Archive for October, 2008

Terry Porter Project a Success?

Here’s what happened Thursday on Doug and Wolf:

* A Phillies championship means Forrest Gump wins his first World Series. D&W think Charlie Manuel sounds a little like Ms. South Carolina.

* The Suns win game one of the Terry Porter Project. What did you take away from the win?

* Who’s going to pay Manny what he wants? The Dodgers or Yankees?

Grid Iron Griddle:

Who should be the starting running back for the Cardinals? Edge or Hightower.

Guests:

Dick Vitale, College Basketball Hall of Famer: Dick talked about Lute Olson’s retirement, and said Bobby Knight should have taken the Wildcats coaching position.

Al McCoy, The Hall of Fame Voice of the Suns: Al discussed what he liked about the Suns victory over the Spurs.

Paul’s Call: Paul Calvisi takes his sports seriously, without taking himself too seriously. Your daily dose of irreverence, angst, and stupification.

Doug & Wolf Overtime

Sports News’ College Basketball section used Doug & Wolf’s interview with Suns General Manager Steve Kerr to do a write up on the explanation of Lute Olson’s retirement and his actions over the past year. Click here to read the article.

Thursday’s Show:

John Clayton, ESPN NFL Insider at 7:20

 
icon for podpress  Dick Vitale, College Basketball Hall of Famer: [17:14m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (64)

 
icon for podpress  Al McCoy, The Hall of Fame Voice of the Suns: [2:42m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (78)

 
icon for podpress  Paul’s Call: [6:04m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (81)

 
icon for podpress  Overtime [20:02m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (66)

Doug’s NFL Power Poll - Week 9

1. TITANS: : look kids, now they can score too!
2. GIANTS: great win in Pittsburgh but when you win due to long snapper injuries, you don’t move ahead of the top dog
3. PANTHERS: look out! How does 9-2 sound? It’s coming.
4. REDSKINS: so who wants to be number 4? MNF vPIT
5. STEELERS: it’s time for Roethlisburger to win on guts alone
6. PATRIOTS: the greatest coach of all time
7. BILLS: excellent team but I’m worried about their 22nd rushing rank going into winter in Buffalo…who am I kidding, it’s been winter in Buffalo for a month now
8. BUCS: in a conference that will come down to the wire, loss @DAL could have serious tie-breaker ramifications…now they’ve got two bye weeks @KC and then off (I’m not sure which one’s tougher)
9. CARDINALS: very disappointed but not discouraged…anything less than 6-4 @STL, vSF, @SEA brings the beat down
10. COWBOYS: @NYG, bye, @WSH on Sunday Night…either the most talented team in the NFL goes up in flames or we watch them resurrect the season and shoot to the 2 spot on the power poll
11. EAGLES: I’m fascinated by Sunday night v NYG…too bad I have to wait till next week
12. JAGUARS: why am I still on this bandwagon?
13. JETS: whenever the words “comeback win” and Kansas City are in the same sentence, it shows neither of you are very good
14. BRONCOS: I’m starting to come to grips that the 30th ranked defense will be the 4 seed in the AFC…I blame SD and not myself
15. PACKERS: win @TEN and I’ll start believing, until then don’t waste my time
16. FALCONS: so if I tell you at the beginning of the season, “I think ATL will have a better record than INDY, JAX, DEN, and SD,” what do you say?…let’s see how the young kids handle the Black Hole
17. BEARS: any chance they get fired to play vTEN and forget they’re vDET?…start paying attention to CHI, only AZ averages more points and they’re 6th in rush defense with Jack Frost about to roll in off the lake to stop the passing game
18. RAVENS: “if the playoffs started today,” yea, they’re in…BTW, AFC North plays the NFC East this year and BAL still has all four of those games left and the first one’s on the road after @CLE and @HOU–brutal
19. SAINTS: season saving win, but you’re still in last place…I can look at the rest of the schedule and see 12-4 or 7-9 (how’s that for hard-hitting opinion?)
20. BROWNS: win vBAL and vDEN and I’m forced to take you seriously, luckily that won’t happen
21. COLTS: it’s going to be interesting to judge the golden boy while everything collapses around him
22. DOLPHINS: I don’t think they’re winning @DEN but if I’m wrong, they could sweep November…yes, I know I put this next to the Dolphins’ helmet
23. TEXANS: I did it! I became the first person in the history of sports to correctly pick a HOU 3 game winning streak…there’s no more analysis needed
24. CHARGERS: let me get this straight Norv, when a coach has a lot of talent and the team under performs, you fire the coach in charge?
25. VIKINGS: you could make a good case that there are only two wins left
26. RAMS: fire your coach, win two straight…get adjusted to your new head coach, lose 3 straight (I know I wrote this last week but I thought I should let it hang)
27. RAIDERS: it’s not PC but since he won’t sell and he won’t relinquish control, this team will not succeed until Al Davis is dead (Hey Nation, I thought this was the year that you were going to rise up?)
28. SEAHAWKS: you’re know ahead of KC and you’ve moved out of the 30’s, congratulations
29. 49ERS: I love Singletary…too bad he’ll be 0-2 as head man
30. CHIEFS: how did picking Herm as head coach over the man you promised the job to work out for you Carl?
31. LIONS: opponents have 500 more yards passing than DET—they’re losing in every game so they have to pass to come back and the opponent is running out the clock yet they still trail in passing—amazing
32. BENGALS:I’m not one of those idiots that thinks college kids could really beat an NFL team, but I’d take Texas and the points

