Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Eat, Eat, Eat...and Eat Some More

[Editor's note: Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, Ramblings From The Rafters will not be published on Thursday and Friday. Dave is sorry, but he will be too busy eating. Enjoy all of the wall-to-wall sports programming on the four-letter network of your choice.]

All I have today folks is this: Enjoy the turkey, the stuffing, the mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, peas and carrots, pumpkin pie, apple pie, turkey sandwiches, more pie, more sandwiches...

Have a great Holiday weekend. I'll see you on Monday.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

College Hoops Take Center Stage

College basketball officially puts its stamp on the sports landscape this week as holiday tournaments are taking place all across the country. Last night, second-ranked and popular preseason Final Four favorite Connecticut claimed the Paradise Jam championship in the Virgin Islands with a 76-57 win over 19th-ranked Wisconsin. The Huskies, who moved to 5-0, were led by Jerome Dyson's 21 points. Hasheem Thabeet, who swatted away three more shots, was named tournament MVP.

Notre Dame smoked Indiana yesterday 88-50 in the opening round of the Maui Invitational, setting up an intriguing semifinal tonight against the Longhorns of Texas. Wow, how bad is Indiana going to be this year? The Hoosiers have just two returning players--one who's a walk-on--in Tom Crean's first season at the helm. But Crean will do a fantastic job there just as he did at Marquette.

Ball State looks to clinch a spot in the MAC championship game and finish off a perfect regular season tonight behind the arm of Nate Davis and the legs of MiQuale Lewis. With a win over Western Michigan, the 15th-ranked Cardinals will advance to its first-ever MAC championship game, where the Buffalo Bison will await on December 5th.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Reid's Benchmark Decision Bad News for Eagles

I have never been the biggest fan of Donovan McNabb's throughout his NFL career. It wasn't anything personal; I just thought he lacked a certain intangible to win a big game--and not toughness or a will to win, just a certain focus that I think Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks employ throughout a big game. That being said, Andy Reid has to be out of his mind to think that inserting Kevin Kolb into a three-point game was the right thing to do for the success of his fading football team. I don't care how much McNabb was struggling--the reasons don't matter either (ESPN's Tom Jackson cited the overtime controversy last week)--Reid knows that McNabb at QB in the second half provides him with a better chance to win the game. Whether or not he was trying to light a spark under McNabb or light a spark for the team, Reid ultimately put himself in a no-win situation.

Reid certainly will start McNabb Thanksgiving night at Lincoln Financial Field against the Arizona Cardinals. But for the Eagles fans, the only celebrating that they will be doing this year came about a month ago when the Phillies won the World Series. This Eagles team doesn't bounce back from that performance--on the field and on the sideline--yesterday against the Ravens.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Red Raiders Roll into Sooner Country

The Texas Tech Red Raiders have one more test to pass--albeit a huge one--in order to officially sway the college football world that they indeed are worthy of being big boys in the BCS national championship picture. Mike Leach' squad will storm into Norman on Saturday night to take on a Bob Stoops Oklahoma team that is just salivating at the thought of shaking up the BCS standings.
There's no question that the numbers are filthy. The Red Raiders lead the nation in passing (433.7 ypg), are second in total offense (566.3 ypg), and third in scoring (47.9 ppg). However, while Graham Harrell leads the nation with 4,077 passing yards, counterpart Sam Bradford leads the country with 38 touchdown passes and is directing the highest-scoring team in college football (51.4 ppg).

Memo to Browns GM Phil Savage: use spell check next time. Word catches those damn expletives.

Running back Edgerrin James has asked the Arizona Cardinals for his release, as the veteran has been relegated to backup much of the season behind rookie Tim Hightower. Cardinals GM Rod Graves has declined, of course, knowing full well that having two capable running backs is always better than one. James' request really bothers me, as his team is having a fantastic season--finally!--and he is actually contributing to a winning team again. Can you just play out the season Edge and worry about playing time next year?

Thursday, November 20, 2008

White Sox Strike Up Another Cuban

According to a Chicago Tribune report, the Chicago White Sox have reached an agreement with third baseman Dayan Viciedo, the 19-year-old who defected from Cuba this past May. The report states the Sox will sign Viciedo to a contract worth around $11 million. Chicago may have had an edge in the competition for Viciedo because the club has two Cubans on its roster--AL Rookie of the Year runner-up Alexei Ramirez and pitcher Jose Contreras. Agent Jaime Torres believes Viciedo is ready to step in and fill the Sox' third base void at just 19 years of age, but Sox GM Kenny Williams has both Josh Fields and recently acquired Wilson Betemit currently competing for time at third. It'll be interesting to see if Williams could peddle Fields in a trade with Javier Vazquez, but Fields' value is certainly much lower than in last offseason.

