Bored

I'm also a 49ers and when it comes to pro sports I'd rank my passion for my favorite teams in the order of A's, 49ers, and Warriors. I've probably made about 10 posts outside of the Sports folder in the past year so there hasn't been much to notice outside of Sports. Like many long time posters I came to the board because of wrestling but eventually drifted out of that folder. Sports is my niche and the section of the board that I think I make a solid contribution to so I just stick with it. Pizza. I'm not any sort of a foodie. Hard rock, metal. I'm honestly scared to go into the music folder as I don't have the greatest taste in music. Can't say that I have one. Nope. I do enjoy playing basketball although my best sport was probably volleyball but I never particularly enjoyed it. I'm assuming your asking about the 2004 Presidential Election and I chose not to vote. I was once very idealistic and passionate about politics but that ended in recent years. Never been a root beer fan. Nope. I prefer being an enigma. And really I'm quite Boring.

Well looks like there could be a need for a thread like this and I couldn't figure out where to post this news. Mitch Mustain is leaving Arkansas, possibly on his way to Tulsa.

Brandon Webb only extends his scoreless inning streak by 1/3 of an inning as a Prince Fielder RBI single in the 1st ends at 42 1/3 innings. Another note on the Texas game, Wes Littleton picked up a save. Yes in a 27 run win someone got a save. He pitched the last three innings so by rule he gets a save even though it was already a 14-3 game at that point.

The season ends with plenty of drama. The best game of the week was the Oilers/Giants with the Oilers prevailing 30-24 in overtime and to go along with the Steelers getting crushed by the Browns, the Oilers win the AFC Central. Steelers though ended up beating out the Browns for the final playoffs spot by tiebreak, or at least that's what the game says as I'm not sure it properly does tiebreaks. In the AFC West, the Raiders beat the Chiefs while the Chargers lost to the Broncos thus handing the division to the Raiders. Over in the NFC, the Eagles could have taken the East with the Giants dropping their third straight but the Eagles lost to the Redskins and those two will now meet again in the Wild Card round. For the final spot in playoffs the Rams took care of business by slaughtering the Seahawks but the Bears couldn't beat the red hot 49ers so the Rams clinched the final playoff spot. Here are the playoff match-ups: Week 17 Scores Phoenix 26, New Orleans 14 PHX: 5-11, NO: 7-9 -Ricky Proehl: 99 yards receiving Tampa Bay 24, Indianapolis 21 TB: 7-9, IND: 6-10 -Gary Anderson: 197 total yards L.A. Rams 44, Seattle 17 RAM: 9-7, SEA: 6-10 -Henry Ellard: 5 rec, 172 yards Cincinnati 31, New England 14 CIN: 6-10, NE: 4-12 -Tim McGee: 4 rec, 100 yards Miami 16, N.Y. Jets 7 MIA: 11-5, NYJ: 3-13 -Mark Clayton: 6 rec, 152 yards Houston 30, N.Y. Giants 24 OT HOU: 10-6, NYG: 11-5 -Warren Moon: 230 yards passing Denver 27, San Diego 21 DEN: 8-8, SD: 10-6 -Bobby Humphrey: 104 yards rushing Buffalo 33, Detroit 20 BUF: 13-3, DET: 4-12 -Thurman Thomas: 194 yards rushing Minnesota 29, Green Bay 27 MIN: 13-3, GB: 5-11 -Wade Wilson: 219 yards passing Cleveland 41, Pittsburgh 14 CLE: 9-7, PIT: 9-7 -Eric Metcalf: 4 rec, 148 yards San Francisco 21, Chicago 10 SF: 13-3, CHI: 8-8 -Joe Montana: 177 yards passing Dallas 26, Atlanta 10 DAL: 6-10, ATL: 2-14 -Jay Novacek: 5 rec, 138 yards L.A. Raiders 35, Kansas City 24 RAI: 11-5, KC: 8-8 -Jay Schroeder: 253 yards passing Washington 28, Philadelphia 17 WAS: 10-6, PHI: 10-6 -Earnest Byner: 136 yard rushing NFL Team Leaders Total Offense 1. Buffalo 5298 2. San Francisco 5163 3. Houston 4961 Passing Offense 1. Houston 3959 2. San Francisco 3810 3. L.A. Rams 3716 Rushing Offense 1. L.A. Raiders 2420 2. Kansas City 2180 3. Buffalo 2162 Team Defense 1. Pittsburgh 3669 2. Buffalo 3959 3. Chicago 4015 Passing Defense 1. Pittsburgh 2219 2. Cleveland 2537 3. Buffalo 2565 Rushing Defense 1. Green Bay 1299 2. New Orleans 1321 3. San Francisco 1322 AFC Individual Leaders Passing Leaders Rating: Dan Marino, 168.7 Comp %: Warren Moon, 67.6 Attempts: Bernie Kosar, 269 Comp: Moon, 153 Yards: Moon, 3959 Yards/Att: Moon, 17.5 TD: Marino, 40 Lst Int %: Marino, 5.3 Receiving Leaders Receptions: Anthony Miller, 53 Yards: Stephone Paige, 1228 Yards/Rct: Mark Jackson, 33.4 TD: Miller, 15 Rushing Leaders Yards: Thurman Thomas, 1733 Attempts: Marion Butts, 172 Yards/Att: Bo Jackson, 11.9 TD: Butts; Thomas, 15 Scoring Leaders Points: Thurman Thomas, 132 TD: Thomas, 22 Extra Pts: Scott Norwood, 58 FG: Jeff Jaeger, 17 Punting Leaders Average: Rohn Stark, 51.0 Punts: Joe Prokop, 27 Interception Leaders INT: Kevin Ross; Erik McMillan, 10 Yards: McMillan, 127 TD: Many with 1 Sack Leader: Derrick Thomas; Simon Fletcher, 18 Punt Return Leaders Average: Reggie Langhorne, 10.6 Yards: Langhorne, 159 Returns: Tony Martin, 22 TD: None Kick Return Leaders Average: Tim Brown, 21.1 Yards: Terrance Mathis, 1542 Returns: Mathis, 84 TD: None NFC Individual Leaders Passing Leaders Rating: Phil Simms, 186.7 Comp %: Randall Cunnigham, 73.0 Attempts: Don Majkowski, 243 Comp: Joe Montana, 150 Yards: Montana, 3810 Yards/Att: Cunnigham; Simms, 17.5 TD: Montana, 41 Lst Int %: Wade Wilson, 3.7 Receiving Leaders Receptions: Jerry Rice, 75 Yards: Rice, 1955 Yards/Rct: Mark Ingram, 29.0 TD: Rice, 21 Rushing Leaders Yards: Neal Anderson, 1508 Attempts: Anderson, 177 Yards/Att: Barry Sanders, 10.2 TD: Tom Rathman, 16 Scoring Leaders Points: Keith Byars, 138 TD: Byars, 23 Extra Pts: Mike Cofer, 58 FG: Morten Andersen; Steve Christie, 16 Punting Leaders Average: Rich Camarillo, 48.9 Punts: Mike Saxson, 25 Interception Leaders INT: Mark Carrier, 9 Yards: Wes Hopkins, 154 TD: Many with 1 Sack Leader: Lawrence Taylor, 21 Punt Return Leaders Average: Henry Ellard, 12.8 Yards: Leo Lewis, 246 Returns: Lewis, 22 TD: None Kick Return Leaders Average: David Meggett, 20.9 Yards: Meggett, 1381 Returns: Charles Wilson, 78 TD: None

Its 30-3!!!!!!!!! That's a new modern Major League record.

