Technology is great

I am at work, watching Andy Murray v Roger Federer live on the interweb. Things could be worse. Speaking of which...

You know who are a bunch of dickbags? The New England Patriots. They had neither win covered the spread or lost outright. Where's the decency?! I blame Belichick. He's a cheater.

Arizona Wildcats football: 2-0. May have to get out to the UCLA game in a couple weeks.

From the "Oh, by the way" file...

Oh, by the way, sitting five rows off the third base line for a Dodger game on a beautiful Sunday afternoon with all the free food you can eat definitely does not suck. The Arizona Diamondbacks, now they suck.

A lot happened this week

Big, eye-popping stuff, too.

- Superbowl XLI 1/2 living up to the hype, as the Patriots effectively rendered the rest of the regular season in the NFL a formality by winning in Indy.
- Liverpool erupting in true backs-to-the-wall Reds fashion for an 8-0 victory over Besiktas in the Champions League. Here's a highlight reel of all eight goals that'll have any fan creaming their pants.
- Chris Paul reaffirming that he is next in line to assume the mantle of best point guard of his generation with his 21-assist/2-turnover clinic against the Lakers (nevermind Peja Stojakovic lighting up the Lake Show for ten 3s because they seemingly refused to defend the shooter).
- Kentucky getting shocked at home by minor (not "mid-major," but "minor") Gardner Webb! This, of course, set off angry hordes of torches and pitch forks in the direction of Billy Gillespie's house and got me buzzing because COLLEGE BASKETBALL IS OFFICIALLY BACK, BABY!
- Ruud Gullit becoming the new head coach of Los Angeles Galaxy. This isn't necessarily making the Galaxy elite, but the push to continue bringing the biggest names into the fold is one that I'm enjoying and, more over, soccer fans are enjoying. Put me down for a couple more Galaxy games, next season. I'm still interested.

I can get excited about all of these things, wildly so, and talk about them forever. But, when it comes to updating this page I feel like I've been thrown irrevocably off course, recently, for a variety of reasons. And strangely enough, it was another piece from Kyle Whelliston that cemented the idea, for me, that blogging with the intent to make any sort effort to be heard or seen is more and more a waste of time. Sure, I'll gladly talk sports with my friends and, every so often, I'll probably still find my way back to this page to gush or rant about whatever the topic of the moment is, but after one year in and disposable time decreasing exponentially, it might be time to throw this whole operation under the bus.

I'm still hyped about the Lakers playing Minnesota tonight, Liverpool hosting Fulham tomorrow, and the Kings facing off against the Stars tomorrow night, but damn... I need a more interactive, responsive medium, if I were to keep up this rambling with any consistency.

Barely even a slap on the wrist

If I'm Bill Beli-cheat, I'd consider myself very lucky, this morning. Let off the hook with merely a fine and the loss of one late first-round draft pick? I'm sorry, but for this offense, the given punishment doesn't even rate a slap on the wrist. More like a raised eye-brow and a shrug of the shoulders. Really? No suspension at all? I'm sure Tim Donaghy wishes he was an NFL official instead.

Few cheats are bigger than Beli-cheat (who claims to have misinterpreted the most black and white rule in the book), but O.J. is one of them. "No, listen, Officer, I swear I only needed that sports memorabilia so that I could lure the 'real killer' to a big autograph signing. It's my plan for justice, see?"

The loss of Greg Oden for the season doesn't just affect Portland (though they never had a prayer of going to the playoffs, this season, anyway), it affects the entire league. Profoundly. Personally, I've already lost steam with the Kevin Durant train and, frankly, half the fun of watching Durant, this coming season, was going to be comparing his progress to Oden's. The NBA just lost a major star and for a league that just endured it's lowest rated Finals since they ceased airing on tape delay, this is devastating. The weapons for sparking fan interest continue to diminish.

I'm not saying that playing in Nebraska isn't tough, but I don't think USC will have a problem covering the 10-point spread. I'm thinking 30-13 in favor of the Trojans. Arizona, on the other hand, is playing at home against a lousy New Mexico team and they will have trouble covering the spread. Willie Tuitama, you fill my heart with worry and doubt. Hanging 45 on NAU doesn't prove anything. Arizona 20 New Mexico 14.

