Big Mouth ASU QB, Bobby Frasor, Rich Rodriguez, and week 17 Win or Die Picks

Message to Rudy Carpenter, quarterback of Arizona St: You may want to keep your mouth shut next time you are in a bowl game, unless you can back up the trash you talk. He spouted off all week about how he was not all that impressed with Texas, and they demolished Arizona St, and Carpenter personally, in the Holiday Bowl last night. If you talk the talk, you better be able to walk the walk.

The Tar Heels lost guard Bobby Frasor for the season last night with a torn ACL. Frasor is a combo guard that can back up Lawson at the point or Ellington at the shooting guard slot. However, I think the Heels will not miss a single beat with this loss; it will be irrelevant for a team with this much talent that also has Quentin Thomas to bring off the bench in the guard spot.

West Virginia is suing Rich Rodriguez to retrieve the $4 million he rightfully owes them according to the contract he signed. I have seen blogs that say West Virginia is in the wrong and should just let Rodriguez walk. Are you kidding me? The guy signed a contract which had a buyout clause in it, and then did not have the decency to live up to the terms of the contract and the commitment he made to his team and his players. I hope West Virginia gets every cent of that $4 million, and I hope it costs Rodriguez a bunch extra in legal fees.

And as of the win or die, as we are a week away from taking this baby into the playoffs....

Pick Breakdown:

Cleveland 11
EAGLES 2
Green Bay 1
San Diego 3
Washington 3

Individual Picks:

Angel San Diego
Chris Nangle 1 Cleveland
CP 2 Cleveland
D Froney 1 Cleveland
Dan/Steve Gold 6 Cleveland
David Louis Stitzer Washington
Ed Ramirez 2 Cleveland
Eric Meyers 3 Washington
Gary Jonas 1 Cleveland
Gregg 2 Washington
How Goldberg…NOW BYRON EAGLES
Joe Pucillo 2 Cleveland
M Lacerenza…NOW BYRON San Diego
May Lee 6 EAGLES
Pierre Brown 1 Cleveland
Ray Attiyah 1 Cleveland
Steven Immergut 1 Green Bay
Stuart Erickson 2 San Diego
Todd & Regan 4 Cleveland
WJO 4 Cleveland

Week 16 Win or Die Picks

I was in Madison Square Garden last night for the battle between Pitt and Duke in which the Dukies choked away a 16 point lead and lost by 1. They shot 37% from the field, had 19 turnovers and were outrebounded by 18. Just a poor effort by the Devils. Overall, just a tremendous 24 hours in NYC as I was able to hook up with lots of friends. Will try to write something on games and trip in coming days.

As for the Win or Die....good luck to all and I hope everyone has a great weekend and Merry Christmas.

Pick Breakdown:

Arizona 4
Detroit 1
Jacksonville 12
Tennessee 3

Individual Picks:

Angel Jacksonville
Chris Nangle 1 Jacksonville
CP 2 Tennessee
D Froney 1 Jacksonville
Dan/Steve Gold 6 Jacksonville
David Louis Stitzer Jacksonville
Ed Ramirez 2 Jacksonville
Eric Meyers 3 Jacksonville
Gary Jonas 1 Tennessee
Gregg 2 Jacksonville
How Goldberg…NOW BYRON Detroit
Joe Pucillo 2 Arizona
M Lacerenza…NOW BYRON Jacksonville
May Lee 6 Jacksonville
Pierre Brown 1 Arizona
Ray Attiyah 1 Arizona
Steven Immergut 1 Jacksonville
Stuart Erickson 2 Arizona
Todd & Regan 4 Tennessee
WJO 4 Jacksonville

Michigan/West Virginia, Steroids Thought, Dickie V, Brian Westbrook, Vikings/Bears

If I were Bill Martin, University of Michigan Athletic Director, I would watch my back pretty closely. I would imagine there are some pretty ticked off Mountaineer fans now that Martin has stolen West Virginia's football coach to go with the hoops coach that he stole less than a year ago. Green is the prevailing color here as the path from Gold & Blue to Maize & Blue continues.

I still think college football somehow needs a rule in place keeping moves from happening until after bowl games. It is not fair to the West Virginia kids that they now will be coached by an interim coach in the bowl game.

Andy Pettitte. Brian Roberts. Fernando Vina. These are some of the players that came out with some sort of admission after their names appeared in the Mitchell Report last week. The message in each case was similar. I only used it once or twice and it was only to recover from an injury. Well, you know what, I was not there, so I cannot say whether this is true or false. (I think Jemele Hill in her espn.com article yesterday took some liberties with her assumptions.) However, what I would have said if I were being paid to write for espn instead of Jemele Hill, is that while I have no proof as to what happened or why or how many times, these apologies/rationales reek of, to use two words, insincerity and bullshit. Maybe Brian Roberts only used steroids one time? Maybe Andy Pettitte only used twice and to recover from injury for the good of the team? Maybe, maybe not. But if I were the agent for either, I would have advised to a) make a sincere apology that is not riddled with disclaimers, excuses, and mitigating circumstances, or b) keep your mouth shut.

