With only one week to go, the seesaw battle continues.

While a short coaching stay was predicted in these pages at the season's opening for Lightening coach Barry Melrose, the coach known more for his mullet than his coaching resume deserved a longer tenure than 16 games to try to resurrect a franchise that just four years ago won the Stanley Cup. Then again, his players deserved more than their coach blaming them for his demise. In the coach's mind he was just too tough, and because of this his players purposely undermined his efforts and went to management, telling them Melrose had to go. Is it possible he was the victim of prima dona athletes preferring a less-strenuous style of play? Perhaps. Melrose loves to talk about what a tough guy he is and how he demands hitting, passion and other such macho coaching cliches while trying to convince anyone who will listeners of his unique qualities as a head coach. Melrose wouldn't be the first coach to be pushed out by his players, but pointing fingers without considering any culpability on his own part for a team that iss last in the NHL in goals scored and points is simply hypocritical if not a flat-out delusional. Speaking to Ron McLean on Hockey Night in Canada, Melrose portrayed himself as the plain-talking innocent bystander who claimed to have let GM Brian Lawton off the hook, saying he's not a guy who talks a lot and just told his former boss, "Don't worry about it [explaining the reasons and] dropped my phone off and went to the dressing room and got my stuff." McLean continued to lob softballs from the blue line while Melrose discussed the conspiracy. "Obviously, a lot of guys didn't want to be held accountable on this team and obviously they went to Lenny and Oren (team owners Len Barrie and Oren Koules) and said they don't like this style of coaching and would you get rid of him. I don't think there's any secret about that," claimed Melrose. McLean, showing the unbiased coverage that has made Hockey Night the game's unabashed purveyor of truth and intelligent discourse, grilled Melrose, saying, "It looks like somebody from the team, and this is a team that won the Stanley Cup, was very close to the previous head coach, and ... it looks like somebody went to either Len or Oren or to Brian and said, 'You know what? This can't happen. This is not working. Do you feel like you were stabbed?'" McLean continued his fair and balanced coverage by snorting in agreement when Melrose said, "I don't think the players wanted to play for me. You don't have to be Kreskin to figure that out." More challenging for the self-proclaimed world's foremost mentalist would be explaining why Melrose found it necessary to publicly bash his players after losing the first two games of the season, or why he left the locker room in a huff, forcing his team to practice on its own. Melrose may want people to think that he's a blood-and-guts coaching Neanderthal bent on bringing some toughness back to the NHL. But Melrose last coached in the 1990s, and not two decades prior when Scottie Bowman, the NHL's all-time winningest coach, was so disagreeable to play for that the saying went that his players hated him for 364 days and that on day 365 they hoisted the cup. As Melrose and McLean were passing the blame on everyone but the coach, one of their targets, Lawton, suggested to a Tampa television station that in Melrose's decade-plus time as a commentator, the game has passed him by. "I don't think there is any doubt that the game has changed over the last 14-15 years," said Lawton, who then offered the political explanation that his former employee refused to employ, saying that the responsibility for the poor play fell on everyone's shoulders, including his own. As Lawton suggested, the team's failures are not the fault of Melrose alone. The Lightening have to take responsibility for bringing aboard a coach who won all of 43 games in his last two years in Los Angeles. The Lightening's inexperienced ownership made the mistake of copying the NBA in hiring a coach who was more celebrity than chalkboard artist. It's a mistake they would be smart to learn from. Former Coyotes' assistant Rick Tocchet is the coach for the time being. Made famous because of his involvement in a gambling ring that resulted in the longtime NHL veteran receiving two years' probation and suspension from the league, Tocchet brings in a wealth of on-ice experience, if not a lengthy coaching resume. Whether this translates to better performance from Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Vaclav Prospal or talented 18-year-old Steven Stamkos, who didn't get the minutes ownership had wanted, remains to be seen. Tocchet still may be too poisonous to continue in such a leading role, but after a 22-year NHL career, he should at least be able to relate to his players - which is something Melrose refused to do. smurray@midweek.com

