Whoa, a HUGE surprise on Monday Night Football.  These match-ups are set before the season, so both the NFL and ESPN have no idea how good or bad the teams will actually be when they square off on Monday Night.  Last night, it was the Patriots (who ESPN assumed would have Tom Brady and their explosive offense) against the Denver Broncos.  Going into the game, the Pats were written off for dead, given that they played horrendous last week, and Matt Cassel didn’t seem fit to be a starting quarterback.  (After all, before starting for the Patriots, he hadn’t started a game since High School).  Plus, Jay Cutler and the surging Broncos would surely walk all over these guys, right?  Dead… wrong.  New England looked like, well, New England.  Matt Cassel threw for 185 yards and 3 touchdowns (low yardage, but Brady TD numbers), Randy Moss hauled in two touchdowns, and the veteran Running Back, Sammy Morris, ran for a 138 yards and a score.  Meanwhile, Denver looked awful, turning the ball over 5 times and only putting up 1 TD.  This game was just more proof ‘Why We Play The Games’.  You just never know in the NFL.  New England 41, Denver 7.

Elsewhere in the NFL — more coach firings.  Yep, the latest to go — 49ers coach, Mike Nolan.  The Niners got off to a hot start this season, and looked like an actual playoff contender, but their last 3 games have been abysmal.  They look like they’re heading to another losing, forgettable season, where the fans talk themselves into ‘next year’ yet again.  But, perhaps new head coach, Mike Singletary, will turn things around.  You might remember Singletary from the famous Chicago Bears 85 team.  He was the guy with the scary, shifty eyes.

Now, the question remains — is Cowboys coach, Wade Phillips the next to go?  Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has very little tolerance for losing, and that’s exactly what Wade Phillips is doing right now.

BASEBALL

Finally, some bad news for FOX and Major League Baseball.  While avid baseball fans might be excited about a fantastic showdown between the Phillies and Devil Rays, most of the country probably won’t watch.  Essentially, unless the Mets, Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Cubs or possibly the Braves are involved (all BIG market teams with fan bases all over the country), the Series should expect low ratings.  Baseball just isn’t as ‘must-watch’ as it used to be a few decades ago.  Football is the new American past time, and baseball has taken a distant back seat.  Ratings experts are predicting this could be the lowest rated World Series ever.  Philly has very little fans outside PA, and most people probably don’t even know that Tampa Bay has a baseball team.  However, it’s still going to be a great World Series.  Isn’t that enough to tune in?

BASEBALL

The World Series match-up is SET!  Last night was the deciding game 7 between the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Devil Rays, with the home field advantage favoring Tampa, but the momentum in Boston’s corner.  Dustin Pedroia got Boston off on the right foot, smacking a homer in the 1st inning, and it appeared that Boston had no intention of losing.  But then it was all D-Rays.  Rocco Baldelli hit a clutch single in the 5th to bring in an RBI, and in the 7th Willy Aybar crushed a homer to left to bring the lead to 3-1.  In the 8th, however, with the bases loaded, the Bo-Sox had a chance to regain the lead, and it was the mighty JD Drew at the plate… and rookie pitcher David Price on the mound.  Price — STRUCK… HIM… OUT!  The Rays felt the energy, and then the game was over.  It’ll be the Philadelphia Phillies v. the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in this year’s World Series.  Tampa Bay 3, Red Sox 1.

FOOTBALL

In football, some crazy action as well.  The power went out in Buffalo, as some Mylar balloons got caught in a transformer.  But that wouldn’t stop Trent Edwards and the Bills from toppling the Chargers.  Edwards, coming back from a concussion, completed 25 of 30 passes for 261 yards and a touchdown.  Yes, the Bills are 5-1, and in FIRST PLACE in the once Patriots dominated AFC East.  Buffalo 23, San Diego 14.

The Tennessee Titans remain undefeated, absolutely destroying the horrendous Kansas City Chiefs.  Both of their star running-backs, LenDale White and Chris Johnson, had monster days on the ground.  Johnson ran for 168 yards and a TD, while White rushed for 149 yards and 3 TDs.  Combined with their dominant defense, the Titans look unbeatable right now.  And yes, their quarterback is that guy you remember… Kerry Collins.  Tennessee 34, Kansas City 10.

