The Sports Rumors

In Case You Didn’t Know…

…The NBA Season kicked off last night with three games, highlighted by…take a wild guess… Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.  I’m an avid basketball fan but I didn’t even realize until a few days ago that the NBA season was about to be upon us.  This led me to think, of all the big time sports in the U.S., the NBA has the least hyped or anticipated opening day of any.  We all know when college football is about to start.  We all DEFINITELY know when the NFL season is about to start because it is talked about everywhere from schools to offices to nursing homes.  We all know about the start of the MLB season.  Most of us have an idea about the start of college basketball.  But the NBA just strolls in on a Tuesday night out of nowhere!  I guess this is because they know that they cannot compete with the college football weekend, NFL weekend (especially this year with Pats-Colts), and usually the World Series (barring a sweep).  I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try though.  I would have watched the Lakers game had it been on Sunday night around 9pm.  And would a little advertising the week before the start to your season really hurt Mr.Stern?

Anyway, only thing of significance that you need to know is that Kobe Bryant was booed and booed loudly at the start of the Lakers game against the Houston Rockets. 

“So what?  Isn’t he booed everywhere other than Los Angeles??” 

Yes.  He is booed everywhere other than Los Angeles but this game WAS in LA.  He was booed early and often in the first quarter, which, given the fact that it’s Kobe Bryant and he’s the most competitive, angriest basketball player on earth, fired him up en route to him dropping 45 points.  Those very same fans that jeered him to start were chanting M-V-P by the 4th quarter.  The Lakers lost on a late Shane Battier 3 pointer, as Bryant had little help from teammates.  Now isn’t that a shocking development?!

NFL Power Rankings Week 9

I wanted to write about a number of things that I noticed over the NFL weekend but working 12 hour days at the office kind of takes away time to do so. Now we’re at the midpoint of the week and it’s somewhat irrelevant to go back into what happened over the weekend, especially when we have an enormous matchup approaching with the Pats visiting Indianapolis to settle who’s the real #1 team in the NFL. But before I dive into that matchup with tomorrow’s article, I want to bring up something that really rubbed me the wrong way.

Bill Belichick and the Patriots Have No Class

I’m a diehard Washington Redskins fan; have been, always will be. When I am watching the games, I am like any other fan and am fairly biased. However, there are certain things that I can look back on, with my Redskins jersey and hat off, and view from a neutral standpoint. One of those things being the manner in which Bill Belichick stuck it to the Redskins at the end of the game.

If you have not heard by now, the Patriots were up 38-0 with less than ten minutes to go in the ballgame. They were once again driving down the field, much as they had done all game. The ball was somewhere inside the 10 yard line and they were facing a 4^th down and 1. Again, the score was 38-0. They opted to go for it rather than take the 3 points and kick the field goal. I can understand this. Somewhat of a mercy rule, an unsaid thing in sports. I was anticipating a rushing attempt, and if they pick up the first down, they would continue to just run the ball. The Redskins would know that they are going to continue to run the ball and hopefully stop them, causing a turnover on downs. That’s how things usually work. Rewind a couple of weeks back when the Patriots were at Dallas and the week was highlighted by Wade Phillips popping off about how Belichick’s titles are now tainted and how TO was talking about being the “original 81” and so forth. In THAT particular situation, though unclassy, I can understand the Pats running up the score to send a message to Phillips and other coaches around the league; “If you’re going to verbally take shots at us, be ready to get beat up mercilessly come Sunday.”

I understand that. I don’t mind that.

Back to the Redskins-Pats game. 4^th down and 1 yard to go. On the other sideline is one of the most respected, well-liked, hall of fame coaches in Joe Gibbs. Bill Belichick picks up the first down. That’s fine. 1^st and goal, Bill Belichick goes shotgun. Not fine. Second down, they pass again and get a touchdown. Gibbs looks stunned. Troy Aikman points out, “I don’t know how Joe is going to take this.” Now it should be pointed out that later in the game, with the substitutes in, the Pats again went for fourth down and scored another touchdown making the score 52-0, but I don’t care as much about the second touchdown as I do the first, because the first one was with the starters in and the game without a doubt over.

I don’t understand the reasoning or the mindset that Belichick has to unnecessarily rub Joe Gibbs’ nose in the dirt. People have been saying, “Oh, well if you don’t want them to score more, stop them.” That’s not the point. The point is the game was over and they could have shown some class and respect towards a legendary coach who has done nothing controversial in all his years in the business.

