Saturday, February 19, 2005

Feb 19- The Worst of College Basketball's Worst

I had so much fun last week jotting down my thoughts on Mike Patrick that I thought I would take some time to compile a list of the worst college basketball analysts on the air today. In order to qualify, the person has to appear as either an in-studio analyst like Dig Digs or a courtside commentator. Also, the person has to be alive and currently working so Al McGuire is disqualified on a technicality. In order to make the list, the candidates should be 1)annoying, 2)enamored with a certain coach or program, 3)redundant, 4) affraid or reluctant to criticize anything, 5)verbally challenged, 6) at least partially blind, 7) redundant, 8) have a signature cat call, 9) devoid of any credentials, and 10) repulsive to look at.

Here are my top 5.

5) The Cinco man is none other then George Ravelling, the former head coach at Washington State, Iowa and USC. Gorgeous George used to call the Pac-10 game of the week and up unitl a week ago, I thought he was dead and therefore ineligible for this list. But a friend notified me last weekend that there was a recent Ravs sighting and he is alive and well calling games out West. To say George had problems with the English language is a bit of an understatement. Its a little like saying the Magic Hour was a bit forced. George simply had no idea what was happening in front of him and he compounded the problem by butchering the language as he attempted to explain what he thought he was seeing. George would probably rank a bit higher on this list if it weren't for the fact that he was a pretty good guy who made me laugh on many occasions. He didn't do much criticizing, but offering critical analysis is tough when you are blind, deaf and dumb. Case in point - you never saw Hellen Keller get on the Governor of Alabama for his politics on race.

4) Jay Bilas and Bill Raftery are tied at number four. They work together on Monday nights so I thought I would keep them together for the sake of this list. Bilas is being groomed for Vitale's slot and that should just about say it all. Bilas thrives on hyperbole and he just cannot bring himself to criticize anyone who he may run into at next year's coaching convention. And if it were up to me, there would be a new rule named after Bilas. The Bilas rule would prevent any alumni from commenting on their alma matter. To hear Jay speak about Duke and his old coach is about the most unpleasant thing I can imagine short of medevil torture. As for Raftery, he is the Robin Williams of basketball commentating. Like Williams, Rafs thinks it funny to impersonate a seven year old while throwing out nonsensical sentence fragments. Message to Bill - your act makes you sound like a moron. And what about Raftery's signature move which is his use of the word "Kisssssssssss." I overdosed on this Raftery cornerstone about 19 years ago, and if I ever ran into Billy, I would tell him to kisssssssssssssss my ass.

3) Batting in the three hole is the one and only Digger Phelps. Objectivity and Digger do not share the same bed. Aside from the Atlanta Brave television guys, I am not sure I have ever heard an analyst pull for their team more then Digger pulls for his Irish. Moreover, Digger is guilty of carrying his scars and grudges into the studio and figting battles that were lost 20-30 years ago. Also, is there a guy who is more delusional about his own past then Digger? To hear him tell it, Digger Phelps was John Wooden, Bobby Knight and Dean Smith all wrapped into one. Message to Digger - you went to ONE FINAL FOUR. In my book, that puts you on the same level as Clem Haskins, Billy Donovan, Jim O'Brian, and Jim Harrick.

2) The number two guy on my list is ESPN's man of the year: Mike Jarvis. On talent alone, Mr. J would probably would rank a bit lower on this list, but his credentials are so bad that he moves all the way up to number two. For those who aren't familiar with the other Michael J, he took over a pretty decent St. John's program and ran it into the ground. Under his reign, the Johnnies were a complete embarrassment and the funny thing is, Jarvis had to actually cheat to field this mockery of a team. This is a guy who paid Abe Keita $300 a month to play for St. John's. First of all, why are you paying a stiff like Abe Keita any money at all and second, if you are gonna pay him, at least pay him a living wage. But the worst thing about Jarvis is he absollutely refuses to take any responsiblity for his actions at St. Johns. As far as he's concerned, St John's was a model program under his watch. Based on the losses to the likes of Fairfield and the cash payments to stiffs, I would beg to differ. Once Jarvis enters the studio, he is not much better then he was on the sideline. Unfortunately, he still considers himself a part of the coaching fraternity and as such, he is reluctant to offer any criticism whatsoever. And to make matters worse, Jarvis has always considered himself a teacher and to prove it, he speaks to the audience as if he were teaching a third grade class. How in the $#*%&*@ world did this guy get a job in Bristol? I guess Dave Bliss wasn't available.

1) There shouldn't be any suspense over who tops this list. Can it be anyone other then Dickie V, aka the Godfather of Crap? Richard has dominated this category over the past two decades like the Republicans have dominated politics in Wyoming. No matter who he is up against, Vitale comes out on top. You want loud, annoying and redundant - look no further because Vitale is your man. And what about his trademarks? "ARE YOU KIDDING ME, THAT KID IS A DIAPER DANDY AND LET ME TELL YOU THIS, COACH K IS A BEAUTIFUL HUMAN BEING WHO WAS TAUGHT WELL BY ONE ROBERT MONTGOMERY KNIGHT WHO WON IT ALL BABY IN 1987 WITH THE HOOOOOOOOOOSIERES. I CANT BELEIVE THEY PAY ME TO DO THIS, OOOOOHH OOHHHHHHH!!!!!!" I just threw up in my mouth. Vitales trademarks alone put him on the top of the list but what truly distinguishes him is his objectivity and allegiance to one conference and one coach. If you thought Raftery was hooked on the Big East, you ain't seen nothing yet. Dick Vitale has his nose so far up the ACC and Mike K's ass, that he could probably do a visual colonoscopy. Other then the love affair between Mike Francesa and Bill Parcells, I am not sure I have ever seen anyone shred the veil of objectiivty like Vitale. Dickie V really deserves his own column, but that is all I got for today.

Friday, February 18, 2005

Feb 18 - Virginia Tech - Basketball Power?

There were very few people a year ago who predicted Virginia Tech was going to enter the ACC and field a competive basketball team. The crowd looked pretty good in December when the Hokies were blown out by 34 against North Carolina. But since that time, the Hokies have done more then just compete. Duke found that out last night as the Hokies shocked the Devils in Blacksburgh. The Hokies are now 6-6 in conference and will most likely finish the year at no worse then 8-8. Pete Gillen - who coaches the other school in Virginia - certainly can't make such a claim. Its true that Virginia Tech has won an ungodly amount of close games this year and they could just as easily be 4-8 as 6-6. But that shouldn't mask the job that coach Seth Greenberg has done with this team. Duke, on the other hand, is reeling. They have lost three of their past five and it would have been four of five if North Carolina guard Ray Felton hadn't thrown last week's game in Durham. The Devils are a very ordinary team and I suspect that they are going to limp into the tourney. They still have Wake, Georgia Tech and UNC on their schedule and I wouldn't be surprsied if they lost all three. Coach K simply does not have enough players. Had Luol Deng returned to school, this team would be a real threat to win the whole enchilada, but with Deng in the NBA, I see Duke as a paper tiger. In fact, it will be interesting to see whether this squad can even make it to the regionals - something that is has done every year since 1998.

