Durzblog

Jon Lester dazzled the crowd at Fenway last night shutting down KC 7-0 for the first no-hitter in the majors since teammate Clay Buchholz threw one last September. Quite a way to throw your first major league complete game for Lester -- the 24 year old cancer survivor. The no-no was the 18th all time for Boston, the second most in baseball history. It is also serves as a prime example of what is good about America's past time, its not all Canseco, Bonds and Clemens...

Tito was emotional after the game, "He's a wonderful kid, not because he threw a no-hitter. He's a good kid because he's a good kid. We're proud of him all the time but to watch him do that tonight was beyond words. I tried to put it into words but it's hard because -- what a story."

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In other news...Detroit finally put the Stars to sleep in Dallas and advance to take on the Penguins for hockey's Holy Grail...the Spurs closed out the Hornets last night (they might be hella boring to watch, but they can really play), strong match-ups in the NBA conference finals lie ahead...the always ailing Pedro Martinez is thinking about retiring after this season to spend time with his family -- I have never really liked the future first ballot HOFer, but he would be missed...Keep an eye on the Donaghy case, he and his lawyers are making some pretty damaging claims...Champions League tomorrow, come on Chelsea!

I have sifted through the field and have laid out who I expect to play well this week, the most exciting golf tournament of the year is upon us. This is the one venue that the players hold in the highest regard, the one prize that is the most coveted.

The Masters field is very select (86 players), and with the past champions gaining invitations (few with any chance), handicapping the event and picking contenders is a bit easier then it would be in a regular tour event. So here we go....Aside from Tiger and Fred I will highlight a guy from each grouping to keep an eye on. The cream always rises here and you can expect there to be some big timers on the board this Sunday

Favorite --
everyone's pick to win this and a bit of buzz about winning all 4 this year. blasphemy I say

• Tiger Woods, yeah you know who he is and is always the favorite heading into Augusta, Doral showed that he is human. barely. 4 green jackets in his closet.
  

Top Competition --
the next best players in the world, IMO

• Jim Furyk -- 2 top 5's at Augusta and the focus that always makes him contend for majors
• Phil Mickelson -- lefty is the man around the Amen Corner, two wins and a boatload of top 10's, current form is a touch shaky
• KJ Choi -- 3rd in 2004, the world number 7 appears to be in the prime of his career, plays well on tougher courses

Major Players
these guys have proven they can get it done under the immense pressure of a major, some a few times

• Angel Cabrera -- the reigning US Open champion -- form has left him a bit
  
• Padraig Harrington -- the Open Champion of 2007 always grinds it out, has played well in Georgia before (t5 2002)
  
• Zach Johnson -- returns to defend the green jacket
• Retief Goosen -- two time US Open champion has proven he is always a player in majors. Never rattled and steady long -- the putter will be the key (2nd in 2002, t2 in 2007)
  
• Ernie Els -- 3 time major champion has been struggling to get back to the top, talent has never wavered (2nd 2000 and 2004)
  
• Mike Weir, the former champion and God of Canada has shown some signs of like by winning last fall, can he return to his status as a world top tenner? or is he a hoser?
• David Toms, former PGA Champion and Augusta contender is kind of forgotten about, former elite players can find their games at Augusta
• Vijay Singh, 3 time major winner is getting a bit long in the tooth, but won here in 2000 and has plenty of experience

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie Oi Oi Oi
The only major that has yet to be conquered by the proud golf nation. These Golferoos all have the ball striking and class to compete, will any have the short stick to truly contend?

• Robert Allenby -- streaky player -- can play well in difficult conditions. has 3 major top tens
  
• Stuart Appleby -- likes Augusta and has played well here recently with a top 10 in 2007
  
• Aaron Baddeley -- has gotten his feet wet in the majors and is an uber solid striker of the ball
  
• Geoff Ogilvy -- the US Open champion from Winged Foot has his game in order, win at Doral and t2 in Houston
  
• Adam Scott -- best of the young guns -- can play well against strong fields at big venues (Masters t9 in 2002)
  

Quiet Guys who hang around big events
nobody will be picking these guys, but solid sleeper picks with solid resumes

• Stewart Cink -- has played well this year, even if not finishing well. Owns at least 1 top 10 in all majors including here in 2006
  
• Tim Clark -- likeable guy that just flat out plays well in majors, 2nd here in 2006
  
• Steve Stricker -- last years comeback player of the year has competed well at Augusta before and has the patience to play in big events
  

Best Player never to....
you know the drill (Dylan McKay),all these guys can play but when will they win a big

• Sergio Garcia -- top 4 at all majors, including t4 here in 2004 -- its only a matter of time before he putts well, isn't it?
  
• Luke Donald -- t3 in 2005, Mizuno blades and Polo shirts just seem a perfect fit this week
  
• Trevor Immelman -- 5th in 2005, South African seems destined for a few majors
  
• Rory Sabbatini -- love him or hate him, Frodo can play the game. his lone major to 10 came here last year with a 2nd place showing
  

Other Young Guns

• Hunter Mahan -- returns to Augusta for the first time since his debut in 2003. Game suits the course.
  
• Ian Poulter -- t13 in 2007, this colorful golfer has the game and the moxie to play here. If nothing else his attire will be sweet.
  
• Justin Rose -- t5 last year is his best showing as a professional in a major. Europe's highes rated golfer (6th in the world) will arrive quite confident

Making their debuts
there are 20 guys making their first appearance, these three have the best chance to play well

• J. B. Holmes, smasher of the ball -- can take advantage of some back nine opportunities
  
• Andres Romero, recent winner in New Orleans, contended last year at the British
  
• Sean O'Hair, winner in Florida this year has some serious game and I have a man crush on him

Born to Play here
Freddy aims to be the oldest champion
Fred Couples -- This is the week of the year that gets the un-excitable Boob Boom a little bit excited. The 1992 champion is making his 24th appearance and he has never missed the cut. The 48 year old played in the final group on Sunday as recently as two years ago and played very well last week in Houston

Durz winner:
Lefty gets his third.

