College Football Quiz: 1) Who was the coach at Oregon State in 2000 when the Beavers had their best AP finish, No. 4? [Big name…was there four years] 2) Who is Pitt’s career passing leader? [And it’s not even close] 3) Who was Pitt’s quarterback for the 1976 national title team? [Different from 2.] 4) Who are the only two Purdue quarterbacks to throw for over 10,000 yards, both in the NFL today? Answers below.
Sandusky Speaks
No one understands why Jerry Sandusky decided to talk to Bob Costas on Monday, especially with his attorney sitting next to the NBC broadcaster. Costas asked Sandusky if he was a pedophile.
“I am innocent of those charges…I could say that I have done some of those things. I have horsed around with kids, I have showered after workouts. I have hugged them and I have touched their legs without intent of sexual contact.”
Asked if there was anything he did do wrong, Sandusky said, “I shouldn’t have showered with those kids.”
And Penn State assistant coach Mike McQueary said he had stopped an alleged rape of a 10-year-old boy by Sandusky at an athletic facility shower in 2002 and discussed it with police, according to an e-mail that McQueary sent a former classmate that an Allentown, Pa., paper got hold of.
Back to Costas, picture his amazement when he sat down with Sandusky’s attorney Joseph Amendola for an interview on NBC’s “Rock Center” when about 20 minutes before their scheduled talk, Amendola (who has his own significant baggage, having impregnated a 16-year-old client) said Costas could talk to Sandusky by phone. Costas said there were “no restrictions” and he told Amendola, “You realize this questioning will be pointed. And he said, fine.”
On such short notice, Costas performance was memorable, even as it wasn’t supposed to be about him, nor did Costas make it such; he just did a superb job of letting Sandusky hang himself.
I suspect Costas will have another chance to shine in next summer’s London Olympic Games, which he’ll be hosting. I’d be shocked if there isn’t a non-sports news item of note about then, as I’ve hinted at in my “Week in Review” columns, not that I have much to do with that one.
And on the search for a successor to Joe Paterno, since I brought it up the other day, the New York Times’ Pete Thamel had an article and here is his list of potential candidates.
Mike London (Virginia), Al Golden (Miami), Greg Schiano (Rutgers), Urban Meyer (formerly Florida…though top candidate at Ohio State)…these are Thamel’s top picks
Pat Fitzgerald (Northwestern), Dan Mullen (Mississippi State), Troy Calhoun (Air Force), Bret Bielema (Wisconsin).
Third tier: Jim Grobe (Wake Forest), Gary Pinkel (Missouri) and Kirk Ferentz (Iowa).
1. LSU
2. Oklahoma State
3. Alabama
4. Oregon
5. Oklahoma
6. Arkansas
10. Boise State
11. Houston
“Alabama crept closer to Oklahoma State…The Tide plays FCS member Georgia Southern this week, then finishes up against an Auburn team that should be 7-4 when they meet. Auburn is 24th in this week’s BCS standings.
“As with Alabama, Oregon’s only loss is to LSU; the Ducks lost on a neutral field and the Tide lost at home. Oregon is .0344 behind the Tide. The Ducks should get a nice computer bump if they beat USC this weekend. The Trojans are 8-2, and while they are ineligible for the postseason and to be ranked in the BCS, their record suggests they probably would be in the mid-teens in the BCS standings. Thus, beating them will provide a bump for the Ducks. But Oregon’s final game is against a two-win Oregon State team.
“Everyone has been talking about the possibility of an Alabama-LSU rematch in the title game, but Oregon now is in a position to potentially get a rematch, as well.”
As for Oklahoma…the Sooners “have the ‘best’ remaining schedule of the once-beaten teams. They face Baylor, which is 22nd in the BCS standings, this week. They play a mediocre Iowa State team on Nov. 26 before closing out the regular season at Oklahoma State on Dec. 3.”
But here’s the deal with Boise State. They remain the highest-ranked non-Big Six conference team.
“A non-Big Six team that is a conference champion is guaranteed a BCS spot in two ways. One is if it finishes in the top 12; the other is if it is ranked in the top 16 and its ranking is higher than that of a conference champion with an automatic berth. This week, the Broncos are higher than any team from the Big East; indeed, there is no Big East team in the standings this week.
