The Outsiders' Edge

Tune into Elevation Radio this Friday afternoon to hear my interview with internationally renowned swimmer, and 2008 Olympic Gold medalist Cullen Jones. Cullen will be on the program to discuss being a part of the Gold Medal winning 4×100 relay team with Michael Phelps, Jason Lezak, and Garrett Weber-Gale, being a hero to the African-American community, and his new foundation devoted to promoting swimming within minority communities.

Cullen was a part of the amazing 4X100 relay race, where USA had the amazing comeback to nose out the French. Listen in!

I’ll also be discussing all the latest news on Brock Lesnar, UFC 105, NFL, and anything else going on.

We’ll be on from 12 to about 1 something. Cullen is joining me at 12:30. Its a really huge get, so enjoy the show.

Elevation Radio with Cullen Jones

Your calls welcome at 646 716 5746.

Cullen prepares for his huge appearance on Elevation Radio

(See more of Craig Dodge at www.verticallystripedsocks.com Mention this column and he will mow your lawn for free!)

Are the Broncos, 49ers and Giants falling apart? Will the Colts or Saints ever lose? How pathetic are the Rams, Bucs, Browns and Lions? I have no idea, but here is my best attempt to make sense of the NFL this week.

1. Saints – Their trend to let teams walk all over them early is troubling, but their ability to come roaring back is impressive. The Saints almost seem like they are toying with teams at this point. Falling far behind early is going to bite them one of these days, as they won’t always be able to mount the furious comeback, but right now I see no reason to drop them from number one.

2. Colts – The Texans came close to forcing overtime and having a chance to get their first ever win in Indiana, but the Colts lucked out. They remain at the top of the AFC right now, but Pittsburgh, New England and the Bengals are lurking. I’d like to see Indianapolis look a little more overwhelming to keep them this high, but as they are still undefeated, I can’t put them any lower than number two. They’ll get their chance to prove they belong here with a gigantic game against the Patriots this Sunday.

3. Patriots – The Pats are back. Ever since losing a tough game in Denver, New England has looked like the team that ran roughshod over the rest of the league a few years ago. Tom Brady is back to being the super stud quarterback, and the Patriots are back among the elite again. Don’t discount how big of a win they got on Sunday against the Dolphins. That team has been surging lately, and to knock them down when they had to be up to try and get back into the division race was big. My biggest fear is that we could see the Patriots and Yankees both win a championship in the same season. That would be far too much despicable champions at one time…I’m not sure my heart could take it.

4. Steelers – I think people underestimate the Steelers because they don’t play a style of ball that we associate with great teams. They often struggle to run the ball, their quarterback makes things happen, but often it’s because of his grit and ability to stand tough, and they just hang in there and win at the end, even though teams often outplay them for large portions of games. Make no mistake about it, though. This is a great team, and watching them wear down the Broncos and then grind them into the ground in the second half Monday night was depressing for this Denver team. Underestimate Ben Roethlisberger, Troy Polamalu and company at your own risk.

5. Vikings – Brett Favre is bound to collapse, right? I keep waiting to see it, and he keeps playing at an all-pro level. Mix in Favre tossing the ball with the beast that is Adrian Peterson running over guys, and the stout Vikings defense stoning opposing attacks, and you have the final of the five teams that I think can win it all. If the champ this year doesn’t come from the group of Vikings, Patriots, Colts, Saints or Steelers, I’ll be shocked.

6. Bengals – I have been underestimating this team all year, but no longer. They curb stomped the Ravens on Sunday in as big of a domination over a good team as I have seen in the NFL this season. Cincy is good.

A Cincinatti Bengal ingests Joe Flacco.

7. Cowboys – Another team like New England that has turned their game up a notch after a loss in Denver. Since losing to the Broncos, the Boys have been rampaging through the league. Winning in Philly on Sunday night was gigantic, and now their schedule eases up a bit which could allow them to really put some ground between them and their divisional rivals. Their next three weeks include a game at Green Bay versus a reeling Packers team, then home games with the putrid Redskins and Raiders. Their win streak should extend to seven games, barring a Packer renaissance on Sunday.

8. Cardinals – When they play well, they play REALLY well. They went into Chicago and waylaid the Bears. Not only that, but Ken Whisenhunt had the coaching audio clip of the season on Sunday when he said “”I’d also like to compliment the Bears too because they played hard and they came back … And the last thing I’ll to say is “we didn’t let em off the hook.”

9. Chargers – It pains me to say this, as if I were allowed to punch one NFL quarterback in the face with total impunity my first, second, and third choices would all be Phil Rivers; but Mr. Rivers is really starting to show an Elway like tendency to be able to lead his team on last minute comebacks to win games. He did it in the season opener against the Raiders in Oakland and also on Sunday in a hostile environment in New York. The possibility that the Broncos surrender three game leads in the division for two consecutive years to the Bolts is looking more and more likely.

10. Eagles – Which loss hurts the Eagles more? The indefensible road loss to the Raiders, or the exceptionally painful loss to the Cowboys in Philly? They are only one back in the division, and there is a lot of football left to go, but I have to imagine that the Iggles would like to have mulligans on both games.

11. Ravens – It feels like the Ravens should be better than this, but they are what their record says they are, and their record says they are a .500 team. The schedule maker hasn’t done them any favors as their losses are to Cincy twice, the Patriots, and the Vikings…good teams all, but they need to pull together a solid second half if they want to make the playoffs.

12. Broncos – The NFL is figuring out how to beat Denver, and the secret is to make Kyle Orton try to beat you. Despite a solid start, the fact remains that Kyle just isn’t very good. Cracks in the foundation of Denver’s 6-0 start are beginning to show. This next week is crucial; it is concerning but understandable to lose back to back games to Baltimore and Pittsburgh, but if you lose to the Redskins, that is when it is time to declare a state of emergency. If the Broncos want to return to looking like contenders, they need to figure out what has happened since the bye week and correct it pronto. Right now, they look like pretenders.

13. Giants – Talk about a team that is sliding off of a cliff right now. The Giants have dropped four straight and the sledding doesn’t get easier as their next two are at home against the Falcons and a Thanksgiving matchup with the Broncos in Denver. They need to get their swagger back, as this team is playing with it’s tail between it’s legs right now. They should have won on Sunday against the Chargers, but they played scared and couldn’t punch in the clinching touchdown in the final minutes, and settled for a field goal which gave them a six point lead, and then watched as Phil Rivers marched the Bolts right down the field for the winning score. When you play not to lose, all too often you lose anyway.

14. Falcons – We have had an Michael Turner spotting! After only going over one hundred yards once in the first six games, and only barely with 105 yards in week two versus the Panthers…Turner has gone over 150 in his past two games. In fact, he gained more yards rushing on Sunday than Matty Ice had passing in the Falcons decleating of the toothless Redskins on Sunday.

15. Dolphins – After losing a tough one in Foxborough on Sunday, the Dolphins are probably a bit too far out of the playoff picture to be able to make a run to the postseason, but if you’re a contender you aren’t happy to see the plucky Dolphin squad on your schedule in December.

Flipper will gnaw your leg off if you bet against Miami.

16. Texans – Matt Schaub is a stellar fantasy quarterback, but I’m not sure he is good enough in real life to get the Texans to the postseason for the first time. Although, If Kris Brown hits a 42 yard field goal at the end of regulation, there was an excellent chance that the Texans could have gone three games over .500 for the first time in franchise history. If Houston was 6-3 right now, I’d like their odds a lot better right now. However, they missed the kick, and now at 5-4 they are in good but not great position for the playoffs.

17. Jets – The Jets are 4-4 halfway through, and they have a shot to make the postseason, but their hopes rest upon a rookie quarterback who has dropped four of his last five games. It’s certainly not impossible, and I think Matt Sanchez has a bright future, but I’m certainly not betting the house on the Jets this year.

18. Bears – The Bears have been blown out twice in the past three weeks and have lost three of their last four games. Their only win in the past month is against the Browns, and lets face it, a group of blind nuns might be a pickem against Cleveland. I’m not sure that the Bears are any good. I imagine that Chicago was hoping for better than 4-4 at the halfway mark when they made the deal for Cutler.

19. Packers – Apart from beating the Bears on opening day, every other win the Packers have is over a terrible team with only one win. On top of not beating anybody, they lost to the creamsicles on Sunday, who were winless at the time. In spite of one of the easiest schedules in the league to this point, the Packers are only at .500 on the year. I can’t prove it yet, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the Packers are terrible.

20. 49ers – It’s high time Mike Singletary did something insane. The Niners have now lost five out of their last six, and they need to be on alert. There is no better way to get them on alert than to have Coach Crazy do something worthy of his nickname.

21. Panthers – This team is the NFC version of the Dolphins…they probably aren’t going to be able to make the postseason due to a dreadful start, but they are a frisky spoiler type team.

22. Titans – Now that they have Brett Kern doing the punting, 10-6 isn’t out of the question. He was 6-0 with the Broncos who are 0-2 since, and the Titans are 2-0 with him after starting out 0-6. I believe in the Kern VooDoo, I do!

23. Jaguars – Explain to me again why we have an NFL team in Jacksonville? The Jaguars beat the Chiefs on Sunday in what was very likely the least watched, least cared about game in NFL history. I can’t prove this, but I’d bet there were more Steelers fans at the game in Denver Monday night than there were Jacksonville Jaguars fans at the Jags home game on Sunday.

