12:55 p.m. Ah, Saturday. It’s a beautifully sunny, crisp day here in Long Beach, California. 61 degrees and clear right now. I was planning to see a movie today, but that didn’t happen. So I’ve spent it reading some academic stuff, writing fantasy football notes and watching Breeders’ Cup racing. It’s been a nice day.

But I’ve heard there’s, like, an important football game on tonight. Did you know about this?

It’s kind of funny because I’ve been watching ESPN for every hour of every day since Monday, forgoing sleep to watch the 3 a.m. repeat of a repeat of SportsCenter, and I haven’t been exposed to much regarding this LSU at Alabama game. The ESPN family of networks has been very subtle in its pre-week pregame coverage. Because if there’s one thing ESPN doesn’t do, it’s give a single regular-season sporting event too much airtime and suffocate its audience with continuous interviews, analysis and predictions.

But this game seems to carry some weighty significance, so I figure I’d once again ramble on while it’s being played out. Join me, won’t you?

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4:40 p.m. OK, so who’s ready for some football?

Seriously, who’s ready? You couldn’t possibly be even more ready after this week. LSU and Alabama have been nailed into your our brains. Remember those state capitols you learned back in sixth or seventh grade? Well, not anymore you don’t. All of that information has been taken up by Trent Richardson and Tyrann Mathieu.

4:45 p.m. You already know the keys to the game and what everyone is watching for:

• Which offense will be able to control the line of scrimmage more?
• Can Trent Richardson have success against LSU’s nine-man box?
• Which QB,  A.J. McCarron or Jarrett Lee, will manage the game better (a.k.a. be less stupid than the other QB)? Because they will HAVE to make some.
• Can Alabama’s wideouts beat LSU’s outstanding DBs?
• How much does home-field advantage matter?
• What crazy shit will Les Miles do tonight?
• Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers.

My pick: Alabama wins, 20-17.

But I’ll take LSU with the points.

4:51 p.m. I’m not here to do a lot of analysis, but I will point out a few things:

This is the 45th No. 1 vs. No. 2 game in college football history, and just the second since 1997. The last came in 2006 when No. 1 Ohio State defeated No. 2 Michigan, 42-39. I don’t remember, but I’m sure that was billed as “The Game of the Century” too.

LSU has committed three turnovers this season. THREE! And none since Septemeber!

Neither Alabama or LSU has trailed after any quarter this season. Obviously, that’s going to change tonight. But a lot is going to change tonight, including the BCS rankings and my opinion on both of these teams. Because I jump to conclusions with little regard.

4:56 p.m. I think we’re going to see a fairly boring first half as the defenses take over. It’ll probably be something like 6-3, Alabama. And then the offenses will start to make this game actually worth watching and worth (some of) the hype.

4:57 p.m. Our local CBS station here in Southern California just ended its news broadcast by telling us to stay tuned for “the LSU Tigers and the Alabama Crimson.”

Yeah. Roll, Crimson, roll. That’s what they always say.

5:00 p.m. While checking some stats for this game, I happened upon this:

TOTAL DEFENSE IN THE FBS:

1. LSU

2. MICHIGAN STATE

3. UCF

4. ALABAMA

Does this mean that my UCF Knights have a better defense than the Crimson Tide?

Yes. Yes, it does.

5:03 p.m. The time for talk has ended. Game time is here.

Now if only the band would get off the God damn field!

5:07 p.m. Drinking game option for tonight: A shot for every hearty laugh that Verne Lundquist let’s fly tonight. The man loves the comedy styles of Gary Danielson.

5:09 p.m. And both teams come on to the field. Couldn’t have done this 10 minutes ago, could they? Nooooooooooooooo.

5:10 p.m. Nick Saban tells Tracy Wolfson that his team needs to “see ball, hit ball.”

Nick Saban is ready to win the World Series.

5:11 p.m. Alabama wins the toss and takes the ball first. Nick Saban looking for a home run return, I’m sure.

5:13 p.m. Man, how awesome must that tailgate have been today? People who have been looking forward to this game for weeks won’t remember one second of it. I’m sure five percent of the crowd has already blacked out.

5:14 p.m. AND WE’RE OFF!

Finally.

Maze returns it to the 30 for Alabama, showing some nifty moves.

5:15 p.m. First play from scrimmage, Richardson runs left for 13 yards. Good omen.

5:16 p.m. Next play, Richardson takes a little flip pass and nobody covers him! He goes down the left sideline for 22. Because who would want to cover that guy?

5:16 p.m. Richardson gets the ball for the third straight play … and loses five. OK, now we’re playing football.

5:18 p.m. A short pass and another touch for Richardson for zero yards leads to a field goal attempt. And Cade Foster … uhhhh … kind of missed it. It was a little right.

And by a little, I mean a lot.

5:22 p.m. LSU takes over at its own 27.

5:23 p.m. Nice little play-action pass from Lee on second down for a gain of 13 and a first down. LSU will hurry it up.

5:25 p.m. Jordan Jefferson comes in on third and a few inches. … LSU kind of lulls Alabama to sleep by staying in the huddle for a long time, then rushing to the line. Jefferson sneaks it for a first down.

5:26 p.m. Lee calls timeout with less than six minutes gone in the first quarter. Could be crucial by the end of this half.

5:29 p.m. Third and long for LSU at about the ‘Bama 45.

And in the game that nobody cared about all week, No. 7 Arkansas vs. No. 9 South Carolina, that one looks like an entertaining game so far. 17-14, Backs over COCKS before the halfway point of the second quarter.

5:31 p.m. After an incomplete pass, LSU is forced to punt and it lands out of bounds at the Tide’s 4-yard line.

5:35 p.m. Richardson again and he gets absolutely stung at the line of scrimmage. Lots of hard hittin’ out here, boys. Wooo-eee!

5:36 p.m. On third and 10 — and after what should have been a defensive PI call on LSU — Maze finds a zone where no one is watching him. Add on 15 more yards for a facemask, and ‘Bama is up to the 40 suddenly.

5:38 p.m. A screen to Maze goes for nine on second and10. On third and 1, Richardson is barely able to avoid a tackle on the left side and move the chains after a gain of three.

5:39 p.m. Richardson gets hit really hard a couple of more times on first down, but still battles for four yards. That dude benches, what, 475? It showed there.

5:40 p.m. Eddie Lacy gashes LSU right up for the gut for 20. That seemed to catch the Tigers off guard.

5:41 p.m. A five-yard penalty for illegal substitution pushes Alabama back to LSU’s 28. Lacy then rushes for one.

5:42 p.m. Man, we knew this game was going to be physical, but this thing is looking like Steelers-Ravens.

5:43 p.m. Alabama was fortunate-lucky on third down. McCarron’s pass should have been picked off, but instead, it was almost caught by a Tide receiver. If he had been able to control it, it would have been a first down. Alas, Alabama is setting up for a 50-yard field goal from Foster.

But first, a timeout as a ‘Bama player is late getting on the field. Oh vey.

And really, Saban can’t feel good about Foster’s chances to make this. He is 1-of-4 this year.

I say punt it and let your defense take over.

5:46 p.m. But Saban doesn’t punt and pays the price. Forget that Foster’s kick was right (again), it also didn’t have enough distance. I know hindsight is 20-20, but that is a stupid decision to not punt it.

5:50 p.m. An awful possession for LSU ends up with an interception. On third down, Lee dropped the shotgun shanp and then threw it right to Robert Lester.

On first down, there was a short run. Then a false start. Then a short pass and then that disaster from Lee, throwing into double coverage. It’s easy to say he panicked on that play.

Which is why I just said it. That ball was begging to be intercepted.

It was Lee’s first pick in his last 100 passes. And remember that LSU had turned it over only three times this season.

5:51 p.m. Alabama takes over at its own 47 and on first down, opens it up with a pass that gains 19 yards.

5:52 p.m. McCarron guns it to the end zone to Darius Hanks, but it is broken up.

And that ends the first quarter. Yes, it is 0-0. That’s kind of what I expected. But there’s been a good amount action for a scoreless affair. The Tide has 114 total yards. LSU, 38.

5:56 p.m. Richardson rushes up the middle for 10 to open the quarter. He looks like a taller Ray Rice on that play. Which I guess isn’t a great comparison because of the size difference, but the guy is jacked and has great balance.

5:58 p.m. After that, the best play for Alabama on that series came on third and long when McCarron decided to throw it away and not risk a pick.

5:59 p.m. Unfortunately, the ball is at the 32, which means a field goal is possible.

And unfortunately, Saban decides to kick it from 49 yards. Jeremy Shelley, the “short yardage” kicker for Alabama gets the attempt and it is blocked. An LSU defender catches the block in the air and runs down the right sideline for 26 yards to the Tide 48.

Does anyone want to be a kicker for one of the best teams in the nation? Open auditions start Monday.

6:02 p.m. I’m not saying Alabama should be up 9-0. But the fact that it had the chance and we’re still locked at zero has to give a lot of confidence to the Tigers.

