Real people; real scary

It's Halloween. Don't have a costume yet? Have no fear; I'm here to help. Here are a few sports-related personalites you can dress up as, and I even give suggestions on how to go about it.

Tom Brady
A Pats jersey and a child-support checkbook (Supermodel not included in costume kit.)

Jim Leavitt
A visor and, since it's a week following a loss, just be rude to everyone.

Joe Maddon
A pair of black-rim glasses with rose-colored lenses.

Michael Vick
A couple of dogs (dead or alive).

Scott Kazmir
But you are only allowed to go to 80 houses then another takes your place and will lose all your candy.

Elijah Dukes
I was going to make a joke, but this guy scares Freddy Krueger.

Chris Simms
Dye your hair blonde and carry a clipboard. And, oh yeah, have your spleen removed.

Jon Gruden
Begin trick-or-treating at 3 in the morning.

Jeff Garcia
Run frantically from one house to another.

Joe Paterno
Black glasses, rolled up pants, and do not talk about Austin Scott.

Rocco Baldelli
Crutches, ice packs, bottle of Tylenol and a portable whirlpool.

Steve Bartman
Dorky glasses, Cubs jacket, Cubs hat. Be sure to slap away all the candy intended for your buddy's pillowcase.

Peyton Manning
One drawback: you have to pay him royalties.

Isiah Thomas
Wear a suit and make inappropriate comments to all the females you pass.

Roger Clemens
Go back and forth on whether you're actually going to go trick-or-treating and then go about halfway through the night.

Bill Belichick
A video camera and the rattiest sweatshirt you can find. Also, lose your personality for a night.

Barry Bonds
Start off in a Pirates hat, but as the night progresses switch to a Giants hat and keep putting on masks that make your head bigger.

David Stern
Wear a suit and glasses, and yell at all the other trick-or-treaters who aren't dressed properly.

Dan Boyle
Full hockey gear but, of course, wear your skates on your arms.

Shooting from the lip

Worst starting time
There is no good reason why the World Series started games at 8:30. Fox, of course, wants the game on during prime time and the games started at 5:30 on the West Coast. Still, would it really make that much of a difference to start the weekend games at 7 or even 6 in the East? Don't the networks realize that most kids — baseball's future fan base — can't or aren't allowed to stay up until midnight (or later) to watch the entire game? How many kids under 12 saw the last out of the 2007 World Series, do you think?

Worst pregame
Of all the networks, Fox does the best overall job covering sports. That’s why it’s so disappointing to see how weak its World Series pregame show is. It’s nothing more than a bunch of former players and managers talking technical stuff. This is the World Series, the premier event of that sport. People who never watch baseball watch the World Series. Why not mix in a few features? Tell us about Dice-K and Manny and Todd Helton. How about an interview or two? Instead we hear guys drone on and on about how altitude affects breaking pitches and who should bat leadoff. It looked no different than the network’s regular-season pregame, which Fox seriously needs to think about revamping anyway.

Best feature
Lightning tough guy Andre Roy should get his own sitcom. His occasional feature — Rappin' With Roy — on Lightning broadcasts is priceless. He simply walks around with a microphone asking players questions such as, "If you could have a super power, what power would you have?'' Yet the answers, and his responses to the answers make for great TV. The guy is a natural

Best list
Fox analyst Jimmy Johnson offered up a pretty insightful list of the top five things teams need to win in the NFL:
5. Non-meddling owner.
4. Strong coordinators.
3. A gym rat QB.
2. A demanding leader.
1. A great talent evaluator.

Best feature
It was a tad corny, but ultimately pretty cool as ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown, as we approach Halloween, recruited horror writer Stephen King, as well as dozens of NFL players, to talk about fear in the NFL. "Fear is the enemy of execution,'' King said.

Best point
ESPN college football analyst Lou Holtz brought up an interesting point, suggesting that maybe the SEC isn't all that it's cracked up to be. And there is some validity to that. Think about it. The SEC gets credit for beating up on one another, but maybe that's more of a sign of parity than true dominance. Just check the big out-of-conference games. Alabama lost to a so-so Florida State team. USF beat Auburn. Missouri beat Ole Miss. Mississippi State was hammered by West Virginia. And Cal, maybe the fourth- or even fifth-best team in the Pac-10, bombed Tennessee. which might win the SEC East.
The big wins? Not very big. Kentucky beat an overrated Louisville. Georgia beat an average Oklahoma State team. The best victory was LSU crushing Virginia Tech, which might not be all that great.

Strangest comment
On ABC's coverage of the Pep Boys 500, Dale Earnhardt Jr., talking about his final days with DEI Racing and how he looks forward to the future, said: "Winning and going to Victory Lane is so addictive and you crave it so much.'' Winning is addictive? How would he know?

Worst analysis
As the rain came down in buckets, David Norrie, who handled the color of the USF-UConn game for ABC, was asked by partner Terry Gannon how the rain affects a quarterback. Norrie should know, seeing as how he played quarterback at UCLA. Instead, he talked about how it never rained at UCLA ... and left it at that.

So you're telling us that you never once held a wet football? If not, you couldn't make up something? Maybe something like, "Uh, it's slippery and hard to throw?'' I never played quarterback at any level and I bet I could make up something. Norrie was getting paid to say something, anything. Instead, he gave us 20-year-old weather reports.

Worst event
Another Breeders' Cup. Another horse put down after breaking a leg. Someone again tell me why we race animals?

Least-classy coach
Georgia coach Mark Richt should be embarrassed and ashamed for encouraging his Bulldogs to storm the field and dance in the Gators' faces after their opening touchdown in Saturday's game. The celebration showed no class. Can you imagine Joe Paterno telling his team he would "run off'' every player if they didn't get a celebration penalty? Or Jim Tressel? Or Richt's mentor, Bobby Bowden?
Richt supposedly is a good guy, but that stunt was cheap. And if I were Urban Meyer I would never, ever forget the disrespect Richt showed Florida and its program. Maybe Richt didn't mean it that way, but that's the way it came out.

Best point
So the Giants and Dolphins played a game in London on Sunday and it wasn't the best example of the product. Then again, doesn't the NFL have bigger worries than whether England enjoys American football?

Check out what Terry Bradshaw said on the Fox NFL Sunday pregame show: "Why do we have to have a game over there? … I just don't see the point of taking one of our NFL games away from the cities in the United States that count on them week in and week out. Why don't we try to grow the sport here in Los Angeles where we don't have a team. Get a team out here in Los Angeles before you start taking this stuff over the pond, as they say.''

Preview of the week
New England won. Indianapolis won. So we have an undefeated showdown next week between the two NFL heavyweights. "Two heavyweights knocking heads, just like we wanted,'' CBS's Shannon Sharpe said. "They both held serve. We have the matchup of the century.'' Normally, a statement like that is hyperbole. This time, Sharpe might just be right.

