Daddy Sports

Fantasy Update

radhamesgo@hotmail.com (Rad) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:30:00 +0000

The Daddy Sports football team is back on the winning track and looked very good in getting there. The new acquisitions actually chipped in and contributed some points this week as we pulled out a tough win, on the road, 95.60 - 80.82 against Colts Woman. Not even a three touchdown game from Ben Roethlisberger (Colts Woman starting quarterback) was going to stop us on this night. We came to WIN BABY!!!

The team was lead, in points, by Ray Rice (19.50), the Atlanta DEF (14.00), Drew Brees (14.60), and Mike Wallace (13.20). Two of those four weren't even on the roster a few days ago. Our record now stands at 3-6 and we are still mathematically in the running for the last playoff spot in this league.

We're back home next week to play host to Tom Brady, DeSean Jackson, , Miles Austin and the rest of the Green Hitters team that has big point potential across the board. I have faith and confidence in our team but this will be a big win if we can it. I'm taking a cue from Rex Ryan and we're getting the season tickets holders on the horn directly....

In fantasy basketball news, we made a few more changes to get a little more balance on the Daddy Sports team. Quentin Richardson joined us last week replacing Corey Maggette (sorry Les I just don't trust Maggette until Stephen Jackson is dealt and some minutes open up), the waiver request for Raymond Felton was approved by David Stern, and Ben Wallace replaces Chris Anderson (both guys fill similar categories but Wallace is a starter so has a little more potential). Blake Griffin is still hurt so we're playing with only 12 guys. Rajon Rondo and Carmelo Anthony are playing great basketball and are really helping the young guys (Jonny Flynn, Griffin) adjust to life in the NBA. Griffin especially since he's been frustrated with not being able to contribute statistically.

Rondo asked Kevin Garnett to stop by and talk to Griff about cheer leading from the bench and the role that can play in energizing your teammates. Griff is a team player and he has embraced that role as he rehabs that broken kneecap. We also asked Hall of Fame cheerleader Nina to pop in and add to KG's fired up speech.

We eeked out a 5 - 4 win against hoopstar but it could have been a lot better for us. We lost the rebounding category 249 - 242 and turnovers 74 - 69, so this could easily have been a 7 - 2 win but we have to look forward and not live in the world of "should have".

Triple Threat brings Dwyane Wade, Manu Ginobili, Steve Nash, and Jason Kidd into the Garden. It's early in the season but a win here, again shorthanded, would send a message to all teams in Yahoo Public 277289.

Cowboy Up

radhamesgo@hotmail.com (Rad) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:52:00 +0000

The Daddy Sports bandwagon is just as happy as can be after the Cowboys go into Philadelphia and steal first place in the NFC East right out of the Eagles hands.

The game was tied 13 all when Tony Romo pump faked Sheldon Brown out of position and hit Miles Austin down the sideline and Austin did the rest for the go-ahead 49 yard touchdown (TD). Before that play, the Dallas defense played big and stuffed Donovan McNabb on a 4th and inches to get the ball back at their own 44 yard-line. In the NFL, 99 out of 100 times a quarterback sneak on 4th and inches will net a first down...NOT IN THIS GAME!!!

After the Cowboys went up 20-13, the Eagles faced a 4th and 11 from the Dallas 31/32 yard line. Andy Reid elected to go for the field goal attempt and count on his defense to get the ball back. Poor Andy was lambasted in the media for this move and for his clock management in the game overall (see here and here). If it was 4th and 3 or maybe even 4th and 5 I could see the argument, but 4th and 11 and with your defense playing well for the most part, I agree with the field goal attempt to make the game a little closer. A TD gives you the lead if you get the ball back.

The Cowboys running game had a different idea and they held on to the ball and closed the game out. Marion Barber had only 50 rushing yards for the game but he put a hurtin' on the Philly defense on this final drive, including a 15 yard run that gave the Cowboys three more chances with the ball to kill some more clock. Tony Romo made a nice throw to Jason Witten for a first down on a 3rd and 3 with two minutes left that sealed the game.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, still not enough running especially against this undersized Eagles defense. Dallas had 23 runs for only 76 net yards but a win is a win is a win baby!!!.

One more thing about this game, Roy Williams, for reasons known only to him, made a point to mention that he is the team's #1 receiver and not Miles Austin. The team was on a 3-game winning streak and was playing a lot better than many expected (myself included) after the 17-10 loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 4. Why would Williams want to speak up now about his role in the offense and then mention that "I'm no TO," I'm no longer a fan of his until further notice.

As for his role in this game, with the Cowboys down 13-10 in the 3rd quarter, Williams caught a quick screen from Romo and took off down the sideline. After a semi stiff-arm on Ellis Hobbs to break free, Williams was off to the races. He decides to run out of bounds even though there are about 2-3 yards between him and the nearest defender...c'mon. If you're going to complain about not being treated as a #1, then act like one. This is a big divisional game with 1st place on the line, you scratch and claw for every yard you get your guys as close as possible to the end zone. Lower your head and shoulder pads and force them to tackle you, especially with your team down by three points.

Miles Austin could have easily run out of bounds on the eventual game-winning catch and saved some energy, but he cut the ball inside and ended up scoring. That's how you play the game, that's how you step up in a big game, that's how you win games for your team.

The Cowboys are now 6-2 and atop the division. After the Eagles put up 40 on the Giants I was very impressed with the pressure Dallas put on McNabb and with the physical play of the corners against the young, but very fast, Eagles receivers.

Tony Romo was uncharacteristically clutch but now I'm afraid that Wade Phillips will throw even more against Green Bay next week. Run the ball Wade, it's going to be cold out there in Wisconsin and the ball will be a little slick. Bang the Packers into submission and show the league what's coming for last six games of the season...PAIN!!!

Our fantasy team is also up by 25 points going into the Monday Night game. Let's all get back on the winning track here.

_{Images courtesy of: Associated Press, CNNSI.Com}

Weekend Watching

radhamesgo@hotmail.com (Rad) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:15:00 +0000

Now that the baseball season has ended in glorious fashion, we can start to talk about some other sports. This should be a great football weekend with big games in both the NFL and in college. Here are some games you should keep an eye on in between beer runs.

NFL

Raven at Bengals - The Bengals are coming off a bye week and the Ravens are pumped after abusing the Denver Broncos. The Bengals have been a surprise this year, honestly who would picked Cincinnati to be leading the AFC North halfway through the 2009 season. I think the now-versatile Ravens, complemented by a defense that's flying around the field with reckless abandon again, will pull this one out. If nothing else, this should be a very physical, old school football game. Cedric Benson is the wild-card here, if he can keep running the way he did against the Bears (37 carries, 189 yards) then he might just wear out that Ravens D and give the Bengals a shot. I'm sure Frank would love to see a big win by the Cincinnati Kids.

Cowboys at Eagles - Our Cowboys have been playing some pretty good football lately (even if their still not utilizing the league's biggest offensive line to it's full run blocking potential). The Eagles dismantled the Giants (Eagles won the game 40-17) in every facet of the game so they come into this week maxed out on confidence. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the Cowboys have to run the ball and keep the Philly offense grounded on the sidelines. Donovan McNabb has a lot of weapons running around he field and if Andy Reid cuts him loose they will be tough for this Dallas D to keep up with. DeSean Jackson is really becoming an NFL star right before our eyes. He was the Wildcat QB before Michael Vick was brought on board and he was effective for the most part, now that he is focusing more on his wide receiver duties he is "blowin' up."

NCAA Football

LSU at Alabama - This SEC Conference showcase should be the game of the week. LSU comes in at 7-1 and ranked #9 in the BCS, Alabama is 8-0 and ranked #3. If Alabama wins here they might squeeze into the top two in the BCS with the strength of schedule boost from playing a top 10 team. The Alabama defense has speed that LSU has not had to deal with since Florida left town back in early October. LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson will have his hands full but I'm betting the Gators game will help him handle this better than he would have otherwise.

I'm betting Jefferson plays better than expected and gives his NFL draft status a boost. On the other side, Alabama running back Mark Ingram can open the eyes of Heismann voters with a big game against the Tigers. If he gets too much help from Rolando McClain and Terrence Cody it will just be seen as a team effort and may actually hurt him. If his team wins the game with a dominant running game I'm sure he'll take it.

Oklahoma at Nebraska - This one's for Dave. This used to be a must see game for the entire nation but lately it has been dominated by the Sooners. This game should be no different even with Sam Bradford out of the game. Landry Jones will continue to showcase his skills even against a better than expected Cornhusker defense. BOOMER SOONER!

I was looking for a decent NBA matchup to highlight this weekend but the games on the NBA schedule were ho hum at best.

Enjoy the weekend folks, enjoy the replays of the Yankees Championship Parade. THE YANKEES ARE CHAMPIONS OF BASEBALL!!!

One For The New Stadium

radhamesgo@hotmail.com (Rad) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:51:00 +0000

No more second guesses, no more questions, no more anxiety, no more doubt, no more games, it's over...THE YANKEES ARE CHAMPIONS OF BASEBALL!!! How sweet it sounds.

The season started off roughly, questions about more offseason spending, Alex Rodriguez's steroid troubles, 0-8 against the Red Sox to start the year, and the billion dollar stadium that had it's own jet stream carrying pop flies over the right field wall at a record pace. Then in the playoffs, it was Girardi making the decision to go with a three man rotation, making some questionable moves during the games with his bullpen, and having to deal with Nick Swisher and Mark Teixeira struggling throughout. It all means nothing now because for the 27th time THE YANKEES ARE CHAMPIONS OF BASEBALL!!!

