Drama in Enver: The Unspoken Truth

While the Jay Cutler era is finally over in Enver, there is still a bitter taste in many a mouth over what transpired. I for one am glad I don't have to see Cutler's man bangs on ESPN anymore, and was getting even sicker of the Favre-like coverage on the matter. Since Cutler was traded to Chicago the controversy has died down. Every possible angle of what went wrong was covered, from ownership and coach secretly shopping the QB to Cutler himself not returning attempted phone calls thus spurning the trade. I waited and waited for some so-called expert to pick up on it but they never did. Before I touch on what I think happened, let's first focus on the drama itself.

First, I refer to the city of the Broncos as Enver. Needless to say, there hasn't been a "D" in Enver for years. In fact you'd have to go back to Tom Jackson and the "Orange Crush" to find defense in Denver. That was in the 70's.

When Enver blew a 3 game division lead with 3 games to go this past season, the blame fell on ex head coach Mike Shanahan. Enver replaced the head coach with Patriots Offensive Coordinator 32 year old Josh McDaniels. The youngest head coach in the NFL promtly began shopping Cutler, whom many considered the next John Elway. When word got to Cutler all hell broke loose. Cutler believed he was untradeable, and if that was the case he should have played better. 17-20 as a starter and almost as many turnovers as TD passes doesn't exactly scream John Elway. Neither does missing out on the playoffs every year Cutler has been the starter.

So when McDaniels began shopping Cutler for Matt Cassel, the QB McDaniels molded into an 11 game winner in New England when Tom Brady blew out his knee, people (unexplainably) were shocked. Cutler went into diva mode and quickly began bashing the coach and organization for "listening" to trade offers. Cutler obviously doesn't know this is a business, and definitely didn't get that memo stating "Shut up and play".

Even if we ignored both sides of the story (trade bait and diva mode) I believe Cutler and McDaniels relationship was doomed from the beginning. One man (in my opinion) can be blamed for all of this, and he is ex-coach Mike Shanahan. It's no secret Cutler was pissed when Shanahan got the ax for another dismal year, but Cutler was never going to take the blame for it. As we've learned in sports, there is always a fall guy. So please, don't insult my (or your) intelligence by believing that Shanahan wasn't the voice in Cutler's ear as a result of his firing. 

Shanahan just seems like a snake. Part of the reason I think this would never surface is because nobody really cares about Rocky Mountain sports. There is a west coast media, an east coast (bias) media, a mid west media and then there is Enver. Anything can fly under the radar in Enver because only Enver media cares about Enver sports, let alone covers it. It just seems to logical for Shanahan to whisper rumors into Cutler's head. Things like: The organization is going to re-build. The new offense will not be a run-n-gun. You can't be better than Philip Rivers without me. Or the most logical: They are shopping you around.

While all the drama was focused on Bronco ownership shopping around the next John Elway, Shanahan was lying in the weeds, stirring up controversy for the organization that just handed him a pink slip and a cardboard box. It makes to much sense for a disgruntled ex-coach to get a hold of his former players and tell them where they're at isn't the place to be. It's not like Shanahan hopes the Broncos succeed after he leaves. He wants them to suck, he wants to say "I told you so". Don't let the naysayers blow smoke up your hole. Shanahan is the reason this even became news. Don't be blind to the fact that organizations in any sport "listen" to trade offers, they would be stupid not to. Obviously the Yankees wouldn't  care for a Jeter trade, but Jay Cutler isn't a winner. 

Enjoy throwing passes to horrible receivers in the windy city. When the S hits the fan in Chicago, Shanahan will have already gotten out of Dodge. His motive wasn't to make you better, it was to make sure Enver wouldn't win upon his departure.

-P

MARCH MADNESS 2009

It's finally here.... the moment ( one shining moment?) we've been waiting for. The day even a good economy didn't want to see. Several sources predict that 1.2 billion dollars will be lost in productivity due to the majority of the nation's workforce watching "the dance." The only way this might change is because there a less people working now. Enough of the politics, here are the games...UPSET SPECIALS IN CAPS

EAST REGION

pitt, tenn, fsu, PORTLAND ST, ucla, nova, texas, duke.

pitt, florida st, villanova, duke.

pitt, duke.