Well, America got its college basketball wish. No, the Duke team plane did not blow up, not that wish. Instead, Dick Vitale is having throat surgery and is sidelined until February. While I think Dickie V is certainly excitable, I actually think his enthusiasm, passion and excitement for the game combined with his knowledge are good for college hoops, and that people will actually miss his doing games more than most will admit. So I will be in the minority and say get well and hurry back Dickie V!

John Runyan strategized and Brian Westbrook executed one of the best, most unselfish plays I have seen in football in a long time when Westbrook fell down on the 1 yard line so the Eagles could run out the clock without ever giving the Cowboys the ball back, instead of scoring an easy touchdown. Just a breath of fresh air in today's greedy world of professional athletics.

Speaking of the Eagles/Cowboys game, I had previously switched to sort of rooting for the Eagles to lose games (at least until the games actually started). After all, it would be better long term for the team to improve their draft status, and since it has been clear for a few weeks that they were not going to the playoffs much less Super Bowl, losing could help. Of course that never really works out when I sit down to watch the game with my 4-year-old and we always end up cheering heartily for the Birds as always (in other words, rationally it is OK to improve draft position, but emotionally you just can't do it). But even if I were rooting for the Birds to lose, the one loophole is always the Cowboys. The bile that comes to my throat at the mere thought of Jerry Jones or T.Blows is just overwhelming. So it was pretty damn special to beat the Cowboys in Texas Stadium on Sunday. For an Eagles fan, this was as good as it is going to get this year. With any luck, we can hurt their momentum, have them lose again, coughing up home field advantage in the process, and get Brett Favre one more shot at a ring.....

Because I had my Fantasy Football Semi-Finals on the line, I actually watched the entire Vikings/Bears game despite the constant urge to stab both eyes out. In case you are wondering, I pulled out a 79-76 win over Blacksnake thanks to a complete no-show from Bernard Berrian). Let me say, if these teams do not get into a bidding war with the Eagles for the services of one Donovan McNabb next year, they are insane. McNabb has ties to both teams. He is from Chicago, and played several years for Brad Childress of the Vikings when he was the Eagles Offenisive Coordinator. Either team can make a Super Bowl run with McNabb. The Eagles and McNabb need a clean break after this year. It is in the best interests of both parties. If it happens, he could win the MVP and the Super Bowl in the same year. You heard it here first.

New Duke Football Coach, Disappointing College Hoops Teams, Mark Prior, Win or Die Picks

It appears as though Duke is going to introduce David Cutcliffe as its next Head Football Coach as early as today. While people say he is an offensive guru who developed both Manning boys (if you buy into the argument that Eli Manning has actually been developed), I could counter by saying in my opinion Eric Ainge, his latest project, has had a somewhat disappointing career at Tennessee. My buddy Uncle Charlie thinks that if the Blue Devils could not get Paul Johnson, "Cutcliffe seemed to me to be the best choice of the names that have been in the mix. I like the fact that Cutcliffe put some pretty good teams on the field at Ole Miss, which is not an easy place to win." He also did not like my choice of Rod Broad for an understandable reason: "I really have a problem with the idea of a UNC grad being the coach at Duke." Fair enough. Anyway, it will be interesting to see if Cutcliffe, who had open heart surgery last year, can win on the gridiron at Duke.

Now that we are a good month and change into the college hoops season, it is time to point out a couple of programs that have been disappointing to date:

• Louisville has to be far and away the biggest disappointment. Not only was Louisville in the Top 10 in everyone's pre-season poll, I truly thought they were one team that had a legitimate chance to cut down the Nets this year in San Antonio. Now they have lost David Padgett for the year and Derek Caracter has been suspended indefinitely for missing curfew. Edgar Sosa has performed very inconsistently and is averaging only 7 ppg and barely hitting better than one out of every three 3-pointers he is throwing up there.
• I really thought Maryland would emerge and be the 3rd best team in the ACC this season behind Duke and Carolina. Their all-sophomore backcourt has good size and I felt showed great flashed last year. Also, I felt James Gist would become an All-ACC type player. So far, the Terps are 6-5, including home losses to Ohio University and Boston College, who I watched lose at home to UMASS and look absolutely brutal. My guess is if the Terps do not pick it up, Gary Williams will start to hear real calls for his job. Of course, I still expect Maryland to turn it around, and you know they will give Duke all they can handle (if not more) the two times they hook up this season.
• Souhern Illinois. It is not so much that the Salukis are only 4-3, or the fact that they lost to some pretty good teams, but rather the manner in which they lost to USC, Indiana and Charlotte that has me concerned. This team played lock down defense last year and would not have lost to anyone by 25 the way they did to USC, and certainly would not have lost to Charlotte by 15. Southern Illinois won a huge game in Carbondale the other night against undefeated and ranked St. Mary's so maybe all is not lost.

Note to the Phillies: Since you are budget strapped, why not go take a flyer on an incentive-laden deal for Mark Prior? Huge upside, and if you can get out with base salaries in the $2-3 million range, what is there to lose? OK , onto the win or die picks....

