Best Super Bowl Commercials Last Night

The commercials are as big of a part of Super Bowl Sunday as the actual game and since I am a marketing major I like to watch the commercials with a little added interest. Overall I think the commercials were pretty lame, there were a handful of somewhat amusing ones. I do have a top three and I will show them in a second but these three are in my top three because they'll have a memorable quality to them and they did the best job of sticking out. Before we get to my top 3, I'll give credit to one that just missed out and what I thought was the worst commercial of the night.

A shout out to Google for their commercial, it told a story, and really showed off the benefits of Google. It wasn't in my top 3 because it didn't have the flashy appeal but from a marketing standpoint it was really effective. I'm still not sure why they had to have a Super Bowl Commercial but that $3 million was pocket change for them at this point.

I'm sorry to say that the worst commercial in my mind was the Boost Mobile Shuffle which was a knockoff of the Super Bowl Shuffle the 1985 Bears did. They used some of players from that '85 team and it was sad to see some of those guys stoop to doing Boost Mobile commercials.

Here are my three favorite ones from last night:

3. 

2.


1.

Baseball Prospectus: Proving Why Baseball isn't Played on Paper

Earlier this week, Baseball Prospectus (BP) published their projected standings for the 2010 MLB season. I for one am not a big fan of statistics, I like to rely on the eye test to determine if a player or team is any good. The only downside of this method is that I have to wait until the season starts. So I'll dab into the statistics world every once in a while to get a baseball fix over the winter months. I usually look at the projected standings that Baseball Prospectus puts out, using PECOTA to project players' performances, and I usually come away unimpressed and sometimes angry with their projections. Well talking with resident stat expert, Tom Nielsen, I found out that PECOTA generally under-estimates projections, which makes sense. I still thought it'd be interesting to look at two teams and two divisions that have been projected to do poorly.

Seattle Mariners: Projected 77-85, last in the AL West. Now going into this season, the Mariners are going to be a sexy pick to win their division and possibly the World Series because of the additions they made to their club this off-season. Well here is an instance where I agree with BP, I just don't see the hype that this Mariners team is carrying. Yes they have speed at the top with Ichiro and Chone Figgins, and they have a dynamic 1-2 pitching punch with Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee, but what do they have behind those guys? Sure Ichiro and Figgins might get on base and steal a lot of bases, but who is their behind them to drive them in? A middle of the order that features what is likely to be Ken Griffey Jr., Milton Bradley, and Casey Kotchman isn't one that strikes a ton of fear into opposing pitchers. The rotation has potential behind Hernandez and Lee but the offense just doesn't look to be good enough to compete.

San Francisco Giants: Projected 82-80, fourth in NL West. Now this is where I usually get angry with BP, I just don't see how the Giants can only win 82 games this season let alone finish fourth in their division. Their rotation is among the best in the majors anchored by back-to-back defending Cy Young award winner, Tim Lincecum. It has been a strength of theirs for a few years now, the question mark that always came with the Giants, was whether or not their offense could score enough runs. Well I think they've made the right moves this season to score runs to compliment the pitching that is usually electric. I like the Aubrey Huff move as well as the Mark DeRosa move, and Pablo Sandoval is a potential star. This team is constructed like a prototypical NL team, pitching and timely hitting. I really like the Giants this season, apparently the statistics don't agree with me.

NL Central: The NL Central is one division that BP doesn't think is going to do very well and they have good reason to think that. With exception the Pirates (because they're just awful), I think every one of these teams could pull out at least 80 wins. Call me optimistic but those five teams should provide an entertaining race all season long.

AL Central: The AL Central is also a division not getting a lot of love from BP, and again there isn't much to say they deserve it. The Twins are likely the favorite to win the division but the Tigers and White Sox will be right there with them again this season. This is a division that has needed game 163 two years in a row to determine its champion. I see all three of these teams pushing 85-90 wins this season and could very easily need another game 163 to determine its champ.