6:02 p.m. Jefferson at QB to start this LSU series. On second down, he calls a timeout after trying to audible. Probably couldn’t hear himself speak.

6:06 p.m. DRINK! Verne loves himself some Danielson. Ware runs for three tough yards.

6:06 p.m. On third and 1, LSU barely picks up the yard on another run. Jefferson still in there.

6:07 p.m. Jefferson runs the option, pitches it to Michael Ford for a nice gain, but it’s brought back because of an illegal shift.

6:08 p.m. Then Jefferson goes with a designed run. He had a whole up the middle, but decided to jump to the outside and lost a yard. This LSU offense is really struggling tonight. (Understatement)

6:09 p.m. Incomplete pass for LSU, but close to a hit on a defensive receiver penalty on Alabama.

6:11 p.m. For the second time tonight, LSU punter Brad Wing puts Alabama inside its five. He’s telling pro scouts not to forget about him in his NFL minor league game.

6:16 p.m. Richardson with another 10 – a an 11-yard gain on second down. Really hit the hole on that one.

6:19 p.m. For the second time in this game, LSU loses Richardson! How does that happen? He just rolls out of the backfield and catches a ball and runs clear for 39 yards to the 19. Biggest play of the game.

He did get the benefit of an illegal pick play. But that’s never called.

6:21 p.m. Tyrann Mathieu makes a nice stick tackle on first down. Haven’t heard his name much tonight. Have heard the “Honey Badger” reference even less.

6:22 p.m. But now it’s fourth and 8 at the 17.

Field goal?

FIELD GOAL?

FIELD GOAL?

Yep. From 34 yards, Shelley actually makes this one and the crowd erupts. They have never been so delighted.

3-0, CRIMSON TIME. 3:53 left to play in the half.

6:26 p.m. LSU, which has fewer yards as a team than Trent Richardson has by himself starts this drive at the 24.

6:26 p.m. Jefferson at QB, and the first two runs of the drive — one option, one not — pick up eight and 14 yards, respectively.

6:29 p.m. And offsides penalty gives LSU a first down into ‘Bama territory.

6:31 p.m. On first and 15, there is only one Alabama guy “guarding” two LSU receivers. The pass is caught by Russell Shepard at the 8. Verne’s initially call: “The pass is … PICKED! NO!”

Last I checked, Shepard plays on LSU. But a bad defensive breakdown for Alabama.

6:33 p.m. After a three-yard run and an incomplete pass, third and goal at the 5 … throw to Rueben Randle is incomplete, but the reffs flag Dre Kirkpatrick for defensive holding.

First and goal at the 2. But hey, there is only 15 seconds left. LSU has one timeout left. Jefferson draw?

6:34 p.m. On first down, Jefferson looks for a receiver in the pocket, but throws it away. Eight seconds left.

6:35 p.m. LSU runs a toss play that gets funneled back to the middle, but Ware gains nothing. LSU calls a timeout with just two seconds remaining! Wow.

Third and goal. Two seconds left. At the 2-yard line. Down by 3 in a defensive battle. I think you have to kick it here.

But I’m sure crazy Les disagrees.

6:38 p.m. No, LSU sets up for the chippy. But first, Saban brings out the ice.

6:39 p.m. Brad Alleman attempts the 19-yarder (no holder-throws-it-over-his-shoulder-to-the-kicker fake??) and it is good.

3-3, HALFTIME.

6:41 p.m. And so, LSU still hasn’t trailed after any quarter this season.

6:41 p.m. It’s OK, CBS. No one really wants to hear Nick Saban talk anyway.

6:43 p.m. Elsewhere, UCLA is ahead of Arizona State, 23-14 in the third quarter.

Didn’t see that coming.

Kansas State is tied with Oklahoma State, 24-24, with less than two minutes to go until halftime.

Didn’t see that coming.

South Carolina trails Arkansas just by six, 27-21, in the third.

Didn’t see that coming.

But 3-3, Alabama and LSU at the half? Yeah, if you read above, you’ll see that I’m pretty close to spot on there.

6:46 p.m. But I still think the offenses will pick it up in the second half. Jefferson, if nothing else, is going to make this game interesting for either good or bad. And Richardson looks unstoppable. Yeah, he’s benefited from two busted coverages on pass plays, but he has averaged close to five yards per carry against LSU’s nine-man front and has 114 total yards.

6:50 p.m. McCarron has played well enough, at least better than Lee. Jefferson’s one big completion was almost interception.

6:52 p.m. And the defenses? Yeah, they look a’ight.

6:53 p.m. I know people are looking at this score and thinking, “how boring!” But really, it’s been an entertaining game in relative terms. Richardson has lit up the screen, big, BIG hits, bad special teams from Alabama, a mix of big plays here and there. It’s never going to live up to the hype because no game could live up to THAT hype. But I think it is playing out as expected.

7:04 p.m. Les Miles says he will use both Jefferson and Lee here in the second half. Well, LSU gets the ball to start the second half and the QB is Jefferson.

No surprise to me. I think he stays on the field until he makes a really bad mistake, such as a really, really stupid interception. LSU starts at its own 18.

7:06 p.m. And that’s exactly why Jefferson is in. On third and 3, he drops back to pass, no one is open, but he scrambles left and picks up the first down. That ability to buy time and run is going to be sooooooooo valuable.

7:07 p.m. And then Jefferson shows you why he’s not a good quarterback. Nearly in the grasp of two ‘Bama defenders, Jefferson shovels it ahead with his right hand. It’s caught, so instead of a loss of nine, LSU loses three.

And then he takes a coverage sack on the next play.

7:08 p.m. And that’s compounded by an awful punt from Wing. It travels just 22 yards and goes out at Alabama’s 48. Richardson!

7:12 p.m. On second down, McCarron runs a nice play-action fake and throws to Maze at the sticks, but he’s standing out of bounds.

7:13 p.m. Gary Danielson keeps bringing up how Alabama needs to find a Julio Jones.

Yeah, because players like that totally grow on trees in Alabama.

7:15 p.m. So after another three-and-out, Alabama’s punt goes out of bounds inside the 20.

7:17 p.m. Jarrett Lee is back in the game. I know the last series was not a good one for Jefferson, but I don’t like the call.

7:18 p.m. AAAAAAAAAAAAAND LEE THROWS A PICK! Another pass he shouldn’t have thrown, into double coverage. Mark Barron returns it to the 4-yard line, but a block in the back during the return brings it back to LSU’s 35.

Hey, who wants to see Jordan Jefferson again??? You will soon.

7:19 p.m. On first down, McCarron goes to the end zone, but he misses his man in double coverage.

7:21 p.m. Another third-down stop by LSU and here we go again … a 46-yard field goal from Cade Foster. Oh boy. Everybody, hang on to your butts.

7:22 p.m. He got it! Actually, he nailed it through by plenty. There’s a confidence booster.

6-3, Crimson Tide. 7:56 to play in the third quarter.

7:24 p.m. He’s GOT to come back with Jefferson, right? His legs do so much. And while Lee is the better passer, he has thrown two absolutely dreadful INTs.

7:26 p.m. And Jefferson is back in. On the first play, he runs for seven.

7:27 p.m. On a first-down throw to Randle, he spins his way across the 50 and for another first down.

7:29 p.m. LSU has run four times for 22 yards on this drive. Keep it going.

7:31 p.m. And so LSU does. But Alabama is locking down now. After a short run by Jefferson on first down, he goes with an option pitch that is dead from the start for a loss of two. On third down, Jefferson scrambles and throws it away.

Amazing how quickly ‘Bama can shut down that running game.

7:32 p.m. The punt is fair-caught at the 10. 3:15 left in the third.

7:35 p.m. McCarron finds Darius Hanks on the out for a gain of 20, beating “Honey Badger.”

7:37 p.m. Just before the play clock expires, ‘Bama calls a timeout. You have these big plays and then everything stops. I won’t be surprised if Alabama doesn’t get another first down on this drive. That’s just the way this game has gone.

7:40 p.m. OH! McCarron had DeAndrew White wide open on second down from a short distance away and just missed him.

7:40 p.m. I will follow up an “OH!” with a “WOW!” On third and long, Eddie Lacy catches a screen play and gains 11 for a first down. A little demoralizing for LSU.

7:41 p.m. And now that morale goes back up as McCarron gets picked off by Morris Claiborne. You knew that was coming; McCarron had been dodging picks all night. LSU returns it to the Alabama 15.

7:43 p.m. LSU keeps the ball on the ground, which is smart, but the Tigers aren’t going anywhere.

END OF THE THIRD QUARTER, 6-3, ALABAMA!

7:44 p.m. They are definitely within Alleman’s range. He is 10-for-12 this year. But first, third and 11 at the 16.

7:46 p.m. Again, Jefferson can’t throw. He runs up in the pocket and gains only three yards.

From 30 yards, Alleman … is good.

6-6, 14:13 left in regulation.

7:47 p.m. OK, so what do I have to lose … I AM CALLING IT RIGHT HERE!

ALABAMA WILL NOT SCORE ON THIS DRIVE!

Daring, right?