I guess now that it has been a week (officially in 6 hours) of mourning for the Huskies -- its time to get back to the sports world.

Monday I will be unveiling Durz's first annual MLB preview (I can't believe the baseball season is here)...the baseball season feels like a slow death to me most of the time -- but the beginning is always exciting and who knows.

The first Sox-Yanks series is only a couple of weeks a way, you can forget about Duke and UNC Hoops, that is the best rivalry American sports has to offer (in my unbiased east coast opinion).

Its not going to be all bad for the city of brotherly love this summer, come August there will be a brand new Phils fan in the world (whether Kris likes it or not this kid is going to be a cheese steak eating phitin's fan!)

News and Notes
NHL hockey, regular season is winding down and the Rangers are putting themselves in some decent shape in a jammed Eastern Conference. A home and home with the Islanders next week is going to tell a bit on where the blueshirts position themselves. Washington, Philadelphia and Boston will battle it out for the last two spots with only a handful of games to play. Nashville and Edmonton are chasing Vancouver for the final spot out West. UConn Football, Leon Kinnard, a 5-9, 180-pound quarterback from Baltimore, MD gave an oral commitment to UConn Thursday according to scout.com. Kinnard, who runs a 4.4 forty with great all around athleticism, also had an offer on the table from Maryland. Kinnard is the second oral commitment of the 2009 signing class, joining Seymour linebacker Mike Osiecki who committed earlier this month.

Husky Hoops, AJ price goes in for surgery today on his torn ACL in Farmington. The recovery time is expected to be six months. Godspeed. In addition yesterday Jimmy decided to open up the vault at Gampel and let out some juicy information. Calhoun says that at least two players (not including Thabeet) have played their last game at Uconn. For one it is a playing time issue (Curtis Kelly I suspect) and the other for conduct and academics (likely Doug Wiggins). There is an uproar on the message boards about how we don't want to lose our spark plug in Doug. I cannot stand his offensive game -- so I am really not going to miss him all that much. Calhoun's candor in talking about this is odd and certainly opens him up to criticism, some might see him sounding more like an NBA GM than a college coach. Be that as it may, I suspect Kelly to go looking for some minutes at another school and Dougie to actually get released from his scholarship because he absolutely refuses to learn from any mistakes and second chances that the Uconn basketball program has allowed him. Ater Majok is reportedly ready to step in and fill one of these new spots. Again this is all speculation as to specifics...but it looks like Wiggins is a goner and I don't mind. Matt Brady, in kind of a shocker (originally) -- Brady has left my old alma mater and has been named the head coach of James Madison University. Brady did well up at Marist and was a good hire by Tim Murray (now lets make it two in a row). As opposed to some weak whiny comments in the Poughkeepsie Journal, I wish Brady well -- he put the Foxes into the upper echelon of the MAAC and the Dukes have made a strong hire. PGA, it was nice to see Tiger not win at Doral last week! Nothing against Mr Woods but its nice to see winning a PGA tour event is not the easiest thing in the world as he has many causal viewers believing. Augusta is two weeks away and it would be awfully nice to see Tiger battling with Phil as they did in Boston last year. This week the Tour is in New Orleans and next week they go to Houston before heading to the year's first major. A tradition like no other...I actually just get excited thinking of listening to Clampett and Kratz calling the action around Amen Corner.

Fußball, The USMNT won at 3-0 at Poland on Wednesday, giving them consecutive victories in Europe for the first time ever. The Yanks play exhibitions at England on May 28 and at Spain on June 4. The U.S. starts World Cup qualifiers against Barbados on June 15 at Home Depot Center, then play at Barbados the following weekend. U.S. soccer completed plans Thursday to play Argentina in June at Giants Stadium. Speaking of Giants Stadium, Colombian forward Oscar Echeverry signed with the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday. Liverpool co-owner George Gillett revealed (to the BBC) that his relations with partner Tom Hicks (business partner that is to say) are now unworkable. Real Madrid's Bernabeu Stadium has been chosen as the venue for the 2010 Champions League final. Big Dance, the final four will be set this Sunday. Nova battles the Kansas Jayhawks tonight -- hoping to have two Big East teams in the elite 8. Odds don't seem great granted. I would look for Texas and Wisconsin to get comfortably into the next round, but I really don't know what to make of the Memphis/Michigan State tilt. Can the Spartans force a half court game on the Tigers? Saturday's Louisville/UNC game could be the event of the weekend -- my brackets are on life support and a Cards win could remedy that rather quickly. At least it would take me to the top of the standing with regards to the in laws...Congrats to Sean Miller and the Xavier Musketeers for getting to the Elite 8 last night -- great game, good to see a coach stick by a program in a non "power conference". Kansas and UCLA are looking like the best bets to get through, but you never know -- it is March after all. All the game are good.

Thats it for now, enjoy the weekend

Good luck greycat

Forever and always - I'm always here

Bubble games
Atlantic 10 final:
No. 5 Saint Joseph's vs. No. 2 Temple (6 p.m.)
The Hawks are most likely in after beating Xavier, will the Owls make it 3 teams from the A-10?
Big 10 semis
No. 10 Illinois vs. No. 6 Minnesota (4:05 p.m.)
Both teams (left for dead) are two wins away from the dance.
Conference USA final:
No. 1 Memphis vs. No. 7 Tulsa (11:30 a.m.)
Just keeping an eye on a potential stunner that would cause more anxiety to bubble teams by forcing Memphis to use one of the valuable at-large bids.
MAC final:
No. 3 Akron vs. No. 1 Kent State (7 p.m.)
It would less stunning than a Memphis loss, clearly, but it would be the same result for bubble squads if Akron wins.
Mountain West final:
No. 1 BYU vs. No. 2 UNLV (7 p.m.)
They both should go, one will leave no doubt
SEC quarters:
Georgia vs. Kentucky (NOON)
Kentucky is already in, this would put them in "lock" mode.

