With Lane Kiffin leaving Tennessee after one year is it any wonder why sports fans have become so jaded. He came in last year with a press conference that seemd a tad too brazen for the SEC but got his squad a winning record at 7-6. Other than finishing a game over .500 is there anything he has done that leads you to believe he will be a great head coach. If USC is as great as they think they are why aren't they going for a more established coach?

Bringing in Chow, Orgeron and his Dad will certainly help but it's not like the Trojans are getting someone with a great track record. And I hope everyone got a good tip on what the NCAA sanctions are going to be before they agreed to go with Kiffin.

Anyway, folks in Knoxville are not too pleased...

http://www.thewizofodds.com/the_wiz_of_odds/2010/01/the-natives-are-restless-in-knoxville.html

Tony La Russa's claim that his "programs" at Oakland and St Louis were "100% legit" is crazy. Canseco and McGuire both admit using so it's time to put La Russa in the same tainted light as some of the athletes that earned him the distinction of being one of baseball's best managers.

The players who have fessed up all owe an apology to Barry Bonds who took all the live bullets from the media during his run to pass Hank Aaron. Bonds should have walked away before he broke the record to help save his reputation but that's just a fantasy of mine.

Since the Feds clearly don't have the evidence to put Bonds away or to indict Roger Clemens they should drop both cases and stop wasting taxpayer money.

McGuire says he only took PEDs to get healthy, that they didn't help him hit home runs. Say what? If they helped you stay healthy then you were available to hit home runs. Case closed. The rest is just conversation.

An incredible comeback by Texas Thursday night fell short. The sack-fumble by Eryk Anders probably would have been spotted by Colt McCoy. The running game might have actually existed with McCoy in the game. But Garrett Gilbert deserves a lot of credit for coming into a difficult situation and pulling his team wtihin three in the fourth quarter of a game that most through would be well out of hand by then.

The upperclassmen should have helped him out more. Yes Shipley was outstanding but you couldn't afford to drop anything last night and he, Williams and Buckner had their moments. Plus, I realize you have a change of cadence with a new QB but false starts were unacceptable.

We're wondering whether McCoy would have at least tried to come back if his father had not gone down to the locker room. We'll never know.

Saban not taking a knee with first and goal inside the ten was classless. It's a football commandment: Thou Shalt take a knee when the clock can be drained in full.


How are your pipes? Is there really a serious threat or a Chupa Cabra (http://www.alienvideo.net/0702/img/06-12/chupacabra.gif) ?

Let's remember one thing about this run for the playoffs. With the postseason heat on at least eight AFC teams with four weeks to go it was the Texans who put together the most impressive run.

Yes, it came up short but it should serve as a reminder that great things can happen in sports when you keep fighting. The Texans clawed their way back into a playoff chase they were hopelessly out of and nearly tackled a playoff berth.

The amount of help they needed with four weeks ago was ridiculous yet they had all but one game come through for them.

In the end, it wasn't enough. And despite their late season heroics, the Texans didn't miss the playoffs because Cincinnati was chilly or because JaMarcus Russell can't hold onto the football.

They missed out because they lost to the Jets on opening day. Because they blew two fourth quarter leads against the Colts. Because they couldn't finish the job at home against the Titans. Because they couldn't get the ball back against Jacksonville.

You get the idea. Going to the playoffs was up to them and they didn't do the job.

That's not to say this wasn't their best season. It was.

We've never seen the defense play better. We were elated by Andre Johnson's history-making campaign. We were impressed with Matt Schaub's outstanding year. It was their best team with the best record but it wasn't enough.

The epitaph on the season should include a couple of key items. The first is that a playoff team can't go 4-4 at home.

The opening day loss to the Jets was a real head scratcher considering what would become the best Texans offense and defense in history would be helpless by scoring zero offensive TDs and getting third-down-converted to death by a rookie quarterback.

The next key item would be the four game losing streak against divisional opponents. Yes, the Colts were responsible for two of the losses but falling to Tennessee on Monday Night Football, blowing a 17-0 lead on Indy and misfiring against a Jacksonville team that was apparently not in the same class spelled doom.

The epitaph should also read that the team never quit and once again found a way to play at its best in December.

Next year, 9-7 might not do it either. There are a lot of good developing teams in the AFC. The Texans need to find a way to get off to a good start. They'll need to get running back help and continue to strengthen the defense. And they'll need to improve against their division foes.

It's been a roller coaster thrill ride and it's over. It was a taste of winning and playoff contention. Let's see what happens as they go after the full meal in 2010.

Mario Williams making the Pro Bowl should not be much of a surprise. He is fourth in the AFC in DE sacks (8) with one game to go. Two of the three players ahead of him made it with Aaron Schobel on the outside looking in. Schobel had three of his sacks last weekend in a 31-3 loss to Atlanta.

It's not all about sacks. Much is based on reputation and Mario has a solid rep in the league. Fan voting is huge component of the equation and Mario is finally getting respect from people who follow the NFL. Was it his best year? Clearly not. But if you think he should not be there try to make a case for another AFC DE who should get there in front of him. The Texans are playing their best defensive football ever and Mario is a big part of it.



Here is a look at Mike Leach's "chamber": http://www.kcbd.com/global/Category.asp?C=151146&clipId=&topVideoCatNo=108431&topVideoCatNoB=108535&topVideoCatNoC=111448&topVideoCatNoD=108536&topVideoCatNoE=111449

Operation Win Out: Final Phase

After dropping four straight, the Texans try to finish the drive to win four in a row and grab the first winning season in team history and a possible playoff berth. Houston has won three straight including two hang-on-for-dear-life games against the Dolphins and the Rams.

To get a winning record will be a feather in the cap of the organization but no matter what happens against the Patriots the Texans may still be kicking themselves about missed opportunities in 2009.

This 2009 squad could forever be known as the 30 minute team. The Texans have played unbalanced games in halves against Oakland, Jacksonville, San Francisco Indianapolis, St Louis and Miami but they won four of those games. The recent victories over Miami and St. Louis fall under the "winning means never having to say you're sorry" category.

The 27-20 win over Miami had Dolphins officials talking about the 62-7 playoff loss to the Jags in 1999 as the last time the Phins looked that bad in a half. But Miami rallied for 20 unanswered points to put the heat on the Texans. Credit the Texans defense for making some huge plays, particularly from Brian Cushing, to make life a bit too difficult on Miami's attack. And the offense got a huge shot in the arm with some big running plays from Arian Foster who finished with 97 yards.

With all the bad breaks the Texans have had in '09 it seemed like Christmas came two days late. Schaub threw a would-be pick off a deflection to Gibril Wilson who dropped the ball. Chris Brown appeared to funble on a swing pass but the play was not reviewable. Ted Ginn had a TD called back on a tripping penalty. It was a day of big plays and big breaks for the visiting team,

Now we wait for the Patriots with a lot on the line. Enjoy!

Here is the horrifying link to Derrick Roland's injury

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds0CrlLyCNw