Give It Up Goodell

The Andre Johnson/Cortland Finnegan fight had more action, landed punches, and less clinching than the Andre Ward fight; it also got more coverage on the Red Zone channel than Dwayne Bowe and Peyton Hillis combined. You had to assume that a suspension was coming for both since they have more bad blood between them than Paris Hilton and Snooki, and a history of fines when playing each other. Andre Johnson souded like he realized a suspension was forthcoming with post-game comments where he apologized to his team and stated that he would accept the punishment that came with his actions.

This seemed like perfect opportunity for NFL czar Roger Goodell to lay down the law and prevent any further incidents since these two meet again on December 19th. Instead Goodell fined both $25,000 (.4% of Johnson's salary, .9% of Finnegan's) and is going to allow them both to play this week, in a decision that is more questionable than the Panthers starting Brian St. Pierre or greenlighting a movie with "The Rock" in the leading role. The decision not to suspend these two screams out inconsistency on the level of Dirk Nowitzki's hairstyles, especially when Goodell has peddled the mantra of personal conduct more than a politician seeking re-election. So we are to assume that actions that would have got Johnson arrested on the street or in a bar and definitely suspended are not suspend-able actions when they occur on the field?

Give it up already Goodell, as we know he isn't adverse to changing the rules in the middle of the season like he did for "helmet to helmet" hits, so if he wants to institute NHL like fighting I am all for it, but you have to give the other guy a chance. No one dislikes New York Ranger Sean Avery more than I do, but even I would allow him to punch back when a guy drops the gloves with him and both players know what they are in for.

Not suspending Johnson because he and the Texans play on Thursday on the "NFL" Network (aka the Goodell channel) is a blatant move that puts the NFL on a slippery slope sliding to Vince McMahon territory.

As for the "helmet to helmet" hits I see the player safety side, but when you change the rules in the middle of the season and change the fabric of the game for defensive players, fines of $50,000 to $100,000 and suspensions without giving players an off-season seems far too harsh, when incidents like this on field assualt are given a wrist slap. While Goodell is changing rules mid-season, how about taking away the NFC West playoff spot and enforcing offensive pass interference? I assumed Richard Seymour would be suspended after punching Ben Roethlisberger the week before, but on second thought who didn't want to see Roethlisberger get punched, besides every woman in the world. On a side note Roethlisberger's teammates non-reaction to Seymour's punch showed me all I needed to know about that team and how Roethlisberger is thought of in the locker room. Can you imagine the "Kyle Turley" like like reaction that would have ensued if Seymour did that to Brees, Brady, or even Fitzpatrick or Troy Smith.




Those teams would have would have cleared their benches in support of their QB's, but that is the rub, those teammates actually like their QB's. Fans can justify anything and it is easy to say you support guys to the media, but true feelings are revealed in a situation like the Seymour punch. Goodell also didn't want Seymour coming out after the punch and proclaiming that he did it for women everywhere, as he is much more interested in adding games to the schedule which seems in stark contrast to a commish who champions player safety? His decisions leave me with more a headache than a guy who took a helmet to helmet blow from James Harrison or Asante Samuel.

Breaking News

I have been an avid Jeff Reed basher in the past, but we have some bad news coming out of North Carolina. Apparently the former Steeler kicker tried to commit suicide after being released by the team.

Reports say that Reed tried to hang himself in his home, but as he tried to kick the stool out from under him, he missed, and blamed the carpeting for the botched attempt.

A Look at December College Hoops games

December is the month to buy to Christmas presents, hang lights, high school football state title games, determine NFL playoff teams, watch the last episodes of Cutthroat, go to Florida. December is also a month of compelling college hoops non-conference matchups, so as you are finishing up the holiday preparations and reviewing your Cutthroat draft strategy don't forget to catch these matchups below.

(12/1) Michigan State @ Duke: The top two teams in the pre-season rankings play each other in the most intriguing game of the annual Big 10/ACC shootout. Duke has looked every bit like the pre-season #1 so far this season highlighted by a convincing win over Kansas State in Kansas City. Much heralded PG recruit Kyle Irving showed defensive skills not generally seen from freshmen as he forced K State star Jacob Pullen into one of his worst shooting performances of his career. Seniors Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith combine with Irving and Seth Curry to give the Blue Devils more firepower than last year's title team and it will be interesting to see how Michigan State and coach Tom Izzo try to slow them down. Mich State is coming off an uneven performance in Maui, loss to UConn and win over Wash, in their loss they were unable to slow guard Kemba Walker. PG Kalin Lucas has had a slow start after missing most of the summer due to injury and Mich St. has stuggled team wide with turnovers, foul shooting, and Durrell Summer's stretches of inactivity. Interesting below the radar matchup will be Mich St. big man Delvon Roe vs. Duke's Mason Plumlee, Roe is healthy and physical and Plumlee has a lot of upside as evidenced by his (25/12/6) in a win over Marquette.

(12/4) Kentucky @ UNC: Harrison Barnes was the consensus best high school player in the country last year and was supposed to be the player to lead Carolina back to national prominence during his one year in college prior to being the #1 pick in the NBA draft. So far this season he has shown flashes of brilliance, but has been unable to maintain consistency especially with his shot to make up for Carolina's other deficiencies most notably guard play and team defense. Meanwhile Kentucky freshman PF Terrence Jones has surpassed Barnes as the best college prospect with his overall point forward and athletic game. Jones showed in Maui the ability to score from everywhere, rebound, and lead the break, skills rarely seen for a player who is 6'9". Kentucky is coming off a no show in the Maui finals vs. UConn and Carolina lost back to back games vs. Minnesota and Vanderbilt in Puerto Rico and had a close call at home on Sunday vs. College of Charlestown. This is an important game for Kentucky and their young team as Jones and PG Brandon Knight learn to play together, but more important for the home team as Carolina looks to rebound from a 5-11 ACC record last season while missing the tournament. This game should go a long way in determining if Kentucky is a contender and if UNC is a tourney team.

(12/7) Jimmy V Classic @ NYC: Memphis vs. Kansas and Michigan State vs. Syracuse:

The best college basketball tournament because of what it means and the money it raises. Jimmy V's 1993 ESPY speech, which is shown in between games of this tournament, is one of the most profound speeches on life ever given and it has spawned a foundation that has raised over 100 million dollars for cancer research and is truly one of the good things ESPN is closely involved in. The Jimmy V foundation and raising money for cancer research should also be Dick Vitale's legacy as his work for both has far exceeded his sub-par game analysis which should be limited to this event only.

In the first game Memphis and coach Josh Pastner (who looks like a teenager who broke into his father's closest and is wearing his suit) will test their top recruiting class against an experienced and deep Kansas team. Kansas can go five deep at the guard position and freshman distributor Josh Selby should fit in well with slasher Tyshawn Taylor and shooter Brady Morningstar. Marcus Morris is the more polished Morris brother down low for the Jayhawks and held up fairly well in a home win vs. a solid Arizona team and PF Derrick Williams which bodes well for KU long term prospects.

