Where was Verlander?

A few thoughts about last night's one-game playoff between the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins...

- The Tigers Jim Leyland is one of the better managers in the game...but why did he send Fernando Rodney back on the mound in the 12th...Rodney is a closer and was already extended past his limits...even if Leyland believed that Rodney could still pitch, he should have had someone warming up in the bullpen...and that person should have been Justin Verlander...

Verlander just pitched on Sunday, but there is no doubt that he could have pitched an inning or two in this situation...there was no reason to "save" Verlander for the ALDS because there was no guarantee of making it that far...Leyland should have used his ace once the lead runner got on base...

- Mike Scioscia, Joe Torre, Terry Francona, Tony LaRussa, etc. are all very good managers...but the best manager in baseball is Minnesota's Ron Gardenhire...I have stated this before on this blog...imagine coming into September with a starting staff of a bunch of unknowns and losing your former MVP first baseman for the season...every year, Gardenhire manages to bring the best out of the Twins...

Daddy pays Josh McDaniel a visit this week

- Who in Denver hates Josh McDaniel now?...the rookie head coach from Canton, Ohio is sitting at 4-0...

- Next Sunday though, daddy comes calling as Bill Belichick pays a visit to Denver...

- The biggest weapon for the New Orleans Saints is not any of their receivers, it's running back Pierre Thomas...this guy is the hammer that the team needs...

- Honestly, I hardly watched last night's Vikings-Packers Monday Night Football Game...I am so freakin sick of Brett Favre that I cannot take it anymore...I just want him to go away...

- Why did Buffalo even bother to sign T.O. if he is only going to catch 3 balls over two games combined?...

- Tennessee needs to consider going with Vince Young as the starting quarterback...Kerry Collins tank is on empty...

- This Sunday, Atlanta goes into San Francisco -- all I can say is strap on the chinstrap real right!!...

- 3-1 Bengals vs. 3-1 Ravens - for the AFC North lead...

The Chicago 2016 debacle

- Maybe the United States came with too much star power...it was nice to see that Oprah Winfrey cared enough about the Chicago bid to take the time to travel to Copenhagen...but I could see some IOC members being turned off by the glitz and glamour of the U.S. contingent...

- Not that it would have made a difference but I was very disappointed that Michael Jordan did not make the trip to Denmark...he played in Chicago and is the greatest basketball player ever...he also participated in two Olympics...Jordan should have been there to help represent Chicago...if Jordan made the trip and if Chicago would have won the bid, there was a very good chance that Jordan would have been seriously considered to have the honor of lighting the Olympic torch...but that is all a moot point now...

- Some people, mostly Republicans, were blasting Obama for making the trip to Denmark...I saw no problem with Obama trying to get the Olympics for the United States...it is an honor to host the Olympics...and if there is solid planning and budgeting, the host city can use it to its economic advantage...

- In the end, I think some IOC members are anti-American...I think they wanted to "stick it" to the U.S. and embarrass us and our president by not only losing the bid, but to get bounced in the first round...because the vote is private, we will never know who voted against the United States...this was a clear shot at the United States...

- The United States should try again for the 2020 games...Chicago would be the logical representative, but other U.S. cities who should consider a bid are New York City, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles...

NFL Thoughts - Lions have a stud at QB

Here are my thoughts after three weeks into the NFL season:

- DeAngelo Williams was my first round fantasy football pick...he blows!!!...this guy is literally killing me each week...the first week it was my liver, the second week my spleen, now it is my gall bladder...

- The Detroit Lions have a bright future in Matthew Stafford...I watched that entire game on Sunday and you can see the talent and maturity this kid has...

- The Browns went through the entire training camp with a question at quarterback...three games into the season and they are back to where they were in July...

- Why did Buffalo sign Terrell Owens if they are not going to throw him the ball...they had to know that if he does not get the ball he will be a problem...the Bills should not complain if T.O. starts going off - buyer beware!...

- I love Faith Hill's opening on Sunday Night Football...

- Jim Zorn has to be dying...after losing to Detroit last week, the Redskins host Tampa Bay who is one of the two worst teams in the NFL (the Browns being the other)...if Zorn loses at home to Tampa Bay, he will be fired...

- LaDainian Tomlinson is done...sure he will have a good game every so often, but his best days are definetly behind him...

- I hope Aaron Rodgers tears the Vikings to shreds while Brett Favre throws 4 interceptions and loses...

- Mark "Dirty" Sanchez has been a big surprise...I thought he would do well with the Jets, but not this well...I could understand why Pete Carroll was peeved to see Sanchez leave USC...that cost Carroll a sure fire national title this year...