Typical Home Crowd for the Jaguars.

24. Bills – Thanks to the plan to outsource their home games to Canada, the Bills only have one game in Buffalo between now and December 19th which is probably not the way to get a middling team into the hunt. Sadly for the fanatical fan base in Western New York, it just doesn’t seem like there is enough money in Buffalo for the Bills to be viable there long term.

25. Seahawks – They finally managed to win a game in which they didn’t shut out their opponent, but this Seattle team feels like your stereotypical non-descript 6-10 team. There is zero buzz about them, and the only interesting thing they’ve done all season to this point is wear neon green.

26. Redskins – Daniel Snyder admitted that he is embarrassed at how the Redskins are being run. That’s a positive step, as he isn’t burying his head in the sand like an ostrich. If you’re Dan Snyder, at this point don’t you just consider selling the team? Is owning the perpetually mediocre Redskins really worth the consternation of having people passionately hate your guts?

27. Raiders – Ah, the comic relief of the NFL. When the high points of your season are: 1. The fact that people find it incomprehensible that you were able to beat a 5-3 team in your own stadium and 2. The fact that the authorities will not be pressing assault and battery charges against your head coach. It’s probably fair to say that things are not going as well as hoped for you thus far. Fun fact: JaMarcus Russell’s best day for total yards passing this season is 224 yards, and he’s only gone over 200 yards twice. How do you spell bust? J-A-M-A-R-C-U-S.

28. Chiefs – This coming Sunday we finally get the rematch in Oakland of the thrilling 13-10 Chiefs-Raiders game from September. How low would the number have to be to make the over seem like a good bet? 20? 19?

29. Buccaneers – Josh Freeman gave this team a spark, and a punt block taken back for a score certainly helped things along. In an era when just about anyone can break out a throwback, it was pretty cool to see Bucco Bruce make an appearance. It’s inconceivable to me that anyone could ever look at that shade of orange and think, “Why, this would make a stellar football uniform! Quick, someone get me 40 bolts of mesh in tangerine-creamsicle orange, we’ve got a football team to outfit!” Ah, the 70’s were a magical time.

30. Browns – Is it possible that Eric Mangini could get fired at the end of this season (certainly that is possible) and then end up with the Oakland Raiders next year where he promptly gets fired halfway through the year and sets a new record of being fired from three NFL head coaching positions in a calendar year and a half? Let’s just say that’s how I’m cheering right now. To say that the Browns look like a Junior High Flag Football team is an affront to Junior High Flag Football.

31. Rams – After beating the Lions 17-10, the Rams went into their bye week on a season high one game winning streak. Chances of stretching that streak to two games when they come back to action against the Saints this Sunday? Lets just say the chances aren’t good and leave it at that. I hate to embarrass the Rams any worse than their exploits on the football field have already done.

At this point, an actual Ram would be a better option at QB than Marc Bulger.

32. Lions – Welcome back to the cellar, Detroit. The positive of this season is that you literally have infinitely more wins that you did last year. The negative of the season is that it only took one win to get to that point. The Browns still remain on the schedule, so optimistically you do have an outside chance at two wins this year.

(Elevation Note: Enjoy the latest in Ben Hall’s London Chronicles. I apologize for getting his article up late. I was in a Phillies induced fog for the last few days. Read more of Ben at http://thebenhallsblog.blogspot.com/)

Guess what I did last week. Go on, guess. You’ll never figure it out. I’ll give you three tries.

Nope.

Of course not, don’t be disgusting.

I do that on weekends.

The correct answer was actually play a cello on top of a moving bus. It was both the most fun and most painful thing I’ve ever done. It was for some advert that my buddy was doing and asked if I wanted to join in. So I spent my Friday trying to play a cello on top of a bus with about 20 other random musicians as it drove around London. I’ve had scrums collapse on me and been hit by a linebacker at full speed without pads. I have, though, never felt more beat up than on top of that bus.

One thing that isn’t being beat up on is the top of the Premiership (see, I had a tie in for that all along). I’ve long said that you don’t know where you really are until 10 games are played and you don’t know who you are in a dogfight with until there are 10 games to go. The 18 in the middle are pretty much just a points grab to stay alive. We are now entering that stage, as every team is on 10 or 11 games and the table appears to be righting itself. Sort of. Lets see what the table is actually doing to start with.

Top of the Table

This is what its all about.

Now this is where we get a bit lucky. I started an article before this weekends game, but didn’t have time to finish it. Boy am I glad of that. Some of the foolish ramblings in that were a little off, to say the least.

Already, there is a three horse race for the title emerging. Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal all seem to be starting to pull away. Chelsea are top, with United just 2 points off the pace. If Arsenal pick up 3 points in their next match, they will join the defending Champions in second place. This seems about right.

I tell you what, none of the top 3 this season have looked indestructible. And I think that during the the early stages of this campaign, there were just too many teams at about the same level, it was a bit misleading. The difference, though, between a true championship contender and one of the many pretenders courting the top of the table is still which team can grind out a win. Since I last graced you with my presence, Spurs, Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool have either let games get away from them or not been able to deal the hammer blow and pick up a win. Arsenal are probably more a victim of inconsistency more than anything, rather than a lack of being able to grind one out. When they are good, they are the best team in the country. When they are bad, they are truly awful. Either way, those teams are slipping away from Manchester United and Chelsea, with just about Arsenal having the chance to hang on.

I can see two separate top of the table battles emerging this year. Firstly, I can see Manchester United and Chelsea in an out and out dogfight for the win. Arsenal’s blazing inconsistency might well hamper them in the long run and just knock them out of serious contention. I can see them a comfortable 3^rd, unless something odd happens. But once again, it will not be a trophy.

The better battle, though, will be for 4^th. The last Champions League place. I cannot understate just how much of a big deal getting into the Champions League is for a team. Aside from the monstrous, £20m+ cash windfall it gives an entire club a big lift. It can be a difference maker when a sought after player wants to choose a club.

In the scrap for that are Liverpool, Spurs and Manchester City. Although Arsenal too are not that impressive, I still think they are better than those teams. Wenger is a better manager than Benitez, Redknapp or Hughes and will be able to steer that club into a safe third.

At the moment, I would have to say that Spurs are my pick to steal that 4^th Champions League spot. I like Redknapp’s mentality, I like their squad and I like the fact that it hasn’t changed too much since their excellent end of season last year. For me, Manchester City need another year to settle in as they made a lot of changes very quickly.

As for Liverpool, well, they are in serious trouble. I know they pulled a vintage performance out of the bag to beat Manchester United the other week, but you cannot follow that up with a 3-1 trouncing by Fulham and expect to still be in serious contention. Gerrard is out injured with the possibility of surgery looming, Carragher is looking like a bit of a shell of himself after making a few key mistakes and right now the entire club is riding on Torres’ baby face and lethal right foot. They are all but certain to miss out on this year’s Champions League knockout stage and could easily be dragged down into a mid table scrap.

Bottom of the Table

Goodbye, Portsmouth. I know they are joint bottom and only a few wins away from esccape, but they are just a rotten organisation. Apparently, they needed an emergency loan to pay their bills last month. They are being bought by 7 different people if you read 7 different sources and all of that disruption is hurting them on the field. They picked up a win this weekend, and are actually playing good football. But I think they are on a brink of collapse, and may not be much longer for the Premiership.

"Frankly I'm glad to just see the back of him."

Hull are similarly in a bit of trouble. Phil Brown spoke in the summer of not being able to attract a high enough calibre of player to stay in the Premiership and right now they are treading water. I can’t see Brown lasting much longer. They changed their Chairman, with the new guy being a big fan of Paul Jewell. We all know who Paul Jewell is, he is responsible for both bringing Wigan up from obscurity and having the world’s most unsexy sex tape scandal ever. Either way, Hull I can see slipping out of the Premiership this year. This may lead to an exodus of their great young defenders, with Sir Alex already taking big long looks at Dawson and Shawcross. Either way, Hull are in trouble.

What can be seen, cannot be unseen.

The two shocking teams down there are West Ham and Blackburn Rovers. West Ham were last season’s darlings, with Zola doing such a good job at the helm he reportedly had to turn down the Chelsea gig. This year, they are joint bottom. They are showing signs of improvement, and I think may well battle back, but if they are still within a point or two of the drop zone by Christmas then they either need to open up the cheque book a bit or maybe take a long, hard look at who is at the helm. Blackburn should bounce back as well. A combination of swine flu hitting their squad and games against championship contending teams is making them look worse than they are. After a 5-0 trouncing by Chelsea, they parked the bus in front of the goal for their game against United. It was only a moment of inspiration from Berbatov that broke the deadlock, although after that if it wasn’t for some inept finishing it could have been another thorough routing. Still, with a healthy squad Big Sam can steer them to safety.

Ridiculously Early Predictions

I think with 10 games gone, I can make some ridiculously early predictions. I’m not going to firm this stuff up until Christmas, but if I had to bet on it at the moment I would predict for the top 6 and bottom 3 -

Champions – Chelsea

Runners Up – Manchester United

Champions League – Arsenal, Spurs

Just missing out – Man City, Liverpool

Relegated  – Portsmouth, Hull, Wolverhampton Wanderers

Chelsea, however, have a great big ‘but’ hanging over them. At the moment, I would say they are the best team. But – in January they will loose key players like Essien, Drogba, et al to the African Cup of nations. That will be the key, and whatever lead they can open up now will need to withstand that.