Alex Rodriguez finally gets one, Jeter and the Fab Four (Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera) get their 5th ring together, Girardi won one with these guys and now he gets a ring managing them, Mariano Rivera proved once again why is Major League Baseball's most lethal postseason weapon, Hideki Matsui might not be back next season but he played like a "True Yankee" and made sure this Series would not last another game with his home run and 6 RBIs in last night's Series clinching win. Matsui was named the series MVP for his efforts, a well deserved honor for the humble Godzilla (I actually think Chase Utley should have won the award, he had an amazing series in a losing effort). It's been nine years since the last title, in the picture below you can see that some of the guys are staring at the trophy as if they forgot what it looked like. Andy Pettitte came in on three days rest and pitched better than I expected, he closes out his third World Series and THE YANKEES ARE CHAMPIONS OF BASEBALL!!!

Rodriguez may not have played as well in the World Series as he did in the ALDS and ALCS but he still played much better than he had in previous postseason appearances. If he is more relaxed next season after getting a Championship and getting the monkey off his back, I can only imagine the numbers he'll put up (I'll make all efforts to draft him for the next fantasy team). Derek Jeter hit over .350 for the series, same for Johnny Damon as the top of the Yankee order did a great job setting the table for the big guys behind them. Robinson Cano, Nick Swisher and Mark Teixeira struggled mightily, Swisher's Game 3 (2 for 4, 1 home run, 1 RBI) saved this from being a complete washout for him. Even with with those three guys feeling the playoff pressure THE YANKEES ARE CHAMPIONS OF BASEBALL!!!

The starting pitching was great, save for AJ Burnett's performance in Game 5. CC Sabathia pitched a great Game 1 (he was overshadowed by Cliff Lee's dominance) and came back on short rest for Game 4 to help the Yankees command of the Series. Andy Pettitte won both of the games he pitched, he got the most run support of the three starters. The bullpen was not as dominant as I thought they would be but CC Sabathia made up for it by being that much better than I could have imagined after he struggled in last years playoffs for the Milwaukee Brewers. I did not think he would be worth the money but I am swallowing those words now, the man is big money. Chocolate Thunder came up big and helped make sure that THE YANKEES ARE CHAMPIONS OF BASEBALL!!!

I want to give some credit to the Phillies for playing a great series. Again, a few bounces the other way and this is a totally different series. Chase Utley was amazing, Cliff Lee was Curt Schilling in '04 minus the bloody sock, Carlos Ruiz had another good playoff run and Ryan Howard struck out something like 2 out of every 3 at bats. Charlie Manuel is a great manager and this team has so many young guys that they should be in contention for a while to come. I tip my hat to their players for another good postseason overall. There is no shame in losing in the World Series, you are the second best team in all of baseball, let's have a round of applause for the Philadelphia Phillies.....that's done, let's celebrate the 2009 Major League Baseball season which ends with THE YANKEES ARE CHAMPIONS OF BASEBALL!!!

My favorite line after the game comes from Derek Jeter, "Some guys made some predictions about this series [Jimmy Rollins], our guys just went out there and let our play do the talking..." Spoken like a true Champion. The highlight of the game for me as a dad was celebrating this title with the piglet who experienced her first Yankee World Series and first Yankee World Series Championship. Here we are breaking down the Pedro Martinez's lack of velocity and how he is still somewhat effective because of the movement on his pitches. It was a great time for both of us.

Here are some more pics that I enjoyed and hope you will too.

Give me some Frankie baby!!! Thanks Nutball.

_{Images courtesy of: Daddy Sports, New York Daily News}

Week 9 NFL Picks

radhamesgo@hotmail.com (Rad) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:30:00 +0000

I neglected to post my week 8 picks last week, my apologies for that. We went 4 - 9 (61 - 54 overall) so it was nothing to write home about.

Week 9 has a lot of great games including our Dallas Cowboys going to Philadelphia for a throwdown with the Eagles. First place in the NFC East is on the line. Philly is coming of that huge win over the Giants while the Cowboys offense seems to be coming around now that Miles Austin has become Tony Romo's go-to receiver. I would still like to see Marion Barber, Felix Jones, and Tashard Choice pound the ball some more but that seems to be a lost cause. I can't complain when the system is bringing home Ws. Barber and Jones have also dealt with injuries again this year but both should play in this game.

Standings have been updated and the Week 9 picks are now up and running.

Gracias por su tiempo.

Fantasy Update

radhamesgo@hotmail.com (Rad) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:30:00 +0000

Football

We were four points away from a three game winning streak in our fantasy football league...FOUR POINTS. We lose a heart breaker to RaidersinNY 97.18 - 93.92 to fall to 2-6 and down to 8th in the overall standings.

We were up by 11 points heading into the Monday Night game. RaidersinNY had Marques Colston and Roddy White in the game and we had Drew Brees. Colston and White both caught touchdowns, Drew Brees threw only two touchdowns and had a fumble and an interception. You lose two points for fumbles and interceptions respectively so that was basically the game. It's still a losing record but 3-5 would have felt loads better than 2-6.

For week 9 we head out to Indianapolis to face Colts Woman who features Chris Johnson and Pierre Thomas in a strong backfield. I'm planning some more moves for this week to try to give us a better shot at a win here as we continue to play the matchups week to week. The Chargers defense did not play as well as I thought they would against the Raiders, same with Darren Sproles. I am willing to release Lee Evans now if I can find a better option. Terrell Owens has been released but at this point it seems that neither he nor Evans is worth owning.

Basketball

The Daddy Sports Fantasy Basketball team is currently sitting at 5-4 after 1 week. I don't mind the record, Blake Griffin is hurt so we lose we're playing with one less player than the opposition. As our players continue to get comfortable with each other our record will get better. Lots of new faces in new places. Yahoo adapted the NBA's no DL policy a few years ago so I can't put Blake on that list and temporarily give his spot to someone else.

We picked up Ty Lawson for Rudy Fernandez but then Raymond Felton and Mario Chalmers were both inexplicably released by their respective owners. I had to put in a waiver claim for Felton to replace Lawson on the roster, we have to wait until November 4th for this to go through.

Carmelo Anthony is playing like an animal right now and he will carry this team offensively while the rest of the guys just have to fill in the other categories.

Thanks for stopping by guys.

You Gotta See This

radhamesgo@hotmail.com (Rad) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:41:00 +0000

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Alex The Great

radhamesgo@hotmail.com (Rad) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:00:00 +0000

Alex Rodriguez must feel like Fred Astaire as he gets closer to his first World Series ring. The pressure of signing the two biggest contracts in baseball history, the shame of putting up MVP-type numbers for so many years only to tense up/choke and fail in the playoffs, the steroid debacle earlier this season, and having to answer so many questions about his personal life is all lifted and he must be skipping around his house /hotel he's so light on his feet. The 2007 and 2008 seasons must feel like a lifetime ago as he is now one win away from getting a Championship Ring.

The New York Yankees beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-4 last night in another great game in this series. The Yankees are up 3 games to 1 but few plays the other way and it could easily be 3-1 for the Phillies. I'm not going to say it's over, I still have 2004 fresh in memory, but they have a great chance to win their 27th World Series Championship as a franchise which would add to their record (the St. Louis Cardinals are second with 10 titles).

The Yanks started the game fast and aggressive against Joe Blanton. Derek Jeter lead off with a single, Johnny Damon doubled to right to give the team 2nd and 3rd with nobody out. Mark Teixeira is up next with an RBI ground out, A-Rod gets hit by a pitch (again), and Jorge Posada gets a sacrifice fly. 2-0 Yankees and the route was on...not exactly. The Phillies made it a 2-1 game with back-to-back doubles from Shane Victorino and Chase Utley as Chocolate Thunder (CC Sabathia) was more like melting chocolate on 3 days rest. Both pitchers settled in and there were no big innings until the action packed 8th.

The Yankees were up 4-3 in the 8th inning and Joba Chamberlain was blowing fastballs by any and all Phillies stepping into the batters box. I was jacked up and ready to celebrate him striking out the side when Pedro Feliz got a hold of one and blasted it into the left field stands to tie the game. Joba was pitching great, the Yanks had a lead, Mariano was ready to finish thing off...that home run just took the life out of me. I felt so deflated I can only imagine what Joba was feeling after letting the Phillies tie the game. Give plenty of credit to Feliz because Chamberlain was throwing gas and Feliz stayed with it until he got one he could handle.

Charlie Manuel decided to go with Brad Lidge in the 9th in a tie game. He was already questioned for not using Cliff Lee on three days rest to face CC Sabathia in this game, and now using his closer in a non-save situation brought even more grief. Cliff Lee has never pitched on three days rest so I understand the move, why change from what got you here? This was my criticism of Joe Girardi, tying to do things differently is normally a recipe for disaster in the playoffs. Blanton was decent after a rough 1st inning (6 innings pitched [IP], 4 earned runs [ER], 7 Ks) and he kept the Phils in the game, not bad for a #4 starter going up against the Yankees ace.

As far as using Lidge in the top of the 9th, he hadn't pitched in a few games, the Phillies had some momentum, why not use Lidge for 1 inning (the pitcher's spot was up to lead off the bottom of the 9th so he would have most likely been pinch-hit for). I saw no problem with either decision by Manuel, sometimes things just break the other way.