Is there any way we can fast forward to 2010 and let LeBron go to New York/New Jersey/Brooklyn/Madrid/Mars or wherever he wants to go? Can we end this non-drama right now?

Mr. 2.5-million dollars per year Rich Rodriguez is telling rabid Michigan Wolverines fans to "get a life" now as the anemic Wolverines prepare to play bitter rival Ohio State on Saturday. Here's the thing Rich: when you make that much bank and are eliminated from bowl contention halfway through the season, you don't get to make those comments.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Curry in Command Yet Again

I don't care what team he plays for and I don't care how underrecruited he was as a prep. I don't care where he gets drafted in the NBA Draft or if he gets drafted at all (oh, but he will). Davidson's Stephen Curry is the best player in college basketball. Period. America was introduced to him last season as he led the Davidson squad to seemingly insurmountable heights. And no matter what happens in the Big Dance this year, Curry will continue to prove that he is as dominant a college player as we've seen in a while. Last night, he tallied a career-high 44 points on 12-for-29 shooting--including 6-for-15 from downtown--in helping his team nearly overcome a 21-point deficit in a 82-78 loss at Oklahoma. It was the seventh straight game in which Curry has scored at least 25 points. While Blake Griffin's double-double of 25 points and a career-high 21 rebounds proved to be too much (and showed that Griffin may be the most talented forward in the nation), it was great to see that Curry was not a part of our basketball lives for just a few weeks last spring. Be ready to be treated to more of the same all season long. By the way, Davidson is 27-2 in its last 29 games.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

McGrady Hurting Again?

It comes as no surprise that Greg Robinson was fired as head football coach of Syracuse. Robinson, who will coach the final two games of the season, is 9-36 overall and 3-25 in the Big East in three-plus seasons. The Orange, 2-8 this season, is trying to avoid a third 10-loss season under Robinson. Before he was hired, Syracuse had never reached double-digit losses in a season. The team’s poor performance under his reign also gave Syracuse a huge financial hit, as more than 260,000 seats for home games were not sold over Robinson’s first three seasons.

Tracy McGrady's left knee looks as if it is bothering the seven-time All-Star again, a potentially devestating blow to a team that looked primed for a deep playoff run. McGrady left the team's 100-89 win over Oklahoma City on Monday night in the opening minute of the second half. He had offseason surgery to have loose bodies removed from his troublesome left knee, and the addition of Ron Artest provided the Rockets with the most balanced roster in McGrady's Rockets career.

Okay, so I wanted to avoid the Donovan McNabb overtime controversy. But really, Donovan? Really? I mean, I understand if you don't know Rule #319 AB-1 in the NFL handbook regarding the legality of certain blocking techniques. But the overtime period is a basic, fundamental, common rule that has been in place for many years, and you are the quarterback--the leader--of your football team. Just a crushing non-win for the Eagles. A tie is a loss in the NFC East.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Random NFL Musings

In what could only be deemed a statement game, the Green Bay Packers showed that they indeed will be players in the NFC race so long as Ryan Grant produces...while the Chicago Bears showed that they are mere frauds without a number one--or two--wideout and a severely overrated defense.

In the statement game that closed out NFL action on Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys stole a victory in D.C. behind Marion Barber's 114 yards on 24 carries and Terence Newman's return to the lineup. Who would have thought that Tony Romo would take a backseat in his return to Big D's lineup. I thought he was the savior?

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Tyler Thigpen is slowly moving into Matt Ryan territory in my book: a guy that proves me wrong week after week. He has a 2:1 TD-INT ratio and, while I'd like to see his completion percentage rise, the guy is keeping his team in ballgames. He also is fleet-footed, which helps him avoid sacks behind a porous offensive line.

By the way, do you think the Minnesota Vikings are kicking themselves for not signing Chad Pennington? The Dolphins are now 6-4 behind steady play from their QB, a nice dose of Ronnie Brown, and a near-dominant D. Oh, and a touch of The Big Tuna.

Watch out for the Indianapolis Colts, who will have as good a shot as any team in the playoffs if they get consistent play from Joseph Addai and if Bob Sanders can get healthy. I feel like Peyton Manning is about to get in the zone.

