Hump Day Ramblings.........

Halloween.....personally ...my least favorite Holiday. Talking about waisting money...You buy candy ....just to give it away? To a bunch of thankless kids?

The Los Angeles Dodgers really messed up the Grady Little situation. Now they are calling it a mutual agreement to part company. When it was evident that Joe Torre was available......they had to get rid of Little.....to hire Torre. Even though, at season's end they declared Grady's job was secure....what a mess.

The Atlanta Falcons need to sell 3000 remaining tickets by 1pm Thursday to avoid an NFL blackout on Sunday's game with San Francisco. The ATL has had 57 consecutive sell-outs since Arthur Blank bought the team. I think he and his massive ego will buy the tickets just to save himself from the embarrassment. The Vick-less Falcons are a pathetic bunch.

Folks are still talking about Georgia's excessive endzone celebration during the Georgia-Florida game.....get over it....the kids had fun.....the dawgs won....and all was good in Jacksonville. Note to Bulldogs.....Beware of Troy....that's a dangerous team --- with a lot a athletes and speed.

And finally ......the experts say that the ATL has only about 180 days of water left.... So....no showers, no flushing, no washing clothes , no nothin'.......and please .....if you have to pee .... try to miss the flower garden.

Happy Halloween!!!!

Leave it to Dennis Rodman to bring Halloween in with a bang. The former Detroit bad boy was recently seen in this garb celebrating the trick-or-treat season a tad bit early.

We would like to remember the Rod Man as he looked when he first came out of college to play for the Pistons as a mild mannered , hard working , young rebounding machine. Dennis......was it that hard.....just to be Dennis? We hope you find your happiness......somewhere.....someway.

Monday Morning......Mournings.....

Just some weekend musings...........

The game between the New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins was unwatchable......The teams traveled some 4500 miles to play in a rain soaked -- torn up turf -- stadium? Earth to the NFL...........WHY??? You are not the NBA....You're not baseball........You're not soccer. You are the NFL ...... You are ....by far -- the best, most efficiently run sports entity in the entire world. You are not international......You are home grown.....That's why we love this game. Let this be a one time event......London has a lot of things to offer..........the NFL is just not one of them.

Talking about winning ugly...........how bad was Ely Manning and Vince Young? Both the Giants and the Titans won --- but despite the respective quarterbacks. Manning was a mere 8 for 22 with 59 yards. And Young? Well ......he was 6 for 14 and had 42 yards........Yuck!!!

We see that SMU has fired head coach Phil Bennett Sunday --- following a 29-23 loss at Tulsa. The Mustangs are 1-7 with four games remaining. For those of us in the older sect --- we remember the SMU of the 70's......with that "pony express" backfield.....a top ten program......and competing in the now defunct Southwest Conference. With the "Death Penalty" levied on the school.....SMU football has never been the same. They now play in a mid-major conference with just a shell of the following they once had..... So.....the solution.....fire the coach. SMU????? You have bigger issues....

I love it when........Sylvester Croom's Mississippi State squad upsets one of these "good 'ole boy network schools". The Bulldogs took it to Kentucky Saturday , 31-14. Croom is one of only 6............yes......six........black head coaches in the 119 division 1 schools. No SEC schools had the balls to hire a black coach.....except.....of all places....Mississippi!!!

Seems the New England Patriots and Bill Belichick are pissing off a lot of folks with that high powered offense. They are totally dominating opposing teams.....The Patriots are on pace to score over 600 points this season......obliterating the previous record. They just laid 52 on the Washington Redskins.....and were very unapologetic about it. And Belichick said it best --- "My punting team punts......but my offense is in there to make plays". You go boy!!!!!!!!!!!!

And.....on a final note.......Our collective hats are donned for the Boston Redsox! You were the better team......you deserved the win. You swept .............'nough said.

We scored 68 Points.......And Lost!!!!

In a football game that ended in the wee hours of Sunday morning on the east coast, Weber State beat Portland State by a score of 73-68. The 141 points set an NCAA all-division record. The previous record was 136 -- set in 1968 when North Park beat North Central 104-32 in a Division III game. The teams combined for 1,189 yards and 57 first downs. Portland State is coached by the defensive guru --- and NFL reject, Jerry Glanville....who has "run & shoot" inventor --- Mouse Davis as the offensive coordinator. Here's the Recap . And the
Box Score.

