The Sports Curmudgeon®

Tiger Woods employs a herd of PR folks and handlers and image consultants. In the past, whenever there might have been a small “issue” that might paint Tiger Woods as less than a cherubic and heroic figure, the herd would gather and put him out of sight and out of contact with the world and let it blow over until he made his next tournament appearance whereupon everything would dry up and blow away. That strategy is not working this time; I daresay that unless some other blockbuster story hits the streets soon and diverts public attention from “the early morning traffic incident”, that strategy is not going to work this time.

If the PR folks here think that just ignoring the issue and stonewalling the media will keep Tiger Woods out of tabloids such as the National Enquirer those folks might want to contact JonBenet Ramsey’s father - - or perhaps Bill and Hillary Clinton. The Enquirer alleged last week - - prior to the accident - - that Tiger Woods was doing the horizontal boogie with a hottie who is not the same as his uber-hot wife when Tiger was in Australia recently. The Enquirer will not get off that trail for a while unless something even more sensational and/or salacious comes along, particularly since there is a car crash involved, Tiger is stiff-arming the police and there are rumors that his wife was using that golf club for more than just breaking out a window of the car to rescue him.

Let me be clear. I have no idea at all what happened that night; I have no idea if Tiger Woods has been playing “bury the brisket” with this other woman; most importantly, I really do not care what his sex life is all about so long as it only involves consenting adults of the species Homo sapiens. However, the herd of PR folks, handlers, and image consultants who have circled the wagons in this matter need to consider that I – as a person who really does not care what happened in this matter – have a few simple questions running through my mind, which could be disposed of with great dispatch:

1. Why was Tiger Woods leaving his house at 2:30 AM?

2. Why was his wife also awake at that time of night such that she could hear the accident and be first on the scene to assist him?

3. Why did she reportedly break the rear window of the SUV in order to get him out of the driver’s seat?

4. Knowing full well that Tiger Woods is under no obligation to speak to the police about a simple traffic accident, why has he refused to speak to the police if this was nothing more than a simple traffic accident?

There is another wave of “stuff” that looks imminent in this matter. Tiger Woods has hired a high-profile attorney. For a simple traffic accident? Really? Yes, I know he has the right to do so and surely has the means to do so; but if you accidentally wrapped our car around a tree and there was nothing more to the story than that, would you hire an attorney? Or, would you just file your insurance claim and hope that your company did not cancel on you the next time the policy came up for renewal?

Here is another thing the PR folks need to think about as they continue to keep the cone of silence around Tiger Woods this week. Suppose there is a grandstanding DA in that part of Florida who subpoenas Tiger Woods and/or his wife to appear before a grand jury to gather information that the authorities cannot gather from his cooperation with the police. Both Tiger and his wife can cite the Fifth Amendment and refuse to speak there too, but from a PR perspective, how would that play?

One other small matter that will assure that this does not dry up and blow away in the next 72 hours is the news that the alleged “other woman” has retained the services of a high profile lawyer of her own - - the same one who represented Paula Jones. Once again, she is perfectly within her rights to do so, but once again the question of “Why?” marches to center stage.

Moving on…

The other out-of-this-world event of the weekend happened with just less than a minute to play in the USC/UCLA football game. With about 50 seconds left in the game, USC led by 2 TDs and had the ball around the 50 yardline. USC took a knee; that is normally a signal that the game is over and the bus motor is running to take the visitors home. Not this time… UCLA coach, Rick Neuheisel, called the first of his three time outs. Childish? Definitely. Feckless? You bet! And he is supposed to represent the adult supervision on the UCLA sideline…

Meanwhile, over on the other sideline, the adults in charge there took sufficient umbrage in that “act of defiance” that they set out on their own course. When play resumed, USC did not take another knee; they threw a bomb which was complete and made it a 3 TD game with less than a minute to play. And that led to celebrating and a confrontation of players on the field. Fortunately, there was no riot.

Dr. Myles Brand (RIP) used to say that it was time for university presidents to rein in athletic programs that were not in congruence with the core mission of their universities. That was rhetorical gas; nevertheless, here is a situation where two university presidents ought to summon their respective football coaching staffs to the president’s office and read them the riot act. Neuheisel - - once nicknamed Rick New-weasel by Woody Paige of the Denver Post - - can blather on about how his time out call was a demonstration to his team that they should never quit. Balderdash!

Memo to Rick Neuheisel: That is exactly the thinking that cost the Army of the Third Reich so many casualties at Stalingrad.

Carroll can gloat and claim that all he was doing was responding to Neuheisel’s nonsense and going on to play out the football game. Buncombe! All Carroll was doing was taking one stupid act and trumping it with another act of equal or greater stupidity.

Memo to Pete Carroll: Life is not about seeing if you can always find a way to do something dumber than the other guy.

What are the odds that these two university presidents will have a “Come to Jesus meeting” with both of these coaches? Probably about the same odds as Ben Johnson accepting an invitation from the Canadian Olympic Committee to light the Olympic Torch in Vancouver in February…

Finally, here is something to think about courtesy of Bernie Lincicome from his website, www.bernielincicome.com:

“With medical costs the way they are, how can anyone be ill at ease?”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports…

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OK, you survived Thanksgiving Day with the family/in-laws. And, you made it past the Black Friday assault on the mall. You are still lucid, vertical and taking nourishment - - that is indeed the trifecta you really do need to hit every day - - but you still have not completed all of your Holiday shopping. Never fear. I have an idea that can solve a part of your problem.

Everyone here is a sports fan to some degree. If you had no interest in sports, you would not waste your time reading this “deathless prose”. Moreover, because you are a sports fan, you have to have someone on your Holiday shopping list that is also a sports fan; fans do not live in isolation from the rest of “fandom”.

Now all you need to do is to identify those people on your Holiday shopping list who fit three criteria:

1. They are sports fans.
2. They like movies.
3. You have not already purchased their present for this year.

With that sorting of your Holiday shopping list done, my recommendation to ease your shopping angst is simple:

The Ultimate Book of Sports Movies by Ray Didinger and Glen Macnow.

USG Mandated Full Disclosure

I have known Ray Didinger for almost 40 years since his days with the now defunct Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. He is probably most widely known as one of the football writers enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton Ohio and as a producer/writer for NFL Films. He currently co-hosts a radio program on WIP in Philadelphia – the first sports radio station in that city. I have told Ray on several occasions that his program makes sports-radio safe for people who live under the right end of the bell-curve…

I do not know Glen Macnow except as a disembodied voice on WIP. He too has been with that station for many years teaming with several of the other personalities there. Currently, he and Ray work together on WIP.

My recommendation is based on reading the book and knowing the author. There is no compensation of any kind involved here. You may recall my hiatus from writing back in August when I served on a jury for 8 days. This book - - and a few Sunday New York Times Crossword Puzzles - - got me through the myriad and sometimes lengthy breaks in that trial.

The Ultimate Book of Sports Movies reviews and ranks the authors’ list of the 100 greatest sports films of all time. Stop right there and think for a moment about the discussions/arguments you can have with your sports fan friends over the list itself. Then imagine how many similar discussions/arguments your sports fan friends can have with their friends over the list itself. Forgetting entirely about the content of the book – I’ll get to that in a minute – having this book in plain view when visitors/guests drop in can get a sports related argument going. Aren’t such arguments the foundation pieces of sports fandom…?

Notwithstanding the instant value of the book mentioned above, this book is fun to read. Each one of the movies on the list has its plot line summarized with strengths and weaknesses therein. What is most interesting is that there are recurring sidebar items that appear for the movies listed such as:

Sports-Action Grade: The sports action in each film is graded from A to F. In some movies the sports scenes are painful to watch; Ray and Glen pull no punches in their reviews. For example in assessing the sports action in The Bad News Bears, they say,

“D-plus. If you’ve ever watched 11-year-olds play Little League, you know how brutal it can be.”

“I Know That Guy”: For most of the films, the authors point you to someone in a small or a cameo role who you have seen somewhere else but you may have trouble remembering just where. For example, in Jerry Maguire the character of the Arizona Cardinals’ GM is played by the guitar player and vocalist for the rock band, The Eagles.

Reality Check: The authors go to the records to check and see if certain events referred to in the movie ever actually happened or they draw on their extensive experience as sports journalists to assess how real players would behave in circumstances portrayed in the film.

There are lots of other insertions in the book that are very interesting such as:

Ten actors who were credible athletes in the movies they made.

Ten actors who were brutally bad at the athletic scenes in the movies they made.

A list of the worst sports sequels and remakes ever made.

Interviews with actors, writers and sports figures juxtaposed with the discussions of films with which the people are associated. [My favorite here is the interview with Bob Uecker right after the review of Major League.]

You and the sports fans on your list will love this book. In addition, you will be able to use it as the basis for banter and interaction for a long time. For example, one of my favorite sports movies of all time is Eight Men Out. I still cannot believe they ranked that all the way down at 41st and put it 27 notches below uber-boring Chariots of Fire.

I am going have to call into Ray’s and Glen’s radio program sometime soon to ask them what the hell they were thinking there…

Here is the link to Amazon.com where you can buy the book. If you order two, you qualify for free shipping…

Even though it has been 50 years since I had any association with the Boy Scouts, I feel as if I have now done my good deed for the day.

Enjoy…

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I will get three Thursday NFL games exactly right here on Friday morning when I get to the business of making my selections for the week. Naturally, I had those games perfectly scoped out on Wednesday night but just did not have the time to get the word out. Too bad…

Here are fifteen things from last week’s Mythical Picks; some are “on the mark” and some “missed by a mile”:

1. I said that Raiders’ fans might be looking forward to the time when Fred Biletnikoff (age 66) replaced Darrius Heyward-Bey in the lineup. Last week “DH-B” caught one pass for 7 yards. On the mark…

2. I liked Indy to win and cover at Baltimore. They did. On the mark…

3. I liked the Redskins with 11.5 points against the Cowboys. They lost by only 1 point. On the mark…

4. I took the Lions laying 3.5 points. They won but did not cover. Missed by a mile…

5. I liked SF/Green bay to go Over 42. The total was 54. On the mark…

6. I liked Buffalo/Jax to go Under 43. The total was 33. On the mark…

7. I liked Pittsburgh to win and cover 10 points at KC. KC won the game outright. Missed by a mile…

8. I took the Vikes to cover 11 points against the Seahawks. The Vikes won by 4 TDs. On the mark…

9. I liked the Giants to win and cover 7 points. They won by 3. Missed by a mile…

10. I liked the Saints to win and cover 11.5 points and for the game to go Over 50.5. The Saints won by 31 and the game went Under. One hit and one miss = Meh!

