edge because there's no stopping DJ Shockley.
Pick- Georgia
-Rose Bowl- USC has edge with their passing attack if Texas stops Bush and USC stops Young

As I sit here an analyze things, I come 0ut with a couple of observations:
-Navy had the best rushing offense in the nation. I was blind to see it and was an idiot for not realizing how good they really were. They blew Colorado State away.

-When I first saw the replay of the Nebraska-Michigan game, I went said to myself that would have been one of the best finishes ever in the history of the game. Someone really should investigate as to why a flag was never thown. Michigan should have at least another play and chance to win that game. Will it ever happen? No. But Michigan has got to be disappointed when thier 5 losses come from a combined 21 points.

-Watch out for Utah and TCU. They now have muscle for good minor conference recruiting classes, with big wins over Georgia Tech in the Emerald Bowl and Iowa State in the Houston Bowl.

-Miami fires four ceoachs due to the Peach Bowl and poor season performance. Apparently they were 60th in NCAA football total offense. Surprising when they have playmakers like Hester and Moss on their team.
-Alabama Kicker Jamie Christensen absolutley shanked that field goal. Hes lucky the Cotton Bowl didnt go into OT.

-One comment that I thought was interresting but should have mentioned in my bowl preview was that Tommy Tubberville said before the Capital One Bowl (Tangerine Bowl) that "Wisconsin just finds ways to win." Should have picked them to win for coaching legend Barry Alverez.

-Pats should trade up to get AJ Hawk. Will it ever happen? No. But its great to fantasize these kind of things.

-Forget the Rose Bowl, I had more fun watching two defenses play physically in the Orange Bowl. Just when you thought that Penn State would blow Florida State away, thier running back gets injured and Penn has to rely on the passing game and defense to get the job done. What a game to last in 3OT.

-I wish Pete Caroll made better decisions. They blitzed Young throughout the first half and then just dropped back into coverage the rest of the game. Thats the reason why USC lost. USC also went for it at midfield fourth and 1, when they should have punted the ball away. Lastly Leinhart just made a bad call throwing the ball down field to get into FG range when there was 8 seconds left and no timeouts. Just all around bad decision making.

-Baseball

-Threat in the AL East: The Blue Jays
The Red Sox have a lot of question marks right now. It is so frustrating watching them rebuild, when it really is a rebuilding year for them. While their rotation is solid, they still have bullpen question marks and need to adress the issue of finding a CF and SS. The Yankees as well, look like the team to beat in the AL. Cashman strenthened his bullpen, and position players by signing Damon. But rotation is littered with question marks, and their payroll stands at 207 million dollars. Even the Orioles look like they will finish the year below .500, while they still have yet to make a major move this season.

The Blue Jays look confident and just might take the wild card this year because of some moves that should generate some offense and run production for a team that doesnt play a lot of small ball, like the Angels and White Sox. The outfiled is strongly supported with Vernon Wells (.269, 28 HR, 97 RBI's) in center, Alex Rios (.262, 10 HR, 59 RBI's) /Frank Catalannoto (.301, 8 HR, 59 RBI) in right, and Reed Johnson (.269, 8 HR, 58 RBI)/Eric Hinske (.262, 15 HR, 68 RBI, 121 SO) in left. All three young fielders have really come of age, and have improved themselves in offense, and are solid fielders. Vernon Wells always knows how to make a web gem.

In trading for Lyle Overbay (.276, 19 HR, 72 RBI) and Troy Glaus (.258, 37 HR, 97 RBI) the Jays have also found room to put young infielders Russ Hill and Adams in the middle infield, by trading away second baseman Orlando Hudson to Arizona. And Shea Hillenbrand is pretty good as their starting DH (.291, 18 HR, 82 RBI's). They really need to work on the batting average though.

The rotation looks solid as well as they have holdovers Roy Halliday (one of the best Starters in the AL and potential Cy Young candidate), Ted Lilly (10-11, 5.56 ERA), and second year starter Gustavo Chacin (13-9, 3.73 ERA). They added free agent AJ Burnett to this rotation, and he should do well with the offense behind him. Josh Towers (13-12, 3.71 ERA) should also benifit from run support as well.

The Blue Jays bullpen will keep the games close in games where they face good pitching. While BJ Ryan is overpaid, he will do well closing out ball games. Guys like Scott Schoenewies (3-4, 80 games, 3.32 ERA), Vinnie Chulk (0-1, 62 games, 3.66 ERA) , Jason Frasor (3-5, 67 games, 3.25 ERA), and Justin Speier (3-2, 65 games, 2.56 ERA) just solidify the previously mediocre Blue Jays bullpen (12th, with 3.32 ERA) . Brandon League will be this years stud out of the bullpen. I have no basis for the previous statement. I just think hes a good prospect.

The Toronto Blue Jays I think will get the Wild Card this year if they can stay out of injuries and just be productive on the mound and at the plate.

The State of Sports Dec. 21st

2005-12-21T10:44:00.000-05:00

-Baseball

-Damon bolts to the Yankees
As I write this headline, I wake up in complete and utter confusion about what the next move would be for the Red Sox. Damon, in the wake of a career year, deserves all the money that is coming to him. The Yankees have tendered him a 4 year- 52 Million dollar contract. Theres no denying that Damon is the best leadoff hitter in the game, who batted .316 (lead the league for a month and a half at one point), had 10 HR's, 70 RBI's, and scored 117 runs. Even more amazing is the statistic of runner in scoring position. He batted .331, scored 100 runs, and batted in 64 in 145 of his 624 AB's.

I always agree with things the Red Sox management are doing. Its my nature, symply because they are the professionals, and they are in fact the people who know whats going on. Writers are good, but only speculate. Reporters give the facts, that usually come from the management. But in this case, they screwed up. Larry Luccino treated Johnny Damon as if he was going no where else. Damon was treated as if he was on the back burner. I predicted in October, that the Sox would sign Damon because I knew it would happen. I just knew that the Sox would offer him what he deserved (a mediocre-high range offer) and they screwed up. You can almost say that this instance was the same kind of thing with Pedro.

We have yet to hear about Damon's comments, but he wont be bitter. By no stretch of the imagination, the Yankees made a blunder after not going after Beltran last year. But, wait a second. I think they got the next best thing. My Yankees fan freind, Palladino, pointed out to me about how the Yankees can make a lot of moves since they have shed off a lot of salary this year. I am taking him up on it and now going to bring it out into the open.

Adding up the entire payroll from Baseball-reference.com, we see that the number stands at 213 million dollars. This year the Yankees will be shedding the contracts of lots of players. The list includes: Kevin Brown (15.7 M), Bernie Williams (12.4 M), Steve Karsay (6 M), Mike Stanton (6 M), Tom Gordon (3.75 M), Paul Quantrill (3 M), Tony Womack (2 M), Tino Martinez (2.75 M), and John Flaherty (800 K). If we add the near-end of the season additions of Alan Embree (3 M) and Mark Belhorn (2.75 M) the total shedded payroll is 56.15 million Dollars. To put this in perspective, if the season started today the payroll would stand at 157 million.

So the Yankees go out and signed some people too. They signed outfielder Matsui to a 4 year 52 million contract. They signed Damon yesterday to a four year 52 million dollar contract. They signed Kyle Farsworth to replace Tom Gordon in the bullpen to a 3 year 17 million dollar contract. They traded for Ron Villone. And signed Mike Myers to a 2 year 2.4 million dolllar deal. And then yesteday they signed a one year deal with Octavial Dotel for 2 million. If we add these new contracts together, we get 35.85 Million. If we add raises from players currently on the payroll (from the contracts listed on mlb4u.com) we would add a 1M raise to Pavano, and 2.5M raise to Posada. Adding these in, the additions total would be 39.5 million. This would be the entire amount of the Brewers payroll last year.

If we add this up to the 157 million number, we would get 196.5 million dollars. The Yankees clearly dont care about payroll once again, and are buliding a championship team at the expense of money. I have no proof, but last year they supposedly went out of the red in debt last year. The Yankees assume they will attract 4 million people this year. Maybe even more. Maybe they will. Maybe they wont. Fact of the matter is, the payroll is just under 200 million dollars, and they still have to pay luxury tax.

Damon will have another good year this year. But, he also will gradually decline. He just turned 32, and when you get older things happen. Because of the way Damon plays centerfield, he is also very prone to injury. Also last year, he was taking cortisone shots just to play. Who knows what implications this might have if he gets injured again. Damon might end up being another Bernie Williams. A signing that people now are liking, might be one they dont like.

The Red Sox management is now in a muddle over what they will do next. They have vaccancies to fill at shortstop, centerfield, and first base. Plus they need bullpen depth. David Lefort speculated yesterday that Graffanino or Loretta just might fill the shortstop gap. And maybe Youlkis will be the everyday first basman next year. But, what to do about Centerfield. Do the Red Sox dare sign Juan Encarcion, Terrece Long, or Preston Wilson? Or do they trade for Crisp, Reed, or some other centerfeild?

These questions and more will be adressed in the coming months. We will see what the "experts" in the front office decide to do. Damons signing with the Yankees was just a firework in the sky in a fourth of july celebration. The next move of the Sox wont be great, but they will figure it out, and respond when it matters the most. I just hope the Sox wont be rash and sign somebody they dont want on their team for this year, or the future.

The State of Sports Dec. 18th

2005-12-18T19:10:00.000-05:00

College Football

Bowl games, a third look:

-Important Bowl games worth watching
As most of our semeters wind down, I will continue to recap what I think will happen with the Bowl games that I hope you would watch. We move into the more competative side of football with some interresting bowl matchups. Most of these matchups are good defenses versus good offenses, and mixes of both. If you disagree or agree, feel free to just comment. I will again be using ESPN, and using things I hear from people I talk to. Everyone is a sports fan, and I always try to bring that experience to this blog, because I cant stand the opinionated columns I read that are all about how they are the "experts." Please note that I do not predict the BCS Bowl games here.

