So in a major departure from other blog entries out there, I decided to make a list!  I know I’ll forget everyone’s favorite players here; if I wrote down them all, this post would need a footnote stating “Continued on next Internet”.  Feel free to lambaste me at will…

Non-Homer:

Mickey Mantle:  “The Mick” will forever go down as one of the greatest players to play the game.  I think even Red Sox fans will have to bow down to that one.  In case you didn’t know, Mantle finished his career with a .298 BA, .977 OPS, 536 HR, 1733 BB and 15.1 At-bats per HR while winning the MVP 3 times. What makes all of this even more impressive is the list of injuries he has had during his career.  He started having issues with his legs and knees as early as high school; amputation was even considered a possibility at one point. These chronic issues continued to worsen throughout his career.  He also tore up his knee at 19 during the World series after getting his cleat stuck in a sprinkler head.  Even his run at Ruth’s single-season HR record was cut short by an infection in his hip.  Also, the toll on his body from drinking has to be mentioned, as those events we can stop ourselves is the epitome of “Woulda, coulda, shoulda”.

Ki-Jana Carter:  Many people consider Ki-Jana the biggest bust as a #1 pick ever.  I have never allowed myself to put him even on the list; in my mind a bust is someone who was supposed to be great coming out of college and couldn’t produce.  Carter never even received the chance to show what his talent could  become.  On the 3rd carry of his first ever PRE-SEASON game, he blew out his knee. That’s like getting laid-off during lunch of your first day on the job.  Being a Browns fan, I cant say I hoped he had a productive career with the Bengals.  I just would have liked to see him get the chance to earn the “biggest draft bust ever” title.

Terrell Davis/Jamal Anderson:  I lump these 2 guys together because their careers are so eerily similar.  First of all, they were both late draft round picks; I think Davis was a 6th rounder and Anderson was a 7th.  Coming off of their most productive year in 1998 (2000+ yards for Davis, 1800+ for Anderson), both of them had season ending knee injuries in the first quarter of the season.  Neither player was the same after those injuries.  Some people question if the workload in ‘98 led to them being more injury-prone.  Heck, it may be the reason Shanahan wont let the same RB carry the ball on consecutive carries, leading to the dreaded “Running Back By Committee”. 

Ken Griffey, Jr.: He’s not Mickey Mantle, but hes close.  .284 BA, .907 OPS, 630 HR, 15.6 At-bats per HR, 2781 hits, and 1836 RBI. In 22 seasons he never played all 162 games and only bested 150 games 6 times, all before 2000. For a 162 game average, he had 38 HR and 111 RBI even when we include his last few years which weren’t that good.  Just for fun, if he had played all the possible games in his career at that pace he would have ended with 836 HR and 2442 RBI.  Also, as of the writing of this, he has never even been mentioned in the same breath as steroids.  He may be the Mickey Mantle of the ’90s.

“Proud to be an American”: A number of athletes have either been drafted or volunteered to serve in the Armed Forces during the height of their careers.  These players include Ted Williams, Bob Feller, Hank Greenberg, Joe Dimaggio, Roger Staubach, David Robinson and Pat Tillman, who gave his life in service of his country.  In fact, over 30 MLB hall of famers served during World War II.  I hope this in no way come off like an admonishment of their sacrifice; I have the utmost respect for everyone who served our country.  However, if you look at it from a purely sporting angle you have to wonder what numbers they may have put up beyond what they did accomplish.

Homer:

Brad Daugherty:Yes, there was once a time before LeBron when the Cavs had a pretty good team.  I know people only know them for the “Jordan over Ehlo” push-off, I mean…shot.  Daugherty was the big man for possibly some of the best all-around Cavalier teams ever, but chronic back pain cut his career short at 28.  If he had been healthy they may have been able to compete for a couple of rings but it wasn’t meant to be.  I would note that his #43 jersey was retired for his efforts, even though he never won a championship.  Are you listening, sire?

Jamir Miller: Here’s a piece of trivia no one will ever ask you:  who is the first player from the “New Browns” to make the Pro Bowl?  Here’s your answer.  Miller went to the Pro Bowl in 2001, and in the next preseason blew out his Achilles’ tendon on the unyielding turf of the Metrodome in Minnesota. He was the heart and soul of an improving defense, and he never played another game.

Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry:  Here is another tragic case of self-abuse leading to the ultimate waste of talent.  Both of these players were phenoms and my childhood idols.  I get depressed thinking about what both of them could have done after ‘86, along with the Mets.  Once again, we’ll never know because of the decisions they made.

Jim Brown:  12,312 yards in 9 years.  These are sacred numbers in Cleveland along with 1964, the last championship won in Cleveland. Jim Brown opted to end his career before his body gave up on him.  Again, I can never fault him for that especially seeing Earl Campbell walk around.  He retired before he was 30 and played 12 and 14 game seasons when he played.  If you extrapolate his stats to a 16 game season or if he had played a couple more years, he may still be the all-time rushing leader. Sorry Walter and Jerry, but Jim Brown is the greatest ever to play the game of football.  Also, when it comes to his acting career, Jim Brown is the greatest ever to play the game of football.

Sandy Alomar, Jr:  Here is a shooting star if you ever saw one.  Stuck behind Benito Santiago in the Padres’ organization, he was traded to the Indians after the ‘89 season.  He flourished in Cleveland beeing named an All-Star in 1991 and 1992.  Injuries took away most of the remainder of ‘92 and he was robbed of at least a World Series appearance by the strike of ‘94.  He was an All-Star again in 1998, but injuries again took their toll and he was never the same again. I would note that he was inducted into the Indians’ Hall of Fame despite never winning a championship.  (I’m not sure how that’s relevant to current events but I’m sure there is some link.)

I’m sure I could keep going and I hope people come up with some more names for consideration as there are truly too many people to count for whom you can only shake your head.  Woulda…coulda…shoulda.

Cutler’s stat line was pretty impressive, though: 10-27 for 94 yards, 0 TDs, 3 INTs, 2 SCKs, 7.9 QB Rating.  You read that correctly, folks: 7.9! 

Kind of pressed for time this week.  Thank you so much for all of the not-so-subtle reminders this morning, by the way.  I appreciate all of you for helping me realize that I had not posted my weekly picks column.  I do not know what I would do without you.  In all seriousness, though.  Thank you for reading, thank you for caring, and thank you for helping us spread the word.  We have tried to be different from the beginning, providing something of a much higher analytical quality that some of the other sports blogs, but still be at least mildly entertaining.  Anyway, call it me getting sentimental as we prepare for the passing of another year, but thanks everyone for reading this year, and stay tuned.  We have some very cool stuff planned for 2010, including the long-promised live web show and the even-longer-promised podcasts.  Hope everyone has a happy and healthy 2010!

OK, without further attempts at sucking up to the readers, let’s get on to this week’s picks.  As always, home team in ALL CAPS.

San Diego (-5) over TENNESSEE.  I predicted San Diego would cover, but I never expected it to be as easy as it was.  The Chargers are for real…and I absolutely LOVE what the Chargers are doing to Colts fans.  The Colts keep squeezing out narrow victories, often more due to the opponent choking that the Colts doing anything special, while the Chargers are going on the road and clobbering teams.  After knocking them out of the playoffs each of the last 2 years, the Chargers are totally in the heads of Colts fans, and I love it.

Buffalo (+8) over Atlanta.  I just have a feeling that Buffalo might just take this one outright.  That is about all the analysis this one deserves.  If the past several weeks are any indication (lots of good, tight games between 2 horrible teams), this might be one of the most exciting games of the week.  But I wouldn’t count on it.

CINCINNATI (-14) over Kansas City.  I think that Cincy is easily 14 points better than Kansas City, on average…but Todd Haley has actually had his team play some pretty feisty football and hand around in games you would think they didn’t have a chance to hang around.  Although most of those games have been in Kansas City…that’s why I like Cincy to cover the big number here, even in damn cold weather.

CLEVELAND (-3) over Oakland.  I will take Brady Quinn over JaMarcus Russell.  Kind of like someone should have back in 2007…not with Quinn first overall, just Quinn coming off the board after Russell I thought was a huge mistake at the time, just made a hell of a lot worse by the fact that it was the first overall and it was another chapter in the Al Davis Oakland train wreck.