Pick Breakdown:

Baltimore 1
Cincinnati 1
Green Bay 1
Indianapolis 2
Minnesota 2
San Diego 3
Tampa Bay 12

Individual Picks:

Angel San Diego
Chris Nangle 1 Tampa Bay
CP 2 Indianapolis
D Froney 1 Tampa Bay
Dan/Steve Gold 6 Tampa Bay
David Louis Stitzer Minnesota
Ed Ramirez 2 Tampa Bay
Eric Meyers 3 Tampa Bay
Gary Jonas 1 Tampa Bay
Gregg 2 Tampa Bay
How Goldberg…NOW BYRON Indianapolis
Joe Pucillo 2 Tampa Bay
M Lacerenza…NOW BYRON Tampa Bay
May Lee 6 San Diego
Pierre Brown 1 Tampa Bay
Ray Attiyah 1 Tampa Bay
Ryan Carey 2 Cincinnati
Ryan Doheny 7 Baltimore
Steven Immergut 1 San Diego
Stuart Erickson 2 Minnesota
Todd & Regan 4 Green Bay
WJO 4 Tampa Bay

The List is Out

George Mitchell's report is out, and paging through his document, it looks like many of the names I listed this morning were correct, and at least a couple, most notably Albert Pujols and Jason Varitek, do not appear. Looking at the report, my guess is that his list is just the tip of the iceberg (i.e., I am sure there were steroid sources that were not interviewed or uncovered by Mitchell). Bottom line is that Lou had it right in his post below this morning: let's spend our time looking ahead at how to fix the problem and not get bogged down in the past or what to do to punish past violators (to his credit, Mitchell said as much in his press conference). Here is a link to the list of players named in the report.

D-Day is Here: Lou Israel's Take on Baseball and Steroids...AND NEW: THE LIST

Lou Israel, a consistent participant in my pools (you know him as Mike Vick's alter ego, Ron Mexico) is jumping into the blog with his first contribution to the Musings. He is up-in-arms over how baseball has handled the steroids investigation. His premise is that baseball should stop focusing on the past and set their sights on how to improve the game in the future. It should start some good conversation on this , the day the the vaunted Mitchell Report is delivered to MLB at 2:00 pm today (please feel free to use the comment section to get the discussion going). We have not seen this much excitement about a report since the Frozen Concentrated Orange Juice Crop Report was delivered by one Clarence Beaks, may he rest in peace. Ladies and gentlemen, Louis Israel.....

Note (11:54): Here is the list of names that the Mitchell Report will identify later today:
Brady Anderson, Manny Alexander, Rick Ankiel, Jeff Bagwell, Barry Bonds, Aaron Boone, Rafaeil Bettancourt, Bret Boone, Milton Bradley, David Bell, Dante Bichette, Albert Belle, Paul Byrd, Wil Cordero, Ken Caminiti, Mike Cameron, Ramon Castro, Jose and Ozzie Canseco, Roger Clemens, Paxton Crawford, Wilson Delgado, Lenn y Dykstra, Johnny Damon, Carl Everett, Kyle Farnsoworth, Ryan Franklin, Troy Glaus, Rich Garces, Jason Grimsley, Troy Glaus, Juan Gonzalez, Eric Gagne, Nomar Garciaparra, Jason Giambi, Jeremy Giambi, Jose Guillen, Jay Gibbons, Juan Gonzalez, Clay Hensley, Jerry Hairston, Felix Heredia, Jr., Darren Holmes, Wally Joyner, Darryl Kile, Matt Lawton, Raul Mondesi, Mark McGwire, Guillermo Mota, Robert Machado, Damian Moss, Abraham Nunez, Trot Nixon, Jose Offerman, Andy Pettitte, Mark Prior, Neifi Perez, Rafael Palmiero, Albert Pujols, Brian Roberts, Juan Rincon, John Rocker, Pudge Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa, Scott Sc hoenweiis, David Segui, Alex Sanchez, Gary Sheffield, Miguel Tejada, Julian Tavarez, Fernando Tatis, Maurice Vaughn, Jason Varitek, Ismael Valdez, Matt Williams and Kerry Wood.
_____________________________

There are a number of old white men who are convinced that they love baseball and understand it more than anyone else. Like the rest of us, they dream of being a part of the game, but since they are in power they've found a way to do it without any talent for playing, and without buying a ticket. Yes, they get sport so much more than the rest of us. They understand it on a higher level. That's why only they can understand the logic of running an inquisition and then asking for signatures from the subjects. And not the type of signatures you put on a legal document. They want the signatures on photos and cards, the kind from a hero that you frame and ebay or give to your son to mount on the wall.

That's ok though because as long as they're there, we're assured we have just what we need in sport. Lawyers. Teams of lawyers with impeccable records, a billion dollars of schooling, and oh, season tickets, because they love the game. Yes, it is everything that baseball needs.

I am not a fool and neither are most fans when it comes to the subject of their sport. We had a steroid era. I don't know how this is possible, but somehow my perspective is reported to be the bizarre and rare one. See, I'm not mortified that the players were on steroids, I just enjoy watching the game (so unsophisticated, I know). But even if it upset you, oh loyal fan, and I do understand that position- we know it now. Start testing and the steroid era will end. Just another era, another chapter of America's pastime. Brand the Barry ball, fine. Mark the record books with notations of a steroid era, fine. That is all that is needed. A government body coming to punish and 'out' is not a hero. The knowledge is out there, punishment is not the answer. But without it, how can our respected lawyers, our betters, brag about being a baseball.hero? Can't tell war stories of a 9th inning homer, so tell stories of a 9 hour interrogation. If you can't play it, litigate it. It has nothing to do with them. Leave Barry alone, leave the rest of them alone. It is not the government's business. These are not reasons to go to jail. These are not reasons to be publicly shamed in front of a nation. Just let the game recover.

