End of Year Grab Bag

With the new year right around the corner, I'm going to deliver to you, the fans, a veritable grab bag of sports impressions over the course of the past year. Without further adieu, lets have at it...

• I realize we don't talk much football on this site, however, the Patriots are certainly worthy of the first note due to what they just accomplished. Although they did not make the playoffs at 11-5 for the first time since 2002, losing Tom Brady lead many to believe that the season was lost. In steps Matt Cassel, who hasn't started a game since high school and had a horrific pre-season, and proceeds to heroically put up fantastic numbers (better than Pro Bowler Brett "Overrated" Favre). Lets not forget that the Pats also lost the services of Laurence Maroney, Adalius Thomas, Rodney Harrison, and Teddy Bruschi. Putting these losses into perspective shows just how good the system is that Bill Belichick has instituted here in New England. It's no surprise that the Cleveland Browns are trying to poach Scott Pioli and Josh McDaniels from the coaching staff.
  
• Clearly it was one hell of a year for the Boston Celtics. It goes without saying that their turnaround from worst to first with the acquisitions of Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett was a stroke of genius by GM Danny Ainge and one of the best sports stories this past year. The C's continue to steamroll the competition through the first third of the '08-'09 campaign and anything short of another finals appearance would most likely be considered a disappointment by many. The return of the Celtics to the forefront of the NBA is great for the league as having quite possibly the most historically rich franchise winning on a daily basis always leads to good things.


• The Red Sox were once again in the thick of the World Series race during the 2008 season and provided for many exciting moments along the way. They were inevitably doomed by lingering injuries and a very good Tampa Bay Rays team in the ALCS. Now that we're into the off season, the Sox have been out dueled by the Yankees for the services of Mark Teixeira, who signed for $180 million just before Christmas. This now leaves the Sox with basically the same offense as last season, which is nothing to be ashamed of. However, one has to wonder if David Ortiz can return to his healthy home run hitting form or if he is really on the downswing of his career. Can Mike Lowell recover from hip surgery? Will Brad Penny really make a difference at the back end of the rotation? Is Jason Varitek going to take a pay cut to return to Boston? Plenty of questions to ponder indeed. Lastly, I found it interesting that the Red Sox made a play at super stud shortstop Hanley Ramirez after they lost out on Teixeira. As we are aware, the Sox traded Ramirez along with Annibal Sanchez and another minor leaguer to the Marlins for Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell before the '06 season. We all know how that turned out in our favor as well as Florida's. It would have certainly come off as a desperation move if the Sox had to trade Clay Buchholz, Michael Bowden, etc. in return for a player that was in their system just three years ago.


• Now, this leaves me with the Bruins. Their 2008 year was kick started back in April when they went toe to toe with the Canadiens in one of the more thrilling playoff series I have watched in quite some time. Capped by an epic Game 6, the B's may have not won the series but they captured the hearts of many long lost fans. The Bruins have since harnessed that momentum from last year and got off to an awesome start this season as statistically the best team in the NHL (currently 1st in the Eastern Conference, 1st in scoring). Backstopped by, in my opinion, the best goaltending duo in the league, Tim Thomas and Manny Fernandez can do no wrong. I love this team and the way they play. They are going to make a difference this year and go deep in the playoffs, believe it.

So what does 2009 have in store for the State of Boston sports? Well, like I mentioned above, anything less than a finals appearance by the Celtics and a deep run in the playoffs by the Bruins could be considered a disappointment. Winter sports are at the forefront and I am personally loving every minute of it. The Red Sox will once again be in the thick of any championship discussion. I firmly believe that Josh Beckett will return to his 2007 form and the AL East will be one heck of a race between an improved Yankees (still not overly impressed with Sabathia and Burnett), a very talented Rays squad and obviously the Sox. 2009 should prove to be interesting for the Patriots as the questions of whether Tom Brady can return healthy, deciding whether to retain the services of Matt Cassel, and clearly needing improvement on defense are all serious matters to address. So, grab your favorite beverage and your best Boston sports jersey and toast to a happy new year and another great run in 2009 for our teams.

Handicapping the NFL Playoffs

Since the 2001 season, the Patriots have only missed the playoffs twice (2002 and 2008). Both times, the Pats won in Week 17 at 1pm, only to then watch Brett Favre end their season on each occasion at 4pm. In 2002, he led his 12-3 Packers into the Meadowlands looking for home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs, but blew that one by losing 42-17 to the Jets. Yesterday, he single handedly gave away the game with two hideous interceptions.

This is not to say the Patriots deserved to make the playoffs anyways. They lost to 4 of the 6 AFC playoff teams (PIT, MIA, SD, INDY). Given a playoff berth though, I feel the Pats could have done some damage as they were playing good football in December. When Tom Brady went down, so did my expectations for the Patriots season. I felt 10 wins was achievable and would most likely earn them a playoff berth. They ended with 11 wins and no playoff berth, only the 1985 Broncos have done that in the era of 16 regular season games. No, I'm not disappointed in any of the Patriots or the coaching staff, but I am disappointed that I might have seen Matt Cassel's last start for the Patriots, and he only threw 8 passes all game! I was really looking forward to a possible Patriots playoff game, as they would be going in with nothing to lose, no expectations, which is the opposite of any Patriots team since their Super Bowl 36 victory.

So now, 12 teams will battle to be the champion of Super Bowl 43. I broke it down like this. I have calculated the combined winning percentage of the teams each playoff team has beaten during the regular season. Here are the teams in each conference sorted by this percentage.