New No. 1. 1. (Last Week: 3) Graham Harrell. Texas Tech, Sr., 10-0. #2 AP. Last Week: 40-50, 456 yards, 6 TDs, 0 INTs, QB rating: 196.2; 56-20 win over Oklahoma State. Season: 332-463, 4,077 yards, 36 TDs, 5 INTs, QB rating: 169.2; 6 rushing touchdowns. Weeks ago the Heisman was McCoy's to lose so long as Texas kept winning. Now it's Herrell's turn. The senior took apart No. 11 OK State becoming the third consecutive ranked team to fall to the Red Raiders. In that stretch, the senior completed 75.8 percent of his passes for 1,316 yards with 13 TDs and 0 INTs. 2. (Last Week: 1) Sam Bradford, Oklahoma, QB, So., 9-1. #5 AP. Last week: 22-33 passing, 320 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT, 1 rushing touchdown. QB rating: 188.1; in a 66-28 win at Texas A&M. Season: 224-330 passing, 3,406 yards, 38 TDs, 6 INTs, 4 rushing touchdowns. QB rating: 188.9. Bradford will have a chance to regain the top spot with a victory of Tech this week. The Sooner offense has been steamrolling opponents since its loss to Texas averaging 57.75 points per game, but the Tech defense is second in the conference giving up 22.2 and leads in INTs (16). This one is going to be fun. 3. (Last Week: 2) Colt McCoy, Texas, QB, Jr., 9-1. #4 AP. Last week: 26-37 passing, 300 yards, 5 TDs, 2 INTs; QB rating: 172.2; in a 45-21 win over Baylor. Season: 244-313 passing, 2,879 yards, 28 TDs, 7 INT, QB rating: 180.3; 101 rushes, 449 yards, 7 TDs. Opponent and INTs cost McCoy some Heisman realestate. So did Harrell's continued excellence. The junior, who already said he is coming back for his senior season, will be able to pad his stats in the coming weeks with Baylor and A&M left on the schedule, but he's going to need a statement game and some help from Bradford and Harrell to finish No. 1. 4. (Last Week: 4) Chase Daniel, Missouri, QB, Sr., 8-2. #12 AP. Last week: 24-36 passing, 271 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs, QB rating: 137.1; in a 41-24 win over Kansas State. Season: 274-360 passing, 3,264 yards, 28 TDs, 10 INT; 40 rushes, 137 yards, QB rating: 172.4 Week 10 for Daniel wasn't exactly a thing of beauty against a K State team with only one conference victory. His ability to maintain his position is due more to the weakening competition than to individual success. Iowa State (0 conference wins) and Kansas (3-3) will provide stats and little competition. 5. (Last Week: 6) Tim Tebow, Florida, QB, Jr., 8-1. #3 AP. Last week: 12-17 passing, 171 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT, 11 rushes, 88 yards, 2 TDs, QB rating: 213.3 in a 42-14 win at Vanderbilt. Season: 126-194 passing, 1,740 yards, 17 TDs, 2 INTs, QB rating: 167.1; 105 rushes, 354 yards, 10 TDs. At year ago Tebow won the award after passing for 3,286 yards, rushing for 895 and passing and running for 55 touchdowns. He won't match those numbers and won't win the Heisman but he is slowly moving up in the pack and the Gators are the team no one wants to play. Not even No. 1 Bama. 6. (Last Week: 5) Max Hall, BYU, QB, Jr. 9-1. #16 AP. Last week: 25-30 passing, 317 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs, QB rating: 205.1; in a 41-12 win over San Diego State. Season: 251-353 passing, 3,070 yards, 32 TDs, 7 INTs, QB rating: 170.1. The stats are there but its hard to look impressive piling up numbers against bad competition. An 83 percent completion percentage, 300 yards passing and a rating into the second century is tasty but not rather fulfilling considering the opponent. 7. (Last Week: 8) Javon Ringer, Michigan State, RB, Sr., 9-2. #18 AP. Last week: 32 rushes, 121 yards, 2 TDs in a 21-7 win over Purdue. Season: 353 rushes, 1,548 yards, 20 TDs; 21 receptions, 133 yards; 11 kickoff returns, 224 yards. Ringer continues to carry his team toward a BCS date and has slowly increased his lead on the nation's rushing list. Penn State looked bad against Iowa but is at home and will be a tough test for a State team that is 0-1 against ranked opponents. 