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Bar Chat

01/05/2015

Oregon vs. Ohio State

Ohio State Quiz: [Have to reward them after their win] Name the quarterback and leading rusher for the 1968 and 2002 teams that finished the year AP #1. Answer below.

Sat. Jan. 10

Ravens-Patriots
Panthers-Seahawks

Sun. Jan. 11

Cowboys-Packers
Colts-Broncos

--In the wild-card games, first up was Arizona at Carolina, with the 7-8-1 Panthers moving to .500, technically, with a 27-16 win that was painful to watch. Like the game really, really sucked. Both teams had three turnovers and the Panthers held the Cardinals to just 78 yards, the fewest yards ever allowed in an NFL postseason game.

--In the nightcap, Saturday, the Ravens went into Pittsburgh and put a whuppin’ on the Steelers, 30-17; what the New York Times’ Ben Shpigel called a “mauling.” Yes, the Steelers were missing All-Pro running back Le’Veon Bell, but they hardly played inspired ball. Inexcusable at home.

Ravens QB Joe Flacco, on the other hand, continued to cement his growing legend as one of the great playoff quarterbacks of all time. After going 18/29, 259, 2-0, 114.0, he is now 5-0 in his last five postseason contests*, with 13 touchdowns and zero...zero...interceptions. As Ronald Reagan would have said, ‘Not bad, not bad at all.’

*Flacco is now 10-4, overall, in the playoffs for his career. No QB has more postseason wins since 2008 than he does.

As for Ben Roethlisberger, who was 31/45, 334, 1-2, 79.3, it was 10/26 against Indianapolis and 11/2 vs. the Ravens that Big Ben had a combined 12 TDs and 0 INTs, the best two-game stretch for a passer in history.

But in his next 8 games, including Saturday, he had 11 TDs and 8 INTs...very mediocre.

--Sunday, Andy Dalton fell to 0-4 in his playoff career. Yes, he has led Cincinnati to four consecutive playoff appearances, but after losing to Indianapolis and Andrew Luck 26-10, Luck also has four consecutive losses. To wit:

2014...L...26-10
2013...L...27-10
2012...L...19-13
2011...L...31-10

Head coach Marvin Lewis is even worse, now 0-6. The Bengals still haven’t won a playoff game since 1990.

As for Indy, Andrew Luck threw for 344 yards, including a sweet 36-yard TD pass to Donte Moncrief that made it 20-10.

--And, lastly, Dallas fell behind Detroit 17-7 at half in Arlington, but Tony Romo rallied the team back to prevail 24-20 on an 8-yard TD pass to Terrance Williams and then the Cowboys held on the final 2:30. I might have more next time on the controversial pass interference reversal. But for now I need to post this column!

--In a surprising move, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie gave coach Chip Kelly the power he was looking for in naming him de facto general manager (head of player personnel), thus giving him control over the NFL draft. Howie Roseman moved from GM to EVP of football operations.

So with the Eagles selecting No. 20 in the first round, and everyone in football knowing how much Kelly craves his old Oregon quarterback, Marcus Mariota, is there any conceivable way that Kelly and the Eagles can move up the draft board? I don’t see it.

--Kevin Clark of the Wall Street Journal had a piece on the return of the running back. We all knew this would be the case, the prevalence of the passing game being just part of the normal cycle in the game.

Shaun O’Hara, one-time Giants offensive lineman and now an analyst for the NFL Network, put it well.

“Defensive linemen were always the laziest guys. They are the ones tapping their helmet to ask out of a game. So why not put pressure on the defense by running it?”

Kevin Clark notes that as the playoffs began, the league’s best teams “have become adept at gearing their offenses toward getting huge runs late in the game: The Baltimore Ravens, Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers and Cincinnati Bengals lead the NFL in runs over 10 yards in the fourth quarter of games. Among teams with runs over 20 yards in the second half, the Ravens, Denver Broncos and Dallas Cowboys lead the way. All of those teams are in the playoffs.

“To be sure, winning teams tend to run the ball more, especially late in games as they protect leads, leading to some statistical inflation. But NFL strategy wonks say that this development is much more than that. Worn-out defenses, which are using more defensive backs to defend the pass, are having a tough time bringing down lumbering running backs.”

It just makes sense, though Clark says “There will never again be a huge uptick in rushing attempts. Passing rules have made the aerial game so easy that quarterbacks will always sling long passes when they can. But what’s different this season is the feature back who is bailing out the quarterback,” i.e., DeMarco Murray and Romo; Le’Veon Bell and Roethlisberger. Alas, Roethlisberger didn’t have that luxury Saturday.

--As expected, the Giants are bringing back coach Tom Coughlin. This is his final chance. While they won the Super Bowl in 2011, they have also missed the playoffs five of the last six seasons and are 7-9 and 6-10 their last two.

[Hey, Wake Forest fans...the Giants signed FB Nikita Whitlock! He’ll most likely be on the practice squad to start the 2015 season, but you never know.]

--A final word on Rex Ryan, fired as the Jets coach along with GM John Idzik on Monday. In his six years at the helm, his team’s defense ranked 11th or better in yards a game each year, but his offenses ranked 20th or better just once.

