Saturday Morning News

Boston Bruin Phil Kessel has finally been traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The trade proves that NHL talent evalution is absurd, as Boston got two first-round picks and a second-round pick in return. Had Kessel been signed as an unrestricted free agent, Boston would have gotten a first-, second-, and third-round pick instead. [HockeyJournal.com]

Ichiro Suzuki led the Seattle Mariners to victory over the Yankees with his second consecutive walk-off hits. Mariano Rivera gave up the two-run homer for only his second blown save of the season. [YESNetwork.com]

Floyd Mayweather came in two pounds overweight for tonight's fight against Juan Manuel Marquez. ESPN is reporting that Mayweather will lose and Marquez will gain $300,000 for each pound Mayweather is over. [ESPN]

Michigan's James Mouton has been suspended one game for throwing a punch during last weeks game against Notre Dame. He will miss today's game against Eastern Michigan. [Bleacher Report]

NFL Week 2 Preview

New England Patriots @ New York Jets
Spread: Patriots, -3.5
o/u:46
This has become the most talked about game of the week, mostly because the Jets are doing all the talking. What most other people are saying is "Tom Brady is back! Two late TDs against Buffalo! A come from behind victory! Tom Brady is back!" What their not saying is that Tom Brady played more like Carson Palmer has lately than himself for three quarters. The Jets will bring more, different, and better pressure than the Bills did to break the streak of eight straights loses at home to the Pats.
Pick: Jets 27 - Patriots 20

Houston Texans @ Tennessee Titans
Spread: Titans, -6.5
o/u: 41
A lot of people expected Houston to win thier division this year. I wasn't one of them, and Week 1 against the Jets proved why. This week, they run into an equally good defense, and will probably have many of the same problems moving the ball that they did last week.
Pick: Titans 24 - Texans 10

Minnesota Vikings @ Detroit Lions
Spread: Vikings, -10
o/u: 45.5
Adrian Peterson will have three more TDs in this game. The Lions will have two, as a team. The rest of the Vikings will help cover the spread and the over.
Pick: Vikings 35 - Lions 17

Carolina Panthers @ Atlanta Falcons
Spread: Falcons, -6.5
o/u: 42.5
Jake Delhomme looked bad last week. Even if he gets back to old form, he has a tough Atlanta D to face. The Panther's also don't have the D to stop Atlanta's offense, with Michael Turner rushing for 4 TDs against Carolina the last time they met. I don't thinke he'll match that output, but I also don't think he needs to.
Pick: Falcons 31 - Panthers 10

St Louis Rams @ Washington Redskins
Spread: Redskins, -10
o/u: 37
The line on this game just doesn't make sense to me. Sure both teams didn't look that great last week, but a spread of 10 with a low under? Do the oddsmakers really think Washington will win 14-0? I don't.
Pick: Redskins 21 - Rams 17

Oakland Raiders @ Kansas City Chiefs
Spread: Chiefs, -3
o/u:38.5
Fall all of Oaklands faults, they do have a strong defense. They also almost beat San Diego last week. For KC, Matt Cassel still has knee problems. Whoever suits up at QB this week, look for Oakland to victimize them often, with both sacks and INTs.
Pick: Raiders 24 - Chiefs 20

Cincinnati Bengals @ Green Bay Packers
Spread: Packers, -9
o/u:42
Don't let the miraculous, last second loss fool you: Cincinnati sucked last week. Carson Palmer claims Chris Henry was a non-factor because of Denver's D. I say he was a non-factor because Carson Palmer doesn't have it any more. Meanwhile, the Packers look like they did last year on O, and much improved on D.
Pick: Packers 28 - Bengals 7

New Orleans Saints @ Philadelphia Eagles
Spread: Saints, -1
o/u: 46.5
I like the Eagles this year, but not this week. Last week their offense looked okay against an okay Panthers defense, and their defense looked amazing against a weak Panther's O. That won't be the case this week. With Donovan McNabb probably out, the offense will continue to look okay, and with the high-powered Saints offense on the other side, the defense won't look so great any more. Brees won't throw for 6 TDs this week, but he won't need to, either.
Pick: Saints 34 - Eagles 20

