Bored

Cheech is a New York Post headline writer! Personally I do hope all 104 names come out so we can see all the fringe players on the list who steroids didn't do shit for.

Another day, another OMG BASEBALL IS DEAD story. But I'm here to help the healing begin with a distraction. It's time to decide who was the worst team of my lifetime! In a desperate need for content for this blog I've decided to run a simulation using Strat-O-Matic to crown the worst team of last 30 years. Each MLB franchise will be represented with their worst team from the last 30 seasons. I'll be using the 2008 MLB schedule as a guideline for the league as no way I'm going to take the time to create my own schedule and Strat's computer generated schedules aren't particularly good. It will be a couple of weeks before I actually begin the simulation as the 2008 rosters won't be shipping for another week and the '08 Nationals are the Montreal/Washington rep. Now to truly decide who is the worst team of the last 30 years, the standings will be turned upside down. Last place teams in the six divisions and the worst next to last teams in each league will qualify for the playoffs. The playoffs will be just like the current playoff format but loser of each series will be the one who advances. Start making your predictions now! AL East 1979 Toronto Blue Jays (53-109) 1988 Baltimore Orioles (54-107) 1990 New York Yankees (67-95) 1992 Boston Red Sox (73-89) 2002 Tampa Bay Devil Rays (55-106) AL Central 1982 Minnesota Twins (60-102) 1989 Chicago White Sox (69-92) 1991 Cleveland Indians (57-105) 2003 Detroit Tigers (43-119) 2005 Kansas City Royals (56-106) AL West 1979 Oakland Athletics (54-108) 1980 California Angles (65-95) 1980 Seattle Mariners (59-103) 1985 Texas Rangers (62-99) NL East 1988 Atlanta Braves (54-106) 1993 New York Mets (59-103) 1998 Florida Marlins (54-108) 2000 Philadelphia Phillies (65-97) 2008 Washington Nationals (59-102) NL Central 1981 Chicago Cubs (38-65) 1982 Cincinnati Reds (61-101) 1985 Pittsburgh Pirates (57-104) 1991 Houston Astros (65-97) 1995 St. Louis Cardinals (62-81) 2002 Milwaukee Brewers (56-106) NL West 1981 San Diego Padres (41-69) 1985 San Francisco Giants (62-100) 1992 Los Angeles Dodgers (63-99) 1993 Colorado Rockies (67-95) 1998 Arizona Diamondbacks (65-97)

What's also amazing is he had a no decision in that game and lost one of his 19 strikeout games in '97. Sadly A-Rod steroid coverage has bumped those games it appears.

Oh great, another scapegoat for the media.

If you are desperate for some live baseball, the Caribbean World Series begins on Monday and will be televised on the MLB Network. It's a four team, round robin tournament with a handful of MLB players in it including Adrian Gonzalez playing for the Mexican team. Rosters Tigres de Licey (Dominican Republic) - Defending Champs Mazatlan Venado (Mexico) - hosts Leones de Ponce (Puerto Rico) Tigres de Aragua (Venezuela) MONDAY Venezuela vs. Dominican Republic, 5:00/2:00 PM Puerto Rico vs. Mexico, 10:00/7:00 PM TUESDAY Dominican Republic vs. Puerto Rico, 5:00/2:00 PM Mexico vs. Venezuela, 10:00/7:00 PM WEDNESDAY Venezuela vs. Puerto Rico, 5:00/2:00 PM Mexico vs. Dominican Republic, 10:00/7:00 PM THURSDAY Dominican Republic vs. Venezuela, 5:00/2:00 PM Mexico vs. Puerto Rico, 9:00/6:00 PM FRIDAY Puerto Rico vs. Dominican Republic, 5:00/2:00 PM Venezuela vs. Mexico, 9:00/6:00 PM SATURDAY Puerto Rico vs. Venezuela, 5:00/2:00 PM Dominican Republic vs. Mexico, 9:00/6:00 PM

