The Swivel Arm

I Witnessed 109,200 People Scared Shitless

2006-11-06T23:14:00.000-05:00

Sorry it's been so long. I'm working on it.

So, basically, the best 30 bucks I'll likely ever spend in my life was on a ticket to this Ball State-Michigan game. At the time it was just a chance to see the much-ballyhooed Big House, and when two of the other people I'd been planning on going with backed out late and I had to go the alternate route and go with two WCRD (campus radio station) colleagues, I was starting to regret going. Was it even going to be worth all the trouble? Four hours back and forth to go to a slaughter?

I woke up at 6:30 in the morning to leave at 7:15, and we still only managed to get to the game right after kickoff, missing all the normal pregame pageantry (I'd been hoping to at least witness UM coming out of their tunnel and jumping to that Go Blue sign that you've seen so much) thanks to traffic jams and a 30-minute detour at Burger King.

Section 36, Row 53, Seat 18. I'll likely never forget that seat number. We sat in the corner of the north end zone opposite the press box. As it turned out, the best corner of the stadium we could've picked, as the biggest plays occurred in our endzone and most of those in our corner.

We sat with a bunch of Michigan fans as it turned out. Although that was the case for most people, since there were maybe 100 or 150 Ball State fans in attendance, and it's likely that probably a third of those were people wearing Red Wings stuff that I assumed were BSU fans. I was wearing black (I know, disappointing) since I could not find a red shirt that I liked. But my red backwards Ball State hat that's been with me since almost the moment I got here gave me away.

It was obvious at the start of the game that UM fans were there to have fun and not to see a football game. Kids dressed in Michigan stuff, probably many going to their first game, probably many the beneficiaries of season-ticket holders that had no interest in this stinkfest. Michigan had forced anyone who wanted a ticket to the Iowa game the week before to also purchase a Ball State ticket, resulting in an overabundance of them on eBay. That explains why I snagged a $49 ticket for 30 bucks.

Anyway, we happened to be sitting right behind a particularly rambunctious UM fan who had probably enjoyed a few adult beverages before the game. He jokingly did that trick where you grab someone's head and softly smack, with your other hand, the hand that is on your head to all of us as we joked about how we were going to shock the world.

Then something funny happened: We almost did.

Things started out pretty inauspiciously. Michigan took the ball to start the game and drove downfield easily, 77 yards in 10 plays, scoring on a Jerome Jackson goal-line run to go ahead 7-0. It was clear Michigan had no intention of putting the ball in the air. Of course, the Cards punted on their first possession, followed by one more punt for each team. Michigan took the ball on their own 2, and it looked like only a matter of time before this thing got out of hand.

I'd jokingly told my buddy Levin, one of the WCRD guys I was at the game with, that BSU would get an early safety to spark the upset, right down to predicting that DE Cortlan Booker would be the guy involved. Well, Booker was involved in a safety on that first play but not the kind I anticipated. Mike Hart, who had gone 665 touches without losing a fumble in his career to that point, took a handoff and Booker whacked it out of his hands. The ball rolled out of the corner of the end zone and it was 7-2. On touch 666, Hart lost a fumble.

Things looked to be inching back to normal when BSU went 3 and out on the ensuing possession, right down to Michigan getting one of those BS penalties they usually get at home when Terry Moss was flagged for a completely bogus offensive pass interference call.

But I wasn't done being clairvoyant. As we half-seriously discussed our chances before that next drive began, I told my friends that you can always count on Chad Henne making one awful, simply indescribably bad throw in a game. I attended the ND-Michigan game earlier this year and that throw landed in the hands of Irish safety Chinedum Ndukwe in the first quarter, so I felt I knew what I was talking about.

Wouldn't you know it? On the 2nd play of that same drive, Henne fired a curl pass perfectly into the hands of...Ball State safety Erik Keys, who took that pass 30 yards back for a touchdown directly into our endzone. It was probably one of the most exciting moments of my life. BSU led mighty Michigan 9-7. It was telling that no UM fan had argued with me on my earlier mention of counting on one dumb mistake by Henne per game. Also worth noting, although we didn't see at the time, was that Brian Jackson became BSU's career leader in PATs on that kick.

All we'd wanted was a lead so we could take pictures of the scoreboard and we'd gotten it. All BSU fans there, as Facebook photos will later show you, snapped pics of that 9-7 score, and we joked about other stadiums being shocked by the score when it was announced. The UM fans let us have our fun, with the exception of one person, quickly shouted down by another group of Wolverine supporters, who yelled at me for standing up and clapping along with our fight song after that TD. We even led after one. Already I'd felt we'd gotten more than we'd bargained for.

