I decided that after ending 2011 with a depressing look back at the Penn State atrocity, how about I give you the top 10 reasons why 2012 will be awesome?  Sound good?  Perfect, let's do it.

But before we get there, a special shout out to Bobby R. for writing in to call the Broncos to win the AFC West at 50 to 1.  Well done sir.  Well done.

Ok, the list:

10.  2012 Summer Olympics

I love the Olympics.  I love any reason to be patriotic.  The World Cup is my favorite sporting event but the Olympics are great as well.  Remember the country hanging out in sports bars at midnight to watch Michael Phelps swim a few years ago?  Yes, we waited up til midnight to watch a guy swim.  There's just something about that U.S.A. chant.  Who will it be this year?  Who knows?  (Sorry Michael Phelps, it's not going to be you.  It turns out you're a complete tool and we just hadn't figured it out yet)  And the best part is, even if we don't find someone to rally around this year, we can just adopt Usain Bolt.  How can you not love this guy?  So it's either U.S.A. chant or the Usain Bolt chest pound, or both!

9.  FC Barcelona

This may be the best soccer team put together in my lifetime, and I don't mean up until this point.  Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez, David Villa, and Francesc Fabregas are all in the Top 20 Players in the World, with Messi a clear #1.  Yes, half of Barcelona's starting field players are in the top 20 players in the world.  And their goalie is top 5.  Watching Barcelona play is like watching live art.  I'm looking forward to another year of watching the magicians in red and blue.

8.  March Madness

You need an explanation here?

7.  The Situation Gets Into a Fight and Decides to Give Himself a Concussion by Voluntarily Running Into a Wall

Yes, I know this happened last year, but here's hoping it happens again.

6.  2012 Football Playoffs

How awesome are these next four weeks going to be?  The Tim Tebow show (for one week) followed by Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, and Tom Brady all clicking and clicking on all cylinders.  There's a ton I could say here, but with Pittsburgh hobbled, I am very excited for the 41-38 Super Bowl between New England and the New Orleans/Green Bay winner.  Aren't you?

5.  LSU vs. Alabama for the 2012 BCS Championship

Just kidding.  It's the BCS, had to throw a little negativity in there just to keep you on your toes.

5.  The Return of the Boys in Blue

This should really be my #1 but I was too excited about it to wait.  NO MORE FRANK MCCOURT!!! WOO HOO!!!  If Mark Cuban buys the team I may have the sports equivalent of an orgasm, or an actual orgasm, who knows?  All I know is, it will be fun again to be at Chavez Ravine.  I have never seen Dodger Stadium as dead as it was this past year.  Dodger fans united in boycotting McCourt.  Now that he'll be gone, it will be 3,000,000 fans again this year and a great atmosphere (minus the gang fights).  Please Mark Cuban.  Please!  Either way though, it'll be great.

4.  The Masters

For those who didn't watch Tiger at his tournament at Sherwood, let me fill you in . . . he's baaaaaack.  I love golf and I will always love watching The Masters.  Heck, my favorite yearly sporting experience is going with my Dad to watch the pros live at Riviera every February.  But golf with Tiger in contention?  High drama.  He's golf's Kobe now.  He will elicit all sorts of reactions but when he's in contention, it's compelling.

3.  Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao

We can all hope for this generation's Hagler/Hearns.  Will it happen?  1 in 4.  But if it does, it will be the fight of my generation.  Everybody will be watching.  Everybody will be talking about it.  And then . . . Floyd will win unanimously as Manny will get flustered and go 12 rounds without solving Floyd's defense, like everybody else before him.  On the bright side, Floyd's out of jail until June.  Who's the judge?  The BCS or NCAA commissioner?

2.  Caprice Bourret Tells the World She's Looking for a Vertically Challenged Guy With Glasses Who Writes for a Site Called Rudin Weekly

Google her.  You'll see.

1.  The NBA Finals

I don't know if they'll top last year, but the playoffs will be must see TV again this season.  Charles Barkley and the TNT crew will lead us from the regular season and drop us off at the Finals.  And then it will begin.  The annual LeBron collapse.  This year's beneficiaries?  Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder.  This will be the year of Durant.  That three pointer to win against Dallas was only the beginning.  I've been saying it for a while but I think Durant will be the best player in the NBA very soon.  I know you want me to say Kobe and the Lakers will be there, but, they won't.  Western Conference Semi-Finals (sorry Clippers fans, you're not getting there, just like the Knicks aren't getting there in the east).  No, the Lakers will hopefully pick up the pieces of the broken Nets/Magic Dwight Howard trade.  I'd give Bynum and Gasol to them in a second.  So that's what I'm looking forward to.  Thunder over Heat in 6 and Dwight and Kobe in 2012-2013.

Note:  In case you were wondering, I have Houston, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, and the Giants.  In the next round I'll have the Patriots, Ravens, Packers, and Saints.  Patriots over Ravens.  Saints over Packers.  Saints 41.  Patriots 38.  Happy New Year.

I wish I didn't agree with Yahoo Sports.  I wish I remembered this past year as the year where an athlete with one leg won an NCAA Championship in wrestling, or as the year where Dirk, Kidd, Terry, and Marion took down the Heatles, or even as the year of Tebow!  But no, this year will go down as the year of the Penn State scandal.  If there's any story that stays with you, it's that one, and how can it not?

Now much has been written and discussed on this atrocity and scandal that continues to unfold, but I saw this as yet another effect of the gargantuan that is NCAA athletics.  Child molestation is prevalent in society.  It's as simple as that unfortunately.  Even if the right thing was done in the Penn State case, at least one child would still have been victimized and tortured for life.  But the right thing was not done.  Penn State coaches and administrators chose the dollars of college football over protecting children from a rapist. 

I was with everyone else on this one.  I went from trying to believe Joe Pa was innocent to being shocked that he harbored a child molester, to appalled at the Penn State students rallying around a football coach and team rather than condemning a culture that shielded a molester's crimes from coming to light.  But my range of emotions did not stop there.  Eventually I went to being resigned to an understanding that the NCAA is more concerned with dollars and cents than the morality and rules they claim to live by.

