South Florida loses at Rutgers: There will be many doubters and haters who are giddy today at No. 2 USF (No. 1 in the BCS computer polls) losing at Rutgers. I lament it.

The Bulls were THE story of college football: The representation of everything that was wacky and out-of-balance about the season. USF was this year's Cinderella; they were, by far, the most compelling remaining unbeaten team.

Now, USF has virtually no shot at the national title game. Even if they end up 11-1, there will be so many other 1-loss teams that the Bulls will be squeezed out.

Of far more consequence to the rest of the country, one of the two coveted BCS slots is now open -- there for the taking. Presumably, No. 3 Boston College (playing vaunted "Idle," which would finish in the top half of the ACC this season) will back their way into the position, in the biggest "win" of the week. Yes, there's nothing like "earning it."

It's also a warning shot to BC, Ohio State, Arizona State, Kansas and Hawaii – the five remaining unbeatens: No team is safe... not even Cinderella.

(Losing at Rutgers, a very tough team, particularly at home and particularly playing their own Game of the Year, is hardly a shame, like losing at home to an unranked team; any of the five unbeatens above would have lost at Rutgers on a Thursday night at this point in the season. And, yet, USF still had their chances to win.)

On a navel-gazing note, it's nice to get off the schneid for my fall predictions track record, which had been previously miserable before picking RU over USF. I will now resume my pick-sucking.

MLB: Red Sox crush Indians in Game 5, bring series back to Boston down 3-2. First, let me just say that Josh Beckett affirmed, once again, that he is the greatest postseason pitcher of our generation.

Not only did he dominate the Indians (8 IP, 11 K, 1 BB, 5 H, 1 R) in a must-win game for Boston, but he stared down the pressure of performing in front of his ex-girlfriend, Danielle Peck, who sang "God Bless America." (He had more trouble, actually, with Kenny Lofton in the 5th, which didn't turn out to be more than preening.) Beckett's legend grows...

Meanwhile, we now have a situation unique to the 7-game format: One team is down 3-2, facing elimination in either of the next two games, but coming home to play those two games (having already lost 1 of 2 games played with that home-field "advantage").

And, yet, all momentum, confidence and presumption of victory resides with that team. Forget previous expectations: The upset now would be if Boston lost the series.

Joe Torre turns down Yankees' offer: I can understand Torre not wanting to take the pay cut, but he still would have been the highest-paid manager in baseball -- if he reached his incentives, which weren't particularly draconian, given his inability to win any championships since 2000. I thought that based on Torre's recent performance, the deal was fair. If he didn't want to take it, that's on him, not the team management.

Torre Era is over: What next for the Yankees? They've got to find Torre's replacement, hardly an easy seat to fill. Will they go with the presumptive in-house heir (Mattingly)? Will they go for a more experienced manager who can take this veteran team back to the World Series? Another day, more drama.

What next for Torre? I'm betting a nice deal with ESPN. But if Fox was smart, they would sign him up to provide World Series analysis. (And if Torre was smart, he'd do it.)

College Football Preview and Picks

After the last three weeks (Massive upsets in the Top 10, USC loses to 41-point underdog, teams ranked 1-2 both lose), I cannot possibly see how things could get any crazier. Then again, I've said that in each of the last two weeks.

The wildest outcome, of course, would be that OhioState loses at home to MichiganState. MSU is unpredictable, but OhioState is just too tough at home.

All eyes on the five remaining unbeatens: I think that, of the five, No. 13 Kansas is in the most tenuous position, playing at Colorado (who already beat Oklahoma in Boulder).

The Game of the Day is Florida at Kentucky: The Wildcats are coming off that epic biggest-in-program-history win over LSU. The Gators are coming off a bye week following two straight SEC losses. It's a must-win for both teams, if they want a shot at the SEC East title. (Yes, I'll slurp the SEC for a sec: In what other conference does a DIVISION race involve FOUR teams in the Top 25?)

