NCAA College Football 2011: Week Nine Review

Another crazy, BCS landscape-altering weekend in college football. Once more, we're reminded why this is the most compelling regular season in all of sport.

An amazing night in Houston on Thursday, for the big in-state rivalry, Houston vs. Rice. At the end of sixty minutes of football, Cougars QB Case Keenum had become the sole owner of the Football Bowl Subdivision record for career passing TDs. The total sits at 139 this Saturday night, after Keenum went wild against Rice on Thursday night, notching Madden numbers in the Cougars' big rivalry win 73-34. The QB was 24-37 for 534 yards, 9 TDs, 1 INT and a QB Rating of 261.0. Surely now, Keenum will start getting some love from Heisman voters. SURELY!

Speaking of records falling, congratulations, to the great and legendary Joe Paterno, for breaking Eddie Robinson's record of 409 Division I victories. Penn State won 10-7, surviving six turnovers on a snowy afternoon in State College, Pennsylvania. The living legend, sits behind only John Gagliardi, who still coaches at Division III St. John’s, Minnesota and owns a mammoth 481 victories.

Once more, the Halloween weekend has become the undoing for Michigan State. Fresh off that monumental Hail Mary victory vs. Wisconsin last week, Sparty went into Lincoln, Nebraska and were rolled over by RB Rex Burkhead and QB Taylor Martinez. Finally, the 'Husker offense looked like it'd been promising to look all season. It continues a worrying trend for MSU, who were soundly beaten this year, were blown out 37-6 last year vs. Iowa and lost to lowly Minnesota the year before, 42-34. Trick or treat?

Gutted to see USC lose with a fumble recovery into the end zone, recovered by Stanford. But, at the same time, it's good to see that there is a pretty good football team there that can go toe-to-toe with one of the best football teams in the country. Andrew Luck is, as we all know, just as good as advertised. And that's VERY good.

What to say about this week's edition of the Texas Tech Red Raiders? The team that beat the previously undefeated Oklahoma Sooners last week came out and were beaten from pillar to post by Iowa State. The final score was 41-7, the game set up with a 3-TD burst from the Cyclones in the first quarter. QB Seth Doege, so good last week, threw 2 INTs and no TDs this week, and the offense committed 3 turnovers. Meanwhile, the Tech defense gave up 370 rushing yards to Iowa State.

Ditto, Clemson. A team that looked great last week - they've looked great every week this year, really - have laid an ugly egg against Georgia Tech on Homecoming in Atlanta, losing 31-17 to a Yellow Jackets team that showed promise earlier in the year, but have faded badly recently, taking losses to Virginia and Miami. 4 Clemson turnovers didn't help. Nor did their defense being run over by the Georgia Tech run game, which ripped off 383 and 4 TDs. The ACC is wide open now.

Wisconsin went from being viewed as the best team in the Big Ten to now losing two games, the first to Michigan State and now to Ohio State on a cold Columbus Homecoming night where in very similar circumstances. It was a 20-yard Braxton Miller pass to Devin Smith that put the Buckeyes ahead for good, and gave them their signature win of a season that has been played under the looming shadow of NCAA sanctions and without both longtime head coach Jim Tressel and star QB Terrelle Pryor. The teams combined for 4 TDs in the final 4:39 and now, you have to wonder where Wisconsin go from here? Do they lack the heart to press on through the rest of the season?

Oklahoma got their revenge for losing last week to Texas Tech. It was tight at half-time against Kansas State, 23-17, but the Sooners exploded in the second half, scoring 35 unanswered points to remind people that they are still a good football team. All eyes now, in the state of Oklahoma, are on the Bedlam Game against Oklahoma State in a few weeks time, the final game of the season for both teams. Imagine what a Sooner win/Cowboy loss might do to the BCS standings?

It wouldn't be a week of college football without some more conference alignment talk. Apparently, West Virginia are headed to the Big XII (which has less than twelve teams) to effectively replace Missouri who are allegedly heading to the SEC to join the Texas A&M Aggies in that particular sidestep. Now Boise State, if you believe the whispers, are poised to join the Big East, along with Navy, Air Force, SMU, Houston and Central Florida. If you believe the whispers. Man, my head hurts!!

Finally, to Texas A&M a football team that seemingly has split personalities. They look great one week and terrible the next. Sometimes, they look great in the first half, then implode, giving up huge leads after half time. They were beaten 38-31 in OT by Missouri this week, and Mizzou aren't that good of a football team. Just when you thought the Aggies might build on their beat-down of Baylor, and QB Ryan Tannehill's 6-TD performance, they have once more regressed. One step forward, two steps back seems to be the team's mantra.

NCAA College Football 2011: Week Nine Australian TV Guide

ESPN’s college football schedule for the ninth week of the 2011 season is highlighted by two showdowns between top 25 teams:

• No. 9 Oklahoma at No. 8 Kansas State
• No. 11 Michigan State at No. 14 Nebraska

Friday 28 October

Virginia vs. Miami-FL (11.00am; ESPN/ESPN-HD)

Saturday 29 October

College Football Live (10.30am; ESPN/ESPN-HD)
Brigham Young vs. Texas Christian (11.00am; ESPN/ESPN-HD)

Sunday 30 October

College GameDay - Los Angeles, California (12.10am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)
#9 Michigan State vs. #13 Nebraska (3.00am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)
College Football Scoreboard (6.00am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)
#11 Oklahoma vs. #10 Kansas State (6.30am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)
College Football Live (9.00am; ESPN/ESPN-HD)
College Football Scoreboard (10.00am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)
#4 Stanford vs. #20 USC (11.00am; ESPN/ESPN-HD)
#12 Wisconsin vs. Ohio State (11.00am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)
College Football Scoreboard (3.00pm; ESPN/ESPN-HD)

NFL 2011: Week Seven Review

Can't believe we're nearly halfway through the 2011 season, and things are starting to get really interesting.

