Weekend Lineup: 1/12/2007 - 11/14/2007

MLB

Relocating a team to Portland makes sense (Phil Rogers)
Report of failed test could hinder new Bonds deal (ESPN.com)
Rocket return likely (Jon Heyman)

MLS
Wanted: More stars (SI.com)

NFL
Be like Brady (Michael Silver)

Are we surprised?

The NY Daily News reported today that Barry Bonds failed an amphetamines test last season and then tried to blame it on teammate Mark Sweeney.

Finally, some evidence for those who can't accept that Bonds cheated to get where he is. I don't really have much to say about this since it only validates what I've been saying all along.

Bonds is a cheater.


Caught in the act (TJ Quinn)
Marises believe MLB should return HR crown to Roger

Daily Lineup 1/11/2007: David Beckham Edition

In honor of what's probably the biggest event in the history of MLS - the signing of David Beckham by the Los Angeles Galaxy - I'm dedicating today's Daily Lineup to the event.

Beckham, MLS a good fit (Marc Connolly)
Beckham signing is a no-brainer (Jen Chang)
Beckham signing legitimizes MLS on world scene (Steve Davis)
Entertainment value (SI.com)
Galaxy to get Beckham in summer (Jason Halpin)
Red-letter day (Grant Wahl)

Oh, sorry about no Daily Update yesterday - I was moving back into school and never got around to posting.

Hall of Fame Day (Well, actually yesterday)

Congrats to Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn on their induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. This pair was truly deserving of this honor and it's unfortunate that the controversy over Mark McGwire had to come on the same election.

I saw Ripken play once. He came in for a few innings during a Baltimore Orioles-Rochester Red Wings exhibition game and I came within feet of getting his autograph. This was back in the days when this sort of thing was allowed - the past bargaining agreement put an end to minor league exhibition games. I'm pretty sure the one I saw was the second-to-last of its kind for the Baltimore-Rochester marriage. Albert Belle put the kabbash on the final one.

Anyways, back to the Hall of Fame. If I had a vote (which I hope to have someday), I would've also put Goose Gossage and Bert Blyleven in. They're getting close and Goose should have a chance next election in the absence of a big name.

I was disappointed to read and hear about the writer from Chicago who submitted a blank ballot since he felt he shouldn't make a judgment on the Steroid Era. It may sound trivial but voting for the Baseball Hall of Fame is a pretty big honor and privilege and to submit a blank ballot seems like shirking that responsibility. I understand that this writer claims to have been making a point but after hearing him on Tuesday's Cold Pizza, I don't have much respect or consideration for him. If he didn't want to make a judgment on McGwire, then fine, don't vote for him. But what about the Ripkens, the Gwynns?

It's hard to conceive how there has never been a unanimous choice to the Hall of Fame. Not just Ripken but what about Babe Ruth? I have to chalk this up to self-righteous writers feeling that they can play God when it comes to the players. It's one thing to decide not to vote for a suspected steroid user until more information is available but it's another to not vote for a player because one feels that no one should ever be a unanimous choice. If everyone took that route, then no one would ever get the 75 percent needed to make it into the Hall.

I'm glad though - check that - I'm extremely happy though that McGwire only receive 23.5 percent of the vote. I thank the Baseball Writers of America for sending this message to Big Mac and all other steroid users. If they're going to continue to play this game of lies and deceit, they're going to ultimately pay the price. They may bask in their fame and dollars now but the halls of history will not remember them so kindly. How many times now, will fathers have to explain to their sons why Mark McGwire - the man who has so many bats and jerseys enshrined in the Hall - isn't a member himself?

Palmeiro, Bonds and anyone else still lurking in the shadows, this is your chance, your warning. Come clean. Ask for forgiveness. And maybe, just maybe, you'll have the slightest of chance of being welcomed into the Hall of Fame with the likes of great players and great people like Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn.