Right, that is what is going on. Lets have a look at some more in depth news stories.

Liverpool In Trouble

I said at the beginning of the season Liverpool were going to be in trouble if they carried on the way they started. Well, after 11 games they are officially in trouble. They are not playing consistently well, they have picked up injuries, they are running out of money and Rafa can’t decide if he is coming or going. The biggest problems of the bunch, though, refer to money and Rafa.

“Rafa would be tempted to take over at Pompey with a negotiation process like that”

Now, before I start this, yes I am a Manchester United fan and I don’t really like Liverpool very much. But, at the end of the day, they are a good team. My sense of morals says I would rather have Liverpool up top than a money side like Manchester City. Anyway, now I’ve clarified that, let’s get on with some major Liverpool slagging off.

Rafa Benitez needs to wake up and see where he is. He is mid table, 9 points off the top of the mountain and with a faltering Champions League campaign. He is in trouble. Liverpool are a team that simply cannot suffer a bad year. They are still far too precarious. But I don’t think Rafa understands just how much on the brink his team are.

The American owners of the club simply cannot afford to throw the money at it that is needed to be a regular top 3 team. With the exception of Arsenal, each top team needs to throw about £30m a year at players. Arsenal just have the sort of youth system that takes 10 years to ingrain, and Rafa certainly doesn’t have 10 years to turn Liverpool around.

It is rumoured that Rafa has a transfer budget of around £20m a year. That just isn’t enough to keep pace in the Premiership. Birmingham City currently have a bigger transfer budget. Manchester City have jumped them in the table off the back of money. Like it or not, Liverpool need to spend. And they just flat out don’t have the money in the bank.

Also, I think Rafa is still deluded enough to think he is a serious title contender. He took Torres off against Fulham on the hour mark at the weekend. The score was 1-1. The melt down that then occurred without their star striker saw two players get sent off and a slump to a 3-1 defeat. His reason for taking Torres off the pitch? To keep him fresh for the must win Champions League tie mid week. Eventually he will realise that he desperately needs every point in every competition and that means playing his star players every minute of every game. You would never see Rooney, Drogba or Van Persie come off with the scores tied to keep them fresh.

If Liverpool miss out on the Champions League, which is looking rather likely, then it would start a freefall. No Champions League would cost Liverpool about £30m. A club that cannot afford players and their new stadium definitely cannot afford to miss out on that sort of cash. With Real Madrid sniffing around Gerrard and, of all teams, Manchester United reportedly offering £60m for Fernando Torres then one of them may well go.

I don’t want Liverpool to slip. In a way, I want them to pull it all together and get that 4^th ECL spot. It just gives me that warm, fuzzy feeling that everything is right in the world. A bit like Tiger Woods hitting birdies, Peyton Manning throwing 300 yard games and Barry Bonds denying taking steroids in the face of simply undeniable proof. You cannot double your muscle mass naturally, Barry. And you are 44, you are not making a comeback. This isn’t Cheers, you aren’t loveable. Shoo.

Where was I? Oh yes. I don’t want Liverpool to slip away. They are a storied team with good players. But, then again, they are on the top of a slope we have seen many teams fall down recently. They have a bad season, loose a bit of money, top players leave, coach\manager leaves, they then have a worse season and before you know it you are the Oakland Raiders. Which would be sad. Liverpool don’t deserve that, but I think it might be the way they are heading. The club’s business model is based on assumed continued success. Without that…

Chelsea Transfer Ban Yet Again

I’m sick and tired of talking about this. I really am. At the moment, it’s a bit like the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement. It is something in the closet, but right now at this very moment it is a non-issue. Chelsea will ask that any potential ban is delayed until next season, meaning they could sign players in January, and they will likely get it. A move like this is near unprecedented and the special court where anyone in European sport can go to that hear these sorts of cases have heard some absurd arguments in Formula One. A serious case like this will definitely get it’s day in court, and that will delay the whole thing to next year. The offshoot of this is Chelsea can be expected to splurge in January. This will, no doubt, strengthen their title hopes as well.

One thing bugs me, though. I know a team that could potentially not register any new players for 18 months buying in bulk makes absolute perfect sense. I know this. If I were in charge of Chelsea, I’d do the same. I’d spend 2 years worth of transfer money in one month as well. But… but I sort of can’t help but compare this to one of those big corporate cases. The kid of ones where the end result is the company in question not accepting liability but paying a ton of compensation anyway. For me, the bulk buying of players is a little bit like an admission of guilt. That they did it, got caught and don’t have the confidence that the decision will be overturned. I really, really can’t shake that thought. And then you get into the area of a team playing the system to basically avoid the punishment it was going to be subjected to. If Chelsea sign 5 players after getting their ban delayed, only to be found really guilty then no justice has been served and the system has been shown as a joke.

Birmingham Latest Club To Be Bought

Yawn. Another Premiership club is bought by a foreign owner. Sigh. They will give the current manager a bit of cash in the first season, fire him, give another manager a huge transfer kitty and they will jump 4 or 5 places up the table. I don’t even care about foreign owners any more. I really think that someone wrote an article in Billionaire Monthly about owning a Premiership team, and now they are bought like you would a watch. I don’t care. Birmingham fans will get their hopes up, except Birmingham won’t be able to attract the sorts of players they think they can. Birmingham fans will then get angry and the owner will lose interest. The move might secure Birmingham’s status as a Premiership club for the foreseeable future, but that is about it. Plus the money involved isn’t huge. About £80m over the next 18 months for players, apparently. Manchester City would pay that for just one of Frank Ribery’s testicles.

Sir Alex and the Refs

Sir Alex Ferguson, the talismanic manager of Manchester United, is going to get himself in serious trouble very, very soon. He keeps mouthing off to referees. Now, there is nothing new about this. He is always having little pops at officials in the media. It is a part of his style. However, now the referees are biting back.

Usually, if a manager annoys the FA sufficiently, they will get a fine and not be allowed near the squad on a match day. For Fergie, who has more money than God and trusted sidekicks, that isn’t an issue. The refs now, though, are pushing for him to pick up a long ban. Like, a 3 month ban. For all games, including Europe. And the way he is going on at the moment, the officials may well get their wish. He is openly and crudely not only criticising official’s competency but also the basic stuff, like their physical fitness. Much more, and the FA will have no choice but to throw the book at him.

I think, though, there is an ulterior motive to it all. United are looking very weak this year. The defence is leaky, strikers anaemic and midfield uncreative. I think Fergie is throwing himself under the bus, making sure everyone takes shots at him and his thick skin rather than a squad who have lost two key players and seen the performances of several more drop dramatically. United are starting to skirt the line where they could officially be called “in trouble.”

They managed to poach off  tough Blackburn team, but next weekend’s Chelsea game will be vital. A win and they are top of the table. A loss, and they are 5 points behind and possibly in 3^rd place. They then need to keep an eye on what is going on below them rather than purely looking up. With the emergence of Spurs and Manchester City, they would have to. And then they are in danger of being dragged into a battle bellow their station. Sunday will define who has the power in the run up to Christmas.

Beckham To Milan

Now, I know that this isn’t Premiership related but I want to point it out anyway. Beckham is going back to AC Milan in the run up to the World Cup. I just want to point this out as fact to Mr. Elevation. This is happening. He is deserting you again. Him and his beard are off to Milan. How does that make you feel?

For the long, cold winter months America will not have that rugged beard to keep them warm

(Elevation’s Response: Ben, its OK is Becks leaves, because we know have this broad. )

Brett Favre

Some guy not named Tavaris Jackson who plays QB for the Vikings.

I also don’t want to be the only sports column this week to not mention Brett Favre. That is all. See you next time.

It was a fine run during the 2009 postseason for a deeply flawed Philadelphia Phillies team.

As so often happens in sports postseasons, a teams flaws become completely over-exposed and wind up costing them dearly.

I’m sure you can nit-pick Charlie Manuel’s performance and Cole Hamels and Brad Lidge and Shane Victorino and a million other guys, but I can’t really get too upset. Making it to the Series twice in two years was really special and all of those guys did something no other Philly team was able to do since 1983: Win a Championship.

It was a tough run for a lot of my favorite players like Lidge (great jersey purchase), Bruntlett (0-1), and Stairs (4 hits since the All Star Game).

This team will look a little different in 2010- Myers is already gone, maybe Pedro, and a few others- but they will still contend for the title.

I know most Phillies fans won’t echo this sentiment after game 6, but I would love to have Pedro back on the team. He makes baseball a little more fun.

Hopefully guys like Werth and Ruiz can keep their monster production up in 2010, and the Phils should have a pretty damn good chance at winning three straight pennants.

In closing, congrats to the Yankee fans. I know  we all hate them, but give the devil their due. Hopefully Jim Leyritz celebrated the victory responsibly. It was tough to really hate the Yankees this year, because their main players were all really good guys. You can’t hate Damon, or CC, or Rivera, or even A-Rod. Gone are the days of A-1 pricks like Gary Sheffield, Randy Johnson, or Kevin Brown taking up space on their team. I have to admit, that I did get a pretty hearty laugh from Japanese player Hideki Matsui receiving an American car with his WS MVP award. I’m sure he will have little use for it.

