Yet many fans, players and commentators continue to question the decision, which backfired when the fourth-down play fell short of the two yards needed and the Colts scored the game-winning touchdown. ESPN’s Bill Simmons is sticking with his postgame opinion that it was “the second dumbest thing I have ever seen any Boston team do.” Here are a few misconceptions about Puntgate:

Statistics can’t account for the specifics of the situation. Simmons suggests that Indy’s defense was particularly fired up, in front of its home crowd. At PatsPulpit, MaPatsFan makes the same point. But the specifics of this scenario cut both ways. New England’s high-powered offense was more equipped than most to get two yards on fourth down. And Indy’s high-powered offense was particularly well-equipped to mount a 70-yard drive compared to a 30-yard drive for the needed go-ahead touchdown. The simulations that suggested the punt was the worse call were based on the specific teams involved.

The statistics should have been superseded by considerations of respect. Somehow the decision was interpreted — by former Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi and others — as a sign that Belichick had no confidence in his defense. But there are three probabilities you have to figure in making such a decision: of making the first down, of the Colts scoring off a turnover on downs and of the Colts scoring after a punt. Belichick at least implicitly had to consider that the play might fail, and his decision suggested he thought his team had a shot at holding the Pats. Plus, the argument could easily be turned on its head: He was showing enormous confidence in his offense.

The stats fail to account for the decision to pass instead of running. It’s possible that the Pats had a better chance at getting a first down on the ground. But they’re generally more successful as a passing team. Also, even if a team is better at the run or pass, game theory dictates it shouldn’t always go with its better play; if it does, opposing teams won’t have to prepare for both possibilities and will stuff the obvious run or pass.

Still, the Pats could have helped themselves by disguising the play; instead they came out in an obvious pass formation. For that matter, if it was always a four-down possession, they could have run the ball instead of passing on third down, which could have set up fourth-and-short instead of fourth-and-shorter. And, for that matter, making the decision in advance could have saved the Pats from having to use a timeout before the play — a TO that would have been useful when the Pats got the ball back in the final seconds.

But those are all criticisms of decisions separate from the actual decision to go for it on fourth down. As these criticisms show, Belichick isn’t omniscient. But that doesn’t mean the punt was the right call.

I’m just a guy who’s right almost half the time and is unaccountably excited about the possible universe-endangering cosmic implications of this week’s Lions/Browns game. But Garey is a (notably understated football-picking) monster. After a poor start in the first two weeks, Garey has run up a 67-45-1 record since. Which means he has been right 59.3% of the time. I traditionally disclaim that no one should follow my advice in these picks or in anything else, but… maybe you should think about doing whatever Garey says. Like, in general, even though some of his picks this week look kind of crazy to me. I don’t know, it couldn’t hurt. He’s got the track record, and the better-looking pencil drawing.

Week 10 recap (overall): David Roth: 8-7 (71-72-1), Garey Ris: 10-5 (77-66-1), Al Toonie, the Lucky Canadian Two-Dollar Coin: 7-8 (65-78-1)

SUNDAY’S GAMES

Indianapolis (-1) at Baltimore: The Colts should hate playing in Baltimore, both because the Ravens have a very good, very nasty defense, and because Baltimore fans (justifiably) hate the Colts for slinking out of town a couple decades ago (of course, none of today’s Colts did the slinking, but that’s a minor detail). Charm City’s long memory and still-sharp grudges aside, though, this rivalry is fun because of Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, the two gesticulation-intensive geniuses facing each other across the line of scrimmage when Indy’s offense is on the field. The Colts are better, and this betting line doesn’t require much of them, but this could go either way and should be fun to watch, if only for all that strategic pantomime. — DR

Pick: David: Indianapolis, Garey: Baltimore, Al Toonie: Indianapolis

Washington at Dallas (-11): Washington looked pretty good in a win over the fading Broncos last week, but this is still a troubled, torpid team, and even with Dallas’s ace offensive line carved up by injuries, a win is probably a bridge too far against a very talented Cowboys team that looked to be getting things together before tanking against Green Bay in Week 10. It would be a lot more tempting to pick Washington as an underdog if they weren’t so injury-marred (and deadly dull) themselves. So my picks: Dallas to win and cover, and a nice walk outside while these two teams are playing. — DR

Pick: David: Dallas, Garey: Dallas, Al Toonie: Washington

Cleveland at Detroit (-3.5): I’ll admit it: I’m psyched for this one. I mean, obviously not for the football, which promises to be so appalling as to induce existential crises in everyone who views this game. But the nightmarish goofery on tap — the stunningly inept Browns offense against the ultra-flubby Lions defense is really only the beginning — promises to be almost avant-garde. If this game were a piece of performance art that had drawn NEA funding, Southern congressmen would be in the House exclaiming against it right now. I’m honestly not sure it isn’t a piece of performance art. But, yeah, I like the Lions in this one. — DR

Pick: David: Detroit, Garey: Detroit, Al Toonie: Detroit

San Francisco at Green Bay (-6.5): San Francisco seems to be one of those good-enough-to-beat-bad-teams teams, which is not exactly the worst of NFL fates. But it’s unclear what, exactly, Green Bay is. The Pack welcomes back some important players on offense and defense this week, but they’re both an explosive offensive team given to implosions and a talented defensive unit that periodically makes some very weird calls and mistakes. They’re better than the 49ers, but that’s pretty faint praise. That said, they have to be a lot happier with the quarterback they selected in the 2005 NFL Draft than the 49ers are. — DR

Pick: David: Green Bay, Garey: Green Bay, Al Toonie: San Francisco

Buffalo at Jacksonville (-9): With all due respect to the belief-system-challenging bummer that is this week’s Browns/Lions game, let’s give this blacked-out pairing of two lousy teams in a half-empty venue its drag-city due. Jacksonville is just good enough to beat worse teams — an attribute Buffalo had made near-heroic a couple years ago — and the Bills are inarguably that. Interim Buffalo coach Perry Fewell takes over, from fired coach Dick Jauron, a team with 11 players on injured reserve, 11 more on this week’s injury report, and an offense that has been called for 22 false starts in nine games. Beyond “will the Bills win another game this year?” the biggest remaining question is whether Buffalo will be able to persuade anyone to take the job from Fewell. — DR

Pick: David: Jacksonville, Garey: Jacksonville, Al Toonie: Buffalo

Pittsburgh (-10) at Kansas City: Pittsburgh is figuring things out, and played definitively Steelers-y football even in their Week 10 loss to the Bengals. Kansas City is not figuring things out so much as weeding things out — dumping uber-troubled running back Larry Johnson, taking snaps away from disgruntled linebacker Derrick Johnson — while playing definitively Chiefs-y football. That’s not a compliment. With top receiver Dwayne Bowe suspended and effectively being replaced by Lance Long — “a short white guy who can catch,” per teammate Chris Chambers — the Chiefs are as thoroughly outgunned as any NFL team this week. I’d take the Steelers at twice this line. — DR

Pick: David: Pittsburgh, Garey: Kansas City, Al Toonie: Kansas City

Seattle at Minnesota (-10.5): Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was mentored by Brett Favre early in his career. Seattle wide receiver Nate Burleson washed out in Minnesota before catching on with the Seahawks. Vikings guard Steve Hutchinson became a star in Seattle before bolting to Minnesota. Imagine how emotional this would be if anyone could care about a Seahawks game! As it is, this looks like a brief stop on Minnesota’s increasingly impressive march to the playoffs. Considering that Minnesota papers spent this week worrying about other teams hiring away Vikings coordinators after the season, it’s clear that no one’s sweating this outcome very hard. — DR