GREEN BAY (-14) over Seattle.  I really like the Pack at home in this one.  They should be fired up and ready to beat a bad team coming off a week in which they lost to a horrible team.  Think the guys dreaming up the salary cap every thought that some owners would still be cheaper than all the other owners and keep their fans wonder why they even bother?  I am not saying that Seattle has done that to their fans…I think they have just been guessing REALLY wrong on the free agent pickups of the last few years…but it seemed like a good time to reail against the salary cap.  Then again, when is it NOT a good time to rail on the salary cap?

Houston (+2) over MIAMI.  I think Houston is going to win this one.  They are probably both done for as playoff contenders, needing a fair amount of help to sneak in at 9-7.  But I think Houston is the slightly better team right now.  With Kubiak and Sparano, we have the opportunity to watch two great football minds operate at high efficiency to the end of the game.  Hopefully you recognize the sarcasm because either you know my writing style or you know that Kubiak and Sparano are both horrible at keeping themselves and their teams focused at the end of games.

Jacksonville (+10) over NEW ENGLAND.  I don’t think New England is 10 points better than Jacksonville right now.  Just a hunch.  The Jags, for some unknown reason, seem to like playing for Jack Del Rio (maybe it was the Paul Bunyan act a couple years ago).  I think they will make a good game of this one.

NEW ORLEANS (-14) over Tampa Bay.  The Bucs pay for what the Cowboys did to the Saints.  Simple as that.

Carolina (+9) over NY GIANTS.  I think the Giants are going to come down to earth a little bit after the great performance on Monday night.  Even though the Jags have something to play for and the Panthers do not, the situations are similar in that the Panthers love to play for John Fox, for some reason.  They may even have a chance to take this game outright.

Baltimore (+3) over PITTSBURGH.  I just love picking road dogs, don’t I?  This one has the potential to be another great down-to-the-wire game involving the Steelers this year.  Roethlisberger is straight up nasty at crunch time, and I am starting to think he is a special quarterback.  There, I said it.  Let’s talk about something else before I puke.

St. Louis (+15) over ARIZONA.  St. Louis has played some tough games in the division this year, and Arizona seem schizophrenic.  I’ll take my chances with another road dog here.  Yes, I know that means I am riding a quarterback named Null.  Yes, I know what “null” means.

Detroit (+14) over SAN FRANCISCO.  Detroit has played some teams tough, and when you have to opportunity to choose Drew Stanton over Alex Smith, you have to do it, right?

INDIANAPOLIS (-5) over NY Jets.  I am trying once again for a reverse jinx by picking the Colts to cover, even though they rarely do.

Denver (+7) over PHILADELPHIA.  Not just me picking another road dog.  I really like Denver in this game.  Denver’s style of play should match up well with what Philadelphia tries to do on both sides of the ball.

WASHINGTON (+7) over Dallas.  I think that Dallas will have to give Washington lots of help with turnovers to lose this one outright, but Washington should keep this thing close, for at least 3 quarters, maybe until the very end.  If this week is the week that Romo starts turning the ball over again, then all bets are off. 

Minnesota (-7) over CHICAGO.  I can’t wait to see how old and frail The All-time Interception Leader looks as the winds are whipping off the lake through Soldier Field.  I don’t think it makes one bit of difference in the game, but I still am giddy with anticipation to see that.

WEEKLY JAMARCUS.  Josh Freeman.  The Saints defense got absolutely pimp-slapped by the Dallas offense on about 70% of the plays.  I think they are going to playing possessed, and Freeman has shown that he is not quite ready for that kind of pressure yet.  I like the kid, so I am cheering for him to make me regret this pick, but I just don’t see it.