Well there was a little sneak peak at the upcoming baseball season, I for one can't wait till Pitchers and Catchers report. Mark Buehrle, Jake Peavy, and Co. are due to Arizona in 14 days, can you feel it?

Weekend Soccer Preview

Another edition of the Weekend Soccer Preview! And it's a day early this time! I put in some new special features this week, such as the "Big Games in Small Leagues" and predictions for every Premier League fixture along with other important matches. Hope you enjoy!
As always, home team listed first, all times Eastern.

Game of the Week (Rankings from Poll)
11:00 ET Sunday
(2) Chelsea v (7) Arsenal
This is an absolutely massive match for both teams on Sunday. Chelsea leads the league with 55 points, 2 ahead of Manchester United and 6 ahead of Arsenal. A loss or draw for Chelsea would likely mean that United would take the lead or pull even in the table as United has a fairly easy test at home against Portsmouth this weekend. Arsenal is coming off of a brutal 3-1 defeat at home to Manchester United and needs a win here to seriously remain in title contention. Two defeats in a row, even if they are against the top two teams in the league, will be crippling for the morale of the young squad. Manager Arsene Wenger said that “It is a massive blow and a massive disappointment. We need something special now to stay in the race, of course. I am conscious of that. But we have to recover, that is part of top-level football.” Unfortunately Stamford Bridge is not an ideal location for recovering. Chelsea is undefeated in 12 games at the Bridge with just one draw.
Prediction: Chelsea 2-1 Arsenal. Chelsea is too good and will not be happy coming off of a mid-week draw against bottom-dwellers Hull City.

Other Games Between Two Ranked Teams
10:30 ET Sunday
(20) Ajax Amsterdam v (15) Twente Enschede
Twente is currently tied atop the Eredivisie with 55 points from 21 games, 9 points ahead of third place Ajax. Twente and PSV Eindhoven have both compiled astounding 17-4-0 records in the league so far this season. Ajax will be looking to challenge that with their own impressive 9-1-0 home record and incredible +43 goal differential from 21 games. Ajax is coming off of a ho-hum 4-0 win over Roda JC Kerkrade mid-week, the 10th time they have scored 4+ goals this season. No big deal. Luis Suarez leads the formidable Ajax attack with 18 goals on the season. Still, Twente is a solid 9 points ahead of Ajax and a win might all but end Ajax’s hopes of comeback this season. Twente won the only other meeting of the teams this season, 1-0 at home.
Prediction: Ajax 2-1 Twente, ending the unbeaten season for Twente and keeping Ajax alive.
14:45 ET Sunday
(T25) Fiorentina v (14) AS Roma
To be frank, I’m not sure how Fiorentina is still ranked in this poll. I suppose it’s because Blaine put them in 24th in his rankings, giving them the 2 points necessary to crack the top 25. No matter what the reason, Fiorentina sits back in 11th in Serie A and has been in a free-fall for some time now. In their last three matches, they have lost 2-1 at home against Bologna, 3-0 at Palermo, and drawn Cagliari 2-2 on the road. AS Roma, on the other hand, has not lost since October 28. Expect those trends to continue this weekend as AS Roma easily handles Fiorentina.
Prediction: Fiorentina 0-2 AS Roma

Top of the Table Clashes
10:00 ET Sunday (Swiss Super League)
FC Basel v Young Boys
Almost a bit of a stretch for a “Top of the Table Clash” as Young Boys holds a 7 point lead on second place Basel halfway through the season. Thus far Young Boys has won both matches against Basel on the season, 2-1 at Basel and 2-0 at home. The leading scorer in the league comes from Young Boys, Seydou Doumbia with 17 goals in just 14 games played. Basel is led by Marco Streller and Alexander Frei with 11 goals each. Basel is coming off of European disappointment, as they were knocked out of the Europa League after a 3-2 loss to Fulham at home on the final match day. A win in this match would be a huge pick-me-up for Basel and keep them in the title race for the rest of the season.
Prediction: FC Basel 1-1 Young Boys

