College football rankings after week 9

One more week of clarification, separating the big boys from the also-rans..and so on and son on.

What did we see this week, well we saw a whole bunch of unbeaten teams fall by the wayside. Though, not all of them were a surprise, no one outside of Mississippi really expected the Bulldogs to hang with the Tide….and they didn’t.

What else? Well, we saw Kansas State and Notre Dame step up in big ways and have statement games against teams that were widely expected to be a challenge for the favorites.

Notre Dame’s win against OU was the best game the Irish have played all year, and probably the best opponent they have played as well…certainly the most explosive offense. The execution of their offense was what stood out for me. We knew their D was ready for primetime, but they schemed well and attacked the weaknesses of the OU defense.

The pundits were excited to see how the 2 teams that beat upon West Virginia in back to weeks would stack up against each other when Kansas State hosted the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Well, it was close at halftime, and then Bill Snyder showed why he is considered to be one of the best coaches in the history of college football as the Wildcats adjust and throttled the Red Raiders. In the end, it was just another blow out win, but this time it was over the #15 AP team. That’s big.

The SEC East had some news too. Georgia looked like the team they were expected to be knocking off a Gator team that had been the bully on the block to this point with a stifling defensive effort. That, paired with the injury to Marcus Lattimore puts Georgia in the driver seat for another trip to Atlanta. They better count their blessings and run with it because they lucked out..again, with their schedule.

Oh, and if you werent’ sure, Duke is not for real yet.

On to the rankings

1. Alabama Crimson Tide 7.029 The Crimson Tide needed a quality win, and they got one.  You can say what you want about the schedule Mississippi State had played, they were and SEC team that was 7-0.  They were easily the best team that Bama had played to this point, but it was more of the same.  The defense shut down Mississippi State, and the offense was efficient and effective.  Next up?  A trip to LSU.  Queue the press frenzy.  Oh, and someone put the paramedics on standby for Mettenburger because the Tide defense is likely to kill that boy.   2. Kansas State Wildcats 6.953
This ranking is going to piss off the Irish faithful, but KSU has been dominating teams all year long.  That said, the Cats have a much rougher road than the Irish do.  Oklahoma State this week is down a bit this year, but they are still a ranked team and have one of the more explosive offensive schemes in the country.  TCU and Baylor have a punchers chance and who knows what Texas will be in a month.  I don't look for Snyder, Brown, and Klein to let them lose focus, but they had better not.

3. Notre Dame Fighting Irish 6.775
This game, as impressive as it was, was the first good team that the Irish beat handily this season. They need to blow out Pitt, BC, and Wake Forest before end the season with USC. Flat out, they need to put some points up and they need to but a beating on USC too if they want to deserve a shot at the title.


4. Oregon Ducks 6.720 Speaking of upset fan bases, the Ducks fans are going to be irate when they see this one.  You have to give the Ducks one thing, they are doing what they can, and controlling what they can control, but when your conference brings in a team as bad as Colorado.  You blow them out and move on, and the Ducks did.  If the Ducks run their last 4, they could easily leapfrog the Cats and the Irish.  In fact....let's stop and project that.   Project scores for the top 5 currently if they win out   K-State: 10.243 Bama: 10.000 Notre Dame: 9.648 Ducks: 9.810 Noles: 9.956   Yup, that's right.  If each of these teams do what they are expected to do, and beat teams in the fashion that they have been beating them, Kansas State would be sitting #1 at the end of the season.  Now, that does not account for the conference championship games.  If we count those games, Bama and Oregon will both pass the Cats from having one more win and raising their total and average strength of schedule.  The question is, if we are deciding between 2 teams, can we count the conference championships?  Something tells me we will have call to talk about that soon enough.   

5. Florida State Seminoles 6.564
The Seminole faithful have to be sick as they watch this team roll, thinking back to how a conservative game plan cost them their shot at a national title berth.  That is not to say that they would necessarily leapfrog one of the higher rated teams, nor are they necessarily favored to go unbeaten with the Gators on the schedule.  That said, damn this lead is loaded with talent.  They are now missing their best Defensive End and Starting Running Back and you would have no idea by watching.  That said, this last week was just Duke, whether it was the best Blue Devil team in a decade or not.  The Hokies are up next, and and they tend to play FSU tough.

Boston Celtics Defense Doesn't Show up in Opening Night 120-107 Loss to Miami Heat

Story
Dwyane Wade scored 29, Lebron James added 27, and Ray Allen poured in 19 and the Miami Heat beat the Boston Celtics 120-107 on opening night of the 2012-2013 NBA season. Paul Pierce scored 23 to lead Boston, who also received 20 points and 13 assists from Rajon Rondo and 15 points and 11 rebounds from Brandon Bass. After trailing by double digits for much of the night the Celtics made a game of it in the fourth quarter thanks to 16 quick points by Leandro Barbossa, but Chris Bosh scored four straight to push the lead back up to eight with just over one minute remaining. The Celtics looked good on offense, shooting 52 percent, but the defense was mysteriously absent for most of the night.

Detroit Tigers: who stays and who goes

As the disappointment of the Detroit Tigers conclusion to the 2012 season sets in, it’s time to shift focus to next year. GM Dave Dombrowski has already made several major announcements. Among them:

• Jim Leyland and his entire coaching staff (including co-hitting coaches Toby Harrah and Lloyd McClendon) will all be back.
• Jhonny Peralta’s $6M option for 2013 has been picked up. Barring a creative offseason trade, he will be the starting shortstop again next year.
• Detroit also picked up the option for Octavio Dotel. His contract is valued at $3.5M for next year. Arguably, Dotel was Detroit’s most consistent reliever in 2012.

This helps clear up a few things heading into the offseason, but none of these moves were particularly unexpected.

Angry Rant: Running Backs are Overrated (and I blame ESPN and Fantasy)

by John Huffstetler

I've ranted against ESPN before in an article that discussed how they were more of an entertainment network than a sports network, and this issue ties directly to that issue of athlete glorification. Running Backs on the pro level simply are not nearly as important as they are perceived. In fact, of all the offensive and defensive positions, one could argue that running back is the least important. The offensive line's ability to block and create space for a back to operate is a dramatically more important factor in creating rushing yards than a back's perceived ability. Granted, there are a handful of players who can make a difference in their teams' success or failure on any given week, but outside of this small list, they are all basically interchangeable.

