The Sad Thing Is That The Redskins Are Still Alive

           

The Skins beat the NFC South leading Carolina Panthers yesterday.  And why not...they've beaten the Jaguars and Cowboys this season.  Oh, and lost to the Buccaneers and Titans [which now doesn't seem so bad].

The ugly thing is that the Skins are still right in the thick of the playoff chase.  Yeah, they are.

The NFC playoff picture shows the Giants and Panthers at 6-5 and leading the wildcard race.  Trailing them are the Vikings, Eagles, Niners, Rams and Falcons at 5-6. 

Washington [4-7] is just two games back of the wildcard lead with five weeks to play.  Seems impossible and it kind of is.  Until you remember:

-The Redskins own the tiebreaker with the Panthers due to that win.  Somehow breaking even with them is a reasonable goal.

-Next week the Redskins host the Falcons.  Atlanta has lost four in a row and are 5-6.  A win there, and the Skins tie with Atlanta and own the tiebreaker.

-After that, the Redskins host the Eagles.  Philly has lost Donovan McNabb for the season and are reeling a bit.  Washington hung tough in their earlier meeting....and if not for three huge plays given up, had a shot.  A win here puts them even with the Eagles [5-6].

-Then the Skins go to New Orleans.  That's a tough one.

-On Christmas Eve, the Skins deal with the Rams.  The Rams are 5-6, so a win there could open up a key tiebreaker.

-The last game is at home with the Giants.  Have you heard anything about their little skid of late??? 

Of course it's a tough run and one, frankly, the Skins haven't shown an ability to run off.  But if this team gets hot like it did last year....they are capable of beating all of these teams.  If so, they'd own the tiebreaker with the Panthers, Rams and Falcons [they already lost the tiebreaker to the Vikings and would own splits with the Eagles and Giants]. 

Hey, ya never know.

Week 4: Sportz College Football Bracketology

                                                 

I grew up on Mr Rogers....so I'm going to live in the land of make believe right now.  Like Joe Lunardi does on ESPN's college hoops, I'm doing the same for football.  Yeah, I know that there isn't a playoff in college football...but who cares!  In my mind, there is.  And here is my bracketology.  It's based on a 12-team format where the 6 BCS conference champions get in....at least 1 team from the non-BCS conferences...and 5 at large bids.  The lower seed plays at home. 

1-OHIO STATE* vs winner of....
8-ARKANSAS vs 9-OKLAHOMA*

Ohio State has clinched the top seed in my tournament with their undefeated season.  Arkansas and Oklahoma are actually tied for the #8 spot in the BCS...so it is fitting they fight here.  Of course, a Razorbacks win in the SEC title game and they could move to the #4 or #5 seed.  Oklahoma could get bumped out all together with a loss to Nebraska in the Big XII championship game. 

4-FLORIDA* vs winner of....
5-LOUISVILLE* vs 12-NOTRE DAME

Florida could move up to a #2 or #3 seed with an SEC title and a USC loss to UCLA. If West Virginia beats Rutgers this Saturday, Louisville becomes Big East champions.  If not, L'ville still gets in.  The Irish eek in despite their less than stellar resume. 

3-MICHIGAN vs winner of...
6-LSU vs 11-GEORGIA TECH/WAKE FOREST*

I still think Michigan is the #3 seed in the nation because (a) they are one of the best three teams plus (b) I want to put them in the opposite bracket as Ohio State.  LSU is deserving of the #5 seed, but I've moved them from a quarterfinal game with SEC mate Florida.   The winner of the ACC title game nails down the #11 spot.

2-USC* vs winner of....
7-WISCONSIN vs 10-BOISE STATE*

USC stays at the #2 spot with the win over Notre Dame.  Hey, Wisconsin is a 1-loss team that no one is talking about.  They haven't beaten anyone...which is the reason they are the 7th seed.  BSU gets that non-BCS at large bid and the only team not named Ohio State that is undefeated. 

Dot Com Toilet Bowl

Thanks to my main man and fellow blog buddy Treesoup over at The Wildcat Blog in his shout out about this song dedicated to the crap called the BCS.  As you know, we here at SportzAssassin.com hate the current bowl format and have been doing everything in our power [i.e. whining about it] to make a change. 

