It took some work, but I got it done.

This one pumps me up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A young Korver

The wild thing is I could keep going, it is nonstop! Some one out there loves them some Cal Kover!!!!

I’M OFF ON VACATION THROUGH THE NEW YEAR SO THIS MAY BE THE FINAL NFL TOP 5/BOTTOM 5.  I’LL TRY TO POST ANOTHER ONE NEXT WEEK BUT MAY NOT BE IN THE MOOD AS MY TEAM WILL MOST LIKELY MISS THE PLAYOFFS AGAIN EVEN THOUGH JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO THEY WERE BEING TALKED AS A POSSIBLE SUPER BOWL TEAM AND NOW I MAY HAVE TO DO A SHOW IN MY UNDERWARE IF KELLY KAYE’S BEARS HAVE A BETTER RECORD.  BUT I DIGRESS.  I ALSO INCLUDED SOME KEYS AND MY SUGAR BOWL PREDICTION.  HAVE A SAFE AND ENJOYABLE HOLIDAY SEASON AND HERE’S TO A GREAT NEW YEAR!

UTES KEYS & PREDICTIONS FOR THE SUGAR BOWL:
-START STRONG:  Utah needs to show Bama that they can play with them early which in turn will give themselves confidence that they can win.
-CONTROL THE RUN GAME:  Notice I didn’t say stop the run game because I think that’s impossible.  But if they can control the run game in forcing Bama into some 3rd and 5’s forcing them to pass that will give the Utes a chance.
-CREATE BIG PLAYS:  Defensively that means create a turnover or two.  Maybe Kruger forcing a fumble on a sack or a big interception.  Offensively Ludwig needs to go back and review the Boise State/Oklahoma Fiesta Bowl for some inspiration because it’s going to take some creative playcalling and a trick play or two to put points on the board.
-PREDICTION:  If Utah can do all of the above then they will win.  The problem is they haven’t faced a team this physical and fast but the Bama offense is not potent enough to make it a blowout.  So I expect a competitive game but Utah will fall short…ALABAMA 27-14. 

NFL TOP 5…BOTTOM 5 (Record/Last wk’s ranking):
TOP 5: 
5) STEELERS (11-4; #1):  Four turnovers turn into 21 Titan points in loss.
4) PANTHERS (11-4; #2):  Let an opportunity to beat NYG and take home field slip away. 
3) COLTS (11-4; #5):  Peaking at the right time clinching 7th straight playoff berth. 
2) GIANTS (12-3: #3):  GMen clinch home field in playoffs with a win over Carolina.  Is that a good thing though?  Remember last year they were on the road for their Super Bowl run.
1) TITANS (13-2; #4):  Flex muscle to clinch home field in win over Steelers and reclaim #1 spot. 
Dropped out: NONE

BOTTOM 5:
5) BENGALS (3-11-1; #4):  Post 2nd straight win.  Just hurting their draft status.
4) BROWNS (4-11; UR):  When you are shut out by the Bungles you deserve a spot in the poll.
3) CHIEFS (2-13; #3):  Had the lead four different times against the Fish but couldn’t hold on.   
2) RAMS (2-13; #2):  Bad teams blow games.  Rams blew 16-3 4th qter lead vs. SF.
1) LIONS (0-15; #1):  The quest for 0-16 looks very likely as they are blown out by Saints. 
Dropped out:  RAIDERS

FUNNY HOLIDAY SONG/VIDEO AS PENNINGTON PLAYS HIS FORMER TEAM WITH A PLAYOFF BERTH ON THE LINE:

IN CASE YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THIS ONE YET…PLAXICO BURRESS GUN SAFETY VIDEO…HILARIOUS:

BOOZER DONE FOR THE YEAR!

Got cha….The 2008 year that is. Glass Booze is scheduled to have a 3rd MRI after Christmas as #2 was inconclusive on why Glass can’t play yet. That means he’ll certainly sit past baby new year. The docs say his bone bruise in the knee may be a bigger issue than the quad strain. If ‘Los doesn’t get in some games soon, he won’t be opting out of his deal at the end of the year because he won’t be healthy enough for long enough to get the big bucks this offseason. According to the article, worst case in arthroscopic surgery which could put him out possibly until after the All-Star break. Hard to trade a hurt guy too…..

