Note: Posted 9:00 p.m. ET, Sunday…prior to conclusion of Game 6 of NLCS.
Minnesota Vikings Quiz: 1) Name the four to rush for 5,000 yards in a Vikings uniform. 2) Name the three to throw 100 TD passes for Minnesota. Answers below.
CFB Review
[Note: Using BCS rankings for the following, thus Rutgers showing as No. 15 even though they are No. 17 USA TODAY and No. 19 AP]
No. 1 Alabama beat Tennessee 44-13.
On Thursday, No. 2 Oregon was on the road at Arizona State, with some expecting a tough contest. The Ducks proceeded to fumble on the second play from scrimmage, the Sun Devils took it in for a 7-0 lead and before you could say “Duckwear,” Oregon had scored 43 points in reply for a 43-7 halftime lead on the way to a 43-21 triumph. Oregon had 329 yards rushing in the first half.
So much for South Carolina’s BCS title hopes. The No. 7 Gamecocks lost to No. 2 Florida 44-11 in The Swamp, a week after falling to LSU in a nightmarish two-week road trip. What a bizarre game, though, as Florida took a 21-3 lead while accumulating just 29 yards in the first half. Florida scored on drives of 3, 29 and 1 yard in taking advantage of three S.C. turnovers. Florida was actually outgained for the game, 191-183.
No. 4 Kansas State blitzed No. 13 West Virginia in Morgantown, 55-14, with Wildcats quarterback Collin Klein, heretofore far better known for his rushing than his passing, going 19/21, 323, and 3 TDs through the air (and another four touchdowns on the ground). Mountaineers QB Geno Smith, who everyone (including yours truly) anointed the Heisman Trophy winner after his stupendous performance against Baylor, was held to just 143 yards and was picked off for the first two times of the season. Bye-bye Heisman. Hello Collin Klein. And what a story Kansas State coach Bill Snyder, 73, is writing.
No. 5 Notre Dame held on to beat a scrappy BYU squad 17-14 in South Bend.
No. 6 LSU outlasted No. 18 Texas A&M in College Station 24-19. A&M should have won but missed two field goals. LSU also exposed freshman quarterback sensation Johnny Manziel, picking off four of his passes.
Ohio State, unranked in USA TODAY due to being ineligible for postseason play, but No. 7 AP, roared back to defeat Purdue 29-22 in OT. Buckeye quarterback Braxton Miller was slammed to the ground in the first half and taken to the hospital where it was feared he had suffered a severe concussion, but tests were negative and he was released.
No. 8 Oregon State continued to roll, defeating Utah 21-7. This is Oregon State’s first 6-0 start since 1907. That year’s team outscored the opposition 138-0.
No. 10 USC destroyed Colorado 50-6 as Trojan quarterback Matt Barkley threw for six touchdowns and in doing so set the Pac-12 career record with 102, besting Matt Leinart’s 99. Robert Woods also became USC’s career receptions leader. The Trojans still have games against Oregon and Notre Dame, both at home, so they are very much in the BCS conversation.
No. 14 Florida State beat Miami 33-20 and kept its slim BCS hopes alive. If that sounds far-fetched, just understand they still have a season-ending contest against Florida and should be in the top ten by then.
No. 15 Rutgers fell behind Temple 10-0 at half, only to reel off 35 unanswered in the second half as quarterback Gary Nova threw for four touchdowns…final: 35-10.
No. 16 Louisville stayed undefeated, barely, in having to rally against South Florida, 27-25. A loss by Louisville would have really hurt Rutgers as the Scarlet Knights realistically have a goal of finishing in the top ten, but they need convincing wins over Louisville and Cincinnati.
Speaking of the No. 21 Bearcats, they did Rutgers no favors in losing to Toledo (7-1, 4-0 MAC) 29-23.
No. 17 Texas Tech defeated No. 23 TCU 56-53 in three overtimes. Texas Tech QB Seth Doege has entered the Heisman conversation with his 30-for-42, 318 yards and seven touchdowns performance – one in each of the three overtime periods. I have a real problem including OT #s as part of the official record, but then I guess it’s not really different from stats accumulated in overtime or extra-innings in other sports.
No. 25 Texas beat Baylor 56-50 as Joe Bergeron rushed for five touchdowns. Yes, it’s official. The Big 12 is really the WAC of yesteryear with these absurd point totals.
North Carolina State drove for the leading score against Maryland to make it 20-18 with only about 30 seconds left. But Maryland drove 60 yards in five plays, only to have their field goal attempt hit the upright from 33 as time expired.
