There is often nothing funnier than capturing a facial expression or occurrence at the right time, or, should we say, the most inopportune time.

I challenge you, loyal readers, to view the picture below and provide a captivating caption that will cause “the shores a-crowding” with “people all exulting.” Should you provide the wittiest of captions, for you the flag will be flung and the bugles will trill.

In this picture, European golfer Miguel Angel Jimenez shares his alternative stretching exercise to the popular P90x.

You’ve got the context, now make like the father of free verse and create the best caption you can in the comments below.

Prior to hearing Brutus’ rousing speech about the validity of Julius Caesar’s murder in the Roman Capitol, a plebeian suggests that Rome should “Give him [Brutus] a statue with his ancestors!” Those familiar with Shakespeare’s play know that this venerable request comes much too eagerly following the morally ambiguous murder of Caesar. Two acts later Marc Antony laments on the good intentions of Brutus, who lay dead after his own suicide.

Great intentions – poor decisions.

Good thing the commons avoided that awkward moment of returning to Rome with a massive reminder of Brutus’ misguided judgment awaiting them.

That awkward moment, however, has not escaped some famous athletes and institutions this past year. Usually a professional athlete’s consecration of his or her accolades comes in the form of a bust for the Hall of Fame. Such an honor only comes after the athlete’s career has concluded and sometimes, an athlete’s choices play a role (see Pete Rose and Mark McGwire).

Nowadays sports fans can find statues outside most arenas and on campuses all around the country, many for players and coaches not yet retired but indeed still very active.

Surely before this year the national consensus on Joe Paterno, former Penn State head football coach, was that he’d be immortalized as one of the most morally upstanding coaches in all of sports. Not only a coach, but a “humanitarian” as his statue outside Beaver Stadium states. For some, that has changed.

No matter which side one’s opinion may fall, it is hard to dispute that Paterno’s legacy has been altered by the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse allegations. That statue, once thought to be for a man who would retire with the utmost respect of all sports fans, now serves as a symbol of hypocrisy to others.

© 2011 Tornoe Ink – Rob Tornoe. All Rights Reserved. http://robtornoe.com/2011/11/paterno-statue/

The issue is not to question or forget the many honorable acts a coach like Joe Paterno has done for many student-athletes, but to question the premature consecration of those who can still reveal flaws. Damaging, consequential flaws. Or maybe not even flaws, but rather just make a mistake. A mistake that seems to outweigh all other great decisions.

Much like Brutus’ case in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, statues can serve as a means to express loyalty while a person is still serving. It’s always unsettling when a deserving athlete has to be posthumously inducted into a Hall of Fame (see Ron Santo and Dennis Johnson). And, just as in Brutus’ case, how awkward would it be to erect a god-like statue when that loyalty is not reciprocated.

Look no further than St. Louis. After winning his second World Series title with the Cardinals this past season, Albert Pujols entered free-agency as the most coveted player in years. Nine time all-star; three time NL MVP; a legitimate threat to break the all-time homerun record; a guaranteed first ballot hall of famer. All for a player barely in his thirties. And all for a player who has done it in one uniform.

An anonymous donor from the St. Louis community decided it would be best to show St. Louis’ loyalty to Pujols by paying for a 10-foot bronze statue to sit outside Pujols’ restaurant. Ironically, the statue was unveiled after the 2011 season.

A security guard protects the Albert Pujols statue outside the Pujols 5 restaurant in St. Louis. (Photo: Robert Cohen/St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

Pujols ultimately signed with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim leaving some fans in St. Louis feeling betrayed. As if the statue won’t be a hurtful reminder of what a record-breaking career could have been in a St. Louis Cardinals uniform, just think of this Cardinal fans: What hat will Pujols decide to don upon his bust’s consecration into the Hall of Fame? Was this a mistake on Pujols’ part? Should his loyalty to the Cardinals have outweighed his business decision?

Regardless, Pujols’ decision makes it all the more awkward for Cardinal fans to revel at a 10-foot bronze mammoth that they some no longer, well, feel loyalty towards anymore.

Paterno and Pujols certainly aren’t hardened criminals or oppressive dictators who deserve their statues to be torn from its supports like Saddam Hussein’s in Iraq. It’s not that their flaws or mistakes (if you even consider them such) should result in some kind of sacrilege of what their statues should represent from their careers.

