This one goes to '11...

Where did the last twelve months go? 2011 is about to get into our rearview mirror. Great! A time for lists! One quick spin through the last 365 days in the most shallow of ways-- by hitting 11 random stops while trying to make sense of the year gone by.

Super! Bowled-- let's face it-- we are an NFL Nation and once again pro football's championship game didn't disappoint. Unless you had purchased tickets to seats that didn't exist and had to stand outside Cowboys Stadium in the freezing cold. Far from the Super Bores of yore-- last year's 31-25 Green Bay victory was the 6th decided by single digits in the last ten years (and only Tampa Bay's trouncing of Oakland in 2003 would qualify as a blowout).


Lucky with Lockouts-- unfortunately the NFL and NBA offseason delivered unnecessary daily drama ("Day 13 of the Lockout...Day 132 of the Lockout..."). Thankfully only Canton's Hall of Fame Game was cancelled-- and a ten year deal is in place for the NFL. And thank goodness the NBA and its players woke up to realize that as a league they are a luxury item and not the need pro football is for the public. See you when the deals expire. On the Wizards front, a rebuilding 66 game season is much less miserable than a rebuilding 82 game season. And at leas the uniforms are cool again.


A March with Thrills, Chills and Spills-- the NCAA Tournament provided grand theater with all #1 and #2 seeds getting bounced before the Final Four... VCU going from the "First Four" to the national semifinals... and the NBA guys on TNT waxing on about how much college basketball they watch and know. Even referring to the round of 64 as the "second round" and pushing Sunday tipoffs to after 8pm can't ruin my favorite three weeks of the year.

College Coaching Carousel-- after years of relative calm in and around the beltway... major ripples locally with Gary Williams retiring, Jim Larranaga moving to Miami and Karl Hobbs getting fired. While the Terps and Colonials look to be reloading, the Patriots are primed for another solid season in the CAA.


Cap-itulation and regime change-- what will we do now that the Bruce Boudreau commercials are no longer gracing the area? After an impressive first round series win over the New York Rangers (the only one in the Eastern Conference that didn't go seven games) the Caps were broomed out of the playoffs by Tampa Bay. Then after a 7-0 start the team hit the wall and Boudreau hit the road. Despite being unable to lead the Capitals into the conference finals, Boudreau elevated the expectations from the mess he inherited Thanksgiving weekend of 2007. One could make the case that if he had flopped as a then-interim coach... George McPhee would have followed him out the door back then. Instead, Dale Hunter tries to provide a midseason transfusion.


Toothless Tiger... and the next big thing?-- Tiger Woods went another year without winning a major tournament. As he approaches his late 30's one wonders what sort of window he has for catching Jack Nicklaus...but for every Tom Watson that stops winning in his early 30's there's a Mark O'Meara who experiences a resurgence in his 40's. While I once thought he had a "true slam" where he won all four majors in one season... the possibility remains for him to pickup four more championships within the next ten years. Meanwhile, fans at Congressional Country Club were treated to Rory McIlroy's run at the US Open... let's wait for the kid win two before we elevate him to the level of even Padraig Harrington or Angel Cabrera.

No Joking-- Tennis saw Novak Djokovic grab dominance by the throat... the Serb won three majors to scale the heights previously claimed by Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. After a somewhat democratic era where dominance meant two majors(1989-2003)... we've seen a triple-play five times in eight years. Between Djokovic, Nadal, Federer and everybody's English hope Andy Murray... majors are compelling after the Andy Roddick flameout.


Terrapin Fall-- nobody saw the 2-10 Maryland football season coming. Fresh off a 9-4 season with the ACC rookie of the year everything went wrong for the Terrapins... with more than a few players transferring. View the first year of coach Randy Edsall as the clearing of a site for the placement of a foundation-- construction sites are rarely pretty during their first year. With the return of Mike Locksley as a primary recruiter, expect an instate talent upgrade.


Baseball's Crazy Finish-- the final month of the regular season saw legendary collapses by Atlanta and Boston... with the Braves and Red Sox trying to outdo each other in tripping right before the finish line. Meanwhile, St. Louis and Tampa Bay did the right things down the stretch and entered the playoffs in spectacular fashion. Some are calling it the best night ever in baseball and that you can't get that anywhere else in sports. Umm... the final Sunday of the NFL's regular season? The final weekend of conference tournament play with bubble teams bouncing every which way?

