If you come at me, I'll come right back at you...

ND/Navy: Julius is the man. Does someone want to tell this to the coaches? Hey, a win's a win. Navy's always played us tough, so I have no problem with this one going down to the wire. Ellen loves DJ, and I'm sure quite a few more people do too after that one. I had full faith in DJ, he's done a decent job as Setta's backup. Most of his FG misses (if not all) have been from 40+. He shanks a punt or so, but most are over 35 yards. That's not bad for a walk on, is it? Quinn finally got to play a soft team, and he proved that he'll be a fine QB in the future. Rhema proved that not only is he a playmaker, but he'll be a good replacement for Omar as a go-to-guy. Again proving that the future is bright, Tuck went wild with 14 tackles. Garron Bible also stepped it up. After blowing his assignment on the long TD run, he was "right place, right time" for several key stops. Our future is safe, but this year isn't over just yet.
Miami/Tennessee: I think I'm a little late to join the ragging on Winslow (although it wouldn't be the first time here), I did have this one thought I'd like to pass along: I'd pay money to watch Jessica Lynch kick Kellen Winslow squar in the nyuts. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see this game because it was on the same time as...
tOSU/MSU: Maurice Clarett is in trouble because he's failing African American Studies and Physical Education. Let's think about that... (on the other hand, I'm sure these classes are much tougher than Music Appreciation, AIDS Awareness, and Coaching Golf)
BGSU/MiamiU: 33-10. Wow, that MAC is WIDE open.
TCU/Louisville: No, TCU does not belong in a BCS bowl, their SOS is terrible and they'd get killed. Then again, the bowls are all about ratings, and Cronk's sister would definitely help...
Oklahoma/TAMU: I didn't see this one, so unlike the certain TV pundits, I won't draw conclusions on the final score.
FSU/Clemson: The best part of the game had to be seeing a very pro-FSU Mrs. Bowden very upset that "we" lost to her son's team.

Obscure College Scores:
IUP 27, Slippery Rock 14. IUP is now 5-1 in the PSAC West and 9-1 overall.
CUP 3, Edinboro 34. CUP drops to 2-3 in their conference and 4-6 overall.

NFL:
Browns/Chiefs: Stop Dante Hall? Check. Stop Priest Holmes? Check. Stop Trent Green? Dah. Cleveland is struggling this year, and those "Cleveland fans should be the ones whining about a championship" graphics are getting a little old. Solution? Cut Kevin Johnson, your most consistent receiver since the "new" Browns came about. He just couldn't get along with the new coaching staff. I was actually shocked that he responded to last week's benching by pulling out a stat sheet and reciting his numbers to the press. Not the best reaction, KJ. Between him and Willie Green, it's a good idea I don't buy jerseys. Well, maybe I'll see a "FAINE 50" some day, but the fans around here don't seem to notice his heart and hustle.
NYG/Atlanta: Um, maybe Ellen will let me skip this one this week...
San Diego/Minnesota: Doug Flutie. I'm convinced now (and I'm probably wrong again) that defenses over-prepare for an opposing QB. This game is an example, as is every game Kelly Holcomb has played in. As a backup, he's a savior, but as a starter, he just can't win.
Philadelphia/Green Bay: I went to bed around halftime, so I guess I missed about all of this one. I did think I heard one player (not the "French" Darren Sharperrrr) state his college as "You Already Know." It would've been better to go with, "Oh you didn't know?"

Cavs Update:
The first game I got to see was the home opener. Five minutes into the game, I said to myself, "yep, these are still the Cavs."
Flash forward to Friday night vs the Pacers. Cavs go up 2 with 26 seconds left; Pacers call a timeout. I turn to my buddy Matt and say, "watch either Darius Miles or Ricky Davis pick up the 'and 1' foul." Sure enough, Miles blows coverage as his man drives the lane, Davis fouls him trying to pick him up, and the Cavs lose 91-90.
LeBron has played better than I expected so far - 16.9 ppg, 7.3 rpg, and 6.3 apg. I expected about 8 ppg with the other numbers close to where they are now. Keep it up; it looks like the team is starting to get it together for some wins.
One last thought: I was watching the Cavs/Knicks game last night. I won't go into the outcome for Dave and Ellen's sake, but I did have this one thought. Charlie Ward of FSU (2 National Titles! 2 Heisman Trophy Winners!) has been on the Knicks forever and has put up mediocre to ok numbers. Is it possible to be a journeyman if you've only played for one team your entire life?

I don't want to create an "Attack Jason Lloyd" segment (Lloyd being the tOSU kiss-up in the local paper), but today's article deserved a mention. Bitter about the possibility of tOSU being shut out of the title game and a chance to "defend their national championship," Lloyd proceeds to create a rather nice "why a playoff is necessary" argument. (to quote Jim Mora, "Playoffs?! You want to talk about the playoffs?!") He suggests an 8 team playoff, with the 5 major conference winners and 3 at larges, including at least one from a non-BCS conference. THe quarterfinals would be the Cotton, Citrus, and Gator (or other similar ones). The 4 BCS bowls would rotate, so one would be the title game, two would be the semis, and one would be a quarterfinal. He says that yes, the bowls would no longer be week-long events, but in the end it would be worth it. No. Bowls are bowls because they are week-long events. The communities and their people look forward to the parades, and the events, and the hospital visits (that is, teams visiting the sick, not meaning income from injured players). You can't take that away or the bowls would just be boring. That, and you can't put that much more pressure on the young players' bodies. There's also the "we deserved" argument. Look - if you're going to have arguments over which two teams make the title game, you're also going to have arguments over which 8 or 3 or however many teams make the playoffs. Playoffs don't address that problem. The BCS isn't perfect, but with SOS and other checks and balances, it is a good system.

We'll end with baseball. Angel Berroa picks up AL ROY honors, and also wins the Hines Ward Memorial "Sports Pundits Sound Smart by Talking About Me" award. Berroa had decent numbers, but there's no way he beats out the competition. Also, there are certain people grumbling about the two sportswriters who left Matsui off their ballots. Hey, if you don't want to vote for a guy, there's nothing against that. And if they disagree with his rookie status, so what? It's their choice. If you want to raise a stink, why not blast everyone for not voting for Jody Gerut? His stats were better than Berroa's too. My thoughts:
1. Gerut, Cleveland OF. The complete package. Meant more to his team than Matsui. He just didn't get any press.
2. Matsui. Yeah, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for his stats, but only to a certain extent. There is the argument that the award is named after Jackie Robinson, and he was in a similar situation to Matsui (playing in a league arguably as competitive as the majors first), but I still don't totally agree. As an aside, I also think that the Negro Leagues were as good as, if not better than, the majors, but I don't think the Japanese leagues are quite there. Once again, they can prove me wrong.
3. Mark Teixeira, Texas IF. He had the numbers, and the press. I'm surprised he came in 5th.
4. Rocco Baldelli, Tampa Bay OF. He had all the hype coming into this season, and put up good numbers. He'll be a solid player, and hopefully he, Aubrey Huff, and Lou can put a little life into the Rays.
5. Berroa, KC SS. He was alright, and the KC run early on helped his stock rise, but I don't think he's any better than the 4 guys ahead of him.

Alright, time to sign off. I have a 600 page book to read (see the right sidebar).