Down Goes Iowa

The Iowa Hawkeyes could not come from behind this week against the Northwestern Wildcats. Until today, Iowa had trailed in every game but was able to come back and win every time. The constant turnovers and playing from behind, however, finally caught up with them. They played the end of the first half and the entire second half without starting QB Ricky Stanzi and could never get the rally going. Northwestern played the majority of the game with their backup QB on the field as well. Iowa, while undefeated, has looked very beatable all season. They still control their own destiny in the race for a Big Ten title and Rose Bowl appearance, but their hopes of a BCS title are now gone.

Iowa Trailing at the Half

In typical Iowa fashion, the Hawkeyes trail Northwestern 14-10 at the half. Iowa already has 4 turnovers, one of which was a fumble recovered in the end zone by Northwestern for a touchdown. Iowa has come back to win every game this season, but this week will not be as easy. If they are going to come up with another second half rally, it may have to be without starting quarterback Ricky Stanzi. Stanzi injured his leg when he was tackled and fumbled the ball in the end zone in the second quarter. Stanzi went back to the locker room for further evaluation. Without Stanzi, Iowa will rely on backup James Vandenberg who has already thrown an interception that led to Northwestern's second score, and has looked shaky at best. We'll see if Iowa can pull another one out of the hat.

A Sign of Things to Come?

The first day of Breeders' Cup racing Friday was capped off with a big win by Life is Sweet and jockey Garrett Gomez in the $2 million Ladies' Classic. The more celebrated stablemate of Life Is Sweet, Zenyatta, won the same race last year on her way to the top of the racing world. This year, however, Zenyatta's connections have elected to run her in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic against the boys. Zenyatta and hall of fame jockey Mike Smith are the morning line favorite at 5-2, with Rip Van Winkle and Summer Bird right behind at 7-2 and 9-2 respectively. Does Life Is Sweets' victory foreshadow a Saturday victory from stablemate Zenyatta? My guess is that we see Santa Anita veteran Alex Solis and Richard's Kid pull off an upset in the Classic.

Manny Back to the Dodgers, Abreu Stays With the Halos

In what can be considered a "no brainer," which is perfect for Manny Ramirez, he elected to take his option of another year and $20 million dollars from the Dodgers. There really was no question that Ramirez would opt to take the option. Coming off one of the best second halves of his career, he was unable to find the big money deal he wanted before last season. After this year, he certainly was not going to get any offers close to $20 million this offseason. Not only was his performance down, but he tested positive for a banned substance and was suspended for 50 games. He finished the season with only 19 home runs and 63 runs batted in while appearing in only 104 games. In just 53 games with the Dodgers the prior season, Manny hit 17 long balls and drove in 53. Not only did he struggle at the edplate, but he constantly butchers plays in the outfield. He is basically a DH stuck in the National League. The Dodgers are hoping he regains his form of 2008. If the Dodgers want to get their moneys worth out of Manny, they might want to hope he finds a way around the tests again.


In what can be considered the best deal of the 2009 season, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim signed Bobby Abreu to a 1 year, $5 million deal. Abreu not only came through with a terrific season of his own, he acted as a mentor to the Angels' young players as well. Young stars Erick Aybar and Kendry Morales credit Abreu with teaching them about patience at the plate and how to be a professional hitter. Manager Mike Scioscia said all season that he considered Abreu the teams MVP. He was rewarded Thursday with a deal that seems to be good for both sides. He agreed to a 2 year deal worth $19 million and an optional third year for an additional $8 million. Abreu may not have the name recognition of Manny Ramirez, but the Angels clearly got the better of the two deals in Los Angeles this week.

Isn't She Sweet?

Check out the video below from a soccer game between BYU and New Mexico. Elizabeth Lambert has been suspended indefinitely.

College Football Preview

This weekends slate of games does not feature many matchups of top teams, but there are a few games of note.

LSU at Alabama: The ninth ranked LSU Tigers travel to Tuscaloosa to take on number three Alabama. Alabama is coming off of a bye week following a down to the wire game against Tennessee. Alabama will have to be better than they were against the Volunteers. While not looking as impressive as they did at the start of the season, the Crimson Tide has still managed to come out on top in every game they have played. They were fortunate against Tennessee to have Lane Kiffin's special teams be a complete mess. LSU will not afford them the same luxury. LSU is a good team with only one loss, but I do not think they get it done against an Alabama team that has had two weeks to prepare. Do not be surprised if we have a close contest, however, because LSU certainly has enough athletes to make some plays. An upset would not be shocking, but I see Alabama winning the game by two scores.

Ohio State at Penn State: The Buckeyes go into Happy Valley looking to put a solid win on their resume. To this point, they really have only played one top team, USC at home, and lost. Their next three games at Penn State, home against Iowa and at Michigan give them a chance to finish strong. It will be a tough task this weekend against a Penn State team that seems to have found its stride. They field a very solid defense that should be able to contain Terrelle Pryor on the ground and turn him into a passer, which greatly reduces his effectiveness. On the offensive side of the ball, QB Daryll Clark and RB Evan Royster lead an explosive attack that can put points up in a hurry. Look for Ohio State to leave town with a third loss on the board.

USC at Arizona State: Most years, we would simply be discussing how many points the Trojans will win by. This year is a bit of a different story. For the first time in recent history, USC will be coming off of a big loss in which they were completely dominated on both sides of the ball. How will they react? They clearly do not have the same amount of experience as last year's team, but some would argue they have as much, if not more, talent. We have not seen it yet this year, and I don't know that we will. Arizona State, however, is definitely in a down year. Look for the Trojans to come out playing angry, inspired football and get themselves back in the win column. I do not see this game being close.

A couple of other games to keep an eye on are Oregon at Stanford and Northwestern at Iowa. If Oregon comes out with any sort of let down after last weeks big win, Stanford has the talent to beat them. On the flip side, Iowa has to avoid looking ahead to its last big game next week at Ohio State. Northwestern hung tough with Penn State into the second half last week and will not be a walk over.

NFL Week 9 Rankings

Every week Las Vegas Sports Consultants, the world's largest oddsmaking company, releases their top polls/rankings for the major sports. They describe their polls as ones in which "teams are ranked purely by the numbers, without media, regional, league, conference or any other biases – just the facts as determined by LVSC’s team of experts." Because they use the same information that is used to make the betting lines, it is perhaps the most complete and accurate poll. We will post the updated college football poll here every Tuesday and the updated NFL rankings on Wednesdays.



Not really much surprise here. Some might have Denver higher than the boys from Vegas, but you can see the argument for the teams ahead of them. With no surprise, Cleveland checks in at the bottom of the rankings. They are a complete mess from top to bottom. Not only is the team terrible on the field, but they just fired General Manager George Kokinis after less than a year on the job. They will now be paying over $20 million to former coaches and GM's through 2011. I may not be a genius, but I am pretty sure that paying $20 million to people who no longer work for you is not the best way to run an organization. It has to make you wonder how it will affect their handling of Eric Mangini. Players do not seem to care for him, so it will be difficult to convince top free agents to join the team. They clearly do not have the personnel in place to win, but how will it get better. I can't imagine Randy Lerner will be too quick to fire Mangini who is in the first year of a four year, $12 million contract.