Why the Colts Are Wrong

Week 17 is usually a crapshoot in the NFL, kind of like how Week 1 is. We never know for sure how good teams are going to be, so there are many uncertainties in season openers.

Equal to that -- for different reasons -- is Week 17. The end of the season brings a lot of different approaches. Some teams go all out, trying to end the season on a winning note. Others play like they just can't wait to clean out their lockers and move on to the next year.

For other teams, Week 16 is the time to start playing out the string. Among those would be the Indianapolis Colts.

At 14-0, Colts management -- led by team grand poobah Bill Polian and rookie head coach Jim Caldwell (in the photograph) -- faced a dilemma. Go for the unbeaten season, maintain a rhythm for all your starters, or sit the important players, assuring their health for the playoffs?

By now, you know what the Colts did. They took quarterback and MVP favorite Peyton Manning out of Sunday's game with the Jets, leaving a 15-10 game in the hands of rookie Curtis Painter. The bug-eyed youngster quickly turned 15-10 into 29-15, and the Colts had their first loss.

Meanwhile, teams like Green Bay have a decision to make this week. The Packers can't improve their playoff position, no matter what they do. They're a wild card team, they're going on the road for the first round, and it's likely they'll have to win three road games to get to the Super Bowl.

Sunday's Week 17 game is meaningless. What should they do?

For the Packers, it should be obvious. You do what the Colts did. Guys like Aaron Rodgers, Ryan Grant, Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, Jermichael Finley, Chad Clifton, Mark Tauscher, and Charles Woodson start, play a few series, then depart for a cozy seat on the bench.

Why is this so obvious, while what the Colts did was so obviously wrong?

To start, recent history works against the top seeds. Last year, only Pittsburgh, San Diego, and Arizona won home playoff games. AFC top seed Tennessee and the NFC's top seeded Giants both were one and done, losing to their respective conference's sixth-seeded teams, both of whom had upset division champions on the road the previous week.

Furthermore, the Colts have done this dance before, only to be met by an epic fail in the playoffs. The last two times Indianapolis secured a first-round bye, they were ousted in the divisional round by a road underdog. In fact, Peyton Manning is now 0-3 in his career in the divisional round after a first-round bye.

In all three situations, the Colts half-assed their season finale and lost.

This time around, the Colts decided not to wait for their season finale. They half-assed the 15th game, will almost assuredly do it again Sunday in Buffalo, and could go into the playoffs on a two-game losing streak.

Why?

There have been 43 Super Bowl winners. Many of them have been non-descript, except within their own franchises. Once the list hits 50 in a few years, it will become more and more watered down with forgettable figures.

The 1972 Dolphins are unforgettable. The 2009 Colts no longer have an opportunity to be unforgettable.

Yes, the objective to win the Super Bowl is a noble one. Everyone wants to do it. But given the way the playoffs have unfolded over the last few years (No. 1 seeds have not battled in a Super Bowl since New England-Philadelphia in 2004), don't you owe it to your fans to have a little momentum heading into the tournament?

Speaking of the fans, how mad are you today if you're a Colts season-ticket holder? It's bad enough to think that your team basically threw a game in front of you, but how about the fact that they're throwing your money away?

Let's say a good season ticket for Lucas Oil Stadium costs $750 (arbitrary figure, I know). Two of them (since you're not sitting alone) will run $1500. You're buying tickets for two games (preseason) that don't count and won't be taken seriously by anyone. Now, a third game has been thrown away by your team, since they are afraid of getting any good players hurt.

That means that 30 percent of your season ticket money will have gone to tickets for games that the home team isn't trying to win.

Doesn't that make you question your investment a bit? I mean, if they're not trying to win, what the hell are you doing spending so much money on the game? What fun could it possibly be to watch the home team go through the motions, especially against a team desperate to win?

As much as you have to respect the Colts for what they've accomplished, it's easy to see why people respect the Patriot way more. With an unbeaten season in their sights, New England played their 2007 season finale like it was the most important game of the year, even though home field had been clinched for weeks.

Guess what? No one was seriously injured, everyone was entertained, and the Patriots won.

It's too bad, for the sake of everyone who likes football, that Indianapolis didn't treat history with the same reverence. Maybe they could have finished the job that New England didn't.

Brennaman/Billick: Hard on the Ears

When you're looking at a schedule of 13 regionally-covered NFL games in a weekend, it's easy to imagine that some of the announcing will be less than stellar.

However, it's hard to imagine there being a worse broadcast team in the NFL right now than the Thom Brennaman/Brian Billick combination on FOX.