What evidence is there to support this theory? For starters, there is an obvious growing trend to split carries in the NFL, which shows teams are willing to choose the fresher back over a "better" back in many situations. These teams also do not want one player to gain too many yards, gain to much acclaim, and overestimate their own value (see the MJD and Chris Johnson holdouts). Additionally, Football Outsiders has a great statistic that attempts to measure a RB's value while taking away the yards that the offensive line directly generated for that player. DYAR (Defensive-adjusted yards above replacement) gives "the value of the performance on plays where this RB carried/caught the ball compared to replacement level, adjusted for situation and opponent and then translated into yardage." In this telling statistic, 16 of the 32 starters in the league are either equal to or worse than their backups when combining rushing and receiving totals. These numbers can be found here.

Notre Dame Defeats Oklahoma, Stakes Claim for Spot in National Title

While many commentators acted like the Oklahoma Sooners would easily defeat Notre Dame on Saturday night in Norman, others were not as convinced. Notre Dame vindicated those who argued against the media narrative that Notre Dame was a pretender about to be exposed by the Sooners. If anyone got exposed as a pretender, it was the Sooners and their finesse offense and defense.

While the Sooners' 364 yards passing look impressive at first glance, they look far less impressive when you realize they came on 36 completions and 52 attempts. They managed only seven yards per passing attempt, and converted only four of their fourteen third down attempts.

Will David Stern go down as the Greatest Sports Commissioner of All Time?

With David Stern’s some-what surprising, yet unsurprising news that he plans to retire February 1st of 2014 thoughts as to his overall legacy have been pondered. Stern has been NBA’s commander and chief since 1984, in NBA years 26 years is a very long, long time one in which the game has evolved drastically. Stern has been with Basketball through the Magic Johnson years, the Michael Jordan years, the Shaq and Kobe era and today during the age of Lebron. The day-night difference that Stern has seen and helped usher in for the sport has me fixed to believe that Stern will go down at the greatest sports commissioner of all-time.

He’s been called many names, most of which aren’t nice–’slave master’ ‘greedy Jew’ ‘money hungry’ the list of verbal assaults on Stern goes on. And let’s make no bones about it, Stern has been a controversial figure throughout his tenure, but it’s because of his keen ability to view Basketball in 3 dimensional terms and not relegate its impact to just entertainment, that speaks volumes as to why he was so successful. Stern can leave the NBA laughing all the way to the bank, and then some. It’s time we take a journey back in time to an NBA that was very different from the one of today, a pre-David Stern NBA…let’s go.

From 1975 to 1979 CBS was entered into a deal with the NBA valued at $91 million, during that time the NBA finals were ran on tape delay during the afternoons. The late 1970?s and early 1980?s featured an NBA struggling to get even decent ratings, as the league set the ‘gold’ standard in failure and proved to be a sinking ship. Even golf was beating the NBA Finals in ratings, and through the fledgling years up to Stern’s grip on the League the NBA was considered a joke, with no value and nothing that set it apart to deviate one’s attention from the powerhouse that is the NFL and MLB.

Why the Boston Celtics Don't Need a Backup Point Guard

There are certain buzz positions in the NBA that fans like to focus in on. The stars are obvious, but people who take their fandom seriously like to go beyond the surface. Backup center is big one, backup point guard is another. People have raved about the Boston Celtics' renewed depth this year thanks to a completely overhauled bench. However critics have been quick to point out that they don't have a true backup point guard. Luckily the Celtics do have a bevy of above average ball handlers, so the lack of a true backup point guard isn't going hurt them.

NBA pundits are constantly saying that teams "need a veteran backup point guard to come in and run the second unit." There is something to be said for having a veteran backup ball handler a-la Sam Cassell for the 2008 Celtics. However a backup point guard's primary responsibility isn't to run the offense, it is to get the ball up the floor when the starter is on the bench. One of the things opposing teams look for when the starting point guard comes out of the game is whether or not his replacement get the ball across half court. If he looks at all tentative or indecisive it is like sharks sensing blood in the water and the situation rapidly becomes untenable. However, while the C's don't have a pure point guard other than starter Rajon Rondo, they do have plenty of guys who can handle. No one is going to force Jason Terry into back court turnovers.

Ryan stands behind Sanchez as Jets QB, Schilens rips fans for Tebow chants

There was a lot of trash talking between the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins leading up to Sunday’s game. Only the Dolphins would back up the talk as they defeated the Jets 30-9. Jets wide receiver Chaz Schilens called the loss “humiliating” but he is more upset with the chants of fans calling for backup quarterback Tim Tebow.

“That chant is BS… I think the fans are out of place,” Schilens said after the game, per Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. “They’re pissed. They have a right to be pissed.”

Michael Vick Says Andy Reid Is Considering A Quarterback Change

There’s no better way to have news break, than to break it yourself.

Reuben Frank of Comcast Sports Net Philadelphia is reporting that Michael Vick himself is confirming that he may well be benched for rookie Nick Foles.

Vick himself was quoted as saying, “if Reid makes the decision to bench him, he’d support it.”

“It’s tough when you know everything is up in the balance, but that’s the decision that coach is thinking about making, and I’m going to fight until he says, ‘Come on out,’ and he takes me out of the game,” Vick said. “Despite everything that’s been said the last couple weeks, I still continue to put in the hard work and the effort and try to do everything I can to prepare and win football games, man. I can’t do it by myself. I would love to stay in there and finish what I started. It would mean the world to me. But, hey, that’s not my decision right now.”

Wrong Field of Dreams

Former Major League catcher Carlton Fisk may have been looking for Kevin Costner's "cornfield" in "Field of Dreams" - instead, he ended up drunk, and arrested for DUI in the center of a "cornfield" in New Lenox, Illinois. Police found the 64-year old Hall of Fame member asleep behind the wheel of his pick-up truck, with an open bottle of liquor on the truck's floor. Taken to the local hospital for treatment, Fisk was released from police custody after posting bail. He has a November 29th court appearance for DUI.