Chick Picks & Power Poll Audio

There is a tie for second place in the Chick Picks and the Click Chick is excited about it. This week there is some difference of opinions and the standings could be shook up by Monday morning. The games seem to be a little tougher this week.

Doug Wolf
1. Titans 1. Giants
2. Giants 2. Titans
3. Panthers 3. Panthers
4. Bills 4. Redskins
5. Redskins 5. Steelers
 
icon for podpress  Chick Picks [14:49m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (223)

Oh Danyelle! Not Again!

Here’s what happened Wednesday on Doug and Wolf:

* The Suns start their season tonight against the Spurs. What would be considered a successful season for them?

* Lute Olson’s doctor said yesterday that Olson had a stroke last year. What will be his legacy?

* The World Series will continue with the rest of game 5 tonight.

Power Polls:

Doug: 5) Redskins 4) Bills 3) Panthers 2) Giants 1) Titans

Wolf: 5) Steelers 4) Redskins 3) Panthers 2) Titans 1) Giants

Grid Iron Griddle:

Danyelle Sargent asked Mike Singletary if Bill Walsh, who died in 2007, called Singletary to congratulate him on his new job. Also, who is the best team in NFL?

Guests:

Bob Davie, ESPN College Football Analyst: Bob talked about Tyrone Willingham and predicted that Texas would beat Texas Tech this weekend.

Steve Kerr, Phoenix Suns President and GM: Steve talked about Lute Olson and previewed the Suns’ season.

Al McCoy, The Hall of Fame Voice of the Suns: Al previewed tonight’s game with the Spurs.

Doug & Wolf Overtime

Thursday’s Show:

ESPN’s Dick Vitale @ 8:00

 
icon for podpress  Bob Davie [11:13m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (156)

 
icon for podpress  Steve Kerr [11:19m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (160)

 
icon for podpress  Al McCoy [10:22m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (156)

 
icon for podpress  Overtime [14:49m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (223)

College Football Playoff

It’s time to look at the end of the college football season as we move into November.  In case you didn’t notice yet, Saturday’s games are in November so the season is going to be over soon.

If you’ve listened to me for the last two years, you know how bad I hate the fact there’s no college football playoff.  What really gets to me are the excuses.  Every bowl suit is full of it when they try to explain how a playoff isn’t feasible.

There’s only one reason you can give me that I can’t blow out of the water.  If you say, “I like the bowl system because it’s unique to college football and since all those kids are basically paying for almost every other sport at their university, they should get some kind of benefit at the end of the year.”