What became clear is that he did a poor job in overseeing his assistants, especially his offensive coordinators. And he made a critical single mistake for which the franchise continues to pay, inexplicably inserting quarterback Mark Sanchez in the fourth quarter of a meaningless preseason game in 2013 against the Giants, upon which Sanchez suffered a season-ending shoulder injury that necessitated the elevation of rookie Geno Smith.

But I do have to note Ryan’s last class act in terms of his players. After he was fired Monday morning, and with the players filing in to clean out their lockers, Ryan, having already thanked each player individually on the flight home from Miami, turned on an eight-minute video of the people who had made plays for him. He didn’t stick around to watch, but he left as the images of his “mighty men,” as he liked to call them, rolled across the screen.

“An Irish goodbye was the perfect end to a season that would have cracked most coaches.

“Ryan, instead, took the high road when it would have been tempting to tell everyone what they already knew: The deck was stacked against him the moment a new general manager rolled into town.

“Ryan spent two years defending the indefensible and doling out ‘A’ grades so often that you wished he would have taught your killer ninth-grade biology class back in the day. He was the ultimate company man for a company that was broken.

“He exited the Jets with class, dignity and the hope that he might find another head coaching job in the coming weeks. The Falcons, who fired head coach Mike Smith on Black Monday, would be an ideal match....

“No matter what happens, his glass will forever be half full. After Ryan left his players on Monday, he drove home, picked up his wife and left all decked out in orange for the Russell Athletic Bowl in Orlando to watch his son’s Clemson team.

[One word on Mike Smith, he had a 66-46 regular season record, but was just 1-4 in the postseason and the Falcons had losing records the last two years, 4-12 and 6-10.]

--The Jets have already interviewed Doug Marrone to replace Ryan, which for the life of me I don’t understand. Marrone shocked the Buffalo Bills, where he was 15-17 in two seasons, including 9-7 in 2014, by exercising a narrow opt-out clause in his contract that allowed him to leave should there be an ownership change. 

Marrone is a New York guy, and while he did a good job with the Bills this past season, before that he was a whopping 25-25 in four seasons at Syracuse.

--How bad have the Washington Redskins been? In going 4-12 this season and 3-13 the prior one, as the Washington Post’s Thomas Boswell has been pointing out, the point differentials these two years were -137 (2014) and -144 (2013), the franchise’s worst since the 1961 season. “So the two worst teams in more than half a century have come back-to-back.” Eegads. 

College Football

Gee, do you think the College Football Playoff system is a success? The semifinals were the most-watched shows in cable television history. Oregon-Florida State averaged 28.2 million viewers, while Ohio State-Alabama averaged 28.3 million.

Oregon 59 Florida State 20

In the battle of the Heisman Trophy winners, Marcus Mariota thoroughly outplayed Jameis Winston – Mariota was 26/36, 338, 2-1, plus 62 yards rushing and another score, while Winston was 29/45, 348, 1-1, along with a costly fumble; but the stats don’t really begin to tell the full story. The Seminoles had five turnovers and the Ducks piled up 639 yards of offense.

Afterwards, Winston said he didn’t know if he would go pro, only that he was “looking forward to next season and playing baseball.” Like Mariota, Winston has until Jan. 15 to declare for the draft. Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht was at the Rose Bowl to watch both QBs. It’s true Winston does like baseball, and is a solid pitching prospect, but no doubt what he is going to do.

What could cost Winston a few dollars is his behavior during the game on Thursday, as America saw his sharp exchange with coach Jimbo Fisher. Both dismissed it afterwards, but it’s just another thing to file in the back of the minds of NFL draft evaluators.

“On a big day for college football, the national semifinal game between Oregon and Florida State was as much a morality play as a matchup of two of the country’s best teams.

“Thursday’s game was cast early on as a battle between good and evil. The undefeated Seminoles, shrouded in controversy, were cast as villains, while the Ducks, with an appealing Heisman Trophy winner in Marcus Mariota, were cast as heroes.

“By the time Mariota scored Oregon’s 51st point, on the way to a 59-20 victory, the hero-villain narrative had been replaced by plain and simple facts: Mariota had outdueled Jameis Winston; Oregon had routed Florida State, the defending national champion; and the Ducks had made a roaring statement: We belong.”

Rhoden was on the sideline with Oregon alum, Ahmad Rashad; Bobby Moore in his days in Eugene, where he played with Dan Fouts.

“(Rashad) was an honorary captain for Oregon in 2011 when it lost to Auburn, 22-19, in the Bowl Championship Series title game, and again last month in the Pac-12 Conference Championship game. The loss to Auburn was an eye-opener, he said.

“ ‘They bullied us around,’ he said. ‘I think we went down there and saw big, fast people, and we weren’t big and fast. Now we are. You realize what you’ve got to have.’

“Do the ends justify the means?

“In 2013, the NCAA issued Oregon a series of penalties, including three years of probation, for failing to monitor its football program during the Chip Kelly era. Kelly was the coach at Oregon from 2009-2012, before he left to become the Philadelphia Eagles’ coach. Oregon appeared in four straight B.C.S. bowl games under Kelly and found a way to bridge the talent gap through aggressive recruiting and the support of Phil Knight, who made Oregon a virtual billboard for Nike apparel.

