The Bucs will struggle against the Fish’s running game and it’s the number one reason why the Bucs will lose. Just like the Giants and the Panthers the Dolphins run the ball very well. I think the Bucs defense has made strides since the beginning of the season especially in the secondary, but not so much against the run. The Dolphins bring the 4th best rushing attack in the NFL, Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams are respectively 13th and 17th in rushing yards. The Dolphins are also the originator of the Wildcat, which will also present a unique set of issues for the Buccaneers defense. The Bucs are 30th in the league against the rush and allow over 163 yards a game.

If Josh Freeman can repeat his debut performance passing the ball, which was one of the best ever for a rookie’s first game, then there is some hope for the Bucs, because the Dolphins are 29th against the pass. The 29th stat is inflated, because the Fish have played the Colts, Patriots, Falcons, Chargers and soon to be Superbow champs Saints. I think most teams would have terrible statistics, if they had to play those teams, so expect them to look and play better against the Bucs then what you might expect.

The Dolphins may not be great against the pass, but they are 4th against the run. The Bucs offensive line is playing much better and the reason is Jeff Faine. Since he’s been back in the line up, pass protection is better and the running has had a chance. It should be a good match up and I’m looking forward to watching it play out in the trenches.

The spread is Bucs - 10, which seems like a lot of point to be giving the Bucs. I’ve completely faltered lately with picks, but I’m taking the Miami Dolphins +10.

I think the planets, moons and stars aligned perfectly for the Bucs last week and it was great to watch. The Bucs came in off a bye week and played a great game at home. They broke out the retro jerseys and broke one off on the Packers. Josh Freeman debut was like a rock star, but I think everyone comes back down to earth this Sunday. The Dolphins are a great running team and it will be the demise of the Bucs. The Fish will control the clock and Freeman will be pressed to make something happen. Freeman was good and lucky last week, but I don’t think it plays out like that this time around. Freeman and the Bucs inability to the stop the run will lead to a humbling defeat, so enjoy the win streak and the good times while they last.

Final Score: Bucs 10 vs Fish 24

Anquan Boldin has made it well known that he is unhappy with this current contract. However after committing 4 years and $40 million to Larry Fitzgerald the Cardinals can’t afford to pay Boldin the kind of money he percieves he is worth. The Cardinals have plenty of wide receiver help  beyond Boldin. This was evident last week against the Chicago Bears as Steve Breaston’s 5 catches and 66 yards as well as 2nd round draft pick in 2008 Early Doucet with 4 catches for 31 yards. The proof is also in the record, as the Cardinals are 7-3 when Boldin is out with injury. The Cardinals will go into next season liking needing a middle-linebacker as Karlos Dansby will test the free-agent market. In addition, the Cardinals offensive line will likely need re-tooling as Mike Gandy and Deuce Lutui will be free agents as well.

Boldin is still under contract to 2011, but the Cardinals should work out a draft day trade and send Boldin on his merry way. He is still an excellent wide receiver and would command plenty of trade value if he comes back and plays solid football later this season. With his Terell Owens like tendencies of late, Boldin is more of a detriment to the Cardinals over the long term than an asset.

Joe Johnson won Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors for his performance last week. To open the Hawks telecast on SportSouth, James Verett asked him if he was surprised that he won the honor so early in the season.

What?!

I don’t think Joe or any player thinks about when they win the award. Some players are honored to win it, others could care less, but most of them don’t care what time of year it is when they do. Stupid question.

Ok, let’s take a look at the Knicks game. Tough place to play. The Hawks were 0-2 at the Garden last year and the way this game started, it looked like that streak would continue. After all, the Knicks were turning the ball over early, but yet they were up by 7 at the half.

Then the second half began and the Hawks went to work. Great play by Al Horford all night long and of course Jamal Crawford continues to be a force coming off the bench and scoring double digits. In fact all the starters scored double figures with the exception of Marvin Williams. The Knicks shut him down. He’ll be fine, though. He is already averaging more than 10 points a game so far this season, so he’s just having a bad night.

Up next, the Celtics. A trip to Boston is nice, and the Hawks have a winning road record, but the Celtics can put teams away in a hurry, so we’ll see how they do.