After Hideki Matsui popped out to Jimmy Rollins, Damon worked an 0-2 count to 3-2 and fouled off about twenty pitches before finally getting a single to left-center field. Then came the play of the game. With Mark Teixeira at the plate, Damon tries to steal second. The Phillies had the shift on for Tex so 3rd baseman Pedro Feliz was covering 2nd base. I thought Damon made a mistake and took off for 3rd because he thought the ball got by Feliz. I yelled "OH MY GOD, WHAT ARE YOU DOING...", the piglet actually grabbed me and told me to calm down...but Damon just kept going all the way to 3rd base because Lidge stayed on the mound and no one covered 3rd base on the steal attempt. "YEA JOHNNY, GREAT PLAY BABY" was my reaction to this genius bit of base running. Another heads up play by the Yankees in a postseason that has been filled with them for this team.

After Tex got hit be a Lidge fastball on the arm/elbow, Rodriguez came up in another big spot. I didn't think about this, but the announcers brought up the fact the Lidge would not be able to throw his best pitch, the slider, because it normally ends up in the dirt. If the slider in the dirt gets away from catcher Carlos Ruiz then the Yankees take the lead on a wild pitch with Damon scoring from 3rd base. Great analysis.

Alex hit a Lidge fastball down the left field line and brought home the go ahead run and continuing to produce in the clutch for the Yankees. He has struggled a bit in the World Series but this one hit alone will stick with Yankee fans if they win this Series. Jorge Posada drove in A-Rod and Teixeira with a 2-out single in the next at bat to add some insurance and give Mariano some breathing room in the bottom of the 9th.

Mariano the Great shut the door in the face of the Philly fans, put the Yanks up 3-1 and on the cusp of the Major League mountain top. Lidge pitched pretty good, Damon had a great at-bat, and the steal of 2nd and 3rd was a great play which limited Lidge's use of his best pitch. Charlie Manuel has no reason to hang his head, the Yankees just made more plays when the game counted.

I didn't like Girardi using CC Sabathia on three days rest but he pitched OK (6 2/3 innings, 3 earned runs, 6 Ks) and the bullpen was going great until the Feliz home run in the 8th and that was one bad pitch. Chase Utley hit another home run off of Sabathia to make it a 4-3 Yankees lead in the 7th inning. Utley just has CC's number and if it comes down to a Game 7 it will be interesting to see how the Yankees pitch Utley with CC back on the mound. When the moves work, your a genius for a day, when they fail your a nutcase who's thinking too much. That's just the way the ball bounces.

Cliff Lee goes tonight on full rest for the Phillies and AJ Burnett pitches for the Yankees on three days rest in Game 5 tonight as the Yankees try to help Jimmy Rollins be the bizzaro-prophet and have his prediction come true in the exact reverse, YANKEES IN FIVE!!!

_{Images courtesy of: New York Daily News, Associated Press}

Best Of Five

radhamesgo@hotmail.com (Rad) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:30:00 +0000

Now we got a series. AJ Burnett pitched seven dominant innings (1 ER, 9 Ks) for the Yankees and they needed every single one of those as Pedro Martinez and his 88 MPH fastball handcuffed Yankee hitters for the better part of 7 innings; save for two solo homeruns (Mark Teixeira, Hideki Matusi). Martinez's killer changeup made that fastball look more like it was 98 MPH. Pitching and defense wins championships and the Yankees had a little more pitching on this night than the Phillies.

The Phillies only hit a couple of balls hard while Burnett was in the game. Even when they scored their only run, Raul Ibanez hit a soft blooper down the left field line that ended up bouncing into stands and putting him on 2nd base, then Stairs hit a ball that went under Alex Rodriguez's glove at 3rd base for an RBI single. Not exactly knocking the cover off the ball but you take runs any way you can get 'em in this series.

Teixeira hit a bomb to right-center field that tied the game in the 4th inning and Godzilla himself, Hideki Matsui, tapped a ball that somehow went over the right field wall and gave the mighty Yanks a 2-1 lead. The final run came on a pinch-hit single by Jorge Posada that brought Brett Gardner home like a Jack Rabbit on Red Bull (he's really fast) in the 7th inning.

That was it, that was all the scoring in the game from two of the top 4 scoring teams in 2009 (Yankees #1, Phillies #4) during the regular season.

Pitching has lead the way in this series and with Andy Pettitte and Cole Hamels going curveball for curveball it should be more of the same in Game 3 on Saturday night.

Things I noticed or didn't quite understand: Girardi pinch running Brett Gardner for Jerry Hairston Jr in the 7th before Melky Cabrera's hit-and-run single off of Pedro. Hairston has pretty good speed so I didn't see the need to waste Gardner in that particular situation, and Girardi had the hit-and-run on, which would have given Hairston a running start. What if Posada/Molina would have gotten on base in a tie game in the 9th or with the Yankee trailing? Gardner is your best pinch runner, I wouldn't use him unless I absolutely had to.

I was very impressed by Pedro's performance and I was actually hoping the fans would cheer for him as he walked off the field. For a guy his age that was a brilliant pitching performance in a big game. His smile/smirk as he headed toward the dugout was priceless.

The umpires got some bad calls again. I'll reiterate that these guys are human and they are allowed to make mistakes, but the cumulative effect of all these mistakes has some fans begging for instant replay. The play where Ryan Howard short hopped a ball was a bang-bang play and it was really close, I had a problem with the conference afterward and the Umpires of the Round Table still coming to the wrong decision. The fact that Howard threw the ball to second should have been an indication that Howard did not catch the ball, if he had he would have just stepped on 1st base to double-off Posada. If we're going to meet to get the call right, let's get it right fellas.

Chase Utley getting called out at 1st, on the double play that ended the 8th, was another bang-bang play that anyone could have missed. These are the best umpires the league has to offer and they are supposed to be better than the average person at making these bang-bang calls because that's what they do, it's their job. Let's cut them a little slack though, it's a tough job and millions of people, and slow motion, high definition cameras, are watching and analyzing every decision. What would you do if every mistake you made at work was broadcast on Fox in super slow-mo, even that left over Chinese food you took from the office fridge that you know wasn't your...I'm not the only one am I?

Girardi using Mariano Rivera in the 8th inning for the third time in this postseason also bothered me a little. Girardi enjoyed great success in the regular season managing this team a certain way and he seems to be using guys differently during the playoffs. If you can't count on Hughes and Chamberlain to get you through 1 inning then we have some big problems moving forward. Mariano is going to get worn out if he has to get a two inning save 3 more times. I ran into Nutball on Facebook during the game and he said it best, "Girardi is outsmarting himself". Hopefully he pulls back a little and just remembers what got them here.

Alex Rodriguez went 0-4 again and is now 0-8 with six strikeouts in the Series. We all know he starts to press at time like these. Hopefully his success in the ALDS and ALCS will help keep him in control of his emotions and nerves.

It's best of 5, with three games in Philadelphia and two in New York, now. It's been a good series so far, it has a kind of '91 World Series feel. That was another Series that featured two evenly matched teams with dominant aces, the Atlanta Braves and Minnesota Twins.

Jack Morris faced off against John Smoltz in an titanic pitching duel. Morris went 10 innings, yes 10 innings and gave up 0 runs with 8Ks; Smoltz went 7 1/3 innings, 0 ER, and Ks. The Twins won the game and the Series 1-0 on a bases loaded single by little known Gene Larkin in the bottom of the 10th inning. A great series and a game I will probably never forget. Jack Morris was a money pitcher who loved pitching in big games, I'd never seen a guy throw 10 innings, not even in a video game, it was awe-inspiring. The closest I think we'll ever get to seeing anything like this would be from Josh Beckett, that guy is a horse who'll pitch until his arm falls off, then he might try to throw left-handed. Even though he plays for the Red Sox, I appreciate the guys competitiveness and intensity.

LET GO YANKEES, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP CLAP CLAP

Images courtesy of: MyFoxNY.com, About.Com, New York Daily News

Just One Game

radhamesgo@hotmail.com (Rad) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:30:00 +0000

For at least one game, Cliff Lee was better than CC Sabathia, Chase Utley played the role of Derek Jeter better than the original, Jimmy Rollins looked like a prophet for his comments on The Jay Leno Show, the Yankee bullpen looked overmatched against the Philadelphia lineup, and the Yankee hitters looked like they were pressing after being down only 1-0, for this one game the Phillies were the better team.

It was a tough game to watch as a Yankee fan but give the Phillies players all of the credit as they came to play. Cliff Lee used every pitch in his arsenal and mixed speeds as if he's been trained by Greg Maddux all season (9 IP, 0 ER, 10 Ks). He was for this year's Phillies what Cole Hamels was for them last year, masterful. He looked as relaxed as I've ever seen a pitcher on this huge stage, and this was his first career World Series start. The catch he made on a Johnny Damon soft pop-up (he just nonchalantly stuck his glove out and let the ball sort of fall into it as he looked away) will get plenty of "disrespect" comments from fans and some media outlets but the guy was just cruising and it was an easy play for him; no need to waste energy if it's not needed. I saw nothing wrong with his actions during the game.

Sabathia actually pitched well (7 IP, 2 ER, 6 Ks) save for two Chase Utley home runs. He had to throw a lot of pitches early on as the Phils fouled off several two strike pitches in refusing to go down without a fight and just made him work for every single out. Something we've grown used to seeing from the Yankees, but Lee was having none of it on this particular day. After getting out of a bases loaded hole in the 1st inning and giving up the first Utley home run in the 3rd inning, he settled in until the second Utley moon-shot in the 6th inning. Phil Hughes walked the only two hitters he faced (had Jimmy Rollins 1-2 and lost him), Damaso Marte looked good in striking out Utley and getting Ryan Howard to fly out weakly to Nick Swisher. Dave Robertson walked a guy on 4 pitches and gave up a 2 RBI single to Raul Ibanez (runs charged to Hughes), and Phil Coke gave up smash double to Ryan Howard...save for Joba Chamberlain that is the heart of the Yankee bullpen. They just looked scared and intimidated for this first game, hopefully it's out of their system.