Best manager/coach
Hard to argue with New York Daily News columnist Mike Lupica, who said this on ESPN's Sports Reporters about Red Sox manager Terry Francona:
"He has now taken his place with the best manager and coaches in sports right now. And probably is the most underrated even now, even with this World Series taking a closer look at his work. … He handles it all with a rare grace and perspective. Put it another way: There isn't an adjective applied to (former Yankees manager Joe) Torre on his way out the door in New York that doesn't apply to Terry Francona.''

Best line
Tom Jackson of ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown talking about Vinny Testaverde starting over David Carr in Carolina:
"When you start talking about measuring a quarterback, it's how he throws the football — the height, the size, the leadership, all of those things. Vinny Testaverde gets the edge. The only thing that David Carr has done better than Vinny Testaverde, and it's kind of ironic, is lay on his back and get off the ground.''

Favorite coach
I can't name three players who play for Kansas, but I'm hoping they go undefeated just so we can see more of coach Mark Mangino. Have you seen this guy? He's the Rick Majerus of football. He looks like your next-door neighbor and it would be awesome to see a guy who looks like he eats ribs for breakfast knock off some of these guys who think they're so cool-looking such as Les Miles or Jim Tressel.

Wildest play ever

Here's that play between Trinity University of San Antonio, Tex. and Millsaps College on Saturday. Two seconds left and Trinity at its own 40 needing a touchdown to win. This makes Standford-Cal look like nothing!(Video courtesy of ESPN)

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Power rankings

Who's hot this week in the world of sports:
1. Tampa Bay Lightning (at home). A dominating 5-0-1 at St. Pete Times Forum.
2. Josh Beckett/Curt Schilling. Red Sox 1-2 starters among greatest postseason pitchers ever.
3. Boston College. Lucky as all get-out, but still undefeated.
4. Carlos Pena. Devil Rays slugger deservedly named A.L. comeback player of the year.
5. Tony La Russa. Tampa native decides to return as Cardinals skipper.
6. Indianapolis Colts. Show  they  still are  defending champs with easy victory over Jacksonville.
7. David Nalbandian. Who? Ask Roger Federer, who lost to this guy on hardcourt last week.
8. SEC. Any doubt this is best conference in college football?
9. Tom Brady. Pats QB throws personal-best six TDs. But it was against Dolphins so does it count?
10. Brian Griese. Former Bucs QB  saving Bears season.

Who's not hot this week in the world of sports:
1. Tampa Bay Lightning (on the road). A dismal 0-3 away from St. Pete Times Forum.
2. Tampa Bay Bucs. Lions loss could come back to haunt.
3. Dave Hart. FSU athletic director, soon to be  former FSU athletic director.
4. Chuck LaMar. Former Devil Rays GM becomes Phillies' director of pro scouting.
5. Hooters Hoops. Long-time prep high school holiday tournament could end without sponsor.
6. Adam Morrison. Bobcats forward with Larry Bird-mustache out for season with injury.
7. Robert Weiner. Plant football coach blows out both shoulders in weight­lifting bet.
8. Miami Dolphins. Going to Europe to look for first win. Won't happen.
9. Michael Clayton. Bucs receiver's season goes from bad to worse with ankle injury.
10. Billy Donovan. Gators basketball coach facing surgery for bad back.

Shooting from the lip

Luckiest coach
LSU coach Les Miles is flat-out lucky his Tigers beat Auburn on Saturday. He called for a long pass when he needed only what would've been about a 39-yard field goal to win. His team came through by scoring a TD, but there was only one second left when the play ended. Had the pass been deflected, that final second could've ticked off. (But, replays showed the TD actually came with four seconds left and the clock ran a bit — something that would've been fixed on replay if necessary.) That led to a bizarre conversation between Miles and ESPN sideline reporter Holly Rowe.

First, Rowe messed up badly by asking Miles, "You called timeout — what happened next? Take us through the process.''

Miles looked completely puzzled and for good reason — he didn't call timeout. But Miles explained himself and Rowe followed with the question about time nearly running out. Miles then said, "We still had a timeout. I knew with 16 or 18 seconds left, we had time.''

The thing was, he didn't have 16 or 18 seconds left. The ball on the touchdown play was snapped with eight seconds left. It wasn't Rowe's finest moment. And it wasn't Miles' best coaching, either. He was lucky.

Worst officiating
After watching the USF-Rutgers game then the fiasco of the fair-catch-that-wasn't in UConn's victory against Louisville, it's safe to say the Big East's officiating is atrocious, the worst of any major conference in college football.

Best hustle
CBS NFL insider Charley Casserly had an interesting stat. He learned that two NFL officiating crews had called offensive holding three times all season, while another crew had called it 12 times. "This has been a constant problem the whole time that I've been in the league: the inconsistency of one crew to another,'' Casserly said. "What's the league doing about it? This year, something different. Starting this week, they're going to start evaluating these crews on these statistics, trying to identify why there's differences and work to get them corrected during the season.''

Team of the weekend
The New England Patriots might not lose a game. They might not even come within the same zip code of losing a game. Fox NFL analyst Howie Long said, "If this team goes on and wins another championship this year, I think you have to mention (coach Bill) Belichick and (quarterback) Tom Brady in the conversation for best ever at what they do.''

Yet the NFL Network's Deion Sanders remains a skeptic: "They got to come up with a running game because winter is approaching. Brady is not going to be able to sit back and throw for 300, 400 yards due to inclement weather.''

Most interesting reporting
During the Hockey Night in Canada broadcast, reporter Scotty Morrison said the NHL is looking to fix the schedule. (Excuse me while I yell out a "Yippeeeeeeeee!'') In fact, the league might go back to an 84-game regular season so that teams in the East play teams in the West twice — once at home, once on the road. To make room, teams would cut back two or three exhibition games. Right now, it's just all talk, but it sounds good, doesn't it?

Best interview
By far, the most entertaining five minutes of television all weekend was ESPN's Keyshawn Johnson interviewing Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson on Sunday NFL Countdown. It was hard to tell who was interviewing whom as the two went back and forth about Chad's antics. Keyshawn questioned whether Chad goes overboard with his cele­brations and whether he still cares because Chad hasn’t celebrated as much lately. "What is there to celebrate when we’re losing?'' Chad said. At one point, Keyshawn asked Chad if he were a "distraction'' to his team and said he disapproved of Chad's celebrations, demeanor and so forth. (Funny that the questions came from a guy who wore out his welcome pretty much everywhere he played.) Oddly enough, the viewer came out of this five minutes of television gold liking both Johnsons.

Best-worst game
If FSU-Miami had played the game they played Saturday 15 years ago, it might have been one of the greatest college games ever. But did anyone other than FSU and Miami fans even watch?