So congrats to New York. Congrats to Philadelphia, and hopefully we can re-create the match up in the NFC playoffs. Eli just loves playing the Eagles, and we love playing him.

Visit www.verticallystripedsocks.com for more of Craig Dodge’s great work. Few people are more excited for October basketball than Craig.

The NFL is kind of like a woman, even though we’ll never fully understand it, we are fascinated and keep trying to come up with a stable set of rules. Then, as soon as we think we have it down, she up and does forty-seven things that confuse you and make your rules meaningless, but here are this week’s attempts to make sense of the senseless.

1. Colts – The Colts against the Rams is patently unfair. The Rams looked like a high school team trying to compete against Indianapolis. I almost feel like Peyton Manning should have played the first half with his left hand, Inigo Montoya style, because with his right hand it was over too quickly. The Colts are clearly an elite team in the NFL, and with games upcoming with the likes of the 49ers, Texans, Ravens, Patriots, and Broncos, they will get a chance to legitimize their greatness, as their six wins are not over the best teams in the NFL. Other than victories over two decent teams in the Cardinals and Dolphins, there is not much to get excited about with taking down the Jags, Seahawks, Titans and Rams.

2. Saints – Until Sunday’s game versus the Dolphins the Saints had never trailed in a game, so being down by 21 points on the road was a sizable challenge. They proved that their potent offense can work from behind as well as from ahead, and their defense allowed only 10 second half points, as the Saints prove that they have some heart in remaining undefeated with a huge statement win in Miami.

3. Patriots – I don’t think the Patriots liked being beaten in Denver. Since that day when the Broncos took them down in overtime, they have outscored their opponents 94-7, which is a pretty good output over a two week span…In fact, over the past two weeks, the Patriots have exceeded the entire season of point scoring for the Redskins, Rams, Browns, Titans, and Raiders and it equals the scoring for the Panthers.

4.Vikings – Although I’d love to rip on Brett Favre for the Vikings loss, it’s not his fault. His interception was a fluke which bounced off of Chester Taylor’s hands and should have been caught, and his fumble which was taken back to the house should never have happened, as the Vikings should have had a lead towards the end of the game as the refs should never have called the Vikes for a tripping call, as no tripping ever actually happened. The Vikings have been living on luck, and on Sunday lady luck kissed the Steelers instead, but they are still playing some good football, and have to be considered the favorite in the NFC North.

Brett Favre following the game in Green Bay.

5. Broncos – After a well deserved week off, the Broncos jump right back into the fire with a tough game at Baltimore. Will the magic carpet ride continue for Broncos fans? I sure hope so.

6. Steelers – Their win over Minnesota on Sunday was entertaining, but I’m not sure that the Pittsburgh faithful should find a ton of reasons to feel confident in it. Without a phantom tripping call on a Minnesota touchdown which was followed on the very next play by a huge momentum shifting 77 yard fumble return for a touchdown. The momentum shifted back to the Vikes as Percy Harvin took back the kickoff for a score and then held the Steelers to a punt. The game was sealed for the Steelers right as the Vikings moved into the red zone as a Brett Favre screen pass was inadvertently tipped up in the air by Chester Taylor and returned 82 yards for a touchdown by Keyaron Fox. When you’re winning games due to fluke interceptions and fumble returns, you’re lucky, but I’m not sure how good you are. The Super Bowl champs are clearly a good team, but I’m not sure they’re a great team.

7. Bengals – Okay, I’m in on the Bengals. They are an actual good team. They are capable of dropping a game at home that they should win. (See Texans, Houston) However, they are also capable of dropping a bomb on a decent team like the Bears. Their defense harassed Jay Cutler into multiple mistakes, and Carson Palmer was on fire, as was the charismatic but stupidly self-renamed Chad Ochocinco. (Seriously, can we please go back to calling him Chad Johnson? I like the guy, but this is a bad joke that is second year of being told.) When the Bengals are on their game, they are capable of giving anybody a game. They may even be able to win the AFC North. This game was the surprise of the weekend to me. I wasn’t surprised that they won so much as surprised they won by 35 points.

8. Ravens – Sunday’s game with the Broncos is huge for Baltimore. They are coming off of a bye, they are a good team that is unfortunately on a three game slide, and this game is way more important to them than it is to Denver. All of these signs point to a Raven victory, but all of those signs were present the last time the Broncos took the field, and yet they were able to take down the Chargers despite all of them. The Ravens really need this one a ton more than Denver does, as they cannot afford to fall much further behind the Steelers and Bengals, but if the Broncos have taught us anything thus far it’s that they should not be underestimated.

9. Cardinals – Suddenly Arizona looks like the class of the NFC West. Winning at Giants Stadium on Sunday night was big. They look to have recaptured the spark that they rode to the Super Bowl last year, and suddenly they may once again be a player in the NFC.

10. Giants – Dropping two in a row is worrisome for a team that half a month ago many were crowning as the best in all of football. Sunday night’s game seemed like a given that the Giants would win, and yet the Cardinals outplayed them. Eli looked shaky, and the pass defense is suddenly very suspect.

11. Chargers – Dissecting the Chiefs puts the Bolts back at .500. At three games back of Denver, they are either finished or in perfect position to make their traditional second half run. Time will tell which option they take.

12. Cowboys – Breathe easier Cowboy fans, your team showed that it can play big against a legit team by taking down the Falcons in convincing fashion on Sunday. Despite looking very mediocre to begin this season, they find themselves with a respectable record of 4-2 and right in the middle of the NFC playoff hunt. The possibility even remains that the enormous testament to Jerry Jones’ ego in Irving known as the new Texas Stadium could host a playoff game in its rookie year.

13. Packers – Since losing to Brett Favre in Minnesota, the Packers have regrouped with a bye week and two victories over the twin titans of Detroit and Cleveland. They should be emotionally healed for this Sunday’s game in Green Bay against Favre and the Vikings which may be the toughest ticket of the NFL season. If they hope to compete with Minnesota this year for the division, they really need to take down Favre on his first visit to Lambeau as the opposing starting QB.

14. Falcons – After the opening drive in Dallas in which Atlanta marched right down the field for a score, it appeared this game might not be close. It wasn’t, but it was the Falcons on the losing end. The Cowboys shut down the Falcons who looked rather weak after looking like world beaters in the previous two games. The Falcons are turning into one of those teams that can look amazing or pathetic, and there is no rhyme or reason as to whether the good team or the bad team will take the field. I think they are better than the team that lost to the Cowboys on Sunday, but worse than the team that went into San Francisco a few weeks back and won 45-10, I’m sure the true Falcons lie somewhere in between.

15. Texans – Matt Schaub and company are sporting their first winning record of the season. The past two weeks they have looked somewhat impressive in taking care of a very solid Bengals team in Cincinnati and in holding off a late run by the Niners. Apart from two games against the Colts and one with the Patriots, the rest of their schedule isn’t overly imposing, and it’s not impossible to imagine that they make it to 9-7 which might put them on the outskirts of a playoff berth.

16. Eagles – Philly showed that they are capable of thumping a bad team. Donovan McNabb rebounded to have a decent game against the Redskins, but their defense had such gaping holes in the secondary that it would be difficult for a quarterback to not hit for a few touchdowns. I found myself wondering last night, “What is the point of having Michael Vick on this team?” He doesn’t seem to have the burst he had before doing time, and judging by the little bit I have seen him on the field; I don’t think he is making many defensive coordinators nervous.

I'm sure this guy doesn't regret spending $150 on a jersey for a guy with less than 25 total yards on the season.

17. Jets – The Jets were blessed by the NFL schedule gods with the one thing which is almost certain to cure a three game losing skid, a date with the Oakland Raiders. Pummeling Oakland 38-3 is a great way to get healthy, and the Jets need to get fat on this relatively easy upcoming portion of their schedule, as their final three games are pretty tough. New York ends with the Falcons, Colts and Bengals.

18. 49ers – The Niners were looking smooth right up until the week before their bye when they were pounded by Atlanta and then yesterday they were down 21-0 at half. What has happened to San Francisco? They were almost saved with a brilliant second half surge as Alex Smith was put in for Shaun Hill and he tossed three touchdowns to Vernon Davis, but it wasn’t enough, and they lost their second straight game. Now, it appears that Smith will pull starting signal-caller duties, as Mike Singletary’s club tries to recapture the magic from their opening month. I’m very interested to see how Smith does when it appeared as recently as three weeks ago that his last chance with the 49ers had passed.

19. Bears – Chicago is reeling. The Jay Cutler trade which was heralded as a huge coup for the Bears has not looked very good over the past month. His penchant for tossing careless interceptions is rearing its ugly head, he doesn’t have time behind the awful offensive line, and the defense is not stopping teams when they need to stop them. Losing to the Bengals is nothing to be ashamed of, but getting obliterated by them is not something that should happen if you consider yourself a contender. Not sure how much I believe in the Bears, the playoffs seem very unlikely.

20. Dolphins – Despite the fact that Miami is only 2-4, they have looked pretty solid this season so far. Sunday’s game may be the one that killed their postseason chances, though. When you have a team on the ropes at 24-3, you have to finish them off. Granted, that team was Drew Brees and his Saints, so it’s a tough task, but Tony Sparano usually finds a way to win that type of game. However, on Sunday, the Saints were too much and they kept getting stronger as the game progressed. Still, that was a huge opportunity lost for a team in Miami that really needed it.