7:48 p.m. Again, people across the nation are saying how this is so boring and a major letdown. I still disagree, but I’m leaning that way.

However, I mean, these are two NFL-quality defenses out there.

7:50 p.m. Richardson brings it out of the end zone and gets past the 20, to the 22.

7:52 p.m. Third and 6, an injured Marquis Maze takes a WR screen and gains 18 for a first down.

7:54 p.m. And then LSU needs six guys to bring Richardson down. He is slippery and super strong. That’s a gain of 24, down to LSU’s 28.

7:56 p.m. I can’t wait to draft Richardson in the first two rounds of my fantasy football league in a few years. But not as a rookie. Never draft rookie RBs.

7:58 p.m. And see THIS is why this game isn’t boring! McCarron lines up out wide and Maze throws a pass from the center’s snap. He goes down the field to a tight end. I initially thought the ball was caught and down at the 1. But the refs say LSU DB Eric Reed intercepted it! Uhhhhhh, this will be reviewed.

8:00 p.m. Wow, ruling on the field stands. I don’t know about that one. I know the ruling was a pick, but it sure looks like the Alabama receiver had possession of it as his butt hit the ground. I think it should have been a catch, or at least an incomplete catch. Alas, LSU starts on the 1.

8:01 p.m. Three and out for LSU after a series of runs. Punt.

8:03 p.m. And what a punt it is! Help out by a gimpy Maze who simply can’t move, the punt goes over his head and takes a big roll, not  for the Tide but for the Tigers. 73-yard punt, downed at the 18. 9:30 to play.

8:04 p.m. No matter how this game ends up, that interception at the 1 is going to be heavily talked about. It was a very, very questionable call.

But overall, these refs have done a fine job.

8:05 p.m. Richardson starts with a nine-yard run. He now has 94 rushing yards on 18 carries.

8:09 p.m. Richardson is finally stopped, this time for a six-yard loss. Second and 16, Alabama at its own 35.

And he’s going to keep going backwards! Minus three on the next rush. Punt it on third down.

8:10 p.m. They dump it to Richardson and he does all he can, carrying defenders on his back and breaking other tackles, but he comes up two yards short. Seventeen yards on third and 19.

8:12 p.m. Tyrann Mathieu makes his biggest impact on the game with a cheap shot to Dre Kirkpatrick during the punt return, clubbing him in his neck with his right arm. He’s called for a penalty, so LSU will begin another drive deep in its own territory.

The “Honey Badger” has been off the prowl tonight. He’s been close to a non-factor.

8:15 p.m. LSU starts at the 5. About 4:30 left.

8:16 p.m. On the first play, Jefferson finds his tight end for 13 yards. Nice play.

8:17 p.m. Jefferson makes a great play, getting away from pressure and running up the middle for 18. But he always seems to negate a great play with a dumb one.

8:18 p.m. Ware runs for five tough yards. 2:25 and running.

8:18 p.m. On third and 2, Ware runs it … into a red brick wall. He doesn’t make it back to the line of scrimmage. Saban has two timeouts left, he he’s letting the clock runs.

8:19 p.m. Punt fair-caught at the 20. Overtime certainly looks like it is on the way. Only 52 seconds left. LSU has three timeouts.

8:21 p.m. Not surprised that Alabama didn’t call any timeouts.

Definitely surprised that LSU didn’t. But hey, it’s not like that offense has been lighting it up, either.

SO ON TO OVERTIME, 6-6.

8:23 p.m. Bad news for the Tide: Because of overtime rules, they will already be in field goal range when they get the ball. And they don’t want to turn this into a FG battle.

But it looks like it will.

8:23 p.m. Unless these quarterbacks do something idiotic, which is definitely possible.

8:24 p.m. LSU calls tails and wins the toss. So Alabama will get the ball first from the 25.

8:26 p.m. Maze on the field, Richardson drops the screen on first down.

8:27 p.m. A 12 men in the huddle penalty on ‘Bama backs them up to the 30. Oh, man.

8:28 p.m. McCarron had Richarsdon on a wheel route down the left sideline, but it’s over the wrong shoulder and the running back can’t bring it in. Could have been a TD, would have at least been inside the 10.

8:28 p.m. And then McCarron takes a sack!!!! Oh my God! Now this is going to be a 52- or 53-yard attempt! What an awful mistake.

8:29 p.m. Foster attempts it (because what else are you going to do here?) and of course, it is no good. Left and short.

So all LSU needs is a field goal to win it. And they are already in his range. I think the Tigers will run it three times.

8:31 p.m. First down, three-yard run.

8:31 p.m. Michael Ford takes the toss down the left sideline and goes into the end zone!

BUT…

He is ruled out of bounds at the 7.

Still, just line it up in the middle of the field and this game is over.

8:33 p.m. Two runs for a few yards

8;34 p.m. So Alleman comes out on third down for a 25-yard attempt. But first, the ice by Saban.

Still, he’s going to get this.

8:35 p.m. And he got it!

LSU WINS, 9-6 IN OVERTIME!

8:36 p.m. Tracy Wolfson interviews Les Miles and says the game lived up to the hype.

Apparently she didn’t watch the hype. It didn’t.

8:37 p.m. Miles also says that future games on LSU’s schedule are “much more important.” I guess he’s right in one respect because if the Tigers lose next week, this game turns out to be not so important.

But LSU won’t face a stiffer test than this one.

8:38 p.m. In the end, you had two defenses that are at the top of the world.

You had Trent Richardson.

And you had nothing else.

Both quarterbacks were sub-par. The kicking game was brutal. The wide receivers couldn’t get anything done.

Just defense and a running back.

8:44 p.m. I just turned on the Kansas St.-Oklahoma St. game. KSU had three shots from the 5-yard line to tie it. But the Cowboys held on, 52-45. Mike Gundy then said, after being told that LSU beat Alabama, that the people should have been watching their game.

That’s probably right.

8:45 p.m. The LSU-Alabama game was special in its own right. Great, great defense. Trent Richardson shining on a grand stage.

But at times, you have to admit, even if you loved it like your own child, it was really tough to watch at times.

8:47 p.m. So here’s a presumptious question: Which team is LSU going to face in the BCS title game? Stanford? OK State? Boise State? We’ll find out. But for now, LSU is still in the discussion.

For my money, Alabama is not unless everyone else loses.

8:48 p.m. Thanks for checking out this post tonight! It wasn’t an all-time classic, but these kinds of games don’t come along often in the regular season. I was glad to blog it out.

Have a Sunday fun-day! And don’t forget to set your clocks back.

The last time we witnessed a Game 7 in the World Series, this happened

I’ll get to tonight’s game in a minute. But first, this:

Grad school sucks.

There, I said it.

That’s just misplaced frustration. Actually, I’ve really enjoyed my first couple of months at Cal State Northridge. It’s just that … well … it’s taken up a lot of my blog time. Or, to be more specific, all of my blog time. No longer can I afford to just sit at home all day and watch sports — which should be everyone’s goal in life. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I’m on campus for about nine hours, mostly in the library, and get home around 11 p.m. Every other day, I’m reading a whole bunch of stuff that’s less than enthralling.

I don’t mean to set the decorations for this pity party; I’m just saying that’s where I’ve been and why I’ve been gone from here for so long.

But tonight, I’ve got to make an escape. Everyone should. After the most dramatic-crazy-sloppy game in baseball history, it all comes down to one. A Game 7, winner-take-all. The winner will be showered with praise. The loser will be taunted and booed until its city’s throat is sore. It can’t possibly top what happened last night, can it? I say we find out together!

4:50 p.m. Oh, and another thing: I didn’t see anything past the fifth inning of last night’s game live.

Why?

Yeah, class. B to the lows.

4:53 p.m. I have to pick the Cardinals to win tonight for a few reasons. One, under such pressure-packed terms, I’ll take Chris Carpenter on three days rest over Matt Harrison on four days rest every time. Carpenter has won a World Series and blanked the Philadelphia Phillies in a do-or-die game on the road earlier in these playoffs.

Harrison didn’t make it out of the fourth inning when he started Game 3.

Secondly, the home team hasn’t lost a Game 7 in the World Series since 1979. The last two instances occurred in 2002 with the Angels over the Giants (see above) and in 2001 between the Diamondbacks and the Yankees. Don’t seem to recall that one. But my hand still hurts after punching a cupboard for some reason that night.

And lastly, I’ve picked the Rangers to win this series. I picked the Rays, Yankees and Phillies to win in the divisional round; I picked the Brewers and the Tigers to win in the championship series. So, you know, a Rangers loss here seems appropriate. Because I don’t know anything.

5:01 p.m. Score? It won’t be Royals-Cardinals in 1985, but I don’t think we’re going to have another walk-off winner either.

I’ll say Cardinals, 6-3.

5:03 p.m. I’m not a big Joe Buck fan, but I loved everything about his call of David Freese’s home run last night. People thought it was super cheesy, but c’mon. A Game 6 walk-off home run to force a Game 7 in the city where his father called baseball games for more than 45 years? “We’ll see you tomorrow night” was the right choice there. It was a great tribute.

