Patsy Jack

Wow

A Rocky Road

In a rare un-Favrian headlined week in the NFL, the big story was future Hall of Famer Randy Moss being waived by the Vikings and picked up by the Titans. It's hard to believe that only the Titans would put in a waiver claim for the uber-talented receiver. This just goes to show you how far Moss' has fallen in such a short period of time.

Of course you have to like this move for the Titans, Moss may be one of the only human beings alive that Vince Young can't overthrow. With an actual threat on the outside, this can only help Chris Johnson and the Titan running game.

Does Jeff Fisher's mustache hold the secrets to controlling an always unpredictable Moss? I guess we will soon find out.

The other night I was sitting on the couch thinking back at Moss' career. The guy has had a wild ride. He's had more ups and downs than a meeting with Monica Lewinsky in the oval office.

I'm sitting there, knowing I want to post something about Moss and his current situation, trying to figure out another person or situation that can be successfully compared to Randy Moss and his time in the NFL. I'm racking my brain going through pop culture references, political references, sports references, you name it. Can't think of anything.

My brain is still working on overdrive, which these days doesn't take much, and I'm flipping through On Demand for a movie. Low and behold, the 1976 Academy Award winning Rocky is highlighted on the screen. Bingo.

So this is what I have come up with: Moss' career does not parallel that of Rocky Balboa's. Instead the comparison lays in the simularities between Moss and the franchise of Rocky films.

Humble Beginnings:

Randy Moss - High School and College years
Rocky - Pre-Production and Production

In both cases, very promising initial concepts fall into unpredictable circumstances. With Randy Moss you have what then Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz, presumably with a mouth full of cotton balls, said, "Randy Moss was the best high school football player I've ever seen." Former Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said of Moss, "He was as good as Deion Sanders. Deion's my measuring stick for athletic ability, and this kid was just a bigger Deion." Both coaches would get their crack at the kid from West Virginia.

The studio liked Sylvester Stallone's original script for Rocky. They felt it would be a good way to show case established stars such as Robert Redford, Ryan O'Neal, Burt Reynolds, or James Caan. So we were this close to not having Stallone star in the film, not become an mega-star, and never have witnessed the cinimatical magic of Cliffhanger or Judge Dredd.

If you're like me, then you were under the impression that Moss went to Marshall straight out of high school. I always wondered why he wasn't recruited by big name schools. Turns out he was. In 1995, Moss signed a letter of intent to play for Notre Dame. That same year, Moss was involved in a racially heated fight in his high school. Randy was helping out a black friend who was racially insulted by a white person. Remember we are in West Virginia. Anyways, he was chared with a felony for kicking the white kid and sending him to the hospital, and was sentenced to 30 days in jail (Controversy #1). No way ND was going to stand for this, so they withdrew his application and Moss was without a team. Not so fast. Bobby Bowden and his ever accurate judgement of character came calling soon after. Moss joined the Seminoles but because of his transfer, he had to red-shirt his fresheman year. Moss, who ran a 4.25 40 during FSU camp, would never play a down for the Seminoles as he was kicked off the team for smoking weed and sentenced to 60 days in jail for violating his probation (Controversy #2).

Once released from jail, he went back to West Virginia to play for Marshall because he wouldn't have to sit out another year because the Thundering Herd were Division 1-AA. I know the argument will always be, "He played against inferior competition in college," "his numbers are inflated," "he had the Marino-esque Chad Pennington throwing to him." You know what that's all crap. Jerry Rice went to a small school too, and noone hates on Mississippi Valley State. Moss' numbers were Shaved-head Britney Spears insane. In two years, 28 games, he caught 174 balls for 3,529 yards and 54 TDs. Yeah.

While at Marshall he did happen to have some insightful comments about the infamous plane crash, "The plane crash was before my time. I don't try to go back in the past and say this football game is for the people in the plane crash. I've seen the burial ground. I went up there and looked at the names. It was a tragedy, but it really wasn't nothing big." (Controversy #3)

But even with those numbers he fell to 21st in the 1998 draft because teams were concerned with his "character" and of course they should have been. But the last time I checked NFL franchises are businesses. How do you measure success in business? Making more money. How do you make more money in the NFL? Win. How do you win in the NFL? Character guys. WRONG. You win with the best players. Obviously Moss was the best receiver by far but he went after Kevin Dyson, the guy who couldn't reach out for the endzone in Super Bowl XXXIV. Guess Tennessee wants another chance.

