The Sports Verdict

Derby Picks...

2009-05-02T00:56:00.000-07:00

In 2008, prior to TheSportsVerdicts inception, I accurately called Big Brown's historic defeat in the Belmont and Curlin's dramatic defeat in the Breeder's Cup. In both cases, making huge scores off small bets.

Dennis of Cork in the Belmont and Raven's Pass along with HenrytheNavigator in the Breeder's Cup my past successes, so here goes for the 135th Derby.

Boxing off Pioneerof the Nile with 2 horses from the UAE, Desert Party and Regal Ransom.

Pioneerof the Nile has been dominate over the past several months and the stable mates from the UAE are my darkhorses. Can't bet favorites and expect to make any money.

Need two of the three to hit the ticket to be a winner.

Also wheeled Desert Party and Regal Ransom with the field in the exacta.

Can I go 3 for 3?

the 'Run for the Roses' goes off Saturday around 6 eastern.

Fight On,

Nate

The SEC still continues to not dominate college football, or the NFL for that matter

2009-04-28T22:10:00.000-07:00

Another NFL draft in the books and here are the cold, hard facts... pop open a Coors Light for reading if you'd like...

Draft picks by conference
ACC 33
Big Ten 28
Big East 27
Big 12 28
Pac 10 32
SEC 37

However, this isn't exactly fair, to make this comparison 'apples to apples' we need to adjust for number of teams in each conference.

players drafted per team in conference

ACC 2.75
Big Ten 2.55
Big East 3.38
Big 12 2.33
Pac 10 3.20
SEC 3.08

so once again, just like the essentially .500 record they posted in non-conference games vs other BCS schools in 2008, the SEC finishes, 3rd, in the middle of the pack, when it comes to players drafted by the NFL.
With the CBS-ESPN financial incentive bias in removed from the equation, the SEC isn't any better, or any worse than any of the other conferences, alas, they are basically the same.

Here comes the shameless USC plug...
for all of the grief my Trojans got for losing to Oregon State...
How many players did the Beavers have drafted this year?
How about 7.
How many teams had more than 7?
One. USC, who had 11

Florida State (1), Miami FL (1), Tennessee (1) [3 of the Gators 'great wins'] and, oh yes, Florida (3) themselves- COMBINED had fewer players drafted (6) than Oregon State ALONE (7).

2 bits, 4 bits, 6 bits.... ok ok, that's enough.

whatever Gator fans, enjoy that CBS television contract.

Fight On,

Nate

a few thoughts...

2009-04-28T01:08:00.000-07:00

TSV has a few thoughts about several sporting happenings over the last few days, here goes..

funny to me how Mel Kiper Jr gives the Dolphins a C- draft grade. First, if Kiper is that good, why hasn't a NFL team out-bid ESPN for his services? Certainly many NFL teams can out pay ESPN, especially given all that is on the line on draft day, Super Bowls are won on draft day. Second, who has a better record, Kiper or Bill Parcells? Third, the Dolphins, by all accounts needed to improve at CB and WR, and those are the 2 spots they directly addressed.

A minor miracle people didn't die at Talledega on Sunday, if that car had gotten just a little bit more airborne, there could have been massive carnage in the stands. Fix this now NASCAR, or get ready to be bankrupted by the mother of all lawsuits next time when dumb luck isn't on your side.

The Raiders and Al Davis have become almost XFL like, because they clearly are no longer run at an NFL level.

Sorry to my 'SC buddies from Nor Cal, but the Sharks sucked it up bigtime against the Ducks, the offensive juggernaut got shutdown and shipped out in round one. Enjoy that President's Trophy.

The Hornets lay down tonight in game 4 is historic, a 58 point PLAYOFF HOME loss, unreal.

Does anyone really think anything can prevent a Cavs/Lakers NBA Finals? Houston? Orlando? Boston sans Garnett? No Way, can we use the fast forward button on this one?

If you didn't see Alexander Ovechkin's goal in game 5 vs the Rangers, YouTube it. Awesome.

Fight On,

Nate

After a painful season, finally...

2009-04-15T22:37:00.000-07:00

A most disappointing NHL regular season for TheSportsVerdict, hopes were high for my TB Lightning. ESPN Analyst Barry Melrose was brought in by new ownership to be head coach.
Rookie Steven Stamkos was the next Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby, Jaromir Jagr (take your pick). High profile free agents jumped on the bandwagon.

That experiment failed miserably and Melrose, along with his mullet, were canned after only 16 games.

The 'Ning were out of playoff contention by New Years.

Regardless, the arrival of the NHL playoffs brings a smile to my face.

No other sport goes from barely watchable to captivating the way the NHL does when the bell rings for the playoffs.

Watched the Blues/Canucks game tonight. 2 teams I hadn't watched play all year, and enjoyed every minute of the contest. Great intensity, physical play and great goaltending on both sides.

Early season baseball cannot compete with the intensity of frozen pond playoffs.

The next 2 months will be great.

Hope you have Versus in HD.

Fight On,

Nate

Anyone Home?

2009-04-13T01:35:00.000-07:00

okay, so TheSportsVerdict took an extended vacation... well, not really, in fact, exactly the opposite.

since the closing of 'The Clubhouse,' TheSportsVerdict's "Day Job," things have been a little tough in the 'ole neighborhood. Hours much longer, and much less predictable.

Gone are TSV's 45 hour work weeks, replaced by 70 hour work weeks. Sadly, less time to scour YouTube for money sports highlights.

While I was out...

UNC rolled through the NCAA basketball tournament to an easy National Championship. By far the least interesting 'Big Dance' of this millennium. Only 2 or 3 moderately close game in the final two weekends, and only one among the final eight teams... snooze button please.

Sunday at the Masters was the most interesting day of golf this millennium, 180 degrees from the hoops tourney... Tiger and Lefty, at least for the first 15 holes, put on a ridiculous display of talent, guts, and clutch play. Just when it looked like Phil was going to make an awesome run, he hit into the drink, and then just when it looked, again, like he was going to make an awesome run, he felded a put from 5 feet... Phil being Phil...

And of course, for my Trojan TSV fans... we now have to consider, and I mean this in total seriousness, that TRUE FRESHMAN Matt Brakley is at least a 50/50 shot to win the STARTING QB job this fall. By all accounts, Mitch Mustain is a distant third behind MB and Aaron Corp.

I could end up looking like a total clown for this comment, but I will go out on the limb now and say, in a few years SC fans will say that a freshman Carson Palmer was a 'Poor Man's' Matt Barkley.

Fight On,

Nate

Are you smarter than Vince Young?

2009-03-24T23:13:00.000-07:00

3 correct answers and you are!

Need to get all 20 right just to tie Ryan Fitzpatrick,

YOU are on the clock, and you have 12 minutes!

don't choke!

http://walterfootball.com/draftwonderlic.php

Wow!

2009-03-18T23:51:00.000-07:00

Since 1961, the Cuban National Baseball team has entered 51 international baseball tournaments (including the 2009 WBC).

42 out of the 51 tournaments have ended with Cuba as champion... of the 9 times Cuba did not win, they finished as runner-up 8 times.

With tonight's 5-0 defeat at the hands of Japan, the 2009 WBC will mark the first time that Cuba did not finish either first or second in an international competition in more than 45 years!!

Dominance of this sort hasn't been sustained for such a long period of time by any nation in any sport.

Despite their loss tonight, the world needs to recognize the dominance of Cuban baseball over the past half century.

Nothing compares.

