Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s election week. On Tuesday, all around this great country, Americans ages 18 and over decided who we thought would be best to run our nation for the next two years. Some would say that it is the most significant day of the year, though you’d get an argument from me, who says that the first Monday in April and the day Madden is released are far more important. But anyways, with a new House of Representatives and one-third of a new Senate, there are definitely some new bills that need to be passed. A brief preview:
I---It is illegal to have a re-match in the title game
It’s November, which can only mean three things. We are very close to the greatest American holiday, Thanksgiving. We are very close to the greatest season on the calendar, which would be Eggnog season. And we are in the middle of the debate about who should play for the title in college football. Last season we had it easy. USC and Texas were head and shoulders better then every other team in the nation, and proved it by playing one of the greatest football games many have ever seen. This year won’t be so easy. We have penciled in the winner of next week’s mega-battle between Ohio State and Michigan for the title game for about six weeks now. But there still needs to be an opponent. And the way I see it, there are three choices. One is an undefeated Big East team (Louisville or Rutgers). Two is a one-loss team from the either the SEC (Florida, Arkansas or Auburn), the Big 12 (Texas) or the Pac-10 (USC or Cal). And three would be the loser of the big game in a rematch. So who will it be? Unfortunately, the answer depends entirely on who your talking to and what their interpretation of the B.C.S. is.
In my opinion, going 12-1 in the SEC is tougher then going 12-1 in any other conference or going undefeated in the Big East, so if Florida, Arkansas or Auburn finishes with that record, then they deserve the right to play for the trophy. (Note I said ‘Finishes with THAT record’. This is implying that if Auburn has an 11-1 record but doesn’t win the SEC title game, they should not go to the National Championship.) If everyone in the SEC has two or more losses, the next team up should be an un-beaten Big East team. Yes, the Big East is by far the worst of the B.C.S. conferences, but going an entire season without losing is still a huge accomplishment. After them, a one-loss USC Trojan squad should be next in line. If USC finishes 11-1, they will have beaten Arkansas, Cal and Notre Dame, so they will deserve it. Following them are the one-loss Texas Longhorns, whose only defeat came to Ohio State way back on September 9. And then last is the loser of the Michigan-OSU game. But the reason that this is last is not because I don’t think these are the two best teams in the land. It’s because it will take away from the title game. This is because the loser will have already gotten their chance at number one and lost it, so they shouldn’t be given another shot. And what will happen if Michigan wins next weekend but then they meet again and Ohio State win? Will both teams claim the title? The rematch is not the way to go, even if the teams deserve it.
II---Losing by 18 on your home field revokes right to make Super Bowl comparisons
This bill obviously refers to the Bears performance last Sunday, which was nastier then the fight seen in ‘Borat’. If the Arizona game wasn’t proof that the team is far from perfect, then this Miami game definitely was. The offense was horrible, led by Rex Grossman. I’m a big fan of his, always have been, but there are times when he releases his inner Cade McNown and just starts throwing up junk. It seemed that when Bernard Berrian went down in the first quarter, the offense didn’t know what to do without there deep threat, so they just stated dropping the ball. The defense was bad, missing tackles and allowing Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown to run at will on them. And the special teams wasn’t special at all, as return man Devin Hester muffed two punts and didn’t make any sort of impact. Now the Bears have a huge game at the Meadowlands versus the Giants for control in the NFC. The G-Men have been playing as well as I predicted them to with there offense on a big roll right now. And if all three aspects of the Bears don’t show up, the Monsters of the Midway could be in big trouble.
III---Season previews are not allowed to be taken seriously
Next week, I hope all of you will be enjoying my college hoops preview. (I’m leaning towards picking North Carolina over Arizona, but I’m not sure yet) But that doesn’t mean come March, when filling out brackets, you should look back to what I wrote in mid-November and take it as fact. Too many times, the so-called ‘experts’ make these pre-season picks, and then are too stubborn to admit they are wrong, so they continue picking the same teams. A prime example of this is Chicago Tribune basketball writer and probably worst fantasy basketball GM of all time Sam Smith. If for instance in the pre-season Smith chose the Spurs and Heat to be in the NBA Finals, you could bet your house that come April, when time to make a pick for the Finals with the playoffs set, Smith would again pick the Spurs and Heat. It wouldn’t matter if Dwayne Wade and Tim Duncan both retired during the season. If Smith had that as his pick, that’s going to stay his pick.
Getting to stuck on pre-season polls can also be dangerous. Too many times the way teams are ranked in the pre-season impacts how they end up when the year is done. This is totally un-fair to both the team and the fans. In 2004, the college football season started with USC ranked number one, Oklahoma ranked number two and Auburn ranked 18th. As the season went on, it was obvious that the Trojans and Tigers were the nations top teams, but because the pollsters didn’t want to contradict their pre-season ballots, the Sooners stayed at number two. Auburn ended the season as a team on the outside looking in, even though they went un-beaten in the nations toughest conference. Oklahoma ended the season in the National Championship game, getting embarrassed by USC in a 55-19 Orange Bowl rout. The lesson is that it’s all right to get information on the season based on the previews and early polls, but don’t let these thing run the sport or your predictions.