So there you have it, Moss' NFL career beginning with question marks. Rocky also started with question marks. Stallone wanted the role so bad, he wrote Rocky with himself in mind and knew the only way to get the film green lit with him as the lead was to make it for as cheap as possible. With a budget of $1 million, the studio agreed to make the movie with Stallone as the Italian Stallion.

Certain parts of the story were altered during filming. The original script had a darker tone: Mickey was portrayed as racist and the script ended with Rocky throwing the fight after realizing he did not want to be part of the professional boxing world after all. Casting wasn't easy either. The producers couldn't decide on who to cast as Adrian or Apollo. Originally former Heavy Weight champ Ken Norton was to play Apollo, but the role eventually went to former NFLer Carl Weathers. Weathers was a football player playing a boxer, Norton had a son that played in the NFL but thought he was a boxer.



I guess a fitting touchdown celebration. But I'm more partial to his teammate Merton Hanks' celebration. Even as a kid I thought he looked like he was in one of those African tribes that stack plates around their necks to stretch them.



Back to Rocky. So with a good script, but an unknown lead, changing scripts, and a low budget, question marks surrounded the production of this film.

Questions answered:

Randy Moss Rookie Season: 1998
Rocky: 1976

When Rocky was released in '76 Roger Ebert, and his thumbs, toted Stallone as a "young Marlon Brando." The film was a huge success; with a production budget of $1 million, the film eventually earned $225 million worldwide. Rocky was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won three including Best Actor and Best Director. I'll say that this risk was a success.

When he first entered the league Moss did nothing but help the Vikes to the #1 ranked offense in the league and a Gary Anderson missed field goal away from the Super Bowl. In his first career game, Moss caught 4 balls for 95 yards and 2 TDs. Did Dyson even catch 4 balls in his career? He went on to finish the year with 1,313 yards and 17 TDs to go along with his Offensive Rookie of the Year award. I'll say that this risk was a success.

Keep on Rollin':




Randy Moss: The Culpepper Years
Rocky: Rocky II

Rocky II kept the momentum built from the original and proved to not just be a good sequel but also a classic movie in its own. Rocky II showed that the sky was the limit for Balboa and Stallone. The film was excellent, considered one of the best of 1979 and was able to rake in over $106 million domestically at the box office. Not too shabby.

Everyone knows the story, after getting hate mail, Apollo challenges Rocky to another fight. Rocky, hurting financially, with a wife and a son on the way agrees to fight because that is the only way he can make money. Adrian worried about Rocky's health doesn't support his fighting, this causes Rocky to lose motivation. She falls into a coma, the baby is born. Rocky fights Apollo. Apollo destroys Rocky. Rocky fights back. Both fighters are beaten. Duke tells Apollo to dance around to secure the win. Apollo wants the knockout. Rocky hits Apollo. They both fall. Rocky gets up before the 10 count. Yo Adrian.

Really some of the greatest scenes in movie history. Although you gotta feel bad for Duke.




Well Moss didn't disappoint in his second go around either. In 1999, he caught 80 passes for 1,413 yards and 11 TDs. In 2 playoff games he racked up 315 yards and 3 TDs. He was also fined $25,000 for squirting a referee with a water bottle. If you watch the tape the guy does look thirsty. In the Pro Bowl he had 9 catches for a record 212 yards. I know the Pro Bowl is one of the jokes in pro sports, like: the WNBA, LPGA, X-Games, MLS, Phil Mickelson, Andy Reid, Dave Wannstedt, Kyle Orton's neck beard, white people in the NBA, no indian mascots, 3-man announcing booths, holds in baseball, ugly female reporters, Linda Cohn, The Decision, Cleveland, Philadelphis, $7 beers, and Versus, just to name a few.

