John’s Blog - Coast To Coast

Well, the battle for #1 is all set… Colts and Patriots this Sunday 4:15 ET/1:15 PT… All I can say is GO COLTS!  The Pats REALLY deserve a good ol’ fashioned smackdown with the way they ran up the score against the Redskins last weekend.

Here are this week’s rankings with last weeks rank in (). Record is only one consideration. I also take into account strength of schedule, strength of victory (or loss) and other intangibles…

1.(1) New England Patriots (8-0)
2.(2) Indianapolis Colts (7-0)
3.(3) Dallas Cowboys (6-1)
4.(4) Green Bay Packers (6-1)
5.(5) San Diego Chargers (4-3)
6.(6) Jacksonville Jaguars (5-2)
7.( Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2)
8.(9) New York Giants (6-2)
9.(10) Tennessee Titans (5-2)
10.(7) Washington Redskins (4-3)
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11.(11) Carolina Panthers (4-3)
12.(14) Cleveland Browns (4-3)
13.(20) New Orleans Saints (3-4)
14.(12) Baltimore Ravens (4-3)
15.(15) Seattle Seahawks (4-3)
16.(13) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-4)
17.(16) Arizona Cardinals (3-4)
18.(23) Detroit Lions (5-2)
19.(19) Kansas City Chiefs (4-3)
20.(21) Philadelphia Eagles (3-4)
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21.(24) Buffalo Bills (3-4)
22.(17) Chicago Bears (3-5)
23.(1 Houston Texans (3-5)
24.(22) Oakland Raiders (2-5)
25.(26) Denver Broncos (3-4)
26.(25) Cincinnati Bengals (2-5)
27.(27) San Francisco 49ers (2-5)
28.(2 Minnesota Vikings (2-5)
29.(30) Atlanta Falcons (1-6)
30.(29) New York Jets (1-7)
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31.(31) Miami Dolphins (0-
32.(32) St. Louis Rams (0-
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It’s been a pretty wild couple of days here in the L.A. sports scene.  The rumors that the Lakers may be trading Kobe Bryant away continue to persist.  In the meantime, the Dodgers now are reportedly thisclose to signing former Yankee manager Joe Torre and firing Grady Little.  With coach Don Mattingly not re-signing with the Yankees and with a son of his in the Dodgers farm system, it just adds some more fuel to the fire.

As I’ve said before here, trading away the NBA’s best player really doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.  Then again, the Lakers really haven’t done a lot of stuff that has made sense here the past few seasons.  Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak has made promise after promise to Kobe to get some talent to help make them a better team, but he’s failed to come through.  Yes, they did make a sentimental re-signing in getting  Derek Fisher from the Utah Jazz… D-Fish though isn’t the kind of impact player that really is going to help the Lakers rise from a fringe playoff team to a team that can compete with the Spurs, Suns and other elite teams.  If the Lakers trade away Kobe, don’t look for them to even be close to the playoffs… and mark my words, there will be lots of empty seats at Staples Center this year if there is no Kobe.

As for the Dodgers, well hiring arguably baseball’s best manager would seem to be a no-brainer move.  Yes, Grady Little is a nice guy, but when you have the opportunity to sign the best there is, well you just have to do it!  And with A-Rod opting out of his contract with the Yankees, is there a chance that he could end up here in L.A.???  Wouldn’t that be something??? 

Needless to say, I’m very excited about the Dodgers prospects, and pretty scared about the prospect of a Kobe-less Laker team… more to come on both of these stories in the coming days. 

You know, just when you thought you’d seen Brett Favre do everything, he pulls another rabbit out of his hat tonight in the national spotlight.  How in the world can you NOT root for this guy???  He’s 38 years old, but he plays with the enthusiasm of a guy half his age… and he just keeps on doing it.  What an inspiration he is!

On the first play of overtime, Favre tossed an 82 yard touchdown pass to Greg Jennings to give the Green Bay Packers a dramatic 19-13 victory over the Denver Broncos… It capped off yet another historic night for Favre.  The future first ballot Hall of Famer was 21-for-27 for 331 yards and two touchdowns, the final of which was the 425th of his incredible career. 

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For the second time in four years, the Boston Red Sox are the World Champions of baseball!  Jonathan Papelbon struck out pinch hitter Seth Smith for the final out of tonight’s game at Coors Field to give the Sox a four game sweep. 

Congratulations to the Red Sox!!!

On a day when I won all seven of my ESPN fantasy football league games, the two most dominant teams in the NFL certainly made it very clear that they are head and shoulders above the rest.