East Region Winner: Pitt

Midwest Region

louisville, osu, ARIZONA, wake, west virginia, kansas, USC, mich st

louisville, wake, kansas, mich st.

louisville, kansas

Midwest Region Winner: Loisville

South Region

north carolina, lsu, W.KENTUCKY, zags, arizona st, syracuse, clemson, oklahoma

north carolina, zags, arizona st, oklahoma

north carolina, arizona st.

South Region Winner: North Carolina

West Region: 

uconn, texa&m, purdue, wash, UTAH STATE, mizzou, MARYLAND, Memphis

uconn, wash, mizzou, memphis

uconn, memphis

West Region Winner: Uconn

Final 4

Pitt over North Carolina

Louisville over Uconn

Championship Game:

Pitt 82 Louisville 77

Don't take my word for it. By Sunday this bracket will be in flames. 

THE BATTLE FOR LOS ANGELES

The economy sucks, we all know that. While we struggle to make ends meet, owners of some of the most successful sports franchises like to pretend they are to. To that, I say pathetic. There are 5 Major League baseball teams in California, but only two are relevant, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (naming rights are another story). The A's, the Bondsless Giants and the Triple-A Padres stink.

This off-season has made teams and fans alike already decide if they want to be contenders or pretenders, and the two most important teams in So Cal have clearly decided. While the Angels have chosen to rob their fans, the Dodgers are taking the high road & and earned my appreciation. Let's begin with the Doyers.

A team that was oh so close to the World Series seemed prime for a title run going into Spring Training. M.I.A was the slugger that carried them there and along the way ignited a city with a populous of over 3 million. Manny Ramirez, aka MANRAM (for the sake of my wounded shift key) was no where close to a deal. With evil-agent Scott Boras at his side, MANRAM and the Dodgers were at ends, a dark cloud was looming over LA with the thought of seeing MANRAM go to the bay and all was looking bleak. 

Dodgers owner, Frank McCourt's offers ranged from child's play to a slap in the face and neither side was about to budge. Rightfully so, fans were losing their minds. When the negotiations seemed lost, it appeared that McCourt would settle for what he had on the roster and compete in the crappy NL West, citing the economy as an excuse. For what it's worth, the value of a sports franchise is very two sided. The side everyone knows is the payrolls vs. the salary caps and estimated revenues. The estimated part is the joke. As teams tried to act like they would be losing money they forgot smart people (like my readers) know that so much CASH is brought in via parking, concessions and merchandise. CASH valued so high that it didn't leave a paper trail for taxation or the impression that a team was on the verge of financially struggling.

What was so boggling about the MANRAM negotiations was that the Dodgers were playing dumb and playing with fire. They knew MANRAM was the reason for their success, but they forgot that he pays for himself. Last season when MANRAM came to LA every home game was a sellout which meant full parking lots, more food sold, #99 jerseys and dredlocks sold and an abundance of televised game revenues including playoff shares and ticket sales. The best part? THE DODGERS DIDNT PAY ANY OF MANRAM'S 2008 SALARY. So in doing the math, the MANRAM era brought all profit to the McCourts. 

Warning: YOU DO NOT WANT AN ANGRY MANRAM.

Fast forward to today's signing. The Dodger's got lucky and the fans can collectively breathe a sigh of relief. The Dodgers now have enough time to sell those lingering season ticket holdouts, earn nationally televised games and show their fans that they plan on being contenders at any cost (although very cheap, for the best RH in baseball history). In my opinion, the Dodgers would have still been in the green if they had offered a 3yr 70 million dollar deal with a player option for a 4th year that was heavily incentive based. Regardless, they will be getting some of my money this season.

Now to a team that won't be getting my scratch this year. The Angels won 100 games last year. They made the big mid season acquisition in Mark Texieria. They also bowed out in the divisional round of the playoffs again. Every year ends the same, only to bring new hope and a prayer that Angels owner Arte Moreno will shell out the big bucks for a bat that will get them over the hump. Rejoice Halos Nation! The big signing this off season... manager Mike Scoscia. UGH! The Angels did sign an aging Bobby Abreu, but all that did was create an even bigger crowd for 3 outfield spots. The fans wanted Texeria, the Angels should have offered him the money to get it done.

