What the Heaven Happened?

Iowa Beaten

You had to know that Iowa was going to lose, but not to Northwestern. Northwestern hadn't beaten a Top Ten since 2004. Iowa had played tough close games all seasons but once they lost their leader Ricky Stanzi in the 2nd quarter, the game was over, BCS title hopes gone and unbeaten season gone. I think Iowa fans knew how important Stanzi (pictured left) was to their team but I'm not sure the rest of the country knew. Ricky is the unquestioned leader of the team and losing him to that ankle injury just sucked the life out of the Hawkeyes. Norhtwesten played a great game and beat the 4th ranked team at home. Another David has been eliminated from title contention.



Oregon destroyed at Stanford






You just don't roll into Palo Alto and think you can just beat up on the Cardinal. Stanford demoralized the Ducks Rose Bowl hopes with a 51-42 win. The Ducks had to still be thinking about the thumping they put on USC because they completely overlooked Stanford. Toby Gerhart ran for 223 yards and 3 TD's in the win. Gerhart, an underrated Heisman candidate, just willed his team to a win. A funny note is that Stanford's starting quarterbacks last name is Luck. The Cardinal will need a little more of that as well if they want to make it to the Rose Bowl.

Navy Ends the Irish BCS Hopes

Navy has beaten Notre Dame in back to back seasons. With the loss, Notre Dmae has no chance of going to a BCS game. This is the type of loss that could cost Weis his job. Alumnus of the university have been looking for ways to get rid of him. There is a certain formula I subscribe to when looking at coaches on the hot seat. 1. Never lose to rivals in consecutive years. Weis has been dominated by USC since he has been coaching the Irish. 2. Win games against weaker opponents. Weis has lost to Navy in consecutive years. When you have a soft schedule, make sure you win big. Notre Dame lost to a bad Michigan team, just escaped Purdue, Michigan State and Washington. If I am Charlie Weis, I call Belichik to see if I can rejoin his staff in New England. Golden Domers are now getting ready to call Urban Meyer to see if he can restore the roar back to America's football school.

Its not TV, Its the Raiders

The Sopranos was a great show. Aside from the gratious violence, swear words and nudity, it was very well written and highly entertaining. It gave some insight to what happens in the mafia. By watching the Sopranos, you can also understand what it is like in the Raiders organization. You have the head of the family, Al Davis, who has been around since the inception of football. He has henchmen who try to control what and who comes in and out of the Raiders. This organization is in so much turmoil with a great fan base because their godfather refuses to let go and hire competent football people.

To make matters worse, Tom Cable the coach, not only was accused of beating up one of his assistant coaches, (who was reportedly the spy who reported to Al) he has a history of domestic violence. Three women have accused Cable of striking them and he admits to striking his former wife. The coach besides the quarterback is the face of the franchise. To have him going out everyday and coach young men with his history is absurd. I am all for people getting second chances but fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. Davis and the league should have done a more extensive background check because now this a public relations nightmare. Al Davis and the raiders are now trying to cooperate with the league and hopes the league will discipline Cable so that he can fire him without paying him. If you have followed the Raiders, then you know they have a history of not paying coaches. Mike Shanahan, Jon Gruden, Lane Kiffin to name a few. What amazes me is how they want to take the easy way out and not fire him because he can't coach but fire him because he has brought embarrassment to the organization. The Raiders have been embarrassing since 2002. Randy Moss went there and people thought he was lost in the Bermuda Triangle until he went to the Patriots. Warren Sapp, pro bowler, love for the game was sucked out him once he entered the Black Hole.This team is so dysfunctional that their starting qb, Jamarcus Russell (pictured below) doesn't think he is one of the problems. He has thrown only 2 touchdown passes all season, while throwing 9 interceptions. He had a game where he completed 7 passes. There are kids in Pee Wee football that complete more than 7 passes in a game. Their first round pick at wide receiver has 5 catches this year, while the 49ers first round receiver who started the 6 games later caught 5 passes in his first game. That just proves how messed up this team is.