Arizona Cardinals @ Jacksonville Jaguars
Spread: Jaguars, -3
o/u: 42.5
Niether teams offense looked very good last week as both lost close games they could have won. The big factor here are the Cardinals receivers, who are pretty banged up already. That will keep them from putting up big points, and the Jags will cover easily.
Pick: Jaguars 28 - Cardinals 13

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Buffalo Bills
Spread: Bills, -5
o/u: 42
This is the first time in history the Bucs will play in Buffalo, and its already pretty cold up there. The Bucs D looked silly in a bad way against Dallas last week, and TO and the Bills will easily take agvantage of that. The Bills also looked surprisingly decent against the Pats last week, which means more problems for Tampa and Raheem Morris, the league's youngest head coach.
Pick: Bills 35 - Buccaneers 17

Seattle Seahawks @ San Francisco 49ers
Spread: 49ers, -1.5
o/u: 39.5
A healthy Seahawks team spells doom for the rest of the NFC West. The 49ers surprised everyone by beating the NFC champs, but it was a Cardinals team with a bunch of injured receivers. The only injury of note for Seattle is Deion Branch, and he hasn't done anything for them since joining the team anyway. Matt Hasselbeck might throw a pass or two to the wrong team, but Seattles D will get it right back for him.
Pick: Seahawks 24 - 49ers 17

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Chicago Bears
Spread: Steelers, -3
o/u: 37.5
Everyone is expecting a huge bounce-back game for Jay Cutler, including me. He'll only throw 3 picks this week, one for a touchdown. How does anyone think Cutler will bounce back against the Steelers? Are the Steelers secretly dressing the Lions Defense this week? Both teams will be without their defensive stars, as the Steelers lost Troy Polomalu for a few weeks, and the Bears lost Brian Urlacher for the season. This will hurt Chicago more than it hurts Pittsburgh.
Pick: Steelers 24 - Bears 10

Baltimore Ravens @ San Diego Chargers
Spread: Chargers, -3
o/u: 40.5
Why anyone thinks San Diego will do well outside of their division is beyond me. Both teams put up good numbers late last week, but the Chargers are facing a defense much better than the Oakland one the almost lost to last week. Oh, and Baltimore's offense is better than Oaklands, too.
Pick: Ravens 24 - Chargers 17

Cleveland Browns @ Denver Broncos
Spread: Denver, -3
o/u: 38.5
Lets be honest here: Denver's win last week was only thanks to a fluke play. And Cleveland had to try and stop Adrian Peterson. I look at the Broncos and I don't see an Adrian Peterson among them. In fact, last week the Broncos put up less than half the rushing yards Peterson had as a team. Last week Brady Quinn got the start at QB for the Browns, and probably will this week, too. In the match-up of Kyle Orton vs Brady Quinn, I'll take Quinn.
Pick: Browns 17 - Broncos 13

New York Giants @ Dallas Cowboys
Spread: Cowboys, -3
Spread: 44.5
The Cowboys open their new stadium this week. They expect over 100,000 fans to show up. The knew scoreboard alone probably generates enough energy to propel the 'Boys to victory. The Giants are probably the better team, but sometimes home field advantage is too much to overcome.
Pick: Cowboys 24 - Giants 13

Delonte West Arrested on Gun Charges

From WashingtonPost.com:

Delonte West, a guard for the Cleveland Cavaliers, was driving a three-wheeled motorcycle north on Interstate 95 near Route 214 in the Largo area when he cut off a Prince George's County police officer, authorities said. The officer pulled him over, and West told the officer that he was carrying a handgun in his waistband.

