Tiger Woods Dealing With Unplayable Lie

Is it possible to blow a billion bucks in just two weeks?   Tiger Woods may be in the process of answering that very question right now.  Since driving into a fire hydrant on Thanksgiving night, we’ve found out a lot about how Tiger may have been entertaining himself off the course.  True or not, you can bet that those sponsors that originally stood behind him are having second thoughts as each alleged dalliance is revealed.  As it is, not one commercial featuring Woods has appeared in prime time since the story began.   If he can’t stop the bleeding somehow, his wife and family may not be the only things he loses.

New York Knicks Sit Nate And Go On Tear
If Knicks’ head coach Mike D’Antoni does nothing else during the regular season, he’s already won me over with his benching of Nate Robinson; his super-talented and super-childish guard.  Robinson is a classic case of a player that just doesn’t get it. He defended his role in a brawl with the Nuggets as a reaction to the fact that Denver was, essentially, running up the score and seeking to embarrass New York.  Then, after that philosophy earned him a ten game suspension, he was lambasted by Knicks’ coach Isiah Thomas for a ridiculously comical dunk attempt in a close game that resulted in a traveling violation.  Contradicting his earlier stance and showing no remorse, he claimed that, net time, he’d wait until the Knicks were up twenty before he tried it.

This season, his second under D’Antoni, Nate finally pushed too hard when he intentionally shot the ball at the wrong basket against New Jersey and spent most of the pre game warmups vs. Orlando fraternizing with his buddy, Dwight Howard.   D’Antoni, having seen enough, banished Robinson to the bench and sent the 4-14 Knicks into their hottest streak of the season.

Robinson has no idea how to play a winning brand of basketball. He’s  a player that thinks the outcome of a game is incidental to the way he plays, not a direct result.  As such, he’s as unwatchable as any player in the league and the first guy that should be shown the door when the housecleaning begins next summer.

New York Yankees Trade for Granderson
About a year ago, the Yankees made what looked to be a safety-net type of trade with the White Sox in acquiring Nick Swisher.  Swisher, who can play all three outfield positions as well as first base, provided the Bombers some protection in case they couldn’t sign Mark Teixeira.  More than that, however, they’d acquired a player with a team-first mentality whose personality would be an asset to the team in the clubhouse as well as on the field.  Swisher quickly became a fan favorite and flourished at the bottom of New York’s order.  He was a huge part of their World Championship; a throwback who’d have been just as comfortable with Joe Torre’s Yanks as he was with Joe Girardi’s.  Swisher debunked the “rotisserie baseball” style of filling out a roster that had been employed by the Yankees over the last decade and brought back some of the grinding temperament that hadn’t been seen since Paul O’Neill and Tino Martinez left town.   Perhaps realizing the secret of his success, GM Brian Cashman made a similar move this week in grabbing Curtis Granderson from the Tigers.  He comes to the Bronx with a better resume than Swisher but is a very similar player.  Young, handsome and quick witted, he’ll be the object of fan affection the moment he steps on the field and should be equally as popular in the clubhouse.  Looks like Cashman has finally realized the value of good chemistry.

Fordham Basketball Coach Whittenburg Fired
Just five games into the season, Fordham University decided to dismiss men’s basketball coach, Dereck Whittenburg.  Coming off a disastrous 3-25 campaign, school athletic officials were hoping for a much better start from their Rams than four losses in the first five games.  So, after a twenty four point loss to neighborhood rival, Manhattan College, Whittenburg was shown the door. Fordham announced that a national search would commence immediately.

They can look all they want, even bring back Digger Phelps;  it won’t solve the biggest problem facing their basketball program.  Fordham, as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference, is in way over its head; a point driven home on Sunday by its former MAAC opponent, Manhattan.  In the world of big-time college hoops, Fordham is a relatively small school with very little success as part of its history.  They have no geographic rivals within the conference and generate little or no interest among fans in New York City.  As part of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, however, they enjoyed rivalries with the aforementioned Jaspers and Iona while receiving  infinitely more local coverage.  You won’t see too many fans or reporters headed to Rose Hill on a cold February night for a Fordham-Saint Louis matchup.  Though, on the same night, Draddy Gym will have twice as many people for a Manhattan-Iona clash.  For some reason,(money), Fordham officials decided to leave the MAAC and signed on to be sacrificial lambs to the likes of A-10 powers Xavier, Dayton, St. Joseph’s, LaSalle and Temple; all programs with national reputations.  To expect a head coach to compete with those teams while also fighting a recruiting war at home with six other Division I programs is asking for too much.  That’s if he even chooses to fight that war in the first place.