The Picks:1 Ohio State over MichiganState (Hmmm...)4 LSU over 17 Auburn5 Oklahoma over at IowaState6 South Carolina over Vanderbilt15 Florida over at 7 Kentucky (Game of the Day)9 West Virginia over MississippiState10 Oregon over at Washington12 Cal over at UCLAColorado over 13 Kansas (Upset Special)14 USC over at Notre Dame24 Texas Tech over at 16 MissouriMaryland over 19 Virginia21 Tennessee over at Alabama22 Texas over at Baylor23 Cincinnati over at Pitt25 Michigan over at Illinois

Ravens over at BillsAt Lions over BucsPats over at DolphinsAt Saints over FalconsAt Giants over 49ersAt Redskins over CardsAt Texans over TitansAt Bengals over JetsChiefs over at RaidersAt Cowboys over VikingsBears over at EaglesAt Seahawks over RamsSteelers over at Broncos (SNF)At Jaguars over Colts (MNF)

Javon Walker out indefinitely: More bad news for a Broncos team that is full of it this season.

Priest Holmes returning this Sunday? It's possible. No, I wouldn't drop an active player from your fantasy roster to pick him up... yet.

Bills want to play home game(s) in Toronto: I'm all for expanding your fan base (and the NFL's appeal internationally), but with only 8 precious home games, this totally screws their die-hard fans, which are among the best in sports.

Bill Callahan doesn't like Tom Osborne: At least that's what a student sports reporter says in a new book (self-published), in which he reports Callahan calls the Nebraska legend "crusty" and "old" and attaches those words to an expletive. Osborne graciously sets it aside, but you just know he's filed it away to beat Callahan with later.

Pats are evil geniuses, Part Nth: In a move far more insidious than spying on the football field, the Pats will get the names of their season-ticket-holding fans who (re-)sold their tickets on StubHub (presumably to punish them for not letting the team re-sell them).

I'm no fan of price-gouging (or the ticket brokers who mostly engage in it), but I'm even less of a fan of a team's invasions of privacy against its fan base.

(The best system is where leagues, fans and a company like StubHub collaborate to let fans re-sell their unused tickets; I recognize this works a lot better in a sport like baseball, where there are 81 regular-season games and a season-ticket holder who can't attend might just want to make back their original ticket cost. Or more, when the game is meaningful.)

Still, the main point is that this is an iffy issue, but alienating your fans by threatening them generally isn't a good policy – even if you are in total control because there are only 8 home games and the wait-list for tickets is decades long.

Now, I'm not saying the Pats fans who scalped on StubHub don't have their own issues: If you're a season-ticket holder in it to make a lot of money off your tickets through the secondary market, you shouldn't get them -- there are plenty of fans out there who would kill to pay for (and attend) all 8 home games.

I completely understand both sides of the Torre - Yankees discussions. I do side with Torre more though. An incentive laden contract like they offered is an insult. Yes, he may not have had success in the past couple of years but he has won a WS on average every three years. This is the type of contract you give to a new coach that has proven nothing!

Actually it is five teams ranked in the SEC east, but I like most of America think they are a bunch of average teams, not a bunch of elite teams. I guess that will all be sorted out in the bowls.

It really isn't invasion of privacy when you give all the information to a company to get their product and when the product returns to the company with someone else you check.

And it's patently ridiculous to make the assertion that OSU would have lost at Rutgers.

USF was a lie, propagated by poor competition for the most part and poor preparation on Auburn's part. Hawaii certainly will lose the first tough game they play, and I fully believe BC will do the same in 8 days.

wow. "The upset now would be if Boston lost the series." way to completely change your position once again. If you haven't noticed, Beckett can't pitch every game. I hope Schill and Dice-K can pull it out but I woulnd't say that boston is now the favorite to win 2 in a row. And about the Patriots, a court ordered Stub Hub to do it. It wasn't just the bullying patriots, it was a court (two actually since stubhub lost the appeal)

No, it isn't an upset of Boston loses one of the next two games. Gimme a break Dan. Isn't Dice-K pitching Game 7??Why does everyone forget Carmona dominating the Yanks and only remember the Game 2 from this series? (and forgetting that Schilling struggled as well?)