Fisk's most famous baseball moment came in the 1975 World Series against Cincinnati when his 12th-inning homer won Game 6 for the Red Sox. You know the scene - while running down the first base-line he's waving the ball fair with his arms. That video footage is shown over and over when promoting the game of baseball.

Fisk played 11 seasons with the Red Sox and another 13 with the Chicago White Sox. In a Boston uniform

Fisk wore the No.27 on his back - wearing a Chicago uniform Fisk turned the numbers around, and wore No.72.

James Harden traded to Houston Rockets.

After a sloppy NBA Finals, James Harden will not have a chance to redeem himself in Oklahoma City.  The Thunder have dealt the visually flamboyant Sixth Man of the Year to the Houston Rockets for  guards Kevin Martin and Jeremy Lamb, two first-round picks and a second-round pick.

OKC also sent also sent center Cole Aldrich and forwards Daequan Cook and Lazar Hayward to Houston.

The Rockets clearly opened the vault to acquire Harden and though Thunder fans are upset to watch the bearded one walk out the door, this was a deal that will only make the team stronger.

The Rockets are expected to sign Harden to the max deal that he coveted that the Thunder was not prepared to pay him.

The deadline for the Thunder to extend Harden was hanging over OKC like a past due IRS notice and they certainly got more value for Harden now than they would have in the future as he became a restricted free agent.

“We wanted to sign James to an extension, but at the end of the day, these situations have to work for all those involved. Our ownership group again showed their commitment to the organization with several significant offers,” Thunder general manager Sam Presti said in a statement.

“We were unable to reach a mutual agreement, and therefore executed a trade that capitalized on the opportunity to bring in a player of Kevin’s caliber, a young talent like Jeremy and draft picks, which will be important to our organizational goal of a sustainable team.”

The Young Guns have some new pistols in their stable that may help them get over the hump and bring them championship gold.

It may take some time envisioning this group without Harden, but under the leadership of Kevin Durant and coach Scott Brooks, they will be just fine.

They remain Players View’s prediction to win the West now more than ever.

As for Houston, the chemistry between Harden and point guard Jeremy Lin will be hard to come by. Their playing styles may seemingly mesh well but they are both pop culture phenoms that would assumingly expect to be “the man” in a new location.

Adrian Glover

Be sure to check out other great articles at Players View.

Can the Atlanta Falcons Soar to an Undefeated Season?

By: Rich Bergeron

The Atlanta Falcons (7-0) are for real this season, rattling off seven straight wins to remain the only undefeated team left in the NFL going into November. The New England Patriots flirted with the chance to cap a perfect season with a Super Bowl win a few years ago and saw their hopes dashed in just seconds by Eli Manning's New York Giants offense. To avoid the same fate, the Falcons will have to weather a perfect storm of competition and keep up their current momentum until the final whistle of the season.

Matt "Matty Ice" Ryan (182-265, 2018 yards, 17 TDs) is a huge part of this team's offensive dynamic, and he's driving his team closer to perfection with each perfectly-timed throw.  Having a one-two punch of phenomenal receivers in Roddy White (40 catches, 591 yards, 4 TDs) and Julio Jones (35 catches, 499 yards, 5 TDs) makes his job much easier every Sunday. Both receivers are averaging more than 14 yards per catch. Michael Turner takes the heat off the passing game by carrying a 3.8-yard rushing average into November on 108 runs. His 415 yards of total rushing may not turn many heads, but Turner doesn't have to go out of his way to set any running records when Ryan is throwing so well.

On a Sloppy Day, the Pittsburgh Steelers Stop RGIII and the Washington Redskins

The Pittsburgh Steelers thrived in the sloppy weather and again appeared to take a step closer to some consistency in 2012 by continuing their winning ways by defeating the Washington Redskins 27-12 on Sunday afternoon. While this was not a perfect game by any means, the Steelers again look like the Steelers and set the tone early.This was evident when took the ball on their opening drive and moved quickly down the field. Behind a solid mix of run and pass, the drive almost bogged down at the six-inch line. On fourth-and-goal, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger hit tight end Leonard Pope for a one-yard touchdown pass to make the score 7-0.

After a quick three-and-out by the Redskins on their opening drive, the Steelers quickly moved into scoring range. This five-play 42-yard drive was capped off by a Shaun Suisham 48-yard field goal extending the score to 10-0 midways through the first quarter.

Buffalo Bills Linked to Possible Dwayne Bowe Trade

The Buffalo Bills could be a team interested in Kansas City Chiefs star wide receiver Dwayne Bowe, who recently requested a trade.

According to Greg Maiola of the Bleacher Report, Buffalo would be a good fit for Bowe, who has caught 34 passes for 423 yards and three touchdowns. Bowe is currently in a one-year deal worth $9.515 million and will be a free agent at the end of the season.

Stafford leads Detroit Lions past Seahawks

With just seconds remaining and trailing by a field goal, Matthew Stafford connected with wide receiver Titus Young, lifting the Detroit Lions to a 28-24 win over Seattle.

Stafford and Young connected with just 20 seconds remaining, sealing the win for Detroit in comeback fashion.

Both Stafford and Young played their best game of the season, solidified by the clutch play that capped off the game-winning 80-yard drive.  Stafford was at his best in the final minutes, completing 10 passes for 75 yards in the final drive.

Stafford finished the game with 352 yards and three touchdowns through the air as well as a one-yard rushing touchdown.  Stafford finally looked confident in this game, and he made the difference for Detroit.

Stafford was once again magical in the fourth quarter, leading the Lions to 14 fourth-quarter points.  But it was Stafford’s good play early that set the tone and allowed the Lions to stick with their game plan for all four quarters.

Oakland Raiders Roll to 26-16 Win Against Kansas City Chiefs

The Oakland Raiders controlled the game and breezed to a 26-16 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. It is the six consecutive win for the Raiders in Kansas City. More importantly, Oakland picks up their first AFC West division win and move closer to the top of the standings.

