Da Sports Authority

Nats' Opener: Best. Night. Of. 2008.

2008-03-31T11:49:00.010-04:00

From the front page of today's Washington Post:

No grass was ever greener than the Kentucky blue that spread out across the field at dazzling new Nationals Park last night. No popcorn ever smelled so delicious. No beer ever tasted so refreshing, no hot dog so juicy. The senses were overloaded and overwhelmed on an Opening Night unlike any ever witnessed in these parts -- in a $611 million, taxpayer-built palace in a formerly blighted part of the District, in front of a national television audience.

And no roar ever washed over a building like the one that built and soared and then exploded from the crowd of 39,389 as the final pitch of the night arrived from the mound and landed, following a mighty swing from Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, over the wall in left-center field, a walk-off home run that gave the Nationals a dramatic 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves and provided a fitting end to a memorable night.

"Storybook ending," said Mark Lerner, the Nationals' principal owner. "It was the end of a perfect day. You can't write a script like that."

It was the best season opener anyone could want (and I've been to 3 of the Nats' 4 so far, with bronchitis regrettably holding me back two years ago.) It was the best ending to a game I can ever remember attending, out of the few dozen or so I've probably been to in my life. It was the perfect way to kick off the new ballpark and the new season. And I still can't believe I was able to be there to see it happen.

For weeks I'd been frustrated that I was unable to buy tickets to the game when they first went on sale online, then watched as $%^&ing scalpers proceeded to sell tickets at outrageous prices--upper-deck seats going for $70, $80. Yesterday morning, my friend and I woke up early, and in a last bid to secure seats, tried bidding on virtually every eBay auction and Craigslist posting, only to see them get out of reach.

Finally at noon, we decided to just go empty-handed to the stadium and try our luck at picking up the limited number of walk-up seats that the team was reserving for the day of the game. The Nationals had said on their website that they would not allow people to camp out for them, so we figured we could just show up and try and get lucky.

Well, we got there a little after 1pm to find lines wrapped around the block. I later read in the Post that people had camped out since 6am. Even after we joined the line though, the crowds grew exponentially, and after two hours of waiting in line we realized our chances weren't good, and that we'd probably wind up forking triple-digits in cash to a last-minute scalper.

Right then came my luckiest break...ever? I heard someone far, far ahead in line call my name. It turned out to be my friend Tolu, from my fantasy baseball league, who had got there with his buddy much earlier. Right in the nick of time--the walk-up tickets were released ten minutes later--he invited my friend and I to get seats with him so we could all sit together.

How much did I wind up paying for admission to the game? $5, baby!

Five dollars from seats that, although up high, were much closer to the field than their RFK counterparts. There was no problem at all with the view from the bleachers--heck, you could see the Capitol dome right up close from our seats.

The new stadium is flat-out amazing. It's a beautiful, mesmerizing, absolutely perfect temple of baseball. You can read about all the great features elsewhere, but it's impossible to not point out the closeness of the seats, the wide concourses with open views of the field, the giant HD scoreboard, and the elegant architecture throughout. We spent almost 2 hours before the game just walking around, pretty much in awe.

The game itself...read the recap. Basically, a magical night was almost tarnished when Lo Duca let up a passed ball to let the Braves tie it in the top of the 9th. With two outs in the bottom of the 9th, right when all of us frozen-to-the-bone fans were steeling ourselves to go into the wee hours of the night, up came the future of the franchise. At that point, the Nats hadn't managed a hit since the 1st inning.

When his bat connected with the ball, people cheered, likely thinking it would be a solid double. But it kept carrying...to deep center...and over the wall. Ensue pandemonium. I've never felt such ensuing delirium at a stadium before. The night was saved--no, immortalized. I jumped into my friend's arms, into strangers arms, high-fiving and hugging anyone around. During a brief pause to catch my breath, I noticed a video camera man focused right on us--we may have been on the Jumbotron (or ESPN?), but I was too busy to notice.

The Nationals may not have a good year this year, but anyone who saw last night's game felt something special. A storybook ending, indeed.

There is No God

2008-01-23T23:21:00.001-05:00

...or else, The Almighty has a perversely cruel sense of humor: forcing me and all other Patriots-haters to root for Elisha Manning and the Gints of NY to win a Super Bowl.

Storyline for the next two weeks: can I forget how the Patriots' thrashed my favorite team (the Redskins) and beat my old hometown team (the Chargers) twice? Is it better that New England affirms its perfect season, its truly superior play this year, and its modern dynasty....rather than have ****ing Eli win a ring? Maybe. Just maybe...

9 Reasons Why the Giants Will Lose

2008-01-13T16:37:00.000-05:00

#1:

#2:

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#9:

Playoffs? Let's Talk About Playoffs!

2007-12-30T19:46:00.000-05:00

Wondering which religion is the true path? Pray to the Super Best Friends, and you'll get the results you want! I know I did: Washington Redskins 27, Dallas Cowboys 6 (Box score | Article)

Win our 4th straight game and we're in the playoffs? No problem!

Doesn't matter if the #2 offense in the league decides to give its starters a lot more playing time than expected.

Doesn't matter if the Redskins are on the wrong side of 4 instant replay challenges in the first half.

We got the hottest QB in the league (Todd Collins), we got C.P. running well again, we got Santana Moss burnin' it up (8 catches, 115 yards, 1 TD), we got our defense clickin' (holding the Cowgirls to 1 [ONE] yard rushing and no touchdowns.)

Congrats to St. Joe and the 'Skins, we're going to the playoffs, and we EARNED it!

Todd Collins leads 'Skins to 4th straight victory, hasn't turned the ball over this season

Clinton Portis has 4th straight game with 100+ combined yards

Gregg Williams appeals to Iowa caucus voters because he is a Washington insider who is strong on defense.

Next Saturday's wild-card playoff matchup: Redskins at Seahawks!

A Bear Named Muhammad???

2007-12-17T23:44:00.000-05:00

I wonder if Chicago WR #87's parents know...

...in Sudan, some names are off-limits for bears.

Super Mario's Revenge

2007-12-15T14:36:00.000-05:00

Super Mario and his brother Luigi sack Jay Cutler. (...man, what a dumb graphic.)

Two years ago the Houston Texans shocked the sports world with a stunning display of idiocy when they used their #1 overall draft pick to select not superstar USC running back Reggie Bush but rather, a UNC defensive end named Mario Williams.

The general consensus was that the multi-talented offensive threat Bush was the greatest thing since sliced bread and swimsuit calendars. I'm happy to note that I sounded the cautionary alarm well before the draft, saying then:

"I'm just not sure he's going to be the huge-impact player in the NFL that he's projected to be. NFL defenses are a lot faster and stronger than any Bush has run against, and with him being a speed runner as opposed to a power runner, that could cause problems. Splitting carries with [LenDale] White at USC, Bush hasn't really had to be a workhorse before...I think [drafting Bush is] a risk and not in Houston's best interest."

Of course, at the time I advocated they draft Vince Young to satisfy their QB need, but a year later they have found both Matt Schaub and backup Sage Rosenfels can win games for their team. Meanwhile, Reggie Bush isn't Reggie Bust yet, but this guy was like Herschel Walker in college. While HW's pro career was a let-down, I think Reggie would be happy to wind up with numbers like that guy's.

This season, Mario Williams is second in the league wtih 13 sacks. He's forced a couple fumbles and scored a TD. His Texans, despite playing in the most difficult division in the NFL (two games each against the Colts, Jaguars, and Titans), are still 7-7.

Reggie Bush has struggled this year, especially with the loss of his power-running complement Deuce McAllister to injury, and Saints fans are wondering whether Aaron Stecker might be a more effective option. Bush himself may be done for the year with his own injury, and the numbers he put up were not impressive: 581 rushing yards on a 3.7 avg (though he did have 417 receiving yards), 7 fumbles, and a then-league-high 10 drops.

So far, advantage: Texans.

Remember Shaun Hill?

2007-12-15T00:03:00.000-05:00

QB Shaun Hill led my Maryland Terrapins to an ACC Championship and a BCS berth in the January 2002 Orange Bowl. (Scott McBrien after him was even better, but since then the QB position has been a talent vacuum.) Post-UMD, Hill went missing like Jimmy Hoffa, his entire pro career consisting of two kneeldowns in garbage-time for the Minnesota Vikings in the 2005 NFL season.

Hill finally got his break last week when he replaced injured 49ers QB Trent Dilfer (himself in for an injured Alex Smith) mid-game, going 22-of-28 for 181 yards and a TD. He also lost a couple fumbles, but hey, who's counting?

He will be starting for the 49ers in a Saturday night matchup against the Bengals which no one will be watching. (Because it's on the NFL Network, not because both teams really suck, though that's another good reason not to watch.) Nonetheless, congrats, dude!

Mitchell Report - Graphic Summary

2007-12-14T14:57:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, the much-anticipated Mitchell Report investigation into steroids use in baseball came out, excoriating dozens of players. In case you've been in a coma for the past 24 hours, here's what you missed out on (hat tip to Microsoft Paint):

Still role models: Tony Gwynn, Cal Ripken, Ken Griffey Jr., Greg Maddux, et al.

Coming to a Petco Near You...

2007-12-14T03:38:00.001-05:00

An overlooked part of disgraced Falcons QB Michael Vick's recent 23-month jail sentence was the steps he would need to take to repair his image.

A guy who killed dogs with his bare hands is going to have a hard time convincing people he is a changed man, but his latest endorsement deal with Purina is a step in the right direction.

Will Gil Return? Should He?

2007-11-06T01:32:00.000-05:00

Last week, Tim Duncan signed a contract extension with the Spurs that will keep him through team at least until 2011, likely ensuring that he finishes his career in the same place he has started and where he has won four NBA championships. What's notable about the deal is that San Antonio offered Duncan a maximum-level deal for two years, $51 million, but he instead agreed to take $40 million so that the team could have more long-term salary cap flexibility.

Say what you want about the guy, but it's nice to see him
A) likely play his whole career with one team
B) leave some money on the table to help his team stay competitive.

Closer to home, we face a suspenseful decision involving our star Gilbert Arenas, who has declared his intention to opt out of his current contract at the end of the season and seek a new max deal. He says he wants to return to the Wizards, but will we be able to outbid the Lakers and others to keep him? How much room will that leave the team to improve itself? And, I hate to raise a sacrilegious question, but should Gilbert Arenas even be a Wizard next year?

Gil likes playing here, has become a superstar here, and management wants him back here. What he hasn't demonstrated here, though, is that he is more than just a one-dimensional prolific scoring talent combined with a remarkable aptitude for self-promotion. Don't get me wrong, I love Gilbert Arenas. He's made the Wizards a relevant pro basketball team in the aftermath of the Michael Jordan debacle, and he's probably the most likable superstar in his sports. I even have an autographed Arenas jersey, which he signed "To Jay" for me, hanging in a frame on my bedroom wall.

But my highest loyalty is to team, not player. And I'm unconvinced that the current formulation of the team is what will bring a championship to D.C. The same deficiencies plague the Wizards year after year, and merely re-signing Arenas isn't going to change that. Which is why I mentioned Tim Duncan. I don't begrudge Arenas or any other athlete trying to make as much money as possible (hey, it's a business), but I think this offseason Gil has a unique opportunity to push his team in the right direction.

He should make a serious threat to walk if the team doesn't make at least one or two of the following significant moves this offseason: acquiring a star big man (just tossing out names, but Jermaine O'Neal or Elton Brand sound nice), a quality three-point shooter, a serious defender or two, and even, depending on how this season pans out, a new coach (though I have long been an Eddie Jordan fan, I'm worried he might have reached his peak).

If the Wizards can prove that they are serious about winning, then it would be great if Arenas could return (preferably leaving some money on the table). Otherwise, it might not even be worth it to give him a max deal if it's just going to yield the same fringe-playoff-team results.

Torre Dons Dodger Blue...A-Rod Next?

2007-11-05T17:52:00.000-05:00

Make no mistake, Joe Torre was a great manager for the Yankees. He should be good for the Dodgers, too, but he walks into a much more competitive division than his previous situation. Back in pinstripes, Torre just had to outduel the Red Sox, while the Orioles, Blue Jays, and Devil Rays fought to salvage their dignity.

In Los Angeles, Torre inherits a team that doesn't have the Yanks' super-talent, and the Dodgers are roughly evenly matched with the Padres, division-winning Diamondbacks, and defending N.L. champion Rockies. In fact, those other three teams were in the top four for winning percentages in the N.L. last year. Luckily for L.A., the Giants still suck.

Now that the Dodgers have made their first big splash by landing Joe Torre, the question is whether they will choose to make another splash by landing Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod opted out of the remainder of his contract with the Yankees, and is looking for a new deal that will again make him the richest man in baseball. Most speculation has him landing with the Dodgers, Angels, Giants, or Red Sox (haha). Baseball Prospectus ranks every team in the league's chances from worst (Devil Rays, Royals) to best (L.A.) here.

The Angels seem to be the chic pick, and undoubtedly having A-Rod there would be good for their team and their market. On the other hand, I hope they at least think twice before going after him. Yes, A-Rod is the best hitter in the game, but the boys in Anaheim already have a future Hall of Famer in Vladimir Guerrero, whom they want to keep forever. Their best chance to win with him then might not be to sink $350 million into A-Rod, but rather make several more incremental upgrades across the board and at a lower price.

The Dodgers, on the other hand, could get their identifiable superstar in A-Rod, pay him the big money, and make him the face of their franchise. But is there significant bad blood between A-Rod and Joe Torre?

Tonight, We Were All Colts Fans

2007-11-04T19:26:00.000-05:00

I don't have any particular affinity for Indianapolis, but man, oh man, I wanted to see New England lose tonight. The matchup between the undefeated Colts and Patriots was the most highly anticipated regular season game in years, and this "Hype Bowl" lived up to the billing. That was an old-school clash between two titans playing hard-nosed, slugfest football at its best.

I thought the play of the game in what would be a glorious Colts victory was Gary Brackett's ridiculously controlled interception of Tom Brady early in the 4th quarter, which quickly led to a Peyton Manning TD and a 10-point Colts lead.

It wouldn't last. The $%!$ing Patriots turned things around pretty quickly. Brady was ruthless down the stretch, not afraid to air it out. He threw two TDs in less than five minutes to put the Pats' back on top. Then, when it came turn for the defense to hold the Colts, they were as good as gold: the Colts' would-be comeback drive ended with Manning being stripped of the football.

Patriots 24, Colts 20. Gift wrap the rest of this season and let them have it.

* * *

Now let's pay homage to some stud performance from elsewhere around the league:

- Minnesota's ADRIAN PETERSON had the most epic game of his fledgling career. The rookie set the NFL single-game rushing record with 296 yards against the Chargers today, including TD runs of 64, 46, and 1 yards. Since I have both Peterson and Tom Brady on my fantasy team this year, is it any wonder I'm in first place with a soon-to-be 8-1 record? Peterson video highlights.

- In that same game, San Diego CB ANTONIO CROMARTIE set the record for the longest play in NFL history when he returned a missed FG by Ryan Longwell 109 yards for a TD. Just last week against the Texans, Cromartie returned both a fumble and an interception for touchdowns. This dude, a first-round pick in 2006, is exciting.

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- The DETROIT LIONS deserve some dap. Am I dreaming, or are they actually 6-2? Today they absolutely mauled the Denver Broncos, jumping out to a 44-0 lead before surrendering a garbage-time TD. (Eerily reminiscent of last week's 'Skins-Pats, no?) I still don't believe that either the Lions or the 7-1 Packers are as good as their records indicate, but they stand in the top tier of the NFC right now. Don't miss 340-lb. DT Shaun Roger's hilarious 66-yard TD return:

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- While a 4-4 record might not seem that impressive, you gotta be impressed by the NEW ORLEANS SAINTS' play of late. After starting the season 0-4 and getting people ready to call them the 'Aints again, they have now rifled off four consecutive victories. Look out, Brees and Colston are heating up, and this could be the team to watch out for in the second half of the season.

Redskins-Jets Live

2007-11-04T12:40:00.000-05:00

12:40pm - I will try and record my observations of the Redskins-Jets game live...unless we start losing badly, in which case I usually am too occupied throwing things at my TV. (People wonder why our screen is cracked...)

12:54 - The FOX pregame show had a video showing Michael Strahan's recent sightseeing trip around London, during which he gave his best attempt at something that vaguely resembled a British accent. I loved when he stoped random passers-by near Big Ben to ask "Excuse me governor, can you direct me to the nearest loo?" Of course, when Strahan came to the Underground and saw the famous "Mind the Gap" sign, I wonder if he thought they were talking about his teeth?

1:03 - Jesus. It doesn't matter that the Jets are giving QB Kellen Clemens his 2nd-ever start and that WR Laveranues Coles is out with injury. The 'Skins will find way to give up points...Leon Washington just took the opening kickoff all the way. Jets 7, Redskins 0.

1:13 - Shaun Suisham just nailed a 46-yard field goal. A few plays earlier, Jason Campbell did a great job avoiding two Jets rushers, scrambled, and appeared to hit Santana Moss on the left sideline. Unfortunately, Moss didn't get his second foot down in bounds, and the drive sputtered out. I'm not too disappointed, because this is the first time all season that we scored on our opening drive. Jets 7, Redskins 3.

1:22 - Wow. Simply wow. Game Break lets us know that LaDainian Tomlinson just scored the 107th rushing touchdown of his career. He just passed Jim freaking Brown for 4th on the all-time list. G.O.A.T.?

1:23 - LaRon Landry just came in on a safety blitz and absolutely decked Clemens. Unfortunately, Clemens had already gotten rid of the ball, and Landry put his helmet in the other guy's face. Cue the yellow flag.

1:28 - The defense finally stepped up, sacking Clemens on 3rd-and-goal to force the field goal. Unfortunately for us, Clemens looked surprisingly good (6-for-8 so far) on the Jets' 15-plsu ftibr. I'm disturbed that he's been comfortable in the pocket and had a lot of time to make his throws. We gotta put more heat on him.

1:44 - Just saw an NFL commercial for Pro Bowl voting. I know that's well under way but, uh, we're only halfway through the season. Seems a bit early to decide who's deserving.

1:45. - EGREGIOUS! 3rd-and-7, Clemens is pressured and takes off running downfield for 18 yards, sliding to a stop. London Fletcher comes in and whacks him. Another idiotic, avoidable yellow flag and 15 more yards gifted to Gang Green.

1:52 - Short TD pass from Clemens to his fullback. Yet another long drive where the Redskins defense just couldn't get off the field. 3rd-and-13, Clemens is chased, buys time, and finds Jerrico Cotchery for 30 yards to put 'em in the red zone. Did we forget that, until New England hit us last week, we were a league-leading defense? Jets 17, Redskins 3.

2:02 - Another Suisham field goal, this time from 40 yards out. Chris Cooley had a nice 21-yard catch-and-run on the drive, but this game is starting to feel like it's slipping away from us. We need a turnover or quick defensive stop to get some Mo back. Jets 17, Redskins 6.

2:05 - Now THERE is what gets us our Mo back! Onside kick by Suisham--didn't go ten yards, but a Jets player touched it, couldn't control it, and Rock Cartwright pounces on it. Let's make something happen!

2:18 - God damnit. 'Skins get to the Jets 4 but can't get any further, and Suisham comes in to kick yet another FG. On this drive, Campbell finally got his first completion to a WR, swinging it to Moss at the line of scrimmage and letting #89 pick up 12 yards. I'd still like to see us get away from this dink-and-dunk and stretch the field. Jets 17, Redskins 9.

2:22 - While Campbell can only throw to Cooley and Sellers (6 of his 7 completions), Clemens is 11-for-15 (98 yards, TD) with completions to 7 different guys. J.C., take note: Moss, Randle El, McCardell, etc.--those guys can catch, get the ball to them!

2:46 - Shaun Suisham's gonna get a sore foot; he just knocked in a 40-yard FG, his 4th. At least Campbell finally started to open up the field on this drive, getting the receivers involved, throwing three first downs to Randle El and Moss. Two potential TD passes, long attempts to Thrash and Randle El, were knocked incomplete due to good Jets' defensive plays, but this is what we should be doing. Now we just have to hold them on D. Jets 17, Redskins 12.

2:51 - Phew, we just dodged a bullet. Clemens found RB Leon Washington streaking down the sideline, 10 yards past our nearest defender. It should have been an easy 68-yard TD, but Washington dropped it.

3:01 - And now J.C. shows you the legs! After we held the Jets to their first three-and-out, Campbell takes off on 3rd-and-14. Not content to slide at the marker, he keeps going for 29 yards, and gets the biggest Redskins run this season. On the next play, Clinton Portis crosses the 100-yard mark for the day, the first time he's done that this season. Now we're rolling!

3:02 - Uh, scratch that. Campbell hit, Jets LB Eric Barton intercepts. @#$%.

3:18 - Potentially game-deciding play with the Jets in FG-range. 'Skins just forced a fumble on a Jerrico Cotchery catch, with Landry recovering. Jets challenge...play stands! 'Skins ball on our 36, 13:55 left in the game.

3:27 - TOUCHDOWN, Portis! Redskins football has officially taken over. A steady diet of Portis and Ladell Betts, highlighted by a 32-yard Portis run, and punctuated by a 1-yard Portis dive over the top. Campbell to Randle El for the 2-pt conversion means the 'Skins have scored 17 unanswered points and have the lead for the first time today. Redskins 20, Jets 17.

3:45 - After we punt, Jets take over on their 25 and 5:13 left to play. Let's see what we got.

3:56 - Well, we put our defense out there to win the game for us, but Clemens' scrambling and clutch passes almost won the game for the Jets instead. But they stalled at our 11, and Mike "Ted" Nugent kicks the game-tying FG with 10 seconds left. Redskins 20, Jets 20.

4:02 - We're headed to OT!

4:03 - Jets just won the toss, but I'm distracted because I quickly flipped to CBS only to see Chad Johnson strapped to a gurney and being carried off the field, surrounded by both Bengals and Bills players. I hope you're ok, Ocho Cinco!

4:06 - Bleh. Jets' first play, 39 yard strike to Cotchery. Gang Green is in Redskins territory...

4:09 - Man, this game will stop and start your heart a few times. 3rd-and-7, Clemens find Washington (I think?) on the left but the pass is a little low and he can't pull it in. Jets punt, our turn to try, from our own 10.

4:12 - Ahhhhhh...on a play action, Campbell has Moss open running down the middle of the field and bombs it for him. Too strong though, the pass lands a couple yards ahead of Moss on what would have been a sure TD.

4:14 - 17 yard run by Portis, and we're in Jets territory. Portis has been an absolute beast, today, and on this drive. He's six yards shy of 200 on the ground for the game.

4:18 - Refs give a tough spot to Clinton Portis, spotting the ball just shy of the 28 yard line. 4th and inches...looks like we'll bring out Suisham (4-for-4 today) to give us the game.

4:18 - [Insert dramatic timeout called by the defense right before the snap.]

4:19 - It's over. We win! Suisham ties a franchise record by going 5-for-5, this last one from 46 yards out. Redskins 23, Jets 20.

Time to switch the channel over to the Hype Bowl...Patriots-Colts!

Wiz Drop to 0-3

2007-11-03T23:23:00.000-04:00

Thank God I was out Friday night and missed seeing the Wizards get blown out by the new, badass Boston Celtics. K.G., Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce put the Eastern Conference on notice by manhandling the Wizards in a game that was never close. Not even close to close. The Wizards trailed 22 points at halftime, but perhaps they can take consolation in the fact they set an NBA record in this game. Not a good record though: the team missed all 16 of its 3-point attempts.

Tonight's game was an improvement, in that the team's play in this loss to Orlando was merely frustrating instead of outright humiliating. The Wizards were competitive for large segments of the game, though it seemed like every time they got on a mini-run, the Magic responded with a bigger counter-run. Our "Big Three" (whom I must refer to now as the "Little 3" out of deference to the Celtics trio listed above) continued their mediocre play. Caron (23 points) was decent, but Jamison and Arenas shot a combined 11-for-36. Agent Zero had just 10 points.

After the game, word leaked out that Arenas' surgically repaired knee isn't feeling too good. Maybe that's just an excuse for the Wizards' poor play (the last time they started 0-3 was 1992, en route to a 22-60 record). But it's symptomatic of the aura surrounding the team just now. Earlier today, the club announced that 2006 first-round pick Oleksiy Pecherov, who was supposed to be out just 1-2 weeks with a broken ankle, will be out six weeks instead.

