The Sports Rumors

Bowl Season Thoughts Thus Far

Here we are, deep into the greatest time of the year for myself and all other college football fans. With most of the lower-tiered (a.k.a. garbage) bowls out of the way, we can now move on to the games with the real marquee value. Before we do this, I want to comment a little on what I have seen, thus far.

J-Train off the tracks
I am sick and tired of hearing about how Jorvorskie Lane of Texas A&M is an Earl Campbell /Jerome Bettis hybrid. He might just be the most overrated thing to come out of Texas since GWB and (according to Basketball enthusiasts) last year’s Mavericks. In case you missed the Alamo bowl, the “J-Train” ended the day with 10 carries, 34 yards, and 0 TDs; moreover, he had a crying, screaming meltdown at the end of the game. At this point I will pause to let you watch the video (please forgive the lame audio track, it is the only version of the video I can find):

18 seconds into the video, Lane can be seen mouthing “Well then, Fu*k you Ni*ga!” to a teammate who is obviously trying to console him… real good teammate, bud. The thing that gets me, at his size, he *should* be a bruiser but he plays like he isn’t (good example was also in the Alamo Bowl, he was routinely taken down rather easily by PSU’s 180lb CBs). If I were Mike Sherman, the first thing I would do is lay it down for Mr. Lane: either you drop 50 lbs or I’m moving you to the o-line; either get a better attitude or you are off the team. Plain and simple.

Watch Out for FAU
I picked against them, I was an idiot. Howard Schnellenberger is a coaching genius. Much like USF, look for FAU to move into the Big East within 5 years and start to kick ass/take names. Rusty Smith, their QB, already looks like the second best QB in the state of FL. It just goes to show you how much sicknasty talent is in FL high school football that you have this many D1 schools doing so well.

Detroit Rock City
In the best bowl game so far, Purdue narrowly edged out Central Michigan. It was a good game, but you have to question the play calling by CMU’s coach Butch Jones. With 1 minute left, and with the ball in the red zone, why was there not a more concerted effort to move the ball on the ground and/or eat up more clock? You lost your team the game, Butch.

Perfect Pats, Red Hot Redskins, and Slumping Cowboys

What many believed could never happen in a 16 game season…happened. The New England Patriots went undefeated by holding off the pesky Giants in a 38-35 win, giving them their 19^th straight victory (one of their many NFL records) dating back to last season. Tom Brady broke Peyton Manning’s single season touchdown record with a touchdown pass to Randy Moss, who also broke an NFL record held by Jerry Rice for most touchdown catches in a season. The Patriots also broke the NFL record for most points scored in a season.

All the stats and records aside, it’s time for everyone to stop and recognize what the Patriots accomplished. For the next week at the very least, we shouldn’t talk about the “formula” for beating the Patriots. I heard week after week, people talking about how you can beat the Patriots and what works against them and so forth. Yes, Einstein, we know that if you sack Tom Brady and make him throw interceptions, you’re going to win the game. Yes, we understand that if you shut down Randy Moss, run and pass on the Pats effectively, and play well on special teams, you are going to win the game. It’s not a matter of “how” you can beat the Patriots. It’s a matter of IF. The Patriots have had the red bulls eye on their back since game one and nobody has brought them down. Give them their props. Stop with your scheming (unless you’re a playoff team). If you are a Baltimore fan, stop talking about how you almost beat the Pats. Almost doesn’t matter. If you are an Eagles fan, yes you had a great effort but great efforts don’t always translate to victories. Final scores do. So congratulations to New England and their fans. You accomplished a great feat and should be commended for it. I still hate you though and will continue to pray for your demise. Happy New Year.

I don’t want to brag… who am I kidding. I love to brag. Ask anyone that knows me. Back on a wintry December 18^th, I wrote an article. The article was titled “Overrated Vikings and NFC Playoff Predictions”. This was the week before the Redskins had to travel into Minnesota and play the red hot Vikings, who EVERYONE was penciling in for the sixth and final seed in the playoffs. “You definitely do not want to play Minnesota if you’re Seattle or Tampa Bay because this team is playing great right now and Tavaris Jackson is getting it done” said Mike Golic, repeating the sentiments of many others. I scoffed at the notion of Tavaris Jackson being anything better than a third string quarterback. He sucks, is basically what I believed.