This year, we have the Papajohns.com Bowl.  The Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl.  The Meineke Car Care Bowl.  The MPC Computers Bowl.  And the International Bowl.  This is better than a playoff system???  Please.  Anyways...enjoy the video. 

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!  In the sports world, Thanksgiving marks a great time in all areas of sport.  There a plethora of rivalry games in college football; the NFL is coming into the playoff stretch;  the NBA is starting to find it's legs;  NCAA hoops are in tournament mode;  baseball's offseason gets heated up; and the NHL is in full stride.

So while you are looking for some talk at the Turkey Table...feast on these opinions that you can steal for your own....

OHIO STATE ARE ALREADY THE NATIONAL CHAMPS:  Here is another problem with the BCS:  Ohio State has already won the national championship.  Honestly...what other school can make a case for a national championship but the Buckeyes??  They beat the #2 ranked team TWICE this year [Texas, then Michigan] and navigated thru the season undefeated.  Yeah, they could lose the BCS Bowl....but that would place them among a ton of 1-loss teams.  And if I survey everything....Ohio State still has the best case for a title. 

THE AFC WILL WIN THE SUPER BOWL AGAIN:  How can't they??  The Colts, Chargers, Patriots and Ravens are playing lights out right now and can topple anything the NFC throws out there.  The Bears??  Please.  Rex Grossman is as shaky as Katherine Hepburn after she drank a pot of coffee while smoking some crack.  Seattle won't have the home field to bank on this year and must get their two main cogs back in the flow of things.  The Cowboys are playing better than anyone in the NFC right now...but can this team actually stick together to make a big time postseason run??  The Giants and Panthers do their best to trip themselves up.  And who really believes in the Saints?? 

LIKE MY HEELS:  The UNC Tar Heels have played four games thus far...and are a decent 3-1 after losing to Gonzaga.  The problem I have is the way the team performs in the first half.  Too much one-on-one play and too many bad shots.  We've had deficits in all but one game so far...and it finally bit us in Madison Square Garden.  Still, these growing pains are accepted, but need to be worked on going into a stretch where the Heels face Tennessee, Ohio State and Kentucky in the span of 8 days. 

HOW CAN THREE TWINS GET MVP VOTES???  Heading into the American League MVP voting...I couldn't care if Derek Jeter won or not.  But now I really think he should've won....mainly on the voting results.  Three of the top seven AL vote getters were from the Minnesota Twins.  So, if the Twins had three of the best players in the league....how is one the most valueable in the AL????   Take one of the team....and there are still two guys who are having an MVP season.  One of those guys, Johan Santana, won the Cy Young award.  The other, Joe Mauer, won the AL batting title.  So how is Justin Moreneau so darn valuable???  To be fair, Jeter didn't have any teammates that high in the voting....but A-Rod, Jason Giambi and Johnny Damon finished 13th, 14th and 15th...for whatever it's worth.

THE NHL IS SOOOO COOL:  To be honest, I have paid zero attention to the NHL season thus far.  The NHL regular season is horrible and a bear to watch.  I do love the Cup playoffs...which even lessens the drama of the regular season.  I will say that I miss the "mighty" Ducks. 

5'9 Nate Robinson Punks 7'6 Yao Ming

Where Are My Redskins???

              

BUCCANEERS 20-REDSKINS 17 [Sportz 1-0 this week; 87-57 this season]:  Look, I accept the fact that it will take a miracle for the Skins to make the playoffs.  But there is a shot.  If Washington won this game, they'd be 4-6 and possibly just two games back of the top spot in the NFC East [provided the Giants lose to the Jags tonight].  We get the Giants and Eagles in our place...plus have games with the Panthers, Falcons, Rams and Saints....teams we'd be battling for a playoff spot.  Tough sked??  Yeah, but you can't call yourself a playoff team without beating up on some playoff hopefuls. 

