The Monday 10

Trying something new, 10 random thoughts for Monday.

1. Bad performance from Atlanta yesterday at an inopportune time. The offense was inconsistent, the dropped passes were a problem again and the defense just couldn't stop the Denver when they needed to. At this point the Falcons have far surpassed expectations for the 2008 season, but with time you need to adjust expectations and we are expecting this team to compete for a playoff spot. Yesterday's performance was unacceptable. They really need to hunker down and prepare for a Carolina team that beat them soundly once already this season.

2. After a 6-0 start the Hawks are now 6-3. The loss in Boston was understandable, the losses to New Jersey not so much. Devin Harris exposed a major flaw in the Hawks defensive abilities and Vince Carter, proving once again why he's among the most disliked athletes in sports, put up two virtuoso performances when his team needed it. Seriously, this is a guy who could have been one of the all time greats, but seemingly never cared enough to live up to his potential.

3. The record of Atlanta teams since the legendary Furman Bisher declared Atlanta no longer "Loserville"? 1-4. The lone win was the Thrashers who beat Carolina Friday. They lost to Philly yesterday.

4. Another sloppy performance in a win for Georgia on the plains at Auburn Saturday. Where do you even start with this team? The reliance on the mediocrity of Matt Stafford in crunch time instead of your best player, Moreno, is foolhardy. The team in general lacks the ability to tackle anybody. The penalty situation is a flat out embarrassment. The team lacks discipline. I thought I might be going out on a limb early in the season when I linked the programs recklessness during the offseason to its recklessness on the field, but it's not a stretch now. Mark Richt needs to get this program under control. This team will probably finish 10-2 which is a fine accomplishment, but the way they're going to get there is a tremendous disappointment after last seasons remarkable finish.

5. With the SEC Championship game a national semifinal in all likelihood, the only thing keeping us from BCS controversy is Texas Tech beating Oklahoma Saturday and Missouri in the Big 12 championship game (surely even an unfathomable loss to Baylor wouldn't keep the Big 12 champs out of the title game, would it?). I'm sure BCS officials have put in the call to the Big 12 asking them to make sure Tech wins Saturday. I'm not really sure they could fix it, Big 12 officials are too inept to pull off such a scam.

6. Giants-Titans in the Superbowl. I'm not saying it's going to happen necessarily, but it's certainly looking like we're headed down that path right now. The Titans look like the 2000 Baltimore Ravens. Not quite as good defensively, but still outstanding and Kerry Collins is playing at a high level right now. The Giants, even though the Titans are unbeaten, are the best team in the league right now in my opinion. They have so much balance on offense with Eli playing well and rotating the backs effectively keeping everyone as healthy as possible. The defense loses Strahan and Osi (I'm not even going to try to properly spell Uminyeyeoeyora) and they don't seem to miss a beat. The road gets tougher for the G-men from here on out, all six of their remaining opponents are fighting for playoff spots. For the Titans, beat the Jets this week and they could cruise to 14-0 by beating the Lions, Browns and Texans. They end with a doozy of a double header, Pittsburgh and Indianapolis, two teams that it looks will be fighting for their playoff lives.

7. I don't know what amuses me more, a tie in the NFL or the first ever 11-10 final score in league history. I think the NFL should modify the college overtime system by starting on the 40 and do away with ties all together. It is pretty amusing it was the Eagles, in what should have been a gimmie, tying the lowly Bengals. Meanwhile, as the Steelers get pushed from the record books (they were part of the last tie, a memorable game with Atlanta that ended when Plaxico Burress caught the ball with his body in the endzone, but not the ball,on the final play of overtime) they come up with something to make history. Is there a team with worse weather luck than Pittsburgh? Last year they played a 3-0 barnburner with Miami in a monsoon. Now they play the first ever 11-10 game in a blinding snowstorm.

8. I know hyperbole in sports is out of control these days, but ESPN.com actually had a headline that said Jimmy Johnson winning his third straight Sprint Cup title was among the best feats in sports history. I respect NASCAR drivers because I think they're crazy, but for one thing NASCAR drivers aren't athletes and secondly NASCAR isn't a sport. I understand that the zealots that follow these sports aching for full mainstream support (NASCAR is on its way, but will always have trouble winning over segments of the population) have a myopic world view, but Jimmy Johnson shouldn't be mentioned alongside Michael Jordan, Babe Ruth and Jim Brown. That's like equating the US Women's Curling team winning the 2003 World title to the Miracle on Ice. Don't ask me why I was watching Curling, but I'll never forget it. The most hyperbolic call in sports history.

9. I'm not a huge MMA fan, but I enjoy watching it when I catch it. I made sure to seek out the big Brock Lesnar-Randy Couture fight on Saturday night. Couture was the crafty veteran champion and Lesnar, the former WWE star, the up-and-coming monster. Couture seemed to have a good strategy going in, but strategy went by the wayside when Lesnar caught him with a clean shot in the temple and then punished Couture on the ground with some hammer like fists to the face prompting a second round TKO. Lesnar is the UFC heavyweight champ with a 3-1 career record. I'm not sure if that's a good thing for the UFC in terms of credibility, but it's good for publicity because Lesnar is a HUGE dude with some name recognition from his WWE days and has a legitimate wrestling background so he won't be a flash in the pan like Kimbo Slice.

10. I wish I had more college football for you, but what a dreadful slate of games this past week. Fortunately, we make up for it with a pretty solid slate this week. The week is highlighted by the huge Texas Tech-Oklahoma showdown. There are plenty of intriguing games elsewhere. Utah and BYU battle with BCS implications on the line, Ohio State and Michigan play (seems to have lost some luster this year, no?), Oregon State looks to keep improbable Rose Bowl hopes alive at Arizona, Michigan state and Penn State battle as top 15 teams and the ACC has two critical games as Miami plays Georgia Tech Thursday and Florida State plays Maryland.