So congratulations to the team of lawyers and the 8 digit paycheck we cut for them. They were able to use their Ivy League educations and their multimillion dollar laboratories to outwit some tobacco chewing jocks who took drugs so they could play better. Huzzah. The legal team can raise their glasses high tonight as they tuck into 100 dollar steaks that you and I paid for, all the while really believing they did something other than embarass and maybe jail a few dozen famous players who would stop anyway if and when all that needed to be done is done; that is a real testing system gets set up. With this way though, maybe some more money can be funnelled into Cooperstown for a Baseball's Greatest Lawyers wing.

I just hope they're careful at the champagne toast tonight. If there is any justice a waiter or bartender who is a fan of the game just might serve up a special dose of Dom Perignon bruised with the tainted urine so the boys could give the analysis which they deemed so important. But this analysis could not be done by a machine. No, as they swish the piss around their golden tongues and whitened teeth, the flavor and character could be tasted in human detail. Something like, pretentious, not very amusing, and with a long lingering and bitter aftertaste.

Go West, Young Man (Aaron Rowand Signs with Giants)

Reports surfaced this afternoon that Aaron Rowand is going to sign a five year deal with the San Francisco Giants. Terms were not disclosed by you can bet the deal is in the $60-70 million range. I mean, if Andruw Jones, who couldn't hit the side of a barn this year, got a deal for $18 million per (admittedly for a shorter term), then clearly Rowand will net at least $12 million if not 14 or 15.

There was no way the Phillies, who have Pat Burrell, Shane Victorino, and Jayson Werth signed for next year, are close to their budget limits, and need pitching help desperately (and 3rd base help wouldn't hurt either), were going to sign Rowand. And you know what, I agree 100% with this decision. In addition to being a budget fatality, the fact remains that Rowand probably had a career year last year when he hit .309-27-89, and played his usual solid defense. In my opinion, he is not worth the cash that it would take to get his name in ink on a contract.

So, if the Phillies made what I believe to be an absolutely correct decision based on market valuation and their budgetary restrictions, then why do I have a sneaking suspicion that they will really miss Rowand on their squad next year. This guy was a perfect fit for Philly with his blue collar style for a clue collar town. He brought it every day, and his hustle and effort were clearly contagious on this team. Guys like that are always missed.

The Phils have enough guys, Chase Utley immediately comes to mind, that have that great work ethic to overcome Rowand's absence. But they will miss him for sure.

Good luck to Aaron Rowand. Unfortunately for him, who always seemed like a win-first guy, the signing is curious because he is going to a team that is bound to struggle for the foreseeable future (having close to $20 million per wrapped up in a mediocre-at-best Barry Zito for 6 more years on a cash strapped team will not help). I guess this shows that pretty much all the professional athletes today are following the green (although Rowand is a California kid so I guess you can make the argument he wanted to go back home).

Bobby Petrino Shows His True Colors, And a New Blog Option...

A quick blog note: I am going to shoot for increased frequency of posts, meaning I may post shorter stuff. That way, you can always click on the blog and find new stuff....we will see how that works out.

Let me see if I can put this in a nice way. Hmmm. Thinking. Still thinking. Nope. The only way to say it is as follows: Bobby Petrino is a complete and utter jackass. Let me count the ways:

1. When he was at Louisville, he basically flirted with every possible job opening that came his way. And not just your normal coaching flirtations. I mean he pretty much kissed necks and rubbed boobs before saying he was married and slinking back to Louisville.
2. When he left, he took a 5 year, $24+ million dollar job to coach the Falcons. Not even a year later, he is leaving Atlanta with a whopping three NFL wins on his resume.
3. When Arthur Blank, the man who was generous enough to pay him something like $1.5+ million per win, allegedly asked him point blank the other day if he was considering leaving after rumors surfaced, he looked him in the eye and said categorically NO.

Look, bottom line, why sign a five year deal to coach somewhere and then not even give it a full year? The going got tough with the Vick controversy and all the sucking the Falcons have done, and Petrino took his ball and went home, which now evidently is in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Here's to hoping a lot of top recruits will consider Petrino's lack of ability to keep commitments before committing 3-5 years to this coach.

And one more thing on this topic. When will the NFL and the individual coaches involved realize that there is a different skill set to be successful at the pro level than what works in college. Steve Spurrier, one of the best college coaches ever (you automatically get that distinction if you can win at Duke!), could not do it. Nick Saban? Nope. Butch Davis? Nope. Mike Riley? Nope. Barry Switzer? Please. The last guys to do this successfully from my angle were Jimmy Johnson and Dennis Green (yes, Green did have some success in Minnesota before he turned out to be who we thought he was), and that was a while back.