11. I liked the Cardinals to cover 9 points and the game to Under 47.5. They only won by 8 and the game did go Under. One hit and one miss = Meh!

12. I liked the Pats to win and cover 10.5 points and for the game to go Over 44.5. They did and it did too. On the mark…

13. I took the Raiders with 10 points against the Bengals. The Raiders won outright. On the mark…

14. I said that the team that made the last mistake would lose the game and I guessed that the Eagles would be that team so I took the Bears with 3 points. The Bears made the last mistake throwing an INT in the final minute or so and the Eagles won by 4. Missed by a mile…

15. I liked the Titans with 5 points. The Titans won outright. On the mark…

A mouthbreather might look at the results from last weekend and think that I have some kind of inside pipeline to critical information that one needs to know in order to make NFL wagering decisions. Trust me, I do not. In fact, one would have to be pretty dumb to use any information here to decide on which side to take on any NFL wagering proposition that involved real coin of the realm. Actually, anyone doing that would be dumb enough to take a scarf back to the store because it was too tight.

Comments:

On MNF last week, you may have heard Jon Gruden go off on one of his emotional ravings and let it pass. Because those ravings are what drive me nuts when he is on the air, I will not let it pass. Gruden was talking about the Houston Texans’ lack of success running the ball this year and said that they were 28th in the league in rushing. So far so good. Then he said that was “unheard of !!! ”.

Excuse me, Jon; take a deep breath here and engage your brain before you wag your tongue. This is anything but “unheard of”. Every year – without fail – some team in the NFL ranks 28th in rushing. This year it happens to be the Houston Texans. It is simply a fact; it is not something you need to get your skivvies in a knot over.

Even though Sunday’s Browns/Lions game had exactly zero importance to the 2009 season, it had to be the most entertaining game of the weekend finishing with an untimed play and no time on the clock because there was a defensive pass interference penalty in the end zone on a Hail Mary pass attempt. Brady Quinn threw 4 TDs in the game – 3 in the first quarter –getting the Browns off to a 24-3 lead in the first half. Going into that game Quinn had not thrown 4 TDs in his career. Matthew Stafford saw that performance and raised it one TD; he tossed five of them including one on that final untimed play to win the game. I received an e-mail from an avid Chicago Bears’ fan on Monday telling me that I needed to include this information in this edition of Mythical Picks. Here is the paragraph of interest:

“Matthew Stafford’s five touchdown passes yesterday puts him in exclusive company. The last rookie quarterback to accomplish that feat played for the Bears of course. It was that great Bears team of 1937 and the rookie quarterback was Ray Buivid.”

I have in fact Googled “Ray Buivid” to see that indeed, he was a person and indeed, he was a football player. I have made no attempt to ascertain if he did indeed throw 5 TDs in a game as a rookie or if anyone other than Messr. Buivid may have done so. If you want to track this down to confirm this factoid, have at it…

By the way, if anyone says that he/she had the Browns/Lions game going Over 74 last weekend, I definitely want a saliva test done…

Whilst Quinn and Stafford were piling up offensive stats, Jets’ rookie QB, Mark Sanchez, continued to find ways to underachieve his hype. Sanchez threw the ball 21 times on Sunday. The Jets’ receivers only caught 8 of those throws while Pats’ defenders caught 4 of them. Just to mix it up a bit and add to the fun, Sanchez found time to lose a fumble too.

The Redskins lost in Dallas to the Cowboys last week by a score of 7-6. To give you an idea how unproductive the Skins’ offense is this season, they have scored 35 points less than the Detroit Lions; only the Browns, Raiders and Rams have scored fewer points this season. According to an ESPN report, defensive backs’ coach, Jerry Gray, has accepted a job as the Head Coach at Memphis U next season. Memphis is a woe-begotten team that needs a lot of work to make it up to the respectable level. Having been with the Skins this year, Gray will bring some real on-the-job experience to that task.

Just when things were going well for the Bengals, they went out and signed free agent Larry Johnson. If you sleep with dogs, you’ll wake up with fleas… If you play with fire, you’ll get burnt…

I make no pretense that I am a theologian or Biblical authority of any kind. Nevertheless, I have read the Book of Daniel and the Book of Ezekiel and the Book of Revelation; I do not recall any reference there that would lead me to believe that these sure signs of the Apocalypse:

The Bengals have swept the Steelers and the Ravens this year - - and they have lost to the Raiders.

The Steelers lost to the Chiefs this year.

Dick Jauron was fired for underachieving yet Lovie Smith keeps his job.

The Cowboys lead the NFC East.

The Titans are dead last in the AFC South.

The Games:

(Thursday) Green Bay – 11 at Detroit (47.5): This game was ugly. The Lions did not come close to the offensive “powerhouse: they hinted they might be scoring 389 points against the Browns last week. In fact, their only score in the first 50 minutes of the game came when they recovered a fumbled kickoff return inside the Packers’ 20 yardline. The Packers won and covered easily - - as I foresaw with great clarity.

(Thursday) Oakland at Dallas – 14 (40): The Raiders reverted to form here. Even with Bruce Gradkowski at the helm, the Raiders’ offense was AWOL for most of the game. The defense played well for a while but when a team starts the second half with the same number of first downs as punts in the first half, the defense is not likely to hold up for 60 minutes. The Raiders’ defense did not. The Cowboys continue to sit atop the NFC East heading into the Cowboys traditional December Doldrums. The Cowboys won and covered easily - - as I foresaw with great clarity.

(Thursday) Giants – 6 at Denver (42.5): Both QBs here had ankle/foot injuries that slowed them down a bit. Both are slow enough to begin with, so I never did expect to see lots of QB scrambles for 30 yards in this game. I also did not expect to see the Broncos leading at halftime and pitching a shutout. The Giants’ loss here gives the Packers some breathing room in the wild card race and it gives impetus to the Eagles and the Falcons this Sunday to win their games as part of the wild card dynamics. The Broncos not only covered but won the game handily - - as I foresaw with great clarity.

Those games were yesterday and last night. For some reason, my crystal ball has turned cloudy regarding the rest of this weekend’s games - - all of which will happen in the future. Bummer…

Tampa Bay at Atlanta – 12 (46): Neither of these defensive units is a standout; the Falcons have the distinctly better offensive firepower. The Falcons are undefeated at home and the Bucs have not won a game on the road. (To be accurate, the Bucs have only won 1 game all season…) The Falcons trail three teams in the NFC wild card chase; the Giants lost on Thursday; the Packers won on Thursday and the Eagles are favored to win on Sunday. The Falcons need a win here but they will probably have to do it without Michael Turner who is a “game time decision” this week coming off a high ankle sprain suffered two weeks ago. I think the Falcons can pull this off at home. I’ll take the Falcons and lay a bundle of points.

Miami – 3 at Buffalo (40): This has been a mild autumn season in the northeastern US so far and that has to be pleasing to the Miami Dolphins who often have to come to that part of the world and play in weather that hasn’t happened in Miami since the last Ice Age. What worries me here is that the Dolphins have the Pats coming up in a week and they could be looking past the seemingly dead-in-the-water Bills this week. The Bills played the Jags very tough last week for their new/interim coach; will that effort/emotional jolt last into a second weekend? The new offensive focus seems to have been Terrell Owens; he caught 9 passes last weekend; if he only gets four passes coming his way all day this weekend, what is going to happen? The Dolphins are unexceptional on offense, yet they are the clearly better offensive team in this match up. The Bills defense is marginally the better unit here. Purely on a hunch, I’ll take this game to go Over.

Cleveland at Cincy – 13.5 (38.5): The Browns’ offense averages just about 100 yards per game less than the Bengals’ offense. That is a huge difference. In addition, the Browns’ defense allows 92 yards per game more than the Bengals’ defense allows. That too is a huge difference. I think the Browns did whatever offensive damage they are going to do this year in last week’s game - - and they still lost. The Bengals could have put a big distance between themselves and the Steelers/Ravens last week when both opponents lost - - except the Bengals gagged against the Raiders. They learned something there; that will not happen this week. I’ll take the Bengals to win and cover here.

Indy – 4 at Houston (48): The Colts dodged a bullet in Baltimore last week; the Texans dodged but still caught last week’s bullet right in the gut. To give you an idea how good the Texans’ offense is, they average only about 30 yards per game less than the Colts do - - and the Colts offense is gold plated. The defenses are well matched too in terms of yardage but somehow the Colts’ defense has found ways to yield 5 points a game less than the Texans’ defense. The Texans need this game desperately to stay in the wild card hunt; their division championship possibilities are nil. With less than a full measure of confidence, I’ll take the Texans with the points here simply because they need this game far more than do the Colts.

Carolina at Jets – 3.5 (41.5): Both teams are 4-6. Both teams are 2-3 at home and 2-3 on the road. Both teams have underachieved expectations. Carolina coach, John Fox, is probably in more danger of losing his job than is Jets’ coach, Rex Ryan, but I do not think that is going to be a difference maker here. Mark Sanchez is a rookie QB who showed flashes early this year and has stunk out the joint for the last month or so. Jake Delhomme has showed flashes in previous seasons but has stunk out the joint since last year’s playoff debacle where he threw 5 INTs. Why he has a newly minted contract extension with a pile of guaranteed money is one of the imponderable mysteries of the universe. If you like trends, the Panthers have covered in 4 of their last 6 games; the Jets have failed to cover in 6 of their last seven games. Tossing a coin, I will take the Panthers with the points here and hold my nose.

