NFL Quiz: Who was the last running back to lead the league in rushing two consecutive seasons? Answer below.
The BCS Chase
1. Alabama .9797 (.9841 week one)
2. Florida State .9525 (.9348)
3. Oregon .9435 (.9320)
4. Ohio State .8720 (.8553)
5. Stanford .7930
6. Baylor .7745
Saturday the big game is No. 13 LSU at Alabama, plus a sleeper contest, Houston (7-1, 4-0 American) at UCF (6-1, 3-0).
“Florida State is basking in the glory of the No. 2 spot in this week’s BCS ratings, jumping past Oregon. The glory will be short-lived, though, if the Ducks beat Stanford on Thursday. Oregon would move past FSU, and stay there until they lose.
“The Seminoles have peaked this week. With a softer schedule remaining, there isn’t much of a way to get any more push in the human polls, and Oregon will eventually catch them in the computers….
“In the battle for the non-AQ (automatic qualifier) spot, Fresno State is treading water at 16, while Northern Illinois dropped one spot to 18. ..There isn’t any doubt an undefeated Fresno team would get to 12, and at this point, they only need to be where they are at 16, because the Bulldogs are ahead of everyone in the American conference.” [Central Florida, the projected champion of the American Athletic Conference, which has an automatic bid, was No. 21 in the BCS.]
“November has always been ‘argument month’ so what are we waiting for?
“Alabama’s best non-league win came against an unranked Virginia Tech coming off losses to unranked Duke and Boston College. The Crimson Tide also scheduled Colorado State, Georgia State and Chattanooga.
“Oregon played Nicholls State, Virginia and terrible Tennessee.
“Florida State signed up for Nevada and Bethune Cookman thinking Florida would provide a stiff test at season’s end.
“Ohio State’s card included Buffalo, San Diego State, California and Florida A&M, and now the Buckeyes want us to consider their national-title case?
“Baylor scheduled Wofford, Buffalo and Louisiana Monroe (Louisiana Madison must have been busy).
“The top five undefeated teams in the Bowl Championship Series standings can all finish undefeated without anybody playing each other.”
But, as Dufresne continues, the race is really easy to figure out as long as everyone keeps winning. It’s Alabama-Oregon. There’s no question.
But this Thursday isn’t an easy one for my Ducks, that’s for sure, and ‘Bama’s games with LSU, the season ender with Auburn, and then the SEC title contest provide some stiff challenges.
–When I posted Sunday evening I said the situation involving Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Jonathan Martin was very ugly, but I didn’t have the details that have since emerged. Yes, it’s bad.
Teammate and fellow lineman Richie Incognito was suspended from the team indefinitely for his actions against Martin, best described as bullying and harassment. Multiple sources also confirmed to ESPN the following transcript from a voice message Incognito left for Martin in April 2013, a year after Martin was drafted:
“Hey, wassup, you half n—– piece of s—. I saw you on Twitter, you been training 10 weeks. [I want to] s— in your f—ing mouth. [I’m going to] slap your f—-ing mouth. [I’m going to] slap your real mother across the face [laughter]. F— you, you’re still a rookie. I’ll kill you.”
Officials from both the NFL and the Dolphins have heard the tape.
Incognito has a history of bad behavior, including being suspended twice while at the University of Nebraska. In 2009, a poll of NFL players by Sporting News voted him the league’s “dirtiest player.”
Former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy and former New England Patriots front office executive Scott Pioli said Monday that when Incognito came out of Nebraska in 2005 their teams removed him from their draft boards because of character concerns. [Jarrett Bell / USA TODAY Sports]
He ended up being drafted in the third round by St. Louis and was released in 2009 after a shouting match with then-coach Steve Spagnuolo. Miami nonetheless signed him as a free agent in 2010.
In a statement announcing his suspension, the Dolphins said, “we believe in maintaining a culture of respect for one another and as a result we believe this decision is in the best interest of the organization at this time. As we noted earlier, we reached out to the NFL to conduct an objective and thorough review. We will continue to work with the league on this matter.”