If that’s your reason, I disagree with you but at least you’re bringing knowledge and opinion that’s not intertwined with flawed logic.  If you think you can come up with a logical reason that makes a CFB playoff impossible, feel free to give it a shot at doug@ktar.com.

Now, if you’re going to have a playoff, the question becomes how would it work.  I know the school presidents would never accept my proposal but I think mine is the best because it gives plenty of opportunity for the powers to stay on top but it can re-create the magic of March Madness.  It takes me about three days to put the playoff together because I use the BCS formula.  The formula isn’t designed to rank 120 teams however, so I have to tweak it.  I have no problem with the BCS formula itself, I just think it’s wrong in the application—using it to cut 120 teams down to two.

The first thing you have to do is rank all 120 teams using the BCS—from Texas to North Texas.  Every team is important because I take the average rank of your conference to determine if your conference gets one of the 8 automatic bids for your conference champion.  Then I take the top 8 teams who aren’t conference champions.  I love this system because if your conference wants to play a joke schedule or you don’t win some big games outside your conference, your whole conference struggles.

A great example of this is Ball St.  Right now Ball State is not in the play-off.  The MAC is the 9th best conference so their champion doesn’t get an invite and Ball State is not one of the top 8 teams who aren’t already in as conference champions (conference champions are undefeated teams in their conference with a higher BCS ranking for the purposes of an October look at the playoff).  More interesting is the dropped punt by Ohio that cost them their upset bid of Ohio State.  If the Bobcats don’t fumble that punt, they beat Ohio State and the MAC would pass the WAC as the 8th best conference.

After I come up with the 16 teams, I rank them according to their BCS rank.  Therefore, even though Oklahoma is not a “conference champion” they’re still ranked 4th.  The higher seed hosts the first two rounds of the playoff.  I say screw the Rose Bowl.  Since they don’t want to play ball, ignore them.  The Sugar, Orange, and Fiesta host the semi’s and finals.  I’ll be a homer and say the semi’s are at the Sugar and Orange and the Fiesta hosts the national championship.
Right now we have a couple regular season re-matches in the 4/13 game and the 5/12 game.  There’s lots of history in the 2/15 game with Bobby Bowden’s dream job against his current one.

Here’s the first round pairings:

(16) West Virginia @ (1) Texas
(15) Florida State @ (2) Alabama
(14) Mizzou @ (3) Penn State
(13) TCU @ (4) Oklahoma
(12) Ohio State @ (5) USC
(11) Boise State @ (6) Georgia
(10) Utah @ (7) Texas Tech
(9) Oklahoma State @ (8) Florida

If the seeds hold—which you know they won’t—check out how incredible week 2 would be for a college football playoff!

(8) Florida @ (1) Texas
(7) Texas Tech @ (2) Alabama
(6) Georgia @ (3) Penn State
(5) USC @ (4) Oklahoma

Now compare the Sugar and Orange Bowl last year to what I’m bringing to the table.  Texas and Oklahoma meet in the Sugar Bowl and Alabama and Penn State go to the Orange Bowl.

This is so much better than what we have now.  Give me two weeks and we’ll see how things have changed.

Blame It On the Rain

Here’s what happened Tuesday on Doug and Wolf:

* Who’s to blame for suspending game 5 of the World Series? Bud Selig or Milli Vanilli.

Milli Vanilli

* The Titans remain undefeated after beating the Colts on Monday Night Football 31-21. Are the Titans the clear number one in the NFL?

* Tyrone Willingham was forced to resign as Washington football coach. Who’s the next Huskies head coach?

* With the Suns starting their season against the Spurs Wednesday night, how much does Shaq have left?

Grid Iron Griddle:

49ers interim coach Mike Singletary is taking Wolf’s advice on how to turn things around in San Francisco.

Guests:

Dennis Erickson, ASU Football Coach: Coach discussed the “embarrassing” loss to Oregon Saturday. He said the team just isn’t making the plays they need to.

Jon Heyman, Sports Illustrated MLB Insider:Jon talked about whether or not suspending game 5 actually helped out the Rays.

Paul’s Call: Paul Calvisi takes his sports seriously, without taking himself too seriously. Your daily dose of irreverence, angst, and stupification.