“The NCAA cut Oregon’s official paid visits by prospects to 37 from 56 for the next three academic years, reduced its spring and fall evaluation days in each of the next three seasons and banned the program from using recruiting services during the probation. 

“Oregon did not receive a bowl ban, but Kelly received an 18-month show-cause penalty; if a university in the NCAA wanted to hire Kelly in an athletics role, the university and Kelly needed to appear before the infractions committee.

“While the NCAA penalties were a source of embarrassment, they have not put a dent in the Oregon machine....

“I asked Rashad if he was concerned about the program becoming bigger and bigger. He said he was not. ‘Whatever comes with getting bigger, you want that,’ he said....

“Earlier in the week, the second-year Oregon coach Mark Helfrich said that while Oregon was comfortable in its own skin, a national title would send a message to the rest of the country.

“ ‘A championship would validate things externally a lot more than I think internally,’ he said.

“He also said that Oregon’s fashion statement with its uniforms might have been a necessary gimmick to put the program on the map. ‘The ascension probably started a little bit with the helmets and the uniforms and all that kind of stuff, but hopefully we’ve moved beyond that,’ he said. ‘We talk constantly about the guys in the uniforms. The uniforms don’t give you points.’”

Rhoden goes on to talk about Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones, who “became notorious for an unfortunate message on Twitter that questioned the need to go to class when he was at college to play football. Mariota is a smooth three-year starter who bypassed the NFL draft to play another magical season at Oregon.

“The temptation will be to cast Jones as a symbol of everything wrong with big-time college sports and Mariota as an example of everything that is right.

“If the last 10 years have taught us anything, it is how little we know about the men and women we cover.

“What we do know is that on Thursday, Mariota and Jones, and Oregon and Ohio State, turned in amazing performances.

“There are no saints and no sinners, just two big-time football programs trying to win a championship.

“ ‘It hurts badder than whatever you can imagine,’ said Winston who lost for the first time in his career as a starter. ‘But the good thing is we live to fight another day.’

“Huh? Someone has to clue Jameis in. This is it. Season over. Streak over. Legacy sealed. He kept talking about the future, like there was another game to play.

“If he’s talking about coming back for another year, don’t insult our intelligence, kid. Sorry, but the beast has officially expired. The Noles couldn’t have looked badder. That includes their manners. About 90 percent of the Noles went directly to the locker room after the final gun without shaking hands.

“To his credit, Jameis wasn’t one of them. He lingered on the field, then saluted fans with his helmet as he left it.

“Maybe these Noles were too full of themselves. Maybe they just weren’t good enough to be here. Oregon had one more touchdown (eight in all) than FSU had fumbles (seven)....

“Winston himself could have been blamed for giving it away, both fumbling and throwing a pick – both of which led to touchdowns. Count Winston coming up inches short on a fourth-down run near the goal line in the first half and there were really three ‘turnovers.’

“That was a mere microcosm. Florida State lost four of those seven fumbles. Those weren’t exactly uncharacteristic for a team that now has committed the second-most turnovers (32) in the country.

“What was uncharacteristic was Winston in the postgame.

“ ‘If everybody in this room just want to be real with themselves, this game could have went either way,’ he said to reporters. ‘We turned the ball over a lot. Just be real with yourself right now. We beat ourself.’

“They didn’t take kindly to that in the Oregon locker room. Could have gone either way? You can’t just unfumbled. And even if you take those turnovers away, do they make up for a 39-point deficit and the most yards ever surrendered (639) in a Rose Bowl?

“ ‘That’s pretty immature on his part, I’d have to say,’ left tackle Jake Fisher said of Winston.”

“Florida State rallied from 21 points down to beat Louisville this season, burrowed back to take out Clemson and survived close calls against Miami, Notre Dame and Boston College.

“Florida State, it was said, written and reiterated, was the cockroach you could not kill.

“Well, the boot heel came down Thursday, in the Rose Bowl, where the Seminoles got squished....

“The follow-up investigation on Oregon’s 59-20 win over Florida State will not require CSI Pasadena.

“You simply do not get away with the things Florida State got away with all season. Not against this gaggle of points carnivores.

“Florida State, which checks out at 13-1, had been asking for this, and got it.”

Ohio State 42 Alabama 35

What a story Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer and his team wrote this year. A pathetic early season loss, at home, to Virginia Tech, had them buried and done (I was among those burying them). Last year’s rising star quarterback, Braxton Miller, was out for the season with an injury. No. 2 QB, J.T. Barrett, looked overmatched against Va Tech.

But then Barrett turned into one of the great stories of the year, Ohio State began to roll, and they moved up, inch by inch, in the polls. Only Barrett then went down. Enter No. 3 quarterback Cardale Jones, and, in the last two games in particular, running back Ezekiel Elliott.

Against Alabama, Jones was solid, 18/35, 243, 1-1, while Elliott had 230 yards rushing on just 20 carries and two touchdowns, one a late 85-yard run that was the clincher; this after racking up 220 in the Big Ten title game massacre of Wisconsin.