NFL teams should stop taking flyers on guys from the college level who a) probably won't succeed, and b) probably are more cut out for the college game anyway. And yo, college coaches......stop being fooled by the money. You are already making plenty of it. You are popular in your school/city, and you can probably keep your near perfect lifestyle in tact for an indefinite amount of time (see Joe Paterno or Bobby Bowden). Appreciate what you have...the grass is not greener on the other side, only the money is.

Finally, Arthur Blank, listen. The real estate market SUCKS, so if you want a great candidate to replace Petrino, give me a call. I promise I will stay the length of my entire contract, and I promise I can win at least the three game Petrino gave you this year. And I will do it for half of Petrino's salary. Think about it...

My buddy J.O., who lives out in California, has jumped into the blog world. Even though he will not admit this, I am fairly certain that he was inspired by ME (I know I can inspire J.O. to do stuff cause once I dared him to give a toast at a 30+ person bachelor party in which he barely knew anyone, and did not even know the groom-to-be all that well). We can only hope this blog is better than that toast was). Anyway, if you live in the Bay area or are planning to visit, J.O.'s blog will be a social commentary on life in San Francisco. I encourage everyone to check it out. (It is also linked in my link section under Cocktail Hour).

Verizon/Comcast Remote follow up, Tim Tebow, Duke Football Coach, Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather, Mike Vick, Kay Yow, Some NFL, & Dils Bowl Pool

Some quick follow up from my Verizon review last week regarding the Comcast remote working with the Verizon Fios service:

• I called Comcast and learned that they charge $15 if a remote is not returned. I also visited Best Buy and discovered there is certainly no better option there for less. So, my recommendation is that when you switch from Comcast to Verizon Fios, which you should do immediately, hang onto your Comcast digital remote to use in conjunction with your Fios for the Page Down feature.
• Also, I wanted to credit Joe Prez' wife, Tracy, with the Comcast remote discovery, which proves once and for all (not that there was a doubt), that Tracy is not only better looking but also smarter than Joe. To Joe's credit, I am fairly sure he can still take her in a 50-yard dash.

Tim Tebow won the Heisman Saturday night. He is the first sophomore to win the award, and has to be considered an overwhelming favorite to repeat next year for two reasons. First, it is likely that he will put up gaudy numbers again next year, and one would have to assume that his passing skills will be even more improved to go along wioth his bruising rushing style. Second, while Florida lost thre games this year and was never in teh National title hunt (although they may have been if the season was two weeks longer and everybody kept losing!), they wil be absolutely loaded next year and probably competing for another championship, giving Tebow even more exposure and credibility. Look for Chase Daniel, Steve Slyton (after a sub-par year this year) and Kevin Smith from University of Central Florida (who may break Barry Sanders all-time single season rushing mark this year as a junior) to give Tebow the most competition in 2008.

Duke still has not hired a footbal coach, having lost out in the Paul Johnson sweepstakes. My guess is that they will not take my recommendation and hire Rod Broadway or they would have done it by now. But they are looking at re-treads like Bobby Johnson (head coach at Vandy with a 20-50 career record for the Commodores) and Karl Dorrell (fired at UCLA) for the spot. Ugh. I would rather see them take a shot on Rick Neuheisel and hope he can clean up his act. At least the guy has shown hew can win. (Of course, I still think Broadway, who would be Duke first African American coach in any sport ever, was an ex Duke assistant, and has won in both jobs he has had as a head coach, overcome the fact that he is a Tar Heel alum and make him the right choice!)

Floyd Mayweather just showed how he is far and away the best pound for pound fighter in the world, and demolishing Ricky Hatton this past weekend in Las Vegas, despite most of the UK showing up to supoprt the Brit. People may not always love Floyd's style, but he is a once-in-a-generation type fighter. I would love to see him take one more big fight and take on Iceman's favorite Miguel Cotto before he hangs up the gloves. Cotto is a tremendous power fighter (and a bit more refined in his skills than Hatton) and is the only guy in my opinion that could have any reasonable chance of defeating Pretty Boy.

Michael Vick got sentenced yesterday. I will end this topic before everybody loses interest.

We do not talk a lot about Women's basketball in this site, but Kay Yow, the head coach at NC State, is truly a remarkable woman who transcends sports and provides such inspiration. Yow has been coachnig at State since before I was at Duke (if I remember correctly Andrea Stinson was the big star when I was in school, and yes I am old...). She has been battling cancer for quite some time, and has fought more valiantly and sccessfully that most in her condition could. Despite her cancer being termed "Stage 4" almost a year ago, she continues to fight and coach. She has helped raise a lot of money for teh V Foundation and cancer research. If you want to learn more about here story, here is a link to a NY times article.

They need to add some flexibility to the NFL schedule. The fact that the Falcons have been on Monday Night Football this year more than the 11-2 Green Bay Packers (AND BRETT FAVRE) is a joke. The two NFL Network games this week are Denver at Houston and Cincinnati at San Francisco. They need to put the best games on Prime Time. Of course, unless my campaign to get everbody to switch from Comcast to Verizon Fios works, most people don't get the NFL Network anyway. But still....