Doug & Wolf Overtime

Wednesday’s Show:

Bob Davie, ESPN College Football Insider at 7:20

Steve Kerr, Suns GM at 8:00

Al McCoy, The Hall of Fame Voice of the Suns at 8:20

 
icon for podpress  Dennis Erickson, ASU Football Coach [11:39m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (184)

 
icon for podpress  Jon Heyman, Sports Illustrated MLB Insider [8:28m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (183)

 
icon for podpress  Paul’s Call [5:37m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (207)

 
icon for podpress  Overtime [18:46m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (228)

Wolf’s Chalkboard Chat - 10/27

Welcome! You have entered [Sports 620 KTAR] at 9:17 am
[RASVEGAS] 9:17 am: Wolf…what did you think of that run by steve
smith where he clearly stepped out of bounds?
[RASVEGAS] 9:18 am: I know they should have made the tacke…but…
[WOLF] 9:18 am: Good morning, my friends.
[eyeshield21] 9:18 am: morning wolf
[thespiderbat] 9:18 am: morning wolf
[RASVEGAS] 9:18 am: Good morning my brutha
[eyeshield21] 9:19 am: do you think that the Cardinals will ever learn
how to wrap up when tackling?
[WOLF] 9:19 am: What shall we discuss?
[RASVEGAS] 9:19 am: That steve smith OUT OF BOUNDS TD
[laslar2@cox.net] 9:19 am: Can we start with why the officiating differs
from state to state??
[dg06] 9:19 am: Dirk Johnson messing up on two key plays
[thespiderbat] 9:19 am: Heartbreaker yesterday, but i think it will
motivate them and they will rip the Rams up.
[WOLF] 9:20 am: Steve Smith was out of bounds. His cleat mark
proved it.

[RASVEGAS] 9:20 am: Yes indeed!  Robbed again!!!!!!!!!
[RASVEGAS] 9:20 am: They still should have wrapped him up and
made that tackle though
[laslar2@cox.net] 9:20 am: Rolle should have made that tackles’
[WOLF] 9:20 am: Dirk Johnson had a tough day but he’s punting
much better and that’s encouraging.
[thespiderbat] 9:20 am: It happens alot in the NFL, it’s not perfect
[cbobstay] 9:20 am: Just wanted to say I like where the programming is
headed.
[Mike] 9:21 am: Maybe he should pass with his leg!
[RASVEGAS] 9:21 am: Love the chat Wolf
[eyeshield21] 9:21 am: Do punters ever practice throwing the ball?
Because Dirk sure did lob that ball very softly
[RASVEGAS] 9:21 am: Seems like y’all are making improvements on a
weekly basis.  LOVE IT!!!
[thespiderbat] 9:21 am: he’s a punter what do you want?
[WOLF] 9:21 am: The tackling yesterday was as bad as it was
good against the Cowboys. Take away the Marion Barber 70 TD
play and the Cards tackled better than I’ve seen them in years.

[RASVEGAS] 9:21 am: God Bless everybody…I gotta TRY to get some
work done!!!
[RASVEGAS] 9:22 am: Yer right Wolf!  As usual my brutha.  later
[dg06] 9:22 am: I want him to do his job, which is handle a snap and get
it down for the extra point attempt
[WOLF] 9:22 am: Dirk practiced that play all week and he did it
well but it’s a different ballgame on Sunday.

[Mike] 9:23 am: I LOVE the fact that Whiz called that fake kick.  The
strategy was sound.  The execution failed.
[dg06] 9:23 am: I still like the play call
[eyeshield21] 9:23 am: Do you think Edge will see his role decreased
after his speaking to the media before the game and then his poor
performance on Sunday?
[thespiderbat] 9:23 am: Wolf what do you see the record at at the end of
the season?
[laslar2@cox.net] 9:23 am: Wolf-are we going to see Edge less and
less or same as usual. It may be time to move on now that we got
Hightower and we culd use the money on Boldin or Dansby?
[WOLF] 9:23 am: The startegy was sound. I’d rather have a coach
that isn’t afraid to make a call than one that worried about what
others might say.

