Mountaineers climbed atop NCAA Football Mountain
Yep, after the mighty USC Trojans fell from their pedestal, the West Virginia Mountaineers are now the new no.3.
On Thursday, these same West Virginia Mountaineers will be visiting the Louisville Cardinals in their Louisville nest (WEAK! I know…) as no.3 and no.5 respectively. These guys are yet to taste defeat at this point of the NCAA Football season and you can bet your ass, THIS Thursday football game will definitely be good.
The third-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers and fifth-ranked Louisville Cardinals each moved up a spot in The Associated Press Top 25 on Sunday. The two unbeatens were off last week and play Thursday night in Louisville.
How did these Cardinals get to no.5? Well, the no.5 spot was vacated after Southern California lost to Oregon State via a 33-31 upset last Saturday. Yep, that’s the same weekend the USC Trojans dropped from no.3 to no.9.
Talk about a great weekend for both these NCAA College Football teams eh?
Well, as for the true kings of the group, both the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Michigan Wolverines remain at no.1 and no.2 respectively. Yep, no matter what the Mountaineers and the Cardinals do, they won’t be kicking these teams off their thrones anytime soon.
The Ohio State Buckeyes have been no.1 all season. They received 63 of 65 first-place votes. The Michigan Wolverines were second for a third consecutive week. The Big Ten Conference rivals meet Nov.18 in Columbus.
In between West Virginia, which received two first-place votes, and Louisville is no.4 Texas Longhorns, which rallied from three touchdowns down to beat the Texas Tech Red Raiders, 35-31 on Saturday night.
The rise of West Virginia and Louisville is a boon to the Big East.
Here are some odds from Bodog on who will win the NCAA College Football BCS Championship:
NBA Basketball Season Starts in Halloween Havoc
From the words of the six-time NBA World Champions Chicago Bulls, ”It’s game time!”
This Tuesday, that can’t ever be more true. The NBA Basketball season starts this Halloween and the Chicago Bulls, although not the same team that dominated the NBA in the 90s, will be facing the present day NBA Basketball champions, the Miami Heat. This will most definitely be good.
The Chicago Bulls visit the Miami Heat on a night when Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O’Neal and the rest of the Miami boys receive their NBA Basketball Championship rings. (BOO!)
Dwyane Wade will have goosebumps Tuesday night. 
He’ll watch the retrospective video highlighting moments from the Miami Heat’s postseason run to an NBA title, then get his glimmering new championship ring and see the commemorative banner finally sway from the arena’s rafters.
Then, according to the time schedule set for the pregame festivities, Wade will have exactly five minutes to get ready what he considers the night’s primary event facing the Chicago Bulls in the first of 82 regular season games where they will start defending that championship.
”It’s going to be sweet and kind of a little bittersweet also,” Wade said. ”I think you should have these kind of ceremonies when you have nothing else to do. But when you’ve got to get prepared for a game, it kind of takes away from the moment. It’ll be great, but right away, we’re going to have to snap out of it.”
Yep, they certainly have to, considering that they will have Chicago’s newest Bull to deal with, Ben Wallace.
Ben Wallace, acquired by the Chicago Bulls from the Detroit Pistons, will go head-to-head against Shaquille O’Neal for another set of 48 minutes. That 48 minutes will either expose Ben’s inability to do anything offensively OR show how Shaq has declined through all them wear and tear of NBA Basketball.
I’m expecting the latter. Let’s go Chicago Bulls! Kill the Miami Heat!
All Star Sportsbook has the odds on this NBA Basketball season opener between the Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls.
Oakland Raiders are as Good as Super Bowl Champs
Yep, the once struggling Oakland Raiders are now a clone of the Super Bowl champions.
After the Oakland Raiders beat the defending Super Bowl champions, Pittsburgh Steelers, both NFL Football teams now stand at an identical 2-5 record. That’s good for the Raiders’ Silver and Black faithful. Bad for the Steelers’ Terrible Towels movement.
After losing the first five games of the NFL Football season, the Oakland Raiders won back-to-back games to put them back up standing on their own two feet again. And yeah, I guess these guys are now starting to think about a possible wild card berth, at least.