Washington at Philly – 9 (40.5): The Eagles are the model of consistency. This team is 6-4 straight up; they are also 6-4 against the spread; they are 3-2 at home; they are 3-2 on the road. The handicapping question is which Eagles’ team will come out of the tunnel onto the field each week - - the one that delivered a 3 TD “bruise” to the Giants or the one that lost outright to the Raiders while scoring only 9 points. The Redskins are also a model of consistency. Every week the Skins’ offense stinks and the defense plays well enough to keep the team in the game until the 4th quarter when the defense also goes soft and the outcome is determined. Oh, and the Redskins are 0-5 on the road this year too. If the “good Eagles’ team” hits the field on Sunday, they should cover this number comfortably; if the “bad Eagles’ team” hits the field on Sunday, they could lose the game outright. I am guessing that the Eagles will look at the results of the Giants’, Cowboys’ and Packers’ games on Thursday and use that to tip the scales toward the “good Eagles’ team” hitting the field. I’ll take the Eagles to win and cover here with a bit of apprehension. I also like the game Over.

Seattle – 3.5 at St. Louis (42): This game is such a dog that I would not be surprised to see Michael Vick show up and kill everyone involved in it. The Seahawks are 0-5 on the road; the Rams are 0-5 at home. Neither offense is any good; the Seahawks defense is marginally better than the Rams’ defense. Marc Bulger is out as the QB for the Rams with a broken bone in his leg. That puts Kyle Boller under center; if you want the definition of a guy who never lived up to his press clippings coming out of college, Kyle Boller is your guy. Reports say that Steven Jackson missed a practice this week with “back spasms”. If Jackson is out, this game might go off the board. Seattle shut out the Rams on opening day this year; they pitched another shutout against the Jags in October; other than that, they have given up points galore. The Rams defense held its own – relatively speaking – against the Saints and Cardinals in the past two weeks. On a venue call, I’ll take the Rams with the points - - assuming Steven Jackson is able to play.

KC at San Diego – 13.5 (42): Finally, the Chargers are asserting themselves as the best team in the AFC West. Surprisingly, the Chiefs have won two games in a row and three of their last four. They won last week’s game against the Steelers despite being outgained on the field by more than 200 yards in the game. That kind of disparity could obtain this week too and it is hard to imagine any team overcoming anything close to that twice in a season let alone two weeks in a row. It is a big spread to be sure; but the Chargers beat the Chiefs by 30 earlier in the year. I prefer the Chargers here. I’ll take the Chargers to win and cover. I also like this game Over.

Jax at SF – 3 (41): Jax needs this to stay in the hunt if not atop the wild card race in the AFC. SF needs this or their playoff aspirations will go the way of the passenger pigeon. Jax has the better offense when it comes to yards but the scoring stats show a strange difference. Jax is 6-4 but opponents have outscored them by 36 points. SF is 4-6 but have only been outscored by opponents by 2 points. I am going to count on the Jax defense to play well and contain the Niners’ running attack this week. I’ll take the game to go Under.

Chicago at Minnesota – 10/12.5 (47): Forget any game analysis here. This is purely a wagering opportunity. This is called a “middle”. There are two sportsbooks where the spread is as low as 10 and one sportsbook where the spread is as high as 12.5. That discrepancy offers the opportunity for a middle bet, which works as follows:

Take Chicago + 12.5 for 110 dollars - - AND ALSO
Take Minnesota – 10 for 110 dollars.

Three things can happen.

1. If the Vikes win by less than 10 or if the Bears win outright, you win the first bet and lose the second bet. You are out the vig, which is $10

2. If the Vikes win by more than 12.5, you lose the first bet and win the second bet. Again, you are out the vig, which is $10%.

3. If the Vikes win by 11 or 12 points, you are golden. In this case the game falls in the middle of the two bets (hence the name “middle”) and you win both bets. Your profit is $200.

Do the math for yourself, but you are getting 20-1 that the score will land in the middle. With two numbers to work with (11 and 12) and with a 10 point win by the Vikes being push, this is a wager to try. Imagine Vikes 28 Bears 17. Smiles all around…

Arizona at Tennessee – 1 (47): Oh my, the Titans are hot right now; they have won 4 in a row. So are the Cardinals; they have won 6 of their last 7. With Kurt Warner having “concussion-like symptoms” there is reason to wonder who will be the QB at the start of the game on Sunday and who will be the QB when it comes down to crunch time in the 4th quarter. Purely in football terms, I think Kurt Warner with slightly blurry vision is a better choice than a healthy Matt Leinart. From the standpoint of Warner’s future mental facilities, he should sit out if there is a danger of additive damage to his brain on Sunday. The Cards seemingly have the NFC West under control; they would be stupid to risk Warner sustaining a season ending injury if there were the slightest doubt about his readiness here. I like the way the Titans have gathered themselves and have not quit on the season; that was apparent on Monday night’s game against the Texans. I’ll take the Titans and lay the point.

(Sunday nite) Pittsburgh at Baltimore – 2 (42.5): This would have been the game of the week had it not been for the Pats/Saints on MNF. Here is another game where one of the QBs (Ben Roethlisberger) had to leave last week’s game with his bell rung. Can he play? Will he play? If he plays, will he finish the game? The problem for the Steelers is that backup QB, Charlie Batch is also out indefinitely with a bad wrist leaving Dennis Dixon in the back-up role. I wonder if the Steelers tried to contact Tommy Maddox or Jim Finks or Ted Marchibroda during the week… The Steelers/Ravens games have become wars of attrition and both of these teams need this game badly. I like this game to go Under.

New England at New Orleans – 3 (56): This is the best game of the week by just about any measure you would want to apply. The total line for this game says it all. The Saints are injured all over their secondary and all they have to do this week is play against Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Wes Welker and company. Meanwhile the Saints are the Energizer Bunny offense of the year; they keep scoring and scoring and … The “cross-stat calculation” - - the way that most opening total lines are set in Vegas - - yields an Over/Under line of 50 points. The fact that it is so much higher that that mark makes me think some folks know that some of the Saints’ front-line secondary players are not going to be out there on Monday night. The Pats have a real shot to win outright here so I’ll take them with the points here. I also think this game will go Over with plenty of time left to play.

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports…

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The Linfield College Wildcats advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III college football playoffs last weekend with a 38-17 win over Cal Lutheran. That raises Linfield’s record for 2009 to 10-0 as they prepare to take on the Mary Hardin-Baylor Crusaders this weekend. Mary Hardin-Baylor is from the American Southwest Conference and comes to the game with a 10-1 record. These schools have played one another only one time in the past and that previous game decided the 2004 Division III college football championship. Linfield won that game 28-21. Go Wildcats!

Here are some good things and some not so good things – a dozen in all – from last week’s Mythical Picks:

1. I said that Boise State had lots to gain and everything to lose by winning by a small margin against Utah State last week. Final score: Boise State 52 Utah State 21. Good thing.

2. I said the Christians had a better chance against the lions in the Roman Coliseum than FIU did against Florida. Final score: Florida 62 FIU 3. Good thing.

3. I said Oregon State/ Washington State would be a mismatch. Oregon State covered a 31-point spread. Good thing.

4. I picked UNC/BC to go Under 38.5. It went Over. Not so good thing.

5. I said the line on Ohio State/Michigan was too fat. Ohio State won but did not cover. Good thing.

6. I liked Duke/Miami to go Over 55. It went Under. Not so good thing.

7. I took Kent State with 12.5 points against Temple. Kent State lost by a mere 34 points. Not so good thing.

8. I liked Notre Dame to win and cover against UConn. They did neither. I also liked the game to go Over. At least it did that - - thanks to double overtime. Not so good thing matched with a good thing = Meh.

9. I liked Army as a road dog to win outright. They did just that. Good thing.

10. I liked Tennessee laying 17 points. They won by only 15 points. Not so good thing.

11. I liked Cal/Stanford to go Under 65.5. They squeaked in Under. Good thing.

12. I liked Arizona with 6 points against Oregon. They lost by 3 in OT. Good thing.

Someone might look at the results from last week and come to the stupid conclusion that they ought to take information in this week’s Mythical Picks and use it to select a side for wagering this week in bets involving actual money. That would be a stupid thing to do. If you drew such a conclusion and acted on it, you would be too dumb to convert a grandé coffee and a couple of beers into piss at a potty stop.

General Comments:

As Florida and Alabama proceed on their collision course for the SEC Conference Championship Game, both teams remain undefeated. Here are a couple of notes about that status:

The last time Florida was undefeated in the SEC was in 1996. The Gators - - with Steve Spurrier at the helm then - - went on to win the national championship.

If Alabama goes through the regular season undefeated it will be the first time Alabama has been undefeated in two consecutive seasons since 1973 and 1974. A gentleman named Bear Bryant was the coach then. In both of those seasons Alabama lost their bowl game and both times they lost to Notre Dame - - then coached by Ara Parseghian.

Cincinnati had last week off. The other five undefeated teams had easy times against a less than stellar set of opponents winning the games by a cumulative score of 255-54.

Reports say that Mark Mangino is in jeopardy of losing his job at Kansas and the tipping point was when he poked/punched/prodded one player in the chest and dressed down in a politically incorrect way another player for hot-dogging after making a play in a game. Those player relationship stories have next-to-nothing to do with why there is an “investigation” ongoing nor will either of them have any bearing on whether or not Mangino is actually canned. Here is the problem in a nutshell. Kansas is 5-6; Texas crushed them by 31 points last weekend; the game was over by halftime. Even worse is the fact that Kansas started the season with 5 consecutive wins and looked as if they were the tall dog in the Big-12 North. Former players and the parents of former players have used this opportunity to come out of the woodwork with stories of ongoing abuse of players by Mangino during all of his tenure at Kansas.

And the reason this never surfaced then is very simple… Mangino’s teams were winners back then. The fact that they are not winning this year is what all of this is about. If the Jayhawks were 9-2 or even 8-3 at this point, none of this would have ever made it out of the locker room.

Pitt is 9-1; their loss was to North Carolina State back in September. What is amazing about that is that North Carolina State has only 4 wins this year. Two came against Division 1-AA opponents, Murray State and Gardner-Webb; the other win came against woeful Maryland. Nevertheless, Pitt found a way to lose to the Wolfpack…

In case you need any more convincing with regard to the assertion that there are just too many damned bowl games, the SEC has twelve teams in it. The SEC has nine contractual tie-ins with bowl committees. That means the ninth best team in the SEC – so long as it can fashion 6 wins on the year by playing out of conference cupcakes can get to a bowl game. Is anyone holding his/her breath to see the ninth best SEC team play one more game? I did not think so…

There are myriad rumors that Charlie Weis will not be the coach at Notre Dame next year. Depending on what report you read, the buyout value in his contract is somewhere between $10M and $18M. That is a pretty big jump from one to the other; but in either case, I do not think Charlie Weis will need to stand in a bread line anytime in his future. Back in 2005, the school extended his contract for 10 years at a reported $41M.