-Alamo Bowl- Favorite-Michigan; Underdog-Nebraska
Dec. 28th; San Antonio; ESPN
A game featuring two teams that have historically had good seasons. Michigan enters the bowl season ranked at #20 in the AP poll, but really hasnt played up to competition that they usually play at. A team that opened the season pre-ranked at #4 lost to Minnesoda, and Wisconsin, and Ohio State. Nebraska on the other hand, has lost to Wake Forest, Kansas (for the first time in 36 years), and Missouri. Yes, both teams have lost to bowl elgible teams, but havent played well in theses losses. They really have had mediocre seasons. Michigan on the other hand has the edge because Chad Henne is one of the more consistent quarterbacks in the Big 10. The opening spread on this game was Nebraska getting 17 points. The interresting thing is that the spread has been going down, and will continue. I think Micigan will blow Nebraska away by a lot though.
-Pick-Michigan

-Holiday Bowl- Favorite- Oregon; Underdog- Oklahoma
Dec. 29th; San Diego; ESPN
A holiday bowl matchup to remember with Oklahoma taking on BCS snubbed #6 ranked Oregon. Sound familiar? Remember last years Holiday bowl matchup with #4 ranked California and #22 ranked Texas Tech? Texas Tech proved that California shouldnt have been in the one of the BCS games at all. So is Oregon really overrated, or should they have been in a Bowl. Like Califorina, their only loss was to top ranked USC. Oregon has blown out teams it should, and played ranked teams (except USC) close, just like any top 10 ranked team would. Oklahoma on the other hand played in the Big 12. The Big 12 this year didn't play up to other BCS conference competition. But, Oklahoma has been consistent after their opening loss to TCU. Oklahoma brings in the 16th ranked defense in yards per game given up, and Oregon has the 15th ranked offense in yards per game. These factors should make the game very interresting. I like Oklahoma because I think they are a team that should be ranked and one of three teams out of this conference that has been consistent. I like picking the upset too.
-Pick-Oklahoma

-Emerald Bowl- Favorite-Georgia Tech; Underdog- Utah
Dec. 29th; San Francisco; ESPN
A game that should have been put in the same category of the Joke Bowls, but is here because it should be a good game. I suggest watching this one because the other really good BCS team vs non-BCS conference matchup for one team lucky to get a bid. Utah, a year removed from first round pick Alex Smith, has the 12th ranked offense in yards per game in the nation. Utah has a 6-5 record loosing two non ranked BCS teams and TCU. They have also lost to 5-7 San Diego State and 6-5 New Mexico. Georgia Tech's went 5-3 in the ACC, loosing to Virgina Tech, Virgina, and NC State. However, Georgia Tech's defense is ranked 10th in yards per game given up. Utah's edge is the way they control the ball. In running the spread option offense, you take risks, but run well, you can beat anyone. It should be a good game, because not many ACC teams see this kind of offense. Georgia Tech should beat them though.
-Pick- Georgia Tech

-Sun Bowl- Favorite-UCLA; Underdog- Northwestern
Dec. 30th; El Paso; CBS
This game looks to be a repeat of last years Liberty Bowl shootout with Boise and Louisville. Does have the edge with UCLA with the 22nd ranked passing offense versus Northwesterns 101st ranked passing defense? Or does Northwestern have the edge with 26th ranked rushing defense versus the 117th ranked rushing defense? Who really knows? I think Northwestern might have the edge because UCLA's kicker got a DUI last week and wont be playing in the bowl. With an opening over-under of 72 (and climbing), this game should be a shootout. I have gone back and forth on this game so many times, and I am still not sure if my UCLA pick is going to do it. I am going on a hunch, with UCLA's secondary will stop the passing attack, and force Northwestern to run, and then they will just stop that. Who am I kidding with this pick. There may be no punting at all.
-Pick- UCLA

-Peach Bowl- Favorite- Miami; Underdog- LSU
Dec. 30th; Atlanta; CBS
A rarity when it comes to bowl matchups, Miami and LSU have two really good defenses. To put it in perspective, Miami brings in the 2nd ranked defense in points per game (11.9) and 3rd ranked defense in yards per game given up (252.1). LSU brings in the 8th ranked defense in points per game (15.2) and 5th ranked in yards per game given up (276.3). With that being said, it just might be a field goal battle. If this game goes into overtime, watch out, it just might be a college classic. Or it could be a game dominated by one defense, blowing the other one out. I think that Miami will come up on the winning end because LSU will have the hangover from the SEC championship upset. Miami should be the dominating team. But, LSU played in the SEC this year, loosing only to Tennessee and Georgia. Both teams played good schedules, this just might end up being a college classic to remember. Remember as of right now Jamarcus Russell is on the DL and is questionable right now. This may have an effect on the game.
-Pick- Miami

-Meineke Car Care Bowl- Favorite- NC State; Underdog- U. Central Florida
Dec 30th; Charlotte; ESPN 2
NC States defense is a surprisingly ranked 14th in the nation, in yards given up per game. Central Florida brings in a squad playing in the Big East for the first time, and making its first bowl game. ESPN reports that they are getting no respect as NC State might beat them if they can stop Central Florida's running back Andre Hall. I think they should, because that is the key to Cen. Floridas game. NC State has also played better opponents in the ACC, and will be playing in front of a home crowd in Charlotte.
-Pick-NC State

-Liberty Bowl- Favorite- Fresno State; Underdog- Tulsa
Dec. 31st; Memphis; ESPN
In this matchup of the Conference USA champion and the team that should be the WAC Champion. Fresno State has lost its last three games to USC, Nevada, and La. Tech, after starting 8-1. The question is, is Fresno State too inconistent to win this game versus a high powered Tulsa offense. Tulsa isnt that high powered, but they are led by NFL future first round pick Garrett Mills (a TE) who caught for 1183 yards (6th in NCAA). Both are pretty good as Tulsa is ranked 39th in total yards per game and Fresno is ranked 29th in yards per game. They also both score a lot of points as Tulsa is ranked 24th (33.3 points) and Fresno is ranked 5th (38.9 points). On the other end of the ball, Fresno is ranked 36th in yards per game and Tulsa isnt far behind at 40th. I think Fresno has the edge because their Quarterback Paul Pinigar while inconsistent will shine on the stage of this new years eve game. He's got 3122 passing yards (10th in NCAA) and 29 touchdowns (5th).
-Pick- Fresno State

-Houston Bowl- Favorite- TCU; Underdog- Iowa State
Dec. 31st; Houston; ESPN 2
Iowa State proved to be a formidible opponent when it beat #8 Iowa, and opened 3-0. They then lost the last three games and thier top 25 ranking. They closed out the season strong 4-1, but suffered a crushing loss to Kansas, as they would have represented the Big 12 North in the championship game. Despite this loss, Iowa State should put up a good fight versus this TCU squad. TCU is one of the best minor conference defenses in the nation most notabably knocking off Oklahoma in the opening week and is ranked 12th in the nation in points per game. Although TCU hasnt played the same kind of comeptition that Iowa State plays, I think they will make adjustments and pull ahead after halftime.
-Pick-TCU

-Cotton Bowl- Favorite- Texas Tech; Underdog- Alabama
Jan. 2nd; Dallas; Fox
Texas Tech enters this game with an offense that is among the best in the nation ranking 2nd to USC in yards per game and 4th in the nation in points per game (42.1 points). Their quarterback, Cody Hodges, had 4042 passing yards (2nd in NCAA) and 30 (4th in NCAA) touchdowns to lead his team to a 9-2 record. Alabama counters with one of the best defenses in the nation as they lead it in points per game (10.7 points) and is 2nd in the nation in yards allowed per game. The last time Alabama faced an offense this good, it was in the Iron Bowl to Auburn. But, this time around Alamaba will know what to expect as they are led by Defensive captain DeMeco Ryan. The defense will be prepared to take this game to a standstill, because Alabama themselves doesnt really have an offense. We will see who wins this game as it might be a struggle for both teams until halftime. I think Alabama has the edge, because when Texas Tech faced the really good Texas defense they were handled 52-17. The score wont be that high, but I just think Alabama has the edge.
-Pick- Alabama

-Outback Bowl- Favorite- Florida; Underdog- Iowa
Jan. 2nd; Tampa; ESPN
Florida a team in a rebuilding year with Urban Meyer as the head coach, did well in the SEC going 5-3, and should do better next year with the spread option offense. Iowa on the other hand went a quiet 5-3, only losing to Northwestern, Ohio State, and Michigan. A former top 10 team (#7 in AP poll week 2), did alright, but still lost a big game to inconistent Iowa State. This game should be just an all out battle. Both teams have good defenses and balanced offenses. To illustrate my point look at the total win-loss records of Iowa its 72-54. Likewise for Florida, its 71-53. Theste teams are so evenly matched. Florida and Iowa certainly have played well in their respective conferences and it shows that this is a game that my come down to the wire. Florida has the edge beacause I think their defense will stop Iowa when it needs to.
-Pick- Florida

-Gator Bowl- Favorite- Va. Tech; Underdog- Louisville
Jan. 2nd; Jacksonville; NBC
Virgina Tech immediately has the advantage with Quarterback Brian Bromm out with surgury. Vick should be able to redeem himself from the loss in the ACC Championship game. However, maybe Louisville backup Hunter Cadwell can get the job done. Looking at the numbers, Louisville was 7th in the league in yards per game, and 3rd in points per game (just behind Texas and USC). Thier offense is as balanced as they come with a 1000 yard and 23 TD performance on the season by running back Michael Bush. Not only that, but Louisville has four recievers on the season with 500+ yards with Tinch, Urrutia, and Jones. Virgina Tech should blow Louisville away with their top ranked defense. Thier defense is best (#1) with yards per game, and top 10 in rushing and passing defenses. Virgina Tech will pound the ball down Louisville's throat, and win this game.
-Pick- Virgina Tech

-Capital Bowl- Favorite- Auburn; Underdog- Wisconsin
Jan. 2nd; Orlando; ABC
An Auburn team that just creeped up in the standings in the middle of the season with 5-1 record, before loosing to LSU. After that loss, Auburn won its last four games and could have very well competed with Georgia for the SEC crown had they not lost to LSU. Auburn should more than prove that they are worthy to play with the big boys in the BCS games. I dont think Auburn got snubbed by any strech of the imagination, I just think they deserve a better matchup. Wisconsin is overrated. Although they are 13th in the nation in points per game (35.2), they are 57th in yards per game. Their defense is 99th in the nation in total yards given up per game. Wisconsin may score a lot of points, and their hearts out for retiring head coach Barry Alvarez, but they are just no match for Auburn. Auburn is 26th in total yards per game and 9th in the nation in yards given up per game.
-Pick- Auburn

The State of Sports Dec. 15th

2005-12-15T11:19:00.000-05:00

Football

-Patriots look for key win versus Tampa Bay
I read Dan Wetzel's yahoo article yesterday, and it made me realize...man the Pats are pretty dangerous. Brady is quoted as saying, "We are 8-5..."I dont think that anyone is too afraid of a team that is 8-5." This Pats team plays in among one of the worst in divisions in football. They have proven themselves worthy to compete in the playoffs as they are 4-0 on the season vs. division opponents. Injuries havent decimated this squad yet.

The Pats, winners of 4 of thier last 6, face Tampa Bay, winners of 3 out of their last 4. Ac cording to Head Coach Belichick:
-Tampa on offense: “Tampa is playing very well. They’ve really kind of changed their style of play the last couple of weeks, but it’s been very successful for them; won four of the last five. They’re playing very well on the road. They’re a very strong running team, they can throw the ball, they can make big plays, they have a lot of good receivers, of course, headed by [Joey] Galloway...whos among one of the best in the league."
-Tampa on defense: "Defensively, they’ve always been a real good defensive team, and that continues to be the case. They’re good against the run. They’re good against the pass. They turn the ball over. They’re good on third down. They’re good on first down. They’re pretty much good at everything, and that’s why they’re at the top of the league."

Belichick downplays a lot of things, but last weeks blow out win over Buffalo showed a spark of hope for this football squad. They now have Corey Dillon and Kevin Faulk back. Both showed duribility in the snow as they combined for 27 rushes for 116 yards and a touchdown. They also had a combined 10 receptions for 100 yards. If this tandem hasnt had an opportunity to work for most of the season. Dillon has been limited since week 9, despite his 16 rushes for 60 yards, and a touchdown performance vs. the Jets in week 13. For Faulk, this was really his second good apperance since the Jets as well. He was inactive previous since week 5. The Patriots certainly look very dangerous with the tandem that performed well versus the struggling Bills on Sunday.

People arent worried yet, but seem to be in wondering about the status of Tom Brady. He went down on the injury report as questionable, yesterday. I think they have very little to worry about. Its now thursday and he should be taking it easy for now. On Saturday, he should be at practice doing a lot of things. This whole season, Belichick has been using the injury report to his advantage. Players have been going down with injuries that are legitimate, but you really arent sure whos starting and whos playing. Of the 13 players on the injury report listed as questionable, 6 of them played last week. This week they have 14 players. We will see what Belicheck decides to do.