In 2002, interim coach Mike Tice, infamous for getting busted for scalping his Super Bowl tickets, impletmented the Randy Ratio to the Vikings offensive system. This guy was an idiot, but this plan was actually smart. Why not get the ball in the hands of your best and highest paid player. Seems like a plan more people should incorporate. How 'bout it *cough* Todd Haley *cough*? Jamaal Charles could use a few more touches. Anyways the idea was to get Randy the ball 40% of the time. An assistant coach would stand on the sidelines during games and track how many times Moss had been thrown to, and then inform Tice of the percentages so that he is always aware of it. In the 2001 season, the Vikings record was 4–1 when Moss had 40% of the passes thrown his direction, and 1–10 in other games.

Also in 2002, in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, Moss was driving and was preparing to make an illegal turn. A female traffic control officer, I guess a glorified title for a crossing guard, noticing what he was about to do, stood in front of his car, ordering him to stop. Eyewitness accounts of the event differ at this point, but Moss did not comply with the officer's order, and she was bumped by his vehicle and fell to the ground. (I've seen female crossing guards, and it would take more than a little bump to knock them to the ground.) Moss was arrested, and a search of his vehicle revealed a small amount of marijuana. Initially charged with felony Suspicion of Assault with a Deadly Weapon and a misdemeanor marijuana possession, Moss pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor traffic violation and was ordered to pay a $1,200 fine and perform 40 hours of community service. (Controversy #4)

2003 was arguably his best season as a Viking. He became the second wide receiver in history ,behind Jerry Rice in 1995, to play more than 12 games while averaging over 100 yards and one touchdown per contest. He finished with 111 receptions for 1,632 yards and 17 touchdowns.

2004, his last in Minnesota until this past stint in Minnesota, started off with 8 TD in 5 games. A hamstring injury kept him for the first time in his career from reaching 1,000 yards. He still managed 13 TDs and did moon the Green Bay faithful (Controversy #5) so not all was lost. He was traded to Oakland in the offseason.

What happened?

Randy Moss: Oakland Raiders
Rocky: Rocky III

I'm not going to lie, I don't like Rocky III very much at all. Aside from Sly being ginormous, this movie was weak. First off Mr. T and Hulk Hogan were in it. I've never finished my WWF countdown, so you don't know my feelings on Hogan as of yet. Maybe someday. So Rocky's rich, has all the gadgets and toys, big house, car, wins meaningless title defense after title defense. Loses motivation, interest in fighting, and loses the sense of who he is and where he comes from. Weak.

Mickey has a heart attack during the Clubber fight. Rocky gets knocked out, loses his title. Mickey dies. Rocky gets depressed. Apollo and Duke want to train Rocky. The gayest sequence in movie history not taking place inside a tent on Brokeback Mountain, or in a Zac Efron movie, happens.



If I was alive in '82 when this film came out, I would have thought it was all over for Rocky. And really it should have been after this crap. But ol' Sly wasn't done just yet. He had one more trick up his sleeveless tank top.

Randy was on the Raiders, he didn't want to be on the Raiders, the Raiders sucked, he was often injured. That about somes it up. Oh yeah, he had a mummified man as an owner.

Don't Call it a Comeback:

Randy Moss: New England Patriots
Rocky: Rocky IV

What can you say about Rocky IV. It was the most important event of the '80s. Stallone single handedly ended the Cold War. Nukes? No let's settle this with our fists. If I can change. They must have realized how terrible Rocky III's training sequence was and decided to do something that is so awesome that even someone as jacked and awesome as Vin Diesel would look like a pussy.




Everyone knows the training sequence in Russia. Every American male has seen it and instantly got the urge to go workout. It's that inspiring. No words. Just raw emotion and steroids.




When Randy Moss got traded in 2007 to the Patriots for only a 4th rounder, everyone said it was a risky move, he wasn't the player he was in Minnesota, he was a cancer (no Charlie Villanueva, I'm not talking about you), everyone was worried except Moss, Belicheck, and Brady. Brady had been winning Super Bowl after Super Bowl with K-Mart brand receivers, but now he was finally getting a true #1. He immediately took to the team-first mentality and clicked with his teammates as the Patriots were 17-0 and headed to Super Bowl XLII. If not for the freak catch by David Tyree, which was spectacular, but wouldn't have been possible without Eli's Houdini like escape from the pocket, or Asante Samuel's impression of Ike Taylor, Moss would have gotten a ring. All in all the season wasn't a total bust. He did ok. 98 catches, 1,493, and an NFL record 23 receiving TDs.

