TCU to join the Big East

On the heels of the latest edition of the Bowl Championship Series rankings, released on Sunday, sources have told multiple media outlets that TCU will be joining the Big East Conference in 2012.

Take a look at the map to the right. The blue states are where Big East schools currently reside. See that tiny purple dot on the far left? That's TCU.

The Big East, featuring a team in Central Standard Time. It's certainly a strange addition from a geographical standpoint. Then again, the Dallas Cowboys are in the NFC East.

Think the Providence women's soccer team will be thrilled to have to fly halfway across the country for a league game?

You'd think the Big 12 would have made a stronger push to corral TCU. After losing Colorado to the Pac-10 and Nebraska to the Big Ten, the Big 12 is down to 10 members, but could have possibly upgraded by adding TCU and poaching another Mountain West Conference team (like San Diego State), Western Athletic Conference team (Nevada) or a Conference USA team (Houston or Southern Methodist).

Perhaps this was a product of pouting from the BCS standings, and a realization that the school will never compete for a national championship in football unless it joined a major (aka BCS) conference.

TCU is (arguably) as deserving as Oregon or Auburn to be in the National Championship game, after going a perfect 12-0 this season. The Horned Frogs topped Oregon State, Baylor, BYU, Air Force, Utah and San Diego State, which is as good a resume as most bowl-bound Big 12 teams.

One athletic director worth listening to: Boise State's Gene Bleymaier, whose school joined the Mountain West Conference in June, partly for the chance to play powerhouses like TCU year in and year out.

But assuming TCU doesn't fall off a cliff between next year and 2012, it's safe to say the Big East will get a big boost in football. It's not far-fetched to think TCU could win the conference title and represent the school in the Orange Bowl (or National Championship game) in its first season.

Bills receiver drops pass, blames Him

Sunday's overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers was a punch to the gut for any Buffalo Bills fan, if those still exist in 2010.

The Bills got completely screwed -- albeit by their own receiver, Steve Johnson -- out of a win, when Johnson dropped a wide open pass in the end zone that would have ended the game.

After the game, a cold shower and probably a drive home filled with expletives, Johnson signed into Twitter and let it fly.

Instead of blaming himself to the fans for the loss (by the way, he had five drops yesterday), or simply apologizing to the fans for another gut-wrenching loss, Johnson took the road less traveled.

He blamed G-d.

Athletes typically thank Him before anyone else after big wins, particularly the Super Bowl. So it's kind of funny to hear one blaming Him after a frustrating loss.

It's certainly gutsier than blaming it on yourself, at least in the long-term.

With the latest loss, Buffalo drops to 2-9 on the season, but four of those losses came by a field goal, and another was decided by just five points. If even half those went the other way, Buffalo would be hovering around .500.

Check out the video of the drop here.

Happy Thanksgiving

Benched Press is on vacation until Monday, November 29. In the meantime, there's plenty of football and basketball to quench your appetite.

There's also turkey, stuffing and apple pie. By Sunday, you should be at least 90% full of food and sports.

Enjoy eating something that closely resembles Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer's neck. Beamer coaches a team whose mascot is a turkey. Coincidence? I'm not sure...

Let people know what you're thankful for. One of the things I'm thankful for is a steady readership. Just because I'm going away for a few days doesn't mean you can forget about me!

IPFW basketball player wears helmet

IPFW forward John Peckinpaugh was sick and tired of suffering concussion after concussion last year. He suffered four during the 2009-10 basketball season, missing 12 games in the process.

Team doctors told him his playing days might be behind him. So the junior from Muncie, Indiana got creative.

He donned a mouthpiece and a boxing helmet for practice and all IPFW games. And boy does he look awesome.

His third concussion came when he landed face first on his teammate's knee, losing consciousness in the process. Sounds like a kid who needs a helmet 24/7.

It's actually pretty practical, albeit goofy. The helmet is designed to protect him from hitting his head if and when he lands on the ground.

He told Yahoo! Sports writer Jeff Eisenberg that the helmet gets incredibly hot and takes away most of his peripheral vision. But it's better than sitting on the bench all game.

"I decided I didn't want to give up the game I loved and I'd do whatever it takes to keep playing. I looked at what some of the long-term side effects were. My doctor told me my concussions weren't severe enough to have those side effects, so I wanted to give it another chance," Peckinpaugh told Yahoo! Sports.

