Things I Think I Don't Think

-I think I don't think that the Pro Bowl is a good idea. It doesn't matter if it is the week before the Super Bowl, the week after or in mid-July. If half the roster from each team doesn't want to play the game, then the NFL should recognize there is a flaw in the system.

-I think I don't think it would be a bad idea to have those same Pro Bowl players stage a skills competition just hours before the Super Bowl. Don't put it on a Saturday night when people want to go out or spend time doing something else than watch TV, put it on Sunday at 4 p.m. and you will get the people that weren't already watching the pregame show hooked early.

-I think I don't think the New Jersey Nets will get less than 10 wins this season. Teams tank for draft lottery odds in March and April, so I predict the 4-40 Nets will finish 12-70 and disgrace the league by celebrating their 10th win by having a ring ceremony in ther first game next season.

-I think I don't think at least one African team will not make the semifinal during this year's World Cup in South Africa. In 2002, Japan and South Korea hosted the World Cup and they both made it to the Round of 16, with South Korea making it all the way to the semis. In 2006, the World Cup was held in Germany and guess what? Four European nations (Germany, Italy, France and Portugal) monopolized the semifinal. Following that recent trend, my money is on the Ivory Coast to surprise everyone and be one of the Final Four in its home continent.

-Finally, I think I don't think people react very well when I tell them I haven't seen "Avatar". When I tell them that, people react like I missed the second coming of The Messiah. I get it, it's a 3-D movie and it's awesome, but I haven't seen it.

Nothing to apologize for

Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden apologized to "Portland, the fans, and the organization" for nude pictures of him that recently surfaced over the Internet. 18 months ago, Oden apparently got kinky and sent nude photos of himself to his former girlfriend via his cell phone.

The thing is, I don't think he has anything to apologize for, and if he does feel like apologizing, he doesn't exactly owe that apology to us.
The guy has shattered his knee, twice, in barely three years n the NBA. As a result, he missed the entirety of his rookie year and will miss the rest of this season as well. Oden's knees are as fragile as glass, and his once promising career is at risk of being over before it ever really got started.

That is why I think Oden has more important things to worry about than nude pictures of him, embarrasing as they may be.

He was 19 at the time, we all did stupid stuff when we were 19, especially if you are a guy and you are trying to impress a girl. It doesn't matter that he was the number one draft pick in the 2007 NBA Draft or that he looked 19 going on 45. He was still a kid and just has the bad luck of being a very famous one, so everything he does is magnified.

In my opinion, people should think about their own shortcomings before judging Oden for his one mistake. Oden is a good guy at heart that has the potential to be a great role model for kids and a 20 points, 10 rebounds per game player if his knees allow him to. So just let him be.

Wrong place, wrong time

When I first heard about Paraguay forward Salvador Cabañas being shot in the head and staying at a Mexico City hospital in critical but stable condition, the first thought that went through my head after hoping he didn't die was "Paraguay is screwed, now it can kiss its hopes of going far in the World Cup goodbye."

What the 29-year-old forward's tragedy shows us is that soccer players are celebrities nowadays, whether they like it or not, and as such they are targets that should think twice about the places they go to, especially at night.

Cabañas was just minding his own business at a local bar at 5 A.M. when he was shot. He was at the bar with his wife and some other people. When I heard that, I thought that this all could have been avoided if they had just gathered at their house.
It's not like Cabañas was looking to get drunk or pick up women, he was just having a nice time with his wife. However, that is 20/20 hindsight, easy to say now.

Cabañas was, by far, Paraguay's best player and their ticket to reaching the quarterfinals for the first time in their history. The closest they had come was in 1998, when they lost to host and eventual champion France 1-0 in overtime. In 2002, they reached the Round of 16 once again but were heartbroken after a goal in the 88th minute by Germany sealed their fate in another dramatic loss.

In 2006, the "Guaranis" couldn't make it out of the first round.
2010 was supposed to be different after finishing in second place behind Brazil in qualifying and proving to be the best TEAM in South America, with Cabañas being the team's top scorer with six goals in 15 matches.

Paraguay has an easy group stage in the World Cup with defending champion Italy, New Zealand and Slovakia and should have no problem going to the second round. However, that is as far as they are going to go without Cabañas, since they will likely be facing Cameroon, Denmark or the Netherlands.