The only bright spot thus far has been the play of Brendan Haywood, who has been the only guy on the floor wearing "Wizards" to show up ready to play in all three games. He has double-doubles in each of those games, the first time in his career he has done so in three consecutive games. Tonight against Orlando, he had an absolutely monster first quarter, scoring six points, grabbing seven boards, and blocking three shots. I hope his steady play keeps up--it's come just as I'd finally given up hope that the guy was ever gonna make productive use out of his seven feet of God-given height.

Anyway, next up for the Wizards is New Jersey on Thursday. A few days to lick our wounds and regroup. Gotta get that first win!

My One Concession to the Cowboys...

2007-11-02T01:19:00.000-04:00

...is that the Diet Pepsi Max commercial with Jones/Romo/Phillips is pretty cool:

Why's Tony Romo yawning? He was probably up all night counting his money. Getting lapdances from Britney Spears and taking Sophia Bush out must be pretty tiring too.

@#$%ing lucky guy!

Hibachi Warm, Wizards Cold in Opener

2007-10-31T21:58:00.001-04:00

The Wizards dropped their season opener in a 119-110 overtime loss to Indiana on the road. We did not, unfortunately, look very good, as several parts of our game let us down. Poor shooting, a common culprit for this team, hurt us again: the Wiz shot 36% from the field. We bricked too many 3's (6 for 20) and let the Pacers make too many (13 for 29). Worst of all was our performance from the charity stripe: 13 missed free throws.

But despite their poor play, I don't think the Wizards play was Halloween-frightful. There were some things to be pleased about, foremost among them Gilbert Arenas' first crowd-pleasing moment of the year. Agent Zero buried a 3-pointer from deep downtown as time expired to send the game into OT. (See video here. Ignore the fact that the Wizards then failed to show up during the extra period.) This was Arenas' first regular season game in almost 7 months, and it looks like his hard work in rehabbing his knee have paid off. Although he didn't dominate the floor this game, and he only made 1 of 8 3-pointers, he certainly looked like he had his wind. 34 points is not a bad welcome back.

Like Arenas, Caron Butler also had his last season curtailed abruptly due to injury. This was also his first game back, and he looked a lot more rusty. He did lead the team in minutes in this game and I'm sure he's going to get better, but tonight his shot was rusty and he was turnover-prone (8!). He also missed 3 free throws in the deciding seconds of regulation that could have turned the game our way. C'mon Tuff Juice!

I don't want to overanalyze the team from just one game, so I'll leave off by complimenting two players who had good games for us. Antawn Jamison, the other member of our Big Three (though maybe we should be the Little Three now since Boston has K.G./Allen/Pierce) had an off-shooting night (17 missed FGs) but still scored 27 points. More importantly, he was a beast on the boards, leading all players with 16. 'Tawn is a streaky shooter, but I'm sure once Caron and others put up more points, he won't have to attempt 25 shots in a game.

Lastly, props to Brendan Haywood, who I usually malign, for putting up a solid double-double (10 pts., 13 rebounds). He didn't have to deal with Jermaine O'Neal (sat out this game) so he actually looked like a decent big man tonight.

Next up: much-anticipated game against Boston on the road Friday night!

J. Camp's Growing Pains

2007-10-31T17:51:00.000-04:00

The D.C. Sports Bog by the Washington Post's Dan Steinberg takes a look at Jason Campbell's performance this season as compared to the other 16 quarterbacks who have started every game for their team. The verdict? Not great.

Campbell is dead last (17th of 17) in completions, passing yards, yards per game, and QB rating. Only Eli Manning has a worse completion percentage, and only Matt Schaub (who has missed time recently due to injury) has thrown fewer touchdowns.

Cause for concern? Certainly a little is warranted, given the offense's struggles to move the football and score points the past few weeks. The complete absence of a running game has both underscored the need for Campbell to play better, and made it harder for him to do so. The offensive line being ravaged by injury is hugely responsible for the offense's struggle through the air and on the ground, but the Redskins need and should get more production from J. Camp.

(Btw, what is a good nickname for Jason Campbell? "J. Camp" or some variant thereof seems to most common, but it, like his play, has not been "M'm m'm good". If he is able to resurrect this team and become the Redskins' messiah, then I think it's fair to call him Our Savior J.C. But we're not there yet.)

Most of the time, when you watch Campbell, you see a guy with tremendous potential: he has a huge arm, looks comfortable in the pocket, and exudes leadership like a veteran. But too often we (still) see his passes sailing way over the heads of receivers, or him making questionable reads, or (in last weekend's debacle against the Patriots) doing a poor job just holding onto the football. While I still think this guy is going to be a terrific QB for us, it's not unreasonable to fear that he might be a Jeff George-type: strong arm, poor accuracy.

Honestly, I think the patchwork offensive line will limit Campbell's growth this year. The running game is not scaring any defenses, and he needs more time to throw in the pocket. I think the most shocking statistic for the Redskins (who, despite all the gloom surrounding this team in the aftermath of The-Game-Which-Must-Not-Be-Referenced, are still 4-3 and very much alive) is that none of the WRs has a TD, and big-play Santana Moss (only 20 catches so far) is on pace to post another season decline in output after 84 catches in 2005, 55 last year.

So for Redskins fans looking for Jason Campbell to breakout and affirm his status as the future face of the franchise, the answer is one they've heard before: wait till next year.

Introducing DaSportsAuthority.com!

2007-10-31T09:21:00.000-04:00

Well, maybe this is more of a re-introduction then something completely brand new. While DSA was on hiatus, logging one post in the past six months, it missed out on a plethora of fun-for-blogging topics, including Barry Bonds setting the all-time HR record, the Tim Donaghy NBA fixing scandal, Mike Vick's dogfighting downfall, Bill Belichick cheating, short-lived Beckhamania in the States, and half of the current NFL season.

Also missing, an expose on how someone must have put steroids in the Boston-area tap water, because that region is winning everything right now. The Red Sox just swept the World Series. The 8-0 Patriots are running up scores and looking like an all-time-great team. #2 Boston College is undefeated and gunning for a national title. And the Celtics are about to start play with Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen joining Paul Pierce in hopes of dominating a weak Eastern Conference.

On top of all that--yes, maybe I'm just jealous--Red Sox fans must be the most annoying in all of sports! Memo to you people: the Red Sox are the new Evil Empire. You may think of yourselves as the anti-Yankees, but everyone in the U.S. outside of New England can't tell you and "big money" NYY apart. In fact, it looks like the Yankees might be headed for a rebuilding mode (if their team ever has such a thing), so enjoy polishing your World Series trophy and being the new bad guys on the block.

Anyway, I hope to be back on the blog on a regular basis now, until whenever I next run out of steam. The site's layout has been revamped in the past week, but I'm most pleased that the URL has been officially converted to www.dasportsauthority.com (but no worries, the old dasportsauthority.blogspot.com still works). Let's have some fun!

A Tale of Two Cities

2007-06-19T10:04:00.000-04:00

On the surface, it could be argued that there is little that currently distinguishes the Baltimore Orioles from the Washington Nationals (nee Expos). Both are bottom-dwelling teams that haven’t won many hearts or ballgames in years. This year, the O’s are 29-40 and just fired their manager Sam Perlozzo. As for the Nats, at an almost-identical 30-40, they have a roster comprised almost entirely of no-names and has-beens—and only a handful of fans could likely name an active starter on the pitching staff.

But, as I keep telling my Oriole-loving brethren, it’s not where you’re at, it’s where you’re going. The Orioles have languished for the past decade under the Angelos Era, and nothing indicates they’ll be able to turn around their underachieving ways anytime soon. Meanwhile, back in March many people predicted the Nationals would lose 120+ games this season, and that rookie manager Manny Acta would find it impossible to motivate his players to slog through this dismal season. Instead, so far he’s got a loose, fun club that has defied all expectations. Consider the difference between Washington and Baltimore, as Tom Boswell noted today:

Last month, Sam Perlozzo watched as his Orioles batted in the ninth inning against the Nats at RFK Stadium, trailing 4-3. On the top step of the opposite dugout, the entire Washington team was leaning over the railing, rooting for its reliever to get three outs to avoid a sweep by Baltimore. Every Nationals player and coach, as well as several Nats who were in uniform despite being on the disabled list, were all shoulder-to-shoulder, yelling, laughing and analyzing.

Across the field, in dismal contrast, only one Orioles player, Nick Markakis, stood on the top step of the Baltimore dugout -- the only Bird on the rail, the lone player who cared enough to leave his seat to yell for a rally. The Orioles lost.

"I saw it. It wasn't the first time this season," Perlozzo said yesterday. Once, according to a coach, he told his staff, "Let's all get up on the top step and see if they'll follow us." That didn't work, either. But then, in the Orioles' 10th straight losing season, what has worked in Baltimore, except turning down the heat temporarily by firing the manager?

If I were an O’s fan, I’d be embarrassed at what the once-proud franchise of Robinson and Ripken has been reduced to. (And by the way, what’s up with Javy Lopez making like Bobby Baccalieri in the article? Weird.) I’d love to suggest that, under a new manager and new front-office personnel, Baltimore will finally be able to turn things around—but I’m not confident about it.

The city with optimism right now is Washington, a team with good clubhouse chemistry, dedicated owners, smart front-office personnel, some promising young talent, a few useful trade bait veterans, and a no-quit attitude. How about that near 9th-inning comeback in an inconsequential June game last night against the big, bad Detroit Tigers?

The Nats’ also have a new ballpark on the way for next year, with the promise of a rapidly expanded payroll. My bet is Washington’s going to be winning a lot more hearts and ballgames in the next few years. Don’t get too jealous, Baltimore!

The Quest for...Lil Jon's Cup

2007-04-13T15:15:00.000-04:00

Is there anything better than Lil Jon's fan page on NHL.com? Yeah, just about everything is better than that, but nothing else has pictures like this:

Lead? What's a Lead?

2007-04-11T19:19:00.000-04:00

Going into tonight's game against Atlanta, the 1-7 Washington Nationals (with the worst record in baseball), have a big problem. Well, they have several, but of major immediate concern is the team's penchant to fall into a big hole almost immediately in every game they've played.

The AP reports:

After an 8-0 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night, Washington has now been outscored 53-18 this season. Forget that the team has fallen behind by at least 3-0 in every game and hasn't scored in the first three innings in every game.

The fact that is perhaps most surprising is that in eight games, Washington (1-7) has never led at the time of any pitch -- their only win came on a game-ending RBI single by Dmitri Young against Florida last Wednesday.

"We're still waiting for that lead," Washington manager Manny Acta said. "We haven't gotten a lead yet."

I know this is supposed to be a season full of taking baby steps, but...damn, nonetheless!

Redskins 2007 Schedule

2007-04-11T14:37:00.000-04:00

It's out.

Immediate observations...early bye week (4), MNF against the Eagles in Week 2, Thu. against the Bears 12/6, Sun. against the Giants 12/16, both Cowboys games late in the season.

Home finale against Dallas is gonna be a must-attend game, since the 'Skins are gonna be making playoff noise this year!

The non-divisional schedule seems pretty favorable. Weeks 5-7 (Lions, Packers, Cardinals) should be a nice soft stretch to get some momentum going. In December, we face the Bills, who probably aren't going to be very good, and the Vikings, who definitely won't be.

Don't Mess With Roger

2007-04-10T17:52:00.000-04:00

New NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is making his presence felt in a big way. The league announced today its disciplinary actions against Titans' CB Adam "Pacman" Jones and Bengals WR Chris "I get arrested a lot" Henry. And it looks like neither are going to be collecting paychecks for quite some time.

No slap-on-the-wrist. Pacman is gone for the entire season, Henry for 8 games. (I guess appeals could reduce the length, but not by much.) That's a major punishment, and yet most commentators have reacted favorably. After all, both players are definitely not Boy Scouts, and their behavior has been embarassing for the league. Pacman has been interviewed 10 times by police recently and was involved in a fight and shooting in Vegas; Henry has been arrested 4 times in the past 14 months.

Interestingly enough though, I was watching Comcast's excellent new sports talk show Washington Post Live, and one of the commentators--I forget who--brought up an excellent point. How many games did Ray Lewis have to miss when he faced murder charges and wound up copping a plea? Answer: none.

So while Pacman and Henry have not actually been convicted of any crimes, it looks like Goodell is making examples out of those two. He's the new guy in charge, and I guess I support him. In general, NFL players enjoy a much better reputation than NBA players. Goodell clearly wants to make sure his players don't get stuck with the "thug" label attached to a number of basketball players.

Are You KIDDING?

2007-04-04T22:35:00.000-04:00

In the span of a few short days, things have gone from really bad to unbelievably worse. Sunday, Caron Butler broke his hand, and is out until at least the deeper rounds of the playoffs. It was going to be very difficult getting that far anyway, and then tonight at home against Charlotte, Agent Zero went down. Arenas collided with Gerald Wallace, spraining his left knee. The AP report uses the phrase "weeks, not days" in describing the likely severity of the injury.

Caron gone? A heartbreaker. Arenas out too? To use the phrase most associated with him, dagger! Call it unbelievable, unreal, a nightmare, it's a dagger in the final leg of our season.

Eight games left to limp through, and the Wizards have already fallen a game behind Miami for the division lead. We're still 5.5 games ahead of Orlando, so missing the playoffs is unlikely, but even so it feels like the season is over already. No Caron, no Gil, and we have to find a way to win a first-round series against either Miami or Toronto.

Someone tell me this is a bad dream.

Meat Hook with the Walkoff, Nats Win!

2007-04-04T15:50:00.000-04:00

I turned on the TV this afternoon just in time to see the Marlins take a 6-1 lead over the Nationals in the 5th inning. Another Nats' starter (this time Matt Chico, in his first appearance above AA-ball) was done after a short outing. Coming off 9-2 and 9-3 losses the past two days, the Nats might well have easily quit on this series.

Instead, a monster 3-run HR to right-center by Ryan Church--the Nats' first HR this year--in the bottom of the 6th kept hope alive. Then a litany of Nats' relievers--Bowie, Colome, Wagner, King, and Rauch--held the Marlins to 1 hit and 0 runs in the last 4 frames. Still, the Nats' were down 6-4 going into the bottom of the 9th inning, looking for the first victory of the season.

Ronnie Belliard, our third starting SS in as many games, led off with a double. Fick scored him on a single and moved to second on a sacrifce by Lopez. Luck interceded next, when Casto hit a hard shot right to shortstop that bounced off the Marlins' Ramirez--Fick scored, tie game. A Zimmerman single and a 4-pitch walk of cleanup hitter Kearns set the stage for Dmitri Young.

Bases loaded for The Meat Hook. He hit a deep fly ball right along the left field line, all the way into the corner. Marlins' OF Willingham had no choice but to let it go and hope it would drop foul, because if he caught it the runner on third was sure to tag up and go home for the winning run. So he let it go, and it landed fair by a couple of inches.

Nats win. Ensue wild celebration and pile in the infield.

So yeah, this team may still mostly be a ragtag collection of minor leaguers and other washed up players, but they can still scrap out a great win. And if Dmitri Young wants to be our Big Papi, I have no complaints. Bring on Arizona.

Disaster (Nats' Opener...)

2007-04-03T17:12:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was a glorious sunny afternoon in the mid-70s with a gentle breeze, and the perfect day for me and a couple friends to go down to RFK Stadium for the Nationals' season opener. Of course, it was pretty much all downhill from there, as the Florida Marlins embarassed us 9-2 in a game that saw plenty of insult and injury.

Two players, CF Nook Logan and SS Cristian Guzman, left with injuries. Our only supposedly "good" starting pitcher, John Patterson, didn't finish the 4th inning and had 6 earned runs. Meanwhile, Florida's reigning Rookie of the Year, Hanley Ramirez, had 4 hits and scored 4 times. Fellow stud sophomore Dan Uggla jacked a monster HR, and star Miguel Cabrera had a HR and 4 RBIs.

There were a couple bright spots, such as Dmitri "Meat Hook" Young hitting a pair of doubles. (As opposed to his usual, say, hitting a pair of buffets.) A much better symbol of hope was the play of our hero Ryan Zimmerman. The Post's Tom Boswell, while shaking his head at yesterday's carnage, stops to admire Zimm:

Ryan Zimmerman continued to play in his own tiny, uncontaminated universe. He tripled, singled, was robbed of another hit and, finally, with his team seven runs behind, refused to give up on a wind-blown foul pop that appeared headed several rows into the stands until he suddenly snagged it backhanded out of the photographers' bay.

"You want to win and show the crowd how it's going to be all year or make them think that's how it's going to be," Zimmerman said. "But we can still win the series."

You gotta love that guy.

But if the Nationals' play in the opener is any indication of what the season is going to be like (and nothing says it will be different), we're looking at 100+ losses for sure. Zimm aside, there's not going to be all that much to love this year.

Opening Day's Best Moment

2007-04-03T14:34:00.000-04:00

The most exciting performance on Opening Day yesterday had to have been Seattle's Felix Hernandez. Remember him? The hype around "King" Felix has faded after his mediocre 2006 season, but last night he threw 8 shutout innings and struck out 12 Athletics. Maybe the King is back.

The other standout moment from yesterday had to be the emotional opening ceremony before the New York Yankees game to honor the late Cory Lidle (the pitcher who died in a plane crash in October). This photo of his young son throwing out the first pitch is incredibly touching.

Florida Repeats, Noah Has "No Idea"

2007-04-03T00:56:00.000-04:00

As predicted by yours truly in his Facebook bracket, the University of Florida has repeated as national champions, the first team to do so since Duke in 1991-1992. The game didn't seem very exciting and I didn't pay attention for most of it.

What I found more interesting, however, was Joakim Noah's post-game speech. Cicero he's not, and sure he's a kid who is excited at having just won a (second) national championship, but man he sure sounded stupid in his "You have no idea" speech.

The YouTube video above misses the first few seconds of Noah's remarks, but you get the idea. Was it too hard to put together a few perfunctory sentences for the cameras, something about it being a hard season, his teammates sticking together, a good job by Billy Donovan, a nod to Ohio State, the thrill of repeating, anything? Thankfully Donovan cut him off before he could go on for too long.

Ok, it's not really a big deal, but still kind of disappointing. Fellow college stars Durant and Oden, who like Noah are probably headed for the NBA, seem much more intelligent and mature by comparison.

Disaster (No, Not an April Fool's Joke)

2007-04-01T23:11:00.000-04:00

Caron Butler broke his hand today.

From the AP report:

Butler wasn't optimistic about returning this season.

"Second round, third round (of the playoffs), a possibility," Butler said after the game, his hand in a cast. "But right now, I probably won't have a jersey on until next year."

Butler said the accident happened when he was going up to challenge a shot by Ruben Patterson and his right hand hit the backboard.

"My hand caught under the rim, and it popped out of place," said Butler, who was playing his third game since missing six games with a left knee contusion. "I see a hand specialist tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll get the opportunity to come back as soon as possible."

He entered the game averaging 19.1 points and 7.5 rebounds.

"Caron is going to out for a long time," Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said.

This is terrible news and even worse timing for the Wizards, who are 2-8 without Caron this season. Just when the Wiz had got him and Jamison back in the lineup and ready to close the season strong, this happens. His replacement in the starting lineup (will it be Hayes or Songaila, I'm not sure--I prefer the latter), as well as the rest of the bench, is going to need to pick up the slack.

Washington's road to somewhere past the first round of the playoffs just got a lot more bunpy.

The Search for the Next Terps QB

2007-03-28T22:21:00.000-04:00

From 2001-2003, Ralph Friedgen's Terrapins football team were on the rise, with three consecutive seasons of at least 10 wins. Then, setbacks. Two 5-6 seasons in 2004 and 2005, before a minor resurgence last year. But even though the Terps returned to postseason play (a win over Purdue in the Champs Sports Bowl), it was hard to overlook the fact that they were outgained by every single one of their 11 Division 1-A opponents.

The primary reason for recent struggles? It's not for lack of talented players (think E.J. Henderson, Shawne Merriman, Vernon Davis, Darius Howard-Bey, to name just a few of late). No, it's been the lack of a good QB to lead Friedgen's offense. Since senior Scott McBrien graduated at the end of the 2003 season, the position has not been filled by anyone capable.

Terps fans have had to struggle through a terrible season by Joel Statham, then maddeningly inconsistent play by the talented-on-paper Sam Hollenbach. Jordan Steffy made cameo experiences every now and then, but was never able to prove himself.

Now it's Steffy, a junior now (he redshirted in 2005), who goes into spring practice for the first time as the Terps' starter. His grasp on the job may not last long though, as the transfer of highly regarded sophomore Josh Portis (the Skins' RB's cousin) from the University of Florida has created a bona fide QB competition. Despite Portis's career statistics of 6-for-11, 1 INT, that last name has people excited.

Today's D'back poll shows that Terps fans are in favor of change--66% want Portis. Should be interesting to follow.

Nationals: Rational Exuberance?

2007-03-28T18:36:00.000-04:00

Amidst all the naysayers talking gloom-and-doom about the season the Washington Nationals are certain to have this year, the Post's Tom Boswell stands out for his unbridled enthusiasm about the team's future. Make that near future.

His column opens by declaring that starting next year, the Nats will be the new Yankees, with loads of money to spend to acquire top talent. "Now, the Nats are pitied. Soon, they will be feared. That's not a prediction as much as it is a virtual baseball certainty. The reason is simple: money, tons and tons of money."

In the next three to five years, he says, we can outspend the Dodgers, Red Sox, and Cubs (as hard as that is to believe) and rival the Yankees in their ability to attract free agents. This year, the Nationals will field the 3rd lowest payroll in all of baseball, having dumped an astonishing 19 of their top 25 most expensive salaries from last year. Soriano isn't the only one gone--adios Livan, Vidro, Guillen, Armas, and almost everyone else making a substantial paycheck.

Maybe Boswell's drinking a little too much of the Kool-Aid by the end of his column, when he starts fantasizing about our current roster not being too bad. Shawn Hill, he notes, has a 0.96 ERA in five starts, and Cristian Guzman is looking a different man from the .219 hitter he was in 2005.

Uhh...I'm not sure if I'm ready to expect anything good from this year's Nationals team, and even Boz seems a little doubtful that the Nats won't lose 100 games this year. Nonetheless, his comparison of our team to the Tigers a few years ago is exciting. That was a 43-119 team that got a new ballpark, groomed young talent, and steadily stockpiled veteran free agents. In three years, they won a championship.

Is that what's in store for the Nationals? I'm starting to feel a bit rationally exuberant myself!

The Reassessment: NBA Playoff Hunt West

2007-03-27T13:03:00.000-04:00

A few days back I looked at what I picked in the East, and that was at least respectable. The West? Apparently not as predictable.

Predictions		Current Standings
1. Dallas Mavericks		1. Dallas (58-11)
2. San Antonio Spurs		2. Phoenix (53-17)
3. Phoenix Suns		3. San Antonio (50-20), 8.5 GB Mavs
4. Denver Nuggets		4. Utah (46-24)
5. Houston Rockets		5. Houston (45-26), 14 GB Mavs
6. L.A. Clippers		6. L.A. Lakers (38-32), 15 GB Suns
7. Memphis Grizzlies		7. Denver (35-34), 10.5 GB Jazz
8. N.O/O.K.C. Hornets		8. L.A. Clippers (34-36), 19 GB Suns

Yeah. About that Memphis pick... and the Nuggets winning the Northwest... and completely missing the boat on the Utah Jazz... what can I say? I completely underestimated the development of Deron Williams, and Boozer, Kirilenko, and Okur have all been inexplicably healthy this season.

I thought Memphis would be bad with Gasol out (note: this pick was made before he got injured at the WBC's), but what I didn't guess was that they would be a bad team even when Gasol got back. 17-54? Wow.

The Iverson trade set back the gelling of the Nuggets team around two superstars as opposed to one, and dropped them in the standings, but I think it will help them more in the long run.

Injuries are the main story so far of this season, and props go to one team that has overcome them with more aplomb than any other, the L.A. Lakers. Think about who they have had get hurt: Luke Walton, Lamar Odom (twice), Kwame Brown, Chris Mihm, Vladamir "Super Jump" Radmanovic--basically their entire rotation at the start of the season with the exception of Kobe and Smush Parker.

Despite this, however, the Lakers are still 38-32 and second in the Pacific, a dangerous first series opponent that nobody wants to play because of Mr. 24 and his suddenly healthy teammates.

