Connect with us

Published

on

Inspirational thought of the week:

Now that I put it all together, oh oh
Give me the chance to make you see
Have you used up all the love in your heart?
Nothing left for me?
Ain’t there nothing left for me?

Baby come back,
Any kind of fool could see
I was wrong and I just can’t live without you

“Baby Come Back,” Player

Here at Bottom 10 Headquarters, located down the hallway from the medical facility where scientists are studying Pat McAfee’s blood because they believe it might contain enough electricity to power entire cities, we are basking in the warm glow of a different kind of positive energy. The kind of warmth and super-inflated ego that can come only with recognition on TV.

For years we have wondered aloud, tongue-in-cheek, what it would be like if the folks at College GameDay ever allowed themselves to join forces with us here at Bottom 10 GameDuh. No one ever understood us because deep down we all knew it would never happen. Also, have you ever tried talking with your tongue jammed into your cheek?

Then came last Saturday at the home of the Artists Formerly Known as the Nayhawks.

It was so good to see our people hadn’t forgotten us, even if they were trying to say goodbye. But that afternoon, as Kansas fell short in the closing seconds against TCU and the Rock Chalk fans finally emerged from their surrender cobras, there we were again, standing behind the end zone with a Willem Dafoe GIF look in our eyes and a cackle set to that “N-nuh n-nuh n-nunh-nuh” song when the Wicked Witch rides the bike in “The Wizard of Oz.” Because you can never forget your first true love. Especially when that first true love keeps following you to class and sliding into your DMs. And yeah, Kansas, that’s us, just in time for Halloween.

With apologies to Gayle Sayers, my old college girlfriend and Steve Harvey, here are the post-Week 6 Bottom 10 rankings.

1. Colora-duh (0-5)

The good news? The Buffs didn’t lose this week. The bad news? It’s because they didn’t play. The worse news? When the team got together for breakfast during its off weekend, the Buffs ran out of butter and jelly, which meant they still failed to cover the spread.

2. Huh-Why?-Yuh (1-5)

Speaking of covering spreads, Hawai’i went to San Diego State as a 24-point underdog but lost by only two. Now the Rainbow Warriors embark on a schedule that might very well be the road to a Bottom 10 title, if by “road” you mean a waterslide where the water has been replaced with WD-40. That thrill ride begins with a trip two weeks from now to second-ranked-turned-Waiting-Lister Colora-duh State, and then two weeks after that with an ocean hop over to …

3. Fres-No State (1-5)

Speaking of two-week increments, just two weeks ago the Bullfrogs weren’t even in these rankings. Now they have spent the past two weeks in the top half of them. That’s what happens when you lose to UCan’t after kicking off as a 23-point favorite, then lose to Boise State when it’s 20-20 in the third quarter and you proceed to surrender 20 unanswered points. Plus, there was a very natural segue to go from Hawai’i to Fresno and I am way too lazy to CTL+C them anywhere else in the standings.

4. UMess (1-5)

The Minutemen lost to Liberty. Speaking of CTL+C, copy that sentence into an email and send it your least favorite history teacher just to watch their head explode.

5. BOO!-mer Sooner (3-3)

Now for sale on the State Fair of Texas midway: deep-fried Schooners.

6. Akronmonious (1-5)

Over the past two weekends, the once-packed MAC faction of one-win teams has been cut in half, from six to three. That roster is guaranteed to be shortened by at least one again this week when the Zips host Not Eastern Or Western But Central Michigan in the Pillow Fight of the Week Episode VI: The MACtion Menace. If the Zips lose this one, then all of this feels like one big countdown to the final weekend of the season, when Akron hosts the other current one-win MAC team, Northern Ill-ugh-noise.

7. Boiling Green (2-4)

But … wait … if there are two other one-win MAC teams not in these rankings, then how can we justify having a two-win MAC team ranked above/below them? Two words: Extra. Effort.

8. North by Northworstern (1-5)

You might assume the Mildcats would have a fighting chance this weekend against Iowa, a team that never scores actual touchdowns, but keep in mind Northwestern just lost 42-7 to Wisconsin, a team that doesn’t have an actual head coach.

9. Charlotte 1-and-5ers

Speaking of head coaches, a heads-up to Charlotte administrators. If someone starts knocking on your office door, saying, “Candygram,” it’s probably Matt Rhule from down the street.

10. Whew Mexico State (1-5)

The Other Aggies host the Only Lobos in the 112th edition of the game known as the Battle of I-25, named for the highway that connects Las Cruces to Albuquerque. When this game was first played in 1894, it was called the Battle of Oh Damn Our QB Just Got Bit By A Rattlesnake On The Trail.

Waiting list: Colora-duh State, Michigan State Sparse-uns, CMU Chippendales, Northern Ill-ugh-noise, US(not C)F, Strandford, FI(notA)U, Temple of Doom, Livin’ on Tulsa Time, the Mets.

Continue Reading

Sports

Pens’ Crosby passes Sakic, now 9th on scoring list

Published

on

By

Pens' Crosby passes Sakic, now 9th on scoring list

PITTSBURGH — Sidney Crosby had a goal and two assists to move into ninth on the NHL’s career scoring list as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers 5-3 on Thursday night.