AFC
Indianapolis 48.9%
Pittsburgh 45.3%
Tennessee 41.8%
Baltimore 41.2%
Miami 40.3%
San Diego 39.8%

NFC
NY Giants 48.9%
Philadelphia 48.6%
Carolina 42.7%
Minnesota 41.9%
Atlanta 39.8%
Arizona 36.8%

If you are curious the Patriots percentage here was the same as Miami's at 40.3%

I believe this calculation can tell us a lot about who the playoffs teams have beaten, to answer the question, are they playoff ready? Well let's see if my playoff predictions are playoff ready, here they go.

Wild card weekend
Falcons 30-27 in OT over the Cardinals
Colts 38-31 over the Chargers
Ravens 23-10 over the Dolphins
Eagles 24-20 over the Vikings

Divisional playoffs
Titans 13-9 over the Ravens
Colts 27-21 over the Steelers
NY Giants 23-21 over the Eagles
Panthers 20-14 over the Falcons

Championship week
AFC: Colts 21-16 over the Titans
NFC: Giants 31-20 over the Panthers

Super Bowl 43
Colts over the Giants 27-24 in the first OT game in Super Bowl history

I hate my prediction as it has Manning vs Manning in the Super Bowl, just the thought of the media coverage of that makes me sick to my stomach.

You want the good news or the bad news.
OK here is the good news first ... my predictions are usually way off, so hopefully I just put the kiss of death on a Colts-Giants matchup.

The bad news is the Patriots 2009 opponents had a combined record of 151-105 (59.0%) this season. With the Pats 2nd place finish in the AFC East, here is their Home and Away schedules for the 2009 season.
HOME: Jaguars, Titans, Falcons, Panthers, Ravens, Dolphins, Jets, Bills
AWAY: Texans, Colts, Saints, Buccaneers (in London), Broncos, Dolphins, Jets, Bills

The Brick House's Christmas Special

Looking for a little extra Christmas cheer, well here it is. The masses were calling for it, so The Brick House hit the airwaves of the internet last night to bring you the top 10 Christmas songs. Follow the link below to receive our merry stream.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/TheBrickHouse

Teixeira: 8 Years, $180 Million

The Red Sox blew it on this one.

Were the Yankees the "mystery team" that Boras alluded to last week, causing the Red Sox to walk away from the table? Right now, it seems like it. I think the Sox were outplayed on this one. Say what you want about not wanting to overpay for this guy and the importance of sticking to your negotiation principles, but the middle of the Red Sox order has a big hole in it with Manny gone and Ortiz degenerating before our eyes.

The Yankees have now pledged $424 million this offseason to new players. Some of it is going to pan out and they will be a formidable team in the coming years.

A Mountain of Possibilities

Rumors have been circulating that the Celtics are interested in signing 42-year-old free agent center Dikembe Mutombo. This week, the rumors were confirmed by both C's coach Doc Rivers and Mutombo himself, who previously had expressed a desire to finish his career in Houston, which serves as the base for his charitable foundation. Imagine Dikembe Mutombo as a Celtic! To many of you, this isn't any more of a story than last year's P.J. Brown pickup. But to me (and my dad), it would be an awesome moment 20 years in the making.

Dikembe Mutombo has been my favorite player since I was a child. Coming of age as a basketball fan in the late 80's and early 90's, I first witnessed his immense defensive talent when he patrolled the paint for John Thompson's Georgetown squad, the second in a trilogy of Hall-of-Fame centers to arrive on campus, sandwiched between "The Hoya Destroya" Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Mourning. Mutombo was a shotblocking menace, averaging nearly five blocks a game his senior season, while the Georgetown faithful set up "Rejection Row" under the opposition's basket.

Moving on to the NBA, Mutombo became the leader of a Denver Nuggets squad full of so-and-so's like Bryant Stith, Reggie Williams, and The American Patriot Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and gained notability for single-handedly beating the #1 seeded Seattle Supersonics in the 1994 NBA Playoffs. Dikembe's celebration: falling to the floor, arms outstretched, remains a staple on NBA highlight reels to this day. As basketball fans, my dad and I loved the guy and got staunchly behind the Denver Nuggets as our Western Conference team, because, let's face it, watching the Dino Radja and Antoine Walker-led Celtics was about as fun as food poisoning.

Moving from the Nuggets to the Atlanta Hawks, Dikembe was the best defensive player of the 1990's, winning four Defensive Player of the Year Awards and was consistently among the top centers in the NBA in an era when you had Ewing, Shaq, Dream, The Admiral, and Zo. His eight All-Star selections prove that. In fact, I'd argue that Mutombo is a uniquely deserving Hall-of-Fame player. He's second all-time in blocks behind Olajuwon, 18th all-time in rebounding, and his statistics don't even begin to tell the story of how, in an era of arrogant, "me-first" athletes, Dikembe Mutombo has stood out as the nicest guy in all of sports.

There's a reason why he was an invited guest to the President's State of the Union address in 2007. The guy financed the construction of a hospital (named in honor of his late mother) in his home country of the Congo, soliciting donations from many of his NBA counterparts and, by my rough estimate, putting up like $18.5 million of his own money. The hospital is a state-of-the-art facility in an area of the world where few exist and even more are needed. When his brother died, Dikembe adopted his four kids. And he's revered throughout sports as a guy who is giving of his time and good humor.

Yet, one thing has eluded Mutombo throughout his career, and that's an NBA Championship. His addition to the 2001 Sixers was the main reason that they made the Finals that year, when they fell to Shaq and Kobe, four games to one. Otherwise, Mutombo hasn't had the opportunity. Amongst all the bullet points when building a resume for a Hall of Fame career, an NBA championship is perhaps the most important. And that is why it is so intriguing that Dikembe Mutombo might join the Celtics and leave Houston, where he seemed to be comfortable convalescing on teams that don't make it out of the first round of the playoffs.