Ohio State was down 21-6 to ‘Bama, but roared back and was leading 42-28 when the No. 1 seeded Crimson Tide got a late score. Alabama QB Blake Sims was picked off three times. Ohio State outgained ‘Bama 537-407.

Alabama coach Nick Saban is now 0-3 in the Sugar Bowl.

So Jan. 12 at Jerry’s World in Arlington, Texas, it’s Ohio State and Oregon. A terrific matchup.

“Back in the good ol’ days, Alabama and Florida State would be getting ready for the BCS title game. Anyone want to see that matchup after the wildly entertaining shows Oregon and Ohio State put on?

“The College Football Playoff proved its worth on its very first try. Neither Oregon nor Ohio State would have had a prayer at the national title under the Bowl Championship Series, snubbed in favor of SEC champion Alabama and an undefeated Florida State.

“Now the Ducks and Buckeyes will face each other for the inaugural playoff championship, and all but the most disgruntled TCU fan has to admit after Thursday’s games that both Oregon and Ohio State are worthy of the opportunity....

“The playoff structure isn’t perfect. As good as four teams are, eight would be better. Or 16.

“But it’s a huge improvement over the BCS nonsense, which gave us legitimate gripes almost every season.

“USC, Auburn, Utah, Boise State – someone was always howling about being left out or overlooked, often with good reason, Now, how a team is playing at the end of the season matters more than where it started or its pedigree....

“The Seminoles were defending national champs, proud owners of a 29-game winning streak that dated back to Nov. 24, 2012. And Oregon eviscerated them like a non-conference patsy in a 59-20 drubbing at the Rose Bowl that wasn’t even as close as the score indicated....

“It seemed as if another rout was on at the Sugar Bowl when Alabama took a 21-6 lead midway through the second quarter. But the Buckeyes stunned Alabama with 28 unanswered points – behind its third-string quarterback, no less....

“If Oregon and Ohio State can put on half the shows they did Thursday, this first title game is going to be all kinds of fun. And that’s why we wanted a playoff in the first place, because the BCS routinely managed to suck the fun out of college football.

“Instead of the usual griping and grumbling, the two best teams will be playing for the national title. You can’t argue with that.”

“We may never know the full extent of what we missed all these years. How many rightful national champions of college football’s highest level never even had a chance to play for the title? It took one day of the College Football Playoff to reinforce how fickle, how faux-certain, the Bowl Championship Series was for its entire existence.

“If the BCS still existed, Alabama and Florida State would have finished No. 1 and No. 2 and played for the national championship. Oregon and Ohio State would have played one another in a consolation game, muttering about the unfairness of a system that rewards pedigree over performance. The undefeated defending champs and the Southeastern Conference champion would have been the pairing. The two best teams in the country would have played in the Rose Bowl and wondered....

“A victory (Jan. 12) would mean different things to each team. Ohio State could further reclaim pride for both itself and its maligned conference. In 2006 and 2007, the Buckeyes made the title game in consecutive seasons and lost to Florida (which Meyer coached) and LSU by a combined 41 points, the tipping point in college football’s prevailing narrative: No conference was equipped to compete with the SEC, least of all the slow-footed Big Ten.

“In the intervening years, Ohio State landed on probation, lost Coach Jim Tressel and went 6-7 under interim coach Luke Fickell. Meyer took over in 2012, when Ohio State remained on probation. The Buckeyes have gone 37-3 in three years since.

“Oregon can culminate its ascension to the sport’s highest tier, the rise that began under Mike Bellotti, soared under Chip Kelly and has continued under Mark Helfrich. Oregon has won 60 games in the past five years, more than any school in the country. They have won the Pacific-12 four times since 2009. They won the Rose Bowl in 2012. They played for the national championship in 2011 and led until the final snap, Auburn’s game-winning field goal. They have done it all except win it all.

“Oregon is a powerhouse, a trend-setter in every way, but one victory will move it to a different echelon....

“It’s the biggest game. And, like never before, we don’t have to worry about the right teams playing in it.”

“If Ohio State players had any doubt whether they could beat Alabama, Urban Meyer made sure earlier results on New Year’s Day sunk into them.

“Wisconsin beat Auburn. Michigan State rallied to beat Baylor. Two teams Ohio State had defeated in the Big Ten just beat two high-profile opponents. Meyer hit on those points during the Buckeyes’ pregame dinner and again on the team bus.

“ ‘Maybe the Big Ten isn’t that bad,’ Meyer said. ‘Maybe the Big Ten is pretty damn good, or certainly getting better. The mind is a fragile thing. ...There’s no doubt that when we saw Wisconsin beat Auburn, that was a major, major moment for us to win this game.’....

“The Big Ten, beat up and kicked around for so long, will be playing for the chance to win its first national title since 2002 – and the first ever College Football Playoff National Championship.

“The SEC West, proclaimed by some as the best division ever in college football, ends the bowl season with a 2-5 record.

“For the first time since the 2008 season, there is no Alabama or Auburn in the national title game. For the first time since the famous USC-Texas Rose Bowl in the 2005 season, there is no SEC team playing for the national championship.

“Meyer started the SEC’s run to eight consecutive BCS title games. Meyer has ended it with Ohio State’s return to prominence.”

