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The Grey Lady on Jason Giambi's next chapter. It will be interesting to see, not just how Giambi plays this season, but also to how fans and the media react to him. One side will certainly be along the lines of Jim Bouton's:

"I really have no sympathy for the guy," Bouton said. "Guys who take steroids are basically looking to cheat their teammates for the opportunity to play, and cheat the opposing team. I see steroids as worse than gambling. They have affected the outcome of far more games than gambling. I just don't see him as a sympathetic character."

But we all know that Americans sometimes truly don't embrace someone unless their flawed and have been put through the pr thresher. Is the worst over or yet to come for the former MVP?

On the other end of the spectrum, the majority of South Siders seem to have raised the middle finger to Slammin' Sammy and bid him a fine day. What an odd roller coaster career trajectory he's had. Is he a HOFer? Seems like he's right on the edge and these last few years, both on and off the field, could make or break his chances.

In light of the Sosa move, the WP takes a look at the deal and others in the franchise past that have owner Peter Angelos's fingerprints on them.

Peter King must have had a few extra lattes, as his column goes on for more than five pages, relating the story of Jack Youngblood's broken leg games (sure to a popular angle this week) and all the other things you've come to expect from PK.

I'm sure many people have a gag reflex on the nice guy Patriots, but humor me. Willie McGinest has had an interesting career and a rather atypical one. The fourth overall pick, he is the highest pick on the current Pats team, but his biggest successes have really come after the age of thirty. Not a typical thing for such a high pick. The scrutiny usually makes for a burn out fast or settle into a sort of journeyman, I can make a living, my name is Rick Mirer status. McGinest could probably be considered a bit of a bust based on his draft position, but under The Greatest and Smatesh Coach in the Universe, he's career has really blossomed. I remember after the Pats upset the Rams there was talk of him retiring. He obviously decided otherwise and a good thing as he's singlehandedly won at least two games for the Pats over the last three years.

And if that story was saccharine enough, the Herald has a nice feature of the man love between (he of the perpetual white collar/blue shirt) Robert Kraft and the little engine that could, Troy Brown.

A bit odd, but true, for all the colleges in Boston its never been a college sports town; always the pros and little else. So it really shouldn't come as much of a surprise that I have to go looking to the NY Daily News for a feature story on the still unbeaten BC basketball team. Though truth be told, I was that this weekend's BC/Georgetown tilt and BC did not look like a top ten team. Maybe it was playing down to the competition or maybe a symptom of something more. To their credit they got it together in the end, which is what matters.

And while we are on college hoops, Dick Jerardi provides this strange stat:

"Iowa State did not make a single basket beyond 10 feet in its upset of Oklahoma. It was 0-for-6 from the arc, outscored the Sooners by 48-28 in the lane and had 27 more foul shots."

For all you former bull crew workers, the SF Gate (of all places) has a look at the unique field sharing that will be worked out between DC United and the Nationals next year.

And from the It's Never Too Early to Start Files, Pittsburgh's Kevin McLatchy starts beating the small market/large market debate and raises the spectre of club bankruptcy. It seems like labor negotiations in all sports are just like political campaigns, just after the dust settles, the whole things starts up again. Let's see the NFL has a foot in the grave, the NBA CBA ends in '05 and MLB has till '06. Fun times.

What you should have been reading last week. The best of last week's links:

Baseball America on how teams nurture their pitching prospects.

Television killed the newspaper star. Paging Stephen A. Smith.

Greg Garber on the sad, strange post-playing road of Mike Webster.

The official secret MLB players's IM chat room.

Anatomy of a football pig pile.

Greg reviews the first episode of ESPN's Tilt.

Interesting article in The Times about the use of Lottery money to fund elite athletes in the hopes of bringing the Union Jack out of its glory hole.

"Fact: money has purchased glory. In Atlanta in 1996, Britain finished 36th in the medals table with 15, only one of them gold (thanks, Steve and Matthew). Only then came lottery money. Britain finished tenth in Sydney, tenth again in Athens. There is a clear correlation between cash and glory. But it's not direct. Hurling money at sport doesn't guarantee medals. Swimming came into the Athens Games backed by £6.5 million and won two minor medals: a serious disappointment. Or, if you prefer, a damn poor investment. Sailing, on the other hand, turned £7.2 million into five medals."

King Kaufman wonders if Delgado following the dollars signs to Florida ultimately will hurt his legacy and chances at Cooperstown.

Bizarre and insular story about how somone duped the Cameron Crazies into mocking themselves during their recent game against Maryland. Amusing due to the earnestness of the writing on such an odd subject. Though I will say I never knew they handed out dirt cheat sheets.

It's that time of year again. Dorks everywhere are starting to buy up glossy mags full of...stat projections. Ron Shandler looks at the myths of projective accuracy. Nothing like finishing the work week musing on projective accuracy.

Or, if you don't got it, act like a two year old till you do. Seems Mrs. Benson is back up to her usual tricks out in Park City. What's the over under on a reality show? Six months?

Judging by the comments our meager site generates about it, the Brady/Manning debate needs little tinder, but how can I resist. Sabernomics built a methodology and takes a look at whether Manning has choked in the playoffs. Turns out probably not, but what Brady did, well:

"I hate to admit it, but the deification of Tom Brady is getting tougher and tougher to argue with. This metric overvalues him just a tad by giving him credit for the 2001 victory at Pittsburgh (Bledsoe was probably more responsible for that win), but still. The probability of going 8-for-8 in the specific collection of postseason games Brady has played in is .004."

What goes on at the bottom of those NFL fumble scrums? Probably just about what you think.

Baseball players share their true inner feelings through IM. Brilliant.

This story reminds me of a few years ago when my alma mater ditched it's classic , proud Eagle logo for a tougher, edgier looking one. This is just the thing that makes people laugh at the Cardinals. How much do you think someone got paid to italicize the old Cardinal?

No one's going to Disney World anymore, not the French, not winning athletes, not Ray Lewis, not ESPN. Okay, ESPN is still going.

Near the end of the Pats/Steelers game, the camera focused on Jerome Bettis sitting on the bench and Boomer or Greg began talking about the Bus's potential retirement. Michelle turned and asked why he was retiring at only 32. And the Bus's career was about a decade longer than the average player. At least once or twice while watching a game, it hits you. My God, with the speed and power of all these guys, it's amazing that no one routinely dies during an NFL game. While most players are lucky enough to walk away from their career, it's easy to forget that they will be feeling the aftershocks of the game for a long time and out of the public eye. There is no Muhammad Ali to serve as a public reminder. The large majority of football players are anonymous, recognizable only by their size. ESPN's Greg Garber series this week on Mike Webster is both sad and scary.

"Desperate for a few moments of peace from the acute pain, repeatedly stunning himself, sometimes a dozen times, into unconsciousness with a black Taser gun. "The only way he could get to sleep," said Garrett."

Webster's specific case aside, this is an excellent read and a sobering reminder of the lingering effects of a violent game.

TMQ has his usual assortment of strategic nuggets in recapping championship weekend and while some of his tangential asides either go over my head or make my eyes glaze over, this one hit home, especially as I fold my rangy frame into the airline's torture devices four times a week:

"Shoe-horning in more seats allows airlines to sell more tickets, and yet average load factor on United States airlines is a little under 80 percent. That means that in order to accommodate the occasional flight for which every seat is taken, all passengers must be uncomfortable all the time. If average load factor is 80 percent, airlines could take out 20 percent of the seats, allow everyone to be comfortable and fly every plane full. Instead most planes don't fly full, but everyone is uncomfortable."

Amen to that.

Oh! Oh! Oh! A twist! Here I thought we would just be subject to will he or won't he for twelve more days, but now we have the doctor breaking ranks!

Ohio.com has an interesting look at how The Greatest and Smahtest Coach in the History of Football learned from his time with the Browns.