As for Tom Brady, we hope he plays. He has been the catalyst for this New England offense, and down the strech, has been one of the most consistent quarterbacks in football. People have been talking about how Payton Manning has been brilliant in his teams 12-0 record. But what about Brady. He hasnt missed a start all season, and has been very consistent all season. He has only had two games (Jets and Pittsburg) where he hasnt thrown at least a touchdown, and has had 8 200 passing yard games, and 4 300 yard passing games. He also leads the NFL in passing yards, by 400 over Payton Manning. His performance versus the Bills was unforgetable, and he proved how durible he really can be.

According to Wetzel, "The Pats will either prove to be pretenders and beneficiaries of a weak schedule, or emerge (after Indy) as the team you least want to play in the AFC"..."Proving day comes Saturday when one of the NFC's better teams comes a-calling. It's a statement game. And the rest of the NFL had better be paying attention because the champs just might still be capable of some stunning statements."

Wetzel is right. The Pats need to make a statement. If they had beaten the Chiefs, they would have had a victory in five strait games. But Larry Johnson really is too good this second half. However, the Pats face rookie Cadillac Williams, and hes been just as deadly (at times). This is the chance for them to prove that they are among the best in the division. This will prove that the Pats really have something to prove.

A couple of other stats that Wetzel mentioned:
-The New England Patriots are 17-5 under Belicheck. In the playoffs, they are 9-0. The Pats, are certainly peaking at the right times, and look like the better team to play, at home on Sunday.

Baseball

-Random thoughts
-I like the signing of Bill Mueller to the Dodgers. He is a very underrated player, and should solve the Dodgers problems at third base. After letting Beltre go, they started 7 differen t players at the position, and had very little luck. This interresting platoon combined for 10 HR's, 67 RBI's, 81 Runs, .249 BA, and .332 OBP. Muellers three year average is 13 HR's, 68 RBI's, 76 Runs, .301 BA, and .377 OBP. It looks like the Dodgers have solved thier problems at third with Muellers 2-year, 9.5 million contract.

-Nomar at First Base for the Yankees? It could happen, but its very unlikely. Of the free agents on the market for a position the Yankees need to fill, he looks like a very good option. This very well could be the revival of what Nomar is looking for. It doesnt matter what he could do with the bat, its his fielding. It has always been suspect at shortstop, as he was ranked in the bottom 5 of fielders in the AL, in 2003 (by Baseball America). Reports have said that Torre is looking for him to play multiple positions. One of my Yankees fan freinds (Dino) has told me that he wouldnt mind if the Yankees signed Nomar. Hes a lot better than Giambi.
-Dino has also said that Bubba Crosby will be the opening day center fielder. According to him, Crosby should play a position at the bottom of the order in a potent offense that really doesnt need anymore pop. Crosby also really is a pretty good center fielder, and possibly better than what the Yankees have had at the position in the last 3 years. This includes the decline of Bernie Williams. For the record, in two years and 127 games (53 in '04 and 74 in 05'), Crosby has two assists and no errors in the outfield.

The State of Sports Dec. 13th

2005-12-13T13:26:00.000-05:00

Baseball

-Conspiracy Theory?
Gerry Callahan makes lots of assumptions in his column today (if you can read it...too bad; you need a subscription). He uses an inside source and the facts to manipulate what he wants to hear. Here are a couple of quotes:
-Source quote: "One source close to the Sox front office said yesterday that Henty offered Epstien the position of 'president of baseball operations.' 2.5 weeks ago, derailing Lucchino's external search for a GM and leading to yesterdays bizarre announcement."

-Fact: "When asked about Theo's return Luccino said, 'We'd like to see it happen'"
-Assumption: "Theo is his nemisis now, the guy who ruined a good thing for Larry in Boston. He believes Theo cut him off at the knees five weeks ago, and the pain is still there.

-Fact:"As for Ben & Jed, their names are on the directory"
-Assumption: "They'll be working for theo. The plan now is for Ben & Jed to keep the lines of communications open to Epstien, who will wait"..."When the time is right Theo will return to be the boss of baseball operations"

-Assumption: "But this is the direction Henry has chosesn. he wants Theo back, but doesnt want to hurt Larry's feelings. he wants a new GM, but doesnt know who to promote."

-Fact: "'People right now are speculating about a reduced roled for Larry Lucchino dont know what they're talking about', said Henry in an AP email"
-Assumption: "Of course this is what we saw Luccino in yesterday. He was reduced to telling everyone how much he wanted Theo back and how co-GM's is a wonderful idea and if you just fell off a turnip truck, you might have believed him."

This is a conspiracy theory through and through. If you read the entire transcript of the interview you see that they are just restructuring their front office. I dont see them hiding anything. According to the transcript Jed will be working on contracts, and internal stuff, and Ben will be working on player development. They will share the same office, and basically review thier own decisions as a team, given thier backgrounds within the organization. Rather than have someone learn the new things as the franchise goes through a new transition period and have someone new screw things up, they would rather have the internal experience there. People like Eric Wilbur in his blog yesterday site that it will never work. The co-GM idea is crazy basically, and they will just point the finger around the office if things go wrong.

People think that Theo is returning. Gammons has been hinting it for 1.5 months apparently and now this Gerry Callahan story comes out. What do you want to believe? You want Theo back, because Luccino is the bad guy in all this. The Boss Tweed at the top of the pyramid who is ruthless and uncaring, and doesnt give a shit, just what he wants. And then theres the Lawrence paper column Sunday that reports :
"Overpaying for center fielder Damon is also reportedly a concernt of Epstien and his supporters, who seem to be targeting trades for Jeremy Reed and Clevelands Coco Crisp as a backup plan. Lucchino, meanwhile has been spearheading the Damon negotiations"

If you read this very line on BDD on Sunday evening you went..."Oh my god, theres some kind of problem going on in this office. " Im afraid that could be closer from the truth. If you read any report published by Edes on Extra Bases, you would see that Luccino the whole week has been talking to Boras, Damon's agent. If you put two and two together and realize that the camps are Ben and Jed, who are now the co-GMs support Theo's idea (because they both admitted in the transcript that they still talk to him, and for personal stuff and advice can be implied) which is to trade Clement away for Reed, if they dont sign Damon. This was reported in the Notes section of the Globe today.

There's no conspiracy theory, its just something that people are making up. Theo may return as an advisor to the team. Kind of the same role hes been doing all along. Who wouldnt want his expertise; after all, he did put together a team that won a World Series. I cant wait to read the crazy things people will be writing over the next few days. Just dont believe any of it.

-Edgars comments
Edgar sites that the problem with him making a lot of errors was the infield grass, at Fenway Park. Wow; This is facinating. I mean, in yesterdays Globe is he blaming the grass for his problems in getting the amount of errors he had. I dont believe this for one moment. Here's why:
-We know that Edgar played 1293 Innings at Shortstop this year, which is about 150 games. He made 30 errors to lead the league in any position.
-We also know that Mark Bellhorn played a little more than half the Innings that Edgar played at SS with 712. Bellhorn didnt get it done with the bat for three months, but did well with the glove only making 6 errors in 82 games. Midseason aquisitions to replace Bellhorn, Graffanino and Cora combined for 623 Innings (in 72 games) and made 5 combined errors. At second base in 1335 Innings (more than Renteria's) there were 11 total errors from starters, and the backup second baseman.
-We can also say that it was surprising that Bill Mueller and his backup (Youklis) combined for 154 games and 1348 Innings. Mueller made 10 errors, and Youlkis made none.
-What about average fielding first baseman Kevin Millar and former gold glover winner John Olerund? In 140 games and 1527 Innings Millar had 7 errors and Olerund had 1.
-If you add up all of these numbers the averages go like this (for the other three positions) :
-1410 Innings (compared to 1293 from Edgar) and 10 errors (compared to 30). And all 3 postitions errors added up were 29 errors, if you were counting.

Lets look at these numbers and realize that Edgars statement is a little far fetched. If the infeld grass was really that bad, then we would have seen the same kind of number exposion that we saw from Renteria. But we dont. Even when we average the other positions out with thier main starters. So it really doesnt make any sense. Not only that, but the Sox spent 2 million dollars to replace thier grass in order to put in a new drainage system in November of 2004.

Renteria also sights that he injured himself and that he does not excuse his errors for personal injuries. He played most of the season 50-60%, and not 100 percent, so this explains the bat angle. This may also explain the errors too. We just dont know about it until after the season. Maybe its a lot better that way. Renteria is quoted in todays Globe as saying, "Im not making any excuses. I always say I make errors. The field doesnt make errors." But he sited in yesterdays globe as that being the case. But, we know it certainly doesnt look that way.

Really, after all this Renteria really let us down with his actions, and not his words

The State of Sports Dec 9th

2005-12-09T18:30:00.000-05:00

-College Football

-Heisman Race
-I made the comment to Bosox guy on his site, about how Vince Young should win the Heisman. Then Texas played Texas A & M. Vince Youngs stats for the game were a indifferent performance of 13 for 24 with 162 passing yards and a touchdown. He was held to 11 rushes for 19 yards, 3 sacks, a long of 11 yards and no TD's. When he hasnt been effective on the ground, hes been good from the air, and when he hasnt been effective from the air, hes been good on the ground. In this game he totally made everyone believe in Reggie Bush. A running back that splits carries (with Lamar White) has rushed for averages of 138.2 rushing yards per game, and 9.6 yards per attempt. I need not go on because I really think you see mine and lots of other peoples points.

-Even more interresting is the poll that ESPN has on the College football site has the Heisman voting as follows: (USA-212,000 voters; Texas- 16,000)
-Bush- 76%; Young-19; Lienart-5%; In Texas (the only state that Young has) the voting is - Young- 52%, Bush- 46%; Lienart- 2%.

-Baseball Notes
- The Sox havent yet indicated as to what their intentions are with Andy Marte. The plan might be to trade him away to make a deal possible. I have heard people say that all day. When I mention the trade, they just go "Yeah, lets trade him away." I disagree. I read in the Herald that they just might want to hang onto him. The #5 rated prospect in the AAA league is just really a good trade for a team that is in desperate need for a small ball hitting shortstop. Yeah the Sox are eating salary, but they get rid of an unpopular player ( Please note I speak for the majority. I have always thought getting Renteria was a good move ), but they gain a lot more with this new prospect. Looks like they are looking to see if this guy can go to the outfieild instead of playing the corner infield position. We will see

-The Blue Jays are making the right moves to ensure they wont finish dead last in the AL East this year. With the signing of AJ Burnett, and Ryan, they are just strenghtening their middle of the road ball club. The Jays are really another starter away from being really good. They are finally trading Bush and Baptista away for whatever they can get for them. Thier offense is really solid, and should put up some runs this year. I just dont know whats going to happen with thier bullpen. Brandon League is going to emerge as the setup man in May. This guy just needs to find his fastball and sinkerball. I think League is going to be like Rincon two years ago, and Jessie Crain for the Twins last year. Hes going to just emerge as the guy in the 8th for the Jays. I am just wondering who else they have. They have a variety of people, its just you can never have enough quality bodies in the bullpen. We will see how Overbay does this year too.

