so we've finally crowned our national champion.  a mere 5 weeks (roughtly) after most teams finished their regular seasons we have a clear-cut winner....kinda.

lsu won the bcs title game, but the debate over who is really the best team started last week when USC clubbed the snot out of illinois.

too bad they couldnt do that to stanford, or they could have played in the big game monday night.

its also too bad west virginia puked away an easy win against pitt to eliminate themselves from contention.

but hey, lsu proved they were the best team in the country by losing in double overtime to arkansas (who got pummelled in their bowl game) and kentucky (who i believe has since decided to cut their football program for the next 37 years until the next haley's comet sighting on a blue moon following the 1st bisexual transvestite to be elected president......or when they think they can be competitive again....i'm joking of course) and then waxing ohio state in the big game....the same ohio state team nobody thought was worthy of playing in it, despite the fact they were the only legit 1-loss team in the mix.

the same team that suffered its only loss to that same illinois team that was clubbed by USC.

1 thing i'm sure of is that illinois had no business being included in the BCS.  props to them for a solid season, but they werent ready for prime time just yet.

it was a crazy year to say the least.  every time a team had to win just 1 game to prove they belonged in the BCS discussion, they lost (or so it seemed).

now, i dont want anyone to take this as me kicking lsu while they're up, because they deserve credit for kicking the snot out of ohio state.  but like i said, they did lost twice (to teams who were supposedly not anywhere near as good) and beat an ohio state team that basically got into the title game because all the "great" teams kept losing.

i just think its sad when a bunch of 2-loss teams are being bragged about as the "best" college football has to offer, when the losses came against such weak opposition.

at least ohio state can claim both their losses came against good teams without having to validate them by saying "hey, at least we took them to double overtime before we lost to an average team."

LSU cant do that.  and USC cant even claim they lost to a "good" team when trying to explain their puke fest vs. stanford.

i guess what i'm saying is....at least if they had a playoff with the 4 BCS game winners, i'd be comfortable with 1 of them being called champions.  there's just something about winning your conference title (i dont care if the SEC is tougher than every nfl division), being voted a top team, taking a month (or more off) before the bowl game, and getting the benefit of a good matchup that doesnt sit well with me.

honestly, did anybody think illinois had a snowball's chance in mexico of beating USC?

forget it, i'm just rambling on about a problem many people dont even think is a problem, and those that do cant (or wont...hint hint BCS big shots) come up with a way to fix it.

mlb's steroid/PED investigation

all the names are out  (yeah right).  anyone not on the list is in the clear (uh huh).

i was a bit surprised to not see any bigger name brewers on the list, but if anyone remembers when this thing started, i said bud would see to it that HE got all of mitchell's findings first, and would decide what actually got released to the public.

i'm guessing anyone still playing will get a slap on the wrist (10-15 game suspension) and a "dont do it again or else..." speech, and that'll be the end of it.

the problem seems to be that so many guys who were expected to be on the list were not.  with all the names jose canseco has thrown out over the years, why didnt he just do the investigation himself?  he seems to think he knows it all, and at least he was teammates with some of these guys.

bobby petrino

congratulations.  you get this year's nick saban/d!ck head of the year award for bolting the falcons after 13 games to go back to college.

i think sean salisbury said it best (it almost pains me to admit this) when he said petrino quit on the falcons...but if it had been a player that wasnt doing well, he wouldnt be able to just pack it in with 3 games left and walk out like petrino did.  i have to say that at least salisbury doesnt mince words on stuff like this, whether i agree with him or not, he stands by his opinion.

i dont want to hear any sob stories of how petrino was expecting michael vick to be his quarterback, and how vick wasnt there and wont be for at least the next 2 years.  that situation now shouldnt be treated any differently from a coaching standpoint than if a guy got hurt and missed this entire season, then left via free agency.  stuff happens to star players.  a coach should be able to deal with that kind of stuff.

ok, so it was a learning experience, and petrino found out he's not cut out for the nfl.  great...so announce you're GOING to resign at the end of the season to take over at arkansas, but dont quit with 3 games left.

on the other hand, i bet atlanta fans are happy he's gone.

stephan a. smith

i've always thought of this guy as a blowhard with no real clue.  but now he's upset about internet bloggers?

this guy is like a kid....he should be seen (read..as in his work in newspapers) and not heard (as in spouting off like an idiot on espn).

