Sportsmeat

Amazingly there are three, as we bid farewell to college football until the Bowl Spectacular Pride Point Challenge debuts...

Navy 20 Army (neutral site)
LOUISVILLE 27 Connecticut
CALIFORNIA 29 Stanford

Also, NFL pick 'em...
Indianapolis -7.5 at Tennessee
Minnesota +9 at Chicago
Jacksonville +1 at Miami
Seattle +3 at Denver

Big Thunder takes Indianapolis, Minnesota, Miami and Seattle with Stanford as his dog. Budds takes Indy, Chicago, Miami and Seattle, along with a firm Go-Army-Beat-Navy. And E.J. picks the Colts, Bears, Jags, Seahwaks, and the Huskies of his native Connecticut.

Among the many ludicrous ideas in Michael Strahan's little locker room rant yesterday: When a man has a problem with another man, they talk about it. Another one: Men know what's "appropriate." And he had the audacity to say this in a LOCKER ROOM. Men in locker rooms tend to check "appropriate" at the door. But to get back to the first point: Very few of us, men or women, talk through our problems. I mean, sure, eventually things can get to the point where you can't avoid dealing with them. That's when you call in your team's ambassador to lay the smack down. That's how men handle their problems.

Strahan, the one-time media darling, has a chip on his shoulder since his divorce got big play in the tabloids. He has a right to be wary after that experience. But he also knows that he screwed up by calling out Plaxico, even if it wasn't in a "negative" way. And he's taking it out on a reporter, acting like a chauvinist in the process. That's not what a man does. If you disagree with me, post a comment -- like a man.

But not in a negative manner, please.

225 million reasons why the bowls won't go away

While the BCS vs. playoff debate may be fun for the whole Sportsmeat family, it's an exercise in futility. Unless the college football playoff includes 64 teams and pays out $225 million, we're stuck with the status quo. Yes, that's right: 64 teams will go to bowls this year. More than half of Division I-A. That would be akin to having a 168-team men's college basketball tournament. Payouts range from $17 million for winning a BCS game to $750,000 for losing the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl (TCU vs. Northern Illiniois Dec. 19, great seats still available). For a complete list of bowl payouts, check out Inside Higher Education.

Idaho, here I come

First, a comment on a pet topic of mine that I've discussed before: Today, the Raiders announced the firing of offensive coordinator Tom Walsh, perhaps the first firing that could be predicted the very second the hire was made. Walsh, of course, spend the last 12 years out of the NFL, most recently running a bed-and-breakfast and serving as the mayor of Swan Valley, Idaho. His game-planning could be called, at worst, "retarded," and at best ... well ... "retarded." Granted, he didn't have a lot to work with, but he did nothing to cater to the strengths of his team - a mobile quarterback, a workhorse running back who was an outstanding receiver, and one of the 3 best receivers out there (while still in his physical prime).

Let's be completely clear: anyone who supported or signed off on the hiring of Walsh should be fired and never re-hired in the NFL again. That is not an overstatement. This was the single dumbest hiring ever in the NFL, if not in the history of sport. OK, that could possibly be an overstatement. I haven't reviewed every hire ever. Nonetheless, the NFL is without question a continuously-evolving league. Coaches constantly are mimicking the latest successful schemes, and coming up with new and inventive ways of succeeding. To hire a coach that has been out of the league for over a decade (and what's more, a coach that wasn't especially successful in his first go round) is indefensible.

One interesting point is that the above criticism can be used to describe another NFL coaching hire that hasn't taken much heat. Another coach that had been out of the game for 12 years. A coach who in his second stint has gone 20-23 despite working for an owner with a bottomless checkbook. Joe Gibbs. I'll go on the record to say that the hire of Joe Gibbs was an awful decision. Though, we shouldn't be too surprised that Daniel Snyder hired the wrong (ball)coach.

April 24, 2004, a day that will live in (Giants) infamy?

Everyone knows the story. San Diego drafts Eli. Eli refuses to go to the beach. The Giants get Eli in return for Philip Rivers, a 3rd round pick in 04, and a first and fifth in 05. Those picks turn out to be Shawn Merriman, Nate Kaeding, and Nick Hardwick (an all-rookie team pick and the current starting center). The Chargers are 30-13 since that day. The Giants are 23-20.

These past few weeks are the first that I've really worried about Eli. In his first year, I expected nothing of him, and his flair for the dramatic was encouraging. In his second year, he started strong but faded down the stretch. I was ok with that, as I thought the third year was the breakout year. Joe Montana broke out in his third year. Same for Brett Favre and Steve McNair. Troy Aikman didn't really improve until his fourth year. So I thought 2006 was it. But I'm officially worried, because the major problem with Eli - his accuracy - might be something that just can't be taught.