The NCAA has created a culture where it's okay to do what Penn State did.  My favorite argument besides that of preserving "amateur athleticism" is that of wanting to preserve tradition.  Really?  Maybe I forgot the tradition where schools bolt their conferences to chase television money.  Response from the NCAA . . . radio silence.  Maybe that doesn't fit into this column but it's just another in the laundry list of complaints I have for the monster that is the NCAA.  A coach wants to leave his school, and contract, to go to another school?  Fine.  A kid wants to leave Tennessee to go play for Michigan or Michigan State because his father in Detroit has suffered a series of heart attacks among other issues from diabetes?  No go.  Tennessee mandated that he plays for Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan, or the Mud Dogs with Bobby Boucher.  Response from NCAA . . . more radio silence.  Kids exchanging memorabilia and autographs for tattoos?  Massive investigation.  Immediate response with suspensions doled out.  Well, not really immediate.  Those suspensions were served after the Sugar Bowl so the money could get doled out.  Lesson learned.  Massive cover-up of child rape and molestation by the university administrators where the perp was a football coach?  Hmm.  NCAA response . . . well, maybe we should look into this, but we're going to let the case play out in court first.  HUH?! 

CHILD RAPE.  Please look at those words in all caps.  Maybe it will sink in because it sure hasn't for the powers that be at the NCAA.  The rapist was a coach for Penn State football.  The administrators knew about it and buried it.  The head coach knew about it and did nothing.  For 10 years.  If there was ever a case for the NCAA death penalty, how was this not it?  No, we're worried about tattoos and money changing hands, because that's what's wrong with college athletics.  Please.

And here's where I wasn't the least bit surprised.  The Penn State officials knew that if word leaked that their assistant football coach was a child rapist that it would kill recruiting in the short run.  There would be massive backlash.  The "how could this happen" people would be out in full force, as well they should.  The team would start losing and the money being brought in would go the way of the NYSE in '08.  But like the NYSE, the Penn State program would have rebounded.  There's no keeping down a big time college football program (unless you're SMU).  If Joe Paterno had followed up and made sure the police had been involved countless numbers of kids would have been saved.  If the administrators had involved the police, countless numbers of kids would have been saved.  If anyone made sure that Sandusky wasn't allowed within a football field's distance of a kid, well, you get the idea.  But those things didn't happen.  A college's image was at stake.  BCS money was at stake.  A coach of all coach's legacy was at stake.  And all of those took precedence over the lives of children in the community.  The NCAA remains silent. 

Congratulations NCAA.  You've still got your fairy tale of amateur athleticism and all the money it generates.  Unfortunately your ways of dealing with the culture it has created has now made sure that countless numbers of children will live with nightmares for the rest of their lives.  Sleep well NCAA.

Sorry to end the year with that.  I wish you all a Happy New Year and health and happiness in 2012.  On to the football picks.  Let's crack 50% for the season!

WEEK 17 PICKS

Washington +8 at Philadelphia
St. Louis +10.5 vs. San Francisco
Minnesota -1.5 vs. Chicago
Detroit -4.5 at Green Bay
New Orleans -7.5 vs. Carolina
Tennessee -1.5 at Houston
Indianapolis +3.5 at Jacksonville
Miami -3 vs. New York Jets
Buffalo +10.5 at New England
Atlanta -10.5 vs. Tampa Bay
Cincinnati +2 vs. Baltimore
Cleveland +6.5 vs. Pittsburgh
Oakland -3 vs. San Diego
Denver -3 vs. Kansas City
Seattle +3 at Arizona
Dallas +3 at New York Giants

Last Week:  10-6
Season:        116-115-9

In lieu of spending a ton of money on renting out the Kodak Theater and inviting a bunch of sports stars and celebrities who wouldn't show up, how about we hand out the 2011 RW Awards over the Internet?  Sound good?  Thought so.

BASEBALL

Player of the Year

Justin Verlander.  I know, I know, I should have given Matt Kemp his due here, especially after it looks as though my guy Ryan Braun may have been consuming more than the requisite amount of Matzah on Passover.  But how can you deny Verlander here?  I know he tailed off a little in the playoffs, but Kemp wasn't in the playoffs, Braun was on the non-kosher diet, and Pujols didn't have a great regular season.  I'm going with Verlander.  Every outing for him was a must-watch gem.  He single-handedly made his team a scary team to face headed into the playoffs.  We won't see another season like the one Verlander just had for a while.

Game of the Year

Do we really need to reference this?  I allegedly had the Rangers at 15 to 1 to win the World Series and they get to within 1 strike of winning!  1 strike!  That really was the game of the year.  Damn it all.

Team of the Year

I never figured out the point of this category.  That's why they have playoffs right?  Let's reserve this category for college football coaches and writers.

BOXING

Boxing Fight of the Year

There were a few that could have made it here, but I always like choosing a noteworthy fight.  I know what you're thinking, "that means he's going with Marquez/Pacquiao III."  It was a definite contender as it was a long overdue rematch and a fight nobody thought Marquez could win.  But everybody watched it in awe and the fight could have gone either way.  That said, I'm going with Victor Ortiz' victory over Andre Berto.  Talk about an action fight.  There were about a million flurries and both fighters hit the canvas.  Victor Ortiz outpointed Berto in my pick for Fight of the Year.  Their rematch should be great.

Round of the Year

There isn't a second place.  Go youtube Angulo/Kirkland Round 1 and then find me a better pick.

KO of the Year

Floyd Mayweather over Victor Ortiz.  I'm sure there were better KO's but not more exciting and inexplicable.  I haven't watched a fight in a long time that made me yell in astonishment . . . for about four straight hours.  As Jim Nantz would say, "what a moment!"

Fighter of the Year

I guess Andre Ward has to be the pick, right?  Pacquiao was unimpressive.  Floyd ends the year with a guilty plea and a 90-day jail sentence.  Sergio Martinez didn't get to fight anyone.  Ward was as good as it gets in a noteworthy tournament in the 168-pound division.  Now, will he fight Bute?