The Penguins’ captain tied Hall of Famer Joe Sakic at 1,641 points with an assist on Bryan Rust‘s first-period goal. Crosby then moved past Sakic with an assist on Drew O’Connor‘s sixth goal of the season later in the period as the Penguins raced to a 4-1 advantage.

Crosby’s 12th goal 5:42 into the second put the Penguins up 5-1, providing some welcome wiggle room for a team that has struggled to hold multiple-goal leads this season.

The next name ahead of Crosby on the career scoring list is none other than Penguins icon Mario Lemieux, who had 1,723 points.

“I’m running out of superlatives [about Crosby],” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan told reporters after the game. “What he’s accomplishing, first of all, his body of work in the league, his legacy that has been built to this point, speaks for itself. He’s the consummate pro. He just represents our sport, the league, the Pittsburgh Penguins in such a great way.

“He just carries himself with so much grace and humility and integrity. And he’s a fierce competitor on the ice.”

Rust also had a goal and two assists for Pittsburgh, which snapped a three-game losing streak by beating the Oilers for the first time since Dec. 20, 2019.

“For us, that was our goal — to be on our toes, be all over them, be on top of them, because they’re very fast, a skilled team,” Rust told reporters after the game. “I think just a result of that was us being able to get some offense.”

Alex Nedeljkovic made 40 stops for the Penguins and Rickard Rakell scored his team-high 21st goal as Pittsburgh won without injured center Evgeni Malkin.

McDavid finished with three assists. Leon Draisaitl scored twice to boost his season total to an NHL-best 31, but the Penguins beat Stuart Skinner four times in the first 14 minutes. Skinner settled down to finish with 21 saves but it wasn’t enough as the Penguins ended Edmonton’s four-game winning streak.

TAKEAWAYS

Oilers: Their attention to detail in the first period was shaky. Though Skinner wasn’t at his best, the Penguins also had little trouble generating chances.

Penguins: Pittsburgh remains a work in progress at midseason but showed it can compete with the league’s best.

UP NEXT

Edmonton finishes a four-game trip at Chicago on Saturday. The Penguins continue a five-game homestand Saturday against Ottawa.

Continue Reading

Sports

Two Wild defenders added to lengthy injured list

Published

on

By

Two Wild defenders added to lengthy injured list

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Wild have added defensemen Jonas Brodin and Brock Faber to their list of key injured players, leaving them out of the lineup for their game against Colorado on Thursday night.

Brodin’s status is day to day. He has a lower-body injury from blocking a shot late in the 6-4 win over St. Louis on Tuesday night. Wild coach John Hynes had no update after the team’s morning skate on Thursday on the timetable for the return of Faber, who has an upper-body injury from an elbow he took from Blues forward Jake Neighbours at the end of his first shift.

The Wild already were missing captain Jared Spurgeon (lower body), who is expected to be out for another week or two after taking a slew foot from Nashville forward Zachary L’Heureux in their game on Dec. 31. That leaves Minnesota without three of its top four defensemen. Jake Middleton just returned from a 10-game absence because of an upper-body injury.

The Wild also have been without star left wing Kirill Kaprizov (lower body), who missed his seventh straight game on Thursday. Kaprizov, who is tied for fourth in the NHL with 23 goals and ninth in the league with 50 points, has skated on the last two days and could return soon.

Continue Reading

Sports

Blue Jackets place Monahan (upper body) on IR

Published

on

By

Blue Jackets place Monahan (upper body) on IR

The Columbus Blue Jackets placed forward Sean Monahan on injured reserve Thursday because of an upper body injury sustained in the 4-3 shootout win at Pittsburgh on Tuesday.

Adam Fantilli is expected to move up to center the top line when the Blue Jackets host the Seattle Kraken on Thursday.

“Guys have watched how [Monahan] conducts himself, and hopefully they try to do the exact same thing,” coach Dean Evason said Thursday. “Our bench is calm in large part because of him up front and [defenseman Zach Werenski] on the back end. They’re both very calming influence players, but we have other guys that do that as well.

“But if the guys that are playing in tonight’s hockey game have learned anything from ‘Monny,’ it’s that he’s even-keeled. He doesn’t get too high, too low, all those clichés. He just goes about his business. We expect our team to do that here tonight.”

In a corresponding move, the Blue Jackets added rookie forward Owen Sillinger on an emergency recall from the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters.

Monahan, 30, has 41 points (14 goals, 27 assists), 14 penalty minutes and a plus-17 rating in 41 games this season. He ranks second on the team in plus/minus rating and third in goals, assists and points.

He has 579 career points (258 goals, 321 assists) in 805 games with the Calgary Flames (2013-22), Montreal Canadiens (2022-24), Winnipeg Jets (2024) and Blue Jackets, who signed him as a free agent in July. The Flames selected him sixth overall in the 2013 NHL draft.

Sillinger, 27, is on a one-year, two-way NHL/AHL contract with the Blue Jackets. He has eight goals and 17 assists with 18 penalty minutes in 34 games with Cleveland this season.

Continue Reading

Trending