Oakland Raiders defensive leader, Warren Sapp, however, wants his guys to keep their focus. ”We’re not going to go around and stroke our egos or anything like that,” Sapp said.
”We’re still 2-5. We have a long way to go to get ourselves to .500,” added the Raiders defensive tackle.
As for the struggling Pittsburgh Steelers, a 2-5 stand at this point of the season is not what they had in mind. After all, they did won the Super Bowl last year. And yeah, Pittsburgh Steelers QB, Ben Roethlisberger, knows the reason why they are where they are at this point.
He is.
Ben Roethlisberger, playing a week after being knocked out with a concussion against the Atlanta Falcons, struggled from the start. He threw interceptions on two of Pittsburgh’s first three possessions and then twice again in the fourth quarter when the Pittsburgh Steelers were driving for a potential tying score.
Four interceptions? Jeez… That’s hardly a Super Bowl winning franchise quarterback.
Can the Pittsburgh Steelers rebound from such a setback or will the Oakland Raiders shock the world by getting to the big dance? Bet and play WagerTalk’s NFL Football Handicapping Contest and decide who will be winners of Super Bowl XLI. Make your picks now.
Who will win Super Bowl XLI at Miami, Florida? Sports Interaction has the outright odds on that one.
Vikings Face Invincible Indoor Patriots on NFL Monday
The New England Patriots are virtually invincible indoors.
Yep, that’s the kind of thing the Minnesota Vikings will be facing on NFL Monday Night Football. And adding to that pressure, the Vikings will be playing an NFL Monday Night Football game for the first time after five long years.
Jeez… The stacks are definitely against the Vikes on this one eh? The Metrodome has long been a big boost for the Minnesota Vikings, giving them one of the most intimidating home field advantage in NFL Football with all them Vikings fans hollering at the top of their lungs, destroying the opposing team’s morale, if any.
But come Monday Night Football, the environment will be a whole lot different. Well, a 5-1 New England Patriots contingent will definitely do that, especially if they have a rocket of an arm like Tom Brady.
Well, in spite of all these forces going for their beloved Minnesota Vikings, the Metrodome fans are still excited about Monday night. After all, five years sure is a damn looong time.
”I think the fans are a little more awake at 7:30 on a Monday night than they are at noon on a Sunday,” said Jim Kleinsasser, one of two Vikings still on the team the last time the Metrodome hosted a Monday night game in 2001.
”There’s a lot of overall excitement downtown way before the game even starts. Those fans get revved up and come into the dome, it’s going to be tough for other teams to play,” he adds.
Well, if there’s one thing these Metrodome fans SHOULD NOT be excited about, it would have to be the fact that these New England Patriots won NINE straight games played indoors. And yep, Patriots QB, Tom Brady, has never lost a game inside a goddamn dome.
Jeez… You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out who’ll win this one.
Who will win this NFL Monday Night Football game between the New England Patriots and the Minnesota Vikings? Bet and play WagerTalk’s NFL Football Handicapping Contest and decide who will be winners of Super Bowl XLI. Make your picks now.
All Star Sportsbook has the odds on this big NFL Monday Night Football game.
Sportsbooks have Colts as +3 Underdogs against Broncos
Now that is just plain stupid.
I’m no Indianapolis Colts fan, but to have these guys, who are still perfect at 6-0 by the way, as +3 underdogs against the 5-1 Denver Broncos, who have a struggling quarterback in Jake Plummer, is just plain crazy.
Don’t get me wrong, the Denver Broncos did manage to win five NFL Football games because of their awesome corner, Champ Bailey, but c’mon, these are the Indianapolis fucking Colts for crying out loud. Colts QB, Peyton Manning, will just skin ”the Snake” for sure.
Jake ”the Snake” Plummer is having a ”not so good” start of the NFL Football season for his Broncos. His QB rating has gone down to a miserable 60.4, putting him at no.32 from all the quarterbacks in the league who qualified for the QB ”ego” category. 