MLB Network will have a "Strikeout Marathon" this weekend with seven great individual strikeout performances from the last couple of decades. Here's the schedule: SATURDAY 10/6/91 NY Mets @ Philadelphia - David Cone Strikes Out 19 Batters, 9:30/6:30 AM 6/24/97 Oakland @ Seattle - Randy Johnson Strikes Out 19 Batters, Noon/9:00 AM -I remember this game well as it features a monster home run by Mark McGwire in the 5th inning that has be seen to be believed. 8/8/97 Chicago White Sox @ Seattle - Randy Johnson Strikes Out 19 Batters, 2:30 PM/11:30 AM SUNDAY 4/29/86 Seattle @ Boston - Roger Clemens Strikes Out 20 Batters, Noon/9:00 AM 9/18/96 Boston @ Detroit - Roger Clemens Strikes Out 20 Batters, 3:00 PM/Noon 5/6/98 Houston @ Chicago - Kerry Wood Strikes Out 20 Batters, 6:00/3:00 PM 5/8/01 Cincinnati @ Arizona - Randy Johnson Strikes Out 20 Batters, 8:30/5:30 PM

Garrett Atkins, 3B/1B

Holy crap a Bill Pulsipher siting as he's on the mound for Puerto Rico tonight. Venezuela has the Series all but wrapped up as they are 4-0 after beating the Domincan Republic today.

I normally don't give a shit about Signing Day and recruiting rankings but this year STANFORD~ had by far their best recruiting class since Tyrone Willingham left. So here's Rivals.com's Top 25 Recruiting Classes after Signing Day. 1. Alabama 2. LSU 3. USC 4. Ohio State 5. Texas 6. Florida State 7. Michigan 8. North Carolina 9. Georgia 10. Florida 11. Miami 12. South Carolina 13. Oklahoma 14. Arkansas 15. Michigan State 16. UCLA 17. Mississippi 18. Auburn 19. STANFORD~ 20. Notre Dame 21. Texas A&M 22. Mississippi State 23. Tennessee 24. Virginia Tech 25. Penn State Highest ranked non-BCS conference school was Utah at #44. Lowest ranked BCS conference school was Syracuse at #116. Ouch.

Mets' prospect Fernando Martinez hit a two run home run today in the Dominican Republic's 2-1 win over Puerto Rico. Mexico/Venezuela game is on right now, scoreless in 5th.

Carlos Beltran, OF

I believe you are thinking of Jon Garland, D-Backs signed him last week.

Getting close enough to March Madness to start looking at who's on the bubble. The Bracket Project's Bracket Matrix is the place to go to find almost every bracket projection out there. Last Four In Boston College BYU USC Penn State Last Four Out Miami Oklahoma State Notre Dame Michigan

I'll go with Walter Johnson's 1913 season as the best ever. Year Ag Tm Lg W L G GS CG SHO GF SV IP H R ER HR BB SO HBP WP BFP IBB BK ERA *lgERA *ERA+ WHIP +--------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+--+------+----+----+----+---+----+----+---+---+-----+---+---+-----+-----+----+-----+ 1913 25 WSH AL 36 7 48 36 29 11 11 2 346.0 232 56 44 9 38 243 9 3 1305 0 1.14 2.96 259 0.780 For the post-expansion era it is hard to go wrong with the already mentioned 2000 season for Pedro. Edit: Also Dwight Gooden's 1985 season deserves mention for recent years. Year Ag Tm Lg W L G GS CG SHO GF SV IP H R ER HR BB SO HBP WP BFP IBB BK ERA *lgERA *ERA+ WHIP +--------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+--+------+----+----+----+---+----+----+---+---+-----+---+---+-----+-----+----+-----+ 1985 20 NYM NL 24 4 35 35 16 8 0 0 276.7 198 51 47 13 69 268 2 6 1065 4 2 1.53 3.49 228 0.965

Boston College is up by twelve at North Carolina with less than ten minutes to go. Game is on FSN. Make that 14.

