Niners turn the lights out on Steelers, win biggest game of the century

Monday night was a big test for this 49ers team. With the entire world watching, visiting Pittsburgh seething at the chance to clinch the AFC #1 overall seed, these two proud franchises did battle. It was the first time in NFL history that two teams faced off with a combined 11 superbowl rings between them. It was an opportunity for San Francisco to prove, in front of the entire world, that they belong, that they are as good as their record and a win would improve their chances of obtaining the #2 overall seed in the NFC. 

Ben Rothlisberger, as everyone on the planet knew, was injured. He was a game time decision and just before kick off was cleared to start at QB. At this stage in the season every team is banged up and has players hurt, injured and or playing through pain. That's a fact of life in the NFL. On the opening possession, Big Ben limped his team down the field, completing passes with efficiency and it looked as though Pittsburgh would get in the end zone and take a 7-0 lead early in the game, but that's when Big Ben threw his first of 3 interceptions in this big game. The 49ers defense set the tone of the game in that moment and continued to pound away at the Pittsburgh offense, getting to Big Ben at will and making it nearly impossible for him to make plays. The defense has been incredible all season, but it was even more important last night, against a very good Steelers team and they handled this team with ease. Aldon Smith, who is likely set to be the defensive rookie of the year, man handled offensive lineman Max Starks, an 8 year veteran who had absolutely no chance at stopping the bull rush of Aldon Smith.

It's easy to focus a lot of energy on the defense because they dominated the game from the word go, but that wouldn't be fair to this offense. Alex Smith and the offensive line have taken a lot of heat in the past 4 weeks and for good reason. They allowed 18 sacks in the past 3 games and made Alex Smith's job almost impossible. Facing the second best defense in football was not an easy task, but the offensive line met the challenge and far exceeded expectations. They didn't allow a sack, they gave Alex Smith time to get the ball to his receivers and they created holes for the running backs all night. Alex Smith missed a lot of targets and left at least three TD's on the field and the team settled for field goals far too often again, but he manufactured touchdown drives in crucial moments of the game, made some amazing throws and deserves a lot of credit for doing more than managing the game and not turning the ball over. He faced the biggest challenge of the season, looked the Pittsburgh defense in the face and absolutely picked them apart.

ESPN "experts" were quick to point out that Big Ben was hurt, James Harrison didn't play and San Francisco didn't get the best Pittsburgh team last night. They failed to mention that San Francisco is playing without the captain of their defense, all pro signal caller Patrick Willis. The refused to acknowledge that Frank Gore is playing hurt and refused to make excuses, making damn sure he did everything within his power to give his team 150%, as he always does. They didn't want to accept the the offensive line of San Francisco has been banged up in recent weeks and didn't use that as an excuse and played better than they have all season and punt returner Ted Ginn Jr. left the game with an ankle injury early in the 2nd quarter. A quick note about injuries. If you are injured or hurt as a player, you have a choice. Play hurt or don't play at all. If you decide to play and things don't go your way or your performance was not up to par, you can't turn around after the game and claim that the injury prevented players from performing. It's actually pretty simple. If you play and you are hurt, good for you, but don't make excuses for your performance because things didn't go your way. Yes, Big Ben should not have played in that game but he did and he got killed. I didn't hear Frank Gore complaining after the game that he didn't perform better because he's been playing with a twisted ankle and bummed knee all season. The better team won the game and the excuses are falling on deaf ears this morning. San Francisco is playing at a very high level and will need to maintain that swagger as the head to Seattle this Saturday to play in a very loud and tough environment.

Have the Niners peaked?

Leading up to a brutal matchup versus the only team in NFL history with more superbowl rings than the San Francisco 49ers, fans are beginning to show concern. San Francisco has allowed 18 sacks in the last 3 games, more than it allowed during any 3 game stretch during it's previous 8 non winning seasons and it looks even worse than that while watching them play. Alex Smith takes the brunt of the criticism because A) he's Alex freaking Smith and B) when you are the QB, you take the heat when the team loses and get lots of praise when the team wins.

David Akers is set to break Jerry Rice's single season scoring record, a stat that makes many Niner fans cringe. We really don't care about Jerry's record being shattered, but we are very disappointed that it's being broken by a kicker because it highlights what we already know. This team leaves way too many points on the field, they settle for field goals far to often and our chances of beating playoff teams with field goals are not good. Early in the season we won games ugly, we won road games many thought we had no business winning. But now we have lost 2 of the last 3 and the team is not only injured, but not playing up to expectations of fans and of their head coach and his staff. Has the team peaked? It's easy to forget that this season was supposed to be a rebuilding season, with a new head coach, a new philosophy for running a football team and tempered expectations. That being said, this team got out fast and has overachieved, which leads fans to want more and more. Primarily because we are still living the dream of the super bowl parades and parties that followed, but this team is much different and we need to show some patience. To answer the question, no, they haven't peaked. I believe in this team and I know that they can play better, beat teams up in the trenches and make the fans proud, but I will admit that we now have very high expectations for this team. Sadly, with high expectations come even bigger letdowns and I won't be shocked when this team gets their butt kicked in the first playoff game in almost 10 years.

