Shooting from the lip

Looking back at a weekend of televised sports ...

Biggest praise
Terry Bradshaw had some love for Bucs coach Jon Gruden on Fox NFL Sunday:
"There were a lot of players who didn't care if Jon Gruden came back and maybe even some of the coaches that didn't really like  this man,'' Bradshaw said. "They thought it was all about Gruden, but hats off to him because this year Gruden is the one who has changed. Players like him, and they're all getting along. It takes a special guy to recognize that there was something going wrong and then doing something about it.''
Yeah, maybe it's that. Or maybe the Bucs found a quarterback.

Most depressing sight
What a shame to see so many empty seats in Pittsburgh for the USF-Pitt game. It wasn't so long ago that names such as Tony Dorsett, Dan Marino, Hugh Green and Matt Cavanaugh were playing in front of a packed house at old Pitt Stadium. Now no one comes to watch the shell of a program in swanky Heinz Field. That's so sad.

Best line
After the Bears' Devin Hester returned a kickoff for a touchdown —  after returning a punt for a touchdown earlier in the game — CBS analyst Dan Dierdorf said what everyone watching that game was thinking: "If somebody knows why Denver decided to kick the ball right down the middle of the field to Devin Hester, write me a letter, will ya?''

Best argument
Here I go again. I know I'm in the minority, but I like that there's no playoff system in college football because it makes the regular season all the more meaningful. Host John Saunders made the same argument on Sunday’s Sports Reporters on ESPN:
"When No. 1 LSU lost to Arkansas on Friday, it was the 12th time this year a Top 5 ranked team lost to an unranked team. In a playoff world, those upsets would’ve meant little. Just this weekend, three of the top six lost. The Colts and Patriots 'Game of the Century' a few weeks back had a lot of hype, but in reality, it only affected homefield advantage. Imagine if the loser was knocked from Super Bowl contention. Now that would make it big.''
Amen!

Funniest line
Are the Patriots the best team of all time? ESPN's Mike Ditka, sporting an old leather Chicago Bears helmet with no face mask, said, ''The best team of all time — this is true, and I played against them and I know — the 1926 Frankford Yellow Jackets.''

Best hustle
CBS' NFL insider Charley Casserly is always good for a interesting tidbit or two. On Sunday he said: "I talked to somebody who is close to (ousted Nebraska coach) Bill Callahan, and they figure that he will be coming back into the NFL as an offensive coordinator. One team is already interested in talking to him about that. And also, the University of Mississippi is interested in talking to Ravens assistant coach Rick Neuheisel.''

Luckiest coach
Well, he isn't lucky anymore. Quite frankly, it's justice to see the luck run out on LSU and coach Les Miles. The Tigers were living a charmed life all season, and Miles was flat-out lucky to be No. 1 heading into Thanksgiving after some of the boneheaded decisions he made that ended up working out. If you're a Gators fan, maybe you should hope Miles does not take the Michigan job.

Best insight
ESPN's Pat Forde had some good coaching fodder talking about the college football coaching musical chairs. Forde said Texas A&M might make a run at Auburn's Tommy Tuberville to replace Dennis Franchione, who resigned under pressure. Other possible candidates for the Aggies job: Boise State's Chris Petersen and Mike Sherman, the former Packers coach who is now a Houston Texans assistant.
Meantime, Forde said Nebraska defensive coordinator Bo Pelini is the leading candidate to replace the fired Bill Callahan at Nebraska. Former Cornhuskers quarterback Turner Gill, now the coach at Buffalo, and Navy coach Paul Johnson are other possibilities. Speaking of Pelini, he could be a candidate at LSU if Les Miles leaves for the Michigan job.

Strangest decision
Okay, so Kansas needed a miracle after giving up a safety to fall behind 36-28 with six seconds left to Missouri on Saturday night. But why not at least try for a miracle? The Jayhawks could have at least tried an onside kick on the free kick from their own 20 after the safety, but they just kicked it away instead, and Missouri kneeled once to end the game. The chances of recovering the onside kick, then scoring on a 70-yard Hail Mary play, then converting a two-point conversion just to tie were probably ridiculous. But what did they have to lose by trying?

Heisman hopefuls
Forget Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel. Forget Arkansas running back Darren McFadden. If Florida quarterback Tim Tebow does not win the Heisman, they should do away with the award.

Most incredible numbers
On ESPN's Sports Reporters, Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan found another way to point out how dominant the Patriots have been. Going into Sunday night's game, kicker Stephen Gostkowski had attempted only 12 field goals all season, but had kicked off 75 times. Meantime, punter Chris Hanson is not among the official punter statistics because he had punted only 22 times — less than the required 2½ a game to qualify in the punting stats.

Most disturbing story
ESPN's Outside the Lines did an outstanding piece that should make everyone angry. Big Ten official Jim Filson lost his job when it was learned he had been officiating with one eye. Filson was a field judge for seven years and then lost his right eye after a fall in the offseason. He returned to officiate five more years until a call in one game — a call that replay fixed like dozens of others every season in the Big Ten and a call that might have had nothing to do with his having one eye  — led to several phone conversations that ended up costing Filson his job, even though Filson consistently graded well in evaluations.
And know who was a big part of getting Filson bounced as an official? Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, who, apparently was big and brave when spouting off to Big Ten officials about it, but didn't have the guts to go on camera with ESPN about it. By the way, Filson sued the Big Ten and eventually settled out of court. However, he is stuck officiating high school and small college games.

Worst announcing
Did anyone else feel like throwing a brick through the television every time ABC's Brent Musburger called Kansas "The Manginos'' (after coach Mark Mangino) during the KU-Missouri game Saturday night? It was mildly annoying the first time he did it. But the third or fourth time, you were looking for bricks, weren't you?