But absolutely no one was surprised when UM scored the next 17 points of the game. An 8-play 74-yard drive ended on a 3rd-down TD pass (we'd hoped for a FG so it'd still be 10-9) to Carson Butler.

BSU went 3 and out. Michigan went 49 yards in 7 plays, but Steve Breaston dropped a sure TD on 3rd and goal and UM settled for the FG to go ahead 17-9, setting off a volley of "almost halfway through the first and it's a one-possession game" jokes.

Another quick BSU punt and a 40-yard TD run by Brandon Minor, UM's 3rd-string RB, ended those jokes and UM was up 24-9. Things were pretty much back to normal. The Wolverines would surely cruise from here.

But, credit the Cards, they showed up and put together a workmanlike 42-yard 9-play drive that featured a Nate Davis fumble but resulted in a Brian Jackson FG. BSU's defense managed to hold UM from the endzone before half and it was 24-12.

I spent most of halftime calling friends and family letting them know that we were keeping it respectable, but the back of my head kept thinking of all the brilliant second halves BSU had played this year (sarcasm obvious). We'd laid up 2nd-half meltdowns against IU, North Dakota State, Northern Illinois and Western Michigan already this season and hadn't really played much better in many other 2nd halves, so we all pretty much felt things would get out of hand in the 3rd. Enjoyable though, was Patrick Stewart of "X-Men" fame yelling "Let's Beat the Bucks" in reference to the battle with Ohio State in two weeks and hearing probably the loudest yelling of the game.

It looked like that was that when coach Brady Hoke elected not to go for it on a 4th and 3 from the Michigan 49 to start the 2nd half, and Michigan immediately went 80 yards in 12 plays capped by a short Mike Hart TD to make it 31-12. I'd been annoyed at the call, saying that surely Hoke had to realize that this was likely BSU's final hope to stay in the game and he should have taken advantage of it.

Little did I know that on the 5th play of the ensuing drive, Nate Davis would fire an absolutely gorgeous pass to Dante Love and that he'd race 55 yards for a TD to make it 31-19. We went nuts. It was the very last hope we had had, and Davis had delivered. Again.

At the end of the 3rd, UM was driving once again and it looked like hope had officially evaporated. But on 3rd and goal from the 4, a Chad Henne pass to Greg Mathews was broken up by Trey Lewis to force a FG and keep hope alive at 34-19. Trey Lewis cannot be commended enough for his play, as he held Mario Manningham catchless, albeit in limited action, and came up with a couple of great plays including that one to save the game for the moment.

Up to that point, UM fans were content to have fun with us and kid around. "Where's Ball State?" we heard. When asked what we do in a hick town like Muncie, Indiana, I half-sarcastically shot back "We drink." That earned me a high-five from the questioning fan. We gladly informed the fans that not only did Garfield's Jim Davis, David Letterman and Papa John attend Ball State, but that we had fallen to IU by only one after being up 16 at one point, and that we'd hung tough with Purdue before losing by 10.

Starting in the 4th quarter, things were a little different.

Let the record show that after a 3 and out followed by a Chris Miller shanked punt, that Michigan choked in their bid to put the game away, going 3 and out and committing two penalties in the process. Adrian Arrington dropped a wide open 3rd down pass that would have gone for the game-clincher, and BSU took over possession.

On first down, Nate Davis, who'd been decidedly unimpressive up to that point besides the Love TD, found Terry Moss behind the secondary for 62 yards down to the Michigan 2. Worries that Moss had cost us any remaining hope were dashed away when Larry Bostic took a 2nd-down pitch into the end zone. It was bedlam in our section...for us anyway. Halfway through the fourth, it was a one-possession game. 34-26. More than we ever could have hoped for in our wildest dreams.

Michigan fans stopped talking to us after the long Moss play. Completely.

The stadium was about as close to silent as you can get after Michigan choked again, going 3 and out and giving the ball back to Nate Davis, the true freshman signal-caller, with 6 minutes to go at his own 13.

Davis proceeded to finish growing up in front of our very eyes on that drive. It looked like we had issues when the first down play was a screen for no gain. But the next pass was right on the money. 25 yards to Darius Hill. Two plays later, 22 yards to Dante Love. The whole stadium sat in shock as Davis had dissected his way to the Michigan 35. Hell, even we were in shock.

7 yard run by Bostic. 20 yard run by Bostic. We were down to the 8. Eight yards away from the game coming down to a two-point conversion. Unfortunately, a third Bostic play resulted in a loss of 4. So now it was 2nd and goal at the 12. Incompletion. Sack. We were doomed.