GOLF

Golfer of the Year

Sorry golf fans.  Golf gets only one category.  What, you want putt of the year as a category?  And I love golf.  That said, have to go with Bill Haas.  Talk about having ice run through the veins.  I know he didn't win a major, but watching him down the stretch to win the FedEx Cup and the $10M that came with it was exhilirating.  A great finish to a great year for Mr. Haas.

SOCCER

Player of the Year

We are all lucky to have the priviledge of watching Lionel Messi in his prime.  That is all I have to say about that.

Team of the Year

At least in soccer it makes sense to have this award.  There are multiple clubs in multiple countries.  I know, there's the Champions League.  But some teams aren't great teams that happen to be wired for the home/home format.  Witness Liverpool for about a decade.  But for now, Barcelona dominates in all formats.  It is like watching live art every time they take the pitch.  Xavi and Iniesta are magicians in the midfield and they have weapons everywhere on the field.  Messi and Villa up top?  Come on.  The best team I have seen in my lifetime.

FOODTBALL

Player of the Year

I know, I know, the season isn't over yet.  And no, I'm not going to make this last year's pick.  Who even remembers last season?  So, for player of the year, I'm going with . . . TEBOW!  Just kidding, I wanted to see faithful reader, Allyson from N.Y.'s head explode.  No, this award is going to Aaron Rodgers by a slim margin over Tom Brady and Ndamukong Suh's future therapist who already worked wonders with Metta World Peace.  Aaron Rodgers won me over for this award with the game-winning drive against the Giants.  Never have I seen a clutch drive from a QB look so effortless.  And that's the way Rodgers plays the game (unless his line falls apart again). 

Game of the Year

Every Tebow comeback.  Done and done.

Tebow's Favorite Movie Character

Jesus Shuttlesworth from He Got Game.  That was too easy.

BASKETBALL

Player of the Year

You just can't go with anyone over Derrick Rose.  And what's great is that he is a hometown guy who seems to be one of the genuine good guys.  He stayed loyal, does things the right way, basically, everything LeBron's PR people would recommend only the exact opposite.

Game of the Year

Game 6 of the NBA Finals.  The game where the Heat were eliminated.  It didn't get any better than that, unless you hate puppies and apple pie that is.  In all seriousness though, that was one of the greatest NBA Finals I've seen in my lifetime.  The ebb and flow, the LeBron and Dwyane making fun of Dirk's flu, the Jet and his tattoo, the revenge of Dirk, Chris Bosh looking like an Avatar.  It was all great.

Dunk of the Year

Blake Griffin over Timofey Mozgov with the U.S.' greatest statement over Russia since the Miracle on Ice.

ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

This one was open to athletes in all sports.  I almost went with Abby Wambach here but the U.S. couldn't get it done.  I thought about Derrick Rose, but he's not quite there yet.  No, this award goes to Lionel Messi.  There is nobody who performs at his level against elite competition the way he does.  You could argue for Aaron Rodgers here, but I just can't give it to a QB with all of the advantages QB's have right now.  Look at the number elite QB's are throwing up across the board.  No, no Rodgers for me as Athlete of the Year.  Give me the little lion known as Messi.

(Note:  Sorry, but I decided to exclude college this year because it's too painful as a Bruin and the BCS ruins everything, and sorry to hockey, but I'm no longer qualified there.)

WEEK 16 PICKS

Indianapolis +7 vs. Houston
Cincinnati -4 vs. Arizona
Denver -2.5 at Buffalo
New York Giants +3 at New York Jets
Tennessee -7.5 vs. Jacksonville
Miami +10 at New England
Baltimore -13 vs. Cleveland
Oakland +1 at Kansas City
Minnesota +6.5 at Washington
Tampa Bay +7.5 at Carolina
St. Louis +14 at Pittsburgh
Detroit -2 vs. San Diego
Dallas -1.5 vs. Philadelphia
San Francisco -1.5 at Seattle (stay away from this game)
Green Bay -13 vs. Chicago
New Orleans -6.5 vs. Atlanta

Last Week:  7-9
Season:       106-109-9

I was all set to write a scathing column on the NBA after this CP3 debacle.  It isn't that I wanted the Lakers to execute the trade on the table, it was that the NBA had no right to squash that trade.  And for CP3 to go to the team whose owner happens to lead the NBA in slum lord and discrimination suits only adds to the ridiculousness of the whole situation.  But instead, we're going with random thoughts because my sister, Lauren, asked for them.  She's had a tough week so we'll indulge her.  Here we go into the landfills that exist in my head.

First and foremost, we need to creat a new circle of hell.  I've read Dante's Inferno, in English and Italian actually, and nowhere in it is there a special circle of hell for people who drive 65 mpg in the fast lane on the freeway.  These people need to be shot on sight, I feel that strongly about it.  I was stuck on the freeway behind cars in the left two lanes drag racing at about 63 mph.  Nothing deterred them.  To the 10th circle of hell they go.

Angels fans may no longer say a bad thing about the Yankees and the Red Sox.  The Angels are the Evil Empire of the west coast.  So now that they have a marketable team, can we please stop pretending they play in Los Angeles?

The day the Angels signed Pujols, there was a rumor involving the Dodgers and Dana Eveland.  Goody goody gumdrops.

Is it just me or will all Lakers fans forget about the debacle that was the Odom/Bynum/Gasol trade wind talks if the Lakers sign Dwight Howard?  I know I'll forget about it.  Bring on Superman, let Kobe go out to pasture in a couple of years and then sign Marquee PG _________ (John Wall maybe?  One can only hope).

I love how everybody is so quick to demonize Reeves Nelson without once asking why so many players either transfer or quit under Ben Howland.  You know what team's better than UCLA?  The one you could comprise of those players who have been kicked off or left.

Jim Mora Jr. was a great signing, now we just need to fire Dan Guerrero.

