Time to Clean House (A Chargers/Cowboys Lament)

An expression that I've sadly grown accustomed to.

So another season ends. The Chargers are home. The Cowboys got their hearts ripped out once again. 3 straight years that I haven't seen a playoff game involving one of my squads. Ironically it hasn't happened since I quit being a full-time newspaper guy.

Reality is I've been rooting for two teams that have been impossibly hard to be confident in. The Chargers went from an explosive offense to a team that can barely run the ball and watch Philip Rivers erode from great to average. The Cowboys? A total waste of talent and cursed by injuries and inconsistency.

Talking Sports with the Urban Post Worldwide

Forgot to post this last week, but I did some radio work with the Urban Post Worldwide talking sports. Hosted by Niele Anderson, a friend and former co-worker at the LA Sentinel, I'm chopping it up with my former editor Kenneth Miller, the guy who helped me get into journalism.

Enjoy if you like. I'm at the beginning so don't worry waiting to see me. If I can make some time, I'll be doing this more often in 2013 so stay tuned.

Football Wrap Week 4B: The Blues (Saints, Cam, Tony Romo and Me)

Who Dat Say Gonna Beat Dem Saints? In the words of Big and Dre "Me and You, Yo momma and yo cousins, too"#Packers #Saints #NFL
— Evan Barnes (@evan_b) September 30, 2012

2012 hasn't been kind to the Saints. They lost a thriller in the NFC playoffs at San Francisco. Then came Bountygate where the NFL accused of them of paying for big hits. Head coach Sean Payton was suspended for the whole season. And now the bottom has dropped out at they've fallen to 0-4.

If anybody is singing "Wake Me Up When September Ends", it's Drew Brees and Co. But on second thought, they might be singing Louis Armstrong "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams" as they sleep on this week.

Clearly they're a team lost in the ocean. They've been in almost every game but something has fallen apart for them. Against Green Bay, they lost on a missed kick. It's the kind of loss that'll sting worse because it's almost a sign that it's going to be harder after this. Or it has to get better.

But chances are, it won't get better in the playoffs. They just gotta worry about getting back to .500
and that won't happen til November. The only thing they'll enjoy is when Drew Brees throws for a TD for his 48th straight game on Sunday for a new NFL record. Then sit back while my Chargers bring that kitchen sink to NOLA.

Football Wrap Week 13: BCS Chatter, Heisman Pickin and that Torero Pride!

I shall begin this week’s blog by admitting I have no clue where I stand on the BCS Title Game issue. I’m okay with Alabama being in there yet I can argue Oklahoma State has a case. I present the Virgo Breakdown of both schools

Pros for OK State

- They won the Big 12 title.

- They only lost on the road was in double OT to Iowa State, who also threatened Kansas State in an upset.

- The Big 12 was perhaps the strongest conference all year and deserves an entry.

- They beat OK, Kansas State, Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor

Cons for OK State

-They did lose to unranked Iowa State

-Less we think that game was a fluke, A&M was up huge and Kansas State put the fear of God in them

Pros for Alabama

-They played LSU tight for 60 Minutes

-It’ll be must see TV esp. in the South

- Rematch games are not out of the ordinary (1993 and 1996 title games)

- I believe they are probably the 2^nd best team by default and from my eyelids.

Cons

-Did not win the SEC Title

- Already faced LSU and had their chance

- Played a weaker schedule than OK State

- No team has played for the BCS title without winning a conference title in 8 years (2003 – Oklahoma lost the Big 12 title game and still played and lost to LSU. 2001 – Nebraska didn’t make the conf title game and got stomped out by Miami.

See how tricky it is? I can make legit arguments for both and I have no clue which makes sense. I have sympathy for OSU because I believe the Big 12 >>>>> SEC this year. Yet Alabama was clearly right there with LSU.

My only counter is wondering about something like 2006 when Ohio State and Michigan were ranked 1-2 entering their game. Yes it was the last game of the season so all was at stake but both played so evenly that a rematch would’ve been appropriate. I wonder if they played earlier in the year would folks have been crazy for it. It could be SEC bias at play here but also since all the top teams lost, Bama also did move up by default. Also, Bama was #2 in the AP poll as opposed to Nebraska and Oklahoma making crazy jumps.

Either way, the field will determine where everybody should be. Ball never lies and ultimately, the best teams do it on the field, not in the polls. And now a Virgo Rant.

Yeah I see the BCS and I see BS!! Let’s celebrate the biggest racket in college football – All that money and the schools get nothing but prestige. The bowl committees get most of the bank and of course the players get nothing but trinkets and a final audition for the NFL scouts, fans and their legacies. The bowl games are a crockpot of money and greed and backslapping goodness that masquerades as tradition. 