Never mind that now.  This team is dead.  Dead.  We ran the ball just 20 times in a close game.  Twenty.  I know there's no Portis there....but Ladell Betts is pretty good and we dealt away a 3rd rounder for TJ Duckett.  This once vaunted defense let Tampa rush for 181 yds on it.  And...if we keep up like this, we'll end up with a 3-13 record and the #1 pick.   Or did we trade that away for Troy Vincent????

STEELERS 24-BROWNS [Sportz 2-0, 88-57]:  Big Ben did it again.  Threw for a slew of yards and TDs....and interceptions.  And Willie Parker scored two more times.  And in the screwed up world, the Steelers are right in the playoff mix.

PATRIOTS 35-PACKERS 0 [Sportz 3-0, 89-57]:  Was that theraputic?  New England vented off a two game losing streak by smacking around G-Bay.  It was so bad that Favre was okay to re-enter the game after an injury....but they figured it was over. 

CHIEFS 17-RAIDERS 13 [Sportz 4-0, 90-57]:  If the offense did anything...Oakland could be a pleasant surprise this season.   Their defense is not bad at all.   But the offense blows.  LaMont Jordan and Randy Moss have been huge busts [Moss caught as many passes as I did].  Oh, and the Chiefs overcame Trent Green's sluggish return because they have Mr. Larry Johnson. 

DOLPHINS 24-VIKINGS 20 [Sportz 5-0, 91-57]:  Miami won this game despite rushing for -3 yards.  Yeah, NEGATIVE THREE YARDS!!!  Hey, weren't these Vikings supposed to contend in the NFC North?  Well, I think the Bears have almost clinched their division now. 

BENGALS 31-SAINTS 16 [Sportz 5-1, 91-58]:  This game could've turned into the shootouts both played last week...but the Saints couldn't convert in the redzone.  Bad turnovers and big plays given up defensively created this loss.  And without Marques Colston, Drew Brees was held to 510 passing yards...the 6th highest in NFL history.  Not bad.  Neither is that Carson to Chad hookup which has resulted in 450 yards over the past two weeks.  Not bad at all.

BEARS 10-JETS 0 [Sportz 6-1, 92-58]:  This game stunk to watch. 

More to come later...

NBA and NHL All Star Voting

Yep, it is just a few weeks into the season and it's already time to make your NBA All Star game picks.  This year, that's a big deal since the game will be in Las Vegas and you'll get to pick a pool of players in which at least ONE of them will get in some sort of trouble that weekend.

Vote for the NBA All Star team here: NBA All Star Balloting 2007

Also, vote for the NHL All Star team here:  NHL.com All-Star Ballot (2006-2007)

PART ONE: Who Do I Think Should Play Ohio State???

                   

This is PART ONE of my look at the current state of the BCS and its involvement in deciding our national champion in college football.   I've said my piece on why we need a playoff system....but I'm not using this to beat that dead horse.  This is just some takes on the system as it is. 

We know Ohio State is in the BCS National Championship Game in 51 days.  But who will play them?

It's the big question of the weekend...and really over the next three weeks before the final BCS standings all week.  For the three weeks after the bowls are set, we will discuss who got screwed.

I think over 260 million people have aired their opinion on this matter...so I'm going to weigh in with mine.  Who should be the next team to take their swing at 'em??

SHOULD IT BE MICHIGAN?  That's the odd chip in this mess.  Michigan has one loss and that was at #1 Ohio State by three points.  With the system as it is right now....I say "yes".  Yes, because if the system is designed to pit the two best teams in the country....then these two teams [who may be the best] should meet for the title.  Now, that's my feeling under the current system.  However, I DO NOT LIKE the fact that Michigan....who didn't win their conference....should have a chance to win the National Championship if they can't win their conference.  This ain't basketball; they have a tournament.  I also don't like the fact that Michigan could win the title because they beat the Buckeyes in the do-over game in Arizona.  How's that fair to Ohio State??  Why not have a third meeting a week later to break the tie?? 

SHOULD IT BE USC??  I, personally, think that USC has the strongest case for a shot at the title.  They would have beaten Arkansas and Notre Dame [both are fighting for a shot at the title] plus toppled Nebraska, Oregon and California....and a few others that we may see in bowl games this winter.  The stinker is that USC's loss was to ugly Oregon State.  Nothing against the Beavers....but Michigan fans can point to their loss being to Ohio State, and Florida could point to their lone loss to Auburn.  USC does have Arkansas cornered due to their win in Fayetteville earlier in the season. 