The Ryan Braun news has saddened Jews everywhere.

The Knicks would be awesome if you didn't need guards or passing to play basketball.

Okay, if you're not a Tebow believer yet, there's something wrong with you.  I can't remember the anticipation and excitement like that surrounding a Denver drive in the last 5 minutes for the past several weeks.  All announcers can do is chuckle at this point.  As for me, I just get excited when Tebow starts doing Tebow things.  You know, like running around, stiff arming linebackers and then throwing to a receiver while he's falling down.  That sort of thing.

I wonder if Kobe is going to bitch slap Jim Buss at some point.

John Elway is like the owner in The Natural, not the one in Any Given Sunday.  Get it right.  The judges will also accept:  The owner from Major League.

Which will produce a higher score, UNC vs. Duke in basketball or the NFC Championship between Green Bay and New Orleans?

Can Barbara Walters really have a list of most interesting people without a single interesting person on the list?  I'm confused.  So is Kim Kardashian, but she's always confused.

Who is more emasculated at this point, Kris Humphries or Hulk Hogan?

Barcelona proved once again in the Clasico that it is far and away the best soccer team in the world.  They are too fun to watch although losing David Villa to a broken leg is bad for everybody involved.

I miss Rick Perry and Herman Cain.  They're way better for late night than Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney.

How do you come up with the name Mitt?

Is his middle name Oven?  Catcher's?  Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all night.  Wait, I just realized his first name is Mitt and that this now makes no sense.  Damn it.

Sam Hurd apparently watched American Gangster as a How To film.  On the bright side, we now know who the Cincinnati Bengals were hanging out with during the off-season.

I'm glad to have the Tiger Fist Pump back in my life.  It's much better than the Elin Golf Club Swing.

How many women has Derek Jeter not slept with?  It has to be easier than counting the other way around.

Is Albert Pujols' wife really trying to make us feel bad that her husband was offered a 5-year contract worth 9-figures plus as a starting offer?  Wrong economy for that sympathy card.

The NFL is trying to rival the NBA for most transparent group of owners and administrators.  How is James Harrison suspended within a few days for a boom boom hit, yet the Browns put Colt McCoy back into the game thinking he's Batman after two plays and everybody's waiting until this is forgotten about so the Browns don't have to be punished?  Safety first, unless it's a team that's being punished as opposed to the players.  Got it.

On the bright side, I now have more faith in the L.A. Clippers management than I do in Congress.  Ponder that one for a moment.  Scary.

Tebow for President.  G-d bless.

WEEK 15 PICKS

Atlanta -13.5 vs. Jacksonville
Dallas -7 at Tampa Bay
Green Bay -13.5 at Kansas City
Seattle +3.5 at Chicago
Cincinnati -6.5 at St. Louis
Tennessee -6.5 at Indianapolis
Miami -1.5 at Buffalo
Houston -6 vs. Carolina
Washington +7 at New York Giants
New Orleans -6.5 at Minnesota
Oakland even vs. Detroit
Arizona -6.5 vs. Cleveland
New Jork Jets +3 at Philadelphia
Denver +7 vs. New England . . . TEBOW!!!
Baltimore -1.5 at San Diego
Pittsburgh +2.5 at San Francisco

Last Week:  8-8
Season:        99-100-9

I was going to do a column entitled, "Who is the d-bag on my floor at work who consistently clogs the toilet and/or doesn't flush?"  However, for your benefit I decided against it.

Quick note before the power rankings for those inquiring about my race against my sister:  I knew my only chance was to get in her head and make her run a mile she didn't want to run.  I figured she would be running around a 7-minute mile and I could run something much slower, so I took us out in a 1:30 first 400 meters or a 6:00 pace.  Mission accomplished.  She told me afterward that she was quite nervous at that point.  Mission not accomplished.  She was only two steps behind me.  She then took the lead and I trailed her by a step after a half mile at 3:35.  We did the race at UCLA's Drake Stadium and the 1-4 lanes were closed, so the mile race was actually closer to 1.1 miles.  Anyhow, a quarter of the way through the third lap I started to die, then my back spasmed, then I collapsed.  DNF.  So the lesson as always, don't race your in-shape sister when you are woefully out of shape and have back and foot problems.  Of course, after hearing about this, my roommate who played WR in college but had ACL surgery wants to race me but will give me a 1/4 mile head start.  Results pending.  I'll keep you posted.

Further note:  I used to be a good athlete.  I swear.

On to the rankings:

32.  Indianapolis Colts (0-16)

Yes, 0-16.  They're clearly not winning a game.  And it doesn't seem like they care.  Hey, Dwight Freeney, if you're so enraged at someone naming Peyton Manning MVP, why don't you get some of your teammates to play like they care too?  I've never seen a team likely to go winless get less publicity for doing so.  #Suckforluck.

31.  St. Louis Rams (2-10)

Quick, raise your hand if you recommended that people take the Rams to win the division at +350.  I'm sorry.

30.  Jacksonville Jaguars (3-9)

Sorry, Jacksonville, it's too late to turn back time and get Tebow and you weren't quite bad enough to get Andrew Luck.  Oh well, you'll be the Los Angeles El Ninos in three years anyway.

29.  Cleveland Browns (4-8)

Wow, that offense is really bad.  Pittsburgh can't be favored by enough tonight.

28.  Minnesota Vikings (2-10)

The most fun to watch 2-10 team I've ever seen.  I'm not kidding.  I really like Minnesota.  Another high draft pick could put them into the playoffs within a couple years given the talent on that squad.

27.  Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-8)

Josh Freeman and his 4th quarter comebacks seem like forever and a day ago.

26.  Washington Redskins (4-8)

Who's worse at spending money, the Redskins, the Baltimore Orioles, or the government?

25.  Philadelphia Eagles (4-8)

It is unbelievable how bad they are given the hype.  But you know what they say, if you give a $100M contract to a convicted dog killer . . . sorry, I lost my train of thought, but yeah, the Eagles are bad.  At least people in Philadelphia handle these things well.