A Few Random Thoughts

2009-03-18T22:08:00.001-07:00

Big weekend coming, WBC semi finals on Saturday and Sunday. March Madness begins.

First, a few March Madness upsets/predictions from TSV.

Love Western Kentucky over Illinois

UCLA will get everything they want and more from VCU and NBA prospect Eric Maynor. VCU prevails with Maynor able to out-play UCLA's best player Darren Collison.

Everyone loves the 5-12 upsets and everyone loves to hate on the Big 10, however, Purdue will win and win easy over Northern Iowa.

For a Thursday blowout special, look for Memphis to hammer CSUN during the noon game.

On Friday, Cleveland State from the Horizon conference will not be intimidated by Wake, Wake will win, but 'by less than experts think' (Lee Corso)

North Dakota State is playing within 250 miles of campus vs Kansas on Friday and has become a trendy 3-14 upset. No Way. Jayhawks roll by 18+

Lastly from the NCAA, 4 teams seeded 6 or lower with a serious chance to make major noise.
West Virginia, Arizona State, BYU, and USC

From the WBC, Anyone who thinks that MLB is clearly the best baseball league in the world is...
exactly right....
That being said, Japan, Korea and Cuba each have several players that would be major contributors on ANY MLB roster.

Special note goes to Japan starting pitcher vs Cuba on Wednesday night Hisashi Iwakuma. The guy throws a 2 seamer, 4 seamer, splitter, slider and curveball. Poised on the mound and cool under pressure. Would be a number one or two pitcher on almost every MLB team.

Fight On Trojans! Beat the Eagles!

Nate

Biggest Upset Ever?

2009-03-10T21:55:00.000-07:00

USA over the Soviet 'Red Army' team in the 1980 Olympics- unreal.
NAIA Chaminade over #1 Virginia on Christmas Eve 1982- more unreal.

However, the difference here is that the WBC team from the Netherlands defeated the Dominican Republic TWICE.

Had the USSR been given another crack at team USA 3 days later. Final score USSR 7 USA 2.
Virginia with a crack at redeeming the 77-72 loss vs Chaminade? UVA rolls by 30, maybe 40 or 50

The D.R. lost to the Dutch 3-2 on Saturday afternoon, considered the biggest upset in international baseball history.

Surely the Dominican Republic (loaded with Jose Reyes, Big Papi, Hanley Ramirez, Miguel Tejada, Jose Guillen on and on) would not allow the Dutch to beat them again!

Wrong, not only did the DR lose, they failed to score for 10 innings! The Dominican eventually got the lead in the 11th, only to allow 2 runs, the last of which on an error, to lose 2-1.

The Dutch are "loaded" with washed up Sidney Ponson, never-was Randall Simon, career AAA outfielder Gene Kingsale and a handful of low level minor league MLB prospects.

This is the basketball equivalent of USA vs Angola. Hockey equivalent of Canada vs. Kazakhstan.

Caribbean media is already describing this as a "National Embarrassment" in the Dominican Republic.

Huge upsets happen. But twice in 4 days?

Lastly, both games were played in front of hugely partisan Dominican crowds in San Juan! It would be one thing if Big Papi had been kickin' it pre-game at an Amsterdam coffee shop.

This is amazing.

TheSportsVerdict missed on this one...

2009-03-09T22:14:00.000-07:00

as did all other media outlets!

I listen to a lot of talk radio, watch lots of SportsCenter and similar programs and read plenty of sports news online. I did not see, hear or read a single, solitary mention of 2 going to the Buffalo Bills.

At a closer look...

Buffalo plays a young quarterback, Trent Edwards, in his third year out of Stanford. How will he stand up to an Owens sideline tantrum?

Buffalo is one of the lower profile teams in the NFL, not much media scrutiny in Upstate NY. Once a proud franchise, the Bills have not made the playoffs since their "Music City Miracle" loss to Tennessee during the 2000 NFL playoffs.

Before the T.O. signing, NFL fans and media outlets had little reason to pay much attention to the Bills. You'd be a fool to not think that Buffalo ownership and management knew that signing 2 made them immediately relevant once again.

At all of 2's previous stops, his first year has been a honeymoon. Lots of friends in the clubhouse, little friction and huge offensive numbers. At 35 however, you have to wonder if the lack of huge offensive numbers may lead to more friction and clubhouse problems.

Further, you have to wonder if sans the natural spotlight on teams like Dallas, Philly and San Francisco- Owens will manufacture issues to bring the spotlight to Buffalo? Will he be happy playing in a relatively small media market?

TheSportsVerdict guesses that Owens will put up #2 receiver numbers. Being his first year with the Bills, he will not create the sort of drama he did in 2005 in Philly or in 2008 in Dallas.
However, his declining ability will make ANY drama that he creates unacceptable.

2009 will be the end of the long, bizarre, at times awesome career of Terrell Owens.

2010 will find 2 in the broadcast booth with FOX or CBS

Where 2 2?

2009-03-04T23:11:00.000-08:00

Now that 2 has been cut by the 'Boys, where will he land?

The first part of the answer comes from another question. Does 2 want as much money as he can get or does he want to have the best chance to win the Super Bowl?

Almost certainly, the next stop for Owens will be his last, 14 seasons into his NFL career, this will be the last stop of the T.O caboose, and what a strange ride it has been.

If 2 wants the most money he can get, Oakland seems likely. Al Davis needs something to make his otherwise irrelevant team relevant again. However, its highly unlikely 2 will be around long enough for Oakland to become a contender. Then again, I don't know if anyone currently alive will be around long enough to wait out that turn around....

If 2 wants to win a Super Bowl, and makes this his top priority, I think the short list will include...
Giants
Saints
Dolphins
Titans
Ravens
Colts

The Giants are clearly good enough to win a Super Bowl. What was missing last January?
Plax. And Plax will likely not be back in 2009. Owens can go a long ways toward replacing him.
I would say the Giants are the morning line favorites.

The Saints are an interesting candidate, not nearly the media spotlight of Dallas or NY may allow 2 to thrive away from the constant media pressure. Drew Brees has the talent to help an aging Owens regain some glory.

Bill Parcells had great success working with Owens in Dallas, and Miami's obvious need for a difference-maker at WR make South Beach a possibility. On the other hand, Parcells quickly parted with Jason Taylor because of off the field distractions, and 2 surely brings some of those issues to the table.

Tennessee and Baltimore are similar in that they have talented defenses and offenses that could greatly benefit from 2's addition. Don't know how much Jeff Fisher would want to deal with Owens' baggage and don't know how much the Ravens would be willing to jeopardize Joe Flacco's confidence by bringing in a me-first WR like 2.

If Owens could check his ego at the door and allow Peyton and Reggie Wayne to lead the way, Indy would be an intriguing spot for 2 in his quest (if indeed it really is a priority) to win the Super Bowl.

TSV guesses 2 lands in New York with the Giants, continuing his city-by-city tour of the NFC East...

all stops ending in the same, frustrating ending.

TSV doesn't see 2 re-writing the script in New York

The Matt Cassel Saga

2009-03-02T22:20:00.000-08:00

So, KC gets Matt Cassel for the 34th overall draft choice.

Wow, Clearly this means that Detroit has bitten, hook line and sinker on Matt Stafford.

Detroit, in theory, could have gotten their starting QB, for their 3rd draft choice in this April's draft (number 33 overall- they have number 1, and because of the Roy Williams trade, number 20)

This means, again- in theory, they could have drafted Aaron Curry- now the consensus number one player in the draft with the top overall pick, taken an OT at number 20- deep draft for tackles, and used number 33 to acquire Cassel... sounds like a pretty good draft to me!

