sportsblogger

   The Patch on the eye of Oakland Raiders logo is covering up the black-eye the organiztaion gave itself today by firing Head Coach Lane Kiffin. We have all been expecting this move by the Raiders for quite some time now, but in typical Raider fashion, it had to be done on their terms.

   The Raiders have become the on-going joke in the NFL, and also a good example of how to run an organization completely into the ground. Al Davis was once known for his genius as a coach, then an owner, and now there is only the past evidence of his former self.

   Davis has always been known for taking too much interest in how his team is being coached, and yes, he does pay the bills, but it’s hard to work with someone looking over your shoulder. Davis has this time gone too far in his effort to humiliate Kiffin.

   Mr. Davis as he likes to be called, has made Kiffin stand on the sideline and forced him to coach, while knowing he was going to be fired. Mr. Davis has even gone as far as to writing a resignation letter for Kiffin, and expected him to sign it, which Kiffin did not.

   The Raiders have hired and fired every respectable coach it can, and now the question is: Who in their right mind would want to coach the Raiders? Job security is not guarenteed, the owner prefers you do what he says, and your contract may not be fully paid out.

   That is right, not only did Davis inform Kiffin over the phone that he has been fired, he also informed Kiffin that his contract will not be paid out. Davis is really going out on a limb here, how can he not honor a contract that he inked his name on as well.

   This is now the point when someone should really tell Davis that he is going about this totally wrong, but who can tell him that? You would figure that Commissioner Roger Goodell would step in and use his power, but the NFL Commissioner works for the NFL owners, so much for that plan.

   Kiffin went 5-15 in his 1 and a quarter season as Raiders Head Coach, and after how he held himself with this terrible organization will be a Head Coach again in the near future. The Raiders will fall apart as they had been rallying around their Head Coach.

   So thats it for Kiffin, and the Raiders had to insult him on his way out by refusing to pay him the rest of his contract. Who will coach the Raiders next? Someone who clearly has no back-bone would be a top choice for Mr. Davis, and there is no doubt about that.

J.M.Saucedo

   The Major League Baseball season for 2008, is alive and still waits for one single game to be played between the Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox. If, the White Sox win, they will force a one game Playoff against the Minnesota Twins for the AL Central Division Championship.

   That is what makes every game in the MLB regular season so important, because if a game is postponed due to the weather the game can be replayed weeks after it was scheduled. The White Sox have struggled of late and lost the division lead, but sit a half game out of a tie to the Twins.

   The Twins will win the Central Division Championship and a Playoff birth if the Tigers defeat the White Sox in todays game. If the White Sox win, the Twins will travel to Chicago and play the White Sox for all the marbles on Tuesday.

   The White Sox game which was scheduled to begin today at 11 am pst, is currently under a rain delay, which is pretty ironic. The winner of this last Playoff spot will then travel to Tampa Bay to face the surprising Rays, which will play in their First Post-Season game in franchise history.

   So whenever this game is completed, we might have to wait another day, and another game, to see who is going to take that last Playoff spot. It would be fun to see a one game Playoff for a Division Title, and judging by the two teams, it will be a tough battle.

   The first hammer in the NFL has dropped, and the victim is not Oakland Raider Head Coach Lane Kiffin, but St. Louis Rams Head Coach Scott Linehan. After the team lost its 4th game of the season, without a win or really a close loss, the Rams have parted ways with its Coach.

   Jim Haslett will take over Head Coaching duties in the interim, but it appeared that Linehan lost this team when he benched QB Marc Bulger for back-up QB Trent Green. He put all of his chips in on that switching of QB, and lost everything including the game.

J.M.Saucedo

   The Dallas Cowboys were the pick in many power rankings as the best team in the NFL with their roster that consists of many top Super-Stars. That all changed Sunday with their surprising defeat by the hands of fellow NFC East members, The Washington Redskins.

   Cowboys QB Tony Romo had a good game passing for 300 yards, 3 TD’s, and 1 int in Dallas’ 24-26 loss at Texas Stadium. Redskins QB Jason Campbell was efficient in the passing offense going 20-31 with 231 yards and 2 TD’s in the Redskins surprising victory.