24.  Carolina Panthers (4-8)

Cam Newton is fun to watch and has reinvigorated Steve Smith, but the Panthers are still far from being good.

23.  Kansas City Chiefs (5-7)

Tyler Palko is no Shane Falco.  Hey, that rhymes!

22.  Arizona Cardinals (5-7)

Nice work with that contract extension to Kevin Kolb.

21.  Buffalo Bills (5-7)

Speaking of horrible extensions to quarterbacks . . . Ryan Fitzpatrick!

20.  San Diego Chargers (5-7)

The Chargers are not coming on strong.  They got to play the Jaguars.  There is a difference.

19.  Miami Dolphins (4-8)

How do you go from being the front runner for Andrew Luck to a team nobody wants to face at the drop of a hat?  I don't get it.

18.  Seattle Seahawks (5-7)

Marshawn Lynch is a beast.  That's about all the good news you have as a Seahawks fan outside of home field advantage.

17.  Chicago Bears (7-5)

Maybe you should have a backup plan for the most important position in football.  Just a thought for next time.

16.  Oakland Raiders (7-5)

I have zero faith in them going forward, especially without McFadden.

15.  New York Giants (6-6)

It's Tom Coughlin Red Face time!  While that is fun, the Eli Manning face is far superior.  Coughlin has some catching up to do.

14.  Detroit Lions (7-5)

They're about as disciplined as a room full of kindgergarteners the second someone comes into a quiet room and yells, "COOKIES!"

13.  Tennessee Titans (7-5)

They are the definition of a mediocre team although it is fun to watch them now that someone woke Chris Johnson up from his hybernation.

12.  Cincinnati Bengals (7-5)

You know what you're getting from them.  They won't beat a solid team and they'll take care of business for the most part in every other game.  The Andy Dalton pick keeps getting smarter by the week.

11.  New York Jets (7-5)

If they can get back to running the ball and turn Mark Sanchez into Trent Dilfer 2.0, then they have a chance.

10.  Houston Texans (9-3)

Pardon me if I'm not buying into the T.J. Yates era.  I'm not even sure if that's his first name but it's not worth looking up the third string quarterback's first name.

9.  Denver Broncos (7-5)

Wait for it . . . TEBOW!!!!!!!

8.  Atlanta Falcons (7-5)

Notwithstanding this past week's performance, Atlanta seems to be playing well at the right time, and if Julio Jones holds onto that ball last week, well . . .

7.  Dallas Cowboys (7-5)

I don't care what the talking heads are saying.  He iced his own kicker!  How do you do that?

6.  San Francisco 49ers (10-2)

It's still Alex Smith.  I can't bring myself this close to the playoffs to pick the 49ers over any of the teams listed below.

5.  New Orleans Saints (9-3)

If the Saints can turn every game into a shootout, they're your Super Bowl champions.  If not, that defense is more than suspect.

4.  New England Patriots (9-3)

See comment for New Orleans Saints above.  I know, two teams are not allowed to win the Super Bowl in the same season.

3.  Pittsburgh Steelers (9-3)

They're getting healthy.  James Harrison looks like a beast again.  I'm liking my Super Bowl pick.

2.  Baltimore Ravens (9-3)

How much do you trust Joe Flacco and the aging defense going forward into the playoffs?  A serious question that will be answered in due course.

1.  Green Bay Packers (12-0)

Nothing really to say here.  12-0.

WEEK 14 PICKS

Pittsburgh -14 vs. Cleveland
Indianapolis +16.5 at Baltimore
New York Jets -10.5 vs. Kansas City
Minnesota +10 at Detroit
Washington +9 vs. New England
New Orleans -3.5 at Tennessee
Miami -3 vs. Philadelphia
Atlanta -3 at Carolina
Jacksonville +2 vs. Tampa Bay
Cincinnati -3 vs. Houston
San Francisco -4 at Arizona
Denver -3.5 vs. Chicago
Oakland +11 at Green Bay
San Diego -7.5 vs. Buffalo
Dallas -3 vs. New York Giants
St. Louis +6 at Seattle

Last Week: 8-8
Season:       91-92-9

***There is an addendum noted with a star for those who read this before 6:00 p.m. PST on 11/30/11***

The summary could be written in three words:  The players lost.

That's it, that could be the whole column.  Listening to Billy Hunter and his side following the settlement was borderline hysterical.  I just hope nobody seriously believed a word they were saying.  I mean really, when Adam Silver is saying that the NBA didn't get everything it wanted . . . yeah, the NBA got everything it wanted.

I know I touched on this before, but how did everyone not know we were going to get to this result?  This was mangled by the players' representation from the get go.  Why were Billy Hunter, Derek Fisher, and some NBA stars the main players in this, no pun intended, on the players' side?  If this was a game of 21, fine.  But in a negotiation for a $40 billion pie?  Yes, $40 billion.  10 years, $4 billion per.  And somehow Kevin Garnett yelling at a room full of geniuses with graduate degrees happened.  Good job NBA Players Association.  Well played.

To review:

1.  Less money for the players.

2.  Shorter contracts in terms of years for the players.

3.  Luxury tax up.  No, this does not encourage spending on players.

All of the other talk is really just smoke and mirrors.  Let's put it this way, when would you have rather come into the league, now, or five years ago?  I thought so.

I am not at all surprised we got here.  I am surprised at the horrible negotiating employed by the players' side of the table. 