8. (Last Week: 7) Daryll Clark, Penn State, QB, Jr., 9-1. #7 AP. Last week: 9-23 passing, 86 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT, QB rating: 61.8 in a 24-23 loss at Iowa. Season: 135-223 passing, 1,738 yards, 11 TDs, 3 INT, 60 rushes, 235 yards, 8 TDs, QB rating: 139.6. Clark's performance did more than halt any outside chance of getting a New York invite, it ended the Nittany Lions shot at a national title. The Spartans will try to keep him off the field by feeding the ball to Ringer which will mean fewer chances to impress for Clark. 9. (Last Week: 9) David Johnson, Tulsa QB, Sr., 8-1. #25 AP. Last Week: Did not play. Season: 172-258 passing, 2,983 yards, 33 TDs, 10 INTs, QB rating: 198.2 Tulsa sneaked into the top 25 with losses by Maryland, Georgia Tech, Cal and West Virginia. No real challenges remain and an 12-1 season is likely. 10. (unranked) Dez Bryant, Oklahoma State, WR, Soph., 8-2, #11 AP. Season: 64 catches, 1,140 yards, 15 TDs; 15 punt returns for 288 yards, 2 TDs. With Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin reaping headlines, Bryant has been a one-man wrecking crew for the Cowboys. He leads the nation in yards per game, is second in receiving yards and third in touchdowns. smurray@midweek.com

One and done! 1. (Last Week: 2) Sam Bradford, Oklahoma, QB, So., 8-1. #6 AP. Last week: 19-27 passing, 311 yards, 5 TDs, 1 INT, QB rating: 220.8; in a 62-28 win against Nebraska. Season: 202-297 passing, 3,086 yards, 34 TDs, 6 INTs, QB rating: 189. After a week out of the top slot Bradford returns after McCoy' nasty run-in with Texas Tech. McCoy had a tougher test overall, but Bradford was just blistering against a Nebraska team that gives up fewer passing yards than does Tech. In two weeks, Bradford will get his own crack at Harrell. 2. (Last Week: 1) Colt McCoy, Texas, QB, Jr., 8-1. #5 AP. Last week: 20-34 passing, 294 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INTs; QB rating: 145; 13 rushes, 16 yards in a 39-33 loss to Texas Tech. Season: 218-276 passing, 2,579 yards, 23 TDs, 5 INT, QB rating: 181.4; 93 rushes, 428 yards, 7 TDs. Four great performances in as many weeks against top 12 opponents may have been too much to ask. The junior slipped off the mantle but will take the top spot again should Bradford struggle even just a little. He has a favorable schedule heading out and that should help him as Bradford faces two top 10 teams to close out the regular season. 3. (Last Week: 4) Graham Harrell. Texas Tech, Sr., 9-0. #2 AP. Last Week: 36-53, 474 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs, QB rating: 155; 39-33 win over Texas. Season: 292-413, 3,621 yards, 30 TDs, 5 INTs, QB rating: 165.9; 6 rushing touchdowns. The victory said as much about Tech as it did Herrell with both moving from questioned contender to legitimate trophy threats. The senior outplayed his opponent throughout but the big statement came during the game-winning drive with the Longhorns holding the momentum and Harrell coldly moving down the field for the win as time expired. 4. (Last Week: 3) Chase Daniel, Missouri, QB, Sr., 7-2. #13 AP. Last week: 30-38 passing, 318 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs, QB rating: 164.8; in a 31-28 win at Baylor. Season: 250-324 passing, 2,993 yards, 26 TDs, 8 INT; 36 rushes, 159 yards, QB rating: Although he retains his top four spot, Daniels has continued his slow slide away from contention. Completing 78.9 of his passes was a plus, but tossing two picks and squeaking out a close victory over a Baylor team that came into the game 1-3 in conference play was costly. 5. (Last Week: 6) Max Hall, BYU, QB, Jr. 8-1. #17 AP. Last week: 28-35 passing, 389 yards, 5 TDs, 1 INTs, QB rating: 214.8; in a 45-42 win at Colorado State. Season: 226-323 passing, 2,753 yards, 29 TDs, 7 INTs, QB rating: 166.9. BYU was nearly Tech-esque. Down by four with 1:36 left, Hall drove the Cougars 76 yards capped by a 23-yard touchdown pass to Dennis Pitta with 22 seconds remaining. His play was brilliant, but the competition was not. Same old story. 6. (Last Week: 7) Tim Tebow, Florida, QB, Jr., 7-1. #4 AP. Last week: 10-13 passing, 154 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT, QB rating: 227.2; 12 rushes, 39 yards, 3 TDs in a 49-10 win at Georgia. Season: 114-177 passing, 1,569 yards, 14 TDs, 2 INTs, QB rating: 162.7; 94 rushes, 266 yards, 8 TDs. Tebow still does not dominate the competition like he did a year ago, but the Gators keep winning and Tebow continues on his assault for a second Heisman Trophy. He's a long way behind the Big Two but the remaining schedule favors Florida and a national title would help his chances greatly. 