In 2008 Moss resigned with New England to try and duplicate their record setting season. However, in the 1st quarter of Game 1, Brady went out for the season with a knee, and Moss had to deal with Matt Cassel for the entire year. But even with Cassel at QB, he still had 69 catches for 1,008 yards and 11 touchdowns.

2009 was supposed to be the year where Brady would return and everything would be 2007-like, it wasn't 2007, but it was still a year any receiver would give their left nut for. 83 receptions for 1,264 yards and 13 touchdowns. He also became #2 on the all-time receiving TDs list.


How quickly things can change:

Randy Moss: 2010
Rocky: Rocky V

Rocky V had a pre-AIDS Tommy Morrison starring. That should be enough. You go from saving the world from a nuclear holocaust, to this crap? Why Sly, Why?

Everyone knows the Moss story: He made fun of Brady's hair (well justified)and gets traded to Minnesota. He makes fun of the food at a restaurant and gets cut. Ok on a side note I like how ESPN defended the restaurant in their initial story. They said it was a favorite of long-time Vikings center Matt Birk. What the hell does that mean? Does he have a pallate of gold? Did he teach Bobby Flay how to cook? Is it just because he's fat, he knows food? Anyways, now he's in Tennessee.

WWTD?

The first time I heard Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind”, I became overwhelmed with a single thought: “What would Tupac Do?” He wouldn’t stand for a song with this much hype for the East Coast. And this is the one thing I have in common with Katy Perry. (She stated how the Jay-Z hit has gotten her to follow the WWTD way of life in an interview with Rolling Stone. Obviously, since it was a magazine article, I couldn’t read the tone of her voice, but if she was saying this as a joke, then an extremely underrated sense of humor could be added to the list of her numerous talents. However, if she wasn’t kidding then, man, what a f***ing idiot.) One of the many, many differences I have with Ms. Perry is that she actually has the talent and the forum to voice Tupac’s presumed displeasure. Which she did, in her own special way, with this past summer’s smash hit “California Girls”, reigniting the dormant East Coast/West Coast rivalry of the mid-90’s.

But, this time the rivalry seems to expand further than the music industry. It has obviously made it’s way into the field of sports journalism and the East Coast is winning in a landslide in that battle.

ESPN has devoted an section of it’s website to the “Heat Index”, which strictly follows Lebron and friends through every move. Jeff Van Gundy has declared that they won’t lose two games in a row all season. He says they are a lock for the title this year and presumably each year for the foreseeable future. Multiple experts have said the ’96 Bulls record 72 wins is going down this year.

They may be right about that last part, but they have been talking about the wrong team. I understand all of the hype with the Heat. They have two of the best four players in the league in their primes, they came together through controversy, etc. And they’ll win 65 games this year and easily make the conference finals (I’m not sold on them beating Boston in the East Finals yet. I just hope the Celts can secure a top-3 seed to avoid seeing the Heat before then), but they aren’t the best team since ’96. The Lakers, on the other hand, might be.



Watching the first five games, the Lakers are just toying with teams. Granted their schedule hasn’t been the toughest, but they’ve used the easy early games to their advantage. Kobe was self-admittedly less than 100% on opening night. They were able to secure early leads against these lesser opponents and cruise the rest of the way, letting Kobe rest through the second halves. After a week and a half of taking it easy, he was back to his ‘last year conference finals against the Suns mode’ again last night.

Shouldering the load while Kobe was healing, the best offensive big man in the league, Pau Gasol. He can go right, he can go left, and most importantly, he has gotten 100 times tougher than he was when he was first traded to LA.

Equally as impressive as Gasol so far, has been Lamar Odom-Kardashian. I don’t mean this statement as an exaggeration, but I truly think he is the best role player in the past 20 years. (He may be the best ever, but I’m too young to have a strong enough grasp on the pre-Jordan era and I don’t want to lose all of this credibility I’ve built up on Illbefranksports.blogspot.com by making a ridiculous claim that exceeds my knowledge.) He’s a 6’11 lefty who can play 4 positions. Odom could be the best player on half the teams in the league, but he has accepted his current role with the Lakers. Frankly, he probably doesn’t want the pressure of being the lead man on another team. And really, I don’t blame him. He can just quietly fill up the stat sheet, live the life in LA, and hang out with Bruce Jenner all day. The only drawback to his lifestyle is that he has to have sex with Chloe Kardashian, but we all make sacrifices.