- Those key lime pie green jerseys that Seattle wore were awful...

- Who would have thunk it - after 3 games, the Bengals would be 2-1 and the Steelers 1-2...

- Is Michael Crabtree that stupid?...why doesn't he fire his agent and just sign already!!!...

- When I look up the word "intense," I see a photo of Mike Singletary...

Whatever happened to the Coors Light Twins?

Jenny Slate drops the F-bomb on Saturday Night Live

Michigan has no defense

Before I give my thoughts on college football, I want to vent about people who talk on their cellphone or text while at the gym...yesterday, this one woman, who I call Salami because one time I was standing next to her and she smelled like salami, was on the treadmill talking on her cellphone...after hanging up, she started to quicken her pace into a steady jog...that lasted about 40 seconds then she slowed down to text someone...this kept going on for over five minutes - jog, slowdown, text, then jog again...that was so freakin annoying...the only exception to communicating on the cellphone while at the gym is if you are setting up a "hook up"...however, if there is no sex involved in the communication, cellphones should be banned from all gyms...by the way, this chick still smelled like a salami even though she is kinda hot...

Michigan has improved since last season -- offensively that is...the Wolverines defense has not showed any improvement from last year's abysmal season...Michigan brought in former NFL defensive coordinator Greg Robinson to amp up the defense...just like last year, the Wolverines are giving up the big plays and are unable to shutdown an inferior team and put the game away...

Michigan has been very fortunate to finish the month of September 4-0...unless there is improvement on the defensive side of the ball, they will not finish the month of October with a perfect mark...

Penn State looked ordinary on Saturday...the way to beat the Nittany Lions is to put pressure on Daryll Clark...the Nittany Lions ran a vanilla offense and Clark was unable to make any plays because of the Iowa defense...

Virginia Tech dominated The U...I watched most of that game and was impressed with the Gobblers defense...The U has improved, but Virginia Tech is still the elite team of the ACC...

What was Purdue head coach Danny Hope thinking????...Notre Dame was on the 5-yard-line and got stuffed on a 2nd down running play...the Irish had no timeouts and the clock was on 35 seconds and running...the Irish were completely unorganized as Jimmy Clausen was trying to settle a team that was clearly panicking...the announcers even stated the Irish coaching staff were instructing Clausen to clock the ball which would have left Notre Dame with 4th down...then out of no where, Hope called a timeout...WHAT!?!?!?!?...he wanted to set his defense, but that allowed Notre Dame to calm down and design not 1, but 2 plays...in the end, Notre Dame won on a fourth down touchdown pass by Clausen...

Can someone explain to me how Florida State can go up to Brigham Young and take them behind the woodshed, then the very next week lose at home to South Florida...the worst part is that the Seminoles scored only 7 points!!!!...

The team that has impressed me the most is Boise State...I have seen portions of three of their games...we all know they are dominant at home, but they have also proven themselves on the road...

(Just a note - I will be a conference on Thursday and Friday, so there will be no postings those days)

Big Russ - Tim Russert's father dies

With all the sports going on this weekend, many may have missed the news that the late-Tim Russert's dad, Big Russ, died on Friday...Big Russ was 85-years-old...

Big Russ

Who is 0-8 now?

Remember earlier this season when Boston was 8-0 against the Yankees?...there was talk that the Yankees dominance against Boston was over...well, they ended up splitting the season series 9-9 and on Sunday, the Yankees won their 100th game and clinched the A.L. East title over Boston...

Gentleman Jim Tressel does not want to ruin his image

Jim Tressel has a line of shit...with Ohio State up 23-0 and about a minute to go, Ohio State faced a 4th and goal...the Buckeyes decided to go for it and scored on a pass play...afterward, Tressel went into his "Gentleman Jim" mode...

This is what Plain Dealer reporter Doug Lesmerises wrote...
Tressel calls time out. Ahead, 23-0, the Buckeyes face a fourth-and-goal from the 3 with 1:22 to play. Starting this drive with 5:08 to play after a Jermale Hines interception and return to the Illinois 42, Ohio State has marched down the field in seven plays, including two passes. Now Tressel has a decision, and he says he was mostly fearing a blocked field goal and Illinois return with only a three-score lead. So he goes for it and turns down the field goal try.

"We thought there was less risk going for it," Tressel said. "So that was the decision we made. No, I don't think it was to send any message."

