Mr. Clinton in Iowa

I was happy to see the drive-by media have to point out that Slick Willie was at it again last week saying he was against Iraq from the beginning even though he was for the action in Iraq from the beginning (in Time Magazine). With the Internet and Fox News around this time, he won't be able to tell a new story every 15 minutes when the wind changes directions and not have it noticed.

As for Hillary, the best she can do is pick on Obama's elementary school writings? Obama has Oprah out stomping for him, Hillary has Streisand?

BCS Thoughts

I think LSU v. Ohio State is the right choice for the “Championship” Game. I’d use elimination-type logic for the other Power Conference Champions and Hawaii.
Oklahoma (11-2) – 1 of their losses came with their backup QB in the lineup. I just don’t know how their defense could contain Missouri’s spread, but not Texas Tech’s. Their loss to Texas Tech was a worse loss in my mind than LSU’s loss to Arkansas.
Georgia (10-2) – They needed to be in the SEC Title game. Tennessee only had 1 more loss during the regular season (to Cal), so Tennessee was the right choice to face LSU (based on 35-14 victory over Georgia, H2H tiebreaker).
Missouri (11-2) – they lost twice to Oklahoma, but should have been in the BCS over Kansas (who played a non-conference schedule that would have made longtime K-State HC Bill Snyder jealous) since they beat them H2H 2 weeks ago.
USC (10-2) – they lost to Stanford at home. It’s all on HC Pete Caroll on this one. He passed up a FG in the red zone in the first half and didn’t get points because the clock ran out. His defense allowed two length of the field drives in the second half to a QB making his first start. He left QB John David Booty in the game w/ a broken hand, 4 interceptions were the result. A missed extra-point was the difference in the 24-23 loss.
Virginia Tech (11-2) – They lost to LSU 48-7.
Hawaii (12-0) – Too many final-possession victories against inferior competition. For a WAC or MWC team to make it, they have to DOMINATE their conference and get lucky and play a Power Conference team that turns out to be 10-2 or better (they didn’t even have one on their schedule this year).
West Virginia (10-2) – They had 0 points on the board (25 minutes into the game) when QB Pat White was injured against Pitt. They never brought an 8th man into the box against a one-dimensional Pitt offense and didn’t win the line of scrimmage in the second half. And how does RB Steve Slaton only get 9 carries in a game that the outcome is in doubt?

LSU’s (11-2) losses both came in triple overtime, and their win over Tennessee last weekend came with their backup QB (due to injury). Their blemishes aren’t as bad as the other options, so they’re in the big game. I’m not that impressed with Ohio State (11-1), but they are the ONLY Power Conference team with just 1 loss, so they are in the Championship Game. It’s the only way they could get there, since their non-conference schedule included 3 Ohio schools and Washington (which hasn’t been to a bowl game (i.e. .500) in 5 seasons since the Rick Neuheisel NCAA March Madness Pool Controversy.

NFL Week 9

4:15 ET CBS New England 38 (-5.5) Indianapolis 27. The Patriots have bulldozed through the first half of the season, outscoring their opponents 331-127. Tom Brady already has a CAREER best 30 touchdown passes. The Patriots have lost 3 straight to the Colts, including last year's AFC Championship game. The teams have switched roles in the media, with the Patriots exorbiant winning margins generating the attention that the Colts' offense previously has. The Colts have suffered more personnel losses than the Patriots (LT Tarik Glenn, LB Cato June, both starting corners) and might also be without WR Marvin Harrison (knee). The Colts have become more physical on offense since Peyton Manning's record year of 2004. They'll need to dominate the Patriots the way that they did in the 2nd half of last year's AFC Championship Game. The Pats defense couldn't get off the field in the 2nd half (except one punt) and the 21-6 halftime lead vanished. LB Junior Seau is in the lineup to alternate w/ Tedy Brushci unlike last year's playoff game. DL Richard Seymour is making his first appearance of the season this week. New England began preparing for this game the day the schedule came out. The Patriots have been putting up the huge numbers specifically for this game; they won't attempt to cruise towards a win, and they grab the inside track to the home field advantage for the AFC Playoffs.

Navy-Notre Dame

I had reserve duty today so I had to watch it on tape delay before dinner. I must admit that I was angry that Notre Dame HC Charlie Weis kept going for 4th downs. When Belichick is doing it against the Colts, its because his team hasn't been as skilled offensively as the Colts'. Weis' team is very weak by Notre Dame standards, but it still has a significant talent advantage on both sides of the football compared to Navy. Maybe Weis felt that was reason enough to keep going for it on 4th down. He expressed concern about the strength of the Navy option offense, but the best weapon against an option offense is a LEAD. The Navy option offense is very efficient and time hogging, but its not without weakness. In fact, the Mids only converted 3 of their 6 drives outside of the end-of-half 2-minute drill (when the option is EXTREMELY LIMITED) into TDs. So, when Weis kept passing up FG's, I was in shock. A fake FG on 4th and 15 up 7-0 in the 1st quarter? Not attempting a 41-yard FG in the final minute to win in regulation? Their kicker hasn't had much work this season (4 for 7 on FGs, 7 for 8 on XPs), but he should have tried A FG today. Weis' arrogance probably cost his team its second win.

