10:51 AM
Unknown
Instead of recognizing the inferior quality of its officiating, the Southeastern Conference adopts a bunker mentality.Earlier this week, SEC commissioner Mike Slive played the role of bully, warning that any coach who criticizes the referees will now be subject to a fine and/or suspension. He must have been so proud of himself.We're constantly amazed how sports leagues can get away with squashing the first amendment rights of its employees, how they can exist in a vacuum above the law.(Continue to Bob Birge's Irish Eyes Are Smili...
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Sticking with Todd Dooms Auburn
Auburn backup quarterback Neil Caudle (pictured left) has spent all week saying all the right things about how he supports starter Chris Todd, about waiting his turn, about how there’s noquarterback controvery on the Plains.Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.Head coach Gene Chizik defended Todd somewhat, saying he isn't solely responsible for the Tigers’ suddenly moribund offense. So, that’s why Chizik is sticking with the ineffective Todd (8-of-14 for 47 yards last week in a 31-10 loss at LSU).“Let me tell you something, Chris Todd is a quarterback, that when it is third-and-7 and he has five guys in his lap, that's not Chris Todd, that's different...
Mike Gundy: Who's Your Daddy?
Mike Gundy may be a man now (at least he thinks so), but part of his everyday challenge is very much the burden foisted upon every boy the world over - making his daddy proud.Gundy's daddy, metaphorically speaking, of course, is T. Boone Pickens, a Texas oil man. A man who's given over a quarter of a billion bucks to the Oklahoma State athletic program. A man whose name graces the Cowboys' brand-spanking new stadium.And Gundy has no better opportunity to please his (sugar) daddy than this week.(Continue to BCS Gu...
Favre Returns, Jury Waits
Even though Brett Favre's return to Green Bay Sunday mercifully puts an end to what seems like 107 weeks of uber-hype, aren't you at least a little curious to see how it all plays out?Don't you wonder how the salt-of-the-earth folks in Wisconsin will treat the man they once crowned their prince and savior? Because for all the good Favre did in Green Bay during his 16-year reign, is it possible he undid all of it, with his embarrassing, stuttering departure two years ago?Understand that Green Bay was an NFL wasteland after the glory days of Vince Lombardi in the '60s. Between 1969 and 1991 the Packers had exactly five winning seasons, and...
Dolphins-Jets: The Sequel
In a strange scheduling quirk, the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets face off for the second time in three weeks, this time in the Meadowlands. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.The last time the two teams played, of course, was on Monday night. And in one of the best games in the rivalry in recent years, Ronnie Brown's 2-yard TD run with six seconds left lifted Miami to a 31-27 win.The next week, the Jets continued their skid with a 16-13 overitme loss at home to Buffalo, their third loss in a row. Quarterback Mark Sanchez single-handedly lost the game with his worst day as a pro, tossing five interceptions.(Continue to Dolphins Wat...
Foundering Cavs in Need of West
It is early in the NBA season, a point LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal have been stressing. So a loss here or there won’t turn what should be a promising season for the Cavaliers into a shipwreck.The Cavs have foundered, though.Their play has been spotty, their defense leaky -- a reflection of a team in transition, a team trying to figure out what it can do. The Cavs are also a team absent one of its important pieces: Delonte West. One player can make a difference.For those you think otherwise, find a TV replay of the Lakers-Mavericks game Friday night. Ask any of the NBA analysts, and most of them will tell you the Lakers are the cream...
This Week's Top NBA Stories
Here’s a look at five headlining NBA stories from the week of Oct. 25:5). Donaghy’s botched book deal could help NBA (FOX Sports.com, Oct. 30).The stars are still aligned for a thrilling 2009-2010 NBA season. Disgraced former referee Tim Donaghy had hoped to rain on the league’s parade this season with his tell-all book titled “Blowing the Whistle: The Culture of Fraud in the NBA.” However, the book's publisher appropriately pulled the plug because of “concerns over liability.”(Continue to All N...
Friday, October 30, 2009
Rumble in the Jungle Turns 35
"Beyond the stucco villa, the Congo River flowed swiftly," Dave Anderson wrote in The New York Times. "On the law several dozen Africans, men in their slacks and bright shires and women in their long dresses had come for a glimpse of the famous man now that he was the world heavyweight champion again."Anderson's words are of no recent vintage, but they remain as vivid and as lucid as the day he crafted them 35 years ago.His words are remembered today because this is the anniversary of the title fight Anderson wrote about. Now as then, you can hardly forget it, not if you consider yourself a Muhammad Ali fan.Even if you didn't watch the bout...
Redskins Not Getting the Signs
The Washington Redskins - who now have stooped to making up rules as they go along, like the ones stopping fans from bringing signs into FedEx Field - are doing the entire sports-loving world a favor. They’re teaching a long-overdue lesson about what it means to be a good “fan’’ (which is derived from “fanatic’’) and to be a good “customer’’ (derived from “gimme what I’m paying for, dammit’’).Think about all the times organizations have put lousy products on the field, all the times fans have gotten fed up and stopped showing up – and all the times that someone has chided them for being “bad fans.’’ The times they’ve been called a “bad sports...