I'm not and have never been a Raider fan. I do understand the history of the game and all of the innovations Al Davis has brought. This was once a proud franchise, now it is a complete joke. For this franchise to get back to where it used to be its going to take a complete gutting of staff members and players. This is one show that definitely needs to be canceled because the viewers and critcs are just not happy.

Good Guy Of The Week

Michael Redd doesn't get a lot of publicity playing for the Milwaukee Bucks and he should. Redd is a proven scorer in the league and one of the most respected players as well. He was a member of the Redeem Team who won the gold medal in China. His job was to shoot the three and he did it well. You probably wonder why I made him a good guy of the week. Even though Redd is an all-star, gold medalist, he hasn't let the NBA lifestyle change the way he was brought up. He was raised in a Christian home with both of his parents being pastor's. He saved himself for his wife and in this day and age that is to be comended. especially playing professional baskeball with the a lot of women throwin' themselves at him. He also made a promise to his parents that if he made it big in the NBA, he would buy them a church in Columbus, Ohio. He signed his max-deal in 2005 and donated his money to the church. His parents were able to move their church that was started in a basement to a building. Redd stays true to his roots by sharing Christ with other players around the league and even holds Bible studies with his teammates. This is the kind of guy you just root for.

NBA is FAN-Tastic

I've missed that old slogan...

I will try to update once a week some of the things I've noticed about the NBA.



Cleveland will regret trading for Shaq: Basketball has changed in the past 10-12 years. No longer does the game feature dominant low-post scorers. Gone are the days of Ewing, Robinson, Olajuwon, and Kareem. The Cleveland Cavaliers missed that memo that was sent out. The Cavs were exposed last year by the Magic with their undersized guards and forwards. LeBron can't guard all the Rashard Lewis's and Turkolo's of the world. The move to acquire Shaq was to combat Dwight Howard. Howard wasn't raining 3's over Delonte West and Mo Williams. They hope that Lebron can score 40 and they can win a championship will not work. The Shaq of 10 years ago would be a perfect fit because at least he could run with LeBron. This Shaq is going to clog up the lane just like he did in Phoenix. The other problem they have is Shaq can't guard the new wave of power forwards (more on that in a moment). He can't keep up with the Garnett's, Wallace's or Dirk's in a pick and roll situation. He is a liability on the defensive end. Cleveland will make the playoffs but a championship is not coming any time soon.

You can't guard me!!!: As I mentioned before, the power forward and center position has changed. Today's players don't play with their back to the basket. You barely see players understand how to post up their defenders. What has replaced that is the athletic 4 or 5 guy, who can spot and hit the 3 or shoot over the top of their defenders. With that said, the most unstoppable player in the league (with apologies to Kobe, Lebron and D-Wade) is Dirk Nowitki. No one can check the 7-footer. You put a guard on he shoots over him, put a big man on him he drives past him. He can light it up from the outside and terrorize you on the inside. One of Dirk's drawbacks is he doesn't bang enough or get a lot of boards. But he skill-set can not be taught. Kevin Garnett, Rasheed Wallace, Rashard Lewis all fit this type of mold, but Dirk is far away more talented than these guys.

Ron Artest will explode: I like Ron Artest. Artest is one of those players that everyone wants on their team. He can defend, rebound, score and pass the ball. Ron-ron's only problem is he can be very wacky at times. The brawl in the Palace, the constant on-going feud with Kobe when he was a Rocket. That's why I know its only a matter of time before he goes off again with the Lakers. Laker fans will say that Phil Jackson controlled Dennis Rodman. Rodman fell in line behind Michael and Scottie. I just can't see Artest falling behind Kobe. He is saying all the right things because he wants a championship but when they hit a rough patch, Ron will probably hit somebody or something.









As if Cleveland fans had enough to worry about: This is not a bag on Ohio blog but living in Cleveland or being a fan of Cleveland has to be rough. The Indians are a farm team to the rest of baseball, the Browns are in complete disarray and LeBron did not sign an extension this summer. With the way the Knicks and Nets are stinking it up and trying to position themselves to get LeBron, I just can't see him going there. Why waste his time where its cold all the time when he could go to a warm weather climate, like L.A. and no I don't mean the Lakers, how about the Clippers? Crazy, I don't think. The Clip show has a top ten point guard, Baron Davis when healthy. Young two guards in Eric Gordon and Al Thornton. A slashing forward in Blake Griffin and solid center in Marcus Camby. They will have enough money to lure him and he could share the same arena as Kobe and be just as big of a draw. Just a thought.



