Staying out of the Basement and Canada Dry!

The Jets and Vikings of course played a game on Monday Night Football that pretty much defined the season thus far for the Vikings. Yet I can't help but feel that there is something missing from the Vikings team. Meanwhile the Cowboys who face these same Vikings this coming Sunday are in the same danger of being practically in the NFC basement and that is being 1-4.
As I so often do, let's take a look at the numbers shall we, specifically the numbers of Mark Sanchez, Brett Favre, and Tony Romo. Maybe even Max Hall's numbers if I can actually bring myself to do it just to show you some QB numbers and comparisons.

Passing

Arizona	Comp	Att	Yds	Pct	Y/A	Sack	YdsL	TD	Int	Rating
Max Hall	17	27	168	63.0	6.2	4	21	0	1	65.0

Minnesota	Comp	Att	Yds	Pct	Y/A	Sack	YdsL	TD	Int	Rating
Brett Favre	14	34	264	41.2	7.8	4	24	3	1	85.9

New York	Comp	Att	Yds	Pct	Y/A	Sack	YdsL	TD	Int	Rating
Mark Sanchez	21	44	191	47.7	4.3	2	18	0	0	59.9

Dallas	Comp	Att	Yds	Pct	Y/A	Sack	YdsL	TD	Int	Rating
Tony Romo	31	46	406	67.4	8.8	6	36	3	3	89.6

If you look at all of these QB's but Sanchez they all have one thing in common, interceptions. If you also look at these numbers all four ratings combined isn't even a C+ grade. All four were also sacked at least two times, yet if you want to say that Sanchez or Hall are elite you got another thing coming. While it is true that both the Jets and Cardinals won their games neither QB for the winning clubs threw a touchdown pass. What does this mean you might ask?

It means that I would take Romo, Favre, or any other QB except maybe Aaron Rodgers before taking either one of these guys. While Max Hall and Mark Sanchez come from good quarterback schools they couldn't even carry Carson Palmer or Steve Young's jock straps let alone lead their teams to a Super Bowl. This is why it is so important for the Vikings and Cowboys this weekend. We'll find out not only who is going to avoid the basement with the 49ers, but we'll also find out if one QB needs to retire, or if the other just needs to be cut.

Meanwhile my personal top story is the Texas Rangers. Not only did the Rangers win the American League Divisional Series for the first time ever last night, but they did it with class and fundamentals. They also did something I thought they would never do. Throw ginger ale instead of champagne around.

Rangers Outfielder Josh Hamilton after clinching the American League Western Division did not participate due to his previous problems with drugs and alcohol. Hamilton spent the night in the training room. Yet last night with some class all of a sudden as I was watching this game everyone was holding plastic bottles instead of expensive glass ones.

“The guys really doused me good,” Hamilton said after the celebrations had calmed down a bit. “They gave me a lot of hugs and congratulations.” Fitting for a guy and a team with a history of so much heartache. I don't necessarily want to go through all of either heartache or break for that matter, but what has been the classiest thing I've ever seen an owner do is Nolan Ryan after seeing this celebration said, "Nice Going." Looking straight at Hamilton.

Hoarding for ______________?

First of all I wanted to send a shout out to a fellow sports fan who if I remember correctly is more of a basketball fan and a pretty darn good basketball player at that. Devin Paul this one is for you. Thanks for reading. Now on with the show.

If you are a fan of the NFL, Yahoo, or any news outlet by now I am sure you have all heard that one Randy Moss formerly of the Vikings, Raiders, and now Patriots is headed back to Minnesota where he started it all. The Patriots announced that they had traded the 32-year-old for a third round pick. It was speculated that after Monday's Patriot win over the Dolphins that Moss would be traded since he didn't have a catch in the game. Moss has only caught 9 catches for the entire season thus far.

Of course when I first heard this all I could think of was Thanksgiving 1998 when the then rookie lit up the Cowboys for three touchdowns. Sour turkey that year anyone? Well I can't really say sour turkey was served that year because we went to some sort of stupid French place in California for dinner. This place was so bad that homeless people wouldn't except their money or their food. Gandhi himself had more to eat that year.

Then of course as I usually do I came to my senses and realized that if I were a Patriots fan I would be pretty upset by this trade. Bill Belichick is doing what he has done in the past. What is he doing? Well two things come to mind. One, they are hoarding draft picks for no good reason. They have two picks in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th rounds of the draft all next year. Even if they get decent talent from the upcoming this is a win now sort of league. Also I don't think the Patriots management has considered that their might be a lockout next season as well. Fans of course want to win now, coaches on other teams want to win now, but apparently not the Patriots. I guess winning the Super Bowl in 2001, 2003, 2004 and losing in 2007 is good enough for them.

