You're killing independent George!

If the last week has been any indication about what kind of tournament we’re looking at this season, then I’m pretty excited. There were very few blow outs (with the exception of Florida showing who’s got the biggest wang in the SEC) and for the most part all the games were very enjoyable (thank god Nebraska’s 39 vs. OSU and TTU’s 45 vs. K-State weren’t televised. Most HS girls teams score more than that in a game.)

Now a few thoughts:

Syracuse got royally screwed. I don’t like ‘Cuse, but there’s no denying they were hosed. They fit 2 of the 3 criteria to be a shoo-in (20 wins, 10 wins in conference, but didn’t finish top 4) and they beat Georgetown in the last week of the regular season. Oh, and they finished in front of Nova and Marquette in the Big East.

Drexel is #2 on this list. They did everything that a mid major is asked to do (with the exception of winning their conference tournament). They played an unbelievable non conference schedule and scored wins over big time programs on the road (Nova, Syracuse, and I’ll throw in Temple, Creighton, and Vermont). But according to the committee they didn’t do enough in conference (4th place finish, went 1-5 against top 3 teams, and had a bad loss towards the end of the season against William & Mary).

So here’s my problem. Syracuse didn’t do enough out of conference. Drexel didn’t do enough in conference. Yet the committee chairman couldn’t give a reason for why both were left out when teams like Arkansas (nothing in or out of conference) and Illinois (mediocre team at best) both got in.

If your team had a losing conference record (i.e. Florida State) and didn’t make the tournament you need to shut up. It should be a rule that you have to finish at least .500 in your conference to make the tournament (unless you win your conference tournament).

Air Force didn’t just shit the bed down the stretch; they pretty much filled up the room with poo. They peaked at the wrong time and the rest of the MWC has caught up with them after a two year swoon.

West Virginia was a missed traveling call away from making the tournament. If Sosa from Louisville gets called for traveling on that lay up that sent their Big East Tournament game into OT, then WVU is in the semifinals and probably locks up a spot. Of course, if they had beaten horrible Cincy and mediocre Providence during the season, they would have locked a spot up going into the tournament.

I was pretty upset to see Texas A&M in the same region as Ohio State. I love Acie Law IV, but he scares the crap out of me. They also have enough size to throw at Oden to take away any inside game (like UF did earlier this season). I still don’t think OSU can win it all, but I was at least hoping for a Final 4 appearance.

The teams that I think have compromising pictures of members of the selection committee:

Stanford; 18 wins, are you serious? Yes they had some big conference wins, but they lost 3 of the 5 quality out of conference games they played (all at home to AF by 34, Santa Clara by 16, and Gonzaga by 4; they did beat UVA on the road and Texas Tech).

Arkansas; again, 7-9 in conference! They beat Vandy and two scrubs (South Carolina and Miss. St) to make the finals in the SEC Tournament. Then proceeded to get blown out by UF.

Illinois; I watched them a couple of times this year and it’s like they are morphing into a less talented version of Michigan State and Wisconsin. They don’t have a go-to scorer, but they do play tough defense. But they are a chore to watch.

Gonzaga; Obviously they won the WCC tournament, but how are they a 10 seed? I saw them a few times this season and they aren’t that good. And since their hippy center got busted they don’t have an inside game. They got that 10 spot purely on reputation. That win against UNC was a long time ago.

Texas Tech; I like Bobby Knight. But how does his team get in this season over Kansas State? Yes, K-State played in the weaker part of the Big XII (the conference isn’t broken into divisions for basketball, but they still adhere to the divisions in scheduling), but they also finished a game ahead of TTU in the standings, won 10 conference games, and smoked TTU in the Big XII Tournament (66-45). I guess playing Kansas three times isn’t enough for the committee (the last 2 losses were by an average of 8.5 points). Bill Walker would have really helped K-State down the stretch. Bobby better hope that Zeno and Jackson get some help or they’ll be one and done.

That’s all I really have to say about the tournament for now.