Seed games
ACC semis:
No. 1 UNC vs. No. 4 Va Tech (1:30 p.m.)
No. 2 Duke vs. No. 3 Clemson (4 p.m.)
Big 12 semis:
No. 1 Texas vs. No. 4 OU (2 p.m.)
No. 2 Kansas vs. No. 6 Texas A&M (4:20 p.m.)
Big East final:
No. 1 Georgetown vs. No. 7 Pitt (9 p.m.)
Big Ten semis:
No. 1 Wisconsin vs. No. 4 Michigan State (1:40 p.m.)
Pac-10 final:
No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 2 Stanford (6:15 p.m.)

Notes:

-- Good luck to the Hartford Hawks who look for their first NCAA bid this afternoon against Maryland-Baltimore County in Maryland. The clubs split one-point decisions during the regular season.

-- Great stuff from ESPN's Pat Forde: "Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany came to Ohio State's aid, telling an AP writer that the Buckeyes had played all of the league's top four teams twice and had nine wins against the RPI top 50. That would be impressive, if only it were accurate. Ohio State only played Wisconsin once and is, in fact, 2-10 against the RPI top 50. And it wasn't until last week's home sweep of Purdue and Michigan State that the Buckeyes even got those two wins."

-- Providence College fired Timmy Welsh after 10 years, his replacement will fall into a nice situation with everyone back, but you can see why the move was made -- only two trips to the NCAA and no wins and a 1-9 mark in BE tourney contests. Good guy though, he will be back somewhere at the mid major level. Friars
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24 HOURS until the selections are released on CBS,
here is my last crack:
#1 -- UNC, Memphis, UCLA, Kansas
#2 -- Georgetown, Duke, Texas, Tennessee
#3 -- Louisville, Wisconsin, Stanford, Xavier
#4 -- Butler, Uconn, Purdue, Vandy
#5 -- Drake, Indiana, Notre Dame, Pitt
#6 -- Miss State, Clemson, Washington St, Mich State
#7 -- BYU, Gonzaga, Marquette, UNLV
#8 -- West Virginia, Kansas State, USC, Oklahoma
#9 -- Baylor, Arkansas, St Mary's, Miami
#10 -- South Alabama, Villanova, Kentucky, Texas A&M
#11 -- Oregon, St Joe's, Arizona St, Western Kentucky
#12 -- Virginia Tech, George Mason, San Diego, Temple
#13 -- Kent State, American, Davidson, Santa Barbara
#14 -- Winthrop, Cornell, Boise State, Oral Roberts
#15 -- Stephen F Austin, Mt St Mary's, Siena, UMBC
#16 -- Morgan State, Belmont, Portland State, Alabama State/Austin Peay

SWAC -- Alabama State
MEAC -- Morgan State
Ohio Valley -- Austin Peay
Atlantic Sun -- Belmont
America East -- UMBC
Big South -- Winthrop
Big Sky -- Portland State
IVY -- Cornell
Northeast -- Mount St Mary's
Summit -- Oral Roberts
Southland -- Stephen F Austin
Big West -- Santa Barbara
Western Athletic -- Boise State
MAAC -- Siena
Patriot -- American
Southern -- Davidson
Colonial -- George Mason
MAC -- Kent State
Horizon -- Butler
C-USA -- Memphis
Missouri Valley -- Drake
A-10 (3) -- Xavier, St Joe's, Temple
Sun Belt (2)-- South Alabama, Western Kentucky
Mountain West (2) -- BYU, UNLV
West Coast (3) -- Gonzaga, St Mary's, San Diego
Big 10 (4) -- Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan State, Purdue
SEC (5) -- Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Arkansas, Mississippi State
Big East (8) -- Georgetown, Connecticut, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Marquette, West Virginia, Villanova
Big 12 (6) -- Kansas, Kansas State, Texas, Oklahoma, Baylor, Texas A&M
Pac 10 (6) -- UCLA, Stanford, Washington State, USC, Arizona St, Oregon
ACC (5) -- North Carolina, Duke, Clemson, Miami, Virginia Tech

Lets be honest, if it were not for those WORLD CHAMPION NEW YORK FOOTBALL GIANTS, I would have been in full college basketball mode long ago. This is my Christmas season of sports, March is soo close you can feel it. So I am going to have a look at the hoops line-up (the crux of my attention for the next 10 weeks) and a few other items I will be keeping an eye on this weekend. Least interesting first and most (Uconn) last. Looking at actual events here -- so there will be no mention of Schilling's arm, Roger's ass, Mrs Clemens on juice, Dominican cockfighting, Diesel to Phoenix or Hillary's campaign funding....

Away we go.
Texas Tech at Nebraska
What can I say, after the emotion and candor involved in his post game interview after losing to Baylor, I really like Pat Knight. This will be a great opportunity to pick up win number one -- just 900 behind his dad. I pick TT by 11

BC at Duke -- Does the fun ever start?
This game will be watchable in that Mike Patrick won't be calling the action. If I hear him say something like "can you believe this!!!!" on an open made three by Duke again I might just die -- I loathe him. Whats the draw here Brendan? Aside from the more partial CBS reporting, its always fun to watch the BC Beagles get it handed to them for some reason. Looks like Handsome Al (the loan good thing about BC athletics) will be leading his troops to the NIT this year. Duke, on the other hand, will get a high seed and lose in the second round and the star coach and PG will cry. That and Puxatony Phil declaring a long winter are whats left of the sure things in this world. Duke (and the uber annoying Greg Paulus, check this out) by 18.