Five for Debating

I'm interested in getting everyone's take on one question - who are the top 5 quarterbacks in the NFL today? I'll post mine in the comments. You will suffer a 1 week comment ban for either of two infractions: (a) failure to list Peyton Manning at #1, or (b) listing Michael Vick anywhere in the top 50. No, that zero was not a typo.

It’s coming on bowl season and the NFL playoffs, which means it’s that bandwagon time of the year:

On the Wagon
USC. The Trojans completed a very impressive three-game stretch by whipping Notre Dame on Saturday. That followed a 14-point win over Cal and a big win over Oregon, which looked impressive coming in. You could definitely argue that the Pac-10 is the No. 2 conference in college football this year, and USC is its champ. Plus, the Trojans boast non-conference wins over Arkansas, Nebraska and Notre Dame (making them the only school in D-I to not play a single non-BCS school). At this point they deserve to be No. 2.

Off the Wagon
Florida. Coach Urban Meyer argued that No. 2 shouldn’t be about style points. He’s right. But once you lose even one game, style points definitely factor into the equation. And while their schedules have been similarly difficult (Florida and USC have each played 10 bowl eligible teams), USC dominated down the stretch while Florida eked out wins. If USC loses to UCLA and Florida beats Arkansas this weekend, I’d give Florida the edge over Michigan for No. 2. Still, I think it’ll be a moot point (or a moo point, like a cow’s opinion, depending on how you look at it).

On the Wagon
Boise State. They throttled a very good Nevada team on the road this weekend, likely securing a deserved BCS berth. This team obviously wouldn’t be undefeated in the SEC or the Big 12, but they can hang with anyone in either of those leagues.

Off the Wagon
Wisconsin. The Badgers are a fine team, a borderline Top 10 team, but currently they are being rewarded in the polls for having one loss rather than being penalized for playing a soft schedule. Though not their fault, they dodged Ohio State this year, and lost soundly to Michigan. Otherwise they won in a down year for the Big 10, and their non-conference opponents were San Diego State, Buffalo, Bowling Green and Western Carolina. No way Wisconsin should be ranked ahead of an Auburn team that beat Florida and LSU, with losses against Arkansas and Georgia.

On the Wagon
The Jets. I can’t believe this team is 6-5, and they have a real chance to win every single one of their remaining games (Packers, Bills, Dolphins, Vikings, Raiders). More likely they finish 8-8 or 9-7 in an AFC that will require 10 wins to make the playoffs, but it’s still a great season for a team picked to go 4-12.

Off the Wagon
Playoff QBs. Jake Plummer is already benched—an amazing move to start a rookie down the stretch for a team with Super Bowl aspirations—and Rex Grossman could be next. Finally, Eli Manning has been awful as the Giants have lost their last three games, throwing an inexplicable INT in the final minute on Sunday. The good news for Eli is that he has no veteran behind him to take his job. That, however, might not be good news for the Giants.

On the Wagon
AFC Divisional leaders. All four divisional leaders—the Pats, Ravens, Colts and Chargers—in the AFC boast a two-game cushion with six games to go. Most surprising to me is the Ravens. I thought this team was overrated coming into the season, but Steve McNair has been very efficient, they’ve won close games and they’ve been scoring points since Brian Billick took over the play calling. This team is capable of winning the Super Bowl.

Off the Wagon
The NFC. Football’s four best teams are in the AFC, and a slew of 5-6 teams are still in the running for a playoff spot in the senior division. It says something that the Panthers can lose to the Redskins and the Ginters can blow a 21-point lead to the Titans, both teams fall to 6-5, and both are still in line to make the postseason.

Even before Michael Vick's two-fingered salute, Sportsmeaters were giving him and the Falcons a thumbs down. All seven of the people who put in picks this week selected New Orleans over Atlanta, the first unanimous NFL pick of the season (I think). Thanks to E.J. for posting. E.J. and Snoop pitched perfect weeks, going 4-0 in the NFL and picking up another five points each on Virginia's half-point cover against the Hokies. Strong weeks for the lawyers as well. Points updated at left.

It's a short week so we've got to regroup a little quicker than normal, with Big Thunder and Budds (our normal point-spread poster -- as in one who posts, not as in something that hangs on your wall) alredy off to their Thanksgiving destinations.

With the college football season winding down, 20-point dogs are hard to come by (and by hard to come by, I mean one). So this week we're including 15-point dogs. If you're dog covers it's still five pride points, but if you're dog wins it's only 15 pride points (as opposed to the 25 previously).