[Mike] 9:24 am: Right on!
[aodogui] 9:24 am: What is the deal with Rolle he is not looking too
good he needs to wrap up instead of just trying to hit guys with his
shoulder.
[thespiderbat] 9:24 am: Really want to see the Cards keep Q, Dansby,
A-Dub, and Big Gabe
[WOLF] 9:24 am: Speaking out and fumbling in a game is usually
not a good combination.

[eyeshield21] 9:24 am: Aaron Francisco did the same thing on the TD
run
[nferriby] 9:25 am: Wolf, when you watch the replay of the hit Anquan
took do you think both players should have been fined? -To me it looked
like they BOTH were trying to use the helmut as a weapon.
[eyeshield21] 9:25 am: Dude Quan was defenseless, he didnt even see
the hit coming
[Mike] 9:25 am: Was Aaron healthy enough to play effectively?  He’s
usually doesn’t miss too many tackles.
[nferriby] 9:26 am: true that eyeshield!
[WOLF] 9:26 am: I worry about Antrelle Rolle and his tackling
ability. I have been ripped for this on many message boards but
your safety is the last line of defense. They are called safeties for
a reason. He needs to tackle better.

[laslar2@cox.net] 9:26 am: Was it me or did it look like there was some
holding going on with one of the receivers on that last 3rd and long play
that bascially sealed the game?
[WOLF] 9:27 am: Aaron Francisco is one of my favorite p[layers
but he needs to wrap when he tackles!

[eyeshield21] 9:27 am: Rod Hood did a good job on Steve Smith, but it
boggles the mind to think that the Cardinals didnt shade a safety over to
help Hood on both his TD catches.
[laslar2@cox.net] 9:27 am: yup
[laslar2@cox.net] 9:28 am: BUt thats football-it’s bascially a guessing
game
[eyeshield21] 9:28 am: true but with a guy of Smith’s speed and caliber,
you should always have a safety on him
[WOLF] 9:28 am: They put a safety over the top on his 65-yard TD
but didn’t on the fade-route. Rod Hood did do a great job.
[WOLF] 9:29 am: Was anyone else disappointed in how our
defense responded once the team went up 17-3?

[eyeshield21] 9:30 am: Its like they fell asleep
[eyeshield21] 9:30 am: i mean they contained the panthers ebautifully
for the first half
[eyeshield21] 9:30 am: and then suddenly there was no fire
[Mike] 9:30 am: Wolf…..  Couldn’t agree more with your Singletary
take.  I loved his passion, but if he pulls that crap on a daily basis he’s
toast.  Let’s hope he keeps it up until after the Cards play them on
Monday night :o)
[mitch] 9:30 am: I still thought the touchdown should have been
reversed, but then again the tackles should have been made as well.
Does anyone think the game out come would have changed if the call
was reversed?
[laslar2@cox.net] 9:30 am: Seemed like they relaxed. I was telling my
buddies that they had never been in that position before, so they”ll
probably screw it up and they did.
[WOLF] 9:31 am: The Panthers ran six-plays: +14, +13, +31, +3, +4,
+15 (TD).

[centers37] 9:31 am: What your thoughts on why the Cardinals def
came out so flat in the second half?
[nferriby] 9:31 am: Yeah I was thinking maybe they CAN win on the
road and then it reminded me of the Bears Monday Night Game!
[eyeshield21] 9:31 am: foosha!
[WOLF] 9:31 am: Yeah, Sing Sing can’t be a screamer every day.
It won’t work…but he knows this, my friend.

