Saturday was a Gem! So many exciting games that it made me proud to be a sports fan but one game stood out above the others. It was a game and a season on the line that ended in near perfection as both teams absolutely played their hearts out. Saturday night #13 Rutgers traveled to #15 West Virginia to meet a tough and determined Mountaineers team bent on taking back some respect in the Big East. Playing at home meant a great deal to WVU since Rutgers was 0-15 dating back to 1920 at West Virginia. 4 Quarters and 3 Overtimes later the game was decided the only way Rutgers would allow, in the hands of QB Mike Teel and RB Ray Rice. Unfortunately a potential game tying 2 point conversion pass in the 3rd overtime from Teel to Rice was dropped in the end zone, ending Rutgers chance at their first ever Big East title and first trip to a BCS bowl game. WVU 41 – Rutgers 39 says a lot about this game but it doesn’t begin to explain how well played it was or how far the Rutgers program has come since coach Schiano arrived in 2001.

After the game both coaches met at mid field and the usual hand shake ensued but what followed brought chills to a big College Football fan. West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez walked away from Rutgers coach Greg Schiano and immediately went over to the Rutgers players walking off the field. When he reached the dejected Scarlet Knights he forcefully said “you guys have a DAMN GOOD FOOTBALL TEAM!” Ultimate respect paid to an outstanding football team from Piscataway, NJ who is headed to their second bowl game in as many years. It was magical watching 5’9 RB Ray Rice drag 3 defensive players into the end zone from 3 yards out and absolutely carve up the WVU defense, ending with 25 carries for 129 yards and 2 TDs. Ray Rice is loaded with potential and just on ability alone it looks like we may have another Barry Sanders type back ready for the NFL in 1-2 years. The size, the speed, and the moves all dazzle but do me a favor and watch him in the Texas Bowl December 28th……you won’t be disappointed.


Saturday featured other outstanding games including the UCLA upset over USC which rocked college football and will most likely lead to a playoff system in the BCS. Florida beat Arkansas and sealed their spot in the BCS title game and since WVU beat Rutgers, the Big East sends a very suspect Louisville team to a BCS bowl. All Bowl Matchups were set on Saturday after a long and exciting year in college football. This was one of the best years in college football that I can remember but above all, in the birthplace* of intercollegiate football, a program was reborn. With their core group only Freshmen and Sophmores, it looks like Rutgers is here to stay and will compete heavily as a legitimate national contender. Thanks for a great season guys……now go win a bowl game!

*The first ever intercollegiate football game was played in 1869 when Rutgers beat Princeton 6 to 4.


As always this list of HD Sports Programming is shown by day and categorized by sport but…Please check your local listings for channels and availability.
Games and Times are listed in RED.....Games and Times in BLUE are do not miss.


Tuesday 12/5/06
NCAA Basketball
7:00pm EST: Oklahoma State Cowboys vs. Syracuse Orange ESPNHD in 720p
9:30pm EST: Louisville Cardinal vs. Arizona Wildcats ESPNHD in 720p
It’s College B-Ball time but we really have to wait until mid Jan to start getting into high gear. Of course this doesn’t mean December games aren’t worth watching……that is unless you have to hear this guy

NBA
7:30pm EST: Dallas Mavericks vs. N.J. Nets (Regional) YES in 1080i

NHL
9:00pm EST: Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Colorado Avalanche (Regional) Altitude in 1080i




Wednesday 12/6/06
NCAA Basketball
7:00pm EST: Holy Cross Crusaders vs. Duke Blue Devils ESPN2HD in 720p

NBA
9:00pm EST: Philadelphia 76ers vs. Chicago Bulls (Regional) CSN in 1080i
9:00pm EST: Philadelphia 76ers vs. Chicago Bulls ESPNHD in 720p
10:00pm EST: Atlanta Hawks vs. Denver Nuggets (Regional) Altitude in 1080i




Thursday 12/7/06
NHL
7:00pm EST: Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Boston Bruins (Regional) NESN in 1080i
7:00pm EST: Pittsburgh Penguins vs. N.Y. Rangers (Regional) MSG in 1080i
7:30pm EST: St. Louis Blues vs. Detroit Red Wings HDNet in 1080i
10:30pm EST: Colorado Avalanche vs. San Jose Sharks (Regional) FSN BA in 1080i

NBA
7:30pm EST: Phoenix Suns vs. N.J. Nets (Regional) YES in 1080i
8:00pm EST: Detroit Pistons vs. Dallas Mavericks TNT-HD in 1080i

NFL
8:00pm EST: Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers NFL Network in 1080i
Maybe it’s good only a small % of the country will see this contest.

NBA
10:30pm EST: Miami Heat vs. Sacramento Kings TNT-HD in 1080i
Eagerly awaiting the return of Shaq and Gary Payton plus the location of the fountain of youth for our aging stars. No way the Heat compete for a full season and everyone stays healthy all year. Just have a vision of this team somewhere around the 6 seed but looking at the Eastern conference I think a WNBA team may be able to compete.