No way Michigan State knocks off Ohio State. Ohio State may very well lose this year, they may even lose 2 or 3 down the stretch, but it won't be this week. Two years in a row now they've heard all about unranked MSU coming into Columbus and beating #1 Ohio State in 1998...they'll be focused on this game.

1998, Ohio State vs. Michigan State still haunts my dreams. I remember crying after OSU lost that game and my dad telling me to stop being a baby. But then I could see that he was more pissed than I was. Awkward drive home.

Dan is a nasty Ohio State basher and a known Big 10 basher. Yet he went to Northwestern!

Big difference in that '98 Buckeye team and this one. Jim Tressel is the coach. I know he got outcoached by Meyer in last year's title game but for the most part in the games that OSU is supposed to win under Tressel they usually do.

based on sheer experience and having pitched in games of this magnitude before you have to say the game #6 advantage goes to the Red Sox. As for game #7(if there is one) that will be a total crapshoot unless we get a couple of days of rain in boston and Beckett can make the start

I'm glad the Pats are going after StubHub. I'd rather the Krafts get my $75 than some scalper gouge me for $200 and up. The prices on that site are ridiculous!

Beckett brought the nasty stuff but it made me nervous how many Sox got stranded on base. I hate to say it, but I think the Sox lineup has too many automatic outs/double play hitters to win two more games from the Tribe.

Having grown up in western NY, I think it's pretty fair to have the Bills play a game in Toronto. I don't think people realize how close those cities are. There are only about 100 miles between them, an easy drive for a die-hard fan. Hell, Ralph Wilson Stadium is over 10 miles away from downtown Buffalo as it is!

Grabbing a piece of Toronto to help shore up one of the smallest markets in the NFL is good business.

rafael~ That was my original bet, and I'm stickin' with it: Indians in 6. Carmona is going to look like a little Beckett tomorrow.

rev~ OOOH, the agony of that '98 game. We were at a fun weekend at my husband's sister's house and when the Buckeyes lost, my husband didn't speak for about an hour. It was like he had been told someone close to him had died. Then he and his brother-in-law went to a bar.

Careful to not bash Joe's accomplishments too much. Remember, the Yankees have usually had the largest payroll in baseball. What Joe accomplished for the Yankees in his 12 years was pretty impressive, given the Yankees history the previous 12 years. He was a stabilizing figure and a steady leader. He knew how to steer the (expensive) horses the right way. The playoffs are a crapshoot, as many baseball people have always said.

I will argue to the death that the 1998 Ohio State team was not only the best team that year, but the best team of the last 15 years. That's how big of an upset that MSU game was. One of my best friends in college grew up in Tennessee and said that if OSU played them that year, OSU would win by at least 21 points. That team was SICK. Too bad David Boston is a douche now. Talk about a waste of talent.

As a huge Yankee fan since I was a small child and also a big Joe Torre fan, I don't think the offer by the Yanks was a slap in the face. I fully respect Joe's decision to say no. However at $5M per year and being the highest paid manager in baseball with a $3M incentive if they make the World Series (actually a pay raise) that is pretty damn good. I would say that there isn't a single other manager in MLB right now that wouldn't take that offer with a 3 second decision to decide.

I am always for incentive laden contracts. Why shouldn't people be compensated for performance. How often does a player suck for the first 4 out of 5 years after signing the big contract and have a big "contract" year. Just the fact that we have a term "contract year" indicates there should be incentives.

If you think about it, USF lost by 3 and Rutgers turned one punt and one FG attempt into TDs. That is all part of the game but USF came damn close. I keep thinking that USF was overrated at #2 but then again, which team has a that invincible national champion type resume this year. I think no team does. We need a top 8 team playoff - period.

