Full of insight or full of crap. Let me know. 1. Chase Daniel, Missouri, QB, SR., 4-0, #4 AP. Last week: Idle. Season: 101-of-133 passing, 1,412 yards, 12 TDs, 1 INT; 14 rushes, 74 yards. Beating the likes of Buffalo, Nevada and Southeast Missouri State does not exactly terrify the opposition but the consensus No. 1 did throw for 323 yards against then No. 20 ranked Illinois. Daniel's big test will come in week seven when the Tigers play current No. 5 Texas on the road. He'll also have to beat Nebraska in Lincoln, something Missouri has not done since 1978. 2. Sam Bradford, Oklahoma, QB, So., 4-0. #1 AP. Last week: 19-of-34 passing, 411 yards, 4 TDs in a 35-10 victory over No. 24 TCU. Season: 83-of-115 passing, 1,293 yards, 16 TDs, 2 INTs, 209.1 QB Rating. TCU did everything it could to disrupt the sophomore by sacking him three times and knocking him down on several other occasions. However, Bradford still engineered an easy victory even with the Sooners netting only 25 yards rushing. Even with Tebow's victory a year ago, sophomores will continue to struggle for recognition. Even one as good as this. 3. Colt McCoy, Texas, QB, Jr., 4-0. #5 AP. Last week: 17-of-19 passing, 185 yards, 3 TDs; 9 rushes, 84 yards, 2 TDs in a 52-10 victory over Arkansas. Season: 80-of-100 passing, 1,018 yards, 14 TDs, 1 INT; 34 rushes, 278 yards, 4 TDs. McCoy is playing like Tim Tebow circa 2007 by moving the chains both through the air and on the ground. Texas plays four Top 25 teams in the next five weeks and if McCoy plays well and Texas wins, his ticket to New York may be stamped by the second week of November. 4. Max Hall, BYU, QB, Jr. 4-0. #8 AP Last week: Idle. Season: 107-of-144 passing, 1,284 yards, 15 TDs, 2 INTs; 6 rushes, 16 yards, 1 TD. This may be the closest Hall gets to the trophy all season. Although individually outstanding, BYU's schedule and the fact that he plays in the Mountain West is going to make it difficult for Hall to be a serious contender when the voting begins. 5. Javon Ringer, Michigan State, RB, Sr., 4-1. Unranked Last week: 44 rushes, 198 yards, 1 TD; 2 receptions, 20 yards; 2 kickoff returns, 24 yards in a 42-29 win at Indiana. Season: 187 rushes, 897 yards, 12 TDs; 6 receptions, 57 yards; 11 kickoff returns, 224 yards. Ringer has a 99 percent chance of being named the Spartans MVP but perhaps a 40 percent chance of being invited to New York. His versatility is an asset, but it's been a while since all-purpose-yardage has been a key Heisman statistic. Team victories will be important as will his durability if he continues to called upon 40 times a game. 6. Daryll Clark, Penn State, QB, Jr., 5-0, #6 Last week: 14-of-20 passing, 181 yards, 2 TDs; 11 rushes, 50 yards, 1 TD in a 38-24 victory over No. 22 Illinois. Season: 62-of-98 passing, 896 yards, 9 TDs, 1 INT; 23 rushes, 131 yards, 3 TDs. Clark is a middle-income version of McCoy, but he has his team in contention for a national title. He's also greatly responsible for the Nittany Lions balanced offense that is averaging 276 yards rushing and 247 passing. Penn State has Wisconsin and Ohio State on the road but his biggest hurdle will be convincing voters he more than just an offensive caretaker. 7. Graham Harrell. Texas Tech, Sr., 4-0, #7 AP Last Week: 27-34, 322 yards, 4 TDs 56-14 win over UMass. Season: 186-120 passing, 1,573 yards, 12 TDs, 3 INTs A season ago, Harrell completed 71 percent of his throws for 5,705 yards and 48 touchdowns and didn't even make the top 10 in Heisman voting. This year it's going to be even harder. Tech's offense guarantees big numbers and for that voters have been hard on him. Barring a Top 10 finish, Harrell will once again be shut out. Though Colt Brennan's No. 3 finish a year ago should give him a margin of hope. 8. Donald Brown, Connecticut, RB, Jr. 5-0, #24 AP Last week: 33 rushes, 190 yards, 1 TD in a 26-21 victory at Louisville. Season: 146 rushes, 906 yards, 11 TDs; 9 receptions, 50 yards. The junior leads the nation in rushing and years ago that would be enough to keep him in serious contention, but with the current culture of voting, it's a quarterback's title to lose. Playing for UConn doesn't help either. 9. Matt Grothe, South Florida, QB, Jr., 5-0, #10 AP Last week: 20-of-29 passing, 259 yards, 1 TD; 9 rushes, 68 yards in a 41-10 road win versus N.C. State. Season: 95-of-144 passing, 1,175 yards, 8 TDs, 2 INTs; 55 rushes, 219 yards, 1 TD. Grothe's biggest plus is that his team is undefeated, in the Top 10 and he leads his team in rushing. The team has a favorable schedule with only one game against a currently ranked opponent. Victories are the key to any serious consideration. 