Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 1437 of 1503)

      Ben Wallace is a baby

      November 28, 2006 /

      In case someone has missed the action recently regarding Ben Wallace, allow me to fill you in. Bulls head coach Scott Skiles and the Chicago brass don’t allow players to wear headbands during games. It’s a dumb team rule, but it’s a rule nonetheless. Wallace apparently agreed to this rule when he robbed the Bulls of $60 million over the offseason.

      In a recent game, Wallace decided to forego the team rule and wear a headband. Skiles pulled him from the court and told Wallace to take the band off or he’s not going back in. Instead of doing as his coach tells him, Wallace returned to the end of the bench, threw a fit in which every member of the Bulls coaching staff had to talk to him and then eventually agreed to take off the head gear. Skiles put Big Ben back into the game and Wallace immediately put the headband back on. The feud has continued between the coach and player and now, apparently, Wallace has stated that he isn’t sorry for the tirade.

      Memo to Ben Wallace: You’re not in Detroit anymore. People don’t bow down to you like they did at the Palace and people certainly don’t “Fear the Fro’” in Chicago. You were signed in Chicago as the missing link. Now, you can’t even do the one good thing you did in Detroit, which was grab rebounds. You’re a bust so far as Bull and the Chicago media isn’t going to coddle your rocks like the Detroit media did. Get over yourself.

      NBA

      Week 11 Power Rankings

      November 28, 2006 /

      Major developments in the top five this week. Changes are forthcoming.

      Here is a look at the class and trash of the league with nothing in between:

      1. Indianapolis Colts (10-1)
      Previous Ranking: 1
      I like how the Colts have handled Joseph Addai. Pairing him with veteran Dominic Rhodes seemed to be the right move by Tony Dungy and staff. Addai doesn’t have to carry a full load as a rookie and Indy is easing him into the season. Now he’ll have fresh legs heading into the stretch run while still being able to learn the game when Rhodes gets his carries.

      2. San Diego Chargers (9-2)
      Previous Ranking: 3
      What impresses me about the Chargers is that they stayed afloat while Shawne Merriman was suspended for steroids or flax seed oil or something along those lines. San Diego had every opportunity to fold up shop and lose to teams like the Bengals and Broncos. The Chargers didn’t and that only proves that this team is resliant. Hopefully Philip Rivers just had a bad game last week against the Raiders, though, because SD will need his strong play down the stretch.

      3. New England Patriots (8-3)
      Previous Ranking: 5
      It’s overstated so much, but I’ll say it again: Bill Belichick is a mastermind for winning with the talent he has. Doug Gabriel is your No. 1 receiver? Actually, the tight end Ben Watson is your No. 1 receiving threat? So now Junior Seau is out with a broken arm. First thing that comes to mind is that the Patriots are doomed with another defensive injury. If you think that, obviously you haven’t been paying attention.

      4. Chicago Bears (9-2)
      Previous Ranking: 2
      Rex Grossman is frightful when he’s bad. I think it’s safe to say that Grossman has exceeded expectations this year, but I wonder how far away Lovie Smith’s finger is from the Brian Griese button. This is two years in a row where Chicago is teetering on good and great and it looks like Grossman is the deciding factor. Russian Roulette anyone?

      5. Baltimore Ravens (9-2)
      Previous Ranking: Unranked
      Okay, so I might have jumped the gun last week by calling the Ravens “not that good”. Baltimore is that good, because the defense causes more turnovers than Stephen Dorff makes bad movies. And while I think the offense is flawed, Brian Billick obviously has his pulse on the play calling since he took over for Jim Fassel.

      28. Cleveland Browns (3-8)
      Previous Rank: Unranked
      Every time I get the Browns out of this spot they get shut out by the Bengals 30-0 and then start bickering amongst themselves. This team must madden their fans with its play. Hang with San Diego, hang with Pittsburgh, beat Atlanta and then get hammered by rival Cincinnati. Yikes.

      29. Houston Texans (3-8)
      Previous Ranking: 29
      Let me get this straight. The Texans go into New York just under a month ago and hang with the Giants when the G-Men were still winning football games. Then Houston goes into New York last week and lays an egg against the Jets. That’s not a slam on the Jets either, because that’s a good football team. That’s a slam on the inconsistent Houston Texans.

      30. Arizona Cardinals (2-9)
      Previous Ranking: 31
      Matt Leinart threw for 400 yards against Minnesota last Sunday. Before you crown him the next Joe Montana, remember that Teddy Ruxpin threw for 400 yards on the Vikings this season too.

      31. Detroit Lions (2-9)
      Previous Ranking: 30
      After the Lions loss to the Dolphins on Thanksgiving Day, cornerback Dre’ Bly walked away from Joey Harrington at the end of the game instead of shaking his hand. I don’t blame Bly for not shaking his hand, because he probably had to get into the locker room early for the burn treatment Harrington gave the Lions secondary when he tossed three touchdowns on them.

      32. Oakland Raiders (2-9)
      Previous Ranking: 31
      What aggravates me about the Raiders is how well the defense actually plays on a weekly basis. That unit is young, fast and is filled with overachievers. Too bad the offense is putrid and people can’t see how decent the defense actually is.

