November 2nd update

College Football Preview: LSU at Alabama

• The game of the year. It’s not the actual National Championship game; it’s not even a conference championship game. However, this weekend’s matchup between #1 LSU and #2 Alabama has all the makings of the game of the year or as one writer on ESPN called it, the game of the century. Both the LSU Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide feature top rated defenses and offenses that are efficient, if not explosive.
• The Tigers have undergone their share of off-the-field issues but have come out firing this football season, beating defending national runner-up Oregon and never looking back. They are undefeated and came into the season with high expectations after returning 18 of their 22 starters from the previous year. They have lived up to expectations winning every game they’ve played by at least 13 points. Their defense has only allowed more than 11 points twice in their eight games.
• The Crimson Tide returned 17 of their starters from last year and possibly have a better defense than LSU. They have not given up more than 14 points including 2 shutouts. Meanwhile their offense (that is replacing their Quarterback, Running Back and Left Tackle from last year) has been unstoppable.
• Alabama is a slight Vegas favorite due in large part to the game being in Tuscaloosa. The winner of this game would almost be a lock to play in the actual National Championship game on January 9th (which is coincidentally in New Orleans, Louisiana). Both of us here at Sportico would bet on Alabama if you're looking for a winner.


Rivers fumbles game away in Halloween Horror.

• Thirty three years ago, the Philadelphia Eagles won one of the most stunning games in NFL history over the New York Giants after a Giants player fumbled with only a few seconds left and an Eagles defender ran the fumble into the end zone the other way for a touchdown. The play was dubbed "The Miracle at the Meadowlands" (because that was the name of the stadium where it was played) and while it has been considered one of the single worst plays in NFL history, it may have met its equal on Monday in what I'd like to dub the "Halloween Horror."
• After completing a wild comeback that saw the San Diego Chargers tie the Kansas City Chiefs up at 20-20 with only a minute left, the Chargers simply had to kneel the ball a couple times and attempt a chip shot field goal to win and give them a two game lead in the AFC West. But then the unthinkable happened. Rivers failed to handle the snap from center Nick Hardwick and the Chiefs recovered the ensuing fumble, sending the game to overtime where they won with their own short field goal. Instead of a 2 game lead, the Chargers are now tied for first with both the Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders.
• There are actually a few connections to the Chiefs and the Miracle at the Meadowlands. The Eagle defender who returned the fumble was none other than Herm Edwards, who was the predecessor to current Chiefs coach Todd Haley. And the Chiefs coach before Edwards was Dick Vermeil, who coached the Eagles in the Meadowlands game. The Chiefs have won 4 in a row despite losing their star RB Jamaal Charles, star S Eric Berry and up and coming TE Tony Moeaki for the season, all by halftime of game #2.
• Rivers had two interceptions, and now leads the NFL with 11 and failed to get the Chargers into the end zone more than once despite 7-8 trips inside the Chiefs 40 yard line. Afterwards, TV cameras caught him mouthing "Worst. Game. Ever."


Wednesday spotlight: Tony LaRussa

• As mentioned in Monday’s post, The St Louis Cardinals won the World Series on Friday. Their manager, Tony LaRussa announced his retirement on Monday, going out on top. The 67 year old LaRussa, the third winningest manager in the history of baseball, capped off his final season with his third World Series Championship and was only the second manager to win a Series in both the American and National Leagues.
• LaRussa played 10 years in the MLB (though mostly as a backup and a end-of-the-roster player). After getting a JD from Florida State University, he began his managerial career in 1979 in the minor leagues for the Chicago White Sox. In less than a year, LaRussa worked his way from the manager of the Double-A affiliate of the White Sox to the Major League Manager. 7 years in Chicago followed by 9 years in Oakland (including a Championship in 1989) led him to St Louis.
• Since 1996 LaRussa has been the skipper of the Cardinals, where along with Albert Pujols, he has been the face of the franchise if not the city. He was fearless, publicly feuding with fan favorite Ozzie Smith and also bringing back disgraced legend Mark McGwire as the team's hitting coach. He led the Cardinals to two titles, the other being in 2006 and made the World Series in 2004 as well where they were beaten by the Boston Red Sox.

Halloween update

Cardinals Capture Their 11th World Series

• On Friday night, the St. Louis Cardinals won their second World Series in 6 years defeating the Texas Rangers in game 7. The 11th championship in the franchise’s history; putting them second on the list of franchises championships. This game may be the last played by Albert Pujols as a Cardinal, as he is a free agent this offseason and will be looking for a big contract. Cardinals Hall of Fame Manager Tony LaRussa won the third World Series of his storied managerial career.
• The Cardinals sent their ace Chris Carpenter out, thanks to a rain day last Wednesday that pushed the game out a day which allowed Carpenter to get enough rest after pitching in game 5. The Texas Rangers tagged Carpenter early with 2-runs in the first inning as all 4 of the first 4 Texas hitters reached base. Things were not looking good for the Cardinals and the Rangers were looking good after a devastating loss the night before.
• However, the Cardinals tied the score in their half of the inning and went onto score another 4 runs. After the slow start Carpenter settled in and pitched through the 6th inning without giving up another run. David Freese, the hero of game 6, was named the MVP of the World Series. He is the 6th player in the history of baseball to be named the MVP of both the World Series and the League Championship series (the semifinals).
• While the Series win was a treat for the Cardinals, it was definitely a cruel trick for the Rangers who would have won the Series if, among other things, Nelson Cruz had simply caught David Freese's deep fly ball. It may or may not be the most debilitating collapse in American sports history and for a franchise that's never won a World Series, it will certainly be tough to swallow.

