Beware! Meat Eating Ducks enter Pond at Own Risk!

There is a reason a home duck is not getting respect from the Las Vegas lines makers. It's because they are not perceived to be as good as a high powered opponent coming in to their house. After all, what is to fear from a mild mannered toothless water bird?

This week the duck callers will be quacking louder than normal. The 8th ranked Cal Bears come into town fresh off of feasting on gophers in the land of a thousand lakes called Minnesota. Certainly an impressive win hanging 35 points on the Golden Gophers from the University of Minnesota but two touchdowns below their average of 7 touchdowns per game.

High powered? I would think so...... but now the competition is getting tougher for the Bears and the points will be like trying to take fresh kill from a pack of nasty vicious rabid meat eating Ducks with canines as sharp as the mythical black dog flying in from all angles for flesh ripping bites and occasionally taking the sea route to Pearl Harbor their sizable opponents. Hunt in numbers little ducklings take no guff from your victims if you really exist.

Big problem for Javid Best and the Bears this week. The Ducks do have teeth and they can play some defense as they showed limiting the smurf turf Broncos from Boise Idaho to a meager 19 points than shutting down the pride of the Mountain West the Utah Utes. Not impressed by the Utes well they did have the nations longest winning streak and were followed into Eugene by a sea of red clad believers, including young girls wearing eye black like war paints expecting victory. So the Ducks did indeed get a quality win after barely outlasting the putrid Boilermakers from Purdue University a week prior.

The Quack Attack this week is a 5 point underdog. Without the home field advantage where Ducks take to the air circling their opponents with bloodshot eyes like vultures looking to take advantage of the sleeping Bears. The Bears won't be sleeping though and this is expected to be a real slugfest. The big bad Bears against the feisty ducks with pirhannaesque teeth and these Ducks despite a rough start are primed to show the world how hard they bite. Don't laugh! Don't dis the Duck! Watch your back Mr. Best the yards will be tough to come by and and this game should come down to the final quarter. Last week the Bears were able to break a tie with the toothless Gophers in the fourth quarter with 7 minutes remaining and were able to tack on another 7 giving the illusion of dominance in what was otherwise a nail biter.

Do the math! The sharp toothed Eugene Duck will knaw on Bear skull for four quarters. If the Bears lumber out of Autzen Stadium on Saturday with a win they will know they have been in a fight. Take the Ducks and the points, they might just defend their home with an outright win on the Willamette River!

Rebs Try to Squeeze Life Out of the Gamecocks

Thursday nights brew ha ha between the Ole Miss Rebels and USC East has all the makings of a mano a mano battle like two Hell's Angels savagely battering each other with a broken beer bottles, tire irons, and the occasional dirt thrown into the eyes. One thing is for sure they are both coming out of this bloody and bruised minus a few teeth.

Ole Miss is making a rare visit to the land of the top five. Jevan Snead is the Rebel gridiron god on offense but Houston Nutt has his Rebs playing defense also giving up a mere 10 points a game. Staring the Reb defense square in the eye is Stephen Garcia. A stout young lad who isn't going to make any defense shiver or shake. Certainly not an aged yet very physical SEC referee who planted Garcia with a forearm shiver of his own last year in the LSU game. So what is to fear? Steve Spurrier? Well the ol' tired out bawl coach just doesn't have Danny "and his bible" Wuerffel calling plays and sharing the good word with his teammates in the Gamecock huddles. No they got the fat kid who couldn't juke a fifty year old man in stripes. Garcia is the anti-Bo Jackson. Bo runs over linebackers. Garcia eats turf! QB edge certainly goes to the Rebels unless Garcia gets knocked out and there is a future Tom Brady sitting on the bench. That mystery we don't know.

What the Gamecocks got going for them? Well an athletic defense but that goes for all SEC teams with the exception of those book worms in Nashville. One factor will be 80,000 plus bourbon breathed, bloodshot eyed fans in the stands of Williams Bryce Stadium in Columbia. You might not be able to get much more than a airplane bottle at the local South Carolina pub but the college youth of today between twittering and text messaging will find a way to cross into Georgia for jugs of the good stuff. Fans don't win games and they really don't ruffle the feathers of the opponents but this is a different opponent. It's Ole Miss a team not used to spending time in the top five and if the Gamecocks cannot overcome the four point underdog role than it could be a very dark, dismal hour for the savior of the cock program who has produced the periodic upset but hasn't delivered the type of success he enjoyed in Gainesville prior to his failed NFL sabbatical.

This game is going to come down to Thursday night magic. The Rebs haven't played anyone yet and are going on the road into the cocksnest. I'm not sure exactly what one of those are but it doesn't sound friendly. Houston Nutt shouldn't expect anything less than dirty bedsheets in his Columbia sleepover. The ol' bawl coach is going to have his team prepared and the Gamecock players come nightfall on Thursday should be as riled as a bunch of drunken Hell's Angels on speed forced to watch back to back episodes of "The View".

This gambling degenerate is not necessarily betting on the ol' bawl coach nor Ol' Miss, certainly not Stephen Garcia but I am betting on the old man in stripes. I bet that guy is just a tough old bird. The type of tough old bird that takes no guff. Bad mouth him in a bar with too many drinks and that old bird is going to make you see double. No Stephen Garcia isn't a panty boy, he just got a serving of tough old bird stew the type that no one wants to chew on unless you got a fetish for butt whippin'.

Although everyone wants a sure bet. Well here is your sure bet. Nothing is for sure when it comes to football but one thing is as sure; biker chicks love bloodied, toothless, greasy-jeaned Hell's Angels. It doesn't matter if the rube just got stomped he's still an Angel and toothless or not he is desirable for the skinny girl with railroad tracks up and down her arm who gets a thrill out of a Harley Growling down the highway as she clutches her man on a road to no where. It's no different for the dirty south college princess who goes ga ga over her football stud. Both teams are gonna fight hard and when the lights have completely dimmed at Williams-Bryce stadium on Thursday night there will be an orgy somewhere. Where exactly? Chances are if you follow a football player your on the right scent.

Pass Happy Patriots

One thing about the Patriots, they are good but can be beaten but they get better as the season goes along and are nearly unbeatable in the playoffs under Tom Brady. Under Brady the Patriots have only lost two playoff games in his career. The 2006 AFC Championship and the 2008 Super Bowl. So if you are going to beat the Patriots like the Jets just did, do it early because eventually once the offense gets jelling and Brady gets over the mental tentativeness of his ACL injury and the young defense starts to come together under the professor of defense Bill Belichek.

