[Posted early Wed. a.m.]
Ohio State Quiz: Name the leading quarterback(s) and rusher for the last three Buckeye national champions; 2014, 2002, 1968. Answers below.
NFL
Playoff Watch
AFC
1. New England 11-2
2. Kansas City 10-3
3. Pittsburgh 8-5
4. Houston 7-6
5. Oakland 10-3
6. Denver 8-5
7. Miami 8-5
8. Baltimore 7-6
9. Tennessee 7-6
AFC North
Pittsburgh 8-5
Baltimore 7-6
AFC South
Houston 7-6
Tennessee 7-6
AFC West
Kansas City 10-3
Oakland 10-3
Denver 8-5
NFC
1. Dallas 11-2
2. Detroit 9-4
3. Seattle 8-4-1
4. Atlanta 8-5
5. New York 9-4
6. Tampa Bay 8-5
7. Washington 7-5-1
8. Minnesota 7-6
9. Green Bay 7-6
NFC North
Detroit 9-4
Minnesota 7-6
Green Bay 7-6
NFC South
Atlanta 8-5
Tampa Bay 8-5
So I just have to go back and fill in a few holes since I didn’t have time last chat to comment on the Sunday contests.
—Sunday night the Giants (9-4) had a huge 10-7 win over the Cowboys (11-2) at MetLife Stadium, despite another subpar effort from Eli Manning (17/28, 193, 1-1, 78.4), while Dallas QB Dak Prescott had the worst game of his rookie year, 17/37, 165, 1-2, 45.4, the first time he had thrown two interceptions in a game, the Giants’ defense performing superbly.
The game came down to one play, though, Odell Beckham Jr.’s 61-yard catch and run on a simple slant play, the kind of play he has been perfecting in his brief Giants career. Before the spectacular TD, Beckham had had a poor game, dropping two crucial passes, but you just need him once or twice a game to be in the moment. Yes, there is no one better catching it crossing the field.
Meanwhile, Eli Manning needs to step up his game. It just hasn’t been a real good season individually.
But the bottom line for the Giants is they have now handed Dallas its only two losses of the season.
The talk in the league at midweek, though, is about Dak Prescott and whether Tony Romo could replace him with just one more poor performance, even though Prescott is not only 11-2, but he has 20 touchdown passes to 4 interceptions, with a passer rating of 102.7, third best in the league.
That said, owner Jerry Jones, appearing on CBS Sports Radio’s 105.3 The Fan, Tuesday, entertained scenarios in which Romo would play.
“I don’t have a definition for it, but you’ll know it when you see it.”
Jones also said: “We’ve got to play better.”
And he added the Cowboys want Romo to be ready on the spur of the moment to play to win the game if need be.
The day before, coach Jason Garrett said, “It’s pretty simple for us: Dak’s going to play quarterback as we go forward.”
Not so fast, Jason. Jerry is still the boss, and he can be an irascible sort.
—Alex Smith just continues to win for Kansas City, another workmanlike effort, 17/26, 264, 1-1, 95.7 as the Chiefs overcame three turnovers to defeat the Raiders (10-3), with the K.C. defense holding presumptive league MVP Derek Carr to 17/41, 117, 0-0, 49.1…putrid.
For the Chiefs, Tyreke Hill had another huge game with a 36-yard TD reception and a 78-yard punt return for a score. Tight end Travis Kelce also had five catches for 101 yards.
So are the Raiders really ready for prime time…like January playoff football? We’ll see how they bounceback at San Diego this coming Sunday.
—Jets fans are torn. At this point we want the best draft choice possible, but we also want to see if quarterback Bryce Petty has any potential to be our signal-caller the next ten years. Petty, in starting the final four games, is auditioning for the 2017 starting job and he led the Jets back from a 17-3 halftime deficit at San Francisco to a 23-17 win, the Jets moving to 4-9, while the 49ers are 1-12, having lost 12 in a row. Petty was 23/35, 257, 0-1, 75.5, with Bilal Powell contributing 145 yards rushing and two touchdowns in relief of the injured Matt Forte. I do have to note San Fran’s Carlos Hyde rushed for 193 on just 17 carries.
—Pittsburgh stays atop the AFC North with a 27-20 in the snow at Buffalo (6-7), Bills coach Rex Ryan’s position in jeopardy. Ben Roethlisberger once again sucked on the road, 17/31, 220, 0-3, 37.8, but Le’Veon Bell rushed for a franchise-record 236 yards and three touchdowns, plus he caught four passes for another 62.
—Washington (7-5-1) stayed in the wild card hunt with a clutch 27-22 win at Philadelphia (5-8).