Who the hell is Gentleman Jim kidding...if he was fearing that Illinois could block a field goal and return it for a touchdown, then why in the hell did he decide to throw the ball...couldn't Illinois have intercepted the pass and return it for a touchdown????...the safest play would be to run the ball...

The fact is Gentleman Jim wanted to stick it to Illinois because they beat Ohio State two years ago in Columbus...but the ever image conscious Tressel did not want to ruin that pristine "gentleman" image that he fools people with...like I have said many many time, Tressel is a football coach even though he tries to portray an image that he is a "gentleman" and an honest, good guy, flag wearing American who drinks milk and never swears...

Back in 1968, Woody Hayes stuck it to Michigan real good by going for a two point conversion late in the game even though the Buckeyes were way ahead...when the game was over, the media asked Hayes why he went for the two points, Hayes responded, "I couldn't go for three"...Hayes may have hated Michigan, but at least he was honest...what you saw is what you got from Hayes...that cannot be said about Tressel...

Can The U hold up at Lane Stadium?

Miami (Fla.) @ Virginia Tech
Saturday, September 26, 2009 - 3:30
Lane Stadium, Blacksburg, Virginia
Miami -3.5

Miami
Miami game notes...

Miami Game Notes

Susan Miller Degnan of the Miami Herald writes how Lou Holtz is a believer in The U... "Holtz, an ESPN commentator, was a guest of sports-radio talk show 790 The Ticket on Tuesday and told co-host Krystal Fernandez that Jacory Harris ``would be on one of my five top Heisman candidates right now." ...

Susan Miller Degnan

Virginia Tech
Kyle Tucker's views...

Kyle Tucker

Mark Viera of the Washington Post writes about the Hokies lack of offense... "The biggest area of concern remains an offense that has stagnated in the Hokies' two games against ranked opponents. The Hokies' 88-yard scoring drive with 1 minute 44 seconds remaining Saturday only temporarily washed away the images of Virginia Tech's offense idling for much of the afternoon." ...

Mark Viera

Penn State looks to avoid Iowa jinx

Iowa @ Penn State
Saturday, September 26, 2009
State College, PA - Beaver Stadium
Penn State -10.5

The name Daniel Murray will burn in the hearts of Penn State fans forever...Penn State came into last year's game 9-0 and just got done beating Ohio State 13-6 in their previous game...the Nittany Lions were 7.5 point favorites and had numerous chances to put the game out of reach...they led 23-14 at the start of the 4th quarter...but they left the door open for Daniel Murray...

If not for Murray's field goal, Penn State more than likely would have played Florida or Oklahoma in the BCS Championship Game...

When looking back, Penn State QB Daryll Clark had an awful game last season when he completed only nine passes on 23 attempts for 86 yards and an interception...Evan Royster rushed for 90 yards...

The stats indicated that Penn State is 1-6 against Iowa since 2000...the dog, which Iowa is this year, is 8-2 against the spread with five upsets...Iowa is 4-1 against the spread at Beaver Stadium...

Power Sweep - Penn State 24-10
Pointwise - Penn State 31-13

Iowa
Iowa game notes...

Iowa Game Notes

Pat Harty of the Iowa City Press-Citizen writes how the Hawkeyes are expecting a hostile crowd at Happy Valley... "It'll be a chance for the Penn State players to avenge what occurred last November when Daniel Murray ended their hopes for a national title and an undefeated season by making arguably the most important field goal for Iowa since Rob Houghtlin split the goal posts against Michigan 23 years earlier"" ...

Pat Harty

Harty writes how Kirk Ferentz may have JoePa's number... "Paterno might be a living legend, but when facing Ferentz, Paterno usually has to live through yet another loss. Of all of Ferentz's achievements as the Iowa coach, his 6-2 record against Paterno has to rank near the top." ...

Pat Harty

Penn State
Penn State game notes...

Game Notes

Ron Musselman of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes how the Nittany Lions are hurting at linebacker... "Outside linebacker Navorro Bowman has resumed practicing after missing the past two games with a sore groin, but Sean Lee, his counterpart on the other side, is out with a sprained left knee." ...

Ron Musselman

The story of Sal Aunese and his son T.C. McCartney

This past Sunday, ESPN's "Outside the Lines" did a feature on former Colorado football player Sal Aunese who died of cancer in 1989...before his death, Aunese was involved with Colorado head coach Bill McCartney's daughter, whom was pregnant with Aunese's child...Aunese's son, T.C. McCartney is now a back-up quarterback at LSU under Les Miles, the same coach who recruited Aunese...