Most overrated team
Enough, enough, enough from those whining about Hawaii being shut out of the BCS picture even though it is undefeated and quarterback Colt Brennan having no shot at the Heisman even though he has thrown like 5,000 touchdowns or something. Hawaii doesn't play anybody! Northern Colorado? Louisiana Tech? UNLV? Idaho? Come on. The best team it has beaten is Boise State, and who knows if Boise State is any good because it doesn't play anybody. Even if you think Boise is decent, there's a big difference between getting up for one game and doing what, say, Tim Tebow (Florida), Darren McFadden (Arkansas) or Chase Daniel (Missouri) has to do — which is play seven or eight good teams, including one or two really good teams. Plus, let's not reward teams that play soft schedules. Otherwise, what's the point of schools from major conferences scheduling good teams outside their conference schedule?

Most touching moment
ESPN's College GameDay surely brought a tear to anyone’s eye who saw the touching and inspiring story of Oklahoma State cornerback  Martel Van Zant, who was born deaf. If you didn't tear up watching fans give Van Zant the sign-language sign for applause, you must be a robot.

Giving thanks

It's Thanksgiving weekend, so what better time than to give thanks? Here's what all sports fans should be thankful for:

Vinny Lecavalier
For being the best hockey player in the world at the moment and an even better person off the ice for his work and money in fighting cancer.

Brad Richards
You shouldn't mention Lecavalier's work with pediatric cancer without mentioning Richards, whose tireless efforts go virtually unnoticed, but are just as rewarding to those he helps.

Joe Maddon
The Rays skipper sometimes drives us crazy with his optimism, but when you get down to it, it's not an act. He's just a heck of a nice guy.

Matt Grothe
The Bulls QB and his teammates have made USF relevant, not only locally, but nationally. This will go down as USF's landmark season.

Jeff Garcia
For pretty much single-handedly making sure the Bucs are still playing meaningful games right now.

John Madden
For still being the best analyst in any sport.

Tiger Woods
For allowing all of us who have seen him play the ability to say we've seen the greatest golfer who has ever lived.

Roger Federer
For allowing all of us who have seen him play the ability to say we've seen the greatest tennis player who has ever lived.

Dick Vitale
Not only for his charity work, but for getting us fired up to watch just about any college basketball game there is, even if it's a dog. You're a P-T-P'er, baaabeee.

Monte Kiffin
For reinventing the Bucs defense and once again proving (as if he needed to) that he's still one of the best football coaches in the world.

Bill Belichick
Yep, be thankful for the crusty, stone-faced coach. He is giving Patriots fans the season of their lives and giving the rest of us someone to hate.

Stu Sternberg
New uniforms, new name, new logo and talk of a new stadium. Hey, at least the Rays owner is trying.

Peyton Manning
For his commercials. Come on, even Pats fans have to love 'em.

Carlos Pena
The Rays slugger for not only a season worth a few MVP votes, but for doing it with humility and class.

Classy college coaches
We're talking Bowden, JoePa and Coach K — guys who prove you can run a clean program, still win, produce productive members to society, graduate players and do it all with class.

Classy pro coaches
We're talking Francona, Dungy and Popovich — guys who prove you can be nice and still win. And that you can do it with class.

Derrick Brooks
For yet another solid season in what has been an incredible career. Let's just retire his number now, shall we?

ESPN's College GameDay
For being the best weekly sports program there is.

Brittany Lincicome
For giving local golf fans someone to root for — and for making us proud to root for her.

Pat Summitt
You do realize, don't you, that we are witness to one of the greatest coaches in any sport and any time?

The jerks
A-Rod, T.O., Bonds. In every cowboy movie, you have to have guys wearing black hats. The black hats make the whole thing worth watching.

Phil Esposito
For entertaining oohs and ahhs and wows while doing analysis on Lightning radio. And, don't forget, there would be no such thing as Lightning radio because there would be no such thing as the Lightning without this guy.

Rivalries
UF-FSU, Yanks-Sox, Ohio State-Michigan, Auburn-Alabama, Leafs-Canadiens, Tiger-Lefty, Pats-Colts, Duke-Carolina, Gordon-Junior and all the others. Rivalries might just be the best thing there is about sports.

Florida-Florida State
For giving us, regardless of the records, what remains the best rivalry in the state.

Deadspin.com
For giving us the most wickedly funny Web site about sports. Come to think of it, it's the funniest Web site period.

SportsCenter
For giving sports junkies their daily fix. How did we survive before ESPN? Scary to even think about, isn't it?

HBO
For continuing to make the best sports documentaries in the business.

Youth coaches
For giving their time to give kids something positive to do, and maybe helping one of them become the next LeBron, Jeter or Brady.

The phrases
Walkoff homer, one-timer … and one, you da man. Yep, we're simple. We're thankful for the little things.

The next time
No matter if your team wins or loses, there’s always tomorrow, next week or next season.

Shooting from the lip

Saddest story
Michigan coach Lloyd Carr was barely off the field Saturday when news broke that he would announce his retirement Monday and ESPN quickly threw out the names of LSU's Les Miles, Cincinnati's Brian Kelly and West Virginia's Rich Rodriguez as replacements. Good stuff.
The bad stuff: Carr is leaving. Yes, Michigan fans are probably doing backflips today because Carr can't beat Ohio State. But, still, the guy was there 12 seasons and won five Big Ten titles and a co-national championship after the 1997 season. At most places, that will get you a contract extension, not the urge to run you out the door.