The pressure on Stafford to produce, IMMEDIATELY will be immense!

Sounds like the ghosts of Matt Millen are still lingering near 8 Mile

Moreover, how about all of the other NFL teams in dire need of a QB who declined to offer up something better than pick 34 for Cassel?

What did teams see or not see in Cassel that made them think '08 was a fluke? Have these teams decided that Rhett Bomar, Josh Freeman or Nate Davis will have better futures than Cassel?

A few years down the road, either New England is going to look really stupid for dumping Cassel for only pick 34 overall or, Matt Cassel's name will be spoken in the same breath with that of Scott Mitchell.

TheSportsVerdict is thinking its going to be the former...

Trivia Time!!!

2009-03-01T23:31:00.000-08:00

TheSportsVerdict operates on the honor system, similar to golf...

ok, so I cheat on the golf course, especially after a few barley pops.. the foot wedge is in play

but in this case, I ask my followers to not look for the answers online, please use only your already attained knowledge or best guesses...

Name the 5 College Football Stadiums that have the largest seating capacity!

Bonus Points for Order of the Top 5.

Fight On,

Nate

Some People Never Learn...

2009-02-27T14:39:00.000-08:00

I get it that Albert Haynesworth WAS the best defensive player in the NFL last year... in a contract year.

He has had several off the field/attitude/personality issues during his career.

He now has 41 million in guaranteed money.

How many times will Dan Snyder sign Deion Sanders/Mark Brunell/Dana Stubblefield/Bruce Smith/Adam Archuleta/Antwaan Randle El before he realizes this is not the way to win in the NFL?

Does anyone really think that Albert Haynesworth will be worth this money five-six years into this deal? For that matter, a great case can be made he won't be worth the money this year.

No doubt the Redskins landed an extraordinary talent today, however, Dan Snyder's track record with free agent signings leaves lots of room for second guessing from 'Skins fans

Wager Anyone?

2009-02-24T22:03:00.000-08:00

I am willing to wager with anyone, today, on the NCAA basketball tournament.

Please pick for me the winning team, in fact, I will give you 4 choices... In theory I'm giving you the top 4 seeds (all of the number ones) and I will take the field. 11-10 odds- even money in bookie speak.

Here's the deal, there hasn't been one team to show anything that even resembles dominance this season.

As soon as a team is crowned the new number one, a loss has followed that week, almost without fail over the last 2 months. Pitt, at the hands of mighty Providence tonight, the most recent case.

Just give me your four, and I'll take the field.

Thanks for playing.

Fight On,

Nate

Best Buzzer Beater Ever!!!

2009-02-23T22:35:00.000-08:00

I know this is a giant statement in the history of buzzer beaters, and certainly the stakes don't compare to Jordan vs. the Jazz in the NBA Finals or Laettner vs. Kentucky in the Elite Eight, but from the standpoint of how amazing the shot itself was, this one takes the cake... no if ands or buts about it...

Devin Harris tonight for the Nets vs the 76ers...

before viewing the tape, notice that Harris first attempts to shoot the ball with about .9 seconds left, only to have it blocked, he regains (albeit only partially) control of the ball with about .2 seconds to go, just in time to fling it- totally off balance- from half court!!

nothing but rip cord!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0afz7lz7KGM

Can I Email You?

2009-02-17T00:02:00.000-08:00

Blogger.com, who supports my blog, allows me to list 10 email addresses that are automatically emailed each time I post.
If you care to be one of these people, either comment on this post with your email address OR if you dont want to expose your email address on the open web, email me at nateschaps@yahoo.com

Fight On,

Nate

The 500

2009-02-16T22:56:00.000-08:00

Not much of a race fan, but watched the Daytona 500 Sunday.

A few thoughts...

No denying the talent of the drivers, running 3 wide at 165 mph through turns at following distances of a few feet. Amazing there isn't a wreck around every corner.

They need to make a rule so what happened yesterday is less likely to occur again.
Brian Vickers and Dale Jr., both a lap down, started a chain reaction wreck knocking out several of the leaders. It was, other than the rain storm, the most significant event of the day.

Vickers and Jr. were fighting to be the car in the so-called 'lucky dog' spot (for NASCAR novices- the lucky dog is the leading car among those a lap down- if a caution flag comes out the 'lucky dog' gets back on the lead lap) when Jr clipped Vickers, the accident that ensued wrecked, among several other top performers, Kyle Busch, the day's best driver.

Quick tangent...
A friend of mine, a former D1 collegiate football offensive lineman, went to the race this year, as he normally does. Haven't talked to him since he got back, but last year he saved his beer caps for statistical purposes.
At the '08 version of the 'Great American Race,' this former Thundering Herd O-Lineman threw back 46 barley pops. I wait on him often at my bar, seeing him 'at work' often, I don't doubt for a second his ability to crush nearly 2 cases.

On the topic of beer, it's hard to tell if NASCAR fans are genuinely passionate about their favorite racer or if they're just really cocked and screaming belligerently. Give 'em credit for at least being able to see straight enough to know when the 88 (Dale Jr.) car took the lead briefly yesterday.

Matt Kenseth won the 500 this year, I'm pretty sure he led only 1 lap, the one preceding the red flag brought on by the string of thunderstorms rolling in from Florida's west coast.

Was he the day's best driver? Certainly No...

The one thing standing out in my mind from Sunday is that NASCAR seems a bit like Diving and Olympic boxing. The race's winner is determined too much by happenstance and technicalities that are noticed only by race officials.

Dale Jr. was penalized a lap yesterday because his front tires were on the white lines that separate his pit box from the next on pit row.
The race leader was determined, at least once, by the car that was, in a photo finish, the first to clear pit row during a caution flag.
As mentioned earlier, the day's best racer was knocked out of the race in 9 car crash caused by 2 guys who were 30 or more spots back.

The race's 2 most significant events yesterday were undoubtedly...

1. A thunderstorm
2. A wreck caused by 2 guys 30+ spots off the lead

Is this how NASCAR's premiere event should be decided?

As I mentioned in the lead, I'm not denying the talent of the racers... and clearly it isn't all luck.

For one guy (Jimmy Johnson) to win the Nextel Cup series 3 years in a row, it can't be all luck.

Clearly Johnson and his team have developed superior tactics and skills to the competition.

I just wish, on Sunday in Daytona at least, it were a bit more apparent how the winner demonstrated his skills and earned his victory.

Fight On,

Nate

America's Team

2009-02-13T22:33:00.001-08:00

Got this stat from Colin Cowherd this morning on ESPN Radio...

there is only one NFL team that has at least one season ticket holder living in all 50 US States.

Lacking a playoff win since the mid-1990's, there's been some argument over who truly is 'America's team'

In this case at least, the only NFL team with a fan base from Florida to Maine to Alaska and Hawaii, still is the Dallas Cowboys

No Contest here...

2009-02-10T21:15:00.000-08:00

College Football's best rivalry... so many great candidates: Texas vs. Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout, Auburn Alabama in the Iron Bowl, USC and UCLA with campuses only 12 miles or so apart, Army and Navy in the ultimate respectful rivalry, Michigan and Ohio State, Colorado vs. Nebraska...

okay, now quick trivia... name the teams in these rivalries...

1. The Civil War
2. The Big Game
3. The Backyard Brawl
4. The Egg Bowl
5. Bedlam

read the rest of the entry... then scroll to the bottom for answers... if you don't have at least 3 of 5 correct, TheSportsVerdict highly recommends you tighten up your game!

