The Man is calling for a playoff

Tonight's BCS Championship game is a joke - as of this writing, the Gators are up 34-14 and the Buckeyes look like a team that's working it's way through end of Summer two-a-days, not an undefeated team.

Whose shoulders does this fall on? The Man is pointing his middle finger at Big Ten commissioner Jim Delaney. His comments when asked about a playoff being in the best interest of college football at large?

He readily admits a playoff could be good for Division I-A football at large but quickly adds, "I don't work for college football at large."

Shut up, dick. Your teams got utterly DESTROYED in the Rose and National Title games. They've sat too long and will lose recruits as a result of these games. That hurts the quality of play in the Big Ten and their long term reputation to be selected to play in major bowls by the press and coaches. Like it or not, you DO work for college football at large.

Tiki runs wild, and oh yeah - the NFC North is shit

The 2006 Fantasy Football season has been a strange one, with LT being shut out during most leagues' championship games and now this - after a season full of controversy, a retirement announcement, being yanked at the goal line for Ron Dayne Mo Williams Jerome Bettis Brandon Jacobs and a ton of yards with no TDs to show for it, Tiki Barber went off yesterday racking up 234 yards and 3 TDs against the Redskins, [most likely] catapulting the G-Men into the playoffs. And of course The Man had him on the bench.

After checking out the playoff scenario, the NFC East will boast three teams in the post season while the NFC North will have just one - Da Bears. Granted, Da Bears are the top seed, but how pathetic is it that the lowly Packers, who are in a rebuilding decade year, are a strength of schedule tie-breaker away from making the playoffs? Talk about a weak division.

Who does The Man like in the NFL playoffs? Barring any injuries today, The Man likes the Saints to emerge from the NFC and the Chargers in the AFC. It wouldn't surprise The Man to see the Ravens make some noise as well (solid D + ball control + mistake free offense = victories).

Sorry, Bears, but The Man saw Grossman sink to a new low with his single digit QB rating a few weeks ago -- and that kind of inconsistency in the playoffs will kill you.

Tagged: NFL, Tiki Barber, fantasy football

Dumbest thing The Man's heard this year

The Man was listening to an interview with Detroit Red Wing Kris Draper this morning on the local sports radio station when he was asked by the producer/substitute co-host:

"You're familiar with the Terrell Owens spitting incident, where he spit in DeAngelo Hall's face this past weekend?"

Drapes: "Yes"

"Would you say that's the most disrespectful thing a player can do to another on the field?"

Drapes: "Yeah, that's probably the worst thing you can do to disrespect them."

The Man would like to point out that in 1996 Kris Draper went face-first into the boards courtesy of a cheap shot by then-Colorado Avalanche player Claude Lemieux, requiring his jaw to be wired shut and reconstructive surgery on his face.

See for yourself:



But yeah, spitting's much worse.

Tagged: sports, sports radio, kris draper, claude lemieux, detroit red wings, colorado avalanche, terrell owens, deangelo hall

Rumblings of a Millen firing

Terry Foster is reporting in today's Detroit News that the Ford family is negotiating a buyout of Matt Millen's contract as the President and CEO of the Detroit Lions. This comes after a 5 year extension signed in August of 2005. Call it their version of the "Way Forward" plan.

The Man wants to offer up his advice for the interviewing process of the next Lions CEO:

1. Track record. If you hire another no-name, former player, no-experience dum-dum then this city's gonna riot. Look at the Tigers, Pistons and Red Wings - all have arguably the best front office men in their respective sports and are successful.

2. Have a plan for Day 1. Don't hire a great PR guy, a likable guy, a storyteller or a "visionary". Bring someone in who can make a difference on the first day and has a real plan in place to make this team a contender next year. The Ravens, Patriots, Bucs, Seahawks, Rams, et al went from mediocre teams to Superbowl contenders in one year. A five year turnaround isn't required when you can cut and sign players.