IV---Erin Andrews is forced to be sideline reporter for every game possible
I hate sideline reporters. I find them distracting, annoying and unnecessary. If there is an injury report, just let the announcer tell me, don’t send it down to Jim Grey and force me to miss part of the game. With that being said, there is one exception. ESPN reporter Erin Andrews, who covers college football and basketball as well as Major League Baseball, is by far and away the best sideline reporter out there. She knows her stuff, asks good questions, and it doesn’t hurt that she is hotter then fresh out of the oven brownies. So why does it seem like she’s never at the biggest games? If the Worldwide Leader can send Kirk Herbstreat all over the country for two different football games and ‘College Gameday’ or pay for a helicopter to allow Joe Morgan to broadcast two playoff baseball games in one day, why is it that they only allow Andrews to report from one location a day? Don’t they realize that ratings would go up if Erin got more involved? Or how about giving Andrews her own show? Whatever has to be done, ESPN should do it. Either get rid of the sideline reporter or give Erin Andrews more airtime.
V---Favorite team always has priority over fantasy team
Let’s say that a big time Jets fan is watching this week’s New York-New England game. The Jets are up by four points with two minutes left in the fourth quarter. The Patriots have the ball on the NY six yard line and it’s first and goal. Of course this fan is going to be rooting hard for a defensive stop. But what if he’s got Cory Dillon on his fantasy team in a league where the winner wins $500. What’s he to do? Root for a Dillon score that would make his real team lose? Cheer for a big defensive stop and risk losing half a grand? These are the tough choices that face fantasy owners every Sunday. So what’s a fan to do?
Well under this new law, it would be illegal to root for anything but your on-field team. (Unless of course you are a Knicks fan, who wan their squad to lose so Isaiah will be fired, but that’s a different law.) That means you pick one team and stick with it for the entire season (And usually, your entire life). Sure, you can support other players on other teams, yell out loud when FOX has a game break showing one of your fantasy guys scoring a touchdown, and constantly check nfl.com for stats all Sunday afternoon. But your sole rooting interest must always remain for the same team.
This way the NFL schedule was created in a clever way so that this week is officially the mid-way point of the season. Each team has already had its bye week and played eight games, meaning we the fans get the full slate of 16 games per weekend for the next seven weekends. It also means that its time to hand out a few mid-season awards:
MVP----Peyton Manning, Colts----Not only is his squad the last un-beaten for the second year in a row, but this year Manning is doing it with a rookie running back and a banged up defense. It’s tough to argue against a guy who has thrown for 17 TDs, rushed for two, and only turned the ball over three times all year.
Defensive Player of the Year---Champ Bailey, Broncos---Like Deion Sanders in his prime, Bailey has become the type of cornerback that opposing quarterbacks should avoid at all times. Yet he still is second in the league with five picks as well as adding in 44 tackles, an amazing amount through eight games for a cornerback. No wonder Peyton Manning attacked everywhere on the field except where Bailey was a few weeks back.
Rookie of the Year---Marques Colston, Saints---What would the odds have been before the season that a Saints offensive player would win ROY and it not be Reggie Bush? Close to a million and one or something close to that. But the seventh rounder out of Hofstra has been better then Reggie, making tough catches over the middle and providing Drew Brees with a big target in the Saints passing game.
Coach of the Year---Tony Dungy, Colts----The goal of the coach is to lead his team to victory, and nobody has done that better then Dungy this season. His D may be a moving hospital room, but that hasn’t stopped the Colts from going 8-0. So far his team has won at New England, Denver and New York (both Giants and Jets). The key for Dungy this year will be keeping his guys fresh and healthy for the playoffs without resting them too much.
On to the picks. This week there is only one game pitting teams with winning records, and that is the Bears-Giants game. That means for the rest of the matchups, there appears to be an obvious pick. And that scares me. Have you ever looked at the directions for some type of food, like brownies or cookies, and the directions are all you have to do is put some pre-made dough on a tray and put them in the oven and they come out as the greatest pastry you have ever eaten. It almost seems too easy and that there has to be a catch, like the brownie mix only will work if you are above sea level or the oven has to be made after 2001. That’s what I was feeling when making this weeks picks. What’s the trick? Where will the upset occur?
My pick in bold
Cleveland at Atlanta
Washington at Philadelphia
San Diego at Cincinnati
San Francisco at Detroit
Baltimore at Tennessee
Buffalo at Indianapolis
Houston at Jacksonville
Kansas City at Miami
Green Bay at Minnesota
New York Jets at New England
Denver at Oakland
Dallas at Arizona
New Orleans at Pittsburgh
St. Louis at Seattle
Chicago at New York Giants
Tampa Bay at Carolina
In my survival pool, I am still perfect on the picks. But now it will really get tough. Having already picked the Cardinals, Ravens, Dolphins, Eagles, Colts, Broncos, Patriots, Bears and Chargers, the rest of the year I will have to select from the leagues other 23 squads. This week I will select the Jacksonville Jaguars to defeat Houston and continue my hot start.
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