With all that hasn't happened, the Angels have announced loud and clear, "We won't spend our money because we don't have to." Owners aren't fools, Moreno knows that they have to do nothing to win the AL West. With their boring brand of "Angels Baseball"(small ball) only to see it bite them in the arse every October. If there's one thing we've learned from Dane Cook it's that "THERE'S ONLY 1 OCTOBER!" Why then, year in and year out, do the Angels do this? Cause they make that money. OC's finest roll out to regular season games to drop cash, even knowing in the back of their minds that the present team can't win it all. They might as well have every parking, ticket sales, food or merchandise employee/vendor wear black ski masks. 

The roles in LA have reversed. The team in the NL will now slug it out, while the team in the AL will bunt it's way to victory. In this economy, screw it, in any economy, I want the most bang for my buck. I'm denouncing affiliations and switching to blue. TRUE BLUE. Don't say I'm jumping on the bandwagon, I'm driving it. 

The Battle for Los Angeles is over

The Truth about Notre Shame

Now that college football's recruiting season is done, and all of the over-hyped high school players have been graded, I once again cannot notice who always seems to be in the top 15 every year. Notre Dame once again has been able to land top recruits from all over the country to turn the Irish around; bringing a proud football school back to national prominence. Let's face it, there are a lot of people that love Notre Dame football. Probably greater than the number of those that hate it. No matter what their record, win or lose, Notre Dame always grabs headlines. 

This season's recruiting class for Notre Dame is ranked 14th in the country. Last year the Irish boasted the #1 ranked recruiting class with 10 of the top 150 players in the nation. In 2006 the Irish gobbled up another 10 of the top 150 including the #1 overall rated player in QB Jimmy Clausen. With all of this talent, Notre Dame should continue to be dominant in college football.

HUH?!? Are you as confused as me? So many "great" recruiting classes, so many "top" players. Notre Dame is 10-15 in the past 2 seasons. Which means they win about as often as Charlie Weis exercises. The sad thing is outside of their recent blowouts with USC, Notre Dame typically plays a schedule that could get them 9-10 wins and a possible BCS berth. If you look at Weis' era minus the success he had with Tyrone Willingham's players the Irish are awful.

Yet every year the Irish sign 5 star and 4 star players?

Enter Rivals.com and ESPNinsider. Rivals.com specializes in college football, offering scouting reports and grades on high school football players. Every year Notre Dame has players that rank high but stink in college. There are passionate ND fans all over the country. Rivals and ESPN know this. Envision a proud Irish grad walking down the street and seeing a news stand with a Rivals magazine that has Notre Dame on the cover with a headline like, "Irish Land Top Recruits!" Think he buys the magazine? Rivals, trying to sell subscriptions, knows it. By featuring Notre Dame's "prized recruiting class" they are just blowing smoke and selling mags. The rankings, I feel, are skewed for this reason alone. This sort of thing is over looked and is the reason you see Notre Dame in the pre season top 25 every year.

It really favors both sides. Magazines fly off the racks, and Notre Dame can hide their sub par seasons with excitement for the next one featuring elite talent. It's the circle of lies.

The top talent every year ends up everywhere but South Bend. I'm not alone in this observation. The notion of parity in college football is absurd. Washington finished 0-11, but USC (11-1) got the top national recruit. That's why the same teams compete for the (mythical) National Championship every year.

We now know Weis just cannot bring the top tier talent to Notre Dame that is required to be a 10 win team year in and year out. But it's really not his fault. Notre Dame has its own nose to high in the air to realize their football program isn't as desireable as it used to be. It's a cold weather school. ( So rule out kids from So Cal, Florida and Texas) The student body is predominantly white and catholic. The academic standards are to high to get players with low test scores in and list goes on and on. 

Face it Irish fans. Notre Dame isn't a football power any more. Don't be fooled by the fine print and bright colors that grace the magazines you covet. The answers are on the field.