Skinsationalism-- another strong start (3-1) proving to be merely a mirage. Another quarterback situation implodes. The defense gets better but still not good enough. Suspensions rock the offense. And somewhere in a season that was honestly over before Halloween the Burgundy and Gold mattered because they were so irrelevant.

The Sad End of Happy Valley-- for years State College, PA was more than just about wins and losses... bowls and Heisman candidates. It was about the team before the individual. No names on the back of the jersey. Doing things with class. Graduating players. Never a whiff of an NCAA scandal. Even the "Grilled Stickies"--a breakfast roll that can't possibly be healthy in any way--had an image of innocence. But it's a different world now that the Gerry Sandusky revelations have come out... and continue to come out. You wonder exactly who knew what and when. And why nothing was done-- again and again. The quote I first thought of last fall...: "All that is necessary for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing"-- from all I know Joe Paterno is a good man. And from all I know-- he did nothing. So the victims try to heal. The accused stands charged. And the future of Penn State football arrives in a manner nobody could have envisioned.

Redskins Rehash-- Last at Christmas...

Last Christmas the Skins showed us Rex... but then the very next fall--the job was all Beck's. Next year... to save fans from tears-- the Skins will do something special (like draft a QB in round one). WHAM! like that another last place finish (more on that later). Wake the Burgundy and Gold fans when the losing seasons go-go.

Turnoverasaurus Rex-- the beast once again rampaged through Landover... losing a fumble on the second possession of the day... while tossing an interception in the fourth quarter. Both miscues led to Vikings field goals. Mr. Grossman has turned the ball over at least once in every game he's played in this season. In today's NFL you can't have that from your quarterback and be successful.


Little Red Royster on the Run-- at least the running game didn't miss a beat. Evan Royster stepped in for the injured Roy Helu and rumbled for 132 yards. Nice to have options at runningback...

Gaffney getting it done-- for the third straight week Jabar Gaffney caught 6 passes... this time for 77 yards and a touchdown. The 31 year old is one catch shy of his career high of 65... and stands 81 yards away from his first 1000-yard season.


London Calling-- the veteran inside linebacker notched 17 tackles to push his league-leading total to 163. Monster season in what's been a losing cause more often than not. Does he stay and continue to be a bridge to where this team is good again... or move on and contribute to a contender?


Underestimating the Understudies?-- Vikings runningback Adrian Peterson tore knee ligaments on their first possession of the second half. On the next play quarterback Christian Ponder suffered a concussion. But despite having backups in the game, Minnesota scored on its next four possessions...tallying 239 of its 389 yards on those four drives.

Dissecting the Division-- the New York Giants retake first place with their win over the Jets... while Dallas drops to second thanks to their loss against Philadelphia. The Eagles move into third place by beating the Cowboys and will take over second place with a victory over the Redskins January 1st due to the division record tiebreaker. Once again the Skins begin the season in first place and finish in last.

Last at Christmas-- a new Burgundy and Gold tradition-- this is the fourth straight last place finish for the Skins... and the first time since the NFC East was created in 1970 that a team has finished last four straight years. Not even the Cardinals finished last four straight years-and they had stretches where they were bad in two separate time zones! Now my crack research staff checked out the standings since the merger and found seven other instances of back to back to back to back last place finishes: New Orleans 1970-73, San Diego 1972-75, Houston 1983-86, Atlanta 1987-90, LA Rams 1991-94, Chicago 1997-2000, Cleveland 2003-06. Nice company to be in and around.

Division Duels and Conference Contests-- congratulations to the NFC... taking the interconference competition 33-31 for the first time since the 1990's. The NFC East finds itself tied for 6th place at 28-32... the only division with a worse record was the AFC South (24-36). Best division honors this fall go to the AFC North (35-25) as the final weekend of the season features all intra-divisional games.

Last thoughts about "Last Christmas"-- the WHAM! song is now a holiday staple... and the video brings more than a few thoughts. It's premise has George Michael taking his girlfriend on a ski weekend with other friends... only to see his ex-girlfriend on same weekend with Andrew Ridgeley. He's haunted by the ex... as he and his friends have a festive celebration he can't shake her from his heart. And then he goes home. First, I feel bad for the new girlfriend-- completely oblivious to the emotional minefield she's walking into. I blame George for taking his new girlfriend where he went last year probably knowing his ex would be there. I blame his ex for taking up with Andrew Ridgeley... the ultimate in-your-face move. And I blame Ridgeley for getting with George's ex-- great bro-move, buddy. The three of them deserve each other.