(For all ya’ll who doesn’t know it yet, QBs must have at least 14 attempts for every game his team plays to qualify for a QB rating stat.)
As for Peyton Manning? Well, he’s just the no.1 quarterback as far as QB rating is concerned with a whopping 103.2 game for the Colts offense. You have to wonder why these Colts are the underdogs coming to this Sunday’s NFL Football game against the Broncos in Denver eh?
The Denver Broncos were just fortunate that they survive five of six NFL Football contests. How did they do it? Defense. And like what I wrote earlier, Champ Bailey is just playing like a madman. However, Bailey will be going up against Colts wideout Marvin Harrison and that face-off is definitely worth the admission already. The best wide receiver in NFL Football, Marvin Harrison, will go head to head against the best cornerback of the league, Champ Bailey. It doesn’t get any better than that.
Colts WR Marvin Harrison has soft hands to catch the football with. If you watch the guy play, you’ll hardly hear the football land in his hands. And to top it all off, Harrison catches the football in such a way that defenders have a hard time slapping it away from his grip. Now that’s a franchise wide receiver for you.
As for Broncos CB, Champ Bailey, he covers any receiver like no one can. Heck, Bailey shadows wideouts like crazy that QBs just refuse throwing the football in his direction. And yeah, he intercepts passes looking like a goddamn receiver for the opposing team. He’s that good.
Having said all that, I guess it will all come down to the coin toss to decide who’ll win this game eh? Not quite. The key here is the quarterback position. And if Denver Broncos QB, Jake Plummer, continue to struggle in the pocket, Peyton Manning will bring his Indianapolis Colts their seventh straight win of the NFL Football season.
Who will win this week’s game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos? Bet and play WagerTalk’s NFL Football Handicapping Contest and decide for yourself. Make your pick now.
All Star Sportsbook has the odds for this week’s NFL Football game on Sunday:
Wal-Mart is now the House that Albert Pujols Built
Nope, it ain’t that park in St. Louis.
Here’s why. Did you know who was the man who discovered Albert Pujols and knew then that he WILL be a force to be reckon with in MLB Baseball? That’s former St. Louis Cardinals scout, Dave Karaff. FORMER because he doesn’t work for the team anymore.
Now, he stocks grocery shelves at the local Wal-Mart. Five days a week.
What a way to go after discovering the reigning National League MVP for MLB Baseball eh? I guess some people get bonuses and some people get watches. Dave Karaff was, um… fucked. Well, we won’t be talking about Mr. Karaff if it wasn’t for Pujols anyway. And hell, we won’t be talking about Wal-Mart either.
Dave Karaff spent seven years of his life working as a Cardinals scout for MLB Baseball before he was finally let go in 2003. Karaff, a friendly 64-year-old grandfather, doesn’t mind if you come watch the MLB Baseball World Series with him, but under one condition.
He’s not gonna talk about Albert Pujols.
Though the slugger is wildly talented, he’s also as sensitive as a junior high cheerleader and is still peeved because he believes Karaff said he wouldn’t make it to the big leagues. In reality, Karaff felt like he was a talent but not a sure-thing first-rounder. Clearly, every other team agreed.
But after Pujols popped off earlier this year, it’s best not to start any drama. So Karaff isn’t gonna talk about Pujols, not a word about the guy who looks like he might walk off the high-def television at any moment. Not a word. Doesn’t want to cause any problems. Well, you know, maybe a few words won’t hurt. After all, signing the probable Hall of Famer is the highlight of his career.
”I will say one thing,” he says. ”If there’s anybody that can stand there and tell me truthfully this is what they thought he’d do, I would call them a liar to their face and never flinch.”
Can the Detroit Tigers win the MLB Baseball World Series or will the St. Louis Cardinals beat Detroit to become MLB Champions? Here are some odds from Bodog on who will do just that.
Owens is Happy with Cowboys and that’s what matters
Yep, who cares if Dallas Cowboys running back, Julius Jones, is unhappy of the change at the starting QB?
