Sports/Music Crossover: Aerosmith

Well, it was a bizarre day in the Music world as it was reported that Steven Tyler is leaving Aerosmith. I decided the timing was ripe for a sports/music cross-over posting to use some Aerosmith songs to talk about random sports-related stuff that is on my mind.

"Dream On" -Allen Iverson

The A.I. era in Memphis seems to have ended before it started. Despite obvious evidence (last year in Detroit) A.I. seems to think hes still an elite player and is above being a 6th man. When your not even starting for Memphis...the evidence is definitely working against stardom.

"Same Old Song and Dance" - Michael Redd

Redd has been the #1-guy on the Bucks for the last few years. He also has been highly injury prone and played a full season 3 times. New year...same ol result...Redd has already had his first injury and its not even mid-November.

"Make It"- Tyreke Evans

If his recent performance holds up, it looks like Evans will make it in the NBA barring injury and legal trouble. Evans has helped Sacramento not totally embarrass themselves thus far and helped the Kings improve slightly since losing Kevin Martin to injury.

"F.I.N.E"-Chris Kaman

Before the season started, Blake Griffin injured himself and hes expected to be out for another month. Kaman has been the winner (and my Fantasy team) in this situation as hes off to the best start of his career and busting out a 23-10 so far....

"What It Takes"-Cavs

What Cleveland needs to do to keep LeBron James on the Cavs. They do have a couple advantages. LeBron is a local kid and may not want to leave his roots. Also, the Knicks/Nets are both terrible teams. The Cavs may not have the best supporting cast but its an improvement from a couple years ago and the Knicks as a team are so ravaged beyond belief that not even LeBron can help them.

"Crazy"- Warriors

If championships were won on internal chaos, bad D and inflated egos...the Golden State Warriors would be defending champs. Last year Golden State was anything but golden regressing deeply from the team that upset Dallas a couple years ago. Looks like some things never change.

"Draw The Line"-Sammy Sosa

If your drawing the line between normal and bizarre, the recent Sammy Sosa pictures definitely cross that line. It already was a bad year for Sosa as a positive steroid test was revealed this summer. Its definitely taken a bizarre turn the last few days with pictures coming out with his skin appearing to be bleached....definitely falls under the category of if they wrote about it but didn't show any pictures, I probably wouldn't believe it....definitely one of those you couldn't make it up type of things....also the first and last time I mention it

"My Fist Your Face" John Riggins/Dan Snyder/Redskins

As bad as the Packers have been....I can at least think to myself things such as "At least i'm not A Redskins fan". In addition to routinely losing to the worst teams in the league (The Packers are at least 2-1 in this department).

Their coach, Jim Zorn defines ineptness. Their owner, Dan Snyder spends money in all the wrong places. One of their ex-players John Riggins has openly ripped Dan Snyder. I say they settle their differences and have a Family Guy-style fight (either in the veins of cleveland vs. quagmire or in the peter griffin vs. the giant chicken vein)...my vote is for option B

"Train Kept A-Rollin"-Saints/Colts

While both games were a bit close for comfort, the Saints and Colts kept a-rollin towards possible 16-0 seasons and their inevitable match-up in the Super Bowl.

"Rag Doll"-Packers O-Line

Cause, the Packers O-Line has been chewed up like a rag doll. Seriously, at this point there are probably high school teams in Wisconsin that could protect Aaron Rodgers better than the Packers. It reminds me of that NFL Draft commercial from a few years back where they photo-shopped the Texans "O-Line" out and showed footage of David Carr being sacked.

It was funnier a few years ago but considering ESPN will probably replace that footage with Aaron Rodgers getting sacked within a few months.....the comical value goes down. Through 8 games, Rodgers has been sacked 37 times...the single season record is 76.......this record could change hands by the end of the season.

The Breakthrough

I was going to post on the NFL today but since it was turning into a semi-coherent rant about me not liking the fact that the Packers gave Tampa their first win.....I decided to go another route.

I was flipping through the channels earlier today and ESPN Classic was replaying the 1983 Sugar Bowl between Penn State and Georgia which is significant because it was the first national championship that Joe Paterno won.

It got me to thinking to which teams within the short term (10 years) are most likely to break through and win their first championship (counting the post-1936 era)....looking through this weeks AP top 25 there are a dozen teams (Cincinnati, Houston, Boise State Oregon, Iowa, Utah, Oklahoma State, Arizona, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, South Florida and Stanford) without a Division 1-A championship to their name.