Actually, John, it looks like the side effects are already taking place. Nobody who hasn't suffered at least four concussions in the last calendar year would walk around looking like that.

Wrigley Field provides for ugly field

One of the more interesting storylines from the past weekend of college football was two games -- Army vs. Notre Dame and Northwestern vs. Illinois -- being held at baseball stadiums.

Army and Notre Dame squared off in Yankee Stadium, while Northwestern and Illinois played at Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs.

Illinois won 48-27, but that's not the real story. Check out the picture above. It's one of the most awkward set-ups ever. Fans sitting in left field (?) were roughly 200 feet from the field, stuck behind a ton of empty space. Even stranger, one entire side of the field was declared unsafe, so every time a team scored, losers walked. Fans seated in that side of the end zone were more than 100 yards away from the action when the game was at the goal line.

Interceptions and fumbles meant the referees had to reposition the ball at that yard-line on the opposite side of the field.

And both teams kicked to the same side of the field all day, while the east end zone was right up against a padded concrete wall.

Not surprisingly, fans who turned out for the game were unhappy with the view from their seats.

It seems the entire field should have been facing the other way. Why not make the end zones face in the opposite direction? And why did it take until Wednesday or so to figure out this wasn't going to work logistically?

The best part about it was the fans' reaction. After Illinois recovered a fumble in the first quarter, Illini fans seated in the east end zone booed.

Greg Oden out for the year... again

On Wednesday night, the Trailblazers announced that center Greg Oden would undergo microfracture surgery on his knee, and will miss the rest of the season.

This is not what Portland had in mind three years ago when it drafted the 53-year old Oden No. 1 overall, selecting him over Kevin Durant.

It's mean to laugh at Oden's struggles since joining the NBA. He's appeared in 82 career games in three-plus years, averaging just 9.4 points and 7.3 rebounds in 22 minutes per game. Meanwhile, Durant has averaged 25.4 points and 6.2 rebounds in 37 minutes per game over the same timeframe.

Let's recap Oden's career. He was drafted in April 2007, but missed his entire rookie year after having microfracture surgery on his right knee.

He appeared in 61 games in 2008 after missing a few weeks due to a foot injury sustained in his NBA debut. Later that season, he chipped his kneecap colliding with a teammate and missed another few weeks.

In 2009, he played in 21 games before fracturing his kneecap and having season-ending surgery. He didn't play once this season, rehabbing before opting to elect season-ending surgery for a third time.

You hate to hear the comparisons being thrown around already, but this seems an awful lot like the last big man who the Blazers drafted in 1984: Sam Bowie.

Portland famously took Bowie ahead of Michael Jordan, the best to ever play the game. Other notable names drafted after Bowie included Charles Barkley and John Stockton. With Durant playing more and more like a Jordan-type by the day, it's hard not to wince while seeing Oden ride the pine while Durant looks All-World.

It's almost at the point where the town should be renamed "Poortland". And you know it's bad when I'm feeling sorry for you. After all, Washington D.C. is the self-hating sports fan capital of the world.

In all seriousness, you've got to feel bad for the guy when his biggest contribution to the NBA has been his penis, which seems to suffer from elephantiasis. If pro basketball doesn't work out, he could always give Dustin Diamond a call. He's probably got some connections into the adult film industry.

The future of the program

To a casual observer, Maryland football has undergone a resurrection of sorts this year.

Coming off a 2-10 season in 2009, the Terps have gotten out to a 7-3 start and have a chance to win the ACC Atlantic division, if they win their last two home games.

But a closer look at the team's roster and box scores reveals a striking similarity to last season. The Terps didn't lose an awful lot from last year's squad, and continue to get out-gained by opponents.

It seems the ball has simply bounced favorably for Maryland all season.

There is one difference, though. The Terps have a reliable starting quarterback for the first time since 2006, when Sam Hollenbach led Maryland to an 8-4 record and a Champs Sports Bowl, alongside a duo of running backs now in the NFL -- Keon Lattimore and Lance Ball.

In many ways, this year's team closely resembles the 2006 team. The Terps have seen success from using the two-headed rushing attack this season, only instead of Lattimore and Ball, it's been junior Davin Meggett and senior Da'Rel Scott.