A long time coming

The San Francisco 49ers clinched the NFC West with a 26-0 win over a bad and beat up St. Louis Rams team yesterday and it's been a long time since Niner fans have been this happy. The celebrations seemed a bit less fruitful than some may have imagined, considering it's been seven long, sad years since this franchise tasted a playoff birth, but it comes as no surprise to anyone who has followed coach Harbaugh this season. His style is much different than any coach who has ever stalked the sidelines in San Francisco and he has goals that have not been met. Making the playoffs is obviously the first step to the Superbowl, but he also recognizes that just getting a ticket to the dance is not enough; not for these players, these coaches and definitely not for these fans. Harbaugh was calm and collected, as usual, after the game and gave us the same speech he has been giving all season. "We left a lot of plays on the field and we need to improve." This coming from a first year head coach who took over one of the proudest franchises in all of sports, when the team was down and out, playing some of it's worst football in franchise history. He stepped in with a very short amount of time, because of the NFL lockout, and got this team to play hard, to play with heart and to think of the team first, of themselves last. He is hands down the coach of the year and I am more impressed by his ability to coach under adversity than I am with his win loss record.


Sunday December 04, 2011 was also a historic day for 49ers running back Frank Gore. He passed the late great Joe Perry and became the franchises leading rusher. More importantly, Frank Gore is the face of this franchise and you can't find a face that better defines what this franchise has been through since he was selected 65th overall in the 2005 NFL Draft. He was one of the great talents coming out of that draft, but was injured so frequently that many scouts and teams were unwilling to take a chance, but San Francisco did. Frank has played for losing teams in each of his 6 previous season and has rarely made a fuss about it. In fact, he was criticized by many for crying after a tough loss his rookie season. The man played injured, he has played hurt and he has never asked for anything other than an opportunity to play and his primary goal is to be the best teammate he can be. I have a great deal of respect for Frank Gore and yesterday was yet another example of his dedication and team first mentality. It has been a long time coming, but this man was patient and now he has a chance to do something special once the playoffs begin.

Congrats to the Niners, to the players, the front office, the ownership group that I have been extremely critical of and most of all, congrats to the greatest fans in professional football.

Elitist mentality has returned to San Francisco

Thanksgiving night was the biggest challenge this Niners team has faced all season and the Niners flat out got their ass kicked in every aspect of the game. Some fans latched on to coach Harbaughs excuse machine, claiming the short week and cross country flight would prevent them from playing their A game. Last time I checked, professional football players don't travel Southwest, despite the "your bags fly free" promotions. They fly on chartered jets, shack up in 5 star hotels and get treated like royalty. Yes, if guys were banged up in the game versus Arizona, then likely guys were not playing at 100%.

I don't want to spend much time on the game itself, because sadly, I didn't get to watch much of it. What I'd like to talk about today is the mentality of some of our fans. Some of the fans have reverted back to the mid 80's and 90's, a time in Niners history when the team was favored by double digits every week, went on the road in the west coast time zone, east coast time zone, against good teams and bad and beat the living crap out of teams regardless of when and where they played. This team is not that team. Not only are they not made up of future hall of famers they way those old teams were. This is a team that had 10 seasons of mediocrity, a number of 10 loss seasons and practically gave up once the team was losing a game. The entire franchise was a complete disaster and they were clearly a laughing stock in the NFL. Jim Harbaugh has changed the mindset and focus of his team, in a very short period of time, but let's keep in mind that he has only been around for half a football season. It's easy to forget this because the team has been playing so well, winning games on the road and si.com had them ranked #2 in their power rankings going into the game at Baltimore. Let's not lose sight of the fact that this franchise is in the process of rebuilding their reputation, rebuilding the winning mentality of it's players, coaches and fans.

All of that being said, I am guilty at times. I am overly critical of Alex Smith when he doesn't play well and refuse to give him credit when he does play well. I still want to see Steve Young on the field, dropping back to pass, avoiding the pass rush and refusing to take a sack and rushing toward contact, beating up linebackers before he takes a vicious hit fromt he safety because he refuses to slide. That's what is still fresh in my mind as a Niners fan it's very difficult to accept anything less, but this team isn't the team I watched growing up. It's a new team, with new coaches and players trying to make a name for themselves and I need to embrace that because despite a tough loss to a very good Baltimore Ravens team, we still have an opportunity to clinch the division this coming weekend and that's a beautiful thing, if I allow myself to accept it, which I probably won't.

Play of the game

The final play of the Niners/Giants game on Sunday was truly incredible. Yes, Justin Smith got his hands up and blocked that ball, preventing a completed pass. But, if you watch the play again, you will see Giants tight end Jake Ballard, who made two great catches during the game and runs 6'6" 275 lbs. covered by Patrick Willis, the best linebacker in the entire league. Willis didn't just cover him, he was all over him. He stuck with Ballard's every move and prevented Manning from being able to make a big play to tie the football game. Patrick Willis was quoted in the San Francisco chronicle recently, saying " To be on track the way we are, to be able to be winning, I'll do whatever it takes. I don't care if I have to go back and play in the middle of the field." Well, that's EXACTLY what he did on the final play of the most important game in Niners football this decade. He covered the guy that was going to get the ball, he made sure that there was absolutely no way the ball would be completed to his guy and he put his teammates in a place to make a big play, which Justin Smith did.

Willis was asked about his stats (he is on pace for a career low 123 tackle season) and it was brought to his attention that his stats were down and he wasn't on track to have as many tackles as in years past. He said "It's not about the tackles or sacks or stats, It's about winning, that's what we're doing and that's what I am all for." Often times we hear players say that and then with their actions on the field, they tell us a different story, but not Willis. He's the team MVP on defense, he's the captain of men, but he's the consummate team player on a football team that has proven that this is not about one guy, it's about everyone on this team pulling in the same direction, doing what's best for the team.