Here we go (go Bison go; anyway ... ):

Central Michigan 15½ BUFFALO
TULSA 16½ Tulane
WEST VIRGINIA 20½ South Florida
TENNESSEE 18½ Kentucky
VIRGINIA TECH 17½ Virginia
HAWAII 17 Purdue

And in the NFL (Buuds' picked the games this week):
BALTIMORE 2½ Pittsburgh
SAINT LOUIS 5½ San Francisco
ATLANTA 3 New Orleans
NEW ENGLAND 3 Chicago

Buuds takes the Green Wave to cover, and the NFLers are the Steelers, the Rams, the Saints and the Pats (if I remember correctly; if not, Budds feel free to weigh in here)
EJ takes the Cavaliers to cover against the Hokies (always smart to bet against a turkey-type bird mascot-type thing around Thanksgiving), as well as the Ravens, the 49ers, the Saints and the Pats
Thunder has yet to weigh in

Won't bring Donovan back. Big Grille and I each had solid Pride Point weeks, going 3-for-4 in the NFL and picking Ole Miss' strong cover (They took LSU to OT). But while the Grille got to enjoy Ben's victorious flip pass, I cringed as they carted Donovan off the field. I jinxed my Eagles by picking the Titans to cover. I feel shame. All in all, not a great week for the Mad Dogs, but as a group we were over .500 in NFL picks. Points updated at left.

His arrogance can be a bit unsettling. But when Roger Federer begins a post-match news conference by saying, “I played unbelievable today,” it’s usually difficult to disagree with him.

Federer completed perhaps the greatest men’s season of the Open Era (post 1967) Sunday at the ATP Championships by demolishing James Blake, 6-0, 6-3, 6-4, to become the first tennis player ever to top $8 million in a single season (after becoming the first player to top $7 million just a week earlier).

But money is hardly a measure here. Federer completed his 2006 season at 92-5 to become the first man to win more than 90 matches in a year since Ivan Lendl in 1982. Federer made it to the final of each of the four Grand Slam tournaments in 2006, winning the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open and falling in a four-set final to world No. 2 Rafael Nadal (2006 record: 59-12) in the French Open.

Federer has won five of the past six Grand Slams and an astounding eight Grand Slams in the past three years (by comparison, only five men in the history of tennis have won more than eight Grand Slams). He swept Wimbledon and the US Open back-to-back for the third straight year, making him the first men’s player in tennis history to accomplish the feat.

And he’s only 25.

“The way Roger plays the game is phenomenal,” Martina Navratilova said at US Open. “He’s just a genius with the racquet.”

To understand Federer’s domination, simply look at the year’s final event. Federer went 5-0 in round-robin and single elimination play; Blake was the only other member of the eight-person field to post a winning record, and he went 3-2. That means the Top 7 players in the world not named Roger Federer all lost two matches at the ATP Championships. Federer lost five matches all year.

“I’ve probably run out of adjectives to describe him on the court to talk about his excellence,” Blake said after the ATP Championship final. “He’s just unbelievable.”

With Lance Armstrong now running marathons rather than riding bicycles, Federer has easily assumed the title of world’s dominant individual athlete. The best comparison would be Tiger Woods’ run in 2000, when he won the US Open by 15 strokes and the British Open by eight strokes. This year Federer won Wimbledon by taking 21 of 22 sets, and the US Open by winning 21 of 23 sets; he was never stretched to five sets in either tournament.

For an encore, Woods won the Masters in 2001 to complete the so-called “Tiger Slam.” With legitimate aspirations to win the first Grand Slam (all four Grand Slam tournaments in the same year) since Rod Laver in 1969, Federer’s encore in 2007 could be even more astounding.

For those of you who have a few minutes to spare on a Friday afternoon, a trivia challenge courtesy of my friend F. Scott Fezler:
Name the 12 current Division I-A head football coaches who were once head coaches in the NFL.

Having grown up in Connecticut and Maryland, and having attended Bucknell and Columbia, I've never been part of a big-time football rivalry. Maryland people hate Virginia, but not vehemently, and no one would party in the streets when Maryland hoops beat UVA. Same goes for Bucknell-Colgate, UConn-Syracuse or Columbia-Cornell.

I've always been a little jealous of these rivalry games, which makes this week's tilt between Michigan and Ohio State that much more compelling -- and led me to consider the best college football rivalries going.

1. Auburn-Alabama. Nothing beats an in-state rivalry, and this is played in the cradle of college football. My stepfather's family, all Alabamians, divide along the Auburn-Alabama side and do not speak for weeks before the game (and often it's still tense at Thanksgiving).

2. Michigan-Ohio State. This past week has helped me appreciate the enormity of this rivalry, and it's helped by its history. Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler, Heisman winners in Archie Griffin, Eddie George, Desmond Howard and Charles Woodson. Plus you have the Big House and The Shoe. Solid stadium nicknames.

