Baily's Sports & Stuff

Last night, you didn't just see a couple good games and a walk-off or two. You saw some of the most dramatic moments in the history of the game, all in the span of two minutes. What you witnessed will not be seen by most people. You saw two games deciding the AL Wild Card go down to the wire, and the Braves lose a harsh fight in Philly. The Rays were ready to end their year having fought hard but not hard enough. However, that would soon change. Tampa Bay finally got back in the game, and Boston collapsed. The Rays scored their first three runs on a walk, HBP, and sac fly, but Evan Longoria provided the real punch with a three-run blast. In the ninth, the Rays had more to offer. At the time, Joe Maddon's move to send Dan Johnson, hitless since April 27, to the plate, seemed dumb. And you could still argue that it was risky. But it worked. Johnson took a 2-2 slider deep to right field, and the pitch left the yard. Tampa Bay had tied it, and there were more dramatics to...

In the NFL, three teams currently reside undefeated. Green Bay, Buffalo, and Detroit. Now, if I had told you that before the season, you'd think I was crazy. For Green Bay, probably not. The defending champs are returning basically the exact same team with the exact same quarterback, and even though New Orleans and Chicago stood in their way, the Packers simply find ways to win. But the Lions and Bills? Nobody expected Buffalo to knock off New England. Not many expected Detroit to beat Tampa Bay, Kansas City, and Minnesota. The Bills and Lions did. This year, will the unexpected actually happen? The Bills, Lions, Raiders, and all other small-market teams to blitz the playoffs? Nobody expects it. Surprising things happen. The Eagles have been sloppy, and the so-called "Dream Team" isn't living up to expectations. Matt Ryan and Eli Manning have thrown back-to-back four touchdown games on Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. The Minnesota Vikings ...

Every year, teams we didn't see coming surprise everyone and start winning game, and often, make the playoffs. This year, we already have two. The Detroit Lions may have had higher expectations, but no one expected them to beat Kansas City by 45. Matthew Stafford is playing like the quarterback Detroit drafted in 2009. Stafford has thrown seven touchdowns already in the first two games, and while the Lions 27-20 win over Tampa Bay wash't a real show, the Lions of the future showed themselves on Sunday. Now, all of the sudden, you have the Lions, who have been plowing through opponents, against the 0-2 Vikings, who, other than Adrian Peterson, have looked worse than bad. Right now, we're looking at an easy 3-0 start for the Lions. Their schedule is favorable. And if they continue to steamroll opponents, the Green Bay Packers might have some competition. Another team looking poised for success is the 2-0 Buffalo Bills, who won two very different games against Kansas...

The Good Oklahoma: The Sooners were able to hold E.J Manuel and the Florida State Seminoles in check, and when Landry Jones needed to deliver, he did. With the score tied at 13, Jones hit Kenny Stills for a touchdown, and then Javon Harris intercepted a Florida State pass. The Sooners had three interceptions. Oklahoma's defense stopped Florida State almost every time, and while their offense wasn't perfect, it was enough. The Sooners are guaranteed to hold their number one ranking. The Bad South Carolina: Stephen Garcia and the Gamecocks struggled, and while they held off Navy (who is not a tough opponent), this will not go by in the SEC. South Carolina would've got blown out if they played this way against Georgia. Marcus Lattimore had a career day, rushing for 246 yards and 3 scores. But Stephen Garcia was missing passes, failed to throw a touchdown, and he wasn't good. The Midshipmen are not a challenging opponent, but this game may hurt South Carolina in...

If you are a loyal Cal Bears fan, you can press rewind to the glory days for California. Ranked number two. A share of a Pac-10/12 championship. And the Bears can still win, but they aren't the same team. But can they be? The Bears do have talent. They started 2-0 by beating some teams that have talent, Fresno State and Colorado. Fresno State's potent offense was held in check by the Bears defense. While transfer Zach Maynard wasn't at his best in Week 1, he guided Cal to a win, and in Week 2, he was stellar. Maynard threw four touchdowns, and hit Keenan Allen for a five-yard, game-winning score. California won't get much, if any credit, for this week's game, a battle against FCS school Presbyterian, but next week, they take on 2-0 Washington, and following a bye, they take on Oregon, USC, and Utah. In California's home opener, the Blue Hose travel to AT&T Park for what looks like an easy win for the Bears. If Cal prevails, they will improve to 3-0...

NFL Week 1 always brings us something we didn't expect. Maybe the Bengals grinding out a win. The Jets shocking the Cowboys. Jacksonville taking down Tennessee. Or the Ravens obliterating the Steelers. Pittsburgh came into this season with high expectations and high hopes. They still have those hopes, but picking up the W against Baltimore was crucial. The Ravens came out of the gates hungry. Ray Rice ripped a big run. Joe Flacco hit Anquan Boldin for a touchdown. Baltimore forced a fumble and got a touchdown. In all, Baltimore forced seven turnovers. It added up to a 35-7 clobbering of their bitter rivals, which will put Baltimore on everyone's "don't want to play" list. Baltimore scored 20 points off of turnovers and halted two more possible touchdown drives. In all, it added up to an easy Baltimore win. In another game featuring highly touted teams, Dallas and the New York Jets faced off. Early on, it looked like a repeat of Pittsburgh-Baltimore, as...