Nationals Park Rising

2007-03-26T23:28:00.000-04:00

If you weren't already thrilled about how cool the Nationals new stadium (due April 2008) is going to be, this article from our neighbors up north (Baltimore) should have you feeling giddy. Methinks they might be just a little jealous now that the 90's era ballparks that Camden Yards spawned is over.

*

If all goes according to plan (and of course, in D.C., that's always a big IF), we'll have:

- Views of the Capitol...you don't get that at any other ballpark.

- Cherry trees in a plaza beyond the outfield...reminds of me how back in San Diego, the Padres played in a park with palm trees behind the HR fence, a nice differentiating touch to include a city icon.

- Dimensions aren't rigged...this is going to be the Goldilocks stadium, not a pitcher's park (too big) or a hitter's park (too small).

- Much smaller than Camden Yards...Baltimore's park seats 48,000 while ours will only seat 41,000. Hopefully that means that seats throughout the park are closer to the field, the atmosphere will be cozy, and we will sell games out!

I am dying to go down to D.C. in the next couple weeks and check out how the construction is going. I'll have pics up first chance I get!

Impossible is Zero

2007-03-25T21:35:00.000-04:00

Gilbert Arenas getting some national exposure in a terrific new spot for Adidas' "Impossible is Nothing" campaign:

The song in the background, by the way, is "Tourist" by Athlete (2005).

Peyton Manning on SNL (United Way video)

2007-03-25T20:30:00.000-04:00

Peyton Manning was the host of SNL last night. While he generally played it pretty safe, he had a couple of really funny moments. One was during his monologue, after he introduced his famous NFL father (Archie) and brother (Eli) in the audience. He then introduced his mother and proceeded to rip on her because she “didn’t make the NFL."

"She was cut by the Dolphins," be explained, adding "she tried in Canada for a while but didn’t make it there either. She’s kind of a disappointment to the family but we love her anyway.”

His funniest bit was this parody of the NFL/United Way commercials about players helping their community. There's just something deeply gratifying about seeing Peyton abuse a group of kids, talk about snitching, and drop the F-bomb a few times. Check it:

(If it doesn't work, it's because NBC is warring with YouTube and is planning to start its own rival online video service, so they keep taking down the SNL clips. Nothing I can do about it.)

Stop the Proliferation of Dickie V

2007-03-25T19:30:00.000-04:00

Dear Advertising Executives,

Rumor has it that there are actually a couple of people on this planet who find Dick Vitale entertaining or endearing in an odd or eccentric way. I'm not one of those people. I can't stand him.

But until now it's been easy to avoid him by changing the channel away from ESPN everytime an irritating old man starts blathering about Duke. I say "until now" because someone had the horrid idea of having this man make TV commercials.

First there was that execrable spot he did for Hooters, which has had the effect of ensuring I will never, ever go there. Just now, while watching Georgetown come back against UNC (side note: the Tar Heels made their first FG in overtime with 5 secs left...their first in ~15 minutes!), I saw Vitale's ad for DiGiornio pizza. At least that's another product I wouldn't ever actually buy.

But we are at a critical, Chamberlain-at-Munich junction. Someone has to stand up and put an end to this before people get hurt. Please. Please stop making ads with Dickie V.

Thank you for your consideration.

Yours,

Jay

NBA Reaps Payoff from Making HS Kids Wait

2007-03-24T23:57:00.000-04:00

Last year, the NBA instituted a rule change that meant that high schoolers could no longer make the jump straight to the pros. Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, from the 2006 draft on, players must be at least one year out of HS before they can play in the NBA. This meant that guys like Greg Oden and Kevin Durant would spend a year in college.

This year, those two became not just the poster boys for college basketball with their spectacular play, they've demonstrated how the NBA's new rule actually helps the league. Should they turn pro this year (and I have to think it's likely), Durant and Oden are expected to be the top two picks in the draft.

They would enter the draft not just as spectacularly talented basketball players, but by virtue of their time in college, they would enter as immediately marketable superstars. Both are nice, hard-working, mature kids who haven't just polished their game a little, they've developed national name recognition and legions of fans.

Instead of being prospects not well known by the mainstream, Oden and Durant are going to be able to sell a lot of seats and jerseys and put their team's games on TV. So the league gets more money, the kids get to ease their transition to the pros. So far, so good. Here's hoping O.J. Mayo doesn't screw that up (either by injury or with his ego) next year.

Kobe's 50: Quality Shots

2007-03-24T21:37:00.000-04:00

Yep, Kobe did it again. Last night he dropped 50 on the Hyphenated-Location Hornets. That's four straight games with at least 50 points, the longest streak since Wilt (who did seven!). Check out this highlight video below showing Kobe's scoring plays yesterday. (Skip forward 30 seconds to get to last night's game.)

What amazes me is that virtually all of them are mid- and long-range shots, or shots where he is double-teamed, or both--and he is stroking them. I recently voiced how impressed I was that he was shooting 54% through the first three games of his hot streak. Last night against Okla-NO he was even better, going 16-for-29 (55%) from the field.

So how long can he keep this up for? Obviously the conventional wisdom says to bet against him, because it's rather unlikely he or anyone else scores 50 points in a game, let alone several games in a row where every defense is focused on him. And yet, it's hard to doubt him right now, since he's shooting so well regardless of how defenses play him.

Furthermore, he faces two more soft defenses next: Golden State on Sunday night, and Memphis again on Tuesday. Golden State gives up more points per game than any team in the NBA (128 to the Wizards last night). Memphis, whom Kobe already hung 60 on, gives up the 2nd most points in the league. Bryant's first real challenge, then, comes on Friday when the Lakers take on Houston. The Rockets have the #2 defense in the league, allowing a meager 90.9 points per game.

I'd love to see Kobe keep his streak alive against GS and Memphis, but at that point he'll be at 6 in a row, and I don't see him doing it to Houston. Regardless, I can't wait to see what happens!

Hoyas Live!

2007-03-23T21:37:00.000-04:00

#2 Georgetown was down by one with 14 seconds left, but Jeff Green drove, dropped the ball, picked it up, pivoted, shot over two Vandy defenders, and kissed the ball off the backboard for the game-winner with 2.5 ticks left. Great comeback by the Hoyas, who were surprised by Vandy in the first half and went into the break down eight points.

(The official, better-quality CBS video is here--they disabled embedding so I couldn't put it up.)

By the way, some people are already complaining about how Green traveled on his game-winning shot. He did. The refs didn't call it. That's how basketball goes--dozens of times during a game, you're going to have a call overlooked. Props to Vandy coach Kevin Stallings, who said afterward, "I'm certainly not going to take away from the dignity of this game [by complaining]...Don't care to. He made a great shot."

Fantasy Advice: Don't Stress About Closers

2007-03-23T20:56:00.001-04:00

Baseball's Opening Day is only a week and a half away (yes!), and for many fans, the next 8 or 9 days are going to be chock full of fantasy baseball drafts. Strategy-wise, one of the most debated issues is how to go after a closer.

Plenty of people are going to tell you that you might as well try and lock in two top-flite closers (a Mariano, Hoffman, Jenks, Ryan, et al.). The idea is you won't have to worry about the closer position for the rest of the year.

Assuming your golden boys stay healthy, that idea has merit. But it may not be the smartest move, given that by going early for those closers, you're sacrificing the chance of going after other positions that could help your team much more across the board. Besides, saves can be found for a lot cheaper later on.

Probably a dozen major league teams, at least, make a signficant change in their closer situation during the season due to injury or ineptitude. Below are as many examples I could think of from last season of free agents in most leagues who saw significant save duty:

- Justin Duchscherer
- Joe Nelson
- Salomon Torres
- Armando Benitez
- Mike Stanton
- Dan Wheeler
- Akinori Otsuka
- Francisco Cordero
- Jose Valverde
- Jorge Julio
- Eddie Guardado
- Todd Coffey

Most of these guys were only good for a month or so at a time, but they're exactly the ones you want to make a move on in order to dominate the saves category. If it means you can focus on more important areas in the draft, and still be competitive in saves through a bit of recycling, then why not?

Instead of spending high draft picks on two or three of those A-list closers, I would go for one, and pick up a second mid-level closers (projected for 20-30 saves, a Cordero or Fuentes or Dempster) much later in the draft. Your third closer will be a rotation position, which you fill whenever opportunity strikes during the season when someone gets newly anointed with a closer's job.

Whether he's filling in for injury or ineptitude, he'll help you win games for a few weeks. If he doesn't hold onto the job, get rid of him and wait for the next opportunity. As the list above demonstrates, there will be plenty of chances!

Tom Brady, Trading Up

2007-03-23T19:18:00.000-04:00

Last year Tom Brady didn't have anyone to throw to, and his New England Patriots still made the AFC Championship. It was a rare non-Super Bowl season for Brady. So if this offseason is any indication, he's shaking up his professional and personal life to ensure he gets back on top.

New England has spent money on bringing in two very good receivers: Donte Stallworth and Wes Welker. Both are serious upgrades to last year's unit, which had only Reche Caldwell, he who seemed to have more drops than receptions. Last year Brady had his lowest passing total since 2001. Next year, he is going to top 4,000 yards, guaranteed.

In his personal life, it could also be argued that Brady's overcome a few speedbumps. He split from longtime gal pal Bridget Moynahan (the hottie from I, Robot), and even news that she was pregnant with his kid didn't seem to derail him. A month later, he was getting with this:

("This" being Gisele.)

In short, Tom Brady is having a better offseason than you. Look out AFC, Brady's better than ever!

Nationals: Bad Now, But Maybe Good Soon?

2007-03-23T14:36:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, Yahoo's Jeff Passan raised the spectre of what all of us Washington Nationals fans are dreading: an epically bad season. It's not far-fetched to think so. The Nats are coming off three consecutive last place finishes, and this year are without our only superstar, Alfonso Soriano. (You broke my heart when you left, you bastard!) We are minus our cleanup hitter, Nick Johnson, out with a broken leg indefinitely. But worst of all, we are without a pitching rotation.

I'd give $10 to anyone who can name a Nationals starter besides John Patterson (our putative #1, he would make a decent #3 on a good team). Manager Manny Acta would match my offer, because it's not like he knows either. We opened camp with the goal of sorting through 37 pitchers in the hopes of finding some warm bodies to eat innings this year.

Ok, so everyone knows we're in for a long, difficult year. But are we making progress toward rebuilding into a quality team? One thing we have going for us is that we don't have the Orioles' ownership--the Lerners have got Stan Kasten (architect of the '90s Braves) and I trust Kasten to do a terrific job.

My favorite column on the Nationals was Tom Boswell's comparison of the Nats right now to Kasten's early Braves teams--and apparently we're on track, even ahead of schedule. Yeah, the rotation's still lacking, but at least the lineup is coming together nicely.

All indications are that Ryan Zimmerman is going to become one of the league's next superstars, and he's going to be with us for years to come. A healthy Nick Johnson brings more power to the lineup. Last year's trades for Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez also fill key positions with competent players. Then there's Brian Schneider, who Nats fans love. I wish he hit better, but he is a good defensive catcher and the perfect guy to manage a pitching staff.

Boswell also identifies Chad Cordero, our solid closer, and Patterson as the remaining core Nationals players this team will be built around. There's also a host of young players on this squad that have a lot of potential. Also, with the new stadium on pace to open next year (check out this sweet site tracking the progress), the Nats have money to spend on attracting quality free agents.

This team is just two good starters away from being a competitive team, and only a few more pieces beyond that from being a top-flite contender. The Nationals bandwagon hasn't started rolling yet, but I'm fully confident in a couple years everyone's going to want a piece of that curly 'W'!

It's Kobe's World...

2007-03-23T01:02:00.000-04:00

...we're just living in it.

Kobe Bryant dropped 60 on the Grizzlies tonight, joining Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, and Michael Jordan as the only players in history to score at least 50 points in three consecutive games. For those keeping track at home:

Mar. 16 against Portland - 23-of-39 FGs, 65 pts.
Mar. 18 against Minnesota - 17-of-35 FGs, 50 pts.
Mar. 22 against Memphis - 20-of-37 FGs, 60 pts.

Yeah, those are three teams not well regarded for their defense, but that doesn't dilute the spectacular nature of Kobe's current scoring binge. With the Lakers having just recently lost 7 straight--the longest drought in coach Phil Jackson's career--Kobe has put this team on his shoulder and carried them.

As weird as this sounds, Kobe hasn't even had to throw up shot after shot to score. Yeah, he's averaging 37 shots a game over the past three, but he's hitting 54% overall, and a very nice 15-of-28 from beyond the arc. Hot!

I'm one of those guys who hated Kobe all those years that the Lakers had the Shaq-Kobe-Phil dynasty. Only last year did I come around and start appreciating him, and only because he started playing a more team-oriented ball on a depleted Lakers team. This year though, with the Lake Show struggling through injuries, #24's had to go back to being The Man. For some reason--maybe it's becuase he's a mature Kobe now--this time around, he's not annoying, he's exhilirating.

For my money, Kobe Bryant is the best player in the NBA right now. What remains to be seen is whether that's good enough to carry L.A. past the first round of the playoffs.

The Reassessment: NBA Playoff Hunt East

2007-03-22T16:02:00.000-04:00

Let's take a look back at what I predicted at the start of the season as to who would make the playoffs in the East:

Predictions		Current Standings
1. Detroit Pistons		1. Detroit (43-23)
2. Miami Heat		2. Cleveland (41-27); 3 GB Pistons
3. Indiana Pacers		3. Washington (37-29)
4. New Jersey Nets		4. Toronto (37-31)
5. Cleveland Cavaliers		5. Chicago (39-30); 5.5 GB Pistons
6. Washington Wizards		6. Miami (37-30); 0.5 GB Wizards
7. Chicago Bulls		7. New Jersey (31-37); 6 GB Raptors
8. New York Knicks		8. Orlando (31-38); 7.5 GB Wizards

Wow. While I have to give myself some props for predicting the Heat to finish high in the playoffs (it took injuring their best player to spark them, but it happened), I wince every time I look and I see that I picked the Pacers and Nets to finish above Cleveland, Washington, and Chicago.

In retrospect, however, it was to be expected. The Pacers (30-37, 13.5 GB in the division) destroyed their offensive talent when they traded Al Harrington and Stephen Jackson for Mike Dunleavy and not much else. Jermaine O'Neal has been playing hurt since at least the All-Star break, and their point guard situation still sucks.

The Nets...well, they've played like a team with one superstar knowing that he's going to get a huge paycheck no matter what he does this year (Carter) and another superstar who is 35 years old and, more importantly, not a scorer who can take over at the end of close games (Kidd). Throw in a season-ending injury to their only inside scorer in Nenad Krstic and a long span without Richard Jefferson and you have the makings of a failed season.

I stand by my belief that the Knicks (30-37, but only 6.5 GB in division) will somehow make the playoffs behind Stephon and Eddy Curry, though injuries to Jamal Crawford and David Lee will hurt their cause.

How about the Raptors, though? They sure came along fast and submarined the Nets. Chris Bosh this year is doing what Elton Brand did last year--cementing his reputation as an All-World player on a likeable team. Everything seems to be clicking for this team...I'm just not sure if I would pick them to beat anyone in the playoffs. I just don't quite feel it with them.

Similarly, unless Caron Butler comes back and comes back healthy, I wouldn't pick the Wizards to get past the second round of the playoffs, either.

I'll be back later with my failure...er...predictions on the West.

The Only Site on the Internet Worth Reading...

2007-03-22T15:40:00.001-04:00

...is the Gilbert Arenas NBA.com blog. Probably every Wizards fan, and even every basketball fan, already knows that this is the funniest and most interesting daily update direct (sort of) from Agent Zero. Here's where you find out about his latest catchphrase ("Don't watch me, watch TV!"), locker room practical jokes ("Let's just say...[Andray Blatche] doesn't want war anymore."), and just what the hell it is DeShawn Stevenson does with his hands after he scores (it's a Lil Wayne reference--"I can't feel my face!")

On the blog Gil talks candidly about teammates, opponents, refs, family (he's already trash-talking his newborn son), and anything else that pops into his head. His reaction to Chuck Klostermann labeling him "the rock star of the NBA?" "I’m not getting women like I’m a rock star."

Everyone loves Gil, but he's not a rock star. He's weird and he's freaking hilarious. Gil's the court jester of the NBA!

Next Year's Jeff Garcia?

2007-03-22T14:58:00.000-04:00

By that I'm referring to Matt Schaub, traded yesterday from Atlanta to the Houston Texans, where he is now the new starting QB. Schaub, a third-round draft pick from 2004, had been backing up Michael Vick. In the limited action he saw filling in when Vick was hurt, he looked pretty decent, and for sometime now I've considered him one of the top backups in the league.

As the new man in H-town, I think there's a good chance he could be this year's Jeff Garcia--the guy most people had forgotten about it who steps in and immediately produces. Schaub is a definite improvement over David Carr, who--bless him--had all the skill he once had beaten out of him from years of taking sacks. (Carr was sacked an unbelievable 249 times in his five seasons as the Texans' QB. 249!)

Houston wasn't as bad as the name suggests last year: a 6-10 record, 4-4 over the last 8 games, including victories over Jacksonville and eventual champs Indianapolis. Schaub will have a revived Andre Johnson (103 receptions last season--how?!) and still-survivng Eric Moulds to throw to.

Now of course, the Texans still don't have much of an offensive line, still don't have a reliable running game, and the defense is still worse than mediocre. So I'm not saying Schaub is gonna be the Texans' savior as Garcia was for the Iggles last year. But I do think that with Matt Schaub, Houston is good enough to at least win 6 games again. Maybe even 7, or 8 if they've really bought into coach Gary Kubiak in his second year.

Hey, if you're a Texans fan, that's progress.

"Dice-K" is the Stupidest Nickname I've Ever Heard

2007-03-22T14:00:00.000-04:00

Opening Day is less than two weeks away, so it's time to start thinking about baseball seriously again. I hope to nip the most pressing issue in the bud right here and now so we don't have to deal with this again. The problem: the nickname that new Boston Red Sox ace Daisuke Matsuzaka has received.

Dubbed "Dice-K" by the Boston media, that abomination of a nickname has somehow been picked up on a widespread basis. Now we have to deal with ESPN anchors trying (and failing) not to look stupid as they refer to "Dice-K's" spring training, warmups, etc. On what planet (other than New England) could that name sound cool or edgy or menacing or whatever it's supposed to convey?

If Matsuzaka (or his famously inept translator) could speak better English, maybe he could weigh in and tell us how stupid he thinks the names TomKat, K-Fed, and Dice-K are. He also might wonder why fellow Japanese star Hideki Matsui, the Yankees slugger, gets to be "Godzilla" while he has been slapped with "Dice-K". He might wonder why he can't still be known as "The Monster", his nickname in Japan, which isn't great--but a lot better than Dice-K.

So, you might ask me, what should we call him by? Since apparently he needs a nickname--Daisuke Matsuzaka just isn't going to cut it--and needs one soon, here's a suggestion: "The Greek." For two reasons. 1) His cool new pitch is the gyroball. 2) He's definitely not Greek.

"The Greek" works a lot better than "Dice-K". You can see the sports headlines now: "The Greek tosses 8 shutout innings." "The Greek picks up 10th victory." And of course, what might become more familiar to the Red Sox nation: "The Greek lasts 5 2/3, gives up 4 runs."

Agent Zero Silences Seattle

2007-03-22T11:03:00.000-04:00

Those of us who stayed up last night to see the Wizards struggle against yet another NBA bottom-dweller did get the unexpected treat of watching Gilbert Arenas get a game-winning layup at the buzzer. This erases (slightly) the sting of his failed buzzer beater against Portland the game before, and the sting of having Chris Wilcox put up 27pts/22reb on us:

"Don't watch me, watch TV!"

Da Sports Authority is Back!

2007-03-22T02:13:00.000-04:00

Since this site's inception in late July 2006, nearly 200 posts were written by year-end. In 2007 we've been on a bit of a hiatus for several reasons. In the interim we've completely overhauled the site's design, added a comments feature, and an easy-to-navigate archive feature. More features will be coming really soon, including ability to view posts by sport or by author, a new stat-tracking system, etc.

Spread the word, we're back.

Dungy to Rest of NFL: Zeus Smites You!

2007-02-05T01:23:00.000-05:00

Does God hate the Chicago Bears? I can't seem to find the big fella's cellphone number to call and ask Him, so my best guess as to how He feels comes from statements from the Indianapolis Colts' camp.

After the Colts' Sunday victory in the Super Bowl, coach Tony Dungy attributed their success to "showing that you can win doing it the Lord's way." His comments echoed Colts' owner Jim Irsay, who said "we're giving it all to God again because that's what got us here."

People in the sports world invoking God is not news--it's done on a routine basis. But I always find it amusing that these athletes or coaches or whoever are presumptious enough to assume that, if there is a higher being, God or Allah or Christina or whoever has a rooting interest in the outcome. Even if the Almighty deigned to choose a favorite squadron, it's probably not yours--that whole "meek shall inherit the earth" thing sounds a lot like it came from an Arizona Cardinals fan.

I'm fine with an athlete saying that his inspiration is due to his relationship with God--how you find motivation and balance in life is up to you. but it should stop there. Despite what Dallas Cowboys' fans might think, there is no such thing as "God's Team," and religion should be dealt with on an individual basis, not applied to a team as a whole.

Just in case I'm wrong though, I have no problem with Joe Gibbs' monthly tradition of sacrificing 6 goats and a virgin if it will help the Redskins back to glory next year.

Finally...

2007-02-03T20:47:00.001-05:00

Irvin gets his due...the Hall of Fame...Congratulations Michael, you are indeed the Playmaker.

Gil's Been Great, But...

2007-01-20T23:40:00.000-05:00

At 24-16 following tonight's OT win over Boston, the Washington Wizards can find a lot to like about themselves. They have not only opened a 2.5 game lead over Orlando in the Southeast, they could potentially wrest the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference away from Cleveland (also 24-16). The Wizards are the 2nd highest scoring team in the NBA, behind only the Suns, and are reasonably healthy, meaning their strong play should continue into the post-All Star Game portion of the season.

Yet fans of the Wizards know there's still a lot of room for improvement--the team still doesn't play much defense, have much of an inside presence, and is prone to horribly streaky play. To all this, I need to add one more: the poor shooting of the team's one superstar and MVP candidate, Gilbert Arenas. Now I know Gil's never been much of a high-percentage shooter--43.1% on FGs for his career, which in the name of consistency, is the rate he's hitting at this season--but he has got to step it up. The other members of the team's Big 3 fare better: Caron Butler is a solid 48.5% and even the oft-maligned Antawn Jamison hits 45.3%.

More importantly, for Gil to further solidify his growing reputation as one of the top few scorers in the game, he needs to be careful to avoid an Iverson-like "chucker" mentality. Could it be that what Kobe Bryant dismissively said about Gil earlier in the year is right? Well, among the league's top 20 scorers, Gil is tied with--you guessed it--A.I. near the bottom in field-goal percentage, with only that other notorious chucker, T-Mac, below them.

Check out the stats of the NBA's top 20 in points per game, and you'll see why I hope Gil starts hitting more Js:

Player (Team)	PPG	FG %
Carmelo Anthony (DEN)	31.6	50.3
Gilbert Arenas (WAS)	29.9	43.2
Allen Iverson (DEN)	29.3	43.2
Dwyane Wade (MIA)	28.1	47.8
Kobe Bryant (LAL)	28.0	47.5
Michael Redd (MIL)	27.7	46.3
LeBron James (CLE)	26.9	47.3
Yao Ming (HOU)	25.9	52.2
Ray Allen (SEA)	25.6	44.5
Dirk Nowitzki (DAL)	25.0	50.2
Vince Carter (NJ)	25.0	44.7
Joe Johnson (ATL)	24.8	48.4
Zack Randolph (POR)	23.8	47.3
Richard Hamilton (DET)	23.0	45.9
Tracy McGrady (HOU)	22.8	43.0
Carlos Boozer (UTA)	22.3	56.1
Kevin Garnett (MIN)	22.2	47.5
Kevin Martin (SAC)	21.3	50.7
Ben Gordon (CHI)	21.0	45.9
Caron Butler (WAS)	21.0	48.5

[Note: all scoring stats cited in this post are for games played through Jan 19.]

