The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year...

Its that time of year again, Bowl Season! I finally get to melt into my couch and reap the benefits of Sanity’s win over the surging Media. Every season the media, and coaches who get “cheated”, come out and bash the BCS and do what they can to make it seem like the worst idea ever. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like it and I think we need a +1 format, but we were so close to the media taking it out on fans by “breaking” the BCS. Had Boise State played TCU for the National Title, gah, I don’t even want to think about it.

I’m cheating a little before I get to the bowls since I have to say something about the Heisman race. The award gets handed out on Saturday and I’d hate to write about it after the fact. Even though the award has one obvious winner, this could be one of the most interesting/controversial votes in a while. Lets look at the guys making the trip to NY, listed in order of probable voting.

Cam Newton (QB, Auburn) - Just based on what he has done on the field this year he is the hands down winner. Newton won the Maxwell Award (Best Player), Davey O’Brien Award (Best QB), and the Walter Camp Award (Player Of The Year)… so why is there a debate? Reggie Bush. Well, more accurately, Cecil Newton. Apparently Cecil Newton was stupid enough to try and get around $200,000 from Mississippi State to sign his son out of a JUCO, this supposedly happened without Cam’s knowledge. This is, of course, an NCAA rules violation and should result in the suspension of Cam Newton… but it hasn’t. Auburn ruled him ineligible just for shits and giggles, then asked the NCAA to reinstate him, and they did. Now back to Reggie Bush, he had something similar to this happen to him. An agent gave his parents benefits while at USC, he was later ruled ineligible, and was more or less forced to forfeit his Heisman. How Cam Newton keeps on playing is beyond me, not to mention nobody has said anything about whether Auburn came up with the cash. Auburn and Newton have been silent on this issue, which brings us back to the Heisman and a concern among voters. Bush’s Heisman forfeit was a first and shame, so with all of this swirling around less than a year later, are voters going to vote for a guy who could have to forfeit the trophy down the road? The Bush scenario is so fresh in everyone’s mind that its completely possible that Newton could lose this award out of fear, but the good news is that Cecil Newton is punishing himself by staying outside of the roof where the award ceremony is held.

LaMichael James (HB, Oregon) - Leads the nation in rushing yards (1682) and TD (21), key offensive weapon in the Oregon’s flashy offense, good national exposure, so why could he fall below Luck? James dealt with a pre-season battery charge with his (hopefully) ex-girlfriend, and its been hanging over his head all season. I was delighted to see yet another Oregon player struggling with the law, Andrew can back me up on that, but about a month ago I heard more about the whole situation. Apparently James got into an altercation with his then girlfriend, who reportedly attacked him, and he pushed her down. She pressed charges and he plead guilty to battery to get it all over with, but its been a bad press zombie and seems to be tainting his image. I’m not saying what he did was ok, but the media has been dragging out the battery charge like he punched her lights out for no reason. The bad press could sway Heisman voters away from his on field accomplishments, but then again battery might look pretty good compared to the mess Cam Newton is in.

The contenders, sadly Kevin Riley didn't make the cut.

Andrew Luck (QB, Stanfurd) - This is really close, he could be #2 by quite a bit and would be the biggest benefactor of a Heisman voter revolt. I think he steals a lot of Newton votes and has come on strong toward the end of the season. He enjoyed two consecutive complete demolitions (Cal & Oregon State) to end the season, and has been everyone’s pick for #1 overall in the NFL draft all year. Its no secret he is good, so if the voters turn sour on Newton look for Luck to finish very close to the top.

Kellen Moore (QB, Boise State) - First of all, Moore is a really good QB. The guy has been excellent since starting as a true freshman, but he plays in Idaho so few people get to see him. Sadly his entire Heisman campaign rested on the fortunes of Boise State which didn’t turn out so well. Voters will remember poor Kyle Brotzman boning two game winning FG instead of Moore’s insane 54 yard bomb to Titus Young that put the Broncos in position to win.

Bowl Schedule Highlights

Sad Trombone Bowl (MAACO Bowl Las Vegas) - Utah vs. Boise State. How the once thought to be mighty have fallen. Two teams once in the Top 5 who had decent shots at the National Title game, with some help, find themselves duking it out in a lower tier bowl. This should be a pretty good game, but I doubt either team is saying "Oh wow, we get to play in the MAACO Bowl!" after sniffing at a BCS game.