I knew you were all on the edge of your seat wondering if the second most populer football contest in TSM history would come back for a 4th season? Okay maybe not. Even if you didn't want it, its back. After expanding from 32 teams to 34 teams in 2005 and then to 40 teams in 2006 I've decided to put a cap at 40 teams this year and if we end up with fewer teams that is fine. The prize is still the same, the winner of the contest will receive $50 cash. I also will have the same challenge as last year, if someone can finish the season undefeated they will win $100. Just a quick overview for anyone who hasn't participated before and is interested in signing up, each player will represent a Division I-A school and match-up head-to-head each week with another poster. I will select 14 games from the college schedule each week and you will pick the winners for each game. I avoid picking games that are obvious blowouts and I do pick a few games from the non-BCS conferences but I try to avoid Sun Belt games at all cost. There will be two tiebreak questions every week, #1 always asking for the total score from a key game that week, and #2 asking how many yards a star player will have that week. The regular season is 12 weeks long, then follows the conference championships that will match-up the 1st and 2nd place teams from each conference. Like last year the conference championships will take place over a two week span and will include 20 games. After that of course comes the bowl season where if eligible you play in a bowl game and pick all the winners from the entire bowl season. Each week there are typically two deadlines for making your picks. I will typically try to include either the Thursday or Friday ESPN game along with the Saturday games. If you don't get your picks in prior to the Thursday or Friday kick off you can not earn a point for those games. If you do not submit your picks prior to the Noon EST/9:00 AM PST kick off on Saturday you will be assigned replacement picks. You will be assigned the picks of similarly ranked team for that week and teams using replacement picks can not win by tiebreak. You are allowed to use replacement picks only once during the season and still be eligible to win the contest, although you can still participate in bowl games. You will not be eligible to win the $100 undefeated prize if you use replacement picks at any point in the season. After each week is completed, I post the Bored Championship Series Rankings which of course is a spoof of the real life rankings. The rankings are based on three factors 1) Win/Loss Record, 2) Pct of Games Picked Correctly, 3) Pct of Games Picked Correclty by Opponent aka "Strength of Schedule." It was originally intended to create completely fucked up results but with money involved people took it seriously. So I've made adjustments over the years, just like the real BCS, and this year I've made another change. The past two seasons Win/Loss Record and Correct Pick % were weighted evenly but now I've decided in order to mimic real life a little more (and stop some of the whining) Win/Loss Record will be the primary factor in your ranking. Your ranking in Win/Loss record will now be 65% of your BCS ranking, Correct Pick % will be 30% of your ranking, and "Strength of Schedule" will now only be 5% of your ranking. Now for veterans of the contest you know that the each winner of the prior year's bowl games have the option of renaming the bowl game you won, the only one that can't renamed is the Bored Bowl but the sponsorship can be changed. If you want to change the name of your bowl game please PM me, or if you don't want to let me know as well. I'll probably send a reminder PM to those who won once we get closer to the season. Here's last year's winners: Pepsi Blue Bored Bowl: iggymcfly Traditional Bowl presented by the Yellow Submarine: Vern Gagne TheSWF.com Dust Bowl: Cuban Linx Out Magazine Bowl: CanadianChris Williams Games SinisTar Bowl: Me KFC PETA Bowl: noogoodnick Ex-Lax Toilet Bowl: Urban Warfare FireJoeMorgan.com Bowl: teke184 Meow Mix Pussy Bowl: Art Sandusky Now for the sign ups. We have 33 holdovers from last year with one alternate. kkktookmybabyaway filled in last year when someone dropped out after one week and he'll serve as fill in again if we have an early drop out or if I need one more player to get an even number of teams. I have to end up with an even number of teams for scheduling purposes, again with a cap at 40 teams. For all sign ups please post in this thread what team you want to represent and it must be a Division I-A school. It is first come, first serve and holdovers can change their school if they want to. If any holdovers do not want to participate this year please let me know. ***SIGN UPS ARE CLOSED*** When a player has signed up they will be bolded. Holdovers Alabama - AlwaysPissedOff Arizona - UZI Suicide Arizona State - Spicy McHaggis Auburn - Tzar Lysergic Ball State - Vampiro69 Buffalo - Carnival Florida - Urban Warfare Florida State - King Georgia Tech - iggymcfly Hawaii - Fokai Kent State - JHawk Kentucky - Danville Wrestling LSU - teke184 Miami - Spaceman Spiff Miami of Ohio - Hawk 34 Minnesota - Vern Gagne Notre Dame - Lando Griffin Ohio - Will Scarlet Ohio State - Gert T Oklahoma - Secret Agent Oregon - nogoodnick Rutgers - the pinjockey San Diego State - the walkin' dude South Carolina - Cuban Linx Stanford - Bored Syracuse - CanadianChris Temple - Ortonsault Tennessee - Art Sandusky Texas - UTBroward UCLA - phoenixrising USC - Cartman UTEP - Angel Grace Blue Virginia - Edwin MacPhisto New Sign Ups Boise State - Vitamin X Boston College - HarleyQuinn Michigan - MFerXtreme87 Nebraska - Mecca N.C. State - AboveAverage484 Penn State - therealworldschampion TCU - Nate Washington - Smues Alternates (if any spots open) KingPK kkktookmybabyaway

We're down to the wire and a lot of movement still going on. Big story this week was the Browns scoring 24 points in the 4th quarter to come from behind to beat the Oilers 30-21. The Steelers won their game to once again move into a tie for 1st. I was slightly less lazy this time around, figuring out some of the easier tiebreaks, and the Steelers control their own destiny for the division as if they beat the Browns in Week 17 they'll end up with a better division record than the Oilers. In the AFC West, both Chargers and Raiders won to remain dead locked on top the division but the Chargers control their own destiny by virtue of having a better conference record than the Raiders. In the NFC, the Giants lost to the Redskins and the Eagles won so after looking at the tiebreaks as it turns out the Giants really haven't won the division yet. If the Eagles win next week and the Giants lose, the Eagles win the divsion by having a better divisional record. In the race for the last wild card spot in the conference, the Bears control their own destiny as they would end up with a better conference record than the Rams if they win next week although they will have to beat the 49ers to do so. As for a potential three-way ties in both conference for the final wild card spots, you can forget me trying to figure them out. AFC 1. Bills 12-3 2. Chargers 10-5 3. Steelers 9-6 4t. Dolphins 10-5 4t. Raiders 10-5 6. Oilers 9-6 Still Alive: Browns 8-7, Chiefs 8-7 NFC 1. Vikings 12-3 2. 49ers 12-3 3. Giants 11-4 4. Eagles 10-5 5. Redskins 9-6 6. Bears 8-7 Still Alive: Rams 8-7, Saints 7-8 Week 16 Scores Phoenix 28, Denver 20 PHX: 4-11, DEN: 7-8 -Timm Rosenbach: 312 yards passing L.A. Raiders 24, New Orleans 21 RAI: 10-5, NO: 7-8 -Bo Jackson: 111 yards rushing New England 28, N.Y. Jets 24 NE: 4-11, NYJ: 3-12 -Steve Grogan: 243 yards passing Indianapolis 21, Buffalo 17 IND: 6-9, BUF: 12-3 -Jessie Hester: 4 rec, 153 yards Cleveland 30, Houston 21 CLE: 8-7, HOU: 9-6 -Eric Metcalf: 96 yards receiving Browns 24 point 4th quarter Washington 24, N.Y. Giants 23 WAS: 9-6, NYG: 11-4 -Art Monk: 5 rec, 94 yards San Francisco 28, Kansas City 17 SF: 12-3, KC: 8-7 -Jerry Rice: 7 rec, 162 yards Philadelphia 34, Dallas 7 PHI: 10-5, DAL: 5-10 -Randall Cunnigham: 238 yards passing Seattle 16, Atlanta 14 SEA: 6-9, ATL: 2-13 -Dave Krieg: 165 yards passing Chicago 27, Tampa Bay 17 CHI: 8-7, TB: 6-9 -Neal Anderson: 98 yards rushing Detroit 42, Green Bay 14 DET: 4-11, GB: 5-10 -Richard Johnson: 5 rec, 126 yards Pittsburgh 24, Cincinnati 13 PIT: 9-6, CIN: 5-10 -Warren Williams: 85 yards rushing San Diego 31, Miami 21 SD: 10-5, MIA: 10-5 Minnesota 34, L.A. Rams 14 MIN: 12-3, RAM: 8-7 -Hassan Jones: 8 rec, 232 yards Leaders thru Week 16 PASSING LEADERS Rating 1. Phil Simms, 191.1 2. Randall Cunningham, 178.5 3. Dan Marino, 177.2 Yards 1. Warren Moon, 3729 2. Joe Montana, 3633 3. Jim Everett, 3405 Touchdowns 1. Montana, 40 2. Marino, 38 3. Everett, 35 RECEIVING LEADERS Receptions 1. Jerry Rice, 73 2. Andre Rison, 51 3. Anthony Miller, 50 Yards 1. Rice, 1891 2. Rison, 1343 3. Henry Ellard, 1308 Touchdowns 1. Rice, 20 2. Miller, 14 3t. Many tied with 13 RUSHING LEADERS Yards 1. Thurman Thomas, 1539 2. Neal Anderson, 1434 3. Bo Jackson, 1348 Touchdowns 1. Tom Rathman, 15 2t. Anderson, 14 2t. Johnny Johnson, 14 DEFENSIVE LEADERS Interceptions 1. Kevin Ross, 10 2t. Mark Carrier, 9 2t. Erik McMillan, 9 Sacks 1. Lawrence Taylor, 21 2. Reggie White, 20 3t. Many tied with 18 SPECIAL TEAMS LEADERS Field Goals: Jeff Jaeger, 17 Punting Avg: Rohn Stark, 51.0 Punt Return Avg: Ellard, 12.8 Kick Return Avg: Tim Brown, 21.8

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/news?slug=ap...p&type=lgns As expected Miami is leaving the Orange Bowl next season for Dolphins Stadium.