The players had one and only one chip to play this entire time:  Decertification.  The owners were ready to sit on their hands until hell froze over, unless . . . unless they saw a three year legal battle looming, in an uncertain field like antitrust law, a field of law requiring very skilled legal minds.  Do you know what happens when you require the help of very skilled legal minds for uncertain litigation that would carry on for a few years?  You pay a fantastic sum of money.  Then, if you lose, you are subject to treble damages (read 3x the amount claimed in damages).  That is a lot of money and a whole lot of risk.  Outside of that, what were the owners really worried about here?  The owners were negotiating with a side where 60% of the people declare bankruptcy within 5 years of retirement.  Yes, you read that correctly.  60% of NBA players declare bankruptcy within 5 years of retirement.  So why on Earth were Billy Hunter and his buddies he was helping in charge of this?   Why were NBA players anywhere near a negotiating table?  Do you know why players have agents?  To negotiate contracts.  I am not saying the agents should have been the ones negotiating the CBA, but I would select them to go to bat for me before I'd let someone with zero college experience go in there and scream, someone who gets paid to feed off of emotion and yell uncontrollably to fire himself up.  With every sentence I write I am more and more baffled at how these events transpired.

At the end of all this, the owners were presented with a well-laid out synopsis of the items that had been negotiated and settled.  The players got a rah rah letter shorter than this column telling them about all that they had won.  I don't know what to say about that.  "Hey guys, congratuations!  Less money!  Shorter contracts!  And it's nearly impossible to get any of the incentive money built in for the years following your rookie deal!"  Ok, maybe that's not a direct quote, but you get the picture.

***Addendum***

Here's an actual quote for one of the "wins" the players got as taken from their letter from Billy Hunter:

“Max Salary: A player finishing his rookie scale contract will be eligible to receive a maximum salary equal to 30% of the Cap (up from 25%) if he signs with his prior team and is either: 1st, 2nd or 3rd team All-NBA 2 times; an All-Star starter 2 times; or 1-time MVP.”

Awesome!  So all you have to do to qualify for the bump is, first, sign with your same team, second, be on the All-NBA team twice during your rookie contract/be an All-Star STARTER twice/win the NBA MVP award.  That's it, that's all you have to do.  So, the list of qualifiers includes Derrick Rose, Derrick Rose, and maybe Derrick Rose.  Winning!

***End of addendum***

The players missed paychecks and got nothing in return.  They went to bat to negotiate with expert negotiators, didn't hire anyone remotely qualified, played their one card four months too late, and then the expected is what transpired.  This would be like the players going up against the owners in the afore-mentioned game of 21 for $40 billion with every point counting toward a portion of that $40 billion pie and having David Stern and Adam Silver getting to choose anyone in the world to play for them against Kobe and LeBron and choosing themselves.  What is this the WWE?  For the players, if only this were fake.  I'm sick to my stomach . . . until opening day.  On to the football picks.

WEEK 13 PICKS

Seattle +2.5 vs. Philadelphia
Indianapolis +21 at New England (very possible NE will be covering after 1.5 quarters)
Denver even at Minnesota (TEBOW!)
Buffalo -1 at Tennessee
Oakland +3 at Miami
New York Jets -3 at Washington
Atlanta -1.5 at Houston (sorry, I won't be at work this weekend, I'm playing QB for the Texans)
Kansas City +8 at Chicago
Tampa Bay -3 vs. Carolina
Cincinnati +7 at Pittsburgh
Cleveland +7 vs. Baltimore
San Francisco -13 vs. St. Louis
New York Giants +7 vs. Green Bay
Dallas -4.5 at Arizona
Detroit +9 at New Orleans
San Diego -1.5 at Jacksonville

Last Week:  7-9
Season:        83-84-9

Ok, so this isn't a real mailbag, I am making up all of these questions.  So basically, it's a lazy way to do a Random Thoughts without having to call it Random Thoughts.  And when you think about it, mailbags really are lazy ways to bust out some material because you're making your readers do half of your work.  Here are some questions I want to answer, Q&A style:

Q:  Why is Thanksgiving your favorite holiday?

A:  Family, food, and football.  Next question.

Q:  What will you be doing on Thanksgiving?

A:  Very good question.  In the morning I will be racing my little sister (age 23) in a mile long race.  I have been talking a lot of trash even though I am about 92% out of shape and I am fairly confident she will be running a sub-7:00 mile.  I have told her my strategy is to just tail her the entire time and then sprint past her at the end.  Picture Seabiscuit vs. War Admiral.  I will make sure to post my victory speech here.  After that I will be watching football all day at my family's house.  Then we will all have a family dinner at Lawry's, mostly because it is easier on everyone.  Originially I didn't like the idea of going to a restaurant but the more I thought about it the more excited I got about not having to do my part in terms of preparation and clean-up.  We're all winners here.  Again, I love Thanksgiving.

Q:  Why do you love Tebow so much?

A:  A large part of my Tebow man crush stems from how much the "analysts" can't stand him.  I really don't get the venom unleashed when Tebow comes up.  As I've said, this guy can't get into trouble because he's too busy building homes for the homeless in third world countries.  So what that he's doing it because he wants them all to be happy in their Christianity as he is.  There are a lot worse things done by professional athletes than missionary trips and talking to prisoners.  I also love Tebow because he's a fullback playing QB.  It's sort of why I loved the 300 lb. QB that Kentucky had nicknamed the "Hefty Lefty."  And finally, it is a LOT of fun to root for a guy despised by his management yet keeps winning and saying the right things week in and week out while they try and undercut and bury him. 

Q:  How much torture is it to watch UCLA basketball these days?

A:  Next question.

Q:  Will UCLA beat USC in the football game on Saturday and get a spot in the Pac-12 Championship or will it be Utah who gets to lose to Oregon by 35?

A:  Next question.

Q:  Were you upset that Matt Kemp was robbed of the MVP?

A:  As a Dodgers fan I was pretty flabbergasted that Kemp didn't win.  As a Jew . . . woo hoo!  MVP!  But in all seriousness, Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw were the only things that made Dodgers games fun this season.  There were no fans but even in the last home game, which I went to, Dodgers fans were in a frenzy every time Kemp came up.  When he homered, the MVP chant was even louder than I remember hearing it for Kobe in the past several years.  Kemp lost the award because the Dodgers stunk and McCourt made Chavez Ravine into a place as cheery as a cemetary.  I am very glad the Dodgers are keeping Kemp. 

Q:  What did you make of Tiger Woods in the Presidents Cup?