In the second game Michigan State continues their always brutal non-conference schedule in New York vs. Syracuse. Mich. State's battle tested play in the NCAA tournament can always be traced back to the non-conference slate they play in November and December, while Syracuse doesn't play a true road game until Big East play begins in January. With the departures of Andy Rautins and Wesley Johnson Syracuse turns to PG Scoop Jardine and C's Kris Joseph and freshman 7 footer Fab Melo, who should contribute immediately, an early season test against Mich. State should be a good indicator to see how tough the new Cuse crew is.

(12/11) Tennessee vs. Pittsburgh @ Pittsburgh's Consol Energy Center:

What is it with Tennessee and coaches; in football they had to endure the end of the Phillip Fullmer era and Lane Kiffin and in hoops it was the Buzz Peterson show and now Bruce Pearl's antics. Since this is an out of conference game Bruce Pearl will be allowed to coach and his antics really are a shame since his team has talent as they proved by beating Nova to win the pre-season NIT. As for Pittsburgh, Jaime Dixon continues to get more than the sum of his parts and no program has more extremes between coaches than Pittsburgh with Dixon and Wannstedt. Not only does Dixon coach a top five hoops program, but he saved Big East football by recruiting his alma mater TCU into the conference over the past month. This game will be a defensive slugfest with UT's Harris and Hopson and Pittsburgh's Gary McGhee and overall team defense and could be lower scoring than a Pen's game in this venue.

(12/22) Illinois vs. Missouri in St. Louis: Illinois brings back their top 6 players from last year, a statement that becomes harder to make each year in the college game. Senior PG Demetri McCamey should be as capable as any point guard of handling the Mizzou full court press and the Illini will get a conditioning test against the deepest Mizzou team that Mike Anderson has coached in his 5 years. Community college transfer PF Ricardo Ratliffe gives Mizzou a bruising presence in the post that they have lacked in recent seasons. This is always a good rivalry game and with both teams ranked in the top 20 and expected to make noise in March it will always be a good barometer game for a conference strengths and tourney time.

(12/30) Temple @ Villanova: Contrasting styles collide in this Big 5 matchup as Nova looks for revenge after losing to Temple last year. Nova will look to push the pace and get shots for their guard heavy lineup and as Corey Stokes and Corey Fisher go so go the Cats. In their loss to Tennessee Fisher and Stokes were held to 4-19 shooting and that will be the blueprint Temple tries to follow. Temple has more size and plays good overall team defense, but his been unable to score regularly enough so far this season. Through 5 games this season Temple is averaging in the mid 50's and Nova is more explosive than the likes of Texas A&M and Cal.

Thank You Stevie Johnson

I just spent 3+ hours of my life watching one of the most pathetic football games I can remember. Yeah so what if there was late drama and OT, the game was horrible. But we will get to that in a minute.

First off, Buffalo has to have the best home-field advantage in the league. Here's why?

1. Who wants to ever be in Buffalo? Certainly no millionaire twenty-something athlete. It is a run-down city that only gets visitors because it is in everyone's way as they go to Niagara.

2. It is freezing cold and miserable out. Conventions say players love the elements, they love to play physical, and the cold enhances that. No they don't. It hurts to be cold. The ball is like a hunk of cement. Most of the guys in the league are from Florida, Texas, and California. Are you trying to tell me they prefer to play in the cold? No way. Why is the Super Bowl played in nice weather. Maybe the white guys like it cold because the games are played more at their speed.

Speaking of white guys and cold weather, Peyton "The Avalanche" Hillis is actually giving me a reason to check out the Browns box score on the ticker. I forget where I heard that he was being called The Avalanche, but that is a perfect nickname. He's white, runs downhill and destroys all in his path. The only time he could be stopped would be by Dennis Quaid who has a specialty in overcoming wintry disasters.



My dad was watching that movie before the game started so it was kind of stuck in my head.


Continuing with my tangent away from actually having to talk about this game, how about what has happened to the more successful and famous of the Quaids, Randy. He goes from destroying aliens with Will Smith, and living a luxurious life in the Vegas desert, to constantly being on the run from the cops. Something tells me this is his version of that Joaquin Phoenix stunt. Only a great method actor like Randy Quaid would cause so much turmoil in his life just to prepare for a movie role. Bravo Randy Bravo.

3. In Buffalo all of the fat asses on the team have to go out for wings. I love wings, probably my favorite food. If I was ever stranded in Buffalo, and I emphasize stranded, because no way am I going there on purpose, I would definately stop at the Mecca of wings. Loads like Casey Hampton definately put a few dozen back last night. What happens the morning after a wing binge. Wing shits. You aren't the same for atleast 24 hours.

4. The worst refs in the league. Why would the NFL send top officials to a Bills game. The Bills stink and thus the game will have no impact on the rest of the league, so you get the bottom of the referee barrel. Although Goodell is idiot enough to send good officials to Buffalo and say screw Green Bay and Atlanta, that game means nothing.

5. Kevin Harlan and Soloman Wilcotts. These two are completely worthless as announcers. Everyone has their favorites and the announcers they dispise, but these two jokesters don't even warrant a love/hate analysis.

For a good 2 minutes straight, King Soloman rambled on about how Mike Williams was a great receiver for the Steelers. I can understand an occasional slip of the tongue, but he went on about Mike Wallace for a two minutes and must have called him Williams 6-7 times. First off Soloman, Wallace is the Steelers biggest playmaker, and since you are doing the Steelers game, and have been preparing for it for a whole week, you should know that. Second, they kept flashing Wallace's image on the screen with the nameplate Wallace clearly in the shot. Third, Kevin Harlan is so clueless he couldn't even support his partner and make the correction.

Wilcotts continued his stellar game by crowing the Steelers Super Bowl champs in the first half, then all but declaring the Bills, behind Ryan Fitzpatrick's courage and Harvard education, as the next dynasty of the 2010s, and taking credit for warning the audience that they would put up a fight in the second half. It was actually hard to listen to these guys doing their best John Kerry flip-flop impersonation all game.

Although the alternative would be turning on the Steelers' Radio broadcast, which is so one-sided it would be like watching Jim Abbott in a rowboat.



6. You have to play the Bills. Especially for a team that has a huge game versus Baltimore next Sunday, it would be really easy to overlook the Bills. I don't care how much Tomlin says that they haven't overlooked this team, by the looks of their second half play, I would think that Casey was already looking forward to his Saturday night Maryland Blue Crabs.

After watching this game I have come to a few conclusions:

1. The Steelers will not win the Super Bowl, let alone play in the game.

1a. With an offensive line that consists of Jonathan Scott and Ramon Foster, this team isn't going anywhere. Sure they put up good numbers against the Bills and Raiders, but they still are the Bills and Raiders. I like Chris Kemoeatu, think he is a very servicable NFL guard, probably the meanest looking guy in the league, but there is a reason why the team never runs to the left. I think his performance against a no-name D-tackle today solidifies that point. Typing his name above I can across something I found funny. The last 4 letters in his last name spell EAT U.

1b. William Gay is still on the field. I would like to see someone figure out the statistics of DBs who are beaten on touchdown passes. This guy has to be in the top-2. If the Steelers are beat deep for a TD there is a good chance good ol' Willie Gay is chasing from behind.

1c. They will likely be a Wild Card team. I like Baltimore to win the AFC North and get a bye, which will mean Pittsburgh will have to go on the road on Wild Card weekend, and most likely stay on the road for the duration of the Playoffs. This is going to be too tough a task with this year's batch of AFC contenders.

