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Most NFL analysts do not believe Tebow will be a high pick in the draft, regardless of when he comes out, because he's not considered a prototypical NFL passer. ESPN's Todd McShay, director of college football scouting for Scouts Inc., said recently that he doesn't believe Tebow will be drafted in either the first or second round if he leaves Florida.McShay says that, not ESPN. ESPN hasn't run a story on how Tebow would be a middle round draft pick and are denouncing his throwing mechanics. McShat, an ESPN employee through Scouts Inc., believes so. If you have a problem with that part of the article your beef is with McShay, not ESPN.
It's become commonplace to state this recently, but it bears mentioning here too: the Miami Dolphins control their own destiny. Win their next three games (vs San Francisco, @ Kansas City, @ NY Jets) and the Dolphins - yes, the Dolphins - will win the AFC East. It would be their first playoff appearance since the 2001 season, when they lost a Wild Card matchup against the Baltimore Ravens.
How did this happen? How could a team that was a meager 1-15 just a year ago become competitive and push for not only a playoff berth, but a division title? There are plenty of reasons.
So there it is. That somewhat chronological list helps explain why the Miami Dolphins, 1-15 in 2007, are currently 8-5 and control their own destiny for the playoffs. If the Dolphins could change just one play in two of their losses, they could be 10-3 (Jets week 1, Texans week 6). That just goes to show that this team is almost always in the game and has a chance to win every week, no matter the opponent. They may not be the best team out their but they play hard.
Will the Dolphins make the playoffs this year and complete the greatest turnaround in NFL history? Maybe. No matter what happens these last three weeks, even if they implode and finish 8-8, this season was a huge success. I had predicted Miami to finish between 5-11 and 7-9. They have already proved me wrong. This season has laid the foundation for a team to be competitive every year for the next 5-7 years. Maybe more. They weren't expected to be competitive until 2010. They are already. With another offseason they could prove that they are back and ready to compete for another Super Bowl title.
With the triumvirate of Parcells-Ireland-Sparano, as well as the rest of the coaching and front office staff, the sky's the limit.
Congratulations, A.Q.! Let's keep those postseason awards coming!Shipley was one of six finalists for the award. He beat out Arkansas' Jonathan Luigs, last year's Rimington winner. Other finalists include Alabama's Antoine Caldwell, California's Alex Mack, Oregon's Max Unger and Louisville's Eric Wood.
The Rimington Trophy committee selects its winner based on four All-American teams that will be announced this month -- American Football Coaches Association, Walter Camp Foundation, Football Writers Association of America and Sporting News.
Shipley, a three-year starter and co-captain, will officially be presented with the award Jan. 17 during a ceremony in Lincoln, Neb.
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Shipley has become the anchor of the Lions' best offensive line since 1995.
No. 6 Penn State ranks 11th nationally in scoring offense (40.2 points per game), and 15th in rushing (211.6 yards per game) and total offense (452.2 ypg). And the offensive line leads the Big Ten and ranks No. 9 in the country in fewest sacks allowed this year (12).
Shipley is one of 17 seniors who have led the Lions to a 40-10 record, a 3-0 mark in bowl games and a share of two Big Ten titles. He said last month that he couldn't wait to play in the Rose Bowl New Year's Day. The Lions' opponent will be No. 5 Southern California. Both traditional powers are 11-1.
Several UT staff members, faculty, students, and Texas Ex's discovered a fraction of a percentage point had been taken and was transported across state lines. The percentage point was discovered north of the Red River at the campus of another Big 12 South University.Zing!
"If it's not in the national championship game, yeah, it's a disappointment," Maiava said. "But this is what we do. We win the Pac-10 and then own the Rose Bowl. That's our thing around here."
-- Kaluka Maiava, USC senior LB
As written here before, Pasadena is a nice place to visit, but the Trojans don't
want to live there.They don't need it for reputation.
They don't need it for recruiting.
They needed a Fiesta against a high-scoring Big 12 team, some Sugar against a traditional SEC power, anything that could enhance their national presence and propel them into next season's polls. They don't need another Rose bouquet against another Big Ten vase.
At this point, I should apologize to those e-mailers from Penn State, who were outraged when I included the Nittany Lions in a list of slow teams from the Midwest. I was wrong.
They're not really from the Midwest.
Penn State has an official perfume and cologne, which the developer says captures the essence of the school's blue and white colors, based on "campus flowers and trees."
The Associated Press reports Masik Collegiate Fragrances of Harrisburg, PA., developed the scent and says the perfume exudes vanilla, lilac, rose and white patchouli. The cologne smells of blue cypress and cracked pepper vapor.