They're probably the fourth or fifth team on the network, meaning they rarely call big games. However, since I have Sunday Ticket, I've witnessed their magic a few times. Rarely were they in better -- or worse, I guess -- form than Sunday at Lambeau Field, when Seattle faced the Packers.

Brennaman and Billick were at their best worst late in the first half. Facing a third and goal at the 15, Green Bay ran the clock down to 15 seconds and took their second of three timeouts. That meant they had one timeout left (simple math, but follow along, please). It was going to be third down and goal, meaning they couldn't get a first down without scoring a touchdown. There were no more than two plays left in this possession, barring an unlikely series of defensive penalties, yet Brennaman and Billick were aghast at Green Bay's clock management. Why, they wondered, would the Packers run so much time off the clock?

After a 14-yard pass to Jermichael Finley, it was fourth down and goal at the one. The Packers called a timeout with eight seconds left. Brennaman and Billick again talked about the clock management, curious as to exactly why Green Bay would do such a thing. After a touchdown pass was called back by a penalty, there were still three seconds on the clock. Since the penalty -- which was a bad call -- moved the ball back to the 11, Mason Crosby booted a field goal on the last play of the half.

Normally, I try to leave announcers alone. In fact, I tend to be kind of sensitive to criticism of them, because I know how hard a job it is to do.

However, this is one of those stories that simply can't be brushed aside. Billick wins points with me because he can poke fun at his coaching failures, especially when it comes to developing quarterbacks in Baltimore. That's all well and good, but the guy is clueless in the booth, and Brennaman isn't much better.

The worst thing that could have happened to the Packers was that they would turn the ball over in that sequence. Outside of that, they were going to have a chip shot field goal if they didn't score a touchdown. What would the purpose be of leaving extra time on the clock for Seattle to respond? There's no reason to let a bad team back in the game with a late score, especially when that bad team is scheduled to get the ball for the start of the second half.

For Brennaman and Billick to fail to recognize the nature of the situation -- which was that Green Bay was in goal-to-go and couldn't get a first down -- is inexcusable. Luckily, Mike McCarthy has a better understanding of clock management than these two clowns.

Unfortunately, that isn't saying much.

Raymond's Big Night

Hope everyone had a great holiday. Regular posting resumes this week. Well, as regular as we get around here.

Third-year pro Mason Raymond continues to impress for Vancouver. The former Bulldog is up to 17 goals after a huge first period Sunday night in Calgary.

Against the rival Flames, Raymond posted his first career hat trick, and he did it the natural way. His three-goal outburst in the first period gave Vancouver a 4-1 lead, and before he chased Flames netminder and Finnish Olympic hopeful Miikka Kiprusoff, Raymond embarrassed the star a little bit.

Watch this incredible goal. Oh, and it's not necessarily the good kind of incredible of you're a Flames fan.



Vancouver won the game 5-1.

In just 39 games, Raymond has set career highs in goal (17) and points (29). It's been a great start for him so far.

• Also, former Bulldog Michael Gergen is playing professionally in Salzburg, Austria. In a message last week, he told me he's enjoyed his move to defense. I have invited Gergen to put together a guest blog for us when he has time.
  

Sharp Getting Noticed

Even though he was sent to the minors not too long ago, former UMD Bulldog MacGregor Sharp is continuing to turn heads. This time, it's NHL.com noticing the rookie, now playing with the AHL's San Antonio Rampage.

Lindsay Kramer authors this feature. In it, we find out that Sharp was recently told to get an apartment in San Antonio, so he won't have to live out of a hotel anymore. This is a really good sign for him, as you could probably ascertain.

Anaheim had its antenna pointing in Sharp's direction from early in his senior season. Even though the player had done little to merit more than a passing nod, the Ducks were already checking up on him.

"He's just a kid who got more opportunities to play at Duluth, and he got more confidence," said David McNab, senior vice president of hockey operations for Anaheim. "It was easy to like him."

Very quickly, he was easier to love. Unless you were trying to shut him down. Sharp scoffed at precedent and laughed all over the score sheet. He showed up at school his senior season with an improved shot and compiled 26 goals (second in the nation) and 24 assists in 43 games.

"I just decided to come in as a fresh start, was really motivated to put up some numbers," Sharp said. "I definitely didn't think it was going to work out that well, but we had some good guys around us. It was a pretty special year. You are having the time of your life with some of your best friends."

That was just the window dressing, since Sharp had yet to produce in clutch moments for a team that was a stranger to big games. But he blew away that concern by helping his school win the WCHA tournament with a hat trick in the Final Five title game. In seven postseason games (including two in the NCAA tournament) Sharp came up with 6 goals and 3 assists.