NFL Gameday-- the Playoff Picture develops...

Happy Holidays everyone on the penultimate weekend of the NFL season. With 22 of 32 teams still in contention 10 of today's 13 games have playoff ramifications (sorry, Skins). And with Indianapolis finding itself all of a sudden even the undercard has meaning in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes. Let's try to sort things out from a league and yuletide standpoint...:

I prefer to open presents Christmas morning. Something magical about having your parents telling you to stay in your room until 8am...oh the anticipation. And after so many Christmases... the anticipation often trumps the eventuality.

Three teams are alive for the NFC East title: Dallas clinches with a win over Philadelphia plus a New York Giants loss to the Jets... while the Eagles need a victory plus a Giants loss to remain in contention. The Giants take the division with a win today and January 1st over the Cowboys.

I'm all about ham instead of turkey at Christmas. It's all about brand identity-- and lets load up on tryptophan on Turkey Day... ham on December 25th... and lamb on Easter.

Dallas isn't the only team that can wrap up a their division today. Baltimore takes the AFC North with a win over Cleveland plus a Pittsburgh loss to St. Louis. New Orleans clinches the NFC South by beating Atlanta. Denver wins the AFC West with a win over Buffalo plus losses by Oakland and San Diego.

Claymation Category-- although I'm all about the Island of Misfit Toys ... I prefer "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" for several reasons. First-- Santa Claus is kind of a shortsighted tool in "Rudolph". I mean if he's the rebel Mickey Rooney makes him out to be... how can he turn his nose down on Rudolph's predicament? Second-- the Burgermeister remains a badass and has no redeeming qualities. He BURNS TOYS. And unlike the Abominable Snow Monster-- he stays bad. Third-- the Kris Kringle romance with the schooleatcher trumps the puppylove storyline of Rudolph-Clarice. I won't even mention Keenan Wynn as the Winter Warlock.

Playoff possibilities-- both NFC wildcard spots can be wrapped up this afternoon. Detroit and Atlanta clinch berth with victories. They're also in if Seattle, Chicago, Arizona and the New York Giants all lose. The New York Jets and Cincinnati remain in a lockstep for the AFC's final spot; neither can clinch this week.

Christmas Movies-- who doesn't like "It's a Wonderful Life"? More than a few money scenes... from "George Bailey I'll love you til the day I die" to "We serve hard drinks to men who want to get drunk fast-- and we don't need any characters her to liven the atmosphere". On the musical front-- I like "Holiday Inn" more than "White Christmas"... despite the similarities the B&W 1942 classic is in my opinion the superior film. First, Fred Astaire easily has the advantage over Danny Kaye... and his character is much smarter. Second, the holiday songs in "Holiday Inn" actually advance the plot... while in "White Christmas" they seem to be filler. Lastly, there are more twists and turns in the story. Plus Walter Abel as the hyper agent.

Drafting for Draft Position-- Two straight wins by Indianapolis have the Colts previous stranglehold on the number one overall pick in doubt; Minnesota and St. Louis can tie for first/last with losses today. The Rams' path to #1 is a little easier: they face Pittsburgh and San Francisco (combined 21-7 record)... while the Vikings battle Washington and Chicago (combined 12-16) and the Colts meet 4-10 Jacksonville next weekend. Smacks of the 1986 season when the Colts began the season 0-13... fired coach Rod Dowhower and new coach Ron Meyer turned things around in a miraculous way. Indy upended Atlanta 28-23 after outscoring the Falcons 14-3 in the fourth quarter... then beat Buffalo 24-14 after trailing 14-0. The Colts then rallied from 17 points down to defeat Oakland 30-24. Meaning Tampa Bay (finishing 2-14 by losing its last seven games) would get the #1 overall pick. And choose Vinny Testaverde. After trading Steve Young to San Francisco because he was a bust. If the Colts don't wake up... who knows how Testaverde would have prospered under run-first Meyer? And would things have ever gotten any better for Young under a new coach in Ray Perkins? Do the Colts then even trade for Eric Dickerson (#2 overall pick Cornelius Bennett was a part of the deal)?

