NBA - Sterling / Silver - Save the Precious Mettle

Barry LeBrock

(An edited version of this story appears on FoxSports.Com)

Never before has an issue so widely debated been so inevitable in its outcome. As a nation's eyes turn to Adam Silver, the new NBA commissioner can simply sit back and do nothing. This thing has already been decided. The league's Donald Sterling problem; a situation that seems to have a hundred possible resolutions actually has just one and it will end up taking care of itself. 

Sterling lives in a world where money rules. Yes, we all do to an extent, but this is a man whose exorbitant wealth has allowed him to bypass many basic human decencies on his way to a life of excess and power. Notably stingy for the first 90% of his Clippers ownership, it is only in the past few years that he has been willing to peel some bills off the top of his formidable stack to put a competitive team on the floor. And now it is the almighty buck that will ultimately be his undoing. 

Sterling's recent egregious racist comments blew up over the weekend. Clippers business partners started bailing the moment America opened for business Monday morning. CarMax, Kia Motors, Red Bull, Virgin Airlines... the list goes on and on. They're all gone. The companies either cut ties immediately or suspended their financial support of the Clippers until an investigation determines that the facts in question are indeed, facts without question.

With the businesses checking out, Sterling loses the precious revenue stream of in-arena advertising. TV sponsors are in the starting blocks, knuckles down, and will be bolting as well. So many sponsors will leave that any who dare stay will seem as though they are advocating Sterling's views. Guilt by association. Customer boycotts will eventually send any stragglers scurrying as well. 

Every single sponsor will be gone. TV and radio networks will follow the money right out the door. Then the players will go. Black, white or other, current Clippers whose contracts expire will leave. Free-agents will double over in laughter at the mere suggestion that the Clippers want to make an offer. The team will be completely non-competitive, if in fact it can even drum up five guys to put on the court. 

And finally, in a beautiful irony, it will be the little guy that drives the final dagger into the heart of the big, mean, racist monster. Clippers fans -- the ones who have spent their hard-earned and precious dollars to support this team and its owner over the years will stay away. The same way Dodger fans withheld support during the recent Frank McCourt ownership debacle, Clipper fans will spend their entertainment dollars elsewhere. This is, after all, Los Angeles. There's plenty else to do and see.

How fitting that after accumulating his great wealth through decades of monthly rent checks, ticket sales, pricey concession-stand beers and in-arena advertising, it is now the very people who have enabled him who will stop the Sterling gravy train dead in its tracks. 

This game is over. Team for sale. No need for Adam Silver to flex any muscle or waste any breath.  Of course he will though. He'll come down hard. What does he have to lose?  Being against racism is like being in favor of Thanksgiving.  Its a one-way debate.

Be that as it may, the situation will take care of itself, much the same way that athletes police the fields or courts on which they play. Unwritten rules have been broken. The code has been dismissed. Donald Sterling is finished as an NBA owner.  No sponsors, no broadcast networks. No players, no fans. No chance for this to play out any other way. 



Views: 1,743 

Circle Game; Colorado's LaTroy Hawkins Rounds Out an Unlikely Career

Barry LeBrock

(An edited version of this article appears on FoxSports.Com)

In the most angular of sports, contested between the sharp, fixed points of an uncompromising diamond, it is the sweet curvature of a perfect circle in which the unlikely career of Rockies reliever LaTroy Hawkins has played out.

In the lonely, dirt-encrusted 18-feet of diameter that is the Major League pitcher's mound, the oldest player in the National League starts a year of raw round numbers; he is on his 10th team and playing in his 20th big league season. On and on his career spins in the perfect arc of seasoned veteran know-how.

Unlike fellow 20-year veteran, Derek Jeter, for the 41 year-old Hawkins, Cooperstown does not await.  Make no mistake about that. A record of 68-90 and a lifetime ERA of 4.37 has him on the Hall of Fame's "must purchase ticket for entry" list, but he has built a career of impact and influence none-the-less.  "The guys in this clubhouse , we see how valuable Hawk is," manager Walt Weiss insisted Wednesday before the Rockies third game of this young season. " He's a special guy.  He's got a gift to lead. It's real. It's authentic.  He's built up so much respect in this game. He's had a tremendous impact on our club already and he hasn't even made an appearance yet." 

