Kobe Bryant... keep quiet and play!

Let me start this off by saying I'm a Laker fan.  I grew up in Southern California and remember the Magic Johnson-Paul Westhead feud.  Talented, high-paid players fighting management or coaches is nothing new.  That being said, Kobe Bryant is the best player in the NBA, period.   But even head coach Phil Jackson questions Kobe's committment.  "Obviously he hasn't thrown his heart and soul into performing on the floor," Jackson told reporters after practice Saturday.  Consider this, Kobe wants to leave behind one of the best coaches of all-time to be surrounded by more talent (you mean like a Shaq?) and win another championship (like the three you won in L.A.?).  It doesn't make sense.  Bryant has four years, worth $88.6 million, left on his contract, but can terminate the deal in two years.  It wouldn't make much business sense for the Lakers to trade away the face of the franchise.

Kobe, you signed a contract, you helped drive off Shaq.  You got just what you wanted.  You wanted to be "the man", now be one and honor the contract, play like a champion and consider your options when you're a free agent again.  End of story.

MNF Fantastic Finishes

After Brett Favre threw an 82-yard TD toss to Greg Jennings on the first play of overtime Monday night (sorry Bronco fans), I started thinking about some of the best Monday Night Football finishes I've seen.  Here's my list:

(I needed to go back and check the dates)
5) Colts beat Bucs 38-35 in overtime on October 6, 2003 (Indy was down 35-14 with 4 minutes to play and still pull off the win)

4) Bears beat Cardinals 24-23 on October 16, 2006 ("The Bears are who we thought they were!"..After the Cardinals were up 20-nothing at half, Brian Urlacher and Devin Hester mount a huge comeback in the desert)

3) Cowboys beat Bills 25-24 on October 8, 2007 (Dallas scored 10 points in the final minute)
2) Jets beat the Dolphins 40-37 on October 23, 2000 (New York was down 30-7 in the 4th yet rallied to win.. and I stayed late at the station to watch the rest of it)

1) Chiefs beat the Broncos 31-28 on October 17, 1994 (I remember this one for two reasons; it was a classic between John Elway and Joe Montana with Montana throwing the winning TD with :08 left and I watched it while I was on my honeymoon.  I knew at that moment I married the right woman!)

Looking back, it's kind of weird these all happened in October.

Now THAT'S Scary!

In honor of Halloween, here are some sports stories that are REALLY scary...

The Detroit Lions might make the playoffs this year. Now THAT'S Scary!

The quarterback who's 2nd to Tom Brady in touchdown passes thrown this year is not Peyton Manning, Eli Manning or Tony Romo... it's Cleveland's Derek Anderson (you could dress up as Derek Anderson for Halloween wearing a jersey with a sign reading "I'm Derek Anderson, quarterback for the Cleveland Browns" and people still wouldn't know who you were).

After 17 years in the league, 38 year old Brett Favre is STILL one of the best quarterbacks in the NFC (the NFC is the conference that's scary... scary bad!)

Alex Rodriguez, who's the best player in baseball but has NEVER won a World Series title, will ask for $30 million a season.. and probably get it! That's scary only for the couple teams who have the money to pay it.

Re-runs of SpongeBob and Hannah Montana still get better ratings than the NHL. Now THAT'S Scary! (you get bonus points if you can name the channel that carries the NHL this year)

My Top 5 "Scary" Movies:
1) Scream (I loved how they played off of "other" scary movies and I went to high school with Matt Lillard)
2) Silence of the Lambs
3) The Shining
4) Saw (the first one.. the others just get bloody for the sake of shock)
5) Jaws (seriously, did YOU want to go in the ocean after seeing that?)
Honorable mention:
Psycho, Poltergeist

Lobo Football Pulls Out Big Win and Becomes Bowl Eligible

Here are my thoughts on Thursday night's big win:

Thursday night's 34-31 Lobo football win over Air Force will go a long way in the bowl selection process.  A representative from the "Armed Forces" Bowl was at University Stadium Thursday night to watch both Air Force and New Mexico.  The Lobos became bowl eligible with the win.  The MWC champ will go to the Las Vegas Bowl.  The Lobos still have a chance at capturing the conference, but they need help from BYU.  The Lobos are off to their best start under head coach Rocky Long (6-2 overall).  A couple missed field goals and turnovers against BYU prevent the Lobos from being unbeaten right now, but I'm getting off track.  This is not the most talented team Rocky Long's had, but it might just be the best TEAM.  Good teams make plays, and that's what the Lobos seem to be doing (see Wyoming, see SDSU, see Air Force).  Now the Lobos get ready for TCU on November 3.

On a side note:  The Office is the best show on t.v. right now (yes, that's my shameless NBC plug.. but I'm a HUGE fan!)

Don't Be Surpirsed if the Lobos are Bowling in Albuquerque.. Again.

I had a good conversation with New Mexico Bowl executive director Jeff Siembieda.  There's a chance the Lobos could be bowling in their backyard for the second straight year. There's still a dozen scenarios of what "could" happen, but here's a likely one.  BYU has yet to lose a conference game.  "If" they win the Mountain West, they are going to Las Vegas.  The Poinsettia Bowl gets the second choice from the conference.  They already extended an invite to Navy.  Air Force is already bowl eligible.  Air Force will not play in San Diego because they already lost to Navy earlier this year.  If New Mexico is bowl eligible, they would not play in San Diego because those two schools played in the Emerald Bowl a couple years ago.  So if Air Force does not win the conference, they would likely end up in Albuquerque or Fort Worth for the "Armed Forces" Bowl.  You tell me which sounds more logical.  Siembieda wants the NM Bowl to stand on it's own merit without a New Mexico team playing in it every year, but the way the MWC is unfolding, it might be another December with New Mexico playing in their own bowl game.  Of course, if UNM wins out and somehow takes the MWC title, all bets are off... and you can pack your bags for Vegas, baby!