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History:

***This just in .... NBC has announced that Jay Leno will retire from the Tonight Show when his contract expires in 2009. His replacement will be none other than Conan O'Brien! This is very exciting news for us Conan fans .... I was just talking about something related to this recently, I was figuring that Dave Letterman would be the first to retire and Conan might take his job, but now it looks like that won't be happening. Still, very interesting, even though it's a long way off ....




Anyway .... I had a great time last week when I visited Jen at PSU. And in less than two weeks, I'll be back up there again with a few of my friends for a weekend visit, I can't wait.




And now, MONDAY AFTERNOON QUARTERBACK ......

Penn State was thoroughly embarrassed on Saturday by Wisconsin, losing 16-3 ... they weren't helped by the fact that QB Zack Mills was knocked out of the game with a shoulder injury, and then backup QB and top playmaker Michael Robinson suffered a serious concussion .... it could have been a lot worse though, he lost feeling in his extremities and had to be taken out on a stretcher to the hospital .... making the day even worse was the fact that Joe Paterno's son-in-law suffered a serious head injury in a bike accident back in State College ... hopefully the QBs won't be out long-term, and Paterno's relative will be OK .... as for the game, not too many positives can be taken away. Third-string QB Chris Ganter was admirable if not impressive, given the circumstances. I'm still not sure why the coaching staff blew prized freshman QB Anthony Morelli's red shirt during mop-up duty in the first game of the year and then didn't even bother to let him see the field and try to get something going against the Badgers. Yet another example of PSU wasting and not developing its young talent. Anyway, given the serious injuries that transcend a football game I'll refrain from blasting the team's performance any further. I just hope they can survive this brutal stretch of the schedule (at Minnesota next week, then home vs. Purdue) before they get to face some softer teams and try to salvage this season ........




As for the Giants, a terrific win on Sunday. Granted, the Browns didn't put up much of a fight, but still the G-Men were pretty solid in all aspects of the game. Kurt Warner is on fire right now and the offense is really starting to click, the way it was supposed to last season. I'm most impressed by the offensive line, which so far hasn't even called attention to itself through mistakes or sloppy play, which is always a good thing. It's nice to see them with a winning record, too, but now comes the real tough part, at Green Bay followed by at Dallas. We'll see where this team really stands in the next two weeks. But then again, in the grand scheme of things, the best Giants fans can hope for is continued improvement week to week. They haven't beaten themselves with mistakes or penalties, the offense and defense have gotten better each game, and they have a remarkable league-leading plus-8 turnover ratio so far. Hats off to Tom Coughlin for a job well done so far.




COLLEGE REPORT: I know he's getting a lot of press right now but it's worth mentioning: How about Purdue's Kyle Orton? I knew he and the Boilermakers would have a big year given the fact that he is the Big Ten's most experienced and polished quarterback. But his numbers so far (74-for-106, 982 yards, 13 TDs, 0 INTs, 188.1 QB rating) are phenomenal and exceed expectations, making him the popular early-season Heisman Trophy favorite. Still, there's a lot of football to be played, and some rough upcoming games (at Notre Dame, vs. Michigan, vs. Ohio State, not to mention the aforementioned contest at PSU) will go a long way in determining how serious a candidate he really is. ........ No. 1 USC survived a major scare, down 11 at the half against Stanford only to rally for a 31-28 victory. Not to worry though, its just a blip on their way to a likely repeat national championship, they're just that good. ....... Want to see a coach on the hot seat? Look no further than Syracuse's Paul Pasqualoni, whose team was blasted 31-10 by No. 12 Virginia. The Orange are now 2-2 with wins against Buffalo and Cincinnati and a thrashing by Purdue. They could be ripe for the picking against Rutgers this weekend, which is coming off a bye, and then face Florida State and West Virginia after that. No bowl, and Coach P could be gone at year's end.




AROUND THE NFL: Are the Jaguars for real? The darkhorse Super Bowl candidates are now 3-0 after a surprising 15-12 win over the Titans. They seem eerily similar to recently successful teams like the Ravens and Panthers who win close games thanks to tough defense and a nondescript QB (Byron Leftwich in this case) who doesn't make mistakes. A close game or upset victory against the high powered Colts offense this Sunday will make me a true believer. ...... Speaking of the Colts, Peyton Manning is playing like a man possessed. The QB tossed five TD passes in the first half and outperformed veteran gunslinger Brett Favre in a 45-31 win. Indy still has no defense to speak of, but that shouldn't matter too much - it didn't last year. They could prove to be unstoppable, at least until playoff time. ..... Kerry Collins finally got his inevitable moment to shine last night and made the most of it. He entered the game against Tampa Bay in the first quarter after Raiders QB Rich Gannon was taken out with a neck injury and proceeded to go 16-of-27 for 228 yards, leading the Silver & Black on four scoring drives in a 30-20 win. Old Man Gannon is now out for at least six weeks, and perhaps forever, as Collins could easily usurp him for the starting spot. A terrific offseason pickup by Oakland, and it should pay off.

posted by JASON BARTOLONE at 2:47 PM [edit]

I would like to send an early happy birthday wish to my buddy Sir Edward the Great, who will finally be turning 21 .... I hope it is a good one.