The pair has combined for 199 carries for 1,006 yards and seven touchdowns this season -- not particularly gaudy numbers, but more than effective, picking up more than five yards per carry.

The real difference from last year to this year appears to be in redshirt quarterback Danny O'Brien, who looks comfortable in the starting role after slowly transitioning from being the No. 2 on the depth chart.

O'Brien is one of just four quarterbacks in the country to have thrown for 16 or more touchdowns and four or fewer interceptions. The others are fairly elite company: Boise State's Kellen Moore (24-4), Iowa's Ricky Stanzi (22-4) and Virginia Tech's Tyrod Taylor (18-4). Stanzi and Taylor are seniors; Moore, a junior, threw 39 touchdowns and only three interceptions as a sophomore.

O'Brien doesn't put up incredible yardage numbers -- he's averaging just 213 yards passing per game as a starter -- but he's found ways to win games, and has been awarded the ACC Rookie of the Week award four times this season. If the Terps reach the ACC Championship game, he could potentially secure the school's single season record for touchdown passes, which stands at 26.

Speaking of records, let's get completely ahead of ourselves and assume O'Brien is the starting quarterback for the 2011, 2012 and 2013 seasons. If he maintained his current numbers, he'd easily eclipse the record for career touchdown passes (49), career passing yards (7,301), career completions (650) and attempts (982), without even improving each year.

What's best, Maryland loses just 13 seniors (and likely junior Torrey Smith, who has already graduated) next year.

All in all, it's a promising future for Terps football, regardless of who's doing the coaching. The cupboard -- or Fridge -- is stocked for the next few years.

Best basketball player ever

Today's entry could be talking about radio host Chad Dukes absolutely shredding the Redskins for 12-plus minutes on the radio. Or it could be about Wizards point guard John Wall spraining his ankle (don't worry, he could be back as soon as next game).

Nope. Today, we're dropping our jaws as this woman nails 114 straight buckets on an arcade Pop-A-Shot machine. And she does it in 60 seconds.

My favorite parts of the video include the girl casually exiting the bathroom, and the guy who follows the shooter's performance so nonchalantly, as if it's typical to make nearly two shots a second for an entire minute without missing once.

Someone take this girl to Dave & Busters immediately. Or maybe the Clippers (1-10) could sign her.

Let's look at McNabb's extension

I know, I know. That's what she said.

Monday afternoon, before the Redskins were dismantled by the Eagles, Washington's front office finally inked quarterback Donovan McNabb to a contract extension. It was a move the Redskins have wanted since acquiring the 33-year old in April.

McNabb's contract would have expired at the end of the season, and many thought he'd likely leave the nation's capital and head to Minnesota to play alongside former Eagles offensive coordinator Brad Childress.

The details of the contract are ugly at first glance: five years, $78 million, $40 million of which are guaranteed. And McNabb hasn't been a world-beater since joining the team. Heading into last night, he was 15th in passing yards, 26th in passing touchdowns and 28th in quarterback rating.

In other words, a ton of money for an aging quarterback who probably won't lead the team to a Super Bowl.

But consider this: Washington has no intention of honoring the full contract. It's no skin off Washington's back to cut McNabb after his third or fourth year, and it was probably the only way to get him to stay in town next season after benching him two weeks ago.

So the Redskins hand over a third-rounder to Philly next year, and still have their first- and second-round picks for the 2011 NFL Draft. In a draft loaded with quarterbacks (Stanford's Andrew Luck, Arkansas' Ryan Mallett, Washington's Jake Locker, Auburn's Cam Newton and Missouri's Blaine Gabbert, to name a few), the Skins could still take a relatively low-risk pick in the first or second round and nab a franchise quarterback for McNabb to mentor.

So worry not, Redskins fans. The season and future of this team aren't worthless, despite a terrible contract and a miserable showing last night.

Univ. of Florida's newest sport

With a week's worth of college and pro football behind us, you probably thought today's entry would be about something that happened in one of those games. Maybe something funny a player said, or an incredible play to end a game (hello, Jacksonville!).

Nope. Today's entry is in honor of the University of Florida's newest sport, which its members appear to be taking 100% seriously: quidditch.

If quidditch doesn't ring a bell, you probably haven't read or seen any of the Harry Potter series. It's a fictional game where wizards fly around on broomsticks trying to throw a ball into a goal.