—Miami (8-5) remained in the chase with a 26-23 win over the disappointing Cardinals (5-7-1), but Dolphins’ quarterback Ryan Tannehill is most likely out for the season with a sprained ACL/MCL. Bye-bye playoff shot. [Though Tannehill will not require surgery and if the Dolphins somehow make the playoffs, he could be available. To get them that far, it will be up to backup Matt Moore.]
–Detroit’s Matthew Stafford is having one helluva season, leading another fourth-quarter comeback on Sunday against the Bears, 20-17, despite throwing two picks in the same quarter. Stafford ran it in from 7 yards out for the deciding score.
So the Lions are gunning for their first division title in 23 years, while the defense has given up fewer than 20 points 7 straight contests.
–The Vikings stay relevant one more week at 7-6 after a 25-16 win over the 2-11 Jags.
—Aaron Rodgers has been on a big roll the last four games for Green Bay, throwing 10 touchdown passes with zero interceptions, QB ratings of 108.9 and higher, including Sunday’s 18/23, 246, 3-0, 150.8 spectacular in a 38-10 win over Seattle (8-4-1) at wintry Green Bay.
Out of nowhere, the Seahawks’ Russell Wilson threw a career-high five interceptions. [22/39, 240, 1-5, 43.7]
–Finally, you know that two-year contract extension Rams coach Jeff Fisher allegedly signed the other week? It turns out it was really an extension of just one year and that the team had been waiting all year to make it official before it leaked out. Ergo, like it just wasn’t that big a deal and the Rams proceeded to fire Fisher after an abysmal 42-14 loss to the Falcons dropped L.A. to 4-9. Owner Stan Kroenke couldn’t take it anymore.
Fisher, as every NFL fan knows, has been worthless for years. He was 31-45-1 in nearly five seasons with the Rams and as I noted the other week, his teams have finished above .500 in only six of his 21 full seasons as a head coach, including 16 seasons with the Oilers/Titans franchise.
–Monday, New England had a 23-3 lead in the third quarter when it tried to give the game away, with two straight special teams turnovers leading to two Joe Flacco touchdown passes that made it 23-17. But with the score 23-20 in the fourth, Tom Brady hooked up with Chris Hogan for a 79-yard TD that proved the decider; final score 30-23 as the Pats move to 11-2, while Baltimore fell to 7-6, a game behind Pittsburgh in the AFC North.
Brady finished with 406 yards on 25 of 38, 3 TD passes and a pick, 116.8, while Flacco completed a franchise-record 37 of 52, 324, 2-1, 92.1.
–We note the passing of former NFL tight end Konrad Reuland, who died of a brain aneurysm at the age of 29. Reuland caught 12 passes for the Jets in 2012-13 and played a few games with the Ravens last season. He played his college ball at Stanford.
College Football
—Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin is the new head coach at Florida Atlantic, after three seasons at Nick Saban’s side. Kiffin will remain at ‘Bama through the College Football Playoff.
Saban said Kiffin has done a “phenomenal job” in his three seasons as OC. “We think this is a wonderful opportunity for him.”
It probably is. Kiffin is still just 41, but has already had extensive head coaching experience at USC (2010-2013), 28-15; Tennessee (2009) 7-6; and the Oakland Raiders (2007-08), 5-15. He was fired midseason at USC and Oakland.
Kiffin’s past problem was that he a bit immature and not ready for prime time, plus in the case of USC, he inherited a program paying a heavy price for past transgressions. I’m guessing he could recruit some decent talent at Florida Atlantic and after three years, maybe work his way back to the NFL.
–And then there’s my alma mater, Wake Forest.
Back on Nov. 12, the Deacs were in Louisville to face the then-No. 6 Cardinals and Wake was up 12-0, 12-3 at the half, 12-10 after three, before being blitzed 34-0 in the fourth for a 44-12 Cardinals win.
But as we learned later, a Wake equipment manager discovered there was a “game-plan breach,” as coach Dave Clawson put it, the fellow finding “Materials left behind by Louisville…that showed the Cardinals were prepared for plays the Demon Deacons had not run before,” according to USA Today.
At the time Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said he had “no knowledge” of the situation.
So in the weeks since, the school has been investigating and on Tuesday, we learned that Wake radio analyst Tommy Elrod, a former player and assistant coach, had been giving Wake opponents information about the Demon Deacons since 2014.
The school said in a statement that “based on emails, text messages and phone records, Tommy Elrod, a radio analyst for Wake Forest football games, provided or attempted to provide confidential and proprietary game preparations on multiple occasions starting in 2014.” Elrod was acting on his own.
Elrod was fired by team radio partner IMG and barred from all Wake Forest athletic facilities and the campus.
Clawson said: “I am extremely disappointed that our confidential and proprietary game preparation was compromised. It’s incomprehensible that a former Wake Forest student-athlete, graduate assistant, full-time football coach and current radio analyst for the school would betray his alma mater. We allowed him to have full access to our players, team functions, film room and practices. He violated our trust which negatively impacted our entire program.”