For all you Bean-ites, Athletics Nation has the final (Part 1, 2) installment of an interview with the deity. Perhaps the most interesting tidbit. Talk of a Moneyball movie. Interesting. Not sure how that would work, but interesting. Who do you cast as Beane? For some reason, a ten years ago, circa Malice, Alec Baldwin jumps to mind. Maybe its just the hair, but he could bring the right amount of swarminess and confidence.

A good look (and reminder) at the ripples that the NHL lockout is having on ancillary companies outside of the NHL. Ancillary could be one of my favorite words.

With the NBA trading deadline less than a month away now, Hoops Hype is a good place to troll for rumors. Just the other day I was wondering what happened to Waltah.

Finally, nothing like a good can of whoop ass to make a good read. Stephen Rodrick, writing in Slate, lets loose on columnists cum television commentators. I'd cut Wilbon a break, as he still often at least travels to the site to write his column, but everyone else he's pretty close to dead on.

So, a lot has happened since I last posted. And while we like to keep things fresh here, there are a few things I’d like to go back to and touch upon.

Pats vs. Colts.This may have been the WORST coached/called game by a head coach I’ve ever seen in my life. Tony Dungy, stand up and take a bow. Seriously. Way to go, champ. Now, I understand the weather wasn’t particularly ideal, but 0 attempted passes over 20 yards in the first 3 quarters? What? Are you kidding me? Instead, they watched Edgerrin James shred the Pats D for 2.9 yds./carry. They have the greatest QB in the NFL (sorry Pats fans, as much as your psychosis compels you to argue, Brady is no Manning.) yet they chose to rely on an inefficient running game and screen passes. Is Troy Brown that intimidating? Of course, Indy receivers didn’t help. They collectively pulled on their Seattle Seahawks replica jerseys and dropped every pass within 5 yards of them. Oh sure the Patriots played well. And yeah, yeah their defense is great. I’m not taking anything away from them, who (yawn!) did it again. But this should have been a much closer game.


Tilt. In case anyone is wondering, ESPN’s newest original series, Tilt had a decent opening the other night. In the shameless promotions portion of this post, be sure to check Sportsblah each week for a Weekly Recap of Tilt. Don’t feel like watching the show? Miss an episode? Catch up here. Ok, I’m done now.


NCAA Gone Wild. A famous chain of strip clubs, Deja Vu, wants to sponsor next season’s Independence Bowl. I can’t wait for that halftime show.


Carlos vs. Randy. Call me old fashioned, but isn’t it always smarter to give your $16 million to someone who is 27 rather than 41? Someone who has had no significant injuries vs. someone who has no cartilage in his knee? Someone who not only fills a massive void in CF, but provides a tremendous upgrade to a wildly mediocre defense, gives a team a legitimate #2 hitter and takes about 5 years off of the teams average age vs. an ace who anchors a rotation already upgraded and filled with stars, missed a giant chunk of the 2003 season, has no cartilage in his knee (have I mentioned that?), cost one of the best young starting pitchers in baseball (Vazquez) on a team that was one ground-rule double away from another World Series? Bottom line, the Yankees are idiots. Dumb, dumb, dumb. I cannot stress this enough. I love the Yankees. I profess my love for them in virtually everything I write. But I can’t help but throw my arms up in disgust at the results of this off-season. Sure, Pavano was a great signing at that price. And Wright, well, he’s worth the gamble. And Tino, welcome back, ol’ buddy. But we didn’t get Carlos. And that, makes the offseason a disappointment. Sure, Randy is a beast (when healthy) and certainly give the Yankees the best team on paper in 2005 (like they’ve been in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 . . . and we know how those years turned out), but what happens in 2006? Or even better, 2007, when RJ is done? When Mussina is done? Bernie? Tino? Sheffield? Pitching wins, blah blah. But the Yankees had pitching. One bad second half by Vazquez has vastly overshadowed an incredible first half (by the way, where was Stottlemeyer and why wasn’t he fixing that delivery flaw). Carlos Beltran and Javier Vazquez or Randy Johnson? Who would you rather have? Guess which side I’m on. Carlos Beltran made so much sense for this Yankees team. In fact, the NY Post reported that Beltran actually preferred the Yankees. Right before signing with the Mets, Boras called the Yankees and said, “Six-years, $100M and he’s yours.” And they passed. They PASSED?!?!?! Ugh. I still can’t believe it. Every time I think about the missed opportunity, I want to punch myself in the face. It’s like having Heidi Klum break up with whatever douche bag boyfriend she has, come up to you at a bar and say, “Take me home and have your way with me for the next 6 years.” And you’re like, “Nah, I’d rather take that 6’11”, 41-year-old chick with the bad knee home. But thanks for the thought.”

As a recently liberated Sox fan, I had a certain empathy for Eagles's fans yesterday. Getting rid of that label and putting all those lead-in misery montages to rest feels good. As a Pat's fan, I saw basically what I expected. A good, disciplined team executing a game plan to perfection. I'm torn on the one week/two week gap till the Super Bowl. For players and coaches, I'm sure the two weeks gets them rested and ready to play a good football game. For fans, we are going to have this game analyzed to death. Not to mention two weeks of TO saga. Early line is Pats by six. Sounds about right. Stop the highest scoring offense one week and run it up on the best defense and I'd say you deserve to be favorites.

Bob Ryan says the game didn't teach us anything new about the Patriots, just reinforced everything we knew already. Maybe someone should teach it to Shannon Sharpe, who must just hate the Pats as both him and Marino (Marino, I can understand) again picked against New England.

Most of the blame in Pittsburgh falls on Big Ben, though their secondary didn't help matters much either.

Philly papers are just filled with all the positive stories that the writers there must have had banging around in their heads forever.

Peter King has the word on how the last time the Pats and Eagles faced off it was a turning point for both teams. He also has the NFL weighing in what might have happened if Doug Brien didn't choke:

"Knowing the enthusiasm of the Pats' fans to get to the stadium, and knowing the cooperation of the Massachusetts authorities, I am certain we would have played in Foxboro today,'' he said, "even if we had to delay kickoff an hour or two for snow-removal purposes.''

Eric Wilbur was blogging the game for Boston.com and found himself on the receiving end of some flame mail after jumping the gun a bit on Jacksonville.

Aaron Schatz was busy over the weekend, penning articles in the Boston Globe on the myth of the run and one in the NYT on the importance of points for and points against in determining the winners in the NFL.

You can relive those great Don Cheadle NFL playoff commercials online. You know, if that's your thing and all.

Saturday afternoon I had the misfortune of catching the (#2) Kansas/'Nova game while trudging along on the treadmill at the gym and it is hard to argue with Chuck Woodling of the Lawrence Journal-World in calling it "the worst 12 1/2-minute stretch in Kansas University's storied men's basketball history." It really was that bad.

It's hard to get into the golf action with three feet of snow piling up against your front door, but Tiger came from three down to win the Buick Invitational.

82games.com has a very interesting table on the most productive five man units for each NBA team.

If it's hard to get into golf, it's equally hard to get into baseball, even here in Boston, but I will persevere. Baseball America has an interesting article on the different strategies teams are employing to help pitching prospects make the transition to the rigors of throwing more often in the pros.

What you should have been reading last week. The best of last week's links:

Michael Wilbon was one of the few to pick the Pats over the Colts.

Travis filed a dispatch from Foxboro.

THT's take on ranking relievers.

Missing the NHL? TechTV is playing the entire season using EA NHL05.

The Toronto Star profiles NHLPA president Trevor Linden

Greg Ostertag jumps the shark. Again. And again. And again.

1. To paraphrase Billy Beane, a GM's job is to put together a team that competes and make it to the post-season. By that standard, Andy Reid is a genius and has acheived something very difficult in today's NFL. Four straight division title, four straight seasons of 12 or more wins and...well you know the rest of the story. If the Eagles stumble again, does Reid's job security take a hit?

Had the Eagles lost last week to the Vikings, I would have said yes. But should they lose to the Falcons this Sunday (incidentally, that's my pick), I don't think Reid loses his job. Sure, the team will have the stigma of 4 straight conference championship losses, but they have also won 48 games in four years, consistently found a way to end up in football's Final Four. That means winning a playoff game every year, something most NFL teams dream of doing. Reid is 64-32 as a head coach, 6-4 in the playoffs. If they fire him, expect the team to suffer for it and struggle to get back to where he consistently brought them.