Game 1 goes to Cliff Lee and company. I take solace in the fact that it took Cliff Lee's best game, an uncharacteristic night from a strong bullpen, and some very good defense by the Phillies to win this game. The Yankees also avoided the shutout by scoring a run in the 9th inning off of Cliff Lee...with help from a Jimmy Rollins error but I take this as a positive. Lee also threw 110+ pitches to complete this game so he may not be as sharp in his next start, especially if he is used on 3 days rest.

One thing we did notice, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins made plays on several balls that were hit right up the middle. I know these guys have great range but it seems like their cheating in towards the middle of the field on defense, which the Yanks may be able to exploit by shooting the ball through the infield gaps for "seeing eye" singles. With the way Lee was pitching just getting the bat on the ball period was a victory. This might be possible against Pedro Martinez, the Game 2 starter.

It's just 1 game people, let's not mash that panic button yet, the Phillies were better for this one game. Let's laugh at the audacious thought of losing this series, one game, that's all it is...

_{Image courtesy of: nomass.org, New York Daily News}

2009 World Series

radhamesgo@hotmail.com (Rad) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:11:00 +0000

Weather permitting, Game 1 of the World Series between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies will be played tonight at 8 PM (technically 7:57 but what's three minutes). Cleveland Indians fans tuning in must be a little miffed as CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee will face off as aces for other teams. Both came up through the Indians farm system, Sabathia was traded away in 2007 and Lee was traded earlier this year. I got the same feeling watching Trevor Ariza, a former Knick, become an integral player for the eventual World Champion Los Angeles Lakers.

Here is a short breakdown of how the piglet and I see this series:

Offense

With Robinson Cano coming around and getting a couple of hits in the final two games of the ALCS, I have to give the slight edge to the Yankees here. We've heard a thousand times how much power the Yankees have top to bottom, and it's true, but solo home runs won't win this series. The Yanks have to start getting guys on base so the big boppers have more of an impact and to also make the opposing pitcher work under duress for a few innings. There's a difference between throwing 90 pitches and giving up 3 hits (all solo home runs) and throwing 90 pitches over 5 long innings where you had to work out of constant jams and deal with guys on base bothering you. The latter can mentally wear a pitcher out, which can be just as effective as physically wear.

Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada, Cano, and Johnny Damon (especially at Yankee Stadium) are all great offensive players and have the potential to turn any inning into an offensive explosion for the Yankees. The Phillies have plenty of speed with Jimmy Rollins, Jayson Werth, Shane Victorino, and even Chase Utley so they have can score and create problems in a variety of ways. Ryan Howard provides the punch for the Phillies in the clean-up spot and he has hit the ball hard this postseason; with a lot less attention than A-Rod but he has been just as effective.

The reason I give the Yankees the slight edge is at the bottom of the respective lineups. 1 through 5 or even 1 through 6 they are pretty much even, but 7-9 is where the Yankees should get the runs that might make the difference in the series. If Nick Swisher and Melky Cabrera continue to struggle this will be a moot point but I'm betting that they'll get back into the swing of things enough to make this point valid.

Edge - Yankees

Pitching

Even with a 60 year old Pedro Martinez starting Game 2, the Phillies have the edge in starting pitching in this series. Cliff Lee starts Game 1 and he has been for the Phillies this year what Cole Hamels was for them last year, unhittable. Lee pitched 8 shutout innings in the NLCS against the Dodgers and he looked even better than that sounds. But the Phillies lack the Yankees depth and strength in the bullpen.

Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain looked a little nervous playing the Angels and I hope they aren't swallowed up by the big lights of the World Series. The Yanks still have Phil Coke, David Robertson, and Damaso Marte who should be better than Scott Eyre, Ryan Madson, Chad Durbin, and whoever doesn't start between J.A. Happ/Joe Blanton. I think Philly's starting edge is greater than the Yanks bullpen edge because of the uncertainty behind Hughes and Chamberlain. Mariano Rivera, the great equalizer, vs Brad Lidge is no contest but still not enough to negate Lee, Martinez, Cole Hamels, Blanton, and Happ.

Edge - Phillies

Defense

I give the Phils the edge here as well. Their outfielders (Jason Werth, Shane Victorino, and Raul Ibanez) cover so much ground that it will be tough to get anything in the gaps unless it's hit really hard. I've previously voiced my displeasure with the Yankee outfielders' (Johnny Damon, Melky Cabrera, and Nick Swisher) defensive shortcomings. The lack of arm strength and range are pluses for the Philly outfield.

Jimmy Rollins is a better defensive infielder than Derek Jeter, Chase Utley and Robinson Cano are pretty even, Alex Rodriguez's glove is better than Pedro Feliz, and Mark Teixeira is head and shoulders above Ryan Howard as a defender. Jorge Posada/Jose Molina are just as good as Carlos Ruiz. Posada and Molina's ability to slow down Philadelphia's running game will be factor. The Yankees aren't known for their base stealing but they've actually stolen as many bases as the Phillies this postseason...2 (cool side note, both Jorge Posada and Carlos Ruiz have stolen a base in the playoffs after combining for 2 steals for the entire regular season [both by Posada]).

Edge - Phillies

Managing

Joe Girardi seems to be trying really hard to have his every move questioned either by making too many or sitting back and doing nothing when the situations call for the opposite. I don't know why he's changing his style now after having success in the regular season (using Mariano for 2 innings to close out the Angels for instance), maybe it's the playoff pressure just getting to him. Charlie Manuel was here last year and now has Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez added to his arsenal while bringing back pretty much the same position players. Manuel has a Torre-esque calming influence on his team from what I've watched and that can do nothing but help, especially as the games get more hectic the deeper this series goes. Again, the Phillies have the edge here.

Edge - Phillies

The Phillies win three out of my four categories so you would think I was picking them to win the Series...Yankees in 7. It's all about the intangibles when the games are as close as I think these will be. I think this will be a close, hard fought series with two evenly matched teams. With the above breakdown the edges are slight and an argument could easily be made for either side. I think things will turn in Game 4 or 5 with a crucial play being made in the field or on the bases and we all know who will be smack in the middle of it...EL CAPITAN Derek Jeter.

Jeter will swing another series in the Yankees favor as his quest to become the official logo of Major League Baseball (ala Jerry West in the NBA) continues. It's either Derek or Albert Pujols and Pujols is too low key to accept such a public position.

Patience will be a big key for the Yankees, if they can work the superior Phillies starters and tire out the bullpen then this could get ugly quickly. If, however, Cliff Lee and company consistently pitch into the 7th or 8th innings then the ugliness gets flipped around and the Phillies are looking like Alyssa Milano in this series.

If game 1 is rained out tonight, who do you guys thinks this would benefit? The Yankees or the Phillies??

_{Image courtesy of : New York Daily News}

The Push Continues

radhamesgo@hotmail.com (Rad) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:30:00 +0000

That's two wins in a row in fantasy football people, we're charging hard for the playoffs and we're coming in hot. We defeated the 7th place Bone Crushers 101.72 - 75.60. We made a few moves before the game, none of which paid off as we relied heavily on the players that were already on the team for big points. The bulk of the scoring came from Drew Brees (23.22), Wes Welker (17.30), Nate Kaeding (13.00), and the Jets D (21.00). They put us on their backs and carried us to victory and the pride that comes with a 2-5 record. As a team, we're still taking it 1 game at a time, but playing with our backs against the wall combined with a sense of urgency because only the guys in this locker room believe that we can do it...is that enough cliches for one paragraph?

We are now out of the cellar and twisted in a 4-way tie for 7th place in Yahoo League 754324, recognized by the global media as the toughest division in all of Fantasy Football (this information cannot be verified).

Up next is RaidersinNY with Eli Manning, Frank Gore, Marques Colston, and Dallas Clark looking leading the way for this dangerous offense. We find out tomorrow if Commissioner Roger Goodell approves our waiver requests for Shonn Greene (replacing Willie Parker) and Beanie Wells (replacing Glen Coffee). With Leon Washington done for the year, Greene should see an increase in action especially with the Miami Dolphins next on the schedule. Beanie Wells looked pretty strong against the Giants, save for a fumble, and Glen Coffee won't see the ball much with Frank Gore healthy in San Francisco.

Anthony Gonzalez may return to action this week for Indianapolis which would give our receivers a scoring boost. Fingers crossed on this one.

I'm not sure if we should start Drew Brees against the Atlanta Falcons or Aaron Rodgers in Favre Bowl II out in the Frozen Tundra.

Any suggestions??

_{Image courtesy of: Minnesota-TheSportsAbyss}

Eleven Minus Four Equals Twenty Seven

radhamesgo@hotmail.com (Rad) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:11:00 +0000

What a glorious weekend folks. I don't have much to say, I'll just share some pics with from around the web. Four more wins for the Yanks to get their 27th World Series title.