Sunday Morning Headlines

For your viewing pleasure.............
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A Star is Born

It happened at 3:51 pm Eastern Daylight Time. That's when Knowshon Moreno went airborne from the 2 yard line to score the first of Georgia's 6 touchdowns in their 42-30 victory over border war foe Florida. Moreno's (Herschel Walker like) leap touched off a celebration never seen in these parts. The entire UGA team -- all 70 -- rushed the end zone in a wild celebration. And in that instance........in a game steeped with 75 years of history.........a star was born. A red-shirt freshman from Bethel, New Jersey -- Knowshon -- starting for injured running backs Thomas Brown and Kregg Lumpkin -- gained a career high 288 yards on 33 carries. He also scored 3 touchdowns as he relentlessly willed his way through, over, and around the Gator defense. At 5' 11" and 207 pounds, Moreno is a gifted athlete out a state which has produced backs like Mike Rozier and Ron Dayne. He now has taken his place on the long list of Georgia Super-backs. On a cloudy October in Jacksonville --- Moreno has staked his claim.

Check out Moreno's high school career:

High School: Middletown South, coached by Steve Antonucci

*PrepStar 200

*Rivals.com #73 on Rivals 100 list

*Rivals.com #10 running back

*Rivals.com #3 postseason New Jersey top 50

*Scout.com #9 running back in the nation

*EA Sports All-American

*Finished his high school career with 128 touchdowns and 782 points

*New Jersey’s all-time leading scorer

*Rushed for 1,808 yards on 185 carries and scored 43 TDs in 10 games as a senior

*His 6,268 career rushing yards is second all-time in New Jersey

*Led Middletown South to three championships in a row

How Dumb are you??

A little Friday afternoon humor for your pre-weekend festivities:

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/games/play/43710/

Welcome to the Party............

In a little less than 24 hours, more than 82,000 Floridians and Georgians will converge upon Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville to bear witness to a college football game featuring the Bulldogs of Georgia ---and the Gators of Florida. Another 10 to 15 thousand, unlucky enough to get inside -- will be spread out from St Simon's Island, Georgia -- to St Augustine, Florida. Welcome to the "World's largest Outdoor Cocktail Party". The first game played in Jacksonville was in 1912.....or 1915......depending on which web site you believe. Georgia won 39-0. Since 1933, all games were played in Jacksonville except for 1994 & 1995 when Alltel was being built. Supposedly a neutral site--- Jacksonville is 73 miles from the Gainesville, Florida campus --- it is 342 miles from Athens, Georgia ( home of the Dogs).

Even after losing 15 out of the last 17 meetings --- Georgia still holds the all time lead in the series --- 45-37-2.

Georgia has had a bye week prior to tomorrows game but is still a 10 point underdog. We think the gators have way too much offense for this young bulldog team.......Gators 34-21

So......You think you Know College Football?

This was the preseason AP Poll........Now...(With Biff not here to help your butt out) ...Where do you stand now? We are at the half way point....we'll do it again at season's end. Until then....go ahead...weigh in!

AP Top 25
1. USC (62) 0-0 1,622
2. LSU (2) 0-0 1,511
3. West Virginia (1) 0-0 1,396
4. Texas 0-0 1,375
5. Michigan 0-0 1,371
6. Florida 0-0 1,276
7. Wisconsin 0-0 1,192
8. Oklahoma 0-0 1,166
9. Virginia Tech 0-0 1,148
10. Louisville 0-0 1,031
11. Ohio State 0-0 876
12. California 0-0 790
13. Georgia 0-0 782
14. UCLA 0-0 605
15. Tennessee 0-0 571
16. Rutgers 0-0 560
17. Penn State 0-0 542
18. Auburn 0-0 519
19. Florida State 0-0 392
20. Nebraska 0-0 377
21. Arkansas 0-0 376
22. TCU 0-0 283
23. Hawaii 0-0 256
24. Boise State 0-0 187
25. Texas A&M 0-0 162
Others Receiving Votes: Missouri 128, Georgia Tech 94, Boston College 75, Oregon 73, South Carolina 69, Miami (FL) 68, Alabama 66, Oregon State 42, Wake Forest 40, South Florida 28, Arizona State 17, Brigham Young 14, Southern Miss 12, Notre Dame 11, Virginia 7, Clemson 6, Oklahoma State 3, Texas Tech 2, Purdue 1, Houston 1, Kentucky 1, North Carolina State 1.

