Amid all the wackiness of the BCS, I just wanted to remind everyone that there is a playoff system at all other levels of NCAA football. And a team from not too far away stand a pretty good chance at winning a title very soon.

Yesterday, Abilene Christian University took on West Texas A&M in Abilene in the 2nd round of the Division 2 playoffs. ACU entered the game 10-0. West Texas was 11-1 with their only loss coming to ACU. The game was amazing. The final score was:

ACU 93 WT 68

It's not a basketball score. It's the score of the football game.

Here is a story on the game:

ACU vs. WT

I was actually at the game yesterday in Abilene and it was phenomenal. Four hours of video game football. ACU scored on 13 of 15 possessions. The first possession they didn't score on, they missed a field goal. The second possession they didn't score on they punted but the punt was fumbled and ACU recovered. So, they were never stopped! The running back for ACU scored 7 touchdowns. And this is not to mention the amazing stats from WT. Their quarterback almost threw for 600 yards. Amazing game. Maybe the most amazing part about it is ACU didn't really break a sweat in getting to 93. And they let up on the gas midway through the 4th quarter. They could have gotten to 100 if they had wanted.

The Fielding Bible awards for the season are out today. They can be found here

2008 Awards

Some interesting names on there. Franklin Gutierrez? The only repeat winner was the great Albert Pujols. That guy had a phenomenal year at the plate and the in the field and he did it with an injured shoulder and he still might lose MVP to Ryan Howard who struck out tons.

Of course there are no Rangers on the list. Maybe next year.

I haven't seen this anywhere else on this site. But Forbes did a recent ranking of the most loyal fans in baseball and the least loyal fans in baseball. And, wouldn't you know it, but us Rangers fans were named the most loyal, just ahead of the Boston Red Sox.

Baseball Fan Rankings

I am stunned.

Top 5:

1.) Rangers

2.) Red Sox

3.) Braves

4.) Cubs

5.) Pirates

Bottom 6:

6.) Yankees

5.) Phillies

4.) Twins

3.) A's

2.) Tigers

1.) Angels

Suck it Anaheim and Oakland! It also should be pointed out that Seattle was in the bottom 10 as well. So, at least we win the AL West at something.

Congrats everyone!

I was very interested to read the story out yesterday about Brandon McCarthy showing up at the Ballpark to pitch for Andy Hawkins, Jim Colburn, and Nolan Ryan. He wanted for them to look at his mechanics. He reportedly walked away feeling as good about his mechanics as he had in two years. We all will remember that he had some serious mechanical problems last year when he was healthy. His results thus far in his rehab has been up and down. Like Chris Young before him, because of his height he will struggle at times with repeating his delivery.

What was most interesting to me, though, was the inclusion of Nolan in this session. Dick Bosman famously pushed Nolan away from helping anyone on the staff when he was pitching coach. We never heard of Nolan working with any of the pitchers when Mark Connor was still around. Now, Connor is gone and we see this happening. Now, I know that many on LSB are wary of Ryan's influence in some areas of the organization but I see this as being a huge plus. The guy obviously knows pitching and he has a track record, though not as a full-time pitching coach, as successfully helping certain pitchers through the years. The best example of this is Randy Johnson. Johnson was just piddling along early in his career until he spent some time with Nolan. After that, he turned dominant and the rest is history.

I just wondered what LSB's opinion of Nolan is as far as working with our pitching staff. If he can help get a guy like McCarthy on track, that would be huge because this guy has great potential.

I don't know if any of you have been following the ongoing saga between Manny and the Red Sox. Basically, to borrow the phrase, it has just been Manny being Manny, but this time it seems like both sides are ready to move on.

Manny Would Not Block Trade

I don't know about the rest of you but my opinion is that the Red Sox would really be hurt if they lose Manny. My opinion has always been that Manny is the one who makes that lineup go and without him I think they lose a lot. I don't think I would fear Papi near as much if Manny is not protecting him in the lineup. Hopefully this will happen since I loathe the Red Sox but it's interesting to watch. The Red Sox are vulnerable this year with Papi hurt, Manny unhappy, and a crappy bullpen outside of Papelbon.

Now, I'm not saying that we trade for Manny. We could probably get him in the offseason. But this guy is a Hall of Fame hitter. Yes, he is not having a great year but the guy is one of the best hitters of this generation.

After all of the months since Greg Williams left The Ticket and The Hardline us P1s have been left in the dark as to much of what went down. We have been told famously by Mike Rhyner that we didn't deserve to know. Well, Richie Whitt of The Dallas Observer has finally shed some light on what went down. Here is his magnum opus about how it all unfolded.

The Hard Lie

Great article. As a fan of The Ticket and of The Hardline it is a heartbreaking story. It sucks when people do something that is well-received but they can't handle success. After reading this I can't help but wonder if this is what is happening to Mike and the Mad Dog in NY (but without the drugs). I blame Greggo the most, though Rhyner and Corby are to blame in part as well. I can definitely see their side of the story. I just though that The Ticket was a family and you don't screw over a family member like they did. I still listen because it's the best thing on by far in this market. But I have lost massive respect for them and it's just not the same. I find myself listening to XM radio more and more when I am in the car. The P1 has gotten screwed big time and it looks like things will definitely never be the same ever again.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3454016

John Gibbons has been fired in Toronto. They are bringing back Cito Gaston along with several guys who used to be on his old coaching staff. One has to wonder how long JP Ricciardi has. You know this probably wasn't his decision. He probably won't be too far behind. I can't believe they brought Cito back, though. I thought Gerry Fraley said that Buck might take over.

I was over at Baseball Prospectus and noticed that they had an interview up with Rangers legend and Lonestar Ball favorite, Ben Broussard. The interview can be found here:

Broussard interview

The guy definitely has a high opinion of himself and thinks that he has what it takes to be an everyday player at the major league level. I just found the interview a little comical because the guy is the definition of a spare.

I was reading Jeff Wilson's game article in the Star-Telegram this morning and he mentioned the 8th inning sequence from last night. He mentioned Manny and Ortiz and and referred to them both as "future Hall of Famers". Manny is a shoe-in. He is one of the best hitters of this generation. And his numbers bear that out. Ortiz has been great over the last five years but is that enough? Now, I know that everyone loves Big Papi and thinks he is great. I like him too, for the most part, but I don't know if he is a Hall of Famer. If he does what he has been doing for another 5-7 years then probably, but right now isn't he about in the same category as a Jim Rice, who is borderline, and is probably only still getting consideration since he was a Red Sox.

We know that Rich Harden is already on the DL for the Swingin' A's. Tonight, Ben Sheets left the Brewers game against the Reds with tightness in his triceps. Which guy is more snake-bitten? Will either guy be healthy for a full season at some point in their career? And which other players belong on the all-DL list? Guys who would have to be on my list include Joel Zumaya, Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Bobby Crosby, Eric Chavez, and the previously mentioned two pitchers.