A Letter To Bobby Bowden

Dear Bobby,

I got word today that you're retiring from Florida State after 34 seasons as head football coach. This makes me sad. Very sad. As a Florida State fan for as long as I can remember, I came to both admire and respect you. Even when your program came under investigation for improprieties, you held your head high and never tried to cover up anything. Your honesty and class as a person made you one of the more memorable personalities in college football history, and there is no doubt that you will never be forgotten -- by anyone.

Yes, in recent years, the results on the field have slumped and the impossible standard that you set in the 1990s -- 14 straight years with 10 wins and Top-5 finish in the polls -- came back to haunt you. No program in history has been able to achieve such things, yet for some reason, people (both FSU fans and non-FSU fans) expected you to maintain that standard forever. When you didn't, and let's face it, no one could, people began calling for your head. They said that you were too old, that the game had passed you by, and that some "new blood" was needed in Tallahassee. Personally, I refrained from any such talk because I knew, no matter what, you deserved to be the head football coach at Florida State University.

The accomplishments and accolades speak for themselves, but it was more than numbers with you. Your charm, class, and ability to maintain your belief in faith and family above all else, including football, made you a better person than football coach...which is saying something since you have the second-most wins in college football history. Your two national championships are fantastic, but the way you were always there to encourage players, tutor young coaches, and take the heat away from your assistants was even better. These are the things I will miss most; not the winning and titles (which will be missed as well, obviously), but the fact that I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that a man of class and integrity was leading my favorite program.

I hope you enjoy your retirement and all of the endeavors that follow your coaching career. I'm sure you will still make public appearances and the like, but I know you will take advantage of all the family time you will get now that the demands on your time are significantly decreased. I hope I'll still see you some, whether on TV for interviews or analysis, but in case I don't, let me just say thank you. Thank you for your accomplishments as a coach; thank you for your example as a person; and thank you for showing people how to do things the right way and stay loyal to who you are.

We will miss you, Bobby; far more than you'll miss any of us.

~~ Lank

Since I've Been Gone...

As you may have noticed, I've been on sabbatical. It wasn't planned or anything, I just got busy playing video games, watching sports, and all of the other really important things that a 24-year-old must do. Rather than bombarding you with posts and articles on every little thing that I wanted to discuss in the past couple weeks, I'm just going to hit you with a list of things that are on my mind right now. Enjoy.

-- I love how Ireland has handled this whole Thierry Henry handball incident. I really do. First, they basically call out France for winning like a bunch of bums, and then challenge them to another match at the location of France's choice. Naturally, the French decline, but it was a good move on the Irish's part anyway. Second, the Irish government gets involved and asks FIFA to demand a rematch. FIFA doesn't, so the Irish are still out of luck, but still, it was a good move on their part. The answer is 'no' until you ask, right? Then, they ask FIFA to include them as the 33rd team in the World Cup. I mean, how ballsy can you get? "Hey FIFA, we know you have a 32-team tournament, but since a French guy cheated against us in the qualifying match, can you make us the 33rd team? Thanks." That's awesome. I have a newfound respect for the Irish. Not as much as I did after watching "Gangs of New York", but still.

-- By the way, Thierry Henry, you should be ashamed of yourself. Yes, I know it's the referees' job to officiate the game, but what soccer player intentionally sticks his hand out to stop a ball? That's got to be against the code of ethics. They put up with a lot in soccer; flops, arguing in the face of an official; elbows to the chest, etc. but handballs are the equivalent of diving at the knees in football. You just don't do it. That was lame, Henry. You're better than that.

-- After Brandon Jennings' scorching hot start (including scoring 55 in a game), the Milwaukee Bucks' rookie point guard has come back to Earth in a recent stretch of games. That's to be expected, though. Don't judge the kid based on what he did in his first ten games; judge him based on what you expected from he and the other rookies. What he's doing is amazing. I guarantee you New York wishes they had him right now. How's Jordan Hill doing? Just wondering.

-- Go see "The Blind Side". It was terrific.

-- I'll get to Tiger...but he's getting his own post. No, I'm not holding back.

-- Colt McCoy now deserves the Heisman. After his next-level performance against Texas A&M and Mark Ingram's bad day against Auburn, McCoy has proven to be "The Most Outstanding Player in the United States of America" or whatever it says on the Heisman Trophy.

-- I keep waiting for my beloved Indianapolis Colts to lose one of these games and they never do. Not that I'm complaining. I'll leave that to the embattled Panthers fans so near and dear to me.

-- Joe Mauer and Albert Pujols were the two most obvious choices for MVP in their respective leagues that I can ever remember. The guy who voted for Miguel Cabrera instead of Mauer should be waterboarded.

-- Rain delays suck. I've been trying to play my kickball playoff games for three weeks now, but we've yet to play a single inning. We even got rained out again earlier tonight. I think I've forgotten some of the rules at this point.

-- Ok, NFL, we get it. Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson were in the wrong for their performance 6 years ago. But why do you have to give us The Who at halftime of this season's Super Bowl to drive home the point? Way to appeal to your younger audience...or alive audience, I should say. I think only like one original member of The Who is still alive. Heck, Wu-Tang Clan has 8 out of 9 still tickin'!! I want justice.

-- I'm REALLY glad that the IndyCar Series got IZOD to sign on as a title sponsor. It generates a lot of money for the series, sure; but the exposure and marketing angles are even more important than the cashola. My series may be saved yet!

-- After watching some teams play and doing some research, it's obvious that the only two good teams in college basketball this year are Kansas and Texas. That's the list. By "good" I mean "capable of winning the national championship." If you were to give me those two while you took the field, I'd probably make that bet with you. Only if you let me get Florida State, too. Obviously.

-- 'Moo's pissed at me for not getting more logos up. I think my countdown is still in neutral at #14 or something. They'll be finished soon.

-- I really wanted to punch Tim Legler when he wrote in an ESPN.com Daily Dime article that the Spurs would not make the playoffs this year. Really, Tim? Are you willing to be ANYTHING on that? It's such a silly proclamation.

-- After seeing the Raptors in person, I'm demoting them on my "favorite teams to watch list". The Spurs and Pacers are numbers 1 and 2 for the 20th year in a row, but the Sacramento Kings have now slid into the 3-spot. They have a young team that plays hard, and I really like watching Tyreke Evans play, so slide me a purple and black shirt if you're feeling generous. Go get 'em, Kings.

-- The Patriots look to knock off the undefeated Saints tonight in New Orleans...and I'm taking the Patriots. That banged-up secondary is finally going to catch up with the Saints. Although, that's what I said about the Colts when they played New Orleans, too. Oh well, whatever. Pats 34, Saints 28.

~~ Lank

The 30 Worst Sports Logos of All Time: #15

As my boy 'Moo and I were sitting through our training class, he turned me on to a website called LogoShak that has a remarkably extensive collection of logos from sports teams and events. Since I needed something new for the blog (and because November has 30 days), I decided to list the 30 worst sports logos of all time. I designated 'Moo as creative director of the project since he a.) found the site before I did, b.) has a good eye for a bad logo, and c.) agreed to go through half of the logos on the site so that I didn't have to spend even more time than I already do with unproductive exercises. I will be listing one per day for the next 30 days. There was no strict criteria; it just had to look ugly. Sometimes the logos were too busy, some of them had terrible color schemes, and some were just way too plain. Regardless, we tried to put together list of the all-time worst for your enjoyment (or displeasure, whichever). Let's keep this train rolling...