Seeing is believing

Leading up to the week 10 matchup between San Francisco and The New York football Giants, I was anxious, excited, nervous and uncertain of our chances to beat a very good football team. Eli Manning is a top flight QB in the NFL and our defense hasn't face anyone like him this season. Across the sports world, specifically on the East coast, we are lead to believe that the Giants are the better football team and San Francisco is just not good enough to win this game. As much as I wanted to believe this team would win, but honestly, I was doubting our abilities. Alex Smith has been a player that fans have blamed for the dreadful offensive play over the past six years and I was starting to think that the old Alex Smith would eventually show his face. As a fan, I always want my team to win; as a Niner fan, I expect my team to win. That includes all the seasons when we lost ten plus games, when Mike Nolan and Mike Singeltary were coach, it didn't matter. During yesterdays game, I still had this feeling deep inside my gut that lead me to believe that we would lose.
As the game began to unfold, I started to think that maybe this team was different. Maybe they would step up when the game got tough and when New York started to drive the field, score points and inflict their strengths on this great defense. I kept thinking that they would find a way to lose this game, as they have so many times before. I was unable to sit still, the stress was overwhelming, I was screaming at the TV, yelling when things went bad and fist pumping and screaming at the top of my lings when the team made big plays to shut down the Giants. It was easily the most incredible football game I have watched in the last ten years. All of that being said, I needed to see this team win a big game, when times were tough and a great QB was trying to rip victory from our hands. I needed to see Patrick Willis sack Manning, I needed to see Carlos Rogers step between the ball and the Giants receiver and take the ball away. I needed to see how this team responded when Manning threw a touchdown pass and put the pressure on Alex Smith to score again. All of things I saw, lead me to believe that this team has what it takes to make a deep run in the playoffs and cause problems for the elite teams in the NFL.

Paterno and school president fired; Investigation begins

I put a few soap boxes together this week, stood atop them and shouted for Paterno and the entire athletic department to be fired, effective immediately. Last night a board of trustees in Pennsylvania ended the 61 year career of college football legend Joe Paterno and fired the school president, Graham Spanier. This is the first step forward and the first clear sign that Penn St. is taking this matter seriously.

I understand that we live in America and the phrase "innocent until proven guilty" has been uttered by many in the past few days in regards to Paterno and also to the man charged with over 40 counts of sexual assault on minors, Jerry Sandusky. In this particular case, after reading all the grand jury testimony, of which I consider to be the facts, I believe that Sandusky is guilty until proven innocent. This case has brought up a lot of emotions that I'm not used to feeling when writing about sports. Before I read the grand jury testimony, I was shocked and frustrated. After reading those documents, I became angry and wanted to hurt all the people named in those documents. I felt deep sadness for the victims of these terrible crimes and somehow wanted to step up on their behalf and do something, anything to help. The reality of the situation is far more complicated than that. All I can do is have a voice, express my concerns and help make others aware of how serious this matter really is.

Two of my friends, who don't sit in front of a computer all day as I do, feel strongly that Joe Paterno is innocent and did everything he was supposed to do as a football coach. As I was trying to help them understand and asking them to read the grand jury documents, I had to come to terms with the idea that not everyone sees this the way I do; not everyone wants to know every last detail and not everyone feels the deep sadness and anger that I do. That's a tough pill to swallow, but I am doing my best to accept that this is a case that has rocked the entire country, not just the sports world and not just a small town in Pennsylvania.

The investigation was literally set in motion within the last 24 hours and this case will get much uglier before we have a resolution. We will definitely have more questions than answers in the weeks, months and years to come. The violence that broke out last night was a simple reminder that college students are not as smart as they think they are. The streets filled with cops, cars and news vans flipped over, a city burning because the football coach of their college was fired. Were those people really out in support of former coach Paterno or have they been wrongly inspired by the occupy movements taking place across the world? I believe it's the latter and that makes this even more disturbing. I will continue to follow this case, with a heavy heart and open eyes because This is not about players taking money from boosters, it's not about Terrell Pryor driving a brand new car for each day of the week and it's not even close to what many called the "tragedy" of recruiting violations at USC. In my mind, it's not about football, coaches, legacies or wins, it's about protecting our children and standing up when we know something just isn't right, instead of looking the other way.

Jerry Sandusky Grand Jury Report

If you have only heard bits and pieces from the talking heads on the radio and actually want the facts centered around the 40 sexual assault charges against Jerry Sanduski and the Penn St. scandal, click on the link below and read for yourself. I must warn you, this is the most disturbing, graphic and brutal document that I have ever come across in my entire life. As a little side note, I am the guy who likes to read the 9/11 commission report, the transcripts of high profile murder cases, etc. That being said, I want to warn my followers that this document will blow your freaking head into a millions pieces, but it was necessary for me because I tend to look for facts, not opinions.

Grand Jury report

Not good enough

Below you will find a giant, hot, steaming pile of dog shit, which was released by Joe Paterno this morning and likely drafted by his son, who is a lawyer. I want to make myself perfectly clear. That is not enough for me! Many familiar with Penn St. football have pointed out that Paterno is king in that part of the country. His power over the entire state and all the people in Pennsylvania was given to him because he brought in tremendous amounts of revenue for a state run football program and when he wanted something, he got it. If he said the sky was falling, everyone ducked for cover. I am absolutely disgusted by his disregard for all that went wrong on his watch and his apology is not accepted by me nor do I believe a word that comes from his mouth. For the past 16 plus years, he tried to make the sexual assault and rape of children go away; he forced his friend to retire to avoid criticism of the football program and to make sure the program was able to thrive despite the presence of multiple felonies taking place on campus, in HIS locker room and he turned his back. To apologize now sounds more like "I'm terribly sorry we got caught, not I'm terribly sorry for my friend raping young boys and I can't imagine living each day thinking of how I was raped by an adult."

