The Sports Fools 12-08-2008

Our final show of 2008 before a little holiday vacation.

One last rousing debate over the BCS and a college football playoff.

We also break down the USC-Iowa Outback Bowl (complaining about Steve Spurrier's QB treatment along the way) and the with other bowl matchups. We close out with a look at USC basketball.

Click here to download the show in MP3 format. Scroll down to the bouncing arrow for the download link.

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College Football Playoff???

At the Sports Fools we really dislike the BCS, so were proposing the following playoff scenario. We would give a berth to the 11 Division I-A (FBS) conference champions and five at-large bids to non-conference winners. We've selected the at-large teams and seeded the tournament based on current BCS standings. Although we dislike the BCS, it still provides the "best" system for ranking teams. Here's our proposal:



(1) Oklahoma (12-1, 7-1) Big 12 v.

(16) Buffalo (8-5, 5-3) MAC

(8) Penn State (11-1, 7-1) Big 10 v.

(9) Boise State (12-0, 8-0) WAC

(5) Southern Cal (11-1, 8-1) Pac 10 v.

(12) Cincinnati (11-2, 6-1) Big East

(4) Alabama (12-1, 8-0) At-Large (SEC) v.

(13) Virginia Tech (9-4, 5-3) ACC

(6) Utah (12-0, 8-0) Mountain West v.

(11) Texas Christian (10-2, 7-1) At-Large (Mountain West)

(3) Texas (11-1, 7-1) At-Large (Big 12) v.

(14) East Carolina (9-4, 6-2) Conference USA

(7) Texas Tech (11-1, 7-1) At-Large (Big 12) v.

(10) Ohio State (10-2, 7-1) At-Large (Big 10)

(2) Florida (12-1, 7-1) SEC v.

(15) Troy (8-4, 6-1) Sun Belt

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The 12-01-2008 Show Recap/Download

We started off on a less-than-joyous note, recapping Saturday's 31-14 loss at Clemson. We moved on to discuss the latest BCS nonsense, this whole Plaxico "Gun Safety" Burress thing, and capped it all off with a rousing debate between Brad and Chris on the merits of letting (currently lowly) Detroit host a Thanksgiving NFL game every year.

Click here and look for the bouncing arrow to download a copy of yesterday's show in MP3 format.

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Clemson 52 - USC 45

It's final.

Tonia Williams lead Carolina with 8 pts.

Lele Hardy had 17 for Clemson.

USC now 0-2 on the season under first-year coach Dawn Staley, who thanked the crowd after the game and encouraged them to keep coming out in support of the team.

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2:00

Clemson 51 - USC 44

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7:42

Clemson 43 - USC 35

Demetress Adams (2 pts.) has fouled out.

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9:54

Clemson 41 - USC 33

Baskets are hard to come by.

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Halftime

Clemson 31 - USC 25

Late run by the Gamecocks to close the gap.

Lauren Falohun leads USC with 6 pionts.
Lele Hardy 11 for Clemson

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7:13

Clemson 25 - USC 10

5 steals for Clemson. Getting all their shots to fall. USC having a hard time turning ball distribution into scoring opportunities.

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17:19

Timeout Gamecocks. 7-0 Clemson. Turning the ball over, having trouble inbounding the ball. Could be a rough night.

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16 Minutes till Tipoff!!!!

The season is almost here!!!

Dawn Staley in T-minus 16 minutes!!!

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South Carolina 34 - Arkansas 21

The USC defense was formidable holding the Razorbacks to just 54 yards rushing and intercepting QB Casey Dick 3 times.








Fans and players celebrate the big win on senior day.











After the game the players thank God, who is a known Gamecock fan.









Kenny McKinley had a big day, becoming USC's all-time receiving yardage leader.










Steven Garcia talking with the media. Garcia threw for one TD and rushed for another.






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Naughty Girl

New England Patriots cheerleader Caitlin Davis has been kicked off the squad after these pictures surfaced of Davis and a friend doodling all over the passed-out body of what appears to be a severely overindulgent fellow partygoer (that or the deepest sleeper since Rip Van Winkle).

Seemingly the sticking point here was not so much that Miss Davis had chosen an unwitting, slumbering accomplice for this creative foray (and check out that devilish look of self-satisfaction she wears), but was rather the subject matter the young artiste had chosen to explore on her fleshy canvas: penises and swastikas. Oops. (Wait a minute: what about this?)