The best stat I heard to put Kansas' win against Nebraska in perspective: The Jayhawks scored 67 points in 10 meetings in the 1980's... and 76 in its 2007 win. I hope that Nebraska HC Bill Callahan is polishing his resume. I don't think that he'll be much longer for Nebraska with Tom Osborne back onboard.

Hillary and Illegals

She wants NY to give them driver's licenses.. would she have said that if she ACTUALLY was from NY and felt some attachment to the state? Does she know that several of the September 11th hijackers HAD DRIVERS LICENSES? Amazingly, she is proving that a candidate can be more circular than Sen. John Kerry, and we haven't even reached the first primary. SERENITY NOW!

Patriots Running Up the Score?

Not in my opinion. No, this is HC Bill Belichick preparing his team for this week’s game against the Colts. Remember that the Patriots had a 21-3 lead in last season’s AFC Championship game. I don’t think that the Patriots relaxed, but I think the Patriots are approaching every drive as if the score were 7-7. Belichick believes it will take a full 60-minute effort to break the 3-game losing streak his Patriots have against the Colts. He also intends on playing Spurrier style – no kicks on 4th down. As QB Tom Brady said last week, when you punt the ball to the Colts, it usually results in 7 points for them. The Patriots have gone for an awful lot of 4th downs (even in FG range) against the Colts in recent years. Belichick is not planning on punting unless it is 4th and 10 or more, and even then he might call a deep route for WR Randy Moss and see what happens.

The Patriots have been more impressive so far, and they have needed to be. Half of their division should be playing football on Saturday (the Bills are playing respectable football). The Bills, Jets, and Dolphins have combined for 4 victories between them. And they have played 3 games amongst themselves!

More on A-Rod

I just don’t get it. No player has eclipsed the average annual salary of $25.2 million he received from Texas after the 2000 season. Rangers Owner Tom Hicks increased the highest average salary by 25% to get A-Rod. In contrast, the Red Sox signed Manny Ramirez that winter for an average annual salary of $20 million. The Red Sox have tried to find a taker for that contract for years without success, even going so far as to place Ramirez on waivers (winter 2003), so that the team getting Ramirez wouldn’t have to trade ANY players to have him on their roster. And even the Yankees didn’t go for it!

He’s not sure who the manager, closer, catcher are going to be. Well, I’ll go out on a limb. The Yankees won’t turn into the Pirates, Marlins, or Nationals (from a talent or payroll perspective) during the length of A-Rod’s new contract, check that, CAREER. And I doubt that he’ll excitedly join Joe Torre with the Dodgers. Torre batted A-Rod 8th in game 4 against the Tigers last season. That’s a real vote of confidence.

So how is A-Rod going to get a raise? The 2 highest bidders (Yankees and Red Sox) won’t be involved. I don’t think that he will. I think that the Giants and Angels will battle it out, but the Giants are already on the hook to Barry Zito for over $100 million and the Angels have Bartolo Colon eating $10 million worth of food each season for a couple more seasons (I think). I can’t see either of them going to $25 million annually, let alone past it. Each team has experienced post-season success and understands how that success is achieved (expertise that wasn’t present in the Rangers organization) and won’t commit too many resources to a single player that would significantly reduce the chances for postseason success.

A-Rod Opts Out

It was pretty lame that A-Rod & Scott Boras announced in during Game 4 of the World Series. But then, A-Rod wouldn't know about Game 4 of the World Series, let alone Games 5, 6, or 7. I'm hoping that the Yankees stand up to their position of not negotiating with him since he has opted out of his contract (the remaining 3 years would have been subsidized $21 million by Texas). I don't think that the Red Sox organization would pursue A-Rod, they seemed to start their run past the Yankees when C Jason Varitek picked a fight w/ A-Rod in late July of 2004. And when the Sox almost acquired A-Rod, part of the deal was that A-Rod was going to give back part of his salary, which the MLBPA squashed; and let to A-Rod's landing in New York. I think that A-Rod needs to get back to the West Coast where there isn't the rabid fan base on a day-in, day-out basis.