It'll be interesting to see just how serious of a knee injury Brandon Jacobs sustained yesterday in the Giants' thrashing of Baltimore at the Meadowlands. I love Ahmad Bradshaw and Derrick Ward, but their production--I believe--is contingent on the battering style of Jacobs. They are effective because of their change-of-pace nature, and hopefully Jacobs' injury is not too serious.

I still can't figure out the Denver Broncos. I'm not sure if I correctly predicted a game they were involved in all year long.

Finally, I really hope reports that Jim Fassel sent a handwritten letter to Raiders owner Al Davis expressing his interest in coaching the team aren't true. Here's a letter of my own:

Dear Jim-
As a man who really wanted you to get the Washington Redskins head job last offseason, I beg you to retract such a letter to Al Davis. Do you really know what you would be getting yourself into? You say you admire and respect the guy? What's there to respect about a guy who meddles in coaching decisions and treats his employess like garbage? Please say it ain't so Jim.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Jets Edge Pats in OT

The New York Jets took over first place in the AFC East on Thursday night with a 34-31 overtime victory over the host New England Patriots. The win enabled the Jets to take sole possession of the division lead for the first time since Nov. 19, 2001. Brett Favre was dynamite again, and the emergence of Dustin Keller has provided Favre with yet another downfield option. Both Keller and Jericho Cotchery had 87 receiving yards, and Thomas Jones was steady with 104 rushing yards and a score to give the Jets a four-game winning streak and a one-game lead over the Pats.

Meanwhile, Matt Cassel showed Patriots fans that a certain All-Everything QB is not the only one in town who could direct an offense. Cassel finished 30-of-51 for 400 yards--all career highs--and three touchdowns. He even added 62 rushing yards, finishing with the sixth-most in team history for a quarterback. But the defining drive of the game for the backup-turned starter was the game-tying drive which culminated in a beautiful pitch and catch to Randy Moss to send the game into overtime.

While these two teams have completed their season series, there's no doubt that they aren't finished battling this season, specifically at the top of the AFC East.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Give Uncle Charlie A Break

I understand the criticism directed at Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis. I really do. But people, they won three games last year. Three! They set an NCAA record for most sacks allowed, looked completely overmatched on defense and never had a chance to get back into games because of an inept offense. Compare that disaster to this season. Quarterback Jimmy Clausen, for the most part, has been protected by an offensive line that is pass-blocking much better. The defense has kept them in every game and has looked much more aggressive in all areas. And while the offense put up a goose-egg against BC last Saturday night, I think the Irish have wilted under the pressure of playing BC this last decade. I don't think everyone realizes just how much these two teams hate each other. The culmination was the game in South Bend in 1993 that ultimately cost ND a national title. For some reason, the Irish forgot how to beat BC, as the Eagles have won six straight. Perhaps actually running the football would provide the Irish with a better chance of success, as the preseason Weis mandate to "pound the ball" has never quite come into fruition. But the idea that Weis should get fired is ludicrous. The Ty Willingham firing was unfortunate, don't get me wrong. But he couldn't recruit. And that's in the past. Two wrongs don't make a right, so at least give Weis a chance to coach the players he's brought into South Bend. If these supposed big-time prospects don't pan out and the Irish are still mediocre? Then make the change. But for ND athletic director Jack Swarbrick to even have to answer questions about Weis are a little asinine.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Oden Returning Tonight?

It looks as though Portland center Greg Oden will return to the Trail Blazers' lineup tonight against the Miami Heat after a six-game stint on the sideline due to a sprained right foot. After going through a full practice and shootaround on Tuesday, Oden declared himself fit to play tonight. The No. 1 pick in the 2007 NBA draft missed all of last season following knee surgery and played only 13 minutes against the Lakers in his NBA debut last month.

Browns running back Jamal Lewis claims that some of his teammates quit last week in the team's loss to Denver. Apparently kick returner Josh Cribbs doesn't disagree. This is real bad news for head coach Romeo Crennel, who may be nearing the end of the road in Cleveland.

Congratulations to Tim Lincecum, who was named the NL Cy Young award winner yesterday. Despite pitching for a weak team with an anemic offense, Lincecum went 18-5 with a 2.62 ERA last season while racking up a major league-best 265 strikeouts in 227 innings. The diminutive right-hander led the NL in winning percentage and was named an All-Star for the first time.