A few hours later, he did make an appearance. And racked-up the102nd save of a career that was nearly derailed almost before it started.

Hawkins made his Major League debut in 1995, but his visions of grandeur and success dissolved like sugar into what quickly became the cliché of a big league cup of coffee. After just three appearances and an ERA of 13.50, he was sent to the minors.  During the all-star break that summer, he was visiting his hometown of Gary, Indiana, contemplating a new direction.

"I was frustrated with baseball. I went home and I was like, man, I don't know if I want to keep doing this. Then one day I was hanging out with some buddies and my friend's brother asked if he could borrow $2.  I said to myself, 'borrow two dollars!?!'  and it got me to thinking, my check is $1400 every two weeks -- 2800 a month -- and I was like, man, I'm going back to baseball!"

And, twenty seasons later, here he is, plugging away, saving games and taking care of the younger kids the way the late, great Kirby Puckett once did for him, buying him suits for road-trips and allowing the rookie to focus on baseball.  "I didn't have to worry about anything -- rent, food, nothin'.  And when I thanked Kirby, he'd always say 'T-Hawk, just take care of the next person.'"

Round and round it goes. The circle of life in sports' most linear game. "The first time I made a million dollars," he says, "I started taking care of other guys.  I think the first suit I bought was for (future Cy Young winner) Johan Santana..." Paying it forward, just like Puckett had requested.

In baseball's version of Six Degrees of Separation, Hawkins' bloodlines run deep and impressive.  He has a common teammate with Pete Rose (Carl Willis, who played on the 1985 Reds with Rose and the '95 Twins with Hawkins), and is only two degrees removed from the likes of Roberto Clemente and Hank Aaron.  He was also traded once upon a time for the very first player listed alphabetically in Major League history (David Aardsma).   Longevity does have its quirks.

 Here's another one: despite all the years of service, LaTroy Hawkins has not won a World Series. A four-game sweep of his Rockies at the hands of the Red Sox in 2007 was the closest he's come.  "That's always the carrot that guys will chase," he says, "but not everybody is that lucky, that fortunate.  I've been fortunate. I've played on some good teams, but we came up short. What more can I ask for?  I wouldn't change a thing."

The career paths of those who came before him tell him the end is near, but Hawkins insists he will keep playing "as long as I can get guys out." And round and round it goes. The helped becomes a helper. The rookie becomes a veteran. The kid becomes a man. A scared youngster walks hesitantly into a major league clubhouse in faded Levi's and strolls out confidently a couple of decades later, a grown man sporting Armani.  It's the circle of baseball, and it seems to fit perfectly on LaTroy Hawkins.  



Views: 948

Sunday Smack - Patrick Reed's Verbal Warning Shot to the PGA Tour

Barry LeBrock

(An edited version of this article appears on FoxSports.Com)

All that was missing from Patrick Reed's televised post-tournament interview Sunday was the WWE Heavyweight Championship belt slung over his shoulder, and a strategically placed opponent writhing in pain in the background.

Reed's impressive triumph at the WGC Cadillac Championship was capped off with a verbal rampage that was far more Hulk Hogan than Ben Hogan: a grandiloquent cherry on top of a sweet and well-earned Sunday sundae.

The newly-minted youngest champion in WGC history had just ripped through the best PGA field assembled this year to his third professional win and second of this young season.  The man is on a roll.  He is the only player on the planet to pull off the hat-trick of playing his way into the top-20 of the world rankings, finish in the top-20 of last season's money list and win three events since the start of 2013.

Reed's lofty degree of early-career success is a case that, to some extent makes itself. But just in case people hadn't noticed his dizzying ascent, he matter-of-factly spread the gospel of Patrick to the nation moments after sinking his tournament-clinching putt on 18.