So yes, we’ll watch and celebrate despite the fact half these games are only around because some company puts up the cash and we want to reward every team that finishes .500 or better (except my beloved UCLA Bruins who make a Bowl Game at a sterling 6-7). Expansion rears its ugly head and I’d be happier if we killed off some of these games. Or at least give the players some money. And let's not even discuss how we select certain teams while some teams get screwed *steps off soapbox*

- Boise State vs. Arizona State will be a good early game

- Baylor vs. Washington will be nice. RG3 vs. the future in Keith Price

- Florida and Ohio State seem to always meet up in either college football/bball. This one could be heated

- Georgia vs. Michigan State will be great

- South Carolina’s Jadeveon THE FREAK Clowdey and Melvin Ingram vs.Nebraska's Taylor Martinez? Yes!

- Somebody please tell me why the Compass/GoDaddy Bowl Games are late in January??? Put them ugly games in the back! See this is what I'm talking about right here. This RIGHT HERE is some.....(grabs the mic from this crazy fool and shoves him offstage before he pisses off the wrong fan)

Virgo’s Heisman Ballot

1. Robert Griffin The Great

2. Case Keenum

3. Honey Badger (need I remind you what this dude did in the last two games – best defensive playmaker since N. Suh)

4. Montee Ball (38 TD’s is 38 TD’s. In a power running conference, that’s even greater. The most underrated star of this college season.)

5. T-Rich from Bama

6. LaMichael James – I feel T-Rich and James are better runners who did better work than Ball. Better NFL prospects too I’ll add. LMJ suffered when he missed a game due to injury but he remains the best Pac-12 RB I’ve seen since Reggie Bush/Lendale White

7. Andrew Luck – before you ask where Matt Barkley is, I’ll remind you that Luck had a clutch drive to tie USC and he beat Barkley’s USC team in triple OT. Pac-12 Player of the Year trumps Barkley’s numbers. But being the No. 1 overall pick doesn’t mean you were the best QB this year.

NFL Tidbits

The Return of Josh Johnson!! The legend of the University of San Diego got his 1st start in 2 years and played pretty well (16-27, 229 yards, TD, INT, 45 rush yards). And yes, I was happy as ever blowing this up before and after church. Torero Pride baby!

Aaron Rodgers’ 1 minute drill was pure money. Great way to respond to Eli Manning’s drive and further proof that he and the Packers are on another level (Get well soon, Charles Woodson)

Give Tim Tebow his credit playing well and looking like a quarterback Sunday. The church can get a head nod from me as I keep driving past it. 

Somebody please me why 1) Jason Garrett iced his own kicker, 2) nobody on Dallas called timeout on the previous play instead of burning clock only to spike the ball. My Boys better not be starting our annual December choke job.

The Chargers took it back to 2009 dropping hell fire on the Jaguars. Philip Rivers looked sharp. Vince Jax and Malcom Floyd made big plays. Ryan Matthews ran the ball well. Slumps die in Florida I guess.

Quiet as kept, Chris Johnson is playing back to normal. It’s a surprise if only you have no idea how a body works. Took him a while to get going, longer due to his holdout and now that he has 130+ yards in 3 of his last 4 games, he’ll finish with 1,000 yards. A success when you consider things.

New England is lucky they didn’t give back a 28-point lead to the Dan Orlovsky-led Colts. Read that again, Dan “Run Out Of the End Zone” Orlovsky nearly engineered a 4^th Q comeback.  Baltimore runs the AFC, far as I’m concerned.

On that point, Rob Gronkowski is that dude. 13 TD’s for a season record by TE’s and he’s gonna shatter that. Unbelievable matchup problems. Speaking of beast mode, shout out to Marshawn Lynch (148 yards, 2 TDs) and Ray Rice (204 yards, 2 TDs) going off.

Anybody see the Buffalo Bills? They were high on the mountaintop a month ago but seem to have fallen back to irrelevancy. Maybe we can ask the Lions since they’re headed down that way it seems. 

Football Wrap Week 12: The Return of a Urban Legend

So Urban Meyer returneth eh? The man who wanted to spend time with his family, leave college FB for health issues and enjoy his ESPN gig has come back to do it all again for his first love. That’s college for ya.

First things first, I always respected Meyer. He and Pete Carroll are the best coaches of the last decade and Meyer was great at 2 schools in the BCS era. But the lionization of him came with people overshadowing his faults and the fact that if any other coach had that many arrests at one program as he did at Florida, they’d be looked at sideways.

(Case in point, Jimmy Johnson is arguably one of the greatest and smartest football coaches of the last 25 years. Yet people think of The U as a program full of Black thugs and arrogance and remember the Cowboys running wild. Meyer has somehow escaped that. )

That said, he’s going to make Ohio State dominant again, which won’t be that hard. That’s still a top-5 job in college football and he’ll bring some athletes out there.  The Big 10 won’t be as hard as the SEC so he’ll be all good.