“One problem for Boise: Unless TCU falls apart and loses to Colorado State and UNLV, who have a combined five wins between them, the Horned Frogs are going to win the Mountain West title. TCU is 19th in the BCS standings this week.
“Houston (10-0) has its two toughest league opponents upcoming: SMU this week and Tulsa to close out the regular season. If the Cougars win the West Division of Conference USA, they would meet the East Division winner, likely Southern Miss, which is 20th in the BCS this week, for the league title.
“Under BCS rules, only one non-Big Six team is guaranteed a spot if it meets the criteria. Any others would be at-large candidates. At-large candidates must have at least nine victories and finish in the top 14 in the final BCS standings.”
Bottom line…Houston, should they run the table these next three weeks, would get the BCS nod, unless Boise gets a ton of help from TCU. I also just don’t see Boise getting an at-large bid. Oh, but for another missed field goal, right Broncos fans?
“The Big East has no team ranked in this week’s AP top 25, but BCS rules mandate its champion receive a major BCS bowl bid. Cincinnati (7-2, 3-1) at Rutgers (7-3, 3-2) is the best the league can offer this week. Viewer discretion advised.”
“The BCS, imagine that, could actually end up getting off the hook.”
“The Sugar Bowl, because it lost LSU to the title game, will get to pick Alabama, and the Fiesta Bowl, a Big 12 partner, will get to sub in Oklahoma for Oklahoma State.
“After that, the Fiesta Bowl this season gets first pick in the selection order and will almost assuredly take one-loss Stanford.
“The Sugar Bowl, selecting next, would gobble up undefeated Houston, with the Orange Bowl being left with the Big East champion.”
Of course if Arkansas upsets LSU on Nov. 25, and Oklahoma beats Oklahoma State…it’s chaos!
By the way, don’t waste your time offering me Orange Bowl tickets.
Ball Bits
–No suspense when it comes to the Cy Young Award winners this year, as Detroit’s Justin Verlander was the unanimous winner in the A.L. and the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw should be close to it in the N.L. when they announce on Thursday. Both won the pitching triple crown; leading their league in wins, ERA, and strikeouts. As the New York Times’ Tyler Kepner points out, it was the first season with two triple crowns since 1924, when Walter Johnson of Washington won in the A.L. and Dazzy Vance of Brooklyn won in the N.L.
But Verlander’s performance has many believing he was the league MVP as well (announced this coming Monday). Since the creation of the Cy Young Award in 1956, nine pitchers have also won the MVP in the same season. I’m not going to give the names because I’ll use it in a future quiz; except to say the last one was Dennis Eckersley in 1992.
One thing about Verlander, however, his regular season success hasn’t translated to the postseason, where he is just 3-3 with a 5.57 ERA.
—Joe Maddon (Tampa Bay) and Kirk Gibson (Arizona) won their respective Manager of the Year awards.
–Mets shortstop Jose Reyes received a six-year, $90 million offer from the Miami Marlins. No way the Mets match it. But as the Daily News’ Bill Madden reports, other teams once thought to be in the Reyes Sweepstakes appear to be pulling out; namely the Giants, Angels, Brewers and Nationals. “Assuming all of these GMs are not just playing it coy,” writes Madden, “it could well be that the Mets’ only competition for Reyes will be the Marlins.” Hmmm…perhaps the plot thickens.
–The Los Angeles Times’ T.J. Simers…on the signing of Dodgers’ superstar Matt Kemp to an 8-year, $160 million extension and what it means in terms of owner Frank McCourt, in bankruptcy and in the process of selling the team.
“(I wonder) why (McCourt’s) spending $160 million of the next owner’s money on Kemp?
“His motto, Dodgers insiders say, is ‘What’s good for Frank.’ So what’s good for Frank here?
“Is it really just some last-ditch effort to improve his image, spending someone else’s money to make him look better?
“The Dodgers still had the rights to Kemp for another year. If he became a free agent, tell me Frank wouldn’t have liked to see him in a Red Sox uniform a year from now. [Ed. McCourt has substantial interests in Boston and once tried to buy the Red Sox.]
“If Kemp became a free agent, the new Dodgers owner would have to overpay to keep him to make a good first impression with fans here. Why is Frank trying to make it easier on the new owner?
“Does Frank already know who the new owner will be? Will the auction process be a charade, Frank’s choice already calling the shots from the wings?