On another basketball note though, the University of Akron was left out of the NIT. They went 26-7 and lost in the conference championship. They are only the 3rd 26-win team to be left out of the field since it went to 64. And I’m guessing they are the first 26-win team to be spending their post season at home. On a side note, I hate those preppy rich kids from Miami, Oh.

That last note got me thinking. I would not want to live in Akron. The outlying areas are ok, but the traffic is horrible. The only thing they have going for them is Canal Park where the Akron Aeros play. So here is the short list of places I will never live unless I’m guaranteed to be making $100,000.

Tallahassee, FL
Gary, IN
Richmond, VA
Danville, VA (too bad I had to move here to figure that out)
Akron, OH

Georgetown is my pick to win it all. So everyone else should probably go in another direction.

Throw a little shrimp on the barbie!

I’m sure that there are a lot of things I could have written about over the last month. But since I work in a common office and my boss sits in direct view of my monitor, it makes it tough. So I want to touch on a few points here.

The Cavs suck. They have LeBron and that’s it. I will give Drew Gooden credit, he has become a much more consistent player this season. He’s a menace on the offensive boards and seems to be in the right place at the right time most games. Any guy that can get a double-double without having a play run for him is ok in my book (see Shawn Marion). Did I mention that Hubie Brown loves him? That surprised me since Hubie ran him out of Memphis his rookie season.

Any way, the team sucks. A team that features Eric Snow and Damon Jones as your point guards will be lucky to win the first round. And having LeBron run the point for long stretches takes too much out of him. Taking Shannon Brown in the first round is really paying off. He’s played in 10 games. 10! On a very related note, Jordan Farmar is averaging 6 points and 2.3 assists in 16 minutes a night for the Lakers. He would be starting in Cleveland. Fire Danny Ferry.

I’m coaching a city 7-8 year old basketball team (we play on an 8.5’ rim). We sit at 1-5, but we won last night. Now I had no say in drafting this team or the team name because I was at the Winter Meetings when all that went down and the city decided not to let me know that until I got back. My roster looks like this:

CurShun (his dad’s name is Curtis and his mom’s name is Shundra, very original. Best ballhandler.)
Isaac (best shooter on the team)
Ke’Shawn (maybe 4’ tall, but tough)
De’Andre (improving)
Royal (tough defender)
Shamar (improving)
Malachai (still needs improvement)
Malik (another short stack, but good shooter from 10’ in, good ball handler, and maniac defender)

I have two more kids on the roster, but I think they both quit.

Anyways, I harp on fundamentals in practice. Layups, ball handling, defense, and good communication. We are getting better when we do things right, but sometimes they get a little lazy. But they’re kids and as long as they improve I’ll be happy. And we do run an offense, which when we run it right works just about every time.

Our team name is the Blazers. So maybe we were cursed from the get go.

After coaching youth football the last two falls you would think that Karma owes me and good things would start happening to me.

Bowling Green basketball has dropped 6 in a row after starting out a promising 10-4. The women’s team is ranked 17 in the country. But that’s women’s ball.

The Suns are really good.

The Cavs should do whatever it takes (short of giving up LeBron) to get Jason Kidd. Throw Big Z out there. He’s a stiff anymore and Kristic is out for the season.

Unless Ohio State’s basketball team really gels during conference play it’s going to be a short March in Columbus. They are the kind of team that gets knocked off by an experienced MVC or CAA team.

I looked at a mock NFL draft site for the first time this year yesterday. They have the Browns taking Brady Quinn at #3 and Ryan Kalil (C, USC) in the 2nd round. If this happened I would probably blow a load. Especially since there’s a good chance LeCharles Bentley will miss this season too. Kalil plays center this year then slides to guard in 2008. Nice.

My dog Brownie is awesome. And big. 27 pounds as of January 27. He’s 3 months old and they say he’s going to be about a 70 lb dog. And he’s already a great guard dog. He barks at the Baptists at the church across the street every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night. Church is like a cult here. No one should ask why we don’t go.

I had to trim my beard back a couple of weeks ago. It’s still solid.

What do I look like? A bottle of Jim Beam!