#15 - Sioux Falls SkyForce

This is gonna be brief for a few reasons: 1.) I'm headed out to buy Assassin's Creed II at midnight, 2.) I wasted all of my time up until this point watching Dancing with the Stars and House, and 3.) it's a freakin' NBADL logo. Not that I have any hate in my heart for the League's developmental league, but they're just not very sharp when it comes to logos. Not to be overlooked is the fact that this is a professional sports team in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Sorry, I just felt like you might gloss over that fact without fully comprehending it. I don't know what a "SkyForce" is, I have no idea why the basketball is apparently a comet, and I don't know why they thought it'd be cute to throw a '4' in between the 'y' and 'f' in 'SkyForce' to emphasize the pronunciation of the term. Get it, SkyFource? Lame, right? Yeah, I thought so, too. Even the colors are bland in this logo. Basically, out of the 17-point checklist that goes through my head immediately when I view a logo, only about 3 got crossed off for this one. It's a bad logo, plain and simple. Ok, I'm done; I'm gonna go kill some bad guys...in a fantasy world, obviously.

~~ Lank

Colts, That Was Crazy

Warning: this might be the most disjointed, tangential post I've written since the NBA Draft live-blog.

Ok, now that that's out of the way, let's get started. I just got finished watching the Indianapolis Colts beat the New England Patriots in one of the best regular season games I've ever seen. Sure, the Bill Belichick decision will cause great debate in the coming weeks (it was one of the worst decisions I can remember seeing, for the record), but just the drama of the game was superb. I love the Colts wholeheartedly, but for about 3.5 quarters, the Patriots were giving them the business. They went up and down the field at will, with Tom Brady exploiting the banged-up Colts secondary to the tune of 375 yards and 3 TDs. Randy Moss showed everyone why he's still one of the best receivers in the league, carving up the Colts for 179 and 2. It was just a great show of football for the Pats.

But, somehow, the Colts won.

After a few turnovers and fortunate turns in momentum, Indy was able to make play after play in the 4th quarter on both sides of the ball to squeak out the victory. I'd have to go back and look at specific plays, but I remember holding New England to a field goal to make a 31-21 game a 34-21 game, keeping things within two possessions. Then, after the offense went down the field in less than two minutes to make it 34-28, the Colts defense did not allow New England to get a first down (though, the Pats got about 9.87591 yards). Bill Belichick's decision to go for it on 4th and 2 from their own 28 in this sequence is about as bad as it gets. From there, Peyton Manning his Reggie Wayne for a few yards, let Joseph Addai run to the goal line, and then hit Wayne again with an absolute strike for the tying points with less than 15 seconds to go. Matt Stover's extra point put the Colts ahead 35-34, completing a 17-point comeback with 21 points in the 4th quarter.

Sitting here, nearly an hour later, I can't really describe my feelings during the game. I was pissed for a large portion of it since we refused to cover Moss with any help for our young corners (yes, I realize I'm waffling between "they" and "we" when discussing the Colts, but that's what happens when I get worked up), we couldn't tackle, and we looked out of synch on offense. It was just maddening, to be honest. I was watching the game with my neighbor and he was essentially laughing at me because the Colts were playing so poorly. When it got to be 31-14 early in the 4th, he kept telling me it was over, but I refused to believe it. Partially because I'm stubborn, but partially because we'd shown enough pluck that if we could just manage a play or two on the ensuing drives, we'd be right back in it.

It turns out, I was justified in my faith. The Colts, as I mentioned before, made several huge plays on both sides of the ball and pulled out the come-from-behind victory. My frustration from earlier had transitioned to joy/relief/disbelief/excitement/amazement/silence/loudness at what had just transpired. I really didn't know what to do. It's one of those situations where you say to yourself, "ok, if we can just get a stop here and make it a 10-point game, we're in good shape," and "hey, we just made another play, we might actually pull this off," and then the next thing you know, it actually happened. It seems that whenever I actually give myself a laundry list of things that need to happen in order for the game to be ours, my teams don't normally pull it out. It's just hard to get that many things to fall into place. But when they actually do, man is it sweet.

Tomorrow, I'll be a little frustrated still. Despite the victory, we were outplayed by New England and looked like the inferior team for 3.5 quarters. It's not the best scenario to be down 31-14 in the 4th and depend on a legendary comeback for the win. Yes, we did it (on a grander scale, actually) to win the AFC Title game in 2006 against these same Patriots, but it's not a habit I want to get into. However, that being said, I think it shows a lot of resilience on the part of the Colts to get the win. Just a crazy game, a crazy ending, and so many subplots throughout.

Ok, I'm gonna go try to sleep now, but the chances are good that I'll be up for another two hours trying to figure out what just happened. Sheesh.

~~ Lank

The 30 Worst Sports Logos of All Time: #16

As my boy 'Moo and I were sitting through our training class, he turned me on to a website called LogoShak that has a remarkably extensive collection of logos from sports teams and events. Since I needed something new for the blog (and because November has 30 days), I decided to list the 30 worst sports logos of all time. I designated 'Moo as creative director of the project since he a.) found the site before I did, b.) has a good eye for a bad logo, and c.) agreed to go through half of the logos on the site so that I didn't have to spend even more time than I already do with unproductive exercises. I will be listing one per day for the next 30 days. There was no strict criteria; it just had to look ugly. Sometimes the logos were too busy, some of them had terrible color schemes, and some were just way too plain. Regardless, we tried to put together list of the all-time worst for your enjoyment (or displeasure, whichever). Let's keep this train rolling...

#16 - Columbia Lions

I just got finished watching the Colts take down the Patriots in thrilling fashion (more on that in a minute), so I don't really have much to say about this logo. I just think there's entirely too much going on in it. Yes, Columbia, we realize that you're in New York City and you take pride in that; but how much is too much? How many NYC landmarks can you squeeze in to one logo? And what's up with that lion's tail swinging all the way around his body? This is just kinda silly looking, to be honest. Not a fan at all. That's all I have. I'm still giddy.

~~ Lank

My Top 25 Poll: November 15th

We're getting closer and closer to the end of the year, and the undefeated teams are still fairly large in number. Considering most of them are from different conferences, there's a distinct possibility that we'll have several undefeated teams at the end of the season. The good news is that two of those undefeateds could possibly be mid-major teams, so their argument for a title is pretty flimsy. We all know what happens when Boise State plays in a bowl game. However, the interesting thing will be to see what happens with Cincinnati. They have a pretty good resume, but the stigma of playing in the Big East will likely catch up to them should the SEC winner and Texas both go undefeated. I say all that to say this: enjoy my Top 25 this week.

1.) Florida

2.) Texas

3.) Alabama

4.) TCU

5.) Cincinnati

6.) Boise State

7.) Georgia Tech

8.) Ohio State

9.) Oregon

10.) Pittsburgh

11.) LSU

12.) Iowa

13.) Wisconsin

14.) Penn State

15.) Oklahoma State

16.) Stanford

17.) USC

18.) North Carolina

19.) Virginia Tech

20.) Clemson

21.) Miami (FL)

22.) Arizona

23.) Oregon State

24.) Utah

25.) BYU

It appears that nobody wanted to be ranked today outside of Stanford and North Carolina. If you look at last week's rankings, 6 of the Top 20 lost on Saturday to teams ranked below them. Yeesh. These things have a way of sorting themselves out, though, so we'll see what goes down next week.

