For now, at least.
Here's the remaining unbeaten BCS teams in the AP Poll:
1) LSU
2) Alabama
3) Oklahoma
4) Wisconsin
5) Boise State
6) Oklahoma State
7) Stanford
8) Clemson
12) Kansas State
And the Coach's Poll:
1) Oklahoma
2) LSU
3) Alabama
4) Wisconsin
5) Stanford
6) Oklahoma State
7) Boise State
8) Clemson
16) Kansas State
-LSU and Alabama play on Nov. 5
-Oklahoma and Oklahoma State play on Dec. 3
-Both Oklahoma schools have yet to play Kansas State, leaving at least 3 of those schools with losses right there alone.
So unfortunately, these rankings won't mean a thing tonight.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Theo, Chicago, and the Sleeping Giant
While many Cardinals fans watched the 2011 Red Sox collapse with a smile and pointed laughter,***
***Why not? Red Sox fans have become Yankees fans. Arrogant, bandwagon junkies who somehow have legions of followers in every city across the country. Away games are filled with Sox hats and fans who can't wait to sing Sweet Caroline in the 7th inning. I once saw saw about 5,000 Red Sox fans at a Royals game last year. It was a Thursday in September. In Kansas City. Not exactly road trip material from Boston. They grabbed their cool "B" hat and drove from Overland Park or Independence and said 'we' a lot. No accents, and they couldn't spell Brookline if you gave them vowels and and pointed to their Boston hat. They aren't Red Sox fans, and I'm sure most real Sox fans don't want them, either.
another Red Sox win or Rays loss could have done wonders for the Cardinals. And every other NL central team for that matter. The historic collapse sealed manager Terry Francona's fate and if all the reports are true, GM Theo Epstein is on his way to the Cubs. Calling the hapless Cubs a sleeping giant is tough, but what other sports franchise has that big of a payroll, an iconic franchise in a major city, millions of fans, but fans that generally don't seem to care? Their fate is sealed every year by Memorial Day and they almost embrace it.
Take this picture for example. The opposing team just went deep and I count 6 people there laughing or smiling. They just can't wait to throw the ball back while drinking crappy beer. Throw it back, that'll show 'em.
One of the many things the Cubs haven't been able to do is develop talent. One of the things Epstein has been great at has been developing talent. -Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Clay Buchholz, Jonathan Papelbon.
While the Cubs gave tens of millions to LaTroy Hawkins, Kosuke Fukudome, and Nomar Garciaparra, Epstein signed David Ortiz to a 1-year, $1.25 million contract after the Twins released him. He unloaded Garciaparra on the Cubs on way to winning the 04 World Series. He gave up the following players for Curt Schilling: Casey Fossum, Brandon Lyon, Jorge de la Rosa and Michael Goss. He claimed Kevin Millar before Millar's contract was sold to a Japanese team in 2003.
A lot of people like to discount his two world Series titles in Boston because of the payroll. If money is all you need, why haven't the Angels won a title since 2002? ($138 million payroll) or the Mets since '86 ($118 mil.) Cubs since forever ($125) Twins since '91 ($112) Dodgers since '88 ($104) etc.
The payroll won't be a huge drop off from Boston, and the difference in pressure won't even be close. Not to mention that if he wants to, he can bring over Terry Francona to manage for him. Say what you will about the advantages Epstein had in Boston or how Francona lost his team this season, if that duo can win two titles in the AL East, they can certainly win in the NL Central. And if breaking the curse in Boston was huge, winning in Chicago and Boston would be historic. If not, no big deal. Fans will shrug their shoulders and wait for next year.