Sorry, but I’m not ready to fete Tim Tebow as the saviour of the football world just yet. I don't get the adoration for this guy in Denver, either. Sure, the Broncos QB made some clutch plays late in the game vs. Miami, but the first fifty-five minutes were horrible. He was 4-14 for 40 yards and had been sacked seven times by the Dolphins before managing to make a few plays, in between a successful onside kick – a lottery at the best of times – to help Denver win the game in OT. Teams are going to lock down on Tebow as a runner and force him to make plays through the air. I just don't think he can do it.

One guy whose efforts are growing on me is Carolina QB Cam Newton, his NCAA issues aside. Unlike Tebow, who can only run and not pass, Newton does both with equal skill, and with a few more weapons lining up on offense for Carolina, and the ex-Auburn Tiger might be the rejuvenation the Panthers franchise has needed since their ill-fated trip to the NFC Championship Game in January of 2006. Jake Delhomme was the QB then, and Carolina hasn't done much but languish in the NFC cellar since then.

It wasn't quite the “welcome back” to football that Carson Palmer had doubtless been hoping for. The former Trojan and disgruntled Bengal quarterback literally jumped off the couch and led Oakland to a 28-0 drubbing by the Kansas City Chiefs. I’ve seen a lot of criticism of Palmer in the days since the game, but think it’s unfair. I mean, here’s a guy who had basically no idea of the finer points of the Raiders offense, having not played any sort of football since last year. When he comes to grips with things down there in Oakland, Palmer is going to be good for the Raiders. The question is, was he worth everything the Raiders gave up to get him from Ohio to Northern California?

Watching Indianapolis play this season is sad, really sad. It also makes you realise just how good a player Peyton Manning is – and hopefully will continue to be when he returns from his injury – and how much his leadership matters in that locker-room, how it affects players on both sides of the football. Seeing Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints torch the Colts for 60+ points on what would’ve been a marquee game if Peyton had been under centre, was difficult. The worst news for the Colts? As they lose, so do the Dolphins, who might well provide stiff competition for the chance to snag Andrew Luck.

Hopefully Detroit will not to a Josh McDaniels-Denver this year, and start out well only to fade horribly mid-to-late season. A loss to San Francisco didn't seem so bad, because the 49ers look pretty good, but I really thought facing a disappointing Atlanta team would provide the bounce-back that the Lions needed. And now QB Matt Stafford is day-to-day with an ankle injury, and everything in Detroit, football-wise, anyway, depends on Stafford’s health. The upside is that WR Calvin Johnson continues his mega season, catching passes for 115 yards and a score on Sunday. The next few weeks are crucial for the Lions. They need a good, solid win – a couple, even – and they need Stafford healthy.

Wow, did Mark Sanchez and the NY Jets need a win against some quality AFC opposition, Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers, after losing to New England and Baltimore. Sanchez, under pressure for his sub par performances, played well, thanks to the efforts of Plaxico Burress, who showed why the Jets chose to offer him a contract.

Jacksonville beating Baltimore on Monday night. Who really saw that coming? Not me. The rookie from Mizzou, Blaine Gabbert, might be the best quarterback the Jaguars have had in a decade, a ray of hope for an expansion franchise that really hasn't done much to write home about in it’s relatively brief history, and, as a result, struggles to attract media attention and crowds to many of it’s home games.

ESPN’s Monday Night Football schedule has seriously been downgraded this year. We’ve seen some horrible match ups shoved from Sunday to Monday and, unfortunately, there are more to come this year. It’s a shame, because, once upon a time – until NBC started pulling giant numbers and, thus, big games on it’s outstanding Sunday Night Football series – this was the night for football in America, and the home to so many big games. Now it’s home to games like Monday night’s Jaguars vs. Ravens game, which might’ve been an ugly Ravens blowout, but was a close game and was ugly nonetheless.

NCAA College Football 2011: Week Eight Review

Without a doubt, the best weekend of the 2011 season. So much to discuss and dissect as the BCS rankings seem destined to be all shook up!

You've gotta feel a little sorry for ousted Arizona Wildcats coach Mike Stoops. He probably watched Arizona's game vs. UCLA last night and wondered where all the good stuff he saw in the 48-12 smashing had been for the first six games of the season. In interim head coach's Tim Kish's first game, everything clicked. Offense has never been a problem, but defense and special teams have. On this night, they all came to the party. UCLA just looked more hapless with every series as QB Nick Foles and WR Juron Criner tore them apart, with support from a rejuvenated running game. 

There will be some hard questions asked of UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel after the embarrassing performance his Bruins turned in on national television on Thursday. There wasn't one good thing to be said of the game where they trailed 48-7 at the half, and rushed for a team total of 37 yards on 25 carries. Once again, the Bruins QBs were ineffective. As was their defense. And special teams. Everything, really. This loss dents the Bowl hopes of UCLA. It might just have signalled the death of the Neuheisel era in Westwood.

Friday night saw the two teams most people thought were the standard-setters in the Big East lose. First it was Rutgers, laying an egg - and turning the football over far too many times - against Louisville before, north in Syracuse, Orange QB Ryan Nassib had the game of his life, throwing for four TDs and rushing for another to beat West Virginia. So who's the best team in the Big East now? Maybe the 'Cuse...

