If the New York Yankees want to get an aging former gold glove centerfielder with some pop then why not just sign Jim Edmonds?  Short of going down the Bernie Williams road again is this really much worse of an idea than Mike Cameron?  Having stated this I'm not really advocating for either to become the Yanks 2009 centerfielder. 

However you give up nothing for Edmonds, he's cheaper than Cameron, still has some pop and his lefty stroke is more ideal for Yankee Stadium.  Edmonds hit 20 HR's last year, Cameron 25.  Edmonds struck out 82 times, Cameron 142.  Edmonds also had a higher on base percentage, .343-.331. 

Unfortunately Brian Cashman has passed on some obvious guys in recent years like Carlos Beltran, Torii Hunter and Aaron Rowand to name a few who have been on the open market. 

While I'm not a big believer in Melky Cabrera or Brett Gardner, going with them as a short term solution would be fine assuming the Yankees add another power bat or two. 

Finally a column that takes pride in its lack of un-professionalism.  A Texas two step takes down the top two teams and Joe Pisarcik now has some company.  What up Holmes?  And who throws his shoe man, honestly? 

We begin in Big-D where if teasing is believing, then count me as a believer in the Dallas Cowboys.  Not because of their offense getting healthier, but man oh man has that defense looked stout of late against two of the league's better teams.  If the Giants aren't careful we could end up seeing these two hook up again in the Wild Card round of the NFC playoffs at the Meadowlands.  Both Eli Manning and Tony Romo almost became "Fat Heads" with the two defenses combining for 12 sacks. 

Elsewhere in the NFC East, think the Bengals will want to apply for re-location after beating the Redskins, tying the Eagles, taking the Giants to OT and playing the Cowboys straight up?  Think maybe next September the Bengals front office would want to set all their calendars to December as they do to the 'Skins what they did to the Browns last year?

Who would've thought in a game where Tyler Thigpen out rushes LaDanian Tomlinson (40-39) that the Bolts would storm all the way back to keep their season alive, scoring 12 unanswered points in the 4th quarter to shock the Chiefs.  Phil Rivers 346 yards passing.

From Charlie Batch to Charlie Brown the Lions had the Colts squared at 21-21, on the plus side (I guess) would we even be talking about the Lions at this juncture if they were 1-13?

Don't look now but  the Houston Texans led by Matt Schaub, Steve Slaton and Andre Johnson now boast the league's 3rd most potent offense.  They've won four in a row and at 7-7 with the Raiders and Bears remaining, a 9-7 finish certainly not out of the question.  Thanks in part to Hurricane Gustav, Jeff Fisher and the Titans lay a goose egg with some terrible play calling, hence even Rob Bironas and his booming leg couldn't even get a crack in the bustling winds of Houston.  Will the Titans still have homefield throughout the AFC playoffs after a clash against former AFC Central rival Pittsburgh?

Speaking of Pittsburgh, its better to be lucky than good and the Steelers just so happen to be both.  What a drive (92 yards to be exact) by Ben "don't call me David Lee Roth-liesberger" as the Steelers pull out another gut buster late.  Pilon cam anyone?  Technology hasn't caught up to this point but if you spun Santonio Holmes around then had his feet outside the endzone with the ball in the same place would the call on the field still play out in the same fashion?  For those who would complain about technology replacing "human error," don't worry we still have human error even with instant replay. 

If you're the New York Jets and you're ahead with the ball and backed up inside your own five in the 4th quarter wouldn't it stand to reason that you'd be much better off handing the ball to the AFC's leading rusher in Thomas Jones or a guy like Leon Washington who could easily break one off for 80 yards?  Instead the Jets decide to throw it on three consecutive plays, killing virtually no time off the clock.  Luckily for them J.P. "get-lost-man" did his best Joe Pisarcik impression and gave the game away.  Did Tom Donahoe really trade up and blow a 1st rounder on this guy?  Jets control their own destiny.

The Bucs still can't win a road game against a quality opponent as road teams in the NFC South sink to 0-11 against divisional foes.  Atlanta and Minnesota becomes a very intriguing game next week.  If you like your share of running backs, Adrian Peterson vs. Michael Turner should be a doozy.  Remember how controversial that signing bonus given to Matt Ryan was back in August?  Doesn't look so crazy now, maybe Matty should've asked for more. 

If I'd told you Tavaris Jackson and Matt Cassel would each have the same amount of TD passes Sunday would you have been shocked?  How about if I told you they'd each have four of 'em.

Just three years ago the Carolina Panthers shutout a banged up Giants team at Giants Stadium during the NFC playoffs, John Fox has no reason to Cowher any longer.