But here's the big if - when Ohio State gets NCAA sanctions courtesy of Jim Tressel, Terrelle Pryor and Co., will Meyer will be the perfect coach to boost morale and keep folks happy? And considering he left Florida after his worst season there, he can be considered a front-runner if there ever is one. And what if his health is another factor - if Florida stressed him out, what about being home? Ask Ken Griffey Jr. how returning home to Ohio worked out. 

I hope he stays healthy. The pressure of winning at OSU will be worse than Florida or maybe Florida prepared him well. Either way, it's going to be interesting to see what happens.

NCAA Tidbits

Shoelace vs. Braxton Miller – can’t wait for Round 2 next year. Glad the Big 10 got to see some modern quarterbacking at work. Shoelace is showing that he’s a better passer and I’m excited to see what he’ll do in a bowl game. Congrats to Michigan finally beating Ohio State. 

Only Georgia stands in the way of LSU v. Alabama Round 2. But after seeing Arkansas and Auburn push up daisies this past weekend, it’s clear the SEC is super overrated this year. Just as I predicted.

Your Heisman Finalists in Virgo's Opinion: Robert Griffin III, Trent Richardson, Case Keenum. Hate to say it but Matt Barkley can finish above Andrew Luck too. It doesn’t matter because it’s no bearing on A. Luck’s NFL projections.

Speaking of which, shut up to the folks who saw Luck is overrated. I watched Stanford play several times this year and he still showed why he has great poise, size, IQ, decent speed and an incredible arm. Just because other QB’s have risen up doesn’t mean he’s overrated, it means he’s not head and shoulders above everyone by that much.

He did, however, prove, that coming back one more year means folks will dissect you more and karma will be a witch. See Sam Bradford, Matt Leinart, Jake Locker and the list goes on….

NFL Tidbits

San Diego has lost six in a row. Dallas is playing better in November. The roles have reversed since my teams faced off in 2009 when I said the Chargers are what the Cowboys should aspire to be.

Now it looks like Romo is finishing games better after he led a last minute drive to beat Miami while Phillip Rivers looks handcuffed to protect him from himself. My teams are going in reverse and while I still swear Rivers is hurt, that whole team is mentally stunted. Dallas, on the other hand, looks motivated and hungry and ready to seize the division.

It's strange. But hopefully this will lead to Norv Turner finally getting clipped. 

Houston Texans may be the best snakebit team in the league. Arian Foster, Andre Johnson, Mario Williams and now Matt Schaub have missed several games due to injury. Now Matt Leinart is on the shelf. Go figure.

Don't be upset Jason Avant, I do this to everybody. It's what I do.

Eagles are unraveling worse than the Magic Carpet when Jafar turns it into a ball of yarn in Aladdin. Tom Brady did his surgery and picked them apart like it was bird hunting season.

Props to Stevie Johnson for maturely handling the aftermath of his celebration by owning it. It was a little low but after I saw it, it was pretty funny. However, he didn’t cause his team the game with it compared to him dropping a few passes in the 4^th. But when will folks learn one play in the first half doesn’t affect a game?

Low twos also to Bob Costas and his reaction on Sunday Night Football. Reminds me of Joe Buck going crazy over Randy Moss and his fake mooning. When people defining what’s acceptable celebration, typically they overreact and 1) go off on guys who do it with style, 2) elevate certain players who keep it simple. There’s a place for both.  I’m all for hating guys who go way too overboard but at some point, we need reasonable folks to have enough influence to say lighten up.

You think they're scared of us yet? Nope? Guess we gotta keep winning and scoring with no mercy.

How is Green Bay 11-0 and still under the radar? I don’t think Denver in 1998 has this less pressure when started off 13-0 after winning the Super Bowl. They just keep winning and winning with no weaknesses and if that defense keeps playing well. Look out.

Let me give the kicker some. Shane Lechler of the Raiders had an 80-yard punt that was a thing of beauty. He just boomed it over Devin Hester’s head and Hester looked lost trying to handle it. Great stuff. 

Football Wrap Week 10: Return of the Wrap (and the Ducky Boys/Boise State Blues)

Took a week off from the Wrap due to the Penn State scandal and processing all the information. Everything else felt trivial and even though I had a wrap ready to go, I scrapped it. Starting fresh this week.

Raise your hands if you expected to see Oregon back in the BCS picture. Okay, maybe they weren’t totally dead but I wasn’t exactly ready to ride for them after LSU became the second SEC team to beat them in a calendar year.