2006 Extra Innings NFL Playoff Update

After shooting 75 percent on this weekend's playoff games, we now move into Divisional Round. To recap my predictions for this upcoming weekend:

Ravens over Colts Chargers over Pats Saints over Eagles
and the now-defunct Cowboys over Bears

Since that last prediction went kaput thanks to The Bobble, I now must weigh in on the new matchup.

Seattle Seahawks at Chicago Bears.
Last week, I said that Rex Grossman isn't working as the Bears' quarterback and I still feel that way. If this franchise is going to have any long term success, they're going to have to find a solid option at quarterback. I don't know if that means playing Brian Griese or finding someone somewhere else but he can't lead the Chicago offense. When it comes to facing the Seahawks though . . . hmmm. I originally was going to write that I'm going with the Bears but I'm going to pick the Seahawks instead. Watching a healthy Matt Hasselbeck and Shaun Alexander churn through the Cowboys this weekend has shown me that despite being a 9-7 team, Seattle - now running at full health - has a chance in this post season. The Seahawks move back into the NFC Championship after this weekend.

Daily Lineup 1/9/2007

All Wie, all the time (ESPN.com)

"If I had to guess, I'd say about 95 percent of the guys on tour are against Wie's competing on their circuit, but it has less to do with sexism or ageism than the simple fact that she's just not good enough," says Jason Sobel. Thank you.

NHL Power Rankings (Scott Wraight)
The Sabres not only took back the top record in the NHL this week but they remain on top in SI's rankings.

Romo will rise (Tim Layden)
As a Bills fan, I'm not allowed to like Tony Romo. But I guess I can like his desire to perfect in the game.

Smacking Down Big Mac (John Donovan)
23.5 percent of the vote. McGwire was closer to being left off the ballot next year than he was to making it into the Hall of Fame.

Stop obsessing over coaches! (Gregg Easterbrook)
I remember when all coaches wore suits and just stood on the sidelines. Well, actually, I don't. I just wanted to sound knowledgeable.

Daily Lineup 1/8/2007

Hall of Famers vs. Non-Hall of Famers: Who would win? (ESPN.com)
McGwire, Rose and the Boys take on those immortalized in Cooperstown.

Less is more (Allan Muir)
Continuing the theme of the new NFL (myNFL?), the league has discussed dropping the number of divisions. Allan Muir gives his input on who should go where.

Migden suits up to block 49ers' move (Daniel Macht)
San Fran's plans to out of the city may soon hit a hitch.

The NFL's new power family (Peter King)
Parcells began Belichick who began Mangini . . .

An uncomfortable vote for McGwire (Jayson Stark)
Aw, c'mon, Stark, c'mon. Just don't vote for Bonds in a few years. Please.

Daily Lineup 1/7/2007

AFL History (Tim Ball)

Yeah, it may seem weird, but I kind of like it. So there.

Fiesta Bowl still noteworthy (Arash Markazi)
Some behind the scene perspective from last week's Fiesta Bowl.

Goats, gaffes and blunders (Page 2)
Tony Romo. Oh boy. Oohhh boy.

Hall voting remains archaic (Jim Caple)
As long as Bonds doesn't get in, I'm happy. Check that - I want Blyleven in too.

Psychic predictions for 2007 (Kurt Snibbe)
It's funny since most of the Bengals have been arrested. And the NFL has a gun problem. And a steroid problem. But no one cares. They just vote the problems third in the Defensive Player of the Year voting.

Daily Lineup 1/6/2007

As a new feature to Extra Innings, I'm going to try to post a couple sites or web pages that I liked and feel that people should be reading per day. To fit the baseball lineup allegory, technically, I should post nine things. Or eight things and a pitcher for those reading in National League cities. But for now, I'm going to aim for five. Five blogs, columns or something else online that I want you to read. Listed in alphabetical order. Since that's how I do.

Please, Mr. Bettman (John Ondrasik)
Yeah, I might be beginning to care for hockey a little bit more, but there's still work to do.

Post-Unit era filled with question marks (Bob Klapisch)
Clemens, anyone?