Right now at 1-1 the Patriots are in good shape. New England should be 0-2 and looking at a schedule with a lot of teams with short memories looking to exact some revenge on the Patriots minus guys like Harrison, Seymour, Bruschi, and Vrabel. Add in Jerrod Mayo and the Pats defense is not only inexperienced but short on top of the line talent. Although the former Patriots included two converted college defensive ends playing linebacker they were mentally tough and knew their roles. This Pats defense does not have that reputation. Although the one shining element of the Patriots 16-9 loss this past weekend in the Meadowlands to their division rival Jets the defense did perform admirably.

Eventually the Patriot offense is going to put it all together. They have talented receivers in veterans Joey Galloway, all-world Randy Moss, Mr. bubble screen and slant Wes Welker, along with tight end Ben Watson who took advantage of the receiver coverage in week one to catch two touchdowns in the final two minutes of week one to defeat the Buffalo Bills. The Pats have a very underrated rushing attack with Jaguar import Fred Taylor, Sammy Morris, former first rounder Lawrence Maroney who needs to eventually get out of the doghouse and take back the #1 back position. The offensive line has been together for some time and is still young enough where they can adequately protect Brady but has been so focused on the passing game averaging 50 passes a game, yes that is right 50 passes a game!

Passing too much is exactly where the problem is going to lie with the Patriots offense which is expected to out score the opponents while the defense gets acquainted with each other. Time to go back to the fundamentals Coach B, time to start running the ball. Brady is no longer superman, he might say he is healthy but for anyone with an ACL injury the fear is in the back of the mind to not re-inure the knee thus the focus is not only playing the game but favoring the knee. Also teams that were shellacked by the Patriots in 2007 under Brady are looking for revenge and they will be pinning their ears back rushing Brady and taking some shots at Superman to see how many hits he can take before he starts to get "happy feet".

This Patriot team is reminiscent of the "greatest show on turf" glamorized by Kurt Warner, Tory Holt, Isaac Bruce and Ricky Proehl a the turn of the centurty with super back Marshall Faulk. Once the Rams became one dimensional with the pass teams started pinning back their ears going after Warner who was knocked silly and the team became just "another mediocre team on turf".

Transitioning to a more balanced attack where the Pats can utilize their depth at running back with Taylor, Morris and Maroney they are going to have to infuse a fullback into the offense for better blocking or depend on stretching the field with their receivers. Not to many teams have been successful in the NFL with the single back system.

So get the Patriots now they can be beaten. The Jets proved it after talking the talk all week. The Bills gave the game away to the Pats in week one. The Pats might have to be lucky this year to get into the playoffs and the victory over the Bills is the exact luck they will need because putting up record setting numbers is a thing of the past. Teams have adjusted and the Patriots aren't as good anymore. If the Patriots are going to win this year, the offensive line is going to have to remember how to run block, easier said than done. The running backs are going to have to break tackles at the line of scrimmage to take the rush off of Brady until he gets comfortable and ready to carve up offenses. Changes seem to be a theme these days and that includes the Patriots because if they don't the playoffs might just make another pass on the Patriots.

Right now the Patriots need to focus on each game. Otherwise Belichek might have a Jim Mora playoff blow up!

Minnesota vs. Cal Preview

The Cal Bears have had their way with Eastern Washington and Maryland with a combined score of 111-20. The high powered Bears have also done it in the comforts of home cooking in Berkley. This week the schedule gets tougher. Despite being a two touchdown favorite at Diamond Sports don't expect the Bears to substituting by the fourth quarter in Minneapolis this weekend.

The last time the Bears traveled east was to Maryland last year and as a two touchdown favorite against the Terps they lost by double digits. This is going to be another difficult trip for the Bears with an 11am start time in the Golden Gophers new TFC on campus stadium. It might take the Bears till halftime to wake up for this game and by than the Golden Gophers strong armed quarterback could very well have thrown a few touchdowns to the end zone to All-Big Ten receiver Eric Decker. So far this year the Gophers have yet to wow anyone with a unimpressive home opener against the Air Force 20-13 and it took overtime to knock off Greg Paulus and a much improved Syracuse team in the Carrier Dome. This week the Gophers are going to have to come out and smack the Bears right in the mouth and do it early because it will only be a matter of time before the Bears awaken from their jet lagged hibernation.

What the Gophers do have going for them is a new winning attitude under head coach Tim Brewster and experience at the skill positions where they can score with the Bears. Don't expect the Bears to hang 50 on the Gophers as the crowd is expected to be very raucous and looking for a signature win under quarterback Adam Decker who has the weapons at receiver and the running game to keep up with Cal. The lofty #8 ranking is the extra motivation the Gophers have to come out swinging combined with the jet lag this game has the makings of a classic upset if not the game will be closer than the 14 point spread.

Saturday Night Upset Alert

Saturday's upset alert. It's never easy to take an underdog in football let alone college football because it's habit for the public to take the favorite; it's easier to watch a team win. Fact is the underdogs cover more often than not. That is why sports book are so profitable.

This week's Hacksaw upset of the week is going to happen in Provo, Utah. Two weeks ago BYU rolled into Dallas, Texas and played a fundamentally sound game defeating Oklahoma on a last minute touchdown. Oklahoma played the entire second half without their Heisman winning starting quarterback Sam Bradford taking away some of the shock factor from the Cougars win. Two weeks ago on Labor Day night Florida State played an epic battle against in state rival the Miami Hurricanes. In the game it came down to a dropped Christian Ponder pass in the end zone that saved the Hurricane victory. That victory has propelled the Canes to the talk of the college football world. What if the final pass had been completed would we all be talking about the Seminoles?

Florida State played a horrible game this past week against Jacksonville State to eek out a victory at home thus inflating the 8 point spread in this weeks game at BetOnline. Don't expect the Noles to fly into Provo kiss the feet of the Cougars and leave with a loss.

There is a reason veterans coaches Bobby Bowden and defensive coordinator have spoken publicly and confidently about their teams defense. The players can flat out fly as they showed against Miami. Sure they gave up 30 plus points but this was the Canes they were playing and what we have seen from Miami, they can play, they can score, and they got a great quarterback leading the team. As good as the Canes are they were one dropped pass away from getting beat by Florida State. The Florida State offense is also just as talented as the defense. We would all be talking about Christian Ponder had his receiver held onto the ball on that final play against Miami rather than Jacory Harris.

Florida State will not be sleepwalking this week going on the road to play a top ten team.

The difference in this game will come down to team speed. The Noles can play physical defense but historically what gives the Cougars problems is teams with great team speed and the Noles have the speed. Bowden coached teams tend to come back with a vengeance coming off of bad games. They play tough on the road against top ten opponents. They are tough on non-conference teams outside the state of Florida. They have a burial ground outside of Doak Campbell Stadium with the turf off their conquered foes so they love to win these types of games on the road so the game should be close, certainly not an eight point difference.