In a couple of weeks we have the chance to witness something none of us have seen before (I assume we have no one in their 60's on this board) and that is see the Cardinals as champions of the NFL. This got me to wonder about how many franchises in the four major North American professional sports leagues have never won their league's championship in my lifetime. I also wanted to know who would replace the Cardinals as the most moribund franchise in the NFL (I know you will all be shocked!) and who in the NBA and NHL have the longest run since their last championship. In total there are 47 teams who have failed to win a single "world" championship in the last 30 years, of course that does not include expansion franchises who have come into existence since. Note I do count championships won in the AFL, ABA, and WHA for those franchises who were grandfathered in to their current leagues. The Pittsburgh Pirates and Phoenix Coyotes (won the last ever Avco Cup in the WHA as the Winnipeg Jets in 1979) are set to join this list after this year. The Seattle Supersonics would have also joined the list if they hadn't had their franchise stolen away. 1. Chicago Cubs - 100 years 1908 World Series Champions Misery Fun Fact: Have not played in a World Series since 1945 which is a longer drought for playing for a championship than any other franchise has gone without winning a championship (current streak). 2. Arizona Cardinals (Chicago/St. Louis) - 61 years 1947 NFL Champions Misery Fun Fact: Before this year had won one playoff game since last championship. 3. Cleveland Indians - 60 years 1948 World Series Champions Misery Fun Fact: Had a 41 year World Series drought between 1954 and 1995. 4. Sacramento Kings (Rochester Royals/Cincinnati Royals/Kansas City) - 57 years 1951 NBA Champions Misery Fun Fact: Haven't played in a NBA Finals since '51 championship. 5. San Francisco Giants (New York) - 54 years 1954 World Series Champions Misery Fun Fact: Haven't won a championship since moving to San Francisco in 1958 and hopefully never will. 6. Detroit Lions - 51 years 1957 NFL Champions Misery Fun Fact: One playoff win since last championship. 7. Atlanta Hawks (St. Louis) - 50 years 1958 NBA Champions Misery Fun Fact: Last conference/division finals appearance was in 1970. 8. Philadelphia Eagles - 48 years 1960 NFL Champions Misery Fun Fact: Have now lost four conference championship games this decade. 9t. Chicago Blackhawks - 47 years 1961 Stanley Cup Champions Misery Fun Fact: Only one playoff appearance in last 11 years, although that will change this year. 9t. Minnesota Vikings - 47 years Misery Fun Fact: 0-4 in Super Bowls and 0-4 in conference championship games since their last Super Bowl in 1976. 9t. Tennessee Titans (Houston Oilers) - 47 Years 1961 AFL Champions Misery Fun Fact: 1-4 in conference championship games. 9t. Texas Rangers (Washington Senators) - 47 years Misery Fun Fact: Oldest franchise in the Big Four leagues to never reach the championship round of it's sport. Zero playoff series wins. 13. Houston Astros - 46 years Misery Fun Fact: Took 43 years win their only NL pennant. 14. San Diego Chargers - 45 years 1963 AFL Champions Misery Fun Fact: 1-5 in AFL/AFC Championship games since '63. 15. Cleveland Browns - 44 years 1964 NFL Champions Misery Fun Fact: 0-6 in NFL/AFC Championship games since '64. 16. Buffalo Bills - 43 years 1965 AFL Champions Misery Fun Fact: Only franchise in the Big Four to lose in the championship round of it's sport in four consecutive years. 17. Atlanta Falcons - 42 years Misery Fun Fact: Advanced past divisional round of playoffs only twice. 18t. New Orleans Saints - 41 years Misery Fun Fact: Did not win a playoff game in their first 33 years of existence. 18t. Toronto Maple Leafs - 41 years 1967 Stanley Cup Champions Misery Fun Fact: Haven't played in a Cup Final since '67 championship. 20t. Cincinnati Bengals - 40 years Misery Fun Fact: One playoff appearance in last 18 years. 20t. Denver Nuggets - 40 years Misery Fun Fact: Have yet to reach the NBA Finals since merger in '76-'77. 20t. Los Angeles Kings - 40 years Misery Fun Fact: Reached Cup Finals only once. 20t. New York Jets - 40 years Misery Fun Fact: If Brett Favre couldn't bring them a Super Bowl, who can???? 20t. St. Louis Blues - 40 years Misery Fun Fact: Last Cup Finals appearance was in 1970. 25t. Kansas City Chiefs - 39 years Super Bowl IV Champions Misery Fun Fact: Have only reached conference championship game once since Super Bowl IV win. 25t. Milwaukee Brewers (Seattle Pilots) - 39 years Misery Fun Fact: Won only two division championships. 25t. Phoenix Suns - 39 years Misery Fun Fact: Despite a .559 all-time winning pct., only reached NBA Finals twice. 25t. San Diego Padres - 39 years Misery Fun Fact: 1-8 in World Series games. 25t. Washington Nationals (Montreal Expos) - 39 years Misery Fun Fact: Only playoff appearance was in the bizarre '81 split season. 30t. Buffalo Sabers - 37 years Misery Fun Fact: Only two Stanley Cup Finals appearances. 30t. Cleveland Cavaliers - 37 years Misery Fun Fact: 35 year wait for their only NBA Finals appearance. 30t. Los Angeles Clippers (Buffalo Braves/San Diego) - 37 years Misery Fun Fact: .364 all-time winning percentage and never reached a conference final. 30t. Milwaukee Bucks - 37 years 1971 NBA Champions Misery Fun Fact: Advanced past first around of playoffs only once in last 19 years. 30t. Vancouver Canucks - 37 years Misery Fun Fact: Their two Stanley Cup Finals appearances are the only two years they've reached the conference finals. 35. Boston Bruins - 36 years 1972 Stanley Cup Champions Misery Fun Fact: Only one playoff series win since 1995. 36t. Indiana Pacers - 35 years 1973 ABA Champions Misery Fun Fact: 1-5 in Eastern Conference finals series. 36t. Miami Dolphins - 35 years Super Bowl VIII Champions Misery Fun Fact: Best all-time winning pct. of any active NFL franchise (.583) but haven't played in a Super Bowl in 24 years. 36t. New York Knicks - 35 years 1973 NBA Champions Misery Fun Fact: Seven straight losing seasons. 39t. Golden State Warriors - 33 years 1975 NBA Champions Misery Fun Fact: Haven't reached conference finals in 32 years. 39t. Philadelphia Flyers - 33 years 1975 Stanley Cup Champions Misery Fun Fact: 0-5 in Stanley Finals series since '75 championship. 39t. Utah Jazz (New Orleans) - 33 years Misery Fun Fact: Only one losing in last 25 years but only two NBA Finals appearances to show for it. 39t. Washington Capitals - 33 years Misery Fun Fact: Reached conference finals only once. 43t. New Jersey Nets (New York) - 32 years 1976 ABA Champions Misery Fun Fact: Only advanced past first round of playoffs six times since NBA merger. 43t. Seattle Seahawks - 32 years Misery Fun Fact: Just two conference championship game appearances. 45t. Portland Trail Blazers - 31 years 1977 NBA Champions Misery Fun Fact: 8-17 in first round playoff series since '77 championship. 45t. Seattle Mariners - 31 years Misery Fun Fact: 14 straight losing seasons at their inception and played in the ALCS only twice. 47. Washington Wizards (Bullets) - 30 years 1978 NBA Champions Miser Fun Fact: Advanced past first round of playoffs only three time since '78 championship.