Penn St. brass need to step in today and shut down the football program until the investigation is complete. If that means forfeiting games, scholarships and millions of dollars, then so be it. That school cannot continue to walk around and act like these acts are not important, not anymore. If anyone at Penn St. wants to take the first step to resolve this disgusting and horrific tragedy, they will step forward and shut down the entire football program, effective immediately, and that includes firing Joe Paterno and every single person involved in this case. Also, let us not forget that these are state employees who are set to receive a very nice retirement package, which they do not deserve. Rip their retirement package, their parking pass, keys to the locker room, etc. and leave them with nothing! How is it even possible that Joe Paterno and everyone who knew about the rape walked through life without a care in the world? How do you go to work each day for fifteen years, knowing a child was raped in your locker room? How can the players take a shower in that locker room from this day forward? I will say it again, the entire sports program at Penn St. should be shut down right this second! Forget about investigations, rules, protocol, and all the other politics involved, this is the worst scandal in the history of college sports.

"I am absolutely devastated by the developments in this case. I grieve for the children and their families, and I pray for their comfort and relief.

I have come to work every day for the last 61 years with one clear goal in mind: To serve the best interests of this university and the young men who have been entrusted to my care. I have the same goal today.

That's why I have decided to announce my retirement effective at the end of this season. At this moment the Board of Trustees should not spend a single minute discussing my status. They have far more important matters to address. I want to make this as easy for them as I possibly can. This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.

My goals now are to keep my commitments to my players and staff and finish the season with dignity and determination. And then I will spend the rest of my life doing everything I can to help this University."

Smart Money

The San Francisco Giants fans are excited about the possibility of signing a big bat now that free agency has begun. Giants brass, on the other hand, have other plans. When it's your responsibility to make a team better, your blueprint may not be in line with that of the fans. When CC Sabathia signed an extension with The Yankees, I would imagine that got phones ringing across baseball. However, the people on the other end of that phone were not players, but agents for Time Lincecum and Matt Caine. Here is where things get complicated for San Francisco. For the last four or five years, the team has been successful strictly based on their ability to send great pitchers to the mound each game and that's how they want to continue playing the game. The agents for the aforementioned pitchers will likely hit up SF for huge contracts or they will find teams willing to pay them what they are worth. That means that SF will not be able to sign Prince Fielder, even though they need to. They won't be able to sign Albert Pujols, even though they want to. They won't even be able to sign a guy like Jimmy Rollins, who isn't a top tier free agent, but is a free agent that could definitely find comfort in a terrible lineup in SF. So, I want to make this crystal clear for those of you who have extremely high expectations for the Giants during the hot stove season. You can get on your soap box and scream and yell and beg all you want, but you will not see Fielder, Pujols or any other substantive free agent bat in the lineup in 2012. What you will likely get is more of the same. More bats who are on the cheap either because they are hurt (see Grady Sizemore) or because they can't play at a high level anymore, as has been the case for many years in SF. The smart money will be spent to sign the young pitchers to long term deals and the fans will have to face facts. This team pulled off a miracle in 2010 and in order to taste champagne again, this team will have to do it all over again, which they will not do.

Student Athletes are different from College Athletes

College athletes are often referred to as Student Athletes, but let's get real. Most of them get paid to play and they get a free education, if they actually care to show up and use those brand new books they were given. For example, USC hosted the Stanford Cardinals in a thrilling game last weekend. This is an extreme example of course, but an example nonetheless. USC has the highest paid players in college football and that isn't my opinion, that's a fact. Just ask the current players why they are not allowed to play in a bowl game this year. If they won't budge, allow me to expand on that. They are serving a one year probation for numerous players taking money from boosters. Now, let's talk about Stanford for a moment. Stanford has the highest academic standards of any FBS school in the entire country. Simply put, if you don't have what it takes to meet the academic criteria, it doesn't matter if you have Lebron James' jump shot, you can't get in. If you are accepted to the school and play sports, but don't meet the criteria, you don't play and likely won't last long because they will rip your scholarship and give it to a kid who meets the requirements. Oh, you also won't be handed envelopes of cash by boosters, you won't be given cars, homes, jewelry, tattoos etc. They likely handle this in a different way. I would presume that if you get in good with boosters, you are good at your chosen sport and you graduate on time, you might get an interview for a job and it's likely you will get that job because of the people you have met while playing sports at Stanford. That's a far cry from what's happening at USC, LSU and hundreds of other schools across the country.

Stanford football has climbed the ladder faster than anyone could have imagined. When Jim Harbaugh took over this program, they couldn't win games, they didn't play hard and they were over their heads in every possible category. Just five years later, they sit 4th in the BCS standings and have the longest winning streak in the nation at 16 games. The program is flying higher than ever before and for the most part, they are beating college athletes with student athletes and have raised the bar in their conference. This team and it's student athletes are kicking the crap out of bigger, faster, stronger athletes and to make things even more embarrassing, they are beating the other team mentally. Before the game even starts, these players have worked harder in the classroom than their opponent, then they hit the football field, bus their humps out there and after all of that, they hit the film room and figure out how to outsmart the other team. I'm sure it doesn't hurt that Stanford has the #1 NFL prospect in 20 years taking snaps from center. A kid who has an NFL pedigree and came back to school for this season because he wanted two things, in this order. He wanted to graduate from college (he's an architectural design major) and he wanted to win a national championship with his teammates. I don't know if he is going to win a Heisman or a national title, but I know he will graduate and that's what student athletes really care about when they leave college.

We will see you tomorrow night!!!

That's the phrase I heard from the late great Jack Buck October 26, 1991, after Kirby Puckett hit a walk off homer in the 11th inning of game 6 off old man Charlie Liebrandt in the 1991 world series. It was a moment that gave me chills and at the time, I didn't know what that was about. I was 13 years old and learning about baseball, learning about clutch performances and all the ups and downs that come with big wins and even bigger defeat.