LET'S GO YANKEES, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP CLAP CLAP

_{Images courtesy of: New York Daily News, New York Post, CNNSI.com, Associated Press}

Fantasy Basketball

radhamesgo@hotmail.com (Rad) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:30:00 +0000

We finally got on the board and got our first win of the season in Fantasy Football and it came against league leader Italian Stallions 95.22 - 73.08 (Reggie Wayne was starting for them even though his team had a bye this week, but I'm not to blame for the opposition's roster errors) . It's all about sendin' a message people, AND WE JUST SENT A BIG ONE!!! Well we're still in last place at 1-5, but we gotta start somewhere. I made a few roster changes to take advantage of a few more matchups this week and hopefully get an actual streak going.

The 2-4 Bone Crushers come to the Bronx this week (yes we're the home team) so WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE!!! (couldn't help it). The Crushers feature DeAngelo Williams and Thomas Jones so they have the potential for a huge week; but with Drew Brees coming off a 30+ point game against the New York Giants top rated pass defense, he could easily negate both of those guys as ha faces the Miami Dolphins. Let's get out there and get it done people. Check out the league standings at the bottom of the page.

In other fantasy news, we had our Fantasy Basketball draft yesterday, I completed this while working on a couple of things at the day job so I apologize for any errors in advance. It's a Yahoo, 12-team, head-to-head league with standard categories and rules.

Here's how the draft worked out (we had the 6th pick) and how the team is looking as of today:

Round 1 - Brandon Roy

It came down to a choice between Roy, Dirk Nowitzki, and Danny Granger. I went with Roy because of his versatility and ability to stuff so many categories. I needed a great all around player to build around and with Chris Paul and Lebron James already gone, I thought Brandon was the best player for us. In an interview I read earlier this week, Nate McMillan said that he has challenged Roy to become as good on defense as he has been offensively in his young career. If he can put up defensive stats with any consistency he should be a monster and a steal here at #6.

Nowitzki is getting up there in age and I just couldn't trust him to run this team, Granger has injury issues that make me just as nervous.

Round 2 - Josh Smith

I had planned to take Dwight Howard with this pick to wrap up blocks and rebounds on a weekly basis. DUI COCKROACHES threw a monkey and a wrench in those plans by taking Howard in the 1st round. AL Jefferson was my backup choice but he was picked 2 spots before our turn was up. Smith is rumored to have set his sights on making the NBA All-Defensive team this year so he might give us Howard-type numbers from time to time with a little more offense thrown in. He can be a frustrating player because of his inconsistency and I don't care for his personality/antics, but if he truly is focused then his potential is sky high. Even if he's not, he'll get enough blocks and 3 pointers to help us out significantly. Caron Butler would have made this a tough choice but he was chosen the pick before ours which made this a little easier to stomach.

Round 3 - Carmelo Anthony

I was shocked that 'Melo lasted this long. I was all set to take Jason Kidd or Shawn Marion, but the powder blue and yellow 'Melo just fell right to us. He gives us 20 points and 7-8 rebounds a night with a couple of 3's and assists thrown in for good measure. That's not bad for a 3rd round pick. We needed to add some scoring punch to balance out the team and Anthony gives us just that. I thought for a brief second of taking Gerald Wallace or Shawn Marion but injuries scared me off again.

Round 4 - Rajon Rondo

Rondo just missed being in the top 50 in the Yahoo player rankings last year.I see him as a young Jason Kidd as far as rebounds from the Point Guard (PG) position and with Kevin Garnett back in the mix his assists should be a little higher too. We can now move Roy to shooting guard (SG) and start Rondo at the point to give us two multi-category fillers. Carlos Boozer, Baron Davis, and LaMarcus Aldridge were still available. The injury thing came up again for Boozer (his request to be traded didn't help either) and the Red Baron. Aldridge plays for Portland and I don't like having guys from the same team if I can avoid it. I think Rondo was a good fit here.

Round 5 - Blake Griffin

Griffin is going to start right away for the Los Angeles Clippers and his energy and tenacity should be enough to give him decent numbers to start the season. As he learns the game and how to use his speed and strength his numbers should improve heading into the 2nd half....or he'll get tired due to the longer NBA schedule (compared to the NCAA schedule) and peter out after the All-Star break. Griffin showed me enough in college to know that his work ethic will have him ready for the longer season and the bigger bodies in the big boy league, I think the gamble was worth it here in round 5. Mehmet Okur, Michael Redd, and Stephen Jackson were still available. My original choice was Andris Biedrins of the Golden State Warriors but once again he was chosen right before we were put on the clock by Pati. This would have given us a dominating edge in blocks and rebounds, but Griffin was a great consolation prize.

Round 6 - Emeka Okafor

Round 7 - Jason Terry

Round 8 - Wilson Chandler

Round 9 - Andrei Kirilenko

Round 10 - Jonny Flynn

Round 11 - Chris Anderson

Round 12 - Corey Maggette

Round 13 - Rudy Fernandez

I think Jason Terry in round 7 could pay off given Jason Kidd's age and the attention Shawn Marion will draw from defenders. Andrei Kirilenko in round 9 is an injury risk (I finally looked the other way on this) but he can put up nice defensive stats when healthy and given playing time. I drafted Jonny Flynn in the 10th round because I expect him to win the Minnesota Timberwolves starting PG job. Flynn has been inconsistent in the preseason but that's what preseason is for, to work on your game and get a feel for your teammates. I think Flynn will put up scoring and assist numbers than Michael Beasley since there aren't many other options in Minnesota other than Al Jefferson, especially with Kevin Love out for a while with an injury.

Feel free to share your thoughts, concern,s or praises in the comments section. Looking forward to hearing from you guys. I will be posting the complete list of teams at the bottom of the page shortly along with the complete team on the right shortly.

Joe Giradi Is A Genius

radhamesgo@hotmail.com (Rad) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:29:00 +0000

After being mercilessly ridiculed and questioned by countless media outlets (I kind of 2nd guessed, but will exclude myself from said outlets) for his over involvement in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series (ALCS), his decision to go with a 3 man rotation and start CC Sabathia on three days rest in Game 4 has to make his heart and soul feel like he just downed a warm butterbeer (Harry Potter reference).

Chocolate Thunder (CC Sabathia) saved his manager countless trips to the trainer's room for some Tums and endless rounds of decision-questioning in the post-game press conference. He pitched eight strong innings, struck out 5, and allowed just 1 earned run...all on three days rest. I said it before, I didn't think Sabathia was worth the money they paid him but he continues to prove me wrong in these playoffs. After a tough loss in Game 3, the Yanks needed a strong start from Sabathia to take some pressure off of the Yankee hitter and the team as a whole, he came up Aces big time.

Alex Rodriguez drives in a run in his 8th consecutive playoff game, tying a 77 year old record by Lou Gehrig which was also tied by Ryan Howard 24 hours earlier. He is finally living his boyhood dream and getting to actually enjoy these postseason games because he's not having to answer questions about his struggles. He will leave these questions for Mark Teixeira to answer as he has looked uncomfortable at the plate since the last few games of the regular season and on into playoffs.

What is going on with the umpiring in the playoffs this year by the way?? Angels catcher Mike Napoli caught Jorge Posada and Robinson Cano both sleeping around 3rd base, they were near the base but neither had a foot on the bag, and tagged them both out (Cano first, then Posada). For some reason Cano was awarded 3rd as the Ump ruled that only Posada out. He admitted after the game that he blew the call, but had Cano scored and that run would have decided the game his admission would have been little consolation for the Angels. Their human and they make errors it's true, but these are the playoffs and this is supposed to be the cream of the crop of umpires. It wasn't even bang-bang play, it was slow developing and he had plenty of time to see everything.

"I thought Cano was on the base," said Tim McClelland, "I did not see that for whatever reason, I'm just out there trying to do my job and do it the best I can."

One more win and the World Series comes back to the Bronx. LETS GO YANKEES!!!!

_{Images courtesy of: New York Daily News}

Over Managing?

radhamesgo@hotmail.com (Rad) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:00:00 +0000

Even with the Yankees losing, last night's game was fun to watch. I love watching manager's actually manage a game vs just handing in a lineup card, calling for your setup man in the 8th then bring in his closer in the 9th and call it a day. It was a great game (missed the beginning because of the ole' day job), my nerves were fried, the piglet chewed off her fingernails and twisted all kinds of knots into her hair, we cheered, we cried, and we live to write another day.

I'm not one to second guess managerial moves, not if I can help it anyway, but Joe Girardi made one move that I'm almost certain he'd like to take back and Mike Scioscia held back on a move that paid huge dividends in the end.

Let's start with the 10th inning, where it seemed like a football game with guys running on and off the field from all angles. Actually let's start with the bottom of the 8th inning where Phil Coke, a lefty, was brought in to replace Damaso Marte, another lefty to face Bobby Abreu. I didn't see the need to use Coke if you already had the lefty Marte in there. The game was tied and I would think you would save some of your bullpen guys for later, especially on the road; but maybe he had a gut feeling and I can't knock a man who won 103 regular season games. If not for a very heads up play by Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira, and another Angels baserunning error, a leadoff double could have caused some problems for the Yankees.

Back to the 10th, after Mariano Rivera made a throwing error that made me shiver with flashbacks of that 2001 Yankees/Diamondbacks World Series (only it was 3rd base instead of 2nd this time), Mo got Chone Figgins to ground out then Bobby Abreu was intentionally walked to load the bases. Now Jerry Hairston Jr comes in to replace Johnny Damon in left (the fact that Hairston has a better arm than Damon is just sad), this costs the Yankees the DH spot in the lineup and whatever pitcher was in the game would now have to hit (Francisco Cervelli would bat for Rivera in the bottom of the 10th an struck out). Not a horrible move because if you don't get out of this inning there's no point to having a DH for the latter innings anyway.

