REAL PIZAZZ AND NO PIZAZZ by ST

Heard Colin Cowerd on the radio this morning talking about this Yankees/Rangers series and the blatant differences in the teams. Texas is a bundle of energy and charsima pursuing another first in franchise history. I'm an old enough fan of the Yanks to have seen Mantle play in person, but I can't help but enjoy what the Rangers bring to the table. New York is like the stodgy old corporate suits who have made their money and rather than have that spirit or snap, are invested in the low return, guaranteed funds. Texas is still out there searching for value funds hoping for that huge payout, attacking each day with passion. The Yankees are freaking boring to watch. The Rangers are electrifying. That Elvis Andrus kid they have at shortstop is terrific. He's only 22 and landed in Texas at the trade deadline in 2007 as part of the deal that sent Mark Teixeria to the Braves. Their young reliever Derek Holland came in and saved the day with 3 2/3rds innings of scoreless work. I can go on, but this is a no brainer. I know the suits at Fox will have a minor aneurysm but the best World Series would be Giants/Rangers from a baseball point of view. Fresh blood. Great stories.
I read that Steeler's linebacker James Harrison is considering retirement because he was fined 75-grand for a blatant late hit which has caused the NFL to mandate possible suspensions for illegal, violent cracks. Right! Not buying that one bit. The players at all levels simply have to be re-trained to never, ever aim for the opposing players head. There will always be vicious tackles, it's the nature of the beast. That said, we're not turning the game into flag football, just taking information about the long term, devastating effects of concussions and the like and trying to make it safer. It's not a big deal, but some drama queens are trying to paint that picture.

ONGOING EDUCATION by ST

One of the major topics on yesterday's program was the Duck ranking according to those multiple BCS computers. Yes, it's disappointing. But it's critical to understand that is almost a positive. They're second despite the fact the machines hate Tennessee, Washington State, New Mexico, Portland State and even Arizona State. If you were a computer, you'd hate these crappy teams as well. For the record, those patsies Oregon torched sit as follows in the Sagarin Power Rankings which most college football people follow.
1-Tennessee/86
2-Washington State/87
3-Portland State/117
4-New Mexico/195
Do you understand what that does to the overall rating?
Oklahoma's lowest ranked opponent is Utah State at #101, next worst is Iowa State at #55. Next would be Cincinatti at 44. It's no comparison who has played a more difficult schedule to this point. That said, what the Ducks face from this point forward each opponent is in the top 45 starting with UCLA. USC, Arizona and Oregon State are all in the Top 20 so the computers will become more enamored with the Ducks. And of course there is that small matter of actually winning the rest of the games to qualify for the BCS title game!
Oh, one more thing. Sagarin has the Pac 10 ranked as the top conference in America.
Live from Guaranty RV today. Looking forward to hearing from some OSU fans about that decision to go for 2 against the Huskies. Didn't like it in the heat of the moment Saturday night. Still don't.

LOGIC & IDIOCY by ST

I know a lot of Oregon fans are a bit bent over running 2nd in the first BCS standings. Here's some advice. Get over it! They've played a much tougher schedule. Their lone patsie has been Utah State and that was week one. Out of league they've played the 2 time Big East Champion Cincinnati, a 5 win Air Force team and 6 & 1 Florida State. The Ducks have feasted on 3 horrible, and I mean just awful teams in New Mexico, Portland State and Washington State. Tennessee is winless in the SEC with their lone victories over Tennessee-Martin & in overtime against Alabama-Birmingham. Way too many hyphens. The jury is out on Arizona State. No contest. Remember, there are still 6 games left so getting testy at this point is assuming far too much. Plus they landed ahead of Boise State who hasn't lost in about 12 years. And for those who always whine like children about the SEC, why is the U of O ahead of both Auburn & LSU? If the Ducks roll Thursday then get past USC at Troy a week from Saturday, then come see me. Until then, they're in the BCS title game and that's all that matters.
I saw the numbers from last night's(Sun) 2 major sporting events. Game 2 of the NLCS between the Giants and Phillies along with the NFL match-up pitting the Skins & Colts. The baseball grabbed some nice TV ratings, but the NFL doubled it. Regular season versus playoffs. Is it really possible the powers that be in the players union, owners and league office will murder the golden goose and allow some labor strife to cost us to miss an entire season? How stupid would that be? These yo-yo's really can't figure out a way to divy up billions? This would be one of the all time bricks. Right up there with Napoleon invading Waterloo and The Packard.