His contributions to the Celtics would be modest on paper but measurable in scope as they strive for a #1 seed in the Eastern Conference and a second consecutive NBA Championship. He could serve as a defensive anchor on a team that already has Kevin Garnett in the paint, as well as a mentor to Perk, Powe, Big Baby and O'Bryant. The Celts don't currently have a 7-footer on the roster who gets any playing time, and the 7-2 Mutombo would be an intimidating presence to summon off the bench. I think it's a no-brainer to add a capable big man to the mix in Boston, and I'd be the first in line at the pro shop to pick up a "55" Celtics jersey.

Because Dikembe Mutombo is a mountain of a man.

Merry Christmas from Team Fire It Up!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Auburn Coaching Hire = FAIL

Lets say that you are Auburn AD Jay Jacobs. You have just seen your cross state rival make one of the biggest coaching moves in recent memory in the SEC (maybe ever) and the power is shifting in your state right before your eyes. Alabama just had a 12 win regular season WAYYYY before anyone thought it was possible. You just had a losing season, forced out your above average (though declining) Head Coach of ten years. The slippery slope is going full force and you know this hire is the most important decision you will make possibly in your tenure as AD. And you go out and hire...................GENE CHIZIK?!?!?!?!?!?!

EPIC FAIL

Chizik was a great defensive coordinator at Auburn and Texas during both of their undefeated seasons of 2004 and 2005 respectively and was part of a personal 29 game winning streak. As a head coach....Chizik was 5-19 in two years at Iowa State including going 0-8 in conference play this season.

In the SEC, recruiting is everything. If you finish 10th nationally....you might be 6th in conference. Chizik took over Iowa State in November of 2006 and as been a part of three recruiting classes there.

2007: 60th (11th in Conference)
2008: 62nd (last in Conference)
2009: 73rd (11th in Conference) So far

Now to be fair, Iowa State finished 11th in conference the previous two seasons in recruiting and no better than 8th in 2002 (the year that rivals.com started posting these rankings online.

Auburn just had five verbal commits jump ship after Tubberville "resigned." Chizik hasn't shown he can get any big name recruits in the Big 12 North that has just one team with any real history (Nebraska) and how he has to do it in the SEC against Florida, LSU, Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee just to name a few?!? His rankings will be better just by accident since Alabama and Georgia and Florida all have better high school talent than Iowa, but what recruit is going to want to play for a guy like that when he can play for Nick Saban or Urban Meyer or Steve Spurrier or Mark Richt?

Now we have Auburn's most vocal alum, Charles Barkely voicing his, lets say "displeasure" over the hire? This is a disaster on the Plains, and I COULDN'T BE HAPPIER!!!

Would Turner Gill have been a better hire? Who knows. Only time will tell.

Alabama went through this in 2003 with the Mike Shula hire. Mike Shula and Sylvester Croom were both up for the job. Both were "in the family" and both had good but not great resumes. Alabama had just been embarassed by Franchione jumping ship for A&M and the Mike Price debacle. Alabama chose the "safe" hire. Croom would have been the first black coach in the SEC, at his alma mater and hometown, but the perception was that Croom would have made too many old school fans upset about having a black guy in charge. Alabama now has Saban, but not before losing to Auburn all 4 years of the Shula era and having to endure medicrity at best from 2003-2007.

The difference here is that Turner Gill has a better resume than Chizik. But he isn't "part of the family" at Auburn. If he was an Auburn alum, maybe he would have gotten this job. Now you've got Barkely saying you didn't hire Gill because he has a White Wife??? I don't know if thats true or not, but just the fact that its out there is beyond damaging to Auburn and their recruiting efforts especially this year. And make no mistake about it, the media will let this die over time, but other SEC coaches will not.

If you read my posts you probably know I think there are major problems with the lack of African-American head coaches in college football and that I think something should be done about it. But if we have coaches not getting jobs because of the color of the skin OF THEIR WIVES than this problem goes far deeper than I imagined. Charlie Strong's wife is also white, which I did not know until today. I've been asking for years "why hasn't this guy gotten a head job yet?" Now maybe I know. I hope that Barkely is wrong about this, I really do. As much as I hate Auburn, I do not want to belive they made their hire at least based in part on that fact. But if they did....and if anyone else has done that....wow, just wow. I don't even know where to go with that one.

Auburn, welcome to a decade of SEC mediocrity. Right where you belong.

The Spoked "B"log

It's been some time since I've last posted some Bruins material and boy oh boy, how good to these Bruins look? I've been falling in love over and over again with this team over the first third of this season because there is so much to like about this squad. Team toughness, a knack for putting the puck in the net that the Garden hasn't seen since the days of Oates to Neely to You (2nd in the league with 106 GF), and a defensive system that hasn't faltered with the losses of Andrew Ference and Aaron Ward to injuries.

This doesn't even bring up the fact that the duo of Tim Thomas (1.96 GAA .937 sv%) and Manny Fernandez (2.07 GAA .924 sv%) collectively have allowed the 2nd least amount of goals in the league and boast a 2.01 GAA between the two. Do I smell a Jennings Trophy in the future? Dear God, I'm having shades of Andy Moog and Reggie Lemelin dancing in my head! I can see Lemelin's Aeroflex pads as clear as day!

What really gets me here is the fact that Tim Thomas is reaping all the well-deserved and well-earned publicity. While Thomas has been nothing short of spectacular between the pipes, Manny is quietly putting up fantastic numbers. Before the 3-1 loss against the Capitals this past Wednesday, he had won seven straight starts and clearly didn't have any ill effects as he picked up the W last night in a 4-2 gimmie against the Thrashers.