Then, of course, there’s Ron Artest, who, something tells me, would jump at the chance to have sex with Chloe Kardashian. Pair him together with Matt Barnes, an underrated pick up this offseason, and the Lakers have two of the biggest agitators in the game. Just think about them against the Heat, for example: Start out with Kobe on Wade and Artest on Lebron. When one gets tired/in foul trouble, bring in Barnes to guard either guy. Having three wing defenders of that caliber is a luxury that few teams know.

So that gives them a top-4 player (who has the most competitive desire of those four), the best offensive big man, the best role player in the past 20 years, a veteran point guard whose won five titles in Derek Fisher, two premier defensive stoppers who are comfortable in that role, two scoring guards off the bench in Steve Blake and Shannon Brown, and, of course, Luke Walton and Sasha Vujacic to talk to the Laker Girls during timeouts. (I’m not counting Andrew Bynum until he stays healthy for more than a 40 game stretch.) And by the way, they have 11-time champ Phil Jackson running things. The same coach who won those 72 games with the Bulls.

But the kicker, the thing that really makes me think they have a shot at 70 wins is the lack of talent in the West. Their three toughest opponents over the past few years are on the down slope. The Suns, Mavs, and Spurs are getting up there in age and it looks like their windows have closed (except for maybe the Spurs, who could still make one last run). The Jazz lost Carlos Boozer to the east, and tried to replace him with Al Jefferson, who was a steal for the price they got him, but is still a considerable downgrade. The Rockets have looked awful, the Warriors can’t stop anyone, the Kings are still a year or two away, the Clippers are the Clippers, and who the hell knows what’s going to happen in Denver.

So that leaves Portland and OK City as their competition. While the Heat are battling the Celtics, Magic, Hawks, Bulls, and Knicks(?), the Lakers are leisurely playing with the Blazers, Thunder, and I’ll throw in the Spurs.

They play the Heat and Celts twice each. The home team should be favored in each of those four games. Assuming the Lakers go 2-2 there, they would have to lose as the favorite 10 other times this year to not hit at least 70. I realize it’s still a ridiculous thing to ask of a team, to not have more than 10 off nights in 78 games. But, with they way they are structured and the ease of the West, I would put some money on 70 wins. I’d want some odds, of course.

(One last thought: I watched the beginning of Kobe's 81 point game on NBA's Greatest Games: Lakers Edition. The starting lineup that night: Kobe, Odom, Chris Mihm, Kwame Brown, and Smush Parker. Kwame and Smush wore headbands, as if to highlight for the other team which players they won't have to worry about.)