i think the real problem is that he's worried some of these 'clueless bloggers' are actually better at sports reporting than he is, and could end up taking his job (well, if espn were actually an equal opportunity employer, and not a 'we give jobs to morons, half-wits and ex-players because we think it will bring us ratings' employer).

if the blogs bother you so much stevie, dont read them.

ya know, this just occurred to me....stevie smith is more annoying than steven urkel.

hot stove

things is heatin' up now.

dan haren just got traded to the d-backs, who promptly turned around and traded their closer to the astros.

the astros got valverde from AZ after giving up lidge to the phillies.

so, where's roger clemens going to pitch next year?  (j/k...i hope)

the brewers signed eric gagne to replace francisco cordero.  i'm not sold on him, and i sure as he11 dont like the idea of it after his name was included in the big mitchell report.

is it just me, or have the astros traded or released half their roster from last year, plus a number of prospects?  it seems like everyone in the NL central not named the pirates believe if they load up for this year, they can win it.  well, the brewers havent made that many "big" moves yet, so maybe they're thinking what they've always thought, which is stay the course and keep hoping their own prospects make it up to the big club and produce.

javon walker tidbit

i was reminded of this today...about what he said after being traded to the broncos...

'i have a chance to get to a super bowl, and GB has a chance to win 4 games.'

ok, so last year the packers went 8-8, and the broncos barely limped into the playoffs.  this year, GB is 11-2 and a favorite for the #2 seed in the nfc, while the broncos are clinging to the slimmest hope of a wild card.

oh, and walker is hurt....again.

oh, and the broncos are rumored to be considering dumping him at season's end because he's just not worth the huge huge huge bonus money he will receive if he's a member of next year's team.  they also were rumored to be thinking of re-negotiating walker's deal, but j-walk (or...j-limp maybe) dont do re-negotiating.

i hate to see a guy get hurt, even if i dont like him, but i dont mind seeing walker made to look like a fool yet again by the packers.

lakers lakers lakers (fans)

a day after bragging up your guys for beating the spurs, sans some guy named tim duncan no less, you lose to the warriors.

what happened?  this team is on the rise.  they cant be stopped.

....we now pause this post for 30 comments from laker fans making excuses why their team lost to the warriors, and why beating the spurs without duncan was still some great accomplishment...

les miles

i still think he's going to michigan unless they pry another big name (rich rodriguez is the latest being rumored to go there) away before LSU plays for the NC.

eventually, i think he's going there anyway.  whether it be this year or 3 years from now (assuming he's still considered a good coach by then), so why not let him go now?

as for LSU fans defending his "helping" michigan as a former alum..what?

this is the same guy people wanted run out of town after he almost lost a game because he went for a TD (and luckily got it) rather than kick a FG to tie the game, is it not?

this is the same team that was supposed to kick the stuffing out of everyone this year, but lost to arkansas and kentucky ("oh, but it took those teams 3 OT's each to beat us...")....neither of which were exactly powerhouses.

michael vick

he was sentenced this past week.  the earliest he is supposed to be able to get out is early summer of 2009.  once again, everyone's discussing whether he'll have a future in the nfl if he is free and clear then (there are still state charges pending i believe).

if he can still run fast, he'll get a shot, assuming the commish-enator allows him back into the league at all.  however, i dont think it will be as a QB...perhaps in a slash role, made famous by kordell stewart (what happened to that guy anyway?  oh yeah, he decided it was best for his career if he stuck to being a QB only....that went well).

here's to hoping we've seen the absolute last of vick in the nfl.

memo to anyone playing the patriots:

how about trying the "keep our mouths shut or only say the nicest things possible when speaking of them" approach?

obviously, mouthing off and making them angry(er) doesnt work.  in order to talk the talk, you've got to walk the walk..first.

beat them, THEN tell the world how overrated they were, or how you shut them down, etc.

1 of 2 things is going to happen this sunday vs. the jets.  the patriots will score 60, or the jets will somehow manage to win 16-15 (or by a similar score).

this will prompt an immediate celebration in miami, even though the dolphins will be losing by 30 to baltimore, and 1 game closer to going "ohfer" the season.

hello?

pssstt...where are you raider fans again? 

i just cant help myself.  i went back and checked Merc's preseason predictions, and the tantrums that raider fans were throwing because they just knew the silver and black were going to be playoff contenders this year.

where are you guys?

j.j. redick

PPG 3.1 REB 0.4 ASST 0.4 FG% 45.8 MIN 8.1

what an absolute breakout season this guy is having.