While Duke haters around the country are celebrating the Devils collapse, Gary Williams and his Terps are not amused. The Terps are in pretty good shape to get a tourney bid, but the cornerstone of their resume is a pair of wins over Duke. If Duke keeps losing, those wins are marginalized and the balance of Maryland's resume is a bit tame. I think this may be a moot point since Maryland has a pretty soft schedule coming in and should win three of its final four games. But if the Terps were to stumble, Duke's troubles could come into play.

Speaking of the tourney, I believe this is going to be the year when all those fans of the mid-majors get their wish. For years, fans of the MAC and the WAC and the MVC have complained that they have been shortchanged when the NCAA tournement selection committee sends out its invites to the dance. I personally think much to much time is wasted debating who gets the last at-large berths, but the fans of the mid-majors often have a right to bitch. Well this year, things may be a bit different. Traditioanlly, the big six conferences - Big East, Big-10, Big-12, ACC, SEC and Pac-10 - get somewhere in the neighborhood of 32 invites. However, based on where things stand right now - it looks like that number could be closer to 29 this year so long as selection committe maintains its integrity. For instance, it is likely that only 3 teams make it from the Pac-10 and four from the Big-10. Even the ACC, which is considered this year's top conference, is likely to get no more then five invites. Now the Big East may get an extra bid this year, but that still leaves a couple extra spots for the mid-majors. Billy Packer and the rest of those who mock the smaller conferences cannot be happy with this prospect.

How about my Bruins last night? In a must win game, UCLA got off to a quick start and never looked back. The Bruins were paced by Dijon Thompson, who had 23 points and 9 rebounds. Mustard is playing as well as anyone in the conference right now and deserves mention in a discussion of league MVP. The mustard man probably trails Ike Diogu and Salim Stoudamire at this point, but Thompson is closing fast and there are still five games to go. Aside from Thompson, the Bruins shot the ball well last night and played much better defense then they did the last time they faced Cal. The backcourt is stil turning the ball over too much, but all in all, it was a solid outing. Now its on to Stanford this Sunday where the Bruins can significantly improve their tourney prospects. I wouldn't say the Stanford game is a must win, but its pretty damn close. A win would move UCLA into third palce in the conference which is pretty damn important given the fact that the Pac-10 will probably get only three invties to the tourney this year. Stanford will be without leading scorer Dan Grunfeld on Sunday and the Bruins do have a history of playing well in Maples. With that said, I think the Bruins complete the Bay Area sweep.

The Tennessean reported yesterday that Steve McNair and the Titans have begun talks to restructure McNair's contract. My take - the Titans are in a box. I am sure they would like to have McNair back if he is healthy, but this guy hasn't been healthy in four years. Now if McNair is healthy, he is still a pretty impressive player, but the Titans got pretty good play from backup Bill Volek and there are significant cap issues as stake. McNair is due to make $7.5 million next year, but the Titans are talking about paying this out in a bonus that can be amortized over the next five years of McNair's contract. This will reduce his cap number by more then $5 million but it does incur a future liability. If 05 is McNair's last year, which some anticipate, this year's bonus gets accelerated and creates a big pool of dead money on next year's cap. So the Titans have to make a bet. They can take a chance with McNair, but it really doesn't make sense unless he can play past 05. As an alternative, they can simply release McNair now and go with Volek. That seems like the safer move considering McNair's medical history. The Titans have other cap issues and they aren't winning in 05 with or without McNair. I think its time for them to move on although I suspect the Titans do not agree.

It is being reported today that Auburn has inked coach Tommy Tuberville to a big fat seven year contract extension. Its amazing what an undefeated season can do for one's reputation. You think Auburn and its fans were thinking about a contract extension in 2003 when Tuberville's highly ranked team got smacked in its home opener against USC. The tigers went on lose four more games that year, before the season was salvaged with wins over Alabama and Wisconsin. How quickly people forget that Auburn was one of the great dissappointments in college football two years ago. I guess perfect seasons lead to forgiveness.

Well, its all-star weekend in the NBA and so its time to discuss whether this extravaganza is still relevant. Perhaps a better question is whether this game was ever relevant. Lets be frank, the NBA all-star game is only marginally better then the NFL Pro Bowl and that pretty much says it all. Back in the NBA's glory days, this game got a lot attention simply because there was very little television coverage of the NBA and so it gave fans a chance to see those players hidden in the league's hinterlands. I wasn't a big fan of the game back then but at least it had a sliver of purpose. Today, it has no purpose whatsoever. It is intended to entertain, but how entertaining is it to see a bunch of guys making uncontested dunks? Watching the all-star game is a bit like watching the Globetrotters and I can't tell you the last time I stopped channel surfing to catch 30 seconds of a trotters-generals game. Its a sad comment on the state of this game that I think it would be improved if Meadowlark started at forward for the West and Curly headed up the East. And if the game wasn't bad enough, how about the slam dunk and three point shooting contests? I actually consider it a character flaw if you claim to be entertained by such nonsense. You hear that Sports Guy, becasue I am talking to you! There are only so many ways to dunk a basketball and we saw the entire universe during the first three years of the contest. With that said, how come they have continued this charade? Spud Webb's final dunk in 1986 should have been the end of this contest. As for the three-point contest, it is marginally better then the dunk-off, but does anyone really care that some Croatian hit 4 out of the 5 money balls? In a nutshell, this game should be aborted. Like the NFL Pro Bowl, teams should be selected so we can debate the snubs, but that is where the nonsense should end. February is not exactly prime time for sports viewing, but it wouldn't be any worse if this long running series was cancelled.

As the NBA takes its mid-season break, its time to give out the mid-season awards. It seems the consensus MVP is Steve Nash and although I love being the contrarian, I have to go with Nash as well. The Suns were very average last year without Nash and I am being generous with that description. This year, the Suns are winning at twice the rate of last year, and that is not because they brought in Quentin Richardson. The addition of Nash has completely re-shaped this team and with that said, the Suns point guard is my pick over LaBron and Shaq. Rookie of the year is a no-brainer. Emeka Okafor has been tremendously consistent and has proven to be a much better offensive player then I thought. Dwight Howard has been good and is certainly one of the better eighteen year olds to enter the league, but Emeka has been better. At the break, the Suns are clearly the biggest surprise of the league while the biggest dissapointment is probably Minnesota by a hair over New York. The wolves are wallowing in mediocrity after being picked to be a contender out West while the Knicks had one of the worst months (January) in New York sports history. Joining them on that list are the Yankees from last October and any month in 1962 for the Metropolitans.


We are in the dog days of February so the viewing options this weekend are a bit sparse. The gear heads will be watching Daytona on Sunday, but you won't see me wasting three hours of my life on that spectacle. The same goes for the NBA all-star game, whose merits I have already discussed above. So that leaves me with a few college basketball games and one of my favorite golf tournaments of the year.