-P

NFL Championship Sunday Recap Part 2

Pittsburgh 23 Baltimore 14

This game had all the makings of a street brawl and lived up to the hype. On the opening kickoff two Ravens players had to be helped to the sidelines. Along with big time blocks, Willis McGahee's head flew into the third row. The hitter himself, Ryan Clark, even went down. Was it the hit of the year? No doubt, but was it legal? Debatable. Pittsburgh surprisingly dominated both sides of the ball. Defensively, they kept Joe Flacco and an above average rushing attack in check. Offensively, they were able to control the clock, move the chains when they had to and keep Big Ben upright for the most part. I had picked Baltimore because I felt they would be the aggressor and hold down the Steelers rushing game. Willie Parker was effective and Pittsburgh was the one laying wood. The Steelers won a tough game against a great defense and now head to their NFL leading 7th Super Bowl.

Big Ben is a very underrated QB. He has proven time and time again he can win the close games and win them ugly. I rarely see him kill his team in the postseason. Statistically, his worst postseason game was in the Super Bowl; Pittsburgh won anyways. He is the best at extending plays by escaping the pocket and blitzers from the secondary have a real tough time bringing him down.

Speaking of QB's, Joe Flacco finally had the game we all thought he would as a rookie QB in the playoffs. The play not to lose mentality was not going to be enough to win in Pittsburgh. However, he is the real deal. By going out on a limb and drafting Flacco, Baltimore won't have to worry about the QB position for years, a position that has plagued them for seasons. Expect Baltimore to be back next season.

One quick award/record of note. The Guiness Book of World Records sent the following to Steelers punter Mitch Berger: First NFL punter to successfully punt a football with his knee cap.

Finally, I can't say enough about the coaching abilities of Mike Tomlin. When rookie WR Limas Sweed went Braylon Edwards and dropped a sure touchdown he was greeted at the sidelines by Coach Tomlin. Ordinarily you would think a tongue lashing was in order. later that drive Sweed delivered a monster block, and all but sealed the game on a crucial 3rd down catch late in the game. When other coaches might have buried the rookie, Tomlin kept it cool. Being as young as he is, his attitude with handling things speaks loudly on a veteran football team. The respect the have for him is one large reason the Steelers didn't taper off after Bill Cowher's departure.

NFL Championship Sunday Recap Part 1

First, I would like to apologize for not getting my picks recorded for the Conference championship, very unprofessional. Yet I can confirm I went 1-1, and have the text to prove it. However, I'm not so sure it even matters. After an 0-4 divisional weekend, I doubt anyone even cares or even worse puts money down. But I've said it once and I'll say it again: When home teams, scratch that, home favorites go 1-3, a lot of people will have bad weekends. On to the recap.

Arizona 32 Philadelphia 25

The Cards are going to the Super Bowl! Nailed it! Home favorites are one thing, but home dogs? Your almost guaranteed a cover in my view. They almost went old school Arizona cardinals and blew a 24-6 halftime lead and trailed 25-24 with 5 minutes left in the game. The 13th disciple, Kurt Warner a game clinching TD drive, sending Andy Reid and the eagles home to go shave those beards!

Quick Observations & AWCB Awards!

- The Saddam Hussein Award for Disappearing when the people who counted on you, needed you the most goes to: Brian Westbrook. 12 carries 45 yards. 2 receptions 26 yards. Westbrook was a non-factor. Philly's only shot of winning was a balanced attack featuring a lot of Westbrook. 

-The Terrell Owens Sideline Cancer Achievement Award. The winner is: Anquan Boldin. Before I rant, I'm a huge fan of this guy. Dude broke his face 2 months ago, came back quick and helped Arizona get to that game. He was taken out of a package in the final game winning drive and went nuts on the sideline. Not only was he yelling at the Offensive Coordinator while he was trying to call crucial plays in the game, but 'Quan also skipped out on the celebration. Sources reported that he left the field immediately and went home. Way to Savor the moment!

-The Rube Baker Award for Excellent Accuracy: Donovan McNabb.  For those that don't know Rube Baker, he's the catcher in the movie Major League, with a throwing problem. (No not a going problem, or a growing problem. Seen that commercial a little to much) McNabb killed Philly drives and big play opportunities. He threw several balls behind guys, including under throwing some routes with a lot of open field ahead. Including the 3rd and 10 with 1:00 remaining where Donovan threw behind a crossing route that could have easily been a first down. Even still a 4th and 3 is better than 4th and 10.