Worst scheduling
Why does any sport even try to go up against the NFL? The latest is Major League Soccer, which held its championship game on Sunday afternoon. Soccer, of all sports, should know better. All soccer people do is gripe about how Americans miss the boat on their sport and how people should watch it and blah, blah, blah. And then they schedule the ultimate game of the season while everyone is watching the NFL. That makes no sense. Why not put the game on at night during the week? At least then you have a fighting chance. By the way, the overnight Nielsen rating for the MLS game was a 0.9 -- meaning less than 1 percent of all homes with TVs were watching. Heck, that's what the LPGA got and even less than some motorcross on Sunday afternoon event picked up.

Best point
Fox NFL Sunday analyst Howie Long, talking about why Dolphins running back Ricky Williams is allowed to play in the NFL and the Titans' Adam "Pacman''Jones isn't: "The only person Ricky is going to harm is himself. The only danger you are in around Ricky is secondhand smoke. He's no threat to society. Bad things happen to people who are around Pacman.''

Heisman hype
NBC's Jimmy Roberts said: "It has been a crazy year in college football. Florida has lost three games, but individually, who has sparkled more than Tim Tebow?''
Answer: no one. Hard as it is to imagine, this guy is going to win the Heisman Trophy. Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon seemed like the front-runner, but now he's hurt and out for the season. Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel still is in the running, but Tebow's amazing season , regardless of the Gators' record, probably is enough to nudge out Daniel.

Best pat on the back
Legendary Hockey Night in Canada analyst Don Cherry is still riding the Vinny Lecavalier bandwagon. He has always loved the Lightning center, but Saturday night, he went a step further and called Lecavalier the "best player in the NHL.''

Best line
ESPN's Outside the Lines tackled the Barry Bonds indictment issue and a good point was made as to why Bonds seems to be singled out for steroids even though it's becoming more apparent Bonds wasn't the only who might have used illegal stuff over the past 10 or 15 years.
"When you're the biggest fish and the least cooperative,'' ESPN's Howard Bryant said, "that's a bad combination.''

Most interesting interview
I've ripped Fox's Pam Oliver in the past, so it's only fair to give her credit when she does a nice job getting an athlete to open up like she did Sunday with Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens. T.O. said that former coach Bill Parcells never liked him. "I was really (owner) Jerry'ss (Jones) guy.'' He also said he's done with his antics and will let his "play do the talking.''
But ever the voice of reason, Fox analyst Terry Bradshaw said: "I'm not fooled by it because a lot of that interview was 'me, my, I' and that's the way it's always going to be. I challenge anybody out there to not forget the way he has acted pretty much his entire career. He's a great player, and I'm sure I would've liked to play with him, but I'm not fooled by all this. I would still be skeptical if I was his teammate.''

Best features
Just last week, Kirk Herbstreit of ESPN's College GameDay told the Two Cents that part of the reason the show works is the "amazing features'' that might make you laugh or cry. Right on cue, GameDay did both Saturday.
The laugh: 50-year-old analyst Gary Garber got a mohawk for a story about the most popular haircut in college football these days. (By the way, USF quarterback Matt Grothe was, appropriately, featured.)
The cry: A touching story on the bond between the Indiana University football team and Jane Hoeppner, wife of former Indiana coach Terry Hoeppner, who died from complications of a brain tumor at age 59 in June.

Strangest opening to a question
Sideline reporter Craig Sager, filling in for the pregnant Alex Flanagan on NBC's Notre Dame coverage, opened a question to Irish coach Charlie Weis by saying, "Coach, you’re going to be around for many years to come …'' What!? Is Sager now a booster with inside information? Was he trying to suck up to Weis? Maybe Weis will be at Notre Dame for years to come, but after the job Weis has done this season, how can anyone say he will be there for "years to come?''

Best analyst
Watching HBO's Boxing After Dark on Saturday, it dawned on me that former heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis is a good analyst. Check that. A really good analyst. Technically speaking, there might not be anyone better. For example, at one point he noticed how one of the boxer's had a mouthpiece too big for his mouth and how dangerous it is to fight with an open mouth. Lewis has a sense of history, he knows all the current boxers and his quick analysis of the action in the ring might be second to none. Plus, he has a cool accent. What else do you want?

Best duel
ESPN's Chris Mortensen said on his pregame show that Raiders No. 1 pick JaMarcus Russell would make his debut Dec. 2 at home against Denver. Fox's Jay Glazer, on his show however, said the quarterback would see a few snaps on Sunday. Who was right? Well, Russell didn't play Sunday. And it remains to be seen if Mortensen is right on his Dec. 2 prediction.

Most questionable list
CBS NFL analyst Bill Cowher came up with his list of best current quarterbacks. The top two were no surprise: Tom Brady of the Patriots and Peyton Manning of the Colts. Rounding out the top five were Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger, Green Bay's Brett Favre and Dallas' Tony Romo. Cowher: "When I did this I used the criteria; Past — what have they done with their career? Present — how are they playing? And, future — what kind of potential do they have? I could only come up with 18 quarterbacks.'' And not one of them was named Jeff Garcia.

Coolest thing
Remember when you were younger and at halftime of college football games they would show the marching bands? Now, we're given halftime shows with scores and highlights. I suppose that's good, but I still miss the marching bands. Well, NBC came up with a nice solution during Notre Dame games. You could log on to NBC.com and watch the bands. Unfortunately, NBC's Notre Dame coverage for the season is over, but here's hoping it brings back that feature next season.

Q&A with Kirk Herbstreit

Along with host Chris Fowler and former coach Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit is a part of what might be the best two hours of sports television each week: ESPN's College GameDay. Shown every Saturday morning in the fall from 10 a.m. to noon, GameDay is a fast-paced preview, review and, really, celebration of college football.

