BY JOE SANTORO
Sports fodder for a Friday morning . . .
Mark Fox said Wednesday night that he was disappointed in the way his Wolf Pack men's basketball team played defense, in the way it played offense and in the way he coached them. We're not worried about Fox's coaching. The offense and defense is another story. This is an offense is in search of a leader, a guy that is not afraid to just demand the ball and take over the game at crucial moments. Luke Babbitt will be that guy someday (late January, early February?) but he's a freshman and that is a role he has to earn and grow into. Don't forget that Nick Fazekas was just a complementary part as a freshman. The defense? It's now in Washington D.C., playing for the Wizards.
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Another Wolf Pack football season, another pull-your-hair-out, frustrating season filled with near-misses, what-might-have-beens and heated how-did-they-lose-that-game? discussions during the car ride back home. Well, it's called a hump, an ugly Boy-C orange-and-blue hump and the Pack hasn't gotten over it now in nine games and 10 seasons. It's not as ugly as the Pack's current 0-17-1 streak against Cal, the 0-15-1 skid against San Francisco State from 1953-1967 or the current 0-9-2 streak against Stanford but it's getting there. And, make no mistake. When it comes to hated rivals, Pack fans, orange is the new red.
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Despite the frustrations, this Wolf Pack football team has to be judged a success already. Yes, they could end up 6-6 or 7-6 (we're betting on 8-5) but don't forget this is a season that included games against national powers Missouri, Texas Tech and Boise State, rival UNLV and very competitive Hawaii, San Jose State, Fresno State, New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech teams. You could argue that this was the toughest schedule the Pack football team has ever played. To go 6-6, 7-6 or 8-5 without a defense is quite an accomplishment.
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Notre Dame needs to relax when it comes to firing Charlie Weis. The guy, after all, had two great seasons to start his Irish career. Yes, last year was a disaster but the Irish are better this year. Weis deserves at least one more year to prove he's more than just a surly, egotistical, bloated puppet of Bill Belichick and Bill Parcells.
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Now that Bill Snyder is pulling a Chris Ault and is returning to coach, what can Kansas State fans expect? Well, for starters, a couple pull-your-hair-out, frustrating seasons filled with near-misses, what-might-have-beens and heated how-did-they-lose-that-game? discussions during the car ride back home. And, oh yeah, don't forget the meaningless bowl game at the end of the year.
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A year ago, the New England Patriots had Tom Brady, a perfect team and a sure Super Bowl victory waiting for them at the end of the season. Well, we all know what happened. This year they have a backup quarterback, a loss to the New York Jets and nobody is picking them to win the Super Bowl. Well, guess what will happen at the end of the year? Yes, that's right. Patriots 35, Giants 30 in the Super Bowl.
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Brett Favre is the NFL's Most Valuable Player. No question. Some of us already think he's the best quarterback to ever play the game. This year he's proving it once again. The guy comes in cold to a new organization at a ripe old age and has put his team in position to compete for a Super Bowl title. There has never been a better leader than Favre.
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Don't you just love the NBA? OK, you probably don't and we're beginning to see why. The biggest story in the league this year is where LeBron James is going to end up two years from now. Of course, the only reason anybody cares is because that team is probably going to be the New York Knicks. Yes, that was LeBron hugging Jay-Z and kissing Beyonce at Madison Square Garden this week. How can Cleveland compete with that? Hugging Bernie Kosar and kissing Drew Carey just isn't the same.
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The Loyola (Md.) basketball team double-teamed Davidson's Stephen Curry the entire game this week and ended up losing by 30. Great strategy, huh?. Curry, who took just three shots and didn't score a point, just stood in the corner with two Loyola players as his bodyguards while his Davidson teammates enjoyed a 4-on-3 powerplay the entire game. Commend Curry for being the ultimate team player. But the Loyola coach (Jimmy Patsos) should be reprimanded for making a joke out of the sport of college basketball.
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At first glance, Loyola's treatment of Curry appears to be a reason why basketball will never be as good a game as football. But Boise State treated Pack quarterback Colin Kaepernick last Saturday much the same way as Loyola dealt with Curry. Boise had its safeties cheat up near the line of scrimmage to take away Kaepernick's bootlegs and it took the Pack offense a half of football to recover. Maybe the Pack just should have had Kaepernick stand over near the sideline with two Boise players and let the offense enjoy a 10-on-9 powerplay. And if that didn't work they always could have just sent out the enforcers to drop the gloves and muck things up.
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The San Francisco Giants signing C.C. Sabathia would be a nice idea if they weren't already stuck with Barry Zito's $100-plus million pricetag. Rafael Furcal, who would suffer a back injury after the first stiff wind blows in off the bay, is also not a good idea for the offensively-challenged Giants. The Giants don't need starting pitching, middle relievers or aging, injury-prone shortstops. They need middle-of-the order hitters who aren't past their prime. And, if those guys (Mark Texeira?) aren't available, a few middle-of-the-order guys who actually had a prime would work just fine for now.