In the early morning games, the Indianapolis Colts got down early as the Carolina Panthers took over 11 minutes of the first quarter in driving the ball 80 yards in 18 plays.  The time-consuming drive culminated in a 3-yard touchdown run by former UCLA Bruin DeShaun Foster.  The Colts quickly drove down to the Panther two yard line on their first possession of the game, but had to settle for a 20-yard Adam Vinatieri field goal.  The first quarter ended with the Panthers leading 7-3.

The Colts offense sputtered early, going three-and-out and then fumbling the ball away deep inside their own territory on their next two possessions.  Vinny Testaverde drove the Panthers inside the Colts 10 yard line, but couldn’t convert the opportunity as Antoine Bethea intercepted a poor pass from Testaverde in the end zone on a third down play with 6:37 to play. 

Late in the first half, Peyton Manning and the vaunted Colts offense began to come to life.  The Colts engineered an eight play, 86 yard drive in just under two minutes, culminating in a two yard Joseph Addai run.  The Colts took a 10-7 lead into halftime.

The second half started the same way the first half ended - with the Colts in complete control of the momentum.  Manning drove the Colts 60 yards in just eight plays, finishing things with a four yard pass to Addai to make it 17-7.  Two possessions later, the Colts struck again, as Manning hit wide receiver Reggie Wayne pefectly in stride with a 59 yard pass to make it a 24-7 Colt lead heading into the fourth quarter.

In that final frame, the Colts would score again, as Addai would finish off a 12 play, 55 yard drive with a 12 yard run.  At 31-7, this one was over.  With the win, the Colts moved their unblemihsed record to 7-0… 

The only question left was whether the New England Patriots would be able to take care of business this afternoon against the Washington Redskins so that next week’s battle between the Patriots and Colts in Indianapolis would pit two undefeated teams.  Unfortunately, the answer to that one was a resounding YES!

In the interest of time, space, and wanting to put this one out of my mind as quickly as possible, I will make this a short (and not so sweet) summary… I’ll just say it was a massacre!  Pats 52, Skins 7.  Tom Brady had his standard 29-for-38 day with 306 yards and three more touchdown passes to give him an even 30 for the year.  Brady also scored twice on rushing plays for five more total TD’s.  That would be 42 fantasy points in your standard Yahoo league and 36 in the ESPN one.  Thankfully, I didn’t face Brady in any of my leagues this week!

On the bright side, the Redskins are still 4-3, and are still looking like a team that could make the NFC playoffs… of course since the Colts and Patriots are so much better than all of the NFC teams, it seems that whomever happens to get to the Super Bowl out of the NFC this year is going to have their work cut out for them BIG TIME!!!  The New York Giants did happen to win their sixth straight game today 13-10 (in Wembley, England against the hapless Dolphins), so maybe they will emerge as good competition for the two AFC juggernauts over the season’s final two months.

While the Colts and Patriots continued to show why they’re incredible teams, the San Diego Chargers were just happy to be safe and sound and playing at their home field today.  Just two days after Quallcomm Stadium stopped being used as an evacuation facility for those affected by the California wildfires, the Chargers took on the Houston Texans in an afternoon game… and much like New Orleans after hurricane Katrina, the game provided a sense of calm, relief, and normalcy to the community.  The Chargers struck early and often as the Chargers dismantled the visitors 35-10.  Tight end Antonio Gates only caught three balls on the day, but two of them went for scores, making his fantasy owners like me very happy!  Although the Chargers were outgained on offense by a 367-237 yard margin, the key to them winning was simply holding onto the ball.  The Texans had five turnovers, while the Chargers had none.  At 4-3, the Chargers moved into a tie with the idle Kansas City Chiefs for the AFC Western division lead.

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The Boston Red Sox struck pounded Colorado Rockie starter Josh Fogg early and often tonight: 10 hits, six earned runs, two walks, and only eight batters retired. The 6-0 lead was one they would never relinquish, though it certainly got interesting for a bit…

The Rockies would come back to score two runs in the sixth and three more in the seventh to get to within a run at 6-5.  The Red Sox came right back to score three runs in the eighth and another in the ninth.  Jonathan Papelbon closed things out in the ninth to give the Red Sox a commanding three games to none lead in the best of seven game series…

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Yesterday, President George W. Bush flew in from Washington D.C. to personally inspect the damage caused by the forest fires here in Southern California. The President walked through a San Diego county neighborhood after a half hour flight in in a helicopter with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger where they inspected the damage from the air. On Tuesday, President Bush declared seven counties disaster areas, allowing federal funds to be released to aid in the recovery effort. I must say it was very reassuring to have President Bush out here checking out things and I definitely want to applaud him for the speedy efforts made to make sure federal relief was made available so quickly.

