Hot Stove Roundup - Rumors and Signings

Its been a week, and not much has happened in free agency. The high-profile players are still out there, but some needs are being filled:

Free Agency:
The Toronto Blue Jays signed SS Alex Gonzalez to a one-year deal with a club option for 2011. One has to wonder what exactly the Jays plans are with this signing. Compared to Marco Scutaro, their previous SS, Gonzalez is a downgrade. With Scutaro eligible to be a free agent but waiting on an arbitration offer, the Jays may not be expecting to get him back. This would be a huge blow for the organization, as Scutaro is coming off a year where he had career highs in almost every offensive category. The only real advantage Gonzalez has is age, as he is 2 years younger than Scutaro. With Gonzalez now signed and Scutaro expected to play elswhere, the Red Sox and Dodgers look like his most likely landing spots.

NFL Week 12 Preview

Carolina Panthers @ NY Jets
Spread: Jets, -3
o/u: 41.5
The Jets are 1-6 in their last seven, and yet the oddsmakers still make them the favorite. In that same 7-game stretch, the Panthers have beaten the Cardinals and Falcons, but lost to the Dolphins and Bills. Really this game will come down to the QBs. Both have had their problems this year, and both will need to step it up to win this game. Both teams can rush for all the yards they want, but if Sanchez or Delhomme throws a pick after gaining 20 yards on the ground, it won't really matter. What will matter is the fact that the Jet's secondary hasn't been getting pick in the first place.
Pick: Panthers 20 - Jets 17

Saturday Morning News - 11/28/09

Tiger Woods was injured in a one-car accident early Friday morning. The latest update says his injuries were caused by his wife, not the accident itself. [TMZ]

Duke won the 2009 NIT Season Tip-off, beating UConn, 68-59. [NYDN]

UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma won his 700th career game, beating Hofstra, 91-46. [Danbury News Times]

The Las Vegas Locomotives won the inaugural UFL Championship beating the Florida Tuskers in overtime. [Las Vegas Sun]

Thanksgiving NFL Special!

Green Bay Packers @ Detroit Lions
Spread: Packers, -10.5
o/u: 47.5
The problem with short weeks, like Thanksgiving week, is lack of time to prepare. That goes for teams as well as people trying to pick winners. Here we have two teams coming off wins who have major players who may or may not play. We already know the Packers will be without defensive standouts Aaron Kampman and Al Harris. It's assumed the Lions will be without Matthew Stafford, and possibly without Calvin Johnson. With one team losing two defensive players, and the other two offensive, I still have to give it to the Packers.
Pick: Packers 28 - Lions 20

Oakland Raiders @ Dallas Cowboys
Spread: Cowboys, -13.5
o/u: 40.5
Bruce Gradkowski led the Raiders to a win over a division leader last week, and now he has to face another one this week. I can't simply say the Cowboys will win this one. They barely pulled out a 7-6 win against an excellent Redskins defense, and the Raiders D showed they can take on the best of them last week. The advantage the Cowboys have is a running game. Nnamdi Asomugha may be the NFL's best corner, but if they can't stop the run game as a team, they won't be able to win.
Pick: Cowboys 17 - Raiders 13

NY Giants @ Denver Broncos
Spread: Giants, -6.5
o/u: 42
This Thanksgiving, we should all be thankful for the late Lamar Hunt. Without him, we would be forced to watch the Raiders and Lions on Thanksgiving without a third game to remind us that there is still good football out there. This year we have the Giants and Broncos. But lets not get ahead of ourselves and think this is a definite game to look forward to. Both of the Giants RBs are nursing injuries with Ahmad Bradshaw not expected to play. Denver will be trotting out injured QB Kyle Orton, after Chris Simms couldn't get the job done. The real story is how the Ravens and Steelers exposed their one weakness: if the Broncos can't get their running game started, they can't get their offense started. Despite some late-game collapses the past few weeks, the Giants have a very good defense, and they aren't happy about playing on Thanksgiving. Shutting down the running game early should put this one out of reach, and the Giants can coast most of the second half.
Pick: Giants 31 - Broncos 17

Wednesday Morning News - 11/25/09

NL MVP: 1B Albert Pujols(STL) [MLB.com]

Jim Bates has been demoted from defensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Head coach Raheem Morris will take over his play-calling duties. [Miami Herald]

Washington Redskins secondary coach Jerry Gray is expected to be named head coach of the University of Memphis football team. [Washington Examiner]

Abe Pollin, owner of the Washington Wizards, has died at the age of 85. [Washington Post]

Maybe the Deer Just Wanted to Play, Too

So some kids in Ohio were playing football. The ball gets away from them, and rolls towards a woodsy area behind the house. One kid goes to retrieve the ball. Then, fan interference:

Devil Deer my ass. Rumor has it Al Davis has already contacted his agent, and he'll be working out for the Raiders this Friday. We're awaiting the results of his 40 time.