And in the shocker special of the day, the terrible and disorganized St. Louis Rams destroyed the Dallas Cowboys.  There was a lot of confusion in Dallas as to who would start at quarterback.  They chose 40 year-old Brad Johnson, and boy was that a mistake.  He threw 3 picks in the game, and their offense looked totally discombobulated.  Meanwhile, Rams star RB, Stephen Jackson, rushed for 160 yards and 3 TD.  The Cowboys got off to a great start this season, but have lost their last two games to two very beatable teams.  What looked like a potential Super Bowl WINNER at the beginning of the season, now looks like a harmless Wild Card team.

BASEBALL

It was Game 6 of the ALCS, and the Devil Rays were trying hard to put Thursday’s choke-job out of their head.  They would host the game, and they had the best home record in the entire league.  But, that wouldn’t matter, as the Bo-Sox simply had all the momentum.  B.J. Upton got things started for the D-Rays, smacking a home run in the first to take the lead.  But then, Kevin Youkilis tied it right up with a home run for Boston.  Then, in the 6th inning, Jason Varitek hit a clutch home run to put the Red Sox up one.  This was HUGE for Varitek, as he has been struggling lately.  His key resurgence energized the team.  And that run kept them ahead the rest of the game, and forced a shocking Game 7 TONIGHT!  It’s a must watch.  Boston 4, Tampa Bay 2.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

The much anticipated college football match up was Texas and Missouri.  But it was anything but close, with Texas crushing the Missouri Tigers 51-36.  Heisman candidate Chase Daniel threw for an impressive 318 yards and 2 touchdowns, but he was outplayed by the Longhorns Colt McCoy, who threw for 337 yards and 2 Touchdowns.  Plus, he had two rushing touchdowns.  He even surpassed the school record for most touchdown passes in University of Texas history (previously held by Vince Young).  The Longhorns will maintain the #1 spot, and try to remain unbeaten the rest of the season.  Texas 51, Missouri 36.

But they better watch their back, as the #2 and #3 teams in the nation stayed unbeaten as well.  The # 2 Alabama Crimson Tide eeked out a victory over Ole Miss 24-20, and the #3 Penn State Nittany Lions clobbered the pathetic Michigan Wolverines 46-17.  What happened to Michigan?  These guys used to consistently be a Top 10 team every year.  Now, they’re not only getting crushed, they’re getting beat by small schools at home.

NFL

Finally, the back and forth of ‘who’s gonna start for the Cowboys’ on Sunday has been agonizing for fantasy football fanatics.  Sure, they picked up Brad Johnson to take hold of the explosive Dallas offense, but now the report is that Tony Romo will be ‘active’ for the game.  What does that mean?!  If Johnson throws an interception, does Romo come in right away and destroy fantasy owners who started Brad Johnson?   So who should YOU start?  Bottom line — if you’re deciding between the two, you’re best off just picking another quarterback for the week, as neither is likely to put up good fantasy numbers.  Some options include the Bills Trent Edwards, the Panthers Jake Delhomme, Cleveland’s Derek Anderson, or even Miami’s Chad Pennington (playing kinda good actually)  They should be available for a last minute pick-up in your league.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

It’s that time of the week again — college football time.  This week’s featured match-up:  #1 Texas v. #11 Missouri.  Here’s why this game is nuts.  Texas is new to the #1 seat, and now are playing protector.  However, just last week, Missouri was vying for the same throne, but a poor performance against Oklahoma State prevented them from moving up the ladder, and they fell to #11.  Usually teams that lose their first game of the season are mentally scared because they know their National Championship hopes have taken a lashing.  But now Missouri gets a crack against the #1 seed, and if they win, they still have a good case at the end of the season to play in the BIG GAME.

Note:  Both of these teams are extremely talented.  Texas is led by QB Colt McCoy (who is the darling of Texas right now), but Missouri has the strong arm of arguably the best QB in the nation — Chase Daniel.  Daniel is on a Heisman campaign and is chomping at the bit for this Nationally Televised Game.  An opportunity to topple the #1 seed is what every college football program lives for (in addition to actually BEING the #1 seed).

Elsewhere in college football, Clemson’s head coach, Tommy Bowden, was fired yesterday because of Clemson’s average 3-3 start.  Clemson was expected to make waves before the season, but have been nothing special and viewed as ‘just another game’ on their opponents schedules.  Furthermore, to make this into a comical situation, Tommy’s brother and Auburn’s head coach, Terry Bowden, said he didn’t feel sorry for his brother whatsoever.  On Yahoo.com, he stated, “So, did Tommy Bowden deserve what happened to him Monday? Unfortunately, yes, he deserved it because he, of all people, knew what to expect when he got into this business. We grew up in it.”  You gotta admire brotherly love.