The Walker and Texas Ranger bonus cuts on the Ricky Bobby DVD are awesome. I'm not a huge bonus material guy, but on Will Ferrell comedies they're a must see.

Holidays were okay. Spent 3 days in Ohio visiting family which was nice. Of course our flight back on Xmas night was cancelled so we had to fly out the next morning in a packed airport. Good times.

I did see Ric Flair in the Charlotte airport while running to our gate (flight was delayed 20 minutes out of Akron and we barely made it on the plane in Charlotte). Needless to say I was beating myself up on the plane when I realized I should have given him a "Whooooo!"

Just a quick thought to mull over. Darren McGavin as the dad in A Christmas Story, the greatest holiday movie father of all time. This includes Chevy Chase in Christmas Vacation. He's cynical, foul mouthed, and most importantly gets his son the gift his mother refuses to buy. All great traits. And the lamp scenes are worth their weight in gold ("You were always jealous of that lamp!")

The Fiesta Bowl was the greatest college football game I've every seen (excluding the 2003 Fiesta Bowl of course). Pure play calling genius. And props to Chris Peterson for knowing that his defense was spent and going for 2 after the OT score.

Overall this has been maybe the most exciting bowl season I've ever seen. Huge comebacks and exciting games across the board.

Sports Gods, you owe me one!

Quick post while my boss is out of the office. The Ohio State-Michigan game has me scared crapless. Let’s cover the reasons why.

Michigan’s defense. It’s really good and for the first time in since 2001 it’s better than OSU’s.

Mario Manningham. I think Lloyd Carr is trying to actually think like a decent coach here. He’s kept Manningham under wraps since his surgery to make sure he’s healthy and put doubt into everyone’s heads about him. I guarantee you he’s healthy Saturday. They had no need for him over the last month.

The past of my teams. With the exception of the 2002 Buckeyes every one of my teams has let me down with a Championship or potential Championship on the line. Lets recap:
1986 Browns (AFC Title Game)
1987 Browns (AFC Title Game)
1989 Browns (AFC Title Game)
1991-92 Cavs (Eastern Finals)
1991-92 Buckeyes Basketball (Lost in Elite 8 to Michigan Fab 4)
1993 Buckeyes (Lost to Michigan at 10-0-1)
1995 Buckeyes (Lost to Michigan at 10-0 I think, maybe 9-1)
1995 Indians (Lost in WS to Braves in 6)
1996 Buckeyes (Lost to Michigan at 10-0)
1997 Indians (Lost in WS to Marlins in 7)
1998 Buckeyes (Lost to Michigan State as #1 in country)
1999 Buckeyes Basketball (Lost in Final Four to UConn)
2005-06 Buckeyes Basketball (Lost in 2nd round to Georgetown at a 2 seed)

So that’s it. Now you know why I worship that 2002 Bucks team. It’s all I’ve got. Sad isn’t it? Especially when people like Mark Hughes has his teams win an NCAA Basketball title and the World Series in the same year. It’s not fair.

GOB doing his chicken dance always makes me laugh (Arrested Development M-F 11:30 on G4)

I’ve got a few observations from the past few days. I know I don’t write nearly as often as I’d like, but when you work in a common office its kind of tough.

I was equally impressed and appalled by the way the Browns played the Chargers on Sunday. While they were rested the Browns defense played really well. Once they started to wear down in the 2nd half from being on the field too long LDT just ate them up. There’s a reason the defense hasn’t ranked better than 15th since the team has returned, its because they’re on the field all the time. While the offense did put up 25 points on Sunday, 18 were scored by Phil Dawson. That’s not good since he’s the kicker (but he does sport a sweet stache). This includes a drive that started at the Charger 10 and saw the Browns run into the middle of the Chargers vaunted run defense on 3 straight plays. I was happy that Mo Carthon stepped down because he had no idea how to call plays. And while Jeff Davidson has shown more organization in his play calling, he just isn’t getting the job done. In fact, there were more than a couple occasions against the Chargers that we ran play action on 3rd and long. This seemed to be the only area that Carthon had improved on. No one thinks you’re going to run on 3rd and 10+!