If Michigan wins, this Saturday, it'll be business as usual. If Notre Dame wins this Saturday, Lloyd Carr will be executed on the field. Most likely by "Crazy Eyes" Mike Hart. I see the Wolverines at least surviving this one, though. As bad as their D is, Notre Dame's offense may be worse. Michigan 25 Notre Dame 17.

For so early in the season, there seem to be a ton of "locks" this Sunday. Cincy, Indy, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, Seattle, Jacksonville, Carolina, Dallas, Denver, and Chicago are all sure bets to win. All will cover, too, except for the Jaguars who still have an awful lot of explaining to do, after last week, and have an unreasonably big line of -11 (as of, right now).

Having dodged the bullet of any real repercussions from video-tape gate, the New England Tim Donaghys knock off a Chargers team that's flying across the country after getting physically beat-up by the Bears. It'll be close, but that Donaghy offense looks too impressive. Also, it's Norv Turner playing in a big game. 'Nuff said. Donaghys 27 Chargers 23.

Today, the Springboks will avenge their disaster against England in 2003 by mashing them in their Group A contest at the Rugby World Cup. The victory will all but guarantee the Boks a top seed in the quarterfinal round when, praise be, Schalk Burger will be back from his unjust suspension. South Africa are looking a good bet for at least the semis at this year's RWC.

CHEATERS!

This is pretty much a straight cut and paste job from a message board I just posted on, but for posterity's sake, I'll slap it here, too. Of course, the topic of the day is how underhanded and shameful the Patriots are.

It's actually a pretty big offense. Video-taping the opposition's defensive signals, reviewing the cameras and photographs related to those signals after each play (which all teams can do, except for the part where they've stolen signals), then memorizing those signals to get a leg up and know what the opposition is doing at all times. Really, it is no different than if Tim Donaghy was on the Jets' sideline. I really don't see any difference at all. There's actually a written NFL rule against such a thing. The Patriots are expected to be docked draft picks, which is fine, but I really think Belichick should be suspended for at least one game, as well as fined, if only because there needs to be some sort of immediate penalty against Belichick & Co. Especially since we already know that the Patriots are a crafty enough organization that they'll be able to reacquire draft picks from some sucker team for practically nothing. Or why not perhaps take away the Pats' cameras altogether for a game and see how they deal with that? Imagine trying to make adjustments on both sides of the ball against the freaking Chargers, of all teams, with no camera? It'd be a hopeless effort.

The integrity of competition is thrown into disrepute with this indiscretion. That's bad. Very bad. I wonder how much denial Bill Simmons is mired in.

Well look who decided to finally sign an effing contract

Before getting to the titular subject, a couple NFL bits.

1. Given all the allegations of cheating (not only against the Jets, but also last season versus Green Bay), the whole Brad Childress fiasco (non-story, that it is), the celebration at midfield in San Diego, Rodney Harrison's HGH suspension, the acquisition of Randy Moss, The Snowjob in 2001, etc, etc, etc... is there any reason not to think that the Patriots are scum?

2. How screwed up are the Cleveland Browns? More over, how out of his depth is Romeo Crennel? Sending Charlie Frye to Seattle for a mere 6th-round pick after just two and a half quarters of football, having annointed him the starter coming out of preseason (a decision which many generally consider to have a great deal of thought attached to it) might be the final straw. Crennel doesn't know what's going on. If you were this down on Frye, why suffer through playing him over Derek Anderson (and, yes, the not-quite-ready Brady Quinn), when all it took was one bad half of football to say, "You know what? I'm not comfortable having you on the team. Forget what I said minutes ago about you being the starter." Woof. The Browns are going to get mangled by Cincinnati on Sunday.

3. Speaking of the Bengals, they should consider themselves lucky to get the win, last night, for two reasons. 1) That was never an offensive pass interference on Todd Heap and the touchdown clearly should've stood. 2) The Ravens weren't smart enough to just let Willis McGahee barrell through the tackles from 1st and goal on the 1. That's just stupidity.