Meanwhile, Paul Wulf is the coach at Washington State and he has one game left in his second season in Pullman, WA. Wulf’s record at the moment is a less than gaudy 3-21 and it looks even worse when you look closely at the three wins. Two came last year - - against Division 1-AA Portland State and in the Apple Cup game against winless Washington. Those wins are hardly ones to be remembered over the ages. This year’s win came against SMU - - a team that is actually bowl eligible this year and showing improvement over some dreadful teams in the past couple of years.

However, since losing to Arizona State on 10 October, Washington State has lost 5 games in a row and has given up 40 or more points in each of them. Their closest game in this stretch was a 26-point loss to Notre Dame. The Cougars better not lose by 5 TDs to Washington this year…

The Boise State/Nevada game this week should be interesting. Boise State is undefeated and should be in a BCS bowl game if there is an iota of “meritocracy” left in that sham process. Nevada is 8-3, the Wolfpack have won 8 games in a row and they lead the nation in rushing.

Temple has won 9 games in a row after opening the season with losses to Villanova and Penn State. The Owls will go to the MAC Championship game against Central Michigan if they win this weekend at Ohio University. Against Kent State last weekend, Temple trailed at the half 10-9. In the second half, Temple scored 38 straight points before allowing a meaningless field goal to win the game 47-13. With or without the Mac Championship, Temple should go to its first bowl game in more than 25 years.

Some bad performances last week include:

Georgia lost to Kentucky by 2 TDs at home after leading by 2 TDs at halftime.

Rutgers seemed to be putting the pieces together, was on the fringe of the Top 25, and lost to Syracuse.

Notre Dame lost at home to UConn - - just a couple of weeks after losing at home to Navy.

Oklahoma lost by 4 TDs to Texas Tech.

LSU was ranked #10 and lost to Mississippi.

Yale led Harvard by a field goal with 2:27 left in the game. Yale had the ball 4th and 22 on its own 25 yardline when the coaching staff for Yale suffered one of the great brain cramps since the Democrats ran George McGovern for President. They called for a fake punt which did not get a first down, gave Harvard a short field and led to Harvard scoring a TD to win the game. The Yale coach said he made that call because he wanted his team to see that he was not “playing scared”. Excuse me, this is the last game of the season; what does it matter what the players think at this point in the year? How about “playing smart enough to win”… Punt the damned ball!

The Ponderosas:

Last week there were 7 Ponderosa Spread games and the favorites covered in all 7 of the games. Boise State, Florida, Houston, TCU, Oregon State, Texas and Nevada all covered. That brings the season total for favorites covering to 32-36.

This week we have 4 Ponderosa Spread games:

New Mexico at TCU – 44 (55.5): New Mexico won last week bringing their season record to 1-10. This game will be as ugly to watch as a hit and run accident. Nevertheless, would you really risk real money on a game with a 44-point spread?

Florida State at Florida – 24 (55.5): Notwithstanding the fact that this will be Tim Tebow’s final game in The Swamp, that is a lot of points for a huge rivalry game. However, it is reflective of the status of the two football programs as of 2009. There was a time not all that long ago when this game matched two of the top five teams in the country and even in “bad years” matched two of the top ten teams in the country. Sic transit gloria mundi…

Washington State at Washington – 24 (58.5): Washington has won 3 games this year and they are 24-point favorites over archrival Washington State. Wow!

Rice at Houston – 29.5 (no line): Rice has difficulty stopping anyone; Houston can move the ball and score with ease. Rice’s offense is modest at best but the Houston defense is less than staunch. I think this game could be very high scoring indeed…

The SHOE Teams:

Here are my ten bottom feeders for the week. Seeding for the mythical SHOE (Steaming Heap of Excrement) Tournament will be out very soon. Note this week some entries from the “name conferences”…

Eastern Michigan 0-11
Western Kentucky 0-10
Miami (Oh) 1-11
Ball State 1-10
New Mexico 1-10
Washington State 1-10
San Jose St. 1-9
Vandy 2-10
Maryland 2-9
North Texas 2-9

Games of Interest:

(Friday Morning) Temple – 3 at Ohio University (47): Temple will probably be without its leading rusher in this game. The Temple defense has been the strength of the team all year long but without a running game to give it some rest, I wonder if it can hold up against a good Ohio U team. If I were going to play the game, I would take the game Under.

(Friday Morning) Rutgers – 3 at Louisville (44): Rutgers loss outright to Syracuse last week was a stunner. With 7 wins under its belt already, Rutgers will go to a bowl game; they will get a better invitation if they have more than 7 wins and I have to believe the coaching staff will make that abundantly clear to the scholar-athletes during this week. Louisville is not very good so I think Rutgers will be out to regain a measure of respect this week. I think Rutgers will win big here and cover the spread.

(Friday Afternoon) Alabama – 10 at Auburn (47.5): This is a rivalry that is contested every day of the year in Alabama; the football game just happens to be this Friday. Auburn would love nothing better than to soil Alabama’s spotless record. The dog has risen up to bite the favorite in the past. Not this week, Alabama wins and covers.

(Friday Evening) Pitt at West Virginia “pick ‘em” (48): I like Pitt in this rivalry game and I like the game to go OVER.

(Friday Night) Nevada at Boise State – 14 (71): Because Nevada runs the ball as well as it does, I don’t think there is enough time to get this game Over 71 points. I like the Under here.

Clemson – 3 at South Carolina (44.5): South Carolina has not scored more than 16 points in any of its last 5 games. Meanwhile, Clemson has not scored less than 34 points in its last 6 games. I know this is an intense rivalry game, but it sure seems as if these teams are heading in different directions. I like the game to go Over.

Oklahoma State at Oklahoma – 9.5 (48.5): Oklahoma is a banged up football team with a 6-5 record and a 4-6-1 record against the spread this year. Oklahoma State is 9-2 and bowl bound - - with an outside hope that they can get into one of the big time BCS bowl games. I know that OU is 5-0 at home but I do think Oklahoma State has a legit shot to win the game outright. So, I’ll take the Cowboys with that generous helping of points.

Arizona – 3 at Arizona State (44): After the disastrous overtime loss to Oregon last week, I would normally stay away from Arizona this week fearing a gigantamous letdown. But with its in-state archrival on tap, I think that is doubtful. Arizona is the better team here so I’ll take them and lay the points.

BC – 6 at Maryland (46.5): Overall, BC is 7-4; on the road, BC is 1-3. In their 4 road games this season, BC has yet to score more than 16 points and averages less than 13 points per game. So, how could they be favored on the road? Well, Maryland just plain stinks no matter the venue. The Terps may find themselves in the SHOE Tournament. I sense that the Maryland team has packed it in for the year so I’d play BC and lay the points - - if I were forced to make a play. I would also be tempted to take the Under here.

Utah at BYU – 7.5 (52.5): Both teams are 9-2; that makes a traditional rivalry game all the more interesting. Both of Utah’s losses this year came on the road; interestingly, both of BYU’s losses this year came at home. There would not appear to be a “venue call” to make in this game. Statistically, BYU is the more potent offensive team and Utah is the stingier defensive team. Given the balance in this game, I love the fact that the line has a hook on top of a full TD and so I’ll take Utah with the points here.

New Mexico State at San José State – 11 (41.5): San José St. is a SHOE team with a 1-9 record and they are favored here by 11 points. How can that be? Well, they are playing a New Mexico State team that is 3-8 for the season and is averaging a whopping 12 points per game. Do not bet on this game but check to see the scoring progress because the final score here might be 10-9 - - either way…

UCLA at USC – 13 (47.5): UCLA is a mediocre team and not much more than that. USC is above average but is perceived to be more than that because of its recent prowess on the football field; they are not nearly as good as their hype. USC will go to a minor bowl game this year no matter what happens from here on out; and so, I do not want to lay double digits here. I’d play UCLA with the points.

Finally, here is a cogent observation from Greg Cote of the Miami Herald regarding one aspect of college football:

“CBS Sports chose a Sun Belt Conference All-Decade Team, a strong indication there are way too many all-decade teams.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports…

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Since I am unlikely to do a rant tomorrow, let me take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Moreover, since I am unlikely to do a rant tomorrow, I have a bunch of “stuff” on my clipboard that I want to dispose of today in no particular order. If you are having a ham as part of your Thanksgiving feast, consider today’s offering as a preview of the hash you will be making from your ham leftovers.

Tomorrow’s NFL games will feature the Detroit Lions (winners last weekend) and the Oakland Raiders (winners last weekend). Nevertheless, those are two bottom-feeding teams in the NFL and somehow I am still supposed to give thanks for the entertainment they will provide. That will not be easy…

The Giants play the Broncos tomorrow night on NFL Network. The Broncos started out with 6 straight wins and have lost the last 4 games. Here is a fact not worth remembering:

Since the NFL went to a 16-game regular season schedule (1978), only two teams have started a season at 6-0 and failed to make the playoffs. (Washington Redskins in 1978 and Minnesota Vikings in 2003.)

However, if the Broncos do not make the playoffs this year, I’ll bet fans in Denver remember it for quite a while…

You cannot fire the players and the Jets just hired a new coach before this season began. Therefore, if you live next door to Jets’ GM, Mike Tannenbaum, you might want to retrieve any tools you may have lent him just in case he quickly puts his house on the market right after the Holiday Season…

Given the record of the Cleveland Browns, the turmoil surrounding the team and some less than perfect coaching decisions this year, Eric Mangini stands a chance of staying less than one year in his job. The Brown hired him on 7 January 2009. The regular season ends on 3 January 2010. Connect the dots…

You did not have to be a graduate of a “Lip Reading College” to know what Rex Ryan was saying on the sidelines when the Pats were up 31-14 in the final minute of the game and they sent Randy Moss on a fly pattern. He was dropping F-bombs the way his cardiologist wishes Ryan would drop pounds. In a press conference, he tried to minimize what he felt about that situation, but as Warner Wolf always says, “Let’s go to the videotape…”

Speaking of potential job openings related to the NFL, juxtapose these two stats.