The State of Sports Dec. 8th

2005-12-08T17:12:00.000-05:00

-College Football

-Bowl Previews: A Second Look

-The 12 Joke Bowls to consider watching:
I will call the bowls that are just there because corporate sponsorship is the American way the "Joke bowls." Fact is, there arent really many BCS vs BCS conference matchups in these previews, but I will just point out the obvious on a reason why you might just want to tune in. I would also like to note that I was 20/27 in last years picks, and beat out my freind Lopes who was 18/20. I was surprised by the amount of 6-5 teams in this particular bracket or games (10 out of 24 teams).

-New Orleans Bowl- Favorite- Southern Mississippi; Underdog-Arkansas State
-Dec. 20th; Lafayette, LA; ESPN

I can't emphasize how bad the Sun Belt conference is, in football. When the top two teams are just over .500 overall, and six other teams are either .500 or below, that must tell you something about themselves. Southern Mississippi has held their own in the Conference USA this year to. The opening spread on this game was Arkansas State getting 17 points. Southern Miss. should beat them by a lot more.
-Pick- Southern Miss.

-GMAC Bowl- Favorite- Toledo ; Underdog- UTEP
-Dec. 21st; Mobile, AL; ESPN

ESPN reports that both teams rank at the top of the NCAA in total offense (Toledo 18th and UTEP 17th) in yards per game. While both teams have average defenses, I think that Toledo has the edge in quaterback experience. Thier quarterback (Bruce Gradkowski) is probably one of the best to come out of the MAC since Rothlesberger. You also have to pay attention to UTEP QB Jordan Palmer (Carson's brother). I pick Toledo here for this edge. It may be a pretty high scoring game. The opening over under for this game is 60.5. So we will see what happens.
-Pick-Toledo

-Las Vegas Bowl- Favorite- Califorina ; Underdog- BYU
-Dec. 22nd; Las Vegas; ESPN

When it comes to this game, I look to the strength of schedule. The Pac 10 always has good competition, but how has Cal. done this year? I remind you that Cal was one of a handful of teams that was undefeated at mid-season. But if we add up the wins and the teams records on the season we get a 18-60 record. If we add up the losses and the teams records on the season, we get 32-9. I think Cal has a very soft schedule. BYU on the other hand, of their losses, they played much better vs BC, Notre Dame, and TCU, who are ranked than Cal when they played ranked opponents. Although they should have beaten San Diego State and maybe Utah, BYU has the upperhand in schedule strength. Lopes also pointed out that Cal finished the season 2-4, in their last 6 games. I pick BYU for the upset here.
-Pick- BYU

-Poinsettia Bowl- Favorite- Navy ; Underdog- Colorado State
-Dec. 22nd; San Diego; ESPN 2

Navy finished the season with a 7-4 record. A 7-4 record is pretty good, unless you do what I did above with California's schedule. If we look at the records of the teams that Navy has beaten and their overall records you get 14-74. I think that Colorado State is the better team too. Thats why I pick Colorado here. However, Lopes picked Navy. He made the point that Navy the top rushing team in football with rushing yards and rushing yards per game. Colorado State, however, is near the bottom (100th) in rushing yards allowed and rushing yards per game (102nd). This might be Navys only edge, however.
-Pick- Colorado State

-Forth Worth Bowl- Favorite-Kansas ; Underdog- Houston
-Dec. 23rd; Fort Worth; ESPN

Kansas really stepped it up on the season. A team that looked like it would go winless its last four games, beat three of the better Big 12 North teams in Nebraska, Iowa State, and Mizzou and only lost to Texas. Although they lost to a better Colorado team, a Kansas State team that was in a down year, a better Oklahoma team, and a better Texas Tech team, they definately closed out the season strong to prove themselves an improving team in the Big 12. Maybe Kansas shouldnt have gotten a bowl bid, but they should definately handle Houston. Houston really didnt play a good schedule beating teams that boosted their record. Kansas will blow this team away.
-Pick-Kansas

-Hawaii Bowl- Favorite- Nevada ; Underdog- UCF
-Dec. 24th; Honolulu; ESPN

After sharing the WAC crown with Boise, I think Nevada got snubbed from their chance to show people that they could have competed with the other good teams in the minor conferences. But I do like the WAC this year, and its all ive been talking about, so im kind of biased. Regardless, UCF and Nevada is a good matchup. Nevada in their own conference is top 5 in defense and offense, with the real balanced approach. UCF on the other hand is bottom 5 in defense and offense. But they are 8-4 and lost in the Conference USA championship game. I will point out that UCF (within the last 5 years, when UCF has been competative) has played their conference opponents well. Even with losses, they have kept themselves in the game. Its just UCF doenst play up to the BCS conference opponent competition. UCF has an inflated schedule and will get manhandled by Nevada.
-Pick- Nevada

-Motor City Bowl- Favorite- Memphis ; Underdog- Akron
-Dec. 26th; Detroit; ESPN

Among one of the most explosive Running Backs in college football is Deanglo Williams, who plays for Memphis. All the hype has been around Reggie Bush, but what about what Williams. In competing with Bush, and Jerome Williamson (from Washington State), Williams is second in total rushing yards behind Williamson. But, according to ESPN.com, Williams is one of the only active running backs that has 5,000 rushing yards for thier career. Likewise, Memphis is #6 in the nation in rushing yards per game. It will be interresting for Akrons middle of the road run defense. And, this will be Akrons first ever bowl game appearance. Its minor coference action; who knows what will happen.
-Pick- Memphis

-Champs Sports Bowl- Favorite-Clemson ; Underdog-Colorado
-Dec. 27th; Orlando; ESPN

If both QB's play in this game, it should make for an interresting game. Both are questionable, as ESPN reports as Colorado QB Klemm was in the hospital, and Clemson QB Whitehurst just had shoulder surgury. Both would be making their 40th collegiate start and it could be a good matchup. It is more likely that Klemm plays, and they just havent done well at all. After getting outscored 103-22 in the last three game losses, it just doesnt look well for them at all. Klemm, their senior QB, whos one of the best in the schools history hasnt played up to his prior performances. As ESPN notes in thier preview, the last few games carry over into the bowl season, and it looks like it could the the case here. Clemson on the other hand did well in its last four games going 4-1 and beating a ranked Florida State and South Carolina and almost beating a ranked GT team (10-9). Clemson's defense is pretty good too and should do well versus Colorado.
-Pick-Clemson

-Insight.com Bowl- Favorite-Arizona State ; Underdog- Rutgers
-Dec. 27th; Phoenix; ESPN

-Rutgers has its first bowl bid since 1978. Although the Big East is down in recent years Rutgers is not as thier coach (since '02) has been trying to make them a competative team. Brian Lenord and freshman Ray Rice have carried Rutgers to this game. Although the Scarlet Knights havent played anyone of much good competition, they have centainly improved, and will play in a good bowl. Arizona State on the other hand has the major home field advantage, as their campus is in the next town over. All they have to do is literally take a 15 minute bus ride over to Bank One Ballpark. Although the Sun Devils were underperforming, look for their offensive passing attack to crush Rutgers. The opening spread on this game was Rutgers getting 17.5. It might get close though, because Arizona State let USC and LSU come back in home games they could have won.
-Pick-Arizona State
-Pictured- Notre Dames 300+ member band at Last years Insight.com Bowl

-MPC Computers Bowl- Favorite-Boise State ; Underdog- Boston College
-Dec. 28th; Boise; ESPN

BC got snubbed. They got screwed for other teams that should have been in the peach or even the Music City bowl. BC has one of the best all around defenses in the league and will really put a lot of pressure on Zabranski, with Kiwi and the rest of the DL. Ryan is also the clear starter for BC, and should be effective versus a middle of the road total defense (50th) in Boise State. Lopes pointed out to me that Boise has a 31 home game winning streak. They are also playing on the field turf blue grass in a possible cold temperature (like its never cold in Idaho in the winter time) factor at home. Boise will really have the home field advantage. It may be their only one, however. This game will be the best BCS conference vs non-BCS conference in the Bowl games this year.
Pick- BC

-Music City Bowl- Favorite- Minnesota ; Underdog-Virgina
-Dec. 28th; Nashville; ESPN

Like Memphis and Navy, Minnesota has Laurence Maroney, who is quite the running back and they use him in an all out running attack. Virgina has done well this year in the ACC beating Florida State, and other lower tier BCS conference teams, but lost to BC, Va Tech, and Miami, teams with really good balanced offenses. If you put Minnesotas run based attack vs Virgina's middle of the road total defense (49th) in yards per game, it could get interresting. Minnesota, however, is near the bottom (86th) themselves in total defense in yards per game, but they have the edge with Maroney.
Pick- Minnesota

-Independence Bowl- Favorite-South Carolina ; Underdog- Missouri
-Dec. 30th; Shreveport; ESPN

This is an easy pick. Missouri is another one of those teams that should not have ever gotten a bowl bid. They played very poorly throughout the season, and are lucky to be in contention versus an alright South Carolina team. The Cocks, under the first year of Steve Spurrier look to blow them away. Rightly so they will do that and show that their program is once again one to be in contention with the SEC. South Carolina is more of a defensive team because their team doesnt put up a lot of points. Mizzou is all offense. Look for a low scoring Gamecocks victory.
-Pick- South Carolina

The State of Sports Dec. 5th

2005-12-05T21:25:00.000-05:00

-College Football

-Bowl Game Matchups: A First Look
Right now we have a perfect BCS seedings with no problems. Fact is, the two undefeated teams in the country are playing each other for the National Championship. It really doesnt get any better than that. I really cant wait for the Vegas lines to come out so I can really start going who's expected to win. College football lines are great because those truly are the upsets that you just go...what?

Great example. UCLA vs Wyoming last year. Wyoming is the 14 point underdogs. I pick Wyoming to win the game, and they come through. Too bad I didnt actually bet on the game. But, College Football upsets are great and they make the game real and exciting. I will illustrate this with the losses of Virgina Tech and LSU this weekend. Both expected to win the automatic bids, but end up getting upset.

Bosoxguy said that VTech was a very good team. In fact, he said that they should be the team that should be playing in the national championship game...the week after they beat BC. They lost to a Florida State team that lost to NC State and Virgina. VTech's defense is very good. But so wasnt LSU's.

LSU was the team that you just had to root for. They played all season on the fritz because of the hurricane and you just had to root for them. This team had the opening 28 point fourth quarter vs a ranked Arizona State. They beat out a ranked Florida, Alabama, and Auburn. But lost to Shockley and the rest of the Bulldogs. Upsets are great arent they. Maybe I shouldnt be so suprised about how the BCS choose Georgia and Florida State.

-Other surprises:
-How did Virgina and NC State get better bowl games than BC. That is bull, but I really cant complain about where BC is. Boise State won a share of the WAC with Nevada. As I mentioned about a month ago, the WAC is probably the one of the best conferences in football. They may be bad vs. ranked opponents (0-8) vs the Mountain West (1-6). But I give them the edge because the scoring offenses of Boise State (8th), Fresno State (5th), and Hawaii's #1 passing offense, are top in the Nation. No one else comes close, except the defense of TCU, which has some very good stats (11th in scoring defense and #1 in Int's)

-I did a list of how each minor conference fared vs Ranked and BCS Opponents. If you are ranked, this doesnt include in league ranked losses, and you have been in the poll at least twice at one time or another.