Laundry on the field saved us for the moment. A clear personal foul facemask moved the ball to the 6 and gave us a new set of downs. Give the officials credit: up to this point, they'd only screwed us over one time (the Moss interference call), which is low for a Michigan home game, and even more incredibly, UM was called for more penalties than we were.

An incompletion was followed by a run down to the 2. Me? I would've kept running. If you have to pass on 4th then you have to pass on 4th, but I would have kept the pressure on. Hoke didn't see it that way, so Nate Davis rolled out on 3rd and goal. And rolled. And rolled. And rolled. Just short of the sidelines, Davis fired what appeared to be a desperation heave.

The desperation heave just happened to be placed perfectly between 2 Michigan defenders to our big-play tight end, Darius Hill, named SI's Best Player You've Never Heard Of recently. But amidst all the traffic, alas, Hill couldn't hold on. So it was 4th and goal at the 2.

Our message board after the game appeared to think that Davis wanted to run a QB draw, because when Madaris Grant committed a false start penalty to move the ball back to the 7, Davis appeared to be extremely annoyed. Whatever the case, it came down to 4th and goal at the 7.

Davis rolled out again, this time to the opposite side. He elected not to throw to Darius Hill, covered by Leon Hall. Maybe I would have. You have to make them beat your best player, and Hill is ours. But Davis looked elsewhere - to a seemingly open Dante Love in the end zone.

The pass was a little low, and a little too far right, hitting the ground probably a yard and a half away from Love, but certainly not uncatchable. Making it all the more frustrating when no flag came to save us this time, even though Love was clearly hit before the ball got there.

I was told to get over it afterwards. I shot back "Would YOU get over it?" He said yes, but he had no idea. What could a Michigan fan, a fan of a team who hasn't missed a bowl game in something like 35 years, know about being denied a chance to shock the college football world?

BSU managed to get the ball back with 16 seconds to go, but we all knew better. The last play was intercepted in the end zone by Ryan Mundy.

Nevertheless, it was a great day for Ball State. 109,000 fans were legitimately terrified of a little team from Muncie, Indiana. We got all the requisite compliments afterwards. No one could quite believe that Nate Davis was a true freshman. "He's gonna be incredible", they said. And they're right. We hope.

Ball State. We nearly brought down the Big House. Not to mention the BCS. It was a day to remember.

Cleaning Up the Empties

2006-10-09T13:04:00.000-05:00

I spent the weekend up in South Bend to watch Notre Dame beat Stanford, so I apologize for the lack of posts over the weekend. Judging by my comments section, you guys were enraged.

Anyways, here's what happened on Saturday:

Didn't you used to be the No. 2 team in the country? Auburn just got steamrolled by Arkansas 27-10, and the sad part is, Arkansas freshman QB Mitch Mustain didn't even play that well. Auburn just could not stop the running game. Their reward for doing so is being dropped from the Top 10.

Now, you are the No. 2 team in the country. Florida...they might be pretty good. They clobbered LSU 23-10, forced 5 turnovers, and were led by Tim Tebow, whose first career TD pass came on a wonderful-looking jump heave that has to be seen to be believed. Who's gonna stop them now?

Kudos to the Washington O-line and the refs. Back-to-back stupid plays cost the Huskies a chance to stun USC in the Coliseum. First, the refs waited until 2 seconds were left to stop the clock after a 1st-down play, when the player was down at 5 seconds. Then, the Huskie O-line decides not to be in position, and the final play never happens. Washington is left on the USC 18 yard line wondering what might have been.

Cheers for SEC football. This is why the Swivel Arm loves the SEC...games like the 51-33 barn burner between Tennessee and Georgia. Think about it...what week ISN'T there an amazing football game played between SEC teams?

The Onside Kick Gods get their revenge. Instead of having controversy follow Oregon and Oklahoma around after the onside kick flap, both teams got creamed - by Cal and Texas respectively - on Saturday. I'd say that takes care of any "we got screwed out of a title" talk by the Sooners.

And other action...

Day 2 of the Playoffs In the Books

2006-10-05T13:28:00.000-05:00

Yep, Day 2 is over, and Day 3 is already underway, with the Tiggers (weee're the only ones!) taking an early 1-0 lead on the Evil Empire. A recap of the second day:

Torii's tumble. A misplayed fly ball by Torii Hunter - eerily reminiscent of a certain other misplayed fly ball by Torii Hunter in a home postseason game against Oakland - let Mark Kotsay have an inside the park two-run homer on the A's way to a 5-2 win in Minnesota. The Twins look to be dead and buried. Joe Mauer was left in the on-deck circle, as Nick Punto popped out with two on and two out in the 9th inning.

