Weekly Rankings, Iowa No. 1

Not too many changes this week. We've got two 8-0 teams, but Iowa is way ahead of Alabama right now. Why? It's not because the computer isn't factoring in their close calls - my program does contain margin of victory. So let's take a look at what they've each done, going from their best win to worse.

Iowa: @ Penn St (187.16) 21-10, vs Arizona (123.44) 27-17, @ Wisconsin (94.56) 20-10, vs Michigan (58.62) 30-28
Bama: v VA Tech (137.10) 34-24, vs S Carolina (126.39) 20-6, @ Ole Miss (82.29) 22-3, @ Kentucky (48.37) 38-20

Iowa: @ Iowa St (58.54) 35-3, @ Michigan St (12.30) 15-13, vs Arkansas St (-60.94) 24-21, vs N Iowa (I-AA) 17-16
Bama: vs Arkansas (-10.03) 35-7, vs Tennessee (-22.71) 12-10, vs Fla Intl (-154.44) 40-14, vs N Texas (-154.88) 53-7

(Continue to The National Championship Issue)

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Another Blown Call Benefits Florida

Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen is livid about a blown call in Saturday night's game against Florida, the second week in a row the Gators have benefited from errors by a Southeastern Conference officiating crew.

Florida linebacker Dustin Doe was ruled to have scored on a 23-yard interception return with 8:25 remaining in the fourth quarter, but replays showed that Doe was stripped of the ball before crossing the goal line by Mississippi State receiver Brandon McRae.

Doe's touchdown was upheld after being reviewed, giving Florida its second touchdown in 33 seconds and a 29-13 lead. The Gators won, 29-19.

(Continue to The Wiz of Odds)

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Thoughts on Alabama's Quartet

With all four of Alabama’s Football Bowl Subdivision teams on television Saturday – plus some other games of interest – my remote got a workout. It was still smoking Sunday morning from all the channel surfing.

I want to share with you what I learned from my channel flipping.

* Alabama's massive nose tackle Terrence “Mount” Cody might not have great leaping ability, but when he gets penetration with a big push on a field goal attempt he doesn’t have to. That’s how he was able to block two field goal attempts in the fourth quarter to preserve the Crimson Tide’s narrow 12-10 victory against the Tennessee Volunteers and the Tide's perfect season.

(Continue to Rue's Rant)

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New Lights on Marcos Baghdatis

Marcos Baghdatis is back. The Cypriot won the Stockholm ATP 250 over Olivier Rochus 61 75. Baghdatis, who hadn’t such a joy since February 2007 (in Zagreb, w. over Ivan Ljubicic) is the 10th unseeded player to clinch a title this season. Is this enough to talk about a Renaissance of the ex Australian Open finalist? Is this a sufficiently bright signal to turn off the critics of who considers Marcos nothing more than a meteor who lived only a summer of unexpected glory?

Probably not, although a victory is always a victory and should mollify attacks and oppositions. Marcos won a decent tournament, but surely not an astonishing tournament. The only top-10 in the main draw, Robin Soderling, withdrawn in the semifinal for an elbow injury, and gave up the hope of improving his ranking points replacing the 115 points of the success at the Sunrise Challenger. The quality of the event is testified by the semifinal between Olivier Rochus (who was the 21st best player in the world, has two career titles and, although his one-handed backhand and smart strategies would deserve more, hasn’t reached the fourth round in a Grand Slam event since 2005) and the Gstaad champions, the 21 year-old Brazilian Thonas Bellucci.

(Continue to ATP Tennis 360)

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Anything But Yankees-Phillies

I was really looking forward to a Game 6 of the ALCS Saturday night - the night I could actually stay up to watch a game. Now I need to either set myself back entirely for the week by staying up late for a Sunday night game, or miss the late innings.

I really have a lot riding on the outcome, too. There are a few reasons I want the Angels to pull this series out, none of which have anything to do with rooting against the Yankees just because.