A:  Wow, I can't believe Tiger's competitive fire is gone.  I have never seen the "happy to be here" guy show up wearing a Tiger Woods costume before.  Not even playing with Stevie's guy after Stevie's racist remarks could get Tiger's comptitive juices flowing.  It's a shame.  I was never the biggest Tiger fan (although I love his charity work), but I will miss having the old Tiger to watch.

Q:  Are you still picking the Saints over the Steelers in the Super Bowl?

I can't jump ship just yet on the Saints.  Things might be shaky without home field advantage in the NFC, but I still like them.  As for the Steelers, book them in the Super Bowl.  They will get healthy.  They will get mean.  They will get back to the big game.

Q:  Did you watch the Galaxy win the MLS Cup?

A:  Of course I did!  I went with my sister and roommates to a sports bar to watched it and I even suffered through several jokes at my expense for wearing a David Beckham Galaxy jersey.  The MLS has come a long way since I started going back in the early '90s to watch at the Rose Bowl.  The players are better to the point where there's no way I could try out for a team and make it and there are enough foreign nationals attracted to the money being doled out where you get some star power (Beckham, Thierry Henry, etc.).  This can only serve to help the U.S.' chances in the World Cups to come.  Even ESPN and Fox are starting to show La Liga and English Premier League matches on top of already having shown the Champions League.  Add to that how excited the country got last World Cup and I see only bright things in the future of soccer in the U.S.  Plus, real men don't wear pads to play "football."

Q:  Has your opinion on the NBA lockout changed at all?

A:  Nope.  I still can't understand how a bunch of billionaires waiting out guys living paycheck to paycheck (yes, I know they're large paychecks) are winning the PR battle.  Seriously, I don't get it, almost as much as I don't get the Occupy ___________ movement.  Someone's really going to have to sit down and explain the end game on that one too.

Q:  Any hockey questions?

A:  Not yet, maybe in the winter.  But it is nice to see Sidney Crosby back in full force.

Q:  What do you think of Black Friday starting at midnight?

A:  I think everyone should agree to show up no earlier than 10 a.m.  It is horrible that these entities are making their employees show up to work at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving night. 

Q:  What's your favorite Thanksgiving dish?

A:  Everything.  Happy Thanksgiving everybody!  Wish me luck in my big race.

WEEK 12 PICKS

Detroit +7 vs. Green Bay
Miami +7 at Dallas
San Francisco +3 at Baltimore
Cincinnati -7 vs. Cleveland
St. Louis -3 vs. Arizona
Minnesota +9.5 at Atlanta
Carolina -3.5 at Indianapolis
Tampa Bay +3 at Tennessee
Houston -4 at Jacksonville
Buffalo +8 at New York Jets
Oakland -4 vs. Chicago
Seattle -3.5 vs. Washington
New England -4 at Philadelphia
Denver +6 at San Diego (TEBOW!!!)
Pittsburgh -11 at Kansas City
New York Giants +7 at New Orleans

Last Week:  6-6-2
Season         76-75-9

Ok fine, the title of this one is from a Kanye West song.  But when you're talking about a college basketball coach, who better to steal from than Kanye?  (Yes, all of the little hints dropped there were on purpose)

I wasn't going to write my Fire Ben Howland column until I read Bill Dwyre's nausea inducing love letter to Coach Howland.  Is Howland ghostwriting for Dwyre?  In case you missed it, Dwyre's piece centered around the theory that we should all congratulate Ben Howland for doing the right thing and benching Reeves Nelson for conduct detrimental to the team.  Guys doing the right thing like Howland need to be celebrated as vociferously as we condemn Paterno.  Um, what?!

Yes, the problem with college sports is that the coaches aren't exerting enough influence over their players.  The players and their egos have run amok and that's the problem that needs curing.  Good for Ben Howland and his multi-million dollar contract standing up to Reeves Nelson, at best a six-figure player in Europe in a couple of years. 

No, I wasn't going to write my Fire Ben Howland until I read all of that.  I figured it was just being spoiled after the guy took the Bruins to three straight Final Fours from 2006-2008.  Bill Dwyre, congratulations, you took me over the edge that even being there live to witness the Loyola Marymount and Middle Tennessee State losses couldn't accomplish. 

So, now that I'm over the edge, yes, Ben Howland should be fired.  Now.  I was at the Middle Tennessee State game and it was the first time I had watched, in person, a team that had clearly given up on its team.  The Bruins weren't rebounding.  Fine.  They looked stagnant on offense.  Seen that before.  But defensively?  71% given up to MTSU?  The Bruins defenders rotated on defense maybe a half dozen times.  The effort was less than zero.  I thought about it and was trying to come up with, why now?  And then I thought about Reeves Nelson.  Sorry Mr. Dwyre, but Ben Howland wasn't trying to teach a lesson, he was trying to show everybody who's boss.  He was trying to reinforce what everybody already knows.  When it comes to college basketball, there isn't one athlete more famous or indispensable than his coach.  In fact, is there an athlete in college basketball or football more famous than his coach outside of Andrew Luck?  Quick, name Duke's starting five.  I'll wait.  And that's what Howland knows.  That's what Howland was trying to reinforce.  I'm the man here.  You fall in line or you're out of here.  Here's where the miscalculation was:  Howland thought the rest of the team would respond by playing harder.  But when your players already hate you, exerting your power over one of them is only going to make them hate you more, not less.  And, this team has clearly shown that they're done buying into Howland. 

Since Farmar and Afflalo left, I've watched several players play depressed and with horrible body language.  Howland micromanages his offense to the detriment of everybody involved.  He is a terrific defensive coach but there is not one player able to shine in his offense.  Is there anyway a John Wall would play for Howland?  No way.  Jrue Holiday found that out a little too late.  Holiday is a good guy.  Watching him play for Howland was beyond disconcerting.  It was clear to all in the know how good Holiday was and how much he hated Howland and his constant criticism and power trip explosions.  And Jrue isn't the only one.  Drew Gordon looks pretty solid playing for New Mexico.  Chace Stanback is doing it for UNLV.  Why couldn't they do it for UCLA?  Howland.  Howland's abrasiveness and ego won't let guys play.  Was Russell Westbrook a clear NBA All-Star while at UCLA?  No. 

