This is from this past Saturday's Big Ten Championship game. Yes, we know it's old and you've probably seen it elsewhere, but it had to be posted here and I wanted to give our own Brady Green some time to recover before putting up things that might make him cry. You see, he's a big Michigan State fan and Sparty nation is still in mourning, but I wanted to get the video up before the blogging statute of limitations officially run out on this. 

In case you missed out on another Michigan State-Wisconsin classic, the situation was fourth-and-six at Michigan State's 43 yard line. If Wisconsin fails to convert, they likely go on to lose. Instead, Russel Wilson scrambled to his left, stopped, planted, rise-and-fired across field to Jeff Duckworth, a receiver who had just caught his first touchdown of the season earlier in the game. Duckworth, despite being surrounded by green, jumped and pulled the pass into his bread basket at the Spartans' seven yard line. Wisconsin would score and get the two-point conversion to take a three-point lead that would ultimately be the difference for the Rose Bowl berth. 

Gus Johnson reacted to the play as we'd expect: 

According to those tweets from John Ourand of the Sports Business Journal and confirmed by ESPN, former Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona has signed with the leader to replace current Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine in the Sunday Night Baseball booth.  Francona was excellent in relief of Fox analyst Tim McCarver during the first two games of this year's ALCS and a medis career seemed to be destined if he stayed out of the dugout.

It's a big win for ESPN to swap out the disparaged Valentine for the acclaimed Francona.  No word on if the Red Sox recieved other compensation from Bristol to even out the trade.  According to Ken Fang, Fox was interested, but ESPN offered the better package.  Bobby V never really connected in the Sunday Night booth and often fell under criticism for bizarre rants, like this one against Starlin Castro.  On the other hand, Francona offered a very fresh perspective and was refreshingly candid and likable in the booth.  His combination with the excellent Dan Shulman and the under-appreciated Orel Hershiser should make Sunday Night Baseball the premier announcing tandem in the sport.  On the not so sunny side, I suppose this also means another year of Tim McCarver Scrabble in the Fox booth.

After the firing of their head coach and change in ownership last week, the Jaguars were put into an unfamiliar spot, the national media spotlight.

While Jag fans have long claimed to be ignored by the media, few expected the amount of misleading information to be spewed from the mouths of the talking heads at the big networks like ESPN and websites like Yahoo and Pro Football Talk. To combat the "instant Jag experts" that were seemingly born overnight, Jag fans have rallied around a specific cause for the Monday Night Football game tonight dubbed "Jags Facts"...

"Welcome to #JaguarsFacts, a social media campaign happening December 5, 2011 to help the national media know the truth about the Jaguars, our ticket sales, stadium and passionate fan base. No longer will we sit idly by and allow the national media to spread false information as fact, or speculate the truth based on their misguided - and often times hateful, opinions.

It’s time we share the facts – and just the facts – with those who cover the NFL and the team. No longer can we rely on journalists to actually do their job and research statistics and information before reporting it. So we’ll do it for them. The idea is simple: Twitter bomb the national media with the FACTS about our team. Fans will share facts with their favorite (or least favorite) media members throughout the day on Monday, December 5 via Twitter."

The website has a list of facts that have been researched and confirmed and have asked fans to tweet out using this list of National Media Twitter handles. While some guys like Rich Eisen are taking it all in stride, others like Warren Sapp and Jason Cole are getting down right insulted by fans tweeting them facts and questioning the validity of the tweet rather than doing some good ol' fashioned truth research.

Regardless of the Jags' record this year or if the majority of the country sees Jacksonville as not deserving of an NFL franchise, it's certainly encouraging to see the fans of a small market team rallying together to show the nation and the new owner that fans do care about the team and show up in droves to watch them week in and week out.

Don't believe me? Check out the #JaguarsFacts hashtag on Twitter right now or read below for a few of the favorites being "Tweet Bombed" to the national media all day today....