Incognito had started all eight games for the Dolphins this season. Ironically, he had appeared to overcome some of his anger-management issues and even earned the team’s “good guy” award, given to the player who is most cooperative with the local media. He was also voted to his first Pro Bowl in 2012, and this season was named a member of Miami’s so-called leadership council. So why didn’t this council intervene in Incognito’s bullying of Martin?
As for Martin, he is seeking help to deal with the mental issues he’s been facing, while the Dolphins did not place him on the non-football injury list, meaning he remains on the active roster. ESPN also reports Martin did not approach coach Joe Philbin about his alleged harassment. Several Dolphins players said they were not aware of any issues between Martin and Incognito. And the Sun Sentinel, citing at least two sources, reported that Dolphins coaches asked Incognito to toughen Martin up last spring, after the then-rookie missed a voluntary team workout. The sources told the Sun Sentinel that Incognito then took it too far.
“(The) unfolding saga is forcing the National Football League to uncomfortably turn its gaze toward locker room culture and start defining the gray areas between good-natured pranks and hurtful bullying.
“For years, young players in the NFL have been subjected to a wide swath of indignities straight from the hallways of high school and the back rooms of fraternity houses. Young players are often expected to carry teammates’ equipment off the field. They are sometimes forced to sing or otherwise entertain teammates on demand, left helplessly taped to goal posts or asked to regularly bring sandwiches or fast food to teammates….
“Many teams have a tradition of requiring rookies to pay the bill at an annual steakhouse dinner, with free-flowing liquor, where tabs run into the tens of thousands of dollars. One report Monday said Martin was pressured to pay $15,000 toward a trip to Las Vegas that he did not attend. In 2010, Dallas receiver Dez Bryant paid a $54,896 tab….
“Most incidents come with the tacit, unsupervised approval of coaches and executives, who see the pranks as a rite of passage, a worthy bit of team building and character strengthening.”
But Martin has a different background. He’s a Stanford grad, where he was a classics major, and he’s the son of two Harvard graduates. Andrew Phillips, a former teammate at Stanford, said of Martin, “He’s a phenomenal person. He cares for people in the utmost way at all times. I’ve never heard him say a bad word, a bad thing, to or for anybody in my entire time at Stanford. He was one of the guys that everybody loved in the locker room.”
“The thug named Richie Incognito needs to be out of the NFL for a long time, maybe even permanently. The Miami Dolphins suspended Incognito overnight, and that’s merely a good start. This guy is no mere ‘bully’; that’s a schoolyard word that doesn’t come close to describing the racist, menacing, strong-arm shakedown of his own teammate, Jonathan Martin.
“Imagine if you received threatening text messages from a colleague at work, hurling vile racial epithets at you along with a promise to ‘kill you.’ What would you do? First, you would call company security, and then you might call the cops. But because this was the NFL, second-year player Martin thought he had to take it, otherwise he would be called soft. Finally, Martin simply walked away from the Dolphins – an act that is looking more manly and dignified by the second.
“Turns out the real tough guy is Martin, whose decision to rebel against a vicious culture in the Dolphins’ locker room has triggered a league-level investigation of Incognito, and, if reports are true, needs to extend to other veteran players and management as well. Let’s be clear: This isn’t about the wussification of football, or about some light hazing of rookies, short-sheeting their beds or shaving their heads. It’s about an image the league has been trying desperately to change in recent years, and that Incognito personifies: players as conscienceless gangsters who play a game of uncontrolled violence, with sadism and excess as byproducts.”
Jenkins notes that rookies complained to the Miami Herald that “they were pressured to pick up tabs of $30,000 for veteran players’ binges at strip clubs,” let alone the Martin Vegas incident.
“(This) doesn’t look like ‘hazing’ anymore,” Jenkins writes. “It looks like extortion and intimidation.”