5:06 p.m. Carpenter is set and ready … first pitch is a ball outside and we’re off, people!

5:07 p.m. On the next pitch, Kinsler rips a single into left. Allen Craig is out there tonight in place of an injured Matt Holliday. I’m sure that if Holliday was in left, Kinsler would be on third right now.

5:07 p.m. And now, Kinsler is no longer on first. He spins his wheels toward second then stops, but he is so far off of first base, Yadier Molina easily picks him off of first.

Bad baserunning. Gee, didn’t see any of that last night.

5:10 p.m. After Elvis Andrus walks, Hamilton lines a double past Pujols and into right field. It should be 2-0, Texas, but the Rangers will take one run as Andrus speeds around to score. 1-0, Rangers.

5:11 p.m. 2-0, Rangers. And now Michael Young drops a ball into right field for another double. Hamilton comes home. Uhhhh, can I revise my pick?

One thing that’s pretty easy to see: The Rangers have been really aggressive tonight at the plate.

5:13 p.m. Adrian Beltre, a little too aggressive as he Ks on three pitchers.

5:14 p.m. Nelson Cruz, seeing only two pitches, grounds out to third to end the inning. It looked like Freese through a cutter to Pujols to record that out. It just looked odd.

5:15 p.m. I hope for the best for Matt Harrison, I really do. I mean, he knows he’s never been on a stage like this before. Many of these players haven’t. But he’s the starting pitcher, the guy with the spotlight in the center of the diamond, who has been given the ball to win a championship. He’s in enemy territory. He’s going up against an ace starter. Everyone expects his team to lose. And I’m sure he’s envisioned himself facing all of those obstacles and overcoming them in heroic fashion many, many times in the past 20 hours.

He’s going to be so jacked up and ready to go. And then if he fails … I don’t know, I’ll find that to be kind of sad.

5:19 p.m. This game is preempting Kitchen Nightmares and Fringe?? Oh, well. At least those shows won’t see a drop in ratings.

5:19 p.m. Nice start so far for Harrison with two quick outs. Now, Pujols ….

5:21 p.m. Pujols walks. You can never go wrong with that move. I’d walk him if any base is open, and I was frustrated that the Rangers were so stubborn and didn’t do so in Game 3 when Pujols slaughtered them.

5:22 p.m. Then Berkman walks. Probably not part of the plan there, you think? Harrison gets an early visit from his pitching coach, Mike Maddux. Tim McCarver says that Maddux is probably talking to him about mechanics. He might be doing that, but I think he’s also out there to calm him down.

In steps David Freese, who gets a great ovation and will probably never have to buy a drink in the city ever again if the Cardinals win tonight.

5:26 p.m. Now a full count to Freese. Pujols and Berkman get head starts …

5:27 p.m. … And they can keep on running as Freese lines a ball into left-center to score both runner. 2-2. Rangers left fielder David Murphy took a rather curious route to that ball. I thought he should have cut it off, which at least would have held Freese to a single.

5:28 p.m. C.J. Wilson warming up for Texas in the bullpen. Yep, it’s panic time in the first inning.

5:28 p.m. Yadier Molina flies out to the track in center field, caught by a leaping Josh Hamilton to end the inning. Maybe Wilson isn’t such a bad idea right now.

5:30 p.m. A Google commercial just aired about the guy who won $1 million for pitching a perfect game in MLB 2K11. The guy used the Phillies and Roy Halladay to beat the Houston Astros. The greatest part of the commercial was the guy talking about his previous failed attempts. One in particular, he got to the sixth inning before Bill Hall hit a home run. Which led to this quote:

“If somebody’s going to hit the ball, it’s going to be him.”

Hahahaha! Funny for many different reasons, but also an outstanding statement on the state of the Houston Astros.

5:32 p.m. Mike Napoli leads off the top of the second with a single. Who would have thought this World Series, with all of the offense involved would have turned into the slugger traded twice in 2011 versus the injury-prone young third baseman?

5:37 p.m. After a fielder’s choice by Murphy, a sacrifice bunt by Harrison and a bathroom break by me, Kinsler walks on four pitches to put runners on first and second with two out.

5:39 p.m. Kinsler would have been picked off AGAIN … If Pujols had held on to the throw from Molina. E-3.

5:40 p.m. But Andrus doesn’t make the Cards pay as he grounds back to Carpenter to end the inning. But as Joe Buck just said, it was still eventful. Every inning in this thing is a freaking heart attack. I’m so glad the Yankees aren’t involved in this.

5:43 p.m. I can’t believe that “Jack and Jill” movie is actually real. It looks like a spoof on “Saturday Night Live,” giving an over-the-top example of how bad Adam Sandler comdies are. But no, it exists. We live in a strange world.

5:45 p.m. Rafael Furcal, hitting seventh tonight, leads off with a single up the middle in the second. It looked to me like Andrus could have had that one, but he had an awful first step and then kind of short-armed his reach.

5:46 p.m. No matter, I guess. Andrus starts a 6-4-3 double play. McCarver says that Schumaker was out “by the width of a shoelace.”

I SEE WHAT HE DID THERE. LOLZ.

5:47 p.m. Carpenter strikes out and we go to the third. Nice pace to this one so far.

5:48 p.m. The TV is telling me to donate $5 at a nearby Starbucks to help create jobs in America. But I’m not going to waste my grande strawberry frappuccino money!

5:50 p.m. Hamilton grounds out to Furcal to open the third. And in doing so, Hamilton showed that he is clearly not 100 percent while running down the line.

5:54 p.m. Michael Young strikes out and then Adrian Belre is nailed in the elbow by a pitch. I’m sorry, I was distracted by McCarver’s story about Hugh Jackman interrupting his own performance in a Broadway play to give the crowd score updates from last night’s Rangers-Cardinals game.

Because Broadway people are total sports junkies.

Anyway, Nelson Cruz flies out to left to end the inning. Bottom three.

5:59 p.m. Theriot flies out to right to start the fourth. We’re not that deep into the game, but Harrison looks like he is in a groove right now.

6:02 p.m. WOW! Allen Craig homers into the Cards’ bullpen in right. Bonus points to Nelson Cruz for effort, but that ball didn’t look like it was hit all that well. And to go opposite field, Craig really showcased some major power there. 3-2, Cardinals.

6:03 p.m. Pujols up. Again, I would walk him, but it’s already 0-2.

6:04 p.m. Uh-oh. Pujols pops a ball into foul territory beside first base. Michael Young gives chase and by playing it over his shoulder, the ball ends up clanking off his glove. And Pujols is given second life.

6:05 p.m. But it doesn’t come back to haunting them as Pujols grounds out sharply to third. Young wasn’t given an error.

6:05 p.m. Speaking of sharply, Berkman lashes a ball the other way toward Young. He goes with the full-extension stretch and is able to glove this one. What a play!

But, 3-2, Cardinals. Top four.

6:08 p.m. I was just about to write that now that we’ve entered the fourth, any slight sight of trouble from either pitcher is going to get the bullpen stirring. And right on cue, FOX shows C.J. Wilson up and throwing again in the ‘pen.

6:11 p.m. No trouble for Carpenter here. He rolls, 1-2-3, in the fourth. Now the pace is becoming not so good. Slow it down, kids.

6:13 p.m. I think now is a good time to present my Halloween costume for this year:

Or something like that.

I have dyed my hair blonde. Very blonde. And while suit jackets don’t lie very well on people in wheelchairs — and I couldn’t find anyone to tailor a jacket for me to make it fit properly while I’m sitting down — I’m gonna make it work.

6:15 p.m. Back to the game, David Freese is up.

Walk Freese, pitch to Pujols.

6:16 p.m. Unbelievable! Freese is retired on a ground ball to shortstop. This series has had everything.

6:17 p.m. Molina singles up the middle then bluffs around first, acting as if he was going to try to stretch it into two. Yadier Molina can barely make it to second on a ground-rule double.

6:19 p.m. That’s followed by a base hit from Furcal to right. The speedy Yadier decides to hold up at second. And we have another visit from Mike Maddux. I can’t think of whom he looks like, but it is certainly not Greg Maddux.

6:23 p.m. Nice at-bat by Schumaker ends with a ground ball to first, moving the runners up a base. That six-pitch AB was one of the longest of the night. Guys have been hacking away. Carpenter up with two on and two out.

6:26 p.m. Carpenter pops out weakly to strand two runners in scoring position. But if he doesn’t give up another run, these “blown opportunities” won’t matter.

6:29 p.m. Kinsler leads off with another single. Now the big question: Can Ian Kinsler avoid getting picked off? A nation watches and waits.

6:30 p.m. Carpenter sure is paying a lot of attention to him.

6:32 p.m. Andrus gets the bunt down and Kinsler goes to second. You can hear LaRussa from the dugout semi-yelling at Carpenter to hold the ball and hold it to throw off Kinsler’s timing if he really thinks he is going to steal.