“Our Dylan Hernandez reports the Dodgers have made the decision to reduce the payroll. Why?
“Why not sign Prince Fielder if Frank is so interested in helping the Dodgers by securing Kemp?….
“Major League Baseball says there are no restrictions on what Frank does now so long as he doesn’t draw attention from the bankruptcy judge. They said signing a high-priced free agent would be considered normal business.
“But the Dodgers won’t be signing big-name free agents….
“Frank has selected the investment firm that will do the sale. He will pick the buyer, if he hasn’t already. MLB has final approval, but Frank’s choice will gain approval because he will have money. We know this because Frank needs lots of it.
“How would you feel knowing the new owner is already in bed with Frank? How would other bidders feel knowing they never had a chance?
“Would you want as big a conniver as the one who is leaving?”
—Mike Matheny, a former catcher with the Cardinals, as well as others in a 13-year big league career, was tabbed by St. Louis to replace Tony La Russa.
–Former pitcher Charlie Lea was found dead at his home in Collierville, Tenn., of a suspected heart attack. He was 54.
Lea was born in Orleans, France, and raised in Memphis. He had a 62-48 lifetime mark with a 3.54 ERA for Montreal and Minnesota from 1980-88. But it was on May 10, 1981, that Lea threw a no-hitter as the Expos beat the Giants. He was also the starting and winning pitcher for the N.L. in the 1984 All-Star Game. From 1982-84, he went 12-10, 16-11 and 15-10 for Les Expos.
NBA Fever…Catch It!
“David Stern keeps waiting for this monumental insurrection from NBA players furious over their leadership. Stern figured the players, desperate over losing paychecks and not meeting payments on their luxury vehicles, would have bowed down to the owners by now and proclaimed their sincere thanks for giving them anything while not detonating the entire season.
“But he didn’t count on Paul Pierce pulling a Norma Rae, declaring militant solidarity despite the fact his graying Celtics might lose their last shot at contending for a title. Stern didn’t count on the divide in his own constituency, between hard-line and let’s-get-this-damn-season-started owners, who are further apart at the moment than the players have ever been in this labor war….
“ ‘We’re about to go into the nuclear winter of the NBA season,’ Stern said after the players union disbanded, ending collective bargaining talks and thrusting their game of economic chicken into the courts, where it is expected to reside for at least the next several weeks.”
Wise: “What really happened Monday was Stern and the owners backed the players into a corner with an ultimatum to accept their latest proposal, which included a 50-50 split of revenue. The players balked, citing system issues that would restrict movement of players and the value and length of contracts, and now a judge decides whether Stern and the owners are a bunch of intransigent bullies or the players have no merit on their claim and need to sign the deal or else.”
Wise: “Other than flushing $4 billion, this is a good question, especially when 76 percent of respondents in a national poll on Nov. 6 said they don’t care that the NBA lost its first month of the season and, more telling, less than eight percent of those 30 or older said they miss professional basketball.
“The only way the NBA hopes to keep or grow its over-30 audience is to play this year. Yes, just at the exact time Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose are beginning to move the popularity needle and fill the void of a retired Shaquille O’Neal and an aging Kevin Garnett, a lost season effectively ends Jason Kidd’s career, Boston’s fading championship hopes, Tim Duncan’s proper farewell, and denies the league’s geezers a chance to keep the Heat from winning its first championship with LeBron James….
“Stern is of course playing his usual divide-and-conquer game, getting the players to believe he plans to really cancel the entire season tomorrow and deprive 450 men, with only a finite number of years to earn this kind of money, their $2 billion share of the pie.
“ ‘Players whose last year was this season will have their careers end,’ he said, ominously. ‘What they’ve done is destroyed incredible value.’
“But what Stern is toying with destroying is worse: a mutually respectful relationship with his business partners going forward. His ‘take it or leave it’ gamble backfired.”
Stern is an “A-hole of the Year” candidate. Not that I give a damn about the NBA and an eventual season, but I’m on the players’ side in this one.
College Basketball
AP Poll
1. UNC
2. Kentucky…beat No. 11 Kansas, 75-65, Tues.
3. Ohio State…defeated Florida, 81-74, Tues.
4. UConn
5. Syracuse
6. Duke
7. Florida
8. Louisville
9. Pitt
10. Memphis
I forgot to note last time that Vanderbilt lost to Cleveland State, Sunday, 71-58 (your editor picking Vandy for his Final Four).