Looking like that Dolphins-Jets game will mean something come week 17, could the biggest beneficiary be the Pats?

Is it Tuesday night yet?  Cleveland petitions to have all games moved to Monday night, goes 16-0, loses in divisional round to Pittsburgh.  Are the Eagles the most well rested team in football or what?  Talk about a lot of time to prepare for the Giants and now the Browns.  Tony Kornheiser goes on to talk about how much Brett Favre would singlehandedly make this game better. 

"I'm in your head Werder vs. what's the frequency Kenneth?" 

From the if you still cared to know dept. Visanthe Shancoe, one catch for eight yards but no frontal nudity. 

O.J.'s lawyers couldn't think of anything decent that rhymed with memorabilia eh?  How will this impact the making of a 4th installment of The Naked Gun? 

The Arena Football league is dead, but the Albany Firebirds... they'rrrrrreee baaaack!  

If you've stuck it out this far you're Saint, but you're still not going to the playoffs, the facts just Bear it out. 

Just remember what Tim Tebow and the rest of his Gators did to the last guy who won a Heisman in the National Championship Game. 

Well the BCS finally got it right.  No one can dispute that Florida and Oklahoma will be a great game.  I honestly can't think of two other teams more worth of playing for a National Championship, you know other than Texas, Alabama, USC, Penn State, Texas Tech, Utah, Boise State etc.  For once I do believe they ultimately got it right for the title game, but honestly folks scanning some of these games you probably wouldn't care to watch them if they were literally playing in your own backyard.

We have nine, count 'em nine teams competing in bowls sporting a record of 6-6.  So much for the "integrity" of the bowls.  Thank God college football doesn't have an NIT, I couldn't imagine what that'd look like.  Though outside of the BCS Championship game aren't they all exhibition games at this point for all intensive purposes?  You won't see any "this time it counts" promos on FOX that's for sure.

What this really has become is when you lose.  Granted they're willing to take the money in order to have a conference championship, but Alabama runs the table in the SEC going undefeated and loses their last game and now their national title hopes are shot.  Then you have a team like Texas that beats OU head to head and in turn Texas ends up getting knocked off by Texas Tech.  Talent laden USC only loses one game.  Penn State drops one on a last second field goal.  Then of course there's Utah and Boise State, both of whom go undefeated.  Heck even Florida only lost on a missed extra point. 

Looking some of these bowls, and yes folks these are actual bowl games: Navy-Wake Forest, Fresno State-Colorado State, South Florida-Memphis, Southern Miss.-Troy, Florida Atlantic-Central Michigan, Northern Illinois-Louisiana Tech, Rice-Western Michigan, Houston-Air Force, UConn-Buffalo, Tulsa-Ball State. 

Notre Dame goes to Hawaii, there's worse places a team could go after a 6-6 campaign... the" fightin' pot" gets ready to be smoked in another bowl.

Then there's the matter of New Year's Day, which used to matter in college football (so much for tradition).  South Carolina-Iowa, Michigan State-Georgia, Clemson-Nebraska, USC-Penn State, Cincinnati-Virginia Tech.  Outside of the Rose Bowl are you sitting down and watching any of these games on any random Saturday? 

Taking a look at the "top BCS games" aside from #1 vs. #2, unfortunately due to the rotational pecking order and what teams will travel well and draw big ratings, we're not going to get a true "3-4, 5-6, 7-8" etc.  Hence there'll be some ugly matchups: Cincy-VA Tech because they have to, Alabama-Utah could easily be a blowout, Texas-Ohio State again another uneven matchup but at least OSU doesn't have to play another SEC school.  Wouldn't Alabama-Texas make for better football? 

Nice to see we still have those "traditional corporate sponsors" though, speaking of which some of these schools may want to cash their game checks pronto.

As I sit here trying to punch out a Plaxccident free column, it is literally two dergees out.  On the bright side we have a Monday night game to be proud of (Tampa-Carolina).  Trying to sort out all of the "junk" from week 14 and I'm not talking about Visanthe Shiancoe.  And we're off...

It's December, try telling that to visitors going to Green Bay.  Is it really possible the Packers just lost back to back late season home games to Houston and Carolina?  Their defense does absolutely nothing to stump the Schaub (28-42, 414, 2 TD) and Steve Slaton contiues his impressive rookie campaign with 126 on the ground after a solid Monday night performance against Jacksonville. 

Interesting note, Houston began the season at 0-4, Buffalo started the season at 4-0, both now reside at 6-7. 