-Larry Fitzgerald has put together the best performance by a WR in NFL playoff history. My question is how the man hasn't been double teamed yet. Teams just can't be missing assignments that regularly. Makes me wonder what the scheme is to stop the Cardinals?

NFL Rumblings and Grumbling Part Deux...

Some quick thoughts I couldn't add without my last blog turning into a novel.

-Plain and simple: Eli Manning and the Giants are not the same team without Plaxico "Cheddar Bob" Burress. Last weekend they looked nothing like the team that began the season 10-1, and more like the team that finished the regular season 1-4. When Eli would get in trouble he'd throw up jump balls to Plax who has so much size over an NFL corner. He was the driving force behind their win in Green Bay in last years NFC title game and caught the game winner in the Super Bowl. The distraction of him was gone. The fact he was gone made the Giants an unbalanced offense and a very beatable team.

- Donovan McNabb is the most underrated and under appreciated QB maybe in NFL history. I can understand being unappreciated playing in Philly, the freaking people there booed Santa Claus. Aside from T.O, who I would consider drastically overrated, McNabb has never had a legit wide receiver. He will be going to his 5th NFC championship in the past 8 years. He is still a mobile threat and has an absolute cannon. 

- Dan Marino Vs. Joe Flacco. Dan Marino is the most bitter man on TV when it comes to giving props to other QB's. Since the majority of people feel careers are defined by Super Bowl titles, I can't wait to see the look on his face if Flacco wins it all. My prediction is that next week Marino will take the Steelers, sighting Flacco's inability to make things happen against the "Steel Curtain". 

For the record, I haven't given Flacco the credit he deserves. He was given a legit D, and basically told not to make critical mistakes and he hasn't. Flacco has a big-time arm, and has made some good decisions in situations where you might see QB's with more experience disappear. 

- The Chargers finally have a legit #1 wideout in Vincent Jackson. He has size, great hands and big play ability. After Chris Chambers went Bobby Fischer this past season, Vjax emerged as the lead target for Philip Rivers and did not disappoint. His ability to stretch the field and in doing so keeping safeties honest, will allow Antonio Gates to have a lot of room to run those underneath routes. With what seems to be the end of an era in LT being the driving force behind the San Diego offense, Vjax brings stability to what could become a pass happy bolts team with the NFL's leading passer in Rivers.

- Darren Sproles is who we thought he was. A great change of pace back, that with enough space can change a game. But in all seriousness, Sproles is not an every down back. Sproles becomes a free agent this off season and San Diego should do all they can to re sign him for his multiple threats. However if another team offers him more money to be the every down back, San Diego shouldn't pursue him. Find a solid RB in the draft, and I have a feeling LT will be back serving crow to all the haters next year.

- I do not like Hines Ward.

-Everyone's "sexy" picks for surprise seasons next year? Houston and San Francisco.

- My two picks: Packers. Bengals. 

-Take time this week to notice the size of Ben Rothelisberger's face. As one radio personality has said, "his face has audibled into the spread formation".

-While Micheal Vick sits in jail for killing dogs, which I think is wrong, Ray Lewis will be in the AFC Championship. If you don't remember, before the Ravens won the Lombardi in 2000. A man was murdered after a fight at a nightclub with Ray Lewis and his crew. Ray Lewis killed a man and ratted his boys out to avoid jail time.

Thats what's real...

NFL Rumblings and Grumbling Part 1

Well the weekend that was the NFL divisional round saw many things, including yours truly going 0-4 in his picks. That would typically be bad, but when you consider that only 1 of 4 home favorites actually won, I know that I wasn't the only one with a dismal weekend. The biggest shock to all was the complete obliteration of the Carolina Panthers at the hands of what Vegas considered to be double digit dogs; the Arizona Cardinals. Not to take anything away from their great win, but if you told me Panthers QB Jake Delhomme would turn it over 3 times I would have thought about taking the Cards. Well he turned it over 6, I say 6 times. Meanwhile "Father Time" Kurt Warner delivered another stellar performance even without having Anquan Boldin at his disposal. With the win Kurt Warner also earned $1,000,000 in incentives just for that one game. The most amazing thing to me is that even Arizona fans have no idea what's going on. You won't hear any, "We told you" coming from them because they can't believe the NFC Championship will be in Glendale, Az either.