Meanwhile, UCLA started the season by losing to Loyola Marymount and Middle Tennessee State.
And Mike Krzyzewski picked up win number 903 to pass Bob Knight as Duke defeated Michigan State, 74-69, at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.
—Drew Brees has thrown a touchdown pass in 37 consecutive regular-season games. Johnny Unitas has the record at 47. [Unitas missed two games to injury during the streak, Brees has missed one…the NFL doesn’t count them in terms of records such as this.]
–I posted the last column during the Jets-Pats game and so didn’t comment on it. Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez is one frustrating player. Yes, he already has four playoff wins under his belt, with many greats never getting that many in their career, but the third-year signal-caller continues to make awful decisions in the clutch, like the one on Sunday where he called a timeout before the Jets went in for a score, thus saving about 17 extra seconds for Tom Brady to march down the field right before the half. Coach Rex Ryan correctly called it “the stupidest play in NFL history” in the heat of the moment, but then backtracked the rest of the week in praising Sanchez.
–Back to Brees, after about Week Six, there was all kinds of chatter that a slew of quarterbacks were going to best Dan Marino’s single-season mark of 5,084 yards, 318 per game.
But now only three are at that pace, as is inevitably the situation as a season evolves, the weather deteriorates and the players get banged up.
Tom Brady (N.E.) 336.9 per game
Drew Brees (N.O.) 332.6
Aaron Rodgers (G.B.) 318.8
But Welker has slowed down in a big way in his last four contests and is now leading the NFL at 111.8. Steve Smith (Car.) is next at 105.7.
So I’ll say Brady and Brees do end up beating Marino. Rodgers won’t due to the fact that the Packers should be holding him out of the fourth quarter of a few games down the stretch, assuming they have big leads.
Welker, though, is an interesting bet. New England isn’t going to be running away with anything and Welker should remain on the receiving end of a 1/3 of Brady’s throws, the latter playing virtually all the way the remainder of the season. But for the sake of a bet (let’s say just $50,000… we’re friends after all), I’ll say Welker finishes at 108 per game. Rice is secure.
Stuff
–One race to go for NASCAR and it is the closest championship fight since the sport introduced the 10-race Chase format in 2004. Only two drivers have a shot at the Sprint Cup title…Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart, Edwards being three points ahead. It could literally come down to the last lap, these two racing against each other for positioning, so try and check in on the race Sunday from time to time to see what the situation is and how many laps remain.
–This sucks…the University of Maryland, in looking to tackle a multimillion dollar deficit in the athletic program, is looking to drop eight of 27 varsity teams. So what gets cut?
Men’s indoor track and field, outdoor track and field, cross-country; men’s swimming and diving; women’s swimming and diving; men’s tennis; women’s water polo; and aerobics and tumbling.
On the second thought…give me a break. Why are women’s water polo and ‘aerobics and tumbling’ varsity sports?! These should have been ‘club’ activities all along. I forget who first brought this up in the past year as part of the overall debate about big-time college athletics, but so many of the sports should just be on the club level to begin with. Rugby is at the club level most places, lacrosse at a lot of schools, such as the women’s version. They raise their own funds and have the same great competitive experience as their ‘varsity’ brethren have. They do not deserve consideration for athletic scholarships.
—Manny Pacquiao wants a fourth fight against Juan Manuel Marquez before a super-fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. Promoter Bob Arum said the Mayweather bout “can still be there for us in November [2012].” But rival promoter and former fighter Oscar De La Hoya said the 42-0 Mayweather has already reserved May 5 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for the dream fight.
Pacquiao, though, according to Arum, agrees his controversial majority decision Saturday night over Marquez “did not have the finish he wanted,” which justified a fourth bout between the two, first. Arum wants Pacquiao-Marquez IV in April or June, possibly at Cowboys Stadium.
On Nov. 19, 1863, President Lincoln opened his Gettysburg Address with now-famous words:
“Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal,” he said.
Lincoln gave his address at the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery on the battlefield of Gettysburg, Pa., commemorating the battle of July 1-3, 1863.
More than 51,000 Confederate and Union soldiers were killed, wounded or missing after the battle, counted as a victory for the Union.
