MMBSD: Playoffs and Bowls Oh My!

Well a 2 score+ bowl games and Wild Card weekend is in the books. That's a lot of football. Luckily the couch was up to handling myself, the otter and a case of bud. So what did we learn?

NFL
Surprise - Of all the playoff games this year the one that surprised me the most was Arizona's win over Atlanta. Yes in hindsight we should have considered rookie QB and team that went too far too fast but Arizona had struggled against anyone not in the NFC West (3-7) and certainly anyone with a rushing attack. Arizona showed a toughness that Wisenhunt had last seen in the Steel City in crushing turner and battering Ryan. Not going to say the Cardinals will go any further but a playoff home win in Arizona? First time for everything...

Unsaid Stories - A lot could be said about the San Diego v. Indy game (reffing, Manning v. Rivers, Manning v. 3-4 Ds, Rivera taking over the D, etc, etc) but one of the unsaid stories is depth. San Diego last year lost the leagues best running back backup (Turner) and nearly immediately lost Tomlinson. Yet Sproles not only held his own but was the star. It truly is an impressive feat for San Diego's draft acumen to have such depth on the team. With a half strength Addai Indy's rushing game just never seemed to show and that as much as anything killed the Colts

College Bowl Games
Outside of Charity Hodges (who does I believe sideline NASCAR reporting or something) I still can't figure out why they have sideline reporters. Its like you could have a magic eight ball of trite coach sayings instead of those painful halftime interviews.

Bowl games are odd entities as I've mentioned and as such gleaming truths from then might be near excercises in futility but a few storylines and truisms seem to be leaking out. While the Midwest conferences (MAC/Big 10) have barely escaped a zero win I would just chalk it up to the structural and inevitable collapse of that entire region than to anything serious like bad coaching.

The West via the Pac 10 and MWC were appeared to be under-rated while the Big 12s superiority (most notably Texas Tech's, Ok State's and Mizzou's stinkers) seems to be over-rated. While glorified exhibitions these games are important for recruiting and pre-season rankings (which are far more important for determining the national championship and big bowls than is typically acknowledged) .

Anyway predictions for the final BCS bowls
Texas 34 OSU 17

Florida 40 Oklahoma 21

Respect the U

Congrats to the only undefeated team in FSB College Football Hitman's Utah Utes. I'm done making predictions and I for one welcome Utah's reign as the national champion. Also I believe after the game Nick Saban was arrested after killing 5 men with his bare hands. On a more serious note, I realize its beating a dead horse, but go figure out a plus one playoff now. Hooray for random bowls!

Bowl Thoughts and Pre-Playoffs

1) For the umpeenth year in a row now USC ends the season looking as dominant as any team in the land. We can play the What if game (What if USC hadn't slept walked through the first half against Oregon State? What if the Pac 10 played the way they did in the bowl games (5-0) all season? ) But there was no particular reason to have placed USC in the championship or even in a plus one. Which probably goes to show the fallacy of either having meaning. Sure we can only point to USC's loss against Oregon State but is that truly worse than Florida's loss to Ole'Miss? Yes? No? Maybe so?

I often wonder how much of the Big 10s current image is simply a function of USC dominance. (I'm sure SEC fans will say USC would be somehow average in their conference but A) Name another team that has 9 starters on their defense that will be drafted in the first two rounds and B) the SEC's depth was exposed in this bowl season. Put it differently there is no other team that I'd say is superior to USC if they played next week. And there's absolutely no way to prove it - no matter what format was used.

2) The Bowl games have shown theres a fairly large discrepencies between some of the conferences. While the Cotton Bowl and National Championship will probably adjucate between the Big 2, as much as it paints me its clear the Big 10 belong with the ACC and Big East at the bottom. Its unclear how much of the Pac 10 record is a function of beating non-BCSers and not traveling well enough to face off against the best of the Big 2 but Oregon's win over Ok State shows that if it is a step behind its in the teams that didn't make the Bowl games (oh yeah not every conference team makes a bowl game)

3) The ACC seems to have a number of rising and young teams and while they didn't overperform this year, my sense is that they will be declared the next big thing as soon as they get a headline win. Circle V-Tech v. Alabama in September as one of those headline games.


On the Random News Front
1) Starbury might be headed to Boston. Outside of annoited team must sign random veteran ex-star why does this make sense?

2) Minnesota and Arizona have STILL (as of 10:11 AM Friday) have no sold enough tickets to avoid a local blackout. I wonder if in this economic environment it makes sense to have the NFL blackout rule. Heck, I still don't understand the blackout rule period. But then again the league front office does seem to have sado-masochistic theme going.