It was a game of big plays and not much defense for long stretches, and Clemson, continually proving to their doubters that they are the real thing, came out on top of a highly entertaining contest against North Carolina in Death Valley. It's amazing to think that Tigers QB Tajh Boyd is a first-year starter. The scary thing is, he's only going to get better. Clemson haven't been to a BCS bowl before. That might change this year; now is the time to start talking conferfence favourites and there isn't a better team in the ACC than Clemson. Dabo Swinney's men were unstoppable on offense.

Michigan State seem to love the national television spotlight, and they seem, when under the bright lights, to have a penchant for a crazy, memorable ending. Last year it was a passing TD on a fake punt to beat the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame and this year, after they had bled points and yards in the final quarter vs. Wisconsin, allowing the Badgers back into the game, it was Sparty QB Kirk Cousins launching a Hail Mary that would've made Doug Flutie proud. Somehow, in that mass of humanity, it was caught and now, with a fearsome D and a reasonable - and improving - offense, Michigan State might be Big Ten favourites.

The Badgers of Wisconsin might get their revenge on Sparty come Indianapolis the inaugural Big Ten championship game, but, with the loss on Saturday night, the Heisman campaign for QB Russell Wilson had probably come to an end. You wonder, though, what we might all have been saying had the Badgers come back to win that game. That's how fickle the Heisman Trophy race - and, indeed, college football itself - can be.

Speaking of Heisman candidates...the sign at GameDay in East Lansing, MI said it best: Keenum 4 Heisman. That's right, the Case Keenum bandwagon is filling up. #21 Houston beat Marshall's Thundering Herd 63-28 on Saturday afternoon.  Keenum, who rode the bench for most of the final quarter, was an eye-popping 24-28 for 376 yards and 6 TDs. He also had two runs for a total of 16 yards. Insane numbers!!

Multiple NCAA records are falling or will soon fall, thanks to Case Keenum's video game numbers. The Houston QB became the Football Bowl Subdivision’s career leader in total offense on Saturday. He is close now to the major college football career records for passing yards and touchdown throws. He needs 802 passing yards to move ahead of Chang’s record (17,072) and five TD passes to eclipse the mark (134) set by Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell from 2005-08.

We've said it a thousand times. Notre Dame lose football games when they turn the football over. We saw it vs. Michigan and vs. South Florida. What happened Saturday night? A bungled snap right on the USC goal line, which was recovered by Jawanza Starling and taken the other way, back to the house for a Trojan defensive touchdown. That was the straw that broke the camel's back, and a team that was touted as being highly talented and BCS-ready, has three losses now, with Stanford still on the schedule, and will be lucky to get a mid-range bowl.

As a USC fan, beating the Irish at home is one of the best things in football. I love it when they turn the football over. It certainly made up for standing in the LA Coliseum in a freak rainstorm last November, watching the Irish survive the deluge and win. The important thing to note here, people, is that USC have won 9 of the last 10 contests. UCLA also lost this weekend. For a USC fan, that's as perfect as perfect gets!

As exciting as MSU vs. Wisconsin was, the game of the night, delayed by a large storm front, was Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma, in which the Red Raiders, behind the aerial display put on by QB Seth Doege, knocked off the Sooners, the second-best team in the nation, according to the initial BCS rankings. Tech put up more than 500 yards of offense on a Sooners D that had been considered shaky pre-season, and had not really been tested before now. It was the first home loss for Oklahoma in 39 games.

With the Sooners poised to fall from the upper echelons of the BCS rankings, it's their cross-state rivals, Oklahoma State, who seem well placed to benefit most from the remarkable game in Norman yesterday. That Cowboy offense just keeps rolling on, and they found something solid on the ground vs. Missouri. The running game makes them even more difficult. We all saw what Tech did to Oklahoma's shaky defense. Imagine what QB Brandon Weeden and WR Justin Blackmon might do?

Stanford showed the nation that they don't need Andrew Luck to throw for 300+ yards and 3 scores every week to be dangerous. Luck had a solid day vs. Washington, throwing for 169 yards and 2 TDs, but it was the running game that did the damage. Stepfan Taylor ran ten times for 138 yards and 2 TDs, Tyler Gaffney 9 times for 113 and 1 TD and Anthony Wilkerson 14 times for 93 yards and 3 scores. Pretty scary, huh?

NCAA College Football 2011: Week Eight Australian TV Guide UPDATED

A rare Saturday double on ESPN/ESPN2 and some very intriguing games on Sunday as we head into the final quarter of the 2011 season! As always, all times AEDT

Friday 21 October

UCLA vs. Arizona (12.00pm; ESPN/ESPN-HD)

Saturday 22 October

#15 West Virginia vs. Syracuse (11.00am; ESPN/ESPN-HD)
Rutgers vs. Louisville (11.00am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)

Sunday 23 October

College GameDay (12.01am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)
North Carolina vs. #7 Clemson (3.00am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)
College Football Scoreboard (6.00am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)
#22 Georgia Tech vs. Miami-FL (6.30am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)
Tennessee vs. #2 Alabama (10.15am; ESPN/ESPN-HD)
College Football Scoreboard (9.30am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)
#4 Wisconsin vs. #15 Michigan State (11.00am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)
College Football Scoreboard (1.15pm; ESPN/ESPN-HD)

NFL 2011: Week Six Review

The Harbaugh vs. Schwartz mess has been blown totally out of proportion by the media who're looking for a story where, ultimately, there probably really isn't one there. It was just two exuberant guys, who both did things that, looking back, they probably wouldn't do again. But because Harbaugh has prior history - he went for two points when up by a ton vs. USC when he was head coach at Stanford, prompting Pete Carroll to ask, "What's your deal," - it's been battered from pillar to post on ESPN and other outlets for days. Personally, I don't mind a little angst. Makes for good television.

