10 Notes, Facts and Thoughts

Christmas went well at TBG's house and I hope you can say the same. I received a glorious Oklahoma City Thunder blanket and fell asleep under its warmth last night. The sports scene was rather weak yesterday with the best game being the 5th and final NBA game between the Blazers and Nuggets. It's been a little since a long post so here we go...

1. The Mayweather-Pacquiao fight will take place. Maybe not on March 13 as it has been tentatively scheduled but it will happen. Money is Mayweather's motivator and Pacquiao knows a win over Pretty Boy Floyd would validate his status as an all-time great boxer. Too much to gain for both fighters to lose out on this bout.

2. Gerald Wallace is the most underrated player in the NBA. The former Sacramento Kings bench-warmer is scoring 18.1 PPG and grabbing an absurd 12.1 boards per. The former expansion draftee plays for a team some people still haven't even heard of but is proof that if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around we do hear it thanks to today's technology (Sportscenter highlights and espn.com statistics page).

3. The Bulls will make the playoffs this year. The East flat out sucks this year and once the Bulls fire coach Vinny Del Negro they will hit their stride as long as they hire a competent replacement.

4. My beloved Thunder will not make it out of the West in the playoffs this year. UNLESS one of the current top eight teams endure a major injury or the Thunder pull off a huge trade for a veteran low post presence.

5. I am sticking with my Super Bowl prediction of Ravens over Packers. Both teams are going to make a Wild Card spot. The Packers have hit their stride recently and should be 10-4 if not for a great throw by Roethlisberger. While the secondary will be in question for the rest of the season for the Pack look for the pass rush to help cover the coverage weaknesses. Meanwhile, in Baltimore this has been a black and blue season. An 8-6 record through an extremely tough schedule is something to be proud of. The Ravens will be the most battle tested team in the playoffs this year.

6. Chris Johnson currently has 519 more rushing yards than Steven Jackson, the number 2 rusher in the NFL this year. Take a minute to think about that. That is absurd. With only 128 yards to go to 2,000 Johnson and the Titans will make sure he gets his against the Seahawks next weekend. The only question is how will Johnson play next year. The last two 2,000 yard club member, Jamal Lewis and Terrell Davis were never the same backs after their historic seasons. A smaller runner more in the mold of Eric Dickerson perhaps Johnson will be able to continue to thrive like Dickerson did.

7. Drew Brees is my MVP. Without that guy, they'd be done. No way the Saints are 13-1 with an average QB. In fact, I don't see them as a playoff team. Brees elevated his name into the Manning, Brady, Favre level this year and needs to be rewarded.

8. The Colts will waltz to 16-0 after they dismantle the Jets at home tomorrow and crush the lowly Bills on the road. However, the Colts were exposed last week by the Jags. A team with a solid run game and a better defense (Cinncy or Baltimore?) could take the Colts down and will before the Super Bowl.

9. The 2006 Rose Bowl was the game of the decade. Easily. The best football game I have ever watched was loaded with talent and showcased the single best performance I have ever seen. Vince Young owned that game and will forever attempt to live up to that level of play in the NFL.

10. VY will never dominate that way in the NFL but will become a very solid NFL starter by continuing to do what he has always done: win.

TBG

Second Worst Call Ever

In case you were watching the abomination of a game tonight's MNF game was, you might have caught the dumbest decision of the year. Jim Zorn clearly wants to be fired and I guarantee he will be out after this week. On fourth and 4 with 3 seconds left in a 24-0 first half the Racists decided to go for a fake field goal. The swinging gate, never used for any kind of notable success in the history of football, failed miserably and only added to the national embarrassment the Skins faced. The call was utterly unexplainable. The element of surprise was negated by a Giants timeout call after the first shift. It was flat out dumb and will surely mark the end of the Zorn era in Washington.

In case you were wondering about the title, the worst call of all time remains, as it always will, Marty Mornhingweg's decision to kick in overtime as the Lions head coach.

TBG

The Heistman?

Going into tonight's Heisman Trophy award ceremony I feel it coming. Texas QB Colt McCoy is a media favorite. His team is undefeated in an unusually weak Big 12. He is headed to the BCS championship game. He's gotta be the favorite.

Forget the fact that he threw 0 TDs and 3 INTs and ran for -20 yards in the Big 12 championship and almost committed an all-time gaff by not understanding when the clock stops on an out-of-bounds pass (it's when it hits something, Colt, not when it goes out). He only put up 127 yards 1 TD and 1 INT against Oklahoma, a game Texas certainly would have lost had Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford not gone down. Against Texas Tech he put up 205 yards with 1 TD and 2 INTs. His numbers against the other above-.500 Big 12 teams just are not Heismanesque. Facing Nebraska, Mizzou, OK St., Texas Tech and Oklahoma he went for 6 TDs and 7 INTs. So much for kepping QBs with inflated stats against lesser opponents out of the Heisman voting. The best players come up big in big games, the way Toby Gerhart did.