I'd also like to introduce a new Jay's World feature that will recap the weekend's pro and college football action, with heavy emphasis on my teams, the N.Y. Giants and Penn State, but also news, notes and observations from all things gridiron .... I call it MONDAY AFTERNOON QUARTERBACK (because I don't do mornings), so here goes ...

Well PSU picked up its second win of the year with a 37-13 thrashing of Central Florida ... they looked good despite the whopping SIX turnovers committed by QB Zack Mills (four fumbles, two INT). Sophomore RB Tony Hunt rushed for three TDs while their other talented sophomore runner, Austin Scott, remains in JoePa's doghouse ... still, this was Central Florida, a win is a win but this kind of mistake-ridden performance simply will not cut it when the Lions enter Big Ten play beginning next week (at Wisconsin, then at Minnesota, and finally returning home for Purdue, a game I'll be attending) ...

Speaking of turnovers, the Giants did the exact opposite on Sunday, forcing an incredible seven turnovers against the Redskins in a 20-14 win.... the defense played an outstanding game in stark contrast to last season, when the G-Men were dreadful in the turnover department. QB Kurt Warner looked good as well and earned his first win as a starter since the 2002 AFC Championship, and the Giants got thier first home win since last year's opener. However, this game should have been a lot more lopsided, the offense will need to capitalize on these momentum changes by putting points on the board. Up next is a very winnable game against Cleveland before tough road contests against Green Bay and Dallas ....

COLLEGE REPORT: Here's an eye-opening final score: Arizona State 44, Iowa 7. Didn't see that one coming ....... Michigan almost lost too San Diego St. too, it was close until the very end. A week after falling to Notre Dame, the Wolverines do not appear to be Rose Bowl-bound again this year. And this might sound bad, but I couldn't help but smile when Michigan's true freshman QB Chad Henne (A Pennsylvania product who made a verbal commitment to Paterno and PSU before going back on his word and choosing the Wolverines) was totally blindsided by a charging defensive end when he attempted to take a knee in the final seconds. Totally despicable play, and I don't want to see the kid hurt, but still it made me chuckle ......... West Virginia passed a major test by edging Maryland in overtime. The No. 7 Mountaineers are looking for an undefeated season and hope to sneak into a BCS bowl thanks to a depleted Big East Conference. They've traditionally struggled against the Terps too. The only speedbumps ahead are road contests against Virginia Tech in two weeks and Boston College near the end of the season. I'd like to see them take on Rutgers in Piscataway in late October, my buddy and Rutgers alum Mike mentioned getting tickets a while ago but now he's backing off. I guess a loss to I-AA New Hampshire could shake your confidence in your team. At least they held on against Kent State this weekend. But seriously, I still think the Scarlet Knights will be bowl-bound this year ........ I caught a couple teriffic endings, Tennessee beat Florida State 30-28 on a late field goal after the kicker had already missed a crucial extra point, and Auburn upset reigning national champ LSU 10-9 thanks to a second chance on a late extra point after a penalty ... good stuff.

AROND THE NFL: Deion Sanders continues his quest for most irrelevant sports comeback of all-time. The elderly Baltimore defensive back received a 15-yard penalty for removing his helmet to celebrate a whopping 23-yard punt return against Pittsburgh. He also left the game with a hamstring injury. What is this guy doing in the NFL still? Must be the money .......... Another old-timer, Oakland WR Jerry Rice, had a rough game against Buffalo. He failed to catch a pass in a game for the first time since 1985. In the final minutes of the game he reportedly kicked a yard marker and threw his helmet to the ground in disgust. Oh, by the way, his team won. Said Rice: "I expect to catch footballs. I never thought it would come to an end like this. But, you know, it's OK. It's all right. It happens. Life goes on. I'll just start another one and get another 200." Scary thought .......... The Jets appear to be for real, they looked terrific again this week against San Diego, but let's remember, it's San Diego, and before that they beat Cincinnati. Let's see them beat someone serious first before the fans book flights for Jacksonville ......... Kudos to Carolina RB DeShaun Foster, 174 yards rushing and a TD against Kansas City filling in for the injured Stephen Davis. And kudos to me for drafting him on my fantasy team and giving him the start this week ....... Good matchup on MNF tonight, Philadelphia vs. Minnesota. Let's go Vikings.




