Matt Holliday appears to be heading to Oakland. I’ll spend more time looking at this one next spring, but my initial reaction is that this is positive – it’s the first time in a long while that the A’s have been a buyer, not a seller. Oakland fans deserve that. Holliday has to be relieved, too – given that he knew he was leaving Colorado there were certainly less hitter friendly places he could have wound up.
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Month: November 2008
1. The Big Ten got lucky. Penn State put up a lousy effort and lost to a team that they never should have lost to. That’s a good thing. I love the Big Ten, but it has been a horrible year for my conference. By losing, Penn State has avoided a third straight ass-kicking for the conference in the national championship game. That will allow the conference to rebuild and strengthen with slightly less scrutiny than they would if they got crushed. The conference will rebuild. There are things to build on – Terrelle Pryor is finding his way, and two of the top three runners in the country are in the conference.
Ohio State (-10.5) at Northwestern – It has been a long time since Northwestern has been even remotely relevant. This will be a good test of whether anything has changed. Northwestern has some disadvantages – most notably QB issues. They also need to prove that they are fast enough on defense to keep up with the Buckeyes. This one could be really interesting, or really, really not. It will also be a good chance for us to see what Terrelle Pryor is made of. He blew the Penn State game with a fumble, and he has been sitting around for two weeks thinking about that. He’ll be angry, but this will tell us if he can channel that anger.
Utah State (+35) at Boise State – This won’t be a close or particularly interesting game. At least, the Broncos hope that it won’t be. After Utah’s win last night (I told you that that would be a game worth watching), Boise State needs to keep winning very impressively to stand a chance of crashing the BCS party. It doesn’t look good for them unless Utah stumbles, but the only thing they can do is keep blowing out their opponents. That’s the only thing they can control.
Every so often when I am reading through the sports news of the day I find myself thinking that a story is important, only to realize that it really isn’t after thinking about it for a while. There are a two that fit into that category today:
Dan Orlovsky is headed to the IR – Detroit’s starting QB is probably going to wind up on the injured reserve after breaking his thumb in two places and damaging a ligament. That means that the Lions are going to be without there starting QB. Normally that matters, but here it doesn’t really. First, Orlovsky isn’t a great player. He’s better than the public gives him credit for, but he’s not a huge improvement over either of the team’s other two options. Second, he probably wasn’t going to play this weekend anyway, or if he was he was going to be on a short leash. The team is desperate enough to try anything that might get them a win – especially at home – and that means that they will put Daunte Culpepper in even if he isn’t ready. At the very least that will appease the home fans for a while. In short, Orlovsky’s injury will have very little impact on the line, and only slightly more on the outcome of the game. Quarterbacking is a problem for the Lions, but so is every other position group. The team could have a quarterback who is a whole lot better than Orlovsky or Culpepper and they would still be in trouble.
Continue reading “Two Stories That Sound Like They Matter, But Don’t”
There is a great football game tonight, and I am not talking about the debut of Brady Quinn. That one will be interesting, and it will be easy to find, but it doesn’t hold a candle to Thursday’s real gem – Utah at home against TCU. Not convinced that this is the game of the night? Here are eight reasons you should be:
Notes from around the sports, and sports betting, world today:
1. I can’t believe what a mess the Raiders are. De Angelo Hall hasn’t been worth the money they are paying him, but anyone with half a brain knew that that would be the case before the deal was done – especially since the Raiders didn’t really need corner help. Cutting him now may save a few bucks, but it has to throw the locker room into turmoil, and it makes the team a laughing stock. Or more of one. Good luck trying to attract free agents to town now. Especially if they cut Javon Walker, too. It is hard to imagine a time when this team is competitive again – at least not until after Al Davis’ funeral. From a betting perspective, it will be a long while until I can imagine seeing any value in them given their woes and the total chaos.
Worst NFL Game of the Week – This one is a no-brainer – it’s Jacksonville at Detroit. The Jaguars just lost to the freaking Bengals, and the Lions are as pathetic as a team can be. One of these teams is going to score more points, but neither of these teams are going to be winners. This is football at its worst.
Best NFL Game of the Week – There are several to choose from. Buffalo at New England is a huge battle for divisional supremacy. Indianapolis at Pittsburgh could be good if the Colts can manage to show up two weeks in a row. The Giants at Philadelphia is another big one from a divisional perspective. My choice, though, is Tennessee at Chicago. The Bears are much better, and more fun to watch, than most people thought. Tennessee just keeps finding ways to win. It should be fascinating.
Game With Teams With The Most To Prove – This one would be Green Bay at Minnesota. Both teams are underachieving, and both need to win to be competitive in a wide open division. They both have strengths, but both need to overcome some consistent problems if they still want to be standing eight weeks from now.
Oddest Line – Given what happened to the teams last year – one team made the playoffs as a division winner yet again, and the other won one game – how odd is it to see the Dolphins favored by 9.5 over the Seahawks? It’s a reasonably sound line, but it shows just how quickly things can change in this league.
Best College Game – For once this one doesn’t feature Texas, but it is still from the incedibly entertaining Big 12. Oklahoma State and Texas Tech – which upstart will survive? Using some basic algebra, the Red raiders have a slight edge – they beat Texas and Oklahoma State, playing their best, didn’t. Plus Texas tech is at home. THe game is as close as one can be – the three point spread is entirely explained by the home field. This could be yet another classic from the conference.
Filling Me With Dread – Michigan plays Minnesota this week. It’s in Minnesota. My Wolverines will lose badly. I’m resigned to the inevitable.
Four Interesting Games Between Unranked Teams – Louisville (+6.5) at Pittsburgh. The Panthers can play when they want to, and they can disappoint with regularity, too. It will be interesting to see which team shows up with the conference title in their grasp. Wyoming (+25) at Tennessee. How will the Vols play in their first game with a lame duck coach? Under normal circumstances they would win in a walk, so anything less than that indicates problems. Stanford (+13) at Oregon. The Cardinal were ridiculously dominant against Washington State last week. Some of that can be explained by how awful the Cougars are, but some comes dow to a promising team starting to find their stride. This game will be a good measure of how far Stanford has progressed. NC State (+4.5) at Duke. College basketball is just around the corner, but until it arrives we can make due with this game between basketball schools. Beyond that, the interest here is to see whether Duke can do the impossible and become bowl eligible.
Allen Iverson is my favorite NBA player, and he has been wasting away in Denver (and Philly for a few years before that, for that matter), so I am very happy to see him get moved today. Despite my bias, I have to say that the trade of Iverson to Detroit for Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess is a very good one for both teams – one with a chance for a real win-win scenario. Here’s a look:
Detroit Pistons
Tulsa (-7) at Arkansas – This one is simple. If Tulsa wins this one they will be in the driver’s seat to go 13-0. This is their last big test, and it is only a test because it is an SEC team. The Golden Hurricane should be fine here, and if they are then they could be a headache for BCS fans. They’ll be undefeated and they’ll want into the party. It will be interesting to see if they are allowed to play. It will be esppecially fun if these guys and Utah and Boise State were all to make it through unscathed.
Continue reading “College Games To Watch – Yes, Texas Is Here Yet Again”
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