The big game this weekend is probably in Boston where Syracuse will square off with the Golden Eagles. Syracuse has not played great of late, having lost 3 of 5, but BC hasn't exactly been firing on all cylindars either. I think the Syracuse zone will give BC some trouble and I expect Syracuse to win this game. Down south, we have Mississippi State travelling to Lexington for a big matchup with Kentucky. MSU has been a bit of a dissapointment this year and they have been up and down for the past month, so this is a big test for the bulldogs. MSU is going to the tourney, but if they don't win Saturday, they are going to go as an eight or nine seed. Meanwhile, UK is coming off a loss and there are many like myself who are still a bit uncertain of this team. Unless I see something Saturday, I doubt I will make UK a cornerstone of my tourney pool. Staying in the SEC, South Carolina has a big game on Saturday at Bama. SC got themselves back in the tourney hunt with a win over Kentucky on Tuesday and a win over Bama would cap a terrific week for the Cocks. I don't see it happening. The tide should roll. On Sunday, there are a couple games worth noting. First, Pitt goes to Nova for a big intra-state battle. I am still not a beleiver in Nova's story although I will concede that they are a tourney team. I see Pitt pushing the Cats around on Sunday. The big ACC game on Sunday night has Wake going up against Duke in Durham. The Deacons have too much firepower for the Devils so I think Duke's slide will continue.

While there are some hoops this weekend, my attention Sunday will be on the Nissan Open. I have long considered this the jewel of the West Coast swing and perhaps Golf's fifth major. Other then Augusta and Pebble, there is just no other tour fixture better then Riviera. Unlike the gimmicky TPC courses, Riviera is old-school. And it has history. The course isn't nicknamed Hogan's Alley for nothing. Tiger will be aiming for his first win at Riviera this weekend which is odd since this is one of his regular stops. About my only problem with the Nissan is that its carried by ABC. I hate to say it but Curtis, Nick Faldo and Mike Tirico are a cut below the competition. Nantz, the king of the tower, takes Tirico 4 and 3 while Dan Hicks puts him away 2 and 1. Curtis isn't bad, but Johnny is through with him by 15 and Lanny takes him one up. The only thing good about having golf on ABC is that if it runs long, the station can always flip the playoff over to the deuce. As such, golf on ABC is "heidi-proof." (If you don't know what the Heidi game is - look it up)

Thursday, February 17, 2005

Feb 17 - Please ESPN - No More Mike Patrick

It was the theatre of the absurd last night as ESPN turned back the clock 24 years during their presentation of the North Carolina and Virginia basketball game. In broadcasting one of their contrived "retro" games last night, ESPN pulled out all of their stupid tricks while trying to dress up a pig of a game. You had Len Elmore wearing the ridiculous wig, the production crew hauling out antiquated graphics and the players wearing some Nike-produced throwback jerseys. This is a network addicted to nostalgia so this is something that the Sportsaholic has come to expect. Its lame and stupid but its something that is fairly easy to live with. However, the one thing that I don't understand is this. If you are going to turn back back the clock, you got to turn it back entirely. And that means using a 1981 play-by-play man and not that idiot who goes by the name of Mike Patrick. I can live with the gimmicks, but how come the suits at ESPN didn't take it a step further and give us fans a one-night reprieve from the Butcher from Bristol? This guy has been killing me for a decade. He hawks hyperbole like a Taiwaneese street vendor peddles pirated DVDs. With Mike Patrick, nothing is ever average or fine or decent or modest. Its always super or unbelievable or incredible or fantastic. He has a knack of turning the ordinary into something such as: "CAN YOU BELEIVE WHAT WE JUST SAW?" Easy Mike, it was only a made free throw. When Patrick's on the call, the viewing public never gets even a whiff of objectivity and criticism. And Patrick's signature line - "are you kidding me" - is nails on the chalkboard as far as the Sportsholic is concerned. After years of dereliction, ESPN this year finally pardoned the public when it broke up the Vitale-Patrick nightmare. That tandem - like Zak and Screech - had haunted the viewing public for far too long, but why not take it a step further and just pink slip the play-by-play piriah. Patrick has spent years ruining Sunday night football and ACC basketball, and its time for him to go. Where the hell are George Grande and Tom Mees when you need them? Please, readers, this is a rhetorical question so no emails with the answer.

While Patrick and Elmore were clowning around in the booth, complimenting each other on their rather average costumes, UNC was dismantling Virginia at center court. In two games this year, Virginia has proven that it doesn't belong on the same floor as North Carolina. UVA came into this game with three straight wins after coach Pete Gillen shuffled his lineup, but the Cavs had no answer for the Heels who shot 54 percent from the field. And has anyone noticed the work that Sean May has been doing of late on the glass. Doughboy had 16 boards last night and now has 47 in his last three games. With all due respect to Julius Peppers, May is the best rebounder the Heels have had since Antawn Jamison. North Carolina still worries me a bit in the big spot, but this team has proven that it can steamroll mediocrity.

Its being reported this morning that New England Patriot inside backer Teddy Bruschi checked into a Boston Hospital last night suffering from stroke-like symptoms. Initial reports suggest that Bruschi was suffering from a severe headache, some paralysis and blurred vision. The team put out a statement saying Bruschi is in good condition, although he will undergo some additional testing today. This doesn't sound too good to me. Knee injuries are bad, but they pale in comparison to neurological irregularities. ACLs can be reconstructed but I don't recall many stroke victims getting back on the field. How can you call out the plays when you can't speak? Perhaps Teddy just ate some bad shell fish, but it seems more likely that ten years of violence may be beginnning to take its toll on the heart and soul of the Pats defense. If this turns out to be serious, and I think it may, the Pats have some big questions at middle linebacker. Roman Pfeffier is a candidate for retirement and Teddy Johnson isn't getting any younger. With this development, the Pats list of off-season priorities has certainly changed. I will miss number 54 if this indeed is the end of the road.

It seems that the Sacramento Kings are tyring to prove that their critics were right all along. Since edging past the lowly-Knicks on February 4th, the Kings are 1-6. Granted, there are some tough losses in there, including two pointers to Phoenix and Dallas, but the Kings didn't exactly storm into the all-star break. There was a lot of talk after the all-star team was selected that the Kings got ripped off. Brad Miller was singled out as a victim of some great injustice. Brad is a nice player, but who other then Brad's mom cares whether he makes the all-star game or not? I can just imagine what Allen Iverson might say on this issue: MILLER? MILLER? Man, we're talking about BRAD MILLER here. Miller refused counsel and argued his own case last night by going 2 of 10 against the Nets and their vaunted front line of Kristic and Collins. Brad, that wasn't Parrish and McHale. I guess last night we got treated to the low-carb Miller-Lite.

Last night, a couple of bubble teams had opportunities to pitch their cases to the NCAA tourney selection committee and each came up with a big doughnut. We start with Minnesota, which was attempting to stem a two-game slide at Michigan State. Well, they stemmed nothing last night. They got blown out by the Spartans and the Gophers must now face a selection committee without a single quality win. The Gophers must win at least three of four games coming in and will need at least one win in the conference tourney. Anything less and Minnesota will probably be playing for the big knitting needle. Arkansas was in a similar spot last night at Alabama, and like the Gophers, the hogs came up small. As I mentioned yesterday, the razorbacks have chalked up a half dozen wins over a collection of unaccredited sourthern schools and they now have big problems. I am not even sure a 3-0 finish and a win in the SEC tourney can elevate this group out of the slop. They probably need to reach the SEC finals to earn a bid.