Major upsets in NFL, college football


• The last weekend in October was a big one for a number of teams, and many failed to answer the call. A week after #3 Oklahoma suffered their first loss, they played undefeated #8 Kansas State and after K-State took a 17-14 lead, they forgot to continue playing and let Oklahoma steamroll them, 58-17.
• The Clemson Tigers were also undefeated and looking for a BCS Title game possibility but they got beaten soundly, 31-17, by Georgia Tech whose well run triple option offense gives defenses firs because it is so rare and unconventional in today's game.
• Stanford nearly suffered a similar fate as it's fellow top 8 contemporaries but barely escaped with a 56-48 win in triple overtime against Southern Cal. Andrew Luck's Cardinal are now the 4th ranked team in the BCS standings and with #1 LSU and #2 Alabama playing each other next week, will likely move up to #3 after that game. Oklahoma State sits at #3 currently.
• In the NFL, the woeful Arizona Cardinals jumped out to a 24-3 lead over the Baltimore Ravens but former Cardinals star WR Anquan Boldin (7 catches for 145 yards) and his new team, the Ravens, avoided a second straight bad loss by beating the Cardinals 30-27 with a late rally.
• The New York Giants fell behind the winless Miami Dolphins 14-3 early but ended up rallying for a 20-17 win. The St. Louis Rams, however, did manage to get their first win after jumping off to a huge lead against the Saints and holding on for a 31-21 win. The fact that the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series in baseball can't be completely written off as a reason for this win as that victory gave the entire city a morale boost.
• In what could only be called a mild upset, the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the New England Patriots 25-17 after leading nearly the entire game. The Patriots were 5-1, considered by many to be the best team in the NFL and Tom Brady sported a 6-1 career record against the Steelers but all those stats meant nothing today as Pittsburgh and QB Ben Roethlisberger dominated the game that really didn't seem as close as the score indicated.

October 26th update

Check out the late-posted NFL recap from Monday's update.


Wednesday Spotlight: Theo Epstein

• Theo Epstein, aka the Boy Genius, was announced as the General Manager of the Chicago Cubs this past week. Epstein who was the former GM of the Boston Red Sox, and helped them break their 86-year World Series drought, is now taking on the only team with a longer drought. The Cubs have not won a World Series since 1908.
• Epstein is a follower of sabermetrics, the policies popularized in the book (and movie) “Moneyball” by Oakland GM Billy Beane, to whom Epstein was an assistant. Sabermetricians basically have found a new way of looking at baseball statistics to find players who were undervalued by the rest of the league. Oakland had a small budget so finding these players was paramount to the teams they had in the early 2000s, where they were remarkably successful. This revolutionary statistical analysis rocketed Beane to stardom, and he brought a few of his subordinates with him, including Epstein.
• Beane’s footprint also includes Paul De Podesta, who is the VP of Player Development for the New York Mets, Sandy Alderson who is the GM for the Mets, and Epstein. Beane’s discoveries were ironically cut out from under him with the publication of Moneyball and the subsequent spreading of sabermetrics. Teams with bigger budgets were able to outbid Beane for the services of the players he had found although Oakland continued (and still does) to find new players who cost a fraction of the game's "name" superstars.


Rangers look to clinch first World Series tonight

• The Texas Rangers, who won exactly one playoff game in their first 38 years in Texas (until the 2010 season) are now one win away from winning the World Series the year after winning their first American League pennant.
• The St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa committed an extraordinary blunder after twice failing to communicate to his bullpen that he wanted closer Jason Motte to be ready to face a Texas hitter in the right situation. When he realized that Motte wasn't ready to face Rangers catcher Mike Napoli, La Russa had no choice but to leave in a pitcher who did not match up as well and Napoli hit a bases loaded double to essentially end the game.
• The series has been a pitching performance for the ages with the staggering exception of game 3. Game 3 was won 16-7 by the Cardinals but even the Rangers 7 runs in that game surpass the TOTAL from both teams in ANY other game. The Cardinals have only averaged 1.5 runs per game in the other 4 and if they intend on winning the World Series they'll need to garner more run support for their fantastic pitchers in Games 6 and 7, both of which will be in St. Louis because the National League won the All-Star game this year, giving the National League the homefield advantage in the Series no matter who the team was.
• Game 6 will feature pitchers Colby Lewis for the Rangers and Jaime Garcia for the Cardinals, the two pitchers who pitched very well in a 2-1 Texas victory in Game 2. Garcia left with a 1-0 lead but Texas scored 2 runs in the 9th inning. Despite playing in over 100 World Series games, the Cardinals had not (and still haven't) been on either side of a 1-0 game.


Basketball Crazy Shot Bonus

Tired of hearing about the NBA lockout? Remember when basketball was still fun and was just about putting the ball through the hoop? Enjoy these amazing shots to start your day as suggested by a loyal reader. In no particular order:

Rudy Fernandez's canasta impossible
Isaiah Rider's play of the decade
Blake Hoffarber's shot from his back
Jordan Snipes' full court football toss buzzerbeater to win the game
Reggie Miller scoring 8 points in 9 seconds in possibly the greatest playoff performance ever.
MJ getting in an opponent's head by taking (and making) a Free Throw with his eyes closed.
Dr. J's baseline scoop, easily the greatest layup of all time.
A montage of shots made by Steve Nash's former backup Goran Dragic in the 4th quarter of a playoff game against the Spurs. I won't give away the total number of points Dragic scored in the quarter, but it's more than 22.
Uh-oh Kings fans... look away before it's too late.
Fake video but fun to watch shots by Lebron