College Football Week 10

Two marquee matchups highlight the first weekend of the November college football season. The TCU/Utah game might be the best game left on the regular season schedule and the second game is an SEC West elimination game between two teams with as much talent as any team in the country. This time of year also brings some conference shake-down games as some of the power conference's second tier teams are also in action this weekend. The lines this late in the season also reflect all the information that is widely known about all teams, so we are going to do more Dr. Jack (in honor of ESPN NBA analyst Dr. Jack Ramsey) breakdowns this week to analyze the numbers. TCU (-4.5) @ Utah: What a game for the de facto last game of the Mountain West Conference as we know it with Utah going to the PAC-10 next year and the Big East trying to lure TCU and in turn save their football conference. In the 11 year history of the Mountain West conference this is the first matchup of top ten teams and the last matchup of unbeaten teams this regular season. TCU and Utah's style of play would fit in any conference as both teams are fast and physical on defense and are led by solid decision makers on offense. A Dr. Jack defensive breakdown shows us that TCU leads the nation in total defense giving up an average of 8.7 pts/game, while Utah is sixth giving up 14 pts/game. Utah is coming off their best win of the season last week on the road @ Air Force where their defense forced 5 turnovers. The one concerning factor about that game was QB Jordan Wynn and the offense's inability to do more with those turnovers as the Utah defense was forced to make a last drive stop to preserve the win. TCU has played the tougher schedule and has looked more impressive offensively in wins over Air Force, Baylor and Oregon State due to the play of QB Andy Dalton. TCU's last road loss was to Rice in 08' and I think that streak will continue this week due to the play of Andy Dalton and his almost perfect QB rating this season, so the play is TCU laying the 4.5. Alabama (-7) @ LSU: In a matchup of two 7-1 teams from the same conference both ranked in the top ten it is initially hard to believe that the home team would be a 7 point favorite until you consider the nationwide respect for Alabama and how LSU is thought of nationally. Bama is the defending champs with a senior QB, Heisman trophy running back, and one of the most respected football coaches in the world. On the other hand LSU has an inept offense run by two mediocre QB's, Les Miles who makes Andy Reid look like a clock management genius, and a team wide reputation for under achieving. A Dr. Jack breakdown of Alabama on the road this season shows us wins over Ark, Tenn and a loss to South Carolina with only a second half collapse by Tennessee keeping the Tide from a 0-3 record vs. the line in those games. LSU has played to the level of their competition this year which is head scratching vs. Tennessee and McNeese State, but that should help them this week and they are one of the few teams in the country that has a roster comparable to Bama's. A great matchup to watch in this game will be Alabama WR Julio Jones vs. LSU CB Patrick Peterson, both first round picks and their matchup will be a barometer of this game. The underdog in this game has covered 4 out of the last 5 games and 7 points seems like too many after seeing Bama on the road this year. I have a rule against taking Les Miles teams as a favorite, but 7 at home seems like an inflated line making LSU the play. Arizona @ Stanford (-10): Both teams are 7-1 trailing Oregon in the PAC-10 and this game will determine which team is still in the hunt for a BCS bowl. The Cardinal have been one of our favorite teams all year and have really come through with only a second half collapse @ Oregon keeping them from a perfect record vs. the number on the road this season. QB Andrew Luck looks like an NFL veteran and new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has done a tremendous job in his first year. A Dr. Jack breakdown of the numbers show us that Stanford is 0-2 vs. the line at home this year with closer than expected victories over USC and WSU. Arizona should get QB Nick Foles back this week and it will be interesting to see if Arizona can continue their early season trend of playing well on the road. I think Stanford is too good to lose this game, but the play is Arizona and the double digit points. Arkansas @ South Carolina (-4): The loss of leading receiver Greg Childs will really hurt an Arkansas team that relies on the passing game to sustain their offense. South Carolina has a tough defense and they will be able to focus all their attention on stopping TE D.J. Johnson and getting pressure on oft-injured QB Ryan Mallett. South Carolina RB Marcus Lattimore is healthy and should have his best game since the early season against a soft Arkansas defense. It is kind of funny that Spurrier's best team in Columbia features a dominant run game and defense, while his QB is a game manager. I think Spurrier will take this team into Gainesville next week with the SEC East on the line so South Carolina laying the 4 is the play this Saturday night. Oklahoma (-3) @ Texas A&M: Oklahoma is averaging 37.5 pts/game in Big 12 play and A&M gives up an average of 26 pts/game. I like both of those numbers to go up after this week as OK has too many offensive weapons for A&M QB Jerrod Johnson to match up against as he plays out of Josh Freeman like career. In a few years we are going to be saying "All Jerrod Johnson does is win NFL games". NC St. @ Clemson (-3.5): Two teams going in opposite directions, NC St. has had ten days to prepare for Clemson after their win vs. FSU, while Clemson is coming off a ugly loss to BC where leading rusher Andre Ellington was injured and will miss this game. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney seems to have lost his group while the Wolfpack seem to buying into coach Tom O'Brien's system. NC St. and QB Russell Wilson are the play as dogs. Louisville @ Syracuse (-6): Another great Big East hoops matchup masquerading as a poorly played high school football game. Our scouts onsite for Louisville's loss @ Pitt said L"Ville was unwatchable and unorganized, this is coming from Pitt and Dave Wannstedt supporters which is like Charlie Sheen calling someone else unstable. The play is Cuse laying the points and becoming bowl eligible, as the Michigan D is showing this year maybe Greg Robinson was the problem under the Dome. Last week (5-2) Season (39-29-1)