Big Games in Small Leagues
14:45 ET Friday (English League Championship)
Newcastle United v Cardiff City
Newcastle looks to continue its march back to the Premier League. The Magpies lead the English League Championship by 3 points over West Brom with one less game played a little over halfway through the season. Cardiff City sits back in 4th, 11 points off of Newcastle and hanging onto a playoff spot. The top four teams in the Championship all have better than +22 goal differentials (Newcastle +26, Cardiff City +22), while the only other team above +10 is Leicester City at +12. In any event, Newcastle won the first meeting of the season between the two sides, a 1-0 win in Cardiff. Newcastle recently tumbled out of the FA Cup with a 4-2 loss at fellow Championship side West Brom so they will now be entirely focused on making it back to the Premiership.
Prediction: Newcastle United 1-0 Cardiff City
10:00 ET Saturday (Northern Irish Premiership)
Glentoran v Crusaders
Glentoran and Crusaders are currently tied for second place in the Northern Irish Premiership on 43 points. Crusaders have currently played one more game so a win here would bring them truly even with Glentoran in the league. The squads are both 3 points behind leaders Cliftonville, who has played even one game less than Glentoran. Darn those uneven schedules in Northern Ireland! Crusaders hold the edge thus far in the season with a 1-0 win at Glentoran and a 1-1 draw at home. In related news, teams from the Northern Irish Premiership went 0-1-7 in European competition this season, with the only draw being a 1-1 match at home for Crusaders against Macedonian side Rabotnicki. In those eight matches, the Northern Irish team was outscored by a total of 33-4. Ouch.
Prediction: Glentoran 2-2 Crusaders
10:00 ET Sunday (Swiss Super League)
FC Basel v Young Boys

English Premier League
7:45 ET Saturday
Liverpool v Everton
The always entertaining but good-natured Merseyside derby will have a big impact on both clubs’ European aspirations for next year.
Prediction: Liverpool 2-0 Everton
10:00 ET Saturday
Bolton v Fulham
Prediction: Bolton 1-1 Fulham
Burnley v West Ham
Prediction: Burnley 1-1 West Ham
Hull City v (13) Manchester City
Prediction: Hull City 1-1 Manchester City
(5) Manchester United v Portsmouth
Prediction: Wayne Rooney 2-0 Portsmouth. However, Manchester United will win 3-0.
Stoke City v Blackburn Rovers
Prediction: Stoke City 1-0 Blackburn Rovers
Sunderland v Wigan
Prediction: Sunderland 2-0 Wigan
12:30 ET Saturday
(T11) Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa
Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Aston Villa. Spurs hang on to their Champions League spot for one more week.
8:30 ET Sunday
Birmingham v Wolverhampton Wanderers
Prediction: Birmingham 1-0 Wolverhampton
11:00 ET Sunday
(2) Chelsea v (7) Arsenal

Spain’s La Liga
12:00 ET Saturday
(T11) Valencia v Valladolid
14:00 ET Saturday
(1) Barcelona v Getafe
16:00 ET Saturday
(T3) Real Madrid v Espanyol
11:00 ET Sunday
Athletic Bilbao v Xerez
Malaga v Deportivo La Coruna
Mallorca v Villarreal
13:00 ET Sunday
Real Zaragoza v (T21) Sevilla FC
15:00 ET Sunday
Racing Santander v Athletico Madrid

Italy’s Serie A
12:00 ET Saturday
Palermo v Parma
14:45 ET Saturday
Livorno v Juventus
9:00 ET Sunday
Bologna v (6) AC Milan
Genoa v Chievo Verona
(T3) Inter Milan v Cagliari
Lazio v Catania
Siena v Sampdoria
Udinese v (23) Napoli
14:45 ET Sunday
(T25) Fiorentina v (14) AS Roma