3) Its obvious now in the NFL coaching carousel that the Browns should hire Mangini, the Jets Shanahan and the Broncos Rome Crennel. No? One of the oddities about coaching GM/hires is that frankly we as fans have no idea whats going on and relying on Jay Glazer's anonymous sources (Jay Glazer here according to anonymous sources mop and glow is great on shaved heads) doesn't seem particularly informative.

Sir Charles

In case you haven't heard, Charles Barkley was arrested at 1:30 last night in Arizona on suspicion of drunken driving. Now, of course, he is innocent until proven guilty, a concept I am quite familiar with, but I thought a great way to end the year was to display some quotes and pictures of one of sports' most colorful characters: Sir Charles.

Barkley was clearly in innovator in colorful antics on and off the playing field and really paved the way for some of today's superstars.

Here are some real Barkley quotes (and random pictures thrown in):

"I don't know what that gas is made of, but it can't smell any worse than Ernie Johnson 's gym bag."

"I got superstar treatment. Every else got bologna and water. I got bologna and milk (while in a Milwaukee jail)."

"Somebody hits me, I'm going to hit him back. Even if it does look like he hasn't eaten in a while."

"The only difference between a good shot and a bad shot is if it goes in or not."

"If the politically correct police ever came into a professional locker room ... Oh my God ... we could start World War III every day in there."

"I was asked for years about being a Republican, probably because most black people are Democrats. My mother heard it once and called me and said "Charles, Republicans are for the rich people." And I said, "Mom, I'm rich."

"I am not a role model. I am paid to wreak havoc on the basketball court. Parents should be role models. Just because I dunk a basketball doesn't mean I should raise your kids."

"What does politically correct mean? If you're fat, don't ask me if you're fat, because I'm gonna tell you the truth. You're fat."

"When I speak to kids I tell them, "Hey, you think your parents are a pain in the ass now, but they're going to get smarter as you get older." (huh?)

"Sometimes that light at the end of the tunnel is a train."

"The main thing to do is relax and let your talent do the work."

"We don't need refs, but I guess white guys need something to do."

"If I weren't earning $3 million a year to dunk a basketball, most people on the street would run in the other direction if they saw me coming."

"I think that the team that wins game five will win the series. Unless we lose game five." (did he steal that from Bill Walton)

"I don't create controversies. They're there long before I open my mouth. I just bring them to your attention."

"I May Be Wrong but I Doubt It." (I think that's the title of this book......yeah, he wrote book)

"Any time a little midget does something like this, you gotta give him a 10 (regarding a Nate Robinson dunk at All-Star weekend)!."

"Thank God for Jerry Springer's show. I thought only black folks were that screwed up until I watched Jerry Springer."

"I came to the realization a couple months ago that I am fat. If you get tired from walking - and that's all that golf is - then you are officially fat."

Have a good new year all

Welcome to the 2008 NFL Playoffs!

It's time for the NFL Playoffs, one of my favorite times of the year. Let's do it!

3-Miami vs. 6-Baltimore - This certainly was not expected by anyone. Two first year coaches. Two teams that thought they had long rebuilding projects. In the end though, my hatred of the Ravens is the difference maker, as is usual. I just don't trust Flacco, and no one else should either because we all know he's Cobra.
Pick: Miami

4-San Diego vs. 5-Indy - This is, far and away, the game of the week. The Chargers and Colts keep having clashes. Let's recap:
2008 - Indy wins during reg. season (23-20)
2007 - SD wins during reg. season behind multi-INT game by Cromartie, and SD upsets the Colts in the playoffs
2005 - SD ruins the Colts perfect season, sending the Colts into a weird tailspin to end the season that ends in a loss to the Steelers.
However, before anyone gives me the whole, "the Chargers are 8-8, you can't seriously be considering them!" I want to remind everyone that the Chargers have already: (1) lost in the last second to CAR, (2) lost to Denver when Hochuli got on his knees and blew the call; (3) lost by 7 to Miami, 1 to Pittsburgh, 3 to Indy, and 6 to Atlanta. What does this all mean? It means the Chargers are much better than just "some 8-8 team."
As further proof of that, Pro Football Reference runs an expected win-loss formula... and the Chargers are expected to be better than 10-6 (10.2-5.8). The Colts? They are also "expected" to be 10.2-5.8 ! This game is a complete toss-up also because both teams are red-hot, and the Steelers (Roethlisberger concussion) and the Titans (QB = Kerry Collins?) have issues. In a lot of ways... the winner of this game can determine the AFC's super bowl participant!
So how do I determine the winner of this game? Here's my arbitrary method this time: the Colts haven't played a tough team since November! The Chargers meanwhile, already were in two ridiculous games against teams that were desperate (Tampa and then Denver). Of course, both Tampa and Denver failed to make the playoffs. Before the Colts easy end to the season (Cleveland, Cincy, Detroit, Jacksonville, Tennessee w/o starters), the Colts had already beaten Minnesota, Baltimore, New England, and Pittsburgh. Again, my method has proved useless... so, I'm doing the unthinkable.
Pick: San Diego

