Page 2051 of 2957

      No. 17 Ball State’s season on the line vs. Central Michigan

      November 19, 2008 /

      Nate DavisNo. 17 Ball State puts its season on the line Wednesday night in Mt. Pleasant when they take on MAC rival Central Michigan at 7:00PM ET.

      I know, I know – it’s MAC football. Who cares right?

      Most will look at this game and shrug it off as just another useless game in the middle of the week, but the ramifications for both teams are pretty high and it should make for an exciting game. First and foremost, Ball State is 10-0 and trying to prove that its an elite program, although if last week’s performance against Miami of Ohio was any indication, the Cardinals are who we think they are – a great MAC team, but one that would get destroyed by the likes of any team ranked ahead of them in the polls.

      Meanwhile, the Chippewas are 8-2, but more importantly (at least to them), they’re 6-0 in the MAC. A CMU victory would not only be a huge upset, but it would also catapult the Chips into first place in the MAC West Division and a chance to win the conference for the third straight year. This isn’t just a MAC game – it’s the MAC game of the year.

      The Cardinals have essentially steamrolled their competition this season, but also haven’t played any truly tough opponents, unless you consider Navy and Indiana as tough. They did crush Northern Illinois – who has vastly improved this season – 45-14 on November 5th, but the Huskies are still far from an elite team right now.

      An upset might be in order tonight. At one point this season, CMU quarterback Dan LeFevour was considered a candidate for the Heisman Trophy but an ankle injury sidetracked his season. He led the Chips to win over NIU last week and appears to be healthy again.

      The key in this game, however, will be whether or not CMU’s defense can slow down Nate Davis and the BSU offense, which is averaging close to 40 points a game. The Chips certainly have the offense to compete with the Cardinals, but their no-huddle approach only gets BSU’s explosive passing attack back on the field quicker. And CMU has been known to allow opponents to sneak back into ball games in the second half (see their game at Northern last week as proof), which certainly would spell disaster against a solid Cardinal team.

      Either way, football is being played on a Wednesday night. And not only that, but a team is actually unbeaten and ranked…and is playing on Wednesday night. You can’t ask for more.

      College Football

      Is Dustin Pedroia the most unlikely MVP ever?

      November 19, 2008 /

      Boston Red Sox second basemen Dustin Pedroia won the AL MVP Award Tuesday and as Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy writes, he might be the most unlikely MVP winner ever.

      Dustin PedroiaDustin Pedroia is the Most Valuable Player of the American League. This is simply one of the amazing sports stories of our time.

      He is a miracle. He is a hardball mutant. He is the most unlikely man to win this award in the history of major league baseball.

      Think about all the great Red Sox players who never won the award. Manny Ramírez was never MVP. Neither was Carlton Fisk. Nor Wade Boggs.

      Fisk and Boggs are in the Hall of Fame and Manny is going to Cooperstown. None of them won an MVP.
      And now the little big man has an American League MVP trophy – just like Jimmie Foxx, Ted, Jackie Jensen, Yaz, Freddie Lynn, Jim Rice, Roger Clemens, and Mo Vaughn.

      Pedroia did it by hitting .326 – same as Yaz in ’67. He made himself the first second baseman to win the AL MVP since Nellie Fox of the Chicago White Sox in 1959. Guru Gammons points out that, in August, Pedroia had more extra-base hits than Ramírez.

      Pedroia is no Manny Ramírez. But he’s MVP of the American League. Just Dustin being Dustin.

      Pedroia is the poster child for every kid that is told he’s too small to play and that he’ll never make it. He was a nobody before last year, but hard work allowed him to rise to the top and once he got there, he never stopped working. He does all the little things right and he competes on a nightly a basis. This truly is one of the better sports stories in some time.

      MLB

      Fountain of youth: Kurt Warner wants to play a few more years

      November 19, 2008 /

      The 2008 NFL Season has apparently rejuvenated Arizona Cardinals’ quarterback Kurt Warner.