Using Justin Morneau's MVP win of last year doesn't really help your argument, although at least Holliday is the best player on his own team. If I had to make a prediction I will say that the writers will probably pick Holliday or Prince Fielder depending on how their respective teams do down the stretch. Watchout though if Pujols has a monster September and the Cardinals win the Central then the award will be his. And al, Chipper Jones? Really? I could see him emerging by the end of the year as a legit candidate if he stays healthy but really can't see a case for him as we speak.

It seemed liked a forgone conclusion the Raiders would take the AFC West but not anymore. They lost to the Chargers this week for their third straight loss and the Bolts have now moved into a tie for 1st at 9-5. Oilers beat Steelers 21-9 in order to reclaim sole posession of 1st place in the AFC Central. The Bills have clinched the AFC East but again the game won't recognize it yet since the Dolphins can tie for 1st still but the Bills swept the season series. The Giants lost to the Eagles but the Redskins suffered a shocking defeat to the craptastic Cardinals, so the Giants may or may not have clinched the division but I'm too lazy to go through tiebreak scenerios beyond head-to-head which the Giants/Eagles split. The game did officialy recognize the 49ers division title win after their ninth straight victory this week. The Vikings were stunned by the Bucs, who still have a very slim chance at the playoffs, which now gives us a three-way tie atop the NFC. The 49ers would be the odd team out in a three-way tie as they lost to both the Giants and Vikings. AFC 1. Bills 12-2 2t. Raiders/Chargers 9-5 2t. Oilers 9-5 4. Dolphins 10-4 5. Raiders/Chargers 9-5 6t. Chiefs/Steelers 8-6 Still Alive: Browns 7-7, Broncos 7-7 NFC 1t. Giants 11-3 1t. Vikings 11-3 1t. 49ers 11-3 4. Eagles 9-5 5t. Redskins 8-6 5t. Rams 8-6 Still Alive: Bears 7-7, Saints 7-7, Buccaneers 6-8 Week 15 Scores Detroit 24, N.Y. Jets 17 DET: 3-11, NYJ: 3-11 -Robert Clark: 4 rec, 113 yards Philadelphia 28, N.Y. Giants 24 PHI: 9-5, NYG: 11-3 -Keith Byars: 7 rec, 132 yards Indianapolis 21, New England 14 IND: 5-9, NE: 3-11 -Albert Bentley: 92 yards rushing San Francisco 31, Seattle 21 SF: 11-3, SEA: 5-9 -Joe Montana: 240 yards passing Denver 21, Cleveland 17 DEN: 7-7, CLE: 7-7 -Mark Jackson: 57 yards receiving New Orleans 20, Dallas 17 OT NO: 7-7, DAL: 5-9 -Craig Heyward: 82 yards receiving San Diego 20, Kansas City 14 SD: 9-5, KC: 8-6 -Bill Joe Tolliver: 154 yards passing Buffalo 24, L.A. Raiders 21 BUF: 12-2, RAI: 9-5 -Thurman Thomas: 154 yards rushing Phoenix 27, Washington 24 PHX: 3-11, WAS: 8-6 -Johnny Johnson: 110 yards rushing Chicago 33, Green Bay 24 CHI: 7-7, GB: 5-9 -Ron Morris: 4 rec, 118 yards Houston 21, Pittsburgh 9 HOU: 9-5, PIT: 8-6 -Ernest Givens: 4 rec, 108 yards Miami 38, Cincinnati 14 MIA: 10-4, CIN: 5-9 -Mark Clayton: 6 rec, 158 yards Tampa Bay 28, Minnesota 27 TB: 6-8, MIN: 11-3 -Vinny Testaverde: 266 yards passing L.A. Rams 17, Atlanta 14 RAM: 8-6, ATL: 2-12 -Cleveland Gary: 82 yards rushing, leaves injured Leaders thru Week 15 PASSING LEADERS Rating 1. Phil Simms, 197.1 2. Dan Marino, 182.5 3. Randall Cunningham, 177.2 Yards 1. Warren Moon, 3593 2. Joe Montana, 3389 3. Jim Everett, 3228 Touchdowns 1t. Montana, 36 1t. Marino, 36 3. Moon, 34 RECEIVING LEADERS Receptions 1. Jerry Rice, 66 2. Andre Rison, 49 3. Anthony Miller, 47 Yards 1. Rice, 1729 2. Rison, 1258 3. Henry Ellard, 1254 Touchdowns 1. Rice, 19 2t. Miller, 13 2t. James Lofton, 13 RUSHING LEADERS Yards 1. Thurman Thomas, 1430 2. Neal Anderson, 1336 3. Bo Jackson, 1237 Touchdowns 1. Tom Rathman, 15 2t. Many tied with 13 DEFENSIVE LEADERS Interceptions 1. Kevin Ross, 10 2t. Many tied with 8 Sacks 1. Lawrence Taylor, 20 2t. Derrick Thomas, 18 2t. Reggie White, 18 SPECIAL TEAMS LEADERS Field Goals: Jeff Jaeger; Morten Andersen, 16 Punting Avg: Mike Horan, 50.9 Punt Return Avg: Ellard, 12.8 Kick Return Avg: Tim Brown, 21.2

Looks like I killed my playoff chances as I wasn't aware Aaron Cook was injured last week but he wasn't put on the DL until the middle of this wek so I still had him in my line up and because of that I'm going to end up 2/3 an of inning short of the minimum 28 for the week. It makes it worse as I piss away a good pitching week and on top of that I had a bad offensive week so it appears I'll lose 11-1. I was four games out of 6th place going into this week so unless I pull out a couple of skunk wins the last two weeks I'm heading to the consolation bracket.