Moving along, many people including Mr. Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe were quick to lay the hammer on Michael Ryder after he got out of the gate with a slow start. I'm sure he's eased off the keyboard a bit with some of his classic "the sky is falling" rhetoric as Ryder is clearly on fire. As of November 28th, a span of eight games, Ryder has potted 7G and nabbed 3A as well as a +10 rating. You can be comfortable in knowing that he has setting in well and has gotten used to his new Black and Gold threads. If you need any evidence just take a look at his second goal last night where he used his speed to squeak by the wing on the half boards, take the puck out between the hash marks, split the D, and put it top corner on the much maligned "Moose" Hedberg. Next time you're watching a game, take a look at what kind of shot this guy has, an absolute rocket with a killer release. This is exactly what Chiarelli paid for and was hoping to get in the offseason. Right now he is earning his $4 million per.

Look for Phil Kessel to get his 20th goal of the season in the next contest (Thurs. @ home vs. Toronto) and to continue his stellar breakout season. Thirty plus goals at this point is very much expected, if he stays healthy. I love to see this guy succeed as he just goes about his business and plays a pretty brand of hockey that sometimes results in the highlight reel moment. Everyone glad that Chiarelli had the wherewith all to know not to trade this guy when he was struggling?

So, with all this success to start the season, I personally love that the Bruins are getting all this publicity. They have arrived on the Boston sports scene and clearly people are making room for a fourth successful franchise. Clearly, Brick will still try and rouse up some sort of way to make fun of the team, but take notice Mr. Brick, the Celtics aren't the only winter team in Boston this year and this is something that even you can get excited about.

Lastly, I was discussing this with Dad from West Warwick last night over a delicious dinner on "The Hill" in lovely Providence, Rhode Island. What, if anything, should the Bruins do around the trade deadline? With this success, it's hard to mess with or tinker the lineup. The only area that I might see as a possibility is the potential trade of Manny Fernandez. Allow me to explain. I feel like it's OK to talk playoff possibilities here because the B's could play .500 hockey the rest of the way and still nab a spot. Anyhow, successful playoff teams ride a hot goaltender to victory. I don't see using two goalies as a recipe for success come April, May, and hopefully early June. Manny has been stellar so far (as mentioned above) and to maximize your return on a player like him would make smart savvy business sense on behalf of Chiarelli. You could net draft picks or the oft coveted "puck moving" defenseman. Fernandez will be a free agent at the end of this year so it will be worth exploring the option. In the end, it will come down to a team accepting the remaining portion of his $4 million salary that could scare away any potential suitors.

That's all from here folks, keep watching and enjoy the show.

Spending Like Drunken Sailors

Well, la dee freakin' da Yankees, you just spent $82.5 million on a pitcher that isn't even close to being worth it. Welcome to Carl Pavano reincarnated Hank. This organization still hasn't learned their lesson on overpaying for free agents that will never earn their keep. I doubt there are many Yankee fans out there reading this blog, however if there is even one, allow me to take you to the numbers and shed some light on your indiscretions...

In a 10 year career, Burnett has gone 87-76, started 30+ games only twice in his career (coincidence that they were both in contract years?), and earned a respectable 3.81 career ERA. The oft injured Burnett never won more than 12 games in a season until last year and furthermore, has never pitched in the playoffs. Certainly not the type of numbers that warrant such a contract from an organization that demands daily success and playoff perfection.

Pardon me if you find this debatable, but I'll still take the Red Sox rotation as currently constituted over what the Yankees have done to "improve" theirs. Lets compare:

Josh Beckett vs. CC Sabathia - Beckett is beyond playoff tested (barring last year battling through injuries) and clearly makes it happen when it counts. CHECK BECKETT

Daisuke Matsuzaka vs. Chien Ming Wang - Coming off an 18 win year for Dice-K and an injury shortened season for Wang, the Dice-man clearly had the more productive year. I'm still not sold on Dice-K's shutdown stuff given all the walks, however, Wang has shown nothing besides regular season production - CHECK DICE-K

Jon Lester vs. AJ Burnett - Youth, one hell of a breakout season, a no-hitter, a World Series clinching victory, and a workhorse mentality. Yep this one clearly goes to Lester. CHECK LESTER

Tim Wakefield vs. Phil Hughes - Difficult because we haven't seen much from Hughes to compare this matchup due to youth, hardly any appearances, and injuries. However, from what we have seen it hasn't been much. The hyped prospect might be overhyped. CHECK WAKEFIELD

I'll leave the 5th spot in the rotation for each team open due to it not really being finalized for either club yet. Who knows if the Red Sox will use Clay Buchholz, Justin Masterson, or a free agent signing and I'm not sure who the heck the Yankees will use after the retirement of Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte's status being up in the air. Either way, like I said before I'll take the Sox in this one.

More Baseball Thoughts

In the spirit of Peter Gammons' original baseball notes column for the Globe, minus about fifteen thousand words and any real insight, here are a few random baseball thoughts:

• I think the Yankees made a good move with Sabathia. Yeah, it's a ton of money and yeah seven years is a long time, but he's a proven commodity in the AL and pitches some serious innings. With Mussina gone and Hughes and Kennedy on the slow track, they clearly needed a new top of the line guy. Of course they overpaid, but it's New York and they can afford it. To me, the potential upside of having a Cy Young winner at the top of your staff for the greater part of a decade outweighs other risks.

• I love what the Mets have done with their bullpen. Having witnessed way too many Heilman/Schoeneweis meltdowns in the last two years, it feels pretty good to have two of the top closers in baseball in the eighth or ninth innings of a game. They haven't had a one two punch at the end of the game like this since Duaner Sanchez went for a cab ride in Miami in 2006. I'll blatantly rip off these stats from Jayson Stark's article on ESPN to show why this is so great:

If all games had ended after six innings this season, the Mets would have finished the year 11 games ahead of the Phillies (aka, the team that won the World Series).