Turns out the hot coaching candidate out of Dallas was actually Tony Sparano.  Can we give this guy coach of the year yet?  The Miami Dolphins at 8-5 look primed to run the table, assuming they get by AFC East killer San Francisco.  Oh and it gets better for Sparano, both of his son's play for the University at Albany Great Danes.  The Great Danes shutout Jacksonville 28-0 for the Gridiron Classic in frigid weather at University Field in Albany, which is also home for Giants training camp.  Meanwhile it was dome sweet dome for dad in Oh Canada.

Sticking in the AFC East and on the positive, at least for the New York Jets, the Rams don't still play in L.A.  The Jets now 0-3 in Cali and have gone underground after mention of a "Subway Super Bowl."  Meanwhile San Francisco said we'll gladly keep the Giants, but New York you can have your Jets back.  And how about Shaun Hill, wearing that # 13 Steve Bono jersey with pride.

What a comeback engineered by Matt Cassel out in Seattle, the Pats could easily finish up with 11 wins and still be on the outside looking in come playoff time. 

The Lions keep the dream season alive, one could make the case against two horrendous defenses in New Orleans and Green Bay in the final two game that Detroit could sneak away with a win, but where's the fun in that?

From worst to first, the Giants offense was a carpenter's dream, flat as a board.  Give Philly credit, clearly they wanted it more and this was their Super Bowl.  As I mentioned in last week's column, given their history that if the could knock off the Giants, they ought to be heavy favorites to run the table.  Just a complete clinic by the Eagles defense and assuming they get by the monsters of Monday night (the Celeveland Browns) you tell me who you'd rather be, the Eagles at 7-5-1 or the Dallas Cowboys at 8-5?  Bad day to be a kicker at the Meadowlands. 

Speaking of Decemburrr, the Cowboys are looking absolutely frigid.  Their defense was tenacious, in Ben Roethlisberger's lap more than kids on mall-Santa.  Yet the Cowboys collapse was a textbook display of how to give a game away.  Granted they didn't have Marian Barber to salt the game away late, but if you're Dallas you have to get a little more aggressive in that spot.  If you're scared get a dog, but you let Pittsburgh's defense get a whiff of a sense of fear in you and they smell blood, they'll come after you ears pinned back and sure enough they did.  The Steelers put up 17 points in the 4th quarter and blank the Cowboys in the process.  Steelers in my mind still tops in the AFC, finally win a crucial home contest.  With the Cowboys is it Tony Romo-verrated?

The team that will play both of these squads in the following two weeks, the Baltimore Ravens looked sharp once again, mauling the Washington Redskins. 

Meanwhile the team that used to reside in Baltimore, the Colts get what amounts to two bye weeks in a row with Cincy and Detroit.  Am I the only one who believes that fighting for one of the last Wild Card spots will serve Indy better in the post season?  The Colts haven't lost since game 5/1/2 of the World Series.

We now have eight teams in the NFL sitting at 8-5, of that group (Dolphins, Jets, Pats, Vikes, Broncos, Cowboys, Falcons, Cardinals) who would you take?  Is it ok of I call you Sunshine?  Because in that case I'd be taking the team from the Sunshine State, the Miami Dolphins.  

In other news, the Tennessee Titans now chaning the name of their stadium to "Dangerfield" seeing as they still can't get any respect.  They sure did get Cleveland's attention.  Tennessee will finish off with two statement games, should they choose to play them against Pittsburgh and Indianapolis.  Remember folks defense wins championships and the Titans are 3rd in the league.

Holy Carlton Fisk the Cardinals win their first divisional title since 1975.    

After dropping three big one's on the road to the Saints, Cowboys and Broncos, a big measuring stick for the Buccs in Carolina tonight. 

That's it for this week's overview, until then stay warm and for the love of God keep your Shiancoe in your pants. 

Pitching and defense wins championships.  Now where have I heard that before?  Oh yeah it was only the mantra of the Yankees dynasty teams of the 1990's.  So here's what the Yankees ought to do if they plan on playing deep into October in 2009.

Sign CC Sabathia.  Easier said than done right?  Yet the Yankees still don't have their "ace" and if passing on Johan Santana was done in part because of what he would've cost the Yankees in dollars, they have $88 million coming off the books so no excuses.  Granted Sabathia's arm has been taxed over the last couple of seasons and he has looked worn down come playoff time, chances of that happening with the Yankees bullpen anchored by Mariano Rivera unlike Sabathia are slim to none.  Sabathia also sports a career 21-8 record against the rest of the AL East.

