Playing Iowa in a de facto Big Ten championship game, Ohio State pulled out a victory in overtime off the leg of former professional soccer player, Devin Barclay.

I have to be honest, I was a little disappointed last week when the Hawkeyes’ starting QB Ricky Stanzi went down and wouldn’t be available for this game. Sure, having freshman James Vandenberg under center should have favored the Buckeyes, but I wanted Ohio State to win against the best team possible.

As it turns out, Vandenberg did a more than adequate job filling in for Stanzi. He rallied his team to a comeback against a tough Ohio State defense and force overtime. He was 20 for 33 passing (60.6%) for 233 yards and 2 touchdowns. He did have 3 interceptions, but one was a tipped ball and another was on a desperation 40+ yard pass to the end zone in overtime. Overall, a good game for the freshman. (Though I got very tired of commentator Matt Millen saying he looked like a 5th year senior out there.)

The Buckeyes’ offense got it done in the way we’ve come to expect - lots of yards rushing and no mistakes passing. Terrelle Pryor only threw for 93 yards, but was 14 for 17 (82.4%) with no interceptions. Meanwhile the offense racked up 229 rushing yards from Brandon Saine (103 yards, 2 TD), Dan Herron (97 yards, 1 TD) and Pryor (29 yards).

In overtime, Ohio State won the toss and elected to defend first. They moved the Hawkeyes backwards before Anderson Russell picked off Vandenberg’s pass in the end zone. On offense, they didn’t really move the ball. They just made sure they stayed in the middle of the field to set up the field goal. Devin Barclay knocked it in from 39 yards out to win the game.

No matter what happens in Michigan next week, the Buckeyes have won the conference and will represent the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl. It will be their first Rose Bowl since 1997. It’s not certain yet who their opponent will be. But one thing is sure - it will not be USC. The Trojans lost at home today to Stanford 55-21 to drop to 4-3 in the Pac-10. Right now Oregon is atop the conference but they have yet to wrap up their Rose Bowl bid.

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In the Homecoming game, the Hilltoppers lost to Troy, 40-20. The loss puts the team at 0-9 for the season and winless in their last 17 games - the longest losing streak in the country. On Monday, head coach David Elson was fired. He will remain with the team through their final 3 games.

So now WKU begins the search for a new head coach. My first thought: What about Romeo Crennel?

Sure, he didn’t have a lot of success as head coach with the Browns. But that was the NFL. With this job, he could go back to a college program where he’s probably better suited. He would be at his alma mater. And he would surely improve the Hilltopper football team while improving his head coaching skills at the same time.

Turns out my first thought wasn’t that far-fetched. WKU Athletic Director Wood Selig told WBKO in an interview that Crennel was approached about the possiblity of coaching for his alma mater.

“Romeo was our first call,” said Selig. “We owed it to ourselves, owed it to our fan base, owed it to WKU to touch base with Romeo. We did that yesterday and he indicated he wasn’t interested in being a candidate but was willing to help in any way possible.

“He’ll play a very vital role in the process.”

Who knows what that other role in the process might be. But it looks like Romeo Crennel is not interested in coaching at WKU. Too bad. Could have been a good fit.

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The most notable of these additions was Shaquille O’Neal. The former Magic center’s role would be to cause problems for current Magic center Dwight Howard - make it difficult for him to score, get him into foul trouble.

Tonight was the first meeting between these two teams this season. The Cavs traveled to Orlando to see how well they would stack up. I was especially eager to see how this game played out given the Cavaliers’ struggles early on this season. The Cavs were without Delonte West for the game. The Magic played without suspended Rashard Lewis. But we at least got a glimpse of where the Cavs were in the match-up. The results were encouraging - a 102-93 win on the road.

Shaquille O’Neal had just 10 points and 4 rebounds. But he did what he needed to do - neutralize Dwight Howard, holding him to just 11 points. Meanwhile, LeBron James led all scorers with 36 points. Mo Williams had another 28.

Next game is tomorrow night in Miami against the Heat.

Delonte West was inactive for the game. Plain Dealer’s Brian Windhorst reports that the team indicates this is not considered serious and that West could play tomorrow night in Miami.

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Old school uniforms.

Call me crazy, but I like the retro uniforms we’ve seen this year. Even the creamsicle jerseys.

Rookie quarterback Josh Freeman, in his first career start, led the Bucs to a 38-28 win over the Packers. He threw for 205 yards and 3 touchdowns. The win was also the first for 33 year old head coach Raheem Morris.

The loss drops Green Bay to 4-4, making their playoff chances much more difficult. They still have Dallas, Baltimore, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Arizona remaining on their schedule.