This is my countdown from 12 to 1 on the likeliness for these teams to break through and win a championship sometime within the next decade.

12-Houston

Houston has been an interesting team to say the least. This is the most success they've experienced since the late 80s/early 90s run and shoot era. They have good wins against Oklahoma State and Texas Tech but much of their success this year is on the arm of Case Keenum. Its made for some interesting football (i.e. a thrilling win over Tulsa that was relegated to CBS College Sports). The reality is it will tough to maintain this high level if they can't improve their defense and have a QB as good or better than Case Keenum once he graduates.

11-Iowa

Iowa has always been one of those teams playing in the shadows of Ohio State/Penn State. They've been a program that can be penciled in for anywhere from 6-10 wins a year and be in and out of the Top 25. Iowa being in the top 5 going into this weekend seemed to be an aberration. In reality they were a few breaks away from having 3 or 4 losses already. I don't really see them breaking the ceiling.

10-Arizona

In reality, Arizona and Stanford are interchangeable in these rankings. Arizona has been on the rise since Mike Stoops took over the program but they are still a ways away from breaking through to the elite tear.

9-Stanford

They could go higher up the list depending on how far they progress under Jim Harbaugh. While Jim Harbaugh inherited a pretty bad team a few years ago, the seeds for Stanford breaking the Top 25 have been visible since their upset over USC a couple years ago. For Stanford it all depends on whether they plateau at a borderline top-25 school or whether they break through and can dethrone USC for a year or two.

8-South Florida

South Florida has come along way, considering they didn't even have a football team until 1997. They have had some brushes with success even getting as high as #2 for one week in 2007. Still, they have yet to prove to hold up this caliber of play for an entire year. At this point, October seems to be their vice. Considering they play in a Big East conference that is more concerned with basketball, they could have a shot if they run the table one year and get enough breaks.

7-Wisconsin

A classic example of a team that was able to break through from mediocre to above average but haven't experienced greatness. Barry Alvarez turned this program around and rescued them from mediocrity. The Badgers first break through came in 1993 when they won the Big Ten title and beat UCLA in the Rose Bowl. They have won a few Rose Bowls since but we're 16 years down the road and they have yet to break through.

6-Cincinnati

This year could be their best chance. That is not saying much considering they are in the Top 5 and a lot of unlikely things need to happen for them to break through. They pretty much need at least 3 teams out of Florida, Alabama, Texas and TCU to lose. One of Florida and Alabama will lose but Texas has a fairly clear path and TCU has a tough game against Utah as their major barrier.

5-Oklahoma State

Their chances looked much better earlier this year. They beat Georgia (when it meant something) got into the top 5 but slipped up against Houston a week later. Furthermore, they haven't been at full strength since Dez Bryant got suspended. Still, they have a couple things on their side. First, they play in a competitive Big 12 conference so they don't need to worry about strength of schedule concerns. Second, they have the money to breakthrough as their programs has received millions and a new stadium thanks to the donations of T.Boone Pickens. Obviously this year is a lost cause but with a higher profile and money on their side, they at have a fighting chance.

4- Utah

Utah has been trying to be the non-AQ trailblazer. They were the first to get into a BCS Bowl game. After losing Urban Meyer, they proved that this wasn't a fluke last year by getting to another BCS bowl (although they should of had a chance to play for the national title).

3-Oregon

More of a hunch on this one. They got robbed of a shot in 2001 but I think Chip Kelly is the coach to take them over the top. While they took a step back after their loss to Stanford yesterday...it was impressive how they bounced back after their horrible loss to Boise State and made a season out of it when everyone they could have easily folded. My instinct is they get over the hump with Chip Kelly.

2-Virginia Tech

While V.Tech has been slightly disappointing this year, they are a team that is in the discussion for a title (for at least a little bit). They are a fairly established team, they are competitive year in and year out....its a matter of when not if for this program

1-Boise State

I'm not sure what changes are in store for the next decade but at least one of the changes will help Boise State break the barrier. Boise State is college football's equivalent to Gonzaga in that their team profile is beyond the conference they play in. I could see anything from tweaks in the BCS......a playoff system (more of a pipe dream but come in it only works for every other sports organization) to Boise State moving up to a more competitive conference (either MWC or Pac-10)...that would silence the critics who point out to their weak strength of schedule.

