Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 1127 of 1503)

      College Football Week 7 Primer

      October 8, 2008 /

      Time to check out the big games, top matchups and potential upsets as college football heads into Week 7.

      Top 25 vs. Top 25

      Colt McCoyNo. 5 Texas at No. 1 Oklahoma, 12:00 PM ET ABC
      Boy the schedule makers really screwed ABC by showing this game at Noon didn’t they? People on the west coast will have to get up at 9:00 AM to see the best game of the week. Ouch. The Sooners get a huge boost to their defense with the expected return of DT DeMarcus Granger and redshirt freshman Frank Alexander. They should help generate a pass rush, which will be imperative in stopping Heisman candidate Colt McCoy. Offensively for OU, the switch to the no-huddle has been a tremendous success for QB Sam Bradford, who seemingly has a leg-up on McCoy in the Heisman race. This game will come down to which secondary can rise to the challenge and which team can establish a running game against their opponents’ stingy front seven. At least on the onset, the Sooners have the edge in both categories.

      No. 17 Oklahoma State at No. 3 Missouri, 8:00 PM ET ESPN2
      This is going to be a shootout, which only favors QB Chase Daniel and the host Tigers. Missouri has scored in 19 of 20 quarters this year and have now gone 49 straight possessions with no three-and-outs. That’s a remarkable feat to say the least. But the Cowboys bring plenty of offense to the table themselves, scoring 56 points per game in their last four outings. Although MIZZOU doesn’t provide a huge challenge defensively, it must be noted that OK State has yet to face a tough defense on the road this year. The Tigers are 14-point favorites and that bodes well considering they’re 12-3 in their last 15 games as the favored team.

      No. 4 LSU at No. 11 Florida, 8:00 PM ET CBS
      Things got interesting on Tuesday when Tigers’ DL Ricky Jean-Francois stated that if he and his linemates got the opportunity, that they would take Florida QB Tim Tebow out of the game. Considering the Gators will try to use this game as a springboard to get back into the national championship hunt, Jean-Francois’s comments only fuel the fire. LSU has a new set of cornerbacks this year who have suffered communication breakdowns in previous games. Expect Tebow and speedy wideout Percy Harvin to try and torch the inexperienced Tigers’ secondary. Even though they have the edge in the plls, it’ll be tough sledding for LSU this Saturday in “The Swamp,” especially considering Gators’ head coach Urban Meyer is 22-2 lifetime in Gainesville.

      Upset Watch

      Vanderbilt CommodoresNo. 13 Vanderbilt at Mississippi State, 2:30 PM ET
      The Commodores have the better overall team, talent and coaching, but if the 2008 College Football Season has taught us anything so far, it’s to expect the unexpected. This is a dangerous game for Vandy considering its coming off an emotional home win over Auburn and now have to go on the road to face an inferior Bulldog squad. Where the Commodores are currently ranked is roughly where East Carolina (college football’s previous Cinderella story) was a couple weeks ago when they were upset by NC State on the road. Granted, NC State is arguably a better team than Mississippi State, but the SEC doesn’t produce cupcake programs. Beware the upset.

      Other notable games:
      No. 6 Penn State at Wisconsin, 8:00 PM ET ESPN
      The Badgers have dropped their first two Big Ten games of the season while the high-powered Nittany Lions are out to prove that they’re the best team in the conference.

      Tennessee at No. 10 Georgia, 3:30 PM ET CBS
      The Vols are off to a 0-2 start in the SEC, but they gave Auburn a run for their money a few weeks ago. This is always a great matchup and nothing beats a SEC game “Between the Hedges.”

      Notre Dame at No. 22 North Carolina, 3:30 PM ET
      Some believe the Irish are back after starting the season 4-1 and they’ll get the opportunity to prove it facing the ranked Tar Heels on the road.

      College Football

      Worst Losing Streaks in Sports

      October 8, 2008 /

      Forbes.com spent a little time finding the worst losing streaks in sports.

      Pittsburgh Pirates
      Major League Baseball
      16 consecutive losing seasons (1993 to present)
      The Pirates used to be a powerhouse in the National League East. While they didn’t win a World Series in the 1990s, they were contenders for three straight years. Pittsburgh fans still had the memories of the 1979 world championship team, but then the team got rid of Barry Bonds and started a 16-year race to rock bottom. It’s the longest current losing streak in professional sports.

      Tampa Bay Buccaneers
      National Football League
      14 consecutive losing seasons (1983 to 1996)
      During the period between 1983 and 1996, the Buccaneers repeatedly put together abysmally bad seasons. They had three two-win seasons, one three-win season and one four-win season. The bright orange uniforms and the fact that they traded away future hall-of-famer Steve Young didn’t help.