Second, they are dumping salary which keeps Robert Kraft their owner from spending money on good players, but he's also not putting the best product on the field. I hate to break it to you guys but there's only one Tom Brady on your team and the rest of your picks can't all be Tom Brady. Brady is a talent yes, but he just got lucky back in 2001. If Drew Bledsoe didn't get hurt that year than Brady would probably not have won that first Super Bowl ring until 2003.

Oh yeah, let's not forget the Vikings. Brett Favre wanted a deep play receiver and he got one. That's another story of course.

I can't help of course going into Bill Belichick's past shall we. I'll need my Delorean for this trip again.

1993 - As Head coach of the Browns, releases beloved Bernie Kosar.

1996 - After a 5-11 season in Cleveland resigned and re-joined Bill Parcells. The Browns also moved to Baltimore without him and won a Super Bowl in 2000.

1999 - After being handpicked by Bill Parcells to replace him as head coach of the Jets resigned after only being on the job a few days.

2000 - Hired as Patriots head coach.

2001 - Won Super Bowl with Tom Brady after benching Pro-Bowler Drew Bledsoe. Belichick later traded Bledsoe to Buffalo.

2003 - Won Super Bowl again with Brady at Quarterback

2004 - Won Super Bowl for third time in four years.

2007 - Acquired all-pro wide-receiver Randy Moss. Yet lost Super Bowl after undefeated regular season 16-0.

2009 - Trades all-pro Richard Seymour for draft picks.

2010 - Trades all-pro Randy Moss for draft picks

I ran out of plutonium so I wasn't able to go into the future and see how this all plays out. I can tell you though to my knowledge the last time a big offensive player got either traded or released during a season by Belichick this happened.




I just hope for the Patriots sake they don't become the Patriots of old and not only start wearing the old logo again, but I also hope that their fans have gotten used to their teams doing well at the beginning of a century. Red Sox anyone?



* Randy Moss picture from (Greg M. Copper/US Presswire) Other graphics have been linked to their sources.

America's Pastime Needs an Extreme Playoff Makeover

Baseball unlike any other "MAJOR" team sport in the United States has only an 8 team playoff system for both leagues and only one "wild card" team get into their playoff system per league. So this means for each league only 4 teams make the playoffs while the rest sit at home. Of course it could be worse. Before 1995 it was only the top two teams in each league with the best record. Forget each division. Yet I can't help but think that adding at least one more wild card into the mix that would solve much of baseball's money problems. Look at the other "Major" leagues in the country.

The MLS (Major League Soccer) has created a playoff system that allows for 8 of the 16 teams in the league to get into a position to win a championship. The MLS system of course is based solely on their points system, but . However, the NHL has a playoff system similar to the way the NBA's system was previously where even if you win your division you are still seeded based on record for each conference. The top 8 teams in both conferences play in the playoffs (Eastern and Western Conferences) This gives their league a total of 16 teams out of a possible 30. In the NBA it is also the same as the NHL in terms of two conferences sending 8 teams per conference to the playoffs for a total of 16 out of 30 teams in the playoffs. The way the NBA structures the playoffs is less than desirable, but they at least have it right in terms of teams in the playoffs. In the NFL it is probably the best playoff system in my opinion. You take 4 division winners from each division in each conference and then add two wild-card teams per division thus giving the NFL a total of 12 playoff teams for the entire league.

Yet why isn't baseball like this? The Texas Rangers just clinched their division and are headed to the playoffs since 1999. Currently they have a record that is equally as good as the Boston Red Sox. Yet because of the current playoff system they will be well short in the wild card race and in their own division. If there was another two wild card teams in place and a shorter series for the first round that would mean that a total of six teams per league (American and National) would be in and the teams that won their divisions would host a 3-5 game playoff series. You could either have a bye for the series for the top two, or just have teams 1-6 playing each other depending on record. Another idea would be if baseball only added one team more you still have a 3-5 game playoff and then just automatically have the team with the best record have a bye series. Yes I know baseball is a game of momentum, but who couldn't use a few days off. Typically teams play quite well coming off the all-star break so why not give the best team or teams a playoff break.


