sportsblogger

   The Big 12 South division ended yesterday in a three-way tie which has left the decision of who will play for the Big 12 Championship up to a familiar foe. The Missouri Tigers have already clinched their ticket to play in the title game as they won the North division.

   The team the BCS has ranked in the highest spot, would be the team to move on as Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Texas all tied. Texas beat Oklahoma, Oklahoma beat Texas Tech, and Texas Tech beat Texas with all the teams left with one loss on the season which was a conference loss.

   Those very important computers made their controversial choice one week early, and that choice was the Oklahoma Sooners. Yes, Oklahoma was the team that was defeated by the Texas Longhorns at a neutral site this year, but they dominated the Texas Tech at home as well.

   If anyone has a better argument, it is the before mentioned three football teams as Missouri makes it to the Championship game despite losing three games. The Texas Longhorns are probably the biggest losers of this ranking mess as they defeated both Missouri and Oklahoma.

   Texas Tech and Texas will both suffer largely from these BCS rankings as the Championship game voters will stray away from picking a team that did not win their conference championship. That is ofcourse if the Sooners do not win the Big 12 Championship.

    The winners are obviously the USC Trojans who can jump into the second spot if Oklahoma and Florida or Alabama which is still quite possible. It is even still possible for USC to jump Oklahoma if the Sooners are not impressive against Missouri, and they only have the BCS to thank.

J.M.Saucedo

   After hearing about New York Giants WR Plaxico Burress’ latest off-the-field problem, I could not help but notice he is becoming a “Pacman-Like” problem. Burress was shot in the right thigh by himself in a Manhattan club on friday night and taken to the hospital.

   I asked myself: Was it an accident? Yes. Was it Stupid? Very. Burress is putting himself in risk of being on the verge of an early exit out of the NFL. Lately, Plaxico has been in trouble with the Giants organization for missing practices and getting into verbal spats with officials.

   What is not known is what action New York City’s police department will have in this shooting as a police report has yet to be filed. Burress will then have to deal with the NFL’s code of conduct and then the Giants organization for their final verdict.

   It seems to me that Plaxico is likely to be heavily fined, and more than likely suspended by the NFL after this recent mistake in judgement by Burress. Someone needs to inform Burress that he has a lot to lose by continuing to put himself in bad situations.

   Clearly the 31 year old Burress is an elite wide receiver in the NFL and his heroics in last seasons Super Bowl made him a star, but the Giants seem to be inching close to the end of the road with Burress. Plaxico has become a distraction that the Giants can do without.

   Whether the message gets through to Burress or not, it is coming to a head for him one way or another. Clean up your act Plaxico, because we have seen what has happened to Adam Jones and you are easily headed in the same direction. The NFL does not take the use of guns lightly.

J.M.Saucedo  

   Former Oakland Raiders Head Coach Lane Kiffin has reached a tentative agreement with the University of Tennessee to become the next Head Coach of their Football Program. The deal will set the the 33 year old as the newest coach to enter the SEC.

   Kiffin will replace former Volunteer Head Coach Phillip Fulmer who has been forced out of Tennessee due to disappointing performances. Fulmer is going to be a tough act to follow for Kiffin, as Fulmer won a National Championship in 1998.

   Fulmer also Coached at Tennessee for 17 years and was 151-52 for the Volunteers who have not been a “Power-House” football team for quite some time. The team should improve under Kiffin but as the problem usually is in College Football, the Coach is not given a grace period to let his recruits develop.

   The Volunteers are receiving a coach that can recruit with ease and maybe even still some players from other states to help build uo the Tennessee program. Kiffin also brings his “Star-Power” to Tennessee which has lacked since Peyton Manning left the School.

   Kiffin has plenty of experience since his days at the University of Southern California with the likes of Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, and Reggie Bush. Still, after being a bit tainted by his tumultous days with the Raiders, Kiffin seems to be a good fit for the Volunteers.

   Whether Kiffin becomes as great as Fulmer, we can not predict, but he certainly has the talent as a coach to do so. As for now, I am sure that Kiffin is just excited to be back coaching, and ready to compete in the toughest football Conference in College.

J.M.Saucedo

   Today is the perfect example of what a great nation the United States really is, because we have a national holiday to just stop and give thanks. It is a blessing, even in the worst of times, to be able to share this day with many loved ones and just recharge our collective batteries.

   Now to move onto other sports business. The world of sports are filled with great people who are thankful for their current position. But today on this special Sportsblogger I will present the top Turkeys in the world of sports.

              The Sportsblogger Turkeys of 2008

1.) Easily the Number one choice for Turkey of the Year is Adam “Pacman” Jones. The once NFL Superstar is one slip away from falling out the league forever. Usually most people learn from their first mistake, for instance when your hand comes to close to the flame and your burn yourself you learn to never do that again. Well this guy continues to burn, and lets just say that he is out of hands now.

2.) Our next Turkey is a very spiteful bunch. The fans of the UFC who continue to mouth off at the fact that Brock Lesnar defeated the fan favorite Randy Couture. You just need to move on and understand that Lesnar was going to become the Heavyweight Champion sooner or later. You should be grateful that Lesnar defeated a Great, Legendary Champion like Couture, instead of walking through a Tim Sylvia.