That prompted the officer to call for backup, and investigators found that West was actually carrying three guns: a Beretta 9mm in his waistband, a Ruger .357 strapped to his leg and a shotgun in a guitar case slung over his back, said Maj. Andy Ellis, a spokesman for the Prince George's County Police Department.

There is so much wrong with this situation, I don't even know where to begin. First would be, I guess, that he cut off a cop. Thats just dumb. Then, he told the cop about the gun in his waistband. I guess he didn't learn what happens when you put a gun in your waistband from Plaxico Burress. That part kind of makes sense, since a cop will sometimes ask if you have a weapon, and its smarter to tell him than to have him find it the hard way. But why tell him about that one and not the one strapped to your leg? Oh, and that shotgun in the guitar case strapped across your back. Maybe he actually thought he had a guitar in there and forgot?

The story goes on to say that it is unknown where west was going and why he was armed. My theory: he was on his way to re-enactment of an episode of Sons of Anarchy. Its just a guess. I mean, he does look kind of like Thoe Rossi.

Delonte West:

Theo Rossi as Juan Carlos "Juice" Ortiz on Sons of Anarchy:

[pics via duffy1700's photobucket, TheoRossi.com]

College Football Week 3 - Important Matchups

Tennessee @ 1 Florida
Favorite: Florida, -30
This will be the closest thing to a "test" Florida will have faced so far in the season, having previously beaten Charlseton Southern and Troy. And Tennessee is not a team to be taken lightly. They have a new head coach with NFL experience in Lane Kiffin, and he feels his team has something to prove. The Volunteers got blown out at home last year, and this year have to go into The Swamp for the defending National Champions. Florida will win, but a 30 point spread will favor Tennessee.
Pick: Florida 45 - Tennessee 20

Texas Tech @ 2 Texas
Favorite: Texas, -17.5
Texas Tech was the team that derailed the Big 12 South last season, causing a three-way tie with their win over Texas. Tech has lost a good portion of their playmakers, though, and will have to stop returning Texas QB Colt McCoy. This may have been one of the shock games of last year, but it won't be this year.
Pick: Texas 35 - Texas Tech 10

3 USC @ Washington
Favorite: USC, -19.5
This game has every marking on it of being a let-down game for USC. Last week they had to go into Ohio State and barely came out with the W. This week they have to go into Washington. On paper, it looks like a total mismatch. But coming off an 0-12 season, Washington already has one win this year. Plus, they only lost to LSU by eight points in Week 1. USC has also had problems going north since their undefeated regular season in 2005. They have lost at Oregon in 2007 and at Oregon State twice, including last years post-Ohio State game. I hate to say it, but I'm expecting more of the same.
Pick: Washington 28 - USC 24

19 Nebraska @ 13 Virginia Tech
Favorite: Va Tech, -5
Of the four games these teams have played this year, three have been blowouts: Nebraska over Florida Atlantic and Arkansas State, and Va Tech over Marshall. The one blemish here is Tech's loss to Alabama in Week 1, the only time either team has played a good opponent so far. I'm led to believe that 34-24 loss wasn't a fluke. Va Tech has some improving to do in the next couple of seasons before they can consistently beat ranked opponents.
Pick: Nebraska 31 - Va Tech 20

Friday Magic Numbers

17 days left, your MLB magic numbers:

AL East:
NY Yankees, +7 over Boston: 10

AL Central:
Detroit, +4 over Minnesota: 13

AL West:
LA Angels, +6.5 over Texas: 11

AL Wild Card:
Boston, +6 over Texas: 12

NL East:
Philadelphia, +7.5 over Atlanta: 10

NL Central:
St Louis, +9 over Chcago: 8

NL West:
LA Dodgers, +5 over Colorado: 11

NL Wild Card:
Colorado, +3.5 over San Francisco: 13

Friday Morning News - 9/18/09

High school football coach Jason Stilson was found not guilty on all charges stemming from the death of a 15-year-old player during practice. [WLKY]

Roger Federer Has been fined $1,500 for swearing at an umpire during the US Open finals on Monday. [CNN International]