~~ Lank

The 30 Worst Sports Logos of All Time: #17

As my boy 'Moo and I were sitting through our training class, he turned me on to a website called LogoShak that has a remarkably extensive collection of logos from sports teams and events. Since I needed something new for the blog (and because November has 30 days), I decided to list the 30 worst sports logos of all time. I designated 'Moo as creative director of the project since he a.) found the site before I did, b.) has a good eye for a bad logo, and c.) agreed to go through half of the logos on the site so that I didn't have to spend even more time than I already do with unproductive exercises. I will be listing one per day for the next 30 days. There was no strict criteria; it just had to look ugly. Sometimes the logos were too busy, some of them had terrible color schemes, and some were just way too plain. Regardless, we tried to put together list of the all-time worst for your enjoyment (or displeasure, whichever). Let's keep this train rolling...

#17 - Detroit Pros

This is a pretty bad logo. What's worse, though, is that I had to do some research to figure out in which league the Detroit Pros actually play. The answer? The International Basketball League (IBL), which is a minor league below even the CBA. I don't know any other teams in the IBL, I just know that as I was perusing LogoShak, I stumbled across this terrible logo. Look at the colors. I mean, what is that? Gold and orange? Were they trying to save on jersey costs by only wearing one color or something? They have a huge basketball as their backdrop and then a smaller ball with the same design as the 'o' in 'Pros'. None of this makes sense to me. I realize it's a minor league, but that doesn't mean you have to have a minor league logo. No good, Detroit; no good.

~~ Lank

NBA Musings: November 14th

That was quick. After posting some thoughts about the NBA season a few days ago, I'm already back with more. Such is the case with a league that seems to have newsworthy things unfold nearly every day. At this rate, I might post musings 30 times this season...not that I'm complaining or anything.

-- Why, oh why, did New Orleans fire Byron Scott? Yes, they were off to a slower-than-expected start at 3-6, but what exactly wasn't Scott doing? Peja Stojakovic has been garbage, David West was just ok, and some of the new pieces haven't meshed yet. Remember, they lost Rasual Butler and Tyson Chandler off last year's team, so expecting the new guys (Marcus Thornton, Emeka Okafor, Darren Collison, etc) to slide right in without any drop-off is a little unrealistic. Now that Chris Paul has injured his ankle and will be out for a few games, it'll be interesting to see what interim coach Jeff Bower can get out of his team. I'm not expecting much.

-- LeBron, get serious. According to James, he will change his jersey number from 23 to 6 in deference to Michael Jordan. He also thinks that the NBA should retire Jordan's jersey number to honor him as the greatest player ever. First of all, let me tell everyone that I agree that Michael Jordan is the best player in the history of the NBA. That being said, there's no reason to retire his number. No other sport has done such a thing. The closest anyone has come is Major League Baseball retiring Jackie Robinson's number 42...but Robinson accomplished quite a bit more in his career than Jordan. Not only that, but LeBron needs to do a little more research. Bill Russell, one of the Top 5 players ever, wore number 6. So why is it that he can't get any love? Jordan's number deserves to be sanctified, but the guy who was the best player on teams that won ELEVEN championships doesn't? If his logic is that 23 doesn't need to be worn again out of respect to Jordan, why isn't the same respect given to another NBA legend? Considering LeBron told the media the other day that he won't answer any more questions about his impending free agency, this smells like another way for him to get some headlines. Lame.

-- For those of you sleeping through the early part of the NBA season, don't sleep on the Sacramento Kings. Led by new coach Paul Westphal, the Kings have jumped out to surprising 5-4 record, including a current 4-game winning streak. No, Sacto won't make the playoffs, nor are they likely to finish over .500, but for franchise that hadn't been at .500 since December '06, this is a good story. Leading scorer Kevin Martin went down with a wrist injury (he was scoring over 30 ppg at the time, too), but rookie Tyreke Evans and second-year guy Jason Thompson have picked up the slack, leading the Kings to early prosperity. The schedule gets tougher with three road games in their next four outings, but as productive as their offense has been early, they can't immediately be discounted. Something that couldn't be said the past few years.

-- As I confessed in the NBA Preview, there was a good chance the Toronto Raptors were going to be my third-favorite team this season. Well, that happened. Yeah, we're only 9 games into the year, but the Raps have only failed to reach the century mark in one game...and they scored 99 in that one...and still won. Watching these guys play is like watching an underdog during the NCAA Tournament, and I mean that with the utmost admiration. They fire at will, run their offense with complete disregard for what you're doing defensively, and have a host of shooters and dribblers that make great plays on offense. At the other end of the court, they need some work, but we knew that coming in. When I look for teams to watch, I don't really consider defensive stalwarts; I'll take a 131-124 game over a 91-83 game any day. Toronto is only 5-4 and is in the midst of a West Coast swing right now, but I'm hoping they make the playoffs so that at least one of the East's first round series will be watchable.

-- I was completely in favor of Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle calling out his team after their loss to San Antonio Wednesday night. The Spurs were playing with Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, yet still maintained a double-digit lead throughout the contest. While watching the game, it became clear to me that San Antone was getting every loose ball, every 50/50 rebound, and every hustle play. There was even a sequence when Antonio McDyess threw a loose ball back into play while falling out of bounds, George Hill collected it and was stopped by Jason Kidd, so he threw it to a wide-open Richard Jefferson for the slam. There wasn't a single Dallas defender back except for Kidd, so it was pretty obvious that they'd given up on the play. That was a microcosm of their effort that evening. When you're playing a rival, especially one without its two best players, you need to bring the A-game to make sure you get the win. Dallas didn't, and it cost them big time. Hopefully they get Carlisle's message and crank up the energy. Their showing on Wednesday was downright pathetic.

That's all I have for now. Last time I mused, I said it'd be a couple weeks before my next post, and that turned out to be about a week-and-a-half too long of an estimation. So I'll see you when I see you; how about that?

~~ Lank

Friday Night Picks: November 13th

Ole Miss (-3) vs. Tennessee

Indiana (+22) at Penn State

Michigan State (pick) at Purdue

Missouri (+2.5) at Kansas State

Stanford (+11.5) at USC

Atlanta (-1) at Carolina

Miami (-10) vs. Tampa Bay

New Orleans (-14) at St. Louis

Denver (-4.5) at Washington

Baltimore (-12) at Cleveland (Monday Night)

~~ Lank

The 30 Worst Sports Logos of All Time: #18

As my boy 'Moo and I were sitting through our training class, he turned me on to a website called LogoShak that has a remarkably extensive collection of logos from sports teams and events. Since I needed something new for the blog (and because November has 30 days), I decided to list the 30 worst sports logos of all time. I designated 'Moo as creative director of the project since he a.) found the site before I did, b.) has a good eye for a bad logo, and c.) agreed to go through half of the logos on the site so that I didn't have to spend even more time than I already do with unproductive exercises. I will be listing one per day for the next 30 days. There was no strict criteria; it just had to look ugly. Sometimes the logos were too busy, some of them had terrible color schemes, and some were just way too plain. Regardless, we tried to put together list of the all-time worst for your enjoyment (or displeasure, whichever). Let's keep this train rolling...