COULD KEY UTES LEAVE EARLY?

According to the Des News, Paul Kruger, Zane Beadles and Sean Smith have submitted their names to the NFL evaluation committee to see where they would go in the 2009 NFL draft. Before Utes fans panic, this is a common procedure and does not mean these guys are going to go. However, if Kruger has a first round grade, and he may, he would be crazy not to go. Sean Smith thinks he’s NFL ready and may go, although he may be in for a rude awakening when he gets his evaluation back and Beadles should and probably will stay. In order, Smith, Kruger, Beadles in likelihood of leaving early.

BYU NEEDS TO GET OFF THE HIGH HORSE

Funny how things change in a year. Bronco was a genius, K-Whitt was fighting to stave off rumors of his demise. This year, Bronco is arrogant and resistant to change and K-Whitt can’t lose and will cash in. BYU had a bad game plan against Arizona, didn’t make any adjustments and the team was lethargic and largely played uninspired and sloppy football. Arizona knew the same thing that the Utes did: BYU is set in their ways, thinks their schemes are great and won’t change for anybody. The players weren’t prepared and some said so after the Vegas bowl loss. The school will/has changedd their scheduling philosophy from a Hawaii 2007 plan to a Oklahoma in 2009 plan. The team has to change as well. The defense doesn’t have enough athletes and the recruiting thought has to change from the current arrogance of “players recruit us”, so says Bronco to a more traditional going out and getting players to fit offenses that spread the field with speed, and no because a player is African-American that doesn’t make him an automatic “athlete” much to the dismay and belief of BYU fans…See Brandon Bradley and Brandon Howard tape this season. The MWC has caught up with the rest of the CFB world in recrutiing this offensive talent and it’s only going to get worse for BYU. New Mexico (Mike Locksley-Illinois), SDSU (Brady Hoke-Ball State), and Wyoming (Dave Christensen-Mizzou), all hired spread offense gurus as their new head coaches, the old wacky WAC days could be back when these teams get the right players in place to run these schemes. Add in varied spread attacks at Utah, TCU, UNLV and CSU and the Cougars need for speed will be exposed nearly every week. 10-3 isn’t bad, but it will get worse unless BYU makes some changes because the conference is making changes and Bronco acts like the guy who thinks the internet “fad” will pass so he doesn’t buy a computer.

THE “NEW” ESPN.COM

Yawn…...As long as the “new” site doesn’t automatically start a video on my screen I’ll be happy. I can’t get to the stop button fast enough.

HOW DID THE “HOFF” DO?

The legend, David Hasselhoff took off enough time from the bottle to sing the National Anthem beofre the BYU-Arizona Las Vegas Bowl game. How did the legendary German pop star do?

PENALIZED FOR A SNOW ANGEL

The No Fun League strikes again. Does it ever occur to these jack-assses who don’t let players express themselves that we like to be entertained for our really outragously overpriced dollar?

PLAY WHAT’S OLDER THAN JOE PATERNO?

RANDOM VEGAS BOWL OBSERVATIONS (Typed as game goes along)
PRE-GAME:
-Beautiful afternoon in Vegas.  Sunshine and 52 when I was driving in.  It will cool down dramatically once the sun goes down. 
-Confirmed that Arizona sold 9500 of their 12,000 allotted tickets which is the most sold by a Pac 10 team for this game.  As for BYU they turned in 1,000 back to the Vegas Bowl who distributed them to firefighters and police officials and their families.
-David Hasselhoff is as bad of a singer as he is an actor.
-Near start of game it appears there is a large base of Arizona fans as well as BYU fans. Definitely open pockets of seats particularly in end zone and upper corner of stadium but not as many as I expected.