The lack of a contest I refer to in my title compares college football to college basketball, where the ONLY rivalry that means anything in the regular season is Duke and North Carolina.

Every Saturday, throughout the fall, football fans gather to watch immensely critical college football games. During college hoops season, the ONLY game that captures the attention of most fans is Duke vs. North Carolina.

I'm not saying college basketball doesn't have other rivalries (Georgetown vs. Syracuse and Kansas vs. Missouri come to mind quickly) but none enter the same league as Duke/UNC.

Coach K, Dean Smith... Coach K Court, The Dean Dome.

Christian Laettner, Vince Carter, Grant Hill, Antwain Jameson, Bobby Hurley, 'Sheed, and WoJo

Nothing even begins to compete.

More people say blue is their favorite color, both teams wear blue... maybe that's it.

College football fans argue about the sports' best rivalry, and at least 10, if not 20 or more games can make a great case.

In College Hoops it's case closed.

Tomorrow night at 9pm the ONLY college basketball rivalry worth mentioning is renewed.

Here's a toast to "Speedo Guy"... if you don't know what I am talking about, YouTube him!

Trivia Answers from Above

1. Oregon v Oregon State
2. Cal v Stanford
3. West Virginia v Pittsburgh
4. Ole Miss v Mississippi State
5. Oklahoma v Oklahoma State

Fight On,

Nate

A Rod

2009-02-09T21:49:00.000-08:00

A Rod took steroids. Not shocked.

Bonds, Clemens (still in denial) Palmeiro (denied until he got caught red-handed) Giambi, Pettitte (out of the closet) and McGwire (awkwardly half in/half out of the closet) also all took steroids. Not shocked.

The list could (and eventually will) go on and on (Eric Gagne, Bret Boone, Mark Prior, Brady Anderson, many others). Does it really matter?

Kudos to Giambi, Pettitte and most recently A-Rod, someone taught them a lesson in PR 101- when you screw up, 'fess up and say you're sorry... the American public is remarkably forgiving...

Point is, from 1995 when baseball returned from its strike shortened season until 2004 when performance-enhancing drugs were cracked down on, MLB played its 'Steroid Era.' Some years from now, when perspective is gained, it will be judged for what it is, just as the following eras below are today...

1900-20 was the dead-ball era, extremely low power numbers compared to post-1920

1941-45 was the War era, where the talent level was down because of players fighting for the free world

1947-began integration, black players allowed in MLB, competition level surges

1973 began the Designated Hitter era (AL), offensive number surge

in 1995, baseball turned a blind eye to steroids.

the game needed a boost after droves of fans were turned off by the first World Series cancellation since 1904. The Sammy Sosa-Mark McGwire HR race of 1996 was the answer.

Steroids were taken by players of all positions for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Baseball is unique in its obsession with numerical records. No one knows by heart the number of TD passes the NFL record-holding quarterback has for his career or the NBA record-holding point scorer, ditto NHL goal scorer...

But every sports fan knew 755 for Hank Aaron and 61 for Roger Maris.

Baseball fans and historians are outraged at the notion that someone trumped Hank and Roger with an illegitimate boost.

This is what makes the case of baseball so unique. From a championship standpoint, its not likely that any one team won a World Series based on its players usage of steroids. The drugs were all over the league, highly doubtful any one clubhouse was binging significantly more than any other.

The outrage, in my humble opinion, is based mostly on how individual accomplishments and records should be reconciled in the light on the revelation of the performance-enhancing drug use, league-wide. Fans feel cheated that 61 and 755 went down to 'cheaters'. How dare they cheat the record book!

{Interesting side note, when you look up weightlifting world records there are often two categories listed 1. Clean and 2. East German (oops, I mean "untested'')}

40 years from now, it's safe to say Barry Bonds' 73 will not be measured on the same scale as Roger Maris' 61. Just as today it's absurd to measure Jack Chesboro's 41 wins in 1901 versus Cliff Lee or Brandon Webb's 22 in 2008. The eras are totally incomparable.

I will write on this topic further in coming days, dealing with the topic of who was clean, and how clean players should be judged in the 'Steroid Era'

Phelps

2009-02-05T23:31:00.000-08:00

Micheal Phelps lost his endorsement deal the other day with Kelloggs' Co. and was suspended 3 months by the USA Swimming team.

Why? Because a picture was taken, on a camera phone, of Phelps smoking marijuana from a bong at a party at the University of South Carolina (the other USC)

Phelps is 23 years old and was on recognized before the home football game at South Carolina that day, he later attended a party where the photo was taken, almost certainly by a friend of a friend.

1. Some creep, certainly a no-name himself, seized on the moment and snapped a sneaky photo of a celebrity in a private moment. Sends it to a British tabloid newspaper and now has something to hang his hat on. Who ever this kid is, he's the real loser in this story.

2. A 23 year-old is smoking a little bit of weed at a college party!! Stop the Presses?

3. I understand he's a celebrity and with that comes an almost complete loss of privacy... but can a guy get a break? I've done plenty of things I wouldn't have wanted caught on camera... and anyone who says they haven't is lying.

4. Let's hope one of Phelps' true friends who was at this party tracks the secret photographer down and deals out some vigilante justice.

5. Whoever this guy is who took the photo has cost Phelps millions of dollars in endorsements and, at least in the eyes of some, permanently damaged his reputation. And for what?

6. Just another example of how 21st century technology means that privacy no longer exists, you can be caught on camera anywhere at anytime. There's a reason why fitness clubs with famous clientele forbid cell phones inside the building.

7. Phelps is the greatest swimmer of all time, totally performance-enhancer clean and he's never done anything to harm anyone. After his bong hit I bet all he did was call the local pizza joint for delivery... stimulating the local economy... and we all know how much that's appreciated.

Fight On,

Nate

As Good As It Gets

2009-02-03T20:16:00.000-08:00

No, not the Super Bowl.

Not Red Sox vs. Yankees, Lakers-Celtics or any other rivalry is pro team sports.

Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal is the best rivalry in sports right now.

Now I'm not even going to pretend to be a huge tennis fan and I am certainly not incredibly knowledgeable about the sport. But what I watched Sunday morning was the most competitive, well- played, entertaining sporting event I've seen in some time.

I fell asleep late in the 3rd set Sunday Morning, sometime after 5am eastern time. Nadal won in 5 grueling sets, almost 4 and half hours of play.

The level of play is off the charts when the Swiss-born Federer and Spanish-born Nadal take the court. Now that Federer's once invincible serve has become just a little more manageable, it makes for much better play. Service breaks are not the freak occurrences they were several years ago.

The 22 year-old Nadal bested the 27 year-old Federer in another amazing Grand Slam final in July of 2008 (Wimbledon)- the grass court showdown last summer earned more attention because-
1. it wasn't played during the middle of the night and
2. it wasn't played on the same day as the Super Bowl

Although the timing of this past match left a bit to be desired, Federer-Nadal is as good as sports get right now.

Final points won Sunday morning
Federer 174
Nadal 173

Fight On,

Nate

Decent Day

2009-02-03T15:49:00.000-08:00

48 hours removed from Super Bowl XLIII The Sports Verdict finds a decent day of predictions...

Got the winner, but missed on the spread. Not being on the right side of the point spread means basically a loser (my Sportsbook.com online account is evidence), however...

I was remarkably prophetic on a few things...

