The era is over

Wow it's all over for the Yankees and I could not be happier. This will probably mark the end of the Joe Torre and its time for them to rebuild.

Professional Tailgating: The last two weeks have been hard

The Only Time Will Tell Tailgating Crew was back at its home base at the RAC for the Rutgers vs. Cincy game on Saturday. Sure Rutgers dropped it second straight heart breaker, but that did not stop us from enjoying beers and open flames.

For the first two hours of tailgating the Rutgers maintenance were the stars of the show.

I guess Rutgers fans have not warmed up to this tailgating idea (six hours before game time).Little did tailgaters know there was a famous University of Miami defense back at the game and it was not the person in the red shirt, JP Losman's Potential. JP Losman's Potential now wants to start to act like the Captain.
An hour and a half before the game and no one wants to show up.

Another fine tailgating session completed.

Is this the same Ron Zook that coached Florida?

What a difference three years makes. Three years ago, Ron Zook was hired as the head coach of the University of Florida and less then two years later he was run out of town. Now Zook is leading the rebirth of the University of Illinois. Zook and his gang of players just old enough to shave, beat the fifth ranked team in all of the land, Wisconsin on Saturday. To make things better the Illini are now 3-0 in the Big Ten for the first time since 1990, and instead of just making a bowl game, they might be head to a New Years Day Bowl game.

"The people have been so great here," Zook said in an ESPN.com story. "The expectation here isn't the same. There, the expectation level is, well, whatever it is. Here, they want to win, but they see the positive side of it. After every game [in the first two seasons at Illinois], I just felt like saying, 'Hang tough,' and 'Hang in there.' I just always thought we'd be OK if we just stayed the course."

When Zook, who was hired to replace the old ball coach, was hired as the leader of the Gator Nation, some people hated the hire so much they started the FireRonZook.com. Now the members of the Illini Nation are ready to elect him President of the United States.

When Zook came to Illinois, the program had fallen so far that it might have been one of the five least talented rosters in the United States. But over the last couple of years, Zook has been out of the recruiting trail battling for some of the best players in the country. First it was getting J. Leman to stay and lead the defense. Then it was getting quarterback Juice Williams (pictured) to join the gang, then he got Vontae Davis from Washington DC, defensive player Martez Wilson, and Arrelious Benn also from the district.

The old saying that one person trash is another man's treasure is no more truer then with Zook.

We can all act Like Rafa

Now we all can try to get in the mind of Rafa Benitez, I know that sounds like a scary idea. A English Web site has developed a site that allows you to match wits with the king of the Tinker men.

Anyone can try to pick the team that the Rafa is going to send out on the pitch. According to the site, no one predicted the team that Rafa would send out in the Champions League lost to Marseille, I know that no one had Lucas Leto.

So test your skills here.

And you thought Nascar was bad

Every year Nascar cars have more and more ads on them, from sports drinks to motor oil. Soccer teams have a main sponsor on the front of their jerseys, but in Russia hockey they take putting sponsors on jerseys to another level. Some of them feature a main sponsors as well as other sponsors on the back or on the shoulders.

Here are a couple of my favorites:

2002 Dynamo Moscow: note the Samsung logo on the front and the company logos on the shoulders and sleeves
HK Riga 2000: This one is the best, company logos all over the place

Torpedo Yaroslavl: more and more company logos

Mack Brown's players are spoiled

The streets of the University of Texas are so dangerous that football players can not walk to practice. Each day the football team boards private buses to take them to practice, because of some dangerous intersections, wow are these guys 2-years old or 18/19-year olds.

This year Texas is spending more then a $100 million on the athletic department, a third of the spending is on the football program.

• "Each practice, football players board a bus near the football stadium and ride it to the practice field to keep them out of harm's way crossing major intersections on foot. The service costs about $300 per day," according to a recent series by the Austin Statesman about athletic spending by the University of Texas.

I know in college I was lazy but not walking a block or so to practice, now that is out of control.

Besides taking the bus to practice the athletic department also likes to spend money on the entertainment items for the players.

• "Following its Rose Bowl victory, the football team was rewarded with a $200,000 renovation of its players lounge, a retreat with four TV projectors (screens drop from the ceiling at the push of a button embedded in a six-foot replica of the UT tower), six flat screen TVs, four X-boxes and three PlayStations, according to the report. "Two floors down, the football locker room boasts another new lounge area, with five flat-screen TVs and a three-dimensional, lighted 20-foot Longhorn on the ceiling."

Wow, in college I used to have an old Nintendo 64 to play Mario Cart on and our dorm lounge had an old dirty stove and really ugly couch. I think that I should have been a football player at Texas, but we all know that was never going to happen.

Professional Tailgating: Season up in smoke

National Championship dreams, gone.