And the QB controversy in Dallas continues.  Earlier this week, it was reported that Tony Romo would be out for a month with a broken pinkie.  Brad Johnson, the 40-year-old QB, and former Super Bowl winner, would step in.  However, 2 days later, Romo said he thought he could play through the injury.  Now in Dallas, Romo has been practicing one day, then sitting out the next.  The Dallas community has no idea who will start at QB on Sunday against the Rams.  Jerry Jones, the Cowboys owner, fears that Romo could get hurt and miss an extended period of time.  But, from a coach’s perspective, having Romo at the helm gives them a much better chance of winning the game — if, in fact, he CAN play.  We’ll have to wait and see how this drama unfolds, but it could be a game-time call. (This, of course, is so frustrating for Fantasy Owners who have Romo…fortunately I don’t have him, but I feel for those who do.)

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Finally, last night was Midnight Madness, when all the college basketball programs take the court at midnight to have their first practice of the season in front of packed stadiums.  It’s a campus cultural event that you simply can not miss.  And you have to imagine that in Lawrence, Kansas, home of the Kansas Jayhawks, they must have gone absolutely insane last night when the first ball bounced on the Allen Field House court.  Can they repeat?  Well, at least everyone in that stadium last night thinks they can.

Baseball

One word:  WOW!  It was Game 5 of the ALCS Championship Series, and it looked like the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, having all the momentum coming into the game, were going to close it out.  Nothing changed the fans minds through 7 innings, as the D-Rays got up to a 7-1 lead.  But then… things changed.  It all started with a 3-run homer from Red Sox slugger, David Ortiz.  Then — it was JD Drew, knocking a 2-run homer to make it a 1 run game.  However, Coco Crisp took care of that, knocking in a clutch RBI to tie the game.  It was mayhem in Fenway.  Finally, in the 9th inning, it was JD Drew AGAIN, hitting a beautiful single to deep right to bring in the winning run.  Wow — when a team’s season is on the brink, they just pull it together.  That’s exactly what Boston did last night, and it was the largest post-season come back in 79 YEARS!  Truly crazy.  Now, the Red Sox have all the momentum going into Game 6.  Stay tuned.  Boston 8, Tampa Bay 7.

And, some more interesting baseball news — there is currently a pending lawsuit from Barry Bonds alleging that all the teams conspired not to sign him.  Almost like a pact.  This was most certainly in response to all the allegations against Bonds for performance-enhancing drugs, and this could be seen as a ‘lets just move on and forget about him’ attitude from Major League Baseball.  But, unfortunately… that’s illegal.  Under the collective bargaining agreement, (signed by all teams), it states “Players shall not act in concert with other players and clubs shall not act in concert with other clubs.” We’ll have to see how this all plays out, but it’s quite an interesting case, as there were definitely fans out there wondering why their favorite teams wouldn’t sign a monster hitter like Barry Bonds for the playoffs.  Now it’s starting to make a little sense.

College Football

In college football, a key Thursday night game featured the surging and undefeated BYU Cougars against TCU (LaDainian Tomlinson’s alma mater).  BYU had National Championship dreams in their eyes, but those were quickly washed away as TCU trounced BYU 32-7.  Furthermore, this snapped BYU’s 16-game winning streak (stretching back to last season), that was currently the longest in the nation.  To sum it up — bad night for BYU.

Baseball

Consider the NLCS… OVER!  This thing was all Phillly all the time, and the Phillies finished off the LA Dodgers last night.  The Phillies’ Jimmy Rollins set the tone of the evening smacking a lead-off home run.  (And when the first batter hits a home-run, you know you’re in for a long night).  On the mound, Philadelphia’s Cole Hamels pitched his 3rd gem of the post-season.  This guy is for real.  Now, the Phillies advance to the World Series and will take on either the Tampa Bay Devil Rays or the Boston Red Sox.  Hint:  It’ll probably be the Devil Rays.  They’re killing the Bo-Sox.  But… you never know.  Philadelphia 5, Los Angeles 1.

Thursday night, it’s Game 5 of the ALCS, with the Devil Rays leading the series 3-1.  It’ll be Dice-K pitching for Boston, and Scott Kazmir for the Rays.  We could have our World Series match-up set tonight.