Conference /vs. Ranked /vs. BCS Teams

Conference USA /1-6 /1-28 (Duke)
MAC /1-9 /1-28 (Pitt.)
Mountain West /1-6 /5-8 (Okla., NC St., Mizzou, Miss., and Wash.)
Sun Belt /0-4 /1-15 (Vandy)
WAC /0-8 /0-15

-In looking at this list, the most surprising thing is the amount of BCS victories the Mountain West has. I mentioned that I thought that the WAC had some good teams, but were 0-15 vs. the BCS teams overall. Just something to consider for each conference's representation, when ever you either pick a game or bet on it. To refresh your memory, these teams are BYU, Utah, TCU for Mountain West, and Nevada, Boise State, and Fresno State for the WAC.

-More to come when the spreads come out

The State of Sports Dec. 2nd

2005-12-02T23:43:00.000-05:00

-Hockey

-Joe Thornton Trade
I barely follow hockey. In fact, I am even lucky I can tell you the starting goalie for my hometown Bruins. But, I would like to comment on this trade to the San Jose Sharks. This may be an important step for the organization of the Bruins. Fact is, they turned around and traded their franchise player for three guys ive never heard of.

All kidding aside, Bruins General Manager Mike O'Connell is quoted by the Herald as saying that they were in "dire need of a shakeup"..."Our focus was to see if we could try and better our hockey club"..."we tried to add depth"..."which all good teams have." O'Connell also said that he tried to not sign players at the beginning of the season. This put them in "a difficult situation" and they tried to "react quickly to a market." So they signed what they could. Thornton was the best availible Center and he was the teams captain from the 2002 campaign.

According to SI's Stephen Canella, "Thornton never was the fire-eyed leader the Bruins hoped to build a perennial contender around. He wasn't a vocal presence in the dressing room. He didn't relish the captain's role as a buffer between the media and his teammates. A top-shelf player who carried the team on the scoresheet, he never became a three-dimensional leader willing to hoist the franchise on his shoulders." In hockey the captain is regarded as the guy who steps it up to the media and generally representing his team. He just didn't do that.

"He has the skill to be an amazing player," says one inside source. "But he was given the captains role too early. The players tried to look up to him, and he just wasn't a good role model, so the attude in the locker room is flat." Thornton may have led by example, but not by action. And a lot of players just didnt appreciate that. So maybe, they really needed a change. "I think they have a very solid team," continues my source. "They should play a lot more passoinately. And they should be fine with three assistant captains in Brian Leetch, Hal Gil, and Glen Murray."

The best part about this trade is the Bruins added depth and cleared some money off the salary cap. They are supposed to save close to 1 million dollars on the deal. In the 2003 playoffs, he was supposed to step it up, and came through with an amazing zero goals. Captains are looked up to often to get through bad situations when things go wrong. The Bruins in their last ten games have been 2-7-1. That is a bad situation, and they needed to shake things up, and make take a chance to improve thier underperforming orgainzation. In this short term trade, we will see how things shape up for the Bruins for the rest of the season.

-Baseball

-Random thoughts on the moves for relievers this week

-The Phillys may have made a bad move in not signing Wagner to their much needed bullpen and not signing Tim Worrell to a contract, but Tom Gordon was a good idea. The signing of 17 million over three years was a really good idea. Maybe it was too much money, but both teams will get what they want. Gordon proved he could be the go to guy in the Yankees organization. His two year average has been 7-4, in 80 games and 85.2 IP with a 2.39 ERA. Maybe not in the playoffs, but with his averages in the last two seasons, you can insert him in where he truly wants to be; in the closer role. The closers role should fit for a man who once saved 46 games for the Red Sox. In the National League this guy should thrive because he will close out the close games for a team that desperately needed to find a replacement for its closer. The Phillys should now win the close ball games. Now all they need is a decent setup man or two.

-Speaking of Worell. I think that he will continue to do well in San Francisco. He signed a 2 year 4 Million deal with the Giants, who really got a bargain. He wanted to go to San Francisco because its an organization where he just did really well. He should shine setting up Armando Benitez, who is coming off a hamstring injury, and should have a lot of value for people in fantasy baseball. Benitez is no elite closer like Wagner, Lidge, or Rivera, but his value should go up with Worell setting him up, at least.

-Farnsworth signed with the Yankees for 17 Million. This deal includes a 1.5 mil. bonus and about 5 mil. base salary a year. The Yankees are hoping that the bullpen can be a strong point for them this season. They didnt want to take the chance on Gordon, because hes a little too old, but this really means nothing because old relievers have been doing well in recent years (IE-Mike Timlin, Gordon, Hoffman, and Mesa, etc.). Maybe they wanted an even harder throwing pitcher for that bullpen. We will see what happens this season, and who else they sign. Remember they will be counting on Leftie Procter and Righty Sturze for middle relief. Procter should do well, Sturze has shown signs of being good, but he is overrall inconsistent.

-Marlins will be one of those teams we will talk about 10 years from now. If everything from this fire sale pans out, they will just be a very, very good team with a good fan base and it will all be homegrown talent. The amount of draft picks they will have is going to be insane too. Reminicent of Billy Beane after the 01' season when he lost Giambi, Damon, and Ispringhausen. Speaking of the Athletics. They really made a good deal to get Loiza. It just solidifys that young rotation. Loizas no elite pitcher, but hes a good guy who can go 6+ and can possibly anchor the rotation for them.

-NCAA Football
-Top 25 picks:
-USC over UCLA. The game will be close. I wouldnt be surprised if this one goes down to the wire. Not like a shoot-out, but something similar to the Notre Dame game
-Texas over Colorado. Vince Young should redeem himself, and the Texas defense will have a field day with Joe Klatt.
-LSU over Georgia. LSU's got the defense, and Georgias got the offense with DJ Shockley. LSU will win because its defense will figure out a way to stop Shockley. Auburn won vs the Bama defense in an earlier SEC matchup because Bama really didnt have a defense. LSU will find a way to win with thier second best offense in the SEC.
-West VA over S. Florida. Whats the worst that could happen. West VA should win the Big East. Louisville over Uconn sounds good too.
-VA Tech should win. If Florida State wins for whatever reason, that would be the upset of all upsets in the ACC. VA Techs only loss was Miami. And Miami is finished third in the ACC. If Florida State wins this game, it screws up a lot of things in the BCS.
-Navy over Army for the trophy. Nothing like a good old rivalry game i guess.

The State of Sports Dec. 1st

2005-12-01T10:41:00.000-05:00

-Baseball

-World Series Ball
Enough is enough. Seriously the ball should be Mientkiewicz's and thats that. The man made the final out, he was the last one in possesion of it when the game was over, and he should be entitled to it. What about the man who came forward with the ball that Fisk hit the Fisk Pole in 1975 World Series. That, in my opinon, is an even bigger moment in Red Sox history. Its something people still talk about. 20 years from now this will be a triva or even a jepardy question. No one is going to remember Doug Mientkiewicz, unless you know the sport of baseball.

He was supposed to get the ball back unless "'unless the ultimate issue of ownership has been otherwise resolved," according to the Globe. Their case: Mientkiewicz only gained possession of the ball because he was, at the time employed by the Red Sox. Now he is no longer an employee of the organization, therefore, he has no entitlement to the ball. So the laywers are saying that its like Mientkeiwicz "stole" the ball. Its like he stole a stapler off a desk in the CEO's office, and they want it back.

This has gone too far. Meintkiewicz wasnt getting much support last year at this time, but now he will be getting a lot of support. Its his ball. Most people know this, and should support the man. The Red Sox are making a bad case, and they should just give him the ball back. If the Suffolk District Court rules in favor of the Red Sox, thats just pretty sad. And its not like Mientkeiwicz is going to auction the ball off either. Because if he does, after getting the ball back, then he could get lots of money for charity.

Quotes of note:
-"The funny thing about all this, all this came up now. I’ve been telling everybody since the minute we won that I had it. No one has contacted me, no one has said two words to me about this ball."
-Mientkiewicz to Dale and Neumy on 1/7/05

-"This is something that took 86 years, and 86 years is a long time. Personally, I went through hell and back this year. But winning the World Series is something I'm going to remember for a long time.
"It would be cool if we have kids someday to have it stay in our family for a long time. But I can be bought. I'm thinking, there's four years at Florida State for one of my kids. At least...."
-Mientkiewicz in Dan Shaugnessey's column on 1/7/05

"This is a gray area as to what players think they can take with them. We're going to ask Doug for the ball. I think it would be a nice gesture on his part to return it to Red Sox Nation." -Larry Lucchino in Dan Shaugnessey's column on 1/7/05

"I dont even have kids" -Mientkiewicz on 12/1/05 in USA Today

Other things:
-I really like BoSoxguys cheerleader competion. Its a great idea and I think you should check it out.

-If you are one of those people who isn't convinced about Mike Lowell. Read his press conference interview here. Its absolutley facinating and BDD founder Steve Silva does a nice job.

-I dont even write about hockey, but trading Joe Thornton may set the Bruins behind a little bit. Thornton is a key peice to the puzzle and I think that he should have been used as a centerpeice for their team. He is one of those guys you could build a team around. They probably did it for Salary cap relief.
-I dont think ill like this trade very much. Only because its like the Celtics went and traded away Paul Pierce right now. How mad would some people (including me and half the people on this dorm floor) be?
-More on this later in the week as more things come out from Boston and ESPN

-Bosoxguy made the point that BC doesnt travel well and it might be bad if BC goes to a bowl game. I read Eagles page every day, and he made a post that competely agrees with this. Soxguys contention is that the #1, #2, #3 ACC slot finishes are guarenteed. The other slots can be filled by any other ACC school, according to the selection comittee
-I personally think that the bowl selection commitees will look the other way because in recent history, BC has improved dramatically, especially with attendance. Fact is, that BC's program is now in the ACC, a conference with very good competition, and they should get a decent bowl, and the fans will support this. BC may not have much prestige as other schools do, but prior history should be ignored, and present history should be applied.

The State of Sports Nov. 29th

2005-11-29T00:22:00.000-05:00

-Baseball

-Mets problems with payroll?
Who could forget the 2003 116* million dollar payroll of the New York Mets. An off season to remember as they signed a lot of people to make their team a more competiative force in the NL East. It was only 40 million more from thier previous last place finish team that could only boost Mike Piazza as thier only all star. The management figured that money was the answer and spent like never before to overtake the Braves and thier 11 year run as NL East division champs.

Yes, we all remember the 2003 Mets. Mo Vaughn goes on the DL without playing a game for the next three years. They not only finish the division in dead last again, but lost 9 more games than they did the year before with a 72* million dollar payroll, and had the worst attendance out of any team with a payroll higher than the Cincinati Reds (59 Million; and had 200,000 more in attendance). That means that the '03 Rockies (67 Million and 74-88) ,and the '03 Orioles (73 Million and were 71-91) did better than the Mets that year in attendace figures.

The Mets were embarrassed. I still think their organization is just so embarrassed that so much spending could get out of hand. I mean, who knew that Mo Vaughn was going to get arthritis? Who knew that Tom Glavine wouldnt be at the NL top 10 in Innings Pitched for the first time in 11 years? Who knew that Pedro Astacio (Made 7 Million) would only start 7 games? Who knew that Mike Piazza and Jeromy Burnitz (Made combined 27.7 Million) would only combine for 500 at bats?

The Mets fired Jim Duquette and hired Omar Minaya, who was previously working in the Mets orgaization and was the '03 Expos GM. The Mets hired Minaya who is puting a Latino face on a team with a city that has an emerging Latin American population. With signing Pedro and Beltran to long term deals. And Minaya succesfully launched a regional cable network as well, for his new team face.