In fact, try to find two sports figures more philanthropic than these two. It’d be difficult to do. Mistakes? I think we all know Paterno would do things differently. Flawed? Some might now think so about Pujols. But both also certainly have a litany of great choices and benevolence beyond what any would expect.

No, the issue lies with why society feels the need to prematurely idolize sports figures. We know great players and coaches will eventually receive their due respect in some form (retired jersey, Hall of Fame bust), but to erect a statue of a man not yet completed with his career seems selfish and misguided.

Man is not flawless; for that reason, a statue should try to sanctify the closest form of ethics and performance in mankind. Much like religions and nations do for their pioneers and vanguards.

If St. Louis values unbridled loyalty, perhaps retiring Pujols’ jersey number or putting his name in the stands would have sufficed after his retirement from baseball.

Perhaps if Penn State had waited to honor their beloved coach upon his retirement, they would have been content with the library bearing Paterno’s name and maybe added it inside the stadium as well.

A statue after all is an artist’s rendition of a person in his or her absolute perfection, whether it be as a coach, player, president, or activist. The only problem is that man is not perfect and may simply give fodder to those who wish to only focus on flaws rather than endearing qualities.

Ultimately, it would be wise to wait and choose more carefully. Allow each and every man to complete his athletic journey and then decide if he is worthy of such a sacred, prestigious sculpture.

I challenge you, loyal readers, to view the picture below and provide a captivating caption that will cause “the shores a-crowding” with “people all exulting.” Should you provide the wittiest of captions, for you the flag will be flung and the bugles will trill.

In honor of the cold, winter football weather this Thanksgiving eve, we have this past weekend’s Utah-Washington tilt in the college football ranks. As displayed below, the field crew decided to help the referees and statisticians out with the yard lines, and, well:

You’ve got the context, now make like the father of free verse and create the best caption you can in the comments below.

I challenge you, loyal readers, to view the picture below and provide a captivating caption that will cause “the shores a-crowding” with “people all exulting.” Should you provide the wittiest of captions, for you the flag will be flung and the bugles will trill.

This week, we have a little confusion amongst referees in the Steelers-Titans tilt in Pittsburgh:

You’ve got the context, now make like the father of free verse and create the best caption you can in the comments below.

On the Cover: Steve McNair, Football, Alcorn State Braves Photographed by: Al Tielemans courtesy of the SI.com Vault

1. Robert Griffin III QB (Baylor)

Weekly stats: 29-33, 338 yards, 5 TD/0INT; 51 yards rushing, 1 TD
Overall: Leads FBS in passer rating at 236.2; has not thrown an interception

Griffin III and the Baylor Bears’ offense continues to just absolutely shred anyone in their path. Granted, they haven’t played a BCS school even though TCU’s defense is supposed to be stout, but that shouldn’t matter until they actually do. Still have to put up unreal numbers to make the trip to New York City. And if your case against Griffin is about who he’s played, it didn’t affect Alcorn State’s Steve McNair from getting invited in 1994. Besides, Griffin will get his shot starting next week against Kansas State.

2. Russell Wilson QB (Wisconsin)

Weekly stats: 19-25, 345 yards, 3 TD/0 INT
Overall: Has Badgers ranked 6th in nation in points averaged with 48.6 a game

I will reiterate: He made a below average NC State team competitive and feared in the ACC. How is NC State doing without him, and with a supposed “star” quarterback as his replacement? They’re 2-2 having lost big to Cincinnati, 44-14. Not that the Wolfpack’s quarterback, Mike Glennon, isn’t good. Wilson just has that extra little something that can make something out of nothing at any moment. That’s fun to watch.

5. Mother Nature (Planet Earth)

Weekly stats: no known delays or cancellations
Overall: Caused Tulsa-Oklahoma State game to start after midnight and end around 3:30am in week 3

She just didn’t show her prowess this week. She’s still getting invited to New York at this point because, well, she can cancel the whole ceremony if she so chooses. However, she better step up in week 5 and bring more than just an overcast sky to keep the invite from being rescinded.