      Chicago Blackhawks
      National Hockey League
      14 consecutive losing seasons (1946 to 1960)
      Something that must always be considered when ranking losing aptitude is circumstance. The Chicago Blackhawks are one of the NHL’s original six franchises and, for years, there simply weren’t that many teams in the nation’s hockey league. The team made a strong break break from its losing streak, however, by winning the Stanley Cup in 1961.

      Los Angeles Clippers
      National Basketball Association
      12 consecutive losing seasons (1993 to 2005)
      Staples Arena, in Los Angeles, is home to the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers. When you look into the rafters, you see countless yellow and purple Lakers banners celebrating championships and superstars like Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabar. There’s almost no red and silver in the rafters.

      How could you not feel for Pittsburgh Pirate fans? Not only do they continue to lose, but there’s not a lot of hope on the horizon either.

      MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL

      Red Sox have eclipsed Yankees as premier team

      October 8, 2008 /

      As Murray Chass on Baseball notes, the Boston Red Sox have supplanted the New York Yankees as the premier team to beat in the AL East.

      Jacoby EllsburyThat conclusion isn’t based strictly on the outcome of this year’s division race, though the season is symptomatic of developments in the lives of the Yankees and the Red Sox. In a more general way, the Red Sox have demonstrated that they are smarter and more adept than the Yankees in judging talent, in trading, in scouting, in player development and in strategic planning.

      The teams have similarities that are useful in judging the quality of their operations.
      The Red Sox went to Japan and signed Daisuke Matsuzaka. The Yankees went to Japan and signed Kei Igawa.

      The Red Sox have a young center fielder, Jacoby Ellsbury, who is instrumental in igniting their offense. The Yankees have a young center fielder, Melky Cabrera, whom they sent to the minor leagues in August.

      The Red Sox have a young second baseman, Dustin Pedroia, whose .326 batting average fell two hits short of winning the A.L. batting title and who led the league in runs scored, multi-hit games and doubles, tied for the lead in hits and was fourth in total bases. The Yankees have a young second baseman, Robinson Cano, who needed eight hits in the last three games to get his on-base percentage over .300.

      The Red Sox needed a starting pitcher and in mid-August traded for veteran Paul Byrd, who compiled a 4-2 record in eight starts. The Yankees needed a starting pitcher and in June yanked Joba Chamberlain out of the bullpen and put him in the starting rotation, where he suffered a shoulder ailment that cost him a month.

      The Red Sox needed to trade their best hitter, Manny Ramirez, and in a three-team deal that included Pittsburgh got Jason Bay, who batted .293 with a series of key hits that fueled critical Boston victories.

      The Yankees needed a hitter and, five days before the Bay trade, turned to the same team, the Pirates, and got Xavier Nady, whose batting average for the Yankees was 25 points less than Bay’s was for Boston and whose on-base percentage was 50 points and slugging percentage 53 points less.

      This is what people continue to miss about the Yankees and their spending. Just because they can spend more, doesn’t mean that they’re better off. Yes, there should be a cap in place so that all of the spending is even. But the Yankees continue to shoot themselves in the foot with all of their freewheeling contracts and trading, because they’re not developing young, marquee talent anymore like they once did with Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Bearnie Williams. They thought players like Melky Cabrera, Robinson Cano and Phillip Hughes would develop like the aforementioned names, but those three haven’t panned out yet, at least not how the club thought they would.

      The article is right – the Red Sox have been better at judging talent and making trades over the past couple years and it’s exactly why they’re playing in October right now while the Yankees are at home plodding ways to get CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Manny Ramirez.

      MLB

      Eli Manning is better than Peyton…

      October 8, 2008 /

      …at least that’s what Greg Easterbrook of ESPN.com is suggesting.

      Eli ManningFour games into his fifth season, Eli is 44-30 as a starter and has a Super Bowl ring. At the same point in his career, Peyton was 35-35 and had not won a postseason game. In terms of passing stats, the two players are approximately the same. In terms of leadership, Eli won the Super Bowl in his fourth season with a team whose personnel was so undistinguished, not one of the 16 sets of expert predictions ESPN.com ran before the 2007 season even had the Giants making the playoffs, let alone winning the Super Bowl. On Sunday, both Manning brothers recorded monster wins, and both played well. Eli achieved close to perfection — he was 19-of-25 for 267 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions. His perfect passing made who-dat backup receiver Domenik Hixon (see below) look like a star, and his leadership skills inspired the who-dat Giants offensive line — quick, how many of them can you name without peeking? — to play like the New England offensive line of 2007. Stretching back to last season, the Giants have won eight straight games, and this season’s 127-49 scoring margin over their opponents is spectacular. If football stays popular for a thousand years, Eli’s escape from four tacklers on that last-minute Super Bowl scoring drive will always be one of the sport’s signature plays. Peyton is great, and a near-lock for Canton. Eli may be bound for the same place, with his bust in a slightly nicer corner.