So for teams like the Reds and the Rangers who are making the playoffs for the first time in over a decade that means at least one round of extra tickets. Why not give that opportunity to another team as well? It would be great for baseball and it would certainly give us another deserving team.

In other news Jim Mora Jr. or Jim Mora II is like his Dad once said "didily poo." I refer to this because Mora the jerk on the radio today didn't seem like he wanted to comment on Michael Vick playing the Redskins this Sunday.




Maybe because Vick is playing better than any of us though and because we all know the Moras couldn't win a thing he's a little bitter! Also could it be that he is also bitter that Pete Carroll has his old job now. Since I am not necessarily one to promote the four letter sports network I'll let y'all go to the archive page for ESPN Radio and search under today's date and Jim Mora.

Maybe next week I'll have something more meaningful to talk about.

What makes men stupid?

What makes men stupid? For you women out there who have lots of reasons why men are stupid I suggest you save them for another day. Maybe even save them for your husbands, brothers, boyfriends, or any other type of man I have left out. The two reasons for me that come to mind are women and sports.

When a man falls in love with a woman that isn't necessarily a stupid thing at all. It is what the man does to get that woman's attention. For example, the man may buy a car, house, expensive trips out to eat, expensive jewelry, etc. and all to impress a woman. Yes, unfortunately for you men out there who may have done this I am sorry. My wife is probably reading this now thinking when am I going to get any of that stuff! Well this really isn't why the men and stupid topic came up dear. So I guess just chalk this up to another stupid man and his sports.

Jerry Jones, Dallas Cowboys Owner, who is a smart man or at least is a billionaire has shown that sports has made him either blind or stupid. Jones actually played college football at the University of Arkansas, was voted co-captain of the team of the 1964 National Championship team, and has setup the Cowboys to win three Super Bowls under his tenure as owner. He has spoiled that team with lavish contracts, a new stadium worth a billion dollars, new facilities for training, and has made their players stars even if they don't deserve it. Yet for whatever stupid reason he's so in love with that team that he has done stupid things.

1. Fired Tom Landry in 1989 at the time the only Cowboys coach in franchise history.
2. Hired Jimmy Johnson former Miami coach and teammate of Jones one of two good coaching moves since owning this franchise.
3. Fired Jimmy Johnson after winning back-to-back Super Bowls.
4. Hired Barry Switzer who really wasn't ready for the NFL using the leftover player from the Johnson era.
5. Hired Chan Gailey after that who also has proven he's a good coach but not a head coach.
6. Then hired long-time assistant Dave Campo to be coach, another good coach who still coaches for the team, but not a good head coach.
6. Hired Bill Parcels, the only good move in the 21st Century.
7. Signed T.O. to a deal that obviously wasn't good because they won without him last year.
8. Hired Jason Garrett as Offensive Coordinator before he hired a head coach.
9. Finally, hired Wade Phillips as the current head coach in Dallas.

Jerry has been just plain stupid over the last 14 years when it comes to this team. Either he just doesn't care because we know that isn't the case otherwise he would have put this team in the tank just like Al Davis owner of the Raiders has done. Jones just doesn't cover his eyes like Bengals Owner Mike Brown when anything goes wrong both on and off the field. So what is it? I don't get why and I don't understand.

If any of you were to tell me that you would have hired Wade Phillips to coach anything but a FCS (Football Championship Subdivision or 1 Double A Team) you're nuts. There is a reason why this guy didn't win any playoff games!

Look at his track record!

Team	Year	Regular Season					Post Season
		Won	Lost	Ties	Win %	Finish	Won	Lost	Win %	Result
NOR	1985	1	3	0	.250	3rd in NFC West	-	-	-	-
NOR Total		1	3	0	.250		-	-	-
DEN	1993	9	7	0	.562	3rd in AFC West	0	1	.000	Lost to Los Angeles Raiders in AFC Wild-Card Game.
DEN	1994	7	9	0	.437	4th in AFC West	-	-	-	-
DEN Total		16	16	0	.500		0	1	.000
BUF	1998	10	6	0	.625	3rd in AFC East	0	1	.000	Lost to Miami Dolphins in AFC Wild-Card Game.
BUF	1999	11	5	0	.687	2nd in AFC East	0	1	.000	Lost to Tennessee Titans in AFC Wild-Card Game.
BUF	2000	8	8	0	.500	4th in AFC East	-	-	-	-
BUF Total		29	19	0	.604		0	2	.000
ATL	2003	2	1	0	.667	4th in NFC South	-	-	-	-
ATL Total		2	1	0	.667		-	-	-
DAL	2007	13	3	0	.813	1st in NFC East	0	1	.000	Lost to New York Giants in NFC Divisional Game.
DAL	2008	9	7	0	.562	3rd in NFC East	-	-	-	-
DAL	2009	11	5	0	.687	1st in NFC East	1	1	.500	Lost to the Minnesota Vikings in NFC Divisional Game.
DAL	2010	0	2	0	.000	NFC East	-	-	-	-
DAL Total		33	16	0	.673		1	2	.333
Total		81	55	0	.596		1	5	.167