8. Justin Blackmon WR (Oklahoma State)

Weekly stats: 11 receptions, 121 yards, 1 TD
Overall: a good guy

The Cowboys upended Texas A&M 30-29 to keep themselves perched in the national championship picture. Blackmon is touted as the most NFL-ready player perhaps in college football. More importantly, however, is his big heart:

9. LaMichael James RB (Oregon)

Weekly stats: 288 yards rushing, 2 TD
Overall: Currently leads FBS in rushing yards with 613; averaging nearly 9.5 yards per carry

This is a big jump from #53 in week 1. Have to give him credit and point out my own prognostication that he’d eventually play a few bad teams and put up video game numbers. He has 65 carries this year. The 2nd and 3rd leading rushers in the nation each have about 100 carries. He’s good, but luckily he doesn’t play in the SEC.

10. Georgia Tech’s triple option (ACC)

Weekly stats: 312 rushing yards and 10-16 3rd down conversions
Overall: 4-0 and may crack the top-20

The Yellow Jackets defeated North Carolina 35-28. They are 4-0 for the first time since 1990, which was also their national championship year. Can they run the table? It has to be possible in the ACC. They draw Clemson and Virginia Tech in back-to-back to weeks. If they can get by them, who knows?

Why so high, you may ask? Their offense! The old school triple option has to be the “daggum funnest” offense to watch when the other team doesn’t know how to stop it. And when they think they do, GT catches them off-guard with a timely pass. UNC’s defense just looked silly.

16. Bernard Pierce RB (Temple)

Weekly stats: 149 yards, 5 TD
Overall: Leads nation with 12 rushing TDs

If only he performed against Penn State in week 3, I’d gladly place the running back from my alma mater in the New York City top 5. Before that game, Temple was 15-0 when Bernard Pierce carried the ball at least 15 times. Not anymore. He averaged a measily 2.9 yards a carry and could barely find the line of scrimmage on a bunch of third down attempts.

Luckily, the Owls continue to support Pierce on the defensive side. They have the #1 defense in the nation that allows only 7.8 points a game.

96. Jimbo Fisher (Florida State)

Weekly stats: Lost to ACC-foe Clemson 35-30
Overall: Dropped 2 games after being ranked in top-5 in nation

As if following Bobby Bowden wasn’t going to be hard enough, Coach Fisher has to win over Seminoles fans with the first name “Jimbo.” The good news is they won’t play a ranked team until their season finale showdown with in-state rival Florida. The bad news is they better win all of those games.

Luck does not seem to be on Jimbo’s side either. Just as halftime started against Oklahoma in week 3, both coaches were stopped on the field to be interviewed by ESPN. Jimbo drew the short straw and had Tom Rinaldi while legend Bob Stoops was questioned by Erin Andrews. Life can be irrevocably cruel sometimes, unless of course you decide to legally change your name so women don’t say, “Jimbo? I’d rather talk to a ‘Bob.’”

262. Collapsible Goal Posts (SMU, Clemson)

Weekly stats: prevented extra costs when Clemson fans stormed the field after beating #11 Florida State
Overall: Cost efficient?

Have you seen these yet? They are hydraulic goal posts that can collapse after your average team defeats an only marginally better team. After Clemson defeated Florida State this weekend, the crowd stormed the field in celebration (which, on a side note, breaks the storming the field/court creed that states you should only storm when you have just defeated a previously undefeated team) and I noticed the goal posts already down. What an invention! Only – Does SMU really have the problem of their goal posts being torn down?

402. LaMichael James against an SEC defense (Oregon)

Weekly stats: none
Overall: still not good and NFL teams know it

We haven’t forgotten, LaMichael.

999. Al Golden’s optimism (Miami, FL University)

Weekly stats: Lost to Kansas State 28-24 after game winning touchdown was overturned
Overall: 1-2 (0-1 in ACC)

Down two spots from week 1. Defeated Ohio State, though that doesn’t really count with their situation. Coach Golden’s band of amatuer misfits lost to Maryland in week 1, and now he’s seen his former team, Temple, hand it to the Terrapins in a thrashing. Things aren’t looking up either; they have four ranked opponents still to play on their schedule.