Herbstreit, 38, is a former Ohio State quarterback who joined the program 12 years ago and has risen to, perhaps, the top college football analyst in the country. This week, he called staff writer Tom Jones from his home in suburban Columbus, Ohio to give his take on what makes GameDay so great, his relationship with Corso, the crazy 2007 season and, of course, today's big showdown between Ohio State and Michigan.

TJ: What make College GameDay so good?

KH: The first thing is we're talking college football, which is hugely popular and so subjective as to who is really the best team or who deserves to be called the best team because of the current setup of the BCS. Everyone watching has an opinion that they're really passionate about. So when we talk about it, you have people who strongly agree or strongly disagree. So you have people who get really excited about their teams and you have 119 teams.

TJ: Still, it has to be more than that.

KH: I'm not trying to pass the credit here, but that's a big part of it. There are three things, really. One, it's the sport and the chaos of it because of the system and that creates debate. Two, it's the chemistry. I'm so blessed to work with Lee, who has taught me so much about doing television and I just love the guy, and then a man who I think is the best host on television and that's Chris Fowler. And, the third thing is all the behind-the-scenes stuff. We have a great executive producer and producer and stage director and they put together these amazing features that make you cry, or make you laugh or tell you something you didn't know. You combine all of that and you really have the perfect storm. And then you add the fans, and it's something else.

TJ: At first, GameDay was shot in a studio. Now you guys go on campuses. How much does that have to do with the success of the show?

KH: A tremendous amount. It made a huge difference when we went on the road. We are at the big game every week. The fans get excited. It's like ESPN is putting its stamp on the game, letting everyone know this is the place to be in college football today. They get excited and, in turn, it gets all of us who work on the show excited.

TJ: The chemistry between you and Lee Corso is great. You can tell that you genuinely like and respect Lee.

KH: Oh, I do. Craig James was on before I was and he and Lee used to really go at it. It was a very aggressive, adversarial relationship on camera with yelling and arguing and so on. When I came on, the people at ESPN told me, "You need to go after Lee. You need to attack him." And that just isn't me, that isn't who I am. I have so much respect for him. He's a former coach and I gave him the respect he deserves, even when he is doing all the crazy stuff he does. We can still disagree, but not in a disrespectful way. I owe so much to Lee. I love the man.

TJ: Is this craziest season you've ever seen in college football?

KH: Yeah, it has to be. We've seen some wacky stuff. But I'm a traditionalist. The upsets, sure, have been great for college football, but I still like it when you have the powerhouses out there - Florida, Florida State, Miami, Notre Dame, USC, Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Michigan. I think when all those teams are good, it's better for college football, it's healthier for the sport. Not to be disrespectful to any teams out there. You've had some teams make their mark this season - like South Florida. And teams like Kansas and UConn and Kentucky early on. And that's great. They deserve credit for what they've done. I just like it better when you have the traditional powers. I just think it makes the sport more interesting.

TJ: For instance, is it bad when a team like Notre Dame goes through a season like it is going through now?

KH: No doubt. To have a Notre Dame team end up 2-10 or whatever they're going to finish, is unfortunate. I'm sure there are a lot of people out there who are getting a real kick of it, but it really isn't good for college football.

TJ: Do you favor a playoff system?

KH: More and more, I am coming around. I like the plus-one idea. You take a season like this year when you have a bunch of teams with one loss. Then throw an undefeated Kansas in there. Who's to say who is No. 1? Or who should play for the national title?

TJ: Do you realize that the things you say on GameDay or late Saturday night on ESPN might actually influence how voters are voting?

KH: Yes, I think I've always been aware of that, but the key is to always truly believe what you are saying and having the ability to change your thinking as the season goes on. If there's a team early in the season that you don't think is great or hasn't proven themselves, that doesn't mean they don't become good or that they don't start proving themselves as you go deeper into the season. You can't ever get stuck saying, "Well, I didn't like that team at the beginning of the season, so I'm not going to like them now." You have to be willing to adjust your thinking if necessary.

TJ: (Today), GameDay is at the Ohio State-Michigan game. You went to Ohio State, though I think you've always been completely objective about the Buckeyes. I've always said that if no one knew you didn't go to Ohio State, you couldn't tell you went to Ohio State. But this must be a special weekend for you.

KH: I grew up in Ohio and all we had was college football. There was no NFL where I was. My dad was a coach, who coached for Woody (Hayes) at Ohio State and then with Bo (Schembechler) at Miami of Ohio. And I played at Ohio State, so yeah, this is always a special game. And this year, it has extra meaning to think this game will played on the one-year anniversary of Bo's death. And with Ohio State losing (last week), there is no BCS at stake. The winner goes to the Rose Bowl, just like the old days. It'll be 40-some degrees and overcast. It's November. This feels like more of a traditional Ohio State-Michigan game.

TJ: And this week, since you're calling the game, you only have to travel to the press box for the game. That's probably the shortest trip you've made this year. You actually had one day when you did GameDay from Eugene, Oregon and then flew across country in time to call the Boston College-Florida State game.

KH: Yeah, and there was a hurricane in Boston. That was quite the trip.

TJ: How do you get from GameDay to your game? Is it a charter?

KH: Yeah, Disney has a charter and it makes it easy.

TJ: Still, you have to be talking some 20-hour days.

KH: Sometimes, but I'm not complaining. I have the greatest job there is. I'm living the dream. To talk about college football? To call the best game in the country every week? How great is that? (Today), I'll be sitting next to Brent Musburger and he'll go into his routine of "You're looking live ..." and go through his setup and that gets me pumped up. And then I get to talk about the best game of the day and I get to talk college football. Like I said, I'm living the dream.

Fast facts

College GameDay

- The very first show to be held on a college campus was Nov. 13, 1993 when No. 1 Florida State travelled to No. 2 Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. Since then, the show has originated from the site of what is usually the best game of the day. In all, GameDay has done 150 shows from campuses.