On the first play of the game, quarterback Carson Palmer dropped back and threw an interception to former Raider Stanford Routt. After that play, Oakland took command of the game. They forced a Kansas City into a three and out, then drove down for a Sebastian Janikowski 36 yard field goal. They never trailed in the game. Despite the first play interception, Palmer rebounded to complete 14-28 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns. The offensive line protected Palmer very well, giving him plenty of time and passing lanes to deliver his throws.

Giants storm out to early lead, then hang on to beat Cowboys 29-24

The Cowboys committed six turnovers that led to 23 points for the Giants. Still, the game came down to the final seconds. Dez Bryant caught what appeared to be a game winning touchdown on a hail mary but it was called back after replays showed Bryant’s hand touched out of bounds.

Stevie Brown picked off two passes and recovered a fumble for the New York Giants. It was three of six turnovers committed by the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday as they fell to 3-4 a staggering three games behind the Giants in the win column.

The New York Giants stormed off to a sizable lead in their Sunday game against the Dallas Cowboys. Aided by three interceptions by Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo the Giants took a 23-0 lead. The Cowboys fought back putting together a 72 yard drive that ended with a four yard touchdown run by Felix Jones. They added a field goal to cut the lead to 23-10 at the half.

Jimmie Johnson wins from pole at Martinsville, race results

A grid of 43 drivers, a handful of them title contenders, were set out to find their way to victory lane after 500 laps of short track racing at Martinsville for the Tums Fast Relief 500. Jimmie Johnson started on the pole; his third of the 2012 season.
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Johnson would go on to pick up his seventh win at Martinsville. The win tied him with Jeff Gordon and

Rusty Wallace for the third most at the track. The all time leader is Richard Petty with 15.

Johnson said they had a great race car, and that they thought they made the right decision by not pitting too late, “We are ecstatic about the win, about the points lead but this is no cake walk we have to keep working hard to get this Lowes Chevrolet up front. ”

Brad Keselowski, entered the race as the points leader, he qualified in 32nd position but ended up taking his No.2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger and finishing in sixth place.

Johnson is now the points leader, 2 points ahead of Keselowski.

Falcons streak past Eagles

The Falcons extend their record to 7-0 with a 30-17 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. The Falcons built an early lead, and pretty much were on cruise control for most of the day as the Eagles struggled to find a rhythm and made a lot of mental errors. Mike Smith pushes his post-bye record to 4-1, and gets revenge for his lone loss suffered against the Eagles in 2008. This win also snaps the Eagles post-bye win streak of 13 games under Andy Reid. Mike Smith has now won 50 games with the Falcons, making him the winningest coach in franchise history, passing Dan Reeves (1997-2003) with 49 wins.

Matt Ryan had another brilliant performance, completing 22 of 29 passes for 262 yards and 3 touchdowns. On the ground, Jacquizz Rodgers led rushers with 60 yards on 8 carries, including a 43-yard run late in the game. Michael Turner added 58 yards on 24 carries. Julio Jones and Rodgers tied for the team lead with 5 receptions each. Jones had 123 yards and a score, while Rodgers contributed 20 yards in the passing game. Roddy White (3 catches, 38 yards), Tony Gonzalez (3 catches, 29 yards), and Jason Snelling (3 catches, 16 yards, 1 touchdown) also made contributions. D.J. Davis caught his first two passes of his NFL career for 30 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown to start the game for the Falcons. Matt Bryant connected on 3 field goal tries of 43, 29, and 30 yards. Matt Bosher was forced to punt only once, not coming until the fourth quarter which went for 52 yards. He had another punt attempt blocked. Rodgers returned a pair of kickoffs for a total of 30 yards, while Dominique Franks had a single punt return for 11 yards.

RGIII ends the Washington Redskins quarterback quandary

Jay Schroeder. Doug Williams. Mark Rypien. Stan Humphries. Jeff Rutledge. Rich Gannon. Cary Conklin. Heath Shuler. John Friesz. Gus Frerotte. Jeff  Hostetler. Trent Green. Brad Johnson. Jeff George. Tony Banks. Shane Matthews. Patrick Ramsey. Danny Wuerffel. Tim Hasselbeck. Mark Brunell. Jason Campbell. Todd Collins. Donovan McNabb. Rex Grossman. John Beck.

Those are the names of the 25 different starting quarterbacks that have donned the Burgundy and Gold since 1985. Robert Griffin III is the 26th different starting quarterback for the Washington Redskins since November 18, 1985. That was the night the Redskins quarterback quandary began. Joe Theismann had been the Redskins starter since 1978. The Redskins enjoyed a lot of success with Joe under center.

Washington would make 2 Super Bowl appearances, winning 1, with Joe at the helm. But on that fateful fall night, at RFK Stadium, Theismann's gruesome leg injury ended his very good career and leaving the Redskins scrambling to find his replacement. Amazingly enough the Redskins managed to win 2 Super Bowls shortyly after Theismann's injury.

Jason Lamont

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MLB: Red Sox hire Farrell as new manager

The Red Sox are preparing to announce that John Farrell will be their new manager, according to a baseball official with knowledge of the deal to bring the former Boston pitching coach back one year after the ballclub first tried to give him the top job.

The announcement was delayed by the unusual logistics of hiring a manager under contract with another team, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the final procedural steps had not been cleared. But the three-year deal to replace Bobby Valentine could be announced as soon as Sunday, the official said.

Red Sox spokeswoman Pam Kenn said the team had no announcement to make. Blue Jays spokesman Jay Stenhouse did not immediately respond to a voice mail seeking comment.
Comcast SportsNet New England was first to report the deal.

Did sports give us a real live role model?

Once upon a time, I asked where all the 'Good Guys' in sports had gone.

It looks like sports may have shown the light on one for us.  Manti Te'o is a star.  He is such a leader and disruptive force at middle linebacker for the resurgent Notre Dame football team, that he is getting serious Heisman love.

He is also experiencing one of the most heart wrenching years of his life, a year that I would not wish the downside on anyone.  He lost his girlfriend and his grandmother within a few weeks.  This is a month that would crush most people, sending them into a spiral of despair and self-obsession.  What did it do for Te'o?  It let him to try and help a grieving family.

