Cool Hands Reign in SoCal

Joe Torre and Mike Scioscia remind me of each other, because all these two men do is produce winning ballclubs. Their styles might not be mirror images of one another, but their results are.

Fans in Los Angeles are fortunate to have Torre and Scioscia in the dugout. They are two managers who make the right moves.

Yeah, of course, managers win with talent. Don't forget what the late Yankees manager Ralph Houk told a sports journalist who once asked him what it took to be a great manager.

"Great players," Houk replied.

(Continue to Justice Is Served)

Showdown Sunday in New Orleans

The table is set, and for the first time in the Grill Room's short but storied history, the top two teams in our NFL 100-PROOF RANKINGS are bubbling over and ready to uncork what they've been bottling in order to see which team is made of the strongest stuff.

And though it's oh-so tempting to continue pouring out an endless stream of metaphors to set up what's on tap in this 100-proof matchup, we'll just call for the tab, and point out how appropriate it is that the showdown between the No. 1 Giants and No. 2 Saints is in New Orleans.

Let's pop the keg on this baby already! Er, sorry...

(Continue to The Grill Room)

Time for Quinn to Get Out of Cleveland

I've always hoped that Brady Quinn could make it in Cleveland, just like I root for all Notre Dame players to do well in the NFL.

But it was more than that. I thought that it would be a story-book scenario if the Ohio native/matinee idol could star for the team he rooted for as a child. That's why I was thrilled when the Browns drafted him, even though it was painful watching the kid get hung out to dry as he dropped through the draft.

Now, however, I'm thinking it might be best for Brady to get out Cleveland, which is still a mess and will have trouble winning two more games (Last week's 6-3 victory over Buffalo has to be one of the ugliest games in NFL history.) Let him go some place more stable, which would be about 25 other teams in the league.

(Continue to Bob Birge's Irish Eyes Are Smiling)

Dolphins Climb Back into Race

The Jets-Dolphins rivalry is back, and the nation got a chance to see two up-and-coming football teams play a classic game Monday night.

Ronnie Brown and the Wildcat got the better of the Jets, with Brown scoring a 2-yard touchdown run with six seconds left to give the Fins a 31-27 win that puts them back in the AFC East race.

There were several positives in the performance, and many of them were on offense.

(Continue to Dolphins Watch)

Ugly Start for Maple Leafs

Are the Toronto Maple Leafs really this bad?!

I mean after Brian Burke's summer of cleaning house, this is what the Maple Leafs are? A team that can't keep the puck out of its own net, is horrid down-low in its own end, has trouble finishing at the other end, and compounds one dumb penalty after another by being a putrid 57.9% on the penalty kill so far this season?

Yikes!

Well at least they can fight (witness Colton Orr tangling with Donald Brashear, above). And to their credit, the Maple Leafs did battle the Rangers for a bit last night before succumbing under the weight of their own ineptitude to the tune of a 7-2 final at Madison Square Garden.

(Continue to Jim Cerny's Rink Rap)

Should Cardinals Keep LaRussa?

Cardinal manager Tony LaRussa is the biggest free agent of the non playing roster heading into 2010.

LaRussa has been in St. Louis a long time. How long? Current Dodger Manager Joe Torre was the last full-time manager before Tony.

All indications point to a LaRussa return. But should the future Hall of Fame Manager come back to the Cardinals? Part of me says yes, part of me says the Cardinals need different and fresh direction. Has Tony brought the Cardinals as far as he can these days?

Yes, he led them to the 2004 and 2006 World Series winning it in 2006. So yes, he deserves to write his own ticket whether to stay or go.

(Continue to Paul's Redbird Report)

Expectations vs. the Spread

Let's talk more about expectations, specifically how teams have done against the spread this decade.

The first thing to realize, if you don't already, is that the spread is NOT a measure of how much Vegas thinks a team is going to win or lose by. It is a measure of what Vegas thinks the betting public thinks a team is going to win or lose by. Their goal is to get the number of bets on either side of the line as close to equal as they can, thereby ensuring that they'll win as much as they lose, making a profit on the vig they charge to place the bets. So it's in their best interest to know not only how good teams are and how they match up, but more importantly what the betting public thinks of how good teams are and how they match up.

So the spread can be seen as the mean, or middle, of public expectation. Half the people think a team will beat the spread, the other half don't. Looking at how teams have performed against these expectations can give us a good idea into whether they're truly underrated, overrated, or rated just about right.

(Continue to The National Championship Issue)

Spike to Air UFC 104 Prelims

Following in the tradition -- albeit short -- of UFC 103, the UFC and Spike will once again join forces to air UFC 104: Machida vs. Shogun preliminary bouts.

The fights will air at 6 pm PST or one hour prior to the pay-per-view (PPV) broadcast featuring a main event with Lyoto Machida defending his Light Heavyweight belt for the first time against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.

In similar fashion to its debut at UFC 103 last month, Spike will show two guaranteed fights while potentially showing a third depending on how the prelim fights go. The two guaranteed fights will feature a light heavyweight contest between Ryan Bader and Eric Schafer as well as a heavyweight matchup between Antoni Hardonk and Pat Barry.

(Continue to Fighter's Corner)