While Minnesota and Arkansas failed in big spots, Notre Dame won a big game to help solidify its resume and North Carolina State came up with a win that perhaps gets them back into the selection picture. After beating Georgetown, Notre Dame is only 15-8, but they have a ton of quality wins and I suspect that have now done enough good work to assure a spot in the tourney. Chris Quinn had another solid game for the Irish last night - 4 for 4 and 18 points - and he is making a late push for all-conference honors. Next, we go to Raleigh where NC State beat Maryland 82-63 last night. The Wolfpack are stuck at 15-10, but with back-to-back wins over Georgia Tech and Maryland, Herb Sendek's crew has fought its way back to the bubble. NCSU still has a ways to go and will probably need to beat either UNC or Wake Forest to get over the hump, but at least the Pack are still relevant. Maryland, on the other hand, just can't get any momentum going. What can you say about a team that sweeps Duke but gets swept by NC State? That may have made sense in 1974, but it makes no sense today.

While we are in the ACC, lets take a second to discuss what is going on in Atlanta. Things are not pretty at Georgia Tech. This is a squad that went to the final game last year and virtually everyone returned from that team. Expectations coming in to this season were higher then they have been since the Mark Price-Duane Ferrel days. The team got off to a fast start, but BJ Elder then got hurt against Kansas and things went south. GT apolgists claimed things would improve when Elder returned, but these predictions have not been borne out. BJ was back for a lethargic win over Clemson and he was out there missing 8 of 10 shots during the loss to NC State. This is a team with loads of talent, but they are not clicking right now. Next Wednesday's game at home against Duke is a big test for Georgia Tech. This team seems to be short on confidence and a win over Duke may get them headed in the right direction.

Its Throwdown Thursday according to ESPN, but despite this claim, the schedule is a bit light. Duke is on the tube tonight but my guess is Vitale will be in the house so that is not a viewing option, at least not with the sound on. The lead-in to that game is Marquette fighting for its life at home against Louisville.. The Warriors have won two of three since getting Travis Diener back and they need him to come up big if they are going to take out the Cardinals. Out west, UCLA really can't afford to lose tonight at Cal. The Bruins could use a sweep of the Bay Area schools this week and cannot afford anything less then a split. With that said, I don't like the Bruin's outlook with a loss tonight. Is it possible that the Pac-10 is only going to get two spots in the tourney? Its not inconceivable if all these teams keep splitting agaisnt each other.

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Feb 16 - See you in October

So the Hockey season is Kaput. The two sides seemed to be on the verge of cutting a deal as late as this morning, but, as always, differences over money could not be succesfully negotiated. The players finally seemed willing to play under a salary cap, but the union wanted the cap set near $50M per team while the owners weren't willing to go much higher then $42M. So at one o'clock this afternoon, the NHL pulled the plug on the season. The pundits will invariably say this is a black day for Hockey, but the cancellation of the season may actually be a blessing in disguise. This league needs to be cleaned out. Weak franchises have to be expunged and the talent pool must be winnowed. This is a league that is suffering from dilution and it needs to be broken so that it can be fixed. Had the two sides reached a deal, the league's underlying issues would have simply been swept under the rug. And as far as I could tell, nothing in the deal being negotiated to this point mentioned contraction and that is the medicine that this patient desperately needs. Until the owners and the players put contraction on the table, they are merely performing triage and hockey will continue to be a zero growth sport whose television ratings can't compete with celebrity poker. Its a sad fact, but the public would rather watch Jason Alexander pull an insde stratight then see Jarome Iginla go top shelf on Martin Brodeur. Baseball fans take note - the expiration of baseball's Collective Bargaining Agreement is only two years away!

There was a good old fashioned shootout at Madison Square Garden last night and when the smoke had cleared, a short haired bitch emerged as a champion. I am not talking about an indoor track meet or a professional wrestling event. Instead I am referring to the Westminster Dog Show which culminated last night when Carlee - a German Shorthaired Pointer - was named Best in Show. Carlee was up against at least three powerful competitors, but she "showed" great and walked away with this year's title. The key moment of the competition came when Carlee was asked to strike a pose and she responded be pretending she was a statue for he next 15 seconds. Her competiion, which included a champion Norfolk Terrier, a beautiful Pyreneees and a crowd pleasing bloodhound, was stiff, but Carlee clearly won the night. I was partial to the Pyr, but my dog was outclassed by the very athletic pointer. Interestingy, Carlee was handled last night by the same handler who won last year with the Josh, the giant Newfoundland. Michelle Ostermiller is becoming the New England Patriots of dog handling. Lets see now: the Patriots repeated this year. Ostermiller repeated this year. Whose next? The Red Sox? If I own a contender going into next year's show, I pay whatever I have to pay to get Michelle on my dog's leash. Lastly, Josh the Newf made a appearance at MSG last night and was greeted with huge applause. This may be the most popular dog in show history. Josh is a unquestionably a first ballot Westminster Hall of Famer and a giant banner with his picture should be hung at MSG next to Clyde Frazier's number.

The nation's number two team in college basketball lost on the road Monday night and the number three team lost last night. Whose next - North Carolina? In Columbia last night, South Carolina upset Kentucky 73-61 and in doing so, got themselves in the hunt for an NCAA bid. South Carolina came into this game 0-4 against ranked teams but they did play UK to a four point game in Lexington last month so I am not sure this was a surprise of Herculian proportions. Lets be frank, the SEC is having an abyssmal year and because of this medicority, its a bit tough to gauge whether Kentucky is a powerhouse or a pretender. With that said, the conference will probably get five bids to the tourney and South Carolina should be in the mix for one of these spots. A win at Tuscaloosa on Saturday would go a long way towards building the Cocks' resume.

Boy have things fallen apart in Bloomington Indiana. Last night, Mike Davis took his team into Columbus and came out with a measly 44 points and his team's eleventh loss of the year. Indiana was without leading scorer Bracey Wright for the third straight game, but this team has had trouble scoring all year and it showed again in the loss at Ohio State. At IU, 11-11, does not cut it and the seat under Davis must be getting hotter each day. In Davis' five years, his teams have amassed a not so gaudy record of 92-64 and without a strong finish, the Hooisers will finish with back-to-back losing seasons. Davis built up some capital with that run to the finals in 2002, but patience has got to be wearing thin in Bloomington. Davis record would be fine at a Purdue or Minnesota, but in Indiana, the fans expect a bit more. I suspect that Davis will keep his job this offseason, but he will be in the crosshairs next year.