Redskins Rehash-- Playoff picture developing...for others.

"It's the most wonderful time of year". Andy Williams aside, December is a fantastic final lap in the NFL regular season where destiny is determined... and pretenders are separated from contenders. Sadly for the Redskins, the last three weeks of the season will do little else except determine the Redskins' draft order (more on that later). Great time to start winning!


A few questions about Sunday--who are these people? What was this team that we saw play their best 60 minutes of the Shanahan era? And why can't they play the Giants all the time?


Defense the difference-- Jim Haslett's D earns an A for shutting down Eli Manning in the first half: two three and outs... an interception... and two drives not crossing midfield the first five times they had the ball. Even after heating up after halftime-- the Skins intercepted two passes and forced the Giants to settle for a field goal attempt. The last possession that allowed a touchdown but chewed up clock was simply moot.


Turnoverasaurus Rex-- at least he got the miscues out of the way early in this one. Two interceptions on the first three drives meant that for the first quarter Grossman had more completions to the Giants than Eli Manning. Thankfully he settled down to post a workman-like 15 of 24 for 185 yards and a touchdown.


Helu held in check-- after three consecutive 100 yard efforts the Rookie Roy was limited to 53 yards rushing on 23 carries. The Giants D made things tough all day-- his longest gain was 8 yards. But Helu helped the team in the passing game--notching 3 receptions for 16 yards.

Ground Game quality from quantity-- at first glance it's not that impressive. Forty carries for 123 yards... just over 3 yards a pop. But FORTY clock-killing plays are huge when you have a lead. The key drive was their 11th possession-- 9 plays for 34 yards but 3 minutes and 50 seconds worth of clock... making the Giants TD too little too late.

Gaffney gets it done-- quietly the Skins have found their go-to guy in the passing game. Six catches for 85 yards give the 31 year old 58 for the season--a career high-- and 842 yards for the year-- 33 off his career best. While this is his third team in four years... can this be his final stop?

ILB not MIA-- London Fletcher and Perry Riley combined for 20 tackles... 13 of them solo stops. Fletcher forced a fumble. One key to the 3-4 is setting up your inside linebackers in space to make plays-- and that's been the case the last few weeks.

Gano gettin' it done-- the Skins kicker of the moment made all three attempts-- including a 43 yarder. Which means he'll be shaky against Minnesota.

Dissecting the Division-- Dallas' win over Tampa Bay propels the Cowboys into first place and the #4 seed... as the Giants fall to 10th in the NFC. With a 4-7 conference record a wildcard is out of the question; they need to beat the NY Jets Saturday and then defeat Dallas in week 17 to win the division. Philadelphia remains in the hunt at 11th in the conference... but division champs if the following occurs: 1-- wins over Dallas and Washington...2-- a Giants loss to the Jets...3-- a Giants win over Dallas. All are possible to set up the worst ever NFC East Champion. The Redskins can actually finish tied for second with wins over Minnesota and Philadelphia-- although tiebreakers keep the ceiling at 3rd place. There's always next year.

Playoff picture still fuzzy-- 22 of 32 teams are alive with two weeks remaining: 3 NFC and 4 AFC berths are already locked up though. In the NFC the race between San Francisco and New Orleans for the #2 seed currently reads advantage 49ers as SF has a better conference record; the wildcard jumble has Atlanta and Detroit within wins of locking up spots while Chicago, Seattle and Arizona all look to finish strong and get help. The AFC race reminds one of 1980 when all 5 playoff teams finished 11-5 and tiebreakers sorted out division winners in the Central and West... as well as home field for the wildcard game and the rest of the playoffs. Losses by Houston and Baltimore placed Pittsburgh in position to move into first-- but the Steelers loss on MNF means New England is in the driver's seat. While Baltimore owns tiebreakers with Houston and Pittsburgh... the wild AFC West has all four teams in contention. The second wildcard? The NY Jets and Cincinnati... with plenty of drama from Rex in the Big Apple.

No more perfection... or pure imperfection-- on the same day unbeaten Green Bay lost at Kansas City, winless Indianapolis topped Tennessee. I know, any given Sunday...