Pick: David: Minnesota, Garey: Minnesota, Al Toonie: Seattle

Atlanta at New York Giants (-6.5): To say these teams aren’t firing on all cylinders is an understatement. The Falcons and the Giants are a collective 1-7 over their past eight games, negating strong starts. Atlanta’s Matt Ryan is struggling through a sophomore slump, throwing 10 picks and only seven TDs in his past five starts. Another disappointment for the Falcons is DE John Abraham, who has just 3.5 sacks so far this season after recording 16.5 a year ago. If the Giants are to revert to their early-season form, QB Eli Manning must play a big part. Interesting stat: The road team has won the past 12 meetings between these teams. — GR

Pick: David: Atlanta, Garey: Atlanta, Al Toonie: Atlanta

New Orleans (-11.5) at Tampa Bay: The Bucs had to ruin a pretty good thing by winning two weeks ago. Otherwise we’d be showcasing the undefeated Saints against the winless Bucs. The pressure increases each week a team remains perfect, and New Orleans sure survived a scare in last week’s narrow victory at St. Louis (I picked the Saints by at least 28, BTW). Tampa Bay is awful, but I’m not liking the double-digit line this week. That adage applies here: Once bitten, twice shy. — GR

Pick: David: New Orleans, Garey: Tampa Bay, Al Toonie: Tampa Bay

Arizona (-9.5) at St. Louis: Cards QB Kurt Warner returns to his former stomping grounds to face a team that won’t remind anyone of “The Greatest Show on Turf” teams of 1999, 2000 and 2001 that he piloted. Warner likely will dissect the 25th-ranked Rams secondary with ease, and extend the Cards’ streak over the Rams to six. But I’m not liking the points in this one, either. — GR

Pick: David: Arizona, Garey: St. Louis, Al Toonie: St. Louis

San Diego (off) at Denver: The Chargers, coming off an impressive home victory over Philadelphia, look to defeat an AFC West foe for the fifth straight time. Who knows what to expect from the Broncos, losers of three straight after starting 6-0? That sixth win came against the Chargers, thanks to WR/returner Eddie Royal’s two TDs. RB LaDainian Tomlinson wants a better outing than he had in the loss to Denver, when he rushed for only 70 yards and no TDs. QB Kyle Orton (left ankle) is questionable for the Broncos, who are 7-2 in their past nine at home against the Chargers. Since all bets are off on this one (literally), these predictions won’t count towards our respective records. No, we’re doing this one for the love. — GR

Pick: David: San Diego, Garey: San Diego, Al Toonie: San Diego

New York Jets at New England (-10.5): If you’re scoring at home, the Jets are 1-5 in their past six games. The numbers haven’t been favorable for QB Mark Sanchez, who has thrown 10 picks since starting 3-0. The bigger story this week, of course, is all the conservative-minded second-guessers who think Pats coach Bill Belichick blew it by gambling on fourth down deep in his own territory, and losing the game to Indianapolis. I like Belichick’s unconventional thinking. You can’t allow one call, in hindsight, to negate Belichick’s many accomplishments. One question: Was coach Rex Ryan’s tearful plea on Monday a rallying cry for the Jets? — GR

Pick: David: New England, Garey: Jets, Al Toonie: Jets

Cincinnati (-9.5) at Oakland: All the signs point to a Bengals victory. Cincy is 7-2 and aiming to go 5-0 on the road for the first time in team history. The Bengals have the AFC North lead thanks to last weekend’s big victory over Pittsburgh. Still, there’s a bit of doubt about a team new to winning ways after years of bungling. Cincy’s Cedric Benson doesn’t look likely to play, and neither does newly signed RB Larry Johnson, who probably can’t believe his luck going from 2-7 Kansas City to a playoff contender. The Bengals must avoid a letdown against a Raiders team that’s not good at very much (31st in scoring, 25th in scoring defense.) Oakland has alternated close games and blowouts at home this season (L 24-20, L 23-3, W 13-9, L 38-0, L16-10). Although the Raiders are due for a thrashing, I’ve got a hunch about this one. — GR

Pick: David: Cincinnati, Garey: Oakland, Al Toonie: Oakland

Philadelphia (-3) at Chicago: Bears QB Jay Cutler doesn’t seem ready for the bright lights of prime-time football. How else to explain his 11 picks in three nighttime starts — all losses — for Chicago? The Bears haven’t looked good in losing four of their past five (three were blowouts). Any flicker of hope for a playoff spot must start with a victory over an Eagles team that has lost consecutive games for the first time this season. But not everyone in Philadelphia wants to use injuries as an excuse. — GR

Pick: David: Philadelphia, Garey: Chicago, Al Toonie: Philadelphia

MONDAY’S GAME

Tennessee at Houston (-4.5): The Titans feel right at home in Houston, where they’re 5-2. With QB Vince Young at the helm, Chris Johnson has improved his running game, and the Titans have won three straight after starting 0-6. Texans QB Matt Schaub is worth a look in another ho-hum Monday night game. He’s gunning for his fourth consecutive game against an AFC South opponent with at least 300 passing yards. — GR

Pick: David: Houston, Garey: Tennessee, Al Toonie: Houston

“Some 15-win pitchers might not have been considered. But Lincecum surely was hoisted by his reputation and style,” the San Francisco Chronicle’s Henry Schulman writes. “Looking more like a surfer than a big-league pitcher, short in stature but big in arm speed and intensity, Lincecum has become one of the few must-see pitchers in baseball. That might have put him over the top in a season with no clear Cy Young favorite.”

While no one can doubt Lincecum’s brilliance on the mound, some in baseball wonder about his durability in years ahead, given that crazy motion and the fact that he’s a normal-sized human being. At CBS Sports, Danny Knobler does his best to deflate this particular concern. “Sure he throws hard, and he has a great breaking ball and a great changeup and you can’t pick up the ball and no one ever gets any hits off him, but is he going to hold up?” Knobler writes. “You’d think by now the only question we’d be asking about Lincecum is whether he’s headed for the Hall of Fame, because the things he has done in his first two full seasons with the Giants are the things Hall of Famers do.”

Sabermetric-minded writers and stat-heads disdain the win as a stat too grounded in context — that is, the team surrounding the pitcher — to be of much use, and cheered Lincecum’s selection much as they did that of 16-game-winner and AL Cy Young winner Zack Greinke earlier this week. The difference, this year, was that a few non-newspaper writers actually had Cy Young votes, and those voters may have actually swung things for Lincecum, Rob Neyer notes at ESPN. “There’s something to be said for Conventional Wisdom,” Neyer writes. “In this case, the Conventional Wisdom was unanimous: the three best pitchers in the league were Lincecum, [Cardinals starter Chris] Carpenter, and [Cardinals starter Adam] Wainwright. But in a field as traditionally conservative as award voting, isn’t it healthy to allow room for just a bit of unconventional wisdom, too?”

* * *

NASCAR’s Sprint Cup season wraps up this weekend in Miami, but the season effectively ended a long time ago — Jimmie Johnson has opened a huge 108-point lead on Mark Martin, who is the only driver on the circuit who can even hope to catch him. Johnson would have to finish 25th or worse for Martin to claim the title, and while stranger things have happened, it’s most likely that Martin will finish as the runner-up in points for the fifth time in his career and that Johnson will win his fourth straight Sprint Cup.

Of course, “most likely” doesn’t mean “inevitably,” as Racin Today’s Rich Minter writes. Elsewhere at Racin Today, Mike Harris reminds readers not to feel bad for Martin if he winds up a bridesmaid again. “If he doesn’t eventually win a championship or a Daytona 500, you can bet Martin won’t pout,” Harris writes. “He’ll simply go on to the next thing in his life, grateful that he got the chance to do for nearly three decades the thing he loves most except for his family — drive race cars.”

