San Francisco Giants win the World Series

The San Francisco Giants completed their improbable run to the World Series Championship. They were the underdog in just about every series they played in. It just goes to show you how much the so called experts know. The Giants ranked 17th in runs, 15th in batting average, 19th in on base percentage and 13th in slugging percentage. Not exactly tearing the league up with those numbers, but what really mattered with this team was their pitching. The trio of Lincecum, Cain, and Bumgarner went 8-1 this postseason.

The Rangers bats were never able to catch a break. They were the hotter team entering the Series. They had all the big bats and the MVP candidate in Josh Hamilton. I predicted the Giants in 7 but had a sneaky feeling that the Rangers might come away with this series. It seemed like when the ball Ian Kinsler hit in game 3 landed on the wall, that the baseball gods had spoken and said sorry Texas this isn’t your time.One of my fellow writers and big San Francisco fan wrote “With the way the Rangers have been playing I don't think there will be a 7th game. Someone needs to tell the Rangers the World Series started 4 games ago.” Boy was she ever right.

Tim Lincecum was just filthy last night. He had the hitters of Texas looking like a minor league team. His matchup with the leading AL MVP candidate Josh Hamilton showed just how great Lincecum was. He kept Hamilton off balance with a dose of fastballs and change-ups. Hamilton didn't have a clue what was coming next and eventually struck  out. Hamilton was but only one victim for “The Freak”, Lincecum would go on to pitch 8 innings and strikeout 8 batters while allowing only one earned run. It was a masterful performance but almost matched by Texas ace Cliff Lee. Lee would only make one mistake but it was costly in pitching to a former World Series hero, Edgar Renteria. The former Florida Marlin hero had been swinging a hot bat of late and was able to connect on a cutter from Lee and drove it deep into the Texas sky. "I was only looking for one pitch," Renteria said. And that was the one.

The three run blast proved to be all that was needed. Lincecum was relieved by Brian “The beard” Wilson in the 9th. Wilson may be one the weirdest guys in baseball, but he has got the job done all year. He didn't allow a run this entire post-season. Wilson closed it out in the 9th and San Francisco’s 55 year drought was over. A team that once was scrapping to get into the playoffs had ousted all its foes. This is about as an unlikely run as you could imagine. You can argue there is not one superstar position player on the team. It was a team patched together as the year went on. Each series they had a new hero, be it Juan Uribe, Aubrey Huff, the rookie Buster Posey, Cody “The Boss” Ross and last night it was Edgar Renteria’s turn. "We're just a bunch of guys," said outfielder Cody Ross,

You’re not just a bunch of guys Cody you are World Series champions now.

Sportaholic NFL Power Rankings Week 8

Another tough week in the NFL and a few top teams took a tumble. The Jets couldn’t score a point in Lambeau and Pittsburgh met a desperate defending Super bowl champ with all the voodoo working on Halloween. The Titans for some reason just can’t beat the Chargers. The Patriots and the Colts beat up on Minnesota and Houston. Some other really good teams had a bye this week. (Giants, Ravens, Eagles)



Now let’s unveil the new top five

1. New England Patriots – They just keep finding ways to win. They shut down the Vikings offense when they needed to and Tom Brady will always give you an opportunity to win. The throw he made to Brandon Tate was a thing of beauty. The young defense is now starting to find their way and jell. The hit by Myron Rolle on Brett Favre was vicious, gave the old man eight stitches. And for all the Randy Moss pre-game talk, he had all of one catch for eight yards.

2. Indianapolis Colts – Did you see Peyton Manning run for a first down Monday night? I see why he doesn’t do that often, he looked so awkward sliding. Even with all the weapons they have lost, they remain potent on offense. As long as the Sheriff is in town, they have a shot. (Pun intended)

3. Pittsburgh Steelers – Talk about a tough venue, trying to go into the Super Dome and face “Who Dat” nation on Halloween. They even set a world record for the largest Halloween gathering with 17,777 fans in costumes (don’t they always have that many at every home game?). I can’t say that they didn’t have their chances though. A lot of late mistakes but sooner or later Big Ben was going to show some vulnerability. The Saints defense finally played like it did last year. With that all said, the Steelers will be just fine

4. New York Jets – A goose egg Jets? Did I miss the frozen tundra out there or something? Mark Sanchez took a lot of heat for that game but it wasn’t his entire fault. His receivers (Jerricho Cotchery in particular) dropped multiple passes. The run game wasn’t effective either, with LT and Shonn Greene combining for just 76 yards. The Jets defense did their part, only allowing a very good offensive team to nine points. It was just an ugly game by both teams. That Clay Matthews is a beast.