SHOULD IT BE FLORIDA???  I think Florida needs Notre Dame to beat USC for the Gators to have any shot at getting there.  Still, the Irish could pass them up.  Florida will have big wins over Tennessee, LSU and Arkansas to buoy them a bit.  The problem is that voters have been turned off by this team's squeaky wins and the fact that the SEC wasn't the Mighty Conference it was supposed to be [it still is the best in the nation].  To me, their advantage over Michigan is the fact that they are champions of a conference [which Michigan isn't]....possibly the nation's best conference.  Their loss to Auburn isn't a shameful one. 

SHOULD IT BE ARKANSAS????  In the same conference, Arkansas thinks it has a shot.  It's a small one, but a reasonable one.  They'd have to beat Florida in the SEC title and pray that USC gets beaten by Notre Dame.  Why?  Well, USC put a 50-14 beating on them waaaaay back in September and the voters would tend to use that tiebreaker against the Razorbacks.  But that's it.  Arkansas would have won all 9 SEC games this year...the best conference in the nation.  They would have beaten LSU, Auburn, Tennessee and Florida to get there.  Uh, but they also beat Utah State, Southeast Missouri State and Louisiana Monroe to get here. 

SHOULD IT BE NOTRE DAME?????  The Irish have a tough arguement.  They've beaten no one of note [the win over the Georgia Tech Yellowjackets is the best they have]...until they pop USC.  Even then, Michigan drubbed them by 26 points at Notre Dame Stadium and those kind of things get held against you....especially when voters are sizing up those resumes. 

SHOULD IT BE BOISE STATE??????  Yeah, just because they are the only other undefeated.  Yeah, if they were in the SEC...they'd have a few losses.  So?  They are a Division I school in a Division I conference.  If that means you cannot compete for a championship than that's a shame.  Why even have them around??  Oh, you need San Jose State available to pad your victory total?  They aren't one of the top two teams in the nation....but why not let them in?? 

Steve Spurrier To The Miami Hurricanes???

                     

I'd hate to be at the Coker house this Thanksgiving.

As the Miami Hurricanes coach sits down with his family to eat, drink and give thanks this holiday....he will be walking onto a chopping block just as the leftovers are being put away.

The Miami Hurricanes play Boston College on Thanksgiving Day.  Larry Coker is expected to be fired not long after the final whistle sounds.

Coker, you remember, won a National Championship with the Canes in his first season at the helm....capping off a great program transition built up by Butch Davis, who left the Canes for the NFL's Cleveland Browns [Davis was just named the new coach to fellow ACC member North Carolina earlier this week].  But under Coker, the program had gotten a bit out of control....with a brawl against Florida International being a signature moment of the demise. It doesn't help that Miami is 5-6 and with a loss to BC on Thursday, would be bowl-ineligible.  Amazing, since this was a top 15 team when the season began.

With Coker out, word is that Miami will go after Steve Spurrier....currently the South Carolina head coach.  That could work out for nearly everyone...since Spurrier would be able to go back to Florida to coach and be able to compete for a national championship...something that isn't likely [but not impossible] at South Carolina. 

Week 3: Sportz College Football Bracketology

                                                  

I grew up on Mr Rogers....so I'm going to live in the land of make believe right now.  Like Joe Lunardi does on ESPN's college hoops, I'm doing the same for football.  Yeah, I know that there isn't a playoff in college football...but who cares!  In my mind, there is.  And here is my bracketology.  It's based on a 12-team format where the 6 BCS conference champions get in....at least 1 team from the non-BCS conferences...and 5 at large bids.  The lower seed plays at home. 

1-OHIO STATE* vs winner of....
8-LOUISVILLE* vs 9-LSU

Ohio State has clinched the top seed in my tournament with their undefeated season.  With Rutgers' loss to Cincinnati....the Big East race boils down to Rutgers or Louisville.  A Rutgers win means they and the Cards are 6-1 in conference...with Rutgers owning the tiebreaker by beating Louisville.  A Rutgers loss means Louisville and West Virginia tie at 6-1 in conference...with Louisville owning the tiebreat with their win over the 'Neers.  I think WVU wins.  LSU is scary enough that they could win this tournament. 