1. In the 2009 season, there have been 13 kickoffs returned for TDs by all of the NFL teams.

2. Four of those thirteen kickoff returns for a TD have come against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Now, if you aspire to be a special teams coach, polish your résumé and send it to…

Josh Freeman – the Bucs’ rookie QB taken in last year’s first round – came back to Earth last week against the Saints. His stat line looked much more like a rookie QB than his lines had been looking. Last weekend he was 17-33 with 1 TD and 3 INTs…

While I was typing that last paragraph, Mark Sanchez just turned the ball over again. Against the Pats, he had 1 fumble and 4 INTs…

In the second half of the Sunday night game, the Bears faced third down seven different times. They got a first down on exactly zero of those seven times. For the record, that is really not good…

I read that Donald Fehr is now “working with” the NHL Players Association. That means that Donald Fehr teams up with Gary Bettman in two key leadership roles for professional hockey in North America. Good luck with that…

Major League Soccer has crowned its champion for 2009. Real Salt Lake defeated the LA Galaxy on penalty kicks at Qwest Field in Seattle. Congratulations to Real Salt Lake. However, if anyone wishes to argue that this club might compete favorably in some of the better foreign soccer leagues, please consider that Real Salt Lake’s record in MLS for the season was 11-12-7. Talk about a team that got hot at the right time…

Three lacrosse players at Sacred Heart University stand charged with the gang rape of a young woman. Under no circumstances would I countenance gang rape or any form of rape. Nonetheless, the echo of the Duke University Lacrosse allegations rings in my brain. Those allegations unraveled rather quickly. I will wait for more information before making any kind of comment on what happened there. If that means that I have wrongly attached less credence to the purported victim’s claim that I should have, I will apologize in advance. More information please…

Greg Cote had this summary of the Allen Iverson job search in the Miami Herald last weekend:

“Remember when Allen Iverson wrote on his Twitter site: ‘God chose Memphis?’ Didn’t quite work out. ‘Even I make mistakes,’ Tweeted God.

“Iverson remains an unsigned free agent. His evolving new nickname: The Wrong Answer.”

Here is another line from Greg Cote over the weekend that gives you a glimpse into another basketball situation not necessarily “bound for glory” [cue Woody Guthrie]:

“FIU [Florida International University] basketball started 0-3 under new coach Isiah Thomas, with Tulsa’s coach accusing Thomas of ‘bizarre’ behavior for motioning that Tulsa, with a big lead, should sit its starters. Otherwise, good times.”

Finally, here is something from David Whitley from FanHouse.com. He is predicting the NFL’s reaction to a news report:

“Italian art collector Giovanni Tozzetti announces he has found Galileo’s finger, which was cut from the genius’ corpse in 1737. The NFL warns Tozzetti he will be fined $250,000 if he gives the finger to NFL fans.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports…

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Here we are in the week leading up to Thanksgiving. I truly enjoy Thanksgiving because it is a holiday that I have always spent with family; therefore, it conjures up fond memories and reminds me of things I really have to be thankful for. Having said that, there is news out there in the sports world that tests the concept of giving thanks. One would have to wonder where the kernel of good resides in this next situation for which one might be thankful.

According to a report in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, a 22-year old man in Bridgeville, PA was arrested on charges of animal cruelty. What allegedly happened was that he took his girlfriend’s puppy - - a pit bull - - out for a walk before the Pittsburgh Steelers game was to begin on TV. The puppy resisted going out for a walk; the young man lost it and began kicking the puppy down the street. By the time the authorities arrived, the puppy was dead. All of this because the dog might interfere with watching a football game on TV?

I guess the thing to be thankful for here is that this young man is in custody. In addition, if you were the parent of the girlfriend in this story, you would be very thankful to learn that this guy was your daughter’s ex-boyfriend.

At a recent family wedding, a cousin of mine said that the Philadelphia 76ers were his favorite Philly sports franchise. Knowing that he is not a huge NBA fan, I asked why that was the case fully recognizing that there had to be a snarky reason hidden in that declaration. His reason was that the 76ers never disappointed him by failing to achieve what he expected of them. He always figured they would be a mediocre team and they are always a mediocre team and so he is never frustrated by their performance.

I do not know if I could get behind that sort of emotional stance when it comes to a sports franchise. That would mean that Detroit Lions fans and/or LA Clippers fans might be completely satisfied with their teams’ results because going into every season they expected those teams to fail completely. By that logic, those fans would be very thankful all this week because those teams achieved exactly what was expected of them. I am not buying that…

Leave it to Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times to find a way to make the less-than-positive times for the WNBA into something upbeat:

“Houston Comets? Folded. Sacramento Monarchs? Kaput. Detroit Shock? Moving to Tulsa.

“Future news flash: ‘The WNBA, down to its last two teams, vows to play on, using a 34-game home-and-home schedule. Monty Python’s Black Knight, asked to comment, insists it’s just a flesh wound.’ “

Based on the way the Chicago media has piled on him, Jay Cutler may wish he were back in Denver - - or even in Kansas for that matter. If you have been following these rants for a while, you know that I have never thought that Cutler was as good as he is often portrayed going all the way back to his days at Vanderbilt. Nevertheless, I do not think I have ever gone this far into “negative territory:

“And for that, right now, with the Bears officially toasted at 4-6, Jay Cutler is simply a gigantic bust for Chicago.

“And there’s nobody else in the house.” [Rick Telander, Chicago Sun-Times]

“The defense gave the Bears a chance [against the Eagles]. The special teams gave the Bears a chance. Jay Cutler gave the Bears no chance. [Steve Rosenbloom, Chicago Tribune]

The Oakland Raiders pulled an upset last weekend when they beat the Cincinnati Bengals on a field goal with 15 seconds left to play. That upset coincided with the insertion of Bruce Gradkowski at QB in place of JaMarcus Russell. Scott Ostler of the SF Chronicle puts the decision to make that QB change in perspective here:

“Al Davis gave Tom Cable the green light to bench JaMarcus Russell. What Davis is saying, essentially: ‘You’re the coach, Tom, I respect your decision. Whatever you decide, just make sure your office is cleaned out by Dec. 29.’ “

Here is another observation from Professor Ostler on the essential differences between Gradkowski and Russell:

“The only difference between the two is that Gradkowski works harder, is in better shape, knows the offense better, knows defenses better, makes adjustments on the fly better, is a far-superior scrambler, is a more accurate passer, and brings more energy.”

Given that assessment, it is amazing to think what the Chicago scribes above might say about JaMarcus Russell given that they have already reserved the label of “bust” for Jay Cutler. That might be ugly indeed.

The Seattle Seahawks were abjectly outclassed on Sunday against the Vikings. Consider that the Seahawks ran the ball 13 times for a net of 4 yards in that game. The Seahawks ran only 42 offensive plays and had the ball less than 18 minutes in that game. That is a major league ass-kicking not just a defeat for the Seahawks. That is the kind of thing you expect to see when a top-flight college team schedules a cupcake for Homecoming…

Finally, here is a quote from Joe Flacco, QB for the Ravens, showing that he will have exactly no difficulty in getting into the real spirit of the Thanksgiving season. Would that more people – in sports and in the world at large – had this outlook on life:

” ‘Realize what you have.’ That’s what my parents taught me. How lucky am I? I’m playing football. It’s not a job. I’ve never had a job. I can’t imagine not doing this. What’s not to like? We’re playing football. It’s called ‘playing.’ I like everything about it.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports…

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There was an interesting report last week regarding Bud Selig and his intention to focus on the baseball playoffs next season. Selig seems to have awakened from a coma and heard a rumor that some people think that the baseball playoffs are too long and that the reason they are too long is the crazy scheduling that underlies the playoff games. Selig said it was his intention to tighten up that scheduling - - although he did not say how he was going to do that. What he did say was that he (Bud Selig) was going to make up the playoff schedule for 2010 and that if anyone was unhappy with the scheduling it was on him.

Let me help the Commish out as he begins to focus like a laser beam on this issue. From the time the season ended until the start of the World Series, 23 days intervened. The Phillies played 9 games in those 23 days. That is not baseball scheduling; that is basketball scheduling. From the beginning of March in Spring Training until the end of the regular season, baseball teams play 6 games a week; the Phillies should have gotten through those 9 games in 11 or 12 days. The “elasticity factor” is obvious; the “elasticity factor” is television.

What the Commish needs to do is to work with the networks that are covering the games to arrive at a television package for the playoffs that does not stretch the ramp-up to the World Series over more than three weeks. It can – and probably should – be condensed to 15 days. Moreover, if MLB can do that, they can actually have the World Series over before Halloween.

In another bit of baseball news, it seems as if the management of the Washington Nationals intend to model themselves after the management of the Washington Redskins - - although I cannot for the life of me think of any way that would be a good idea. Recall that the Redskins hired Sherm Lewis as a “consultant” to be “another pair of eyes” and then two weeks later made him the playcaller for the Redskins team. Oh, by the way, how is that working out? Well, the Washington Nationals must think it is working out just swell because about a week after hiring their new manager, Jim Riggleman, the Nats hired a “senior consultant” who will be “another pair of eyes” in Davey Johnson. The odds of Riggleman being around for the full duration of his recently signed contract just went off the board…

Bill Conlin is a Philadelphia sports writing institution all by himself. He had a recent column in the Philadelphia Daily News on the massacre of baseball records and history that deserves to be read in its entirety.

The LPGA continues to shrivel up like composting leaves. Last week, the LPGA announced that the 2010 tournament schedule will have 24 tournaments - - down from 28 in 2009 - - and that only 13 of those tournaments will be in the US. Almost half of the LPGA events will be overseas. The spinmeisters in the PR world will surely try to convince the public this situation demonstrates the great vigor of the sport of women’s golf as a global enterprise. Sad to say, but that is unmitigated buncombe. [I use that word as a tribute to H.L. Mencken, one of the great curmudgeons of the last century; it was a favorite of his.] This is the “lightest” LPGA tournament schedule since 1971.

In addition to having to send almost half of its tournaments out of the country, the LPGA also faces a financial reality. Only 11 tournaments next year will have a purse value in excess of $1.5M; this year there were 17 tournaments in that category. In addition, the LPGA has lost at least three major sponsors for next year, MasterCard, McDonalds and Michelob. Wow, maybe the LPGA is allergic to the letter “M”.