But here we are, a month later and guess who’s back? The Ducky Boys after steamrolling Stanford on the road just like they did last year. Back up to No. 4 in the BCS and suddenly the Rose Bowl isn’t the only thing in their picture. I crowned them that nickname last year after they mauled Stanford so I'm bringing it back.

I’m surprised but I shouldn’t be. I should’ve remembered 2 years ago when Oregon lost to Boise State in their season opener and still wound up in the Rose Bowl. Their strength is getting better as the season goes on and wearing down teams with their speed as their offense clicks into gear. The Pac-10 hasn’t been able to stop them and it’s to their credit that they aren’t afraid to play anybody.

Oregon hosts USC, ranked No. 18 but somehow not in the BCS Top 25 and their Civil War game with Oregon State. Then there’s the Pac-12 title game vs. Arizona State or UCLA. Arizona State just lost to Washington State so there’s a good chance they could lose to Arizona or Cal. Meanwhile, my Bruins only have to win one to get into the Pac-12 game, which I still can’t fathom.

Anyways, Oregon could face SC, Oregon State or UCLA. Not a strong schedule. Let’s compare to Alabama and Oklahoma State.

OK State’s schedule = Iowa State, home vs. Oklahoma minus Ryan Broyles and a couple others. Blast you, Big 12 for no title game. Cowboys could win out without a problem.

Alabama’s schedule = Georgia Southern and the Iron Bowl with Auburn.  Alabama’s hungry to avenge last year’s Iron Bowl so I like their chances to win out a bit more than OK State.

Of course, the trap could be if Oklahoma wins and leapfrogs everybody. Not to mention if LSU somehow finds a way to lose to Arkansas, which I doubt. But I’m playing it safe and just assuming LSU is straight while 2-4 could be shaken up.

I’m not opposed to rematch games because if a team loses early, they should be able to get another crack at the title. And if the 2 best teams already faced each other, let’s do it again like Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby. Yet my problem is if a team loses in the final month yet somehow leapfrogs teams who win out, even if the game was pretty even.

So Oregon has a tough road back still but it’s not entirely impossible. Now all they need to do is actually win a BCS Bowl Game since Ohio State and Auburn got em....

Quick NCAA Tidbits

1. Boise State – Barely an hour or so after Georgia helped their cause with a win, the Broncos saw déjà vu. Dan Goodale, meet Kyle Brotzman, he’ll be escorting you to your new home in Witness Protection. (To be fair, Boise State’s been shaky all year and I could see where Kellen Moore missed having some help at WR)

Speaking of Deja Vu, I had dang near the same pic of K. Moore on the blog last year after the loss.

2. Kansas State sure loves drama – last week vs. OSU and this week, 4 OT vs. A&M. At least they won this time.

3. Robert Griffin The Great strikes again – a 4^th quarter, 21-point comeback. Not bad for the Baylor legend.

Virgo’s Top 10: 1) LSU, 2) Oklahoma State, 3) Oregon 4) Alabama, 5) Arkansas, 6) Oklahoma, 7) Clemson 8) Stanford, 9) Virginia Tech, 10) Houston

NFL Top 5

1. It can be the Super Bowl, it can be regular season but to paraphrase Chris Berman, nobody….circles the Buffalo Bills like the Dallas Cowboys. How’d that Beat Em Down taste!!!! Only thing Buffalo did right was Nelson giving his touchdown ball to his girlfriend, a Cowboys cheerleader. Dallas stayed winning on and off the field.

Don Juan DeMarco almost looks a lil like Emmitt Smith right here. 

2. San Francisco had their national test and passed it. They stopped Eli Manning on a 4^th quarter drive. One more reason why I have faith in them and Jim Harbaugh is your Coach of the Year. (Speaking of surprises, anybody notice Buffalo and Detroit are coming back to Earth hard?)

3. So what’s more shocking: Kansas City couldn’t beat a Denver team that threw only 8 passes? Or Baltimore airing it out and only letting Ray Rice rush 5 times. Embarrassing and stupid and before you cue the Tim Tebow praise, read Kordell Stewart airing out some truth. 

4. Tom Brady can’t beat Mark Sanchez in the postseason but he can definitely embarrass him in the regular season. But is Rob Gronkowski about to be the NFL’s best tight end now? He’s definitely Top 3 at this point.

5. As somebody pointed out, we haven’t had too many great nationally televised games since that New Orleans-Green Bay opener. Mainly I think because there aren’t more than 6 great teams. Green Bay, San Francisco, New England, Houston, Chicago and New Orleans and maybe Pittsburgh at 7.

If you can tell me the 3^rd best team in the AFC with a straight face, go ahead. Houston’s a sleeper cause they have the best 1-2 RB combo in the league. But everyone else is potentially shaky. The NFC’s definitely top heavy but shaky as well.