There is a saying that bad things come in threes, and that has certainly been the case for this year's World Cup contestants. Last October, U.S forward Charlie Davies was seriously injured in a car crash and put his WC chances in serious jeopardy. In November, Germany's starting goalkeeper Robert Enke committed suicide by throwing himself in front of a train traveling 100 mph. Now the Cabañas incident validates the saying.

Let's hope that this is the last tragedy we hear about before an event that is supposed to be the coming out party for players like him and that Cabañas can recover fully from his psychological and physical injuries soon. He will have another chance to prove how great of a goal-scorer he is in 2014.

They should have killed them when they had the chance

The Colts and Jets are facing off in one of the most unlikely AFC Championship games ever, and the matchup reminds me of a movie where someone (the Indianapolis Colts) has the chance to kill his enemy (the New York Jets) but somehow lets him escape because he didn't think that the Jets could possibly do anything to him that might make him regret letting him off the hook later on.

Now the Jets are hot as hell, and they have the swagger of a team that knows it's playing with house money, because nobody expected them to go this far. Most importantly, they already faced the Colts, and they know exactly how strong they are.

When the good guy comes back to face the villain for the climatic fight, he is stronger, more confident, and has somehow discovered a weak point in his opponent that will ultimately help him win the fight.

In the Jets' case, that might be pressuring quarterback Peyton Manning and forcing him out of the pocket. Easier said than done, but still.
I believe the Colts will pay for spitting in the face of an undefeated season and letting the Jets stay alive. Jets win 23-21 .

As far as the NFC Championship goes, the Saints are at home and there is no way that the Superdome crowd will allow them to lose, because this is as much about them as it is about the players.

Brett Favre and the Vikings want to win the Super Bowl for their own personal reasons, and that is fine. However, the Saints are playing for their community and punctuating the rebirth of an entire city after Hurricane Katrina. Try to root against that. Saints win 27-14.

NBA's Bottom 5

Every Thursday, I will be offering my point of view on who is who in the NBA, for better or for worse, the cream of the crop of contenders and God-awfulness.

To be bad in the NBA is especially perilous nowadays, because no wins equals no attendance, which in turn makes teams hemorrage more money than they normally would, and before you know it you have the Las Vegas Blackjacks replacing the Minnesota Timberwolves.
These five teams have nowhere to go but up, whether it is because of thier own inconsistencies or because they are just plain old bad.

5) Miami Heat (21-20, 6th in the East): The Heat are the NBA's version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and its best example came this week, when they put up a basketball clinic in a 30-point win against the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday, only to follow that up with a 39-point loss against the Bobcats on Wednesday. They aren't in the Bottom 5 because they are bad, they are in it because they are madly inconsistent and exasperating.

4) Detroit Pistons (13-28, 11th in East): Remember when the Pistons used to pride themselves on defense and their bad boy ways? Well, that is all out the window now, as the economy is not the only thing that stinks in Detroit right now. The Pistons are allowing 97 points per game while averaging only 92 on offense, and they are looking for a leader on the floor that can lead the team the way Chauncey Billups once did.

3) Sacramento Kings (15-26, 13th in West): The wheels have come off of this young team, which managed to hold its head at .500 before losing nine of its past 10 games and out of playoff contention. However, the Kings have a rookie stud in Tyreke Evans and a bright future ahead of them if they manage to put the right pieces around him.

2) Minnesota Timberwolves (9-34, Last in West): Ricky Rubio, where are you? While the Timberwolves' fifth draft pick in the first round of last year's draft is still "maturing" in Spain, the Wolves are enduring the growing pains of rebuilding and have lost eight of their past ten games.

1) New Jersey Nets (3-38, Laughingstock of the league) : To win three of 41 games, you really have to try. The Nets are on pace to be the worst team in NBA history, and if they think that that will help them land LeBron James next year, then they have another thing coming.

(Top 5 below)

My NBA Top 5

The NBA is a league where upsets are nearly non-existent and the difference between the elite teams and the rest is huge, and that works just fine for it. While the NFL may thrive on parity, the NBA wants to have a group of teams that dominate and provide major star power.
The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers are the best examples of it historically, but the San Antonio Spurs, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Phoenix Suns have also joined that elite group during the past 10 years or so.
That gap of talent also allows for teams to be historically bad, and teams like the Los Angeles Clippers and New Jersey Nets are somehow allowed to exist.
Without further ado, here are my rankings:

1) L.A Lakers (32-9, 1st in West): If Kobe Bryant somehow wasn't enough of a headache for opposing teams, the Lakers dare to have All-Stars like Ron Artest and Lamar Odom, a young inside presence like Andrew Bynum, and a clutch veteran like Pau Gasol. The defending NBA champions show no sign of wanting to let go of their title and look primed for a repeat. What makes them even scarier is that the role players around Kobe haven't fully meshed together yet.