20 years and one day later, Joe Buck, son of the great Jack Buck, uttered those words when David Freese went walk off last night to give his team the victory they so desperately needed. I don't know who is going to be the hero tonight, I don't know how the game will play out, and of course we do not know which team will celebrate or which team will be crushed in defeat. I do know that we got what we all wish for. Game 7.

We can discuss and debate much of game 6, which will go down as one of the greatest games in the history of baseball. It was ugly at times with countless mental as well as physical mistakes and that game was beautiful as well. It was one of the most incredible games you will ever see in baseball and let's just hope game 7 gives us more of the same. I stand behind my recent post and believe that St. Louis will be hosting a victory parade tomorrow afternoon and I feel confident that La Russa will do what he did in 2006. Win a world series, with a team that many said had no chance to make the playoffs, couldn't beat Philly in the first round, wouldn't be able to shut down The Brew Crew in the LCS and definitely wouldn't be able to handle a very hot Texas team. If we have learned anything at all from sports, what we think is going to happen doesn't always happen. When we think a team is dead and they have absolutely no chance to win, like last night when Texas was one strike away from the first world series win in franchise history, St. Louis fought back to win a game they needed to win. If you love baseball the way I do, you are excited for the final game of the 2011 mlb season.

World Series Game 6 postponed due to rain

For the first time in many years, I want to give Bud Selig credit. Actually, it's likely that Joe Torre or somebody with a brain made that decision. Nonetheless, it was the right decision and someone over at MLB should take full credit. I can remember watching the world series in Philly a few years back. The final game of the series, the game that put a ring on the fingers of the Phillies players, was decided after 5 innings because of rain. Yes, I understand that baseball has changed the rules this season and all rain shortened games will be continued the following day. That doesn't always work out so well, because for some unknown reason, the umpires and baseball do everything within their power to finish playoff games on the day the game starts. I understand that it's a nightmare to figure out how to schedule another game when you refuse to schedule days off in the playoffs. However, when a team sends their ace to the mound and he gives them the best chance to win a baseball game, how can you deal with the rain shortened games? Well, currently baseball likes to enjoy a lengthy rain delay and then restart the game once the rain has stopped (even if they know for a fact the rain will continue during the game) and that's not good for the pitchers. Example, The Detroit Tigers have the best pitcher in major league baseball on their team. You know what happened in his starts this postseason? It rained! It rained practically each time the guy took the bump. So, here we have a guy with an elastic arm and heart the size of Cleveland, sitting in the clubhouse trying to weather the storm, pun intended, as he waits to hear whether or not baseball will resume the game. Then, two hours into the delay, Jim Leyland decides that when the game resumes, Verlander will not be on the mound. Now, Detroit is forced to use their bullpen instead of their ace to win a playoff game, an elimination game at that. What's the point? I am so glad you asked. The point being that if baseball and the suits in New York know that a game will be rained out or delayed by rain, skip that day and play the following day. What's that, TV executives don't like that? Ticket holders don't like that? Tough shit! The game is more important than TV contracts and the sooner Selig gets that through his empty head, the sooner this game will be better because of it.

Have a good evening Bud and enjoy your fancy dinner.

Here we go again

The St. Louis Cardinals lost again last night, the first time they have lost a game started by their ace Chris Carpenter this postseason. But, thanks to a Prince Fielder homer off Rangers "ace" CJ Wilson in the All Star Game and "This time it counts", The Cardinals are heading back to St. Louis to play game 6 and hopefully game 7. See, most teams don't really thrive when their backs are against the wall. It's a wonderfully overused cliche that leads people to believe that athletes love this kinda thing. Some of them do, but I would be willing to bet my coffee money that to a man, most players would rather be wearing The Rangers shoes right now than The Cardinals.

On July 29th, St. Louis was 56-50 and a game and a half behind first place Milwaukee. Just two days before, they traded Colby Rasmus (starting CF) and pitchers Trevor Miller, Brian Tallet, and P.J. Walters to Toronto for Edwin Jackson, Corey Patterson, Marc Rzepczynski, and Octavio Dotel. It wasn't a blockbuster trade by any means, but it was a trade that would start to pay dividends as the season got longer. Exactly one month after this trade, the Cardinals found themselves 10.5 games behind first place Milwaukee and for Cardinals fans the season appeared to be over. I don't need to tell you what happened next because Joe Buck and FOX have jammed the "miracle in St. Louis" nonsense down your throat everyday for the past week or so. What needs to be said is simple. Tony La Russa doesn't care what you think of his chances, he doesn't care how many times you have counted his team out and he knows that the only people who need to believe in him are the 40 men on the roster and the coaches he trusts. Just a side not. They are sold; hook, line and sinker.

This team has never quit on their manager and I don't expect them to start now. They have battled through adversity the entire season and this team came together when they could have grown apart. This team pushed themselves when the season got tough and ugly. When this team could have folded up the tent, they refused. It's often said that a team takes on the personality of their leader. I would go a step further and say that La Russa, a grizzled veteran who is a no nonsense, business first type of guy, who shows very little positive emotion and plenty of negative emotion, took on the character of his team. He started to have fun and stopped taking things so seriously. He started to laugh at jokes and have fun on flights. He was reminded that these are grown men playing a kids game for a King's ransom. Now that the series has come home to St. Louis and The Cardinals are down 3 games to 2, they likely won't press or try to do too much or be somebody they are not. They will do exactly what got them to this point in time; they will play their game and they will do things their way. That's the only way Tony knows how to do things and I strongly believe this team will complete the impossible and raise the world series trophy high in the air following a dramatic game 7 victory. Once that happens, the rest of the baseball world will see Tony acting like a kid, like his players have been doing all season.