Duke (6-2, 3-1) became bowl eligible for the first time since 1994 as they had a dramatic 33-30 win over North Carolina. Nice story. Heck, the Blue Devils could actually play in the ACC title game. Then again, they play at Florida State and host Clemson the next two weeks.
Boston College fell to 1-6 after losing to Georgia Tech 37-17, plus it failed to beat the spread of 14 ½, which as you young’uns out there understand is all that’s really important in life.
Wake Forest (4-3) defeated Virginia in Charlottesville 16-10 as Deacon coach Jim Grobe deserves credit for switching kickers after Jimmy Newman’s poor start this season. Chad Hedlund was given the job and responded by going 3-for-3 on field goals.
Vanderbilt defeated Auburn 17-13, sending the 1-6 Tigers to their worst start since 1952; amazing considering they were national champs just two seasons ago.
In a super Sun Belt Conference affair, Louisiana Monroe defeated Western Kentucky 43-42 in overtime as the Warhawks were successful on a two-point conversation. ULM was down 28-7 in the second quarter.
Nebraska played at Northwestern for the first time since 1931, with the Cornhuskers emerging victorious 29-28. But I loved this little ditty from the Los Angeles Times’ Chris Dufresne:
In 1931, “There was a different ‘shotgun’ offense at Dyche Stadium that October day. In attendance for Northwestern’s 19-7 win was gangster Al Capone, who was greeted with a ‘Bronx Cheer’ by the crowd of 40,000. The Omaha Bee-News noted Capone was ‘accompanied by ‘machine-gun Jack’ McGurn and several henchmen.’”
Division III Mount Union handed coach Larry Kehres his 324th win, fourth all time, as they defeated Otterbein 51-0. Kehres is 324-24-3, all at Mt. Union.
And now…the new AP Poll
1. Alabama 7-0
2. Oregon 7-0
3. Florida 7-0
4. Kansas State 7-0
5. Notre Dame 7-0
6. LSU 7-1
7. Oregon State 6-0…must be great fun to be in the state these days
8. Oklahoma 5-1
9. Ohio State 8-0
10. USC 6-1
11. Florida State 7-1…see, movin’ on up…
13. Mississippi State 7-0…travel to ‘Bama next week
16. Louisville 7-0
18. Rutgers 7-0
23. Ohio 7-0
24. Louisiana Tech 6-1
25. West Virginia 5-2…wow, as fast a fall as I can remember (once the season is well underway)…5th two weeks ago.
*Toledo is No. 26 if you carry it out further. Unfortunately, they don’t play Ohio the rest of the way. But could meet in MAC title game, which is Nov. 30 in Detroit. If I lived in the area, I’d be there.
1. Alabama .9625
2. Florida .9310
3. Kansas State .9111
4. Oregon .8966
5. Notre Dame .8512
6. LSU .7862
7. Oregon State .7421
8. Oklahoma .7126
15. Rutgers
NFL Bits
My Jets suffered a very tough loss up in Foxborough, losing to the Patriots 29-26 in overtime. At least Rex Ryan’s boys played a gutty game and Mark Sanchez led a fourth quarter comeback to send it into OT, though who knows what would have happened had Stephen Hill not dropped a key pass late that could have led to a touchdown rather than a field goal. At least now there is some hope that if the Jets can come back and win next week against Miami at home, they may be able to move on and salvage the season. The AFC East is obviously not loaded with powerhouses. Then again, look around the entire NFL…how many great teams do you see? One? Two? No more than that.
The New York area got its first up close look at Washington QB Robert Griffin III, and RG3 didn’t disappoint, passing for 258 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 89 against the Giants. He was at his best in a crucial fourth-and-10 conversion late that led to a ‘Skins score to take the lead, 23-20, with 1 ½ to play. Just where Eli Manning likes it and in the blink of an eye, Manning hooked up with Victor Cruz for a 77-yard TD response. Giants win, 27-23, to go to 5-2 while Washington drops to 3-4.
Tennessee running back Chris Johnson is back in top form, rushing for 195 yards on just 18 carries, including an 83-yard TD scamper, as the Titans moved to 3-4 by beating the Bills (3-4) in Buffalo, 35-34.
Aaron Rodgers had another super game, 30/37, 342, 3-0, as the Packers (4-3) beat St. Louis (3-4). For the Rams, Wake Forest alum Chris Givens had 3 receptions for 73 yards, including another 50-yarder (56), his fourth straight game with a catch in excess of 50. So on the season he is averaging 27 yards on the first ten receptions of his career. Not bad…not bad at all.
