October 24, 2006

Back in the lab again. First I’ll start by saying that I broadcasted my first game last night, the Monday Night Football game between the NY Giants and the Dallas Cowboys. I did ok, but there is plenty of room for improvement on my part. It’s a fun thing to do and I cannot wait to do it in person at a stadium where I can have access to interview quotes, the entire field, and things of that nature.

As for the game itself, Dallas made a change at QB, which could have huge ramifications on their season. At the beginning of the second half Drew Bledsoe was replaced by Tony Romo. Drew had an awful first half, being sacked four times (once for a safety) and threw a terrible interception as the Cowboys were driving to take the lead at the end of the first half. In fairness to Drew, though, two of the sacks weren’t his fault as the line provided no blocking but the interception really sealed his fate.

Romo came in and showed flashes of why Parcells made the change. However his play also showed his inexperience, throwing two costly interceptions including one that was returned for the game clinching score. I think Parcells made the right move because Drew can’t escape the rush. With a full week of practice with the first teamers, I think Romo will develop rapidly and help improve the offense of the Cowboys.

While the Cowboys have their own set of problems, the Chargers also have pressing issues of their own. They learned that they may lose LB Shawne Merriman for four games for violating the league’s substance abuse policy on steroids. Now Merriman will appeal the situation saying the steroid he is accused of taking was in his system because it was in an over-the-counter supplement. Personally I think his appeal will be denied. In the past couple of years the news has been littered with stories of professional athletes using steroids and quite frankly, blaming them on over-the-counter supplements is getting old. These days you have to be smarter when taking supplements. Just my opinion.

Merriman’s alma mater, Maryland did something good this weekend in college football. They moved one victory closer to becoming bowl eligible by virtue of their 26-20 win over NC State. However their schedule is really tough with four of their five last opponents only having one conference loss and the fifth opponent is Florida State, they should be able to pull out the one victory needed to become bowl eligible.

Other interesting things from the weekend in college football include fast paced finishes by Notre Dame, Texas and Miami in their victories over UCLA, Nebraska and Duke respective. Ohio State and Michigan appear headed on a collision course to a November 18th showdown for all the marbles (the Big Ten Championship, as well a spot in the National Title Game). Man I need to see if I can get tickets to that game because I know its going to be a crazy atmosphere.

All of November will be crazy in college football. In addition to that heavyweight slugfest, the month is littered with high powered games like West Virginia versus Louisville on November 2nd, USC versus Cal on November 18th and then USC again this time versus Notre Dame on November 25th. All of these games will have serious BCS implications. What a month it’s about to be.

While November is primarily for college football, this time is for football and the World Series. In this year’s Fall Classic, the Detroit Tigers are tied one game apiece with the St. Louis Cardinals after another postseason gem from Kenny Rogers. Unlike his first two wins however, this one is causing a bit of a stir. The Cardinals think that there was a foreign substance on the left hand of Rogers. This is important because if there was, the rule is that that player is immediately ejected and also suspended 10 days. However the Cardinals never made a formal request for the umpires to check Rogers’s hand and by the top of the second inning the “substance” was gone.

Now once again, the supposedly squeaky clean game of baseball has a scandal. Look the Cardinal didn’t tell the umpires to check so they can’t cry about it now. On Fox, they (Fox) showed he had the same spot of “substance” in his starts against the Yankees and Athletics, and neither of those teams had him checked either. And another fact to remember is that after the “substance” was removed, Rogers still went out there and pitched seven more great innings of baseball. If I were associated with the Cardinals, I would focus less on this and more on Game 3, because this situation is starting to look like the controversial incident that the White Sox when they won the World Series last year.

Well that’s all for now. Check back tomorrow and see what I think about Game 3 of the World Series. Until next time, peace.