2. Ben Roethlisberger is an elite QB. Sure he has a thing for not so attractive girls, but he can still play the game he is getting paid $100 million for. Honestly, I don't rank him ahead of Manning, Brady, Brees, Rivers, or Rodgers, but of those 5 only Rodgers would have success with the Steelers, and that is because he can move. The other 4 are statues in the pocket that rarely get hit and have all the time in the world to pinpoint receivers. Ben doesn't have that luxury. He is always running for his life, escaping the grasp of defenders, and completing passes. His 18-yard scramble for a first down that set up the go-ahead field goal was amazing. Brady couldn't do that, neither could have Brees, Rivers or Peyton. If only the girls in Georgia bars had the elusiveness of Ben.

You can't tell me his doesn't throw a nice deep ball. I'd say one of the best in the league, and with Williams, I mean Wallace, running fly routes, he needs to be able to rocket it far enough to not underthrow him. Ben also is great with checking down to lesser optioned receivers. A play is never dead with Ben, he can always find someone. He is the reason the Steelers even have a hope to make a run at the Lombardi.

3. Where did Mendenhall's spin move go? I was an avid opponent of him using it every play, but now it has completely disappeared and I kind of miss it. The guy is a beast in OT. It seems like he knows that is his time to shine. Luckily for him the Bills stink and the Steelers actually had a chance in overtime.

4. James Harrison will probably get suspended for this latest hit. I guess there is nothing you can do with Adolf Goodell in charge. I don't think he has something out for the Steelers, but his policies certainly hurts a team that focuses on physical play. The guy has been playing the same way for 20 years. His toughness and tenacity got him into the league and made him into an All-Pro. I don't think there is any way he can change and still be the most dominant defender on the field. Something has to give, and unfortunately, I think Harrison is going to have to ease up and soften up his game, which is a shame.

5. The people of Buffalo and Niagara need to watch out for a barrel going over the Falls tonight. In it, Steve Johnson. 5 dropped passes and one of those was to win the game in OT. Steve Johnson was a no-name 7th round pick out of Kentucky 3 years ago, and now has become a household name in the Fantasy Football world. A great season is now blemished by this play. And what was up with them calling him Stevie? I thought it was Steve. Guess I don't know him as well as I thought I did.




6. In some North Carolina bar, Jeff Reed creeps on some coeds, flashes some of his $2.8 million franchise contract, and bypasses the toilet for the convenience of pissing in an alley.


As for the game, the Steelers really let the Bills hang around by only scoring 13 points in the first half. They had the ball for 24 or the 30 minutes and could only mangage to hang 13 points. Everyone knew the Bills would come back. It's the Steelers' season in a nut shell. They can't put teams away, they give them a chance to come back at the end. Luckily only Baltimore was able to beat them in the waning seconds, but one of these games they will lose to a bad team because they can't close.

The 2010 Steelers are like this season of Always Sunny. There are some high points that get you excited, like today's opening drive, but the rest of the time you are confused as to why you even like watching them. For example in Always Sunny, in the white trash episode, when Mac and Charlie are stuck in the pool, that banter is funny. Dee as a drama teacher, not funny. Charlie dressed as the Phantom of the Opera and saying he is a sexy vampire, funny. Dennis getting married, not funny. Steelers opening the game with a 14-play, 8:00 TD drive, exciting. Steelers giving up a 13-point lead, then going into OT and are a dropped pass, that even Roy Williams would have held on to, from losing the game, gets you wondering as to why you are even watching.

College Football Week 13

The final full regular season weekend of the college football season features the best slate of games of the year; Friday is an especially good day with the top three teams in the country all in action vs. teams capable of pulling an upset. Another theme of the weekend is traditional underdogs (A&M, OK St, FSU) in rivalry games all being favored and with great chances to exact years worth of revenge on their in state big brothers.

Texas A&M (-3) @ Texas: The first of the rivalry games kicks off Saturday night in Austin where the Longhorns are underdogs and need a win to get to .500. Texas' season has been stunningly disappointing and a loss on Saturday would leave them out of one of the 824 bowls this year. They would also eclipse the 02' Nebraska team as the team to take the most dramatic fall after losing the previous season in the BCS title game. These teams are going in opposite directions as A&M has one 5 in a row after Mike Sherman's QB switch to Ryan Tannehill, while Texas has lost 4 of 5. Texas inability to run the football, their leading rusher has 485 yards for the season, will allow A&M and pass rush specialist Von Miller to attack Garrett Gilbert. I have to give Mike Sherman credit for the QB switch that has rejuvenated his team and last week's win over Nebraska proved they can win a low scoring game. This has to be Mike Sherman's best chance to beat Mack Brown and few things would be sweeter for the A&M faithful than to drive the stake in the heart of Texas' season. I like A&M to continue their run of success and Texas to falter in the second half, so the play is to lay the favorite.

Auburn @ Alabama (-4.5): This the best college football game of the 2010-2011 season including all conference championships and the BCS title game yet to be played. This is one you don't want to miss while shopping for great deals or watching bad Big East football. Auburn has "found a way" this season behind Cam Newton and the offense's 307 rush yds/game and has dominated in the fourth quarter outscoring opponents 107-45. Auburn has looked like a team of destiny while coming back from 14 point fourth quarter deficits in wins over Clemson, South Carolina, and Georgia, where Cam Newton made every play and the defense was opportunistic. Auburn has taken advantage of an easy road schedule so far this season going 1-2 vs. the number on the road against Miss. St, Kentucky, and Miss. Saturday in Tuscaloosa will be their first real road test and Alabama has the offensive weapons to take advantage of a mediocre Auburn defense. If Alabama QB Greg McElroy continues to play at the level he has this season he and WR Julio Jones will have a big day Saturday. On defense Nick Saban will load the box to contain Newton on the ground and force him to make plays in the air. I think Newton will make plays in the passing game, but I don't think it will be enough to keep up with a team that has equal talent on offense. Alabama has the experience, home field, and coaching advantages and I don't trust the Auburn defense on the road, so Bama is the play.

Arizona @ Oregon (-18): Oregon escaped in the desert last year with a win in a two OT thriller, but this year's game is in Eugene and home field in the Pac-10 seems to mean more than in any other conference. Arizona's defense was embarrassed against Stanford and USC and I don't buy the theory that they are better suited to play laterally and with the speed of Oregon's offense. I think or at least hope Chip Kelly is smart enough to run LaMichael James downhill against this defense and expand the offense from there. Both teams are coming off bye weeks and that should help to get Arizona QB Nick Foles as healthy as possible and should allow Oregon to re-charge after tough road games at USC and Cal. 18 is a big number, but Oregon at home has shown they can routinely cover this number so I am taking the Ducks.

Boise St. (-14) @ Nevada: Boise has gone from Labor Day to Thanksgiving without playing a significant game and go to Reno with a chance to jump TCU and be the biggest beneficiary of an Auburn or Oregon loss. Boise's defense is underrated and will need to be stout vs. Nevada QB and Chicago Cub draft pick Colin Kaepernick, who is the first QB ever to rush for 1,000 and pass for 2,000 yards in the three consecutive seasons. Boise QB Kellen Moore will not allow his team to lose, but I think this game will be tight and exciting and this line is a little to Angel Cabrera like (fat and lazy) for me. Nevada has won all their home games by at least 14, so I will take the points and the Chicago Cub draft pick.