49ers edged the Saints for the eighth straight win to wrap up the NFC West, although I don't think the game takes into account tiebreaks until the end of the season as it doesn't recognize it yet. Best the Rams can do is tie the 49ers for 1st but the Niners swept the season series. The Giants have almost wrapped up the NFC East as they now have a three game lead on the Redskins and Eagles but they still play the Redskins one more time and the Skins won their first meeting. In the AFC both the Raiders and Dolphins lost but both still hold the leads on the AFC West and the top wild card spot respectively. Oilers and Steelers both win this week to remain tied atop the AFC Central. Week 14 Scores Green Bay 17, Atlanta 3 GB: 5-8, ATL: 2-11 -Don Majkowski: 187 yards passing Buffalo 31, N.Y. Jets 20 BUF: 11-2, NYJ: 3-10 -Thurman Thomas: 194 total yards N.Y. Giants 24, Cincinnati 21 NYG: 11-2, CIN: 5-8 -Mark Bavaro: 5 rec, 106 yards Denver 31, New England 14 DEN: 6-7, NE: 3-10 -Bobby Humphrey: 196 yards rushing Chicago 28, Detroit 21 CHI: 6-7, DET: 2-11 -Neal Anderson: 146 yards rushing Houston 31, Philadelphia 28 OT HOU: 8-5, PHI: 8-5 -Warren Moon: 355 yards passing Pittsburgh 24, Dallas 10 PIT: 8-5, DAL: 5-8 -Bubby Brister: 222 yards passing San Diego 31, L.A. Raiders 28 OT SD: 8-5, RAI: 9-4 -Marion Butts: 125 yards rushing San Francisco 21, New Orleans 20 SF: 10-3, NO: 6-7 -Jerry Rice: 4 rec, 112 yards Cleveland 31, Indianapolis 10 CLE: 7-6, IND: 4-9 -Reggie Langhorne: 6 rec, 179 yards L.A. Rams 31, Washington 21 RAM: 7-6, WAS: 8-5 -Henry Ellard: 6 rec, 219 yards Kansas City 24, Seattle 17 KC: 8-5, SEA: 5-8 -Christian Okoye: 94 yards rushing Tampa Bay 20, Miami 17 TB: 5-8, MIA: 9-4 -Gary Anderson: 69 yards rushing Bye Weeks: Minnesota (11-2), Phoenix (2-11) Leaders thru Week 14 PASSING LEADERS Rating 1. Phil Simms, 196.2 2. Dan Marino, 177.86 3. Randall Cunningham, 174.5 Yards 1. Warren Moon, 3373 2. Joe Montana, 3149 3. Jim Everett, 3068 Touchdowns 1. Montana, 33 2t. Many tied with 31 RECEIVING LEADERS Receptions 1. Jerry Rice, 63 2t. Andre Rison, 45 2t. Anthony Miller, 45 Yards 1. Rice, 1636 2. Henry Ellard, 1183 3. Rison, 1158 Touchdowns 1. Rice, 18 2. Miller, 13 3. James Lofton, 12 RUSHING LEADERS Yards 1. Thurman Thomas, 1276 2. Neal Anderson, 1247 3. Bo Jackson, 1161 Touchdowns 1. Tom Rathman, 15 2. Anderson, 13 3t. Many tied with 12 DEFENSIVE LEADERS Interceptions 1. Kevin Ross, 10 2t. Many tied with 8 Sacks 1. Lawrence Taylor, 20 2. Derrick Thomas, 17 3. Reggie White, 16 SPECIAL TEAMS LEADERS Field Goals: Jeff Jaeger, 16 Punting Avg: Rohn Stark, 50.8 Punt Return Avg: Ellard, 12.9 Kick Return Avg: Tim Brown, 20.6

It's been over a month since my last MVP Watch and to my surprise not much has changed, although I do have a new #1 in each league. Chase Utley hasn't played since breaking his hand on July 26th so he lost the #1 spot by default but he's still hanging on in the Top 5 for the moment. David Wright has been red hot since the break and has made the biggest jump. To no surprise at Albert Pujols is making a serious MVP run yet again. What is amazing about the current N.L. MVP race is that the two best players in the N.L. right now play for a team that is nine games under .500, that being of Hanley Ramirez and Miguel Cabrera of the Marlins. Neither has any shot at winning the real award but they are a cut above the competition at the moment. And finally...Eric Byrnes still leads in the N.L. in Win Shares! I continue to be baffled by this unless he really has become a great defensive outfielder rather than the "one great diving play, misplay the next five" outfielder he was with the A's but I find this hard to believe. Win Shares is the only reason I'm bothering to keep him in the Top 10. 10. Eric Byrnes, Diamondbacks .301/.367/.494, 82 RC, 117 OPS+, .289 EQA, 35.6 VORP, 24.7 Win Shares 9. Barry Bonds, Giants .280/.495/.589, 79 RC, 183 OPS+, .367 EQA, 51.3 VORP, 18.2 Win Shares 8. Matt Holliday, Rockies .338/.399/.581, 88 RC, 146 OPS+, .314 EQA, 50.9 VORP, 19.9 Win Shares 7. Prince Fielder, Brewers .284/.380/.609, 89 RC, 154 OPS+, .319 EQA, 49.7 VORP, 20.9 Win Shares 6. Jose Reyes, Mets .304/.377/.453, 92 RC, 121 OPS+, .295 EQA, 48.2 VOPR, 22.6 Win Shares 5. Chase Utley, Phillies .336/.414/.581, 84 RC, 154 OPS+, .327 EQA, 55.0 VORP, 21.0 Win Shares 4. Albert Pujols, Cardinals .317/.419/.550, 89 RC, 154 OPS+, .327 EQA, 49.9 VORP, 24.0 Win Shares 3. David Wright, Mets .310/.398/.521, 95 RC, 144 OPS+, .319 EQA, 51.6 VORP, 23.6 Win Shares 2. Hanley Ramirez, Marlins .343/.395/.578, 102 RC, 157 OPS+, .325 EQA, 71.1 VORP, 22.9 Win Shares 1. Miguel Cabrera, Marlins .334/.414/.616, 106 RC, 171 OPS+, .340 EQA, 65.5 VORP, 24.4 Win Shares In the A.L. it has gone to sort of being a four player race to a definitive two player race. Magglio Ordonez still hasn't fallen off a cliff which makes me think we're close to someone starting a steroid rumor about him. Speaking of steroid rumors, A-Rod grabs the top spot this time around but it is pretty much a toss up at this point. Ichiro Suzuki and Vladimir Guerrero hung tough through the first half and are still solidily in Top 5 but they have fallen off the Maggs/A-Rod pace. The rest of the Top 10 is a mess and you could jumble it several different ways without getting an argument out of me. 10. David Ortiz, Red Sox .311/.424/.543, 86 RC, 152 OPS+, .315 EQA, 49.6 VORP, 17.2 Win Shares 9. Jorge Posada, Yankees .334/.416/.531, 75 RC, 154 OPS+, .316 EQA, 52.6 VORP, 17.4 Win Shares 8. Curtis Granderson, Tigers .293/.351/.543, 84 RC, 134 OPS+, .295 EQA, 43.5 VORP, 19.7 Win Shares 7. Grady Sizemore, Indians .278/.382/.465, 93 RC, 126 OPS+, .291 EQA, 39.1 VORP, 22.9 Win Shares 6. Brian Roberts, Orioles .313/.397/.461, 89 RC, 128 OPS+, .302 EQA, 48.6 VORP, 20.7 Win Shares 5. Victor Martinez, Indians .301/.374/.505, 81 RC, 133 OPS+, .295 EQA, 42.2 VORP, 22.9 Win Shares 4. Vladimir Guerrero, Angels .319/.404/.531, 95 RC, 151 OPS+, .311 EQA, 46.0 VORP, 24.3 Win Shares 3. Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners .347/.396/.431, 99 RC, 125 OPS+, .299 EQA, 49.6 VORP, 25.8 Win Shares 2. Magglio Ordonez, Tigers .356/.430/.595, 114 RC, 169 OPS+, .337 EQA, 65.3 VORP, 26.8 Win Shares 1. Alex Rodriguez, Yankees .305/.412/.630, 117 RC, 177 OPS+, .334 EQA, 68.0 VORP, 26.1 Win Shares

Preseason AP Top 25 1. USC (62) 2. LSU (2) 3. West Virginia (1) 4. Texas 5. Michigan 6. Florida 7. Wisconsin 8. Oklahoma 9. Virginia Tech 10. Louisville 11. Ohio State 12. California 13. Georgia 14. UCLA 15. Tennessee 16. Rutgers 17. Penn State 18. Auburn 19. Florida State 20. Nebraska 21. Arkansas 22. TCU 23. Hawaii 24. Boise State 25. Texas A&M 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, North Carolina State 1, Kentucky 1