[eyeshield21] 9:32 am: Do you think we will see more of this spread
ofeense or is it more of a take what the defense will give you approach?
The panthers did a great job of containing our run yesterday.
[laslar2@cox.net] 9:32 am: word.
[aodogui] 9:33 am: Where was the blitzing we needed to get after their
QB more. It worked earlier with dansby.
[laslar2@cox.net] 9:33 am: they stopped the run cause edge is about
as fast as my lawn mower!
[dg06] 9:33 am: What are some positives you take from yesterdays
loss, is it safe to say Kurt Warner is locked in!
[cardsfan15] 9:33 am: What are you thoughts on getting away from the
run game so much?
[eyeshield21] 9:33 am: Tim Hightower was stuffed as well, save for his
touchdown run he got nothing on his runs
[laslar2@cox.net] 9:34 am: yeah but edge drives me crazy some
times…
[eyeshield21] 9:34 am: yeah Edge is done in AZ for all intents and
purposes
[WOLF] 9:34 am: The Cards only dressed 1-TE for the game
because Pope and Patrick were hurt. This limited what the Cards
could do in the running game. But make no mistake, we throw
the ball better than we run it. So why run it? To prove a
philosophy?

[laslar2@cox.net] 9:34 am: Wolf’s the man
[centers37] 9:35 am: tru
[nferriby] 9:35 am: Warner is such a great passer, they should just stick
with what they know works.
[WOLF] 9:35 am: I would like to be a balanced team, offensively.
But I would prefer to win. Does this make sense?

[eyeshield21] 9:35 am: its true but its nice to be able to control the
clock in the second half when we needed it
[mitch] 9:35 am: They couldn’t stop the pass.  I questioned why we
even tried to run.
[nferriby] 9:35 am: the wr’s we have are very talented too.
[Mike] 9:35 am: What’s the poop with Pope?  I know injuries are
unavoidable, but, in your opinion, is he soft?  He doesn’t get down the
field after a catch.  He seems to get knocked over by the wind if they
leave the doors open too long!
[WOLF] 9:36 am: I agree, but don’t give up on the running game
just yet. Remember, they couldn’t use one of their favorite run
personnel groups: 2-TE’s.

[laslar2@cox.net] 9:36 am: I heard some crap about the cards high
powered passing offense is eqevilant to the suns with d’antonie…simular
in the fact that it can’t win championships-break it down for me wolf..
[eyeshield21] 9:37 am: the high power offense can win if we could
actually tackle on defense, lol
[centers37] 9:37 am: will the Cardinals make an attempt to bring in
another TE this week ?
[laslar2@cox.net] 9:37 am: Is Chuck Cecil still in shape??
[WOLF] 9:37 am: Did the Ramd win a SB being one-dimensional?
Yes. How about the Ravens? All they could do is run the ball.
Scooring points is what matters.

[aodogui] 9:37 am: Man Warner looked good yesterday and he didn’t
even have much time. He took many hits, what a warrior.
[nico] 9:37 am: the defense looked good the first half but then decided
not to tackle
[mitch] 9:38 am: No don’t give up on the running game.  But against this
defense the run should have been thrown out the window.  We have the
best passing team in the league.
[eyeshield21] 9:38 am: Warner looked very mobile in the Pocket, I was
really impressed with Warner’s footwork
[laslar2@cox.net] 9:38 am: dido
[WOLF] 9:39 am: Kurt Warner is playing at a Pro Bowl level.
Shoot, if the Cards won more games he’d be an MVP candidate
right now!

[laslar2@cox.net] 9:39 am: Does the coach ever do tackleing drills-like
back to the basics tackling drills?
[Mike] 9:39 am: Amen
[eyeshield21] 9:40 am: Well Warner heads back to the Dome, he
always does great there. I dont see anything on the Rams defense to
stop us. Hopefully we can pull out a W.
[WOLF] 9:40 am: It’s hard to do LIVE tackling drills in practice
once the season starts. You can’t afford to have injuries. But the
cards aren’t alone in this.

[laslar2@cox.net] 9:41 am: It makes sense but all that money for a
shoulder or arm tackle is kinda BS….it looked like the special teams
was tackling better yesterday.
[WOLF] 9:42 am: Brothers and Sisters. it is time for me to go.
Thank you for joining me in this chat and I’ll see you next week
at 9:15.
[WOLF] 9:42 am: PEACE

[eyeshield21] 9:42 am: later Wolf
[mitch] 9:42 am: Warner will make the pro bowl, as long as he stays
healthy all season.  The 5 receiver set looked great.  They need to stick
with their strenghts
[centers37] 9:42 am: thanks Wolf
[aodogui] 9:42 am: later Wolf.
[laslar2@cox.net] 9:42 am: later wolf
[nferriby] 9:42 am: ttyl

NFC West: Best Division Ever…for the Cards

Here’s what happened Monday on Doug and Wolf:

* The Cardinals gave up a 14 point lead and lost to the Panthers. What is your opinion on the Cardinals now?

