Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 1450 of 1503)

      Weekend Wrap: College Football

      November 4, 2006 /

      Top 10 Rewind:

      1. Ohio State (10-0)
      The number one team in the nation learned just how much Illinois has improved over the course of a season after the Buckeyes had to hang on to a 17-10 victory in Champaign Urbana. After rolling to a 17-0 halftime lead, OSU was blanked in the second half thanks to an incredible defensive performance by Illini linebacker J Lehman. Lehman finished with career-high 19 tackles and was virtually in on every defensive play in the second half. Despite an average day by QB Troy Smith (13 for 23, 107 yards and one TD) and the rest of the OSU offense, the Buckeye defense continues to play at a high level.

      Next Game: at Northwestern, Nov. 11.

      2. Michigan (10-0)
      Sound the prison siren because the Wolverines just escaped with a 34-26 victory over Ball State in Ann Arbor. Yes, that Ball State – the same team that lost to Division II North Dakota State 29-24 earlier this season. With a 31-12 lead halfway through the third quarter, Michigan had its starters off the field, the beer stands closed up and fans heading to their favorite tailgating spot before the Cardinals slowly started to mount a comeback. Think somebody is a little anxious for Ohio State in two weeks? The Wolverines better calm down and re-focus for Indiana next week, or else that contest with the Buckeyes will matter a whole hell of a lot less come November 18th.

      Next Game: at Indiana, Nov. 11.

      3. West Virginia (7-1)
      Feel free to check out my recap of the WV-Louisville game, which was posted right here on The Scores Report last Thursday. I’ll take the time right here, however, to reaffirm how big I thought QB Pat White played in the Mountaineers 44-34 loss to the Cardinals. The kid played hurt for virtually the entire second half, yet stayed in the ball game and kept the contest close.

      Next Game: vs. Cincinnati, Nov. 11.

      4. Texas (9-1)
      There was no slow start for the Long Horns this week, as Texas built a 20-0 lead at halftime and ended up routing Oklahoma State 36-10. Freshman Colt McCoy was the talk of the town again for the Long Horns. McCoy threw for 343 yards on 22 of 28 passing and three touchdowns. His main target was Billy Pittman, connecting with the wide out seven times for 88 yards and a score. Texas still remains on the outside of a National Championship showing and it won’t help that the Long Horns will not face a top 10 opponent the rest of the season.

      Next Game: at Kansas State, Nov. 11.

      5. Louisville (8-0)
      Same thing goes for the Cardinals as far as my Thursday night recap of their impressive victory over West Virginia. Let me state for the record that I was wrong about West Virginia “showing” that it was the better Big East team. QB Brian Brohm really stepped up to the plate on Thursday and gave Louisville a solid shot at a National Championship. While I don’t think a team that gives up points easier than people give out candy on Halloween should be a legitimate National title contender, you can’t deny how great of a job head coach Rick Petrino has done in Louisville this season. The game next week against No.15 Rutgers is going to be HUGE.

      Next Game: at Rutgers, Nov. 9.

      6. Auburn (9-1)
      The Tigers got over their fear of the state of Arkansas with a 27-0 drubbing of Arkansas State on Saturday. I think Auburn needed this type of win didn’t they? The defense has been fantastic all season long (except the one foul day against Arkansas, of course). But I think the offense is going to benefit from the 400-yard performance it put up against the Indians. QB Brandon Cox threw two picks, but also added two touchdown-passes while throwing for 249 yards. Ben Tate and Brad Lester combined for 155 yards on 23 combined carries while filling in for Kenny Irons (ankle injury). Also, wide out Courtney Taylor had four catches for 116 yards and one score.

      Next Game: vs. Georgia, Nov. 11.

      7. Florida (8-1)
      The Gators 25-19 victory over Vanderbilt affirmed two things for me. One, Florida can win tight ballgames on the road under Urban Meyer now – something that eluded the Gators last year. And two, Bobby Johnson has the Vandy program heading in the right direction nowadays (something that the Commodore faithful have been looking forward to for a long time). Getting back to Florida, however, Chris Leak had a yo-yo type performance. He threw for 237 yards on 19 of 25 passing and scored on three of Florida’s four touchdowns (one passing, two rushing). But he also threw three interceptions and has now thrown an interception in every game this year except for one (vs. LSU). WR Dallas Baker had a solid game with seven receptions for 135 yards and a score as Florida looks to win the SEC East with a win over South Carolina next week.

