Make that 4 in a row........
As in 4 straight losses for the Atlanta Hawks. The team that took the NBA by storm early on by winning their first 6 games, has done a complete turn-about , in losing the last 4.
Suddenly, these Hawks can't shoot, pass, or play defense. And now, two starters ( Josh Smith and Al Horford) are out of the lineup due to injuries.
Planning ahead....way ahead....
The University of Texas has announced their new head football coach, Will Muschamp......well, sort of.
Thing is though , Texas already has a coach..... 57 year old Mack Brown.....In naming Muschamp (37) "head-coach-in-waiting"..... the University doubled the defensive coordinator's salary, from $425,000 to $900,000.
Makes you wonder, "What if?" What if Brown wants to coach for another 10 to 20 years? Just wondering........
BCS on ESPN.....
Don't look for division 1 college football play-offs anytime soon.....or at least until 2014. ESPN has just paid $125 million for the rights to broadcast the BCS bowls and championship games starting in 2011. Fox Sports has the rights through 2010. For everything good ESPN has done for college football..........it's greed has once again set back a play-off system.
Miami and Georgia Tech......a Thursday night affair...
These two teams have played more games on Thursday....on ESPN......than any other teams in the nation, and will meet again tomorrow night in Atlanta. Miami (7-3) is 13-1 on the ESPN showcase while Tech (7-3) is 9-11. By the way, there are over 8,000 seats still available ........
Diversity in MLB?
Congrats to the Seattle Mariners..........The Mariners have hired Don Wakamatsu as manager and in doing so make Wakamatsu the first ever Asian-American to manage in Major League Baseball. What a year for change...........and that's a good thing.
Vegas.....gave us a "beat down".......
Just when I was getting the "big head" and thinking I was on a serious roll in the "Friday Picks"( 8-2 in the last two weeks).......Vegas dealt a humbling blow.
0-3 in the college picks.....and 1-1 in the pros. But oh how close it was. Betting against the point spread is a risky thing. Think about the picks......Clemson was winning......but lost in the final minutes. Oklahoma won easily.....but didn't quite cover the 19 point spread. Kentucky won.....but only by 2.....the spread was 7 1/2.
In the pros........Indianapolis laid an egg. The Colts lost........straight up. The only winner was the Chicago Bears and they had us chewing our collective fingers until finally winning, 48-41....and covering.
There is always next week.
Tampa Bay......."shamed" the devil.......
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays........who this year.......ditched the "devil".....to be known as simply the Tampa Bay Rays.....are in the World Series.
Good for them! Now , I am not a religious man , but I applaud them for the name change.
In the Rays mere 10 year existence, they had never had a winning season. They had never even won 70 games in a season.
Tampa also plays in the division of the "best teams money can buy".......as in the N Y Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and the Baltimore Orioles.
And they rose above ........with a payroll.....a fraction of the big boys.
The Rays feature a nucleus of talented young players.....drafted and developed in their farm system.
How refreshing.
The BCS.......has started its' mess...........
The first "Bowl Championship Series" (BCS) poll has come out..........This poll incorporates the "Harris Poll", the "Coaches Poll", and a computor poll to figure out who will ultimatly play for the national championship. No major surprises. 3 conferences dominate: the SEC, the Big 10, and the Big 12........with USC the lone representative from the Pac 10. Noticeably absent are teams from the Big East .......and the ACC.
The top 10:
Bowl Champ. Series Ranking
At 43.......Bernard.....is "da man"!!!
Saturday night in Atlantic City, Bernard Hopkins and his 43 year old body won a unanimous decision over previously undefeated Kelly Pavlik (26).........Hopkins confused and dominated the Youngstown, Ohio native in a non-title middleweight fight.
Bernard........you have made all of us "old men" proud....
We salute you.