Phillips has had the likes of John Elway, Doug Flutie, Shannon Sharpe, Ray Crocket, Steve Atwater, Andre Reed and the list goes on and he still couldn't win a playoff game. How many years, seasons, months, hours, etc does it take to figure out a guy shouldn't be a head coach! I'll never understand it nor will I ever get it. Maybe I'm stupid along with my fellow Cowboy fans for even being a fan of this team.

Yet it just makes no sense why Jerry Jones continues to stick with Jason Garrett who was a third string QB and Wade Phillips. I remember Thanksgiving 1994 and Jason Garrett playing and having the best game of his career. I'm sure Brett Favre remembers it also. My point is this, usually smart people like Jerry Jones don't make dumb mistakes. Jones hasn't even had a decent kicker on this team for quite some time either. Billy Cundiff who was released in 2005 had a great season with the Ravens last year making 70% of his kicks. While the Cowboys have suffered through Jose Cortez, Mike Vanderjagt, Nick Folk, and now currently David Buehler.

I don't know what is going to happen to this team? I'm thinking of giving up on football altogether and maybe taking up under water basket weaving or starting a miniatures collection.

I probably won't, but I hate to see this team be ruined because of being blinded by men being stupid!

*photos Tim Sharp 1st photo and Sharon Ellman last photo AP File

Catching Up

I haven't really given much thought as to where to begin so I thought I would begin with something that is as good as any topic over the past week and a half. I thought I would begin with something I have yet to blog on. I am quite surprised myself I haven't talked about this yet.

The NASCAR Chase for the Cup is finally about to begin and as always let's take a look at the numbers, or in this case let's look at the standings.

1		Denny Hamlin	5060	Leader
2		Jimmie Johnson	5050	10
3		Kyle Busch	5030	30
4		Kevin Harvick	5030	30
5		Kurt Busch	5020	40
6		Greg Biffle	5010	50
7		Tony Stewart	5010	50
8		Carl Edwards	5000	60
9		Jeff Gordon	5000	60
10		Matt Kenseth	5000	60
11		Jeff Burton	5000	60
12		Clint Bowyer	5000	60

I for one am not surprised one bit to see any of these names on this list. Denny Hamlin leads the pack with 6 wins and has a bit of momentum winning the last race, The Air Guard 400, at Richmond. This of course is followed by Jimmie Johnson, a man that is on a quest to do something only the Celtics of old have been able to do, and that is win a record 5th championship in a row. Then of course the "usual suspects" of Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, are in with Clint Bowyer rounding out the chase.

Basically my take is this, either you need to be at least in the top 10 to even think about having a shot at this chase in the first 5 races. Second, Jimmie Johnson was last year's winner in four of the chase races, so obviously keep pace with him. Finally, if you're in the chase don't get beat by someone who is not in the chase. It only hurts you even more in the long run.

Now onto College Football.


There really wasn't a terribly impressive game around my zip code so for another first I will jump into the Ann Arbor Michigan zip code instead.

I watched part of this game on Saturday and boy was I impressed with this guy!

Michigan Wolverines	Comp	Att	Yds	Pct	Y/A	Sack	YdsL	TD	Int	Rating
Denard Robinson	24	40	244	60.0	6.1	0	0	1	0	119.5

Denard Robinson while not exactly an NFL quarterback certainly has the complete package. He not only didn't throw any picks against a fairly good Notre Dame defense, but he also rushed quite well also.

Michigan Wolverines	Rush	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD	FumL
Denard Robinson	28	258	9.2	87	2	0
Vincent Smith	7	17	2.4	6	0	0
Michael Shaw	5	12	2.4	5	0	0
Stephen Hopkins	1	1	1.0	1	1	0

Now don't get me wrong Ohio State is still the best team in the Big Ten, but watch out for the Wolverines. Coach Rich Rodriguez actually could take this team to a decent bowl game instead of the whatever bowl.com bowl game this season. Their schedule in the next four games especially looks favorable. They play Massachusetts, Bowling Green, Indiana, and Michigan State. The real test for this squad of course starts on October 16th and doesn't let up with Penn State on the road, Wisconsin at home, and then finishing the season at Ohio State.