2. Would you trade Randy Moss?

In a heartbeat. No, sooner. With a TO, for instance, you have a guy who brings a lot of showboating baggage, a guy who gets the call in talk show circuits lighting up. But you also get a guy who has an incredible will to win, who uses his body downfield like a weapon in the running game, throws crushing blocks, does anything he has to in order to win, never gives up on a play. When was the last time you saw Randy Moss throw a big block that sprung a big play for a teammate? And even if you did, wouldn't it be a "stop the presses" moment? After his walk-off stunt a few weeks back, he apologised, and in so doing indicated that if he felt like it, he'd do it again. That's some apology. "I'm sorry y'all are such jerks."

Moss is a selfish player, taking plays off, constantly creating controversy solely for the purpose of getting people talking about him. He cares little for winning if he doesn't get the spotlight, and he can't seem to grasp that the sport he plays is a team game. If I were a teammate of Randy's, I'd be sick and tired of his antics. With that in mind, I'd trade him for a draft pick and a tackling dummy.

3. What off-season signing does the most to help a team on the brink compete for a pennant this year?

I'm pretty impressed with Anaheim's signings. Cabrera will help, providing an upgrade over Eckstein at short. But the one I like the most is Paul Byrd for $4.5 million. Two years removed from surgery now, Byrd looks poised for a 15+ win season. His WHIP last year was a tight 1.24, with a 4:1 strikout to walk ratio. Anaheim was on the doorstep last year. Byrd I think could help them shove their way past the AL East.

4. What team will be rueing an off-season signing the most by August? How about in two years?

Not a fair question. Everyone knows this is the Mets. The Pedro Martinez signing was simply off the charts. Maybe the August disclaimer changes the scenario a bit - I expect Pedro to tough it out through one season in NY, and possibly excell in his return to the NL. But by two years from now, I have zero confidence that the Mets won't be paying for a miniature Mo Vaughn. As far as by August goes, it's hard not to imagine a couple of honeymoons ending early: Jermaine Dye in Chicago, DLowe in LA, Eric Milton in Cincinnati. It's hard not have a little buyer's remouse when Milton has an era in the low 5's at midseason and the Reds know they have to pay him another twenty million bucks before it's all said and done.

5. The Lakers are 3-1 since Kobe tweaked the ole ankle. Small sample size or something more?

4 games is a ridiculously small sample size, but my gut feeling is that this is an indication of something more. I get the feeling that Kobe is the least liked person this side of Kim Jong Il. After the dust-up with Karl Malone and his wife, the theatrics of his made-for-CourtTV rap case, the acrimonious split with Shaq, the loss to the underdog Pistons ... in short, Kobe has moved past having "lost his luster" and straight on into clubhouse cancer territory. The guy can play, but despite the NBA's best efforts, this is in fact a team game, and if your teammates don't like you, who is supposed to, exactly?


Bonus: Only three games left. Josh nailed his picks last weekend in haiku, care to take a stab at this weekend's games?

I'll take a stab, but no haiku for me today.

Pats 24 Steelers 20
Falcons 28 Eagles 17

There comes a point in every backup center's career where they just can take it anymore, raid the dance team's locker room, steal a thong and dance in public. It's inevitable.

Culpepper was upset with his wife's treatment in the Vet's stands. First of all, why wasn't she in a box or something and second as far as I know, they let her live.

In a move almost as surprising as a government contract going to Haliburton, MLB has given exclusive licensing of its fantasy games to...MLB Advanced Media. What this ultimately means for all of us fantasy dorks still seems to be up in air. Higher fees are probably a given, though.

Good article by Michael Smith (the old Boston Globe guy) on how the Patriot's versatile linebacking corps disrupted just about everything Indy tried to do.

Apparently "terrorist" is the new black.

Florida Senate President Tom Lee, a Republican, took the opportunity in today's Palm Beach Post to declare that he "does not negotiate with terrorists." To whom was he referring? Why, Marlins President David Samson, of course.

Yes, you read that right. The President of the Florida Senate called the 2003 World Champions "terrorists." And why would he do such a thing? A threat to national security? A tip from the FBI? Some shady dealings involving Visas and underage players? Nope.

It's because the team is saying they have nowhere to play as of 2010. Not only is their field uncovered, causing rain delays not seen since the days when Noah was a season ticket holder, but their landlord has declared that he will not renew their lease, at least according to "terrorist" David Samson.

But digging a little deeper, baseball's seedy underside is quickly exposed.

The "landlord" in this instance is the owner of Dolphins Stadium, a gentleman by the name of Wayne Huizenga. Where have I heard that name before? Oh right, he used to own the team. It gets better. In the same article, it is made clear that:

In fact, Wayne Huizenga's Dolphins Stadium will continue to receive the $2 million a year it has been getting for the Marlins since 1993 for another 18 years — whether the Marlins move to downtown Miami, Las Vegas or even, as was rumored two years ago, are eliminated as a franchise.

Just so I'm clear, I have a single question for Wayne & Co.

1. You will continue to receive this taxpayer subsidy of $2,000,000 per annum for 18 years, despite your alleged "eviction threat" as of 2010?

Thought so.

No wonder John Henry jumped at the opportunity to play musical ownership chairs and get a piece of the Red Sox.

I'm not sure if I'd pay Roger Clemens $22M even if I were Biff Tannen and I had that almanac. But seemingly lost amid the shuffle, and perhaps inconsequential, is that Clemens (only) made $5M last year. That's $27M over two years. That's not so outrageous and in line with Schilling and cheaper than Randy or Pedro. Still not going to help the Astros's payroll this year and probably Roger just reverting Roger.

Chris Snow, the new guy at the Boston Globe (and maybe it's just a fresh perspective and he'll fall into a rut like the rest, but I like him so far) tries to take an analytical approach to the last major decision for the World Champs. Millar or Mientkiewicz.

THT tries its hand at ranking the relievers based on Win Probability Added. Interesting read, especially in light of the tussle over relievers in the HOF and how valuable a closer really is versus the perceived value.

How I learned to throw a change-up. We're not above a little baseball Zen philosophy here at SportsBlah.

Every Play Counts looks at Donovan McNabb's relaxing day dropping back against the Vikings.

Tom Verducci looks at the new steroid plan and thinks it has a gaping hole. Greenies.

First Jeff Garcia and now Piazza, what's going on with all the closeted superstars?

Lots of injuries make breaking down this year's potential NBA all-stars, a bit more difficult. Though in the end, none of Hollinger's choices will be all that surprising.

The Toronto Star takes a closer look at Trevor Linden, captain of the Canucks at 20 and president of the player's association at 28. By far, the best quote of the article comes from Brian Burke:

"Brian Burke clearly recalls the afternoon in 1988 when he got a phone call from a polite young man named Trevor Linden saying Linden wouldn't be able to come to Vancouver for a pre-draft psychological test. Burke, then assistant GM with the Canucks, was aghast. This is pretty important, he told Linden, who replied that his father told him to tell Burke he couldn't go because the testing fell on the day his uncle was going to brand and castrate his cattle and needed Linden's help.

"I said, `What's your job?'''Burke recalled. "He said, `Well, as they come into the pen, I'm the one who grabs them and throws them down and pins them while they brand them and castrate them.' I said, `Okay, you can skip the test.'''

And yes, that's two hockey links in two days. Three if you count video hockey.

The weight of today's sports coverage still tends towards the NFL playoffs, past and future. FO's Football Junkie wonders where all the (halfway) decent coaches have gone and then looks ahead to this weekend's matchups. The Hangover looks back and gives us some final divisional thoughts and wonders if Philly will get it done. He also includes this gem from a Philly reader, "I think the elderly man who was sitting next to me in the 2002 NFC Championship game said it best, when he looked at me in my gorilla suit and said: 'Monkey, I have been rooting for this team since 1964, and they never win it all. WHY, MONKEY, WHY??'"

