When Dwight Eisenhower warned of the creeping military-industrial complex, little did he know it would invade even the football trash talk of the liberal blog set. But, yet, here we are this week all soldiered up.

That is because the big story today is the Army/Navy game. The reason I say Army/Navy is the big story is because I refuse to discuss the sham going on at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York where the Heisman Trophy is going to be handed to a professional athlete who is also a petty thief; Cam Newton ought to be disqualified as ineligible to compete instead of playing for a national championship and receiving the Heisman. The NCAA and the BCS are both corrupt and sick jokes.

As to the game itself, it looks like a fair fight for once. The Midshipmen have won eight in a row over the Black Knights, many of the games not even close (Navy has outscored Army 89-6 over the last three games). But his year both teams have had good seasons and are going bowling, with Navy to the Poinsettia Bowl and Army to the Armed Services Bowl. The Black Knights are ranked ninth in the country in rushing (260 yards per game) and tied for 12th in turnover margin at plus-one per game. But Navy is on a roll behind senior quarterback Ricky Dobbs and the vaunted triple option offense has been grinding over opponents. There is also the measure of the common opponent both teams played this year; Navy crushed Notre Dame, while teh fighting Irish fairly easily dispatched Army. So, prediction here is another solid victory by Navy, but Army may finally at least be able to get in the endzone for the first time in four years.

PROS: There are only four games of real interest this weekend: Giants at Vikes, Pats at Bears, Iggles at Dallas and Chefs at Bolts. The Giants have had an up and down year, but seem to be generally getting things together down the stretch. Bad Eli has been a turnover machine and, of course, the Vikes have the king of turnover machines, the Geezer himself. But the Geezer is hurt, can he play? Will he start? Of course he will, that is what he does. But I would not be surprised if he is ineffective and sits down after about a quarter; especially considering that Tavaris jackson has been okay in relief the last couple of weeks (although not nearly as good as the scores of those games would lead you to believe). This should really be an interesting game; for the most part, the Vikes have played better than their poor record indicates, but they are nowhere near last year’s team. The Vikings are at home and want to finish off the season on an up note; the Giants are actually playing for playoff positioning. Toss up!

Bieber Brady and the Pats invade Soldier Field to visit Urlacher and Da Bears. Urlacher has already said the Bears are a better team. That is the kiss of death against Belichick and Brady, not to mention that Belichick has the young Pats defense finally coached up and playing solid. Pats look good in this one.

Eagles at Owboys would look to be a blowout for the Eagles. But not so fast, Dallas has been playing a LOT smarter and better since Jason Garrett took over for Wade Phillips, and Dallas has a strange way of driving the Iggles crazy and beating them, ev en when the Iggles are superior. Cowboys rookie wide receiver Dez Bryant is out for the season and Asante Samuel is questionable for the Eagles; both are huge. Edge here still has to go to Philly, but you never know.

Lastly, but maybe most importantly, is the Chiefs at the Chargers. The Chefs, at 8-4, have a two game lead over the 6-6 Bolts and KC won the first meeting earlier this year. So, if KC wins this one, the Bolts run of division crowns is over. San Diego, however, is on its usual end of the year tear they always go on before Norval takes a crap in a playoff game. Phil rivers is tearing up passing records this year and Matt Cassell is likely out after undergoing an appendectomy Wednesday. That is enough of a blow to put this game solidly in the Chargers favor.

So, that is it for this week trash it up. The musical selection is from the first Jefferson Starship album, Dragonfly. I have been listening to this old wax on the turntable the last week and had forgotten just how good of an album it really was. The track here is All Fly Away, which is one of the lsser known ones, but simply a killer song.

The bad news: Due to technical difficulties beyond our control, arrival of your Trash Talk thread has been delayed. The good news: The pilots have slept off most of their intoxication and managed to stumble into the cockpit and are ready for take off! I don’t know why, but it just seems like football, both pro and college, is in a weird doldrum recently. Boise State’s hard knocks overtime loss to Nevada took a lot of the anti-BCS anarchist intrigue air out of the balloon – although, to be fair, TCU is still there in that role I guess. Doesn’t seem the same though. And in the NFL, there just are not a lot of overly compelling story lines right now, although I think that will change when we get down to the last three weeks of the regular season.

Before we get down to the weekly game talk, there is a serious side of the business of football, a part that is not a game, that needs to be discussed. The long term health concerns of the players. As seemingly well paid and glamorous a job professional football player seems to be, the fact is when their career is over, these men are still relatively quite young chronologically but much older, physically compromised and beat up physically and, far too often as we now know, mentally too. The video from former NFL player and current NFL Player’s Association staff member Nolan Harrison describes player injuries as they relate to health and safety on the field and once a career is over.

