Your one stop Heisman analysis shop

Heisman Pundit and Heisman Hopefuls are two of the best blogs I've read on the subject. That, and they were easy to find through Google and Yahoo.

The consensus seems to be that it's between Darren McFadden, Tim Tebow and Chase Daniel, but not necessarily in that order. Actually, I'd give it to Tebow. Forget the fact that he's a sophomore. If you were NCAA College Football on your Xbox 360 and played with a quarterback that did all that, you'd win the damn award. And I'm not about to dispute the validity of video games providing me with in depth analysis. Fuck, I started a blog, what does THAT tell you? (Note: Can you even answer that question? I think not...)

Heisman Pundit is actually the deeper of the two blogs, as it seems the creator posts several times throughout the day. He's like the Mel Kiper of Heisman stuff -- he's always around, scouting, watching...judging.

As an added bonus, here's a one of my favorite posts from Heisman Pundit, involving the spread offense.

The best fake interview. EVER.

I'll post one question and answer here, just to whet your appetite, for the rest, visit Kiss Suzy Kolber.

Roy K., Boston: Michael, what is your opinion on the Patriots? Do you think they can go undefeated?

Wilbon: What a stupid question. I don’t know if they can go undefeated unless they GO undefeated, okay? Is their record impressive right now? Yes. Would I be surprised if they lost? Not in the least. Now I know Bill Belichick a little bit. Not a lot. Just a little. We’ve hung out at a few… gentlemen’s establishments. He knows how hard it is to go undefeated, okay? So don’t bring that undefeated talk in here. It’s just a bunch of junk. You don’t know. I don’t know. But would I be surprised if they went 19-0? Not in the least. Knucklehead.

Look, I like Michael Wilbon, okay? I don't know the guy personally, but I do watch PTI almost everyday and think he's a good cat, alright? Don't bring any of that 'he likes Wilbon, so he must be a tool' junk out here! Shit...that's waaaay too easy.

"When it comes crashing down and it hurts inside..."

REALLY surprised nobody from the blogdome made that joke yet regarding Hulk Hogan's impending divorce from his wife. Not even a "Whatcha gonna do?" riff on the Hulkster getting totally caught off guard by the misses? Or maybe a "how can 'Hogan Know Best' when he don't even know his own wife!?" Read more. Christ, I should write for Jay Leno...

Thanks to The Big Lead for posting this one.

Sean Taylor shot

Redskins safety Sean Taylor shot when somebody tried to burglarize his Miami home. Read more. I'm waiting for an 'Outside the Lines' special report on athletes who becom victims of crime. And I'm not trying to be cute or funny here; it's going to happen.

Onward to victory, for 3-9 Notre Dame!

As a Notre Dame fan, all I can say is...uh...it was a rebuilding year? I mean, beating Stanford 21-14 SHOULDN'T make me feel this happy, right? Here's hoping Charlie Weis gets cracking on this year's recruiting trips...immediately after this year's requisite bowl appearance.

No. 1 no more!

Day late. Don't care.
LSU falls to Arkansas in a thrilling triple-overtime game Friday afternoon. In a season of upsets, this one might crack the top five. LSU's other loss, to Kentucky, doesn't even register as an upset since the Tigers were playing on the road against a ranked conference foe. But a loss at home to an unranked Arkansas team? Different story altogether. I kept waiting for somebody to explain to me how LSU could get beat by a team who's starting quarterback--Casey Dick--went only 10 of 18 for 94 yards and 1 passing TD?

And then I realized...LSU wasn't playing like a number one team. Injuries had taken their toll on the LSU roster, and the SEC is already a tough nut (no Arkansas pun intended) to crack when your team is healthy, let alone when you've got defenders dropping like flies.

Forecast: Sean Payton's worth will show next off season

(Editor's note: My buddy Ralph Malbrough, aka "The Forecast," has graciously agreed to start contributing to this site. You may have read his work on WWLTV.com. Actually, this is kind of a double-dip, but since he gave me permission to post his work, I don't have to link to anybody. Sweet. He'll chime in with columns and stuff from here on out on a semi-regular basis.)

