Shanoff's WUC: NFL Week 11, Ricky, Weis, UNC

Today's Calls: Bill Belichick vs. Rex Ryan, Chris Simms vs. Ricky Williams, Ohio State vs. Michigan, Charlie Weis vs. Oblivion, Brandon Weeden vs. Zac Robinson, Pau Gasol vs. the NBA, A.I. vs. NYC, UNC vs. Ohio State, Scoop Jardin vs. Jonny Flynn, Tim Lincecum vs. History, Bill Cowher vs. Brad Childress and More.

The Opening Pitch: Before we get to all the big story lines of the day — and there are plenty of 'em — I wanted to quickly comment on SN's ranking of the best football announcers, which was a fascinating list of folks who impact fans, even more than many individual players.

I love the pick of Gary Danielson as the top football announcer — if you hate the SEC, though, he might not be for you. It's a little apples and oranges to compare analysts with play-by-play folks, but when SN first asked fans what they thought, I had Verne Lundquist-Danielson at the top of my list.

Here's a good test: If I had to hire a tandem to call my kids' bar-mitzvahs, it would be Lundquist-Danielson.

VL: "Here comes the haftorah ... I DON'T BELIEVE WHAT I JUST SAW!"

GD: "Verne, let's go back to that last Electric Slide: Did you see how Tebow — wait: I mean Aunt Phyllis — sidestepped the pressure, spotted the bar-mitzvah boy and delivered that odd-sized envelope right into his blazer pocket? Put that check in the only place it could go."

Of course, that's for a pair. If I had to pick a single football announcer to call the event — heck, to call the banalities of my everyday life — the answer is obviously Gus Johnson:

"HE'S GETTING OUT HIS SUBWAY CARD! HE'S SWIPING THROUGH THE TURNSTILE! HE IS GOING TO CATCH! THAT! TRAIN!!! HA-HAAAA!"

Enjoy your weekend. Ricky, T. Boone, Charlie, A.I., Pau, Heels, Cy and a ton more, after the jump.

My Top Five NFL Story lines:

(1) After 4th-and-2
Beli takes frustration out on Jets.

(2) Unbeatens roll on?
Saints at Bucs, Colts at Ravens

(3) Make-or-break
Falcons at Giants: Both need Ws

(4) This week's Worst Game Ever
Browns at Lions: W for Detroit?

(5) Player to Watch: Chris Simms
Huge AFC West game in Denver

NFL Week 11 Picks: Cowboys, Lions, Packers, Steelers, Giants, Saints, Jags, Colts, Vikings, Cards, Pats, Bengals, Chargers, Eagles, Titans. (Last week: 11-4, year-to-date: 99-46)

TNF: Ricky! Who needs Ronnie Brown? Ricky Williams — an admirably humble Ricky — had what was arguably his best performance since before his career freak-out: 119 yards rushing with 3 TDs in the Dolphins win. I think he might have already claimed Fantasy Stud of the Week.

CFB Weekend Story lines:
— De facto Pac-10 title game? (Oregon @ Arizona)
— Remember when Michigan-Ohio State mattered?
— LSU/Ole Miss looked so good ... in August.
— Stanford bandwagon: Rolls on in The Game.
— Heisman-ish: Spiller vs. UVA, McCoy vs. KU

Weis Watch: Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick promises a quick decision about Weis' future when the season is over. Let's lay out the scenarios:

Worst-case scenario: Weis beats UConn this week and Stanford next week — try to restrain your giggling — in which case, Swarbrick will probably (and reluctantly) keep him. Weis-haters rend their Ron Powlus jerseys.

Best-case scenario: Weis loses either game — and he could very well lose to fiesty UConn (I am almost certain he will lose at Stanford) — and he is as good as gone, probably within 24 hours of the loss in Palo Alto.

CFB Last Night: Oklahoma State didn't look like a team worthy of a BCS at-large bowl invitation. To be fair, they were using a third-string QB (and instant Stillwater folk hero) Brandon Weeden. (It doesn't matter how they look when they win: If they are in the mix, they will get that at-large bid. Why? Because nothing says "economic boon" to a bowl city like "T. Boone.")

CFB Tonight: Boise State at Utah State Another quality opponent for the Broncos. I have revised my original estimate: I now would argue that 30 teams could go undefeated playing Boise's schedule.

NBA Talking Points

— Gasol is back: 24 and 13 in a W

— Sign Spurs are slipping: Jazz win in SA

— Bethlehem Shoals agrees: A.I. in NY!

— More Shoals: Dirk as 1/8th MVP

CBB Mania: More of the trend from earlier in the week — presumptively awesome teams being challenged stiffly enough to make you question whether any of them can be considered a lock for success in the NCAA Tournament. We saw it with Kansas, Michigan State and Kentucky; last night, No. 4 UNC had trouble putting away Ohio State.

And in the afternoon, No. 6 Villanova — a team I like to make a return trip to the Final Four — should have lost to George Mason. (KU put up a blowout win last night, but against much weaker competition; Kentucky allowed Sam Houston State to score 92 points — sure, UK won, but that's not a good sign.)

Dayton! While the big boys stumble through the early season, watch the Flyers as the best mid-major (yes, the A-10 is a mid-major conference) in the country.

More big wins: Syracuse seems to have shaken off its exhibition loss to LeMoyne — no, they won't live that down this season — and crushed Cal in a quasi-home game at the Garden. Scoop Jardine is the new Jonny Flynn.

MLB Awards: Tim Lincecum wins NL Cy. Yes, I had a brief fling with Cliff Lee for Cy (which was born out by his dominating performances in the postseason), but Lincecum — arguably, MLB's best starting pitcher of the decade — was the easy pick. (I have a hard time getting too worked up over Lincecum's pot bust. It's not like it was PEDs.)

Hot Stove: Predictably, the Yankees are right in the mix for Roy Halladay. ... With Lackey seemingly out of their budget, the Brewers are rummaging in the equivalent of the "day-old bread" bin. ... Remember when Jason Schmidt was awesome? ... Anyone NOT see Stephen Strasburg problems coming?

Coaching Carousel: A day after floating Mike Shanahan, now the Bills are supposedly targeting Bill Cowher.

Meanwhile, the Vikings gave previously embattled coach Brad Childress an extension. Why is it that at the first inkling of success, teams are so quick to give their coaches new deals? The most egregious example of this, of course, was Notre Dame with Weis.

The Last Word: Cornell! As the Northwestern Dance-wagon is postponed until next season, we need a new bandwagon. How about Cornell? The defending Ivy champs have started the season with road wins over Alabama and UMass. Tonight, they get Seton Hall at home. Fearless scheduling, to match Big Red's playing style.

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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