Bundesliga : We Have Winner

Well after four months and alot of schadenfreude I think its safe to call a winner. I've definitely grown to enjoy the Bundesliga and cultivated my hate for Bayern Munich. I think its also nice that my dislike of Schalke has really matured right before they face Manchester United in the Champions League.

Borussia Dortmund : WIN! I'm a little conflicted because they may win the Bundesliga. I would hate to pick a team just because they won the league, but thankfully I'm drawn to more than that. They had an "insurmountable" lead at one point, but its shrunk to 5 points with 5 games to go. They only play one team in the top half of the table (Nurnberg, 6th) and get a game against relegation bound Borussia Monchengladbach. The team behind them (Bayer Leverkusen) has a tough game against Bayern Munich, so Dortmund should have the title in hand.

Is there a Japanese equivalent of schadenfreude?

I also have a small man crush on Shinji Kagawa, so I'm going to spend the summer very worried. I read that Liverpool's sponsor (Standard Chartered) wants them to buy an Asian player to boost marketing in Asia, very similar to what Manchester United has experienced with Park Ji-Sung. If Liverpool buy Kagawa, I'm going to be seriously upset.

Bayer Leverkusen : ELIMINATED. Pretty close 2nd. As the season has gone on I've grown to like Arturo Vidal. Prior to the season I had never heard of him, but he has put together a very solid season for Leverkusen with 9 goals and 8 assists (leads the team in both stats currently). I've also grown to like Renato Augusto, who is also having a good season for Leverkusen. Both guys are 23, so I'm sure they will be tormenting me for some time.

Eintracht Frankfurt : ELIMINATED. Very middle of the road team that has mainly provided me with some comedy. Their top scorer is Theofanis Gekas, a 30 year old Greek international, who has scored 16 goals for Frankfurt. The next highest scorer? Four players are tied at 2 goals. Frankfurt have scored a total of 29 goals, worst in the league, and Mr. Gekas has over half of them.

Kaisersluatern : ELIMINATED. Despite the prodding of my friend, I just didn't connect with these guys.

Werder Bremen : ELIMINATED. These guys were the heavy favorites to start the season, and all they managed to do was suck. Per Mertesacker missed alot of games with a serious facial injury, and then spent the rest of the season insisting that he wasn't going to be sold to Arsenal. They seemed really burned out when they were in the Champions League and did little to nothing to impress me. Their kits also make my eyes bleed.

VfL Wolfsburg : ELIMINATED. Currently in the relegation zone. Their top goalscorer (Edin Dzeko) hasn't been on the team in nearly four months. Their high profile coach has been fired. Unless the town of Wolfsburg bursts into flames I doubt things can get much worse.

Fantasy Baseball 2011 - Draft Autopsy

We have waited patiently for months, endured annoying Giants fans, reviewed our strategies, re-reviewed, compiled our spreadsheets, and now the wait is over. It's fantasy baseball season at the Sports Optimator, and as the first week of games goes by, it's time for the post draft autopsy. This year the draft was held after opening day, so we spent three days trying not to freak out about horrible starts (Jon Lester anyone?) and hot bats (Nelson Cruz, Ian Kinsler, anyone facing Boston...), which was not easy. In the end, neither of us got the team we planned for, but that may be a good thing for some, and not for others.

The Draft
Bert - I have a boring and fairly conservative draft strategy that changed a little this year. I'm not concerned with landing the best player, but this year I was very concerned with landing a top SS and 3B. The weakest positions this year are SS, 3B, and 2B, so if you don't get one of the top 2-3, it's a long way to the bottom. The top 2B's aren't nearly as good as SS (Hanley Ramirez, Troy Tulowitzki) or 3B (Evan Longoria, David Wright, Ryan Zimmerman) so I decided that I would come out with one of each or die trying. I retained my deep love for 20-20 players, mostly outfielders this year, and I didn't want to spend more than $1 on catchers or closers. I really, really, really wanted Prince Fielder this year. Fielder was #1 in BB (111) last year, he is 27 (statistically players tend to peak at 27) and it's a contract year, so he should have a monster season. I also decided not to spend money on a Top 5 pitcher and roll the dice with mid-range affordable arms, since pitching is so random and always screws me over. My draft calling card is feasting on mid-range players when everyone else has spent way too much for the top players; very dependable and low-risk, but lacks upside.

