Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 1087 of 1503)

      BCS Bowl Forecast

      October 31, 2008 /

      RealClearSports.com lays out its first BCS bowl forecast of the year.

      Texas LonghornsBCS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: January 8, Dolphin Stadium, Miami
      Matchup: Texas vs. Penn State (Odds: Texas 70%, Penn State 80%)
      Outlook: The No. 1-ranked Longhorns will have their toughest remaining game this week at Texas Tech. A victory should send Texas smooth sailing into Key Biscayne. Penn State has an even easier slate, but it still needs Alabama to lose one game.

      ROSE BOWL: January 1, Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif.
      Matchup: USC vs. Ohio State (Odds: USC 90%, Ohio State 50%)
      Outlook: The Tournament of Roses red coats don’t want this rematch – it would be the third time these two teams meet in 12 months – but it will have to really think outside of the box to avoid it. If Penn State somehow doesn’t make it to the BCS title game, fine. If USC somehow doesn’t win the Pac-10 outright, fine. But would the Rose Bowl dare to invite an SEC team to finally matchup with the Trojans in a bowl game? That would be nice, but that would also risk ticking off the Big Ten. Just remember, these guys invited Illinois last year. The track record isn’t good.

      FIESTA BOWL: January 5, University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.
      Matchup: Alabama vs. Utah (Odds: Alabama 20%, Utah 60%)
      Outlook: Say what? You ask. Well, this is going on the assumption that Oklahoma would be the obvious second choice from the Big 12 and the Fiesta Bowl doesn’t want a third consecutive appearance by the Sooners. The quandary here is that although the Fiesta would get the first pick if it loses Texas to the BCS title game, it pretty much has no way of avoid taking a non-BCS automatic qualifier, be it Utah, TCU, Boise State or even Tulsa.

      SUGAR BOWL: January, 2, Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans
      Matchup: Florida vs. Oklahoma (Odds: Florida 40%, Oklahoma 50%)
      Outlook: If the Fiesta does pass on Oklahoma, then the Sooners land here to play the SEC champion. If Oklahoma is gone, then the Sugar will be forced to take the Big East champion, leaving the second SEC team for the Orange Bowl. If the SEC champion somehow ends up in the BCS title game, then the Sugar will take the Big 12’s second team.

      Florida-Oklahoma would be awesome. And even though the Trojans blew them out earlier this season, I’d be interested in an OSU-USC rematch with Terrelle Pryor playing the entire game under center for the Buckeyes.

      College Football

      Another swing and a miss for Sarah Palin

      October 31, 2008 /

      Sarah PalinSarah Palin is killing John McCain in Pennsylvania. First she flat out cursed the Philadelphia Flyers and now more recently, she didn’t realize what kind of baseball fans she was speaking to when she touted the Phillies winning the World Series at a rally…in Pirate territory.

      It was a throwaway line meant to be a crowd-pleaser. But it fell flat.

      On Thursday at a rally in Erie, Pa., Sarah Palin touted the victors in the World Series to thousands of supporters. “I am thrilled to be here in the home state of the world-champion Philadelphia Phillies,” Palin said.

      The crowd booed.

      Philadelphia is a seven-hour drive from Erie, which is in the state’s far west. Erie’s baseball devotions are split between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cleveland Indians. (Pittsburgh and Cleveland are about two hours away.)

      Palin has been booed by Pennsylvania sports fans before. Earlier this month, the Republican vice presidential candidate was loudly heckled at a Philadelphia Flyers game.

      Are you telling me nobody in her group could have told her where the hell she was and that a line like that wouldn’t go over well with the crowd? Maybe she should just leave sports out of her shtick from now on.

      MLB

      Singletary dropped trough to prove a point to Niners

      October 30, 2008 /

      During halftime of the 49ers’ loss to the Seahawks last Sunday, interim head coach Mike Singletary dropped his pants to make a point to his team of embarrassed he was of his team’s play.

      Mike Singletary“He was just dramatizing how embarrassing it was,” 49ers director of public relations Aaron Salkin said.
      The halftime talk went something along the lines of “We’re getting our tails whipped out there, now let’s get back out there,” according to Salkin.

      Singletary is not available to the media until Monday, but he did issue this statement: “I used my pants to illustrate that we were getting our tails whipped on Sunday and how humiliating that should feel for all of us. I needed to do something to dramatize my point; there were other ways I could have done it but I think this got the message across. I am excited about having the team back at practice on Monday so we can get back to work.”

      When asked if Singletary is embarrassed by the incident, Salkin said, “There are other ways he could’ve done it. He knows that.”

      Singletary was wearing boxers.

      And the animated halftime talk didn’t seem to work so well. The 49ers trailed 20-3 at halftime, and lost 34-13.

      Well, I guess that’s one way to make a point.

      NFL

      Gregg Popovich clearly has a sense of humor

      October 30, 2008 /

      Suns’ center Shaquille O’Neal spent some of the offseason complaining about the way the Spurs still use the “Hack-a-Shaq” method on him when the two teams play.

      So in Wednesday night’s Suns-Spurs game, San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich responded by hacking Shaq…within the first five seconds of the game.

      That’s pretty funny but Pop’s goofy expression and double-thumbs up was kind of weird.

      NBA

      Yankees to officially pursue Manny Ramirez?

      October 30, 2008 /

      The New York Post kind of, sort of confirms what we’ve already known for months: The Yankees will likely pursue Manny Ramirez this offseason.

      Manny RamirezManny Ramirez doesn’t fit the Yankees ‘ desire to get younger and more athletic, but several industry sources believe the Yankees will make a serious push for the free agent to play right field next year.

      Though GM Brian Cashman says the top offseason priority is starting pitching, he did not rule out interest in the 36-year-old Ramirez.

      “We are looking at starting pitching,” Cashman said when asked about the team’s interest in Ramirez.

      “We will see how the free agent and trade markets are.”

      The Dodgers have offered Ramirez a two-year deal worth $60 million to remain in Los Angeles, but he is expected to file for free agency and look for a four-year deal in the $80 million range.

      Is it even really a question anymore? The World Series is done with and while I understand Cashman doesn’t want to tip his hand in the bargaining game, there’s no sense in dancing around the topic anymore. The Yankees need pitching more than they need another big bat, but this is what the Bombers do – they make a splash. The Boss and Son Boss didn’t like missing the playoffs last year and there’s not much that will stand in their way of going out and signing the big name. And there’s no bigger name on this year’s market than Manny Ramirez.

      Fantasy Baseball, MLB

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