6:35 p.m. Freese makes a play that he screwed up last night to get Hamilton out. It was a foul ball along the railing of the Rangers’ dugout. Last night, he saw a similar play end up just out of his reach because he was late getting over to the rail. Tonight, he got there and then waited for the ball to come to him. Two outs. Young at the plate.

The pitch to Hamilton was pretty hittable. He just missed it.

6:37 p.m. Carpenter Ks Young on an off-speed pitch to end the inning. And is freaking pumped. And it’s only the bottom of the fifth.

6:40 p.m. And we have our first of what is sure to be many pitching changes tonight as Scott Feldman is now on the mound for Texas. All in all, I think Harrison has to be somewhat pleased with his outing.

Although, I’m not sure Scott Feldman is the guy I want to go with here. I would rather see Wilson.

6:41 p.m. I guess I understand it, however. It’s only bottom five. Wilson could come in at later point in the game when holding the Cardinals scoreless will be absolutely imperative.

6:43 p.m. Theriot grounds out. Now Craig, who homered last time up.

6:45 p.m. Feldman falls behind Craig 3-0 and then walks him on five pitches. With Pujols coming up, I’m sure Ron Washington just loves that at-bat.

6:46 p.m. I don’t feel good about this at-bat for Feldman. I’m calling a double, at least.

6:48 p.m. Well, not a double, but Pujols does get on base. Feldman’s off-speed pitch floats in and hits Pujols in the chest.

Well, it didn’t really hit him. It kind of nicked him. And he might have leaned into it just a tab. Nevertheless … Berkman up, first and second, one out.

6:49 p.m. The first two pitches are down to Berkman. 2-0.

6:50 p.m. On 2-0, Berkman taps one to first. Feldman covers for out No. 1. But the runners move up and now Freese is batting. Got to be an IBB here, right?

6:51 p.m. Right. IBB. Bases loaded. Molina up.

6:53 p.m. And Feldman falls behind again. 2-0. Can he get fortunate again?

6:54 p.m. 3-0.

6:55 p.m. On 3-1, Molina thought he had himself a walk on a ball up and away, but the ump said it caught the plate. Full count.

This is fun.

6:55 p.m. A very similar pitch — a maybe little more outside but not much — is called a ball. A bases-loaded walk makes it 4-2, Cardinals. The FOX strike zone thingy says the pitch was a strike. I thought it was, too. But to no avail for Feldman. He is gone, relieved by C.J. Wilson. Hmmmm.

6:57 p.m. I know I said I understood why Feldman was in now. But if all it took was one run to get Feldman out of the game, why not just start the inning with Wilson, the much better pitcher? I feel like that move will be second-guessed.

6:59 p.m. And on the first pitch, Wilson nails Furcal on his left hip. So a bases-loaded walk is followed by a bases-loaded HBP. Feldman could have done that. 5-2, Cardinals. Schumaker up.

7:01 p.m. A K ends the inning. But we’re moving to the sixth and the Rangers are down by three. As Yogi Berra would say, it’s starting to get late pretty early for the Rangers.

7:06 p.m. After Beltre grounded out in an at-bat in which he had no chance, Nelson Cruz hits one to left that sends Craig back. And back. Back, back, back … with his back to the wall, he jumps and it looks like he does indeed bring it back. It wasn’t exactly like the Mets’ Endy Chavez in the NLCS against the Cardinals a few years ago, but it did look like his glove was at the top of the wall when he caught it. It at least would have hit the very top of the wall and bounced over.  Instead, two out.

7:07 p.m. Then Napoli lines out to right and the Rangers are down to their final nine outs. Carpenter looks plenty strong. He’s at 88 pitches.

7:09 p.m. Question that I don’t think I’ve brought up on this blog before: Whatever happened to the MLB on FOX theme? These days, FOX just uses the football theme for both sports. I don’t get it. It’s not a big deal, but I tend to make big deals out of minuscule issues. And that was a good theme, dammit.

7:11 p.m. Carpenter grounds out to start the bottom of the sixth. You bet he’s coming  back out.

7:16 p.m. Theriot flies out to center, and Craig strikes out. At this point, the Cardinals’ at-bats don’t matter much.

7:19 p.m. David Murphy starts the top of the seventh by taking a couple of strikes from Carpenter. But on 0-2, Carpenter hangs one and Murphy crushes it down the line for a ground-rule double.

Endy Chavez will pinch-hit for C.J. Wilson.

7:20 p.m. And that’s it for Chris Carpenter. He goes 6+ innings, gives up six hits, two walks, two runs (as of now) and strikes out five on three days rest. That’s a lot of numbers, but it tells you one thing: Carpenter is a big-game pitcher.

Arthur Rhodes replaces Carpenter.

7:23 p.m. Arthur Rhodes celebrated his 42nd birthday on Monday and is in his 20th season. He’s also another reason why all fathers should train their kids to be left-handed relief pitchers. If you’re even decent, you’ll have a job for a long time. Hell, Darren Oliver is still pitching!

7:24 p.m. Yorvit Torrealba pinch-hit for Chavez, and Rhodes got him to fly out. Now Octavio Dotel will face Ian Kinsler. Goooood pace.

7:27 p.m. Dotel will be 38 next month and is another why all fathers should train their kids to … I have no idea. Why is Dotel still in this league???

7:30 p.m. Tim McCarver just called Yadier Molina “Bengie.” Honestly, I’ve been waiting for that all night.

7:30 p.m. Ah, Dotel shows why he’s in the league: He can still throw pretty hard. He strikes out Kinsler on a few mid-90s fastballs. Two out. Andrus up.

7:32 p.m. All Andrus can do is fly out to center on a 3-1 pitch. Bottom seven.

7:33 p.m. Hahaha! It looked like Dotel tried to say “Let’s go” as he walked off the mound but almost choked on his gum. He re-gathered the wad and got the words out on the second try.

7:36 p.m. Mike Adams is on for Texas and will face Albert Pujols to start the bottom of the seventh.

7:38 p.m. Yes, this COULD be Pujols’ last at-bat in a Cardinals uniform. And it will be … until next year.

7:40 p.m. Pujols strikes out. OK, just get this thing to the top of the eighth. That’s what everybody wants to see anyway.

7:41 p.m. Berkman says not yet as he squibs one past Adams. Andrus makes a nice barehanded pick and throw, but Berkman beats it by a step for an infield hit.

7:45 p.m. The FOX mics are picking up some pretty awesome cursing in the crowd.

7:47 p.m. Freese walks. And then Adams starts Molina off with a ball. Oh boy.

7:48 p.m. Molina picks up a huuuuuuuuuuuuge insurance run with a single up the middle. I thought Hamilton might have had a chance to throw Berkman out at the dish, but even a perfect throw wouldn’t have gotten him. Roberto Clemente wouldn’t have gotten him. 6-2, Cardinals.

7:49 p.m. Looking at Ron Washington’s face as he leans forward, one foot raised on a step, gazing out onto the field. He’s basically saying, “Well, this kinda sucks.”

7:51 p.m. Inside Nolan Ryan’s head: “Dag gummit.”

7:52 p.m. Furcal grounds out to first for the second out. And Mike Gonzalez will be replacing Mike Adams.

7:56 p.m. So Gonzalez comes in and strikes out Schumaker looking on three pitching. It looked like he wanted what everyone else wants: for this thing to get to the ninth. That’s where the excitement has really occurred.

With that strikeout, the Cardinals have stranded runners on second and third twice tonight. That would be a big deal if, you know, St. Louis wasn’t tripling up the opponent.

7:59 p.m. American Idol. Just stop it.

8:00 p.m. Lance Lynn starts off the eighth by getting Hamilton to ground out meekly to second base. That was truly feeble.

8:o1 p.m. So who are going to be the idiots who tie the word “curse” to the Texas Rangers? Talk about reaching for reader hits. But some people will do it. I know it’s going to happen and it will still piss me off.

8:02 p.m. Young fouls out to first, and then Lynn completely blows away Beltre on three fastballs, climbing the ladder. Yikes.

Three outs to go.

8:04 p.m. And with the Rangers likely to lose tonight, I’ll go 1-6 in my playoff series predictions. Maybe I should start watching more hockey.

8:07 p.m. Aaron Miles Nick Punto (same guy) batting for Lance Lynn. He flies out for out No. 1 in the bottom of the eighth.

8:08 p.m. Ryan Theriot strikes out on three pitches. He knows the score.

8:09 p.m. Just what this game needs: An injury timeout. Gonzalez lost his balance on a 1-1 pitch and appeared to strain something. After throwing a few more pitches, he’s out of the game. Alexi Ogando, who has been dreadful in these last three games, has as much time as he wants to warmup. It’s a full count.

8:14 p.m. Well, that didn’t take long. One pitch and Craig strikes out.. He keeps us from seeing Pujols again one more time with the bat, but who cares? It’s the bottom of the ninth. 6-2, Cardinals.