In a match-up the quarterbacks are a draw, Christian Ponder outplayed Jacory Harris of Miami in their big game this year and is just as good as Max Hall. On defense the Noles have a decided speed advantage which will be the difference as FSU will take advantage with turnovers on the road to pull the upset.

Click here and take the points and the Noles in Provo at bet online.

Friday Nights in Fresno

As a Southern Californian and Californian there is a lot of beautiful places to see throughout the state. The southern California beaches are relaxing, chock full of beautiful bikini clad women with beach bars, sports bars, and people watching througout the southern part of the State. Head up the coast and you have the city by the Bay, San Francisco a one of a kind city that is exciting and creative. Continue to head up the coast and you have the mighty, ageless redwoods that everyone should see once in their life to believe. Head inland and there is Yosemite national forest, Lake Shasta, Big Bear, the Cascades, and even in the south you have Las Vegas the psuedo southern Californian Los Angeles suburb.

Lost in California is Fresno. Fresno is no place to hang out on a Friday night. Not much to see for Fresno and that goes for the people from Boise, Idaho; nothing to see keep it moving. Tonight in Fresno is the game of the season for a very tough Fresno State Bulldog team. If nothing else about Fresno despite not having the beauty enjoyed throughout the rest of California Fresno finds ways to get athletes and tonight Boise State will feel the wrath of Fresno. Fresno usually has to go on the road to play top ranked teams. Not tonight, the 10th ranked Boise State Broncos travel to Fresno as a 7 1/2 point favorite. Meanwhile, Pat Hill's Bulldogs who lost in overtime this past weekend at Wisconsin are not about to let a top ten team come into their dilapidated house and beat them.

In the biggest game of the year for Boise State they held on to beat an overrated Oregon Ducks football team under a first year head coach that looked confused and Oregon since than struggled to get past an inexperienced Purdue team. Fresno meanwhile went into Madison, Wisconsin and took the game to Wisconsin. Eventually, Wisconsin's big physical lineman took it to the Bulldogs yet Fresno still managed to get the game back into overtime late. Look for Fresno to come out swinging with a raucous house that will give the Bulldogs and early burst and carry them to not only winning the game outright.

Get your betting week off just right with Diamond Sports International and take the Bulldogs and the points!

Swagger

No team in the country had a more difficult opening four games. Their head coach was starting out on the hot seat after leading a once mighty and proud dynasty only 8 years removed from their last national championship. Randy Shannon won national titles for the University of Miami back in the eighties playing for one of the most dominant teams of the modern era that won national titles with three different head coaches during a ten year span. Sports writers were predicting Shannon would be gone after four games. Fortunately for Shannon the is swagger back in south Florida headed up by a pleasant surprise at quarterback in Jacory Harris.

The U opened up with a huge road win against long time state rival Florida State in a Sunshine State shootout for the ages. The road was supposed to get more difficult this week with a team that has had the Canes number in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Ramblin' Wreck of Georgia Tech and their triple option offense. An rushing attack that hung almost 500 yards on the ground last year en route to putting 41 points on the U before Yellow Jacket head coach Paul Johnson called the dogs off leading by 31 heading into the fourth quarter.

The night started out with electricity as the Canes opened up their new Landshark Stadium with big bright yellow beer brand high above the stadium. It might as well have been Yellow Jacket yellow the way Tech ran through the Canes for the first seven minutes of the game with a twelve play, ball control, on the ground, grind it out drive that ended with a field goal. In a game that was going to be tough for the Canes a field goal was a victory with the confusion the Ramblin' Wreck offense bestowed upon Cane defenders.

Pressure was on the Cane offense and their young QB, Harris to get at least a few first downs to keep Tech's top rushing attack off the field and give the Miami defenders time to rest. Harris did not disappoint leading the Canes through the air storming through the Georgia Tech defense with the last forty yards via a precision pass to Laron Byrd for a 7-3 lead. From there the offense showed some swagger hustling off the field, and the defense showed some swagger in shutting down the Tech's ground game the rest of the night limiting the Yellow Jackets to a mere 35 more yards when the final gun sounded.

It was only a matter of time. Just when you think the Canes are dead they find a gem to run the offense and the athletes on defense do their thing and defense wins championships.

The Canes might not be ready to knock off an elite team but the prospects of heading into Blacksburg nine days from now and having a shot at remaining undefeated appear to be more of a reality than they were an illusion heading into the season. The battle against the Hokies will be a major battle for the inside track towards superiority in the coastal division of the ACC. The VA Tech game will also be the first test for the young swaggering Canes to prove themselves outside the state of Florida and for Jacory Harris to see how he does against an aggressive Hokie defense. One would think that the Canes and Harris have already proven themselves against top competition. Florida State might not have a great offense but one thing you can count on with the Seminoles is they always play great defense as the Noles can flat out fly to the ball. Georgia Tech on the other hand is a very talented team with a very physical defense that was outclassed by the Canes and an offense that often confuses opponents with their complex defense was stymied like no other team has done to a Paul Johnson Yellow Jacket team since he took over as head coach with his run dominated offense.

Miami gets the scouting edge against upcoming opponent, Va. Tech this Saturday as the Hokies take on Nebraska in what should be a very physical battle for the Hokies, who opened with Alabama before routing Marshall last week.

The brutal schedule has turned into a major plus for the Canes. They should jump up in the polls this week and will be exceptionally prepared to take on a tough Hokie team that in ways mirrors the Georgia Tech running attack with a very mobile QB but not quite as talented.

In a season where the U is going to have to prove themselves one game at a time, it's time to show up, play defense, fly to the ball, and execute on both sides of the ball to keep the Hokie on their hands in their seats. If the Canes come out and play like they did tonight they will return to Landshark Stadium and appear to have some very sharp teeth.

Who Needs the NFL in LA

Obviously the NFL would benefit by putting a team in the #2 media market but the hottest market in college football is not Gainesville or Austin but Los Angeles. In one of the most painful losses in the history of Ohio State football the USC Trojans came into Columbus weathered the storm for 58 minutes plus before walking off the field in the middle of a sea of scarlett with a hard fought 18-15 victory. This was probably the biggest road victory in recent years for the Trojans. Despite a lot of anti-Buckeye sentiment around the country with the Buckeyes recent 0-6 streak against top 5 teams at least the Buckeyes have been playing top five teams and it's been since 2004 that the Buckeyes have lost to a non-BCS bowl team and since 2004 of their nine losses in the last five seasons three of their opponents went on to win the national championship and eight have been top 10 teams. The Buckeyes record though has been a weak 3-8 against top ten teams. So the Buckeyes are still one of the premiere programs in college football.