If all games had ended after seven innings, the Mets would have finished six games ahead of the Phillies.

And if all games had even been just eight innings long instead of nine, the Mets would have finished five games ahead of the Phillies.

• So maybe if the Mets had just one of the two guys they just added last year, the earth wouldn't have spun off its axis and allowed the Phillies (shudder) to win the World Series.

• Why doesn't Major League Baseball just save everyone a lot of trouble and move the winter meetings to New York next year since the two New York teams seemed to be the only ones making any moves.

• How stupid are those new Red Sox uniforms? I haven't seen such a transparent marketing gimmick since…the Red Sox unveiled their hideous red alternate home jerseys! Really, why do they need to have different jerseys? I can understand newer franchises tweaking theirs, but the Red Sox have such classic unis that it's a waste to trot out in anything else. I can't see the Yankees changing their home pinstripes any time soon, so why should the Red Sox do it? Oh right, because they want to sell more crap to yahoo Sox fans.

• Which reminds me of one of my favorite things to hate on: Red Sox Nation. Why can't people who like the Red Sox just be called Red Sox fans? Few phrases in sports have become as trite as fast as "Red Sox Nation." And of course, the Red Sox organization did everything it could to beat any ounce of respect left in it by actually creating a Red Sox Nation fan club with a membership fee and token benefits (like stickers!). Sweet. I suggest that no real (pre-2004) Red Sox fan should be caught dead uttering the phrase "Red Sox Nation." It's stupid.

• Apparently some people are offended that baseball teams are going out and spending so much money while the economy is in such dire straits. Maybe these people would be happier if everyone was as miserable as they are. Baseball's a business and teams wouldn't spend the money if they don't have it. So if you're sitting at home, unemployed, and watching YES, maybe think about how your cable fees are helping add $73 million a year to the Yankees' coffers and stop whining about the contract they just gave C.C. Sabathia.

• Hats off to Greg Maddux, who announced his retirement this week. As someone who has always hated the Braves, I still respected Maddux a great deal. I resented how he would always get the outside strike calls, but that comes with the territory of being a great pitcher, and I don't complain when Johan gets similar calls now. Some have said that we may never see another pitcher hit 300 wins (Randy Johnson?), so the fact that they had two in the same rotation (Maddux and Glavine) for so many years is amazing.

He's Heating Up!

So said the famous words of that crazy NBA Jam announouncer when you hit two shots in-a-row. The same goes for the MLB Hot Stove free agent season now that the Winter Meetings have wrapped up in Las Vegas. My thoughts thus far, I must give credit where credit is due. Well played Metropolitans, you have done great work so far. Inking K-Rod and trading for JJ Putz will certainly solidify what was just a train wreck of a bullpen last season. The Mets basically have now what the Angels had last year (a great closer and a set-up man who can also close games, if need be). Even better, this benefits the Red Sox greatly. Not because we got two very good pitchers out of the AL, but because of the contract that K-Rod landed. As an elite closer who broke the single season saves record last year, he signed for 3 years at $37 million. Seems like small money for a guy that is considered one of the best at his position. Now, if you are Theo and Co. this is great news when it comes to potential contract negotiations with Jonathan Papelbon. Using that as a basis, they clearly don't have to go above and beyond to satisfy the man. I'm thinking 5 years (at most) and around $40 million.

Now, as for the Yankees, is anyone else just not impressed with the signing of CC Sabathia. Nevermind the fact that they had to go for 7 years $160 million, making him the highest paid pitcher in MLB history. The reason why I am not impressed, nor scared, is the fact that this guy is simply a regular season paper champ. He fell apart in the 2007 ALCS against the Sox (mind you still winning the Cy Young that year), and he was a workhorse for the Brew Crew all last year until playoff time. This guy goes AWOL when it counts the most and I can't wait to see him do that in pinstripes.


EDITORS NOTE: I had a dandy of a post going here that was 2 times as long as what I have above and then of course the computer crashed on me. When I'm done being pissed off about the recent developments I'll hopefully get around to writing it again.

The Brick's Hot Stove Thoughts

So the Yankees have sign Sabathia for 7 years and $161 million? Do you realize how many Sausage McMuffins he'll be able to consume with that contract? Forget about pitching out that contract, I'm curious to see if he can even survive 7 more years of eating nothing but McDonald's, did anyone else see Super Size Me? I'll never eat that shit again. Anyways, I actually think this is a smart move for the Empire. Moving into the new stadium, they had to make a big free agent splash, and pitching is where they needed to spend. I wouldn't be surprised to see them sign D.Lowe or Burnett to a big deal as well. They are loading up in the arms race known as the AL East, easily the best division in baseball.

Are you confused about the Red Sox interest in Teixeira, while he is the biggest fish in the pond, as far as hitters are concerned, do the Sox have a place for him? Well of course! He's that good. He would play first, Youk would move to third, but what about Lowell? He's owed $24 million over the next 2 seasons. But let's forget about that for a second, if the Sox want, they can eat that contract, plus who knows how Lowell will recover since he is aging and he looked like Abe Simpson running to first in the playoffs. Currently, the Sox salaries for next season sit right at about $100 million, their opening day salaries last season totaled to $133. That's $33 million to play with. So what do the Sox need? They need a catcher and another starter, unless they plan on converting Masterson to a full-time starter next season. The catching situation is a mess, and if the Sox don't turn to Varitek, who is it going to be? And besides D.Lowe, I'm not thrilled with the remaining starters on the market.