Here are the picks (home team in CAPS)

Last Week: 5-9

Season:  37-39

Houston (+6) over CINCINNATI

Detroit (+15) over GREEN BAY

MINNESOTA (-3) over Baltimore

NY Giants (+3) over NEW ORLEANS

PITTSBURGH (-15) over Cleveland

Carolina (-3) over TAMPA BAY

Kansas City (+6) over WASHINGTON

St. Louis (+10) over JACKSONVILLE

Philadelphia (-15) over OAKLAND

Arizona (+3) over SEATTLE

NEW ENGLAND (-10) over Tennessee

NY JETS (-10) over Buffalo

Chicago (+4) over ATLANTA

SAN DIEGO (-3) over Denver

I am actually going to try to post a blog entry from the tree stand tomorrow – I will definitely be tweeting, so any of you not following me yet, please make sure you do at: http://twitter.com/mackonsports

Here are the Week 5 picks.  (Home team in CAPS)

Last Week:  5-9 (ouch)

Season:  32-30

BUFFALO (-6) over Cleveland

Pittsburgh (-11) over DETROIT

Dallas (-9) over KANSAS CITY

Minnesota (-11) over ST. LOUIS

NY GIANTS (-16) over Oakland

Tampa Bay (+16) over PHILADELPHIA

Washington (+5) over CAROLINA

Cincinnati (+9) over BALTIMORE

SAN FRANCISCO (-2.5) over Atlanta

Jacksonville (+2) over SEATTLE

Houston (+6) over ARIZONA

DENVER (-3) over New England

TENNESSEE (+5) over Indianapolis

NY Jets (-3) over MIAMI

Notes:  Wow.  There are two road teams HEAVILY favored against teams that should be desperate to make some kind of an impression, playing in stadiums full of fans that are desperate for something that begins to approximate success, or at least a plan.  I picked both of those road favorites to cover, just because those home teams are so bad and I am kind of following the smart money, but I will be very surprised if either Pittsburgh or Minnesota covers the spread.

Wasting time berating his players during timeouts.  Does Billy think for one second that a Kentucky basketball player does not know he messed up when he made a 40-foot balloon pass in the offensive zone that turned into an easy transition bucket for the opposition?  How does Coach Gillispie not know that he should be coaching instead of acting like a jerk, making a point that absolutely did not need to be made?  Bear in mind that this occurred when the Kentucky lead, which had been 20 at one point, was 6 points…and it was a T.V. timeout (i.e., a free opportunity to provide some extra coaching for your team that just turned a 20-point lead into a 6-point lead). 

Kentucky players picked up their dribble and got trapped on 6 out of 7 possessions.  This happened with no fewer than 3 time outs taking place between the first instance and the sixth instance.  Do you think the players of a top flight college basketball coach would do that a second time, much less a sixth time, during the final 7 minutes of a tournament game in their own gym?

Billy Gillispie was standing up on the sidelines wringing his hands during play.  While I was watching this, I was at first reminded of Jerry Tarkanian’s towel.  Then, as I started to think about it more and more, it occurred to me that for some reason, it was endearing with Tark, whereas Gillispie looked like the geekiest 6th grader in school contemplating exactly what level of rejection is about to befall him as he works up his nerve to ask a girl to dance for the first time…or maybe an alcoholic just trying to get to the end of his workday and taste that sweet first drink of the night.  It was, without a doubt, the least confidence-inspiring thing I have ever seen a college basketball coach do at any time.

Players dunking with an insurmountable lead at the end of the game.  Ahead by 9 points, Patrick Patterson executed a dunk with 20 seconds left on the shot clock and under 30 seconds left on the game clock.  When your coach is a punk, I guess you can’t really expect your players to behave any other way.

Kentucky is better than their coach will ever be.  They need to cut their losses, pay Gillispie whatever it takes to make him go away for good, and call Bobby Knight.  If you want to still be considered a top 5 program, get yourself a top 5 coach.  Your current coach had a nice run down there in College Station where the expectations were easy to exceed…he does not have the intelligence, intestinal fortitude or coaching skills to achieve success at a top flight college basketball program.

By all means, if you want to have a future of partying in the streets every March and watching the games on T.V. every April, then you have your man.  If you would like to restore your program to its once-proud traditions, then you need a coach capable of matching the big boys (Calhoun, Calipari and Self) in the big games.  Gillispie has proven time and again that his big game coaching ability is somewhere between Division II and YMCA.

