Happy Monday everyone, here's my Top 5 for November 21, 2011 from Len Berman at www.ThatsSports.com.
1. Quick Hits
- The Green Bay Packers are now a perfect 10-0. They visit Detroit on Thursday.
- Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler could be out for the season with a broken thumb.
- Seattle Mariners outfielder Greg Halman was stabbed to death in Rotterdam. His brother is being held. He appeared in 39 games for the Mariners last season.
- Tony Stewart wins the NASCAR driving championship.
- With #2, 4, 5 and 7 all losing in college football it's looking like an LSU/Alabama rematch for the national championship.
- David Beckham and the L.A. Galaxy win the MLS Championship with a 1-0 win over Houston.
- The U.S. retained the President's Cup, beating the International team 19-15. Tiger Woods' victory put them over the top.
2. Oh Brother
It's back to the drawing board for the Ryan twins. They're the supposed defensive gurus. Rex's Jets got sliced up by Tim Tebow last Thursday. And Rob's Dallas Cowboys couldn't stop Washington's last drive. Were there enough camera shots of the hefty Rob yesterday in crunch time? Sure Dallas escaped in overtime, but with games on the line the Ryan boys came up short. We of course could use less talk from Rex. As for Rob's excess. He's reported to be on a six-month nutrition program that's costing him $16,000. I'm guessing that program won't be showing any before and after pictures of Ryan in their promotions.
3. Testing 1-2-3
Amazing. Baseball is leading the way on HGH testing. The sport that buried its head in the sand over steroids will start testing players in February. Congratulations to all sides. As Dodgers manager Don Mattingly told me before last season there's no doubt that a percentage of baseball players are on HGH. And now with testing, will the power numbers go down (except at Citi Field which is moving in the fences)? And shame on NFL players. They have got to follow baseball's lead. You've got to believe than an even bigger percentage of football guys are on the stuff.
4. Not News
Why is it newsworthy that Lee Corso dropped an F-bomb on ESPN? I'm sort of surprised he later apologized. Do you think even one college football pre-game show viewer complained?
5. Roar Lion Roar
At last check the Columbia football team was 0-9 and their band was banned for making up mock lyrics to the Columbia fight song "Roar Lion Roar." The band received a last second reprieve and was allowed to perform at the season finale against Brown. The Lions staged a fourth-quarter comeback to shock Brown in overtime for their first win of the season. Coincidence? I think not. As "Anon" posted on the school's newspaper web site, "This is what happens when everyone is positive." Not so fast. The next day they fired coach Norries Wilson.
Happy Birthday: Stan "The Man" Musial. 91.
Bonus Birthday: One of my personal faves, Earl "The Pearl" Monroe. 67.
Today in Sports: Mets outfielder Darryl Strawberry is named the National League Rookie of the Year. 1983.
Bonus Event: J.R. Ewing got shot on the CBS TV show Dallas. At the time it was the most watched program of all time, surpassed three years later by the final episode of M*A*S*H. 1980.
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