Ranting and Raving About College Football

Well we've come into November and the College Football season is coming down to the wire........my thinking about todays action goes like this:

Iowa lost......not too surprised

Iowa had spent most of the season flirting with losses to teams ranked significantly lower than them. As much as I want teams to get their first crack at a title...if for nothing else to annoy people like this the reality is, Iowa has been more lucky than good this year. Its one thing if it happens once but Iowa barely escaped to often against medicore-to bad teams such as Indiana, Michigan State and Northern Iowa. Well now the only thing to hope for in the Big 11 is to attempt (with the emphasis on attempt) to not embarrass themselves in their respective bowl games.

We don't have to worry about the Oregon vs. Boise State BCS Rankings Controversy

Coming into Saturday, Oregon seemed poised to pass Boise State in the BCS Rankings this year. This wouldn't be a big deal other than the fact that Boise had embarrassed Oregon on earlier this year. This would have set a terrible precedent and given a notch of pride to those who are biased against teams just because of the conference they play in. The reality for Oregon is Loss To Stanford=Better Luck next year.

How many games do Notre Dame have to lose before people realize they are NOT an elite program

One thing that gets to me on a yearly basis is why do we have to hear about Notre Dame on a yearly basis and why do they get rewarded for their mediocre product with their own TV Contract. I understand that they were once a great program....but that time has come and gone. Sure there are other players/teams that get over-exposed in the media (Florida cough cough Tim Tebow cough cough) but at least they've accomplished something on the field and won championships lately. Considering the short attention span of our society...Notre Dame's loss to Navy could bring us one step closer to Notre Dame being treated like the 7-5 team that they are.

The most ignorant College Football phrase of the day goes to....

Matt Hinton of Dr.Saturday for this anti-outsider line

Now if Florida, Alabama and Texas can only keep winning and somebody can finally do something about Cincinnati, everything will be falling into the proper order.

If this doesn't say I love the status quo, i'm not sure what does. Seriously, what is wrong with given an outside the box team a chance for the title, assuming they take care of business on their end. Honestly, Florida has won their share this decade, the media is in love with Tim Tebow...if Florida lost their last couple days and settled for the Citrus Bowl, it wouldn't exactly break my heart.

Alabama has returned to the elite after doing their best Notre Dame imitation for about 15 years...I would rather see them than Florida in the title game..only problem is their coach Nick Saban is one of those coaches who only sticks around until he can find someone to pay him more money

Texas has already won this decade and it would be tough to top their battle with USC...

Which brings me around to my main point of equaling a non-traditional power like Cincinnati being snubbed being equivalent to proper order. If nothing else, it would be good for College Football as a whole. Cincinnati was a team that wasn't ranked to start the season. If a team like Cinci got in, it would show that if your dominant enough and take care of business, you had a chance to win it all regardless of preseason perceptions or how big of a name you are. Granted the problem with this analogy is Cincinnati plays in Big East but at the same time something like this would be a first step towards some of the non-BCS teams such Boise, TCU, etc. from getting a chance to play for a title sooner than later.....because really...in this case "proper order" isn't equivalent to fair.....

Hot Stove Rundown--Only 150 Days to Opening Day

So, today was the first full day of the Baseball off-season. But some baseball news did happen today

OMG!!!!! Tim Lincecum got caught with trace amounts of pot

Apparently this is a big enough story to make Lincecum #16 on Google Trends (as of 9 P.M. Pacific Time) and is splattered all over the front page of Ball Hype. Personally, I could care less whether or not Lincecum likes to smoke weed. I have a bad gut feeling that the media will try to blow this like the whole Michael Phelps picture where hes taking a bong rip. If he got caught with something like Crystal Meth, then it would be a big deal

but c'mon....its the off-season, he pitched better than everyone except Chris Carpenter in the NL in '09 and he Spring Training is still a few months away.....anyways thats my take on it...hopefully this is both the first and last day people talk about this

Jeremy Hermida traded to the Red Sox

Former First Round pick Jeremy Hermida has finished off the Florida Marlins portion of his career. As a top prospect big things were expected from him but he has been plagued by bad defense and has been an average player.

It may be speculative but I see either two motives behind this trade A) This is a minor first step for the Red Sox to re-tool after an early playoff exit and they see Hermida getting 200-300 plate appearances as either a back-up outfielder or someone to fill in at DH if Big Papi gets hurt or takes a day off B) Hermida is a stop gap option in case they are unable to retain Jason Bay and/or pick up an elite left fielder to replace Bay if they were to lose. Considering that Hermidas big league performance has been most similar to Jody Gerut and Ryan Church.......I definitely see option A is the much more likely scenario

Mark Teahen Traded To The White Sox.....maybe.....maybe not

This development has been a bit strange. First, its always odd when divisional rivals trade with each other. Second, there seem to be conflicting reports on whether or not this trade went down. If it does...it would mark another deal centered around an under performing 1st round pick.

