Raiders Give Voice to Past

We had just lifted our beer glasses to the sky to toast a great day of football, when an old, wonderful voice came booming across the frosty hills of Southwest Germany and through the double doors of the Grill Room.

By now, we were into the wee hours -- and many, many pils -- of this Monday morning.

It was right about the time the Raiders (The Raiders!) were putting the finishing touches on their improbable win over the heavily favored Eagles, when we heard it...

(Continue to The Grill Room)

Saints Expose Giants' Defense

Going back to their first Super Bowl victories, the Giants have always been defined by their defense.

Sure they had Phil Simms and some others, but this is a team that loved defense. The fans love their defense. The NFC East is all about the defensive side of the ball, and stopping the other team from moving the ball.

So when, exactly, did the Giants turn in the old San Diego Chargers, a team that couldn’t stop any body? Because that’s what it looked like Sunday, as Drew Brees drove the Saints all over the field on the way to an easier-than-it looked 48-27 victory.

(Continue to New York Minute)

Sanchez's Slump Continues

It took almost an entire overtime period for the Jets to drop to 3-3 and officially be considered a .500 team.

But if you watched the game (which in one of my most desperate acts as a football fan I drove to New York to do), you saw early on that the Jets really are no better than a .500 team.

You may remember in the preseason that I said Mark Sanchez's fast start (48-yard touchdown on his first throw) was probably the worst thing that could happen to him. I also said the humbling game he had against the Ravens might turn out to be the best thing that could have happened to him. I forgot about that lesson as the Jets jumped out to a 3-0 start this year. And I take back what I said about his first preseason game - the 3-0 start to his career is THE worst thing that could have happened to Mark Sanchez.

(Continue to 200 Miles From the Citi)

Arkansas Has Reasons to be Upset

It's tough enough to beat Florida in Gainesville, and it's next to impossible when the officiating crew is putting the screws to you. Check out two calls and one non-call in the fourth quarter of Saturday's game, won by Gators, 23-20. Florida had to rally from a 20-13 deficit in the final eight minutes, and each of these plays were part of Florida's comeback.

Arkansas was flagged 10 times for 92 yards. Florida had three infractions for 16 yards.

It makes you wonder how level the playing field is in the Southeastern Conference.

(Continue to the Wiz of Odds)

Locked-Out NBA Refs Made Wrong Call

Apparently the regular NBA referees were oblivious to the fact the rest of the country’s in a recession or that the national unemployment rate’s a staggering 9.5 percent.

If they did know, why in the heck did the union reject the NBA’s final contract offer last month?

The country’s harsh economic conditions simply made it extremely difficult for the regular NBA refs to have any leverage in negotiations with the league.

(Continue to All Net)

Bet on ... Davydenko

Nikolay Davydenko outclashed Rafa Nadal 7-6 6-3 to win the Shanghai Masters final and clinch his 18th title, in a manner of style even more impressing than the score would suggest. The Russian, renewed after the bet enquiry, the scandal and the suspects followed the sadly famous Sopot first round match against Vassallo Arguello in 2007, is now the most testing opponent to verify a player’s fitness. And Nadal, playing his first final for five months, showed to have some way to go to find his best form: he managed only nine winners to the 28-years-old Rusian’s 35. Davydenko is certain to finish the year outside the top-5 for the first time since 2004. And is now the player with the best result not to have played a Grand Slam final yet.

Now the Russian is seventh in the Year-to-Date and improves his odds to go to London for the World Tour Finals. All players can add points from the Atp 500 in either Basel or Valencia in the week of 2 Novembrer and again at the Paris Masters. But Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Nikolay Davydenko, Marin Cilic, Tommy Robredo and Radek Stepanek have all won two Atp 250 titles. And this could give some more chances for Robin Soderling, now n.9 in the YTD, now in Stockholm; because he won Bastad but has only 90 points from his second best performance in the ATP 250. So winning in Sweden, he could add 160 points to his ranking.

(Continue to ATP Tennis 360)

Glad I Saw the Game, But ...

Watching Independence blow out to a 41-0 half-time lead (it was 27-0 before I got all the way in from the parking lot) and hold South Meck scoreless until 3:01 left in the third before having the reserves hold on for a 55-28 final tally isn't going to help me much in evaluating just how big a game the Butler-Independence shootout is going to be on November 6th. I got fully enlightened on that by the gentleman who was *very* ticked that even though he has obviously supported The Big I as completely as possible with "family packs" of tickets, he would be given no preference when tickets for that particular event went on sale.

That acknowledged "biggie" may well mark a changing of the guard in Mecklenburg high school football. While Butler has built a great rep, Big I has a fistful-plus of championship trophies to show anyone who thinks they rate being called the best. Langston Wertz Jr. (lwertz@charlotteobserver.com) has seen a lot more games than I and puts Butler ahead, and I wish his one man campaign to have the game played at 6000-seats-plus-great-scoreboard Providence High on Nov. 7th the best of luck. That he thinks the State selection committee will let them play Sat. and delay slotting the two teams for the playoffs even a few hours is probably a Quixotian quest.

(Continue to Baseline Shorks)

Give Cashman Credit, Too

There has been a lot of discussion about the personnel moves made by the Yankees over the past few years in their bid to get back to the World Series.

What a lot of commentators have missed is the one move the Yankees didn’t make.

Back in 2007, after the team parted ways with manager Joe Torre, there was also a lot of conjecture on the future of general manager Brian Cashman.