The National Football League is insanely profitable. The average NFL game attendance league wide is 67,519. For every game of a 16 game schedule, and if you were not aware, teams make customers buying season tickets also buy tickets to at least two, sometimes three, preseason games at full regular season face value as part of the season ticket package. That is before you even get to the otherworldly television broadcast packages the NFL has negotiated, which are the most lucrative, by far, of any in the entertainment/sports industry. For the period of 2006 to 2013, the broadcast rights fees generated are: CBS $622.5 million/yr, Fox $712.5 million/yr, NBC $650 million/yr, and ESPN $1.1 billion/yr for a total yearly broadcast revenue of $3.085 billion per year. That is without delving into perhaps the most profitable income streams for NFL owners, the ancillary modalities such as merchandizing, advertising and concessions. There is a lot of money being made here, total revenue for the league was estimated to be over $6 Billion a year five years ago; it is undoubtedly significantly higher now.

With NFL owners threatening a lockout unless players agree to major concessions, the NFL is headed for a labor dispute that would leave stadium seats empty, TV screens blank and the Emptywheel Blog Trashless next fall. The knee jerk reaction may be that it is hard to get too worked up over a battle between billionaire owners and millionaire players, but keep in mind that the average NFL player is not Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, has a average salary of well less than a million dollars a year and the average NFL career is only 3.5 years. That is pretty limited compared to the owners who have a lifetime license to sit back print money.

So, when the expected shutdown and lockout by the fat cat NFL owners occurs next season, keep in mind the disparity between the owners and players, and the very real long term health issues the players face as a result of earning the owners all that money and providing Sunday enjoyment for the rest of us. Beneath the high dollar glossy surface, it is still a fairness in a dangerous workplace issue with a union trying to better the conditions for the rank and file workers. Oh, and also keep in mind that the owners have negotiated TV deals that guarantee them revenues approachng $4.5 billion even if games are not played in the 2011 season. Coupled with the elimination of $4.4 billion in player salaries and benefits during a lockout, it could make a 2011 season without games still very profitable for the owners.

[Am going to add more substantive content shortly, but wanted to get this up for the peoples to yammer on in the meantime since both Quackers-Beavers and two chumps from the pay to play SEC Conference are currently in action]

Times are tough all over. Why I even have some Big Wheel trying to repossess my Trash Talk. But I done securitized, privatized and lobotomized the damn thing to where she can’t really get her claws on it. So, I’m back!

First off, let me, and on behalf of Marcy, give you all the greatest of thanks for patronizing this blog. As I have said many times before, and I truly mean it, you folks are the greatest, brightest and most wonderful group of folks imaginable; and please know we completely realize and appreciate it. Thanksgiving and joy to one and all!!

Now, back to business, cause you know we never get sidetracked here (okay, that may not be totally true). I do not know diddly squat about food other than I like to eat it; this is a sports post and it will so reflect. Arrrrr! So, it is the traditional weird Thanksgiving schedule, and we are trashing way early; this post may maintain on through the Sunday slate, it may have to be superseded, we shall see.

In the first substantive thing on the slate, I would like to convey a big fuck you to the President of Ohio State University (sorry KLynn), who in true ugly Sweater Vest arrogant 2 yards and a clod ‘o sod fashion, has made a total ass of himself. From the NY Daily News:

I do know, having been both a Southeastern Conference president (at Vanderbilt) and a Big Ten president, that it’s like murderer’s row every week for these schools,” said Gee in the AP interview. “We do not play the Little Sisters of the Poor. We play very fine schools on any given day. So I think until a university runs through that gantlet that there’s some reason to believe that they not be the best teams to (be) in the big ballgame.

Um, hi there, Mr. Big 10.5 who are begging the Division II quality Fighting Irish to join yer little conference. Take your foot out of your mouth, and head out of ass, and glance at the schedule Ohio State played this year. It is lame, and seriously qualitatively hardly any better than that of Boise State. And Boise State has offered, begged actually, to play you and those loudmouthed guys (Hi Nick Saban) in the SEC, during regular season for years; of course you don’t have the ball to do that.