Notre Dame had Michigan beaten. They were up 24-7 in the fourth quarter, and they had just forced a fumble. The Irish had quieted the Big House. As Lee Corso would say, "not so fast!" Michigan agreed. Denard Robinson hit Roy Roundree for a touchdown with two seconds left as the Big Blue took down Notre Dame with four fourth quarter touchdowns. Michigan dropped Notre Dame to 0-2. With the Irish up 24-7, Michigan fumbled at the Notre Dame 1, but Denard Robinson recovered and sped in for the touchdown. Notre Dame went three-and out. The Wolverines marched right down the field, and Denard Robinson and Jeremy Gallon executed a fade perfectly for a touchdown. It looked like Notre Dame would answer, but the Big Blue forced a fumble. Michigan was poised to take the lead, but Robinson threw an interception and Notre Dame had a chance to put it away. However, the Irish did nothing, and the Big Blue responded. Robinson got Michigan into Notre Dame territory, then threw a t...

The Green Bay Packers relied on Brett Favre to bring them a championship for so many years. And so many times, he failed. Now, it's Aaron Rodgers. Happy? Green Bay is. And they sure have reason to be. Rodgers' led the Packers to 42 points, and the Packers defense made a huge goal-line stand as Green Bay beat New Orleans in the NFL season opener. While Rodgers and Drew Brees were spectacular, Randall Cobb stole a lot of the show. He returned a kickoff 108 yards for a touchdown, and in the process, he did a flip and somehow maintained his balance. The Packers are pretty much the same team, and while new contenders come and go, the Packers will be up there for a while. They have a good defense, although it gave up 34 points Thursday. Greg Jennings continued to make great catches and solidify his position as the core of the receivers, while Cobb, Jordy Nelson, Donald Driver, and Jermichael Finley are the secondary receivers. At running back, where the Packers are im...

College football is sure to generate twists, suspense, surprises, and much, much more in the current 2011 season. If you blink, you miss it. And if you blink, you miss the rankings. That's how fast the season goes. So, without further ado, the BD Top 25 Rankings. Note: Still Pending Result of Miami Florida-Maryland game. 25. Arizona State 24. Penn State 23. USC 22. TCU 21. Auburn 20. West Virginia 19. Missouri 18. Florida 17. Michigan State 16. Mississippi State 15. Ohio State 14. Arkansas 13. South Carolina 12. Virginia Tech 11. Oklahoma State 10. Nebraska 9. Oregon 8. Texas A&M 7. Wisconsin 6. Florida State 5. Alabama 4. Stanford 3. Boise State 2. LSU 1. Oklahoma Others Notre Dame, Georgia, Northwestern, Miami (FL), Texas, Iowa, BYU, Michigan, Houston, Air Force, NC State, Pittsburgh, Tennessee College Football Pick 'Em College Football Pick 'Em is back! I'll list a few games to pick the result of and each game adds an amount of...

Jeff Tedford has led the Bears to success. A near Rose Bowl apperance. Five bowl victories. A share of the 2006 Pac-10 title. But in 2010, the Bears dropped to 5-7. A talented team missed a bowl game for the first time since 2002. And talk of firing Tedford was on. Now, Tedford is on the hot seat, and the Bears need to succeed. While the defense and running game looked good, there were areas Tedford and Cal needed to fix. Badly. While success has been something Cal has enjoyed for the past decade, it is time to part ways with Tedford. Sure, more and more running backs are coming in to Cal and out in the NFL, but that is all that he has done in the past two years. Here are three reasons why Tedford needs out from Berkeley. Reason 1: Too Many Penalties If you watched the Cal-Fresno State game on Saturday, you know what I'm talking about. Cal committed eleven penalties against the Bulldogs, and while the Bears won the game easily, it wasn't pretty. California lost 86 ...

The first week of college football brought us surprises, action, and drama, just like we expected. But who will bounce back? Who will stay hot? Who will keep winning games? Who will become a legit contender? It's hard to tell, but let's figure out. Week 1 featured many close games and offensive blowouts, especially in the Pac-12. Oregon State, a team expected to make it back to the bowls, fell to Sacramento State. Even true freshman Malcolm Agnew's rushing performance of 223 yards wasn't enough, as Jeff Fleming and the Hornets found a way in overtime. Oregon State scored 22 unanswered points after trailing 21-6. Fleming found Brandyn Reed for a touchdown on a seven-yard slant, then while going for two, he executed the fade route and hit Reed again. Although it was an ugly loss for the Beavers, freshman Sean Mannion led the Beavers to 25 points in half 2 and overtime, leaving some hope. Marshall Lobberstel led Washington State to 64 points in a clobbering of Id...

This years college football season is destined for more upsets, down-to-the wire contests and action. The TCU-Baylor game just added to our firm beliefs. Last night, you saw a 24-point fourth quarter lead slip away. A rookie quarterback leading his team to 48 points. A offensive battle that ended when the clock ran out. That is what you will see all year long. Now, you might not see a ranked team go down 50-48 on a Friday night game anymore, but you will see more close games. Games like Oregon against LSU and Boise State at Georgia look to bring that demeanor to us in week one. What you saw (if you watched the game last night) was extraordinary. The TCU Horned Frogs fell to the Baylor Bears 50-48, as Aaron Jones kicked the game-winning field goal with 1:04 left. Mike Hicks intercepted a Casey Pachall pass and avoided being tackled with two seconds left, and Robert Griffin, who had thrown five touchdowns, kneeled to end the game. College football has always brought dramati...