Andrew - I could delve into my draft strategy, but then I'd have to kill Bert. Oh, Bert knows all about my Teutonic devotion to value, and he knows about the great site, Last Player Picked, which I mostly rely on for said values, but one component of my draft preparation remains shrouded in secrecy. Just to live up to my reputation for insufferable arrogance, though, because I wouldn't want to disappoint anyone, I will say that since I implemented it two years ago it hasn't let me down. Two years, two championships. And, running counter to my actual (horrendous) start, and despite gifting Bert a few players, my projections have me finishing first again. Mwuahahahaa.

As an aside, I'm thinking Furor Teutonicus might be a good name for my team next year.

The Aftermath
Bert - Well, I almost completely abandoned my top priorities but it all worked out in the end. I think. Han-Ram and Tulo went for a lot; I wasn't willing to go much over $30 for Tulo and he went for $34, so I basically walked away from SS. Then my 2B target, Dustin Pedrioa, went for $24, which was basically $4 more than I was willing to pay for a 2B not named Dan Uggla. The draft Gods smiled upon me, though, when I was able to snag David Wright for $29, but then they cursed me by letting me get Matt Kemp for $28. I completely folded on Prince Fielder, and that is when the panic set in. Fielder went for $29, way more than I thought, and I just couldn't go to $30. No Tulo, no Fielder, and my only pitcher at this point was Yovani Gallardo. With a whole bunch of money left I was able to get Matt Holliday for a discount (appendectomies rule) and hoard 20-20 outfielders. I missed out on Cole Hamels, who went for $23, but I fell ass-backwards into Max Scherzer for $9. I was also able to take advantage of Andrew's late draft cash problems and walk away with Matt Cain ($15), Brett Anderson ($9), Johnathan Sanchez ($11), and Gio Gonzalez ($8). I must credit Andrew with a purchase I didn't plan to make; Carlos Santana. I avoided spending more than $30 on a player, and went with a budget pitching staff, so when Santana could be had for $12, Andrew goaded me into it. With the depth at 2B/SS I decided to invest in a catcher and pay $1 for a warm body at the end of the draft. After having a heart attack to start the draft, I finished with a team that should finish in the Top 3.

C - Carlos Santana (CLE)
C - Carlos Ruiz (PHI)
1B - Kevin Youkilis (BOS)
2B - Ben Zobrist (TB)
SS - Derek Jeter (NYY, may the baseball gods forgive me...)
3B - David Wright (NYM)
OF - Matt Kemp (LAD)
OF - Matt Holliday (STL)
OF - Alex Rios (CHW)
OF - Henter Pence (HOU)
OF - Bobby Abreu (LAA)
1B/3B - Paul Konerko (CHW)
2B/SS - Sean Rodriguez (TB, this is my $1 warm body.)
UTIL - David Ortiz (BOS, I had to get BB since I missed out on Fielder.)

P - Yovani Gallardo (MIL)
P - Roy Oswalt (PHI)
P - Matt Cain (SF)
P - Max Scherzer (DET)
P - Brett Anderson (OAK)
P - Johnathan Sanchez (SF)
P - Gio Gonzalez (OAK)
P - Leo Nunez (FLA)
P - Kevin Gregg (BAL)

The usual suspects. Six guys back from a 4th place team that imploded down the stretch, what could possibly go wrong?

Best Buy - Max Scherzer ($9) - if he has a good year, $9 is a bargain.
Worst Buy - Matt Kemp ($28) - Shin-Soo Choo went for $19.

30-30 season or an expensive pain in the ass. Time will tell.

Andrew - It was a weird draft. Every year, most people in our league, aside from the two of us, prematurely ejaculate over basically anyone that you throw out there. A few years ago we even had Derek Jeter go for $37. $37! This year was no different, in fact I think it was worse than usual, and for the first round and a half, any top-20 player was going for $35+. Bert and I were sitting there, incredulously shocked, appalled, and happy at our good fortune, as each team's budget was effectively destroyed on one player. One factor in play, we think, is that our league tracks BBs instead of runs, and most price guides are based on runs scored. So Bert and I throw big runs-scored guys out there like Crawford and Cano and watch the feeding frenzy ensue.

