Shanoff's WUC: Spiller, Dolphins, MLB Awards

Today's Calls: C.J. Spiller vs. Adrian Peterson, Tim Tebow vs. Dan LeFevour, Mike Scioscia vs. Jim Tracy, Bob Stoops vs. Mark Mangino, JaMarcus Russell vs. Bruce Gradkowski, Antawn Jamison vs. LeBron, Hawks vs. Anyone and More.

The Opening Pitch: Some folks would look good in new uniforms.

— C.J. Spiller will look good in whatever NFL uniform he puts on. (The Dolphins could use him tonight.)

— Dan LeFevour would look good in a Raiders uni (JaMarcus Russell sure doesn't.)

— Bob Stoops would look good in a Notre Dame sweatshirt. (Not sure about Mike Shanahan in Bills gear.)

— Antawn Jamison does look good back in a Wizards uniform. (Same with Rashard Lewis in a Magic uni.)

— AI (pictured) would look good in a Lakers jersey. (Or should that be an Eagles jersey?)

— Jason Marquis would look good in a Mets jersey (especially because he wants to wear one).

— Evan Turner would look good in a UNC uniform (but he'll wear the opposing uni tonight).

— Oklahoma State would look good with a Fiesta Bowl patch on their jersey? (Yoinking it from Boise State's uniform?)

Explanations for all these and more, after the jump.

Thursday Night NFL: Dolphins at Panthers. No Ronnie Brown (for the rest of the season), big problems for Miami. Is Ricky Williams enough to fill in? How about Pat White? It's not like Miami was setting the house on fire with its passing game. Might make last week's Bears-49ers slog seem dynamic.

Thursday Night CFB: Colorado at No. 12 Oklahoma State. And, all of a sudden, folks are talking about the Cowboys taking an at-large BCS slot — the Big 12 Fiesta Bowl tie-in that will fill in for Pasadena-bound Texas — at the expense of ... Boise State?

Heisman Watch: C.J. Spiller isn't just the best all-around player (reminiscent of Darren McFadden a couple of years ago); he is playing as well as anyone in college football right now. I have him in my Heisman Top 3, and he even has a brand new would-be nickname: "Dos Ocho," his coach Dabo Swinney taking a page from Chad Ochocinco to try to get his star more pub.

(Is making your nickname your jersey number in Spanish the new making your nickname your first-name initial combined with the first syllable of your last name?)

SN's latest NFL Mock Draft has Spiller going No. 8 as the first RB taken, making him the next Adrian Peterson — the dynamic RB teams will regret passing on. (Notably, there isn't a QB projected to go until Bradford in the late-20s, and Tim Tebow has disappeared off the first-round projection entirely.)

Dan LeFevour Watch: Accounted for 5 TDs in Central Michigan's 35-3 win over Ball State. "Tebow Lite" went 25-for-28 for 344 yards and 4 TDs, plus 59 yards rushing and another TD. That's 22 passing TDs and 14 rushing TDs on the season. Here's a Heisman motto: "Why not LeFevour?"

(LeFevour would look great in a Raiders uniform right about now. Starting QB JaMarcus Russell was benched for an alum of LeFevour's MAC, Bruce Gradkowski, who played for Toledo.)

NBA Talking Points

— Jamison: Wizards' real MVP? (LeBron also tweaked his wrist)

— Wow, are the Hawks playing well

— Jennings Watch: 19 pts, 8 assists (W)

— No rust for Rashard: 17p/10r/9a in a win

— Warriors good for what ails C's

— Dirk doing it by himself

AI Watch: We are at the silly point of the story line where we start imagining him everywhere — Bethlehem Shoals envisions what AI could do for the Lakers; Levy dives into AI in the NFL.

(There's all this talk about LeBron playing in the NFL for the Browns. I think if AI had chosen to play college football rather than hoops, he could have been an NFL defensive back.)

MLB Award Season: As expected, Mike Scioscia and Jim Tracy win AL and NL Manager of the Year. Dan Levy asks the question that could be asked of every award: Why not factor in the postseason?

Hot Stove: Don't expect Jason Bay as Matt Holliday's replacement in St. Louis. ... Prediction: New "special advisor" Davey Johnson will be managing the Nationals by the All-Star Break. ... Is Marquis-to-the-Mets basically a done-deal?

Thursday Night CBB: MSG double-header. UNC vs. Ohio State (Will Evan Turner be the most talented player on the floor?), then Syracuse vs. Cal (the Orange will have the crowd; Cal has the talent edge?)

Coaching Hot Seat: Mark Mangino is so fired. It's just a question of when, not if.

Coaching Carousel: Mike Shanahan to the Bills? He could probably hold out for a job in a bigger market (or for more dollars ... say, from Dan Snyder in D.C.), but what if this is the best option he'll get? No need for him to commit now, though.

Business: If you're going to be a minor-league basketball franchise, you could do a lot worse than owning the brand "greenest team in sports."

The Last Word: "Notre Dame has a coach, so there's nothing to talk about." — Bob Stoops, either naively trying to be polite or sending coded signals to the ND boosters that after they fire Charlie Weis, he would answer the phone. It's unclear.

It once seemed inconceivable Stoops would leave Oklahoma, a team he had turned into a perennial national power. But this season's irrelevancy showed that the power isn't absolute. Why battle Texas every year when he can go to a BCS bowl game every year in South Bend?

(Brian Cook offers a valuable reality check, basically arguing that Stoops-to-ND is just your typical ND wishful thinking. I'm as fast to mock ND as anyone, but I don't know.)

Dan Shanoff writes The Wake-Up Call every weekday morning for SportingNews.com and blogs daily at DanShanoff.com. Got any comments, questions or feedback? Email Dan at shanofftsn-[at]-gmail-[dot]-com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/danshanoff.

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