And not for nothing but Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson has made a super comeback from serious knee surgery as he seems to get better with each week, rushing for 153 as the Vikings, a very surprising 5-2, beat the Cardinals (4-3) 21-14.
Drew Brees and Josh Freeman hooked up in a shootout in Tampa Bay with the Saints prevailing 35-28. Brees threw for 377 yards and four scores, while Freeman went off for 420 and three touchdowns. The Bucs’ Vincent Jackson had seven receptions for 216.
The Ravens (5-2) lost their first game without leader Ray Lewis, 43-13 to the 6-1 Texans. Houston held Joe Flacco to 143 yards and picked him off twice.
“The four players suspended as part of the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal asked the NFL commissioner to recuse himself from the appeals process. When (Roger) Goodell did just that Friday it reverberated like an earthquake across the league’s landscape….
“By removing himself, and conferring with players union chief DeMaurice Smith as he did so, Goodell might have taken the first significant step in repairing his fractured relations with players.
“No question, Goodell still believes Jonathan Vilma, Will Smith, Anthony Hargrove and Scott Fujita were the players who most deserve to be punished for the bounty program….
“Goodell had better hope his former boss, Paul Tagliabue, whom he appointed to oversee the appeals, agrees with the gist of the previous rulings.
“If not, Goodell will really have some explaining to do.”
One conflict of interest is that Tagliabue is counsel to the law firm representing Goodell in Vilma’s defamation lawsuit. The four can play until the appeals are decided, apparently Oct. 30.
Game 1: Cards 6, Giants 4
Game 2: Giants 7, Cards 1
Game 3: Cards 3, Giants 1
Game 4: Cards 8, Giants 3
Game 5: Giants 5, Cards 0…heroic effort by Barry Zito, though
We Are the Yan-Kees!
“On Thursday, the inert, almost lifeless, New York Yankees got swept out of the playoffs. That defeat at the hands of the American League champion Detroit Tigers culminated an entire season with one stunning theme. This year marked the rapid deterioration of the biggest-budget and most glamorous teams of recent years: the Yankees, Red Sox and Phillies. Those who tried hardest to emulate them, such as the Rangers and Angels suffered just as badly. Three of the five didn’t even make the 10-team playoffs….
“The most dramatic example is the Yanks, who have assembled, and are now stuck with, a group of astronomically paid postseason chokers. Harsh words, but what else can you say? They include Mark Teixeira (.195 in eight Yankees postseason series), Robinson Cano (.222 in 11 series), Alex Rodriguez (.234 in 13), Curtis Granderson (.231 in five), Nick Swisher (.162 in eight), Brett Gardner (.215 in eight) and Russell Martin (.154, one RBI in 52 playoff at-bats as a Yankee). [Ed. I haven’t checked all these stats myself except Martin’s, which appear to be off slightly.]
“What must Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera, Bernie Williams, Paul O’Neill and other Real Yankees – who all performed exactly as well (or better) in the postseason than they did in the regular season – think of this current bunch with the $200 million price tag?
“However, the Yanks’ futility simply illustrates a trend first noticed in spring that now has played out in full: In 2012, money bought you next to nothing. Is it a one-year fluke? Whatever it is, it’s shocking.
“This season, the 15 highest payroll teams ($124 million average) won 81.4 games on average. The 15 lowest budget teams ($72 million average) won 80.6 games.”
Lots of trade talk involving Alex Rodriguez, owed $114 million over the next five years, plus he has home run incentives worth another $30 million (for passing the remaining players on the all-time list).
So can the guy who will turn 38 next year possibly be worth it? He did hit .308 against lefties in the regular season, but only .256 against righthanders. Could he be a successful full-time DH? Maybe. He hit .307 when DH’ing this season vs. just .258 when playing third. The consensus among scouts is that he is a $7 million to $10 million contract, no more.
“Are A-Rod’s chemical adventures catching up with him? This is no 0-for-21 slump suffered by Gil Hodges of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1952. Hodges was still only 28 when he started going oh-fer against the Yankees, but Manager Chuck Dressen started him in all seven games.
“That was a different age. For one thing, Hodges was already a Brooklyn icon, and fans sent religious objects to him. (Joan Hodges’ home in Brooklyn still has a trunk full of Mass cards and rosary beads.) Today, fans post vile or spurious Twitter comments rather than pray. Hodges also did not have a huge salary on his shoulders as do A-Rod and all the other becalmed Yankees sluggers.
“Besides, the World Series was a sun-spangled event, with no wild-card rounds or division rounds or championship rounds, and there was hardly time for a pattern to develop. Good pitching and solid role players have usually come to the fore in the postseason. With all due respect to Joe Girardi, his mass benching of key players might have looked like panic within the Yankees clubhouse.”
Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt…in an op-ed for the AP:
“Is the burden of money at the root of all of his problems? Alex Rodriguez, for all intents and purposes, is a good guy. His problem, at times, seems to be the perception that he comes off as insincere, insecure and even a bit fake. What mega-athlete doesn’t have that side to their personality? I did. OK, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, just off the top of my head, but that’s about where it ends.
“LeBron, Kobe and Tiger, there’s a quick three for comparison. But then the anti-A-Rod – Derek Jeter – still at a level where salary could be an issue, is beloved and respected by everyone. CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira also are on the Yankees and make over $20 million each, and they escape the daily wrath and scrutiny….
“(A-Rod) signed on for this and now he faces challenges few if any ever have. I was never benched, never removed for a pinch hitter. The Phillies believed I was always one swing from changing a game and a series. Apparently, Joe Girardi didn’t feel the same about Alex Rodriguez….
“Age is a funny thing. I seemed to hit a wall in my late 30s. I can’t explain it other than to say fastballs I used to hit a long way ended up on the warning track, nagging injuries increased, I didn’t get to groundballs I used to eat up.
“And as this happened, I began to doubt my ability. I had an excuse: I was old, so I retired. It happens to all of us. But in Alex’s case when it does – if it isn’t happening now – it won’t be that easy. He will be making $30 million a year, guaranteed! For that kind of money, you aren’t allowed to get old.”
Robinson Cano 3-40, .075
Nick Swisher 5-30, .167
A-Rod 3-25, .125
Curtis Granderson 3-30, .100
Eric Chavez 0-16, .000
“(The) Yankees have been playing postseason baseball since 1921, and only twice before had lost 4-0 in a seven-game series: to the 1976 Cincinnati Reds, the Big Red Machine, one of the great hitting teams ever assembled; and to the 1963 Dodgers of Koufax and Drysdale and Podres, who allowed only four runs in four games….
“(These) are the Yankees, who insist year after year that they expect greatness, demand it, that the corporate mission is parade-or-bust, and who do make it a perennial habit to qualify for October. But 11 times across the past 12 years they have ended their seasons like this one: slumped in quiet rooms, the din of someone else’s celebration bleeding through the walls.”
The Yankees’ .157 batting average in the four games against the Tigers compares to the .171 they compiled against the ’63 Dodgers.
In a New York Daily News poll, 72% of Yankees fans want to see the team jettison A-Rod. The same percentage hopes to see Swisher depart, who cooked his goose by complaining about the fans’ booing him.
But 75% want Robinson Cano to return.
–The Boston Red Sox hired John Farrell to be their new manager. Farrell was Boston’s pitching coach from 2007-2010 before managing the Toronto Blue Jays to a 154-170 record the past two seasons. As compensation, Boston is sending Toronto infielder Mike Aviles.
–And we note the passing of Eddie Yost, “the Walking Man,” who hit only .254 for his long major league career but had an on-base percentage of .394, better than the likes of Frank Robinson (.389), Tony Gwynn (.388) and Willie Mays (.384).
Yost played 18 seasons in the big leagues (1944-62…he did not play in 1945 due to military service), 14 with Washington, and had at least 123 walks in eight seasons, leading the league in that category six times. At one point he played in 829 consecutive games, still ninth-longest streak in history.
Mets fans will always remember Yost as the third base coach for the ’69 Miracle Mets.
–After NHL owners made an offer last week calling for a 50-50 revenue split, NHL Players Association executive director Donald Fehr expressed optimism.
But on further review, the offer didn’t look so good, as it seems clear the owners’ intent is to break up existing contracts. The union countered with three different proposals that were quickly dismissed by the owners, with the union insisting existing contracts be honored.
–Entering the final round of the PGA Tour event at Sea Island, Ga., ironically, Davis Love III and Jim Furyk were tied for the lead. But neither won. Love finished T-4 and Furyk once again choked on No. 18, blowing an easy 8-iron approach and a great chance at birdie to tie for the lead and instead ending up with a bogey to finish third.
The winner? Two-glove Tommy Gainey, his first on tour, as he came from seven back with a final round 60!!! Congratulations, Tommy.
“Only one way out of this mess, Lance Armstrong. America can love a fallen hero, but only if he admits the fall – and apologizes for lying about it. Do those two things, Lance Armstrong, and we’ll love you again.
“It’s not the cheating, because lots of world-class athletes cheat. We’ve come to grips with that generality, and particularly with the notion that cycling is the dirtiest sport of them all. That’s what we think, and even if we’re wrong, it doesn’t matter. What matters is, people truly believe cycling is dirty – as in, everyone is dirty. You can’t get to the top of that sport without cheating. History has shown us that….