Feeling the draft-- the Skins win keeps them tied for the 7th worst record in the league with three other clubs. So a marquee quarterback isn't out of the question... especially with St. Louis and Minnesota likely not looking to draft a QB two years in a row. Stranger things have happened though.

Division Duels and Conference Contests-- the AFC North has a one game edge over the NFC North at 32-22. Even a win by Indianapolis couldn't lift the AFC South-- still the division of depression at 22-34. A 3-1 week by the NFC East brought some respectability... but at 26-30 they're assured of a composite losing season. Meanwhile, the NFC leads the AFC 31-29 with four games remaining in interconference play... and could win the annual challenge for the first time since the 90's.

Redskins Rehash-- Tis the Season... to look towards next season.

Elimination always stings... even when it's been a foregone conclusion for a month. And a ridiculous thought after last week's loss. But there was a slim possibility that evaporated in yesterday's 34-27 loss to New England. Now officially on to next year. Wow-- with these players... that's going to be just great! But don't worry-- help is on the way in the form of a top ten draft pick... and whatever other picks Vinny didn't trade away before he left.

Turnoverasaurus Rex-- Mr. Grossman gave us plenty of good, bad and ugly Sunday: 252 yards passing and two TDs! Two turnovers again! Two very costly turnovers, mind you: the fumble was recovered for a Patriot score and the interception killed a last chance drive. But at least he looked downfield.

Holy Helu Batman!-- the rookie Roy rushed for 126 yards... his third straight century effort. He's proving to be a keeper... it's a shame it took this long into the season. What I also like is Evan Royster producing 44 yards on 6 carries... it's nice to have two backs who can do damage. Even with Tim Hightower on the shelf and Ryan Torrain in the doghouse.

Minus Fred... recycled receivers reel em in-- so no big target at tight end. Instead, Jabar Gaffney notched 6 catches for 92 yards and a touchdown while Dontae Stallworth added 4 grabs for 96 yards. Both outshined Santana Moss... although he gave the Skins a brief lead with a 49 yard catch from Brandon Banks. Hopefully Hankerson heals for 2012.

Third and Lukewarm-- one reason why the Skins were able to stay in this game was owning third down-- converting 50% (feels like they should give the offense ice cream and cake for this one) while holding the Patriots to 5 of 11.

Defensive doughnut-- strong at both ends but a hole in the middle. Meaning: on the Pats first three possessions the Skins forced two punts and on the last three New England drives the Redskins defense forced a punt and an interception.... but in between the Patriots had four possessions resulting in 20 points. Four drives where they gained 70 or more yards. Proving that while this defense is much better than last year... they still have a ways to go.

Flags flying-- 8 penalties for 73 yards is no way to stay toe to toe with a division leader... especially when you're the second least whistled team in the league (6th by yards). That stat bears noting-- because although this team is 4-9 and out of the playoffs... at least they're not making blatantly bad decisions (Deangelo Hall excluded).

D Hall gets an F-- Mr. Hall has ridden a rollercoaster this fall... from "cut me" to defensive player of the week honors to last Sunday. Standing around while Gronkowski broke two tackles. Throwing a flag in disgust. Whatever he adds to the team's success, he takes away. And the Skins would be well advised not to have him around next fall.

Networking well-- despite being 4-8 the Skins had CBS's #2 broadcasting team of Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf... a far cry from Ron Pitts and the Jim Mora not known for "playoffs!". Next week with FOX having regional coverage the schedule looks to have the Skins game with the Giants as the #1 or #2 game. So Buck-Aikman or Albert-Moose-Goose. Sadly, th Giants being on at 1 means the Jets are on at 4... so Jets-Philly won't get the audience it would against a weak slate of CBS games (Indy-Tennessee, Cincy-St Louis)-- instead playing second fiddle to New England-Denver.

Dissecting the division-- the Giants' victory over Dallas means they currently hold down first place in the NFC East... the two teams tangle again January 2nd in the New Meadowlands. NYG gets the #4 seed while the Cowboys are 8th in the conference. Still alive at #11 is Philadelphia... if the Eagles win out they'd take the divisional tiebreakers at 5-1. So if the Giants and Dallas go 1-2 in their remaining games (not a stretch, given these two team's late-season track record), the NFC East is still there-- scarily. The Skins are a lucky 13th in the conference... but now eliminated from getting the #1 draft pick in 2012.

