NFL Week 5 Hangover

Miami Dolphins 31 – New York Jets 27

The Dolphins and Jets seem to have a knack for making memorable Monday Night games and this one was no different. It was a battle of two of the league’s up-and-coming franchise rookie quarterbacks. It was a battle of the Wildcat vs. Rex Ryan’s blitz schemes. And for three quarters, it was a battle of two of the league’s best defenses. Then the gloves came off and they traded fourth quarter touchdown drives with the Dolphins only winning because they basically had the ball last. Oh, and Braylon Edwards is back.

Fantasy Studs: Chad Henne (20/26, 241 yards, 2 touchdowns), Ronnie Brown (21 carries, 74 yards, 2 touchdowns), Thomas Jones (13 carries, 42 yards, 2 touchdowns), Braylon Edwards (5 receptions, 64 yards, 1 touchdown)

Next Week: Buffalo (1-4) at New York Jets (3-2) - 1:15 PM; Miami (2-3), bye

New York Giants 44 – Oakland Raiders 7

It is rare when a 37-point game is not as close as the score indicates. This game was one of those times. The Giants kicked three field goals from inside the red zone, and the Raiders’ lone score should not even have counted. A few plays before it, the Giants forced a fumble and returned it 90 yards for a touchdown, but the referees blew the call, saying forward progress had been ruled despite that replays clearly showed the whistle was not blown until after the fumble was being returned. Raiders’ head coach Tom Cable has reportedly not physically abused anyone one his staff in a few weeks, though making JaMarcus Russell play every week is pretty cruel.

Fantasy Studs:Eli Manning (8/10, 173 yards, 2 touchdowns), Ahmad Bradshaw (11 carries, 110 yards, 2 touchdowns), Giants’ defense (7 points allowed, 6 sacks, 3 fumble recoveries), Lawrence Tynes (5 PAT’s, 3 FG’s – 25, 33, 37)

Next Week: New York Giants (5-0) at New Orleans (4-0), 10 AM; Philadelphia (3-1) at Oakland (1-4), 1:05 PM

Cleveland Browns 6 – Buffalo Bills 3

Derek Anderson may hold the dubious honor of playing the worst game by a winning quarterback in NFL history. Anderson completed just three passes in 17 attempts, and one of them was to a player on the Bills. So how badly does coach Eric Mangini think of Brady Quinn if he didn’t get put in there to relieve Anderson? Cleveland had just one drive of more than 23 yards.

Fantasy Studs: Browns’ defense (3 points allowed, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 interception, 2 sacks), Bills’ defense (6 points allowed, 1 interception, 1 sack)

Next Week: Cleveland (1-4) at Pittsburgh (3-2), 10 AM; Buffalo (1-4) at New York Jets (3-2) - 1:15 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers 28 – Detroit Lions 20

The Lions are back in familiar territory – a losing streak. Pittsburgh just barely pulled out a win in Detroit thanks to Ben Roethlisberger’s three touchdown passes, James Harrison’s three sacks, and Calvin Johnson missing most of the game with a knee injury in the first quarter. Pittsburgh’s defense stalled Detroit in the game’s final moments as Dante Culpepper tried to drive them in for a game-tying score.

Fantasy Studs: Ben Roethlisbereger (23/30 277 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception), Rashard Mendenhall (15 carries, 77 yards, 1 touchdown), Hines Ward (7 receptions, 85 yards, 1 touchdown), Dennis Northcutt (5 receptions, 70 yards, 1 touchdown), Steelers’ defense (13 points allowed, 7 sacks, 1 interception, 4 forced fumbles)

Next Week: Cleveland (1-4) at Pittsburgh (3-2), 10 AM; Detroit (1-4) at Green Bay (2-2), 10 AM

Dallas Cowboys 26 – Kansas City Chiefs 20

Tony Romo had huge numbers and two clutch fourth quarter touchdown drives, but most it had a lot less to do with the guy throwing the ball as it did the guy catching it. Or perhaps the guys not tackling him. Miles Austin dropped relatively easy touchdown passes early in the game, but he made up for them late, turning two seemingly insignificant pass plays into game-changers with huge runs after the catches.

Fantasy Studs:Tony Romo (20/34, 351 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 fumble lost), Matt Cassel (23/41, 253 yards, 2 touchdowns), Tashard Choice (8 carries, 92 yards, 1 touchdown), Miles Austin (10 receptions, 250 yards, 2 touchdowns), Dwayne Bowe (5 receptions, 74 yards, 1 touchdown)

Next Week: Kansas City (0-5) at Washington (2-3), 10 AM; Dallas (3-2), bye

Minnesota Vikings 38 – St. Louis Rams 10

Days after his 40th birthday, Brett Favre showed no signs of slowing down with yet another blowout (the Vikings have the third highest margin of victory in the NFL). The Rams actually piled up more total yards on offense but gave the ball away four times (fumbling twice inside the Vikings’ 5-yard line, and throwing one interception from the Vikings 9).

Fantasy Studs: Adrian Peterson (15 carries, 69 yards, 2 touchdowns), Donnie Avery (5 receptions, 87 yards, 1 touchdown), Vikings’ defense (10 points allowed, 4 fumbles forced, 3 fumble recoveries, 1 interception, 2 sacks, 1 touchdown)

Next Week: Baltimore (3-2) at Minnesota (5-0), 10 AM; St. Louis (0-5) at Jacksonville (2-3), 10 AM

Philadelphia Eagles 33 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers 14

Tampa Bay’s new starting quarterback is often compared to Donovan McNabb, and this week Josh Johnson got a look at McNabb up close and personal. He apparently did not see the Philadelphia secondary very well, throwing 3 interceptions. McNabb played a near perfect game in his return to the field after breaking his ribs earlier in the season.

Fantasy Studs:Donovan McNabb (16/21, 264 yards, 3 touchdowns, 30 yards rushing), Josh Johnson (26/50, 240 yards, 2 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, 40 yards rushing), Jeremy Maclin (6 receptions, 142 yards, 2 touchdowns), Kellen Winslow (9 receptions, 102 yards, 2 touchdowns), Eagles’ defense (14 points allowed, 3 sacks, 3 interceptions, 1 safety, 2 forced fumbles)

Next Week: Carolina (1-3) at Tampa Bay (0-5), 10 AM; Philadelphia (3-1) at Oakland (1-4), 1:05 PM

Carolina Panthers 20 – Washington Redskins 17

Midway through the third quarter, the Panthers found themselves in the familiar position of looking up at their opponents. They’d only managed two points (on a second quarter safety) and Washington had just scored a touchdown to go up 17-2. But Carolina woke up and Jake Delhomme engineered three scoring drives for 18 unanswered points to put Carolina up for good.

Fantasy Studs: Panthers’ defense (17 points allowed, 1 safety, 5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery)

Next Week: Carolina (1-3) at Tampa Bay (0-5), 10 AM; Kansas City (0-5) at Washington (2-3)

Cincinnati Bengals 17 – Baltimore Ravens 14

Cedric Benson became the first player to rush for 100-yards or more against the Ravens in four seasons and Carson Palmer carried the Bengals to their third straight 3-point win. The Bengals’ five games have all be decided by a touchdown or less, and they now sit atop the AFC North with wins over all three divisional rivals. And if Ray Lewis hadn’t complained about officials enough before, he can’t have liked the unnecessary roughness penalty called on him for a cheap shot he threw on Chad Ochocinco that kept Cincy’s last minute scoring drive alive.

Fantasy Studs:Carson Palmer (18/31, 271 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception), Cedric Benson (27 carries, 120 yards, 1 touchdown), Ray Rice (14 carries, 69 yards, 7 receptions, 74 yards, 1 touchdown), Chad Ochocinco (7 receptions, 94 yards)

Next Week: Baltimore (3-2) at Minnesota (5-0), 10 AM; Houston (2-3) at Cincinnati (4-1), 10 AM

Atlanta Falcons 45 – San Francisco 49ers 10

Just when you thought it was safe to call the 49ers and sure-thing NFC contender, they come out at home and allow 14 unanswered points to open the game, and 31 more to close it. Roddy White and Michael Turner lived up to their billing as fantasy stars, while the 49ers defense completely crumbled in the face of Atlanta’s balanced attack.

Fantasy Studs: Matt Ryan (22/32, 329 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception), Michael Turner (22 carries, 97 yards, 3 touchdowns), Roddy White (8 receptions, 210 yards, 2 touchdowns), Falcons’ defense (10 point allowed, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 interception, 3 sacks)

Next Week: Chicago (3-1) at Atlanta (3-1), 5:20 PM; San Francisco (3-2), bye

Seattle Seahawks 41 – Jacksonville Jaguars 0

First of all, yes. The Seahawks and Jaguars are still in the NFL. Many fans may not have been aware of this fact, and apparently neither are the Jaguars. Matt Hasselbeck returned to the Seahawks after breaking ribs earlier in the season and torched the Jags’ defense, while Seattle’s defense stopped Maurice Jones-Drew in his tracks. Seahawks fans finally got a good look at the multi-syllabic touchdown combination they were hoping for between Hasselbeck and T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

Fantasy Studs:Matt Hasselbeck (18/30, 241 yards, 4 touchdowns), Nate Burleson (6 receptions, 98 yards, 2 touchdowns), T. J. Houshmandzadeh (5 reception, 77 yards, 2 touchdowns), Seahawks’ defense (0 points allowed, 1 touchdown, 2 fumbles recovered, 5 sacks)

Next Week: St. Louis (0-5) at Jacksonville (2-3), 10 AM, Arizona (2-2) at Seattle (2-3), 1:05 PM

Arizona Cardinals 28 – Houston Texans 21

The only thing more potent than the combination of Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald in the second quarter of this game was that of Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson in the fourth. As expected, these two offenses put on an airshow Sunday, but the story wound up being the defense. Arizona held from their own 1-yard line three times in the final minute to stone the Texans and preserve the lead that they earned on a 4th quarter interception returned for a touchdown.

Fantasy Studs: Matt Schaub (35/50, 371 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception), Kurt Warner (26/38, 302 yards, 2 touchdowns), Andre Johnson (8 receptions, 101 yards, 2 touchdowns), Larry Fitzgerald (5 receptions, 79 yards, 2 touchdowns), Anquan Boldin (7 receptions, 81 yards), Owen Daniels (8 receptions, 94 yards)

Next Week: Houston (2-3) at Cincinnati (4-1), 10 AM, Arizona (2-2) at Seattle (2-3), 105 PM

Denver Broncos 20 – New England Patriots 17

Kyle Orton had a huge fourth quarter to give the Broncos their fourth come-from-behind win of the season. New Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels beat his former mentor Bill Belichick in his first game against him. But the real winners Sunday are those who did not see the Broncos’ throwback uniforms.

