10-14 Jottings

I don’t have the time today due to mid-terms quickly approaching and it being homecoming week to write a full story on all of the things that I would love to cover but here are some quick jotting that I felt need to be put into print.

• Everyone is placing the Pittsburgh Steelers as the best team in the NFL, since they went 3-1 without a quarterback. However, I felt that they should be 2-2 before the season, and I am not fully convinced that they will be the best team. Their four-game stretch of at Miami, at New Orleans, at Cincinnati, and vs. New England will make up my mind.
• Will any team be more affected by injuries than the Green Bay Packers? Losing the best part of your running game hurts enough, but if Aaron Rodgers is out for an extended period of time, this season will quickly become a lost cause.
• LaceDarius Dunn is an extremely talented basketball player at Baylor, but if the reports are true that he punched his girlfriend in the face, which ended up breaking her jaw, then I feel strongly that he should be suspended for the remainder of the season. Domestic violence is a big problem, and athletes shouldn’t be given a pass around it.
• Midnight Madness begins for most basketball team’s around the country tomorrow, and I’m excited to see how Duke and Bradley basketball play out. Duke has been my favorite team since they won the championship in 2001, and I have close ties to the Bradley team as a manager. College basketball is my true passion for sports, and I can’t wait for it to get underway.
• I’m 4-0 in my baseball predictions thus far, but I will be shocked if the Giants can overcome the Phillies. The Phillies just have that team that has the perfect pitching, perfect combination of contact and power hitters, and I just don’t see them losing in a series where Roy Halladay has the potential of pitching three times.
• When Nebraska blows out Texas this weekend, I don’t want anyone to be surprised. Nebraska will be in the national championship game, and they deserve to be in there. That’s my bold college football prediction.
• Also, I think Wisconsin will upset Ohio State, giving us Oregon as the number one team in the country ranked by the polls and Boise State will probably be the number one team by the BCS computers.
• Tim Brewster, coach of Minnesota Gophers football, still has a job. If he somehow has a job by next fall, I will lose all hope in the direction that Gopher football is going in.
• I have read places that the over/under for the Minnesota Timberwolves are 25 wins. Give me the under. I don’t see how this team improved by losing Al Jefferson and signing Luke Ridnour, and re-signing Darko Milicic. I would probably take the under on 19 wins.
• All 33 Chilean miners are rescued. I’m amazed to how fast they got the miners out as it was predicted it could take over four months, but it was just over 69 days. Good job by the relief teams on doing their best to give them a safe and healthy return to their families.
• NHL hockey has started and I failed to notice. I might have a blog about hockey once or twice a year, but don’t expect much out of me in that department.
• NFL team with the bleakest future: Carolina Panthers
• NFL team with the brightest future: Cleveland Browns
• Cliff Lee can’t pitch until Game 3 of the ALCS. If CJ Wilson loses the first game and/or the Yankees can start the series 2-0, then feel free to pencil the Yankees into the World Series. Rangers must steal one and then hope to take the series to at least six games to give Lee multiple starts.
• Sports Illustrated put their top 32 broadcasting calls up today. Gus Johnson is currently my favorite announcer due to his enthusiasm and passion that you can hear through his voice. Best call of all-time in my opinion? Russ Hodges on the Giants winning the pennant. (#2 on the list)
• Sports Illustrated also got an agent to admit giving money to college players. This is a scandal that needs to be taken care of in the immediate future to insure that hundreds of players aren’t taken victims before their pro career begins.
• Classiest baseball scene of the season. The Giants halting their celebration to applaud the legend Bobby Cox. Great scene, and great honor for a Hall of Fame manager.