Teahen was a former first-round pick (like Hermida) who hasn't had the greatest start to his career. Hes a versatile player with experience in both the infield and outfield. While the MoneyBall claim of him being the next Jason Giambi isn't going to come true.....his career should be rejuvenated by escaping the baseball purgatory of Kansas City.

He was traded for Chris Getz who struggled at the plate in his first full season. The White Sox also threw in Josh Fields who has gotten very little playing time since his rookie season in '07. The discussion of this trade may prove to be counter-productive if it turns out it isn't completed but its still interesting to speculate about either way.

Week 9 Preview

Well, another Thursday is here. Sadly, the Yankees won the World Series, Baseball Season Is Over, according to Baseball Reference we have 151 Days until opening Day........or about 120 days longer than the George Lopez late night show is going to last......but that's neither here nor there........time to see whats on tap for football

Tier I: Cheesehead Tier

Packers 4-3 vs. Buccaneers 0-7

The Packers are coming off another tough loss at the hands of some old guy who used to play for them. The Packers have a couple things going for them this week. They take care of business against terrible teams and they play Tampa Bay this week.

Even with how quickly things change in the NFL Tampa Bay's fall from respectability to atrocity is fairly shocking plus they throw Josh Freeman to the wolves on Sunday.

Packers 31 Buccaneers 0

Tier II:

Steelers 5-2 vs. Broncos 6-1

The Steelers are rolling along after a slow start to the season. The Broncos have been playing it close all year and finally lost a game last week. The Steelers are the better team on paper but these games aren't played on paper. The Broncos are playing this one extra motivated after being blown out by Baltimore.

Broncos 27 Steelers 24 (OT)

Cowboys 5-2 vs. Eagles 5-2

Epic NFC East match-up between a couple of teams playing pretty well. The Cowboys seem to be hitting their peak right now and the Eagles are coming off a good win against the Giants. These teams are a push but Dallas seems to be playing better recently.

Cowboys 31 Eagles 24

Ravens 4-3 vs. Bengals 5-2

Another interesting match-up. Baltimore removed Denver from the ranks of the unbeaten and have a 4-3 record that doesn't do them justice. The Bengals have been a poor-mans Broncos. Outside of their win against the Bears they've flirted with losing most of the season. Considering the Ravens took care of business against Denver, they'll most likely do the same against Cinci.

Ravens 28 Bengals 14

Tier III: Worth at least checking out

Chargers 4-3 vs. Giants 5-3

A battle of a couple teams going in different directions. The Chargers had their yearly slow start and thanks to a couple weeks of inept opposition, they have their season back on track. The Giants looked to be an elite team earlier this year but they haven't been the same since being demoralized by the Saints. I see both trends continuing on Sunday.

Chargers 31 Giants 20

Cardinals 4-3 vs. Bears 4-3

Both teams need this game to keep pace in the wild-card race. I'm still on the fence with both teams on whether they are contenders or pretenders. I'm arbitrarily picking Arizona because they're not the Bears.

Cardinals 28 Bears 17

Texans 5-3 vs. Colts 7-0

The Texans have played better the last few weeks but I don't see them winning for a few reasons. A) Unless proven otherwise...they're an average to slightly above average team B) Steve Slaton is having issues holding on to the ball and i'm not sure one good game from Ryan Moats is enough to say their running game issues are resolved C) They're playing the colts

Colts 35 Texans 27

Dolphins 3-4 vs. Patriots 5-2

Upset special of the week. Dolphins have been playing better since a rough start, they have shown an ability to stay competitive against the two best teams in the league...they just haven't been able to close it out...they get their breakthrough win here.

Dolphins 35 Patriots 31

Tier IV: Close Games, Bad Teams

Chiefs 1-6 vs. Jaguars 3-4

The Chiefs have been uninspiring to say the least. The Jaguars leave the same empty feeling. The Jags lost to a terrible Titans team last week......I don't see them losing to a terrible team two weeks in a row...they may be terrible ....but they're not the Redskins.

Jaguars 21 Chiefs 14

Lions 1-6 vs. Seahawks 2-5

The Lions-Rams game may have been atrocious, but this game isn't going to be much better. Both teams are a wreck.......gut instinct says the Lions find a way to not lose.

