Cats Peel Orange

Backed by Derrick Anderson's 22 points, Villanova held off the Syracuse Orange(men) 89-86 to win the season series, win at the Carrier Dome for the second year in a row, and win their third in a row from Syracuse for the first time since I was a student.

Cool.

So they are 10-4 in the conference, although the road they took there was a little different than I expected.

W vs Rutgers - check.

W at W. Virginia - uh, got THAT wrong. I should have known. This game was a must for the Mountaineers, who are fighting for an NCAA berth, hadn't beaten a meaningful opponent in the Big East all season, had Nova at their place, play good defense... just a horrible call on my part.

L at Syracuse - happily, got that wrong too.

So, they have the worst team in the league (DePaul), the rapidly disintegrating Hoyas, and Notre Dame left. 13-4 is still possible. 13-4 will probably not move them out of 5th in the conference, but who cares? They're a lock for the NCAAs at this point. The only suspense remaining is what their seed will be.

Communist Opressors 24, Chargers 21

Photo: Jim Baird of the SD Union-Tribune.

God Dammit.

Smarmy NE fans can STICK IT

I just finished reading Bill Simmons' article for 12 January - it's not bad, you might want to check it out. As no surprise, he picks the Patriots to win this weekend here in San Dog. My response to this:

San Diego will represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.

Reasons why:

1. Martyball officially died on Oct 1, 2006. The Chargers lost a game they had controlled to the Ravens because Marty, predictably, took the air out of the ball. Since that game they are 12-1 and have won 10 straight.

2. Belichick had a questionable record overall (41-55) and playoff record (1-1) before Tom Brady joined the team. Since then he's won 3 Super Bowls. I'm not going to suggest that Philip Rivers is the next Tom Brady, but he could be - you got to start somewhere.

3. LDT.

4. The bye week. Teams with the extra week off are 51-13 since 1990.

So sorry, Boston - get your grousing faces ready. Sports Talk Radio needs you to lose - what other big fan base of losers will call in for the next 8 months to whine about how their team was better but got screwed (a la the Denver loss last year)?

Now - how will they get to the Super Bowl? Here's how (as Deadspin BallGirl, AKA Mrs Rant pointed out):

They have to play the Ravens. The blew the 1 Oct game and they know it. AND they'll get the rematch in their building. Emotion is a HUGE part of football - the Chargers will be riding a lot of emotion in the AFC Championship game.

So start spreading the news - Chargers in the Super Bowl. The bandwagon has officially left the barn.

And I have credibility - after all, I predicted the Cardinals would win the World Series. What? This is a Cardinal site, you say?

So what?