Stephon Marbury Paid His Chef $1 Million To Keep Their Affair A Secret From His Wife

Former NBA player Stephon Marbury is going to be brought up a lot during the new upcoming season of VH1's "Basketball Wives". 

According to TMZ, Stephon Marbury paid his personal chef $1 million dollars to keep their secret affair from his wife Latasha.

Marbury, who will appear along with his wife on the upcoming season of "Basketball Wives", hooked up with the family's chef, Thurayyah Mitchell, five times during her employment, according to court documents obtained by the New York Post.

Thoughts after game 1 of the World Series

Thoughts after game 1 of the World Series

People like to talk about how basketball and football are the ultimate team sport.  They say this because all the players are in motion at the same time, and they can help each other to overcome another team's advantage.  That is one way to judge a team sport, baseball is not that.  Baseball is the game where every person has to do their job, or it costs everyone.  As baseball men love to say, "the ball will find you" if you are the weak link. 

Dale Jr has not been cleared yet according to Rick Hendrick

Rick Hendrick spoke during NASCAR’s race at Kansas that Dale Earnhardt Jr has not been cleared yet to return to action at Martinsville. An announcement will not come until Tuesday afternoon.

Earnhardt’s team owner, Hendrick previously had said that Earnahrdt Jr would race at Martinsville saying he was cleared but announced during the race that he did not have all the information.

Hendrick says that Earnhardt will have a test with Dr. Petty on Monday inside a car to check his status. On

Tuesday Earnhardt Jr will undergo another round of impact testing and that a decision may come following that test.

A future announcement will be left up to the PR guys Hendrick said. Earnhardt Jr is expected to be cleared to race at Martinsville. He has missed the last two races after suffering a concussion at Talladega.

Haloti Ngata says Ray Lewis will be Back

Baltimore Ravens star linebacker Ray Lewis suffered a torn triceps injury this past Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys. At 37 years of age, many began to wonder not only if Lewis had played his last down of football this season, but also of his career.
There had been no word from Lewis yet, but the Ravens recently placed him on the injured reserve, designated for return list. Technically leaving the door open on a Lewis return late in the year if they make a playoff run. While a return this year is a long-shot, apparently Lewis has been telling at least one person he’ll be back.

Per NFL Network’s Melissa Stark: Haloti Ngata was quoted as saying, “I believe and he believes he will be back. Just knowing him, talking to him a few days ago, (he was saying) ‘I’ll be back, don’t worry.”

Ngata also added, “I don’t know what other guys believe, but I definitely believe he will be back. Knowing the work ethic he has, he is going to work his butt off to get back on the field with us.”

Whether this return would take place this season, or next year is still currently unclear. Regardless, it is good to hear Ray has plans to continue playing. You hate to see a Hall of Fame career end with an injury.

Robert Littal

Be sure to check out other great articles at BlackSportsOnline.

College Football Week 8 Rankings

As good as some of the matchups were on paper this week, there were not a lot of terribly exciting games.  That said, there is always something to talk about in College Football, and this week's drama is humming out of the Pacific Northwest where their beloved Oregon Ducks were leapfrogged in the BCS standings despite a convincing road win over a solid conference opponent.

Personally, I get it.  Oregon has been the most convincingly dominant team I have seen this year.  There is some question about their schedule with them not having a significant non-conference win, but they have blown everyone out.  Honestly, most of their games have been over by halftime.  With that in mind, I totally understand their complaints, but if you want to be #1, in today's college football, you have to beat the big boys.  In recent years, the big boys have been the SEC, with the Big 12 coming in 2nd.  Oregon's only opponent from east of the Rockies was Arkansas State.  That said, the Pac-12 is getting some love this year, and if they can run the table, I will be absolutely shocked if they aren't in the title game.  Course, if K-State does the same in the Big 12, I might end up being shocked.

ON TO THE RANKINGS!!!!

1. Oregon Ducks 6.064
Speed kills.  The Ducks are the fastest team in the country, especially on offense, and they appear to have built an opportunistic defense. 

Fun stat for the day, De-Anthony Thomas is averaging over 9 yards a touch, and he is one of 6 Ducks who is averaging over 4 yards a carry with double-digit carries on the season.  Noone to this point has even been effective enough slowing down their rushing attack to make them pass, but Marcus Mariota has a completion percentage over 68% anyway.  If they are what they appear to be and they can run the table, it would be a crime to leave them out of the title game.

2. Alabama Crimson Tide 5.790
The Tide is the favorite for the national title, and it's not without good reason.  This is, at worst, the second best defense in the country.  With AJ McCarron becoming increasingly more effective, highlighted by his game against Tennessee with a 17/22 for 306 yard and 4 TD's.  If that is a sign of things to come, rather than a sign of how average Tennessee's defense is, Bama might well be head and shoulders above everyone else.

3. Florida Gators 5.780
How good are the Gators?  That's the 64 thousand dollar question.  Well, they looked awfully good against the Gamecocks last weekend, that's for sure.  This defense is for real, and this team is truly a reflection of their coach.  'Boom' Muschamp built a great defense at Texas, and he has done the same in Gainesville.  Toss in Jeff Driskel looking like he might have turned the corner, and this is looking like a damned solid team.  They don't have the scary playmakers on offense that they have had in recent years, but they are beating good teams.

4. Kansas State Wildcats 5.754
The feel good story of the season made a big statement last weekend.  You can say what you want about West Virginia's defense, noone expected to see them get shut down on offense in back to back weeks.  KSU dominated them from start to finish, and Collin Klein has his signature game for his Heisman campaign.  There is work left to do though, and this week's game against a better than expected Texas Tech team is huge in the Big 12 conference race.  If Tech wins, we have another logjam at the top of the Big 12, if KSU wins, they have, effectively, a 2 game lead on everyone.

5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish 5.646
The Irish just keep winning, and most of the credit has to go to that defense.  What would worry me, if I were an Irish fan, is how they tend to squeak by.  If you take the Miami game out, as an outlier, you see a series of relatively close games.  I tend to think that OU is going to find a way to score some points, and that Notre Dame is going to need more out of their offense than they have been getting.