Now on to my Chargers spew. Yes the Chargers had a great final leg of the season. Yes they beat Peyton Manning in the playoffs. Sure they lost to the better team in the Steelers. But let me ask you this Charger fan: Do you honestly feel better about the team? Do you feel there's a serious sense of direction for the future? In watching the game with Bolts fans, I noticed they all felt the same way. Norv Turner looked completely overwhelmed by the whole thing. I'm sure most would agree that coaches get a little to much credit for positive things and a little to much blame for negative things. With that being said, am I the only that believes the Chargers would still be better of with Marty Schottenheimer at the helm? He took over a crappy team and instilled a hard nosed attitude that transcended the team ultimately to a 14-2 record. The knock on Marty was that he couldn't win in the playoffs (5-13) and with a Charger team full of expectations he was fired.

The NFL is no joke. It's a man's game. The playoffs are not gimmies. While Marty is the goat, we should look deeper into it before passing such judgement on what I consider to be an excellent football coach. All of his losses in the postseason have come by 5 points or less. He also hasn't been blessed with a truly good quarterback during his playoff run. (He did have Montana in KC, but his legendary years were well passed him) Finally, Marty's coup de grace with the chargers occured in 2004. A 14-2 record, home field advantage and a first round exit to Tom Brady, Bill Bellicheat and the eventual Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots. Like I said, the NFL playoffs are no joke. Give Marty a break.

On the other side of the coaching spectrum is newly retired Tony Dungy. I respect the guy a lot as a coach and a man. All that aside, he has been given a free pass in the media. His 9-10 playoff record is respectable, but his 6 one and dones is not. Between Tampa's dominance of the NFC and Indianapolis' reign as an AFC power, Dungy went one and done often. In Tampa, he couldn't win the big one. His first year removed Tampa wins it all. Then he gets the Indy job, and handed a sure fire Hall of Fame QB in Peyton Manning. His lone Super Bowl win as coach came against Rex Grossman and the Bears. Grand total: 7-6 with Manning and a home field advantage known as the RCA dome. 

All this makes me wonder. Dungy's lone Super Bowl win makes him better than Marty? Take out that run and Dungy was 5-10. Marty got burned at the stake every playoff loss. You cannot say the same for Dungy. Finally, winning the big one (Super Bowl) is the crowning achievement for an NFL career. But for those legends without rings, it haunts their status forever. Most people when putting a list together rank in terms of titles. So Dungy's 1 is better than Marty's 0. Would you rather have Trent Dilfer (1) over Dan Marino (0)? Would you build your current team around Eli Manning (1) over Drew Brees (0)? Let me put this into perspective. Nicholas Cage has won an Oscar for "Best Actor" while Clint Eastwood has not. Is Nic Cage the better actor? Please people! Football domination by one man doesnt result in a title the way Jordan did in the NBA. The Super Bowl Championship should not be the be all end all of an NFL legacy.

That's Part 1. Part 2 up tomorrow will consist of some quick thoughts on last weekend's games...

Get Your NFL Playoff Previews and Predictions Here.

Well this weekend bring us the Divisional Playoffs in the NFL. A lot of these games are highly anticipated rematches of the regular season. Aside from just predicting who will advance to the Conference Championships I would also like to pick these games against the spread. If your new to betting on NFL games (like me) these are much harder because the spreads are always relatively close. I'd like to think that with 8 teams left vying for the Lombardi, we have eliminated all the pretenders; allegedly. Which brings me to the first game. 

PANTHERS (-10) over Cardinals

Now, I know that this isn't the first scheduled T.V game, but I felt I had to lead it off because of that brilliant introduction to the blog. To me the Cards are pretenders. Plain and simple. The wild card victory over Atlanta was expected but still seemed fluky. A flea-flicker jump ball for a TD, and a huge defensive breakdown led to a 72 yard TD. Plus that weird fumble they returned for a TD. Not to mention a hungry home crowd and a rookie QB on the other sidelines. All of that is gone this weekend. Carolina boasts a strong D, an amazing running game and pound for pound maybe the best player in the NFL in Steve Smith.