#18 - Nashville Noise

It's Friday night. I'm tired. My wit bucket is practically empty. There are so many jokes that I want to make about this logo, but none of them are coming to me right now. The Nashville Nose were a part of the ABL, much like #30. I know I should have low expectations for the play of women's sports teams, but I don't see any reason why their logos should be that much worse than men's teams. It'd be one thing if this were a league for women's minor league hockey or whatever, but this was supposed to be a competitive pro basketball league! Unfortunately, the ABL didn't make much *Noise*. Ahhh, there's the wit I've been striving to convey this whole post. Get it...Noise? Hehe, I make myself laugh sometimes. So is the basketball in the logo supposed to be talking? Or is it just an ambient-noise-making thing? Is it so loud that the rest of the letters are quaking from its sound waves? These are things I need to know. Not that it'd change my opinion of the logo, because it clearly sucks regardless. I just want to know what goes through the designers' heads, so that I know what not to do when I'm trying to be effectively creative. That's all.

~~ Lank

Dancing with the Stars Recap: Week 8

It's a big day for Skip To My Lank. Baseball Mom has come out of her shell and decided to give us a professional recap of this week's Dancing with the Stars happenings. Prepare yourself, hers is a lot better than any of mine, so get ready to have your mind blown. The following are her words, not mine; so all compliments and kind words can be directed her way.

Lank (my sweet son) asked me to do the recap blog for Dancing With the Stars. He knows how I love the show and especially love Donny Osmond. I enjoy each week talking and/or texting with Lank to get his opinions on the dances. When I know he isn't watching the show live, it's all I can do to keep my fingers off the keys to keep from texting him. (note: Baseball Mom inserted something sappy and kind about me here, but I figured you had no interest in seeing that, so I kept it for myself. You're welcome.) So, here is the recap!

Mya and Dmitry Chaplin - Mya and Dmitry came out ready to go this week. After several weeks of hearing the judges (especially Len) say Mya was not doing the difficult steps and her dancing was all about show, Mya was ready for her comeback. She and Dmitry danced the quickstep first and nailed it. The received a score of 29. Their second dance was the 70's Samba and it was excellent! While watching Mya and Dmitry dance the Samba, all I could think was they are going to get 10's for a perfect score of 30! Yep, they sure did, and well deserved. I think you will see Mya and Dmitry in the finals.

Aaron Carter and Karina Smirnoff - Aaron and Karina danced the foxtrot for their first dance. It was alright. They received a score of 23 which I thought was about on target. The dance was good but not great! I just had an okay feeling after they finished. Their second dance was the 90's Samba. I have to say, they really did a great job on this dance. The 90's version of the Samba was what Aaron could relate to and it showed. They received a score of 27. I have never been a fan of Aaron's and think he is arrogant and acts like a spoiled brat!

Joanna Krupa and Derek Hough - Joanna and Derek's first dance was the quick step. Something was off with them tonight. Joanna couldn't keep up with the steps and it was obvious she made a few mistakes. They received a score of 23. No surprise at all considering I could even see the mistakes. Their second dance was a Futuristic Paso Doble! Wow is all I can say! It was creative, inventive and Joanna and Derek were on. I did not see any mistakes. They were really in sync (hey, isn't that a singing group?) Ha, ha. They received a 29.

Kelly Osbourne and Louis van Amstel - Kelly and Louis danced the foxtrot and received a 25. The dance was great and Kelly stayed focused during the whole dance, even when mistakes were made. You could tell Kelly was having a good time and enjoying herself for once. Their second dance was a 60's Jive. Again, Kelly and Louis did an awesome job of dancing and having fun. They received a score of 26. I think Louis is an excellent dance instructor and has a way of teaching that Kelly seems to understand. I have a suspicion Kelly will be eliminated this week. I don't think she can keep up the great dancing two weeks in a row.

Donny Osmond and Kym Johnson - Everyone who reads Lank's blog knows I am in LOVE with Donny Osmond. I began this love affair with Donny when I was about 12 years old. I loved the Osmond Brothers and bought all their records and albums. I had posters of Donny all over the walls in my bedroom. When the Osmonds announced they were coming to Indianapolis for a show, I begged my dad to get me tickets from a friend of his. My dad was the manager of a post office branch in Indiana and knew the guy who promoted the concerts. Dad called this guy up and asked about the tickets. He told dad the first seven rows were reserved for "important" people but he would get me as close as possible. I was on the floor in the 10th row. I was psyched!!! I bought a new purple outfit because it was Donny's favorite color! Screamed through the whole concert and loved every minute of it!!! Ask me today and I can sing most of the Osmonds songs by memory (including Donny's). I know TMI, but I just had to share. :) Back to the recap...Donny and Kym's first dance was the Viennese Waltz. Wow! It was effortless, graceful and simple. Donny had mentioned in the clip before they danced that he was burned out from weeks of dance and missing his family, but had had a paradigm shift and was ready to go again. It showed! I wanted to be dancing the waltz with him. They received and 26. I think it should have been higher, but I'm biased, I know. Donny and Kym's second dance was an 80's Paso Doble. It was good but not my favorite. They did bring back memories of the 80's and the songs of that era. Their score was a 26. I was concerned at this point because Donny and Kym had one of the lowest combined scores.

In the end, Aaron went home. Too bad, so sad. Donny is still in and I am happy! But, Donny has to bring it next week to stay in the competition. My prediction is Mya and Donny will be in the finals.

I've enjoyed recapping the show for you. If I am lucky, Lank will let me do it again.

~~ Baseball Mom

The 30 Worst Sports Logos of All Time: #19

As my boy 'Moo and I were sitting through our training class, he turned me on to a website called LogoShak that has a remarkably extensive collection of logos from sports teams and events. Since I needed something new for the blog (and because November has 30 days), I decided to list the 30 worst sports logos of all time. I designated 'Moo as creative director of the project since he a.) found the site before I did, b.) has a good eye for a bad logo, and c.) agreed to go through half of the logos on the site so that I didn't have to spend even more time than I already do with unproductive exercises. I will be listing one per day for the next 30 days. There was no strict criteria; it just had to look ugly. Sometimes the logos were too busy, some of them had terrible color schemes, and some were just way too plain. Regardless, we tried to put together list of the all-time worst for your enjoyment (or displeasure, whichever). Let's keep this train rolling...

#19 - Los Angeles Ice Dogs

This particular logo belongs to a minor league hockey team plagued by poor attendance that had to reinvent itself in another city a few years after springing up in this particular city. Sound familiar? I thought so; especially to the 4 people who read the entry for #20. Much like the Mobile Mysticks (once again, not a typo), the Ice Dogs (yes, that's their real name; no PhotoShop required here) did not think about the basic rules of logo-izing when creating their image. I mean, look at this thing. Probably 13 different images shoehorned into 1. We have the dog, the skates, the rips in the skates, the chain, the spiked collar, the 'Ice Dogs', the 'Los Angeles', and the dog's red eyes. And that was just at first glance; I value my time too much to delve any further into the makeup of this logo (no, I really do; quit laughing). I'm not against trying to create a thorough logo that expresses a lot about your mascot, but there is a limit, people. Do I need to get into the fact that the dog has chewed up some skates? I mean, how dangerous is that? Those blades are sharp; the "Ice Dog" could have easily sliced his tongue or cheek while chewing on the skates. That's downright Vick-ish. And what the heck is an "Ice Dog" anyway? I'm done with the Ice Dogs. I'm glad they folded in 2007.