I’m wondering if this has anything to do with the lockout and of course it does. There’s enough evidence to see that certain teams aren’t sharp and the best teams just happen to be able to mask it better than most. Let’s call it lockout parity – parity created by lack of practice and conditioning. We’ll see what happens after a month from now.

Finally some closing words on Penn State, after which I will say no more on here until recapping it in my Year in Review. I was burned out on the coverage because I’ve been discussing this for over a week while some have been on it since Tuesday. But as the details unfolded and things happened, I realized something.

The ultimate danger in this story is that when a brand or entity becomes important, protecting it at all costs trumps common sense. This applies to celebrities as well as sports and we had a failure here of administrative levels only comparable to the SMU pay-for-play scandal and still worse.

For once, a major sports scandal has nothing to do with players and I hope they and the student body persevere yet realize they can be great by rallying around each other and the victims. They can be great by stepping up where older adults did not and I in turn will not judge the whole body by a few idiots who I know litter every college campus.

Joe Paterno’s legacy takes a huge hit yet I won’t demonize him nor have I. He has to live with what he didn’t do enough of for 9 years. Same with Mike McQueary, who will probably be resigning at some point under pressure. Living with guilt sometimes is just as bad as anything criminal, ask Arthur Dimmesdale from my favorite novel.

I’ve been extra sensitive being around my kids lately at Sylvan and church. I look out for them even more now because should something happen to them, I’d risk my career to save them or never forgive myself.

One can hope that the victims of this tragedy will find some closure in Jerry Sandusky’s eventual conviction. One can hope that like Barack Obama said, we all do some soul searching, As more information comes out, I also hope we continue to see good, thorough reporting to make sure something well fleshed out for the record.

Football Wrap: A Cowboys Fan's Worst Nightmare

As a Cowboys fan, this Super Bowl matchup sucks. Plain and simple. In the 1960's, the Packers were our fiercest rival and we could never get over the hump. We lost the 1966 and 1967 NFL title games to Green Bay, the last one being Bart Starr's famous 1-yard TD plunge in the Ice Bowl. As a result, Green Bay went to the 1st 2 Super Bowls.

But during my NFL watching prime of the 90's, we got revenge. I lived for owning Brett Favre every year in 93-96, none better than third-stringer and current Cowboys coach Jason Garrett beating the Packers on Thanksgiving in 1995. We'd beat the Packers during the season and then during the playoffs like it was nothing. In 2007, with both teams 10-1, Tony Romo beat Favre once again. Course, we won't mention this past season getting embarrassed.

Now Pittsburgh is different cause we got Super Bowl history in the 70's. We won 2 Super Bowls that decade, they won 4. They beat us in Super Bowl X (Lynn Swann's MVP performance) and three years later in Super Bowl XIII, a shootout famous for Cowboys TE Jackie Smith dropping a TD in the end zone. We were in a race for most SB titles and we famously got the edge beating them in SB XXX with SoCal's Larry Brown getting 2 INT's.

I hated the Steelers more because they were our title rival. Thanks to Big Ben, the edge now goes to them 6-5. The Team of the 70's at our expense. Yeah, the hate runs deep.

So Super Bowl Sunday's gonna be bittersweet seeing our old rivals coming to Dallas for a chance to hoist the Lombardi. I imagine chatting with my old Cowboys heads about the rivalries before we discuss the matchup. If fate went another way, we'd have the upper hand on both teams back then. Ah well, only the Cowboys fan in me will feel weird whoever wins.

And now for the Tidbits. First up: NFC

- Happy for Aaron Rodgers. At Cal, he was the QB of the last team to beat the Bush-Leinart USC squad before Vince Young. Beat them in 03 and nearly beat them in 2004. He was screwed in the draft and screwed waiting behind Brett Favre. Vindication! (Same with Packers GM Ted Thompson who let Favre retire to let him play)

- I only saw about 30 seconds of the first half but I saw enough. After Aaron Rodgers threw a pick that bounced off his WR's foot, Jay Cutler threw his own gunslinging INT before leaving the game w/an injury. Yep, that's the gunslinging Cutler I expected to see.

*And I hear folks talking toughness with him. Would a high profile QB really not try his best to get back in a CHAMPIONSHIP game based on injury. I know the CHI is uber-tough but get real. (Ed: Cutler suffered a torn MCL and played in 2 series...props to him choosing the team over being selfish unlike Brett Favre)

- Congrats to Clay Matthews III who went from a lightly recruited LB at USC to a Top-3 Defensive POY candidate.this year.

- Lovie Smith deserves to be extended as Bears head coach. Talk about saving your job.