Maybe facts don’t matter (this clod must be excited about a Palin candidacy) to you, but they do to the rest of us. Oh, and one other thing, Boise State does not have a well earned reputation for getting rolled in huge games like some team you may be related to; they always win their biggest games, even against teams like Oklahoma. Remember that truck named Florida that ran over you?? Heck, whatever Pac-10 team that showed up made a history of doing that to you and your precious Woody Hayes. Did it to Big Bo Merlot too. Go check the record dude. Then shut up. Oh, and no, if Auburn gets beat by a two loss Crimson Tide and then wins the SEC Championship over the ‘Ole Ball Coach and the Gamecocks, they do not deserve to go ahead of an undefeated Boise State or TCU either.

Okay, now that I have vented that BCS spleen, back to regular programming. The meat tomorrow comes from the Pros, not the Joes. Leading off, we have the Pats vacationing in the lovely confines of the Lions Den. You know, if the Kitties had a healthy Matt Stafford that had been playing with and synched up with his offense for a few games, if not all season, I might be quite inclined to take the Kitties. The Lions are a better team and closer than most people realize. I think. Suh and the defense are really tightening up and the offense has weapons – if they have a front line quarterback. But that means Matt Stafford, and they do not have him currently.

The Patriots, however, are starting to congeal. As anybody who has studied Bill Bel knew they would. Belichick has a young defense that did not have sufficient time as a unit together when the season started; but, as you might predict, Bii Bel has them learning, growing and coming on late. Bad news for the rest of the NFL as Bieber Brady seems to be rounding into the brash and confident Brady of old too. The need to feed distraction of Randy Moss is gone, and the Pats are probably better off for it. Bottom line is, as much as it would be heartwarming to see the Lions rise up and devour the Pats; nuh uh, not gonna happen. Close to a blowout.

Next is the Saints versus Jerry Jones Aints; otherwise formerly known as the Cowboys. Gee, like Goldman Sachs seeking a HAMP refinance because of hardship, you really have to feel for the Owboys. Or not. Have to say this though, they are a different team under Jason Garrett so far. And, although no Tony Romo truly dents their fender, Dallas does have a bunch of talent. Problem is, New Orleans is starting to clear the cobwebs from the massive amounts of Hurricanes they slurped down at Pat O’Brien’s and bead chicks they collected up after the gridiron urban renewal they enjoyed last year. Oh, and say what you will, Reggie Bush is returning to the field and that is a huge X factor. Dude may have taken some caash at USC, but he is one game changing football player. Bush doesn’t even have to do anything to change the equation; just the thought of him does that. Cowboys have a nice little 2-0 start under Garrett, but that ends with Drew Fookin Brees and the Saints.

Lastly, on Turducken Day, we have the Bungles versus the Jets Jets Jets. Mark Sanchez has been getting dirty. Seriously. Freaking looked like Joe Montana on that game winning drive last weekend against Houston who, despite their record, is not a slouch. Kid has a long way to go, but it is hard not to like what he is doing and how he is growing. And the Jets have that defense, which has actually been a little dormant for a spell now. You keep thinking the Bungles are gonna break out, but it is hard to see how against the Jets. In Jetville. Nope, my money is on Namath er, I mean, Sanchize and the Jets.

Huge student athlete games on Friday. Seriously huge, including Auburn Alabama in the Iron Bowl and Boise State against a way better Nevada team than most can even possibly realize. Not sure if we will updat this post for that, or start another one. You know where we are. Get Trashy! And remember, from the ashes we can build another day.

So here’s some things to contemplate about this week in the NFL. The Jay Cutler-led Bears already won this week (it helps to play a team the week after they got cleaned out of QBs), putting them, for the moment at least, half a game ahead of the team led by Aaron Rogers and miles ahead of the team led by Brett Favre (the Packers visit the Vikes this week).   The Monday night game features the Bolts at Broncos, which oddly occupy the basement in the AFC West. One of the unexpected leaders in that division–KC–will likely get beat by the heretofore hapless Cardinals. The other–Oakland–heads to Pittsburgh in what is a probable, though not guaranteed, Stillers win.

That’s all just weird.

Meanwhile, last year’s AFC North winner, Cinci, may well get beat, at home, by the Bills (which thanks to the QB and PK-less Kitties are on a win streak of 1). Those same Kitties might have had a shot at the Boys, at home, this week, if it weren’t for the sacking of Wade Phillips and Jason Garrett’s order that the players start wearing suits.

Parity, baybay.

Some things, however, remain the same.

The Colts-Pats game is likely to be a cracker; both teams are playing behind form, but both are still winning. I think Peyton still has the Pats’ recent number, even in Foxboro.

And the Gents-Iggles game–for first in the NFC East–will be an exciting, meaningful game. I say the recent rule still stands: if Vick starts and finishes that game, Iggles win (though the Iggles won’t demolish the Gents the way they did the Skins).