2) Cleveland Cavaliers (32-11, 1st in East): Bill Simmons had a great column on ESPN.com on Thursday about how LeBron James commands a room and seems to have that "it" factor that makes fans and teammates alike fawn over him. James makes his teammates better, and that is something that other stars like Dwayne Wade and Dwight Howard can't say this season.

3) Dallas Mavericks (28-14, 2nd in West): This is a team in the truest sense of the word. They have a proven star in Dirk Nowitzki, who is averaging 25.5 points and almost 8 rebounds per game, but beyond him no starter averages more than 15 points, and sixth man Jason Terry wreaks havoc coming in off the bench and averaging 16.5 points a contest.

4)Atlanta Hawks (28-14, 4th in the East): I am choosing them over Boston because I think they are primed for a big run in the playoffs and will end up as one of the top three seeds in the conference. They seem to be the eastern version of the Mavericks, with a veteran point guard in Mike Bibby that let's everyone be involved and a scoring threat in Joe Johnson, who is averaging 21 ppg but could go off for 35 any given night. Add monster rebounders Al Horford and Josh Smith to the mix, both of whom average almost 10 rebounds a game, and this team could match up against almost anybody.

5)Charlotte Bobcats (21-19, 5th in the East): That's right, the Bobcats. Didn't see that coming, did ya? The team coached by Larry Brown has won nine of its last 10 games and is 18-13 since Stephen Jackson arrived. Jackson has been Charlotte's catalyst on offense and was unstoppable on Wednesday night's 39-point beatdown against the Miami Heat at home.

A vengeful , hypocritical, relieving World Cup post

Is Tevez on fire or what? In one my previous posts, I asked whether Tevez should be considered for a starting spot in the Argentinean national team. After his two goals against Manchester United today, it certainly keeps getting harder to say no.
He seems determined to prove everybody wrong, starting with Manchester United and its fans.
Tevez used to play for Man. U but left on less than amicable terms when head coach Alex Ferguson didn't think it was worth it to pay $25 million for him and let him go. Tevez has resented the team ever since, and it all climaxed with a vicious penalty kick strike and an even more provocative celebration, as he celebrated right in front of United fans' faces with his hands behind his ears and then made a motion with his hand as if to say "this should shut you up".

Meanwhile, U.S forward Landon Donovan said that he would like to extend his 10-week long loan with Everton,a middle of the road club in the English Premier League. Like many other players, Donovan wants to be at his peak condition for when the World Cup rolls around.
However, the extension of the loan would mean that he would miss the beginning of the MLS season with the Los Angeles Galaxy, and Donovan harshly criticized Galaxy teammate David Beckham for doing the same thing last year when Becks wanted to extend his stay in Italy with AC Milan . A bit hypocritical on his part, isn't it? Or is it that his case is somehow different? Because I don't think it is.

In other bit of news,United States midfielder Clint Dempsey will not need surgery after injuring his PCL on Saturday, so it's unlikely that he will miss the World Cup. The U.S is breathing a sigh of relief now, because there is no way that the Americans would get past the Round of 16 without his veteran presence. Dempsey has played 57 games with the American squad and scored 16 goals, most of them in key situations in important matches.

Playoff review: Jets are in the AFC Championship Game (No, really. They are)

Moments after their Week 15 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, New York Jets' head coach Rex Ryan did not believe that his 7-7 team had a chance to make it to the playoffs, let alone the Super Bowl.

Five weeks later, thanks to the generosity of San Diego Chargers' kicker Nate Kaeding, who went 0-for-3, and a punishing running game, the J-E-T-S are one game away from the Super Bowl after beating the San Diego Chargers 17-14.

Running back Shonn Greene and defensive back Darrelle Revis provide stability to a team that reminds me of the 2007 Chicago Bears that reached the Super Bowl that year.

