The Sports Rumors

Greg Oden Out For the Season

ESPN has reported that Portland Trailblazers rookie Greg Oden is out for the season after undergoing microfracture surgery. More to come on this story as it develops.

Must See Games

First down…#4 West Virginia @ Maryland

This is the last time the two teams will face each other until 2010.  West Virginia spanked the Terps last year 45-27 and the Terps are out for revenge.  There is nothing that they would like more than to ruin the Mountaineer fans’ National Title hope.  The running offense of WVU might have some problems against the Terps who are ranked 15^th in the nation against the run.  They have only given up 24 points so far through two games; a vast improvement from last year.  If Maryland can control WVU early and get a lead, the crowd will go into a frenzy and the Mountaineers might be in for a long, hard fight Thursday night in College Park.   

Second down…#1 USC @ #14 Nebraska

If Nebraska wants to become a national powerhouse again and be recognized with the big boys of college football, this is as good a chance as any to do so.  Nebraska is 2-0 and solid rushing the football, ranked 14^th in that department.  USC is no slouch either though and Pete Carroll has had plenty of time to gameplan for the Cornhuskers. 

Third down…#22 Tennessee @ #5 Florida

Florida’s offense is rolling and Tennessee’s defense is not.  However, this is an SEC showdown and you never know what could happen.  Look for a high scoring game, but Florida will win and win comfortably.

Fourth down…#21 Boston College @ #15 Georgia Tech

Who would have thought that these two teams would be facing off for such a big ACC matchup three weeks into the season?  Georgia Tech has been absolutely dominating thus far.  They’re beating teams with an average of 51-9 score through two games.  GT looks for real so far but this is their biggest test yet.  If they blow out Boston College, look out. 

College Football Picks: Week 3

Shame on New England + Photo of Cameraman In The Act

When I first heard the story break about how the Pats had allegedly used cameras to steal signals given out by the Jets defensive coordinators, I didn’t read into it much. I actually thought it was silly that the immensely talented Pats would find it necessary to do so. But after getting over my initial excitement of the first week of the NFL, I started reading into it more and found that the story was a lot more serious than I had first thought.

I was not familiar with the rule that you can’t use cameras to steal signals because I am just not that knowledgeable when it comes to rules such as these. I did more reading and research and I came to find that the Patriots had been suspected, and accused of doing this in the past. However, they had never been outright caught. I also came upon an article that said Commissioner Roger Goodell had sternly warned the Patriots organization about this in the offseason. I don’t know how many other teams do this in the NFL. I know a lot of people thought Miami did it last year when they, ironically enough, beat the Patriots 9-0. Zach Thomas hinted after the game that they had figured out the Patriots audibles courtesy of “Network Television.” Again, I don’t know how many teams do this but an infraction of the rules is an infraction of the rules. Just like a lot of people did steroids but only a certain amount got caught; just like more people are involved in dogfighting but only one individual (of note) got caught; and just like a lot of people get in fights at strip clubs but only one idiot got caught (repeatedly).

The Patriots got caught.

And let me clarify something because a friend of mine brought this point up. I don’t want to hear “Oh, the Pats didn’t need to steal signs with Randy Moss catching touchdowns and Ellis Hobbs running back kickoffs.” No, that is besides the point. If I rob a bank and give the money to charity, or if I rob a bank and spend it on expensive cars, guess what? I’m still guilty of robbing a bank.

The Patriots got caught.

Now what to do about the punishment? I’ve heard people say that they should erase the win they had versus the Jets. I don’t agree with that because that will lead to much more confusion down the road in the season. For example, do you give the Jets the win even though they were clearly dominated? If they don’t get the win, and the Pats don’t get the win, do we have two teams emerge 0-1 from the same game? That’s just not going to be feasible.

The other option I heard was to take away a third and a fifth round draft pick, or a second and a fourth, and many other combinations. To be frank, that’s not going to affect the Patriots one bit. They have tons of picks and they always manage to trade players for more picks; players that they probably would have cut anyway.

I also don’t agree with suspending Belichick for one game because honestly, do you really think that he won’t dictate the entire script of the game beforehand? He could tell a monkey exactly what he wants done on gameday in every situation and it would get done. So him not being at the game really doesn’t change much. Realize that Belichick isn’t the great coach he is because of his in-game decisions; Tom Brady makes most of those. Belichick is a star coach because of his preparations and game planning throughout the week.