It's basically a more awkward, less athletic-looking version of ultimate frisbee or field hockey.

According to The Gainesville Sun, though, it's a wildly popular game on campus. And its members appear to be taking it very seriously.

Bridget Siegel, a freshman religious studies major, told the Sun that in preparation for the upcoming Harry Potter movie, the team plans to "party beforehand. We'll be getting there at 10 when it doesn't start until midnight -- you know how it goes."

But UF isn't the only school that plays this sport. Oddly enough, the club has grown large enough to receive school funding. Sadly, the Sun points out, it didn't receive enough money to go to the Quidditch World Cup in New York last week.

Middlebury College is becoming a real dynasty in the sport, winning four straight Quidditch World Cups. Come on guys, share the wealth.

Terps youngsters look promising

Two days removed from freshman guard Pe'Shon Howard's first game-winning bucket, it's time to finally digest what happened and take a more objective look at how the Terps have looked through two games this season.

Maryland was picked sixth in the ACC in the preseason media poll, a result of losing its top three leading scorers from last season -- seniors Greivis Vasquez, Eric Hayes and Landon Milbourne.

The Terps blew out recent D-I addition Seattle in their first game, winning by 29 points behind a 17-point, 15-rebound night from sophomore stud big man Jordan Williams. Freshmen guards Terrell Stoglin and Pe'Shon Howard quietly combined for 20 points and 13 assists in the win.

But Wednesday's home game against College of Charleston proved a much tougher test. Maryland, favored by 14 before tipoff, found itself tied at the half.

Again, it was Howard stepping up -- perhaps the result of wearing the No. 21 jersey -- and making the difference. With 16 seconds left in the game, Howard ran a play off a timeout that appeared to be designed for Williams down low. The play broke apart, and Howard ended up taking the game-winning shot, a fadeaway with four seconds left to give the Terps the 75-74 lead.

Stoglin and fellow freshmen Ashton Pankey, Mychal Parker and Haukur Palsson spent most of the game on the bench, while Howard and Williams stole the show. Howard finished with 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting, and Williams was sensational, finishing with 26 points and 15 rebounds.

The only reason the Cougars were in the game so late was due to a flukey Terps performance from the free throw line. An uncharacteristic 5-for-18 from the charity stripe caused the game to be much closer than it should have.

The Terps continue their quest through the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic with the semifinals in Madison Square Garden on Thursday against No. 5 Pittsburgh, and the championship and consolation games on Friday against either No. 13 Illinois or Texas.

The greatest video on the planet

Most of us remember the horrifying moments from high school. Boners in gym class. Voice cracks. Jayvee sports. It's the most awkward time of your life. Thankfully, YouTube didn't exist when I was in high school, otherwise my most embarrassing moments would probably have found their way on here.

Having a bad day? Watch this video. I could watch it hundreds of times and still laugh. If you have a sense of humor -- or a soul -- I guarantee this video will make you laugh. Enjoy.

Website goes down at worst possible moment

Amidst all the commotion with firing head coach Wade Phillips, the one place Cowboys fans were going to find out the real scoop was DallasCowboys.com.

It makes perfect sense. In a world of rumors, the one site you expect to deliver you the official word is the team's website.

Just one teeny tiny problem, though. Someone in the Cowboys' front office forgot to renew the site's domain name, leaving this for anyone on the Internet trying to access it:

Might as well blame that one on Phillips. Tell the media it was his responsibility to handle the GoDaddy.com renewals. According to The Dallas Morning-News, it was actually the marketing department's responsibility. Guess who runs the marketing department for the Cowboys? Owner Jerry Jones Sr.'s son, Jerry Jones Jr. Sorry, Dad!

The DMN writes: As a result, many fans visiting the site Monday eager for news about the Cowboys' flop in Green Bay and the status of head coach Wade Phillips were greeted with a stock image of two kids playing soccer.

Not surprisingly, the Cowboys' site ranks No. 2 among most-visited NFL sites, just behind NFL.com. I'd be surprised if that rings true for this year, as people continue to unload off the Dallas bandwagon and onto the Falcons (or whoever else is winning) bandwagon.

Have no fear, the site is back up and running as smoothly as ever (for the next 364 days).

Twas a day of firin'

Monday was a rough day for a number of sports personalities.

First, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told head coach Wade Phillips to pack his bags after Dallas' 1-7 start. The Cowboys, who host February's Super Bowl, were one of the contenders in the NFC coming into the season.

But after nine weeks of football, Dallas managed to go 0-4 at home, allow the second-most points of any team, and tie for the second-worst record in the league.

Phillips, known for his hysterical(ly bad) playcalling, hands the keys over to interim head coach (and offensive coordinator) Jason Garrett, a move the Cowboys had considered making to retain Garrett a few years ago when he was one of the top assistants in the NFL.

But the Cowboys are just 19th in scoring offense, 31st in rushing and seventh in penalties, so Garrett's offers tailed off.

Next, Colorado announced its plans to fire football head coach Dan Hawkins, who has had a career at Colorado that has looked like this season's Cowboys. Though he was 53-11 at Boise State, he could never get it going for the Buffaloes, compiling a 19-39 (10-27 Big 12) record through nearly five seasons.

Hawkins had a 53-11 record at Boise State, but some consider his record to be more a product of then-assistant coach Chris Petersen, who is now 57-4 since taking over. Petersen was the Broncos' offensive coordinator from 2001-2005, the entire Hawkins era.

Hawkins got to one bowl game in Colorado, but never had a winning record. He was 3-2 against in-state rival Colorado State.

But the firings weren't done yet. The last news item of the night was that ESPN was parting ways with baseball analyst Joe Morgan.

This, several years after FireJoeMorgan.com became one of the most popular sports blogs of all time. FJM targeted calling out bad sports journalism, so to have it named after you is hardly an honor. The Boston Globe called Morgan's firing "long-overdue".

The next time you're drinking a beer, pour one out for Wade, Dan and Joe.

We need a college football playoff

As we approach the 11th week of the college football season, the pool of unbeaten teams has been whittled down to four: Oregon, Auburn, TCU and Boise State.

This year is the best argument for why there should be a college football playoff implemented ASAP.

The topic has been argued by both parties to no end. It's constantly mentioned by SportsCenter, Around the Horn, Pardon the Interruption and Mike and Mike. So instead of talking about the NCAA's fascination with dollar bills, let's look at how the rest of the season will play out.

No. 1 Oregon has been untouchable en route to a 9-0 record. The Ducks have 58 offensive touchdowns and have allowed just 18, and are outgaining opponents 570 yards to 330 yards per game. Oregon has three games remaining, but just one against a ranked opponent: a home game against No. 13 Arizona. The Ducks beat up on No. 9 Stanford, 52-31 earlier in the season, and Stanford beat Arizona by 25 on Saturday. It's safe to say the Ducks will end up 12-0.

At No. 2 in the BCS rankings, Auburn is the team with the diciest remaining schedule. The Tigers are 10-0 and have just two regular season games remaining on its schedule: a home game against Georgia (5-5) and a road game at No. 11 Alabama, once considered the frontrunner for this year's championship. Auburn has to win that game, for which it might be an underdog, and then win the SEC Championship Game. That means beating either No. 24 Florida or No. 22 South Carolina. Not as difficult as beating Alabama, but not a cakewalk, either.

No. 3 TCU and No. 4 Boise State have beaten everything put in front of them. Last year, the two were matched against each other in the Fiesta Bowl. A 13-0 Boise State team beat a 12-0 TCU team 17-10, an exciting matchup, but disappointing to see neither given the opportunity to beat a BCS conference team and show America that they could hang with the big boys.

It was a lose-lose situation for both teams in the 2009 Fiesta Bowl. The winner should have won, after all, it wasn't even playing a BCS conference team. And the loser? How could it have been a championship-caliber team if it couldn't even beat a non-automatic qualifier?

Boise State hears the same argument every year: a poor strength of schedule makes it impossible to leapfrog bigger teams that play in better conferences. But the Broncos beat No. 10 Virginia Tech in Washington D.C. and beat No. 24 Oregon State in Week 3, and have run the table in its Western Athletic Conference schedule so far. But a poor in-conference strength of schedule puts the Broncos firmly behind TCU.

TCU has the best argument for getting in over Auburn. The Horned Frogs are 10-0 with a far more impressive margin of victory in most games, and, like Boise State, beat No. 24 Oregon State, 30-21. TCU also beat Baylor, Air Force and last week, No. 6 Utah, 47-7.