21. Seahawks – Their schedule isn’t overly difficult, so if they are able to put together a good run, they could get themselves back into contention in mediocre NFC West, but that seems unlikely, as they have a tendency to get pounded by mediocre teams. Despite a lot of sleeper talk over the offseason, it appears that Seattle is still just not very good.

22. Bills – Buffalo has managed to cobble together two straight wins, although they are hardly setting the world on fire, they have managed to get some victories. In each of their past two wins, I hope Bills head coach Dick Jauron sent the opposing quarterbacks a game ball. Last week it was Matt Sanchez with five picks, and this week the immortal Jake Delhomme tossed three footballs to Bills defenders. It’s pretty nice to pick up wins when you are getting outplayed. The Bills offense is so bad that they have handed the reigns to a guy who played his college football at Harvard. The Ivy League is a wonderful place to find guys to lead your business, but there has been less success going there to find guys to lead your offense.

23. Panthers – Jake Delhomme is playing with zero confidence, and his results on the field suggest that he should not have any. Thus far this season through six games he has 4 touchdowns 13 interceptions and a dreadful 56.5 QB rating. John Fox can no longer hang his hopes on the possibility that perhaps Jake plays his way out of it. Carolina cannot win with what they are getting from the most important position on the field.

North Carolina legend Ric Flair may be a better option at QB for the Panthers than Jake Delhomme.

24. Jaguars – What is the significance of the following numbers: 46,520, 49,014, and 42,088? They are the attendance figures for the first three Jacksonville Jaguars home games this season. The stadium’s capacity is 76,877, so I think it’s safe to say that plenty of good seats are still available for Jaguars games. It’s hard to create much of a menacing home field advantage when half the seats are empty. Not that I blame the good people of Jacksonville, the Jags have hardly given them much to be excited about this year. This is one of the least exciting teams in the league; they can’t get anything good going on the field or in the ticket sales office. They can’t even get someone to sponsor the stadium. It used to be known as Alltel Stadium, but Alltel didn’t renew their contract after it expired, and the place is now known simply as Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. If the Jags can’t generate a little local enthusiasm, one wonders how much longer there will be a team in Northeast Florida.

25. Redskins – Look, I understand that your team is 77 years old, and that you have had the same team name the entire time you have been in existence. This does not change the fact that your name is racist, stupid, and in desperate need of a change. I used to be in the camp that hoped it would never get changed, but I changed my mind a few years ago, as it’s impossible to dispute that “Redskin” was a slur. It may mean something noble to Washington fans today, but you can’t change what it was. I fully support a change, besides, it’s not like the name is all that attractive anyway. Mr. Snyder, Start something new, and remove your football program from the ugly past. Plus, think of all the money you’d make with new merchandise! Changing the franchise name would be the only positive move that could come from Washington football this year, as the Redskins as currently construed on the field are an unmitigated disaster. Now the internet is buzzing about how Dan Snyder is acting like a petulant child and kicking out fans who have anti-Snyder signs or chant anti-Snyder slogans. He really needs a taste of the Han Solo edition blaster.

An Irate Redskin fan attacks Daniel Snyder following the Skins loss to the Eagles.

26. Lions – What a battle of behemoths we have in store on Sunday at Ford Field. Rams versus Lions! I guess I’d favor Detroit since they are at home, but if St. Louis wants to win a game this season; this may be their best chance. You have got to admire how the Lions are trying, but they are not talented enough yet to compete.

27. Titans – Congratulations to the Titans are in order for managing to not lose this past Sunday. True, they didn’t play a game, but with the way this season has started for Tennessee, we’re starting with baby steps. Oh, and a message to Jeff Fisher…When you’re 0-6 with a team that had the best record in the AFC a year ago, perhaps the best way to curry favor with your fans would be to NOT wear the jersey of an opposing quarterback from your own division and say that you just want to feel like a winner. Yes, we fans may be childish in not liking that sort of thing, but sometimes discretion is the better part of valor, my man.

28. Browns – The fact that there are several teams that are worse than the Browns in the NFL speaks to the high volume of putrid teams in the league. There is zero reason for hope if you’re a Browns fan. Ever since this team came back into the league ten years ago, they have been mostly a laughing stock. It’s got to be discouraging to be a Browns fan. You see your team that has never even played in a Super Bowl and who’s only glory years come from the prehistoric time before the Super Bowl era leave town and quickly become a perennial powerhouse, even winning a Super Bowl. Four years after your team is ripped from your loving clutches, you get them back in expansion form, and that franchise bumbles and stumbles with only one playoff game for the entire first decade of its existence with little to no reason to believe that it will emerge from the mediocrity. If you live in Cleveland, you have my pity. I hope that LeBron doesn’t leave Ohio, just because if he does there may be mass suicides amongst the sports fans of Cleveland.

29. Raiders – After a bizarre week in which Oakland took down a decent Eagles team, order was restored to the universe as the Raiders returned to their Commitment to Exceptionally Bad Football. The Raiders were lambasted in front of a disgruntled Black Hole yesterday. The crowd, which dresses for Halloween year round, lustily booed Jamarcus Russell who was a pathetic 6-11 with two interceptions in the short time that Tom Cable allowed him to stay behind center. Russell took his last snap from center with eleven and a half minutes remaining in the second quarter. Bruce Gradkowski was brought into a game that was 21-0, and the Raiders didn’t exactly rally behind him as they ended up getting blown out 38-0 to the Jets in front of their home fans. All good mojo that they earned from beating the Eagles is officially gone, and Richard Seymour’s guarantee of a playoff berth seems slightly more ridiculous than it did last week.
30. Chiefs – I don’t think it’s too soon to say that Matt Cassel’s season with the Patriots may have been an anomaly. In his game against the Chargers on Sunday he completed only 40% of his passes, threw 3 interceptions, and had an embarrassing 25.3 quarterback rating. I think Kansas City may be regretting throwing a six year, 63 million dollar contract with 28 million in guarantees to a quarterback with exactly one good season since High School.

31. Buccaneers – You can take the team out of Tampa, but even a cross Atlantic flight can’t take the stink off of the Buccaneers. If the NFL really wants to grow the sport overseas, it should probably start sending better games over to London. It reminds me of when I ask my four year old daughter to share her toys with her two year old brother, she sort of does it, but he usually doesn’t get the good ones. Sorry, England, there are better games over here in the states, but apparently we don’t feel like sharing our good toys with you. This one was never close as the suddenly juggernaut Patriots ran roughshod over a weak Bucs squad in a 35-7 romp. The Bucs are a bad, bad football team.

Bucs fans with their team would have taken the Titanic home from their game in England.

32. Rams – The bloom is off the rose with Steve Spagnolo. The rookie head coach is flailing, and this Rams team is abysmal. It is not inconceivable that the Rams could follow in footsteps of Detroit and we could have a second consecutive year with a winless team. They have a few potentially winnable games with the Lions and Titans remaining on their schedule, but they have shown little that would give me confidence that they can even get one of those games.

(Alright, I am contractually obligated to post this article from our New York correspondent prior to the World Series. Everybody be nice and humor him, because Joel is likely to be pretty pissed off in about a week after the Phillies slay his team in the World Series.)

World Series baby!!!  Whooooo!! Excuse me while I do my Ric Flair strut.  After a first round scrimmage with the Minnesota Twins,  the New York Yankees have defeated long time pests the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in six games to clinch their first World Series birth since 2003.  They will try to do something the New York Mets haven’t been able to do, defeat the Philadelphia Phillies.

It took a total team effort.  The big contract signings of AJ Burnett and CC Sabathia have paid off this year, especially Sabathia.  The big lefty has dominated in this postseason, whether it is on regular rest or three days rest.  Burnett and Andy Petitte have also played a vital role, as the starting pitching has been tremendous all postseason long.  The bullpen has been shaky with Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Alfredo Aceves all taking their turn in stinking up the joint.  Some of manager Joe Girardis pitching decisions have come under fire as well.  It took two full seasons and a few games into the postseason, but we now know Girardi went to the Tony La Russa school of late game management with how he yanks his relievers.

Derek Jeter has been Derek Jeter.  He has been getting on base, hitting home runs and setting the tone for the offense.  First baseman Mark Teixeria hasn’t had the best postseason at the plate, but his work at first base defensively has been tremendous.  Still, it would be nice to see Tex start hitting the ball better.  It could be worse.  He could still be in Anaheim, or he could be Steve Phillips.

What can we say about the postseason Alex Rodriguez is having?  Every homer he has hit has been significant, from the game 2 shots against Joe Nathan and Brian (I’m walking forever for the rest of my career) Fuentes to the game tying homerun against Carl Pavano.  He has been aggressive on the bases, coaching the guys from the dugout, what got into this guy?