3-Minnesota vs. 6-Philly - This should be an interesting game, but I still can't figure out the Eagles - they've beaten the Cowboys by 38, lost by 29 to the Ravens, tied the Bengals, and beaten the Steelers! I think that Minnesota's steady running game and defense and homefield should prevail.
Pick: Minnesota

4-Arizona vs. 5-Atlanta - This is another completely unexpected playoff matchup. In the end, the Cardinals are 6-0 in their crappy division and 3-7 versus everyone else. At least they get a home playoff game.
Pick: Atlanta

Now I’m going to pick the whole playoff tree, but I’ll be back each week to pick the matchups. So, it’s time to get to what I’m seeing in my crystal ball (which never actually happens)…

AFC
3-Miami vs. 2-Pittsburgh - Wildcat! It's the word of the year! I think the dream-ride comes to an end though. Will Roethlisberger still be shaken up from the concussion? No one knows, but I'll assume he's okay.
Pick: Pittsburgh

1-Tennessee vs. 4-San Diego - Last year, the Chargers beat the Titans in a slugfest. I say, "encore, encore!"
Pick: San Diego

4-San Diego vs. 2-Pittsburgh - remember, I'm assuming Roethlisberger is okay.
Pick: Pittsburgh

NFC
3-Minnesota vs. 2- CAR - Both of these teams can run and play defense. However, the Panthers just need to hit Steve Smith on one or two home-runs and that should be the difference.
Pick: CAR

1-Giants vs. 4-Atlanta - I assume the Falcons dream-ride comes to an end.
Pick: Giants

1-Giatns vs. 2-CAR - Rematch city! My theory on rematches is that the lost comes back to bite the winner in the arse.
Pick: CAR

Super Bowl:
CAR vs. Pittsburgh
Pick: CAR
-I don't know how anyone will stop the Panthers duo of RBs. I think this year is more wide-open than ever, hence my unconventional picks and I really wouldn't be surprised by anything at this point.

Final Stats From the Regular Season
Last Week: 11-5
Yahoo “Average”: 160-95 (I found out that this is not an average, it’s just that if 51% of the nation picks a team, than that counts as one game correct. Basically, this is almost the same as “picking the favorites.”)
Me: 149-106-1 (as I’ve said before, I’m like the San Antonio Spurs, and I only pick well in the odd years for some reason.)
Manwich: 11-8 (thanks Chargers)
Upset Special: 1-16 (I jinxed the Chiefs into losing to the Bungals)

Disturbing

Check out this article:
http://proxy.espn.go.com/nfl/sportsnation/ratings
It is the ratings of all the NFL coaches from the "from the 2008 SportsNation NFL Head Coach Approval Ratings". There are a number of disturbing things in this article.
1. Jeff Fisher's mustache
2. The look on Marvin Lewis' face.
3. How drunk Sean Payton looks
4. How cross-eyed Mike McCarthy looks.
okay, aside from the "asthetic" problems, there are many problems with these rankings. Such as:
1. Wade Phillips got a 13% rating, and Rod Marinelli got a 29% rating. That means 16% of the people in this poll thought Marinelli was a better coach than Wade Phillips. Absurd. Wade Phillips went 9-7 and almost made the playoffs, but Marinelli didn't get a win. Apparently, 16%, or one of every 6 people doing this survey felt that going above .500 and barely missing the playoffs was more disappointing than being the first winless team EVER.
2. 19% of those people approved of Romeo Crennel. That's 1 out of every 5 people. I swear to god, do not let me drink alcohol around any of those people, because I will cut them. Who on earth thinks Romeo did well this year? Was it his stellar clock managment or his awesome play calling? If his "approval" rating had shown up as like 5% or something, I would think that's just a few people that were really drunk, dont know how to work a computer, or are steeler fans just trying to make us feel worse, but 19%, thats just crazy. To be honest, i doubt 19% of the browns players would approve of Romeo this year. Clearly, Randy Lerner is part of the 81%, hahah.
3. Jim Haslett got a 38% rating, with a 2-14 record. That is over 3 times the rating received by Dick Jauron who had a 7-9 record. What? are you kidding?
4. Tom Cable got a 74% rating. For those of you who didn't know, Tom Cable is the Raiders coach. Yeah, I don't i would've known that if it weren't in the article? Are the raiders still in the league? Apparently 3 out of 4 people not only know the raiders exist, but like them. Weird.
5. Mike Singletary received an 88%. This number clearly should be higher, it should be around 98% simply because he is driving force behind Mustache Monday.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3789504
Yeah, and if you want a kick, google Ray Wersching or Kevin Fagan to see a mustache that would make Ned Flanders jealous.
Laz