The team lost to the Cleveland Indians in the Divisional Series, and Cashman’s contract was done. More than a few teams were interested in having Cashman come work for them.

(Continue to New York Minute)

More Compelling Games in Week 6

With the Dolphins on their bye week, the Guru gets to pick every game for the second straight week as I made an exception last week due to the gravity of that Monday Night game between the Jets and Dolphins.

[Quick interlude: Talk about an instant classic! Five lead changes in the fourth quarter? Three touchdowns in that quarter by Miami matching the total given up by the Jets defense in the previous four games? A 130.4 passer rating for second-year Dolphins QB Chad Henne in just his second NFL start? The Wildcat waltzing up and down the field on a Rex Ryan defense? All I can say is it was one of those memorable games those of us in the media will be talking about for years to come.]

Now back to regularly scheduled program:

(Continue to NFL Guru)

Pryor a Long Way from Big-Time QB

"Athletes” like Terrelle Pryor carry a truckload of expectations with them when they commit to a Division I program.

While their athleticism might go unchallenged, it alone doesn’t ensure they will master the nuances of playing the most demanding position in college football.

After his performance Saturday against Purdue, the athletic Pryor proved two things: No. 1, he isn't improving much; and, No. 2, he isn't ready to quarterback the Buckeyes with the precision and the polish the program needs.

Now, the criticism here isn’t altogether based on the fact the No. 7 Buckeyes lost, 26-18, to an ordinary Purdue team. A week earlier, they won, and the criticism was the same. For in that game, Pryor played as badly as any quarterback could play and still come away with win.

(Continue to Justice Is Served)

ND's Future Success Tied to Clausen

The Irish had an opportunity to send the game into overtime, but once again the Trojans found a way to get past Notre Dame 34-27. The Fighting Irish can only state with confidence that they are superior at the QB position and WR position. Matt Barkley is not better than Jimmy Clausen and it can be argued that Golden Tate is better than Damian Williams. At every other position on the field USC is just flat out better than the Irish.

Notre Dame did a very good job of containing Joe McKnight, holding him to 79 yards on 19 carries and 1 TD, but all three Notre Dame’s RBs only combined for 70 yards on 20 carries and 1 TD. USC DE Everson Griffen was in the Irish backfield for the majority of the game.

It was hard for Notre Dame to create pressure without blitzing. WR Damian Williams hit the Irish defense for a 41-yard TD on a WR screen when Notre Dame was caught blitzing at the wrong time. Even with the departure of players like Mark Sanchez, Rey Maualuga, Brian Cushing, Clay Matthews, Kyle Moore and Fili Moala Notre Dame still lacked the talent level to compete with USC.

(Continue to Inside the Pac-10)

First BCS Projection, 2009

A couple of upsets, a few near misses, and a baseball game that just would not end made for an interesting Saturday, the eve of the 2009 season's first BCS Standings.

Florida and Alabama both escaped with tough home wins against SEC foes. Texas held off Oklahoma again. And USC withstood an Irish rally to win its eighth straight against Notre Dame.

Virginia Tech and Ohio State weren't as fortunate. The Hokies are now officially out of the BCS title chase, and perhaps even the one for the ACC Coastal title, after an upset loss at Georgia Tech. Ohio State had a worse loss, getting bested by unranked Purdue at West Lafayette.

(Continue to BCS Guru)

The Dreaded Bases-Loaded Walk

Ryan Madson's bases loaded walk to give up the go-ahead run in Game 2 of the NLCS reminded me that it was 10 years ago that Kenny Rogers did same for the Mets in the NLCS.

The stakes were higher in Rogers' case - it was the bottom of the 11th of Game 6, and the run not only won the game but also clinched the series for the Braves. I can't imagine a more anti-climactic event than a series-ending bases loaded walk.

The bases loaded walk has been the bane of my existence this past decade or so - it just drives me nuts every time I see it - throw a strike! So with tomorrow being the 10-year anniversary of Kenny Rogers' becoming my number one baseball enemy...I turn to prose for therapy:

(Continue to 200 Miles From the Citi)

Buckeye Faithful Hangs on Pryor

You can’t be a Buckeyes fan without walking around with expectations as grand as that canyon in Arizona, even while they're staring at a mountain of evidence to the contrary. For what do people who shed Scarlet and Gray tears expect this season -- a National Championship?

That is, of course, what the faithful expect; it is always so at Ohio State.

They share the same inflated dreams as men and women who root for Florida, Southern Cal, Texas, LSU or any of the other college football powerhouses. It’s BSC title or bust, which explains why OSU fans -- and even sportscasters -- are so hard on Terrelle Pryor.

(Continue to Justice Is Served)

What Trap? Tide Will Roll Again

Alabama running back Mark Ingram

Even though No. 2 Alabama is at home Saturday night against No. 22 South Carolina, I have been wondering whether this a trap game for the Crimson Tide.

Coming off their 22-3 domination of Ole Miss last week and before Coach Lane Kiffin brings the hated Tennessee Vols to Tuscaloosa next week, the Gamecocks (5-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) could be catching the Tide (6-0, 3-0) at the right time.

On the other hand, Alabama appears to be a team on a mission and have too many marquee players who love playing football too much to have a letdown, such as quarterback Greg McElroy, running back Mark Ingram, linebacker Rolando McClain and cornerback Javier Arenas.

(Continue to Rue's Rant)