- College GameDay has originated from 59 sites involving 60 different schools, including last week's matchup between Division III schools Williams and Amherst.

- The Florida Gators have been involved in the GameDay game either as the home or road team 23 times, more than any other school. Gainesville has been the site 12 times, more than any other location.

- The highlight of the show is when Lee Corso dons the mascot headgear of the team he thinks is going to win. His longest winning streak was 16 consecutive correct picks from Aug. 28, 1999 to Oct. 7, 2000.

(Pictured: Kirk Herbstreit. Photo - ESPN. Click to enlarge.)

Shooting from the lip

The latest best and worst from televised sports ...

Worst use of hype
ESPN teased us twice last week and didn't deliver the goods. First, on Monday Night Football for the Steelers-Ravens game, the network made a big deal about the Steelers' 75th anniversary celebration. Then at halftime when the Steelers were honoring their greatest players, ESPN decided it better to give us Chris Berman's tired halftime show and an abbreviated Pardon the Interruption segment with Tony Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon. The on-field celebration was ignored.

Then Saturday, College GameDay went to the campus of Williams College in Massachusetts for the 122nd meeting between Williams and Amherst. And then we couldn't watch the game ESPN got us excited to see even though the network gave us dud games — Indiana and Northwestern on ESPN Classic and Penn State-Temple on ESPNU.

If ESPN wants to make a big deal about an event, that's fine. But then at least show the event. If the network can't or won't, then don't tease us. It's like showing us a big, juicy steak and then not letting us eat it.

Check it out
At 8 p.m. Tuesday, ESPN Classic is showing Triumph and Tragedy: The Ray Mancini Story, a documentary about the infamous fight between Ray "Boom Boom'' Mancini and Deuk-Koo Kim, who died  four days after the fight from injuries suffered in the match. ESPN's Outside the Lines showed a clip of the hour-long documentary Sunday and it looks like a must-see. Tuesday is the 25th anniversary of the fight, which went a long way toward changing championship boxing matches from 15 rounds to 12. Kim was knocked out in the 14th round of this brutal fight. "The change from 15 to 12 was a direct result of this fight,'' former Ring magazine editor-in-chief Steve Farwood said. "No doubt about it.''

Worst team
Notre Dame is 1-9 for the first time. And Nebraska is a mess, even though the Cornhuskers won Saturday. But the worst major team in the country might be Minnesota. Hey, at least the Irish and Huskers are losing to decent teams. The Gophers (1-10) have lost 10 games for just the second time in school history, and that includes losses to Bowling Green, Florida Atlantic and North Dakota State. Plus they play in a stinkin' dome!

Worst use of replay
At the end of the first half of the Notre Dame-Air Force game, it appeared a Notre Dame player was out of bounds when he recovered a fumble. The call cost Air Force a shot at a field goal. Meanwhile, Illinois scored a touchdown that was clearly a fumble in its victory against Ohio State. By rule, all plays are supposed to be reviewed, but neither play was reversed even though replays seemed obvious. As far as one could tell, neither was given more than a quick glance by the replay official. So why even have the darned thing if bad calls are not going to be changed?

Best smackdown
So now old Dolphins coach Don Shula, whose 1972 Dolphins went 17-0, is suggesting that if the Patriots go undefeated, the record might be tainted because of the whole "Spygate'' controversy. But during the Fox NFL Sunday pregame show, the analysts were having none of that.
Howie Long: "Five plays into that game, this film was confiscated. It had no impact on that game. It's had no impact on this season. People are saying, 'He's not remorseful, he's not contrite enough.' What do you want him to do? Do you want him to go on Oprah and cry? Bill Belichick is Bill Belichick.''
Then Terry Bradshaw added a real zinger: "I didn't even know Don Shula was still around. Who cares? Let it go, Don.''
I didn’t even know Don Shula was still around? That's beautiful.

Most tired reporting
Anyone else sick of Fox reporter Pam Oliver making herself a part of every story? Each week, we have to sit through her "cute'' banter with her NFL guests, and it's apparent that these clips are more about "look at me, I'm a star'' than they are about revealing the people she is supposed to be profiling. She did it again Sunday with Giants coach Tom Coughlin. The thing is, she's a good reporter. She asks good questions. She doesn't need to do that stuff. A producer should make sure some of that junk ends up on the cutting room floor.

Biggest piece of missing information
ESPN's Darren Lyn did a story on Outside the Lines about how predominantly white Delaware doesn't play Delaware State, a predominantly black school, in football even though they are less than an hour from one another. The suggestion, certainly one put forward in the piece, is it could be an issue of race. There were plenty of quotes criticizing Delaware for its lame "excuses'' for not playing Delaware State, and yet the piece never said or quoted anyone saying what exactly what those excuses were. Just seemed to be a major hole in the story. It wasn't until after the piece when host Bob Ley interviewed Delaware grad and ESPN.com writer Jeff Pearlman — an interview that had to be delayed until later in the show because of technical problems — that Delaware's reasons were made clear.

By the way, the excuses Pearlman said he got over the years were pretty lame. Delaware worried that the rivalry might cause a division in the state (even though, practically every state in America has an in-state football rivarly), that Delaware State has never brought up playing Delaware (not true), and Delaware's schedule is booked too far ahead to add a game anytime soon.

Worst interview
During Saturday's USF-Syracuse game, ESPN announcers Dave Sims and John Congemi interviewed former Syracuse great Larry Csonka, whose number was retired Saturday by the Orange. The announcers asked a bunch of questions about his days at Syracuse, which they should've asked. But how in the world can you have a member of the perfect 1972 Dolphins team — a guy who drinks champagne every time the last undefeated team loses — and not ask him about the undefeated and controversial New England Patriots?