“The Jets are going to the Super Bowl!
“The Jets just beat a pair of legit contenders, the Saints and the Patriots, in two of their last three games!
“And got absolutely smoked by the Bengals in the third one.
“The Jets defense just made NFL poster boys Drew Brees and Tom Brady look ordinary in the second half!
“And made Andy Dalton look like some kind of laboratory engineered super quarterback in between.
“The Jets have all the ingredients to make the playoffs.
“The Jets have all the ingredients to make the playoffs.
“Really. That final statement, heading into the bye week, is the one conclusion you can safely draw about this team from these wacky first nine games.”
Yes, the Jets’ schedule the rest of the way is favorable.
Nov. 17 at Buffalo
Nov. 24 at Baltimore
Dec. 1 Miami
Dec. 8 Oakland
Dec. 15 at Carolina
Dec. 22 Cleveland
Dec. 29 at Miami
Based on recent play, Carolina is the toughest. And all of Miami’s internal issues can’t help them in any way.
So the 5-4 Jets are looking 9-7, IF they beat Buffalo. 9-7 will snag the second wildcard spot, I’m guessing.
–Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers has a fractured left collarbone, suffered in the Packers’ 27-20 loss to Chicago on Monday night. It seems he’ll be out at least three weeks, a huge blow for the 5-3 Pack. Seneca Wallace takes over, at least for now.
–Houston Texans coach Gary Kubiak was released from the hospital, two days after suffering what was described as a mild stroke. While it’s not definitive, Kubiak hopes to return in two weeks.
Meanwhile, Denver coach John Fox underwent aortic valve replacement surgery on Monday and he’ll be out a good while.
–Michael Salfino of the Wall Street Journal had an interesting piece on placekickers.
“Kickers entered Monday making nearly two-thirds (65.8%) of all 50-plus-yard attempts. Compare that with the 63.6% success rate on all kicks in 1980. Being automatic is now expected, with an all-time-record 85.4% of attempts sailing through the uprights.”
–Mark K., Colgate grad, passed along a press release from a classmate, Claudia Tenney, an attorney and Republican New York State assembly member. Ms. Tenney has been on the case of supposed Oneida Indian activist Ray Halbritter, Mr. Halbritter being the chief spokesperson on the issue of changing the Washington Redskins’ name…which I am now on record of favoring a change to the Red Clouds as the perfect compromise.
“The legitimacy of self-proclaimed ‘civil rights’ activist, Ray Halbritter, has been called into question by documents obtained by full-blooded Oneida Indian, Melvin Phillips. Phillips claims that Halbritter has hijacked the Oneida culture to fraudulently prop up a casino empire to enrich himself, Las Vegas interests, Washington lobbyists and corrupt politicians. In a public video, Halbritter in his own words describes his dictatorial role as, ‘He who has the gold, makes the rules.’
“Mr. Phillips supports the Washington Redskins and does not believe that the name is offensive to Native Americans. Phillips said, ‘This move by Halbritter is the ultimate hypocrisy. First he tries to steal our land and now is trying to take away the Redskins team name which honors our people. The next thing he will do is kick us off the nickel.’….
“Phillips is a direct descendant of the Oneida Indians who are members of the Six Nations – one of the well-known historic tribes of New York.
“According to a document obtained from the National Archives, Halbritter’s blood ancestry is NOT as a member of the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy. In order to be an Oneida member you have to be a one quarter blood member of the Six Nations through matrilineal descent, which the document states Halbritter is not. According to Phillips, Halbritter’s campaign against the Washington Redskins is nothing more than a calculated attempt to gain national attention and to distract from the corruption and illegal operations he oversees in New York.”
Over the years I’ve written of the Indian casino issue…specifically fake Indians making false claims to gain licenses. At least to Ms. Tenney and Mr. Phillips, it would appear Ray Halbritter may be an Indian, but he isn’t an Oneida.