DSA's 2006 NFL Pick 'Ems Results

2007-01-06T12:12:00.000-05:00

Week 17 standings:
Kevin 11-5, Andrew 10-6, Ning 10-6, Favorite 10-6, Moose 9-7, Z 9-7, Jay 8-8

Season standings:
Kevin 164-92, Andrew 160-96, Ning 150-106, Favorite 149-107, Z 141-117, Jay 140-116, Moose 137-119

Congratulations to Kevin for winning the first annual Da Sports Authority NFL Pick 'Ems competition!

NFL Week 17 Preview

2006-12-30T18:17:00.000-05:00

Games with playoff implications:

[Ranked by how likely the game will affect playoff standings.]

HOT:
1) NY Giants at Washington (Sat., 8pm) - a win probably has the Giants in, as long as strength-of-schedule over Packers remains
2) Oakland at NY Jets (Sun., 1pm) - a win has the Jets in
3) San Francisco at Denver (Sun., 415pm) - a win has the Broncos in

WARM:
1) Jacksonville at Kansas City (Sun., 1pm) - Both teams have an outside shot at a wild-card berth
2) New England at Tennessee (Sun., 1pm) - Titans have a distant shot, but Pats gets #3 seed with win and Colts loss
3) Atlanta at Philadelphia (Sun., 415pm) - Falcons have a distant shot, but Eagles can clinch division
4) Green Bay at Chicago (Sun., 815pm) - If the Giants lose tonight, Packers have a decent chance at a wild-card berth thanks to conference record

LUKEWARM:
1) Carolina at New Orleans (Sun., 1 pm) - Panthers still have outside shot, but need a lot of help
2) Pittsburgh at Cincinnati (Sun., 1pm) - Ditto for the Bengals
3) St. Louis at Minnesota (Sun., 1pm) - Ditto for the Rams

COOL:
1) Detroit at Dallas (Sun., 1pm) - Cowboys are already in, only question is what seed?
2) Buffalo at Baltimore (Sun., 415pm) - Ravens have a shot at the #1 seed with a win and SD loss
3) Miami at Indianapolis (Sun., 415pm) - Colts win and Ravens loss gives Indy #2 seed
4) Arizona at San Diego (Sun., 415pm) - Chargers clinch #1 seed with a win

* * *

Likely Playoff Picture:

AFC
1. San Diego (have first-round bye, could get HFA)
2. Baltimore (could get HFA or first-round bye)
3. Indianapolis (has a shot at 2 seed)
4. New England
5. Denver? (gets a wild-card berth with win, or a loss by KC or NYJ)
6. NY Jets? (gets a wild-card berth with win, or various losses)

Other teams in (far-fetched) playoff hunt: Jacksonville, Kansas City, Tennessee, Cincinnati

NFC
1. Chicago (have HFA)
2. New Orleans (have first-round bye)
3. Philadelphia (currently leads NFC East over Dallas)
4. Seattle (guaranteed 4 seed)
5. Dallas (has a shot at NFC East title)
6. Giants? (win tonight probably clinches playoff spot)

Other teams in the playoff hunt: Packers have a decent shot if Giants lose; Panthers, Rams, and Falcons are also mathematically alive but unlikely.

* * *

Final PICK 'EMS of the year! Kevin holds a 3-game lead on the season over Andrew, while the rest of us jockey to secure lower rungs on the ladder.

Last week:
Kevin 12-4, Andrew 10-6, Ning 9-7, Jay 8-8, Z 7-9, Favorite 6-10, Moose 5-11

Season:
Kevin 153-87, Andrew 150-90, Ning 140-100, Favorite 139-101, Jay 132-108, Z 132-108, Moose 128-112

	Jay	Moose	Andrew	Kevin	Ning	Z	Favorite
NY Giants at Washington	WAS	WAS	WAS	NYG	WAS	WAS	NYG
Carolina at New Orleans	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	CAR	CAR
Cleveland at Houston	HOU	HOU	HOU	HOU	HOU	HOU	HOU
Detroit at Dallas	DAL	DAL	DAL	DAL	DAL	DAL	DAL
Jacksonville at Kansas City	JAX	JAX	KC	KC	JAX	KC	KC
New England at Tennessee	TEN	TEN	NE	NE	TEN	TEN	TEN
Oakland at NY Jets	NYJ	NYJ	NYJ	NYJ	NYJ	NYJ	NYJ
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati	CIN	PIT	CIN	CIN	CIN	CIN	CIN
Seattle at Tampa Bay	TB	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA	TB
St. Louis at Minnesota	STL	MIN	STK	STL	STL	MIN	STL
Atlanta at Philadelphia	PHI	PHI	PHI	PHI	PHI	PHI	PHI
Buffalo at Baltimore	BAL	BUF	BAL	BAL	BAL	BAL	BAL
Miami at Indianapolis	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND	MIA	IND
Arizona at San Diego	SD	SD	SD	SD	SD	SD	SD
San Francisco at Denver	DEN	SF	DEN	DEN	SF	DEN	DEN
Green Bay at Chicago	GB	GB	CHI	CHI	GB	GB	CHI

NFL 2006 Superlatives (Award Show)

2006-12-30T13:44:00.000-05:00

My picks for the best from each conference in a variety of categories:

* * * AFC * * *

MVP and Offensive Player of the Year: LADAINIAN TOMLINSON, SD. One of the greatest seasons by a running back in NFL history; there is no doubt here. If you need this one explained, you've been living in a cave for the past several months--and somehow, I bet even Osama wanted a #21 jersey for Christmas. In the conversation: STEVE MCNAIR, BAL for MVP. His statistics aren't top-flight gaudy, but this isn't a fantasy football award, it's one for who has made the most important contribution. This year, the Ravens are a 12-3 team and 2nd best in the AFC. The difference between this season and their recent history is that Baltimore finally found a steady hand (read: not Kyle Boller) to guide their offense while their famous 'D' does the heavy lifting.

Defensive Player of the Year: CHAMP BAILEY, DEN. The best CB in the league leads the NFL with 9 INTs, the highest single season total he's ever put up. To really gauge his worth though, I'll defer to Chad Johnson: "There are corners that play not to get beat. That's your regular corners. Then you have Champ Bailey, who plays to make a play. Period. He's in a class of his own." In the conversation: SHAWNE MERRIMAN, SD. Merriman is my close runner up for the award. Him, Miami's Jason Taylor, and Buffalo's Aaron Schobel have been sack monsters this year, but Merriman has been flat-out unbelievable--15.5 sacks in only 11 games.

Coach of the Year: JEFF FISHER, TEN. Jeff Fisher has long been one of my favorite coaches in the NFL, but earlier this year I was beginning to wonder whether he had lost motivation. The Titans' last-minute QB switch to Kerry Collins at the onset of the season had everyone scratching their heads, and sure enough, the Titans lurched to a 2-7 start. Fisher righted his ship though, and then some, with Vince Young's help--6 straight victories and a potential playoff spot are more than anyone could have expected out of the Titans. In the conversation: Eric Mangini, NYJ, has led what should by all rights be a bad Jets team to a 9-6 record and the cusp of a playoff spot. I'd also like to give a nod to MARTY SCHOTTENHEIMER, SD, who appears to have finally shrugged off "Martyball" earlier this season and found a new winning ethos. He'd be my coach of the year if he gets over his career-long playoff struggles this January.

Rookie of the Year: VINCE YOUNG. Duh. Even with the hype surrounding his Rose Bowl performance and #3 selection in the draft, he has lived up to expectations. The numbers aren't gaudy yet (12 TDs, 11 INTs), but that's to be expected of a rookie QB. More importantly, he's winning games--6 straight, to turn the Titans from a 2-7 team to 8-7 currently. Make no mistake, the Titans aren't winning despite him, they're winning because of him. In the conversation: MAURICE JONES-DREW, JAX. The 2nd round pick has formed a dynamite duo with veteran fixture Fred Taylor in Jacksonville's backfield. He has 14 TDs on the year, and has shown superstar capability in big games like his 15 carry, 166 yard game against Indy in Week 14 and his 19 carry, 131 yard game against N.E. last week. Jacksonville's rushing future is in good hands.

Breakout Player of the Year: NNAMDI ASOMUGHA, OAK. In an absolutely rock-bottom abysmal season for the Raiders, there is only one bright spot, and that's the emergence of this 2003 1st round pick. Nnamdi has 8 INTs this year and is the only thing teams going into Oakland have to worry about on Sundays. In the conversation: MARK CLAYTON, BAL. In only his second season in the league, Clayton outperformed both veteran WR Derrick Mason and star TE Todd Heap to become Steve McNair's go-to guy, racking up over 900 receiving yards.

Comeback Player of the Year: CHAD PENNINGTON, NYJ. I don't know anyone who roots against Chad Pennington; I'm glad to see Mr. Brittle about to reach his first 16-game season in his career. Even if he hasn't been stellar (16 TDs, 16 INTs), he's been good enough to steer the Curtis Martin-less Jets to a 9-6 record and a likely playoff spot. In the conversation: CARSON PALMER, CIN. It's disappointing that Cincinnati bungled their playoff chances with a blown XP last week, but their fans should take heart that Palmer--though it took until mid-season--looks recovered from the shredded knee he suffered a year ago. Is this an appropriate space to mention that Houston WR Aaron Johnson has surpassed 100 receptions this season?

* * * NFC * * *

MVP and Offensive Player of the Year: DREW BREES, NO. The man who has almost single-handedly turned New Orleans from a basement dweller to one of the best in the NFC. He's shown no lingering effects from his shoulder injury, and all he's done is, oh, throw for about 300 yards a game. He's thrown 26 TDs this season and created an aggressive, up-tempo offense that's fun to watch. Just imagine how S.D., 13-2 with an uneven rookie QB, could be doing if they still had Brees. In the conversation: JEFF GARCIA, PHI. Am I really going to put a guy who's had 5 starts this year in the discussion of Most Valuable Player? Yes, because that guy has put up 4 straight wins over NFC opponents as the rest of the conference crumbles. Yes, because he has now earned his team a playoff spot when their season was declared dead following McNabb's Week 11 injury. I'd also love to give Marc Bulger some dap (4000+ yards, 23 TDs to 8 INTs), but his chances suffer from the Rams' disappointing second-half collapse.

Defensive Player of the Year: BRIAN URLACHER, CHI. It's not just other teams that Urlacher terrifies--I'm afraid if I don't give this disruptive force of nature the nod, he'll come after me! Even if he might have the first sackless season of his career, he still leads the NFC in tackles, and he's one of the few active players you know will be listed among the all-time greats and is still in his prime (unlike, say, Brett Favre). In the conversation: Since I gave Urlacher the award basically by default, it should be obvious that I was at a bit of a loss. I can't think of anyone who stood out particularly, so I'm not going to make something up.

Coach of the Year: SEAN PAYTON, NO. This team was 3-13 last year. A win tomorrow would give the Saints, now 10-5, their best mark since 1992. Player acquisitions like Brees, Bush, and Colston have played a big part no doubt, but any Saints player will attest to how Payton instilled a winning attitude in this team from Day One. The Cowboys' former offensive coordinator has created the most prolific offense in the league (#1 in total yards at almost 400 per game), and he got to show his old mates a thing or two when New Orleans spanked Dallas 42-17 earlier this month. Hats off to Sean Payton.

Rookie of the Year: MARQUES COLSTON, NO. Another slam-dunk, another feel-good story from this year's Saints. Yeah, the RoY wasn't Reggie Bush, but his Saints teammate has put up 70 catches and over 1,000 yards, even while missing time with injury. Did I mention that this eye-popping production came from a 7th round pick?

Breakout Player of the Year: TONY ROMO, DAL. To borrow from Bill Parcells, the "anointing oil" has been put away with the Cowboys' recent setbacks, but there's no denying the emergence of Tony Romo. After replacing Drew Bledsoe early in the year, he saved Dallas's season by winning 5 of his first 6 stars and caused a severe bout of "Romo-mania" to afflict the Cowboys faithful. He also altered the fortunes of several fantasy football leagues. I've seen him play in person as well as several times on TV, and I remain impressed by many things, foremost among them his pocket presence. As long as he continues to mature and adjust to defenses, he should be the Man in Big D for a long time. In the conversation: LADELL BETTS, WAS. If the Redskins don't have an open competition between Clinton Portis and the straight-ahead, hole-hitting Betts for the position of starting RB, they are nuts. The guy has 6 consecutive games of rushing for over 100 yards and is the brightest spot the 5-10 Redskins have going for them. Not to mention he's a long-tenured Redskin and just had his contract extended for cheap.

Comeback Player of the Year: JEFF GARCIA, PHI. See what I said about him as a runner-up candidate for the NFC's Most Valuable Player award. He has 10 TDs to 2 INTs this year for a 96.2 QB rating. Compare that to last year's 65.1 rating in Detroit, or the 76.7 rating in Cleveland in 2004. Garcia is once again the high-flying stud he was during those early '00s in San Francisco. In the conversation: FRANK GORE, SF. A guy who was once above both Clinton Portis and Willis McGahee on the depth chart in college had descended into obscurity after injury and a pedestrian rookie year. Well...He's Back. Through 15 games he's averaged over a 100 yards on the ground and 131 total yards, and racked up 9 TDs. In short, he's been a fantasy stud. Now if he learns to hold onto the rock better (5 lost fumbles), he could be a spectacular player for an improving 49ers team in the next few years.

Wizards Beat Suns, Continue to Thrill

2006-12-23T01:19:00.000-05:00

Iverson's Denver debut be damned, I had better things to do! Friday's late night game featured an absolutely terrific match between the Wizards and Suns, a contest that was the most fun game I've watched all season. "Defense? What's defense?" might as well be the motto of these two teams. The Suns are the NBA's most notorious run-and-gun team, but what many people might not know is that the Wizards--with no dominant big man and a soft defensive attitude--can run with them.

This game was an offensive clinic--quick breaks and catch-and-shoot, not the typical molasses-like pace of the "chuck it to the big man" that make so many NBA games so hard to watch. How could you not enjoy Gil burying a 3-pointer from a mile away, or Steve Nash throwing a sick alley-oop pass finished by a monster Shawn Marion slam?

When the dust cleared tonight, it was the Wizards prevailing in OT just a couple minutes ago, 144-139. The box score lines are boffo. Caron 34pts/10reb, Antawn 15/12, Haywood 14/12, and Stevenson with 18 pts. But really, this was about Arenas v. Nash, just burying clutch shot after clutch shot. Phoenix's Golden Child dazzled me with his no-look passes, his instinctual knowledge of where his teammates were at all times, etc. His 42 points and 12 assists were impressive, but not as impressive as yet another eye-popping performance by Arenas: 21-37 FG shooting for 54 points!

* * *

Wizards fans have to be thrilled by our surging team, 9-3 now in the month of December (including 3-1 on this tough road stretch). What's not to like? Arenas dropped 60 on the Lakers last Sunday, then the exhausted Wizards almost erased a 30-point deficit in losing to Denver the next day; Thursday saw Antawn Jamison step up huge in a victory in Sacramento.

Today, obviously Gil's 54 rightfully dominates the headlines, but it's impossible to not notice that the road trip has seen DeShawn Stevenson (newly shorn of his long locks) play what I think has to be his most consistent stretch of the season. There's also Brendan Haywood, who's making the most of Etan Thomas' missed time to show he deserves his starting spot back--his possessed 1st quarter tonight keyed his second consecutive double-double.

And of course, I have to preach the Gospel of Caron Butler, who I think has to be the most underrated player in the NBA. Everyone talks about Gil and Antawn, but it's Butler who's the Wizards most consistent player and their toughest presence on 'D'. Simply put, I love this guy. Please vote him to the All-Star Team.

NFL Week 16 Preview

2006-12-21T18:24:00.000-05:00

Five Games to Watch:

1) PHILADELPHIA (8-6) at DALLAS (9-5). Monday night Christmas special at 5PM Eastern, with the NFC East on the line. Ho, ho ho, what could be better?

2) TENNESSEE (7-7) at BUFFALO (7-7). Two surprise teams that have righted their season after starting disastrously (see below in this post). Can V.Y. keep the Titans' improbable run alive? (Hint: it will probably take more than last week's 98 offensive yards.) Can the Losman-Evans connection, plus a solid 'D', keep the Bills' playoff dreaming? (Hint: McGahee needs to start playing like a premiere back.)

3) MINNESOTA (6-8) at GREEN BAY (6-8). Two not-very-good teams, though this rivalry always produces good games--I still remember "The Catch 2" by Freeman from Favre on MNF some years back. But I didn't list this because of that, or because it's Tarvaris Jackson's first start, but because this is (or should be) Brett Favre's last ever game at Lambeau. Watch history.

4) SAN DIEGO (12-2) at SEATTLE (8-6). You've got this year's MVP (L.T., duh) versus last year's (Shaun Alexander). But really, any excuse to watch the greatest RB we've ever seen (L.T., duh) should be seized upon.

5) CINCINNATI (8-6) at DENVER (8-6). Who wants a wild-card spot? Cincy needs to recover from the drubbing they received at Peyton's hands last week, while Denver needs Jay Cutler to start creating his legend. Also, watch out for Chad Johnson making out with Champ Bailey.

* * *
DSA's Power Rankings:

I surveyed the whole crew to find out who they think are the ten best teams in the league. Andrew presents his with commentary:

1) SAN DIEGO. Everyone's #1. To quote the Dick Vermeil commercial "I wouldn't disagree with that. I wouldn't disagree with that at all."

2) BALTIMORE. I'm not being a homer, but our defense is sick nasty (better than the vaunted Bears) and we won a game with Boller under center (albeit against the Browns). Things are clicking

3) INDIANAPOLIS. Their defense sucks, but they held Cincy to 16, which is pretty damn good. Also, I hear this Manning fellow is good at hurling the football.

4) CHICAGO - As long as Rex Grossman doesn't do anything to lose the game, they win. That was a Madden-esque statement. Notice that there are three AFC teams listed about the Bears.

5) CINCINNATI - Amazing offense, and until the Colts game, a surging defense.

6) NEW ENGLAND. Never bet against Brady and Bellichick (no, I can't spell that--and I won't bother to learn until he bothers to actually get dressed) in the playoffs. Except they are hurt, and depleted, and have no WRs, and are winning by the grace of Tom's dreamy chin dimple and Tedy "Lunch Pail" Bruschi

7) NEW ORLEANS - Their offense is sick and versatile. They can run it, throw it (Brees for 4000+ yds?!?!) and Reginald Bush is showing his (soon to be) greatness

8) DALLAS - I'm not quite a Romo-sexual, but I'm enjoying the era.

9) SEATTLE - Without Hasselbeck and Alexander, they've managed this season. With them back, they can do some good things--just not beat anyone listed above them.

10) PHILADELPHIA - A "wtf?" season with Garcia leading them down the stretch. Although they don't belong up here, I can't bring myself to put Denver (Cutler is too young), KC (sucks on the road), Jets (a year away), Giants (the opposite of an explosion is an implosion), or Jacksonville (streaky/sketchy/Jack del Rio looks good in a suit) here.

Honorable Mention: V.Y. and TENNESSEE. It's exciting, it's fun, and they just win games. In a couple of years, expect big things.

In sum, the NFC sucks.

What the crew thinks:

	Jay	Moose	Andrew	Kevin	Ning
1	San Diego	San Diego	San Diego	San Diego	San Diego
2	Indianapolis	Chicago	Baltimore	Indianapolis	Baltimore
3	Chicago	New England	Indianapolis	Chicago	Indianapolis
4	Dallas	Dallas	Chicago	Baltimore	Chicago
5	Baltimore	New Orleans	Cincinnati	New England	New England
6	Cincinnati	Indianapolis	New England	Dallas	New Orleans
7	New Orleans	Baltimore	New Orleans	Denver	Dallas
8	New England	Seattle	Dallas	Cincinnati	Cincinnati
9	Philadelphia	Cincinnati	Seattle	Seattle	NY Jets
10	Denver	Philadelphia	Philadelphia	New Orleans	Tennessee

[JAY] - SORTING OUT THE MIDDLE

Everyone's favorite honorable mention this year is Tennessee, because Vince Young play has been exciting and the Titans have parlayed 2-7 into 7-7. But I think equally deserving of attention is Buffalo, which went into its bye week 2-5. Since then, they're 5-2, with their two losses coming narrowly against arguably the bets in the league: a 1-pt. loss to Indy and a 3-pt. loss to San Diego.

Among the other mediocre teams in the league, it's quite a mixed bag. The Panthers and Dolphins need a real QB, the Falcons need an O-line and some WRs, the Giants need Eli to stop making mistakes, the Steelers need to prove themselves by beating some good teams, and the Chiefs need to get used to finishing 3rd in their division.

San Francisco (6-8) and Washington (5-9) have been recently playing much better than their records indicate. I expect big things from both of these teams next year.

* * *
This week's Pick 'Ems:

	Jay	Moose	Andrew	Kevin	Ning	Z	Favorite
Minnesota at Green Bay	GB	GB	GB	GB	GB	GB	GB
Kansas City at Oakland	KC	OAK	KC	KC	KC	KC	KC
Washington at St. Louis	WAS	WAS	STL	STL	WAS	STL	STL
Tennessee at Buffalo	BUF	TEN	TEN	TEN	TEN	BUF	BUF
Tampa Bay at Cleveland	TB	CLE	CLE	TB	TB	TB	CLE
New Orleans at NY Giants	NO	NYG	NO	NO	NO	NO	NYG
New England at Jacksonville	NE	NE	NE	NE	JAX	JAX	JAX
Indianapolis at Houston	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND
Chicago at Detroit	CHI	CHI	CHI	CHI	CHI	CHI	CHI
Carolina at Atlanta	ATL	ATL	CAR	CAR	ATL	ATL	ATL
Baltimore at Pittsburgh	PIT	PIT	BAL	BAL	PIT	PIT	PIT
Arizona at San Francisco	SF	SF	SF	SF	ARI	SF	SF
Cincinnati at Denver	CIN	CIN	CIN	CIN	CIN	CIN	DEN
San Diego at Seattle	SD	SD	SD	SD	SD	SD	SD
Philadelphia at Dallas	DAL	DAL	DAL	DAL	DAL	DAL	DAL
NY Jets at Miami	NYJ	MIA	MIA	NYJ	NYJ	MIA	MIA

Last week:
Andrew 11-5, Jay 11-5, Kevin 11-5, Moose 11-5, Ning 9-7, Favorite 9-7, Z 8-8

Season:
Kevin 141-83, Andrew 140-84, Favorite 133-91, Ning 131-93, Z 125-99, Jay 124-100, Moose 123-101

Iverson to the Nuggets

2006-12-19T15:56:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, the Answer has gone to the team that he is least likely to do well with: the Denver Nuggets. AP reports that new basketball factories are springing up all over Colorado to get enough balls for both Iverson and 'Melo to play with together.

JAY adds: The league's #1 and #2 scorers on the same team? It could work, if Iverson dishes like he is capable of, and Anthony doesn't take too many shots to score. If Camby keeps playing like a capable big man, I guess Denver's playoff aspirations are still viable.

I still wish A.I.'d hooked up with K.G. up in Minnesota though.

5 Second Rule (Starbury, The Hunt, George Karl)

2006-12-19T13:43:00.000-05:00

Here are my 5 thoughts today about the NBA:

5. Marbury's Game Winning Layup
I might have been dreaming, but Steph put up vintage Steph numbers last night, scoring 29 points, dishing out 8 dimes, and even pulling down 5 boards to boot. For the sake of the Knicks and their now even more sullied reputation, let's hope that Steph keeps up this hot streak and takes the Knicks back into relevance.

4. Denver Wins, Too
The Knicks weren't the only ones to win after their ugly incident. Starting such luminaries as Linas Kleiza and Y. Diawara, the Nuggets beat a Wizards squad tired after defeating the Lakers in overtime. Maybe the incident will serve to refocus the Nuggets, and will actually help to drive them towards, and ultimately deep into, the postseason.

3. Heat Out of the Iverson Chase
The Heat have announced their withdrawal from the Iverson sweepstakes. As I wrote last week, Iverson would be a poor fit for the Heat because it will take time to integrate both his personality and playing style with Miami's veteran roster. I applaud Pat Riley for possessing the vision to see and understand this.

2. So Who's Left?
So, who's left in the running for the NBA's leading non-suspended scorer? Dallas' Mark Cuban also seemingly tossed in the towel last week, saying that he just didn't have the pieces to make a deal for Iverson. Adding the Mavs and the Heat to the three teams eliminated last week, that leaves 25 teams still searching for the Answer.