      Next Game: vs. South Carolina, Nov. 11.

      8. Tennessee (7-2)
      The game of the day was in Knoxville as LSU knocked off the Vols 28-24 on a last second JaMarcus Russell TD to Early Doucet. However, on the Tigers game-winning touchdown drive, the refs blew a call when Russell fumbled on a first down run (Tenn has a right to feel robbed). Vols QB Erik Ainge had to come out early in the game after suffering from a reoccurring ankle injury. However, freshman Jonathan Compton put himself on the map by coming in for Ainge and leading Tenn on three huge scoring drives. Compton finished the game by throwing two touchdown passes and 183 yards (including the play of the day on a 54 yard rainbow pass to stud wide out Robert Meachem). To me, this loss was long overdue for Tennessee – who reminds me of the Wisconsin of the SEC. Good team, but there’s just something that screams an above average program and not an elite team.

      Next Game: at Arkansas, Nov. 11.

      9. USC (7-1)
      The Trojans lambasted Stanford 42-0 on Saturday, but where was this effort last week? USC has been fooling around all season with less superior teams and now they romp somebody? John David Booty was the stud, throwing for 203 yards and three touchdowns. He connected with his favorite wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett five times for 120 yards and one score. Despite the lopsided win, I don’t see how the Trojans should be considered in the hunt for the National Championship at this point. But facing three ranked teams in the next three weeks might help their chances (albeit, USC will be at home for every single one of those games).

      Next Game: vs. Oregon, Nov. 11.

      10. California (8-1)
      I thought that UCLA would have put up a bigger fight against the Golden Bears on Saturday, but Cali ended up handling its business with ease. After only leading 14-10 at halftime, the Bears put 14 points on the board in the third quarter, which gave California a big enough cushion to top the Bruins 38-24. QB Nathan Longshore went 20 of 24 for 265 yards and three touchdowns. Somehow, despite giving up 492 total yards, the Bears found a way to win this contest. I still find it hard that Cal is a true top 10 team.

      Next Game: at Arizona, Nov. 11.

      Most impressed with: I liked Illinois and Ball State’s gusty performances against the top two teams in the nation who appeared like they were caught looking too far down the road.

      Least impressed with: The following teams have given up on their seasons, coaches and themselves: Georgia, Michigan State and Iowa. What a joke.

      Injury of the day: JoePa took a bad spill in the Penn State-Wisconsin game. Paterno was crashed into the sidelines during the Nittany Lions 13-3 loss to the Badgers. Paterno took a helmet to one of his knees (which buckled under him) and he was eventually carted off the field after first trying to make it through the remainder of the game. Toughest almost-80 year old I’ve ever seen.

      Looking forward: Major BCS implications can be found in that Louisville-Rutgers game, which will take place next Thursday night. Two possible questions will come out of that contest and unfortunately for fans of the SEC, neither is good. If the Cardinals win and stay undefeated throughout the entire season, are they worthy enough to be considered a National Championship team over a one-loss SEC program? And if Rutgers win and lets say beats West Virginia in four weeks – holy garbage – are the Scarlet Knights supposed to be considered National Championship-worthy? The other games to keep your eye on: Tennessee at Arkansas, South Carolina at Florida and even Michigan at Indiana.

      College Football

      Twins’ lose Liriano for ’07 season

      November 3, 2006 /

      The aftermath of the 2006 World Series is not even a week old and the Minnesota Twins have already lost a key member of its pitching rotation. After only being able to pitch six innings throughout the final two months of the season, it was determined that Francisco Liriano needed Tommy John surgery on his left elbow.