Now, we play the best the JV, I’m sorry, The National League, has to offer.  The Phillies have a great lineup that is loaded with lefties. That being said, if Vicente Padilla can shut them down, I don’t see why CC and company can’t do the same.  If Hughes or Joba continue to struggle, it would be nice to see Dave Robertson get a shot.  He has pitched in extra inning situations  only so far, but those are still pressure packed spots where a mistake is magnified even more.  It would also be interesting to see if Pedro Martinez really gets the nod in game 2 of this series.  Is he familiar with pitching against the Yankees? Yes. I weigh about 350 lbs and am very familiar with a treadmill, doesn’t mean I should be a personal trainer.  Get what I am trying to say?  Let them bring Pedro and his 86 mph stuff to the hitting heaven that is Yankee Stadium, they will pay dearly for it.  I know Mr. Kline may hold a lifelong grudge with me for this, but Yanks in 5.

Pedro holds up the jersey of the best team he has ever played for.

Food for thought, if A Rod had the same postseason Tex has had, how would the media treat him?  One last thing, I would be an idiot if I were not to mention the great job Mariano Rivera has done in this postseason once again.  He does his job so well that we forget to mention him at times.  Watching Jonathan Broxton, Jonathan Papelbon, Joe Nathan, Brian Fuentes and Huston Street all blow saves this postseason should make us appreciate him more. These are all closers who have made all star appearances as well.  It is very rare we get to see someone who is the absolute best ever at their position perform, especially a sport with a rich history as baseball.  Yankee fans should be glad he is on that team.

Mo Rivera has been Lidge like in his dominance this postseason.

All this Yankee hoopla has overshadowed the suddenly slumping New York Giants.  Since stepping up in competition, the Giants haven’t looked like the most complete team in the league some of us thought they were.  There is a big game coming up on Sunday with the Philadelphia Eagles.  To avoid a crisis situation, they need to beat these birds.  They play the same day as game 4 of the World Series, so Philadelphia will be the sports capital of the world for that weekend.  Too bad they won’t be celebrating too much when Sunday becomes Monday.

Eli reacts poorly to dominating Eagles blitz.

The Jets are making me look like a genius.  Last time you heard from I mentioned how I am not a believer in this team yet and Mark Sanchez is due to turn in some dreadful performances.  I do not hear anyone calling him the Sanchize anymore.  He has gone from the big time Mcdonalds like franchise quarterback to something of a joke, like the Crabby Patty.  That may be a bit harsh, but that is the way it goes here in New York.  We can also blame Matt Ryan, who has just waltzed into the NFL and has become a star.  The Jets did manage to win their last game against perennial super bowl contenders the Oakland Raiders, so maybe things will turn around.  They have lost key players Kris Jenkins and Leon Washington for the season in back to back weeks, however.  Jenkins is injury prone, so there is no surprise there.  The injury to Washington was painful to watch.  Anyone who saw that had to have winced, the bone pierced through his skin like what Bolo Yeung did to that dude in Bloodsport.  His career is in jeopardy.  We all wish him a speedy recovery.

How about them Rangers?  Those guys have gotten off to a great start. Free agent pickup Martin Gaborik has so far shaken off his injury prone rep and has played like a top 5 talent, the penalty killing has been better than anyone could have imagined and they are very fun to watch.  They should be right in the middle of things when the postseason comes around.

Two more days and the Knicks will begin their last season where nobody cares.  I expect them to be quite entertaining and possibly compete for the last playoff spot and be swept in the first round.  Coach Mike D’Antoni has promised to stress defense this season.  I am taking all bets on that one.  There are seven guys on that roster who are in the last year of their hideous contracts.  It will be interesting to see what happens.

Speaking of hideous contracts, I was watching game 3 of the ALCS and I saw Dave Robertson warming up.  While he was in the pen warming up Tim McCarver made a comment on how Robertson signed for a few bucks and has turned out to be quite the find while Kei Igawa went the Bernie Madoff route and has stolen damn near twenty million dollars from the New York Yankees.  I don’t know whether to shake his hand for being such a genius or punching him in his face.  Either way it got me to thinking who else had some terrible contracts? At first I decided to solely include New York Knicks, but the more I thought about it almost every city team has made some colossal mistakes. So here are the top 10 worst contracts in New York sports history.

10. Jose Contreras P, New York Yankees  4 years $32 million

Remember this guy?  He was the guy who ignited the whole evil empire nonsense.
Both the Yankees and the Red Sox flew to Panama to try to sign Contreras.  The Red Sox thought they had a deal, but when they found out he decided to go with the Yankees Red Sox brass decided to take it out on their hotel room.  The guy turned out to be a bum, only pitching well against the bad teams in the league and getting rocked against the Red Sox.  Eventually got traded to the White Sox and had a little bit of success there, even winning a title.

9. Oliver Perez P, New York Mets 3 years $36 million

It is really tough to put someone who is only in their first year of this deal on this list, but that should show you how terrible his year was.  They could have went after Derek Lowe for a few more dollars but balked for whatever reason.  They could have even kept Pedro and save him the spanking he is going to get in game 2 of the World Series on Thursday.  Instead they went with Ollie, and he rewarded their faith by going 3 and 4 with a 6.82 ERA. Hope he turns it around, because he is desired almost as much as Eddy Curry right now.

8.  Jared Jeffries F, New York Knicks 5 years $30 million

I have this rule when it comes to scouting basketball players.  If the first word that comes out of that scouts mouth are energy guys, good locker room guys (what is that anyway? What, is he gonna get a towel for you?) or anything similar to that those guys are bums. They are just being kind.  Jared Jeffries has some things you like in a basketball player.  He is tall, he can move and he puts his pants on one leg at a time. That’s about it.

7. Kei Igawa P, New York Yankees 5 years $20 million

Nothing much to say here, he gets 4 million a year to wear sunglasses on the mound in minor league games.  May have the best job in the world.  Cashman seemed to reach for him because of the whole Dice-K thing in Boston. Why didn’t he try getting one of those good young pitchers from the Marlins like Boston did with Beckett? Oh yeah, he did. Keep reading.

6.   Pedro Martinez P, New York Mets 4 years, $54 million

Ok I know it may seem like I have it in for this guy.  Truth be told, he was one of the more dominant pitchers in baseball when with the Montreal Expos and Boston Red Sox.  He is also on the exclusive can’t do anything wrong list with the media along with Derek Jeter and Shaquille O’Neal. But for 4 years and 54 million dollars you would want more than just one full season and a bunch of good quotes in the newspapers.  The only time the Mets made the postseason during his tenure there he couldn’t even pitch.  He missed most of the next season with a laundry list of injuries as well.  He was signed here to be the ace to the staff and he was a bust.  Plain and simple.

5.   Jason Giambi 1B, New York Yankees 7 years, $119 million

He probably would be higher if not for the great seasons he had the first two years of this deal.  The mysterious thyroid problem, the steroid issues and the gold thong thing put him on this list.  I think the Yankees knew they were going to have to move him to DH eventually and he was going to be a liability on the basepaths during the later stages of his contract.  They did of bad job of avoiding a log jam at the DH spot and forcing him to play first. He did revive his career after all the steroid nonsense and became a serviceable player, but for all those millions we should have gotten Hall of Fame type stuff from him.  Probably hell to play against in beer pong though.

Jose Contreras and Jason Giambi exchange horro stories about playing for the Yankees during a mound meeting in Colorado.

4. Bobby Bonilla OF New York Mets 5 years $25 million

This contract was given out in 1992, so 25 mil at 5 years was considered huge at that time.  Bonilla came over from Pittsburgh, where along with Jay Bell and Barry Bonds they formed the killer B’s and won some pennants only to lose in the NLCS.  The Mets should have waited one more year and went after Bonds, who was far and away the superior player.  Bobby’s numbers dropped at an alarming rate.  He had to wear cotton in his ears to drown out all the booing.  The Mets traded him only three years later to the Baltimore Orioles for Alex Ochoa.  The Bonilla signing was just one of three major acquisitions the Mets made during that period.  They also traded for pitcher Brett Saberhagen and acquired Hall of Famer (seriously this time) Eddie Murray.  Those three helped carry the Mets to zero playoff wins and appearances as well as more last place finishes than first place ones.  Good times.

3. Eddy Curry C, New York Knicks

The Knicks traded a slew of expiring contracts to get this guy.  So we actually could have been under the cap if not for trading for this colossal failure.  We should even include Isaiah Thomas on this list.  How can he get paid for making the deals he made?  Injuries and a lot of personal stuff aside, the guy is not worth his deal.  He says he wouldn’t mind a change of scenery.  I think if we were to start a collection plate and ask every Knick fan to donate some money to send Eddy to Aruba he might get his wish.

2.  Carl Pavano P, New York Yankees 4 years $40 million

Here was the Florida pitcher we were talking about. He like Contreras was heavily sought after by many teams.  The Yankees ended up with the prize.  The man won 9 games for his whole contract. NINE GAMES.  Two wins a year.  Four and a half million dollars a win.  At the very least, the man played in more than 10 games.  Unlike this guy…………..

Pavs gives himself a concussion while taking off his cap.

1. Jerome James C New York Knicks 5 years 30 million

Someone needs to look up the family tree of this guy.  If for whatever Ike Austin, Oliver Miller and/or Troy Hudson pop up, things would be clearer.  How many times does a guy have one good playoff series during their contract year and they get paid the big bucks afterwards?  After the Knicks signed him he went made it his personal mission to never play again.  He broke his promise last year and shot 1.000 percent for the season, going one for one from the field and 2 for 2 from the foul line.  Proving once again that the Knicks definitely know a sharp shooter when they see one.  What hurt the most is everyone but Knicks brass knew he sucked.  Hope Walsh doesn’t go out and sign DJ Mbenga with all the cap space we will have next year.