So my plan would be, sign Teixeira for the $20 million per year he's looking for, let the Lowell situation work itself out by trading him for a halfway decent catcher. If you have to eat some of Lowell's contract in the process, well just add that to the cost of signing Teixeira. And we all know Varitek couldn't hit last year, so with his trade, let's hope that the notion that Varitek "is so good with the pitching staff" is hype and not based in fact. I would hope to not have to eat all of Lowell's contract, essentially saving some money, but let's say we have to eat it all. That leaves $13 million after signing Teixeira for a free agent starter. And with that, I would try to take a flier on a Ben Sheets, given the Empire has already snatched D.Lowe for much more money.

Take that in your hot stove pipe (can i say that on this blog) and smoke it!

Podcast : December 9, 2008

We've had a lot of uproar over college football on the blog, so we wanted to give you a new podcast for your audio enjoyment that hits on some other timely topics:

- Who will win the AFC East?

- How much better does K-Rod make the Mets?

- Is BC's loss in the ACC Championship Game a failure, or just a disappointment?

- Who (besides Rickey Henderson) will be headed to the Hall of Fame this year?

All that and more in another installment of Fire It Up.

Check back with us - we're planning on doing our 5th annual Spinners Holiday Spectacular Extravaganza next week...get those requests ready.

Pun's College Football Playoff Ideas

Thank you Brick for posting your playoff idea. I didn't get any one else's idea. Here is my idea:

First off I will say this: I do not want a playoff in college football. I love what we have right now. Auburn in 2004 aside, no one can complain about getting left out because they lost in the regular season or they play in a horrible conference. Every week is a playoff and its true that you can lose and still get a shot, but you can't guarantee that. So you need to win every game in order to be sure. I love that. I never want to see a system that might have a team that already clinched its conference or division resting its starters at the end of the regular season for the playoffs or anything like that.

That said, there are some playoff ideas I could be ok with that mostly keep the regular season as meaningful as it is now while allowing for more teams to have a true shot at the national title.

Idea one: The plus one.

I do not want this system at all. This says we play the bowls as they are now (although I guess they would have to change the name of the "BCS Title Game" to something else or make it another bowl or whatever) and then the top two teams at the end of that play. This system only adds another game at the end of the season and doesn't anwswer the true issue of minor conference teams being left out, and allowing all teams that "deserve" a shot to get in.

Idea two: Four Team playoff

This is simple: take the top four teams in the standings, seed them, and play it out. Better than a plus one in that at least they matchup the teams and we have true semi finals, but doesn't answer the question of minor conference teams. Both Utah and Boise State this year would be left out of this system.

These are two playoff systems that are frequently talked about that would be horrible for college football. This season, we have 2 minor conference undefeateds, and 7 major conference one loss teams. That gives us 9 teams that have a real argument that they should be national champions....and we almost had 10 with Ball State who lost in a conference title game. That doesn't even include Virginia Tech who has four losses, but did win the ACC and Cinncinatti that won the Big East with two losses.

My Playoff Idea: 8 Team Playoff:

1. Conference Champions of the ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Big East, Pac 10, and SEC get an automatic bid into the playoff field IF they finish in the top 12 of the BCS (or whatever they would use) standings.

2. If the champions of the MAC, Mountain West, Conference USA, Sun Belt, or WAC are undefeated, they would get an automatic bid.

3. Any undefeated independent would also get an automatic bid. I feel that all independents must join a conference before we can have any playoff system in place, but if not this rule would apply.

4. Any remaining slots would be filled by at large teams in the BCS or whatever standings starting from number 1 on down.

5. In the event that there are more than 8 teams that qualify automatically, there will be a week alloted as a bye week after conference championship weekend that can be used as a play in weekend for the lowest ranked teams played at the home stadium site of the highest ranked team involved in the play in game or games.

I want to see a couple of things happen before we have this though:

1. Notre Dame and all other independents: JOIN A CONFERENCE!! I know you have your pride and history and all of that and I respect that, but we can't have a true playoff without you playing by the rules everyone else plays with. Notre Dame, YOU are the main reason we don't have a totally reformatted post season for college football. So shut up, join the Big 10 (which has 11 teams already) and have a 12 team super conference. Don't complain that you can't play Navy and USC and BC and whoever else every year, play them in rotating years like everyone else has to do with their classic rivals and quite complaining.

2. All conferences must have a title game. NCAA, change the rule that says you have to have 12 teams in order to have a title game. I like that the Big East and Pac 10 at least play a round robin, but it happens a lot where teams in the ACC, SEC, and Big 12 have to play eachother twice in a season to win its conference so each conference needs to have this game in order to be fair.

There will be Seven overall games to be played at the bowl sites of the Rose, Sugar, Orange, Fiesta, Capital One, Cotton, and Gator bowls. Bowls are also ranked from 1 to 7 in that order. There will be a rotating schedule to determine which site hosts which game. For the quarters, the higest rated bowl will have first selection of game and then 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. The bowls in the semi finals will have to choose before bowl season whether or not they want to host the winners of the top of the bracket or the bottom of the bracket with the higest rated bowl getting first choice. For this year:

Title game: Rose

Semi Finals: Sugar, Orange

Quarters: Fiesta, Capital One, Cotton, Gator

For each subsequent year, each bowl will move over one spot (I.E. Fiesta move up to quarter finals, Rose move back to Quarters, and Sugar will move to Title game)

Week 1: December 13th Bye Week. No play in games necessary this season

Week 2: First round games played on Saturday December 20th

#1 Oklahoma vs. #8 Cincinatti Fiesta Bowl

#4 USC vs. #5 Utah Gator Bowl

#3 Texas vs. #6 Penn State Cotton Bowl

#2 Florida vs. # 7 Boise State Capital One Bowl

Week Three: Semi Final Games Played on Saturday December 27th

Probably: #1 Oklahoma vs. #4 USC Orange Bowl

#3 Texas vs. #2 Florida Sugar Bowl

Finals: Played Thursday January 8th (same day as current national title game) Rose Bowl

I think this is the most fair system available. I hate that Cincinatti gets a shot over Alabama or Texas Tech, but thats the break is suppose. If all conferences were to play title games, this scenario may not play out exactly anyways and Cinci may lose to say Pittsburgh in the title game or something like that. Had Ball State won its conference and went undefeated, they would replace Texas in the playoffs too.