Terrell Owens is happy of his new starting QB, Tony Romo, and that’s what matters most as far as the Dallas Cowboys are concerned. Fuck Julius Jones. Judging by the way Julius Jones played against the New York Giants last NFL Monday Night Football, Jones’ opinions should be the LEAST of the Cowboys’ concerns.
Hell, he didn’t do anything to give the Cowboys a chance of winning the football game last Monday. Why should Dallas Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells, care if his running back likes the change at the QB spot or not? I won’t.
Jones hinted that he wanted to stick with the veteran Cowboys QB, Drew Bledsoe. He explained that he actually was clinging to his preseason belief that Bledsoe would lead the Dallas Cowboys to the NFL Football playoffs.
”I’m disappointed at the reason we’re having to make this change,” Julius Jones said. ”I have to be a realist. I hadn’t thought or hoped that we’d be sitting here after the sixth game making these adjustments. I did not want to this year go to an inexperienced quarterback. I wanted to have the benefit of Drew Bledsoe. It hasn’t worked out as of today. It just hasn’t worked out. That to me is a step back.”
He he… Well, step back or not, T.O. is happy and if you have probably one of the top three wideouts in the league happy, that to me will win NFL Football games. Even if you have an irritated running back bitching about why Tony Romo replaced his beloved Drew Bledsoe.
Terrell Owens said he feels better chemistry with Tony Romo than with Drew Bledsoe. Now I don’t know if T.O. was talking about football chemistry or his homosexual tendencies but at least the controversial wide receiver is finally on the same page with his NFL Football coach. Heck, he even made his 8-yard touchdown catch of a Tony Romo pass in their game against the Giants an example of just that.
”I looked across the formation and he looked at me and he knew what was going on,” Owens said. ”It’s just two players making a play.”
Did he and Bledsoe ever develop that bond?
”I honestly tried to do that time and time again,” he said. ”But for whatever reason it didn’t happen.”
I’ll tell you what happened T.O., Drew Bledsoe is one veteran you can’t bully around. Just like Donovan McNabb back in Philly. With Tony Romo, you have a kid to fuck up if he refuses to pass the football to you. But hey, if it works, I’m with you all the way.
Who will win this week’s game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Carolina Panthers? Bet and play WagerTalk’s NFL Football Handicapping Contest and decide for yourself. Make your pick now.
All Star Sportsbook has the odds for this week’s NFL Football game on Sunday:
Mike Vanderjagt is still Kicking Himself in NFL Football
Remember last year’s disappointing end to the Indianapolis Colts ”almost perfect” NFL Football season?
Yep, Mike Vanderjagt ruined it all. Remember that Vanderjagt guy? Yup, it’s the same guy who lined up for that pressure-packed but very makeable 46-yard field goal. He was with the Colts then when they faced the Pittsburgh Steelers team who would went on to win that year’s Super Bowl XLI.
The Colts were trailing the Steelers, 21-18, when Vanderjagt, the most accurate kicker in NFL Football then, kicked the football wide right with 18 seconds left. The Steelers escaped at OT, advancing to the Super Bowl and defeating the Seattle Seahawks to win the NFL Football title.
That was the day that changed the life of one Mike Vanderjagt. Now, we see 
Vanderjagt with the Dallas Cowboys, and this time, he’s simulating that fateful field goal attempt with David Letterman. (Of all people…)
Oh yeah, THAT field goal attempt was the last thing he’ll be attempting anything with the Indianapolis Colts too.
”I thought it was the right thing to do,” Mike Vanderjagt said from the Dallas Cowboys facility in Irving, Texas. ”I wasn’t saying it was a joke that I missed, I was really taking responsibility for missing a field goal I should have made. Like Dave said, I make that kick 99 times out of 100. I just missed the wrong one at the wrong time.”
Man, you know better than to listen to a David Letterman.
Vanderjagt is absolutely, certifiably the most accurate field goal kicker in the history of the National Football League. His success rate (.8745) is nearly four percentage points better than the second-best kicker, Phil Dawson of the Cleveland Browns. And yet, when Vanderjagt’s career epitaph is written, two words will loom larger than all others, ”Idiot Kicker.”