Weekend MVP
ESPN college football analyst Mark May was on top of his game and just might be the authoritative voice of college football for the network. You don't always have to agree with his comments, but his opinions are strong and he can back up what he says with a good argument as opposed to, say, the network's Robert Smith, who might as well wear his old Ohio State jersey on camera. But, anyway, back to May. He seems to have an allegiance to no one and no team. That's how it should be. His best comment of the weekend was about which two-loss team had the best chance to win the SEC:

"It's Florida and it's because of their quarterback, Tim Tebow. He does everything. He runs the ball. He throws the ball. He manages the game. … He doesn't make mistakes. And he's exciting. Every time he steps on the field, he's a human highlight film.''

Best setup
You gotta love Dr. Jerry Punch, who said this about the small NASCAR track at Martinsville Speedway on ABC's Subway 500 coverage: "Folks, this racetrack is about the size of your average shopping mall parking lot. Now imagine putting 43 cars in a mall parking lot and telling these guys you can go just over 100 mph but at the end of the day there's only going to be one parking spot available that you really want. How quickly would that get ugly? Our shopping mall lot that we call Martinsville Speedway is about to be open for business.''

Most common prediction
With Tom Osborne taking over as athletic director at Nebraska, it seems only a matter of time before Bill Callahan is axed as head football coach. Who might replace him? Two — ESPN's Lee Corso and Fox's Barry Switzer — already are tabbing former Nebraska QB and current University of Buffalo coach Turner Gill as the Huskers' next coach.

Biggest jerk
Here's why Alabama coach Nick Saban is a dirtbag. ESPN's Outside the Lines did a positive piece on Jim Leavitt and the rise of USF football. The piece pointed out Saban's comments about how USF accepts non-qualifiers. USF freely admitted that over the past three years, it has accepted 40 football players who met NCAA academic standards, but not USF standards. OTL also asked Florida, which said it currently has 14 non-qualifiers, and Florida State, which averages about 15 a season — the same as USF. When Alabama was asked? It refused to answer.

Stat of the week
Irish fans (and coach Charlie Weis, for that matter) keep telling everyone, "Go ahead and pile on over how bad we are now because we’ll be back.'' Well, okay, here's piling on: With 10 minutes left in Saturday's 38-0 loss to USC, the Trojans had as many touchdowns (five) as Notre Dame had first downs.

Best lines
The two best one-liners over the weekend came from Fox.
Baseball analyst Tim McCarver: "You fall behind major-league hitters and you turn mules into race horses.'' I don't know, exactly, what that means, but I liked it.
NFL analyst Jimmy Johnson, talking how everyone has jumped on the Adrian Peterson bandwagon: "Victory has 1,000 fathers, defeat is an orphan.''

Best analysis
CBS analyst Gary Danielson shouted  "Jump pass formation'' just moments before Florida's Tim Tebow threw a TD pass against Kentucky on a … jump pass. "This isn't an offense of the 21st century,'' play-by-play man Verne Lundquist said. "It's an offense of the 1950s.''

Best shoutout
ESPN scouting analyst Todd McShay said USF has three legitimate NFL prospects. McShay's list:
1. Mike Jenkins, CB. "Reminds me of (New England’s) Eugene Wilson. I wouldn't be surprised to see him go in the first round.''
2. Trae Williams, CB. "A ballhawk, a playmaker. Another possible first-rounder.''
3. George Selvie, DE. "Reminds me of (Dallas') DeMarcus Ware. He's only a sophomore, but he would be a first-round pick if he entered the next NFL draft.''

Power rankings

Who's hot this week in the world of sports:
1. Ron Zook. Hey, Gators fans, look who Illinois extended through 2012.
2. Armwood football. Extends home winning streak to 30 games with dominant victory against Hillsborough.
3. Priest Holmes. Chiefs back practices with team for first time since Oct. 2005.
4. Bill Stoneman. A man with priorities — quits as Angels GM to spend more time with family.
5. Colorado Rockies. Will they ever lose again?
6. New England Patriots. Will they ever lose again?
7. Monica Abbott/Lorena Ochoa. The Tennessee pitcher and pro golfer, respectively, named Sportswomen of the Year by the Women's Sports Foundation.
8. Tampa Bay Bucs. It's beginning to look a lot like playoffs.
9. Minnesota Wild. This is cool — team takes players' moms on a road trip.
10. Dusty Baker. Old managers don't die. They get hired by the Reds.

Who's not hot this week in the world of sports:
1. USF. Party was nice while it lasted.
2. Joe Torre. No one with this much class should be treated like the Yankees treated him.
3. Tampa Bay Lightning. Suddenly, a losing streak.
4. Bob Hartley. Not to toot my own horn, but I predicted on Oct. 3 that he would be first NHL coach fired.
5. USF-Rutgers referees. Not to sound like a homer, but the refs had a questionable night.
6. Miami Dolphins. Might have a perfect record … in the other direction.
7. Dice-K Matsuzaka. Red Sox pitcher is 2-5 with a 6.43 ERA since Aug. 5.
8. Santana Moss. Redskins receiver pulls self from game because he didn't "feel right.''
9. Evander Holyfield. Time to ride into the sunset, big guy.
10. Nebraska football. Can't see coach Bill Callahan surviving this mess.

Who will be the next Yankees manager?

   So Joe Torre turned the Yankees insulting one-year offer to return as manager of the Yankees. Spin it any way you want, but the Yankees (read: George Steinbrenner) fixed it so Torre would not return as manager. The Boss knew Torre would not accept a one-year deal. So, what happens now? Who will be the Yankees next manager?

Don Mattingly
Considered the favorite even though he has never managed before — not even a Little League game. But if he approaches managing like he did playing, he should be a good bench boss. Already on the staff, he is familiar and respected.

Joe Girardi
Was manager of the year at Florida in his only season as an MLB manager, but then got fired. That only lends credence to his reputation of someone who is hard to get along with. But maybe the Yankees need a bad cop for a while.

Tony LaRussa
A big enough name to satisfy the media and the fans and has a proven track. He seems a restless kind and it appears he's pretty much over his time in St. Louis. He's ready for a change.

Bobby Valentine
Has worked in New York with the Mets, so he knows how to deal with the media. (Don't underestimate how critical that is to this job.) He’s had some success in Japan and might bring a fresh perspective to the Yankees.

Lou Piniella
You know deep down this was Steinbrenner's first choice all along. Lou appears tied up the Cubs, but where there's money and a will, there's a way.

Paul O'Neill
Do you realize the Yankees haven't won a World Series since he left the team? He's a broadcaster with the Yankees now, so he knows the organization. Simply put: this guy's a winner.

Larry Bowa
The Yankees third-base coach is one of those guys you love to hate. He'd probably rub some Yankees the wrong way, but maybe some Yankees need to be rubbed the wrong way.

Dave Miley
He has experience at the Major League level with the Reds. He manages the Yanks' Triple-A team. And he's a Tampa guy. (He went to Chamberlain.) That's good enough for me.

John Turturro
He did a heck of a job playing Billy Martin in The Bronx Is Burning. And, after all, Martin still might be the all-time favorite Yankees manager.