Fantasy Studs:Kyle Orton (35/48, 330 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception), Tom Brady (19/33, 215 yards, 2 touchdowns), Wes Welker (8 receptions, 86 yards, 1 touchdown), Brandon Marshall (8 receptions, 64 yards, 2 touchdowns)

Next Week: Tennessee (0-5) at New England (3-2), 1:15 PM, Denver (5-0) at San Diego (2-2), Monday 5:30 PM

Indianapolis Colts 31 – Tennessee Titans 9

When you haven’t won a game yet and everything seems to be falling apart, it is just not fair to have to face Peyton Manning, who can make even the best of teams look like the J.V. Manning is now one of two quarterback to ever start a season with 5 consecutive 300-yard passing games, and the Colts have a 14-game regular season winning streak.

Fantasy Studs: Peyton Manning (36/44, 309 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception), Austin Collie (8 receptions, 97 yards, 2 touchdowns), Colts’ defense (9 points allowed, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery, 1 sack)

Next Week: Tennessee (0-5) at New England (3-2), 1:15 PM; Indianapolis (5-0), bye

Originally published October 13, 2009 on SoCalSportsHub.com

NFL Week 4 Hangover

New Orleans Saints 24, New York Jets 10

You didn’t really think Mark Sanchez was going to lead the Jets to an undefeated season, did you? Sanchez’ perfect start to his NFL career came crashing to the turf and it sounded a lot like the sound made when the Saints score two defensive touchdowns on returns after Sanchez' own turnovers. That said, the Jets held the undefeated Saints’ offense to just 10 points and are still the leaders of the AFC East.

Fantasy Studs: Pierre Thomas (19 carries, 86 yards, 1 touchdown), Saints’ defense (2 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, 4 sacks, 1 fumble recovery)

Next Week: New York Jets (3-1) at Miami (1-3), Monday 5:30 PM; New Orleans (4-0) – bye

Chicago Bears 48, Detroit Lions 24

The Lions' winning streak was cut short (at 1 game) by a second half surge by the Bears. Jay Cutler seems to have completely shed the weight of his Week 1 disaster, as well as some of the gun-slinging mentality that led him being run out of Denver with an “Underachiever” tag pinned to his jersey. The Bears running attack took it to the Lions, with three different players scoring touchdowns and Matt Forte having a breakout game.

Fantasy Studs: Matt Forte (12 carries, 121 yards, 1 touchdown), Kevin Smith (19 carries, 30 yards, 2 touchdowns), Jay Cutler (18/28, 141 yards, 2 touchdowns, 3 carries, 8 yards, 1 touchdown), Calvin Johnson (8 receptions, 133 yards)

Next Week: Pittsburgh (2-2) at Detroit (1-3), 10 AM; Chicago (3-1) – bye

New York Giants 27, Kansas City Chiefs 16

Steve Smith is likely the best receiver in the NFL right now, just not the Steve Smith you think. He added to his NFL-leading reception and yardage totals as Eli Manning continued his best season at quarterback, picking apart the suspect Chiefs secondary. This was the Giants 2nd consecutive game where the starters sat for the fourth quarter, and they’ll likely have another next week (hosting Oakland). Defenses had better beware of a very well-rested Brandon Jacobs as the season roars on.

Fantasy Studs: Eli Manning (20/34, 292 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception, 1 fumble lost), Steve Smith (11 receptions, 134 yards, 2 touchdowns), Giants’ defense (16 points allowed, 5 sacks, 5 fumbles forced)

Next Week: Oakland (0-4) at New York Giants (4-0), 10 AM; Dallas (2-2) at Kansas City (0-4), 10 AM

Cincinnati Bengals 23, Cleveland Browns 20 (OT)

The artist formerly known as Chad Johnson didn’t get the ball much, but he made it count when he did, scoring 2 touchdowns on 3 catches, one in spectacular fashion with 1:55 in the fourth to tie the score. The Browns were amazingly able to block that extra point to preserve the tie, but weren’t able to pull off the trick again on Shayne Graham’s short game-winning field goal with four seconds left in overtime. Cleveland coach Eric Mangini passed up a potential game-winning 57 yard field goal late in the fourth, choosing to punt instead.

Fantasy Studs:Jerome Harrison (29 carries, 121 yards, 1 fumble), Chad Ochocinco (3 receptions, 24 yards, 2 touchdowns), Mohamed Massaquoi (8 receptions, 148 yards)

Next Week: Cincinnati (3-1) at Baltimore (3-1), 10 AM; Cleveland (0-4) at Buffalo (1-3), 10 AM

Indianapolis Colts 34, Seattle Seahawks 17

Peyton Manning continued his methodical dominance this season, helping Indianapolis jump out to a big lead early and forcing the Seahawks to throw the ball the catch up. Missing their starting quarterback, that was not in the game plan for Seattle, and they never could get their running game going, though Seneca Wallace did have another decent game behind center.

Fantasy Studs:Peyton Manning (31/41, 353 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception), T.J. Houshmandzadeh (8 receptions, 103 yards), Dallas Clark (8 receptions, 80 yards), Reggie Wayne (6 receptions, 74 yards, 1 touchdown)

Next Week: Jacksonville (2-2) at Seattle (1-3), 1:15 PM; Indianapolis (4-0) at Tennessee (0-4), 5:10 PM

Washington Redskins 16, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13

There aren’t many former I-AA football players in the NFL. Even fewer from non-scholarship programs. Far fewer ever get to start a game, but that is exactly what former San Diego quarterback Josh Johnson did Sunday for the Bucs. Johnson, the NCAA career passer efficiency leader played well but came up just short as Jason Campbell and the ’Skins found just enough left in the tank to pull out an ugly win.

Fantasy Studs:Clinton Portis (25 carries, 98 yards), Santana Moss (2 receptions, 74 yards, 1 touchdown), Chris Cooley (5 receptions, 65 yards, 1 touchdown), Redskins’ defense (13 points allowed, 3 sacks, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery), Buccaneers’ defense (16 points allowed, 3 sacks, 3 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery)

Next Week: Washington (2-0) at Carolina (0-3), 10 AM, Tampa Bay (0-4) at Philadelphia (2-1), 10 AM

Jacksonville Jaguars 37, Tennessee Titans 17

The Jags jumped out to a 10-0 lead through the first quarter, and continued to outpace the Titans in the second, going into halftime up 27-3. Tennessee’s nightmarish season continued with a blowout loss in Jacksonville. The Titans had a decent offensive day, but their defense was simply no match for David Garrad and Mike Sims-Walker in the air.

Fantasy Studs:David Garrard (27/37, 323 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 fumble lost), Kerry Collins (29/48, 284 yards, 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions, 1 rushing touchdown), Mike Sims-Walker (7 receptions, 91 yards, 2 touchdowns), Nate Washington (7 receptions, 66 yards, 1 touchdown), Marcedes Lewis (4 receptions, 76 yards, 1 touchdown), Josh Scobee (3 PAT, 3 FG – 22 yards, 50 yards, 33 yards)

Next Week: Jacksonville (2-2) at Seattle (1-3), 1:15 PM; Indianapolis (4-0) at Tennessee (0-4), 5:10 PM

Houston Texans 29, Oakland Raiders 6

The good news for Raiders fans is that the season is one-quarter complete. The bad news is that starting runningback Darren McFadden needs knee surgery and could miss four games, and head coach Tom Cable may be arrested and would likely be done for the season, if not longer. Cable’s expected arrest will come because of an incident in which he allegedly broke the jaw of an assistant coach, not because his coaching is actually, literally criminal.

Fantasy Studs:Steve Slaton (21 carries, 65 yards, 1 touchdown, 2 receptions, 24 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 fumble lost), Texans’ defense (6 points allowed, 1 safety, 3 fumble recoveries, 2 sacks)

Next Week: Oakland (0-4) at New York Giants (4-0), 10 AM; Houston (2-2) at Arizona (1-2), 1:15 PM

New England Patriots 27, Baltimore Ravens 21

Mark Clayton dropped an easy pass late in the game that would have kept alive a Baltimore drive, but as the ball slipped away from Clayton, so the game did from the Ravens. Tom Brady seems to be regaining his Tom-Brady-ness, and still without any running game to speak of, the Patriots are working themselves back into the chase for a top spot in the AFC. Ray Lewis and other Ravens complained after the game about perceived favoritism from the officials towards New England, but the most complained about play was one in which Raven Terrell Suggs took two falling steps forward after a play ended, and dove head first into the knees of Tom Brady, throwing his arm into Brady as he fell. That’s illegal.

Fantasy Studs: Tom Brady (21/32, 258 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 rushing touchdown, 1 fumble lost), Joe Flacco (27/47, 264 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception), Ray Rice (11 carries, 103 yards), Derrick Mason (7 receptions, 88 yards, 1 touchdown)

Next Week: Cincinnati (3-1) at Baltimore (3-1), 10 AM; New England (3-1) at Denver (4-0), 1:15 PM

Miami Dolphins 38, Buffalo Bills 10

No Chad Pennington? No problem for the Dolphins who rolled to an easy win over divisional rival Buffalo behind Chad Henne, making his 1st career start at quarterback. Henne’s main job was to hand the ball off and get out of the way (8 Dolphins had at least 1 carry, totalling 250 rushing yards), but he was efficient and effective when called on the throw as well (8 Dolphins had at least 1 reception).

Fantasy Studs: Ronnie Brown (20 carries, 115 yards, 2 touchdowns), Ricky Williams (16 carries, 85 yards, 1 touchdown), Dolphins’ defense (10 points allowed, 6 sacks, 3 interceptions, 1 touchdown, 1 forced fumble)

Next Week: Cleveland (0-4) at Buffalo (1-3), 10 AM; New York Jets (3-1) at Miami (1-3), Monday 5:30 PM

Denver Broncos 17, Dallas Cowboys 10

All seems well in Denver as Brandon Marshall seems to have been able to put his off-season grumbling behind him as easily as he put the Cowboys’ secondary behind him in his game-winning, fourth quarter, globe-circumnavigating touchdown run. Denver and new coach Josh McDaniels have roared out to a 4-0 record and basically clinched the AFC West already thanks to the Chargers stumbling out of the block and the Raiders and Chiefs not really being NFL-caliber teams.