AFC Tidbits

- Props to Mark Sanchez for showing heart in nearly leading the Jets from a 24-0 deficit with no help from the Jets' playcalling (love LaDainian Tomlinson but those short-yardage runs were not for him). He could've easily choked after that fumble and nasty hit but he responded by leading the charge with help from his defense. Well-done in defeat.

- I feel bad for LT because it's one year closer to the end and I hope he can come back next year to play. Yet it's clear that the Jets need to use Shonn Greene more next year.

- Rex Ryan's press conference showed me why I'd play for him. Emotional, genuine, inspires loyalty and unity and most of all protects his players.

- Congrats to Mike Tomlin, who's going to his 2nd Super Bowl and has a chance to be the 1st Black coach with multiple titles.

Football Wrap Week 13 - Oregon/Auburn 1st Look and the NFL wrap

January 10. Get thee to a TV! You have been warned. Oregon-Auburn has the makings of a classic football game and I can't imagine a better game to enjoy.

Both teams handled biz Saturday with the Ducky Boys running wild on their rival Oregon State and Killa Cam Newton having his final stamp on an amazing season in the SEC title game. Shout out to Newton earning style points for that Hail Mary to end the 1st half and offering CBS reporter Tracy Wolfson some of that Cammy Cam Juice. Now if only that was ESPN cutie Jenn Brown...

I've been waiting for this game all year. I'm hyped! The Ducky Boys get to prove how deadly they are to a national audience who thinks they're some gimmick that the Pac-10 couldn't slow down. Let me tell y'all something - Oregon is like a tank on steroids. Speed, speed and more speed. They don't slow down, they slow you down trying to keep up.

The three-headed monster of Heisman finalist LaMichael James (led nation in rushing), Kenjon Barner (above) and Darron Thomas is nearly impossible to stop. Jeff Maehl is as sure a tight end as anybody in the country. And Oregon's defense? Far better than people think and definitely better than Auburn's.

Auburn? They got a beast in D-lineman in Nick Fairley. They got some uber great running backs. And some guy who's probably going to win the Heisman in the biggest landslide since Reggie Bush. Get your TV's ready for a classic.

E-TV Prediction: Oregon wins this by 15-20. It all comes down to ball control and if Oregon has a lead, this game will be in deep trouble. Auburn typically makes a great defensive stand in the 2nd half to turn the tide but I don't see them doing it against the Ducky Boys, who won't fold like Alabama did.

Other college FB hits

(Sigh...this pic says it all)

- USC/UCLA is still a big deal but the rivalry is about as one-sided as it used to be in the 90's. As much I root for UCLA tailback Johnathan Franklin, he fumbles as much as he makes big plays. It's sad that the stupid brawl outside the game seemed more exciting than the game itself. Hope that game never gets televised at 730 again. As a UCLA fan, if we can't beat the most suspect USC team in a decade, it's a long road back to glory, whatever that may be.

- Arkansas vs. Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl (Yaaaaaaaawn), TCU vs. Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl instead TCU vs. Stanford sucks. Virginia Tech vs. Stanford in the Orange Bowl sounds like the best of the BCS bunch. UConn vs. Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl (Smh)

- In case we forgot about Shoelace Robinson, 3rd in rushing yards this season with 14 TD. 2,316 passing yards. There's your Heisman favorite next year along with LaMichael James.

NFL POINTS

I don't know how to feel about Dallas anymore. Jason Garrett is a Roy Williams fumble away from being 4-0 and we've taken advantage of the worst slump of Peyton Manning's career. Yet something about this team just perplexes me.

I've talked with my buddy Shane about the state of the team. I may have to finally accept that seeing Jon Kitna run this team pretty well makes me think that its time for a drastic change to rebuild this team.

Marion Barber's done as a tailback. Felix Jones is spectacular but he's like Darren Sproles - can't use him as the main tailback. Tashard Choice had 100+ rushing yards and it looks like he's got a brighter future. I've told folks that drafting a QB in the late rounds this year is an option but it looks like a necessity because I think Tony Romo gets 1 good year to see what he can do with a better coach.

It's clear though that this team should be much better now and down the road. But watching them now feels like I'm watching a warrior play with pride and I like it, yet that warrior took a furious beating early on.

- Phillip Rivers lost his first December game. Not as much as the Chargers defense couldn't rise up to get revenge against Oakland. They made Jason Campbell look like he was back in Auburn running the ball and guiding that strong ground game. Hate to say it, the Raiders are finally good again and SD's gotta beat KC this weekend to stay in the playoff hunt.

- Matty Ice and the ATL Falcons get no respect. 10-2 and having beaten the Packers and the NFC sleeper in Tampa Bay. Not sure what to make of them but anybody who's sleeping on them is in for a rude awakening.