Regulars of the Sports forum know that for the past three years I've been running a College Football Pick 'Em Contest. At the conclusion of last season I was uncertain if I wanted to continue running this contest. During last season the contest started to become a chore for me to run rather than a fun time killer. But after giving it it some thought and given the desire of others to keep it going I've decided to do it for at least one more year. I'll be holding off on posting the sign up thread for this upcoming season until mid-July as I hope having sign ups start closer to the beginning of the season will mean less people jumping ship right as the contest starts. Last year I started signs up around this time and I had four people drop out within a month into the season. Further details of the 2007 contest will be held off until then, including a change in the BCS rankings. To keep this entry in with the theme of my blog, it's time for a random list which relates to the contest. Last year I posted the Bored's College Football Pick 'Em Encyclopedia which had a recap of the first two seasons of the contest and all-time standings. I don't really feel like typing up a recap of last season but I have gone ahead and updated the all-time contest standings so here they are. All-Time Records (ordered by total wins) Note: Results where replacements picks were used are thrown out. 1t. CanadianChris 29-13 1t. teke 184 29-14 3. iggymcfly 28-11 4. Edwin MacPhisto 27-14 5. Vern Gagne 25-16 6t. AlwaysPissedOff 23-17 6t. phoenixrising 23-18 8t. Bored 22-18 8t. nogoodnick 22-21 10t. Cuban Linx 21-7 10t. Lando Griffin 21-19 10t. Spaceman Spiff 21-21 10t. Will Scarlet 21-22 14. Spicy McHaggis 20-21 15t. MarvinisLunatic 19-12 15t. Cartman 19-21 17t. Agent of Oblivion 18-21 17t. Gert T 18-21 19. Kotzenjunge 17-20 20t. JHawk 16-22 20t. bravesfan 16-23 22t. Secret Agent 13-12 22t. Agent Bond34 13-14 22t. Kingofthe909 13-16 22t. the pinjockey 13-25 26. Porter 12-13 27t. SilverPhoenix 11-10 27t. therealworldschampion 11-20 29. A MikeSC 9-3 30t. Loaded Glove 8-13 30t. Damaramu 8-15 30t. Carnival 8-17 33t. kkktookmybabyaway 7-5 33t. Urban Warfare 7-6 33t. Danville Wrestling 7-7 33t. Flyboy 7-7 33t. Vampiro69 7-7 33t. Leena 7-8 33t. Vitamin X 7-16 39t. UTBroward 6-7 39t. HarleyQuinn 6-8 39t. Angel Grace Blue 6-19 42t. Hawk 34 5-7 42t. Ortonsault 5-7 44t. Matt Young 4-2 44t. Dangerous A 4-7 44t. 2GOLD 4-9 44t. Mad Dog 4-9 48t. Jimbo 1-1 48t. "Hail" bps21 1-2 50t. IK Cool Jew 0-3 50t. Rob E Dangerously 0-4

The Vikings continue their surprise run to the top of the NFL standings and wrap up the NFC Central division title by eviscerating the Lions 42-14. The NFC playoff picture is pretty clear with the Vikings, Giants, and 49ers leading the divisions and the Eagles and Redskins as wild cards with the only final playoff spot up for grabs between the Rams, Saints, Bears, and Cowboys. Over in the AFC it is a little more muddy. The Raiders still have a nice cushion in the AFC West even after being stunned by the Bengals this week who were without Boomer Esiason. Bills sort of avenged their shocking defeat at the hands of the Patriots in Week 10 by eeking out a three point win. In the AFC Central the Oilers looked to be close to running away with the division a couple of weeks ago but divisional losses later and they find themselves tied with the Steelers at 7-5. The Dolphins are a near lock for a wild card while the Chiefs, Chargers, and Browns are fighting for the final two spots along with the whoever doesn't win the AFC Central. Week 13 Scores New Orleans 23, Atlanta 9 NO: 6-6, ATL: 2-10 -Falcons: 12 yards rushing Pittsburgh 28, Houston 20 PIT: 7-5, HOU: 7-5 -Louis Lipps: 6 rec, 111 yards N.Y. Giants 30, Tampa Bay 27 OT NYG: 10-2, TB: 4-8 -Ottis Anderson: 108 yards rushing San Diego 31, N.Y. Jets 0 SD: 7-5, JET: 3-9 -Marion Butts: 178 yards rushing Cincinnati 14, L.A. Raiders 9 CIN: 5-7, RAI: 9-3 -James Brooks: 106 yards rushing Philadelphia 28, Phoenix 10 PHI: 8-4, PHX: 2-11 -Randall Cunnigham: 246 yards passing Denver 38, Seattle 28 DEN: 5-7, SEA: 5-7 -Mark Jackson: 5 rec, 136 yards Green Bay 28, Indianapolis 27 GB: 4-8, IND: 4-8 -Ed West: 5 rec, 120 yards Washington 23, Cowboys 7 WAS: 8-4, DAL: 5-7 -Ernest Byner: 111 yards rushing Buffalo 27, New England 24 BUF: 10-2, NE: 3-9 -Thurman Thomas: 199 yards rushing Miami 20, Chicago 14 MIA: 9-3, CHI: 5-7 -Sammie Smith: 77 yards rushing Minnesota 42, Detroit 14 MIN: 11-2, DET: 2-10 -Wade Wilson: 183 yards passing Kansas City 30, Cleveland 10 KC: 7-5, CLE: 6-6 -Barry Word: 137 total yards San Francisco 35, L.A. Rams 34 SF: 9-3, RAM: 6-6 -Jerry Rice: 6 rec, 169 yards Leaders thru Week 13 PASSING LEADERS Rating 1. Phil Simms, 201.8 2. Dan Marino, 177.8 3. Randall Cunningham, 174.9 Yards 1. Warren Moon, 3018 2. Joe Montana, 2910 3. Jim Everett, 2783 Touchdowns 1. Montana, 31 2t. Marino, 29 2t. Everett, 29 RECEIVING LEADERS Receptions 1. Jerry Rice, 59 2. Andre Rison, 41 3. Anthony Miller, 40 Yards 1. Rice, 1524 2. Sterling Sharpe, 1044 3. Rison, 1022 Touchdowns 1. Rice, 17 2. Miller, 12 3. James Lofton, 11 RUSHING LEADERS Yards 1. Thurman Thomas, 1143 2. Neal Anderson, 1101 3. Christian Okoye, 1029 Touchdowns 1. Tom Rathman, 14 2t. Many tied with 12 DEFENSIVE LEADERS Interceptions 1. Kevin Ross, 9 2t. Many tied with 8 Sacks 1. Lawrence Taylor, 18 2t. Bruce Smith, 15 2t. Derrick Thomas, 15 SPECIAL TEAMS LEADERS Field Goals: Jeff Jaeger, 16 Punting Avg: Rohn Stark, 51.3 Punt Return Avg: Henry Ellard, 12.2 Kick Return Avg: David Meggett, 20.6

This seems to be turning into a weekly Bills update but something interesting happens to them every week. This week in their showdown with the Dolphins for first place in the AFC East, Jim Kelly was knocked out of the game in first half. Lucky for them they have one of the few decent back up quarterbacks on the game in Frank Reich and he led two 4th quarter touchdown drives for the 24-21 win. Bills sweep the season series giving them essentially a two game lead on the Dolphins now. In other quarterback injury news, the Bengals lost to the Eagles and lost Boomer Esiason to injury dimming their already very slim playoff hopes. The Browns season seemed to be spiraling out of control after three straight losses including two huge blow outs but this week they knocked off the divison leading Oilers to pull back within in a game of first palce. Last week the Bears appeared to be on the verge of turning their season around after their win against the Vikings but they shit the bed against the Colts this week and now the Vikings can clinch the division next week. Week 12 Scores San Francisco 21, Phoenix 10 SF: 8-3, PHX: 2-10 -Tom Rathman: 100 yards rushing San Diego 24, New Orleans 20 SD: 6-5, NO: 5-6 -Billy Joe Tolliver: 179 yards passing Indianapolis 28, Chicago 17 IND: 4-7, CHI: 5-6 -Albert Bentley: 77 yards rushing Philadelphia 35, Cincinnati 21 PHI: 7-4, CIN: 4-7 -Boomer Esiason: leaves injured Cleveland 24, Houston 21 CLE: 6-5, HOU: 7-4 -Bernie Kosar: 264 yards passing Tampa Bay 24, Atlanta 9 TB: 4-7, ATL: 2-9 -Chris Miller: 31% comp pct, 3 int Kansas City 30, Denver 6 KC: 6-5, DEN: 4-7 -Christian Okoye: 106 yards rushing Buffalo 24, Miami 21 BUF: 9-2, MIA: 8-3 -Jim Kelly: leaves injured L.A. Raiders 17, Seattle 14 RAI: 9-2, SEA: 5-6 -Bo Jackson: 85 yards rushing Pittsburgh 17, Washington 7 PIT: 6-5, WAS: 7-4 -Bubby Brister: 202 yards passing N.Y. Giants 33, Dallas 28 GIA: 9-2, DAL: 5-6 -David Meggett: 112 yards rushing L.A. Rams 31, Detroit 21 RAM: 6-5, DET: 2-9 -Jim Everett: 259 yards passing Minnesota 37, Green Bay 14 MIN: 10-2, GB: 3-8 -Steve Jordan: 4 rec, 105 yards N.Y. Jets 34, New England 14 JET: 3-8, NE: 3-8 -Al Toon: 5 rec, 137 yards Leaders thru Week 12 PASSING LEADERS Rating 1. Phil Simms, 201.0 2. Dan Marino, 175.2 3. Randall Cunningham, 167.5 Yards 1. Warren Moon, 2770 2. Montana, 2684 3. Jim Everett, 2536 Touchdowns 1t. Marino, 27 1t. Montana, 27 3. Moon, 26 RECEIVING LEADERS Receptions 1. Jerry Rice, 53 2t. Many tied with 36 Yards 1. Rice, 1355 2. Sterling Sharpe, 989 3. Eric Martin, 970 Touchdowns 1. Rice, 14 2t. Many tied with 10 RUSHING LEADERS Yards 1. Neal Anderson, 1056 2. Christian Okoye, 962 3. Johnny Johnson, 945 Touchdowns 1. Tom Rathman, 13 2. Johnson, 12 3. Many tied with 11 DEFENSIVE LEADERS Interceptions 1. Joey Browner, 8 2t. Many tied with 7 Sacks 1. Lawrence Taylor, 17 2. Bruce Smith, 15 3t. Many tied with 14 SPECIAL TEAMS LEADERS Field Goals: Jeff Jaeger, 13 Punting Avg: Rohn Stark, 51.3 Punt Return Avg: Jeff Query, 12.8 Kick Return Avg: David Meggett, 20.5

