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11/05/2007: "Is It Monday Already? Must Be Time To Rant"

Seasons ending as others start ... no better time to be a hard-core sports fan!

- Seldom do the big games live up to the hype, but yesterday's Colts-Patriots game certainly did. A grueling defensive battle early ... mid-game corrections ... crucial mistakes ... a valiant comeback. All you could have wanted, and no one walks away a loser ... but one team takes a loss. Two things are apparent from this game ... the Colts are a lot closer to the Patriots as a team than most of the pundits thought, and there's nothing standing between New England and a perfect season. They overcame both a sub-par performance by Tom Brady and a stingy Colts defense to pull out a victory that seemed impossible with only half the final quarter remaining. But that's what championship teams do, and there's no doubt this is the championship team. It's just a matter of time.

- Those who opted to pass on the Vikings-Chargers game - understandable considering the matchup - missed out on not 1 but 2 NFL record-setting performances. Adrian Peterson, obviously fully recovered from the injuries that dogged him at Oklahoma, blasted for a single game record 296 yards to eclipse Jamal Lewis' previous record by a yard. He did it with an amazing ease, too - straight at and past the defense. Not a lot of side to side here; he was all north and south. As amazing as Peterson's performance was, my favorite moment came at the end of the first half. The Vikings tried a 57-yard field goal with seconds remaining, but it was short of the mark. Antonio Cromartie, waiting at the back of the end zone, caught the ball over his shoulder on the fly - with no more than the width of a shoe between himself and the back of the end zone - and returned it for what goes in the book at a 109-yard touchdown, tying the NFL record. Those of us who saw it will always know that it was really 109.9, though ...

- Don't think it's a big deal that Joe Torre is taking over as manager of the Dodgers? The Blue Crew has had a lot of press conferences out at the Ravine, every one of them in the Stadium Club. But the media crush for Torre's introduction was so great that it was moved to centerfield to accommodate all the cameras. Now Torre can't pitch, hit or catch, and admits he doesn't even know his players yet. But the cachet he brings is undeniable, and having Don Mattingly and Larry Bowa along as coaches won't hurt. This doubtless won't be a long reign - I'm guessing no more than 3 seasons - but look for Torre and the Dodgers to groom someone to take over the reigns while re-establishing the prestige that has been too long gone from the Dodgers.

- Wow. I knew that Notre Dame was bad, but losing to Navy - a team that hadn't beaten them since the early '60s? Makes you wonder just how long Charlie Weis will keep his job - notice how no one's calling him an offensive genius any more (especially with the way the Pats are clicking without him)? But then, how bad do you have to feel if you'e UCLA ... the one team the Irish managed to beat ... Ouch!

- The baseball owners are meeting this week, and there is significant talk of instituting some kind of instant replay to "assist" the umpires. This is always a topic of discussion, but it took on greater meaning when the Rockies beat the Padres in their 1-game playoff on what proved to be a bad call by the home plate umpire. Call me old school, but I'd rather have the occasional bad call than have cameras looking over the umpires' shoulder constantly and the disruption of the game flow by replay reviews. Unlike other sports, baseball umpires are full-time employees, so baseball should instead look at training and grading to insure they have the best possible calls. Baseball has always been different than other sports - no clock, for example. This is one more case where they should follow their own path rather than the herd.