Can Billy Beane be any more of a thief? Wow, the Oakland A's GM absolutely stole Matt Holliday from Colorado. Huston Street was no longer in Oakland's plans, Greg Smith is okay, and Carlos Gonzalez--while he could emerge as a star--is not Matt Holliday. Even if Beane ends up dumping Holliday at the deadline in July, he'll just get more young players to add to the mix in the Bay Area.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Late Niners Gaffes Help Warner, Cards Hold On

Poor Mike Singletary. Poor poor Iron Mike. I know you want your San Francisco 49ers to be a physical team. But two straight runs from 2 1/2 yards out in the final seconds? And Michael Robinson on the last play of the game? No Frank Gore if you're dead-set on running the ball? I know Mike Martz calls the plays (and that's an entirely different story for another day), but botched final plays of games like that one always help define a coach's tenure on a ballclub. It's a shame, but Singletary has not exactly had the greatest opening pair of games to start a head coaching career. Despite the 49ers playing their best game of the season, that final segment of goal-line commotion will always provide the lasting image.

Kurt Warner, meanwhile, continued to lead a dynamic passing attack that shows no signs of slowing down. The Cardinals gunslinger finished 32-of-42 for 328 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in the Cards' sixth straight home win. Warner completed 76.2 percent of his passes, the sixth time Warner has completed at least 70 percent of his passes this season. He now has surpassed 300 yards in 45 % of his starts in his career, highest all-time in the NFL.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Big Ben's Bullets Not Connecting

Ben Roethlisberger clearly cannot make some of the throws he has made in the past because of his bum shoulder, but look for the Steelers QB to tough out the pain for the remainder of the season. Look for the playcalling to be adjusted, however, as there is no reason to be up 17-7 and throw three picks to help the Colts steal a roadie in the Steel City. Big Ben has eight interceptions in his last three games, and the timing with his receivers has really not been there all season.

You have to feel bad for Joe Paterno. It was a great environment at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday in Iowa City, and it is always great to see the underdog overcome great odds, but it really would have been great to see Joe Pa's team at least make things really interesting by staying unbeaten until the last Saturday of its season. Instead, the Nittany Lions will have to stay motivated to compete for a Big Ten title, which would still place them in the Rose Bowl and give them a chance to play USC. Not a horrible consolation prize, but still not the national title that everyone in Happy Valley craved.

Meanwhile, has Jarrett Lee stopped throwing interceptions for LSU? Heartbreaking loss for the defending national champion Tigers, who fell to 6-3...

I know I'm probably still the only one that hasn't bought in yet, but I still don't trust Texas Tech. Sorry Lubbock...

I'm beginning to think the criticism of Ron Zook was warranted when he was the coach of the Florida Gators. I'm sorry, but you can't bring last year's Big Ten Rose Bowl rep into an empty Ford Field and get beat by Western Michigan. It just can't happen...

Very interesting to see Jim Tressel's Ohio State squad fake a punt up 31-10 midway through the fourth quarter on Saturday in its 45-10 dismantling of Northwestern at Ryan Field...and then score a touchdown with seven seconds left instead of taking a knee? Wow, can you say style points?

One last note: Dave Wannstedt may finally have his Pittsburgh Panthers playing top-notch football...finally. Pitt moved to 7-2 overall and 3-1 in the Big East with a 41-7 throttling of Louisville on Saturday, and the victory gives the program its first bowl bid and winning season in Wannie's four-year tenure.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Johnson Keeps Utes Undefeated Again

Just when you thought Utah was going to trip up and clear the way for another BCS buster to move up the rankings, Brian Johnson delivered again. Johnson drove the Utes 80 yards and tossed a touchdown to Freddie Brown with 48 seconds left as Utah defeated TCU last night in Salt Lake City.

TCU missed two field goal attempts in the final quarter of play, setting the stage for more heroics from Johnson, who led Utah back from an eight-point deficit in the last minute and a half against Oregon State on October 2nd. Utah is now 10-0 for just the second time in school history.

Would Jim Harbaugh really take the Oakland Raiders head coaching job and work for Al Davis? Both parties seem to have mutual admiration for each other, and Harbaugh began his coaching career with the Raiders.

Manny Ramirez reportedly has been offered a two-year, 50 million dollar contract by the Los Angeles Dodgers, but Ramirez reportedly wants a four-year deal. I wonder how many teams are in the bidding and willing to pay him 25 mil per...

Jack Del Rio sending Mike Peterson home may have been the first in a series of moves that eventualy will get him fired. Just a hunch.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Pete Carroll Whining Again

DeAngelo Hall may be the luckiest man in the NFL. Not only will he get picked up by a contending team, but he still gets to make sick bank. Al Davis is a complete disgrace to the National Football League.

Memo to Pete Carroll: Maybe don't lose to an unranked team and then you'll have an argument regarding the legitimacy of the BCS. Maybe pull an Alabama and stay unbeaten for awhile before you cry about the system that apparently is ruining college football.

