Hot Rod! The Rowdy One

In the words of Mike Greenburg of ESPN’s Mike and Mike in the Morning,”We’re back and better than ever” for another week Out of Bounds. With Jack Frost rolling in and the holiday season in full swing, sports fans have plenty of reasons to stay home and do what they do best, watch sports.

With 2009 coming to a close, the sports world is at a buzz. Tiger-gate is still the hot topic in the world of sports and will be for quite some time going into 2010. The NFL has two weeks left in their regular season before the playoffs start. The College Bowl season kicks off this Saturday with the Fresno State Bulldogs facing the Wyoming Cowboys in the 2009 New Mexico Bowl. The NBA finished its first quarter of the season and is looking to the half-way point and the 2010 NBA All-Star Game and the MLB Hot Stove has been burning strong with some big trades between the Phillies, Blue Jays and Mariners.

Since I touched on the topic of baseball real quick, I would be remiss if I didn’t give a shout-out to New York Yankees shortstop and Captain, Derek Jeter, for winning the 2009 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year.  Congrats to you El Capitán.

Now, let’s start off with everybody’s favorite punching bag, Tiger Woods.

Reports surfaced that Tiger’s wife Elin Nordegren is seeking a divorce and has been seen not wearing her wedding band. Good for her and good for Tiger. Woods, who was just named the AP Athlete of the Decade, and Elin should both look at this as the “silver lining” they need in their lives. This will allow both parties to get closure. For Elin, she can move on from this chaos and Tiger can go back to focusing on his golf game, as well as continuing his life style as a philandering man whore.

Considering that Tiger tries to keep his private life as private as possible, don’t be surprised if this divorce is settled in no time. Once this is all settled, his lil hiatus from professional golf will be just that, little. He’ll be back in the PGA in no time and possibly back in time for The Masters. I hope for the best for the two of them during this difficult time in their lives.

One would assume that with Notre Dame declining to accept an invitation to a Bowl Game, they would use that valuable time to search for a head coach after the dismissal of Charlie Weis. You would think it would take them at least a month to a month and a half to square things away with whomever they pick to be their next head coach. So I was caught a little off guard when Notre Dame found their new coach in former Cincinnati Bearcats head coach, Brian Kelly, two weeks after firing Weis. Damn that was quick!!!

Let’s hope ND has found their guy. But bear this in mind, Nov. 30, 2005; Ty Willingham was fired from Notre Dame as their head coach. Nov. 25, 2009; Charlie Weis was fired from Notre Dame as their head coach. November 2014 may not be a good look for Brian Kelly. We’ll have to wait and see. I’m just saying…..

Before I get into my last topic, if you haven’t already, you to watch ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. If you’re a sports fan, you need this in your life. After last week’s Heisman Trophy Presentation, 30 for 30 presented The “U”, a look into the University of Miami’s football team. It was great and I advise all of you to watch it the next time it airs as well as any of the other documentaries that are aired in the 30 for 30 series.

Colin Cowherd speaks to director Billy Corben about The “U”

Speaking of the Heisman Trophy, congratulations are in order for Alabama RB Mark Ingram for winning the 2009 Heisman Trophy.

Finally, the NFL was rocked today after the passing of Cincinnati Bengals WR Chris Henry. Henry, who was on IR (Injured Reserved) with a broken forearm, was involved in a car accident during a dispute with his fiancée. Like the late Sean Taylor, Henry had his fair share of troubles and run-ins with the laws and the NFL, but seemed to have been turning his life around with his second chance with the Bengals and at one point credited his fiancée for helping him get it together.

There’s a line from an episode of The West Wing that goes, “The streets of heaven are too crowded with angels tonight.” Well you can add one more angel to that crowded street in Chris Henry. Condolences to his family, friends and teammates.

R.I.P. 1983-2009

Now that I’ve got that off of my chest, let’s look at my picks for Week 15 in the NFL.

12/17/09, 8:20pm
13-0 @ 7-6 (NFL Network), My Pick:

12/19/09, 8:20pm
8-5 @ 13-0 (NFL Network), My Pick:

Sunday, 12/20/09, 1pm
8-5 @ 5-8 (CBS), My Pick:
8-5 @ 2-11 (FOX), My Pick:
7-6 @ 6-7 (CBS), My Pick:
2-11 @ 3-10 (CBS), My Pick:
6-7 @ 1-12 (CBS), My Pick:
6-7 @ 7-6 (FOX), My Pick:
6-7 @ 9-4 (FOX), My Pick:
5-8 @ 7-6 (FOX), My Pick:

Sunday, 12/20/09, 4pm
9-4 @ 10-3 (CBS), My Pick:
4-9 @ 8-5 (CBS), My Pick:
9-4 @ 6-7 (FOX), My Pick:
1-12 @ 5-8 (FOX), My Pick:

12/20/09, 8:20pm
11-2 @ 5-8 (NBC), My Pick:

12/21/09, 8:30pm
7-6 @ 4-9, (ESPN), My Pick:

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