4. Thoughts go out to Kevin Everett, formerly of the Bills. A crystal clear reminder of how the word "priveledge" -- as in, "It's a priveledge to play in the NFL" -- is well overstated. Your life is on the line. Your well-being is on the line. All you get in return, tangibly, is money (and they, NFLers, deserve every penny they earn). That being said...

5. JaMarcus "$61 million" Russell is finally an Oakland Raider. $32 million in guaranteed money for a guy who might be able to contribute midway through next season. Forget being familiar with the playbook, this year. That ship has long since sailed. He's been on my s-list for a while, now, as I never agreed with the pick to begin with (I was far more in favor of trading down, selecting Calvin Johnson, and using the gained draft picks to help address other needs), but now... Now that Russell is the highest paid rookie in NFL history (and last I checked, rookies -- especially QBs -- were more likely to bust than to succeed), he's got a serious uphill battle to wage if he's going to gain my support. Not that he cares the slightest about that, and, hey, give the man credit for scoring a massive payday. But to me, it's an issue of principal. Far too many have brought the hammer down on the Raiders' organization and tyrannical Al Davis for failing to get this deal done back in July (and that criticism is well-warranted) without giving any grief to Russell's camp. This season is a waste as far as his development goes. So let me ask, how worthwhile will this guy turn out to be? I'm skeptical, to say the least. Now, let's start Daunte and see what happens.

We know these things to be true

Week 1 of the NFL is the scariest time for a gambler because so much is uncertain when a league dominated by parity begins anew. That being said, after the first Sunday of the season, some things were quite predictable. We know the following to be true:

- The Philadelphia Eagles are on a mission to have the most pathetic special teams unit in history. Shocking! The Packers had no business winning that game. But the Eagles gifted it to them, so now we're all going to be "treated" to yet another media slobberfest about how Brett Favre's "still got the magic." *barf*

- The Kansas City Chiefs really are that bad.

- The Raiders had 36 points hung on them, at home, against the Lions, and they were still more impressive than the Chiefs. (Feeling pretty great about that call)

- Given, it was Atlanta, but I'm feeling pretty damn confident about my Minnesota prediction. I'm telling you: Vikings in the playoffs.

- Surprising absolutely no one (except for the morons out there), Tom Brady and Randy Moss looked incredible yesterday. If Brady keeps getting protection like he did yesterday, you can give him the MVP, now. As for Randy Moss? Hey, you get better when you're not a Raider.

- Also surprising no one: Jets fans have no class. Booing a hobbling Chad Pennington as he walks off the field and cheering Kellen Clemens when he comes on? Quintessential New York. Disgusting.

- Jacksonville, no matter how talented they are, still can't figure out Tennessee.

- The fact that not every play is reviewable continues to be one of the stupidest things in sports. Consider yesterday when Tommie Harris of the Bears illegally entered the neutral zone, being well offside by the time the ball was snapped. Harris stripped the ball from Philip Rivers and the Bears gained possession, halting a Chargers drive that surely would've ended in a score. That crystal clear offside by Harris? NOT A REVIEWABLE PLAY! For as perfect as the NFL thinks it is, they still get a hell of a lot wrong. If you're going to champion instant replay (and by all means, go right ahead), then at least have the mental capacity to allow every possible rule violation to be reviewable. For the love... it's not asking too much. PS - Thank God that Roger Federer was winning a fourth straight US Open title on CBS, because the Bears-Chargers game was absolutely brutal to watch.

- I don't care how many times they're scheduled for prime time (7!), I still have no interest in the Cowboys. Yap all you want about Tony Romo putting 45 points on the Giants, their defense still surrendered 35 to one of the most unimpressive offensive units in the league.

Quick! Get the Suicide Hotline on the phone!

Because it's 21-3 Pats in the 2nd quarter. It's only right that Peyton Manning have some sort of safety net after today's game. Still a lot of football to be played, but after that freakish first TD and the INT-return... it just feels like another one of those days for New England. Whether the rest of the country likes it or not.