Why is everyone suddenly hopping on Minnesota’s bandwagon? Because they’ve won 5 straight games, 4 of which are against teams with losing records? Tavaris Jackson is playing good? Really? 5 touchdown and 5 interceptions is good? Wow. I guess NFL quarterbacks really are that bad if Tavaris Jackson is suddenly considered “good”.

I’m sure there were many people who felt I was just being a Redskins fan and putting down the other team. I wasn’t. Tavaris Jackson really does suck. I also said the Vikings and Saints were overrated, overhyped, and on their way to missing the playoffs. I said the Skins would make it and even my closest friends laughed at my foolish predictions. In case you forgot, here’s what I said:

Here’s what’s going to happen. Minnesota is going to get beat at home by Washington, then go on the road and lose to Denver, putting them at 8-8. The Giants will go into Buffalo and win, then lose to New England, putting them at 10-6 and secure 5^th place in the playoffs. New Orleans is going to lose to Philadelphia, and then win at Chicago, putting them at 8-8. Washington will beat Minnesota and then beat Dallas in Washington, putting them at 9-7 and the final spot of the playoffs.

Okay so I thought New Orleans would beat Chicago. I was wrong on one of my seven predictions. Needless to say, I told you so. I went on to talk about how I thought the Skins would lose to the Seahawks in round one of the playoffs. Well, I definitely don’t feel that way anymore and will go into more detail about that later this week. I’ll leave you with one stat that you need to know. Seattle has beaten only one team all season with a record above .500. One team. And that was in week 1. We’ll talk Washington-Seattle, as well as the other matchups later this week though.

Dallas is in trouble. I’m telling you right now, Dallas is in trouble. You cannot go into the playoffs playing as badly as they are playing. They were supposed to play their starters a quarter against the Skins, with the hope that they’d score a touchdown and maybe a field goal, feel good about themselves and rest up for the playoffs. Well guess what. They got spanked. Their starters played well into the third quarter and got SPANKED. They came away with 1 rushing yard…for the entire game. They converted zero third downs. They had 27 points scored on them. Tony Romo had his third bad game in a row.

“Okay take it easy Shaun. You’re overplaying the Dallas Cowboys struggles a bit. They won 13 games for a reason. They’ll be fine in the playoffs.”

That might be so, but you can’t be feeling very confident if you have lost 2 out of your last 3 games after losing only one out of the first thirteen. You can’t be feeling very good if you’ve averaged 8 points a game for the past three weeks. You can’t be feeling very good if your superstar quarterback has thrown one touchdown and five interceptions in his last three outings. I’m not saying that the Cowboys are toast; I’m just saying that if the Redskins beat Seattle and come into Dallas riding a 5 game winning streak and the most confidence of anyone in the NFC, watch out. Watch out.

NFL Previews… For Games That Count

New England Patriots @ New York Giants:

We all know why this is an important game to watch. It has all the historical significance and yada yada yada. I heard somewhere that the Giants were looking to play their starters instead of resting them. I’m sure the sheer thought of Eli Manning suiting up for the game has sent shivers down Tom Brady’s spine and has caused Belichick to lose hours of sleep. The fact of the matter is this; it doesn’t matter if the Giants play their starters or not. The Patriots are going to win, and they are going to win big. Tom Brady is going to throw for three, maybe four touchdowns and surpass Peyton Manning for the single season record. Randy Moss will be on the receiving end of two, maybe even three of those touchdown passes as he surpasses Jerry Rice for the single season record (though it should be pointed out that Rice did it in a strike shortened 12 games). I wouldn’t change my plans to watch this game on a Saturday night, but would try and catch the final minute or so and see the celebration, if there even is one, by the Patriots players upon reaching 16-0. Why would I watch this? To give me more fuel to add to the fire of hate that I have for them.

Prediction: Pats 38 Giants 13

Appeal: 3 out of 5

New Orleans Saints @ Chicago Bears:

This is the end of the line for the Saints. They have to win in Chicago, where it looks to be another miserable winter Sunday. If they lose, their season is over. If they win, they have to pray for a miracle in that the Vikings and Redskins both lose. I don’t feel bad for the Saints. They could have been in the driver’s seat had they handled their business against an already eliminated team (Eagles) last week. Now they pray for a miracle.