The talent cupboard is more than full in downtown LA but across town there is a buzz in the air with Rick Neuheisel making good on his promise to have the Bruins of Westwood back on top of the college football world. As empty as The Ohio State Buckeyes might feel one of the elite teams of the SEC the Tennessee Volunteers has an equally empty feeling having lost a home and home against UCLA. The Bruins played in front of their own 110,000 plus hostile crowd and came out one better than the Trojans with a 19-15 victory where they didn't have to make an exciting last minute comeback. The world might not know it yet about the Bruins but at the very least in Westwood and many parts of Los Angeles people are believing in the Bruins and that has not happened since the Bob Toledo days when Cade McNown was calling plays for the Bruins.

The success of these Bruins under offensive gurus Norm Chow and Neuheisel has been the result of defense. A defense that held the Volunteers under former USC defensive coordinator Lane Kiffin to a menial 186 total yards of offense. In southern California where Pete Carrol has created a dynasty with great athletes the Bruins have tapped into the talent pipeline. When a team is trying to re-build like the Bruins bringing in good athletes you can build a defense with great speed. The Bruins are young and they will have bumps in the road but this Bruin team in their former quarterback's leadership should continue to improve and gain both experience and momentum throughout the year that when the time November 28th rolls around at the Los Angeles Colleseum they could be ready to start taking some of the glitter town glamour that can entice more blue chip recruits! If nothing else we could have one of the best crosstown rival games in LA since Aikman vs. Peete in the late 80's!

Buckeyes Must Win

The USC game is a must win for Ohio State. If the Buckeyes lose this one at home they will start to see the program continue down a path whereby it will be a long time before the Bucks compete for another national championship. Players don't want to play for a team that cannot win a big game and recruiting outside the state of Ohio is imperative for the future of Buckeye football.

Coach Tressel has been dependent upon in state football players at the Ohio State University. During the Tressel era only major players Will Smith, Michael Jenkins, Chris Gamble, and Santonio Holmes were not home stat bred players. All were receivers with the exception of Smith. The rest of them including current NFL players AJ Hawk, Bobby Carpenter, Will Allen, Mike Doss, Ted Ginn, Matt Wilhelm and the list goes on were home bred players. Great idea but with the downturn in the economy more and more families are leaving the rust belt for warmer southern climates. Hey if you can't live comfortably and be comfortably employed might as well head south and at least enjoy the weather. It's a scary trend for Big Ten football.

Unlike Ohio State, Pete Carroll just has to look out his back door for talent in Southern California where high school football is as talented and competitive as anywhere else in the country. It comes down to simple mathematics. With a population base in Southern California alone which is almost twice as great as the entire state of Ohio players are competing against more players and have to be far more competitive if they want to play so off season workouts are more intense, practices are more intense and the result on the football field is the proof.

This game will have huge ramifications on Ohio State Football. There used to be a day when a Buckeye recruiter could go into Southern California and recruit major star players away from USC but that has not happened since John Cooper got current Carolina linebacker Nail Diggs. The other football rich regions including Texas and Florida don't have much appeal to future Buckeye recruits since the Longhorns and Gators defeated the Buckeyes in their most recent match-ups although the Buckeyes did go into Austin back in 2006 to whip Texas. Right now the speed isn't there for the Buckeyes to compete for a national title something that is expected in Columbus and for that to happen a win over the Trojans is a must because Tressel will have to get his speed from somewhere and Southern California is a desirable region for speed.

If the Buckeyes cannot defeat the Trojans in the shoe than the problem might get bigger and uglier for the sweater vested head coach in Columbus because his biggest most hated rival has something the Bucks don't have. A victory over the Florida Gators in the past two years which at least gives Michigan and Rich Rodriguez a relentless recruiter something when he heads into speed country down in Florida.

Don't Be Sexist Let Her Compete

Well the gender news is out and Caster Semenya is a man. Well not exactly the total truth. Turns out she is a hermaphrodite. The third sex, the unknown sex, the sex that is well not exactly black and white but comes equipped with characteristics of both sex. The main issue is Semenya has high very high testosterone levels for a woman giving her a her a decided advantage in track and field.

This is a confusing story because the Track and Field association cannot strip her of her medals because she wasn't lying or trying to get anything over on them. On the flip side this is great news because we will not have to hear and read about all the stories about how women can compete with men in sports. Here you go sister, Caster is half a man if you can beat her you can than start working your way up to competing with men in sports. I say let Semenya run with the women. He/She cannot compete with the men and it's not quite fair to not allow her to compete at all.

There is some weird precedence to this issue. Michelle Wie wants to play with the men and in 2002 feminist Martha Burk made a big stink with Hootie Johnson to allow women into the all-male membership club. I think it is time for Ms. Burk to step up to the plate and welcome Mr./Miss Semenya to the world of women's track and field. For all of those years of women trying to penetrate the world of men's clubs, sports, etc. well now isn't this interesting. Are women going to roll out the red carpet for half of their own or will they turn into sexist piglettes?

Either way I am looking forward to this debacle! Caster might be the best thing for sports because he/she is a go between and gives women the opportunity to beat a half of man. This way they don't have to go all the way in competing with men like Michelle Wie is woefully trying to attempt these days.

Titan Kick-Off

The Steelers might be the defensing Super Bowl Champions and their first defense might be their toughest of the regular season. The Titans have a lot to prove after their second round home loss in the playoffs to their nemesis the Baltimore Ravens.

The Titans will be minus their big run stuffer Albert Haynesworth but don't expect the Titans to be any less physical. Since Jeff Fisher took over as head coach for the Titans in the late Steve McNair's second year in the league one thing is for sure. When you play the Titans you better be ready to get hit in the mouth. The Steelers might be known for smash mouth football but no other team has laid it on the opposition more consistently then the Titans.

One thing is for sure the Steelers are going to need to give a Super Bowl effort tonight to beat the Titans to avenge their regular season 34-14 beating. The Steelers defense might be able to get physical with their opposition on defense but they better be ready for Kevin Mawae and the rest of the Titans as they will be ready to take it to the Pittsburgh defense.

If the Titans do not win one thing for sure, the Steelers will not blow them out like they were blown out last year in Nashville. If you are putting money on the game it's not about star power with the Titans, it's the team and the team will make this game close if they don't win it outright.

New York Hospitality

In a city known for it's rudeness the Marriott Corporation supported the generalization of NY City. Melanie Oudin the unseeded quarter finalist from Marietta, Georgia has ousted some of the top seeded women in the world and has become the talk of the city. Most thought the teenage rookie tennis pro would have been ousted early on with some stiff top ten competition including Russian Superstars Elena Dementieva and former number one Maria Sharapova.