While any coach would be behind the eight ball at Fordham, Whittenburg did have a hand in his own undoing.  A perusal of the Rams’ roster shows only one player from New York City; Alberto Estwick of Brooklyn.  Despite the fact that the New York Catholic High School League is considered the best in the nation, not one grad from among its members plays at Fordham.  Even Estwick played in New Jersey.  Legendary St. John’s coach, Lou Carnesecca, used to joke that his recruiting budget was a handful of subway tokens as his roster was made up mostly of city kids.  How’d he do with that strategy?  Current Johnnies’ head man, Norm Roberts,  has struggled almost as much as Whittenburg in his tenure; mainly due to his inability to recruit in his own backyard.   Ironically, Whittenburg’s last defeat came at the hands of Manhattan coach Barry Rohrssen, formerly Pitt’s chief recruiter who made a living bringing New York players to Pittsburgh after they were ignored by their hometown colleges.   I’ve attended better than a hundred CHSAA games over the last eight years.  Rohrssen is a fixture.  I’ve never seen Whittenburg.

Fordham’s got a long road ahead on its way to hoop respectability; something it may never accomplish no matter how earnest the effort.  The first step taken should be toward a head coach with a New York reputation who’ll bring city players to Rose Hill and start to generate interest among Big Apple hoop fans. A few regular season games at The Garden wouldn’t hurt either. Until then, however, they’re just boys among men.  No matter who’s running the program.

Locks Struggle But Still Manage Winning Record

It wasn’t the best performance we’ve seen from the Locks but it still produced a winning weekend.  Jill turned in her first losing record, going 1-2, while nephew Pad and husband Gil logged 2-1 Saturdays.  Gil’s was especially sweet, as he had been coaxed out of semi-retirement by his nephew.  “I was happy to be back but I’m still not at the top of my game.  I picked Cincy-UConn under 52 and both teams almost went over by themselves.”

Well, there’s just no pleasing some people but, with a stellar record, the Locks have pleased more than not.  Let’s take a look at this week’s selections.

Locks of the Week

Jill (14-7)

Idaho-Boise State over 63-

I’m staying with Boise but only on the over as they let me down last week. I expect the Broncos to try and run it up on their in-state rival but Idaho can score, too, as eveidenced by the 45 points they scored vs. Nevada that sent Gil over the wall.

Utah + 17.5 over TCU- 

TCU is ranked fourth with an outside shot at the BCS Championship.  They’ve been killing teams lately but Utah’s lost just once in two years and they’ve already beaten Oklahoma.  I think the Utes lose here but not by double digits.

Oregon -17 over Arizona State-

Took a look at Arizona State’s record and, boy, do they give up a lot of points.  Oregon’s going to be real pissed after getting their Ducks knocked off last week and should win going away.

Pad (4-2)

Clemson – 6 over North Carolina  State-

Clemson is really starting to hit its stride and has its sights set on an Atlantic Division title.  NC State is really weak but, somehow, managed to beat Pitt.  That’ll remain their one upset as the Tigers keep rolling.

San Jose State-Utah State over 55.5-

Another case of “Arifemetic”.  Bothe teams can score, neither can defend.  Good bet that one of them will come close by themselves.

Western Michigan -10 over Eastern Michigan-

Eastern Michigan is 0-9 and will get no sympathy from its biggest rival.

Gil (9-11-1)

Cincinnati-9.5 over West Virginia (Friday)-

Playing a hunch here that Cincinnati will take advantage of its second straight week on National TV.  Would feel a lot better about it if they hadn’t given up 45 to UConn but I think that’ll be a wakeup call.

Missouri +2  1/2 over Kansas State-

The Big 12 North is a weak division but Missouri is one of its better teams.  They have more talent than K State so I’m picking the Tigers.

BYU -27 over New Mexico-

Went with Utah over New Mex last week and found out what a generous team they are.  BYU QB Max Hall should have a field day.

Season Record 27-20-1

By Eddie Mayrose

Yankees Manager Should Tell Burnett, “Shut Up and Pitch.”