ESPN is reporting USC QB Aaron Corp will start this weekend in place of injured QB Matt Barkley. [ESPN]

Former Eagle Hank Baskett has signed with the Colts, replacing injured receiver Anthony Gonzalez. [1070 The Fan]

The Jacksonville Jaguars home opener this week will be blacked out on local tv. The San Diego Chargers and Detroit Lions were granted ticket selling extensions that end today. [Washington Post]

LeBron James will play himself in the upcoming movie Fantasy Basketball Camp. [Ohio.com]

Suspending baseball players is a joke, and now MLB pretty much admitted it

It has long been understood that the suspensions handed out to starting pitchers and hitters when an HBP leads to a fight are unfair. A first baseman suspended 5 games misses 5 games. A starting pitcher misses 1, at worst. But the results of Tuesday's Blue Jays-Yankees fight shows MLB knows no one takes them seriously.

Lets recap: Blue Jays batter gets hit by a pitch. Bottom of the eigth, Jay's reliever Carlson throws rediculously far behind Posada. Posada has words with Carlson. Posada would later come around to score from second, and bumps into Carlson, who was coming over to backup home plate if there was a throw. Carlson takes offense, benches clear, punches are thrown. As a result, Posada and Carlson are suspended four games each, Duncan is suspended three, and there are various other fines.

Oh, you heard they were all suspended three games each? Look a little deeper.

What pretty much every news story I've seen on the subject is glossing over is the fact that they were suspended four games, then had the suspensions reduced to three BECAUSE THEY AGREED NOT TO APPEAL! Oh sure, its in the stories, but usually as a throw away line at the beginning, or at the very end where no one will notice it. And I'm left asking, whats the point? Why even bother suspending people?

Sure, baseball has some harsh penalties. If you gamble on the game, you're out for life. Fail three drug tests, and out for life. Now Mike Scioscia might be facing fines for comments about the officiating in last nights Angels-Red Sox game. But the suspensions handed down for fighting and intentionally throwing at an opponent have become the laughingstock of the sports world. A suspended pitcher can immediately sit out a five game suspensions and miss one start, or his start can be pushed back and he won't really miss any. A fielder in an important series can appeal his suspension, enabling him to continue playing until the suspension is heard. Or he can just drop his suspension when the series is over or hes scheduled for a rest anyway, and begin serving his suspension when he or his teams wants him to. Not to mention the fact that appeals are usually successful in reducing a suspension by at least a game. And now this.

What Baseball has pretty much done now is take the appeals process out of the equation. Its as if they said "We know four games is too high, so if you agree to not drag out the appeals process, we'll drop it to three." This sets an interesting precedent for suspensions in the future. Could a starting pitcher now agree to immediately sit a five game suspension, miss four instead, and not even worry about interrupting his routine? Are we headed towards a point where a batter can say "I'll take four games, but only if I can serve them during our series against Kansas City next month"? What needs to be done is finally set up a mandatory length of time for suspensions of this type. Pitchers have to miss three trips through the rotation. Batters sit three games. The appeals system will remain the same, but they can only reduce a suspension one game, and if the appeal is lost, they must sit another game.

After all, if a pitcher intentionally throws at a batter, the pitcher's manager automatically sits one game with no appeal. Why not hold the players a little more responsible for their actions?

College Football Week 3 - Thursday Night Preview

14 Georgia Tech @ 20 Miami(FL)
Favorite: Miami, -5.5
In one of Week 3's biggest games, two as-yet-unbeaten ACC - Coastal rivals battle for the lead in their division. Miami comes into this game already having beaten a ranked team, 18 FSU in Week 1. Unfortunately, that was their last game, almost two weeks ago, and it was against what now appears to have been an overrated FSU team. Georgia Tech comes off a closer-than-it-should-have-been conference win against Clemson last week. Miami put up big numbers passing against FSU. GT has already shown they have trouble stopping the pass, giving up 261 yards and 3 TDs through the air last week. So Miami QB Jacory Harris will be the wild card in this game. If he can keep up the status quo here, look for both teams to score high, but Miami to pull out the win.
Pick: Miami 38 - GT 31