Tecmo Super Bowl came out in 1991 using the 1990 rosters. The next version didn't come out until 1993 on the SNES and Genesis with updated rosters for the 1993 season. Tecmo Super Bowl II: Special Edition came out during the 1994 season and even had Deion Sanders on the 49ers even though he didn't sign until after the season started. Tecmo Super Bowl III: Final Edition came out in 1995 and then last console version of TSB came out on the Playstation in 1997. I didn't play the final two versions and the Playstation version was apparently a disaster.

Here's a new twist on the S.I. Cover Jinx. Emmanuel Moody appears on the cover this week, along Chauncy Washington and C.J. Gable, and promptly announces that he is leaving USC.

Here's the full schedule for the year. Please let me know if you spot any errors. Week 1 thread will be posted Saturday, August 25th. Week 1 (8/30 – 9/1) Alabama vs. UTEP Auburn vs. Virginia Florida vs. Ohio Kentucky vs. Texas LSU vs. Penn State South Carolina vs. Miami Tennessee vs. Nebraska Arizona vs. Boston College Oregon vs. Hawaii San Diego State vs. Temple Stanford vs. UCLA TCU vs. Kent State USC vs. Minnesota Washington vs. Syracuse Ball State vs. Miami of Ohio Buffalo vs. Rutgers Boise State vs. Florida State Georgia Tech vs. Notre Dame N.C. State vs. Ohio State Michigan vs. Oklahoma Week 2 (9/6 – 9/8) Arizona vs. San Diego State Oregon vs. Michigan Stanford vs. Alabama TCU vs. Texas UCLA vs. Florida USC vs. Florida State Washington vs. Boise State Ball State vs. South Carolina Buffalo vs. Temple Kent State vs. Kentucky Miami of Ohio vs. Minnesota Ohio vs. Tennessee Rutgers vs. UTEP Syracuse vs. Virginia Boston College vs. N.C. State Georgia Tech vs. LSU Hawaii vs. Auburn Miami vs. Oklahoma Nebraska vs. Ohio State Notre Dame vs. Penn State Week 3 (9/13 – 9/15) Ball State vs. Kent State Buffalo vs. Penn State Miami of Ohio vs. UCLA Ohio vs. Syracuse Rutgers vs. Oregon Temple vs. Alabama Boise State vs. LSU Boston College vs. Georgia Tech Florida State vs. Oklahoma Hawaii vs. Miami N.C. State vs. Arizona Virginia vs. TCU Michigan vs. Notre Dame Minnesota vs. Texas Nebraska vs. USC Ohio State vs. Washington Auburn vs. South Carolina Florida vs. Tennessee Kentucky vs. Stanford UTEP vs. San Diego State Week 4 (9/20 – 9/22) Boise State vs. UTEP Boston College vs. Tennessee Florida State vs. Hawaii Georgia Tech vs. Virginia Miami vs. Temple N.C. State vs. Syracuse Michigan vs. Penn State Minnesota vs. Arizona Nebraska vs. Ball State Notre Dame vs. Texas Ohio State vs. Oklahoma Alabama vs. Buffalo Auburn vs. Kentucky Florida vs. Kent State LSU vs. South Carolina Oregon vs. Stanford San Diego State vs. Ohio TCU vs. USC UCLA vs. Washington Miami of Ohio vs. Rutgers Week 5 (9/27 – 9/29) Michigan vs. Temple Minnesota vs. Ohio State Nebraska vs. Notre Dame Oklahoma vs. South Carolina Penn State vs. Virginia Texas vs. San Diego State Alabama vs. Florida State Auburn vs. Florida Kentucky vs. N.C. State LSU vs. Tennessee UTEP vs. Oregon Arizona vs. TCU Stanford vs. Georgia Tech UCLA vs. Rutgers USC vs. Washington Ball State vs. Buffalo Kent State vs. Ohio Miami of Ohio vs. Syracuse Boise State vs. Miami Boston College vs. Hawaii Week 6 (10/4 – 10/6) UTEP vs. Auburn Tennessee vs. Rutgers South Carolina vs. Kentucky LSU vs. Florida Michigan vs. Alabama Washington vs. Hawaii USC vs. Stanford UCLA vs. Notre Dame TCU vs. Penn State San Diego State vs. Oregon Arizona vs. Ball State Temple vs. Syracuse Buffalo vs. Ohio Miami of Ohio vs. Kent State Virginia vs. Boise State Florida State vs. N.C. State Nebraska vs. Miami Ohio State vs. Georgia Tech Boston College vs. Minnesota Oklahoma vs. Texas Week 7 (10/11 – 10/13) USC vs. Arizona Oregon vs. Tennessee Washington vs. San Diego State Stanford vs. TCU N.C. State vs. UCLA Temple vs. Ball State Buffalo vs. Auburn Ohio State vs. Kent State Hawaii vs. Miami of Ohio Boise State vs. Ohio Rutgers vs. Syracuse Boston College vs. Notre Dame Virginia vs. Florida State Georgia Tech vs. Miami Michigan vs. Nebraska Oklahoma vs. Minnesota Texas vs. Penn State South Carolina vs. Alabama Florida vs. UTEP LSU vs. Kentucky Week 8 (10/18 – 10/20) Georgia Tech vs. Ball State Buffalo vs. Syracuse Rutgers vs. Kent State Miami of Ohio vs. Temple Oklahoma vs. Ohio Boise State vs. N.C. State Virginia vs. Boston College Florida State vs. Miami Michigan vs. Hawaii UTEP vs. Minnesota Nebraska vs. Penn State USC vs. Notre Dame Ohio State vs. Texas Tennessee vs. Alabama Auburn vs. LSU Kentucky vs. Florida South Carolina vs. TCU Arizona vs. Stanford Washington vs. Oregon UCLA vs. San Diego State Week 9 (10/25 – 10/27) Boston College vs. Boise State Kent State vs. Florida State Hawaii vs. Georgia Tech San Diego State vs. Miami N.C. State vs. Virginia Michigan vs. Minnesota Texas vs. Nebraska Notre Dame vs. Oklahoma Penn State vs. Ohio State Florida vs. Alabama Auburn vs. Miami of Ohio Kentucky vs. UTEP Syracuse vs. LSU South Carolina vs. Tennessee Arizona vs. Washington Oregon vs. USC Buffalo vs. Stanford UCLA vs. TCU Ohio vs. Ball State Rutgers vs. Temple Week 10 (11/1 – 11/3) Michigan vs. Kentucky Notre Dame vs. Minnesota Rutgers vs. Nebraska Ohio State vs. Florida Penn State vs. Oklahoma Texas vs. Ball State LSU vs. Alabama Auburn vs. Tennessee South Carolina vs. UTEP Arizona vs. UCLA TCU vs. Oregon USC vs. San Diego State Stanford vs. Washington Buffalo vs. Miami of Ohio Kent State vs. Syracuse Temple vs. Ohio Georgia Tech vs. Boise State Boston College vs. Florida State Virginia vs. Hawaii Miami vs. N.C. State Week 11 (11/8 – 11/10) Alabama vs. Kentucky USC vs. Auburn Florida vs. South Carolina LSU vs. Arizona Tennessee vs. UTEP Oregon vs. UCLA Stanford vs. San Diego State TCU vs. Washington Ball State vs. Syracuse Buffalo vs. Kent State Boston College vs. Miami of Ohio Rutgers vs. Ohio Penn State vs. Temple Oklahoma vs. Boise State Georgia Tech vs. Florida State Hawaii vs. N.C. State Miami vs. Virginia Michigan vs. Texas Nebraska vs. Minnesota Ohio State vs. Notre Dame Week 12 (11/15 – 11/17) Alabama vs. Auburn Florida vs. Florida State Tennessee vs. Kentucky LSU vs. UTEP Washington vs. South Carolina Oregon vs. Arizona San Diego State vs. TCU Notre Dame vs. Stanford UCLA vs. USC Ball State vs. Rutgers Virginia vs. Buffalo Kent State vs. Temple Miami of Ohio vs. Ohio Texas vs. Syracuse Boise State vs. Hawaii Miami vs. Boston College Georgia Tech vs. N.C. State Ohio State vs. Michigan Penn State vs. Minnesota Oklahoma vs. Nebraska Conference Championships (11/22 – 11/24 & 11/29 – 12/1) Big 8 Championship Big MAC Championship Pac-8 Championship Southeastern Seven Championship Western Atlantic Championship Bowl Games (12/20 – 1/7) Bored Bowl: BCS #1 vs. BCS #2 The Synagogue Bowl presented by Al Jazerra: Pac-8 #1/BCS vs. Big 8 #1/BCS The SWF.com Dust Bowl: BCS vs. BCS Deadspin.com Barbaro Memorial Bowl: SE7 #2 vs. Big 8 #2 Covers.com Degenerate Bowl: WAC #2 vs. Big MAC #2 KFC PETA Bowl: Pac-8 #2 vs. Big 8 #3 ConED Blackout Bowl: SE7 #3 vs. WAC #3 Ex-Lax Toilet Bowl: Big MAC #3 vs. Pac-8 #3 Trent Boyette’s Texas Chili Bowl: At-large vs. At-large