5. Baltimore Ravens – The Ravens had a bye this week and with Tennessee losing, I have to keep them at this spot. They have a tough game against Miami this week. The Dolphins are 4-0 on the road this season and are coming to town. We should get a better feel for the Ravens, after their head scratching performance against Buffalo.

Honorable mention: Tennessee Titans, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers

World Series Update: Giants up 3-1

The Giants have been rolling in the World Series thus far and have a 3-1 lead. Now with the season on the line, The Rangers hand the ball to their ace Cliff Lee who got shelled his time out going only 4 innings allowing 8 hits and 6 earned runs. He still had 7 strikeouts to just 1 walk.

This is the very reason the Rangers went out and acquired Lee. He was expected to led them to places they have never been. And to this point Lee has done everything asked of him. If he can get the win for them in this must win game, he will always be remembered in Rangers lore.

Cliff Lee is great but he can’t do it himself. The Rangers who had been bashing everyone in the playoffs until now, need for their bats to wake up. Madison Bumgarner silenced them for eight shut out innings in game four. Brian Wilson with his trademark beard came in and closed the door for the Giants. The Giants will have their ace going tonight with Lincecum set to pitch. It sets the stage for an epic Game 5.

With the Giants on the brink of there first championship since 1954, Can Cliff Lee and the slumping bats of the Rangers save their seemed for destiny season? I picked the Giants in 7 thinking that the Rangers would win at least two games this series but who knows? Tune in to see what happens tonight

Randy Moss cut by the Minnesota Vikings

The outspoken former all-pro receiver was released by the Vikings today. It comes as a stunner as Moss has only played four games for his former team. Moss had 13 receptions for 174 yards and two touchdowns and the Vikings were 1-3 in the games he played. It has been a crazy year for one of the leagues ultimate deep threats. It seems now that Moss' talent can no longer cover for his outspoken ways (As I write this all I can hear in the back of head is his "Straight cash homie." remark in my head.).

Moss was crtical of coach Brad Childress for his decision to not kick a field goal and instead going to the ground to try and pound the ball in on fourth and goal in their latest game against the New England Patriots. He also stated "I got fined $25,000 for not speaking to you all. Me, personally, I really don't care," Moss said. "But at the same time, I do answer questions throughout the week. For the league to fine me $25,000, I'm not going to answer any more questions for the rest of this year. If it's going to be an interview, I'm going to conduct [it]. ... I'll ask myself the questions, then give y'all the answers. So from here on out, I'm not answering any more questions for the rest of this season."

It sounds like to me the Vikings, who have enough distractions this year with Brett Favre and the fiasco of a season they had thus far, wasn't willing to put up with Moss's mess. His talent has long covered up for his antics and he was given the benefit of the doubt. Now that two teams have given up on him (Not to mention two respected men of football in Bill Belicheck and Brad Childress),what will the market be for Moss? He is now the a disgruntled, outspoken and to some team cancer wide recevier. He still has a lot available to give when he is motivated to play but he will always have something to say that may not be the best team wise. Its sad to see such a great player done in by his own mouth. The league will always give chances to guys with talent just look at Pacman Jones and other misfits. Randy Moss has now come to a crossroads in his career. It's his choice on how it ends from here.

Titans vs. Chargers game review

The Titans extended their losing streak to the San Diego Chargers losing 33-25 in San Diego Sunday. The lost snapped the Titans three game win streak and extended the Chargers win streak over the Titans to eight games dating back to 1993. They continue to be the only team Jeff Fisher has not defeated in the league, and for some reason just have the Titans number.

The game started out well for the Titans when they got a blocked punt by Nick Schommer for a safety to give them a two point lead and the ball. The Chargers would come back to score later in the first quarter on a 15 play 83 yard drive topped off by a 1-yard run by Mike Tolbert. Vince Young looked sharp to open the second quarter completing passes to rookie Damien Williams and Lavelle Hawkins. He would later connect for a one yard touchdown pass to TE Craig Stevens. San Diego would go three and out and their next drive and the Titans would score again on their next, this time on the legs on Chris Johnson for a 29-yard burst. Johnson looked to be surrounded in the back field but was able to cut back and make two defenders miss and got a great block from Vince Young. It was just a beautiful run and really the lone highlight ofJohnson’s day. He would finish with 15 carries for just 59 yards and that one touchdown.