But, I would like to contend that he may spend his team into the ground once again this year. Lets say that the Mets excerise the 9 million option on Glavine. The Mets would be saving at least 30 million dollars on players off the payroll such as Kaz Ishii, Doug Mienkiewicz, Brandan Looper, Mike Piazza, and Mike Cameron. So now the payroll with Glavine is roughly 80 million. We would have to add the 6.7 million option picked up on Trashel and .5 million on Marlon Anderson, and the payroll is 86.5 Million, before the additions.

With the additions, the pre-opening day payroll of 110.5 Million. These additions include recent signee Billy Wagner, and new first baseman Carlos Delgado. This is before the Mets go after a bullpen that could help out their cause and another outfielder to replace Mike Cameron. So, this payroll could escalate before the beginning of spring training.

Minaya is going to put a team on the field thats going to attract people to the ballpark. In fact, they had extra revenues of 20 million dollars in ticket sales this year. He will attract people to his ballpark and his team still will not be better than the Braves, or Phillies. Maybe even the Nationals.

Bottom line is the Mets have a bullpen being carried by Wagner. They are going to still have a subpar fielding team. And a rotation whos best pitcher will come close to winning a cy young award, and have every other starter not even get another person with 12+ wins. The Mets have offense and fan appeal to draw people in. Where will they be after this year. Is Minaya going to get the next best free agent availible and continue to raise the payroll of his team.

Marlins have a legitimate reason to be in dead last in the division this year. The Mets on the other hand will still field a mediocre team with a large payroll, that is just before the luxury tax threshold.

The State of Sports Nov. 22nd

2005-11-22T10:45:00.000-05:00

-Baseball

-The Josh Beckett Trade: winners and loosers
The trade that hasnt gone through yet and might not go through because of money issues or failed physicals. Fact is, I wish to mention who really hit the jackpot, and who failed to collect. I think its important because I really like this trade, and its important for some, not important for others.

Big Winner- Florida
-They got Anibal Sanchez, Hanley Ramirez and a pitcher to be named later and got a whole lot of trouble off their hands. Beckett has a one year contract for 2.4 million dollars. The Marlins are moving him right now, so they dont have to pay him any more money and worry about arbitration. This is a great move for them, meaning they can use the money elsewhere in their payroll. As for Mike Lowell, they got rid of a 18 million dollar hole in the pocket. Yes, they will have to have to absorb some of the salary. But, they got rid of a hole that would drive them nuts if he had a bad 2006 season. Plus they got a possible proven prospect they can work with in Hanley Ramirez, and Anibal Sanchez who is going to post numbers in AA next year. According to Gordan Edes, Hanley will get the opportunity to maybe start within the next year, with Alex Gonzalez as a free agent.

Winner- Boston
-They finally traded their top prospect, and Sanchez who I think they were planning on trading anyway, its just they needed the right opportunity. Gammons makes the point that with Papelbon and Lester, and Beckett, this could be a good move 4-5-6 years down the road.
-Mike Lowell fills a gap where the best free agent on the market was Bill Mueller. They really needed to trade for a third baseman if they didnt want to sign a first baseman, and move Youklis over. Lowell is a question mark with the bat, but should pick up slack in range that Renteria has lost. This should be a welcome addition to the Red Sox, who filled third base, power hitting threat (threat is the key word), and glove on the corner gaps that needed to be adressed. even before any free agents have been signed.
-With Josh Beckett, they got a little younger with the pitching staff, which is really a future concern, and they can sign him long term and make him happy. I dont think he was going to be happier making 3 million, with his kind of arm, for a management that ran Burnett (who was in the last year of his contract, last year) out of town.
-Youlkis will play first base. That is a guarentee, Gammons mentioned it in his Nov 21st. column.

Looser- Texas
-They could have traded away Blalock and their top pitching prospects leftie John Danks or righty Thomas Diamond. The Marlins would have replaced their third baseman right away, and would have gotten a bargain. Blalock is owed 3 million next year, 4.75 million in '07, and 5.95 million in '08. For the age (25) and his average numbers for the last three years have been a .280 avg, with 29 HR's, and 97 RBI's. This is one of the best bargains in baseball. But the Marlins were thinking of moving Miguel Cabrera over to third base (according to Buster Olney), where I think its a much better position, than in the outfield. The pitching prospects, just weren't enough to convince the Marlins either I guess. Although the names mentioned by the press, they both were the teams #1 draft picks in the 2003 and 2004 drafts.
-Fact is the biggest negative for the Rangers, is they miss out on yet another young pitcher which they so desperatley need. And they miss out on a some defense in the middle infield, offense to have one of the best infields in the majors, and more money to add to their payroll. The Rangers would have gotten screwed paying thru the nose with Lowells contract, and Beckett's future price tag.

Big Looser- Yankees
-I dont see thier pitching staff getting younger. Its a moot point, but they lost out because now they have to go after a good pitcher, which they need for their pretty mediocre starting pitching rotation. Their division rivals now potentially have someone who can matchup well with whatever 3-5 starter is thrown at him. Beckett potentially is a #2 starter that is a power pitching right handed pitcher. Yes, hes transfering leagues, hes young (25), and unproven in the DH hitting American League. Another big red flag with Beckett, is that hes never started 30 games in one season, because of injuries. My argument for this one is hes young and given some time, should pay out dividends for the Sox in the next couple of years.
-This is bad for the Yankees, because it too will force them to sign someone to fill a desperate gap that is the top priority, after adressing the center field concern.

The State of Sports Nov. 18th

2005-11-19T13:00:00.000-05:00

-College Football

-Best BCS conference of the season
You have to love the SEC this year. This weeks matchup of Auburn and Alabama only is one of the countless matchups we have seen from this power-football conference. With the SEC's best offense in #11 Auburn, and the best defense in #8 Alabama. The only only problem? Alabama is near the bottom of the conference in scoring offense. They are like the Baltimore Ravens of the conference, except they have a decent running game. Auburn on the other hand also has a good defense. It could make for a college classic football game. My prediction is Auburn. A game of field goals in the beginning, and a game of field position for the last possesion. Thats the way these defensive games usually go. I will point to the Tennessee-Bama game. The 6-3 game went down to who really had the last possesion.

Other great games in this conference are South Carolina and Clemson. I pick South Carolina, because Spurrier seems to know what hes doing this year. They have beaten a highly ranked Florida team, but played the bottom of the SEC for the rest of their schedule, excluding losses to Georgia and LSU. Vandy is having a good season too. I pick them over a slumping and underacheving Tennessee team. The interresting thing about the Vols is they are the only team to beat LSU, whos only got one loss, and beaten a ranked Florida, Georgia, and Bama (last week). Florida, who may be a year or two away from taking the SEC (with coach Urban Meyers Spread Option offense), plays Florida State next week. Too bad they lost too many games vs. ranked opponents.

The SEC is hands down the best conference in football. With six teams ranked in the top 20, it really doesnt get any better than that. I think this conference may dominate when its bowl season this year.

-Worst BCS Conference of the season
Two teams out of the Big 12 are ranked. Texas and Texas Tech are two very high powered offenses in a conference that just hasnt played up to par. A conference that boasted four teams in the top 25, three in the top 20, has just not played well at all. Texas has dominated, and it might just cost Vince Young the Hiesman, because of the conference he plays in.

Texas Tech has a good offense, but very little defense. Tech dominates because they control the clock on their possesions. They have lost to Texas and Oklahoma State, who second to last in scoring defense and offense. Texas Tech plays Oklahoma this week. Oklahoma was preseason ranked #7, and then got beat in the opener to Mountain West winner TCU. Oklahoma has gotten beaten by UCLA, and Texas, but played well in the rest of conference play. The only team with one loss, may still get an end of the year ranking and a good bowl bid, if they win out. I honestly dont see this happening vs Texas Tech this week.

Iowa State opened well by beating a overrated Iowa team and went 3-0. But then dropped three strait to Big 12 North opponents Missouri, and Nebraska. And then lost to a very bad Baylor University team, as they went 3-3. Iowa State looked promising but hasnt played vs the competition. They close with Kansas. I predict a victory for Kansas. Speaking of Kansas, they beat Nebraska. The cornhuskers ususally dominate Big 12 play. This year, they are 4-3 in conference play loosing to Oklahoma, Texas Tech, and Mizzou. And Kansas has also beaten Mizzou. Its just very disappointing to see a basketball school, manhandle good Big 12 football oriented schools.

A Colorado-Texas Big 12 matchup would be dissapointing, because you really want to see someone good warm up Texas, who is prob playing USC for the championship. But that just isnt going to happen.

-Other top 25 matchups
-USC vs Fresno State- Bosoxguy told me USC was going to blow Fresno State away. I disagreed with him and said that Fresno State plays a good defense, and the game would be a close one. Im not talking a 21 point close game, but maybe a 7 point close game. USC will win, but Lienhart just might have a game, because I think they will stop Reggie Bush/White.

-Ohio State-Michigan- Michigan will win this game because they want the Big 10 title more. I would love to see Ohio State win this thing, but at home, Michigan plays well. Michigans defense will step it up for its only game this season. I thought the defense was bad, but then when I mis-predicted the Northwestern game, it made me reconsider my opinion on Michigan. Ohio State might make it a close one though. I still predict a Michigan victory. A rareity for me because I like to rag on my Woverines friend, who is a die hard, going to tomorrow game.

-Penn State-Michigan State- Will Penn State beat Michigan State? Will Joe Paterno finally get the respect he deserves? I think they will. I think that Michigan State just lost it. They beat Notre Dame, and that was their season. And then they just dug themselves into a hole. If you beat someone good in the Big 10, it means you have to play up to the competition. Michigan State didnt do so here, and wont do so tomorrow.

-Im hoping BC closes out beating a dangerous ball control Maryland team. Va Tech is going to creme Virgina. LSU is gonna hopefully clinch beating Mississippi. And Oregon State will loose to Oregon.

-In other non-top 25 action, I dont know much about UTEP, but they will beat UAB. In Sun Belt action Louisiana-Monroe (4-1 in conference and 4-5 overall) will beat North Texas. the Sun Belt is an absolute joke of a conference that doesnt even use the instant replay system. They get one bowl bid a year, and usually get beaten 9 out of 10 times.

Pictures courtesy of Yahoo! Sports

The State of Sports Nov. 17th

2005-11-17T21:49:00.000-05:00

-Baseball

-Sox concerns at Center Field
What do the Red Sox do about the center field position. Something I never mentioned when I brought up my thoughts on needs the sox need to adress. Fact is do the Sox overpay for Damon. I mean do they want to chance it with the 32 free agent? He is calling for a 7 year deal for 84 Million. The Sox have offered 27-30 million over three years. Sox would have to sign him before December 8th, or else they have to offer him salary arbitration.

Meanwhile, the Yankees look like they are really interrested in filling their gap in centerfield. Scott Boras says Damon would make "the Yankees would dominate with Johnny Damon on their team. The key component is, how do you maximize A-Rod and Jeter? [Damon] makes A-Rod, Jeter and Matsui better. (according to ESPN Insider). I dont see the Yankees signing Damon because they have a very pressing need to get younger, and another high contract might put them in the red.

If the Sox dont sign Damon, what will they do? They really dont have any prospects they can use. Do they want to trade for Juan Pierre (who is arbitration eligible) or Torrii Hunter? Do they sign Brian Giles, who has played 46 games in center in the since '03? Or sign the ever aging Bernie Williams. And do the Sox want to part ways with any one of their young pitching prospects to replace a center fielder, when they can just resign Damon. There is really very little in the free agent crop to choose from this year.