      NFL

      Healthy Seahawks could contend with Bears in NFC

      November 28, 2006 /

      It didn’t take Shaun Alexander long to hit is stride did it? In Seattle’s 34-24 win over Green Bay on Monday night, Alexander carried the ball 35 times for 193 yards. That’s pretty impressive for any NFL back, not too mention a guy coming off a broken bone in his foot. Matt Hasselback looked great in the second half in throwing for three touchdowns, but also showed major signs of rust. While battling snowy conditions on a bum knee, Hasselback tossed three interceptions, including one on the second play of the game, and also lost a fumble that was returned for a touchdown.

      Seattle is now 6-4 and in the NFC, that’s almost like being 10-0. After watching Alexander completely destroy a decent Packer run defense, it looks like the Bears and Cowboys will have some company at the top of the NFC pyramid. Seattle still has a ways to go with its defense, however, and if the Seahawks want to be serious contenders they’ll have to stop giving up big plays. Too many times this season the safeties will bite on a quarterback play-fake and lose a receiver down one of the seams or take poor angles in trying to tackle ball carriers. Brett Favre was able to quick-throw Donald Driver for a 48-yard touchdown pass in the second half after the Seattle secondary did a terrible job of keeping Driver contained. The run defense has been below average as well.

      One more negative for the Seahawks is the atrocious play of tight end Jerramy Stevens. If he’s not dodging well-deserved knees to the groin, he’s spending most of his time dropping passes.

      NFL

      College Football Power Rankings

      November 27, 2006 /

      Here’s an un-computerized look at the top 10 teams in college football:

      1. Ohio State (12-0)
      Previous Rank: #1
      All right Buckeye fans, here’s your chance to tell me whom you want to face come January 8th. Post now or forever hold your piece.

      2. USC (10-1)
      Previous Rank: #4
      It took a lot for me to jump the Trojans up two spots from four to two, but after watching what USC did to the Irish last Saturday, I feel good about the decision. I honestly think that the Trojans just got caught sleeping against Oregon State. USC has a quarterback that is playing great football, two NFL-caliber wide receivers (Dwayne Jarrett is a beast) and a hard-nosed defense. Plus, Pete Carroll always has his boys ready to play in a big game.

      3. Michigan (11-1)
      Previous Rank: #2
      I don’t know if that vaunted Wolverine defense could stop USC for four quarters. The Ohio State game proved that I think. Although something tells me Michigan beats Florida at a neutral site.

      4. Florida (11-1)
      Previous Rank: #3
      This probably isn’t fair to the Gators to move down one spot after a win. But what has been fair to Urban Meyer’s group? Florida would have benefited from Arkansas staying at one-loss, because now a win over the Razorbacks doesn’t look as impressive. Either way, Florida is a very good football team that will probably not get the chance to show the nation what it could really do.

      5. LSU (10-2)
      Previous Rank: #8
      Boy, did the Tigers come full circle or what? I had these guys ranked high all year and even had LSU beating Auburn and Florida earlier in the season. They muffed both of those contests and still find a way back into the top five. I’ve called LSU the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NCAA all year and I think the comparison fits.

      6. Arkansas (10-2)
      Previous Rank: #5
      I’ll highlight the positive in the Razorbacks’ loss to LSU, because everybody knows what the negative was out of the defeat. Darren McFadden is an outstanding player. He completely kept Arkansas in that game with his impressive runs and deserves heavy consideration for a Hesiman. What an athlete.

      7. Notre Dame (10-2)
      Previous Rank: 6
      The only way to explain what happened to the Irish in Southern Cal is that a better team flat out just smoked them. Brady Quinn is sizing up his Lions jersey right now. Start the Joey Harrington nightmares now please.

      8. Wisconsin (11-1)
      Previous Rank: #10
      Good deal for the Badgers. Wisconsin doesn’t even play and it moves up two spots in the rankings. I know the two programs have no relation, but I get a feeling that Urban Meyer and the rest of Gator Nation is upset with this injustice as I type.

      9. Oklahoma (10-2)
      Previous Rank: Unranked
      It took the Sooners all season to make a push back into the top ten after a ref completely shot their season against Oregon. Too bad it’s the end of the season and Oklahoma isn’t fighting for too much these days but a decent bowl. The Sooners must feel like they arrived late to a killer party because they got screwed with bad directions. But as they pull up to the party they see all the action is virtually over. Heal soon Adrian Peterson.

      10. Boise State (12-0)
      Previous Rank: Unranked
      It’s tough to leave out a team that goes undefeated in college football. I don’t care what conference you play in, staying unbeaten is an impressive feat for any program.

      College Football

      College Football Players of the Week

      November 27, 2006 /

      Here are your college football players of the week.

      Remember, if you feel that another player was worthy of higher honors than the two I chose, post the athlete and let me hear why you think he or they were more deserving.

      Here are your top performers of the week:

      Offensive Player of the Week: Dwayne Jarrett, WR USC
      While there were plenty of solid offensive performances to choose from, I’m always partial to the athlete who does it on a national stage. Jarrett was phenomenal in the Trojans 44-24 victory over Notre Dame. The receiver caught seven passes for 132 yards and three touchdowns and helped propel USC into the #2 spot in the BCS rankings. There might not be a better receiver in the NCAA that uses his size to gain an advantage on a defender than Jarrett.

      Defensive Player of the Week: Ben Moffitt, LB South Florida
      Moffitt was great in the Bulls 24-19 upset over previously ranked No. 8 West Virginia. The linebacker recorded seven tackles and recovered a Steve Slaton fumble in the end zone for a touchdown. Moffitt was also part of a defensive effort that held Slaton and Pat White to only 60 rushing yards.

      College Football

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