   For Redskins Head Coach Jim Zorn, this was the proof that his team has moved on from its embarrassing opening game loss to the New York Giants. Speaking of the Giants, the Redskins win will keep them on top of the NFC East Division and most likely make them the best team in the Power Rankings.

   The Denver Broncos have the best ranked offense in the NFL this season and looked like they were going to easily win the AFC West. That was until they looked horrible against the 30th ranked defense of the Kansas City Chiefs who defeated Denver 33-19.

   It was Chiefs RB Larry Johnsons running attack that helped defeat the Broncos as he rushed for 198 yards and 2 TD’s against a confused looking Bronco defense. Denver QB Jay Cutler passed for 361 yards and a TD, but also threw 2 interceptions in the loss.

   Quick kudos to New York Jets QB Brett Favre as he passed for 289 yards, 1 int, and 6 TD’s in a 56-35 blow-out victory against the Arizona Cardinals. The Fans in the Meadowlands must have enjoyed seeing their quick fix investment pay off, Good Job Green Bay.

   A second quick kudos has to go to the Oakland Raiders and Houston Texans, because both of these teams did lose, but look really improved. They are 2 of the youngest teams in the NFL and once they learn how to win the close games, they will be strong teams in the NFL in the coming years.

J.M.Saucedo  

   The New York Mets are in danger of falling apart in the last weeks of the season for the second consecutive year with 1 game left in their regular season. They have let the Milwaukee Brewers climb to a 1 game lead in the NL Wild card race which can change at any moment.

   The Mets won today and the Brewers look as if they are gonna lose to the Cubs which will keep the Wild Card race a tie for the time being. The Mets can ill-afford to have a bad outing now as they are clinging to life in the hunt for the play-offs.

   Sundays games should both be high in ratings as people will tune in to see the Cubs @ Brewers and the Marlins @ Mets. The Phillies have clinched the NL East Division Title already today which will leave the Mets and Brewers to fight for the last spot in the Playoffs.

   The Florida Gators joined the USC Trojans, as a top team defeated by a Conference opponent when they lost at home to Ole Miss 31-30. The crowd was as shocked as it could have been because the Gators were ranked number 4 in the polls and were heavy favorites to win the SEC.

   The question is what happened to Heisman Trophy winning QB Tim Tebow? We all expect to see him running with the football but he has not been very aggressive this season. He is more or less using his abilities to pass the ball instead of being a scrambling QB.

   Now the Gators will have to hope that the top teams all lose a game this season which is highly possible this year. They will have some company on the upset board as No.9 ranked Wisconsin Badgers just lost to unranked Michigan Wolverines.

J.M.Saucedo  

   Los Angeles is in the midst of “Manny Mania” and Joe Torre cheers and admiration as if it was the newest fashion trend in one of the trendiest cities in America. It is true that Los Angeles is one of the biggest trend setters in the World but our East coast write-offs have made big contributions.

   Maybe we can call it Major League Baseballs version of a thrift store, because the Dodgers have shopped their way to a NL West Division Title. Thats right, Manny Ramirez and Torre, who were both pretty much told to go away from their respective teams have both surfaced in beautiful L.A.

   The Fans who bleed Dodger blue, have rolled out the welcome mats for the whole season and both Torre and Ramirez are enjoying the Los Angeles hospitality. They have each had star power with their former teams, but if each decided to run for Mayor of L.A. they’d win in a landslide.

   Ramirez who was a scapegoat for the Boston Red Sox, is a hero now in Los Angeles because we embrace bright characters like Shaquille O’Neal and Magic Johnson. The Red Sox had no time to deal with his antics, and the teams ego and Manny’s were too large to fit in the same room.

   Torre is a bit of a different story, he was let go by the New York Yankees after leading them to 4 World Series Championships and never missed the Post-Season. So what happened next is an easy guess for the next chapter in this story.

   Joe came to manage the Dodgers and kept his streak of consecutive playoff births at 13 years, while the Yankees will watch their former manager at home. There has been a lot made, by an owner of a team with a big mouth, that if the Dodgers were in the AL East they would not win the Division.