So how do I suggest the league punish the Patriots? To be honest, I really don’t know at this point. I’d like to learn more about the case and hopefully find out if other teams have been accused or suspected of doing the same. I don’t think it’d be accurate or credible for me to dish out my suggested punishment without having more familiarity. However, I will say this. Goodell had better come down very hard on New England. If you’re going to come down hard on three players (Pacman, Tank, and Vick) who were wrong in their own right, but had nothing to do with the sanctity of the game, then you had better come down hard as can be on a team that has been found guilty of cheating.

Look at the top right of the picture. There is a circle around the cameraman who was stealing the Jets defensive signals.

NFL Power Rankings

Here are my updated power rankings.  The number in parenthesis is where the team was ranked last week.

Example:  Jaguars 20 (17)  means that they were ranked 17th last week, 20th this week.

And before anyone jumps on me and gets mad about how their team is ranked too low or some other team is ranked too high, I’ll tell you this.  I’m not ranking teams solely on how good they were “supposed” to be.  If you lost at home to a team you weren’t supposed to lose to, I don’t care where you were ranked last week;  you will be lower this week.  That being said…  Enjoy.

Today’s Rundown 9/11

*The Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Baltimore Ravens in a thrilling first game of a Monday Night doubleheader. Baltimore took a 20-19 lead  in the fourth quarter but turned the ball over on an interception, one of six turnovers. The Bengals scored quickly with a touchdown pass to T.J. Houshmandzadeh and followed that with a successful two point conversion. Ravens’ Quarterback Steve McNair aggravated a groin injury and was unable to continue the rest of the game. Backup Kyle Boller went in and led the Ravens on a late drive, down inside the Bengals five yard line. The drive included converting on a fourth and three. However, the Bengals defense, which couldn’t stop a team who got inside their five from scoring a touchdown last year (0 for 18), held the Ravens off and took home their first victory of the season. The game was filled with big hits, lots of trash talking, and plenty of turnovers.

*Bill Belichick is one shady guy. The New England Patriots have been accused of stealing team’s signals by spying on them via use of cameras. ESPN.com reports:

The Patriots’ cameraman was suspected of aiming his camera at the Jets’ defensive coaches who were sending signals to their unit on the field, the sources said. The league also is investigating some radio frequency issues that occurred during the game.

The league’s competition committee could conduct a conference call about the incident, which violates NFL policy, and ultimately recommend a penalty that could cost the Patriots a future draft pick or picks if it verifies that the team was spying on the Jets.

I can understand doing this if you’re the Raiders or some lousy team. But the Patriots? Is that REALLY necessary? I mean, it’s not like you have a hall of fame quarterback, hall of fame receiver along with two other solid ones, a top notch young runningback, an experienced offensive line, and a talented defense or anything. At least this adds to the Jets-Pats rivalry though and gives me another reason to hate Boston area teams.

*The Raiders and first pick overall Jamarcus Russell have agreed to a contract that makes Russell the highest paid rookie in history, with over $30 million guaranteed over six years. Well it’s good to know that the Raiders are savvy with their negotiating. They really came out winners on this one. Speaking of rookie quarterbacks, the Browns are considering starting Brady Quinn next week. Okay, so holding him out of game one really did a lot for you huh? I don’t understand what the Browns accomplished by NOT playing Quinn in the first week. I’m sure he learned a lot watching Charlie Frye scorch the Steelers. There is a reason that stupid franchises keep ending up with top picks; because they are stupid franchises.

*I had a great opening weekend as far as picks are concerned, going 14 for 16 outright, and 4 for 5 versus the spread.  Hopefully I made you some money. 

(I’m just guessing but, I don’t think he had too many friends as a kid)

NFL Week 1 Recap

Week 1 of the NFL season is now officially in the books. There were a few blowouts, a couple of nail biters, and plenty of close games. I’m in a good mood because my Redskins were involved in an overtime game, which they won (16-13 over Miami). We saw the Pats destroy the Jets. We saw the Eagles lose to the Pack. We saw Cinci and Baltimore play a hard hitting, nasty game that went down to the wire. The great thing about it is we’re less than 5 days away from week 2. Here’s what I took out of week 1:

Five Things I Noticed:

1. The Colts will not give up their title that easily. They lost a lot of starters, particularly on defense. Yet it was their defense that was more impressive against a high octane offense like New Orleans. This is the team to beat right now, not New England.
2. New England looked great but I’m not giving them the Super Bowl ring just yet. See above.
3. The NFC is terrible in comparison to the AFC. Look at the five best teams in each (in no particular order)
   1. AFC – Pats, Colts, Chargers, Bengals, Ravens
   2. NFC – Bears, Saints, Cowboys, Panthers, Seahawks?
4. Ladanian Tomlinson has a career passing statistic of 8/11 with 7 touchdowns.
5. Doubleheader Monday Night Football is pure genius.