4-FLORIDA* vs winner of....
5-NOTRE DAME vs 12-GEORGIA TECH*

Florida could move up to a #2 or #3 seed with an SEC title and a USC loss to Notre Dame.   Speaking of Notre Dame, they could launch up to a bye with a win over USC.  Most likely, they'd take the Trojans spot on this line and could actually take the #2 seed with a few other losses by teams out there.  Whomever wins the wild ACC gets the final spot in this tournament.  If it is G-Tech, it's a rematch with the Irish. 

3-MICHIGAN vs winner of...
6-ARKANSAS vs 11-TEXAS*

I still think Michigan is the #3 seed in the nation because (a) they are one of the best three teams plus (b) I want to put them in the opposite bracket as Ohio State.     Most likely the Texas/Nebraska winner in the Big XII title game sits here.  It also puts up a great regional matchup with Arkansas.

2-USC* vs winner of....
7- WISCONSIN vs 10-BOISE STATE*

USC jumps to the #2 spot with their win over Cal and Michigan's loss.  If USC beats Notre Dame next week, they'll lock this in with an impressive season filled with wins.....not the cupcake sked of normal.  Wisconsin is the one team no one is talking about....and should they?  Boise joins Ohio State as the only remaining undefeated team....and have a high enough BCS ranking to warrant this seed. 

R.I.P. Bo Schembechler

           Bo Schembechler

               1929-2006

The "Manly" George Michael Set To Leave

                               

Sometimes, really late on a Sunday night, I'll leave some channel on that I was watching something on earlier in the evening....and then I see something that makes me think of younger days.

The George Michael Sports Machine.

It will be going off the air soon....part of the NBC cuts and layoffs.

Literally, it was SportsCenter before SportsCenter blew up.  He had all the action from the past weekend's sports events....especially football.  He stood there with his clipboard and touched a magic TV that would wisk the hightlights to our living rooms [or bedrooms].  I remember staying up late when I was supposed to be asleep and watching the NFL highlights. 

Highlights.  That's all it was....highlights.  No group of "experts" sitting around a table and telling you what to think of the weekend's action.  Just highlights and the occassional puff piece on some athlete.  He'd also show highlights of crap like a ping-pong match as if it was the seventh game of the World Series. 

I will miss it....even if I don't miss it.  With ESPN, FoxSports and the internet.....the Sports Machine became behind the times as quickly as it emerged as a groundbreaking show. 

Thanks for the memories, Mr. Michael!!

Do You Like the Kentucky Wildcats???

My main man Treesoup has made another comeback with his new Kentucky Wildcats blog....

http://itsthewildcatblog.blogspot.com/

Please check it out.  You'll be hard pressed to find another fan who puts together a blog so complete with facts, figures and just good ol' fandom than this.  Thanks to him for getting me the site in time for the annual Kentucky-North Carolina battle in early December. 

Glad to have ya back, Soup!

Chin Up, Bobby!

                              

Here is my official take on this whole Bob Knight thing.

One...he should resign from basketball before he breaks Dean Smith's record.  Okay, not really...I just don't want him breaking Dean's mark.

Seriously, this isn't a big deal.  Not as big of a deal as it has been made into.  At least, not on the surface. 

If you are reading this...you've played sports at one time or another.  And most of us have had a coach slap our helmets, grab our jerseys, grab our arms, hit our shoulderpads or whatever.  It is part of sports that isn't pleasant...but it happens.  More often than ESPN cameras get a hold of.   My feeling is that if the kid has no problem with it and the parents have no problem with it...this should be put to bed.  The parents entrusted Knight with their child...and they knew going in that he's a tough love kind of coach. 

Again...on the surface.