3. Army-Navy. These two no longer contend for national titles, but no rivalry engenders more respect between the two opponents or among the fans watching. Great tradition, great kids and a tradition everyone can root for.

4. USC-Notre Dame. It's likely that more great players have come through this rivalry than any other, and it's one of the few rivalries that transcends geography.

5. Texas-Oklahoma. Oklahoma-Nebraska were the big rivals in the 1980s but this rivalry came to the forefront with the inception of the Big 12 (from the Big 8). And hey, it's even got a carnival and is played every year on neutral turf. You gotta like that.

The next tier:
6. Harvard-Yale
7. Grambling-Southern
8. Miami-Florida State
9. Lehigh-Lafayette
10. Williams-Amherst

Also in consideration:
Stanford-Cal; Florida-Tennessee; USC-UCLA; Clemson-South Carolina; Pittsburgh-West Virginia; Texas-Texas A&M; Florida-Georgia (if just for the game's nickname)

This week's games:
WISCONSIN 38 Buffalo
NAVY 32 Temple
NOTRE DAME 31 Army
BOISE STATE 37 Utah State
Oklahoma 20 BAYLOR
LSU 27 Mississippi
BYU 26 New Mexico
Nevada 20 LOUISIANA TECH
HAWAII 24 San Jose State

PHILADELPHIA 13 Tennessee
Chicago 7 NY JETS
DENVER 2.5 San Diego
JACKSONVILLE 3.5 NY Giants

If you notice, the picks include the favorite teams of the three principal ‘meaters, and only one of us is going out on a limb to pick against his team. Budds picks the Titans (to cover, not to win), Bears, Chargers and Giants, with Ole Miss as the Mad Dog. Big Thunder chooses the Eagles, Bears, Broncos and his G-men, plus La Tech as his ‘dog. And EJ goes with the Titans, his Jets, the Chargers and Giants, with Baylor to cover against Oklahoma.

I'm sure a lot of you caught this on Deadspin last week, but I thought it bore repeating:

Dennis Rodman will star as the coach of a dwarf hoops squad in "The Minis," with Vern Troyer as one of his players. "Me and Mini-Me," Rodman says. "It'll be wild." Cameras roll in 2007.
--ESPN Magazine

Having too much time on my hands, I tried to IMDB "The Minis" and nothing came up, so maybe this is a hoax. Part of me hopes it is, more of me hopes it isn't.

By the way, in my (albeit limited) research I found that Verne Troyer was a stunt double in "My Giant." If anyone has seen "My Giant" and is willing to admit it, I'd love to know how that works.

... that perhaps I jumped the gun on trying to decipher the BCS. Auburn, Texas and Cal all go down (the most shocking, at least to me, being Cal) and suddenly USC is in prime position to make the BCS title game.

... that Arkansas is a legit contender for the national title. The Razorbacks (behind Darren McFadden, who should join Troy Smith, Brady Quinn, Ray Rice and Steve Slaton for the Heisman ceremony) killed a good Tennessee team, and have a great shot to run the table and beat Florida in the SEC title game. I don't think I gave this team its due previously.

... that the reason I suck at picking NFL games (2-6 in the last two weeks) is that no one knows who's going to win anything. At this point in the season underdogs have a winning record, the Steelers 3-6 and the Saints are 6-3 (and the Steelers beat the Saints this weekend!), and the Jets and 49ers, picked to finish 31 and 32 this year, are a combined 9-9. Even the Colts' nine wins have come by an average of 6.7 points per game. Weird.

...that no one should read too much into the Bears' win over the Giants last night. The Bears are legit, but the Ginters were down five defensive starters. That's brutal, especially with Toomer and Petitgout down as well.

Not much movement in the standings. Big Thunder and EJ each took home 9 points, which helped BT move up a spot, and Budds and Big Grille (I think) posted 4-0 weeks in the NFL. Grille, let me know if I failed to decode your picks correctly, and if you spill the beans on what they mean, you get a 1-pp bonus for stumping the panel.

Now that Rutgers has shocked Louisville -- a game the Scarlet Knights dominated after halftime -- it appears very, very likely that a one-loss team will be playing for the national championship against the winner of Ohio State and Michigan (conventional wisdom saying Rutgers would have too far to climb to get to No. 2, plus the Knights must still beat West Virginia).

So who should it be?