Mike and MIke made a good point this morning. You can't have a Cinderella story in the NCAA IA football championship. Maybe that is a good thing but we all like to think that the underdog has a chance. What a great story the Rockies are. We can argue that they don't deserve to get in just by getting hot in the last month but I don't agree.

I say you already have the BCS in place so just take the top 8 teams, seed them 1-8. 3 or 4 of the current BCS bowl games become the first round. Then you just delay 1 or 2 of the BCS games by a week which become the 2nd round and either promote another existing bowl game or create a new one.

OK, only a few more posts for you to endure regarding rugby. The finals is this weekend between South Africa and England. England are the defending champs but looked weak in qualifying play and even in round robin play. South Africa actually destroyed England 36-0 in the round robin stage but England eked out victories to finish 2nd in the bracket and advance. Now after two upset wins, they are ready to defend.

Of course based upon their first meeting common sense says it will be a one sided affair. However it seems England has regained some of their mojo from 4 years ago.

Also interesting is that the semi-final losers play in a consolation game for 3rd place. Host country France against Cinderella Argentina. For France it is a chance to end with a victory in front of home fans. For Argentina, it is a way to establish themselves as an international power in the game.

I think the problem with rugby here is that it is a very difficult game to watch and understand. They should have a 30-60 minute show just explaining the game that they can keep repeating on Versus before the games take place. I think people would be sort of interested and it can't cost too much to make a show like that.

There are spam bots that troll the chats and comment sections for emails. Type username "AT" domain.com or something like that so the bots don't put your name on a spam list. I learned this the hard way once when answering someone's question using my work email address.

Also you should have at least two email addresses. There is one just for your friends to use and for legitimate companies. The other is for everything else. Whenever you fill out any product registration, online survey or anything like that. I get about 100-200 junk emails per day on my junk account but my real email address stays clean. The only reason I get junk at all is a moron friend decided to send me a cute little greeting card and typed my email address into a website. NEVER type anyone else's address into a website for any reason.

In regards to scalping season tickets: Too bad. If you really wanted them you'd get in on the ground floor or wait. That's what I did witht he Colts and no I am in for as long as I want them sicne I got in before there was a waiting list, so neener, neener. I can do what I want with them, and I do enjoy making a bit of profit off of them.

Wow, a little hostility towards BC, huh? I guess Florida didn't have a bye week this year? You may think BC is overrated, but they did "earn" their positon by not losing. They were unranked at the start of the season and have worked their way up by beating teams. It may not (and probably will not) last all year but you can't say they haven't done their job.

And har-har, that was hilarous about "idle" being in the middle of the ACC. Almost like Maryland, which thoroughly beat the Rutgers team you are lauding. College football is a crapshoot. Just sit back and enjoy rooting for your alma mater. Oh wait . . .

I don't see what the big deal is about season ticket holders selling tickets. Hey, when you have to fork out big $$ for just the RIGHT to buy the seats, more power to you! With these internet venues, you can sell them ahead of time and don't have to stand outside the stadium the day of the game.

I'm sure the percentage of people selling solely for profit is pretty small. Most people just try to get rid of games they can't attend, etc. When it comes to big markets, it's probably a different story.

I see Cleveland winning game six, simply because Fausto Carmona is so much better a pitcher than the 40-year old Schilling. I know Schilling might paint his sock red or might pitch the game of his life since he has a contract and his ego riding on it, but the fact is that Carmona is unequivocally better at this point, and unlike Sabathia, who I think is gassed right now, I think Carmona just had a bad outing last time out and will have one tomorrow similar to the Yankees outing (minus the bugs).

I think the Torre thing was just a PR move by little Steinbrenner and meaty Steinbrenner (credit Neyer for that gem) to show some fans they "tried" to get Torre back, all the while knowing Torre would never accept a pay cut AND a one year deal. Honestly, what non first-year manager would ever be dumb enough to take a one year deal in this instant history blogosphere world? No one, and the Steinbrenners knew this, but could also save face.