Fantasy Studs: Kyle Orton (20/29, 243 yards, 2 touchdowns), Brandon Marshall (4 receptions, 91 yards, 1 touchdown), Broncos’ defense (10 points allowed, 1 interception, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 5 sacks)

Next Week: Dallas (2-2) at Kansas City (0-4), 10 AM; New England (3-1) at Denver (4-0), 1:15 PM

San Francisco 49ers 35, St. Louis Rams 0

St. Louis did a decent job of keeping the 49ers offense quiet, but their own offense simply couldn’t move the ball and couldn’t keep their hands on it either. The 49ers forced three turnovers and returned all three for touchdowns. Vernon Davis continues to impress at tight end with his 3rd touchdown in two games.

Fantasy Studs: Shaun Hill (14/24, 152 yards, 2 touchdowns), 49ers defense (0 points allowed, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception, 2 fumble recoveries, 5 sacks), Vernon Davis (3 receptions, 43 yards, 1 touchdown)

Next Week: Atlanta (2-1) at San Francisco (3-1), 1:05 PM; Minnesota (3-0) at St. Louis (0-4), 10 AM

Pittsburgh Steelers 38, San Diego Chargers 28

When one team controls the ball for over 2/3 of the game and at one point has a 28 point lead, you wouldn’t expect that game to be a nail-biter, but that’s just what this one was. Ben Roethlisberger and Rashard Mendenhall were nearly perfect all night as Pittsburgh jumped out and made this one look like a laugher (as evidences by Hines Ward laughing after every single play), but Phillip Rivers and Antonio Gates didn’t seem to get the joke. The Chargers, without any help from LaDainian Tomlinsonwho was nowhere to be found once again, roared back into the game late but simply didn’t have enough time (or defense) to catch up.

Fantasy Studs:Ben Roethlisberger (26/33, 333 yards, 2 touchdowns), Phillip Rivers (21/36, 254 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 fumble lost), Rashard Mendenhall (29 carries, 165 yards, 2 touchdowns), Mewelde Moore (1 passing touchdown, 1 receiving touchdown), Antonio Gates (9 receptions, 124 yards, 2 touchdowns), Hines Ward (8 receptions, 113 yards), Heath Miller (8 receptions, 70 yards, 2 touchdowns)

Next Week: Pittsburgh (2-2) at Detroit (1-3), 10 AM; San Diego (2-2) – bye

Originally published October 5, 2009 on SoCalSportsHub.com.

NFL Week 3 Hangover

New York Giants 24 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers 0

Rumors of the demise of the Giants’ running game seem to have been greatly exaggerated. The end of Byron Leftwich’s career may be close at hand, however. The Giants’ defense held the Bucs without a first down until late in the third quarter. Leftwich managed the offense to 34 total yards before being yanked for 2nd-year man, and new starter, Josh Johnson.

Fantasy Studs: Eli Manning (14/24, 161 yards, 2 touchdowns, 0 interceptions), Ahmad Bradshaw (14 carries, 104 yards), Brandon Jacobs (26 carries, 92 yards, 1 touchdown), Steve Smith (7 receptions, 63 yards, 1 touchdown), Giants’ defense (0 points allowed, 1 interception)

Next Week: New York Giants (3-0) at Kansas City (0-3) – 10 AM; Tampa Bay (0-3) at Washington (1-2) – 10 AM

Detroit Lions 19 – Washington Redskins 14

The dismal streak that the Lions had endured for nearly two calendar years ended with a solid team performance that might be the harbinger of good things to come in Detroit. #1 overall draft Pick Matt Stafford found 8 receivers en route to a solid passing day. Kevin Smith rushed for over 100 yards. And the defense held Clinton Portis to just 42 yards.

Fantasy Studs: Jason Campbell (27/41, 340 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception), Kevin Smith (16 carries, 101 yards), Bryant Johnson (4 receptions, 73 yards, 1 touchdown)

Next Week: Tampa Bay (0-3) at Washington (1-2) – 10 AM; Detroit (1-2) at Chicago (2-1) – 10 AM

Green Bay Packers 36 – St. Louis Rams 17

The Rams went toe-to-toe with the Packersinnearly every statistical category, with the only major differences being in turnovers (Rams: 3, Packers: 0) and points scored. Rams QB Marc Bulger left with a shoulder injury, but Packers’ QB Aaron Rodgers showed that he is feeling just fine with a solid day that included one of the hardest thrown touchdown passes in recent memory.

Fantasy Studs: Aaron Rodgers (13/23, 269 yards, 2 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 8 carries, 38 yards, 1 rushing touchdown), Steven Jackson (27 carries, 117 yards), Greg Jennings (2 receptions, 103 yards), Donald Driver (4 receptions, 95 yards, 1 touchdown), Mason Crosby (3 PAT, 3 FG – 48 yards, 38 yards, 25 yards)

Next Week: Green Bay (2-1) at Minnesota (3-0) – Monday 5:30 PM; St. Louis (0-3) at San Francisco (2-1) – 1:15 PM

Minnesota Vikings 27 – San Francisco 49ers 24

It wasn’t quite a “Hail Mary,” but the game-winning pass thrown by Brett Favre on the game’s last play may as well have been. Favre was being hit as he threw and half of the players on the field were in the endzone where backup receiver Greg Lewis was the only one to actually touch it. Questions about Favre’s ability to, and his fire for, playing the game are quickly fading away.

Fantasy Studs:Brett Favre (24/46, 301 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception), Vernon Davis (7 receptions, 96 yards, 2 touchdowns), Percy Harvin (4 receptions, 51 yards, 4 kick returns, 180 yards, 1 kick return-touchdown [101 yards]), Ryan Longwell (3 PAT, 2 FG – 40 yards, 52 yards)

Next Week: St. Louis (0-3) at San Francisco (2-1) – 1:15 PM; Green Bay (2-1) at Minnesota (3-0) – Monday 5:30 PM

New England Patriots 26 – Atlanta Falcons 10

They didn’t quite look like their 2007 counterparts, but the Patriots dominated both sides of the ball against Atlanta, and shook off their Week 2 loss to the Jets. New England nearly doubled-up on the Falcons in total yards, plays from scrimmage, and time of possession, holding Matt Ryan’s potent offensive machine in check, while putting up some solid offensive numbers of their own.

Fantasy Studs:Fred Taylor (21 carries, 105 yards, 1 touchdown), Randy Moss (10 receptions, 116 yards), Stephen Gostkowski (2 PAT, 4 FG – 21 yards, 33 yards, 22 yards, 33 yards)

Next Week: Baltimore (3-0) at New England (2-1) – 10 AM; Atlanta (2-1) – bye

New York Jets 24 – Tennessee Titans 17

Both teams’ season continued in the unexpected courses they’re been on since the start. The Jets and their rookie quarterback and head coach won another gutsy game, while the Titans and their balanced, dominant, veteran squad still has yet to get up off the mat. Each team took turns dominating the other, but it was the Jets that were able to capitalize on forced turnovers, and Mark Sanchez managed the team to their third win, the longest winning streak by a rookie starting quarterback to start his career since the NFL/AFL merger.

Fantasy Studs:Jericho Cotchery (8 receptions, 108 yards, 1 touchdown), Chris Johnson (22 carries, 97 yards), Jets’ defense (17 points allowed, 2 interceptions, 2 fumble recoveries, 3 sacks)

Next Week: Tennessee (0-3) at Jacksonville (1-2) – 10 AM; New York Jets (3-0) at New Orleans (3-0) – 1:05 PM

Philadelphia Eagles 34 – Kansas City Chiefs 14

The off-season story in Philadelphia was a potential quarterback battle brewing between incumbent Donovan McNabb and newcomer Michael Vick, but it now appears that Kevin Kolb might be the best option behind center even after McNabb comes back from injury. Kolb had his second straight huge game as Philly’s starter and will take over the job permanently if given the chance.

Fantasy Studs:Kevin Kolb (24/34, 327 yards, 2 touchdowns), LeSean McCoy (20 carries, 84 yards, 1 touchdown), DeSean Jackson (6 receptions, 149 yards, 1 touchdown), Brent Celek (8 receptions, 104 yards, 1 touchdown)

Next Week:New York Giants (3-0) at Kansas City (0-3) – 10 AM; Philadelphia (2-1) – bye

Baltimore Ravens 34 – Cleveland Browns 3

It’s looking more and more like neither Brady Quinn nor Derek Anderson is the right man in Cleveland. Although the Ravens’ defense can do that to a lot of quarterbacks. Joe Flacco certainly looked comfortable at QB though as the Ravens continue to look like the class of the NFL on both sides of the ball.

Fantasy Studs:Joe Flacco (25/35, 342 yards, 1 touchdown), Willis McGahee (7 carries, 67 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 fumble lost), Derrick Mason (5 receptions, 118 yards, 1 touchdown), Ravens’ defense (3 points allowed, 4 interceptions, 2 sacks)

Next Week: Baltimore (3-0) at New England (2-1) – 10 AM; Cincinnati (2-1) at Cleveland (0-3) – 10 AM

Jacksonville Jaguars 31 – Houston Texans 24

Overshadowed in college by another slightly undersized back playing across town, Maurice Jones-Drew has emerged as an unstoppable runningback in Jacksonville. In a nearly perfectly evenly matched game, where the teams were separated by just one total yard and traded scores all day long, it was Jacksonville who scored last and held on for the win.

Fantasy Studs:Matt Schaub (26/35, 300 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception), Maurice Jones-Drew (23 carries, 119 yards, 3 touchdowns), Kevin Walter (7 receptions, 96 yards, 1 touchdown)

Next Week: Tennessee (0-3) at Jacksonville (1-2) – 10 AM; Oakland (1-2) at Houston (1-2) – 10 AM

Chicago Bears 25 – Seattle Seahawks 19

Jay Cutler seems to have put his disastrous first game with the Bears behind him and is on his way to living up to what Bears fans hoped he’d be. Seneca Wallace did a good job at quarterback in place of the injured Matt Hasselbeck, but the Seahawks defense just couldn’t keep Cutler and the Bears out of the endzone on their final drive in the last two minutes.