It was amazing to me that the Patriots, who were 12-0 this year, and other than 3 close games, had won 9 of those 12 by AT LEAST 17 points, were getting no respect last week (and I am not just talking about Steeler's players here). I heard lots of people say they thought PIttsburgh was going tobeat New England (in Foxboro). Of course, they got smahsed. Look, mayeb New England had a little lull against teh Eagles and Baltimore, but they are the class of the league, no matter much you hate them, Belichick or Brady. There is one team, ONE, that has a chance to beat them in January, and that is the Indianapolis Colts (who are playing well again after a lull of their own, lowlighted by a nasty 13-10 wni at home over Kansas City). Sorry, Dallas. Sorry, Green Bay. Sorry, San Diego. Sorry, Pittsburgh. None of you will beat New England this year. The Super Bowl Champion will be New England unless Indy beats them (and then I would give Dallas a chance)...

Reminder, if you want to sign up for the Dils Bowl Pool, click here to sign up and make your picks (picks and money due by Thursday, 12/20).

Verizon Fios Review, Fat Solution, Joe Prez Take on the 'Nova 'Cats, Week 14 Win or Die Picks

You know what Billy King and I have in common? Within the past week, we have both been freed from the evil empire that is Comcast. I guess the difference is he is still getting paid by them! A week ago, Verizon Fios was installed at the Dils household. Here are my takeaways:

• The pricing is better than Comcast's. Our comparable service is approximately $60 cheaper per month than the same service with Comcast.
• The Fios DVR (i.e., TiVo) is really cool. You record shows on the TV with the DVR, but then can pull them down and watch them on any non-HD TV in the house (there is a hardward issue that makes it impossible to pull the DVR shows onto a high-def box). Still, very cool. Last Saturday I recorded the Duke hoops game Saturday and was able to watch it Sunday morning on the treadmill in the basement.
• You get more channels with Fios. For sports fans, you get ESPNU (which has a ton of good college football and hoops games), which is not available at all on Comcast, and NFL Network is included on the Basic package (you pay $1.99 premium per month on Comcast). You can also get a sports and movies package for like $15 per month that includes over 40 movie channels plus abuot 12 additional sports channels. The HBO package on Fios has more HBO channels than its equivalent at Comcast.
• I had a problem with my install in which they had to come out three times to install. When I called about it, they could not have been nicer, and offered me a choice of a free HD 19" flat screen TV or $150 credit. So, I have only had the service a week, but the customer service seems drastically better.
• One disadvantage to Fios versus Comcast is that their remote guide is not able to "page down" like you can with the Comcast remote (you have to go one channel at a time). The solution: hang on to your Comcast digital remote. It works on the Fios guide!!! (I have not yet determined what Comcast will charge for a missing remote, I will advise when I discover)
• To me, the quality of the phone connection, speed of the Ineternet connection, and quality of the TV picture are all a wash. They were perfectly fine on Comcast, and they seem about the same to me on Verizon.

So, as you can see, overall, I am a proponent of making the switch from Comcast to the Verizon Fios bundle! Of course, when you combine Verizon Fios (and additional TV watching) with the holidays (and additional eating) and my increased age and decreased metabolism, you have the risk of adding on a few extra pounds. For those of you in the Philadelphia area, I have a great solution for you. The Aquatic & Fitness Centers is the best gym/club I have ever encountered. Click here for more information; I would summarize the benefits of this club as follows:

• Besides offering all the usual stuff you would find at a gym, these guys offer great diversity of services and equipment. They feature 8 indoor tennis courts, 3 racquetball courts, a basketball court, pools, and a great yoga and pilates studio.
• They have hands down the best customer service I have seen. They are more attentive to members and guests than any competitor. They have almost 200 employees at each location to meet their cusomers' needs, including over 25 personal trainers at each location. When you come in you are greeted by 2 or more smiling faces and handed a towel. They throw members appreciation parties every month with food, music, special events, etc. No one does that....
• One thing that skeeves me out about many gyms is teh cleanliness, and these guys are the best I have encountered. This place always looks and smells clean. You never have to worry about Costanza peeing in the shower or someone not wiping down the equipment!
• For a workout place, they are so family friendly. They invite families to bring their kids, utilize our babysitting services, tennis lessons, kids fitness training, swim lessons, chill at our cafe with wifi and an Internet kiosk for the kids to check e-mail, etc. Most clubs are not so welcoming (other than stanky YMCAs)...
• If you have a problem, the owner is there to solve it himself. He is always around and approachable. Try that at LA Fitness.

So, is that enough of a New Year's Resolution. Maybe some of you will work out so I don't have to. I am heading back to the couch. But in all seriousness, if you are looking for a gym in the Philly area, check out the Aquatic and Fitness Centers. I think you will agree they are the best.

