Oh don’t tell me you haven’t noticed how awful it’s been, and not just the ‘lesser’ non-BCS bowls.

This season has been the poster child for a playoff system in college football, and if I wasn’t convinced before, I am now.

If there aren’t at least 6 Defensive Coordinators looking for new jobs I’ll be surprised.

No team should be at a bowl praying for a win to GET TO A .500 SEASON. The sponsors should be ashamed of themselves for letting it get to this. Athletic directors should be turning down bowl invitations. Honestly, I’d rather turn one down than have this kind of humiliation.

Why you ask? Let’s look at the facts:

•  7 of the teams have a losing record, with one at an even 6-6. That isn’t even counting the 24 teams that are one game over .500. That means that over 50% of the teams asked to be in bowl games had average seasons. When did bowl games start being about mediocrity?
• While 7 games (by my count, I could be wrong,) have been decided by 3 points or less, a whopping 11 games have had a point gap over over 10 points. (Wait for it. I’m getting to the Orange Bowl.)
• I love a high scoring game, to a point. 6 games have had a combined score of 75 points or above, with 2, YES 2 GAMES OF OVER 100 COMBINED POINTS.  Thus why there is going to be a glut of Defensive Coordinators on the market next week.
• Can we talk about Boise State? This is a team that has won it’s conference (or shared the top spot,) 10 of the last 12 years. Did you read that? In that time, they have only been in 2 BCS bowls. 2. They have a 8-4 record in bowl games in the last 12 years. Again, did you read that? 12 bowl games in 12 years. The BCS should be ashamed of themselves for overlooking this team again and again and again. Obviously a top tier team, and they get sent to the Las Vegas Bowl 2 years in a row? 2 years they have been asked to play teams like Utah and Arizona State.Not exactly the teams you think of when you think powerhouse football. Since 2008 Boise state has a 50-3 record.

Playoffs should look like the basketball Final Four brackets. Each of the major conferences would send their champions, with a spot or 2 built in for poll picks or independent teams, if necessary. It would be over in about 3-4 weeks, with a built in extra week before the title game. All of the existing sponsors would get a game to sponsor (or be coupled with another sponsor,) so the money and advertising would still be there and the schools that actually deserve the exposure would make the money for an actual winning season.

Now really? How hard is that? Because honestly, if this BS continues, there will be no more BCS for me.

Jack Del Rio was fired by the Jaguars on Tuesday.

Nail in the coffin: the 20-13 loss to Houston on Sunday. Also announced was the sale of the team to Illinois businessman Shahid Khan. Defensive coordinator Mel Tucker has been named as the interim head coach and will be given the opprtunity to apply for the job.

Rick Neuheisel was fired on Monday by UCLA.

Nail in the coffin: an embarrassing 50-0 ass-kicking last Saturday delivered by cross-town rivals USC. Neuheisel was fired despite the fact that the team will play in the inaugural PAC 12 championship this weekend, with Neuheisel on the sideline calling the shots. Whaaaaa????

Dennis Erickson, head coach of Arizona State University was fired Monday.

Nail in the coffin: the Sun Devil’s loss on Friday to Cal and 4 seasons with a .500 record. Erickson will also coach through his team’s final game of the season. (This shit is crazy. Hey Coach, you’re fired, but, uh, could you hang around for one more game?)

Larry Coyer, the defensive coordinator for the Colts was replaced by the linebacker coach, Mike Murphy.

Nail in the coffin: the Colts 0-11 season, duh.

So, if you’re a football coach, it looks like it might be a good year to be looking for a high profile job. I’ll throw my hat in the ring for the UCLA job. I can’t be any worse than Neuheisel.

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He played in 9 games this season, contributing to Arkansas’ 10-1 record and #3 ranking.

A graduate of Little Rock Catholic High School, Uekman was “living his dream of going to the U of A and playing football for the Razorbacks,” his parents said in a statement released on Sunday.

The staff of Draft Day Suit would like to extend their condolences to the Uekman family, and to the University of Arkansas football program for their tragic loss.

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The team will go up for auction in bankruptcy court. The team, the stadium, parking lots, and all of the team’s existing debt will be sold.

This comes on the heels of the worst two years in Dodger history, on and off the field. Last week, McCourt’s ex-wife Jamie agreed to drop the ownership battle which paved the way for this week’s developments. McCourt was supposed to be in court to fight Major League Baseball for the right to sell the television rights to the team in a move to lessen its debt. Also on the debt table for McCourt will be the $50 million damages settlement in the Brian Stow beating case. It is expected that punitive damages will be even higher than that.