Selig developing positive legacy as commissioner (Jon Heyman)
A couple years ago, after the whole tied All-Star game debacle, I wanted the commish to get the boot. Like a lot of other people though, I've started to change my view of Selig.

Sting fold three weeks after Bobcats give up control (Associated Press)
Well, what's the over/under on years until the NBA stops bleeding funding into this experiment and the WNBA folds?

Survey: McGwire receives less than 30 percent (ESPN)
The first member of the Class of Steroids will serve as the litmus test for those who will follow in the upcoming years.

EIBIT: The Big Unit Arrives in the Big Apple

This Extra Innings column was originally published on January 6, 2005, the day the Yankees completed the trade bringing Randy Johnson to New York.*

Let the healing begin.

Now that Randy Johnson has made it to New York, we can finally put that whole 2001 World Series loss to the Diamondbacks thing behind us. Yeah, the Red Sox might have Curt Schilling, but the Yankees now have Randy Johnson. The Big Unit. This is the one who throws perfect games and wins Cy Young awards. Yeah, he's had some injury problems over the past few years, but the guy threw a perfect game this season.

Forty years old?

Pah!

Things are finally going to come together this season. The Great World Series Drought will end in 2005. With Johnson, the Yanks finally have the starter they've needed. A proven ace. A proven post season ace.

I'm excited.

I hope Arizona enjoys Javier Vazquez. Couldn't hack in it New York or in the post season. You can't expect him to handle the bright lights of a place like New York or even a smaller city like Chicago. He came up in Montreal so Vazquez really doesn't have the pedigree to perform in the post season. I'd be very, very surprised if he's ever able to win a World Series. Unlike the new Yankee: Randy Johnson.

Complete opposites.

Everyone mark your calendars for the World Series parade in New York City this October. 2005: the year of the Yankees.


*Extra Innings Back In Time may or may not actually be real columns. In this case, this wasn't a real column.

Stuart Appleby: My Hero.

"[Michelle Wie] should just let it go for now and come back when she has a more accomplished game. She's just not ready for it. She's certainly not proving anything except that she can't play with the men at her level right now. A couple times is nice. It's interesting . . . But now it's just getting to the stage where she'll get criticized too much."

Stuart Appleby at the Mercedes-Benz Championship.

See, I'm not the only one who feels this way. What started out as kind of a cute show has only turned into a tired exercise in the absurd. Michelle Wie obviously doesn't have what it takes right now to play with the men. In fact, she hasn't even proved that she has what it takes to win with the women.

Before trying to take on the entire golf world, a player needs to actually collect some smaller wins. Play LPGA events. Try to win those first. You've proved to us all that you're not ready for the men. Stop taking their spots on the tour though. Men aren't allowed to play the women's tournament. Their are rules about that.

Geez, seriously. I'm so happy that some players are starting to actually say what they've all had to be thinking for the past few years.

2006 Extra Innings NFL Playoff Preview

With the 2006 NFL season wrapped up, Extra Innings takes a look at the upcoming playoffs.

Wild-card Round

Kansas City Chiefs (9-7, 6th seed) at Indianapolis Colts (12-4, 3rd seed)
The Chiefs kind of snuck their way into the playoffs this year, edging out the Broncos on the final weekend. The Colts, a once mighty 9-0, finished the season on a 3-4 skid - keep in mind too, that final win of the 9-0 start was because of a missed field goal on the Bills part. Neither team is really flying too high right now but I'm going to have to go with the Colts on this match-up. I'm not saying they're going to make it very far - this definitely isn't the same Colts team of past years and that defense isn't going to hold up against a possible clash with San Diego.

New York Jets (10-6, 5th seed) at New England Patriots (12-4, 4th seed)
The Jets surprised everyone by following a mediocre 4-4 start with a post-bye-week 6-2 mark. And then, we have the Patriots. Despite winning their fourth straight AFC East title (also their fifth out of the last six years), this New England team doesn't have the full weaponry of past ones. Brady (and I have to give him credit for this one) managed to steer this team to the post-season even though he lacks any form of a number one receiver. I want to say that the Jets will pull the upset in this one but the Pats have been the best post-season team for years now and should get the job done this weekend.