I went 2-2 picking games again, bringing my overall picks record to 4-4, but I believe I get extra credit for picking the Jets and nailing the score of that game. Keep in mind that they hadn't won back-to-back postseason games since 1982. That's right, 1982, I wasn't even born then.
Here is a short review of the other three games this weekend:

Cowboys 3-Vikings 34: The Cowboys made me look bad. I trusted Tony Romo, and even worse, I forgot about kicker Shaun Suisham, who along with Kaeding should start looking for employment elsewhere for missing two make-able field goals in a dome. Props to Brett Favre and the Vikings for imposing their will on both sides of the ball and going for the Cowboys' jugular at all times.

Saints 45-Cardinals 14: The Saints remembered what made them go 13-0 before losing their last three games of the regular season. Offense, offense, and more offense. If your offense looks unstoppable, then it puts more pressure on the other team to keep up with you, and then turnovers happen. The Cardinals' defense was MIA again, but Kurt Warner couldn't bail them out this time.

Colts 20-Ravens 3: This game was all about presence. The Ravens aren't intimidated by many teams, but the Colts rattle their cage like no other team. If you are looking for an example, look no further than Ed Reed's two interceptions in the third quarter being wasted by Reed fumbling in the first one, and a penalty negating the other. The Ravens were trying to do too much, and the Colts slowly but surely made them pay for it.

How ironic would it be if the Jets, the same team that the Colts' allowed to sneak into the postseason by pulling their starters against them, prevents them from reaching the Super Bowl? My previous post still stands, and Karma could still bite the Colts in the butt, but more about that on Friday's championship picks post.

Round 2 of the NFL Playoffs: It is Karma-stic!

Is that even a word? I Googled it, and apparently it is not. But whatever, my point is that the Divisional round of the NFL playoffs are going to prove if karma really does exist. Will the Colts pay for spitting in the face of a perfect season? Will the Jets continue riding their improbable momentum wave? Will I go 4-0 with my picks and be dubbed an NFL expert?
Anyway, here are my picks...


Saints 45-Arizona 35: New Orleans is favored by a touchdown in this game, so it is very tempting to go with the Cardinals in this game, but I won't. You want to know why? No? Well, I am going to tell you anyway. The Cardinals are emotionally spent after their 51-45 overtime victory over Green Bay, and Kurt Warner would have to play just as brilliantly as he did in that game to keep up with Drew Brees. Besides, the Saints have a chip on their shoulder after losing their last three regular season games and being written off by all the experts.

Ravens 20-Colts 17: The Colts made an undefeated season look like a joke of an accomplishment when they pulled their starters against the New York Jets in Week 15, and the Ravens' defense is made for the postseason. If the Ravens can make Manning squirm with Terrell Suggs pressuring him like he pressured Brady, they can just sit back in coverage and let Ed Reed do his thing while Ray Rice allows them to control time of possession. However, if they fall behind early, I don't know if Joe Flacco has it in him to lead his team back.


Cowboys 30-Vikings 28: This is the game I have the most doubts about. I don't know if Tony Romo will be able to take the next step in his career and get the clutch road victory in the playoffs. I don't know which Brett Favre will show up, the one that can throw a Hail Mary from midfield and score, or the one that throws four picks and costs his team the game. Plus, both coaches have a knack for losing playoff games.
I am going with momentum over rest and picking the Cowbowys to win it with a last second field goal.


Jets 17-Chargers 14: Both teams are hot, with the Chargers having won 14 straight games and the Jets having convincingly beaten the Bengals in Cincy during Round 1. The Chargers are the sexy pick, but what I see is that the Chargers' passing game will be contained by the Jets' outstanding pass coverage, and if I have to decide between both teams' running games, I am leaning toward Rex Ryan's squad. And no, I can't believe I just typed that either, but that is why you gotta love sports, they rarely ever make any sense at all.

Marlins aren't Josh-ing around anymore

The Florida Marlins have agreed to a 4-year, $39 million contract with ace pitcher Josh Johnson, and it was about damn time. Owner Jeffrey Loria had never given one of his pitchers a long-term deal before. He had shown the door to Josh Beckett, Carl Pavano and Brad Penny among others.

Was it just a coincidence that Johnson got signed just a couple of days after Major League Baseball reprimanded the Marlins for not spending enough money? Don't know, don't care. What counts in the end is that, for the first time ever, the Marlins have a foundation to rely on for years to come with shortstop Hanley Ramirez and Johnson signed through at least 2014.

This means that they are no longer an organization that sees its players grow just to trade them away and maybe, just maybe, started thinking more about winning and less about the bottom line. The Marlins' new stadium opens in 2012, and now everyone knows who will be throwing the first pitch on Opening Day that year.