Roger Clemens
Maybe if we would become manager we wouldn't have to listen to months of annoying talk about whether he's retiring or not. Quite frankly, I'd love for him to get a new cellphone so he can hear his wife telling to quit already.

Willie Randolph
Randolph is really a Yankees guy, having spent most of his career in blue pinstripes. His stock was probably higher a few weeks ago before his Mets gagged away a playoff spot.

Derek Jeter
We haven't had a player-manager since Pete Rose, so why not Jeter? He's already captain, the fans love him and he's a smart guy.

Our surprise candidate
Who has the respect of the players? Who knows how to handle the media scrutiny? Who can deal with the egos of the Yankee players and the arrogance of the Yankees owner? Who has a proven track record? There's a perfect guy for this job. His name is Joe Torre.

Why Matt Grothe (as of now) should win the Heisman

USF quarterback Matt Grothe's chances of winning the Heisman Trophy are improbable. I know that. Then again, how improbable is it that his Bulls are the No. 2 ranked team in the nation? The list of Heisman hopefuls doesn’t even include Grothe. And I want to know: why not?

He is the starting quarterback of an undefeated team, and he is the chief reason why that team is undefeated. So I'm here to make his case. Matt Grothe for the Heisman!

Is he the best college football player in the country? Probably not. Does he have the best numbers out there? No. But when we compare him to the other Heisman hopefuls, I think I can make a pretty good argument against each and every one. So, to members of the jury (or, in this case, the Heisman voters), I humbly submit my case:

Grothe vs. Matt Ryan, QB, Boston College
Ryan has thrown for more than 1,000 yards more than Grothe and has 17 TDs compared to Grothe's seven, but he also has thrown twice as many interceptions. Two other things. Grothe is more versatile, rushing for 346 yards compared to Ryan's 38. Plus, BC hasn't played anybody. The Eagles' best victory might have been against a really bad Notre Dame team, and Ryan had his second-worst game of the season statistically. The Eagles certainly haven't faced any team as good as Auburn or West Virginia. Not yet, anyway.

Grothe vs. Andre Woodson, QB, Kentucky
Again, Grothe gets a huge advantage with his legs. Woodson, in fact, has minus-85 yards rushing. Woodson has put up huge numbers , but most came against teams such as Eastern Kentucky, FAU, Kent State and a Louisville team whose defense would have trouble stopping Armwood High. If you delve into the numbers, Woodson's worst games statistically were against then-No. 1 LSU and South Carolina. Yes, Kentucky beat LSU. Then again, it did lose to South Carolina.

Grothe vs. Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma
Bradford might have the best stats of anyone in the Heisman race even though he's a freshman. He has thrown for 20 touchdowns, has completed over 70 percent of his passes and has a 181.1 passer rating, which is better than all the Heisman candidates. But who has Oklahoma played? Texas? Okay, that's not a bad team. But who else? Miami? Please. And don't give us Missouri. Sure, the Tigers were undefeated, but they do this every year — they start hot then get clobbered when they start playing real teams. I think Grothe has faced better competition.

Grothe vs. Colt Brennan, QB, Hawaii
You have to feel bad for Brennan. No one ever sees him because his team plays at 2 in the morning. On the surface, his numbers look impressive — 20 TDs, 2,395 yards, a 69.9 completion percentage. But here’s all you need to know to dismiss Brennan as a serious candidate: Northern Colorado, Louisiana Tech, UNLV, Charleston Southern, Idaho, Utah State, San Jose State. Can we move on now?

Grothe vs. Dennis Dixon, QB, Oregon
Dixon is a double threat like Grothe, but Grothe has rushed for more yards. Dixon's most impressive performance was when he threw for 292 yards and three scores, and rushed for 76 yards and another score against Michigan. But Michigan was reeling from losing to Appalachian State the week before and was not the team it is now. In his biggest game against Cal, Dixon threw for 306 yards, but was picked off twice. And Oregon lost.

Grothe vs. Tim Tebow, QB, Florida
Tebow has rushed for more yards. A lot more yards. He has thrown for more yards. A lot more yards. But Grothe's case here? Common opponent. Grothe threw for a score and ran for another against Auburn. Tebow did the same against Auburn: one TD in the air and another on the ground. But there were two differences. Tebow threw an interception against Auburn. And the other difference? Grothe won his game against Auburn.

Grothe vs. Mike Hart, RB, Michigan
Hart is leading the nation in rushing and has rushed for 100 yards in every game, including games of 215, 188 and 187. But, come on, his team lost to Appalachian State. It wasn't his fault. In fact, only because of him, Michigan wasn't blown out by Appalachian State. But still, we're honestly going to vote for a guy whose team has lost twice, including a game to Appalachian State?

Grothe vs. Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas
The preseason favorite has had a good year, but not a spectacular year with 822 yards and seven TDs on 147 carries. Teammate Felix Jones has numbers almost as good: 673 yards and five TDs on 66 carries. Anyway, Arkansas is 3-3, including a loss to Auburn when McFadden rushed for only 43 yards on 17 carries.

Shooting from the lip

  Best point
Michael Kay works for New York's YES Network and has covered the Yankees for years, so he has credence when it comes to Joe Torre, whose job is on the line as manager. And while everyone is pretty much in agreement that Torre has done a great job, Kay did bring up a solid point on ESPN's Sports Reporters. "It's incredible Torre is given all the credit for the winning, but absolutely none of the blame for losing,'' Kay said. "Even a hint that he had something to do with the losing and you have a chance to be shouted down. It's almost impossible to have it both ways, but Torre has deftly pulled it off.''

Biggest villains
Fox NFL analysts Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer aren't making many friends in the Tampa Bay area. A week after running down USF, the two took a couple of more shots Sunday. Neither had USF in his college top five. Switzer's top five were Ohio State, LSU, Oklahoma, Cal and Boston College. Johnson had Oregon, Oklahoma, LSU, Ohio State and Arizona State.
Johnson said, "If they beat Rutgers this week, I'll put South Florida up there.''
Switzer added, "I got South Florida sixth. Let me tell you, if they beat Rutgers and beat those basketball schools — Louisville and Cincinnati — I might get them up there.''

Strongest comment
Sean Burke, the former Lightning goalie, was on Hockey Night in Canada and had another parting shot for coach John Tortorella regarding goal­tenders. "He's a great coach in a lot of ways,'' Burke said, "but the way he handles goal­tending is very inconsistent. It's hard to have a lot of confidence when you play goal for him.

Worst comment
Chip Caray is making way too many mistakes calling the baseball playoffs on TBS. But his comment during Game 2 of the NLCS were somewhere between head-scratching and flat-out clueless. Caray said, "Talking about the continuing theme of misperceptions about Colorado: If someone said their defense would be the star of a postseason game, it might surprise a lot of people.'' What? Who exactly would be surprised? The Rockies committed a league-low 68 errors and had the best fielding percentage in major-league history. Caray's partner Tony Gwynn did his best to not make Caray look bad, but pointed out that anyone who really followed the National League knew how good the Rockies defense has been.