Interviewer Steve Sands asked the 23 year-old Reed about comments the golfer made Saturday, expressing his belief that he is amongst the top five players in the world.

"I've worked so hard," the Reed soliloquy began. "I won a lot in my junior career. I did great in my amateur career. I went 6-0 in match play in NCAAs, we won NCAAs (at Augusta State) two years in a row... Now, I have three wins on the PGA Tour. I just don't see a lot of guys who've done that, besides Tiger and the other legends of the game. I believe in myself. I feel like I'm one of the top five players in the world. I feel like I've proven myself."

Whoa!  Echoes of Bobby Jones, right?

The comments spit in the face of the established and accepted norm in golf.  But take a look around.  What outdated, unwritten rules from so many years past remain pristine and untarnished?  You don't have to stop tweeting and look at the world through your Google Glasses to see things are changing faster than anybody can quantify.

Football players can't lead with their helmets. Basketball players are wearing jerseys with sleeves. A handful of baseball players aren't even on steroids anymore.  Things change, people. Everything eventually does. And in this second decade of the 21st century, communication is at the top of the list. If you disagree, write me a letter. When the mailman delivers it, I will call you to discuss. After 5pm of course, when the long-distance rates go down.

Given the evolving nature of communication, who says a little smack talk backed up by performance has no place in golf?  What were you hoping for, perhaps "There are so many great players out here I was fortunate to come out on top this week"?  Yuck.

You can keep your staid and rehearsed answers that we've heard a thousand times after a hundred final-round victories. Give me a secure, confident kid; bolstered by the muscular magic mix of youth and success, his sun-kissed cheeks as red as his Tiger-inspired final-round shirt. Give me the young gun, too green to have yet been gut-punched by professional golf's grand lesson of humility, joyously spewing bullet-points from the resume of his past, all too certain of his continuing success and grandiose plans for the future.

Even the most gentlemanly of golf's old guard can see some beauty in the beast of Reed's self aggrandizing answer. Through his media liaison, I asked Gary Player about the comments. "Frankly, I quite liked Patrick Reed's candor, his self-belief and obvious confidence," the legendary Player responded. "To me it's not really whether he is Top 5, but rather that he thinks and believes he is. You cannot be a champion if you don't believe totally in yourself and your ability."

Doral was a place for Patrick Reed to celebrate. You'll have to forgive the premature anointing of his own greatness as he joined just four others who have won three tour events by age 23. It probably didn't help derail his myopic big-picture perspective that the dream foursome he joins is made up of Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia.

Reed says he didn't even realize his comments made a stir until the day after the tournament. He insists he has no regrets about the interview, but with the benefit of retrospect said Wednesday, "I believe if I keep playing the way I've been playing and putting in the hard work then I will become a top-5 player in the world. That's my next goal and I believe I can be a top-5 player."

He came into this season with the goal of cracking the top-25 in the world rankings by the end of the year. After his recent victory, he checks in at #20. That goal, naturally, has been tweaked. "Now I'm looking for the top-10 or the top-5."  

So, go ahead and gush over your Joe Whatshisname and his scripted run-of-the mill humble Sunday soft talk. Give me Patrick Reed and his truth-saying, star-slaying, gauntlet-laying swagger. You can call it cocky. I call it refreshing.

Remember -- it's March. The Masters is still a month away, Tiger's back has comprimised an already teetering game, Phil is floundering, and Sergio, Rory and Adam Scott finished a combined 14 over par at Doral. This sport desperately needs a good story, and right now, Patrick Reed is it.  Man, oh man, Patrick Reed is it.

Time to choose your Hogan. I'll take Hulk. You've got Ben. Best 2 out of 3 falls. May the boldest man win.



Views: 2,281

A Victorious Loss

Barry LeBrock

      Every once in a while you will hear a story that completely blows apart a long-held belief; the complete opposite of everything you've ever thought on a subject.

