TWO BOWL COMMITTEES ALREADY UNHAPPY, JAYHAWKS GOING IRISH & CHIEFS' FANS SHOULD PAY ATTENTION TO THESE GAMES
The Sugar Bowl snubbed(no other word for it) both Kansas State & Boise State in favor of Virginia Tech. They rationalized their selection of Michigan's opponents with a smooth sales pitch that essentially came down to "their fans will outspend your fans & that's what these bowls are about." Football is a distant second to money. Well the Sugar Bowl committee may have outsmarted themselves because the Virginia Tech folks have not responded in a positive fashion. They have nearly 10,000 unsold tickets the university is on the hook for. They have to pay for these seats so the Sugar Bowl will receive that revenue whether or not the Hokie fans show up in New Orleans. The bad news is if they don't show, the bowl misses that "more money" they promised the locals. Kansas State fans already sold out their allotment of Cotton Bowl seats & have bought thousands more on the open market. This will make the folks in North Texas very happy indeed. Michigan sold all their allotted seats & reportedly another 6,000 on the open market. Virginia Tech's selection for the Sugar Bowl was widely criticized nationally, now the selectors will be raked over the coals by the good folks of Nawlins.
The Orange Bowl isn't much happier as both teams, Clemson & West Virginia, are nowhere near selling their allotment of tickets. The Mountaineers are further behind with nearly 8,000 tickets remaining, while Clemson needs to sell almost 5,000 tickets. The rest of the BCS bowl games saw their tickets gobbled up in less than 48-hours, so it isn't the economy, it's the matchups that intrigue fans, get 'em to spend their hard earned money.
I'm guessing there's a better than average chance Kyle Orton and/or Ricky Stanzi will play quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. I frankly don't see a scenario where Tyler Palko plays again this season barring injury.
You have to respect Minnesota defensive end Jared Allen. The former Chief recorded 3 sacks of Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford last Sunday, giving him a league-leading 17.5 for the season. That's for a guy on a 2-11 team. Allen is 5.5 sacks shy of Michael Strahan's record. I hope he gets it, even without having Brett Favre there to drop into the fetal position, completely untouched, like he did for Strahan's final sacks. Allen has 100.5 lifetime sacks & he isn't even 30-years old.
The Green Bay Packers got good news on the injury front Tuesday. Leading receiver Greg Jennings went down in Sunday's game with a knee injury that was feared to be season-ending. Turns out it was just a sprain & he should be good to go within three weeks & since the Pack will most certainly have a first round bye, Jennings might wait the additional two weeks to be totally ready for a run deep into the playoffs.
James Harrison will not appeal his 1-game suspension handed down by the league. His helmet-to-helmet hit on Browns' QB Colt McCoy last Thursday night was severe enough for the league to go beyond the hefty fines Harrison had already been hit with. I honestly don't think Harrison is a dirty player, this is the way he's always tackled, but he's going to have to change his technique as the league has made it crystal clear it's not going to be tolerated any longer. Two other Steelers received good news on Tuesday. MRI's showed both QB Ben Roethlisberger & C Maurkice Pouncey have 1st degree ankle sprains, meaning they're not as serious as first thought. Both should be ready to go Monday night at San Francisco sans Harrison.
The hit that drew the 1-game suspension
Jets safety Jim Leonhard did not receive good news on Tuesday, he suffered a torn patellar tendon against the Chiefs & will be lost for the remainder of the season.
The Jayhawks are going Irish! First it was former Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis being hired to head up the football program at Kansas. On Tuesday Weis named two assistants, Tim Grunhard & Ron Powlus, both former Notre Dame players. Grunhard was a very successful high school at Bishop Miege in Kansas City, winning the state 4A title in 2009. He also was the Chiefs starting center from 1990 to 2000. He will become KU's new offensive line coach. Powlus was a Notre Dame starting quarterback from the early 90's & had coached the quarterbacks & was passing game coordinator the past five seasons for Akron. One thing KU fans should be aware of, Weis' wife & daughter did not accompany Charlie to Lawrence. They intend to stay in Florida. Weis' son, a coaching intern, will help out with the new KU staff.
As the regular season winds down, drafting order for non-playoff teams will be known. There are a few remaining games that could have a major impact on the Chiefs. I'm going to assume Kansas City will lose out & finish with a 5-11 record. Yes, they could beat Oakland again or maybe even the Tebows, but I'm not expecting a lot. Indianapolis, Minnesota & St. Louis are pretty much locked in to the top 3 spots. Here are the games that will affect spots 4 thru 10.