10. Tim Tebow., Florida, QB, Jr., #12 AP Last week: 24-of-38 passing, 319 yards, 1 TD; 15 rushes, 7 yards, 2 TDs in a 31-30 loss to Mississippi. Season: 62-of-102 passing, 808 yards, 6 TDs, 0 INTs; 49 rushes, 125 yards, 2 TDs The loss hurt Tebow but not as much as his changing role with the team. Coach Urban Myer is committed to limiting the damage his QB takes by reducing his carries. Tebow also hasn't played as well. His rating is down nearly 15 points and his completion percentage has dipped from 66.9 a year ago to 60.8. His yards per attempt is also the lowest of his college career. Keep an eye on: Charles Scott, LSU, RB. 71 rushes, 535 yards, 6 TDs; 4 receptions, 37 yards. Jeremy Maclin, Missouri, WR. 26 receptions, 391 yards, 4 TDs; 8 rushes, 43 yards, 1 TD; 12 punt returns, 123 yards; 7 kickoff returns, 217 yards, 1 TD. David Johnson, QB, Tulsa. 227.2 rating, 87-118 passing, 1,505 yards, 19 TDs, 4 INTs.

It's surprising what can appear out of the doom and gloom on a dark and rainy morning. Making your way slowly through the mire that is pelting your windshield, straining to see behind the barely functional wipers that should have been replaced a month ago, one can hardly expect a sudden burst of brilliance to cut through the despair. But it happened. No sooner did I power up the work station than the words that most Detroit fans prayed to one day read came leaping from the electronic pages: Matt Millen fired by the Lions. Put up the streamers and uncork the celebratory sacrificial grapes. The most incompetent era of professional sports management has come to an end. Hallelujah, hallelujah. No more Millen Man Marches in protest, no more dodging Ford Field security for hoisting "Fire Millen" signs, no more images hung in effigy and no more reason for fans in Minnesota and Chicago to mock their incompetent interdivision rivals with signs of support for the Lions' former president and CEO. After seven seasons and a league worst 31-84 record, and facing a hostile fan base ready to fire bomb the stadium bearing the family name, the owner of the franchise that has seen only one playoff victory since the country sported buzz cuts and young gals donned their prettiest poodle skirt for a night at the hop has finally sent off the worst executive in the history of professional sports. But don't worry about Matt, he's got a nice Honolulu Blue-and-silver parachute that will continue to pay him at least a portion of his $5 million-per-year-contract that runs through 2010, meaning the maintenance on his 1775 vintage Pennsylvania home will continue without fail. The Millen era was not just bad, it was historic in its failure and misdirection: 58 coaches, a Cleveland Spideresque .270 winning percentage, an 8-60 road record, last in scoring defense (25.3) and third worst in scoring offense (18.3), and draft strategies that can only be called bizarre. Three consecutive seasons picking wide receivers in the first round and a fourth two years later often results in such labels. But for all the rug-cutting now under way throughout the Mitten State, a big question looms on the horizon for one of the league's oldest franchises - who's the next to be fired or hired? Millen has to take much of the heat for the team's recent failures, but the problems go much deeper than the four-time Super Bowl-winning linebacker. The team needs a complete reorganization from top to bottom. While firing an owner is not possible, the next best move for the franchise would be the retirement of its 83-year-old owner, leaving his son, Bill Jr. - who got the ax to fall with his public comments about Millen - as the leader of the once middling franchise. It's no real open secret that Junior was exasperated with the team's showing and that he's champing at the bit to take over control. Plus, he couldn't do any worse. From there the team's next priority is to hire a Bill Parcells-type executive with no allegiances to current employees and little patience for failure. Whoever this person is will have to gut the scouting department where employees have been able to consistently misread talent for two decades and, of course, find a head coach who is going to do more than stock the roster with over-the-hill and under-performing players from his previous place of employment. Currently, the biggest name circulating around the rumor mill has the team making a hard push to sign former Steelers' head coach Bill Cowher to whatever job he desires. Cowher has proved his status as an elite coach who won even as his roster underwent constant turnover, and would make a good executive in charge of evaluating and stockpiling talent. But for any higher position, one that is responsible for the day-to-day operations of a multibillion-dollar business, the Lions must look for more than an impressive coaching resume. A phone call to Patriots' vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli would be a good start if they decide not to offer the job to former Titans' GM, Floyd Reese who has already expressed interest in the job. smurray@midweek.com