1. Predicted the half time score at 17-10 Pitt- ended up being 17-7 Pitt.

2. Called for at least one big play from WR Santonio Holmes, he not only caught the winning TD pass, he was named the MVP

3. Accurately said Big Ben would use his feet to escape the rush, he did several times, including the 1st and 20 play on the decisive drive

4. Not going to claim to be a genius for saying the Cards running game would be shut down, but I said under 60 yards and they finished with 33.

5. Predicted a long touchdown catch by Fitzgerald, thought it would come earlier in the game than it did.

Where I missed badly was in the second half, I wrote before the game and wagered at halftime that Pittsburgh would pull away. Pittsburgh's opening third quarter possession was a thing of beauty until it sputtered inside the Cards 5.
Pitt's next 3 drives earned zero first downs and netted -2 yards. Not going to pull away playing that kind of offense.

In total, the fourth quarter was perhaps the best Super Bowl fourth quarter ever. Even better than last year.

I thought the first three quarters, save for James Harrison's INT return, were only moderately interesting.

The Boss, as always, was the real McCoy.

Quick picks for next year...

Arizona fails to make the playoffs... almost all Super Bowl losing teams do not rebound with successful seasons. The weak NFC West may be their savior.

Pittsburgh returns to playoffs but loses before the Super Bowl. The Steelers are a very good team but only GREAT ones repeat. This Pittsburgh crew is not great.

It's On!!!

2009-01-30T22:24:00.000-08:00

thank goodness!! Super Sunday is imminent!!

TheSportsVerdict is game day ready!

I defy anyone to find me one sports writer, fan, 'expert', bookie, child, woman, donkey... whatever... who called a Pittsburgh/Arizona Super Bowl in August.

The first half is a bit of a feeling out period. Expect Arizona to have little to no success running the football. Willie Parker will help keep the pressure off of Big Ben and Pitt takes advantage of a Kurt Warner pick to lead 17-10 at half.

Larry Fitzgerald will catch one long pass leading to Arizona's first half TD. Warner looking for more from #11 causes more sacks and short fields for the Steeler offense.

The second half will be a bonanza for the Steeler pass rush and the most over-looked player in this, and nearly ever Pitt game, wide out Santonio Holmes.
Holmes will score at least once and be the difference maker for a Steelers offense lacking a full speed Hines Ward.

Arizona trick plays in the second half fail and backfire... more Pittsburgh points

Look for the Arizona offense to settle for field goals in the second half as Willie Parker and Santonio Holmes score touchdowns.

Pittsburgh pulls away and wins 31-16.

Keys to the Game:

1. San Diego and Baltimore, with superior running games to AZ, were unable to sustain ground success against Pittsburgh. The Cards will finish near 60 yards rushing

2. Santonio Holmes is a big game player. Expect him to come up huge at least once- watch out for him on punt returns

3. The Pittsburgh front seven, tees off on statue quarterback Kurt Warner, forcing bad throws, picks and sacks

4. Edgerrin James and Tim Hightower cannot get the Cardinals into 3rd down and short situations, allowing for double coverage on Fitzgerald. TE Leonard Pope not the factor the Cards need him to be

5. Pittsburgh fans outnumber Arizona fans 5-1 in the stadium (if not more)... though not a huge deal, still an advantage for the Steelers.

6. Big Ben able to improvise and make plays outside the pocket when the scheme breaks down. Kurt Warner cannot escape the rush like Ben and Pittsburgh team defense will force players other than Fitzgerald to make plays... the Cards cannot answer that bell...

7. While Fitzgerald will score on one long TD catch, this is not the answer for a 60 minute game.

8. Ultimately, Pittsburgh's ability to get after Warner, stuff the run and be balanced on offense will overwhelm an Arizona team that has overachieved for the past month.

Is it Sunday Yet?

2009-01-27T21:59:00.000-08:00

Can the Super Bowl please get here!?!?!?!?

Going back at least a week, there has been hardly a sports story worth writing about.

As much as I'd love to pen something about the NHL All-Star game or the Australian Open... come on, as much of an NHL backer as I am, no way. Aussie Open, ehh, I'll just say I love the Aussie Chips at Outback (especially with the cheese and bacon, ranch for dipping- killer)

All you need to do is know that for 4 days now ESPN has been leading with Joe Torre's book and the non-story about David Justice and Doc Gooden MAYBE taking 'roids... like anyone would care even if they did?

Not even a huge college hoops game to talk about... of course, those don't matter anyways.

Tomorrow night 1 vs 4 as Duke and Wake clash. Heck of a game.

But if Duke wins by 30 or Wake wins by 18 will it matter one damn bit if the victor drops a 3 point decision to some 21-10 team in the round of 32 at the Big Dance?
Let's see... No

Point is, sports have sucked since the Championship games. The biggest story was also the saddest, the passing of NC State Women's Hoops Coach Kay Yow after a 20+ year battle with cancer.

Even the big stories sucked

So please, can we move Sunday up a few days?

Fight On.

Nate

No More

2009-01-22T23:37:00.000-08:00

Elaborating on a post from a couple weeks ago, I ask that ESPN and all other sports media stop reporting on the ongoing legal problems of Adam 'Pacman' Jones.

He is not employed by any NFL team, likely never will be again.

Even when he was in the league, he was never much good. Maybe one good season as a corner and return man in Tennessee.

I understand that he WAS a top ten draft pick and WAS once considered a rising star, but this is clearly well into the past.

Today ESPN is reporting that he may have hired someone to shoot someone blah blah blah...

No one cares anymore.

He isn't a has-been, he's a never was.

O.J. is relevant as a former superstar football player, movie star, and TV analyst. (by the way fellow Trojan Alumni... when harassed about O.J. like I occasionally am, remind people he is NOT a USC Alum- he never graduated)

Pacman always has been and always will be garbage. A criminal.

Please nothing more on Pacman...

and from here on out, nothing more on Pacman from TheSportsVerdict

Fight On,

Nate

Back from the Strip

2009-01-22T00:21:00.000-08:00

Home again after 5 days in Las Vegas.

Took 600 to gamble with, came back with 598.

Comfortable with that, especially since I gave many dollars to the cocktail waitresses bringing me Miller Lites.

Troy Polamalu's INT return for a touchdown was the critical sports event of the trip, as it turned 2 of my parlays into winners.

The Ace-high club flush that lost to Jacks fulls of Nines at the 1-2 no limit table at MGM Grand was my bad beat of the trip. I won't complain as my pocket queens about an hour later won it all back for me, plus some.

In all, won on sports and blackjack, lost at poker roulette and slots.

The 'Love' Cirque Du Soleil show, inspired by the Beatles, is a must see. Amazing

TheSportsVerdict is proud of its 2-0 weekend...

I'm hot as the Super Bowl XLIII is 10 days away, pick coming later.

National Signing Day rapidly approaching, where are my recruiting nerds?

Trojans getting ready for another monster class!

Fight On,

Nate

Don't We All Need One?

2009-01-16T17:15:00.000-08:00

The Sports Verdict is going on vacation, to America's Adult Playground... Las Vegas

Apologies upfront for the missing posts over the next few days, I will return home on Wednesday night January 21.

Quickly for this weekend, I'm taking Arizona +4 and Pittsburgh -6 in the championship games. Went 0-4 last week so, like the Lions, only upward mobility... Good luck Jim Schwartz

I'll be sitting the 2-4 limit game at the Luxor this weekend, probably giving most of my money away.

Who are the Bucs going to hire that's better than Jon Gruden? How about getting better players TB? My guess is the Bucs are still going to be counting on Derrick Brooks, Rhonde Barber and Warrick Dunn in 2018, when all are collecting social security

The Sports Verdict does, before bailing for Sin City, want to recognize a true hero, Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, pilot of US Airways flight 1549 that crashed into the Hudson River on Thursday.

