By Mike Luce
On behalf of everyone here at the College Football Report: welcome back. As most of the country busies itself with gift receipts, returning (if only briefly) to work, and extra therapy visits to offset seasonal depression (it can’t be just us), fans of college football are in the midst of the true holiday season: bowl games.
At the moment, we find ourselves mopping up the last few Vaguely Interesting Bowls and among some prime offerings from the Legitimately Interesting Bowls (punctuated by Wednesday night’s Miami-Wisconsin match-up). We are also fast approaching the BCS Games and the GMAC Bowl (otherwise known as the lone representative of Bowls You Didn’t Know About Because They Come After The BCS Games – although we sense this could be a growing category in the future).
Somewhat surprisingly, Layoff Season has been extended into late December this year by the fiasco unfolding in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech fired head coach Mike Leach on Wednesday for – and we don’t know quite how to put this – poorly managing an injury to the son of an ESPN commentator. We won’t bore you with the details, but the Cliff Notes version reads that Leach mishandled an injury to mediocre sophomore wide receiver Adam James.
Most reports support Leach’s position that he was protecting the player from further injury . . . albeit through such dubious means as allegedly forcing James to stand alone in a shed during practice.
In the pre-Mangino era of Big 12 football, such insensitivity might have gone somewhat unnoticed. (For reference, fellow Big 12 coach Mark Mangino lost his job over similar issues earlier this year. Mangino was forced to resign but ultimately reached a $3 million settlement with Kansas University.)

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Posted on December 31, 2009

By Dan O’Shea
In reviewing the 2009 fantasy football campaign, I came across this fact: Only two players – Adrian Peterson and Maurice Jones-Drew – projected as top 10 stars in the pre-season were ranked in the top 10 going into this week, the final week of the NFL season.
And of those two players, only MJD had the season his owners probably hoped for and expected.
Though Peterson led the league in rushing touchdowns with 17, his fantasy points performance was marred by fumbles and he had fewer truly great games this year as Minnesota’s offense revolved around Brett Favre.
Other pre-season top 10 picks that didn’t pay off: Michael Turner, Matt Forte, Brian Westbrook, LaDanian Tomlinson and DeAngelo Williams. Even Larry Fitzgerald, Steven Jackson and Frank Gore, who rounded out the Yahoo! pre-season top 10, will finish slightly off expectations.
A discouraging year for some top players means the top 10 for next season will look pretty fresh. Here’s my first stab at it:

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Posted on December 30, 2009

By The Beachwood Upset Special Affairs Desk
1. The winning play.
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2. MNF highlights.
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3. Madden Simulation Got It RIght.

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Posted on December 29, 2009

By Jim Coffman
Here’s a neat little microcosm of why the Bears are where they are and the Vikings are where they are heading into this evening’s 2009 Soldier Field finale.
A few years ago, the team from Minnesota identified guard as a primary need and proceeded to reel in the best guy available. Many thought the Vikings overpaid ($49 million) for former Seahawk lineman Steve Hutchinson, but with the help of a “poison pill” clause in their contract offer, Minnesota had the man to spearhead its rushing game (and help seal off opposing pass rushers) for the foreseeable future. The Vikings made the deal happen by including language that would guarantee its entire value (most football contracts only completely lock in signing bonuses) if Hutchinson wasn’t the highest paid offensive lineman on his team.
Seattle, which had recently given perennial All-Pro tackle Walter Jones (who has since fallen off dramatically) a bigger contract, wasn’t going to sign on for that and Hutchinson was gone.
Despite finding themselves in possession of almost limitless salary cap space earlier this year (they went into the regular season with a total payroll more than $20 million under the limit), general manager Jerry Angelo tried to fill his needs on the O-Line on the cheap. He signed former back-up Frank Omiyale from the Carolina Panthers to a contract paying him a tiny fraction of what Hutchinson makes. Omiyale played tackle for the Panthers but the Bears slotted him at guard, hoping he could be the physical presence they needed in the middle of the line they needed to combat, in particular, the Williams Wall. That would be Pat and Kevin Williams – the un-related defensive tackles who line up for . . . the Minnesota Vikings. On several occasions in recent seasons, Bear veteran center Olin Kreutz was too often seen being blown back into his own backfield by one Williams or the other. The hope was a stronger force at guard could help Kreutz hold the point up front.

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Posted on December 28, 2009

By George Ofman
Jay Cutler’s quarterback rating was a 7.9. The snowfall in Baltimore was twice as much.
It says a lot about the storm. It says even more about Cutler.
He’s been a bust! There’s no other way to put it.
As much as I’ve tried to defend Cutler because most of what’s around him is a sham, his performance has been worthy of great skepticism. You can only say he needs better receivers, better play-calling and a better offensive line so much. After awhile you have to wonder how this guy was a Pro Bowl quarterback just a year ago.