NBA

An article was released today featuring the owner of of a Greece professional team.  His name is Panayiotis Angelopoulos, and he’s a billionaire who owns Greece’s best team, Olympiacos.  Earlier this year, he signed Atlanta Hawks 6th man, Josh Childress, to a European contract.  His plan is to attract top talent and turn his team into the most powerful basketball team in Europe.  Now, however, he’s eyeing even bigger stars.  Like… Kobe Bryant.  He would love to bring big-name stars to the European market, and Josh Childress set a strange precedent signing with him.  Basically, Childress voluntarily chose a European team OVER the NBA.  Sure, many players are forced into playing in foreign markets, but to voluntarily opt to go there.  That’s something to keep an eye on.  Would Kobe consider leaving the NBA for $80 million (a number thrown out there by Angelopoulos).  Who knows?

NFL

A source reports that Cowboys QB, Tony Romo wants to play through his pinkie injury.  He said he could be ready to play against the Rams on Sunday.  However, the Cowboys organization probably won’t take this risk, for they want to ensure that he’s ready for the final stretch of the season.  If he gets hit again, he could be out for the year.  But you have to admire Romo’s determination.

Football

Today was trade deadline day in the NFL — also known as put-up or shut-up teams.  Do you think your team is good enough as is, or could it use just a little bit of help.  Here were some notable transactions and signings.

Roy Williams, the Detroit Lions star Wide Receiver for the past 3 seasons, is heading to (drum roll please)… the Dallas Cowboys.  There was speculation that he might join the Tennessee Titans, and give them a much needed target in their passing attack.  But… it was not meant to be.  Williams will join the explosive Dallas passing game, which is already thriving with Terrell Owens, Patrick Crayton, and Miles Austin (who has a touchdown pass in each of his last 3 games).  Now, with Williams, they almost look unstoppable.  Except… they don’t have their captain Tony Romo to run the ship.  He’s out for a full month with a pinkie injury, and now 40-year old veteran Brad Johnson takes the reigns.  But with that offensive machine, how can anybody fail?

Furthermore,  you have to assume that the Lions are satisfied with their passing attack.  They have ‘Megatron’ (Calvin Johnson), but he suffered a concussion last week.  Plus, their veteran quarterback, Jon Kitna, was ruled ‘out  for the season’ yesterday.  He’s replaced by 4th year QB, Dan Orlovsky who has not…looked…good.  It could be a very ugly rest of the year for Detroit.

And the Washington Redskins made a big free-agent signing, inking former Seahawks uber-star RB, Shawn Alexander, to a one year contract.  Now, if the Redskins leading rusher, Clinton Portis, goes down — they have a former superstar to back him up.  Things are looking up for the Redskins right now, given that the mighty NFC East looked breakable on Sunday (with Dallas losing to Arizona, and the previously undefeated NY Giants losing to Cleveland).  However, the Redskins did lose to the win less Rams on Sunday, so maybe they need more help than just Shawn Alexander.

And if you are one for warm and fuzzies, here’s one for YOU.  Yesterday, Tony Romo received a ‘Get-Better-Soon’ phone call from none other than the legend… Brett Favre.  Favre told Romo to take it easy on the finger, and not try to force it.  Favre said that he knows Romo is one of the Top 5 players in the league, and would play through the pain if he could.  He knows that the best thing for the Cowboys is to rest their captain QB, and keep their eyes set on the top prize:  The Super Bowl.

FOOTBALL

There were some crazy close games in the NFL yesterday.  Take a look:

1) In Atlanta, it was the revived Falcons against, um… the revived Bears.  Both teams were written off at the beginning of the season, but in the first 5 weeks of the season, both have pleaded their case to be taken seriously.  And for Atlanta, this nationally televised game was their chance to prove themselves to all sports fans.  Atlanta was on top early, but then it became a back and forth battle until the 4th quarter.  Atlanta led 19-10, and it looked like they had the game under control, even stopping the Bears on 4th down on the one yard line.  But in the last four minutes, the Bears went on a surge, and their QB, Kyle Orton, hit Rasheed Davis in the corner of the end zone in the last 30 seconds to put the Bears up 20-19.  Everyone thought it was over, but in the last 22 seconds, Falcons rookie QB, Matt Ryan, hit Michael Jenkins on a slant pass and with only two seconds left the Falcons were in field goal position.  Then, their kicker Jason Elam, who shanked a key field goal earlier, went from goat to hero as he booted the winning field goal at the last second.  Folks… the Falcons are for real.  Atlanta 22, Chicago 20.

