(Photo: New York Daily News)I know football is king, but I wanted to begin this entry with Major League Baseball, since it is playoff time. Unfortunately, I had already posted for last week with the ALCS game 4 yet to begin. In case you missed it, C.C. Sabathia had another outstanding outing on 3 days rest for the Yankees. Now in the postseason, C.C. is 3-0 with a 1.19 ERA and is continuing to prove that he was worth every penny the Steinbrenner's are paying him (7 years, $160 million). This looks like the Sabathia that carried the Brewer's into the playoffs last year, not the C.C. that struggled once they got there. Also, Alex Rodriguez is lighting up the stat sheets, much to everyone's surprise. I commented on this last week, but it is definately of note this week. He has now hit 5 HR's and has 11 RBI's this postseason. Kate Hudson must be doing a number on his head because he looks like he is not thinking at all at the plate and just swinging the bat, which if you are not a baseball person, is a good thing. His interviews even look less scripted and more natural. He looks like the guy who is more interested in his collection of dirty magazines, not the guy who wants to show off his Picasso's. I like this A-Rod.
Game 5 was filled with a ton of action, mis-managed situations, and suspense. Why is Girardi bringing Burnett back into the game after he has sat for nearly 30 minutes while the Yankees score 6 runs in the 7th to gain the lead? Trust your bullpen, Joe. If these guys (Joba, Coke) played for any other team they would probably be a #2 starter. Let them earn their money. Don't bring a guy in who has been sitting in the cold air of October in New York City to walk the leadoff hitter (who statistically scores 79% of the time) and open the door for a big inning. With the bases loaded, 2 outs, with the tying run at 3rd, and the winning run at 2nd, Swisher needs to get the ball on the ground. This guy seems to pop out every at bat. He is way out on his front foot and can't control his hands. If he gets the ball on the ground, or at least attempts it, he at least gives himself and his team a chance. Take some notes on your what your opponents are doing in the game: attack the 1st good fastball you see. The Angels did it all night and hit line drive after line drive. They weren't necessarily the best pitch for each hitter to swing at, but they were able to put it in play and find holes.
The Yankees wrapped up the ALCS on Sunday night by way of a collapse by the Los Angeles Angels. A dropped ball by 2nd baseman Kendrick and an overthrow of Kendrick by Scott Kazmir essentially cost the Angels an opportunity to play for the World Series. Do teams not practice bunt coverages and appropriate fielding techniques in the American League? It was awful. It was reminiscent of the Tigers collapse in the World Series a few years ago against the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006, where Tiger pitchers had similar errors (8 in all) that cost them the series in 5 games. I know they practice with pitcher fielding and bunt coverages in spring training, but come on. Pick the baseball up and throw it over. The Yankees took advantage in game 6 and allowed themselves an opportunity to set up the top of their pitching rotation.
The Philadelphia Phillies absolutely cruised into the World Series on Wednesday night for the second consecutive season. The Dodgers looked overmatched througout the series and look like they will struggle again next year if matched against this same Phillies team in the playoffs. The Phillies have too many horses on the mound and enough quality bats in the lineup for, probably, any team in the National League, and probably the American League as well.
(Photo: www.ryanhowardclub.info) Ryan Howard was the series MVP, hitting .333, with 5 runs scored, 2 HR's, and 8 RBI's. Jason Werth also made a case for MVP in the final game hitting 2 HR's (3 total) and 6 RBI's in the series, but was outshined by superstar Howard because Werth hit a light .222. The Phillies are looking to become the first National League team to repeat World Series championships since the "Big Red Machine" of Cincinatti in the 1970's and the Yankees from 1999-2000. Game 1 of the World Series will be a great matchup between Sabathia and Cliff Lee. Two extremely talented and successful left-handers who have pinpoint control and very competitive attitudes on the mound. By winning game 6, the Yankees and Phillies World Series could be the best in a long time, featuring powerful lineups and dominant starting pitchers. We also will not be able to make the cold weather excuse for sloppy play. It should be a good one to watch.College football this week was as dull as it has been since week 1 of the season. There were only 3 good games this week and one emotional rollercoaster: Alabama/Tennessee, Iowa/Michigan St., Miami/Clemson, and UConn/WVU (the rollercoaster). The only thing I really wanted to see was UConn beat West Virginia for their fallen teammate, Jasper Howard, for the first time since joining the Big East Conference. Unfortunately, in an up and down, emotional game, West Virginia scored late to steal the victory from the Huskies. Alabama was tested this week for the second straight week, probably keeping them from the #1 BCS ranking for the week, by beating Tennessee 12-10. This is either a statement game for the BCS, or for Lane Kiffin.