3.1 is pretty close to double digits.  that 8.1 minutes is clearly the standard for a starting guard in the nba.  what?  he's not starting?  you've got to be kidding me.

even more hilarious is that he's listed as a PG on the magic depth chart.

i almost feel sorry for the 3 people out there who still think this guy is an nba player, or will become one at some point.  then i think about it, and cant stop laughing.

 

that's all i got for this edition.  tune in next week when we discuss why the detroit lions will win the super bowl this year, and how to get your kids to eat their vegetables.  ok, so ONE of those is possible.

johan santana

where's he gonna wind up?  with the yankees?  red sox?  mets?  mariners?  wait...mariners?  i'm sure the twins would take richie "i'm tall and couldnt hit .250 with a tree trunk" sexson in trade....not.  seriously, when and why did the mariners get in the mix for santana?

santana says he wont be dealt during the season.  he's backing the twins into a real tight corner here, and everyone knows it.   i'm not going to speculate where he ends up, but i can tell you it wont be milwaukee or with the marlins.

cabrera + willis to detroit now makes them the favorites in the A.L.

sure, but only until santana lands with his new team, especially if it's the sox or yanks.

"brett favre doesnt deserve the sportsman of the year award cuz he's not even the best nfl quarterback this season"

ok, so many of you know my opinion of favre.  some of you dont.  in a nutshell, i'm not a fan.

seriously, for anyone stupid enough to believe that award was based solely on his 2007 nfl season to date, you're a moron...and i mean that in the nicest, least offensive way possible.

he got the award because it was voted on by a bunch of jock sniffing internet geeks who repeatedly screw up the voting process.  it's a popularity contest.  and if it was based on the season said player/person was having, dont you think they'd wait until the current season was over...or at least til the end of the year to vote on it?  duh.

that barry bonds thing

who cares?  i'm so unbelievably tired of the same debate (argument if you will) every other day about whether he did or didnt take steroids, or which ones he took and how much it impacted his stats.

let me just say, that no matter how much they may have impacted his stats (assuming he took something), i dont care if you can prove it only increased his HR total by one.  forget the cheating.  he disgraced the entire game because his ego couldnt stand seeing somebody else be mlb's most recognizable player (mark mcgwire).

...and that goes for all the other scum bags who have been caught, or will be caught in the future, of using banned substances.

the BCS mess

all i ever read is why so-and-so doesnt belong in the title game (who is actually in it) or who does belong (that isnt).

it's pretty simple.  NOBODY deserves it this year.

but how in the world does LSU get rewarded for losing?  who gives a f*ck if both losses were in triple overtime?  excuse me, but if you're not supposed to lose to a lesser team, losing to them in 3 overtimes instead of 2, 1, or regulation doesnt make it any better.  in fact, it makes it worse.  that's kinda like saying USC's loss to stanford is ok because it was only by 1 point.  it's still a loss to a bad team skippy, and should not be rewarded.

the magic is gone

i hate to say i told you so....but i think i did.

last year's chicago bears team was a 1 year wonder.  i KNOW i said they won in spite of rex grossman being their QB.  they did.  i KNOW i said he wouldnt get any better.  he hasnt (i now pause for a moment while you 3 rexi fans go copy and paste his stats from this year and last to "prove" to me that he did...but he still got benched).

lance briggs could have starred in his own soap opera about contract negotiations, smacking his car upside a telephone pole (or w/e it was), lying to the cops about it, and so on.  now i read he's possibly close to signing a long-term deal with the bears?  heh.....i think i told ya so on this one too.

devin hester's still pretty good....when punters are dumb enough...and brazen enough to brag about it beforehand....to kick to him.

reggie bush

this was the guy who was going to be the next barry sanders...or better than barry sanders...isnt it?

what has he done this year?  and dont give me "deuce is hurt, so it's his fault" garbage either.  i'm talking about those who said bush could be a feature back and run between the tackles consistently, hold onto the ball and put up big numbers.

he was a hype machine.   the hype is over.  welcome to the nfl kid....where you're the little fish in the big pond now.

andruw jones

i hate to use this line...but are you serious?