The payroll is not a problem for the Red Sox. They get revenue from all over the place. If I remember correctly, they were second in revenues, only to the Yankees. I dont think money is a problem. When its all said and done the Sox will sign Damon, and it will come down to the wire, just like last year with Sox Captain Jason Varitek.

Yes, we may be dealing with the devil in Scott Boras, but maybe its the best move for them to make. Center field is definately something every Sox fan should be concerned about because you need a playmaker out there. I may be pissed about Damons comment, but its something id like to see adressed before the end of the year.

-Possible crazy trades ive heard/thought of:
How about Ramirez for Puljois. I still am trying not to laugh. The Sox are so going to not trade Ramirez because his value has plummetted with him being a 10-5 player, and just being too hard to handle. I really dont see him going anywhere, unless the Sox move his large salary for someone with another big salary.

Something crazy like a three team deal with Colorado and the Mets/some other team. Where we get Helton, the Mets/some other team gets Ramierez, and the Rockies save the franchise with prospects from the Sox and some other team. I like this one, because Sox need a big bat if they try and trade Ramirez.

What about trading Ortiz. My best freind said that they should trade Ortiz's low salary for a top tier pitcher so while his value is high. He then accuses me of being to attached when I said he was crazy. I told him his idea was way off. Fact is, he knows the Sox wont trade Ramirez either, so why not trade the next best thing. I also told him I thought Schilling, Clement, and Fouke would work out in the offseason and make contributions next season. He said I was the one who was nuts.

-Other views:
-Yankees overpaid for Matsui. But, he wasnt on the cheap for a very consistent bat either. He's their starting center fielder next year. No doubt about it. He is average, but they really need someone to anchor the outfield. He was really consistent out there during the second half, and who knows who the Yankees will replace in left field.

-I think Burnett is going to either Baltimore or Toronto. Both will overpay because they have money to just burn on the free agent with the 98 MPH fastball. He has great stuff, but has never pitched in the American League. I just think its amazing how teams in the last few years have just been signing pitchers with mediocre career records for big contracts. Last year it was Pavano, Kris Benson, and Matt Clement. This year its Burnett and maybe Jeff Weaver.

-You have to love the closers on the market right now. Just crazy strait out of my rear-end predictions: Billy Wagner-Philly; Trevor Hoffman- Cleveland; Wickman- Florida; Koch to setup for Cubs and they just might want to sign Gordon; and Ryan goes to a team not named Red Sox or Yankees. I see Sox signing Guardado to replace Myers as the key leftie in the pen, but not as the specialist.

The State of Sports Nov. 16th

2005-11-16T15:02:00.000-05:00

-NFL Football

-Comeback player of the year?
I was intrigued on Sunday to see a poll on ESPN.com that stated:
"Who is the MVP of the second half?" The responses were:
Payton Manning, Ladamian Tomlinson, Shaun Alexander, Steve Smith, or someone else.

Now, given these facts we can obviously say that Manning could be an MVP, although he's not having the kind of year he had last year. Tomlinson is a great player, but he and Brees have been splitting the job of running an offense (you also have to remember that he got stopped vs. Philly, and totally took him out of the game). And Alexander is the MVP of the midseason. Fact is he leads the league in rushing yards and touchdowns. He hasn’t been stopped all season. He is also a major factor in why the Seahawks are 7-2, right now.

Steve Smith on the other hand...he is having a very good year. You look at the Panthers receivers, and the first thing you see is that Smith has 937 passing yards, and 9 touchdowns. Wow. That’s the kind of thing you see at the end of a season. The next nearest is the backup running back Deshaun Foster, who has 255 yards and no TD's. My question to you is why Steve Smith was 4th on the votes list with 18% of the poll votes, after roughly 100,000 people responded.

I think that the real MVP on this offense is Jake Delhomme. You look at his statistics last year. Without Smith he still spread the ball out to pass for 3880 yards and 29 touchdowns. He also did this without Steven Davis, their best running back. That is amazing. That’s why I think people are overlooking this, and why i'm not surprised.

If I was to say anything about Smith, I would have to give him the comeback player of the year award. He came back from an injury that was season ending. He has come back, and is now leading the league in receiving yards. He should really get a lot of comeback player of the year consideration.

Other candidates:
-Drew Bledsoe is one of consideration. He Dallas is 6-3 in the division, and could very well win it, but they still have the rest of the NFC East to go, and Denver, KC, and Carolina. Bledsoe has been very quiet, because his other receivers have been making noise. In an offense that orients itself with running the ball (IE-Jones this and last year, and Barber this year), Terry Glenn and Keyshawn Johnson are proving that receivers 30+ can still get the job done. The only thing that’s hurting Bledsoe is the fact he has 10 fumbles, and four have been lost. Ouch!

-Joey Galloway, from the other contender in the NFC South. Where would the Buccaneers be without the play of Galloway? Although the Carnell Williams stole the spotlight early in the season, down the stretch, the 95.8 receiving yards from Galloway has been key, especially since Brian Greise went down with an injury. Galloway is this year Mushin Muhammad. Someone thought this guy wouldn’t get the job done, and here he is, helping out stabilize an offense that needs help, this season.

-Id also give a possible consideration to Carson Palmer, Michael Strahan, and Thomas Jones. For a complete list of the AP comeback players of the year award since 1979, click here.

The State of Sports Nov. 4th

2005-11-04T23:33:00.000-05:00

-College Football

-Games of the week
Im going to be brave and bold this week. Have you been following the minor conferences. I mean like the real bad ones. The Conference USA, MAC and Mountain West dont count. Im talking about the WAC and the Sun Belt. I really like the WAC this year. They have some really good teams that you can talk about. I like Fresno State who is only one of two teams that is ranked in a minor conference. Their only loss has come to Oregon in a close game. Fresno also has the second best defense by a minor conference in the nation in yards per game. 22nd is what they rank, but its still best in the conference, and thats what wins you games right there.

I like Boise State, who had one of second best offense in the nation last year, but this year are just getting by. They do play on Blue turf, which is an advantage to defenses who cant stand the color blue, but their advantage is they have a good Offensive line with Jared Zabranski calling plays. That man will be a great qb in the NFL someday. They also have a good 1-2 punch with RB's Marks and Johnson.

I like Hawaii, whos got one really sick offense. How about third in the nation in passing yards. They just graduated the leading passer in NCAA history. How about the 2777 passing yards that Nate Ilola has. He was the backup last year and is doing an unbelieveable job with two freshman recievers who have 700 rec. yards and 8 and 9 TD's respectively. Its too bad they are 3-3 in the conference loosing to both Boise State and Fresno.

And then there's Nevada. They are the team that is balanced all the way across. They have no one that stands out and are in the top 4 in total defense and offense in the WAC. They play Hawaii this week and then Fresno State second to last game of their season. If Nevada beats Boise State, then they stand a chance to beat them. Fresno States defense is too good though. But, heres my prediction. If Nevada wins this week, they stand a chance to be bowl eligible (Once beating either New Mexico and Utah State, who are 6-7 at the bottom of the conference). If they play someone really good in a bowl game, they will win. Just my prediction.

-Top 25 games
Miami vs VT is gonna be one really good game vs the best defenses in football. Will it be a good defensive game, or a blow out is the question? I would like to see a blow out, but something tells me that VT will pull out with the victory because Vick is the intagible in that offense.

Penn St. and Wisconsin is another good game. I pick Wisconsin because im not a big Penn State fan. Im sure id love Paterno just as much as I liked Coach Mazzaferro, but still im not a big Nittany Lions fan.

Watch Notre Dame kill Tennesee. Watch BC-NC come down to the wire. Watch Ohio State just grill Illinios in a 30 something point game. Watch Oregon and Cal. go into overtime after a Cal comeback.

-Other games
Northwestern over Iowa (Heated about last weeks prediction), and Vandy over Florida, but that is never going to happen. I just dont think any other games will be to close to call this week.

The State of Sports Nov. 3rd

2005-11-03T00:30:00.000-05:00

Baseball

-The Theo Situation
In reviewing everything that has been said about the resignation, I have ultimately come to the conclusion that the sox front office is going to have a difficult time finding a replacement. Gammons has said, (and I quote from insider because it cant be linked):

"Towers has worked for Lucchino. Hunsicker is one of the game's best general managers. So is Milwaukee's Melvin, who worked for Lucchino in Baltimore. If the Red Sox decide they want a pure talent man -- and with the Yankees adding the revenue from their new ballpark,
talent evaluation is the way the Red Sox have to beat the Yankees in the future -- the name of LaCava (Toronto's director of player development) will be at the forefront. And if they want an organizational baseball mind with a huge reputation in the business, they will interview
White Sox assistant GM Rick Hahn.

The fans really care, and so does Henry; you have a chance to win the World Series; and
Lucchino was willing to pay Epstein $1.5 million a year. Theo needs his space -- he might go to South Africa with Pearl Jam and do social work -- and the Red Sox will find someone who wants to accomplish what he accomplished."

My view on this thing? I think that the media should be ashamed of themselves. Over the last week I read more articles that said that it was a power sharing issue than I did the new appointee for the supreme court. You can blame the Globe staff for hyping up the whole thing and really botching up coverage like this. It wasnt Shaughnessy's sunday article. Now you see reporters going along with what Theo said in his press conference. The last post i saw from Sean McAdam on ESPN was the last one before the press conference. And then the WEEI transcript with Callahan and Shaughnessy. Shamless. I am real disappointed at the people I look up to when I write my articles in "The Comment (BSC's newspaper)".

What is Boston going to do now? I think they will go out and find the best possible candidate. Fact is, they did not see this coming, contrary to what I said originally. Lucchino has done a heck of a job (with Epstien) to get the best possible front office, and I think they will do that. Problem is it has come at the wrong time. Winter meetings begin in the next two weeks. I am not worried because of the weak class of free agents. Once again I point to Sean McAdam's ESPN article. Sox wont be at a disadvange either because Epstein will stick around for a little while. I said spring training; maybe it will be a little more like a month. They want to sign Konerko right. Epstein sticks around to help with that.

More on free agents within the month.

The State of Sports Oct 31st

2005-10-31T12:30:00.000-05:00

-Baseball

-Theo Epstein situation:
Ok, So we arent going to have Theo Epstien back next year. Im over it. And the move doesnt surprise me in the least. The man wants his privacy. Some people value it more than others, unlike David Wells who is a family man (as he states in his autobiography). Boston is a town where private matters are always public and its a very hostile environment if you cant handle it. Epstien handled it with class.

I am thinking this was a decision that he just went back and forth on. A decision that just went to the wire. He kept it private, because the media would have turned it into a negative. "How can he abandon us when its a big transition time with no really good free agents that can be signed?" or something like that. They have been saying the whole time about this front office quibble with Lucchino. I disagree with this analsis for the simple reason that in every front office your going to have diagreements. You are disagreeing with me right now I bet, but the fact remains that confict is only apart of human nature. Theo's job was to make the moves and Lucchino was supposed to approve them. When things are set up that way, your always going to have a conflict.

Bottom line is that Theo wanted his privacy, and it was a decision that no one could have predicted. The management prob knew before the off season, but I guess he just wanted to wait until the night the contract was up. Not to keep people guessing, because he himself was guessing the two weeks of the season. I dont think it was an issue of money either. If it was money he would have accepted the 3 year 1.5 million option the Sox gave him.