After the Bills shocking loss to the Patriots last week I suppose anything is possible but I certaintly didn't think the Bills would lay another egg against the 2-7 Packers but that it is indeed what happened. With the Bills' second straight loss, the Dolphins have now moved into to tie for first place in the AFC East. Once you get past the two AFC East powers, Raiders, and Oilers, the rest of the conference is a mess with five teams at 5-5 going for the last two wild card spots. The Vikings had their six game winning streak snapped in an overtime loss to the Bears who try to keep their very slim division title hopes alive. Week 11 Scores Chicago 20, Minnesota 17 OT CHI: 5-5, MIN: 9-2 -Neal Anderson: 92 yards rushing N.Y. Jets 28, Indianapolis 27 NYJ: 2-8, IND: 3-7 -Mark Boyer: 5 rec, 132 yards Green Bay 27, Buffalo 17 GB: 3-7, BUF: 8-2 -Sterling Sharpe: 5 rec, 149 yards Cincinnati 20, Pittsburgh 17 CIN: 4-6, PIT: 5-5 -James Brooks: 80 yards rushing N.Y. Giants 31, Phoenix 17 NYG: 8-2, PHX: 2-9 -Phil Simms: 187 yards passing Philadelphia 45, Cleveland 7 PHI: 6-4, CLE: 5-5 -Browns Offense: 9 yards rushing L.A. Raiders 30, Denver 24 RAI: 8-2, DEN: 4-6 -Marcus Allen: 86 yards rushing Kansas City 21, LA. Rams 13 KC: 5-5, RAM: 5-5 -Christian Okoye: 81 yards rushing Miami 24, New England 10 MIA: 8-2, NE: 3-7 -Tony Paige: 164 total yards Washington 24, Atlanta 20 WAS: 7-3, ATL: 2-8 -Mark Rypien: 197 yards passing San Diego 31, Seattle 28 OT SD: 5-5, SEA: 5-5 -Marion Butts: 118 yards rushing Tampa Bay 28, Detroit 10 TB: 3-7, DET: 2-8 -Bruce Hill: 4 rec, 108 yards San Francisco 35, New Orleans 24 SF: 7-3, NO: 5-5 -Jerry Rice: 6 rec, 136 yards Houston 21, Dallas 10 HOU: 7-3, DAL: 5-5 -Ernest Givens: 6 rec, 133 yards Leaders thru Week 11 PASSING LEADERS Rating 1. Phil Simms, 205.6 2. Dan Marino, 185.2 3. Joe Montana, 168.6 Yards 1. Warren Moon, 2568 2. Montana, 2498 3. Marino, 2315 Touchdowns 1t. Marino, 26 1t. Montana, 26 3. Moon, 24 RECEIVING LEADERS Receptions 1. Jerry Rice, 49 2. Anthony Miller, 35 3. Henry Ellard, 33 Yards 1. Rice, 1256 2. Ellard, 875 3. Sterling Sharpe, 868 Touchdowns 1. Rice, 13 2. Ernest Givens, 10 3t. Many tied with 9 RUSHING LEADERS Yards 1. Neal Anderson, 938 2. Johnny Johnson, 894 3. Thurman Thomas, 861 Touchdowns 1. Johnson, 12 2t. Many tied with 11 DEFENSIVE LEADERS Interceptions 1t. Joey Browner, 7 1t. Kevin Ross, 7 1t. Erik McMillan, 7 Sacks 1. Lawrence Taylor, 17 2. Bruce Smith, 15 3. Simon Fletcher, 14 SPECIAL TEAMS LEADERS Field Goals: Jeff Jaeger, 12 Punting Avg: Rohn Stark, 51.4 Punt Return Avg: Jeff Query, 12.8 Kick Return Avg: Danny Peebles, 20.2

CC was in the Big 8 last year so it's been a couple years since they've been in the WAC. And yes Danville Wrestling you were in the SE7 title game last year. I should be able to finish the schedule later tonight.

Bonds: Do you want to see the Giants win, or do you want to see me sock a few dingers? Giants' Fans: Dingers! Dingers!

I feel like Donnie Moore after giving up the homerun to Dave Henderson in Game 5 of the '86 ALCS right about now.