Cross Rich Donnelly off your list of good third-base coaches. Good old Rich got two Dodgers thrown out at home against the Mets yesterday in a game that ended as a 6-5 Mets win. Oh, I should mention it was the SAME FUCKING PLAY - which was a postseason first and only the 2nd known incident of it happening in the history of the game. Nomar got a big game-tying hit for the Dodgers late but couldn't come through again when called on in the 9th.

Rain. The Tigers-Yankees game was supposed to be last night, but it was rained out. Justin Verlander warmed up, but Mussina didn't, the latest of some strange coincidences involving the Yankees.

The Buck Gets Canned Here

2006-10-04T13:10:00.000-05:00

Buck Showalter has, somewhat surprisingly, been fired as Texas Rangers manager. His team never got past third place under his tenure, but you never looked at Texas and thought, "now there's a team that's underachieving. The manager's got to go."

Then again, the last two times Buck has been fired, the team won the World Series the next year. Maybe the Cubs should hire him, then fire him just to test the limits of that little hex.

Other managers that are gone since we last checked in on Monday, albeit less surprisingly: Florida's Joe Girardi (already replaced by Braves 3rd base coach Fredi Gonzalez, who was also rumored to be a Cubs and Nationals target) and Washington's Frank Robinson (who we thought was dead already. Ok, not really).

Day 1 Is Over and Everyone Still Hates Jeter

2006-10-04T13:01:00.000-05:00

Day 1 of the playoffs is over and Day 2 is now underway.

That Jeter, what a douche. Jeter did it again, collecting five hits as the Yankees beat the Tigers 8-4. Congratulations to Jim Leyland for running a hit-and-run with Magglio Ordonez on base. Nice work.

Frank Thomas may be inhuman. The thought-dead Big Hurt - who quietly had a huge season this year - hit two homers to beat the Twins 3-2 in game 1 of their series. The Twins are in shock, and don't know what to do now that Johan's lost.

Some things never change. Just because the Padres are now the better team doesn't mean the Cardinals aren't going to kick their ass. Pujols homered - shocker, I know - and the Cards cruised 5-1 in the opening game.

Day 2 is underway already, as the Twins and A's are tied in the 4th inning (on ESPN). Later today - Dodgers/Mets (4 pm ESPN), then Twins/Yankees (8 pm ESPN). You get to watch Joe Morgan in both games. Praise whatever god you claim for that.

Dusty McToothpick Is Off to Greener Pastures

2006-10-02T17:43:00.000-05:00

As you most likely saw by now, Cubs manager Dusty Baker has been shown the door. Technically, it doesn't go down as a firing since his contract was up anyway, but neither party is unhappy to see him go, make no mistake. From 5 outs away from the pennant, to a wild-card collapse, to a losing season, to last place in the NL. I think it's supposed to go in the other direction.

The most intriguing part of the press conference? Jim Hendry announcing that experience is not necessarily the most important criteria. That opens the door for Joe Girardi or Fredi Gonzalez (although the latter appears headed for Florida to replace Girardi).

(Update: Dusty's going to ESPN to join their postseason broadcast team. Now, this should be fun.)

Sunday's Hangover

2006-10-02T11:57:00.000-05:00

A postscript on Sunday's action:

I'm pretty sure New England was unhappy about being written off. The Patriots plastered Cincinnati 38-13, and Laurence Maroney had his coming-out party, scoring two touchdowns and generally manhandling any Bengal that attempted to stop him.

There's still some air left in Mr. McNair. The Ravens' embattled (even at 4-0) quarterback led his team to a comeback win over San Diego to keep the Ravens unbeaten and prove that he's still the same guy that could play with an arm chopped off if he had to.

One game-winning drive wasn't enough, so... Peyton Manning took his team on what looked to be a game-winning touchdown drive, giving the Colts a 24-21 lead over the Jets. The Jets responded with a 103-yard kickoff return for a TD. So Peyton led his team on another game-winning touchdown drive. A wild Cal-Stanford type play failed for the Jets, and the Colts held on in the most entertaining game of the day.

I'm pretty sure Santana Moss is good. Moss caught three touchdowns -- including the game-winner in overtime -- as the Redskins beat the Jaguars 36-30 in overtime in a classic battle.

2-0 with Steve Smith. Carolina held off a late charge by the Saints to win 21-18, handing New Orleans their first loss and going to 2-2 themselves, pulling within a game of the division lead after being left for dead two weeks ago.

Cleaning Up the Empties

2006-10-01T10:05:00.000-05:00

Some things that happened after I left yesterday:

Coach Ty must (not) go! The Huskies, 2-9 last year, are 4-1 after a 21-10 victory over Arizona last night. U-Dub scored all of their points in a 6-minute burst near the end of the first half.

They must feel sorry for them. Georgia, ranked 10th in the nation, struggled mightily to hold of Ole Miss 14-9, and will assumedly drop further in the polls.