Colts Head Coach Chuck Pagano out of Hospital

After Sunday’s win over the Cleveland Browns, the news gets better and better for the Indianapolis Colts.

Head coach Chuck Pagano has been released from the hospital and is now recovering at his own home as he continues to battle Leukemia  Although he has been sent home, Pagano still has a long fight ahead of him.

He is not expected back to the Colts at all this season.

After the win today, the Colts confirmed that their head coach was watching the game from his own home.

That has to only raise spirits in Indianapolis, as they are now 2-1 with Bruce Arian being interim head coach.

A recovering head coach, and a win against the Browns have to make the Colts feel good as a team.

Robert Littal

Be sure to check out other great articles at BlackSportsOnline.

New York Yankees' CC Sabathia to See Dr. James Andrews

After being swept by the Detroit Tigers in the ALCS, the New York Yankees are now receiving more bad news, as ace CC Sabathia is being sent to have his pitching elbow examined by Dr. James Andrews.
The injury is believed to be a bone spur, but Sabathia admits that he is concerned about the possibility of needing surgery.

"Yeah, you have to be concerned, because like I've said, I've never had any problems with the elbow before," Sabathia told the New York Daily News. "We have to wait and see… It's something that I've not felt before, never had, so it's best to go get it checked out and go from there."

Carmelo Anthony: I Feel Bad For A-Rod

The New York Yankees are done for the season and yet the buzz about the seemingly humiliated Alex Rodriguez continues to swell.

Another New York athlete that lives in the consistent spotlight of the world’s busiest media market is Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony.

“I just feel bad for A-Rod, man,” Anthony told Newsday” I don’t like to see nobody go through that. It’s tough.”

Melo can’t put himself in A-Rod’s shoes sitting on the bench.

“I can’t imagine that,” he said. “I can’t imagine that.”

Big Ben frustrated with Haley’s ‘dink-and-dunk’ offense

When the Steelers tabbed Todd Haley as offensive coordinator, replacing the oft-criticized Bruce Arians, it was thought he’d bring along with him a pass-happy, downfield attack, utilizing quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s big arm and the troika of weapons surrounding him.

But it hasn’t been the case. Pittsburgh currently employs the No. 17-ranked offense and has failed to establish a consistent rhythm, much to the chagrin of a frustrated Big Ben.

“Haley’s offense is not a big-play offense,” Roethlisberger said, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “It’s kind of a dink-and-dunk offense.”

Philip Rivers, Who Is He?

Nine years into his career, Chargers fans and NFL fans alike are still trying to figure what to make of Philip Rivers.  His on field intensity has been viewed as both extreme and at times arrogant.  He will forever be compared with two time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning because of the swap of both players  in the 2004 NFL Draft.

His first two seasons were spent on the bench behind Drew Brees but in the 2006-07 season, the reigns were passed to Rivers.  He was to be the charge of the bolts and for some time it looked very promising. 

At the time when Rivers took over the team, head coach Marty Schottenheimer made it no secret that the offense was to go through the best player on the planet (at the time) Ladanian Tomlinson.     The following season, even with new head coach Norv Turner, the offense still decided to run through L.T. It wasn't until 2008 that Philip Rivers showed the world what he could do.  With Ladanian Tomlinson not producing as much, Rivers stepped up to the plate with his first 4000 yard passing season, coupled with 34 touchdown passes.

Read More Here!

Houston Texans bounce back; Steamroll Ravens

It was all about the Texans in Reliant Stadium on Sunday, as Houston dominated the banged up Baltimore Ravens in a 43-13 rout.

Only one week after losing their first game of the year, at the hands of Green Bay, the big question coming into this game was how the Texans would respond.

The week leading up to this game was full of talk about how Houston may not have been the team everyone thought they were at the beginning of the year and that maybe they hadn’t reached elite status in the NFL.

The Texans may not have changed everyone’s minds this week, but they certainly made a strong case that they will not be fazed by bad games.

Baltimore’s defense came into this game down several starters and were not expected to be the usually dominant force, but even in light of that there can’t be many who predicted the Texans would put up 43 points— a franchise record for the most points in a single game.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Lose Shootout in Controversial Fashion to New Orleans Saints, 35-28.

It was a day of record performances and career-highs for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense.
And the Bucs still lost.

Quarterback Josh Freeman threw for a career-high 420 yards with three touchdown passes and zero interceptions. Wide receiver Vincent Jackson had a franchise-high 216 receiving yards, including a 95-yard catch that was the longest play in Buccaneers history.

But it wasn't enough to overcome Drew Brees, who threw for 377 yards and four touchdowns, and the prolific Saints offense, and the Bucs lost their third straight game wearing their throwback uniforms.

Brees and the Saints got the ball to start the game. Brees got the offense to midfield, but had a third down pass attempt tipped at the line of scrimmage by defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and intercepted by free safety Ronde Barber, who returned his 46th career INT down to the Saints' 13-yard line.

Buffalo Bills Lose Close Game to Tennessee Titans

It was the tale of the running game as the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans faced off Sunday in a 35-to-34 Titans’ victory.

Running backs for both teams had strong games, which was evident by the Titan’s first drive of the game.

Running back Chris Johnson capped off an eight play, 77 yard drive with a touchdown to put the Titans ahead.

But the Bills would soon answer, as running back Fred Jackson scored on a three-yard pass from quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. The scoring drive featured a number of different plays from the Bills’ offense, including utilizing both Jackson and running back C.J. Spiller, passing to wide receiver Stevie Johnson and the Wild Cat.

However, the tied game wouldn’t last long, as Johnson again scored for the Titans. On the first play of the Titan’s second drive, Johnson broke free for an 83-yard score to put the Titan’s ahead again.

On the ensuing kick-off, Bills’ quarterback/wide receiver Brad Smith returned the kick-off for a touchdown.

The scoring wouldn’t stop there. Titan’s running back Jamie Harper scored a touchdown to start the second quarter. The Bills’ answered with a Ryan Lindell field goal after a drive which featured several strong runs from Jackson and Spiller.

With two seconds left in the first half, Lindell hit a 42-yard field goal to bring the score to 21-20 Titans.