4,339. Big East basketball (college basketball)

Weekly stats: Syracuse and Pitt announce their departure for the ACC
Overall: Just won’t be the same

Syracuse and Pitt not playing in MSG for the conference title? UCONN not making a trip to the Carrier Dome? Georgetown’s crowd not being silenced by an Orange squadron? A sad week for Big East basketball fans.

I challenge you, loyal readers, to view the picture below and provide a captivating caption that will cause “the shores a-crowding” with “people all exulting.” Should you provide the wittiest of captions, for you the flag will be flung and the bugles will trill.

This week we have a few members of the Chicago White Sox taking a nice stroll before the game:

Photo: Rick Osentoski/US Presswire courtesy of SI.com

You’ve got the context, now make like the father of free verse and create the best caption you can in the comments below.

Maryland Terrapins running back Davin Megget (8) during the first half of their game against the Miami Hurricanes at Byrd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-US PRESSWIRE

A weekly rundown from a tepid football fan of the best and worst college football has to offer, some serious but mostly requisite raillery due to basketball deprivation

1. Mother Nature – Omnipotent force (Earth)

Weekly stats: many delays, a couple cancellations

She flexed her muscles all last week and showed that no one can affect a contest quite like she can. Thunderstorms delayed and canceled four games, including only three quarters of football between Michigan and Western Michigan. That’s a whole quarter lost for Denard Robinson. Take that Heisman hopefuls!

2. Robert Griffin III QB (Baylor)

Weekly stats: intensive film study, Multiple Madden ’12 games on PlayStation 3, perhaps something scholastic

Baylor was off this week but with his huge stats from week 1 against TCU, Griffin III deserves to hold on to his #2 spot in competing for the Heisman.

3. Wacky uniforms (Under Armor, Nike)

Weekly stats: triggered much media coverage, water cooler conversations

The Heisman is usually influenced by hype and media coverage, and who has garnered more talk the past week than Maryland’s initiation into the Oregon attention-seeker club. They wore a uniform that was supposed to be a tribute to the state flag though it actually got it backwards.

http://25right.com/2011/09/06/thoughts-on-marylands-football-uniform/

As horrific those uniforms were (which, by the way, is nothing new. Maryland’s hockey team and come to find out a local roller-derby team both wear versions of this design) they put Maryland in the lexicon of weekly football conversations.

Maryland has signed a deal with Under Armor, who has introduced ten uniform variations they’ll be wearing this year (not including the one you saw against Miami in week 1). With a new coach hoping to rejuvinate the program, this strategy may work. Michael Kruse of ESPN’s Grantland recently published an interesting article on the effect the uniforms have had on Oregon’s success and recruiting. If Heisman=Hype, then uniform companies have one-upped nearly every player.

Oh by the way: Maryland defeated Miami 32-24.

4. Other idle quarterbacks (Kellen Moore, Landry Jones)

Weekly stats: answering BCS and realignment questions

Moore and his Boise State Broncos travel to Northwest Ohio next Friday to take on Toledo, who almost knocked off in-state rival and power Ohio State this weekend 22-27.

Not such as easy a task for Oklahoma and Jones who will travel to Tallahassee to battle the Seminoles of Florida State.

5. Russell Wilson QB (Wisconsin)

Weekly stats: 17/21, 189 yards, 3 TD/0 INT

A highly underrated passer, Wilson hurt the Oregon State defense with his accuracy this week in a 35-0 blowout. He had a perfectly thrown ball to receiver Nick Toon to the back pylon for a TD. He also displayed his ability to send some line drives through multiple defenders.

Though he didn’t do too much with his feet this week (11 yards, 0 TDs), he didn’t have to because his backfield toted nearly 5 yards per carry and found the end zone twice.

6. Wisconsin’s offense in the red zone

Weekly stats: multiple conversions…again

Is the Heisman trophy still a strictly individual award? If not, then the Badgers offense should be the recipients. Going into Saturday’s game, they have scored 56 of the last 57 times they were in the red zone with 51 of those being for touchdowns. I know they scored at least two more touchdowns in the red zone this Saturday, which makes the Badgers completely money when getting inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.

And now they have Wilson to scamper some in in case of a breakdown? Geesh – Give them the Big 10 title and let’s call it a year.

