pigskin & rawhide

it wasn't a great game by any means but how tough is the SEC? the two best teams in the country play 8 quarters of football and only one touchdown is scored at the end of game two when the game has been decided. incredible. these two teams averaged FORTY POINTS a game during the regular season except when they played each other. kudos to ALABAMA for winning game #2 and LSU for a remarkable season. co-champs? probably not but it would be justified.

i said it before. when you lose in the first weekend of the nfl playoffs, you probably didn't belong in the first place. i think atlanta, cincinnati, and the lions proved exactly that. the steelers? ben's injury along with the center being out plus the horrible fire that injured their coach two days before the game gives them a pass this year.

i do want to go partners on a lottery ticket with tim tebow.

anyone else tired of WISCONSIN pretending to be a big time football program? i said it last year....TOO FAT, TOO SLOW, TOO STUPID and they proved it again this year in the rose bowl. additionally, they play the weakest non-conference schedule in division 1 (verified by the ncaa) and then whine when they're ignored in the bcs ratings......... but every time they get the chance to walk thru the door nationally, they gag it up.

wisconsin brags about their 325 lb lineman and that works fine in college where they outweigh everyone by 50 pounds but in the nfl, they they're just average size and their lack of real skill soon weeds them out and sends them back to the farm to continue slopping hogs. (not that there's anything wrong with that). enough is enough.

many shook their heads when wisconsin's MONTE BALL announced he was coming back for his senior year rather than leave for the nfl.the questions were loud & clear. how could he turn his back on millions? what does he have to prove? what if he gets hurt? well, here's a few answers for you. ball is projected as a third round draft pick at best and he will become a blocking/power back at the next level IF HE MAKES IT and those guys don't make millions. quite frankly, he has almost no chance to star on sundays but he is a very bright student majoring in sociology with a 3.4 gpa. the perfect decision for him was to get his degree.

anyone noticing that NOTRE DAME is still irrelevant in football? they've lost ten of their last 12 bowl games (although they did win a barn burner against hawaii a couple of years ago) but despite twenty years of mediocrity, they still sell out every game, home and away. i don't get it. don't these people realize knute rockne is dead? and so is irish football.

memo to CUB FANS: before you continue whining about ron santo and his delay in entering the HOF, check the resumes of DAVE PARKER, ALAN TRAMMEL or JACK MORRIS. same routine as santo. absolutely deserve to be voted into the hall but for whatever reason, the voters don't feel it. that's what makes induction into baseball's shrine so special. it doesn't happen to everyone but when it does....CELEBRATE!

mark buerhle, carlos zambrano, ozzie guillen, aaron rowand, hanley ramirez and jose reyes all in the SAME locker room? no chance something doesn't explode.

chicago bears did the right thing in dumping JERRY ANGELO but how many teams don't let their GM pick his own head coach? and lovie gets to take part in the interview process. curious.

MIKE MARTZ is like the nfl's version of larry brown. after a couple of years, he burns a few bridges, has some limited success and then moves on. ego & stubborness is not a good mix in an offensive co-ordinator. it cost him his second super bowl back in saint louis and probably his job here.

the silence is deafening regarding the rape allegation against the uncoachable STARLIN CASTRO. the mandatory denial by his attorney was followed by the short statement from the cubs and that's it.

believe me when i tell you that "investigators are working the case" is not what the cubs or castro wants to hear. is it true that the victim passed a lie detector? watch for castro to be taken into custody as soon as he steps off the plane.

take a kid out of the ghetto, give him a bushel basket full of money and then stand back as he does what he wants, when he wants because that's acceptable in his country when you're a big celebrity. but nobody takes the time to explain the real world to these kids and the potential trouble that awaits them outside the ball park. in the old days, handlers just silenced the victims with a payoff but today, victims want money AND justice.

how loaded are the LOS ANGELES ANGELS? the a.l. west will be fun.

RYAN BRAUN, you're a cheater. take your 50 game suspension and shut up. and if you had any stones, you'd surrender your tainted mvp trophy. don't forget to attend the annual picnic with manny ramirez, mark mcgwire, rafael palmeiro and all the other cheaters who went from 175 lbs. to 230 and back again when they got caught. also say hi to sammy sosa, a-rod, jason giambi and roger clemens. nice company. you suck.