The Candidates (assuming they finish with one loss):

Cal
For: Only loss came in Week 1 at Tennessee; will have defeated USC and swept Pac-10 if the Bears finish 11-1
Against: Cal got killed by Tennessee, reinforcing the notion that a one-loss SEC school trumps a one-loss Pac-10 school

Florida
For: Will have won the top-rated league in college football; will have defeated Florida State; only loss was a very close one at Auburn
Against: Underwhelming wins over Vandy, Georgia and others; suspect offense

Texas
For: Only loss came to No. 1 Ohio State and came early in the season, wins over Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Nebraska all came on the road or on a neutral field
Against: Wins over Neb and Tex Tech came by a combined six points; pollsters may not want to see a Texas-Ohio State rematch

USC
For: To finish with one loss, USC must run the table the next three weeks with wins over Oregon, Cal and Notre Dame (though all three are at home), providing the Tojans with a lot of big wins on a national stage down the stretch
Against: Sole loss came to Oregon State, not a Top 15 team; looked unimpressive in series of wins leading up to Oregon State

Others have a chance, including Rutgers and one-loss-ers Arkansas, Auburn and Notre Dame, but a lot has to break right for any of these schools to have a chance. The final option is a Michigan-Ohio State rematch, though that appears unlikely.

Thoughts????

Mad Dog possibilities
PENN STATE 36 Temple
BOSTON COLLEGE 28 Duke
VIRGINIA TECH 30_ Kent State
Ohio State 23 NORTHWESTERN
NEVADA 29 Utah State
HAWAII 38 Louisiana Tech

Washington +7 at Philadelphia
New Orleans +4.5 at Pittsburgh
San Diego -1.5 at Cincinnati
Houston +10.5 at Jacksonville

EJ takes the Redskins, Saints, Chargers and Texans, with Duke as his ‘dog. Big Thunder goes with the Eagles, Saints, Bengals and Texans, also with Duke as ‘dog. And Budds picks the Eagles, Steelers, Chargers and Texans, with a nod to La. Tech in the Mad Dog competition.

A few quick hits...

Go Bison Go

The Sportsmeat crew knew its share of Bucknell men's soccer players back in the WVBU days, and those Bison booters, in addition to being able to leap over empty kegs rolling down staircases (most of the time), were dedicated, passionate athletes. Unfortunately, they never reached their ultimate goal: the NCAA tournament. This year, their successors have, with shootout wins over Lehigh and Lafayette in the Patriot League tourney, and they will play George Mason Saturday, making Bucknell's first NCAA appearance on the men's side in three decades (the women went last year). The Bison have just about the worst record in the field, which means that a men's-basketball-over-Kansas type of upset looks unlikely, but there's something to be said for being there. And I'm sure the soccer alums feel the same way. Ray for the or-range and the blue.

Win number two

Or The Positive Knicks Fan Post, Vol 3. With New York's win in Denver last night, Isiah improves to 2-3. At the current pace, he will secure his job with win number 24 on March 2 against Golden State. In other news, Larry Brown continues to get rich by not coaching the Knicks, a much more relaxing job than coaching the Knicks. Great gig if you can get it.

B-and-B

Bud Black, Buddy Bell, Bruce Bochy. Does having an alliterative B-and-B name help you get a managerial job in Major League Baseball? Probably not. But those three B-B's, plus the retired Bob Brenly and Bob Boone, seem too numerous to be coincidence. The more likely explanation: Being in baseball increases your chances of being nicknamed Bud, if your last name happens to begin with a B. But I still like Boof Bonser's chances to become a manager somewhere down the road.

The Positive Knicks Fan Post, Vol. 2

While watching the Knicks last night, with the Spurs up 15 in the fourth, a voice on the other end of the couch told me that it was time to turn the channel. But I had a feeling that the Knicks had one run left. Renaldo Balkman was in the game -- instant energy -- and the Spurs were starting to look complacent. So I kept watching. And the Knicks kept chipping away, making big stops and blocks, pushing the tempo, pulling to within one, and bringing the previously-booing Garden crowd to its feet. The Spurs, who eventually got the lead back to three, stubbornly refused to call a timeout... so Isiah did it for them. Brilliant. Kill your own momentum. Within two minutes after play resumed, the game was all but over, the fans were filing out, and the Knicks were 1-3. At least they showed some heart for five minutes.

By the by, I caught the first quarter at the gym, from the treadmill, listening on earphones and watching the closed captioning at the same time. The captions simply cannot keep pace with Clyde. They drop every other sentence and at times combine words: very exhuberant becomes vrxhuberant, for example.

Ok. I'm not cool. We know this, so we'll move on from there. So since there's no sports to break down today, here's a look at the 2006 election:

The House of Representatives
The democrats need to pick up 15 seats to gain control, and prognosticators are predicting anywhere between 20 and 40. If it's 40, it's a big night for the dems, but that seems a bit high to me even if the climate is not good for repblicans right now.
Prediction: It's a huge upset if the republicans keep power in the House, like the Indians beating the Yankees in Major League I or the Jets beating the Colts in Spuer Bowl III. If it happens, Karl Rove will be crowned king of elections (again). More likely, the dems take 25 seats and control of the House for the first time since 1994.