Not quite the Nebraska beatdown we're used to. The Huskers blew a 24-7 lead at home to Kansas before holding them off in overtime, 39-32, as Adam Barmann overthrows his man on 4th down in the extra period.

It only took five games, but... Notre Dame's offense finally awoke and played well for an entire game. Of course, they were going up against one of the worst defenses in the country, but Irish fans won't let that mar a 35-21 cruise-control win over Purdue. Darius Walker compiled 219 total yards, and Brady Quinn threw for 316 and 2 TDs.

Another aced test. The buildup going into Ohio State vs Iowa was tremendous. However, the Buckeyes took a 21-10 lead into the half and never looked back en route to a 38-17 win. The Buckeye defense held Albert Young to only 48 rushing yards, cruising all the way.

Oh, you said to STOP him... Well, the old alma mater didn't do so hot last night, giving up a ridiculous 353 rushing yards (a career high) to Garrett Wolfe and 610 yards total offense as they fell 40-28 to Northern Illinois in a game that wasn't even as close as the score indicated. The bright spot: true freshman Nate Davis sparkled in his first career start, going 27-38 with 298 yards, 4 TD and (as he's done in each game this season) no interceptions.

Meanwhile, here's your NFL schedule for the day. I'll be back with an update on that later.

Embarrassing

2006-09-30T15:32:00.000-05:00

Way to go Michigan State. You lost to Illinois. To Illinois.

So the Spartans have officially begun their annual ritual of taking the rest of the year off after playing fantastically for most of the Notre Dame game. I can't wait for all the pundits to crap on ND in the next week because MSU is "bad".

Other notable games:

Tennessee plasters Memphis 41-7.

LSU obliterates Mississippi State 48-17.

Wisconsin crushes Indiana 52-17.

Mizzou takes care of Colorado 28-13.

Alabama's leading Florida 10-0 in the 2nd quarter.

The Calvin Johnsons are leading Virginia Tech 21-7.

ND's leading Purdue 28-14.

Oregon's junking Arizona State 14-0.

Call It Smackdown Saturday...

2006-09-30T12:52:00.000-05:00

Some notable scores on this day of routs:

LSU 35 Mississippi State 3, 2:52 left in 1st half

Wisconsin 35 Indiana 0 Halftime

Notre Dame 0 Purdue 0...it's going to be a rout.

The Top 25 agrees with Missouri so far...they're up 14-6 on Colorado.

College Football - Here We Go!

2006-09-30T09:41:00.000-05:00

The weekend of Sept. 30th is underway...on College Gameday that is. The AIM name is abob1086. If you've got anything to say, shoot it my way and it might get in the blog. (That is, it definitely will because I don't think I have enough readers yet for me to reject anyone!)

The schedule of Top 25 games:

Matchups between Top 25 teams
-------------------------------------
(1) Ohio State at (14) Iowa (8 pm, ABC)
(24) Georgia Tech at (11) Virginia Tech (3:30 pm, ABC)*

"Good" Top 25 games
-------------------------
(2) Auburn at S. Carolina (7:30 pm Thursday, ESPN)
Alabama at (5) Florida (3:30 pm)
(6) Michigan at Minnesota (8 pm, ESPN)
Purdue at (12) Notre Dame (2:30 pm, NBC)
(14) Oregon at Arizona State (3:30 pm, ABC)*
(20) California at Oregon State (4 pm)
(23) Rutgers at South Florida (8 pm Friday, ESPN2)

Top 25 mismatches
----------------------
(3) USC at Washington State (7 pm)
Sam Houston State at (7) Texas (7 pm)
Mississippi State at (9) LSU (12:30 pm)*
(10) Georgia at Ole Miss (9 pm, ESPN2)
(15) Tennessee at Memphis (12 pm, ESPN)
BYU at (17) TCU (8 pm Thursday, CSTV)
Louisiana Tech at (18) Clemson (7 pm, ESPNU)
Kansas at (21) Nebraska (7 pm)
(22) Boise State at Utah (3 pm)
Colorado at (25) Missouri (12:30 pm)

NFL Picks - Week 4

2006-09-29T23:33:00.000-05:00

NFL Picks - Week 4

Last Week: 4-8-2 Season: 20-24-2

I make picks every week on the spread. You're catching me in the middle of it, but I'm sure you'll still enjoy.

ATLANTA (-7) over Arizona

Last week = fluke. Oh, and the Cards can't make up their mind on who to start. That never helps.