Yes, the Big Ten came a long way from the day Ohio State, Michigan State and Michigan all lost high-profile games, Sept. 6

In the Peach Bowl, No. 6 TCU (12-1) played with a major chip on its shoulder in annihilating No. 9 Mississippi (9-4), outgaining the Rebels 423-129, as “Bad” Bo was just 10 of 23 through the air with three picks for Ole Miss; “Bad” Bo Wallace, that is.

In the Orange Bowl, No. 12 Georgia Tech (11-3) beat No. 7 Mississippi State (10-3) 49-34, making it a miserable day for the state that produced Elvis. Quarterback Justin Thomas and running back Synjyn Days combined for 292 yards on the ground and six touchdowns. Dak Prescott threw for 453 yards in defeat. Nice win for the ACC.

No. 20 Boise State (12-2) made it 3-0 in the Fiesta Bowl with a 38-30 win over No. 10 Arizona (10-4).

Then on New Year’s Day, No. 18 Wisconsin (11-3) had the aforementioned big 34-31 win over No. 19 Auburn (8-5) in the Outback Bowl that inspired Ohio State. The Badgers, bouncing back from their Big Ten title game disaster, asked for athletic director and former coach Barry Alvarez to return to the sidelines just for this one game and he pulled it off, with star running back Melvin Gordon rushing for 251 yards on 34 carries and three touchdowns. [I’m not getting into how close he came to Barry Sanders’ single-season record of 2,618 yards because Sanders did it three fewer games. It’s a bogus comparison.]

And in the Cotton Bowl, the Big Ten scored again as No. 8 Michigan State held off No. 5 Baylor, 42-41, in a terrific game. Baylor’s Bryce Petty threw for 550 yards, the fourth most in bowl history, but he wasn’t as effective down the stretch, while the Spartans’ Connor Cook led Michigan State on the deciding drive, tossing a 10-yard TD pass with 17 seconds left (after his first two passes down at the ten were awful).

--In one of the more competitive ‘minor bowl’ matchups, No. 14 UCLA (10-3) blew a 31-6 halftime lead against No. 11 Kansas State (9-4) in the Alamo Bowl in Bayonne (just seeing if you’re paying attention...yes, San Antonio), with the Bruins then holding on to win 40-35

--In an historic contest for all the wrong reasons if you’re a Pitt fan, the Panthers (6-7) were also up 31-6 on Houston (8-5) with just 14 minutes left in the Armed Forces Destroy ISIS Bowl and lost 35-34, the biggest comeback in an FBS game this season and the third-largest ever in a bowl matchup. Thank god I was working (it was Friday, after all) and didn’t see this fiasco (Johnny Mac warned me not to watch the highlights, but I did anyway and it affected how I slept that night). As part of the chaotic last few minutes, when Houston scored 21 points in the final 3:30, the Cougars recovered two onsides kicks, both muffed by the same Panthers defender.

But even after this, Pitt had a chance to win, only their star receiver, Tyler Boyd, dropped a pass that would have set up a winning field goal attempt.

Oh well, when you finish 6-7, that kind of says it all...not only about the team but about the whole bowl process. But new coach Pat Narduzzi does inherit an FBS-high 81 underclassmen, including star running back James Conner, Boyd and quarterback Chad Voytik among 28 sophomores.

No. 17 Clemson (10-3) routed Oklahoma (8-5) 40-6 in the Citrus Bowl as QB Cole Stoudt was 26/36, 319, 3-0.

No. 13 Georgia (10-3) whipped up on No. 21 Louisville (9-4) 37-14, as Nick Chubb rushed for 266 yards on 33 carries, his eighth straight 100-yard game.

But then there is Jim Harbaugh, who was introduced as the new coach at Michigan on Tuesday.

“Throughout my life, I have dreamed of coaching at the University of Michigan,” Harbaugh read from a statement. “Now I have the honor to live it.”

Harbaugh did not receive the earlier reported six-year, $48 million contract, but rather signed a seven-year deal worth $5 million per year – the same salary he received with the Niners. He did  receive a $2 million signing bonus. [Plus there are all kinds of bonuses for winning the Big Ten championship, reaching a College Football Playoff bowl, playing in the four-team national championship playoff and for team academic performance. Winning a national title would bring $500,000.]

According to Michigan athletic director Jim Hackett, “(Harbaugh) insisted that he not be the highest-paid coach in college football, or even the Big Ten. I think that tells you something about his values.”

One thing is for sure, beginning in 2016 at the latest, the Ohio State-Michigan, Michigan-Michigan State matchups should be terrific. And maybe James Franklin at Penn State and Mike Riley at Nebraska will have their programs joining in the fun.

Michigan hasn’t won the Big Ten since 2004, by the way.

College Basketball

AP Poll [Dec. 29]

1. Kentucky 13-0 (all 65 first-place votes)
2. Duke 10-0
3. Virginia 11-0
4. Wisconsin 12-1
5. Louisville 11-1
6. Villanova 12-0
7. Gonzaga 12-1
8. Arizona 12-1
9. Iowa State 9-1
10. Utah 9-2
15. St. John’s 11-1
23. Northern Iowa 11-1
24. Colorado State 13-0

So...following the release of this poll on Monday afternoon, there were no titanic upsets in the immediate days after. Wed., Dec. 31, St. John’s fell to Seton Hall, 78-67, in a nice win for the Pirates. New Year’s Day, No. Iowa lost to Evansville, at Evansville, 52-49. 