Furthermore, I really wish that Sean Taylor had gone after Tom Brady in retaliation for Belichick’s games and driven the pretty boy quarterback into the dirt and banged him up. I don’t care if he gets the 15 yard penalty or even a 1 game suspension. This is how things were settled in the old days; not through the media. I would have LOVED to see Belichick’s reaction as Brady rolled around in pain because of his coach’s decision to be a hotshot badass. And why did I choose Brady and not Moss or someone else? Because Brady is to blame in this situation as well. He HAS the power to say “No” to Belichick and switch to a run play if he deems appropriate. He has the authority because he is just as valuable to the team’s success and reputation as Belichick is.

The Redskins aren’t going to see the Patriots again and Belichick will continue his classless style in the future. I really hope that it comes back to haunt him later, just like his legacy is already tarnished courtesy of Spygate. I will never write a respectful column or piece about the coach of the Patriots and won’t even refer to him by his name from this point forward. He is below the game of football and he is a disrespectful, arrogant cheater. Go Colts.

NFL Week 8 Picks

Picks Versus the Spread

Went 7 for 7 last week… Lets see if I can do as well on the spreads as I am with the outright picks

Cleveland @ St. Louis (+3)

Detroit @ Chicago (-5)

Indianapolis @ Carolina (+7)

New York Giants (-9.5) @ Miami

Oakland @ Tennessee (-7)

Philadelphia (-1) @ Minnesota

Pittsburgh (-3.5) @ Cincinnati

Buffalo @ New York Jets (-3)

Houston @ San Diego (-9.5)

Jacksonville @ Tampa Bay (-3.5)

New Orleans (-2.5) @ San Francisco

Washington (+16.5) @ New England

Green Bay (+3) @ Denver

College Weekly Picks Week 9

As you’ve probably noticed, I have not updated my site since Thursday. The reason being, I just stopped puking from disgust in how my alma mater, Virginia Tech, squandered a 10 point lead in the final 2 minutes of a game in which they had the number two team in the nation laying in their coffin. This collapse of epic proportions rivals that of some of my losses in Madden for xbox360, which lead me to vow never to play the game again; just like I have vowed never to watch VT football again 28,492 in the past four years. But like an addict, I always come back. Score on a 91 yard touchdown drive, kick the onside, recover it, and then score a touchdown with 11 seconds left on a 3rd and 20. I have never seen the air sucked out of a restaurant so quickly as I did Thursday night when I was with a bunch of friends in a venue that housed about 1,000 Hokie faithful. But what are you going to do? At least we had the opportunity this year to make a national title run, twice. If we didn’t capitalize, that’s on us. We faced the #2 team in the nation two times in the same season which is as rare as can be. We messed up, but at least we had the chance to mess up.

The fans were great. I will not budge from my statements in my previous post about Tech being a near impossible place to win on a Thursday night. There is a reason rivals.com has ranked Lane Stadium the toughest place to play in the nation. It took a miraculous collapse for BC to even get on the scoreboard. Their high powered offense was shutout for more than 55 minutes. You can’t ask for more from VT’s defense. I am hearing a lot of criticism of the defense and how they choked at the end. Wrong. The defense was on the field for a vast majority of the game because of the offense’s ineptitude to move the football consistently. The defense was gassed. I don’t blame them. I’m not going to make excuses but it is significant to note before you pile on Virginia Tech and call them the “Chokies” that they were without their starting quarterback. The quarterback that played, Sean Glennon, has led the Hokies to score 27 points in 3 games that he has started. That’s 9 point per game average for the mathematically challenged readers. I am also not going to sit here and say Matt Ryan won the Heisman with that performance. He played awful almost the entire game and played outstanding for the final few minutes. That’s impressive, but that doesn’t make you a Heisman winner. But again, I give all the credit in the world to Boston College for coming in and beating Virginia Tech in a low scoring slugfest. They deserve to be considered for the national championship. And I end this column with the same sentiment I’ve ended so many years of following the Hokies with everything I have:

Maybe next year.

Time to Teach Boston College a Lesson

Thursday, October 25, 2007 will be the night that Boston College students, fans, and football players learn a few lessons.

Class begins: 7:30 PM

Location: Lane Stadium.

Attendance: Not Recommended

If you failed to realize, Boston College is number two in the BCS polls. They have earned their right to be there. They’ve played and won all seven of their games. The Eagles are off to their first 7-0 start in 65 years.

-They have Heisman caliber quarterback who has thrown 18 touchdowns thus far.

-They move the ball consistently.

-They score.

-They win at home.

-They win on the road.