But it could have been worse (or better, depending on your perspective). Who can forget what has to remain the high-water mark of cheerleader misbehavior, courtesy of our friends up the road in Charlotte?

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The 11-03-2008 Show Recap/Download

On yesterday's show we broke (not really) the news of that Tennessee had announced coach Phil Fulmer will not be back in 2009 – an appropriate topic in the wake of Saturday's 27-6 win over the Volunteers.

We did the requisite hand-wringing over college football rankings and the BCS, and also got into college hoops with a dash of NBA thrown in for good measure.

Download the show and listen whenever you feel like it. Click here and scroll down the page to the download link (with the little bouncing arrow next to it) for an MP3 copy of the 11-03-2008 show.

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The 10-27-2008 Show Recap/Download

On Monday we talked about great sports glories (and humiliations) of the common man, and took some calls on the subject. We touched on the NFL (London and steroids), the World Series and previewed Saturday's USC-Tennessee game.

As always, you can download the show. Click here and scroll down the page to the download link (with the little bouncing arrow next to it) for an MP3 copy of the 10-20-2008 show.

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Ken Mink, Basketball Relic

We're talking about Ken Mink, the 73-year-old college basketball phenom. Check out his story and a great picture here.

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The 10-20-2008 Show Recap/Download

We covered a lot on our 10-20-2008 show -- the USC-LSU heartbreaker, the B.c.S., the Barry Bonds collusion nonsense, the Devil Rays-Phillies World Series matchup, the inexplicable block laid on Stephen Garcia not by an LSU player but by a frickin' referee, and Sporting News' recently released Top 400 Sports Cities list (Columbia is no. 89).

Give a listen for yourself. Click here and scroll down the page to the download link (with the little bouncing arrow next to it) for an MP3 copy of the 10-20-2008 show.

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Who Has the Best Wardrobe in Sports?

Don Cherry or Craig Sager?

It's a debate worth having.

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The 10-13-2008 Show Recap/Download

Big show today. We had barely launched into a recap of South Carolina's 24-17 win over Kentucky when an alert listener called in with a bombshell: Tommy Bowden was out at Clemson. So fresh was this news that ESPN.com hadn't even picked it up yet – so you can officially consider The Sports Fools your source for hot breaking news! (Anyone?)

We touched on the rest of college football then turned to the NFL, including the latest chapter in the Adam "Pacman" Jones Upright Citizen's Guide to Living. In honor of Pacman, Chris adopted the handle "Space Invader" and Brad declared himself "Asteroids." Joe's pick: "Galaga."

We mentioned MLB playoffs and gave brief mention to the start of the NBA and college hoops.

Click here and scroll down to the download link for your very own MP3 copy of the 10-13-2008 show.

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Oct. 6 Show Now Available For Download

If you didn't catch this past Monday's show (or if you just loved it so much you want to listen again and again), it's now available for download! Click here and scroll down to the download link for a copy of the 10-06-2008 show in MP3 format. Toss it on your iPod and get pumped up at the gym.

From here on out (barring technical difficulties or unforeseen sports foolery), you'll be able to download shows from the blog. We'll keep a running archive off to the right.

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The 10-06-2008 Show ...

... featured Brad and Chris in studio with Joe joining the party via the Willie Nelson Sports Fools Hotline.

For a change, we had good things to say about USC in the wake of Saturday's win over Ole Miss.

We had not-so-good things to say about the Cubs. We had so-so things to say about the NHL.

But most importantly, we might have finally figured out how to record the show digitally and reliably. Check back here soon and we might have a digital copy to share...

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USC 31 - Ole Miss 24

A great game for us, and a huge win. It was very heartening to see the 95 yard drive near the end of the game to keep us in the lead.

Smelley looked about as good as possible, except for one weirdly out of place interception.

We'll be talking about the game extensively on Monday, so we'll skip the discussion. Here are some photos from Oxford instead.

A near-capacity Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

The USC fans and band did their part all game long.

Cocky was on the case

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The Joe Kasko Suicide Watch Begins

Cubs lose Game 1 of the Division Series against L.A. (yes, they with the worst record of any 2008 postseason team), 7-2.

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The 09-29-2008 Show ...

... featured chatter about Saturday's win over UAB (start of the Garcia era), the (almost) end of the Major League Baseball season, the upcoming MLB postseason, our picks for MVP and Cy Young awards, NCAA football and the NFL.