3.) The last Turkey of the year for 2008 has to be the Cleveland Browns and New York Knicks fan-bases. Easily two franchises that need to run their Organizations without fan interference. After the Browns benched Pro-bowl QB Derek Anderson for an un-proven Brady Quinn, it was obvious that fans had got their way. So how did that work for you Cleveland?

    In a bit of a twist, the second part of this story involves Cleveland and their favorite son, LeBron James. The New York Knicks are clearing space to make room for the Cavaliers star and you should see the response James gets whenever he plays in Madison Square Garden. If I was an executive with the Cavs I would start preparing my tampering charges against the Knicks and their fans because it is only a matter of time before the Knicks start retailing LeBron James, number 23 Knicks jersey’s.

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone.

J.M.Saucedo

   Stephen Curry is going to be a top 3 draft pick when he decides to enter the NBA, there is clearly no doubt about that. Curry has grown to fame in last years NCAA Mens Basketball tournament when he lead Davidson to the Elite 8 and was a shot away from the Final Four.

   Curry has started this year off to an amazing beginning as he has become one of the most efficient and NCAA leading scorer. That is scoring over 30 points a game is a feat that most College basketball players do not often reach, in fact it is hard to remember a player that has done so.

   Last night Curry’s Davidson found themselves playing Loyola (Md.) in a match-up that highly favored Curry scoring another 30 plus points. It is not uncommon for College sports to try unconventional game plans and/or different ideas; look at the “Wild-cat Offense” in the NFL which came from College football.

   The defensive sceme that Loyola’s Head Coach Jimmy Patsos cooked up must have been made up with sour ingredients because he made everyone sick. Patsos decided to double-team Curry on every defensive play forcing his team to play three on four and hope to win.

   His idea worked, kind of, as Curry did not score but his team did lose the game in humiliating fashion, the final score was 78-48. Maybe he should have realized that his team could not win either way, but playing three on four defense did not get the job done either.

   It was clear that he could have made an adjustment, but Patsos did not and his team was forced to play a disadvantaged game from beginning to end. Kobe Bryant is easily the best play in the NBA and not one NBA coach would Double team him for an entire game.

   What a truly foolish way to go about your job and let kids try and play like that, and he should be ashamed of his little gimmick. Curry is good, but to sacrifice your team for just one player is just an idiotic move and Patsos should learn from his mistake.

J.M.Saucedo

   When most people in the media, no names should be used, refer to the Detroit Lions, they speak of the team as having a “Dream Season”. By all means rip the organization, but to call this a “Dream” is truly a nightmare for everyone involved with the Lions.

   Sure it gives me something to write about, and ofcourse we all look for teams that are self-imploding, but does this terrible season really need sarcasm? Well if this is what is going to happen, a team losing every game in a single season, then the Lions are easily the strongest candidate to do so.

   But how does a team get to this point when the NFL is built for an easy turaround? Ask the Atlanta Falcons and Miami Dolphins what a difference a year makes. Let’s be more frank here, the Oakland Raiders even manage to gain a couple of wins a season, this year they have beat the New York Jets!

   Here is the 3 factors of “the Dream Season”:

1.) Matt Millen- He is the former General Manager who is responsible for the team that has yet to win a game. He has brought in every player on this roster, and his inept ability to build a team clearly falls on the point of not putting “team players” on the roster. This team does not play as a unit.

2.) Ownership- Who owns the Detroit Lions? Is that old guy who is now looking to the government to give him a bail-out? The same guy who flew in a luxurious private jet to his meeting to try and get some money to stay afloat? Well it is, and his son is no better, so if there is no leadership or structure from the top executives, how can there ever be success!

3.) Remaining Schedule- With the Tennessee Titans, Minnesota Vikings, Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints, and Green Bay Packers left on the schedule, who or how can anyone expect the Lions to win at least one of these games?

   If this is the year that a NFL team does not win a game, it will really be the Lions. They have 5 chances left to get one win, but as everyone knows, it is the first win that is the hardest to get! Or maybe that would be the case if this team was ever given the chance to win.

J.M.Saucedo

   It seems like only yesterday the New England Patriots were celebrating their second consecutive Super Bowl Championship and their third in four years. That memorable victory against the Carolina Panthers which lead to the departure of New Englands two Coordinators.

   Romeo Crennel was the defensive main man and Charlie Weis was the offensive genious that both were given so much credit for the Patriots success. Crennel was on his way to becoming the Head Coach of the Cleveland Browns and Weis was heading to Notre Dame.

   It was predicted at that point in time that the Patriots would fold into mediocrity with the loss of its two star coordinators. Even Bill Belichick would not commit to saying that the loss of his two friends would not hurt the Patriots in the future.

   How that all has changed now. The Patriots are still among the league elite in the NFL dispite the fact that they have half of their team on injured reserved. Matt Cassel, the Patriots back-up QB, has stepped in for Tom Brady and has performed like no one would have ever expected.