Full TV Schedule for Week of 1/26 - 2/1 The Games Most of You Can See MONDAY #8 Marquette at Notre Dame, 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN #4 Oklahoma at Oklahoma State, 9:00/6:00 PM, ESPN TUESDAY #24 Kentucky at Mississippi, 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN Boston College at Maryland, 7:30/4:30 PM, ESPN2 #16 Purdue at Wisconsin, 9:00/6:00 PM, ESPN WEDNESDAY #1 Duke at #6 Wake Forest, 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN Kansas at Nebraska, 7:30/4:30 PM, ESPN2 THURSDAY #12 Clemson at Virginia Tech, 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN #9 Michigan State at Iowa, 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN2 Alabama at Arkansas, 9:00/6:00 PM, ESPN Rutgers at Seton Hall, 9:00/6:00 PM, ESPN2 California at #17 UCLA, 10:30/7:30 PM, FSN #22 St. Mary's at #20 Gonzaga, 11:00/8:00 PM, ESPN2 SATURDAY Notre Dame at #3 Pittsburgh, Noon/9:00 AM, ESPN Toledo at Buffalo, Noon/9:00 AM, ESPN2 Michigan at #16 Purdue, 1:00 PM/10:00 AM, CBS* Washington State at Arizona, 1:00 PM/10:00 AM, CBS* Oklahoma State at Texas A&M, 2:00 PM/11:00 AM, ESPN Mississippi Valley State at Jackson State, 2:00 PM/11:00 AM, ESPN2 #5 North Carolina at N.C. State, 3:30/12:30 PM, ABC* Stanford at #17 UCLA, 3:30/12:30 PM, ABC* Ohio State at Indiana, 4:00/1:00 PM, ESPN2 UNLV at Air Force, 4:00/1:00 PM, Versus San Diego at #20 Gonzaga, 6:00/3:00 PM, ESPN2 Florida at Tennessee, 9:00/6:00 PM, ESPN California at USC, 11:30/8:30 PM, FSN SUNDAY Virginia at #1 Duke, 2:00 PM/11:00 AM, FSN

