First, as I get them processed, new photos will be added. Two fabulous Arch shots are up right now.
On to the weekend:
The Tigers are in, but they managed to blow their 10-game lead in the division and handed it to Minnesota. All they had to do was win one game in the last three against a team they had lost to only once all season, that lost 100 games, and win at home. Instead, they were swept by the lowly Royals, the Twins won 1 of 3 against the White Sox, and the Tigers now have to face the Yankees in the Divisional Series. Still, the Yanks are not a dominating force, so this should be a good series.
The Cardinals are in, but not by their own success. They lost yesterday, and clinched the division. The Cards just managed to lose one fewer game than they could and still win the division. They didn’t win it, they were given it. Had Houston not lost 2 of 3 to the Braves, the Cards would have had to play a makeup game today against the Giants, and after losing that they would have had to travel to Houston for a 1-game play-in for the last playoff spot. Fortunately for the Redbirds, Houston made that scenario moot by taking a face-dive against the Braves.
0-2 and your season is on the brink of disaster. 2-2 and you’re right smack in the thick of the competition. Some incredible footwork and silly defense and a healthy Clinton Portis made the ‘Skins’ weekend a success.
Meanwhile, Georgia Tech was exposing the weaknesses of Virginia Tech: a weak offensive line and a non-mobile pocket-passing quarterback. Which brings me to my final point today: as much of a VT fan as I am, shame shame shame on any poll voter who put VT ahead of GT in the polls on Sunday. 2 of the 3 polls have Virginia Tech ranked higher than Georgia Tech. This is a sham. In the OPINION of some voters, VT is better than GT. In the only place it should matter (but doesn’t in college football), on the FIELD, GT was better than VT. Fortunately neither of these teams will be ranked in the top 2, so the polls are really meaningless in this point, BUT these are the same voters who rank those top two teams. Who feels like trusting people who consistently rank teams who lost higher than the teams who beat them? Understandable in the case of an upset-special where a high-ranker is exposed to an also-ran, but here were two ranked teams who are now ranked close to each other. It hardly takes any effort to recognize which team THIS WEEK should be in the higher spot. So much for college football.