1. Karl Disavows Attempted Show-Up of the Knicks
Swearing "on the life of his children" that he was not attempting to show up the Knicks Sunday at MSG, Karl then proceeded to address a profanity-laden attack directly at Knicks coach and GM Isaiah Thomas. This could be the start of ugliness for year to come between the Knicks and the Nuggets. If I were in charge of scheduling games for next year, I would attempt to minimize the number of times that these two teams play each other in the hopes of keeping something like this from happening again.

Sunday Observations

2006-12-17T23:52:00.000-05:00

'SKINS WIN! and other ongoings around the league:

Just when you'd become comfortably numb to the idea of another Redskins loss, they go out and do the unthinkable: take down the #2 team in the NFC, the New Orleans Saints. For the fourth consecutive week, the Redskins (now 5-9) played a pretty decent ballgame. Unlike the games against Philly or Atlanta, however, they minimized the mistakes they made, allowing themselves to ride yet another strong Ladell Betts game (152 total yards), a few clutch Jason Campbell plays, and most importantly, a stingy defense.

Why do I have high hopes for the Redskins next season? It's not just because the offense has returned to playing Redskins-style football, but also because the defense has been experiencing a renaissaince ever since that scathing ESPN article a month ago. Watching the deservedly much-maligned Carlos Rogers get his first INT of the season yesterday, then deflect the Saints' last pass into the endzone, I could have wept with joy--after all the times he has made us pull out our hair earlier this season, he has played with a V for Vendetta in the past few weeks.

On October 14, the Tennessee Titans were 0-5 and I'm sure that Jeff Fisher (one of my favorite coaches in the entire league) was beginning to think that retirement sounded pretty good. Since then, though, the Titans are 7-2, including today's victory over the Jaguars in which the offense had only 98 net yards--they key being the 3 defensive TDs scored. I still don't believe the Titans are ready to compete with the big boys in the playoffs this year, but you have to admire their resilient season. Next year, with Vince Young having a season under his belt, Tennessee should be a formidable foe.

Brett Favre became the NFL's all-time completions leader, passing Dan Marino, in the Packers' 17-3 victory over the sorry Detroit Lions. He also seemed to be trying to outduel the Lions' Kitna as to who could have the worse game. Favre finished with 174 yards and 3 INTs, saying after the game, "I have to remind myself that this is a win." Methinks that the end-of-the-line for Favre, one of the greatest players ever (and one of my favorites), is a somber occasion.

This happened in the Saturday game, but it merits mention: T.O. ruined a solid 2 TD performance against the Falcons by admitting he spat in the face of Atlanta CB DeAngelo Hall. Yeah, Hall was running his motor mouth like an idiot, but c'mon T.O.! I've been pleasantly surprised by how little of an actual distraction you've caused this season (media be damned), and then you go and do this...

Which is why it's refreshing to see a real Good Guy make news. If any of you previously doubted that LaDainian Tomlinson, my perennial Sunday Stud, is the second coming of our Lord and Savior, you surely have to be convinced by tonight's performance against Kansas City. A) the guy set the single-season scoring record, B) he ran for an 85-yard TD, the longest of his career, and C) his 199-yard performance gave him the season rushing lead over the Chiefs' Larry Johnson.

Thoughts looking ahead: for the first time in my life, I feel like I can legitimately say the San Diego Chargers are the best team in the NFL. Back in 1994, when I lived in San Diego during their Super Bowl run, I don't think anyone thought we were better than Steve Young's 49ers, and the 49-26 spanking we got proved it. Now, however...we look damn good! And this should be the year that Marty Schottenheimer banishes his rep for losing in the playoffs. Why? Because Martyball is dead! It's been dead since the Chargers gave up a game they should have won to the Ravens back in Week 3. After that, Marty saw the errors of his ways, and you've seen a great coach make a major adjustment in stride. Go Bolts!

(This is an addendum.) I was reading Peter King's Monday Morning Quarterback and came across this: the Cowboys' new stadium (opening in 2009) will feature the biggest television in the world, and it's HD. How big? "The scoreboard will be 60 yards long, from one 20-yard-line to the other, hung 100 feet above the turf, AND WEIGH 600 TONS." Holy cow.

Indy-Cincy tonight. Should be a helluva game--and yet another example of how much better the AFC is than the NFC right now.

Nuggets-Knicks Brawl

2006-12-17T09:46:00.000-05:00

On Saturday night, the Nuggets-Knicks game at Madison Square Garden erupted into a brawl with just over a minute left in the game and the Nuggets holding a huge lead. The Knicks apparently didn't like the score being run up by Denver's starters, and so Mardy Collins laid a vicious foul on J.R. Smith, which caused the following:

Witness Carmelo Anthony--the leading scorer in the league--throw a sucker punch and then run away. He's gonna be tossed for a while. 10 players were ejected from the game.

On Monday, when David Stern announces punishments, I hope he doesn't forget to dock Isiah Thomas, who undoubtedly encouraged his players to take revenge...And the NBA thought it was finally over that Pistons-Pacers fight from two years ago, ha!

5 Second Rule (N.O., College Ball, Knicks to Playoffs?)

2006-12-15T14:25:00.000-05:00

Here are my 5 thoughts today about the NBA:

5. The New Orleans MASH...er...I mean Hornets
The Hornets are starting to resemble Alan Alda's old show, with their leading rebounder and four of their top six scorers injured. Chris Paul is a transcendant talent, (he somehow still managed to get 12 assists against the Spurs with the likes of Jannergo Pargo and Desmond Mason as his only scoring options) but not even Steve Nash or Jason Kidd would be able to get production out of the B-team lineup that the Hornets are putting in every night. Until David West, Bobby Jackson, Peja Stojakovic, and Tyson Chandler get back, nothing's going to come easy in the Big Easy.

4. Sean May to Adam Morrison to Emeka Okafor: College ball is back.
No disrespect to Dwight Howard, but he was soundly outplayed yesterday by all three college kids on the Charlotte Bobcats, led my May's 32 points in 31 minutes off the bench. All three of these kids stayed at least three years in college, and it shows through in their more polished, mature playing style. By the end of his career, Howard may eclipse all three of them as players, but as of now these three college kids, along with their point guard Raymond Felton, are showing that it still can be kind of cool to stay in school.

3. Rockets lose another close one
Houston loses to Golden State on a last-second shot by Baron Davis after a critical late 3-point play given up by Yao Ming- less than a week after losing another close game to the Lakers, albeit coming from behind in that game. You have to wonder at how much this team misses Tracy McGrady's killer instinct at the end of games. Without T-Mac's swagger, the Rockets are eminently beatable at the end of games.

2. Orlando can't score
Because of Howard's aforementioned lack of a polished offensive game and the injuries to Hill, Turkoglu and Nelson, the Orlando Magic are having trouble scoring points in any phase of their game. Darko Milicic appears hesitant to shoot whenever he's on the floor, Trevor Ariza and Carlos Arroyo seem disinterested in facilitating the game from the 1, and J.J. Redick still has not recovered his shooting form from his storied college days. This team needs to figure out a go-to option, and fast, before they lose their stranglehold on the top seed in the East.

1. NY possibly getting better?
The Knicks are playing competent basketball for the first time in...well...let's just call it a long time. Eddy Curry is finally putting up numbers commensurate with his potential, (18 and 8, withan 8 game streak of scoring 20 or more points) Starbury is becoming a relevant basketball player again on the floor, and Jared Jeffries is starting to provide the energy and defense that he was overpaid to provide, leading to a 12 point win over the Hawks yesterday. Don't look now, but the Knicks are third in the sorry Atlantic, 2nd in wins, and are a mere game and a half out of the top 8 in the pathetic Eastern Conference. If Quentin Richardson and Jamal Crawford can step up on a more regular basis and the Knicks can find some way to sever all ties with Steve Francis, this just might be a playoff team-a bad one, but a playoff team nonetheless.

NFL Week 15 Preview

2006-12-14T20:07:00.000-05:00

This week, Tony Romo looks to get his shine back, Mike Shanahan wonders why he ever turned to Jay Cutler, the legend of Vince Young grows, Drew Brees apologizes postgame for ruining Carlos Rogers' life, and Indy gets back on track against a team that'll beat 'em in the playoffs. Stay tuned!

	Jay	Moose	Andrew	Kevin	Ning	Z	Favorite
San Francisco at Seattle	SF	SF	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA
Dallas at Atlanta	DAL	DAL	DAL	DAL	ATL	ATL	DAL
Cleveland at Baltimore	CLE	BAL	BAL	BAL	BAL	BAL	BAL
Detroit at Green Bay	GB	DET	GB	GB	GB	DET	GB
Houston at New England	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE
Jacksonville at Tennessee	TEN	TEN	TEN	JAX	TEN	TEN	JAX
Miami at Buffalo	BUF	MIA	BUF	BUF	MIA	MIA	BUF
NY Jets at Minnesota	NYJ	MIN	NYJ	MIN	NYJ	NYJ	MIN
Pittsburgh at Carolina	PIT	PIT	CAR	PIT	PIT	CAR	CAR
Tampa Bay at Chicago	CHI	CHI	CHI	CHI	CHI	CHI	CHI
Washington at New Orleans	NO	WAS	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO
Denver at Arizona	ARI	ARI	DEN	DEN	ARI	ARI	DEN
Philadelphia at NY Giants	NYG	PHI	NYG	NYG	NYG	NYG	NYG
St. Louis at Oakland	OAK	STL	OAK	STL	STL	STL	OAK
Kansas City at San Diego	SD	SD	SD	SD	SD	SD	SD
Cincinnati at Indianapolis	IND	CIN	IND	IND	CIN	IND	IND

Last week:
Andrew 10-6, Moose 9-7, Ning 9-7, Jay 7-9, Kevin 7-9, Favorite 6-10, Z 6-10

Season:
Kevin 130-78, Andrew 129-79, Favorite 124-84, Ning 122-86, Z 117-91, Jay 113-95, Moose 112-96

5 Second Rule (Miami, Kidd, and Iverson)

2006-12-14T19:07:00.000-05:00

Here are today's 5 thoughts about the NBA:

5. The Heat's Reserves
It might be just me, but Dorell Wright, Robert Hite and Chris Quinn really impressed me in their near-comeback against the Suns without the services of both Wade and Shaq. It might be a tad early to proclaim this, but i think that Gary Payton and Jason Williams will be out of a job soon if the kids keep playing like they do, injecting energy into the nursing home environment of the Miami Heat.

4. Jason Kidd: Same Old, Same Old
The guy is incredible. 3 triple-doubles in 4 games is an almost unimaginably difficult feat. In keeping with that, Kidd's performance last night was decidedly minimalist at 10 points, 10 assists, and 10 rebounds. Kidd and Nash provide the best examples in the game that point guards in general become more productive later in their careers and can play for longer, making the current status of the game of young floor generals Deron Williams and Chris Paul that much more impressive.

3. 'Melo vs. the Wiz
Carmelo Anthony seemingly scored at will against the Wizards last night. Unfortunately for him, the entire Wizards team seemingly scored at will against the Nuggets as they pasted them 120 to 91 as six players scored in double digits paced by Arenas' 34 points. Anthony needs more consistent scoring help from his big men, or this type of head-turning loss will happen too frequently for the Nuggets to overtake the fundamentally sound Jazz.

2. Dwight Howard Down Low
For all the talk about this player being the future of post play in the NBA, Dwight Howard certainly seems to get beaten by strange teams, falling to the Raptors yesterday. Howard shot a paltry 6-17. As the Raptors aggressively double teamed Howard while leaving offensively challenged Tony Battie open for much of the game, this appears to be a potentially potent strategy to employ against the Magic. Another possible reason for the loss? The Magic were led in assists by Dwight Howard- with 3.

1. Why Iverson Doesn't Fit in Miami
Allen Iverson, Dwayne Wade, and Shaquille O'Neal sounds like a terrifying, potentially legendary trio of names, but if Iverson does go to South Beach he will not find success there as easily as he thinks, nor will it be as satisfying once he gets there.

The reasoning is this: Iverson has been, and always will be, a volume scorer. A career 42% shooter from the field and 30% shooter from 3 point range, Iverson is not the type of veteran who is good for points whenever you pass him the ball when he is open like an aging Reggie Miller or Ray Allen would have been or would be. Iverson is a unique slasher with all-world speed and 30 point-per-game potential, and that would be a phenomenal addition to most teams, but that role on the Heat is already being filled, and rather capably at that, by Dwyane Wade. Wade, too, has a far more developed slashing game than a shooting one, as so if Iverson were to go to Miami the two of them would compete for touches.

As neither of them are particularly adroit passers and both lack the size to play the small forward position, having both of them in the lineup at the same time could develop into a headache for Pat Riley unless he also manages to acquire a solid spot-up 3 point shooter from Philadelphia at the 3 spot-someone like Kyle Korver, who the Sixers are unlikely to want to give up. Because of this, Miami is an interesting trade destination for AI, but I fear that if he were to go there the union would be unfruitful.

5 Second Rule (Rockets, 'Melo, Josh's "Dream")

2006-12-13T15:31:00.000-05:00

Here are my five thoughts today about the NBA:

5. The Rockets' Near Comeback
Remember when Tracy McGrady scored 13 points in 35 seconds a few years back? The Rockets must have been inspired by their injured teammate, going on a 26-1 run in the 4th quarter to pull within one point of the LA Lakers-notably with Yao Ming doing very little of the heavy lifting. (only 5 points the entire second half) Alas, they still lost the game, however, as Scot Padgett missed the potential game-tied free throws and Kwame Brown's put back of a Kobe miss sealed it on the other end. Both teams should hold their heads high, however. For two teams notably missing key players (T-Mac and Lamar Odom, respectively) they put on one heck of a show.

4. Kevin Martin breaks out of his mini-slump--but it's not enough
Kevin Martin returned to form with a 10-18 shooting performance last night that netted him 32 points, but he alone was not enough to stop the freight train that is the Golden State Warriors, as the Kings still lost by 13.

3. Melo for MVP?
I know that few will agree with me here (except perhaps the guys on ESPN NBA Fast Break), but 'Melo is showing the swagger, confidence, skill, and desire of an MVP type player in this early going of the season. Andre Miller, JR Smith and Earl Boykins of the Nugget's midget backcourt are playing well, also.

2. Josh Smith's Olajuwon-like night
I didn't believe it either, but ESPN is right: the last player to total 20/10/5/5/4 or more in a single game in terms of points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals before Josh last night was Hakeem "the Dream" Olajuwon. In 1993. Moreover, the last 5 players to total that before Josh Smith are all named Hakeem "the Dream" Olajuwon. Wow. Nice job, kid. Now just four more times and maybe we'll give you a cool nickname, too.

1. The A.I. Cup
It seems that the Kings are no longer in the picture for A.I. Add in the fact that he has nixed a trade to the Bobcats and that he is not going back to Philly, that leaves oh, I don't know, about 27 teams still left in this chase, more than half of which would become an instant contender if they were able to come up with The Answer.

5 Second Rule (Jackson, Vinsanity, The Answer?)

2006-12-12T15:16:00.000-05:00

Here are my five thoughts today about the NBA:

5. Stephen Jackson emulating his role model, Ron Artest.
Jackson has had a turbulent six months. From his arrest at the nightclub and the subsequent legal proceedings to his feuds with both Rick Carlisle and Jermaine O'Neal, this Pacer is making a strong case to become an ex-Pacer. If he releases a rap album any time in the near future, we might as well just name him Ron Artest, Jr.

4. Vince Carter rediscovering Vinsanity--from downtown.
Carter's 9 three pointers in a single game last night were spectacular, overshadowing Jason Kidd's 79th triple double. If he were making a case for a max contract next year with the Orlando Magic, yesterday's game was the one to base it on. Did anyone else notice the seeming lack of camraderie between Carter and Kidd, however?

3. What's wrong with LBJ?
He's still getting his numbers, but his teams should not be losing to teams like the Hornets without both Peja and David West- not if the Cavs want to be considered as one of the legitimate title contenders this year. LeBron is talented enough that he might be able to make it work with the system that he has, but it seems clear to me that he will not reach his full potential in terms of winning consistently until they replace Zydrunas Ilgauskas at center and make this team the potentially scary offensive team that it could be on the break.

2. Pau is close to coming back
The Memphis Grizzlies superstar is coming back soon, which is cause for both celebration and a bit of reshuffling in Memphis. During his absence, the Grizzlies' best player has arguably been Hakim Warrick, who plays the power forward position-same as Pau, and their most steady contributor, Mike Miller, plays the 3, the other position that Warrick is capable of playing. With Gasol returning, look for Memphis to shift to more of a small-ball system that gets all three of these effective scorers on the floor at the same time while relegating perpetually ineffective Stromile Swift to the bench.

1. Where is Iverson going to end up?
I don't have the answer as to the destination of The Answer (sorry, couldn't help myself), but I know where I would like to see him end up: Minnesota. The Big Ticket and The Answer can do some great things together, as the only Superstar who does not need the ball to dominate a game will get paired with one of the most electrifying scorers ever to play the game.

Caps-Pens: Is Hockey Back?

2006-12-11T23:37:00.000-05:00

This evening I went to only my 2nd post-lockout hockey game--the first being the Caps' home opener when hockey returned. Having attended many a game at the ol' MCI Center, I was curious to see whether the excitement was still there.

No better place to start than seeing the Penguins come into town to play the Capitals. After all, this game was a showcase of the two top young talents that the NHL hopes will be its marquee stars for a generation: the Pens' 19-year old Sidney Crosby and the Caps' 21-year old reigning Rookie of the Year, Alexander Ovechkin.

The game lived up to its billing, with a hard-fought game featuring goals, penalties, fights, star performances, and a thrilling finish. Washington jumped out to a 4-0 lead, then Pittsburgh came storming back as the Caps' defense gave it up like a fat girl on prom night. Both stars notched 2 points: Crosby a goal and an assist, Ovechkin two assists.

The 4-4 game headed to OT but remained deadlocked, meaning I got to see my first regular season NHL shootout ever. The NHL was looking to add excitement for the casual fan when they instituted this rule upon returning from the lockout, and it was quite a savvy move. Ovie scored, Crosby didn't, but ultimately it didn't matter when the 'Pens Evgeni Malkin, another rising star, put one past the ageless Olie Kolzig. Game: 'Pens.

As for the actual hockey experience, I'd give it a mixed verdict. There were a lot of things to like: Verizon Center was fuller than I expected, even considering the rivalry (though the number of Pens fans was unsettling), the on-ice action was good (even if there was hardly any checking--a reflection more on the teams' styles I suppose), and no stadium can match the in-game videos the 'Caps play on the Jumbotron to entertain and motivate the fans.

I'd like to start going to more Washington Capitals games like I used to, but I have a feeling that there would be far fewer seats in the building if they weren't playing a major rivalry game like Pittsburgh. Ovie can't pack a full house every night--can he?

5 Second Rule (K-Mart, T-Mac, Gil)

2006-12-11T14:12:00.000-05:00

Here are, in reverse order, the 5 most important things going on in the NBA in my mind)specifically.

5. The emergence of Kevin Martin as a stud scorer for the Sacramento Kings.
Many people had written the Kings off when it was learned that Brad Miller was initially out for a month with a foot injury, and then Mr. Martin decided it was time for him to start lighting up the NBA. Putting up All Star-like numbers until last week, (he's in a bit of a shooting slump) Martin, with his backcourt-mates Mike Bibby and the mercurial Ron Artest, have guided the Kings thus far to within a game of the 8th spot in the West without their best inside player.

4. T-Mac ascendant--as a passer?
Tracy McGrady's scoring average is down below 20 ppg for the first time in 6 years, but his assists number of 6.3 speaks of T-Mac's increasing dedication to be a facilitator of the offense built around Yao Ming. T-Mac's outside shooting threat forces opponents to play him tighter on the outside while keeping the attention of potential shot-blockers on him and away from the other Rockets, something which T-Mac is taking advantage of this year by hitting the open player more often than he has ever done so in his career. The result? The Rockets are one game out of first place in the West and Yao Ming is having an MVP-type season, solidifying his claim to be the best center in the NBA in the wake of the Shaq era.

3. Gilbert's inconsistency
Though he has regained his scoring form of late, Gilbert early in the season had alternating gems and duds not fitting with the centerpiece of a contending team: a 27.8 ppg scorer should never be held to 3 or 7 points, and should never follow up a 16.7% shooting night with a 56% one, followed by a 30% one. It seems that Gilbert has found his form of late; now if only Etan Thomas were not the Wiz' leading scoring inside force at 7.1 ppg...

2. The success of the Golden State Warriors--without Jason Richardson
In a year hailed by many as a resurgent year for the newly-competitive Golden State Warriors, Jason Richardson finds himself in one of the worst offensive stretches of his career. With young guns Monta Ellis and Mickael Pietrus running the engine sparked by Baron Davis on offense, Richardson's role on the team is in question when he finally returns to the lineup healthy; a potential controversy that could lead the former slam dunk winner out of Golden State.

1. LaDainian Tomlinson's record breaking day
This is an NBA column, but special occasions call for an exception to the rule. In the words of Marty Schottenheimer, "He is, in my opinion, the best running back to put on an NFL uniform...ever." Nothing else needs to be said.

L.T.: Best Running Back Ever?

2006-12-10T23:04:00.000-05:00

Today against the Broncos with 3:57 left in the game, LaDainian Tomlinson ran for a 6-yard TD. 47 seconds later, he ran for another, his third score of the game and 29th overall run/rec TD this season. And just like that, he became the new record-holder for most TDs scored in a single season. I should point out that the 29 scores indicated in his record don't even count the 2 passing TDs he's scored this year, but I guess those are just superfluous...

"He is the finest running back to ever wear an NFL uniform," Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer said afterward. Let's focus on that. Call me biased because I root for San Diego, but I think that LaDainian Tomlinson can legitimately be called the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time). That we're even having this discussion may sound silly--or premature, considering the guy's only in his 6th season--but his body of work stands for itself. It's pointless going over all the various stats and records this guy has put up, but let's quickly note that he's the fastest ever to reach 100 TDs, and that even in just 6 seasons, his assault on the list of greats above him is formidable.

In the case of L.T., I think it's hard to recognize how great a player is simply because he is among us, doing his thing right now. It flies against the easier notion that the greats are the players who are no longer playing, players who we can only watch on old highlight reels. But you look at L.T.--and you see his speed, his power running, his agility, his ramrod straight-arm, his sure hands, his run after the catch, his endurance, his versatility, his making plays on every down, his blocking, and off-the-field, his great humility and all-around good-guy nature--and you see the best of anyone before him.

He can do the things that Payton, or Allen, or Dickerson, or Sanders did, and not just one of them, but all of them. Combine that with the fact that he is the all-too-rare role model encompassing exactly what a professional athlete should be, and I don't think we should be afraid to acknowledge the truth: LaDainian Tomlinson is the greatest RB of all time.

NFL Week 14 Preview

2006-12-10T12:15:00.000-05:00

Because we're in that time of the year us college students know and loathe as the season of Final Exams, there hasn't been any activity here over the past week, and don't expect much for the next week or so.

We'll be back on schedule soon enough.
* * *
Five Games to Watch:

1) NEW ORLEANS (8-4) at DALLAS (8-4) - Until Rex Grossman can get his swagger back, these two teams are the best in the NFC. Not only that, but damn, these teams are fun to watch--this should be one helluva game.
2) NY GIANTS (6-6) at CAROLINA (6-6) - A 6-6 record in the NFC means you're in the thick of the playoff hunt. Two teams that are slumping badly of late (Giants have lost 4 straight, Panthers 4 of their last 6) need a win here to prove they belong.
3) SAN DIEGO (10-2) at DENVER (7-5) - The Jay Cutler Experiment didn't fare well last week for the Broncos, as the rookie QB struggled mightily in his debut. Another bad game will have Mile High fans wondering why the switch came at 7-4. S.D.'s looking to zero in on some HFA.
4) BALTIMORE (9-3) at KANSAS CITY (7-5) - Last week my widely-publicized poo-poohing of the Ravens, and trumpeting of the Bengals, played out to perfection. But the Chiefs may not have enough on either side of the ball to get past the very mortal Ravens.
5) BUFFALO (5-7) at NY JETS (7-5) - Don't let the Bills' 5-7 record fool you, they've been playing great ball as of late. Their only 3-2 in their last 5, but that includes a 1-point loss to Indy and a 3-point loss to S.D. last week. The Jets are one of five 7-5 AFC teams in the hunt for a playoff spot but they've benefited from a soft schedule all year.

