Friday Tidbits - 11/10/06

We're at the midway point an the Colts are still unbeaten. It must be Groundhog Day because I vaguely remember this same scenario last year for the Colts. Until they play like the Colts and not the Ponies in the playoffs, nobody cares what they in the regular season outside of running the table. That being said, I am so impressed with the way Peyton Manning plays. He is really on a different level than most everyone else. Some injuries popped up this week. Amani Toomer is out for the season. It's surprising because he's never gets injured. Willis McGahee has three cracked ribs. I imagine that has to be a little painful. Byron Leftwich appears healthy, but he's not getting back on the field pretty soon. It seems David Garrard has played well enough to earn an extended look at what he can do. The same scenario may be going on in Kansas City where Damon Huard has done an amazing job in relief of Trent Green. KC is winning so the "don't mess with success" motto could be popping up there too. The Niners are thinking of moving to Santa Clara. It seems like it's becoming too expensive for sports teams to be located in major cities. Nearby suburbs are much more affordable options. I'm sure they would keep their same name though because the Santa Clara 49ers would make little sense.


Speaking of making little sense, LeBron James walked off the court with a few seconds remaining in an overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks. Yes, the sorry Atlanta Hawks beat the Cavs. He was frustrated by the 9 point loss in overtime. While I don't think it's a practice he should be making a habit, I think the media needs to lighten up a bit. This is the first negative thing I've heard about LBJ since his senior year of high school. Larry Brown is about the smartest person in the league. He signed a mega deal with the Knicks. He did an awful job. He got paid $18.5 million to walk away. How the Knicks let him word his contract knowing his track record is beyond me. This guy probably only eats at buffets because he can't make his mind up. Minnesota swingman Ricky Davis put his foot in his mouth when he called the Trailblazers "a pack of roaches". If you're going to make such statements Ricky, follow it up with a win. It's the dumbest he's looked since trying to shoot at the other team's basket to get a rebound and complete a triple-double. A quick look at the standings shows the Jazz, Hornets, Spurs, and Clippers are tops with 4-1 records. Your scoring leader is Allen Iverson at 31.4, your rebounding leader is surprisingly Paul Pierce at 13, and your assist leader is Steve Nash at 11.2.


In hockey news, Patrick Roy finds his name back in the headlines. Not for outstanding play between the pipes, but for insulting Guillaume Latendresse ,a 19 year old Montreal Canadien rookie. He said the only reason he's with the Canadiens is :because he's a francophone". He also said if the youngster played for the Remparts, the team co-owned by Roy, he would have traded him. The 19 year old shrugged off the criticism and made Roy look silly. The Anaheim Ducks remain unbeaten in an NHL record 16 straight games to open the season topping Edmonton's 1984 mark. A quick look at the standings shows Anaheim leading the way with 28 points. They are followed by Atlanta's 27 and Buffalo's 25. Dallas and San Jose round out the top five with 24 points each. Nashville is the league's hottest team going 9-0-1-0 in their last ten games. Philadelphia 2-8-0-0, Chicago 2-7-0-1, and LA 2-6-1-1 are the coldest. Marian Hossa is the league's scoring leader with 27 points. He's tied with Ilya Kovalchuk with 13 goals. Jaromir Jagr leads with 18 assists. Anze Kopitar is the rookie leader with 16 points. Marty Turco (1.84), Ray Emery (1.86), and Dominik Hasek (1.90) are the top goalies thus far, although Emery has only started 5 games.


It's pretty quiet in the baseball world. The MLB All-Stars pulled off the first sweep in the Japan All-Star Series. Ryan Howard continued to mash hitting .556 in the series along with four homers and eight RBIs. The A's are another California team that could be sliding out of the Bay Area. They are loooking to head to Silicon Valley by setting up shop in Fremont, CA. The price tag hasn't been set yet for Japanese import pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka. First his Japanese team needs to be bought out, and then his pockets will need to be lined. His agent is Scott Boras so don't expect a bargain. Doc Gooden was released from prison. Hopefully, his 138th chance will be the one he needs to get his life back in order.


The biggest news in college football this week happened away from the field. Miami Hurricane defensive lineman Bryan Pata was gunned down outside his Miami apartment. The Hurricanes plan to play in his honor. The BCS picture got murky last night when #15 Rutgers defeated #3 Louisville. The game was tied 25-25 when Rutgers kicker Jermey Ito shanked a 33 FG. Louisville jumped offsides and Ito didn't waste his second chance. He pointed to the camera and got all cocky after the game. You just missed a kick and got lucky because your opponent had a mental mistake. How about a little humility. Rutgers coach Greg Schiano is an intense dude. This win was good for the program, but I doubt it will be enough to vault them into a BCS game. It opens up a bunch of options for the title game. The Ohio State-Michigan winner will likely grab one spot barring something bizarre happening. Now the loser of that game, Texas, Auburn, Florida, USC, and Notre Dame hope things fall in line so they have a shot at the title. Other good games this weekend include #7 USC vs. #21 Oregon, #11 Arkansas vs. #13 Tennessee, and #24 Texas A & M vs. 7-3 Nebraska. #23 Maryland looks beat Miami, dropping the Hurricanes to 5-5. It's hard to say how they are going to play following the loss of Pata.


College Hoops are underway. The preseason All-Americans have been named. UNC's Tyler Hansbrough, Florida's Joakim Noah, Alabama's Ronald Steele, LSU's Glen Davis, and Brandon Rush of Kansas hold that distinction. Bobby Knight needs 11 wins to become the NCAA's all-time victories leader. He'll pass Adolph Rupp and Dean Smith along the way. Florida holds the top spot in the poll. UNC, Kansas, Pitt, and LSU round out the top 5. My Syracuse squad starts off #20. One team that will not be sniffing the top 25 is the University of Minnesota. They dropped a preseason game to Division II Winona State. Yes, Winona State it the D2 champions, but that's pretty sad.

That concludes the Tidbits. As always, feel free to add any stories you liked this week in sports or discuss any of the stories I mentioned.