FOOTNOTE

You will note the absence of Rick Pitino, Tom Izzo, Billy Donovan, Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski from the list of “big boys” in this article.  That is because the only time I have seen any of these coaches win a big game is when they absolutely, without question, had the better team…but they usually lose several big games every year, and one in the tournament almost every year, to inferior competition…that does not make you one of the big boys in my book.  Sure, they are some of the big-time coaches, and any program would be lucky to have a guy that can recruit players and assistant coaches like those guys, but in the biggest games of all, they have never, ever been capable of making a team exceed their capabilities…only reach them.  Obviously, The General, if and when he returns to coaching, goes on the list of big boys.

So, those of you that are subscribed to the RSS feed, watch your e-mail on Friday evenings from now on for some good content.  The NFL Playoffs are around the corner, along with the college bowl games, and the NHL and NBA are starting to heat up as well.  Plus, there is a bona fide chance that my beloved Tar Heels will put together one of the best seasons in NCAA basketball history.

walking out of a national toy store chain with a cart full of junk and a larger item under the cart. Well, the carts at this place are about the same as the carts everywhere else – they somehow act as if there is a windstorm taking place 3 inches off the ground*. Couple this with the fact that whomever laid out the parking lot configuration at this place was on acid and the guy who did the paving was at least suffering from delirium tremens, if not actively drunk at the time of paving.

Anyway, the large item underneath the cart fell off onto the pavement, grinding the entire procession (me pushing the cart with Seamus in the biohazard seat** and Marley walking alongside reluctantly holding my hand and trying to escape my grip with everything her little 3-year-old body could muster) to a halt. The corner of the box scraped on the asphalt, and the cart miraculously started to defy gravity and go straight for a second (that’s how I knew something was up) and then just kind of stopped as it almost ran over the box and Marley all at once.

“Dangit” I say. That’s right, “Dangit”. Anyone who has known me for longer than my daughter has been alive would chuckle at my use of something other than the f-word in such a situation, but I have really been toning down my language since the kids came. Seriously, I am positively insane about it. Predictably, I was greeted with a caucophony of little voices saying “Dangit” over and over again…which would have probably gone on for the entire parking lot ordeal, as well as the whole ride home…but that was just the beginning.

I got the box up underneath the cart again and started working my way through the maze of peaks and valleys in what should be a flat surface…I mean, it’s a parking lot, not a miniature golf course, right? You know the next part…the fargin’ box falls again. This time, I say the word “mother”…about to blurt out a horrendous thing to every say in front of anyone, much less two toddlers in your care, the old standby, mother f**ker…but, I catch myself short, and am able to stop at the word “mother” which is pretty ineffectual without the f-bomb juxtaposed…but not to worry…no sooner had I uttered the word “mother” and started to reach for the box, than my sweet little angel took the proverbial ball and ran with it.

“F**ker” said my daughter, and immediately followed it up with “why the f*ck does that f*cking box keep falling on the f*cking ground, Daddy?” And, to make matters worse, she has never uttered any words with clearer diction in her life…and did I mention that a nice older couple was within earshot, just getting into their Caddy after a trip to the golf store across the parking lot? Well, suffice it to say they were thoroughly appalled and gave me the wrinkled nose and stink eye like only a senior citizen can give it. Hey – screw ‘em. They look conspicuously like the couple that helped me turn in a 5.5-hour round of golf a few weeks ago…clogging up the course and refusing to let anyone play through. Well – that is a rant for a different day.

So, I immediately started to talk with Marley about how we don’t use those kinds of words, and she says “just grown-ups can use those words, right?” I asked her what she meant, and came the reply, “using those words is such fun but not for kids…kind of like driving the car…only grownups can have fun”. Don’t get me wrong – I love having a precocious and clever little girl…just not all the time. So, I eventually find out that, despite our best efforts and draconian “No Swearing In Front of the Kids” policy, my wife and I both seem to let our guard down (read, cuss like a couple of sailors) when we are on the phone, and by golly, it seems that the kids’ ears still work, even if they are in the next room.

Go figure.

NOTES:

* – My tribute to George Carlin, 1937 – 2008 –> R.I.P.