In the not-quite pro league, Boise State will continue to delegitimize the BCS, Stanford will win the Big Game, Cam Newton has a weekend off to spend with his father’s money, and the Big Ten Championship is still a close exciting contest (one that won’t be disrupted when the Badgers visit the Big House this weekend). The Cornhuskers-Aggies and the Buckeyes-Hawkeyes will be the games of the weekend.

Except that the game of the week was already played this week. The best game of the week, in any sport, had to have been the UConn Huskies–with Maya Moore and a bunch of freshmen–just barely beating Baylor and their ten foot tall phenom Brittney Griner to keep their 80-game win streak alive. Watch out Wooden!

But back to pro football. The NFL Player’s Union is gearing up for a big fight against the Jerry Jones and Al Davises of the league, who are threatening a lockout. They did a conference call and launched a website this week to educate fans about what a lockout will mean. Among other details:

If there is a lockout, an estimated $140 million would be lost in each NFL city.

The owners have negotiated TV deals that guarantee them revenues even if games are not played in the 2011 season. The guaranteed television revenues that approach $4.5 billion, coupled with the elimination of $4.4 billion in player salaries and benefits during a lockout, could make a 2011 season without games profitable for the owners.

Recently, the NFL said it would not continue active player healthcare in a lockout.

The average NFL career is only 3.6 years.  It takes 3 accredited years to get just 5 years of post career healthcare.

In other words, at a time when municipalities all over the country are struggling to pay the bills, the fat cats running the NFL would take $140 million from city economies so they can get something–$4.5 billion in TV revenues–for nothing. No games. No trash talk.

I’ll be tracking the union negotiations in the coming days. In the meantime, consider signing the player’s union’s petition to tell the owners to stop being such greedy bastards.

A little late to the post with Trash this weekend, had an issue crop up last night after a long week. But we are getting down to crunch time in both Formula One, last race of the season and it will decide the Drivers’ Crown, and it is now down to the last make it or break it couple of weeks in college football ahead of the conference championships. And, of course, there is a full slate of NFL games too.

So, I will be along in a bit with some actual content. Or maybe Marcy will slide some in too. I am sorry, long night and a bit of an aimless day so far and i need to get the post up and quit waiting for my fingers to spew out some malarky from me. So chat away, make your own prognostications and let loose. See, you get what you need!

Update: Okay, two bits of content, at least.

First, I think this is all a plot to make sure Boise State has a shot at #1 by the end of the year.

The No. 2 [Auburn] Tigers brushed off the storm brought by allegations of a pay-for-play scheme with another dominant offensive performance, beating Georgia, 49-31, in front of 87,451 to clinch the Southeastern Conference West championship and a berth in the conference title game.

There was a renewed allegation last week from an agent’s representative that Cecil Newton Sr., Cam Newton’s father, solicited money from Mississippi State when his son was being recruited. That is an N.C.A.A. violation that could result in Newton’s being declared ineligible, even if Cecil Newton did not solicit money from Auburn.

This is all headed to Auburn being disqualified just in time to leave Boise State with the best record.

And then there’s the NFL game of the weekend. Well, maybe not. While I’m looking forward to the Pats-Stillers game, I think the Brownies thumping of the Pats exposed the real New England, so I expect the home team Stillers to win handily.

Which brings us to the Ryan bowl.  In the Manning bowl, the expected winner–Peyton–won. And you gotta place $$ on Rex here. But I’m going to bet Rob Ryan’s Brownies surprise the J-E-T-S-Jets this weekend.

And in the loser bowl? The Bills will finally get their much deserved first win against the Stafford-less, Hanson-less Lions (though I hope not). Go Kitties.

There is great football this weekend, both by student and professional athletes. Obviously, that should be discussed in comments. It’s what we do here. Bizarrely as it may be, this blog exists in its current form because of some weird joining of legal thought and passion for football, with a smattering of divine intervention by Phred and perhaps a few too many pitchers of Beamish. Go figure; that is the randomness of entropy and the blogosphere. Nevertheless, here we are.

And so, here we are and I serve up a prime weekend Trash Talk of horse. Sue me if you object; my attorney, Mary, she of midwestern common horse sense, will answer and defend. Aggressively.