The Colts and Patriots meet next Sunday, and both are undefeated. It's CBS' 4:15 doubleheader game, but I'll have to wait for the replay on the NFL network since the Raiders have been scheduled for a home game in that time slot (and I'm not going to shell out $240 for the full season Sunday Ticket). I would buy a single-week ticket to see this game live in HD if it was available. Too bad they won't move that game up (against the Texans) to the 10:00 (PT) slot. It's not like the Raider game will sell out, even if the left the A's tarps on the upper deck!

ESPN Thursday Night Football

It is Game 2 of the World Series tomorrow night (8:XX ET FOX HD), but #2 Boston College travels to #8 Virginia Tech in a key BCS/ACC game (7:45 ET ESPN HD). While the Rockies won 21 of 22 to reach the World Series, it must be remembered that ALL of those games came against National League opponents. Their DH was batting 9TH last night! Too bad they still don't have Mike Hampton. It's too bad that the ALCS lasted 7 games and the NLCS only 4. I'm rooting for the fewest # of games for Joe Buck's voice to reach my ears. Can FOX try to get Jon Miller away from ESPN Radio? Please. For the fans!!!!

All that I remember from last year's Thursday Game in Chestnut Hill was ESPN's Erin Andrews gushing over a walk-on kicker for BC. He made 2 XPs and 2 FGs in a 22-3 BC win. The Eagles haven't played a tough team yet, and the Hokies wish they hadn't (a 48-7 loss to LSU). Virginia Tech 23 (-3) Boston College 16. Blacksburg is a tough place to get a road win, and BC isn't used to its lofty ranking and the pressure that comes with it.

The Yanks offered Manager Joe Torre a contract that he had to decline. It was for significantly less dollars, and at only 1 year in length, it wouldn’t give Torre the authority that he should have as the leader of the team. SI’s Tom Verducci and Yahoo’s Dan Wetzel have great pieces on it. Paying someone not to perform (i.e. if they chose to fire Torre at a later date) for the organization has never been something that’s gotten in George Steinbrenner’s way before. And Mike and the Mad Dog have a good interview with Torre, but you have listen to about 60 seconds of sponsorhips before they start chatting.

Additionally, what does this hold for A-Rod? The Yanks wanted 25% of Torre’s pay to come from postseason performance, and looking at A-Rod’s numbers, he’d be leaving a lot of money on the table if he had to play under the same arrangement. While A-Rod’s agent, Scott Boras, thinks he’s worth $30 Million annually, right now the Yanks are only on the hook for about $18 Million annually for the next 3 seasons (Texas pays the balance of A-Rod’s salary). Why would the Yanks pay 40% MORE for a player hitting .159 with 1 HR and 1 RBI the last 3 seasons in the playoffs (team record 4-9)? Especially when the Yankees haven’t been winning postseason series with Rotisserie Baseball Players (i.e. Sheffield, Giambi) in their lineup. They were much more successful when their lineups featured FUNDAMENTAL baseball players like 1B Tino Martinez, 3B Scott Brosius, and OF’s Paul O’Neill and Bernie Williams.

Then let’s look at stability. Torre managed 12 seasons. In the 12 seasons prior to Torre (1984-1995), the Yankees had a bunch of managers:
92-95: Buck Showalter
90-91: Stump Merrill
89-90: Bucky Dent
89: Dallas Green
88 Billy Martin
86-88: Lou Pinella
85: Billy Martin
84-85: Yogi Berra
And while the Yankees weren’t making the playoffs and winning any World Series titles in that period, they were more stable managerially than they were in the 70’s and early 80’s when they were.

The Yankees

Why is Joe Torre on the hot seat? Did he choose SP Carl Pavano? He's 5-6, 4.77 ERA in 19 starts in 3 YEARS! No postseason appearances. Or SP Jaret Wright? He was 16-12 in 2 seasons, but had a 4.99 ERA. Playoffs, he lasted less than 3 innings and took the loss in his only start. Or RP Kyle Farnsworth? He's 5-7, 6 saves w/ a 4.57 ERA in his two seasons in pinstripes. At least Farnsworth has contributed 3 scoreless innings in the last 2 postseasons. THOSE 3 acquisitions since the collapse against the Red Sox in 2004 are a big reason why the Yankees haven't played an ALCS game since then.

Sandy Berger back with the Clintons

Why is this criminal working for a campaign? This disgust me to no end. The man should be in JAIL for stealing CLASSIFIED documents from the National Archives during his PREPARATIONS for testimony for the 9/11 COMMISSION. He doesn't go to jail, but Scooter Libby does? And now he gets a job with Hillary's campaign? If they feel the need to keep him on the payroll, maybe they could have him work at the Presidential Library in Arkansas and screen potential partners for Mr Clinton.