2 years/$36 million (i think thats the number i read somewhere).

dude hit bob uecker-ish last year.  no wonder the braves basically told us way back in june that jones' days in an atlana uniform were over at seasons end (maybe it was a little later than that...gimme a break, it's 1 in the morning, and i've had 3 hours of sleep in the last 2 days)

that's all for today's edition.

controversy sells....

i tried and tried to avoid writing about this, because my theory about jason whitlock is:  he writes this drivel continuously, not so much because he believes it, but because he knows he'll get a huge response from it.

as it turns out in the sean taylor tragedy, he was right..kinda.  i think.  of course he jumped to the conclusion that it was black-on-black crime, and it now appears it was.

the last information i have, was that taylor himself was not specifically targeted, but his house was (i'm assuming whoever did the crime just figured...ritzy house = big payday).  so, had this group of criminals broke into a white football player's house by mistake, he'd be defending whoever did it because of a) poor upbringing, b) growing up in a tough neighborhood, c) trusting the wrong friends, or one of the other popular excuses to defend criminals.

everyone's all riled up over the garbage this guy prints and i dont know why.  he's only 1 man...1 writer who is so desperate for attention that he continues to write the same garbage whenever a black athlete or coach is involved.

just...let it go.

if ya cant beat 'em, and they wont let ya join, kill them and then kill yourself.

going back a little here.  that dude who shot up the virginia tech campus.

everyone was trying to figure out why he did it, who he was really targeting, and how a person could do such a thing and then take his own life.

who cares what possessed this idiot to do such a senseless thing?  i'm sorry, but there's no rationalization, justification or excuse that could make what he did any less painful on the family and friends of those he killed.

in the end, he got exactly what he wanted....to be talked about, his name and the hideous act he committed to be forever etched in the minds of those who were on campus or followed the tragedy in the news.

just...let it go.

pittsburgh vs. seattle...the super bowl

the whining has died down considerably in the last few months...finally. 

eh...i probably shouldnt have even mentioned that one....moving on.

the enigma that is the milwaukee bucks

here's a team that beat cleveland (at their place), dallas and the lakers at home all within a week.

then they proceed to lose to philly, atlanta and the knicks.

the philly and atlanta losses were bad enough.  but then they lose to the knicks exactly 1 day after boston absolutely demolished them.  that's just pathetic.

i'm glad i didnt have the opportunity to watch that game.  it makes it alot easier to....

just let it go.

early on....

....there was a questionable call made by the officials on the field, which was later messed up further by the replay crew.

i'm speaking of course, about the T.O. "catch" where the sideline official ruled his forward progress was stopped, and thus the ball that was stripped away by al harris would still belong to the cowboys.

there are 2 problems here.

#1, owens never had possession of the ball to rule the play a catch.  therefore, his forward progress should have been a moot point.  GB coach mike mccarthy challenged the play, after the refs ruled owens' forward progress was stopped, and all harris' strip would not give the packers the ball.  unfortunately, the replay officials upheld the call on the field that it was a catch.  i dont remember what the down and distance would have been had they ruled it an incomplete pass, but i'm positive it would have been better than what was given to them by ruling it a completion, and forward progress stopped.

#2 is that, since they fudged the play by blowing the whistle, ruling it a completion AND forward progress stopped, harris ended up with a delay of game penalty for spiking the ball as he was running to he sideline after what he was 100% certain was an interception, or at least a strip/fumble recovery.

now, in no way am i saying this one bad call (actually, 2 on one play) cost the packers the game, but it sure didnt help matters.

also early on, GB was using a terrible game plan on offense.  instead of spreading the cowboys out with their 4 and 5 wr sets, they were using a 2-back, 2-wr, 1 te set frequently, and tried throwing deep (into double coverage i might add) out of those formations.  it didnt work.

on favre's 1st interception, someone (darryn colledge i think) missed a block and a defender came right up the middle with a full head of steam looking to run right over favre.  instead of looking to dump the ball off or throw it away, #4 tried heaving it 50 yards or so downfield (into double coverage i might add)....he came up well short (i'd say at least 12-14 yards) of his intended target, and the ball was caught like a pop-fly by a SS going out into short center field.  colledge should get plenty of blame for missing the block, but favre deserves quite a bit as well for even attempting to make that throw.

the o-line was generally not very good all game, and they get the blame for favre being knocked out of the game.  i will say that anyone who thinks GB lost that game because favre went down in the 2nd quarter should think again. he was playing terrible, as evidenced by his 5-14 with 0 TD's and 2 INT's prior to leaving the game.