But for St. John’s, sophomore guard Rysheed Jordan then announced he had taken an indefinite leave of absence to deal with “personal and family circumstances” in Philadelphia, according to coach Steve Lavin. Jordan was averaging 14 points per game. Big blow for the Johnnies.

So on Saturday....Seton Hall did it again, upsetting Villanova 66-61. Yes, the Pirates have perhaps a budding star in guard Sterling Gibbs, but their best player, freshman guard Isaiah Whitehead, has been out with a stress fracture and Seton Hall really doesn’t have a lot of big-time talent. Which means coach Kevin Willard is doing a helluva job.

Also on Saturday, No. 3 Virginia needed two overtimes to finally prevail down in Miami against the Hurricanes, 89-80. I’m still trying to get a handle on just how good the ACC is this year. North Carolina is improving rapidly, it would seem, let alone Duke and Louisville are top shelf. But Notre Dame? Not sure. [Big game Monday...Notre Dame at North Carolina.]

No. 9 Iowa State was upset by South Carolina in New York (Barclays Center), 64-60. Bad loss for the Cyclones.

St. John’s lost again, this time to Butler, 73-69, in a Big East tussle.

Meanwhile, one conference that I can see is underrated is the Mountain West. No. 24 Colorado State lost at New Mexico, 66-53. UNLV, which handed Arizona its first loss, lost to Wyoming in its first MW game.

And then there’s my San Diego State Aztecs.   Ughh. They lost at Fresno State on Saturday, 59-57, to fall to 11-4. It looks like I really screwed up with this one. I stupidly thought Winston Shepard would step up another level, and/or they’d find a guard to replace Xavier Thames. Neither has happened. They’ll be fortunate to finish .500 in the conference, let alone make the NCAA tournament.

--Big blow for the struggling Cleveland Cavaliers as they have to deal with LeBron James being out for two weeks with knee and back issues. Not for nothing, but James did turn 30 on Dec. 30, and in 11 professional seasons, he’s never missed more than five straight games, but this absence could reach 10 games or more. [After a loss to the Mavs, Sunday, the Cavs are 19-15.]

--Carmelo Anthony is being encouraged in various circles to shut it down for the rest of the year as he’s been sitting a lot recently with his ailing knee. The Knicks’ roster is so pathetic, so D-League-like, that there are serious questions just who will win more...the 76ers or the Knicks...and you can add the T’Wolves to the mix, though I’m assuming they win 15+.

Since 1994-95, 14 teams (before this season) had five or fewer wins prior to Jan. 1, and the best final record among the lot was the 2012-13 Washington Bullets (err, sorry, Wizards...I was channeling my inner Phil Chenier) who were 4-24 before Jan. 1 and finished 29-53. Only four of the 14 went on to win 20.

When it comes to Knicks fans these days, as the New York Post’s Kevin Kernan put it, “There is nothing to play for except Ping-Pong balls.”

--The Spurs played an absurd 18 games in December (they were 8-10). They play 14 in January and 11 in February, which is more like it.

--The 2015 Baseball Hall of Fame inductees will be announced on Tuesday at 2:00 PM ET.

Randy Johnson, John Smoltz, and Pedro Martinez, all on the ballot for the first time, are expected to get in. But does Craig Biggio get another two votes to get in as well, Biggio having fallen short with 74.80% last year (75% required for enshrinement)?   

Does Mike Piazza move up any, Piazza having received 62.20% last year, his second on the ballot?

What percentage does Jeff Bagwell receive? In his fourth year, he fell from 59.60% to 54.30% as steroid questions dog both Piazza and Bagwell.

And of course we’ll be looking to see what happens with Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds.

Clemens has received 37.60% and 35.40% (2014) in his first two years on the ballot.

Bonds received 36.20% and 34.70% (2014) his first two.

Bonds and Clemens still have 12 years of eligibility after this go ‘round, and a lot of folks believe they will get a surge of support later on, especially as more of the older voters among the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, who select the inductees, die off, to put it bluntly.

--We’re all still waiting to see where Scott Boras, err, his client, Max Scherzer, ends up. Boras is insisting on a $200 million deal, at least for now. ESPN’s Buster Olney went through all 30 teams and their chances of signing Scherzer and he says the odds now favor Detroit taking him back. Can’t disagree.

--Cincinnati picked up outfielder Marlon Byrd from the Phillies, hoping to get another power-year out of the 37-year-old.

--One of my favorite reporters is the Star-Ledger’s Steve Politi, who over the weekend gave his 2015 “Wish List”. Number one was “Meaningful September Baseball.” Yup, that’s what us Mets fans hope for, and demand, this season. Three games out of the playoff picture, or better, on Labor Day and I’d be a happy camper. [Politi also dreams of the Knicks winning the draft lottery. O-ka-for...O-ka-for...]