Fantasy Studs:Jay Cutler (21/27, 247 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception), Julius Jones (19 carries, 98 yards), Devin Hester (5 receptions, 76 yards, 1 touchdown), Nate Burleson (9 receptions, 109 yards), Olindo Mare (1 PAT, 4 FG -46 yards, 37 yards, 39 yards, 46 yards)

Next Week: Detroit (1-2) at Chicago (2-1) – 10 AM; Seattle (1-2) at Indianapolis (3-0) – 10 AM

New Orleans Saints 27 – Buffalo Bills 7

The time bomb in Buffalo is ticking louder and louder with each game. During Terrell Owen’s postgame interview, he repeatedly expressed his not-so-veiled displeasure with the plays being called andthe way his quarterback, Trent Edwards, was running them. Owens was held without a catch for the first time in 185 games as Pierre Thomas found the endzone twice in the fourth quarter to put away the Bills.

Fantasy Studs: Pierre Thomas (14 carries, 126 yards, 2 touchdowns)

Next Week: New York Jets (3-0) at New Orleans (3-0) – 1:05 PM; Buffalo (1-2) at Miami (0-3) – 1:05 PM

Cincinnati Bengals 23, Pittsburgh Steelers 20

The defending champs are a Week 1 overtime win away from being 0-3 and now find themselves effectively two games behind the Bengals in the AFC North after their narrow loss to Cincy in Week 3. Willie Parker got his running game in gear and Pittsburgh outperformed the Bengals on paper, but couldn’t stop them when it counted as the absence of Troy Polamalu glared.

Fantasy Studs: Cedric Benson (16 carries, 76 yards, 1 touchdown), Mike Wallace (7 receptions, 102 yards)

Next Week: Cincinnati (2-1) at Cleveland (0-3) – 10 AM; San Diego (2-1) at Pittsburgh (2-1) – 5:20 PM

Denver Broncos 23 – Oakland Raiders 3

Any win is a good thing. Any win over a divisional opponent is even better. Any win over a divisional opponent in their own home is the best. And completely embarrassing them in front of their own fans is simply beyond words. Oaklandcrossed midfield only twice all game long. Once was after a forced fumble at Denver’s 11 yard line…which Oakland promptly gave back on a fumble on the next play. JaMarcus Russell had another miserable game and would likely be benched on any other team not owned by Al Davis.

Fantasy Studs: Correll Buckhalter (14 carries, 108 yards), Brandon Marshall (5 receptions, 67 yards, 1 touchdown), Broncos’ defense (3 points allowed, 3 fumbles forces, 1 fumble recovery, 2 interceptions)

Next Week: Oakland (1-2) at Houston (1-2) – 10 AM; Dallas (1-1) at Denver (3-0) – 1:15 PM

San Diego Chargers 23 – Miami Dolphins 13

The Chad Henne era in Miami has begun as Chad Pennington is out for the season with a shoulder injury sustained against the Chargers. Henne led the Dolphins on a late touchdown drive, but the game slipped out of the Dolphins’ hands early on when Ronnie Brown mishandled a hand-off from Pennington and it tumbled out of bounds after the ‘Phins had driven 94 yards to the San Diego 1 yard line on their opening drive. Miami’s offense stalled after that and the Chargers had just enough to pull away in the fourth quarter.

Fantasy Studs: Vincent Jackson (5 receptions, 120 yards), Chargers’ defense (13 points allowed, 7 points scored, 2 sacks, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery)

Next Week: Buffalo (1-2) at Miami (0-3) – 1:05 PM; San Diego (2-1) at Pittsburgh (2-1) – 5:20 PM

Indianapolis Colts 31 – Arizona Cardinals 10

Peyton Manning won the battle of MVP quarterbacks by tossing four touchdown passes against the Cardinals. Kurt Warner had a big game of his own, but was picked off twice and Indy’s bend-but-don’t-break defense was able to keep the Cards’ one-dimensional offense out of the endzone for all but one drive.

Fantasy Studs:Peyton Manning (24/35, 379 yards, 4 touchdowns, 1 interception), Kurt Warner (30/52, 332 yards, 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions), Reggie Wayne (7 receptions, 126 yards, 1 touchdown), Dallas Clark (7 receptions, 62 yards, 1 touchdown), Steve Breaston (7 receptions, 94 yards), Colts’ defense (10 points allowed, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 2 interceptions, 4 sacks)

Next Week: Seattle (1-2) at Indianapolis (3-0) – 10 AM; Arizona (1-2) – bye

Originally published September 28, 2009 on SoCalSportsHub.com

The Britt List (9/22/09)

My friend Jim asked me last week, "Isn't it about time you write a blog about the latest antics of spoiled sports figures." And he carries a gun to work every day, so Jim gets what Jim wants (Go Seahawks, by the way).

I should probably find some sort of common thread that I could use to string all of these stories and non sequitors together into some sort of cohesive commentary. But that's much harder and I am not getting paid for this. Plus it's been a while since I've really written much and the "notes" section of my phone is getting really long and really need to just empty it out, so here goes...

1. How can I start a list of spoiled sports figures anywhere other than with Serena Williams? Two week ago she got smoked by eventual U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters for 1 set, 5 games, and 2 points. Then two points from the end, she was called for a foot fault on her serve (that is, she stepped on the line while serving...probably a bad call). The penalty for this is the loss of that point. So that makes it match point.

But that little mistake isn't why she heads up this list. No, her out-of-control, profanity-laden, physical-harm-threatening breakdown that got her a 1-point penalty, which cost her the match because it was match point, is what got her on this list. It was definitely one of the most great freak-out's I've ever seen in sports, not up there with George Brett or the minor league baseball manager who pretended to be in a foxhole and toss a grenade of course, but it's impressive. It starts at about :46 in this video and peaks at about 5:20.

Serena later tried to be her normal disingenuously adorable self and said that it's just because she's so passionate and competitive and it got the better of her this time. That explains it; other athletes who get hosed on calls are just not competitive and that's why they act with grace and decorum. I've often felt that Serena Williams (and to a slightly lesser extent, Venus Williams) has been protected by the sports media with the same umbrella that they used to protect Roger Clemens for such a long time. "He's a fiery competitor." Or, "It's her intensity that makes her a champion." No, he was a 'roid raging egomaniac and she is a spoiled bully. I'd like to think that the press has finally turned on her and decided to finally write her off as the poor-sport that she is, but I think Kanye West might have distracted everyone too much with his blowup last week. (Seriously, is the jury still out on Kanye? So the guy sings a song every now and then about praying, and he cried on Leno, that doesn't mean he isn't just a huge asshole.) (And as a second side note, why is the adjectival form of "fire"not "firey?" I mean why suddenly move the "e" inside the "r"?)

2. Robert Henson of the Washington Redskins wrote the following on his Twitter page after some home fans booed the 'Skins in a home loss on Sunday: "All you fake half hearted Skins fans can...I won't go there but I dislike you very strongly, don't come to Fed Ex to boo dim wits!...The question is who are you to say you know what's best for the team and you work 9 to 5 at McDonalds."

There is no way I can write anything here that remotely compares to the sentiment and emotion expressed by Mike Greenberg of ESPN, so I won't bother. And there is nothing to add to Greeny's rant, so I won't. Except this: is it possible that this is all a grammatical misunderstanding? I mean, look at what he wrote: "Don't come to Fed Ex to boo dim wits!" Isn't Henson saying that he and the other players and coaches are "dim wits" and telling fans not to come and boo them? Yeah, probably not. He's just too dim witted to know what the comma is for.

3. Phillip Rivers seems like the perfect example of a kid who was always a really good athlete, so he just never really got put in his place on the field and was never disciplined by his parents, teachers, or coaches. Once again last week he took a penalty for taunting - he leaned over and yelled in the face of an opposing player who had fallen down next to Rivers. The problem is, he is still a really good athlete and won't be getting put in his place any time soon. And he's clearly too immature and/or stupid to realize that he'll never win a Super Bowl with this kind of leadership style, talent be damned.

4. It took Terrell Owens exactly one game to throw his new quarterback under the bus, saying that Trent Edwards showed poor judgement and missed plays where Owens was open. I know, I'm shocked too.

5. Jacksonville Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver came out after the team's Week 1 loss and said that he was hoping to draft Tim Tebow for next season. Tebow is the reigning Heisman Trophy winner and BCS Champion quarterback from Florida, which is in Jacksonville and is far more popular than the Jags. That's good. Way to piss on the millions of dollars spent by fans on tickets and TV packages for this season, let alone on your current players, by already writing the season off within hours of its start. But hey, the good news is that they're gonna get totally hosed if they don't get the #1 draft pick because if they want to move up to get Tebow, the price just went way up when Weaver tipped his hand 8 months before the draft. Whoops.

6. The Cowboys apparently sold something like 30,000 standing-room only tickets (called "Party Passes") to their opening night game against the Giants on Sunday (the Giants won because Tony Romo sucks). The goal was to set the record for the largest regular season crowd in football history, which they did (105,121). Sadly most of those folks who shelled out $29 to stand on a huge balcony facing but far away from the field couldn't actually see the field at all, and some were not allowed into the stadium. It nearly caused a riot and the extra fans couldn't help lift the Cowboys to a win anyway, but the only part of this paragraph that Jerry Jones is probably capable of comprehending is, "Cowboys...set the record for the largest regular season crowd in football history...face...lift...Jerry Jones."

7. Flozell Adams is a very, very fat former great NFL offensive lineman who now just resorts to cheating in order to stop players from exposing the staggeringly large weaknesses in his game. He has led the league in penalties in each of the past 3 seasons. This week the Giants' Justin Tuck apparently told him there was a gigantic plate of ribs over his left shoulder and when Adams went left to look, Tuck bolted the other way to go sack Tony Romo. Adams became angry that there weren't actually any ribs and rather than shift into position and block Tuck, he instead illegally stuck his hippopotamus-sized leg out and tripped him, causing Tuck to fall awkwardly, injure his shoulder and miss the rest of the game. Adams later blamed Tuck saying, "Tell him to stay up." Adams then leaned back over and continued eating from his trough.

8. We always hear what a genius Pete Carroll is, so it must be true. So when he disgracefully shunned his golden boy, Mark Sanchez, last spring when Sanchez chose to enter the NFL, some wondered why Carroll the Genius did it. Why go on record on the biggest day of Sanchez' career, a celebratory day marking his graduation from USC football, not just USC academics, and say the kid isn't ready for the NFL and he has stats that show that Sanchez will fail? Granted, it's only two games into his pro career, but Sanchez seems to pretty pretty damned ready for the NFL. I guess Carroll was wrong on that one.