That of course, came from Peyton Manning himself after Vanderjagt was just dumb enough to say that both QB Peyton Manning and head coach Tony Dungy needed to show more fire back in 2002. Manning responded by saying, ”our idiot kicker who got liquored up and ran his mouth off.”
Will Mike Vanderjagt have the same success he had in Indianapolis with the Dallas Cowboys? Bet and play WagerTalk’s NFL Football Handicapping Contest and decide for yourself. Make your picks now.
Who will win Super Bowl XLI at Miami, Florida? Sports Interaction has the outright odds on that one.
Racist Remarks bit NASCAR Reporter in the Ass
Of course, if you’re a sports broadcaster who is being heard all over North America, you should know better.
Unfortunately, this guy didn’t. A pit reporter for Speed Channel’s broadcasts of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races was suspended for the race at Martinsville after making comments that his network felt were… um… racially sensitive. Oh yeah, the guy did it on the air too.
”Ray Dunlap has been suspended for one race for making comments on-air that the company found inappropriate,” Speed vice president for media relations Erik Arneson said.
The 
racial comments were made during Mr. Dunlap’s appearance on the Speed Channel show entitled, ”Trading Paint.” Well, after this incident, Ray Dunlap could very well be ”Trading Lives” with anyone. Jeez…
During a discussion with Nextel Cup driver Michael Waltrip about NASCAR’s efforts to expand its fan base among minorities, Ray Dunlap took issue with a claim that 10 percent of NASCAR fans are Hispanic and made some jokes on the topic. A tape or transcript of the exchange was not immediately available, and Speed Channel declined to say exactly what Dunlap said.
Well, for what it’s worth, Ray Dunlap is sorry. Aawww… How about that.
”As a guest on ‘Trading Paint,’ you try to be edgy, controversial and entertaining,” he said. ”In a failed attempt at humor, I obviously crossed the line between funny and insensitive. For that, I am deeply sorry.”
Kinda’ reminds me of something back when I wrote about this third world boxer. Hmm… You don’t have to be sorry Ray, these guys are just too damn sensitive.
Who will win NASCAR’s 2006 Nextel Cup Championship? Here are some odds from Bodog.
Will Cutler Cut Plummer Era Short in NFL Football?
Yep, that’s the question hovering over the Denver Broncos as they prepare to take on some tough competition.
Denver Broncos head coach, Mike Shanahan, may be ready for a change at quarterback after all. Jake ”The Snake” Plummer has been running Mike Shanahan’s offense for too long now and it certainly looks like the coach is gearing up for a drastic change.
Could Mike Shanahan finally skin ”the Snake?” Well, that depends on what Jake Plummer will do in their next two games against the STILL perfect Indianapolis Colts and the defending Super Bowl champions, Pittsburgh Steelers.
Get this, if Plummer struggles, even for just a little bit, against these 
two powerhouse NFL Football teams, then Mike Shanahan will pull the cord on the Plummer era and have Jay Cutler start what the Broncos are hoping a stellar professional NFL Football career.
Jeez… What a way to put your struggling veteran quarterback on the spot eh? It’s almost as if Mike Shanahan wants to see Jake Plummer fail after setting up this ”test” so to speak. Jeez… Just have Jay Cutler start already.
”The reasoning,” a source said, ”is that if Plummer can’t beat the Colts and Steelers in mid-season, he probably won’t beat them in [the playoffs].” Yeah right. And Jay Cutler can? Man… These guys must be drinking. I’ll take Plummer over a Jay Cutler anytime.
Mike Shanahan earlier this week claimed the Broncos’ struggles on offense were not all Plummer’s fault. He cited the fact the Denver Broncos are playing with four new receivers and two new tight ends.
Jake Plummer has completed just 53 percent of his passes (68 for 128) with three touchdowns and five interceptions so far in 2006.
Will Jake Plummer still be leading this team or will Jay Cutler be the one leading the Denver Broncos to the playoffs? Bet and play WagerTalk’s NFL Football Handicapping Contest and decide for yourself. Make your picks now.
Who will win Super Bowl XLI at Miami, Florida? Sports Interaction has the outright odds on that one.