Is there a single NFL executive or fan who thinks Cincinati Bengal running back Rudi Johnson is actually going to sit out next year now that he has been designated a franchise player? Johnson had been seeking a long-term extension from the Bengals, but the team hasn't shown much interest in locking Rudi up and has instead has decided to slap the franchise tag on their pro bowl replacement. In doing so, the Bengals will pay Johnson $6.3 million to carry the ball for them next year. Johnson has been posturing for a year that he would sit out 2005 rather then play under another one-year contract. This ranks as one of the worst bluffs of the past year - right up there with the NHL Players Association saying they wouldn't play under any type of salary cap. Does anyone really think Johnson would sit out rather then collecting this "chump change?"I doubt the Bengals front office is really too concerned by this prospect since greed always prevails over integrity in the world of sports.

Annika Sorenstam is getting a divorce and that begs the question of whether a change in marital status will effect her career as it did Tiger Woods. There is a theory, to which I partially subscribe, that Tiger has not been himself since he met and married Elin Nordegren. After all, How can Tiger be expected to practice when he could be back on the couch playing xbox with Elin.Lets take a look at this. The single Tiger won eight majors and three U.S. amatuers. The post-Elin Tiger has no majors. Is there a connection? It will be interesting to see what now happens to Annika. Perhaps she will thrive with her new found freedom. On the other hand, maybe her husband was the staw that stirred the drink and she will fall apart now that she is back out there on the LPGA singles scene. I bet a lot of players on tour are licking their chops over this prospect.

So Trot Nixon and Arod are now at odds. Yesterday, Nixon unleashed a salvo at Arod, saying the third baseman is not the "yankee type." In other words, Nixon believes Arod is a prissy loser. This all stems from game 6 of the ALCS where Arod tried slapping the ball of of Bronson Arroyo's glove. Nixon specifically said, "when people ask me about the Yankees, I tell them about (Derek) Jeter and Bernie Williams and (Jorge) Posada. I don't tell them about Rodriguez. ... He can't stand up to Jeter in my book or Bernie Williams or Posada." Jeter is one thing, but Bernie Williams? Wow, those are fighting words. With bad blood between these two, I am really looking forward to game two of the upcoming season (Nixon won't play opening day against the lefty Randy Johnson). Specifically, I want to see what happens after Nixon rips one to right center and walks into third while Bernie rolls the ball back into Womack. Lets see what Arod does when Nixon asks, "hey Arod, where's your purse?"

So what do we have on tap tonight other then a new episode of Lost. Well, we have Pete Gillen's final appearance in Chapel Hill as coach of the Virginia Cavaliers. Numbers two and three in college basketball have lost this week but number four North Carolina will not fall into the same trap. The Heels will roll the Cavs! 17-7 Arkansas has a big game at Alabama tonight. Those 17 wins look impressive at first glance, but the hogs are only 5-6 in conference and their non-conference schedule reminds me of what John Thompson used to schedule when he was at Georgetown. Here are just a few of the teams that Arkansas played earlier this year: Winthrop, Troy, Gardener Webb, Praire View, Lipscomb and Hartford. I am a Little surprised they couldn't find an open date for Savannah State which finished its season the other night at 0-28. I suspect Arkansas is going to be one of those 20 win teams that finds itself dissappointed on Selection Sunday. The last game I will mention involves Minnesota and Michigan State. A week ago, Minnestoa was sitting pretty at 16-6 with two gimmies looming. Well, they lost those gimmies to Northwestern and Indiana and now they are looking about as solid as Jerry Lundegaard's alibi in Fargo. There is almost nothing of import on the NBA menu tonight although ten years from now we will probably refer back to February 15, 2005 as the day the Cliff Robinson era began in New Jersey. Here is a little ammunition for those of you pressed to argue the merits of Cliff Robinson. Cliff has averaged 4.8 rebounds a game over his career. That is not a misprint. 4.8 and that is skewed by some years in the early 90's when he put up a few years of six boards a game. This comes from a guy who is 6'11 and has never had trouble getting minutes. Cliff Robinson is the starting four and team captain on my all-Johnny Newman team, named of course after the immortal Hornet who once claimed "boxing out" was for suckers.

Feb 15 - Pitchers and Catchers

Today is an important day on the Calendar and its not because its the two-month warning to tax day. No, today its important because its the day when pitchers and catchers begin showing up at Spring Training sites all over Arizona and Florida. And after spending a winter discussing tawdry subjects such as steroids and Scott Boras, we can finally sit down and start discussing some good old baseball. This was one of the busier off-seasons in recent memories and so everyone should take some time this week to learn where everyone ended up after the leagues annual reshuffling. There were some huge changes over the winter and luckily we will have the next six weeks to discuss how it will all sort itself out. But today is not the day for predictions. Today is reserved as a day of celebration because it marks the birth of a new season and its on this day where hope springs eternal - that is unless you live in Tampa, Pittsburgh or Kansas City.

You want to know what it feels like to be thrown under the bus? Just ask Brian Cashman. The Yankee General Manger got tossed into fifth Avenue on Monday when Yankee President Randy Levine conceded that certain references to steroids were specifically deleted from Jason Giambi's mammoth contract before it was signed in 2001. Levine explained that the removal was fine with the Yankees since broader language in the contract still provided them the team with some protection in case Giambi was discovered to have used illegal drugs. Levine's comments fly in the face of those that Cashman made on Friday. The Yankees GM went ballistic that day, arguing that the New York Times had swung and missed when it reported that the Yanks had deleted some references to steroids from Giambi's contract. I guess Brian should have checked with the Yanks PR department before going public with his diatribe against the Times. Brian, can you say low man on the totem pole?

Staying with the Yanks, that pin you heard drop on the floor in Yankeeville yesterday stemmed from news out of Minnesota where the Twins signed stud lefthander Johan Santana to a four year deal. The Yanks long-term strategists had viewed Santana as a great candidate to replace Randy Johnson when the Big Unit finally breaks down or retires. Someday, he may be that replacement, but the Yanks will now have to wait until after the 08 season to overpay Johan.

It seems the trendy thing this year among baseball writers is to pick Detroit pitcher Jeremy Bonderman as the American League's breakout player. Gammons mentioned him yesterday and I saw Bonderman's name mentioned in a couple of different spots this past weekend. Some of Jason's supporters see him as the second coming of Bret Saberhagan. Like a young Sabes, there is no doubt Bonderman can bring it and at 22, he has great upside. The thing I can't figure out is how he only went 11-13 last year with internals that were pretty damn good. Guys batted only .226 against him yet his ERA was almost five. His control wasn't great, but he does strike a lot of guys out and batters don't jack him all that often. Jason finished the year strong by going 6-3 with an ERA under three in his final 9 starts. Mind you, two of these wins were shutouts over Tampa and Kansas City, but a shutout is good stuff no matter who it comes against in the majors. Bonderman is getting there, but it scares me that everyone thinks it will be this year. I'll be the contrarian and give Bonderman 14 wins in 05 and 18 in his breakout 06.