- Have you ever seen Peyton Manning play this bad? There's a cat on Twitter who thinks this is the end of the road for him. C'mon now, he's throwing to Reggie Wayne, an inconsistent Pierre Garcon and a bunch of backups. You'd suffer too. He deserves his share of the blame but let's get real.

- Glad nobody's talking up big Ben as an MVP candidate with how well his team has played. Good. I refuse to accept any MVP talk for a man who skated on his crimes not too long ago. He's played well but treat him like a pariah just like we did for anybody else.

Football Wrap Week 7 (Death of A Season)

I hate writing eulogies. I already did one earlier this year for the Dodgers and now I have to write another for a season that is officially in the ground (with another possibly on the horizon in San Diego).

Forget another blog jocking Auburn, UCLA getting curbstomped by the Eugene Ducky Boys, the Saints missing Reggie, the BCS acting ugly, my fantasy successes or Brett Favre showing his true, selfish colors if he plays Sunday. I present. The Death. Of the Cowboys.

With a heavy heart, I announce this. Seasons usually don't die before the midpoint but they do when you suffer a bonecrushing loss. They die when you find new ways to lose every week and still get shocked at how low it still gets. Case in point - the preseason Super Bowl favorites.

We lost to the Redskins on a holding penalty. We lost to the Vikings with a slew of penalties to negate our efforts. We lost to Tennessee despite Tony Romo having 400 yards and Felix Jones rushing over 100. Just when   you think it can't get any worse, Monday Comes Around (c) Switchfoot

I left work with the Cowboys holding a 14-7 lead and went nuts in the car as Dez Bryant took it 90 yards to the house for a huge lead. Turns out that it was the last sign of life from a dying man. Next thing I know, the Midgets scored three times in the next 8 minutes and it wouldn't stop until the end. That's right. A 31-point response in Cowboys Stadium that ripped the heart out of every fan.

It was death by public execution. Losing despite forcing 5 turnovers. And seeing this sight after the game didn't help....

Yep. Tony Romo's possibly done for the season. Broken left clavicle. They took out my quarterback. My quarterback. Sniff, sniff. (c) Terrell Owens

All the preseason hype in the world couldn't overcome a lack of discipline and terrible on-field decisions. It couldn't overcome Wade Phillips looking more lost like a kid given a Maserati despite just getting his license or Jason Garrett showing why he was a 3rd-string QB with his terrible playcalling.

There's no reason that a team with Tony Romo, Miles Austin, Dez Bryant (3 total TD's Monday), DeMarcus Ware, Felix Jones, Marion Barber should be in this position. It all comes down to coaching and finding ways to win. Romo has shown more often than not that he's becoming a better quarterback despite his Brett Favre tendencies.

And watching all of this is Jerry Jones. The man who is 15 years removed from our last title. The man who's ego has kept him from hiring a great coach. Think about it. After Jimmy Johnson was forced out because he wouldn't bow down to Jerry Jones, we've hired Barry Switzer, Chan Gailey, Dave Campo and sent Bill Parcells to retirement.

(This pic says it all about Jerry's sense of self-importance)

The most storied franchise in the NFL has had average coaches running the ship. Why? Because the only star in Dallas is the owner. Jerry Jones doesn't want any competition. He undermined arguably the most underrated coaching star of the last 3 decades and replaced him with ordinary guys who were out of their element. In Parcells' case, he wasn't given room to breathe and do the magic he usually does.

And this is why the Dallas dynasty died. Had he never fired Jimmy Johnson, the Cowboys would've won 4 straight Super Bowls and drafted players to keep the team going. But no, he has to be the star. The Cowboys stadium is a monument to his excess, his brilliance. His version of Nebuchadnezzar's statue that looks gold from afar but has been crushed by a boulder.

It's beyond stupid. When Wade Phillips is finally canned, Jerry needs to get over himself and do what's best for the franchise. Stop seeing the dollars rolling in from merchandise and start validating it with a team worthy of respect. Go talk to Bill Cowher or somebody with discipline and a proven track record and get an OC who can develop our players.

(For more on Jerry, check this post from last year celebrating his 20th anniversary as owner)

A dead season is upon us. I know Jon Kitna is a great guy but unless he captures magic in a bottle, there's no reason to watch except out of pure loyalty. Chargers fans, we need a win next week or I'll be writing something similar calling for pounds of flesh to repay us for a lost season.

VSR (20 Years of Jerry Jones in Big D)

This is dedicated to the 20th anniversary of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones running the show. I’ll touch on that later, first a message to my Lakers brethren.