That turns the onus toward Marlins fans. Ever since the 2003 World Series came to an end, the Marlins have drawn less than 20,000 people on an almost daily basis. When the crowd was over 20K it was only because more than half of it was comprised of Mets, Yankees or Cubs fans.

One of the main complaints by Marlins' fans had been that the two fire sales in 1997 and 2006 didn't allow them to trust the team any longer. The heat in July is still going to be annoying, but now there is no excuse for fans to not show up if the team is contending in August and September.

This is just the start for the Marlins. They still need to get one more quality bat to protect Hanley,a reliable third starter, and see what they can get out of second baseman Dan Uggla and righ-fielder Jeremy Hermida in the trade market.

Skip Holtz is a Bull

And I like it. It is not just because of his last name (he is the son of former Notre Dame head coach and now ESPN analyst Lou Holtz), but because I think he is the right person to take the program to the next level. Full disclosure, I'm a USF alum.

Holtz's took over an East Carolina team that if I said it was incompetent, it would almost be a compliment. Before Holtz took over in 2005, the Pirates had lost 22 of their last 25 games, seven of them by 33 points or more. If you were a BCS powerhouse in need of style points, ECU was the opponent you wanted.

However, everything changed once Holtz came in. The 45-year-old coach changed the team's mentality and took them to a bowl game in his second year as coach, a 27-7 loss coincidentally against USF in the Papajohns.com bowl, and to two Conference USA titles. In his five seasons at the helm, Holtz compiled a 38-27 record with the Pirates and gained national recognition for the program and for himself as coach.

A change of mentality and a dose of consistency is exactly what the Bulls need to win the Big East and get to a BCS bowl. It remains to be seen whether that will happen in 2010 or if Holtz will need his own recruiting classes to do so in 2011 or 2012.

Florida's mantle is there for the taking with UF in transition without Tebow and who knows for how long with their coach Urban Meyer. Miami is searching for consistency, and Florida State going through their first year without Bobby Bowden. It will be up to Holtz and his players to seize the opportunity.

(How many wins do you predict for USF this year? Poll at the bottom of the page.)

Kiffin goes Hollywood

As you might have heard by now,Lane Kiffin has ditched the University of Tennessee to become the new head coach at USC. Why hang out with Pat Summitt and Bruce Pearl when you can have Snoop and Will Ferrell on the sidelines?

This decision makes no sense to me, because I don't see what makes Kiffin so appealing to USC. Maybe its his hot wife Layla,or maybe USC knows something I don't, but at the moment this doesn't make sense.

I know that Kiffin was the USC offensive coordinator between 2001 and 2006, but how many times has a successful OC been a crappy head coach? Remember how Charlie Weis was such an offensive genius at New England? What happened to him at Notre Dame?
I based my argument on what he did as a Head Coach, and that ain't much.

When I think of the successor to Pete Carroll, who won seven Pac-10 titles and 1 national championship in SoCal, I think of somebody that is respected, has a winning track record, and is willing to be there for the long-term.

Lane Kiffin certainly hasn't earned respect as a coach, because in his two years with the headset all he has done is antagonize Oakland Raiders' owner Al Davis and run his mouth about how much he wanted to kick Florida's ass on the field, which by the way never happened.

He also doesn't have a winning pedigree,unless a 5-15 record with the Raiders and a 7-6 stint with the Volunteers is supposed to impress anybody.

I also don't think he is going to be there for the long-term. Kiffin said that USC was the only place he would have left Tennessee for, so what happens if the Colts or the Cowboys come calling? Is he going to bolt for them just as quickly? Something about two teams in two years doesn't scream commitment to me.

Then again, I could be wrong and Kiffin could go 11-1 next year, win a national championship, and be at USC for 15 years while his wife guest stars in "The Blind Side 2: The Misadventures of Michael Oher and Ray Lewis".

Should Tevez be a starter for Argentina again?

This post is dedicated to Cesar Lopez from CNN, who was raving about Tevez and how awesome he is earlier today.

As a follow-up to the Messi as a superstar post, Manchester City and Argentina forward Tevez scored three goals on Monday against Blackburn Rovers and he has singlehandedly taken the City to fourth place in the English Premier League with 10 goals in the last seven matches, during which his team has gone 5-1-1.