In 2006, the Saints hit a grand slam in the off-season. Sean Payton and Mickey Loomis brought in Drew Brees, Reggie Bush, Marcus Colston, Hollis Thomas and Jahri Evans just to name a few, and presto, the Saints were a win away from a Super Bowl appearance.

The 2007 off-season might as well be called "The Lost Boys" because all of the players brought in are either contributing to losses (Jason David, Olinda Mare) or have done nothing at all and are hard to find while watching games (Robert Meachem, Kevin Kaesviharn).

So what does it mean besides the Saints have been on both ends of the talent evaluating scale? It means we'll see how Sean Payton reacts to mistakes in personnel.

When a coach gets hired it's easy to clean house because those players aren't ones he drafted or signed. But what happens when players brought in on his watch struggle? Will Sean Payton admit his mistakes and move on, or will he be like Jim Haslett and Mike Ditka and let his bad personal decisions sink him?

Many fans would say he won't admit his mistakes because Jason David is still playing, but right now, the Saints don't have a better option. Though at this point we all want to see anybody but Jason David on the field. I will give David his due for not hiding from the media. He takes the pounding after his horrible games, so give him credit for that.

If Jason David is still the starting corner next preseason, then we'll know Sean Payton doesn't admit mistakes. Right now we don't have an answer, but it will be the off-season's biggest question…perhaps the only one we need answered.

Last week: 4-0-1
Season 26-29-1

New Orleans (-3) at Carolina: My first instinct was to pick the Panthers because Steve Smith owns the Saints and even 900-year-old Vinny Testaverde can light up the Saints secondary. But the Panthers aren't any better than the Saints and I think Drew Brees is due for another 375 yard, 4 touchdown game.

I'm totally okay with Sean Payton going run and shoot with the offense. In fact, the Saints are like the Hawaii Rainbows under June Jones: all pass, all the time. It's cool, but Sean Payton should wear a lei on the sidelines just to make it official. It could even be black and gold if he likes.

On a negative note, if Jason David doesn't stop looking into the back field while receivers run wild and free, I may have to start getting sedated during these games. Saints 27-21

New England (-23) over Philadelphia: I'm cool with Bill Belichick running up the score, but I'd also be okay if a defensive lineman planted Tom Brady into the turf on a late hit after he completes a fourth down pass with the Cheatriots up 45-7. There, I said it. Patriots 56-7

Green Bay (-3.5) at Detroit: This game seems to set up perfect for the Lions because they are usually good on Thanksgiving and they are decent this year. Except they have the look of a team headed for a second half collapse. The good news is if they finish 8-8, Matt Millen will get a lifetime contract. Packers 34-27

Cleveland (-3.5) vs. Houston: If you don’t think the Browns are going 10-6, winning a playoff game, and then getting hammered by the Patriots in January, you didn't see last week's game. The Browns had a missed field goal overturned (even though the referees got the call right). Good Lord, has that ever happened?

The Browns have all that good karma the Saints had last year. I like watching them. Teams with great offense and bad defense are always fun. Every week is a shoot out. The Browns are my second favorite team to watch this season behind the Saints. The good times roll. Browns 34-31

Baltimore (+9.5) at San Diego: This battle of ineptitude between Norv Turner and Brian Billick has me excited. Turner has destroyed a Super Bowl contender and Billick has continued his quest to put offensive football back into the 1920’s. It will be so bad it’s good. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Chargers 6-5

Ralph Malbrough is a Saints fan living in Oakland, California. He co-hosts an internet radio show every week with WWLTV.coms Kevin Held (Sunday post-game show at 5 p.m.). You can listen live or download archived versions of the show at blogtalkradio.com/forecastradio. Or if you want it on your iPod, search Forecast Radio on iTunes. Ralph Malbrough can be emailed at ralphmalbrough@hotmail.com.

Can't we just slap fight our differences out?

Bas Rutten. He's a UFC guy who sounds like a more masculine Yakov Smirnov. In this video, he demonstrates how to fend off an attacker in a bar room setting...as well as in a boxing ring. Cause if there's one place I frequent at night, it's a boxing ring. Best thing about the video: Bas does the Jackie Gleason "Bang! Zoom!" voice when throwing imaginary kicks and punches. Forget Gleason knocking Alice to the moon in "The Honeymooners," Bas Rutten would knock that woman clear out the damn solar system. (Yeah, I just made a reference to a 1950s television show. Deal with it.)