My buddy Joe Prez was down at the Wachovia Center last night to watch the Villanova hoopsters take the court against LSU's Bayou Bengals. Here are Prez' takes:

• LSUs Randolph and Johnson presented huge matchup problems for Villanova (offensively and defensively). Both > 6’11”, quick and able to block shots extremely well. Our usual guard penetration was negated by their shot blocking capability (14 blocks for LSU).
• Although Malcolm Grant sparked the comeback, Casiem Drummond was the unsung hero of the first half and kept Villanova close by scoring all 10 of his points in the first half (if you call 35-24 close).
• Redding and Reynolds had horrendous shooting nights (combined 4 for 21). Both were still active on the boards though and helped us to a +4 advantage.
• Reynolds had a guy playing him tough on the perimeter. And as mentioned, he had plenty of help on Reynolds’ drives to the hoop. Reynolds could not finish anything. Although possibly an off night, it does expose what will probably happen to him in the NBA.
• Corey Fisher sees the floor extremely well. He’s strong and threw a number of great passes that were mishandled. Predict that he has a better chance of making it in the NBA than Scottie Reynolds.
• Pressure – LSU had no problem handling the Villanova half and three quarter trap/pressure. Villanova very looked slow rotating their defense. Perhaps the 9:30PM start was too late for them.
• Having your team down by 21 points in the second half does not seem so bad compared to being home and trying to keep 2 twenty month olds happy.
• The more remarkable comeback was not being down 21 with about 8:30 to play but being down 15 with under 3 mins to play. Lot of people left at the 4 min TV timeout.
• Obvious key turning point was Malcolm Grant’s three and the foul which cut the deficit down to 11 and sparked a Villanova 9-0 run. A not so obvious play was 6’11” LSU center Randolph fouling out with 4 mins to go. That hurt LSU.
• Malcolm Grant, true freshman, was ice from the line. All his free throws looked great. 18 pts in 16 mins of play is not a bad stat line.
• Jay Wright seemed extremely subdued last night. Not sure if he was sick or what but was very quiet for a coach whose #21 team was getting their ass kicked in every way on their home floor by a team picked to finish at the bottom of their conference.
• Jay Wright waited until <>
• Arena was only half full and half of those people left with 8 mins and more left with 4 mins to go (bummer for them). Not sure why I stayed. Oh yeah, I work from home with 2 twenty month olds running me ragged. I considered this good quiet time.
• Lastly, Villanova girls still look nice. All seem to be into wearing some sort of high suede boots over jeans (vs our years where they wore a XXXL sweatshirt over leggings – we picked the wrong 4 years). What can you do.

And, finally, this week's win or die picks for the 22 remaining survivors. Here you go:

Pick Breakdown:

Buffalo 2
Green Bay 4
Jacksonville 12
Minnesota 4

Individual Picks:

Angel Minnesota
Chris Nangle 1 Jacksonville
CP 2 Jacksonville
D Froney 1 Jacksonville
Dan/Steve Gold 6 Jacksonville
David Louis Stitzer Green Bay
Ed Ramirez 2 Buffalo
Eric Meyers 3 Minnesota
Gary Jonas 1 Jacksonville
Gregg 2 Green Bay
How Goldberg…NOW BYRON Green Bay
Joe Pucillo 2 Jacksonville
M Lacerenza…NOW BYRON Minnesota
May Lee 6 Buffalo
Pierre Brown 1 Jacksonville
Ray Attiyah 1 Jacksonville
Ryan Carey 2 Minnesota
Ryan Doheny 7 Jacksonville
Steven Immergut 1 Jacksonville
Stuart Erickson 2 Jacksonville
Todd & Regan 4 Green Bay
WJO 4 Jacksonville

Sean Taylor, Army/Navy, BCS/Bowl Games, Duke Football Coach, Heisman Pick, Michigan Hoops, Billy King, and the Cleveland Browns

Let me start by putting this Sean Taylor story to bed. Several people missed my point (which shows my own inability to articulate clearly via the written word) and thought I was bashing a dead guy, which was not right and in fact irresponsible. That was not my intent. My point was simply that the media should not be able to have it both ways. When it fit their objectives, they bashed this guy and painted a picture of a thug and a hooligan. When he was tragically killed, they changed their tune and portrayed a responsible, humble, great young man who had been struck down in the prime of his life. My point is simply that it is difficult to buy into this new picture when the old one was drawn by the same artist using indelible ink. I do not know whether Sean Taylor was a great man or a troublemaker, or somewhere in between. I do know that it is difficult to reconcile the conflicting images that the hypocritical media has painted. Whether it is politics, sports, or entertainment, the media tends to use only the colors that will sell the most papers or bring in the most viewers. Whatever happened to truth in journalism?

I went to the Army/Navy game this past weekend. Despite the game being held in Philadelphia all but 7 times since I was born, I had never actually attended the game. It was a truly remarkable and moving experience. I went with a group of about 10 guys, including 1980 Heisman Trophy Winner George Rogers. The pageantry, passion, and excitement in the crowd and from the players was inspirational. After the game, we attended an event for members of the service who had fought Internationally in Iraq and Afghanistan. There were unfortunately men at the event who had lost their legs or who had been burned over their entire bodies. This served as quite a powerful reminder that the game we had watched was just that, a game, while these brave men and women were making real sacrifices everyday to preserve the way of life that we as American often take for granted. With that in mind, I want to say thank you to everybody who risks their lives for me and you, to ensure that we can continue to enjoy the freedoms that we enjoy every day. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! (Below is a picture of the pre-game procession that both schools participate in...this was the Army procession):