I can’t believe Yanks’ manager Joe Girardi is planning to bench Jorge Posada in Game 2 of the ALDS because of the perception that A.J. Burnett pitches better when Jose Molina is behind the plate.  Now, I might give Girardi a little wiggle room here if say, C.C. Sabathia preferred Molina.  But Burnett?  What, exactly, has he done this year to warrant such a huge accomodation?  Here’s a little perspective on A.J.’s season:  He’s got 13 wins for a team with the best offense in the game at the not-so-bargain basement price of $18 million.  Conversely, Minnesota’s Game 3 starter, Carl Pavano, had 14 wins while pitching most of the year for the last place Indians.  See how many Yankee fans you can find that’d want Pavano in pinstripes tomorrow night.  To bench Posada, a proven post season vet enjoying one of his best seasons, for such a disappointing pitcher is ludicrous. And with Girardi facing dismissal if he doesn’t bring home a ring, it’s really ill advised to alienate one of the team’s leaders.  For the skipper’s sake, Burnett had better throw a gem.

Gardenhire Thumbs Nose At Robotic Managers

Despite the fact that there were really no pennant races in Major League Baseball outside of the AL Central, The Twins and Tigers certainly made up for it Tuesday night.  Of all the moves and counter moves made by both managers throughout the twelve inning marathon, my favorite came in the top of the eighth.  With two on and one out, Twins’ skipper Ron Gardenhire handed the ball to,(hold on to something before you read this), his closer Joe Nathan.  Yes, in the most crucial part of the game and season, a manager finally decided that he needed his best pitcher to get him out of trouble, no matter what inning it was.   Look for Gardenhire to have his Manager’s Union card revoked.

Jets Look To Bounce Back With Some Extra Help

While it’s true that there is no such thing as a good loss, that wasn’t such a bad one suffered by the Jets in New Orleans.  It’ll have no impact on Division or Conference tie-breakers, they held one of the league’s top offensive units to just ten points and were done in by the mistakes of their rookie QB; something they knew would eventually happen.  Mark Sanchez had better start tucking that ball away in the pocket, though, and the offensive line has to step it up in order to make use of RB Thomas Jones.  We’ll get our first look at how Sanchez handles adversity this week.  I like his chances. Especially with WR Braylon Edwards in the fold.  Maybe all  he needed was a change of scenery.  Jet fans certainly hope so.

Give Eli A Week Off To Heal Heel

I’m not saying the Giants can win a Super Bowl without Eli Manning. But, they can absolutely beat the Raiders with David Carr under center, something I hope to see this Sunday.  No sense losing sight of the big picture while facing such a bad team.

New York Mets Broadcaster At Top Of His Field

Tuesday night, during Twins-Tigers on TBS, a national audience saw first hand what Mets fans have known for a few years: Ron Darling is a superb analyst.  Never too wordy, always on point, Darling had his best moment in the bottom of the seventh.  With one out and one on, Orlando Cabrera stepped into the box with the Twins trailing 3-2.  “Orlando Cabrera is a winning player who always seems to get a big hit when his team needs it the most”, said Darling.  The Twins’ shortstop made Darling a prophet with his two tun homer just a few minutes later.  And, as Cabrera rounded the bases, not one “I told you so” from Darling.  A total professional.

Fifty Years? Already?

On October 10th 1959, Notre Dame traveled to Berkeley and laid a 28-6 pasting on California while LSU, the #1 team in the country, knocked off Miami 27-6. The West Wing’s Bradley Whitford was born, Pan Am announced the beginning of the first global airline service and Eileen Forsyth married Artie Mayrose at St. Anselm’s Church in Brooklyn. In the fifty years since, through four children, twelve grandchildren and all of the excitement, disappointment, triumphs, setbacks, achievements, failures, milestones and heartbreaks that make up half a century, they have been a shining example of the invincibility of two people that love each other.  They created a strong family that spawned four others by living and teaching one simple rule:  There is nothing that parents can give their children that is more valuable than the parents themselves.  Though they never missed anything, even though our time took up all of theirs, and we never wanted for anything, despite the fact they were not wealthy, it is a simple fact that they never sacrificed anything for us.  At least, that’s what they’d say.  As kids, our lives didn’t take away from theirs, rather, our lives became theirs. It is a legacy of love that now benefits their grandchildren as well.  So, Happy 50th, Mom and Dad.  Here’s hoping the next fifty are just as much fun.  Eat your heart out, Lou Kennedy.

By Eddie Mayrose

Yankees Have Unfinished Business

Summer officially ended for the Yankees and their fans on Sunday with the clinching of the American League Eastern Division. Despite a wonderful season that saw the opening of a beautiful new ballpark, record numbers of home runs, exciting, last-inning heroics that seemed to occur every night, two or three viable MVP and CY Young candidates as well as the best record in baseball, a playoff run that ends short of a World Series title will turn 2009 into a failure.