The Boston College Eagles’ destiny lies within their hands. Win their remaining games and a ticket to the National Championship is all but guaranteed. The quest for a National Championship continues tonight. That’s where the problem lies.

The Eagles will be going into Blacksburg, Virginia; home of the 8^th ranked Virginia Tech Hokies. The Hokies have been an ACC powerhouse since they joined the conference by winning the conference title their first year and being runners up the second year. They bring a fast, hard hitting, and intimidating defense to the field annually. The Hokies have NFL talent on that defense every single season. From the Deangelo Halls to the Darryl Tapps to the Xavier Adibi’s and the Vince Halls. The Hokies defense, led by defensive coordinator Bud Foster, knows how to bring the pain.

However, that’s not what Boston College should fear most. Boston College needs to fear the 65,000+ that will fill Lane Stadium tonight. They should fear the sea of orange and maroon that will fill every possible space in the venue to see their Hokies trash the Eagles. They should fear the noise that the Virginia Tech fans will bring from 15 minutes before kickoff until they rush the field. These aren’t ordinary college football fans. A lot of people nationwide haven’t realized this yet, because they have not been there. I have, for four years.

What makes the fans in Lane Stadium so intimidating is their exceptional knowledge of football and their thirst for victory. Nothing dominates the news in Blacksburg the way football does. Football is what brings all the students together. Football is what makes Monday’s in 30 degree weather with 45 mile per hour winds bearable. Football makes this town run.

This is the first big home game for the Hokies. Last time they were on national television, they got trashed and embarrassed by the LSU Tigers in Tiger stadium. Actually, trashed and embarrassed is putting it lightly. This was in week 2. We are now in week 8, but Hokie fans have not forgotten how they were laughed at on message boards around the country. They have not forgotten what it feels like to be humiliated and outplayed when everyone is watching. They are angry. The fans have had weeks full of pent up rage that they will let loose come 7:30 tonight.

I can’t remember the last time there was this much internally stored fury waiting to be unleashed like a caged animal who has been waiting for his opportunity to attack a rival Alpha male. You don’t want to open that cage door because what will be set free is a monster that cannot be controlled. This is Virginia Tech football. Furthermore, you definitely do not want to poke the caged beast with a stick. That is what Boston College’s head coach did by saying that his team is not intimidated by big stadiums or loud fans and having the audacity, the nerve to compare Virginia Tech to Georgia Tech. Jesse Palmer of ESPN went on to say that Virginia Tech doesn’t belong on the same field as Boston College. He is in for a rude awakening.

One thing I know about Virginia Tech students is that they read; and they read everything. They hear everything. They know everything. They know the national perception is that we are annually overrated. They know that people, such as ESPN’s experts, are picking Boston College to come into our house, on our field, and take it to us. The fans know this. They have been poked with the stick for ten days now and tonight is the night Boston College will have to face the animal that are the fans.

Tonight, Boston College is going to learn a lesson.

Boston College has failed to realize what it’s like to be standing less than a foot away from another person and not being able to hear what they’re saying. I do. Boston College doesn’t know what it’s like to see 65,000+ fans jumping and screaming every time they have the ball on offense to the point where they can’t differentiate a football being passed through the air from a sea of maroon in the stands. I do. Boston College doesn’t know what it’s like to feel like the stadium is going to collapse because it is shaking and bouncing violently the entire game. I do. Boston College doesn’t know what it’s like to see 65,000+ alumni and students screaming for their head and saying the nastiest of things because they’ve been drinking all day in the parking lot behind McBryde Hall. I do. Boston College does not know what it’s like to see a Virginia Tech football team run out of the tunnel after “Enter Sandman” has been playing for over 30 seconds and has sent the students into a cult like frenzy in which the entire stadium looks like a giant mosh pit. I do.

Mark Wahlberg has a movie in theatres called “We Own the Night”. I bring this up because Boston College is going to step onto the field tonight for 60 minutes of a brutal, vicious beat down; one that they could never dream of in their most awful of worst nightmares. They will walk off the field tonight after a loss, and with that loss they will take home one more new lesson about Virginia Tech Football and Virginia Tech fans:

We Own the Night.

Ocho Cinco… Absolutely Hilarious

I was watching the new ESPN show, E60. Michael Smith was interviewing Bengals WR Chad Johnson. During the interview, I choked on my water because of the following hilarious, yet serious response.

Michael Smith: What happens to you, are those meltdowns true, how accurate are they?
Chad Johnson: What’s a meltdown? I don’t meltdown. Britney Spears, that’s a meltdown. Chad Johnson is gonna let you know how he feel.