Repeat after me, DO. NOT. PANIC. Let’s take a close look at this 2-game losing streak. A loss to Denver came after the Lakers arrived at 4 a.m., got tired in the 4th quarter and fell victim to one of the best defensive performances Denver has had since Carmelo Anthony arrived in 2002 – the latter will never happen again under George Karl, watch. Then losing to Phoenix on the road – well, consider that Shaq played out of his mind, everyone gives up buckets to Phoenix on the road and Leandro Barbosa is just as dangerous as Steve Nash because he’s quicker and is harder to stop in transition (remind me why I kicked him off my ESPN fantasy team despite a bad start)

Any worries you have need only to be erased by looking at the standings. The Lakers are so far ahead in the Western Conference that we need a road map to find the No. 2 team 7.5 games back. We’re only thinking about the Eastern Conference and making sure we stay No. 1 overall (1/2 game ahead of the Cleveland).

By the way, I’m happy that Shaq has found the Fountain of Youth. 45 points two games ago, 33 against the Lakers…and I believe Chris “RuPaul” Bosh needs to worry about being outshined by an old man. Shaq’s punchlines >>>> Charles Hamilton’s punchlines.

If Russell Westbrook doesn't make the All-Rookie Team, something is wrong (or it's because D-Rose and Mayo locked up the guard spots): Triple-double last night, a near triple double against the Lakers before the AS break. 3 years ago, this guy was offered a last minute scholarship by UCLA thanks to Jordan Farmar leaving. This kid has amazing heart and drive and watch him wind up leading the resurgence in OKC with Kevin Durant (who's playing like an All-NBA 2nd or 3rd teamer)

Who’s ready to go dancing? *raises hand like a Ridelin-addicted 5-year-old* It’s almost time for me to be checked in the insane asylum as a victim of March Madness.

I won’t be at the Pac-10 Tournament this year thanks to the Southern California High School State Regional Tournament happening the same week. But if UCLA faces Arizona State or Washington, they need to play like they did at Cal/Stanford to even think about winning. Right now I have them as a 4 or 5 seed…win the tournament and maybe they’re a solid No. 4 with an outside chance at No. 3.

If I had to pick ‘em today….the No. 1 seeds would be UConn, Oklahoma, North Carolina and…Memphis?? By default, I guess the Tigers end up there but anything is possible in the conference tournaments. UNC still has to deal with my Duke boys on Sunday looking for revenge to ruin Psycho T and Danny Green’s Senior Day. But first, they gotta worry about keeping Ty Lawson from carving them up.

The Patriots trading Matt Cassel means several things: 1) Tom Brady will be fine by Opening Day, 2) Kansas City will be the new New England thanks to Scott Pioli running the show, 3) Another excuse for the SF Valley to feel proud*….bah. I’m happy the Cowboys got Jon Kitna as a back-up…he’s a good guy with good character and somebody that Tony Romo can learn from as far as leadership.

*by the way, Cleveland HS' cheerleading squad >>>>> every cheer squad I have seen except for Crenshaw and Inglewood HS. By that I mean, dance moves, music choice and versatility during their halftime routine. But Crenshaw and Inglewood's bands >>>>> everyone else.

Speaking of the ‘Boys, it’s been 20 years since Jerry Jones bought the team so for better or worse, let me run down the best/worst things of the era (aided partly by Jeff Pearlman’s brilliant “Boys Will Be Boys”)

Best of the Era
1. 3 Super Bowls in 4 years - duh
2. Trading Herschel Walker for essentially those 3 Super Bowls (and Emmitt Smith, Darren Woodson and Russell Maryland via New England)
3. Jimmy Johnson era (not just the wins but the discipline and the attitude that reinvigorated a franchise)
4. Bringing in Deion Sanders to shut down Jerry Rice and clinch that 3rd Super Bowl (sense a trend?)
5. Drafting DeMarcus Ware (arguably the best draft pick made during this low stretch for us)

Worst of the Era
1. Kicking out Tom Landry like a dog
2. Nothing notable happening since 1998 – a 13-3 season in 2007 but lose in the playoffs to the Giants.
3. Getting big-headed and kicking out Jimmy Johnson. This cost the Cowboys another title as the discipline Johnson brought would’ve defeated the 49ers and then crushed the Chargers in the Super Bowl.
4. You go from Jimmy and Barry Switzer to….Chan Gailey and Dave Campo??? No wonder we ain’t won crap since I was in junior high.
5. Being a control-freak.

6. Michael Irvin's last game ending on a stretcher (I'll never forgive Philly fans for cheering)

It’s hard being a Cowboys fan. We’re still living off the glory years and haven’t seen a successful home-grown offensive threat in years (although Romo, Barber and Felix Jones may prove me wrong). All we want is a playoff victory next year to kick off our new stadium. Is that too hard to ask Jerry? Because we definitely didn't close out the old one in style...

I like Jerry Jones. Under his watch, I became the Cowboys fan I am today. But as I came of age, it became harder to watch without knowing it can be better. Here’s hoping the next decade is more like the first and not the last.