German Bundesliga
14:30 ET Friday
Werder Bremen v Hertha Berlin
Prediction: Werder Bremen 3-0 Hertha Berlin
9:30 ET Saturday
FC Cologne v Hamburg SV
SC Freiburg v (16) Schalke 04
TSG Hoffenheim v Hannover 96
VfL Bochum v (9) Bayer Leverkusen
VfL Wolfsburg v (10) Bayern Munich
Prediction: Wolfsburg 0-2 Bayern Munich
12:30 ET Saturday
Nurnberg v VfB Stuttgart
11:30 ET Sunday
Borussia Dortmund v Eintracht Frankfurt

French Ligue 1
13:00 ET Saturday
Boulogne v (T25) Montpellier
Grenoble v AJ Auxerre
Nice v Lille
Paris Saint-Germain v Lorient
15:00 ET Saturday
Stade Rennes v (8) Bordeaux
11:00 ET Sunday
St. Etienne v AS Monaco
Toulouse v (24) Lyon
Prediction: Toulouse 1-1 Lyon
15:00 ET Sunday
Marseille v Valenciennes

Dutch Eredivisie
12:45 ET Saturday
(17) PSV Eindhoven v ADO Den Haag
13:45 ET Saturday
Heerenveen v FC Utrecht
8:30 ET Sunday
Feyenoord Rotterdam v AZ Alkmaar
10:30 ET Sunday
(20) Ajax Amsterdam v (15) Twente Enschede

Portuguese Liga
14:15 ET Saturday
Sporting Lisbon v Academica de Coimbra
16:15 ET Saturday
Vitoria Setubal v (19) Benfica
15:15 ET Sunday
FC Porto v Naval 1 Maio
15:15 ET Monday
Beleneses v (T21) Braga

Turkish Super League
13:00 ET Friday
Besiktas v Genclerbirligi
12:00 ET Saturday
Kayserispor v Galatasaray
12:00 ET Sunday
Fenerbahce v Diyarbakirspor

Greek Super League
12:00 ET Saturday
AEK Athens v FC Xanthi
9:45 ET Sunday
Olympiakos v Levadiakos
12:00 ET Sunday
Larissa v Panathinaikos

Belgian Jupiler League
14:00 ET Saturday
Anderlecht v St. Truiden
12:00 ET Sunday
Zulte-Waregem v Club Brugge
14:30 ET Sunday
Racing Genk v Standard Liege

Swiss Super League
10:00 ET Sunday
FC Basel v Young Boys

Northern Irish Premiership
10:00 ET Saturday
Glentoran v Crusaders

Useless Baseball information

I feel like baseball today so I figured I would play with Baseball-Reference.com's Play Index for a while and write about what I find.

Streaks
Note: The streak finder only runs from 1954 to 2009, so all streaks are 1954-present.
-From April 30 to June 10, 2000 the Houston Astros hit a home run in 20 straight away games (only 28 home runs), the second longest streak of home runs in away games (First place is Baltimore in 1996 with 24 straight games and 60 HR). The amazing thing about this streak, aside from the very small total HR number, is that the Astros went 4-16 during it. In their 19 home games during the streak, the Astros went 9-10 with 30 home runs in homer-happy (since re-named) Enron Field. The Astros hit home runs in all but 4 of those games, and were 0-4 in the games in which they hit no home runs. On the season, the Astros were 65-63 in games in which they hit a home run, and 28-33 in road games in which they hit a home run. Their overall record for the season was 72-90.

-The longest streak for no team walks in a game (pitching) is the 2002 Yankees, who went 6 games without walking a batter. In those six games, Yankee pitchers were 5-1 with a 2.17 ERA and 0.78 WHIP. There was one complete game thrown in the stretch, a 5-hit, 1-run performance by David Wells. The stretch lowered the Yankee's season ERA from 4.04 to 3.97. On the season, the Yankees had 22 games in which they did not walk a batter, meaning they did not walk a batter in a game 13.6% of the time. This puts the probability that they would string 6 such games together an absolutely astounding 0.0000062726, or a little over 6 in one million.