8:16 p.m. Here’s what I said about the Cardinals in March after the news about Adam Wainwright’s TJ surgery broke:

“I have a tendency to be overly negative and I may be doing it again with the Cardinals, but I don’t have much faith in Chris Carpenter putting out another 30-start season at the age of 36. I don’t think Jaime Garcia will repeat his 2010 effort. He’s a quality starter who got a little lucky last year. His 2.70 ERA from last season is not going to be the norm. The rest of the starting staff is very underwhelming. And that’s most of the reason why I have the Cardinals finishing third in the National League Central this year.”

I know I’m not alone in that divisonal positioning, but I feel like I’ve got to point out where I got it wrong.

8:17 p.m. There are a bunch of defensive changes, but all that matters is that Motte has to retire Cruz, Napoli and Murphy to give the Cardinals their 11th World Series championship.

8:18 p.m. Cruz flies out to center on a 2-1 pitch. Two outs away.

8:19 p.m. In Nolan Ryan’s mind: “Ah, horse shit.”

8:21 p.m. Napoli grounds out to third.

One.

Out.

Away.

8:21 p.m. David Murphy … strike one.

8:21 p.m. MURPHY FLIES OUT JUST SHY OF THE TRACK IN LEFT AND THE ST. LOUIS CARDINALS, LEFT FOR DEAD BY EVERYONE AT THE START OF SEPTEMBER, ARE THE 2011 CHAMPIONS OF MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL!

8:23 p.m.  Yadier Molina greeted Jason Motte on the mound with a cross-body block.

8:26 p.m. Watching the celebration and all of the reactions from everyone on the field at the time of the final out, I can’t help but think how much this must really suck for Ron Washington.

8:28 p.m. The Rangers scored two runs with one out (a caught stealing/pickoff) in the first inning. From there, nuttin.

8:30 p.m. Tony LaRussa’s reaction is classic. As soon as he realizes that Craig has a beat on the ball, his entire body jumps and then just freezes for a few seconds. It was that initial shock that has to be seen again. It looked like some jabbed him in the back with their elbow.

8:33 p.m. Bud Selig talking about how great this series was and congratulating the Cardinals … reading straight from a script.

Classy.

8:34 p.m. “Loyal Cardner fans”? Who are they, Bud.

Holy Christ, man. Pull it together.

8:36 p.m. Yeah, Pujols is really going to skip town after this.

8:37 p.m. I’m not sure if the crowd was chanting for Tony LaRussa or the early ’90s R&B group.

8:38 p.m. Tony LaRussa: “The game has never seen a better catcher than Yadier Molina.”

OK, I think we’ve found the exact point where I need to get the hell out of here.

8:39 p.m. I don’t need to see the presentation of the MVP trophy. It’s Freese, we all know it.

8:45 p.m. Ooooh, he got a Corvette. Pretty snazzy.

8:46 p.m. Anyway, congratulations to you, Cardinals fans (I personally know of only two of them and I’ve already sent my congrats). Your team showed us wants again that it’s not the best team that wins in the playoffs. It’s the team that plays the best upon entering the playoffs. And spurred on by that great September run, the Cardinals kept it going right through the World Series. No. 11.

My hope is that this victory is remembered more than the Rangers’ triple blown save bonanza in Game six. But I bet not.

As for me, I’m going to go read some more. At least that book is interesting.

I don’t know when I’ll be back here, but I will be back here. This blog will never die. It just might go into an extended coma from time to time. Until then, don’t forget to do one very important thing this Halloween weekend:

SUIT UP!

Along with the saves record, Mariano Rivera also has the prettiest signature in the sport. These sigs have faded some, but I got this ball at a Yankees-Angels game in Anaheim, circa 1996. I was sitting by the Yankees' bullpen, in the right-field pavilion. My mother had been yelling at Paul O'Neill all night to turn around so that she could take his picture. Someone down in the Yankees bullpen must have heard this shouting and notified an usher or somebody that they'll sign a ball for that young fan -- maybe just to quiet his mother. Sure enough, the entire '96 Yankees bullpen signed that ball. Upon its return to me, I looked down into the bullpen and Jim Leyritz gave me a thumbs-up. Whoever said he wasn't a nice guy??

Remember how Trevor Hoffman got to 601 saves? Like a tortoise working with a couple of sprained ankles during the final 50 feet of a marathon. (Why is a turtle in a marathon? Just go with the analogy)

Hoffman had 591 saves coming into the 2010 season. He blew four of his first seven opportunities, lost his job to John Axford and had an ERA of more than 13.00 in May. No. 600 came on Sept. 7. No. 601 came on Sept. 29 with a few days left in the season. It’s too bad that’s how Hoffman ended his career. Yes, he reached a milestone but he did it in agonizing fashion.

Everything today was standard Mariano Rivera. Efficient. Dominant. Bat-breaking. Simple. Rivera threw 13 pitches, nine strikes in his one perfect inning. The last at-bat had three pitches, all strikes, including a backdoor cutter that had Chris Parmelee frozen. He didn’t even get to use the new lumber he had to retrieve after fracturing his bat on the previous pitch. Parmelee was playing in just his 11th career game. Who knows where it’ll go from here, but Parmelee can always say that he’s the guy whom Mariano Rivera dominated to break the all-time saves record.

All of the Yankees came out to hug Rivera. Then Jorge Posada forced him to stay out on the mound and take a long, deserved curtain call. Rivera doesn’t shrink in the spotlight, but he’s not comfortable with being all alone in it, without seven teammates behind him. That’s how it was on Monday, and you could tell that there was a mixture of awkwardness and gratitude. In the end, he understood that the fans wanted to say “Thanks” for all of his years of consistent success. After a while, Rivera let himself soak it in and realize what he had just done. He heard how much the fans really love him. He got a little choked up. Jorge Posada got a little choked up in the dugout. It was quite a moment.

And hey, it may not have been possible without Nick Swisher grounding into a double play to end the bottom of the eighth and keep the score at 6-4. Never has a Yankee Stadium crowd cheered with more glee for a double play by their own team than then.

Now, of course there was some hyperbole. Michael Kay talked about how the Mariano Rivera is so athletically gifted, he is probably the team’s best center fielder, and some analyst on the YES Network compared him to Michael Jordan. I forget whom.

It’s obviously not excessive to say Rivera is the best closer in baseball history; he has been so for a while (I’d say since at least 2008 when he saved 39 of 40 games, held opponent’s to a .166 batting average and posted a ridiculous 0.67 WHIP at the age of 38). But it’s befitting that Rivera now has this number with everything he has accomplished. And with the way he’s still pitching, it looks like he’s going to accomplish a lot more and maybe move his total into the 700 club. In baseball, Mariano Rivera is truly the hammer of God.

Regardless, have you ever seen a coach ice his own kicker before a game-winning field goal attempt? If you watched Friday’s Missouri-Arizona State game, you did. In fact, you saw it more than once.

First of all, after a pretty entertaining first quarter, this thing became a huge pain to view. Both teams negated so many positives with so many penalties. There were 23 in all, and that counts only the ones that were accepted. Each team cost itself more than 100 yards. Missouri quarterback James Franklin throws a football like it’s three sizes too big for his hands. Mizzou’s playcalling was uncreative — it was pretty much either an out pass toward the sidelines or Franklin running after faking a draw. It didn’t take long for the Sun Devils to stop biting on the fake.

And the Tigers’ offensive line, missing two starters, must have decided before the game that it wasn’t much interested in doing some certain things, you know, pass blocking. At all. I understand Missouri likes to get Franklin out in space, but he was running for his life about seven-tenths of a second after every snap.

Yet through all of that, the Tigers still had a chance to claim victory after trailing by 14 points in the fourth quarter. It rested on the foot of a kicker who had made 47 of 51 career attempts. He had a career long of 50 and although he missed a shot from 54 yards earlier in the game, it was plenty long. This one was a relative chip shot.

From 48 yards … tie game … 17 seconds left …

Timeout.

It must have come from Arizona State. Gotta ice that kicker. One problem: The ESPN scorebar graphic at the bottom of the screen took one of those yellow line thingies that represent team timeouts away from Missouri. Whaaaa?! Why would Missouri call a TO? They are the team with an opportunity to win. Why delay success?

Oh, well. Whatever. That was odd, but maybe head coach Gary Pinkel didn’t like his offensive line’s alignment. It’s been awful all night long.

Anyway, here we go. From 48 yards … 17 seconds left … and … timeout. This time, I hear the referee declare that this is the Tigers’ third and final timeout.

You’ve got to be kidding me! I seriously thought he must have misspoke, but sure enough, Missouri called two consecutive timeouts before its own kicker was set to become the most popular man on campus for the next week. No reason was given. Nothing evidently changed on the field. I still have no idea what was going on and haven’t read anything enlightening from Missouri’s coaches. But it just seems grossly counterintuitive to make your kicker wait and wait and wait to win a game all for the sake of … talking? Seriously, what could Pinkel and the Tigers not solve during that first timeout that they just had to call a second one?

Almost inevitably, the kicker put plenty of leg behind the ball, but it curved sharply and ended up wide left. And no, his name is not important now for the simple fact that he missed the kick. Sorry.

The game went to overtime, Arizona State scored, Missouri did not, and the Tigers lost a game they really didn’t deserve to win. But they had a chance. And before that could happen,  Pinkel needed to inconveniently kill 60 seconds.