And speaking of monkeys, check out Broadway Joe circa 1970. We are talking some serious toasted monkey as Don Banks lists his top five NFL bad boys.

Did Scott Boras break some laws in negotiating with the Astros? No, apparently not a rhetorical question.

With Pedro, Randy and Carlos off the market, it seems like things have quieted down on the free agent front. Yes, Delgado is still around and yes, the Mets are sorta, maybe thinking about signing him. THT has the list of the rest of the commoners signing mere six figure deals.

Interesting discussion going on over at Yoco:College Basketball around the potential toughest out for an elite squad in this year's tourney. I caught part of a randomly televised BU-Vermont game over the weekend and I'll throw some love the Catamounts way.

Slip, sliding away. A last ditch effort by Trevor Linden and the Player's Association to get someone, anyone to the bargaining table. In virtual hockey news, the Panthers outshot the Thrashers 5-4 and the Avalanche dumped all over the struggling Bruins.

I was lucky enough to get a ticket to the much-hyped Colts-Pats matchup Sunday afternoon. Spent the early part of the day at a tailgate party, $25, all you can eat/drink with a heated gazebo. Wind chill put the pre-game temperature in mid-teens with foreboding skies. Local weatherguessers were calling for snow between 6 and 8. At 4:15 as we crowded around the entrance to Gillette Stadium, the sky opened up and moderate snowfall began to descend. The crowd was electrified. All the pre-game hype, the television-induced Indy hysteria, receeded before a wall of wind-driven white powder. This was going to be an old-fashioned ass-kicking.

Indy, all realized, was going to have The Fear.

Early in the game, the Indy defense played better than I had expected. Brady was conservative, throwing short, quick outs to the tight ends and backs, mixed with some straight-ahead rushing down the gut of the Indy line. Despite Indy's surprisingly effective defense, and with weather conditions too variable to attempt much passing outside the hash marks, the Pats marched down the field early to the 1 yard line. Faced with a 4th and 1, the crowd was rocking, calling for a goal-line plunge and 7 quick points. The Pats elect to go for it - and the crowd erupted. Unfortunately, just as Dillon tumbled into the endzone, a zebra signaled false start on Matt Lyght. Drop back 5 and kick. 3-0, Pats.

It was 6-0 Pats late in the first quarter, the crowd still roaring with the intensity of an out-of-control semi roaring through a quiet neighborhood, when Indy put together its first real drive of the game. So far Peyton had been reduced to his dramatic "aww c'mon!" hand motions and head shakes by the defensive intensity, the frigid wind and snow, and a handful of dropped balls. I'm not saying the hits the Pats--especially Rodney Harrison--were laying on receivers caused them to not really want the ball, I'm just saying it looked that way. A lot. It's The Fear. DBs and linebackers were literally punching and shoving Indy players right at the line of scrimmage, forcing them out of their routes.

Indy was reduced to running screen passes more often than not, because at least that way their receivers could catch the ball without also catching a jolting hit from 2 or 3 defenders instantaneously. Teddy Bruschi read one such screen to perfection, circled outside the blockers, and clobbered Dominic Rhodes at the Patriots 39-yard line with 3:18 remaining in the second quarter. Incredibly, Bruschi comes up with the ball after the tackle. It may have been obvious watching on TV, but in the stadium it took the replay on the big board for the crowd to believe that Bruschi had really done it- just gone up, hit the guy with a bone-cruncher, and taken the ball away from him like a misbehaving child and his toy.

From that point forward, the Pats looked completely dominant. Colts receivers looked shaken, afraid to catch the ball, when they could manage to run a route. Manning's head-shaking act continued. Balls were thrown in the dirt almost as often as receivers' clutches. On offense, a mix of short passing a la 2001 and a heavy dose of Corey Dillon, combined with a few key slashing runs by Kevin Faulk, were a recipie for a lopsided time of possession. At one point in the second half, the Patriots had held the ball for 15 of the last 17 minutes of game time.

There were so many big plays, it's hard to remember them all. My favorites:

* Asante Samuel drilling Brandon Stokely inside the Pat's 10-yard line with seconds remaining in the half. Give credit to Stokely for holding on to the ball - that's as hard a hit as you'll ever seen in an NFL game.

* Corey Dillon turning a long third down run from a 3-yard stuff and a punt into a 29-yard dash and dive at the goal line with a quick turn to the outside in traffic.

* Teddy Bruschi holding Edgerrin James up after he caught a screen pass, trying to bat the ball out of his clutches, while James staggers backwards towards the first down marker. Unbeknownst to James, heavy hitter Rodney Harrison had a good ten yards to line up his back-breaking tackle right at the marker.

* Harrison and Pfifer combining to punch the ball away from usually sure-handed Reggie Wayne late in the game when the Colts were trying to get something going, down 20-3.

* Willie McGinnest sneaking around the line, eerily reminiscent of his 4th down stuff in last year's clash at the Dome, to spin James around and slam him into the frozen ground.

* On the Colts' final possession, as Manning inexplicably settled for short passes in the middle of the field, down by 3 scores in a game with more than 2 minutes on the clock, Dallas Clark drops a ball that Manning drilled right into the numbers on his jersey. Harrison and Gay were there a second after the ball bounced away, eagerly telling Clark how lucky he was not to catch that ball.

The Pats showed the Colts, again, why they are the team to beat in the AFC. I doubt Indy will be doing much talking during the offseason about the better team not winning this time out. Although their defense acquitted themselves well in the first half, spending nearly 40 minutes trying to stop Corey Dillon et al must have felt pretty much like Hell. Had Asante Samuel managed to hold on to a ball that hit his hands with seconds remaining before the half, the Pats could very well have shut out the high-flying, NFL-record setting Colts offense.

That, sir, is offensive.

...the Patriots will always shove and shove harder. I guess Reggie Wayne learned why the Colts have a certain plush reputation. While most of the focus of the game was on Peyton and if he would tip his cap to the Pats and call them his Daddy, it was really Edge, Rhodes, Dallas Clark, Stokely and Wayne that let the Colts down. Once again we learned that all, or at least the majority, of those NFL experts either suffer from severe short term memory loss or are completely full of shit. Probably the latter. Definitely the latter in Shannon Sharpe's case. How great was it to see Boomer throw it in his face after the game. Belichick again proved that a good team will beat great players almost every time.

Some abbreviated holiday links:
Page 2's Snap Judgement looks at the weekend's games. And I'm sorry Alan Grant there is no way I'd give the ball to McNabb over Brady in an OT playoff game. Are you kidding me?

MMQB is still struggling with Peyton and Co.'s lack of spine in the big games. I'm still struggling with why this is so surprising, despite all his talent, hasn't he been doing this since Tennessee. There's probably a high school team that had his number too. Do we know if he won any state championships? Anyway, Peter is still amazed at how good coaching and a good gameplan could so befuddle the Colts:

"Is weather their kryptonite? Do the Colts have to play in pristine conditions to be any good in a big game? I'm not blaming everything on Manning, but three points? Three points! And if the Patriots don't drop an interception in the end zone late in the first half, it's zero points. Against a secondary that featured a rookie corner back who didn't even start at LSU, Randall Gay, a slot receiver playing nickel, Troy Brown, and Hank Poteat, who the Patriots pulled out of classes at the University of Pittsburgh last week, coming in on the seven- and eight-DB packages! The Patriots embarrassed the Colts without what everyone thought were two irreplaceable players, Ty Law and Richard Seymour. There are only two conclusions to draw: The Patriots are the best team in football. And the Colts are the most disappointing."

Michael Wilbon was one of the few to cut through the clutter and sheen of the guady Colt's statistics and pick the Pats flat out. He files his latest column from Foxboro. The Post also had an interesting article, last Thursday, on Belichick and the nature of his "genius" that is worth reading.