Lions 5 Seahawks 3

Titans 1-6 vs. 49ers 3-4

If nothing else the Titans at least took them selves out of the running of being the second 0-16 team. The 49ers still have a shot to salvage their season but they need to get things in order like now. Not too much shame in losing to the Colts.....all you can hope for is to not get embarrassed and the niners at least pulled that off. The Alex Smith redemption tour has a good Sunday.

49ers 21 Titans 13

Tier V: The Blowouts

Redskins 2-5 vs. Falcons 4-3

Luckily only a couple laughers this week. The Redskins have been surrounded in controversy much of the season. The controversy flavor of the week is the terribleness of Dan Snyder as a person. We all know hes inept as a team owner....should be (irrelevant) interesting how this turns out. The Falcons are coming off a couple tough losses and a couple weeks worth of frustration to take out on a hapless Redskins team.

Falcons 35 Redskins 3

Panthers 3-4 vs. Saints 7-0

The Panthers were the team NOT turning the ball over for once last week. Don't see the same thing happening Sunday. Nothing against them but the Saints have demoralized superior competition.

Saints 49 Panthers 17

Top 10 Clutch QBs --Not Top 10 Moments

Alright, so I didn't get around to a Part II Football Column. It was devolving into incoherent dis-pleasure over the Packers-Vikings game anyways. I was looking for a way to do something football-related and deciding on the following:

Recently, Forbes did a top 10 list listing the top 10 Clutch QBs well, I decided to work with this but with a twist, I decided to talk about : the league's 10 top 10 Clutch QB's and do a semi-serious not top 10 moments for each QB.....most of them aren't serious knocks (well most of them)...anyways the list

10- Kurt Warner

Not digging that thing he did in the off-season. Openly discussing retirement, the rumors about him going to the rival 49ers to leverage a higher contract. Unlike some other QBs he at least decided against jumping to a divisional rival..........not sure where he got ideas like this but he was a 4th string QB when a certain player was starting for Green Bay....just putting it out there

9- Drew Brees

He got placed below 8 QBs on this list......dude is like the best QB in the league this year....the closest I can come to a not top 10 moment is um............he's just been too good

8- Carson Palmer

Hes been stuck on a lot of bad Bengals team.......this year could be different though

7-Brett Favre

Hmm...where to start....his playoff performance after 1997.......his inability to beat the Giants in the 2007 NFC Championship Game......setting an all-time record for retirements......going to the Vikings........throwing away 15+ years of good will......no definitely not bitter about this....not at all.....capitalizing off his retirement waffling to make a Sears commercial.......

6-Donovan McNabb

In that episode of It's Always Sunny where the Gang tries out for the Eagles, there's some dude who says he's "Donovan McNabb" who is clearly an impostor......no appearance from the real McNabb

5- Phillip Rivers

He has to play on a Norv Turner coached team....thats punishment enough

4- Peyton Manning

This one time...I watched a whole quarter of a football game....and Peyton Manning did not appear in a single commercial.......totally not clutch....how else am I supposed to know about how great direct TV is and what to buy

3- Eli Manning

He isn't even the QB with the last name Manning....still has a ways to catch up to his brothers level on the field and in commercial appearances

2- Ben Roethlisberger

Hasn't won a Super Bowl in 9 months......considering a Super Bowl hasn't been played since then I guess going 9 months isn't a bad thing

1-Tom Brady

That one episode of Family Guy where he couldn't deal with Peter Griffin's antics for an entire episode.......

Sunday Randomness Part I:(Non-Football) Edition

Alright, haven't posted in a couple days and I figured it was about time:

Friday night, I got my first chance to watch some NBA Action. Caught part of the Clippers-Jazz game and Lakers-Mavs. The Clippers look light they are the same 'ol Clippers, they kept it close for 3 quarters....but things fell apart in the 4th quarter and they got blown out. In other words, some things never change

Lakers-Mavs game was more surprising. While not much stock can be taken in an early season game, the Mavs surprisingly outplayed the Lakers.

Speaking of Basketball I got the new Bill Simmons book, the Book of Basketball in the mail the other day. I'm still in the process of reading it (the thing is like 700 pages long and you could almost do a full work out just by lifting the book).....its a good read so far, i'll probably discuss it more as I work my way through it.........

Also, I got a chance to watch part of the MLB Network special about the 1984 Padres. Didn't know too much about the squad other than they were the team that lost the '84 Series to the Tigers. If you get the chance to , its definitely worth checking out.