“It’s Mike Mayock’s world on Thursday nights, and we just have to despair in it.
“NFL Network’s slogan is: ‘Together We Make Football.’ Mayock’s slogan is: ‘By Myself I destroy Football.’
“For those of us who watch the NFL anytime, anywhere, NFL Network’s weekly game is an exercise in joylessness, soiled by a Mayockian soundtrack of endless football speak, overbearing babble and mind-boggling minutiae. It is death by a thousand small, analytical cuts….
“Wall-to-wall Mayock is like being trapped in a telephone booth with a pregnant hyena. If a player dives over the pylon, he’ll give you 20 seconds on the pylon. Heck, afforded the opportunity, he would analyze a doorknob….
“Stunningly, Mayock’s TV stock is so high these days, he also serves as NBC’s analyst on Notre Dame football.
“(Blissfully, I ignore Notre Dame telecasts. The only chance I’d watch in the near future is if the school recruits my 6-foot-5, 210-pound, two-sport stepson, Isaiah Eisendorf. But Isaiah’s college-playing prospects probably lie with basketball rather than football. Either way – whoever wants to take him off our hands – we are looking for the ‘Reggie Bush package.’)….
“If Mayock were doing commentary at a cemetery, the dead would rise and ask to be cremated.”
Ball Bits
—Alex Rodriguez denied report in the New York Times that he tested positive for a banned stimulant in the 2006 season. That was the first year amphetamines and other stimulants were placed on baseball’s banned list, but a first positive test does not result in a suspension. A second positive and the test is disclosed publicly, with the player being suspended 25 games.
Jason Giambi and Barry Bonds were previously tied to positive tests for stimulants in 2006.
–The Baseball Hall of Fame released its Expansion Era Ballot for Hall of Fame consideration in 2014 and it contains 12 names; six former major league players, four managers and two executives whose greatest contributions to the game were realized from 1973 through the present. A 16-member Expansion Era electorate will review and cast votes for consideration for the Hall of Fame induction next July.
The candidates are Dave Concepcion, Bobby Cox, Steve Garvey, Tommy John, Tony La Russa, Billy Martin, Marvin Miller, Dave Parker, Dan Quisenberry, Ted Simmons, George Steinbrenner, and Joe Torre.
A candidate must receive 75% of the ballots cast to earn election.
The 16-member electorate includes Rod Carew, Carlton Fisk, Joe Morgan and Frank Robinson, as well as major league executive Jerry Reinsdorf, among others.
Instead of the old Veterans Committee, there is now a three-year cycle for Expansion Era, Golden Era (1947-72) and Pre-Integration Era (origins through 1946).
Back in 2010, Marvin Miller received 11 of 16 ballots cast, not the 12 needed. Concepcion got 8. Garvey, John, Martin, Simmons and Steinbrenner were also on the ballot in 2010.
It was a travesty Miller didn’t get in before he died. La Russa and Torre should get in this time, as well as Cox. And, hell, Steinbrenner was a titanic figure. Why not?!
As for the players…with all the Tommy John surgery talk the past few years in particular, and a look back at the decision he made that brought it all about, plus a helluva career, put him in.
Regarding the others, I loved Ted Simmons…one of the best hitting catchers of all time. But I’m not sure. I say ‘no’ to the rest. [Sorry Mr. Garvey.]
The Baseball Writers Assn. of America ballot for present candidates includes first timers Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas and these results will be announced Jan. 8.
As opposed to last summer when three dead men were inducted into the Hall and the crowd up in Cooperstown was predictably meager, there should be quite a cast next July.
–A day after throwing 160 pitches in Game 6 of the Japan Series, Masahiro Tanaka threw 15 more to close out Game 7 as Rakuten defeated the Yomiuri Giants, 3-0.
So that’s 175 pitches in two days and for some major league teams looking to bid on the rights to sign Tanaka that could raise alarms. One scout, requesting anonymity, told the New York Times’ David Waldstein “I am worried about his arm.”