~~ Lank

BCS: As In, "Boring College Season"

I’ve never felt this way about a college football season before. Ever.

Usually when somebody says that, they’re referring to an unusual amount of excitement or drama or something else positive. I’m saying that because I’ve been bored by this year’s college football season.

Yes, you read that right. Lank. Bored. With college football. Who would’ve ever thought?

How did we get here? I have no idea. I think it has something to do with the best teams in the country all looking lame at various times. Were it not for some blocked field goals, timely penalties on the opposition, and sprained AC joints, Alabama, Florida, and Texas would all probably have a loss (or two) right now. Texas may not play a ranked team all season, Florida and Alabama have had their divisions clinched for like a month (or does it just feel that way?), and there have been no stories to replace theirs to get me charged up.

Iowa? Everybody knows I respect the heck out of the Hawkeyes, but watching them play every week (and I have), we all knew there was a loss coming.

TCU? They’re legit; it’s just that with the Mountain West conference’s ridiculous TV deal, I only get to see a handful of their games. So am I supposed to get excited about watching TCU’s gamecasts online each week? At least they’re on CBSCSTV (no really, that’s an actual channel) this week against Utah.

Cincinnati? Ah, finally a story I can get behind. I picked them to win the Big East because of Brian Kelly, and he hasn’t failed to disappoint. While Oklahoma has been complaining about playing a backup quarterback all year, the Bearcats have used theirs to continue their winning streak. Nice work, sir.

Conference races? Sure, there are some exciting races going on, but it’s hard to get excited about a bunch of 6-3 teams trying to get the crown. When you expect greatness and get mediocrity, it sucks. No, not every conference can be good, and I realize that, but what exactly do I have to do to get a strong team that takes pride in going for a conference championship and doesn’t lose games it shouldn’t (Oregon, Virginia Tech, Miami, Ohio State, all Big 12 teams not named Texas; you’re on this list).

Some people might think that the anarchy occurring in Tallahassee has dampened my college football spirit, but that’s not true. I’ve been dealing with ridiculousness coming from the Florida panhandle for 5 years now. I’m quite used to it.

Quick, name the best game of the year. I’ll wait…

...ready? What’s your answer? Oh, you couldn’t think of one? Why not, were there so many great games that you couldn’t narrow it down? No? There just weren’t any good ones to choose from? Oh, that sucks. For the record, my vote goes to Florida State-Miami…which just so happened to take place in Week 1. Sign of the times, I guess.

And I think that’s the problem: there has been no excitement to this season. No epic clashes, no memorable player performances (does anyone want the Heisman? Anyone?), no hateable teams or players (besides Notre Dame, obviously), no juggernauts we’ll be telling our kids about (thanks, Urban; no really, thanks for taking your wonderful offense down to a GED level and making me sit through a bunch of 24-13 games. I appreciate it). When they throw together those season-long highlight reels at the end of the season, I love them. Recounting all of the great moments and big games from the year is always a treat. I just have no idea how they’ll fill that space at the end of this season; nothing of note has happened.

It’s gotten so bad that I haven’t even written a “The Weekend That Was” post in like three weeks. No, I hadn’t forgotten, I just couldn’t fake writing about storylines and happenings in the college football world that I didn’t give a crap about. When I first started writing those posts, it was fun, because the season was just beginning and there were a million directions in which it could head.

Unfortunately, the 2009 college football season went in the one direction that I never thought it'd go: boring.

~~ Lank

That Fellow Carmelo

In case you haven’t noticed, Carmelo Anthony is on a mission this season. I’m not that guy who starts talking about MVP awards and all that nonsense in November, but it doesn’t take a genius to realize that ‘Melo is playing at a higher level than we’ve seen from him since he entered the League in 2003. Scoring at a career-high clip while keeping his teammates involved, Anthony is continuing the type of play that we became accustomed to seeing in last year’s postseason. He contends that after losing to the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, his main focus for the offseason was “getting that gold ball (Larry O’Brien trophy).” Even during most of his interviews during the season, whether pre-game, in-game, or post-game, Anthony references his title aspirations non-stop.

Such is the transformation of a volume scorer to a team leader.

Anthony (actually, I like the name “Carmelo” better than any of his other names, so from now on, he’ll be referred to only as “Carmelo.” Thanks for your understanding) has been able to put the biscuit in the basket ever since his rookie year, but it’s the increase in efficiency, and the ability to pass and rebound that has marked his improvement as a player. This season, Carmelo is averaging 11.7 free throw attempts per game, well over his career average of 7.8. This leads to extra points at the foul line (especially since he’s shooting a career-high 85% from the stripe), which contributes to his career-high in points per game, 30.2. His field goal percentage is actually the lowest it’s been since 2005, but his scoring numbers remain high because of his newfound ability to get to the free-throw line with ease. Instead of settling for jumpers, Carmelo is taking the ball to the hoop with renewed vigor, resulting in a regularity of 30-point games (and often higher).

The “keeping his teammates involved” thing is harder to quantify with stats. You simply have to watch him play and notice how he’ll kick the ball out to an open shooter as he drives to the hoop, or hits a cutter while he’s posted up. His assist numbers have hovered around 3 apg his whole career, and this year is no different. Watching him, however, reveals an effective passer who no longer looks to shoot first, second, and third. He looks to shoot first and second, but pass third. Hey, the guy isn’t paid to distribute the ball; he’s paid to score. But it is more comforting for Nuggets fans to know that he’s much more reluctant to go one-on-three now than he was back in his early days.

Even more impressive is that Carmelo has managed to buoy his team early despite a tough schedule (7 of their first 9 were on the road), roster changes (no Linas Kleiza or Dahntay Jones), and suspensions (Earl “I’m no longer going by J.R.” Smith). That the Nuggets are 6-3 already is a testament to his leadership and production. Remember, even when locking down the two-seed in last year’s Western Conference, the Nuggets were 21-20 on the road; far from great. This year, Denver is 4-3 despite the aforementioned obstacles, which puts them on a similar pace to last year’s record. If they can be as dominant at home this year as they were in 2008-2009 (31-8), they should once again contend for a top spot in the conference. Carmelo has been the leading scorer in 8 of Denver’s 9 games this season, consistency that must be sustained for the Nuggets to reach their goals.

Skeptics will point to the fact that Chauncey Billups’ arrival is what has turned around the Nuggets, not Carmelo’s production. And that’s true…to a point (no pun intended). Billups certainly solidified the point guard position for Denver and gave them a team leader, something that was missing during the Carmelo/Iverson days. However, I would argue that Billups has challenged Carmelo to become a better all-around, more mature player, which we are now seeing from him. That Carmelo decided to answer this challenge and become an elite NBA player is the reason that Denver made The Leap from fun-to-watch-in-the-first-round-but-not-a-threat to wow-these-guys-could-win-the-West. If Carmelo hadn’t made the adjustments necessary to thrive once Billups showed up, Denver would still be fighting for the 6th and 7th spot in the West, as opposed to challenging the Lakers in the conference finals. Fact. Now that we’re getting the cagey, mature, beast-mode Anthony for a full year (especially when he finally seems obsessed with winning a championship), the Nuggets have to be considered dangerous to everyone else in the West…and not in a darkhorse-type way either.