Last week, the Pontiac Silverdome - - where the Detroit Lions used to play their home games prior to the construction of Ford Field - - sold at auction. The Silverdome was built in the 1970s and it cost a reported $56M to build back then. Annual maintenance costs for the empty building have been running at $1.5M a year since the Lions moved out in 2002 and so the city fathers in Pontiac decided to take that cost item off their books.

When the auctioneers gavel fell, the Pontiac Silverdome sold for - - wait for it - - $583,000. That is all it brought at auction. I don’t know about real estate values in Pontiac MI, but here in suburban DC, that is the price of a small home that probably needs a bit of modernization. Holy depreciation, Batman!

I have complained about the over-exposure on television of college basketball for several years now. Lest you think that I am exaggerating, I ran across this tidbit over the weekend:

Teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference will appear on national television 179 times this season.

I do not care how you want to parse that out, but just that one conference represents overexposure. If you assume that the college basketball season runs for 16 weeks, that means more than ten ACC teams per week are on national TV. If you recognize that there are 12 teams in the ACC, that means the average team is on national TV about 15 times. Trust me, the distribution is not equal; you will see VA Tech, Clemson and Virginia fewer times that you will see either Duke or UNC on national TV.

The NFL is obsessed with its image. Perish forbid that a player might defile his uniform by wearing his socks improperly or – Heaven forefend – criticize the officiating. Given that this image-obsessed institution has genteel and cultured owners such as Bud “The Blatant Bird-Flashing Bozo” Adams in its ranks, I can surely understand why it could not possibly also have someone as rude, crude and unglued as Rush Limbaugh within its inner circle…

Finally, a note from Brad Rock in the Deseret Morning News:

“The Liaoshen Evening Post reports that a gym coach in Shenyang, China, has taken a side job hiring himself out as a human punching bag for women.

“Great idea, but didn’t Ben Wright already do that?”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports…

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I am sure you have heard about the three Tennessee football players who were arrested for attempted armed robbery of a guy at a gas station filling his car with gas. The police released one of the three; the other two have been released from the Tennessee football team. Nothing horribly unusual in the story so far; these kinds of things happen…

However, think back to the time just after Lane Kiffen got the job at Tennessee and he was engaged in an intense recruiting battle with Urban Meyer at Florida for WR, Nu’Keese Richardson. This was the case that caused Lane Kiffen to accuse Urban Meyer – wrongly – of “recruiting violations” even though Richardson enrolled at Tennessee. There were no violations; these accusations did not sit well with Florida football folks; it was a tad embarrassing at the time but it gets better…

You guessed it; Nu’Keese Richardson was one of the guys arrested in the attempted armed robbery and one of the guys released from the Tennessee football team. So, I guess Lane Kiffen was doubly wrong here:

1. He was wrong to accuse Urban Meyer of “cheating” on the recruiting trail.

2. He was the coach that wound up with Nu’Keese Richardson and had to deal with jettisoning him.

I am sure this will work out just fine in the end since this scholar-athlete will now have sufficient time to hit the books and “go pro in something other than athletics”.

In another interesting twist involving NCAA scholar athletes, the University of Minnesota prize basketball recruit, Royce White, has a lawyer actively trying to resolve a variety of charges against White. It seems as if White stands accused of theft and assault at the Mall of America and is one of the folks targeted in an investigation into the theft of a laptop computer from a dorm room at Minnesota just a couple of days after the Mall of America caper. Tubby Smith has suspended White pending resolution of all this “stuff”.

However, it gets better… Not all of this should surprise Tubby Smith and the Athletic Department; Royce White did not arrive at Minnesota with a pristine record. He was suspended twice as a junior in high school and ultimately dismissed from DeLaSalle High School for “academic mistakes”.

Let me say this. If - - I said IF - - the authorities ever find that laptop computer in White’s possession, I am going to guess that it is not filled with term papers and lab reports that White wrote on his own. I wonder what he will be going pro in “other than athletics”.

David Whitley had this item in a recent column at Fanhouse.com. It seems as if Professor Whitley and I share similar views about NCAA scholar-athletes:

“ ‘We have become the laughingstock of Spain.’

”So said a politician from the country’s Extremadura region, where students are now offered a sex-education class in ‘self-pleasure.’

”The American term for that is … well, I’m not going there. But I know it’s only matter of time until the University of Kentucky turns it into an academic major to help John Calipari sign players.”

Brandon Jennings scored 55 points in a game against the Warriors recently and that feat has brought a lot of attention to Jennings and his decision to skip a freshman year in college to play pro basketball in Italy. People have begun to say that his notoriety will take other high school kids to Europe as pros rather than to the NCAA institutions for their one-year apprenticeship for the NBA. Before going completely overboard here, allow a little thought to enter the processes:

1. The 55-point game was an important accomplishment. Only Wilt Chamberlain - - a scorer of some repute - - has scored more points in a game as a rookie. That was in the 1950s…

2. The 55-point game came against the Warriors. Let me say that the Warriors’ defense is about as intense as the defense played by your typical “Over-30 Rec League” teams.

3. Jennings’ status as a role model will hinge on his accomplishments on the court to a degree AND on his image off the court to at least the same degree. Until we see how that image plays out in the minds of teenagers, I would not anoint him as the Pied Piper of Basketball.

With Allen Iverson out there as a free agent – and presumably waiting for God to place him in his next basketball venue – there is a lot of speculation about where Iverson might go and/or where he should go.

The NY press says that the Knicks are preparing an offer to Iverson. I have one question here:

Did the Knicks learn anything – anything at all – from the Stephon Marbury Era? I am not sure Iverson is more of a “team-player” than Marbury was. He is more talented than Marbury but he is also extremely difficult to deal with. The phrase “coach-killer” comes to mind…

Orlando Sentinel columnist, George Diaz, wants the Magic to sign Iverson. Why? The Magic need someone to fill in for Jameer Nelson who will be on the shelf for the next 5-8 weeks. Here is the key question the Magic will need to deal with:

Then what?

Michael Wilbon says the best place for Iverson is in Cleveland with LeBron and Shaq.

How is that going to work? There is only one ball allowed on the court at one time in a game.

Finally, here is a comment from Jim Armstrong in the Denver Post regarding a highly touted football recruit at Colorado:

“Just wondering: If CU recruit Munchie Legaux makes it big in Boulder, wouldn’t he be a natural for a medical-marijuana endorsement?”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports…

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As happened last week, I just know that I am going to get last night’s game exactly right. Sadly, wagering is like investing. You cannot do it with hindsight. If we could do that, then no one’s IRA or 401(k) would have tanked a year ago…

Here are a dozen comments on things taken from last week’s Mythical Picks:

1. I said that the wrong team was favored and that Carolina would win outright against Atlanta. Bingo!

2. I said the Dolphins defense should hold the Bucs under 14 points so I took the UNDER. Had the defense done so, the game would have been UNDER. But they did not so the game went OVER. Downer!

3. I thought the Jets would beat the Jags but I took the Jags with the points. The Jags won outright. Bingo!

4. I also thought the Jags/Jets would go UNDER. It went OVER. Downer!

5. I said the Bengals had a legit shot to win the game against the Steelers outright so I took them with 7 points. The Bengals did win outright. Bingo!

6. I said it was difficult to see the Saints scoring less than 30 points. So, I took the Saints and laid a bundle of points. The Saints did not score 30 points and did not cover. Downer!

7. I liked the Titans to win and cover. They did both. Bingo!

8. I liked the Broncos to win and cover. They did neither. Downer!

9. I liked the Eagles/Chargers game OVER. It went OVER. Bingo!

10. I liked the Cowboys to win and cover. Yeah, right… Downer!

11. I liked the Pats with the points and the game to go OVER. Both things happened. Bingo!

12. I liked the Ravens to win and cover. They did. Bingo!

Notwithstanding a few successful prognostications from last week, no one should begin to think about using any information herein as the basis for making a real wager involving actual money on an NFL game this weekend. If you did that, you would be ready for a promotion from “Village Idiot” all the way up to “Metropolitan Idiot”.

Comments:

Given all the QB changes that have happened during this season, it is important to note that there are two QBs in the NFL who have started all 153 regular season games in this decade and to recognize that accomplishment as something of significance. Those two QBs would be Brett Favre and Peyton Manning.

Here is Steve Rosenbloom’s commentary on Jay Cutler after Cutler threw 5 INTs in a loss to the 49ers last week:

“We thought Cutler was going to be the Bears’ first franchise quarterback since Sid Luckman about 60 years ago. Turns out, he’s the first Bears quarterback to throw at least four interceptions in a game twice in the same season since Bill Wade 47 years ago.”

The Bears had an equally ominous pair of numbers in that game with the 49ers. The Bears were penalized for 75 yards. The Bears had net yards rushing of 43 yards. Yuck!

The KC Chiefs won their second game of the season last week equaling last year’s total. What I do not understand about the Chiefs’ roster philosophy is their focus on aging wide receivers. Bobby Engram is 36; Chris Chambers is 31; Bobby Wade and Mark Bradley have been around the block more than a couple of times; back in training camp, the Chiefs had Amani Toomer, who has to be north of 35, on the roster. The Chiefs are not going to “make a run” this year and do not look like contenders next year. Ergo, why not get a better look at some young WRs who might become very good just about the time that the rest of the team gets very good?

When the Browns fired GM George Kokinis after the team with the team at 1-7, most folks focused on what this might mean in terms of Eric Mangini keeping his job. I thought that a truly stupid comment from owner Randy Lerner slipped under the radar in the frothing over Mangini and his future in Cleveland. Lerner reportedly said he intended to hire a “strong, credible and serious” football man to guide him and the team into the future. Excuse me, Mr. Lerner but you just hired a coach and a GM about 9 months ago. At that time, what were you looking for? A weak, phony and giggling football man?

Nine months ago, Randy Lerner thought he had hired one or two guys that would take the Browns from mediocrity to higher levels. And, how did that work out? Now the same guy is going to make some more executive personnel decisions with the same expectation of improvement. And, why should that work out any differently? Unless he gets damned lucky this time…

The Browns just put two starters, TE Steve Heiden and P Dave Zastudil on IR for the rest of the year. Given the talent level on the squad, no addition to the front office or the football staff will make those moves beneficial to the team.