Here's the deal.....Take your latest ranking and compare it to your preseason poll. Don't cheat....And only the top 25 counts. It's how many teams you have now in the top 25. The scoring is as follows:

19-25 Expert (you know your college football)
10-18 Average (you watch a lot of ESPN)
5-9 Poor (You actually listen to ESPN)
0-4 Failure (Not only did you listen to ESPN -- but
you listened to Lee Corso as well.

Six............Soon to be .....Five?

Seems the natives are getting restless in UCLA land......fifth year Bruin head coach Karl Dorrell is feeling the heat from fans and boosters....

UCLA's Dorrell gets no slack in cyberspace (LA Times)

Dorrell took over a scandal laced UCLA program in 2003, going 6-7 in his initial year. In 2004, the Bruins went 6-6 , 2005, they were 10-2, and last year they had a 7-6 record. This season the Bruins are 5-2 over all and 4-0 in the Pac-Ten. Dorrell is one of six black head coaches out of the 119 division 1-A schools. Much of the criticism is aimed at the inconsistency of his team. Last Saturday, UCLA upset previously ranked #10 Cal, 30-21.......but has had deflating and embarrassing losses to Utah (44-6) and most recently, Notre Dame (20-6). Of the six black head coaches, Dorrell has the most high profile program -- competing in LA against Pete Carroll and the likes. Here's how the Six compare in 2007 salary and wins &losses:

Ty Willingham (Washington) $1,414,772 (2-5)

Randy Shannon (Miami) 1,000,000 (5-3)

Sylvester Croom(Miss St) 940,000 (4-4)

Karl Dorrell (UCLA) 881,000 (5-2)

Ron Prince (Kansas St) 750,000 (4-3)

Turner Gill (Buffalo) 183,000 (3-5)

See http://coacheshotseat.com/CoachesHotSeatRanking.htm


Randy Shannon of Miami seems to have the most job security.......of course he's in his first year......Sylvester Croom is in a no win situation. We give him a year......no longer. Our sympathies go out to Ty Willingham. Why? Of the 7 teams Washington has played this year, only Syracuse was not ranked...and that was the first game of the season. In consecutive weeks the Huskies faced, Ohio State, UCLA, USC, Arizona State, and Oregon......All ranked in the top 25!!!

All I Want for Christmas.....is a New Pair of Ankles!!!

Six feet five......25o pounds......a rocket of an arm.....a leader on and off the field. Phenomenal college career at Marshall. Meet Mr. Byron Leftwich -- the Atlanta Falcon quarterback. Starting his first game as a Falcon, (taking over for Joey Harrington) Leftwich had people scratching their heads as to why the Jacksonville Jaguars out right cut him earlier this year. He looked sharp. His passes crisp. His deep ball a spiraling missile. The Atlanta Falcons actually led the New Orleans Saints (in the Superdome) at halftime 13-7. But with 9:45 left in the third quarter, Leftwich was sacked by the Saints' Will Smith on a third and long play. He got twisted under the pile and immediately grabbed his right ankle. And just like that...... poof!!!......the air went out of Atlanta's offense. As has happened far to often in his brief NFL career, the scene was a dejected Byron Leftwich , being carted off yet another football field.

Petrino: Leftwich injury 'serious' AJC's Story

Byrons' injury history goes all the way back to college as told by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on April 20, 2003:

FORT WORTH, Texas _ Marshall quarterback Byron Leftwich's right arm is fine. It's his left leg that is the concern of some NFL teams.
Leftwich had a stress fracture in his left leg during his junior season. He hurt it again late last season but continued to play on what was described as a hairline fracture above the ankle.
"I caught chicken pox twice, too," Leftwich said. "It's just something you have to go through.
"Injuries happen in football. It was two different injuries. It's like hurting two different fingers, but it's a finger, so ..

