MAC Bowl Picture

Since Ball State is 1-8 and not going to a bowl game, it would be a benefit to them to get as many MAC teams into a bowl game as possible. Here is a breakdown of the MAC teams that could possibly get to 7 wins and steal a bowl bid from a conference that does not have enough teams qualify.

Automatic Bids

Temple - Already 7-2, should win the MAC East and get one of the three automatic MAC bids.

Ohio - 6-3, and has games at Buffalo and Temple and hosts Northern Illinois. The game against Temple could be for the MAC East title if things fall their way.

Central Michigan - 7-2, with games against Toledo, NIU, and at Ball State. Should get to at least 9 wins and represent the MAC West.

Possible bids

Northern Illinois - 6-3, hosts Ball State and travels to Ohio and Central Michigan. Needs to win at least one game (BSU most likely) and steal one from Ohio or CMU to get to 8 wins and steal a bid from someone.

Kent State - 5-4, games at Akron (today) and Temple and hosts Buffalo. Needs to win 2 of the 3 games, and possibly all three.


Needs some magic

Bowling Green - 4-5, needs to win all remaining games. Travels to Miami, then hosts Akron and Toledo.

Western Michigan - 4-5, needs to beat Michigan State today, then has two easier games against the cellar-dwellers of the MAC West, BSU and EMU. A win against Michigan State could help their bowl resume.

Toledo - 4-5, on the road at CMU and Bowling Green, hosts Eastern Michigan. Needs to win all three, but road games at Central and BGSU are not easy at all.


So, it looks like we can get 4 bids, and possibly 5 if the chips fall right. From what I know about the bowl payouts, after expenses are paid, 1 share goes to the MAC office, 2 shares to the competing team, and 1 share to each of the other teams in the conference.



Drew Storen threw another scoreless inning in the Arizona Fall League on Thursday night. Storen has a 0.93 ERA in 9 2/3 innings and hitters are batting .275 against him. He is especially tough on right handed batters who have a .188 average. Drew is 4th in the league in ERA. Drew is also on the roster for the AFL All-Star game, the Rising Stars Showcase, tonight at 815p on the MLB Network.

What would this series have been like without Cliff Lee?

The Yankees beat the Phillies last night 7-3 to win the world series 4 games to 2. The only games the Phillies won were the games that Cliff Lee started. The rest of the staff just fell apart, including 2008 series MVP Cole Hamels basically giving up on the team. Hideki Matsui was the MVP and he was a good choice. Matsui had 6 RBI in game 6. Of course, he really shouldn't be batting because he doesn't play in the field, but that's another story for another time. There are 150 days until opening day 2010!

The Redskins travel to Atlanta to face the Falcons on Sunday afternoon. The Skins are 10 point underdogs and the O/U is 41. Once again, they are not expected to score more than 17 points, which is logical because they haven't scored more than 17 points in a game this season.

...and the season continues

The Phillies shot out of the gate early to take a 6-1 lead then held on for a 8-6 victory in game 5 of the world series. Chase Utley had 2 home runs, brining his series total to 5 and tying Reggie Jackson for the most home runs in a world series. Both starting pitchers struggled, but AJ Burnett only lasted two innings while giving up 6 earned runs. Cliff Lee lasted 7 innings for the Phillies before the Yankees put up 3 in the 8th, ending Lee's night. Ryan Madson pitched the 9th for the Phillies. With the score at 8-5, Madson gave up a double and a single to lead off the inning. Derek Jeter came to the plate as the tying run. This time, Jeter was not "All-World" as he grounded into a double play that also scored a run. After another single, Madson got Mark Teixeira to strike out to end the game. Game 6 is in New York on Wednesday night. Pedro Martinez will pitch for the Phillies and Andy Petitte will pitch for the Yankees.

Lance Lynn was named the Cardinals minor league pitcher of the year for 2009. In three different leagues, Lynn threw 148-2/3 innings and had a 2.85 ERA. He was 11-4 with 124 strikeouts. Lynn was named to the mid-season and post-season Texas League All-Star teams.

Drew Storen threw a clean inning for the first time in his last 5 outings in the Arizona Fall League. He struck out 2 batters. Storen has pitched 8-2/3 innings and struck out 9 batters. He has a 1.04 ERA and opponents are batting .278 against him.

Many poor pitching decisions for the Phillies

The Yankees are on the brink of a world series title after beating the Phillies last night 7-4. Joe Blanton got the start for the Phillies, rather than staff ace Cliff Lee on three days rest. Blanton gave up 4 runs in 6 innings. The game was tied 4-4 in the 9th when Philly manager Charlie Manuel brought in much-maligned closer Brad Lidge. Lidge got two outs quickly, but then it all started to unravel. Johnny Damon coaxed a single out of a 9-pitch at bat, then did a very instinctual thing by stealing second while the Phillies had the shift on for Mark Teixeira. With the third baseman playing close to second base, Damon decided to take third base also as Lidge was not covering the base. Texiera was hit by a pitch and then Alex Rodriguez doubled home Damon. Jorge Posada singled Teixeira and A-Rod home to give the Yankees the 7-4 win. Game 5 is tonight.

Drew Storen got a save on Saturday night for the Phoenix Desert Dogs of the AFL. He gave up 2 hits while striking out 1. He has a 1.17 ERA, but opponents are batting .303 against him. Storen is 1-0 on the season and has 2 saves in 7-2/3 innings.

BSU stays close, but can't get over the hump

Ball State lost to Ohio 20-17 yesterday in a game where the Cardinals once again had a lead with under 6 minutes left but could not hold on for the victory. Ball State is now 1-8 on the season, but in 6 of those 8 losses they have had the ball in the 4th quarter down 7 points or less. The downfall for the Cards was penalties. BSU had 9 penalties for 91 yards, including a few holding calls that killed two drives and a roughing the punter penalty that allowed an Ohio drive to continue. This team is so close to being a decent MAC team, they just need to get more experience and they will be fine. That experience will have to come quickly as they face a tough three-game stretch to end the season. On Nov 12, BSU goes to Northern Illinois, hosts Central Michigan on Nov 18th, and ends the season at Western Michigan on Nov 24th. These teams are a combined 11-4 in the MAC, so this will be a good barometer on how far this team has progressed this season.

In the world series, the offense for both teams picked up as the Yankees took back home field advantage with an 8-5 victory on Saturday night. Alex Rodriguez had a big homer in the 4th inning and Johnny Damon doubled home two runs in the fifth to put the game away. Game 4 is tonight with the Yankees putting CC Sabathia on the mound with three days rest. The Phillies are going with Joe Blanton on normal rest. This is a must win game for the Phillies as they do not want to go down 3-1 while losing two games at home.