Oh, and Natalie Gulbis got a brief mention, too.

Tell us how awesome we are below.

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And another thing...

Just for fun...

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Enter the Swear Jar

And you thought Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson had issues with cussing.

A private catholic school in Florida has fired their coach for swearing. At practice. I mean, we're talking about practice here. Not a game. Not a game. Not a game. We're talking about practice.

Also, the chancellor of the University founded it with the private fortune made from founding Domino's Pizza.

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The 09-22-2008 Show ...

... featured a rundown of the top 25 sports movies of all time (according to Moviefone, anyway) – most of which Brad has not seen. Joe mercilessly busted his chops over this. We talked about some notable omissions: "Rounders," "Happy Gilmore." Brad and Chris ragged on Kevin Costner. Joe trashed "Hoop Dreams" and said his Indiana films ("Rudy," "Hoosiers") weren't ranked high enough.

We talked USC-Wofford (the QB controversy is back!), the NFL and MLB (ciao, Yankee Stadium).

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Pros Jab Lefty

We were talking about golf yesterday when Chris informed us of a colorful nickname that follows Phil Mickelson around the PGA tour: FIGJAM. Because this is a family-friendly blog (with some exceptions), we'll direct you to GQ's list of the 10 Most Hated Athletes to solve the acronym. (Phil's no. 8.)

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Quote of the Week

Dan Patrick interviewed UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel for this week's issue of Sports Illustrated.

Patrick: You don't have a good poker face, Coach.

Neuheisel: That's what I tried to tell the NCAA.

(Don't get it?)

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The 09-15-2008 Show...

... was another raging success! (Well, wouldn't you agree??)

We talked USC-UGA, NCAA football, NFL pigskin, MLB and even Ryder Cup golf.

We also had a great conversation with USC men's soccer head coach Mark Berson.

Leave your love below using the comments link.

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USA One Step Closer To World Cup 2010

Furman's Clint Dempsey scored the second goal -- photo from ussoccer.com

Congratulations to our men's national team, their big win last night gives us the inside track to qualify for the final round of qualification for the 2010 World Cup.

Beating Trinidad and Tobago was key because they're probably the toughest team in the group. Our next game is October 11th against a Cuban team we really outplayed earlier, although the 1-0 scoreline doesn't reflect that. A win in that game will all but guarantee us first place in the group and all but guarantee Cuba's elimination -- so it should be a spirited affair at RFK in Washington.

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Turns Out Beating A&M Wasn't A Fluke

Things could be worse for USC football.

At least we're not crushing opponents and driving our spirit shops out of business like they are at Arkansas State.

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Shawne Merriman No Longer Thinks Doctors Are Idiots

It wasn't long ago that Shawne Merriman was making serious headway on his upcoming book, Shawne Merriman's Pocket Guide to Highly Esteemed and Credentialed Medical Professionals Whose Opinions I Think Are Total Crap. Merriman had scoured the earth, hauling his bum knee from doctor's office to doctor's office, hoping and praying to find one, just one doc who'd say, "Lace 'em up, Shawne. The knee's fine."

Four opinions later, and not a favorable one to be found.

Idiot doctors.

Well, after Sunday's two-tackle performance (in a vintage Norv Turner-helmed, last-second 26-24 giveaway at home to Carolina), Merriman decided maybe this whole surgery thing ain't such a bad idea after all. Merriman will undergo surgery on his left knee — which has been bothering him since 2006 — and be out the rest of the season.

Never forget who wears the stethoscope, pal.

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Bulgarian hockey is terrible

Well, we dogged on USC pretty bad during the show Monday, but at least we aren't supporting the Bulgarian women's hockey team.

Yes, that's right, 82-0.

They've lost 153-1 since they began qualifying for the 2010 Olympics. At least under Lou Holtz we knew we'd keep it within 63-17.

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No, Look — I Can Touch My Elbows Behind My Back

Ahem. Apparently Natalie Gulbis, LPGA player, likes to stay limber between shots. We're guessing Natalie didn't feel the slightest tinge of embarrassment when this photo was released. Don't believe us?

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The First Show

The Sports Fools are on the air!

Leave your comments about our 9/8 show below. Did we suck? (Of course not.) Did we kick ass? (Most likely.)

Check back here for somewhat regular musings on items of varying relevance.

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