   Also that same big mouthed owner said the Yankees are better then the Dodgers, but have 4 more wins than the NL West Champs. Sorry, but the big mouth owner is definately NOT his father, and his father would have busted heads in his own organization and not cared what the Dodgers were doing.

   All that said, Torre and Manny are both headed to the Post-Season as members of the Los Angeles Dodgers and have reignited the “Blue Crew”. This has proved to be one of the most exciting Dodger seasons in recent memory, hopefully the memories for this year continue deep into October.

J.M.Saucedo

   2-0 is the record for the USC Trojans football team to begin this years push towards a National Championship. They are currently ranked Number 1 in both College Football polls and have defeated Ohio State and Virginia in convincing fashion.

   So with no ranked opponents left on their schedule, what will stand in the way of USC walking right into the BCS National Championship game? Even though this is a down year for the Pac 10 Conference, the first tough match up of the season begins in Corvallis, Oregon.

   That’s right, USC faces its past again in the Oregon State Beavers who beat the Trojans in 2006 in Corvallis derailing USC’s National Title hopes. Oregon State is not expected to be a strong opponent for the Trojans but home games for the Beavers can make up for the lack of talent.

   In 2004 the Trojans barely came out of Coravllis with a 28-20 victory so history has proved the Beavers like to play USC extremely tough. Though last year the Beavers were defeated 24-3 in Los Angeles by the Trojans.

   USC still has to go on the road and defeat UCLA so their path to the National Title game is not as easy as it is predicted to be. The Trojans have California, Notre Dame, Arizona State, and Oregon all in Los Angeles which are the better teams in the Pac 10.

   Oregon State has back to back games against ranked opponents, facing USC tonight then the Beavers travel to face No. 17 Utah October 2nd. USC has improved since the last time they traveled to Corvallis, and tonight we will see just how much that actually is.

J.M.Saucedo

   Detroit Lions General Manager Matt Millen has had one of the most unsuccessful reigns as a GM and will no longer be an employee of the Ford Family. Millen has had a relativley safe and secure job despite going 31-84 and loyal Lions fans calling for his firing.

   The surprise is that the team was willing to finally remove Millen after the son of the owner William Clay Ford Sr., said if it were up to him Millen would have been fired a long time ago. William Ford Jr. pulled a power move on dear old dad and forced his hand.

   Lions fans should be celebrating in the streets of Detroit for 2 reasons that could change the franchise from consistant loser to winners. The First reason is really simple, the Lions had no chance of winning when the team drafted WR’s every season with no QB.

   The second is a little more hopeful, but plausable, and that is with the move that was seemingly made by Ford Jr. it appears that he can gain more control of the team. Ford Sr. has shown that he has no interest in improving the team, he allowed Millen to win 31 games while losing 84.

   Maybe with Ford Jr. in charge he will be able to be the bad guy that his father was not trying to be, he had proved that he was not willing to fire people. Ford Jr. has that ability and has proved that bad guy or not, sometimes that you need to make the right move for your organization.

   Millen has deserved this firing since drafting 4 WR’s in the first round for 4 consecutive years, and out of the 4 only Calvin Johnson and Roy Williams worked out. Now the Lions have a chance to hire the right GM for the job which will likely mean the end of Rod Marinelli’s Head Coaching tenure.

   Good luck to the Lions organization and fans. Here is an optimistic view, it can only get better because you had to deal with the worst.

J.M.Saucedo

   Shea Stadium has entered its final regular season games with the last game being played this Sunday as the New York Mets hosting the Florida Marlins. It might not be the last game the famous stadium hosts, but the way the Mets have been playing who knows.

   The Mets have one of the most injured relief pitching staffs in all of Major League Baseball and have proved this fault to be there biggest flaw. New York has the most blown saves in all of MLB and is currently in the midst of a critical series with the Chicago Cubs.

   When one thing goes wrong for a baseball team it seems it all goes downhill fast, and for the Mets, it has been a season of Slumps and winning streaks. New York has been in first place in the NL East and is currently in first place for a Wild Card birth.