In the same inning, Angels manager Mike Scioscia had his backup catcher, Jeff Mathis, on 2nd after his double, and the announcers were questioning why Scioscia doesn't pinch run for the guy with a chance to win the game here. Full disclosure, I was agreeing with the announcers and was secretly happy that Mathis was left in, you have a chance to win the game on a single, get some speed on 2nd base (Gary Mathews Jr and Reggie Willits were on the bench and they have to be faster than your backup catcher). The Yankees got out of the inning and a pinch runner would have been null and void since Torii Hunter grounded to first and Mathis was thrown out at home. No matter how fast the runner on 3rd was he would have been thrown out. Leaving Mathis in the game would prove to be a genius move when we got to the bottom of the 11th inning.

David Robertson started the 11th inning since Mariano was pinch hit for in the previous inning. Robertson has been pitching great this postseason and he breezed through Juan Rivera and Kendry Morales. Here's where it got a little weird. Girardi pulls Robertson in favor of Alfredo Aceves to face Howie Kendrick. There is not much history between the two guys that would warrant this move, Girardi said after the game:

"We liked the matchup with Ace better," he explained afterwards. "It's just different kind of stuff against those hitters. And we have all the match-ups, and all the scouting reports, and we felt that, you know, it was a better match for us."

Like I said, sometimes managers go with their gut and it works (Scioscia leaving Mathis in) and sometimes it doesn't (pulling Robertson for Aceves) so I can't knock him for the move; but I think this would one move Girardi would not make if he had to do it over again. It just seemed like he was over-managing just a little. Robertson has been very effective after the All-Star break and has looked even better in the postseason. He looked comfortable and very loose against the two guys he faced so it just seemed odd to bring in Aceves who, in my opinion, is a lesser pitcher than Robertson and has not looked especially good in these playoffs. I don't remember him making this many moves and using this many pitchers at any point during the season so it just seemed out of sorts for him. If the Yankees win the game, he's a managerial guru, but they lost so we see it in a different light.

Aceves ended up allowing a single to Kendrick and then a hard double by Mathis that made Jerry Hairston Jr run/jump into the left field wall and almost concuss himself. Game 4 is tonight at 7 so let's hope CC Sabathia on 3 days rest can pitch deep into the game and take some pressure off Girardi.

Let's not be too hard on the guy, if your afraid of making moves then you shouldn't be a Major League manager. To get great results sometimes you have to take great chances. Mike Scioscia is one of the best managers in baseball so he'll make a lot of guys look overmatched in late game situations.

I just want to quickly mention, Derek Jeter may not have the best range among Major League shortstops but the guy just seems to be at the heart of so many smart defensive plays. In the 10th when Abreu took a big turn at second before trying to get back to 2nd, Jeter was the second cutoff man behind Robinson Cano (right place, right time) and could have just fired the ball to 3rd base and try to keep Abreu from advancing. Instead he holds the ball for a split second, sees Abreu leaning and fires a throw to Teixeira covering second base (also a heads up play by him with Cano covering the outfield as the primary cutoff man). Great play that would get more attention had the Yanks pulled the game out. Remeber this:

_{Images courtesy of: CNNSI.com}

Fantasy Problems

radhamesgo@hotmail.com (Rad) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:35:00 +0000

This is getting ridiculous for our Fantasy Football team guys. why they play the game folks. The Cowboys had a bye this week and there were some really good games this weekend, and the USC/Notre Dame game came down to the wire, but I want to focus on my (our) fantasy football problems because I need to vent a little.

Drew Brees, our starting quarterback, and the Saints were going up against the New York Giants and that crazy front four. I sat Brees in favor of Aaron Rodgers who was facing the Detroit Lions (passing defense ranked in the bottom 3rd of the NFL). The Minnesota Vikings have one of the toughest run defenses in the league, so naturally Ray Rice would struggle to get any yards, let along points, and the Ravens would be forced to pass while they played catch up in the 2nd half....

Folks we left 60 points on the bench, Rodgers actually put up 20 points this week so it's a net loss of 40 points for the team. Rice ran for 77 yards and added 112 recieving yards with 2 TDs, Drew Brees blew the Giants up for 369 passing yards and 4 TDs...what are the chances. We're 0-5 so I was trying to play the matchups and give us what I thought would be the best chance to win. Who saw Ray Rice going nuts against the Vikes and the Giants comin' up soft against the Saints. Even Reggie Bush scored a touchdown, we released him last weekend because he was giving us NOTHING.

We're still up by 30 points but Italian Stallions has Knowshon Moreno and Brandon Marshall going in tonight's San Diego Chargers vs. Denver Broncos game. I'm hoping a defensive battle with the final score being 9-6 so we can get off the schnide and put up our first W of the season.

The Yankees are up 2 games to 0 against the Angels as Alex Rodriguez continues to use Derek Jeter's mojo and come up clutch for the Yanks, Mark Sanchez throws 5 interceptions against the Buffalo Bills as the Jets lose again, the Eagles lose to the Raiders, yes, the RAIDERS in my biggest upset of the weekend. Sam Bradford gets hurt again in the 1st quarter of Oklahoma's loss to Texas. I hope he's OK and gets healthy for the combine in next year's draft.

Thanks for stopping by folks.

Jay Cutler's Second Life

radhamesgo@hotmail.com (Rad) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:54:00 +0000

I'm not a fan of Jay Cutler or the Chicago Bears but I do like when star athletes use their celebrity status for good rather than evil in this eternal struggle to balance the Force and prevent the rebuilding of the Death Star....sorry, the inner geek finds his way out from time to time. A loyal reader, Eric, sent me this story and I wanted to share with the other 4-5 loyal readers I've amassed over the years. This is not a sponsored post, I am getting nothing in return for this other than the karmic return that comes with spreading good cheer.

Jay Cutler has teamed up with Eli Lilly and Company to help children diagnosed with diabetes experience something they would otherwise have no access to. For every touchdown pass Jay completes during the 2009 season, Lilly will donate $1,000 — or approximately the cost of one full camp scholarship — to the American Diabetes Association's (ADA) camp scholarship fund. And for every pass Jay completes this season, we'll donate $100 to the scholarship fund to allow even more kids the chance to attend camp next summer.

Run primarily by the American Diabetes Association (ADA), diabetes camps are an important place for children to connect and learn more about managing their diabetes. With the diagnosis of type 1 diabetes on the rise in children across North America, these camps serve as an important vehicle to help inspire children with diabetes to achieve their goals - and let them see that diabetes doesn't have to stop them from being who they want to be.

Children with diabetes, particularly those with a new diagnosis, often feel like no one understands what they're feeling or what it's like to live with diabetes. But at these fun, medically-supervised diabetes camps, children can learn from others with diabetes that living and thriving is not only possible, it's within reach. Camps also help children make new friends and develop lifelong support systems that last well beyond that single camp experience. No one has to go it alone.

Through the Touchdowns for Diabetes program, families who need a little extra help can now give their child with diabetes a memorable summer camp experience. For more information about diabetes camps, visit the American Diabetes Association's Web Site.

Jay was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes after his 2nd season in the NFL and he continues to live with the disease while enjoying great success in the NFL. After playing in his first NFL Pro Bowl after the 2008 season, Jay teamed up with Eli Lilly in the offseason to visit children's hospitals across the country and visit with families affected by diabetes.

In April 2009, he was honored by the Indiana chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation as its "Promise Light" honoree for helping raise awareness of the need to find a cure for diabetes. I think he is a great role model and an inspiration to kids who otherwise would see this disease as debilitating and a hindrance on their everyday lives.

If you want more information or if you want to donate time and/or money, please check out Touchdowns for Diabetes for more information

Thanks for the info Eric and I hope Jay has a great season for all the kids who otherwise would not be able to afford this great camp. Again, it's great to see an athlete use his money and status to better the lives of others.

NFL And Fantasy Football

radhamesgo@hotmail.com (Rad) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:06:00 +0000

Another horrendous week for my NFL picks, we went 5-14 and dropped to a 7th place tie in the Lesters PickEm Challenge.

Some of you may also be wondering why I haven't spoken much about our fantasy football team. Folks we're 0-5, in last place in our league, and our team is completely out of sync. We have a pretty good team but we have run into some hot teams and some of our guys have just had bad weeks. We're not giving up, we just have to make some moves to better utilize matchups. It's not over guys, let's start our playoff push....NOW!!!

You can see our week 6 picks and the current fantasy football roster on the left side of the page.

It Was Awesome!!!

radhamesgo@hotmail.com (Rad) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:16:00 +0000

The Dallas Cowboys barely got past the 0-4 Kansas City Chiefs (we needed Miles Austin to be possessed by the Madden version of Devin Hester and put up 250+ receiving yards to win the game in overtime, disgusting), but nothing could bring me or the piglet down because not only did the Yankees finish off the Twins (with Alex Rodriguez coming up clutch a few times, yes A-Rod coming up with clutch hitting in the playoffs, a sight for sore eyes) and bring on the destruction of the Metrodome (the Twins get a new stadium next season); but Jonathan Papelbon blew the game for Boston Red Sox and they were swept out of the playoffs by the Los Angeles Angels. He had given up 0 postseason runs before the Angels ran 5 guys across the plate in his 1 inning of work.