–Forgot to mention last time that the Detroit Tigers selected Brad Ausmus to replace Jim Leyland at the helm. Ausmus played in the majors from 1993-2010, but has no manager experience, which continues a trend in baseball. Washington just hired Matt Williams to replace Davey Johnson and Cincinnati replaced Dusty Baker with pitching coach Bryan Price, neither of them having managed before.
Seattle, though, hired Lloyd McClendon to be its next skipper. McClendon managed the Pirates from 2001 to ’05, before spending 8 years in Detroit as an assistant under Leyland.
—Dustin Pedroia is having surgery on his left thumb that is going to be more complicated than initially thought, with the surgeon saying he may need to take a tendon from his wrist to re-attach the injured thumb ligament. Pedroia said he played with the injury all year and will be ready for spring training.
Golf Balls
San Fran Bob passed along an interesting piece by Ron Kroichick from The San Francisco Chronicle concerning the season-ending Schwab Cup Championship, won by Fred Couples.
“Fred Couples’ commanding, charismatic presence could be measured in several ways Sunday at Harding Park.
“On the leaderboard, where there’s no room for interpretation, he again sat atop the heap….
“In the gallery, where fans make their feelings abundantly clear, Couples also ruled the day. Another large pack of spectators shadowed him from the No. 1 tee to the No. 18 green, a familiar scene at Champions Tour events.
“And in the interview room, where the mood is usually light for 50-and-older professional golfers, another case of Freddy Envy broke out.
“Kenny Perry followed Couples into the room because he won the season points title. Perry admired the shiny gold cup on the table next to him, justifiably savoring his achievement.
“Then, when he was asked about Couples’ victory and his plan to play more often in 2014, Perry’s answer pulled the conversation down a side road.
“ ‘It’s funny, you look at Fred and you look at me – he only won one more tournament than I did on the PGA Tour,’ Perry said. ‘Everybody thinks Fred is up here (holding hand above his head) and I’m down here (holding hand lower). Isn’t that funny?
“ ‘Everybody always talks about how great Fred Couples is, which I agree. …he does have a lot of talent, but a lot of other guys out here have talent, too. If he wants to dive in headfirst, I say bring it on – let’s see what you’ve got.’”
Yes, I myself have commented on more than one occasion that Couples, as much as I enjoy watching the guy, doesn’t deserve to be in the World Golf Hall of Fame. Freddie won 15 PGA Tour Titles and that one Masters. Perry won 14 titles (but choked twice in the majors).
“Couples’ popularity doesn’t hinge on objective comparison of career numbers.
“He’s cool, as Perry himself acknowledged. Couples brings the ‘it’ factor, whether because of his good looks (check out all the middle-aged women in his gallery), his laid-back demeanor or his smooth, stylish swing.”
But Perry wasn’t the only one to complain about Freddie. Mark O’Meara did, too.
“I get the fact he’s a huge fan favorite. I’m OK with that, even though I’ve actually won more tournaments and he’s in the Hall of Fame and I’m not. So I might have a little bit of an issue there.”
Huh? Yes, Mark. You won 16 times on the PGA Tour and two majors to Couples’ one. But show some class.
And as Johnny Mac commented when I apprised him of the story behind the Schwab Cup, Johnny observed:
“As pros in a business that relies on endorsements and sponsors, they should be a little more appreciative of ‘star power’…a quality neither of them possess to any great degree.”
It’s all just disappointing. But, let’s face it. If I see Perry and Couples paired together on a Sunday next year, I’m likely to tune in.
—LeBron James hit a big milestone on Tuesday in scoring a season-high 35 points in Miami’s 104-95 win over Toronto. He became the fifth player in NBA history to score in double figures 500 consecutive games.
Michael Jordan 866 consecutive games
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 787
Karl Malone 575
Moses Malone 526
Kareem 508 (separate streak)
LeBron 500
If you factor in playoff games, LeBron has hit double figures 898 times in 907 career games.