Martin, age 50 and widely respected, is something of a sentimental favorite, although Johnson’s steady dominance has its own appeal. Sports Illustrated’s Brant James conveys the shape of Johnson’s understated excellence in a nice profile of the dominant driver. “In-progress dynasties are hard to dissect, and Johnson’s dominance has been so numbing — boring, according to critics and fans of… well, everyone else — it provides few pegs on which to attach a theory,” James writes. “Certainly, he is at the nexus of talent, team and opportunity. But there is also the simple fact that he works incredibly hard and finds the joy in it.”

* * *

The Harvard-Yale football rivalry doesn’t traditionally feature many future NFL stars, and often doesn’t even feature terribly good football. But it’s certainly gotten safer in the past century. Sports Illustrated’s Frank Deford describes the 1909 clash — won by Yale 8-0 — as the beginning of football’s transition from a brutal blood sport into, um, a slightly-less-brutal blood sport.

“Although some of the game’s powers — not unlike the smug football aristocracy in the Bowl Championship Series today — were relatively content with the gory status quo, other colleges took a more progressive approach,” Deford writes. “Rules liberalizing the forward pass were instituted for the 1910 season, and soon it became the weapon that opened up a safer game.”

In the Boston Phoenix, Mike Miliard provides a nice look back at the famous 1968 clash between the two rivals — the famous “Harvard Beats Yale, 29-29″ game. Even if you already knew that said game featured a future NFL rookie of the year and a future Academy Award-winning actor in playing roles, as well as the inspiration for a Doonesbury character, it’s worth clicking that link.

Neither Harvard nor Yale are in college football’s BCS mix — or even BCS division — this year, but two fine features on upstart programs that have inserted themselves into national-title contention also deserve a look. In the Washington Post, Sally Jenkins argues that Texas Christian has been the most impressive team in the nation thus far this season. In the Journal, Darren Everson credits coach Jim Harbaugh with Stanford’s stunning surge in recent weeks.

* * *

Your Fixer isn’t sure he has the stomach for a full-on five-day cricket test match, but there’s something so arrestingly strange about the game to my American eyes that I can’t help but admire it. (Note: This may also have something to do with the fact that I just finished Joseph O’Neill’s insanely great cricket-related novel “Netherland”.) In the Journal, Jonathan Clegg writes that it’s not just your Fixer who has trouble fitting a five-day cricket test into the old day-planner, especially with Twenty20, a faster-paced condensed-cricket discussed in this Fix, gaining in popularity.

* * *

Zimbabwe was once one of the proudest nations in Africa, but the combination of some appallingly bad leadership and the other problems that tragically tend to affect African nations disproportionately has made it — as this sobering Jon Lee Anderson piece from The New Yorker makes clear — one of the most dysfunctional places in the world. And yet, as is true any place human beings live, it’s not all bad.

At CNN, Medecins Sans Frontieres communications officer Joanna Stavropoulou details her interactions with the Positive Ladies Soccer Club of Zimbabwe’s Epworth Township. The Positive Ladies are a team of HIV-positive women that became a crack soccer squad in defiance of a desperately poor community in which women don’t play soccer and, more to the point, HIV-positive people are stigmatized. It’s not the most literarily accomplished piece we’ve linked to at The Fix, but the story of The Positive Ladies is another reminder that humankind can also be pretty amazing, and it’s worth a read for that reason alone.

— Tip of the Fix cap to reader Don Hartline and fellow Fixer Garey Ris.

Found a good column from the world of sports? Don’t keep it to yourself — write to us at dailyfix@wsj.com and we’ll consider your find for inclusion in the Daily Fix. You can email David at droth11@gmail.com.

This is the norm for the Maple Leafs, who as of a couple of weeks ago had outshot opponents by 670 over the past five seasons and yet had been outscored by 103 goals. “If there was ever going to be a dynasty of outshooting your opponents but losing to them anyways, this would be it,” Gabriel Desjardins wrote on his blog. In a follow-up post inspired by Vic Ferrari, Desjardins found that Toronto last season was taking too many shots when in the lead, which was allowing teams to come from behind. One piece of evidence: The shots Toronto was allowing last year were particularly high-quality, Robert Vollman writes at Puck Prospectus. That nuance makes simple save percentages inadequate for evaluating goalies.

There’s another problem with shot counts: They don’t seem to be kept consistently from one arena to the next, according to Puck Prospectus’s Tom Awad. This doesn’t seem to have especially affected the Leafs, whose shot counts were pretty consistent at home and away over the last five seasons. But Nashville scorekeepers seem to be very quick to count shots, while Devils stats keepers are at the stingy end of the spectrum.

The Maple Leafs need to get better shots and give up fewer good ones, but they’re probably not as much of a long shot to reach the playoffs as the Toronto Star suggested this week, putting the probability at 1.7%. Desjardins writes that extreme performances are always likely to regress to the mean, and some of those shots have to start landing. Then again, the Star’s calculation came before Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to Ottawa — in which the Maple Leafs held the third-period shots advantage, 14-5, but lost the game.

Thanks to co-Fixer Garey Ris for the suggestion.

For many fans, Henry’s handball is reminiscent of Maradona’s “Hand of God” goal in Argentina’s victory over England in the 1986 World Cup. If FIFA, soccer’s governing body, was ambivalent about adding video review on goals, it shouldn’t be any longer. Referee Martin Hansson missed a huge, easy call when today’s technology could quickly have righted the wrong. Then again, soccer has had its share of infamous moments.

“It felt shocking that a country’s dream could perish so fraudulently,” Vincent Hogan fumes in the Irish Independent. “Short of tucking the ball up his jersey, Thierry Henry couldn’t have been more openly tactile in possession before flicking to William Gallas for the kill shot.”

In the Irish Times, retired star Mark Lawrenson says “the dust from this match will take a long time to settle.” Ireland’s government and football association are demanding a replay of the game.

Writing for the Times of London, former soccer player Tony Cascarino calls Henry “an insincere cheat.” Also in the Times, Patrick Barclay argues for video review.

The Irish Independent’s David Kelly sees a bright future for Ireland under coach Giovanni Trapattoni.

Yahoo’s Martin Rogers says that “All’s fair in love and soccer, yet if there is any justice France will suffer the same fate it did at the 2002 World Cup — elimination in the group stage.”

Wednesday was the final day of qualifying for South Africa, and the Journal’s Matthew Futterman says the results, which included Slovenia’s 1-0 upset of Russia, give hope to some of the world’s smaller nations.

Finally, BBC has thumbnails on the 32 qualifiers for World Cup 2010.

* * *

One of college football’s most storied rivalries — Michigan vs. Ohio State — resumes with Saturday’s clash in Columbus Ann Arbor. But the Buckeyes’ recent dominance of the Wolverines leaves Fox Sports’s Bruce Hooley pining for the days when their games always meant something.

For the first time in recent memory, the stakes for the Stanford-California grudge match are higher than those in the Buckeyes-Wolverines game. In the New York Times, Karen Crouse profiles Stanford running back Toby Gerhart, a Heisman Trophy candidate who’s also a strong baseball prospect.

* * *

Week 11 of the NFL season kicks off with a game Thursday night between two 4-5 teams, hardly a compelling matchup. Then again, neither are most games this weekend. Fellow Fixer David Roth previews the Dolphins vs. the Panthers:

Miami at Carolina (-3): These days that cliché about football being a rough game is looking less like a thing people say and more like something people should actually do something about. Sadly, whatever systemic changes are in the offing will arrive too late for the Dolphins, who recently placed star running back Ronnie Brown on the injured reserve and are short numerous other contributors on offense and defense. Both Carolina and Miami have been clicking fairly well on offense of late, and Miami has a brilliant backup in Ricky Williams, but Miami’s shorthandedness makes them tough to pick in this one. And in general.