Lions-Rams: That '70s Show
When the St. Louis Rams take their sorry, 0-7 act on the road to stumble up against the almost-as-sorry, 1-5 Lions on Sunday, nostalgia will run as thick as the soot in the Motor City air.St. Louis and Detroit...playing a meaningless mid-season football game...Shout it from the rooftops, friends, the NFL as we used to know it is back! Parity is dead, and a rebirth of the '70s is upon us!All this harks to a time when our kids weren't too fat and our celebrities too thin; back when we actually believed the sludge which is Coors was a premium brew, if only because their boss told us it had water from the Rockies in it; back when newspapers were...
Rules Are Made to Be ... Followed
In Uniform: Baltimore Cross County Championships(Photo: Baltimore Sun)This is a story getting some legs – about the Baltimore area high school cross-country team that lost a championship because of a uniform rules violation involving Spandex undergarments.In local and national newspaper sports and editorial pages, blogs and readers forums, debaters are asking when is a seemingly insignificant rule infraction worth distorting the outcome of the competition. A larger view is whether some rules should be overlooked to maintain the purity of competition.On Oct. 26, a runner for Hereford High School's boys cross country team competing in the...
The Empire Strikes Back
With Halloween two days away, it looked like Pedro Martinez would bewitch the bats in the Bronx but AJ Burnett was able to do just a little bit better, tricking Phillie hitters all night long.Phillies went down 1-2-3 in the top of the first after A.J. Burnett threw a first pitch strike to each batter. Pedro started off by striking out Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon while Yankee fans obnoxiously chanted, "Who's your daddy."Let me comment on that chant by the way...Pedro came up with it and it does not bother him so please be quite. Come up with something original. The Wolf Pack, Duck Pond, Howard's Homers, Coste Guards, Padilla Floatia, Cole...
Schedule Gives Cardinals a Chance
Not sure if anyone would have thought of this three weeks ago, but the Arizona Cardinals, with 10 weeks remaining in the season, can think big. After winning three straight games, and claiming sole possession of first place in the NFC West division, the Cardinals have a good chance of finishing the season strong and claiming a first-round bye or home field advantage. In Week Seven, Arizona claimed a 24-17 victory over the New York Giants on the road. It may be the team's biggest win of the season. It has set the table for Arizona to make a run through the remaining games of its schedule. Arizona's next 10 opponents have a combined record...
Can Notre Dame Catch Michigan?
Here's something for Notre Dame fans to sink their teeth into:On Wednesday, the NCAA officially began its investigation of the (sc)UM football team regarding allegations that coach Rich Rodriguez and his staff surpassed the allotted mandatory workout hours (Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis never will be accused of over-working his troops because that would mean pushing back his dinner reservation, which is why his getting fired would be the worst thing for the South Bend economy).Let's suppose the violations are so egregious that Michigan has to forfeit all its win under Rodriguez, who is in his second season in Ann Arbor (three last season and five so far this year).That means that Michigan would lose at least eight victories, and Notre Dame would jump back over the Wolverines into its rightful...
A Lot on the Line at Autzen Stadium
summary_noimg = 250; summary_img = 10; img_thumb_height = 184; img_thumb_width = 245; On Halloween night the #5 USC Trojans travel to #10 Oregon Ducks. Before the season began California and Oregon were expected to challenge USC for first place...
Pujols' Words Sweet to Cardinals
Cardinal first baseman Albert Pujols told the St. Louis media he wants to remain a Redbird for life.Okay, Cardinal fans you can breathe easier now. That a joke by the way.Cardinal nation was abuzz about mixed messages Pujols apparently gave in a...
Thursday, October 29, 2009
MLS Playoff Preview
Western ConferenceLos Angeles Galaxy (W1) vs. Chivas USA (W4)The Superclasico get taken to a whole new level as the two occupants of the Home Depot Center gear up for two matches that promises to be just as intense as their three regular season meetings.The...
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Iowa Lacks Style ... And Substance?
After the 2001 season, the BCS forced the computers remaining in the BCS formula to remove margin of victory (MOV) as an element in their respective algorithms. The reason, ostensibly, is that it discourages teams...
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Yanks' First Series Without Scooter
The Yankees will play in a World Series for the first time since his passing. He has been gone a little more than two years now, but I can still hear his voice calling from the past, from some time in the late 1960s.I hear the sound of so many of my...
European Soccer Recap
English Premier LeagueThe teams currently occupying the top two spots in the Premiership swited spots over the weekend, as Chelsea regained the top spot in the league.Chelsea did its part on Saturday, as a brace by Frank Lampard helped the blues...
Monday, October 26, 2009
Weekly Rankings, Iowa No. 1
.bluetext { color:#000096; } .redtext { color:#960000; } .whitetext { color:#FFFFFF; } .blacktext { color:#000000; } .red4 { background-color:#D20000; } .red3 { background-color:#DA5252; } .red2 { background-color:#EE8282; } .red1 { background-color:#F5C3C3;...
Sunday, October 25, 2009
NFL's Separation Anxiety
Here we are in Week 7 and it is becoming more and more clear which teams are legitimate Super Bowl contenders and which ones are out and out pretenders.So, let's see who is going to make a statement this time around and who's going to take a step...
