Cheers & Jeers

Cheers & Jeers » Bimbo looks to rally

Guests 14, Bimbo 11, Ties 1

Bimbo wishes to congratulate sports talk radio savants Kevin Sheehan (ESPN 980 AM), Byron Kerr (WTOP 103.5 FM) and Steve Davis (WBAL 1090). All went 3-1 last week, proving they not only can talk the talk, they can walk the walk.

As far as the team standings go in the Great Baltimore-Washington Metroplex Sports Talk Radio Playoff Challenge, Charm City (7-5) and D.C. (7-5) are in a flatfooted tie. This week the stakes are raised in the conference semifinal round of the NFL playoffs, so we expect the talkers to bring their best stuff.

Great athletes step up in the postseason. Same with elite prognosticators. So it is with great disappointment that we report Bimbo’s 2-2 performance last week. Yes, 2-2 is a push, but we’ve come to expect so much more from the Prophet of Profit who has a 158-100-1 record on the season.

After her Colts lost in overtime Saturday night, Bimbo was seen rubbing her sore, pink hiney. Maybe it will bring her good luck this week as she welcomes another sports talk radio challenger, Anita Marks of The Fan, 105.7 FM in Baltimore.

Every banana helps Bimbo
Bimbo would love to hear from you. If you would like to send a letter or a care package, she loves papayas, apples, grapes, grilled cheese sandwiches and french fries and warm, snugly blankets. Please send all items to Colleen Layton-Robbins at Frisky’s Wildlife & Primate Sanctuary, 10790 Old Frederick Road, Woodstock, MD 21163.

The games	Ravens at Titians	Chargers at Steelers	Eagles at Giants	Cardinals at Panthers
Bimbo’s picks Drew Forrester’s picks Steve Davis’ picks Anita Marks’ picks Bob Haynie’s picks Al Galdi’s picks Kevin Sheehan’s picks Jerry Coleman’s picks Byron Kerr’s picks	Ravens Ravens Ravens Ravens Ravens Ravens Titans Ravens Ravens	Steelers Steelers Steelers Steelers Chargers Steelers Steelers Steelers Steelers	Eagles Giants Giants Giants Giants Eagles Giants Giants Giants	Panthers Panthers Panthers Panthers Panthers Panthers Panthers Panthers Panthers

Cheers & Jeers » Lots of local talent at MLS SuperDraft

An unprecedented amount of local soccer talent will feature in next week’s 2009 Major League Soccer SuperDraft in St. Louis.

Two Montgomery County products, Rockville’s Rodney Wallace (Bullis Prep), a sophomore at Maryland, and Silver Spring’s Kevin Alston, a junior at Indiana, were among nine players announced Wednesday as part of the 2009 Generation Adidas class, a group that also includes Maryland juniors Jeremy Hall and Omar Gonzalez.

Generation Adidas players, highly-desired prospects who leave college early to enter the MLS draft, sign contracts that are exempt from the league’s salary cap, enabling them to earn more than the league minimum.

Unlike other major sports, Major League Soccer owns all its player contracts.

Ultimately, Generation Adidas is a win-win but not a guarantee. D.C. United’s most recent first-round pick, Bryan Arguez, never played a first team match after being selected 11th overall in 2007.

This year’s signees and 63 other college seniors will take part in the annual MLS Combine, which begins Friday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Wake Forest midfielder Michael Lahoud (W.T. Woodson High), George Mason forward Kwame Adjeman-Pamboe (Eleanor Roosevelt), Loyola goalkeeper Milos Kocic, Virginia defender Matt Poole (Langley), Maryland defender A.J. Delagarza (Lackey) and midfielder Graham Zusi (at left) all hope to impress coaches and potentially earn themselves a chance to get drafted or invited into a team’s preseason training camp.

“I think it’s overall better than last year’s group, a little bit deeper,” said D.C. United general manager Dave Kasper. United owns the sixth and seventh overall picks in the first round of the draft.

Cheers & Jeers » The Ravens: A team you can bank on

With an NFL-best 13-4 record against the spread, the Baltimore Ravens have been, excuse the expression, money.

Saturday in their AFC semifinal at Tennessee, the Purple and Black face another Vegas darling. The Titans are 12-4 against the spread. In a tough call for an oddsmaker, BetOnline.com spokesman T.J. Kendrick selects the Ravens.

“I like them beating the Chargers in the AFC title game and making it to Tampa,” Kendrick told The Examiner’s Jim Williams. “However, should Pittsburgh beat San Diego, then I [would pick] the Steelers. Pittsburgh has found a way to win against Baltimore (twice) this year and, at home with the Super Bowl on the line, I would have to make the Steelers the favorite.”

The key to the Ravens’ success this season, according to Kendrick, is ball security.

“For a rookie, Joe Flacco has been fantastic at not turning the ball over,” said Kendrick. “All in all, I think the Ravens have been underrated on offense.”