* Wolf recanted on his World Series pick. Why don’t people care about the series?

* Arizona had a bad week. Lute Olson is gone, Russ Pennell is the new coach, and the football team lost to the Trojans during its homecoming.

* Who can save the 49ers? Mike Singletary or Condoleezza Rice?

Guests:

Mel Kiper Jr., ESPN College football analyst: Mel talked about Penn State, the Cardinals, and said that there is no dominant NFL team this year.

Coach Ken Whisenhunt, Cardinals: Coach talked about the loss to the Panthers and Anquan Boldin’s return.

Paul’s Call: Paul Calvisi takes his sports seriously, without taking himself too seriously. Your daily dose of irreverence, angst, and stupification.

Doug & Wolf Overtime

Tuesday’s Show:

Dennis Erickson at 7:20

 
icon for podpress  Mel Kiper [11:57m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (199)

 
icon for podpress  Ken Whisenhunt [13:45m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (184)

 
icon for podpress  Paul's Call [5:38m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (209)

 
icon for podpress  Overtime [15:33m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (218)

My Weekend

Finally, an ASU home game.  ASU beat Stanford on the first weekend of September and the Devils haven’t had a home win since.

Saturday night at 7 they’re finally going for another home win in front of a great home crowd.  It’s no where close to a sell out but they’ve sold a ton of tickets for this game.

With the Hall of Fame festivities for Eric Allen, Coach Snyder, and Pat Tillman, I’m pretty humbled to even be a part of it.  As of now, Allen and Coach are scheduled to join us for the pre-game show that starts at 5:30.

The weekend has started pretty slow for me.  I don’t know if you can tell by my on-air performance this week but I’m sick.  I’ve tried to fight it but I haven’t been as crisp on air and that drives me crazy.  If you’ve been able to tell, thanks for listening through it.  If you haven’t, than ignore everything you just read.  Today (Friday) I slept from 10:30 this morning to 4:00 this afternoon.  Normally my naps are 2 or three hours but since I’m so run down, I hit it pretty hard.

Friday night is game night with the family so we played Clue.  It’s a new version with the lead pipe and wrench taken out.  Wolf thought they did that so they could make murder more pleasant for kids.  I thought he was onto something until I opened the game.  They’ve added new weapons like the baseball bat, ax, poison, and trophy.  It was wonderful to explain to McKenna (she’s 4) how someone uses the different weapons to kill.  She told me, ”You could use the ax to chop someone into little pieces and then they can’t breathe.”  Isn’t that cute?

Saturday is Vienna’s soccer game.  She’s not a liability anymore so it’s more fun to be dad and coach.  The KU/Tex Tech game is on at the same time as her game so I’ll have the VCR going and watch it when I get back.  Same thing with Miami/Wake.  I’ll watch KU/TT because it’s my job.  I’ll watch Wake because I’m friends with their coach.

Saturday night is the PSU/OSU game but I won’t get to watch it until Sunday.  I’ll be on the air doing the ASU pre-game.  I’m going to be recording so many games Saturday.  I want to see LSU/UGa, Bama/UT, and Tex/Okla St on top of the other games I’ll be recording early in the morning.  My Sunday will be packed with the NFL games and all of the college games I’ll be watching.

How can you not be completely enthralled by the Cards/Carolina match-up?  The Panthers are really good but you know AZ would win if the game was in Glendale.  It’s incredilbe to think about what a win for the Cards would mean.  The catch is I think there’s a real problem for the West Coast teams to deal with the travel and the 10a start time.  I think Carolina is just too good to be the first team to lose in the last 14 games between West Coast teams and Eastern time zone teams when the game’s at 1p ET.  That’s not an indictment on the Cards at all.  A loss to Carolina is not a bad loss.  The Panthers are also desperate.  Not in the sense that they’re not good but because the NFC South is so good that every game has more importance in that division.  I think Panthers win.