Sad news for Oakland QB Jason Campbell, who looks to be out for at least six weeks with a broken collarbone. The Raiders have looked pretty good this year, and this injury is really going to slow them down. It's always sad to see a guy go down with a serious injury like this. Thankfully, there are a number of good QB options for the Raiders in the interim, and they still have RB Darren McFadden to lean on.

The Giants, who had a solid win vs. Buffalo on Sunday, continue their strange season. They look horrible one week and, the next, seem likely enough to win the Super Bowl. It's very frustrating for those of us who ride every snap of the season - yours truly, included - but at the end of the day, Sunday was a win, and I'll take that any day. Eli Manning managed to avoid turning the football over, and they rode Ahmad Bradshaw's 100-yard/3 TD game all the way home.

Not much of a surprise to see Washington QB Rex Grossman finally benched after a rash of turnovers cost his team a shot at beating Philadelphia in a rather mundane NFC East contest. Rex's early season work was, as I had suspected, a mirage. It's back to the bad old Grossman who frustrated Bears fans and ultimately made them uncompetitive in Super Bowl XLI. No one in Chicago is sad Rex has gone, and 'Skins fans are now learning the torture that is having Rex Grossman as starting QB. The problem is, backup John Beck probably isn't that much better. It's pick your poison...

Speaking of QB benchings, Minnesota yanked Donovan McNabb on Sunday night, midway through their ugly loss to NFC North rivals Chicago. It's likely that he won't play another meaningful snap up north after rookie QB Christian Ponder came on and did a fairly solid job in a game that was already out of hand. It's been a sad and depressing fall for McNabb, from the heights of Philadelphia two years ago, through his troubles with Shanahan in Washington and now here to Minnesota.

Dallas were right in the game vs. New England on Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium but, as we've seen on so many occasions for a decade now, all it takes is one drive and Tom Brady for the opposing team to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. It's uncanny the way the man continually engineers fourth-quarter comebacks like this. No game that Brady's in is over until the clock shows 0:00. Just an amazing player.

The New York Jets are off their ugly 3-game losing slide, recording a comfortable enough win against Miami on Monday night. No one should get too excited just yet, given that the Dolphins are winless on the season and a team somewhat in disarray. Still, they say that winning cures everything, and this win will probably give Rex Ryan, Mark Sanchez and Brian Schottenheimer some relief from the blowtorch of critical New York media. Playing in New York isn't easy when you're winning. When you're losing, it's damned near impossible!

NCAA College Football 2011: Week Seven Review

Not particularly surprising that Arizona fired it’s head coach Mike Stoops during the week. The Wildcats haven't had a good start to the season, and haven't won a Pac-10/12 game in almost a calendar year. College football is definitely a ‘what have you done for me lately?’ world and, lately, Arizona have been comprehensively beaten. It’s a sad end to a season that started with so much promise, but has gone downhill quickly. Stoops’ fall has been on the cards for a while.

California shut down USC’s star WR Robert Woods on Thursday night in San Francisco, but, as well as their defense played, the mistakes on the other side of the football – five turnovers – continually put them in short-field situations, and even having a mediocre night as he was, Trojans QB Matt Barkley is going to make you pay. With Mike Stoops out at Arizona, you wonder how long it might be before Cal’s Jeff Tedford is given his marching orders from Berkeley, too. That’s two bad losses in a row against USC. The Trojans left plenty of points on the field, and the game wasn't as close as the 30-9 final suggested.

The Michigan Wolverines have finally fallen from the ranks of the undefeated, losing 28-14 to their instate rivals, the Spartans of Michigan State. And how did Sparty do it? By taking away the opportunity for QB Denard Robinson to run effectively, thus forcing him to win the game by throwing. Notre Dame tried to do it and couldn't. Northwestern tried to do it and couldn't. MSU did it well, pressuring Robinson into making bad throws. The MSU seniors have won four straight against the Wolverines, something that hasn't happened before in the rivalry’s storied history.

Despite the loss, Michigan aren't looking too bad at 6-1, especially not after the horror season of a year ago, Rich Rodriguez’s last. Let’s be honest, they lost a relatively narrow game to a team boasting one of the best defenses in the nation. We should all prepare to be really concerned when Denard Robinson can throw the football as well as he runs it. I think Brady Hoke’s team can bounce back from this.

I admit that I bought into the Illinois hype and thought they’d probably beat Ohio State on Saturday afternoon. But they didn't, falling 17-7 to the Buckeyes, who suddenly have a chance to right their own shaky season. So much of what Ohio State do depends on the arm of freshman QB Braxton Miller. It would help to have a veteran presence at WR, but the incredibly stupid DeVier Posey remains on the sidelines, and will stay there for all but the last two games of the regular season as a result of the latest off field scandal to plague Ohio State.

Proof that Texas are a better team than they appeared to be last week in the Cotton Bowl against a rampant Oklahoma team came on Saturday afternoon during a tough struggle with Brandon Weeden and the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Interesting to start David Ash and end the QB carousel with Case McCoy. With so many freshman and sophomores growing into the faster pace of college football, especially on defense, this might be a team to seriously look out for next year and the year after.

Boise State opened their inaugural Mountain West campaign by rolling up more than 700 yards of offense and 63 points – all scored in the first three quarters – against the over-matched Colorado State Rams. Nothing like a horrible defense to get the much-maligned and consistently criticised run game going. RB Doug Martin had 20 rushes for 200 yards and three scores, while QB Kellen Moore managed 338 yards and 4 TDs through the air. That’s just scary!