It was announced today, Wednesday, that Ryan Zimmerman has won a Gold Glove for his defense at third base. Even though the Nationals led the majors in errors this year with 143, Ryan led all third basemen with 325 assists.  He becomes the first Washington National to win the award and only the second player from a Washington team.  Bonus points if you know who was the first Washington player to win. (Earl Battey, Catcher for the Senators in 1960-I had to look it up). 

Zimmerman is also in line to win a Silver Slugger Award which will be announced Thursday.  He is competing with a college teammate from Virginia, Mark Reynolds of Arizona.

Congratulations, Ryan!! 

For a list of all winners, click here

I know, I know, your kindergarten teacher and your mom told you that you should not “hate” anyone; you should “strongly dislike them.” Screw that. I hate the damn Steelers. One might say I should hate the game and not the player. Screw that person too. Here are my Top Ten Reasons Why You should Hate (and I mean haaaaaate) the Steelers

10. Troy Polamalu: Does anyone else think those Head and Shoulders commercials are just awful? My wife asked me the other day, “Is that really his voice? Isn’t that a little effeminate for a football player?” She said it, folks, not me. But I thought so too. The worst part of the commercial is when the announcer asked him about the play that changed the game, but Troy keeps saying, “I owe it all to Head and Shoulders.” He didn’t ask that. “But you said it with your eyes, Trent. You said it with your eyes.” What heterosexual male would willingly choose to participate in such an abomination of a commercial? Okay, I know Troy (my wife calls him Pube-amalu because of his hair. That’s funny.) is a beast of a man and he could probably kill me with just his “eyes,” but are you kidding me, Troy? Why would you do that?

9. Ben Roethlisburger: Has anyone else noticed that Ben has been on the same twinkie and ho-ho’s diet as Bengals Tubs of Fun Andre Smith? When I saw him walk into the stadium for the Monday night game against the Broncos, I did not think he looked like a Super Bowl-winning QB. He reminded me of some white trash trailer dude who woke up after an all-night bender, threw on a random t-shirt, and decided to play a touch-football game. Yeah, he played an awesome game and was ridiculously accurate, but you seem to be letting yourself go, man. Is there a Super Bowl champions buffet every night at the local Golden Corral? If I were a woman and had to choose between Mr. Humpy-Dumpy-isburger and Carson Palmer, well, I’d go for Mr. California cool. I’m comfortable with my manhood to say that I think Carson is a handsome man. He’s way sexier than White Trash Ben.

8. Hines Ward and his Stupid Smile: Every time Whines Ward makes a play, he’s got a stupid grin on his face. I’d like to take his face and shove it into a cinder block every time he smiles. People say that his smile shows that he enjoys the game. How about you enjoy the game by not looking like a douchebag? After the Steelers lost to the Bengals the last time, he was complaining how they should’ve put us away during the game and how we didn’t deserve to win it. I wish I could frame that picture of him being angry so I can then smash it and burn it, because who wants a picture of Hines Ward? I hope Jonathon Joseph and/or Leon Hall level him on Sunday.

7. Art Rooney’s Secret Jedi Mind Control Trick: I’ve compared Bengals owner Mike Brown to Emperor Palpatine before, but I think Art Rooney is a stronger and more powerful Jedi. After original Bengals owner Paul Brown died, Rooney hypnotized Mike Brown into becoming a cheapskate and inept NFL owner who thinks he is the only person who can judge NFL talent. Mike Brown is a very astute, generous man, but he has been corrupted by the Dark Side of Art Rooney. I have no actual proof of any of this, but this makes perfect sense. Why else would Brown refuse to hire a GM?

6. Steeler Nation: They’re everywhere. If a urinal cake televised a Steelers game, a heterosexual Steelers fan would knock your wang out of the way to watch the game. If they televised a game on Uranus, they’d be all over it. Let’s say this again with emphasis: STEELERS FANS ARE EVERYWHERE. If one would travel to archery-crazed Bhutan (a landlocked nation in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalaya Mountains (thank you, wikipedia, and thank you, my wife, for the obscure country suggestion)) and go to a dive bar populated by sherpas and Jimmy Hoffa’s body, you’d find at least one Steelers fan huddled in a corner waving his terrible towel and chanting, “Here we go Steelers, here we go!” They’re not kidding when they say, “Steeler fans travel well.”