Ken Burns returns to sports for his latest docu-drama that debuts tonight with a look at the life and times of Jack Johnson. Don't worry, you don't have to devote three weeks of your life this time around. Burns's look at the champ is only four hours. Whether you like Burns's style or not, Jack Johnson's life is an amazing story and worth checking out.

What you should have been reading last week. The best of last week's links:

Two scouts, two SABRs and an argument.

Jason Whitlock looks at how well the NFL sweeps its problems under the rug.

Martz fires up his team by quitting.

Darts. The new poker.

Why all NFL defensive backs are big babies.

Mark Cuban on Randy Moss.

Ever since I came on board here at the Blah - back in the heady days of 2004 - I've seen this great column called "Five for Fridays."

And I wanted in.

So after months of begging, pleading, bribing, cajoling, threatening, and blackmailing, our esteemed leader has deigned to let yours truly answer those burning questions that everyone loves to read. So without further ado...

SportsBlah presents:

Five for Friday (the No Last Name Edition)

1. Put your neck on the line and give us your weekend playoff
predictions in ten words or less for each game?

Not only am I going to give you my predictions, but I will do so in haiku format (completely blowing off the "ten words or less" part).

Rams at Falcons
Vick will run ragged.
Rams ownership needs to find
How to kill Mike Martz.
Rams 13, Falcons 31

Vikings at Eagles
Without T.O., the
Eagles still beat the Vikings.
Brett Favre cries at home.
Vikings 16, Eagles 27

Jets at Steelers
Feel sorry for Jets.
They look like a five year old
In a Steel Cage Match.
Jets 17, Steelers 30

Colts at Patriots
This one will be close.
But Manning trips; not on field,
But his own ego.
Colts 21, Patriots 27

2. Often when people are comparing Manning and Brady, the pro-Brady's
rely on intangibles, while pro-Manning's rely on cold hard stats. Matt
Leinart has the lofty stats and he's a proven winner in college, does
this make him the first pick or barely a first round pick?
If Leinart chooses to come out, he's top-5 pick material, depending on the teams drafting. There is this league-wide fascination with the studly college QB, and Leinart is simply the next in line, after Eli, Peyton, Leftwich, et al. If he comes out now, after a great sophomore season and a magnificent junior year, he's easily top 3, since San Fran, Miami, and Cleveland hold the top three picks, respectively, and Chicago and Tampa are breathing down their necks at 4 and 5. The real question is whether Leinart has those ever-popular "intangibles," but I think winning two National Championships in a row proves that he can guide a team to victory, and he's never really been in trouble with the law (at least not that we know of), so I think we can safely rule out "Will moon home team's fans" from the potential problems.

Leinart actually might be a great fit in San Francisco, which for some reason really seems to like Tim Rattay. I'm sure I'm not the first to think of this, but SF needs a coach... USC happens to have a coach available... and a QB... "with the first selection in the draft, the San Francisco 49'ers select Quarterback Matt Leinart from USC... and coach Pete Carroll from USC."

Hey, it could happen.

Of note: Leinart has kept his own blog for a while. It has a ton of pictures (including my favorite), and although it does feel like someone's ghost-blogging for him, it's still pretty cool. Although it gives the reader absolutely no information on supposed squeeze Kristen Cavalleri... how disappointing.

3. Has a tree fallen in the NBA forest with no one watching (except
Bill Simmons and Stephen A. Smith)? Is there a competitive renaissance
happening in the NBA?
The real problem with the NBA is that it seems to truly believe that any publicity - even negative - is good publicity. This is simply not true. When Spree steps up with "I gotta feed my family," you know that something is wrong with a league that lets any player get that petulant. Hell, even Bonds tries to avoid saying things that stupid.

The league has a good group of exciting, young players. Between Dwayne Wade, Andrei Kirilenko, Yao Ming, and 'Melo, the NBA has a core of amazingly talented young ballers who - currently - have squeaky clean records. No head cases here so far. And that's not even mentioning the daddy of them all - LeBron - whose star could some day rival (but never outshine) Michael Jordan's.

The league should be marketing the hell out of these guys, telling anyone who will listen, "Hey, this is a good league with competitive players and teams who love the game." Instead, they seem to be letting the malcontents run rampant. What's the one thing that people will remember from the 2004-2005 season? Unless something HUGE happens in the next few months, it's going to be the great Pistons-Pacers game, which has been beaten to death now - but will live on in infamy in the minds of anyone who watched SportsCenter the next day. Or the day after that. Or the day after that. You get the point.

Another issue is parity and competitiveness. If the Boston Red Sox go 60-102 in 2006, you can still count on Fenway Park being close to sold out for every home game in 2007. But if the Boston Celtics aren't playing the best ball since Bird, McHale, and Parish, the FleetCenter can't give away tickets. Some teams will always get attendance - like the Lakers - and some will always struggle - like the Bobcats, assuming they're still around in 2010 - but league-wide attendance is atrocious, because nobody cares.

Look at the Eastern Conference vs. the Western Conference. In the West, there are 10 teams at or above .500 - that's 2/3 of the teams. In the East, only SIX are above .500. This means that fans in such large media markets as New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Atlanta are stuck with sub-.500 basketball, which isn't exactly a huge draw. I'm sure Knicks, Celtics, and 76'ers management would point to the fact that the former team is in first place in the Atlantic Division, and the latter two are just 1.5 games behind; but this is coming from teams with .486, .444, and .441 winning percentages, respectively. Not exactly big incentive to spend your hard-earn ducats on a seat, is it?

The NBA is exciting in Seattle, Phoenix, San Antonio, and Dallas, and the league needs to find out why. Is it the team ball? The high-scoring games? The marquee players? Dirk Nowitzki's hair? Once they pinpoint what brings fans to the games, they can try and push that tactic onto other teams, particularly in the east. And once they achieve more parity, it will be possible for the young stars to glow as brightly as they did in the days of Rolando Blackman. Or maybe Sam Bowie.

4. Is the new MLB steroid policy just PR or a step in the right direction?
Short answer: Yes.

It's both, really. In some ways, it's lip service to the critics who say that Giambi was just the tip of the iceberg. But it's also progress that shows that the MLBPA - one of the most powerful and unreasonable unions in the history of time - is listening to the public outcry over "performance enhancing supplements."

The testing is completely random, which is a double-edged sword. As Jason Stark writes, "every player will be assigned a number by a computer. The computer will then generate testing dates and testing frequency for each number. So just because a player may have what some people believe is a suspicious 'build,' that can't factor into how often he gets tested -- assuming he doesn't test positive." Although this is disappointing, randomness is also a good thing, because it might catch more users than pre-planned testing.

The new policy looks like this: A first positive test would result in a suspension of 10 days; second positive leads to a 30-day suspension; third is for 60 days; and fourth is one full year. There is no provision for a fifth positive test - it is at the discretion of the commissioner. These penalties are significantly quicker and harsher than the previous ones; as well, if a player tests positive once, he is tested at a more frequent random rate than other, clean players.

Stark also writes that "one positive steroid test actually carries a more serious penalty than a cocaine-possession conviction. One positive steroid test leads to an immediate suspension. It takes two cocaine convictions to get suspended." Which is unfortunate. But at least they're suspending dopers.

Whether or not this is a step in the right direction is a matter of opinion, although I like to believe that the motives behind are less important than the outcome. However, one thing is certain: 2005 is going to see far fewer home runs than 2004 did.


5. Have you watched the Sports Guy's cartoon? Is it any good?
Do you remember in middle school, when your teacher would turn off the classroom lights and put on a video, and you got all excited about it, but then it turned out to be a boring film on volcanic activity in Indonesia?

Well, the Sport Guy's cartoon is kind of like that. You get ready for it, you get kind of excited about it (because you think it's going to be as funny as Simmons' columns), and then, when it's over, you sort of sit there saying, "huh? Is that it? That sucked!" Just like a film on volcanic activity in Indonesia.