Alabama vs. LSU. That’s going to be the game of the season. What more needs to be said?

Oregon continue down the same old path, playing a close game in the first half, before turning on the after burners in the second, to get away and make it look like much less of a contest than it really was, at least judging by the final score. If there’s a better team in the Pac-12 now, I’m yet to see them!

Kitch’s Beast of the Week: Boise State WR Tyler Shoemaker, now Kellen Moore’s favourite target, had 9 grabs for 180 yards and 2 scores as well as a 37-yard run. Pretty solid night for the senior who has 8 TDs on the season.

Dan Wheldon, In Memoriam

RIP Dan Wheldon

 

Daniel Clive Wheldon

June 22 1978 – October 16 2011

The racing world is in shock today, with the passing of two-time Indianapolis 500 and one time IndyCar Series champion, father, son and husband, Dan Wheldon, of Emberton, England. He was thirty-three, had so much more to give, and was taken from us far too soon.

The lanky, affably cocky, smiling and perpetually happy Englishman was as fast behind the wheel as he was on the interview podium, and will forever be remembered for being the centrepiece of one of the greatest stories in the fabled history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and it’s 500-mile race, entering the 2011 race with a team that hadn't run all year – and wouldn't run again until this fateful race – and coming up with an unbelievable victory after 200 laps. He will forever be remembered for that feat.

Wheldon was among fourteen cars caught up in a horrifying early-race crash at the IndyCar Series finale at the wickedly-fast Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and could not recover from the serious injuries he sustained as cars flew through the air and were shattered upon contact with the catch fence. Many veteran IndyCar observers decided it was the most carnage they had ever seen, the most violent crash they’d ever seen. Australia’s Will Power was involved in the same accident, and was transported to a local hospital for treatment on a sore back.

For Wheldon, this was to be the beginning of a new chapter. 2012 was to be the year of great possibility. After spending most of the season on the sidelines and working, with rave reviews, on the VERSUS television coverage, he was poised to return to his old team, owned by Michael Andretti, to replace the departing Danica Patrick. Now, for the entire IndyCar paddock, 2012 will be one of mourning for a talent departed too soon.

This should have been a weekend to celebrate the full-time return of one of the most popular drivers in the IndyCar Series. Instead, we are mourning Dan’s death, and recalling memories of similarly tragic days, the losses of Canadian sensation Greg Moore at California Speedway in 1999, also in a season-ending race, and of Tony Renna, the young American killed during off-season testing at Indianapolis and, most recently, Paul Dana in 2006.

Of course, motorsport is inherently dangerous, but that fact doesn't even come close to helping us come to terms with what’s happened today and what’s happened to other great drivers from this series and others. Wheldon’s death brings to an end an IndyCar Series season full of great racing and great moments, but will ultimately be remembered for one accident, in turn two of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway early on in the final race of the season that has robbed the sport of a great personality.

On a more important and personal level, those few horrifying seconds in the Nevada desert north of Las Vegas have robbed two young kids of a father, two parents of a son, and many people, inside the motorsport community and out, of a wonderful friend. And the IndyCar nation – all those who felt they knew Dan Wheldon, the driver who never took a backward step, without actually really knowing him – of a great driver and a great personality.

God bless and God speed, Danny. You were a great driver, a great ambassador for the IndyCar Series and you will be sorely missed for many years to come by all of us who love IndyCar racing. And please, tell Greg, Tony, Paul and all the rest that we said hello!

Rest in Peace.

NCAA College Football 2011: Week Seven Australian TV Guide

Three showdowns this week on ESPN or ESPN2 featuring two undefeated teams:

• Unbeaten No. 11 Michigan at No. 23 Michigan State
• Undefeated No. 6 Oklahoma State at No. 22 Texas
• No. 18 Arizona State at No. 9 Oregon

Friday 14 October

USC vs. California (Midday; ESPN/ESPN-HD)

Saturday 15 October

Hawaii vs. San Jose State (Midday; ESPN/ESPN-HD)

Sunday 16 October

College GameDay - Eugene, Oregon (12.01am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)
#11 Michigan vs. #23 Michigan State (3.00am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)
College Football Scoreboard (6.00am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)
#6 Oklahoma State vs. #22 Texas (6.30am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)
#2 Alabama vs. Mississippi (9.00am; ESPN/ESPN-HD)
Florida vs. #24 Auburn (10.00am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)
College Football Scoreboard (1.00pm; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)
#18 Arizona State vs. #9 Oregon (1.15pm; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)

NFL 2011: Week Five Review

Thoughts and observations after Week Five of the 2011 NFL season:

For a guy with as much talent as Eli Manning has, he shouldn't be playing as badly as he did vs. Seattle on Sunday. A career passing day of 420 yards and 3 TDs was nullified by three INTs, the last of which was returned 94-yards for a TD that sealed a victory for Seattle, a team who shouldn't have even been close to the Giants. The last INT was indeed tipped and intercepted, but Eli threw it what felt like a mile behind the receiver's back. Throw a football that haphazardly...well, you see what happens!

Another New York QB under pressure is Mark Sanchez, who was mediocre at best in a loss to New England. The Patriots have the worst defense in the league. Really, Sanchez should've lit them up like quarterbacks have done all year, quarterbacks with less talent than the Jets signal caller has. Problem for Rex Ryan is that Sanchez is just about the only option under centre right now. Even so, the former USC Trojan needs to get better and fast, or the Jets season is cooked.