More Browns

The two newest articles are that Crennel has been fired (big shock) and that Cowher is not interested.
http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2008/12/cleveland_browns_fired_romeo_c.html
http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2008/12/fox_cowher_not_interested_in_c.html
I can only think of that one scene in Anchorman, after that fight between all the news stations, and Burgundy and the other guys are sitting around drinking (at work), and one of them goes, "That really escalated quickly".
Considering how bad yesterday's game was, it actually has been an exciting and rumor-clad 12 hours.
Laz

Suck it, Phil

Dear Phil Savage,
Don't let the door hit you on the way out. Despite having a huge hand in creating one of the lowest point (if not THE lowest) in the Browns fandome history I can honestly say you're a worse human being than you were a GM .......

I can only hope you never work with people ever again....

Parting Gifts for Every College Football Player in a Bowl Game!

This is the first time I've found one article listing all of the different gifts that college football players get for playing in a specific bowl game. Apparently, the College Football Bowl games are actually a longer gift-giving event than Hannukah, as the Bowl games are spread out over 19 days!

I think many of you will find this list entertaining.

Some highlights:
1) Las Vegas Bowl (Arizona vs. BYU) - Nintendo Wii sports bundle package, a watch, and a hat.
2) St. Petersburg (Memphis vs. So. Florida) AND Papajohns.com (NC State vs. Rutgers)- Camcorder, Noise-canceling headphones, Ogio bag
3) Hawaii (Notre Dame vs. Hawaii) - Kicker iKick500 iPod/iPhone Dock, Silk tie, Oakley sunglasses, Kahala aloha shirt, Beach chair, Beach towel, T-shirt, Calendar, Hat, Visor, Backpack, Luggage tags - I think the players should have to try to wear all this stuff at once and use it all at once!
4) Insight (Kansas vs. Minnesota) - Vizio 26" LCD HD TV, watch, Snack pack, hat - I don't know why the snack pack gets listed when they are also giving away 26" TVs !!!!

Lowlights:
1) Motor City (C. Michigan - Florida Atlantic) - souvenir watch, 2-piece leather travel set
2) International (Buffalo vs. UConn) - football, watch, duffel, backpack - Sounds like leftovers to me!

Year End: Things to Watch

Well like most of the world I'll be shutting down till the end of the year save for a random post if something big comes along.

So a few things to keep an eye on

Next day or two
BSD will pass the 50,000 visitor mark. Now most of these are me hitting refresh every 3 seconds but its still a pretty cool accomplishment. Thanks to all this year that contributed, may 2009 be even better.

Dec 25th
Celtics v. Lakers. The Celtics are obviously on a historic pace to crush the Bulls record win total and not lose another game for the rest of the century. Or that's I assume what will be declared if they beat the Lakers in LA on Christmas Day.

Dec 27th
North Carolina v. West Virgina; Wisconsin v. FSU. The ACC has slowly but surely been creeping back into respectability and seem poised to at least challenge the notion of 2 conference college football dominance. The spring board starts on the 27th

December 28th
Last day of pro football with lots still on the line. Miami v. Jets in the Pennington Bowl; Dallas v. Philly in the last stand of Wade Phillips Bowl; and of course Denver v. San Diego in the 2 QBs that really really hate each other bow. Should be awesome

December 30th
Every year Gutsy and I pick one random bowl to watch. This year its Oklahoma State v. Oregon. Both teams average well over 40 points and 67205 yards of offense per game. Stewart Mandel of CNNSI is predicting both teams score over 50. If you like offense and no defense this should be the trackmeet you want

December 31st
I nice quiet evening for Lucy and I but for the rest of you I recommend a nice bottle of the bubbly, some quality appetizers and a random pie fights.

Happy Holidays to all you BSDers out there from Lucy Pinder and I

49ers Growing Tribute Moustaches!

Need another reason to jump on the 49ers' bandwagon as they finish off the 2nd half strongly?

They are all growing MOUSTACHES in honor of photos of the team's greats.