Friday 12/8/06
NBA
7:00pm EST: Detroit Pistons vs. Orlando Magic (Regional) Sun Sports in 720p
8:00pm EST: Washington Wizards vs. Philadelphia 76ers (Regional) CSN in 1080i
8:00pm EST: Washington Wizards vs. Philadelphia 76ers ESPNHD in 720p
8:30pm EST: Toronto Raptors vs. Chicago Bulls (Regional) CSN in 1080i
10:30pm EST: Miami Heat vs. Denver Nuggets ESPNHD in 720p
10:30pm EST: Miami Heat vs. Denver Nuggets (Regional) Altitude in 1080i




Saturday 12/9/06
NBA
7:00pm EST: Houston Rockets vs. Washington Wizards (Regional) CSN in 1080i
7:30pm EST: Boston Celtics vs. N.J. Nets (Regional) YES in 1080i
8:00pm EST: Denver Nuggets vs. Dallas Mavericks NBA/INHD in 1080i
8:00pm EST: Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Chicago Bulls (Local) WGN in 1080i

NHL
7:00pm EST: N.J. Devils vs. Boston Bruins (Regional) NESN in 1080i
7:00pm EST: Washington Capitals vs. Philadelphia Flyers (Regional) CSN in 1080i
8:00pm EST: Chicago Blackhawks vs. Minnesota Wild HDNet in 1080i
10:30pm EST: Nashville Predators vs. San Jose Sharks (Regional) FSN BA in 1080i




Sunday 12/10/06
NFL
1:00pm EST: Minnesota Vikings vs. Detroit Lions FOX in 720p
1:00pm EST: Atlanta Falcons vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers FOX in 720p
1:00pm EST: Philadelphia Eagles vs. Washington Redskins FOX in 720p
1:00pm EST: New York Giants vs. Carolina Panthers FOX in 720p
4:00pm EST: Seattle Seahawks vs. Arizona Cardinals FOX in 720p
4:00pm EST: Green Bay Packers vs. San Francisco 49ers FOX in 720p

8:15pm EST: New Orleans Saints vs. Dallas Cowboys NBC in 1080i
There are various theories out there for success in pro sports and there are two of mine that came to mind when I saw this game. First one is anyone who manages a Major League Baseball team after Buck Showalter leaves is destined to win a World Series. It’s happened twice with the Yankees and Diamondbacks and his recent departure from the Texas Rangers means they are destined for greatness. The second theory (which is developing as I write this) is that if Drew Bledsoe is replaced mid season by another quarterback, then this team will win the SuperBowl the same season. Happened with the Patriots and Tom Brady and looking at the way Tony Romo is playing, it seems this Cowboys team is really coming together at exactly the right time. Did Bill Parcells know about this and thought to wait until the season started to make the change? Perhaps we will never know………To Be Continued!

NHL
7:00pm EST: Florida Panthers vs. N.Y. Rangers (Regional) MSG in 1080i

NCAA Basketball
8:00pm EST: LSU Tigers vs. Texas Longhorns ESPNHD in 720p



Monday 12/11/06
NBA
7:00pm EST: Portland Trailblazers vs. Philadelphia 76ers (Regional) CSN in 1080i
7:00pm EST: Phoenix Suns vs. Orlando Magic (Regional) Sun Sports in 720p
7:00pm EST: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. New Orleans Hornets NBA/INHD in 1080i
7:30pm EST: Memphis Grizzlies vs. N.J. Nets (Regional) YES in 1080i
8:00pm EST: New Orleans Hornets vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (Regional) FSN Ohio in 720p
8:30pm EST: Indiana Pacers vs. Chicago Bulls (Regional) CSN in 1080i

NHL
7:00pm EST: Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Washington Capitals Versus / INHD in 1080i
9:30pm EST: Carolina Hurricanes vs. Colorado Avalanche (Regional) Altitude in 1080i

NFL
8:30pm EST: Chicago Bears vs. St. Louis Rams ESPNHD in 720p
Rex Grossman………1.3 QB Rating. Until last weekend I wasn’t sure what the lowest QB rating possible was but I would like to thank Rex for informing all of us. OK everyone it’s time to play along and do your own calculations. Take 2 minutes and see if you can get a similar QB rating to our buddy Rex Grossman. It’s challenging but apparently not as challenging as passing to a similar color jersey or not fumbling the ball.

From ESPN.com..............
"Jason Schmidt is not only leaving the Giants, he's heading to their top rival. The Dodgers agreed to a three-year, $47 million deal with the 33-year-old right-hander Wednesday."

I am sick. Just really feeling sick to my stomach now. I was 80% sure he was not going to sign with the Giants and I was dealing with the fact that I was going to be watching him play in another uniform next season but not this. THE DODGERS! Just disgusting Schmidt......say it aint so, say it aint so.

Thanks for crapping all over us Giants fans Schmidt.



Just in case anyone else out there is a Baseball Freak............check out this handy dandy Hot Stove Tracker
Really cool way to track how much your team will suck next season

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

Allen Iverson is on the trading block and it seems there are 3-4 times that have a realistic shot at landing the vocal star. If you asked me as a Warrior fan, would I take Iverson? My response is "As long as the guy gets us to a playoff game I dont really care if he practices or not". There are two players that come to mind which I wouldn't mind trading for Allen but you have to make a trade fit not only financially but skill and position wise too. The Warriors fit great and so do the Lakers. With the Warriors its pretty obvious but with the Lakers its purely because Phil Jackson can make the Kobe/AI thing work and who wouldnt want to see AI and Kobe nightly.

Here we go....this is the NBA trade calculator that was brought out last season around the trade deadline and once again this proves to be an invaluable tool for us amatuer GMs. For my Warriors this would all mean giving up Baron Davis and may I be the first to say......adios muchacho! Baron has been a huge addition to the team but his inconsistant shooting and lack of court vision is hard to overlook at the guard position. All this and Monta Ellis is waiting in the wings so Baron is a bit expendable.

Here is the comparison:
Baron Davis (15 Million - 3 Years Remaining)
20.1 PPG
4.4 REB
8.2 AST

Allen Iverson (17 Million - 3 Years Remaining)
31.2 PPG
2.7 REB
7.3 AST

Warriors gain 10+ points per night and the Sixers get rid of a problem and gain assists and better team chemistry. Pull the trigger Mully!