The story of Zenyatta was first adopted and incorporated by the Emptywheel blog just over a month ago when she ran to defend her crown in the Lady Secret Stakes at Hollywood Park in the City of Angels, California. Well, we are all in now. So much so that we had an official liveblog reporter at Hollywood Park for the Lady Secret, Rosalind. Rosalind not only went to Hollywood for the Lady Secret, she took pictures and came to feel the force that is Zenyatta. Although a bit bottled up and not quite as focused as normal, Zenyatta brought the heart of the champion she is and closed out a win, and defense of her crown, in the Lady Secret.

The Lady Secret win at Hollywood park made Zenyatta an unprecedented 19-0 in her racing career. She won the Breeders Cup Classic last year; other than the Triple Crown races of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes, the biggest, and arguably more annually competitive, horse race in the world every year. No woman had ever won this bring all comers race before, but Zenyatta closed out all the best boys in the world, in the biggest race in the world. In style.

Last years’ Breeder’s Cup Classic win made Zenyatta a star, and fixture among the greatest horses of all time, and almost certainly surpassing the truly remarkable and astounding Rachel Alexandra to take her place as the greatest filly of all time. But now comes the 2010 Breeders Cup Classic. Rachel Alexandra, other fillies, and indeed almost all other horses regardless of sex are either in the backseat, or paying damn close attention as Zenyatta makes a move on unquestionable immortality.

A second Breeders Cup Classic win against the best male horses the world has to offer would put Zenyatta in the untouchable category. Babe Ruth and Secretariat land. Where, arguably, no horse, male or female, has gone before. This is truly stunning stuff.

Now, I have no idea whether this horse can close the deal or not. But, at a remarkable and unprecedented 19-0, Zenyatta has earned the reputation, and buildup, that puts her in this position. Seriously. In spades. The last horse that came into a race like this with the weight of history and expectation of otherworldliness on it’s shoulders was Secretariat in the 1973 Belmont Stakes. We know what happened in that race.

So, we shall see. There is stiff competition from the boys (so to speak). She will have to beat some studs including Paddy O’Prado, Blame and, perhaps most significantly, Bob Baffert’s Lookin at Lucky. Despite her eternal greatness, the odds and history are stacked against Zenyatta. While there is almost no chance Zenyatta will pull away from a talented field like Secretariat did in the 1973 Belmont, may the modern day Pegasus fly to a win of any nature and history!

There is also, of course, college and pro football; not to mention the penultimate race in the F1 Circus this year, the Brazilian Grand Prix. Somewhat incredibly, Fernando Alonso of the real red animal, the prancing horse of Ferrari, leads Mark Webber of Red Bull by eleven points going into Sao Paulo. Red Bull is fast in practice, but it is Sebastian Vettel leading the way. With only this race and Abu Dhabi left in the season, the race is indeed on!

It has been a long hard slog this week folks, let’s rip this joint and trash it up!

Apparently, football started early this week, with San Francisco’s team beating the Texas team one TD, a conversion, and a field goal to a TD on Wednesday, and shutting them out last night with three field goals. I understand the quarterbacks in these games have been a big part of the story, with the QBs from Texas playing like Tony Romo in a big game, and the QBs from San Francisco recalling Montana or Young; ah, the good old days! You know you’re in trouble when W looks to be the bright spot from the mound for the Rangers. May the Giants continue to score touchdowns over the evil Rangers!

Meanwhile, weird things are going down in the preprofessional football league. We’re well into the season, and yet the Big 10.2 still has 3 teams in the top ten, with the Spartans at the Hawkeyes one of the better games this weekend. Soon to be Big 10.2 team, the Huskers, face a big game at home against Missouri. And in bmaz’ part of the country, the Ducks will see whether the Spoiled Children have really returned to their winning ways yet. As for the Wolvereenies? Is it too soon to speculate whether JoePa will outlast yet another big program coach when he hosts RichRod this weekend?

The big drama in the pro leagues has to do with whether age and injuries will end the Geezer’s 291-game consecutive streak. I’m with BillBel on this: nahhh!! Favre has started every game since before Clinton was elected! No puny thing like broken bones and a penis scandal will keep him out. That said, much as I believe the Pats’ record grossly overstates their ability this year, I do think the Pats will beat Randy Moss in his return to New England.

But the Vikings-Pats game isn’t even close to the most interesting game of the week (even if bmaz and I will be at each others’ throats during it). I think the Stillers–who have earned their 5-1 record, will prove the champs are still suffering from a season long hangover. Likewise, I fear the Packers’ joy at beating the Geezer will be short-lived as they travel to play the Jets (though I do hope against hope that Russ Feingold’s attendance at the Packer’s victory over Favre will give him just enough juju to pull off a win in WI).