And since I’m in a funny mood.. enjoy some funny pictures.

…yeeeeeeeah…

Look at the old lady (i think it’s a lady) in the bottom right corner as well as the guy in the top left. They really don’t want to get hit by the scary bat.

(pictures courtesy of Pyzam.com. Lot’s of good stuff there)

What’s the Deal with NFL Quarterbacks?

I instant messaged a friend of mine last night as I watched the Colts-Jaguars game and asked him to name me his top ten NFL teams, and to do so quickly. The reason I asked was because in the past years, you could name off the top 12, if not 15 teams within 30 seconds. Now, once you get past the first three or four, there is so much room for disagreement and debate, and not the good kind. When you’re arguing whether Jacksonville or Detroit should be ranked in the top 10, something is off. During this conversation, I saw David Garrard get hit and twist his ankle in a pretty nasty way. First thought that came to mind was “Well they don’t have Leftwich anymore so I wonder who their back up is”. Turns out, it was an undrafted quarterback named Quinn Gray. He threw one of the most miserable interceptions I’ve ever seen moments later. That led me to think, could the reason for the unusual extreme amount of mediocrity in the NFL be due to the lack of legitimate quarterbacks?

So I sat and thought about who the good, great, and exceptional quarterbacks in the league were. I had no problem coming up with the exceptional ones; Brady and Manning. The next quarterback that came to mind, who would be considered “great”, was Carson Palmer. Then came the “good” quarterbacks. That’s when it hit me. There are not a lot of good ones. McNabb? He’s getting worse every year. Eli? Not there yet. Brett Favre? Yeah he’s great THIS season, wasn’t the previous few. Are we at the point where Tony Romo is the next best thing after Brady, Manning, and Palmer?

I looked up all the starting quarterbacks in the league and out of 32 teams, 10 teams have a quarterback under the age of 26. These are the young kids, the future of the NFL one would think. Noteable names or teams include Vince Young, Alex Smith, Matt Leinart Jason Campbell, and Ben Roethlisberger. That’s a nice nucleus of young guys, I think most would agree. However, its important to note that Smith, Leinart and Campbell have yet to produce for an entire NFL season. They are still being lauded for their potential.

The next age segment I looked at was ages 26-30. These are the guys who have been in the league for a few years, have learned offensive systems and should have those “young qb” mistakes out of their systems. These guys should be the ones who are leading their teams to the playoffs, and the one’s who are closer to age 30 should be leading their teams towards the Super Bowl. Noteable names included Eli Manning, Palmer, Romo, Brady, Brees, Bulger, and McNabb. That’s a solid group of guys who have many pro bowls between them. But here’s where the problem lies (of course with the exception of Brady). These guys aren’t winning the way they are supposed to. Four of the seven have losing records. Palmer, Brees, Bulger and McNabb, all former pro bowlers, have a combined record of 6-19 thus far. Three of those four teams, the Bengals, Saints, and Eagles should have been in the playoffs contending for the Super Bowl. But they’re not. And that is the problem with the league. The quarterbacks who are expected to do big things are simply not.

The final group of guys I looked at were the 31 and over. Noteable names were Manning, Favre, and Garcia. The older guys have either reached the Super Bowl in the past few years or are just teachers for the next generation of quarterbacks. Matt Hasselbeck seems to have missed the boat on his chance and in a year or two, don’t be surprised if he’s not with the team or if they draft a young stud out of college. Steve McNair has lost his health, as has Trent Green. This group is made up of has-beens (with the exception of Manning).

What I basically got at after reading all about these quarterbacks is that the NFL is facing a situation that it hasn’t faced in a long time; not since the 1960s. The quarterback position is as thin as it’s ever been. Some say that expansion should be blamed; too many teams, not enough talent. That could be one reason. The other reason could be young quarterbacks drafted high out of college simply don’t have enough time to develop. With the constant barrage of media coverage, fan pressure, coaches being pressured by ownership to start the young guys, maybe the time that quarterbacks needed to develop has been shortened too much. It is no wonder that so many first round quarterbacks flop, whereas undrafted or late drafted quarterbacks seem to come out of nowhere after studying and learning for three or four years. Look at the difference between Tony Romo’s development and that of Eli Manning’s. Look at Tom Brady’s comfort level when he started for the Pats years ago and compare it with the meltdown Phillip Rivers had a couple of weeks back.