As I've mentioned previously I love original televised footage of classic games and I recently added two more DVD sets to my collection one for the Pittsburgh Steelers and one for Oklahoma Sooners football. First off regarding the Oklahoma set, I probably should have actually looked up the scores to the games on the set before purchasing it as only one of the five games was decided by single digits (1976 Orange Bowl), but oh well. There is a bonus feature "The Best of the Barry Switzer Show" which might actually be worth an entry if I ever get around to watching it. The Steelers set has all five of their Super Bowl victories. Well it was supposed to have all five Super Bowls but my set showed up with no Super Bowl XL disk. Bang up job their NFL! If it had been any of the 70's Super Bowls I would have mailed it back. Since I had no intention re-watching that boring, horribly officiated, Jerome Bettis lovefest I decided not to bother with the hassle of returning it. And also NFL, get off your ass and release a 49ers Super Bowls set already. Now Super Bowl X and XIII annually make All-Time Great Super Bowl lists and Super Bowl XIV might be one of the most underrated Super Bowls of all-time. But anyone can watch the good games, so I decided to watch Super Bowl IX which is just 60 minutes of the Steel Curtain destroying the Vikings' offensive line. January 12, 1975 - Super Bowl IX: Pittsburgh Steelers (12-3-1) vs. Minnesota Vikings (12-4) -There were several poor reviews for the set on Amazon due to the video quality of this game and Super Bowl X. The video quality ended up not being quite as bad as some the reviews painted it but it's not very good either. -Sadly there are no player introductions on the disk and no postgame. Announcers for the game are Curt Gowdy, Al DeRogatis, and Don Meredith. STEELERS OFFENSE LT: Jon Kolb LG: Jim Clack C: Ray Mansfield RG: Gerry Mullins RT: Gordon Gravelle TE: Larry Brown WR: Frank Lewis WR: Ron Shanklin QB: Terry Bradshaw RB: Franco Harris RB: Rocky Bleier VIKINGS DEFENSE LE: Carl Eller LT: Alan Page RT: Doug Sutherland RE: Jim Marshall LLB: Roy Winston MLB: Jeff Siemon RLB: Wally Hilgenberg LCB: Jackie Wallace RCB: Nate Wright SS: Jeff Wright FS: Paul Krause VIKINGS OFFENSE LT: Charles Goodrum LG: Andy Maurer C: Mick Tingelhoff RG: Ed White RT: Ron Yary TE: Stu Voight WR: Jim Lash WR: John Gilliam QB: Fran Tarkenton RB: Chuck Foreman RB: Dave Osborn STEELERS DEFENSE LE: L.C. Greenwood LT: Joe Greene RT: Ernie Holmes RE: Dwight White LLB: Jack Ham MLB: Jack Lambert RLB: Andy Russell LCB: J.T. Thomas RCB: Mel Blount SS: Mike Wagner FS: Glen Edwards FIRST QUARTER -Vikings use a 14 man defensive huddle where they would run off three defenders after the Steelers break their huddle, a practice that is of course no longer permitted in today's game. -On the Vikings first play on offense, Tarkenton completes a pass to John Gilliam on the sideline and as Gilliam is knocked out of bounds he runs over a cameraman who I'm pretty sure was Steve Sabol. -Steelers would blow two scoring chances in the quarter after getting the ball on the Vikings' 44 and on their own 47. Roy Gerella missed an relatively easy field goal attempt and then the holder bobbled a second attempt. -Curt Gowdy makes only one mention of Rocky Bleier being a Vietnam vet, playing with shrapnel in his body. I can only imagine how many times a modern announcer would make mention of fact like that during a game if an active player was a veteran. Good thing Tim Tebow isn't a Gulf War II vet. -Gowdy also brings up the story Terry Bradshaw being pissed during the week because the media kept bringing up how he was viewed as a dumb player. Hasn't he pretty made a career out of this? SECOND QUARTER -Lynn Swan and John Stallworth were both in their rookie year and were not starters but they take almost every snap at wideout from the second quarter on. -Vikings get their first opportunity to score after Bleier fumbles and the Vikings recover on the Steelers 24. But as would be the case through the much of the game, the Vikings could not move the ball and settle for a field goal attempt but kicker Fred Cox hits it wide right. -After the Steelers were forced to punt on the ensuing possession, Vikings punt return Sam McCullum would field the punt on a hop inside his own 10. Al DeRogatis thinks it was a bad decision but there were two Steelers near by when he fielded the punt and I think they probably would have downed it