If I’m right and Billups is responsible for the new-and-improved Carmelo Anthony that we’re seeing, let me take it upon myself to thank Mr. Big Shot (a completely undeserved nickname, by the way). Carmelo 2.0 is a treat to watch, and if Chauncey is the reason we’re seeing the Carmelo we’ve always wanted to see, then we owe him one. Kinda like Carmelo does, too.

~~ Lank

The 30 Worst Sports Logos of All Time: #20

As my boy 'Moo and I were sitting through our training class, he turned me on to a website called LogoShak that has a remarkably extensive collection of logos from sports teams and events. Since I needed something new for the blog (and because November has 30 days), I decided to list the 30 worst sports logos of all time. I designated 'Moo as creative director of the project since he a.) found the site before I did, b.) has a good eye for a bad logo, and c.) agreed to go through half of the logos on the site so that I didn't have to spend even more time than I already do with unproductive exercises. I will be listing one per day for the next 30 days. There was no strict criteria; it just had to look ugly. Sometimes the logos were too busy, some of them had terrible color schemes, and some were just way too plain. Regardless, we tried to put together list of the all-time worst for your enjoyment (or displeasure, whichever). Let's keep this train rolling...

#20 - Mobile Mysticks

Wow, where to begin. Hmm. Ok, let's start with the spelling of the name. I'm sure that out of the 8 people that read this post, 7 of you thought I misspelled "Mystics" when actually the name is spelled "Mysticks". As in hockey stick. Get it? The Mysticks belong to the East Coast Hockey League, a minor league that has an affiliation with various NHL teams. They went under in 2002 and became the Gwinnett Gladiators in 2003. Just a little background info for you. Back to the logo. It's awful. The dragon looks like he's straight out of a children's book, the smoke coming out of his nostrils is laughable, and the fact that he's nestled beneath two hockey sticks makes him look imprisoned. I mean, really, what is going on in this logo? Who designed it and thought there was no way it was too busy? There's smoke, wings, a puck, two hockey sticks, a freakin' dragon, and a big 'M'. That's quite a bit of stuff to have prominently featured in a single logo. Apparently the franchise grew some brains on the road to Gwinnett, because the Gladiators have a fantastic logo that wouldn't be on this countdown even if I stretched it out to 100. Which I won't, because I'm already tired of looking at bad logos. Eleven down, nineteen to go...

~~ Lank

NFL Second Quarter Report Cards

With Week 9 having come and gone in the NFL season, everyone is officially at the halfway point, having played at least 8 games this season. The season is coming into focus as we now know the contenders, the pretenders, and the flat-out awful teams. I’ll be handing out grades to each team for their second-quarter performance, not their year-long accomplishments. So expect lower-than-expected grades for the Ravens and Broncos, but higher-than-expected grades for the Panthers and Titans. Just a hint.

Dallas Cowboys (6-2): Since we last saw them, the ‘Boys have ripped off four wins in a row, putting them in first in the overrated NFC East. Are they good? Not sure. Beating Kansas City and Seattle isn’t very impressive, but the road win at Philly was pretty good. I think. Regardless, they are winning while everyone else (read: New York Giants) is losing and there’s something to be said for that. With Oakland and Washington comprising half of their schedule next quarter, expect the winning ways to continue in Big D. Grade: A-

Philadelphia Eagles (5-3): As John Wooden once said, “never mistake activity for achievement.” The Eagles have been active, they just haven’t achieved much. Beating Tampa Bay and Washington isn’t anything to holler about, and their losses to Oakland and Dallas weren’t things of beauty. Not a good quarter for the Eagles. Three of their next four games are on the road, so they might want to tighten up the ship sooner than later. Just a suggestion. Grade: C-

New York Giants (5-4): In the second quarter of the season, the G-Men have beaten Oakland and lost four times. Not exactly capitalizing on the strength of that 4-0 start are they? They had a remarkably easy schedule for the first four games, so it’s not too surprising that they’ve lost…it’s just surprising that they’ve lost every single time they’ve played a halfway decent team this quarter. The running game isn’t working, the receivers are inconsistent, and Eli looks bewildered. Not much to get excited about in Gotham. Grade: F

Washington Redskins (2-6): The ‘Skins have only lost four times this quarter…but they had the bye on the fifth week. I’d make a joke about them needing overtime to beat the bye, but I’m better than that. Washington is a mess. There is no leadership, roles aren’t clearly defined, you never know what’s coming next, and morale couldn’t be any lower. Hey now, I was talking about the Redskins, not the government; I can see how you got them confused, though. There must be something in the water up there. Grade: F

Minnesota Vikings (7-1): A solid quarter from Adrian Peterson’s team. Percy Harvin has proven to be a gamebreaker, Sidney Rice has been a relatively consistent receiving threat, and the Jared Allen-led defense has been nasty. There was a slip-up against Pittsburgh, but we’ll blame that one on the quarterback, who will remain nameless for the foreseeable future. Overall, the Vikes are having a great year, and are a team to be reckoned with in the NFC. Grade: B+

Green Bay Packers (4-4): With a quarter consisting of games against Cleveland, Detroit, Minnesota, and Tampa Bay, the Pack had to make it through at 3-1 at least. Well, they lost to a superior Minnesota team at home and then followed that up by sleep-walking through a loss against the winless Buccaneers. Terrible. Their playoff hopes are now in jeopardy, and the schedule doesn’t let up any. Not a good quarter, Green Bay; not a good quarter. Grade: D

Chicago Bears (4-4): All of the goodwill built up after that 3-1 start? Gone. That’s what happens when you go 1-3 over your next for, with the only win coming against the hapless Brownies. Jay Cutler is looking like 2006-2008 Jay Cutler, their running game hasn’t clicked (if anyone sees Matt Forte, tell him he’s needed in Chicago), and that defense has gone into the tank as of late. It’s getting cold in the Windy City these days, and the Bears are falling right along with the temperatures. Grade: F

Detroit Lions (1-7): Uhhh, well, hmmm. I don’t expect much from the Lions, but they aren’t exactly meeting my expectations. They were competitive against the Steelers, which was great; but then they turn around and look terrible against Green Bay and St. Louis. I know, I know, Matthew Stafford was hurt, but he wasn’t all that good in his return against Seattle (5 INTs). Detroit, I love you, but we need some time apart right now. Grade: D

New Orleans Saints (8-0): Don’t get it twisted: being undefeated halfway through the season is a remarkable accomplishment. However, there have been some noticeable chinks in the armor of the Saints. Getting behind early to teams has become the norm, but furious comebacks have limited the damage. I wouldn’t advise them to continue this trend, but then again, if you’re winning, people don’t worry about that stuff. They’ve been impressive this quarter, but not overly so. Grade: B+

Atlanta Falcons (5-3): Just take most of what I said last quarter and apply it to this quarter as well. They’re still not impressive at all (0 wins against teams with winning records), but they’re not shooting themselves in the foot, either (all losses are to teams with at least a 6-2 record). The future schedule isn’t too imposing, so I could see the Falcons getting 9 or 10 wins and me still not being impressed. What a weird team. Michael Turner has finally gotten it going, but Matt Ryan has a 13/10 TD/INT ratio. Whatever, let’s just move on. Grade: C+

