Day 7: Michigan, Serena, Urlacher and more

HEADLINES:

1) After Michigan's upset of Notre Dame, the Wolverines are now ranked in the top 25 and the Fighting Irish have fallen out of the rankings. Will it stay this way for the rest of the season?

Ben: No, but only because of the program prestige. Michigan and Notre Dame will both be in the top 25 by the end of the season. I will say I am quite surprised by Michigan's play here in the early stages of the season and I believe they can do some damage in the Big Ten this season.

That being said, neither team appears, to me, to be a solid national title contender. Neither team seems like they'll be able to make a strong run at a big bowl game either. They might make a bowl based on name recognition, but not due to play.

Boz: No. The Wolverines really impressed me on Saturday and Tate Forcier probably impressed me more. He's got a bright future at Michigan and quite possibly even further on. Notre Dame also impressed me with a very high-powered offense. Michigan has the tougher schedule having to fight through the Big Ten schedule. I think the Irish can go the rest of the year with just one more loss, but their defense will have to be better. Michigan will drop two or three Big Ten games at home against Ohio State and Penn State and games at Iowa and Wisconsin. The Irish will be ranked again in 2-3 weeks and will stay that way the rest of the year.

2) Last week of SportsCenter, Rick Reilly suggested that the NBA should retire Michael Jordan's No. 23 throughout the entire league, much like MLB with Jackie Robinson's No. 42 and NHL with Wayne Gretzky's No. 99. The major problem with the NBA is a certain person wearing No. 23 named LeBron James. Do you agree with Reilly? And if so, what number do you think James should switch to?

Ben: Nope. Sorry. I know everyone loves Jordan, and he certainly has done quite a bit for the game of basketball, but he is certainly no Jackie Robinson. And I don't think you can compare the prestige of NBA and NHL in the same sentence. Jordan had a great career, probably one of the best careers ever, but he did not break barriers like Robinson did, and he is not the most accomplished player in his sport, like Gretzky is. I can already here Bulls fans yelling at the screen, but c'mon, Bill Russell won 11 NBA championships, one of which was as a player coach, he is "more accomplished" then Jordan.

I really like Jordan, I just don't think #23 should be retired.

Boz: I actually do agree with Reilly. Jordan is the Gretzky of the NBA and has done a lot for the game of basketball. This would be a fitting way to honor the greatest to ever play the game beyond just a Hall of Fame induction. I actually think that James would through a fit about having to switch his number, which would be disappointing because I believe that he is wearing that number as a tribute to Jordan. Although, switching numbers is not a big deal. Kobe Bryant switched from No. 8 to No. 24 and no one cared. Also, the move would benefit the NBA because lots of people would buy the new LeBron James jersey. I would have him switch to No. 6, which is what we wears on Team USA.

3) In Saturday's U.S. Open semifinals, after dropping the first set Serena Williams was serving at 4-5, 15-30 against comeback story Kim Clijsters. Williams was called for a foot fault on a second serve making it 15-40 and after throwing a tantrum at the lines judge which included stating "I feel like shoving this ball down your f****** throat." A point penalty was called on Williams, giving Clijsters the match. What did you think of Serena's tirade?

Ben: It was silly, and childish, but I wouldn't expect her to roll over on a call like that. If we have learned anything about Senerna, Venus, and the rest of the Williams family, it is that they are fighters. All of them will try to bully their opponent and intimidate the other player. Sometimes it works, and sometimes, you look like a fool and a little kid. Serena happened to accomplish the latter on Saturday.

The fault was possibly a bad call, but at the end of the day, Serena has gotten her fair share of calls too.

Boz: Serena just didn't cross the line. She flew over the line in a private jet. I didn't see the tirade live but I did see it later that night and I heard that the foot fault was a bad call. But even if she did toe the line too much, it was wrong on the judge's part to allow a foot fault help decide a semifinal match in a grand slam tournament. With that being said, the judge didn't deserve those countless amount of threats and curse words thrown at her. You know its bad when John McEnroe says that you crossed the line. Williams was fined $10,000 for the tirade and $500 for excessive raquet abuse and still has the possibility of future fines and/or suspension. Serena has apologized but in her apology still called the foot fault call "unfair", which leads me to believe that she thinks she was just in her actions and is apologizing for PR.