Meanwhile, does Randiego even read these threads anymore? Or does he cower away with the knowledge that the Bolts are likely to be 2-6 by Sunday after the very good Titans come to town? Jeebus, after all the mental errors Norv’s players made last week, I am gobsmacked he still has a job.

And Monday Night’s game? It’s never sane to bet against Peyton at home, but with the absence of Dwight Clark, I think the Texans might just pull off a repeat of their win against the Colts earlier this season. So which team do you think will be leading the AFC south on Tuesday?

Finally, let me confess to an unusual bout of optimism and predict that the newly healthy Stafford and his Kitties will surprise the Skins this week.

Sometimes you just have to focus on what is important. And despite the concern over the Jack Tatum like tendencies of those out of control thugs in Pittsburgh, the most important story this week is Dallas. And it is hard to figure which Dallas is having a crappier week, Cowboys or Clark. You see, the Dallas Cowboys, well, they suck. And Dallas Clark suffered a severe wrist injury, apparently during the fourth quarter of last Sunday’s win over the Redskins, that will require season ending surgery. This is a huge injury as Dallas Clark is Peyton Manning’s safety blanket, with a 100 catch year last season and well on the way to another one this year. Not just any catches either, Clark is clutch. Comes at a horrible time for the Peytons too, as wide receiver Austin Collie is out and running back Joseph Addai is nursing a shoulder with nerve issues. The Colts have a bye and it looks like they need it.

NFL: It is not really an appealing slate of games this week. By far really the best one looks to be the Vikes visiting the Geezer’s old stomping grounds at Lambeau. They still do not resemble the team they were last year, but the Vikings seem to be coming together a bit finally. The Packers were pegged by many as Super Bowl bound, but have been literally decimated by injuries and are a disappointing 3-3 after six games. Help may be on its way for Green Bay though, with Al Harris, Atari Bigby and Clay Matthews all expected to return to the field. That is a lot of help, so it should be a fair fight. What could be better than a Sunday night game in the late fall in Lambeau with the Geezer playing the foil? No clue who will win, but it ought to be a hell of a game.

The Giants at the Boys doesn’t exactly carry the weight it usually does, but Dallas is desperate, and NY can really make a step toward the top of the NFC with a win; for a team that was said to be in turmoil just a couple of weeks ago, the Giants are suddenly looking pretty solid. Pats visit the curiously flailing Bolts. Heck, the Chargers are such a wreck even their former stars are off the road. Pats are plugging along; the offense will always be there and you just know Bill Bel will have the defense gelling as the season progresses. Tough week for the Bolts to rebound, even though they are at home; I’ll take the Pats. Raiders at Broncos could be interesting – maybe – but it is at Mile High, so edge to the Donkos. Eagles at Titans and Skins at Bears are the only other games even worth mentioning. Both are hard to read. If I had to bet, I would ride with the two home teams, but my gut says both visitors may pull off wins.

MLB: In the National Pastime, the Texas Rangers just polished off the Evil Empire in the American League Championship Series. Down go the Yankees, Down go the Yankees! The Rangers just flat outplayed the big payroll Yanks in every phase of the game and deserved to win. And Mr. May, Alex Rodriquez, returned to the postseason form he has always been known for. It is the first trip in the history of the Rangers, coming after the first playoff series they had ever won, when they took out the Devil Rays last week. It has got to be pretty exciting for the Texas fans, and that is a cool thing. Yet to be determined is their opponent for the World Series, with the NLCS returning to Philadelphia for game six and, if necessary, game seven. The Phillies have Roy Oswalt going Saturday and Cole Hamels Sunday if they can hold off the Giants in game six. The Giants will counter with Sanchez and Matt Cain slotted for game seven. Roy Oswalt in Philly is going to be tough; decent chance it comes down to an exciting game seven and Cain versus Hamels would be a great matchup if it does.

F1 Korean Grand Prix: Well the football slate may be mostly a dud, but there is big excitement in Formula One. We have a brand new race in the Circus and a brand spanking new track where it will be run. And the circuit appears to be pretty good to, which is a relief after the disappointment of the two most recent additions to the series, the hideous Singapore course and the opulent, but almost garish Abu Dhabi facility. The Korean GP will make its home at the Korean International Circuit, a 5.62 km (3.49 mile) course located in Yeongam, South Jeolla, South Korea, which is 400 kilometres south of Seoul and near the port city of Mokpo. The facility is so new, they are literally still putting a few finishing touches on during race week and there was legitimate concern as to whether the joint would really be finished in time for the race to be run.