Aaron Rodgers is the best QB in the league currently, when you are looking purely at this season's body of work. Even as his defense let Atlanta score twice on their first two possessions of the Sunday night game, the Cal alum was unflappable, spreading the ball around to a dozen receivers en route to 396 yards passing and 2 scores. Watching Rodgers right now is like watching a clinic. He's shredding defenses left, right and centre. Watching this guy - sorry Jon Gruden - in his prime is a rare opportunity.

The start of the year saw the Philadelphia Eagles designate themselves as the Dream Team. Pretty outrageous call to make, even if you possibly are the Dream Team. Man, have the wheels fallen off that bandwagon in a hurry? The Eagles are 1-4, after a loss to the impressive Buffalo Bills, and have star QB Michael Vick is throwing INTs like it's going out of fashion. This team is in serious disarray, and a few more losses might cost long-time coach Andy Reid his job. And after all of their pre-season bravado, it's nice to see the Eagles being forced to eat some humble pie.

Early days in Cincinnati, still, but the Bengals, long a franchise known more for off-field dysfunctionality than on-field results might have something good in the combination of QB Andy Dalton and WR AJ Green. It was the Red Rifle Dalton who spearheaded a 30-20 win vs. Jacksonville yesterday, with help from Green, who nabbed 5 catches for 90 yards. Finally, there is hope inside of Paul Brown Stadium.

The only hope for the Indianapolis Colts is probably to lose enough games to get QB Andrew Luck in the draft. Another loss yesterday drops them to 0-5. It's one thing to drop games to good teams, but to the Kansas City Chiefs, that's a different story altogether. It just goes to show how important Peyton Manning is to that franchise and it's sad seeing him on the sidelines, and the team floundering without his direction.

Early candidate for Coach of the Year, San Francisco's Jim Harbaugh. He might just have re-energised a proud franchise and their maligned QB Alex Smith. If nothing else, Sunday's beat-down of a Tampa Bay team that looked hapless at times, brought a smile to the face of long-suffering Niners fans. It's been a rough trot since that fella Steve Young left town. Harbaugh took a bad Stanford team and made them good, and appears to be doing the same thing for the 49ers. Good to see!!

Don't look now, football fans, but the Detroit Lions are 5-0 and looking a good like they've never looked good before! They are scary on offense, with big play threats like WR Calvin Johnson - a lazy 5 receptions for 130 yards and a score - and RB Jahvid Best - 12 carries for 183 yards and a touchdown - it seems to be a case of picking your poison. Who ever thought that the Lions offense would be causing opposing defensive coordinators sleepless nights?

Gutsy win by the Raiders in the wake of Al Davis' passing. Sure, the guy might've at times been as mad as a cut snake, but he was also a football pioneer and I daresay that the NFL wouldn't be like it is now without Davis' input. A titan of the football world, and of professional sports, dead too soon at 82 years young. RIP!

NCAA College Football 2011: Week Six Review

My thoughts and observations from week six:

Oregon took a while to get going vs. California in Eugene on Thursday night, trailing at the half, but once they got moving, they looked like they've looked for 99% of their football in the past year: unstoppable. The big thing was the injury to RB LaMichael James. Sure, the Ducks have a cache of great runners, but your guy who leads the nation in rushing, and has run for more than 200 yards in three consecutive games, is going to be a big loss, and hard to replace. X-rays showed the dislocated right elbow wasn't broken, but James' status for Oregon's next game vs. Arizona State is uncertain. Ducks fans everywhere will be hoping he makes the start.

Another week, another dominating Boise State performance, a 57-7 win vs. Fresno State. They've scored 50+ points in two consecutive games vs. Fresno State, giving up only the sole touchdown last night, after a shut-out in Boise last year. Kellen Moore just keeps putting up big numbers. The problem? As many points as BSU are piling on, their strength of schedule is amongst the worst in the nation, hence why they continue to drop spots in the AP Top 25 each week.

Speaking of dominating, the Oklahoma Sooners went into Dallas and opened a can on the Texas Longhorns in the Red River Rivalry, which was more like a beating than a rivalry. If it wasn't QB Landry Jones or RB Dominique Whaley beating you, it was the Sooner defense, who had three scores of their own, helping to drag the 'Horns through the dirt with a 55-17 domination at the State Fair of Texas.

Despite the lopsided win, there's no better college football experience than OU vs. UT in the Cotton Bowl at the State Fair of Texas. A 50/50 split in a stadium holding more than 90,000 guarantees noise on every play, and the long history of this contest, where so many players broke out to become superstars, sits alone in terms of football spectacle. Sure, Ohio State vs. Michigan, Notre Dame vs. USC and Kansas vs. Missouri are big-time match-ups in the annals of college football, but the Red River Rivalry (Shootout) is right there at the top, the gold standard for rivalry games. I also love how you can just about get anything fried that you want, at what is surely the coronary capital of the known world!

What started as a season with so much promise for Florida State is quickly falling apart. The 'Noles lost 35-30 to Wake Forest today, and, previously ranked at 23, seem poised to fall out of the AP Top 25 poll all together. Seems a long time since that huge match-up against Oklahoma in Tallahassee, where FSU were seen as a legitimate contender to knock off the Sooners and challenge for the ACC crown. A long way back now for the Seminoles, especially with Georgia Tech and Clemson playing so well.

Rolling along nicely, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, who had 56 points and more than 400 yards of offense before half time against a hapless Kansas Jayhawks team. The Cowboys are a scoring machine. It seems like the combination of QB Brandon Weeden and WR Justin Blackmon just can't be stopped. No matter what defenses do, Blackmon will get his catches and Weeden will get his video game-like numbers. You can slow them down, but stopping them seems to be impossible. For the record, the final score was 70-28.