The terror for the opposition began with the importation of LT. Whether if, at this point, the mud-sucking, bilge water-drinking challengers were aware of the fact that the end of their season was effectively under way was indeterminable. But what cannot go unquestioned was deft maneuvering that made the Charger running back available at No. 2 to go along with the slight-of-hand aquisitions composed of Ryan Grant and Jessica Simpson's favorite chew toy - lucky bastard - were the moves of a master. The pretenders to the crown that is soon to be majestically featured on the stunning dome of the fedora-wearing, eye-spinning future league champion were quickly reduced to quivering masses of eventual failure. Forced to wallowed beneath the vile of their own early round draft picks, they made a final, feeble attempt to rebound in thelate rounds by grabbing whatever practice squad player remaining from their favorite team. Will they play? Are they injured? Retired? Dead? No matter. They wear the blue star and that's good enough for a tenth rounder! Labeling themselves as prolific red ticket-supporting pornographers, each, by way of their own ineptitude and the brilliance of the genius draft manager who produced a 20-game regular season MLB fantasy victory, is doomed to a season of fear and loathing - or any other such long strange trips of their choosing through the bizarre mind of Hunter S. Thompson. And the pain was just beginning. Wes Welker, the Bears defense, the beneficiary of Tom Brady's offense and a rookie running back with absolutely no competition follow in the later rounds as the Mighty Titans, Kona Coffee Pickers and a Warrior Fanatic hopelessly cling to the recorded insight of the would-be draft experts at EA Sports in an effort to stay out of last place or, at least, to delay the inevitable. As the season progresses, the losses will mount. Sweat comes to the brow of the Netherwing Knights as Adrian Peterson goes down with a knee injury leaving the team with only Reggie Bush's 3.7 yards per carry and Ricky Williams' five-leafed, sticky, stinky, red-haired herbal cure-all. The People's Team's pick of unemployed baggage handler Tatum Bell is reason enough for unkind words of discouragement as are the four quarterbacks taking up space on the roster. Sheeelli ensured a steady diet of losses and negative commentary based on her six running backs, but at least she has some company. The Fanatic also has decided to hoard ball carriers much like Kirstie Alley with a ham sandwich. Ahhh, the life of fantasy football. Sixteen weeks of interoffice trash talking where neither sex nor experience nor the ability to terminate employment is enough to save the also-rans from the wicked taunts of those on top. Victory affords the right to humiliate and defeat is an invitation for abuse. The Dungeon and Dragons for the non-geeky, beer-drinking, jersey-wearing, solar-challenged sect, fantasy sports allows would-be general managers to match their wits against the witless in a epic struggle of dominance that pits the strong against the weak and mentally stable versus those who feel that only through constant roster movement and $600 worth of scouting reports can victory be attained. What had began in 1980 with a group of friends at the the La Francoise Rotisserie restaurant in New York has blossomed into a billion dollar business that has raised the ire of more wives than beer belching contests, and has wasted untold employment hours. Small prices to pay for the right to humiliate your best friends. So good luck. Stay healthy and as Jack Jenkins said, "Don't take this ass-whuppin seriously." Check that. Who gives a damn if you don't like being looked upon through the rear view mirror. We take our cues not from fictional fighters, but real coaches who feel victory is a birthright of the elite. If you don't like losing, get better! You want respect? Don't draft Vince Young as your starting QB! smurray@midweek.com