Senate
There are nine senate elections of note and the dems need to win eight to control the senate. Incumbent or current party in power listed first:

Maryland
Ben Cardin (D) vs. Mike Steele (R)
Steele is running very strong in a typically blue state and in 2004 he would have won. Expect Cardin to win here on his democratic roots, but don't count Steele out in the future.
Prediction: Cardin

Missouri
Jim Talent (R) vs. Claire McCaskill (D)
This is a head heat in a very evenly split state. Talent is the incumbent but has been brought down by his opposition to stem cell research, which just happens to be a ballot initiative in Missouri this year. This race is also notable for the Cards' Jeff Suppan stumping against stem cell research, and Michael J. Fox campaigning for it on behalf of McCaskill.
Prediction: Michael J. Fox (er, McCaskill).

Montana
Conrad Burns (R) vs. Jon Tester (D)
Burns has been tainted by corruption and portrayed as in the pocket of W. But it's not by accident that democrats rarely win in Montana, and Bush has cruised easily here the last two elections. Not this time: Tester, who has a mean flat-top, wins an election that may take a few days to decide.
Prediction: Tester

New Jersey
Bob Menendez (D) vs. Tom Kean Jr. (R)
This is a seat that should be safely democrat in a typically blue state. Tom Kean is running a campaign built largely on the popularity of his father (the ex-governor and head of the 9-11 commission) and the ineptitude of Menendez, who cannot shake rumors of corruption. Again, this is a race Kean wins two years ago, but not now.
Prediction: Menendez

Pennsylvania
Rick Santorum (R) vs. Bob Casey (D)
Santorum has made some headway in recent days, but it appears the republican's No. 3 man will be out by the end of the day. Of all the seats mentioned here, this might be the surest bet to swing blue.
Prediction: Casey

Ohio
Mike DeWine (R) vs. Sherrod Brown (D)
The Foley and Abramoff scandals have hit very close to home for DeWine, and they will likely cost him his senate seat against Brown, who has run a dogged if somewhat uneven campaign.
Prediction: Brown

Rhode Island
Lincoln Chafee (R) vs. Shelden Whitehouse (D)
Chafee has made up a lot of ground recently and is more liberal than many democrats (he wrote in the name of Bush 41 rather than voting for Bush 43 in the 2004 election and opposed the war from the outset). Still, it says "R" next to his name on the ballot, and that will likely cost him in perhaps the most liberal state in America.
Prediction: Whitehouse

Tennessee
Bob Corker (R) vs. Harold Ford (D)
Right up there with Menendez-Kean and Allen-Webb, this has been the ugliest campaign of the 2006 season. Ford is attempting to become the first black democrat elected to the senate since the Reconstruction, which is heady territory. He has run a smart, moderate campaign but has likely turned off too many voters to win a solidly red state.
Prediction: Corker

Virginia
George Allen (R) vs. Jim Webb (D)
Recent polls have shown Webb with a slight lead over the son of the former Redskins head coach and the former favorite to win the republican nomination for president in 2008. It's been a long fall for Allen, who was expected to breeze to victory. Still, his name and incumbency seem to me too strong for him to fall completely out of favor.
Prediction: Allen

So there you have it. We have a split congress, with the dems taking the House and the republicans holding on in the senate, 50-49-1 (with Independent Joe Lieberman beating out Democrat Ned Lamont in Connecticut). And maybe even 52-47-1 if Montana and Missouri swing the republicans' way.

I think there’s an interesting debate going in college football regarding the SEC and its stable of one-loss teams. SEC folks keep saying that if Florida or Auburn or Arkansas can win out and take the SEC title game, they deserve to be playing for the national championship. Which got me thinking, should the No. 2 team be the second-best team in the country or the team that most deserves to be there?

Basic facts, unless one of them loses in a monumental upset this weekend (OK, perhaps not monumental, but at least big), either Michigan or Ohio State will be playing for the national championship. But who gets No. 2? Right now it looks like Louisville, which beat West Virginia, 44-34, in a pretty impressive game Thursday night. And it looks like Louisville will be No. 2 if the Cardinals can end the season undefeated, which would include wins over Rutgers, currently No. 13 in the BCS, and Pitt.

As they should be. The basic fact is that, while the SEC is undoubtedly the toughest conference in college football, none of the SEC teams are great teams. Florida has struggled mightily the last two weeks in victories over a mediocre Georgia team and a perpetually meager program in Vanderbilt; Auburn has hardly looked impressive against either Ole Miss or Arkansas State; and Arkansas got blown out earlier this season by USC (and will likely lose this weekend to Tennessee).

The only team that currently has an argument to hop Louisville is Texas, which had a great win this past weekend, 36-10 over Oklahoma State, but which only beat Nebraska and Texas Tech by a combined seven points (though both of those games were on the road). The hiccup in all this is if Michigan and Ohio State play to a near draw, but right now I think Louisville is—deservedly—in the driver’s seat.