• In 2011, #Jaguars have a higher average attendance than the Cardinals, Raiders, Dolphins, Rams, Bucs, Bengals
• Jaguars avg 2011 attendance (62,173) would lift blackout at Seahawks, Rams, Bucs, Bengals, Steelers, Lions, Vikings, Cards, Raiders, Colts & Bears
• In ’11 Jags on avg filled stadium to 92.4% capacity, more than 7 others: Chargers, Browns, Rams, Bucs, Dolphins, Jets, Bengals
• No Jaguars games have been blacked out since 2009
• How many times have the #Jaguars finished last in attendance in the league? If you guessed anything but zero, you’re wrong
• With covered seats, Everbank Field still has a higher capacity than Heinz Field, Lucas Oil Stadium, and Soldier Field
• 2015 would be the earliest Jags could move due to needing 3 consecutive seasons resulting in a loss in profits.
• Here is the Jaguars lease.  Facts, not speculation or assumption please.  http://t.co/o9FteWPa
• Did you know Chicago is the NFL’s  2nd largest market, yet its stadium holds 5,000 less than #EverBankField?

And if that isn't enough, for tonight's Monday Night Football game in Jacksonville, ESPN is refusing to send their on-site crew to the Chargers-Jaguars game.  It's only the second time this season in 13 weeks that ESPN has neglected to send their studio crew of Stuart Scott, Trent Dilfer, and Steve Young to the stadium for the broadcast.  Coincidentally enough, the only other time was also in Jacksonville for the Ravens' visit earlier this season.  The Jaguars mascot Jaxson De Ville isn't taking this lying down...

"So its our 2nd Monday night game of the year and for the 2nd time ESPN WON'T have their sideline set in the building...they will be doing it from their studios....every other Monday night game they bring their pre game/halftime/post game set and crew and do their shows from the field...our first Monday night game was during the World Series so I understood a little....but to NOT bring it this time is simply insulting."

What kind of message does it send to Jacksonville fans that ESPN doesn't bother to send their MNF on-site team not once but twice to the same stadium?  No wonder Jaguars fans have to feel the need to come together and let their voices be heard.

The long wait for late Cubs broadcaster Ron Santo is finally over as the 3rd baseman was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Golden Era committee.  Santo, who retired after the 1974 season, was perhaps one of the most integral parts of the Cubs franchise for almost 50 years as a player and broadcaster.  As a player, Santo was a member of the memorable 1969 team that came close to breaking the Cubs World Series drought... if not for that damn black cat.

Here's the details from Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago...

It took 32 years, but former Chicago Cubs third baseman Ron Santo was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Monday with at least 75 percent of the vote from the Golden Era committee.

Santo was the only player elected. He received 15 of 16 votes. Jim Kaat received 10 votes, while Gil Hodges and Minnie Minoso received nine each.

Upon his induction, Santo, who died just over a year ago at age 70, will be the 47th Hall of Famer to have played for the Chicago Cubs.

After an illustrious 15-year major league career and 21 years as a broadcaster on Cubs radio, Santo succumbed to bladder cancer and pneumonia on Dec. 3, 2010.

The long wait for induction into the Hall of Fame had been maddening for Santo and his family. Santo was passed over by the veterans committee in 2003, 2005 and 2008. After that committee, comprised of current Hall of Famers, failed to elect anyone for eight consecutive years, the Hall of Fame changed the election rules.

The Golden Era committee was comprised of 16 individuals, including Hall of Fame players, baseball executives and veteran baseball reporters. Seventy-five percent of the 16 votes was needed for induction (12 or more).

It was as a beloved broadcaster where Santo connected with new generations of Cubs fans.  Yes, Santo was never the most polished announcer, often mistaking game situations or not even coming close to opposing players' names.  Still, it was his sheer enthusiasm for the Cubbies that bled through every broadcast as evidenced by this clip...

When the Cubs succeeded, the joy in Santo's voice came through the radio, just as his disapointment did when the team fell short.  In fact, his most memorable broadcasting moment might have been this Brant Brown drop that cost the team a shot at the playoffs.