7. Andrew Luck QB (Stanford)

Weekly stats: 20/28, 290 yards, 4 TD/1 INT

Another solid week from everyone’s Heisman favorite. However, he loses a spot on this list for throwing a 76 yard ‘pick-6′ against the lowly Duke Blue Devils.

8. Super-Conferences (NCAA football)

Weekly stats: continue to pollute airwaves

Are they or aren’t they? That’s all anyone really cares about at this point including Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops, who dared to imagine a world without the Red River Rivalry. Regardless, the talk of expansions continues to pull attention away from the game itself.

Does anyone care about college basketball conferences anymore?

9. Bernard Pierce RB (Temple)

Weekly Stats: 18 carries, 150 yards, 3 TD

Pierce churned out another 145+ yard effort while the Owls dismantled MAC member Akron 41-3. Pierce will face the same scrutiny as Ball State running back MiQuale Lewis a couple years ago. Neither play in a major conference but put up consistently good numbers each week.

Pierce can help his cause next week by playing national power Penn State. If he can duplicate what he’s done the first two weeks, then maybe some national attention may start for Pierce.

10. Justin Blackmon WR (Oklahoma State)

Weekly stats: 12 receptions, 128 yards, 2 TD

Blackmon follows up a solid first week (8 catches, 144 yards) with an even better one.

16. Denard Robinson QB (Michigan)

Weekly stats: 11-24, 338 yards passing, 4 TD/3 INT; 108 yards rushing, 1 TD

How much do big plays factor into the Heisman? How about excitement? If they do, then I guess the Wolverine signal caller deserves a top-20 spot. Otherwise, his numbers and play just aren’t that spectacular.

He ran the ball in after a fumble on the goal line. Many of his long completed passes were thrown in the general direction of receivers and somehow caught. It certainly helped that Notre Dame’s defense looked like they’ve never practiced coverage downfield before. Michigan receivers looked like a middle school basketball game where there’s one super tall kid that gets every possible rebound.

17. Highly touted running backs (Oregon, Alabama, South Carolina)

Weekly stats: less than stellar ground numbers

Trent Richardson of Alabama probably deserves to be higher, but he’s still only averaging 3.8 yards a carry after two games. He had 111 yards in the Tide’s win at Penn State, but touched the ball over 20 times. He is finding the end zone though; after this weekend he has a total of 5 rushing TDs.

LaMichael James had a slightly better game this week against Nevada. He ran for 67 yards on only 12 carries and found the end zone from the ground once. He did have a receiving touchdown and a returned punt for a touchdown, so his total production seems to compensate for two weeks without a 100-yard rushing feat.

Marcus Lattimore probably leads this pack after a 176 yard 1 TD performance in a win over Georgia. He has two 100-yard games with 4 total touchdowns so far.

58. Texas Longhorns (Longhorn Network)

Weekly stats: Came from behind to defeat BYU 17-16 after 10-point halftime deficit

The questions are definitely still out there for one of the more storied programs in the country. Regardless, they are 2-0 to start the season and came from behind to win with the help of a McCoy-Shipley reunion. Not that McCoy and Shipley, but their younger brothers.

Mack Brown pulled the starting quarterback after a 2/8 performance and put in Case McCoy. He led an 8-play scoring drive. Texas then won the game on a touchdown pass from receiver Jaxson Shipley on a trick play.

591. Notre Dame quarterbacks

Weekly stats: 27/39, 315 yards, 3 TD/2 INT

So who will be under center next week? I guess Rees’ performance wasn’t as bad as the ranking, but he didn’t seem to convert in the red zone, throwing at least one pick that I saw. Coupled with Dayne Christ’s performance against South Florida, you have a Brian Kelly migraine.

833. Brian Kelly’s contract extension negotiations (Notre Dame)

Weekly stats: *crickets chirping*

The Irish defense, which I thought was supposed to keep this team somewhat stable, gave up 28 points in the fourth quarter to rival Michigan, most of which seemed like they were defendable plays. The offense did look a little better aside from Rees hiccups, but now both sides of the ball can’t put a game together. And even saying they looked better is confusing because the Irish racked up over 500 yards of offense against South Florida. The problem was they couldn’t help from giving the ball away.