Most discouraging comment
Mark May does a fine job as a college football analyst for ESPN, but his line of thinking Saturday was disturbing. May criticized Boston College for not being impressive enough in its victory over Notre Dame. That kind of talk ultimately encourages teams to run up the score against opponents and the last thing we need is teams trying to embarrass opponents by scoring 70 or 80 points just to impress the pollsters and analysts.

Most revealing quote
Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon might be teammates, but don't think for a second they care about that while both are in NASCAR's Chase for the Championship. "They're absolutely individuals at this point in time,''’ ABC's Brad Daugherty said. "With my friends, I want to kick their butts worse than anyone when we're being competitive, so I think Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon are the same. They go after each other harder than they go after the other competitors.''

Saddest story
ESPN's Amy Nelson did a heart-breaking piece for Outside the Lines on the late Rod Beck, the long-time baseball reliever who died in June at age 38 of unknown causes after years of battling an addiction to alcohol and drugs, including cocaine. What made it so sad is how Beck's life unraveled even though he had a wife, two daughters, lots of friends and a great career. Nelson's excellent piece revealed that not all addicts are bad or pathetic people, but just the opposite. Speaking of Nelson, she primarily works for ESPN the Magazine, but, based on Sunday's story, the network should lean on her more for television pieces.

Most ominous comment
Kirk Herbstreit of ESPN's College GameDay is on the USF bandwagon, saying the Bulls deserved to be ranked as high as they are in most polls. He is not convinced, however, they will play for national championship, no matter how the season plays out. "Looking at the remaining schedule,'' Herbstreit said, "this has the making — if they run the table — of one of those teams that could be leapfrogged by a one-loss team from one of those powerhouse conference. I could just see them sitting there at 12-0 and seeing one of those one-loss teams like Oklahoma going right past them.''

Coolest quote
Talking about how the Lightning's Vinny Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis have the incredible knack of always knowing whether the other one is on the ice, Lightning TV color man Bobby "The Chief'' Taylor said, "I think they have GPS's imbedded in their helmets.''

Most incredibly insensitive comment
Fox Sports Net's Dave Lapham had a complete brain shutdown Satur­day while doing color on the Iowa State-Texas game. Texas' Michael Flath was not penalized when he ripped the helmet off Iowa State's Todd Blythe, who was poked in the eye as well. It should've been a penalty, but Lapham actually said, "They face-raped him!''

Are you kidding me? Was that supposed to be funny? Clever? Using the word "rape'' to describe anything in a lousy football game is one thing and one thing only: totally inappropriate.

Weirdest sponsor
On NBC's Notre Dame games, that little yellow line that shows the first downs are sponsored by Xerox. With the way the Notre Dame offense is playing, maybe it should be sponsored by MapQuest.

Best hustle
Fox NFL insider Jay Glazer should get a job with the CIA or something. A few weeks ago, he obtained a copy of the Patriots' Spygate tape from someone in the NFL. Sunday, he had another piece of tape.
"We heard this offseason that Joey Porter of the Dolphins and Levi Jones of the Bengals got into a fistfight at the Palms Hotel, but nobody really knew what happened,'' Glazer said. "Apparently, this time, what happens in Vegas isn't staying in Vegas because I've got the surveillance tape.''

The tape showed Jones being jumped at a blackjack table by Porter and three others. "This is clearly not a one-on-one fight,'' Glazer said. "You hear about violence on the field, but taking it off the field is unbelievable.''

Most insulting comment
You have to love ESPN football analyst Mike Ditka. That guy will say anything. During Sunday NFL Countdown, Ditka was asked to pick who he would rather have: head case Randy Moss of the Patriots or head case Terrell Owens of the Cowboys. Ditka: "This is the case of the lesser of two evils and that will be Moss. I tell you why — T.O. has proven it. He's an expert in killing coaches and quarterbacks, and he's got the corpses to prove it. He'll go off soon. I don't know when, but he'll go off.''

Most touching piece
ESPN's College GameDay did a tear-jerker piece on Mark Bradford, the Stanford wide receiver who caught the winning touchdown in the upset of USC. Bradford's mother died when he was young and his father passed away just days before the USC game. Bradford's father was in jail for a few years, forcing Bradford to help raise his younger brother when the two were still in high school. Yet, despite being reunited upon his release, the elder Bradford convinced his son to turn down a scholarship offer from USC, leave his native Los Angeles and attend Stanford for the education. "That was divine intervention,'' Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh said. "His father was watching over him when he made that catch.''

Power rankings

Who's hot this week in the world of sports ...
1. Vinny. You got Lecavalier, Prospal and Testaverde. Take your pick.
2. Frank Wren. St. Pete native gets Braves GM job. Geez, talk about having to live up to a high standard.
3. USF football. Say what you want about FAU game. Bulls are still undefeated.
4. Jeff Gordon. Look who's atop the Chase, Little E fans.
5. Stan Heath. The USF coach kicks off his tenure with practice. Uh, that might be the highlight of his first couple of seasons.
6. Colorado Rockies. Gotta love a team with the 26th-highest payroll making a run at the World Series.
7. Dave Martinez. All-around good guy gets job as Rays bench coach.
8. Don Zimmer. Rays senior adviser Don Zimmer will be back for 60th season in an MLB uniform.
9. Red Sox Nation. Even if Sox lose to Indians, they still got farther than the Yankees.
10. Dave Reutimann. Zephyrhills' Nextel Cup rookie gets ride for next season by re-signing with Michael Waltrip Racing.

Who's not hot this week in the world of sports ...
1. Joe Torre. About to lose his job as Yankees manager and that would be New York's loss.
2. George Gipp. Geez, let the guy rest in peace.
3. Matt Leinart. Cards QB is out for season and, somewhere, Kurt Warner's wife is smiling.
4. Mack Strong. Our favorite NFL name has to retire because of injury.
5. Jake Delhomme. Panthers QB out for season. Bad for Carolina. Good for Tampa Bay.
6. Tim Tebow. Still waiting for a signature fourth-quarter comeback drive from Gators QB.
7. Michael Pittman. Just what the Bucs needed — another injured running back.
8. Erasmus James. Vikings player is hurt in a fight ... with a teammate!
9. Joey Porter. Guys on 0-5 football teams should not be talking smack.
10. Diamondbacks fans. First, they barely fill the stadium and some of those who do act like jerks by throwing stuff on the field.

It's hockey season

The NHL season started last week, but we still have another six months. So enjoy this little (albeit a tad belated) NHL preview.

Three teams you should root for
New York Rangers: Listen, the NHL is always more interesting when the Rangers are good. The better they are, the more attention they get in the USA and that can only be good for hockey in general.
Pittsburgh Penguins: They took their lumps, built the team the right way through the draft and have a tremendous fan base.
New Jersey Devils: They might have the nicest, most down-to-earth players in the league and their model of consistency should be recognized and admired.

