Bear Watch - the Fighting Manginos are 4-0!!!!!

Yeh, they did not play a tough non-conference schedule....but so did Ohio State....say what you want, but the Fighting Manginos of Kansas are 4-0 going into a bye week.....on Saturday, Kansas pulverized Florida International 55-3.....our boy Aqib Talib brought back an interception 100 yards for a touchdown.....sophomore quarterback Todd Reesing accounted for 415 yards of total offense in the win....

This is the first time Kansas has started a season 4-0 since 1995....the Fighting Manginos start Big XII Conference play on October 6 when they travel across state to take on Kansas State....

News from around the country

Chicago Sun-Times sports columnist and Around the Horn guest Jay Mariotti writes about the end of the Rex Grossman era.... “If Lovie had drawled his dreaded, ridiculed refrain one more time - ''Rex is our quarterback'' - I'm not sure 9 million people wouldn't have gathered at Halas Hall in mass protest.” ....

Jay Mariotti - Rex Grossman

Chicago Sun-Times sports columnist and Around the Horn guest Jay Mariotti writes about Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy and his tirade.... “He tried to make what could have been a reasonable point: why media members shouldn't be hypercritical of college athletes who, in effect, are amateurs. But he was screaming so maniacally, I don't think anyone actually heard his words.” .....

Jay Mariotti - Mike Gundy

Washington Post sports columnist and PTI co-host Mike Wilbon writes about the 0-3 New Orleans Saints..... “It's as if all that Saints magic had an expiration date. The NFL's feel-good story of a year ago appears to be just another rejected script this year. The Saints, inexplicably and virtually overnight, have gone from the hot preseason Super Bowl pick to bag-over-the-head bad, from 10 wins to zero wins.” .....

Mike Wilbon

Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes that the San Diego Chargers are not panicking just yet, but know they have to get their act together right now..... “A day after losing for the second straight week, things looked a little better to the Chargers. The perspective of time and the realization of the opportunity that lies immediately ahead has the Chargers feeling somewhat better.” .....

Kevin Acee

Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News writes that one year ago there was rumors T.O. tried to O.D., but now things are going well for the superstar.... “A year later, Owens wishes he could erase one of the worst moments of his life. He said he was embarrassed by the incident but has grown from it.” ....

Calvin Watkins

Pittsburgh Post Gazette reporter Ed Bouchette writes how things could be a tad odd this week around the Steelers camp as they prepare to go against their former assistant coaches.... “But the new Steelers coach refuses to be drawn into the passion play involving coaches who might have felt wronged.” .....

Ed Bouchette

College Football Rankins - Top 16 + 1

It is time to roll out Stiles Points Top 16 +1 weekly rankings....the reason I rank 16 teams is because that figure fits nicely for a college playoff....
1. Southern Cal (3-0) - @ Washington - the Trojans are a solid #1...
2. LSU (4-0) - @ Tulane - the Hokies and the Cocks came into Baton Rouge only to leave with a whoopin....
3. Florida (4-0) - vs. Auburn - Gator Nation gets a little scare from Ole Miss....
4. West Virginia (4-0) - @ S. Florida - the Mountaineers will get a stiff test on Friday at S. Florida ....
5. Oklahoma (4-0) - @ Colorado - the Sooners get a little test before the Red River Rivalry against Texas....

6. Cal (4-0) - @ Oregon - this is an elimination game between these PAC-10 foes...
7. Oregon (4-0) - Cal - why not put the Ducks this high?....if they win, they will deserve it...
8. Texas (4-0) - vs. Kansas State - the Horns need to pick up the pace after a lackluster non-conference performance....
9. Ohio State (4-0) - @ Minnesota - the Buckeye fans are already talking BCS Title....
10. Wisconsin (4-0) - Michigan State - a battle of unbeatens when Sparty comes to town....

11. Clemson (4-0) - @ Georgia Tech - maybe, just maybe this is Tommy Bowden’s year....
12. Kentucky (4-0) - vs. Fla. Atlantic - the Cats take down the Cards and the Hogs in back-to-back weeks....
13. Boston College (4-0) - vs. U. Mass - the Battle of Massachusetts....
14. Rutgers (4-0) - Maryland - Greg Schiano’s group are laying real quiet this season....
15. South Carolina (3-1) - vs. Miss. State - the Ole Ball Coach makes a change at quarterback....
16. Georgia (3-1) - vs. Ole Miss - a real nice win in a hostile place at Tuscaloosa....they can’t take Ole Miss lightly this week....
+1. Kansas (4-0) - bye - you gotta love the Fighting Manginos....the bye week allows Bear Mangino to hit all the free buffets in Lawrence in order to get ready for conference play....