Georgetown at Louisville
The Hoyas will be tested as the travel to Denny Crum Court to take on the Cardinals in a upper echelon Big East tilt. Pitino's boys have the size to play with G-town it will just come down to who shoots it better. Husky and Irish fans will be pulling for the Ville in hopes of tightening up the race for league honors. I like Louisville by 6

Georgia Tech at Uconn
The Ramblin' Wreck head into the Harry A Gampel Pavilion on Saturday in an ACC/BE contest. Last years meeting went to Tech in the Georgia Dome and the Jackets are coming in on the heels of a four game winning streak -- 3 of them on the road. Connecticut will look to make it 7 in a row, but this game will be no pushover, GT's record is deceiving. I expect Stanley Robinson to score more and perhaps Adrien less than they did up at the Carrier Dome. turnovers, foul shots, blah, blah, blah will be key as always. If the Huskies play hard today and get anything off the bench this should be a manageable contest for them, Calhoun is just hoping that team who showed vs Providence is gone forever. Connecticut exacts some revenge -- win by 9



Other Notes...Catch Michael Bolton, Kenny G, Andy Garcia, Danny Gans, George Lopez and a whole host of others slow down play at Pebble Beach this weekend. I watched a bit yesterday and it was tough to watch Chis Berman walk at times, looked like he was really hurting. Once the CBS coverage comes on this weekend and the horror of listening to the Nick Faldo/Kelly Tilghman duo has subsided, the tournament usually ends pretty well and the field is good. The setting is unmatched, Timmy Herron is my pick...Liverpool heads to Stamford Bridge looking to get back to Champions League position while the hosts are trying to stay within striking distance of Arsenal...The once again struggling Rangers are traveling this weekend; against the dirty Flyers on Saturday and to the nation's capital to take on the Ovechkins Sunday.

Enjoy all that action, and I believe that my wife (Kristin -- one of the few supporters out there of the game) said the Pro Bowl is this weekend.

Brutal stretch continues

Coming off of a 3-0 week with big wins over Marquette, Cincinnati and Indiana, two big games await the Huskies this week in Hartford. Uconn will look to continue their strong play against the league's elite when Louisville (Monday) and Pittsburgh (Saturday) come to town.

The week past was not all greats news for Uconn (lets be honest though, it was the best week in about 2 years) and there is some updated information on a couple of news stories.

Wiggins and Dyson were apparently found Thursday night with alcohol (better than grass my original suspicion) in a car that Doug was driving with a suspended license. Since this is Doug's second stint in Calhoun's doghouse this year and since he was driving I suspect that he might get a lengthier suspension in what would likely be his last chance. I assume the Jerome will return, coming off the bench, this weekend against Pitt. Courant details

It also appears that Uconn and Nate Miles maybe just about done together. Last week the NCAA Clearinghouse negged Miles' application, although further paperwork was purportedly submitted, Calhoun signed a two-guard from Mississippi on Saturday (Uconn would be at the scholarship limit for the time being). Scottie Haralson a 6-foot-4 shooting guard who has been compared to ex-UConn bomber Rashad Anderson by those who’ve seen him play will enroll at Uconn next fall. If he is half as good as is Rashad then Uconn has scored a good one. Haralson was not recruited by big-time programs, he chose Uconn over Old Dominion, Penn State, Auburn, New Orleans and Nebraska.

sharpshooter

Uconn could be ranked today in either the AP or Coaches' poll when they are released this afternoon, it would be the first time in 54 weeks (19 polls) that Connecticut would appear in the national rankings.

Connecticut @ Cincinnati
7:30 from the Bearcat's Fifth Third Arena (MyTV9, FSN-NY)

Nobody likes the use of the term "must win" very much -- but there I said it. After a great performance in Storrs versus Marquette, the Huskies will look to validate their efforts in Ohio against a club that has been giving recent visitors a tough time (Cuse, #18 Nova and # 17 Pitt). After a rough start to the season, going 5-7 with some puzzling defeats to Belmont and Bowling Green, Cinci has rebounded and now sit at 500 overall with a 4-2 league mark. Uconn will have to keep and eye on high scoring sophomore guard Deonta Vaughn who has been scoring in bunches in conference play and is the key to an undersized Bearcat squad. The importance of this game is magnified by an upcoming stretch that includes at Indiana this Saturday and home games against Louisville and Pittsburgh next week. 2-2 in this stretch might be adequate, but anything less will leave the Huskies in a precarious position. Stanley Robinson appears to be on the brink of fully blooming and for the Connecticut there is no time like the present.

AJ Price seems quite confidant in speaking with the Courant and perhaps supplying Cincinnati with some bulletin board material, ""We got a good jolt of confidence from that [Marquette] game. We know if we play our game, this will be a game we should win. ... They're not one of the powerhouses in the conference that you talk about, but they've been getting wins here and they've been winning close ones in Big East play."

courant preview

other Big East Wednesday action

Pitt at St John's
Louisville at South Florida
Villanova at Rutgers

and OOC
Marshall at West Virginia

Giants @ Packers
A Super Bowl birth is on the line in what is turning into a good (Favre and Green Bay) against evil (the city slickers from New York). Temperatures are supposed to be ridiculously cold and Manning's handling of the ball will be telling.
Chargers @ Perfection
The best team on the face of the earth in any sport during any time period (with the best coach of all time and the best person on earth since Christ at QB) will host someone on Sunday for the AFC title game. I think its San Diego, but I'm not sure it really matters. Assuming Tomlinson and Rivers can put aside injuries and get up for the game I suppose stranger things have happened. Not many, but stranger I suppose
Marquette @ Uconn
After the turd Uconn dropped last night confidence cannot be high, although the confidence gained from losing to Georgetown (that's right from losing) did not help. How about some desperation? Uconn loses and they are staring another non NCAA campaign in the face...


Other than that I will keep my eye on some late night tennis down under (Andy lost today, man he is looking like a waste of talent)...some George Lopez style fun at the Bob Hope...and another banner getting raised to the Garden rafters on Thursday when the Rangers lift the # 2 jersey of Connecticut's own Brian Leetch -- one of the best defenseman ever to play the game

Uconn (11-4, 2-2) v Providence (11-5, 2-2)
Thursday @ 7:00
Huskies biggest game of the year (thus far) will take place tomorrow night at the XL (wouldn't have been nice if the Hartford stepped up?) Center. Lets not get out of hand and call the game, the 5th of 18 Big East games, a must win -- but its definitely important for both squads. Last year the Friars rolled into the Civic Center and kicked the young Huskies tails around (84-72). Uconn seems to have a new swagger coming off of the Georgetown game -- but they need to start putting wins up. 11-7 in the league and a split of the Georgia Tech and Indiana games is what the Huskies need to do. Dave Borges at the New Haven Register has a good entry in his blog about gatherings from today's practice and a piece about a phone call Calhoun made to Timmy Welsh 10 years ago...

the teams have spit their last 6 games with the road team winning each time...Uconn leads the all time series 40-24 and have won 11 of the last 15

Miles update, the Courant reported this afternoon that Nate Miles has graduated from the Patterson School and is a step closer to enrolling at Uconn.. Classes begin next Wednesday if cleared by then he could be in a Uconn uniform this season. Rumor is that he can STROKE IT -- Calhoun can use somebody like that i'd say. Most likely he will start his playing career next year but stay tuned.