3. Talent. The Man hasn't seen such a bad judge of talent since he watched the first seasons of "Rockstar" on CBS. Charles Rogers? Mike Williams? Millen made a promise to draft players in his likeness - tough, hard nosed, bad asses - and went with finesse instead. Not to mention LAZY finesse. The Man watches Denver draft and trade and sign year after year and they always end up with diamonds in the rough - so why can't the Lions do the same?

4. Change the logo. Adding black highlights to the jersey isn't what The Man calls change. The Man's talking wholesale change. Like losing the Ford Blue from the jerseys and making them look intimidating (see: Tampa Bay Creamsicle colors to now). The current jersey stands for losing and mediocrity. Player put it on and murmur a "meh".

5. Dump Rory. Sorry, my friend, but this isn't a children's birthday party - overgrown stuff cartoon Lions don't belong on the football field. The Man suggests having real lions on the sidelines in cages. Now that's fucking intimidating.

6. Women. No, I'm not saying cater to women at the games. The current stadium is nice... almost too nice. This is supposed to be a bad ass, blue collar town - where we love our beer cheap, our stadiums outdoor and our women with big boobs. And since the first two aren't attainable at Ford Field at least give us real cheerleaders. The Man watches Tampa Bay and Dallas games and gets a boner, only fueling his machismo to scream louder at the TV. The Man's seen Automotion at the Palace, can't the Lions at least match that?

There's The Man's advice for rebuilding. Take it or keep losing.

Tagged: Detroit Lions, NFL, football, Matt Millen

Detroiters are fed up with their Leos

The Man witnessed what appears to be the final straw for most Detroit Lions fans on Thanksgiving - their former QB, Joey Harrington, returning to town under ex-MSU coach Nick Saban and torching them for 3 TDs on their home turf.

Now it goes without saying that the Lions are terrible. In fact, this marks Matt Millen's 70th loss in 5 seasons as the GM of the Lions. Last year's Millen Man March and national calls to "Fire Millen" apparently didn't have the Ford family's attention, as he was rewarded with a 5 year contract extension this past off season.

It's the incompetency of the Lions ownership and management that has The Man fed up as well. They had two of the best scouting and front office talents in the NFL pre-Millen in Ron Hughes and Kevin Colbert (no relation to Stephen), who've since moved onto help the Steelers win a Superbowl.

Prior to the Millen era the Fords were content with having no-name coaches, none of which ever went on to coach in any capacity in the NFL post-Lions.

So why does The Man feel as though this is the end for Lions fans?

Check out the message boards. Former Detroiters are coming back to their local papers and complaining:

it appears that the ford's run both of their companies with something in common: they only care about the money they make and they don't care about the sh--ty quality of the product they produce. until the stupid fans who keep going to the games stop going this will not change.

Beware, Fords -- The city and state are shrinking in population. It's only a matter of time before the die-hards get tired of your act and lose interest.

Tagged: Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins, Nick Saban, Joey Harrington, NFL

The Man wants a rematch

As you know, The Man is a connoisseur of football. Today's OSU / Michigan game was epic, however The Man wants to see a rematch. People are arguing that Ohio State wouldn't turn over the ball three times again if they played. But Michigan also would prepare for a 5-wide set. The passing of Bo Schembechler was at the very least another distraction. Plus the road team only lost by 3 points in a very hostile environment.

The Man wants to see a rematch on a neutral field for that exact reason - the field. OSU's field was a joke, and for a supposed top program it seemed very amateurish to re-sod less than a month before the biggest game with your biggest rival. It's a pathetic of a tactic as the bus search that happened in Columbus last time these foes met.

Tagged: college football, Ohio State, Michigan

Win a trip to see College Gameday on ESPN live!

Home Depot is sponsoring a contest to win a trip to ESPN's College Game Day for you and 10 of your friends. You can enter by going to Collegegameday.com. And remember, if you win - The Man gets to go with ya so he can say "Not so fast, my friend!" to Lee Corso, mess up Fowler's hair and rub it in Kirk Herbstreit's face when OSU goes down in flames against Michigan this week!

You can enter EVERY DAY for a chance to win - the Man just did!

Tagged: ESPN, college+game+day, Home Depot, college football