1ST QTER:
-BYU moves ball from their 11 to the Arizona 40 before drive stalls.  Eight pass plays were called to just two running plays.  While Hall was efficient they still need to run the ball more.  Hall was also pressured a couple of times which is not good news for the Cougars if that continues throughout night.
-Uh oh.  Turner beats Bradley on a slant for 71yds.  Bradley did save the TD although Grigsby easily gets in from 1yd out.  Looks like the same bad defense we’ve seen throughout the season.  Arizona had success with short passes before the big play.  Don’t think the extra prep time helped this BYU defense.
-Arizona is definitely showing the emotion and fire we expected.  And as expected BYU is not matching that intensity.  BYU has had a couple of bad penalties and Chambers got lucky on a fumble on kick return was knocked out of bounds by a Wildcat player.
-BYU offense goes three and out.  Once again Hall was pressured on 3rd down and had to scramble.  Receivers are not getting open down field.
-END OF 1ST: Arizona 7-0 and driving again. 

2ND QTER:
-No shock on the Arizona game plan.  Hitting the short slant and curl passes and running WR Mike Thomas on end arounds with success.  All the same stuff teams had success with throughout the season.
-BYU gets a huge break.  Grigsby fumbles pitch recovered by Bauman at own 5yd line.  Let’s see the offense can mount a long drive to get some points, gain some momentum and keep their defense off the field.
-You knew it was going to happen with the amount of times he’s been scrambling tonight.  Hall pressured tries to scramble and fumbles. Arizona ball at BYU 24.
-Defense holds Arizona to FG but trails 10-0.  That should feel like a victory.  BYU offense needs to get on track.  First three possessions…Punt, Punt, Fumble. 
-Offense on track.  Hall hits Reed for 35 over middle and 36 to Collie on a streak with a 1yd TD run by Unga.  Arizona has dominated game but BYU finds themselves down just 10-7.  They should feel fortunate.
-Defense forces a Wildcat punt.  Offense though implodes.  Get’s the ball to Arizona 18 on a 3rd and one.  Then three straight penalties…illegal formation, delay of game, false start on Dallas Reynolds to go 3rd and 16.  Unga goes for 11 on a draw and the Payne misses 40yd FG wide left.
-HALFTIME: ARIZONA 10-7.  This should be much worse.  The defense hasn’t been great but did only allow 10pts.  The offense has been below average at best.  Special teams have been bad with two fumbles (both recovered) and a missed FG.  Several poor penalties.  This team doesn’t appear to be ready to play this game but again they should feel lucky they are still in the game.

3RD QTER:
-Great start to 2nd half…a long Arizona kick-off return is negated by a penalty then Tuitama fumbles the snap recovered Clawson at the 27yd line.  Six plays later Hall finds a wide open George for a 1yd TD pass.  BYU capitalizes on the Arizona mistake to take a 14-10 lead.  Momentum shifts to the Cougars.
-Just announced Vakapuna has a separated shoulder.  Unfortunately fitting that the senior ends his career with an injury.
-BYU defense holds on 3rd and 1 as Daniel Sorensen makes a nice disrupting play.  Forces the punt
-This may end up being the longest 2nd half in football history!  The replay booth has taken forever reviewing a 12 men on the field call and then the Collie fumble that was ruled not a fumble.  Big break for BYU since Arizona would have had the ball at the 11.  BYU has to punt and Arizona has good field position at the 40.
-The Tuitama 37yd td pass to Dean goes down in the “what the heck was that” category.  Both Johnson and Fowler totally lost Dean who was wide open.  I can understand one guy losing him but both?  Pitiful.  Arizona leads 17-14.
-BYU offense puts together a good drive only to stall due to another penalty…a 15yd PI on Chambers.  Hall did have a good drive converting two crucial 3rd downs.  But they continue to shoot themselves in the foot.  Sorensen’s 53yd FG attempt fell short.  I thought he had enough leg for those?
-Arizona TD 24-14.  Tuitama to a wide open Chris Gronkowski.  No shock since this has been happening throughout the game.