#20 Uconn at #3 West Virginia
3:30 ABC
Saturday afternoon's Uconn/West Virginia game will decide the Big East championship -- that may not have been a stunning claim 10 weeks ago (as the Mountaineers were picked to finish atop the BE) -- but the kicker is the Huskies are also in a position to claim the crown and the BCS spot that comes with it. UConn (9-2, 5-1) is the heavy underdog and are faced with the immense challenge of slowing the West Virginia's (9-1, 4-1) high octane offense in front of a fully crazed house in Morgantown. As the game nears though you cannot help to think that stranger thinks have happened, right?

The scary stuff....West Virginia has the No. 3 rushing offense in the nation -- averaging 289.4 yards a game. The Mountaineers run game is led by QB Pat White (averaging 95.8 yards a game rushing) and running back Steve Slaton who has gained 98.8 yards a game. In addition to the Slaton/White ground assault: WVU has one of the Big East's top receivers in Darius Reynaud (51 catches, 10 touchdowns), the best fullback in the conference in Owen Schmitt and a backup RB in Noel Devine, a freshman, that can flat out fly. They can score plenty and usually do.

"Nobody's stopped them," UConn coach Randy Edsall said. "I don't think you're ever going to shut them down. You've got to be able to slow them down, but I don't think anybody is going to just take them and shut them right down."

Connecticut most likely has to gain a turnover advantage to stay in the game. WVU QB White has a growing propensity to fumble the ball -- that could potentially serve as an equalizer in this one. West Virginia has fumbled 22 times this season, losing 12 and White has fumbled five times in the last two games -- losing four.

Another key for the Huskies will be for the running tandem of Dixon and Brown who will try and put some points up and more importantly keep the Mountaineers offense off the field by moving the chains.

West Virginia may be the large favorite and are a possible national title game participant, but this is a big one for them and is not being taken lightly. "That's the only goal we talk about much -- capturing the Big East championship," West Virgina coach Rich Rodriguez said. "Now we're to the point that we can say this game is for the Big East championship. It is."

On Saturday, West Virginia is aiming for their 5th Big East tile as Connecticut goes for number 1. Call the chances slim, but that's fine with me. Five years ago, as I sat with my father watching Uconn beat Kent State in the Huskies last game at Memorial Stadium, if you told me that in November 2007 we would be playing the 3rd ranked team in the country with a shot at the Orange Bowl, I can't say I would have believed you. Win or lose, its been a hell of a ride. Go get em..

Other Big Ones Saturday:
#8 Virginia Tech at #16 Virginia (Noon)
Winner of this ACC Coastal match-up will face BC in Jacksonville for the ACC title and BCS slot.
#4 Missouri at #2 Kansas (8:00)
Winner clinches the Big 12 North and stays alive in the national championship race.

Pigskin Pix

NCAA --take
West Virginia giving 6 to Cincinnati
Michigan getting 4 from Ohio State
Georgia giving 7.5 to Kentucky
Notre Dame giving 6 to Duke

NFL --take
Balt getting 2.5 from Cleve
Tampa giving 3 to Atlanta
Giants giving 3 to Detroit
Bengals giving 3 to Arizona
home teams in bold


**fyi: 12-18 thus far -- 40 percent of the time, i work every time.

2k Sports College Hoops Classic -- Thursday/Friday
Thursday at the Garden Uconn will face-off against the darling of the young college hoops season, Gardner-Webb, who are coming off their largest win in school history against Kentucky last week. Win or lose against the Runnin' Bulldogs and the Huskies will face a name program, Oklahoma or Memphis (who play in the other Thursday night semifinal contest), in either the championship or consolation game of the tourney formerly known as the Coaches vs. Cancer.

Ideally Uconn will handle their Thursday game and see Memphis (the clear favorite to win the tourney) on Friday evening. Facing the current # 3 (Memphis) in the land will give Connecticut a true look at where they are as a team and possibly where they need to be. Plus who would not want to see Calhoun and Calamari go head to head again? An opportunity like this (good team, away from home) did not present itself to the Huskies until conference play last season and they were seemingly unprepared as the tough part of the slate got underway. There will be no such excuses or surprises this season, come Saturday morning Calhoun will know what kind of squad he is going to battle with.


Scotland vs Italy -- Saturday
This Euro 2008 qualifier sees the Tartan Army hosting the reigning world champions at Hampden Park in Glasgow. The winner of this match will be through to this summer's championships, while the loser will more than likely stay home. The Scottish Premier League's decision to postpone the Old Firm games of the past weekend has the home squad well rested and completely healthy. The Barry Ferguson v Gennaro Gattuso battle in the middle of the park should prove telling. The Scottish media is deeming this one of the biggest games in their history -- if not the biggest.

Michigan vs Ohio State -- Saturday
After the Sox and Yanks perhaps the best rivalry in American sports. Lloyd Carr would appear to be entering his last game against the Buckeyes with a career 6-6 record against them. Due to last week's losses the winner of this battle at the Big House will be heading to the Rose Bowl as the Big-10 champion regardless of who wins. Ohio State's national title hopes maybe through but this is always a big one.