I'm excited for a coach to come in and take the leash off of our guys.  How bad is it to play for Howland?  Tyler Honeycutt and Malcolm Lee decided to jump ship knowing they wouldn't be close to lottery picks and that they'd be getting drafted into a lockout.  That's how bad it is to play for Howland.  You can't take one step on offense without fear of being chastised and benched.  Sorry Mr. Dwyre, I give Howland no credit for continuing on his power trip.  The guy has to go, and now.  How many more times do we have to watch our Bruins look like depressed robots out there?  Hopefully none.

WEEK 11 PICKS

Denver +6.5 vs. New York Jets
Buffalo +2 at Miami
Cincinnati +7 at Baltimore
Jacksonville even at Cleveland
Oakland -1 at Minnesota
Detroit -7 vs. Carolina
Green Bay -14 vs. Tampa Bay
Dallas -7.5 at Washington
San Francisco -9.5 vs. Arizona
St. Louis -1.5 vs. Seattle
Tennessee +6 at Atlanta
Chicago -3.5 vs. San Diego
New York Giants -5 vs. Philadelphia
New England -15 vs. Kansas City

Last Week:  11-5
Season:        70-69-7

When I was little, I believed in Santa Claus.  I know, I'm Jewish.  But I just figured Santa went to some of my friends' houses.  I even called one of those phone numbers to talk to Santa.  My Mom didn't like the 10 minute call at 75 cents per minute.  However, sometime in my childhood I figured out that there wasn't a jolly fat man climbing down the chimneys of houses and leaving presents for children and occasionally eating cookies and milk.  It was around the same time that I figured out my parents were leaving money under my pillow when I would lose my teeth. 

What does this have to do with sports?  Well, until a few days ago when "Penn State" and "Sandusky" became the hottest Google searches, I believed in the goodness embodied by a few college coaches.  I know what you're thinking, two things probably:

1)  Hey wait, aren't you the guy who kills the NCAA all the time for its hypocrisy and kills guys like Pitino and Calipari?

2)  Are you a complete moron?

Well, apparently both 1 and 2 are correct.  Yes, I have lambasted the NCAA and will continue to do so for the hypocrisy of its culture surrounding "amateur athleticism."  But apparently, yes, I'm a moron.  While I couldn't stand guys like Coach Cal and Pitino, I loved guys like Coach K and yes, Joe Paterno.  I loved Joe Paterno.  I believed this was a guy doing things the right way for years and succeeding in the right way, a la John Wooden.  And while the slight chink in Wooden's armor was a friend of the program helping out his players, Paterno's armor is now missing a chest plate and a helmet, maybe more.

Now, I am not going to say that the allegations that have arisen and the facts Joe Pa has admitted to necessarily mean that Joe Pa has been doing things the wrong way all of his career, but a saint he is no more.  Unfortunately, the mention of the word "saint" in the previous sentence almost drove me to write a joke comparing Penn State to the Catholic Church, but I digress.

Joe Paterno said, "this is a tragedy."  He couldn't be more right.  What he's missing is the tremendous role he played in this tragedy.  Joe was in Acts II through V.  He of course did not actively molest a child but he more than harbored and protected someone who did.  Here's what I understand to have happened:  Sandusky serially molested children under the guise of running a charity.  He was caught by someone who reported the matter to Joe Pa.  The person reporting it did so at Joe Pa's house on a Saturday morning.  Joe Pa went to his superior (yeah, cause he has those and in no way is more powerful than anyone else at Penn State), and told his "superior" of what was reported.  Story ends.  Or so Coach had wished. 

I have heard the same argument quite a few times over the past few days and while the talking heads are annoying with the moral high ground they all occupy, they actually have this one right.  Where was the follow up?  If someone told you that there was child molestation going on, and you reported it, wouldn't you follow up?  "Hey, remember that thing I reported, what happened?"  That's all.  He could have just said that and then maybe this whole thing could have been averted.  Future victims would have been saved.  But no.  I just don't understand how you could do so little to prevent child molestation.  These are the criminals that have to be segregated in jails because even the cold blooded murderers think they're the lowest of the low.  And they're right on this one.

Joe Paterno let a child molestor continue to terrorize children.  His loyalty was to Penn State.  At a certain point, there are things more important than your university and winning.  That's what coaches should be teaching, right?

I stopped believing in Santa Claus, and now I've lost Joe Pa.  What's next?  Is Coach K going to pull a drive by?

WEEK 10 PICKS

Oakland +7 at San Diego
Pittsburgh -3 at Cincinnati
Denver +3 at Kansas City
Jacksonville -3 at Indianapolis
Buffalo +5.5 at Dallas
Tampa Bay +3 vs. Houston
Tennessee +3 at Carolina
Washington +4 at Miami
New Orleans even at Atlanta
St. Louis +2.5 at Cleveland
Seattle +7 vs. Baltimore
Arizona +14 vs. Philadelphia
Chicago -3 vs. Detroit
New York Giants +3.5 at San Francisco
New England +1 at New York Jets
Minnesota +13.5 at Green Bay

Last Week: 8-6
Season:       59-64-7

Lazy week all, sorry, no column.  Here are the picks:

Atlanta -7 at Indianapolis
Tampa Bay +8.5 at New Orleans
Houston -10.5 vs. Cleveland
Buffalo -2.5 vs. New York Jets
Kansas City -4 vs. Miami
San Francisco -4 at Washington
Dallas -11 vs. Seattle
Denver +7.5 at Oakland
Cincinnati +3 at Tennessee
Arizona -3 vs. St. Louis
New England -9 vs. New York Giants
Green Bay -6 at San Diego
Pittsburgh -3.5 vs. Baltimore
Chicago +7.5 at Philadelphia

Last Week:  6-7
Season:       51-58-7