Two best teams in the ACC? Georgia Tech and Clemson. Still, Virginia Tech is lurking, surviving vs. Miami 38-35 in one of the games of the season at Lane Stadium. I'm still uncertain about the Hokies - as are many pundits - but there's no doubt that there's a deep talent gap beyond Va Tech, who aren't quite on the same level as the Yellowjackets and Tigers. Nice to see the ACC as an enthralling conference once again.

Houston's Case Keenum continues to put up Heisman-worthy numbers. The Cougars destroyed East Carolina 56-3, racking up 572 yards in the process. Keenum was 30-37 for 304 yards and 3 TDs, and sat most of the last quarter. Keenum just keeps on keeping on. And Houston might just be the best team in Conference USA.

After a week of criticism, Nebraska QB Taylor Martinez ran for a score and passed for two more, dragging the Cornuskers back from 21 points behind on Homecoming in Lincoln, getting over the top of Ohio State 34-27. It was the biggest comeback in school history. Just what the 'Huskers needed after being soundly beaten by Wisconsin last Saturday night.

Must be a bit of a nightmare down in Gainesville, Florida, where the Gators are in the middle of a horror 3-game stretch. Last week it was Alabama, this week LSU and next week Auburn. The Gators will be hoping for a win vs. the defending National Champions after being well and truly outplayed by both the Gators and Tide.

Watch out, Michigan might be the real thing. There were questions to be answered by the Wolverines heading into their tilt with Northwestern, and I believe they were answered solidly and impressively after a slow start, storming back for a 42-24 win, scoring 28 unanswered in the second half, and keeping Northwestern scoreless during that time, too. Denard Robinson was 17-26 for 338 yards, 2 TDs and 3 INTs plus 113 yards and 2 TDs on 25 carries. Not a bad night out!

NCAA College Football 2011: Week Six Australian TV Guide

One of the best weekends of the College Football season, headlined by the 106th annual Red River Rivalry at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas between two undefeated teams: #3 Oklahoma and #11 Texas! Enjoy!!

All times Australian AEDT


Friday 7 October

California vs. #9 Oregon (12.00pm; ESPN/ESPN-HD)

Saturday 8 October

#5 Boise State vs. Fresno State (8.00pm; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD) Same Day Delay

Sunday 9 October

College GameDay - Lincoln, Nebraska (12.10am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)
#3 Oklahoma vs. #11 Texas (3.00am; ESPN/ESPN-HD)
Minnesota vs. Purdue (3.00am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)
Missouri vs. #20 Kansas State (6.30am; ESPN/ESPN-HD)
Miami vs. #21 Virginia Tech (6.30am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD
#15 Auburn vs. #10 Arkansas (10.00am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)
Ohio State vs. #14 Nebraska (11.00am; ESPN/ESPN-HD)

NFL 2011: Week Four Review

Thoughts and observations from Week Four of the 2011 NFL Season:

One week after losing to the New York Giants at home, the Philadelphia Eagles, popular Super Bowl picks pre-season, opened up a 23-3 lead on the San Francisco 49ers. The Niners, not the most brilliant of offensive football teams this season, managed to outscore the Eagles 21-0 from that point, winning 24-23 and worsening the nightmare for Philly. The only good news for them coming out of an embarrassing loss at the Linc is that QB Michael Vick managed to throw for 400+ yards...and not get injured. But wow, did anyone expect this?

Speaking of comebacks, the Detroit Lions! The Detroit Lions are 4-0, and they are doing it heart attack-style. Last week, they won from 20-3 down at the half vs. Minnesota. This week, to better their previous Houdini effort, they came back from 24 points down in the third quarter to stun Dallas in Cowboys Stadium, 34-30. Talk about a signature win for a franchise who're surprising beyond belief this year. This is a good football team.

Eli Manning was sluggish for most of the NY Giants game vs. Arizona, but caught fire late, and the Giants scored 21 points in the final quarter - in the final 12:07, actually - to escape the University of Phoenix, the site of their amazing Super Bowl XLII win against the previously-undefeated New England Patriots, with a win. It wasn't pretty, but the Giants got the win, and that's what counts.

Carolina QB Cam Newton had another amazing day against Chicago, going 27-46 for 374 1yards, a TD and an INT through the air, and 8 rushes for 35 yards and 2 TDs on the ground. I must admit I thought Newton would struggle in the NFL. Boy, was I wrong! When the rest of the Panthers football team starts playing to that same elite level as their rookie signal caller...watch out!!

In the same game, Chicago RB Matt Forte, the heart, soul, production and go-forward of their offense, had 25 carries for 205 yards and a score as the Bears held off the Panthers 34-29. Forte is off contract this year. The Bears should pay him whatever he wants, because he's infinitely worth it. Without Forte running and catching passes, Chicago could possibly be winless this season.

Another for-real team in 2011: the Houston Texans. Even after losing WR Andre Johnson to a hamstring injury, the Texans managed to beat up the Pittsburgh Steelers on both sides of the football, riding RB Arian Foster all the way to a 17-10 victory. Foster had 155 yards and had the go-ahead touchdown. The maligned Texans D sacked Ben Roethlisberger five times, and was hit in the mouth. Mario Williams led the way, with 2 sacks. Big day, huge win for the Texans.