Much like the Red Sox-Yankees feud, a rivalry isn't a rivalry until both teams have proven they can beat each other in the playoffs. You know, when it counts.

The weekend's heroes and doinks 11/10-11/12

Heroes

Wildcats - Be they from Arizona (hell yeah!), Kansas State, or even Kentucky (okay, maybe not so much UK, although they beat Vandy), they turned college football on it's ear, yet again. Let's quickly thank Kansas State for beating Texas and putting to rest any notion that the champion from the pathetic Big 12 would have a claim to the national title game. Well done, KSU. But more importantly, in the words of Keanu Reeves in Speed, "Arizona Wildcats... good football team." And suddenly, in the third quarter against Cal, they decided that they were! With the Bears complacent, ahead 17-3, what choice was there but to open up the passing game and stand on the shoulders of Syndric Steptoe? Now the Cats stand at 5-5, potent as ever in the month of November under Mike Stoops, and need to win just one of their final two games to become bowl eligible. I'm thinking it happens against Arizona State on Thanksgiving weekend. Bear Down, bitches!

Steve McNair - One of the classiest guys in the NFL sticks it to a miserable franchise who should be ashamed for the way they treated him. For all that McNair has done for the Titans organization (MVP, AFC title games, a Superbowl appearance), they spit on his face. Very pleasing to see McNair exact a bit of revenge yesterday with the comeback victory.

San Diego 49 Cincinnati 41 - That's right, the game itself was a hero. This is why people love football. Offensive explosions, see-saw battle, comebacks, big names having really big games (LDT is easily player of the week and you can only stand in awe at what Chad Johnson and Carson Palmer did, too). What an excellent game. Too bad this pretty much signals the end for the Bengals this season. Up 21 at home and losing? Especially after losing to the Ravens last week? It's over, man. There's no coming back for them in the tough AFC.

Houston Dynamo - Your 2006 MLS Cup champions. First time an MLS Cup match has gone to penalties

Correll Buckhalter - I can't find it on YouTube, but yesterday against the hapless 'Skins he scored one of the coolest touchdowns I've seen in a long time.

Doinks

Pac Ten officials - Watching both the Arizona/Cal and USC/Oregon games (and with the memory of this entire season in mind -- particularly Oregon/Oklahoma), there couldn't be a worse set of officials in the country. No one, under any circumstances, for any play, should take 3 hrs and 12 minutes to review a call. Especially if they end up making the wrong call (Cal's interception of Tuitama when UofA was driving to tie the game at 17) or if they're reviewing a play that was clear as day and was called correctly from the start (Oregon's touchdown against SC). Neither of these were coaches challenges, mind you. Just the refs killing the game.

College football - Say what you will about how exciting Saturday was (and it was good), the system is still pooched. Suppose USC, Florida, Arkansas, and Notre Dame all pick up a second loss in the next couple weeks? It's certainly possible that it can happen. Then throw Rutgers into the mix and the dreaded prospect of a rematch between Michigan and Ohio State for the national title and you have to admit, the B(C)S doesn't work. Say it with me, now: College football is broken.

Rafa Benitez - There's only so much I can say about Liverpool's embarrassing defeat to Arsenal before I want to tear my sweet, bodiful hair out. So I'll keep it short. Watching the 3-0 massacre, I was insensed from the start that Rafa insists on playing Steven Gerrard (that would be the same "best midfielder in the Premiership" Gerrard) OUT OF POSITION ON THE RIGHT WING and as a result we're seeing a jaded, disinterested Gerrard out there. With Momo Sissoko unfortunately lost for three months, you'd think the OBVIOUS decision would be to move Gerrard back into the center of the park alongside Xabi Alonso. But no, Benitez thought Bolo Zenden (he who gives the ball away nearly every touch) would be a better choice. Against Arsenal! Mark Gonzalez played his way out of ever being considered for a starting role and Sami Hyypia displayed for all to see why he should be replaced by Daniel Agger for first team. Liverpool's title hopes are officially dashed. Their focus has to be on fourth place in the league because ManUre, Chelski, and the Arse are just plain better than us and that sucks. If Benitez could get out of his own way with this damn rotation policy, the Reds might actually play with some (gasp!) consistency.