If the Dolphins win out, they'd sit at 11-5. The Patriots, at best, would also be 11-5. And if the Jets won all their games except for their final one against the Dolphins, they would also be 11-5. Onto the tie-breakers.#1: Head-to-head - Each team would have split with each other. No winner.
#2: Division record - All 3 teams would be at 4-2.
#3: Common games - Other than division games, each team played 8 common games against the teams from the AFC and NFC West. The Dolphins would be 7-1, as would the Patriots. The Jets would only be 5-3. They're out.
#4: Conference record - Dolphins would be 8-4. Pats 7-5. Dolphins are champs.So even after that tough loss at home to the Pats, the Dolphins do indeed control their own destiny. Not bad. A team that won just 1 game a season ago now controls their own destiny with 4 games left.
I see it this way: Someone who doesn't take his team to the playoffs doesn't deserve to win the MVP.Boo-hoo. Sour grapes. Now the tables have turned. Howard, the league leader in HRs and RBIs, takes his team to not only the playoffs but a World Series win and is not selected MVP. He comes in second to a guy (Pujols) not in the playoffs (the Cardinals were 4th in the NL Central). What does Albert say now, two years after complaining about this very situation?
I think the writers made the right choice in 2006. He did deserve it.Nothing like saying "everything's OK now, nothing to see here" after you win. Hypocrisy in all of its glory.
Finally, a viewer from Castle Rock, Colo., speaking for himself, me and many others: "I am sick and tired of ESPN's obsession with Brett Favre!"I am so glad I don't live in New York/New Jersey for fear of hearing more about the over-hyped, overrated, prima donna.
EXACTLY.I kept the celebration restrained so as not to wake up my eight-month-old son. And in considering that I realized something: This championship is for him. And for every Philly son and daughter 25 and under who have spent their entire lives watching other cities have parade after parade, wondering "When will it be our turn?"
I'm 35, which makes me old enough to remember (vaguely) the excitement of the Phillies winning the 1980 World Series. What I remember with greater clarity, however, are the more recent spate of disappointments: the slider to Joe Carter; the Flyers' being swept at the hands of the Red Wing juggernaut; the elevation of hope when the Sixers took Game 1 in L.A. but then dropped the next four; the last five minutes in Jacksonville. A kick to the balls every four years, giving us just enough time to recuperate from the last one.
My sister was born in November 1983, five months after the Sixers swept the Lakers for the O'Brien Trophy. Last night marked the first time since she was born that a Philly team had won anything significant. At least I was alive when the city got two Stanley Cups, a World Series championship and an NBA title. Yes, I was a teenybopper when most of that happened, but still I was there.
As I read through the increasing number of half-drunk, half-ecstatic comments written here and elsewhere over the last 14 hours, I couldn't help but notice how many 23-, 24- and 25-year-olds are represented among them. For those men and women, this championship bears a significance that us older fans can appreciate but not truly understand. This one is their first -- ever -- in a lifetime.
For my son's sake, I hope he'll have plenty more to celebrate by the time he's old enough to really enjoy them. In the meantime: Sleep tight, little man. You're among winners.
-- Chamomiles Davis, on The 700 Level
In Philadelphia, folks are used to seeing the sky fall on their greatest sports parades.
Just usually, it's not quite this literally.
In Philadelphia, a place I confess I've lived most of my life, they know stuff happens in sports. They just wonder why it's mostly bad stuff. Especially when things seem way too good -- by which we mean way too non-Philadelphian -- to be true.
So Game 5 of the 2008 World Series fits right in. It's so utterly Philadelphian, they should place a DVD of it in William Penn's hand, way up there on top of City Hall.
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So this is now more than a mere sporting event, friends. It's a life-altering event for an entire community. Do these people get their parade and release their demons? Or does one horrendously ill-timed act of nature drive them deeper into the Cuckoo's Nest?
It will all be played out on a soggy October baseball field. Only in Philadelphia.-- Jayson Stark, ESPN.com
PHILADELPHIA - Game Five of the 2008 World Series will not resume tonight due to inclement weather. Game Five is now tentatively scheduled to resume on Wednesday evening at 8:37 p.m. (ET), weather permitting.http://mlb.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20081028&content_id=3650889&vkey=pr_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig said: "While obviously we want to finish Game Five as soon as possible, the forecast for today does not allow for us to continue the game this evening. We are closely monitoring tomorrow's forecast and will continue to monitor the weather on an hourly basis. We will advise fans as soon as we are able to make any final decisions with respect to tomorrow's schedule."