Kurt Warner threw for 261 yards and 5 touchdowns. WR Larry Fitzgerald had 9 receptions for 123 yards and 2 touchdowns. Former Buckeye Beanie Wells ran for 72 yards, his best total so far this season.

The loss puts the Bears at 4-4 and possibly in worse shape than the Packers. Chicago’s remaining schedule features Philadelphia, Green Bay, Baltimore, and Minnesota (twice).

While Young played well (12/19 for 172 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT), the player who should get the most credit for their offensive success is running back Chris Johnson. Yesterday he rushed for 135 yards and 2 touchdowns.

The win gives Tennessee a 2-6 record. That’s bad news for me. I can no longer mock the Titans fans here that their team is as bad as or worse than the Browns. Unfortunately, it should be a while before I can do that again.

The Ravens and Bengals met in Cincinnati for a AFC North match-up. After a strong start, Baltimore lost 3 straight before last week’s win over Denver. Cincinnati has been a surprise this year and came into this week tied with Pittsburgh atop the division. The Bengals won 17-7, sweeping the season series with the Ravens.

Pittsburgh travels to Denver to face the Broncos on Monday Night Football. The Steelers need a win to stay tied for first place with Cincinnati. The Broncos will be looking to rebound after Baltimore spoiled their undefeated season with a 30-7 win last week.

• The Indianapolis Colts escaped with a win over Houston to remain undefeated. Texans’ kicker Kris Brown missed a 42-yard field goal as time expired which would have forced overtime. The Colts are now 8-0.
• The New Orleans Saints, the other unbeaten team leading up to this week, had to come from behind to beat Carolina 30-20. The Panthers jumped out to a 17-3 lead, but the Saints came back and outscored Carolina 24-3 in the second half to improve to 8-0.
• For a while, the Seattle Seahawks forgot they were playing Detroit. They let the Lions jump out to a 17-0 lead. They then came to their senses and won 32-20.
• The New York Giants continue to fall. This week they lost 21-20 at home to the Chargers. They’ve now lost 4 straight games.

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Buckeye quarterback Terrelle Pryor, a native of Jeannette, PA, came into Happy Valley and led his team to victory over the university that tried so hard to recruit him. He had 3 touchdowns in the game today (2 passing, 1 rushing).

Once again, the victory came in large part from the play of Ohio State’s defense. The Buckeyes held the Nittany Lions’ offense to just 7 points (none in the second half), 201 total yards. They came inches away from shutting out Penn State. The one touchdown came after the Nittany Lions got a first down on the Buckeyes’ 2 yard line. The defense made three stops to get to fourth down. Joe Paterno chose to go for it. QB Daryll Clark dove forward on a quarterback sneak. It was ruled a touchdown, though the replays made it look like the referees were being a little generous. Regardless, the defense played well again, helping Ohio State to a comfortable win over a tough opponent.

After this win, the Buckeyes are poised to make a jump in the BCS standings. They came in at #16. Five other games this week may help the team move up.

• #4 Iowa lost to unranked Northwestern, 17-10.
• #8 Oregon lost to unranked Stanford, 51-42.
• #9 LSU lost to #3 Alabama, 24-15.
• #10 Georgia Tech needed overtime to beat unranked Wake Forest, 30-27.
• #15 Houston needed a last second field goal to beat unranked Tulsa, 46-45.

Predicting the BCS standings is a little tricky. But it’s fairly certain that Ohio State will move past Iowa, Oregon, and Penn State. They could pass LSU and Georgia Tech, but I don’t expect them to. However, I can see them moving ahead of Houston. If that happens, the Buckeyes should be at #12 next week.

But right now, what’s more important for Ohio State than the BCS standings is the race for the Big Ten title. After this weekend, there are just two 1-loss teams in the conference - Ohio State and Iowa. Coincidentally, these teams play in Columbus next week. If the Buckeyes win, they will capture the conference title. Even if they would lose their final game against Michigan and have two conference losses, the other schools that could still have just two losses have all lost to the Buckeyes. So a win Saturday means a Big Ten title for Ohio State.

If the Buckeyes lose Saturday, they lose the Big Ten. Iowa is in the same shape as Ohio State - one loss against a lesser conference opponent and wins against 2-loss Penn State and Wisconsin. So this weekend’s game is essentially the Big Ten championship game. The Buckeyes don’t need to worry about scenarios about which teams have to lose. They just have to win. Should be fun to watch.

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As it turned out, the playoffs were quite predictable from the perspective of a cynical Cleveland fan. When I made my playoff predictions a month ago, my picks were not based on the strength of the team, but on the players on their rosters that left the Indians in either 2008 or 2009. The result? All but one of the picks was correct (I picked the Red Sox with Victor Martinez to beat the Angels).