-The longest streak of consecutive games with an extra-base hit is 14 games, achieved by Chipper Jones in 2006. Amazingly, he had exactly one extra-base hit in 12 of the 14 games. Overall he ended up with 8 2B, 1 3B and 7 HR in the span while hitting an unthinkable .544/.600/1.088. This was part of a larger 20-game hit streak in which he had 42 hits and hit a measly .512/.570/.939. The streak started in late June and the overall hit streak raised his batting average 66 points, from .270 to .336, while raising his OPS from .796 to .979.

Game Finder
Note: Game Finder also only goes back to 1954.
-The player with the most games with at least one homer and one stolen base in a season is Rickey Henderson, who had 13 such games in 1986. Each game had exactly one home run, while 8 had 1 SB, 4 had 2 SB, and 1 had 3 SB. For the season, Henderson had 28 HR and 87 SB, which led the league. This fantastic combination led to a power-speed number of 42.4, which led the league that season and was the 4th best single season power speed number all-time.

-The year in which there were the most multi-steal games for a player was 1987, when there were 353 multi-steal games. The leaders for multi-steal games in 1987 were Vince Coleman with 26, then a massive gap back to Eric Davis with 11 and Tim Raines with 10. On the season, 8 players had 50+ steals, and Rickey Henderson was not one of them. Vince Coleman led the league with 109.


Event Finder
-Of the 161 home runs hit by the Chicago Cubs in 2009, 56 were hit with no outs, 58 with one out, 47 with two outs. 56 were hit in the lead, 43 were in a tie game, and 62 when the Cubs were behind. 40 homers were hit in a 0-0 count, the most for any given count. 101 were hit with the bases empty, and only 22 were hit with more than one man on base. Braden Looper and Chris Young were both saddled with 5 of those home runs, the most for any opposing pitcher.

-In 2009, there were 949 triples hit. 516 were hit by lefties and 433 were hit by righties. Shane Victorino hit the most triples with 13, while Kenshin Kawakami gave up the most triples with 10. 62 were hit in Coors Field, the most of any ballpark, and 555 were hit with no men on base.

NCAA Tournament Changes

This story talks about the possibility of the NCAA opting out of its contract with CBS and taking it's NCAA Tournament to the highest bidder. What it also talks about is the possible expansion of the tournament to 96 teams. You read that right, 96, or just slightly more than a quarter of all Division 1 NCAA Basketball teams. From a pure business stand point it makes a lot of sense, and it would make even more sense if ESPN were to win the bid, when they spend that amount of money on an event they make sure to promote the hell out of it, and the roll out all the bells and whistles to make the event that much more enjoyable for fans. And a Brent Musburger and Coach Bobby Knight team for the Final Four would be incredibly enjoyable. That being said, from a fan standpoint and a basketball standpoint, 96 teams is insane.


I for one am not the biggest fan of college basketball until it hits late February and early March and expanding the tournament would make the regular season even more irrelevant and you'd lose viewers during the regular season.

96 teams would mean more mediocre big conference teams or more mid major conference teams who don't match up well with the superior big conference teams. This country loves rooting for the underdog but in reality, when was the last underdog to actually win the NCAA tournament? You're just causing more work for what will most likely end up being the traditional teams playing for another national championship.

More teams in the tournament also gives more coaches the opportunity to claim that they've taken their teams to the tournament. This will increase the coaching carousel that is in my opinion is destroying college athletics. It also leads to higher salaries for coaches, something a lot of people have a problem with.

The funny thing is these reasons are just purely from a fan's standpoint, the NCAA is all about the money nowadays and these reasons don't matter in the slightest to the NCAA higher ups because they don't affect the bottom line. I'm bracing for the change and I have one request, please keep Gus Johnson attached to the NCAA Tournament for calls like these:

A Comprehensive Weekly Look at the Top Teams in European Football

Another edition of the Weekly Soccer Rankings! Sorry about the relative lateness. A friend and I found a store called the Soccer Shack in Lafayette. It looks like it could be a real good store, just opened today and we were the first sale, but they couldn’t take credit yet so I couldn’t buy my US National Team slippers. I also memorized a speech for this morning about red cards in soccer. It turns out that receiving a red card decreases the expected number of goals your team will score for the rest of the game by 2/3, while it increases the expected number of goals your opponent will score for the rest of the game by 5/4. In any event, big congratulations to Egypt for winning the African Cup of Nations with a 1-0 victory over Ghana. Blaine also wants me to give a shout-out to Rushden and Diamonds for their massive 6-1 victory over Hayes & Yeading. I bet that may be the last Hayes & Yeading reference in this blog so enjoy it all you Hayes & Yeading fans. Though as the club was formed in only 2007, there may not be many of you out there. Here are Blaine’s thoughts for the week:

A big guten tag to all you fraus and herrs out there, and wilkomen to this week’s rankings provided by Tom and Blaine. It was a relatively uneventful week, with my rankings remaining, for the most part, unchanged. The first order of business is bringing up the massive week that Manchester United had (that’s not even really bias, though I am biased, they really just had a huge week). Their first match was a Carling Cup semifinal 2nd leg against archrival Manchester City. City had won the first leg 2-1, meaning United had to outscore them by at least 1, or by 2 should City score 2+ goals (away goals rule). United scored twice to go ahead 2-0 and seemingly clinch a spot in the Carling Cup final before Carlos Tevez scored for City late to make it 2-1, thus making everything even in both legs. In stoppage time, however, Wayne Rooney broke the hearts of countless Manchester City fans with a brilliant goal, giving United the match, 3-1, and a spot in the final at Wembley vs. Aston Villa. United then continued their good form with a huge win last night over Arsenal. Arsenal came in playing moderately well, and, being at the Emirates, it appeared that the match was slightly favoring Arsenal. United, however, jumped out to an early lead on a magnificent piece of play by Nani, and never looked back, winning comfortably 3-1. They now sit in 2nd, one point behind Chelsea with one more match played. Chelsea continued to roll with a 2-1 win over Burnley, while City rebounded from the United loss to win 2-0 vs. Pompey. Spurs were able to draw away vs. a respectable Birmingham side, and Liverpool crept up into 5th place with a win over Bolton. In Spain, both Barcelona and Real Madrid won, 0-1 and 1-3 vs. Sporting Gijon and Deportivo de La Coruna, respectively. There was a huge upset in La Liga this weekend (which looks less huge on paper) with 3rd place Valencia falling to 4th place Sevilla. The clubs, while close in the table, have been miles apart on form lately, with Valencia’s last 5 going D, W, W, W, D, and Sevilla’s going L, L, L, L, W. Sevilla is now 3 back of Valencia in 4th place, with Barca and Real miles ahead of everyone. In Germany, both Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen continued their smoking hot form with comfortable wins, and Schalke also won to continue the remarkably close 3-horse Bundesliga race. They now sit with 44 points (Leverkusen), 42 points (Bayern), and 41 points (Schalke), all with 20 matches played. Certainly it will be an interesting 2nd half of the season. In France, Bordeaux continues to pace the field, sitting 6 points atop the table, with surprise Montpelier sitting in 2nd, Lille in 3rd, and perennial Ligue 1 powerhouse Lyon sitting in 4th. Both AS Monaco and AJ Auxerre are tied with Lyon for 4th with 39 points apiece. Lyon’s weekend was a good one, with a comeback win over PSG to keep their hopes of a brilliant league comeback alive. In Italy, Roma continued to get goals from unexpected places, with Stefano Okaka coming to the rescue with an 88th minute winner vs. Siena. Roma now sit in 3rd, 3 points clear of 4th place Napoli. Juventus finally did the inevitable and sacked Ciro Ferrerra, fueling rumors of a Rafa Benitez move to the Old Lady after this season. The coaching change produced no immediate results, with a 1-1 draw being all Juve could salvage at home vs. Lazio. Inter’s match vs. Parma was postponed, which is a shame, as it was at Parma, who were playing quite well, and could have given Inter a run for their money. AC Milan only managed a draw at home vs. Livorno, further diminishing their hopes of a Scudetto. Napoli and Genoa drew 0-0 in a snoozer, though Napoli continues to refuse to lose, having not done so in a Serie A match since October 4th. Yes, October 4th. Since then its been W, W, D, W, D, D, D, W, D, W, W, W, D, W, D. Ridiculous. Well at any rate, that’s about all the time I’ve got today, time to head to class. For all of you braving the Chicago winter, just keep in mind, I’ll be on a beach in The Philippines in about 2 weeks!
Auf Wiedersehen!