* * *
Last week, Kevin looked to put the game out of reach with yet another weekly win. His season margin over Andrew is now at 4 games, but this week's picks look like a diverse lot.

	Jay	Moose	Andrew	Kevin	Ning	Z	Favorite
Pittsburgh at Cleveland	PIT	CLE	PIT	PIT	PIT	PIT	PIT
Atlanta at Tampa Bay	ATL	ATL	ATL	ATL	ATL	TB	ATL
Baltimore at Kansas City	BAL	KC	BAL	KC	BAL	BAL	KC
Indianapolis at Jacksonville	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND
Minnesota at Detroit	DET	DET	MIN	MIN	MIN	DET	DET
New England at Miami	NE	MIA	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE
NY Giants at Carolina	CAR	NYG	NYG	CAR	CAR	NYG	CAR
Oakland at Cincinnati	CIN	CIN	CIN	CIN	CIN	CIN	CIN
Philadelphia at Washington	WAS	PHI	PHI	WAS	WAS	WAS	PHI
Tennessee at Houston	TEN	TEN	TEN	HOU	TEN	HOU	HOU
Green Bay at San Francisco	SF	SF	SF	SF	GB	SF	SF
Seattle at Arizona	SEA	ARI	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA
Buffalo at NY Jets	BUF	BUF	NYJ	NYJ	NYJ	NYJ	NYJ
Denver at San Diego	SD	SD	SD	SD	SD	SD	SD
New Orleans at Dallas	DAL	DAL	DAL	NO	DAL	DAL	DAL
Chicago at St. Louis	STL	STL	CHI	CHI	CHI	CHI	CHI

Favorites are the betting pick to win.

Last week:
Kevin 10-6, Ning 9-7, Favorite 8-8, Jay 8-8, Andrew 7-9, Moose 6-10, Z 5-11

Season:
Kevin 123-69, Andrew 119-73, Favorite 118-74, Ning 113-79, Z 111-81, Jay 106-86, Moose 103-89

Nissan "Chase for the Heisman" Commercials

2006-12-03T18:47:00.000-05:00

Check out the new Nissan Titan two-part commercial featuring the contenders from various schools for the Heisman Trophy:

These reminded me of the great Fox Sports "Ladders" commercial about the BCS contenders that aired earlier this fall:

NFL Week 13 Preview

2006-11-30T02:46:00.000-05:00

What to Look for in Week 13:

Starting off locally, the WASHINGTON REDSKINS look to build off of a morale-boosting victory over the Panthers last week. Hopefully, we'll see the return of "Joe Gibbs style" football being played--a pounding running game and a tough defense. The 'Skins host Mike "The Finger" Vick, who, after two stellar performances in late October, has made headlines most recently for flipping off his own home crowd. The Falcons have lost 4 straight, including games against the Lions and Browns. . .

The Redskins could also see a fresh leg on the field this weekend--struggling Nick Novak (5 of 10 FGs) has been put on notice by the addition of former Cowboys kicker Shaun Suisham to the practice squad. . .

And speaking of former Cowboys kickers, MIKE VANDERJAGT was cut this week by Dallas. The most accurate kicker in NFL history apparently didn't give good vibes to Bill Parcells, who axed the guy and his $5 million+ salary even though his 13-for-18 performance on the year wasn't that bad. It's a questionable move by Parcells, one I would think has to be motivated partially by personal reasons. That said, I would certainly encourage the Redskins to jump at the opportunity--if you look to the right, you'll see it's not too hard to imagine Vanderjagt in 'Skins colors. . .

The NY GIANTS have lost three in a row, and the Blue Men Group appear to be producing as many turnovers as discontented players. The losing season has seen prickly Jeremy Shockey and normally solid citizen Tiki Barber complaining about coach Tom Coughlin. Last week, big play receiver Plaxico Burress quit on a deep pass from Eli Manning. While it wasn't the first time Plax emulated Randy "40%" Moss, this instance resulted in an interception by the Titans' Pacman Jones, which keyed Tennessee's 24-point fourth quarter comeback win. . .

This week, things don't get easier. Marching into the Meadowlands is Tony Romo and the DALLAS COWBOYS. I think a loss here spells the end of Coughlin's stormy tenure in the Big Apple. A win here could definitely salvage the season though--let's not forget that, recent rough seas aside, the Giants are only a game back in the NFC East. . .

The definite highlight of this week's games is the Thursday night matchup between BALTIMORE and CINCINNATI. On the one hand, you have Baltimore at 9-2, winners of 5 straight, cruising through the season. On the other hand, you have Cincinnati barely at 6-5, struggling for its playoff life. But see the "5 Games to Watch" section below to find out why I think the Orange and Black are the better team. . .

Random thought: is the AFC East the best division in football now? Or at least the one with the most competitive teams? It's the only division in the league that has no team with a record worse than 5-6. [New England (8-3), NY Jets (6-5), Buffalo and Miami (5-6)]. Additionally, all four teams in the division have been playing well as of late--they've won a combined nine game straight. . .

Lastly, the Sunday night matchup between Seattle and Denver should be intriguing. Seahawks QB Matt Hasselbeck returned from a long injury layoff last week, and promptly turned over the ball four times in the first half before settling down and leading his team to a win in the snow. He should be more prepared for this weekend in Mile High. On another note, earlier this week, I had the brilliant idea of exercising by running up and down a flight of stairs over and over. The next day I felt like I could barely walk--so imagine how Shaun Alexander feels after carrying the rock 40 times last week. . .

Mike Vick dealing with finger extension issues.

Jay Cutler's in the lab trying to find a winning formula for Denver.

Jay's Top 10 Rankings:

The ten best teams in the league as of right now.

1) NEW ENGLAND (8-3) - This was a surprise to me--the Patriots as a top 5 team sure, but #1? Then I realized that N.E. has given up fewer points (144) than anyone in the NFC except the Bears (137), whom they beat last week. A solid defense combined with the steady hand of Tom Brady down the stretch is what the rest of the league will have to try and overcome.

2) DALLAS (7-4) - Romomentum, Romomania, or Tony Romo's Ribs. Call it whatever you want, it's magic. The Cowboys have won 4 of their last 5, the only loss being the fluke ending at RFK back on November 5. Right now The Kid QB is making aerial poetry with Terry Glenn and Terrell Owens, at least one of the RB duo of Julius Jones and Marion Barber has a big game each week, DeMarcus Ware and the pass rush are getting to enemy quarterbacks, and Terence Newman and Roy Williams have made the deep pass against Dallas a no-fly zone. Until some defensive coordinator figures out how to rattle Romo, the Cowboys are going to be unstoppable.

3) SAN DIEGO (9-2) - I get nervous about putting my Chargers up this high, because my every memory of my old hometown team since Super Bowl XXIX involves disappointment. But here's another team where it's hard to find something to dislike. The defense has played hard-nosed, aggressive ball this year--a rarity for a Chargers team--and now Shawne Merriman returns from a 4-game steroids suspension. As far as the offense goes, L.T. is L.T., 'nuff said. Even when first-year starter Rivers hits a speedbump, L.T. throws the TDs to Antonio Gates.

4) INDIANAPOLIS (10-1) - Should a 10-1 team deserve the disrespect of being ranked 4th? I don't know, because it's so hard to get a read on these Colts. Peyton and the aerial game are never anything to complain about, but while Joseph Addai stomped his cleats all over the Eagles last week (170 rushing yards, 4 TDs), I'm more concerned about the running game's lackluster output in the previous week's loss to the Cowboys. When the Colts run up into a tough, physical defense, will they fold? The Colts play solid but unspectacular defense--unlike the Patriots or Bears, it won't win games outright for the team.

5) CINCINNATI (6-5) - Really, a team that might not make the playoffs up here at #5? Yes, because they're finally playing like the breakout team they were supposed to be. The shutout the Bengals defense pitched last week was only against the Browns, but forcing five turnovers was impressive. Much more importantly, the offense is finally clicking. Carson Palmer has thrown for 9 TDs in his past three games (with a whopping avg. QB rating of 126.5), and Ocho Cinco has finally started making big plays. Rudi Johnson's looking better too.

6) CHICAGO (9-2) - Analyzing Da Bears isn't very difficult. The defense is terrific. The offense--ehh. And I don't mean the RB duo of Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson, who do all they are supposed to. In last week's loss to New England, they combined for 33 carries for 145 yards and a TD. It's safe to say that in any game Rex Grossman doesn't throw three picks, a victory is pretty much guaranteed.

7) BALTIMORE (9-2) - I underestimate the Ravens at my own peril. They're 9-2, having won 5 straight, and they're coming off a convincing shutout of the Steelers. But is the Ravens' lofty record built on a precarious foundation of amazing luck? Nothing I've seen from their offense impresses me--it could be that Steve McNair's passing numbers are so modest, but even his lowly 188 passing yards-per-game is about normal for him. No, it must be Jamal Lewis's pathetic 66 rushing yards-per-game that troubles me.

8) NEW ORLEANS (7-4) - Maybe I still have a soft spot for Drew Brees, late of S.D., but how can you not like the prolific numbers he's putting up? He is on pace to throw for just over 5,000 yards this season, and they're not in vain. Brees (the shoulder's perfectly healthy, thanks for asking) has created a high-octane Saints offense in a position held not so long ago by guys like Heath Shuler, Billy Joe Tolliver, and Chrissy Everett. Also, Deuce McAllister's has quietly put up 8 rushing TDs in a reduced role.

9) SEATTLE (7-4) - The defending NFC champs have had to deal without the services of reigning MVP Shaun Alexander and Pro Bowl QB Matt Hasselbeck for most of the season. But all that's over with now. No reason Seattle's Best shouldn't round back into form now.

10) KANSAS CITY (7-4) - This is one team that I think could as easily be ranked #15 as #10, because it's so hard for me to believe the Chiefs are actually 7-4. Despite the early-season injury to Trent Green. Despite riding Damon Huard for so many weeks. Despite Trent Green coming back and looking like--well, looking like he was in yet another situation where the backup would steal his thunder. Larry Johnson (140+ total yards/game), on pace to set a record for most carries in a season, is the Plymouth Rock of this franchise.

5 Games of the Week:

The DSA crew picks the best matchups of Week 13.

1) BALTIMORE at CINCINNATI - Bengals WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh again said of the Ravens this week "I think we're better than them. We'll find out." Though he'd be better off keeping his mouth shut, I'm inclined to believe Who's Your Momma.

2) DALLAS at NY GIANTS - The Cowboys are riding a full head of steam and have The Anointed One at QB; the Giants are in a tailspin and their Shaky QB hates his star WR, amongst various in-house problems. But there's no way the Giants come out looking flat in this game--is there?

3) SEATTLE at DENVER - Jay Cutler's the new sheriff in the Mile High City, and if the well-regarded rookie can come close to meeting the high expectations, 7-4 Denver might still be in a playoff chase. How hard can it be to make people forget about Jake Plummer?

4) ATLANTA at WASHINGTON - Jason Campbell and the 'Skins are set to stun the Falcons, like the UCLA cops stunned that kid in the library. Which is to say, Mike Vick will be immobilized.

5) HOUSTON at OAKLAND - Sure, only relatives of the players on these two teams would willingly watch this game, but don't tell me you're not curious to see what dysfunction looks like.

Week 13 Pick 'Ems:

Last week, ANDREW (along with NING and the FAVORITE) took first place, and now trails KEVIN for the season lead by just one game. Meanwhile, yours truly leapfrogged Moose to surge into second-to-last place. Stay tuned for more action...

	Jay	Moose	Andrew	Kevin	Ning	Z	Favorite
Baltimore at Cincinnati	CIN	BAL	BAL	CIN	BAL	BAL	CIN
Arizona at St. Louis	STL	STL	STL	ARI	STL	STL	STL
Atlanta at Washington	WAS	WAS	WAS	ATL	WAS	WAS	WAS
Detroit at New England	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE
Indianapolis at Tennessee	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND
Kansas City at Cleveland	KC	KC	KC	KC	KC	KC	KC
Minnesota at Chicago	CHI	CHI	CHI	MIN	CHI	CHI	CHI
NY Jets at Green Bay	NYJ	GB	GB	NYJ	NYJ	GB	NYJ
San Diego at Buffalo	SD	SD	SD	SD	SD	SD	SD
San Francisco at New Orleans	NO	NO	NO	SF	NO	NO	NO
Jacksonville at Miami	MIA	MIA	JAX	MIA	JAX	MIA	MIA
Houston at Oakland	OAK	HOU	OAK	HOU	HOU	HOU	OAK
Dallas at NY Giants	DAL	DAL	DAL	DAL	DAL	NYG	DAL
Tampa Bay at Pittsburgh	TB	TB	PIT	PIT	TB	TB	PIT
Seattle at Denver	SEA	DEN	DEN	SEA	SEA	DEN	DEN
Carolina at Philadelphia	CAR	CAR	CAR	CAR	CAR	CAR	CAR

Favorites are the betting pick to win.

Last week:
Andrew 12-4, Ning 12-4, Favorite 12-4, Kevin 11-5, Z 11-5, Jay 10-6, Moose 7-9

Season:
Kevin 113-63, Andrew 112-64, Favorite 110-66, Z 106-70, Ning 104-72, Jay 98-78, Moose 97-79

Marcus Harris Flip: The Video

2006-11-28T10:53:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I offered a "shiny new donkey" to whoever found me a video clip of Chargers LB Marcus Harris celebrating his sack against the Raiders on Sunday with a cartwheel and backflip. Our good friend Danny G steps up to the task, with the animated .GIF you see below. (Non-broadbandites, it may take a while to load.)

Ah, but Danny's not completely on the up-and-up here. Notice that in the clip above the Chargers are wearing their throwback powder-blue uniforms. On this past Sunday, when the incident I was referring to took place, the Chargers were wearing their traditional navy uniforms--you can see from the photo of Antonio Gates I posted yesterday.

That said, I did say that Harris had done it before a few times, and it was so cool, I'll give Danny his donkey anyway. As per his request, his reward will be paid over 20 years in a series of installments, beginning with the hooves.

Sunday Observations

2006-11-27T20:20:00.000-05:00

A day late, but still plenty to get through. . .

I have to start close to home. Last week, Tom Friend on ESPN.com rocked the DC Metropolitan Area with his expose into dissent and delusion at Redskin Park. It may have been an overhyped story based on one anonymous disgruntled player, but it certainly cast a poor light on the organization. Surprisingly, it wasn't the lackluster offense that took the heat.

Defensive head coach Gregg Williams was savaged for being arrogant and alienating his players, secondary coach Steve Jackson was cast as immature and petulant, and Joe Gibbs was criticized for taking too much of a hands-off, "CEO" approach. Egos and bruised relationships aside, the critical part of the story was the revelation that Williams' defensive schemes have been figured out--they are "high school" to the rest of the league, and that his schemes have sabotaged his own players. Additionally, Jackson's power plays led to the cornerbacks and safeties meeting separately--no wonder the Skins've always been getting beat deep.

Friend, the former Washington Post writer, urged Gibbs to get more hands-on with this team, something I've been crying about for weeks. At least I only though that Gibbs needed to run his power running style of offense again, and get away from the gimmicks. But it looks like the team needs him most to smooth over tensions on the defensive unit, and while Gibbs doesn't need to get involved in the nuts and bolts, surely his goodwill can go a long way. After all, everyone still loves Joe.

Anyway, the article seems to have stirred the Redskins. In Sunday's game against Tampa, the defensive unit played an inspired game. Carlos Rogers, who has been especially awful, really stepped up, as did Sean Taylor. Both were notably featured in the Friend article as being mishandled by Williams. Hopefully this little bit of public drama is the push the 'Skins needed to right their own ship. Again, one anonymous player's grievances don't mean all that much, and Williams seems to have a lot of public support from his team, so I'm sure this latest dissension can be managed in house. Still, it was certainly warranted.

Onto some thoughts on the rest of the league.

DALLAS...Tony Romo threw 5 TDs on Thanksgiving, and has already been annointed as The One. But really, this kid looks terrific. One thing I'll point out that's different between him and other young quarterbacks that have had early success--his team's not winning just because they're getting by with their new QB, they're only winning because of him. Consider the example of Ben Roethlisberger, where the Steelers racked up the W's, but Big Ben really just managed the offense capably, usually throwing for under 200 yards and trying to minimize mistakes. Romo, on the other hand, is putting up gaudy statistics like he's been Peyton Manning for years.

CINCINNATI...Yeah, this team had a horrendous mid-season stretch, but although they're 6-5 right now, they're playing some of the best football in the AFC. I mean really clicking. If they beat Baltimore this coming Thursday, I don't think anyone should find it hard to believe the Bengals will be in the playoffs.

SAN DIEGO...Don't find it odd that they played a close one with the Raiders. I grew up in San Diego, so I know that no matter what kind of year either team is having, these games are always dogfights. Tomlinson throwing another TD was sweet--for his career he's now 7-for-9 with 6 TD passes. That's disgusting. Also, I'll give a shiny new donkey to whoever can find me a video clip of Chargers' LB Marcus Harris celebrating his sack with not just a cartwheel (impressive for such a big man) but then a standing backflip. And it ain't the first time--holy cow. Better than Shawn Jefferson.

NY GIANTS...Are they done? I had this team pegged from the preseason on as the team to beat in the NFC, and for most of the year they haven't done anything to change my mind. Then this three game collapse to increasingly worse teams...what gives? While it doesn't seem rational to think that this slide could continue, the Giants' schedule for the rest of the year is tough. Dallas is my new team to beat in the NFC.

NEW ENGLAND...knocked off the NFC's conventionally wise top dog, Chicago, this weekend. Credit the Pats' Asante Samuel for his 3 INTs in what was a total slugfest. On paper, the Patriots aren't all that, and each week injuries seem to deplete them further (this time, it's Seau to the IR). But the mark of a great team is that they keep finding ways to win, and that's what New England's been doing. Meanwhile, Da Bears seriously have to stop turning the ball over--early-season golden boy Grossman suddenly looks more like Orton. Is he looking over his shoulder at Griese?

Week 12 Pick 'Em results, still in progress, have Andrew and Ning (as well as the Favorites) at 11-4. Kevin, Z, and myself are at 10-5, with Moose rounding out the pack at 7-8. Tonight's MNF matchup between the Packers and Seahawks will prove a determining factor, as a Packers win would put me at tied for first, and the only one to pick the MNF winner. A Seahawks win will leave the status quo intact.

Go Favre!

Jermaine's World

2006-11-25T15:25:00.000-05:00

The Indiana Pacers have two great big men in Jermaine O'Neal and Al Harrington. They have a reasonable, if somewhat unstable wing player in Stephen Jackson and a defensive dynamo in Danny Granger.

Why is this team only one game above .500?

The answer, as usual for elite teams, lies with the point guard.

Jamaal Tinsley may be many things, but a consistent outside shooter is not one of those. The lack of a perimeter threat, a role filled by Peja Stojakovic last year, limits the Pacers as an offensive team, as their opponents can limit their effectiveness by simply packing the paint and making Tinsley beat them with his jumper. The alternative, Sarunas Jasikevicius, is a fantastic shooter-but is inexperienced at the NBA game, having come over only last year from Euroleague's Maccabi Tel Aviv.

The Pacers need to address this issue, or else their record will remain inconsistent with their talent.

I'm waiting for the playoffs but...

2006-11-24T12:28:00.000-05:00

I think i'm turning a bit Romosexual here...

NFL Week 12 Preview

2006-11-22T22:21:00.000-05:00

In the spirit of the holiday, the DSA presents its Five Games to Watch this week with commentary on what the teams involved should be thankful for.

CHICAGO at NEW ENGLAND - Da Bears are thankful for their defense, which, when combined with any game that Rex Grossman doesn't make a half-dozen bonehead turnovers, pretty much guarantees a victory. The Pats' are thankful that Tom Brady's found a way to throw 19 TDs to a cast of no-name receivers, and that the RB duo of Maroney and Dillon averages 109 yards on the ground each game. (Football fans this weekend are thankful that the schedule produced this quasi-Super Bowl matchup!)

NEW ORLEANS at ATLANTA - New Orleans is thankful that Drew Brees's shoulder is healthy--he's on pace to top 4,000 yards this season. The Saints are also thankful for their electric rookie, ~~Reggie Bush~~ Marques Colston. The Falcons should be thankful they're still in their divisional race despite beating only one team all year that currently has a winning record.

PITTSBURGH at BALTIMORE - The Ravens are thanking their incredible luck, which has them at 8-2, and atop the AFC North. This despite a sub-par year from Steve McNair (yes, really: 11 TDs to 9 INTs) and Jamal Lewis averaging a negligible 67 yards a game. The defending champion Steelers are thankful they might salvage a winning record this year (Cowher's last?) after a 2-6 start. (Fact: Big Ben has thrown 17 picks already.)

DENVER at KANSAS CITY - Jake Plummer should be thankful for Matt Leinart, the only thing that prevents him from having the lowest QB rating of any starter in the NFL right now. Then again, there's still several weeks left to play. For the Chiefs, two letters: L.J.

SAN FRANCISCO at ST. LOUIS - The Niners are thankful that if they win this game, amazingly enough, they will be in first place in the cesspool that is the NFC West. The Rams, losers of 5 straight after a 4-1 start, should at least hope their fans have diminished expectations for the season.

* * *
Week 12 Pick 'Ems:

	Jay	Moose	Andrew	Kevin	Ning	Z	Favorite
Miami at Detroit	MIA	MIA	MIA	DET	MIA	MIA	MIA
Tampa Bay at Dallas	DAL	DAL	DAL	DAL	DAL	DAL	DAL
Denver at Kansas City	DEN	DEN	DEN	KC	KC	DEN	KC
Pittsburgh at Baltimore	PIT	PIT	BAL	BAL	BAL	BAL	BAL
New Orleans at Atlanta	NO	NO	NO	ATL	NO	NO	ATL
Jacksonville at Buffalo	BUF	JAX	JAX	JAX	JAX	BUF	JAX
Houston at NY Jets	NYJ	HOU	NYJ	NYJ	NYJ	NYJ	NYJ
Cincinnati at Cleveland	CIN	CIN	CIN	CIN	CIN	CLE	CIN
Carolina at Washington	CAR	CAR	CAR	CAR	CAR	CAR	CAR
Arizona at Minnesota	ARI	ARI	MIN	MIN	MIN	MIN	MIN
San Francisco at St. Louis	SF	SF	STL	STL	STL	STL	STL
Oakland at San Diego	SD	SD	SD	SD	SD	SD	SD
NY Giants at Tennessee	TEN	TEN	NYG	NYG	NYG	NYG	NYG
Chicago at New England	NE	CHI	NE	NE	CHI	CHI	NE
Philadelphia at Indianapolis	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND
Green Bay at Seattle	GB	GB	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA

Favorites are the betting pick to win.

Last week:
Jay 11-5, Andrew 10-6, Favorite 10-6, Kevin 9-7, Ning 9-7, Z 8-8, Moose 7-9

Season:
Kevin 102-58, Andrew 100-60, Favorite 98-62, Z 95-65, Ning 92-68, Moose 90-70, Jay 88-72

Sunday Observations

2006-11-19T23:54:00.000-05:00

It was an absolutely wild Sunday which featured A-list matchups, big comebacks, huge individual performances, and some crucial injuries. With regards to the last note, perhaps the biggest headline from Sunday is that Eagles QB Donovan McNabb tore his ACL and will be gone for the year. McNabb was having probably the best season of his career, and this blow is devastating not just for him but for the Eagles, who at 5-5 now, can kiss the playoffs goodbye.

Other boldface names to suffer injuries this week include Brett Favre and LaMont Jordan, the latter of whom also had his season ended today. Jordan can at least be thankful he gets to escape the wreckage of the Raiders' awful year, but B. Favre (who apparently should be fine for next week) will have to soldier through the Pack's mediocre season. (Interestingly enough, because the NFC North is so dismal aside from Da Bears, the Packers remain in 2nd place, even though at least 9 other teams in the NFC at large have better records.

Injuries created headlines for sure, but Week 11 also saw the return of some key players from injuries. Shaun Alexander, Trent Green, and Aaron Brooks rewarded long-suffering fantasy owners by returning from their respective ailments. (Haha, who am I kidding, which fantasy owner lost sleep over Brooks?) All three had quiet games, but Green at least engineered the Chiefs' game-winning drive against Oakland.