2) In Arizona, it was a chance for the surging Cardinals to show THEY were for real against the mighty Dallas Cowboys.  It was a low scoring affair for a while, but then the Cardinals pulled ahead 24-14.  But that wouldn’t be enough, as the incredible Tony Romo hit Marion Barber on a dump pass, who then ran for a 70 yard touchdown.  Then, the boys were able to stop the Cardinals, and at the end of the game, Cowboys kicker Nick Folk crushed a 52-yard field goal to tie the game at 24 and send it to overtime.  Dallas won the toss, but couldn’t do anything.  They were forced to punt, but… IT WAS BLOCKED by Arizona, and recovered for a touchdown.  Game… over.  Note:  From this point forward, the Arizona Cardinals are to be taken VERY seriously.  Arizona 30, Dallas 24.

3) And in Houston, the Texans and Dolphins had a wild game with numerous lead changes.  In the 4th quarter, with 1:45 remaining, Dolphins RB Ronnie Brown ran it in for a 6 yard touchdown to put the Dolphins up 28-23.  Houston needed to run the field to win the game.  They got all the way down to the 3-yard line with only 3 seconds on the clock, and a field goal wouldn’t be enough.  So, in the last play of the game, Texans Quarterback Matt Schaub fooled the Miami defense, and rushed for a touchdown himself to win the game.  Houston is 1-4 right now, but they have an explosive offense and should not be ruled out of the playoffs.  Houston 29, Miami 28.

Baseball

Finally, in baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers took on the red-hot Philadelphia Phillies in Game 3 of the NLCS.  But this time, it was the Dodgers that looked unbeatable.  They shalacked Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer, and the Dodgers Blake DeWitt had a clutch hit to drive in three runs.  But the story of the game was the contentious pitching duel.  Both teams felt certain pitches were being intentionally thrown at their head, especially Philly’s Shane Victorino, who threw a huge fit when a pitch came straight at his head.   The benches even emptied once.  Now this is more than just a baseball series.  It’s a mini-rivalry.  They do NOT like each other.  The next two games are in Los Angeles, and could go either way.  You NEED to watch the remainder of this series.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Whoa, a HUGE day in college football:

First off, we will definitely have a new #1 team come Monday morning.  The current #1, Oklahoma, had their annual Red River Showdown with Texas.  Texas has beaten Oklahoma three of the last four years (theoretically, a lot of the same players were around), but this year Oklahoma looks amazing, especially behind their Heisman candidate, Sam Bradford.  Bradford threw for 5 Touchdown passes in the game, but it just wasn’t enough.  Texas looked nearly perfect.  They stalled a little in the first half, but turned it on in the second, edging the Oklahoma Sooners 45-35.  It’s mayhem in Austin tonight for sure.

So… with the Sooners out of the picture, #1 was up for grabs in “Important Game #2” — LSU v. Florida.  If LSU won, they would most likely secure the top spot.  But… that was far from what happened.  Florida had no interest in that result.  Florida’s quarterback and Former Heisman Trophy Winner, Tim Tebow, was dominant in the game — throwing for 210 yards, two TDs, and one rushing TD.  They absolutely crushed LSU, 51-21 Ladies and gentleman, #11 Florida finally looked like the powerhouse team everyone expected this season, making LSU look like just another game on the road to winning this whole thing.

Therefore, if LSU didn’t win, the pole position would surely belong to the hot Missouri Tigers.  All they needed to do was knock off the #17 Oklahoma State Cowboys.  The Cowboys looked good this season, but they shouldn’t be a match for Missouri’s star QB Chase Daniel, right?  Wrong.  The Cowboys took control of this game, and upset the Missouri Tigers 28-23.

Two teams had the shot to sit in the throne (LSU and Missouri), and both blew it.  So, come Monday, #1 will either belong to the re-born Texas Longhorns or the Alabama Crimson Tide (who had the week off).  Either way, this college football is still completely unpredictable, and don’t count out the hot teams from the beginning of the season (Georgia, USC, & Ohio State).

BASKETBALL

And finally, in some basketball news, a lesson to all NBA hopefuls.  If you work hard, practice everyday, and somehow make it into the NBA and earn that big paycheck, don’t, we repeat DON’T buy a moped.  Golden State Warrior star guard, Monta Ellis breached his lucrative $66 million dollar contract by spraining his ankle in a moped accident.  His contract prohibits him from pursuing dangerous activities as such, and his violation cost him a 30-game suspension and roughly $3 million in fines.  We all could use a spare $3 million dollars, and if somebody told you all you had to do to keep the money was not ride a moped, you would adhere, right?  But I guess that’s just us regular folk.