Big D

Big D

Monday, November 21, 2005

Weekend Review

What a fantastic rivalry Saturday of football. Well, many of the games were blowouts, but the Fresno/SC and Tech/OU games lived up to their hype.


Game of the Day - USC/Fresno





And not just because I had my biggest bet of the year on the Bulldogs, the USC/Fresno St. matchup lived up to the hype and then some Saturday night with the Trojans eventually prevailing 50-42 .in a 4 hour long shootout that lasted late into the night on Saturday. More to the point, Reggie Bush put on an absolute show in the Coliseum or we might be talking about one of the biggest upsets in College football history this morning.

USC's defense had its hands full with a physical Fresno St. offesnive line which gave their talented tailback Wendell Mathis some running room en route to 109 yards on 23 carries. Fresno St. was able to roll up 427 yards total offense but in the end it was 4 costly 2nd half turnovers and too much Reggie Bush that did Fresno St. in on Saturday night. Unfortunately for UT fans, Bush may have won the Heisman on Saturday night for the Trojans. You have to give USC credit. They keep suriving these tough tests and the collision with Texas in the Rose Bowl seems all but certain right now. You also have to tip your hat to Fresno coach Pat Hill and his team. They didn't flinch (thank god for us bettors on Fresno at +24) even duyring the USC 28 point onslaught during the 3rd quarter, and his guys had a chance to push one of the best teams ever to overtime in their house. Pretty damn impressive for a Non-BCS school. I hope this perforamnce shows that some teams outside the BCS can play some good football.

No offense to UCLA, A&M, or Colorado, but Fresno St. was the last real test before Texas and USC meet in Pasadena.



Rangers to acquire Beckett from Marlins?

Rumors are all over the internet that the Rangers are imminently close to dealing Hank Blalock and stud young pitching prospect John Danks to the Marlins for super talented but often blistered Josh Beckett and very overpriced 3B Mike Lowell. This deal is very intriguing but does come at quite a cost for the Rangers. It's a deal the Rangers have to seriously considering making because you very rarely have the chance to get a pitcher with the ability of a Josh Beckett.

No offense to Hank Blalock, but replacing his offense will not be nearly as difficult as finding a pitcher who has #1 starter stuff like Josh Beckett posseses. I love Blalock and would hate to see John Danks go but I think the Rangers have to pull the trigger on this deal. Despite his ability, Danks is definitely not a sure thing at this point and you still have Volquez and Diamond on the farm. You are hoping that 1 out of those 3 turn into a Josh Beckett anyways so I why not go ahead and get Josh Beckett now while he still has 2 years left on his current contract. Obviously, you would love to keep Blalock (just turned 25 today), but the Marlins need to dump Lowell's contract and this is the only way you can obtain Beckett is by taking on Lowell and his contract. At least short term Lowell (assuming he can revert back to pre-2005 form) would not be too much of a downgrade from Blalock over the next copule years. This is the deal you have to make if you are the Rangers because you need pitching that despeartely. I would hate to see the Young/Blalock/Tex triumverate broken up, but I want Josh Beckett in here assuming he can stay healthy. It will do wonders for this fan base knowing you have a Josh Beckett on your roster. I just wonder what's going to happen to Hank's Homies if he gets shipped out of town. That will be a sad day for everyone.

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