Merry Christmas, Happy Channukah, Happy Festivus, Happy Kwanzaa, and Happy Holidays to all!

Week 17 - We Are The Champions

This week is the last week in the NFL season. This week is dedicated to all the fantasy football champions and real football champions out there... especially to my one fantasy football team that captured my first championship since I joined the league... back in 1992. No joke.
Random things that happened last time I won a fantasy football championship (courtesy of wikipedia):
-The English Premier League was formed!
-Bill Clinton defeated George H.W. Bush in the election
-Windows 3.1 was released... this is when your computer probably started up in DOS and you had to type in all of those weird commands, like: "cd dir"
-Silence of the Lambs won Best Picture
-Jay Leno became host of the Tonight Show


Manwich Matchup of the Week
Opening Round Playoff Game #10
Denver @ San Diego- I have to personally thank Philip Rivers for his 4-touchdown performance... he's my fantasy team's MVP. He's also the Chargers MVP and he will need to deliver again to complete the dramatic turn-around from 4-8, to 8-8 division champions! I will say it now... I don't think that the Chargers should be taken lightly in the playoffs.
Pick: San Diego

Upset of the Week #1
Opening Round Playoff Game #11
Miami @ Jets- Why are the Jets 3 point favorites at home? I'm snatching this up as my upset of the week. And yes... I've only hit one upset all season. However, the Dolphins are a great rags-to-riches story and Chad Pennington should play well and rub it in all of New York's faces, and yell out: "You cut me for that old bum Brett Favre... who's your daddy now!"
Pick: Miami

Upset of the Week #2
KC @ Cincy - Why are the Bungals 3 point favorites at home? I'm snatching this up as my SECOND upset of the week. KC's QB Tyler Thigpen has had a sweet 2nd-half... though the Chief hardly ever win, even though Coach Edwards keeps reminding his team that that's why they play the game. To win.
Pick: KC

Opening Round Playoff Game #12
Dallas @ Philly - Dallas somehow controls its own destiny. As MJ said earlier in the week, they are certainly the most talented team in the league. Let's just hope they stop allowing 70 and 80-yard TD runs.
Pick: Dallas

Oakland @ Tampa - Antonio Bryant was my pickup of the year. He's been a monster the last few weeks of the season... with 5 TDs and 498 yards in the last 4 games! I believe Tampa will win this game... but it probably won't matter as Tampa also needs a loss by Dallas to get in.
Pick: Tampa

Detroit @ Green Bay - Well... I really want to pick Detroit in this toilet bowl.. the Packers have lost 5 straight and the Lions have lost 16 straight dating back to last season... something tells me they will pull this out. They are desperate, right?!?
Pick: Detroit

Giants @ Minny- The Giants already have locked up homefield, so they may rest some people, which will allow Minny to clinch a division title.
Pick: Minny

Chicago @ Houston- The Bears play in the same 1PM slot as Minny, so logic would say the Bears will be playing very hard.
Pick: Houston

CAR @ New Orleans- CAR actually still needs to win to clinch a division title. However, the Panthers are shitty on the road, and the Saints are still 6-1 at home... so we mine as well predict more chaos with the Falcons getting a dramatic division title. In addition, this will continue the BIZARRE NFC South tradition of worst-to-first... as this would be the 5th time in 6 years. (2007 - Tampa, 2006 - New Orleans, 2004 - Atlanta, 2003 - CAR).
Pick: New Orleans

St. Louis @ ATL- See above... the ATL Falcons are a team of destiny (for the NFC South division title).
Pick: ATL

Jacksonville @ Baltimore- Unfortunately, even I know that the injured Jags probably stand no chance against the Ravens on the road. This will transport the Baltimore Cobras into the playoffs.
Pick: Baltimore

Tennessee @ Indy- Tennessee already has home field and should rest some players... The Colts are also locked in at #5 due to a victory over Baltimore, a victory over New England, a better conference record than Miami, and a 2-game lead over everyone else. Neither team has anything to play for, so I'll just go with the home team. I do also want to send my congratulations to Tennessee Rookie RB Chris Johnson for making the Pro Bowl and for helping my fantasy team win the championship.
Pick: Indy

Cleveland @ Pittsburgh- I think the Browns will score their first offensive TD since November 17th, simply because:
1) Pittsburgh has nothing to play for (they are locked in at #2) and
2) Ken Dorsey won't be playing.
Pick: Pittsburgh