LSU @ Arkansas (-3): Best Saturday matchup and best offense vs. defense matchup of the weekend. Arkansas gritted out some tough road wins (South Carolina and Miss St.) and now gets to go home with an outside chance at a BCS invite. Ryan Mallett and his receiving corps vs. LSU CB Patrick Peterson and the LSU pass rush is as good as it gets at the college level. RB Knile Davis has given the Arkansas offense the added benefit of a home run threat on the ground and coach Petrino has turned the Razorbacks into a resilient team. LSU continues to play to their competition and in typical Les Miles form while winning, great performance vs. Alabama and then a head scratching close game vs. Mississippi. Mallett needs a signature game and I think this is it making Ark the play.

Oklahoma @ OK ST (-3): This game will resemble an Arena League game with the offensive players on these two teams. Some of the best skill players in the country will go head to head in a game where I wouldn't take the under if the total was 100. This will be the most exciting game to watch Saturday with QB's Landry Jones/Brandon Weeden, WR's Ryan Broyles/Justin Blackmon, and RB's DeMarco Murray/Kendall Hunter matching jaw dropping plays. Oklahoma looked like a much improved team last weekend on the road in their win over Baylor, but their overall body of work especially on the road continues to underwhelm. OK. State has a chance to end the stranglehold OK and Texas have had on the Big 12 South division and in the process give Mike Gundy his first win over OK. I like the improved OK. St defense to be the difference and send the Cowboys to the Big 12 title game in Cowboy stadium.

Florida @ Florida State (-2.5): What a difference a year and Tim Tebow makes, last year Florida routed the Seminoles and Bobby Bowden in the swamp and both teams haven't looked the same since. Urban Meyer is finding the difference between genius and goat is the graduation of a great player as his offense puts football back 50 years. FSU can do things UF can't; run the ball and stop the run and though they probably won't make the ACC title game wins over Miami and Florida might be more impressive.

Last week (3-3)

Season (48-39-1)

How my first four fantasy football draft picks mirror Abram's decisions on RR/RW Challenge Cut-throat

As the calendar turns from fall to winter I mark the passage of time with the weeks of fantasy leagues and episodes of this season's Real World/Road Rules challenge "Cut-throat". I have a history of underperforming fantasy teams in every sport excluding golf and I have never been able to pinpoint the overall problem usually excusing my poor performance to factors that can't be controlled like injuries, bad matchups, or an unexplainable down year for a superstar that no one saw coming. I have never considered my fantasy teams as a prohibitive favorite, but for a guy who spends some time watching and reading about sports and has been playing for over a decade it is a bit perplexing when your team could be consistently beat by Coco the monkey throwing darts at a draft board. This same perplexing feeling can be translated to Abram's performance on the Real World/Road Rules challenges, where he is still searching for his first win. He is one of the best athletes in every cast and has an intensity that can only be matched by a select few of candidates (Derrick, CT). He also is not short on experience and is generally thought of as a stand up guy who is liked and more importantly respected by his fellow competitors. There always seems to be one thing missing that is hard to put your finger on for both Abe in challenges and myself in fantasy leagues; below are Abe's questionable decisions and motives (in order) through 7 episodes of Cut-throat and the similarities behind my horrid first four picks of a 12 man minus two fantasy football keeper league.

1) Abe continually hooking up with team member Cara-Marie beginning in episode 2 and my drafting Michael Turner in the first round pick #12. Both decisions are more cliché than the "after Prom" episode of any high school TV show and the outcomes are about as predictable as the Lions playing on the road. First for Abe's decision: hooking up with a girl on your own team is only going to compromise future decisions that you make throughout the competition and also hurt Abe in the individual competitions, as Abe went out of his way to protect and shield Cara-Marie. This makes you vulnerable, which is obvious to everyone on your own team and your competitors. When you haven't won a challenge on your own, it is twice as hard to combine with your un-athletic girlfriend to win. Drafting a second tier running back with a history of injuries and two years past his best season is equally as cliché and as easy to predict the outcome. Making matters worse is that Turner plays on a team with a young quarterback and great young receiver who are coming into their own together and a back-up RB who rightfully deserves carries. WR's like White, Jennings, and Calvin Johnson were all on the board making the Turner pick even more un-defensible and are all better options, much like match.com or any bar in the Czech republic would have been better options for Abe.

2) Abe sitting out the second competition to "coach" his team and my drafting Wes Welker in the fourth round. Both decisions scream out over thinking and a reliance on other players and both decisions were outright failures: Abe's team was lost without their best player competing. Even forcing T.J. Lavin to call out Abe's decision. Drafting Welker was also an example of over thinking with a fascination on points per reception and the thought that Moss would keep the coverage away from Welker and the Pat's offense would return to 08' form. Abe continued to reinforce the point that challenge cast members will not be mistaken for MIT grad students by making that decision and I reinforced the point that as much as ESPN wants to convince you that fantasy football drafting shouldn't be made into rocket science either. Without Moss commanding the attention of at least two DB's it is plain to see that any safety or nickel back can lock down a slow 5'8" slot receiver on a dink and dunk offense. As episode 2 and my season proved, the gray team without Abe and any fantasy team with Welker as more than a third WR or bench guy is destined for the same last place fate.

3) Abe voting to send Laurel and not Cara-Marie into the Gulag during episode #7 and my drafting Ryan Matthews in the second round with pick #15. Obviously the biggest mistake so far for Abe during the season and my biggest mistake of the year. Both decisions were questioned by the decision maker immediately with Abe declaring not to his teammates but to the camera that he was only keeping Cara-Marie due to their relationship and my senseless justifications for Matthews like the Chargers trading up for him and Norv's instance to make him a one back star. Both decisions leave major holes in both teams as Abe infuriated his best female teammate in Laurel, who is a self described monster and Amazon woman in her bio and causing a game changing split in his squad. As for my team it was plainly obvious after 5 weeks Matthews might not have it in him to dress on Sundays let only contribute to a winning fantasy team. Abe's future is still uncertain after his decision as Laurel naturally won her elimination Gulag and returns looking for revenge, and I hope for his sake that he has better luck with the consequences of his decision than I have had with mine. The Matthews pick eliminated my chance to compete and Cara-Maria in the final instead of Laurel will eliminate Abe's chance to win.

4) Abe's justification to his team that he voted Laurel into the Gulag based on performance and my drafting of Anquan Boldin in the third round as a franchise WR. Abe had a better chance convincing his teammates that their house is haunted than he did convincing them that he honestly believed Cara-Marie was a better competitor than Laurel. He should have been honest and said his vote was due to his relationship and that his teammates should just get over it if they want any chance to win the money. My justification should have been that I was hoping the Ravens would embrace Boldin for the stud WR he showed he was in Arizona even though this was equally as misguided as Abe's decision. The Ravens are more conservative than Glen Beck and would rather use Boldin as a glorified TE as they continue to want to play games where their defense has a great chance to out-score their offense weekly. The Ravens lost games (Falcons, Pats) and almost lost games (Cincy, Pgh) due to their reluctance to let Flacco air it out all game long with Boldin as the premier downfield weapon, but this is no excuse for my pick as I knew well before draft day that John Harabaugh is less imaginative than Marty Schottenheimer and the third best coach in his family. Both decisions were awful because both Abe and I knew the justifications for the decisions were worse than the actual decisions.