A few of Jerome "Big Snacks" James closest friends on the Knicks.

I only mentioned New York City players because this is a New York City column. I also only mentioned guys the new York team signed, not ones they got from a trade. So Stephon Marbury, Rick Dipietro and Alonzo Mourning were saved from this list. Below is the always awesome honorable mention list.

Scott Gomez and Anson Carter (Rangers) Hideki Irabu and Danny Tartabull (Yanks) Kaz Matsui and Luis Castillo (Mets) Dan Reeves (Giants) Larry Brown and Don Chaney (Knicks) Neil O’Donnell (Jets)

That’s it for now guys.  Hope you enjoyed. Feel free to say my list was good or it sucked.  Just write back.  This is a great website. Get the opinions out there.  Ill be back after the Yanks win number 27.  Later.

Quick Note- Check out my show with Dan Severn http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elevationradio/2009/10/23/Elevation-Radio-with-JPK

Well, we are on the eve of the first game of the 2009 World Series.

I am pumped to see my team, the defending world champion Phils defend their belts in an Undertaker-like fashion against the heel New York Yankees.

This series is going to be so dynamic, so powerful, the dead will rise up, the sick will get healed, the sinners will get righteous, the quiet will start to scream, dogs will howl, cats will meow, bombs will explode, bullpens will implode, riots will puncture tires, start fires, and persecute liars.

Its going to be a bowling shoe ugly, government mule beatin’,  genuine slobber knocker.

Hopefully.

I’ll admit I am completely on edge for this thing. I have a feeling it is going to be drag ‘em out seven game fight or a quick death for one of the two teams.

My game plan for the series is that the Phillies will win one of the first two games in NYC and then go on to win the three games at home. Similar to the recipe they have used in every series since the last NLCS. Against the Dodgers in 08, Rays in 08, and Rockie and Dodgers in 09 the Phils have split the first two games and dominated the middle portion of the series.

Unfortunately the Yankees are not the Rays. Despite Joe Girardi’s rampant over managing- really Freddy Guzman has to pinch run every single game?- the Yankees still possess a 208 million dollar payroll and a dangerous lineup from 1 to 9. Their Achilles heel is the lack of starting pitching. The Phillies have 5 competent starting pitchers. The Yankees have 3. If CC and Burnett aren’t at the top of their games New York will be screwed.

Enough of this. Now its time for me to slobber all over the Phillies bench and role players in an an annoying manner.

Beardo Bruntlett: The greatest pinch runner of all time

Eric Bruntlett is my second favorite player on the Phillies. He always scores huge runs whenever he comes into pinch run in big games. For example he scored the winning run in the clinching game 5 of last year’s World Series and the tying run in game 4 of the NLCS in 2009. After Stairs worked his masterful walk against Broxton, Beardo entered the game and scored on Rollins game winning double. He may not be much of a hitter, although he has come up big under the lights before. Last year in a losing effort against the Rays in game 2, Bruntlett hit a home run off of David Price. That was Beardo’s last home run. Needless to say, he is due. He is kind of like a good luck charm that always has a Forrest Gump like role in the big moment. Kind of like a useful Darko Milicic. But enough about Beardo, lets talk about my real favorite player.

God

What more can be said about Matt Stairs, that hasn’t already been said about Babe Ruth? Alright, probably lots of things. Stairs is a barrel chested throwback to the dead ball era with his timely slugging and lack of fielding skills. He has an amazing eye and secured a critical walk against his personal whipping boy Jonathan Broxton which eventually led to the Phils rally in Game 4. He is kind of like the Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart of the Phillies. I may be the only Phillies fan in the entire world who possesses a genuine Matt Stairs jersey shirt. This will probably end in the World Series, but the Phils are 4-0 in games where I break it out. Probably the greatest winning streak since Goldberg in WCW.

Lidge and Ruiz celebrate Lidge's first save since July. No not really. This is actually from when we won the World Series.

Like I mentioned before the Dodgers series, Brad Lidge is a changed man. Similar to how Batista recently turned heel, Brad Lidge has brought out his BAD SELF. The cut fastball has been dynamic and the slider has more zip on it than ever before. Also going in Lidge’s favor is the Matt Stairs jersey shirt rule. Thats right, Lidge will continue to perform at a high level in the World Series because through the magic of PayPal I made the rash decision to purchase a Lidge jersey for 40$ including shipping and handling from a Chinese knockoff website, that I had better not name here. The shirt is currently en-route to the United States and is probably going to accidentally be delivered to a family living on the island from Lost. Will this rash purchase make any difference at all? Probably not, but I like to believe stupid things.

Speaking of stupid things, how about TNA signing Hulk Hogan. Hogan is 55 years old with artificial hips, knees, and coming off recent back surgery. He is also more protective of his spot at the top of the card than any performer in wrestling and will stop at nothing to make sure the undercard guys do nothing to overshadow him.

I also expect TNA will bring in his usual army of cronies such as Brutus Beefcake, Ultimate Warrior, The Nasty Boys, Jimmy Hart, Horace Hogan, and anybody else they can find. TNA now had Hogan, Russo, Bischoff, and Kevin Nash under one roof. Apparently the whole WCW going out of business thing is a feeling TNA wants to re-create.

Cross the line to bankruptcy!

TNA's new tag team champions.

Anyway, back to the Phillies. There are no more words to be written, predictions to be given, or foolish jerseys to be purchased. The time is now. Just remember Yankees, TO BE THE MAN, YOU HAVE TO BEAT THE MAN. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

You Want it Yankees, Come and get it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Welcome to the 3rd Edition of the Seattle Chronicles from our man Brad. If you wish to bestow Brad with compliments or to send death threats, follow him on twitter at: http://twitter.com/bivlo)

Finding Something to Root For and Against

Part One: Settling for Acceptable

Several waves of devastation ruined Seattle’s teams last year, so now fans are already looking back warmly on 2009 as not a conquering return, but a needed end of the pummeling.  The Mariners ended their season celebrating on the field and supporters labeled them an absurdly lovable third-place team.  The Huskies are mixing improbable wins on the football field with requisite heartburning losses.  The Sounders will be in the Major League Soccer playoffs, though there are decent odds they won’t score another goal this year.  The Seahawks are halfway to their four-win total from last season, and have vulture-like eyes on St. Louis, Detroit, and Tampa Bay.  We have no reason to gloat, but at least we’ve stopped weeping.

We're Number 3!

With this restored mediocrity, now’s as good a time as any to reassess old wounds.  In Seattle, that means watching Sonicsgate.

Video: http://vimeo.com/7030942

This 80-plus minute recounting of how the Sonics left town instills the multi-year living death of Seattle basketball fans for everyone to enjoy.  The first quarter recounts the team’s glory days in the 1970s and 1990s, with reverential references to local legends like Jack Sikma, Xavier McDaniel, and Hersey Hawkins, plus the players outsiders have heard of.  After that comes an hour of gut-punches, beginning with Starbucks Coffee head Howard Schultz failing at running the Sonics, followed by Oklahoman Clay Bennett succeeding at alienating Seattle from their longest-running pro franchise, and culminating with Seattle politicians screwing up legal efforts that would have stalled and probably stopped the team’s departure.

This documentary agonizing but necessary, like every Super Bowl halftime show since 2004.  It has no problem casting its legion of villains as liars, idiots, and people who look bad in selected photos.  There’s a lot of people to throw your ire at:  Sonics owners Schultz and Bennett, NBA commissioner David Stern as well as lame-duck Seattle mayor Greg Nickels and other politicos, the untalented Jim McIlvaine and Wally Walker.  Fan bias aside, there are some eye-opening sections, especially Stern’s belligerent press conference at the 75-minute mark, and Nickel’s awful showing in court ten minutes later.  The optimist in me says I’ll better remember the heroes of the movie, smart journalists like Art Thiel, the Sonics’ remarkably truthful announcer Kevin Calabro (who now sounds great calling Sounders games), and Seattle’s rage-and-feelings spokesman Sherman Alexie.  These sages are buoyed by a great soundtrack of Seattle hip-hop, which isn’t as ludicrous as it seems. The movie ends with where we are today: Seattle’s either a craven city looking to steal away the prize of Sacramento, Memphis, or some other city, or a solemn totem for what happens when the public doesn’t cave into building a new stadium.

Caption: Anyone else getting a little misty eyed? Nick Collison always brings out the emotions.

Part Two: Finding An(other) Enemy

The all-but-over American League Championship Series between the Angels and the Yankees creates an impossible choice for Mariners fans: which of these two horrible teams do you rooting for?  Either one could be the M’s top rival—the Angels have an annoying geographic identity (Los Angeles and Anaheim are totally different places), annoying fans reliant on Thunderstix and a Rally Monkey, and an annoying habit of dominating the AL West.  And the Yankees, in addition to being the Yankees, cut short the Mariners’ postseasons in 2000 and 2001 and pay Alex Rodriguez what he’s worth, something Seattle was never been willing to do.  The Yankees are oversaturated thanks to the media, but the Angels are oversaturated thanks to an unbalanced schedule that forces Vladimir Guerrero & co. on us every few weeks.   Both teams are good, which is why both teams are awful.