Pick: David: Carolina, Garey: Carolina, Al Toonie, the Lucky Canadian Two-Dollar Coin: Miami

* * *

The Chicago Blackhawks were an afterthought for years in one of the NHL’s biggest markets. Season after season of missing the playoffs — and no Stanley Cup since 1961 — had led to fan and media indifference. All that’s changed in the two years John McDonough has been president. The Hawks have young, exciting stars in forwards Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews and defenseman Duncan Keith, all about to be signed to rich contract extensions, and are one of the NHL’s better teams. But McDonough won’t be satisfied until the Hawks win the Stanley Cup, the Chicago Tribune’s David Haugh writes.

* * *

A golf tournament without Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods nor the winners of the four majors might not be on the radar with fans. Yet the Dubai World Championship this week has its merits, says one observer. For one thing, the Irish Independent’s Karl MacGinty writes, it gives some of Europe’s new young stars a chance to shine.

* * *

Basketball and football are the glamour sports at most Division I schools. But George Washington University is offering athletic-based aid in hopes of building a top-notch squash program, Jon Brand writes in the Washington Post.

* * *

Jilleanne Rookard has faced plenty of hurdles in her life: When she was 18, her father died of a heart attack. Her mother is battling multiple myeloma. Now the 26-year-old speedskater is on the verge of qualifying for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Pretty impressive for someone who took up speedskating only three years ago and has worked 20-hour weeks to raise money for training, Gary D’Amato writes in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

– Tip of the Fix cap to reader Don Hartline.

Found a good column from the world of sports? Don’t keep it to yourself — write to us at dailyfix@wsj.com and we’ll consider your find for inclusion in the Daily Fix. You can email Garey at ris84rap@gmail.com.

Jennings also turned in just the 29th performance in the last 10 seasons to feature 50 or more points and a field-goal percentage of 60 or higher, according to Basketball Reference. The other players on the list include Kobe Bryant (six times), LeBron James (twice), Tracy McGrady (twice), Dwyane Wade, Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki, which would also be a reasonable starting point for the top players over the last decade. Some other players to achieve the feat aren’t as immortal (e.g. Jamal Crawford and Tony Delk). Still, Jennings is keeping good company.

His next game, though, wasn’t quite as good. He shot just 8 for 22, and scored just 25 points. How does that compare to the 28 games that followed the prior 28 efficient 50-point scoring nights? I crunched the numbers, which demonstrate that a hot hand in basketball doesn’t seem to carry over from one game to the next.

Jennings and his counterparts played their next game much like they did the rest of the season, excluding those two games. The day after their 50-point games, the typical player scored 27 points, shot 43% from the field, hit 30% of three-point attempts and 80% of free throws. And over the rest of the regular season, that same typical player averaged 25 points while shooting 46% from the field, 34% from three-point range and 80% from the free-throw line. This reflects a natural tendency for players to regress to their mean performance.

Some follow-up performances stand out. Wade had a big drop-off, to 19 points on 8-of-21 shooting, but that came in the playoffs, as he erupted for 55 points in last season’s finale. A year ago, Tony Parker scored just four points before leaving because of injury. He missed three weeks. Besides Parker, Delk had the biggest drop-off in points, scoring just 10 in his next game while seeing a drop-off in field-goal percentage from 74% to 40%.

On the flip side, Amare Stoudemire managed to improve from 74% shooting to 79% in his next game, in which he scored 34 points. And Antawn Jamison improved his field-goal shooting by nine percentage points, while matching his point total — he was the only player on the list to collect back-to-back games with 50 points on 60% shooting or better. (In his next game, Jamison shot 10 of 23 and scored 28 points.)

Creating this list of players was made possible by Basketball Reference’s play index, a fun tool that allows users to search for every game since 1986-87 that meets certain criteria — for instance, 50 or more points and a shooting percentage of 60 or higher. Inspired by Matt Barnes’s 13 points and 13 rebounds last Friday, November 13th, and with the help of the site’s creator, Justin Kubatko, I found 316 performances featuring exactly 13 points and 13 rebounds (or 13 points and 13 assists, or 13 rebounds and 13 assists). (That compares to 513 12-12 performances and 248 14-14, so it’s not a surprising number. Incidentally, Jason Kidd had seven of the 29 games in which rebounds and assists were equal and each totaled 12, 13 or 14.)

Exactly 13 of these — spooky! — fell on the 13th of a month, which isn’t a great surprise. If every day of the month were equally likely, we’d expect about 10 or 11 of these to fall on the 13th, but since the season generally ends soon after April 13, more games are played on the 13th than on, say, the 22nd during the season. The 13th falls on a Friday about one-seventh of the time, so about two of these 13 performances should have fallen on Friday the 13th. But four have — Barnes’s, Andre Miller in March, Marc Jackson in 2007 and Anthony Mason in 1996. Are NBA players working harder to get to 13, and then stopping, on Friday the 13th? Probably not. More likely, this search got off the ground in the first place because one of these anomalous events happened. Discarding that one, there have been three, and that’s not much more than two. Probably better to chalk this up to chance than to triskaidekaphobia or triskaidekaphilia.

The Baseball Reference bloggers have been using that site’s even more sophisticated event finder tool. It can look for games since 1954 that meet the criteria of a certain equation or inequality — for instance, games in which a team scored more runs than it had hits. Among the recent findings are the two games in which a team’s lineup featured only players who were 33 or older, and the highest batting average by a team in a single game (.609).

AFP/Getty Images

William Gallas (right) celebrates his overtime goal that put France into next summer’s World Cup finals.

The Journal provides minute-by-minute analysis of today’s second-leg match in France’s 2-1 aggregate victory over Ireland in a World Cup qualifying playoff. Journal staffer Dave Kansas offers commentary on the game and the telecast.

12:07 pm | Pregame | by Dave Kansas

France takes a 1-0 lead into its home return match against Ireland with one of the few remaining tickets to the World Cup finals in South Africa next summer on the line.

Les Bleus won Saturday's opening leg of the two-match set in Dublin on a goal by Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea). France, led by Anelka and fellow forward Thierry Henry (Barcelona) needs a tie or better to go through to South Africa.

Ireland expects to have as many as 25,000 fans packed into the Stade de France. Robbie Keane (Tottenham) will lead the Irish attack while goalkeeper Shay Given (Manchester City) will do his best to keep France’s attacking firepower at bay.

Among other World Cup qualifiers, Portugal takes a 1-0 lead to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia trails visiting Russia 2-1 and Greece travels to Ukraine tied at 0-0.

3:01 pm | Pregame | by Dave Kansas

Greetings from an undisclosed location somewhere in West London. Surrounded by lots of fans here, mostly Irish backers.

Before we get to the big game, a couple of updates.

First, Algeria has beaten Egypt 1-0 to advance to South Africa. Places are getting fewer and fewer.

Greece has edged Ukraine 1-0 which has Athens on the way to the World Cup finals, too. Lots of heartbreak among the Ukrainians nearby. They peppered the Greece goal often toward the end of the match in a driving rain, to no avail.

For France-Ireland, no suprises in the starting lineups. Nicolas Anelka and Thierry Henry up front for France, Karim Benzema on the pine. For Ireland, Robbie Keane and Kevin Doyle need to find the net, Shay Given in goal.