A while back I mentioned that during some post-Christmas giftcard shopping I made an impulse buy purchasing a DVD box set titled College Football's Greatest Games: University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish Collector's Edition. Even though I'm not a Notre Dame fan I purchased the set due to it being the only one if it's kind out there for college football and it was released by A&E Home Video who did the World Series box sets that I've done write ups for. Now since the set is geared torwards Notre Dame fans it does contain some games that are far from "great" but are important in Notre Dame history. Here's the game list: 1966 vs. Michigan State - "Game of the Century" (2nd Half only) 1977 vs. USC - "Thee Green Jersey Game" 1978 vs. Texas - Cotton Bowl 1979 vs. Houston - Cotton Bowl 1988 vs. Miami - "Catholics vs. Convicts" 1989 vs. West Virginia - Fiesta Bowl 1992 vs. Penn State - "The Snow Bowl" 1993 vs. Florida State The USC, Texas, and West Virginia games are not good games. The USC game is just there for it being the first game the Irish wore green jerseys and the Texas and West Virginia wins wrapped up their last two national championships. The other five games are all true classics. I don't know if I'll do a write up for them all but the one game I definately wanted to watch was the infamous "Catholics vs. Convicts" game. On a side note I did purchase both the 1977 and 1987 World Series box sets but don't know when I'll get around to doing write ups for them. October 15, 1988 - #1 Miami (4-0) at #4 Notre Dame (5-0) -Miami carried a 36 game regular season winning streak into this game and a 16 game winning streak overall with their last loss coming in the infamous 1987 Fiesta Bowl to Penn State. Quarterback Steve "Better Than Troy Aikman" Walsh had yet to lose as a starter. -This game took place the same day as Game 1 of the World Series that year between the A's and Dodgers or as I call it the "Worst Day in Sports History." -The opening package by CBS is fantastic as they play it up as a battle of old school, Notre Dame, vs. new school, Miami. To this day I think the opening montage to CBS' college football coverage in the late 80's and early 90's was the best in sports. Brent Musberger and Pat Haden have the call. Miami Offense QB: Steve Walsh RB: Cleveland Gary, Leonard Conley WR: Randall Hill, Dale Dawkins TE: Rob Chudzinski C: Bobby Garcia G: Mike Sullivan, Barry Panfil T: Darrin Bruce, John O’Neill Notre Dame Defense NG: Chris Zorich DT: George Williams, Jeff Alm DE: Arnold Ale, Frank Stams LB: Wes Pritchett, Mike Stonebreaker CB: Todd Lyght, Stan Smagala S: George Streeter, Pat Terrell Notre Dame Offense QB: Tony Rice RB: Anthony Johnson, Mark Green WR: Steve Alaniz, Ricky Watters TE: Derek Brown C: Mike Heldt G: Mike Brennan, Joe Allen T: Andy Heck, Dean Brown Miami Defense DT: Russell Maryland, Shane Curry DE: Greg Mark, Bill Hawkins MLB: Bernard Clark OLB: Randy Shannon, Rod Carter CB: Donald Ellis, Kenny Berry S: Bobby Harden, Bubba McDowell -Loooove looking at the old score updates as the game is going on. Wyoming ranked #14!? FIRST QUARTER -Frank Stams forces Walsh to fumble on the opening possession and Notre Dame recovers near midfield, although I’m not so sure it was a fumble. Stams hits Walsh’s shoulder as he cocks to throw but the ball doesn’t come loose until Walsh starts moving his arm forward and looks like it should have been ruled an in complete pass. Irish don’t take advantage though and go three and out. -Ironically enough on Miami’s second possession, Stams hits Walsh again with the ball coming loose before Walsh’s arm goes forward and this time it’s called an incomplete pass. Pat Haden agrees with both calls for what that’s worth. -Miami’s new head coach for 2007, Randy Shannon is a starting linebacker for the Hurricanes here. -Rocket Ismail is just a freshman at this time and isn’t a starter but makes his presence known early with a 22 yard reception on Notre Dame’s second possession to convert the first of four 3rd down conversions on the drive. Tony Rice scores the first touchdown of the game on an option keeper from seven yards out. -Musberger calls Walsh one of the best 3rd down college quarterbacks ever seen. Of course that very next play he throws an easy pick to D’Juan Francisco for Miami’s second turnover in their first three possessions. Very next play after Walsh’s interception, Russell Maryland forces Rice to fumble to turn the ball back over to Miami. SECOND QUARTER -Miami ties the game on a Walsh eight yard touchdown pass to Andre Brown. -Rice hits Ismail on a 62 yard bomb down to the Miami 25. Ismail juggles the catch and stumbles to the ground or otherwise he would have taken it the distance as he beat Bubba McDowell who misjudged the ball and jumped too early trying to pick it off. Drive concludes with nine yard touchdown pass dump off to fullback Braxston Banks on a 3rd down to put Notre Dame back up 14-7. -Miami quickly advances past midfield on their next possession but Frank Stams continues to be a beast in this game as he tips a Walsh pass that is picked off by Pat Terell who takes it 60 yards for the touchdown. The Irish were looking like they could potentially blow out Miami at this point in the game. -With the departure of Michael Irvin and Brian Blades, Hurricanes were really lacking at wide receiver here as Walsh’s most effective target is Cleveland Gary out of the backfield. That being said Miami moves the ball almost exclusively through the air in this one as they couldn’t get anything on the ground against the Notre Dame defense. -On the score updates during the game, Vanderbilt beat #20 Florida 24-6 and it notes that Florida hasn’t won at Vandy since 1966. That trend has just kind of changed the last couple of decades. -On 4th and 4 on the Notre Dame 23, Miami goes for it and Walsh hits Leonard Conley in the flat with no Irish defenders around him and takes it the distance to get Miami back in the game. -Notre Dame plays it conservative near the end of the half and goes three and out. Miami gets good field possession but Walsh nearly throws another pick six on the first play of the drive as his intended receiver doesn’t look for the ball coming and Todd Lyght almost picks it off with no one in front of him to prevent him from taking it the distance. Miami moves quickly from there ending with Walsh hitting a wide open Gary from 15 yards out with 21 seconds left in the half to tie it up, 21-21. Gary already had seven catches for 88 yards. THIRD QUARTER -On the opening possession, Rice throws a wounded duck that is picked off by McDowell. Miami proceeds to give the ball right back on a Conley fumble on their first play of the half. -Notre Dame moves into field goal range on the next possession but McDowell blocks the field goal attempt by Billy Hackett. It was a 43 yard attempt into the wind so probably would have been a miss as it is. -Miami can’t move the ball on their next possession and Jimmy Johnson gambles with a fake punt, with the direct snap to the upback but Notre Dame stuffs it and gets the ball on the Miami 46. On the very next play Rice hits Ricky Watters for a 44 yards gain and Pat Eilers runs it in for the score from there to put the Irish back up 28-21. -Notre Dame’s short ranger kicker Reggie Ho jumps up and down like an idiot after every successful extra point. Musberger mentioned earlier in the game that he’s missed a few so guess wasn’t always a guarantee it’d go through for him, thus the reason to celebrate. -Miami drives to the Notre Dame 25 but Walsh throws his third interception of the game as lineman Jeff Alm makes a leaping interception on a dump off attempt to one of the backs. -Notre Dame marches to Miami 11 before their next drive stalls and they settle for a Ho field goal to extend the lead to 31-21. FOURTH QUARTER -Miami had come back from 30-14 deficit with five and a half minutes to go against Michigan earlier in the year in Ann Arbor to win 31-30. -Miami moves quickly to down inside the Notre Dame 10 but the Irish hold and force Miami into a Carlos Huerta field goal to trim the lead to 31-24. -Near disaster on the ensuing kick off as Ismail has a brain fart and badly misplays the kick but falls on it back at their own 11. Notre Dame then later in the drive almost has another huge misplay on a 3rd and short as Rice makes a bad pitch to Watters that he can’t handle, the ball gets kick around all the way back to the 24 before the Irish recover to avoid giving the Hurricanes great field position. -Now we reach the big controversy about this game. With about seven minutes to go Miami goes for it on a 4th and 7 from the Notre Dame 11 and converts on Gary’s 11th reception of the game but as he tries to dive for the goal line he supposedly fumbles and the Irish recover at the 1. Looking at the replay it looks fairly clear that A) his knees hit the ground, B) the ball had broken the plane of the endzone before it came loose, and C) the ground caused the fumble. The only thing I’m unsure of is if his knee hit before he crossed the plane but at the very least should have been First and Goal at the 1. Pat Haden completely agrees with the officials yet again and Musberger doesn’t protest. Jimmy Johnson to say the least is not pleased. -You can’t stop Frank Stam, you can only hope to contain him. On Miami’s next possession he forces another Walsh fumble, this one legit, and the Irish recover on their 28 with 3:30 to go. It was Walsh’s fifth turnover of the game, seventh turnover overall by the Hurricanes. Walsh would throw for 424 yards in this game but obviously gets completely overshadowed by the turnovers. -They go back to the controversial Gary “fumble” and Haden says he was bobbling the ball before he it the ground which again the replay doesn’t show any of what he supposedly sees. Even though Haden played at USC, Miami was the most hated team in college football at the time so I got the impression watching this game Haden really wanted to see Miami lose. -Shannon sacks Rice on 3rd and long, forcing a fumble, and Miami recovers on the Notre Dame 15 with 2:14 to go. Great, entertaining game but god damn has it been sloppy. -Hurricanes immediately face another 4th and 7 from the Notre Dame 11. This time there is no controversy as Walsh hits Brown for the touchdown to make it 31-30 with 45 seconds left in the game. Since we’re still several years away from overtime in college football Miami decides to go for two. Walsh tries to hit Conley in the corner of the endzone but it is deflected away by Terrell. Miami probably would have kept their #1 ranking if they settle for the tie, especially since they were on the road, but it would have been quite the pussy move at the same time to do so. -Notre Dame recovers the onside kick and runs out the clock to hand Miami their first regular season loss in over three years. The Irish ran the able from there on their way to their last national championship to date.