New York Giants (8-8, 6th seed) at Philadelphia Eagles (10-6, 3rd seed)
I'm not even going to dwell on this one. The Eagles have found magic in Jeff Garcia while the Giants might not even be able to find their way to Lincoln Financial Field. The team completely lacks any kind of chemistry, leadership or any reason to even be in the post-season. Garcia is going to have a great off-season after piloting the Eagles over the inept Giants.

Dallas Cowboys (9-7, 5th seed) at Seattle Seahawks (9-7, 4th seed)
Several weeks ago, I would've penciled Dallas in for an quick victory. But, several weeks ago, there was a chance that the Cowboys wouldn't even have to play this weekend. The Cowboys dropped three of their last four, including a loss to the cowardly Lions, and blew a chance to win the NFC East. But, oh wait, the Seahawks lost three of their last four too, falling to Arizona and San Francisco. Neither of these teams are going anywhere but Dallas'll move onto the next round.

Divisional Round
Based upon projected Wild Card results

Indianapolis Colts at Baltimore Ravens (13-3, 2nd seed)
One of the league's worst defenses versus one of the league's best. Peyton's going to have a hard time attacking the Raven's defense. Baltimore looks extremely strong right now and have won their last four straight games. I will say though, the Buffalo Bills prevented the Ravens from scoring an offensive touchdown last weekend. This shouldn't matter though and the Baltimore Ravens will return to the AFC Championship.

New England Patriots at San Diego Chargers (14-2, 1st seed)
Tom Brady and crew are going to have a tough time taking down LaDainian Tomlinson and the rest of the potent Chargers offense. With the presence of steroid-fueled Shawne Merriman, the San Diego defense will be able to match the play of Philip River's offense. (I wonder if Eli Manning ever wishes he had manned-up and stayed in San Diego.) Anyways, the Chargers will notch a meeting with the Baltimore Ravens by shutting down the patchwork Patriots.

Philadelphia Eagles at New Orleans Saints (10-6, 2nd seed)
I can't go against a story like the New Orleans Saints. A rookie phenomenon (actually two: Reggie Bush and Marques Colston), a quarterback finding a new home and a city looking for a second life - how could this team go wrong? Both the Eagles and Saints found new quarterbacks over the past year but it'll be the former Charger that comes up victorious. Saints march on.

Dallas Cowboys at Chicago Bears (13-3, 1st seed)
Rex Grossman isn't working at quarterback. Unfortunately for Chicago, it doesn't seem like Lovie Smith is going to realize that in time. I take back what I said about Dallas not going any further - I'm going to pencil Romo and the 'Boys in for another upset, fueling the false hopes of Romosexuals everywhere.

Conference Championship Round
Based upon projected Divisional results

Baltimore Ravens at San Diego Chargers
What a match-up. This game'll make the previous two round of playoffs pointless but it'll be worth it. The archetypal top-defense-versus-top-offense game should give fans one of the best games of the season. When these two teams played in Week Four, they were only able to muster three touchdowns as Baltimore beat San Diego 16-10. This game should see a different result though as San Diego will solve the Raven's defense and punch their ticket for Miami.

Dallas Cowboys at New Orleans Saints
After last season's 3-13 campaign and the environment of Hurricane Katrina, did anyone ever expect New Orleans to have the season they did in 2006? I surely didn't. But, I do expect them to beat the out-of-place Cowboys. The Saints Super Bowl crusade will be almost complete.

Super Bowl XLI
Based upon project Conference Championship round

San Diego Chargers vs. New Orleans Saints
There are so many story threads that come with this match-up. Two possible MVP candidates - Drew Brees and Philip Rivers - going against each other, Brees against his former team, the fact that the Saints carry the spirits of an entire city with them. This is a tough one. I'd say that the Chargers are a superior team but I feel that the Saints, after getting this far, won't stumble. Look for a full offensive onslaught between the two teams. By winning Super Bowl XLI, the Saints will cement their future in New Orleans.

