Before I get into any real blogging

.... I want to take the time to list every single starting QB in the NFL who has not yet been intercepted:

Jason Campbell, Washington Redskins











Okay, moving on.


* I can't talk about anything else until I discuss the Redskins victory in Dallas on Sunday. Wow. We don't win in Dallas very often. In fact, counting Sunday's game, the Redskins have only won twice in Texas Stadium over the last 13 years. Our most recent win in that giant toilet bowl came three years ago on Monday Night Football. Trailing 13-0 in the 4th quarter, the Skins got two long TD passes from Mark Brunell to Santana Moss to produce a stunning 14-13 victory. I was in Morgantown, WV that night and had gotten so drunk during the first 3 1/2 quarters that I barely knew what was happening at the end of the game. I just remember jumping around, fielding one phone call after the other and laughing deliriously. And I don't think I went to any classes the next morning. (Not because I was too hungover or anything. I just didn't feel like it.)

That win was something of a fluke, whereas Sunday's win was anything but. The Skins controlled the game from start to finish, winning the time of possession battle 38:09 - 21:51. Santana Moss and Clinton Portis both had 100 yard games, while JC went 20/31, 231 yards, 2 TDs, and (obviously) 0 INTs. In the process, the Redskins nixed Bennett's plans to offer a "Will The Cowboys Go 16-0?" prop on Monday morning and may or may not have made Terrell Owens cry. What a win.

* What else did I notice during Week 4, you ask? I'll tell you:

- I was wrong about the Titans. They may have the best defense in the NFL. Imagine how good that team would be if VY wasn't suffering from a sandy vagina and was actually playing some decent football.

- I was right about the Broncos. They have a terrible defense (Allowed 34 ppg the last 3 weeks!) and their offense isn't so great that it can overcome the fact that they cant stop anyone. They will be lucky to make the playoffs.

- The Steelers are in trouble. A lot of trouble. Their offense looked really bad on Monday night and now starting G Kendall Simmons and backup RB Rashard Mendenhall are out for the year. Starting RB "Fast" Willie Parker and nose tackle Casey Hampton are also banged up. Fortunately for them, the AFC North may be the worst division in the NFL this season but looking at their schedule it may be a struggle for them to go .500.

- I still don't understand why everyone is wetting themselves over this Eagles team. So far this season, they have wins over a horrendous Rams teams (at home) and the hugely overrated Steelers (also at home.) They gave up 41 points in a loss at Dallas and lost in Chicago on Sunday night. And all this comes on the heels of a last place finish in the NFC East last season. What have they done to deserve all this praise from Ed and Jeff types around the city? Westbrook is already hurt and once McNabb goes down (and he will), the wheels will come off. Philly may beat the Redskins on Sunday but the Eagles will find themselves in a familiar position at the end of the season: last place.

- Adrian Peterson is a machine. I can't believe he has put up the yardage numbers he has considering the schedule his team has played and that they have done so without LT Bryant "Mount" McKinnie, who is coming back on Monday night for the game against the Saints. The blog tips it's proverbial cap to AD, who has officially established himself as the game's best running back.

(There. That should jinx him.)

- The Vikings are 1-3 but like a young Houston Texans, are more a victim of scheduling than anyhing else. Minnesota's first five weeks: @ GB, Ind, Car, @ Ten, @ NO. As bad as that is, Houston may actually top them: @ Pit, Hurricane induced bye week, @ Ten, @ Jax, Ind. Yikes. We'd be hearing about how good both of these teams are if they had played easier schedules and started off with winning records. Instead people just blindly look at their records in the standings and assume they are garbage.

* Random college football thoughts:

- Alabama looked ridiculously good on Saturday night. Imagine what would happen if Nick Saban and Pete Carroll swapped rosters. Would there even be a point to playing out the season?

- Florida losing to Ole Miss is just another example of why going undefeated in the SEC is virtually impossible. These teams look at their schedules and see games like LSU, Auburn, Georgia, etc.... and they overlook games against solid teams like Ole Miss or Kentucky. It happened to LSU last year and appears to have happened to the Gators this season. I will bet 'Under' 10.5 wins on any SEC team in any season. The conference is just too deep.

- It also goes to show how badly Jason Campbell's Auburn team got robbed in 2004 by the dopes running the BCS. Auburn went undefeated in SEC play and somehow got passed over for the BCS title game in favor of Oklahoma, due mainly to the Sooners having played a tougher out of conference schedule. What about the fact that Auburn had survived a gauntlet in the SEC while OU was playing all the Big 12 patsies? Auburn ended up beating a good Virginia Tech team in the Sugar Bowl, while Oklahoma (as usual) got embarrassed by USC in the Orange Bowl.

