HEADLINES
1) Cliff Lee pitched a complete game, giving up only six hits and no earned runs in the Phillies Game 1 win over the Yankees. How good was Cliff Lee last night and how do the Yankees rebound from the loss?
Ben: He was electic. Cliff Lee is one of those sneaky good pitchers. He's not a flamethrower or have crazy breaking pitches. He just throw to good spots with late movement. He was great last night. I think he's probably been the best pitcher the Phillies have had the last two season.
The Yankees can come out and jump all over Pedro. If he struggles right off the bat, the Phillies will fold. If they can put up 3-5 runs up on Pedro before the 5th or 6th, they are in good shape to get the win.
Boz: Cliff Lee was amazing. This entire postseason Ben and I both have been talking about how good the Yankees line-up is. Well, outside of Derek Jeter going 3-for-4, the Yankees couldn't touch Cliff Lee and he was hitting every one of his spots with every one of his pitches. It'll definitely go down as one of the best game 1 performances on the road in the history of the game.
This is a tough loss for the Yankees because they need to win Sabathia's starts in order win the series. Burnett is unpredictable and with the middle relief issues that they have, they could blow a good start from any pitcher. With the 2-3-2 series set up for the world series, the Yanks need to win one at home or Jimmy Rollins' prediction of five games might turn to four.
2) The Kansas Jayhawks have been named No. 1 in the first AP poll of the season. Do you agree with this?
Ben: I guess. Who knows? They have some great players back from last years team but honestly who could say for sure. UNC, Michigan State, Kentucky could all have better years or been voted #1. I don't really put a lot of stock into it, but I guess I wouldn't be surprised if at the end of the year, they were the best team.
Boz: In my opinion, preseason polls are useless and I think every coach in the land will tell you the same thing. But to answer the question, yes I agree with the Jayhawks being the No. 1 team in the nation to open up the season. They return Sheron Collins and Cole Aldrich and Bill Self always brings in good recruiting classes and he once again has done that this season. However, being named No. 1 in the preseason poll doesn't always mean you finish there. College basketball is a long season.
3) Albert Pujols has stated that he would like to remain with the St. Louis Cardinals for the rest of his career. Is that a good idea?
Ben: Yes. Pujols is the Brett Farve of St. Louis, anything he wants to do, he can. If he ever decided to leave, it would be just as big of a deal as Farve leaving Green Bay.
Boz: It would be a good idea for the Cardinals to keep Pujols in St. Louis for the rest of his career because this is a guy who, at the end of his career, could arguably be one of the best hitters of all time. St. Louis is known as one of the best baseball cities in America and they, for the most part, are always putting competitive teams on the field. The Cardinals fans love Albert Pujols, I should know since I grew up with Cardinals fans surrounding me in my family, and he is in a perfect situation in St. Louis. The only better place to be would be Wrigley Field...think about it Albert!
4) Lifelong Browns fan and season ticket holder Mike Randall, a.k.a. "Dawg Pound Mike", is asking other fans to stay away from the nationall televised Monday Night Football game against the Ravens on November 16, hoping that the empty seats on a nationally televised game will send a message to ownership that the fans are tired of losing. Is this a good idea?
Ben: Not really. I think the owner and GM and coach all know their team is terrible and they have to do better, but I never really felt like these types of demonstrations worked very well for fans in Detroit. I feel like these are publicity stunts to get some fans on TV.
Also, even if they didn't go to this game, the revenue sharing structure and the TV deals, along with general sponsership dollars would far outweigh the loss of money because 10,000 fans didn't show up.
Boz: Absolutely! These fans pay a lot of money to go to these games and they deserve to see their franchise at least try to put a good product on the field and attempt to be a successful team. The Browns have been bad since they returned to Cleveland in 1999. The ownership looks forward to having their team on a national level such as Monday Night Football, and it would look bad if people who bought tickets did not show up to the game and all you have to showcase is an empty stadium. It's not like you can sell their tickets again.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PICK 'EM
Last week Ben: 7-1 Boz: 4-4
Season Ben: 39-16 Boz: 29-26
1) Michigan at Illinois (Saturday, 2:30 p.m.)
Ben: Michigan. Sorry Illinois. The FCS team you beat (Illinois State) doesn't inspire me anymore. You are losers.
Boz: MICHIGAN. Illinois should be fired up for this game at home. But it won't matter because they are terrible and have no quarterback play.
2) No. 12 Penn State at Northwestern (Saturday, 3:30 p.m.)
Ben: PENN STATE. If you want to be a doctor or journalist, go to Northwestern, if you want to win football games go to PENN STATE.
Boz: PENN STATE. I want to pick the upset here because the Wildcats actually aren't bad. But the Nittany Lions showed me something by winning in Ann Arbor last week.
3) No. 22 South Carolina at Tennessee (Saturday, 6:45 p.m.)
Ben: SOUTH CAROLINA. I like Spurrier, and I don't like Kiffin. The offense for SC is better then Tennessee.
Boz: TENNESSEE. This is my upset this week as the Vols use the running game to take care of South Carolina at Rocky Top.
4) No. 25 Mississippi at Auburn (Saturday, 11:20 a.m.)
Ben: AUBURN. Jevan Snead has disappointed me, and I think Auburn has the benefit playing at home. There offense will outscore Ole Miss.
Boz: OLE MISS. Auburn has really struggled since starting with the SEC portion of its schedule. Which shows you that they are not a legit team in the SEC.
5) No. 3 Texas at No. 14 Oklahoma State (Saturday, 7 p.m.)
Ben: OKLAHOMA STATE. Upset alert. Mike Gundy is going to give another "I'M A MAN" speech before the game and get the Cowboys juiced up. That and I think Texas is overrated and Oklahoma State's offense is better.
Boz: TEXAS. The Longhorns gear up for these big games and the Cowboys offense takes a hit without Dez Bryant. They won't be able to put up points against the Texas' defense.
6) No. 5 USC at No. 10 Oregon (Saturday, 7 p.m.)
Ben: USC. They get up for these games. They don't lose nationally televised, big, rivalry, Pac-10 games.
Boz: OREGON. The Ducks are tough at home since Eugene is one of the tougher places to play in college football. This ends the reign for the Trojans on top of the Pac-10.
HAPPY HOUR
Ben: Happy 47th Birthday Danny Tartabull. To tell you the truth, I don't remember much about Tartabull -- but if you know anything about me from reading this blog -- I love funny names. He played mostly for the Mariners, Royals, and Yanks. And also had a brief appearance on Seinfeld. Claim to fame there.
Boz: Happy 28th Birthday to Amanda Beard. Beard has competed in four Olympic games and has captured seven medals. Not only did she capture the gold medal in the 200-meter breaststroke, but she also captured my heart.
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