Other weekend football thoughts:

-) The Giants, Broncos and Patriots are 0-3 versus the Colts, 18-3 against everyone else. And even more impressively for a team so well associated with its dome, Indianapolis beat all three on the road. While we’re here, last week I pitched to Budds that we deduct five points for anyone who goes 0-4 picking NFL games. Then I promptly went out and went 0-4 and shuffled to bed with my head between my legs. No tail. No, no, it’s head.

-) The Bucs really should have made more of an effort to re-sign Brian Griese, and Bears fans should be very happy they have him. I thought it was a bad call at the time to trust the entire team to Chris Simms when he’d never played a full season, and his injury has only magnified the fact that Tampa has no experienced backup. Now the Bucs are paying the price. The offense can’t score, Bruce Gradkowski hasn’t topped 200 yards in over a month and Cadillac Williams hasn’t gone over 100 in that same span.

As for the Bears, Rex Grossman has been awful against the Cardinals and the Dolphins. I mean, Ken O’Brien-on-a-bad-day awful. I think he’ll turn it around, but if he doesn’t the Bears have a backup capable of winning playoff games. That’s a big luxury in the NFL.

-) The Giants are a very impressive 6-2. The last two wins may have been a little lackluster, but they had a killer first half of the schedule and have come out of it as one of the few teams that can seriously entertain thoughts of winning the Super Bowl.

Of course, what the hell do I know? I picked every single game wrong this week, saved only from a complete 0-fer by Ball State.

After creating the new rule, E.J. was the first to suffer the consequences of "negative pride," posting an 0-4 week and losing five points. But Ball State covered to make the week a nice, round zero on the pride point board. Big Thunder is the big winner, with 13 points on a perfect weekend. Five of the six Mad Dogs chosen covered, and one -- Northwestern -- gave Maxipriest a big boost by beating Iowa. Twenty-five big Wildcat points for the man from the north country. Other solid performances this week: Grille and Snoop with 11 points each, and Dave Law, 3-1 in NFL games.

I’ll admit it. Its because of reality TV.

Two years ago, Sly Stallone came out with “The Contender.” It got some hype, but nobody watched it. Except me. I ate it up. I fell for the slow mo shots of fighters clobbering each other. I fell for the dramatic musical buildup right before someone landed a big punch. I fell for Sugar Ray and his dreamy eyes. The whole detached retina thing makes them dreamier. But I digress...

I was struck by how much I enjoyed watching those matches. So through the wonder of Tivo, I recorded HBO's Boxing After Dark matches. You can imagine my surprise and disappointment when I learned that these matches didn’t have dramatic soundtracks. Reality TV isn’t real? Then why is it called “Reality?” I digress a second time...

The more I watched it, the more I enjoyed boxing. Its almost a primal thing – the boxer is all alone. No substitutions. No timeouts. The significant chance of this happening. Or this.* Or this. Its almost primal. Just two guys together, shirtless, getting sweaty... God Damn This Digressing!
In truth the sport is incredibly interesting because of its contrasts. On the one hand, it rewards strength, toughness and guts. On the other, it rewards strategy, accuracy and guile. Further, all of the greatest matches are based on contrasts – the heavy underdog vs. the untouchable champ, the brawler vs. the boxer, the southpaw vs. orthodox, the hungry vs. the tasty. Not only do the contrasts make for good pre-fight drama, but they also often carry over into the fight which is usually ruled by momentum and made more interesting by the swings in that momentum. It is inspiring to see a boxer get knocked silly, get back to his feet, and rally to win a match. It is second only to the boot-n-rally.

These contrasts are also what make this Saturday’s Welterweight fight between Floyd Mayweather and Carlos Baldomir so intriguing. On the one hand, you have the 29 year old “Pretty Boy Floyd,” who relishes his unofficial title as the best pound for pound fighter alive. He’s a member of a family considered to be boxing royalty, 36-0, and has largely been unchallenged. His style is to dance around the ring, relying on his hand speed to step inside and deliver a flurry of punches. He lives in Vegas, is always impeccably dressed, loves his Ferraris and Bentleys, and has just enough ego to let you know that he knows that you can’t beat him.