inside the 5 anyways. Nevertheless this does lead to the first score of the game when what appears to be miscommunication between Tarkenton and fullback Dave Osborn as Tarkenton pitches it but Osborn doesn't even attempt to grab it. The ball gets kicked back, Tarkenton reaches the ball just before the goal line but slides into endzone where he is touched down by Dwight White for a safety. -On the Vikings next possession, they put together their best drive of the game reaching the Steelers 25. But on a Tarkenton pass over the middle to Gilliam at the Steelers 5, Gilliam attempts to making a leaping grab but he is immediately nailed by Glen Edwards and the ball pops up in their air and is intercepted by Mel Blount. Game heads to the half with a 2-0 score. THIRD QUARTER -Huge break for the Steelers on the second half kick. Gerela slips just as he kicks the ball and it ends up being an accidental squib kick. One of the upbacks Bill Brown doesn't field it cleanly and the Steelers would recover on the Vikings 30. Three Franco Harris runs later and it was 9-0. -There's a bizarre moment on the Vikings next possession. It was 4th and inches on their own 38 and lined up like they were going to run the play but are just trying to draw the Steelers offsides. As Tarkenton tries to draw them offsides a couple of Steelers players start pointing that one of the Vikings lineman flinched, although on the replay it doesn't appear anyone moved, and then the Steelers run across the line. The refs of course blow the play dead but none of them threw a flag. After a quick discussion, there's no false start on the Vikings, no offsides on the Steelers, no timeout was called by the Vikings, and essentially no play. It was like the refs all forgot to throw a flag and when then decided to just say "fuck it, no play." Vikings end up punting. -Probably the most infamous play of the game happens on the Vikings next possession. L.C. Greenwood deflected a Tarkenton pass, which happened quite a bit in this game, that went right back to Tarkenton who catches it and then throws another pass to a wide open Gilliam for a huge gain into Steelers territory but that's of course that's a penalty. Gowdy doesn't appear to know the rule as he calls it like it's a huge play for the Vikings, all the while Don Meredith tries to correct him during the play. But considering a 14 year veteran in Tarkenton apparently didn't know you couldn't throw two passes on the same play, I guess Gowdy deserves a pass. -Even though it's only 9-0 after three, the game already felt like a blowout. FOURTH QUARTER -Oh but the Vikings actually do have a glimmer of hope. Early in the quarter the Vikings recover a Harris fumble on the Steelers 47 and a pass interference penalty sets them up with a first a goal on the 5. But Chuck Foreman promptly fumbles the ball right back to the Steelers. -Steelers can't move the ball and Matt Blair would block the punt which the Vikings recover in the endzone for a touchdown. But the Vikings can't do something good without screwing something else up so the kicker Cox shanks the PAT to keep it a three point game. -The things we take for granted watching football today like knowing how much time is left in a quarter. We don't get a camera shot of the clock here until there is 9:52 left in the game. Although there's no plays missing from the disk, there are several times during the game where the time between a play is edited out so this made it very difficult to figure keep track of how long was left in a quarter. -The Steelers would put the game away with what was really the only sustained drive of the game by either offense on a 11 play, 66 yard march that at up 7:02 of the clock that ends on a Bradshaw touchdown pass to tight end Larry Brown. There was some mild controversy earlier in the drive on a 30 yard completion to Brown where he appeared to fumble and it was initially ruled the Vikings had recovered but another ref ran in and changed the call. Replay shows that he was clearly down before the ball came loose though. -Late in the game it's noted that L.C. Greenwood had signed with the Birmingham Vulcans of the short lived World Football League. He ended up changing his mind. -As the game goes off the air, Gowdy notes that the Steelers were only going to get better. Okay announcers say that almost every time after a team wins a championship but guess one deserves credit when they actually are right in making that proclamation.