Carolina Panthers (3-5): Not as bad as the first quarter of the season, but still not great. They gave away the Buffalo game at home and let New Orleans recover from a double-digit deficit. Sure, 5-3 would be loads better than 3-5, but the Panthers don’t like success. They’d rather grind out a few wins and get to 8-8. Hey, at least they beat Washington and Tampa Bay, right? The Arizona road win was a good one, and shows what this team is actually capable of. Unfortunately, they’re not interested in bringing that type of effort for four quarters every week. I love you, Skip. Grade: C

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-7): They’re terrible, but they won a game. Josh Freeman is showing some promise as the new quarterback. Raheem Morris won’t be the only winless coach in NFL history. They got a free trip to beautiful London, England. Work with me, I’m trying to be positive here. Grade: C+

Arizona Cardinals (5-3): The Cards went 4-1 this quarter and beat some decent teams to boot. Yeah, the Carolina loss was pretty bad, but in the grand scheme of things, they’re positioning themselves for another NFC West title and a return trip to the playoffs. Not bad. They will probably need Anquan Boldin to be at their best, so if someone could return him to the Lost and Found bin, Kurt Warner would greatly appreciate it. Grade: A-

San Francisco 49ers (3-5): One of the highlights of the NFL season for me was seeing Alex Smith come in against Houston and cut it up. I’ve always thought he was a wondrously gifted player who got stuck in the quagmire that was the mid-00s Niners. They’ve been close against the Texans, Colts, and Titans, but were unable to pull of any of those victories. The fact remains that they went 0-4 this quarter. Not good. Grade: D

Seattle Seahawks (3-5): I can’t figure these guys out. I keep waiting for them to turn things around now that Matt Hasselbeck is back, but it’s just not happening. Julius Jones is giving them nothing in the running game and T.J. Houshmandzadeh (no cheating on the spelling) has been a disappointment as a free agent acquisition. There is no rhythm with this team and I don’t know what to make of them going forward. Grade: C-

St. Louis Rams (1-7): The Rams won their first game in forever against Detroit and pushed Jacksonville to OT a couple weeks before that. They’re certainly improving, but there just isn’t much talent in The Lou. They have a lot of fire to them, though, and Lank’s a sucker for effort. Grade: C

New England Patriots (6-2): Everybody has wood now that the Pats are 6-2 and Tom Brady is flinging the football around again. Their three-game win streak (after losing to Denver) has come against Tennessee, Tampa Bay, and Miami. Wow. Yes, I’m skeptical, because their defense still looks a step slow and the offense isn’t as efficient as people are making it out to be. With Indy and New Orleans coming up shortly, we’ll know more about New England soon. For now, I think they’re ok. Grade: B-

New York Jets (4-4): Remember when the Jets were supposedly good and Rex Ryan was the toast of the NFL landscape? Yeah, that’s all gone now. Losing three out of four (with the only win coming against the Raiders) will do that to you. Mark Sanchez looks overwhelmed, the defense doesn’t look as ferocious, and Leon Washington’s broken leg cost them a playmaker. Braylon Edwards is actually trying in New York, though, so that’s a positive. Grade: D

Miami Dolphins (3-5): With a 2-2 quarter, the Dolphins have given some (faint) life to their season. They battled against NO and NE but ultimately fell short in both contests. Their offense is fun to watch and their defense is scrappy, but I’m not exactly forecasting a playoff run in their future. They’re plucky, so they’ll end up with a few more wins, but they are what they are. Grade: B-

Buffalo Bills (3-5): They lost to the Browns this quarter. Enough said. Grade: F

Cincinnati Bengals (6-2): Two wins against Baltimore, a destruction of Chicago, and a slip-up against Houston. That’s the Bengals’ quarter. Not bad at all. That’s a good defense, folks. Carson Palmer is making all the right decisions when it counts, and Big Ced Benson is doing his thing on the ground. I like this team quite a bit. Big shout out to Mike Zimmer; everybody at Skip To My Lank still has you in our thoughts and prayers. Grade: A

Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2): After the defending champs started 1-2, everybody started bugging. Well, they’ve ripped off 5 wins in a row, including triumphs over Minnesota and Denver (at Denver). They’ve gotten back to their winning ways and look sharp going into the second half of the season. You don’t want to be playing this team right now, trust me. Grade: A

Baltimore Ravens (4-4): They’ve lost twice to Cincy and took another L against Minnesota. Basically, we’ve found out that B-more isn’t ready for primetime. Ending Denver’s winning streak was nice, but there’s too much evidence pointing the other way. The defense still isn’t good, and when Joe Flacco has an off day, these guys aren’t winning. It’s that simple. Grade: D

Cleveland Browns (1-7): They won. They fired their GM. They traded their enigmatic former Pro Bowl receiver. They have no idea what to do at quarterback. That’s the Browns in a nutshell. Grade: F

Indianapolis Colts (8-0): Here I was, ready to get jacked about another Colts season (yes, I talk myself into it every November), then the bad news comes. Marlin Jackson, Bob Sanders, and Tyjuan Hagler? Out for the year. Kelvin Hayden and Anthony Gonzalez? Out for a few more weeks with knee injuries. Donald Brown? Bum shoulder. As always, the saving grace is that Peyton Manning is behind center, leading this MASH unit to win after win, week after week. The defense has been superb under first-year coordinator Larry Coyer, but must step up in the coming weeks with two rookies starting at cornerback. Next quarter will tell us a lot about the Colts (NE, @Bal, @ Hou), but for now, I like what I’m seeing from this squad. Grade: A-

Houston Texans (5-4): Heading into their bye week, the Texans should be ok with where they are. Not thrilled, but not disappointed either. Sure, there were a couple lost opportunties (Arizona and Indy), but they have a good record and are positioning themselves for a playoff run. Keep an eye on these guys; I like what I’m seeing from Gary Kubiak’s group. You know, outside of Steve Slaton fumbling every five minutes. Grade: B-

Jacksonville Jaguars (4-4): Not a good quarter for the Jags. Their wins were against St. Louis (in OT) and Kansas City. They got punked by Tennessee and Seattle. This is a team that shows no consistency or resolve whatsoever. If I’m Jack Del Rio, I’m trying to figure out a way to keep these guys motivated week to week. Their upcoming schedule is favorable, but that doesn’t mean much if you blow games you’re supposed to win. Grade: C

Tennessee Titans (2-6): Vince Young has started the last two games and they’ve won them both. Coincidence? Probably. Don’t get me wrong, he’s played well; but he hasn’t been great. Their defense finally decided to stop people and Chris Johnson has been an absolute beast lately. Don’t forget, this quarter also featured the 59-0 pasting against the Patriots. Big demerits for that. Grade: D

Denver Broncos (6-2): You didn’t expect them to go undefeated, did you? This is Big Brother’s favorite team, so I’ll be nice. Kyle Orton has struggled recently, leading to two straight losses. Prior to that, though, there were good wins against New England and San Diego. The Chargers are breathing down their necks, so the Broncos can’t let up, but with two games left against KC, one against Washington, and one against Oakland, they’re virtually guaranteed 10 wins. Will that be enough to win the division? We’ll see. Grade: B-