I don’t have a remedy for the problem, but I would recommend for teams to not give into the pressures of drunk fans and their booing or what journalists have to say; and instead, give the quarterbacks time to learn and become comfortable before they are thrown to the dogs. Maybe we’ll see improvements and a higher level of play in the league.

I put together a list of QB’s and what category they’d fall under as far as appeal goes.

The Marilyn Monroe’s – The legendary QB’s that will be talked about years after they’ve been gone. Legends never die, and neither will these two.

1. Peyton Manning
2. Tom Brady

The Halle Barry’s – Carry themselves with class and elegance, while always producing the very best product when asked. You don’t have to worry about drugs, parties, or “making it rain” with the Halle Barry’s.

1. Carson Palmer
2. Brett Favre

The Angelina Jolie’s – So strange and so weird. Very unconventional. Yet, we can’t seem to get enough.

1. Vince Young
2. Jeff Garcia
3. Jon Kitna

The Nicole Kidman’s – Lots of hype and solid production for years, but just not what they used to be. Time has taken its toll.

1. Donovan McNabb

The Reese Witherspoon’s – Never considered the very best but worked hard and are loved in their respective towns. Not an Oscar winner, but you’ll pay to go to see them in theatre.

1. Drew Brees
2. Marc Bulger
3. Ben Roethlisberger
4. Tony Romo
5. Derek Anderson

The Scarlett Johannson’s – The young, most googled ones in the league. They have all the potential in the world and their fans are in love with them. Will they stay on course and produce for years to come? No one knows.

1. Matt Leinart
2. Matt Schuab
3. Trent Edwards
4. Alex Smith
5. Jason Campbell
6. Eli Manning
7. Jay Cutler
8. Phillip Rivers

The Drew Barrymore’s – Very up and down. Some years were great while others were complete flops. They’ve got some baggage with them now too so they’re not your first pick when you’re strolling through Blockbuster.

1. Steve McNair
2. Trent Green
3. Chad Pennington
4. Jake Delhomme
5. Matt Hasselbeck
6. Brian Griese

The Britney Spears’ – They’ve lost it. They may break the top 50 charts every now and again but they are too big of a distraction otherwise. They whine and moan about everything, don’t listen, and aren’t good for the team.

1. Byron Leftwich
2. Daunte Culpepper

The Star Jones’ – You don’t want to look. It’s not a pretty picture.

1. Tavaris Jackson
2. Damon Huard

The Barbara Walters’ – Boring as hell.

1. David Garrard

The Lindsay Lohan’s – Let’s find the most possible ways that we can get in trouble…and then triple that.

1. Michael Vick

NFL Power Rankings Week 8

Everyone has been talking about the Patriots and how they may be one of the greatest teams in NFL history.  Why are we forgetting about the Colts?  I don’t get it.  The Colts defense has improved vastly from last year to the point where they are ranked fifth in the league.  They are making plays from every position.  They are getting sacks, fumbles, interceptions, three and outs.  They are doing everything that the Pats are doing, only against better opponents through seven weeks.

I know their offense isn’t scoring 34+ every game but they don’t really need to the way they are playing.  And lets be real, do we really need to question the Colts ability to put up points in large numbers if they want to?  The style of play the Colts are playing this year is even better than last year.  By having long, time consuming drives, the offense is letting the defense stay rested.  When the defense is coming onto the field, they are fresh, faster, and playing at a much higher intensity level.

I’m not knocking the Pats or what they’ve accomplished thus far but I think its time that the defending world champions get some more respect.

Week 8 College Rankings

South Florida people are going to hate me but I really couldn’t care less.  I said they play sloppy and wouldn’t last a whole season and guess what, they didn’t.  I’m in love with Florida and am more impressed with them as they mature more and more each week.  Glad to see Michigan on the upswing again.  That Ohio State-Michigan game will be a big one.  I would love to see Michigan come back and stick it to the Buckeyes who mocked them when they lost to Appalachian St.  Enjoy the rankings…

NFL Week 7 Picks

My Spread Picks are as follows:

Minnesota (+9) @ Dallas

Baltimore (-3) @ Buffalo

NY Jets @ Cincinnati (-6.5)

Tampa Bay (+2.5) @ Detroit

New England (-16) @ Miami

Atlanta (+8.5) @ New Orleans

San Fran @ NY Giants (-9)

Kansas City (+2.5) @ Oakland

Chicago (+5.5) @ Philadelphia

St.Louis (+8.5) @ Seattle

Tennessee @ Houston (+1.5)

Arizona @ Washington (-8.5)

Pittsburgh (-3.5) @ Denver