A lot, I’m sure. But as always, I’m willing to give it a shot.

But even more importantly, we are just 27 hours away from the first NFL game this season that actually counts. That means there’s still time for me to make educated guesses that will look awful in just a few weeks. I should have just hired an octopus to do this.

Each team will be ranked in its division by order of predicted finish, and because I want to make this look pretty, wild cards will be in red. Why red? I have no idea and you don’t care, so let’s begin.

AFC EAST

1. New England Patriots, 13-3: The defense is a bit of a question mark for me, but when you consider at the cheap additions of Ochocinco and Haynesworth, and the lingering anger that I suspect still exists after last season’s playoff disappointment, I think this team is on a mission.

2. New York Jets, 10-6: This is still a solid group that can make a run, but I think the window has pretty much closed for a Super Bowl. Plaxico Burress and Derrick Mason won’t improve New York’s offense much.

3. Miami Dolphins, 5-11: Here a team actually depending upon Reggie Bush to carry the ball 17-20 times per week. Yeah, good luck with that. I see no dramatic uptick in production coming for Chad Henne.

4. Buffalo Bills, 4-12: Besides playing the Patriots and the Jets twice, they play the NFC East and the Chargers. That’s eight losses right there.

AFC NORTH

1. Pittsburgh Steelers, 12-4: The schedule looks great, and with young wide receivers such as Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders, this offense is going to be plenty good enough in case that “old” defense starts to crack.

2. Baltimore Ravens, 9-7: Outside of Ray Rice, I think this offense is going to take a major step back.

3. Cleveland Browns, 7-9: They are making strides, I will give them that. But no matter what Colt McCoy showed during the preseason, this team doesn’t have enough yet on either side of the ball to seriously compete.

4. Cincinnati Bengals, 3-13: Three wins is generous. Fact.

AFC SOUTH

1. Houston Texans, 10-6: OK, I’ll bite on the hype. But this really has more to do with the uncertainty of Peyton Manning’s health than any confidence I have in the Texans.

2. Indianapolis Colts, 9-7: Have you heard this thing about Peyton Manning and his neck or something? I have no clue ….

If he misses just a couple of weeks, tack on an extra win or two. But I don’t think he’ll play until October at the absolute earliest.

3. Tennessee Titans, 7-9: Chris Johnson changes the complexion of this team, obviously. But basically every other facet of this offense is average at best, and opponents can still throw on them with much success.

4. Jacksonville Jaguars, 4-12: After hearing the news about David Garrard’s release Tuesday, I think Jack Del Rio is actively trying to get fired now.

AFC WEST

1. San Diego Chargers, 11-5: If they just play smart football — not spectacular, nothing over their heads — they should win this division. The talent gap from here to the other three teams is enormous.

2. Oakland Raiders, 8-8: They should have never fired Tom Cable, but that’s on Al Davis. I like the potential here. I actually want to give them nine wins, but it just doesn’t look right.

3. Denver Broncos, 5-11: I think they’ll be really boring to watch, but boring wins in this league sometimes.

4. Kansas City Chiefs, 4-12: From first to worst. I don’t like to take much away from the preseason, but there’s a reason why this offense sucked. It sucks. And how about this for a five-game stretch in the second half of the season: @ Patriots, vs. Steelers, @ Bears, @Jets, vs. Packers.

NFC EAST

1. Philadelphia Eagles, 13-3: I think they are as good as advertised. They may lose one game through the first 11 weeks. But injuries are a part of the game (Michael Vick).

2. Dallas Cowboys, 10-6: Offense is absolutely loaded. But can that defense be any better? I say “Sort of.”

2. New York Giants, 6-10: They already have what 12 players on injured reserve? The Giants will quit on Tom Coughlin late in the season (again), and it will mean his job this time.

4. Washington Redskins, 4-12: Not as bad as Cincinnati, but they will not have a shortage of awful.

NFC NORTH

1. Green Bay Packers, 12-4: Everyone got on them for not practicing enough during the lockout. Uh, they’ll be fine.

2. Detroit Lions, 9-7: Why the hell not!? But I think the most critical player for this offense is a healthy Jahvid Best, not Matthew Stafford.

3. Chicago Bears, 8-8: I hope they suffer at the hands of karma for demoting their best wideout, Johnny Knox, to the second string so that Roy Williams can be their No. 1.

4. Minnesota Vikings, 5-11: Bad offensive line? Devoid of good wide receivers? An aging QB in very tough division full of pass-rushers? Do you like questions that shouldn’t be phrased as questions? No?

NFC SOUTH

1. Atlanta Falcons, 11-5: A lot is said about the offense, but putting Ray Edwards and John Abraham on the same D-line is going to be a make a big difference.

2. New Orleans Saints, 10-6: I really want to put the Tampa Bay Bucs here, but I can’t go against established history here. Drew Brees or Josh Freeman? Freeman’s really good, but …

3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 9-7: However, it totally wouldn’t surprise me if they finished ahead of the Saints.

4. Carolina Panthers, 4-12: This is a conservative estimate to me. If Cam Newton can make strides as a passer during the season, I think this team could win as many as six games. They’ve really put some nice players around him.

NFC WEST

1. St. Louis Rams, 9-7: Yes, an NFC West winner OVER .500! This isn’t a talent-laden team, but I love the possibilities of what Sam Bradford could do with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

2. Arizona Cardinals, 7-9: They won five games last year with the mighty triumvirate of Derek Anderson/John Skelton/Max Hall at QB. Yes, the defense took a step back, but the addition of Kolb has to be worth a couple of victories.

3. San Francisco 49ers, 5-11: Just one more year of Alex Smith, San Fran fans. That’s it. Just one more. I swear.

4. Seattle Seahawks, 5-11: This team went out and upgraded its receiving corps with Sidney Rice. Too bad they don’t have a quarterback capable of reaching him down the field.

AWARDS

MVP, Philip Rivers: It may seem like logic that is too simple to hold water, but Rivers threw for 4,700 yards last season with hardly any Vincent Jackson and half a year from Antonio Gates. Give him a full season with those guys and Malcom Floyd and a healthy Ryan Mathews, AND on a divison-winning team, he gets the hardware.

Offensive rookie of the year, Mark Ingram: He’ll begin the season by splitting carries three ways, but I think he’ll run away with the job (pun intended) by midseason.

Defensive rookie of the year, Akeem Ayers: Everyone seems to be picking Denver’s Von Miller, so I’ll go a bit off the beaten path with another starting linebacker. This one plays in Tennessee in case you didn’t know, and I’m assuming that some of you didn’t.

Coach of the year, Jim Schwartz: I have the Lions winning nine games. If he can actually make that happen, playoffs or not, he deserves this as much as anyone unless some team wants to get greedy and go 16-0 or 15-1.

PLAYOFFS

AFC Wild Card: Jets beat Texans in a bad matchup for Houston; Chargers beat Ravens handily.

NFC Wild Card: Saints avoid another upset at the hands of an NFC West team and beat the Rams; Falcons crush Cowboys.

AFC Divisional: Jets versus Patriots? God. Pats get revenge for 2010; Steelers edge past Chargers.

NFC Divisional: Falcons take down the Packers; Eagles wallop Saints.

AFC Championship: Patriots beat Steelers.

NFC Championship: Eagles beat Falcons.

SUPER BOWL

So I have chalk getting in to Super Bowl XLVI. That way, I know this is going to be wrong. In this particular case, I think the Patriots make up for last year and get the ultimate prize, beating the Eagles in a “rematch” of Super Bowl XXXIX.

—————

One final note: As has become old hat for me, my fantasy football league draft is tonight; it’s taken place the day before the first game of the season four years running now. I plan to do a live blog here while I’m going through the draft (starts at 8:30 p.m. Pacific Time; 12-team, 18-round, auction-style draft). It’s destined to be longer in total time than last night’s Orioles-Yankees game, rain delays included.

I tried that … didn’t work.

Awwwwwwww.

So Chicago White Sox pitcher Zach Stewart couldn’t get his perfect game tonight against the Minnesota Twins. I am sure Hawk Harrelson let out a loud “Dag gummit!” when Danny Valencia’s double fell in.

Still … a complete-game, one-hit shutout with zero walks and nine Ks. That ain’t too shabby. And the kicker? Tonight’s start was only Stewart’s 10th appearance in the major leagues.

According to baseball-reference.com, Stewart became just the second pitcher since 1919 to throw seven perfect innings in a start with 10 or fewer MLB appearances to his credit. The only other pitcher to fit that criteria was on the White Sox as well. Charlie Robertson actually threw a perfect game against the Indians in just his fifth ML appearance. It happened on April 26, 1922.

Hell, Stewart and Robertson are the only pitchers since 1919 to throw at least three perfect innings in a start with 10 or fewer career appearances. A bunch of relievers have qualified in recent years, but young starters don’t fare anything close to as well as Stewart tonight.