Thanks to Food Court Lunch and The Big Lead.

Dwight Howard IS the Brute Squad!

Just as he's about to take the next big step, Tyson Chandler goes down with a knee injury tonight in the Hornets' loss at home against the Orlando Magic. Wanna talk about a guy who's coming into his own? Magic center Dwight Howard. 24 points and 15 rebounds. That guy belongs on the friggin' Brute Squad:

Hornets owner not happy with ticket sales

Wait, you mean George Shinn isn't thrilled to have moved out of a place where he was averaging well over 15,000 fans per game (Oklahoma City) and back to a place where he's lucky to crack 10,000 per game (New Orleans)? The audicity of that man!

I'm happy the Hornets came back to the Crescent City and vowed to go to at least 10 home games this season. I can't blame Shinn for chastizing New Orleans sports fans here. When only 9,000 people show up to watch a 9-2 team, something is terribly wrong with the fanbase. I understand that the Saints and LSU will always be bigger draws in southeast Louisiana than the Hornets, but fans should know that Shinn will vacate this city (and fast) when the team's lease with the city ends in a couple of years.

Part of the problem is that a large number of people who could afford to go to more games per season moved out of the city, particularly to the Northshore (St. Tammany and Tangipahoa parishes), and don't want to make the 30 mile drive to downtown Orleans to the N.O. Arena, only to get pricegouged for parking near the facility.

I'd like to believe that if the team continues winning, and at least stays competitive, than the butts will be in the seats, even for games that don't feature marquee opponents...but I won't hold my breath.

Newsflash! Steroids still in wrestling!

A USA Today coverstory highlights the continuing problems of 'roids in pro-wrestling. Not much new with this report, except for the mention that Chris Benoit kept a series of letters/diary written for his friend, fellow wrestler Eddie Guerrero, who died in 2005.

I stopped watching wrestling several years ago due to the ridiculous "storylines" in the shows, but it's still difficult to reconcile the fact that a guy I once admired in the business would just snap and kill his wife and son... Read more.

Suzy Kolber wouldn't be THAT obvious, Andrea Kremer!

The Big Lead beat me to the punch (this blog's a one man operation, folks), but Andrea Kremer REALLY needs to tone down her fawning over Tom Brady during future post-game interviews. I caught the tail end of this one with my girlfriend, who was VERY excited to see the Brady interview -- but not as excited as Ms. Kremer, who bats her eyelashes well over 50 times during a sixty second interview with the New England dreamboat (yeah, that's right, I said it), and right in front of Randy Moss, too! I mean, where's the professionalism, people? Watch the video.

Saints continue to disappoint!

Saints fans everywhere get to hear a week of "Mario Williams is a better player than Reggie Bush" and "the Texans absolutely made the correct call in drafting Williams over Bush and Vince Young." Great.

First. Post. Ever.

My name's Kevin and I'll be your captain on this blog. My goal is to get a few friends to join me in posting to this site, that way I'm not doing all the heavy lifting. I suppose you could call this initial post my blog manifesto.

Having read a number of really good blogs over the last year (Deadspin and The Big Lead immediately come to mind), I've determined a few things are necessary for me to have a quality blog (in no particular order):

1. (Linking to/Giving credit to) other blogs who post an interesting story first.

2. Random movie reviews. Like...wow, Live Free or Die Hard was not the train wreck I expected it to be. However, I'll make the effort to try and make a sports connection to it. Such as...wow, the Green Bay Packers are just like Live Free or Die Hard this season!

3. Posting material about my favorite/hometown team, the New Orleans Saints. Hence the name of the blog. Oh, and by the way...



4. I'll also post as many videos as I can in this blog. I'm just trying to get the hang of this HTML-thing.

5. Pictures of attractive women. The less clothing, the better. I'm "efforting" this as we speak. I'd like to have a solid line-up established before I go all post happy.