CAROLINA (-7) over New Orleans

I'm not sure about making this team a 7-point favorite against the 3-0 Saints. But the Letdown Factor is definitely at play here, along with the Monday Night Game Followed By a Road Game Corollary. And if you look at it, the Panthers should have won last week more like 34-7 instead of 26-24. They turned the ball over three times in their own territory, which isn't likely to happen again. I think the Panthers are going to win, but I wouldn't be shocked if they lost. However, this is a must-win game for the Panthers, who'd fall three games out of first with a loss.

This is all a roundabout way of saying that Carolina almost always wins must-win games. And this one will be another one.

Minnesota (+1) over BUFFALO

Was that the real J.P. Losman last week...or the real one two weeks before?

My bet's the former.

San Diego (-2.5) over BALTIMORE

The Sports Guy ranked the Chargers No. 1 in the league in his column this week. I'm not sure I agree with him. But I do think the Bolts are more than good enough to win this game against a bad offense.

Miami (-3.5) over HOUSTON

I don't see any reason to pick the Texans until they win.

TENNESSEE (+9) over Dallas

A key rule in on the spread picking: Be leery of giving more than a touchdown to a home underdog when the road team's wide receiver may have tried to kill himself last week.

San Francisco (+7) over KANSAS CITY

A month ago I picked the Chiefs to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. Now I'm picking them to lose to the NFL's worst 2005 QB at home.

Welcome to the NFL.

Indianapolis (-9) over NY JETS

Another rout. Is it just me or do the Colts never seem to play more than two tough games in the first five games of any given season?

ST. LOUIS (-5.5) over Detroit

It's stupid how close the Lions are to being 0-16 right now.

Jacksonville (-3) over WASHINGTON

If the Jags are for real, they'll rebound from last week's tough loss in Indy to beat a decent Skins team on the road.

New England (+6) over CINCINNATI

Only the Patriots can convince me to pick them on the road against a playoff team with their joke of a receiving corps.

Cleveland (-3) over OAKLAND

A fellow poster of mine on North Side Baseball said it best: "The Raiders should never be getting less than 7 points against anyone."

CHICAGO (-3) over Seattle

This was picked for Seattle before Alexander was struck by the Madden Curse.

Green Bay (+11) over PHILADELPHIA

Next week is T.O. This week is way too many points being given to GB.

Mike Holmgren the Jerk Won't Let Alexander Play on a Broken Foot

2006-09-28T09:30:00.000-05:00

In a move that surprised no one, Mike Holmgren said today that he doesn't plan on letting his star running back, Shaun Alexander, play on a cracked bone in his foot this weekend in Chicago.

The obvious question is, why would Alexander want to play anyway? The only effect this week's game has on Seattle is a possible loss of momentum in the race for the no. 1 seed. Is that really worth risking a major, and I mean like horrific Tyrone Prothro-type injury?

(For the record, him not playing does do one thing: switches my pick for that game to the Bears.)

Plans This Weekend (and all weekends)

2006-09-27T23:42:00.000-05:00

Ok, this is the plan to be the best blog this world has ever seen: Weekend posts. I'm going to be among the few (read: only) bloggers who posts on weekends. In fact, my best stuff will be posted on weekends, at least during football season. I'll post periodic college football updates on Saturdays*, then I'll do the same for the first round of games on Sundays^.

And your opinions are encouraged. I realize traffic is a little low right now in the blog's first week, but I'll be soliciting your opinions through my AIM screen name. It's "abob1086", and if you want your opinions heard during the football weekend, feel free to shoot me a message.

(* - Got a game of my own to go to at 6, so this week's updates will only be posted until about 5:30.)

(^ - I've got a radio show to do at 6 on Sundays, so that's why I'm only doing it that long.)

T.O. May or May Not Have Tried to Off Himself Last Night

2006-09-27T14:34:00.000-05:00

So after last night's episode of induced vomiting, word comes that Terrell Owens tried to kill himself last night.

No, wait. He just had an allergic reaction to the pills he was taking.

No, he tried to kill himself.

No, it was just a reaction.

This has the potential to become one of the dumbest he said/he said's of all time. When asked during the 911 call if he was trying to harm himself, T.O. said he was. Although that could have been the pills talking.

Regardless of the excuse, I think we all can agree it would've been a strange occurrence for fantasy owners: "I got totally screwed this week. My best wideout killed himself."

(Update: Well, it looks like a day of news coverage later, we're all pretty much buying the "reaction to the pills" story. Incredibly, T.O. says he plans to play Sunday...we'll see if Parcells will let that go.)

More Excuses to Spray Champagne All Over the Place

2006-09-27T08:38:00.000-05:00

Well, the Oakland A's clinched the AL West division title last night, leaving the only undecided races as the AL Central division, the NL West division, and the NL wildcard race. (I'm not counting the AL wildcard race since we know that whoever doesn't win the Central will get the wildcard.)

