Day 34: ALCS, The Raiders, Cedric Benson and more

HEADLINES

1) The Phillies finished off the Dodgers in convincing fashion last night and advanced to their second straight World Series. Who do the Phillies match up against best between the Yankees and the Angels?

Ben: Both teams. The Phillies have a fantastic team that is going to be tough to beat in a 7-game series. 2 stud pitchers, with a couple good ones. They have a S-T-A-C-K-E-D lineup with great hitters 1-8. I think, honestly, both the Angels or Yankees will struggle to contain the lineup. With that being said, I think the Yanks could give them equal trouble if the Bronx Bombers would make the World Series.

Boz: Regardless of who they match up against, it appears they are going to get the Yankees whether or not they like it or not. However, they match up against the Angles better primarily because no team wants to face the Yankees offense, especially when you have a questionable bullpen. The power of the Phillies line-up could have overpowered the quick, station-to-station offense of the Angels. However, it appears to be the Yanks taking the AL and we're looking toward to a world series full of heavy hitters. It should be a good one.

2) Before beating the Eagles at home, many called the Raiders the worst team in the NFL. Now they're 2-4 and Richard Seymour has guarenteed that the Raiders will make the playoffs. Do you agree with Seymour or was he just too excited about the win over the Eagles?

Ben: YOU DIDN'T EVEN WANT PLAY THERE SEYMOUR. If they were this close to the playoffs when you were traded there,  you wouldn't have felt like it was a slap in the face - like you orginially said. There is no way, aside from the Raiders and Patroits trading everyone in their organizations before the season is over, that Oakland makes the playoffs.

Boz: Seymour might have been too excited about narrowly escaping with a win over a poor performing Eagles team. I don't want to disappoint Raider Nation, but Oakland is not going to make the playoffs. Maybe Seymour should have started by making a gaurentee on whether or not Tom Cable will be charged with assault or not. This might have been the worst gaurentee ever made. The franchise is in shambles. Their quarterback can't even complete half of his passes, their running back is injured, and the receiver they took with the seventh pick in the draft has two receptions ALL SEASON. They still have another game with the Chargers and Broncos, Bengals, Ravens, Jets, and they have to hit the road to Pittsburgh and Dallas. That's at least another six losses, putting them at 10 for the season. Playoffs? We're talking about playoffs? Hell, they're not even going to win five games!

3) Cedric Benson is making claims that the Chicago Bears attempted to blackball Benson by saying negative things to other teams inquiring about signing Benson after the Bears released him in June of 2008. It took four months for a team to sign Benson and the Bears deny any blackballing. Whose side are you on?

Ben: Probably Benson's. I don't necessarily agree that he was worth picking up right after his release, so I think that contributes to the four month gap, but I do believe the Bears made him look worse then he actually was.

Benson was a disappointment and never proved that he was worth the draft pick the Bears used for him - but he had potential and definately was better then they were claiming when he left Chicago. He might have been bad in Chicago, but they said he was barely even a football player -- that's not true.

Boz: I'm siding with the Bears. Benson said that the Bears would tell other teams that he didn't work hard on and off the field, that he was a prima donna and that he wasn't focused. Look, I watched nearly every game that Benson played in a Bears uniform and if the Bears did say those things about Benson, I can attest to every thing they said. He was lazy, didn't work hard and he absolutely a prima donna. I'm glad that he found new life in Cincinnati, but he wasn't welcomed in Chicago.

4) The University of Central Florida has a six-year, $30 million contract with adidas to be the official athletic supplier. In the contract, all players and coaches must wear adidas footwear and apparell. However, freshman Marcus Jordan wants to wear his father's Air Jordans because it has special meaning to his family. What should UCF do?

Ben:  Let him wear the shoes. Actually, they should have just let him wear the shoes and not told anyone to see how long it took for Adidas to figure out the issue. Seriously, how many UCF games are being telecast? How many games is an Adidas rep going to be at the game? I would think they would have had a chance at getting through the contract that way.

Let the kids wear what they want, just make sure Adidas is easily seen throughout the UCF athletic center.

Boz: They should honor their contract with Adidas. Look, it's basketball shoes. Just basketball shoes. I understand that Marcus wants to wear Jordan shoes because the brand helped pay the bills and put food on the table when he was growing up. I just don't see needing to make a big deal about what shoes he is going to wear for the next four years. I know that the UCF athletic department is attempting to work out a unique situation, but in my opinion, they should honor their contract and tell Marcus he needs to wear Adidas. What's next? Are they going to make a unique Nike jersey that just Marcus will wear?