***Why not? Red Sox fans have become Yankees fans. Arrogant, bandwagon junkies who somehow have legions of followers in every city across the country. Away games are filled with Sox hats and fans who can't wait to sing Sweet Caroline in the 7th inning. I once saw saw about 5,000 Red Sox fans at a Royals game last year. It was a Thursday in September. In Kansas City. Not exactly road trip material from Boston. They grabbed their cool "B" hat and drove from Overland Park or Independence and said 'we' a lot. No accents, and they couldn't spell Brookline if you gave them vowels and and pointed to their Boston hat. They aren't Red Sox fans, and I'm sure most real Sox fans don't want them, either.
another Red Sox win or Rays loss could have done wonders for the Cardinals. And every other NL central team for that matter. The historic collapse sealed manager Terry Francona's fate and if all the reports are true, GM Theo Epstein is on his way to the Cubs. Calling the hapless Cubs a sleeping giant is tough, but what other sports franchise has that big of a payroll, an iconic franchise in a major city, millions of fans, but fans that generally don't seem to care? Their fate is sealed every year by Memorial Day and they almost embrace it.
One of the many things the Cubs haven't been able to do is develop talent. One of the things Epstein has been great at has been developing talent. -Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Clay Buchholz, Jonathan Papelbon.
While the Cubs gave tens of millions to LaTroy Hawkins, Kosuke Fukudome, and Nomar Garciaparra, Epstein signed David Ortiz to a 1-year, $1.25 million contract after the Twins released him. He unloaded Garciaparra on the Cubs on way to winning the 04 World Series. He gave up the following players for Curt Schilling: Casey Fossum, Brandon Lyon, Jorge de la Rosa and Michael Goss. He claimed Kevin Millar before Millar's contract was sold to a Japanese team in 2003.
A lot of people like to discount his two world Series titles in Boston because of the payroll. If money is all you need, why haven't the Angels won a title since 2002? ($138 million payroll) or the Mets since '86 ($118 mil.) Cubs since forever ($125) Twins since '91 ($112) Dodgers since '88 ($104) etc.
The payroll won't be a huge drop off from Boston, and the difference in pressure won't even be close. Not to mention that if he wants to, he can bring over Terry Francona to manage for him. Say what you will about the advantages Epstein had in Boston or how Francona lost his team this season, if that duo can win two titles in the AL East, they can certainly win in the NL Central. And if breaking the curse in Boston was huge, winning in Chicago and Boston would be historic. If not, no big deal. Fans will shrug their shoulders and wait for next year.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Big 12 Safe For Now
If you needed any more proof that football and tv sets are the only things driving all this conference realignment talk/excitement/rumors/lies, take a quick gander at TCU. The Horned Frogs formally accepted an offer to join the Big 12 minus 3, bringing conference membership to 10 as of right now.
If conference shakeups happened 5 years ago, TCU wouldn't have been on any one's radar. But somewhere after that 5th or 6th top 25 finish since 2000 or that 2nd consecutive BCS bowl, or that 13-0 season and Rose Bowl win over Wisconsin a year ago, TCU became sexy. They knew it, too, agreeing to a $105 million expansion to their football stadium last year which currently only holds 44,000 people. Expected to be done in 2012.
TCU has an enrollment of just over 9,000 students, by far the smallest in the Big 12. It's basketball program has been a joke forever, along with it's basketball facility, the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. The 50-year old building has a capacity of just 7,166. The only truly redeeming qualities of TCU are football and playing in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
Now with the top 25 football program and 4 million sets of eyeballs in tow, the fun begins. If the Big 12 wants to gain some credibility back, it should probably add two more to get to 12 to have a title game. Of course, until the SEC decides if it wants Mizzou or not, things are at a stalemate. Here's a few scenarios..
1) The Big 12 stays at 10, TCU steps in for Texas A&M and has the Aggies' old schedule.
2) Louisville, Cincinnati, BYU, and West Virginia are offered with some sort of hierarchy, i.e. Louisville gets first option to join, then WVU, etc. or something like that until we have 12 schools.