San Diego Chargers (5-3): 3-1 this quarter, but can we count wins against KC and Oakland? Ok, but only because you made me. Were it not for the Giants choking away that game last week, they’d be 4-4 and in major trouble. However, they’ve been given a second chance at life, and we’ll see how they respond. Denver beat them head-to-head so they’ll need to win the return battle for any chance at the division crown. Grade: C

Oakland Raiders (2-6): Sure, they beat Philly. But they lost their other three quarter games by a combined score of 106-23. I’m no mathematician, but I don’t think that’s very good. JaMarcus Russell is bad, Darrius Heyward-Bey has brought precisely nothing to their passing game, and there is no semblance of a running game. Oh, and can you please fire Tom Cable already? Thanks. Grade: D-

Kansas City Chiefs (1-7): Outside of getting pantsed by the Chargers, the Chiefs had a decent quarter. Close losses to Dallas and Jacksonville, as well as their lone win against Washington, will give this team a bit of confidence heading into the second half of the season. Sure, they’re still a bad team that isn’t fun to watch at all, but at least they’re playing hard and keeping things competitive. It’s like the opposite of Washington. Grade: C-

~~Lank

The 30 Worst Sports Logos of All Time: #21

As my boy 'Moo and I were sitting through our training class, he turned me on to a website called LogoShak that has a remarkably extensive collection of logos from sports teams and events. Since I needed something new for the blog (and because November has 30 days), I decided to list the 30 worst sports logos of all time. I designated 'Moo as creative director of the project since he a.) found the site before I did, b.) has a good eye for a bad logo, and c.) agreed to go through half of the logos on the site so that I didn't have to spend even more time than I already do with unproductive exercises. I will be listing one per day for the next 30 days. There was no strict criteria; it just had to look ugly. Sometimes the logos were too busy, some of them had terrible color schemes, and some were just way too plain. Regardless, we tried to put together list of the all-time worst for your enjoyment (or displeasure, whichever). Let's keep this train rolling...

#21 - San Diego Toreros

Ok, here's the thing. I really like the name "Toreros" for a mascot. It's not as commonplace as "Matadors" (at least in the sense of every day usage), and it provides a very Latin feel to the University of San Diego, which is obviously located in a city with a strong Latin population. The problem here is the logo itself. I mean, think about how elegant, tough, and showy (in a good way) toreros are. Does this logo do any of that justice? I mean, maybe the 'showy' part, just not in a good way. Let's be honest here: the torero in this logo looks like he's holding up his skirt to do a curtsy after a ballroom dance. I'm not ok with that. Not that there's anything wrong with curtsies or ballroom dancing; but I don't think that's the image a torero wishes to give off. Just a guess. The color scheme is terrific, the name is cool; but man, that logo is bad. I was hoping for a smooth-looking dude whipping his cape around or something; not a guy looking like he's holding up his skirt. We'll give you a mulligan, USD. You nearly nailed all of the good parts of a logo...except for the actual logo itself. Keep the color scheme, the name, and the spirit of the image; just change the logistics a little bit and then we'll talk. Thanks.

~~ Lank

NBA Musings: November 10th

Now that we're (roughly) two weeks into the NBA season, I think now is a good time to take inventory of what we have. Sure, the bulk of the picture is far from finished, but we have some brush strokes here and there that give us some insight into the image. Since NBA games occur every day of the week, there's no perfect time to give you my thoughts on the season, but I will throw in some "musings" every now and then whenever it feels right. Tell your friends and family.

-- It's always funny to me when people jump to conclusions so quickly. For example, last Thursday, the Spurs played a TNT-televised game against Utah. At the half, with the Spurs losing, TNT analysts Chris Webber and Charles Barkley referred to San Antonio as a "team in transition," talked about them losing a step, and expressed surprise at seeing them "not a contender." Really? You're making these declarations four games into the season? The Spurs are breaking in seven new players, five of whom (DeJuan Blair, Richard Jefferson, Antonio McDyess, Keith Bogans, and Theo Ratliff) are getting considerable minutes. If you expected San Antone to come out of the gate with a 15-3 record, well, that's your fault.

-- The Shaq-LeBron experiment is off to a weird start in Cleveland. Boston outclassed them early, they went to sleep in a loss to Toronto, and they haven't really looked in synch at any point this season...which is the exact opposite of last season. However, these things take time, so I'm not giving up on the new roster yet...ok, in all honesty, I kind of am. Shaq looks enormous (and I don't mean that in no nice way), Jamario Moon is giving them a whole lot of nothing, and nobody else is emerging as a reliable option to LeBron James. Basically, this is last year's team without the camaraderie, and a lot more headaches. Fun.

-- I give Steve Nash a lot of hate for a lot of reasons, but he's been superb this year. Phoenix's roster is garbage, but that hasn't prevented them from starting the season with a 7-1 record, best in the West. Why? Nash. He leads the NBA in assists at nearly 13 apg, and is scoring at an 18.3 clip. He's been masterful in helping Jason Richardson, Grant Hill, and Amar'e Stoudemire get open shots, which has made them more productive than expected. Can he keep it up? With Father Time and a bad back holding him down, I'm skeptical; but I am intrigued to see how long he can keep the Suns running into wins -- both literally and figuratively.

-- Brandon Jennings has been a revelation of sorts for the Milwaukee Bucks. I was a little hard on Jennings after he was drafted for running his mouth, but his play has been tremendous. Leading all rookies in scoring while becoming a playmaker for the Bucks, Jennings has solidified a position that look shaky for Milwaukee a few weeks ago. They lost Ramon Sessions to Minnesota and had little confidence in Luke Ridnour, so Jennings' emergence has been huge for them. Credit coach Scott Skiles for entrusting this kid with his team and for mentoring him effectively early this season. Rookies always hit a wall, but if Jennings can continue to produce for Milwaukee, they will surprise many people who predicted a horrendous year for them.

-- Carmelo Anthony is out for blood this year. I'll have more on this in a piece I'm working on for later in the week, but let's just say that 'Melo looks determined to repeat last year's Western Conference Finals appearance at the very worst. His rebounding and passing have improved, and he looks absolutely unstoppable as a scorer. Yes, as much as he relies on his jumpshot he'll have some off nights, but he looks more comfortable and confident than ever on the offensive end. Uh oh.

-- The Charlotte Bobcats may look terrible on the court at times, but they sure know how to hook up their fans on Opening Night. I attended the Bobcats' home opener October 30th against the Knicks. Not only did I get 10 minutes of free basketball for my hard-earned cash, I got a long-sleeve white t-shirt with a screen-printed logo on the front, and a list of four tasks that Larry Brown demands from his players on the back (no, "four passes before a shot" wasn't one of them). Not a bad little bit of swag from the broke Charlotte franchise. Thanks, Bob.

-- The Lakers cannot be judged until Pau Gasol is healthy. Thank you for abiding by this rule. It saves me a lot of breath and reduces my chances for carpel tunnel syndrome.

-- Boston looks sharp right off the bat. Their defense has been impenetrable (save for their loss to Phoenix), and Kevin Garnett is bringing his normal intensity (read: chest-beating, yelling, and attempts to intimidate opponents). And his patented fadeaway since he no longer has any low-post moves. Sorry, Ticket, I just had to go there.

-- Vince Carter is injured; shocker.

Alright, that's all I have for now. Stay with Skip To My Lank all season long, because I like the NBA entirely too much, and I'll probably be writing these musings every couple weeks. Have a great evening; tip your wait staff.

~~ Lank