The first step in solving a problem is admitting you have a problem, Abe you still have hope. As for me at least I am homemade tattoo free. And there is always fantasy golf.

College Football Week 12

Normally it would be hard to stir up any excitement for a middle of November college football Saturday when national title contenders Auburn, Oregon, and TCU are all on bye weeks, but by scheduling the mediocre Illinois/Northwestern and Notre Dame/Army games at Wrigley Field and Yankee stadium respectively Saturday has some added intrigue. Scheduling a "who cares about" Big 10 game at the best venue to watch any sport in the country and taking a classic rivalry back to a place, in name only, that has held some of the most iconic sporting events is a great move for both the schools and the college game and has to be mentioned with other great sport tweaks like the running ticker in the upper right hand corner for NCAA tourney games, the winter and heritage classics, 24/7, the red zone channel, and NBA TV. The fact that Mark May is against this idea makes me like it even more and is all the convincing I need. All we need is a channel is to run classic slam dunk contests and 3 point shootouts from past NBA All-Star games and a Paulie D-Vinny Jersey Shore spin off show and we will really be on to something. Enough dreaming; now back to this week's games as we pick at least one game in every major football conference and with the start of college hoops we can forget the Big East even plays football until one of their teams is a no chance 20+ point dog in the Orange Bowl.

Ohio State (-3) @ Iowa: Ohio State has tied for or won the Big 10 conference outright in 5 consecutive years which is a truly remarkable stat and shows the consistency of Jim Tressel's teams, but also shows the relative lack of national power in the conference recently. OSU will need improved road play from this year's team to get a win on Senior Day in Iowa and extend that streak to 6 years. This will be OSU's fourth road game this season where they are 2-1 overall and 1-2 vs. the number. Both Illinois and Wiscy were able to run the ball straight at the OSU defense while Terrelle Pryor and the offense have been unable to make the same amount of big plays away from Columbus. Iowa responded well after two previous losses this year and I think they will do the same Saturday after their loss last weekend to Northwestern. Iowa should have success on the ground with Adam Robinson which should open things up for QB Ricky Stanzi to have a big game on Senior Day. I expect a close game in the fourth making the home dog with the experienced QB the play outright and with the points.

Wisconsin (-4) @ Michigan: Wiscy hasn't had much luck at the Big House having lost their last five trips with two of those losses derailing Wisconsin from Pasadena, but if there was ever a year to break that streak this is it. Michigan has given up an average of 34.1 points/game at home and Wiscy already ended a previously poor streak by defeating #1 OSU earlier this year. Michigan's offense has been the catalyst of this year's team, but must improve on the 10 turnovers committed during the past two games to keep this game close. Wiscy will be without injured RB John Clay this week, but has the depth at RB to survive that loss and RB's Matee Ball and James White should find plenty of running lanes behind a massive and one of the best O-lines in the country. I like Wiscy laying the points to end their streak of futility at Michigan and to leave Michigan still searching for their first win over a quality opponent this year.

Stanford (-7) @ California: The "Big Game" is the first of the rivalry games this season and one of the best games of the weekend. I stand by my claim last week that Stanford is the best one loss team in the country and this week they will be tested again on the road. Cal is undefeated at home vs. the number and was a late missed FG away from what would have been a stunning upset of Oregon last Saturday night. Cal QB Brock Mansion will make his third start of the season vs. Stanford and has been very mediocre at best with a completion percentage under 50% and 1 TD pass. The Bears defense has been very un-PAC-10 like while carrying the team with Mansion under center and held Oregon to only 15 points and a season low 317 yards. Stanford has been just as successful on offense as Oregon while running a complete opposite pro style and Cal will need another big defensive effort to stay close. Home dogs are always a smart play in rivalry games and with Stanford on the second of back to back road games, Cal and the points are the play.

Oklahoma (-7.5) @ Baylor: Oklahoma has been dreadful all season on the road with their inability to run the ball or stop the run away from Norman. Coach Bob Stoops has called it one of the most frustrating issues of his coaching career as he has tried to mirror the home routine and he has even asked the Big 12 to wear their home uniforms. The numbers show that OK is 0-3 vs. the number and 1-2 overall with only a 2 point win over Big East member Cincy keeping the Sooners from being winless on the road. Baylor has been more than game this season especially on the ground with super athlete Robert Griffin behind center and RB Jay Finley. A win on Saturday would give Baylor their first ever win over the Sooners and give them 8 wins for the season, two being OK and Texas, and an invitation to a very respectable bowl. Seven and a hook are too many for a team with OK's record on the road to be laying making Baylor the play.

Arkansas (-3.5) @ Miss. St: Arkansas has won 4 straight games behind a steady offense and an improved defense giving up only 20 points/game during that span. The Razorback's are also a surprising 2-1 on the road this season, only falling to Auburn where they collapsed and gave up 28 points in the fourth quarter. Miss. St. has been a surprise this season with their ability to chew up time and yards on the ground and stop running quarterbacks. Miss. State's strengths are not good matchups vs. Ark making the road favorites the play.

Virginia @ Boston College (-6.5): BC has won three straight and has only given up 1 offensive TD during that span behind star LB and Nagurski finalist Luke Kuechly. UVA hasn't won a game all season on the road and I don't think that changes Saturday as BC plays for bowl eligibility.

V Tech (-2.5) @ Miami: While the ACC Atlantic division is still up for grabs VTech has turned the Coastal division into a battle for second place. VTech has won 8 in a row after opening the year with losses to Boise and James Madison, Miami is the third of a tough three game stretch preceded by GTech and UNC. This game means more to Miami who needs a quality win this season and I think that will show Saturday. The Canes can run on the VTech defense and no one will be cheering for a successful Miami run game more than Michael Irvin as Leonard Hankerson is one TD away from breaking his TD reception record.

Last week (3-3) Not counting the Aub/UGA over, which was free money

Season (45-36-1)

Maybe It's Just Me, But I Think Portland Should've Drafted Durant

Sorry for taking a week off from posts. I’ve been working about as hard on this blog as the Knicks work on the defensive glass (except for Ronny Turiaf, who, 12 games in, is my favorite Knickerbocker since Larry Johnson.) But, after New York held off a tough Sacramento team last night, I’m in a little better mood.


I’m going to get back into it with a dedication to Greg Oden. Sadly, this may be the last time we mention his name until the next #1 overall pick who can’t live up to expectations needs someone to be compared with. The sad part about it is that this is by no fault of his own. By all accounts he is a worker who has done whatever he can to get back on the court. He just has the most brittle bones since Samuel L. Jackson in ‘Unbreakable’. If you look closely, there is a resemblance between Samuel L. and Oden. It’s a shame for Portland that they didn’t do their due diligence and trace his family lineage.