The kid with the stick has been suspended for one half against the girl down the block by Urban Meyer.

NFL Week 11 Wrap-up

The AFC North went 0-4? Seriously? Seriously:

Well, That Makes Sense:
Baltimore Ravens
Playing Indy, some people had the Ravens as a slight favorite, some people had the Colts as a slight favorite. At this point, I think people are overvaluing the Ravens defense. Yes, like I've said before, Ed Reed and Ray Lewis are two of the best defensive players in the league, maybe ever. But the losses of Rex Ryan, Bart Scott, and Jim Leonhard have hurt more than people think. And without Terrell Suggs this week, things only got worse. The Colts have been struggling, but to think Peyton Manning wouldn't be able to beat that defense is silly, in my mind. Sure, the Ravens almost won, but almost doesn't get you to the playoffs.

Tuesday Morning News - 11/24/09

AL MVP: C Joe Mauer(MIN) [MLB.com]

Montreal Canadiens F Geroges Laraque has been suspended 5 games for a knee-to-knee hit on Detroit Red Wings D Niklas Kronwall. [Detroit Free Press]

Lorena Ochoa has won her fourth consecutive LPGA Player of the Year title. [USA Today]

Northeastern University will be ending their football program after 74 years, due to the costs of fielding a competitive team. [Berkshire Eagle]

MNF Preview - Week 11

Tennessee Titans @ Houston Texans
Spread: Texans, -4
o/u: 48.5
The Vince Young Experiment comes to Houston this week, as the struggling, inconsistent Texans look to finally be consistent. They may have finally won three-in-a-row in Weeks 6, 7, and 8, but they followed that up with a 3 point loss to the Colts going into the bye week. And just like I predicted, Steve Slaton is the starter again. The fumblemonster will have to face a team on three straight wins whose D has improved greatly after their own bye in Week 7. Vince Young and the option offense have opened up the field for Chris Johnson, and hes been taking full advantage of it. Thats gonna be hard for the Texans to stop, and they fall back to .500 after this week.
Pick: Titans 31 - Texans 27

NFL Sunday Recap - QBs: Rookies and Backups Make the Day

It was a tough day to be a QB this week, mostly:

A Tale of Two Rookies:
Mark Sanchez
The guy the Jets are banking their future on looked like a rookie for the third time this year. His 4 picks are only second to the five he threw against Buffalo, and getting strip-sacked late in the game pretty much sealed the deal for the Pats this week. He did have an impressive touchdown throw, but his mistakes doomed the Jets from the start. He finished the first half with 2 completions and 2 INTs.

Monday Morning News - 11/23/09

Jimmy Johnson won his fourth straight NASCAR Sprint Cup, coming in 5th at Homestead-Miami Speedway. [Virginia-Pilot]

Real Salt Lake won the 2009 MLS Cup with a win over the LA Galaxy on penalty kicks. [Goal.com]

Usain Bolt and Sanya Richards have been named IAAF World Athletes of the Year. [BBC]

MY 25 - Week 12

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. Texas
2. Alabama
3. TCU
4. Florida
5. Boise State
6. Cincinnati
7. Pitt
8. Georgia Tech
9. Oregon
10. Ohio State
11. Utah
12. Houston
13. BYU
14. Temple
15. Iowa
16. Penn State
17. Oklahoma State
18. Central Michigan
19. Virginia Tech
20. Cal
21. Navy
22. Clemson
23. Ole Miss
24. Oregon State
25. Miami(FL)


Performance of the Week: UConn
Even with the state of Notre Dame football, its hard for a team to go into South Bend and win, especially on Senior Day. UConn did just that, pulling off what's being called the best win in program history. After quickly going down 14-0, the Huskies D only allowed a field goal in each half, while the offense came back to tie the game at 20-20. They almost won on a late field goal that went wide, but won anyway on a TD in the second OT period. This is their first win since CB Jasper Howard was murdered, and head coach Randy Edsall dedicated the win to him, saying he would send the gameball to Howard's family.

The Sunday News - 11/22/09

Week 12 college football upsets: Ole Miss 25 - No. 8 LSU 23, Northwestern 33 - No. 16 Wisconsin 31, No. 25 Cal 34 - No. 17 Stanford 28 [ESPN]

UFC 106 results: Forrest Griffin beat Tito Ortiz by split decision, Josh Koscheck beat Anthony Johnson by submission, Paulo Thiago beat Jacob Volkmann by unanimous decision, Amir Sadollah beat Phil Baroni by unanimous decision [LA Times]

NJ Devils C Dainus Zubrus will miss 4-6 weeks with a broken kneecap. [NorthJersey.com]

Michigan AD Bill Martin has announced Rich Rodriguez will continue to be head football coach through next season. [Detroit Free Press]

Kyle Busch clinched the NASCAR Nationwide Series title with his start in the series finale yesterday. [Seattle Times]