New England @ Buffalo- The Patriots can still beat the Bills (while playing at 1PM), but then upon the Dolphins winning and the Ravens winning, the Patriots will become the first 11-5 team to NOT qualify for the playoffs!!! I don't even feel bad for them, and Bill Simmons and everyone else from Boston have no right to complain after Boston has won all of these Super Bowl titles, World Series titles, and NBA Championships in the last 7 years.
Pick: New England

Seattle @ Arizona- Arizona should play everyone because they need to at least try to find their groove again before the playoffs. Granted, I think they just can't beat any good teams.
Pick: Arizona

Washington @ San Fran- Washington became eliminated at some point. I don't know when. Meanwhile, the 49ers actually have a lot to play for, as they would become one of the hottest teams to end the season (and not make the playoffs).
Pick: San Fran

Last Week: 9-7 (there were a lot of upsets last weekend)
Season: 138-101-1
Manwich: 10-8 (I hit the Giants, but missed on the Steelers)
Upset of the Week: 1-15 (The Lions were miles away from that first win against the Saints. There's always next week.)

MMBSD: Wintery Goodness

Every year we're told about Dallas' talent. Heck every week someone says something about Romo's smile healing Zimbabwe or how they're the best defense in the NFC or whatever. However for several years now come December Dallas yanks the football away from the average Cowboyphiliac to lay a giant dud on the ground. It doesn't particularly matter anymore why or against who (in this case giving up 33 to the Ravens) but the bottom line is the team doesn't have the Heart to be a winner and shame on you to believe Cowboys are anything but a mirage.

Speaking of mirages....Brett Favre has begun his swan dive. After beating the Titans, which feels like last season at this point, the Jets were mentioned as AFC Championship material. Whether they were playing over their head, or the season wore them down or the cold weather got into the aging former superstar the Jets seem hell bent on giving away their playoff spot.

Shh..Favre is resting so he has enough energy not to retire...again

I was impressed.... and surprised by the Titans win. They had stumbled as of late, had an injured star in Haynesworth, and were playing the Steelers who seemed poised to take homefield advantage. Now I'm not sure if the Titans can recover 5 fumbles in the playoffs but its hard at this point not to have the Titans as the de facto favorite or at least until 5 minute from now.

A close game... between the Giants and Carolina. I'm still perplexed why Tom Coughlin doesn't cover his face as I swear at this point he's suffered frost bite on his frost bite. That said outside of perhaps Atlanta its unclear who could stop a playoff rematch between these teams as no one of the other potentials would I predict to win on the road.

NBA Notes
The Lakers, one of the supposed premier teams, are failing on their big road trips. Well maybe not failing but showing that they aren't one of those historically great teams. A good team but still soft in the middle, the same problem that led to their undoing last year. Andrew Bynum hasn't stepped up into the next level of play and without him the Lakers simply will not be able to defeat whoever comes out of the East

I maintain the Pistons made their trade of Billups for Iverson as part of a rebuilding move but that doesn't mean we have to ignore the NBA until 2010. So at least for this year the Pistons sans Billups and with Iverson seem quickly falling out of the ranks of the elite or potential elite as symbolized by their loss to the Hawks.

College Football
While I will be doing a quick bowl preview later this week just a few bowl games before the main serving of bowl fun starts. On Tuesday two of the best of the non-BCS go toe to toe with #11 TCU v. #9 Boise State. Outside of Utah these are probably the two best non-BCS schools. On Wednesday get a helping of schadenfreude as Notre Dame tries to break it 14 year bowl losing streak (It hasn't won since 1994 in the Cotton Bowl)

Lendale White stomps stupid steeler rag

While totally immature, will probably come back to haunt them and totally based on sheer bitterness of a broken Browns season, I think this might be the best moment of the week. Who can't enjoy a good old fashioned terrible towel stomping....

Cromeo Rennel

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd174/delts636/Humor/WAC_01.jpg

happy festivus to cleveland. tonight im getting the pole out of the crawlspace. you should all prepare for the heiring of grievances.

El Zilcho

on tuesday night i was at a bar and like all good bars, they have a tv with espn on that i was watching from a distance instead of listening to my girlfriend. for some reason, women's ncaa basketball was on the tv, but that is irrelevant. on the ticker at the bottom, i saw a report that "sources say the cavs are discussing a possible trade with the suns where varajeo and sczerbiak could be traded for amare stoudamire." that was really awesome. so when i got home, i searched all around for any more info on the story. for the last two days i've found nothing whatsoever. does anyone have any info on this?
laz

Cheers and Jeers: Winter of Discontent

• Booze (lots)
  

Well we're nearing the holidays and this year its probably best to grab a carton of cigs and a bottle of your favorite winter booze (C&J recommends the brownest of the brown) to try to handle the Winter of Discontent (I assume next winter will be the Winter of Depression or Rage depending on which stage we of coping we are in)

Jeers: to Boston dominance. Its the holidays where I believe spreading the wealth is a virtue or some bullshit like that. Last year the Patriots won more regular season games then any other team in NFL history. This year is ending it with the Celtics on pace to set the NBA record for all time wins. Just remember every time the Celtics win, an angel loses its wings

File photo of KG

Jeers: To the Economy. Yes there's lots of bigger issues than bowl games but its an awfully stark marker that you can get bowl tickets for cheaper than the aforementioned pack of cigs. Its going to be even more when bowl after bowl looks like an ACC Championship game.