It’s the one downside to playing for the Bronx Bombers.  Yes, you enjoy the best that money can buy but at a price:  If you don’t win it all, the season is lost.  Just ask Manager Joe Girardi, whose status for next year is still undetermined despite this season’s success.  Or Alex Rodriguez, possibly the greatest player of his time, who has struggled mightily in the post season since joining the Bombers and has become a target of fans’ frustration because of it.

Former Mets GM Frank Cashen once said that the best team always wins the division but the playoffs are a crap shoot. While it’s true that the Yankees go into the post season with some big question marks, namely their starting rotation after C.C. Sabathia, they have markedly fewer problems than the rest of the AL’s contenders.  Now, if ARod can just get hot and A.J. Burnett can imagine that he’s pitching for a contract, maybe Joe Girardi can worry about his ring size instead of his resume.

New York Jets Might Not Be “Same Old”

Try as I might to resist, the Jets are starting to nudge me in the direction of optimism.  Not so much because of their perfect record but more for the attitude with which the defense is confounding veteran quarterbacks.  Attack, attack, attack is the modus operandi; one that couldn’t be more foreign to fans raised on the heartbreak of the Prevent Defense.  Apparently, the aggressive style is contagious, as evidenced by Mark Sanchez lowering his head and driving toward the end zone during his touchdown run on Sunday.  No sissy-boy slide for Rex Ryan’s QB.

Before I start booking a Super Bowl trip, however, I’d like to see some consistency in the running game.  Despite their 3-0 record, the Jets have only been productive on the ground in the second half of their opener in Houston.  With a rookie signal caller in Sanchez, they’ll have to establish their ground attack if they hope to keep opposing defenses out of his face as the season goes on.

Knicks Plan For Life Without LeBron James

Finally, the Knicks seem to be acknowledging that they must have an alternative plan in place should they come up empty next summer when players like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh become free agents.  While it’s true that Donnie Walsh has done a great job in ridding the Knicks of the bad contracts that left the organization no room under the salary cap, that cap space alone does not guarantee that James or Wade will be wearing a New York uniform in 2010.

In signing David Lee to a one year deal for significantly more than Lee was entitled, Walsh established some good will with his young star going forward while maintaining wiggle room under the cap.  Besides, there’s this little business of playing the 82 games on this year’s schedule first; something not all that promising to begin with but entirely more watchable with a budding star like Lee on the squad.

MLB Disabled List Doesn’t Have To Mean All Is Lost

Is it reasonable to expect a Major League team to contend for a divisional title when   its two best players miss huge chunks of the season to injury; only to be followed to the disabled list by three of the five starters in the rotation?  Even if the team survives that initial wave of injuries, it couldn’t possibly stay in the race when a second wave of bad health removes two more power hitters from the middle of the lineup; one for the remainder of the season, could it?   Well, if you’re asking that question out at CitiField,  Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel would tell you the answer is a resounding, “No”.   But, in Minnesota, where the Twins head into Detroit this week for a four game series just two behind the Tigers in spite of all the aforementioned casualties, the answer is, “Why not?”

The Twinkies spent the first month of the season without Joe Mauer, a two time batting champ about to add a third title and an MVP award to his trophy case.  Think they might have been two games better over the first five weeks with him behind the plate?  Their projected ace, Francisco Liriano, has contributed nothing while serving three different stints on the DL,  they’ll finish the season without former MVP Justin Morneau, down with a bad back, just as they’ve muddled along trying to patch the huge hole left by starter Kevin Slowey; 10-3 before saying goodbye to ’09 with a broken wrist.  Hard to believe Minnesota wouldn’t have long since iced the division with these guys all in the lineup but, even without them, they still have a shot.  It’s a tribute to the excellence of the organization, from scouting to player development, and something for Mets’ owner Fred Wilpon to consider when evaluating the job done by Minaya.  It’s also why there should be an investigation if Ron Gardenhire isn’t named AL Manager of the Year.

Florida Gators Lose Tebow For No Good Reason

Bonehead call of the week goes to Urban Meyer, Head Coach of the top ranked Florida Gators.  With under eight minutes to go in the third quarter of Florida’s matchup with Kentucky on Saturday, the Gators scored to make it 31-7.  To that point, Tim Tebow, perhaps the game’s premier player, had been directing Meyer’s spread offense even though he was sick enough to require two bags of intravenous fluids before the game just to be able to play.  Yet, despite the big lead and his superstar’s illness, Meyer chose to leave Tebow in the game; a decision that bit him on the behind when Tebow suffered a concussion. 

Now, if Meyer thought that Kentucky would rally from 24 points down in 22 minutes against his Gator defense, he was the only one in the country.  But let’s give him the benefit of the doubt.  Say there was enough time for the Wildcats to come back.  This was a football game; not baseball.  If Kentucky made it close, Tebow could always return to the lineup.  Instead, Meyer flirted with one of  the few things that could derail his team’s run to its third title in four years.  Bonehead.