I don't know if this was Simmons' idea. I don't know if he's getting paid more for it. I sure as hell hope he's not writing this drivel. Thus far, there have been seven "episodes," each less funny and more anti-climactic than the previous. There have been one-minute shorts about Dale Sveum (the Red Sox' third base coach), Simmons' dog playing with a tennis ball, steroids, NFL pre-game shows, Christmas presents, the abhorrent concept of Tom Brady getting injured, and port-a-potties. Somehow, each vignette manages to end not on an up note, not on a down note, but on no note at all. Heck, one even ends with the Simmons character looking at his friend and shrugging.

Overall, I don't mind the concept of a Sports Guy cartoon. If it was well-written and had some funny characters and/or lines, it could be solid. But this stuff makes me think it was written by a different Simmons. And that's definitely not a good thing.

Red Auerbach used to be famous for the lengths he'd go to get an edge. The visitor's locker in the Garden was hardly bigger than a closet. The heat was always on. The windows nailed shut. The water always cold. Red left no stone unturned. Are the Patriots following suit? Is this just another instance of the media making much ado about nothing? Another example of Belichick's genius? The physical manifestation of home field advantage? Probably depends who you ask.

Getting a chance to watch a good number of Celtic's games since Christmas, I'm increasingly becoming convinced that trading Pierce sooner rather than later is the best option. Maybe he just needs a fresh start or maybe it goes deeper than that, but Pierce is the shadow of the player he was in three years ago. He whines every play, takes too many shots and doesn't seem all that interested in Ainge and River's run and gun system. Speaking of if the Suns are Ainge's model, than bring it on. Of course, wishing and hoping only get you so far, but this team is leaps and bounds more athletic and fun to watch than last year's squad. If they could learn how to step on team's necks when they get a lead they'd be dangerous. Well, dangerous in the Eastern Conference at least.

I meant to mention this the other day, but why (why!) did the Magic trade Mobley for Christie? I know Orlando didn't like it's defense, but trading a proven scorer that your mercurial star point guard likes and trusts, for an aging tweener that could play defense in the 90's and has a crazy wife and a potentially distracting reality show? This is what happens when an NHL guy gets an NBA GM job.

So Joe 'Kiper' Lunardi has his first bracket predictions of the season up. In second week of January. Does he make his living solely by doing this? More importantly, are there any sports left where I could corner the market on absurd predictions? Surely BassCenter could use me.

Rivals in Exile banter about the recent Yankee signings and non-signings and if it will all matter next year.

Anytime I see a news story about robots, I have this knee jerk reaction that conjures up the old SNL commercial about robot insurance. I'm going to put myself way out on a limb here and say, no, that robots will not win the World Cup in 2050. Call me crazy.

Overcompensation? Okay, okay, Jeff, we get it, you're not gay.

Finally, Slate gives ESPN's Tilt a thumbs down, saying the poker scenes are fine, but that's all there is and with all the poker on TV now, do we really need more of that? And where are the dumpy Asians? Consensus or just one man's opinion? Greg, suffering from serious Playmakers withdrawal, has the Tivo fired up and ready and will provide recaps and reactions for Mr. Blonde and crew for each episode.

So was Randy just having a bad day, maybe the Waldorf burned his toast, or did that cameraman catch a complete jock ass in a true light? Talk about getting what you asked for. But eight innings of shutout ball on opening day against the Sox should appease the masses. Still, a rather embarrassing start for the newest gun for hire hanging his shingle in the Bronx. Or maybe it was all a glorious set-up from the start. All just an attention grab to keep the lenses from Flushing? Either way, if I were a Randy, I'd be watching my step this week.

If you're not sick of it yet, the SF Gate has a look at the sanctimoniousness oozing from the broadcast booth during Moss's booty call. And just because one ass surely deserves another, Mark Cuban weighs in and to be honest, makes some sense. Things are truly out of control. To recap, I still think Randy Moss is a punk and Mark Cuban is a voice of reason in this whole thing.

Almost lost amid all the glad handing in NYC, is the fate of another premier free agent/All-star on the market. No, not Carlos Delgado, the other one.

Two guys who should probably send both Randys a fruit basket are Herm Edwards and Bishop Harris. The two completely level headed gentlemen that
almost came to blows on the Jet's sideline last weekend. "Curtis is better!" "No, Lamont is better!" "No, Curtis is better!"

Football Outsider's takes a look at the 1996 Denver Broncos, locked up the rights to Arena football, as well. I can't wait to start a franchise game with the Philly Soul.

(via FO) Football is the one sport I never played really played growing up, besides the backyard variety, and I'm constantly amazed that someone is not seriously injured almost every play. The Pittsburgh Tribune has a very good look at the who, what and when's of NFL injuries. The Patriots are a walking business case for the conclusions. Besides being a great article (a great example of something we could use more of in the dailies, something besides the cookie cutter beat stories that clutter most papers), it includes this TMI quote from the inimitable Merrill Hoge that has me rethinking an HDTV purchase:

"You want to know how hard you're hit? If you're a running back, and you're hit full-speed, he can literally knock the feces out of your bowels. You lose all feeling in your limbs."

Two of the last three years during one of our company outings to the local bar for a pool and darts tournament, I've had the fortune of drawing the managing director of the office in darts. I like darts. It's an excuse to drink beer on par with bowling. If I come home and find it on at 3 am, I might leave it on. This guy brings his own darts. In a nice hand tooled leather case. To him it's not recreation, it's sport. The first year was the worse. I had no shot of winning, but I also didn't want to be embarrassed. There seemed a good chance of that. Especially with the growing crowd. Especially with an open bar. Especially two hours into the open bar. Especially after I made him mad. Purely on the whims of fate, two of my first three throws hit dead center. Goddamn co-workers get quiet. I think he was planning on dispatching me with mercy and aplomb. No more. He swirled the ice in his glass, put the Chivas down and dialed up a gleam in his eye promising slow torture. He's English. He likes darts. A lot. And he's not alone.

"Darts is a cross between a Springsteen concert and professional wrestling now," said Sid Waddell, a longtime commentator, embellishing just a smidge. "It's a sport that needs dramatic lighting, and heavy rock music punctuated by the intensity of the crowd." While purists may tut-tut, there is little doubt that this new formula - not so different from the repackaging of poker in America - has revitalized the ailing game of darts and captured international attention."

And the only prescription for it is more NFL playoffs. So how about a brief wrapup, just in case you were under a rock. How did the Wildcard round play out?

St. Louis 27 Seattle 20
Mike Martz is still a Moron. St. Louis used their third timeout with 4:00 to play in the third quarter of a close playoff game. Sadly, St. Louis won anyway, because Seattle's receivers are really, really bad. In sarcastic news, Martz quits, and the team rejoices.

New Jersey Jets 20 San Diego 17
Does it get any more painful than this? After being given a gift on a silver platter, due to the boneheaded roughing the quarterback penalty on Jet Chad Barton with no downs remaining in San Diego's season, the Bolts managed to cough this one up the old fashioned way: predictable play calling and a missed field goal. Maybe Marty Schottenheimer should consider a change in careers. Yet again, Marty Ball leads to a quick playoff exit for a talented team.

Minnesota 31 Green Bay 17
Call it the End of the Brett Favre era. We all knew it was coming, and last year's foolish interception in the playoffs gave a hint that the end was nigh with a bullet. But Favre's 4 INT performance against the woeful Minnesota defense was the stuff of rookie quarterbacks without the Hall of Fame credentials. It might be time for Brett to start thinking about calling someone about that car dealership offer. Also highlighted in this game was the undeniable fact that Randy Moss is a classless punk. Playing on a gimpy ankle, Moss grabbed his second score of the game on an ad-lib, playground-style touchdown from Daunte. He followed it up with an extended pantomimed salute to the Lambeau crowd. Guess those mime lessons paid off. But perhaps the person who suffered the most in this game was Peter King of Sports Illustrated, whose love for Favre knows no bounds.