For those of you who care. BYU lost to Air Force for whatever reason and Utah played Vegas and won and then play this week at New Mexico. BYU will of course play Florida State, but with Bronco Mendenhall still looking ahead to next season they might as well not even get on the plane.

Finally...

Ines Sainz and her alleged sexual harassment brought up by the Jets allegedly "cat calling" and whistling is just stupid. She has done and continues to do what so many women at Fox News, CNN, ESPN, etc. continue to do and that is flaunt what they got. This includes Kelly Ripa, Elizabeth Hasslebeck, and oh yes Erin Andrews. They want to get ahead and get attention so they dress a certain way. What do they expect? I am not going with either side on this only to say if you dress a certain way you're going to get attention good or bad. You drive a Mercedes in East LA or in the projects and you don't want people to look at and touch it then cover it up. If you don't want men to look at your legs, boobs, or anything else, and you don't want to attract attention to yourself then cover up. Besides it isn't like they actually touched her, called her names, or ran around naked in front of her. They basically thought she was hot!

Yes, I do agree, the Jets shouldn't have allegedly done what they did, nor is any man not at fault when he does something like this. Although, shouldn't we all just admit here that we're wrong? In going on You Tube and typing in Fox News and Women I found several videos of just that very thing, women who aren't covering up. No surprise that there are men and maybe women who are looking and watching. Maybe they aren't exactly and totally pornographic, but they aren't exactly leaving much to the imagination either.

I'll leave that up to you the 7 of you who read this thing. whatever your moral fibers are saying go with that. Even if you're a dirty perv, gay, straight or whatever, look at this your own way. If you don't see a problem with it great. If you do that's ok too! Last time I checked this was America, but at the same time where does it end?

(I'll let CBS do the reporting on this one if you're looking for a picture of her.)

The Big Two Not Impressive!

All of you Utah and BYU homers save your, "we won big" crap for someone who didn't watch the games because I sure did and I wasn't impressed with either team, especially since they both PLAYED AT HOME! I'll start with Utah because they should have put up at least 40 on Pittsburgh.

First of all let's do as I usually like to do and that's look at the numbers.

Team Stats
	PITT	UT
First Downs	17	21
Third Down Efficiency	5-14	7-14
Fourth Down Efficiency	1-1	0-0
Plays-Net Yards	64-266	63-405
Rushes-Yds	36-82	27-122
Passing Yds	184	283
Kick Return Yds	75	63
Punt Return Yds	18	-2
Passes	16-28-1	21-36-1
Punts	4-178	4-125
Fumbles-Lost	1-1	2-2
Penalties-Yds	12-75	11-99
Time of Poss.	34:6	25:54

As you can see from these stats Utah had almost 100 more passing yards, 139 more total yards than Pitt had, and had a better rating on third down. Jordan Wynn threw 21 completions and three touchdowns and yet they still only managed to score only 27 points to Pitt's 24. Pittsburgh practically stopped running the ball in the second half along with Utah. Utah's defense shut down the All-American Dion Lewis holding him to only 75 yards. Last season this Utah defense couldn't stop anyone. Yet they still let Tino Sunseri and company come back to tie the game up.

Meanwhile Utah stopped running the ball altogether with Matt Asiata and Eddie Wide III both combined for 112 yards on 25 carries. That's over 9 yards per carry. Not only were they having a great game but Utah needed to run clock off in the fourth quarter and did not allowing Pitt to get back into the game to force overtime.

I get that Pittsburgh was ranked #15 in the AP Polls. So what! That's why they call it pre-season rankings. It means that at camp they looked pretty good, however, that doesn't mean that they looked good in the regular season or season opener for that matter. Pittsburgh did not and for anyone that knows anything about Dave Wannstedt you should know that all of his jobs are based off of another head coach's i.e. Jimmy Johnson's Super Bowl rings.

• 41-57 record with the Chicago Bears
• Fired from Bears after back-to-back 4-12 seasons
  
• 42-31 record with the Dolphins
• Wannstedt resigned as head coach midway through the 2004 season, with the Dolphins record standing at 1-8.
• 35-27 at Pitt including Utah loss thus far
• Only two winning seasons since he took over the program

Let us go down south shall we.