Premier League

After 20 of 38 matches...the standings. The schedule is much less chaotic from here. Just six games through February, then four a month, March-May. [Champions League play heats up...Round of 16...I need to keep up on this.]

1. Chelsea 14 (W) 4 (D) 2 (L)...46 points
2. Man City 14 – 4 – 2...46
3. Man U 10 – 7 – 3...37
4. Southampton 11 – 3 – 6...36
5. Tottenham 10 – 4 – 6...34...Go Spurs!
6. Arsenal 9 – 6 – 5...33
7. West Ham 9 – 5 – 6...32
8. Liverpool 8 – 5 – 7...29

*Chelsea and Man City are literally tied all around, including goals for and goals against. Its goal differential that decides ties in the standings (no playoffs), and the total is 25 for each after 20 matches. If, out of nowhere, these two were to finish tied like this after 38, there would be a playoff for the title. 

--What an exciting match New Year’s Day, as my Tottenham Spurs defeated Chelsea 5-3, led by 20-year-old budding superstar Harry Kane, who scored twice. Suddenly the Spurs are back in the Champions League conversation (first four finishers qualify).

--Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard, one of the great midfielders in Premier League history, announced he was joining Manchester City’s Frank Lampard in finishing their careers in MLS, with Gerrard going to the L.A. Galaxy, according to reports, while Lampard plays for the new franchise, New York City.

But New York City fans are “outraged” by Lampard’s decision to stay with Man City until the end of the English season when he had signed for the entire MLS campaign after he was initially released by Chelsea (whereupon he signed a short-term contract with Man City). So he’ll miss the first three months of the MLS season.

The leading New York City fan group said in a statement: “Many fans, including our members, decided to support the team, committed to season tickets, and bought merchandise under the impression that Frank Lampard would be playing for New York City Football Club, not Manchester City.

“Many of those fans are rightly outraged by this decision.”

The MLS franchise New York City is jointly owned by Manchester City and the New York Yankees.

--I watched the final period of the Winter Classic...great stuff. The Caps pulled it out with 13 seconds to go, defeating the Blackhawks 3-2. 42,800 attended the event at Nationals Park; further proof the Winter Classic has major staying power.

--There was a special moment on Saturday night as the Devils defeated the Flyers, 5-2, at Prudential Center. Jaromir Jagr scored a hat trick. Not only was it his first hat trick since March 22, 2006, the three goals give him 714 for his career, three behind Phil Esposito for fifth on the all-time list.

Jagr became the oldest player in history to record a hat trick, 42 years and 322 days of age. Gordie Howe held the record at 41 years, 217 days, when he scored his last one on Nov. 2, 1969.

--Stuart Scott, the pioneering sports anchor at ESPN, died Sunday at the age of 49 after a seven-year battle with cancer.

At the ESPYS on July 16, following another round of cancer surgery, Scott accepted the Jimmy V. Award for Perseverance with these words: “When you die, it does not mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live.”

--In World Cup skiing, American Mikaela Shiffrin is back in top form, winning her 10th career slalom race at Kuehtai, Austria, Monday, beating the record set in the 1980s by Tamara McKinney and on the men’s side by Phil Mahre, who both had nine wins in the event. [Shiffrin had also won the season-opening giant slalom in October.]

But then on Sunday, in Zagreb, Shiffrin prevailed in the slalom again! You go, girl!

[Shiffrin won Sunday’s race by a staggering, record, 1.68 seconds. Yeah, she’s back.]

--Houston, we have us a lock for “Jerk“ and “A-hole” of the year candidate already in 2015 with sports guy Jim Rome. Rome deleted a tweet of his on Friday but it was too late. Someone grabbed a screenshot and off the Twittersphere went.

“Is there anyone not in a marching band who thinks those dorks running around with their instruments are cool?”

That moment @jimrome became public enemy #1 of bands across the world. You messed with the wrong dorks. #MarchOnRome

Another (who I don’t want to identify for various reasons) tweeted, along with a picture of her bandmates in the snow:

@jimrome would never have the dedication and discipline it takes to rehearse in the snow for two hours. #MarchOnRome

“Just ‘running around with our instruments,’ and serving our country. #ProudtobeinBand #romeisburning #MarchOnRome”

Of course Rome apologized. “Band nation – I hear you. I was out of line. I apologize. I do not condone bullying of any kind and that was not my intent.”

Thank god for marching bands! Heck, I was in one in high school. So was our quarterback (well, he didn’t march on game days), our star basketball player, half the soccer team, I missed practices because I was running cross country...it was a great experience. [We also had a very understanding, and smart, band director who knew this was the only way to keep a large unit together.]

And in terms of college marching bands, for spectators they add to the excitement of the action.   I grant you some aren’t interested in half-time shows, but, boy, you’d never say that to those attending Ohio State games! Or Southern University’s amazing act. [I don’t like to include links here, but YouTube Southern Univ. Marching Band / Atlanta Classic (2011). Awesome.] 

--So on New Year’s Eve, I usually catch the first ½ hour of Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin, because I get a kick out of Griffin. Of course this year I was also watching football. 

