This & That (Monday 11/16/09).....

A Podcast of this column with an expanded take on events can be downloaded here.

The SportsFan Buzz: November 16, 2009

--- Caught Andre Agassi on Imus in the Morning last week (can be found on iTunes under Imus in podcasts), and if he is trying to move books, he is doing a wonderful job, as I am sure they are flying off the shelves. If Agassi is trying to make people not like him, I think he is also doing a wonderful job with that objective. I always liked Agassi, and when excerpts of the book came out, I felt sorry for him, and thought when done I would like him more. Instead, after seeing and hearing him on 60 Minutes, and then on Imus, I just ask him to please stop.

He seems to have only nasty things to say about practically everyone associated with tennis at his time, and it makes him sound angry and bitter. Agassi comes across as someone who is upset that he is not discussed among the great tennis players, but at the same time, does not realize it was his fault. While Borg, Conners, McEnroe, then Sampras, and now Federer and Nadal are always in the "great" mix, Agassi is left out of the discussion, and with good reason. He did not beat the players that were always put in front of him, and now comes across with snide remarks about those players, as though how his career turned out was because of everyone else's "fluke".

For me, I would have liked for Agassi to take responsibility for his own career, respect his opponents of the time, and show the story for how others should look at it. That is, how a terrible childhood, wasted opportunities, and angry life has now come out the other side because of the love he found with his wife, Steffi Graf, his children, and the work he now does for his charities.

Instead I feel like we are getting a "woe is me" tale, that is supposed to make us feel sorry for how his career played out, and that it could have been better. Yes, Andre, it could have been better, but tennis is a one on one game, and only you made it turn out the way it did. The book may be "Open", but after hearing Agassi, I want it to be "Closed".

--- I have really liked Jon Gruden's work this year on Monday Night Football, and was pleased to see that he will be staying with ESPN for a while. He has great energy in the booth, and when compared to the other #1 analysts (Cris Collinsworth, Troy Aikmen, and Phil Simms), holds his own with any of them.

--- After Saturday night's whipping of Utah, I want to see TCU take on one of the "big boys". They will get there chance in one of the BCS Bowl games, and I want their opponents' best effort. Not this garbage we got last year from Alabama after losing to Utah, saying  that they weren't focused because they came close to playing for championship and the Sugar Bowl was a letdown.

Last three games are a 47-20 loss to Oregon, a 14-9 win over a 4-6 Arizona St. team, and then being manhandled 55-21 by Stanford at home in the Coliseum, and USC is still ranked in the polls? Maybe I care too much about these rankings (probably), or maybe we should just limit rankings to the top 15 at most. Do we really care who is #22 in the AP or BCS poll?

Speaking of Stanford whipping USC, shame of Coach Jim Harbaugh for calling for a 2 point conversion after Stanford had scored to take a 48-21 lead late in the 4th quarter. Just like Urban Meyer and his timeouts last year against Georgia, it was petty and ego driven. It is time for these college coaches to "grow up" and not have their players caught in the middle of their "manhood" contests. Take your win, celebrate, and do it with some class.

--- One story dominating the NFL after Sunday's games and that is Bill Belichick's decision to go on 4th and 2 from his own 28 yard line with 2 minutes to go in the game against the Colts, and the Patriots up 34-28. The try failed by inches, which allowed Peyton Manning to lead the Colts down the short field, cumulating with a 1 yard pass to Reggie Wayne for the win, 35-34.

While I would not have had the guts to make the call that Belichick did, I give him credit for believing in his offense enough to get the yard and virtually end the game. At the same time, it brings up the question about how much faith he had in his defense, and wouldn't a punt that puts Peyton Manning 69 yards away, been the better play. While Belichick is saying he had confidence in his defense, no matter how many yards were needed for the score, a former defensive player for the Patriots does not see it that way.

I feel that only one quarterback, besides his own Tom Brady, has Belichick making that call, and that is the quarterback that was across from him last night, Peyton Manning. If Favre, Brees, Rivers, Roethlisberger, or any of the other QBs in the league were across the field, the Patriots punt it away and dare them to drive the field. Instead Belichick took a silent dare from Peyton. Score one for Manning.

There were twelve other games played yesterday, and one last Thursday night.

On Thursday night, the 49ers won a stinker of a game 10-6 over the Bears. Jay Cutler had five interceptions, and neither team looked like they would make a serious playoff run.

The Saints were again sloppy, but again stay undefeated in beating the Rams 28-23.

In the match-up of NFC North leaders, the Bengals told everyone that they are for real by going into Pittsburgh and beating the Steelers 18-12. Only one TD scored in the game, and that was on a Cincinnati kickoff return. Bengals now up one on the Steelers, and two on the Ravens, and hold tiebreaker advantage against both teams.

Denver's slide continues as they lose to the Redskins 27-17. To make matters worse, have lost Kyle Orton to an ankle injury, and Chris Simms looked lost as his replacement.

Denver's bad luck is San Diego's good fortune, as they beat the Eagles 31-23, to tie the Broncos for the AFC West lead. The two teams square off Sunday in Denver. Meanwhile, Philadelphia suffered a big blow when running back Brian Westbrook suffered his second concussion, after sitting out the last two weeks because of his first concussion.

Green Bay turned on the defense and dominated the Cowboy offense in recording a 17-7 win over Dallas at Lambeau Field to halt the Cowboys' four game winning streak. Aaron Rodgers had an OK day with 189 passing yards, but was still sacked four times, but it was the Packer defense that was the story. They harassed Tony Romo into a fumble and interception, and kept the Dallas running game in check, and stopped their own two game losing skid.

In Carolina, the Panthers again were able to run the ball, while not turning in over, and took advantage of the Falcons' Michael Turner suffering an injured leg in beating Atlanta 28-19 to keep their playoff hopes alive.

The Dolphins needed a late field goal to hold off the Bucs 25-23. Coming off last week's victory, Tampa Bay again played hard, and almost got their second upset win in a row.

The Jaguars also needed a last second field goal in beating the Jets 24-22, but theirs came in a little different fashion. Drive for a TD, Maurice Jones-Drew took a knee at the one yard line with a little over a minute remaining, which forced the Jets, who had no timeouts, to watch as Jacksonville ran the clock down and kicked the game winning field goal as time expired.

The Titans won their third in a row, 41-17 over the Buffalo Bills, leading the "what if Vince Young had played earlier" whispers to get louder. Those whispers are mute, as it was team losses early in the season, along with some lousy defense, that led to the 0-6 start. Chris Johnson had another great game with over 100 yards rushing and receiving.

Not to be outdone, Minnesota's Adrian Peterson had 133 yards and two touchdowns, but lost 2 fumbles, in the Vikings 27-10 win over the Lions.

The Chiefs got their first rushing touchdown of the year on a 44 yard run by Jamaal Charles, as Kansas City traveled west and beat Oakland 16-10 for their second win of the season.

The Cardinals overcame an early Seattle lead, and beat the Seahawks 31-20, to keep a two game lead in the NFC West.

Overall, a good weekend of football, but one in which the Bill Belichick "go for it" call will dominate the discussions for a while.