Yale vs Harvard -- Saturday
The unbeaten Yale Bulldogs (9-0) will play the Harvard Crimson (7-2) at the Yale Bowl for the 124th edition of "The Game" on Saturday, both teams are 6-0 in Ivy League play. No Yale team since 1979 has played a game with both a perfect season and sole ownership of an Ivy League championship at stake and no Yale team since 1909 has finished 10-0. A capacity crowd of 61,446 will fill Yale Bowl for this highly anticipated battle. The Game is the oldest and third-most-played college football rivalry, only the Lehigh-Lafayette and the Princeton-Yale games have been played more.

Giants vs. Dallas 4:15 Sunday
TO and the Cowboys come to town for a very interesting NFC east battle. These teams met in Week 1 in a defensive struggle that the Cowboys won 45-35. This is a much different Big Blue though, one that has won six straight games and is coming off a bye week following their trip to London. Dallas is coming off an utter domination of Philadelphia and just might be the best team in the NFC thus far. The Cowboys second- half offense is the best in football other than New England and the "Gints" will need to apply some pressure to the ever smiling Tony Romo. These are two well-balanced football teams with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations, this game will have a lot to do with deciding who wins the NFC East.

Cincinnati vs. # 16 Connecticut 3:30 Saturday
Seems to me that the last 4 weeks I have been touting the current Uconn game as the biggest game of the season to my better half. Although I am sure she has grown a bit skeptical of my proclamations -- it has been the truth! This Saturday afternoon the Huskies square off against the Bearcats of Cincinnati in a battle of two very promising Big East squads with plenty on the line. The # 16 Huskies are the underdog in this one which is nothing knew as they have been picked to lose by most national "experts" for every single Big East contest they have played this season.

Uconn is 0-3 versus Cinci since both schools joined the Big East -- Randy Edsall must have a bit of payback on his mind (actually RE would tell ya that this game is the only game he is thinking of). Cincinnati is 2-0 this season against ranked teams and will provide a serious challenge to the upstart Huskies who have won only one road BE contest in the last 4 years. A win and that dirty word "BCS" becomes more and more of a reality..

PIX (10-12 thus far and trying to get back to 500)
Miami giving 3.5 to UVA
Notre Dame getting 3.5 from Air Force
Michigan giving 2.5 to Wisconsin
Maryland getting 6 from Boston College
Giants getting 1.5 from Dallas
Indy giving 3.5 to San Diego
Philadelphia getting 2.5 from Washington
Detroit getting 1 from Arizona
home team bolded

**Uconn, a team I refuse to bet for or against for superstitious reasons, is 8-1 versus the spread this season and are getting 6 from Cincinnati

Uconn v Rutgers
Who would have thought 5 years ago that this game would be such a big deal?? The #16 Huskies will play host to the 5-3 Scarlet Knights as Uconn ends their home stand in front of 40,000 in East Hartford. The weather will not play the role of the great equalizer this week -- fortunately for Uconn they are just as athletic as the current Texas Bowl champions. The sellout crowd (and a handful of in-state viewers who actually get ESPNU) will be hoping to watch the Huskies put an exclamation point on this historic three game run at Rentschler.

Rutgers will be looking to make amends for a beat down handed them by WVU Mountaineers last week in Piscataway. Uconn aims to control the ball on the ground as they attempt to slowdown the star of the Rutgers offense, All-Big East running back Ray Rice, by keeping the ball out of his hands. Uconn continues to take care of possession with a plus 12 in turnovers and are limiting penalties as they are the 2nd least whistled team in the league, both have been key in getting them to 7-1.


Edsall and Schiano have squared off 5 times with Edsall holding the slight edge of 3-2 in what have traditionally been very tight contests. The Huskies as always are trying to take the one game at a time approach as their season of possibilities potentially leave lots to look forward to. If Uconn can split with RU and Cinci, then take care of Syracuse at home in two weeks, they will guarantee themselves a shot at the BCS Orange Bowl and Big East title in Morgantown to end the season. That being said, one week (or day) at a time...

PIX:
Saturday
Iowa getting 1 from Northwestern
Notre Dame giving 3 to Navy
Florida State getting 7 from BC
Nebraska getting 20 from Kansas
Sunday
Seattle giving 1 to Cleveland (sorry pop)
Birds getting 3 from Dallas
Vikings getting 7 from the whale's v
Monday
Baltimore getting 9 from the Steelers

home team bold

The last event of the Fall Series and of the PGA Tour 2007 schedule tees off on Thursday.

The Children's Miracle Network Classic at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando.

The magic number this week is 125, as in the top 125 earners on the money list at weeks end will reserve playing privileges to return to the tour next year. Those who miss out will have another opportunity at the December Qualifying School, but NOBODY wants to go there -- this week they are literally playing for their jobs. The list of 110-170 include some players with rather impressive resumes including several tour winners and 7 major champions (Elkington, Lehman, Beem, Curtis, Pavin, Janzen and Tway).

The difficulty in qualifying in the top 125 ranges from a player like Kevin Stadler (127) needing a top 30 finish to Steve Lowery (149) in need of a solo top 4 finish to Duffy Waldorf (167) needing to win the whole thing.



Notes: Rhode Island native Brett Quigley (128) is not in the field as he has called it a season to undergo treatment on his wrist...the 2006 top 30 finisher will play next year on a medical exemption. JB Holmes (126) has full playing privileges next year due to his win in last year's FBR Open...Orlando resident Chris Dimarco is teeing it up this week for the first time since Boston in early September, DiMarco (110) hasn't finished out of the top 100 since 1998 when he ended up 111th...Unless something crazy happens you can expect 121 and better to be all set for next year and (122) Ben Curtis is safe thanks to a couple of wins last year. Numbers 123-130 are the guys who are really feeling the pressure...

Guys hanging around 150 also have to keep their eyes on the money list as that they can at least gain entry into some less glamorous events in 2008 playing out of the 125-150 slot...

Go get em Billy: The New England native, Andrade, has not finished outside of the top 125 since turning pro out of Wake Forest in 1987.