Berger

There She Goes Again

First it was Iraq. How it’s retirement plans. Senator Clinton is making Senator Kerry look like a politician with a consistent stance on issues.

I thought Senator Clinton wasn’t for privatizing Social Security. But now she wants the Federal Government to “match” some worker’s 401k savings, up to $1,000 a year (Income levels 60K and less get the full tax CREDIT, it phases out at 100K). But wait, wasn’t the Democrat’s PRIMARY reasoning for NOT privatizing A PORTION of Social Security the premise that these lower-income investors weren’t intelligent enough to manage their own money? Why is she NOW in favor of letting all of these morons (myself included) manage our own retirement finances?

And then I read in the Washington Post that she doesn't think Social Security is in trouble.... um, there used to be a payer/payee ratio of 16:1, it's now less than 3:1 and it's getting smaller. Oh yeah, that's right. We can get those 12 million illegals on the books and let al-Qeada, Hamas, etc. right through our porous borders and do who knows what harm to our nation. SERENITY NOW!

WSJ 401k

Wash Post

Marion Jones and BALCO

So Marion Jones came clean over her use of the CLEAR, how about Mr. Barry Bonds? She'll be doing some jail time, losing her gold medals, etc. Does a similar fate await Bonds? I doubt it, he is a little older, wiser, and substantially richer. I may have to hope it comes only in the form of no contract offers for 2008. He can still produce for a fantasy team, but his salary takes up too much of the payroll (for all of the teams outside of NY and BOS) for a team to make the playoffs. I didn't see too many Giants games on TV after he passed Aaron's mark, but I wonder how many sold seats were empty seats in August and September. I hope that the management teams considering Bonds for their squads next season recognize that he was ALL OUT once the Giants communicated that they weren't going to bring him back for 2008. Very professional, Mr. Bonds. How long is Greg Anderson going to sit in the jailhouse for you?

MLB Division Series

I wasn't too sure that I would like TBS covering the baseball playoffs. But they had the courage to have the Yankees play their first Division Series Game at a time other than 8 PM ET when they slotted the Yankees for the 4:30 start time yesterday and placed the Red Sox and Angels in the 8 PM ET slot. The Yanks had always been in the prime time slot, even when they were facing the Twins, a team with revenues so low that MLB wanted it to cease operations a few years ago.

What I like - Dan Orsillo and Ted Robinson as play-by-play guys. What I don't, Dick Stockton. Has he announced a baseball game since Carlton Fisk's Foul Pole Homerun? He certainly hasn't been involved in any national productions in over 20 years and didn't seem to know the rosters of the Cubs and Diamondbacks during the Arizona games. I understand the logic in not having Braves announcers do the playoff games, but then why would Orsillo (Red Sox) and Robinson (Mets) be ok? And the Braves won't be on TBS anymore, so there isn't a conflict of interest.

Being on the west coast, I also like the 3-6-10 start times for the games. 10 is too late for the east coast fan to follow; it works in basketball because the playoffs are separated by geographic region when the 10 ET slot is used. Whether it works long term in baseball, I'm not sure (I remember the uproar in BOS a few years back when the Sox had 10 pm starts against the A's, so this isn't completely new). I haven't had time to digest the additional off-days, but generally speaking, I'm not for them. They de-value the importance of the 162-game regular season by shrinking the size of a pitching staff that a playoff team has to use.

Nevada!

I've moved to Nevada to pursue a new work opportunity, loving the lack of STATE INCOME TAX and the sight of Heavenly Ski Area from the workplace. Being 15 minutes from the slopes should make it easier to maximize quality skiing this winter. Speaking of winter, we had some snow stick on the mountains above 6500 feet. The previous accumulations haven't stayed on the ground, but it's a good start to the winter season from a skier's perspective.

If time permits after getting a house picked out and moving in, I hope to be able to resume analysis of the football season and generate some supplemental income.

Hillary's Campaign - Why We are Screwed

She proposed a 1 BILLION dollar bailout of a 1 TRILLION dollar problem in the mortgage industry. Does she or anyone on her staff understand that a BILLION is a THOUSANDTH of a TRILLION????? So her plan will delay an inevitable foreclosure for 1/1000 homeowners, er, flippers in trouble. Maybe that can be the next Reality TV craze. But what got more analysis in the mainstream press, her attire or her bad financial idea? Her attire! Two days were spent on the cleavage issue, yet no one had the nerve to question her in detail on her poor bailout idea.

Bonds' 756

I was pleased to see that Sports Illustrated ran a poll on their website asking what readers wanted to see on the cover, Bonds or the NCAA Football preview. It was overwhelming in favor of football, and even in the SF Bay Area football ran on the cover. To new Stanford HC Jim Harbaugh's chagrin, it was the USC Football team. Bonds had a small spot on the cover, but I'm glad that SI didn't run a local cover special for its Bay Area readers.