Once Matt Barkley got the USC starting quarterback job, every time you heard Carroll talk about him you got a kinda creepy, borderline-inappropriate, "I want to carry his babies"-kind of feeling. Though you know Carroll is faking it since he had already named Aaron Corp his starter until Corp got hurt in preseason workouts. And having seen Corp play last weekend in Washington, we now see that Corp getting hurt and forcing Carroll to start Barkley was the best coaching move he'll make this year.

You might wonder why Carroll was singing the praises of Barkley so loudly, besides that the kid is pretty good. But you have to remember that this is Division I-A college football. The title game participants are chosen as much through the politics in the press room as they are through play on the field. USC couldn't afford to start the season ranked in the teens because that makes one-loss a season-ender. So Carroll had to convince voters in that first poll that Barkley is the best quarterback that had ever come through his program so they'd keep USC from tumbling out of the preseason top 5. Now they've lost a game and dropped to 12th, but can still climb back into the conversation. Had they started at 12th and lost, dropping to 20th or below, the season would be over. Maybe he is a genius.

The good news for USC fans is that we've already seen that they don't need to win, let alone play in, the BCS Championship Game to call themselves National Champions at USC. So the polliticking is all kind of a waste anyway, I guess.

9. This one isn't directly at any particular stupid/spoiled sports figure, but rather all the national reporters covering the Giants. Why is everyone so shocked at the skills and performance of Steve Smith? He came from a major college program (USC) where he was a star. He was a high draft pick (2nd round). He led the team in receptions last season (his first as a regular player, though he was still considered the third receiver). And as if all of that wasn't enough to gain him the notoriety he deserves, as a rookie Smith made the most skilled reception and play on that Super Bowl winning drive, saving the Giants' hopes. He is the victim of circumstance, it seems. No one remembers his play on the big drive because it was sandwiched between David Tyree's helmet catch and Plaxico Burress' touchdown. No one recognizes his name because when he came into the league, there already was a star-receiver named Steve Smith. No one remembers his 2008 success because it was overshadowed by the Burress-gun debacle. But it doesn't seem to bother Smith or Mario Manningham or any of the Giants' other younger receivers that they are considered the team's weakness. It just makes it easier to embarrass seemingly unsuspecting and overconfident secondaries (we're looking at you Terrence Newman, Orlando Scandrick, Keith Hamlin, Mike Jenkins...).

10. Who do I pick for the last one?

-LeGarrette Blount of Oregon for kissing his senior season (and draft status) goodbye when he punched a Boise State player and attacked BSU fans after their season opening loss.

-Whoever at Boise State thinks it is a good idea to have a blue field and blue uniforms that make their players invisible on TV, thus making their games unwatchable.

-Whoever at ESPN still think Lou Holtz should be a commentator? I mean he's knowledgeable, and you just wanna cuddle in his lap (with an umbrella) and hear stories about the olden days, but you can't understand a shingle thing that comesh out of hish mouth.

-Kick returners who call fair catches at the 5 yard-line or take kicks out from 8-yards deep in the endzone?

-Whoever at Yahoo! Fantasy Sports ranked LaDainian Tomlinson as highly as he did causing me to get a completely wasted first round draft pick because we've known for two years that LDT was toast?

-Whoever started calling Tomlinson, "LT," despite that there was already a better player in the same sport with the same nickname and you just don't do that?

-Whoever at ABC wrote the stat-list for Pete Carroll for Saturday's game that said he was a two-time National Champion with USC even though the team has only won the National Championship game once in his tenure. Either we have two polls, and its the same split-champion situation that the BCS was created to avoid, or not. But we can't have both. If only there was such a thing as an event where various teams met and played against one another in elimination games to determine the last team standing.

-Milton Bradley who is getting run out of yet-another baseball town after being suspended for the remainder of the season by the Cubs for being a surly prick all the time. If your playing the Milton Bradley home edition, the winning cards this season were: Bump an Ump: Get suspended two game, Throw a Ball Into the Stands With Only Two Outs: Move two baserunners up two bases each, Freak Out After a Flyout, Again: Get sent home during the game, and later get in a fight with the manager in the clubhouse, Say You Hate Coming to Wrigley Field Because The Fans Are Racist: Turn your last remaining supporters against you, and finally for a bonus... Rip the Fans and Local Media For Expecting You To Play Well for the $10,000,000 They're Paying You: Get suspended for the season.

-Bud Selig for lowering the four-game suspensions of Jorge Posada and Jesse Carlson to three-games after the two agreed not to appeal the suspension. So what are we saying here, that they always deserved a three-game suspension but you were gonna make it four for no good reason? Or that saying "I won't appeal," is just as effective as actually appealing?

Or maybe all of them will just tie for 10th. Yeah, that'll work.

NFL Week 2 Hangover

Denver 27, Cleveland 6

By nearly all accounts, the quarterbacks traded between the Broncos and the Bears in the off-season were not in the same league. Apparently no one told Kyle Orton that he was supposedly the bad one. Orton and the Broncos kept the momentum up from last week’s miraculous win in Cincinnati and look like the class of the weak AFC West. Denver’s offense more than doubled up on Cleveland in total yardage, and the defense forced three turnovers to turn their home-opener into a rout.

Fantasy Studs: Denver defense (1 interception, 2 fumble recoveries, 6 points allowed)

Next Week: Denver (2-0) at Oakland (1-1), 1:15 PM; Cleveland (0-2) at Baltimore (2-0), 10 AM

Chicago 17, Pittsburgh 14

After a dismal first game with his new team, the other half of that quarterback trade faced his home fans for the first time at Soldier Field and helped thousands of Chicago fans justify their new Jay Cutler jersey purchases. Cutler was far from spectacular, but he didn’t turn the ball over and helped the Bears grind out a win over the Super Bowl Champs thanks to a 44-yard field goal with just :15 to play. Pittsburgh’s defense stepped up in the absence of Troy Polamalu and held the Bears’ stud running back Matt Forte to just 29 yards on 13 carries.

Fantasy Studs: Jay Cutler (27/38, 236 yards, 2 touchdowns, 0 interceptions)

Next Week: Chicago (1-1) at Seattle (1-1), 1:05 PM; Pittsburgh (1-1) at Cincinnati (1-1), 1:15 PM

Baltimore 31, San Diego 26

Phillip Rivers put up huge passing numbers for the Chargers, but it wasn’t enough as Ray Lewis’ defense stuffed the San Diego running attack and Joe Flacco did just enough to win. With LaDainian Tomlinson out, Darren Sproles was given the opportunity to show he could be a #1 running back, but maybe this wasn’t the defense he would have chosen to show his stuff against, though he did have a huge day receiving. Baltimore held the Chargers to just 2.5 yards per carry, and Lewis stuffed Sproles in the backfield to end the Chargers’ last possession to seal the win.

Fantasy Studs:Phillip Rivers (25/45, 436 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions), Vincent Jackson (6 receptions, 141 yards, 1 touchdown), Darren Sproles (7 receptions, 124 yards, 1 touchdown), Willis McGahee (79 yards, 2 touchdowns)

Next Week: Cleveland (0-2) at Baltimore (0-2), 10 AM; Miami (0-1) at San Diego (1-1), 1:15 PM

San Francisco 23, Seattle 10

San Francisco’s Frank Gore had extraordinary touchdown runs of 79 and 80 yards, and Seattle fans witnessed what has become all-too-ordinary: Matt Hasselbeck missed time with an injury. Hasselbeck was hit hard in the ribs just before halftime and missed the entire second half. Seneca Wallace did a serviceable job as his replacement, but the day belonged to Gore who couldn’t be stopped.

Fantasy Studs: Frank Gore (207 yards, 2 touchdowns)

Next Week: San Francisco (2-0) at Minnesota (2-0), 10 AM); Chicago (1-1) at Seattle (1-1), 1:05 PM

Buffalo 33, Tampa Bay 20

Byron Leftwich showed he is still more than just a game-manager at quarterback, but Terrell Owens’ late score put the final nail in the Buccs’ coffin in Owens’ first game at his new home stadium. Leftwich found 9 receivers on route to his huge day but the Buccs couldn’t move the ball on the ground, and the Tampa defense had no answers for Buffalo’s balanced attack and couldn’t stop Fred Jackson all day. Jackson had a career day starting in place of suspended starter Marshawn Lynch.

Fantasy Studs:Byron Leftwich (26/50, 296 yards, 3 touchdowns, 2 interception), Fred Jackson (163 yards), Kellen Winslow (7 receptions, 90 yards, 1 touchdown)

Next Week: New Orleans (2-0) at Buffalo (1-1), 1:05 PM; New York Giants (2-0) at Tampa Bay (0-2), 10 AM

Washington 9, St. Louis 7

Washington was never able to find the end zone and actually lost yardage on 3 of their 4 fourth quarter possessions, but their three field goals proved to be just enough. St. Louis only managed to cross the 50-yard line three times on the day despite a nice day from Steven Jackson and gave up another potential score on a Donnie Avery fumble on the Washington 4-yard line with just over 8:30 to go.

Fantasy Studs: Steven Jackson (104 yards), Washington defense (7 points allowed, 2 fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 sack)

Next Week: Washington (1-1) at Detroit (0-2), 10 AM; Green Bay (1-1) at St. Louis (1-1), 10AM

Arizona 31, Jacksonville 17

Kurt Warner was as close to perfect as any quarterback has ever been in this Arizona rout, but if you live in Jacksonville, you didn’t have to see it. The game was blacked out because it was not a sellout, and millions missed a chance to see Warner put on a spectacular show, completing his first 15 pass attempts. Though the time of possession and total yards were nearly dead-even, Arizona’s efficiency helped them build a 28-point lead before the Jags tired too late to get back into the game.

Fantasy Studs: Kurt Warner (24/26, 243 yards, 2 touchdowns), Mike Sims-Walker (6 receptions, 106 yards, 1 touchdown), Arizona defense (17 points allowed, 4 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 blocked punt, 1 touchdown)

Next Week: Indianapolis (1-0) at Arizona (1-1), 5:20 PM; Jacksonville (0-2) at Houston (1-1), 1 PM

New York Jets 16, New England 9

It is looking more and more like Pete Carroll was dead wrong in his assessment of Mark Sanchez’ chances for success in the NFL. Sanchez out-dueled Tom Brady and already looks like an unfazed veteran in key situations. New England was held without a touchdown since before Sanchez was even playing at USC, and they were shut out in the second half thanks to a stellar performance by the Jets defense. They never sacked Brady, but he did take seven hits and was flushed out of the pocket repeatedly. Sanchez engineered three second half scoring drives to take the come-from-behind win to the roaring approval of his home crowd, which chanted the young quarterback’s name several times during the game.