4) In the Bears upsetting last minute 21-15 season opening loss to the Packers last night, Brian Urlacher was lost for the season after having surgery on a dislocated wrist. Urlacher is the leader of the Bears' defense if not the team. Does this injury damage the hopes for the Bears' season?

Ben: I don't think it damages their hopes moreso then if Lance Briggs were hurt. I think that the Bears have transformed into a different team in the last year and a half. They've stopped the dominant defense and become more of an offensive football team. I know they didn't show it Sunday night, but they are a much better team offensively this year then they have been for some time. Last year, their defense sunk in the rankings and I wouldn't be surprised if they were in the bottom half again this year. Too many players have gone on the decline, or consistently underperformed, and that's what's going to hurt, not just Urlacher.

Boz: It certainly doesn't help push them over the Vikings and Packers as the favorites to win the NFC North. However, I think the Bears will still be able to contend with those teams with their offense. I know it didn't look good last night with Cutler throwing four interceptions and Forte not getting near 100 yards rushing, but I have to believe that that wasn't the offense that we'll see for the rest of the season. The receivers, Devin Hester and Earl Bennett, actually looked real good and Greg Olsen will get better looks. The Bears are looking into signing free agent linebacker Derrick Brooks, who is a former Defensive Player of the Year and played under Lovie Smith in Tampa Bay. That move will help the Bears save face on defense and can help them continue to compete for the division.

ODDS:

1) What are the odds that a Cardinals pitcher will win the NL Cy Young Award?

Ben: 65 %. I like both Wainwright and Carpenter, but I think the general population hears more about Lincecum, who is probably more popular throughout baseball then either of the Cards. I'm giving the Cards the benefit here, because they've got two in the discussion, but my guess is they pull votes from each other and Lincecum wins it back-to-back.

Boz: 80%. Adam Wainwright and Cris Carpenter are first and second in wins with 18 and 17 respectively. Joel Pinerio is tied for fourth in the NL with 14 wins, but also has 10 losses so I would throw him out of the mix. The main competition to Wainwright and Carpenter is last year's winner Tim Lincecum who leads the NL in strikeouts (233) and ERA (2.34). The problem for Lincecum is that Wainwright and Carpenter also have impressive ERAs and more wins. Plus their team is headed to the postseason. My money is on Wainwright.

2) What are the odds that Jake Delhomme finishes that season as the starting quarterback for the Panthers?

Ben: 4%, He's not good anymore and they don't need a good QB to win. It doesn't take much to hand off to Deangelo Williams and J-Stew and if Delhomme keeps screwing that up, they'll look elsewhere for leadership. The Panthers are a legit contender, don't like QB play be your downfall.

Boz: 25%. His performance in the playoffs last year with six turnovers seemed like a fluke for Delhomme, but after five more turnovers that lead to 24 points for the Eagles on Sunday, Delhomme was pulled in the third quarter. If this keeps up then the Panthers will be looking up at three other teams in a very tough NFC South. If it keeps up then the Panthers will have no choice but to go to Josh McCown or to trade for a reliable starter. The Panthers have a great running game, but Delhomme's turnovers won't help them win even with a great running game.

3) Five players (Tiger Woods, Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson and Heath Slocum) can win the FedEx Cup by outright winning the this weekend's Tour Championship. The rest of the top-30 need to win and receive some help. What are the odds that Tiger wins the FedEx Cup?

Ben: 70%. I always pick Tiger, but I don't think things like this get his blood pumping like the Majors do. I think he always wants to win, but he gets especially jacked up to play the big events. If I were to bet on this, I would pick Tiger, but I'm not as confident as Boz.

Boz: 99.8%. Even though Tiger's win at the BMW Championship was his first since before the PGA Championship, he put himself in contention to win every other tournament. That shows that he was playing well and now that he has regained his putting form, he'll have no problem winning the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup.

HAPPY HOUR

Ben: Happy 38th Birthday Will Shields. One of several anchors along a Kansas City Chiefs offensive line that can be considered one of the best in NFL history. Several years into retirement and the Chiefs are still trying to piece together their once proud offensive line. Shields could probably still beat out some of the bums they've thrown out there recently.

Boz: On this day in 1973, President Richard Nixon signed into law a measure that temporarily lifted pro football's blackout rule. With this problem rising again in 2009, maybe President Obama can take note of this anniversary in sports.