      Kurt Warner“Kurt’s and my approach has been, ‘Let’s enjoy the moment,’ ” Bartelstein said. “Kurt does not want to be a distraction in any way with his contract. That’s not his personality.”

      Warner, 37, is in the last season of a three-year deal worth $15 million, not including incentives.

      Warner leads the league in quarterback rating (105.1) and completion percentage (70.9). He is second in yards (3,155) and touchdowns (20). More important, the Cardinals are 7-3 and could clinch the NFC West title this weekend.

      Clearly, it’s going to cost the Cardinals more to sign Warner now than it would have last summer, probably in the range of $8 million to $12 million a year.

      There is plenty of incentive for both sides to reach a deal. The Cardinals are still optimistic about Leinart’s future, but there will be a learning curve to endure if and when he be becomes a starter. With Warner playing the way he is now, the Cardinals will continue to be a force in the NFC.

      Warner knows, too, that he has found a place that suits him both professionally and personally. Not every team would give him the freedom and responsibility that the Cardinals have. And he’s not eager anxious to uproot his family to start all over again in a new city.

      I was wrong about Warner when I wrote this summer that the Cards were likely to sink with him at quarterback. He’s been one of the best surprises in 2008 and if he continues to play the way he has, there’s no reason to believe he can’t compete for another couple of years.

      But what do you do with Matt Leinart?

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      What would a college football playoff look like this year?

      November 18, 2008 /

      First, my assumptions…

      There will be an eight-team playoff, with the six BCS-conference champs getting an automatic bid. If a conference champ has three or more losses on the season, they give up their automatic bid and it becomes an at-large bid.

      Seeds and at-large bids are distributed based on the current BCS standings. Certainly, these standings can be tweaked, but they are fine for now. If an at-large team has a better BCS ranking than a conference champion, they will get a higher seed.

      There will be three rounds of playoffs. The first round will be held at the home stadium of the higher-seeded team. The semifinals and the finals will rotate amongst the four BCS cities (Miami, Pasadena, Tempe and New Orleans).

      And off we go…

      #8 Cincinnati @ #1 Alabama

      #5 Oklahoma @ #4 Florida

      #7 Penn State @ #2 Texas Tech

      #6 USC @ #3 Texas

      Unfortunately, #7-ranked Utah wouldn’t make the cut because #19 Cincinnati finished with just two losses (assuming they win out, of course) and #8 Penn State won the Big Ten with just one loss. The Utes would have a shot to move up with a win over BYU along with a loss by one or more of the teams ahead of them.

      There were three at-large bids (since the ACC winner had at least three losses) and those bids went to Texas, Florida and Oklahoma.

      Of course, as the season winds down, the BCS rankings will stay fluid, so we’ll re-visit this potential playoff schedule once the regular season is over.

      So how does it look?

      College Football

      Surprise, surprise…the Rockets are nicked up again

      November 18, 2008 /

      Tracy McGrady has a sore knee. Yesterday, he proclaimed that he was probably going to have to shut it down, but he was able to practice today and is listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game.

      Yao Ming has a foot injury, but the x-rays were negative, so he should be able to play.

      Ron Artest sprained his ankle, but should be able to go.

      As part of our 2008 NBA Preview, I wrote the following about the Rockets…

      Keep Your Eye On: The Rockets’ injury report
      If T-Mac, Yao Ming and Ron Artest can all play 75+ games and are healthy for the playoffs, this team will be very competitive. But as history has shown us, that is a HUGE “if.” Yao hasn’t played more than 57 games in any of the last three seasons and McGrady is averaging 61 games played over the same span. So the Rockets can’t really hope that the duo will stay healthy, they just have to hope that whatever injuries T-Mac and Yao do sustain aren’t of the season-ending variety.

      The Rockets were a popular preseason pick to make some serious noise come playoff time, but the team needs its three stars to be healthy at the end of the season. Rockets fans surely have their fingers crossed, but already each star has his own nagging injury. It’s going to be interesting to see if Houston can stay healthy all season.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