Here’s how the Browns need to fix the offense. Simplify it. I like Charlie Fry, but its clear that he’s taken way too many hits this season because he does some stupid things (throwing into triple coverage at the 50 on the first play of a possession, then fumbling at the Browns 5 after the defense had bailed him out with a 3 and out. This gave the Chargers a 10-6 lead and the points that would eventually be the difference in the game.) Here are the three keys that can save that offense:

Throw some screen passes. The Browns have thrown zero (0) screens the last two weeks. At a time when every team in the NFL runs screens and runs them for gains, the Browns don’t even attempt them. I know that Droughns isn’t the best receiver out of the backfield, but I thought that’s why we drafted Jerome Harrison, so that he could be the change of pace guy. Now he hardly plays, but who can blame the staff for that since Droughns is having such a bang up season (ugh). He has 2 100-yard games, a 65-yard game, and nothing above 36 in the other 4 (he sat out the Baltimore game but I can’t imagine he would have helped).
Throw quick passes when DB’s are playing off the receivers. Carolina does this to perfection with Steve Smith. When a QB surveys the field and sees that there isn’t a defender within 10 yards of one of his playmakers, just take the snap and zing it to him. Winslow and Edwards had it happen multiple times Sunday versus San Diego’s weak corners, but since Frye apparently doesn’t have that option we don’t do it. Winslow actually put his arms in the air before one snap only to be ignored. It’s a simple play that pretty much guarantees you 5 yards as long as the receiver catches it.
Stop throwing into triple coverage. This is self-explanatory.

The Cavs started the season with wins versus the Wizards at home and San Antonio on the road (first since 88-89 in case you missed that graphic which was posted 800 times during Friday’s game). Then they had a let down against Charlotte. It’s tough for anyone to play back to back in the NBA (see the Spurs Friday night). But more than anything this game showed that Danny Ferry did a shit job in the off-season. Cousin Larry was brought in to be LeBron’s wingman, the guy who could pick things up when LeBron was on the bench or having an off night. There combined 28 points Saturday night isn’t going to get it done (James: 16, Hughes: 12). This team will never do anything in the playoffs with the current PG situation. And yes I’m still pissed that they passed on Farmar in the 1st round to take Shannon Brown (who has yet to play) and Dee Brown in the 2nd round for Daniel Gibson (who has yet to play). Farmar would be starting on this team and Brown would be playing significant minutes while Eric Snow is resting in his coffin during games.

I’m not big into politics, but I do follow certain things. But I can’t wait for this election to be over. The back woods republicans of this area are driving me nuts with all of their war mongering and gay hating ads. Its ridiculous.

I hate the way all of these Bible beaters are against gay marriage. If two people love each other let them get married and be miserable like everyone else. They play it off like marriage is still religious. That ended a long time ago. It’s all regulated by the government now. Honestly I think that the insurance companies are in on this and are pushing people against it. If gays can get married then they can be covered by each other’s health insurance. This means more claims for insurance companies to pay out.

Here’s my platform for the presidency in 2016 (I’ll be 36 and legal to run). I’m bringing home our troops. If we are fighting somewhere (which I’m sure we will be) then we’re stopping and everyone’s coming home. If you are stationed overseas and want to come home, you can put-in to be placed at a domestic base. And we’re closing all of the bases in the Mideast. That’s what supposedly started the hatred towards the US, so lets get out of there. Because by then there will be less dependence on oil.

And here’s my other platform. I’ll get rid of private federal income tax. While businesses will still pay taxes, employees will not. In its place, I will institute a penny tax on everything that is sold. Say like 2 cents on every dollar. This way, people that get paid under the table will still be kicking in funds to the government and it will increase the money in working people’s pockets so they will spend and save more. Therefore stimulating the economy.

Vote Calvin in 2016!

Stupid People do Stupid Things

As I’m sure that everyone has heard, Buck O’Neil died Friday at 94. I had never heard of Buck O’Neil until I watched Ken Burns PBS documentary “Baseball” in 1994. I was living with my dad at the time and I remember watching every episode of that with him.