   As of late, the Mets have lost 3 games in a row and look to its pitching staff Ace Johan Santana to help get the team out of a hole. The Mets are holding on to the top spot for the Wild Card birth but have to hold off the Milwaukee Brewers one game behind the Mets.

   It will be an exciting last week of the season but if the Mets fail to make the Post-Season, it will be the second consecutive time the Mets miss the Playoffs after holding a lead. A one game is not much, but considering the amount of money the Mets payout to their players it will be a complete failure.

   The Mets can pull the spotlight away from the rival Yankees with a playoff birth because the Yankees have failed to make the playoffs. Shea Stadium has its share of memories, and the New York Mets are hoping to include a post season game to close out the famous stadium.

J.M.Saucedo

   Now, after months of speculation, the time seems to be here for the Oakland Raiders to fire their Head Coach Lane Kiffin after a little over a year of work. Kiffin was reportedly informed Sunday night by team officials that he would be fired as early as Monday.

   This is not the shocker of the year, in fact the odds were in his favor that he would be the first coach fired this year seeing as his resignation letter was written out at the end of last season. Under Kiffin the Raiders have shown signs of improvement.

   Yesterday, the Raiders played the Buffalo Bills to a tight game that the Bills were lucky enough to come away with a victory. The Raiders are a team in need of consistency at the Head Coach position and the firing of Lane Kiffin will not improve the team after he is gone.

   The expectation is that WR’s Coach James Lofton will get the nod as the next Head Coach; Dennis Green is also a strong candidate for the job. The next stop for the Raiders, another high draft pick in this years NFL Draft and easily no winning season in 2008.

    The New York Yankees closed down Yankee Stadium in typical fashion last night as Andy Pettitte got the win and Mariano Rivera the save. The last homerun hit in Yankee Stadium belongs the Yankee C Jose Molina and last hit to 1B Jason Giambi.

    SS Derek Jeter closed the Stadium at the end of the game with a speech thanking the fans for their support over the years. There will be no Post Season this year for Yankee Stadium so the last game in Yankee Stadium was a 7-3 victory for the Yankees.

   Since 1923, the greatest Yankees names Ruth, Mantle, DiMaggio, Jackson, Rodriguez, and Jeter have all played in the Famous Stadium. It will be demolished and the Yankees will move to a $1.6 Billion facility which is rightly named “Yankee Stadium” in 2009.

J.M.Saucedo

   The games that stick out in my head this Sunday are  mostly headlined by the surprising winners and losers of the games. Starting off with the dominating victory for the Miami Dolphins on the road against the New England Patriots, ending the Patriots 21 regular season winning streak.

   Dolphins RB Ronnie Brown was very impressive with his 5 total touchdowns, 1 passing and 4 rushing, against a very lost looking Patriots defense. This has to be the biggest upset this weekend although it was not the only upset worth mentioning.

   Indianapolis Colts rush defense seems to be lost without Pro-Bowl S Bob Sanders because the Jacksonville Jaguars ran up and down the field on them. Both Jaguar RB’s Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor had over 100 yards rushing each and looked back on their 2007 form.

   Al Davis will have his chance to fire Head Coach Lane Kiffin after the Oakland Raiders lost 23-24 to the Buffalo Bills. Wait a second, the Raiders only lost by 1 point to a supposed top team in Buffalo, that is 2 consecutive games that the Raiders looked competitive.

   The person that should really be fired is Defensive Coordinator Rob Ryan, who could not figure out how to keep his defense from letting the Bills score late in the game. If it matters at all, in defeat the Raiders are starting to show their true potential as a young team.

   In New York tonight, the Yankees will host their last game in “Old” Yankee Stadium before they make the move to the “New” Yankee Stadium next year. It should be a memorable event as the Yankees Manager plan to have CP Mariano Rivera pitch the last 3 outs of the game.

   My favorite memory of Yankee Stadium, if not for the many cameos in the hit television shoe “Seinfield”, would be Aaron Boones game winning homerun against the Boston Red Sox, or Johnny Damons upper deck homerun as a memeber of the Red Sox.             Yankee Stadium 1923-2008

J.M.Saucedo