Anyway, at some point in the draft, maybe when Pujols went for $43 - $5 under value - or maybe when Mauer went for $23 - another $5-off discount, people seemed to readjust to their dwindling coffers, and the draft got weird. You would think this would be a great time for people with extra cash to move in and feast, and you would be half-right. Bert, aside from blowing his wad on Matt Kemp, regained some self control and dignity and drafted pretty well from there on out. I, on the other hand, was too inflexible, too committed to getting certain targeted guys, meaning I overpaid for a few guys (hellooo, Victor Martinez), and let too many other guys go for too little. And, most inexcusable of all, I ended up with $8 left in the bank. What? This has never happened to me before, and it makes me very, very nervous. It makes me even more nervous when the other three teams that I've projected to finish in the top four are occupying the top three, and as this is being written, I'm struggling to move out of dead last. Yeah, yeah, yeah, the season's a marathon and it's only week one, but still.

C - Victor Martinez (DET) - Good average and decent power, but would it kill him to walk a little more?
C - Brian McCann (ATL) - I've had this guy every year since I can remember. So solid, so consistent.
1B - Joey Votto (CIN) - The poor man's Pujols. This year he could be even better. Fair value at $36.
2B - Dan Uggla (ATL) - I've also owned Uggla a lot, and he's never let me down. Well worth the $21.
SS - Stephen Drew (ARI) - His numbers say he's underrated; I remain unconvinced but hopeful.
3B - Casey McGehee (MIL) - If his numbers continue on their upward trajectory, a steal for $1. If.
OF - Jayson Werth (WAS) - I don't love this pick. Washington's park is not exactly a hitter's paradise.
OF - Shin Soo-Choo (CLE) - Great player, but I paid nearly full value for him.

OF - Jason Kubel (MIN) - Where my draft started to go downhill. Kubel is not a poor man's Swisher.

OF - Jason Bay (NYM) - Massive upside, minimal risk for $1, if he's not permanently concussed.

OF - Lance Berkman (STL) - Scares the bejeesus out of me. If I get 87 BBs and 18 HR I'll take it.

CI - Billy Butler (KC) - Numbers are going up across the board. I love him for $9.
2B - Howie Kendrick (LAA) - I had to pony up $9 for him, but he hit 41 2Bs in '10. Optimistic.
UTIL - Adam LaRoche - Still flying under the radar. I expect 25 HRs and 85+ RBIs. No BBs, though.

P - Dan Haren (LAA) - I'm counting on the aberration of 2010's first half to vanish like snow before the sun.

P - Tommy Hanson (ATL) - Not enough years stats to make me comfortable. Plus never trust a ginger.

P - Ted Lilly (LAD) - I hate this guy's face and his Cub background, but for $6 could I go wrong? So far, yes.

P - Zach Greinke (MIL) - Banking on his rib injury to unlock some deep value for $14.

P - Jered Weaver (LAA) - Thinking that his K numbers from '10 are not a fluke. Early numbers are backing me up.

P - Chris Carpenter (STL) - So good, so fragile, and he pitches to contact. Cain for $16 would've been better.

P - Javier Vazquez (FLA) - Hold my nose and pray for the Ks to come back. Florida's park can't hurt. Right?

P - Dallas Braden (OAK) - Don't win, don't strike guys out - what do you do? Oh, well, decent ERA and WHIP.

P - Chris Perez (CLE) - 30+ saves for $2. I'll take it.

I choo-choo-choose you!

Best Buy - Based on projected numbers, Ted Lilly went for $13 less than he should have, but if Bay comes back to hit ~22 HRs and walks 80 times, he's the steal of the draft for me, maybe the league.
Worst Buy - V-Mart ($23) when I probably could've had Mauer for $25. Bollocks.

For me, the draft is mostly based on projected numbers relative to projected value, and then the real season starts. Right now, it's ugly. No strikeouts, low wins, horrible WHIP, and a laughably low RBI total despite top-3 HRs. My team must be channeling the Cardinals, who scored less runs in their first 9 games than all other iterations of their team since 1919. They suck. They and their clueless manager will continue to suck. 10 days in, and I am more panicked than Ryan Franklin on the mound in the ninth.