Selig and Bonds

I understand why Bud's now on the side of public opinion and critical consensus and against Barry. But Bud's about the money and there's no doubt that Bonds and the other ALLEGED juicers helped generate cold, hard cash for the business after the 94 strike. Commish, you can't have your cake and eat it too. Since you looked the other way when the records were being set and the sports media fawned over these guys, you need to continue to do so or admit that your business FRAUDED its consumers for the better part of a decade. There's got to be a lawyer somewhere that can file and win a class-action lawsuit for steriod/HGH-based fraud against baseball consumers in our country.

Bonds - Flaxseed oil, yeah right. That comes in a tablet and my eye doctor recommended it to me since I wear contact lenses. Game of Shadows doesn't leave much doubt in my mind whether he's clean or not. What bothers me the most is the position that "Baseball didn't have a policy against it, so it was OK". The crap was f#%^#@$#@ ILLEGAL. Baseball shouldn't have to have a separate policy against ILLEGAL substances! And that is why Congress was OK to get involved. Since baseball's disregard for the law was putting its employees at risk to break the law to maintain employment.

All Star Reflections

MLB's exhibit at the Moscone Center in SF was something I would have loved when I was growing up. This is the first year that I lived in a MLB city hosting an All-Star Game since they started doing that. So I can see where the host city and fans get excited over an exhibition game. (Positive)

Home Run Derby - Shorten it. ESPN listed for 2 hours, but it ran 2:40 w/ one (I think)Overtime Session in the middle round. I don't know why they have 10 outs. Baseball doesn't have 10 of anything... check that, the AL plays 10 men w/ the DH. Make it 9 outs to correspond w/ innings, and shorten it from 3 rounds to 2.

All Star Game - the thing didn't start until almost 9 PM ET! How many little leaguers watched it on DVR instead of live? Either start the pagentry at 7:30 ET or streamline it to have a first pitch by 8:25. And if FOX needs to run that many commercials, it's time for 20 second spots. If we can have 7 second abs, we certainly can have 20 second ads!

LaRussa not hitting his BEST hitter at ALL, saving him for extra innings? He must have listened to Joe Buck do a few football games last fall, suggesting that the Chargers shouldn't hand the ball to LaDamian Tomlinson until the game gets into OVERTIME! (Just to clarify, Buck only does that w/ QB's, somehow thinking that they are like starting pitchers. The similiarities end with throwing the ball. There is no equivalent to Mariano Rivera or Trevor Hoffman in the annals of backup QB's. Those guys become STARTING QB'S).

An Idea for the Border

LAND MINE IT!

Put signs in Spanish facing Mexico, French facing Quebec, English to the rest of Canada and back towards the U.S. Award teh contract to the Democratic/Liberal equivalent of Haliburton, on 2nd thought, we wouldn't be able to trust that operation. Pay the Minutemen to do it. Include sensors to provide notification when the field needs to be replenished.

It will slow the flow of illegals, drugs, and terrorists into our country and show that we are serious about our borders and soveriengty. I don't care about the Geneva Conventions, if the people crossing the border did, they wouldn't be crossing it in the first place.

We also won't spend money on a costly fence, costly people to patrol it that won't get the support that they need.

Is this war on terror really a BUMPER STICKER?

Earth to John Edwards - you might want to open your eyes and fly commercially to Scotland. At least until you get the jetway installed at your compound in NC.

Now if the guys in charge had smarts, they would send the war criminals from the Jeep with some burn cream down to Guantanamo Bay to put an end to the left's catch and release idea.

Hillary's Soprano's Ad

It was just like her political campaign and career: NO MATERIAL! Fade to black before communicating anything of substance. Did she spend more time w/ Bill during the taping then in say, 6 months?

Now she's on the record stating that we need to leave Iraq now. She was on the record 5 years ago with HER OWN independent research that we needed to remove Sadaam, starting during her time as FLOTUS, before GWB had an interest in anything other than booze, oil, and baseball. Do a search on YouTube for Hillary talking to the Code Pink group to check it out. It's a good thing that SHE or today's Congress wasn't around in 1949 (four years after WW II ended) to pull the plug on the BERLIN AIR LIFT! Europe might be speaking Russian now instead of a half-dozen different languages!

What will it take for our newsmedia to not follow her around like a bunch of rock star groupies? Oh wait, check out this MSNBC article:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19113485/

Gotta love FULL DISCLOSURE! Now, if only the UNBIASED, OBJECTIVE news media will do their JOURNALISTIC DUTY that they claim they follow after leaving J-school ;)

Will the Big Stein have to trade Clemens?