And who cares if he had that one blemish? Only two pitchers that green in the past 20 years have recorded a one-hit shutout. One was Dontrelle Willis, who started for the Reds today. Dontrelle threw the one-hitter in his eighth appearance, all starts. The other pitcher was Kerry Wood in his fifth start. If you at least 20 years old, you likely remember it.

And another tidbit: The Padres’ Jimmy Jones was the most recent pitcher to allow just one baserunner in a shutout with 10 of fewer appearances.

The case of Clay Buchholz (second career start) is extremely impressive. But if you are searching for perfection, you have to go back to the birth year of Charles Schulz to find anything that can match what Zach Stewart did on Labor Day 2011. Again, not too shabby for someone who is playing for his second team this seaosn, had an ERA entering tonight of 5.48 and threw one complete game in 57 starts in the minors.

The Los Angeles Dodgers: Reform and open up. And hit with runners in scoring position

So Frank McCourt has an offer to sell the Dodgers for $1.2 billion — with a “B” — from the creator of the L.A. Marathon and some institutions of the Chinese government.

It may not actually happen, although $1.2 billion in straight cash, homie, sounds like Frank would be interested in considering, you know, his wife needed six-figure spousal support.

Regardless, I heard some pretty interesting reactions from Dodgers fans on talk radio out here Thursday. It seems like they don’t quite understand what this would mean for the Dodgers; all they hear are the words “ownership” and “China” and launch into freak-out mode.

I don’t have a link and I don’t remember the comments verbatim, but one couple expressed desire that the Dodgers must be owned by Americans. I guess I get that, although I don’t think it makes a difference.

But then another couple, an older one, basically told KNX 1070 AM that it would be a bad move for the Dodgers because “we want them here.” The couple already lives in Echo Park, a Los Angeles community very close to Dodger Stadium, so they said they want to “see them stay.”

Who said they are going anywhere? Dodger fans, even if this deal doesn’t go through, understand that just because China might own your ballclub, it doesn’t mean that China is going to export it to the homeland. I would figure this doesn’t have to be explained.

“Think Blue” isn’t going to be changed to “Think Red.”

The new owners won’t demand that each player create no more than one child.

“Los Doyers” shirts won’t be replaced by copies of Mao’s biography.

In the end, no matter who become(s) the new owner(s) of the team, it will remain a MLB franchise. Yes, in Los Angeles, California, United States of America. Better yet, it will exist and remain without Frank McCourt. Dodger fans should fully support anything that brings that day one step closer to reality. Even if it means adopting communism.

However, one thing caught my eye over this weekend, and I couldn’t resist putting it on here.

It’s a rap video. So what?

It’s a rap video about an NBA player. Oooooh, big freakin’ deal.

It’s a rap video about an NBA rookie. A little strange, but Kyrie Irving is pretty good.

It’s a rap video about an NBA rookie from Lithuania. OK, now that’s interesting.

It’s also hilarious. See for yourself:

So, the No. 5 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, Jonas Valanciunas, apparently has street cred. Well, I will say this: The beat is not bad.

But what’s with all the crazy eyes and gritted teeth, kids?

Oh, yeah. Weed.

Also, how can they go through that song — only 2:45? Awwww, man! — without rhyming anything with “Valanciunas” What about “I can’t wait to see you on the bench gathering rust, Valaciunas.” I mean, those last two words would work. Unfortunately, Valanciunas won’t join the NBA until 2012. By then, will this rap be forgotten? Have you forgotten that you even viewed it 60 seconds ago?

I have a feeling that “so much potential” will be able to describe Valanciunas’ game now and 15 years from now. If that makes me a hater, I’m more than willing to go freestyle with O’Grime. I’m an Irish white guy from the suburbs, and I’m pretty sure I could take him easily.

But I couldn’t finish that in time to make it meaningful to anyone. I know most of you have already finished your drafts by now.

Then, a couple of a days ago, I decided I was going to write about nothing but sleeper picks. Until I realized that my sleepers were already so popular, they weren’t really sleepers any longer. So I didn’t finish that.

Anyway, while I am disappointed I couldn’t really publish either, both posts led to one point: I like fantasy football. A lot. A healthy number of my 350+ posts here at least mention fantasy football. During the season, I hope grad school gives me enough time to write a recap of each weekend’s action with a fantasy spin, which is something I did a lot of in 2009. I plan to write a live blog here Wednesday night during my 12-team auction draft. I am currently getting paid to write news updates for a fantasy football website.

Fantasy football advice is about as solid as quicksand, but I think I know as much as anyone. And I’m not afraid to give out opinions, so please e-mail me with your fantasy football questions. You can reach me at gmenn41@aol.com. I guarantee that my advice will be just as educated as anyone else’s. And that’s a vague, blanket statement you can take to the bank!

And I’ll end this post with a couple of fantasy tidbits as we are now just four days away from the first game of the season.

I am infatuated with Sam Bradford. His receivers aren’t great, but they are plentiful. Be it Danny Amendola, Mike Sims-Walker, Brandon Gibson, Lance Kendricks, etc., Bradford will have enough people available to catch whatever he’s dishing out. But more importantly, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels turned Tom Brady into a rec0rd-setter; he turned Matt Cassel into a franchise QB; he turned Kyle Orton into the 2010 fantasy MVP through the first half of last season. He knows quarterbacks, and Bradford is more talented than Cassel and Orton. He’s an outstanding as QB2. Maybe not as good as Matthew Stafford, but solid nonetheless.

Also, my current top five in a standard (non-point-per-reception) league is: Adrian Peterson, Chris Johnson, Jamaal Charles, Ray Rice, LeSean McCoy.

Peterson is about as safe as they come, even though the Vikings have an awful offensive line.

Johnson, with his game-breaking ability on the ground and as a receiver, is a pretty easy choice at No .2.

Charles has Johnson’s ability, but not his touchdown potential. He’s still giving some of those away to Thomas Jones.

Rice is about as solid as they come, but his upside is more limited than those in front of him. Plus, he hasn’t scored more than eight touchdowns in any season.

I’m willing to move McCoy back, but Arian Foster’s hamstring really scares the hell out of me. He has a history with these kinds of ailments dating back to his days at the University of Tennessee.

Oh, and in case you haven’t heard, there’s this. Plan accordingly.

But yeah, send me your queries. I’ll try to respond as promptly as possible.

Everyone is concentrating on college football today (for good reason) and talking about how Chris Johnson can finally get all of those Titans fans to [shut the fuck up] because he finally got his irregular contract for his irregular job. But please allow me to hit on a story that is a few days old.

Other than over-drafting for speed, no one knows what the Oakland Raiders are going to do. Actually, it’s better to say that what they do makes little-to-no sense. Staying true to form, the Raiders over-drafted Terrelle Pryor and his 4.3 40-yard dash time in the third round of the supplemental draft. They followed that up by not allowing Pryor to wear No. 2, his jersey number at Ohio State.

Why?

Because the Raiders want all vestiges of JaMarcus Russell gone for good.

Tony Kornheiser said on Monday’s edition of ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption” it was a smart move because “JaMarcus Russell is one of the biggest busts of all time in the NFL, so you don’t want anybody wearing that number and getting, you know, getting that number-itis.”

It’s hard to tell, but he sure sounded serious. Of course, no high-profile quarterback after Russell has ever succeeded in the NFL with that number. It just has so many demons surrounding it, right?

A friend of mine also said this was a good idea because the Raiders needed to “purge the past.”

However, the Raiders are doing the exact opposite with this declaration. Maybe the No. 2 jersey won’t be off limits for the rest of time, but by making it forbidden now, they are giving JaMarcus Russell and his memory special treatment. They aren’t moving on; they are highlighting their gigantic mistake and turning the number into a sacred entity.

Moving on or purging the past would mean letting Pryor wear college number and seeing what he can make of it.

The Packers put Tony Mandarich’s No. 77 onto the back of a Pro Bowl-caliber player.

The Rams did the same with Lawrence Phillips’ No. 21.

The Bengals moved No. 11 away from Akili Smith.

A quarterback on the Chargers’ current roster is even sporting Ryan Leaf’s No. 16.

No one is ever going to completely forget that the Chargers took Leaf, that the Packers took Mandarich or that the Raiders took Russell. They will exist somewhere forever. But at least those other teams didn’t put any special significance on their mistake. By refusing to let Pryor wear No. 2, the Raiders are just letting their most terrifying draft ghost linger.

Maybe the sting is still too harsh for the Raiders’ brass to see No. 2 on the field again. Maybe it’s just too soon and they, as these other teams with black marks on their draft history did, will come to their senses down the road.

The Raiders would be better off letting Pryor have his way and see if he can assign a whole new meaning to that number in the Silver and Black. If he succeeds, maybe he’ll become synonymous with No. 2. If he fails, it won’t change anything. This is a no-lose situation. The Raiders only lose when they keep reminding everyone that, yep, they drafted “that guy.” And he was so bad, they can’t let any player take on his number.

If an organization honestly thinks a number will negatively impact a player’s performance …

Well, it is the Raiders. Only Al Davis knows how they think, and Davis’ mind is truly unsafe for man and beast.