Didn't call it.

Okay, so I guess I was wrong on the whole Zito thing. Actually, I think most of the sports media community was off on predicting where Barry Zito would end up.

San Francisco.

Huh, didn't see that one coming. New York, New York or even Texas but not the Giants. I'm pretty sure that even with this signing though, the Giants' off-season has been a waste. Yeah, congrats on Zito but way to let Jason Schmidt move to division rival Los Angeles Dodgers. And way to let one of the only offensive weapons - Moises Alou - leave for the Mets.

Well, at least the Giants now have one one Barry who isn't tainted. And when I say tainted here, I mean tainted like Chernobyl. I had hoped (prayed) that no one would sign Barry Bonds for the 2007 season. Collude, scheme, plot - whatever the owners could've done to kept the Sultan of Syringes out of the game would've been fine for me. Giants' owner Peter Magowan and GM Brian Sabean, despite talking about building a younger team and how they couldn't use Bonds to create a team. I guess that was just part of the negotiations with Bonds' agent? So much for youth.

Anyways, congrats on your $126 million, Zito, you've earned it. I just hope you don't mind suffering from Roger Clemens Syndrome. After posting a sub-3.00 ERA the past three years in Houston (including a 1.87 ERA in 2005), Clemens never received the run support needed to post wins. Looking at San Francisco's offense lineup, Zito's going to have a hard time collecting wins . . . something I'm sure Clemens won't have a problem with in New York in 2007.

Called it?

The current sports news is saying that the Yanks are beginning talks to trade former star pitcher Randy Johnson, possibly back to the Diamondbacks or to the Padres or Giants. This is just another step in GM Brian Cashman's purge of past-prime talent that the Yankees had collected over the past few years (Gary Sheffield, Jaret Wright).

If New York does manage to move Johnson, it's even more possible that they'd make a move for Barry Zito, says SI.com's Jon Heyman. Makes perfect sense. I'd love to see an aged pitcher moved out of New York, have young talent brought in in return for him and then top it all off with the addition of who's probably the best pitcher on the free agent market this season (Daisuke Matsuzaka not included since he's still a mystery.)

It would also be another way to counter the Red Sox's addition of Matsuzaka, something I brought up a few weeks ago. If the Yankees can swap out Randy Johnson for Barry Zito, here's what their rotation will look like: Mike Mussina, Chen-Ming Wang, Andy Pettitte, Barry Zito and Kei Igawa. I'm not including Carl Pavano since I'm just going to assume he'll be struck down by another phantom injury. That's beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. On top of that, just imagine if the Yanks win the Roger Clemens sweepstakes, I'm not even sure what'll happen. Igawa will most likely go to the pen. And I consider the Yanks to be the odds-on favorite to land Clemens too.

Merry Christmas

Here's wishing everyone a merry Christmas from Extra Innings.

I asked Santa for a few more wins for the Bills this season but he's obviously not a Buffalo fan. Next year, Santa, next year.

Double killers?

On tonight's Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith, Allen Iverson talked about his past in Philly and his future in Denver. When asked to describe himself as a player, Iverson used the word "killer." Smith then asked Iverson to describe new teammate Carmelo Anthony. Iverson once again chose "killer." Prompted to describe the partnership of Iverson and Anthony, the former Sixer called them "double killers."

Now, I understand this is all rhetoric and talk but with the recent "brawl" involving Carmelo and the image problems both Iverson and Carmelo suffer, was "killer" really the best choice?

Iverson's been in jail, had that rap CD a few years ago that stirred up trouble and threw his wife out of his house and then followed her to his cousin's house. Carmelo's didn't play like a teammate in the Olympics and appeared on the Stop Snitchin' video in 2004.