But they probably aren't as happy as Indians fans, who have used the opportunity created by the defending champions being elimi nated to get a little revenge of their own for a certain Ozzie Guillen gesture made last year. Life is sweet.

A Great Golfer Passes On

2006-09-26T16:00:00.000-05:00

A melancholy goodbye to Byron Nelson, one of the great golfers ever, and, of course, namesake of the Byron Nelson Classic.

Nelson won a record 18 tournaments in the 1945 season alone, including a record streak of 11 in a row that only Tiger Woods has even gotten more than halfway to in recent years - and even Woods fell four tournaments short.

Nelson was known as Lord Byron for his royally good swing and his gentlemanly behavior. The golf world won't be the same without him.

The Reign of Terror Is Over

2006-09-26T13:24:00.000-05:00

The Chicago White Sox' reign as world champions officially ended last night with a thud, as they lost 14-1 to Cleveland while Minnesota clinched a playoff spot in front of a crowd of just over 14,000 - which means you won't see anything like that picture to the right this season. Unless Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau come out of the closet between now and the World Series. (I kid, I kid.)

The Sox' reign, at least in my opinion, was marked by flukish years. I did a study last year and found that at least 10 White Sox players played better in 2005 than they had in any other season of their lives (Dye, Garland, Garcia, Uribe, Pierzynski, Podsednik and anyone - I do mean anyone - in the White Sox bullpen were among the "flukes"). Then, as if to prove me and anyone who agreed with me wrong, many of those players, Pierzynski and Dye especially, played even better in 2006. Unfortunately for them, the Tigers pulled a White Sox, leading the division from wire-to-wire behind a great pitching team that came out of nowhere, assuming they don't blow the lead late and get relegated to wildcard status, and Minnesota pulled an Indians, blowing up the league in the 2nd half to threaten for a divisional crown. That leaves the White Sox out in the cold.

And to think that the freakin' Phillies are going to get to play in October.

In the meantime, the Penn State @ Minnesota game which was to be played next month will probably be moved to Thanksgiving weekend to accomodate Twins' home games in the playoffs. Tough luck, Gophers. Maybe if you didn't suck, the Twins would move for you.

Man With the Golden Sperm to Start In Week 4

2006-09-26T08:41:00.000-05:00

Matt Leinart - who apparently has some kind of swimmers - is apparently going to start in Week 4 for the Arizona Cardinals. With all the talk about Vince Young, Jay Cutler, even Kellen Clemens here and there, it will be Leinart who makes the first start by a rookie QB this season.

Last season Kirk Herbstreit called USC vs. Notre Dame a battle between two "future NFL superstars" at QB. Leinart has the chance to start fulfilling the first half of the prophecy on Sunday.

Let's hope if he wins, he doesn't have any more sex. We don't need any more little Leinarts running around.

(Update: Turns out the Cards changed their mind. They'll go with Kurt Warner again at quarterback.)

The Chances of Total Chaos

2006-09-25T22:23:00.000-05:00

For my first actual post, let's estimate and see what the chances are that all 11 teams currently ranked ahead of Notre Dame in the AP poll lose.

Disclaimer before I do this: I in no way believe ND will make or will deserve to make the
national title game at the end of the season.

But because I'm a hopeless optimist, let's see what the chances are of the 11 teams in front of ND losing before January. (Of course, losing is no guarantee that said teams would fall behind Notre Dame.)

1. Ohio State

Possible losses remaining: at Iowa next Saturday, at Michigan St 10/14, vs Michigan 11/18

Odds of losing: Probably somewhere between zero and 10 percent. I really think O$U will be unbeaten going into the Michigan game.

2. Auburn

Possible losses remaining: at S. Carolina next Saturday, vs Florida 10/14, vs Georgia 11/11, at Alabama 11/18, SEC Title Game if they make it there

Odds of losing: I'd say pretty darn good, between 40-55 percent. They're helped by the fact that they don't have a long midseason stretch of tough games, but it's hard to think that the Tigers can get through their remaining tough games, plus the SEC title game (which would make 3 really tough games out of 4) without a blemish.

3. USC

Possible losses remaining: vs Arizona State 10/14, vs Oregon 11/11, vs Cal 11/18, vs ND 11/25

Odds of losing: Well, obviously ND controls their own destiny here. USC probably is not going to lose before the ND game because none of those first three teams are really all that good (except for possibly Oregon - we'll see about them). All those tough games are at home, which helps their cause immensely. Oddly enough, this year's USC team has just as good a chance of playing in the title game as last year's simply because they don't have a tough road game on the schedule. I'd put the odds of USC losing a game at about 25 percent.