BYU on the flip side of things on Saturday should have really put up some big numbers against Washington. Again let's take a look at the numbers.

Team Stats
	WA	BYU
First Downs	20	23
Third Down Efficiency	5-15	5-16
Fourth Down Efficiency	0-3	1-1
Plays-Net Yards	70-394	73-408
Rushes-Yds	31-128	33-146
Passing Yds	266	262
Kick Return Yds	20	72
Punt Return Yds	0	26
Passes	20-39-0	24-40-0
Punts	6-271	6-223
Fumbles-Lost	2-0	2-0
Penalties-Yds	5-66	6-60
Time of Poss.	25:53	34:7

Now unlike Utah these numbers are a bit deceiving. Yes this game was close, but here's why. One, Washington actually had the lead in this game for more than just a few minutes unlike the game in Salt Lake City. Utah on their first possession matched Pittsburgh and didn't blow it until the second half. Kudos to BYU for actually coming back. However, here's where it wasn't impressive and really needs to be fixed.

Brigham Young Cougars	Comp	Att	Yds	Pct	Y/A	Sack	YdsL	TD	Int	Rating
Riley Nelson	11	17	131	64.7	7.7	0	0	2	0	168.3
Jake Heaps	13	23	131	56.5	5.7	0	0	0	0	104.4

Here's the big problem I see and it all starts at this position as I have outlined above. This team isn't built like Florida Gators of old and these two BYU QB's couldn't even carry Chris Leak or Tim Tebow's jock strap let alone wear it. However, having said that Nelson is the better of the two QB's.

• Who threw the touchdowns against Washington? Nelson
• Who had a better completion rating? Nelson.
  
• Who has been waiting four long years to start and has been the backup to some pretty good BYU QB's? RILEY NELSON!

So if Riley Nelson had the big numbers in the game why is he being forced to sit there and share his time with Jake Heaps. Heaps will still be here next season. Nelson will not if not given the starting job more than likely. If Nelson wasn't ever going to be the starting guy why didn't they just cut him? He could have been starting somewhere else from what I saw the other night! If Heaps is better than Nelson, Bronco Mendenhall doesn't like Nelson, or they are planning for the future just start Heaps in that case. Just don't start both because again you aren't the Florida Gators!

If you're one of those Cougar fans who thought this was an impressive win than think again! Not only was this not impressive, but Washington was unranked, didn't have near the weapons you have, and still had a chance to win the game towards the end. BYU also had the ball more than 9 minutes more in actual time of possession. For you math wizards that's more than half a quarter that your BYU Cougars couldn't do anything against a mediocre Pac-10 opponent. It isn't like you were playing Oregon St, Oregon, or USC. Just ask TCU and New Mexico how hard it is.

So ends week 1 in college football. While it is good that the Mountain West played well aside from New Mexico crapping a goose egg it is still only week one. If Utah and BYU wants the United States of America to recognize them as BCS contenders and deserving of automatic bids than they they need to schedule better, play better at home, and look better. (Which BYU has sorta done for next season)

Maybe they should watch the Utah State film from Saturday. I'm sure they could give BYU and Utah some pointers on how you play a BIG-BOY football team on the road.

Jesus Loves the Little Children... He Doesn't Love Sports!

First I want to make it very clear that I do not HATE BYU nor do I think that God hates BYU or any other religious instituion as a school. I just think that God, Jesus, Allah, Mohammed, Buddha, Confucius and any other religious deity I forgot hates sports as a whole. How do I know this you might ask? I've been praying for touchdowns since 1989. The Dallas Cowboys went 1-15 that year and haven't won anything of consequence since 1995. I rest my case. Notre Dame fans there's a reason why the "Touchdown Jesus" mural was destroyed by fire and lightning in Ohio.

BYU this summer has tried its hardest to not only get out of the Mountain West Conference but to go independent in football. This of course mainly stems from the University of Utah being asked to join the current Pac-10 soon to be Pacific 12 with Colorado and Utah joining the group.

About the time I started to follow the rivalry in 1996 BYU hasn't gotten the respect and love that it deserves. Why you might ask again? It is because as BYU fans, students, church members, etc. have not represented the school in the way that God would want you to. The same can be said of Notre Dame, TCU, St. Johns, Xavier, and any other religiously tied school or university. However, unlike all of those schools BYU is set to a higher standard. LDS church members you know what I am talking about!