As Des Bieler wrote the next day in the Washington Post:

“Even if you’re not a major sports fan, quarterback for the Cowboys is a pretty high-profile job in America, and Romo’s been at it for nine years. Plus, he was in a gossip-tastic relationship with Jessica Simpson, albeit one that ended five years ago.

“In fact, it was the Simpson connection that kicked off the sports-knowledge segment. Griffin made a passing reference to Simpson’s line of shoes, then, when Cooper expressed surprise at Simpson’s entrepreneurial success, Griffin asked, ‘You don’t know that she has more money than Tony Romo?’

“That prompted Cooper to ask the question of the night. Here is their exchange:

“Ah, live television. Cooper was wearing an earpiece, but there’s no way the producers of the telecast were going to get in the way of such comedy gold.”

“In a major disappointment for the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo’s endangered species breeding program, staff discovered last week that a rare Sumatran tigress had eaten her two cubs.

“The tiger, 10-year-old Hannah, had a history of not taking care of her cubs.”

There are only 400 Sumatran tigers on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, and an additional 400 in zoos around the world.

I am putting Hannah on one-year probation, an unprecedented step, though the Sumatran tiger remains No. 19 on the All-Species List.

--Shark! This happened earlier in the week but I haven’t had a chance to report on it. Once again, in the waters off Western Australia, a shark killed a spear fisherman. According to a spokesman for the fisheries department, “It appears that the shark swam past one diver and bit the other on the leg which resulted in fatal injuries. One of the other divers involved actually shot a spear gun” at the shark.

The Western Australian newspaper said the second diver reported the shark came for him after biting his 17-year-old friend, and he responded by pushing his spear gun down its throat and firing.

The shark was an estimated 13 feet long...a great white. This is the eighth fatal attack in these waters in about three years. It was just last September that Western Australia authorities announced a halt to a shark cull that had been put in place.

--Yippee! The PGA Tour season really gets cranking anew this week with the Tournament of Champions atn Kapalua. I’m ready for real golf again. [The wraparound portion of the 2014-15 season was a bust.] More next chat.

--Elly May Clampett died. Actress Donna Douglas, 82. Yup, many of us guys of a certain age fell in love with Elly May on “The Beverly Hillbillies,” which was one of my favorites growing up. The series ran from 1962 to 1971.

Douglas’ career began with beauty pageants – she was Miss Baton Rouge and Miss New Orleans – and then she pursued a career in entertainment when she moved to New York.

She did work with the likes of Perry Como and Steve Allen before landing a role in the 1959 film “Career,” starring Dean Martin and Shirley MacLaine. She was also in a famous “The Twilight Zone” episode titled “Eye of the Beholder.” Plus she starred opposite Elvis Presley in the 1966 movie “Frankie and Johnny.”

--And we note the passing of “Little” Jimmy Dickens, singer-songwriter and oldest cast member of the Grand Ole Opry. He was 94. My only time at the Opry, about 15 years ago, Dickens was part of the cast. I got the impression he was basically part of every show, period.

Dickens was only 4-foot-11 and performed at the Opry since 1948, including this past Dec. 20, which was the day after his 94th birthday.

Dickens had some Top 10 country hits in the late 1940s and early ‘50s, but his only #1 was 1965’s “May The Bird Of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose.”

He is credited with introducing rhinestone suits to country music around 1950.

--Finally, some of us were shocked to finally learn of the extent of Bono’s injuries suffered in his bicycle accident in Central Park late last year. In a lengthy posting on U2.com on New Year’s, Bono revealed he may never be able to play guitar again and that he will spend the first half of 2015 rehabbing his injuries before going on tour.

“The consequences of this freak accident are significant enough that I will have to concentrate hard to be ready for the U2 tour in fitness terms....as a result I have cancelled every public appearance and decided this missive is all the communication I can manage for the first half of 2015, beyond muttering and singing to myself of course,” he wrote.

Bono suffered three fractures to his left shoulder blade when he crashed to the ground. He also fractured a little finger, and various injuries to his ‘funny bone’ caused a tear through the skin and fractures in six places. Good lord.

Top 3 songs for the week 1/10/81: [It’s that time of year I skip a year or else I’d be repeating most of the tunes] #1 “(Just Like) Starting Over” (John Lennon) #2 “Love On The Rocks” (Neil Diamond) #3 “Guilty” (Barbra Streisand & Barry Gibb)...and...#4 “The Tide Is High” (Blondie) #5 “Hungry Heart” (Bruce Springsteen) #6 “Every Woman In The World” (Air Supply) #7 “Passion” (Rod Stewart) #8 “Tell It Like It Is” (Heart) #9 “Lady” (Kenny Rogers) #10 “More Than I Can Say” (Leo Sayer)

Ohio State Quiz Answer: 1968 – QB: Rex Kern RB: Jim Otis (who played fullback). This was not an exciting offense. 2002 – QB: Craig Krenzel RB: Maurice Clarett. I totally forgot about Krenzel, no offense to the Krenzel family. We know what happened with Clarett...what a waste.

Next Bar Chat, Thursday...as I get back into a more normal routine. With football winding down, hopefully I’ll have some time for other material. Like baseball cards, Brad K.! Finally going to get to that book you gave me long ago. And Jeff B., I’ll get to that 60s music book as well.

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