If Mizzou somehow does leave, you could still ask the above four schools but you'd obviously have to get commitments from 3/4 which would be tough. Without Mizzou, I see the Big 12 adding just one more to get back to 10 to stay above water for another year. Not a great spot, but certainly better than where the conference was a month ago. Baby steps.
If conference shakeups happened 5 years ago, TCU wouldn't have been on any one's radar. But somewhere after that 5th or 6th top 25 finish since 2000 or that 2nd consecutive BCS bowl, or that 13-0 season and Rose Bowl win over Wisconsin a year ago, TCU became sexy. They knew it, too, agreeing to a $105 million expansion to their football stadium last year which currently only holds 44,000 people. Expected to be done in 2012.
TCU has an enrollment of just over 9,000 students, by far the smallest in the Big 12. It's basketball program has been a joke forever, along with it's basketball facility, the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. The 50-year old building has a capacity of just 7,166. The only truly redeeming qualities of TCU are football and playing in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
Now with the top 25 football program and 4 million sets of eyeballs in tow, the fun begins. If the Big 12 wants to gain some credibility back, it should probably add two more to get to 12 to have a title game. Of course, until the SEC decides if it wants Mizzou or not, things are at a stalemate. Here's a few scenarios..
1) The Big 12 stays at 10, TCU steps in for Texas A&M and has the Aggies' old schedule.
2) Louisville, Cincinnati, BYU, and West Virginia are offered with some sort of hierarchy, i.e. Louisville gets first option to join, then WVU, etc. or something like that until we have 12 schools.
If Mizzou somehow does leave, you could still ask the above four schools but you'd obviously have to get commitments from 3/4 which would be tough. Without Mizzou, I see the Big 12 adding just one more to get back to 10 to stay above water for another year. Not a great spot, but certainly better than where the conference was a month ago. Baby steps.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Winners and Losers
Of course everyone saw the Lions sitting at 4-0 ready to play on Monday Night Football. Of course.
Winners
The NFC North: The Packers are 5-0 for the first time in 46 years or something. Aaron Rodgers is no worst than the 2nd best quarterback in the league, and it's obvious his constant winning since last December is irritating Brett Favre, which is a plus. The Lions have survived 3 games to start 4-0 and are preparing to play the Bears tonight on Monday Night Football. The rushing game is non-existent, this is all about the receiver they call Megatron. The Bears aren't terrible, either.
The SEC West: One of these years we're going to have a BCS title game without an SEC team, I can feel it. 2011 doesn't look to be one of those years though. LSU and Alabama are No. 1 and 2 in the latest AP polls and obviously, one of them will lose when they play this season. The winner of that Nov. 5 matchup will have a clear path to another title.
Here's LSU's remaining schedule after the Alabama game:
-Western Kentucky
-@ Ole Miss
-No. 10 Arkansas
and Alabama:
-@Mississippi State
-Georgia Southern
-@ No. 24 Auburn.
Kudos to both AD's for scheduling Western Kentucky and Georgia Southern late in the season, giving their teams a nice off week to stay sharp for the homestretch. That's why they win.
Indianapolis Colts: Stay with me here. The Colts have had the most consistent -and oftentimes best- quarterback play with Peyton Manning for the last decade. The one year he sits out due to injury just so happens to be the same year the best quarterback prospect of the last 15 years is available. The Colts are 0-5 with 3 straight road games coming up. There's a good chance their first win doesn't come until Nov. 13. And if that happens, there's a good chance they end up with the No. 1 pick in next year's draft. One of these teams will have the first pick:
-Colts (0-5)
-Dolphins (0-4)
-Vikings (1-4)
-Rams (0-4)
-Cardinals (1-4)
The Colts and Rams have looked the worst. The Rams won't draft Luck, so I could see them trading out of the first slot, leaving Indy two chances at nabbing Luck and letting him become Aaron Rodgers 2.0. That just wouldn't be fair.