I'm rooting for Carmelo as he is the patron saint of Syracuse basketball after leading them to the 2003 NCAA Championship but he's going to have to be very careful around Iverson. While some players feed off of each other to excel, I'm afraid that Iverson may be a negative influence on Carmelo.

The Blackout Rules Continues to Haunt Us

As a part of my current crusade against the NFL black out rule (which has kept me from watching three of the last four Buffalo Bills games and is just generally unfair), I compiled some data based on the capacity of the 31 NFL stadiums (the Giants and Jets share Giants Stadium) and the metro populations of each NFL market.

Starting off, in terms of just stadium capacity, the Bills' Ralph Wilson Stadium ranks 6th out of 31 with 73,967 seats. In terms of metro population, Buffalo ranks 30th out of 31 with 1,254,066. Only the ultra-small market of Green Bay (226,778) ranks lower than Buffalo.

From just looking at these numbers, one can see that there's a huge divide between what the NFL is requiring the Bills to fill compared to what they have on hand to fill the stadium with. I wanted to further illustrate this discrepancy so I've decided to bring back the SSRI (Student to Seating Ratio Index) that I used a year ago to dissect college gym capacity. Of course in this case, we aren't dealing with students, we're dealing with population. It works the same. Here's how the SSRI pans out for NFL markets.

Green Bay 0.3216
Buffalo 0.0590
New Orleans 0.0524
Jacksonville 0.0498
Tennessee 0.0484
Carolina 0.0460
Kansas City 0.0408
Denver 0.0327
Cleveland 0.0325
Indianapolis 0.0311
Cincinnati 0.0310
Pittsburgh 0.0276
Baltimore 0.0266
Tampa Bay 0.0246
San Diego 0.0243
St. Louis 0.0237
Minnesota 0.0216
Seattle 0.0176
Arizona 0.0171
San Francisco 0.0169
Detroit 0.0145
Atlanta 0.0144
Miami 0.0139
Houston 0.0132
New England 0.0118
Philadelphia 0.0118
Washington 0.0114
Dallas 0.0113
Oakland 0.0090
Chicago 0.0064
New York 0.0036

So as you can see, the Bills rank second in SSRI. Unlike college gyms though, this means that the teams with high SSRIs have a much bigger gap to fill (and to not be blacked out) than the lower ranked teams do. In fact, the Bills have more than 16 times the work to do than either of the New York teams do.

With this big of a difference in the work teams have to do to sell their stadiums out, how does the NFL see the blackout rule as fair? It's obviously not.

Buffalo Charging

So the Buffalo Bills are now 14 games into the 2006 season and possess a 7-7 record. For a team that most people thought would be in rebuilding mode this season, 7-7 is respectable. But let's do a quick run through of their schedule so far and see what could have been.

Week 1: Lost to the New England Patriots 19-17. Man, they should've had this game. The Bills controlled this one but couldn't hold on. Now, I'm not going to say that the refs were biased toward the Patriots in this one but I'm going to say the refs were biased toward the Patriots in this one.

Week 3: Lost to the New York Jets 28-20. The Bills did play catchup most of this game but nonetheless a close one. Losman threw for 328 yards - wasted.

Week 6: Lost to the Detroit Lions 20-17. The Lions? C'mon, the Lions? Up until about a week ago, I had actually completely forgotten about this game - probably my mind doing me a favor. Only lost by a field goal.

Week 10: Lost to the Indianapolis Colts 17-16. The Bills were one missed field goal from upsetting the then undefeated Colts. Oh, Rian Lindell, why this one? Of all the times to miss, why this one? Good grief. Anyways, the Bills did all the work in Week 9 and all the Cowboys did the following week was take the lid off.

Week 13: Lost to the San Diego Chargers. Once again, another close game to an elite team. Just a field goal separated the Bills from the Super Chargers.

These five games, had they been wins, would put the Bills at a fearsome 12-2 and would have them atop the AFC, not the Chargers. That's how close this team has been this season to being great. Heck, wins against the Colts and Chargers would have the Bills on a seven game winning streak and undefeated since their bye week.

