Scott's World of News, Sports, and Geopolitical Hackery…
I didn't go to school for this sort of thing….

Ouch. That hurt a little bit. No wait, that hurt a lot. The Denver Broncos could not find the magic today, and barely found the end zone, losing 40-10 to the Buffalo Bills.

Tebow threw four interceptions, and finally played at the level he has been expected to play at.  Now the AFC West is a total crap-shoot.  Speaking of crap-shoot, I think Tebow is still entirely an unknown.   Is this experiment coming to an abrupt close. Is Tebow Time over?

We’ll have to wait until next week to see.

Ryan Braun had one heck of year in 2011.  He was a slugging machine and won the NL MVP aware, edging out the Dodger’s Matt Kemp who had a legitimate claim to the award.   It turns out that Ryan Braun may have been juicing as reports are surfacing that he failed a test for performance enhancing drugs.  If the tests are confirmed, and there is no explanation on why he may have gotten false positives, he may be looking at a 50 game suspension.

In my my mind if Braun was juicing in 2011, then Matt Kemp will be my MVP.  It’s unbelievable to me that players are still trying to get away with this after what Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens have been put through.  I hope for the sake of Braun and Major League Baseball that these results have an explanation other than illicit PED’s being involved.

This story continues to develop.

USA Today: Ryan Braun tests positive for PED, says ‘It’s B.S.’

ESPN dragged out the Heisman announcement for what seemed like hours tonight, and I finally turned it off to listen to some music and focus on some other things….like blogging. I expected Andrew Luck to win tonight, so I was surprised by the ESPN report that Robert Griffin III won the coveted award. I was also somewhat disappointed for Luck who I feel deserved it.

But Griffin III did make some big plays in some big games, most notably the Oklahoma game where he had a “Doug Flutie moment”, finding his receiver late in the game to pull off one of the upsets of the year. I just feel like Andrew Luck plays in a tougher league against better opponents, and his body of work is more complete the RG3. But the Heisman tends to be “what have you done lately” kind of aware, and that’s what it came down to.

I stil believe Luck will go higher in the NFL draft, and that he’s a better quarterback for the NFL. Time will tell, and both of these guys will be drafted high on the order.

I’m glad that that LSU guy, the Honey Badger didn’t win. What the heck is a Honey Badger anyway?

It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve had a chance to blog up some college football, and boy has a lot happened. The most notable event for me obviously was the big win by Michigan over that school down in Ohio. The Wolverines snapped a losing streak against the Buckeyes that stretched back to George W. Bush’s first term. Denard played his best game of the year just when he needed to, because the Michigan defense didn’t have the mojo.

Brady Hoke took this rag-tag bunch of players that finished 7-6 last year and carved them into a BCS-worthy squad. And thanks to a loss by the Michigan State Spartans last Saturday night to Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game, the BCS berth they deserved became a reality. The twittersphere buzzed about a Michigan matchup with Boise State in the Sugar Bowl, and how interesting that would be. The problem with that scenario is that the folks down at the BCS were getting ready to freeze Boise State out of the BCS entirely.

Virginia Tech somehow seemed a better choice by the powers that be at the BCS. They travel well, and play in a tougher conference than Boise State. But the real reason they were selected, along with Michigan, is that they will sell tickets. Both programs have a fan-base that travel in droves to see their teams play around New Years. Boise State, ranked seventh, had salt rubbed in their wounds when it was announced that they would be playing in the MAACO Bowl against an unranked Arizona team. My jaw hit the floor when I read this. It is as if the BCS just threw up their hands like they don’t know what to do with Boise State any more. The BCS’s descion seems to be sending a message to the Broncos to either join a major conference or get left out in the cold.

Brrr.

And then there is the National Title Game re-match of LSU and Alabama. Is this the right choice for the title game? Yeah, probably. Is it as intriguing as a LSU/Oklahoma St. matchup? No way. Not even close. As far as I remember, the SEC played their title game last weekend, and Alabama was nowhere to be found. How in the world can they be in the national championship game? There’s something very wrong with all of this, but now I’m beginning to beat a dead horse.