The Colts are no longer undefeated. Astute readers of Da Sports Authority may recall that yours truly called that one. Dallas has a tough remaining schedule, but right now, I think they're playing the best football in the NFC. I remain very impressed by the play of Tony Romo, and when Dallas gets it Jones-Barber RB duo clicking, and the defense plays like it did today, the Cowboys look well-nigh unstoppable.

In another marquee matchup this week, Cincinnati topped slumping New Orleans by pulling away with 21 points in the 4th quarter. Carson Palmer to Ocho-Cinco produced 3 TDs, proving that the 260 yards and 2 TDs they produced last weekend was a harbinger of two things to come. For the Saints, Drew Brees' 510 yards weren't enough. Of more concern to the 6-4 Saints, losers of 3 of their last 4, was that Rookie of the Year (Marques Colston) suffered an ankle injury. He better be all right.

Last week, 49ers RB Frank Gore galloped for, what, 150 yards or so in the first half, but suffered a concussion in the second half and did not return. As his fantasy owner, I spent all week wondering whether he'd play today, and what kind of impact he'd make. Well, how's this for impact: Gore, buck wild, again. 24 carries for 212 yards (an 8.8 average), so I can even overlook the fact that he fumbles almost as prolifically as he racks up the yards.

We interrupt this Football Themed broadcast with a little baseball news: MLB sources are reporting that Alfonso Soriano signed with the Cubs. The best thing inside RFK Field has inevitably reneged on his professed desire to stay in D.C., and has jumped ship for Lou Piniella, Wrigley Field, and 8 years/$136 million. "Suffice it to say a contract like that simply doesn't fit in with trying to build a team from where we are," Nationals president Stan Kasten said. "We wish Alfonso well. We have been expecting it, and we're ready to move on." Ugh.

With regards to more disappointments from the local sports team, here's one exception. First-time starter Jason Campbell looked good. He didn't do anything extraordinary, but he certainly looked like a competent quarterback who can help his team win games. Right from his very first snap, in which he effortlessly bombed a deep pass to Brandon Lloyd (who couldn't catch up to it), Campbell showed that all that talk about his arm strength was justified. He also seemed to see the field well and was comfortable in the pocket. His final line was respectable: 19-for-34, 196 yards, sacked twice, 2 TDs.

Back to disappointing: Everything else about the 'Skins--the running game, the defense, the droopy old coaches on the sideline--looked terrible. Betts and Duckett combined for 12 carries for 34 yards, making me think that even Clinton Portis with a broken hand, separated shoulder, and bullets through both kneecaps could do better. The defense gave up 181 yards on the ground, meaning that Cadillac Williams had his first worthwhile game in a year, and that I heard Mike Alstott's name for the first time in ages--I assumed he'd retired. The pass defense was, per usual, awful. I'm never sure whether I'm watching a replay of Carlos Rogers getting toasted over and over again, or whether it just keeps happening.

On the bright side, my former home team, the Chargers, remain near and dear to my heart. In Sunday's other Game of the Day (the other being Colts-Cowboys), San Diego staged yet another second-half rally to come back from 17 points down. You can never count the Chargers ou...these guys are like the Bush administration--they don't care about deficits!

L.T. racked up another 4 TDs, for the second straight week, and for the second straight week, he's my Sunday Stud. Tonight he crossed the 100 TD plateau, having reached that mark faster than any player in NFL history. Don't forget he has a staggering 19 TDs in his past 6 games, and is going to shatter the single-season scoring record this year. Not that I had any doubt about it before, but read Charles Robinson on putting L.T. into the "all-time greats" list.

A final note: watching NBC's coverage of the game, I was gratified to recall just how good John Madden and Al Michaels are as a commentating team. These are two guys who know the game, know how and what to explain, and just consistently make watching the game a better experience. Virtually every other analyst on TV needs to take a cue from this duo.

NFL Week 11 Preview

2006-11-19T12:23:00.000-05:00

Plenty of action to follow here in Week 11. The home team's got a new man behind center--Jason Campbell finally takes over for Mark Brunell. While the season is already lost, finding out whether Campbell is the Future of the Franchise gives purpose to the remaining games.

Looking around the horn, it seems like every single game this weekend should be competitive. Five that the DSA crew highlighted:

SAN DIEGO at DENVER - The two 7-2 AFC West juggernauts in their first meeting of the year.
INDIANAPOLIS at DALLAS - Indy's undefeated, but Dallas has the O and the D to cause problems.
CINCINNATI at NEW ORLEANS - Both of these teams need to bust out of their recent slumps.
CHICAGO at NY JETS - Gang Green slew the Pats this week; will the Bears meet the same fate?
ATLANTA at BALTIMORE - Vick struggled against the lowly Lions and Browns; maybe what he needs is a challenge.

* * *

Last week Kevin picked up the win, opening up a 3-game season lead over Andrew. This week's Pick 'Ems feature a healthy amount of diversity, so it should be a wide open weekend.

	Jay	Moose	Andrew	Kevin	Ning	Z	Favorite
Atlanta at Baltimore	BAL	ATL	BAL	BAL	BAL	BAL	BAL
Buffalo at Houston	BUF	HOU	HOU	HOU	BUF	HOU	HOU
Chicago at NY Jets	NYJ	NYJ	CHI	CHI	CHI	CHI	CHI
Cincinnati at New Orleans	CIN	NO	CIN	NO	NO	NO	NO
Minnesota at Miami	MIA	MIA	MIN	MIN	MIA	MIN	MIA
New England at Green Bay	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE
Oakland at Kansas City	KC	OAK	KC	KC	KC	KC	KC
Pittsburgh at Cleveland	PIT	PIT	PIT	PIT	PIT	PIT	PIT
St. Louis at Carolina	CAR	STL	CAR	CAR	CAR	CAR	CAR
Tennessee at Philadelphia	PHI	TEN	PHI	PHI	PHI	PHI	PHI
Washington at Tampa Bay	WAS	TB	TB	TB	WAS	WAS	TB
Detroit at Arizona	DET	DET	ARI	DET	DET	DET	ARI
Seattle at San Francisco	SF	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA
Indianapolis at Dallas	DAL	DAL	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND
San Diego at Denver	SD	SD	DEN	SD	SD	SD	DEN
NY Giants at Jacksonville	NYG	JAX	JAX	JAX	NYG	JAX	JAX

Favorites are the betting pick to win.

Last week:
Kevin 10-6, Favorite 9-7, Moose 8-8, Ning 8-8, Z 8-8, Andrew 7-9, Jay 7-9

Season:
Kevin 93-51, Andrew 90-54, Favorite 88-56, Z 87-57, Moose 83-61, Ning 83-61, Jay 77-67

The Warriors's Davis Lite

2006-11-18T15:12:00.000-05:00

Baron Davis is quickly reestablishing himself as one of the most successful point guards in the NBA. His keynote performance of the season so far has to be his 11 assists in a single quarter last week against Sacramento, an effort which concluded as a 36 point, 18 assist masterpiece for the lither, fitter Davis. While Davis has been knocked for his inconsistency in his checkered past with both the Hornets and the Warriors, he seems to have rededicated himself into playing at a higher level this season. That, combined with the still developing talents of Jason Richardson and Mickael Pietrus on the wing, makes the Warriors a very difficult team to tangle with in this early part of the season.

Emmitt Smith wins Dancing with the Stars

2006-11-16T00:07:00.000-05:00

Apparently Sweetness isn't the only one who likes to dance.

Why I don't believe in the Utah Jazz

2006-11-15T23:23:00.000-05:00

The Jazz are currently 7-1, and are beating their opponents by more than 10 points per game. They have a burgeoning star in Deron Williams, a perennial All-Star talent in Andrei Kirilenko, and a strong and deep frontcourt with Mehmet Okur, Carlos Boozer, and Jarrod Collins.

I am betting that this team finishes no better than 7th in the West, and gets beaten in the first round of the playoffs.

The reason for this prediction is the reason that the Jazz are never predicted to finish anymore: the injury bug.

Already, Kirilenko has gone down for an unspecified period of time, hurting himself once again playing the reckless style of basketball that fills up both the stat sheets and the infirmaries. Carlos Boozer is their primary rebounder and is playing fantastic right now, but there is little guarantee that his somewhat smaller stature (even at 6'9", 258) will allow him to play the physical inside game that he was so proficient at at Duke. Boozer has missed 31 and 49 games the last two seasons, and is probably due to go down again to one injury or another this year because of his size and style of play. Okur is not a true inside force; he prefers to play the role of a perimeter big man. Jarrod Collins is too green to play effectively with starter's minutes in the NBA, and Paul Millsap is still a rookie. If Boozer is out, this team reverts to a perimeter shooting team, and perimeter shooting teams can be beaten, particularly with the uncertain situation this team faces at shooting guard. At the end of the game, when it's down to the wire, this team will not be able to beat the inevitable top six combination of Dallas, San Antonio, Phoenix, Los Angeles (Clippers), the Hornets, and Denver, all of whom have proven players who take-and make-the last shot, and have balanced inside and outside scoring. As such, the Jazz will fall off towards the end of the season, and will limp into the playoffs with walking wounded.

Sunday Observations

2006-11-12T14:51:00.000-05:00

A live thread of ongoing thoughts from the action today, updated throughout the day. Latest posted on top, oldest at the bottom...

- Earlier today (see below) I mentioned how 9 of the 10 early afternoon winners won by 1 score or less. 3 of the 4 late afternoon games fit that category too, meaning an impressive 12 of 14 games this Sunday were engaging television. And with Giants-Bears playing out just now, we could see another close finish--a Grossman pass had Chi-town down 13-10 just before the half.

- Steelers-Saints engaged in a late-afternoon scorefest of their own. Pittsburgh prevailed 38-31, mostly on the legs of Willie Parker. He's one of my nominations for Sunday Stud; this week, all of the candidates come from two games. There's Bengals QB Carson Palmer, putting up gonzo fantasy #s (440 yards, 3 TDs), and his opposing number, Chargers QB Philip Rivers (337 yards, 3 TDs). Palmer's main look today was Chad Johnson, who finally had an explosive game--and then some (260 yards, 2 TDs). But no one can deny LaDainian Tomlinson, who played the pivotal role in the Chargers' 42-point second half today--he finished with 158 total yards and 4 TDs.

- If, before the Chargers-Bengals game, someone told you the over/under for combined points was 89, how many of you would have taken over? Final score: San Diego 49, Cincinnati 41.

- It was a bad week to be my fantasy running back--both of the guys I started this week left their game with an injury. As discussed below, Portis broke his hand. Frank Gore, who was ripping up the Lions D, had a concussion in the second half and exited. David Carr also left the Texans victory over Jacksonville with a shoulder injury.

- Of the 10 games at 1:00, 9 of them were decided by 1 score or less. The Ravens and Colts won by 1 point; Houston, Miami, and the Jets by 3; Cleveland by 4; Green Bay and S.F. by 4; and the Chargers by 8--the Bengals couldn't get the potentially-tying TD/2PT in the Chargers' red zone in the final seconds. The only game that wasn't close was the 'Skins flopping to the Eagles, 27-3.

- Halftime Hardware: you have to credit several teams for putting up tough fights today. Cleveland up on a suddenly-cold Atlanta, Buffalo hanging near Indy, Houston up on Jacksonville, Jets on Patriots, Cincinnati punishing San Diego, and Miami--looking like it learned something last week against Chicago--blanking K.C. But the game that's providing the most thrills is the absolute dogfight between the Once and Future Titans...Tennessee under Young is up 26-17 on McNair and the Ravens, and while both the Old Man and The Kid are playing well, the difference here is Jamal Lewis' 9 yards compared to Travis Henry's 86 on the ground.

- Frank Gore is going Buck Nasty on the Lions. 150 or so yards and a score so far, and the 'Niners are blanking Detroit. FOX showed Roy Williams before the game, cracking about how, based on the 'Niners defense, he and Kevin Jones would combine for 5 TDs. Well, about now, I bet even one would be nice.

- Although the Eagles are up 17-3 at halftime against the Redskins, it's interesting to note that McNabb is only 4-for-16, that Washington had something like a 2-to-1 time of possession advantage, and they drove into Eagles territory 5 times. Reminds me of yesterday's Maryland-Miami game, except then my team was the one that had nothing but a couple big plays and the lead...

- Clinton Portis suffered a broken hand in the first half today. This guy's shaky season has become something of a nightmare--and the same could be said about the 'Skins.

- Redskins-Cowboys has to be the best rivalry in football, but I think that Packers-Vikings has to come second. These two teams always play a damn good game, and I don't expect today to be any different. One of the best NFL games I ever saw was the Monday Night matchup between these two teams in which Antonio Freeman made that miraculous catch off of a defender's helmet in OT to cap a brilliant comeback by the Pack.

NFL Week 10 Preview

2006-11-11T23:49:00.000-05:00

Way back in the preseason, the DSA crew had weighed in with their predictions for each of the division winners, wild cards, and Super Bowl matchup. Some calls look genius--me picking N.O. in the NFC South, for example. Others prognostications are head scratchers--why did so many of us think Pittsburgh and Miami were playoff teams?

This week, we provide a midseason update to our predictions, hopefully giving us a chance to correct any errors we may have made. I think the changes say some interesting things about which way the teams have trended--while the Ravens apparently has secured the AFC North, our experts remain divided over the Seahawks' and Rams' chances in the NFC South. Check it out (crossed-out teams are the original preseason pick, if a change has been made):

	Jay	Moose	Andrew	Kevin	Ning
AFC East:	New England	New England	New England	New England ~~Miami~~	New England ~~Miami~~
AFC North:	Baltimore ~~Cincinnati~~	Baltimore ~~Cincinnati~~	Baltimore ~~Pittsburgh~~	Baltimore ~~Cincinnati~~	Baltimore ~~Cincinnati~~
AFC South:	Indianapolis	Indianapolis	Indianapolis	Indianapolis	Indianapolis
AFC West:	San Diego	Denver	Denver	San Diego ~~Denver~~	Denver
AFC Wild Cards:	Denver Cincinnati Pittsburgh Miami	San Diego Kansas City	San Diego Jacksonville Miami Baltimore	Denver Jacksonville ~~New England~~	San Diego Cincinnati New England Pittsburgh

NFC East:	NY Giants	NY Giants ~~Dallas~~	NY Giants	NY Giants ~~Washington~~	NY Giants
NFC North:	Chicago	Chicago ~~Minnesota~~	Chicago	Chicago	Chicago
NFC South:	New Orleans	New Orleans ~~Carolina~~	Carolina	New Orleans ~~Carolina~~	New Orleans ~~Carolina~~
NFC West:	St. Louis ~~Seattle~~	Seattle	Seattle	Seattle	St. Louis ~~Seattle~~
NFC Wild Cards:	Philadelphia Seattle Carolina Dallas	Atlanta Dallas Tampa Bay NY Giants	Atlanta Minnesota Washington Tampa Bay	Atlanta St. Louis NY Giants Tampa Bay	Atlanta Seattle Washington Dallas

Super Bowl:	NY Giants def. Indianapolis	Dallas def. Indianapolis ~~Dallas def. Denver~~	Denver def. Chicago Denver def. ~~Seattle~~	Indianapolis def. Chicago ~~Cincinnati def. Carolina~~	Indianapolis def. NY Giants ~~Carolina def. Cincinnati~~

* * *
Five games to watch in Week 10:

CHICAGO at NY GIANTS - The best in the NFC. One loss has the Bears looking mortal; the Giants have reeled off 5 straight. This is your game of the week right here.

ST. LOUIS at SEATTLE - Will someone please step up in the NFC South? The Rams were once 4-1; the 'Hawks are biding time till they get their stars back--but this game is today.

WASHINGTON at PHILADELPHIA - Can last week's wild finish help the 'Skins turn their season around? Can the Iggles, once 4-1, forget about that 62-yard FG and halt their 3-game skid?

SAN DIEGO at CINCINNATI - Sure, S.D. is good, but they're going to have to be better in a division that also has Denver and K.C. Cincinnati is better than 4-4.

NEW ORLEANS at PITTSBURGH - In the standings, this may not mean much, but we have to find out if the Saints are as good as 6-2 suggests, and the Steelers as bad as 2-6 suggests.

* * *

And of course, your Week 10 Pick 'Ems:

	Jay	Moose	Andrew	Kevin	Ning	Z	Favorite
Baltimore at Tennessee	BAL	BAL	BAL	BAL	BAL	BAL	BAL
Buffalo at Indianapolis	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND
Cleveland at Atlanta	ATL	ATL	ATL	ATL	ATL	ATL	ATL
Green Bay at Minnesota	GB	MIN	MIN	MIN	GB	MIN	MIN
Houston at Jacksonville	JAX	JAX	JAX	JAX	JAX	JAX	JAX
Kansas City at Miami	KC	KC	KC	KC	KC	KC	KC
NY Jets at New England	NE	NYJ	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE
San Diego at Cincinnati	SD	SD	CIN	SD	SD	SD	SD
San Francisco at Detroit	DET	DET	DET	SF	DET	DET	DET
Washington at Philadelphia	WAS	WAS	WAS	PHI	WAS	PHI	PHI
Denver at Oakland	DEN	DEN	DEN	DEN	DEN	DEN	DEN
New Orleans at Pittsburgh	NO	NO	PIT	NO	NO	PIT	PIT
Dallas at Arizona	DAL	DAL	DAL	DAL	DAL	DAL	DAL
St. Louis at Seattle	STL	STL	STL	SEA	STL	STL	SEA
Chicago at N.Y. Giants	NYG	CHI	CHI	CHI	CHI	NYG	NYG
Carolina at Tampa Bay	CAR	CAR	CAR	CAR	CAR	CAR	CAR

Favorites are the betting pick to win.

Last week:
Z 10-4, Ning 8-6, Andrew 7-7, Favorite 7-7, Jay 7-7, Kevin 6-8, Moose 6-8

Season:
Kevin 83-45, Andrew 83-45, Favorite 79-49, Z 79-49, Moose 75-53, Ning 75-53, Jay 70-58

A New Bryant?

2006-11-08T20:07:00.000-05:00

I must be dreaming, because I swear I saw Kobe Bryant passing up shots the other night. Passing to Luke Walton and Ronny Turiaf, no less.

Kobe has 7 assists per game so far this year. That is only two and a half more than his average last year, but you could have fooled me. Apparently gone is the Bryant hoisting up shots from anywhere on the court, seemingly daring Phil Jackson to criticize him for bad shot selection-and it shows amongst his teammates.

Turiaf and Bynum are becoming a potent frontline, especially when put next to the nightly triple double threat Lamar Odom. Bryant can still light it up from anywhere he chooses, and the Lakers can look forward to the return of Kwame Brown and Chris Mihm to boost an already potent frontcourt.

The future looks bright for this young Laker's squad four games into the season. Let's see if they (read: Bryant) can keep it up for another 78 games.

AP Top 25: Week 11

2006-11-06T21:46:00.000-05:00

NCAA Football rankings thru 11/5/06:

1. Ohio State (10-0)
2. Michigan (10-0)
3. Louisville (8-0)
4. Texas (9-1)
5. Auburn (9-1)
6. Florida (8-1)
7. USC (7-1)
8. California (8-1)
9. Notre Dame (8-1)
10. West Virginia (7-1)
11. Arkansas (8-1)
12. LSU (7-2)
13. Tennessee (7-2)
14. Boise State (9-0)
15. Rutgers (8-0)
16. Wisconsin (9-1)
17. Oklahoma (7-2)
18. Wake Forest (8-1)
19. Georgia Tech (7-2)
20. Virginia Tech (7-2)
21. Oregon (7-2)
22. Boston College (7-2)
23. Maryland (7-2)
24. Texas A&M (8-2)
25. Brigham Young (7-2)

And to think that includes a narrow loss to #19 Georgia Tech, where the Terps had 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th down and goal in the final minute, and couldn't score...

(How about that ACC--taking spots 18, 19, 20, 22, and 23?)

Sunday Observations / NFL Week 9

2006-11-05T20:59:00.000-05:00

- Yesterday, I watched the Maryland football team win a nail-biting 13-12 victory over #19 Clemson. This win was all the more impressive considering that Clemson hadn't lost at home ("Death Valley") in over 2 years, and came into the game with a high-octane offense that averaged 38 points a game. The Terps held 'em without a TD!

Additionally, the Terps showed resilience after a poor decision on a replay overturned a safety, followed by a 70+ yard Clemson pass on the next play. Yet the defense held tough, gave up only the FG, and it was Maryland QB Sam Hollenbach to whom props are owed--he looked terrific in leading the Terps down the field in the final minute, right down to his spike with a few seconds left on the clock to set up Dan Ennis' game-winner.

This was a statement game, and I'm damn proud of Maryland for pulling this one off.

- If I thought that was a heart-stopper, nothing prepared for me today's Redskins-Cowboys game, which I attended live at FedEx Field in Landover, MD. The 'Skins wild 22-19 win could very well be a season saver if the team rides the momentum of today's crazy last minute. By now you've probably heard the story: kicker Nick Novak misses a potential game-winner with 31 seconds left, and the Cowboys drive down to the Redskins 17 to line up for Vanderjagt's easy game winner. His kick, as time expires, is blocked by new Redskin Troy Vincent and scooped up by Sean Taylor, who bobs and weaves his way down field.

Finally tackled all the way down in Cowboys territory, the game should be over, but a facemask penalty is called on the Cowboys on the play. Since the game can't end on a penalty, the Redskins get to try one play with no time on the clock. Ex-Terp Novak trots back out to try and redeem himself from about the same distance he just missed from, and came as close to missing it again as he possibly could have, but the kick was good. Ensure fandemonium.

- Since I was at the stadium, I wasn't around to follow the week's games, but these results made me scratch my head. Detroit defeats Atlanta? Miami over Chicago? Houston also fought the Giants close, and San Fran beat Minnesota 9-3 in what must have been the most boring game ever.

- Nominations for today's Sunday stud include Drew Brees (314 yards, 3 TDs), LaDainian Tomlinson (192 yards, 2 TDs), Phil Dawson (6-for-6 FGs, and an XP to boot). Unless a hero emerges from the evening Colts-Pats game (which so far, at 7-7, is looking tight), my nod goes to Denver WR Javon Walker, who caught 6 balls for 134 yards and 2 TDs, and had a 72 yard rushing TD on a reverse against Pittsburgh this afternoon.

- I didn't get a chance to post Week 9 Pick 'Ems earlier, so they are listed below. Congratulations to Ning on winning last week, but notice that for the first time all season, Andrew has been displaced as the overall leader. New top dog: Kevin.

	Jay	Moose	Andrew	Kevin	Ning	Z	Favorite
Atlanta at Detroit	ATL	ATL	ATL	ATL	ATL	ATL	ATL
Cincinnati at Baltimore	BAL	CIN	BAL	CIN	BAL	BAL	BAL
Dallas at Washington	WAS	DAL	DAL	WAS	WAS	WAS	DAL
Green Bay at Buffalo	GB	BUF	GB	GB	GB	BUF	BUF
Houston at N.Y. Giants	NYG	HOU	NYG	NYG	NYG	NYG	NYG
Kansas City at St. Louis	STL	STL	STL	STL	STL	STL	STL
Miami at Chicago	CHI	MIA	CHI	CHI	CHI	CHI	CHI
New Orleans at Tampa Bay	NO	NO	NO	TB	NO	NO	NO
Tennessee at Jacksonville	TEN	TEN	JAX	JAX	TEN	JAX	JAX
Minnesota at San Francisco	MIN	MIN	MIN	MIN	MIN	MIN	MIN
Cleveland at San Diego	SD	SD	SD	SD	SD	SD	SD
Denver at Pittsburgh	DEN	DEN	DEN	PIT	DEN	DEN	PIT
Indianapolis at New England	IND	IND	NE	IND	IND	IND	NE
Oakland at Seattle	OAK	OAK	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA

Favorites are the betting pick to win.

Last Week:
Ning 9-5, Favorite 8-6, Kevin 8-6, Z 8-6, Jay 7-7, Andrew 5-9, Moose 5-9

Season:
Kevin 77-37, Andrew 76-38, Favorite 72-42, Moose 69-45, Z 69-45, Ning 67-47, Jay 63-51

Thoughts about the week.