It's not either team's fault, but it is hard to argue that they should get put in over a team that goes undefeated in the SEC or Pac-10.

Coincidentally, the last time the BCS had this much controversy was in 2004, when Auburn, USC and Oklahoma all finished 12-0 for the regular season. Auburn was the one school left out of the National Championship, leaving people scratching their heads wondering why there wasn't a better way to settle the debate.

NYC Marathon preview

Good friend and fellow blogger Kelaine is participating in the upcoming New York City Marathon this weekend, and she's aiming for a time of around 3 hours, 45 minutes.

Hopefully she doesn't mind me blowing up her spot on this, but it's genuinely exciting to know she'll be running alongside speedy Kenyans and (hopefully beating) some celebrities in the field.

In the past, actor Edward Norton ran the NYC Marathon in 3:48, rapper P. Diddy ran the city in 4:15 and actress Katie Holmes did it in 5:30.

Celebrities in this year's field include Subway spokesman Jared Fogle, NBC weatherman and running butt of jokes Al Roker and Iron Chef Bobby Flay. Howard Stern Show sidekick Robin Quivers and Survivor champion Ethan will be running, too. And former New York Giants receiver Amani Toomer is becoming the first NFL player to complete the Marathon.

As you can see, Kelaine's got her own cheering section. That's her in the middle, surrounded by her adoring parents after she completed the Marine Corps Marathon and qualified for the Boston Marathon. NFL running back Marshawn Lynch has nothing on Kelaine's beast mode.

You know who definitely won't be running in the Marathon (besides me)? San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval, who was last spotted celebrating in front of a brownie sundae designed to feed six people.

The impressive part is that you actually have to qualify for this thing through a series of events. Even the rules seem pretty complicated.

It's not clear if the celebrities get a free pass for publicity's sake. Here's hoping Kelaine kicks all those celebrity butts!

Athletes' political aspirations

Sorry to go all political on you in this post, but some things have to be said (written?), and not only thought.

Former Philadelphia 76er and generally awkward white guy Shawn Bradley, I mean this in the nicest way possible: There's no way I could ever take you seriously.

Not after you made the least out of being chosen the No. 2 player in the 1993 draft. Despite your 7-foot-6 physique, you averaged just 8.1 points and 6.3 rebounds over your 12-year career. And certainly not after retiring, when you appeared in Space Jam and Walker Texas Ranger.

Now we're supposed to take you seriously and elect you to public office?

Well, the fine folks of Utah didn't. Bradley lost his bid for a spot in the Utah Legislature, according to The Associated Press.

That's pretty embarrassing, considering voters elected a dead senator in California.

Fellow awkward long-time center Chris Dudley ran for governor of Oregon. But even if he loses the race, he'll still have a more successful political career than NBA career. Zing! Also, he never considered himself an actor, so he's got one up on Bradley.

Linda McMahon, whose husband Vince owns World Wrestling Entertainment, lost a U.S. senate campaign in Connecticut. Part of that might have had to do with her opponent showing footage of McMahon making an idiot of herself on live television.

But not every former-athlete-turned-politician is a punchline. Former Washington Redskins quarterback Heath Shuler's NFL career was the punchline. A dirty, dirty punchline. But his political career has blossomed, and he was re-elected to Congress in North Carolina. And retired Philadelphia Eagles lineman Jon Runyan won a spot in the U.S. House of Representatives for New Jersey.

McNabb benched; Russell working out

By now, you've surely heard that Washington Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan pulled Pro Bowl quarterback Donovan McNabb at the end of Sunday's loss to Detroit in favor of backup quarterback Rex Grossman.

At first, Shanahan claimed it was because Grossman had a better knowledge of the Redskins playbook than McNabb. That prompted fans (and possibly media) to rhetorically ask, "Then why the hell isn't Grossman starting?"

Shanahan changed his tune. He said it was actually because McNabb was out of shape and lacked the conditioning to complete the two-minute drill.

So let's quickly recap. The player for whom the Redskins gave up multiple draft picks is now considered incapable of leading the team to victory in critical situations. Or he's fat. Either way, his contract is up after this season. Think he'll re-sign?

Even former general manager and current blockhead Vinny Cerrato was "dumbfounded" by the decision to bench McNabb. And Cerrato was directly responsible for drafting gems like Patrick Ramsey, seven total draft picks in 2003 and 2004 combined, no first round pick in 2006 or 2008, and drafting three receivers in the second round of 2008.