Questions I pondered over the weekend
1. Based on what Ron Zook is doing at Illinois, is it at all possible that Florida pulled the trigger on him a little too soon?
2. What in the world has happened to Syracuse football? This program had a winning record in every season from 1987 to 2001 but has gone 23-46 since then, including 7-26  during the past three seasons.
3. If Kevin Garnett had spent the past 12 years in the NBA surrounded by big-time talent, might he be considered the best player to ever play the game?

Quarterback of the day
Cleveland's Derek Anderson has become a reliable quarterback with the Browns, delaying Brady Quinn's promotion to the starting job. So what happens now? The Browns can't keep both long-term. During halftime of Saturday’s Notre Dame-Air Force game on NBC, Sports Illustrated NFL writer Peter King said Anderson could end up playing next season in Carolina or Minnesota, which might have interest in acquiring the Eagles' Donovan McNabb.

Best insight
Notre Dame and Nebraska are at a crossroads but could head in different directions after reaching rock bottom. Nebraska is losing recruits who had orally committed, while Notre Dame continues to hold on to its recruits. Why? According to ESPN scouting expert Tom Luginbill, it's because Nebraska coach Bill Callahan seems certain to lose his job while  Charlie Weis' job at Notre Dame seems secure. And there's this:
"The bottom line — Notre Dame is still Notre Dame,'' Luginbill said. "They can walk into any high school at any given time and get a sit-down. They still carry that presence.''

Kevin Costner still loves baseball

By TOM JONES

Times Staff Writer

Kevin Costner is the Oscar-winning director and actor who has been in nearly 50 films, including Dances With Wolves, JFK, The Untouchables and No Way Out. But to sports fans, he is best known for playing Crash Davis in Bull Durham, Ray Kinsella in Field of Dreams and Billy Chapel in For Love of the Game.

Costner’s love affair with baseball has brought him to St. Petersburg, where today he will perform with his band, Modern West, at the Rays’ uniform unveiling in Straub Park.

On Wednesday, Costner took batting practice at Progress Energy Park, and even though it has been 20 years since Bull Durham, the 52-year-old Costner showed he can still rip ’em from both sides of the plate, spraying hard line drives all over the outfield.

After, he sat down for an interview in the dugout.

Why is it you decided to come down and help out the Rays?

Whenever someone asks me something, I usually take it pretty seriously. You get silly requests and ones you can’t do, but this was a big thing. A franchise seeking to change things and I wanted to be a part of that. … A change is not the worst thing in the world. You saw it with the Bucs when they changed their uniforms.

Have you seen the new uniforms?

I have.

What do you think?

I’d like to have one.

You could probably get one with your name on it.

I think we would all like to be able to pull on a uniform.

(Based on BP) you probably could. You can still hit.

I couldn’t get one airborne. … It felt good. A lot of line drives. But I sort of wanted to get one in the air to see where it would go, but I never did.

What is it with you and baseball? Where did that relationship all start?

I was born in the ’50s and loved baseball, like all kids. I remember putting nails in bats when they were broken and using electrical tape to make it all work. And you learn how to place the ball because you’re playing in the street and you can’t hit Old Man Smith’s car. And you couldn’t let a kid who didn’t know how to place it play because he would hit the car and you’d have to stop the game. So my life had these little itty-bitty scenarios. Or your dad saying, ‘‘When the street lights come on, you come home.’’ And when you’re playing as a kid, you just don’t think about it. All of a sudden, here comes your dad and you have to get around him and hurry home. So I always wanted to be a (major-leaguer) and I wasn’t good enough to be one.

But you loved it?

I collected Sports Illustrated and pictures. And it wasn’t just baseball. It was basketball and football. I grew up where you had one basketball and you wouldn’t play near rose bushes. There’s just a certain kind of street sense that you get when you have to make up your own games. … We always did that when I was kid.

Did you have a favorite team or player in any sport?

You take the team where you live. So the Dodgers were my team. (Don) Drysdale and (Sandy) Koufax, (Johnny) Podres and Maury Wills. Those were really nice players and they would find themselves in the World Series. And just like Field of Dreams, you end up liking a team that your dad is not rooting for and I started rooting for the Cardinals. And I saw Lou Brock take over the World Series and I thought he didn’t look like a home run hitter, he didn’t look like anything. It seemed like, though, that no matter when he came up, the other team was in trouble. And he delivered. And (Bob) Gibson was fantastic. And then I hated Detroit because they beat (the Cardinals).

And then you end up playing a guy who pitched for the Tigers in

For Love of the Game.

I know. But I’m just telling you what you hate when you’re a kid. … Your team loses and you’re sick for three or four days. I think about my USC Trojans, as a kid, losing to Ohio State in ’68 and I was sick to my stomach. I’m not that kind of a fan anymore, but as a kid I was.

When you became an actor, did you look for baseball movies or is that just how it evolved?

It evolved. I really just evolved. But I was really happy to be in those movies.

Which of the baseball movies is your favorite?

My favorite to play was Billy Chapel. Just to play a guy looking back at his life and to pitch in Yankee Stadium. And have Vin Scully call your game. And my parents were in that movie. So that movie had a lot of parallels to my life. But I think generally speaking, most people rally around Bull Durham or Field of Dreams. There are kind of two different camps. Interestingly enough, no one argues with the other. It’s not like, "I hate that other movie!’’ It’s a less-filling-tastes-great type of thing.

Watch video here of Costner taking batting practice.

(Pictured - Kevin Costner. Times photo - Willie J. Allen Jr. Click to enlarge.)