The other big games we'll try to nose in on from time-to-time: Russia at Slovenia and Portugal at Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Teams now walking onto the pitch at St. Denis outside of Paris. Strong Irish contingent on hand. But plenty of French flags, too. Should be lively.

3:04 pm | First minute | by Dave Kansas

Anthems have been sung, flags waved, the issue is simple. Ireland trails 1-0 on the road. They need to score or else it is all moot. In the stands: French hero Zinedine Zidane.

3:05 pm | Second minute | by Dave Kansas

Lots of play up the middle as both sides feel one another out. French keeper Hugo Lloris with a touch, but nothing much happening yet.

3:06 pm | Third minute | by Dave Kansas

France with some control through Bakari Sagna on the right side, but the play breaks down and Ireland clears. Thus far, France looks the more composed side.

3:07 pm | Fifth minute | by Dave Kansas

Bit more from Ireland. Kevin Doyle up front to Robbie Keane, but Patrice Evra snuffs it out. Lousy clearance by Evra falls to Ireland, but their resulting free kick doesn't amount to much. Goal kick to France.

3:10 pm | Fifth minute | by Dave Kansas

Julien Escude of France gets banged up a bit going for a header. He is bleeding and being tended to on the sidelines, but no sub so far. Ireland keeping the pressure on. After the first couple of minutes, they have pressed forward effectively.

3:14 pm | Ninth minute | by Dave Kansas

Sebastien Squillaci comes on for the injured Escude, who is carted off. France responds with a quick attack through to Henry, who scuffs the shot wide.

3:15 pm | 11th minute | by Dave Kansas

While Ireland has dominated much of the early possession, France has looked the more menacing. Henry should have done better with the recent through ball from Lassa Diarra.

3:18 pm | 14th minute | by Dave Kansas

French cross to Lassa Diarra is banged over the Irish goal. The match has drifted back in France's favor. Sagna throw-in to Diarra, Henry is banged down by John O'Shea, giving France a dangerous free kick about 30 yards out.

3:20 pm | 15th minute | by Dave Kansas

Free kick falls to Anelka, who drives it into Irish traffic.

Online commenter awesome writes: "now this is awesome! finance and soccer at the same place!"

Indeed -- another record high for gold today!

3:22 pm | 17th minute | by Dave Kansas

Ireland threatening again, with a cross cleared by Evra. Ireland is showing moments of threat, but for the most part, France seems to have the upper hand thus far. Kevin Doyle makes a good run down the left side, but he can't control the ball as he sails by the French box.

3:23 pm | 20th minute | by Dave Kansas

O'Shea bangs Henry, giving France a fee kick from about 40 yards. WIlliam Gallas and other defenders come forward for France. Squillaci heads Henry's free kick well over the net. Goal kick for Given.

3:25 pm | 21st minute | by Dave Kansas

Robbie Keane looking a bit lonely out front for Ireland. He has yet to really latch onto anything. And just like that, Liam Lawrence's run down the right side results in a floating ball across the box that can't find Keane. France clears after a few quick breaths from backers of Les Bleus.

3:27 pm | 23rd minute | by Dave Kansas

Reader Red Devil thinks this is brilliant -- indeed! Ireland threatens and Lloris with a very big save. France can't clear and Lloris comes off the line to thwart Robbie Keane's goalmouth effort. Really brilliant by Lloris. He had to dive into the fray there to prevent Keane from touching the ball.

3:30 pm | 25th minute | by Dave Kansas

Irish threaten again. This time a cross to Kevin Doyle glances off his head as William Gallas applies pressure. The header goes just wide. Oh, Ireland is getting plenty of chances all of a sudden. Gallas a bit shaken up by that flurry. Reader NikkiMiami says this is a foregone conclusion -- I don't know!

3:32 pm | 28th minute | by Dave Kansas

After the recent Irish flurry, France settles down a bit. Perhaps the early exit of Escude has affected France more than one would have thought. Duff takes the ball down the left side, but his effort is cleared out to Henry, who takes the ball at midfield before it goes out of bounds. Henry having to come back quite far to get the ball.

3:36 pm | 30th minute | by Dave Kansas

For right now, France is relying heavily on their back four, Gallas in particular. Ireland continues to threaten. A through ball to Robbie Keane at the edge of the box finds him offside.

3:36 pm | 32nd minute | by Dave Kansas

GOAL!!! IRELAND!!

3:40 pm | 33rd minute | by Dave Kansas

Doyle takes the ball down the left side deep and slots it back to Keane, who slams it home for his 41st international goal. No chance for Lloris. Great goal. Ireland up 1-0. Game definitely on.

3:41 pm | 36th minute | by Dave Kansas

Things very quiet at Stade de France. But France pushing forward. They won't go quietly.

3:42 pm | 38th minute | by Dave Kansas

Corner to France. Henry skies it well over the action. But France controls.

3:44 pm | 40th minute | by Dave Kansas

France keeps pressing ahead. Anelka's cross bounds to the top of the box, but it is cleared by Ireland. Tense times. Ireland would be unwise to let France press forward too much.

3:46 pm | 42nd minute | by Dave Kansas

Free kick to Ireland at midfield, but it goes to Lloris.

3:48 pm | 43rd minute | by Dave Kansas

Can France steal one in the waning moments of the half? Ireland has become much more conservative, but it is only tied in aggregate.

3:49 pm | 45th minute | by Dave Kansas

Two added minutes. Anelka fires a shot from outside the box; easily handled by Given.

3:51 pm | 45th minute plus one | by Dave Kansas

Irish free kick about 35 yards out after a Gallas foul. Taking their time. But the kick bangs off Evra.

3:51 pm | Halftime | by Dave Kansas

Twweeeeet. Robbie Keane has made it 1-0, 1-1 aggregate. Big second half coming up. Need to address some tech difficulties, back soon!

4:06 pm | 46th minute | by Dave Kansas

French crowd alive again, lots of flags, and dour coach Raymond Domenech paces the sidelines. We're off!

4:08 pm | 47th minute | by Dave Kansas

Lassa Diarra floors Keane and O'Shea has a great chance on Lawrence's free kick but pops it over. Ireland may rue that miss!

4:09 pm | 47th minute | by Dave Kansas

Ireland continues to look like the more potent team.

4:15 pm | 49th minute | by Dave Kansas

Ooh, another golden chance for Ireland, but France clears. If Ireland can score, based on the away-goal rule, they would be in the driver's seat. In a real sense, one more Ireland goal is worth two, since France would then need three to win.

4:16 pm | 53rd minute | by Dave Kansas

Will France rise to the moment? A threat by Anelka via Evra goes nowhere. Long way to go yet.

4:19 pm | 55th minute | by Dave Kansas

Still 1-0 and some discussion of extra time coming from the commentators. Premature? Just at that moment, Anelka takes the ball down the right side and plays it in to Henry, but the ball is cleared by Ireland. Close run, that.

4:19 pm | 56th minute | by Dave Kansas

Govou on for Gignac of France.

4:21 pm | 57th minute | by Dave Kansas

Evra to Anelka down the right and he pulls a great move, shoots into the box and the ball seems to glance off of Richard Dunne's hand. No penalty given, and none really warranted. Arm was down. But French faithful screaming.

4:22 pm | 58th minute | by Dave Kansas

Ireland starting to get a bit chippy. Free kick to France from 25 yards to Given's left. Henry tees up the kick. Cleared by Lawrence, but not far and the ball comes back into the box where Given is Shay on the Spot to make the save.

4:22 pm | 60th minute | by Dave Kansas

OK, it's starting to get tense. South Africa on the line and we're all knotted up. France has started to press forward effectively, but Ireland are thus far equal to the task. But the Green are a bit on the back foot right now.