937. Mark Richt (Georgia)

Weekly stats: more disappointment bordering on panic

The Bulldogs’ coach drops 38 spots after losing to SEC rival South Carolina 45-42 for the second consecutive year. This is Georgia’s first 0-2 start since 1996 and will probably be the last with Richt at the helm.

3,872. Johnny Hekker P (Oregon State)

Weekly stats: 2 punts, 36 yards

As if being a punter doesn’t already eliminate a player from Heisman consideration, Johnny Hekker didn’t help his long shot one bit against Wisconsin. When the Badgers were four-and-out on their own 18-yard line, the special teams came in to gain some decent field position for their defense. Hekker, however, tried a rugby style kick and punted the ball out of bounds at their own 14-yard line. That equated to a -4 yard punt. Is there a bizzaro-Heisman award that can be given out?

Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson (16) runs for a touchdown against UNLV during the first half of an NCAA college football game Thursday, Sept. 1, 2011, in Madison, Wis. (Andy Manis, Associated Press)

1. Russell Wilson QB (Wisconsin)

Weekly stats: 10-13, 255 yards, 2 TD/0 INT/0 sacks; 62 yards rushing, 1 TD

This kid is what they call a “gamer.” Watched him play for two years at NC State where he took a mediocre team and bland coaching and made it competitive every week. Definitely not what people are used to seeing at Camp Randall, but it appears the Badger coaching staff will embrace his style and give him the green light. The Colorado Rockies’ minor league prospect now has the luxury of playing behind an offensive line that is bigger than most NFL teams. Yikes. Wisconsin will win the Big 10 and have to be considered for the national championship with Wilson.

2. Robert Griffin III QB (Baylor)

Weekly stats: 21-27, 359 yards, 5 TD/0 INT

Is Baylor the best team in Texas? We’ll find out on October 15 when the Bears travel to Texas A&M. They have a do-it-all quarterback that will make defensive gameplans crumble.

3a. Robert Woods WR (USC), 3b. Kendall Wright WR (Baylor)

Weekly stats: Woods 17 receptions, 177 yards, 3 TD; Wright 12 receptions, 189 yards, 2 TD

Good thing USC had Woods and Matt Barkley against Minnesota. They were the only Trojans to offensively participate and find the end zone in a close 19-17 win. Kendall Wright is only 5’10″?! I have to watch Baylor play more.

4. Landry Jones QB (Oklahoma)

Weekly stats: 35-47, 375 yards, 1 TD/0 INT/0 sacks

That’s pretty efficient. Jones may have a hard time staying in the top 5 because the rest of his team is so good. The Sooner backfield ran for 5 TDs in the easy win against Tulsa.

5. Kellen Moore QB (Boise State)

Weekly stats: 28-34, 261 yards, 3 TD/1 INT

Boise State does it again by beating up on a good team from a BCS conference by defeating Georgia 35-21. Boise won’t be challenged again until November 12 when #14 TCU visits the “Smurf Turf.”

6. Andrew Luck QB (Stanford)

Weekly stats: 17-26, 171 yards, 2 TD/0 INT

Stanford opened the post-Jim Harbaugh era by blasting San Jose State 57-3. The Cardinal spread the ball around offensively. Luck hopes to personify his name and produce a season like last year’s when he was projected to be the first pick of the NFL draft. Kudos for staying in school.

7. Matt Barkley QB (USC)

Weekly stats: 35-45, 304 yards, 3 TD/0 INT

Won’t Matt Barkley end up exactly like Jimmy Clausen? An overhyped college quarterback who has enough good games to ignore his bad games, gets drafted by a bad team who needs a quarterback for that season, then finds himself with a clipboard when an even better quarterback becomes available the following season?

8. Les Miles (LSU)

Weekly stats: Diverting media, damage control, beat #3 Oregon

Love him or hate him, the guy has stayed put in Baton Rouge despite many courtships and just keeps winning and churning out NFL-caliber players. How prepared did LSU look for Oregon’s offense? When a team spreads the field and makes it wider like the Ducks do, players have to be really disciplined not to swarm the ball too early. Force, cutback and contain. The Tigers looked like a picket fence out there and once one had the ball wrapped up, they converged like a pack of rabid wolves. Hats off to Les Miles who seems like he’d be fun to play for.