4TH QTER:
-If BYU’s offense doesn’t score on their 1st 4th quarter possession I think they will be toast.
-Hall sacked and fumbles again.  This is on Hall.  He held the ball too long.
-Defense holds off turnover.  Again the pressure falls on the offense to score.  14pts at this point is inexcusable.
-Turnover #3 pinned on Max Hall.  He under threw Collie by just a tad and Wildcat CB Marquis Hundley makes a nice play for the pick.  Against most MWC teams that’s a TD.  Not so against an athletic Pac 10 squad, albeit the 5th place team in the conference.  Once again though it’s clear that BYU is the much slower team on the field.  They have to figure out how to address that issue if they want to challenge for a BCS berth.  This team is far from a BCS squad at this point. 
-Seats seem to be opening up in the BYU section.  Looks like fans are giving up down 24-14 with six minutes plus left.
-Arizona goes seven plays for 82yds topped off by a easy seven yard TD run by Tuitama.  And with 6:09 left down 31-14 most BYU fans are heading for the exit for the long drive back to Provo or the Casino! 
-Just turned in my MVP ballot for the game.  It was between Tuitama, Hall or the BYU defense for Arizona.  Decided on Tuitama. 
-I will say BYU isn’t quitting after recovering the onside kick.  Doesn’t help though Payne clanks the FG off the upright.

POSTGAME:
-David Tafuna says the BYU defense needs to change and make adjustments next season.  He says teams have figured them out.  When I asked Jorgensen about Tafuna’s comments, he said he agreed 100%.  Hall said they have to adjust the offense because defenses know what they’re doing. Reed even mentioned it was tough but he sacrificed for the team because he wanted the ball more.  This was something new under the Bronco regime.  Players chirping a bit wanting change.  Much different than the theme (or some called arrogance) over the years of focusing on just themselves and their own execution.  Reality is this…teams have figured them out and BYU doesn’t have enough athletes with the ability to improvise.  This team was exposed again.  If you’re happy with challenging for a MWC title every few years then you’re satisfied with what’s going on.  If you want to attain BCS status things will have to change.  Now will Bronco make those changes?

BYU KEYS VS. ARIZONA IN VEGAS BOWL:
-PRESSURE TUITAMA:  Willie Tuitama is not a running qb like the other qb’s that have run spread offenses that have had success against BYU.  That means the Cougars have to make sure he’s uncomfortable by applying pressure.  This will also help the secondary.  The problem is they haven’t shown the ability to do this consistently this season. 
-HALL LIMIT MISTAKES:  Max Hall is 21-4 as a starter.  In his four losses he has been responsible for 14 turnovers.  If Hall can limit the mistakes, the Cougars have a good chance to win.
-START FAST:  The best way to get over that hangover from the Ute loss is start strong early.  Shake the cobwebs and get the doubt out of their heads.  A slow start could mean trouble against a motivated Wilcat team.
-PREDICTION:  Bowl games are about motivation and emotion.  Arizona is excited and motivated to be in their first bowl game in 10 years.  While BYU coaches and players tell us their excited it’s hard for me to believe after the disappointment of not living up to expectations this season.  Plus their is also that issue of BYU’s struggling defense to worry about.  ARIZONA wins 27-21.

First off thanks to all who sent in trade scenarios, there were literally hundreds to choose from! Here are the five best….........

5. P1 DAVID 3-WAY TRADE

JAZZ GET: Emeka Ofefor and Rony Turiaf
WARRIORS GET: Raymond Felton
BOBCATS GET: Carlos Boozer, CJ Watson.
WHY IT WORKS: Gives Jazz defense and toughness. Gives Warriors a point guard. Gives Bobcats a veteran low post guy for Larry Brown who likes vets over rookies.
WHY IT DOESN’T: Boozer highly unlikely to re-sign with Bobcats after the season and Okafor and Turiaf just signed new long-term deals totaling nearly 100 million dollars and Jazz won’t have any money to resign other guys which is why they would trade Boozer in the first place.