I am getting real tired of these NBA GM's who make meaningless and irrelevant moves just for the sake keeping the league's beat writers awake. Case in point is what we saw in Minnesota this week. Mired in mediocrity, Minnesota GM Kevin Mchale had seen enough and decided to fire Flip Saunders as coach of the Timberwolves. Rather then bring in outside help, McHale will now coach the team and it was clear from his news conference that the prospect of coaching is something that Frankenstein is dreading. So why make the change? The wolves are going nowhere and it has nothing to do with coaching. Their problems stem from personnel - pure and simple. Sam Cassel is old and can't stay healthy, Sprewell is a disaster and Wally wants out. This team has no center and has become completely dysfunctional. McHale knows there is nothing he can do about the team's real problems, which he created, so what does he do? He fires the coach. I guess this was expected, but that doesn't make it right. We see this all the time in the NBA. GM's are sitting on bad teams and rather then just sit tight and accept their punishment, they go out and make changes solely for the sake of making changes. Whether its replacing a coach or trading one headache for another, we see too much of this busy work. Another point to support my theory - ESPN's Chad Forde spent about 1000 words the other day on a column dedicated to pre all-star game trade rumours. A chunk of these rumours concerned teams going absolutely nowhere and involved players who will assuredly never make meaningful contributions to a World Champions. With this being the case - who cares? Who cares that Portland is trying to dump Shareef or Atlanata is shopping Antoine? These guys get traded for each other all the time and it never makes a single bit of difference. Who cares that Houston is looking at Derek Anderson? Despite having Yao and McCrady, the Rockets are mired in mediocrity and people think Derek Anderson is going to be the silver bullett? Why do these GMs even bother the paperwork? I quite frankly don't have an answer, but if I had to guess, I would say GM's make these moves to help justify their own worth.

ESPN.COM has begun accepting votes for this year's "hottest female" athlete award. As per usual, no past winners are eligible so no votes for Jennie Finch or Heather Mitts. Also, no one under 18 is eligible so I guess Sharapova is going to have to wait a year before she wins her second "major. " After a cursory review of the candidates, I am putting my money on swimmer Amanda Beard. She got a ton of attention after winning an individual gold medal in Athens and as a result, she seems to have more noteriety then most of the others - the obviuos exception being Serena Williams. Beard has appeared in FHM and obviously looks good in a swimsuit. Furthermore, I beleive that if Beard catches a bad break or two down the road, she could end up in porn and that is enough to sway my vote.

The following comes stratight out of the "Donnie Moore" file. It was announced last last week that Montreal would indeed be allowed to host this Summer's World Swimmming Championships, the first to ever be held on North American soil. Why is this significant? Well. Montreal was always slated to host thse prestigous championships, but last month, the sports' governing body stripped the city of the Championships because it had been unable to secure enough sponsorship. It seeems the government, still scarred by the memories of the 1976 Summer Olympics, was unwilling to make the requisite financial committment to this prestigous sporting event. The move apparently was too much for Yvon DesRochers to bear. DesRochers was the chairman of Montreal's organizing committee and he put a bullet in his head a few weeks back - apparently distrought over his failure. At this point the story reminds me a bit of that travel agent who killed himslef a decade ago when he brought a few dozen people down to the Masters but couldn't find them any tickets. But here is the real kicker - just a week after DesRochers was found dead in his own car - the sports governing body changed its mind and gave Montreal the go-ahead to host the Championships in late July. Talk about a day late and a dollar short.

We have wrapped up day one of the Westminster Dog Show and two major contenders have emerged. The first is the Norfolk Terrier - Coco - a dog that made it to finals of Westminster two years ago, but took last year off to whelp a litter. Terriers have proven to be tough outs at Westminster and Coco looks like the favorite this year. But the dog to watch is Fame, a Great Pyrenees that has already won 19 other best in shows. A pyr has never won best in show at Westminster and Fame actually became the first pyr to ever win the working group. This big dog took out a very impressive collection of dogs to win group and I give Fame a shot to make it two in a row for the 150 pounders. Other winners last night included a peek and tibetan terrier. I don't see either being a serious contender. Further, I don't see a hound emerging today unless Christopher Guest turns up with his slobbering Bloodhound from Best in Show. One dog to keep an eye on will be the winner of the herding group . Judging the finals is Lynette Saltzman - a woman who breeds shetland sheepdogs. She could be partial to the herders, although I still think this comes down to Fame and Coco.

Monday night in College Basketball was pretty light although a couple games merit attention. First off, Pittsburgh completed its season sweep over Syracuse with a 68-64 win at the Carrier Dome. Pitt point guard Carl Krauser hit a huge three late in the game to seal this win for Pitt, but the Panthers were really led by Chevy Troutman who tallied twenty, sixteen of which came from the line. As for Syracuse, Gerry McNamara should probably get a note from his mother excusing him from any more Big Monday's on ESPN. Last week, Macs went 4-18 against UCONN and last night he was a woeful 5-21 versus Pittsburgh. Luckily for Gerry, Syracuse doesn't have another Monday night game on its schedule, unless of course it plays for the National Championship. That noise you heard out of Texas last night came out of Lubbock where the Red Raiders shocked the Number two Jayhawks in double overtime. It is only the second time Texas Tech has ever beaten Kansas and hopefully last night's win help give some overdue exposure to Red Raider sensation Ron Ross. In case you have never heard of Ross, He is having a huge year. This long-range gunner is shooting 56 percent from the field and better then 50 percent from three point land. Ross had 21 last night, and added 11 boards and 7 assists while playing forty-nine minutes. Not many people have heard of this guy, but he will be first team all-conference and get some all-american votes from those voters who actually watch conferences other then the ACC and Big East.

There really is not much to preview tonight in College Basketball. Miami could help their tourney cause with a win at home against Wake and South Carolina will try to make a name for itself in the woeful SEC with a win tonight against Kentucky. The NBA slate tonight has nothing appetizing so my viewing attention will be focused on the dogs. I am not sure the group competitions are must sees, but I suggest being home by 10:40 to catch Best in Show. Hopefully, around 10:55, Fame will make it two in a row for the big dogs.

Monday, February 14, 2005

Feb 14 - BREAKING NEWS ON LEINART

BREAKING NEWS - This is the Sportsaholic's first scoop since 1998 and it probably belongs on page 6 of the New York Post, but I have it on good authority that USC Quarterback Matt Leinart has broken up with Kristin from MTV's Laguna Beach. The cause of the seperation is not known, but my sources tell me that the Heisman trophy winner initiated the break. I have to point out that I have had problems with this relationship from the start even though I only first heard about it last Friday. First of all, although this Orange County siren is undeniably hot, she only turned 18 on January 8th. What the hell is going on here Matt? Are you telling me that you couldn't find any hot women at USC so you had to start combing the high schools of South Orange County. Jesus Christ, who do you think you are - Woody Allen? Second of all, this pairing put me in a real tough spot. Full disclosure - I am a big, big, big fan of Laguna Beach, but I also went to UCLA and I don't want the show contaminated by this clown from SC. What's next, is Lo, one of the hot blonds from last season, going to start dating Reggie Bush? Is LC, now living up in San Francisco, going to be on the sidelines next November when the Trojans play at Berkeley? And now I am wondering if my other favorite shows are at risk? Is Pete Carroll going to show up as Jack Bauer's brother on "24"? And its a good thing Norm Chow just left the Southland for Nashville because I was beginning to worry that he would find his way onto "Lost." For gods sake, the Trojans are at the gate!.