And even though Santo unfortunately passed away before making the Hall, the bittersweet recognition is better late than never.  Thankfully, the Cubs were able to show Ron Santo how much he meant to the franchise when his number was retired by the team, which Santo called his "Hall of Fame" moment.  And even though Santo may not be around to see it, baseball as a whole has finally given him the recognition he so richly deserves.

[ESPN Chicago]

The final BCS standings were released last night and it will be a rematch in the BCS National Championship Game as #1 LSU plays #2 Alabama.  #3 Oklahoma State fell just short in the final tally and now has to settle for a berth in the Fiesta Bowl.  All around the country, college football fans are either happy the system selected two best teams... or infuriated with rage that the sport gave us a national championship rematch.  And really, no matter whether you're in the pro-rematch or anti-rematch camp, the fact that there even is a debate about who belongs in the title game is the inherent failing of the BCS and the greatest insult to people who give a damn about college football.

I'm going to warn you now, I detest the BCS more than anything else in sports.  Craig James might as well be Gandhi in comparison.  The corruption, the inequality, the greed... everything about this putrid system is the antithesis to what sports should be about.  I'll gladly listen to Pam Ward and Matt Millen announce every single game for the rest of time if it means we can get a real I-A playoff.  The whole mystique around the BCS and college football is the regular season actually meaning something.  You've heard it before from proponents of the current B*S system (henceforth, I refuse to dignify it with a "C" for the word "championship").  The regular season is the playoff.  EVERY GAME COUNTS!  Hell, that's even the official Twitter handle of the B*S.  You can tweet them at @EveryGameCounts and ask them why that first Alabama/LSU game doesn't actually count.

It shouldn't be news to anyone that the B*S is a broken system.  It is a pure cash grab by the major conferences, bowl games, and everyone involved in college football.  There are no real excuses why there shouldn't be a playoff.  Division I-AA has a playoff.  Division II has a playoff.  Division III has a playoff.  In fact, Division III has a 32 team tournament.  32 teams!  And we can't even get 8 in a I-A playoff?!?  You don't think those kids from UW-Whitewater and Mount Union and Wabash don't have academics to deal with?  They are the ones that actually have to work a 9-5 job and need those degrees coming out of college.  

Come to think of it, most every sport known to humankind decides their champion through action that takes place in the theater of competition.  Not by general banter.  Not by computers.  Not by ESPN analysts advocates that want to politick for a certain team or conference.

The fact that there isn't a playoff in I-A football is simply because of greed, money, and corruption.  You saw it last year when suspended Ohio State players were allowed to play in the Sugar Bowl.  You saw it this year when B*S bowls passed by higher-ranked teams in favor of schools they think will fill their stadiums and allow them to pocket more cash.  That's why Michigan gets the payday of a B*S bowl instead of Michigan State, who won their B1G division, and hello, BEAT MICHIGAN EARLIER THIS SEASON!  That's why Notre Dame has a seat at the table and Boise State doesn't.  That's why all the non B*S schools are held out of the big games by the collusion of the bowls and the elite schools of the power conferences.  

Money is also what ESPN's seedy role in college football realignment and their B*S advocacy is all about too.  Their influence is a huge factor as well.  The SEC has proven their worth time and again on the field.  They've earned every benefit of the doubt, but the influence of ESPN and CBS certainly doesn't hurt.  How much did it help Alabama that the leader carried the rematch conversation for the last month?  In no other sport do the words of analysts actually influence and mean something tangible.  Would you want to live in a world where Skip Bayless' unending love of Tim Tebow had an impact on the Broncos being selected to play in the NFL postseason.  Horrifying, isn't it.

It's no way to determine a champion, but boy it makes everyone richer from universitiy presidents and athletic departments to television networks and the bowls themselves.  Apparently, not even T. Boone Pickens himself has enough money to sway the level of corruption that runs deep with everyone sitting at the B*S table.

