Weekend Wrapup (10/16/06)

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by user Debo

Some observations from the world of sports the weekend.

MLB

Thanks for making me look dumb, Frank
Well, my prediction that I made last week about the A's taking the series in 6 against the Tigers, including predicting that Frank Thomas would continue his success from the ALDS, couldn't have been more wrong. Thomas (0-13 in the series) must have figured out how old he was, because he sure didn't play like the 30-year old he was in the regular season and ALDS. Props to the Tigers though. They don't have any superstars, but neither did the White Sox last year. Jim Leyland and the Tigers' front office has done a phenomonal job in putting together a great team.

The Mets-Cards series is definitely more competetive than the ALCS, which is a little more like what playoff baseball should be. I still like the Mets to take the series, however their pitching has struggled without Pedro. I think the series will go 7, but the Mets will use their home-field advantage to come out on top.

As for the World Series, I can't make a prediction with any confidence. But, I'm gonna take a stab, and say that the Tigers will take it in 6.

Isn't it strange that a superstar will get booed and tormented relentlessly if they fail to get a hit 71% of the time, yet they are lauded and praised when they fail 67% of the time? When you put it in that perspective, it seems strange, doesn't it, that A-Rod wouldn't have gotten all the crap he got this year had he only got 4 or 5 more hits for every 100 at-bats? Not to defend A-Rod, because I still think he's a tool, but it's funny to think that a "superstar" will fail to get a hit 65% of the time, while a "decent" player will fail 72% of the time.

Will work for food
It looks like Lou Piniella will be named Cubs manager any day now. So where is Joe Girardi gonna end up? I'm no GM, but after seeing what he did with the Marlins last year, I would pick that guy up in a heartbeat.

NFL

The Raiders held the Broncos to 13 points, which for the Raiders is pretty damn good. Unfortunately, they only put up 3 and lost by 10. I guess the Raiders will just have to rely on moral victories from here on out, because a real one doesn't look too likely. Holding the Broncos to 13 could be considered a moral victory, at least for Art Shell. The perfect season is still intact.

Detroit, Tampa Bay and Tennessee all got their first wins of the season yesterday, which leaves Oakland as the only winless team in the NFL.

The Steelers completely destroyed the Chiefs, and everyone is claiming that "the Steel Curtain is back." Not so fast. Damon Huard isn't exactly a huge threat to opposing defenses, and it's obvious that they were focused on stopping Larry Johnson, stacking 8 and 9 guys on the box all game long. Johnson only managed 26 yards, his second crappy performance in a row, but can you really blame him? If I were the opposing coach, I would take my chances and let Damon Huard beat me with his arm. The Chiefs, and LJ fantasy owners alike, need Trent Green to return ASAP so they can get some sort of a passing game going again.

My biggest regret in life so far: Not taking LT number one in my draft
LT scored 4 TD's against the Niners...which once again made me regret taking LJ as the first pick in my fantasy league. LT is a stud, the Chargers are rolling, and there is no end in sight for their success.

Tiki Barber leads the league with 533 yards rushing but has yet to score a touchdown. It doesn't look great for Barber to get many TDs the rest of the year with Brandon Jacobs, a freaking monster of a back, getting almost all of the carries in the red zone and goalline.

Speaking of Jacobs, he was an Auburn transfer when he eventually landed at Southern Illinois. How good was Auburn's running-back committee when Jacobs couldn't even crack the two-deep? Cadillac Williams, Ronnie Brown and Jacobs were probably the best 3 backs on any team at one time in a long, long time.

Yesterday was the day of the receiver, as several of them had monster days. Terrell Owens (5 catches, 45 yards, 3 TDs), Torry Holt (8/154/3), Roy Williams (10/161/1), Steve Smith (8/189/1), Laverneus Coles (5/106/2), Joe Horn (6/110/2), Reggie Brown (6/121/1), TJ Houshmandzadeh (10/102/1) and Mark Clayton (5/101/2) all made fantasy owners very, very happy (unless you were facing any of these guys).

The Saints are 5-1 and sitting atop the NFC South. Reggie Bush has arguably made the biggest impact on the team this season, as a runner, receiver, returner, and at times a decoy. Think the Texans regret taking Mario Williams yet?

College Football

Temple had their second lead of the season after they took a 3-0 lead against #12 Clemson. Unfortunately for the Owls, Clemson scored the next 63 points and ended up winning 63-9, sending Temple to their 19th straight loss. At least Philadelphians still have the Eagles to cheer for.

There may be a #2 curse in college football, but at least it's not as bad as Al Qaeda's
Florida fell to Auburn 27-17, continuing the curse of #2, making them the fourth #2 ranked team to lose this season. The same #2 curse has plagued Al-Qaeda as well, but they have had it way worse (I think it's something like 25 of the #2 Al-Qaeda men in the chain-of-command have been killed so far). Makes college football's #2 curse look a little less extreme, I suppose. Chris Leak's crappy performance in the game, including two crucial turnovers late in the game, led to Florida's loss. As if Gator fans needed any more reason to call for Tim Tebow to start in place of Leak...

Ohio State has established themselves as the clear-cut number one team so far this season. None of their games have really been close.

USC won another close game, and again put together a less than impressive performance. But hey, you can't argue with being undefeated, no matter how ugly or close the games are. Just ask Ohio State's 2002 team.

Baylor jumped out to a 10-0 lead after the first quarter of their game against #6 Texas. The Longhorns shifted into gear though, and scored 63 points in the next 3 quarters. If Baylor would have hung on, they would have been 3-0 in the Big 12 and had the lead in the South division. It wasn't to be, but this isn't your daddy's Baylor anymore.

Holy crap, we can beat them in football too!
Iowa lost to lowly Indiana 31-28. Sorry Hawkeye fans, looks like there won't be any "let's play football" chants during basketball season this year against the Hoosiers. Iowa has been a disappointment so far this year, after this loss and getting stomped by the Buckeyes at home. Not to mention the Hawkeyes probably for all intents and purposes could have lost to Syracuse, after the Orange failed to put the ball in from the 1 yard line in overtime, despite the fact that they had seven chances to do so.

Oklahoma looks to be toast this season after Adrian Peterson broke his collarbone and is likely out for the year. Peterson has probably played his last game as a Sooner, since he'll most likely go pro at the end of this year. The Sooners suddenly look like an average team, after extemely high hopes at the beginning of the season. Losing Rhett Bomar didn't help things either, although Paul Thompson hasn't been playing too bad in his place.

Nebraska improved to 6-1 after beating Kansas State 21-3 for their first win in Manhattan in 10 years. The Huskers have looked pretty dang good this year. Of course, being a Husker fan myself, I'm pretty biased, but their only loss was to USC, and they have had a relatively easy time beating the rest of their opponents (except for Kansas). I guess that's still not saying much, considering how crappy the Big 12 is this year. We'll see how good Nebraska really is next week when they take on Texas.

Garrett Wolfe needs some blockers, and/or steroids
So much for the hype about Garrett Wolfe. After averaging 223 rushing yards per game through the team's first six games, only managed to get 25 yards on 18 carries in a loss to Western Michigan. Defenses have been stacking the box for obvious reasons, and no matter who you are, it's hard to do much on the ground when you have 8 or 9 guys focusing on you and only you on every play.