But the Korean International Circuit passed the tech inspection and received its FIA license a week ago and the race is on! And, surprisingly, the reviews are very good so far. Brad Spurgeon is an old hand at the Circus and was prepared to complain, but is really upbeat now that he is there. That is good news indeed. The race surface is quite slippery due to the newness, but should settle in nicely as the sheen is scrubbed off and some rubber is laid down on it from practice and qualifying. In fact, qualifying is going on as I write this and all looks good. Vettel and Webber have put their Red Bulls in the front row in P1 and P2 with Alonso, Hamilton, Rosberg and Massa filling out P3-6 respectively. Hard to see how Vettel (or Alonso for that matter) is going to catch up Mark Webber for the drivers crown with a 14 point gap and only three races, and only two after Korea, remaining; but it is clear that Vettel is going to push to the end and we know the German youngster is not afraid to race his teammate hard. Should make for a great run in Korea and an exciting close down the final stretch of the 2010 season.

The race is on Speed TV, with coverage starting at 1:30am EST Sunday morning and 10:30 pm Saturday night for those like me on Pacific/FDL time.

Was discussing the state of the NFL last night with Marcy, and the prevailing opinion was an unusual lack of particularly exciting or compelling story lines. A strange parity and blaah seems to have set in to the league that hardly ever suffers from that. So, guess what, screw it I’m going with baseball as the lead.

The rookies on the LCS big stage Texas Rangers had the mighty Yankees on the ropes last night and forgot to step on the beast’s throat. Can’t do that with the Yanks, and the Rangers paid the price by giving up five runs in the eighth and losing game one 6-5. The young Rangers needed to close out the opening win at home and failing to do so has got to be deflating and forfeits home field advantage. Not a good sign; the Evil Empire looks to be on the road to yet another World Series.

However, the biggest and most compelling sports story of the weekend by far is the battle of aces in game one of the NLCS. Halladay of the Phillies versus Lincicum and the Giants. Dayn Perry at Fox Sports is wondering if it is the best pitching matchup in postseason history. I dunno about that (and Perry seemed to forget about the Bob Gibson showdowns with Denny McClain and Mickey Lolich in the 1968 World Series and the Gibson-Jim Lonborg game seven matchup in the 1967 Series), but tonight’s Doc v. Freak show is right on up there. Both are former Cy Young winners, Lincicum has two and Halladay will almost certainly win his second this year. All Roy Halladay has done is throw the second no-hitter in MLB playoff history (after throwing a perfect game during the regular season). And Lincicum, well some folks think his two hitter against the Braves the night after Halladay’s no no was an even better pitching performance than Halladay’s no hitter. This is going to be some must see baseball teevee.

On the college gridiron, there are a couple of important games that will separate wheat from chaff. The Arkansas Hogs at the Auburn Tigers is one of those games. The Hogs damn near beat Alabama and would be undefeated if they had; Auburn is undefeated at 6-0 but has not had to play a team like Bama or Arkansas yet. Auburn at home is the safe pick, but the Tigers’ pass defense is weak and Ryan Mallett is very good; Hogs may pull off the road upset. Texas is not up to snuff this year, but should pose a solid test for the supposedly rejuvenated Nebraska Cornfuskers. Nebraska always looks “back” and then starts running into real teams in the late season conference schedule and gets exposed. Maybe not this time though, Taylor Martinez has the Huskers as solid as they have been in a very long time. Still, I dunno, this is a tossup. The Sweater Vests are at Camp Randall and the Badgers. If there is a football god out there, please let Wisconsin knock off OSU and spare the country another one of their poor showings in the BCS Championship game. Lastly, Ricki Stanzi and the Iowa Hawks visit Denard Robinson and the Wolverweenies in teh Big Haus. Both teams come in with only one loss; one will leave that way and in good shape, the other will fall to also ran status. Robinson is so exciting he may be able to overcome the Rich Rod fail factor. Maybe, but I don’t think so. Ricki can play too and Kirk Ferentz can coach circles around Rich Rod; Hawks leave with a win.

As I said in the opening, the NFL just seems in the doldrums right now. Cowboys should be good but suck, they are so lame it is hardly even worth the while to root against them anymore. Rest of the NFC East is playing okay, but not great. Saints are just muddling along; they really lost some spark when Reggie Bush went out, although their problems were already apparent even before that. The Bears look like the class of the league so far, but they sure don’t feel that good to me in the gut. The Packers have just been decimated by injuries; even though Rodgers looks to play after getting a mild concussion last week, Green Bay has real problems. And the NFC West? Jeebus, the Cardinals are leading the division and have given up 50 more points than they have scored this year.