MLB hopes to have a new owner in place by opening day 2012.

Kendra gets the West Coast news late. Very late.

Fans in Denver are saying “It’s about damn time,” and they’d be right. Kyle Orton has a dismal 6-21 record over his last 27 starts. He is ranked 28 of 32 on the Passer Rating list with an embarrassing 75.7 rating. Compare that to Aaron Rodgers’ 122.9 rating? Yeah, it’s been time for Orton to go. You should see my Facebook stream on game days when Orton is in. It’s quite sad when fans of the team are hoping for an injury to bench your starting quarterback, no?

Not to say that Tebow is the only answer, either. If the Broncos are going to improve on their 1-4 record everyone is going to have to step up their game, starting with the offensive line. In 2010 the line allowed 40 sacks, and 9 already this season. Even my 9 year old can block better than those guys. Luckily for Tebow he can scramble better than almost anyone in the league and that will buy him time. (Time that he should have had when there was a lockout, but I digress…) He is also a talented rusher and can pick up yards when it seems that there are none to have and isn’t afraid to take a hit or make someone else look like the hero. The only thing missing is experience, which John Fox should have been giving him from the beginning.

There are few other players in the league that can get the crowd and team going like Tebow can just by walking on the field. On Sunday against the Chargers the Denver crowd was so loud that Tebow couldn’t even hear his own plays in his helmet. The offensive line was finally inspired to play and number 15 came close to pulling off the come-from-way-behind-win. Let that be a lesson for Miami, who face Denver after a bye week, whose stadium will be full of University of Florida alumni. Word to the wise: loud speakers during practice. Just sayin’.

Kendra continues to wear the orange and blue on game day.

Any NFL fan knows that there are far-reaching consequences for Peyton Manning and the Colts if he is truly out for the season. (We’ve already mentioned the problems of this for you Fantasy Football league members.) But of course, there was no confirmation of this over the next couple of days.

Then, this morning there were the Tweets and podcast from Jake Query that a 3rd procedure had already taken place on Sunday or Monday of this week. Peter King of Sports Illustrated Tweeted this evening that there was no 3rd procedure.

Now who the hell are we going to believe? On local LA radio I heard this evening that the 3rd procedure that everyone is talking about was on his lower back, not the neck that is giving Manning the problems. (Which would follow, considering Manning’s complaints after being activated last week.) ESPN is reporting, on endless f’ing loop, that he will be out for the opener, and likely for the first month of the season. If you listen to Bill Polian, Colts Vice Chairman (well, no one listens to him anyway, regardless of what he says) Manning has been listed as injured before and still played on Sunday, but that is the only thing that I can confirm will NOT happen this time.

Maybe we should listen to Peyton?

I simply am not healthy enough to play, and I am doing everything I can to get my health back. The team will do fine without me, and I know for sure that I will miss them much more than they will miss me.

What Colts fans all across the country seem to be grasping for is real honest reporting on this story — the whole story, not the damn sound bites that the Colts front office is so happy to give us.

Manning has started every game for the Colts, including all playoff games, since he was drafted in 1998. Kerry Collins, former QB for the Carolina Panthers, New York Giants, and the Tennessee Titans, will take the offensive reins on Sunday.

Say it ain’t so, Peyton. Say it ain’t so.

Kendra is weeping at the thought of losing her fellow Vol to an injury. This is not the way to go out, dude.

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Yet, there is one guy that is still not convinced and standing behind Tebow: Woody Paige.

In an article in this morning’s Denver Post Paige says he won’t give up on him, and neither will I. Here’s why:

• His very first scrimmage as an incoming freshman at the University of Florida yielded 15 of 21 passing and a touchdown. He only continued to improve from there, winning the Heisman trophy in his sophomore year, and completing his college career with over 9,000 passing yards and nearly 3,000 rushing yards. He contributed to the Gators advancement and victories in 2 National title games and 4 bowl appearances in 4 years that he was on the team. The guy knows how to get the job done on the ground and in the air.
• He is committed to improving, to the NFL, to the Broncos, and they are committed to him. Just barely over 1 year ago he signed a 5 year contract worth up to $33 million.
• His number 15 jersey eclipsed all others draft picks in sales, and continued to rise for months, indicating that he was – and is – a popular figure. Considering the Broncos’ troubles of late I can’t see them getting rid of that kind of popularity and alienating all of those fans nationwide.
• Just a month ago he was a shoo-in for the starting job, coming off impressive numbers at the end of the regular season in which Kyle Orton was pulled from the starting position after putting up dismal numbers, including losing 17 of his last 22 starts.
• According to the Paige article, insiders in the Broncos organization aren’t even willing to give up just yet, either. One even hinted at the fact that being the back up, for now, could ultimately be his saving grace. Sounds to me like they are setting him up to be the hero.
• Even famed Denver QB turned face-of-the-front office, John Elway has been quoted as saying that he’s not giving up on Tebow. He’s a guy who knows what it takes to be a successful quarterback in the NFL, no?