And let's not go down the road of saying a playoff would ruin college football.  Does a playoff hurt the NFL regular season?  Tell me what would you rather debate - whether or not LSU should play Oklahoma State or Alabama based on statistics and the dreaded "eye test" to determine the "two best teams" or would you rather talk about whether or not Wisconsin could win on the road at Oregon in a first round playoff game?  How about Clemson looking for an upset at Alabama or Boise State getting a shot against LSU?  I'd much rather debate about the games than have the debates decide the game.

But this season more than any other is the greatest failing of the B*S, and we've all fallen for it.  We've fallen for it because fans and pundits everywhere are entrenched in the Alabama vs Oklahoma State debate and we just can't resist a good sports debate.  (Why else do you think there are 4,286 PTI spinoffs?)  Don't you see that's what the B*S wants???  They want us talking, debating, discussing.  They want the air time.  They want the Twitter convos.  They want the endless hours of television coverage.  

But in truth, nobody can say they know Alabama is better than Oklahoma State or vice versa.  It's all guesswork.  And I'm sorry, but the national championship of college football is too important to be decided by guesswork.  And believe it or not, there were actually people on either side of the day trying to use tragedies like the Tuscaloosa tornado and the Oklahoma State plane crash as arguments for and against their choices.  What kind of madness produces that kind of complete detachment from reality?  It's just one of the many reasons why this is the worst year yet of the B*S system...

The regular season is over and before we start to talk about the latest BCS controversy, the Pammies are one system that has been proven to be working this season.  Much like LSU, Craig James is on top where he belongs but there's still places in the Top 5 up for grabs.  Here are your Week 14 nominees...

1) "We are being booed and we arent even in the game" - Mike Patrick, maybe your being booed because Craig James is in the booth and you're awful. (via jleimer)

2) "The whole complexity of this game could've been different." - Craig James (via tomatpsu). Complexion, the word is complexion.

3) "There's back shoulder throws, and then there's back rear-end throws." - Gary Danielson (via ak482)

4) "Mele Kalikimaka! That's a bad Santa. We'll ignore him as much as we can." - Carter Blackburn (via DanielOrmsby)

5) "Larry Fedora better get a rain coat, because a thunderstorm is heading his way." - Craig James There's lightning in gatorade coolers? (via glokkenspx)

6) "3rd and long for Chase Keenum." - Mike Patrick (via bloggerjustinf)

7) "Every time after Rosario makes a good play, they tell him to make another one." - Charles Davis (via sctvman)

8) "Wilson...making chicken salad out of a broken play..." - Gus Johnson (via ChrisMcSharpe)

9) "The first, inaugural Big 12 Champions." - Tim Brewster (via Aaron_Torres) at the Big Ten Championship Game. 

10) "You are the inaugural Pac 10, err, Big 10 Championship game champions!" - Kevin Frazier (via DPMilGaya).  Ohh Fox...

11) ''Game of centimeters? How about decimeters?'' - Charles Davis (via FreddiePhysical).  Centimeters are actually smaller than decimeters.  This is why we need to convert to the metric system.

12) "The quarterback is a tough position."- Gary Danielson (via sharapovasthigh)

13) "Johnson had him faked out but there was no way Southern Miss was going to be faked out" - Craig James (via bjo109)

 14) "If there's a crack in the dam, water usually finds it." - Gary Danielson (via ziggy78) working his voodoo magic.

15) "We're really getting close to kickoff at the SEC championship game." - Tim Brando It's 2:17. Kickoff is at 4 p.m. (via NHSportsHP)

Vote For Your Week 14 Pammy Nominees! (vote for up to five)

The winners will come Wednesday morning.  The check back later this week for the full college football bowl games announcing schedule.

Craig James, who may or may not be leaving the broadcast booth at the end of the season for a political run, came under fire last week for his mind-boggling AP ballot.  Most notably was his selection of 10-1 Boise State as the 24th best team in the country amongst other irregularities.  This week, we have his full ballot from the folks at PollSpeak, and it appears Craig James must have heard everyone lambasting his ballot.  He moved Boise State up this week... to 23rd.  Here's the full Craig James ballot...