And people wonder why I like the NFL so much better than college football. Maybe I'll change my mind when they start deciding the national championship on the field instead of pulling names out of a hat.


MLB Division Series Previews:


Brewers-Phillies

I realize that the Phillies are a bunch of choking dogs but it's not their fault: they are a professional sports team in Philadelphia. They're all a bunch of choking dogs. Call me a square square, but I don't see how the Brewers could win this series. Ben Sheets has packed himself in for the year and Chocolate Chip has to be running on fumes at this point. Their Game 1 starter is Yovani Gallardo? Seriously? What more does Philly need handed to them in order to finally win a playoff series? If the Phillies roster wasn't littered with losers like Brett Myers and Pat "The Babe" Burrell, I'd call for them to easily win this series. But they won't. They'll have to hang on and barely squeak it out at home. And they'll probably still get booed as they are walking off the field because they didn't win the series sooner. Gotta love those Philly fans.

Phillies in 5.


Dodgers-Cubs

Game 5 at Wrigley Field. ManRam crushes one to the outfield. It's hooking foul but Soriano is there. A drunk fan reaches over and knocks it away from Soriano! He's got a beer in one hand and a Rays pennant in the other! Holy shit - That's not Bartman! It's Hoffman!

Dodgers in 5.


Red Sox - Angels

The other day, Ed was trying to tell me that Josh Beckett is a choker. I'll admit I don't know much about baseball, but I'm pretty sure that Beckett is considered the best big game pitcher of his generation. And I'm also pretty sure that the Red Sox have owned the Angels in October in recent years.

Red Sox in 4.


White Sox - Rays

What if you told a White Sox fan at the beginning of the year that in order to make the ALCS, all they had to do was win a 5 game series against Tampa Bay? I have a feeling that is something they would be interested in. The blog assumed this series price would be a lot higher because I figured Ed's people would want to write some money against the Rays. Apparently, I was wrong. Let's just keep on stubbornly doubting this team until they win the World Series.

But I will say this about the Rays: In all my years following sports (And I've been betting in this town for nearly a quarter century, mind you) I have never seen a team have everyone humping them in the preseason, talking about great they were gonna be, how they were going to shock the world, and then have it actually happen. I'm blown away by the Rays. Usually when everyone has the same sleeper, they fall apart during the first month of the season. And I don't just mean in baseball. I'm talking about every sport. It just never works out like this. Until now.

Rays in 4.


Random dumb thoughts I can throw out there because I have a blog and (most of) you don't:

* I just watched the latest ep of Entourage. This has been a really good season so far. It's about time.

* The blog highly recommends the movie No Country For Old Men, which is currently in a very solid HBO rotation, alongside American Gangster and Bee Movie.

Who said that? I've never even seen Bee Movie....

* TBSHD is strong. It almost makes watching this slop enjoyable. Almost.

* I want to thank the entire Lowe's Chevy Imapla team for their performance on Sunday. Jimmie and Chad are a dynamic duo. I'm looking forward to this Sunday's race at Dega. I'd also like to thank the newest NASCAR sharp Chris Bennett for his fine work in the field.

* From what I hear, it was a pretty emotional scene at the SuperBook on Sunday, when young Yorgen balanced one last time. I'll say this for the kid: He could write an 8 team parlay with his eyes closed. I once saw him write 5 8 teamers in under a minute for the same non-English speaking cab driver, while another cab driver was having sex with a hooker at the window next to his. And he got every ticket exactly right. (Although the guy ended up cancelling 3 of them anyway.) It was a dazzling display of ticket writing talent. He was the best.

Now it's on to the fabulous Venetian for the blog's favorite purse carrying farm boy. My Mom is coming out here in a couple weeks and I'm considering sending her to Jorgen's window to make a bet with a laundry list of stupid, tourist questions. Then if I notice that he is being rude to her, I will rush to her defense and make a scene at the window in front of Jorgen's new bosses.

Perhaps I shouldn't have written out my entire plan in a blog I know Jorgen reads?

Ah well....


Trivia Question for Wednesday: When was the last time a Philadelphia sports team won a major professional championship? Who was the MVP of the final series? (There's your first hint right there. It was a series so that rules out the Eagles. Although, you don't really need a hint to know that it wasn't the Eagles, seeing as how they have NEVER won the Super Bowl. Ever. Like.... literally zero times. Never happened. I mean there have been 42 of those things. They've been playing them since the 1960s. You'd think they'd have at least one but here we are in 2008 and still.... nothing.) And if you really want to impress me who was their coach?

Oh, and Ed, the Philadelphia Soul's Arena Bowl championship doesn't count.


New poll, new pictures.

But no more Jorgen.

Tough times for the blog.




Enjoy the baseball postseason.