So in a World Series that began with a pitching match-up of CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee (who both won the Cy Young award in consecutive years while in Cleveland), Sabathia and the Evil Empire prevailed.

Is a Yankees World Series championship surprising? Not at all.

Am I happy for CC that he finally won a World Series? That’s a whole ‘nother question.

On the one hand, I really can’t blame him for leaving Cleveland (he was traded). I also can’t blame him for not coming back during free agency after his brief stint with the Brewers (the Indians could no longer afford him). What’s more, I can’t blame him for signing with the Yankees ($161 million - How do you turn that down?).

On the other hand, he was part of a New York team that essentially bought a World Series title. The lack of a salary cap in baseball makes for a severely uneven playing field. The only way for a small market team like the Indians to win is to get lucky and have all their players reach their potential at the same time. Their window is open only until their players start to hit free agency. Once that happens, rich teams like the Yankees and Red Sox snatch them away.

So how do I feel about CC winning a ring? Indifferent. Mostly I’m just annoyed at the Yankees’ ability to buy any player they need and at Major League Baseball for allowing it.

Here’s hoping this mess is fixed sometime in the future. It would be nice for an Indians player to have a shot at winning the World Series without having to go to another team.

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Romeo Crennel’s journey to NFL head coach began as a walk-on at WKU in 1965.

At WKU, much like his career in the NFL, Crennel worked his way into a prominent role.

Crennel, a native of Lynchburg, Va., who graduated from Fort Knox High School, was a redshirt in his first year at WKU but became four-year starter from 1966-69 seasons as the Hilltoppers went 25-11-3.

After three seasons as one of the Hilltoppers’ top tacklers, he was elected captain as a senior. When the offense struggled early, Crennel gave up a shot at all-conference honors as a defensive lineman to move to offensive tackle. The switch solidified the offensive line and earned Crennel team MVP honors.

Crennel served as a graduate assistant for WKU in 1970 before becoming the team’s defensive line coach from 1971-74. From 1975-80, Crennel was assistant coach at Texas Tech, Mississippi and Georgia Tech.

In 1981, the NFL called and Crennel’s reputation as a defensive coach grew. Crennel joined the New York Giants’ staff as a special assignments/special teams/defensive assistant coach. He became the special teams coach in 1983 and was assigned the defensive line in 1990. In 12 seasons (1981-92), the Giants made the playoffs six times, won three division titles and two Super Bowls (XXI and XXV).

In 1993, Crennel began the first of two coaching stints with the New England Patriots. His first tenure was a four-year assignment as defensive line coach, beginning in 1993 and ending with an AFC Championship and Super Bowl XXXI appearance in January 1997.

Crennel spent three seasons with the New York Jets (1997-99) and a season as the defensive coordinator with the Cleveland Browns (2000) before returning to the Patriots in 2001 as defensive coordinator. The defense helped propel the Patriots to victories in Super Bowls XXXVI, XXXVIII and XXXIX.

Crennel was honored by the Pro Football Writers of America as the NFL’s Assistant Coach of the Year in 2003. Following the Patriots’ win in Super Bowl XXXIX – and after 24 seasons as an NFL assistant and five Super Bowl rings — Crennel became a head coach when he was hired by the Browns in February 2005. In his four seasons as coach, Cleveland went 24-40 including a 10-6 record in 2007.

Crennel and his wife, Rosemary, have three daughters, Lisa, Tiffany and Kristin.

When Browns fans think about Romeo Crennel, we understandably focus on his, how shall we say it, less than impressive tenure as Cleveland’s head coach. But despite the fact that he seemed like he was in over his head as a head coach, overall he had a good career. On top of that, he seems like an all around good guy.

So congrats, Romeo. This distinction is certainly deserved.

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On paper.

As everyone should expect, there will be some period of adjustment as the players and coaches learn how to utilize Shaq and as he learns his new role on the team. Through four games, he was off to a mediocre start. But it couldn’t stay mediocre forever. Eventually he would start making an impact.

That night was tonight against the Wizards.

Shaq came in averaging only 9 points per game. Tonight he scored a season-high 21 points, along with 8 rebounds and 3 assists. He may yet have some below average games coming up. But it’s nice to see a game like this early on to serve as a reminder that a 37 year old Shaquille O’Neal can still cause problems to opposing teams.

There was a bit of bad news today prior to the game. Delonte West was indicted on a handful of weapons charges and traffic violations from his September 17th traffic stop in Maryland. We’ll see how this story develops. West did play tonight, contributing with 4 points, 4 assists, and 2 steals in 21 minutes off the bench.

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Favre’s 4 touchdown passes led the Vikings over the Packers 38-26. Minnesota is now 7-1 and has won both match-ups this season against Green Bay.