I am attaching a link to a video of my pick for MVP. He is from the class of 2003. The only one of those guys to win a NCAA title. I believe its his time to shine. Hopefully he keeps his head on straight and stays out of trouble. His team will be competing for a top spot in their conference which will help his chances. Enjoy the clip!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlrbJ6oG7OM

CFB Wrap up

Another crazy weekend in college football. Before I move forward, one of the readers pointed out that Big Ten is also seeing some of the same issues that the SEC has in bad calls favoring higher ranked teams. After watching the Indiana-Iowa game, I completely agree. This is not only a SEC-Big Ten problem, its all of college football. A lot of the replay officials as well as the refs on the fields are makeing bad calls or misinterpetting the rule book. In this game, Indiana had 2 touchdowns called back which could have changed the game. The IU receiver had one foot down and controlled the ball as he fell out of bounds and the back judge was standing right there and made the correct call. The replay judge overturned it. The Hoosier have been victimized by officials a lot this year. Look, IU does not have a football tradition, however, the game should be called the right way. Just because the school hasn't really been good that does mean they deserve to be treated like a 1-AA school.











IOWA

Iowa seriously reminds me of Ohio State in 2002. I'm not saying they are going to win the National Championsihip, but they are rolling. Every week people picked Ohio State to lose in 2002 and the same is happening to the Hawkeyes. Last week, Michigan State had the game won, but somehow, Iowa got a td with :03 seconds left and won. This week was no different against Indiana. In the third quarter, Iowa QB Ricky Stanzi threw not one, or two but 4 interceptions!!! 4 picks in a quarter usually spells doom for a team, but not those plucky Hawkeyes. They just outscored the Hoosiers 35-3 in the second half, 28 of those points came in the 4th quarter. This team relishes being down. They stick to their game plan, like the 02 Buckeyes and nothing seems to phase them. Their biggest challenge will be in a couple of weeks when they go to the Horseshoe and face Ohio State. Iowa can't win at Ohio State, right? I'm picking against them hoping they win so that the BCS gets screwed up.









USC

Pete Carroll still has to be bugged by Mark Sanchez leaving school early. Not that Sanchez would have made the difference yesterday, but they probably wouldn't have lost in Washington and the loss yesterday would have kept them in contention for BCS title game. After that thrashing that Oregon put on them yesterday, there is no way the Trojans can get into the title game. This has to make most of the pundits really sad. Everyone was thinking of ways of how USC was going to get to title game. SC has placed a lot of pro's in the NFL, but if you look at the last 10 years USC should have had a few more title appearances and more titles. Getting manhandled by the Ducks is no excuse for a team that has about eight or nine pro prospects on the defensive side of the ball. Oregon was relentless and deserve a lot of credit for bouncing back considering how the season started on the smurf turf in Boise.

Florida

Florida beat up on Georgia and is still number 1 in the BCS. Tebow looked healthy and their offense wasn't predictable. Florida will be in the SEC championship game but LSU with a win over Alabama would control their own destiny. Saturday's SEC showdown could have huge national championship implications. Can you imagine a championship game without an SEC school? It could happen if LSU beats Alabama and wins in the rematch against Florida. Texas and Iowa would have to stay undefeated as well. Here is what I really wanted to talk about. What's the deal with Georgia wearing the black helmets? Mark Richt was trying to inspire his players and strike fear into the Gators hearts. Why would a helmet do that? If your players can't get up for a rivalry game then they shouldn't be playing in that game. It's like when Notre Dame runs out in the green jersey's. Don't get me wrong, I like the helmet's, it just bugs me when the schools try to make a big deal out of them.