WHAT TO DO, WHAT TO DO by ST

It's the phrase die hards just dread. "No game today"! Oh the horror. Depending on your circumstance, it could lead to an ugly Saturday. In the wrong relationship, you get called out. She/he says, you spend every stinking Saturday from Labor Day through Thanksgiving obsessed with your team, well today it's about me. It's times like this I love my wife and my job. I've already copped. We'll pick up the materials tonight and spend a couple hours in the morning putting up the tarp over my back porch so the dogs don't get drenched in the rain this winter. But Kathy gets that come 4 o'clock it's go time for the MLB playoffs, Buckeyes/Badgers and the rest. I'm sure there will be a frosty or two involved and some of our fellow insane friends. No question Wisconsin has a shot as they usually get the upper hand at their place, especially at night and the ESPN kickoff time is 6pm in Madison. Plus the betting line is only 4 and you know those guys don't screw around meaning UW has a shot.
Pac 10 fans live in fear of the SEC. Not the conference, but the way pollsters and BCS computers are so enamored with all they accomplish. Early on(12:30 KVAL), we ride the Arkansas bandwagon in hopes they eliminate Auburn from the ranks of the unbeaten. Probably the first time many will get a good look at Tiger QB Cam Newton. At 6'6, 250 he's hard to miss at that position. They beat South Carolina who just wrecked Alabama. In the Gamecock victory, the College Park, Georgia product hit 16 of 21 for 2 TD's and ran to the tune of 176 yards and 3 TD's. Began his career at Florida back in 2007 but they had a guy named Tebow. Spent last season at Binn Junior college, leading the Buccaneers to the National Title. Rivals rated him the top overall JUCO prospect in the country. Kid can play.
NLCS rolls tonight with the much anticipated matchup between the Giants Timmy Lincecum and Philly's Roy Halladay. Oddsmakers have installed the Phils as a 1 1/2 run favorite with a pretty low over/under at 6 total runs. Yanks and Rangers get rolling tomorrow evening with a nice match-up as well, albeit taking a huge backseat to this evening's festivities in the City of Brotherly Love. Either way, enjoy the weekend, gonna be a fun one.

SLACKER by ST

I was reading about the upcoming Nebraska/Texas game. We'll get that game on KEZI at 12:30 on Saturday. The Cornhuskers have a most intriguing member of their football staff. He's working for Associate Athletic Director Keith Zimmer as a consultant in the life skills department as a consultant. For the past 8 years he was the C.E.O of TD Ameritrade, the monster online financial broker. He decided he just missed football too much. He was defensive coordinator for Dartmouth when they won back to back Ivy League titles in the early 90's. He's written more than 10 articles that have been published in national coaching journals. He's been enshrined into two different high school halls of fame. Quite the guy.
We hear an interesting ESPN promo about school colors and all those teams or schools we root against. That truly applies to a team on a bye in the hunt for a championship. So for the record, here's the schedule and what Duck fans needs.
12:30 ABC-Texas over Nebraska @ Lincoln/Huskers by 9 1/2
12:30 CBS-Arkansas over Auburn @ Auburn/Tigers by 3 1/2
1PM Versus-BYU over TCU @ Fort Worth/Hornies by 29 1/2
3pm(no local TV)-San Jose St over Boise St @SJ/Broncos by 39 1/2
3pm(no local TV)-Wyoming over Utah @Laramie/Utes by 20
4pm ESPN-Wisconsin over Ohio State @Madison/Buckeyes by 4
4pm(no local TV)-Iowa State over Oklahoma @Lincoln/Huskers by 9 1/2
4pm ESPN3-McNeese St over LSU(Good luck with this one)@Baton Rouge(no line)
7:15pm ESPN Oregon St over Washington...not related, just hate the Huskies(OSU by 1)
You're welcome!