It kills me to wonder what could've been had a couple more points gone Buffalo's way. I have to say though, JP Losman has quickly won Bills fans over with his play of late. After falling to the Colts, the third year QB has posted the following stats:

Vs. Texans: 26/38 for 340 yards and 3 TDs (one being a thrilling last second gamewinner)
Vs. Jaguars: 21/28 for 169 yards
Vs. Chargers: 21/37 for 184 yards and 2 TDs
Vs. Jets: 10/15 for 157 yards and 2 TDs
Vs. Dolphins: 13/19 for 200 yards and 3 TDs

This isn't the same Losman that Bills fans have been emotionally battered with over the past year and a half. This isn't the same Losman that I almost killed myself when the Bills didn't draft Matt Leinart over. This is a Losman who has learned how to win and how to strike with a touchdown when needed.

Over the first seven games of the season, the Bills went 2-5. During this period, Losman threw six TDs. Over the second half of the season so far, Losman has eleven TDs. I chalk this up to a combination of an offensive line that was shuffled around during the bye with the fact that the kid really has learned. That was Mike Mularkey's problem last year - he didn't let Losman learn. If you're going to break in a new quarterback, you have to play him. That quarterback shuffle that Mularkey conducted last year was counterproductive. Oh well, this is the same Mularkey whose as Miami's offensive coordinator has only been able to muster six points in two games against Buffalo in 2006. Dick Jauron really has done a good job as of late making Bills fans forget the Gregg Williams-Mike Mularkey era.

Back to how this kills me. Losman has just about doubled his TDs output over the second seven games. Just imagine if the Bills had that extra TD a game over the first seven games. Beat the Patriots 24-19? Check. One point loss to the Jets? Maybe they could've gone for the two-point conversation and sent the game to overtime. Beat the Lions 24-20? Done. The loss to the Bears and the second loss to the Patriots are beyond fixing. That's pretty impressive though. Out of the 14 games the Bills have played so far, only two were out of reach.

The Bills need to pick up wins against the Titans and the Ravens to have any chance of qualifying for a wild card spot. The Titans are red hot right now with Vince Young leading a resurgence of the franchise. The Ravens will probably have a first young bye wrapped up by the final week and should rest its players including the aching Steve McNair. Of course, this game shouldn't be taken for granted. The 2004 Bills, needing a final win to make the playoffs got stomped by a third string Steelers.

One final note: the Bills game was blacked out again in Western New York. Third home game in a row for the Bills. I'll have more on that later on.

Daisuke Matsuzaka, Not "D-Mat"

Interestingly enough, ESPN's Bill Simmons column today addressed the topic of the "D-Mat" nickname for Boston's Daisuke Matsuzaka, which I wrote about yesterday. I'd like to think that there are more people out there who don't want to see this "D-Mat" nickname catch on.

So, I've decided to do something about it. A petition. To nip this "D-Mat" fad in the bud before it becomes a full grown weed in baseball lingo.

Give Simmons' column a look. Then sign the petition. Save the world from another corporate nickname (A-Rod anyone?) and prevent having to tell your children about a player named "D-Mat."

D-Mat? C'mon.

Just a quick note.

Can we nip this "D-Mat" nickname for Daisuke Matsuzaka right now? Please. C'mon. Seriously.

I understand that Scott Boras created the A-Rod nickname for Alex Rodriguez which led to people calling Ivan Rodriguez "I-Rod." Ivan Rodriguez is not I-Rod. He's Pudge. Seriously.

Matsuzaka already has a nickname too. It's Kaibatsu. It means "Monster." Do we really have to demean him with D-Mat? Hey everyone, wipe your feet on the D-Mat before you come in. Yeah, that jerk? He's such a D-Mat. What's D-Mat-ter? Absolutely horrible.

Matsuzaka is already being underpaid by Boston (the posting fee doesn't count, the player doesn't get any of it), pay him the respect he deserves and use his real name.