     The opposite is also true; occasionally you'll come across some information that solidifies what you already thought.  I had one of those moments Monday night while watching NFL Network's excellent series "A Football Life." 

    The Focus was Don Shula.   

     Growing up in Miami, Don Shula might as well have been the King. Or God.  He  was a man that seemingly had the whole world's respect. He did not demand it, he simply commanded it by his actions, his successes and the sheer force of his persona. 

     I was watching the show not to learn something new -- what could anyone say about the NFL's all-time winningest coach that I didn't already know? -- but because A) I am Jonesing for football, and B) It was on Don Freakin' Shula.  What was I gonna do instead, help my kid with his homework!?!  But I did learn something new. Something that reinforced, and even advanced every opinion I have ever had about the man.   

    The revelation came from right under the oft-broken nose of one of the all-time great Dolphins, Larry Csonka.  The former running back told the story of a trip the Dolphins made to Oakland to play the Raiders in the early 70's  (my research shows the game he likely referred to was played on September 23, 1973).  Now, you have to remember; the NFL was not the well-oiled, ultra-efficient league back then, that it is today, so when the Dolphins arrived at the stadium for their Saturday walk-through, they were shown  not to the visitors' locker room, but to the Raiders locker room.   

    Csonka remembered, "I'm using a locker that belongs to one of the Raiders.  I open it... and there's the game plan. The game plan! There's what they're going to do to try to defeat us tomorrow!

     Our offensive line coach, Monte Clark is walking by and I say, 'Hey Monte, look at this!'"  

 

       The next day, the Dolphins lost the first of only two games they'd drop all season; a 12-7 defensive battle in which 46 year-old George Blanda accounted for all of the Raiders scoring offense with four field goals.

     Back in Miami to prep for the following week's game against New England, Csonka encountered Clark again, wondering how his team could have lost to Oakland despite having the Raiders game plan.  Clark responded, saying when he told Shula about the find, he was instructed to throw it in the garbage.

     "That is Shula," says Csonka. "He said, 'Throw it away.' Because when you have [the other team's] stuff, and you use it, that's cheating. Shula won't cheat." 

 

    Long story short, after their return from Oakland, the '73 Dolphins went on to reel off fourteen wins in their next fifteen games including a 27-10 AFC Conference Championship victory in Miami over those same Raiders.   Two weeks later, the Dolphins hammered the Vikings 24-7 to win Super Bowl VIII.   

 

     A season that will be remembered by most for the Dolphins dominance, will be remembered by the precious few who know the truth behind that week-2 loss, for the uncompromising principals and quiet integrity displayed by one of the greatest coaches in the history of sports. 







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NFL Week 15

    Somewhere along the way, the days of grind-'em-out,  low-scoring December NFL games have disappeared like frozen turf under a blanket of winter snow. Sunday's schedule saw two games hit a total of 50 points, and others that registered 53, 69, 71, 73, 78 and 87!
    Interestingly, the game played in the best weather conditions was a run-of-the-mill 44 point affair; the Dolphins 24-20 win over the Patriots in Miami where an unlikely hero emerged.  A recently acquired defensive back named Michael Thomas, playing in his first NFL game, stepped-in, stepped-up and broke-out as the game-saving star. 
    Trailing by four in the final minutes, New England took over on it's own 20 with 1:15 to play.  On to the field trotted Tom Brady with three timeouts in his pocket and the been-there, done-that swagger of supreme confidence in his gait.
    The Patriots marched 61 yards in ten plays down to the Miami 19.  From there, on first down, Thomas saved a sure-touchdown, knocking the ball out of the hands of receiver Danny Amendola in the end zone...
      

 

    After two incompletions and an off-sides penalty, the game came down to a final play; 4th down from the Miami 14 with seven seconds left. The Dolphins needed a stop. They got one, and again, it was Thomas making a play. This time, he intercepted Brady in the end zone to clinch the win and heartily bolster Miami's once nearly invisible playoff chances.