Those votes in red are highilgihted as "extreme votes" of which Craig James has the most of any voter.  So far, he is the "Bad Voter" of Week 14.  How appropriate.  Elsewhere in the ballot of Craig James...

*In the Alabama vs Oklahoma State debate for #2, James rates Alabama behind their SEC counterparts ahead LSU and ahead of the Pokes.  I was pretty well settled in the Oklahoma State camp, but seeing Craig James vote Alabama #2 cements that feeling.

*James has two loss Arkansas as the 4th ranked team in the country and two loss USC 5th.  11-1 Stanford, who beat USC and is ranked 4th in the AP Poll, is ranked 8th by James.

*James is only one of four voters to have Big East champion West Virginia unranked and only one of three voters to rank the Missouri Tigers.  Just two of seven teams that James has ranked higher or lower than any other AP voter.  One or two may be understandable, but seven?  At least he maintained some sort of objectivity, SMU isn't in his Top 25 after all.

*But certainly the biggest discrepancy in the ballot of Craig James is the Boise State Broncos.  He ranks the Broncos a full six spots behind any other voter (Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ranks them 17th, the next lowest ranking is 14th).  James ranks Boise State behind teams like 9-3 Baylor, 9-3 Penn State, 9-3 Nebraska, and two teams from Conference USA - Southern Miss and Houston.  

Nobody with a working brain who has watched one second of college football this season would argue Boise State, who lost one game to TCU on a field goal in the final seconds, who defeated SEC East champion Georgia, is only the 23rd best team in the country.  And this is an "expert" "analyst" ESPN employs?  This man is paid to watch and analyze college football!  What vendetta does he hold against the good people of Boise?  Did they not offer his son a scholarship?  Does he not enjoy trick plays?  Does he hate the color blue???  Maybe it will be a good thing if James leaves college football behind for politics, at least he won't be running in Idaho. 

One thing is for certain though.  It's a good thing the AP ballot counts for nothing in determining a national champion.

Packers/Giants is on Fox in your national window at 4 ET as Lions/Saints gets the NBC Flex Game tonight in favor of Colts/Pats.  Leave us your SOS comments throughout the day's games with all the broadcasting quotes from your most and least favorite NFL announcers.  Check the open thread comments, our Twitter timeline, and the #SOSAA Twitter hashtag for all the best Dickies quotes.  You can also check the announcing schedule at the top left of the homepage in our current schedules section.  

We're back and so are the Pammies!  Craig James is on his way to the Pammies crown just as LSU is on their way to the national title game regardless of what happens in the SEC title game.  Can Oklahoma State beat OU and make a big enough impression on human voters?  That's the storyline to watch on this Championship Saturday.  This is the last week of the Pam Ward Chronicles before the bowls so leave us all the best and worst quotes throughout the day!

Welcome to this week's edition of Screengrab Snafus!  Some players age and go with different looks as they move into post-retirement media careers.  I have to say, Antonio Pierce looks a lot different than he did in his playing days.  I kinda like the new look though.  (H/T Carl Chenier)

Elsewhere, it's a wonder Georgia Tech lost in their rivarly game with Georgia last Saturday, what with their 190 First Downs in the first half.  They didn't even post those kind of stats against Cumberland College! (via crainey1984 and bonus points if you get that reference!)

TheKliNG15 tweeted us this screengrab from college hoops.  Thank goodness the leader didn't try to spell Billikens...

Then again, maybe that person was at the keyboard in taking a look at ESPN.com's college basketball contributors.  Who's controlling ESPN's academic standards, John Calipari?  At least this guy could spell college!  (H/T Nathan Kotisso)

From Paul Braverman comes this screengrab of ESPN's listing of the highest winning percentages amongst current FBS coaches.  I tell ya, that Greg Patterson gets no respect for what he's done to build the TCU program...

And finally, from reader Greg Franklin comes this WaPo headline about the tumultuous week in Jacksonville.  It's a wonder the Jags fired coach Jack Del Rio with such a great record...

That was your week in Screengrab Snafus, next time be careful out there!

[follow]