4:23 pm | 60th minute | by Dave Kansas

This is getting ridiculous. Just as I say Ireland is sitting back, Damien Duff breaks free and he should have done better, but Lloris fends him off. Just like that, Lloris springs Henry down the right side and his chance on goal glances off Given for a corner. Oh man, oh man.

4:24 pm | 61st minute | by Dave Kansas

Corner...into the mixer, but Ireland clears.

4:24 pm | 63rd minute | by Dave Kansas

Ireland sub: Whelan off, Gibson on.

4:25 pm | 63rd minute | by Dave Kansas

Keane dropped at midfield, looking for a yellow, but none coming. Ireland plays it into the France end, but nothing doing and France will reset.

4:26 pm | 65th minute | by Dave Kansas

Okay, if we end as we are with Ireland up 1-0, we get extra time. Then if that ends tied, we go to penalties. Oy.

4:27 pm | 66th minute | by Dave Kansas

Anguished Irish Reader? Jason O'Connell writes: "All Duff had to do was chip it over the keeper's head...I know he was being pressured but with Johnny's miss it should be 3-0"

No kidding...

4:28 pm | 66th minute | by Dave Kansas

John O'Shea comes off for McShane at Stade de France. O'Shea may be injured, it seems.

4:30 pm | 68th minute | by Dave Kansas

Bit of a breather all of a sudden. Can't be breathless back-and-forth forever, I suppose. With 22 minutes in regulation remaining, France seems to be getting the most chances, but Ireland looks absolutely scary on the counter-attack. If Ireland can score, the hill becomes huge for France -- it would need those three goals on the away-goal rule.

4:32 pm | 70th minute | by Dave Kansas

It's all France right now. Henry with a great chance but it slams off Dunne, I think.

4:33 pm | 71st minute | by Dave Kansas

This time, it's Anelka. But he pushes it wide. Lawdy!

4:34 pm | 72nd minute | by Dave Kansas

Oh my! Lawrence's through ball to Keane springs the Irish striker. But he can't close the deal. Oh, the Irish have missed some golden opportunities!

4:37 pm | 75th minute | by Dave Kansas

Ireland gaining a little control here, and badly needed. But handball (shoulder?) on Keane ends the small threat.

4:40 pm | 77th minute | by Dave Kansas

France throws forward again. Sagna on the right, back to A. Diarra and Gignon is fouled. Free kick to the right of Ireland's goal. Possible threat here...But first, Squillaci collects a yellow card for some scruffiness prekick. Ireland clears the kick.

4:42 pm | 80th minute | by Dave Kansas

Ten minutes now left in regulation and the game is taking on a bit of a punch-drunk quality at times. Ireland has definitely had the better chances, but with Anelka and Henry, France really can threaten at anytime, like George Foreman throughout his career. Thus far, though, the big dogs have come close but been unable to land the telling blow.

4:43 pm | 82nd minute | by Dave Kansas

Given free kick into the French end. Lawrence puts it in the middle but Lloris is there. France comes back down the field through Anelka, but Ireland clears. The Irish will NOT back down, even as France brings more and more forward.

4:45 pm | 84th minute | by Dave Kansas

Duff and Evra mix it up, Duff getting the best, Evra getting the kick for France. Ball is played deep into the Ireland end, but beyond Henry. Ireland clears.

4:46 pm | 85th minute | by Dave Kansas

France back in the attacking end. Ireland is sitting back more and more, trying to hit on the counter-attack. Playing to French vanity, perhaps, knowing that Les Bleus must think they OUGHT to win at the Stade de France? Spirited game, very spirited.

4:48 pm | 87th minute | by Dave Kansas

On comes Malouda for Gourcoff for France. Throw-in for France in the Irish end. Evra throws it in, cleared by Ireland.

4:50 pm | 88th minute | by Dave Kansas

France still threatening...should have a couple minutes of extra time at least. Duff breaks things up and suddenly Ireland has some chances.

4:51 pm | 89th minute | by Dave Kansas

Ireland still controlling; Duff playing nicely here.Inside to Lawrence, but he can't make it happen. Good possession for the Irish.

4:51 pm | 90th minute | by Dave Kansas

Keane intercepts a pass inside the France end and he has a chance...but he pushes it high and wide. Oh, how many chances has Ireland squandered today?

We have three minutes added time!

4:52 pm | 90th minute plus one | by Dave Kansas

Malouda gets a yellow card for France.

4:53 pm | 90th minute plus two | by Dave Kansas

Scrambling play around midfield and it breaks for France, but Anelka puts the ball over the goal from the left side. Henry well covered in the middle, no threat there.

4:55 pm | End of regulation time | by Dave Kansas

France with the last chance of regulation. Anelka down the left. He dribbles around, finds Henry, who can't put it home. Great chance for France.

BUT TWEETER TWEET TWEET, we are done with regulation.

Need a breather. Extra time, here we come!

5:01 pm | Intermission | by Dave Kansas

OK, lots of debate about extra time, aggregate, etc.

Here's where we stand. It is tied 1-1 in aggregate. France won 1-0 in Dublin, Ireland has won 1-0 in Paris.

Now we go to extra time. There IS away goal advantage. That means that if Ireland scores, France would need three goals to win. They would lose at 2-2 in aggregate.

Extra time is NOT sudden death.

If it's tied after 30 minutes, we go to penalty kicks.

5:02 pm | 91st minute | by Dave Kansas

Back underway at the Stade de France.

5:02 pm | 92nd minute | by Dave Kansas

As often happens, bit of a lull here after the extra time gets underway. Play bottled up in midfield as the teams start to show signs of fatigue. Can't blame 'em.

5:03 pm | 93rd minute | by Dave Kansas

France out in front, Malouda to Anelka and Anelka lets loose from outside the box. VERY close, but Given really did have that shot covered to the low right.

5:04 pm | 94th minute | by Dave Kansas

Ireland has had all the chances tonight, but hasn't finished it. Still, I believe Ireland will win it on penalties.

5:05 pm | 95th minute | by Dave Kansas

Play decidedly chippy here in extra time. Free kick to Ireland at midfield. Keane looking for it by the goalbox but it comes off Kilbane to nothing. Lloris gathers it up and we keep on going.

5:07 pm | 97th minute | by Dave Kansas

Evra breaks through, gets by Dunne, but good defending by Ireland. Corner to France. Not too many corners today. Skied over and no threat.

5:11 pm | 97th minute | by Dave Kansas

Anelka goes down in the box, but rightly ruled no foul. Close call, that. Anelka with a half decent dive, but not good enough.

5:12 pm | 99th minute | by Dave Kansas

A chance for Ireland. Wide!

5:13 pm | 101st minute | by Dave Kansas

Oh my!!! Evra comes through and the ball is in the net -- but called offside. Oh my. Flag was up before Evra shot.

5:14 pm | 102nd minute | by Dave Kansas

GOAL to France!! Henry gets a free kick, over to Gallas and the Arsenal back slots it home.

5:14 pm | 104th minute | by Dave Kansas

That goal not without controversy. France looked offside. Duff booked in protest.

5:16 pm | 105th minute | by Dave Kansas

It also appears that Henry may have handled the ball before passing to Gallas. The teams switch sides. Ireland will feel quite wronged.

5:18 pm | 106th minute | by Dave Kansas

We play on. If Ireland scores, they win. Penalties are no longer possible. A tie would go to the Irish.

5:21 pm | 107th minute | by Dave Kansas

Irish corner flies across the crease, but not near anyone. Ireland still fighting.

5:23 pm | 109th minute | by Dave Kansas

Ireland scrappily trying to push the ball forward. But nothing to show.

