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      Nebraska dominates Arizona in Holiday Bowl

      December 31, 2009 /

      When I woke up this morning and read the headline: “Suh, Nebraska stop Arizona in Holiday Bowl,” I couldn’t help but chuckle a little.

      Stop? Stop doesn’t even begin to describe what the Cornhuskers did to the Wildcats on Wednesday night. Stop is something you do when you’ve had too much to eat. Completely shutting someone down to the point of feeling sorry for them is what Nebraska accomplished against Arizona in their 33-0 Holiday Bowl victory. The game was over for Arizona after the coin flip.

      The Cornhuskers held the Wildcats to 109 total yards of offense and only 46 passing yards. They also limited Arizona to 3-of-15 on third down conversions, picked off Nick Foles on the third play of the game and held the Wildcats to a messily 63 rushing yards. It was by far the most impressive performance any team this bowl season.

      I was a little worried that AP College Football Player of the Year and Heisman finalist Ndamukong Suh was going to come up short in the expectations that were bestowed upon him coming into the game, but he lived up to the hype. He only had three tackles (one for loss), but he was all over the field and exhibited outstanding size and strength.

      The Cornhuskers have a bright future under Bo Pelini and even though Suh is on his way out, Nebraska’s defense is loaded with playmakers. Their offense is still a concern (although they looked good last night), but Pelini feels as though his defense matches that of Alabama and Florida. And after their performance last night, it’s hard to argue with him. I realize they weren’t playing an offensive juggernaut in Arizona, but limiting any team to 109 total yards is unbelievably impressive.

      College Football

      911 call reveals Meyer suffered severe chest pains

      December 31, 2009 /

      Urban Meyer’s chest pains apparently started well before Florida’s loss to Alabama in the SEC title game.

      From SI.com:

      Meyer’s wife told an Alachua County dispatcher that her 45-year-old husband had a pulse but wasn’t talking when she contacted emergency officials at 4:27 a.m. on Dec. 6, hours after the Gators returned home from their 32-13 loss to Alabama.

      “My husband’s having chest pains,” Shelley Meyer said. “He’s having chest pains, he just woke up in the middle of the night and said he’s having chest pains.”

      Shelley Meyer said her husband had taken a sleeping pill that night and had suffered chest pains before. She repeatedly tried to rouse Meyer, who was lying on his stomach on the floor.

      “Urban, Urban, talk to me,” she says.

      Initial reports indicated that the Florida coach checked into a Gainesville hospital, where he was treated for dehydration and released. Shelley Meyer told dispatchers that her husband was breathing and appeared to be grunting.

      “He almost sounds like he’s kind of trying to cry,” she said.

      It’s no wonder Meyer wants to take some time off. These college coaches work non-stop year round and I’m surprised we don’t hear about more of them having health issues. I’m sure Meyer is getting a ton of pressure on the home front to hang it up for a while, which is why he first stated that he was leaving the program.

      We may never know the impact, but it’ll be interesting to see how Meyer’s health situation affects recruiting. Florida will recruit well no matter what, but will some prospects go elsewhere if there’s no guarantee Meyer will coach them in the fall?


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      College Football

      Report: Cardinals offer Holliday $100 million

      December 30, 2009 /

      According to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney, the Cardinals offered free agent outfielder Matt Holliday over $100 million.

      Scott Boras, the agent who represents Holliday, has been doubling back to teams that had previously touched base on the outfielder, citing a possible salary figure of $18 million. Boras is believed to have an offer in excess of $100 million from the Cardinals, and club officials with other teams sense he is shopping that offer.

      Outfielder Jason Bay reached agreement on a four-year, guaranteed $66 million contract with the New York Mets, pending a physical. If Holliday were to finalize a six-year or seven-year offer for about $17 million a year with the Cardinals, he would sign for a package in the range of $102 million to $119 million, the largest contract of this offseason.

      Earlier this offseason, the Red Sox offered Holliday a five-year, $82.5 million contract, but sources say Boston’s offer was rejected. The Red Sox then used that money to sign veteran right-handed starter John Lackey.

      Unless the Yankees want to open up their wallets again, I doubt that Boras and Holliday will see an offer higher than the one the Cardinals offered (that is, if Olney’s report is accurate and St. Louis did offer that amount).

      I wonder what Plan B is for the Cardinals if they can’t re-sign Holliday, because no matter what, they need a decent bat to protect Albert Pujols in their lineup. One would think that Holliday will sign with someone soon now that Jason Bay is off the market.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      MLB

      Steelers’ Woodley calls out Patriots, Steelers

      December 30, 2009 /

      Steelers’ linebacker LaMarr Woodley predicted on Wednesday that the Patriots and Bengals will “lay down” this Sunday for their games against the Texans and Jets because they don’t want to play against the Steelers in the playoffs.

      From Forbes.com:

      “All of them lay down,” Woodley said Wednesday. “No one wants to see Pittsburgh in it. That’s just how it is. Everybody knows we’re a dangerous team once we get into the playoffs, no matter how we played the whole year. Once we get into the playoffs, the Pittsburgh Steelers is a playoff team.”

      Well, no one can blame Woodley for trying to get Cincinnati and New England to play their starters.

      Pittsburgh has to beat Miami this Sunday and also have the Patriots defeat the Texans and the Bengals to beat the Jets. So in other words, the Steelers will likely be enjoying the playoffs next week like the rest of us: From their couches.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL

      Hornets to move West?

      December 30, 2009 /

      Yesterday, we discussed the possibility of New Orleans trading Chris Paul, and now Henry Abbott of TrueHoop is bringing up the possibility of the Hornets trading David West before the February trade deadline so that they can avoid paying the luxury tax this season.

      Yet the Hornets are currently $3.3 million over the tax line and remain prepared to send away Brown in a deal that brings back no guaranteed money, as seen over the summer when New Orleans felt it had to essentially donate Rasual Butler to the Los Angeles Clippers because of the tax benefits.

      There is a belief among some rival executives — or perhaps it’s more accurate to call it a hope — that the Hornets will not be able to resist moving All-Star forward David West before the Feb. 18 trading deadline to ensure that they get comfortably under the tax threshold.

      New Orleans’ preference would obviously be moving out player(s) from its list of veterans with contracts that stretch beyond this season. That list presumably includes Emeka Okafor, Peja Stojakovic, James Posey, Mo Peterson, Darius Songaila and Julian Wright.

      West has two years left on his contract, but he’ll almost certainly terminate the final year since it’s only worth $7.5 million and he’s likely to make more than that in a new deal. If the Hornets trade West, expect Chris Paul to become very unhappy. If the team was so concerned about the luxury tax, it should have thought about that before trading for Peja Stojakovic, signing Morris Peterson and James Posey, and trading for Emeka Okafor. West’s affordable deal is obviously not the problem, but it’s movable and that might appeal to the Hornets.

      I still think the team will do what it can to hold on to its nucleus and weather the financial storm. The Okafor trade was a signal that owner George Shinn is willing to spend.

      NBA, Rumors & Gossip

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