San Diego would march right back down the field on the next play and score to make it 19-14 and that would be the score going into halftime.

The third quarter is when things begin to slip away from the Titans. The offense began to sputter leading to three consecutive punts in the third. San Diego on the other hand found their rhythm and scored on a field goal from Kris Brown and a game breaker touchdown from Antonio Gates. Phillip Rivers would find him streaking up the sidelines for a 48- yard strike. That score gave all of the momentum to the Chargers heading into the fourth quarter.

Even with uncle mo on the side of the Chargers, Vince Young and the Titans were not finished. Young would find Nate Washington for a 71 yard bomb deep down the middle on the Titans first drive in the fourth. The Titans would try a two-point conversion but would fail making the game 25-27 in San Diego’s favor. The Chargers again would roar back and score a touchdown on an 8 play 52 yard drive capped by a Phillip Rivers pass to Darren Sproles for 13 yards. San Diego would have a bad snap on the extra point forcing Kris Brown to run and get tackled without ever attempting the extra point. This was important as it kept it a one possession game for the Titans at 33-25.

On the Titans next drive, Vince Young would go down with an apparent ankle/Achilles injury. He would finish the game 10/21 for 253 yards and two touchdowns. Kerry Collins would enter the game in mop up duty for Young. Collins would lead the last drive for the Titans but to no avail as Chris Johnson would drop his pass on a fourth and two that would seal the victory for the Chargers. “It was just a dropped ball, that’s about it, a play I was supposed to make,” Johnson said. “I make it nine out of 10 times but it was just a dropped ball.”

Said Collins: “We just couldn’t hook up for whatever reason. It’s unfortunate because we fought our butts off to get down there

The Titans fought hard but could not pull out another tough close game. The Chargers are a desperate team and finally played like it. Phillip Rivers would finish 27-36 for 305 yards and 2 touchdowns. He was able to dissect the Titans defense and throw for big gains. The Titans have a bye week next Sunday and it will give them a chance to evaluate their season to this point and to get all of the injured healthy. They should be very happy with a 5-3 record but also disappointed with two close losses to Denver and San Diego. They could easily be 7-1 at this point. Their next game is Nov. 14th at the Miami Dolphins.

UT Report week 9

UT has just owned South Carolina in the past. Tennessee holds a 21-6-2 all-time advantage in the series but have lost the last two games. The Gamecocks were too much for the Vols this time around also, defeating them 38-24 in Columbia. This equal the Vols worst start (0-5) since 1977 in the SEC. The Vols did look good on some fronts. Tyler Bray and Matt Simms would combined to go 19/28 for 312 yards and 3 touchdowns. Bray, in particular showed a lot of promise making strong throws all over the field.  Denairus Moore would go on to have a career game posting 6 receptions for 228 yards and a touchdown. Those 228 yards receiving is second all time ever for a UT receiver.Tennessee just could not contain freshman sensation Marcus Lattimore who went on to rack up 184 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries. The Vols continue to have trouble up front on the defensive line and this game showed their venerability to the run. South Carolina just pounded the Vols.

On several occasions the Gamecocks just lined up and played smashmouth with Tennessee. Oh have the tables have turned in this series, I remember when UT was doing the running on South Carolina. UT continued its trend of being tied going into halftime with its opponents, only to lose the game in the second half.  After Julio Jones torched the secondary last week, I was predicting similar results for the long athletic Alshon Jeffrey of the Gamecocks. He didn't post the big numbers like Jones but did have the game changing play with a 70 yard pass play from Stephen Garcia. The Gamecocks would not look back after the play which put them ahead 31-24. The Vols would not score again and South Carolina rolled to the victory. Tennessee has been in every game they have played. They just don't have the experience and athletes they usually have by this time of year.

Everyone knew this was going to be a tough one this season and they are just proving us right. Derek Dooley will continue to lead his troops on the field. Only time will tell if they can make it to a bowl game but it doesn't look good for them so far. Next game they face Memphis and definitely have a chance to win that but nothing is a given now days for the Volunteers.