New England - First the Patriots stink it up against the Jets (back-to-back losses for the Pats???), then the New England Revolution blow it in yet another MLS Cup. They were favorites this time around, too. The Revs seem hell bent on becoming the Buffalo Bills of American soccer (now 0-3 in the final). To add insult to injury, Clint Dempsey will likely be in Spain by the end of January.

MLS Cup - There's no way it could've been a worse match than last year's Galaxy triumph over New England, but it was still a terribly sloppy, dull, listless match save for the last eight minutes + penalties. I have seen and will continue to watch every MLS Cup, but the gap in quality between this league and the EPL is simply staggering.

New York Giants - I've got egg on my face and it's all thanks to these guys losing to Chicago, last night. When you have a feeb like Rex Grossman shaking and quivering, throwing picks and fumbling like he did in the first quarter, you step on his neck and end it. Instead, the Giants kept giving the ball back to Chicago through turnovers of their own and you're not going to beat the Bears if you don't control the football.

Damon Huard - Someone reminded the KC quarterback before gametime in Miami that he was Damon Huard.

Michael Vick - Second week in a row he's made this list and he's earned it both times. All credit to Cleveland for winning on the road, but they were playing a plastic team. Falcons are officially an afterthought.

NFL Week 9 Picks

The last round of bye weeks and it couldn't come at a better time for Philadelphia or Carolina, two NFC teams that have the talent to make the playoffs, but are seemingly lost mentally. The week off will do them both a world of good. The Jets (who would have ever thought?!) have a favorable enough schedule that nine wins and a playoff push seem like a reality. Though in the AFC, the competition for those two wildcard spots is far too stiff. Plus they just lost to Cleveland -- a feat reserved for the Raiders. Then there's the Cardinals... Hey, at least Matt Leinart is going to be a great quarterback someday.

On to the matchups and I'll begin tradition by leading off with the Raiders, followed by the game of the week, and then the rest of the week's slate.

Oakland (+8) at Seattle - Andrew Walter! Seneca Wallace! It's Monday Night Football on ESPN (buh buh dah dah)! Talk about your pieces of crap... Anyway, why in the world take the points with Oakland on the road? Well, while it is seemingly a blunder on par with invading Iraq (sans the casualties of war), Oakland's defense is riding a high after picking apart the Steelers last week. Granted, Pittsburgh hasn't really found their footing this season, but the Raider D has surprisingly been a bright spot over the last five weeks, ranking in the NFL's top ten (rated 8th at present). It's the offense, however, that has been horrendous. Walter completed all of five passes last Sunday (5!!!) and the running game is dead. Seattle's defense, however, has been anywhere between average and bad and, on the offensive side of the ball, how much confidence do you have in the vaunted Seneca Wallace/Maurice Morris combo? Wallace was able to move the ball last week and, playing at home, Seattle realizes this is a must-win game if they're serious about the playoffs. They may yet win, but Derrick Burgess & co. will be harrassing Wallace all day. In fact, why the hell not, this is the gamble of the week: Raiders 20 Seahawks 17

Game of the week:
Indianapolis at New England (-2.5) - Bill Simmons outlines my feelings on this matchup perfectly: I want to see them [the Colts] leave Foxborough with everyone saying, "Yup, we're idiots, we forgot that you shouldn't go against Brady in a big game" and "God, I'm dumb, I forgot that you can't beat a great team in a big game if you can't stop the run." Right on the money. The Colts rate 31st in the league on run defense. Given New England has a much more productive offense than the Broncos and Denver's running game was able to slice open the Colts' front seven at will, what will a savvy Brady and the combo of Dillon and Maroney do? They could very well run for 250 yards! Even as a die-hard Raiders fan who still cringes and whose soul turns a little more bitter everytime I hear the words "tuck rule," I gotta say, I just don't understand the national obsession with the plastic Colts.
Patriots 31 Colts 24