A Cliche proven true

Clichés are everywhere in our everyday life and even more so in the sport's world, they range from un-needed and head scratching "We are going to learn a lot about these two teams today" to the hilarious "They are who we thought they were" to the incorrect "The best defense is a good offense", but this year's World Series did prove one long standing baseball cliché correct, good pitching does beat good hitting. The San Francisco Giants won this World Series with a lineup that was unfamiliar to everyone but your most die-hard NL only fantasy keeper league managers. Cast-offs from the Marlins (Cody Ross), Orioles (Aubrey Huff), and Pirates (Freddie Sanchez) joined platoon players Pat Burrell, Juan Uribe, and Andres Torres to form a lineup with more holes than the plot of a Matthew McConaughey movie (Sahara and Fool's Gold, really?). The Giants were underdogs to the Rangers who led the AL in batting average, featured the AL MVP in Josh Hamilton and had Cliff Lee lined up to start game 1. This is where the pundits lost sight of the good pitching cliché, after Lee the Rangers were left with a supporting cast that resembled "The Hills" supporting cast while the Giants had four pitchers who were historic in the 10' playoffs and are younger than some seasons of the "Real World". Tim Lincecum (26 yrs. old), Matt Cain (26), Jonathon Sanchez (27), and Madison Bumgarner (21) combined for 15 October starts with an ERA under 2. The Giants combined for four shutouts this postseason to tie the record held by the 98' Yankee's and 05, the 1905 Giants. They were also the first team since the 66' Orioles to pitch two shutouts in the World Series and were the only team in playoff history to have four pitchers (Cain 2x, Lincecum, and Bumgarner) pitch 7 shutout innings and give up less than four hits in those games. This is not a national league team like the 06' Cardinals and 90' Reds that upset a better American league team in a Cinderella type series, a better comparison would be the 03' Marlins who dominated the favored Yankee's behind a rotation of all power pitchers in Beckett, Penny, and Pavano. Like the 03' Marlins this Giant's team took away all the "underdog" storylines, and left no doubt that they were by far the better team. Unlike that Marlin team the Giants have contractual control over all four of their young pitchers until at least 2013 and an ownership group stable enough for Giants fans to envision this core missing bats together for a long time. Your local church softball team could fill up the positional lineup behind this staff and .500 would not be unreasonable. The Giants became an easy team to get behind as their overall good guy, cast off lineup and team atmosphere was a stark contrast from the last Giants team to make Series led by ultra villain Barry Bonds, who patented treating your teammates like the plaque. They also played a throwback type of game that relied on starting pitching and timely hitting that was unlike recent World Series teams that were mostly made up of softball type lineups that feasted on bad bullpen pitching. A clinching game time of 2.5 hours that featured power hitters bunting, and limited use of the bullpen also gave the Giants a 1954 type feel. World Series MVP Edgar Renteria (.412 avg, 6 RBI's) epitomized this Giants team and his series clinching three run 8th inning homer to clinch the series came 4,755 days after he clinched the 97' Series for the Marlins with a ninth inning hit. Two World Series clinching RBI's puts him on a list with Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio, and Lou Gehrig as the only players to accomplish that feat and reminded me of the "Seinfeld" episode when George gets a job with the Yankee's and Jerry says "Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Constanza?". Yes, Renteria is on that list and I know when I think about his "professional" (I use the term professional in the highest regard in this instance) career, clutch performer and winner will be the first things that come to my mind. That is also what comes to mind when I think about this entire Giants team along with the cliché good pitching will always beat good hitting.