Sign A.J. Burnett.  Why?  Because besides wanting an entire rotation of initialed pitchers, Burnett is a big time strikeout pitcher.  Grabbing Burnett would be a key loss for Toronto and as history has shown when the Yankees pick up ace type pitchers from the Blue Jays (Jimmy Key, David Cone, Roger Clemens) they tend to win championships.  Now Burnett does have the "Florida Marlin curse" or propensity to get hurt much like Josh Beckett, Brad Penny, Dontrelle Willis, Ryan Dempster, Carl Pavano.  However Burnett has shown that he can compete against the rugged AL East with a career mark of 20-5.

So far with this rotation, if one brings back Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte, a combined 33 wins out of your back end starters isn't too shabby.  If I'm the Yankees I make a strong push to get both of them back in the fold.  Mussina has his confidence back, has reinvented himself and could be especially driven to get to 300 wins and if he won 20 games on a 3rd place team, his prospects should only improve on a better team even if the chances of winning 20 again are almost remote.  Pettitte will no doubt be driven to prove last season was a fluke, like Mussina knows how to pitch in New York and like Mussina has the potential to have a bounce back season after everyone has all but written him off as washed up.  Even if Pettitte did win between 13-15 games next season, one could do a lot worse for a 4th starter.

Of course there are a lot of variables here: Such as how much are the Yankees willing to spend?  How many pitchers do they want to bring in and how many want to come to New York?  Will they go more long-term with guys like Sabathia and Burnett or do they go more short-term with Derek Lowe, Mussina and Pettitte?  Does Mussina want to come back and do the Yankees want Pettitte back? 

The biggest wild card so to speak is Joba Chamberlain.  The Yankees say he and Chien-Ming Wang are the only two guaranteed to be in the starting rotation, so that would likely leave out one of the aforementioned starters.  I'm a huge believer in keeping Chamberlain in the starting rotation, especially when one looks at the way Cole Hamels and Josh Beckett both carried their respective teams to championships the last two seasons.  Though one could make the arguement that with Mariano Rivera coming off of shoulder surgery and if indeed the Yankees did bring in all of the starters mentioned above, that would only make the staff that much more unstoppable.

When it comes to the Yankees defensively, even though they just picked up Nick Swisher in a trade from the Chicago White Sox, I believe they still need to go after Mark Teixeira for 1st base.  Tex is a two-time gold glove winner, has not been injury prone or linked to steroids.  At 28 he would be one of the younger Yankee regulars and would lock down 1st base for the better part of the next decade.  Tex, a switch-hitter, can absolutely mash averaging 36 HR's a season while posting a .467 batting average in the 2008 playoffs.  The Yankees just locked up A-Rod last year for 10 years at age 32, so what's the big deal with Tex for 10 years at 28?  Additionally as mentioned, they shouldn't be scared off by the deal given to Teixeira's predecessor Jason Giambi, because he just doesn't possess those same initial risks, poor defense, steroid allegations and injuries.  The Yankees shouldn't be worried about clogging up 1st for the likes of Jeter and Posada when they decline, that's what the DH is for.

If the Yankees want to make up for Derek Jeter's "declining range" at SS, perhaps signing Orlando Hudson for 2nd base would be a cure-all.  Hudson. a three time gold glover, is also spark plug in the clubhouse as opposed to Robinson Cano who can be moody at times.  The Yankees could then flip Cano for either a centerfielder, corner outfielder or a front line starter should they not be able to obtain one of their free agent targets. 

Finally I'm going to contradict myself here a bit but this is well worth the exception and I think you can tell where I'm going.  The Yankees as evidenced last season and the past few post season's have lacked that late clutch hitting with RISP and they are in need of players that have won and come up big with the game on the line.  That's why the Yankees should sign Manny Ramirez, because let's face it the guy is oblivious to pressure because half the time he can be just plain oblivious.  Manny is a flat out RBI machine, makes good teams great and great teams into champions.  In the playoffs which the Yankees are all about, Ramirez has 28 career HR's, a .286 post season average, a World Series MVP and two rings.  What more could one possibly want?  He's been on winning teams everywhere he's been, is from the Bronx and is no doubt chomping at the bit to get back at the Red Sox.  Manny is no worse defensively in the outfield than Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui (both of whom I'd think about dealing) or Bobby Abreu and you saw what he could do for David Ortiz, just imagine what he would do for A-Rod.  The Yankees should base this signing as a baseball decision and I would hope that the same team that almost gave Manny's ex-teammate Albert Belle a deal about a decade ago wouldn't get all high and mighty as if they were above it.

This is just a blueprint for where the Yankees should go as they head into 2009, while I understand and applaud the want and need to get a younger, more versatille, flexible roster and payroll, there's nothing wrong with spending large sums of money if you spend it wisely.  Besides, this is a now team that needs some upgrades to compete in the toughest division in baseball and Jeter, Rivera and Posada only have so many years left in the bank.