One thing is, I'd like to see the Angels win Game 6 so that there's a Game 7. That would be exciting. Secondly, it has been a long haul for the Angels this season. As I've mentioned before, they have the best story this post-season - no one would have blamed them if they had mailed their season in after the early-season Nick Adenhart tragedy. But they've come this far, it would be a shame if they fell short of the World Series.

Finally, though, I don't want it to be a Phillies-Yankees World Series. There are two reasons for this. One is that this is a repeat World Series, and I would feel like we wasted the year if there wasn't a new matchup in the World Series. Secondly, this is the baseball equivalent of the Super Bowl a couple of years ago when the Giants beat the Patriots.

(Continue to 200 Miles From the Citi)

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High Expectations for '09-'10 Season

NBA Commissioner David Stern’s no fool. He knows full well what’s in store for the 2009-2010 NBA season.

Over the last few weeks, Stern apparently must've worked behind the scenes and on Friday the NBA and regular refs finally ironed out a new two-year deal just in time for Tuesday night’s opening tipoff.

Apparently there was no way Stern was going to screw up the drama and action for the league or its fans this season.

Expectations are the highest in recent memory, so evidently Stern knew he needed his full-time guys on board to shore up things for this highly-anticipated 2009-2010 NBA season.

(Continue to All Net)

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High-Scoring Saints March into Miami

The Miami Dolphins come out of their bye week and into the fire, as they host the undefeated New Orleans Saints at Land Shark Stadium. Kickoff is at 4:15.

To say the Saints are a high-scoring outfit is an understatement. Through five games, New Orleans is averaging 38.4 points and 430 yards of total ofense per game.

Last week, Drew Brees and Company eviscerated the then-No. 1 defense in the NFL, the New York Giants, for 493 total yards and 48 points in the Saints' 48-27 drubbing.

Brees was at his best, completing 23-of-30 passes for 369 yards and four touchdowns, and Marques Colston caught eight passes for 166 yards and a TD.

(Continue to Dolphins Watch)

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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 backwards in the wrong direction, with a quick reminder that the Guru is now 46-25 after going 9-5 last week:

Green Bay at Cleveland -- This one should be an easy one to pick as the Browns can't seem to get out of their own way. So why do I get a strange feeling that we could be looking at a repeat of last week's Eagles-Raiders upset? Nah. Aaron Rodgers is coming into his own and with Ahman Green back in a Packers jersey to give Ryan Grant some help, Green Bay will keep pace in the NFC playoff race, although it will be closer than it should be.

Packers 23, Browns 21

(Continue to NFL Guru)

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Retooled Habs Look to Bounce Back

The Montreal Canadiens spent the better part of their summer retooling the coaching staff and roster following a second place finish in the Northeast Division, 8th place in the Eastern Conference, and getting swept by the Bruins in the opening round of the playoffs.

Now, nine games into the 2009-10 season, the question is: where exactly are the new-look Canadiens after all of the changes?

The answer from new head coach Jacques Martin is, "a work in progress."

"It takes a while, not only from the players standpoint, but from that of a coach," Martin told me this morning at the Bell Centre. "It takes me a while as a coach to really appreciate what a player brings to the table. And as for the team, I think we have progressed, but it will take some time."

(Continue to Jim Cerny's Rink Rap)

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Canada Deserves More NHL Teams

Hard to argue with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who would like to see more NHL teams in the land of the maple leaf.

Canadian fans watched two franchises relocate to the U.S. -- Quebec to Denver and Winnipeg to Phoenix (now Glendale, Ariz.) -- in the mid 1990s, and BlackBerry mogul Jim Balsillie was thwarted in his attempts at bringing an American franchise to Hamilton, Ontario.

You probably could build a hockey rink in the middle of nowhere in Canada, and the team would sell out every game.

Of course, a fan base has never been the problem in Canada. The Quebec Nordiques and Winnipeg Jets did very well, thank you, drawing fans to their respective arenas.

(Continue to Through the 5 Hole)

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