Number one in my heart

Let's just pretend that the last three weeks of the NFL never happened. That way, I can put my entire focus on the brand new, choke-free Missouri Tigers. Even though, according to BCS rankings, the AP is no longer valid, I have to point out who is the number one team in the land.

The game started like most Super Bowls, with both teams struggling. The Tigers made the first foray into enemy territory, but they blew it with a questionable fourth-down fake field goal. William Franklin snuck on the field and took a quick pass from Tommy Saunders. Kansas's speed was too much and the attempt fell short. Luckily, Kansas didn't retrieve their offense until the second half. Todd Reusing threw two red-zone interceptions and Scott Webb missed two field goals.

Chase Daniel (Chase Daniels to perpetually clueless Brent Usurer), threw three touchdown passes, including a crazy, scrambling play where he ended up back at the 33 yard line before rolling forward and hitting Dana Rio Alexander for the 14-0 halftime lead.

The lead was 28-7 at the start of the fourth quarter. The Mansions, as Kansas' squad is called, were in the famous choke position. At that point the Missouri defense realized that they weren't the '85 Bears anymore. Even without a running game, Reusing had no trouble hitting guys all over the field. It was 28-14. Daniel drove the team to field goals as Reesing scored touchdowns. The last two touchdown drives for Kansas took about a minute and a half. There was no defense. With the score 34-28, it was time for the game-defining onside kick. The ball did not hop, and Saunders cradled it.

Of course, this being a team I root for, Missouri couldn't just run out the clock. Three predictable runs later, it was fourth down. There were 20 seconds or so left. I secretly wanted Missouri to go for it but they punted. On the first play Reesing was sacked in the end zone and the game was over. I thought it strange that Kansas kicked away on the free kick, but I suppose it was the concession speech.

Heroes of the game: Chase Daniel is the man. I guess it's OK to have Missouri ranked number one, but the QB for the top ranked team in the country isn't Heisman worthy. All of the talk was about Tim Tebow and Darren McFadden. I'm sorry, but when was the last time a guy for an 8-4 or 9-3 team won the Heisman? I'm going to be content that Daniel gets the invite to New York since Missouri players win the Heisman only in the EA Sports universe.

Tony Temple was a beast. There were plays when he had a giant hole through which to run. There were other times when he was hit immediately upon getting the ball. He fought for extra yardage and Kansas tackled like my high school team. I hope he gets the medical redshirt and comes back next year. Missouri will need him with three senior linemen leaving the school.

Danario Alexander was supposed to be the up and coming young WR stud this year, but Jeremy Maclin eclipsed him when Alexander was out due to an injury. Alexander took up the slack as Maclin got a lot of Kansas's defensive attention. He had a season-high 117 receiving yards.

Big ups also go to William Moore, who intercepted a Reesing pass at the goal line early in the second quarter, and Castine Bridges, who took a tipped pass 49 yards to set up Missouri's third touchdown. No one will remember the late-game collapse as much as the early-game heroics that created such a large lead.

Jeff Wolfert made two fourth-quarter field goals that were the difference. Wolfert came to Missouri on a diving scholarship. He hasn't missed a field goal in Big 12 play. Missouri kicking has been a comedy of errors until Wolfert came to town.

Being a top ranked team hasn't been the best spot this year. I wouldn't be surprised if Oklahoma, a superior team to Kansas in nearly every way, wins next week. Then again, the cache of being a team of destiny has to be worth something. I like seeing Missouri ranked over an 11-1 Ohio State team. It's going to take a similar team effort to win. Last night was probably the first time all year I've watched my team not turn the ball over. Let's hope that streak continues for one more week.

End of the November curse?

I got back from vacation 13 days ago. I feel like I’ve been sick ever since. One benefit to the extended cold is that I am “forced” to sit on the couch all weekend to recuperate. All too often this season, football has been more about the stats and fantasy results than what’s happening on the field. When I watched Missouri dismantle Colorado last Saturday, the joy came back.

If this is the team that beat Oklahoma, I’m ready for my rematch. The Buffs couldn’t handle the Tigers’ spread attack, and more importantly, Missouri completely shut down Colorado’s offense. The game started in typical first-game-in-November fashion, when Chase Daniel’s slant pass to William Franklin deflected directly into a defender’s hands. CU took the ball 11 yards for the touchdown. I wasn’t too worried since Missouri scored four plays later, highlighted by a nice 72-yard completion to Franklin. A blocked punt turned into a Colorado field goal. It was 10-7.

Missouri scored 48 consecutive points. It was a dominating performance on both sides of the ball. Daniel hit long passes left and right. The play of the day was when tight end Chase Coffman hurdled a would-be tackler and went into the end zone. Coffman and Martin Rucker are guys I need to target in future rookie drafts for my dynasty teams.