"It wasn't pressure for us," Sharp said. "We were having fun with it. When you are having fun, you don't really feel any pressure."

Sharp's fan club was growing exponentially by now, and NHL scouts pitching free-agent deals were at the front of the line to apply for membership cards. But Sharp, recalling the Ducks' overtures before he literally became "Mr. Big Shot," took a pact from Anaheim.

"Obviously, Anaheim was my first choice," he said. "When they are there the whole way, they speak to you a lot. It shows you are doing something right."

Obviously, this is great for Sharp. It's also good for UMD. Any time the program is mentioned as a potential development tool for pro prospects, it's good for recruiting. People notice these little things as they are preparing to make a college choice.

Not only that, but it's nice to see people you watched play for four years succeed at the next level.

Is This That Schism?

You should be proud. There hasn't been one negative word written about Brett Favre in this space in months. Or weeks. Whatever.

Anyway, the season has been going great for Minnesota. They have won the NFC North with two games to spare, and they still have a shot -- at least mathematically -- at the top seed for the NFC playoffs.

Considering that the widely-held view of head coach Brad Childress is one of pure incompetence, this is a hell of an accomplishment.

Favre's been a big part of that. He's limited his mistakes, thrown the ball with great accuracy, and there have been no complaints about his ability to blend in with his team.

Of course, when you're winning, no one really complains much about anything.

It's when you lose that such things happen.

Sunday night, the Vikings got stomped, 26-7, by the lowly Carolina Panthers. In the midst of that loss, Childress and Favre appeared to have a bit of a spat on the sideline. We found out after the game -- from the notoriously bigmouthed Favre -- that the spat was the result of Childress trying to take Favre out of the game.

Sounds like Favre politely told his coach to eat it.

Cue the complaining.

Virtually every football media outlet had a story Monday about Childress trying to pull Favre from Sunday's game, and it wasn't long before other examples were drawn up of this happening. Not only that, but it sounds like Favre's public acknowledgment of Sunday's events didn't sit too well with the bearded head coach. Sean Jensen of the St. Paul Pioneer Press notes that this isn't huge news at Winter Park.

But all is not well between Brad and Brett, and the primary difference centers on the quarterback's penchant to check out of runs and into passes. According to one team member, Favre has expressed frustration for much of the season about Childress' unwillingness to let him audible more.

And you all thought Packer fans' "It's all about Brett" mantra was just sour grapes.

It is all about Brett. He wants to throw the ball. Handing off is boring. Favre might not care about the fact that he owns the NFL's all-time record for touchdown passes, but he sure seems to enjoy adding to that mark at every available opportunity.

Meanwhile, Childress wants a quarterback that runs the called play. He knows he can't handcuff Favre, because Favre will simply go back to the farm, and then it's Childress -- not Favre -- that has the egg all over his face.

But it is driving him to the point of frustration.

To make matters worse, teams are playing more coverage against the Vikings, because the offensive line isn't blocking as well as it did earlier this season. That means Favre has to hold the ball longer than he should, and it opens him up to sacks and hits he shouldn't be taking.

All might not be well in Minnesota, but let's remember that they're still on track for no worse than the No. 2 playoff seed, meaning they will play any NFC playoff games indoors, and they play the Bears on Monday night. ESPN will try to build up this storyline (just like they did with the schism story before an ESPN-televised Vikings preseason game), and Childress and Favre will destroy it by being on the same page during the game. This story can go away just as quickly as it showed up, because this team is still 11-3, and it's hard to sneeze at that record.

Why the Rooney Rule Doesn't Work

For many years, teams in the National Football League did a terrible job of considering minorities for high-level football positions, whether it were on the coaching staff or in the front office.

Call it whatever you want (coincidence, racism, overblown, etc.), but it gave the league a bit of a black eye. After all, a good chunk of NFL players are minorities, and many of them had the desire and smarts to get into coaching.

The league's well-intentioned way of getting more opportunities to deserving minority candidates was something called the Rooney Rule. Named for Steelers patriarch Dan Rooney and his family, the rule requires NFL teams to interview minority candidates for head coaching and major front office positions. The teams aren't required to hire any minorities, but must interview them before moving forward.

In many ways, the rule has done a lot of good. No one will ever know what opportunities would have been available for guys like Raheem Morris, Mike Singletary, Jim Caldwell, Perry Fewell, and Lovie Smith were this rule not in place, mandating that they at least get a chance to interview.

However, the rule has its flaws, as evidenced by a few hires over the years, as well as one that took place on Thursday.