 

    

      So, just who is Michael Thomas?
      Remember this guy?

 

    Close, but no.
    That's Philip Michael Thomas whose glory days also came in South Florida. Yes, his character, Tubbs from Miami Vice, had his moments (He twice saved his partner Crockett's life!) but you know what?  He never did intercept a future Hall-of-Famer to win an NFL game.
     Of the 106 active players at SunLife Stadium Sunday, (Not Philip) Michael Thomas might have been the least likely to grab headlines. An undrafted free-agent out of Stanford, Thomas spent all of the past two seasons on the San Francisco 49ers practice squad, working to get a shot in the NFL.
     Late last Tuesday morning his agent got a phone call from the Dolphins, who needed depth in their secondary. Thomas scurried to catch a mid-afternoon flight, arrived in Miami and signed a contract. Wednesday he practiced. Sunday he saw his first NFL action in the first quarter, as a special-teamer on punt coverage. It wasn't until the 4th quarter though, after injuries to Brent Grimes and Nolan Carroll, that he played his first snap on defense.
    And that's the guy who saved this game, and perhaps this season for Miami. Amazing.
    In an interview afterward, Thomas acknowledged getting so emotional that he cried on the field and on his way through the tunnel to the locker room. He thanked his teammates, admitting he did not know the Dolphins defensive signals!
   "If it wasn't for Rashad Jones and (Chris) Clemons actually talking to me out there in that two minute situation, I wouldn't have been able to make the plays that I did."
    Reflecting on his whirlwind week, Thomas finally exhaled and basked in the deep satisfaction of both the journey and destination.  "I believed in myself, but being on the practice squad, all you can do is just hope for that opportunity," he said. "You're working for it. You're hoping for it. But for it to actually come, it's a relief!"
 = = = = =
      For the Dolphins, it's another huge step forward on a path that just five weeks ago seemed to be leading nowhere. Or at least nowhere good.
     With the nauseating stench of the Incognito/Martin affair emanating from every orifice of the franchise, Miami lost to the previously winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers on November 11th.  It was their fourth loss in five games and continued a free-falling downward spiral of growing controversy, mounting defeats and franchise instability in what appeared to be another lost season.
     Since then, as if emboldened by the negativity, the Fins have muscled-up to go 4-and-1, improving to 8-6 overall.  Suddenly the post-season is very much in play. The turnaround has been remarkable.  But, hey, this is the NFL. right?  Anything can happen. 
     Just ask Michael Thomas.
 = = = = =
     MNF tonight: Ravens at Lions.  Who ya got?

NFL WEEK 13

Barry LeBrock

    Ten of the fifteen games this week were decided by seven points or less and two went to overtime.  One of those two was the Vikings 23-20 win over the Bears in Minnesota, in which a rather curious coaching decision likely cost Chicago a victory.
    On the third possession of OT, the Bears drove inside Minnesota's 30 yard-line. Needing just a field goal to win, rookie head coach Marc Trestman sent the usually-reliable Robbie Gould on to kick a 47-yarder.
    ON SECOND DOWN!
    A 27 yarder on second down, OK.  But 47? 
    Not sure what Trestman was afraid of.  A conservative play call reduces the risk of a turnover. A run-call eliminates the risk of an interception.  A loss of any significant yardage is unlikely.  And QB Josh McCown could have stressed in the huddle, "No penalties!"  But, instead of trying to gain a couple of yards on consecutive plays to either pick up a first down or shorten the field goal attempt, Trestman opted for the 47 yarder.  The football Gods, of course, pushed Gould's kick wide right leading to a predictable march down field by Minnesota.  A 34 yard Blair Walsh field goal ended it dropping Chicago to 6-6 and putting the Bears playoff hopes in serious jeopardy.
    Hey coach, 2nd down? Really?