Well yes the official division champions from that season are the ones who the playoff series. The A's saved one embarrassment by preventing a 4th place Royals team with a losing record being crowned AL West Champions. Again it's probably best just to pretend that season never happened, kinda like '94.

I remember I got screwed out of Alexei Ramirez last year because Yahoo didn't have him available until after the season started. If had him I might have finished next to last!

I counted their '81 season as a division title since they did finish first overall during the regular season but then lost the official title to the Yankees in a playoff series. Maybe it's just best to pretend that season never happened.

Steelers 24, Cardinals 14 Passing: Warner Rushing: Parker Receiving: Fitzgerald MVP:

WBC provisional rosters are out and a link with a breakdown of how many players from each MLB team who might be participating so you'll know who to be nervous about getting injured from your favorite team. We'll definitely have a thread for the tournament which begins March 5th. It's still hard to take it all that seriously though with the huge rosters that are half made up of pitchers due to their pitch count restrictions.

Full TV Schedule for Week of 1/19 - 1/25 The Games Most of You Can See MONDAY #8 Syracuse at #4 Pittsburgh, 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN Texas A&M at Kansas, 9:00/6:00 PM, ESPN TUESDAY Ohio State at #25 Illinois, 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN Tennessee at Vanderbilt, 9:00/6:00 PM, ESPN WEDNESDAY #20 Villanova at #3 Connecticut, 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN Virginia Tech at #1 Wake Forest, 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN2 #10 Clemson at #5 North Carolina, 9:00/6:00 PM, ESPN Baylor at Kansas State, 9:00/6:00 PM, ESPN2 THURSDAY West Virginia at #12 Georgetown, 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN #18 Purdue at #21 Minnesota, 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN2 St. Mary's at San Diego, 9:00/6:00 PM, ESPN2 #13 UCLA at Washington State, 9:00/6:00 PM, FSN USC at Washington, 11:00/8:00 PM, FSN SATURDAY Maryland at #2 Duke, Noon/9:00 AM, ESPN Kansas at Iowa State, 2:00 PM/11:00 AM, ESPN DePaul at #11 Marquette, 2:00 PM/11:00 AM, ESPN2 #22 Memphis at Tennessee, 3:30/12:30 PM, CBS Wisconsin at #25 Illinois, 4:00/1:00 PM, ESPN George Mason at VCU, 4:00/1:00 PM, ESPN2 #13 UCLA at Washington, 4:00/1:00 PM, FSN Utah at UNLV, 4:00/1:00 PM, Versus Mississippi State at Georgia, 6:00/3:00 PM, ESPN2 #3 Connecticut at #19 Notre Dame, 8:00/5:00 PM, ESPN #15 Xavier at LSU, 8:00/5:00 PM, ESPN2 SUNDAY #24 Florida at Vanderbilt, 1:30 PM/10:30 AM, CBS #7 Michigan State at Ohio State, 3:45/12:45 PM, CBS Virginia Tech at Miami, 5:30/2:30 PM, FSN Georgia Tech at #10 Clemson, 7:45/4:45 PM, FSN