The dreams of state went up in smoke as the school with the little turtle that could, walked right into the Rutgers Stadium and handed the Scarlet Knights their first lost. But that did not stop the Only Time will Tell tailgating crew from enjoying themselves in the parking again.

The Only Time Will Tell breakfast of Champions: Bagels, screwdrivers and more vodka.
Endy in the Outfield makes another friend, but the friend wants no part of him.

Endy in the Outfield trying to get through the tough times.
The Only Time Will Tell Tailgating Crew discussing why the elephant vodka is the best.
Nothing says college football like a tightly packed bus of drunk and sweaty people.Like a herd of sheep everyone heads to the stadium.

Even the soldiers were excited about the game.
The students section was into it before they started to throw bottles at everyone. The most emotion that the teams showed all day.

So there are four games left in the season and a trip to the Sun Bowl seems the likely spot for them. But the crew will be out for this weeks game against Cincy.

Mets fan are not going to be happy for sometime

Seven up with 17 to go, and it ends with the Phillies taking home the NL East. Mets fans might be burning stuff for a while, but some of them have already started.

Only Time Will Tell contributor and Mets fan Endy in the Outfield decided to take his frustration out on a copy of the New York Daily News Saturday morning using lighter fluid and a lighter. Just like the Mets season, the paper did not fair that well.

Endy in the Outfield hates everything about the Daily News and Scott Schoenweis

and just like a Billy Wagner visit in the late innings

the season and the Daily News were up in smoke.

Bad Fashion College Style

College football teams change their uniforms for a variety of reason, some to honor a past team, other do it raise money for a special case, and on Saturday new jerseys ran the spectrum.

Jake Locker and the rest of the Washington Huskies honored the number one ranked 1960 team by wearing retro jerseys and then taking USC to the limit.

LSU wore different jerseys and white helmets for their clash with Tulane. The jerseys will be sold to raise money for The Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund.

And last but not least Minnesota, wow where do you start with them. The Gophers looked like mustard packets running around on the field.

Does anyone remember Jason Gwaltney?

Recruiting is an inexact science and that was no different in 2005. Some of the hot shot recruits from the class have been making an impact on college campuses for the last couple of years while some have yet to hit the mark, while other have been run from college like Jason Gwaltney (picture above).

Here is a little look back at some of the hits and miss from that class.

Hits:

• Rey Maualuga, USC, linebacker: At the time the 5th rank in the class has been a warrior for USC and one of their best players over the last couple of years.
• Jonathan Stewart, Oregon, running back: At the the 10 ranked prospects in the class, has become one of the best running backs in the country and has helped lead the Ducks to their best start in years.
• DeSean Jackson, Cal, wide receiver: At the time, the 18 ranked prospect in the class. Has become Mr. Electric for the Golden Bears and has been one of the best players on the left coast.
• Darren McFadden, Arkansas, running back (pictured): At the time, the 23 ranked prospect in the class. I have a man crush on Mr. McFadden. He has made hog's game interesting to watch, which is something to be said.
• James Davis, Clemson, Running back: At the time, the 42 ranked prospect in the class. Has been one of the best players from the class.

Misses:

• Jason Gwaltney, running back: Was ranked 15 in the class when he came out Long Island. Ended up going to West Virginia and flunking out. At onetime considered a better player that Mr. McFadden.
• Fred Rouse, UTEP, wide receiver (pictured): At the time the 6th ranked prospect in the class. As a true freshman made a huge impact at FSU, but then was kicked off the team. Now trying to put his career back together.
• Derrick Williams, Penn State, wide receiver: He was the king in high school, the top ranked player in all of the land. Williams might not be a miss yet, but he has yet to set the Big Ten on fire like he was supposed to. So as you see recruiting can be a difficult to predict.

Show Me the Money

Lists are made to generate debate on a topic and the recently released 100 most powerful people in the sports world is sure to do so. At the top of the list are the normal cast of characters: Tigers Woods, Roger Goodall, David Stern and George Bodenheimer. But one sports appears to be left off the list: Soccer.

If there is a list of the top 100 power brokers in sports why does it not acknowledge soccer in particular, the English Premier League.

Here are a couple of names that should have been listed above David Beckham and the president of the WNBA both from the soccer world and other areas:

• Roman Abramovich: The owner and Czar of Chelski. Started the trend of foreign ownership in the EPL and is the world's version of the early 1990's George Steinbrenner.
• Richard Scudamore: The Chairmain of the English Premier League. Over the course of the last couple of years, no sports leauge in the world has seen the increase of television revenues that the EPL has seen. In the past two years, Scudamore has helped secured more then $1.6 billion in television revenue.
• Michel Platini (pictured): The former french soccer star and current president of UEFA. Platini is one of the best players ever to be produced by France, but now he is making his name as president of UEFA and trying to overhaul the money generating Champions League. If he gets a chance to change the league, he might alter the flow of money in European soccer.
• Pini Zahavni: Soccer Agent. Any where there is a big money transfer, Pini is sure to be involved. In July 2002 was involved in Rio Ferdinand 30 million pound move from Leeds to Manchester United and in July 2001 Juan Sebastian Vernon 28 million pound move to United from Lazio.
• Jimmy Sexton: college football agent. Represents some of the best coaches in the south. Including: Auburn's Tommy Tuberville, South Carolina's Steve Spurrier, Tennessee's Phillip Fulmer and Arkansas' Houston Nutt, former Miami head coach Larry Coker, Frank Beamer of Virginia Tech, Nick Saban of Alabama and former Dallas Cowboys' Bill Parcells.
• Kevin White: AD Notre Dame: White is the king maker at every ones favorite school. The explosion in college coaches salary can be tied to White and giving his coaches more money. He named the first black football coach in Notre Dame history and then fired him. After five good games gave the Lord of the Ring Dings a 10 year contract for $4 million a year.

The list for the most part is good but you have to remind your self that soccer is played all over the world and just because the united states did not invent it, that does not mean it does not exist.

The Air Raid Offense puts up better stats then a PlayStation game

Every year, Texas Tech puts up PlayStation type numbers, but this year they have taken it to another level. Red shirt freshman Michael Crabtree (pictured above) has become the poster child for the next generation of the Air Raid Nation.

So far this season, Crabtree leads the nation in receiving: 4 games, 52 catches, 775 yards, 11 touchdowns. Yes 11 touchdowns.That is almost three touchdowns a game. OK I have a NCAA 07 football dynasty with Rutgers and Kenny Britt leads the nation in receiving and he's only averaging two touchdowns a game and that is in a video game.

Besides Crabtree, senior Texas Tech receiver Danny Amendola is also in the top five in the country in receiving. So far Amendola has 40 catches for 522 yards and 3 touchdowns.

To understand the Air Raid offense you have to understand the man that created this mess, head coach Mike Leach.

In the 2005 Sports Illustrated College Football preview edition, Leach broke his offense down like this:

"Distributing the ball to all the different skill players is our biggest emphasis," says Leach. "We're not a team that hands it to one guy and throws it to two. We want all five skill positions to touch the ball."

No matter who plays, they all get their stats.

A Rotation Spinning Out of Control

So I get it Rafa the Gaffer wants his Liverpool side to be fresh all year, but that does not explain his weird rotation policy for the Carling Cup game against Reading today. Sure they won 4-2 but the selection of Fernando Torres is sure to raise some more question about the The Gaffers rotation policy.

On the weekend Rafa did not start his 40 million dollar man for the league game against Birmingham, which ended in a scoreless draw, but the for the Carling Cup its was all guns blazing for Rafa. Besides Torres, Rafa also included Carragher and Crouch in his side.

"Liverpool have grown accustomed to their manager's mystifying selections and have been happy to accept the price when it provides for a trip to Istanbul, Cardiff or Athens, but on the rare occasions when Benítez has gambled unnecessarily their supporters have not been slow to voice displeasure. Saturday was one such occasion and the decision to omit the Spanish international for an hour against Birmingham will attract more detractors should the 23-year-old be deemed ready to face Reading tonight,'' according to the Guardian.

If Rafa goal was to win the EPL title this year, why is that Torres has not started in the last two leagues games, the last game he started was Liverpool's destruction of Derby on Sept. 1. So far this season his selection process has been all over the map. How is he going to challenge for the crown if his teams are never able to grow together, but as a United fan I could care less right now the only team that would bother me is Arsenal.

Professional Tailgating: The NFL Throwback edition

The Only Time Will Tell tailgating crew headed up the expressway to see it favorite NFL Team, The Philadelphia Eagles. But this trip was different then most trips to the Linc, it was throwback day and fan were decked out in yellow and sky blue.

Tailgating in Philly can mean having to deal with tractor trailers

and barbed wire

Eagles fan always remember their roots, these two fans are from Jacksonville and really enjoy their face paint.

Who said Eagles fans were not like college fans with their transportation

On the day the Eagles celebrated their 75 anniversary, some remembered Randall Cunningham's 1990 Pro Bowl season.

One of the all time great linebackers in Eagles history Seth Joyner signs autographs for the fans during his appearance on the pregame show.

No matter where you go, Reggie White is always watching down on the Birds

The Eagles were supposed to run out on the field through an ole school helmet, but the helmet just ripped and fall to the ground.

I think that Kevin Kolb might be getting ready for his career highlight, Tour de France Champion.

It's always good to support your new manager

Chelski fans have yet to forget about the special one and that showed during their game with United at the Theatre of Dreams. The traveling Chelski put up a huge banner that salutes the special one.


If I was the new Chelski manger, I think that I might just quit now and forget about trying to win them over. I'm sure Eagles fans would do the same if Andy Reid was fired