Three teams you should not root for
Buffalo Sabres: Yes, it's a small market, but how can they look their fans in the face after letting go of both Chris Drury and Daniel Briere.
Florida Panthers: Bad building with obnoxious in-game entertainment. And it is just a flat-out bad, boring team.
Toronto Maple Leafs: They think the NHL revolves around them and they haven't even won a Stanley Cup in 40 years. When they get humble, you can maybe think about rooting for them

Three players you should root for
Martin Brodeur, Devils: He might be the greatest goalie of all time and yet he might be the nicest player of all time.
Sidney Crosby, Penguins: This kid eats, sleeps and breathes hockey. He respects the game and understands his role as a spokesman. He’s the closest thing since Gretzky.
Jarome Iginla, Flames: It's hard to find a combination of incredible skill and sincere humility. But Iginla has that rare combination.

Three players you should hate (but secretly love)
Darcy Tucker, Maple Leafs: He's annoying, a pest, a tad dirty. But if he played for your team, you'd love him.
Sean Avery, Rangers: See Darcy Tucker. This guy turned the Rangers around last season.
Jaromir Jagr, Rangers: Everyone calls him a dog, but he still might be the best player in the game when he wants to be.

Three coaches to love
John Tortorella, Lightning: He is brutally honest. That can be a good thing.
Ted Nolan, Islanders: Making fools of all the teams that never gave him a shot all those years.
Jacques Lemaire, Wild: Criticized for his neutral-zone trap, but the smartest man in hockey.

Three coaches to not love
John Tortorella, Lightning: He is brutally honest. That can be a bad thing.
Ken Hitchcock, Blue Jackets: As a person, he’s a great guy. But his style of play is like watching grass grow.
Bob Hartley, Thrashers: More than once he has been accused of sending out players to injure an opponent.

Three things to watch this season
1. Any game between the Maple Leafs and Canadiens. Still the best rivalry in hockey.
2. The Sabres and Penguins will play outdoors on New Year's Day at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo. The game is expected to break the NHL's single-game attendance record set on Nov. 22, 2003, when  57,167 showed up to watch an outdoor game between the Canadiens and Oilers. The Sabres-Pens game will be broadcast by NBC.
3. The 56th NHL All-Star Game will be played on a Sunday again — Jan. 27 at Philips Arena in Atlanta. Hey, it's only a seven-hour drive up I-75.

Three things to love about the NHL
1. The playoffs: Still the absolute best and most passionate postseason in any sport and any level.
2. Every game really does count: Last season, all six divisions, both conference titles and the best overall record were still up for grabs with less than a week remaining.
3. Hockey Night in Canada: It's worth getting the Center Ice cable package just to watch this classic broadcast every Saturday night.

Three things to hate about the NHL
1. The schedule: It still stinks. You play some teams eight times and some teams not at all. Does that make sense?
2. The penalties: The league's players and referees are still trying to find that balance between physical play and clutching-and-grabbing.
3. The schedule: Yeah, we already mentioned it. But that just shows you how much we really hate it.

Three crazy predictions
1. The Washington Capitals will make the playoffs.
2. The Nashville Predators will not make the playoffs.
3. Nikolai Khabibulin will play in the All-Star Game.

Serious predictions
Hart Trophy (MVP): Sidney Crosby, Penguins
Calder Trophy (rookie): Erik Johnson,  Blues
Norris Trophy (defenseman): Niklas Lidstrom, Red Wings
Vezina Trophy (goalie): Roberto Luongo, Canucks
Jack Adams Award (coach): Tom Renney, Rangers
Comeback player: Michael Peca, Blue Jackets
First coach to be fired: Bob Hartley, Thrashers
Team that will be better than you think: Carolina Hurricanes
Team that will be worse than you think: Nashville Predators
Stanley Cup: Rangers over the Sharks

Shooting from the lip

A look back at a weekend of televised sports ...

USF comment of the weekend
You know USF has hit the big time when it is the talk of all the college football shows and even one of the NFL pregame shows. During their "Grumpy Old Coaches'' segment on Fox NFL Sunday, Barry Switzer and Jimmy Johnson talked about Alabama coach Nick Saban saying USF is so good because it accepts academic non­qualifiers. Johnson, who (by the way) said USF does not deserve to be ranked No. 5 in the country, said: "Nick Saban is covering his own rear end after losing a couple of ball games. He's probably trying to say, 'Hey, if I could get those players, I'd be undefeated.' He's covering his own rear end."

Best baseball analyst
Know what the best part of TBS's so-so baseball coverage has been? The analysis of Steve Stone, who has been much too absent from the airwaves since he left WGN and the Cubs in 2004. I'm not a huge fan of Chip Carey, but he did a solid job calling the Yankees-Indians series, as did analyst Tony Gywnn.

Best hockey analyst
Dan Boyle has a future after hockey. The injured Lightning defense-man sat in with the Sun Sports guys during Saturday's Lightning-Thrashers game for a few minutes and was quite good. He seemed relaxed (something athletes-turned-analysts have a hard time doing) and offered some cool tidbits. Seriously, he should think about going into broadcasting when he’s through playing. By the way, did anyone else notice that someone at Sun Sports forgot to hit a switch and we ended up watching a 20 minutes of an "Inside the Marlins'' show instead of the Lightning pre-game show?

Best football analyst
How is it that ESPN always seems to corner the market on good analysts in every sport? My newest favorite is Andre Ware. He has strong opinions — so strong that you might not always agree with him — but his analysis is spot-on and, most important, brief. He says what he says and moves on. He doesn't belabor his point — the flaw of most analysts.

Most disappointing analysis
CBS college football analyst Gary Danielson might be the best in the business, but he dropped the ball during Saturday's LSU-Florida game by dismissing Tony Joiner's legal trouble last week. He made Joiner's trip to a tow truck company at 4:30 in the morning seem almost like a prank, cracking sarcastically that it was oh-so-shocking that a college student is up all night. Thankfully, sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson did her job and grilled Florida coach Urban Meyer about his senior safety before the game, even though you could tell that Meyer wasn't all that excited about answering her questions. Good for her.

Most hypocritical analysis
Everyone is entitled to his opinion as to whether USF deserves to be the fifth-ranked team in the nation. That includes ESPN's Lee Corso, who has every right to keep USF out of his top five. The problem is his reasoning. Corso's top five late Saturday: LSU, California, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Boston College. About USF in the top five, Corso said, "No way. Having seen those other teams? No way.''

Yet, about Boston College, Corso said, "What do you want them to do? They won every game.''

Well, so has USF. BC has beaten Wake Forest, North Carolina State, Georgia Tech, Army, UMass and Bowling Green. None of those teams is nearly as good as either West Virginia or Auburn — teams USF has beaten. To throw Corso's question back at him, "What else do you want USF to do?'''