The BCS Took Our Teams Bowl (Outback Bowl) - Florida vs. Penn State. How do you get two 7-5 teams having bad seasons in a nationally televised New Years Day game? You send a bunch of your teams to BCS bowl games of course. The SEC is sending Auburn (SEC Champ) and Arkansas, and the top heavy Big 10 is sending Wisconsin (Big 10 Champ) and Ohio State. Everyone slides up, and now you get teams with vanilla records that got their teeth kicked in within their conference (Both 4-4) playing each other. I can't wait.

Random Local Sponsor Bowl Game (Beef 'O'Brady's St. Petersburg Bowl) - Southern Miss vs. Louisville. Nothing says bowl season like C-USA vs. Big East in a baseball stadium, unless you throw in a local sponsor and make the game irrelevant.

Best On Paper (Discover Orange Bowl) - Stanfurd vs. Virginia Tech. I hate to say it, I really do, but this could be the best game. I wanted to go with the title game because it could be 77-70 at halftime, but I have a feeling this could be close. VT just seems to keep winning, and Stanfurd is the favorite, but you just don't know. I also wouldn't be surprised if Stanfurd trampled all over VT, I'll have to wait and see.

Worst On paper (New Mexico Bowl) - BYU vs. UTEP. Nothing excites me more than two teams that are just barely bowl eligible going at it. I can hardly contain the joy. I almost went with the Holiday Bowl which features a Nebraska-Washington rematch, but I'm willing to bet Bo Pelini loses his cool and the Huskers win with something similar to their 56-21 victory earlier this year.

Lord Ferg, Forgive Me

I'm sure Sir Alex Ferguson is sending his spies after me right now, and I'd like to beg for mercy. I've gone and helped the enemy, and to make it worse I didn't make any money.

A higher-up at the LA Gooners, an Arsenal supporters group, asked me to help him out with a few shirts and I forsook my allegiances in the name of comedy. You can buy the shirt through the LA Gooners, sadly none of the proceeds will find their way into my pockets.

The shirt in action.

For those of you that don't get it, Emmanuel Eboué is an unabashed Jesus freak who likes making shirts as well.

Bonus points for using the current EPL font.

Bundesliga : Really Late Stock Report

Oh boy, am I behind on this. Perhaps being at Danny Coyle's every Saturday or Sunday morning at 430AM for just about the entire EPL season isn't a good idea, at least I get to watch good football. I'm also distracted by college football, the NFL, a (crappy) World Series, and something about LeBron James. Well, I'm all out of excuses, let get down to it.

Borussia Dortmund : UP. Top of the Bundesliga and they bookend a tepid run with solid wins over Bayern Munich (2-0) and Mainz (2-0). They managed a 1-1 draw to PSG in the Europa League and TSG Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga, then followed it up with a loss (in penalties) to OFC Kickers in the DFB-Pokal (German Cup). Despite a sorry run there they sit atop the Bundesliga, play the most attractive football I've seen from any league team, and are turning into serious favorites to win my devotion.

Yes, we can read.

Side Note : Read an interesting article on the role of Japanese players in Germany and how they have managed to get a foot in the door. The Bundesliga currently has four Japanese players, and Kagawa is quickly becoming the most popular... at least in Dortmund.

Werder Bremen : DOWN. These guys are almost in free fall, and are back to playing like crap. They have managed to lose three straight games in three different competitions. They lost to Bayern Munich 2-1 in the DFB-Pokal, Nurnberg 3-2 in the league, and 2-0 to Twente in the Champions League. They are currently 11th, have a negative goal differential (-2), and I'm not seeing much from potential Man Crush Marko Marin. To make things worse, they have to beat Spurs and Inter to stay in the Champions League AND pray that Twente does the same... not good.

Another Side Note : I will never get this, but why is Nürnberg "Nuremberg" in English? Why is München "Munich" to us?! It's not like we can't pronounce it, or it can't be spelled with our alphabet. This bothers me.

Bayer Leverkusen : DOWN. Another club enjoying a tepid run punctuated by draws and losses. At least they lost to a Bundesliga team (Borussia Monchengladbach) in the DFB-Pokal, and beat Schalke in their last league game. The good news is that Ballack hasn't touched the pitch since September 11th, and they are currently 4th, so its not all bad.

Cue sad trombone.

Eintracht Frankfurt : UP. These guys are on fire lately, going 4-1-0 in their past five games which includes a DFB-Pokal win over a Bundesliga team (Hamburg SV). I still can't name anyone on the squad without looking them up, but they seem to be getting it done. I can't help but think they are riding a bizarre hot streak, maybe its because their 30 year old Greek striker leads the Bundesliga with 9 goals. It doesn't really matter, they are playing well, scoring goals (13 in 5 games), playing defense (4 allowed), and most importantly winning.