Five Games to Look Forward To:

San Diego @ New England

• Two of the top three teams in the league face off in week 2

Washington @ Philadelphia

• Can Washington start 2-0 and put Philly in an 0-2 hole?

Indianapolis @ Tennessee

• Will Vince Young and Co. be able to rack up yards on the ground on Indy the way they did on Jax?

Minnesota @ Detroit

• Detroit is about to be 2-0 people.

Green Bay @ New York Giants

• Tom Coughlin Firing countdown is officially on.

Monday Night Football Pick vs Spread

 The last of my weekly picks versus the spread.  3 for 4 so far.  Lets make it 4 of 5.

Baltimore Ravens @ Cincinnati Bengals (-3.0)

Monday night.  Two dop 5 teams in the AFC.  Division Rivals.  Doesn’t get much better.

Offense:  Clear advantage to the Bengals.  Palmer, Ocho Cinco, TJ Who’s Your Mama and Rudi Johnson.  Clear advantage.  Question is will they be able to move the ball on the stout Ravens’ defense?  Ravens offense is average.  McNair, one of my favorite players, is way over the hill and he’s lost velocity on the ball.  Michael Clayton is not 100%.  Willis McGahee is an overrated back.  The offensive line isn’t getting younger.  In short, last year was their chance.

Defense: Clear advantage to the Ravens.  No need to go into reasons why.  But the Bengals defense is good enough to contain the Ravens slow and old offense.

X-Factor: Season opener, homefield, monday night.

Prediction:  Bengals win

Spread:  Bengals cover

Today’s Rundown 9/10

*Roger Federer has closed the gap in Grand Slam Final victories to two behind Pete Sampras, who has 14. Federer won the U.S. Open for the fourth straight time, becoming the first to do so. Details on the match as well as perspective can be read on the new page titled “Colin’s Corner“. He was at the U.S. Open Sunday.

*More fallout from the Florida Pharmacy-Rick Ankiel mess. Baltimore Orioles outfielder Jay Gibbons has been linked to the pharmacy and allegedly purchased steroids and HGH, both of which are banned by the MLB. According to SI.com,

“Between October 2003 and July 2005, Gibbons got six shipments of Genotropin (a brand name for synthetic human growth hormone), two shipments of testosterone and two shipments of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), SI.com said, citing a source in Florida with knowledge of a Signature Pharmacy client list.”

*Chien-Ming Wang got his 18^th win of the season as the Yankees completed their sweep of the Kansas City Royals, extending their wild card lead to 4 games over Detroit and 5 games over Seattle. Oh, some guy named Alex Rodriguez belted his 51^st and 52^nd homers of the season also.

*Michigan senior runningback Mike Hart has guaranteed a victory against rival Notre Dame next week. Both teams will square off for what has to be the most hyped 0-2 vs. 0-2 matchup in college football history. When Michigan Head Coach Lloyd Carr was told about the comments and the guarantee Hart made, he had this to say:

“I’m not surprised by anything Mike Hart says,” Carr said, according to the Free Press. “Do I like it? He said it, and he’s got to back it up. We’ve got to back him up right now, I guess. What do you want him to say? We’re not gonna win?

Way to sound confident coach.

*Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terry Glenn will get a second opinion on his leg injury before deciding to opt for season ending surgery. Losing Glenn for the season would be a major blow to the Cowboys, as Glenn was the most productive receiver they had last season.

*I will have a full recap of week one of the NFL season at the conclusion of tonight’s two games. Look for the power rankings and the recap tomorrow. I will have my preview of the Ravens-Bengals game up shortly, with my pick vs. the spread. I’m 3/4 so far this week vs. the spread; trying to make it 4/5. Check back soon for that.

*On a serious and sad note, Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett will spend another day or two in sedation as doctors try to learn the severity and the extent of his spinal cord injury. Everett was injured and fell limp at the start of the second half during a collision with a Denver player. It is not known whether Everett will be able to walk again, so keep him and his family in your prayers.

Prediction Results…

For those of you keeping score, here are my results for predictions thus far.

NFL: 12-2 85.7% (Outright picks. Two games left this week)

NFL: 3-1 75% (versus the Vegas spread)

College: 15-5 in Week 2

38-10 for the Season