Well, there's an even dumber twist to all this: the Redskins worked out mega-bust quarterbacks JaMarcus Russell and JP Losman. Losman is currently employed by the UFL, and Russell is working as a spokesman for purple drank. Just kidding, he's not working at all. In fact, "working out" for the Redskins was almost certainly the only exercise he's gotten in about six months.

Maybe he's working out at defensive tackle, and this was all a big misunderstanding.

Well, if it's peak physical condition you're after, work out a former No. 1 draft pick who ballooned up to 290 pounds and was cut by his team after three seasons.

Vikings cut Randy Moss

Just two weeks after trading away a third-round draft pick, the Minnesota Vikings are parting ways with seven-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Randy Moss.

The move comes a day after Minnesota lost 28-18 to the Patriots, Moss' former team.

After the game, Moss hugged Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for what seemed like forever, saluted the Patriots team and head coach Bill Belichick and spoke to the media donning a Red Sox hat.

In the press conference, he proceeded to criticize Vikings coach Brad Childress' playcalling and said all future press conferences would consist of him answering his own questions.

OK.

But on Monday, Childress released a statement saying, "This decision was made based on what we thought was in the best interests of the Minnesota Vikings, both in the short and long term. We wish Randy the best as he moves forward in his career."

Still a bizarrely fishy move. Everyone knew coming in that Moss has so much baggage he flies Southwest. He practically shares the same DNA with Bengals receiver Terrell Owens, regularly making headlines for things we'd normally consider out of character.

So Moss hits the waiver wire, which goes in reverse order of the NFL standings. That means the Bills have first dibs, if they so choose to go after him. Fitting, considering Buffalo was willing to put up with Owens last season.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that several teams are interested in acquiring Moss -- and I find it hard to believe that none of these teams would have been willing to give up a draft pick for him. Dallas, Washington, Chicago, St. Louis, Miami, Oakland, New York Jets, Kansas City and Seattle all expressed interest, while even New England could be considered back in the mix.

Maryland spooks Wake, 62-14

Maryland's 62-14 rout over visiting Wake Forest on homecoming was more significant than the 38-point differential would suggest at first glance.

Here's five reasons why the Terps' win was so important:

1. Bowl eligible -- the most significant storyline from Saturday's win was the (almost) guarantee that Maryland will be bowling in December (or January). The Terps have all but completed a turnaround from a horrendous 2-10 season last year, and sit 6-2 with four games left on the schedule. Even better was that the Peach Bowl representatives were in attendance at Byrd Stadium.

2. Confidence boost for Danny O -- the redshirt freshman quarterback was 13-for-20 for 168 yards in the win. That may not be the most impressive statistic ever, but those numbers came with four touchdowns -- a career high. Coach Ralph Friedgen plucked O'Brien from Kernersville, North Carolina, a Winston-Salem suburb, which means Wake Forest is his hometown school. Consider it a double homecoming for Danny O. Throw out the abysmal performance against Clemson and O'Brien has 13 touchdowns and no interceptions. Not bad for a kid whose starts you can still count on one hand.

3. A complete game -- arguably the first complete game that the Terps have played on both sides of the ball, the offense was prolific and the defense was suffocating. Maryland outgained Wake Forest 446 to 155, held the Demon Deacons to -3 yards rushing, out-sacked their opponents five to zero, and intercepted two passes -- both taken back for touchdowns. The only person disappointed with the game was Papa John, who awards a free topping for every Maryland touchdown and doubles it when it wins. Start figuring out your 16-topping pizza soon.

4. Quest for ACC Championship -- it's still a pretty big longshot, but Maryland is tied at 3-1 with NC State for second in the ACC Atlantic, just behind Florida State, which is 4-1. With games against the Wolfpack and Seminoles still on the schedule -- and both games at home -- the fate rests somewhat in the Terps' hands.

5. Homecoming -- due to Halloween weekend and a rally in D.C., the homecoming turnout was one of the worst in the Friedgen era. But homecoming is always scheduled for a winnable game, and with several recruits on-campus, including Nick Faust's official visit, it was a day to celebrate for Terps fans. Those who did show up were treated to the largest margin of victory against an ACC opponent in 35 years.