4. W. Virginia

Possible losses remaining: at Louisville 11/2, at Pittsburgh 11/16

Odds of losing: 35 percent. That Louisville game will be very tough, especially if Brian Brohm is back for it, which it is believed he will be. The Pitt game could be a surprise, but the Panthers would have to play very well to win that game. It's a crime against football if this team goes unbeaten playing only one very good team.

5. Florida

Possible losses remaining: vs Alabama next Saturday, vs LSU 10/7, at Auburn 10/14, vs Georgia 10/28, vs S. Carolina 11/11, at FSU 11/25, SEC title game if they make it

Odds of losing: 75 percent. Three straight games against Top 10 teams spells real trouble for the Gators.

6. Michigan

Possible losses remaining: at Minnesota next Saturday, vs MSU 10/7, at PSU 10/14, vs Iowa 10/21, at O$U 11/25

Odds of losing: 85 percent. Four games in a row that will be at least moderately tough could foretell a stumble, but looming at the end are the Buckeyes, and I just don't like Michigan's chances in that game.

7. Texas

Possible losses remaining: at Oklahoma 10/7, at Nebraska 10/21, Big 12 title game if they make it

Odds of losing: Tough to place. None of those three teams (the Big 12 North champ, whoever it is, won't be nearly as good as the Horns) looks to have the talent of Texas, but with a first-year starter, you never know. Even so, I put the odds of another Texas loss at just 30 percent.

8. Louisville

Possible losses remaining: vs W. Virginia 11/2, vs S. Florida 11/18, at Pittsburgh 11/25

Odds of losing: I'm putting this at 40 percent. Brohm will be just recently returned from his injury, if he is back, going into the WV game. They will be without Michael Bush. However, their backups have proven capable so far. They don't play anyone else remotely capable of beating them. I added the USF game because they lost to the Bulls last year.

9. LSU

Possible losses remaining: at Florida 10/7, at Tennessee 11/4, vs Alabama 11/11, SEC title game if they make it

Odds of losing: I'll put this at 50 percent, since Florida is a very talented team. Since they're in the same division as Auburn who has already beaten them, the Tigers are this year's version of the team that could potentially make the title game without winning their own division.

10. Georgia

Possible losses remaining: vs Tennessee 10/7, at Florida 10/28, at Auburn 11/11, vs GT 11/25, SEC title game if they make it

Odds of losing: 90 percent. The Dawgs haven't impressed me or many others, and they have four, possibly five, really tough games remaining. I don't see any way they make it through all of them.

11. Virginia Tech

Possible losses remaining: vs GT next Saturday, at BC 10/12, vs Clemson 10/26, at Miami 11/4, ACC title game if they make it

Odds of losing: The Hokies haven't done that many impressive things, but they've done what they've needed to, and they don't play anyone that appears talented enough to stop that determination. I'll put the odds at 30 percent.

As for ND? Well, they'll be 10-1 heading to the Coliseum if they even half-ass their next seven games, and if they don't completely embarrass themelves there, they'll at least play in a BCS game (likely whoever has the first pick in the rotation - Orange or Sugar). But their chances of managing to slip by ten teams (and not get passed up by anyone due to computer rankings)? Not great. Likely between 2-4 percent at best.

Welcome.

2006-09-25T19:11:00.000-05:00

Welcome, folks, to my second attempt at starting a sports blog. I moved it to a Blogger site this time in hopes that it will increase traffic.

My teams, in descending order of my happiness when they win:

- Notre Dame (NCAA) - My mom lived 3 miles from campus until she married my dad. My dad attended Notre Dame. My entire family roots for Notre Dame. It was pretty much inevitable that I'd love them.
- Chicago Cubs (MLB) - Rooted for Atlanta, until my move from South Carolina to Indiana at age 10, and my best friend Mark, a Cubs fan, made me watch the team with him. Inevitably I fell in love with them, although me and the Braves continue to split custody of our children.
- Carolina Panthers (NFL) - Rooted for San Francisco (from my mom, who loved Joe Montana), until Carolina showed up in 1995. Still living in South Carolina at the time, I gave up the Niners (who were the defending Super Bowl champions at the time, by the way) to root for Carolina.
- Chicago Bulls (NBA) - I jumped on the MJ bandwagon, like many others.
- Detroit Red Wings (NHL) - I don't watch a lot of hockey or follow it very aggressively, but my cousins (the only hockey fans I knew for a long time) love the Wings, so I adopted them.

And I also attend Ball State University, so I root for them as well.

If you stop by, leave a comment. I'm hoping this blog is some sort of mixture of Deadspin, Bill Simmons, with a sprinkle of DJ Gallo. We'll see, though.