4. P1 JERRY (Sloan Perhaps?) Others sent this in but his was first…..

JAZZ GET: Andres Nocioni and Luol Deng
BULLS GET: Carlos Boozer, Jarron Collins and Mo Almond
WHY IT WORKS: Jazz get toughness and a woung scoring small forward, Bulls get low post scoring and Booze may want to sign there.
WHY IT DOESN’T:  Nocioni and Deng have long term deals and are owed much money that the Jazz probably don;t want to tie up. In this scenario is likely you do not have enough cash to sign Millsap and/or Memo.

3. P1 TYLER: JAZZ-HAWKS TRADE

There were many trades with Atlanta submitted, I liked this one best because it was the most simple and realistic. Joe Johnson was submitted by many but he makes a ton and would cost you too many players in the end.
JAZZ GET: Zaza Pachulla, Al Horford, Mo Evans.
HAWKS GET: Carlos Boozer, Mo Almond
WHY IT WORKS: Booze would re sign in Atlanta although with Josh Smith around I’m not sure how he fits Hawks plans. Jazz get Horford and can lose Memo, Zaza is a great name and he comes off the books after this season, Evans contract only runs 2 seasons and is moderate. Horford won’t make good money for a couple seasons, so you can re sign Millsap under this scenario and everyone else now that Memo isn’t needed.
WHY IT DOESN’T: Hawks don’t have a center and Horford is a great young player who Atlanta is unlikely to deal, you would need a third team to pull this off. Horford would be owed big money in a couple seasons but you worry about that when the contract comes up.

2. P1 ERIC: Boozer to the Blaze, Hans to the Jazz

JAZZ GET: Hans
BLAZE GET: Boozer
WHY IT WORKS: Hans can set screens and knock opposing players out of the game, he works cheap.
WHY IT DOESN’T: I don’t see a downside here.

1. P1 ISAAC: THE ORLANDO TRADE ALTERED

JAZZ GET: JJ Reddick, Hedo Turkoglu and Brian Cook
MAGIC GET: Carlos Boozer, Mo Almond
WHY IT WORKS: Booze gets to Floirda and plays next to Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis i a killer front court which challenges in the East. Jazz get Hedo who can shoot and score and makes a reasonable 6.5M next season. With the additional money they sign Millsap. Reddick is a free look outside shooter because Magic didn’t pick up his option and Cook’s deal is up at the end of this season and he is in the deal to make the numbers work. Hedo and JJ are insurance against Korver leaving, he can opt out at the end of the season and Hedo is Turkish and friends with Memo which may make it more likely he stays around beause he can opt out at the end of the season. Also, the submitting P1’s name is Isaac Curtis, who was a great deep threat for the Bengals…Cool that he listens.
WHY IT DOESN’T: As astute P1’s have pointed out, the Jazz lose low post scoring here but Utah is not working from a position of the most leverage here. Both teams are happy, Booze is in the East away from the West and most objectives are met.

OTHERS

Some P1’s wanted a deal in which LaMarcus Aldredge of the Blazers would come to the Jazz in numerous scenarios. The Jazz and Blazers play in the same division and a trade would be highly unlikely. Some wanted a 3-way in which Marion would go to Portland and Aldredge would end up in Utah, the Blazers wouldn’t make that move. Some wanted a form or Bosh for Boozer, no way Toronto makes that deal and neither would resign with their new team. Many wanted deals with the Bobcats or complicated miltiplayer deals with the Bulls, Knicks or 76ers. the Jazz and most teams don’t want to gut the roster and work through that many chemistry issues in season. Some wanted a deal with Minnesota, Miami loving Booze would never sign there long term, making a deal highly unlikely, scratch that, it would never happen. Some asked about a Sheed for Booz swap. Sheed is a free agent after the season, is racist against the white man (he colors in the white Jerry West NBA logo on his black socks with a Sharpie before games, I’ve seen it and he told us why),  and is from the East. He may be the least likely player to ever sign in Utah and that’s before Jerry and he came to blows during the first practice.

Thanks for taking the time to work the trade machine P1’s!!

John and Hans