Thursday Morning News - 9/17/09

Two teenagers have been identified as the ones who vandalized Buffalo Bill Leodis McKelvin's lawn. McKelvin is not pressing charges. [SI.com]

Yankees Jorge Posada, Shelley Duncan, and Blue Jay Jesse Carlson have been suspended three games each after a bench clearing brawl Tuesday night. Other players and managers have been fined, and Duncan is appealing his suspension. [ESPN]

NCAA president Myles Brand has died of pancreatic cancer. He was 67. [USA Today]

NFL Week 1 Wrap-up

With Week 1 in the books, we had some surprises, some injuries, and some big returns.

Surprises:
The 49ers win in Arizona:

San Fran goes into the home of the defending NFC Champs and pulls out a 20-16 win. Are these guys for real? Probably not, but at this point it doesn't look like Arizona is either.

That TD catch by Brandon Stokely:

If you haven't seen it yet, you aren't a football fan and shouldn't be reading this post. Some fun facts about the play:

• It is the longest play from scrimmage and tied with Aaron Brown's 87 yard kick return for longest play over all this weekend


• It is the longest touchdown play so far this season


• It was Stokely's only catch of the day


• If the ball hadn't been tipped first, the play probably wouldn't have happened

And kudos to Stokely for running along the endzone before scoring to run out the clock a little more.

The Monday Night games:

Sure, the teams that were expected to win won. But who expected them to come down to plays made in the final 2 minutes of both games? Sure, the Pats had some question marks, but the Chargers should have had a much easier time with the Raiders in the late game. It has to be said, though, that the Bills and Raiders both looked better than expected in losing efforts.

Injuries:
Brian Urlacher, LB, Bears: out for the year with a dislocated wrist
Reggie Hayward, DE, Jaguars: out for the year with a broken leg
Troy Polamalu, S, Steelers: out 3-6 with a sprained MCL
Anthony Gonzalez, WR, Colts: out an unspecified amount of time with a knee injury
Josh McCown, QB, Panthers: out for the season with knee and foot injuries Donovan McNabb, QB, Eagles: fractured rib, length of time yet to be determined

Returns:
Tom Brady:

After missing almost all of last season with a knee injury suffered in Week 1, Brady made his triumphant regular season return to Foxboro. He looked shaky for most of the game, but put together two TD drives in the fourth quarter, culminating in two TDs in the final 2:06 to squeak out a one point win.

Richard Seymour:

Seymour finally reported to Oakland on Sunday, and did, in fact, play in the Monday late game. He recorded 2 sacks in the loss.

Brett Favre:

Favre made his return to the NFC North after retiring to NY last season. The Vikings won, but Favre didn't do much more than manage the game and hand the ball to Adrian Peterson. He had one TD, to rookie Percy Harvin.

Fantasy Studs:

1. Drew Brees. Only a handful of people have thrown for more than 6 TDs in a game
2. Adrian Peterson. Theres a reason he was picked first in almost every fantasy draft.
3. Eagles D. 5 sacks, 5 INTs, 2 fumbles recovered, 2 TD. Some teams won't have stats like that after Week 3, let alone Week 1.

Fantasy Duds:

1. Willie Parker. Healthy and expected to get the bulk of the carries this season, Parker only managed 19 yards rushing.
2. Jake Delhomme. 73 passing yards, 0 TDs, 4 INTs. He was eventually benched, and theres some speculation he might not last the season.
3. Jay Cutler. At least he had a TD to go with his 4 INTs.