Now, of course, everyone is stating the obvious that they should have gone with Durant. But, you can’t fault Portland for this. At the time, the majority of analysts where in favor of Oden (if I remember correctly, it was about a 70%-30% split in favor of the potential franchise center). If someone were to tell me in 2007 that three and a half years from now, one of these players would be the cornerstone of Team USA and the other would have only played 82 career games because of injuries, I would have guessed it the opposite of how it has turned out. Coming out of college, Durant weighed 125 pounds (estimate). There were serious questions about whether his body could hold up to the physicality of the league.

But, it’s still fun to think about what teams would have done with a second chance, knowing what we know now about the 2007 draft. So, why not?:


1) Portland

Actual Pick - Greg Oden
Hindsight Pick - Durantula

Kevin Durant, Andre Miller, Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Marcus Camby. That’s a championship caliber starting five.

2) Seattle/OKC

Actual Pick - Kevin Durant
Forced Hindsight Pick - Joakim Noah

This is the toughest pick of this retrospect draft only because I can’t picture the team without Durant. But, suppose he is in Portland, I’d team Russell Westbrook with Noah. Westbrook and Derrick Rose are both athletic, drive to the hoop point guards and we’ve seen that Noah fits well with that type of guard. So, while there are certainly more offensively skilled big men in this draft, Noah’s rebounding and scrappiness is someone you want on a young team. Plus, his ugly, ugly, ugly jump shot does go in, despite how incredibly ugly it is.

By the way, Noah takes home the prize for greatest difference between how much I disliked a player in college and how much I like a player in the pros.

3) ATL

Actual Pick - Al Horford
Hindsight Pick - Al Horford

I think they got this one right. When I said there were more offensively skilled big men in this draft, Horford was who I had in mind. You could make a strong argument for him going #2. He does a little bit of everything, and is a highly skilled passer for his size. Good fit for all of the shooters they have.

4) Memphis

Actual Pick - Mike Conley Jr.
Hindsight Pick - Marc Gasol

Obviously, after the extension Conley just signed, the Grizzlies are happy with him, but hear me out on this one. Had they actually drafted Marc, they wouldn’t have traded his brother, Pau, for him. Instead, they would be starting the Spanish National Team’s front line. Playing with Marc would have kept Pau happy in Memphis and he would have signed a longterm contract. And, most importantly, with their front line sured up, they wouldn’t have had to waste a pick two years later on Hasheem Thabeet. Instead, they could have selected Tyreke Evans or Steph Curry, which would fill the need at point guard from not drafting Conley. Hindsight = 20/20.

5) Boston

Actual Pick - Jeff Green (traded to Seattle for Ray Allen)
Hindsight Pick - Jeff Green (traded to Seattle for Ray Allen)

This one’s looking pretty good for all parties involved.

6) Milwaukee

Actual Pick - Yi Jianlian (whose name I heard an announcer pronounce “Why Geon-Leon” the other night. When you’re an NBA announcer, pronouncing names is one of the major parts of your job. There are only twelve guys on the other team, couldn’t you quickly scan them before the game and ask around for the pronunciation of any you don’t know? Plus, the guy’s been in the league for 4 years. You had to have crossed paths with him before. I don’t know. I guess what I’m getting at is that I want that announcer’s job.)
Hindsight Pick - Carl Landry

Landry’s been a highly efficient player for Houston and, now, Sacramento. He’d bring more scoring ability to their big man rotation of Bogut, Drew Gooden, Mbah-a-Moute, and Ersan Ilyasova.

7) Minnesota

Actual Pick - Corey Brewer
Hindsight Pick - Aaron Brooks

Brooks has the skill to come off the board much earlier than #7, but he didn’t fit with the previous few teams. The biggest upside for this pick: they (probably) wouldn’t have done the Johnny Flynn, Ricky Rubio back-to-back pick two years later. Let’s think about it. They get Brooks as their point guard of the future, draft Steph Curry to play alongside him in a similar two small guard system to what he runs with Monta Ellis in Golden State now, and trade the second pick for future considerations. Brooks, Curry, Kevin Love, and Michael Beasley is a solid nucleus.

8) Charlotte

Actual Pick - Brandan Wright
Hindsight Pick - Tiago Splitter

This one is based purely on hype. The Spurs drafted the Brazilian Splitter, but had to wait a few years for him to come to the NBA from playing internationally. By most accounts, he is going to ease Tim Duncan's workload, and the Spurs expect him to be an important piece for their future. The Bobcats depth chart at center currently reads Nazr Mohammed, DeSagana Diop, and Kwame Brown. In 2004, when those three were in the prime of their careers, that would have been about the 28th best center lineup in the league.

9) Chicago - This one was acquired from the Knicks in the blockbuster Eddy Curry trade. I love reliving that one. Thanks Isiah.

Actual Pick - Joakim Noah
Forced Hindsight Pick - Marco Bellinelli

Bellinelli would be the shooter that the Bulls thought they were getting when they signed JJ Redick to an offer sheet this summer. Bellinelli is already better and has a higher ceiling than both Redick and Kyle Korver, who the Bulls settled on signing when the Magic matched their offer on Redick.

10) Sac-town

Actual Pick - Spencer Hawes
Hindsight Pick - Arron Afflalo

The former All-American has expanded his role with the Nuggets from just a defensive player, to a scorer. The Kings are thin on the wings with Omri Casspi being the only player that fits that mold.

11) ATL

Actual Pick - Acie Law
Hindsight Pick - Mike Conley Jr.

Mike Bibby is getting up there in age and their second option at handling the point, Jamal Crawford, plays better off the ball.

12) Philadelphia

Actual Pick - Thaddeus Young
Hindsight Pick - Wilson Chandler

I always say that Wilson Chandler is a Rich Man’s Thaddeus Young, so this one works out perfectly.

13) New Orleans

Actual Pick - Julian Wright
Hindsight Pick - Big Baby Davis

Baby tends to play well coming off the bench with good teams and elite point guards.

14) Clippers

Actual Pick - Al Thornton
Hindsight Pick - Greg Oden

The quintessential Clipper pick! I just hope for everyone’s sake that Blake Griffin doesn’t follow the same fate.

SPUR-ned Lover

Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria has filed divorce from point guard husband Tony Parker. Longoria, the older of the two, cited irreconcilable differences as the cause for the split. It was awfully nice of her to wait until Parker signed a new 4-year $50 million extension with the Spurs only a few weeks ago.

Here's a look a other (in)famous celebrity/athlete pairings:



Posh Spice/David Beckham



Modern day British Royalty. I mean how is there any question about it. You have a washed up soccer player who lives in L.A. and a former Spice Girl. Forget Prince Charles, these two should be next in line.



Kim K./Reggie Bush



She caught him, Jared, and a footlong Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki in bed and decided to leave him for a real football player.



Kate Hudson/ARod



What is more harmful to someones psyche, sitting through an ARod ninth inning at-bat with the game on the line, or watching any movie in which Hudson wasn't Penny Lane?



Jessica Simpson/Tony Romo



First off I have to say Romo made a mistake dumping Carrie Underwood for Jessica Simpson. Carrie is hotter, richer, can sing, and is more intelligent. Then again Simpson is sexual napalm, so there you have it.

On a side note, it was nice to see that Simpson and new fiancee Eric Johnson one-upped Nick Lachey and that hot chick from MTV with their engagments. Speaking of Johnson, I remember picking him up one year for fantasy football and him helping my squad out. In 2004, as a Niner he caught 82 passes. Not bad. He did go to Harvard so maybe that will balance things out and him and Jessica will have average intelligence children.