Shooting from the lip

Worst announcing
Picking on ABC's Brent Musburger is like fishing with dynamite. It's so easy. And, frankly, a lot of it is unfair because he isn't that bad of an announcer. Making fun of him has become a running joke for sports fans. But what he said Saturday night at the end of the Florida State-Boston College football game was more than a simple slip of the tongue. It was inexcusable and insulting. Referring to all the No. 2 teams in the country that had fallen, Musburger listed USC, LSU, California and … "Florida Southern.''

Florida Southern? It wasn't that he just had his words turned around, it was completely ignorant. No way that mistake can be made. Seriously, it's like calling LSU "Louisiana Tech'' or calling North Carolina "Western Carolina.'' Maybe USF doesn't have a long tradition and maybe it's just now becoming part of the national consciousness, but as soon as the words came out of his mouth, Musburger should've realized what a horrible mistake he made. And someone in the booth should have said something in his ear so he didn't come off looking like a total buffoon.

Most disturbing story
Outside the Lines had a chilling story on the epidemic of football concussions at the high school level. There is no way to determine exactly how many players suffer concussions. Estimates range wildly between 5 and 47 percent, according to the OTL story. But what is truly scary is how kids lie to get back on the field and concussion symptoms are ignored or not recognized by coaches, staff and, worst of all, parents. One player was playing with a 20-year-old helmet and suffered permanent brain damage because of a concussion. And yet there were reports of parents and coaches encouraging their kids to "get back in there.''

"What's more important?'' Kira Au, a certified athletic trainer told OTL. "Saving your kid's mental health and their brain? Or taking care of their position on the team?'' All parents with kids who play or want to play youth football need to find this piece and watch. And maybe they'll think twice about letting their kids play at all.

Classiest gesture
The season of embarrassment continued for Notre Dame on the Saturday as the Irish lost to Navy for the first time since Roger Staubach was a junior Midshipman in 1963. Yet, Charlie Weis and his Irish stood respectfully in front of the Navy fans while they sang their alma mater. Weis might be doing a lousy job of running the program on the field, but he still is showing grace and class.

Speaking of Notre Dame
Notre Dame's fall still is hard to fathom. How does a program drop this fast?

Don’t give me that Notre Dame is hamstrung by tough entrance requirements. That has always been the case and the Irish have always ended up with more than their share of blue-chip recruits.
Don't give me that the schedule is too tough. They've played only three teams that are currently ranked and only one (a still overrated Boston College at No. 8) is in the Top 10.
Don't give me bad luck. Sure, it lost in triple OT Saturday, but check out the margins of defeat in the other games: 30, 21, 38, 17, 14, 13, and 38 points. So what gives?

Worst team
As bad as things are going for Notre Dame, they might even be worse for Nebraska. The Cornhuskers are 4-6 after Kansas hung a 76 on them Saturday. On ESPN's Sports Reporters, Stephen A. Smith said:
"(The university) should've had security outside the doors of (coach) Bill Callahan's, banning him from his own office and sending him home in a cab. That was just a disgraceful performance.''

Callahan almost certainly is going to be fired and some think the sooner the better. "It would be better to keep the recruits from going by making the move now,'' CBS college football analyst Spencer Tillman said.

Most interesting story
ESPN's College GameDay did a neat story about four brothers — a freshman, sophomore, junior and senior — who are playing football for the same school: Division III Linfield College in Oregon. It's believed to be the first time four brothers have played on the same college team at the same time. Now the really cool part? They're the grandsons of Meadowlark Lemon, the legendary showman of the Harlem Globetrotters.

Funniest line
Fox NFL insider (and follicly-challenged) Jay Glazer, talking about the chances of the Titans' Pacman Jones getting reinstated this season: "He’s got about as much chance as I have to regrow hair, which is none.''

Craziest line
Our weekly contribution from ABC/ESPN NASCAR analyst, Dr. Jerry Punch. Talking about the obstacles Carl Edwards had to overcome trying to clinch the NASCAR Busch Series title in Saturday's event at Texas, Punch said, "When you're chasing a championship, crickets become dinosaurs.''

I'm not 100 percent sure what that means, but I liked it.

Classiest move
New York Islanders coach Ted Nolan did a cool thing Saturday by inviting Hall of Famer Al Arbour back to coach one day to reach 1,500. And you know, the Islanders could've done it on a weeknight against some lousy team to draw a crowd, but instead made the night truly about Arbour by having him return on a Saturday night against Sidney Crosby and the Penguins, one of the marquee teams in the hockey.

Leftover of the week
Analysts are still going back and forth about Georgia's celebration on its first touchdown against the Gators two weeks ago. Some say Mark Richt didn't do anything wrong by encouraging his team to get a celebration penalty. Others still have a problem with it, even after Richt apologized. But CBS analyst Tony Barnhart put it best. No matter which side you come down on, Barnhart said, "I tell you what it did do: It threw a big old bucket of fuel on the Florida-Georgia game next year.''

Biggest warning
Geez, Ohio State is looking more impressive each week, even better than last year's team. The past two weeks, the Buckeyes have beaten two good teams — Penn State on the road and Wisconsin. But not everyone is ready to put Ohio State in the national title game.

CBS college football analyst Tony Barnhart said, "Don't put Ohio State in too quick. The best time to play Ohio State is the week before they play Michigan. They play Illinois (Saturday). Illinois has got a lot of athletes. I'm telling you Illinois, then Michigan. Ohio State is not in New Orleans just yet.''

And consider this: three of the past eight seasons, Ohio State has lost the week before the Michigan game and two of those losses came against Illinois.

Dumbest move
USF didn't deserve to win Saturday against Cincinnati. No team that commits eight turnovers on a beautiful day ever can complain about losing. But what in the heck was Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly thinking by running a fake field goal to give the Bulls the ball near midfield for the final drive? That's the kind of play that if it ends up burning you — and it nearly burned Kelly — you end up with students putting a "For Sale'' sign on your front lawn.