C&J sees empty seats on Jan 1

Jeers: To 0-16. C&J doesn't have a big enough love of historic accomplishments to wish that level of suffering on any franchise. The Lions suffering masks how putrid some of the teams are this year. In the past 7 years there are around 2-3 teams with 4 or less losses as of Week 16 there are 8. Good thing the NFL trademarked the term "parity" otherwise the term would ring rather hollow.

Jeers: To Arkansas allowing Dick to be released. I think there are laws against that.

Remember its always darkest before the light or before things go pitch black. In either event while you contemplate if that light is the end of the tunnel or an oncoming training try to find some solace in the fact that the C&J gal of the Winter of Discontent is Kelly Brook

The Hot, Crusty Breath Of An Old Man Lingers...

Three more years? At what point does Penn State have the courage to dip their toe into the future? With all due respect to Joe Paterno – a great man, a good coach, and the leader of a generally honorable program (recent news-making incidents notwithstanding) – how can Penn State believe that their program is best-led by an 82 year old man?

Obviously the world of college football is a troubled place, where coaches make Faustian bargains with the lives, health, and futures of young adults. A lot of these coaches make their names and their money through the exploitation of these kids and don’t think twice about it. In that sense, Paterno is a nice change of pace. But there are other honorable people in college football too. I think Penn State shouldn’t be afraid to find out about these people.

In a way, Penn State’s successful 2008 season might’ve been the worst thing to happen to them. They’re now nominally committed to Paterno for three more seasons because, I believe, they’re just too scared to let go of the past and embrace the future.

Week 16 - Let's Get Dangerous!

I caught part of a Batman movie this week which somehow reminded me of Darkwing Duck in my mind. As a result, this week's games are dedicated to Darkwing Duck, a fantastic show that should be brought back for the joy of all American youth. For those who don't know, Darkwing Duck was a spinoff from the DuckTales series as it included the worst pilot ever, Launchpad McQuack. The focus of Darkwing Duck was essentially to be a Batman spoof, starring Darkwing Duck who had a cape and all sorts of gadgets including a gas gun, a motorcycle, and even a theme song that said: "When there's trouble you call DW!" Darkwing Duck battled villains that were eerily similar to Batman's (i.e. Dr. Bushroot = Poison Ivy ; Quackerjack = The Joker).
Note: The following Darkwing Duck quotes come from a wikiquote webpage.

Manwich Matchup of the Week #1
CAR @ Giants - The schedule-makers are looking like geniuses with BOTH conferences having homefield advantage on the line this week. Personally, I still like the Giants to get their act back together.
Pick: Giants

Manwich Matchup of the Week #2
Pitt @ Tennessee - The Titans are who we thought they were... an average playoff team.
Pick: Pitt

Upset of the Week
New Orleans @ Detroit -"I could've had a life, but no-oo, I chose to be a clown, in a mask and a cape! All I need are floppy shoes and a bozo nose!"
It's time for everyone to stop laughing at the Lions... this is their chance to avoid being immortalized as a winless team!
Pick: Detroit

Opening Round Playoff Game #5
Baltimore @ Dallas - "Suck gas, Evildoer!"
I hope QB Tony Romo says that to the Ravens, as the Cowboys further damage the Ravens playoff chances. The loser of this game may very well be on the outside looking in of the playoff picture.
Pick: Dallas

Opening Round Playoff Game #6
Philly @ Washington - "You'd think criminal masterminds would be more punctual!"
That quote is completely irrelevant, but so are the Redskins at this point, whose playoff chances are hanging by a thread.
Pick: Philly

Opening Round Playoff Game #7
Arizona @ NE- "Oh great. Another pun obsessed supervillian."
Again, I don't think the Cardinals are going to be acting as desperate this week, what with the Patriots' backs against the wall.
Pick: New England