Hindsight Is 20/20

Worst Buy Overall - This is tough, but I'm going to have to say Joba Chamberlain ($7). One of the worst things you can do in our league is buy a non-closer relief pitcher, and someone paid $7 for one! The next worst would be Manny Ramirez for $4, but the buyer had no way to know he would get busted for doping and retire suddenly.

The numbers back up Bert's pick - the buyer overpaid by $21! Ha!

Best Buy - Jaime Garcia ($3). If Garcia's arm doesn't fall off this could be the bargain of the draft; he was excellent last year before being shut down.

I'm still (optimistically) nominating Jason Bay, but it's not an overly confident pick.

Massive Upside - Josh Johnson ($14) / Max Scherzer ($9). Johnson pitched like a Top 5 pitcher last year before an injury ended his season, but he still has a serious injury concern this year. He has already pitched well, so it's entirely possible he stays healthy and competes for the NL Cy Young. Scherzer is unproven, but finished so well after coming up from a stint in the minors last season that everyone has been saying he has Top 10 upside.

Jason Bay ($1) Bay, Bay, Bay. If I repeat his name like a mantra for the next ten days, will my horrifically low RBI numbers bounce back?

Current Status
Bert - The Dude abides.
Andrew - Nothing is fucked?! The God damn plane has crashed into the mountain!

Arsenal Everton 2-1 Highlights (February 1, 2011)

A0-1E

Simão | Myspace Video


A1-1E

Simão | Myspace Video


A2-1E

Simão | Myspace Video

Arsenal - Ipswich Town Highlights

BENDTNER!!!!!!!

When he scores goals like these, you can see why he's so quick to trumpet his own skills.  That was quite a nice goal.  He scored a really nice arcing goal against Man City in the first half, too, that was similar to this one.  Nice to also see Arshavin with a nice assist, after his recent run of fairly horrible form.  On to Wembley.

http://soccermaniax.com/2011/01/arsenal-vs-ipswich-town-3-0-highlights-carling-cup/

Bundesliga : First Report Of 2011

I feel like its been a year since I last updated my search for a team, but there is still a little less than half a season left. I can't tell if I managed to start this at the right time, with Bayern Munich struggling, so the standings may be deceptive over the long term. I'm loving Bayern's problems, whats that word? Oh yes, schadenfreude.

Borussia Dortmund : UP. Way up, Dortmund has been on fire. There are still alot of games to play, but they currently sit 13 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga. They have two 8 goal scorers in Shinji Kagawa and Lucas Barrios, both guys I have come to enjoy, and have posted a whopping goal differential of 31. To put that last stat into context, the 2nd place team (Hannover 96) has a differential of 0, and the next highest is Bayern Munich at 15. Dortmund has shut out their opponent in half of their games (9), which seems to be a good way to win.

Bayer Leverkusen : UP. Mostly move up since so many teams moved down. They are currently in a log jam for third, have a positive goal differential, and haven't been playing Michael Ballack. Nothing wrong there.

Eintracht Frankfurt : UP. I have to admire their spirit. They have been playing fairly well, have probably settled into their final position somewhere in the middle of the table, and have a 30 year old Greek guy doing their goal scoring. Theofanis Gekas is second in the league with 14 goals, and is basically doing all of Frankfurt's scoring since second on the team has 2 goals.

Kaisersluatern : DOWN. Just got hammered by Bayern Munich 5-1. That 2-1 victory at the start of the season doesn't look so impressive anymore. Kaiserslautern has settled into the middle of the table with a sad 6-4-9 record. They should stay up barring a massive collapse, but they probably won't challenge for the title.

Werder Bremen : DOWN. How do I put this. This team sucks. I have Werder has a long history of being a good team, but this season is one they would probably like to forget. 5th from the bottom, 6-4-9 record, -14 goal differential, and some of the ugliest uniforms in the world. Marko Marin has failed to impress me with his two goals, at least they have someone in the Top 10 for goal scoring. I need more.