Drafting deal-- Indianapolis is 0-13 for the first time since 1986 when Ron Meyer stepped in for Rod Dowhower and guided the Colts to three straight wins and out of the Vinny Testaverde sweepstakes. This year Indy has a 2 game lead with 3 weeks remaining... and no team has made me more confidence they can lose than this bunch. In previous years the Colts mailed in Decembers when they were actually good! St. Louis and Minnesota also appear to be in good shape to finish 2nd and 3rd in the sweepstakes. Then it gets tricky: the Redskins are tied with five other teams for 4th... so based on the next three weeks and strength of schedules the Skins could pick anywhere from 3rd (I have faith in the Rams overachieving when it doesn't mean anything) to 12th (I believe in the Bills' and Chiefs' as sinking stones).

Divisions of Destiny... and Conference Contest-- the AFC North has a one game lead at 31-21 over it's NFC counterpart. Blame Marion Barber for stepping out of bounds against Denver. That win also gives the AFC a 27-25 lead with 12 games remaining on the interconference slate. Woe is the AFC South: despite 3 wins the albatross that is the Indianapolis Colts sinks that quartet to the cellar at 21-31. Give the NFC Least time, though...

Redskins Rehash-- Jet Crash...

I hope everyone had their seatbelts on Sunday in the fourth quarter... as another season of rough sailing runs aground. Although there's still a minor chance this team makes the playoffs... and I stress minor. One has to suspend belief-- and lets just say suspensions are the last thing this fan base needs now.

Starting strong before fading fast-- at least the first two drives went well. 133 of the team's eventual 304 yards came on their first two possessions... and over half of their points came from their first two drives. The second half saw fourth straight possessions of three and out or a fumble... setting the stage for the eventual come from ahead defeat.

Turnoverasaurus Rex-- a fumble and an interception were the exclamation points on a 19-for-46 afternoon where he averaged under 12 yards per completion. We've seen the ceiling and although it's higher than Beck's it's rather low. We've seen the floor and that's rather low as well... making one wonder if Grossman is the wily veteran the Burgundy and Gold wants to mentor next April's first round pick.

Roy on a rampage-- Mr. Helu reached the century mark for the second straight week on the ground... his 100 yards on 23 carries came in fits and spurts, with only 37 of those yards coming after halftime. On a day where the air attack was severely handcuffed. Hmm...

Feeling Fredtastic takes a new meaning-- Mr. Davis continues his sky-high season... catching 6 passes for 99 yards and lighting up another secondary in the process. With 59 catches for 796 yards already... #83 looks to be baking up a 1000 yard receiving season- unless he notches four straight 4-20 performances. Yeah, it's been a nice run... from oversleeping as a rookie to being the best of the famed Triumvirate (with apologies to Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly). Finally a breakout year turns into a bake-out year. And now Davis is done for the season as well as franchise cornerstone Trent Williams thanks to a drug suspension. Did we see this coming? Not since the Saved by the Bell episode where actor Johnny Dakota was exposed as a pot-head while trying to shoot an anti-drug PSA at Bayside has there been something like this.
Or maybe I just wanted to get a Bell reference in there.

ILBs get an A+-- London Fletcher notched 17 tackles while Perry Riley added 8 stops. That's what you want to see from your linebackers... getting to the ball and making plays. Sadly, no sacks for either Ryan Kerrigan or Brian Orakpo.

Dissecting the Division-- despite the Cowboys overtime loss to Arizona, Dallas remains in front at 7-5... followed by the sinking stone that is the New York Giants- who almost upset unbeaten Green Bay. Philadelphia's win over Washington means the 4-8 Eagles don't occupy the NFC East Cellar and are 11th in the conference... while the Skins are a lucky 13th.

How can they get this done again? So-- if the Giants go 1-0-1 against Dallas in their two meetings and both teams lose the rest of their games they both finish 7-8-1. If Philadelphia loses to Miami then the Eagles will be 7-8 when they play the Skins January 1st. And if the Burgundy and Gold beat New England, the Giants and Minnesota they'd be 7-8. With a winner take all battle for the NFC East.

Best Division and Conference-- entering week 14... the AFC North has the best composite record (29-19)... one game better than the NFC North (28-20) Major props to the NFC West... 10-6 over the last four weeks after starting 12-20. The weakest link? Sadly Indianapolis' 0-12 helps sink the AFC South at 19-29. On the interconference front-- the AFC holds a 24-22 edge.