2007 Money List from 110-170
players in bold are not in the field
Current Money Rank Events Earnings
110 Steve Elkington 25 $911,875
111 Cliff Kresge 29 $901,549
112 Tom Lehman 18 $880,824
113 Bob Estes 27 $878,051
114 Matt Kuchar 25 $876,026
115 Alex Cejka 25 $868,303
116 Kevin Na 26 $856,669
117 Jeff Overton 18 $855,530
118 Cameron Beckman 28 $852,424
119 Ryan Armour 31 $848,418
120 Jeff Maggert 25 $837,305
121 Rich Beem 28 $818,825
122 Ben Curtis 24 $772,321
123 J.P. Hayes 27 $771,215
124 Mathias Gronberg 30 $764,020
125 Ted Purdy 32 $758,734
_________________________
126 J.B. Holmes 23 $754,616
127 Kevin Stadler 30 $737,276
128 Brett Quigley 25 $717,411
129 Craig Kanada 33 $713,280
130 Harrison Frazar 31 $698,534
131 Joe Durant 27 $693,573
132 Chris Stroud 23 $658,545
133 John Merrick 28 $649,438
134 Kent Jones 29 $641,540
135 Bob Heintz 26 $619,316
136 Parker McLachlin 27 $597,557
137 Doug LaBelle II 32 $594,513
138 Frank Lickliter II 29 $575,804
139 Steve Allan 18 $568,059
140 Jason Dufner 31 $553,832
141 Jason Bohn 17 $527,512
142 Ryan Palmer 29 $516,294
143 Andrew Buckle 25 $513,630
144 Marco Dawson 22 $512,370
145 Gavin Coles 27 $511,353
146 Daisuke Maruyama 27 $499,206
147 Corey Pavin 25 $498,252
148 Billy Andrade 26 $490,917
149 Steve Lowery 21 $472,597
150 Anders Hansen 17 $461,216
__________________________
151 Tripp Isenhour 31 $457,419
152 Robert Gamez 29 $454,264
153 Jeff Gove 29 $453,044
154 Bob Tway 31 $449,131
155 Eric Axley 35 $440,911
156 Brendon de Jonge 25 $437,604
157 Michael Putnam 28 $422,359
158 Greg Owen 28 $417,539
159 Dicky Pride 24 $406,224
160 Chris Riley 17 $403,199
161 Lee Janzen 23 $400,909
162 Michael Sim 16 $389,228
163 Glen Day 26 $382,930
164 Richard S. Johnson 31 $377,951
165 Jarrod Lyle 23 $375,742
166 Chris Couch 29 $355,386
167 Duffy Waldorf 22 $349,450
168 Rich Barcelo 25 $334,244
169 Craig Bowden 24 $333,970
170 Chris Tidland 20 $331,570

Whats-a-going on (as Brett Michaels would say) this weekend. A bit premature, but i am off to LA so it will have to do.

Sox v Rox, Tonight in Boston and Saturday at Coors. We'll see tonight if Colorado is going to make this series interesting. I expect the Rockies to get a decent pitching performance and lots will depend on Schill. If Lugo and Youk combine for 6 hits again Colorado is in some trouble! FOX 8:00 Thurs and Sat

# 8 Virginia Tech v # 2 Boston College, Biggest game thus far in the ACC and most likely the biggest game for the conference until the actual title game. Are the Eagles a legit top 5 team or will they be knocked back much like USF was last Thursday? A win in what promises to be a hostile Blacksburg environment will leave BC detractors with little to crow about. I see the athletic Hokies taking care of business tonight though. Eagle bowl possibilities are quite slippery, a couple of losses have them going from BCS to Boise. 7:30 Thurs ESPN

# 23 Uconn vs # 10 USF, Last week the Bulls were sent backwards by a pesky Rutgers squad and come into East Hartford on the rebound. Huskies are hoping to build upon a solid effort against Louisville and are attmepting to stay alone at top of the Big East. South Florida will not be fooled by the Larry Taylor fair catch fake play, but win or lose at least people might stop talking about it. 3:30 Sat ABC

NFL Locals:
Giants at Miami (kind of, its in London)
Giants aim to get to 6-2 against the worst team in the league. Law of averages would say that the phins' have to win sooner or later, however if the Giants can take care of the ball it won't be this week. G-men should have some Bass Ales after beating Miami by a few scores in Wembley.

Buffalo at Jets
The Bills attempt to get behind their new QB (Edwards over Lossman) and are building off of a nice win at home against Baltimore. The Jets are sending out Pennington again and will hope to stop the bleeding in a season that is spiraling out of control. The previous meeting was a tight one in Orchard Park and I would look for this to be close as well. The next few winnable games (Jets, Cinci, Miami) provide a chance for Buffalo to get back to thinking about playoffs, that could give them an edge this week.

Washington at New England
Joe Gibbs appears to be standing behind his comments that the Skins don't have a chance. Very interesting. They most likely don't -- but New England is due for a poor game -- aren't they?? Look for Brady to have a great game and for him to appear foolishly overdressed in the post game press conference.

My preview of the 103rd fall classic on the eve of game 1.











Durz Key Questions:--
-How much can Beckett pitch? If he could pitch in games 1,4 and 7 -- you have to like the Boston's chances, but is that too much work?
-Will the long layoff hurt Colorado and put an end to this crazy run they have been on?
-What team will get the most production from the back of the order?
-What is the weather going to be like in Denver? Will the weather help either team -- if it gives pitchers some more rest due to possible postponements?
-How will Ortiz play at first? Can Francona find a use for the valuable Kevin Youkilis on the road?
-Will the Rocks' starting pitchers come back to earth a bit, like the first half of the season?
-How will a team with no WS experience handle playing on baseball's largest stage?

probable starters

Wed, 10/24 in Boston -- Beckett vs Francis

Thu, 10/25 in Boston -- Schilling vs Jimenez

Sat, 10/27 in Denver -- Fogg vs Matsuzaka

Sun 10/28 in Denver -- Cook vs Lester

Mon 10/29 in Denver -- Beckett vs Francis**

Wed 10/31 in Boston -- Schilling vs Jimenez**

Thu 11/1 in Boston -- Matsuzaka vs Fogg*

**if necessary

Match-up Breakdown advantages:
consideration for current form as well as season performance and career in playoffs