Finally the Cards were 3-5 on the road and were outscored 151-62 in those games. Carolina is 8-0 at home. The Cardinals can't run the football, Carolina will be able to harass the "King of the Flat Top", Kurt Warner all game.

Prediction: Carolina 34 Cardinals 20

TITANS (-3) over Ravens

This is a very tricky game to pick. The Titans team identity is to run the ball and control the clock. Let Kerry Collins manage the game and score just enough for their stingy D to hold down the opponents' offense. To save myself from typing that exact description all over again, Baltimore is a twin of Tennessee. When they met in Week 5 it was a low scoring and heavily physical affair. I expect more of the same tomorrow. A field goal spread is very dangerous no matter who you pick, but I feel this spread might be based on how well Baltimore handled Miami in what was a great matchup for the Ravens. Yet while the Ravens are the "sexy" pick to go to the Super Bowl, Tennessee is the favorite, playing at home and will unleash their lowest scored upon D against a rookie QB. While Kerry Collins isn't Tom Brady, he is a veteran, and that is what counts this time of year.

Prediction: Titans 20 Ravens 13.

GIANTS (-4) over Eagles

A rematch of a rematch of two NFC Division rivals that featured a series split with both road teams winning games. Trend? Not this week. That Week 15 win for the Eagles was a must just to have a sliver of hope down the stretch. The Eagles found themselves in the postseason because nobody else seemingly wanted to go. (see Oakland 31 Tampa Bay 24) I however tend to look at the entire picture. The Giants realistically had nothing to play for and were in the middle of dealing with Drama even Dallas would appreciate. (see Plaxico aka Harris Smith who shot himself in a night... eerrrr was shot at an Applebee's)

Aside from a 71 yard TD pass last weekend at Minnesota the Eagles offense stunk against a Minny D that was missing two key players on D. So how could I see them moving the ball against a well rested Giants D on the road? I CAN'T. Ex Charger and Reining Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning (somebody wake me up) should be able to move the chains consistently against an Eagles team that I feel will just run out of gas; and not soon enough because Andy Reid's playoff beard is getting nasty.

Prediction: Giants 27 Eagles 14

Chargers (+6) over STEELERS

San Diego... Super Chargers! The 'Bolts come into this game as arguably the best 9-8 team in NFL history and are the hottest team in Football. The Steelers on the other hand are banged up. Big Ben enters this game 2 weeks removed from his 3rd career concussion, Willie Parker isn't the same runner he was before that fractured fibula a year ago. All that plus they face a Chargers D that is on the rise after hiring Ron Rivera to D coordinator. WARNING: THIS STAT MIGHT MAKE YOUR HEAD EXPLODE... Norv Turner is 12-1 in December and January as Chargers Head Coach. His one loss? At undefeated New England last year, with a body double of LT standing on the sidelines, and Philip Rivers ACL resembling chewed up spaghetti.

In a game I feel is gonna be very low scoring, field position is the biggest factor, not the home crowd. The Chargers Darren Sproles is averaging 24 yards a kick return and almost 11 a punt return. The steelers host of returners 20 yards on kickoffs and 6 on punts. The Chargers punter Mike Scifres went video game on the Colts last week pinning them inside the 10 yard line 4 times. Pittsburgh's punter Mitch Berger was released for 3 weeks this season. 

Even without LT, the Chargers and Philip Rivers are in F-U mode to the rest of the league. They have a ton of momentum and even with LT more than likely out I still like them to cover the 6 points. Drum Roll Please......

Prediction: Chargers 16 Pittsburgh 13

The Most Fraudulent "Title" in Sports

Welcome to Another West Coast Blog! As a first time blogger with a passion for sports debate, I felt compelled to offer up my takes, ideas and facts about the sports world that encompasses us all. This blog (for the most part) will be dedicated to exposing the evil that is the East Coast bias, and its stranglehold on sports fans and the majority of sports media. I aim to bring enlightenment to the globe (if possible) that the West coast is more than beaches, celebrities and great weather.