Okie State coach goes off on reporter

After Oklahoma State's 49-45 victory on Saturday night over Texas Tech, Cowboys head coach Mike Gundy "went off" on columnist Jenni Carlson from the The Oklahoman (Oklahoma City) during the post-game press conference.....in Saturday's edition, Carlson wrote a column detailing the reasons why Okie State quarterback Bobby Reid (photo) may have lost his job.....as they say, the rest is history....check out the links below....

Mike Gundy's Tirade

John Helsley of The Oklahoman writes that Mike Gundy has no regrets about his tirade....

John Helsley

Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman writes about the tirade on Monday....

Berry Tramel

Jenni Carlson's column which led to the tirade...

Jenni Carlson

Bring Back Bernie Brewer!!!!

The Milwaukee Brewers are sliding out of the N.L. Central playoff race with a week to go in the season.....but one Brewers fan is trying to help bring back some of the old Milwaukee Brewers tradition....

In Sunday's New York Times, an article was written about a Brewers fan who is trying to get the organization to re-adopt the old MB baseball mitt logo and to bring back good old Bernie Brewer and his Beer Barrel and Beer Mug.....

I like the guy's spunk and desire to bring back some of the team's traditions....too many organizations are worried about being "politically correct".....it seemed like the Brewers did not want to bring Bernie back because it might be considered to promote drinking....Screw That!!!!.....

Be a good American and baseball fan and click on the link below and sign the petition....

True Brew Crew

Monday Morning G.M.

I have been in a funk of late between work and trying to get a feel of what is going on in college and pro football....hopefully I could get back into the rhythm of doing Stiles Points on a regular basis....every Monday I plan on writing a column called "The Monday Morning G.M." where I provide five quick thoughts about the NFL.....today is the first installment....

1. I don't like dealing with issues of race, but I have to give a quick comment after Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb stated that African-American quarterbacks are under more scrutiny and criticism than white quarterbacks....I am not here to rip McNabb....if that is how he feels, it doesn't mean he is wrong....however, I believe that quarterbacks in general have that pressure because of the nature of the position.....both African-American and white quarterbacks are under scrutiny....over the last two seasons, both Rex Grossman and Eli Manning, who are white, have been constantly ripped, scrutinized, criticized, booed, etc. by the media and fans....during last night's game, NBC announcer Al Michaels stated the Chicago media calls Grossman "Wrecks Grossman".....in New York, the Jets fans cheered when Chad Pennington got hurt during week 1....and until he won the Super Bowl last season, Peyton Manning was labeled a "choker" and not able to win the big games....I am not saying McNabb was out-of-line with his comment, but he should take some solace in knowing that white quarterbacks also get grilled....and right now, Grossman is the most criticized quarterback in the league.....

2. I like how Brett Favre has changed his attitude involving the Packers offense....in the past, Favre put it all on himself to try and win games by being the swashbuckling gunslinger who would try for the long bomb....after three games this season, it looks like Favre has bought into head coach Mike McCarthy's beliefe that he (Favre) should take what the defense gives him by throwing the short to medium passes....the Packers have been able to move the ball on a consistent basis despite not having a true number one running back.....

3. The Right Guard team of the year so far is the Denver Broncos....what I mean by the term "Right Guard" is that this team stinks but they are able to cover up that odor with an unimpressive 2-1 mark....the Broncos should be 0-3 heading into Indianapolis this Sunday....they were lucky to get off that game winning field goal in week 1 to beat Buffalo....and last week, head coach Mike Shanahan pulled a cheap stunt to ice Oakland lunkhead Sebastian Janikowski.....

4. After just three weeks, only five teams remain perfect: the Steelers, Patriots, Colts, Packers, and Cowboys....to most, the Packers may be the most surprising to still be undefeated....but I think it is the Steelers....with Bill Cowher leaving as head coach, an upheaval of offensive assistants Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm, who were both considered to replace The Chin, and the griping of offensive lineman Alan Faneca, I thought this would be a year of transition - especially early in the season....but credit should be given to head coach Mike Tomlin for easing the team through the transition....any Steeler fan who says they expected the team to be 3-0 has a line of horsedung....this week the Steelers travel to Arizona to take on their old friends Whisenhunt and Grimm....

5. I know this is stating the obvious, but the San Diego Chargers look awful.....will someone please give me a legitimate reason why the Chargers fired Marty Schottenheimer after a 14-2 season?????....maybe the San Diego offense is not that potent?.....besides LT, who else do the Chargers have?....Philip Rivers has been a nice quarterback, but he has not been some wiz either....and Antonio Gates is a stud tight end, but he needs more help from his fellow receivers....suddenly Marty-ball doesn't look so bad....