Most interesting stats
It's official. The Cubs, who last won the World Series in 1908, will go at least 100 years without winning it all. ESPNews came up with these numbers:
Number of days since the Cubs won the World Series: 36,151.
Number of games since the Cubs won the World Series: 15,554.
Number of players used since the Cubs won the World Series: 1,538.

Best feature
The Outside the Lines story on ESPN about Jim Jones Jr. and his son Rob — the son and grandson of infamous Peoples Temple leader Jim Jones — was riveting, chilling and, ultimately, inspirational. It would have been easy to focus solely on the fascinating final hours of the 1978 Jonestown massacre, but the piece appropriately looked at how basketball literally saved the lives of Jones and his son. "I thought there was a good balance,'' ESPN producer Jon Fish said during a conference call last week. "In the end, the story is about basketball and how it changed the lives of these extraordinary people.''

Best USF analysis
Times sports columnist Gary Shelton pointed out in Sunday's Times that things do, indeed, change when a team is ranked in the Top 10. ABC’s Doug Flutie agrees, saying it hardly mattered that USF struggled against Florida Atlantic on Saturday. "You put that 'No. 6' next to their name and now everybody is going to be ready to roll when they face South Florida,'' Flutie said. "It's amazing. You get into that Top 10 and all of a sudden every week becomes a dogfight. … Just win now. It's not about those style points.''

Best I-didn't-know-that stat
When Boston's Manny Ramirez won Game 2 against the Angels with a walkoff homer, it was his first walkoff homer out of 254 homers with the Red Sox.

Biggest big talk
CBS football analyst Spencer Tillman needs to calm down. He's a solid analyst but spends too much of his time making over-the-top comments. That's okay … as long as some of them come true. Anyone can come out and say something crazy, but you start to lose credibility when your crazy predictions never come true. One example: Tillman said if Tim Tebow carries the ball 20 times, "He will be knocked out of the game by halftime!'' Well, the Florida quarterback was well on pace by halftime and, no, he wasn't carted off the field. And, no, Tillman’s prediction of an "at least a nine-point victory by LSU'' didn't happen either.

Best comeback
While discussing whether there's a difference between catching a ball from a lefty such as Matt Leinart or a righty such as Kurt Warner, ESPN's Mike Ditka started to explain something to Keyshawn Johnson. The former receiver immediately waved off Ditka: “Ah, man, don’t tell me … I caught more passes than you in the NFL.’’
To which Ditka shot back: “Yeah, you dropped more, too.’’

Funniest-because-it-may-be-true quote
NFL on Fox's Terry Bradshaw, talking about the Giants' Michael Strahan returning for another season: "You think Michael Strahan came back because he wants to play football? You know there's something about going through a divorce and being a little short on cash. That'll bring your butt back playing football real fast.''

Biggest controversy
Already, college football fans are trying to forecast the future. Will USF play in the BCS game if it goes undefeated? Which one-loss team has the best chance of staying in the national championship picture? Are the Florida Gators done even if they run the table, including a potential victory against LSU in the SEC Championship Game? "Oh, we're going to have some great debates in December because of this one-loss thing,'' Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan said on ESPN's Sports Reporters. "We definitely will.'' Then Ryan gave a fake cough and said, "South Florida.''

Final thought
Can you believe either the Diamondbacks or the Rockies are going to play in the World Series?      

Power rankings

Who's hot this week in the world of sports ...
  1. Vinny Lecavalier. Two goals in the opener shows he's picking up right where he left off.
2. Colorado Rockies. Have gone from an eyelash of not making playoffs to one victory from NLCS.
3. Steve Spurrier. The Ol' Head Ball Coach might have himself a BCS contender.
4. New England Patriots. Clearly the best team in the NFL at the moment.
5. USF. Still can't believe this is the No. 6 team in the country.
6. Delmon Young. Shows maturity for apologizing for critical comments. But I'm keeping an eye on you.
7. NASCAR. Chase is heating up with Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon separated by a mere six points.
8. Greg Biffle. Speaking of NASCAR, Biffle ends 28-race winless streak at Kansas City.
9. Carlos Pena. Deserves a few MVP votes for his monster season.
10. Johan Holmqvist. Lightning goalie looked like a true No. 1. Well, for one night anyway.

Who's not hot this week in the world of sports ...
1. Marion Jones. How depressing to hear U.S. track star admit to doping.
2. Chicago Cubs. Really going out with a bang, huh?
3. Tim McClelland. Umpire blows call on deciding run of one-game playoff between Rockies and Padres.
4. San Diego Padres. Hard to feel sorry for a team that lost seven out of 11, including last three, to blow playoff spot.
5. Cadillac Williams. The poor Bucs running back might never be the same after gruesome knee injury.
6. Luke Petitgout. Injury to Bucs left tackle might hurt team more than Cadillac's injury.
7. Tony Joiner. Gator captains aren't supposed to be doing anything but sleeping or studying at 4:30 a.m.
8. Bill Evers. So the Rays problems are solved now that they fired this good guy?
9. Jim Hickey. Drinking. Driving. Hitting a car. Scuffling with police. Not the best moment for the Rays pitching coach.
10. New York Mets. Choking dogs lose six of last seven to blow NL East.

Fearless predictions

So the baseball playoffs crank up today and that means ... predictions. But this won't be your normal, "I like Team A because of their pitching'' or "I like Team B because of the 3-4-5 hitters.'' Nope, if you're just a fan, you like teams and players for different reasons. Normally, you like your hometown team simply because they're your hometown team, you grew up watching them. I grew up watching the Pittsburgh Pirates, meaning I haven't had anything to root for in 15 years.

So that leaves me liking and hating teams for different reasons. So here's what I like and don't like about each of the teams fighting for the World Series.

Boston Red Sox
I like ... watching games from Fenway Park, still the best arena/stadium/field in all of sports.
I don't like ... that Red Sox fans act as if the Yankees are so good because they spend so much money. The Red Sox have the exact same philosophy. (I also don't like Curt Schilling because he talks too much.)

Cleveland Indians
I like ... rooting for Cleveland because Cleveland never wins anything.
I don't like ... that the Indians are a small-market team and can build a winner while my small-market team (the Pirates) can't do jack.

Anaheim Angels
I like ... Vlad Guerrero, who still doesn't get the credit he deserves.
I don't like ... their goofy name (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim). Just pick one.

New York Yankees
I like ... Derek Jeter. My "love'' for him is well-publicized.
I don't like ... everything else about the Yankees, probably because they're just so good.

Colorado Rockies
I like ... Todd Helton. It is good to see him in the postseason. Finally.
I don't like ... that the Rockies' Matt Holliday STILL hasn't touched home plate yet and maybe the Padres should be here instead of Colorado.

Philadelphia Phillies
I like ... Chase Utley, perhaps my favorite baseball player right now.
I don't like ... that the only reason the Phillies are here is because the Mets practically coughed up a lung choking away the NL East.