Sully's experience and coolness under pressure saved the 155 lives on board the aircraft, and who knows how many, on land when he guided his engine-less airbus to a safe landing in the NYC river.

In today's never-ending sequence of bad news, Sully is truly a champ.

You the man Sully!

Fight On From Sin City,

Nate

Sanchez...

2009-01-15T00:38:00.000-08:00

after thinking about it for a while, I have come to the realization that Sanchez skipping out on his senior year is okay.

The return of Taylor Mays to anchor the defense is more important.

The improvement of the offensive line is also more important, and the talent of the quarterbacks waiting to replace Sanchez is more than sufficient.

Sanchez will leave 'SC without giving the school his best.

Granted he waited for 3 years for his chance, but once it arrived, he was not spectacular.

Of the 13 games he started in 2008, he played to his maximum potential in 3 or 4 at most.

I can't blame him for leaving...

The money talks and the bullshit walks...

But as for his place in USC history, don't look for more than a footnote Mark.

Fight On

Nate

Best to Date

2009-01-12T20:45:00.001-08:00

The "This is Sportscenter" series of commercials have been hugely successful since they began many years ago, but tonight, I think I saw the best one to date.

As hilarious as it is simple, the spot features Sportscenter anchor Stan Verrett waiting for the elevator in ESPN's lobby.

When the door opens, Verrett sees the New Jersey Devil mascot (a Devil of course) occupying the elevator and asks "Going up?"

The mascot looks at him and simply shakes his head, Verrett forces the elevator doors back open and exits back into the lobby.

Trying to Bounce Back...

2009-01-11T00:10:00.000-08:00

The Sports Verdict dropped the ball on Saturday... here are my rebound picks

NY Giants 27
Philly 13

New York physical running game carries the day. I simply do not think the Eagles are good enough to keep up the play they've shown the last few weeks. For Philly to pull the upset Bryant Westbrook will need to be even more Superman-ish than he usually is. The Giants D is too good to allow that. Giants also benefit from how the Eagles snuck up on them at the Meadowlands several weeks ago. Won't happen this time.

Pittsburgh 17
San Diego 16 (take SD w/ the points and under)

Big Ben does not play well at home in the playoffs, lots of picks and not lots of TDs. No LT is no problem for SD, Darren Sproles is the real mccoy. I like SD with the points but I can't quite pull the trigger on picking the So Cal team on the road in January. I think they'll play very well but come up just short. Defenses dominate the day and Pittsburgh finds Santonio Holmes for winning td as the Chargers have to settle for field goals.

Quick Picks

2009-01-10T13:28:00.000-08:00

Tennessee 20
Baltimore 13

Tennessee's offensive guards and center will not get dominated by the Ravens the way Miami did. No Kevin Mawae is a huge loss for the Titans however.
Collins does not allow Ed Reed to make pick 6's
Tennessee will have just enough success running to control the clock and the game.
Flacco makes one key rookie mistake to cost Baltimore.

Carolina 38
Arizona 21

Arizona continues to get whipped on the east coast. Carolina runs and passes with lots of success. Arizona scores late and the final score ends up not reflecting how much of a blowout the game is.
Warner takes sacks and gets picked twice.

No Opinions here...

2009-01-09T00:42:00.000-08:00

Just a few quick facts...

The final AP poll has been released and UF (13-1) is number one, Utah (13-0) is number two with 16 first place votes, out-voted 3-1 by the Gators who got 48 first place votes.

USC (12-1) got out-voted by UF 48-1, the Trojans got one first place vote.

One.

USC's played three teams that finished in the AP's top 10.

USC beat those three teams (Oregon, Penn State and Ohio State) by a combined 80 points, almost 27 points per game margain of victory

UF played two teams that finished in the AP top 10, UF beat those two teams by a combined 21 points, or 10.5 points per game.

UF lost at home to AP #14 Ole Miss, USC lost on the road to AP # 18 Oregon State.

Both teams (Ole Miss and Oregon State) finished with bowl victories and 9-4 records. Of Oregon State's 4 losses, 3 came against teams that ended up finishing in the AP top 10 (Utah, Penn St and Oregon).

Ole Miss lost to powerhouses such as Wake Forest, Vanderbilt and South Carolina.

Quickly...

is UF 48 to 1 better than USC?

I strongly encourage counter arguments, but please, just facts!

Trying to be unbiased here...

2009-01-08T22:32:00.000-08:00

Ok, so that was the worst National Championship game since the start of the BCS era.

Lots of penalties, turnovers, confused offenses... even the game clock operators couldn't figure out how to run the scoreboard. The college football season finished with a whimper in Miami.

Neither team played close to their best game. Analyzing the different team units, the best game was had by the Florida defensive backs, they took it to the Oklahoma WR's with physical play and hard hits.

Both offensive lines were awful, I lost count in the 2nd quarter of the number of penalties called on the O Lines.

Oklahoma and Florida RBs played decent games, with UF WR/RB Percy Harvin clearly the best player on the field tonight.

Both QBs under-performed tonight, with Tebow getting the edge with his second half runs that were crucial to the Gator win. Interceptions by both Bradford and 'Tebs' were uncharacteristic.

I was shocked how long it took Tebs to drop JC's name in his on-field interview after the game... you're slippin Timmy...

Ok, so. Who's number one. Trying to be a fair as possible...

I wont rehash what I wrote on Monday about why Utah is number one. See the post from 1/5 if you haven't yet.

Ive decided, given the Big 12 south's 1-3 bowl record and that both Texas and OU's offenses sputtered in bowl games, Texas drops to number 4

As for number 2. If forced to make a choice, I'd pick 'SC... their conference went 5-0 in bowl games and their loss was on the road. UF however, did just beat the number one team in the land. They lost at home. USC played Ohio State in non-conference, clearly better than anyone UF played non-conference. Both teams have strong arguments for number 2, I'll split my vote.

My final top 10.

1. Utah
2. (tie) USC and Florida
4. Texas
5. Oklahoma
6.Alabama
7. Penn State
8. TCU
9.Oregon
10. (tie) Ohio State and Georgia

there it is ladies and gents, Utah finished 13-0, no losses to explain away.

Happy Day

2009-01-08T13:03:00.001-08:00

Pac Man Jones jettisoned out of town by the Dallas Cowboys.

Even Jerry Jones has some standards.

Say what you will about guys like Randy Moss or TO, but Pac Man is a criminal. Not just a bad clubhouse guy, he is a criminal. Randy Moss looks like Mother Teresa compared to this scum bag.

Can only hope that no other NFL team gives him a chance. He sure as hell doesn't deserve it.

Even on the field the guy had a critical fumble in the season finale winner-take-all game versus Philly.

Nice knowing ya Pac Man, the economy is tough, not sure if BK is hiring...

Sad Day

2009-01-08T12:52:00.000-08:00

The end of an era in Atlanta with John Smoltz signing a free agent deal to pitch for the Boston Red Sox. Smoltz has been with the Braves organization since 1987, when he was acquired from the Detroit Tigers for Doyle Alexander.

I'll spare you the often repeated rant of old school baseball fans about when players were actually loyal... (the rant is bs anyways, the players had no choice but to be loyal- pre free agency)

I venture to say tenures the length of Smoltz with Atlanta are a thing of the past.

Take Mark Teixeira for example, an excellent player, is now with his 4th team in less than 2 years. His looming free agency led to him being traded twice by teams who knew they couldn't meet his demands.