Rank Team Country Points
1. Barcelona (Esp) 50
2. Chelsea (Eng) 47
T3. Inter Milan (Ita) 45
T3. Real Madrid (Esp) 45
5. Manchester United (Eng) 43
6. AC Milan (Ita) 38
7. Arsenal (Eng) 37
8. Bordeaux (Fra) 34
9. Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) 32
10. Bayern Munich (Ger) 29
T11. Tottenham Hotspur (Eng) 28
T11. Valencia (Esp) 28
13. Manchester City (Eng) 25
14. AS Roma (Ita) 24
15. Twente Enschede (Ned) 23
16. Schalke 04 (Ger) 21
17. PSV Eindhoven (Ned) 20
18. Aston Villa (Eng) 19
19. Benfica (Por) 14
20. Ajax Amsterdam (Ned) 13
T21. Braga (Por) 9
T21. Sevilla (Esp) 9
23. Napoli (Ita) 6
24. Lyon (Fra) 5
T25. Fiorentina (Ita) 2
T25. Montpellier (Fra) 2

Also Receiving Votes: Liverpool (Eng) 1, Galatasaray (Tur) 1

The table with how we voted will be in soon! Check back later, for now here is a little hint of how we voted:

Next five in for Tom, reverse alphabetical order: Mallorca (Esp), FK Rubin Kazan (Rus), Deportivo La Coruna (Esp), Borussia Dortmund (Ger), Anderlecht (Bel)

Next five in for Blaine, in order of how likely the team is to win the Champions League ever (most to least): Juventus (Ita), Liverpool (Eng), Genoa (Ita), with Rushden and Diamonds (Eng) and Egypt in a tie for last.

Mike Martz to the Bears

When it was reported that Mike Martz is becoming the new offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears, 2 things went through my mind, 1. This PR disaster is finally over and 2. The worst month in sports just got a little more worse this year. When the Bears announced that Ron Turner and numerous other offensive coaches were being shown the door 27 days ago, the logical thought would be the Bears have a plan in place and will hire new assistants shortly. Not quite. Offensive coaches were paraded in and out of Halas Hall and no one was being hired, and one coach even picked Oakland over Chicago. Besides the PR hit the Bears took in making this move, it's also a move that just doesn't make sense on a number of levels.

The first and most glaring is that Martz' system doesn't fit the personnel the Bears have now. Martz' system is pass oriented and that's fine from the outside but he likes to keep the TE in to block and send the RB out on passing routes. Greg Olsen can't block, there's just no getting around that which means that Jay Cutler will undoubtedly be running for his life next season to avoid being sacked. The system also relies heavily on timing and running correct routes, something these young receivers haven't learned yet, which could make this transition even more difficult to get down. The last strategic reason is one that'll have to be seen when the season starts, but Mike Tice's blocking scheme may be different than what is needed for Martz' system to be successful.

Mike Martz is one of Lovie Smith's friends and this hire is likely one Smith wanted to make 27 days ago but had to convince Jerry Angelo and Cutler that it was the right one. Smith is taking a huge gamble on this hire because if he doesn't get this right, next year he'll likely be fired as will all the other coaches and front office personnel. This staff now has 4 coaches who are or were a head coach at one point in the NFL, if they can put their coaching egos aside, the brains are clearly there for the team to be successful. If it doesn't work out, I beg the Bears to have a better plan that doesn't result in losing coaches to black hole that is Oakland.