The Yankees might be too far from the Wild Card by the time that Rocket Man Roger Clemens gets to NY next week. He'll arrive after the Boston series which will disappoint FOX and ESPN since they were going to transmit those games nationally. Maybe he'll start the Monday Night game... ESPN will show that game to a national audience. Will the Yanks be 15 out of the Wild Card by the time Clemens takes the mound? Maybe he can get into Carl Pavano's head and get him on the mound in less than 642 days! Now, that would be something.

The Big Stein Strikes!

He didn't take out Manager Joe Torre or SP Carl Pavano but instead canned new trainer Marty Miller with all of the starting rotation on the disabled list. Miller apparently was affiliated with 24 Hour Fitness which the Yankees are involved with in a business partnership. Perhaps Roger Clemens can be the head trainer until he's ready to take the mound!

Iraq Funding

I'm glad that the President vetoed the bill. Was their pork in any of the defense bills while the GOP controlled Congress? If so, then he should not have referenced that AND ONLY referenced the withdrawl timetable provision. If the Dems can enact a law requiring military deployments right before a Presidential election, then how come the GOP can't choose new federal attorneys? Riddle me that one, Batman!

Imus

He finally got canned for an outrageous comment.

Where's AlGore?

Was he in Cleveland last weekend when the Indians were snowed out 4 days in a row AND moved a 3-game series to Milwaukee (which has a retractable-roof stadium) to avoid falling too far behind its schedule?

MLB Extra Innings

So glad that Mass. Senator John F. Kerry threatened to review MLB's exclusive contract with Directv wrt MLB's antitrust exemption status. If MLB felt it would generate more revenue from Directv only, it should have been free to do so. I wouldn't need to switch since there still are a good number of Braves games available on TBS. Sen. Kerry should have spent his time attending Senate Intelligence Commitee Meetings, or at least enough time watching the Red Sox to know that Manny Ortez isn't on the roster; that the #3 and #4 hitters are David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez (at least for now).

Timetables

For leaving Iraq is within the next 12 months... guess we are about 58 years late leaving Germany and Japan!

Sweet Sixteen

Saturday was an exciting day with numerous overtime games and buzzer beater attempts. Sunday didn't have that drama, though the National Game of Tennessee-Virginia feaured a last-second attmept to force overtime to hook the viewers for the remaining 7 games in the second and third timeslots.

I was impressed that Texas A&M effectively won a road game against Louisville in Lexington while Acie Law IV wasn't dominating the last 4 minutes of regulation like he normally does. UCLA-Indiana: glad that I didn't get tickets to that abomniation in Sacramento. That offensive display made the 1990's Big East look smooth.

No double-digit seeds still alive: all of the top seeds understood the risks associated with a single-game elimination tournament and were ready to meet the challenge of the underdog... it's a good thing that I spent my time on the ski slopes on Thursday and Friday instead of at the Lake Tahoe sportsbooks. Spring conditions were fun, sunny all day with high temps in the 60's on the mountain.

CBS has ditched the sideline girl from their coverage... will NBC and FOX follow? I don't think that ESPN(ABC) will since Bonnie Bernstein went there from CBS and landed the Sunday Night Baseball spot and they have both Suzy Kolber and Michele Tafoya on the sidelines for Monday Night football.

Super Bowl 41

Indianapolis 31 (-7.5) Chicago 20. The Bears shouldn't be viewed as large underdogs, QB Rex Grossman isn't a bad quarterback, he's an inexperienced QB. They should try to hammer the Colts with their power running game. RBs Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson will take aim at the weak Colts run defense... speaking of which, the Colts did add 2 better players (LB Rob Morris and S Bob Sanders) to their starting lineup for the playoffs, which can explain how a defense that allowed more than 100 yards rushing in every game during the regular season can hold 3 straight playoff opponents under 100 yards rushing. The Colts' offense has been more ball-control than pass-happy... perhaps that's why they're playing in their first Super Bowl in 36 years! The Colts will continue the AFC run in the Super Bowl.

Wow

What a game in the AFC Championship tonight. The Colts exorcised their demon tonight. I was driving home from reserve duty and tuned in time to listen to Asante Samuel's INT for a TD to give the Patriots a 21-3 lead over the Colts. The Colts had won their last 2 meetings against the Pats, but accomplished that by taking an early lead and dictating the flow and pace of the game. When the Colts scored before halftime to make it 21-6, they were still on the edge. The Pats didn't go down easy, re-taking the lead 3 times after the Colts tied the game up. Unfortunately for them, the last 2 times, they only added field goals, leaving the Colts an opportunity to pass them. On the Colts' third attempt, they scored the TD that they needed to take the lead.