Prediction: Saints 14 Bears 20

Appeal: 2 out of 5

San Francisco 49ers at Cleveland Browns:

The Browns are in the same boat as the Saints. They had their chance to go take care of business and be in the driver’s seat. Instead, they lose and now have to win, which they probably will, but also hope that the Titans lose to the Colts. That is unlikely because Manning and the rest of the starters won’t play more than a series or two. Cleveland had a hell of a run and it was a great season for that franchise and city. It’s too bad that they will end up 10-6 and miss out on the playoffs.

Prediction: Niners 9 Browns 27

Appeal: 2 out of 5

Minnesota Vikings @ Denver Broncos:

I feel like I keep repeating myself but a lesson should be learned here. Handle your business when you are supposed to and you won’t have to win and get help to make the playoffs. The Vikings let the Redskins come in and bully them in their own building. Had they won, they were locked into the playoffs. But they didn’t. And now they have to go to mile high in the last week of December, win a game, and hope that the Redskins can beat Dallas’ bench. Not looking good. The Vikings should regain their running game against the Broncos but will likely miss the playoffs. They have no one to blame but themselves.

Prediction: Vikings 17 Broncos 7

Appeal: 3 out of 5

Dallas Cowboys @ Washington Redskins:

The Redskins should send thank you cards to everyone who works for the Chicago Bears organization. By beating Green Bay last week, the Bears gave Dallas homefield throughout the playoffs. This is important because…? Because now the Cowboys have absolutely nothing to play for, and the Redskins have everything to play for. It’s a win-and-you’re-in situation for the Redskins and they should be thankful as any that the Cowboys won’t have their best guys on that field, otherwise things could get scary. Romo will likely not play at all, and Terrell Owens has already been counted out. I wouldn’t get TOO cocky if I’m the Redskins because you still have to go out there and execute, and it is Dallas afterall. But things can’t be much better right now for Washington.

Prediction: Cowboys 10 Redskins 24

Appeal: 2 out of 5

Tennessee Titans @ Indianapolis Colts:

The Titans are fortunate, just like the Redskins, that their division rival will be resting their starters. Just like the Skins, it’s a win-and-you’re-in situation for the Titans and all signs point to that happening. Manning will play a series or two at best and the Titans shouldn’t have much difficulty winning this one as they head into the playoffs.

Prediction: Titans 28 Colts 13

Appeal: 2 out of 5

BCS Bowl Predictions (1/5)

Now that the lower-tiered bowls are out of the way, I can focus on the BCS previews. For these, I will go a little more in-depth than the previous picks.First up, “The Granddaddy of them All.”

Jan 1, 4:30pm ABC, The Rose Bowl, #6 Southern California (10-2) vs #13 Illinois (9-3)

When this matchup came up, I was very puzzled to say the least. Although Illinois had a very good year, especially considering their previous years, the Big10/11 was A-W-F-U-L this year. I understand the “tradition” of the Rose Bowl dictates a Pac10 vs Big10/11 showdown, but seriously the Rose Bowl needs to get over itself and start playing nicely with others. They need to give people games they want to see, and not be so locked into mindless tradition.

At any rate, when Southern California (notice how I do not say USC because that team resides in Columbia, SC) has the ball, look for them to lull Illinois to sleep with their stable of dominating running backs, then strike quick with the play action. Look for TE Fred Davis to have a good day against the Illini.

On the Illinois side of the ball, they have some definite playmakers. Rashard Mendenhall is an absolute monster, gaining 1526 yards on 245 carries this season, with QB Juice Williams sitting at 774 yards rushing and 1498 yards passing. Although the Illini are the definition of 1-dimensional, that one demension is utilized very well in the spread option scheme. Most importantly, they do not turn the ball over very much. Southern California is 4th in the nation in rushing defense, but they will still have their hands full with Illinois. The Zooker will be studying copious tapes of SoCal’s game against Oregon for inspiration.

Special teams seem to be a wash, with maybe a slight edge given to Illinois.