Losers
The Border War: The Kansas defense might end up being the worst of all time. Last week against Oklahoma State, Mike Gundy pulled the starters in the 1st half. He could have put 100 on KU if he wanted but he let his walk-ons only tack on 14 in the second half, winning 70-28. The defense is giving up 49 points a game and is getting worse, if that's possible. And if you believe in rumors from anonymous sources, there's this:
"Informed sources tell Football Rumor Mill that, even though Kansas head coach Turner Gill has a significant buyout on his contract, he could well be unemployed at season’s end. It seems AD Sheahon Zenger is running out of patience with his predecessor’s last hire"
Then there's Missouri. After trying desperately to get a Big 10 invite last year, they're trying again this time around for the SEC. The talks definitely seem much farther along than last summer, but the longer things drag out, the more you have to wonder if Mizzou will get left at the altar again. Leaking quotes that the SEC isn't your first choice can't help things at all.
"One Mizzou source has told the AP that the Big Ten remains the school’s top choice, but Jim Delany’s league "“has no interest"" and about the SEC, he said."" That’s what’s left,”" the person said referring to the SEC."
And while the Tigers try to join the SEC West (Alabama, LSU, Auburn etc.), they're having trouble in the Big 12. At 2-3, a bowl game is no longer a foregone conclusion.
The Eagles: The Dream Team is more of a nightmare at this point. Hopefully people are realizing Michael Vick is nothing more than a good quarterback who's never done anything of merit in the playoffs. From a sexy Superbowl pick to 1-3, I'm not sure what the problem is, but it couldn't have happened to a nicer group of fans.
Ron Zook: Can't get out of his own way
.
Winners
The NFC North: The Packers are 5-0 for the first time in 46 years or something. Aaron Rodgers is no worst than the 2nd best quarterback in the league, and it's obvious his constant winning since last December is irritating Brett Favre, which is a plus. The Lions have survived 3 games to start 4-0 and are preparing to play the Bears tonight on Monday Night Football. The rushing game is non-existent, this is all about the receiver they call Megatron. The Bears aren't terrible, either.
The SEC West: One of these years we're going to have a BCS title game without an SEC team, I can feel it. 2011 doesn't look to be one of those years though. LSU and Alabama are No. 1 and 2 in the latest AP polls and obviously, one of them will lose when they play this season. The winner of that Nov. 5 matchup will have a clear path to another title.
Here's LSU's remaining schedule after the Alabama game:
-Western Kentucky
-@ Ole Miss
-No. 10 Arkansas
and Alabama:
-@Mississippi State
-Georgia Southern
-@ No. 24 Auburn.
Kudos to both AD's for scheduling Western Kentucky and Georgia Southern late in the season, giving their teams a nice off week to stay sharp for the homestretch. That's why they win.
Indianapolis Colts: Stay with me here. The Colts have had the most consistent -and oftentimes best- quarterback play with Peyton Manning for the last decade. The one year he sits out due to injury just so happens to be the same year the best quarterback prospect of the last 15 years is available. The Colts are 0-5 with 3 straight road games coming up. There's a good chance their first win doesn't come until Nov. 13. And if that happens, there's a good chance they end up with the No. 1 pick in next year's draft. One of these teams will have the first pick:
-Colts (0-5)
-Dolphins (0-4)
-Vikings (1-4)
-Rams (0-4)
-Cardinals (1-4)
The Colts and Rams have looked the worst. The Rams won't draft Luck, so I could see them trading out of the first slot, leaving Indy two chances at nabbing Luck and letting him become Aaron Rodgers 2.0. That just wouldn't be fair.