The Washington Redskins finally made a change atop their football food chain. Executive vice president Vinny Cerrato stepped down Thursday morning, and he was replaced by former Buccaneers and Raiders executive Bruce Allen.

Allen is white, and while ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the team interviewed two minority candidates to comply with the Rooney Rule, there is an issue with Allen's hiring.

The issue is that it's likely the Redskins had no intention of hiring a minority candidate. Allen, who is the son of legendary former Redskins coach George Allen, is the guy they wanted, and they simply conducted two token interviews to make sure they were in compliance.

Given Allen's history with former NFL coach turned commentator Jon Gruden, it seems a slam-dunk that Gruden will join the franchise as head coach next season.

Of course, the Redskins will face a heavy fine from the NFL if they go through with that hire without conducting any other interviews.

However, why would you agree to be interviewed for a job you have no chance at? Sure, you could blow the organization away, but what are the odds that it would matter? 100-to-1?

The Lions were fined for hiring Steve Mariucci, but they only hired him after two minority candidates turned down interviews. They turned them down because they knew the Lions wanted local boy Mariucci to coach the team.

Listen, I'm all for more diversity in football management. It's a problem, and it needs to go away. The NFL can do without the perception of racism in its franchises.

That said, the Rooney Rule goes too far. There are teams that go into a hiring process with an open mind. Others aggressively pursue one desired candidate from the start, and that's okay. There is no exact science on hiring the right coach, because both the open- and closed-minded approaches have worked and failed.

The league has made a lot of advances in this area, but it needs to get back to allowing teams to make hires they want, if that's how they want to roll.

After all, no one whined when the Colts hired Tony Dungy and Jim Caldwell without conducting any other interviews, did they?

Green Bay Becomes Bat Country

The Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL play their home games in the newsy Resch Center, which is across the street from Lambeau Field.

While not everyone in the league is on their way to a Division I scholarship, many USHL players have already committed to U.S. colleges, or they will commit before their junior careers are over.

It was a rather unique experience for the Green Bay players on Tuesday, as the Gamblers hosted Cedar Rapids (Iowa). No, it's not that they haven't played Cedar Rapids before. Instead, it's because the game was delayed when a bat started flying around the ice surface.

Instead of trying to slap it out of the air, ala Manu Ginobili of the San Antonio Spurs, Gambler players started swinging their sticks at it. Eventually, they were "successful."

Video comes from Fox 11 television in Green Bay.



You can expect a phone call from PETA very soon, Gambler management. Of course, the part of our world that doesn't hang on the life of a wayward bat sees at least a bit of humor in a bunch of hockey players trying to take out a bat with their sticks.

Gary Thorne Back in Hockey

The last time veteran broadcaster Gary Thorne had the chance to call a hockey game, he had a pretty good one unfold in front of him.



That was the 2009 Frozen Four title game, a great comeback win in overtime for Boston University, and Thorne absolutely nailed it.

The problem with Thorne is that he works for ESPN. No, this isn't some kind of anti-ESPN diatribe. However, the Frozen Four is really the only hockey ESPN has coverage of. Makes it hard for Thorne to work in the sport he's best at.

Until this year.

Thorne has signed on to broadcast Team USA's games at the 2010 IIHF World Junior Championships for NHL Network.

From the press release:

A holiday-season tradition will return to the NHL Network-U.S. for the third-straight season, as once again the network will broadcast all of Team USA's games at the 2010 World Junior Championship.

Gary Thorne, Dave Starman and Fred Pletsch will be the broadcast team for the tournament, which runs Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Saskatoon and Regina, Sask.

Good deal for hockey fans. Matt McConnell did a good job on this last year, but he's now the full-time TV voice of the Atlanta Thrashers. Thorne here is a no-brainer choice. Few can call a hockey game with his acumen or enthusiasm. He's the only one on the planet close to Mike Emrick's league at this point.

Denver, Patrick Wiercioch Screwed by Hockey Canada

Hockey rules in Canada. The sport is revered in a way it will likely never be in the United States, and they take it quite seriously.

The 2010 IIHF World Junior Championships are coming to Saskatchewan starting next Friday. This past weekend, top candidates for the Canadian team gathered in Regina for a tryout camp.

For many youngsters, the first real big-time hockey dream they have is the chance to help Canada win the World Juniors, a tournament that has gained significant prestige in recent years.

Coming off a stirring gold-medal win last year in Ottawa, Hockey Canada is looking to form another elite team of youngsters for this year's tournament. Among the candidates at their weekend camp were UMD freshman Dylan Olsen and Denver sophomore Patrick Wiercioch (pictured).