Pick: Southern California 34 - Illinois 17

New England Fans Are Dumb

If you’ve been reading my posts for a while now, you know that I have come to the following conclusions about New England (more specifically, Boston) fans:

• They whine more than a thirteen year old girl who got second place in a pageant
• They have the most annoying accent, ever
• They have the most fair-weather fans I’ve ever seen; more than Philly

Well, add another bullet to that list. They also have some of the dumbest fans.

As stunned bystanders watched, a Patriots fan on his way into Gillette Stadium for Sunday’s game lept off an overpass and fell 17 feet onto the pavement below. “He thought he was going to land in a snow bank,” said one witness to the incident.

 

“All of a sudden he jumped. He was screaming on the way down, then he was silent,” said another witness. The man bounced off the pavement below.

 

“He definitely had something to drink. I think he had a great deal to drink,” said a man who witnessed the incident.

What a moron. On a different note, Boston writers lack basic grammar skills needed to write. There is no such word as “lept”, as written above by TheBostonChannel.com. It’s l-e-a-p-t. Add “Suck at English” to the list of things I hate about New England fans.

NFL Week 16 Spread Picks

 Capital letters indicate who I like versus the spread.  Bold indicates who I think will win the game.
CLEVELAND -3 @ Cincinnati

GREEN BAY -8 @ Chicago

Houston @ INDIANAPOLIS -7

Kansas City @ DETROIT -5.5

MIAMI +22 @ New England

New York Giants @ BUFFALO +2.5

OAKLAND +13.5 @ Jacksonville 

PHILADELPHIA +3 @ New Orleans

WASHINGTON +6 @ Minnesota

Atlanta @ ARIZONA -10.5

Baltimore @ SEATTLE -11

NEW YORK JETS +9 @ Tennnessee

Tampa Bay @ SAN FRANCISCO +6

Denver @ SAN DIEGO -8.5 

College Football Bowl Predictions (4 of 4)

Jan 1, 11am ESPN, Outback Bowl. #18 Wisconsin (9-3) vs #16 Tennessee (9-4)
Wisconsin has been overrated all year and PJ Hill is not a legitimate threat at back. Tennessee has hit their stride. Look for Eric Ainge to explode for many yards through the air in a UT rout.
Pick: Tennessee 42 - Wisconsin 21

Jan 1, 11:30am FOX, Cotton Bowl. #7 Missouri (11-2) vs #25 Arkansas (8-4)
Missouri has had their best season ever behind Chase Daniel; their spread attack is vicious and their D is nothing to laugh at either.  However, they definitely feel slighted to be there (as they should be) and they still have Gary “I had Brad Smith for 4 years and accomplished  squat” Pinkel as their head coach. Darren McFadden has his swan song and Arkansas pulls out a  close one.
Pick: Arkansas 42 - Missouri 38

Jan 1, 1pm ABC, Capital One Bowl. Michigan (8-4) vs #9 Florida(9-3)
Florida wins this one just like it beat Ohio St last year: easily. Some senior season Mike Hart, Chad Henne, and Jake Long had. False.
Pick: Florida 41 - Michigan 14

Jan 1, 1pm NBC, Gator Bowl. Texas Tech (8-4) vs #21 Virginia (9-3)
Attention UVA fans: Chris Long is not football Jesus; Al Groh is, in fact, an average coach at best; and your secondary is horrible. Look for Mike Leach’s mad scientist offense to rack up yards and points with Harrel slinging it to Crabtree. This could get UGLY.
Pick: Texas Tech 55 - Virginia 17

Jan 5, 12pm ESPN2, International Bowl. Rutgers (7-5) vs Ball St (7-5)
Hooray! A bowl game I don’t want to see, being played in Canada, sandwiched in between BCS bowl games! Ugh.  Ray Rice runs for 150+ and Rutgers wins easily.
Pick: Rutgers 35 - Ball St 10

Jan 6, 8pm ESPN, GMAC Bowl. Bowling Green (8-4) vs Tulsa (9-4)
Another bowl game sandwiched in, like the International bowl. This one might be good though, as the QBs for both teams can sling the rock; Tulsa’s Paul Smith has 4753 passing yards with 42 TDs and Bowling Green’s Tyler Sheehan has 3123 passing yards with 23 TDs.  I expect this one to be very high scoring.
Pick: Tulsa 48 - Bowling Green 42

BCS picks coming soon!