As for BC, I think it has less to do with Dan disliking BC than just being whiny and complainy about Florida. I think he's just bitter that Florida ain't that great this year, and therefore is justifying/excusing it in his head by just thinking that with all of the world centers around the SEC talk that their proponents always champion. Dan, you hate it when people think the world revolves around the AL East; you're doing the exact same thing with your SEC is the best and no one else matters talk as well.

I'm not sure about 4 in the same division because the Pac-10 doesn't have divisions, but they do have 4 in the top 14 of the BCS standings. 40% of the conference has a legitimate shot at making the title game. I think that's more impressive.

I'm not sure I agree with your invasion of provacy argument. The fan selling tickets is selling it in public (stub hub) he has no right to privacy. The pats are merely taking puclic information, and checking against its season ticket holder DB to check for people abusing their season tickets. If the fan has privacy concerns, he shouldnt sell in public.

Roger Clemens made 17.4 million dollars this season. During the season and postseason he threw 1646 pitches that comes out to $10,571.08 per pitch.

C.C. Sabathia leads all pitchers this season in pitches with 3892. If he was paid as much as Clemens per pitch he would be paid $41,142,648.85 this season. Keep in mind that he could accumulate more money if the Indians make it to the world series.

The interesting thing is that Sabathia is better than Clemens. The best way we know of to evauluate pitchers is ERA+ or adjusted ERA. Clemens had an ERA+ of 107 while Sabathia's was 143.

So if we pro-rate by ERA+ and salary Sabathia should have made $54,985,035.38 this season. His actual salary was $8.75 million.

@ chipp1) you can use any of the polls to make any argument about quality vs. quantity you want, but as a fan of the SEC there are only going to be 2 or 3 teams from the east ranked at the end of the regular season

2) you forgot to mention the BCS schools who have to play an extra championship game that's even more of a burden for these "students"

I think it's really hard to historically compare post-season records because the number of games keeps expanding. If you look at career post-season wins, the list is dominated by current pitchers. In years past a guy would get 2-3 starts in a post-season, tops. Now a team can play 19 games. Not sure what it all means, but it just makes it that much more impressive that Whitey Ford won 10 post season games. Those were all WS games. Same for Sandy koufax and his 0.95 ERA.

Also, just looking around baseball-reference.com and noticed this anomoly. All-time leader for post-season ERA: John Rocker. 0.00 over 20 innings piched

@bkelly126: I'm pretty sure that there's 10 schools in the Pac-10. And uhh, I know it's simple math and all, so it might be hard for you southerners to grasp, but 4/10=40% champ. I said 14 because that's where the #4 is (USC). And you could say that the SEC does indeed have 4 in the top 15, but they also have several more schools so the percentage is lower. Also, Florida doesn't really have a legitimate chance of making the finals with 2 losses.

@dougolis:you're logic is flawed. 2 teams from the same conference are never going to compete for the national championship. so out of the top 14 teams, someone from the Pac-10 has a 28.6% chance of winning the title

I never said both teams were going to be in the championship. And I wouldn't say 2 teams in the championship will never compete for the championship; the Big 10 came awfully close last year. Anyway, I said 4 of the teams from the Pac10 conference are in contention of making the championship, and not 4 of the teams within the top BCS rankings are from the Pac10 conference. Big difference. What you're saying as 4 out of 14 doesn't make sense anyway because all the teams don't have equal chances of making it among the 14.

I guess I do see your point, but at least 2 or 3 of those 4 teams are going to be knocked out of contention in the next month or so. you're never going to have more than 2 teams in each conference duking it out for a spot in the championship game.

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DanShanoff.com is a sports-blog spin-off of my long-time ESPN.com column, "The Daily Quickie." Anchored by an early-morning post of must-know topics, the blog is updated frequently throughout the day with new posts and user comments.