Not quite, but the Marriott Hotel has done what the Russian Superstars couldn't do, oust her. The Marriott seems to have been overbooked and told the teenager from Georgia to "hit the bricks, check out the YWCA they have rooms and showers". No wonder so many US companies are in financial stress with dim-witted decision makers ousting one of the best for business customers in the City.

Here is an idea, pay for one of your customers to stay at another hotel, give them a few free nights if they complain. The seventeen year old is hot right now. Every reporter in the city wants an interview with her. So what does this mean? Simple, reporters stop by the hotel, they buy drinks, the eat dinner, they increase the revenue for the hotel. Heck make it easy for the teenager to do interviews and get her a suite so she can accommodate reporters than let them line up and get ready for media expense accounts to start the cha-ching in the cash registers.

This is an absolute public relations nightmare for Marriott as Ms. Oudin could very well have become a long time customer that is on the road better than half the year and at a $150 a night plus restaurant and bar bills that will kick in four years from now the Marriott is giving up close to $40,000 a year from one customer giving young Melanie the boot.

Tom-Boy Witch Hunt!

Caster Semenya has been subjected to the biggest tom-boy witch hunt of the year. This is one story that should be left out of the press, yet its both sad and funny at the same time. Sad that track and field officials have gone public with their gender testing and not considering they could be wrong yet convicting a young 18 year old in the court of public opinion. Funny well because even with the make-up a South African magazine is really going out of their way to make her beautiful on a cover of a magazine. She is a big tom boy that is for sure!

The embattled 18 year old South African track star has now given up the chest thumping, corn row image for a more feminine let your hair down, get your nails done, and cover those BIG TOM-BOYISH wrists with a zillion shiny braclets.

Give credit where credit is due with South African media and people supporting their own. With her new found fame we are going to at the very least see her country people, managers, the track and field execs of South Africa getting her more feminized and looking like FloJo the US tom-boy turned track goddess of the eighties!

Wonder if FloJo was ever subjected to the humility of a gender test? Only Al Joyner knows.

Forget BYU, the U is back!

What an incredible first week of college football.

My alma mater one of the most hated in the country, the Ohio State University almost gave most people some major excitement as Navy damn near pulled off a late fourth quarter miracle. A record setting 85 yard touchdown pass by the Midshipmen combined with a fourth down stop in field goal territory and an interception in Buckeye territory showed why players need to focus for 60 minutes. The Buckeyes won due to superior talent on the scoreboard but in the locker room and on campus I am sure they are feeling the wrath of underachievement.

In the late Saturday match-ups Virginia Tech almost pulled off the miracle being out gained by Alabama by better than 3-1 but again counted on a special teams touchdown return and timely penalties to nearly pull of the upset of the Crimson Tide it the Georgia Dome. Just like the Buckeye game this should have been a blow out but shows why you play the game for 60 minutes because in today's game where the level of athletes is so prolific on the high school level there is little difference between the Alabama recruit and the Virginia Tech recruit. Granted Tech has been a tough program for a long time but when Bama comes a callin' an athlete cannot ignore the history that includes Joe "Willie" Namath, Ken "The Snake" Stabler, Bear Bryant, two time Super Bowl MVP Bart Starr and these are guys from the 50's, 60's, and 70's!



Speaking of throw back games, Florida State versus Miami! Either both teams have piss poor defenses or there is some talent and leadership at the QB position for both that has been absent of a few years. Fact is both Florida State and Miami still get great speed and they still get great athletes so defense is always going to be solid for the Noles and Canes. Not since Chris Weinke and Ken Dorsey have these Florida powerhouses had solid QB play and when they did, the result was National Championships. Great ACC battle! Jacoby Harris and Christian Ponder are both great quarterbacks!

Look out for the rest of the conference despite losses by Virginia and Duke to Division IAA schools North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Boston College and Georgia Tech will be battling the Florida schools for a chance to redeem the conference during bowl season! Especially look out for North Carolina. Butch Davis can recruit and he has proven on the collegiate level that his teams can battle for a national title as he did with Miami before handing over the keys to the U football program to Larry Coker who won a national title in his rookie season.

Upset of the week? No contest BYU over Oklahoma. Even with Sam Bradford out of the game and BYU not deserving the respect they deserve this game was played in Dallas. This is Oklahoma territory! The team heavily recruits out of Texas and doesn't take a back seat to even the Longhorns in the talent rich lone star state for football recruits. A goal line stand from the stormin' Mormons to keep it a one score game late in the second half provided the margin for victory so Max Hall could execute a last minute drive to take the lead and than the Cougar defense did their job keeping the Sooners out of easy field goal range late in the game.

The upset of this week is the Ohio State Buckeyes. If they can beat USC at home this would be a great upset of more than one type. First of all the Buckeyes have the talent and the beef but have to lack the confidence after their bumbling effort against the Naval Academy. Secondly the Buckeyes are playing at home and when was the last time this national powerhouse and championship caliber team was a home underdog by more than a touchdown? The Trojans are laden with tons of talent and speed to getting the cream of the crop from the elite high school football programs in the country in Southern California and where ever they decide to recruit as young men know they will be in the title hunt year for four years at USC. The Buckeyes need to remember who they are. They are top recruits also no different than USC. They are from a very competitive football state that is on their home turf. Last but not least the key position for the two teams is their field general. In one corner you have the most highly sought recruit, second year starter, and incredible physical specimen Terrel Pryor and in the other corner is a strong armed stud in Matt Barkley, a freshman who will be making his first start on the road this week in a very, very hostile environment. The Buckeyes will need to frustrate Barkley, no easy task with the Trojan confidence as tough as teflon. This will be up to the Buckeye coaches to make sure the players are in position at all times especially on defense and play a ball control field position game hopefully making for long fields for the Trojans and limiting their playbook.

The Ups and Downs of the Pacific Ten

The team on the rise in the Pacific Ten is the team that cannot go any lower. Last year in the greater Pacific Northwest a team that won a championship back in the 90's ended up winless in historic Husky Stadium in Seattle. The team led by one of the best quarterbacks in the country Jake Locker couldn't win anything and the closest they came to victory was a loss at the expense of a questionable call by the officials against star Husky Jake Locker for flipping the ball over his should that was interpreted as excessive celebration. The team was so bad that head coach Tyrone Whittingham was forced out of Seattle.