This was a great documentary. But up until the interviews with Buck, its watchability was average at best. I love baseball and was enamored by the look back at the old times. But Buck really injected life into the series. Yeah they had other former players that did interviews, but they seemed like old men who could barely remember what they had for breakfast, let alone what happened in 1930. But Buck O’Neil brought those black and white videos to life with stories that made my dad and me laugh. He was not only a great baseball man, but also a national treasure.

So looking back on this past year’s Baseball Hall of Fame vote is just another chapter in baseball, and more specifically MLB, screwing up another PR opportunity. Yes there were 18 deceased Negro Leagues administrators, players, and coaches inducted, but the two living legends on that list, O’Neil and Minnie Minosso were left out. Buck O’Neil missed getting in by one vote. To me that’s inexplicable. O’Neil was a great player on one of the great franchises in baseball history (KC Monarchs), the first black scout in MLB (he signed Lou Brock, Ernie Banks, Lee Smith, and Joe Carter to name a few), and became the first black coach in MLB with the Cubs. Not to mention that he has been a living, breathing, storytelling link to the great players of the Negro Leagues. But this wasn’t enough for that pretentious group of voters.

The only good that came from the whole ordeal was that Buck was man enough to do the right thing and gave the induction speech this past summer for those 18 lucky people. The fact that the board had the gall to ask him to do such a thing is a slap in the face to me, but to Buck it was an honor. Hopefully some day the Hall of Fame gets its act together and opens its doors to one of the greatest ambassadors the game has ever known. It’s just to bad that it will be too late for Buck to be here to enjoy it with all the people he touched while on this earth.

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So I obviously took a nosedive on my MLB playoff picks. Let’s just say it’s a good thing that I don’t bet on baseball. Thanks to the Cardinals for getting me off the schnide.

So with the CSs ready to go, I’m going to give some quick picks.

Tigers over A’s in 6.
Look for Rogers and Bonderman to be huge in this series. Rogers has always owned the A’s, and Bonderman was drafted by them. Bonderman is dyslexic and was insulted by A’s management who said something like, why should we pay someone a lot of money when they can’t read the contract? Needless to say he loves pitching against the A’s. Even in his worst season (2003, 6-19) he still managed to pitch his best game vs. the A’s (8IP, 3H, 1ER). The A’s will win Game 1 behind Zito, Detriot in Game 2 Verlander shuts down the A’s weak hitting lineup. Game 3 Rogers shows that he still owns the A’s with 7 strong. Game 4 Bonderman throws a CG shutout. I’m calling it. Game 5 will go to Oakland giving them hope going back west. Zito will torture the free swinging Tigers lineup. And Game 6 will see Verlander closing things out. Six strong, followed by Zumaya in the 7th and 8th, and Jones shutting it down in the 9th. Oakland’s anemic offense finally catches up to them in this series.

Series MVP: Justin Verlander and Ivan Rodriguez

Mets over Cardinals in 7.
Yes, this will go 7 games. As bad as the Cardinals pitching is they still have the best pitcher in the NL. The Mets pitching, to me, is just as bad. Glavine isn’t what he once was (though he looked like it against LA) and after that they have Steve Trachsel, a rookie (Maine), and a guy who hasn’t been good since 2004 (Oliver Perez). At least the Cardinal have Suppan who is capable is giving you a quality start and Weaver (even those he’s capable of melting down at any time, especially in New York). Mets in Game 1 with a solid game from Glavine and 5 shaky innings from Weaver. Cards in Game 2, Suppan is solid and the Cards lineup lights up Maine. Game 3 to the Cards, the way he’s looked I’ll be shocked if anyone beats Carpenter this postseason. Game 4 will be a shootout with Marquis and Perez pitching, and since the Mets have the better lineup I see them knotting the series here. Game 5 I’m going with the Cards, their bats will catch up to Glavine and Weaver will get a rare win at home thanks to the support of the red-clad faithful. Game 6 Maine gets his revenge on Suppan as the Mets bats knock him around a little bit. And finally Game 7. I know I said that Carpenter won’t get beat, but it won’t be him that loses. Trachsel hangs tough for 6, and once the Mets get into the Cards pen its over. A valiant battle by a resilient, veteran team.