I’m not saying that he doesn’t have work to do. Yes, he needs to improve his work from the pocket. Yes, he needs to work on his 3-step drop. How could he have done that this year during a lockout? The season will not only rest on the offense’s shoulders, either. Success in the NFL also depends on the defense stopping the opposing team, which the Broncos were miserable at last year. Do I expect the Broncos to go to the Super Bowl this year? Nah. What I do expect is for John Fox and the rest of the team and coaches to do their job, increase the winning percentage over last years miserable 4-12 record, and put the Broncos back on track — a track of winning.

Personally, I give Orton about three games to implode and Tebow to be back on the top of the roster doing what he does best: scoring, and more importantly, winning.

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My kids have been involved in sports of some sort for the past 13 years or so, so I feel like I know a little about this.

To Parents, Coaches, and other League Officers and Volunteers:

KEEP THE DRAMA OFF OF THE FIELD. We are here for our kids to learn. We are here for our kids to have fun. If you can’t keep the drama to yourself, then don’t come around. The kids don’t need to hear it. It’s a bad example that they shouldn’t be following.

That is all.

Kendra has had it. Could you tell?

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Los Angeles has been without a pro football team since 1994 when the Raiders moved back to Oakland and the Rams left for St. Louis. While an environmental impact report will still take about 8 months to complete, this is as far as any group has gotten on a new stadium deal in recent history. The Council said that it expects for the project to give a huge boost to the LA economy. AEG, the development group that will back the project, says it will not require any public funds. The stadium, and moving an existing portion of the Los Angeles Convention Center, is projected to cost 1.2 billion dollars.

Ed Roski and the Majestic Realty Company is still attempting to go forward with plans for a stadium in the City of Industry, a location east of the downtown area.

If approved the stadium in the downtown/convention center location is projected to be completed by the start of the 2016 season. Of course this raises the question of which team will move to LA? The top contenders seem to be:

• The San Diego Chargers-While San Diego got behind the development of Petco Stadium, it seems to be dragging its feet on fixing up the football digs. Qualcomm Stadium is not in the best shape, the city is strapped for cash and seemingly unwilling to help out, or dump money into a sinking ship. The move to LA could retain fans, give them a new venue in the near future. Their current lease with the city and terms of ownership between current Chargers owners and AEG seem to be the only unknowns.
• The Oakland Raiders-Having the Raiders back in LA would suck even though their current stadium lease looks to be less of a stumbling block than other teams. Less likely? Please, God, no.
• The Jacksonville Jaguars, St. Louis Rams, Minnesota Vikings- These 3 teams, while their names keep coming up, seem to be unlikely because, again, the lease agreements with the stadiums/cities that they are in are difficult to get out of in the time frame that may be needed for the LA agreement.

While the NFL coming to Los Angeles is still a few years out, Tuesday’s agreement is getting the ball rolling in that direction, and that is good news for Angelenos who have been waiting, impatiently, for almost 20 years.

Kendra wants the Chargers to move to LA… only so she can go see her beloved Broncos a little more often.

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Image: Luxist

Los Angeles police announced Sunday that there were also other individuals being detained from the raid for questioning. There are at least 17 detectives assigned to the case that has a reward of over $200,000.

Stow, who has been in a coma since the March 31 attack after a game at Dodger Stadium, was recently moved to San Fransisco General Hospital and Trauma Center to be closer to his family that lives in Santa Cruz, CA. His children have not seen him since the attack.

Doctors, and Stow’s mother and wife are reporting that he is showing positive signs of recovery, such as opening his eyes and some arm and leg movements.

UPDATED, Sunday afternoon, 4pm news conference:

LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa opened the conference saying that the LAPD served 2 warrants on an apartment in Hollywood this morning.

The tip that led to this arrest came from a parole officer. LA Police Chief Beck indicated that the suspect that was arrested was suspect #1 on the official flyer, with a mark on his face. [The drawing on the left.]

LA Councilman Ed Reyes had this to say to the remaining suspects:

“We will identify you and we will bring you in…let’s end this. And to the woman who was driving, you need to turn yourself in.”

Kendra is following the Stow story for Draft Day Suit.

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