By Eddie Mayrose

SEC Football Not For The Faint Of Heart

Three conference matchups this week gave a bit of a preview as to just how tough this season may be in the SEC.  While Alabama cruised past Arkansas, Mississippi State came up less than a yard short of knocking off #5 LSU in Baton Rouge.  The Bulldogs had a first and goal at the Tigers’ 2 yard line but couldn’t punch it in.  In Lexington, despite Florida’s thrashing of previously unbeaten Kentucky, All-World QB Tim Tebow was knocked from the game with a concussion.  After spending Saturday night in the hospital, Tebow’s availability to return in time for the Gators’ road trip to LSU this weekend had yet to be determined.

Big East Conference Makes a Statement

Ask a college football fan which of the BCS conferences is the weakest and he’ll usually tell you it’s the Big East.  Seemingly bristling from that tag, the Big East made a Big Statement this weekend when South Florida, behind an untested freshman QB, went into Tallahassee and dominated Florida State.  Led by Tallahassee native B.J. Daniels, the Bulls led from start to finish in vanquishing Seminole squad coming off a huge win over Brigham Young.  Daniels, who decided to attend South Florida because Florida State wanted him to play defense, ran the ball well, made the passes he had to and gave his team reason to believe there might be life after Matt Grothe… Rutgers used a strong second half to put Maryland away while Pitt blew a fourth quarter lead in Raleigh and fell to N.C. State.

Miami Hurricanes Not All The Way Back Just Yet

Much was made last week of Miami’s 3-0 record that included victories over Florida State and Georgia Tech.  While their return to the Top Ten of the Coaches’ poll grabbed a lot of attention, it also seemed to make people forget just how good Virginia Tech is.  The pre season league favorite, none too happy at being listed as an underdog on their home field, sent “The U” back to the drawing board with a 31-7 thrashing in Blacksburg… Georgia Tech recovered from its loss to Miami and routed the offensively-challenged North Carolina Tar heels 24-7.

Big 12 Takes Weekend Off

Not a busy week in the Big 12, as early season cupcakes were still on the menu.  As league play commences this week, Texas has clearly established itself as the team to beat; at least until Sam Bradford returns to the Oklahoma lineup.

Parity Means Mediocrity Once Again In The Big Ten

One of these years, college football analysts will see the Big Ten for the Big Fraud that it is and stop ranking its teams so high in the pre season; especially Penn State.  Despite the fact that Paterno’s boys annually beat up on women’s colleges to start the year, pollsters taken with the ancient coach write the Nittany Lions onto their ballots.  Iowa made a mockery of PSU’s ranking this week and with it all talk of one last title for Paterno.  Indiana showed some chops by hanging with Michigan in the Big House, Wisconsin remained undefeated and Ohio State restablished itself as the cream of the crop.

Three BCS Party Crashers Still Left

Through the first month of the season, we’ve seen Boise State, TCU and Houston all establish solid resumes for a BCS bowl in spite of their residing in Non-BCS conferences.  Boise continues to roll; it’s decisive victory over Oregon to open 2009 now looking even better with the Ducks’ annihilation of California.  TCU traveled to Clemson and handled the Tigers; no easy task in Death Valley.  The Horned Frogs’ chances will come down to a matchup with BYU in the Mountain West.  As for Houston, if they weren’t in Conference USA,  they’d currently be sitting atop the standings of the Big 12 South off of their victories over Oklahoma State and Texas Tech.  As we always do here at CollegeSportsView.com, we hope all three finish the season with perfect records and cause the BCS computer to explode.

CollegeSportsView.com Top 25

1) Florida                4-0
2) Texas                   4-0
3) Alabama             4-0
4) LSU                       4-0
5) Boise State         4-0
6) Cincinnati           4-0
7) TCU                       3-0
USC                        3-1
9)Virginia Tech      3-1
10)Ohio State          3-1
11)Oklahoma           2-1
12)Kansas                 4-0
13)Houston              4-0
14)South Florida    4-0
15)Iowa                      4-0
16)Oklahoma State 3-1
17)Georgia                3-1
18)Mississippi          3-1
19)Michigan              4-0
20)Oregon                 3-1
21)California             3-1
22)Penn State           3-1
23)BYU                       3-1
24)Missouri              4-0
25)Auburn                4-0

Five Teams to Watch

Utah
South Carolina
Nebraska
Indiana
Miami