      Peyton ManningSee this is what happens. A quarterback wins a Super Bowl and all of a sudden he’s on par with every other Super Bowl quarterback that has ever lived. I’m not saying that’s what Easterbrook is saying, but he’s at least suggesting it, which at this point seems like a reach.

      Eli Manning is turning into a great player. And the stats that Easterbrook mentions are solid. But if we want to bring up numbers, Peyton dwarfs Eli in nearly every major passing category including total yardage (42,657 to 11,861), TD to INT ratio (311-158 to 80-65) and QB rating (94.3 to 74.0).

      Yes, Peyton has more years on Eli and has had an advantage playing in the same system his entire career. But the reason he’s been able to do the latter is because he wins and keeps everybody employed. He’s led the Colts to the playoffs every year except his rookie season and everybody has seem to forgotten how lost Eli looked in his first three seasons (even though he did lead the Giants to the postseason with a dazzling 8-8 record in 2006). Peyton struggled in his rookie campaign and then led Indy to a division title the next year, and the year after that, and the year after that, and the year after that…

      Maybe Eli will be better than Peyton when it’s all said and done, but not right now. Not when Peyton is sitting on a mountain of personal milestones and accomplishments. Just because the two have switched roles (to some degree) this year doesn’t mean we should go overboard and say Eli might be better than his big bro some day.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Can Tim Tebow be an NFL quarterback?

      October 8, 2008 /

      Last year, Florida QB Tim Tebow became the first underclassmen to ever win the Heisman Trophy. His blend of size and athleticism make him one of the best football players in college football.

      But is he an NFL quarterback? Gregg Doyel of CBS Sports doesn’t think so.

      Meyer isn’t screwing up Tim Tebow. While it’s true that Meyer’s spread offense isn’t conducive to producing an NFL quarterback — how has 2005 No. 1 pick Alex Smith panned out? — it’s also true that Tebow doesn’t have what it takes to play that position in the NFL. Not if his coach was Urban Meyer. Not if his coach was Pete Carroll. Not if his coach was David Cutcliffe, Norm Chow or Grantland Freaking Rice.

      Now then, a slight digression. If the NFL continues its meandering toward the single wing, with direct snaps to versatile backs, Tebow could have a future. So could Vince Young, for that matter. Because Tebow can take a shotgun snap and make a decision and then run or pass or hand the ball to someone else. He can do that.

      What he can’t do is drop back five or seven steps and throw a 30-yard laser with pinpoint accuracy. He can’t, and it’s not because Urban Meyer won’t let him do it. It’s because his genetics won’t.

      Again, don’t misunderstand this column. Larry Bird couldn’t jump. Manny Ramirez can’t catch. Deion Sanders couldn’t tackle. Those are still great players, great talents.

      Same with Tebow. Great player. Possibly even a great NFL player. I can see him at tight end or fullback. Maybe linebacker. And I can see him being some team’s third-string quarterback, good enough to run the scout team and provide behind-the-scenes leadership and mentoring. But start at quarterback in the NFL? Sorry. I can’t see that.

      What I see is a great college quarterback who can complete a high percentage of the (mostly easy) passes Meyer asks him to throw. I see a quarterback who can run for tough yardage. I see an inspirational leader whose quotes after the loss to Ole Miss had me fired up to hit somebody.

      But I don’t see an NFL quarterback. Never have, never will, and it has nothing to do with Urban Meyer and everything to do with the fabulous athlete with the average arm named Vince Young Tim Tebow.

      I’m not an NFL scout, but I agree with Doyel on his assessment. Tebow is going to have a future in the NFL because he’s a tremendous athlete. But he’s not a true NFL quarterback in the sense that he’s going to be able to dissect a defense and run a traditional pro-style offense. Some team will probably draft him a round or two higher than he should go, but he should still have an impact at the next level because simply put, the kid can play football. If I were Tebow, I’d stay at Florida as long as possible and give pro teams plenty of time to evaluate his skill set and figure out how it translates into the NFL.

      College Football

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