The Cleveland Indians have picked a bad time for a 3-game losing streak. Within a game a few days ago, the Tribe is now 3 back of the White Sox with 4 games left. Now tied with the BoSox for the wild card, Cleveland finishes the year hosting a 3-game series with Chicago. While they battle for the AL Central, the Red Sox will host the Yankees this weekend to determine the AL East champion. If both the Indians and Red Sox can get hot, its possible the over-paid Yankees could be the odd team out when the playoffs start next week.
How over-paid are the Yankees you might ask? New York has by far the top payroll in MLB at $208-million. Lets put that in perspective to appreciate how badly the Yankees are at judging talent by comparing their payroll to what other teams are paying. The Red Sox are second on the list, and they’re $85 million behind. Then come the Mets at $101 million, which isn’t even half of what George Steinbrenner spends. So, of the 30 major league teams, only one spends at least half of New York’s investment, and 16 spend less than a third of the Yanks’ tab. $208M is quite an impressive amount, and to think it might not even be enough to have bought them a playoff spot this year.
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
my top 25...
1. USC (3-0) – simply unbeatable
2. FLORIDA (4-0) – will meet USC in Pasadena
3. VIRGINIA TECH (4-0) – favorite to win the ACC
4. TEXAS (3-0) – can they live up to the hype
5. OHIO ST (3-1) – probably the second best team
6. GEORGIA (4-0) – DJ Shockley can flat out play
7. TENNESSEE (2-1) – lucky to not be 1-2
8. LSU (1-1) – blew 21pt halftime lead
9. FLORIDA ST (3-0) – need a QB
10. MIAMI FLA (2-1) – should have beat FSU
11. MICHIGAN ST (4-0) – surprise of the big 10 and a top 10 team
12. ARIZONA ST (3-1)
13. CALIFORNIA (4-0)
14. ALABAMA (4-0)
15. NOTRE DAME (3-1)
16. WISCONSIN (4-0)
17. VIRGINIA (3-0)
18. BOSTON COLLEGE (3-1)
19. UCLA (3-0)
20. MINNESOTA (4-0)
21. LOUISVILLE (2-1)
22. GEORGIA TECH (3-1)
23. TEXAS TECH (3-0)
24. PURDUE (2-1)
25. TEXAS A&M (2-1)
2. FLORIDA (4-0) – will meet USC in Pasadena
3. VIRGINIA TECH (4-0) – favorite to win the ACC
4. TEXAS (3-0) – can they live up to the hype
5. OHIO ST (3-1) – probably the second best team
6. GEORGIA (4-0) – DJ Shockley can flat out play
7. TENNESSEE (2-1) – lucky to not be 1-2
8. LSU (1-1) – blew 21pt halftime lead
9. FLORIDA ST (3-0) – need a QB
10. MIAMI FLA (2-1) – should have beat FSU
11. MICHIGAN ST (4-0) – surprise of the big 10 and a top 10 team
12. ARIZONA ST (3-1)
13. CALIFORNIA (4-0)
14. ALABAMA (4-0)
15. NOTRE DAME (3-1)
16. WISCONSIN (4-0)
17. VIRGINIA (3-0)
18. BOSTON COLLEGE (3-1)
19. UCLA (3-0)
20. MINNESOTA (4-0)
21. LOUISVILLE (2-1)
22. GEORGIA TECH (3-1)
23. TEXAS TECH (3-0)
24. PURDUE (2-1)
25. TEXAS A&M (2-1)
Sunday, September 18, 2005
random college football thoughts
Some random thoughts about college football… Watched some of the USC/Arkansas game Saturday night and the Trojans scored at will and made it look easy. Quite possibly the best team I’ve ever seen. Who’s gonna beat them? Texas? No chance! LSU? Nope. The only way USC doesn’t 3-peat is if they beat themselves.
Now for some rants… how does Ohio St. lose a close game to a higher ranked team and drop 8 spots in the polls??? In what universe does that sound logical? The Buckeyes lose by less than a field goal, a field goal that should have been made in the 4th, to a team the pollsters thought they would lose anyway and all the sudden they are a worse team? Forgive me if I’m a bit confused. Now I’ll admit I’m biased, I’m not a Vince Young supporter nor do I care for anything resembling orange that resides in the state capitol. My anti-cow sentiments is probably a separate rant in itself but I’ll give Vince his due, he played better than I thought he would and they won the game even though they probably shouldn’t have. Missed field goals, conservative play calling, alternating QBs and a dropped 4th quarter touchdown (the TE had the ball hit him in the hands, pop up and then in his hands again before he watched it finally hit the ground) eventually doomed the Buckeyes. But getting back to the polls… Iowa State drubs Iowa but the voters still rank them lower and Notre Dame beats a horrible Pitt team and then an over-ranked Michigan team and all the sudden a team that couldn’t beat an Indiana high school team last year is all the sudden one of the top 10 in the nation? Only Notre Dame could pull that off. Well that lasted all of one week as previously unranked Michigan State strolled into the golden dome and threatened to blow out the Irish of their own stadium. The new rankings are out and guess what… yep the Spartans are ranked now, but still below the Irish! Go figure. All the more reason polls should never decide championships.