5:25 pm | 112th minute | by Dave Kansas

France looking to hit on the counter, but an Anelka move peters out.

5:26 pm | 113th minute | by Dave Kansas

Time starting to run short for Ireland.

5:28 pm | 116th minute | by Dave Kansas

Dunne takes down Malouda: free kick to France. Kick goes out for French corner.

5:31 pm | 119th minute | by Dave Kansas

Waning moments for Ireland; France looks on the cusp of making it to South Africa in a not terribly glamorous fashion. But they won't mind and who will remember come next summer.

5:32 pm | 119th minute | by Dave Kansas

Ireland pouring everything forward. Dunner and his defensive comrades all in there, but thus far, France holding off the white shirts.

5:33 pm | 120th minute | by Dave Kansas

Given comes forward for a corner kick, but Lloris gathers it up and he has to sprint back. France on the counter and they miss a huge chance to kill this. Lloris, by the by, has been great tonight. One minute added time.

5:34 pm | FINAL | by Dave Kansas

That's it, France goes through thanks to a 2-1 win in aggregate. Ireland has every reason to be angry. The deciding goal came with France arguably offside and Henry handling the ball before crossing to his one-time Arsenal teammate, William Gallas. At the same time, Ireland had MANY MANY chances to kill this match and didn't do it. Duff and Keane could have made the entire thing moot, but didn't.

5:47 pm | Postgame | by Dave Kansas

France scored in extra time against Ireland at the Stade de France to win a spot in next summer's World Cup final in South Africa. Ireland came into the match trailing 1-0, but a first-half goal by Robbie Keane evened things up.

The match ended with the two sides tied at 1-1 in aggregate. In extra time, William Gallas scored a controversial goal off a free kick to give France the lead and, ultimately, the win. France appeared offside and it appeared Henry handled the ball before passing to Gallas.

Still, Ireland, which dominated spells of the first half, had several chances to add to its lead. Keane and teammate Damien Duff both had golden opportunities that were ultimately squandered. A valiant Irish effort at the close of extra time came for naught and France squeezed into the World Cup finals.

Even though France struggled, a side with Nicolas Anelka and Henry will be a threat come next summer. Some teams will wish the Irish had finished the job.

Greinke’s struggles with anxiety disorder are a part of his life and cost him most of two big-league seasons. But his poised brilliance on the mound conceals a young man who still isn’t terribly comfortable with all the recognition his talent has brought him. “He didn’t even answer the Cy Young call because he did not recognize the number on his cell phone,” the Kansas City Star’s Joe Posnanski writes. “But Zack Greinke won the Cy Young. He’s a comeback story, a brilliant young pitcher, an interesting guy and the beating heart of Kansas City sports. Here’s hoping Greinke enjoys the moment the best way he knows how.” In Sports Illustrated, Ted Keith writes that Greinke’s ability to overcome his anxiety disorder on and off the field is inspiring, even if Greinke doesn’t want to talk about it that way. Or talk about it at all.

Greinke’s Cy Young candidacy became a cause of sorts among sabermetrically minded baseball writers who wanted to see the Cy Young Award not blindly handed to the league’s win leader. In the New York Times, Tyler Kepner reveals that Greinke loves those sabermetrics right back, speaking glowingly about Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) and taking those advanced metrics into account on the mound. At ESPN, Rob Neyer is delighted to discover so geek-friendly an ace. “He’s probably the first supremely talented pitcher to believe that nerds like me — or rather, truly brilliant nerds like Bill James and Voros McCracken and Tom Tango — might actually have something to teach a supremely talented pitcher,” Neyer writes.

* * *

Thanks to a talented cast and coach Don Nelson’s wide-open offensive scheme and seeming disdain for defense, the Golden State Warriors are one of the NBA’s more enjoyable teams to watch. They’re capable of beating or losing to any NBA team by 20 on any night. They’re also a baffling mess of an organization whose institution of a coach has alienated just about every good player the team has had during his current tenure. On Monday the Warriors dealt star scorer Stephen Jackson to the Charlotte Bobcats for Vladimir Radmanovic and the injured Raja Bell. On Tuesday rumors surfaced that Golden State was looking to deal another star guard, Monta Ellis.

In the San Jose Mercury News, Tim Kawakami writes that a deal would be just fine with Ellis. “When he sees how little Nelson cares about building a real team and sees the bumbling of [team president Robert] Rowell & Co., Ellis is seeing the truth about the Warriors. He’s living it,” Kawakami writes. “He wants out. Just like Stephen Jackson. Like Al Harrington. And, probably, like Anthony Randolph in a few months and Andris Biedrins and … well, you just name the good player. He wants out or soon will want out.”

At Yahoo, Adrian Wojnarowski looks at the slow-mo debacle in Golden State and the recent Allen Iverson-related shenanigans in Memphis and sees nothing but bad news for the NBA. “These are the storylines the league office loathes: the disgruntled star wrangling with management, reinforcing stereotypes that remotely reflect the reality of most of the NBA’s rank and file,” Wojnarowski writes. “For the NBA, it’s a shame. Yet commissioner David Stern has no one to blame but too many clueless, lost owners and franchises which enable, even encourage, such behavior.”

It’s either a testament to the talent on Golden State and Memphis or sad proof of the New Jersey Nets’ transcendent awfulness that Jersey is still winless after 11 games. New Jersey fell in frustrating fashion at home against Indiana on Tuesday night, 91-83. “They’re back to hating themselves again, which, given the circumstances, is probably appropriate,” the Newark Star-Ledger’s excellent Dave D’Alessandro writes. “Maybe that’s the only way to get out of the ditch the Nets find themselves in: Establish an intense and unanimous loathing for losing.”

* * *

The Buffalo Bills have been especially Buffalo Bills-y this season, delivering inconsistent, if consistently underwhelming, efforts and stumbling to a 3-6 record. Buffalo axed head coach Dick Jauron Tuesday and replaced him with defensive coordinator Perry Fewell. But Buffalo News columnist Jerry Sullivan sees the move as a cosmetic answer to a deeper problem. “[The Bills] have been a dysfunctional mess for a decade,” Sullivan writes. “On and off the field, there’s rarely any rhyme or reason to what they do. The only thing you can count on is that they’ll lose — and that the owner will function on the cheap.”

* * *

An NCAA champion as a wrestler and a moneymaking machine as a WWE mega-heel, Brock Lesnar found himself after taking up mixed martial arts and joining the UFC. With his sudden contraction of a still-mysterious but apparently very serious illness — the best description seems to be a bacterial infection in his digestive tract — the UFC’s reigning heavyweight champ suddenly finds himself in a very different, and much more difficult, sort of fight.

“He’s poured himself into becoming a better fighter, paying training partners and experts to come in and make him better,” Yahoo’s Dan Wetzel writes. “He was on the verge of a long career, perhaps even an extended run as the champion. Everything was humming, professionally and personally. The gamble of walking away from the circus and into an honest life had paid off. Then … he got sick.”

* * *

Brendan Shanahan was a star with the New Jersey Devils when your Fixer was in elementary school. After a 21-year career that saw him win three Stanley Cups and score 656 career goals, 11th-most all-time, and will likely land him in hockey’s hall of fame, Shanahan called it quits Tuesday.

“Shanahan was one of the few players willing to buck the Pollyanna flow and actually say what was on his mind — to his ever-lasting credit,” the Globe and Mail’s Eric Duhatschek writes. “He will be missed, not just by the scribblers who enjoyed crowding around his locker to exchange views about the state of the game, but by anyone who could appreciate his rare combination of skill and physicality.”