YouTube Clip of the Week

Happy Halloween

College Football Week 9

Halloween weekend brings a slate of games that can be compared to "Trick or Treat" in the afternoon or every "Scream" movie; below average despite what you have heard. The most important games this weekend feature spreads around a TD and you would not be incorrect to assume that the SEC West is on a bye week. This is a good Saturday night to watch the World Series, Hockey Night in Canada, or go to a Halloween party. This might even be a good Saturday to go to Pittsburgh for the Pitt/Louisville homecoming game, on second thought maybe that statement is going too far. Louisville @ Pittsburgh (-9.5): Each week at illbefrank we try to pick the important games, but this week we are making an exception for this game as some of our most dedicated readers are headed to this game and making it a weekend, so we are picking it for them. Both teams are 4-3 and have been playing better recently as Pittsburgh is 2-0 in conference, while L'Ville is 1-1 coming off a shutout of UConn. First year L'Ville coach Charlie Strong will need that same type of defensive performance as Pittsburgh will feature a ground game led by Ray Graham (7.6 yds/carry), who has turned Dion Lewis (4.5 yds/carry) into a change of pace back. It is hard to believe that Pitt can give over 9 points when their most impressive win is over Syracuse, but that sums up the state of this basketball conference. Speaking of basketball my lasting L'Ville memories in Pittsburgh are when L'Ville (G) DeJaun Wheat led the underdog Cardinals to within 1 game of the Final Four on a bad ankle in the Civic Arena (aka the coldest basketball venue ever). For our dedicated readers we will go with Pitt to win the game and L'Ville to cover the 9 and a hook for DeJuan Wheat. Michigan State @ Iowa (-6.5): Two teams that we have been high on all year battle this weekend in the last game Mich. St. will be an underdog in this year. Both teams have solid defenses and conservative offense's led by QB's who could switch jerseys and no one would know the difference. This game should be tight and Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz has displayed recent clock management skills I have only ever seen from Andy Reid. Iowa's defense has also allowed games to get close late and has been unable to get the big stop, while Mich. St. showed an ability to hang tough after failing behind last week @NW. I had this line at Iowa -3 before I saw the spread and Mich. St. just reinstating CB Chris Rucker one day after his release from jail is a move only a team that thinks big would pull making Mich. St. and the points the play. Florida vs. Georgia (-2.5) in Jacksonville: What has been more disappointing this season the play of the SEC East and these two teams in particular or the feeling you got from watching "The Situation" this season on the Miami edition of Jersey Shore? Both leave you repeating the phrase "What happened" and leave you with alternate feelings of being scared and feeling bad for everyone involved. Both teams are still in contention for taking a beating in the SEC title game and Georgia (WR) A.J. Green vs. UF (CB) Janoris Jenkins is a NFL matchup. I was hoping to bring back ties for this game and any game where you expect a tie is a good opportunity to take the points. Utah (-7) @ Air Force: For my money the best game of the day, Utah is a veteran team that should give TCU a game in November, but Air Force on the road will not be easy as the Utah defense has not faced a ground game as versatile as Air Force's. Air Force (RB's) Asher Clark and Jared Tew combine with (QB) Tim Jefferson, who is averaging 5.8 yds/carry, to form an offense that gave Oklahoma all they could handle earlier this season. I love trends and 12 of the past 13 times these two teams played the game has been decided by 10 points or less. Air Force will need their defense to play the best game of their season and the home field should help that happen making Air Force and the points the play. Missouri @ Nebraska (-7.5): Missouri's defense held up remarkably well last week in the upset win over Oklahoma and comes into this game giving up an average of 13.6 pts/game. The defensive confidence from last week will be much needed against a Nebraska offense that found their Mojo last week vs. Oklahoma State. Missouri LB/SS Andrew Gachkar will be given the responsibility of shadowing Nebraska QB Taylor Martinez and this matchup will go a long way in determining the game's outcome. Missouri QB Blaine Gabbert could insert his name in the Heisman conversation with a 2-0 mark vs. OK and Nebraska, which he is capable of doing if his offensive line can hold up this week as well as last week. I don't see that on the road this week making Nebraska the play. Oregon (-7) @ USC: The Ducks have been the most dominate team in college football this year with their basketball on grass offense. (QB) Darron Thomas and (RB) LaMichael James (7.2 yds/carry) led an offense that has worn down defenses by the fourth quarter of games this season. That is going to be a big problem for a USC team that has depth problems due to the Pete Carroll era. Oregon's closest game all season was an 11 point road victory @ Arizona State and I don't see that changing this week even if USC is referring to this game as their bowl game. Stanford (-7) @ Washington: Both teams started the season with Heisman hopeful QB's and ideas of contending for the Pac 10 title. Stanford is the only team left with those hopes and that will be reinforced Saturday.