Cheers & Jeers » Haden challenges Oklahoma

Thursday’s BCS National Championship is a dream matchup of high-powered offenses and Heisman Trophy quarterbacks — Tim Tebow of No. 1 Florida vs. Sam Bradford of No. 2 Oklahoma.

But of the players who have descended on South Florida this week, one of the most conspicuous has been Florida cornerback Joe Haden, a product of Friendly High in Fort Washington.

When the Gators landed in Fort Lauderdale Sunday, the sophomore had a Mohawk haircut. Razor cut into the left side of his head was “BCS 1,” on the right side, a star and his jersey number, 5.

Haden has been conspicuous in print as well, questioning a frenetic Oklahoma offense that scored more points (702) than any team since 1904, and is working on a string of five straight games in which it has scored at least 60.

“They haven’t played against us. Nobody puts 60 points up on us,” said Haden on Dec. 16. “It’s a challenge for them to come against us, honestly, because they haven’t seen a defense like us, with the speed and the physical play and just knowing our assignments and just flying around.”

With that Haden provided bulletin board material for the Sooners and became the target of Internet jibes from their rabid fans.

Haden has the stuff to back up his words. A physical marvel at 5-11, 190, he has a sculpted frame with 2.2 percent body fat. He can bench press 385 pounds, squat 400, and has a 40-inch vertical leap.

Playing quarterback at Friendly, Haden threw for a state-record 7,371 career yards. When he ran off the field for the last time, after leading the Patriots past River Hill in the 2006 Maryland 2A state final, he did the Gator Chomp.

When Haden arrived at Florida a month later as a four-star recruit, he was in a class that included 10 five-star players. But Haden quickly emerged, becoming the first true freshman to start for the Gators at cornerback. This year he had three interceptions and 77 tackles.

“It’s definitely not guaranteeing victory,” said Haden of his haircut. “It’s not like that. We made it to the championship game. It’s the No. 1 game. I just wanted to do something different.”

Cheers & Jeers » Not much clear in bowl season

The bowl season often brings bold pronouncements on which conferences have the best football. This season things aren’t so clear.

The Biggest Winner: Pac 10 (5-0) » Yes, the Pac 10 was undefeated this bowl season. But isn’t this is the same conference that went 1-6 against the Mountain West? Part of the Pac 10’s success can be attributed to weak bowl alliances. For example, why is the No. 2 team in the conference, Oregon, playing the No. 4 team in the Big 12 South, Oklahoma State? In the Emerald Bowl, California (9-4), the fourth-place team in the Pac 10, beat Miami (7-6), which was No. 4 in the ACC Coastal.

The Biggest Loser: Big Ten (1-6) » The conference’s annual exercise in frustration has hit rock bottom with Iowa producing this year’s only win. The Big Ten is 9-20 in bowl games the last four years and has lost six straight BCS bowl games, always looking a step slow and years behind the times. Spread offense? Hello? Hello? Is this thing working?

The Most Mediocre: ACC (4-6) » Unparalleled mediocrity got the ACC into 10 bowl games. But the conference blew an opportunity for redemption. Consider that the ACC’s wins came over the undistinguished foursome of Cincinnati, Navy, Nevada and Wisconsin and it’s clear the postseason was as lackluster as the regular season.

Cheers & Jeers » Ravens: Run, baby, run

Ravens running back Willis McGahee has been looking forward to a rematch with the Tennessee Titans since a 13-10 loss at M&T Bank Stadium on Oct. 5.

He’ll get his wish on Saturday afternoon at 4:30 when the Ravens (12-5) kick off the divisional round of the playoffs against the top-seeded Titans (13-3).

“It left a sour taste in our mouth,” McGahee said at the team’s Owings Mills training complex on Tuesday. “We’re looking forward to it. We are going to go out there and play Raven football from the beginning.”

McGahee had a disappointing regular season, but his 48-yard run in the fourth quarter of last week’s 27-9 win over Miami set up a late touchdown to secure the win.

“We’re pounding away at the beginning of the game,” he said. “Sooner or later the defenses have to break."

Cheers & Jeers » District Fight Night

The punches came in rapid fire, one devastating blow after another. Capitals enforcer Donald Brashear has dispensed plenty of beatings during his 15-year NHL career. It’s the nature of the job.

But his fight with the Philadelphia Flyers’ Riley Cote on Dec. 20 inflicted especially brutal punishment.

Brashear fought Cote again later in that game — that one a draw in an otherwise disappointing 7-1 loss in Philadelphia. And the two are likely combatants again tonight when the Caps host the Flyers at Verizon Center in a game that — given recent history between the two teams — could turn ugly.

Not that Brashear is worried. The 6-foot-2, 235-pounder has about 20 pounds and at least an inch on Cote, whose will is admirable if occasionally misplaced.

“Sometimes you expect a lot and nothing happens. Sometimes you don’t expect it and it does,” Brashear said of a potential rematch. “But if it has to happen then that’s what my job is. It’s not a problem for me or something I think about on a regular basis other than what I need to do to win the fight.”