C: Torrealba/Varitek -- push
1B/DH: Ortiz and Youkilis/Helton and Spilborghs -- Boston
2B: Pedroia/Matsui -- push
3B: Lowell/Atkins -- Boston
SS: Lugo/Tulowitzki -- Colorado
LF: Ramirez/Holliday -- push
CF: Ellsbury/Taveras -- Colorado
RF: Drew/Hawpe -- Colorado
Bench: Mirabelli, Crisp, Kielty/Baker, Smith -- Colorado

Pitching
Starters
1) Beckett/Francis -- Boston
2)Schilling/Jimenez -- push
3)Dice-K/Fogg -- Boston
4)Lester/Cook -- push
Middle relief -- Colorado
Set-up -- push
Closer -- Boston
Manager: Francona/Hurdle -- Boston

pick: Boston in 6
finally the Sox can put a stop to those "2-0-0-4" chants

ALCS -- Boston vs Cleveland, Step one is complete for the Sox, thanks to the arm and swagger of Josh Beckett. Saturday night at Fenway will feature a very good Schilling v Carmona match-up, sadly there is no truth to the rumor that Theo is flying in Fausto's high school girlfriend from the Dominican Republic to sing the Star-Spangled Banner. If the Sox can continue to swing some hot sticks like game 5, and perhaps get Manny to hustle a bit, all signs point to a potential Sunday night game 7 in Boston. Potential starters for Sunday are Dice-K and Westbrook.


Louisville @ Uconn, The Cardinals come to East Hartford this evening flashing a high-octane offense and a low grade defense. The Huskies will try to bounce back from a tough one last week in Charlottesville and the Ville will look to build upon a nice win at Cincinnati. Can the Huskies score enough to combat the points that Brian Brohm, the best QB in the country, is sure to put up?? We shall see -- the tailgate will be a beaut for sure and the out of towners can watch it on ESPN at 8:00. Rain might help out Connecticut.

Saturday Highlights:
# 17 Auburn at # 4 LSU, the hosts try to keep their national title hopes alive against the fellow 3-1 (in SEC) Tigers.
#15 Florida at #7 Kentucky, the Wildcats look to end a 20 game losing streak against the Gators.
#25 Michigan at Illinois, Wolverines aim to remain unbeaten in the Big-10 against the upstart Fighting Illini.
Miami at Florida State, just because both schools are unranked does not mean this battle in Tallahassee is not a huge deal.

Big East action:
Mississippi State at WVU
Buffalo at Syracuse
Cincinnati at Pitt

NFL
Week 7 Highlights
Minnesota at Dallas, Adrian Peterson and company will face off against Romo and Owens. Vikings look to build on a good win over Chicago and the Cowboys look to put last week's slap behind them.
Chicago at Philadelphia, Both "underachieving" squads look to right the ship in a very important out of division game. The Birds are looking to remain in contention in the NFC East while the Bears are looking for a bit of stability. The loser is going to have some trouble making the playoffs. Go Bears!
Indianapolis at Jacksonville, The game of the week on paper should be a competitive battle. Jacksonville is on a roll and are attempting to get on even ground with the Colts who are looking to remain unbeaten. Unfortunately for the Jags a loss will put them two games back in the division and at this point that seems insurmountable. Keeping Manning on the sideline by pounding the ball on the ground may be the only way to win this game. Game within the game: I'm just dying to see who the MNF crew brings in as a guest to the booth this week! Lynyrd Skynyrd is from Jacksonville...

Locals:


San Francisco at NYG, Giants look to avoid a hiccup and get to 5-2. If the G-men can focus and spread the ball around a bit the game seems quite manageable. Then its off to London....
Jets at Cincinnati, Jets are searching for a pulse at this point and Cincinnati is just as desperate. The loser is literally finished for the season already and in the Jets case the calls for Pennington's benching and/or head will grow even louder.

New England at Miami, the Pats send their practice squad down and take care of this one -- the best against the worst. Unwatchable.

Sox vs Tribe:
Beckett and Sabathia square off as Boston will try and avoid elimination and send the series back to Fenway. 3-1 is a big lead, but with the Redsox sending their ace to the hill you have to like their chances tonight and a win will make things interesting again. One game at a time....Fox @ 8:00



RBNY vs Galaxy:
David Beckham will not get the start but is available as a substitute. Galaxy need to win their final two games to ensure their place in the upcoming MLS playoffs. Redbulls looking for some form heading into the first round playoff matches against the New England Revolution. ESPN2 11:00

South Florida vs Rutgers:
Newly crowned BCS # 2 South Florida will face a road test tonight in Piscataway. The Scarlet Knights, the Cinderella of last year, will be fighting to give their season a boost after a couple of recent losses to Maryland and Cincinnati. If USF can win tonight a very manageable schedule -- biggest tests being at Cinci and home to Louisville -- could have the Bulls playing for a national title in January. First things first however. ESPN 7:30

Rangers vs Thrashers:
Off season spending has yet to payoff in this very young campaign and the New York papers are getting a bit antsy already. The blue shirts will need one against the 0-6 Thrashers who are fresh off the firing of head coach Bob Hartley. Rangers will be looking for their first road win in Atlanta while the Thrashers look to become the last NHL club to register a point. MSG 7:00

o NLCS game 1 Thursday
o ALCS game 1 Friday

Uconn
o Soccer, Saturday @# 3 Notre Dame
o Football, Saturday @ Virginia 3:30 p.m. (ESPNU)

NFL
Sunday
o New Englandat Dallas 4:15 PM
Monday Night
o NY Giants at Atlanta 8:30 PM

PIX
o Take the Irish over BC w/the 13.5
o Put the ranch on New England over smiley interception man and the Cowboys-only getting 4
o PGA pick: Bill Haas gets virgin win in Sin City
o LPGA pick: Wie won't break 80
o Husky fans take UVA and be happy if you lose....(bet with your brain not your heart)