5. Six-Burgh: That’s the stupidest name for a city ever. Who would be proud to call their city that? Of course, after Cincinnati completes its utter domination of the NFL over the next decade, I think it would be brilliant to call Cincy Ten-ten-nati. Now THAT would be brilliant, unlike the stupid “Six-burgh.”

4. Hit on Carson and Keith Rivers: I don’t care if Kimo O-Von-Ax-Wielding-Maniac was blocked into Carson Palmer, which tore his ACL. That didn’t just hurt Carson, he hurt all of Cincinnati’s future football hopes and dreams. Carson really hasn’t been the same until this year.  And there was last year, when Hines Ward ended Keith Rivers’ season last year with that hit. He said he would do it again. I say I still want to shove his face into a cinder block. I’m just saying

3. Hit on Chris Henry: Somehow, someway, I blame the Steelers for the Ravens breaking Chris Henry’s arm. Don’t ask me how. Those bastards were involved. My hatred is my proof.

2.  General Fawning of Media over Steelers:  I hate the hushed tones that the analysts have when they talk about the Steelers.  Chris Berman of ESPN will start a Steelers segment like this: “The Steelers –” pause, and a very serious look in the camera, with a slight in take of breath — “the Steelers are a team who blah blah blah.”  Seriously, get over your man-crushes, ESPN.  Find some girlfriends to dote on. 

1. The Steelers are a classy organization who expect to field a winning team year in and year out. They develop players the right way through the draft. Rooney created the Rooney rule that requires teams to interview a minority candidate for a coaching job. They are the only team to win four Super Bowl titles in six years and they are the only franchise to have six Super Bowls. I hate them more than life itself because they are everything that I want the Bengals to be. God I hope we beat them on Sunday.

Bully for the Steeler Back-Ups

One of the yardsticks we use to measure NFL head coach competence is judging how well he manipulates the roster when a starter goes down due to injury. But a coach has to have adequate, or hopefully more-than-adequate, players with which to work. I would venture to guess that many of the Steeler “substitutes” could start on most of the other NFL teams.

Tyrone Carter is no Troy Polamalu, and he has self-admittedly acknowledged that fact. However, Carter’s stellar performance at free safety, in place of the inactive Ryan Clark, has earned him AFC Defensive Player of the week honors. Two interceptions that included a 48-yard touchdown run, on top of reading Kyle Orton correctly and being in the right place at the right time all evening, helped lead the Pittsburgh Steeler Mythbusters trounce the Denver Broncos.

Aaron Smith, our unheralded, future Hall-of-Fame left defensive end, gone for the season with a shoulder injury. His back-up, Travis Kirschke, out with a calf injury. Disaster? Not quite. Nick Eason filled in admirably, and rookie Ziggy Hood’s pressure on Kyle Orton forced the 1st interception for a touchdown. Along with Bret Keisel’s two sacks in the first half, our back-up DE’s helped keep the Broncos run game to 27 yards on 14 carries.

Casey Hampton, the Steeler nose tackle, has not missed any games due to injury this year, but he is spelled on 3rd down and other certain situations by 9-year-veteran Chris Hoke. We don’t miss a beat when that happens.

One would never know our right inside linebacker, Lawrence Timmons, is out with an ankle Injury. Keyaron Fox, special teams demon, is the real-deal and has been absolutely solid. His pick for a TD last week was phenomenal, and he is quickly cushioning us from the loss of Larry Foote by being a super run-stuffer.

Even though the peeing-on-the-car incident has made him fall from favor recently, combined with the fact that Matt Spaeth could not block to save his life, has given 3rd-string rookie tight end David Johnson a chance to play. The kid can block, and has been used in the fullback position upon occasion.

Coaches should be acknowledged for putting the right players in place at the right time, but you have to have the right players to work with. Seems to me the Steelers should get an A+ in both departments.

Washington Redskins defensive coordinator Greg Blache put himself on a self imposed ban from the media a few weeks ago. He has given no reason, and no one really seems to care either way.

He broke his vow recently to come to the defense of owner Dan Snyder after Redskins Hall Of Famer John Riggins said that Snyder was a “really bad man”. Blache gave a short statement contradicting Riggins, and said that Snyder was a good man who cared about people.

Is he speaking of the same Dan Snyder who recently banned all Redskins fans from bringing in signs to the game because most were critical of his ownership? The same fans who have had a waiting list on season tickets over 40 years now that stretches as long as 25 years until one can hope for a shot at season tickets. Fans who are considered to be the most knowledgeable and loyal in the entire league.