9. SEC football

Weekly stats: Defenses continue to stifle everybody else’s offense

How can anyone question the SEC being the best conference in the country? And please do not mention Kentucky or Vanderbilt. The SEC’s best teams beat everyone else’s best teams every year, don’t they?

10. Bernard Pierce RB (Temple)

http://www.owlsports.com

Temple defeated Villanova for the Mayor’s Cup in front of a near record crowd for a Temple football game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. This is probably a slight homer-call.

53. LaMichael James RB (Oregon)

Weekly stats: 54 yards rushing, 1 TD; 6 receptions, 61 yards

Not a great start, but there’s hope for an Oregon offense that put up unreal numbers all last season. Surely he’ll have some ridiculous 500 yard all-purpose game soon, probably against Missouri State in two weeks.

402. LaMichael James against an SEC defense (Oregon)

Weekly stats: Not great

His last two games can’t be good for an NFL application. Or maybe he could be like a Chris Johnson. Both have a knack for finding the smallest of holes to cut into as long as their team blocks well. LSU’s defense just seemed to shorten the field and penetrate the backfield too well for James to have a chance. It’s funny how a college system can make a player perform so well and simultaneously hinder his translation to the professional level of that sport.

630. Notre Dame receivers when a Dayne Crist pass is coming

Weekly stats: A few dropped passes

There were three or four passes that Crist threw that weren’t great, but still hit the hands of Irish receivers. And I think a couple of them were during a crucial third down situation. Have to adjust and make a play on a couple of those. Hey – Even Robert Griffin III, Baylor’s quarterback, made a big reception in the fourth quarter while trailing TCU.

705. Dayne Crist QB (Notre Dame)

Weekly stats: 7-15, 95 yards, 0 TD/1 INT

What is more troublesome for Notre Dame fans: The fact that Crist played so poorly or the that Brian Kelly evaluated both him and Rees in the Spring and concluded that Crist was the better player? Crist played horrible yesterday, right? A terrible interception in the Red zone on an underthrown ball, mutliple bad throws on basic routes, no gamesmanship displayed whatsoever. He was the complete opposite of Russell Wilson. On the other hand, Rees steps in and just looks comfortable in the pocket and makes timely, hard throws.

819. Contract extension negotiations between Brian Kelly and Notre Dame

Weekly stats: Lost to Skip Holtz’s South Florida team

Considering that Skip Holtz was available (I have no idea what the circumstances were in regards to this by the way, if Holtz was contacted or if he showed no interest) this has to sting more than it would have. Holtz is one of the best coaches in the country. He will have SFU atop the Big East in another couple of years.

899. Mark Richt (Georgia)

Weekly stats: Lost to Boise State in the Georgia Dome

What does Richt know about the University of Georgia’s president that is keeping him or her from firing Richt? Georgia is supposed to be good at football, right?

997. Al Golden’s optimism (Miami)

Weekly stats: Miami plays at Maryland Monday night

Depending on how the Hurricanes open the season, this ranking may be a bit too high.

I challenge you, loyal readers, to view the picture below and provide a captivating caption that will cause “the shores a-crowding” with “people all exulting.” Should you provide the wittiest of captions, for you the flag will be flung and the bugles will trill.

This week we have New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez. Apparently Sanchez’s claim that he wanted to fight Jets’ coach Rex Ryan last year is not too far out of character for him:

Photo: Chris Szagola/CSM/Landov courtesy of SI.com

You’ve got the context, now make like the father of free verse and create the best caption you can in the comments below.

I challenge you, loyal readers, to view the picture below and provide a captivating caption that will cause “the shores a-crowding” with “people all exulting.” Should you provide the wittiest of captions, for you the flag will be flung and the bugles will trill.

This week we venture to the tennis court, a rarity for ‘Pickin Splinters.’ Our subject is Cypriot tennis player Marcos Baghdatis at the recent Rogers Cup ATP tournament in Montreal. Talk about being taken out of context:

Photo: Christinne Muschi/Reuters courtesy of SI.com

You’ve got the context, now make like the father of free verse and create the best caption you can in the comments below.