1. The Brewers won the NL Wild Card. Thanks to the second monumental collapse in as many years by the Mets, the Brew-Crew snuck into the playoffs as the NL Wild Card winners. CC Sabathia won three games for the Brewers, twice pitching on only three days rest. The Mets Bullpen trouble came back to bite them, as they lost two out of three to the lowly Marlins to seal their own fate. Hate to say it, but the Brewers didn’t win the Wild Card: the Mets lost it. At least those of us with no team to cheer for this postseason can pull for the underdog Beer Makers.
2. USC lost to Oregon State. Number-one ranked USC lost to unranked Oregon State on the road Thursday night by a score of 27-21. Playing more like Seth Cohen than Ryan Atwood, the So Cal squad looked inept and disinterested for most of the contest. Oregon State RB Jacquizz Rodgers had a great night, as the shifty 5’6” back ran for 186 yards and two scores. But the story here is the propensity for USC the last couple of years to lose a game they have no business losing (Oregon State in 2006, Stanford in 2007). Possibly the only knock on the Pete Carroll era thus far, but its tough to motivate a bunch of players who think they are God’s gift to football.
3. Florida lost to Ole Miss. It was a weekend of college football upsets, and this was the second most shocking. The underdog Runnin’ Rebels kept Florida in check all day and eventually won the game 31-30 thanks to an extra point block and a stop on fourth and first on the Gators’ final possession. While Florida still controls its fate in the SEC East, you have to be worried about the lack of a running game outside of Heisman winner Tim Tebow. Head Coach Urban Meyer looked irate on the sidelines, doing his best not to pop a blood vessel in his forehead. Hey, couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy who steals recruits from other schools like Bubs from “The Wire” steals metal for cash. So sorry, Florida.
4. Scott Lenihan was fired. The St. Louis Rams finally gave up on the Lenihan era when they fired the embattled coach after three years at the helm. He comprised a less than stellar 11-25 record during his time, as his players—notably the veterans—did not seem to respond to him. This was no more evident than this past week, when running back Steven Jackson publically questioned his benching of QB Mark Buldger. Jim Haslet will take over in the interim, and everybody will continue not to care about the Rams.
5. Brett Favre threw six TDs. Favre threw a career-high six TD’s as the Jets beat the Cardinals in a defensive shootout by a score of 56-35 at the Meadowlands. Favre’s career day included three strikes to Laverneus Coles, who showed the propensity to make big plays for just the third time in his career. Favre’s day distracted fans from the most vile throwback jerseys in history, which look worse than the opposing team’s jerseys in the playoff game of the Jamie Foxx/ Al Pacino classic “Any Given Sunday.” Whoever made them wear those is clearly blind, and now has to hire someone to clean up all the vomit that must be dotting the stadium seats from fans that couldn’t look away from the JumboTrons.
6. The Titans went to 4-0. The Titans moved to 4-0 on the season for the first time in franchise history by beating the Vikings 30-17. Saying the Titans would be 4-0 at the beginning of the year would have sounded as accurate as the notion that Michael Scott will lead us out of the financial crisis with his great leadership skills. But with perhaps the best defense in the league, look out. In a weak division, the sky is the limit for the Titans. Vince who?
7. Notre Dame went to 3-1. My shameless promotion of ND football continues. The Irish looked solid as they soundly beat Purdue 38-21 to go to 3-1 on the season. Jimmy Clausen had his best day in the blue and gold, going 20-35 for 275 yards and 3 TD’s— probably all due to his haircut. He no longer looks like a troll, and the young ND squad has me drinking the BCS Kool-Aid once more. My love/hate relationship continues, much like Lauren Conrad with just about everyone in her life.
8. Alabama smoked Georgia. The Crimson Tide went into Athens and creamed pre-season number one Georgia by a score of 41-30. They jumped from number eight in the rankings this week to number two, one of the biggest jumps in history (partly aided by all of the upsets ahead of them). ’Bama QB John Parker Wilson was as accurate as Mark Wahlberg in “Shooter,” going 13-16 for 205 yards and a TD. Roll tide roll.
9. Larry Johnson. Your other fantasy stud of the weekend next to the Favre-Coles ’08 ticket. Johnson scampered for 198 yards and two scores as the Chiefs—clearly angry that I insulted them last week— made me look like a moron with their impressive 33-19 win over Denver. Johnson seems to have regained his old form, which figures as I had him last year when he was awful and then hurt. Clearly the Chiefs and I don’t get along.
10. Bruce Springsteen was announced as the Super Bowl Halftime Show performer. Continuing the move to go to respected rock acts in the wake of the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction, Bruce and the E Street Band will perform at this years’ Super Bowl. However, if The Boss pulls his own wardrobe malfunction on the flabby chest of saxophonist Clarence Clemons, we’ve got a YouTube classic on our hands. Man tits!