In comes former BYU Cougar record setting quarterback Steve Sarkisian. Just a dozen years ago Sarkisian led his Cougars to one of their greatest seasons outside of their 1984 National Championship Season leading the Cougars in 1996 with a 14-1 record including a come from behind victory over Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl and a final ranking of #5 in the polls. Sarkisian has brought the winning attitude back to Seattle. Despite losing again at home the Huskies were tough on championship contender Louisiana State leading the Bayou Tigers early and playing them tough to the very end falling short by only one score. Defensively the Huskies gave up 31 points and have room to improve but on the offensive end the Huskies put up nearly 500 yards of total yardage including a hundred and fifty plus on the ground against not only one of the best defenses in the super tough Southeast Conference but one of the best in the nation in LSU. In defeat the Huskies have a lot to look forward to in the upcoming games and could be in the hunt for a bowl game by the end of the season.

The team in complete disarray is in Eugene. The Oregon Ducks started off the season with some stiff competition playing Boise State on the smurf turf in Idaho where only two teams have come out with a victory in the past 67 games. As a matter of fact most teams in the Pac-Ten probably would have lost heading into Boise. The problem is how the Ducks lost. The new head coach, former offensive coordinator, Chip Kelly couldn't get any offense out of the low powered Quack Attack. The Ducks were so predictable their big offensive line and big 240lbs tailback who averaged better than 7 yards a carry in 2008 averaged almost -1 yards a carry on the smurf turf. In the end the supposed leader of the Ducks couldn't control his team and ended up suspending their top offensive weapon LaGarette Blount for the remainder of the 2009 season. Now that the new coach who laid an egg in the first game and failed to stick up for his own player quitting on LaGarette Blount, it's just a matter of time before the rest of the team decides its time to quit on the new head coach. The Ducks are going to have to come together and find each other which will be very difficult with no apparent team leader. Despite a lofty top 20 ranking for the Ducks the Quack Attack will be lucky to finish in the upper echelon of the league.

Look for the Huskies that want to win start to win and the leaderless Ducks to fall into oblivion.

Winning Ugly

Today was a day when John Cooper was missed at The Ohio State University. Cooper has never received much love in Columbus but in September you could count on Coop's teams to blow out the opposition leaving little doubt come the second half. Cooper's 1996 Rose Bowl team opened up the year 42-0 and 52-0 in the first half respectively against Rice and Pitt en route to outscoring his opponents 142-7.

Unfortunately Jim Tressel doesn't share the same killer instinct against all teams. As a Buckeye alum it would be nice to see Tressel show less heart against the over matched opponents. Today the Buckeye O-lineman looked fat and slow. The defense looked lethargic with the exception of Kurt Coleman who was responsible for setting up the Buckeyes for 14 of their 31 points in route to a lackluster 31-27 victory over an inferior Navy team. It took the efforts of an undersized linebacker, Brian Rolle to return a 2-point conversion the other way that would have tied up the game with under three minutes to go to salvage some breathing room for the Buckeyes.

These tight games in September against inferior opponents are nothing new for Tressel teams even in their national championship season when it took a late end zone interception by current Tampa Bay Buccaneer Will Allen with a half minute remaining to salvage a 23-19 victory. Since 2001 when the "Sweater Vest" took over the sideline responsibilities for college Hall of Fame coach John Cooper he has at least one under performing effort against inferior opponents every year in September.

In his inaugural season defeated Akron in a lackluster 28-14 in-state battle. One year after the 2002 Championship season the Buckeyes edged San Diego State in the Shoe by a field goal 16-13. In 2004, current Jet field goal kicker came to the rescue with a time expiring 55 yard field goal to squeak by Mid-American foe Marshall? The 2005 Buckeyes with a slew of NFL players including Troy Smith, Ted Ginn, Super Bowl hero Santonio Holmes along with superstar linebacking trio all playing on Sundays, AJ Hawk, Bobby Carpenter, and Anthony Schlegel were able to semi-route Miami of Ohio 34-14 in their close September non-conference call. The last three seasons the Buckeyes have a gone to two national title games but have still managed to find ways to keep it close against MAC schools in September with 35-12, 20-2, and 26-14 scores against teams the likes of Northern Illinois, Akron, and Miami of Ohio all in Columbus.

It's one thing to not show anything for upcoming big battles but based on last year's beating in Los Angeles to USC these close calls might not be good for the psyche's of the players with big time September battles. This year the Buckeyes get the team of the decade coming to town as USC tries to tack on a home and home sweep of the Buckeyes. Based on the performance of the Buckeyes today, a top team that was stuffed by Navy on two short yardage plays these so-called blue chip lineman can't be feeling too confident going up against some elite athletes from Southern California and whether the game is played in the Shoe or not the Trojans probably don't care.

I wouldn't trade the "Sweater Vests" record in November especially the 7-1 mark against hated rival Michigan but in a perfect world John Cooper's squads were more enjoyable to watch in September.

Dark Cloud In Eugene

The season long suspension of LeGarrette Blount for his post game explosion is more despicable than Blount's actions.

In a court of US law Blount's actions would have been disregarded based on self defense. Byron Haut instigated the melee when he tapped Blount on the shoulder and taunted him, this would be considered assault and Blount's reaction would be considered irrelevant. Blount never assualted anyone else after he defended himself with the right handed punch. As for the right to the jaw being a sucker punch. Byron Haut instigated the confrontation and while Blount was in the midst of retaliating Boise State Head Coach Chris Petersen can be seen pulling his out of control back up defensive lineman away from the altercation. So in the fraction of a second when Blount retaliated he couldn't possibly pull back and is seen not putting his weight into the punch.

Punches are thrown all the time in football. It's not Blount's fault that in a physical game that Byron Haut did not have his helmet on when he mouth was wide open shouting taunts at the Oregon running back.

The punch is just one of many factors that is going to contribute to the decline in Oregon football despite the wealthy benefactor Philip Knight the founder of the elite brand in sports, Nike. The loss was an ugly one on national television for Nike and new head coach, alleged offensive guru Chip Kelly looked like a buffoon as the Ducks failed to ring up a first down over the course of the first 38 minutes of play. Guys like Philip Knight, school president Richard Lariviere, and alumni snobs might have been appeased by the suspension but players that watch YouTube.com are going to know that LeGarette Blount's career has been put in jeopardy with the season long suspension because spineless school officials have failed to acknowledge the despicable post game taunting by a bench player towards a team leader during a time when the victor must be gracious. What player is going to want to play for a buffoon and a spineless buffoon that prefers to throw his player into the spotlight when his play calling was a factor in putting the player in the unenviable position of being taunted by a post game disrespectful moron. People like to say Blount disrespected the game, not nearly as bad as Byron Haut disrespected the game by rubbing salt in the wound after the fact. Haut's actions are the equivalent to Brock Lesnar getting in Frank Mir's face and taunting him after he knocked Mir out in UFC 100. UFC CEO Dana White didn't put up with Lesnar's bullshit immediately pulling the heavyweight aside and scolding him for his despicable actions and Haut's actions were just as despicable.