The problem lies with Knight.  Yeah, if this was any coach but Knight, the story wouldn't be as big.  Of course not.  That's the American way.  If you have a history of crap behind you....what you do now affects your judgement.  If you committed a small crime but had no history of criminal activity...you might get a light sentence.  But if you have a long rap sheet...they are gonna come down a bit harder.  That's the way it is.  If you have a history of head-butting players, choking players, pulling out bull-whips at press conferences, tossing chairs during exhibition games against the Soviet Union, slamming stuff around your boss' office, and cussing at everyone you've ever met....then, yes, you are going to be looking down upon a bit. 

On the other side, don't give me that "well, this isn't as bad as the other stuff Knight has done" crap.  What is that??  If OJ Simpson lopped off the head of just one person....does that make it just a bit better since it "isn't as bad as other stuff" he did?? 

What I wish would happen is that Texas Tech's AD have a little chat with him and tell him to watch himself and don't get into the habit of striking players....errr....students.  But, that should be it. 

Look I am NOT a fan of Knight's at all.  I don't think much of his schtick and I think he has both an anger and accountability problem.  Has he ever admitted to doing anything wrong???  Ever???  Yes, he is a great coach and he probably gets more from his players than any coach in the history of college hoops....but this act wears thin. 

If I Would Have Committed Those Murders......

                             

OJ is a sick fool.

A sick fool.

Right after the weekend devoted to giving thanks, remembering our history, shopping 'til we drop and spending time with loved ones....OJ Simpson is going to tell us how he "would have" murdered Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.  Ya know....if he were going to do it. 

What?!?!?!  Oh, the interview is there to pimp his book, entitled "If I Did It"....which comes out on November 30th.  The interviews [in two parts] will be shown on Fox on November 27 and 29. 

So if the mother of my kids was slain and I was on the biggest trial in the past century for doing it, but was acquitted....I should go out and right a book about how I would have done it. 

Dude!  Why are you even thinking that??  It's one horrible thing to even think about "how would I have murdered her"....but to put it down on paper and try to charge people to read it???  He has a special room booked in Hell already...and he knows it.  Adolph Hitler better start moving the furniture around, because he's going to have a weird roomate [that is if Saddam Hussien doesn't move in first].  If he was still in the NFL, he'd be flagged for excessive celebration. 

Watch the promo for it here:  http://www.fox.com/oj/video/promo.asx

Below is the article on this mess:  O.J. will discuss 1994 killings on Fox - Sports - MSNBC.com

---------------------------------------------------------------

Ex-NFL star to say 'how he would have committed' killings of ex-wife, friend

MSNBC News Services

Updated: 11:45 a.m. ET Nov 15, 2006

Fox plans to broadcast an interview with O.J. Simpson in which the former football star discusses “how he would have committed” the slayings of his ex-wife and her friend, for which he was acquitted, the network said.

The two-part interview, titled “O.J. Simpson: If I Did It, Here’s How It Happened,” will air Nov. 27 and Nov. 29, the TV network said.

Simpson has agreed to an “unrestricted” interview with book publisher Judith Regan, Fox said.

“O.J. Simpson, in his own words, tells for the first time how he would have committed the murders if he were the one responsible for the crimes,” the network said in a statement. “In the two-part event, Simpson describes how he would have carried out the murders he has vehemently denied committing for over a decade.”

Simpson, who now lives in Florida, was acquitted in a criminal trial of the 1994 killings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman. Simpson was later found liable in 1997 in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the Goldman family.

Denise Brown, the sister of Nicole Brown Simpson, said in a statement, "We hope Ms. Regan takes full accountability for promoting the wrong doing of criminals and leveraging this forum and the actions of 'Simpson' to commercialize abuse," the Washington Post reported.

Brown also said Simpson's two children "will be exposed to his 'inexplicable behavior and we will provide them with our love and support during this time."

The interview will air days before Simpson’s new book, “If I Did It,” goes on sale Nov. 30. The book, published by Regan, “hypothetically describes how the murders would have been committed.”

In a video clip on the network’s Web site, an off-screen interviewer says to Simpson, “You wrote ’I have never seen so much blood in my life.”’

“I don’t think any two people could be murdered without everybody being covered in blood,” Simpson responds.

Messages left with Simpson and his attorney Yale Galanter were not immediately returned.

© 2006 MSNBC InteractiveThe Associated Press contributed to this report.