      Promoted to the rotation in mid-May, Liriano dominated the league with a wicked slider that he often threw well over 90 mph and went 12-3 with a 2.16 ERA and 144 strikeouts in 121 innings as a rookie. It’s possible the strain put on his arm by throwing that pitch so hard was part of this problem with his ulnar collateral ligament, which first popped up in late July and was diagnosed then as a mild strain.

      Obviously this is a huge blow for the Twins after such a dominating rookie campaign by Liriano. The best thing that Minnesota can do for both its future and Liriano’s career is to let him fully recover. As similar to the cases of Kerry Wood and Mark Prior of the Chicago Cubs, when young pitchers experience injuries so early in their careers, it’s important for those athletes that the club doesn’t rush them back.

      Hopefully the Twins are smart enough to allow Liriano to regain his full health.

      MLB

      Brady vs. Manning: Are we watching the best ever?

      November 3, 2006 /

      As the Patriots get set to take on the Colts in the NFL’s best match up this week, ESPN.com journalist Michael Smith has raised an interesting question in his latest column: are we watching the best quarterbacks ever in Tom Brady and Peyton Manning?

      It always seems far fetched to say that a player, team or game should be labeled has “the best ever”. However, when you think about what Brady and Manning have done in this league and what is still left to come – wow. Brady already has three rings and is possibly working on another one, while Manning will probably own every NFL passing record when he finally calls it a career. One has taken his team down the field on game winning drives during a Super Bowl ala Joe Montana, while the other is shattering everything we used to link to Dan Marino’s name. And while Marino and Montana were in separate conferences, how lucky is this generation to get the chance to watch Brady vs. Manning virtually every year?

      Everybody loves to discuss which QB they’d take if they were starting a franchise today. But bask in the moment for a second that we might be watching the two best signal callers every to play the game.

      NFL

      “No Fun League” Strikes Again

      November 3, 2006 /

      The NFL has decided to fine Cincinnati Bengals wide out Chad Johnson $5,000 for his Velcro nameplate: “Ocho Cinco”, that he wore in pregame against the Atlanta Falcons last Sunday.

      While I think the NFL is being extreme in this case (he only wore it in pregame) and normally laugh at Johnson’s antics, I think the league is right to do this. Call me traditional, but I’ve always liked when athletes acted professional both on and off the field. I like Barry Sanders’ touchdown celebration of just handing the ball to the ref. And I like the fact that the NFL is not trying to act nothing like WWF or NWA or whatever that male soap opera is calling itself these days.

      While I don’t think the “Ocho Cinco” act was malicious (goofy yes, but malicious no), the NFL is such a copycat league and who knows what these players will do to one up each other next. Joe Horn pulls a cell phone from under the goal post, followed by T.O.’s cheerleader act and Steve Smith’s baby wipe dance.

      Leave it at home fellas – the game is fun enough as is.

      NFL

      Is Bonds worth the trouble?

      November 2, 2006 /

      Barry Bonds’ agent, Jeff Borris, has told the Mercury News.com that several ball clubs in both the American and National League have expressed interest in the seven-time All-Star. If this is true – is Bonds worth the trouble?

      In my opinion, yes…and no.

      I don’t see how any team in the NL would want to take this guy on for even one season. His play in left field has become laughable and he can’t play a day game that follows a night contest. So, not only do you have to take on a hefty salary for one year (probably in the range of $15 million per season), his awful attitude, his four reclining chairs that piss off teammates and not to mention his overall distaste for life. But you also have to have a decent backup for when he can’t play.

      On the flip side – the guy would be great for an AL club. Bonds can still hit for power and he would be relegated to DH, so his body would save on the ware and tear from not playing in the field. Then again, the team would still have to deal with a hefty salary for one year, his awful attitude, his four reclining chairs that piss off teammates and not to mention his overall distaste for life.

      Most likely scenario? Bonds ends up back in San Francisco. The Giants are in flux and seem destined for the bottom of the NL West with so many holes to fill. So, with the All-Star game being in San Fran this year and Bonds still chasing the home run record, the Giants can use Bonds as their cash cow for one more season.

      I’m not saying it’s the right thing to do – just the most likely.

      MLB

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