   Weis has faltered in Notre Dame and has only established one trade-mark to his Fighting Irish days: Start fast, Finish even slower. Now the talk around Weis is when, not if, he will be fired by Notre Dame after another disappointing season.

   Crennel has not seemed to be the right fit in Cleveland where he has had one great season in 2007-08 in which the Browns just missed the playoffs. After a much hyped offseason where the Browns were picked as a favorite to make the playoffs this year.

   That as not worked out as planned as the Browns struggle this year to a 4-7 record and things are not looking up any time soon. The hot seat under Crennel appears to be near boiling and soon he just may join Weis as a fired employee of their organizations.

   What happens in the future no can predict, but maybe the two end up back with the Patriots at their original posts before they left. Either way, it must have been nice when they got all of the credit for Championships, but it must be terrible when you can not produce afterwards.

J.M.Saucedo

   The Philadelphia Eagles seem ready for a change in direction after todays dismal display of football against the Baltimore Ravens. For the second straight game, Eagles QB Donovan McNabb after a terrible effort from the once Pro-Bowl Quarterback.

   McNabb went 8-18 with 59 yards passing, two interceptions and a lost fumble in the first half of the Eagles loss to the Ravens, 36-7. It was not the fact that McNabb was playing so terribly that surprised many people watching the game, it was the fact McNabb was pulled at half-time.

   Kevin Kolb, the Eagles back-up QB, did no better than McNabb as he was only able to pass for 73 yards and two interceptions. The questions began to arise during the third quarter as Kolb was not ready to lead the Eagles in this game.

   What exactly was Head Coach Andy Reid thinking yanking McNabb for an unproven back-up QB in Kolb and then allowing him to struggle in the second half. Reid will no doubt be on the hot seat this week because of his teams lack of effort on the football field.

   It is time for Reid and the Eagles to each move on from this once promising relationship or at least the General Manager title to be removed from Reid. The Eagles have not been at the Championship contender caliber for quite some time and now would be a great chance for some changes.

   Whether at the end of the season Reid or McNabb or both are gone from the Philadelphia Eagels, we will all look to this point and remember how it all fell apart. Until then, the Eagles as a franchise need to regroup and focus on remaining a team that still has plenty to play for.

J.M.Saucedo

   The New York Knicks decided to make some trades on friday that might change the course of LeBron James’ career with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Knicks managed to trade away the multi-year contracts of Jamal Crawford and Zach Randolph to the amazement of many people.

   In the Knicks first move of the day was a trade of Crawford to the Golden State Warriors for Al Harrington which was very unexpected to say the least. With the moving of Crawford, the Knicks hacked away at the first contract that runs passed the 2010 season.

   The Knicks second move was a surprising move, even more so in Los Angeles where the Clippers finally made the headlines for something other than losing. The Clippers agreed to trade Tim Thomas and Cuttino Mobley for Zach Randolph and Mardy Collins.

   Clippers really shocked everyone when making this move and it was just as shocking to see someone want to take the contract of the well over-paid Randolph. It may turn out that Randolph could be a great player in the Clipper Offense, but his defense is too questionable.

   New York is seeing their opportunity to make bids on such stars as Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and LeBron James if they choose to become free-agents. The 2010 off-season will see all of those above mentioned players earn themselves large pay-checks.

   None other than James, however, is going to receive speculation until the 2010 off-season as to where he will go when his contract is up. It is highly rumored that he will seek a large media market team that can focus on him as the basketball genious that he is, that is where New York comes in.

   Not to mention James’ friendship with Hip-hop mega-star Jay-Z who is a part owner of the New Jersey Nets franchise. Whether it is true that these moves are for James or not, the New York Knicks assured themselves of an opportunity at one of the many top name free-agents of 2010.

J.M.Saucedo

   After a mistake on my behalf, it seems that I skipped over the only planned day of writing my favorite segment of the week. With that this is a special one day late version of the very popular and always intriguing “Shocking/Not So Shocking” friday edition.

Not So Shocking: The Pittsburgh Steelers walked right through the Cincinnati Bengals 27-10 in a game where the score was a lot closer than the game. It still does not seem as though Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger is healthy enough to be a starting QB.

A Second Not So Shocking: Really, I do not believe anyone thought the Bengals had a chance. The deactivated their second best WR and their starting QB is nowhere to be found. It was shocking that they kept the game that close for as long as they did.

Shocking: Shaquille O’Neal looked pretty good against the Los Angeles Lakers last night scoring 15 points and 9 rebounds. Really, I was that shocked that Shaq could still be the affective.

Not So Shocking: The Lakers beat the Phoenix Suns 105-92 and move their record to 9-1. The Suns look defeated and have to curb Shaq and start running again. That team looks really slow and boring.

Shocking: After a week of an open free-agency period, none of the major free-agents in Major League Baseball have signed a contract. And really, no other notable player has even sniffed a contract.

Not So Shocking: Maybe the economy has really hurt the MLB teams in the pocket. Or maybe the league was waiting for the New York Yankees to transfer their ownership from George Steinbrenner to his son Hal. After 35 years of memorable moments, it is truly sad to see the “Boss” has let go of owning the team he loves.

J.M.Saucedo