Where does Teixeira end up? Yankees of course.

Smoltz will always be one of my favorite baseball players, he was unbelievable money in the post season, even when pitching with a damaged elbow.

At different times during his years with the Braves, Smoltz was both the best starter and best closer in the MLB. A first ballot hall of famer- no doubt.

Only disappointment is that he couldn't finish out his career in Atlanta.

College Football's Third Place Game

2009-01-05T22:03:00.000-08:00

Just a few thoughts before college football holds its third place game Thursday night in Miami between the Florida Gators and Oklahoma Sooners...

Congrats to Utah on the school's first national championship. The Utes jumped out to a 21-0 lead over Alabama on Friday and ended up winning 31-17. The game, played in New Orleans, was essentially a home date for the Crimson Tide.

Utah finishes 13-0

Remember the main argument for UF's inclusion in the BCS Championship Fraud, I mean Game, is that they beat '# 1 Alabama'

Utah by the way, did not lose a game this year (regardless of how the media hypes them, Florida DID in fact lose this year- AT HOME). Utah dominated Alabama from the opening snap, something Florida did not do, in fact, Alabama led Florida mid-way through the fourth quarter.

During the undefeated season, Utah beat TCU, Oregon State, BYU, Colorado State, and Air Force- 5 bowl teams- 6 if you include the Sugar Bowl win

One non-bowl team Utah beat was Wyoming... 40-7, the same Wyoming team that went ON THE ROAD to Rocky Top Tennessee, and beat the Vols!

Florida got a lot of credit in September for beating Tennessee...

Tennessee managed 7 points against a 1-7 team from the Mountain West!!! Let's be real, you could put Tennessee's players and coaches in UNLV colors in the MWC, and they would have finished 2-6 in conference (just as the Runnin' Rebels did) and 5-7 overall (also, just as the Rebs did).

Another non-bowl team Utah beat was Michigan, on the road, week one

Two Main Points here.

1. If Florida is going to be vaulted into the championship game, WITH A LOSS, because they beat Alabama... How can an UNDEFEATED Utah team not be moved ahead of Florida after they beat Alabama in a more dominating fashion than did the Gators?

2. Utah current record vs teams in top 25: 3-0 (Alabama, TCU and BYU- all wins)
Florida current record vs teams in top 25: 2-1 (Alabama and Georgia wins, Ole Miss loss)

As for the Oklahoma Sooners, OU was vaulted into the Championship Fraud, er Game, because of their win of the 'Dominant Big 12 South'

After two losses to open the bowl season, Ok State to Oregon and Texas Tech to Ole Miss, the Big 12 South managed to get a last second win tonight vs Ohio State.

The same Ohio State team that scored a COMBINED 9 points (3 FG's) in their 2 big games this year (at USC and home vs Penn St).

Ohio State moved the ball well, only to lose Beanie Wells to a concussion and eventually the game on a TD pass with 16 seconds left, 24-21.

Texas hardly looked like a championship team. Oklahoma State was shredded by Oregon in the Holiday Bowl and Texas Tech looked like a fish out of water in the Cotton Bowl, throwing interceptions and giving up long kick returns like a Pop Warner team.

That's all for now, I will post shortly on why USC deserves to be ahead of the UF/OU winner.

Pink Slips?

2008-12-29T23:34:00.001-08:00

NFL Regular Season is over and so are the head coaching tenures of (at publish time of this post) 3 head coaches.

Detroit, Cleveland, and the NY Jets have all canned their head coaches. Happy trails to Rod Marinelli, Romeo Crennel and Eric Mangini.

Straight to the point, here is the Sports Verdict's opinion on which NFL coaches should and should not be relieved of their duties. I will try to make this discussion shorter than the hour and a half me and Pleus spent on the subject in December 2003 in R 7 of Pi Kappa Phi...

"Should I Stay or Should I Go" (special thanks to the Clash, 1981)

Go!

Dallas- Wade Phillips- have to give credit here to Colin Cowherd, who said months ago that Wade Phillips was a "mushroom with a headset" Phillips needs to go, the locker room is in shambles, the offense under-performs in key games, Romo has not improved as a QB, T.O not being kept in check. A stronger personality needs to captain this ship.
Jerry Jones continues to say he is not changing head coaches... if this were a drinking game I'd call "bullshit!"

Kansas City- Herm Edwards- the man who is best known for his press conference quote "you play to win the game!" has not won many games recently. Only 2 this year and finished '07 spiraling downward. Not great talent in KC, especially at QB, but this team has no clue how to win close games.

Stay!

San Francisco- the 49ers are much better since Mike Singletary took over from Mike Nolan midseason. It's clear the players buy into his program. The Hall of Fame linebacker looks promising to turn around this once proud, now doormat franchise.

Tampa Bay- Jon Gruden- shut the hell up sports talk radio callers in and around Tampa! You have no QB, WR, and all of your RB's got hurt too! The defense is aging. Jon Gruden is an excellent football coach who understands running the football and what it takes to win. Who are you going to hire who is better?

Washington- Jim Zorn- Jason Campbell is improving and fact is, this franchise is still recovering from the tragic death of Pro Bowler Sean Taylor. Not a bad year any way you look at it.

Denver- Mike Shanahan- like Gruden, a proven winner. Talent on defense is shaky. I will say another playoff miss in '09 and a change may be in store, but not this year. Like Tampa, who are you going to hire that's better?

Already Gone! (thank you Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh, etc)

Detroit- Rod Marinelli- 0-16, worst team in NFL history. we can quickly move on...

NY Jets- Eric Mangini- Just 2 years ago the Bill Belichick disciple was nicknamed "Mangenius." In 2008 his Jets started 8-3 only to finish 1-4 and miss the playoffs. After a preseason spending spree of $100 million plus on free agents AND Brett Favre, more is expected.

Cleveland- Romeo Crennel- like the Jets, Cleveland invested a lot in free agents and was a trendy pick as a playoff team in '08. No where close to expectations. Don't let the door hit you on the way out Romeo...

Football Monopoly Over?

2008-12-22T22:12:00.001-08:00

Prior to the 2008 collegiate football season the UCLA athletic department took out an ad in the LA Times showing a picture of new head coach Rick Neuheisel.
The full-page ad declared in big letters "The football monopoly in Los Angeles is officially over"

thank you to Mat Swenson for sharing with me the following fact...

if USC beats Penn State on January 1st, USC and UCLA will have the same number of wins at the Rose Bowl, 3, during the time span of January 1 2008 to January 1 2009.

UCLA plays all of their home games at the Rose Bowl!

As for UCLA success at USC's homefield?

UCLA last won a game at the LA Coliseum in 1997.

Sorry Slick Rick, looks like the football monopoly in Los Angeles is as intact as ever. Maybe next year your Bruins will be able to muster up more than 7 first downs and more than 7 points versus 'SC, but I doubt it.

Even if UCLA does improve over the next several years, its hard to believe it will be without the cheating (NCAA rules violations) that led to your ouster from Colorado and Washington.

Fight On!

Nate

Great Sunday!!

2008-12-21T20:36:00.000-08:00

Awesome Sunday of NFL football with an even better one on the horizon next week.

First of all, let me address Dick Enberg, CBS play-by-play voice for the Miami/KC game. He needs to be fired, yesterday. He doesn't know who is on the field, what down it is or the yards to gain.
How about calling the local Pop Warner game, Dick?

The Denver Broncos and Arizona Cardinals, both division leaders (Arizona has clinched a home playoff game!) are two of the biggest frauds this side of Bernard Madoff.

