NFL
The Steelers are back. Or at least their D is. I (and others) were ready to pile dirt on the Steelers season but they now sit at 3-0. I think at this point it would hard to overstate the difference Troy Polalamalu. Pitt's D after being pedestrian at best last year, is back to being smothering.
Damn You Carroll . I really want Pete Carroll to fail. I have to admit my biases up front. But operating in an utterly pathetic NFC West...Carroll might.... hell probably will end up in the playoffs by simply being average. And as horrible as a person as Carroll is...he has the Seahawks poised to be average....
No Run Away Trains - For the first time in awhile, the number of undefeated teams is pretty slim going into Week 4. I'll be shocked if by the halfway point there are any left. New Orleans seems human, Texans were reminded they are the Texans, and New England's D gave up 30 to Ryan Fitzpatrick. While again anything is possible, this season seems to continually reinforce the message...there are no favorites.
College Football
Haters Beware Rick Neuheisel has a signature win with a 34-12 beat down of Texas (in Texas). Partly Texas' offensive trouble caught up with them. 5 turnovers and only 1 TD in garbage time will make it tough for any team to win. But UCLA also ground out 265 yards rushing (and only 27 yards passing)
Another Top QB Prospect bites the dust. Last week it was Jake Lockler, this week Ryan Mallet step on down. Yes Mallet's box score wasn't awful but in a crucial game Mallet threw 3 INTs, all of which were inexcusable. One of the INTs Mallet standing in the red zone forced a pass over the middle of the end zone (always a no-no). The other Mallet failed to throw a ball out of bounds. And not the took the sack fail but under threw a throw away pass...ending Arkansas' last try. Ok Andrew Luck...step on up....
The Nevada Factor I think an under-rated factor of this weekend is that Nevada is now in the top 25. Why is this big? Boise will play at Nevada in one of the last weekends of the year. If Nevada can move up the ranks, then Boise will be able to return to the spotlight. A big win at Nevada could also be a big boost for Boise in the computers....
Other
The Carmelo Trade - As of writing this the trade of Carmelo to New Jersey is still in a holding pattern. It's unclear what the exact hold up is. Carmelo only wants the Knicks/Bulls ? Worldwide Wes is waiting for his ring to be kissed? Paul trying to coordinate with Carmelo. Who knows. What is assured (or at least what I'm willing to bet Colonel's home on) is that Carmelo will be somewhere other than Denver when the season starts...
8 comments:
NFL:
1) I had Pittsburgh in the AFC championship game so I'm not surprised they're playing well. Mendenhall is their kind of running back (power/clock-eater) and the defense is just fantastic. I'm happy the Steelers are playing well, if only because I hate the Patriots and if it has to be one of the usual suspects in the AFC, I'd rather it be Rooney's team over Kraft's.
2) The NFC West is so bad that, yes, a mediocre 8-8 record could get the division title and the playoff berth that comes with it. I think Seattle has two wins by virtue of playing some lousy teams. I don't know who else they play but I'm quite sure they'll get crushed against the better teams in the league.
3) Eli Manning sucks and so do the Giants. I know none of you believe me but I watch them every weekend and I know what I see. Eli Manning leads the NFL with eight turnovers (six INT/two FUM).
NCAA:
Boise State barely beat Oregon State at home. I don't give a fuck if Nevada goes undefeated, cures cancer and licks Pope Benedict XVI's anus into a bright and shiny clean, Boise State is overrated and BSU's likely win over Nevada should mean nothing in a rational world.
NBA:
Here's the one thing that no one realizes with the Carmelo trade: if he's not willing to sign a contract extension, no trade will happen. And, really, why would Carmelo want to sign a contract extension today when he can get the ass-kissing treatment this summer like Wade, James and Bosh did? Why would you want to make a decision with one suitor today when you can wait a few months and make a decision with many more suitors?
Carmelo is either getting traded to a team willing to acquire him without the guaranteed contract extension or he's not being traded at all. The Nets will not get Anthony, that much is sure.
I can not support any support of the hated Steelers. Not on my watch.
Given the insanity that has gone on recently I'm not sure I can predict what will happen but what's different about Carmelo versus The One Who Must Be Named is the new CBA. The New CBA could mean dramatically lower salary, restrictions on where he could sign, etc. So eventually I assume Carmelo will buckle under rather than accept the risk of free agency in 2012.
The other factor is Denver learned from the Cavs experience that the superstars won't resign and therefore don't want to be left holding the bag. So I think Denver will ship Carmelo no matter what. So combined I expect a deal to get done before the training camp starts...
my guess is that he will end up in Jersey. They are used to drunken drivers driving erratically in the middle of night, which is Melo does with the best of them.
@Mighty: I agree that Denver has motivation to trade him. But since Denver can't trade him without finding a willing trade partner first, I don't think we can absolutely bank on Anthony being traded if any potential trade partner doesn't want to part with draft picks and players to acquire a player that won't sign a contract extension.
I understand that a new CBA could impact Anthony's earning power but if he actually cared about that, he would've signed the 3Y/$65M extension that Denver offered him. That he turned it down tells me that, one way or another, Anthony wants to experience free agency.
Now, if the Nets or another team can eventually get comfortable trading for Anthony without the safety net of a contract extension, that's a different story altogether. But as long as Denver's trade counterparties require Anthony to sign a contract extension, no trade will happen.
@MJ (oh twitter speak) I see where your coming from and it is a pretty persuasive argument.
The catch I meant about the CBA is that it's unclear about where the salary cap/luxery tax line will be. In that sense it's one thing to leave 5-8 million on the table it's another to leave double-triple that amount, followed quickly by no guarantee you can sign with the team you want (i.e., do they have salary cap space)
Ultimately you might well be right that my thinking that players care somewhat about money is outmoded....
@Mighty: I should be clear in that I think players do care about money. All I meant to say was that, as with Lebron James, Anthony cares more about experiencing free agency and less about locking into a contract today.
For a player of lesser skill and fame, the upcoming labor issues would make this a time for taking the money today. A player like Anthony can afford to gamble that he will still make top dollar under any new system, even one as restrictive as the one we can assume will be put into place.
Remember, he doesn't have to sign a max contract with a new team. He can sign a one-year deal for the maximum allowable dollar value and then get grandfathered in as a max contract player the following season.
Actually that was a question I had, does the CBS/lockout happen before free agency (July whatever). It was my understanding it did and therefore the one year contract was unavailable but it seems your saying the opposite. Can anyone confirm the actual dates of these things?
I'm joining the discussion late...
1) I dislike the Steelers and do not like their defense looking good. Then again, they've played the likes of Vince Young and Tampa the last two weeks... though the week 1 win vs. ATL was impressive.
2) I dislike Carroll and the entire NFC West.
3) Mallet's attempt to throw the ball to the sideline was so sad... as it was easily picked off instead.
4) I appreciate the update on Nevada... but I don't think Boise will make the championship game under any scenario this season, short of Virginia Tech running the ACC table and James Madison winning lots of games. For those curious, Sagarin (one of the 6 computer rankings) has James Madison at #36 right now... granted, these rankings usually mean nothing until 8 games of data are inserted.
5) My opinion on Carmelo: he is absolutely positively signing an extension. If he doesn't, he will be forced into the new agreement which will not be pleasant for him either. The CBA expires on 6/30/2011, BEFORE free agency.
Here's an article http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=coon_larry&page=lockout-100922
(scroll down to the "effects on free-agent market")... and it states the same assumption I've had: NBA Players are encouraged to sign extensions right now (and lock in higher salaries).
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