Kaisersluatern : DOWN. Oh how the mighty have fallen. Well, they weren't really mighty to start out, but they sure played like it. 1FCK is down to 14th, just three points clear of the relegation zone, and this is after winning their last two games in convincing fashion. They drubbed Arminia Bielefeld (Worst team in the Zweiteliga) and Borussia Monchengladbach (Worst in the Bundesliga) 3-0. A win is a win, but they don't have alot to brag about. If they can take down Leverkusen this coming weekend and make Ballack stare in stone-faced silence I'll move them up the list.

VfL Wolfsburg : NO CHANGE. Wolfsburg isn't moving mainly because they don't have much farther to fall. They seem to be having alot of off field issues, but at least they have won their last three games to crawl into 12th place. The whole Edin Dzeko saga is a real headache, and may continue to be one until the transfer window opens in January. Dzeko has an insane €40 million buy-out clause in his contract, which eliminates all but the richest and stupidest clubs *cough* Manchester City *cough*. Despite this, the guy seems desperate to leave the sinking ship that is Wolfsburg. I just went through the Rooney saga, I don't need to get into another transfer/contract/wages conspiracy.

Fantasy Baseball, The End

Oh Baseball Gods, how fickle you are. The misery is finally over for me and the insufferable arrogance can resume at Andrew's, this is going to be a long offseason.

I probably spoke too soon when I said I was in standings purgatory, well, actually I did speak too soon. The Baseball Gods were kind enough to "shut down" a number of my players, which means they don't go on the DL and I can't replace them. Tulo, Yadier Molina, and Justin Upton found themselves lounging on the bench for the last week and I started my slide toward 4th. The Gods are cruel, very cruel.

Shoosh. I sure hope he makes the finals.

Andrew stayed in first and never had much trouble fending off the rest of us. The team in second suffered Shut Down hell and slid slowly away from 1st over the last week or so. The team that passed me didn't have a chance at 1st, so Andrew could sit back and enjoy his Cardinals failure to reach the playoffs.

Oh well, maybe next year.

Current Status
Bert - The Dude abides.
Andrew - Far out, far fucking out.

Sanity 1 - Media 0... For Now

Sanity finally struck back this week, if only for a little while. My fears of a bogus 2010-11 season are still there, but now there may be a savior in position to save us all. I'm talking about Oregon jumping TCU and Boise State in the rankings. We now have a viable team to sneak into #1/2 if Alabama or Ohio State lose a game. I still feel like Boise State shouldn't be ranked above a 1 loss BCS conference team when the season wraps up, that's how bad I think the WAC is.

I still have nightmares that the media is going to make a mess of this. Some idiot is still giving Boise State a first place vote, and I'm willing to bet if Alabama falls to one of the many tough teams on its schedule that idiot will have alot of friends. I feel a little bad that I'm so down on Boise State's title aspirations, but since its the media making a mockery of the BCS and not the team/school my hate is running at about 95% capacity.

The Bronco homers out there have been playing up their 51-6 win over Wyoming and 59-0 stomping of New Mexico State, real non-BCS powerhouses there. They have, not surprisingly, overlooked their much slimmer wins over paper tiger Virginia Tech (33-30) and Oregon State (37-24). Virginia Tech, who was #10 to start the season, went on to lose to an FCS school. Hopefully this destroys the "We beat VT!" argument, since it doesn't seem to be all that difficult. My only hope is that Nevada wins or hangs a bunch of points on Boise State, at this rate the Broncos could blow out their entire conference.

59-0 over the worst team in the 8th best conference? Yawn.

I'm very happy about Oregon's rise for a few reasons. The first one is that they beat Stanfurd to do it, and oh do I hate Stanfurd. I would give almost anything to see Harbaugh's head explode after they were up 31-24 at halftime and let Oregon destroy them with 28 unanswered points in the second half. A win over #9 Stanfurd is much more impressive than beating the Wyomings and New Mexico States of the world. They should also get a little media-idiocy bonus because Stanfurd's QB, Andrew Luck, is the popular pick for the #1 overall pick in the NFL draft (Buffalo, here he comes!).