CHICKEN OR THE EGG by ST

What's more annoying? The coaches who are overly secretive like national security is at stake, or media members who ask for information they'll never get. So Chip Kelly is closing practice this week. Sure, it makes the job of writers and TV people who need quotes and sound a bit more difficult, but there actually is no game this week. If you know the history of concussions, it's only been a few days since Kenyon Barner suffered that frightening hit so I'd bet a big barrel of cash there is no answer. In doing Crunch Time & Sports Talk I get that there is an element of the local fan base who can't get enough Ducks, Ducks, Ducks, but that's why it's called a "BYE"! That said, the coaches should also be aware of it and understand other people have jobs to do simply because there is a demand.
So how many of you had Yanks/Rangers in the American Leauge and Giants/Philly in the National League. Neither result is what you'd call a stunner. New York and the Phils played in the 09 World Series, Texas won 87 games last year, added Cliff Lee and Vlade Guerrero while the West winning Angels got much worse. Anyone who followed baseball knew with some upgraded hitting San Francisco had a shot with those arms. Now that we know the Final Four, get ready because I think Frisco has a shot, especially if they can grab Game 1 in the City of Brotherly Hate with Timmy Lincecum outdueling Doc Halladay. Yanks/Rangers is a complete toss-up. Incredibly, the oddsmakers have New York a pretty prohibitive favorite. $50 on the Bombers brings back $76 while that same half a C-note on Texas returns $117.50. In the Senior Circuit, $50 on the Phillies gains you just $68 while dropping a Grant on the Gmen could earn you $145! Parlay San Fran and the Rangers with that same $50 and bring back $340 bucks!
I have a few pair of tickets to see our local hockey team, the Eugene Generals this Friday at Lane County Ice. It's Breast Cancer Awareness night and the team is doing some great things to raise dough for a critical cause. Drop me an e-mail at
stevetannen@live.com or send a text to 653-3098 to get in the drawing.

BAD SALES STOP by ST

Mine has always been a bad house to stop at for sales people whether they're selling satellite tv or eternal peace. Any time Brett Farve has tried to sell his "aw shucks" country innocence the past couple years has been a no go as well. The guy is full of crap. The guy is self serving. The guy is a child. Hell of a quarterback, no question. This latest episode where he allegedly sent some racy photos via text to a former NY Jets employee, Jenn Sterger should not come as no surprise. For openers, he's not exactly a rocket scientist and you have to be a complete and total moron to engage in this kind of easily traceable behavior. Then you have the Brett cares about Brett and thinks he's entitled to everything he wants. I know it's mean, but I hope this brings him crashing down.
As for the Monday night game. Jets coach Rex Ryan is a macho knucklhead. I had no issues with his language on HBO's "Hard Knocks". Anyone offended by a football coach, on HBO, under those circumstances is an oversensitive, ultra P/C weenie but from a football point of view, you've got to be kidding me! He's calling for all out blitzes on 3rd and 15 or 16 or 19 against a guy like Farve who eats this stuff up for 2 decades. It directly led to a couple of huge TD throws that kept the Vikings in a game they had no businesses having a shot to win. If we've learned anything, in those situations, rush your 4 and wait for Brett to throw into double coverage. The game was put on ice when Farve played the gunslinger role and was intercepted in the final minute and forty-five seconds by Dwight Lowery. New York has a shot to accomplish great things this season, but their coach Rex Ryan has got to be smarter in deciding when to play the macho pinhead.
We'll get into the idiotic time management, plus the final game for Braves manager Bobby Cox, plus the latest on the Pac 12 on today's shows.