Perhaps Blache is speaking of the caring Snyder that threatened to put a muzzle on Redskins legendary Hall Of Famer Sonny Jurgensen from his spot on the Redskins Network because Jurgensen was being critical of the play of the team. This makes Snyder’s claims of growing up a fan of the team and admirer of the teams rich tradition and legacy appear more preposterous.

It is really quite easy to see the ulterior motives of Greg Blache. His faux kudos are an obvious attempt to throw his hat in the ring for the head coaching job that will be available when current coach Jim Zorn is fired at seasons end. At the least, it is an attempt to hang onto his job after Snyder hires a replacement for Zorn and possibly Vinny Cerrato.

In these harsh economic times, no one can really blame him for trying to hang onto his job. Yet it seems Blache is as detached from Redskins Nation and team tradition as Snyder is. Trying to brown nose and snowball is not going to have many fans cheering him on to be the next head coach, let alone stay on with the staff. Not that this matters to him nor Snyder anyways.

I think the uniforms were horrible, but I also think it was the most complete game the Bucs have put together all season. The players, media and fans all bought into to it too. I’m voting to keep Bucco Bruce and creamsicles. The Bucs have nothing to lose and they played some inspired ball on Sunday; 6 sacks, 1 blocked punt, 1 field goal, 3 INTs.

It’s not like the Bucs would the first in sports to do something like this. Below are a few other interesting sport superstitions.

Baseball

* It is bad luck if a dog walks across the diamond before the first pitch.
* Some players believe it is good luck to step on one of the bases before running off the field at the end of an inning.
* It is bad luck to touch the baselines while running off and onto the field between innings.
* Lending a bat to a fellow player is a serious jinx.
* Some players actually sleep with their bat to break out of a hitting slump or stay in a groove.
* If a pitcher is throwing a perfect game or a no-hitter, never speak of it while it’s going on.

Basketball

* The last person to shoot a basket during the warm-up will have a good game.
* Wipe the soles of your sneakers for good luck.
* Bounce the ball before taking a foul shot for good luck. (I remember Karl Malone used to mumble something before every foul shot.)

Bowling

* To continue a winning streak, wear the same clothes.

Fishing
* Spit on your bait before casting your rod to make fish bite.
* Throw back your first catch for good luck.
* Don’t tell anyone how many fish you’ve caught until you’re done or you won’t catch another.

Football

* Double numbers on a player’s uniform brings good luck.
* It’s bad luck for a professional football player to take a new number when he is traded to another team.

Golf

* Start only with odd-numbered clubs.
* Balls with a number higher than 4 are bad luck.
* Carry coins in your pockets for good luck.

Ice Hockey

* Players believe they’ll win the game if they tap the goalie on his shin pads before a game.
* Many players must put their pads and skates on in exactly the same order every day.

Rodeo (Not  a sport, but we’ll include it for fun)

* Always put the right foot in the stirrup first.
* Avoid wearing the color yellow.
* Always shave before a competition (women too!)

Tennis

* It’s bad luck to hold more than two balls at a time when serving.
* Walk around the outside of the court when switching sides for good luck.
* Avoid stepping on the court lines.

Lets not forget two things: 1) A few plays the other way and the Dolphins would have had at least three more losses last year and missed the playoffs  2) The Pittsburgh Steelers of last year faced the hardest schedule in the league and…low and behold…a Super Bowl trophy went parading through town.  It’s safe to say that Miami isn’t Super Bowl caliber at this point.

There are bright spots to the first half of the season.  A 3-1 record against the AFC East.  An offensive line that leads a much improved rushing attack.  The wildcat has become a staple and even when rendered ineffective takes time and energy for defensive game planning.  Two rookie corners that are playing average football.  Rookie corners and quarterbacks are supposed to struggle mightily in the NFL.  To say that Sean Smith and Vontae Davis aren’t getting absolutely destroyed by players like Jericho Cotchery and Randy Moss is a compliment.  They have given up some big plays, which is totally expected.  Chad Henne looks poised and though he isn’t making plays to win games (4 touchdown passes), he is hardly making plays to lose games (3 interceptions).  Sparano and Parcells haven’t deviated from their physical, dominate time of possession, we-can-plug-in-any-player-and-have-them-succeed mentality.

