by Tom Weppel
MY, MY, MY, HOW THE MIGHTY GATORS HAVE FALLEN! First, the Gators lose at home to the Auburn Tigers, and then they go on the road and lose to the LSU Tigers! It’s a good thing they don’t play the Memphis Tigers or the Clemson Tigers, or even the MISSOURI TIGERS!
Look. It was bound to happen sometime. Florida simply couldn’t continue to win National Championships every year. They were going to suffer a loss or two before long, and now it has happened. It will be up to Urban Meyer and his crew to come back and get a win or two to salve the wound all the Gator fans are feeling now, and then see what wacked-out Bowl game they can land in at the end of the year.
This weekend, the Gators will take some time off while the rest of the schools get after it. LSU will travel to Kentucky, and Miami will host Georgia Tech. Steve Spurrier takes his Gamecocks to Chapel Hill to face the Tar Heels, while Notre Dame tries to snag another ‘W’ hosting #4 Boston College. Meanwhile, the USC Trojans, who were thrown for a total surprise by the Stanford Cardinal, will try to get back on the winning track when they host Arizona.
Last week the Jaguars showed us they have strength in many areas, beating the Chiefs on the road to go to 3-1. And now, for the first time in four weeks, they play here at home, against the Houston Texans.
It seems as if the Jags are coming together quite nicely, thank you. Jackie Del Rio has assembled a nice corps of starters to take care of business on Defense, which is Jack’s forte`. And on Offense, he’s got QB David Garrard playing solid, effective ball, throwing to a wide variety of receivers, and Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew are doing a good job running the ball as well.
Houston comes into town after beating the Dolphins on a last-second 57-yard FG by Kris Brown. Houston carries a 3-2 record and, if Jaguar fans remember, the Texans beat the Jaguars twice last season. So the Jags might have a little vengeance within their beings built-up and ready to unleash upon these guys. It should be an interesting contest, as the AFC South Division has become quite a competitive group.
The Rams, Saints, and Dolphins are all still trying to find their first victory and it’s getting to the point where anxiety is setting in for teammates, coaches, and fans, without question.
Last week all three teams were close to picking up a win, only to fall in the last minute. It’s too bad, because this week, all three are on the road and will have a tough time winning. The Rams go to Baltimore to face the Ravens, the Dolphins head to Cleveland to play the Browns, and the Saints play on Sunday Night in Seattle against the Seahawks.
On the other side of the fence, the Patriots and Colts certainly seem to be on their own level, with both being undefeated. While the Colts will hang out this weekend, due to a Bye week, the Pats will head to Dallas to play a Cowboys team that has played some very good football so far this season. QB Tony Romo has made the Dallas passing game look great, and HC Wade Phillips has turned the Defense into a force. Without question, the New England at Dallas contest will be the marquee game of the week.
We are now seeing the League Championship Series underway in both the American League and National League.
Without question, nobody would’ve suspected that Colorado and Arizona would be playing right now. To have these two clubs playing great baseball and beating their opponents is quite a feat. The Rockies are simply on fire, having won 15 out of 16, which is almost unprecedented. The D-Backs have put things together on their side as well, and all this combined should make the NLCS a very competitive series.
Meanwhile, the Boston Red Sox have had plenty of time to rest and gather themselves, after sweeping the Angels as they did. Boston has strong pitching and their hitting has come through as well. They could be considered the favorite to go all the way. We shall see.
After another wild scene at Talladega last weekend, culminating with a Jeff Gordon victory, of course, the Boys will take the show, also known as the Chase, to Charlotte and the Lowe’s Speedway.
Having Gordon and Jimmie Johnson running 1-2 at this point of the year is no surprise in NASCAR. It’s almost as if that’s the way it should be, with no other alternative. Oh, sure, you can throw in Tony Stewart or Dale Jr. every so often. But these two guys are clean, pure and All-American, which is EXACTLY the way NASCAR wants it.
And so, that’s why having Jaques Villeneuve and Dario Franchitti come into the mix next season will be a large wrench to throw into the NASCAR fold. It should be very, very interesting to see how stock car fans react to having these “foreigners” show up every Sunday to race with the Boys. I’ll be even more curious to see what the reaction will be if they maybe win a race or two. It seems NASCAR is getting more and more competitive, in turn throwing the IRL into a huge tailspin.
Tom Weppel talks trash with Greg Larson, Lonnie Marts, Eugene Chung, Artis Gilmore, and Ron Duguay on SportsAvengers.com 24/7.
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