Doldrums in the AFC too. Pats seem okay on offense although not well balanced; defense is, um, spotty. Chargers have been an enigma so far; guess Norval must still be their coach. Chiefs have been a pleasant surprise, but they don’t have the goods yet to keep it up. KC is building and sure looks to have a bright future in a year or two. The whole AFC South is 3-2, but none of them seem dominant. That leaves the Ravens, Stillers and Jets as, really, the class of the NFL at this point. All three have knock down and lock down defenses and more than competent offenses. You would have had to say the Ravens and Jets had the edge with Big Ben out, but now that he is back, that is not so clear. Gonna be a slugfest down the stretch among those three it looks like.

Dirty Birds at Iggles looks like a good game; would look like a really good game if Mike Vick were healthy and starting, but he is not. Kevin Kolb no match for Matty Ice. Ravens at Pats also looks interesting, but Ray Lewis and the boys can stop Brady and, well other than Welker it is not clear, a lot better than the Patsies can stop Ray Rice, Quan Boldin and Joe Flacco. Boldin does not make a ton of noise like the standard prima donna wide receivers in the league these days, but man is that guy a team leader in the clubhouse and on the field. He is what Ray Lewis is to a defense and that is the difference for the Ravens. Peytons at the Skins Sunday night could be a decent game. Or Manning may chew up the not quite Shanahan rebuilt Skins; I think that is a fair bet actually. And last, and despite the hype, maybe least is the Boys at the Vikes. Whoever loses this game is done and gets the fork them. They both suck, but it is in the Metrodome and that is tough, so the edge go to the Vikes. Oh yeah, some guy named Favre may actually start at QB for Minnesota. The increasingly cackling and tabloid like sporting press seems to think this is news. It is not. He may be hurting and over the hill, but the dude always straps em on, laces em up and takes the field. He will again.

Honestly, I can’t wait for Zenyatta and the Breeder’s Cup; football is getting boring.

On the plane from Edinburgh to London the other day, I sat next to two guys who were heading to talk to some football team called Arsenal to teach them how to promote their brand worldwide like the NY Giants do.

So forgive me if the following post betrays how far out of “touch” I have been wrt American football in the last week.

Best as I understand it, here is the big news. Randy Moss got traded to Minnesota for next to nothing. Now, backstage, I noted that this might not make that big a difference to the success of the Pats. After all, I said, Tom Brady’s deep accuracy has been off since he blew his knee out. But the boys I mentioned this to suggested that the timing indicated something else might better explain why Brady lost his deep touch for Moss. Meanwhile Moss’ new QB has his own “touch” issues. And when asked about those touch issues, the Geezer responded he “had his hands full … trying to get some timing down with our guys.”

Poor Randy Moss. No one has touch or timing for him.

Ahem.

Good thing we have football to distract us from this Randy Moss soap opera.

All you need to know about the college kids is that the Spartans are going to have to try to stop Denard Robinson in the Big House. There is some game of interest in Florida, I’m sure. But I’m not entirely sure what that’s about. Go Wolvereenies!

As for Pro Ball (the Giants kind, not the Arsenal kind), the highlight of the week is definitely the touchy Geezer’s Monday Night Football return to New Jersey; let’s hope he finds his timing to beat the Jets.

Though I think a game with two QBs who still have touch will be more interesting: Aaron Rogers heads to Donovan McNabb’s new home. Rogers will out-touch McNabb in this one.

While we’re talking about the NFC North, the Rams-Detroit game will be quite interesting, as two teams beginning to turn around horrible programs. With Stafford still out, I think Rams will notch another win.

But the surprise game of the weekend pits the only undefeated team in the league–the leader of the AFC West–against the team tied for last place in the AFC South.  That’s right. KC in Indy can’t be assumed to be a blowout in Peyton’s favor. (Well, on second thought, given that it’s in Indy, I take that back.)

On that note, let me raise an issue I’ve been thinking about for some time. BillBel traded Moss for a 3rd round pick, presumably on the assumption that, with two picks in each of the first four rounds of next year’s draft, he can build the team of the future (right–as Tom Brady and his diminishing deep touch continues to age). The old BillBel might well have been able to do that. But I’ve always wondered how much BillBel’s past shrewd personnel decisions had to do with Scott Pioli, and how much had to do with BillBel. I dunno. At this point in the season, I’d take Scott Pioli with those two picks a round in next year’s draft over BillBel and Brady’s diminishing deep touch.

Let the trash begin.