Yes I get that in Salt Lake City Bronco Mendenhall's and Max Hall's family was abused to say the least by Utah fans. That's not right either, but what do you expect from a school that has liberal arts majors, people who voted for Barrack Obama, allows beer at all games, and allows athletes to graduate and move on and they can't throw the football very well, i.e. Scott Mitchell.

BYU fans retaliated last year in Provo, not just because they won the event, but because they all thought that we were living in Biblical times and the Law of Moses was still in effect. "...some BYU fan allegedly hit Jamie Whittingham, Kyle's wife, in the lip and someone else reportedly sucker punched his son, Tyler, in the massive assembly of bodies on the field afterward." Now of course this is all he said she said, I don't really care. If any religion class at BYU has sunk in this is what they should have been thinking.

John 13: 34-35
34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye ^alove one another; as I have loved you, that ye also ^blove one another.

35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have ^alove one to another

One thing that I failed to mention about BYU is that I know all of the fans of this beloved school are not members. I get that but just like you would in church you should behave appropriately. Some of you if you made it this far are probably now saying, "Nate, you're right but Utah fans should be held to the same standard!" You're right! They should be held to the same standard, when they're sober! You can't expect Utah fans who drink, are stupid, physically and mentally impaired after drinking, and not church members for the most part to be the same way. Those are the idiots I probably worked with those early mornings who aren't students and probably stole tickets to get into the game. The same can be said of the BYU fans. There will always be those that disrupt the game. Here's the solution!

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints should no longer promote collegiate sports, have organized church sports, etc. No where in the world have I seen a slogan that says, "Church sports, The Brawl that starts with a prayer." Do you think God brawls! While there is no real solution to this problem for now I would say let's kill the rivalry. Neither school is going to lose fans because there isn't a game between the two schools than start a rivalry with Utah State. They need the press.

As far as BYU going independent, I still think it is a good idea, in fact if they can get it done next season after the WAC fallout is over then that would be the way to go. Do it when the changes actually take effect.

As for BYU this season the only thing I can say about BYU is that I hope that QB situation gets worked out because unless their helmet has a gator on it I don't see a two QB system working well for any team.

Short and Sweet

The real post will come when I can think up a good topic. In the mean time can I just tell you how much I have missed football season! Thank goodness it is almost that time! If any of you who may or may not frequent this blog would like to play fantasy football just send me a message?

The real blog cometh later.

Surpise Me NOT!

If you were surprised to learn that Brett Favre was coming back for an unheard of 20th NFL season in the modern football era 1990-Present you've been under a rock or something! Does anyone remember the last blog? Let's look at the time table again shall we.

Let's start with this time the previous pre-season. I needed more plutonium for my flux capacitor so we'll have to really use our brains this time.

2009
1. After sabotaging the Jets playoff hopes with his usual antics he called it quits again. He also wanted to go to Minnesota and the only way to do that was retire again.

2. Then in July 2009, Favre started texting coaches and players about how he was not going to give it another run and stay retired.

3. Around this time last year Brett Favre was on the practice field. He just didn't want to go to camp.

Let's go to the present now.

Favre had more or less announced he was going to retire due to the lack of mobility on his surgically repaired ankle. Then his coach Brad Childress goes down to Mississippi to see where he is at. At that time yours truly explains that he does not want to go to training camp. Then on Monday (8/16/10), Ryan Longwell, Steve Hutchinson, and Jared Allen, his three closest friends on the team, unexpectedly arrived at his doorstep on Monday night. Wednesday he's back with the team and wants to play against the 49ers this weekend. This is more like a man favor to me. This is almost like saying hey, "I'm moving this weekend can you help me move the couch?" This is why those guys went down to see him and they realize they aren't going to get that close with the quarterback roster they had before Favre came back.

Well at the very least he joins a list of people that are considered old by football standards and as of last year were still playing.

As of the 2009 NFL season, there were seven active players in the NFL over the age of 40 including Favre:

Jeff Carney, 2009 New Orleans Saints, born April 20, 1964
Jeff Feagles, 2009 New York Giants, born March 7, 1966
Matt Stover, 2009 Indianapolis Colts, born January 27, 1968
Matt Turk, 2009 Houston Texans, born June 16, 1968
Brett Favre, 2009 Minnesota Vikings, born October 10, 1969
John Kasay, 2009 Carolina Panthers, born October 27, 1969
Junior Seau, 2009 New England Patriots, born January 19, 1969

For the complete listing of old guys as of 2009 who were the oldest to play you can look here.