Cote actually got the early jump on Brashear in the first meeting. After a routine save stopped play, Cote grabbed Brashear, popped him with a left-handed punch, took a big shot and got off one more right. But he then absorbed seven straight lefts to the face before the players toppled to the ice. Since Cote, 26, entered the league full-time in 2007, he has fought Brashear, 36, four times and another during the preseason. He has yet to win. That doesn’t mean Cote won’t try again. The two Dec. 20 fights were part of a chippy afternoon that left the Caps seething with frustration after a dominating first period yielded no goals. Then they completely fell apart in the second and third.

“I think there was a lot of boiling points going over,” said Caps coach Bruce Boudreau. “They wanted to pile it on as much as possible. They were probably a little bummed out that their tough guy got beat up twice. So they started coming after our guys, too."

Cheers & Jeers » As for Gil’s status? Don’t ask, don’t tell

Forget Hibachi. Forget Agent Zero.

The best nickname for Gilbert Arenas these days is, “No timetable for his return.”

That’s the mantra of the Wizards on the subject of their gimpy-kneed franchise player. When Arenas appeared at Madame Tussauds wax museum on Nov. 20, he suggested his return would come between Dec. 15 and Jan. 15. But he has yet to practice, save for an occasional game of two-on-two.

Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld told The Associated Press that he expects Arenas to return this year, but didn’t say when.

“All of those targets when you’re talking about the human body have to be soft targets,” Wizards interim coach Ed Tapscott told The Examiner’s Kevin Dunleavy. “Obviously we’re going to be conservative. He’s a critical member of this franchise.”

With Washington (7-25) mired in last place in the Eastern Conference, the question a month from now might be why should Arenas return, not when.

“The most important thing is to make sure he’s healthy,” said Wizards forward Antawn Jamison. “We’ve seen what happens when he comes back too early."

Cheers & Jeers » Sizzle & fizzle: Dear Celtics, don’t let Marbury kill your season

Sizzle
1. Charging on » The San Diego Chargers added to their bandwagon this weekend by beating the Indianapolis Colts in overtime, 23-17. The real question now is can they beat a tough Pittsburgh Steelers team on the road?

2. If I was this bad at my job ... » The Vikings continue to alienate more fans by reportedly giving a vote of confidence to coach Brad Childress, who has given no visual evidence so far that he actually uses a game plan.

3. Stay home » Everyone loves Bill Cowher, but he is making the right decision by staying retired. The jobs on the market right now all have huge flaws. Wait until 2010, Bill.

Fizzle
1. Caught in the Web » Is ESPN.com trying to drive away people with terrible commercials and slow-loading video on the intro to their new Web site?

2. Fired? » Boston College is threatening to fire coach Jeff Jagodzinski if he interviews for the New York Jets’ coaching job. Apparently the Eagles — winners of the ACC Atlantic Division each of the last two years — want to be irrelevant again.

3. Starbury wants to shine » The Celtics can’t afford the risk to their team chemistry by bringing on a team-killer like Stephon Marbury. He could single-handedly destroy their chances at repeating.

Cheers & Jeers » Colts? Oops. We meant Bolts

Well, that “Manning vs. Manning” story line can now be shelved for Super Bowl week.

Peyton Manning’s golden arm wasn’t enough to make up for an Indianapolis Colts team incapable of running the ball against the San Diego Chargers in a 23-17 overtime loss Saturday night.

Don’t feel too bad for the Manning clan — they do still have Eli to carry the torch with the New York Giants, after all. But the Colts’ loss proves one fact above all others: When it comes to the NFL playoffs, no one has a clue.

Indianapolis overcame a tough start to go 12-4, playing their best at the perfect time of year. Yet it wasn’t enough against a Chargers team that squeaked into the playoffs at 8-8 and lost star running back LaDainian Tomlinson (groin), who left in the second quarter Saturday night. Go figure.

The again, the playoffs are about matchups, not final records, and those aren’t always obvious on the surface. Yes, the Chargers only avoided dropping to 5-9 and out of the AFC playoff race because they recovered an onsides kick against Kansas City on Dec. 14. But they also lost an astounding seven games by a touchdown or less.

“It’s really hard to explain. It was the same way trying to explain why we were 4-8,” said San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers, whose team will play at Pittsburgh on Sunday. “We talk about the character and the tightness and the close-knit group of guys that we have. But everybody has that when you’re 14-2 or 11-5. It’s when you’re 4-8 that [it] gets tested.”

In the NFC, meanwhile, critics questioned the running game of the Arizona Cardinals entering Saturday’s playoff game against Atlanta. So — of course — veteran Edgerrin James and Episcopal High’s own Tim Hightower combined for 96 rushing yards and a touchdown in a 30-24 win. Not great. But far better than Atlanta’s Michael Turner (18 carries, 42 yards). Conventional wisdom crashes and burns again.

“A lot of people coming into this game said we were the worst playoff team ever to get in,” Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “I think we rallied around that."