Then there’s the 35 year old Baldomir. He grew up dirt poor on the streets of Argentina, using boxing to feed his family. Long an undistinguished journeyman, he’s lost 9 fights in his career. But he kept getting better, and hasn’t lost in almost 8 years. A year ago at this time, even the biggest boxing fan knew little of Baldomir. Then, in January, he finally stepped into the limelight. A heavy underdog to Zab Judah, he beat the Brooklyn native in Madison Square Garden. Critics who considered that Baldomir to be a fluke quieted down when he destroyed Arturro Gatti in his hometown of Atlantic City. Even after his successes, though, he still drives a Nissan Frontier and doesn’t even know what an iPod is. Baldomir’s style is straightforward and plodding. He goes right after fighters, pushing the action with little fear of getting hurt (just look at that noggin – you can see why he’s known for absorbing punishment). Out of the ring, he’s generally low key, preferring to have his family around while training.

Baldomir is a heavy underdog to Mayweather, but there is just enough doubt that this fight should be watched. First off, Baldomir is naturally a much bigger fighter, reportedly getting up to about 180 lbs between fights (at the welterweight limit of 147 lbs). Mayweather has fought just twice at 147, having spent much of the beginning of his career in the low 130s. Also, if there is a physical flaw with Mayweather, its that he’s prone to “tender hands,” meaning that it hurts for him to land punches as the fight drags on. Perhaps Baldomir will cleverly injure Mayweather’s hands with his head? Mayweather could also fight a subpar fight due to the absence of his uncle Roger, who has trained him to this point (and was suspended for getting losing his sh*t when Zab Judah peppered Floyd’s undercarriage with low blows). Finally, Mayweather’s rep has taken something of a hit in recent times, having been criticized for possibly dodging both Antonio Margerito and Rickey Hatton, generally considered to be the two best welterweights that won’t be in the ring on Saturday night.

Frankly, this could be a Mayweather blowout. Many simply expect him to outclass Baldomir. But there’s no denying that Baldomir is tough. He won’t go down easily. And if he gets a few rounds under his belt, all the pressure will be on Floyd. Bottom line? If you have more than a passing interest in boxing, call up some buddies and by the PPV. It should be good.

Also as a sidenote, on the undercard of the fight is Paul Williams, a guy who will soon be joining Mayweather, Hatton, Baldomir and Margarito as an elite Welterweight. He is tall and skinny, with a freakish reach, and so far he has destroyed everyone he has faced. If you do get the PPV, make sure to catch his fight.




*Note to self: Never, ever, ever, EVER do a Google Image Search for "hematoma."

In the spirit of making the rules up as we go, I'm taking E.J.'s suggestion for how we can institute "negative pride" in the scoring system. NFL games are still worth 2 pride points each, but if you go 0-4, 5 pride points will be subtracted, your pride will shrink, you will feel shame, and then you go free.

This week's NFL games:
BALTIMORE -3 Cincinnati
NEW ENGLAND -3 Indianapolis
New Orleans -1 TAMPA BAY
PITTSBURGH –2.5 Denver

Big Thunder goes with Baltimore, Indy, New Orleans, and Denver.
EJ picks Cincy, New England, Tampa, and Pittsburgh.
And Budds takes all the ‘dogs -- Cincy, Indy, Tampa and Denver.

The Positive Knicks Fan Post, Vol. 1

Isiah Thomas has been told that the Knicks need to improve, or he's gone. Seeing as the Knicks won 23 games last year, I figure for Isiah to make his case, he has to win 24. Last night, in triple overtime, he got win number one, and while I'm no fan of Thomas, I'm trying to stay positive. Here's what I liked about last night:
-- Isiah seems more equipped to deal with the mistakes of young players. When Channing Frye decided to jack up a three with 20 seconds on the shot clock, he looked annoyed, but he did not look like someone had just jammed a meat thermometer in his ear, as Larry Brown did last season.
-- Steve Francis was horrible, which means more court time for the dynamic, always entertaining Nate Robinson. Actually, in overtime number two, after Marbury fouled out, the Knicks had one of their most likeable lineups on the floor: Robinson, Crawford, Lee, Curry, and Q. Richardson.
-- David Lee seems to be cutting down on mistakes while maintaining his energy. Granted, it's one game, but it was a long game, and he was solid under the basket. Richardson spotted him alone for an alley-oop dunk in OT3 that helped the Knicks stay alive.
-- Isiah is, if nothing else, imaginative. Look at the plays he drew up for the three times that the Knicks had the ball with a tie score and between 5 and 15 seconds remaining.
Fourth quarter: Crawford dribbles around near the top of the key, chucks up a fadeaway three and misses.
OT1: Crawford dribbles around, tries to chuck up a 20-footer, gets blocked, and then floats a fadeaway prayer that falls short.
OT2: Crawford dribbles around, leans in, and throws up a 12-foot, off-balance brick.
Whoops, I drifted out of "positive Knicks fan" mode. Apologies.

One more lesson learned from last night's MSG broadcast: Memphis guard Kyle Lowry, despite having a "mundane" stat line, is "ubiquitous," "pugnacious," and "intrepid," according to Walt "Clyde" Frazier.