One more note from the game. While I have gotten to know George Rogers a little bit from being a regular contributor to his radio show over the past year and a half, I had never met him in person. In a day and age when many athletes are arrogant, obnoxious, egocentric, and aloof, George Rogers is a breath of fresh air. The smile never left George's face the whole day. He laughed, he slapped backs and shook hands with hundreds or thousands of fans (pretty easy to identify someone when they have the Heisman Trophy with them), he signed autographs, and in general was a complete mensch. Having seen how George treats other people, I am proud top be part of his show. Below are pictures of George and me with the Heisman (that thing is REALLY heavy), and my wearing George's Super Bowl and Heisman rings:

While we are on the subject of college football, I want to address a couple things with the BCS/Bowl Game announcements:

• It is obvious to everyone except the decision makers (and Kirk Herbstreit) at this point that we need a playoff system. This year, you could at least somewhat legitimately argue that 6 different teams (Ohio St, LSU, Georgia, Oklahoma, USC, and Hawaii) should be in the championship game under the current format. Why not let them decide it on the field? It would create crazy fan interest and generate more revenues for the schools and the NCAA. Of course this won't happen. But it has to......
• The team that got screwed the most by far is Missouri. They were ranked #1 in the country going into the Big 12 Championship game, then do not even make a BCS game and getting passed over by Kansas, despite beating KU rather easily the week before, beating KU out for the Big 1 North title, and playing the 29th toughest schedule vs. KU's 109th ranked slate. They were even ranked higher in the final BCS standings. Just ludicrous.
• The other team/conference that got shorted was Arizona St and the Pac 10. How in the world can Illinois with three losses get a BCS bid over Arizona St, while the Pac 10, a far superior conference to the Big 10 on every conceivable level, gets 1 BCS bid while the Big 10 gets 2. Of course, Illinois also lost to the aforementioned Missouri!
• If they are going to stick with this stupid system, at least make all the BCS conferences play on a level playing field. It is a travesty that some conferences play title games while others do not. For example, if the SEC had no title game, there would have been a three way tie between Georgia, Tennessee, and LSU, and Georgia may have won the tiebreaker because of the highest ranking and gone to the Championship game.
• And LSU may very well be one of the two best teams in the country, but to have them 7th in the BCS heading into last weekend, and leapfrogging 5 teams (3 of which did not lose), is insane. It just proves the polls are silly and that in the end the voters will do what they want anyway. If the polls are so meaningless which was just PROVEN, then why not do away with these arbitrary polls at least until the end of the year.

Moving away from the best in college football and to the worst, Duke has a new football coach to hire. To me, there are only two acceptable answers (assuming that they do not consider me to be a serious candidate). Paul Johnson, who wins consistently at Navy, and Rod Broadway, an ex-Duke assistant and current head coach at Grambling, should be the only two candidates that the administration speaks with about the vacancy. Either of these guys can win at Duke. Johnson has proven it at a school with bigger football obstacles to overcome. Broadway has won everywhere he has been, is a deserving African American, and is familiar with Duke (where he was an assistant for 13 years) and Durham (he was head coach at North Carolina Central).

Finally, I need to address my pick (since, unlike George, I do not get an actual vote) for the Heisman. Before last week, I would have given it to Chase Daniel, who I feel not only had a splendid year but simply elevates the play of all 11 people on his side of the ball. After their loss to Oklahoma in convincing fashion, I pick....Chase Daniel. I still think the Missouri QB was the most outstanding college football player in the land this year, edging out Tim Tebow and Colt Brennan with Darren McFadden getting 4th on my mental ballot.

I guess all the Michigan basketball fans that were clamoring for the firing of Tommy Amaker after last season were more than a little surprised to see Amaker's new squad, the Crimson of Harvard, beat fancy schmancy new coach John Beilein and his Wolverines last weekend. Bottom line: Amaker cleaned up a program that was in shambles 6 years ago and did not get the chance to take it to the next level. Maybe he could have, maybe not. But he is now 1-0 against his former team since leaving!

Speaking of ex-Dukies unceremoniously dumped, Billy King was fired by the Sixers yesterday and replaced by Ed Stefanski. You can make a legitimate argument that firing Billy was the right move (many of you have in fact). Whether he should have been fired or not, I found the timing curious. I could understand if he were fired a couple years back after the Chris Webber debacle and questionable signings like Dalembert (who is playing very well this year) and Willie Green. But he was right in the middle of his rebuilding plan. They played 30-29 basketball after trading Iverson last year, drafted young players (Thaddeus Young in particular) who they knew would take time to develop, and will finally be below the salary cap after this season. They could have justified firing Billy back then or in another year and a half if no improvement was made. But firing him less than 1/4 into this season was a bad move.

Everybody is whining (and when I say everybody, I mean Stitzer) that the refs were horrible on Monday night and that the league wants New England to go undefeated (bad calls: yes; conspiracy: ridiculous). I would argue that the team that got shafted last weekend the most by the zebras are the Cleveland Browns. The refs missed a force out on the last play of the game on a great catch by Kellen Winslow that would have given the Brownies a huge win after being behind all game. Why a force out is not reviewable is beyond me. Another stupid rule by the NFL.

I will be back later this week with more sports chatter, a solution to the extra holiday weight, and a review of my new Verizon Fios.