Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Random NFL Thoughts

Here are some random thoughts.....

The Steelers may be 1-3, but don’t count them out just yet....

I don’t care how the Steelers front office spins it, I believe Ben Roethlisberger is not even at 75% health wise .....

I don’t know how Chiefs running back Larry Johnson was not more seriously injured from that ferocious facemask....

Sure the Browns are often the butt of jokes, but even Steeler fans have to admit that Cleveland plays hard throughout the entire game....

The Browns will beat the Steelers at least once this year....

I like Kellen Winslow, Jr -- a lot....

I don’t have a favorite NFL team, but I find myself rooting for da Bears this season.....I always like those old school teams such as the Giants, Bears, Steelers, etc....

Even though he is 0-2 as a starter, Vince Young shows a lot of poise and confidence while in the pocket....

Tigers in 6......Mets in 7....

San Diego needs to permanently switch to the powder blue uniforms and white helmets....

The Vikings new uniforms are horrible....they need to go back to their old uniforms like ones Fran Tarkenton wore...

What is wrong with Tampa Bay?.....this was playoff team last year and now they are winless....this may be the end of the road for Jon Gruden in Tampa....

Why does it seem that Denver always wins the close games at home?.....

How much shorter can the Philadelphia Eagles cheerleader’s shorts get?.....

Talkin NFL

The Baker’s Dozen (last week’s ranking in parenthesis)
1. Bears (5-0) (1) - a few more wins and the talk will begin about a perfect season....
2. Chargers (3-1) (4) - as of October 10th, the Bolts are the best team in the AFC....
3. Colts (5-0) (2) - Colts have not been impressive....but they are still perfect....
4. Eagles (4-1) (5) - what a defensive performance against the Cowboys.....they made me a believer....big game this week against the Saints.....
5. Ravens (4-1) (3) - an ugly loss....but they had 2 ugly wins earlier this year.....

6. Saints (4-1) (6) - don’t mess with dem Saints......
7. Patriots (4-1) (7) - nothing pretty.....but they took care of the Fins......
8. Bengals (3-1) (8) - maybe the bye week helped get their heads together.....
9. Falcons (3-1) (9) - the G-men come to town this week....

10. Seahawks (3-1) (11) - they needed a bye after the Chi-town beatdown....
11. Broncos (3-1) (12) - they have won 2 ugly home games....9-6 in OT and 13-3....
12. Panthers (3-2) (NR) - the kitties are starting to growl....
13. Rams (4-1) (NR) - I don’t think anyone is sold on this team just yet....but they are 4-1....


The Carp
29. Dolphins (1-4) (29) - no offensive line....no running game....no nothing....
30. Titans (0-5) (31) - they had the Colts but let it slip away....
31. Lions (0-5) (NR) - the Dolphins may be worse, but the fact remains that the Lions are winless....
32. Raiders (0-4) (32) - another week - another loss....

Monday, October 09, 2006

Talkin College Football

Here are some thoughts about college football....

Kudos should go to N.C. State and their coach Chuck Amato....after losing to Akron a few weeks back, Amato could have lost control of his team....but the Wolfpack came back the very next week and stunned ranked Boston College on a last second Hail Mary.....Amato then beat former mentor Bobby Bowden this past week to stand along at 2-0 in the ACC’s Atlantic Division....

Rutgers is still unbeaten at 5-0 but the Scarlet Knights have a "hornet" game when they travel to Annapolis to play Navy on Saturday....the Midshipmen are 5-1 and head coach Paul Johnson is a highly underrated coach.....Johnson came to Navy from Georgia Southern where he won a I-AA title over a Jim Tressel led YSU team....

Even if Michigan State should somehow beat Ohio State this week, head coach John L. Smith has to still be fired at the end of the season.....the Spartans lack discipline....

Adrian Peterson saw his Heisman dreams fade away after a sub-par game against Texas....

Don’t look now, but Kent State is leading the Mid-America Conference East Division with a 3-0 mark.....nearby neighbor, Akron, has been a disappointment so far with a 0-2 mark....

It’s nice to see that Ty Willingham is turning around the program at Washington....the Huskies had the chance to beat Southern Cal but a favorable clock operator at the L.A. Coliseum took care of any upset bid.....Willingham is a class act who never fit in at Notre Dame....


Michigan may be in trouble this week at Penn State.....super star Mario Manningham may be out of the game with a knee injury....

Youngstown native Kevin Tuminello anchors the offensive line for Georgia Tech.....Tuminello is the Jackets starting center....

Best minor league team in the country is Cleveland Glenville....

Alabama beat Duke 30-14 but mid-way through the third quarter the Tide was only ahead 16-14.....

Bear Watch - the Fighting Manginos dropped to 3-3 after losing to Texas A&M 21-18....once again Kansas loses a close game....where is the Kansas Comet when you need him?.....

I’m surprised former Ohio State head coach John Cooper never got another head coaching job after being canned in C-bus?.....

YSU is currently ranked 6th in I-AA......

Heisman watch
If the vote ended today.....and if I actually had a vote, here are my top 4 players along with my +1, sleeper pick....
1. Troy Smith, Ohio State - you can start engraving the trophy.....after Adrian Peterson’s average game against Texas, it’s Smith’s to lose....
2. Brady Quinn, Notre Dame - he has thrown only 1 interception over the last 3 games.....
3. Garrett Wolfe, N. Illinois - you cannot deny that he belongs in New York....
4. Calvin Johnson, Ga. Tech - still steady....
+1 Erik Ainge, Tennessee - he will not get any votes, but Ainge has put together a solid junior season now that David Cutcliffe took over the offense.....