Finally, I should mention the Yankees clobbered the Red Sox 11-1 yesterday to capture two out of three this weekend .... can the Sox and their fans just shut up now and be happy with the wild card? We know they'll never win when it counts.

posted by JASON BARTOLONE at 2:22 PM [edit]

I had a wonderful visit with Jen last week, we had some fun times .... her new suite is pretty dope too. It should be perfect to accomodate me and a few of my pals when we come up in a couple weeks to visit. We've got tickets for the Penn State-Purdue game, it's going to be a fun weekend.




Speaking of Penn State, they really bombed in their second game against Boston College, losing 21-7. They really killed themselves from the beginning, stopping BC twice on its opening drive but running into the punter not once but twice (eventually the Eagles scored). They also were without the services of stud running back Austin Scott (benched because he missed a team meeting - shame on him!) even though Tony Hunt looked alright again. It's hard to figure out this team out though, they obviously failed this test but so far they've been light years ahead of last year's dismal squad. Hopefully they'll get another convincing win this weekend against Central Florida and we'll take it from there.




The Giants, on the other hand, looked much like last year's team in a 31-17 thrashing by the hated Philadelphia Eagles. They just had no answers for Terrell Owens, it really didn't even look like they made an effort to cover him. The guy's good, but not that good. This secondary is just dreadful. I'm sick of hearing about Will Allen and Will Peterson too, talk about overrated. They're either injured or someone's burning them. Anyway, things won't get much easier when they take on the rejuvenated Redskins in Week 2. But still, I'm pretty excited now that football's back, college and NFL.




I'm excited about fantasy football too. Ace in the Hole is back this year too and my dad and I are gunning for the Dow Jones Senior Division Championship. We're off to a good start, as long as the Carolina Panthers defense doesn't have a monster game tonight against Green Bay we will have a victory and a measure of revenge against a guy who embarrassed us in the final week of the regular season last year. My main man Daunte Culpepper led the way with a whopping five TDs. Talk about a fantasy stud.

The bad news, though, is I'm also in a league at work (although there's no monetary considerations involved) and the team I played this week had Culpepper at QB. I guess what goes around comes around. But my real focus of course is on the money league.

I'm also still in first place in our work fantasy baseball league, just as I have been since mid-May. Now that's domination.

And yes, I realize I'm a loser.




Finally, a word about the presidential campaigns .... first we had to endure all the stupid "swift boat veterans" BS and accusations about John Kerry's Vietnam service, now we've got allegations about President Bush's national guard service .... I mean I can understand it to a point, it's important to know the truth about these guys' personal histories, because it is somewhat relevant to the kind of leaders they would make. But seriously, enough is enough. Don't we already know enough about them, at least in terms of what they did and didn't do during Vietnam? And regardless, it shouldn't be the only determining factor in who will be president. You would think there would be more important things after all - like their plans for the future of Iraq, for instance. Or how about a concrete explanation of how they would deal with the slumping economy or the unprecedented national debt. Call me crazy, but maybe the media could dig into both of their strategies for improving domestic security or creating American jobs. Here's a wacky thought, what if the media and the public had some real discussions and debates about current issues rather than what these two did as young guys over three decades ago. Maybe I just don't understand politics. Hopefully there will be real debates in the near future in which both candidates outline real policies and strategies and ideas rather than pre-scripted buzzwords or personal attacks. And then, we as informed voters, could make intelligent decisions about who we want to lead our country. But seriously, that doesn't really sound realistic ... I've probably been spending too much time playing fantasy sports.



posted by JASON BARTOLONE at 2:17 PM [edit]

It's been a busy week or so at work, we are in the midst of putting together a 52-page high school football preview section .... it's been a decent amount of extra work but I have to say it's looking good so far. I'm even laying out the cover this year, so that's cool. If you're in the Morris County, N.J., area, look for it on Thursday.




What a win for Penn State this weekend, 48-10 over Akron .... after last year, they really needed it to boost some confidence. I know it's just a MAC team, but the offense looked great and it's clear they're pretty improved over last year. Zack Mills became the first Nittany Lion to catch, run for and pass for a touchdown in a game. Both young running backs, Tony Hunt and Austin Scott, ran for over 100 yards and each had a TD. Penn State fans even got a glimpse of the future when true freshman Anthony Morelli, the highly recruited QB from the Pittsburgh area, surprisingly got some action late in the game. Overall a good start .... now they'll have a true test of where they're at when they travel to Boston College this Saturday for an 8 p.m. primetime matchup on ABC, can't wait!




Speaking of Penn State, I'll be going up to visit my girl tonight for a few days, can't wait for that also!


posted by JASON BARTOLONE at 2:59 AM [edit]