Week 1 Picks:
Straight up: 14-2
ATS: 11-5
o/u: 8-8

Questions for Week 2:
Who will start in Philly?:

With Donovan McNabb expected to miss at least this weeks game, the Eagles signed Jeff Garcia. Garcia says he'll be ready to play this week, since he'll be coming in with experience in the system and having spent the preseason with Oakland. But Kevin Kolb has been there the whole time and is expected to take over when McNabb is finallt done. Will Garcia be handed the start? Or will this be Kolb's time to show what he can do?

Which Jake Delhomme will show up?

Delhomme has been the guy in Carolina for a while and it's served Carolina well. They've made the playoffs in three of his six seasons with the team, including one Super Bowl appearance. But he's had 9 INTs and 2 fumbles lost in his last two games. Is this a new Jake Delhomme? Or can he get back to his old self before its too late?

Are the plug 'n' play Pats done?

Bill Belichick has made a career in New England out of taking his ofeensive and defensive system, plugging players into them, seamingly at random, and making them work. However, the starting defense lost five players that were on last years Week 1 roster. While the defense didn't look bad against the Bills, they didn't look like the defense the Pats are known for, either. Additionally, before the fourth quarter, Brady looked shaky, hesitating when he felt his surgically repaired knee would be in danger. Most are picking the Pats as the team to beat this year, but if they continue to look like they did Monday night, they'll become the team to beat up on.

Tuesday Morning News - 9/15/09

Roger Federer lost the US Open men's final to 6 seed Juan Martin del Potro. Federer had won five straight US Open Championships, and 40 consecutive US Open matches. The Williams sisters also won the Women's Doubles Championship. [Huliq]

Seattle Mariner Ichiro Suzuki broke Wee Willy Keeler's record for most consecutive 200 hit seasons with a single in Sundays game against the Texas Rangers. It is his ninth straight 200 hit season. [Yahoo]

Chicago Bears LB Brian Urlacher will miss the entire NFL season after dislocating his wrist in the opener against the Green Bay Packers. [Chicago Tribune]

The Philadelphia Eagles resigned former QB Jeff Garcia. Kevin Kolb is believed to be the Week 2 starter, with Garcia backing him up until Donovan McNabb is healthy or Michael Vick is ready to play. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

MNF Preview - Week 1

Buffalo Bills @ New England Patriots
Spread: Patriots, -11.5
o/u: 47.5
If you look at the headlines, you would think the Oakland Raiders are the only team with more problems than the Bills right now. They fired their offensive coordinator a little over a week ago. Their QB isn't all that good. TO missed a lot of time in the preseason. TO isn't happy with the no-huddle offense. After starting 5-0 last year, head coach Dick Jauron got a contract extension, then proceeded to go 2-9 the rest of the way, including 0-6 in the division. On the other side of the field isdivision rival New England, the most successful franchise of the last decade. Tom Brady is healthy. Bill Belichick is still head coach. They're hungry to get back in the playoffs. Buffalo doesn't stand a chance.
Pick: Patriots 42 - Bills 17

San Diego Chargers @ Oakland Raiders
Spread: Chargers, -10.5
o/u: 43
I will continue to say the Chargers are the most overrated team in the NFL until they prove me wrong. However, they play in the weakest division in football, and possibly in all of sports, and open against a division opponent. I said the Charges would go 8-8 this year, 6-0 in their division, and that prediction will start to come true tonight.
Pick: Chargers 31 - Raiders 6

NFL Sunday Recap - Week 1

The first Sunday of the NFL season saw some players with high expectations succeed, while others fell flat on their faces.

Success:
Mark Sanchez

The rookie QB played well in his NFL debut, passing for 272 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT. He played generally mistake-free ball in getting his first career win.

Drew Brees

358 yards, 6 TDs. After almost breaking Dan Marino's passing yards record and not winning league MVP last year, Brees broke his own team record for Week 1 passing yards and threw scores to five different players. Yes, it was against Detroit, but still. Damn.

Failure:
Matthew Stafford

In his NFL debut, Stafford completed less than half of his passes for no TDs and 3 INTs. Sure, he plays for the Lions, and that doesn't help, but 3 INTs isn't starting a career on the right foot.