Marty-ball struck the Patriots... WR Reche Caldwell had a couple of drops, he was picked up by a teammate on the drop in the end zone, but the other one the Pats weren't able to overcome. Then, Colts DB Marvin Jackson simply went down after intercepting Brady in the final minute, not allowing Troy Brown the opportunity to take the ball away.

I was able to see part of the 1st quarter of the Bears-Saints game during lunch. The Saints had 3 turnovers, but only dug themselves a 6-0 hole. They fell further behind, but got a TD before half, and then early in the 3rd, Reggie Bush scored from 88 yards out to cut the deficit to 2. But with only 56 yards rushing, they weren't able to win the line of scrimmage, and the Bears scored 3 TDs in the 4th to pull away.

Divisional Playoffs

The Colts and the Patriots will meet for the 3rd time in 4 seasons Sunday night. It will be the first meeting in the RCA Dome though. Unlike previous postseasons, this time the Colts are playing their best defensively. Peyton Manning hasn't produced great numbers (1 TD, 5 INT), but has led the Colts to 2 wins. The long drive for K Adam Viniateri's 5th FG last Saturday was a drive that previous Colts teams didn't get the chance to execute since they played from behind in their losses to New England.

No doubt LT was incensed at the end of the NE-SD game... 4 turnovers, numerous personal fouls, dropped passes, etc., etc., etc. by his teammates. NE QB Tom Brady made the lion's share of the Patriots' mistakes, but without a running game, he was the center of their offense. Brady kept returning to the line to make the next play without thinking about getting chippy with the opponent.

Neither the Colts or Patriots are as formidable as they were in 2003 or 2004... some of the names that won't be on the backs of jerseys... IND: RB Edjerrin James, WR Brandon Stokeley, NE: DE/LB Willie McGinnest, S Rodney Harrison, and CB Ty Law. Neither team had a bye, an advantage that the Patriots had before the 2003 and 2004 playoff meetings. I'm looking forward to the late game on Sunday, the Colts had better show up ready to play; in the 2004 game they looked defeated at halftime despite only trailing 6-3.

Swamped!

I hope that Ohio St QB Troy Smith made a beeline for his Heisman Trophy and handed it to WR Ted Ginn Jr. when the Buckeyes' plane landed in Columbus. If Smith was auditioning for the Raiders' QB position for next season, well he didn't show them anything they didn't already have on their roster!

Florida was outstanding in all phases of the game after the opening kickoff. They spread the field horizontally on offense, didn't do it veritcally because they didn't need to take that risk. It was such a dominating performance, I thought Florida must have had 12 men on the field the WHOLE GAME! Were they playing Canadian Rules?

I would have liked to have seen USC's speedier defense against UF's offense. I don't think that the Trojans would have fared too much better against the Gator defense though. USC couldn't run the ball against an above-average defense, forget about an outstanding one.

BCS Championship Game

It's finally going to be played tomorrow night... I'll need to read the previews in SI and TSN before kickoff to remember the names of anyone besides Ohio State QB Troy Smith, WR Ted Ginn Jr., and Florida QB's Chris Leak and Tim Tebow. Oh, and New England WR Reche Caldwell's brother since CBS's Jim Nantz dropped that bit in during today's AFC Playoff Game.

My pick: Ohio State 33 (-8) Florida 20. The Buckeyes have been aggressive on offense this season in contrast to their 2001-2 Championship team. They've played against Northwestern's version of the spread offense and held Vince Young's Longhorns to 22 points in an early season game last year, so I think that they're more likely to contain Florida's offense than vice versa.

NFL Wildcards:
I figured that the Colts would win, but 0 first downs allowed in the first 40 minutes? Peyton had better get back on track with Marvin Harrison; they won't survive 3 INT's in Baltimore next week.

The Cowboys... John Madden tried to call for Romo to hit Witten in the back of the end zone, similar to Stabler hitting Dave Casper in OT against the Colts back in the 77.... his reminder that there's no such thing as a sure thing in the kicking game. Thus, the Seachickens were able to earn their first victory against a team with a winning record this season! Next up are the Bears, who have been showing Rex Grossman film of their 37-6 pounding of Seattle to try to restore his skills.

The Patriots pulled away from the Jets late, they will need similar balance and more big plays next week in San Diego. I'll definitely be watching that game on the wall.

The Eagles ran an awful lot, and ran effectively. It's been a few years since the Saints were in the playoffs, so I'm not sure how well they will perform. Their offense has a lot of options and creative play calling to take advantage of their skills.

Did Notre Dame deserve their BCS Berth?