College Football Corner-- Deja Vu all over again...

An underwhelming ACC season ended with a thud Saturday night in Charlotte. Virginia Tech-- what happened? Nothing like being rewarded with a BCS Bowl though. Instead of being in the national title conversation-- the Hokies are in a different conversation. One that has them not deserving a trip to New Orleans.

Virginia Tech (11-2) lost to Clemson 38-10... coughing up the customary first quarter touchdown before getting blown out in the second half 28-0. Ouch. Hokie Highlights-- DJ Coles caught 7 passes for 116 yards and the team's lone touchdown... Danny Coale averaged 46 yards a punt. BEAMER BALL! Hokie Humblings-- three turnovers and nine penalties have you fighting uphill. After being lights-out for seven straight games, Logan Thomas turned back into a sophomore. David Wilson was held to 32 yards on 11 carries... making Thomas' task all the more difficult. Next Up-- the Sugar Bowl against Michigan.



Nationally--
So the SEC gets a rematch in the BCS National Championship Game. So we have a month to wait around and catch semi-interesting matchups of middling schools before a bloated New Year's weekend... followed by more trickles of games that don't mean anything followed by a strokefest for SEC football. Fine. Whatever. The most interesting regular season always gives way to the most frustrating postseason.

Will there ever be a true playoff? One can say we're in the cocoon period... where the old bowl system was the caterpillar and the eventual playoff format will be a butterfly. People have been pointing to its eventuality for the last 30 years... and still nothing. I'd be fine with a four or eight team field... while a 16 school tournament might not be feasible-yet.

So I joust windmills and trot out my bracket again this December... giving all 11 conferences automatic bids and padding the field with 5 at large schools (highlighted)... bracketing conference winners closer to home and sending second teams from conferences to other regions.

SOUTH
1-LSU--Arkansas State
8-Kansas St--Clemson

LSU faces a nearby nemesis in the first round while the Tigers punch their ticket to the dance by blowing out Virginia Tech.

WEST
5-Oregon--Louisiana Tech
6-Arkansas--TCU

A nice turn back the clock to the Southwest Conference matchup... with all four teams west of the Mississippi River.

MIDWEST
3-Oklahoma State--Northern Illinois
4-Stanford--Wisconsin

Red on red in the undercard... with the Cowboys rewarded for finally beating Oklahoma.

EAST
2-Alabama--Southern Mississippi
7-Boise State--West Virginia

If Boise State's bummed about being shipped across the country... then win your league. Like Southern Miss did.

Presto's Picks-- break out the brackets... over my head.

I love how college football proponents tell us all the time how their sport doesn't need a playoff because every week is a playoff in and of itself. "Every game means something!" is the mantra... and while it makes for a great T-Shirt logo it doesn't ring true this December. Conference championship weekend has #1 LSU virtually assured of reaching the BCS Title Game-- win or lose-- with #2 Alabama unlikely to be leapfrogged by #3 Oklahoma State or #5 Virginia Tech. So what are we playing for, exactly?

Under one of my many proposed playoff formats ... these conference championship games would determine automatic berths. Instead they set up the 35 bowls. 35! There aren't 50 teams that deserve to play in Division I-A... let alone the 70 needed. It's like watching air come out of the tire of a tense 13-week journey. Whatever. Bring on basketball.


Alma Mater Update-- Syracuse remains in postseason contention despite a four game losing streak--and having gone from paper tiger to paperweight to waste paper over the course of the season. So if they beat Pitt... they get to play again? Don't SU fans deserve not to see any more football than absolutely necessary?

#5 Virginia Tech can avenge its only loss of the season as the Hokies face Clemson in the ACC Championship game. VT had a rude awakening that afternoon in Blacksburg-- and since then Logan Thomas has tossed 14 touchdown passes while running for nine more scores. Clemson has done their part to take whatever excitement was in this rematch by losing two straight games by 20+ points. Two teams moving in opposite directions continue the trend. Hokies cough up the customary first quarter touchdown en route to a rout, 36-13.

Last Week: 2-0 (nobody cleans up Thanksgiving leftovers better than Presto's Picks!)
Season: 64-29.