Random Weekend Thoughts

Winner and losers from a pretty good weekend of football and other action:

Winners:

- The BCS.  Unfortunately.  We ended up with a clear cut 1 and 2 in Auburn and Oregon.  Yes, TCU is undefeated and deserving of a chance to prove they can play with the big boys, but if the BCS has only two undefeated teams from major conferences, they get exactly what they want.  Now, if TCU goes undefeated again next season in the Big East and gets left out, then we'll have an issue, but for now, the BCS has won.  We might not like it, but Auburn vs Oregon should get a great game. 

- Cam Newton.  It'll be interesting to see how ESPN fills an hour long Heisman Trophy show with any kind of intrigue of who might actually win the thing. 

- Duke and Drexel.  Still on track to meet in the Final Four.

- Firing your head coach in the middle of the season.  It has worked wonders for the Cowboys and Vikings.

- The Falcons.  They've been dominant at home, but haven't had a good win on the road this year.  Taking care of the Bucs in Tampa was huge for them.

- The Steelers.  It looked like they were going to limp into the finish, but by beating the Ravens in Baltimore, however ugly it was, they're still the team to beat in the AFC North.

- The Patriots.  Yeah they're still pretty good.

- Dexter.  For the second to last episode of the season, it started off slow.  But the last 20 minutes, I don't think it was possible to take a breathe.  The show is not always in your face and intense, but when it is, it does it better than any show on TV.

Losers:

- People who want a playoff in college football.  No controversy.  No TCU.  No reason for the BCS bigwigs to admit their system doesn't work. 

- Rutgers.  7 out of 8 Big East teams are going to bowls.  Guess who the 8th is?  Greg Schiano can't get enough credit for turning around what was probably the worst college football program in the country, but his offense this season was far too complicated and he outcoached himself.  Greg: THE WILDCAT DOES NOT HELP YOU. 

- The Bengals.  They actually did show up and play the Saints hard.  For 59 minutes.  How you jump offsides on a 4th and 2 play where everyone in the world knows that's exactly what the Saints are trying to do is beyond me.  That's why they're the Bengals.

- The Jets.  I still wouldn't count them out coming down the stretch, but wow.  That was embarassing.

- The Nationals.  Jayson Werth is a good player.  He's not a franchise player.  The Nationals gave him franchise player money.  For 7 years.  When he's 32.  This is why some franchises will always be terrible. 

- The Walking Dead.  A good episode, if it wasn't the end of the first season.  Seriously, we get one minor cliffhanger going into next season (what the scientist whispered to Rick) and that's about it.  We got no clue what they were going to be doing next, and no huge event besides the death of one inconsequential character. It's going to be a long 10 month wait.