Sweet 16 + 1 (Last week ranking in parenthesis)
1. Ohio State (1) (6-0) - the Bucks had a little "bowling" practice this week.....
2. Florida (6) (6-0) - why not move the Gators to the second spot?.....it will probably be a 1 week stay at #2 because they are heading to the Plains to take on Auburn this Saturday....
3. Southern Cal (3) (5-0) - the Men of Troy have looked vulnerable the past two weeks....
4. W. Virginia (4) (5-0) - Steven Slaton helped the Mountaineers stay unbeaten....the ‘Cuse comes to town this week....
5. Michigan (5) (6-0) - the state of Michigan remains Blue....
6. Tennessee (13) (5-1) - the Vols are for real this year....they dismantled Georgia....they are on a bye this Saturday.....
7. Texas (11) (5-1) - solid win over the Sooners.....
8. Notre Dame (10) (5-1) - the Irish are plodding along under the radar....they are on a bye this Saturday....
9. Auburn (2) (5-1) - the Tigers take a fall to #9....but a win over Florida this week will move them back up....
10. Louisville (8) (5-0) - the Cards drop a few spots because Tennessee, Texas, & Notre Dame are looking good.....
11. Clemson (14) (5-1) - they struggled a bit with Wake Forest....
12. Georgia Tech (16) (5-1) - on a bye this week as they prepare for their showdown with Clemson on October 21st....
13. Cal (NR) (5-1) - they have recovered nicely after that early season beatdown by Tennessee.....the Golden Bears may end up in the Rose Bowl....
14. Arkansas (NR) (4-1) - it takes a real team to go into Auburn and win 27-10.....Ewwww Pig
Sooooooey!!!!!
15. LSU (7) - (4-2) - was disappointed they didn’t play a better game against Florida...
16. Georgia (9) (5-1) - weaknesses were exposed by Tennessee.....but remember, don’t mess with a sleeping dawg....
+1. Missouri (6-0) - the Tigers replaced Youngstown native and graduate Brad Smith with another quality quarterback......Mizzou stuck it to Texas Tech.....now they get their shot at A&M.....


Pondering the Pinstripes

Another baseball season has ended earlier than expected for the New York Yankees....only this time it may have cost their beloved manager, Joe Torre, his job....

We all know about the Yankees $200 million payroll and how they have underachieved....we have seen how Alex Rodriguez has done zilch in the post season since putting on the Pinstripes.....that has all been documented....

As a fan of the game, and of the Yankees, I am torn about Torre’s situation.....his temperament worked well with the Paul O’Neills, Scottie Brosiuses, Tino Martinezes, and Derek Jeters....but that era of Yankee baseball ended in the Arizona desert in 2001....since that disappointing loss in game 7 to Arizona in 2001, the Yankees have been on a collision course toward disaster....

They abandoned their sound strategy of strong pitching and disciplined hitting in exchange for the hope of a quick fix by signing or trading for players like Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon, and A-Rod.....the Yankees have become a bloated overweight team in need of a weight loss plan....

If the organization is committed to returning to its successful formula of pitching and disciplined hitting, then Torre should keep his job....but if they want to continue to search for a quick fix, then it is best that Torre leaves....

His place in Yankee history is secure....he ranks, along with Casey Stengel and Joe McCarthy, as one of the three greatest Yankee managers ever.....the fans love him and the city loves him....but if the organization decides it wants to keep looking for the quick fix, then it is only fair to shed Torre from this annual burden of having to win the title....

Another decision will have to be made during the winter.....should A-Rod stay or go?.....

First let me say this, I like A-Rod and always will like him no matter where he plays....you never hear his name linked to steroids, illegal drug use, DUIs, etc....he is a classy ballplayer.....but it is evident that he lacks the mental toughness to play in the spotlight of New York City.....therefore, general manager Brian Cashman should try to unload him for young pitching....the Yanks will probably have to pick-up part of his salary though....they will be clearing almost $40 million by not resigning some players - so it is possible to ‘eat" a portion of his pay.....

Do the Yankees need a major overhaul? – No.....there is no need to "break-up" the team....they are set in the outfield with Matsui, Damon, Abreu, and Cabrera......their middle infield is solid with Cano and Jeter....and Posada is still a rock behind the plate.....Wang is a good young starter and Rivera is still there for the 9th inning....

The three things the Yankees need is 1) young starting pitching, not some 44 year-old pitcher who is past his prime.....2) quality middle relievers to set-up Rivera.....and 3) hungry dirt dogs at the corner infield position....

Over the last few years, the Yanks have lacked that dirt dog type player.....during their great run in the 1990s, they had Chuck Knoblauch, Paul O’Neill, and even Chad Curtis coming off the bench....

They need someone like former Met and Phillie Lenny Dykstra who was the greatest dirt dog in the last 30 years.....this guy was a 100% baseball player who got dirty and gave his all for his team.....he was a sparkplug and fiery player.....the Pinstripes need two players like Dykstra....

In the next day or so, a decision will be made concerning Torre.....his players let him down....he put the best lineup on the field, but the team could not produce when they needed....a lot of the blame should be placed on A-Rod....the Yankees are not asking for him to come through in the clutch every time.....but gosh darn-it, he needs to get that big hit every once in a while....in the last two post-seasons, he had zero RBIs.....

So it is unfortunate that Torre’s tenure may come to an end because players like Rodriguez, Giambi, and Randy Johnson were paid to produce in the clutch only to walk back to the dugout empty handed....a dugout which may have a new leader next season....