All I know is that the choas that the BCS has devolved into has given Michigan a huge stage to showcase their resurgence. This might be the only good thing that has come out of the BCS this year come to think about it.

I woke up to the news that the NBA lockout has come to a close, and that there will be a 2011-2012 season. Darn. I was looking forward to a winter where hockey could finally be king. I mean, yes it is good that the Lakers will have a season, and I’m happiest for the little people that work for the franchises. On the other hand, it would be difficult for me to care less about the NBA than I do right now.

I spent my high school and college years of the late 80′s and early 90′s living in northwest Indiana, about 45 miles outside of Chicago. That was the golden era of basketball. Not only did we get to witness every single Bulls game featuring Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, but we got to see them match up against the likes of Bird, Magic, Isaiah, and that jerk named Bill Laimbeer.

Twenty years later, and the NBA just isn’t what it used to be. Sure, the players are probably better, more athletic. But they just don’t have the flair, and the collective persona that those teams I grew up watching had. No, today we have a bunch of spoiled brats playing basketball. Today we have players that can’t beat each other decide to get together to make a “dream team” so they can get their insta-trophy. It’s just not that same.

The NBA is already trying to spin Christmas Day into their big unveiling of the 2011-2012 season. But seriously, are *you* going to sit around and watch these ingrates play three games on Christmas? Shoot, I’ll be pressed to watch three games the whole season.

To all of you big NBA fans, I’m happy for you. Merry Christmas.

This is what the Big Ten has been like in 2011. One week a team a team like Iowa loses to Minnesota, and the next they are taking down the #13 team in the nation, Michigan. And then there is Wisconsin, and their fall from what looked like Rose Bowl glory early on.

This week the weirdness continued as Nebraska came off being blown out by Michigan to beat Iowa today. Iowa, of course, dealt Michigan a bitter loss just a couple of games ago. And in turn, Michigan crushed Iowa at the Big House last week.

So what gives? Why is home field such a big deal in the Big Ten? Or is that really the factor? Is the Big Ten so mediocre that inconsistency is the norm now?

This is why I am not counting any chickens before the proverbial eggs hatch in Ann Arbor tomorrow as the Wolverines try to break out of a bad, bad losing streak against the Buckeyes. I am hoping the weirdness in the Big Ten has run it’s course so we can watch the Wolverines take back their pride.

Thanksgiving.  It’s a day for tradition, family, and football.  It’s a day to give thanks to God his bountiful blessings.  It’s also a day for Lions fans to walk to the dinner table thinking to themselves, “They lost again”.    The 2011 edition of the Lions Thanksgiving Day game was supposed to be different.  The Lions are better this year than they have since Barry Sanders was around.  They started out 5-0, and they typicaly always play better on Thanksgiving.   Today was their day to knock of the Packers.  But in the end, they kept up their tradition of losing.

Chalk this loss up to a young team full of raw talent against a veteran team that didn’t make mistakes.  The Lions dominated in offensive stats in the first half, yet couldn’t find the end zone.  The Packers were methodical and precise, and they kept their cool.  The Lions lost their head, and even saw their star defensive player, Ndamukong Suh, ejected for kicking a player after the whistle in a scrum.

It was ugly. It was sloppy. It was what Lion fans have become accustomed to. Lovable losers.

This Lion team is heading toward an early exit. They are still in the wildcard hunt by the numbers, but their performance on the field isn’t encouraging. They were supposed to get a win, and get a jump on the Cutler-less Bears for the wildcard. Instead, they left the door wide open.

Lions fans are resigned to losing, so there’s usually not much expectation going into this game.  But this year the loss stings a little bit more. I guess my only suggestion for warding off the pain is some extra gravy on those potatoes, and perhaps and extra slice of pumpkin pie. Then sleep it off and remember that this team has a bright future.

Maybe next year is the year. Some day they will break with tradition and win.

Update: Orton to Kansas City | Orton and Cutler have been spared an awwwwkwarrrd reunion in Chicago!