Much will be said about "Phone Gate" in game 5 of this series. To quickly refresh your memory, La Russa called down to his bullpen to get two guys warm in the eighth inning, Repzynski and Motte. Apparently the bullpen coach didn't hear correctly and he only had Rzepczynski warming. On the second call down, La Russa again asked for his closer, Motte, and the bullpen coach now heard Lynn. La Russa is the king of the match ups and because his bullpen coach didn't hear correctly, the game got out of his control, which for a control freak like La Russa must feel like the end of the world. Rzepczynski was left in the game to face Napoli (Napoli was 1-5 vs. Rzepczynski prior to this at bat) and he drove in 2, which would be the game winning RBI.

If I am wrong and St. Louis loses this series, pundits across baseball will point to this meltdown as the reason why they lost. I have a feeling La Russa will draw on a line I heard from Jim Leyland, shortly after his Detroit Tigers lost the world series to La Russa's Cardinals in 2006. When asked about the pathetic defensive display (his team made an uncharacteristic 8 errors in that series, most of them on balls fielded by his pitchers) by his entire pitching staff and asked to point the finger in blame, Leyland responded with something like this. When we win, it's because the players did their job and won the game. When we lose, it's my responsibility. I am the manager and if you want to point the finger, you don't have to go far because I am to blame. It's that kind of attitude that encourages La Russa's players to give 150%, to play their best when presented with the challenges of winning two games when it seems like winning those games is impossible. The ability to take responsibility for his team, even when it is crystal clear that the players screwed the pooch, is another example of why Tony La Russa will walk through the doors in Cooperstown shortly after he hangs up his spikes for the last time. The question being, will he add another world series ring to that legacy this week. I believe he will.

I haven't been able to watch as much of the World Series as I would like, but I am thankful for MLB Network. They do a great job of breaking down the game, showing highlights/low lights and the best part, Mitch Williams rips players and managers to shreds.

That being said, I just want to address the elephant in the room. Albert Pujols refused to speak with the media after game 2 and I need to call him out on the carpet. Albert is the star of the team, he's the guy asking for $300 million at the ripe age of 31 and he's the face of the Cardinals franchise. It's his responsibility to be the man when he goes 4-4 and hits the game winning, walk off dinger. It's also his responsibility to take the heat when things go South. For example, the cut fastball that Jon Jay tossed into the infield last night in the bottom of the 9th was an absolute disaster on every possible level. Jay threw a cutter to nobody in particular. Pujols didn't get over to cut the ball off in enough time and that allowed what would be the winning run get into scoring position. Great heads up play by Elvis Andrews, but let's be honest. It's the first baseman's job to make sure that doesn't happen and the runner stays at 1B so you can keep the double play ball in order, especially considering that your genius manager ripped his closer, who is the guy you want on the bump when you need a few strikeouts, in favor of a guy who turns 42 years old in a few weeks. If you are willing to ask a team for $300 million when you know you don't deserve it, the least you could do is stick your neck on the line and take one for the team when they need you to.

Mitch Williams was asked if the official scorer would address the ball thrown by Jay and charge an error to Pujols or Jay and his response was on the money. "I think the only error made in the 9th inning was by Tony Larussa who put Art Rhodes in the game when Motte is a strikeout guy who throws a hundred miles an hour and is a really tough AB." Let me ask this question. When Boston was on the brink of an utter collapse in the final game of the 2011 season and Johnhy Papeldouche was torching Camden Yards with unleaded gasoline, did Tito yank him out of the game? A step further, would Girardi ever take Mariano out of the game in that situation? The answers are no and no way in hell!! Larussa is a genius and I have been tooting his horn since they started to climb back into the fight for the wildcard late in the 2011 season, but he screwed the pooch last night. Instead of taking a 2-0 lead to Texas, the Cardinals head to Arlington tied at 1 game and they have Kyle Lohse heading to the mound tomorrow.

Give me Moore

If I posted this kids picture on Friday morning, September 30th, I wouldn't hold it against you if you had absolutely no clue who he is. Aside from the die hard fan base in Tampa and the fantasy baseball contingency, nobody would recognize that face. His name is Matt Moore and at 22 years young, he is the top prospect in the Tampa Bay Rays organization and #10 on the Baseball Prospectus top 25 list and has started 1 game in his MLB career. A single game, at Yankee stadium, in which he struck out 11 over 5 innings. Oh, he also pitched in relief at Fenway Park. So, other than getting his feet wet in the two biggest pools in MLB, he hasn't really done much. He became the first pitcher in the history of baseball to start game 1 of the playoffs with only one career start under his belt.

As impressive as all of that sounds, he was even more impressive once he stepped on the mound. He was in control of the game from the first pitch he threw until the last pitch in the 7th inning. He challenged Texas with his fastball, practically saying in the process "This is what I've got. If you can hit it, good for you. If not, then I guess I'm gonna be here a while." His fastball registered at 99 and his change up and curveball were coming in at around 85. He pitched backwards, starting hitters off with off speed pitches and blowing them away with heat. As I was watching the game I was impressed with his stuff, but I was even more impressed with his composure. His ability to control the at bat, on his terms, at his pace and with his best stuff. It was truly impressive to watch and even more impressive once I read an interview with Rays catcher Kelly Shoppach. He said about Moore's performance "I don't know that he's old enough to fully understand how these guys hit in this park. It could have played in his favor." I tend to disagree with those thoughts. I have a difficult time giving credit to sheer luck. That would lead me to believe that the guy didn't actually go out there and get guys out. I mean, if he pitched a great top of the first inning, maybe that quote by his catcher would be acceptable, but he went through that lineup three times! He forced Texas to hit his pitch and that was something they were unable to accomplish. The kid came into their house, he shoved it down their throats and on this day he was better than they were. It was the most impressive start I've seen in a playoff game since, well... since, um. Yeah, it may be the most impressive start by a rookie pitcher in my entire lifetime. Matt Moore isn't just a top prospect anymore, he's a force to be reckoned with. Just ask Texas.