Meanwhile, the Dolphins put Ronnie Brown on IR for the year. That will hurt the Dolphins in the running game and in the “Wildcat”. That offensive formation/gimmick just works a lot better when Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams are the backs handling the ball.

JaMarcus Russell has lost the starting QB job to Bruce Gradkowski. There is no injury involved; this is a performance issue. Raiders’ fans may be looking forward to the week when Darrius Heyward-Bey is benched in favor of Fred Biletnikoff at WR…

In Buffalo, Trent Edwards will not start at QB this Sunday. Interim coach, Perry Fewell said that Ryan Fitzpatrick will start against Jax on the road. It is not clear to me how this shuffling of the cards is going to make things better for the Bills.

I read a report where Roger Goodell said the NFL may put two games in London next year. If that is the case - - and I hope it is NOT the case - - then the league should take two or more of the teams that have difficulty selling out their home stadiums (e.g. Jax, Oakland, Detroit, St. Louis, Arizona) and put them in the London game. At least the Brits will show up and put fannies in the seats as is not always the case in those cities. Forget “showcase games”; start scheduling “revenue-enhancing games”.

The Games:

(Thurs Nite) Miami at Carolina – 3 (43): I predict that the Panthers will gain more yards rushing in this game and gain more yards passing in this game and win the turnover battle in this game - - and still lose this game by a touchdown. Final score should be something like 24-17. I tell you; picking the winner in last night’s game is really easy…

Indy at Baltimore – 1 (44): Surely one of the best games of the weekend - - if not the best one of them all. This game opened the week with the Colts as a 1.5 point favorite and the line has moved to the Ravens steadily as the week moved on. I guess the thinking is that the Colts spent themselves with that comeback against the Pats last Sunday. Peyton Manning is averaging just a tad over 300 yards passing per game this year. Do not be fooled by the fact that the Ravens’ defense pitched a shutout last week; the Ravens’ defense has not turned the clock back several years; that shutout came because the opponents on Monday night were the Browns. I like the Colts to win the game outright so I’ll take them with that point - - even on the road after that emotional win last week.

Washington at Dallas – 11.5 (41.5): Last week was the first time all year that the Redskins scored more than 17 points in a game. Last week the Cowboys were all but shut out by a mediocre Packers’ defense. The Skins have lost two games they should have won this year (KC and Detroit) and they won a game last week they should have lost (Denver is a better team.) So, they will probably win another game this year that they should not win; will it be this week? I don’t think so. However, the line is fat enough that I’ll take the Skins with that helping of points and hope they can get another special teams’ TD this week…

Cleveland at Detroit – 3.5 (38.5): Please note that the Lions are favored by more than a field goal in an actual NFL game that counts in the standings. It has been a while since that happened. Clearly, this is the worst game of the weekend. In fact, if ESPN goes through the videotape archives and puts together the ten worst games of the decade, I promise you this makes the cut.

You know how TV stations will pixilate portions of a picture to avoid showing someone flipping the bird or flashing unclothed frontal body parts at the camera. Well, CBS has this game this weekend and they ought to consider pixilating the entire screen to prevent viewers from seeing obscene football.

Detroit is marginally better at home than on the road; Cleveland stinks no matter the latitude and longitude. Cleveland has a short week and a short trip to make in order to play the game. In this kind of situation, I will accept any small edge that might attach to the game. I’ll take the Lions and lay the points. [Honestly, I did not expect to type that sentence this season.]

SF at Green Bay – 6.5 (42): The strength of the Packers’ offense is throwing the ball - - if they can keep Aaron Rodgers vertical. The weakness of the Niners’ defense is against the pass. Oops. My problem with this game is that I am not sure I believe that the Packers’ defense has miraculously cured all of its problems as of last weekend’s domination of the Cowboys. I am going to choose to believe that both teams will be able to score a goodly number of points so I will take the game OVER.

Buffalo at Jax – 8.5 (43): This is another “perfect storm match-up”. The Jags live by running the ball very well. The Bills die by giving up yards on the ground in large quantities. I do not like that spread but I do think that the Jags ability to run the ball will keep the score low. The absolute ineptitude of the Bills’ offense will also keep the score low. So, I’ll take the game UNDER.

Pittsburgh – 10 at KC (40): Just what the Chiefs did not need - - a Steelers’ team showing up needing to win the game this week and at least cranky – if not downright hostile – about losing a second time to Cincy last weekend. Unless the Chiefs get ten points from their special teams play, I do not see how they are going to score in double digits here; the suspension of their best WR, Dwayne Bowe makes an ordinarily meek offense even meeker. I’ll take the Steelers and lay the points here.

Seattle at Minnesota – 11 (46): Frankly, I cannot come up with an angle in this game that favors the Seahawks. Most importantly, the Vikings offensive line is better than the Seahawks’ defensive line and the Vikings defensive line is better than the Seahawks’ offensive line. Unless the Vikes turn the ball over about 5 times, I think they win handily here. I’ll take the Vikings to win and cover.

Atlanta at Giants – 7 (46): Here is a fact not worth remembering. The visiting team has won every match-up between these two teams; that is every one that has ever been played going back 30 years into history. The Giants have had two weeks to figure out how to break their current 4-game losing streak. They did very well with the bye week last weekend; while they rested, both Dallas and Philly lost. Falcons’ RB, Michael Turner, is out this week; that is not a blessing for QB Matt Ryan. Flying in the face of 30 years of football history, I’ll take the Giants to win and cover here.

New Orleans – 11.5 at Tampa Bay (50.5): The Saints are still undefeated but they have not played well or looked like world-beaters for the last couple of weeks. The Bucs still have only one win but they have been competitive for the last two weeks since Josh Freeman has been the starting QB. Is a trend developing here? Well, consider that Freeman has made the Bucs’ passing attack resemble an actual NFL-level passing attack and that the Saints have more injuries in their secondary than the Wehrmacht suffered at Stalingrad. On the other hand, the Bucs’ defense in the past two weeks has not had to deal with offensive firepower that resembles the Saints’ firepower in any but the most superficial ways. I think the Saints will score lots of points and I think Gregg Williams’ defense will put some confusion between Josh Freeman’s ears. I’ll take the Saints to win and cover and I’ll take the game to go OVER.

Arizona – 9 at St. Louis (47.5): Last season, the Cardinals could not win a game on the road until playoff time. This year, they are 4-0 on the road and 2-3 at home. Go figure… The Rams have been awful at home, on the road, in a boat and with a toad [/Dr. Seuss] for the last couple of years. The Rams do not score points; in their 9 games this year, they have scored only 100 points; that is 40 points less than the next lowest scoring team in the NFC (Washington Redskins). I’ll take the Cards and lay the points and I like this game to go UNDER.

San Diego at Denver (no lines): This should be a very good game and it is certainly one of the most important games of the weekend. Both teams are 6-3 but the Broncos have a 1-0 lead head to head. A win for Denver here will give them a game and a half lead in the AFC West and the win would break a 3-game losing streak. The Chargers come into the game on a 4-game winning streak. Obviously, the lack of any lines reflects the question of who will be the QB for Denver this week. The fact that there has been no “news” out of Denver other than the fact that Kyle Orton did not practice leads me to conclude that Chris Simms will be under center and Tom Brandstater will be the guy on the sidelines with a helmet in hand just in case… I see this as a low scoring game - - total in the high-30s to low-40s. I think San Diego will be favored. If they are favored by a full TD or more, I’d take the Broncos with the points.

Jets at New England – 10.5 (44.5): Rex Ryan said he was not in his job description to kiss Bill Belichick’s rings. He got to bask in the glory of a win over the Pats early in the season. That was when Mark Sanchez was the second coming of Joe Namath and when Tom Brady was still acclimating to real NFL football games after a year on the shelf. Neither of those conditions obtains in mid-November. Oh, and by the way, the Pats are 5-0 at home this year. I think the Pats will ring the bell many times here. I like the Pats to win and cover and I think the game will go OVER. [I don’t think the Pats will take the game OVER by themselves, but I don’t think the Jets will need 2 TDs to take the game OVER.]

Cincy – 10 at Oakland (36): Will this weekend usher in the Bruce Gradkowski Era in Oakland? Doubtful, but he will be the starting QB. Strangely, that probably represents an upgrade at the QB position… In the first nine games of the season, the Raiders have scored a total of 88 points. However, before anyone gets carried away, Gradkowski’s career record shows him as a 53% completion guy. We are talking journeyman here, folks. Coach, Tom Cable, said it was an “easy decision” to sit JaMarcus Russell. If it was that easy, why did he release Jeff Garcia during training camp? Meanwhile, Cincy comes in off two huge wins over division rivals, the Steelers and the Ravens. This looks like a game where the Bengals balloon might deflate just a bit. I see the game as a low-scoring affair so I’ll take the Raiders at home with the points even though the Bengals are undefeated on the road this season.

(SNF)Philly – 3 at Chicago (45): Donovan McNabb goes back to his roots for this game. The Eagles have been out-of-sync for the last several weeks. If they harbor playoff thoughts, it is about time for them to put it in gear. One big obstacle for the Eagles is the large number of injuries they have incurred this season with Brian Westbrook’s being the latest and the scariest one. The Bears have been a mess for the past couple of weeks too; see the remarks in the “Comments” section above. This looks like a game where the team that makes the last mistake will lose. I think that will be the Eagles so I’ll take the Bears with the points.

(MNF)Tennessee at Houston – 5 (48): This is another of the best games of the weekend. The Texans won the first meeting between these teams back in September. The Titans were still unraveling at that point but have certainly played much better in the last three weeks. Houston, coming off their bye week, can take a 3.5 game lead on Tennessee in the AFC South with a win here; that would de facto end the Titans’ chances for a miracle run that might carry them to the playoffs. The loss of Owen Daniels is indeed a big deal for the Texans; he is one of the top five tight ends in the game. I think this line is fat. I’ll take the Titans with the points.

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports…

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Linfield College finished their regular season with a 9-0 record (6-0 in their conference). As I suspected last week, that puts them in the Division III football playoffs this week as they host Cal Lutheran, a team that comes into the game with an 8-1 season record and the champions of the Southern California Intercollegiate Conference. Go Wildcats!