Romo’s Growing Pains

I have to admit, I am a little surprised at the press the TO-Jessica Simpson “feud” is getting. When Owens first made the comments, I laughed and said, “He just summed up what everyone was thinking,” but little did I know that it would be a topic of discussion on every sports and entertainment radio station. It’s also the leading story on television shows. I flipped from Sportscenter to ESPN News and then scrolled down my guide, only to find that this was a story on the E entertainment channel. In the words of my buddy Colin, “Are you… are you freakin kidding me?!?!”

This story, if you want to call it that, has been debated with a lot more emotion than I would have ever imagined. More people have an opinion on this than they do on Clinton-Obama.

How do you feel about the recent comments made by Senator Clinton about Obama’s lack of experience in the public eye?

I…I don’t know.

How do you feel about Terrell Owens recent comments on Tony Romo’s celebrity girlfriend, Jessica Simpson?

That son of a bitch! Let me tell you… First of all…

I have heard people bashing Romo saying that he brought this on himself by making the decision to bring Simpson to the game. I heard people taking the opportunity to bash TO and talk about how he is ruining yet another team. I’ve heard people defend TO and saying he is a leader on that team and speaking for the players. What made the most sense, however, was a comment about the decision Romo faced. Tony Romo should have known that if he brought Jessica Simpson to the game, he was going to have one of two scenarios play out:

Scenario 1: He plays extremely well and Jessica Simpson is the new good luck charm in the eyes of Dallas fans.

Scenario 2: He plays bad and Jessica Simpson is seen and hated for being bad luck.

Well, scenario 2 has definitely played out the way it would have been anticipated, if not worse. Romo should have known this ahead of time and it was a risk he was willing to take. Now he will suffer the media and fan backlash. I don’t feel bad for him. You want to know why he’s beneath Tom Brady both as a ball player and as a celebrity? Because Tom Brady knows how to handle different facets of his life, despite when people try to make him lean one way or the other. You don’t see Brady’s personal life EVER become a distraction, even when the media tries its very hardest to make it so. The lovechild he had was talked about so much, but never by Brady. Situation diffused. The Victoria’s Secret girlfriend was talked about constantly by the media at first. Never by Brady. Situation diffused. Tony Romo comes off as a good guy but he needs to learn how to handle his new celebrity status and make wiser decisions when he’s in the public eye. He could take a cue from the guy in New England.

(Two separate videos showing Tony Romo coverage…)

Celtics’ First Hurdle

Let me make it perfectly clear; I am as big a fan of the NBA as any.  However, I don’t pay attention to regular season games in December or prior because they generally mean nothing.  We’ve seen surprising teams get off to hot starts and be ranked first overall in their conference, only to falter come game 30 and end up missing the playoffs completely.  I have seen championship teams start slow, only to gain momentum and a comfort level once the first quarter of the regular season is over.  Now it’s not like I pay absolutely no attention to what is going on.  I know that the Lakers are playing good ball.  I know that the Bulls and Heat are awful right now.  I know that Phoenix, Dallas, and San Antonio are still the three best teams in the west.  I also know that Boston is one of the top three teams in the East; not the best.  Tonight we saw the first real test of how good Boston is.  They played the Detroit Pistons in Boston, where they were previously undefeated (12-0). 

Why was this game one that I paid attention to?  Simple.  Everyone knows Boston will be a top 3 team in the East come playoff time.  Everyone knows that they have three premiere players in their starting lineup.  What people sometimes forget is that Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett don’t have that much playoff basketball experience combined.  What people forget is that though the Pistons are aging, and are nowhere near as good as they were in 2003, they are the most regular season and playoff tested team east of San Antonio.  The one knock that people have had thus far on Boston is that they haven’t played anyone.  People who want to just hate on them use that argument to keep the Celtics at bay when talking about the elite.  Though I despise all Boston teams, I’m not foolish enough to judge a team based on a schedule that is not their fault.  It’s not their fault that their first big game, their first big test came in game 23.  I reserved my judgment of how good or overrated they were until I got to see them play a formidable opponent with some hype around it.