Both had to forgo the chance to play in Saturday's series finale in Duluth to fly to Regina for the camp. While Olsen got on the ice and was given an opportunity to impress the brass who are putting the team together, Wiercioch never saw the ice.

A knee injury Wiercioch suffered last month didn't keep him out of the lineup for long, and it didn't prevent him from practicing with the Pioneers for most of November into December.

However, Canadian officials determined that the knee wasn't good enough for Wiercioch to try out, and he was cut without actually getting a chance to make the team.

"Our medical staff had been in direct contact with their medical team over the past four to five weeks," (DU coach George) Gwozdecky said. "They were very aware of not only his injury, but how it was diagnosed and treated, and obviously the fact he had been practicing and playing. It's very surprising they would bring him up there and decide to not clear him."

A frustrated Gwozdecky added: "They have no different diagnosis than we do. I think the bottom line with them is: They had 11 or 12 defensemen, and like it or not, this is probably an easier way to whittle the group down to six or seven. We all knew Patrick is not 100 percent healthy."

As Mike Chambers points out, Wiercioch played in Friday's game against UMD, and he was never given any indication that his injury would keep him from having a realistic shot at making the Canadian team.

Let's face it: This was an awful move by Hockey Canada. There is no reason to take a kid away from his team if you're not certain you are going to let him try out. That means you either trust the doctors DU is using, or you send him for an independent opinion in Denver the week of the tryout. You don't fly him to Regina, prevent him from playing in a big game for his team, and then tell him his World Junior dream is dead.

The well-respected Gwozdecky is likely correct. This was the easy way for Canada to knock that high number of defensemen down without making any difficult decisions. If that's the case, it's all the more reason not to waste everyone's time and energy flying Wiercioch to Regina.

On the bright side for Denver, the big defenseman now gets two weeks to rest that balky knee before the Pioneers host Nebraska-Omaha Jan. 1 in the Denver Cup.

Reviewing a Busy Brewer Week

With the winter meetings amping up free agency in baseball, the pitching-starved Milwaukee Brewers got busy last week.

Knowing they had to fill at least two (maybe up to four?) spots in the starting rotation, general manager Doug Melvin used the decision not to bring back Jason Kendall or Mike Cameron to free up money for pitching.

Though more is expected out of the Brewers before they send pitchers and catchers to Arizona for spring training, here is a quick recap of what they have done so far.

Signed Randy Wolf

Wolf has been a solid starter for a few years. However, he's 33, and he's been known for giving up gopher balls on occasion.

His overall numbers are decent, and the contract is only three years at under $30 million. In today's world, that's not a terrible deal for a potentially overrated pitcher. Wolf is left-handed, and if he can keep the ball in the yard, he should do well in Miller Park. Having him signed up to the age of 36 is a bit disturbing, but this just can't be considered a bad deal. If nothing else, he has more upside for less money than Jeff Suppan had in 2006, when he started stealing money from the Brewers.

However, I understand fans being cautious about this. After all, the Brewers struggled so much with their pitching last year that virtually anyone would make for a good signing.

Signed LaTroy Hawkins

Outside of Todd Coffey, the Brewers were lacking of guys who could help set up Trevor Hoffman, or maybe fill in if the veteran closer needs a day off. As this team has seen plain as day in recent years, you can never have enough short relievers.

Reality is that guys like Coffey can be as durable as can be, but they will break down and struggle if they're asked to log too many innings in a short period of time. That's the reason for signing Hawkins.

Yes, he's a bit old. Hawkins is going on 37 years old, but he's been decent in recent years. He threw in 65 games for Houston last season, posting a very impressive 2.13 ERA, and generally keeping hitters off the bases. He also posted 11 saves, showing the ability to, yes, fill in for the closer if need be.

Non-tendered Seth McClung and Mike Rivera

Rivera wasn't a surprise. He's a replaceable backup catcher who can hit a little bit and isn't a high-value player. Not only that, but he's 33, so he has virtually no hope of getting better.

McClung, on the other hand, was. It seemed like he was the kind of guy who would do anything the coaches told him to. He pitched as a starter, a long-relief guy, and even a setup man. While he was inconsistent in 2009, he has a big arm, was a popular player, and seemed to have a future as a utility pitcher in Milwaukee.

There were issues between McClung and manager Ken Macha. Without placing blame, it's clear that McClung didn't get along with the skipper, and he would have every right to think that frosty relationship cost him any chance of returning.

The Brewers could have forced the two to make nice. Instead, they got rid of the guy they may have perceived as a problem.

The real problem, however, will come when it's time to fill his role.

The team still needs a couple starting pitchers, and they could use a bat or two to come off the bench. All in all, though, it's been a good start to the winter for Melvin.