In no way am I excusing what Blount did because the punch was on national television and not suspending Blount would send the wrong message to young players that would feel the right to be a poor loser and pound their opponents after the game. Personally I believe one game would be a sufficient suspension and could understand a 2-3 or even a four game suspension would be enough to send the message that punching another player with their helmet off could not be tolerated but the entire season? Way to throw your player under the bus Chip Kelly when you should be stepping up to the plate and telling the press you sucked with your play calling and do not want to put your players in a position again where they are subjected to such classless taunts but have to suspend your big running back for three to four games.

Football is tough, it's physical, and is a game of respect. To suspend a player for an entire season for a punch is a joke. I hope the president of the University, Chip Kelly, Athletic Director Mike Belotti and the rest of the supporters of this decision will remember this moment when the team is battling the cellar dwellars of the Pac - 10 for years to come.

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The opening game on ESPN between top 20 teams on the Smurf Turf between Oregon and Boise State was billed as an early Thursday night classic. Instead we got more subplots than a Clint Eastwood spaghetti western.

The Good:

Boise State;

Head Coach Chris Petersen prepared his team superbly. Even in the post-game melee Coach Petersen was sharp enough to recognize his player was out of line and didn't blew the punch off as part of the game where emotions are high. This was recognition that his player was not an innocent victim of a right cross to the jaw.

The Bronco defense shut down the vaunted Ducks offense blanking the Ducks for two and a half quarters with nothing but three and with the exception of a safety en route to opening up a 19-0 lead. The Bronco defense did there job throughout the game. Once Oregon got the three first down monkey off of their back and scored a touchdown followed up by a two point conversion the Broncos tightened up on fourth downs, forced turnovers, and continued to overshadow their offensive counterparts who did everything they could to keep the Ducks in the ball game.

On offense Jeremy Avery, DJ Harper, and the Boise State offensive run blocking were good enough to keep the ball away from the Oregon offense for two and a half quarters keeping the Bronco defense fresh and never giving the Ducks O a chance to get into a rythm.

Give credit also to the Oregon defense as they kept the Ducks in the game.

The Bad:

Without a doubt back up Boise State defensive end Byron Haut. It is an absolute disgrace when a player wins a game and then decides he is going to rub salt in the wound of a player. That is like a Mix Martial Artist knocking out his opponent than grabbing a bottle of tobbasco hot sauce and rubbing it into the eyes of his opponent. Lagarrette Blount Oregon's massive tailback made the mistake of disrespecting the Boise State Broncos team and the Broncos made a statement to Mr. Blount on the field and on the scoreboard. Final score Boise State 19 Oregon 8. The big Duck tailback 8 carries negative 5 yards rushing tackled in the end zone for a safety and tackled behind the line of scrimmage on a fourth and short. Enough said, LB was eating a heavy dose of crow and Byron Haut seeking him out after the end of the game to trash talk was despicable. The beauty of sports is that you have tough competition and when you defeat the tough competition the high of sports is that much greater. The game on smurf turf was tabbed the biggest home game in Boise football history. Obviously Byron thought very little of the Oregon Ducks and decided he was going to rub some salt in the wound after the fact letting Oregon's starting running back he wasn't worthy to play on the smurf turf. Byron Haut got exactly what he deserved for seeking out Lagarette Blount with the right to the jaw. Normally players have their helmets on but since Haut didn't break a sweat while warming up the bench it wasn't necessary for him to put the helmet on and do battle. Meanwhile a prideful Blount battled unsuccessfully against a superior Bronco defensive scheme and was subjected to a bench warmer trash talking. Lagarrette Blount deserved all the trash talk on the field during the sixty minutes of play but once the final gun sounded it was time to say good game, thank you for coming to Boise and best of luck the rest of the season. I doubt Haut was giving respect to his opponent the way coach Petersen was pulling him away before the punch ensued.

More bad, Lagarrette Blount losing his cool after the punch. Fact is the big guy sucked all night. He didn't break any tackles, he didn't do much to help his team get on track offensively and he certainly wasn't a team leader when disrespecting his opponent with the "we owe this team and ass whooping for last year". Sure you might owe them something for last year but the term ass whooping the Broncos on the smurf turf has only happened twice in the last 67 games in Boise. Do the math, LB just win the game and show your opponent the respect they deserve.

As for a sucker punch? There was no sucker punch. Byron Haut sought out Lagarette Blount after the game and was dumb enough to not look for what he was asking for. You just don't disrespect and opponent after you win the game. You also don't disrespect the opponent when you stand on the sidelines in uniform cheerleading while players are giving their all to win the game. No doubt Lagarette Blount was trying to win the game otherwise he wouldn't have been so emotional and to have a cheerleader call out afterwards hit the wrong nerve.



The ugly:

Oregon's offense, it was anemic. It couldn't get a first down for the first 38 minutes of the game than when the defense granted it turnovers in the final 22 minutes of the game Jeremiah Masoli found ways to turn the ball over to the Bronco defense. Masoli's third quarter interception was exceptionally ugly as he threw it right between the three and the six to Bronco linebacker Aaron Tevis. As ugly as the play looked credit that one to Bronco home field advantage. The all blue jerseys tend to blend in with the field and for years quarterbacks have lost the camouflaged coverages in the sea of blue.

Chip Kelley's game plan and play calling were exceptionally ugly. The offense could not generate one first down during the first 38 minutes of the game. The Bronco defense was partially responsible, the lack of offensive execution was partially responsible but at a certain point the head Duck has to take some heat for not calling at least one play that would produce ten yards to move the sticks. Chip Kelley seemed confused like a deer in the headlights on the sideline. When the Ducks scored their first touchdown they went for two to make it an eleven point game with a quarter and a half to play. The two wasn't necessary but it was successful and cut the score down to a touchdown, two point conversion and a field goal to tie. When the Ducks were recipients of a Bronco fumble deep in the home team's territory and failed to get a first down instead of kicking a field goal to make it a one score game Kelly went for it on fourth down calling the number of his big back who had negative yardage on the night including being caught of a safety. It was apparent the Broncos were prepared for every possible run situation against the Ducks and Kelley went against himself with the fourth down attempt instead of the field goal. The game would have taken on a different look had the Ducks converted a field goal putting pressure on Boise State to hold on but instead Kelley gave the momentum back to the Broncos on everything but the silver platter.

On the night Boise State proved they are not a team that deserves anyone's disrespect and opening up your career as a head coach on the smurf turf is a much more difficult order than most of the country outside of Oklahoma and WAC conference could imagine. Kelley couldn't imagine much more than Blount's negative five yards rushing.