If the defense continues to play at a high level, Missouri should easily notch their second ten-win season in history. In fact, if Missouri wins today, this will be their third nine-win season ever. In 1960 Missouri went 11-0, winning the Orange Bowl. There was a loss to Kansas that must have been overturned, since my source shows a W and a 7-23 result. 1969 was the last nine-win campaign (back when the regular season was ten games), and the team’s last conference championship. Finally Missouri has a team good enough that actually plays like it.

Called out

It's time for a little lesson on message board etiquette. Today's lesson is: know your fellow owners. I just got called out on the AUFL message board. I won't name the owner, although it rhymes with Andy. As part of a rant regarding the Patriots and their audacity to win this weekend, he mentioned "a certain fantasy team that thought it was the best thing since sliced bread."

Here's the story. I won two of the first three titles in this league. In year four, I had a dominating team. Prior to my championship matchup with "Andy," I mentioned the fact that he was winning his playoff games with low scores relative to mine. "Andy" beat me in the championship game. My entire team tanked. It was pretty bad. He hasn't forgotten the slight.

Should I respond? It's not going to help the situation if I do. Then again, we are talking about a fantasy football board. Leagues get stale when owners don't participate other than submitting a lineup. I'm in two leagues that are bo-ring because most of the owners don't chat, other than nitpicking about the rules.

Hey, did you see that Missouri is the 6th ranked football team in the country? I can't deny it anymore, Pinkelball works.

Benched

Before the season start, there was a heated debate about the Madden Curse. Since the popular video game started putting a player on the cover, injuries mounted. After a reported "no thanks" from LaDanian Tomlinson and others, Vince Young got the nod.

Seven games into the season, you could say that the curse lives. While he's missed one complete game and half of the Tampa game, last week's 42-yard passing effort tells the tale. Young is not one of the main reasons why the Titans are 5-2. In six starts, the Titans have scored two offensive touchdowns in one of those games. A quad injury has limited his running ability. You could see it last week when he had a chance to run for a first down on a third and seven, and was caught well short of the marker.

Young is so benched. I don't advocate the Titans benching him, but for fantasy purposes, I can't hope the he will turn things around. Until he puts together a couple of two-TD games, adding some of his running skills, I can live with Derek Anderson.

I have one of those fantasy quandries that could cost me a shot at a playoff spot. My team is 3-5, although 8 of 12 teams make the playoffs. I'm going against another 3-5 team. This team has LaDanian Tomlinson, but they also have Joey Harrington as the starting QB. My running backs are MJD, Willis McGahee, LenDale White, and Ryan Grant. All are somewhat similarly ranked this week. McGahee is a top-five guy so far, but he's facing the Steelers on the road. MJD faces the somewhat weak Saints, although the Saints should be able to focus on the run with Quinn Gray at QB. LenDale White is on fire lately. He faces the David Carr-led Panthers. Ryan Grant goes to KC, so he's probably out.

The fantasy mantra is to not bench your studs. McGahee has been a quality running back, with 639 yards in seven games. He's scored between 11 and 18 points a week. White's season low is two (of course I started him this week). Otherwise he's scored at least 13 a game after week one. MJD has scored in single digits four times this year. I think I've talked myself into starting McGahee. When in doubt, go for the guy you know is starting and will give you at least 20 carries.

You Don't Have to Love This Group

My college fantasy team is falling apart. There. I talked about sports.

One sure-fire way to encourage jet lag to stick around is to spend some time in a smoky bar. On Tuesday night I went to see my favourite band in concert. The spelling of "favourite" is on purpose since the band is Canadian. The band's latest album is called Small Miracles, and it's apt because it's more than a small miracle that I ever heard of them. My best friend in college discovered the band by accident, picking the wrong CD that turned out to be overwhelmingly right.

When Blue Rodeo's debut album, Outskirts, was released in 1987, Rolling Stone said "the best new American album this year might be from a Canadian band." Small Miracles, released last month, is the band's 11th studio album. I'm bad at describing music, so I'll just say that the sound is in the country-folk realm.

Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor formed Blue Rodeo in 1985. They had been making music together since high school. They are the glue of the band, writing nearly all of the songs. Watching them together on stage, as both men are nearly fifty years ago, was incredible. One would sing while the other played lead guitar. The Dylan-esque voice of Keelor resonated even though he stubbornly chewed on a piece of gum the whole time.

The band's early music fuels a lot of my college memories. I learned during those years that a band didn't have to be popular to be good. The song "Now and Forever" seemed to play on a continuous loop in my best friend's room after a long-term relationship terminated. We would sing "Rose-Coloured Glasses" while doing dishes. I'd listen to the very country "Lost Together" constantly while visiting home during a break. Our college experience culminated by watching them perform in a basement bar in St. Louis. That's the fate of a band that regularly wins Juno awards (Canada's grammys) but never gained traction in the states.

I'd have to say that half of Tuesday night's audience was Canadian. It was an older crowd as well, but the enthusiastically cheered as the band performed an encore around midnight. My lack of sleep would continue, but it was for a good cause.