Losers
The Border War: The Kansas defense might end up being the worst of all time. Last week against Oklahoma State, Mike Gundy pulled the starters in the 1st half. He could have put 100 on KU if he wanted but he let his walk-ons only tack on 14 in the second half, winning 70-28. The defense is giving up 49 points a game and is getting worse, if that's possible. And if you believe in rumors from anonymous sources, there's this:
"Informed sources tell Football Rumor Mill that, even though Kansas head coach Turner Gill has a significant buyout on his contract, he could well be unemployed at season’s end. It seems AD Sheahon Zenger is running out of patience with his predecessor’s last hire"
Then there's Missouri. After trying desperately to get a Big 10 invite last year, they're trying again this time around for the SEC. The talks definitely seem much farther along than last summer, but the longer things drag out, the more you have to wonder if Mizzou will get left at the altar again. Leaking quotes that the SEC isn't your first choice can't help things at all.
"One Mizzou source has told the AP that the Big Ten remains the school’s top choice, but Jim Delany’s league "“has no interest"" and about the SEC, he said."" That’s what’s left,”" the person said referring to the SEC."
And while the Tigers try to join the SEC West (Alabama, LSU, Auburn etc.), they're having trouble in the Big 12. At 2-3, a bowl game is no longer a foregone conclusion.
The Eagles: The Dream Team is more of a nightmare at this point. Hopefully people are realizing Michael Vick is nothing more than a good quarterback who's never done anything of merit in the playoffs. From a sexy Superbowl pick to 1-3, I'm not sure what the problem is, but it couldn't have happened to a nicer group of fans.
Ron Zook: Can't get out of his own way
Long Time No See
My old blog is no more, kind of. If you want to read any older posts you still can over there. If you want to know why I'm here now, leave a comment. (Page hits, people.)
Thanks to the steroid era, baseball's 500 Club has lost a lot of luster. Luckily, it's not the only 500 landmark in sports.
-There's 25 members of baseball's 500 club. 10 of those players played in the steroid era, and everyone in that group was either A) caught using steroids B) caught lying about steroids C) forgot English when asked about steroids, or D) suspected of using steroids at some point. Except this guy.
-Only 11 NFL quarterbacks have thrown for 500+ yards in a single game.
-Dan Marino and Tom Brady make sense. Vince Ferragamo had me clicking on google, and what do you know, he has his own website. Not only that, but there's actually a Vince Ferragamo fan club. That's right. For only $30.00 you get an autographed photo, a Vince Ferragamo button, and an autographed letter thanking you for that $30.00. I'd pay Vince $30.00 just to see how many people are actually in his fan club.
-The Kansas City Royals and Pittsburgh Pirates have combined for 2 seasons over .500 since 1993. The Red Sox have accomplished the feat 16 times in that span. The Yankees 19.
-2 pitchers, Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera have over 500 saves. Rivera now has 603, two more than Hoffman. No active player is within 170 of the 500 mark.
-The Indy 500 and Daytona 500 are the only races Americans remotely care about.
That's all for now.
Thanks to the steroid era, baseball's 500 Club has lost a lot of luster. Luckily, it's not the only 500 landmark in sports.
-There's 25 members of baseball's 500 club. 10 of those players played in the steroid era, and everyone in that group was either A) caught using steroids B) caught lying about steroids C) forgot English when asked about steroids, or D) suspected of using steroids at some point. Except this guy.
-Only 11 NFL quarterbacks have thrown for 500+ yards in a single game.
-Dan Marino and Tom Brady make sense. Vince Ferragamo had me clicking on google, and what do you know, he has his own website. Not only that, but there's actually a Vince Ferragamo fan club. That's right. For only $30.00 you get an autographed photo, a Vince Ferragamo button, and an autographed letter thanking you for that $30.00. I'd pay Vince $30.00 just to see how many people are actually in his fan club.
-The Kansas City Royals and Pittsburgh Pirates have combined for 2 seasons over .500 since 1993. The Red Sox have accomplished the feat 16 times in that span. The Yankees 19.
-2 pitchers, Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera have over 500 saves. Rivera now has 603, two more than Hoffman. No active player is within 170 of the 500 mark.
-The Indy 500 and Daytona 500 are the only races Americans remotely care about.
That's all for now.
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