Papelbon is a great pitcher and an awesome closer, but it is nice to see the guy swallow a giant piece of humble pie and taste some playoff failure. He has had nothing but success and had every reason in the world to be as cocky and outspoken as he was, now it will be interesting to see how he comes back next season after opening the exit door for the Red Sox to walk through.

In his defense he handled the collapse like a stand up guy:

"My team fights to put me in that situation and you do it all season long and you've done it time and time again in the preseason, but I just wasn't able to come out ahead this time." Papelbon then added "It's a feeling that there's a lot of weight on your shoulders because your team expects you to pull through and preserve that win for you and when you don't its definitely not a good feeling."

He could have come up with a number of excuses but he put the blame solely on himself and pretty much apologized to his teammates for losing a big game. I was surprised and impressed by his reaction.

In the end, it was a Yankee weekend and the piglet was just as excited as Daddy, here she is:

The Results Are In...

radhamesgo@hotmail.com (Rad) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:40:00 +0000

The polls are closed and it looks like....Sushi is the food that does not belong at a stadium/park. The final tally shows a landslide with Sushi getting all 3 votes. I love me some sushi but I'm a simple guy when it comes to game food. Hot dogs, cheese fries, burger, cheesesteak, some cold beer, and a shorty next to you (the wife) and you got yourself a ball game.

I asked because at the new Yankee Stadium sushi is on the menu along with some other exotic foods that are great and can be extremely tasty and pleasing to the tum-tum; but I just find it a little weird to have a New York strip steak as an food option when your watching a baseball game live. How strange does this look?

Thanks for all those who voted, your input is very much appreciated.

For the new poll, which game system do you guys think was better; the vaunted Super Nintendo Entertainment System or the underrated Sega Genesis. I'll save my input until after the polls close.

Looking forward to the Yankee game tonight after a nice game 1 to open their 2009 playoff run. Derek Jeter hit the first postseason home run at the new park, which continues to prove my theory that he was created in George Steinbrenner's lab and raised to be the quintessential example of a Yankee. This stuff doesn't just happen, the story is too perfect. I did not comment on the game because I wanted to see the follow-up before chiming in.

In the other AL series, tough loss for the Sox and that 1st base umpire really blew two calls that luckily did not directly effect the final score. These weren't calls that required super-slow-motion replays to see the mistake. I could see in real time, on television, that he made the wrong calls. I'm not a Red Sox fan by any means, but I also don't like any team losing because of bad calls on the field. The game might have been indirectly effected; John Lester did have to throw more pitches and face batter he otherwise might have faced in a different inning which would have changed the pitches he would have thrown which could have changed Torri Hunter's home run to a simple pop up to center field. Or a Red Sox batter would have batted at a different time of day, since the innings would have ended at different times, and the wind conditions might have been perfect to carry a Dustin Pedroia fly ball to left to carry all the way out to the stands and get his team on the board first which may have boosted their confidence enough to help score enough to win the game...I just gave myself a headache, stupid butterfly effect. Umpire's are human too and everyone makes mistakes so let's not ask for the guy's resignation just yet. It was just disappointing to see.

Thanks guys

_{Image courtesy of: Moknit's Flickr Page}

2009 New York Yankees

radhamesgo@hotmail.com (Rad) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:00:00 +0000

The regular season is now over and I have to swallow my y-chromosome and admit that I was wrong about this year's version of the New York Yankees. I thought they would struggle with all of the new players brought in and with the pressure of playing in the Taj Mahal of baseball stadiums/parks.

The Yankees won the American League East by 8 games over the Boston Red Sox with a 103-59 record. After the All-Star break the Yanks went 52-22 and 9-1 against the Red Sox (after going 0-8 in the 1st half of the season) to finish the season off strong. It was a very rocky start after the A-Rod's name was read on The List, then his hip injury was slower to heal than expected, Chien Ming Wang struggled right out of the gate, and Boston rung in the "House That Jeter Built" by sweeping the Yankees in a 2 game series back in May. The Yankees were swept into the All-Star break by the Los Angeles Angels in 3 games that gave fans little confidence for the 2nd half of the season.

A-Rod got healthy, which helped the offense, Phil Hughes moved to the bullpen to fortify the late inning relief, and the starting pitching got it's act together for Act II and the Yankees took off. On September 11th, 2009 Derek Jeter, El Capitan, got his 2,722nd hit to become the franchise's all time hits leader; passing Lou Gehrig who held the team record for over 70 years. Jeter finished the year at 2,747. Frank asked me some time ago if I thought Jeter had a realistic shot at breaking Pete Rose's hits record (4,256), I don't think he will but he seems to love playing the game and if he ever decides to move to the 3rd base he can play well into his 40's which would give him an outside shot. I'll do an entire post on this at a later date.

In November I questioned if CC Sabathia was worth $140 million, he won 19 games this year with a 3.37 ERA and 197 strikeouts, basically shoving my foot in my mouth and laughing at me. I can humbly admit I was wrong about him, unlike most Yankee fans I believe the regular season counts for a lot, he pitched great and proved that he can be an ace for this team. Sill trying to get "Chocolate Thunder" to catch on as the CC nickname.

I was also against paying Mark Teixeira the huge contract that was being offered to him. With his 39 home runs, 122 RBIs, and 103 runs scored (and some great glovework at 1st base) he grabbed my remaining foot and tickled me so that he and CC could point and laugh at the blogger they proved wrong (this made the piglet laugh). Teixeira really started hitting once Alex Rodriguez's hip got better and he provided some protection for him.

Here is my look at the 2009 season for the Yanks:

Offense

The 2009 Yankees set a franchise record with 244 home runs (#1 in MLB) this season. They had five players hit at least 25 (Teixeira, Robinson Cano, Rodriguez, Nick Swisher, and Hideki Matsui) with Teixeira leading the way wit 39 and A-Rod hitting another 30. Alex Rodriguez actually had his 12 consecutive season with at least 30 HRs and 100 RBI; he accomplished this by hitting 2 HR and bringing home 7 RBI in one inning in the season finale against the Tampa Rays.

As a team they finished ranked #1 in runs score (915; Los Angeles Angels #2 at 883), hits (1604; tied with the Angels), home runs (244; Texas Rangers/Philadelphia Phillies #2 at 224), total bases (2703; Boston Red Sox #2 at 2516), RBIs (881; Angels #2 at 841), slugging (.478; Sox #2 at .454) and OPS (.839; Sox #2 at .806). They hit .283 as a team, which was second only to the Angels. Pretty impressive offensive year for the team. Side note, I was also impressed with the number that the Angels put up with a lot less notoriety than the Yankees.

Personally I was very impressed with Nick Swisher and Robinson Cano. Swisher only hit .249 this year but he drew 97 walks and consistently forced pitchers into long battles while he was at the plate. A 3-2 count was almost a given if Nick was the batter you were facing. If productive outs were kept as a stat, Swisher would probably lead the team. He also played about 5 different positions and allowed Joe Girardi to rest other key players.

Robinson Cano picked it up after struggling for most of 2008. Some young guys have a bad season and their never the same, Cano kept at it and had one of his best years in the Majors. He had a career high 25 home runs, 80 RBIs, and he made only 12 errors playing 2nd base for 161 games.

Defense

The Yankees committed 86 errors as a team in 2009, compared to 83 in 2008. The Yankees infield is pretty good in my opinion. Cano and Teixeira form a solid right side, Jeter and A-Rod are decent on the left side with some range questions. Jorge Posada is still an above average defensive catcher (still don't understand how he has never learned to properly frame a pitch after all these years). I think the bigger problem is speed and arm strength in the outfield. Melky Carbrera has the strongest arm out of the bunch with Matsui, Johnny Damon, and Brett Gardner all sporting mediocre, minor league arms at best. They don't cover much ground which allows plenty of extra base hits for the opposition.

Pitching

CC Sabathia was great as I mentioned above. AJ Burnett had his moments, he finished up 13-9, 4.04 ERA with 195 Ks. He had a rough second half but finished the season with 4 strong starts against the Seattle Mariners, Angels, Kansas City Royals, and the Rays (7 IP, 1 ER; 5 2/3 IP, 2 ER; 6 1/3 IP, 1 ER; 5 IP, 1 ER; respectively). No trips to the disabled list (DL) in 2009 for Burnett which is huge for a guy with his history. Wang had his worst year as a professional and had season ending shoulder surgery in July. If he can get healthy and come back as the Wang of old, next year should be even better for the Yankee pitchers.

For me, Andy Pettitte's 14 were a pleasant surprise, I thought he was done and nothing more than a #5 starter at best on any other team. The mess that has become the Joba Chamberlain situation is getting downright frustrating for me as a fan. I have never seen a starting pitcher go into games knowing that he will pitch only 2-3 innings at best because they would prefer to keep his total innings below a certain number for the entire season (Since August 16th, he has pitched 5+ innings only 2 times).

If the AL East would have been closer down the stretch, what would have happened with him?? Why not send him to the minors after August or let him pitch out of the bullpen? What happens in the playoffs?? Joba is the #3 starter for this team and he will probably not start a single game in the postseason because of the innings restrictions, how did this make sense to anyone?? I understand wanting to protect your asset and minimizing injury concerns (Mark Prior, Kerry Wood) but if he is a money pitcher and a future frontline starter for this staff, let him pitch or let him build his arm in the minors. I still think he is most effective out of the pen and should be combined with Phil Hughes to form a strong bridge to Mariano the Great.