Problems:

1. Try telling the Rose, Sugar, Orange, and Fiesta bowls they they will be forced to be a quarter final game for four years in a row at one point before they are elevated to semi finals or finals. Hell, try and tell them they ever have to be a quarter final game. You could change this to where the big four bowls are always the title game, the semis, and only one has to be a quarter finals. You could then either keep the Capital One, Cotton, and Gator as quarters each year OR you could rotate other bowls in there.

2. Too much travel: This is one of the reasons I don't know if doing this at Bowl sites will work. This is a lot of cross country travel for kids to do week in and week out during the finals period of college. In the lower divisions, they have playoffs but its at the home sites of one of the teams so they don't have to both travel so much. I would also support a system that has all the games at home sites except for the finals which would be at a famous bowl site.

3. Too many games: Under the current 12 game game regular season system, the teams that play in the finals would have to play a total of 16 games. That is too many. You could go down to 11 games like it was before a few years ago, but i like 12 games because it allows for more seperation between the haves and have nots during the season.

4. Fans in stadiums: Fans of teams that are expected to win will not travel to quarters and semis when they know if they hold out they can go to the finals. Under this system. that quarter finals matchup of Utah and USC in the Gator bowl will have about a 1/4 filled stadium at best. Especially when the Rose Bowl is the national title game. I imagine a scenario like this will play out each year, but if the NCAA and all involved don't care about the idea of a half filled stadium, than this might work. This is also why I think quarter and semi final games should be played at home sites of teams, but I don't think the NCAA would go for that at least not until the bowls are phased out over time.

That is about the most fair system I can come up with. Please everyone, now rip it apart or come up with a better idea.

The Brick's Proposed Playoff Plan

I, like many others, have no love lost for the BCS. All plans will have flaws, but the BCS has so many it is not funny anymore. In 2008, the story is how Texas beat Oklahoma, but still couldn't find their way to the Big 12 title game, therefore eliminating them from the national championship. In 2007, LSU had 2 losses, but still found their way to the BCS title game, why didn't others such as USC have the same opportunity? In 2004, an undefeated Auburn team was left out of the equation.

So what can we do about it? I have a plan for a realistic playoff system. And here it is ... there will be 10 teams, the champions of the ACC, Big East, Big 10, Big 12, Pac 10, and SEC, along with 4 at large teams. The Orange Bowl would be played as a quarterfinal on Jan 2 with the ACC champ playing the Big East champ. The Rose Bowl would be played as a quarterfinal on Jan 1 with the Big 10 champ playing the Pac 10 champ. The Sugar Bowl would be played as a quarterfinal on Jan 2 with the SEC champ playing an at large team. To determine the at large team playing in the Sugar Bowl, there would be a "at large" game played a week before on Christmas day and be played in Tampa, FL as the Outback Bowl. The Fiesta Bowl would be played as a quarterfinal on Jan 1 with the Big 12 champ playing an at large team. To determine the at large team playing in the Fiesta Bowl, there would be a "at large" game played a week before on Christmas day and be played in Dallas, TX as the Cotton Bowl. The winners of the Orange and Sugar Bowls would play each other, and the winners of the Fiesta and Rose Bowls would play each other, at the NCAA Semis, which would be played on a Monday and Tuesday night after the NFL divisional playoffs, this year on Jan 13 and 14. The winners of these Semis would play in the NCAA Championship, the Sunday before the Super Bowl, this year on Jan 25.


There is the long and short of it. This years field would look something like this.

ORANGE - Virginia Tech / Cincinnati

SUGAR - Florida / (At-large between Texas & Boise State)

FIESTA - Oklahoma / (At-large between Alabama & Utah)

ROSE - USC / Penn State



This field would create rivalries between conferences, and also enable the cinderella runs the NCAA basketball tournament is known for. There would be a "Bubble", as Texas Tech and Ohio State would be left out, but I can live with that. I think this plan is realisitic and would create great drama. And I can't wait for you all to rip it apart.

Update!

For those loyal Fire It Up readers that are wondering where we have been for the past two weeks, bare with us!  Sean and I have both been very busy with the holidays and I am closing out the first semester of grad school.  Have no fear, a brand new podcast will be up very soon and same great shenanigans you've come to know and love will be back in your ear bud.

Until then, enjoy the fact that the Celtics are destroying the competition and the Bruins are skating themselves back into Boston sports prominence.  And oh yeah, the Patriots are in a three-way tie for first place in the AFC East, all on a rag-tag walking wounded defense.  Now that is some sweet action!

College Football Week 14 and Championship Weekend

For most conferences, the regular season is now over and Championship Week is upon us. The ACC, Big 12, and SEC each have title games this weekend, and the Big 10 ended its season before Thanksgiving. The Pac 10 and Big East all have regular season games remaining.

Now the fact that the Big East and Pac 10 are playing this weekend is ridiculous to me. They benfit by not having a title game. They get an extra bye week during the season that the ACC, Big 12, and SEC don't get! How in any way is that fair? But that's another discussion for another time.

The news of the weekend was of course the Big 12 when Oklahoma jumped over Texas to win a berth in the conference title game eventhough Texas beat Oklahoma head to head during the season, and the teams have identical records.

But everyone seems to be forgetting that this is a three way tie scenario and you cannot discount Texas Tech. They got throttled by Oklahoma and barely beat Texas on a last second play, and I do agree that they should not be in the title game. But had Oklahoma lost to Oklahoma State, Texas Tech would be in this title game lest we forget. You cannot discount them, and hence why we are having this problem today.