COLLEGE PICK 'EM

Last week            Ben: 6-2           Boz: 3-5
Season:                Ben: 32-15       Boz: 25-22

1) Illinois at Purdue (Saturday, 11 a.m.)

Ben: ILLINOIS. I can't believe I'm doing this -- and truly, don't even know why.

Boz: PURDUE. Look, I'm still an Illinois fan. But if you lose to Indiana, then I have to stop picking you to win. I'm in a big enough hole behind Ben already as it is.

2) Boston College at Notre Dame (Saturday, 2:30 p.m.)

Ben: NOTRE DAME. The Irish have a legit offense that is going to produce plenty of NFL talent. BC is in transition, and won't be able to keep up with the Irish in South Bend.

Boz: NOTRE DAME. The Fighting Irish are actually a pretty good team this year. They showed that by playing with a very talented USC team. They have a shot at winning out the rest of the season and it starts on Saturday.

3) Florida State at North Carolina (Thursday, 7 p.m.)

Ben: FLORIDA STATE. I'm really surprised the Seminoles have struggled this much, and still think their defense will keep them in enough games. The question will be if Jimbo Fisher shows he's worth the successor-in-waiting status FSU has given him.

Boz: NORTH CAROLINA. I like the Tar Heels at home, especially with the Seminoles reeling a bit. Butch Davis brings home a win for UNC.

4) No. 3 Texas at Missouri (Saturday, 7 p.m.)

Ben: TEXAS. No chance for the Tigers. Texas is too good on both sides of the ball. Mizzou might be able to hang in there for awhile, but in the end, the Longhorns get the W.

Boz: TEXAS. I know the Longhorns' offense doesn't look as good as last season, but their defense is. Plus Missouri is fading fast as it gets later in the season. McCoy has a big day as the Longhorns leave Missouri with a win.

5) No. 7 Iowa at Michigan State (Saturday, 6 p.m.)

Ben: IOWA. I'm not picking against the Hawks until a bowl game.

Boz: IOWA. This won't be an easy win on the road for the Hawkeyes. The Wolverines couldn't win in East Lansing. However, the difference is Iowa has a better defense and picks up a big road win to remain undefeated.

6) Oklahoma at No. 25 Kansas (Saturday, 2:30 p.m.)

Ben: OKLAHOMA. OU has lost 3 games by a total of 7 points. They are a fantastic football team, but have lost games because they haven't had their #1 QB. I'll take the rest of the OU football team against the rest of the KU football team.

Boz: KANSAS. Landry Jones isn't a bad quarterback but he can't fill the holes in the offense like Sam Bradford could. The Jayhakws win a close one at home.

7) No. 13 Penn State at Michigan (Saturday, 2:30 p.m.)

Ben: MICHIGAN. I don't know why, but Tate Forcier and Rich Rodriquez have me believing. I'll take Big Blue at home, over a surprisingly quiet Penn State team the last few weeks.

Boz: MICHIGAN. This will be my upset pick this week. It's tough to win in the Big House and Forcier will lead the offense over an inconsistent Penn State offense.

8) No. 8 TCU at No. 16 BYU (Saturday, 6:30 p.m.)

Ben: TCU. The Horned Frogs are a solid team, especially on D. BYU has already laid an egg once this season, and I think they'll do it again against a difficult conference opponent.

Boz: BYU. This could be TCU's chance to make a bid for a BCS Bowl. If they lose the game, then their hopes are over. BYU wouldn't mind running the table and maybe taking an outside chance at a BCS Bowl. Max Hall leads the way.

HAPPY HOUR

Ben: Happy 2nd Anniversary Tony LaRussa. On this date in 2007 you signed a 2 year contract extension to stay with the Cardinals through this season. You've constantly helped get talent-deprived teams to perform way above expectations. Again, this season, you got a young, seemingly pitcher lacking team to the playoffs. Although, you're run in St. Louis might be over, it'd be tough to match your accomplishments since you been in the STL.

Boz: Happy 27th Birthday Robinson Cano. Apparently umpire Tim McClelland decided to give you an early birthday present by calling you safe at third base when you were clearly tagged out when off the base, but slipped your foot on after being tagged. It had to be an early birthday present because there is no other reason why McClelland would miss that call.