Fantasy Studs:New York defense (9 points allowed, 1 interception), Julian Edelman (8 receptions, 98 yards)

Next Week: Tennessee (0-2) at New York Jets (2-0), 10 AM; Atlanta (2-0) at New England (1-1), 10 AM

New Orleans 48, Philadelphia 22

“Brees-to-Colston for the touchdown” is looking like the catchphrase of the new fall season! Drew Brees and Kevin Kolb (in his NFL debut start, in place of the injured Donovan McNabb) put on an airshow, combining for over 700 yards passing, and 5 touchdowns. New Orleans only possessed the ball for about one minute longer than Philadelphia but for the Saints it was the quality of their drives that led to the quantity of their points (one turnover, seven scoring drives).

Fantasy Studs:Drew Brees (25/34, 311 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception), Kevin Kolb (31/51, 391 yards, 2 touchdowns, 3 interceptions), Marques Colston (8 receptions, 98 yards, 2 touchdowns), Mike Bell (86 yards, 1 TD), Brent Celek (8 receptions, 104 yards), DeSean Jackson (4 receptions, 101 yards, 1 touchdown), Jason Avant (7 receptions, 79 yards, 1 touchdown), John Carney (6 PAT, 2 FG-23 yards, 25 yards)

Next Week: New Orleans (2-0) at Buffalo (1-1), 1:05 PM; Kansas City (0-2) at Philadelphia (1-1), 10 AM

Houston 34, Tennessee 31

Tennessee’s stout almost completely shut down the Houston running game. So Texans’ quarterback Matt Schaub went out and won the game with his arm. The Titans’ Chris Johnson may have had a better day over all, but it was Houston’s Andre Johnson who got the last laugh as the two teams traded punches all game long before Tennessee finally relented and allowed the fourth quarter’s only points on a 23 yard Kris Brown field goal with just over two minutes remaining.

Fantasy Studs:Matt Schaub (25/39, 357 yards, 4 touchdowns), Chris Johnson (197 yards and 2 touchdowns rushing, 9 receptions, 87 yards, 1 receiving touchdown), Andre Johnson (10 receptions, 149 yards, 2 touchdowns), Owen Daniels (6 receptions, 72 yards, 1 touchdown), Jacoby Jones (2 receptions, 73 yards, 1 touchdown), Kris Brown (4 PAT, 2 FG-23 yards, 48 yards)

Next Week: Tennessee (0-2) at New York Jets (2-0), 10 AM; Jacksonville (0-2) at Houston (1-1), 10 AM

Oakland 13, Kansas City 10

The Matt Cassell Era has begun in Kansas City and with just under 3:00 to go, it looked like it was off to a great start. Cassell engineered a 9 play, 72 yard fourth quarter drive that put the Chiefs up 10-6 and considering how dismally the Raiders’ offense had played, it looked like that lead would hold. But the Raiders showed that out-gaining your opponents by nearly a 3-to-1 margin doesn’t matter if you don’t put points on the board. JaMarcus Russell and Darren McFadden marched the Raiders down the field with just 2:38 to go and McFadden punched it in from five yards out to steal a 13-10 win. The Raiders suffered through a miserable offensive day, but committed no turnovers and had just enough in the tank at the end.

Fantasy Studs:Raiders defense (10 points allowed, 2 interceptions, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble), Sebastian Janikowski (1 PAT, 2 FG-48 yards, 54 yards)

Next Week: Denver (2-0) at Oakland (1-1), 1:15 PM; Kansas City (0-2) at Philadelphia (1-1), 20 AM

Minnesota 27, Detroit 13

No one has ever started more NFL games in-a-row than Brett Favre, and the way he is playing, it is not hard to see why the Vikings wanted to held him keep his streak alive. Another streak was preserved in this game as well as Detroit still hasn’t won a game since 2007. Minnesota came back from a 10-0 deficit to score 27-straight. #1 overall draft pick Matt Stafford showed some growing pains and likely took a few lessons from Favre, who only threw for three more yards than Stafford, but still led the Vikings to a dominating win. Adrian Peterson had a relatively quiet game and lost a fumble, but still rushed for over 6-yards per carry.

Fantasy Studs: Adrian Peterson (92 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 fumble lost), Minnesota defense (10 points allowed, 3 sacks, 2 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery)

Next Week: San Francisco (2-1) at Minnesota (2-0), 10 AM; Washington (1-1) at Detroit (0-2), 10AM

Cincinnati 31, Green Bay 24

Cincinnati almost saw their second last-second collapse in as many weeks, but were saved by a false start penalty on the Packers that nullified their chance at one last play from inside the Bengals’ 10. Green Bay only managed 3 points in the second half, but Aaron Rodgers continues to look like more than just “the guy that played after Favre left.” Chad Ochocinco made good on his promise to do a “Lambeau Leap” if he scored, when he caught a 13-yarder from Carson Palmer late in the third quarter that would eventually be the game-winner.

Fantasy Studs:Carson Palmer (15/23, 185 yards, 3 touchdowns, 2 interceptions), Cedric Benson (141 yards), Donald Driver (6 receptions, 99 yards, 1 touchdown), Chad Ochocinco (4 receptions, 91 yards, 1 touchdown)

Next Week: Pittsburgh (1-1) at Cincinnati (1-1), 1:15 PM; Green Bay (1-1) at St. Louis (1-1), 10AM

Atlanta 28, Carolina 20

Jake Delhomme was able to find his old form after an absolutely miserable game in Week 1, but Matt Ryan was just a little better in Week 2. Ryan led the Falcons on a 5-play, 56-yards drive in the final minute of the first half before to take the lead for one last time and the teams traded touchdowns in the fourth quarter to preserve the win for Atlanta. Tony Gonzalez and Steve Smith were their respective quarterbacks’ favorite targets once again as each had big games.

Fantasy Studs: Matt Ryan (21/27, 220 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception), Michael Turner (105 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 fumble lost), Tony Gonzalez (7 receptions, 71 yards, 1 touchdown), Steve Smith (8 receptions, 131 yards)

Next Week: Carolina (0-2) at Dallas (1-1), Monday at 5:30 PM; Atlanta (2-0) at New England (1-1), 10 AM

New York Giants 33, Dallas Cowboys 31

It was supposed to be the grand opener celebration for Jerry Jones’ new Everything-Is-Bigger-In-Texas-Dome. It was supposed to be a huge mismatch between the Cowboy’s veteran quarterback and wide receivers, and the Giants’ depleted, inexperienced secondary. It was supposed to be a huge mismatch between the Cowboys’ veteran secondary and the Giants’ inexperienced receivers. It was supposed to be a defensive battle won by the team who could run the ball better. It wasn’t. The Giants defense allowed a staggering 251 rushing yards, but picked off Tony Romo three times. The Giants had two receivers (Mario Manningham and Steve Smith) catch 10 balls for at least 134 yards and 1 score each. Roy Williams, Patrick Crayton, and Miles Austen combined for three catches for Dallas and Romo only threw for 127 yards, to Eli Manning’s 330. Neither ferocious defense managed a single sack. And Brandon Jacobs was held to just 58 yards, but the Giants toughed out a huge win on the road in Dallas to ruin the party on Lawrence Tynes last second field goal.

Fantasy Studs:Eli Manning (25/38, 330 yards, 2 touchdowns), Marian Barber (124 yards, 1 touchdown), Felix Jones (96 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 fumble lost), Mario Manningham (10 receptions, 150 yards, 1 touchdown), Steve Smith (10 receptions, 134 yards, 1 touchdown), Lawrence Tynes (3 PAT, 4 FG-30 yards, 28 yards, 36 yards, 37 yards)

Next Week: Carolina (0-2) at Dallas (1-1), Monday at 5:30 PM; New York Giants (2-0) at Tampa Bay (0-2), 10 AM

Originally published Sept. 21, 2009 on SoCalSportsHub.com

Offseason Shopping List

Baseball's Opening Day and the NFL Draft are both a little more than two months away so I was thinking about my shopping list before those big days. It's a short list.

1 - "Reyes moves over to third on the single by Wright as the Mets are off to a fast start here on Opening Day. And that will bring up new leftfielder Manny Ramirez."

Clearly the Dodgers don't want to really sign Manny because they keep low-balling him to a ridiculous degree. They want to be able to tell their fans that they tried, but it didn't work. Then they'll get third in the West, win 78 games, but sell 3,000,000 tickets and be one of three teams to turn a profit.

I don't understand why more teams aren't at least going to Manny with two and three year deals worth a little less per year than he's asking. At least that would be a middle ground. He wants four years and around $25 million a year. Not gonna happen. But couldn't the Mets land him for 3 years and $65 or so? Wouldn't he make up for his salary with jersey sales, wig/hat sales, and ticket sales? Wouldn't he love playing in New York and being on the back page, and sticking it to the Dodgers 8-10 times this year? The Mets are going to platoon an average youngster and a past-his prime veteran in left field. Really? Reyes, Wright, Manny, Beltran, Delgado. Name a better top 5.

Omar Minaya likes making big splash surprise moves. He allegedly likes only going after Latino players. Jerry Manuel said last month that he'd love to have Manny. The team has a hole in left field and a Gold Glove centerfielder to cover for some of Manny's gafs. And they have an offense that is potent (second in runs last year), but still somehow not intimidating. So go get one of the best two or three hitters in the game and stick him right in the middle of all of it.

2 - "Manning drops back, steps in front of the rush, picks up a block from Jacobs as he pumps underneath to Houshmandzadeh and heaves one deep to Boldin..."

Plaxico Burress is toast and no one else on the team (Amani Toomer included) can be a #1 receiver right now. Boldin wants out of Arizona and Housh is a free agent. Signing either one makes the Giants instant favorites in the NFC considering that arguably the conference's best defense played without its best player last season, and the one thing missing at the end was a serious threat at wideout. Signing both makes the Giants Super Bowl favorites. Who gets the double-team with Housh on one side, Boldin on the other, Steve Smith in the slot, Boss at tight end, and Brandon Jacobs behind Manning, who is behind the best offensive line in the league? These guys are both blue-collar star receivers (which is almost a contradiction in terms). They don't cause clubhouse problems. They don't make waves in the media. They don't even celebrate scores really. They block, they are good route runners and they stretch the field.

Is that really so much to ask?