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Posted on December 21, 2009

By The Beachwood Bowl Affairs Desk
Once again it’s time for our annual guide to America’s college bowl games. Read it, weep, and stay away from the parlays this holiday season.
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Game: The New Mexico Bowl
Date: Dec. 19 (3:30 p.m., ESPN)
Matchup: Fresno State vs. Wyoming
Where: University Stadium, Albuquerque
Comment: It’s a shoot-out in the Old West! It’s Shootout at the O.K. Corral II! It’s . . . a bowl game no one really cares about. But for problem gamblers out there, remember the Beachwood Bowl Series rule: Never depend on a school named after a state that doesn’t exist. Wyoming in a walk.
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Game: The Beef O’Brady’s Bowl
Date: Dec. 19 (7 p.m., ESPN)
Matchup: UCF vs. Rutgers
Where: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg
Comment: Formerly the St. Petersburg Bowl, this game is now sponsored by a chain of “family sports restaurants” that just rolled out Smokin’ Jack Sliders. Be sure to choose the mashed potatoes with Guinness gravy as one of your sides. (Three locations in Illinois!)
Oh yeah, the game. Central Florida has the home-state edge, but they’ll be done in by the Chocolate Eruption Cake. O’Brady’s hasn’t made it to Jersey yet, so we’ll go with the Guidos.

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Posted on December 18, 2009

By Dan O’Shea
The NBA is witnessing a superstar in the making this year, and his name is Kevin Durant.
The third-year Oklahoma City shooting guard/small forward had a lot of people excited heading into this season, and went in mid-first round in many fantasy leagues. It was no secret he was going to be good, but he has out-performed expectations thus far. His overall stats look almost LeBron-like: 28.5 points per game, 7.3 rebounds, 1.3 steals, 1.6 three-pointers. All of those marks are tenths of a point above or below LeBron’s, and his nearly 90 percent free throw rating is better than King James. Though he has far fewer assists, which tarnishes the overall stat sheet a bit, he probably would have more if there were anyone in OKC worth passing to.
If Durant keeps this up, he could seriously vault ahead of Kobe and Dwyane Wade to become the No. 3 fantasy pick next year after LeBron and Chris Paul. There’s also a good chance he also could lead the NBA this year in scoring, assuming Carmelo Anthony cools off.
Speaking of ‘Melo, Durant joins ‘Melo and King James as cream of the crop at small forward (though he obviously needs a decent nickname). That provides me with the only segue I need to assess in our Fantasy Fix Action Ratings some current hot performers at the SF slot (a position we’ll talk more about in a moment):

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Posted on December 16, 2009

By George Ofman
The first thing you think of when mentioning the Bears and Bulls is: BLOW THEM UP!
This is not to suggest recruiting some very shady characters with connections to Osama bin Laden, though the idea of relocating either of these franchises to very mountainous outposts is somewhat alluring. Deconstructing to reconstructing seems to be the hue and cry with our favorite whipping boys of the gridiron and hardwood. (The Cubs could gladly be included in this less-than-cheerful holiday column, but since they’re not playing at this moment and still saddled with their own problem child in Milton Bradley, we’ll save them for another date).
The paying customers – and those without a ticket who simply pay with time and emotion – have lost patience. The next time you see a coach use two timeouts to whip out a challenge flag it might cost you more than patience. The next time you see an opposing player tie his shoe in the middle of a basketball game while your home team figures out what to do next could force your fingers to punch those dreaded numbers: 911. Find out whether your health insurance policy covers sports related mental breakdowns.

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Posted on December 15, 2009

By Jim Coffman
Brian Billick knew the rule. The former Super Bowl champion coach and current Fox analyst knew almost immediately that Greg Olsen’s attempt at a catch midway through the fourth quarter – the one that enabled Lovie Smith to make history as the first NFL coach to blow two timeouts on one challenge – was not a reception.
As Billick explained during Fox’s broadcast of the Packers’ 21-14 dismissal of the Bears on Sunday, “The receiver (Olsen) failed to complete the act” of securing the football.
In other words, when a receiver tries to make a catch but doesn’t land squarely on his feet, he has to maintain control of the ball all the way through hitting to the ground and then coming to rest. If the shock of his body hitting the ground knocks the ball loose and he can’t regain possession before it hits the ground, it isn’t a catch. And it hasn’t been a catch for a while now.
Referee Mike Carey knew the rule. He couldn’t have looked at more than one angle before he removed the headset, hustled back onto the field and reported the results of an especially speedy replay review.
In so doing, he ensured that one of the first stories Bears fans will tell in the future when they look back at the lame late days of Lovie’s head-coaching tenure is the one when the coach proved himself not just replay challenged but twice as replay challenged as anyone else had ever been.

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Posted on December 14, 2009

By George Ofman
Vinny Del Negro is still the head coach of the Chicago Bulls. Lovie Smith is still the head coach of the Chicago Bears. And Milton Bradley is still property of the Chicago Cubs. Do you like your strychnine with milk or sugar?
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While many are foaming at the mouth for Vinny’s head (and let’s face it, he’s not exactly an Einstein at Xs and Os), look what he’s coaching, or in this case, what he’s not coaching. What’s worse, what big-name free agent wants to venture here unless he knows a big-time coach will be waiting? If the boys in the front office don’t get it right this time, the Bulls are doomed to mediocrity – or less – for years.
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Wonder why the Packers are only three-point favorites at Soldier Field this Sunday? It’s Lovie’s Super Bowl. He seems to coach his best against the Packers. Final score: Green Bay 28, Bears 17.
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Chet Coppock picked his best and worst Chicago sportscasters over the past 25 years. I didn’t check but did Chet put himself on both lists?

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Posted on December 11, 2009