Losing like this has got to be tough to swallow for Packers fans who cheered for Favre during his 16 years as the starting quarterback in Green Bay. Surely there are many of them that are upset about the team getting rid of Favre a year and a half ago. But whether they see it now or not, the team made the right decision in choosing Aaron Rodgers over Favre for the 2008 season. Why? Two reasons:

1. Brett Favre is old. Sure, he’s still playing well. But how much longer can he continue? One or two more seasons, tops. Who knows, this season might really be his last. If the Packers still had Favre, Rodgers likely would be gone. After Favre finally really retires, what then?
2. Aaron Rodgers has proven he is a good quarterback, and he will only get better. In the loss to Minnesota, Rodgers threw for 287 yards and 3 touchdowns. After seven games thus far, he is averaging 284 yards per game, has thrown 14 touchdowns and just 2 interceptions. Compare that to Brett Favre’s 240 yards per game, 16 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions. Rodgers is just about even with him.

So while it’s somewhat possible the Packers would be better this year with Favre, in the long term, they’ll be happy they have Rodgers under center.

After a 5-0 start, the Giants have now lost 3 straight. The latest was a 40-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Sure, a 5-3 record is not in itself a cause of concern. After all, the Giants are supposed to have a good team. But if you look at their record, four of their wins came against teams that have a combined record of 5-24 (Washington, Tampa Bay, Oakland, Kansas City). Against teams that are currently above .500, they’re 1-3.

Only beating the bad teams may still get them into the playoffs, but they wouldn’t have much reason for optimism going into the postseason. We’ll see if they can turn things around.

After an 0-6 start, the Tennessee Titans returned from their bye week with Vince Young back as their starting quarterback in favor of a struggling Kerry Collins.

Young did well in his first start of the year, going 15 for 18 (83.3%) for 125 yards and a touchdown. He had plenty of support with running back Chris Johnson’s 228 yard, 2 touchdown performance.

The Titans beat the Jaguars 30-13 for their first win of the season.

The Baltimore Ravens beat the previously undefeated Denver Broncos 30-7. This was really a must-win game for the Ravens, who came into this week trailing both the Steelers and the Bengals in the AFC North. With the win, they improve to 4-3 and are one game out of first place.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals both had a bye week. They remain tied for first place at 5-2.

• Denver’s loss leaves two undefeated teams - Indianapolis & New Orleans. The Colts offense played poorly, but they hang on to beat the 49ers 18-14. The Saints will put their perfect record to the test tonight against the Falcons.
• Coming into this week, there were three winless teams - Tennessee, St. Louis, and Tampa Bay. All three avoided losing again this week. The Titans beat the Jaguars. The Rams beat the Lions. But the Buccaneers, unfortunately, had a bye week. So they are the lone winless team left in the league.
• Miami’s Ted Ginn had two 100-yard kickoff return touchdowns yesterday against the Jets. He’s the first player in history to have two 100-yard TD’s in the same game.

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Coach Eric Mangini has stubbornly stuck with QB Derek Anderson, despite four straight awful starts. Coming into this game, Anderson had a league-worst QB rating of 40.6. His 10.5 rating today won’t help. Against the Bears he was 6 for 17 (35%) for 76 yards and 2 interceptions. What’s funny, in a sad sort of way, is that the Bears returned the 2 interceptions for a total of 56 yards - just 20 less than Anderson’s total on 6 completions to Browns receivers.

So why is Anderson still starting? Does it have to do with the fact that the Browns will save money by not having to pay Brady Quinn bonuses for failing to reach 70% of the snaps? Or is it something else? Apparently, Browns owner Randy Lerner is not happy about what is going on. Mary Kay Cabot of the Plain Dealer reports that Lerner is not yet ready to fire Mangini, but he is looking to bring in a “strong, credible, serious leader.” Perhaps Mangini is the one now on the short leash.

In a somewhat surprising move, Mangini did bench Anderson late in the game in favor of Brady Quinn. He wasn’t on the field much, and was only 1 for 3 passing for 9 yards. Of course, those stats were good enough for a 42.4 QB rating - higher than D.A.’s before his awful performance today.

Hopefully, the move of Anderson to the bench is permanent for the remainder of the season. Right now, I don’t care who starts - Quinn, Ratliff, Cribbs - as long as it’s not Anderson. The Browns have a bye week coming up (thankfully). It will be interesting to see what happens in the next two weeks. Could Quinn take back the starting role? Could Mangini be fired? This might get interesting.

But if all of that wasn’t enough, running back Jamal Lewis is talking about retiring after the season is over. There’s another position the Browns will have to address in the draft.

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