So, now T.O. has fired his publicist. Because, it is his publicist that is all f#$##d up. Surely, his bad public image is not the fault of a guy who whines constantly, tried to kill himself, feuds with media and coaches, and who can’t catch anything. Because, it wouldn’t be his fault, right? T.O. … congratulations, you are the schmuck of the year. Or, maybe, that award should go to Dallas for bringing him onboard keeping him - and allowing him to serve as a distraction that will, ultimately, destroy the organization.

screaming bear

Originally uploaded by Joa...

Last night, I went to bed - hoping that, somehow, Ohio state would recover from that 41-14 deficit in the 4th Quarter. But, alas, I woke and the Gators are the National Champions.

I can’t even muster up a congratulations … seeing that my antipathy for the Gators runs so deep.

Nevertheless, I do commend them on obtaining an excellent coach. And, it does make me wonder how long we must languish in mediocrity with Fulmer. Because, as long as he is there, the Vols will never be better than a 3-loss team, ever again. My only hope, now, is that Urban Meyer will have another good season and go to the NFL. Oh, how I dread this day….

Well, Grafton, I guess this removes any discussion about whether Florida should have even been in that game.

Dear Big Ten,

You suck.

Sincerely,

SEC
Pac-10

Poor Bill Parcells. First, he has to deal with T.O. There’s not much I can say about him that hasn’t been said more times than you or I care to read. The real irony here lies in the Gramatica / Idiot Kicker situation. Parcells went so far as to release Mike Vanderhoushmandzadeh, saying he didn’t feel confident with him at the end of the game. Nevermind that he’s the most accurate kicker in the history of professional football. Parcells didn’t feel confident. That’s fine, that’s what Parcells is there for, and Gramatica played well. Who knew that the problems in the kicking game would come from his idiot holder?

To say people were a little quick to pull out the “anointing oil” for Tony Romo is like saying that Tony Montana ended up with a little drug problem. Romo lost 4 of his last 5 games, including a home game against the Lions. Yes, the Lions. The Fighting Matt Millen’s pulled out a victory against the playoff bound Cowboys when the ‘Boys were still fighting for a division crown and a home game. Maybe the balls would have been stickier at home.

Romo also threw 2 interceptions in 3 of his last 6 games, and fumbled an incredible 4 TIMES in one of the games he didn’t. He bottled Dave Krieg and Brett Favre, took their worst elements, and managed to channel them with a concentration that hasn’t been seen since Ryan Leaf.

Of course, he looked great to Cowboys fans when he replaced the great Drew Bledsoe. The Cowboys line was something of a must’ve had a religious objection to pass protection, and Bledsoe would lose to the Pope in a 40 yard dash.

I suggest this plan of action for the Cowboys: Upgrade the O-Line in Free Agency, and the defense in the draft. Maybe get a safety who can cover, since Roy Williams can’t catch the ball, only hit it. Ditch Bledsoe, bring in Kurt Warner, and bench Romo. Usually the backup QB is the holder, but they might want to reconsider that. We’ve seen how bad the NFC on the whole is, and a healthy Warner might be good enough to push them to the top. They’ve got about 1 more season before the novelty of TO is up and Bill wants, so push hard for next year and then take your chances with the Rominator. May he bring you many 9-7 seasons.

Dear Michigan Fan,

The silence coming from your foot-filled mouth is telling. If possible, you’re almost as overrated as Notre Dame. You had a quality win over Wisconsin, capitalized on huge strokes of luck against OSU and almost pulled it off. A pat on the back and a firm scathing of Lloyd Carr are in order. But a Championship shot? I’m glad you didn’t get in.

Let’s see what you have to boast. A good running back, but only two running plays. Oops! That makes scouting difficult. I’m pretty sure Pete Carroll spent 5 minutes game planning for each play, then went to Tahiti for a week. That’s about all it takes when your athletes are so incredibly superior to the opposition’s, and they don’t do anything clever. You’ve got an inside running play and an outside running play! Great! You’re not the Broncos, get your fatass Midwestern corn-fed O-Lineman on a quick USC D-Lineman man to man before they get a chance to get running and you’ve got a shot. Oops!

Chad Henne is not a good quarterback. Sure, he’ll lead you to another 9 or 10 win season next year, but that’s not saying much with the strength of the Big 10. Hell, PSU might get their act together with Morelli, Derrick Williams and Justin Rose. Then you’d be the 3rd best team in a shitty conference. As a jackass roommate of mine used to say when my team was in dire straights, How does that make you feel?

And it’s not like Florida was undeserving. Sure, Urban Meyer campaigned. How many people do you think said while they were voting, “Boy, I like Michigan here, but Urban Meyer might yell at me!” I’ll tell you. Zero. Nobody listened to him, except you, and you only listened so you could whine. Florida lost one game to Auburn, at Auburn, and they didn’t give up an offensive touchdown. And yes, they lost by 10, but on the shadiest incomplete pass / fumble call I’ve seen since the Raiders were good, and a last second defensive touchdown on a botched hook and lateral. And they did it in one of the nation’s best conferences.