(Photo: Wordpress) In terms of the BCS, it goes to show that the SEC should, like I said last week, own the top 2 spots at the end of the season. As for Kiffin and Tennessee, he really is doing some things to show that he belongs in Knoxville and he validates the forcing out of former coach Phil Fulmer. The win/loss doesn't show it, but Tennessee is 3-4 overall (1-3 in the SEC) and has lost all 4 games by a combined 20 points, ten of those coming to Florida in a game that featured a sloppy touchdown late by the Gators. Look out SEC and the nation, Tennessee is going to be a power once again here in a few years.The Big Ten also showed the tremendous amount of parody in college football, outside of the SEC, this season. The only game of note was the Iowa/Michigan State game, which looked like 2 elephants rolling around in the mud. It was classic Big Ten football with 2 teams that just tried to pound the ball on the ground and jockeyed for field position with their defensive toughness (only 600 total yards between the 2 teams). Iowa escaped with a late score that put them up, but they looked vulnerable offensively against a defense that has been giving up a lot of points this season.
Okay, okay. This always seems to happen to me. Some idiot from one of my favorite teams always seems to get in trouble. For example, Michigan football practice scandal, Fab Five recruiting violations/player benefits which forfeited wins, Roberto Alomar spitting in the face of an umpire, Big Ben accused of rape, etc. Does this mean the teams I like have a tendency to sign troublemakers, or that I like certain franchises/college teams because they are risk-takers or "bad boy" seekers? No. It doesn't. And this is why: the Pittsburgh Steelers are one of, if not the, classiest organizations in sports. So much so, that one of their primary owners is the Ambassador to Ireland for the United States. Teams, companies, or organizations that make bad business/personnel decisions do not have ownership that, in some way, represents their country, unless they are trying to embarass themselves (i.e., North Korea). Also, what is probably the next most recognized rule in the NFL next to any number of the "I'm a girl, don't hit me, 'Tom Brady'" rules? The Rooney Rule, which is meant to protect Civil Rights, not quarterbacks. Point taken? Okay, let's move on. Is this a story because the Steelers were Super Bowl XLIII champs? No, this is a story for one reason and one reason only, because he is a kicker.
(Photo: www.footblog.com ) Who else gets put in the news because of a drunk in public citation? It took Donte Stallworth hitting, and killing, a pedestrian with his car to make the news. It took Adam "Pacman" Jones a shooting outside a Las Vegas nightclub to make the news. In this story, Jeff Reed was picked up for "mouthing off to police as they were issuing a public urination ticket to teammate Matt Spaeth." (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) I repeat, mouthing off as police were trying to give Matt Spaeth a ticket for pissing in the street! We have heard nothing of Matt Spaeth, except in this article from the Gazette, who only mentions his name (they don't officially say if he was cited or not). Hmm, wierd how that works. Must suck to be, in the words of the comedic jingle by Adam Sandler, the "lonesome kicker." I don't imagine this story was a distraction to the Steelers, who beat the Vikings on Sunday, as Tomlin pointed out, it happened the Sunday right after a game, 4 blocks from the stadium. Most of the team probably was thinking, "it's our kicker, who the hell cares? It's not like he has to be in top physical condition, or remember the playbook. He's probably drunk by half-time anyway."As for the game featuring Jeff Reed and the Steelers, imagine that as the advertising marquee for an upcoming Monday Night game (say it like Hank Williams, Jr. would say it), the latest off the field issues proved to have no effect on their play this weekend. The defense was dominant against the high-powered Viking offense with 2 defensive touchdowns, a fumble recovery and 77 yard return for Lamar Woodley and an 82 yard interception return for Keyaron Fox. This looked like last year's Steeler defense. Having Troy Polamalu back full time has lit a fire under this defense that has struggled against decent offenses all season. I won't take anything away from the Vikings, because they are a good team, but they haven't really been tested by a team in the upper level of the NFL (Detroit 1-5, Cleveland 1-6, St. Louis 0-7, San Francisco 3-3, Green Bay 4-2, Baltimore 3-3), with their opponents win/loss record coming into the game was 12-26. Brett Favre is good, but as long as teams focus on Adrian Peterson, he is not going to win games for the Vikings if they do not have the dominant running game everyone thinks they have. This victory will carry a lot of momentum going into the bye week and into their November 9th Monday Night showdown with, hopefully still undefeated, Denver at Invesco Field. Look for a healthy, confident Steeler team in a couple of weeks.
Also in the NFL this week, we saw Michael Crabtree's debut get overshadowed by a quaterback change, possibly for the season, against the Houston Texans. Shaun Hill was lifted after a lack luster performance by the former #1 overall selection for the niners, Alex Smith. Smith played particularly well in bringing the Niners back, but fell short because the hole Hill dug was already too deep. Does this mean Smith will get his old job back? Who knows because right now he is the best option they have if they are behind, and Hill is the best option to start the game. Don't ask how this works, but for some reason it does. If Smith could start a game successfully, which in San Francisco isn't difficult (just hand the ball to Gore), and make throws when he has to, he would be the starter and earn all of that rookie contract money he has been paid so far. As for Crabtree, it was an okay debut. He'll get better as he learns the offense and becomes a threat, but it still may take a while. I wouldn't expect Crabtree to be a featured receiver until next season. Rookie wideouts don't usually start becoming impact players right away, and struggle for the first part of the season. Considering the fact that Crabtree's early part of the season is now, he should struggle most of the remainder of this NFL season, but he still may be an upgrade to a disappointing offensive team thus far.