Jay Cutler

For some reason, Bears fans and executives think Jay Cutler is a star, Super Bowl caliber QB. What he is is an INT machine, throwing 4 in his first game as a Bear. Hes on pace for 64. Good job Chicago, you got what you paid for!

Rookie Roundup: Using a complex scoring system to rank two major rookies for the season

Mark Sanchez: 18/31, 272 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 6 rush yards, 0 sacks
Points: 18.2

Matthew Stafford: 16/37, 205 yards, 0 TD, 3 INT, 0 rush yards, 1 sack, 1 rushing TD
Points: -2.75

Week 1 Winner: Sanchez

Next week Sanchez's Jets are home against New England and Stafford's Lions are home for Brett Favre's Vikings.

What have we learned?: Three things we can take away from this weekend

1. Not much. Its Week 1. Of 16 quarters of preseason play, starters have probably been in about 6-7 of them. Week 1 is the real first look at how teams are playing, and you really can't get a full picture of a team until around Week 3, in my opinion.

2. You can't win NFL MVP in Week 1. But Drew Brees tried. And so did Adrian Peterson(180 yards, 3 TDs).

3. Donovan McNabb needs to keep eating his chunky soup. Hes expected to miss at least Week 2, making this the seventh of 11 season McNabb has missed a game. Maybe the chunky soup isn't working. Can anyone get this man in a "Got Milk?" ad? Oh wait, nevermind:

Monday Morning News - 9/14/09

The speculation that Michael Crabtree will sit out the entire season will continue another 10 weeks. [PFT]

Kim Clijsters is the first mother to win a major since 1980, beating Caroline Wozniacki at the US Open. [CBS News]

Serena Williams has been fine $10,000 for her tirade and $500 for racket abuse in her match against Kim Clijsters. [NYDN]

Tiger Woods won the BMW Championship by 8 strokes, and now has a 1504 point lead in the FedEx Cup standings over Steve Stricker. [NY Times]

MY 25 - Week 2

There is probably nothing in sports I disagree with more than the BCS and college football poll system. With that in mind, each week I'll be naming my own Top 25. The only hard and fast rule of MY 25: overall records come first.

1. Alabama
2. USC
3. Boise St
4. BYU
5. Houston
6. Florida
7. Texas
8. Cal
9. Penn St
10. Georgia Tech
11. Michigan
12. BC
13. Utah
14. LSU
15. Nebraska
16. Kansas
17. Cincinnati
18. Iowa
19. UCLA
20. Auburn
21. Mizzou
22. Pitt
23. Texas Tech
24. UNC
25. Minnesota

Performance of the Week: Houston Cougars
With Oklahoma State ranked fifth in the nation and coming off a huge win at home against Georgia, the Houston Cougars had their work cut out for them. They would have to go on the road and beat a Top 5 opponent, something they hadn't done since beating No. 3 Texas in 1984. Houston took control early, only to see OSU come back. But in a game full of mistakes by OSU, Houston was ready to take fully advantage, twice coming back from 4 point deficits to finally win, 45-35.

The Sunday News - 9/13/09

NHL trade news: San Jose Sharks get Danny Heatley and a fifth round pick, Ottawa Senators get Milan Michalek, Jonathan Cheechoo, and a second round pick. [SI.com]

USC wins, Notre Dame loses, both on late TDs. [USA Today, Washington Post]

Denny Hamlin wins the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 and the Chase field is set. Kyle Busch tied Mark Martin for most regular season wins this year, but doesn't make the Chase. I thought they changed the rules so that sort of thing didn't happen? [Daily Press]

Serena Williams was eliminated from the US Open after being deducted a point for a profanity laced tirade at a line judge who called a foot fault on her. [MyFOXNY.com]

Theo Fleury, 41, has been reinstated by the NHL and invited to training camp by the Calgary Flames. [Chicago Tribune]