Above the grade

Through 4 weeks, the San Francisco 49ers sit atop the worst division in football with a record of 3-1. Head coach Jim Harbaugh was paid big money to come in here, take a broken team, with mediocre players, and build them into a winner. The season is often broken down into 4 game segments and dissected from there. With 1/4 of the season in the books, The Niners are feeling very good about themselves and have proven that they can win games ugly.

I have watched this team play very good football, only to find a way to lose the game. Under Mike Singletary and Mike Nolan, they rarely played a pretty game, but on those rare occasions when they did, the found a way to lose the game and with it, the confidence that can be built from playing a good game. Thus far, Harbs has this team believing in each other. He has given Alex Smith a very simple game plan. Don't turn the ball over, make the smart decision with the ball, trust your teammates and don't fuck it up!

A lot of analysts and "experts" love to give credit to the players when things go right and rip the coach to shreds when things go wrong. In this case, I'd have to give a lot of the credit to coach Harbs. He took over a terrible team, with a lot of bad players and expectations by a fan base that is still living in the Joe Montana Superbowl days. Well, maybe we have moved on to the glory days of Steve Young, but however you slice it, we expect to win. He was forced to do a lot in a short amount of time because of the lengthy NFL lockout, he was forced to give Alex Smith the starting job simply because the GM refused to go out and get a free agent QB. He took control of this team from the word go and put his fingerprints all over this team. He couldn't change the roster, he couldn't change the talent on that roster and he couldn't change the fact that this team has become accustomed to losing. But what he did change, was their perspective, their attitude and their willingness to work hard. I feel strongly that the players on this team have contributed in ways that I never imagined, they have busted their ass and played with a lot of heart and soul. That being said, the coach is the reason why they are playing such an inspired brand of football and I am really glad that The York's wrestled Harbs away from the Miami Dolphins and thus far, he's worth every last dime.

Boston put the Wild in Wildcard

You know that old saying, a picture is worth a thousand words? Well, in this particular case, I beg to differ. These photos aren't worth two words because they don't begin to explain the epic failure that was the 2011 Boston Red Sox season. The pictures can't tell you that Boston paid Carl Crawford millions to play left field, it can't tell you that Brian Cashman secretly staged phony calls to make Boston think New York was on the verge of signing Crawford, just to make Boston shell out more cash to get their guy. They can't help you understand that this team was built like a 12 year old playing MLB2K 2011, compiling all the best players with the biggest salaries to make sure he goes undefeated and wins a prize that doesn't exist. These photos can't begin to explain how the Red Sox started slow in April, were the best team in baseball by mid July and then it can't even begin to help you understand how fast they plummeted back towards Earth, blowing a 9 game lead in the Wildcard race only to lose it in game 162 to the worst team in the AL East, the Baltimore Orioles.

What these pictures do tell you, is that it hurt, really bad. When you have high expectations in professional baseball, a fan base that calls themselves "Red Sox Nation" an owner and GM that have thrown money around as if they were the New York Yankees, all the while chastising New York for overspending and tainting the great game of baseball. Baseball is a very long season and for the average fan or for those who don't enjoy or love the game, I can understand that you think it's too long, too boring and not exciting enough to stay up late and watch every last pitch until the 27th out is made. But on the flip side of that coin, for those of us who love this game and have a burning desire to live every moment of it, last night was the winning lotto ticket.

Game 162, Boston and Tampa tied for the AL Wildcard. Tampa hosting New York and finding themselves down 7-0 to the mighty Yankees in the bottom of the 8th inning. Boston leading most of the game in Baltimore only to implode in most spectacular fashion. Bottom 9th two out and ESPN honks are already counting chickens, talking about how they are going to live another day. Papelbon was dealing and the Orioles looked dead. That's when it all went South. Papelbon proceeded to blow the save and then give up the winning run in what capped the biggest tank job in the history of MLB. Now they were Yankee fans, hoping that New York could beat Tampa in extra innings and give Boston their 10th second chance of the season and send them to Tampa for a one game playoff Thursday. Well, they didn't have to wait long because less than three minutes later in Tampa, Even Longoria hit a 315 foot homer over the short, 315 foot porch in the left field corner to walk off the Yanks and clinch the Wildcard birth for the Rays. It was yet another example of why hardcore baseball fans love the cliche of "27 outs" and it reminds us of Yogi Berra quotes like "it ain't over til it's over" because as silly as that all sounds, it's a fact of baseball life.