To date nearly 2,000 homes have been destroyed by 23 separate wildfires this week. Damage estimates are now well in excess of one billion dollars. The winds have died down here, allowing 13 of the fires to be put out. As of tonight, 10 of the fires are still burning, and with temperatures expected to rise some over the weekend, there is a sense of urgency to get control of the remaining fires.

Those that have been affected by the wildfires this week can either go to the website www.fema.org or call 1-800-621-FEMA.

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On a personal note, I’m happy to report that my friends Carla & Will Givens (and their cats) are just fine. They live down in San Diego and had to evacuate Monday night. They were able to return home Tuesday… I just heard back from them today, putting me a little more at ease.

Once again, Curt Schilling proved the naysayers wrong. After getting shelled by Cleveland for nine hits and five earned runs in game two of the American League Championship Series, many thought that maybe he should be pulled from the Red Sox rotation. Some of us know the competitor Schilling is and were confident he would bounce back. Sure enough, he was dominant in game six of that series, pitching the Sox to a 12-2 win.

Tonight, it was the same old Schilling. No, he won’t throw that 95 MPH fastball by you anymore. These days, Schilling relies on pinpoint location and his patented split-fingered fastball. Perhaps he was feeling some butterflies tonight in game two of the World Series as he hit the speedy Wily Taveras of the Colorado Rockies to begin it. After a Kazuo Matsui fly out, Matt Holliday squibbed a single to left to move Taveras to third. Todd Helton then pulled a grounder to first, scoring Taveras to give the Rockies a 1-0 lead.

The Rockies had flame-thrower Ubaldo Jimenez pitching for them tonight, and for three innings, he was what can be called “effectively wild,” holding the Sox scoreless, while walking two and hitting a batter. In the bottom of the fourth inning, the wildness finally began to catch up with Jimenez. With one out, Mike Lowell walked. J.D. Drew then singled Lowell to third with a single to right field. Catcher Jason Varitek evened the score at 1-1 with a sacrifice fly to center to score Lowell.

The walk would come back to haunt Jimenez again in the fifth inning. With two outs, David “Big Papi” Ortiz walked. Manny Ramirez moved Big Papi to second with a single to left. Mike Lowell then did the hero work, doubling to left to score Ortiz and give the Sox a 2-1 lead and ending Jimenez’ night. As it turned out, that was more than enough for Schilling and the rest of the Boston pitching contingent.

After that somewhat rocky start in the first, Schilling settled down to pitch masterfully the next four innings, allowing only two singles and a walk, while striking out four. Schilling got into some trouble in the sixth inning, giving up a one out single to Matt Holliday and a walk to Todd Helton. After making only 82 pitches, he was pulled for Hideki Okajima. Okajima quickly restored order, getting Garrett Adkins to ground out and striking out Brad Hawpe to end the inning.

Okajima was near-perfect in his 2 1/3 innings of work, striking out four batters, while not allowing a hit. Closer Jonathan Papelbon was brought in with two outs in the eighth inning and gave up an infield single to Matt Holliday. For Holliday, it was his fourth hit of the game. He was quickly erased though as Papelbon picked him off first to end the inning. In the ninth, “Paps” simply was dominant, blowing away Helton swinging at a 98 MPH fastball for the first out of the inning, retiring Adkins on a weak line drive to center, and then striking out Hawpe on a 97 MPH fastball to end the game.

Game three of the World Series will be Saturday night in Colorado. Game 7 ALCS winner Daisuke Matsuzaka takes the mound for the Red Sox, while “the dragonslayer” Josh Fogg pitches for the Rockies. The game will be televised at 8:35 ET/5:35 PT on your local Fox affiliate. As an added bonus, Carrie Underwood will be singing the National Anthem prior to the start of action.