7. (Last Week: 9) Daryll Clark, Penn State, QB, Jr., 9-0. #3 AP. Last week: Did not play. Season: 126-200 passing, 1,652 yards, 11 TDs, 2 INT, QB rating: 148.5; 55 rushes, 229 yards, 8 TDs. With three weeks to go and only one ranked opponent, Penn State remains in an enviable position. Clark's trophy chances not so much. Still a national title will go a long way in soothing the hurt. 8. (Last Week: 5) Javon Ringer, Michigan State, RB, Sr., 8-2. #18 AP. Last week: 21 rushes, 54 yards, 2 TDs; 3 receptions, 10 yards in a 25-24 win over Wisconsin. Season: 321 rushes, 1,427 yards, 18 TDs; 20 receptions, 130 yards; 11 kickoff returns, 224 yards. Ringer came into the game the nation's leading runner and remains so even as his Heisman chances tumble. His performance was hampered by illness but voters won't know or care. 9. (Last Week: 10) David Johnson, Tulsa QB, Sr., 8-1. unranked. Last Week: 17-31 passing, 322 yards, 1 TD, 1 Int., QB rating: 146.3; in a 30-23 loss at Arkansas. Season 172-258 passing, 2,983 yards, 33 TDs, 10 INTs, QB rating: 198.2 Arkansas won, but Johnson was adequate and Tulsa remains atop the division. Team success is really all he can hope for. 10. (Last Week: 8) Donald Brown, Connecticut, RB, Jr. 6-3. Unranked. Last week: 19 rushes, 82 yards, 1 TD in a 35-13 loss to West Virginia. Season: 254 rushes, 1,406 yards, 15 TDs; 19 receptions, 113 yards. Connecticut continues its downward slide and Brown is going down with the ship. He has three more chances to impress voters for next year. smurray@midweek.com

While it may be a bit too early to hand out the NHL hardware and ponder whether Nicklas Lindstrom will win his seventh Norris Trophy, he will, if Alexander Ovechkin will make it back-to-back Hart Trophy victories, yep, or if interest will rise along with on-ice pugilisim, hell yes!, we can still recognize the players and teams with impressive mantle pieces. The Rocky Balboa Award. Georges Laraque, Montreal. Given to a one-dimensional goon who cashes in. At 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighing in at 255 pounds, the Montreal native may not be the biggest enforcer on the ice, that honor belongs to the Bruin's 6-foot 9-inch Zdeno Chara, but there ain't no better scrapper in the league. After spending two seasons as Sidney Crosby's bodyguard, Laraque has cashed in with a three-year-deal that will net the winger $4.5 million. Not a bad payday for a player who has averaged eight minutes a game and whose skills were so impressive that he did not even suit up for the last five games of the Stanley Cup Finals. The Tony Romo Award. The Detroit Red Wings Given to the team that has it all (wealth, history) and gets even richer (Jessica Simpson). Missing games because of a broken pinkie notwithstanding. Coming off another Presidents' Trophy - its fourth in six years - and their 11th cup, the New York Yankees of the National Hockey League lands the biggest free agent on the market - forward Marian Hossa - in a very un-New York way. Hossa took a considerable pay cut to put on the red sweater, which has to make Penguins' fans even more irate. Declining multi-year offers from Pittsburgh, Montreal, the Rangers, Minnesota and Edmonton, Hossa signed a one-year deal worth $7.45 million for a shot a winning the cup. The Clint Eastwood Award. Martin Brodeur, New Jersey. Given to the player who though aged remains at the top of his game. The 36-year-old goaltender is competing for his fifth Venzina Trophy - he's won four of the last five - and after 14 seasons remains the games most durable netminder, leading all goalies in minutes played over the last three seasons. During those same three years, he has finished first in wins, goals against average and save percentage. Two seasons ago he set the single season record for victories with 48 and next month he will become the all-time leader in career wins. As of this writing he trailed Patrick Roy by eight. The Simon and Garfunkel Award. Colorado. Given to the team still looking for Joe Dimaggio. Since Patrick Roy retired following the 2003 season, and in the six months since Roy was suspended by the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for instigating a fight between his son Jonathan and two members of the Chicoutimi Saguen