If Tevez keeps rolling like he is right now until the World Cup, Argentina's head coach Diego Maradona has a pleasant problem in his hands.

Up until now, Tevez had been in Maradona's doghouse ever since Argentina lost 2-0 to Ecuador in World Cup qualifying last summer and the 25-year-old forward missed a potential go-ahead penalty kick in that match.

Argentina's attacking duo at the moment is Messi-Higuain, but Tevez is willing his way back in with goals. Messi seems to be untouchable, and Higuain has been good so far, no reason to take him out.

What would you do in Maradona's place? And where does this leave Palermo? If it wasn't for him and his 94th minute goal against Peru, Argentina wouldn't even be in the World Cup.

Leavitt refuses to break up. USF wants to see other people.

Bad breakups make you do stupid things, and in former University of South Florida coach Jim Leavitt's case, that stupid thing is continuing to pine for a job that clearly doesn't belong to him anymore.

Leavitt hired a team of attorneys called Florin/Roebig and vowed to fight his firing, which Roebig believes is unwarranted because, according to the St. Petersburg Times, "The evidence is not as portrayed". In other words, he thinks USF is full of crap.

Meanwhile, USF stands by the review that resulted in Leavitt's destitution.
Leavitt should not do this, because no good can come out of it. Even if he wins, which is doubtful, the process he would have to go through would harm his reputation.

In my humble opinion, he needs to cool off and move on, because he still is a hot commodity and I have no doubt that other schools would hire him on the spot.

As far as the search for the new head coach goes, USF hasn't made any official announcements yet, but we know Tommy Tubberville is no longer an option since he was hired by Texas Tech.
While athletic director Doug Woolard and talent scout Chuck Neinas continue their search, I think USF needs a big-name coach, but my gut tells me that that won't be the case and that whoever fills Leavitt's spot will be an up-and-coming assistant like Dan McCarney.

Wild Card review

I went 2-2 with my Wild Card picks this weekend, not bad. The home teams prevailed in the NFC, while the road teams dominated in the AFC. Here is a recap of what happened this weekend.
Jets 24-Bengals 14 :
My original prediction was the Bengals winning by that same score, but then Mark Sanchez and Carson Palmer seemed to have switched bodies and the one that ended up being in control was the Jets' rookie QB. Meanwhile, the Bengals haven't won a playoff game since I was five years old and I am beginning to doubt if Carson Palmer has that "it" factor that is necessary for championship quarterbacks.

Cowboys 34-Eagles 14:
I got this one right. I didn't expect such domination by Dallas, but Donovan McNabb pulled a dissapearing act in the playoffs once again. The reaction in Philadelphia went something like this: "Man...McNabb sucks, I always knew that. Who is our quarterback of the future? Kevin Kolb? F*!$!!*". Meanwhile Tony Romo looks like he could date Jessica Simpson and Carrie Underwood at the same time and still throw for 300 yards.

Ravens 33-Patriots 14: Brady choked, Ray Rice is the real deal, and the Ravens' defense is made for the postseason. New England came out flat, but give credit to the Ravens for not being scared to hit Brady in the mouth and proving that running the ball effectively is still the recipe for playoff success.

Cardinals 51-Packers 45: Instant classic. The Packers couldn't stop Warner and Fitzgerald, but the Cards didn't have an answer for Rodgers and Jennings either. You know what I thought when the Packers tied it at 45 with 1:52 left in the fourth quarter? That's it, they lost. If it wasn't for Rackers' missed field goal as time expired for the Cardinals, I would have been right. Rodgers' foot got in the way anyway, and in a game controlled by both offenses, it was the Cardinals' defense that made the biggest play of all with the game-winning interception in overtime.

What this past weekend has proved is that turnovers are a cardinal sin in the playoffs, and that making a big comeback in the playoffs is far less likely than in the regular season.

Is Messi a true superstar?

This Sunday, Barcelona's star forward Lionel Messi scored three goals and had an assist in Barcelona's 5-0 rout of Tenerife (think of it as the Colts beating up on the Lions).

I'm from Argentina, a country that literally empties its streets when the World Cup rolls around, and Messi has frustrated me to the point of questioning whether he is a true superstar or just a byproduct of his Barcelona teammates catering to him.

When he is in Spain, Messi is unstoppable. As of this Sunday, the 22-year-old forward is the Spanish league's top-scorer with 12 goals in 17 matches, and his individual prowess has earned Barcelona SIX championships in the past year alone, and it has driven him to earning the Golden Ball, which is the award given to the best player in the world each year.