from the cowboys perspective (gimme a break, i'm just sharing my opinions here)

i dont know if the cowboys game planned as if charles woodson was not going to play, or if they put together a package of plays in case he didnt.  either way, they took advantage of matchups at times when al harris wasnt on t.o. and sent him in motion forcing (i didnt think they HAD to switch, but they did) 1 of the other packer DB's to pick him up.  on one particular play, i believe owens and harris were matched up, but t.o. went in motion and became the slot receiver.  harris let him go, and another player was supposed to pick him up.  that player ended up being a.j. hawk.  now, hawk is a pretty good athlete, and has decent speed, but should NEVER be stuck in man coverage against a WR with even average speed, much less very good speed.  t.o. burned him like last night's dinner...of course there was no safety anywhere in sight, and romo found him for roughly 40 yards (i believe that particular play went for 42).

several times throughout the night the cowboys put t.o. in motion, and every time harris passed him off to a guy who had no chance of covering him.  granted, harris didnt have a great game when he was matched up (would have looked alot better had that play early on gone his way), but at least he was in the same zip code as owens when he did cover him.

now, back to woodson.  i'm not saying that had he played, we would have shut owens down, but i have to believe that, if bob sanders has any brains at all, he would have devised a scheme so that when t.o. did go in motion, the DB harris would be passing him off to would have been woodson, not jarrett bush, tramon williams or frank walker.  maybe, just maybe they eliminate 2 or 3 of the big plays and make dallas work a little harder for what they got.

later on....

there was one pass interference call i disagree with.  a dallas WR was sprinting down the field toward the end zone, and his and the defender's feet got tangled up and they both tripped.  THAT to me is incidental contact.  now, prior to that there was some hand-checking, and even a couple grabs (holding?) by the DB.  why not call the holding, especially since the ball was well over the receiver's head?

a 40+ yard pass interference call is huge.  the 5 yard holding call would have still given dallas an automatic 1st down.

how about that aaron rodgers kid?

ok, i'm not going to sit here and claim he's the 2nd coming of favre.  that's just stupid (so any packer fans that think that, stop it).

what i will say is, for a guy who basically hasnt played in a game that matters in almost 3 full years, he stepped in and played pretty well.  i'll also say that, in the future when favre starts a game 5-14 with 2 INT's, i'll be pulling my hair out when mccarthy refuses to pull him and see if rodgers can do even a little better.

18-26 for 210 yards and 1 TD is a pretty good game for alot of QB's...and rodgers did it in roughly 2 quarters and change (that sounds dumb, but not any dumber than 2 1/2 quarters)

he was poised for the most part, was able to scramble for some good yardage, and most importantly, didnt give the ball away.  i think the packers may have a pretty decent QB for the next 10 years, assuming favre doesnt come back AGAIN, and rodgers says "f u green bay" and demand a trade (i wouldnt blame him if he did either).

final thoughts

i really thought the packers had a chance to win that game going in.  i was hoping favre had finally gotten to the point of not getting too hyped up for a nationally televised game (even if 75% of the nation couldnt see it....i wont get into that here).

i was also hoping both teams would have been at full strength, so injury excuses wouldnt be made (ok ok, i'm guilty of it, but at least i didnt say having woodson would guarantee a GB win, and i also said rodgers played better than favre, so stfu).  i'm sure some cowboy fans would have been crying about their CB being hurt had they lost the game.

aside from most of the 2nd quarter, that f'd up "forward progress" call, and the final score, it was a pretty good game to watch.  i'm actually content knowing as poorly as we played for stretches in the game on offense, defense AND special teams, that we only lost by 10.

as i told a co-worker, who actually agreed to work for me so i could stay home...the worst part about the game other than the final score, was the absolute horrible announcing by bryant gumbel.  i blogged a month or so back about him saying he'd be worlds better this year...well, he's not.  if possible, i think he's actually worse.  at least 3 times in the opening minutes of the game, he referred to the cowboys as the packers, and never corrected himself until the 4th or 5th time (and i'm guessing chris collinsworth elbowed him in the ribs so he would realize he messed up).

i'm hoping for a rematch in the nfc championship game.  although it's not likely to happen, i'm even hoping it's played in green bay (he11, i dont even think the packers will make it that far, but i can dream).

finally, i'm giving props to the cowboys for their game plan, tony romo for his stellar play, and the team for winning the game.  you earned it, and that's all i've got to say on the subject (until someone leaves a comment, to which i will try my best to answer....and remember, i was trying to be objective, so you do the same).