(Photo: ESPN.com) JaMarcus Russell was also benched this week for Bruce Gradkowski. Does this mean Russell will be moved to left tackle, where, according to his offseason program, he belongs? Probably, but it will be awhile before he is committed to protecting a fellow quarterback. The guy takes on the persona of his owner, no leadership. As long as Al Davis owns the Raiders, they'll stink. Be embarrassed Raider fans, your franchise is the butt of every joke on every network and radio show in the country that even mentions the word "football."
Why does another NFC East scheduled game get the Monday Night spotlight. This week it featured the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Redskins. I have been saying all along that the NFC East is the most overrated division in the NFL. The Giants are solid, but got pasted by the Arizona Cardinals this week, the Cowboys won a game against the Falcons, but it was at home, if it were in Atlanta it probably would have been a blowout, and neither the Eagles or Redskins are deserving of a primetime game.
(Photo: Sports Illustrated)The NFL should have a flex schedule, similar to the Thursday night contests on the NFL Network, for Monday Night games. How is it that regional coverage maps don't allow for people to see the Minnesota/Pittsburgh, Cincinnatti/Chicago, San Francisco/Houston, or New Orleans/Miami games? These games all featured teams at .500 or above and they were only available with Sunday Ticket cable packages. Don't get me wrong, if I had NFL Sunday Ticket I wouldn't be complaining, but I thought Monday Night Football was supposed to be a huge marketing event for the NFL. Why does the NFL keep rewarding franchises that have given the NFL nothing but negative headlines and mediocre management strategies? This may be one of the lowest rated Monday Night Football games outside of the DC/Philadelphia areas in a long time. I'm not suggesting the NFL select the best game of the week by the 2 best teams each time. I'm suggesting that they at least show games that the entire country may be interested in based on its meaning for the rest of the league. I'm also going to add this: do not start flexing games until at least week 5. This will allow for some teams to emerge that have some type of national interest. The NFL should not be supportive of only the big markets, but to the most interesting and competitive market. The only primetime games that should be established from the beginning of the season are the opening weekend Thursday night game (previous Super Bowl champion) and the first 4 weeks of the scheduled Monday Night games, Thanksgiving Day games are not safe either. What happens if the Lions are blacked out on Thanksgiving because the economy in Detroit is way down and the Lions stink? Are we still going to tune into the CBS presentation of the Lions on Thanksgiving Day? Probably, but I think there are better options.As for the Monday Night game, the Redskins have bigger problems than who is calling plays for them on offense. Sherman Lewis or Jerry Lee Lewis, it doesn't matter. Jason Campbell is not a good quarterback. He looks panicked in the pocket and tries to throw everything on the run. The Eagles proved they could beat a vulnerable, bad team that they should beat. Other than a touchdown late, it was a game that was completely dominated by a solid Eagle defense that created turnovers and got to the quarterback. The Redskins are a joke and need to quit trying to solve all of their problems with money. Dan Snyder has been throwing money at players for the last several years, comparable to the Steinbrenner's in New York. There is only one problem with that: this isn't baseball. Football teams don't win championships because of high payrolls. They are winning teams because of a balanced mixture of systems, appropriate talent, team first mentalities, chemistry, and a strong front office. The Redskins have none of these ingredients, which is why they are terrible.
In local sports headlines for you Montana natives out there: having nothing to do with the success of the University of Montana football program, the Grizzlies are in the national news. Coach Bobby Hauck is now labeled a "bully" in popular, nationally syndicated sports media outlets. The story goes like this: the Grizzly football team kept two players out of the opening game of the season for what they called "undisclosed injuries."
(Photo: www.montanagrizzlies.com) Coincidentally, those same 2 players were involved in a fight with some other students last spring. The college newspaper repeatadly asked Coach Hauck about the "undisclosed injuries" of the two players and he provided nothing in response, about the injury or the fight. In addition, Hauck put a gag-order on the team with the paper, telling them not to say anything to Kaimin (the local University of Montana student newspaper) reporters. As a response, the Kaimin, who prints a gameday paper for each home game, decided it was going to boycott the game. They usually write a feature article about some aspect of Montana football and put it on the cover. Instead, they wrote a feature article about Cal-Poly's head coach. This pissed Hauck off and he is yet to answer any questions from the Kaimin and told them they will be getting nothing from him in future interviews. In Sports Illustrated, he is chastised for not speaking to the Kaimin. On ESPN.com, Pat Forde gives him the "Bum of the Half-year" midseason in college football award for the same thing. You can find both articles at the following links, check them out, they are pretty good: Sports Illustrated and ESPN.com articles.Until next week.