And don’t tell me “PSU beat UT!” Save it. The 5th best team (Behind Auburn, Arkansas, Florida, and LSU) from the SEC was a favorite going into a bowl game and played terribly.

Nick Saban

Originally uploaded by SporTech.

Well, I am a confessed Vol fan. Alright. There, I said it. And, I guess I was slightly disappointed to find out that Saban would be headed to the Crimson Tide. Yes, I was glad to get rid of him. Just like I was glad to get Spurrier out of Florida.

I have to admit… it is laughable that these coaches (e.g., Spurrier and Saban) just think they are SO big that they can tackle the next level. And, when they can’t - they head back to college with their asses in a sling.

I laugh at the justification that he “just misses the college game”. Bullshit. Miami is in worse shape that it was before he took over. He has put them in a pathetic position. (You might be asking, “how much worse can they get?”… I guess not much.) I guess he asked “MIss Cleo” the QB to look in her crystal ball and tell him whether things are going to get better. And, the ball said “hell no”.

Anyway, I am sad to see him returning to the SEC. I admit that I was enjoying the train wreck course that the UofA has been on for the last few years. But, just like the Zook era… all good things must come to an end, I suppose.

Today, I have been exchanging e-mails with a myfantasyball visitor. He has been posing a number of dilemmas … who do I play at RB? Who do I play at QB in my championship? At this point, you have to go with your guy! That is all there is to it. You have obviously done well enough to make it to the championship of your league. You have done something - ok, a lot - right. So, go with it. Listen to the little voice inside that says “play Rattay over Hasselback”. Think about it… if you don’t listen to the little voice and you blow the game, you will be kicking your ass until next September. So, go with your instincts. Hell, ignore the pundits and the idiots on Yahoo on Sunday at 11:30. They don’t know what they are talking about most of the time anyway. Take the injury reports. Absorb them. And, react. In reality, in many areas, your guess is as good as anyone else’s. So, listen to YOU and be confident in your decision. Best of luck on a fantasy championship.

Thursday’s match up should be somewhat interesting. Although I am very bearish on the Minnesota offense, I would play Chester Taylor. He is a good play each and every week. Also, for the Green Bay Packers, I would play Brett Favre. At this point this season, you’re in your fantasy football playoffs, though. Therefore, to get to this point likely you have done your homework. You have looked at tons of fantasy football rankings. And, you have a quarterback better than Favre. Of course, go with him.

For the Saturday game, I do not like Kansas City’s chances in this game. The only Kansas City player I would consider playing would be Larry Johnson. He is a consistent fantasy option each and every week. Also, I would look at playing Tony Gonzalez. Trent Green will likely have a very bad week. The Oakland Raiders pass defense is tough. In fact, is one the toughest pass defenses in the NFL. So, keep Trent Green on your bench, along with Eddie Kennison and the Kansas City receivers.

As for the sleepers for the week, I would look to the Chicago Bears. Keep Thomas Jones on your bench. He is way too injury ridden at this point. Although he has taken some flack throughout the course of the season, look for Rex Grossman to have a decent game, along with Cedric Benson. Look for the Bears to bench Thomas Jones quite a bit in order to get him healthy and rested up for the playoffs. Therefore, Cedric Benson will likely get more touches than normal.

Can you believe it? Well, of course you can. Ladainian Tomlinson continued his domination yet again yesterday.

This is a very rare year. We are seeing three of the greatest performances of all time. Ladainian Thomas and is putting up the greatest year in the history of the NFL for running back. Meanwhile, with the exception of a slight guffaw yesterday, Drew Brees is putting up one of the greatest years in the history of the quarterback position. At the same time, the Chicago defense is putting up one of the greatest years in the history of the NFL.

I do think that it is ironic that, this year, I’m in my fantasy championship. I have Drew Brees, and I will be playing against a guy that has L.T.. Kind of funny, I guess. But, I would venture to say that almost every single person who has L.T. is in their fantasy championship. Somewhat unfortunate for those that don’t. Nonetheless, it has been fun to observe.

I would like to give a shout out to Jeff Garcia. Another decent performance yesterday. With nine TDs on the season, he just finds a way to continue to get the job done. Kudos.

And how about those Tennessee Titans? Being a Titans fan, I’m extremely excited. And, as a bonus, if you had the Tennessee defense yesterday, likely, you won your game.

There are a lot of great performances going on right now in the NFL. My hats off to a Maurice Jones-Drew. He has five touchdowns in the last three weeks. Something tells me that the complexion of the fantasy draft board will change next year.

It is always fun to look back and see how things have changed over the years. For example, I do Yahoo fantasy football. I have been doing Yahoo for many years now. For those of you who do not do Yahoo, Yahoo has a trophy room where you can look back and see how your fantasy teams have performed over time. I went to my trophy room the other day and looked back at some of my past teams. I laughed when I went back to 1999 and saw some of the folks that out of my team back then. I am sure that seven years from now, I will be laughing about the same thing when I see my team today.

207 yds … and an INT … no TDs???? Does the loss of Joe Horn mean that for him????