Before I jump into what I came away with after watching the Pistons-Celtics thriller, let me explain how I viewed the importance of the matchup.  This game, without a doubt, was more important to the Celtics.  The Pistons have been there done that.  No one, not even the Spurs, phases them.  They have playoff veterans on their squad who know how to handle big pressure situations.  Even though they haven’t been to the Finals in a couple of years, they still have the swagger of a title contender.  The Celtics on the under hand, have 9 new players on their team.  Nine.  Think about that for a second.  Their leaders (KG, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce) have never even made it to the Finals.  All three have missed the playoffs completely for years.  I’m not saying that they are bad players or a bad team; I’m saying that it is important for them to gain some early season confidence by beating teams like Detroit, like San Antonio, like Phoenix, so that come playoff time; they feel that they can hang with them.  I’m not talking about when the series is 0-0 and the score is 10-10 in the first quarter.  Picture Detroit being up 23-10 at the end of the first quarter in Game 2 with the Celtics down 1-0 in the series.  That mental toughness and confidence comes from proving in the regular season that you CAN beat the big boys.  Detroit knows that they can; Boston doesn’t…yet.  Yes it is an 82 game season, but just ask Dallas about the importance of having confidence that you can beat a team.  Golden State had it.  How’d that series turn out?  Did the fact that Dallas won 25 more regular season games than Golden State matter?  I think not. 

That being said, I think Boston and Detroit will have close games each time they play; playoffs or not.  Watching the game, I noticed a couple of things.  The big three play very well together.  Ray Allen looks like he’s five years younger.  Paul Pierce is kind of the awkward piece of the puzzle, but a solid contributor nonetheless.  The supporting cast of Boston isn’t as big of a joke as people made them out to be.  And Kevin Garnett is, well, Kevin Garnett.  A monster.  One play that stood out for me particularly was when Billups turned the ball over with 5.7 seconds left and a tie ball game.  Garnett picked the ball up and instead of sprinting down the court and taking a wild shot, he immediately called timeout; faster than I could yell at him to.  Smart, aware player.  If you missed the game, here’s what you need to know.  The Pistons won by two points courtesy of Billups icing two free throws with 0.1 seconds left.  Detroit may be less talented now, but they still are a solid basketball team with a high IQ.  Billups is one of the most clutch players in the league.  Richard Hamilton’s defense is an absolute nuisance.  But most importantly, the Celtics don’t have their on the court game completely in line yet. 

When the game is on the line and you have one shot left to take, each team needs to have their go to guy.  You can’t have three go to guys; it causes confusion.  You need one guy who can either facilitate or go ahead and take the final shot.  Everyone knew Billups was going to get the ball just like everyone knows Gilbert Arenas, Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, Lebron James, Tracy McGrady, Michael Redd and so on will get the ball.  The Celtics inbounded the ball to Pierce who took an off balance leaning fadeaway that wasn’t even close.  Game over.  The Celtics need to figure out in the coming weeks who is going to get the rock with one play left.  I, personally, would trust KG with that because even if he is covered, he has the uncanny ability to find the open man; much like Tim Duncan.  KG is the heart and soul of this team and the ball should be in his hands during critical junctures. 

The Pistons and Celtics play two more times this season.  I see them splitting the games and each one being decided by less than 5 points.  By the time the playoffs roll around, the Celtics will be an improved basketball team with a fourth quarter identity.  It should make for an epic battle in the Eastern Conference Finals.        

Coughlin Coaching for His Job?

Word out of New York is that Tom Coughlin’s noose is tighter than ever.  I know what you’re thinking.  Every single year, every head coach in New York faces the threat of being fired, but it rarely happens (See: Isiah Thomas).  However, I am really buying into this Coughlin rumor for a number of reasons.  Once again, the New York Giants have begun collapsing in the second half of the season.  They sit at 9-5, and face the very real possibility of ending up 9-7.  Even if they win one of their last two and hold the fifth seed of the playoffs, it would take more than just a wild card win to keep Coughlin in town.  Why?

There is a growing sentiment that Eli Manning hasn’t matured into the quarterback he was expected to because of Coughlin’s coaching style.  The playbook isn’t open enough to give Eli the freedom to make his own decisions and fully utilize talents like Plaxico Burress and Jeremey Shockey.

The team would be much more willing to part ways with Coughlin than to admit that they made the wrong choice in taking Eli.  The coming weeks will not only determine the Giants’ 2007 season, but quite possibly the direction of the organization for years to come.