Indy 49 Denver 24
Yes, Indy won this in a blowout. Peyton Manning had 4 TD throws and a QB sneak for TD before the half. But this one wasn't as close as the score indicates. Indy went to town on the Denver secondary, picking them apart for over 500 yards of offense, while letting Champ Bailey "shut down" Marvin Harrison. 'You shut him down, Champ, we'll be over here kicking your asses,' sayeth the ponies. There are two good things to come out of this game: one, Denver was shown to be the paper tiger, or more like paper housecat, that I have accused them of being this season. Never was this more apparent then on Indy's 3rd touchdown, a 7 yard pass to Reggie Wayne that was followed by not one, not two, not three, but four missed tackles and a 28-yard scamper into the endzone. The other positive is that the Patriots bandwagon finally has some elbow room again.

I'll be going to the Indy-Pats matchup at Gillete on Sunday, so expect a full report when I return.

Randy, Randy, Randy. Just when you think he might make it through a game without incident, the angel on his left shoulder is gangtackled by the devil on his right. Moss mimed letting down more than just his hair after is second TD catch, despite the NFL's best efforts at wiping the collective memories of those present and those watching at home. And of course, since the games on Sunday weren't much to sniff at, it's getting lots of play. MMQB tries to decipher the mystery that is Moss and doesn't get much farther than the obvious, if no less truthful.

"He's a guy who doesn't like to be told what to do. When he's told what to do, he won't do it. He'll do what he wants, when he wants. And because he's so talented, no one ever stands up to him (at least until Matt Birk did last week) and says, "Hey, doofus. It's a team sport. How about joining the team?''

Jason Whitlock, a columnist I admire for at least having an opinion and not pandering, used Moss and his petulant behavior as a jumping off point for some severe backhanded compliments to the NFL in a column last week:

"That's the beauty and brilliance of the NFL, a league that has done a remarkable job of hiding the fact that it has just as many petulant malcontents as the NBA does, as well as more performance-enhancing drug cheats than Major League Baseball and Olympic track and field, combined."

In an article written prior to Sunday's game, Robert Weintraub pens an article claiming to answer why sports media members deify Brett Farve. I read it through twice and besides pointing out that he's a regular guy, I'm still waiting for an answer.

The Post grudgingly admits that the Mets did finally get their man, despite the cost. But being the obedient tabloid, they couldn't let it go with out a forearm shiver to Shea:

"Early Saturday evening, agent Scott Boras reached out to Yankee officials and said his client preferred their team and would accept a contract for $16.6 million a season over six years, a total of $99.6 million, according to sources familiar with the negotiations. The Yanks, as they had throughout this process, told Boras their payroll simply could not afford another expensive, long-term deal. The Yanks noted that under the current collective bargaining agreement, they would pay approximately $40 million extra in taxes on top of Beltran's contract, and the organization simply did not want to do that, even if given a chance to pay roughly $19 million less than the Mets for Beltran. The Yankees, in fact, never made an offer."

The Transaction Oracle gives a nod of approval to the Beltran signing.

Baseball America gets two scouts and two stats guys in a room and takes the gloves off. Interesting read.

After reading my "Can we please stop smooching Big Ben's pickle" post (I'm paraphrasing), a few people have asked me why I don't like Ben Roethlisberger. That couldn't be farther from the truth. I actually like him a lot. I think he's very good, has had a great season and has seemingly maintained a sense of modesty throughout the season. It's a great story. My point was that the fascination, the Big Ben Hype, was getting a little out of control. That's all. I mean, check out who he's dating.. Damn. Gotta respect that, if nothing else. All I was saying was yes he's doing quite well, but he has a great supporting cast. He still has a long way to go, and a lot more to prove before we hand him the keys to the league. The playoffs will be interesting, to say the least. Of course as I write this, the Ben Roethlisberger love continues. . . and hilarity is not far behind.

As Greg might say, I'm beginning to wonder if maybe Shawn Green doesn't have chlamydia or didn't secretly get a glass eye implant over the winter. Will he ever be traded? (Will DePodesta ever regain his rep?) Thankfully, Green is the shadow of the player he once was, if he ever was one is fodder for debate, otherwise we'd be subjected to endless breathy updates of will they or won't they. Have they or haven't they each night on SportsCenter. And while I'm tangentially on the subject (as if we ever really have a subject around here - witness this paragraph) does anyone else find it odd that Jeff Moorad is the President of the Diamondbacks?

Speaking of franchises shooting themselves in the foot, has there ever been an owner that flushed all respectability (and talent) out of an organization faster than John York? He's like Rachel Phelps in Major League, but at least she had a gameplan to get the team to Miami. York just seems like a dilettante intent on bringing the 49ers down to the Clippers level of ineptitude.

On the plus side, with Brees winning the Comeback Player of the Year, and the Bolts loaded with three first round picks this year and potentially more if they trade Brees, are we entering a Chargers's renaissance? No pressure A.J. Smith.

Pot. Kettle. Black.

As if soccer didn't need more of a steep climb to recognition in this country. I mean, my god, the World Cup is the biggest interest draw for soccer in this country and missing qualifying for '06 would set the sport back a decade in gaining a foothold on the "major" sports ladder. Disaster written all over it.

Not everyone is in love with Beltran. I swear the media makes too much of this playing in [Big Market/Baseball Crazy] city. I remember the Boston press pushing this agenda when nice guy Johnny Damon signed with the Sox. He broke down at his intro press conference for pete's sake and he seemed to do just fine. It's just an overrated crutch to explain slumps or contrarian decisions not to chase the money to Big City X.

And finally some much needed Otis Nixon love a day after he was skunked on the Hall of Fame ballot.

Wow. This is really, really, REALLY f*cking stupid. The Anaheim Angels have decided to officially change their team name. That's right, they're no longer the Anaheim Angels. What should we now refer to them as? The Anaheim Halos? Nope. The California Angels? Nope. How about the "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim". There you go. That, ladies and gentlemen, is their new name. (I'll pause for the confused laughter to subside) How utterly retarded of an idea is this? I mean, are Artur Moreno and the Angles really that desperate to be seen as L.A.'s team? More importantly, other than a roomful of 5-year-olds, is anyone going to fall for this? Moreno is assaulting L.A. "Falling Down" style, sporting a Michael Douglas t-shirt and a smile. I just can't get over how stupid of an idea this is. I'm sure it was some corporate suit, kiss-ass, jackoff who convinced the Angels owner that this was a brilliant idea. "Oh, Mr. Moreno, you say we're not in L.A. at all, but we can pretend we are, but just say that we're of Anaheim. Brilliant sir. Simply brilliant. May I kiss your other testicle now sir?" Dumb, dumb, dumb. Ah, well, whatever. No time to worry about this now, I've got games to watch. The New York Nets of New Jersey are playing the Dallas Spurs of San Antonio on TNT. This could be a big-city rivalry in the making, don't you think?

Professional athletes care about statistics and personal achievement? You're kidding me? Next you're going to tell me they care about money too. I mean, wow. So, ok, Shaun Alexander's "back stabbing" comments were foolish, immature and reeked of sore loser. Come to think of it, he probably should have kept his thoughts to himself (obvious statement of the year). But does anyone truly believe that this guy values his own accomplishments ahead of the team? Do you think he'd actually prefer a rushing title to winning a Super Bowl? It was 2nd and Goal on the 1 yard line. Alexander is, arguably, the league's best RB. I don't think it's too much to ask to give him the ball, do you? Everyone makes it sound like he was complaining because it was 4th and Goal on the 7 yard line. I mean, again, he probably shouldn't have ranted (for the mere fact that he sounded like an ass) but he does have a point. Alexander carried the Seahawks on his back this season. Without him, they'd be playing golf. Hasselback was wildly mediocre. The Seahawks receivers have all but forgotten how to catch the ball. Seattle's "improved" defense was lost in a remote Starbucks somewhere. And Holmgren, well, he couldn't coach a porn star through an orgy. So, would it have hurt to let Shaun, the keystone to that team, at least attempt to score on 2nd down? Yes, I've read that in his last 10 carries in the red zone he had rushed for 8 yards, fumbled twice and "only" scored twice . . . but come on now. But, hey, spilled milk, right? Alexander said what he said, he didn't win the rushing title, and we move on. Or do we? See, I think it's a little ironic that Alexander is being chastised for his comments, and his alleged disloyalty to his team, yet what do we see on ESPN and Fox Sports each night? Stories about personal accomplishments. Team success taking a back seat to individual accomplishment. Athletes lauded for their "chasing of records" and their personal achievements. How many times would a network cut into the middle of a good baseball game to show a seeminly meaningless Barry Bonds at bat? "Will he break the all-time OBP mark with this at bat?" Meanwhile, it's the top of the ninth in a 2-2 game between the Cardinals and Cubs. For months, all we heard about was Peyton Manning and his endless quest at TD #49. Forget about the fact that the Colts have the best WR trio in all the land, have developed into an unstoppable offense, and are a solid secondary and pair of mittens away from, perhaps, a dynasty. There are newsrooms filled with these and other stories just like it. And bringing up the whole notion of team loyaly? What? In the age of Free Agency and "Contract-Year performances" and "I wonder where he'll go next" filling the airwaves on a nightly basis, it seems a bit hypocritical doesn't it? So, let's just pretend and say there might be an off chance that Shaun Alexander values his own personal accomplishments over, or at least on par, with his team. Gee, I wonder where he'd get an idea like that in his head?