It just so happens that there are some dark shadows encroaching on those bright spots.  Ted Ginn followed his stellar game (returning kicks) against the Jets with a critical dropped 4th down pass to end the game against the Patriots.  Yeremiah Bell

(safety) is the leading tackler, while veterans like Porter and Taylor have struggled maintaining a consistent pass rush.  It is clear that Bess, Camarillo, and Hartline are legit NFL wideouts, but all share the same qualities; they are possession receivers with decent hands, limited speed, and most importantly they don’t scare defenses.  The offensive line has been helped by the wildcat, wide receiver screens, and other plays that relieve the pass rush, but still look porous in obvious passing situations.  The most glaring fact is not a statistic at all, but the fact that the Dolphins can’t close games.  They led the Colts, Saints, and Patriots late in the 3rd quarter of all three games and lost.  They were also shredded in the second half of both Jets games and were lucky to come out with a win in both situations.

The moral to the story is that the Dolphins are struggling with a difficult schedule and are no longer surprising teams like last year.  Every player on this squad is adequate, but you can barely argue pro bowl status for one.  Playing well as a team can only get this Miami squad full of average talent so far.  Even if they beat the beatable teams in the second half of their schedule and sneak into the playoffs, I doubt they can win a playoff game on the road.  Miami needs an explosive wide receiver, a dominate pass rusher (or two), and a healthy veteran to lead a young secondary.  At some point the “working man” routine with extraordinary coaching can only get a team so far.  I will eat my words if the Dolphins can win all the games they should be favored in from here on out (Bucs, Panthers, Bills, Jags, Titans) and win at least one of three games against playoff caliber teams (Patriots, Texans, Steelers).   My odds are on a 7-9 finish and established building blocks for a run in 2010-11.

While watching the Golden State Warriors shellacking of the T-Wolves last night, I had to keep reminding myself to keep things in perspective:

It’s just one game.

The T-Wolves are horrendous.

We still can’t rebound.

It’s just one game.

Even as I tried, I couldn’t help but be impressed by the performance Golden State put up in their 146-105 victory at Oracle Arena on Monday. For a team that has spent recent weeks and months distracted by the Captain Jack saga, the Warriors showed amazing chemistry last night. They executed the fast break to perfection, kept the crowd in the game, and believe it or not actually played some defense! Their 22 steals was the most since the Run T-M-C days.

A few more thoughts from the victory:

- Kelenna Azubuike deserves every second of playing time that he is getting. Yes, his 31 points were a season high, but he has been playing like an NBA starter in almost every game this season. He plays with passion and has shown he can knock down all sorts of outside shots. According to this piece by Rusty Simmons, Nelson plans to leave Azubuike in the starting lineup, which is absolutely the right move.

- For whatever reason, Stephen Jackson clearly changed his approach against the T-Wolves. You don’t suddenly jump from 2 assists per game to 15 without some kind of adjustment in approach. I don’t think it has anything to do with the quality of opponent, otherwise we might have seen a similar performance against the Kings and/or Clippers. I’m also guessing that Don Nelson didn’t sit him down and ask him to pass the ball more (although I’d pay good money to hear Cap’n Jack response to that request). Rather, I think this could be Jackson’s way of showing other teams out there that he’s still got something to contribute to a contender. If he wants to be traded to the Cavs, he’s got to show them that he can be a team player.

- Can the Warriors survive without a true center? I think so, at least for the upcoming road trip. In the next five games, only the Shaq/Ilgauskas pair will clearly dominate against the smaller Warriors lineup. We all know the Warriors are going to be outrebounded. I would be surprised if they out-rebound a team in any game this season. For the long-haul, this team needs Andris Biedrins to grab some boards, but I like the matchups against Indiana, Milwaukee, and the Knicks with Jackson, Azubuike, Ellis, Curry and Randolph/Mikki Moore.

- Even in light of a promising blow-out victory, Head Coach Don Nelson continued his pessimism in the post-game press conference, pointing out that both of the Warriors wins have come against struggling teams. Couldn’t he put some kind of positive spin on it to encourage the Warriors fans out there?

Golden State Warriors: 2-4. It should be interesting to see whether this game signals the start of a run, or is an outlier in an otherwise dreadful beginning.

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