Halle Berry/David Justice



Was always a big fan of Justice even though his Braves always beat up on the Buccos. Always been a fan of Berry as well. They were married before she hit it big, but once they divorced she admitted she tried to kill herself. It would have been a shame to lose one of Hollywood's hottest actresses over a career .279 hitter.



Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes/Andre Rison



She burnt his house down. So that about sums it up.



Robin Givens/Mike Tyson



He was worth $50 million, she was a struggling actress. She accused him of abuse and got $10 million. He is now worth $0 and she is still a struggling actress. Who hasn't dicked this guy over?

However, he gets more notable acting roles than she does now.



Elisha Cuthbert/Sean Avery



He made her sloppy.



Mandy Moore/Andy Roddick



Moore is a good looking girl but she has nothing on Roddick's new wife.






Madonna/Dennis Rodman



According to The Worm he was in Vegas playing Craps when he got a call from Madonna saying she wanted him to impregnate her. So he leaves his chips at the table, boards a plane, flies to New York, has sex with her, flies back to Vegas and resumes his Craps game.

The real question is how much money do you need to be gambling for them to hold your chips while you fly to NYC. Sure they will hold your chips while you go piss, but fly to New York and back? Crazy

Speaking of crazy...



Tyra Banks/C-Webb



Now how on earth did this not work out?

It's Time

There are a lot of exciting moments in sports, a late inning pressure situation in a playoff baseball game, the first day of the NCAA tournament, a two week 7 game NBA finals series, NFL conference championship Sunday, OT playoff hockey, the final round back nine at Augusta, and when the bell rings for the first round of a big fight to name a few. The last point was reinforced for me on Saturday night when the opening bell was sounded for the Manny Pacquiao/Antonio Margarito fight and brought back memories of my teenage years when my friends and I would gather at one of our houses and PPV a big fight. Unlike in other sports a great fight can end anytime and there are no teammates to look to or much time between the action and when you lose a fight you wear the loss physically as much as mentally. Few sports are as basic and revealing, some might say barbaric, as finding out if you get beat up the person in front of you. I watched Saturday's big fight with a group of sports fans some of who are still big boxing fans, I know you are thinking a big boxing fan is as likely to find as a big New York Islander fan, but trust me they still exist. The fight was "big" because it involved Manny Pacquiao and was held at the new Cowboy stadium, his opponent mattered little unless you wanted to see a proven cheater who used illegal wraps to win past fights take a beating. I and most of the crowd watching the fight wanted to see the beating and were happy when Pacquiao obliged and the fight was allowed to go the distance. During and after the fight the discussion centered on Pacquiao's legacy, predictions of a Pac/Mayweather fight, the odds of that fight, and the overall state of boxing. The week between this fight and Saturday's fight of the year candidate in the Sergio Martinez/Paul Williams rematch seems like the perfect opportunity to discuss the sweet science. Pacquiao's win on Saturday gives him eight titles in eight different weight classes covering 40 pounds; with the power he has shown fighting 165 pounders it seems almost unfair that his natural weight is a lightweight/welterweight catch weight. He began his boxing career at the age of 16 in the Philippines and has one significant loss and one tie since he began fighting in this country in 2000'. He lost a split decision (115-113) to Mexican legend Erik Morales in 05' and drew with Juan Manuel Marquez in 04'; in both cases he won the rematches decisively. His last ten fights all since 06' (see list below) have been against a list of who's-who in boxing and were paramount in him being named the Boxer of the Decade by Ring magazine. Pacquiao's last ten opponents and result from most recent: Antonio Margarito (UD) Josh Clottey (UD) Miguel Cotto (TKO) Ricky Hatton (KO) Oscar De La Hoya (TKO) David Diaz (TKO) Juan Manuel Marquez (SD) Marco Antonio Barrera (UD) Jorge Solis (KO) Erik Morales (KO) 6 of these 10 fights have been by knockout while the last two were virtual shutouts on the scorecards in the process he ended the careers of some of the sport's biggest names (De La Hoya, Morales, Barrera, Margarito). This all adds up to a resume that ranks as one of the best ever especially for a fighter who will turn 32 next month and is a recently elected Congressman to his native Philippines. His humble and charitable nature and his often quoted "How can we give the people a good fight" have made him a worldwide star and have helped his last four fights average more than 1 million PPV buys. The glaring hole in his resume is the name that is not on his list of last ten fights Floyd Mayweather Jr. If Manny Pacquiao is the man in the white hat, Floyd Jr. plays the villain well. He grew up in boxing with his father and uncle preceding him as champions and controversy like the sport has never been more than a few feet away. Mayweather, 32, is a five division world champion, undefeated (41-0) as a professional, who is known for having one of the best defenses the sport has ever seen. His fights are less exciting than Pacquiao's, but that is mostly due to his ability to shut down his opponents. He has been hurt less than a handful of times in the ring and seems to carry the horrid decision of his 96' Olympic semifinal loss to Bulgaria's Serafim Todorov around on his shoulders daily. This decision was so bad even for Olympic boxing decisions that not only was there an official USOC appeal, but the referee in the ring raised Mayweather's arm after the bout indicating his clear victory to those watching the fight. He also seems to carry around a childhood that gave him boxing but also profound memories of violence. A well documented story placing him as a 5 year old on his father's lap as his father and uncle pointed guns at each other is a behavior cycle that seems hard to break. When the first round of talks about a Pacquiao/Mayweather fight ended with Pacquiao refusing to submit to Olympic style drug testing Mayweather came out looking like a clear cut winner and a guy determined to clean up boxing. After Pacquiao agreed to the strict drug testing Mayweather did not give an excuse for why the fight couldn't be made and his silence forced even his most ardent supporters to lose faith. His possible excuses ranging from an unfair purse split to his trainer's legal problems to his IRS problems all seemed greedy or petty and the average public began to think he was plain scared, a reputation no fighter wants to have attached to his name. His HBO creation "24/7" is a hit and though he overacts in his episodes more than Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovich he has had his funny moments like his Mexico loves Mayweather slogan and his equally unaware moments, for example when he talked about buying his house in cash when he was on the hook for unpaid IRS taxes. He tried to crossover gigs as a contestant on Dancing with the Stars and as a WWE star, but both proved what we knew prior to those endeavors, that he is a boxer not a mainstream star. The situation has changed for Mayweather this year during his vacation from boxing, his racist and homophobic rant against Pacquiao was despicable and indefensible and his apology was weak at best. He should have manned up after this and agreed to the fight immediately; in September of this year he was arrested and charged with 4 felonies stemming from allegations of abusive and threatening behavior toward the mother of his three children in front of his children. He was released on bond and is awaiting trial, before he didn't give a reason for not fighting Pacquiao now he needs the fight as a diversion at the least. His last ten fights all since 04' (see list below) are not nearly as impressive as Pacquiao's and due to this fact and his out of the ring behavior this past year it is the time for him to make the "fight of the century" for his legacy. Pacquiao and his trainer Freddie Roach have gone out of their way to make it clear Mayweather is the one fight that they are waiting on before retirement. It is time Floyd. Mayweather's last ten opponents and result from most recent: Shane Mosley (UD) Juan Manuel Marquez (UD) Ricky Hatton (TKO) Oscar De La Hoya (SD) Carlos Baldomir (UD) Zab Judah (UD) Sharmba Mitchell (TKO) Arturi Gatti (TKO) Henry Bruseles (TKO) DeMarcus Corley (UD) Boxing needs this event since the Heavyweight division looks like the lineup of a European figure skating competition with two brothers who refuse to fight each other at the top of the ranks (W. Klitschko, V. Klitschko, Haye, Povetkin, Adamek, Valuev, Chagaev, Chambers, Thompson, Boytsov). You have to go to # 8 on the list to find the first American in Pittsburgh's own Eddie Chambers who now fights out of Philly (I am sure being able to name the top ranked US heavyweight would lead to a win in any bar trivia game). The next couple of months in the sport feature great action with the #1 and #2 contenders in the lightweight (J.M. Marquez vs. Katsidis), Jr. welterweight (Bradley vs. Alexander), middleweight (Martinez vs. Williams) all fighting on HBO or Showtime coupled with light heavyweight (Pascal vs. Hopkins and Dawson vs. Cloud) and super middleweight tournaments that are ongoing and also on HBO or Showtime. As for a prediction, I don't have one, as a sports fan and a boxing fan I just want to see this fight. It is time to settle the best fighter of this generation question and November of 2011 sounds like the perfect time to settle legacies and BCS like fan discussions.