 = = = 

    Remember about eighteen months ago when Peyton Manning's career seemed to be pretty much over?  He had just undergone his 3rd (or 4th) neck surgery and the Colts opted to say goodbye to Manning in favor of top draft-pick Andrew Luck.
    Manning's declining arm strength, the neck problems, his looming 36th birthday and the fact that he missed the entire 2011 season was a messy mix of potential career-ending ingredients.  A return to the NFL was very much in question.  A return to glory was extremely unlikely.
    Fast forward to Sunday. Manning tied Drew Brees' NFL record with his 8th career five touchdown game. He has thrown for 4,125 yards this season; most ever by a QB through twelve games. He has 41 TD passes against just nine interceptions, and extended his own record for most 10+ win seasons to thirteen.
   

 

    Next time you have a chance to watch -- I mean really watch Peyton Manning play, do it.  He is inarguably one of the great superstars of our time -- in any sport. .

    I'd love to take credit for this line, but admittedly I heard it elsewhere a couple months ago:  In a league full of superior world-class athletes, the single most dominant body-part in the NFL is undoubtedly Peyton Manning's brain! 



 = = =

     Incredible record set Sunday in Cleveland.  Manning's old teammate Marvin Harrison never did it.  Neither did Jerry Rice. Or Michael Irvin. Or Lance Alworth.  No, only one player in league history has ever racked-up 200+ receiving yards in back-to-back weeks.  That man is the Browns' Josh Gordon.
     A troubled college career littered with drug issues, followed by a shaky start in the NFL makes the Gordon success story that much less likely.  Last week, he hauled in 237 yards worth of passes against the Steelers. This week, he torched the Jaguars for 261.

     The NFL's highest supplemental draft pick since 2003 (Cle, 2nd round, 2012), Gordon has become one of the most productive receivers in the league -- and has done so while catching passes from the likes of Brandon Weeden, Jason Campbell and Brian Hoyer.  His 19.5 yards per catch is tops in the NFL amongst receivers with 30 or more receptions, and despite missing two games, Gordon trails only Calvin Johnson in total receiving yards with 1,249.

 = = =

     It didn't take long for Houston Astros fans to start craving football season during last baseball season.  Now though, the sad summer of 2012 seems like the good old days for Houston sports after the Texans just lost their tenth consecutive game; a 34-31 decision to the Patriots.
    Hard to believe for a team that went 12-4 and won it's division last year, but at 2-10, Houston has the worst record in the NFL (The Astros had the worst record in MLB -- what a unique yet sad daily-double!).
     Yes, the Texans have had their share of injuries, but which NFL team hasn't?  Their slide started after two straight wins to open the season, leading the few who were not on the pre-season Houston bandwagon to jump aboard. Now, with three road games and a home game against the Broncos remaining, it's not out of the realm of possibility that the -- by far -- most disappointing team in the league could lose FOURTEEN straight to end the season!
      Hang in there, Houston, only about four more months until Astros opening day!

 

      



 

 = = = 

 

      Of all the incredible stats compiled in the NFL this season, none is more amazing than the TD/Int numbers put up by Eagles quarterback Nick Foles. The exact kind of QB that does NOT fit in Chip Kelly's system is 5-1 as a starter, and lighting up defenses around the league. 

     He's thrown 19 Touchdown passes.

     Amazing, right?

     Notice no mention of interceptions.  That's because there aren't any.  19 TD's, ZERO interceptions.

     I mentioned already that Peyton Manning has thrown nine I-N-T's. Eli Manning has been picked off 18 times. Cam Newton, 11. Andy Dalton, 16. Matthew Stafford, 14.

     Foles, who took over for the injured Michael Vick, has become the undisputed leader of an Eagles team that appeared to be shuffling through another lost season. He leads the entire NFL in passing rating at 125.2, and has the birds on a four-game win-streak, tied with Dallas atop the NFC East.

     Nice job, young man. Nice job. 

 

 = = =

 

    Fantastic Monday Night match-up this week.  New Orleans at Seattle.  Who ya got!?!

         

        



    

    

NFL WEEK 12

    What an epic battle Sunday night in Foxboro as the Patriots rallied from a 24-0 halftime deficit to edge the Broncos 34-31 in overtime. Ya think this game

might lose a little luster if they played it every week?  As if you wouldn't watch!