My second reason is I think Oregon genuinely has a chance of going 12-0, and a 12-0 Oregon is a lock over Boise State. I'm a Cal fan, and I will sadly be cheering for Oregon to whup on us so they can keep the Broncos out of the title game. I don't think Oregon is a fluke, and should beat everyone in the Pac-10. I am worried about the depth of the Pac-10, it wouldn't shock me or anyone if they lost to USC or Oregon State. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if Cal beat them at home, weirder things have happened. Lets just hope LaMichael James can keep his hands on the ball and off his girlfriend's throat (too soon?), he is just tearing it up on the ground and could be in the Heisman hunt if he keeps it up.

Sporno? Probably.

Well, its still early so the media will have plenty of chances to screw things up. I'm sure if VT finishes the year 11-2 someone will revive the "We beat VT!" argument and spread some insanity. Lets just hope that Alabama and Ohio State don't slip up *cough* LSU and Michigan *cough* and leave an opening for Boise State to jump into the title game.

Bundesliga : Stock Report Week 7

I finally get a week off after this for an International Break, I'm actually lucky I can't watch all of these games. I think it would be way too much work to follow everything, I may have bitten off more than I can chew just following a few Bundesliga teams. Damn NFL, NCAA, MLB, and EPL.

Borussia Dortmund : UP. Win 2-0 against Bayern Munich. Dortmund won, quite convincingly, but after watching this game I can see why Bayern is playing so poorly. They are without Ribery and Robben (their two best offensive weapons), and it showed against Dortmund. Dortmund didn't play all that well in the first half, and should have been down at least 1-0, but they came out and put Bayern away in the second half. Sad to see one of my World Cup mancrushes, Holger Badstuber of Bayern, play like crap.

Lucas Barrios scored his 4th, and spurned Argentina. I like this guy.

Werder Bremen : NO CHANGE. Drew 2-2 with Leverkusen. I wish I could have watched this game since Marin scored and Per Mertesacker made his return.

Bayer Leverkusen : NO CHANGE. Drew 2-2 with Werder Bremen, couldn't watch and they managed not to get blown out like they did against Inter in the Champions League.

Kaisersluatern : NO CHANGE. Lose 2-1 to Hamburg. Didn't get to watch this game either, but they are not looking good. 1FCK is falling down the table fast and find themselves 2 clear of the relegation zone.

Eintracht Frankfurt : UP. Beat Stuttgart 2-1 and fly clear of the relegation zone, I'm not cure what to make of these guys yet. They win 3 in a row then drop 2, have only scored more than 2 goals once (4-0 over Borrussia Monchengladbach), and haven't been able to draw once.

VfL Wolfsburg : NO CHANGE. Draw 1-1 against Monchengladbach. McClaren has been able to turn them around (3-0-1) after a horrible start (0-3-0) and find themselves in the middle of the table. They could still sneak into the Top 3, but they are going to have to finish the season strong.

Bundesliga : Stock Report, Week 6

Another late report, you can blame it on the apocalyptic state of the Bundesliga. If you aren't sitting down you probably should...ok... Bayern Munich is not top of the table. Something crazy is happening this season, and lowly Mainz is 6-0-0 and top of the world. I'm going to put it all on sample size, the season is still young and Mainz has been playing well beyond their means. If you watch them nothing jumps out at you, they are a very organized vanilla no-name team that has been playing well. I'll put my money on Dortmund to finish above Mainz, and I'll be shocked if they finish in a Champions League spot (Top 3).

Borussia Dortmund : UP. Dortmund are on fire, winning 3-1 over St. Pauli and sitting #2 in the Bundesliga. Shinji Kagawa scores his fourth goal of the season, and they only have to play Bayern Munich next week.

Werder Bremen : NO CHANGE. Beat rival Hamburg 3-2, they had a 2-0 lead at the half and allowed two goals in 4' to start the second half. I finally got to see Marko Marin score, the guy reminds me of a not-as-funny Andrei Arshavin who actually looks his age. I'm so late on this report that Bremen have just finished their Champions League game against Inter, a bad 4-0 loss.

Side Note : Finally figured out what happened to Per Mertesacker, he took an elbow to an eye in an international friendly. Apparently it broke his eye socket and their were concerns of permanent damage to his vision, looks like he will be ok.

Bayer Leverkusen : NO CHANGE.

Kaisersluatern : NO CHANGE. Lose 0-1 to Hannover 96 in a dull game. Kaiserslautern had a few chances to score but let Hannover take this one. They are really falling down the table now and have probably settled into the bottom half for good.

VfL Wolfsburg : NO CHANGE. Didn't get to watch their 2-1 win over Freiburg. Grafite nets twice.

Eintracht Frankfurt : NO CHANGE. Win 2-0 over Nurnberg, vault out of the relegation zone... barely.