Elrod joined the radio team in 2014 after Clawson didn’t retain him as a coach when Clawson took over the Wake program from Jim Grobe. Elrod had been on the coaching staff 11 seasons. Was he bitter about not retaining his job?
Elrod hasn’t been responding to requests for comment. Jim Grobe, when reached by ESPN, said nothing.
But how many schools was he able to sell the information to, and what does Bobby Petrino know? You’d think this story is far from over.
Needless to say, Wake fans are upset and incredulous. It will be interesting to see how the team responds on Dec. 27 in its bowl game against Temple.
MLB
—At the start of free agency, you had three big closers available…Aroldis Chapman, Kenley Jansen and Mark Melancon, and they’re all gone now. Melancon signed with the Giants, Chapman went back to the Yankees, and now Jansen has re-signed with the Dodgers, five years, $80 million (vs. Chapman’s 5 and $86m).
Jansen was outstanding last season with 47 saves in 71 appearances and a 1.83 ERA. He also showed he can pitch multiple innings in the postseason. Who the heck really knows in any five-year contract with a reliever, but I like this one far more than the deal given Chapman. Jansen just seems more durable.
The Dodgers also re-signed third baseman Justin Turner, 32, to a four-year, $64 million deal. He had a career best 27 home runs and drove in 90 last season and is an important foundation piece.
Having signed pitcher Rich Hill to a three-year, $48 million deal, the Dodgers don’t seem to be that concerned about the luxury tax.
–The Los Angeles Angels acquired middle infielder Danny Espinosa from Washington for two minor league pitchers, as the Nationals cleared the shortstop position occupied by Espinosa last year for Trea Turner, who will move there from the outfield after Washington acquired Adam Eaton from the White Sox.
Espinosa hit only .209, but slammed 24 homers and drove in 72. With L.A., though, Espinosa is likely to play second with Gold Glover Andrelton Simmons at short.
–If you’re a Nationals fan, you can’t be happy with comments pitcher Stephen Strasburg made the other day, saying his arm issues last season were related to his overuse of the slider, which he threw 17 percent of the time, far more than usual. “My arm just wasn’t accustomed to throwing that pitch that many times,” he said, which is just further proof how fragile he is.
Strasburg said he fell in love with the pitch because he was getting quick outs with it. It was back in May that he signed a seven-year, $175 million extension.
College Basketball
AP Men’s Poll (Dec. 12)
[The first eleven positions didn’t change from last time…and with exam week and limited action, little change is expected by the next poll. Then we have one last spasm of big non-conference matchups before conference play begins, including one big one this coming Saturday, Kentucky-North Carolina in Las Vegas.]
1. Villanova 10-0 (56)…then beat Temple 78-57 on Tues.
2. UCLA 10-0 (3)
3. Kansas 9-1
4. Baylor 8-0 (6)
5. Duke 10-1
6. Kentucky 9-1
7. North Carolina 10-1
8. Gonzaga 10-0
9. Indiana 8-1
10. Creighton 10-0
11. Louisville 9-1
16. South Carolina 8-0*
*But on Monday night, the Gamecocks lost to Seton Hall (8-2), 67-64, at Madison Square Garden.
NBA
–The Knicks have suddenly won 6 of 8 and are 14-11, though they suffered a crushing overtime loss on Tuesday to Phoenix, 113-111, despite Kristaps Porzingis’ 34 points. Sunday, Porzingis showed just how great he can be with 26 points, 12 rebounds and 7 blocked shots in a 118-112 win over the Lakers in Los Angeles. The guy doesn’t turn 22 until next August.
It helps this season that the Knicks have a real coach in Jeff Hornacek, who also seems to be largely trashing Phil Jackson’s triangle offense. And Derrick Rose, when he’s on the court and not suffering from back spasms, has been better than expected. So maybe the Knicks will be playing meaningful hoops in March and beyond.
Champions League
The last 16 are set, with first legs played in mid-February; second legs early- to mid-March.
Manchester City v Monaco (beat Tottenham twice in group play)
Real Madrid v Napoli
Benfica v Borussia Dortmund
Bayern Munich v Arsenal
FC Porto v Juventus
Bayer Leverkusen v Atletico Madrid
Paris St-Germain v Barcelona
Sevilla v Leicester
But as Joshua Robinson of the Wall Street Journal noted, the problem with this final 16 is that it is little changed from prior years.
“The top-heavy nature of the continent’s most prestigious tournament means that for the first time under the current format only six different countries will be represented from here on out: England, Spain, Germany, Italy, France and Portugal, which happen to be the six most powerful leagues in Europe. The average since the 2003-04 season had been eight countries….