** – The biohazard seat is the regular seat on any shopping cart anywhere…I remember one of those silly little pseudo-shock journalism TV shows throwing one under the UV lamp one time, and saying that it had as many germs as a toilet in Grand Central Station or something…and that is why my car always smells like Purell when the kids are riding with me.

Let me tell you about the Fulham Football Club, which is currently battling relegation.  Basically, relegation works like this — there are 20 teams in the top flight British soccer league, called the Premiership, and the bottom two teams in the standings at the end of the year do not get to play with the big boys next year…they get relegated to the lower division.  The top two teams from the lower division move up at the end of each season. 

Sidebar:  I have always thought that this concept would work for baseball.  Could you imagine the additional drama and compelling television (for everyone except Royals fans)to watch a team like the Kansas City Royals go back and forth between the bigs and AAA every couple of years? 

I still think this concept could get legs — we just need the right commissioner…or any commissioner that is not a figurehead gelding that deliberately worked hand in hand with the players union to allow the steroids era to mushroom out of control, and is not a former owner, or current owner, or majority shareholder, or board member, or whatever his title is in the Brewers organization. 

We could even get a clever, marketable name for the process, since "relegation" would not work over here.  I would suggest that we call it Jeff Loria Insurance.  The way I figure it, if you made that disgrace of an owner spend an extra year or two just getting back to the big leagues after each semi-decade fire sale, maybe he would be motivated to do things the right way and respect the league, the game, and his fans…or better yet, maybe he will just go away and leave those of us who care about the game alone.

Back to Fulham — they are currently in 19th place and in grave danger of relegation.  They have a tiny little stadium (compared to their counterparts) that is very old and they fill that thing up to the brim for every home game.  Their fans are as passionate as any, and they have suffered greatly over the past several decades.  Stop me if any of this sounds familiar, Red Sox fans.

They suffered relegation from the Premiership in the late 60s and never made it back until 2001.  The lowest point of the entire ordeal was a 1996 3rd Division Defeat to Torquay United, who at the time were at the bottom of the standings in the bottom of the entire football league (there are four divisions in the league, the Premiership, followed in order by Divisions 1-3)…and Fulham were just one spot higher in the standings.  So, a once proud club was on the brink of falling out of the league altogether as recently as 12 years ago.

So, why should you care?  They are beginning a dramatic run to retain their place in the Premiership.  They have hired a seasoned, well-travelled coach with the experience necessary to get immediate results while still training the young players to build for the future, and they have spent a bunch of money on players since December.  They are bringing in old veterans to fill the gaps, stave off relegation and start to rebuild a winner.  Not a bad story, eh?

How about this?  Many of their key players are Americans.  Stop me if any of these names sound familiar:  Kasey Keller, Carlos Bocanegra, Eddie Johnson, and Clint Dempsey.  If that wasn’t enough, their Captain is none other than Brian McBride, the elder statesman of the American national team.  They also have a dude named Mike Timlin on their team (he’s from Ireland, but still…Mike Timlin).

So, while it might be tough to follow them over the next several weeks, you may want to look online once in a while and see how the struggle is progressing.  I am fortunate enough to have U-verse at home, so I will be able to watch highlights every week and the occasional full match. 

Watching some of our best American soccer players trying to save a proud English team from relegation could certainly make for some compelling drama.  The Premiership season runs until the middle of May and you can follow along on ESPN (www.soccernet.com), the official Fulham club site (www.fulhamfc.co.uk), the Fox Soccer site (http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer), or wherever else you get your soccer news if you are already a fan.

And if you need some extra drama, the Fulham Football Club is owned by Mohamed Al-Fayed (yeah, THAT Al-Fayed — he is Dodi’s dad), who is pretty much a lowlife scum-bag criminal.  He has attempted to gain British citizenship for years, and he is always denied on the grounds that he is of poor character.  He has attempted to bribe members of Parliament and has left Great Britain recently, settling in Monaco (for the favorable tax laws) after a brief stop in Switzerland.

If you want to learn more about the club or what they are up against, I recommend the Wikipedia Entry:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulham_F.C.

DISCLAIMER:  I am by no means a Premiership expert and a lot of the background for this article came from researching the club online.  If I have omitted or missed or butchered anything, please feel free to chime in with a comment and set me straight.