Oklahoma just looks impressive this season. They are winning games by five and six touchdowns and "pass the eye test." But Texas should not have been jumped, and they should be in the game for a couple of reasons:

1. They won the game head to head

2. They played 5 common opponents (and eachother) during the season. Oklahoma beat 3 of them by bigger margins than did Texas, but since Texas won head to head that becomes 3-3 and I would say a head to head win should break that tie.

3. Texas went into the week ahead of Oklahoma, won its game by 40, and was jumped.

If I were better with advanced math, I could probably come up with a computer formula for all of this. Of course the BCS has those, and they all say Oklahoma is a better team.

The system got it wrong. But Texas cannot complain.

If you don't win your games on the field, you have no argument with me. You can say you deserve it over someone else, but if you had won all of your games you would be in.

In 2003 USC probably should have gotten in over Oklahoma. But USC lost to Cal during the season. Don't lose to Cal, and you would have been in.

Auburn in 2004 has a legit gripe. They play in a power conference, went undefeated, and had no shot at playing for the national title.

But other than Auburn, there is no one, I repeat, NO ONE that has an argument that holds any water with me.

Win your games on the field, and you are in. Thats the best playoff system there can be.

Now, we've gotten that out of the way:

Alabama demolished Auburn 36-0 capping their last undefeated season since 1994. The Tide lost to Florida in the SEC title game that season 24-23. Their opponent in the game this year: Florida.

SEC Title Game: Alabama vs. Florida

On paper, the Gators should win this game. They have as much speed as anyone in the country, and one of the best recruiting classes in the school's history are now Juniors and leaders on the team. Alabama had a great recruiting class last year, but they are still freshmen.

But Percy Harvin may be out for Florida with an ankle sprain and even if he plays will be slowed. This helps BAMA's defense so much I can't even begin to describe why. Basically, Middle Linebacker Rolando McClain would have been responsible for both Tim Tebow AND Harvin! I don't care how smart a player you are, that is a tough task to say the least.

I will be in Atlanta hopefully at the game and will be pulling for the Tide like nobody's business. But my brain tells me Florida 27-23 with a late touchdown and defensive stand to seal it.

ACC Title Game: Boston College vs. Virginia Tech

I will admit, I knew very little about either of these teams. Boston College is one of the best surprises of the season in my opinion. I don't think anyone was even talking about them before the season after losing Matt Ryan and now they are back in the conference title game on the strength of a four game winning streak to end the season. I was going to use the Vegas odds to help me pick this game, but they have the game as a Pick'em. BC is ranked higher, but Va Tech has been here before and should win this one 17-13.

Big 12 Title Game: Oklahoma vs. Missouri

This one will be talked about for all the wrong reasons all week long. Missouri has had a somewhat dissapointing season losing three games in a year some thought they might be a darkhorse national title contender. After losing to Kansas last weekend, no one is giving the Tigers a shot in this one including Vegas which has OU 17 point favorites. Sam Bradford is hurt and that is bad for Oklahoma. Chase Daniel is one of the most creative quarterbacks in the country and has been running the same offense for about eight years from high school and college. Oklahoma will win this game but it will be very close most of the night. 49-35 with Oklahoma adding their final touchdown in the final minute just to rub it into Missouri's faces.

Side note: I want every one of those predictions to be wrong!

The BCS vs. Playoff System:

I could write an entire blog talking about different playoff systems vs. the BCS system vs. the old system vs. other ideas all together. I want to challenge you however to come up with your ideas. Post them in the comments section. Whether you want a "plus one" or a 4 team or 8 team or 64 team or whatever, post it. Don't just tell me "8 team" tell me how you want it done....are the bowls used? Automatic births? What about minor conference undefeateds? Give me your ideas for a system, I will complile them and break them down. And if you like the BCS as it is, say that too. After the season ends this weekend, we have two weeks until the bowls start so plenty of time to go back and forth on the best post season for college football.

College Football = Sports Punchline

Case and point, see the Big XII Conference disaster that unfolded this past weekend. You have three out of this world teams vying for one spot in the conference championship game. Texas, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma all with one loss and are equally all deserving to play in that game and earn the right to destroy a substandard Missouri Tigers team.

So, how do we figure out this mess? According to the BCS nimrods operating this asinine ship, we let a computer determine who is best and who gets the right to play in the championship game. This is exactly why I will never become a dedicated fan to college football. My apologies to fellow writers who are clearly fans, but this is ridiculous. The BCS is robbing fans and fringe fans of true competition. They are taking the game out of the hands of players and coaches and allowing a computer program to have all the fun. Last time I checked, college football is one step below the NFL. Just imagine how "fun" the NFL would be if computers determined who should compete in the Super Bowl and the other teams that are just as worthy, but statistically subservient, were forced to play in meaningless other bowl games.

Give me a break, this is not competition. Just because Oklahoma lost earlier in the season than Texas and Texas Tech, doesn't mean that they should get the benefit of a computer analysis. If you ask me this isn't a true sport in my book until you let the game play out on the field, not on some MacBook in an office.

Solution: For this Big XII mess, have a three team playoff between Texas, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma. For the highest ranked BCS team, they automatically get a bye into the 2nd round (Oklahoma). Texas will play Texas Tech and the winner of that game plays Oklahoma for the right to play in the Big XII Conference championship game against Missouri. And if you say that is too many games played in a season, well tough. This is football, and I doubt you'd hear any players or coaches complain about it. Plus the ratings would be through the roof seeing that they are marquee matchups. Schools would make money and sponsorship would reap the benefits as well. College football will forever be a joke to me until a true playoff system is installed. Period.