Series MVP: Jose Reyes

I’m not even going to write about the weekend in football. Except to say that Mo Carthon is the dumbest coach in the NFL. Not just offensive coordinator. There are ball boy assistants that could run the offense better than him.

Is that a Titleist?

Some thoughts on this past weekend.

The baseball playoffs are finally set. I have to say that this was one of the more exciting regular season finishes in as long as I can remember. The Cards holding on over the surging Astros, the Dodgers fighting off the Phillies, and in turn the Padres holding off the Dodgers. And then throw in the Tigers collapse and the Twins winning the division on the last day of the season. I don’t care what anyone says I would much rather win the division than the Wild Card. Just a preference.

I was watching Baseball Tonight Sunday and they were talking that the Mets should be okay without Pedro because there really aren’t any good pitching staffs in the NL Playoffs. Excuse me? I believe that the Dodgers have three 15 game winners (Lowe, Penny, Maddux) that all have significant post season experience. Lowe closed out every series for the Sox in 2004, Penny was the #2 starter on the Marlins in 2003, and though Maddux’s post season record isn’t stellar, he will know how to handle the situation. And don’t forget that the Padres have a pretty good staff with Peavy (who picked it up towards the end of the season) and Chris Young (who was traded by the Expos/Nationals to Texas for Einar Diaz, straight up. That’s Omar Minaya, GM of the team with the best record in the NL).

So here are my picks:

Yankees over Tigers in 4. The Yankees lineup will just wear out the Tigers young arms. I see Kenny Rogers getting their only win. Unless Bonderman or Verlander is pretty much unhittable (don’t see that happening against such a patient lineup) the Yankees will stroll into the ALCS.

Twins over A’s in 5. This will be a better series than people think. The A’s pitching will stretch this only if Rich Harden is healthy. If he’s not, and they have to go Zito, Blanton, Haren, then they’re in trouble. Not that Blanton and Haren are awful, its just that they shouldn’t be your 2 and 3 pitchers in a 5 game set. If Harden is ineffective this goes 4.

Yankees over Twins in 6. Santana will win both games for the Twins and Brad Radke will give them two gutsy performances, but they just don’t have the horses. Matt Garza will be good some day, but not in 2006 versus the Yankees. And as well as Boof Bonzer has pitched lately he won’t be a problem for the Yankees.

Dodger over Mets in 5. Lowe, Penny, and Maddux versus El Duque, Glavine, and Tracshel. That doesn’t really seem fair. I know that the Mets lineup is loaded, but they aren’t the patient kind of lineup that wins in the playoffs. And don’t sleep on the Dodgers lineup. Lots of experience and the best offense that they’ve had this decade. Nomar will be big in the first two games in New York. Quick note, I just read that the Dodgers are going with Kuo in game 2. Grady Little rears his ugly playoff head again.

Cardinals over Padres in 4. I know that you may think I’m crazy for this, but I think the Cardinals are ready to click. They struggled so badly down the stretch that they blew their 1st round home field advantage and almost the division. Yes, they do have the Jeffs starting games 2 and 3, but I can see Weaver winning game 3 at home because of the way he feeds off of emotion. With the home crowd fired up behind him he can win that game. And then it’s Carpenter in game 4 at home. Did I mention that the Cards have Albert Pujols?

Dodgers over Cardinals in 6. Once again it’s the Dodgers pitching that will be the difference. If Little would pull his head out of his ass he’d go with Lowe, Penny, then Maddux. Sinker ball, power, then pinpoint accuracy to keep teams off balance. But he won’t because he’s an idiot. Pujols will get some help from Rolen, but it won’t be enough. The pitching staff just has too many shortcomings and Carpenter can’t make up for all of those.