It was a repackaging that not even Madison Avenue's biggest image spinners could have created. An athlete, once lauded for talent and marketability, is cast down among the wicked, wretched and New York Knicks after legal troubles and poor team play. Castigated at every turn for selfishness and arrogance, a collision with destiny pulls the former castoff from the mire of loathing and onto the shoulders of the righteous where he bathes in the golden light of redemption. Had he been filmed weeping over his mother, or had given up his dreams to raise the children of his long lost sister who had died while feeding the hungry in El Salvador, he'd be a sure fire subject for a Lifetime original movie. As it is, Kobe Bryant has discarded the condemnation of his scarlet letter and in its place has added two others that brought admiration where once was shame. In a matter of two weeks, Bryant went from selfish NBA star to a hard-working patriot who even his teammates could not help gushing over. And it wasn't just mouth service by compliant underlings worried about ball distribution. Kobe outplayed, outworked and out-inspired every other member of team USA while completing a trickier road to redemption than the one facing the world's greatest basketball powerhouse. Even Celtics fans had to be impressed seeing the game's best player reduced to a wide-eyed spectator on the medal stand whose joyful smile reflected not the me-first attitude of the NBA, but the accomplishment of something truly meaningful. For many, the first real evidence that we were seeing a different Kobe came during an interview with former Chris Collinsworth of NBC, who asked Kobe about his first moments with his Olympic jersey. Totally out of character from the Bryant we thought we knew, the Laker guard said, "I had goosebumps. I actually just looked at it for a while. I just held it there and I laid it across my bed and I just stared at it for a few minutes just because as a kid growing up, this is the ultimate, ultimate in basketball." Such comments could be easy enough to disregard as proper PC positioning if it weren't for the effort and attitude he showed throughout the games and even in practice. If Bryant was acting, it was an Academy Award-worthy performance. Asked about the source of his patriotism, Kobe spoke of having "... a sense of pride that you have that you say our country is the best." Of course, the good folks at Fox & Friends used Collinsworth's question about whether it was cool to be patriotic in this day and age to blast the interviewer and to reference the concern of certain bloggers worries over what "liberal NBC" airs before lauding Kobe. Co-host Gretchen Carlson yelled out, "What a stupid question!" and said Kobe "took him (Collinsworth) to task," even though there was no hint of confrontation or correction in Bryant's response. One has to wonder if Carlson and her cohorts were as supportive when Bryant was facing sexual assault charges or if they would have been so kind had he campaigned for Hillary Clinton. Maybe they would. After all they are Fair and Balanced, but not very successful at quarter bounce or playful banter as their Aug. 27 "After the Show" Show showed. Another interesting look at the Last Transformation of Kobe can be found in the Nike sponsored documentary, Road to Redemption. Not only can Bryant be seen simply abusing a teammate by repeatedly picking his pocket, but that he was as able to take orders as give them out. The ease with which he interacts with teammates makes his criticism of Lakers' teammates seem strangely out of character. Whether the purity of the new Bryant will last into the upcoming NBA season remains to be seen. But for the time being, Bryant has remade his image - not through carefully orchestrated interviews but with action and responsibility. Love him or loathe him, you have to be impressed. smurray@midweek.com

Gene Upshaw was a force of nature. In seemingly everything he did, he came forward with brutal power, whether the opponent was a defensive lineman or a union in such bad shape that the only recourse was to blow it up. Now dead at the age of 63 from pancreatic cancer, he leaves behind a wake of admirers and detractors. But no one who can deny that his talent and force of will changed the game he played and the very business that is the National Football League. A first-round draft pick by the Oakland Raiders in 1967 out of tiny Texas A&I, he went on to forge a playing career that saw him play in 207 straight games, make seven Pro Bowls, 11 All Pro teams and win two Super Bowls. After 15 years, and in his first year of eligibility, he became the first player to enter the Hall of Fame playing exclusively the guard position. Even with all the talent and strange cast of characters that included eight Hall of Famers during their 1970s heyday, Upshaw, with his heavily padded arms, neck brace, thick beard and intense eyes peering from under his scarred helmet and from behind his large face mask, stood alone as the visual image of the big, tough Oakland Raiders. Along with center Jim Otto