As for Leinart, he has to do better then a kid who mentions on the MTV website that two of her three favorite movies are Oceans 11 and Double Jeopardy (She does get a point back for listing Fast Times - esepcially since it was made before she was born.). She also mentions on that site that she is looking for someone who is honest, trustworthy, fun, outgoing, good looking, intelligent and spontaneous. Matt doesn't need a girl who has such superficial priorities. Instead, he needs someone who is searching for a guy who can throw the deep post and run a two minute drill. Kristin is probably a bit heart broken right now, but its probably a blessing a disguise since the last blonde from Laguna who married a Heisman winner from USC ended up with her throat slashed. Needless to say, I am eagerly awaiting the second season of Laguna Beach - certainly more so than the next episode of USC kicking UCLA's ass. My sources tell me the producers will highlight this storyline and that will make for some great TV. However, it is too bad they broke up before Kristins's senior prom. I was hoping Matt would attend, get loaded, and tear up his knee while dancing to "I'll Melt with You." Dare to dream.

Before we move on, I wanted to first take a moment to rank the best looking pseudo-celebrities currently paired with NFL quarterbacks. And so here goes. In fourth place is Elizabeth Hasselbeck, married to Washington Redskin signal caller Tim Hasselbeck. Liz was on Survivor and parlayed her final four appearance on the show into a gig on The View. The former Boston College Golden Eagle is cute but she probably doesn't make the top-10 in Survivor history so its hard to rank her much higher then fourth on this list. At number three is Jeff Garcia's girlfirend Carmella DeCesare. Carm is a former Playboy playmate and is defintiely a notch above Elizabeth. She is definitely a catch for a guy who Terrell Owens claims is gay. At number two is the girlfriend of two-time Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady. Bridgit Moynahan is smoking although her films - such as The Sum of all Fears and I Robot - leave a bit to be desired. And at number one is Heather Mitts, AJ Feeley's squeeze and former midfielder for the Philadelphia Charge of the WUSA. Mitts was voted the hottest female athlete of 2004 on ESPN (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=hottest/female/finals2004) and the Sportsaholic has no problem giving her the top spot. This is a make or break year for Feeley - if he goes out there again and fails to hit 70 on the ratings gun, I see Heather trading up for a more accomplished passer. David Carr would be a good fit.

Enough on Matt Leinart. It was a fairly quiet weekend in the sports world, but there were some significant college basketball games and so I will start off in College Park where Maryland exploited Duke's short bench and walked away with a seven point overtime win. Duke was in foul trouble all night and four key guys eventually fouled out. Sheldon Williams was one such casualty but he poured in 23 and had 16 rebounds before being tossed. Coach K can usually rely on the refs to bail him out but that was not the case Saturday night. Without Williams, Duke can be shut down and that showed in overtime, as the Devils went 0-9 from the field. One other point on Duke - lets slow down a bit before we crown JJ Redick as the country's best shooter. He was 5-19 and a few of his threes landed somewhere in Delaware. On the other side of the ball, Maryland was led by John Gilchrist who fell a single assist short of a triple double. Gilchrist can play, as the ACC found out late last year, and when he goes, Maryland can be very tough. He is a finalist to make my year end all-underated team.

One guy who has locked up a spot on that team is Josh Boone of UCONN. He was terriffic in UCONN's 77-70 loss on Sunday to UNC. Boone had 16 and 11 and he is emerging into a real force for the Huskies. The same can't be said for Jim Calhoun's point guards Marcus Williams and Antonio Kellogg. The two collectively turned the ball over 12 times on Sunday and that ain't going to cut it against a good team like North Carolina. I didn't think things could get much worse then last year's starter Talik Brown, but this new tandem has set a new standard. Its too bad UCONN can't go out at the trade deadline and pick up a ball handler. How bout trading Rudy Gay to Georgia Tech for Ed Bynum? As for UNC, Ray Felton stepped up and played much better then he did the other night against Duke and Jawad Williams broke out of a mini-slump against the Huskies. Williams has been AWOL the past two weeks and some in Chapel Hill were beginnig to think the senior was thinking ahead to Spring Break in Destin. North Carolina did a pretty good job taking care of the ball on Sunday (11 turnovers), but UCONN did chalk up 16 blocks. Billy Packer was right on the mark when he faulted UNC for playing into a UCONN strength. I thought Packer called an excellent game, but then again, he usually does.

The big game in the Big East this weekend had Pittsburgh at home against Notre Dame. It was an entertaining game that came down to the wire. Chris Quinn was terrific for Notre Dame, pouring in 25 points, but Pitt dominated the boards and Carl Krauser ended up making some big shots late, including the game winner with 11 seconds to go. Although the contest was tight, my lasting memory of the game will be watching Notre Dame Forward - Rick Cornett - at the line. Cornett, for those who might not know, is arguably the worst foul shooter in basketball history. Forget Shaq. Forget Ben Wallace. Forget Oakland Raider Ron Curry who was so bad at UNC that he now plays an entireley different sport. Rick Cornett is the gold standard of bad free throw shooting. He entered the game shooting 28 percent and one of his attempts on Saturday hit nothing but glass. The other important game this weekend in the Big East had Syracuse down in Phily to face Villanova. Unfortunately, Villanova's varsity team didn't show up so the school's intramural champion - Sigma Chi - took their place. Syracuse simply overwhelmed the Wildcats, who were lethargic and unable to stop either Josh Pace or Hakeem Warrick.

If you love comebacks, then this was a dream weekend for you. The first miracle happened out in San Diego where UNLV found itself trailing San Diego State by ten with 30 seconds to go. The Runnin Rebs then hit a three, got a quick deuce after a turnover, hit some free throws and finally hit another three near the end of regulation to force overtime. The Rebs then won it in overtime. SDSU coach Steve Fisher needs to find a bullpen stopper because that is no way to close a game. History repeated itself a few hours later when the University of Pacific found itself down eight with 37 seconds to go at Utah State. I was actually watching this game live, which is pretty pathetic even for a sportsaholic. Utah State - like San Diego State - shot themselves in the foot by missing some free throws and fouling a guy who was shooting a three. UOP ended up hitting a three with two seconds to go for the win. This wrapped up the biggest comeback I have seen since Scott Howard (Michael J Fox) led Beacon High to a staggering come from behind win at the conclusion of Teen Wolf. After the Utah State game, Pacific coach Bob Thomason said, "Winning that game was like a minor miracle." Message to Bob - stop hedging! That was a full-blown miracle.

Tying up some loose ends from this weekend, Stanford standout Dan Grunfeld tore up his knee on Saturday in a win over California and he will miss the rest of the season. This is a big loss for the Cardinal and will certainly complicate its effort to make the NCAA's. Also in the Pac-10 this weekend, Oregon State shocked Number 11 ranked Washington. OSU is buried in the RPI so it probably will not make a difference come Selection Sunday, but its good to see this once-proud program become competitive again. Lets face it, Oregon State has been downright terrible since "the glove" took his endearing personality to the NBA in 1990. And finally, Illinois cleared the last real obstacle in their bid for a perfect regular season. This team has little left on its remaining schedule and therefore it is almost a lock that they will enter the Big-10 tourney with an unblemished record.

