Very little change in this week’s college football rankings. A few teams were bumped up thanks to LSU’s 13-3 loss to the top ranked Gators and Miami (FL) joined the top 10 thanks to a closer than necessary game between TCU and Air Force.
Given that pretty much everyone at the top won (like they were supposed to) we can take a look at the Tide, who are gaining some momentum with 10 first place votes, one of which was presumably taken away from the Longhorns of Texas. Ohio State also gains back the claim of best in state as they jump over Cincinnati. Actually, that’s not even the least bit exciting, as it has been that way essentially since there have been rankings.
Curiously, LSU plummets from 4 to 10. Eh, maybe not THAT curious, but I don’t know if losing to the top ranked team warrants a drop in the rankings like that. As I’ve said before, it attributes to how seemingly arbitrary the rankings are at times. Yeah, LSU was home, but do they really think anyone that’s now ranked ahead of LSU would do better against the Gators? The Gators could take on some of the piss-poor NFL teams (I’m looking at you, Bills & Browns) and give them a game, let alone the college teams ranked just beneath them.
[via ESPN]
With just one playoff series, A-Rod has pretty much shed his “choker” label. He came up huge Friday night in Game 2:
None was bigger than his two-out, ninth-inning home run off Joe Nathan on Friday night, a titanic blast into the Yankees’ bullpen that tied the game two innings before Mark Teixeira’s homer won it.
“You’ve got to put that one right at the top,” Rodriguez said when asked where that home run ranks in his career. “It was a very special feeling off a very good pitcher – at a time when we really needed it.”
[via New York Daily News]
And last night, with a timely opposite field smash, he derailed Carl Pavano’s attempt to piss all over a city that already hates him. A-Rod has gone 5 for 11 with two homers and six RBIs in the 3-game sweep of Minnesota, and it is obvious that he’s raised his game now that it’s the postseason. Certain players are born with “it,” and Alex Rodriguez is one of those players. Sure, he’s got great stats, but he’s also got the right combination of intangibles that make him a winner. Bottom line: A-Rod is a clutch winner, and he’s proving it to the entire world by just dominating the Twins over the course of three games.
I’m hungry. Some za would be mad clutch right now.
In case you guys are unfamiliar with Hamed Haddadi, he is the only player to average a double-double in 2008 Olympic competition, and the first Iranian to play in the NBA.
A few things. One, I feel for the Grizzlies here.
Two. If I’m the Grizzlies I play this video at halftime during every single home game and pull a “Major League” by trying to draw attendance so low that the team gets to relocate to a warmer and cozier Florida.
Three: This guy and Allen Iverson on the same team? Yeah. Good luck guys.
Oh and there’s this picture:
Just when you thought reality TV couldn’t get any worse…
The quarterback, who took his first regular-season pro snap just two weeks ago after serving 18 months in prison, is partnering with BET for a new eight-part docu-series scheduled to air early next year. The program, tentatively titled “The Michael Vick Project,” spotlights his controversial comeback with the Philadelphia Eagles while also examining his tumultuous past — including his troubled childhood and his 2007 arrest for running a dogfighting ring.
The project is being produced by DuBose Entertainment; Vick’s production company, MV7 Productions; and Category 5 Entertainment. No one associated with the production would comment on Vick’s compensation for the series. In August, a federal judge approved Vick’s six-year plan to repay creditors an estimated $20 million and emerge from bankruptcy.
Come on, this isn’t a docu-series, it’s a reality TV show. A boring reality TV show that will help to pay back Michael Vick’s creditors the $20M that he owes them. Think about it, how can you possibly fill eight shows with interesting content given that Michael Vick can’t step out of line? No womanizing, no flashy spending, no fist fights, no visits from the police, no drama – just hit the snooze button already!
If you’re going to give Michael Vick his own TV show, you might as well make it interesting. You know what I’m talking about – Michael Vick wearing a beef jerking suit locked in a steel cage with 8 pit bulls at Wrestlemania.
Alabama linebacker, Courtney Upshaw, has been directed by a Tuscaloosa County District Court to take an anger management course after an altercation with a female student. You’d think that you’d see more linebackers in anger management. These are people who enjoy running at full speed toward another person in order to throw them to the ground. But instead of chalking this one up to simply being a linebacker, I’m going to call this A Boy Named Sue syndrome.
Everyone should be familiar with the Johnny Cash classic “A Boy Named Sue,” where he sings about being named the typically female name of “Sue” by his father in order toughen the kid up. The Alabama linebacker’s name is… Courtney. No wonder the kid grew up to be a linebacker for one of the most storied college football programs of our time. We all went to elementary school and know that any kid named “Courtney” would have gotten picked on. I’m not sure what the female student he had an altercation with said, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was directed toward his less than masculine name.
That said, I’m also attributing this to Kenny Vaccaro-like symptoms, who has an arrest warrant out for getting into a fight on a basketball court, meaning both are simply idiots.
Courtney (what mean parents), you’re a freaking linebacker. What’re you doing getting into altercations with anyone, let alone a GIRL!? I don’t care what she did or said, there’s no excuse. You tackle 200-some-odd pound people for fun. Hang on to that aggression for the big game!
[via ESPN]
President Barack Obama and a few members of his Cabinet played basketball Thursday night at the White House with a handful of House members, two of them Republicans.
“We ran into a president with some serious game,” said Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash.
Obama had “a sweet crossover move” and appeared to be in great shape, Inslee said. “He put a real nice move on me and beat me along the base line.”
In other news, we still have a major healthcare problem. Can we get a move on that one? Thanks.
The Houston Astros and pitcher Brian Moehler exercised a mutual $3 million contract option for next season. From Yahoo! Sports:
The right-hander was 8-12 with a 5.47 ERA in 29 starts this year. His deal originally included a $2.3 million club option for 2010 with a $250,000 buyout, but it became a mutual option at a higher salary because he reached 150 innings this year.
“We’re happy to have Brian back in the fold for next season,” general manager Ed Wade said in a statement. “He’s a solid pitcher whose value doesn’t always show up in the numbers. He keeps you in games and gives you a chance to win. And, because of his makeup and work ethic, he’s a great example for our young pitchers.”
Honestly, the Astros could have saved their money and just set the ball on a tee for the other team during the games Moehler is scheduled to pitch. I think the results would be pretty similar to actually letting Moehler throw the ball, but the tee would finish the season with a slightly lower ERA. Really – have a bat boy take the mound, run up to the tee at home plate, place the ball down, and run back to field his position. Save yourself $3 million and make a kid’s dream come true at the same time.
Two things from this signing jump out at me:
1. The option was mutual. Well, duh. You think there’s any 37-year old who would turn down $3 million to throw batting practice every five days?
2. Ed Wade says Moehler’s “value doesn’t always show up in the numbers.” Well no shit, Ed. If you have an ERA between 5 and 6, you better be one funny motherfucker and keep the rest of the guys in the clubhouse happy. Unless he’s channelling Rodney Dangerfield, I can’t imagine Moehler adding much value at all.*
*I would have used Jim Gaffigan as my example, but I met him last night and he was sort of a dick.
If it weren’t for the fans, the NBA would have no league. Let me rephrase that. If it weren’t for paying fans, the NBA would have no league.
Which is why you kind of have to appreciate some of the more “animated” fans. I mean these are people that get really into the game. They might run onto the court, make the crowd laugh, or flat out scare us.
Here are five great moments in NBA fans.