Here’s hoping that the Indians keep winning and finish above the Yankees in the wild card race. Nothing would be better than seeing the most over-paid team in baseball miss the playoffs! What now George?
I’ll be at the Monday night Cowboy game tomorrow night watching a Dallas victory and 3 future hall of famers get inducted into the Ring of Honor.
Up next… The Stars are back!
Now for some rants… how does Ohio St. lose a close game to a higher ranked team and drop 8 spots in the polls??? In what universe does that sound logical? The Buckeyes lose by less than a field goal, a field goal that should have been made in the 4th, to a team the pollsters thought they would lose anyway and all the sudden they are a worse team? Forgive me if I’m a bit confused. Now I’ll admit I’m biased, I’m not a Vince Young supporter nor do I care for anything resembling orange that resides in the state capitol. My anti-cow sentiments is probably a separate rant in itself but I’ll give Vince his due, he played better than I thought he would and they won the game even though they probably shouldn’t have. Missed field goals, conservative play calling, alternating QBs and a dropped 4th quarter touchdown (the TE had the ball hit him in the hands, pop up and then in his hands again before he watched it finally hit the ground) eventually doomed the Buckeyes. But getting back to the polls… Iowa State drubs Iowa but the voters still rank them lower and Notre Dame beats a horrible Pitt team and then an over-ranked Michigan team and all the sudden a team that couldn’t beat an Indiana high school team last year is all the sudden one of the top 10 in the nation? Only Notre Dame could pull that off. Well that lasted all of one week as previously unranked Michigan State strolled into the golden dome and threatened to blow out the Irish of their own stadium. The new rankings are out and guess what… yep the Spartans are ranked now, but still below the Irish! Go figure. All the more reason polls should never decide championships.
Here’s hoping that the Indians keep winning and finish above the Yankees in the wild card race. Nothing would be better than seeing the most over-paid team in baseball miss the playoffs! What now George?
I’ll be at the Monday night Cowboy game tomorrow night watching a Dallas victory and 3 future hall of famers get inducted into the Ring of Honor.
Up next… The Stars are back!
Thursday, September 15, 2005
the triplets...
Long time, no post… so there’s more to talk about than I’ll probably get to.
Lets start with the Cowboys! I’ll be attending Monday night’s game against the Redskins which should be quite an event. The Triplets (Aikman, Emmitt and Irvin) are being inducted into the Ring of Honor at halftime. They are arguably the best trio that’s ever played the game together. They may not have the most gaudy stats (Emmitt excluded), but in terms of overall performance, wins/losses and winning Super Bowls, no one did it better than The Triplets. Three Championships in four years that probably should have and easily could have been four in a row had Jerry Jones kept his ego in check and kept Jimmy Johnson as coach. It should be a great game and probably an easy win over the hapless Redskins.
While on the topic of the ‘Boys, the win Sunday over the Chargers was a nice surprise to most. Not that anyone thought the game wasn’t going to be competitive, but last year’s team doesn’t win that game. Bledsoe and company had every chance to quit but didn’t and came back to win with an impressive touchdown drive and big defensive stand, with San Diego knocking on the door at the 7 yd line.
Rayfield Wright is on a path to be a Hall of Fame finalist for the second time in three years and most expect him to get inducted this year. This poses an interesting question. This year will be the first year that Troy Aikman will be eligible for the Hall and with Michael Irvin’s snub last year, there is the potential for 3 Cowboys up for the final vote for entry into the Hall. This could be bad news for Irvin. After all of the conspiracy theories involving the Cowboys and the Hall of Fame, is it conceivable to really think the voters are going to put three Cowboys - Irvin, Wright and Aikman - in the Hall of Fame in the same year? Here’s hoping so, as they all deserve it!
More to come tomorrow including some good rants on college football.
Lets start with the Cowboys! I’ll be attending Monday night’s game against the Redskins which should be quite an event. The Triplets (Aikman, Emmitt and Irvin) are being inducted into the Ring of Honor at halftime. They are arguably the best trio that’s ever played the game together. They may not have the most gaudy stats (Emmitt excluded), but in terms of overall performance, wins/losses and winning Super Bowls, no one did it better than The Triplets. Three Championships in four years that probably should have and easily could have been four in a row had Jerry Jones kept his ego in check and kept Jimmy Johnson as coach. It should be a great game and probably an easy win over the hapless Redskins.
While on the topic of the ‘Boys, the win Sunday over the Chargers was a nice surprise to most. Not that anyone thought the game wasn’t going to be competitive, but last year’s team doesn’t win that game. Bledsoe and company had every chance to quit but didn’t and came back to win with an impressive touchdown drive and big defensive stand, with San Diego knocking on the door at the 7 yd line.
Rayfield Wright is on a path to be a Hall of Fame finalist for the second time in three years and most expect him to get inducted this year. This poses an interesting question. This year will be the first year that Troy Aikman will be eligible for the Hall and with Michael Irvin’s snub last year, there is the potential for 3 Cowboys up for the final vote for entry into the Hall. This could be bad news for Irvin. After all of the conspiracy theories involving the Cowboys and the Hall of Fame, is it conceivable to really think the voters are going to put three Cowboys - Irvin, Wright and Aikman - in the Hall of Fame in the same year? Here’s hoping so, as they all deserve it!
More to come tomorrow including some good rants on college football.
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