Opening Round Playoff Game #8
ATL @ Minny -Now this game is a doozy! The Vikings got a huge win last weekend, but a loss would cause all kinds of problems for them. The Falcons are still desperate for yet another win. Who would have thought a Matt Ryan vs. Tavaris Jackson matchup would determine the NFC playoffs? This is an extremely difficult game to pick, so I will just go with the home team.
Pick: Minny

Opening Round Playoff Game #9
SD @ Tampa- "I am the zit that forms when you've got a really big date!... I am Darkwing Duck!"
I think the "zit" for Tampa is their injury problems to QB Jeff Garcia. Also, I just want to see a SD-Denver matchup in the final weekend with a win-or-go-home scenario.
Pick: SD

Indy @ Jacksonville - "I am the itch you cannot reach!... I am Darkwing Duck!"
Pick: Indy

San Francisco @ St. Louis- "I am the papercut that ruins your morning!... I am Darkwing Duck!"
Pick: San Fran

Cincy @ Cleveland- "I am the lollipop that sticks in your hair!... I am Darkwing Duck!"
I've never seen a QB more scared than QB Ken Dorsey this past Monday... also, the Browns never sweep the Bengals, and this season will certainly be no different. Just to complain a little bit more, the Browns were in a prevent defense for about 90% of Monday's game where they dropped 8 guys every down. The funny thing about it was that the 8 guys each would go to a specific spot on the field w/o regard for where the receivers were. I think there are 13-year olds who know how to run a zone better than these guys.
Pick: Cincy

Miami @ KC -"I am the special news bulletin that interrupts your favorite show!... I am Darkwing Duck!"
Pick: Miami

Houston @ Oakland- "I am the cholesterol that clogs your arteries!... I am Darkwing Duck!"
Apparently, according to NFL.com, the Texans have already been eliminated. If you go back in the season, I think that hearbreaking close losses to the Jags and Colts early on were the ones they'd regret. However, we've seen in the past that huge winning streaks do usually carry over to the next season. Don't forget also - the Texans were an 8-8 team last season, so this isn't completely out of nowhere.
Pick: Houston

Jets @ Seattle- "I am the auditor that wants to look at your books!... I am Darkwing Duck!"
Pick: Jets

Buffalo @ Denver-"I am the fast food that comes back to haunt you!... I am Darkwing Duck!"
I just want to see a SD-Denver matchup next weekend, with a win-or-go-home scenario, so that way, the Chargers can seek revenge for that controversial week 2 loss.
Pick: Buffalo

Green Bay @ Chicago- "I am the electrician who short-circuits the power lines of crime!... I am Darkwing Duck!"
I think that Chicago can take care of business here.
Pick: Chicago

Last Week: 12-4 (by far, my best week of the year)
Season: 129-94-1
Manwich: 9-7 (the Cowboys came through against the Giants)
Upset of the Week: 1-14 (The Saints fell short against the Bears.)

MMBSD: Late Edition

Well a little bit of a late edition for MMBSD some technical difficulties involving some invading Mongols. Anyway a few quick thoughts on recent sports developments

The Heisman: I suppose similar to the great Big 12 debate there were no right or wrong answers. Mccoy, Tebow and Bradford all had historically outstanding years. Bradford's efficiency was the best so I would have voted for him but its hard to argue with any sort of passion for or against any of the 3 finalist. The interesting question I think is what does this portend for the national championship game. The past decade or so the Heisman winner has crashed and burned in the BCS Big bowl but Bradford is not your normal heisman as supposable has potential 1st rounder status (and lets be honest Tebow is not). Its hard to imagine the Tebow v. Bradford matchup not being the center of attention for the game.

The Inside Job If anyone had any ideas that college football hiring practices are a mess I give you the Auburn Tigers who brought in local product turned bust Gene Chizik and his impressive 5-19 record (also 10 straight losses at one point). Now I never know exactly what goes on in decisions but as Charles Barkley raises there's an 800 lb gorrilla in the room as to why Auburn ignored actually succesful Turner Gill

Favorites and Fields : With Pittsburgh win over Baltimore, the conventional wisdom seems to be that Steelers are the de facto favorite. However as opposed to previous years the bets for the field will be heavily skewed. Nobody seems to have much consistency, few teams have elevated themselves heads and shoulders better than others, and as these are one game do are die situations who knows whats happening?

Axe Man Cometh: Well its mid-December and we have hit the 6th coach firing in the NBA with the latest head to be lopped off being Reggie Theus. Its unclear why the sudden purge (diffusion? copy cat? position of Mars and Jupitor? ) but I'm willing to go out on a limb and say fears over the economy mean changes and high needs for product saliency mean owners are going to be quick to fire......