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In case you missed it… the top two teams in the NFL are MILES ahead of the rest… New England put up only 48 points last Sunday against the Dolphins, while Indianapolis COMPLETELY destroyed a very good (and previously #5 ranked) Jacksonville team (in their own building no less) by a 29-7 score on Monday night… It’s to the point where if you play the Patriots or Colts, you almost expect to lose by at least two touchdowns, even if you’re a good team.  The #7 ranked Redskins get the unenviable task of facing the Patriots in New England this Sunday, while the #11 Carolina Panthers take on Peyton and his boys at home…

As for the rest… the big loser of the week?  Well, that would have to be the Pittsburgh Steelers, dropping four spots after losing to a much inferior Denver Bronco team in the mile high city… And how about Rob Bironas? Yes, he’s the kicker that beat the Manning brothers in back-to-back weeks last year, including defeating Peyton & the Colts on a 60 yard field goal - the 4th longest kick in NFL History.  Well, he worked his magic again this past Sunday, kicking an NFL record EIGHT field goals in Tennessee’s thrilling 38-36 win over the Houston Oilers.  The Oilers trailed at one point 32-7, but battled back to actually take a 36-35 lead with a minute to play… The Titans drove down the field and Bironas kicked a 29-yard field goal as time ran out to win the game.  For his record-setting efforts, Bironas was named the AFC’s Special Teams Player of the Week.  His efforts also help the Titans sneak back into the Top 10 of my rankings this week.

Here are this week’s rankings with last weeks rank in (). Record is only one consideration. I also take into account strength of schedule, strength of victory (or loss) and other intangibles…

1.(1) New England Patriots (7-0)
2.(2) Indianapolis Colts (6-0)
3.(3) Dallas Cowboys (6-1)
4.(6) Green Bay Packers (5-1)
5.(7) San Diego Chargers (3-3)
6.(5) Jacksonville Jaguars (4-2)
7.( Washington Redskins (4-2)
8.(4) Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2)
9.(10) New York Giants (5-2)
10.(12) Tennessee Titans (4-2)
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11.(13) Carolina Panthers (4-2)
12.(9) Baltimore Ravens (4-3)
13.(11) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-3)
14.(14) Cleveland Browns (3-3)
15.(20) Seattle Seahawks (4-3)
16.(15) Arizona Cardinals (3-4)
17.(19) Chicago Bears (3-4)
18.(1 Houston Texans (3-4)
19.(21) Kansas City Chiefs (4-3)
20.(22) New Orleans Saints (2-4)
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21.(16) Philadelphia Eagles (2-4)
22.(17) Oakland Raiders (2-4)
23.(25) Detroit Lions (4-2)
24.(26) Buffalo Bills (2-4)
25.(29) Cincinnati Bengals (2-4)
26.(30) Denver Broncos (3-3)
27.(23) San Francisco 49ers (2-4)
28.(24) Minnesota Vikings (2-4)
29.(27) New York Jets (1-6)
30.(2 Atlanta Falcons (1-6)
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31.(31) Miami Dolphins (0-7)
32.(32) St. Louis Rams (0-7)
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I think I truly discovered today just how tied to this computer and internet I really am… I got up early this morning so I could get to Target first thing in the morning to pick up the new Carrie Underwood album, Carnival Ride. Thanks to the horrible fires around here, traffic was a lot worse than usual on the 101 freeway, so it took me forever to get back home. Just long enough so that I completely missed Carrie’s performances on Good Morning America today.

Thankfully, friends on Carrie’s official site CarrieUnderwood.fm ALWAYS make sure that we don’t miss a thing. There is no one who does a better job of keeping up with all of Carrie’s appearances than my friend Vinman. All of us just marvel at the job Vinman does in capturing audios, videos and all other sorts of “Carrie media.” In the back of my mind, I knew that if I somehow missed Carrie’s GMA TV appearance today that there will be a nice HQ video of it on Vinman’s site… I think I say the following at least twice a day. Thank you, Vinman! You Rock!

As for the rest of my day, I’d hardly call it fun or eventful… when I got back home from Target, I discovered my computer wasn’t working!! I tried all of the normal troubleshooting and nothing worked for almost two hours. Rather than wait online forever and a day for tech support, I decided instead to leave… I went to the gym and got in a good workout, and then took care of a couple of other things. I then decided to head over to my family’s place where I could use my sister’s computer… thankfully, it was working, though a few of my favorite sites could not be accessed from there. I spent most of the afternoon, like the past two days, watching coverage of the raging forest fires here in Southern California. Thankfully, the winds have finally died down some, and things are looking a little better in efforts to contain the fires. At last last count well over 1,000 homes had been lost here. Just very tragic. Please continue to keep these people in your thoughts and prayers.

I got back home right around six tonight and noticed while driving back, the sun perched behind some smoke layers, so I quickly grabbed my camera and took a few shots… they turned out pretty spectacular actually…

I made some dinner and then called Time Warner’s tech support. I spent nearly an hour and 15 minutes on the phone with them, but finally, about 30 minutes ago, I got my computer back… I think I would have gone crazy if I had been without it for much longer.

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