VfL Wolfsburg : ELIMINATED. I haven't eliminated them based on how they are playing (crap), or because their best player (Edin Dzeko) was just sold to Manchester City, its because of how the club is run. I heard that VfL Wolfsburg, which is owned by Volkswagon, is basically used as a way to entertain the people of Wolfsburg who are mostly VW employees. This seems to make alot of sense, and on the surface doesn't seem like an issue, but they tend to piss money away on this team. Part of the Dzeko saga was VW not wanting to upset its workers/fans by selling off their best player. On top of that, they have the ugliest jerseys. I can barely look at pictures let alone a game.

Yeah, this doesn't help.

2010-2011 College Football Wrap-Up

One of the weirdest, and somehow unsatisfying, seasons of college football has finally come to a close. With the NFL regular season over, only seven playoff games left, and roughly eight months before pitchers and catchers report, this is the saddest time of the year. I know there will still be Premier and Champions League games to watch, and I can sporadically check on the NBA (You hear that LeBron James went to Miami?!), but it just can’t fill the void.

I think the void is especially pronounced this year because something was missing from college football, something I can’t quite define. Maybe its because a number of schools and players shrugged off “serious” NCAA violations, or maybe its because a number of big name programs imploded, but its probably the fact that this season was stupefyingly dull. I think the everlasting stupidity of the media got me more riled up than any game, not that this surprised me. So since I enjoy getting angry, lets go over this past season and pray to God/Allah/Jebus/Anyone that next year is better.

Conference Realignment : The Big 10 has twelve teams now, and the Big 12 has ten teams, as if having an eleven team Big 10 wasn’t confusing enough. This had to be the craziest year for expansion/contraction ever, and it was all based on revenue. Nebraska really got everything started in the summer by jumping to the Big 10 and all hell broke lose. Once the Big 12 was down to eleven and looked vulnerable everyone reached out to grab the big prize; Texas. Well, more accurately the Texas TV revenue and all the cash attached to the program. The Pac-10 even invited Texas to join in an attempt to make an insane super conference, but instead supplied safe harbor to Colorado and Utah. So now we have the Pac-12, incorrectly named Big 10 and Big 12, and then things got even worse. The Mountain West lost Utah, so they took the opportunity to pillage the WAC and bring in Boise State, Hawaii, and Fresno State. Then BYU got it into their heads that they should be like Notre Dame and declared themselves independent, but wait, it gets better! In an attempt to one-up the Pac-10’s geographically confused attempt to absorb the Big 12 South the Big East took a look at its embarrassing eight team conference and decided to invite TCU. So ten is now twelve, twelve is now ten, and Forth Worth TX is in the east. Cash grabs are great, aren’t they?

>>> All this geographical ignorance/delusion makes me angry. That’s all I can say.

Big Programs Flop : This season was great for the little guys, not just because the media was in a hurry to crown them champions. I can’t remember so many big programs falling flat on their faces in one season, especially when expectations were high. The biggest culprit was Texas who failed to win six games, much to my delight, and found themselves without a bowl game. Everyone loved Texas after their loss to Alabama last year, and people were drawing up plans for the Garret Gilbert statue in Austin. Texas went 5-7, finished dead last in the Big 12 South, and found itself getting crushed in games it should have won. Florida played like crap on offense, finished 7-5 and lost Urban Meyer to a re-retirement. Michigan shot itself in the foot by thinking they were ready to dominate, fans and boosters did their best to undermine Rich Rodriguez once their defense started to implode, and a 7-5 season wrapped up with a 52-14 absolute ass kicking by Miss State in the Gator Bowl. Other notable failures include Georgia (6-6, bowl loss to UCF), and Penn State (7-5, bowl loss to Florida).

Coaching Carousel : Coaches had it rough this season as a number of them moved around, some with hilarious results. Rich Rodriguez was fired at Michigan, ending an uncomfortable union that featured Josh Groban, followed by in intense search that eventually found Brady Hoke. No, I didn’t know who he was until I Googled him either. Texas’ problem got worse when coach-in-waiting Will Muschamp got tired of waiting and took the Florida job. Guys coaching schools named Miami (Florida and Ohio, in a rare double) found themselves without a job as Miami sent Randy Shannon packing after a loss to USF, and Miami (OH)’s Mike Haywood was fired from his new job at Pitt before he even started after being arrest on a felony domestic violence charge. Guess who won’t be able to find a job anytime soon?