New York Giants Win Wild One, Edge Robert Griffin III and Washington Redskins 27-23

In the New York Giants wildest game of the season, quarterback Eli Manning out dueled Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III, lofting a 77-yard touchdown to Victor Cruz with less than a minute and a half to go and the Giants trailing by three.

Eli’s late-game heroics were necessary after Griffin capped a near-brilliant day with a brilliant touchdown drive to take the lead in the waning minutes. The drive featured an incredible escape-and-throw deep in his own territory on 4th down and finished off with a beautiful touchdown lob to Santana Moss.

The Giants had a few chances to put the ‘Skins away, but interceptions by Manning in the red zone and then deep in his own territory kept the Skins alive. If not for the game-saving pass to Cruz, Manning’s picks are probably the story of the week.

What we think we saw…

– Mixed bag for the defense today. The Giants simply could not stop the Redskins in the first half, with Alfred Morris running wild (he finished with 120 yards on 22 carries) and Griffin having a really good, mistake-free half. Don’t let a few stalled drives in the first half and a few second half turnovers mask what was a really excellent performance by Griffin: 20/28 for 258 yards with another 89 yards coming on nine brutal carries.

St. Louis Rams Continue to Improve in 30-20 Loss

A lot of football heads apply the term “garbage time” to a team that finds any offensive success while attempting to come back from a deficit of two touchdowns or more late in the fourth quarter. The St. Louis Rams found success in garbage time, as Sam Bradford found an open Austin Pettis in the back of the end zone with 19 seconds left in the game.

However, it was garbage time. The touchdown simply made the final score a little prettier, but the 30-20 victory for the Green Bay Packers wasn't as pleasing to the eye of Rams fans.

After struggling for much of the first few weeks, Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers returned to form last week against a staunch Houston Texans defense. Rodgers continued to look normal — by his own extremely-high standard — against the Rams’ defense, completing 30 of his 37 pass attempts for 342 yards and three touchdowns.

San Francisco Giants Face 3-1 Deficit Lose Game 4

For the second straight playoff series, the San Francisco Giants will need to win three consecutive games to keep their season alive losing Game 4 of the National League Championship Series 8-3 to the St. Louis Cardinals Thursday night.

Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright made quick work of the Giants in the first getting the first three batters.

Tim Lincecum took the mound allowing the first two hitters to reach base with a single and walk. Left fielder Matt Holliday singled home center fielder Jon Jay as the Cardinals struck first. With runners on first and third, first baseman Allen Craig scored another run connecting with a sacrifice fly giving the Cardinals a 2-0 lead. Lincecum limited the damage the rest of the inning continuing his struggles in the first. He yielded a Major League high 28 first inning runs.

Detroit Tigers Sweep New York Yankees in ALCS with 8-1 Victory

The Detroit Tigers are now headed to the World Series after sweeping the New York Yankees in four games in the ALCS. Thursday's win was impressive, defeating C.C. Sabathia and the Yankees 8-1 to close out the series.

Sabathia got the start for the Yankees in hopes of reviving their World Series' chances. However, the tall left-hander did not have his stuff, giving up 11 hits, six runs, and two walks in just three and two third innings.

The NFL OKed Reggie White’s “Smash for Cash” Program in 1996

Two major difference between now and 1996.

Roger Goodell wasn’t the overlord of the league and social media hadn’t change the way the NFL is covered. With that being said this information provided by Pro Football Zone is interesting.

How The Melky Cabrera Chaos Is Affecting ACES Baseball Agency

August 5, 2012; Denver, CO, USA; San Francisco Giants left fielder Melky Cabrera (53) hits a single during the fifth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Credit: Chris Humphreys-US PRESSWIRE

It has been well-documented that Melky Cabrera, who has been suspended 50 games for use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) is a client of ACES baseball agency, a company owned and managed by brothers Sam and Seth Levinson, and that the company has been under investigation since it was discovered that a person associated with the agency (Juan Nunez) may have been involved in an attempt to cover-up Cabrera’s drug use.  Also noted by many in the baseball industry is that ACES recently lost clients Nyjer Morgan and Shane Victorino; however, at least one writer says that the Victorino move may be completely unrelated to the investigation of Melky Cabrera.

Yesterday, Maury Brown wrote an article that appeared on Baseball Prospectus titled, The Strange Case of Melky Cabrera Spills Over to His Agency.  What is most interesting about Brown’s coverage of the issue is that he highlights the October 2010 MLBPA Regulations Governing Player Agents and the Association’s creation of an Agent Advisory Committee as a “sounding board” for the new regulations.  That committee is made up of nine Player Agents, and according to Brown, one of the Levinson brothers may be on the panel.

“In October of 2010, the MLBPA rolled out a policy by which anyone who worked with a player agency and had contact with a player would only have access to limited MLBPA certification. The MLBPA was noticing problems with “runners,” such as Nunez, who had relationships with players but were not certified as agents. The union felt they had the right to regulate the conduct of those working with players, even if that person was not actually an agent but merely in contact through an agency.

At nearly the same time, the union created an Agent Advisory Committee as a sounding board. The nine-member committee is a cross-section of the agent base. Some of the agents on the board are high-profile, while others are small. No agency is on the board, but rather agents within them. With agents spread all over the country representing small and the large agencies, the committee provides feedback to the union. The term—just now ending for the agents presently on the committee—is two years, but not all the panel will be rotated out to allow continuity. As an interesting sidebar, according to sources, one of the Levinsons is on the advisory panel. There is no word as to which one and whether he will remain when the new term begins.”

It is too early to tell how all of this will affect the Levinsons and their practice.  However, if the pending investigation uncovers facts that reveals ACES was involved in the Cabrera scam or worse, that the Levinson brothers acted as an intermediary between former MLB catcher Paul Lo Duca and a PED distributor, the consequences could be dire.  In the meantime, the Levinsons have maintained their innocence.

How The Melky Cabrera Chaos Is Affecting ACES Baseball Agency from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Darren Heitner

Check out other great articles at sportsagentblog.com.