The main speaker at the dedication was Edward Everett, one of the nation’s foremost orators, according to experts of that time. But while Everett spoke for more than two hours, Lincoln spoke for just two minutes, giving one of the most significant speeches in American history.
So any of you in sales, remember this! Just don’t use the same speech; or at least update the year.
–“A farmer in South Africa was killed by his pet hippopotamus – despite repeated warnings that it was a wild animal that could never be tamed.
“Marius Els, 40, an army major, was bitten to death by the 1.2-ton hippo he christened Humphrey and tried to domesticate on a farm in Free State province on Saturday.
“Major Els’ savaged body was found submerged in the river where, years earlier, the hippo had been rescued from a flood….
“This year, Major Els was photographed riding on the five-year-old hippo’s back.
“ ‘Humphrey’s like a son to me, he’s just like a human,’ he said. ‘There’s a relationship between me and Humphrey and that’s what some people don’t understand. They think you can only have a relationship with dogs, cats and domestic animals. But I have a relationship with the most dangerous animal in Africa.’…
“Armed with giant canine teeth, hippos are said to kill more people each year than lions, elephants, leopards, buffalo and rhinos combined. They can move at speeds of up to 50km/h despite weighing up to three tons.” [Sydney Morning Herald]
–According to the Nature Conservancy, about 50,000 to 60,000 orangutans remain, living in scattered, degraded forests, putting them in frequent, and often deadly, conflict with humans. In carrying out a survey to get a better handle on the population, the conservancy estimates 750 were killed over a 12-month period on the Indonesian side of Borneo, both to protect crops and to eat their meat.
— “Mad Men” creator Matthew Weiner on how the series will play out with season five finally debuting in March, but seven seasons planned in all.
“I do know how the whole show ends,” Weiner said. “It came to me in the middle of last season. I always felt like it would be the experience of human life. And human life has a destination. It doesn’t mean Don (Draper’s) gonna die. What I’m looking for, and how I hope to end the show, is like…it’s 2011. Don Draper would be 84 right now. I want to leave the show in a place where you have an idea of what it meant and how it’s related to you.”
Weiner added, “Do I know everything that’s gonna happen? No, I don’t. But I just want it to be entertaining, and I want people to remember it fondly and not think it ended in a fart.”
—Culture Alert! On Dec. 13, the New York City Ballet is staging their famous production of “The Nutcracker." What makes this different is it will be shown live in 530 theaters around the country, in HD, at 6 p.m. The Metropolitan Opera has had success with some of their productions in the same fashion. So, hey, parents, good thing to do with the little ones.
[Just checked the theaters…go to the New York City Ballet site…easy to find…tickets go on sale Nov. 18 and we’re talking Alaska to New York for showings; $20 adults, $16 children.]
Top 3 songs for the week 11/19/77: #1 “You Light Up My Life” (Debby Boone…I was in the midst of the worst semester ever known to mankind at Wake Forest ) #2 “Boogie Nights” (Heatwave…on the way to four solid, err, can’t say…) #3 “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” (Crystal Gayle…tripped on her hair and fractured her hip)…and…#4 “It’s Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next To Me” (Barry White…pop in Barry and, ahhh, you know, he’s good at setting the mood, guys…) #5 “Baby, What A Big Surprise” (Chicago…my how my parents were surprised when they finally saw my grades!) #6 “How Deep Is Your Love” (Bee Gees…in my case it was beer, the frat and a girl from Ohio) #7 “Heaven On The 7th Floor” (Paul Nicholas…dreadful) #8 “We’re All Alone” (Rita Coolidge) #9 “Blue Bayou” (Linda Ronstadt…oh, I was blue alright) #10 “Nobody Does It Better” (Carly Simon… but no one had a good time like I did the fall of ’77… though I don’t recommend you try to emulate me, you younger folk out there…I was a professional partyer/goofer offer, after all)
College Football Quiz Answers: 1) Dennis Erickson coached Oregon State for four years, 1999-2002, including their 11-1 season in 2000 (Chad Johnson was a receiver on that team). 2) Pitt’s career passing leader is not Dan Marino (8,597 yards), but Alex Van Pelt, 1989-92…11,267. 3) Matt Cavanaugh was Pitt’s quarterback in their 1976 national title run. 4) Two Purdue QBs to pass for over 10,000 yards…Drew Brees (1997-2000) 11,792; Curtis Painter (2005-08) 11,163.