At FanHouse, Adam Gretz provides video links to some of Shanahan’s more entertaining off-ice moments, including one from the ill-fated ESPN semi-game show “Teammates” that Gretz correctly describes as “probably the only funny moment the show ever produced.”

* * *

Beyond rare moments of sportscaster slyness, televised sports are not the place to go for subtlety. But football’s increasingly bludgeoning patriotic bombast has become both impossibly unsubtle and genuinely weird in recent years. In a fascinating piece at Slate, Michael Oriard — himself a former NFL player — takes a look at the surprisingly recent linkage between the gridiron and the battlefield.

“Over time, football fans came to take this football-related patriotism — a brand of flag-waving more like superpatriotism — for granted, as if it were embedded in long tradition, perhaps even in the very nature of the game,” Oriard writes. “It wasn’t and isn’t.”

— Tip of the Fix cap to reader Don Hartline and fellow Fixer Garey Ris.

Found a good column from the world of sports? Don’t keep it to yourself — write to us at dailyfix@wsj.com and we’ll consider your find for inclusion in the Daily Fix. You can email David at droth11@gmail.com.

Expectations are always high in South Bend, and the Fighting Irish haven’t lived up to them under Charlie Weis, whose fifth season there could be his last. Given recent history, his dismissal won’t be a surprise. Bob Davie lasted five years, George O’Leary resigned without even coaching a game after it was discovered he had embellished his résumé and Tyrone Willingham survived only three seasons. The Irish’s last national title came in 1988.

One reason why Weis’s future looks dicey: Notre Dame has suffered losses to Navy twice in the past three years, including a 23-21 upset two weeks ago. Then there was last week’s 27-22 loss to Pittsburgh.

“Charlie’s the guy who’s going to take the fall,” Dan Shaughnessy writes at Sports Illustrated. “… The Pitt defeat means that Charlie’s teams have lost eight straight against top 10 competition. Weis’ 2007 team might have been the worst Notre Dame team ever. Last year’s home loss to Syracuse represented the Irish’s first-ever loss to an eight-loss team. Fifteen losses in two seasons (2007, 2008) is a Notre Dame record. Weis is 1-10 lifetime against top 10 teams and he has the same record (35-25) that got Davie fired.”

The Chicago Tribune’s David Haugh argues against bringing Weis back for a sixth season, saying Weis is more suited to the pro game than to the college game.

Of course if the Irish banish Weis, the question becomes who would next want to enter a place with so much pressure. FanHouse’s Terrance Harris says enticing Bob Stoops from Oklahoma is highly unlikely for a number of reasons.

Finally, while it might be another season to forget in South Bend, it’s also been a forgettable season for college football in general, the Washington Post’s John Feinstein writes.

* * *

Two days later there’s still much chattering over New England coach Bill Belichick’s decision to gamble on fourth-and-two late in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game at Indianapolis. The risk failed, and the Colts scored a touchdown to steal the game. Not everyone thinks Belichick made a bad choice to go for it deep in his own territory. Sports Illustrated’s Joe Posnanski says the Patriots’ best chance was to go for it on fourth down. Not so, the Washington Post’s Michael Wilbon blogs. The Journal’s Carl Bialik focuses on a different gutsy call Belichick could have made but didn’t. At Yahoo Sports, Dan Wetzel says the head linesman, not Belichick, made a bad call on that pivotal play.

If you couldn’t stomach Baltimore’s 16-0 shutout of Cleveland on Monday night, ESPN’s James Walker recaps a game that featured “the hopeful vs. the hopeless.”

* * *

It was an impressive and memorable debut for Kentucky’s John Wall. His 15-foot jumper at the buzzer saved the Wildcats in their too-close-for-comfort 72-70 victory over huge underdog Miami (Ohio) on Monday night. The Lexington Herald-Leader’s Mark Story says Wall lived up to the hype.

* * *

Baseball has retired Jackie Robinson’s No. 42. Hockey has retired Wayne Gretzky’s No. 99. Now LeBron James wants the NBA to retire No. 23 to honor Michael Jordan’s career and contributions to the game. James is already willing to switch from 23 to 6, the number he’s worn for the U.S. Olympic team. The Chicago Tribune’s Rick Morrissey disagrees. “There’s a very good chance another player will come along soon to make us think Jordan is the second-best player in NBA history,” Morrissey writes. “Some people believe that player already is here — James. Or maybe Kobe Bryant. Or, who knows, maybe Bucks rookie guard Brandon Jennings, who dropped 55 points on Golden State on Saturday.”

There’s no such player in New York, however (except one of those guys visits). While the Knicks are a hopeless 1-9 already, New York magazine’s Will Leitch thinks true fans can endure another tumultuous season.

* * *

Something’s definitely not working when, less than two years into a four-year contract, a soccer manager is sacked, as they like to say in Europe. That’s what transpired Monday when Scotland fired George Burley. It was bad enough that Scotland failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. But losses in a couple of recent friendly matches precipitated Burley’s ouster. In the Scotsman, Ross Malcolm says Burley was destined to fail.

* * *

Mornings, circa 1989: Make coffee, grab sports section of newspaper, read game stories, devour box scores.

Mornings, 2009: Make coffee, power up computer, seek interesting sports reads. Game stories and box scores? That’s so last night.

Game stories are a throwback to another era, certainly, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be relevant for today’s sports fan. The National Sports Journalism Center’s Jason Fry, a Fix alumnus, makes a passionate plea for a reinvented game story. His colleague Dave Kindred says it’s wrong to say game stories are unnecessary because “Everyone Already Knows What Happened.” We don’t.

Readers who aren’t getting information from newspapers likely are going to the Internet. In the New York Times, Noam Cohen discovers that ESPN columnist Bill Simmons is among the best-known sports columnists, and his success has come despite most of his work not appearing in print.

– Tip of the Fix cap to reader Don Hartline and fellow Fixer David Roth.

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Twice Pats defenders tackled Joseph Addai at the one-yard line. The first time, there were about 75 seconds left on the clock. The second time, there were 36. By the time the Colts scored the go-ahead touchdown and extra point, just 16 seconds remained, and that proved too little time for Tom Brady to lead a drive to set up an attempt for a game-winning field goal.

Allowing an opponent to score and seize the lead is even more unconventional than going for it on fourth-and-two from your own 29-yard line. But it may have been the best bet for the Pats to retain a chance to win, as some posters at PatsFans.com argued. Once Addai made it to the one-yard line, a go-ahead touchdown seemed like a given, so, this line of reasoning goes, better to get the TD over with and get the ball back.

Chuck Bower of zeusfootball.com ran the numbers for league-average teams and found differently — tackling Addai was the right move. But plug in the Colts’ and Pats’ above-average offenses — which make both an Indy TD and a Pats FG more likely — and letting Addai score on that first run would have added two percentage points to New England’s probability of winning.

The problem is, this would have taken some very nuanced coaching from Belichick, and similar thinking from his tacklers. “Can players make such a split decision on a binary situation: ‘Either I stop him exactly at the 1 yard line or let him score?’ ” Bower wrote in an email. “For example, if they could have tackled him at the three-yard line, they’re better off not letting him score.”

Further reading: A decision in the 1998 Super Bowl to let the winning points score was blasted at the time. If you still can’t get over Belichick’s fourth-down call, here’s statistical analysis on whether it was the right call from Mike Harris, Wayne Winston, Brian Burke, zeusfootball and Chase Stuart. And you can debate the call with fellow Journal readers here.

Update: Brian Burke crunches the numbers. And for more on Belichick’s decision to go for it on fourth down, here are takes from Luis DeLoureiro, David Roher, Bill Barnwell and the Wall Street Journal.