VP Candidate confuses Brandon Weeden and Colt McCoy

They both are on the roster for the Cleveland Browns. It’s just that one of them is the starter at quarterback and one of them was the starter. Vice presidential hopeful Paul Ryan does not seem to know the difference between Brandon Weeden and Colt McCoy.

Hoping to help his tickets cause, Ryan was visiting the Cleveland area today. One of the stops just happened to be the practice of the Cleveland Browns.

While talking to players on the Browns, Ryan took a moment to praise Weeden recalling his time at Oklahoma State. The problem is that Ryan was pointing at Colt McCoy when he was speaking.

When Ryan realized his mistake he began to backpedal as only a politician can.

“You always had your helmet on,” he said of the redheaded Weeden according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. It may seem like a tough sell considering anyone who watched an Oklahoma State game last season would have been able to point out Weeden but perhaps Ryan convinced the quarterback that it was a mistake.

Ryan appeared with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice who is an actual Browns fan and native of Alabama. Rice even had her photo taken with running back Trent Richardson.

“She told me she was a big fan and she said, ‘Roll Tide,’ ” Richardson told ESPN. “She mentioned my name when she was talking to the team, so that was an honor.”

The Browns won their first game last week upending the Cincinnati Bengals.

John Boarman

Cam Newton Says He Took His Job For Granted, Wants To Lead The Panthers

Self evaluation and looking in the mirror allows all of us as people to find some clarity in our lives.

ESPN is reporting that after a bye week filled with rest, self-evaluation, and talking to his father, Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton is ready to lead his team.

Is it time for Les Convincings??

Eight years ago we enjoyed watching the best team Arsenal ever had. That team managed to win Premiership without losing single match and earned themselves the nickname Les Invincibles. It was an impressive team that put fear into our opponents. Basically, every team in England (except for Manchester United but they were going through their own transitional period) seemed like they knew they will lose against Arsenal no matter what they did or what kind of advantage they had.

Bullies on the Corner: Seahawks Cornerbacks are Tough to Deal With

Ladies and gentleman be aware.

Be aware of what you may ask.  Well, let me elaborate.  The Seattle Seahawks have come across two of the biggest and strongest cornerbacks that the NFL has to offer.  They are villains, beasts, bullies with something to prove playing the position.  They go by the names of Brandon Browner and Richard Sherman.  These two corners have the height of a NBA shooting guard, the physicality of a linebacker, and the trash talking ability of a boxer.

NFL adds second game in London, England next season

The NFL announced on Oct. 17 that a second regular-season game will be played at the famed Wembley Stadium in London, England next year. The contest will be between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings and it will take place on Sept. 29. The Vikings are currently 4-2 this season and sit in second place in the NFC North Division while the Steelers are in third place in the AFC North after getting off to a rocky start of 2-3.

The Vikings are scheduled to move into a new stadium in 2016 and currently play in the Hubert H Humphrey Metrodome. The team has a flexible lease at its present stadium which means it’s not under contract to play all of their games at the Metrodome. The league owners met in Chicago recently and approved the game.

Roger Goodell, the league’s commissioner, said the NFL started playing regular season games in England five years ago and the British fans have made it clear that they’d look as much live American football as they can get. He added that the league is excited and looking forward to holding two games at Wembley next season as a start and that more games will lead to more NFL fans in the nation.

Mark Wilf, the president and owner of the Vikings said that his team definitely wants to take advantage of the opportunity of playing in England and sees it as a chance to highlight the club on the international level. Art Rooney II, the president of the Steelers, echoed those thoughts when he said that Pittsburgh is thrilled to be taking part in the game and he’s glad that fans in other parts of the world will be able to soak in the atmosphere at the historic Wembley Stadium.

The other NFL game in London next season will be between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the San Francisco 49ers and will be held on Oct. 27. The Jaguars have committed to playing four of their regular season home games at Wembley over the next four years. They will play one game in London each season between 2013 and 2016 with next year’s contest against San Francisco being the first of them.

British NFL fans will also be treated to a game this season as the New England Patriots will lock horns against the St Louis Rams at Wembley on Sunday Oct. 28. at 5 pm local time.  Tickets for adults cost between 50 and 100 British pounds (approximately U.S. $85 to $161) Club seats can be bought for 149 pounds ($240) while children under 16 are admitted for just 17.50 pounds ($28).

In total, nine different NFL teams have flown across the /Atlantic Ocean to help promote the NFL and themselves since the 2007 season. The first game in England was between the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins. In general, the NFL contests do very well in London, with Wembley Stadium usually selling out and attracting over 84,000 fans to each game.

Ian Palmer

Jerry Jones is delusional, We get it

Jerry Jones made some headlines today when he proclaimed that the Dallas Cowboys could win the Super Bowl.Jones did not say that the Super Bowl would be in the near future instead he said it would be this year.

Some will say that Jerry Jones has lost his marbles. Nah. Jerry lost his sense of reality long ago.

Ed Reed reveals he’s playing with torn shoulder labrum

It seems every year there’s a handful of teams that get bitten by the injury bug. Among the victims in 2012 is the Baltimore Ravens, who’ve lost three key cogs in their defense: cornerback Lardarius Webb and linebackers Terrell Suggs and Ray Lewis.

If that’s not bad enough, there’s a chance Ed Reed could be next.

Mack Brown needs his Texas Longhorns to crush Baylor Bears

The last two weekends have been difficult for the head coach of the Texas Longhorns. Mack Brown has had to answer questions in regards to why his team lost. The Longhorns lost to West Virginia in a closely fought shootout but against rival Oklahoma they were blown out.

Texas was not just blown out, they were humiliated by Oklahoma. It has become a familiar scene under Brown. Two schools travel hundreds of miles to meet outside the Texas state fair and the team from Austin gets manhandled. Texas never looked in the game from the beginning and by midway though the second quarter there was a sea of orange leaving the Cotton Bowl.

The calls for Mack Brown to step aside got louder. In fairness to Brown he did return the school to promise and won a National title, their first in 30 years. This season Brown and the Longhorns had peaked at 11th in the college football rankings before suffering their first loss. One could easily make a case that the Longhorns were coming back.


Two losses will do that to you. When your defense is no where to be seen and your rising-star quarterback looks awful someone is going to get blamed.