Moving onto a first in my blogging history a double story. You might say that you got two for the price of one, however, since this blog costs nothing, well you might also think you got nothing out of it. So I would like to think that you got nothing for nothing and you are no worse off than you were before.

Anyhow...

The Major League Baseball races continue to be very close. Let's take a look shall we. Let's start with the American League Eastern Division.

Here are the standings as of 6:24 EST or while I was writing this blog if you want to get technical.

New York Yankees	75	46	.620	--	40-21	35-25	26-18	21-12
Tampa Bay Rays	74	47	.612	1.0	39-24	35-23	29-18	24-11
Boston Red Sox	69	53	.566	6.5	36-24	33-29	24-24	14-12

This is pretty much a two pony race. The Yankees who have the best pitching by far for the playoffs in Andy Pettitte, AJ Burnett, CC Sabathia, Mariano Rivera and then the addition of Kerry Wood to eat up bullpen innings. However, I watched something that the Rays did that I thought I would never see and that was carve up Rangers pitcher Cliff Lee last week. Plus the Rays are hitting .253 and have an On Base Percentage of .338. Carl Crawford is hitting .301 while Evan Longoria has 81 RBI and is hitting .295. If I had to pick this one I would still go with the Yankees in the AL East. The playoffs will be great this year. Oh, and if you were wondering about the Red Sox well they are 6 1/2 back in this race and 5 1/2 back in the wild-card race.





Moving onto the American League Central Division.

Minnesota Twins	70	51	.579	--	38-21	32-30	14-18	33-18
Chicago White Sox	66	55	.545	4.0	35-24	31-31	8-14	23-27

I didn't really have the heart to include the Detroit Tigers with football season on its way and we all know how that usually goes for the city. If you must know the Tigers are 12 games back and no shot at the wild card. The Twins on the other were once tied in this race and have pulled ahead quite nicely. Now if you were to base the entire season on last night's performance than well they stink. The White Sox shut out the Twinkies 11-0. Yet I am still optimistic about the Twins. In the last two weeks of the season the Twins play Kansas City, Toronto, Cleveland and the Oakland A's. All teams under .500. Joe Mauer has hit fairly well while Carl Pavano has quietly been the best pitcher on the team in wins with 15. Francisco Liriano has also been great with 165 strikeouts and 11 wins of his own. Although the White Sox could still make a late charge. Paul Konerko leads the Sox in batting at .308, RBI with 85, and home runs with 31. They have other power spots in the lineup from Alex Rios, Andruw Jones, and Carlos Quentin. I just don't think the pitching rotation though is going to be enough without Jake Peavy who had to shut it down for the year.



In the American League West...

Texas Rangers	67	53	.558	--	39-23	28-30	12-22	18-13
Oakland Athletics	60	60	.500	7.0	37-25	23-35	17-18	16-14
Los Angeles Angels	61	61	.500	7.0	33-27	28-34	12-21	16-17

The Rangers pretty much have this locked up if they don't pull their usual franchise cursed crap at the end. Josh Hamilton has played so well he should be the MVP of the American League. Even if the Rangers end up blowing it like in years past he has hit .353 with 26 Home runs. The off-season acquisition of Vladimir Guerrero has been great as well he has hit 87 RBI and is hitting .299. CJ Wilson and Cliff Lee have been doing well on the pitching side. Wilson with 11 wins and an ERA of 3.19 while Lee has 10 wins on the season including his time in Seattle and an ERA of 2.77. What the Rangers will need is for Cliff Lee to continue to play well and for Ian Kinsler and Nelson Cruz to come off the disabled list for the stretch run.

Since Brett Favre took much of my energy out of me I'll wait for the National League until next week. I want to see if the Phillies, Cardinals, and Giants can actually get closer in their respective divisions. If they can't make it in their divisions how's this for a race... I'll leave you with this little gem!

Philadelphia 68 52 .567 - - 7-3 L1 San Francisco 68 54 .557 1.0 41 5-5 W1 St. Louis 65 53 .551 2.0 42 5-5 L4

The American League race stinks so here it is to be fair.

Tampa Bay	74	47	.612	-	-	7-3	L1
Boston	69	53	.566	5.5	36	6-4	L1
Chi White Sox	66	55	.545	8.0	34	3-7	W1

By the way for the technical people with nothing better to do it got posted at around 8 EST.