2006-11-03T22:04:00.000-05:00

After all the hubbub about Chris Paul teaming with new weapons Peja Stojakovic and Tyson Chandler, through two games, David West is still the primary scoring option on that team. That says something about the talent of the young Mr. West, for while Tyson Chandler has never had much of an offensive game, Peja is an all-star caliber shooter.

In a early season meeting of two trade partners, both TJ Ford and Charlie Villanueva flourished in their new settings, with TJ getting a double double with 11 points and 13 assists and Charlie getting his with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Toronto beat Milwaukee by 17, but the most disturbing stat for the Bucks has got to be the fact that Michael Redd had fewer shot attempts than both Villanueva and their point guard Maurice Williams, who only had two assists on the day.

Detroit is missing its interior defense in Ben Wallace, but it is getting the expected offensive boost from Nazr Mohammed, who is averaging 11 and 10 through two games. Not superstar numbers, I know, but at least Mohammed has to be guarded on the offensive end of the floor. I think the Pistons will be fine once Rasheed adjusts back into being a more traditional post up power forward and they figure out what to do on the defensive end.

The Bulls demolished the Heat on opening night. Everything the Bulls did worked, and the champions showed their age in chasing the younger, faster Bulls around the court. Miami is a team desperately in need of a third offensive scoring option who is not named "Antoine Walker for 3" to complement Wade, who can't do everything and the aging Shaq. Dorell Wright, perhaps?

The Isaiah Thomas Experience with the Knicks started with a triple overtime squeaker that saw both Francis and Marbury foul out of the game against a team missing its offensive centerpiece in the Grizzlies. On day two, they get beaten by the lowly Hawks as neither Francis nor Marbury manage to reach double digits. I don't know where this team is going, but I do know with Isaiah in charge it will be an interesting ride. At least Eddy Curry and Renaldo Balkman look good in blue.

Adam Morrison and Brandon Roy both look good in their first few games of NBA action, particularly Morrison's fire when he plays the game. This is a guy who really loves to play and loves to win even more, and should be a pleasure to watch for years to come.

KG's new look T-Wolves beat a game Kings team by nine, and now are within strinking range of the Nuggets in their second game. This is a team that could surprise some people, particularly if Randy Foye becomes the player that everyone seems to think he is on his way to becoming.

That's all I've got for now; I'll post more if I see anything interesting in the games that I think you should watch for.

Wizards' Deja Vu

2006-11-02T13:17:00.000-05:00

"Meet the new boss...same as the old boss." We're referring here to LeBron James, who in leading the Cavaliers to yet another razor-thin victory over the Wizards last night, has officially become their daddy. Fans are forgiven for pinching themselves last night, thinking they were watching a replay from last May. Another close-fought game, another dominating LeBron performance, another improbable Wizards comeback, another chance to seal the deal, and finally, another letdown. Final score: Cleveland 97, Washington 94.

I don't want to be like every other sports commentator this morning who is over-analyzing the result of one game, so I'll focus on what I saw, much of it good. I, for one, think it's good that Gilbert Arenas (2-for-12, 7 pts., scoreless in the first half) had a rough night--knowing the kind of guy he is, this is sure to motivate him. Besides, this was surely just a case of nerves; Arenas admitted before the game he had slept only 1.5 hours, and had spent all night dribbling a basketball because he was so excited. Well, it's done now, and good ol' Gil should be ready to go from here on out.

There was much more concrete good news to like from the Wizards. Two words: Caron Butler. While Arenas is famously underappreciated, the same case could be made for Butler, who is tough and aggresive on both sides of the ball and always consistent. Butler had 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting, had 6 rebounds, and impressively, 3 steals. What's not reflected in the box score was the way he managed to keep LeBron in check in the first half.

The other member of Washington's Big Three, Antawn Jamison, had a typical Jamison night (9-of-17, 17 pts). I just wish he'd shoot for a higher percentage--in fact, the Wizards as a whole shot 2-for-13 for 3-pt. range, compared to the Cavs' 8-for-19 from downtown. That kind of thing decides a game between two teams that are so even.

I was quite impressed with the play of new starter Etan Thomas. Promoted to the lineup for the first time, replacing Brendan Haywood, Thomas made good with 7-of-7 shooting and 2 blocks, but more importantly, playing tough in the middle. Yet the Wizards lack of a real dominant big--a decade-long weakness--was again evident. The Cavs outrebounded the Wizards 50-33, including 16-9 on the offensive glass.

One of these days, you have to think, a halfway-decent big man will fall into the Wizards' lap, and all our problems will be solved. Until then...well, like I said above, I don't want to extrapolate from the first game of the season. What should be on the Wizards minds right now is Saturday against Boston.

Agent Zero vs. The Boy King -- Redux

2006-11-01T19:57:00.000-05:00

Back in May, I watched every minute of the thrilling Wizards-Cavaliers playoff series, which was really just a mano a mano battle between the Wizards' Gilbert Arenas (34 ppg) and the Cavs' LeBron James (35.7 ppg). You want hearstopping? Try three games decided by a point, including two in overtime.

You want stars? I watched LeBron shine (but win at least one game with his blatant traveling). I saw Gil hit a 3-pointer from a mile away to send that unforgettable Game 6 into overtime, and I saw what I thought was a Wizards victory. Then I saw the 89% free-throw shooter Arenas get rattled by LeBron into missing two freebies in the final seconds, and I saw Damon Jones take a pass from LeBron and bury the season-winning three. The Wizards season was over. I was crushed.

I've had tonight's game circled on my calendar for several weeks. Last night may have been the official NBA opener, with Miami getting stomped on by Chicago, but tonight is the night I've been waiting for. 8PM. Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. Wizards versus Cavaliers. It's a whole new ballgame. Here's to a great new NBA season.

Let's go Wizards!

Month in Review: October '06

2006-10-31T22:37:00.000-05:00

Here's a summary of what Da Sports Authority covered this month:

JAY (17 posts):
Sunday observations (10/1); MLB playoffs preview; NFL Week 4 wrap up; NFL Week 5 preview; Sunday observations (10/8); NFL Week 5 wrap up; NLCS breakdown; NFL Week 6 preview; fixing the Redskins; NFL Week 6 wrap up; NLCS Game 7; NFL Week 7 preview; clutch Kenny Rogers; NFL Week 8 preview; Sunday observations (10/29); Terps football; Gilbert Arenas bio

NING (10 posts):
NFL's greatest #13; NFL's greatest #14; NFL's greatest #15; NFL's greatest #16; NFL's greatest #17; NFL's greatest #18; NFL's greatest #19; NFL's greatest #20; NFL's greatest #21; Baby Hawks

Gilbert Arenas: From Zero to Hero

2006-10-31T10:50:00.000-05:00

Although the rags-to-riches story is commonplace in the sports world, I don't think anyone could not be moved by reading the Washington Post's Sunday page one cover story profile on the Wizards' Gilbert Arenas. Sports columnist Mike Wise has done a terrific job retracing Arenas' hard-knocks life back through childhood, and his article goes a long way in explaining the hidden side of the eccentric, mercurial star.

#0 has long had the toughness, leadership, and desire to prove himself that Wizards fans have always seen on the court. Wise's article goes into detail about how Arenas was abandoned at a young age by his drug addict teen mother--who he used to bring foood for at the age of 2--and later, around age 7 or 8, how he would comfort his father when the two of them were homeless and sleeping in a car. This same extroverted performer who gives away his jersey at the end of every Wizards home game was a precocious, friendly boy who charmed strangers; yet despite his demeanor, Arenas remains a deeply introverted person.

Wise's article is by no means a campaign to make Arenas look like a saint, and that is in fact what makes it even more readable. Arenas still struggles with a lot of problems: despite being rediscovered by his mother over four years ago, he has not contacted her; he is raising a child with a woman he is financially supporting, and is expecting another with her. Though the situation is more amicable now, the article reveals that Arenas and the Wizards had to go to extraordinary lengths last season in order for him to dodge a paternity suit.

Anyway, the article is a must-read. (See also: Wise's follow-up on Monday detailing Arenas' chaotic summer, which included the infamous Miami arrest and departure from Team U.S.A.) Now that we know a bit more about Arenas the person, I hope that this season, more (national) attention will be focused on the under-appreciated Arenas the player.

Terps Football: Don't Celebrate Yet

2006-10-30T16:42:00.000-05:00

The Maryland Terrapins landed a crucial victory this weekend in a heart-stopping 27-24 victory over Florida State. I was at the FSU game, clad alongside with the rest of the student section in black, and I was one of the first to storm the field after Navarre saved the game by blocking FSU's FG try.

Saturday's win, which places the Terps at 6-2 on the season and marks them as eligibile for postseason play in a bowl game, has set off an unexpected round of euphoria. Everyone is gushing about the Terps football program all of a sudden (the Post's Wise captures this), and this is understandable, especially after consecutive 5-win seasons. Yet I would urge caution, because the remainder of the season is going to be a very difficult obstacle.

Keep in mind that "bowl-eligible" does not mean a spot in a bowl; of last year's 64 bowl teams, I believe only 4 got in with 6 wins; the rest all had 7 or more. This means that the Terps need to win at least one more game, something that could be easier said than done. The remaining four games on the schedule include three versus Top 25 ranked teams (the Terps have lost both of their only games versus ranked opponents this season), including on the road at #19 Clemson (7-2, boasting a stellar running game) and #16 Boston College (7-1, leading the ACC).

The non-ranked opponent we face is Miami, who even though is having an off-season at 5-3, is still "The U" nonetheless, and will be a formidable challenge. Then we close the regular season at home versus #22 Wake Forest, also at 7-1, who is one of the year's surprises.

I'm not saying that we can't do it, but in our remaining games, the Terps are going to have to put up a better performances than they did against FSU, where we were outgained by about a 2:1 yards margin and shut down in the second half. So hold off on those premature celebrations, because a lot more hard work is in order if we're going to make people Fear the Turtle!

Sunday Observations

2006-10-29T20:44:00.000-05:00

After a couple weeks off, the series is back, with notes from the action today:

- Indianapolis 34, Denver 31. Now there was a game to watch--the best two teams in the AFC squaring off against each other. The rejuvenated Colts offense matching wits against the stingy Denver defense and brilliant coach Mike Shanahan. The action was worth all the hype: 3TDs and 345 yards from Manning, 227 rushing yards from the Broncos (136 yards and 2TDs from Mike Bell) to go with a solid performance from Plummer, and of course, the game-winning FG from the Colts' Adam Vinatieri with 2 seconds left.

- Just a thought here, but if the NFL really is trying to draw big audiences for its Sunday and Monday night primetime games, they need to use that "flex" scheduling to move games like Colts-Broncos to one of those spots. After all, primetime football is back in vogue--last week's MNF matchup between the Giants and Cowboys shattered the 1993 Gore-Perot NAFTA debate for biggest cable audience ever.

- Sunday Stud: Michael Vick, with honorable mentions to LaDainian Tomlinson (240 yards, 3 TDs), Larry Johnson (181 yards, 4 TDs), Reggie Wayne (138 yards, 3 TDs), Marques Colston (163 yards, 2 TDs), and Adam Vinatieri (4 FGs, including the game-winner). Vick, though, has to get the nod from me because not only am I always doubting him, he delivered an even better follow-up to his performance against Pittsburgh last week. Today against Cincinnati he threw 20-for-28 for 291 yards and 3 TDs, while ably using (not overusing) his running game to the tune of 55 yards on the ground. With Atlanta looking so good recently, I think the NFC South may be an even better division than the NFC East.

- Elsewhere in the NFC East, the preseason pundits had it right: the New Orleans Saints will have the Rookie of the Year this year. It's just that the award will go to WR Marques Colston, a 7th round pick, instead of RB Reggie Bush, who was the #2 overall selection. While Bush continues to struggle against bigger, faster NFL defenses, Colston has put up 33 catches for 577 yards and 4 TDs. (And thanks to the popularity of fantasy football, people know who this guy is.) From what little I saw of today's Saints-Ravens game, in which Colston had 163 yards and 2 TDs, this guy ran great routes, showed great hands, and made some great plays over opposing defensive backs.

- Immediate noticeable impact of Dallas going with Tony Romo at QB? I'm watching Cowboys-Panthers on the tube, and with Dallas driving down the field into Carolina territory, I see Romo get hurried, scramble out of the pocket, and take off down the field for a first down. Whereas, I think the only ability to run on the football field Drew Bledsoe ever showed was when hustling out of the tunnel during player introductions.

NFL Week 8 Preview

2006-10-29T01:31:00.000-05:00

Games to Watch: Five to keep an eye on, as voted on by the DSA crew.

INDIANAPOLIS at DENVER - 6-0 Indy, 5-1 Denver, at Mile High. Any questions? Ok, two. Was last week's second-half drubbing of the Redskins enough for the Colts to get their swagger back, having staggered through close finishes for the previous few weeks? And can Denver, on a five game winning streak and boasting a defense that has allowed only two TDs all season, find a way to contain Peyton's offense like they did with Brady's earlier this year?

DALLAS at CAROLINA - Two NFC upper middleweights headed in opposite directions. Dallas (3-3) has shelved QB Drew Bledsoe and will turn to Tony Romo to make his first ever NFL start, on the road against a tough defense, no less. Carolina started slow, but reeled off 4 straight victories once playmaker Steve Smith returned. A loss to Cincinnati slowed the momentum they badly want.

BALTIMORE at NEW ORLEANS - The Ravens 4-0 start made them the darling of sportswriters, who conveniently overlooked the fact that Steve McNair and Co. had been playing pretty poorly. This was exposed by the ensuing consecutive losses to Denver and Carolina, two better teams. The bye has given Baltimore, which canned offensive coordinator Jim Fassel in the interim, time to think about 5-1 New Orleans, who had an impressive win over Philly last week.

ATLANTA at CINCINNATI - 4-2 Cincy, 4-2 Atlanta. The Falcons offense is last in the league in passing and first in rushing, but good things lie in store if Michael Vick's 4 TD performance against Pittsburgh last week was no fluke. Cincinnati, aside from crime reports, has been pretty quiet and hype-free--blame injuries for the most part. That said, a quality win here should get people talking about these Tigers again.

ST. LOUIS at SAN DIEGO - Another matchup of 4-2 teams. St. Louis, under new coach Scott Linehan, has been flying under the radar, and coming off a bye, should be in full fighting form. San Diego has had to deal with some public distractions, most recently a report this past week that LB and reigning Rookie of the Year Shawne Merriman failed a steroid test and faces a 4-game suspension. Not only that, but the Chargers surprisingly dropped a game to Kansas City last weekend. The Bolts need to right the ship, quickly.

Bye week teams: BUFFALO, DETROIT, MIAMI, WASHINGTON

Pick 'Em:

Week 7 proved ridiculously tough, as the favorites went 5-8, and only one of the DSA crew beat had a winning record. Kevin takes the gold with a 7-6 week, while my embarassing 3-10 mark is probably the worst I've had in years.

	Jay	Moose	Andrew	Kevin	Ning	Z	Favorite
Arizona at Green Bay	GB	ARI	GB	GB	GB	GB	GB
Atlanta at Cincinnati	ATL	ATL	CIN	CIN	ATL	ATL	CIN
Baltimore at New Orleans	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO
Houston at Tennessee	HOU	HOU	HOU	HOU	TEN	HOU	TEN
Jacksonville at Philadelphia	PHI	JAX	PHI	JAX	PHI	JAX	PHI
Seattle at Kansas City	SEA	SEA	SEA	KC	KC	SEA	KC
San Francisco at Chicago	CHI	CHI	CHI	CHI	CHI	CHI	CHI
Tampa Bay at NY Giants	NYG	TB	NYG	NYG	NYG	NYG	NYG
St. Louis at San Diego	SD	SD	STL	SD	SD	SD	SD
Indianapolis at Denver	IND	DEN	IND	IND	IND	IND	DEN
NY Jets at Cleveland	NYJ	NYJ	NYJ	NYJ	NYJ	NYJ	CLE
Pittsburgh at Oakland	PIT	PIT	PIT	PIT	PIT	PIT	PIT
Dallas at Carolina	CAR	DAL	CAR	CAR	CAR	CAR	CAR
New England at Minnesota	NE	MIN	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE

Favorites are the betting pick to win.

Last Week:
Kevin 7-6, Andrew 6-7, Moose 6-7, Favorite 5-8, Ning 5-8, Z 5-8, Jay 3-10

Season:
Andrew 71-29, Kevin 69-31, Favorite 64-36, Moose 64-36, Z 61-39, Ning 58-42, Jay 56-44

Baby Hawks: The Next Baby Bulls?

2006-10-28T20:22:00.000-04:00

In case you haven't been watching the Atlanta Hawks closely (something which is entirely possible, as they have been a horrible team for much of the last decade), they have the potential to become an effective team, possibly a playoff team. More, their team is so young that as soon as they get over the hump they will be able to sustain their momentum for quite a while.

Where have we heard this story before?

From 1998 to 2004, the Chicago Bulls tried to build their team around aging talent, little to no point guard play, and the hoped-for twin tower duo of Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry. They failed repeatedly in their attempt to climb out of the cellar before finally breaking through with the current incarnation of their team sans Ben Wallace. The Bulls of old also had their high fliers, with Jamal Crawford, Jalen Rose and Jay Williams who all, for one reason or another, were never able to mesh with each other.

The reason for this failure? Bad point guard play. The likes of Crawford, Bryce Drew and the immortal Khaild-El Amin were not able to lift the old Bulls to respectability. The Bulls post-1998 no longer had Pippen and Jordan's veteran leadership and star power to cover up their lack of a reliable point guard. The young big men never learned to play the right way and never learned team post-up skills from their floor leader, and the high fliers were given free rein to play one on five basketball, a sure recipe for disaster no matter the talent. The Bulls of those six years were essentially sunk before they began each season until they got Kirk Hinrich as their first stable floor leader.

Flash Forward to today's Hawks. They have the SportsCenter wings. (Smith, Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams, Childress) They have the young post players. (Puchilla and Shelden Williams, this year's #5 overall pick) But do they have the point guard? Is Speedy Claxton finally able to take up the mantle of a starting caliber NBA point guard, and does he have the vision and leadership necessary to help the rest of his team grow up on the court? He certainly has been around the league long enough to get the respect of the younger players. Now the fate of the Hawks will depend on what he does with that respect. Here you go, Mr. Claxton. Ball is in your court.

Your Postseason MVP: Kenny Rogers

2006-10-22T23:30:00.000-04:00

After watching Detroit beat St. Louis tonight to tie the World Series at 1-1, I've decided to offer up my mea culpa for publicily doubting Tigers SP Kenny Rogers' ability to carry his team in the playoffs. Three weeks ago, in betting against Detroit, I wrote that "no one should be surprised if veteran Kenny Rogers fails to come through in the clutch," and at the time I considered that an understatement.

What's he done in his three playoff starts since then?

Oct. 6: Win. 7+ shutout innings against the Yankees in New York
Oct. 13: Win. 7+ shutout innings against the Athletics
Oct. 22: Win. 8 shutout innings against the Cardinals.

Detroit needed a win at home tonight, badly. After being deflated in Game 1, the Tigers had to take Game 2 at home before heading to St. Louis to play the next three. I didn't think Kenny Rogers would be able to step up yet again, and again he did. If this Series goes to 6 games, Rogers will get a chance to blank his opponent again, and could eclipse Christy Mathewson's 100-year old record for longest scoreless streak in a single postseason (27; Rogers is at 23).

Not bad for a guy I wrote off even before the playoffs started. And not bad at all for his team, which is now back on track in this series.

NFL Week 7 Preview

2006-10-21T18:47:00.000-04:00

	Jay	Moose	Andrew	Kevin	Ning	Z	Favorite
Carolina at Cincinnati	CAR	CAR	CIN	CIN	CAR	CIN	CIN
Detroit at NY Jets	DET	NYJ	NYJ	NYJ	NYJ	NYJ	NYJ
Green Bay at Miami	GB	MIA	MIA	MIA	GB	GB	MIA
Jacksonville at Houston	JAX	JAX	JAX	JAX	JAX	JAX	JAX
New England at Buffalo	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE
Philadelphia at Tampa Bay	PHI	TB	PHI	PHI	PHI	PHI	PHI
Pittsburgh at Atlanta	PIT	PIT	ATL	ATL	PIT	PIT	PIT
San Diego at Kansas City	SD	SD	SD	SD	SD	SD	SD
Denver at Cleveland	DEN	DEN	DEN	DEN	DEN	DEN	DEN
Arizona at Oakland	ARI	ARI	ARI	ARI	ARI	ARI	ARI
Minnesota at Seattle	SEA	MIN	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA
Washington at Indianapolis	WAS	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND
NY Giants at Dallas	DAL	DAL	DAL	NYG	NYG	DAL	DAL

Favorites are the betting pick to win.

Last Week:
Z 10-3, Moose 9-4, Andrew 8-5, Kevin 9-4, Ning 9-4, Favorites 7-6, Jay 6-7

Season:
Andrew 65-22, Kevin 62-25, Favorite 59-28, Moose 58-29, Z 56-31, Jay 53-34, Ning 53-34

A Terrific NLCS Game 7

2006-10-19T23:44:00.000-04:00

It was a cold and rainy night at Shea Stadium in Flushing, NY. Game 7 of the National League Championship Series, when they separate the proverbial men from the proverbial boys. If Game 6 provided the unexpected plot twist--Mets rookie John Maine outduels Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter--then Game 7 was the down-to-the-wire climax.

It didn't seem to matter that the matchup for this game was supposed to be uninspiring: the Mets, all but out of arms, turning to long-time losing lefty Oliver Perez; the Cards to humdrum Jeff Suppan. No one told them that they were supposed to duel each other like experts, each giving up only one run: Perez in 6 IP, Suppan in 7 IP, which included coming back from a 6th inning that had one of the most memorable plays I've ever seen.

Top of the 6th. Jim Edmonds on 1st. Scott Rolen hits a bomb to left field. What happened next you have to see on YouTube or something: Mets OF Endy Chavez gets about 2 feet above the top of the wall to bring the ball back into the confines. Not missing a beat, he throws a bullet toward first base that catches Edmonds before he can get back. Double play, inning over.

The drama continued in the bottom of the 6th. An uncharacteristic flubbed throw by Scott Rolen, followed by an intentional walk, has the Mets with bases loaded and one out, and their best chance to take the lead. Would Suppan be fazed? Not on your life. He mows down Jose Valentin, then takes the fizz out of Endy Chavez's hero status by getting him to pop out to end the inning.

Who got to be hero in this game? Nobody on the Mets, and the Redbird that won the game was not Pujols, or Edmonds, or Rolen. It was little-known catcher Yadier Molina, a .216 hitter during the regular season, who has had an absolutely terrific postseason (.336). In the top of the 9th, Molina put an Aaron Heilman pitch in left field where Chavez wasn't going to be able to get it. Not that it was over then--no way. The Mets put two men on to start off, and had the bases loaded with 2 outs and the most qualified man at the plate: Carlos Beltran. Adam Wainwright struck him out on three pitches.

Your NL pennant winner: the St. Louis Cardinals.

The World Series starts Saturday night!

NFL Week 6 Wrap Up

2006-10-18T13:57:00.000-04:00

A wild week of football with some heart-stopping finishes: 8 games were decided by a field goal or less. St. Louis and Arizona blew big leads, New Orleans and N.Y.J. almost did, and San Diego and Pittsburgh poured on points all over their opponents.

Da Bears got their 6th win (despite Rex Grossman's 6 turnovers) while Bruce Gradkowski and Vince Young got their first win. T.O. and Torry Holt caught 3 TDs, and Chicago's defense/special teams had 3 scores too, but L.T.'s 4 TDs were the most points anyone put on the board.

You gotta love Sundays (and Monday nights).

* * *

Pick 'Em results...were ignominious for yours truly, who vows to improve. Congratulations to Z for his first solo weekly win (second overall) this season.

Week 6:
Z 10-3, Moose 9-4, Andrew 8-5, Kevin 9-4, Ning 9-4, Favorites 7-6, Jay 6-7

Season:
Andrew 65-22, Kevin 62-25, Favorite 59-28, Moose 58-29, Z 56-31, Jay 53-34, Ning 53-34

* * *

Week 7 picks and preview coming soon, but first, your Game of the Week to look forward to: Giants-Cowboys on Monday night. Two very good 3-2 teams in the powerhouse NFC East slug it out on prime time.