College Football Week 11

Week 11 on the field does not have any must see or DVR matchups, another problem of the BCS system whereas as playoff would allow teams to gain momentum after early season losses and make these later weeks important. Thanks to the charade of "amateur" athletics Week 11 has brought some great off the field stories, so this week along with picking the bigger games as always against the spread we will recap and offer some observations and thoughts from the main players in these stories. Georgia @ Auburn (-7.5): The story on and off the field this season has been Auburn QB Cam Newton and the off the field story exploded this week with allegations that his father demanded between $100,000 and $180,000 for his son's services last year when he was being recruited out of junior college. This pay for play allegation comes on the heels of Newton's former school, Florida, leaking information of cheating allegations made against Newton while attending that school. The pay for play allegations made by a former Miss. St. player who worked with agents is specific and the NCAA immediately launched an investigation. Weekly in this post I have expressed my feelings on the NCAA and major universities using these players to make millions while they hide behind the fraudulent "amateur" athletics defense, so I won't repeat myself. As for Auburn, a team in recent seasons that has not contended nationally, recently hired a coach who was under .500 at his last job, and needed a major talent upgrade at QB. Let's go out on a very sturdy limp and say they did pay for Newton's services and let's say they paid $200,000, they are well on their way to a return on investment only a subprime mortgage broker could appreciate. The low end amount on a trip to the SEC title game and the BCS title game with a Heisman winning QB is about 20 million making that initial $200,000 the best money Auburn has spent in the last ten years. As for Newton or more specifically his father, he used the only leverage he had to extract a figure that multiple universities were willing to pay, would it be more acceptable if he called it a loan against future earnings? Since Cam Newton pay for play allegations are about as ground breaking and unexpected as DMX getting arrested let's move on to the bigger story, the power of Twitter. On Wednesday afternoon an unsubstantiated tweet that Cam Newton would be suspended for the Georgia game gained so much momentum that enough money began to pour into Vegas on Georgia that the game was taken off the board. The MGM Grand and Hilton removed that game that started Auburn (-9.5) from the board for about 15 hours while they reviewed all the available information. After confirming that Newton was still eligible to play Saturday the game was put back on the board as Auburn (-7.5). Las Vegas having to remove this game from the board because so many people relied on this Tweet to make substantial bets shows the power of Twitter much more accurately than Ashton Kutcher getting 1 million followers in a weekend. As for the game, I wouldn't take the under if the total was 100 with these two pass defenses and doesn't Cam Newton have to come out in totally "Eff You" mode. Auburn seems to have that little something that Georgia is missing; maybe that something is QB play. The play is to lay the favorite and the two free points from the Wednesday tweet. Miss. St. @ Alabama: The Cam Newton allegations are easiest to understand from the Miss. St. perspective, Newton played under current Miss. St. coach Dan Mullen when he was offensive coordinator at Florida. Cam Newton was supposed to come and play for Mullen in Starkville after his year in junior college. Miss. St. feels that the only reason Newton is not a bulldog is due to their unwillingness to pay for him, they also feel sick when they see their SEC West rival riding what should have been their QB to an undefeated season and BCS game. Miss. St. has quietly won 6 in a row and should be emotionally ready to play after a bye week and the funeral of current player Nick Bell, who died tragically last week from cancer. As for Alabama this is the first time since 07' that they have played a November game without national title implications and their pride will be tested. I think Bama has been given way too much respect from Vegas this year especially in SEC play and this line is no different. I like Miss. St. to make this game interesting and I will take them and the points. South Carolina @ Florida (-6.5): Florida leaking Cam Newton cheating allegations while he was student two years ago is the most disturbing off field incident revealed this week and brings a new low to a program that routinely is featured in the police blotter. The only reason for leaking this information is to embarrass Newton and the university must be forced to answer for this leak by all former Florida students. The fact that most big time Division 1 athletes are not interested in the education that comes with playing their sport is also a story along the breaking news ticker with "Dina Lohan admits she could have been a slightly better mother to Lindsay" (actual headline). The SEC East has been down all year and nothing highlights this fact more than the winner of this game will be the first team with 3 losses to represent the division in the title game since divisional play began in 1992. South Carolina's season has not been the same since halftime of the Kentucky game, while Florida and their three QB system have made their offense frisky with 89 points in their last two games. South Carolina has never won in the Swamp and I don't think Spurrier and a defense that ranks last in the conference vs. the pass and on third down will change that this year so laying the points with Florida is the play. Oregon (-20) @ California: Cal QB Brock Mansion will need a good start in his second game as a starter Saturday or this game could get ugly quickly. Even an early lead is no guarantee as Oregon is outscoring opponents 215 to 48 after halftime, a testament to the conditioning a defense needs to play against this offense. Twenty points is a lot to lay on the road in a conference game vs. a team that has played well at home, but Oregon and the fast break quick strike offense is the play. Stanford (-5.5) @ Arizona State: I went against my cardinal rule last week when I bet against Jim Harbaugh, Andrew Luck, and the Cardinal. Last week proved what I should have known; Stanford is the best one loss team in the country, so I am not expecting a letdown this week in the desert against a team that has lost 3 of 4 by three points or less. Any win in the desert is a good win but 5.5 is too many. Just to show Jim Harbaugh how sorry I am I am going to take his brother's Ravens in a super bowl future even after that stomach punch last night. Oklahoma State (-5.5) @ Texas: Brandon Weeden is efficient, Kendall Hunter is relentless, Justin Blackmon is explosive, Mike Gundy is a man, and Texas is in disarray. Another poor game by Texas QB Garrett Gilbert should lead to the first Case McCoy sighting and future hope for Texas fans. I hope Nebraska has sleepless nights thinking about the Texas game like Kenny and Laurel thinking about the final challenge in Fresh Meat II and Camille Grammar thinking about agreeing to appear on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Last week (3-4) Season (42-33-1)