Now comes the fun part. We get to rip Boston to shreds for blowing a 9 game lead in September, with a payroll that's second to only the hated Yankees. Of course, that brings up a very important question that tends to go overlooked when a team like Boston shoots themselves in the face like they did in the month of September. Did Boston completely blow it or did Tampa rip it from them? I'd have to say yes. Yes to both and that's about as simple as I can put it. Tampa has a payroll of $40 million this year. They have maybe 5 or 6 guys that the average baseball fan would recognize if they bumped into them at Starbucks. Ok, that's a lie. They have two players that might be recognized in that situation. But Tampa has something that can't be bought and it can't be easily explained. They have "it" and that's more special than having 7 all stars on your roster. They have guys who were told they weren't good enough to play in the big leagues, they have guys who refuse to quit, they have guys like Dan Johnson batting .107 on the season who steps up in the bottom of the 9th with two outs and the season on the line, only to tie the game with a long homer after only hitting one homer the entire season. They also have a manager, Joe Madden, who was the bench coach for Mike Scioscia in Anaheim for many years. A baseball lifer who forces his way out of the spotlight by trusting his players and working his ass off each day to prepare his club to perform in this exact moment. Make no mistake about it, somebody will pay the price for this failure. It won't be the players who lost the games and choked it away because when you pay players that much money, they don't take the fall. It will likely fall on the nicest guy in baseball and one of the best managers in the game, Terry Francona. Hell, the ax might even fall on Theo Epstein, GM of the club who has been the rumored to join the Chicago Cubs and help break yet another 100 year old curse. But make no mistake, someone is getting hacked.

Baseball is one of the few games that takes it on the chin by countless pundits ripping the game for not having a salary cap and not giving the goldfish an opportunity to compete with the great white sharks. Just when that topic gets beaten over the head with a shovel, this happens. It happens because baseball is a game that nobody can predict despite everyone trying. I found myself captivated by those two games last night, screaming at the TV and jumping up and down when both games ended and that's a simple reminder, in that moment, that baseball is America's pastime.

The Playboy Club

NBC rolled out a show that they hope every man in the world will feel the need to watch. The Playboy Club takes place in 1960's Chicago and follows the lives of a bunch of girls who are on top of the world. No, they are not astronauts or politicians, they are well beyond that hemisphere. They are the sex symbols of America. It's currently 2011 and most of us don't have any magazine subscriptions, let alone Playboy magazine. The Al Gore provides us with all the sex we can handle and it's free, so why would we buy a magazine that's delivered to your door in a black plastic bag? Now imagine there is no internet, no cell phones and magazines are the only way to view sex. I know for a fact that most of our fathers have giant boxes loaded with countless Playboy magazines and that's how life was in the 1960's.

Of course sex sells and we all can agree on that point, but I don't think the peacock is willing to sell us enough sex to make this show last longer than one season. If you want a recap of the shows first two episodes, you won't find that here. I just want to give my opinion and let it fly.

The acting is dreadful and the cast is a who's who of the E list in Hollywood and if meaningful excitement comes from these actors, I will be utterly shocked. For the most part, I watch because I want it to be better than it is and ultimately than it will be. I remember watching the pilot episode of Lost years ago and the next day, it was all over the internet. So much so that ABC showed it again a few nights later for everyone who didn't watch it to catch up. Is this show the next Lost? A show that is going to rock the internet of it's axis and force people to watch episodes online? Hardly. But what it has done thus far is make me want more and that's the name of the game. Yes, I like a nice set of cans. Yes, I love to see sexy women strut their stuff. Yes, I will continue to watch and report back to those of you who have found me writing interesting enough to follow.

Coming of Age

UFC 135 featured one of the sports iconic figures, Rampage Jackson facing off against the sports most talented fighter, possibly in the history of the sport, Jon Jones. It's easy to say that a 24 year old kid who has been participating in MMA for just 3 short years can't possibly be the greatest talent in the history of the sport. It's even easier to assume that Joe Rogan is out of his mind when he claims that this young stud has everything it takes to be the greatest of all time. But, if you have watched Jon Jones fight in the octagon, you may agree with everything Rogan and possibly think he's underestimating the situation.

Jones has an unorthodox style that many have never seen before. His size is truly incredible when you see him for the first time. 6 foot 4, 205 lbs and his reach advantage is incredible. He is an athletic specimen that the sport has never seen before and his unique ability has taken the sport by storm. This fight was supposed to be the fight that presented challenges Jones would be unable to overcome. Rampage is a legend in the sport, he's been around for many years and has a track record of knocking guys out with one punch. One punch power can be an advantage in this game or it can be a disadvantage. In this particular fight, it was a disadvantage and opened the door for Jones to utilize his skills to command respect from Rampage.

From the moment the fight started Jones was in control. He took advantage of his tremendous reach advantage from the get go and kept Rampage at a distance, preventing him from getting close enough to do damage. Rampage looked more and more frustrated each time he tried to unload with power punches. Jones used some of the craziest punch combos I have ever seen to push Rampage further and further away from him, all the while checking him with strong leg whips, which seemed to affect the balance and approach of his opponent. Joe Rogan mentioned multiple times that Rampage needed to use kicks more frequently to keep Jones away, but Rampage addressed that after the fight saying that it's not a smart game plan to kick at a top notch wrestler because all it takes is one irresponsible kick for Jones to take him to the ground and end the fight. Once Jones stopped toying with his opponent and decided it was time to hit the ground, Rampage was in trouble. Jones took him to the ground, pounded on him with hammer fists and short, strong elbow strikes and that's when Rampage lost the fight. Well before Jones choked him out, he was in control of the fight with his intensity, with his ability to control the tempo and force the fight to the ground.

This sport is unlike any other. Today's up and coming superstar can get beat tomorrow and never be heard from again. The sport is unlike boxing, which overpays it's superstars, coddles their egos and makes them into ego maniacs practically overnight. This is the toughest sport on the planet, loaded with athletes who can kick your ass and send you straight to the bottom. If you are a champion, you don't get to fight cupcakes just to make a bunch of money and then defend your belt at your convenience. If you are the champ, you will get the #1 contender within a few months of your last fight and that's how it goes, like it or not. That's what draws us in, that's what makes this the fastest growing sport in the world and that's what I love so much about the fight game.