Here are some good things and some not so good things- ten in all - from last week’s Mythical Picks:

1. I said that TCU had “a real test” against a good but not great Utah team last week. Final score was TCU 55 Utah 28. Not a good thing…

2. I said that Idaho was 7-3 this year but was no match for Boise State. Final score was Boise State 63 Idaho 25. Good thing…

3. Rice was a SHOE team last week AND was a home favorite over Tulane. Rice won and covered 3 points. Neutral thing…

4. I liked Cincy/West Virginia OVER. It went Under. Not a good thing…

5. I liked Temple/Akron UNDER. It went way OVER. Not a good thing…

6. I liked Temple to win and cover 4 points. Temple won by 39 points. Good thing…

7. I liked Houston/UCF Over. It went Over. Good thing…

8. I thought Arizona could beat Cal at Cal. They did not. Not a good thing…

9. I liked USC to win and cover 10.5 points against Stanford. USC lost by 34 points. Not a good thing…

10. I liked Alabama to win and cover against Mississippi State. They won by 28. Good thing…

Despite a few successes as chronicled above, no one should feel even a slight temptation to use anything here as the basis for making a wager on a college football game this week. If you yielded to such temptation, you would be dumb enough to believe that the four seasons are salt, pepper, mustard and catsup.

General Comments:

Last week, I wondered if things were setting up for the Rose Bowl to be yet another USC/Ohio State match-up. Well, Ohio State will indeed be going to the Rose Bowl. However, Stanford saved us from USC being the opponent on New Year’s Day.

Speaking of bowl games on New Year’s Day, I recognize that it would take Divine intervention to have TCU play Boise State in the BCS Championship Game, but would it be so horrible to match those two teams in a bowl game on New Year’s Day. I know that would be the game I would focus attention upon in that time slot…

Hello Fiesta Bowl, do you copy?

Jerry Glanville is out as the head coach at Portland State. Oh, I’m sorry; you didn’t realize that Jerry Glanville was still on this side of the grass? Well, he is and he has been the coach at Portland State for three years now amassing a record of 9-24 and the upshot is that he can now stop leaving tickets for Elvis at the Will Call Window there. Perhaps the “highlight” of his tenure there was that Portland State provided Washington State with its only win last year going into the Apple Bowl game against Washington. Had both teams been winless, it would have to have been renamed the Bagel Bowl.

Can someone out there explain to me why Florida is playing Florida International next and why Alabama is playing Chattanooga next? I can only take this to mean that the University of Phoenix online football team couldn’t get all of their players hooked up at one time to chat their plays against these two schools this weekend. Puhleeez…!

Speaking of scheduling softies, here is an item from Dwight Perry in the Seattle Times:

“One more reason to loathe college football’s so-called postseason: Minnesota is now ‘bowl-eligible’ after beating FCS [Division 1-A] South Dakota State — by 3 points, at home!”

Speaking of Minnesota, if Iowa can beat the Gophers next, then Iowa will finish the year at 10-2 and still have a chance to get one of the at-large BCS bowl game bids. It is highly unlikely that I would want to watch Iowa play anyone if that game were up against TCU/Boise State in the same time slot.

Iowa State is also bowl eligible this year. Alums and fans are happy to have an excuse to leave town during the Holidays for a game in some pleasant environs. So what happens if Iowa State winds up in the Whatever Bowl in Detroit?

In the NFL, people make fun of the Dallas Cowboys for the way they limp to the end of the season recently. Perhaps South Florida is the NCAA equivalent. Last week, South Florida lost to Rutgers 31-0. Starting fast and fading like Casper the Friendly Ghost has become SOP with South Florida.

In case you didn’t take notice, Texas has now won 10 or more games for the 9th straight season.

Despite losing to Cal last week, Arizona can actually win the PAC-10 and go to the Rose Bowl. All they have to do is to beat Oregon, Arizona State and USC in the final three games of their season. Arizona is the only PAC-10 school never to have gone to the Rose Bowl.

Jim Harbaugh has resurrected the Stanford football program. There are reports that he is about to get a lucrative contract extension there. More than once in a while, coaches go back to their alma maters to take over the programs there. Now, if Jim Harbaugh’s alma mater – a school whose football program has indeed fallen into disrepair – thought it might want to get him to come home, it had better get its act in gear and let Harbaugh’s agent know that there might be another bid for his services next year. In case you do not remember, Jim Harbaugh was the quarterback for the Michigan football teams in the mid-80s.

The Ponderosas:

Last week there were five Ponderosa Spread games. The favorites covered in two of them. Texas and Boise State covered; BYU, Penn State and LSU did not cover. That brings the season total for favorites covering to 25-36.

This week we have seven Ponderosa Spread Games:

Boise State – 24 at Utah State (62): Boise State has something to gain by winning big and everything to lose by winning here by only 2 points.

Florida International at Florida – 45 (54): Christians had a better chance against the lions (four-legged variety) in the Roman Coliseum two millennia ago…

Memphis at Houston – 24 (75.5): There will not be a lot of tackling in this game.

TCU – 31.5 at Wyoming (47.5): Wyoming is improved over last year - - but not nearly improved enough to win this game even at home.

Oregon State – 31 at Washington State (56.5): The word for the day in Pullman Washington should be

“M I S M A T C H”.

Kansas at Texas – 27.5 (55): Kansas is “investigating” reports that Coach Mark Mangino has been abusive to his players and assistant coaches. Note none of that happened when Mangino’s teams were winning lots more games than they were losing.

Nevada – 30 at New Mexico State (58): The only hope for NM State here is that Nevada closes out the season against Boise State in two weeks and may be taking this game for granted. Nevada is the best rushing team in the country; NM State has difficulty stopping the run. OUCH !

The SHOE Teams:

Here are the bottom ten teams this week looking toward the day when the final field of eight teams seeks the mythical Steaming Heap of Excrement (SHOE) trophy:

Eastern Michigan 0-10
New Mexico 0-10
Western Kentucky 0-10
Miami (Oh) 1-10
Ball State 1-9
Rice 1-9
Washington State 1-9
Akron 2-8
North Texas 2-8
Tulane 3-7**

Note that Tulane gets on the list even with three wins on the year because it lost to Rice last week. Tulane plays Central Florida this week and can escape the list by avoiding a blow-out there. San José State and Memphis are poised to join this listing…

Games of Interest:

A reader chastised me in an e-mail last week for not making picks in too many of the “Games of Interest”. The reason for that is that many of them are not worth wagers. I include some games here because they have some general interest on their own and others because loyal readers are interested in those teams/conferences so I make a comment on the games.

Maryland at Florida State – 19 (59): Not to put too fine a point on it, but Maryland stinks. Florida State is not nearly consistent enough to make me want to lay 19 points. This is not a game to bet on; this is not a game to watch unless you went to one of the two schools.

UNC at BC – 3.5 (38.5): Two good defenses against two mediocre offenses leads me to want to take this game UNDER.

Ohio State – 12.5 at Michigan (47.5): This game will save Rich Rodriguez job if the Wolverines can find a way to win. Ohio State is going to the Rose Bowl; they already know that. Michigan is at home in its big rivalry game where a win gets them to 6-6 and makes them bowl eligible. They will not win; but that line is too fat; Michigan should cover here. That might be good enough for Rodriguez to save his job…

Duke at Miami – 20 (55): Both teams love to air it out. I think this game will go OVER.

Kent State at Temple – 12.5 (46.5): Temple is 6-0 in MAC competition and 8-2 overall. Kent State is 5-5; a win here makes them bowl eligible. This game is far more interesting that one would have predicted back in June of 2009… I like Temple to win the game but that line looks awfully fat to me so I’ll take Kent State with the points here.

Iowa State at Missouri – 15.5 (50): As noted above, Iowa State is bowl eligible this year - - yet they are more than a 2-touchdown dog to a mediocre Missouri squad. Here is more proof that there are just too many bowl games…

UConn at Notre Dame – 6 (57): If the Irish lose here, there will be blood in the streets of South Bend; the natives will not be happy. Even though UConn has five losses this year, they have outscored their opponents for the season. I think both teams will move the ball well and score points. I’ll take Notre Dame to win and cover here and I’ll take the game OVER.

Purdue – 3 at Indiana (59): Both teams can score; neither team has a defense that is reliable - - particularly when it comes to holding a lead in the second half. If I had to make a pick here - - and I do not - - I would make it a venue call and take the Hoosiers. If I had to make a pick here on the total wager - - and I do not - - I would take the Over.

Penn State – 3 at Michigan State (47.5): I like Penn State’s defense better than Michigan State’s defense. Neither offense is anything to write home about. I like Michigan State at home better than I like Penn State on the road. A coin flip tells me to take Penn State…

Army at North Texas – 2 (51): North Texas is 2-8 and is on the list as a SHOE team. They are favored at home in this game. That was the situation with Rice last week and Rice won and covered against Tulane. Lightening will not strike twice; Army wins outright and so I’ll take Army with the points.

Vandy at Tennessee – 17 (45): Tennessee is inconsistent and over-hyped. Vandy is less than mediocre. This is a rivalry game and Tennessee comes to it off a bad loss to Ole Miss. I think Tennessee will clobber Vandy. That is a lot of points, but I’ll take Tennessee and lay the points here.

San Diego State at Utah – 17 (54.5): Everything here depends on how Utah reacts to the drubbing they took from TCU last week. If they want to “take out frustrations” on someone, then SD State is what the doctor ordered. In their last game, SD State led by 3 TDs in the 4th quarter and lost by 3 points to Wyoming. That has to be a tad deflating, no? I think Utah will kick butt here. That is a lot of points, but I’ll take the Utes and lay the points here.

Cal at Stanford – 7 (65.5): In “The Game”, I have to think that the defensive units will stand up sufficiently to get this game in UNDER that number…

Oregon – 6 at Arizona (60): As noted above, Arizona can go to the Rose Bowl if it wins out. Arizona is much better at home than it is on the road; Oregon is much worse on the road than it is at home. I like Arizona with the points here.

Finally, an item from Greg Cote in the Miami Herald:

“Parting thought: A flaw finally has been found in Tim Tebow, the Florida Gators’ virginal, perfect, champion, All-American quarterback. He has been having a difficult time putting his helmet on because of the halo.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports…

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