and tackle Art Shell, Upshaw completed one of the most formidable blocking combinations in NFL history, paving the way for Oakland's powerful running game and giving quarterback Ken Stabler time to find Dave Casper, Fred Biletnikoff and Cliff Branch, who provided the air game for Al Davis' beloved pound and bomb offensive philosophy. But had Upshaw not been so dominant on the football field, he post-playing career would have ensured him enshrinement into the Hall. Upshaw took over a fractured players union that had little bargaining power and was subservient to ownership, and helped to create a powerful labor organization that came to enjoy a true partnership with the NFL and which helped lift the league to the peak of American sports. This coziness would later be used by his critics who felt he had turned his back on the players, especially those no longer in uniform, and who believed he became too close to then commissioner Paul Tagliabu. Upshaw's early career in the union resembled his time as a player. He rode through the opposition, whether it was owners, players or the union itself. Where former union head Ed Garvey asked the league for a bigger share of revenue, Upshaw demanded it. His "We are the game" speech to players helped galvanize the members into a unified forced even when it became necessary to have the union decertified - a move that at the time seemed a risky power play, but one that actually saved the union and set the groundwork for its current success. To those who agreed with his approach, Upshaw was a masterful combination of smarts and intestinal fortitude. He was forceful in demanding a bigger share of the prize for the players, but was smart enough to realize that owners also needed protection on their investment. He worked with the league to generate new revenue streams, and his agreement to institute the franchise player designation was a wise concession for free agency. To his detractors, he was a corporate toady more concerned with his multimillion-dollar salary than the guys on the field. Baltimore Ravens kicker Matt Stover led an effort to oust Upshaw as the executive director by March 2009. The effort didn't go far, but criticism continued and even got more bitter as former players began hounding the league and the union for help with their mounting medical bills. Led by fellow Hall of Famer Mike Ditka, the griping got so bitter and personal that Upshaw issued one of his many controversial statements when he gruffed that he doesn't work for retired players. He gained even more unwanted attention when he responded to fellow Hall of Fame guard Joe DeLamielleure, a loud critic of the NFL's pension program, saying, "I'd like to break his neck." Whether Upshaw was a sinner or saint as union chief depends on whom you talk to. But one thing that cannot be discounted was the impact he had on minority hirings. Upshaw was a massive, visible symbol employment diversity within the upper reaches of sports management. Even with African Americans making up 69 percent of NFL rosters, according to the Racial and Gender Report Card, from the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports at the University of Central Florida, upper management positions in the league, and in all professional sports, remains a difficult plateau for minority candidates. Upshaw's two-decade reign, while not as visible as, say, Indianapolis head coach Tony Dungy, was a direct assault on the unfair hiring practice that still retards the careers of minority candidates. That Robert Smith and Troy Vincent, both African Americans, are considered as possible successors shows that Upshaw was able to help break down such barriers. Alphonso Braggs, the president of the Honolulu chapter of the NAACP, said the former Raider should be recognized and applauded: "I think the lesson we take away from it is that, yes, African Americans not only can play and succeed in this sport, but that they can manage this sport, and they can keep it where it needs to be and deal with the challenging issues this sport needs to deal with. "I look at Gene Upshaw, I look at others who have ascended to front office positions and leadership roles as head coaches, and I think those guys have really paved the way for other African Americans to move up." Whoever does take over the job will have a difficult task ahead. In May, the owners voted unanimously to exercise their option to reopen negotiations on the collective bargaining agreement after the 2008 season with a lockout of player possible in 2011. There is no question that the replacement will come out of the Upshaw camp, but there is no guarantees that person will be as effective. smurray@midweek.com