World Series:
Yankees over Dodgers in 7. Once again this will go 7 because of the Dodgers pitching, and the Yankees thin pitching corps. But in the end that Yankees lineup will just be too much. Its kills me to pick them. But that lineup is just going to wear teams down like it did in the second half of the season. All of their hitters are patient and they don’t strike out a lot (with the exception of A-Rod). Their pitching could be their Achilles heal. If Johnson is either out or ineffective they’re in trouble. Wang has been good all season, but he’s young and he relies on that sinker and control. If he can’t get that pitch working he’s in trouble. Mussina will be fine, but after that you’re talking about Jaret Wright and Cory Lidle. Not ideal.

So there’s my playoff picks, now on to more interesting things.

If I worked in an office with chimps in suits and shirts and ties and lighting cigars with hundred dollar bills I would not be looking for a new job. That would be the best job ever.

My Buckeyes flag football team lost Saturday. We didn’t get to practice last week because we had a bad thunderstorm here Thursday. It really showed on Saturday. And we were missing one of our best players, Dae’Shon. But we still managed a 65-yard TD run to start the game and my boy RaeKwon had a 60 yarder in the second half. Unfortunately he’s a big kid and ran out of gas at the 5-yard line.

The Ohio State Buckeyes looked really good Saturday night at Iowa. That game scared me like the Penn State night game last year. But Iowa just couldn’t stop the Bucks running game. I think that was Antonio Pittman’s coming out party to the nation. And that was the best that Chris Wells has played all season. If they truly become a two-headed monster that will be scary. Oh, and Troy Smith was stellar. That TD to Robiske in the 2nd half was ridiculous. And Anthony Gonzalez’s TD catch and run has to be one of the top 5 plays of the year so far. And did I mention the defense. When are people going to stop bringing up the fact that they lost 9 starters on defense like it’s a bad thing? This is Ohio State. Like any top tier program, they reload. These guys that are playing now were ready at the start of the season. And Herbstreit brought up a great point Saturday. If you were only going to return two players, wouldn’t you want your 2 all conference defensive tackles? Pitcock and Patterson are both beasts and will both be first day draft picks.

Bowling Green also won this weekend at Ohio. The offense sucks this year, which will kill them against good MAC teams. If they would have had this defense the last 2 seasons they would have ran the table both season’s in conference. They go to the Horseshoe Saturday. I’m really hoping that the local station that carries the ESPN+ games will have it on. Go Falcons.

The Browns finally won Sunday. I was nervous going into this game because the Raiders were coming off of a bye, so they had 2 weeks to prepare for us. But thanks to 3 big special teams returns, Droughns remembering that he’s a 1,000 yard back, and some good second half adjustments they came back to win. Frye played well except for the horrible pick he threw with 4 minutes left. Rolling to the sideline and then throwing on up for grabs in the middle of the end zone. Even my kids know to throw that away. Idiot. But a wins a win and I’ll take it.

One more point on this game. I was reading the Czar on Foxsports.com yesterday and he was whining that the Raiders got screwed on a spot in the 4th quarter and then failed to convert the 4th down. What he didn’t mention was that it was 4th and inches and instead of sneaking it they handed to Jordan, and that the Browns got hosed on a spot on the ensuing possession. Only the Browns were smart enough to run a sneak on 4th and inches. Not to mention that both of these plays should have been challenged.

I finally won an NFL parlay bet this weekend. Jets (+9), Browns (-2.5,), and Pats (+6). It’s about time.

This summer I told one of the interns here, who happened to be a big Dolphins fan, that they would be lucky to win 7 games. He got so mad. This is what happens when you have a QB that can’t make a pre snap read and stares down one side of the field.
It was good to see Albert Haynesworth hasn’t forgotten what it means to be a Volunteer. Way to do fat Phil proud.

One more baseball related topic. The NL Cy Young is pretty much up for grabs because no one ran away with a bunch of wins this season. I would either give it to Carlos Zambrano (16 wins and a 3.41 ERA for a team that won 66 games) or John Smoltz (16 wins and a 3.49 ERA). Both of these guys were beasts this year. Webb or Carpenter will probably end up with the award. But Smoltz did finish 3rd in the league in strikeouts and 4th in innings. Not bad for a 39 year old.