With the long and drawn out CFB bowl season coming to a close I'd like to shed light on the biggest myth in all of organized sports: The National Championship. In 1936 the AP released its first poll containing College Football's "National Champion". Today the AP is accompanied by the Bowl Championship Series standings, both crown a "National Champion" for College Football. While the AP consists of sports writers and a "human vote", the BCS is a series of mathematical equations and percentages that give us two teams to compete for the BCS Championship.

Let me stress that again. The BCS selects two teams to compete for the BCS Championship. Before the BCS the AP selected its "National Champion" based on a vote of who the best team was. Since there has never been a playoff to decide the National Champion, how can any of us determine who really was the best team in College Football in any year? The answer: We can't. Until there is a playoff in College Football we will continue to crown a "National Champion" based on a beauty contest (Media and Coaches Polls) and a series of numbers (BCS). It will remain the only major organized sport without a playoff

For those that oppose a playoff in College Football, the common belief is that the regular season is a playoff. The Utah Utes went 13-0 and will be rewarded with an HD view of the "National Championship" and a slim hope of a split championship. The argument that Utah didn't play anybody is ridiculous. 6-0 vs. teams that made bowls, and a beat down of Alabama (a heavy favorite). USC could be playing the best football of anyone in the country, and Texas has to watch the team they beat on a neutral field in Oklahoma, play for the "National Championship".  What a year for playoff right?

Wrong. In my estimation, it will never happen and that my friends, is a damn shame. Why? Money. A couple years ago Kansas' Head Coach Mark Mangino cited his teams loss to Texas on some horrible calls by the ref's as a scam. "BCS made a difference in this game... dollar signs". The BCS grants 6 conferences as Automatic Qualifiers for BCS bowl games. Teams not from AQ have huge mountains to climb just to get in to a BCS game, let alone the BCS Championship. 

So this year when undefeated (at the time) Boise State was sent to the Poinsettia Bowl and 4 loss Virginia Tech automatically qualified for the Orange Bowl (BCS) cries of foul went unheard. The payout for the Poinsettia Bowl winner this season was $750,000. The payout for the Orange Bowl was $17,000,000. The sad thing is Boise State could compete with Virginia Tech, but BCS big wigs have given mediocre conferences like the ACC and the Big East AQ's and therefore don't even believe Boise could hold Virginia Tech's jock strap. The relationship between conferences and bowl traditions has ruined the spirit of competition. The reason VT goes to the Orange Bowl is because the winner of the ACC has a contract with the Orange Bowl, not because their 4 losses is more deserving. Just like all the power 6 football conferences. 

Solution: Playoff!

Eliminate the 6 power conferences.

The top 8 teams enter a playoff to determine a true National Champion (1st ever). Popular belief says that determining team 8 over team 9 is the same as the BCS determining team 2 over team 3. Wrong again. The debate for 8th place and 9th place in the polls will not be the same as 2 vs 3. At the end of the year there are a legit 4 or 5 teams that can win it all. Pitting 8 vs 9 is a waste.

Seed the teams and place them in bowls geographically, adding say the Holiday Bowl and the Cotton Bowl which would always be quarterfinal bowls along with 2 BCS bowls. The 4 BCS bowls rotate between quarters and semi finals each year with the final being the National Championship. (BCS bowls also rotate for this honor each year. Based on this season's final BCS standings my playoffs would look like this:

Oklahoma vs Penn State @ Cotton Bowl

Florida vs Texas Tech @ Orange Bowl

Texas vs Utah @ Holiday Bowl

Alabama vs USC @ Fiesta Bowl

1 vs 8 against 4 vs 5 in Rose Bowl

2 vs 7 against 3 vs 6 in Sugar Bowl

National Championship Game at Rotating BCS Bowl.

While the system isn't error proof, it does offer up a scenario in which an 8 team playoff occurs without ruining the integrity of the major bowl games. Other teams that qualify for "non championship" bowls can receive a capped payout amount. Most schools that have financial advantages over others receive most of their money from boosters anyways. 

So when you see either Oklahoma or Florida holding up that crystal football tonight remember that it is the BCS championship, and NOT a National Championship. We have never known a true National Champion, and until there is a playoff we will continue to be deprived.

Greed is the drive behind College Football, not providing a clear cut National Champion.