Tom Friend

Happy Belated Birthday to Faith Hill

Happy belated birthday to one of the hottest over 40 women out there - Audrey Faith Perry (aka Faith Hill)...she turned 42-years-old on Monday...she makes all us 40 year olds proud...

Pete Carroll chokes against inferior team - again!!!

I just can't understand it...Pete Carroll is the best big game college football coach in the country...but every year he allows his far superior Trojans to play down to an inferior opponent...once again, USC will not be playing for the national title even though, come January, they may be the best team in the nation...the loss to Washington ranks right next to the debacle USC had two years ago to Stanford...

Every great coach usually has a stunning defeat or two during the course of their career...but this is an annual rite for Carroll...it just makes you scratch your head and wondering why this happens... Los Angeles Times

The prime game this week is when The U heads into Virginia Tech...a win this week will catapult The U right into the national title scenario...this would set up a huge match-up the next week when one-loss Oklahoma plays at Miami...even though Oklahoma lost in week 1, the Sooners are still in the hunt for the title if they run the table...the loss of Sam Bradford in that game accounts for something...has

There has been some poor officiating this season...for instance, in the Notre Dame-Michigan State game, on the play in which Irish receiver Michael Floyd broke his collarbone, the replay official ruled that Floyd did not have control of the ball after scoring an apparent touchdown...the replays that I watched clearly showed that Floyd had control...this is just one instance of many that left me wondering what the officials were watching...

Don't underestimate Auburn...I watched the last part of the Tigers 41-30 win over West Virginia...Gene Chizik has Auburn playing inspired ball...

Remember the name Ryan Mallett from Arkansas for the Heisman in 2010...this kid has a Dan Marino-like rifle and is very accurate...

If any team can claim a moral victory it would be the Tennessee Volunteers...a 30 point dog at The Swamp, the Volunteers lost by only 10 points to a great Florida team...it helps when the great Monte Kiffin is running your defense...

Finally, I just got done watching a stupid movie on SyFy called "Monster Man"...however, the chick on there was hot - Aimee Brooks (below)...

Cornhuskers head into Blacksburg for big game

Nebraska @ Virginia Tech (1-1)
Saturday, September 19, 2009 - 3:30 p.m.
Lane Stadium - Blacksburg, VA
Virginia Tech -6

Trends
After losing opening week to Alabama, the Hokies smoked Marshall 52-10 last Saturday...

Last week the Cornhuskers' Zach Lee threw for 340 yards and 4 TDs in the Nebraska's 38-9 win over Arkansas State...in week 1, running back Roy Helu Jr. rushed for 152 yards and 3 TDs in the Huskers 49-3 win over Florida Atlantic...the Huskers defense held FAU QB Rusty Smith, who is one of the better quarterbacks in football, to 152 yards passing and 2 interceptiions...

Last season Nebraska faltered at home to the Hokies 35-30...Nebraska found themselves down 28-10 late in the 3rd quarter but their comeback fail short as they fumbled on the last play of the game...overall, the Huskers are 10-5 all-time in the regular season vs. the ACC...

PointWise Prediction - Virginia Tech 35 Nebraska 24

Nebraska Game Notes...

Game Notes

Virginia Tech Game Notes...

Game Notes

Brian Rosenthal of the Lincoln Journal Star writes how the Huskers are preparing for the scrambling ability of Hokie QB Tyrod Taylor... "Taylor ran for 87 yards and threw for 171 in Virginia Tech’s 35-30 victory against Nebraska last season in Lincoln. He finished the season with 1,036 passing yards and 738 rushing yards, including three 100-yard rushing games." ...

Brian Rosenthal

Steven Sipple of the Lincoln Journal Star writes how Husker running back Roy Helu Jr needs a big game to be ranked with some of the nation's best backs... "Yards probably won’t come easily for No. 19 Nebraska, considering Virginia Tech has produced a top-seven defense each of the past five seasons. Helu will be tested thoroughly. Hey, nobody said becoming a star was easy." ...

Steven Sipple

Aaron McFarling of the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot writes how an Hokie O-lineman is hoping for a job other than the NFL... "Taylor's desire to be an air marshal - or an FBI agent - stems from his upbringing and his experiences at Tech. He said his father fought in the Persian Gulf War and his grandfather served in Vietnam." ...

Kyle Tucker

Happy Birthday Ignatius George

HAPPY 78th BIRTHDAY TO MY DAD - IGNATIUS GEORGE!!!