“From 1997-2009, 11 of 13 Tour de France titles have been vacated. We didn’t need the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to tell us last week that Lance Armstrong was guilty to know cycling champions are cheaters….
“(But) again, here in America we could get past that – but we need Armstrong to stop denying it. Stop lying.
“Stop treating every single one of us like we’re morons.
“We’re not morons, Lance, but every day that goes by without your admission of guilt tells us you really do think we’re stupid. And if there’s one thing America won’t abide, it’s a fallen hero who thinks he’s fooling us.
“Mark McGwire wasn’t fooling us, either. From the moment that baseball reporter spotted that bottle of Andro in his clubhouse locker in 1998, we knew. Suddenly everything fell into place. So that’s how McGwire is hitting all those home runs. He’s cheating!
“We knew, but McGwire treated us like we were idiots. He denied it. So did Rafael Palmeiro. And Roger Clemens. And Barry Bonds.
“Look at the four names in that last paragraph: McGwire, Palmeiro, Clemens, Bonds. Three of them are jokes. Three of them are punch lines. Pariahs.
“One of them is the respected hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals. Know why we tolerate the sight of Mark McGwire on our baseball fields, after all his cheating and lying? Because he stopped lying. He admitted it, threw himself at our mercy, and you know what? We’re a pretty merciful people, if you roll over and show us your belly….
“We can be a forgiving people. We can be merciful.
“But we can also be merciless. How do you want us to be, Lance Armstrong? The choice is yours.”
–The ACC media came out with their preseason basketball poll and there is a change at the top…
1. North Carolina State
2. Duke
3. North Carolina
11. Wake Forest
12. Boston College
Steve D. It’s going to be another very long year for our two teams, it would seem.
The AP national poll comes out Oct. 26, by the way. San Diego State, baby…Aztec fever…catch it…even though in the USA TODAY Coaches’ preseason poll, they are just No. 20. More on this next weekend.
–A woman was walking her three dogs in Ojai, California when she surprised a black bear and a cub. As reported in the Los Angeles Times:
“The two bears ran across the road ahead of the woman, but the sow returned and swiped at the woman’s wrist, causing a one- to two-inch gash. The bear began to leave, then returned and charged the woman who had turned her back. The bear knocked her down, causing several six-inch abrasions which appeared to be claw marks.
“In the attack the woman fell down an embankment. The bear followed her and sniffed at her as she lay motionless with her head tucked into her lap. She said she could feel the bear’s breath on her neck. The bear left after about 10 seconds, and the woman called law enforcement. She did not seek medical treatment.”
Curiously, the story didn’t say what the dogs were doing during the attack.
–As of Saturday, seven alligators have been found on Long Island this month. Folks buy them off the Internet, the gators grow up, and then they’re dumped in a pond. Yet another reason why Man is mired at around No. 270 on the All-Species List.
–We note the passing of soft-porn star Sylvia Kristel, 60, who starred in 1974’s Emmanuelle. The film was banned in France for six months but ended up becoming the country’s highest-grossing film of all time. Kristel starred in a series of sequels, as well as Lady Chatterley’s Lover and Mata Hari. Sadly, her personal life was a mess.
Top 3 songs for the week 10/23/65: #1 “Yesterday” (The Beatles) #2 “Treat Her Right” (Roy Head…cool tune…) #3 “A Lover’s Concerto” (The Toys)…and…#4 “Get Off Of My Cloud” (The Rolling Stones…in my top three of theirs…) #5 “Keep On Dancing” (The Gentrys) #6 “Hang On Sloopy” (The McCoys) #7 “Just A Little Bit Better” (Herman’s Hermits…solid effort on their part…) #8 “Everybody Loves A Clown” (Gary Lewis and The Playboys…underrated group…) #9 “Positively 4th Street” (Bob Dylan…can actually understand this one…) #10 “You’re The One” (The Vogues)
Minnesota Vikings Quiz Answers: 1) 5,000 yards rushing – Adrian Peterson 7,251 (entering this week…2007-2012); Robert Smith 6,818 (1993-2000); Chuck Foreman 5,887 (1973-79); Bill Brown 5,757 (1962-74). 2) 100 TD passes – Fran Tarkenton 239 (1961-66, 1972-78); Tommy Kramer 159 (1977-89); Daunte Culpepper 135 (2000-2005).
*StocksandNews daily newscast (initially Monday thru Thursday) begins Monday evening… hopefully. See home page later Monday for details.