Big Mac is back

"I'm not here to talk about the past" I was home watching the Congressional hearings when Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmerio on a March day in 2005. The hearings were about performance enhancing drug use in baseball. Everyone was speculating what was Mark going to say about his alleged use. To be clear the only substance that we know Mark took was Andro, which was banned by baseball a year after it was spotted in his locker. But there has always been whispers, especially since Jose Canseco an admitted user and teammate, said that he and Mark took the drugs together. This isn't about Mark usage or not, this is more about how his past will affect the team he is coaching.

The job of a hitting coach is to make sure the team's batters are comfortable, noticing glitches and hitches in their swings and part-time psychologist. McGwire is credited with telling Tony LaRussa in spring training in 2001 that Albert Pujols would be a star. He has also worked with Skip Schumacher, Matt Holliday, Chris Duncan just to name a few. The players who worked with him have had nothing but positives things to say about how well he instructs players and the advice he gives. What I find odd is after 8 years of basically isolating himself from the outside world, why would he come back to the game if he does not want to face his past. His past will follow this team around as long as he is there. reporters are going to hound him and the players about his past.

Mark will have to open not only to the press but the his players as well. What's going to happen when a Brendan Ryan comes in and he's slumping and he asked Mark what did he do when he was slumping? Will Mark say "I'm not here to talk about past"? Now I know that won't happen but the scenario is plausible. Mark kept to himself alot as a player and now he is in a role where he has to inject himself into these players lives. His whole job is to make sure the hitter's head is clear when they are up to bat. I will say that during the great home run chase of '98, he seemed a little uptight. But Sammy Sosa got him to loosen up and you saw a very different more engaging side to him. Mark will need to be more engaging and loose with his players in order to win them over.

Finally, Mark is a career .263 hitter, I'm not really sure how that qualifies him as a hitting coach. Most of the batting coaches having higher averages or are former batting champs. In 98, Mark had 70 home runs and 61 singles. Hopefully he can help those guys who are line drive and gap hitters.

A few things working in Mark's favor are that LaRussa has his back and believes in him. TLR is one of the most loyal managers I have ever seen. McGwire also has a great relationship with Albert Pujols. Pujols thinks the world of Bic Mac and he feels the same about the Prince. That will go a long way in that clubhouse and possibly in the resigning of Pujols and Holliday. Finally, Mark has the fans in Busch. Those fans love Mark, steriods and Andro aside. He was wonderful with his time in the community and the many charities he supported. For that he will always be a legedn in St. Louis.



"I'm not here to talk about the past".. at some point next spring he will have to.

MLB

So I have started this blog and most of my post have been football related with the baseball playoffs going on. Its not that I dislike baseball but it just isnt nearly as appealing any more. A little background on me and my love affair with baseball. I am and always will be a lifelong Cardinal fan. So this isn't about me and their lackluster playoff showing this year (another post will talk about that and the McGwire addition). This is more about how baseball's salary cap,steriod use and slow pace has not only worn on me but a lot of fans.

Of the 8 teams in this years playoff, 5 of the teams had the highest payrolls in baseball. Mid-market teams don't have a chance to keep their great homegrown talents because of the lack of revenue sharing. The Cleveland Indians and their fans had to be absolutely sick watching Game 1. CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee, two dominant left-handed starters were pitching in the series, while the Indians are suffering through another rebuilding mode. Mid-market teams just don;t have a lot of hope and baseball should do something about that.














The steriod use in the game has been beaten to death. Here are my feelings about it. Baseball is predicated all on numbers. So players, manager, owners cheated the system and the record books to draw in popularity and to bring in tv revenue. After the strike in 95, football has replaced baseball as the national pasttime. Baseball solved the problem by allowing its players to use illegal substances so people would pay attention again. It worked for a while but I think a lot of fans are turned off by the sport now because they don't know what to believe anymore. The innocence of the game is lost and I don't know if it can be found again.


I am rooting for the Phillies simply because the Yankees payroll is ridiculous. The Yankees feel like why draft well and build a team, when you can buy one. And for all those Cardinal fans who hope that they will resign Matt Holliday, know this. Holliday will either be a Yankee or an Angel because that is where the money is. Boras or the union will not allow him to take less money. So again, the rich will only get richer.