Not surprising anyone, are the Green Bay Packers. They beat a hapless Denver team 49-23, and if there is a better QB in the NFL than Aaron Rodgers at the moment, I'm yet to see him. Rodgers - 29-38 for 208 yards and 4 TDs, plus 9 rushes for 36 yards and 2 TDs - looks like he's in a clinic out there, making all the throws and big plays to an arsenal of offensive weapons. The Pack do need to shore up their pass defense, but aside from that, life is good.

Oakland's Richard Seymour finally got a shot at the team who traded him, the New England Patriots, and proceeded to self destruct early, giving up some silly penalties for roughing the passer - driving Tom Brady down after whistles had stopped the play - and undisciplined ones that only helped the Patriots offense. You may be angry that you were traded, Richard, but don't make life any extra harder for your defense than it already us when you go against New England. The Raiders are the most penalised team in the NFL.

Congratulations to Chicago's Devin Hester, who broke an NFL record with his 11th punt return for a touchdown, a 69-yard effort vs. Carolina today. There's no one more electric in the special teams game than Hester. No wonder teams sacrifice field position to keep the ball away from him.

MVP of Week Four: Without Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers close behind, the MVP for this week is Chicago RB Matt Forte. A career-high 205 yards and a TD on 25 carries and 4 receptions for 23 through the air. Nice day, and definitely the difference between Chicago and Carolina.

NCAA College Football 2011: Week Five Review

Hard to believe we're already five weeks into the 2011 season. It's flying by!! Random thoughts and observations from another exciting weekend of football:

Houston's record-setting - and record-chasing - quarterback Case Keenum was in action Friday night, helping the Cougars to a big win vs. in-state rivals UTEP. UH had two players cross the 100 yard rushing barrier, and Keenum, for a change, was featured in a support roll. Still, impressive numbers: 30-46 for 471 yards and 2 TDs for a QB Rating of 165.6. And, on the ground, he had a single carry for 18 yards. Solid day once more. Those are Heisman numbers, people.

Maybe South Florida aren't the best team in the Big East. The sixteenth-ranked team in the country went into Heinz Field on Thursday night and ran into the Pittsburgh Panthers and their RB Ray Graham, who had a whopping 226 yards and 2 TDs to open their conference account with a win. The Bulls were withered by the Panther storm, hardly getting anything rolling when they had the football. And that wasn't often. Pitt controlled the ball for more than 36 minutes.

In the space of two weeks, the Texas A&M season has fallen apart. Highly-ranked and highly thought of heading into their home game vs. Oklahoma State, they came out on the wrong side, giving up a huge half-time lead to the Cowboys. So, you'd think that the Aggies would play a full sixty minutes and not let it happen again this week, right? Wrong! Arkansas stormed back from an 18-point deficit to beat A&M at Cowboys Stadium. Huge loss for A&M. You wonder about their psyche now.

Huge win for Arkansas and their QB Tyler Wilson - or, as Urban Meyer called him on ESPN, Russell Wilson - who had a huge game: 30-51 for 509 yards and 2 TDs. He single-handedly brought the Razorbacks back in the second half, despite taking some huge hits early. Gutsy, signature win for Wilson and the Hogs after being destroyed in the second half last week vs. Alabama.

Out west, in a game devoid of defense, USC's offensive weapons went to work. QB Matt Barkley set a school record for passing yards: 32-39 for 464 yards and 464 yards. He also ran twice for 2 yards and a TD. His QB Rating was 210.7. Chief beneficiary of that excellent day was WR Robert Woods, the electrifying sophomore, who had 14 receptions for 252 yards and 2 TDs. Eye-popping numbers.

Kansas State continued an amazing season, beating #15 Baylor 36-35 in Manhattan. Baylor QB Robert Griffin threw his first INT of the season, and the Bears defense could not properly slow down the K-State offense when they really needed to. And so, the Wildcats are just moving along nicely, under the radar in the Big XII, perhaps readying themselves to make a charge at that crown. Don't sleep on them!

Michigan State beat Ohio State 10-7 in Columbus, making a bad season worse for the Buckeyes, who looked completely and totally inept on offense, achieving only 178 total yards all day against a Spartans defense that came into the game as the national leader in total defense. They had help today from a confused and out-of-sorts Buckeye team, who narrowly avoided their first home shut-out since 1982 vs. Wisconsin with a late score and struggled to make even the most basic plays while giving up nine sacks. For interim coach Luke Fickell, this was as bad as bad gets. It's a long road back now for the Buckeyes.

Clemson went into Lane Stadium and beat Virginia Tech 23-3. The hype surrounding the Tigers is real, people. They are the deserved ACC favourites now. Talk about a signature win for Dabo Swinney's program. That was it right there in Blacksburg today.

What about Michigan? It was a 58-0 demolition of Minnesota today, and, amazingly, their defense looked pretty handy, giving up only 177 total yards. But it was QB Denard Robinson who destroyed the Gophers, working his usual magic. He was 15-19 passing for 169 and two scores, and, on the ground, had 51 yards and 2 TDs on 6 rushes. Heisman numbers, people! And the Wolverines might be challengers in the Big Ten's Legends Division.

For those who didn't rate Wisconsin because they hadn't played anyone good...well, the Badgers played someone good, and they smashed Nebraska, the eighth-best team in the country, from pillar to post. Wisconsin was in control almost from the outset, winning 48-17. If it wasn't QB Russell Wilson (4-20 for 255 yards and 2 TDs, plus 6 rushes for 32 yards and a score) it was RB Montee Ball (30 rushes for 150 yards and 4 TDs) or the Badger defense (3 picks and 2 sacks). With Ohio State struggling, Wisconsin are undoubted favourites in the Big Ten.