Of any player without injury, Kyle Orton has probably had the worst 2011 season in the NFL. He got benched as a second stringer to a guy who can’t really throw a good pass, and now he’s been released by the Broncos. I was thinking to myself today about how weird it would be if the Bears picked him up to fill in for the injured Jay Cutler. I know, it’s not gong to happen, (although Yahoo! suggested the same idea) but he’s probably what the Bears need in the short term.

With the “Suck For Luck” lottery going on with the bottom dwellers in the league, I doubt that Indy or Miami are going to jump on the waiver wires any time soon.

Wow.  That was not at all what I expected.  I expected Michigan to play a much better team today with Nebraska in town.  But the Nebraska that lost to Northwestern showed up in Ann Arbor, and they were never really in the game today.   The Greg Matteson defense is something to behold, and Al Borges had a field day today.

I predicted a Michigan loss, but that’s because I expected to see the team that played at Iowa up against the Nebraska team that played at Penn State.  Instead, Michigan played good enough to blow out a team about as good as Purdue.

It’s a big win for Brady Hoke and Michigan. The Wolverines have 9 wins, and are playing for a tenth next weekend against the Buckeyes.

I’m just not that convinced.  Denard made some good throws today as well as some awful, terrible, ugly throws.  Fitz Toussaint ran like a stud, and the entire defense rocked Nebraska all day.  I’m just not convinced that Nebraska is really very good.  I’m not convinced that anybody but Michigan State and Wisconsin are going to get a bowl win, either.

Next week Michigan plays the Buckeyes in a watered down version of “The Game”.  The Buckeyes are Cooper-esque, and a win against them this year is like beating Purdue…..it’s just not that big of a deal.  But Michigan had better show up.  If they play like they did against Iowa, the Ohio State streak against Michigan will continue.

If it sounds like I’ve lost the faith, I have.  I don’t believe it until I see it with this team.     Al Borges (and the offense in general) is like Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde.  You never know what kind of stupid play he’s going to draw up, or what kind of idiotic throw Denard is going to make.  At least Borges stopped that Denard and Devin nonsense that was ruining the offensive rhythm.  If he just continues to let Denard and Fitz run over the defenses, next Saturday will be sweet victory.

Seeing will be believing for me.  After what seems like a decade long draught against the Buckeyes, I’ve gotten used to rooting for a loser.  It’s going to take more wins than beating up on Illinois and Nebraska to fight off that feeling.  I hope to start shaking it off next weekend.

Huffington Post: Michigan Manhandles Nebraska, 45-17: Denard Robinson, Fitzgerald Toussaint Lead Wolverines

Nine. Nine just seems like a number. It’s a relatively small number in a new world where billions have turned into trillions, and gigabytes have turned into terrabytes. But for Michigan fans, the number nine is huge. It’s been such a big number, that it has seemed unachievable in terms of wins for the Wolverines for many years. Today, nine is the number that Brady Hoke’s Wolverines reach for.

I, for one, am trying to keep my emotions on an even keel. The Iowa game pushed me to the edge as the Wolverines let their hopes for a shot at the Legends division title slip away in a horribly coached and played game on the offensive side of the ball. I realized that this team was much better than the three that preceded it, but that this was not going to be a Rose Bowl season. This team is more like an Outback Bowl kind of team.

So Michigan fans, root for the boys in Blue today, but don’t get too emotionally invested. We don’t have a real quarterback, and Al Borges can’t get this team to score in the Red Zone. Nebraska is a lot better than Illinois, and they gave the Wolverines fits last week. I think Michigan is going to lose a tough one today, 24-17 at the Big House. I am sorry to say so, but I think that’s how it is going to go. Unless…

The defense is rocking, though, and if they can someone get a score, that will be the difference today. If Michigan’s defense scores today, Michigan will win.

Number nine will more likely come next week when Michigan clocks the Buckeyes at the Big House. And nine wins after three years of scorched earth will be fantastic for this team.

The Freep has a real preview here: Michigan vs. Nebraska preview capsule