Sadly the touching lyrics of Josh couldn't reach Michigan's AD

Sweeping Violations Under The Rug : I’m still really confused about this, like really really confused. Ever since the Reggie Bush saga colleges all across the country have been on pins and needles; well, everyone but Auburn and Ohio State. They must know something that everyone else doesn’t, since they managed to flaunt NCAA rules and walk away with a mere finger wagging. Auburn’s QB, and Heisman winner, Cam Newton was mired in a pay-for-play scandal where his father solicited money to sign is son. This is an NCAA violation, a serious one, even though Cam “knew nothing” about what his father was doing. Auburn made the meaningless gesture of suspending Newton, who was rapidly reinstated by the NCAA, won the SEC title, won the Heisman in a landslide, then won the National Title. Ohio State followed suit with their own problems. A number of players, including QB Terrelle Pryor, received improper benefits and sold team awards. All of this came out before their Sugar Bowl showdown with Arkansas, and they should have been suspended. Ohio State acted quickly and suspended the players for five games... starting next year. The NCAA allowed this, and the suspended players “promised” not to enter the NFL draft early in order to play in the Sugar Bowl. How the NCAA allowed any of this is beyond me, much like conference realignment this was all clearly about money. I’m sure the NCAA didn’t want to enforce its rules if it would effect the BCS Bowls - that would require some integrity.

>> Nodding. But have you considered what would’ve happened to your (and my) sports world if Newton had actually been suspended for the whole season? Auburn would’ve certainly lost any number of those close games they played towards the end of the season (‘Bama, especially), TCU would’ve snuck into the title game, your head would’ve exploded in an apoplectic fit, and Oregon would’ve most likely trounced them as I nodded gleefully, saying with a self-satisfied and knowing smirk that “See, the system totally works!” Even though, of course, it continues to be a total farce.

The NCAA can't wait to get that back...

Morons Vote TCU #1 : I think I may have breathed fire when I saw this the other day, but I really should have seen it coming. Auburn handily took most of the AP and USA Today votes, but a few idiots decided that TCU was #1 in the final season poll. The only thing keeping my head from exploding is that these few voters are probably upset with Auburn (see above) and said “Hell, I know Auburn went 14-0, beat #2 Oregon, and won the SEC, but I’m going to be controversial and vote for TCU!”

>> The irony of Oregon finishing lower than the year they got hosed out of the title game in ‘01 (#2 in the final poll - duh) doesn’t amuse me in the least, in fact it makes me want to swear off college football for the 13th consecutive season. OK, so, if the title game is a legitimate contest between the nation’s two best teams, and one of them loses by three points on a fluke running play and a botched interception call, suddenly they’re only the third best team in the nation? WTF?!!! I hate college football, and I hate that it sucks me in every. single. season.

Bowl Season Recap (Hindsight Is A Bitch)

Best - BCS Title Game. I don’t care that they both looked a little off in the first quarter, this game came down to the wire. I also don’t care that they didn’t finish 77-73 like everyone wanted, both teams played hard and Auburn deserved to win. They outplayed Oregon and their defense came up big time.

>> I will grudgingly admit that Auburn played well, but I won’t go so far as to say that they deserved to win. Sour grapes or astute analysis? You be the judge. But as far as the game goes, this was our take on it immediately after (I’m including it because I think Bert nailed it - you won’t see this kind of analysis on TV, folks):

AS: ~ Pounding my head into a wall repeatedly~

BA: It wasn't that bad, you guys just couldn't tackle.

AS: C'mon, it was a cruel game of inches. There was cliff harris' non-interception (which I still think was an interception), Tunei and TheMichael being stopped short of the goal after that trick punt play and amazing catch by Tunei... the safety where TheMichael almost got out of the end zone, but ended up putting the ball on the last inch of chalk... every little thing went against the Ducks.

BA: Yeah, because they were smaller and couldn't block. Auburn effectively controlled the tempo, and you guys just lost it.

AS: This conversation is over!

BA: Thomas made some really bad reads on the option.

AS: Yeah, no shit. Horrible reads, and some bad passes in the red zone.