Then in November 2004, Len Pasquarelli of ESPN.com reported the following:

There is still a chance that Leftwich, the centerpiece of the Jacksonville offense, will need surgery on his injured left knee. If that occurs, then there is a chance the Jags' young star could miss the balance of the season.
"It could be, in the end, that he does indeed need surgery," acknowledged Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio.
That admission certainly is counter to earlier reports that a Tuesday examination by noted orthopedic specialist Dr. James Andrews of Birmingham, Ala., indicated that surgery was not needed and that Leftwich would likely be sidelined 4-6 weeks, the normal recovery period for a slightly torn lateral collateral ligament.


And last year -- Mr. Leftwich -- missed all but 6 games and lost his starting position to David Garrard, which made him expendable to the Jaguars. Enter the Atlanta Falcons............

Atlanta signs Leftwich to a 2 year 7 million dollar contract. We make the following suggestion to the Falcon front office. Either get the man an offensive line that will protect him or get the man some state of the art ankle braces from McDavid's. The AnkleX.

Things we Learned Saturday.......

Yes, FOX.....and the rest of America -- There will be a game 7. J. D. Drew awakened from a season long hibernation to have the game of his career as the Redsox blew out the Indians 12-2. I'll be the first to a

dmit -- I had all but counted Boston out. We should have learned our lessons 2 years a

go when these same Boston Redsox overcame a 3-0 deficit against the Yankees to win that ALCS.





Sometimes......you just are what you are. Poor South Carolina......poised to take sole possession of the SEC east and land a trip to the championship game in Atlanta.......The unthinkable happens.....They get punked by Vanderbilt. The 'cocks, along with their no. 6 ranking are now just another Carolina team that fades late in the season.


Laughing at Notre Dame has reached the point where it really isn't funny any more. The Irish suffered their second worst home lost .......ever. USC destroyed the Irish -- even in those pukey green uniforms.....And the natives are getting restless.


South Bend Tribune: "Where's ND's progress?"



Tim Tebow is one tough white boy. Tebow willed the Gators to victory over a Kentucky team that featured Heisman candidate Andre Woodson. It seemed every time Kentucky pulled close -- Tebow would do something spectacular and the Gators were scoring again.

LSU may never lose at home.....at night.......ever again. Auburn had the Tigers beat. A magnificent back and forth game saw Auburn taking a seeming winning lead (24-23) with just seconds left. Enter Demetrius Byrd.......Bryd makes a fabulous catch as time runs out to give LSU the come from behind 30-24

victory. By far.......the game of the week end.

In the strange but true category -- Appalachian State.....yes that Appalachian State .....lost ....at home to Georgia Southern, 38-35.

Vandy's win over the Gamecocks was its first win ever in 15 tries against Steve Spurrier and the highest -ranked opponent the Commodores' defeated in 70 years.

Sunday Morning Headlines

For your viewing pleasure.................

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What........No 5 second Delay?

For you casual baseball fans not in the know, Josh Beckett was being interviewed about his reaction to Cleveland getting his ex-girlfriend to sing the National Anthem in an attempt to knock him off his game....BTW....It didn't work. Beckett shut down the Indians to pull Boston to 2-3 in the series

The 5 Million Dollar Insult

Every body's jumping in on the Joe Torre thing. It was like a funeral today on WFAN's afternoon drive of "Mike & the Mad dog. The two-some -- along with their callers were crucifying the Yankees for running Joe out of town. ......Huh????? Am I missing something here? Torre, already the highest paid manager in all of baseball, was offered a one year contract -- with bonus incentives -- that had a base salary of 5 million -- with the potential to earn 8 million -- if the Yankees got to the World Series. Of course......feeling totally dissed ....and unappreciated, Mr. Torre turned down the offer. Helloooo!!!! Joe.....remember when you were just an also-ran manager of the New York Mets, the Atlanta Braves, and the Saint Louis Cardinals??? Your record with those teams was an unimpressive 894 wins and 1103 losses.
You then parlayed a successful broadcasting stint into becoming the manager of the best team money can buy. Money!!!! Torre always started the season a leg up on the competition -- the Yankees always has.....and always will have the highest payroll in baseball. How arrogant of Joe to think the 12 straight post season appearances was all his doing.........I applaud the Yankees for calling his bluff. And .....Yanks.....feel free to "insult" me ....any time.

Check out Torre's career Managerial record .