Monday, September 19, 2011

09/19 (Monday) Quickie

Fast, fast, fast....

*Big winner of NFL Week 2: Tony Romo. After last week's fiasco, he earns the "gritty" label from erstwhile haters for leading the Cowboys to a W with a broken rib.

(Other contenders: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Matt Ryan, the holy s---t Lions, Josh Freeman, Cam Newton.)

*Big loser of NFL Week 2: Mike Vick. Between the concussion and pointing at the scoreboard and ultimately losing the game, it was a less-than-ideal ATL homecoming for Vick.

(Other contenders: The Chiefs, Tebow as a WR, the Ravens' dud vs. Tennessee, Luke McCown and any fantasy owner who had Jamaal Charles.)

*Colts "Suck for Luck" Watch: What will it take for the team to realize that the fans would be THRILLED to go 0-16 and secure Andrew Luck, rather than muddle through a lost season at 4-12 -- if they're lucky! Next week vs. Pittsburgh is going to be a massacre, but the upside could be that everyone realizes that tanking the season is entirely the way to go.

*Rays beat Red Sox, now 2 GB for Wild Card: I honestly think that the Yankees should tank a few games against Tampa to help the Rays vault Boston. NY needs to consider the competitive value -- short-term and long-term -- of a Boston collapse.

*Justin Verlander wins No. 24: His bid for a 25th win is one of the must-see events of the week in sports.

*Floyd Mayweather: Are you on the side of "He sucks; it was a sucker-punch" or the side of "Protect yourself at all times." I think I fall in the latter.

*Oklahoma is No. 1 with the pollsters: They were No. 1 going into the weekend and came away with a win at FSU. This isn't surprising. LSU still has a much stronger resume. (And let's just consider for a second: Does anyone think Oklahoma would beat LSU head-to-head?)

*Realignment: I have no problems with realignment, be it the ACC poaching Pitt and Syracuse (though it sounds like they were entirely willing) or the Pac-12 doing a deal with Texas and Oklahoma et al, consequently either killing the Big 12 or scattering its members wherever. I have more problems with the folks griping that this is somehow killing college football or college basketball.

It's not, and it's a stunning lack of faith in the power of each sport to push that line. College football will be fine; college hoops will be totally fine -- as long as there's a bracket in March, college hoops will be totally fine. I have yet to read or hear a compelling argument or evidence why realignment is inherently bad for the sport.

*Pop culture: Congrats to "Friday Night Lights" for getting Kyle Chandler a "Best Actor in a Dramatic Series" Emmy and another one for Best Writing in a Dramatic Series.

-- D.S.

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