This isnt the end of Epstien. He will work with the management until spring training as a consultant. He will help the new GM make moves that are nessesary because they need someone in there who knows the situation. Will he make the exectutive decisions? I dont think so, but he will be someone to bounce ideas off of.

-Top priorities the Red Sox need to adress going into the off-season (in no particular order):
1) A veteran starting pitcher.
-The Red Sox need a #5 starter, badly. Lets say they trade away David Wells. The roation will be Schilling, Clement, Wakefield, Arroyo, and some other guy. People think it could be Wade Miller who has an option for this year. Gammons has said Papelbon. I disagree and think they will take a look at another leftie on the market. Maybe they will go with a #5 starter righty. Its something they need to adress.

2) An experienced bullpen
-The Sox will have Foulke coming back to close games once his knees get better from surgury. They will be signing Timlin, and will still have Bradford to set up, and it wouldnt be a bad idea to bring back Mike Myers. The sox have a lot of young arms they can bring up to help themselves out in the future at setup in the bullpen, middle and long relief. I would love to see Papelbon in middle relief. He needs to build up his endurance if they want to make him a starter in the future. He uses his fastball effectively and looses his endurance from relying on this pitch.
-Given these facts, I think the next logical move would be to get a bullpen that you can have to: teach the young guys (like Timlin will do and has been doing), anchor the bullpen, and give the sox some options in case of injuries. I would like to see a power pitching leftie setup man to complement Bradford, but I dont think I will get my wish.

3) Fourth-Fifth Outfielder
-Gabe Kapler coming back to the US was a godsend. The Sox need someone who can make Outfield spot starts, and as a defensive replacement in the field. You also would like someone with a little bit of speed, so that you can use him in pinch run situations. They thought that Jay Payton would do the job, but he wanted an everyday job. That just isnt gonna work.

4) First-Third base
-Will they sign someone to play either or and just have Youklis fill in the gap. I would like to see them resign Bill Mueller, and have Youklis play first. In seeing him at Pawtucket, I think he could go from day to day going back and forth at both positions. Mueller was a guy with the best work ethic on the team that is going somewhere else, I belive. The more I think about it, I like Youlkis to play everyday at the top of two of the order. They need someone who can get on base.
-I would love to see JT Snow in a Sox uniform. Good top of the order guy and a multiple gold glove winner. He can also play third, I believe. They wont resign Olerund. He was good for last year, but they want someone with some flexiblity.

5) Second base
-The sox have Dustin Pedroia waiting and he might be promoted this year, as Gammons has been speculating. I dont think this is whats going to happen. They will sign a stopgap for a year, and call up Pedroia in July-August, and ease him into it like they did with Papelbon. That is the best approach. You never want to rush someone. I just dont see him as the starting second baseman next year.
-I would love to see Rafael Furcal replace Damon at second base. That would be the best option that the Red Sox have to leadoff games. Hes also 27 and can play SS and second base. Damon has been firey and a problem in the clubhouse. His comment after game 3 of the ALDS really burns me the F* up.

-I will highlight what im thinking about Ramirez and hopefully more "Hot stove talk" in later posts

The State of Sports Oct. 28th

2005-10-28T14:00:00.000-04:00

-College Football

-BC loss to V-Tech
I agree with Eagle today. I think that the coaches should look to who will win them games. The QB runs the offense, especially when the running game isnt that solid. They should take a hard look and see who they should start with Porters piss poor performance. Even though they played a legit defense that is very good, the situtation still should be looked at.

BC plays North Carolina, NC State, and Maryland for the rest of its schedule. BC just might stick it out with Porter, is the gut feeling right now. All teams that can be rolled over, but you cant take lightly either.

-Predictions for the weekend:
Very important game this week vs Worcester.

-Game of the week-
Game of the week is going to be Northwestern (21) and Michigan (25). I didnt think much of Northwestern until I read the ESPN.com article earlier in the week. Fact is, there is a four way tie right now with Penn State, Northwestern, Wisconson, and Ohio State all. Looking at the remaining schedules, Penn State faces preseason ranked Purdue this week and then Wisconson and Michigan State, who beat Notre Dame, which could be an upset. In the next three games, the only ranked opponent Wisconson faces is Penn State, and they face Iowa who could upset them. Ohio State has Northwestern, and Michigan at Michigan which is always tough, whether Michigan sucks, or not, and Minnesota this week. If Northwestern could beat Michigan and Ohio State, which is within reason. They might win the Big 10. Its plausible, but Ohio State still looks like the favorite to win the conference.

My prediction is Offensive game strait out. Northwestern beats Michigan in a high scoring shoot out. If I was betting, id bet the over on this game

-Other picks-
USC over Washington; Ohio St over Minnesota; Florida State over Maryland; Florida over Georgia (Shockley makes the difference with another good defensive unit in the nation); Penn St. over Purdue; Fresno over Hawaii; Texas over Oklahoma St.

In non top 25 action I like Oklahoma over Nebraska; Toledo over Central Michigan (Big MAC west game, I like Toledo to win it this year, they say Gradkowski is the next Rothlesberger out of the conference); Boise St over Nevada (to see whos going to beat Fresno State; Fresno still has both on schedule and could potentially loose to both)

-College Basketball-

-Recent Top 25 Preaseason Poll
BC gets little respect at #11. Duke should have the top spot and Gonzaga (?!) at #7. UConn and Villinova are good spots. Mich State shouldnt be #5, but #3. Oklahoma and Arizona in the top 10. Ok, where's NC, they won the championship right?

After the top 10, I cant comment on the rest of the poll, because I really dont know players on teams that well. And I havent seen teams play other teams yet, so I really cant comment.

I used to read Page 2 on ESPN and I should do it for a reason. This article is very funny, and I thought it was pretty cute too. Its on the new olympic coach for the mens baskeball team; Coach K, the coach at Duke University.

The State of Sports: October 27th

2005-10-28T12:10:00.000-04:00

-Baseball

Yes its the end of the World Series and the White Sox have won their first title in 88 years. I think this team is for real. I didnt on the eve of Game 4, but god darnit im wrong sometimes.

According to one of my favorite sites (Baseball Reference.com), the '05 White Sox are only the sixth team in the history of the sport to finsh the postseason in ALCS and ALDS play with one loss. They join the company of such teams as the '89 Athletics, the '85 Tigers, the '70 Orioles, and the '69 Mets. In ALSC play only the Yankees have lost one game in 12; the others have lost one game in 8 games. The only team in the two division format to sweep throughout was the '76 Reds, out of one of the classic dynasties on baseball; "The Big Red Machine."

A classmate said that this team couldnt score runs. He didnt see how people could get on base and then scoring runs against very good pitchers. I agreed with him, but didnt read through the lines. The White Sox won with small ball. What the Angles rode on two years ago during their run. Small ball of getting on base, sac bunting, stealing, being aggresive on the base paths, and making sure every infielder on their toes. You don't see that out of teams anymore. Even from an American League team that uses a DH.

Pictured-Juan Uribe Catch in the 9th of Game 4

I thought that baseball moved away from "small ball" and went with the Moneyball strategy. This idea of Bill James that players cant make outs like sac bunts. Outs are what puts teams in the hole right away. Yes, you want to be aggresive on the basepaths, but outs are what you are trying not to make. Ozzie Guillen proved that in winning this series. He did more than that, he repealled the notion of what I people think have revolutionized the sport. Moneyball, opened peoples eyes. Maybe this will too.

Still, the White Sox outpitched to a mediocre lineup. There was no one in that lineup that could power the ball down field. Berkman has had his day and is battling a shoulder problem. Its god damn remarkable how he can still play with his arthritic shoulder. The Astros had a lineup that was young and experienced, but no real power threat. The White Sox scouts did what the Red Sox did last year; thier homework. With a rotation like Buehrle, Freddy Garcia, Jose Contrearas, Garland, and the young pitcher McCarthy that rotation was pretty solid.

Pictured- Brad Lidge

Of course, being the hypercritical Red Sox fan I am, I thought they were mediocre. I thought they lacked postseason experience. When you see a closer throw a 97-100 MPH fastball, not many people are going to hit it.

The problem was the Astros pitchers just fell apart. Oswalt's bullpen blew it. Clemens went out at the right time. Andy Pettitte's bullpen blew it. And Brad Lidge lost confidence in the fastball with the Puljois home run. Doubt is what killed that kid. His 96-98 MPH fasball location was really bad. I must admit he was the biggest surprise this postseason. He was 0-2, with a 4.91 ERA in 3.2 IP in 3 apperances.

This offseason is going to be defined at who wants the vetrens. There isnt much of a free agent crop to choose from, but all I know is, it will be interresting. I look forward to reporting what goes down.
Pictured- Geoff Blum's solo shot to end Game 3

The State of Sports Sept. 1st

2005-09-01T14:13:00.000-04:00

Football

What is the most competitive division in football?

I’d like to think that the AFC East is the most competitive, but I know I’m wrong. I mean New England, Buffalo, the Jets, and Miami are literally built on their defenses. And we all know that defenses have won championships. Most recently, the Oakland-Buccaneers super bowl game. The defense absolutely dominated the whole game. But, I’d like to make the case for the teams in the AFC West. All which are built on high powered offenses.

The Chiefs have Trent Green, who was second in the NFL in total passing yards and tied for third with Ben Rothlesberger in Passing Completions. They also have Priest Holmes who is 29, and a possible injury case, but is unbelievable when healthy. And then Holmes is backed up by first former round pick Larry Johnson.

The Chargers have returning starter Drew Brees who surprised everyone by getting the AP comeback player of the year award, as he led the team to its first post season game in 15 years. Brees was also third in the league in Passer rating behind Daunte Culpepper and Payton Manning. With Antonio Gates as the main target, and having Tomlinson who led the league in TD’s by a running back, they will be tough to stop.

Oakland’s new acquisition of Randy Moss fills a hole that could bring the Raiders to the post season after two disappointing seasons. Kerry Collins is a quarterback who is good at throwing the ball deep downfield which is why Randy Moss could come in handy. Plus, with Lamont Jordan, the raiders will have a pretty good balanced offense.

And finally, with Denver, you have Tatum Bell. Probably a very hyped up player for one reason: Mike Shanahan’s west coast offense. Look at some of the running backs they have had over the last couple of years. Terrell Davis, Clinton Portis, Reuben Droughns to name a few, has had very successful seasons in Shanahan’s system. Jake Plummer also set the Broncos team record for passing yards in a season and he tied John Elways record for TD’s in a season.

When it’s all said and done, the AFC West really looks good. But, will any team have a shot at the post season. I think at least one of those teams will grab a wild card spot. They will, however, not make it past the first round of the playoffs for one reason: defense. Defense wins postseason championships.

Fantasy Super Sleepers:
-QB- Carson Palmer and Jake Delhomme
-RB- Julius Jones and Lamont Jordan
-WR- Braylon Edwards and Ashley Lelie
-TE- Ben Watson
-K- Mike Nugent (with no pro experience)

Awards-MVP- Payton Manning-Comeback Player of the Year-Joey Harrington or Jeff Garcia (whoever wins starting QB job in Detroit)-Rookie of the Year- Braylon Edwards or Ronnie Brown-Defensive Player of the Year- Ray Lewis

Final Standings with who’s on top of division with wildcards

AFC
-Patriots
-Pittsburg
-Indianapolis
-Denver
-WC-Oakland
-WC-Jets/Houston

NFC
-Eagles
-Minnesota
-Atlanta
-St. Louis
-WC-Carolina
-WC-Seattle/Dallas