“The tournament has become so predictable, in fact, that half the teams in the last 16 were also there last year. Four of those – Arsenal, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich – have made such light work of the group stage that they have visited the second round in at least 13 of the past 14 years.
“The only real surprise was Leicester City, the lone Champions League first-timer left in the competition.”
–One side note involving Barcelona….the club has given Chapecoense, the Brazilian soccer team devastated in the plane crash, a major boost by inviting it to play in its annual friendly tournament.
Barcelona said its invitation is a way “to pay tribute to the 71 people who died in the accident and their families,”
Bottom line, it’s a huge financial lifeline for Chapecoense as it struggles to reconstruct a competitive team, having lost 19 players in the crash. The three players who survived remain in the hospital, leaving six others who didn’t travel with the team to Colombia on Nov. 28. So you need 11 to play and other Brazilian clubs have offered to loan players for free.
–Back to Leicester, once again, despite their Champions League success, they stumbled in Premier League play, losing to Bournemouth on Tuesday, 1-0. The same day, Everton pulled off a terrific 2-1 win at home over Arsenal, the Gunners’ first loss of the season since the opener. [YouTube the final minute of play in this one…great stuff.]
Stuff
—Tiger Woods announced he’ll be playing in what will now be called the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club the second week in February, which will be his first event of the year. His organization, TGR Live, is now managing the tournament and the Tiger Woods Foundation will be the beneficiary.
Woods hasn’t played Riviera since 2006, normally opting for Torrey Pines, where he has quite a history of success. He is 0-for-9, though, at Riviera. This could be fun, the event my favorite non-major of the Tour season. [Great site, football is over, weather normally sucks back home… golf gets a chance to shine before March Madness.]
–I just have to give the official bear hunt figures for New Jersey, since I gave an approximation last time. Hunters took out a record 636, with state environmental officials estimating there are still between 2,600 and 3,000 black bears in the state, vs. less than 100 in the 1970s.
–We note the passing of actor and comedian Alan Thicke, who died after suffering a heart attack while playing hockey in Los Angeles with his son. Thicke played Jason Seaver in the popular sitcom “Growing Pains.” He always seemed like a good guy. He’s the father of singer Robin Thicke.
–I forgot to note last time the passing of Greg Lake…singer, guitarist and songwriter who was a founding member of the 1970s progressive-rock bands King Crimson and Emerson, Lake and Palmer. He died of cancer at 69.
Lake sought to Europeanize rock ‘n’ roll by blending it with classical musical and many of the songs seemed almost symphonic, as William Grimes of the New York Times described it. Personally, I liked a lot of ELP’s music, which was later repudiated by the rise of punk, which I couldn’t stand.
Gregory Stewart Lake was born on Nov. 10, 1947, in Poole, a seaside town of Dorset, England. By age 13, one year after his mother gave him a guitar, he wrote “Lucky Man.” True story. I’m kind of blown away by this…it also being a favorite of mine. That ballad was later put in an ELP album as a filler track.
As for King Crimson, I’m embarrassed. I don’t remember their music at all but they gained a following after they appeared on a bill with the Rolling Stones at a free concert in Hyde Park in London in July 1969 that drew 400,000. Later that year, Greg Lake began talking to Keith Emerson, the keyboardist for the band Nice, and both were ready to make a fresh start with Carl Palmer, who had been with the Crazy World of Arthur Brown, and he joined them on drums.
Lake had a hit tune as a solo artist in 1975 with “I Believe in Father Christmas,” written with Peter Sinfield, a former member of King Crimson.
Greg Lake recently completed a memoir, “Lucky Man,” to be published in Britain next year.
Keith Emerson committed suicide this past March at his home in Santa Monica, Calif.
Top 3 songs for the week 12/14/63: #1 “Dominique” (The Singing Nun…my very first two 45s as a youth were this one and The Stones’ “Get Off Of My Cloud”…) #2 “Louie Louie” (The Kingsmen) #3 “Everybody” (Tommy Roe)…and…#4 “I’m Leaving It Up To You” (Dale & Grace) #5 “You Don’t Have To Be A Baby To Cry” (The Caravelles) #6 “Since I Fell For You” (Lenny Welch…a classic…) #7 “Be True To Your School” (The Beach Boys) #8 “Drip Drop” (Dion Di Muci) #9 “There! I’ve Said It Again” (Bobby Vinton…another great tune…) #10 “Walking The Dog” (Rufus Thomas…six weeks later, the Beatles would enter the Top Ten at #3 with “I Want To Hold Your Hand” and the rest is history. Ed Sullivan was then Feb. 9.)
Ohio State Quiz Answers: QB/RB…2014: J.T. Barrett/Cardale Jones and Ezekiel Elliott. 2002: Craig Krenzel and Maurice Clarett. 1968: Rex Kern and Jim Otis.
Next Bar Chat, Monday.