Chicago Cubs
I like ... Lou Piniella. Wouldn't you just love to see Sweet Lou be the Cubs' savior?
I don't like ... that if the Cubs win, they would lose that loveable loser tag. The Cubs never getting to the World Series is part of baseball's charm.

Arizona Diamondbacks
I like ... that the D-backs' success puts pressure on their expansion cousins (the Devil Rays) to get their act together.
I don't like ... I'll be honest, I don't know enough about them to not like something. Seriously, how many times did we actually seem them play this season?

So who wins? Well, here's a guess. In the American League, I'll take the Yankees to beat Cleveland in a surprisingly tough five-game series and then knock off arch-rival Boston in a seven-game thriller. In the National League, let's go with the Cubs over the D-backs, the Phillies over the Rockies and then the Cubs over the Phillies.

In the end? The Cubbies come up just short. Who will win it all? Even I can't believe I'm saying this:

The New York Yankees. I hate the Yankees. Except Derek Jeter. I love him.

Shooting from the lip

Looking back at a weekend of televised sports ...

Best coach
Who has been the best college football coach over the past 10 years? Ohio State's Jim Tressel? Florida's Urban Meyer? Southern Cal's Pete Carroll? Actually, your head is full of rocks if you say anyone but USF's Jim Leavitt. Ten years ago, USF barely had a couple of goal posts and a kicking tee, and today the Bulls are ranked No. 6 in the Associated Press poll. No one has done more over the past 10 years than Leavitt. Yes, the "Leavitt for President''’ campaign starts here, and let's give him credit. After several readers and yours truly jumped on him after the Auburn victory for saying it was a great win for "Tampa,'' Leavitt spent all weekend going out of his way to say how great the victory over then-No. 5 West Virginia on Friday was great for "Tampa BAY.''

Best team
USF certainly is enjoying the high life these days, and ESPN is driving the Bulls' bandwagon. Leavitt was interviewed on Saturday morning's College GameDay and again during Saturday night's featured broadcast between Florida and Auburn. On GameDay, analyst Kirk Herbstreit said, "Let's put this in perspective, (USF) right now is the story of the year in college football.''

Later in the broadcast, Herb­streit added, "As big as USF's win was against West Virginia, I still believe Rutgers is the team to beat in the Big East.'' Actually, he was right. Rutgers did get beat later in the day.

Funniest comment
On the Fox NFL Sunday show, analyst Jimmy Johnson, the former Cowboys coach, was asked to pick between Troy Aikman and Tony Romo. "Hands down it's Aikman all the way,'' Johnson said. "Aikman gave me a couple of (Super Bowl) rings. Romo hasn't even picked up a dinner tab.''

Biggest naysayer
Not everyone is sold on USF football. CBS football analyst Brian Curtis, talking about Friday night's USF-WVU game, said: "It was a horrible game. South Florida is going to move up in the rankings and probably become a top 12 or 13 team. But they certainly didn't look it, even though they beat the No. 5 team in the nation.''

Worst team
Sorry, Notre Dame fans. Picking on the Irish these days is like fishing with dynamite. It's too easy. Still, Notre Dame is 0-5 now, and it's hard to find a game on its schedule that the Irish can win. "I did not think Notre Dame would be this bad,'' ESPN's Mark May said. "They’re a very inept football team. They can't do anything right — special teams, offense, defense. … The wheels have really come off this football team. And it's going to be difficult for head coach Charlie Weis to keep this team together for the remainder of the year.''

Best scheduling
Kudos to Fox for switching Saturday's Game of the Week from the meaningless Cubs-Reds to splitting coverage of two games that mattered: Padres-Brewers and Phillies-Nationals.

Best commentator
You have to love Jason Krause, the 10-year-old commentator on ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown. Talking about Rex Grossman being benched as the Bears' starting quarterback, Krause said: "After throwing how many interceptions, it's time to sit my friend. I guess the moral of the story is — if you play bad, you eventually get put in timeout.''

Best tongue-lashing
Another solid job by the Devil Rays TV broadcasting tandem of Dewayne Staats and Joe Magrane. Both chimed in on the Delmon Young situation and let the Rays rookie have it after he didn't run hard on a grounder Saturday, then threatened not to show up Sunday after being yanked out of the game by manager Joe Maddon.

Magrane: "Simply put, he needs to grow up.''

Staats then dropped this bomb: "There are teammates who will remain nameless, but they will tell you just out front — they think Delmon Young is spoiled. That's what his teammates think of him.''

Worst scheduling
There were four baseball games that mattered Sunday and none of them were on TV. How does that happen? Why is ESPN showing a marathon of that goofy boxing reality show The Contender? And ESPN2? That was worse — a bunch of hunting shows. The World Wide Network should have been showing baseball. Meantime, the runnerup in this category: ABC splitting its afternoon college games into regions. We got to see Maryland's upset of Rutgers, but it would've been better to watch No. 6 Cal against No. 11 Oregon.

Most overblown statement
We all appreciate that broadcasters have to create a little hype to keep you watching, but ESPN's Scott Van Pelt overdid it just a little on Saturday during halftime of one of the college games. He first announced, "We got a monster upset brewing between LSU and Tulane.'' A few moments later, Van Pelt said, "The Green Wave is about to pull off a stunner, perhaps.''

At the exact time Van Pelt had us in a lather, LSU was down 9-7 with two minutes left … in the first half! By halftime, it was 10-9 LSU. The Tigers narrowly avoided the monster upset with a 34-9 victory.

Worst conference
While it's easy to get excited about USF, the Big East does seem to be struggling. Louisville has lost twice. Rutgers lost Saturday. And some think that USF's victory against West Virginia might have been bad for the conference because WVU was ranked so high. ESPN’s Lou Holtz was not among those who saw it that way."I think it's great for the Big East because all of a sudden you got another football team (USF) with great credibility,'' Holtz said. "They're a very solid football team.''

Most insightful story
ABC's NASCAR Countdown explored whether megamergers are the precursor of single-car team extinction and franchise racing. Hall of Fame Racing owners Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach recently sold majority ownership of their team."It's not a level playing field,'' Staubach said. "These multiple-car garages, they share information. It's like the Eagles, the Redskins and the Cowboys working together within a locker room — which is impossible, but in NASCAR it works.''

Best scoop
CBS NFL "general manager'' (the network's cute phrase for "insider'') Charley Casserly said the league is considering putting radio receivers in the helmets of all offensive players to help the players combat fan noise. But Casserly made a legitimate point. "When I was in the league and this was talked about, I was not in favor of this,'' he said. "I didn't believe you should legislate against the home crowd. Fans pay a lot of money to come to the game, cheer and hope they have an effect on that game. You should not take the home crowd out of the game.''

Final thought
How big of a deal was it that the USF-West Virginia game was played on Friday night and had the spotlight all to itself? Do you think if the game had been played Saturday and been lumped along with all the other upsets that USF would've moved all the way up to No. 6 in the AP poll?