    Lost in the final score was a fantastic performance by Denver's Knowshon Moreno who racked up 224 yards on 37 carries. Also notable; The Broncos set an NFL record by scoring 25 or more points in their 16th straight game. Doesn't mean a thing of course, as they head home having missed a golden opportunity to get a leg-up for home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. If that doesn't hurt right now, it very well might come the AFC title game, if it is in fact, played at the scene of last night's crime.

 

 = = =    

 

    Interesting to note' in 14 Brady/Manning matchups, Tom Brady has only

been coached by Bill Belichick.

 

    Last night, under the direction of Jack Del Rio, Peyton Manning faced Brady 

under his fifth different coach: Jim Mora, Jim Caldwell, Tony Dungy and John Fox were previously on the sideline with Manning at the helm against New England.

 = = =

 

   Before the national game on Sunday night, one of the networks wasted about four minutes of my life that I will never get back on a discussion of whether or not the Giants will make the playoffs.    

    Why? Why that discussion? How is that a relevant talking point?  Why speculate whether the 4-7 Giants will prove to be one of the elite six teams in the NFC?  To make the post-season, they'd likely have to reel off five straight wins. And then, only maybe!

    Really, what is it about the 2013 Giants that gives anybody in their right mind a reason to believe this team will finish the season beating Washington twice, win on the road at both San Diego and Detroit, and beat Seattle at home? Is it the 6+ more points per game they allow than they score? Is it their #24 league ranking in total yardage? Or was it the eleven penalties including three late hits for which they were flagged in Sunday's home loss to Dallas.

   Whatever it is, it ain't happening. The only statistical categories in which the Giants are not average are the ones in which they are below average. And that two-game division deficit with five to play? It's actually more. With two losses to the 6-4 Cowboys, NY would have to finish ahead of Dallas to take the East. The Giants best shot to make the playoffs? 2014.

 

 = = =

    Speaking of Dallas... if you listen real closely, you might be able to hear the last of the Romo-bashers packing up and heading out of town. Sunday's 14-play game-winning drive was a prime example of Tony Romo's development as a QB and as a leader. He chewed the final 4:45 off the clock while converting on 3rd-down and seven, five and twelve yards -- all through the air.  

    The elite four in the NFL are obviously Brady, Manning, Brees and Rodgers, but Romo is right there in that second tier. Other QB's have accomplished more (Flacco, Roethlesberger) and some have recently taken teams deeper into the playoffs (Kaepernick, Ryan), but make no mistake about it, Romo has taken his game to another level. His surrounding cast isn't quite as strong as it needs to be to make a deep run into January, but all things being equal, Tony Romo has as legit a claim to that last slot in the NFL's top-5 as anyone else.

  = = =    

 

     The Texans' loss to the Jaguars dropped them to 2-and-9. Receiver Andre Johnson's assessment of his team: "We suck."

 

 

 

  = = =  

 

   Hey, what's up with the Indianapolis Colts? Who exactly are they? Are they the team that has beaten some of the NFL's elite in San Fran, Seattle and Denver? Or are they actually the team that has gotten smoked by double-digits at the hands of some of the league's most mediocre in San Diego, St. Louis and Arizona? In Sunday's romp, the Cardinals out-gained the Colts 410-239 while controlling the ball for a whopping 36:49.    Yes, at 7-4, the Colts control the AFC South, and three of their final five games are against Houston, Tennessee and Jacksonville (a combined 9-24), and yes, Andrew Luck has all the tools to beat any NFL defense on any given day. As fans try to gauge the likelihood of a playoff run though, the inconsistency has to be a concern as well as the loss of Reggie Wayne (ACL), which hurts this team in so many ways. Best thing they have going for them might be their propensity to play their best against the NFL's top teams. 

 

 = = = 

   Monday night game: San Francisco at Washington.  Who ya got?       




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