Damn, USC whooped some OU ass last night. And while the USC offense has been getting all the press for the past few years, (Leinart, Bush, Mike Williams circa '03-'04, etc.) it should be noted that their defense deserves a big shout out. Three years ago, in a Bowl game against Iowa, that Trojan defense destroyed their highly regarded offensive line. Last year, in the Rose Bowl, they did much of the same to Michigan's Denver Bronco-like mountain of men. And this year, they kicked around those OU giants like a can of Pepsi in the parking lot. They shut down the OU running attack, forcing the 87 year old White to throw the ball (NFL scouts take note), and OU's chances of a National Championship, away. (Editors note: tangent approaching) Is it just me, but does Jason White just not scream "impressive"? In fact, he never has. Sure his numbers are gaudy, but I think his success can be attributed more to the OU system than his own sheer talent (By the way, he's a 6th year QB. College is fun and all but dude, time to let it go.) Hey, I could be wrong, but he's never done anything to make me go "oh crap, look at that guy". Nothing. He's the Mark Walhberg of college football. Solid all around, shows glimpses of brilliance, but never truly shines. And just when things are going well, and he's on the verge of making the vaunted leap into superstardom, BAM!, Planet of the Apes.

Does anyone actually believe that the Yankees aren't interested in Carlos Beltran anymore? He is arguably the best Free Agent in the past 10 years; a player who fits that Yankees team better than anyone I can remember. A CF (which they need), a #2 hitter (which they need), a great defensive player (which they need), a clutch playoff performer (which they love, and lately have needed), a good guy in the clubhouse (which they like) and he has no facial hair (which is a pre-requisite and a bonus). Letting this guy walk would be a big, big, big mistake. Scott Boras likes to play games. Maybe the Yankees are playing him right back. I guess we'll see.

Could it be true? Has George pushed back from the table? Put down the spoon after the final gooey goop of the Vermonster free agency sundae? In a year in which the Sox won it all, maybe George has found a threshhold way out there on the edge of absurdity. Larry Mahnken struggles with the notion:

"Sure, Beltran's going to be overpaid, but so is Jeter... and Posada, and Brown, Mussina, Karsay, Rivera, Giambi, Martinez and Williams. Oh, and Wright, Pavano and Womack, too -- they would have been better off keeping Lieber and El Duque for $5 million less. This is where the Yankees draw the line? After several foolish moves that improve the team not a lick, and one blockbuster move that improves them a bit (but probably not as much as everyone expects, and perhaps not at all), they decide that signing Beltran, who embodies an improvement of more than five games right now, and is an investment in the future of the franchise as well, is too much?"

In light of the reported "eye-poppin" offer the Wilpon's made yesterday, could Beltran really end up a Metropolitan? Incidentally, almost as bizarre and unbelievable as the Yanks idly watching a diamond free agent go elsewhere is someone actually exceeding a Boras asking price.

FO posts its final DVOA rankings for the 2004 season, including some interesting tidbits on Philly, Buffalo and the mess in Tampa.

King Kaufman looks at the Rose Bowl, so far the best overall Bowl this year, and why it brought out the best and worst in college football. Bob Ryan takes a look at tonight's Orange Bowl which will "decide" the NCAA champion. Not that Auburn has much to complain about after struggling to take down VaTech.

A steroid story that puts part of the blame on the fans? Um, okay. I guess in the race to find a new angle and get noticed anyone is a target.

What do you think NBA players fear more, messing up their face and having to wear one of those fashionable plastic masks for a long stretch or blowing out a knee? It might be a toss up.

Rather bizarre AP article on OJ attending tonight's USC/OU game. Why even bother writing this piece? Okay, that's rhetorical, but still.

PK's MMQB. I can't say that I agree with him on Leinart, who reminds me too much of the "great" Miami quarterbacks on their perennial top five teams in the 90's, which is namely, just a delivery mechanism to a host of athletes superior to the opposition. Seriously, who was the last great Miami QB in the NFL? Kelly? Anyway, I do think he brings up a good point about Chuckie.

"I think uneasy lies the crown on Jon Gruden's head, or something like that. The Bucs are 12-20 since the Super Bowl. That's the same record Steve Superior had in two Washington seasons. Not saying Gruden's job should be in danger. Not at all. Just saying when you make the wrong decisions while rebuilding after winning, you pay dearly because the margin of error after winning is slim with all the big contracts that have to disappear."

All of which makes the Patriot's continued success in today's NFL more impressive.

John Clayton pokes holes in each of the playoff teams.

What's wrong with the Seahawks in a nutshell

"This is the first time I've ever been backstabbed in my life,"Alexander said in the Qwest Field locker room after the Seahawks won the NFC West title by outlasting the Atlanta Falcons 28-26. The focus of Alexander's frustration was what proved to be the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter. Faced with a second-and-goal from the Falcons' 1-yard line with 4 1/2 minutes to play, the call was for a sneak by quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, not a handoff to Alexander. As a result, he finished with 80 rushing yards in the game and 1,696 for the season. The Jets' Curtis Martin, who began the day 72 yards behind Alexander, rushed for 153 in New York's overtime loss to the St. Louis Rams to finish with 1,697."

Never mind that the call gave them the win, the division and home field advantage next week.

A choice Transaction Oracle entry from last week

"Imagine Carl Lindner taking $25.5 million in cash out of his bank account. After defecating on the money, Lindner proceeds to strangle the Filipino hooker that witnessed his currency defoulment in full view of a group of tourists with video cameras, Lindner then charges into a police station brandishing an empty shotgun. Uncle Carl is likely to get a better return on his investment under the set of conditions laid out in the previous paragraph than from his investment in Eric Milton, who's as overrated as Eric Gregg is fat."

Has any team done less and needed to do more this offseason than the Phils? Charlie Manuel and Kenny Lofton are not the answer.

Depending on how much you can believe Newsday, the Mets continue to try to swim with the big boy in the Beltran sweepstakes: "There even were rumblings yesterday of the Mets preparing an eight-year offer worth between $120 million and $140 million."

Let me get this straight, not only can't they pick one region to settle in, they are now the Angel Angels?

With innumberable listless Bowl (should that be capitalized?) games until the arbitrary January third championship and almost as many meaningless NFL games (except maybe for Curtis Martin) this weekend, it's a respite to check out who might be in for a nice contract as a free agent in '05.

Maybe Beltran really is worth $20M a year? Maybe it all depends on who's asking and what they're expecting.

Nothing like getting the hometown support. The Chicago Sun-Time sticks it in and twists the knife on Ryne Sandberg's HOF candidacy.

Has anyone noticed the similarities, minus a few unremarkable comebacks, between Jordan and Gretzky's post-playing career?

Is MLB's free agency as confusing to the rest of the world as the Premiership's transfer window is to someone in the States? Does anyone really care? Probably not.