BA: Its like he didn't want to run, so he always handed it off.

AS: And then when he should've handed it to TheMichael, he kept it. It was amazing.

BA: Well, on the safety, I'm very confused why you went into a single back set with Thomas under center... like you thought you could overpower Auburn.

AS: ~Punching myself in the throat repeatedly~

BA: That was by far the best BCS game though.

AS. Yeah, it was great. I felt like I was gonna throw up for three straight hours.

BA: You just boned that TD, why Kelly insisted on running inside I will never know.

AS: I can't decide if you're making me feel better or worse... hang on... yep, definitely worse.
Did you think Harris intercepted that throw?

BA: Wait, perhaps I was drinkign too much... when he caught it and rolled out of bounds?

AS: (Grasping at straws) Yeah! He had control!!! Or?

BA: Wait, I thought it was called a pick.

AS: No. He caught it, had control, and his forearm was down. Auburn scored on the next play, or one after that.

BA: Well you got hosed there.

AS: Thank you.

BA: (Sadistically rubbing salt in the wounds) Also, you guys weren't throwing down field. 3rd & 15, lets try a 5 yard WR screen. There were a number of play calls where you threw a 5 yard pass when you needed 15, and that was clearly the play call.

AS: ~Sighing~ There was a 3rd and 12, too, I think, where Thomas elected to keep it, and he had NOWHERE to go. It was bizarre. Despite all that, their defense played really well, and had it not been for the safety and the non-interception, it could've easily been 19-3 or something like that. Everything went horribly wrong.

BA: Sadly, I didn't gamble on it. I picked Auburn in a close one. Plus, you got boned because Auburn plays a similar offense. They probably practice against your style of offense all the time, so it wasn't new.

AS: (The final nail in the coffin) True that. Let’s just move on to making myself feel better by making fun of those redneck southerners, shall we? Jizzik was sporting some sweet sideburns, did you see? It was like Mattingly in the Simpson's ringers episode.

BA: Jizzik seems like a real good ole boy - probably fucked a pig after the game.

AS: Yes, see!!! This proves that Oregon was the better team. Did you see their QB coach's name?
Guz! "Gus iz too hahd fuh me tuh say, so ahm jist gonna call yew Guzzzz."


Since this was obviously the highpoint of our post-game analysis, we decided to stop there.


Worst - Orange Bowl : This was incredibly disappointing, but I should have seen it coming. The worst part of this game was listening to the announcers talk up VT’s QB Tyrod Taylor, who just flat out sucks. They went on and on about how versitle he is, and how dangerous his legs are, but that doesn’t seem to matter if you can’t convert a third down. VT got their ass kicked, and stanfurd’s QB Andrew Luck came out looking like the next Peyton Manning; so much for that vaunted Hokie defense.

Clock Management Award - Bret Bielema / Rose Bowl : This could have beat the title game, but Bielema boned this game and gave idiots an opening to complain for another year. TCU played well, and deserved to win, but Wisconsin pissed away a chance to get into the endzone before the half. With two timeouts the Badgers took their sweet time on the final drive of the half, but were caught off guard by the fact that you can’t score after the clock hits 0:00. Wisconsin had no choice but to kick a FG when they should have been trying for 6 - way to go Bret.

Winners

The SEC West : Four ten-win teams, five ranked teams, and the National Title.
Non-AQ Media Darlings
Committing Infractions
Jim Harbaugh : Turned stanfurd’s 12-1 season into the 49ers head coaching job.

Losers

The SEC East : No ten win teams, 1-for-5 in bowl games, only two teams finished above .500.
Boise State : Lose their chance to complain about being snubbed by losing to Nevada, leave the WAC for the MWC which promptly implodes to leave them where they started.

Boise State leaves the WAC for the MWC.

The ACC
The Big East
NCAA’s Authority
Programs Stuck In The Past : Michigan, Miami, and ND have a long way to go. They act like they are elite programs, but they haven’t been for a while. It won’t happen overnight.
Jake Locker : Draft stock may be confused with Enron’s.
Andrew and his stupid Ducks.

Arsenal Leeds Highlights FA Cup Third Round

Arsenal 0-1 Leeds

Arsenal 1-1 Leeds