Can we just let the games play out please and see what happens?

This Allen Iverson-Chauncey Billups deal may be one of the few NBA trades that actually makes sense for both teams. Joe Dumars cited "the immediate impact player and the long-term flexibility" that the Pistons now have, while the Nuggets get a hometown guy who can both run the point and provide just enough offense to complement Melo and J.R. Smith. One thing is for certain: the change that Dumars promised in the offseason did indeed come into fruition.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Parity Truly Ruling This NFL Season

Glancing at the NFL standings entering Week 10 of the season, it's interesting to note that only the Titans, Steelers, Giants and Panthers have two or fewer losses. Not that many good teams in the league, right? Well what about the fact that in three divisions--the NFC East, NFC South and AFC East--all four teams are at .500 or better. I hate when people throw the word "parity" around, but perhaps it really is true this season. Pete Rozelle would be proud.

Meanwhile, the Lions are still winless. And still hopeless. Are the reports true that Daunte Culpepper will actually start on Sunday? Perhaps Daunte-to-Calvin can be the new Daunte-to-Randy...on second thought, probably not.

Brady Quinn will make his first NFL start tomorrow night against the Denver Broncos, as Browns coach Romeo Crennel has benched Derek Anderson. Too bad I won't get to watch the game because it's on the NFL Network.

By the way, is Stephon Marbury still in the NBA?

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Vols Look Forward as Fullmer Steps Down

Phillip Fulmer "stepped down" as head coach at the University of Tennessee yesterday after 17 seasons on the Volunteers sideline. Fulmer, of course, was for all intents and purposes fired and admitted at his press conference that it wasn't his decision to step down from coaching his alma mater. But in the midst of its third losing season in five years and with attendance dwindling, the program clearly needs a new direction. Really, it isn't about whether or not Fulmer can coach anymore--we all know he can (just not as great as he once used to and not as great as people thought he ever could)--it's about the product on the field not being a valuable asset to the school anymore; in other words, it's about money. Dwindling attendance is a result of apathy from the fans. Disinterested fans not coming to ballgames means less money for the university. Come on people, this is the NCAA after all. The talent level on the Tennessee roster clearly has diminished in recent years. Could they compete with teams like Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and South Carolina with Fullmer? Maybe, sure. But this is Tennessee, and Fulmer once led them to a national championship. There are great aspirations in Knoxville. This situation is different from Clemson's, in that Tommy Bowden wasn't winning with a boatload of talent, while Fulmer wasn't winning because of a lack of talent. The fact of the matter is that the Tennessee players taking the field week in and week out have not been of the same caliber in recent years as they were in the late 90's and earlier this decade. Perhaps former USC recruiting guru Lane Kiffin could be the guy to reinvigorate the Tennessee program. And perhaps Fullmer would be a good fit at Clemson. Terry Don Phillips, are you reading this?

Monday, November 3, 2008

Perhaps Texas Tech Really Is For Real

Graham Harrell tossed a 28-yard touchdown pass to fellow Heisman Trophy contender Michael Crabtree with one second remaining, and Texas Tech recorded its biggest victory in school history with a 39-33 win over top-ranked Texas on Saturday night. Harrell, who may have positioned himself as the Heisman contender to beat, finished with 474 yards passing and two touchdowns on 36-of-53 passing. The Red Raiders finally notched a signature win for a program that has been labeled a "wannabe", most recently by myself. After this victory, I wholeheartedly believe that Texas Tech is a legitimate Big 12 and national contender. Well, the Red Raiders' ranking validates that for me. But, keep in mind that they now must continue a brutally similar schedule to the one Texas just finished up. Tech plays host to Oklahoma State next week before having a week off to prepare for a visit to Norman to play Oklahoma. Then, if they get by the 'Homa schools, they still have the Big 12 championship game. So...there is still hope for my skepticism to run its course and validate my concerns about the Red Raiders.

West Virginia continued its turnaround on Saturday, winning for the fifth consecutive game to remain unbeaten in Big East play. The Mountaineers took care of Connecticut 35-13, snapping the Huskies' 11-game home winning streak and setting up a huge matchup this Saturday in Morgantown against Cincinnati.

What a job Houston Nutt is doing in his first season with Ole Miss. The Rebels picked up their third SEC win of the season--Ed Orgeron's total SEC wins in three seasons--by beating reeling Auburn on Saturday in Oxford to snap a four-game skid against the Tigers, who dropped to 4-5. At 5-4, the Rebels sit one win away from bowl eligibility.