Biggest insult
After the sexual harassment case involving the Knicks, Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan, on ESPN's Sports Reporters, said, "With (chairman James) Dolan and (president/coach Isiah) Thomas as the faces of the organization, the Knicks are an ongoing embarrassment to the NBA, the city of New York and the world of sport in general.''

Final thought
Maybe it wasn't the worst thing in the world for the Colts to lose the Patriots on Sunday. Yes, it means New England might have just earned a homefield matchup against the Colts in the AFC Championship Game, but the Pats just proved they can beat the Colts under perfect weather conditions. Maybe the Colts, who have a better running game than New England, would have a better shot winning on a cold and/or snowy field in January.

Greatest college plays ever

Last week, Trinity University, a Division III football team from San Antonio, Tex., pulled off what might have been the greatest play in the history of college football. With two seconds left and needing a touchdown to win, Trinity scored on a 60-yard touchdown that featured 15 laterals to beat Millsaps College. It got me thinking about the best college plays ever. Now, certainly back in the days of Bronko Nagurski and Knute Rockne, there were probably plays that featured tons of laterals, broken tackles and incredible catches. But we’re sticking with some of the more familiar plays of recent memory.

1. The Play
Cal vs. Stanford, Nov. 20, 1982
Stanford's John Elway leads the Cardinal to what appeared to be a winning field goal with four seconds left. But on the ensuing kickoff, Cal pulled off five laterals. Cal's Kevin Moen then charged into the end zone, weaving his way not only throw the Cardinal kickoff team, but the Stanford band. Moen crashed into a trombone player for the winning score. Click here to see video.

2. Hail Flutie
Boston College vs. Miami, Nov. 23, 1984
Trailing 45-41 at the Orange Bowl, Boston College's diminutive quarterback Doug Flutie chucked the ball more than 60 yards in the air (the play officially was 48 yards) and it landed in the arms of Gerard Phelan as time expired. The play gave the Eagles the victory and probably won Flutie the Heisman Trophy. Click here to see video.

3. Bluegrass Miracle
LSU vs. Kentucky, Nov. 9, 2002
Leading LSU 30-27 with two seconds left, Kentucky players doused coach Guy Morriss with Gatorade. Uh, that was premature. From their own 18, LSU scored when QB Marcus Randall threw the ball as far as he could. He didn't even come close to reaching the end zone, but LSU's Devery Henderson caught a deflected pass at the 15 and raced into the end zone even as Kentucky fans were storming the field to rip down the goalposts. Click here to see video.

4. Miracle at Michigan
Colorado vs. Michigan, Sept. 24, 1994
Who said Kordell Stewart couldn't throw? The Colorado quarterback, with his team trailing by five, whipped a pass that travelled 73 yards in the air, tipped off the hands of Michigan defender and into the hands of diving Colorado receiver Michael Westbrook. The play stunned the crowd at Michigan’s Big House and gave the Buffaloes a 27-26 victory. Click here to see video.

5. The Run
Nebraska vs. Florida, Jan. 2, 1996
Bradenton's Tommie Frazier ripped off one of the great runs in college history and put the exclamation point on Nebraska's embarrassing 62-24 rout of Florida in the Fiesta Bowl. The quarterback held the ball on the option, broke a tackle and then was surrounded by four Gators. Somehow he broke all four tackles and raced 75 yards for a touchdown. Click here to see video.

6. Run Lindsay Run
Georgia vs. Florida, Nov. 8, 1980
Trailing 21-20 with 1:31 left, Georgia was at its own 7. Quarterback Buck Belue scrambled out of the pocket and hit wide receiver Lindsay Scott for what appeared to be a first down. Scott made it more than a first down. He caught the ball in the middle of the field, worked his way to the sideline and then raced home for a 93-yard TD as legendary Georgia radio announcer Larry Munson yelled, "Run Lindsay run!'' Click here to see video.

7. Nebraska's leg up
Nebraska vs. Missouri , Nov. 8, 1997
Down 38-31 to Missouri in what would have been a huge upset, Nebraska had the ball at the Missouri 12 with 12 seconds left. Quarterback Scott Frost threw the ball into the end zone, where it was deflected by a Missouri defender and then accidently kicked into the air. The ball landed in the hands of Nebraska receiver Matt Davison with no time left. Nebraska eventually won in overtime. Click here to see video.

8. Hook-and-lateral
Boise State vs. Oklahoma, Jan. 1, 2007
Little Boise State pulled out one football's great gadget plays in a shocking upset of Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. Facing a fourth-and-18 from the 50, quarterback Jared Zabransky threw a pass to Drisan James, who then pitched it to streaking teammate Jarard Rabb, who raced another 35 yards for a touchdown. Boise State won in OT using another trick play — the Statue of Liberty. Click here to see video.

9. Young's dash
Texas vs. USC, Jan. 4, 2006
Not necessarily a spectacular play, but it captured the extraordinary season by Texas quarterback Vince Young. Down by three with 19 seconds left, Young scrambled untouched in the end zone for an 8-yard TD to give the Longhorns a 41-38 victory over Southern Cal and the national title. Click here to see video.

10. Fumble-rooskie
Nebraska vs. Miami, Jan. 2, 1984
In the game for the national title, Nebraska pulled off one of the great trick plays when quarterback Turner Gill took the snap and set it on the ground. Guard Dean Steinkuhler then picked it up and rumbled 19 yards for the touchdown. (Note: the "fumble-rooskie'' is now illegal.) Miami ended up winning 31-30 when Nebraska’s two-point conversion at the end of the game failed. I couldn't find this video, but click here to catch another glimpse of Trinity's incredible play.