College Football Weekend Finale

The picture for the national championship is becoming clear. The contenders and pretenders are starting to separate themselves. More and more teams are being exposed as the year goes on. Iowa just undressed the Cinderella story that was Michigan State and the same goes Missouri who were just slaughtered by the Cornhuskers. Only one team of my collection of picks was able to win and that would none other than Oregon. I think they are most balanced team in the team in the nation. If they win out, they will face the winner of the Iron Bowl Auburn and Alabama game for the national title in my opinion. Now let jump into the rest of College games. Here are the highlights and lowlights of the weekend.

Michigan State vs. Iowa – As I stated before, I thought this was a team of destiny but not so much after having it handed to them by Iowa. Ricky Stanzi was able to pretty much do what he wanted to the Spartans secondary finishing 11 of 15 for 190 and 3 touchdowns. By the time the first quarter was over, Iowa led 17-0. By halftime, it was 30-0. It was just a dominant performance by the Hawkeyes that blew the race wide open for the Big Ten title. Four teams are now in the hunt for the Rose Bowl including Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Iowa. Michigan State can kiss that national title aspirations good bye with the loss.

Missouri vs. Nebraska – When ever you let someone run for 307 yards on you, you probably lost that game. In Missouri’s case this holds true emphatically. Roy Helu Jr’s record breaking performance sealed the Tigers fate. Helu Jr broke the previous Cornhusker record for rushing yards held by Calvin Jones who ran for 294 against Kansas State back in 1991. So much for that deserving defensive respect I was harping for at the beginning of this weekend for Missouri. This game looked to be over by halftime with Nebraska sporting a 24-7 lead but the Tigers made a game out of it in the second half. They would come up short and now go back to pretender status. Nebraska takes control of the Big 12 north division with the win.

Oregon vs. USC - The Ducks once again used their up tempo style to take down the Trojans. Lamicheal James did his usual going for 239 yards and three scores while QB Darron Thomas threw for 288 yards and four touchdowns. No team in the country keeps the pace up like the Ducks do. You could see at times the USC defenders getting tired trying to keep up. I must give credit to the Trojans, I thought this was going to get out of hand in a big way but they were sounder on defense in this game. I really wanted to see Matt Barkley perform well in this game but he was mediocre at best finishing 26/49 for 264 yards 1 touchdown pass and 2 interceptions. Oregon marches on to the Pac-10 title and the BCS number one ranking, and will be in the national championship if they can win out.



Other notable games and players:

Auburn – The Tigers continue to obliterate teams offensively putting up 572 total yards of offense on the board against Ole Miss. I saw a lot of experts picking this game for the upset special of the week but I was having none of that. Cam Newton continues to do his Heisman pose on teams, doing it with his arm this time to the tune of 18/24 209 yards and two touchdown passes. Auburn may have lost the number one BCS ranking but they control their own destiny and it will come down to Alabama in the Iron bowl (as fate would have it) and the SEC championship game if they can beat their arch rival.

Baylor – I told anyone who would listen to watch out for the Bears against Texas. I don’t know if you can call it an upset by regular standards but this was the first time Baylor beat the Longhorns since 1997. Qb Robert Griffin passed for two touchdowns and the Bears are now legitimate contenders in the Big 12 south division. Texas continues their inconsistent play that has plagued them all year.

Michigan – They are going through their annual late season slide, losing to Penn State this weekend. The Nittany Lions previously horrible offense was able to put up 41 points and 435 yards to hand Michigan its 3rd lost of the season. Reports are surfacing that if Rich Rodriguez is unable to pull out wins in his last two games this season, he will be gone. Denard Robinson and the Michigan defense please stand up so your coach won’t end up on the unemployment line.

Florida and Georgia – The annual cocktail party actually lived up to its billing this year with the game going into overtime. Aaron Murray looks like a future star in the league but had some timely mistakes for the Bulldogs, with his four interceptions. He just needs more seasoning but coach Mark Richt needs to get all the wins he can the rest of the year to keep his job. Florida still can’t get a grip on its QB situation. The gators pretty much won this game on the ground with Jeff Demps and the recently returned Chris Rainey. Florida still has an outside shot at the SEC east crown with the win but its South Carolina’s division to lose at this point.