Favre-Watch 09 Hits ESPN, And MLB Blows Its Awards Season

Well, you can write it down. Week 11 was the first time that ESPN mentioned Brett Favre's future in the NFL and also the week that Mercury Morris was first mentioned in relation to the undefeated Titans. November 19 was the date of the Favre article and November 17th for the Morris article. Let the hype begin.

Sports Illustrated took a different tact in hyping the World Series champions. To be honest, I didn't really notice this when it happened because I was a little bitter that the freaking Phillies won the Series, but yesterday I got the NFL's official catalogue (35 shopping days till Christmas) and in it were quite a few Super Bowl items for the Giants. After subtly circling about 30 items in it and "accidentally" leaving it open on my wife's nightstand, it occurred to me that SI never did a "Phillies Win!" World Series edition.

I went back through the magazines from this month and found that I was only sorta wrong. The November 3rd edition features Rocco Baldelli colliding at home plate with a catcher with red protectors on - I assume that was the Phillies catcher. The headline is "The World Series" - not "The Phillies Win!" The article inside was a tribute to a well played series that no one watched, not to the champs' season. No where in the entire magazine was there a sentence that actually said that the Phillies had won the World Series - the assumption being that you already knew that. If I was a Phillies fan, I would be freaking pissed about all of this! But I would probably also be illiterate, so I wouldn't get SI and it wouldn't matter.

The November 10 edition kinda made up for this oversight. It did say "Phillies Win!" on the cover, but that article wasn't really about the team either. Rather it was about how to fix the Series, not a glorifying recap.

When did the World Series Champ start getting second-billing to the NFL's Midseason Report on fat guys getting paid more than they used to? If baseball is slipping into the background of the major American sports consciousness, the way they announce their awards doesn't help. They announce the managers of the years, Golden Glovers, Silver Sluggers, Rookies of the Year and MVPs weeks after the season ends. By this time, the NFL has taken complete control of ESPN, the NBA is in full swing, college basketball is already started and baseball fans have already put last year behind them and are already bitching about next year's roster.

And they don't even have press conferences where the winners are given trophies and get to thank their dads and high school coaches! They get interviewed over the phone most of the time. Clearly the intent is for baseball to stay in our collective consciousness between the Series ending and free agency beginning, but it doesn't work. It trivializes the importance of these mens' accomplishments, and being that these are the most accomplished men in the Game, it trivializes the Game.

As does the fact that most of the time, the MVP award is give to the best player, but not necessarily the Most Valuable one. I would pick Albert Pujols to start my fantasy team, or my real franchise, over anyone else in the National League, but how valuable was he to the Cardinals this year? They took 4th. I don't think he should have been eligible because he didn't play enough games, but Manny Ramirez was eligible and was third in the voting - how did he not win? The guy joined a team struggling to play .500 that was slowly withering and never going to put it all together and carried them to the NLCS. And keep in mind as you read the following argument that I hate the Dodgers and think Manny is overrated.

So the Dodgers only finished a few games over .500 - the moment he arrived in L.A., the West was won and everyone knew it. Then he went out and hit .400 for two months just to make sure. He made you think James Loney, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier could be All Stars. Sure, Pujols carried the Cardinals, but he carried them to a crappy finish. The measuring stick for MVP is this: if you took the guy in question out and replaced him with any other above-average player of the same position, what is the difference?

Put Conor Jackson, Joey Votto, Loney, Adrian Gonzalez, Prince Fielder, Carlos Delgado, Lance Berkman or Derek Lee in St. Louis, and they still finish fourth. But put any left fielder from any team in baseball in L.A., and the Dodgers miss the playoffs and possibly wind up behind Colorado.

Cowboys To Play In CFL Until They Get NFL-Caliber Talent

With baseball season over actual real-life rain falling in L.A. over the weekend, it seems a little silly to still write about Andruw Jones' unfathomable contract, but it is one of my favorite topics so I am torn. Fortunately, the Knicks' Stephon Marbury is proving that his deal is perhaps worse.

Which contract is a bigger burden is a tough call. Jones costs a lot of money and actually hurts his team when he plays. Marbury costs even more money but isn't actually on the roster. You make the call. As for now, the Knicks are 1-2 and Marbury has earned exactly $762,461.89 despite not playing at all. In fact he hasn't suited up for the last two. But it isn't because of injury, actually it is because coach Mike D'Antoni thinks he is such a cancer to the team that he refuses to play him so Marbury asked to be placed on the inactive list. Marbury is set to earn $20,840,625 this season and says he will not be bought of his contract for a dime less.

While I don't blame him, after all it's not his fault that Isiah Thomas was an idiot and agreed to the deal, I guess this will be the end of Marbury's run at being seen as a good guy for signing a sneaker deal that made inexpensive (around $20) sneakers instead of the normal NBA star shoes that retail in the hundreds. But then, I don't think there was ever a chance that this guy would be seen as a good guy. That ship sailed when he was run out of his second or third NBA city and then again when he tattooed his shoe-logo on the side of his bald head. Mike Tyson is jealous of this lunatic's committedness to lunacy!

Speaking overpaid, self-serving lunatics, did anyone else see the Cowboys get demolished yesterday? You know, when you root for a team and they win a game really, really easily over a long-time, hated rival, you might think it would be only natural to kinda wish it was a better game. You know, to root for the spirit of the rivalry. Perhaps that makes me unnatural because I revelled in every glorious moment of that game.

The talk among my co-workers at CBS was that it is a soft win because the Cowboys are so depleted. I think this is being a little generous to the Cowboys. How depleted are they? The offense is completly in tact besides Tony Romo. The defense is missing two starters. This is a team that had 12 Pro Bowl-ers last year. The Giants had three injured starters on defense: a defensive end, a cornerback and a linebacker, and the defensive end was the team's only Pro Bowl-er last year. So nearly everyone's preseason NFC favorite, the deepest, most talented team, with all those Pro Bowlers, couldn't move the ball or stop the other team from moving it.

Every team suffers injuries. Not every team rolls over like the Cowboys did Sunday. The last time the Giants beat the Cowboys, T.O. cried afterwards. That was pretty enjoyable as well.

This is why football is great: I have a full week to enjoy this.

A Somewhat Bitter Potpourri

After a typically busy weekend in sports, I can't decide what to write about today, so instead I will simply throw out random thoughts about lots of the stories that have been going on, most of which are still tainted by the fact that the Phillies are in the World Series and not the Mets.

-Chip Caray used to call the Rays' James Shields, "Big-Game James Shields." This would have been a decent nickname for the guy if he had ever pitched in a big game before this week, and it it wasn't already James Worthy's nickname. So I figured that Caray was just calling anyone with the name James, "Big-Game James." And then in Game 7 of the ALCS, he called Rays' pitcher Matt Garza, "Big-Game Matt Garza." I don't even know where to begin with this.

-I am not sure which was my favorite TV sports programming moment of the weekend was, and both are up there for best moment of the year as well: 1) Little-brother-sports network TBS apparently forgot that they were in charge of broadcasting Game 6 of the ALCS. For the first 20 minutes (just long enough to miss B.J. Upton's first-inning homer), they instead were airing a repeat of the Steve Harvey show. I am sure folks in Boston handled this well. 2) The Cowboys sucked so bad on Sunday that Fox was worried that no one wanted to watch it anymore so they switched away from the blowout on their national broadcast. It wasn't just great that it was the Cowboys getting beaten, or beaten by the Rams, or publicly embarrassed, or that the game they switched to was the Giants. The best part is that the game they switched to stunk too, but was still more competitive and watchable than the Cowboys. I am very happy right now. That said, I could watch a 24 hour network of Cowboy losses, so it was a kinda six of one, half a dozen of another for me.

-I watched SNL this week because I thought that Sarah Palin's appearance might be worth it, and I thought, "you know, there are a lot of funny people on there now. Maybe it is coming back." Nope. The opening was another Tina Fey-as-Palin sketch and then Palin walked in and talked to Lorne Michaels' about the impersonation. Not that funny. Then Marky Mark appears (no Funky Bunch) to pile onto a joke from last week. Not funny. Then Alec Baldwin appears! He doesn't recognize Palin and thinks it is Tina Fey and starts bad-mouthing Palin's politics right to her face unintentionally. Not funny. Then I watched a few sketches and wanted to destroy my TV so this could never happen again. Weekend Update was, as usual for the last 33 years, the funniest part of the show, which is now simply an embarrassing obvious form of advertising for whatever crappy movies the hosts are starring in.

-Speaking of movies, Saw V is out this week. There have been four Saws? Has anyone ever seen one of these? Didn't the first one come out last year? Does anyone know what the premise is? And of course, it will be the top box office movie this weekend despite that no one knows anyone who sees it.

-How is it that movies are compared to movies by money generated, not tickets sold? We are all aware that movie tickets cost double what they did 15-years ago so this box-office stat is totally irrelevant, right?

-LaDainian Tomlinson's average fantasy draft pick number was 1.3 on Yahoo. So of the hundreds of thousands of leagues, he was pretty much picked first in 90% of them or more. This means that he is single-handedly ruining the seasons of more fantasy sports players than anyone in the history of fantasy sports. 58-yards per game? Apparently Lorenzo Neal was the Chargers' MVP, because he is gone, LDT stinks and so do the Chargers. Whoops.

-I had Adrian Peterson ranked #1 on my board and I am in first place. My two older brothers picked right behind me in the first round and got Steven Jackson and Brian Westbrook - both good picks. Yet they are both fighting it out for the bottom of the league with my two buddies, neither of whom has checked his team since June.

-This will be a spectacular baseball-fan's World Series but will undoubtedly get the lowest ratings in the history of the Series. Both teams steal bases, hit-and-run, play great defense, have great pitching and big power. Guys like Shane Victorino and Evan Longoria, who seem to absolutely love that they are playing baseball, make it fun to watch even the guys like Pat Burrell, who looks like he just left a lobotomy. You have to wonder how full Tropicana Field will be now that all the Red Sox fans will be gone. Here's a fun stat, which will be higher: Rays stolen bases + homers or Phillies strikeouts?

-I am sure Fox is thrilled that they got this matchup instead of the Dodgers and Red Sox, which would have crushed the best-ratings ever because there is something for non-fans to watch - the potential for Manny Ramirez to hit 20 homers as the Red Sox fans completely turn on his as the series progresses and they forget that he played a bigger role in winning those two World Series than anyone because he made them have to pitch to David Ortiz. I was thinking that it would have been interesting to have the Dodgers and Sox, but would it have? The Dodgers were not a very good team, even with Manny. And the Sox fans are so obnoxious now that they've forgotten what losing was like. They don't deserve more magic for a while.