Phil Hughes was phenomenal once he moved to the bullpen and may have found his Yankee home for years to come. He was decent as a starter but really utilized his pitches better and had much better command as a reliever. Some guys are just built for the bullpen...reminiscent of another Yankee great who did not fulfill his promise as a starter but went on to become a historically great reliever.

Looking Ahead

I was originally hoping for a Yankees/Tigers ALDS, but after about the 5th inning I found myself cheering on the Minnesota Twins. Making up 3 games with only 4 to play is a majestic trek for any team, even more luck/magic is needed for a team with the injuries and payroll of the Twins. I wanted to see them complete this mission, I wanted their players and Ron Gardenhire to have some playoff glory after getting this close. It was a great game to watch and a great close to the season.

That being said, Yankees in 4 in the ALDS. The Twins and their emotions are dangerous with all this momentum their bringing into the Stadium tonight, but fatigue and the Yankee offense should be too much for them to handle.

Thanks for a great season.

_{Images courtesy of: SportsLogos.net, Zimbio.com, BlogCritics.org, The Dark Side of Baseball, Broadcatching}

All-In For The Playoffs

radhamesgo@hotmail.com (Rad) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:11:00 +0000

The Minnesota Twins play host to the Detroit Tigers tonight for the right to play the Yankees in the Divisional Round of the Major League Baseball Playoffs. After playing 162 games, both teams get 9-innings to prove their case for who is the better team.

The Tigers just used their best pitcher, Justin Verlander, on Sunday so they go with Rick Porcello tonight, a Rookie of the Year candidate, while the Twins are going all in with Scott Baker....not exactly a "Thrilla' in Manila" but all hands should be on deck to help if any is needed. That means that Francisco Liriano and the other Twins starters should be ready to make relief appearances. Justin Verlander and company are ready for the same. Verlander might just evoke the spirit of Randy Johnson circa 1995 against the Los Angeles Angels and New York Yankees.

Johnson pitched and won a play-in game against the Los Angeles Angels (9 IP, 12 Ks), pitched and won game 3 (7 IP, 10 Ks) of the ALDS against the Yankees in dominating fashion and then came into game 5 of that same series in relief on only 1 days rest and struck out 6 while giving up 1 run in 3 innings. Coincidently, I still think that was the best playoff series in baseball's modern era. Verlander has a similar build to Johnson and they can both throw some serious gas, so there is hope for Tiger fans.

Most Yankee fans I know are hoping for the Twins to pull this one out...not so fast. Minnesota has been playing playoff baseball for the last 2-3 weeks and if they beat Detroit to win the division they will come in with a monsoon of emotion and momentum. The 2007 Colorado Rockies rode a similar wave all the way to the World Series before losing to the Boston Red Sox.

I'm going against the grain and actually rooting for the Tigers. Verlander will not be fresh, Miguel Cabrera now has a legal situation (another athlete making questionable decisions/choices) and the team has just played badly for weeks. Ripe for the pickin' if your the New York Yankees...

Oh yea, and Brett Favre and the Vikings beat the Packers last night 30-23.

_{Images courtesy of: Sportslogos.net}

This is Ridiculous...

radhamesgo@hotmail.com (Rad) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:00:00 +0000

The Denver Broncos have a good defense, but there is no reason for Tony Romo to throw the ball 42 times while Marion Barber gets 11 rushes after looking like Bo Jackson reincarnated in the 1st half.

I understand why people would call for Romo's head after some bad decision-making during this game (I love the bravado of challenging Champ Bailey repeatedly, but you have to leave his side alone with the game on the line), but I think Jason Garret and Wade Phillips are more to blame here. This all reminds me a lot of Mike Martz in Super Bowl XXXVI and beyond when he was head coach of the St. Louis Rams. Martz had all the weapons in the world, including Marshall Faulk who was the best player in the game at the time, and instead of keeping it simple and letting them play he over-coached and designed a bunch of crazy plays that got them in trouble at times and eventually cost them a Super Bowl. Jason Garret seems like he wants to prove his play-calling and play-design abilities while not utilizing the run as much as I think he should with an offensive line averaging 320lbs a man.

Marion Barber was playing with an injured quad and still ran up 47 yards on 10 carries in the 1st half. He did have a 26 yard run mixed in there which brought up the yards/carry, but this should still be a part of the team's strategy especially against a smaller defense. Pound them until they get worn down in the 2nd half then use some play action and utilize Jason Witten. The Broncos offense wasn't exactly churning out the yards against this suspect Cowboys defense, so there was no pressure to start scoring a ton of points. Up until that Brandon Marshall catch and run, which showcased some horrible tackling and wonderfully horrendous team defense, the Cowboys looked decent on D. Winning a game 13-7 gives you just as many Ws as winning 35-10 does.

Tony Romo is not a horrible quarterback (QB), I just do not see him as a franchise QB. There is still time for him to improve and learn from his mistakes, but Garret is asking him to do too much especially with this team built for the run. I hate to say this, but just look at the New York Giants for an example of what to do. Pound the ball early with Jacobs and Co. in the backfield while Eli throws a couple of passes to pick up 3rd downs. Then in the 2nd half they open up the playbook a little more after the opposing defense has been softened. Forty-two passes and 25 rushes is not what this offense should be doing as presently constructed.

Something has to give, either Phillips has to step in and ask Garrett to tone down the acrobatics or Jerry Jones has to go out and bring in some more receivers to warrant this kind of aerial display. Seriously, two passes to Sam Hurd with a borderline hall of fame cornerback covering him to end the game...and Jason Witten in to block on both plays?? With Roy Williams out Witten should have been option #1, more so with Denver blitzing 9 guys and scrambling to cover everyone. Hindsight is always 20/20 but an offensive coordinator should have the foresight to see that this had less chance for success than me vs Kimbo Slice in a street-fight.

You can't create a franchise QB, no matter how many millions you pay him. Trent Dilfer, Eli Manning, and Ben Roethlisberger are perfect examples of game managing QBs at their best. No shame in running up 200 yards on the ground and beating up on a team (I actually prefer this brand of hard-nosed football) even though it may look prettier to air it out and throw a bunch of passes.

If we (the Dallas Cowboys) don't get a handle on this quickly it is going to get ugly against the Kansas City Chiefs next week, and a loss there will surely cost someone their job.

_{Images courtesy of: Star-Telegram.com}

Weekend Watching

radhamesgo@hotmail.com (Rad) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:00:00 +0000

This should be a good weekend for vegin' out and enjoying a couple of games on television before catching the "Mondays" and going back to work. The Twins trying their mighty Twin City hearts out in trying to catch the Detroit Tigers for the American League Central title, the Hurricanes trying to bounce back from a Hokie beatdown as the Oklahoma Sooners (OU) pay a visit to the Orange Bowl/Land Shark Stadium minus big play Sam Bradford, and lord Favre's Vikings play host to the Green Bay Packers...since this is the Monday Night game it's not technically part of the weekend so I'll go over the Chargers/Steelers game which should be a good one.

Twins and Tigers

The Minnesota Twins are 2 games back with three games left to the season. They had a chance to really put the Tigers in a bind with this week's 4 game series in Detroit. Had the Twins taken three games they would be only 1 game out and if they would have swept they would have been tied for the division lead and in charge of their own fate. The Twins now have to hope that Jake Peavy and the White Sox can beat the Tigers at least two times and that they themselves can beat the beat Zack Greinke and the Kansas City Royals in the same way. I'm pulling for the Twins and the upset, just because it would be amazing to see. A 162-game season comes down to the final 3 games, I love baseball

'Canes Face Boomer Sooners

Another tough game for the Miami Hurricanes as the most ambitious scheduling I have seen in years, 4 top 25 opponents in consecutive weeks to open the season, brings the Sooners down to Florida. Had they been able to win all 4 games they would have definitely been front runners for a BCS Title shot. However, Virginia Tech just pushed Miami around and ran all over them. They made Miami look soft and cushy where it counts, in the middle. Thy still have an outside shot at a BCS bowl but they need this game.

Oklahoma's all-everything quarterback (QB) Sam Bradford went down in the season opener to BYU and they lost the game 14-13. They followed that up with two wins 64-0 at Idaho State and 45-0 against Tulsa...with a freshman QB throwing the ball. Those aren't top programs but still impressive wins minus your offensive leader. Jacory Harris will have a tough time against an insane OU defense that has been flying all over the field. Travis Lewis and Ryan Reynolds (the one that wasn't in Blade III) lead a solid linebacking corps and the secondary isn't too shabby either. Since the 'Canes don't have much of a running game to fall back on, Harris will be counted on to put up enough points for the 'Canes to come out of this stretch at 3-1. I'm betting that Harris, LaRon Byrd, and Leonord Hankerson can't do it alone. Without a running game to slow down the OU pass rush or to keep freshman QB Landry Jones and that spread offense off the field, Miami could get in trouble early if it doesn't get some points on the board. Should be a good game and well worth watching.

Steelers and Chargers Fight for 500

The Steelers are trying to climb up to 2-2 while the Chargers try to get to 3-1 after a tough loss to the Ravens last week (Ray Lewis can still make some plays out there). Both teams feature tough run defenses and struggling running games so I'm expecting a shootout here. Phillip Rivers should end the game with close to 400 passing yards and Big Ben should go over 400 with Willie Parker and the rest of the running back committee causing more problems than should be allowed from a Pittsburgh running attack. Of course the exact opposite could happen, with both of these insane defenses capable of shutting anyone down for an entire game. So it will either be 14-10 or 34-30 for the final score. A must watch game if you can get it.

Have a great weekend folks, enjoy the great games and fall weather