Navy sails into the confluence to take on Pitt

Navy (1-1) @ Pitt (2-0)
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Heinz Field - 6:00 p.m.
Pitt -7

Trends
This is the third straight year these two teams hook-up...in 2007, Navy won at Heinz Field 48-45 in 2 overtimes...the game was tied 6 times with Navy holding Pitt on a 4th and goal in the 2nd OT...last year the Panthers went to Annapolis and won 42-21...overall, Navy has lost 5 of the last 6 in this series...

Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo is in his second season at the helm...last season Navy was 8-6 overall and 6-5 ATS...

Pitt game notes for the Navy game...

Pitt Game Notes

Navy game notes for the Pitt game...

Navy Game Notes

Paul Zeise of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes how the Panthers secondary is hurting... "As if Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt and defensive coordinator Phil Bennet didn't have enough of a headache thinking about what has gone wrong with the Panthers' secondary, yesterday they received this news -- starting free safety Andrew Taglianetti is out for the season with a torn ACL in his left knee." ...

Paul Zeise

Zeise writes about the Panthers defense and their mental mistakes.... "Though he said after watching film he found that nearly every big play the Bulls made was a result of a mental breakdown by Pitt's defense, those things are easily correctable. And the Panthers must correct them before Saturday when they play host to Navy given the Midshipmen's precision and efficiency on offense." ...

Paul Zeise

Bill Wagner of the Annapolis Capital writes about the Midshipmen's victory this past Saturday... "Green's message to his unit between the first and second defensive series: Stick to the game-plan and execute your assignments. "For the rest of the game, we did a better job of keeping the throws in front of us, running to the football and getting guys on the ground." ...

Bill Wagner

Ohio State - USC thoughts

On Saturday I attended the Notre Dame-Michigan game in Ann Arbor therefore I was unable to watch the USC-Ohio State game that night...I did set the DVR and just finished watching the game...here are some thoughts:

Many Ohio State fans are complaining that the better team did not win...maybe in their mind...if anything, USC is not receiving enough credit for winning a game in a hostile environment against a very good team...

I have seen many Ohio State games and their crowd is usually very boisterous, however, the Buckeye fans were even more riled than usual...for a true freshman quarterback to go into "The Shoe" in his second game and have the composure to come out with a win really says something about Matt Barkley...

Also, enough credit is not given to Pete Carroll...more OSU fans are saying that Gentleman Jim Tressel lost the game...but Carroll was the coach who kept his players composed and prepared for this game...

Some Ohio State fans and even players stated how they stood "toe-to-toe" with the 3rd ranked Trojans who were a 7 point favorite -- this was a moral victory...how quickly they forget that just one week earlier, little ole Navy stood "toe-to-toe" with Ohio State who was a 22 point favorite at home...the Midshipmen were just 1 play away from sending the game to overtime...in the end, Navy had to accept a tough loss just as Ohio State has to accept the loss to USC...

At the conclusion of the game former Ohio State quarterback Kirk Herbstreit stated that these two teams can play again this year in the Rose Bowl...it is possible, but I don't see Ohio State running the table and winning 10 straight games...they are a team with flaws...don't get me wrong, they are a good ballclub, but I don't see them going perfect in the Big 10...

Thoughts on Week 1 - Stokley's miracle catch!!!

I'm a little late posting today, but here are my thoughts about this weekend's games...

- At the beginning of the Chicago-Green Bay game, Cris Collinsworth was saying how Brian Urlacher is in the best shape in a few years...Urlacher played a half and is now out for the season after having wrist surgery...

- Jay Cutler looked like the quarterback who has a .500 record as a starter...

- San Francisco's defense put the clamps on the Cardinals offense...

- I think Jake Delhomme is done as a starting quarterback...he looked awful...

- The Giants Mario Manningham, of Warren, Ohio, had a nice TD reception...he showed nice footwork...

- What a smart play by Denver's Brandon Stokley...he was fortunate to catch the deflected pass, but he was headwise in running parallel with the goal line in order to run down the clock when he realized there were no Bengals pursuing him...

- I knew I should have taken Drew Brees in the first round of my fantasy draft...

- Florida State goes to BYU this week...

- I'm a little surprised that Notre Dame dropped out of the Top 25...the Irish lost with 11 seconds in the game...

- A sneaky good game this week is Navy at Pitt...

- Oklahoma State's defense has not gotten better...Okie State was at home playing a Houston team with a good quarterback in Case Keenum...Keenum threw for 366 yards and 3 TDs...Okie State's Kendall Hunter did not play the whole game because he got hurt...

- The 2 college games being previewed later in the week will be Navy-Pitt and Nebraska-Virginia Tech...

Below is a 1:30 clip of Stokley's miracle catch and smart run...