-I didn't like the numbers on the Cleveland Browns' helmets last week. Maybe it was because they beat up the Giants, but even before it was out of hand, I definitely remember thinking that those are some of the coolest uniforms in football, and part of the reason is that they'd helmets are blank.

-A few weeks ago, I was in the Glendale Galleria on a Saturday afternoon and saw a big group of people with Fresno State shirts on. Fresno State had played UCLA at the Rose Bowl that day. That tells you a lot about Fresno when their fans go to L.A. for a football game and then their postgame activity/sight-seeing is a mall, and not even a cool mall.

-Top 2 Worst Scripted Live TV Sports moment of the year: 1) David Stern handing the NBA championship trophy to the Celtics' owner and using the NBA's "There can be only one" tagline as his speech. At least he got booed loudly. 2) Jim Nance's NCAA Finals call of, "Rock Chalk Championship!" when Kansas won it all. What can that possibly have meant? It doesn't even have a nice ring to it. That's what he stayed up the night before coming up with? I was expected Caray to best both of them with a painful pun on the Rays dropping the "Devil" from their name and becoming good. He failed me.

-No Florida baseball team has ever lost a playoff series.

-Pastors, priests, rabbis, etc. around the country are no doubt working up sermons for next week about what happens to your life when you get rid of the "Devil" thanks to the Rays.

-There was just a fundraiser at the Hollywood Park Casino to raise money for a charity that supports the Hollywood Park Casino. What? Has there ever been a less-worthy cause for charitable donation than a casino?

-Last week, Blake DeWitt came to bat at one point trailing 5-0 with no out and runners on 1st and 2nd. It was at Dodger Stadium and it was a big moment so the crowd was rocking. DeWitt leads the universe in runners left on, so it was not all that surprising when the rookie grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. But it was sad. You had to feel kinda bad for the guy. The crowd was dead, the threat was dead, the series was dead, and he must have felt like it was all his fault. I was watching with my dad, who said, "You almost feel bad for the kid. But he's a Dodger, so screw him." Dad, here's to them finishing their 50th year in L.A. unhappily, and to all prospects for #51 being truly miserable!

-Seriously, the Rays are in the World Series, are probably going to win. Seriously. Tampa Bay. The Devil Rays.

-The photo above has nothing to do with anything today. I just throught it was really funny and somehow that fit this spastic, non-sequitor-filled drivel.

I Still Hate Baseball, But Football Is Making Me Happy

It has been tough to bring myself to writing about sports lately because of my utter disgust at the way the baseball postseason has gone. Not only did the Mets not make it, but the Brewers embarrassed themselves in the Mets' place, and now I have either the Dodgers or Phillies to root for...both of which are among my five least favorite teams in the game. I could also root for the Rays of course, but they are in deep trouble even after winning game 2.

When the final pitch was thrown in Game 1 of the ALCS and the Red Sox had won it on the road in Tampa Bay, I said to a co-worker, "well there's your World Series champ." He told me that it was a little early to say that and the memory of him cursing the Dodgers' season months ago flushed back into my memory. I looked through my sports-notes that I write and found the game.

The Dodgers trailed 2-1 in the 7th inning and were 2-games behind the Diamondbacks at the time. There were 54 games left. I hadn't been watching and asked him the score and he said in all seriousness, "Who cares? They suck. It's all over." This is the voice of reason telling me I am jumping to conclusions about the Red Sox winning the World Series after winning Game 1 of the ALCS on the road.

It is funny watching the playoffs from a relatively neutral observer's position. When Steve Phillips described Brett Myers Game 2 game-winning, 2rbi single as a "Chris Evrett two-hand backhand down the line," I thought to myself how much I would hate him at that moment if I gave a damn about that game.

Sometimes I think that the TV stations are having contests to see who are the least knowledgeable, least well-spoken, most arrogant people they can put on the screen and still get ratings. It is like a social experiment to find out if the sports are really important enough for us to watch despite being angered at their incompetence the entire time. Seriously, how else can you account for Chip Caray, Stu Lantz, Shannon Sharpe and DeMarco Farr's careers?

On the lighter side, the Redskins and Cowboys both lost in painful and embarrassing ways this weekend, and the Eagles narrowly escaped another tough loss. And the Giants are now everyone's favorite team. This does scare me a bit because being the one that no one respected fit their team psyche well and this is a new mode all-together. But this Giants team doesn't seem like the type to have an ego-induced collapse. A huge win over the Browns tonight will make me happy. No one seems to be mentioning it, but the Giants are the team that pretty much destroyed the Browns' season earlier this year.

If you remember, the Browns were one of the up-and-comers last year and actually had more Pro Bowlers than the Giants did. Big things were expected from the great Derek Anderson, the warrior Kellen Winslow, and the talented trio of Brylon Edwards, Donte Stallworth and Jamal Lewis. They were going to score a lot of points and have a bruising, physical defense. Then they went to New York and the Giants surged out to a 30-3 lead early in the second quarter and knocked Anderson out before before pulling their starters. Then the city of Cleveland sunk meekly into Lake Eerie.

Of course, they could be out for revenge and could ruin the Giants 19-0 season tonight back in Cleveland. The Browns are coming off of a bye week and at 1-3, this is pretty much a must-win if they want to play in January at all. But for the Giants, they are two-up in the loss column and have almost already made the playoffs. But I don't see the upset happening. Anderson has thrown twice as many picks and touchdowns and his longest completion of the year was barely a first down. Winslow has just been released from the hospital after an undisclosed illness (that allegedly had to do with one of two reproductive organs and the term "grapefruit sized"). Jamal Lewis has one touchdown and is averaging a little over three yards-per-carry. All of which has culminated in the defense spending more time on the field than Chad Johnson has spent coming up with touchdown celebrations that he doesn't get to use.

Giants 27-Browns 13

40-Year Old Curse Rears Its Head At Shea

In Tuesday's Mets-Cubs game, the Mets trailed 2-0 in the 5th. A loss here and they could have found themselves out of the race in the East and tied for the wild card. David Murphy had just been hit by a pitch and the Mets' pitcher, Johan Santana came up to bat. Santana first showed bunt but wound up swinging away. He hit a slow roller right back to the pitcher, but the bat broke and the head of the bat went bounding back up the middle with the ball.

Needless to say, the pitcher couldn't field the ball and jumped out of the way of the bat and left the grounder for the short stop to field (still in time for a double play). That's where it got weird.

During the course of a season, fans (and likely many players) see so many moments that as they happen, seem to be potential turning points. Some turn up, some down. We often see unusual, bizarre, or big hero/goat plays as the ones that mean something significant. Objectively, you could pretty easily say that very few of them really has the impact that we subjectively imbue them with. In fact, a skeptic would argue that there is no such thing as momentum or turning points or luck or curses. But if the players think there is, then who know what kind of effects they could have?

For instance, look at last year's New York Giants. At this point, the story of the season is pretty well documented but why is it that that team seemingly had so many important turning points on the way to an historic championship? Their defense had been run through like a tissue on a train track for the first two-and-a-half games until suddenly they held on first and goal from their own one-yard line against the Redskins and it all turned around. Then when they sat on the brink of missing the playoffs, a hurricane seemingly hit Buffalo and they pulled off an ugly win on the road in week 16. Then they went against convention and played their starters in a loss to the Pats in week 17. Then improbable play after improbable play happened, capped off by perhaps the most improbable play in NFL history...and suddenly they were the champs.

But why did Destiny choose them? Was it karma punishing Tiki Barber for retiring early and bad-mouthing his former team and quarterback (who would wind up winning the Super Bowl MVP)? Was it that the team didn't fall apart and bicker after that bad start, but rather banded together and played for each other and not for themselves? Was it Jeremy Shockey and Mathias Kiwanuka going down, Plaxico Burress playing hurt and Barber not being there that forced so many others to go above and beyond? Was it a final reward to end Michael Strahan's career? Was it favorable scheduling and good old fashioned dumb luck?

If after about week 10, you had asked fans of all 32 teams if their team might be the team with the magic - the team who had the right turning points, I imagine you would get a yes from no less than 20 of them. No doubt right now there are Dolphin fans envisioning a Super Bowl win this year after last week's demolition of the Pats.

It is the same way with baseball, only the season is so long that any rational fan (yes, I realize that that is a contradiction in terms) would admit that a play like what happened to Johan Santana last night would mean nothing if it happened in June. But on September 23?

In the last month, I have seen about 20 turning points for the Mets. On September 1st, they were red hot and had opened their largest division lead of the season. This would avenge the collapse of last September. Suddenly the wheels fell off the already shaky bullpen and no lead was safe. They lost two in-a-row including the first half of a double header in New York against the Phillies. Their lead was gone. Then they won the night cap and crushed Washington twice. They they lost a series to the lowly Braves and scored 3 runs in two games against those same Nationals that they'd scored 23 runs in two games against the week before. Then Jerry Manuel joked that Johan Santana would throw 170 pitches so we wouldn't have to see the bullpen and everyone was laughing and the team won three in-a-row and everything was ok again. Then they couldn't beat Atlanta again and the Cubs came to town with the best record in the league and beat the Mets in New York with a scrub starter. They were 2.5 out in the East, and just a game up on the re-awakening Brewers for the Wild Card.

Then Johan Santana's bat broke and fended off not one, but two Cubs from picking up the ball. The bat actually danced along with the ball like some bounding black cat, scaring away the pitcher and then actually hitting the ball again and forcing the short stop to abandon hope of getting an out. Was it the ghost of the black cat that ran out onto the same field against these same Cubs that marked the turning point for those Mets 39 years ago?

If there is to be one last fall of Miracles at Shea, that play will be where the magic started. The savior traded for who would erase the memory of last September stepped onto the mound to erase the memory of last weekend. And he hit the ball that miraculously didn't result in a double play. And then he was the one who crossed the plate after David Wright's two-run single to tie the game. And then you just knew he wasn't going to let anyone else score against him that night.

And on a play where Johan Santana got two hits, something truly improbable may have happened. Maybe not. If the Giants are any example, it seems that one amazing, miraculous, lucky, strange play is not really enough to make any difference in the long run. It takes a run of them strung together either by divine intervention or an overwhelming confluence of effort, ability and timing. Maybe last night's play will spark a big run, but then aren't Brewers fans saying the same thing about Prince Fielder's walk-off homer? As they say: Momentum is tomorrow's starting pitcher, so if Oliver Perez hits for the cycle tonight, maybe we will have a better indication of how things are going to go.