ND lost decisively to 2 BCS teams, Michigan and USC. Thus, the 27-point margin of victory by LSU in its home state in the Sugar Bowl's return to New Orleans shouldn't be a surprise.

In terms of not deserving to being the BCS, lets look at facts.

1. Money drives the BCS.

A. ND is the "home" college football team for the Northeast Megalopolis from Washington to Boston. (Penn St. probably has a majority in Philly, but that is it.) How many Rutgers fans were there before this season? Growing up in NYC, the Scarlet Knights DIDN'T have highlights shown from their games, just the scores. BC has had its moments and is building a successful program, but is a "safety" school for ND applicants. Our nation's money is concentrated in the NE, so ND offers the ability to generate the money for the BCS bowls ($15 million PER bowl).

B. With the Plus-1 game and a limit of 2 teams per BCS Conference, there is a pretty good chance that a low-revenue team or two will earn a BCS berth. How many fans did Wake and its 4,500 student body bring to the Orange Bowl? Or Boise State to the Fiesta Bowl? ND could fill a bowl game in each time zone if it were to play that type of schedule during the length of the Bowl Season. A guaranteed revenue generator is needed to offset the likes of Louisville, Wake Forest, and Boise State.

C. How many regular season Division I-A college football games has NBC televised in the last 25 years that weren't at Notre Dame Stadium? ZERO. That number WOULDN'T be higher if CBS, FOX, or ABC had negotiated for the contract.

D. Of the teams in BCS Conferences that didn't make the BCS, which ones earned a spot? Texas lost twice in a row to close the season to Kansas St and AM. There was no guarantee that their BE was going to be back for the bowl game. ND beat Georgia Tech. Rutgers or West Virginia - you can't lose to the likes of Cincinnati or South Florida in November and lay claim to a BCS berth. Cal - Tennessee is still scoring Tads against them.

E. Matchups - The bowls pick the matchups. 1 v 2 in the Title Game. Big 10-Pac 10 in the Rose Bowl. ACC in Orange, SEC in Sugar, Big 12 in Fiesta. The Sugar picked first for the open slot (since it was played closest to the Title game) and picked the best money generator from Boise St, Notre Dame, Louisville, and the rest (LSU beat out the other 108 I-A teams to be their opponent as a substitution for Florida).

2. I don't like ND's "automatic" qualification for the BCS, do the Yankees get a playoff berth if they win 85 games regardless of what place they finish? That being said, ND players don't charge the field and windmill their helmets into the opposition like some players team captains do!

The answer: Yes.

From Zap2It Ratings for Tuesday Night's Louisville-Wake Forest Game:

TV viewers were more into "SVU" than the BCS Tuesday, allowing NBC to score a ratings win opposite FOX's college football.

NBC averaged an 8.6 rating/13 share for the night, scoring a fairly sizable victory over FOX, 6.4/10. CBS was a close third at 6.2/10. ABC came in fourth with a 3.9/6, and The CW trailed at 1.3/2.

In the adults 18-49 demographic, NBC's 4.1 rating was tops, beating out FOX's 3.4. CBS averaged 2.5, followed by ABC, 2.0, and The CW, 0.8.

Wednesday Night's Ratings post:

FOX won the night with a 9.0 rating/14 share among households. CBS finished second at 6.9/11, a point ahead of NBC's 5.9/9. ABC drew a 4.1/6, and The CW came in fifth with a 3.0/5.

College football also led FOX to the top among adults 18-49, where it scored a 4.9 rating. CBS finished second in the demographic with a 3.2. NBC was third at 3.0, followed by ABC, 2.5, and The CW, 2.2.

The Sugar Bowl, featuring LSU and Notre Dame, delivered an 8.4/13 for FOX at 8 p.m. "The King of Queens" and a "Two and a Half Men" repeat were second for CBS. "According to Jim" premiered on ABC with two episodes, averaging 4.6/7. NBC's "Friday Night Lights" drew a 4.3/7 in its Wednesday debut, on par with its average on Tuesdays. The season premiere of "Beauty and the Geek" on The CW earned a 2.8/4.

FOX's Sugar Bowl coverage jumped to a 9.3/14 at 9 p.m., holding off CBS' "Criminal Minds" rerun, 7.9/12. NBC moved up to third with "Deal or No Deal," 7.1/11. ABC dropped one spot with the premieres of "The Knights of Prosperity," 4.4/7, and "In Case of Emergency," 3.9/6. "Beauty and the Geek" improved a little on The CW.

The Sugar Bowl held steady for FOX at 10 p.m., posting a 9.3/15. A "CSI: NY" rerun on CBS was second at 7.1/12. "Medium," 6.3/10, put NBC in third, ahead of ABC's "Primetime."