Did a little better last week in the picks.  It’s time to roll this train.  The problem with last week is the two picks I gave you but didn’t use myself.  I nailed them both but I get no credit so hopefully the game I like that I’m leaving off the board–NYG +3 @ PIT–doesn’t come back to bite me.

Vandy -10 1/2 v Duke

Vandy’s at home and they know their dream season could end without a bowl if they don’t crush Duke.  They won’t fail.

MSU -3 1/2 @ Michigan

MSU is far superior to Michigan.  The fear here is that no matter how far down Michigan is, they won’t let little brother ever feel the glory of a win.  The loss to a MAC team could inspire the Wolverines.  I’m not worried because there’s one major factor at play here…Michigan sucks and MSU is not bad.

Ohio St +2 1/2 v PSU

Are you kidding?  I get points in the shoe?  Hey Penn State’s pretty good but get real.  Was it that big win over Temple that made Vegas a believer?  OSU should be getting hammered for the way they keep losing in big games but don’t put that label on this game.  Just because OSU can’t handle the USC’s of the world, has no bearing on this game.

Bama -6 @ Tennessee

I’m sure if a Tennessee fan reads my Ohio State prediction is thinking the same thing I did above.  “You mean I get a TD at home in a rivalry game?  I get a chance to end Bama’s return to greatness at Neyland Stadium and you take Bama who’s playing without Cody?”  Yea, I know all that, but here’s this:  you have Phil Fulmer and I’ve got Nick Saban.  I win.

NYJ -13 1/2 v KC

You’d think I’d never touch the Jets again after they emarassed themselves and me last week.  Honestly, that has a lot to do with why I’m picking them this week.  They were awful last week and they want to prove they’re not that bad.  They’re still alive for a playoff spot so they need to win, and the Chiefs are beyond awful.  This franchise is an embarassment to the legacy of Lamar Hunt.  There’s no way a third string QB is going to come in and beat Brett Favre.  This is a big number in an NFL game.  A Jets defensive TD and a few more KC turnovers for field position make this number too low.

Lute Leaves U of A

Here’s what happened Friday on Doug and Wolf:

* Lute Olson retires. What does the future hold for the Arizona Men’s Basketball program?

* The Cardinals travel east again to face the Carolina Panthers. Will they fair better this time around?

* Wolf is happy that West Virginia won. (Cue the banjos!)

* The World Series resumes tomorrow with Game 3 in Philadelphia. Will the Phillies finally start hitting in the clutch?
 

Grid Iron Griddle:

John Clayton dropped a bombshell; Tom Brady’s career is in jeopardy! What does this mean to the Patriots’ dynasty, and for the NFL as a whole?

Guests:

Seth Davis, College Basketball Insider for CBS Sports/ Sports Illustrated: Seth gave us his opinion on Lute Olson’s retirement, and the legacy he leaves behind.

John Clayton, ESPN NFL Insider: Because of the staph infection in his knee, John thinks that Tom Brady’s career is in jeopardy.

Orlando Hudson, Diamondbacks 2B: Orlando talked about his future, and whether or not he will be a Dback next year.

Paul’s Call: Paul Calvisi takes his sports seriously, without taking himself too seriously. Your daily dose of irreverence, angst, and stupification.

Doug & Wolf Overtime (More Lute talk with our on-call reporter J5)

Thursday’s Show:

It’s a Mel Kiper Monday!

ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. at 6:20

Ken Whisenhunt, Cardinals Head Coach at 7:40

 
icon for podpress  Seth Davis, CBB Insider for CBS and Sports Illustrated [11:26m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (169)

 
icon for podpress  John Clayton, ESPN NFL Insider [12:14m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (171)

 
icon for podpress  Orlando Hudson, Dbacks Second Baseman [8:23m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (184)

 
icon for podpress  Paul's Call [4:24m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (211)

 
icon for podpress  Overtime [18:12m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (199)