The Bronco Leader

Chris Petersen's Boise Broncos got a big win over Oregon. It was a sloppy win though with multiple turnovers. Every time the Broncos could have sealed the game the Broncos turned the ball over. Every time the Ducks could have come up big they turned the ball over. After going for 2 to cut the score to 19-8 Oregon Head honcho Chip Kelly looked lost. He failed to follow up his two point conversion with a field goal that could have cut the score to a single score at eight in the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter failure on fourth down was nothing though compared to how lost Coach Kelly's offense looked lost in the two and a half quarters where their high powered spread offense was no match for the Bronco defense which shut out the Ducks and held them without a first down until 7 minutes left in the third quarter.

Neither team wanted to win in the second half as not only could the teams not execute but they turned the ball over, and failed to string together a series of successful plays. In what could have been the most indicative play of the second half as to how much of a home field advantage the Boise smurf turf is was when Duck quarterback Jeremiah Masoli threw an interception straight into the numbers of a Bronco defender five yards in front of him. It can never be underestimated that the smurf turf and the blue Bronco jerseys give the Broncos a decided home field advantage especially on defense where their defenders are camouflaged with the blue on blue.

In the end the game was just as ugly as Boise State sophomore defensive end, Byron Haut showed his immaturity heckling Oregon's mammoth starting tailback Lagarette Blount after the game only to get dropped by a hard right to the jaw. Despite the ugly game and the ugly conclusion to the game, Chris Petersen was as cool as a cucumber. Petersen was seen pulling his sophomore defensive end away from Blount before the right jab and in an interview calmly suggested it was just emotions. Give Chris Petersen credit, he did not get emotional and will undoubtedly use this as a learning tool for his Broncos to act like winners because next week will be a their toughest game of the season on the road against Fresno State where coach Pat Hill, his dirty ball cap and players will be waiting for the Broncos.

As for the Ducks, it could be a very long season in Eugene. New Coach, no head coaching experience, high expectations equals a lot of pressure. The Ducks got lucky 15 years ago when Mike Belotti succeeded Rich Brooks but the Ducks might have gone to the well one too many times with Mr. Kelly.

Future Hall of Fame 1st Baseman

He was tall, lanky, first baseman that played college ball for legendary collegiate Hall of Fame coach Rod Dedeaux at the University of Southern California. He was drafted by a Bay Area team where he would play for 15 seasons hitting tape measure home runs. He would later be traded to a National League team in the current Central Division . He hit tape measure home runs that drove the home team fans to the ball park just to see the big guy knock'em out of the park. He had a very catchy nickname that endeared himself to the fans. He hit either home runs or struck out while not hitting for a high average. He didn't endear himself to the media either. He played with fellow slugger Jose Canseco and the Oakland Athletics in 1986. The final year of his career he hit 35 home runs, knocked in 94 runs with 126 strike outs.

Do you think you know who this big time home run hitting first baseman is? It might not be as easy as you think; who is this slugging first baseman?

Here are some more hints. He was never accused of doing steroids. He was a favorite of Harry Carey with the Chicago Cubs knocking 4 balls out of the ball park one summer day against the NL west leading Dodgers. He was forced out of baseball by the Oakland A's in 1986 despite putting up productive numbers after sending a female reporter for the Sacramento Bee a live rat during the first inning of a game against the Royals with the tag on the rat saying, "Hi, my name is Susan" the identical name of the reporter. Guess, it is safe to say we are not talking about Mark McGwire.





The paths and numbers of Dave "King Kong" Kingman and Mark "Big Mac" McGwire are almost uncanny. Both played 15 seasons. During their careers Kingman hit 448 home runs to "Big Mac's" 583*. Kong knocked in 1210 runs compared to Big Mac's 1414*. Kong struck out 1816 times while batting .236 while Big Mac bested Kong with a .263* career batting average while whiffing 1596* times. Big Mac holds slight advantages over Kong in most categories including getting together with Jose Canseco in the locker room for private meetings. Kong did hold the edge in the speed categories though with 85 career thefts and 25 triples compared to Big Mac's career 12* stolen bases and 6* triples. The two were almost identical with hits and two baggers as they had 252* and 240 respectively and 1626* to 1575.

It was apparent though that the steroids were wearing down Big Mac towards the end of his career and if not for the rat incident Kong would probably be getting more votes for the Hall of Fame as his numbers were still strong in his final season knocking 35 balls out of the park with 94 runs batted in, 19 doubles while hitting .210 in his final season. The .210 batting average sounds rather paltry except the guy who was supposed to be getting Hall of Fame consideration only hit .187* with 29* home runs and 64* runs batted in and 4* doubles in 97* games. Kong's natural health kept him in 144 games.



It's easy to figure out what Big Mac's numbers might have been if he had not juiced up all you have to do is look at Kong's numbers. What I would love to think about is how great would Kong's numbers have been had he trained with Jose Canseco?

* steroid era

Favre completes Minnie

One good game by Brett Favre and the writing is on the wall for Tavaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels. The old man is the starter. Rightfully so also. Favre a future Hall of Famer against he NFC champions last year threw for six touchdowns. Against the Texans first unit he still managed to make plays, moving around in the pocket with ease.

Fact is the Vikings don't need a Pro Bowl quarterback they need a game manager. The Vikings have great depth at running back with the best back in the league in Adrian Peterson and the best back-up in the league since Michael Turner backed up LT in San Diego in Chester Taylor. Taylor is a great pass catcher out of the backfield much like Dorsey Levens was for Favre during the Packers two Super Bowl runs in the late 90's and a superb runner with fresh legs never having rushed the ball more than 160 times in a season except of the year before AP in 2006. When the Vikings get tired of running behind their all-pro left side of the offensive line with Steve Hutchinson and Bryant McKinnie they can let Favre throw to speedsters Bertrand Berrian, rookie Percy Harvin and the future stud of the receivers Sidney Rice who has all pro written all over him with a quarterback the caliber of Favre with great speed, hands, and route running discipline.

The Vikes have the best running game in the league, one of the best offensive lines, and great speed at receiver with a world of young talent in the rookie Harvin and 3rd year former top draft choice Rice.

If defense wins championships than the Vikings are just as tough as anyone in the NFC with a running defense that gives up nothing on the ground. The pass defense will be the big question mark on this team.

The biggest question about the Vikings is can they win their division, probably the toughest in the NFL with the Packers, Bears, and Vikings all capable of making a run in January to the Lombardi trophy. While the three black and blue division teams all boast top defenses, the Vikings have the edge when it comes to the running game and when it comes down to the quarterback position Favre certainly knows how to win something his former protege in Green Bay Aaron Rogers has yet to prove along with new Bear and former Bronco all-pro Jay Cutler who is best known for the collapse of the defenseless Broncos in "08.