–Two races to go in NASCAR’s title Chase, Phoenix and Homestead-Miami, and Jimmie Johnson is gunning for his sixth title, seven points ahead of Matt Kenseth.
I failed to note last time that Johnson won the race Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway to break the tie with Kenseth, Kenseth finishing fourth. It was Johnson’s 66th career victory, including 24 in Chase races.
–In a bizarre incident, a female fan ran at Olympic champion swimmer Ryan Lochte, he tried to catch her, they both fell over in the process, she was OK, but Lochte hit his knee on a curb and tore his MCL. He is expected to make a full recovery.
“A woman has died after being bitten by a snake while gardening on a property in the Hunter Valley.
“The woman, 59, was found by her husband in the family’s backyard at Raymond Terrace, Glen Oak, on Saturday afternoon and taken to hospital, the Newcastle Herald reports.
“But despite extensive treatment, the woman died about 12:30 am on Tuesday…
There are late reports, though, that it was a brown snake, which causes the most deaths from snake bites in Australia. There is also a report that the woman was first misdiagnosed as having suffered a stroke and that it wasn’t until they saw fang marks on her ankle that they realized what had happened, but from a treatment standpoint it was too late.
–New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and a bipartisan group of legislators are asking a federal appeals court for another chance to make the case that the state should be able to legalize sports betting at its casinos and horse racing tracks.
Lawyers for the state called last September’s 2-1 decision bizarre in ruling that a federal statute barring states from legalizing or regulating sports betting was constitutional.
–Business Insider did a piece on best sandwiches for every state and for New Jersey, it’s Taylor ham/pork roll, egg and cheese. Boy, can’t argue with that. In fact I’m fixin’ to make one myself…but I just realized I’m out of Taylor Ham!!! Drat!
–I forgot to note last time I watched “Saturday Night Live” for the first time this season (owing to the time change) and Kerry Washington should host a few times a year, she’s that good.
–So I picked up a new book for Trader George, Robert Hilburn’s “Johnny Cash: The Life,” after reading some super reviews, including in Rolling Stone and the Wall Street Journal. Trader George is the number one Johnny Cash fan in New Jersey (though others I’m sure claim this title) and I asked him to give me a little book report. So far he says its super.
Hilburn, the long-time music critic for the Los Angeles Times, had unique access to Cash over the years, going back to the historic Folsom Prison concert, so this is your Christmas gift suggestion for the Johnny Cash fan in your life.
Trader George says it should also be required reading for the segment on Cash’s childhood and growing up poor.
And do yourself a favor…George reminded me of a fun tune of Cash’s I had forgotten… “Five Feet High and Rising”…YouTube it.
Top 3 songs for the week 11/7/70: #1 “I’ll Be There” (The Jackson 5…just edged out by “Never Can Say Goodbye” on my personal Jackson 5 favorites list…) #2 “We’ve Only Just Begun” (Carpenters…Karen and Richard were brilliant…) #3 “Fire And Rain” (James Taylor…another great tune…)…and…#4 “Green-Eyed Lady” (Sugarloaf… and this one ain’t bad, either…) #5 “Indiana Wants Me” (R. Dean Taylor…eh…) #6 “All Right Now” (Free…not aging well…) #7 “I Think I Love You” (The Partridge Family…let’s see, I was 12…hmmm….do you think I had a crush on Susan Dey? Darn right I did!…) #8 “Cracklin’ Rosie” (Neil Diamond) #9 “Candida” (Dawn) #10 “Lola” (The Kinks… very good tune to bang out after 5 or 6 beers…)
NFL Quiz Answer: Last running back to lead the league in rushing two consecutive seasons was LaDainian Tomlinson, 2006 (1,815) and 2007 (1,474).
2012 – Adrian Peterson
2011 – Maurice Jones-Drew
2010 – Arian Foster
2009 – Chris Johnson
2008 – Adrian Peterson