The worst part of the ALCS matchup is that neither team’s fans would list the Mariners as a top rival.  The Yankees, being the high fructose corn syrup of baseball, are in everyone’s crosshairs, and the Angels have to contend with two teams within a hundred miles of them.  The Mariners’ lack of rivalry symmetry is a problem endemic to Seattle.  The Seahawks were quietly punted from the AFC to the NFC due to rivalries between Oakland, San Diego, Denver and Kansas City that go back to the AFL in the 1960s.  NFL officials must have assumed no one would notice when the Seahawks started playing in St. Louis and Phoenix every year.  As for college football, all Washingtonians gears up for the Apple Cup every November, but the University of Washington shouldn’t bother hyping a game against a school with roughly half its enrollment, history, or culture.  The matchup against the University of Oregon is pretty good, if you only look at the past 20 years.  The Seattle Sounders are waiting for the Portland Timbers to step up to the big kids’ table in pro soccer, while the Vancouver Canucks could say the same thing about Seattle’s unimportant hockey team, the Thunderbirds.  We feel awfully marooned up here in this corner of the country.

Seattle residents begrudgingly accept our hockley overlords from the North.

Of course, there was one perfectly acceptable regional rivalry that had been great: the Seattle Supersonics and the Portland Trail Blazers.  Both have ridiculous, archaic nicknames, championship teams from the 1970’s remembered by none, and good teams from the 1990’s that ran into Michael Jordan.  A few years ago, Portland and Seattle lucked into the top two picks in the NBA Draft, which laid out the script for an engaging Greg Oden/Kevin Durant battle for years to come.  Since draft night, that next chapter of the rivalry has been derailed.

Geographic isolation, league machinations, and a lack of vicious indoctrination may have kept Seattle from enjoying a mutual bloodthirsty hatred of other teams, but I think there can be a revival in hating those who are different solely because they live elsewhere, or root for a pack of jerks or criminals.  Here are my proposed new rivalries for Seattle.

Brandon Roy against the Thunder.

-Brandon Roy vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder

You can’t expect Sonics fans to flip a switch and root for the Blazers.  Those guys are awful.  They try to sneak weed onto airplanes and fight dogs.  (Those incidents were a decade ago, but enemy-fuel is long burning.)  The best we can do is root for Brandon Roy, who starred in high school and college in Seattle, but now has to settle for living three hours away from a decent city.  Roy can be the weapon that strikes back at Oklahoma City for moving.  Both Roy’s Blazers—maybe it’s okay to root for them if you put his name in front—and OKC are brimming with young stars that could keep the teams in the playoffs for years.  Everyone in Seattle will happily root for Brandon Roy, and his 8-plus years of shining in Seattle, over Kevin Durant’s one year of playing shooting guard for P.J. Carlissimo in the Thunder’s year zero.  Other Seattle-bred ballplayers can take up the Thunder-killer mantle, but Nate Robinson seems to be more concerned with jumping really high once every couple months, and Aaron Brooks went to college in Oregon, alienating all of his home state.

This is a rivalry by desperation.  Both teams feel somewhat lost in transit, shuttled through the NFL’s divisions.  While the Cowboys and Broncos used to be big enemies to fans in Phoenix and Seattle, now both just face each other, as well as St. Louis and San Francisco squads that are shells of their former greatness.  Besides bonding over a weak division, the Seahawks and Cardinals can bond over their bird mascots—I’d take the osprey over the seed-eater—their charity toward running back Edgerrin James, and their soul-crushing Super Bowl losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers.  It’s hard to find that much to hate about the Cardinals, but the Seahawks lose to them so often that they’re starting to become annoying.

Growing up, sports teams based in Washington, D.C. were a vexing problem.  Was I supposed to care about the Washington Redskins or the Seattle Seahawks?  (The correct answer is that rooting for others will result mostly in agony, especially this year.)  Who was dumb enough to name a city after a state?  (As a slow and self-centered kid, I didn’t get that the name origins went the other way.)  Washington: city v. state is a compelling matchup on name alone, and these two soccer teams already have some bad blood.   These teams played a close, exciting U.S Open Cup championship game, which gives the winning team the honor of an overbooked schedule the following year.  The key moment of the game was a goal by Fredy Montero to break the scoreless goal in the second half.   Immediately after conceding the score, D.C. goalkeeper Josh Wicks applied his cleats to Montero.

That’s a red card.  And one can only hope that that one mistake by Wicks will lead to years of bad blood.

Elevation Radio
Friday October 23, 2009
Host: John Kline
Guest: Dan “The Beast” Severn

Link:  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elevationradio/2009/10/23/Elevation-Radio-with-JPK

Dan Severn’s Link: www.the-beast.com

Elevation Radio’s John Kline was proud to be joined by “The Beast” Dan Severn for a definitive, nearly hour long interview on Friday morning.  Dan was in a story telling mood as he was in the middle of a long journey from his facility in Coldwater, Michigan to Kentucky, the site of the latest battle in his legendary MMA career. The UFC Hall of Famer spoke on a great variety of subjects including his All-American amateur wrestling career at Arizona State, being an alternate for the 1984 United States Olympic Wrestling team,  his memories from the early “No Holds Barred” days of the UFC, to his rivalry with Ken Shamrock that began in the UFC and continued into his WWF career, his thoughts on Brock Lesnar, “The Ultimate Fighter”, his important role in the training of Rashad Evans including how he taught Rashad to study pro wrestling in order to become a more marketable personality, his thoughts on Jim Cornette, Shane McMahon leaving the WWE, his life philosophy and so much more.

Here is a sample of a few of the main highlights:

How a lunch room conversation he had with Jim Cornette may have been the advent of Vince McMahon’s “Kiss My Ass” Club:

“ Jim comes by and he stops and he puts his hand on my shoulder and says ‘Dan, I don’t know what you’re doing, but keep on doing it….all the boys are nervous around you.’ I said, why are they nervous? He (Cornette) says: ‘Its because you are by yourself…you’re not trying to blend in.’ I said that I will blend in at my pace because I know there is good and bad in everything. So I’m sitting back and watching entertainment here right now. I’m watching political negotiations taking place that I like to fondly refer to as “The Chap Stick Club”. …..What is professional wrestling? It is nothing more than a politically motivated sports entertainment product. Who becomes champion? Its through all this lobbying and politicking, and basically a lot of kissing ass. I’m surprised more professional wrestlers don’t go into the business of politics they are perfect for it. It was not more than a few months after that that they came out with that whole “Kiss My Ass Club” And I kept thinking, I wonder how that came to.”

Dan’s reaction to Brock Lesnar’s antics following UFC 100:
“I know why these guys are doing it, it sells tickets and not everybody can be that way. A lot of people look down on Brock Lesnar because his last match he is flipping people off and he is making a few off colored comments and this and that. I’m just like, he is selling tickets. Its what he’s doing. I’m sure he did get caught up in all the enthusiasm that he won, everyone does antics, any sport across the board people are going to act like that….Brock Lesnar was a professional wrestler.”

Dan on how he advised Rashad Evans to attend a professional wrestling class in order to become a more marketable personality and how “The Beast” was involved with getting Evans onto “The Ultimate Fighter”:

“Rashad Evans for example was quiet as a church mouse. Rashad Evans did the first of his training down at my training facility, Michigan Sports Camps at Coldwater, Michigan. He did his first amateur (MMA) matches with my company “The Danger Zone”. He did his first pro matches with my company “The Danger Zone”. It is because of me, and my making my phone calls to the UFC, I got him into the “Ultimate Fighter” in the first place….He took that opportunity, so I told him ‘Rashad, you need to come watch these professional wrestlers…..you will learn something. You will learn how to cut promos. You will learn what is known as ring presence. It teaches you so much. It teaches you how to tell a story with your facial expressions and your audio and body language.’ And he started adding more to his repertoire. Because fight shows across the United States are a dime a dozen. ‘Whats going to set you apart is you (Rashad), your personality.’

The Beast shares his idea that the WWE could be the one company to make a serious run at the UFC for MMA supremacy:

“I’ve been asked before, ‘is there anyone that can compete with the UFC?’ I go, ‘yes, but not right out of the blocks.’ The only company that could compete against them right out of the blocks would be an organization like the WWE….Look at the infrastructure that they have. …They’ve been in business at least fifty years…they worked with all these various athletic commissions. They know how to put on a production product. They have such good international distribution. The whole nine yards. They could make an impact right out of the get go. The problem is, don’t let professional wrestling people meddle in the MMA industry. Bring on some guys for the MMA portion that know how to book matches there. Let the creative team come in for ‘lets have a cool entrance, lets have cool music’ all that stuff. …I think they could do that. If you were to combine those two things they could step in MMA right now and make an impact.”

Dan also states that he would be interested on advising Shane McMahon on how to be successful in the MMA game:

“I hear that Shane has a great interest in mixed martial arts. And I would be more than happy to sit down with Shane and see what could be done.

Visit www.blogtalkradio.com/elevationradio to hear the rest of the interview and to hear many interesting and fun stories from his wrestling and MMA careers. His idea that lying politicians should be stoned to death by obese children is an opinion that will never leave you.

Also check out the site to hear Kline’s interviews with Bret Hart, Ivan Koloff, Vince Papale, JJ Dillon, Frank Shamrock, and more.