Houston at New York Giants (-13) - You'd ever think about taking Houston on the road with a David Carr/Sage Rosenfels QB controversy? Let alone against the Giants? I gotta say, before the season started, I thought New York was good enough to make it the the NFC championship. Now, I think they can make it to the Superbowl. I really do. Granted, it's the second half of the season where the true contenders step forward and next week's meeting with Chicago should be epic. G-men caught looking ahead? Nope, Texans are too bad.
Giants 38 Texans 14

Dallas (-3) at Washington - Ugh. I'm telling you, now, this will be an ugly game to sit through. If people think Tony Romo is savior in Dallas, someone's obviously spiked the water supply. The Redskins are a mess, though. Cowboys 24 Redskins 10

Green Bay at Buffalo (-3) - Sorry, but beating Miami and Arizona the last two weeks does not mean that Brett Favre is back. I like the gritty Bills at home, off a bye week... even Losman at quarterback.
Bills 26 Packers 20

Tennessee (+10) at Jacksonville - The Jaguars are the one team in the NFL that completely confounds me. There's so much that I like about them, yet they manage to baffle constantly. Lose by 20 to Houston, then beat Philly? David Garrard is officially the starter, this weekend, so you can't bet on Jacksonville to cover. The Titans (although coming off a win against the Jags' nemesis, Houston) are still going through growing pains with Vince Young. The away atmosphere won't help him.
Jaguars 24 Titans 21

New Orleans (-1) at Tampa Bay - This is an important game for New Orleans. Lose this one and the whole team's psyche could unravel as everyone in the country rubber-stamps "PRETENDER" on their forehead. Tampa's improved over the last couple weeks, too, and are a tough proposition at home. May not seem like it, but there's a lot of pressure on the Saints in this game. I think they've had enough of a makeover to overcome Bruce Gradkowski & Co. But not by much. Last second field goal, anyone? Saints 19 Buccaneers 17

Atlanta (-5) at Detroit - The Lions are a bad team. The Falcons are a bit Jeckyll/Hyde. Their running game should be more than enough, however, to pull out a comfortable road win. Falcons 34 Lions 17

Cincinnati at Baltimore (-3) - The AFC North crown potentially hangs in the balance. With those being the stakes, would you bet against a Ray Lewis-led defense against an erratic, unhappy Bengal offense? Me neither. Not to mention that personel issues at linebacker are catching up to Cincy quicker than ever. Ravens 27 Bengals 16

Miami at Chicago (-13.5) - I've been saying that Chicago is untested for the last couple weeks, now, and this game won't change that. The Dolphins are just plain bad. But Chicago will certainly be tested next week against the Giants. After this Sunday's gimme, their next three games against the Giants, Jets, and Patriots will give us all a much clearer understanding of how good this Bears team really is. Beating up on Green Bay, Detroit, Buffalo, and San Fran doesn't impress me.
Bears 45 Dolphins 9

Kansas City (+3) at St. Louis - KC's last two games were wins over San Diego and Seattle. The Rams' last games were losses to those very same opponents. Logic would dictate that a rising Chiefs team would then knock off a sputtering Rams team. Ah, but this is the NFL! So clearly, the Rams are going to win, right? Well, no. Remember this is the NFL! Everytime you think you've got it figured out, it turns out you don't.
Chiefs 35 Rams 30

Minnesota at San Francisco (+5.5) - 49ers play much better at home. They still cannot be counted on to avoid mistakes, however, and Minnesota has a solid rush defense. That spells trouble for fumble-prone Frank Gore. Vikings 24 49ers 20

Denver (+2) at Pittsburgh - I don't know about you, but after seeing the Steelers' horror show last weekend against Oakland, I'm flat out stunned that they're favored in this game. Even if it is at home. You think the Raider D gave Big Ben Motorcycle fits? Wait 'til he faces Denver. This result won't be nearly as rosy (not only for Pittsburgh, but for me -- screw Shanahan!) as last season's AFC title game.
Broncos 20 Steelers 13

Cleveland (+12.5) at San Diego - I have no doubt the Chargers are good enough to win, but the Cleveland defense has kept them close in every single game this year except for Cincy in week 2. They're only getting stronger, too. Chargers 22 Browns 16