Gerhart played in the second best conference this year, the PAC-10, and he too faced five winning conference teams this year. Against Cal, Oregon, Arizona, Oregon State and USC he carried 135 times for 756 yards and 14 TDs. That's 5.6 a carry. Facing then-#8 Oregon and then-#9 USC Gerhart had a two week Heisman moment. 223 yards against Oregon and 178 against UCS doesn't happen often.

While Alabama HB Mark Ingram did have a big season on the ground in the SEC he lacked the consistency Gerhart had. 17 carries for 50 yards against Arkansas and 16 for 30 against Auburn are not Heismanesque. While he did tear defenses up, like South Carolina- 24 carries for 246 yards- he undoubtedly had a better O-line than Gerhart. He also faced tougher Ds. Fact of the matter is Ingram ran for a better average than Gerhart, 6.2 to 5.6, Gerhart had more carries, yards and TDs.

While Ndamukong Suh wasthe best player in the nation for my money the college game is about offense, not defense. And Tim Tebow had a good year but was in no way the best player this year.

While my ballot would be 1 Suh 2 Gerhart 3 Ingram 4 Celmson's C.J. Spiller and 5 Boise State's Kellen Moore I think the Stiff Arm will go to Gerhart with McCoy a close second and Ingram third. Voters have shown a liking for younger players but I am trusting enough voters will realize McCoy's unbalanced season and reward Gerhart for his consistency.

TBG

Can't Spell BCS Without B.S.

Let's start where it's easy. Alabama no doubt deserves to be in the National Championship Game. Undefeated coming out of the best conference in football, the SEC, is a hell of a resume. A defense that only allowed 21+ points twice this year is about as stout as you will find. The problem is, yet again, who is the second best team? Texas looked less than convincing in their 13-12 victory over Nebraska last night in the Big 12 Championship. Supposed Heisman front-runner Colt McCoy sucked last night, throwing no touchdowns with 3 INTs. 184 yards ain't impressing me. If the Cornhuskers could of mustered any offense last night they would have won easily. While Cincinnati also won their championship by 1 point in their completion of an undefeated season, they won in impressive fashion. Pitt played on an extremely high level, most notably freshman running back Dion Lewis. In true beastmode fashion, he took 47 carries for 194 yards and 3 TDs. He also caught 5 passes for 34 yards. A 5-8 195 pounds soaking wet, Lewis' performance was incredible. However, he was outdone by his Bearcat counterpart Mardy Gilyard. 381 total yards. Yeah, 381. 256 kick return yards. 7 punt return yards. 118 receiving yards. 2 total touchdowns. Everytime Cincinnati needed a big play to respond Gilyard was there. As soon as Cinncy went down 31-10 Gilyard responded by returning the ensuing kickoff to the house. With wins over Pitt, West Virginia and Oregon State Cincy has a more impressive top 3 wins than Texas's Texas Tech, Nebraska and Ok St. Anyone who watched the Oklahoma game knows Texas would have lost if QB Sam Bradford had remained healthy. My personal favorite #2 squad, TCU also has an impressive top 3 wins. Clemson was this close to a BCS berth with an ACC championship win last night, BYU finished 10-2 and Utah was #16 when TCU dismantled them to the tune of 55-28. TCU has an incredibly complete team, with a swarming D, an efficient offense and a consistently threatening special teams. Boise State too has an endearing arguement with a spotless 13-0 record. Their win over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl on 2007's first day forever legitimized them. To ignore their again undefeated record again is ludicrous. While their strength of schedule was weak, they did beat Pac-10 champ Oregon to open their season and blew out most of the teams they faced. If Texas or Alabama were in the WAC they would have a similar resume. What more can you do than beat your schedule and do it in a largely convincing way? My point is, you have no idea who the best two teams are at this point. Five undefeated teams. Take three others, Orgenon, Ohio State and Georgia Tech, and have at an 8-team playoff. D-1 college football needs to stop whoring itself out and look to establish a legitimate champion like every other division.

TBG

AI Reunion

One of the most enigmatic, idolized figures in basketball is coming back. Allen Iverson pulled a mini-Jordan with his mini-retirement and will be back with the 76ers, his original team, soon. The 1st overall pick in '96 and 2001 MVP will join a currently 5-13 team with a chance to make the playoffs due to the incredibly weak teams in the East this year (see 0-17 New Jersey Nets). While the squad has no chance to win a championship, Iverson has never won one, leading a team to the playoffs in the waning moments of his career would be a nice cap to a phenomenal career. Never an outstanding shooter, a career 42.5% shooter, Iverson built a Hall of Fame career by taking a licking and keeping on ticking. That's right, he had a motor that never quit. (I think I just used an exclusively white guy sports description on one of the hoodest players the NBA has ever seen). Driven by a desire to win Iverson's most memorable season came when he dragged a weak squad to the Finals. His emphatic walk over a fallen Tyron Lue in that series may be his most lasting move on the court (either that or crossing over Jordan as a rookie). While it would have been nice to see him surrounded by talent early in his career I do not believe a player who takes 28 shots a game while shooting under 40%, as he did in 2001-2002, can lead his team to a championship. While it will be exciting to see Allen return to his initial squad the team's winning potential is limited, just like him.

TBG