Well, Bode Miller confirmed Saturday that he is really an all or nothing kind of guy. At the World Alpine Championships in Bormio Italy, Miller was going for his third gold medal in five events when he competed in the Slalom on Saturday. He had already won the dowhnhill and Super-G and was attempting to become the first man in history to win three golds at a single Championship. However, on his way to history, Miller clipped a gate in turn three and spun off the course. This is the third time in these championships that Miller failed to complete a race and it is the seventh slalom that year that he got an incomplete. This is truly a guy who goes for it every time he races. Miller reminds me a bit of old school Indy driver Danny Sullivan who seemingly won or crashed every time he got behind the wheel. Bode's problem now is the race for the World Cup has tightened. He now leads Austrian Benjamin Raich by less then 100 points with ten races to go. Raich won four medals at the Championships and has the hot skis so Miller's lead is surrmountable, especially if Bode keeps falling down. Miller is attempting to become the first American to win the World Cup since Phil Mahre and I believe such an accomplishment would make him an early favorite for American Sportsman of the year in 2005. And while we are on skiing, I want to mention Croatian Janica Kostelic who was able to hit the trifecta that Bode was seeking. Her win on Friday in the Slalom came on top of her wins in the Downhill and Combined last week. Kostelic and Michael Phelps are quite simply the two best racers in the world today.

It now seems the Buffalo Bills have come to the conclusion that Drew Bledsoe is no Jim Kelly. The Buffalo News reported this weekend that Drew would likely be released by month's end, thereby saving the Bills about two million dollars against the salary cap. By dropping Drew, the Bills will be handing the reins to second year quarterback J.P. Lossman. Was this is a smart thing to do for a team that was 9-3 over the last 12 games of 04? Afterall, some think this team is ready to win right now with the team they have. The Sportsaholic disagrees. Drew Bledsoe is garbage and has been since 1999. His pocket presence is non-existent and without picture perfect protection, Drew is one of the ten worst starting quarterbacks in the NFL. Drew handles the blitz about as well as the Polish Army did in 1939 and it was clear to the Sportsaholic that the Bills weren't going anywhere in the AFC East with Bledsoe behind the wheel. The Bills are in a bit of a box. They have a real strong defense and there are some weapons on offense. But Bledsoe has proven he ins't the answer and now they will turn to the hyper-confident Lossman. Perhaps J.P will have a Roethlisberger or Palmer type debut, but given the history of first year quarterbacks, I wouldn't hold my breathe. As for Bledsoe, there is now speculation that his former coach - Bill Parcells - will bring him down to Texas to compete for the Dallas job next year. Such a move will guarantee that Parcells will see the third year of his three-year project go down the drain. Somebody has to tell Drew that the song is over. He is probably a useful backup for someone, but his days as a viable starting quarterback are over!

Its possible that the price for Randy Moss just went up and I am talking about Trevor Pryce. The Denver Post is reporting this morning that the Broncos are considering putting former Pro Bowl defensive lineman Trevor Pryce on the trading block. The Broncos intend to move to a 3-4 defense next year and the front office apparently thinks that Pryce's abilities and contract don't comport with the switch. Pryce would make a great trade chip for Moss. The Broncos were trying to make this exact trade a few years back and it is conceivable that it could resurface if Moss is made avaialable. And while Pryce is coming off an injury, he is a solid pass rusher and could cause some problems if he were lined up next to Kevin Williams, the Vikings monster tackle. Moss, on the other hand, would be a great addition to Denver. Rod Smith is fighting father time and Ashley Lelei has a nasty habit of taking games off. With Denver potentially in the mix, the price for Moss probably just went up.

Here are some random thoughts on the celebrity component of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am. First of all, where is the respect for Bill Belicheck? The guy wins his third Super Bowl in four years and gets paired up with Larry Mize. Couldn't the tourney organizers have found a single guy with a top-10 finish this century to pair with Bill? As for golf, Belicheck was not too shabby considering he hasn't slept since August. Did anyone notice that Andy Garcia was sandbagging everyone with that 12 handicapp. He seemed to be playing better on Saturday then his partner Paul Stankowski. George Lopez - otherwise known as Paul Rodriguez - is no funnier on the course then he is on ABC. Roger Maltbie and William Devane were paired with each other and it made me wonder: which one is the pro and which one is the celeb? Can someone tell me why the Pebble gallery insists on laughing at everything Bill Murray says. Its no secret that CBS uses this tourney to promote its primetime schedule and so here is my question. Survivor is due to start its tenth season on Thursday. As such, how come former Playboy pinnup and Survivor Vanuatu star Ami Cusack wasn't out there to promote the new season? If I am CBS, I get that girl out there as the first celebrity caddy. With "Everyone loves Raymond" soon to wrap, does Ray Romano get asked back next year or is he repalced by Rob Morrow from "Numbe3s?" Speaking of Romano, CBS, in their infinite wisdom, put Ray and Kevin James in the same foursome. Talk about a marquee group. That's the strongest CBS pairing since Caroll O'Conner teed it up with Sherman Helmsley in the 78 Crosby. And as long as CBS was getting cute with the pairings, how come Kenny G and Michal Bolton weren't in the same group? Kenny G, by the way, had the flat blade working and he will be in the mix when the celebrities gather this summer at the Lake Tahoe Celebrity Masters. Rich Rhoden, Mario Lemeuix and Al Del Greco better start working on their games or the hornblower may sneak off with the celebrity green jacket come August.

On that note, lets get to tonight's preview. The two big events tonight are Pittsburgh at Syracuse and the Westminster Dog Show. Both Pitt and Syracuse are coming off nice wins this weekend and tonight's winner will gain some momentum going into the final three weeks of the regular season. This game is all about Pitt's muscle going up against Syracuse's finese. I think Pitt's Chevy Troutman will keep Hakeem Warrick in check and I like the Panthers getting the six. But I see Syracuse holding serve at home in a close one. As for the Dog Show, we got the working group, the toy group, the terriers and the non-sporting guys tonight. Non-sporting is almost always won by the Standard Poodle although a Bichon did come out this bracket a few years back to win the championship. I don't pay much attention to the toy group. If you give me the option of owning a cat or owning a maltese or pekingnese, I take the cat. The terriers are the gold standard of this show and therefore it is key to watch who comes out of this group tonight. I am not a huge fan of this group, but they consistently produce best in show winners and therefore tonight's group winner has to be considered a favorite to win the big prize. And lastly, we get to my favorite group - the working group. The big dogs got one of their own - a giant newfoundland - to the winners circle last year and I am hoping history repeats itself. My heart is with the newfs, the berners, and the snow dogs (great pyrs and malamutes) but unfortunately the group title will probably go to a schnauzer or doberman. Norm Kenney is judging this group tonight and he is a doberman breeder so my bet is on that breed to advance to best in show.