Miami(4-9) at Buffalo(5-8)
Cleveland(4-9) at Arizona(6-7)
Tampa Bay(4-9) at Carolina(4-9)
Minnesota(2-11)at Washington(4-9)
Washington(4-9)at Philadelphia(5-8)
Indy(0-13) at Jacksonville(4-9)
The "Predict the Score" contest from my radio show Monday night was won by Janet of Independence Missouri. Her prediction of Seattle 27-St. Louis 14 was within 4 of the actual score, 30-13. Double congrats to Janet as she informed me by email she also won her office pool picks for the week using my selections & tie breaking total score for the Monday night game. She wins two free rounds of golf at Old Kinderhook at the Lake of the Ozarks plus a $25 gift card at the Trophy Room, a bar & grill at Old Kinderhook. Thanks to everyone who played, we'll do it again Monday night.
The Orange Bowl isn't much happier as both teams, Clemson & West Virginia, are nowhere near selling their allotment of tickets. The Mountaineers are further behind with nearly 8,000 tickets remaining, while Clemson needs to sell almost 5,000 tickets. The rest of the BCS bowl games saw their tickets gobbled up in less than 48-hours, so it isn't the economy, it's the matchups that intrigue fans, get 'em to spend their hard earned money.
I'm guessing there's a better than average chance Kyle Orton and/or Ricky Stanzi will play quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. I frankly don't see a scenario where Tyler Palko plays again this season barring injury.
You have to respect Minnesota defensive end Jared Allen. The former Chief recorded 3 sacks of Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford last Sunday, giving him a league-leading 17.5 for the season. That's for a guy on a 2-11 team. Allen is 5.5 sacks shy of Michael Strahan's record. I hope he gets it, even without having Brett Favre there to drop into the fetal position, completely untouched, like he did for Strahan's final sacks. Allen has 100.5 lifetime sacks & he isn't even 30-years old.
The Green Bay Packers got good news on the injury front Tuesday. Leading receiver Greg Jennings went down in Sunday's game with a knee injury that was feared to be season-ending. Turns out it was just a sprain & he should be good to go within three weeks & since the Pack will most certainly have a first round bye, Jennings might wait the additional two weeks to be totally ready for a run deep into the playoffs.
James Harrison will not appeal his 1-game suspension handed down by the league. His helmet-to-helmet hit on Browns' QB Colt McCoy last Thursday night was severe enough for the league to go beyond the hefty fines Harrison had already been hit with. I honestly don't think Harrison is a dirty player, this is the way he's always tackled, but he's going to have to change his technique as the league has made it crystal clear it's not going to be tolerated any longer. Two other Steelers received good news on Tuesday. MRI's showed both QB Ben Roethlisberger & C Maurkice Pouncey have 1st degree ankle sprains, meaning they're not as serious as first thought. Both should be ready to go Monday night at San Francisco sans Harrison.
The hit that drew the 1-game suspension
Jets safety Jim Leonhard did not receive good news on Tuesday, he suffered a torn patellar tendon against the Chiefs & will be lost for the remainder of the season.
The Jayhawks are going Irish! First it was former Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis being hired to head up the football program at Kansas. On Tuesday Weis named two assistants, Tim Grunhard & Ron Powlus, both former Notre Dame players. Grunhard was a very successful high school at Bishop Miege in Kansas City, winning the state 4A title in 2009. He also was the Chiefs starting center from 1990 to 2000. He will become KU's new offensive line coach. Powlus was a Notre Dame starting quarterback from the early 90's & had coached the quarterbacks & was passing game coordinator the past five seasons for Akron. One thing KU fans should be aware of, Weis' wife & daughter did not accompany Charlie to Lawrence. They intend to stay in Florida. Weis' son, a coaching intern, will help out with the new KU staff.
As the regular season winds down, drafting order for non-playoff teams will be known. There are a few remaining games that could have a major impact on the Chiefs. I'm going to assume Kansas City will lose out & finish with a 5-11 record. Yes, they could beat Oakland again or maybe even the Tebows, but I'm not expecting a lot. Indianapolis, Minnesota & St. Louis are pretty much locked in to the top 3 spots. Here are the games that will affect spots 4 thru 10.
Miami(4-9) at Buffalo(5-8)
Cleveland(4-9) at Arizona(6-7)
Tampa Bay(4-9) at Carolina(4-9)
Minnesota(2-11)at Washington(4-9)
Washington(4-9)at Philadelphia(5-8)
Indy(0-13) at Jacksonville(4-9)
The "Predict the Score" contest from my radio show Monday night was won by Janet of Independence Missouri. Her prediction of Seattle 27-St. Louis 14 was within 4 of the actual score, 30-13. Double congrats to Janet as she informed me by email she also won her office pool picks for the week using my selections & tie breaking total score for the Monday night game. She wins two free rounds of golf at Old Kinderhook at the Lake of the Ozarks plus a $25 gift card at the Trophy Room, a bar & grill at Old Kinderhook. Thanks to everyone who played, we'll do it again Monday night.
Comments