Denver's defensive effectiveness is on par with that of the Maginot Line in 1940.

Never in my humble few years of watching NFL have I seen a playoff-bound team look as uninterested as Arizona today in New England.

The Browns have zero offensive touchdowns over the last 5 games.
That's worth repeating, the Cleveland Browns have ZERO offensive touchdowns over the last 5 games.

Which former Patriot assistant is having more success?
Romeo Crennel in Cleveland or Charlie Weis at Notre Dame?

Charlie will be back in South Bend in '09
Romeo, 'where are thou Romeo?' Oh Romeo will not be in Cleveland in '09

Giants/Panthers Sunday night (NYG 34-28 winners in OT) perhaps the best game of the year to this point. From a neutral observer standpoint however, it was disappointing to see an officiating crew that called only 2 penalties in the game's first 55 minutes call 2 game-changing, shaky penalties in the game's final 5 minutes.

The first, a hand-fighting pass interference call in the endzone gave NY a first and goal at the Carolina 1. The second, a holding call on all-pro WR Steve Smith, negated a run that would have put the Panthers deep into Giant territory.
After the holding call that backed Carolina up, John Casey narrowly missed a 50 yard field goal with 4 seconds to go.

Without the penalty, the kick would have been much shorter.

Look for my Dolphins rant in the next few days!!!

Fight On!

Nate

Least Credible Award in Sports: The Heisman Trophy

2008-12-16T18:53:00.000-08:00

Each season the Heisman Trophy Trust awards college football's "Most Outstanding Player" the Heisman Memorial Trophy.

In pro sports, talk of MVP Awards usually begin around the mid-way point of the season, usually on barely-listenable AM talk radio shows in towns like Deland, FL.
With the Heisman Trophy, this is far from the case. Heisman chatter begins months before the season begins and get nationwide attention from major media outlets of all medium.

Universities have been known to spend 6 figures promoting their athletes. The most (in)famous case was the University of Oregon's 2001 purchase of a monster billboard in NYC to plaster a super-sized photo of QB Joey Harrington.
A Heisman trophy can result in huge financial benefits for the school of the winner, the stakes are high.

****Side Note: Harrington did not win the Heisman, but did get drafted in the 1st round of the 2002 NFL Draft to be the face of the Detroit Lions. How has that worked out?***

In 2008, the three finalists for the Heisman were Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow.
They are the quarterbacks for the teams ranked 1, 2, and 3 by the AP and BCS.

There are 66 BCS Conference teams (including Notre Dame). Each team has 22 starters.
That's 1450 (approx) college football first team players in BCS conferences

Consider all else equal, the odds that the Quarterbacks on the top 3 teams to be the 3 "Most Outstanding Players" in college football is (approx) 311 million to 1!!!

2008 is not an aberration, there is a consistent pattern that has emerged over this decade. Any honest look at this pattern, something you will never hear from anyone at the deeply financially invested empire that is ESPN/ABC (owned by Disney Corp.), shows the true criteria for the Heisman Trophy goes something like "Feel-Good Quarterback from top 5 team."

Let's examine the winners since 2000.
Listings below include: year, player name, position, school, and AP national ranking at time of award.

Keep in mind, the award, according to its mission statement, is supposed to go to "The Most Outstanding Player" in college football. Position and team success are never mentioned!

2008 Sam Bradford QB Oklahoma 2
2007 Tim Tebow QB Florida 9
2006 Troy Smith QB Ohio St 1
2005 Reggie Bush RB USC 1
2004 Matt Leinart QB USC 1
2003 Jason White QB Oklahoma 3
2002 Carson Palmer QB USC 5
2001 Eric Crouch QB Nebraska 4
2000 Chris Weinke QB Florida St 3

a few quick stats about college football's 'Most Outstanding Player' over the past 9 years

8 of 9 were quarterbacks

9 of 9 came from teams ranked in the top 10, 8 of 9 from teams in the top 5

the 1 non-quarterback was a running back on the number 1 team and from the school that was two-time defending national champions

I will grant the Heisman says nothing about how a player will fare in the NFL, but certainly it can be expected the 'Most Outstanding Player' in CFB would be at least a contributor at the next level.

Palmer (at least until his knee injury in January '06) and Bush have been solid if not excellent professionals.

Eric Crouch and Jason White were Canadian Football League or Arena Football League (Bon Voyage AFL!) material at best.

Chris Weinke was ushered out of the NFL after a few uninspiring years in Carolina and San Francisco (2 wins out of 20 career starts).

Troy Smith will likely never ascend above back up, a spot that Matt Leinart has appeared to settle into as well (though he may get another shot).

Tim Tebow will likely return to Gainesville in '09 or be a second day draft choice this spring if he does skip his senior year.

Scouts do like the NFL potential of Sam Bradford, we will see.

Going back to 1992 allows us to include NFL bust quarterbacks Charlie Ward, Danny Wuerffel and Gino Torretta- all of whom played for teams ranked in the top 3 at the time of their Trophy.

In the few days since Bradford's win, sports writers have cried foul over either Tebow or McCoy's misfortune with the Heisman voters.
No one calls for Alabama Offensive Tackle Andre Smith or USC LB Rey Maualuga.

Clearly, it is impossible to be CFB's 'Most Outstanding Player' if you play offensive line or any position on defense.

I'm obviously the first guy to say that championships are won with great defenses and an offensive line that can control the line of scrimmage.

McCoy!!! No, Bradford!!! It's got to be Tebow- he waves his arms to the crowd and gets dirt on his face!!!

What a total joke. Rename the award what it is.

"Feel Good Quarterback from Top 5 Team"

Fight On,

Nate

Unreal...

2008-12-15T23:50:00.000-08:00

December college hoops are rarely worth mentioning, but if you did not see it last night, the end of the Syracuse/Cleveland State game from the Carrier Dome is worth your 30 seconds.

Syracuse, in the white uniforms is ranked number 11 and undefeated. When the clip begins Syracuse is trailing by 2 points and has the ball with about 20 seconds to play. Cleveland State is wearing the green uniforms.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XU7qhNcjSc

Heisman critique coming here shortly.

Fight On,

Nate

Welcome to the Sports Verdict

2008-12-13T23:43:00.000-08:00

thank you for subscribing to my blog!

as you can tell from the title, my blog will center around sports topics. I want to thank my fellow USC alums/Pi Kapp brothers for encouraging me to start this blog.

From the time I was a young child sports have been a passion of mine. As I have grown older, this passion has only grown greater. A public relations major from the elite Annenberg School for Communications at the University of Southern California, I enjoy critiquing media.

One of the main missions of my blog is to critique sports media and analyze how they attempt to influence the public while pushing their own agenda and financial interests. I firmly believe this is an issue that threatens the future of sports, especially collegiate football, and must be addressed.

A true sports nerd (thank you Sean Tiernan!) in the truest sense, my blog will include many random rants about anything sports that I feel worth mentioning at the time.

I've been lucky in my 27 years to have traveled the USA attending hundreds of sporting events, I will share my past experiences and update my upcoming games as appropriate.

As with any blog, reader feedback is essential. I encourage comments and disagreements. I have been wrong many times in the past and will be wrong many more times in the future.

As much as possible please support your opinions with facts. Please try to avoid saying 'Team A sucks and will get murdered by Team B' without giving anything concrete to back it up. I can turn on ESPN and hear comments like the aforementioned, my blog is an attempt at sports dialogue a notch above ESPN.

Again, thank you for your interest and please invite your friends and family.

Fight On,

Nate