However, when he puts on the Argentinean national team's number 10 jersey, Messi becomes a completely different player...Average, unmotivated, dragging his feet through the field and looking lost. Messi scored only 4 goals in Argentina's 18 World Cup qualifying matches and can't seem to find his place on the team.
As a result, Argentina is playing its worst soccer in decades and has several questions heading into this year's World Cup.

Messi seems to be taking it all very personally, as if he feels he is carrying a huge burden on his back and can't prove he is Argentinean enough because he never played for an Argentinean club team.

If I had a chance to talk to Messi, I would tell him that if he really wants to prove to everyone that he loves Argentina he doesn't need to kiss the jersey or say he would love to retire there...All I'm asking for is to see him leave every drop of sweat he has on the field and not see him walk on it with his head down because he can't get the ball. We know you can change a match, but can you change a team's losing ways? 40 million Argentineans are waiting for that to happen and for you to cement your legacy in soccer inmortality.

(You can share your opinion about who YOU think is the best soccer player in the world with the poll at the bottom of the page)

My Wild Card Picks

There are many questions waiting to be answered in the first weekend NFL postseason. The four games on the slate are all very close to call, but I will do my best to not look bad with my first playoff picks (Winner in black)

Bengals 24-Jets 14
Are the Jets for real? I say no,no team that went 0-2 against the Dolphins this season is a playoff contender. Bengals get ahead early and Sanchez throws a couple of picks to get the J-E-T-S O-U-T of the playoffs.

Patriots 16-Ravens 13
How much are the Patriots going to miss Wes Welker? A lot. You just don't replace 10 catches, 100 yards per game. Having said that, they will ultimately prevail in a close, low-scoring game.

Cowboys 30-Eagles 27
Are the Cowboys ready to win their first playoff game since 1996? Well, it's funny that a month ago the Cowboys were the biggest December chokers and now the mainstream media is picking them to go to the Super Bowl. I think they will beat the Eagles, but that is as far as they will go this season.

Cardinals 27-Packers 20
Can the Packers beat the Cardinals for the second time in a row? No. Let's remember that the Cardinals are the defending NFC champions and they are playing at home. The Packers are hot, having won seven of their last eight games, but they will not be able to overcome Larry Fitzgerald and Kurt Warner.

The sad end to a 13-year love affair with Tampa

There he goes, Jim Leavitt, the only coach that the University of South Florida football team, fans and boosters ever knew.

There he went, figuratively drenched in blood as he was fired on Friday for grabbing walk-on fullback Joel Miller by the throat and slapping him during halftime of the game against Louisville on Nov. 21.

The fact that he then proceeded to lie about it, denying he ever did such thing even as he appeared in a press conference after the game with a bloodied face, and interfered with the investigation didn't help him much either.
However, I don't think that Leavitt's firing was solely because of this incident. That was just the straw that broke the camel's back.

Some fans were calling for him to be fired before any information about player abuse surfaced. They were tired of watching their team start 5-0 or 6-0 and then completely collapse in the months of October and November. If Bobby Bowden could be fired because of lack of performance at Florida State, what makes Leavitt so special?

As a USF alum, I am grateful for the way Leavitt took on the challenge of building a football program from scratch and brought it all the way to being ranked second in the nation, but you can't just live in the past, not in today's college football landscape anyway.

Some people think that he is beyond questioning because he stayed in Tampa even though he received tempting offers from his beloved Kansas State, UCLA and Alabama. To that I say so what? Maybe he stayed because he knew he wasn't ready for the big time, not because of some misguided sense of loyalty to USF.

As far as his possible replacements go, former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville seems to be the popular choice. He has shown he can play against the big boys and took Auburn to a 13-0 record in 2004.

I am going to think outside the box and suggest Jon Gruden. He is a currently unemployed big-name coach that has proven he can win at the highest level and has close ties to the Tampa Bay community, which loves him after he took the Bucs to a Super Bowl title in 2002.

Gruden would also bring in a lot of money from boosters, give USF national prominence and entice four and five-star recruits to play for a program on the rise.
Leavitt will get another job somewhere, maybe even as soon as this year, but it's a shame that his head coaching stint with the Bulls didn't have a better ending, hoisting up an Orange Bowl Trophy in Miami instead of an International Bowl trophy in Toronto.

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