Growing up in Houston, you learn to go on hurricane watch at this time of the year.  Usually, they just swipe on by to the East or the West.  Every now and then, like this year, it goes right through the city.  However, I didn't think I would have to continue to be a hurricane watcher once I moved to Cincinnati four years ago.  But apparently after last Sunday, I do.

It's always fun to have to pickup pieces of your house and put them in the garage for "safe keeping".  But at least it was during the NFL games, not college Saturdays, right?  And for those of you who care, all of my family in H-town are perfectly fine.  Unlike the Buckeyes, they know how to prepare for the big event.

POWER RANKINGS

1.  USC:  Herbstreit pretty well summed it up during the coverage on Saturday night, "the only team that will beat USC, is USC".

2.  OKLAHOMA: As a Texas graduate, it still hurts me to have to rank these guys this high.  But they are making good teams (Cincinnati and Washington) look silly.

3.  MISSOURI:  Here's the surprise in my rankings.  But the Tigers and the Sooners are the only two teams in the nation that have hung 52pts. on each of their opponents this season.  The Tigers even did that on at least one Top 25 team in Illinois.  Not even the mighty 'Men of Troy' can claim that.

4. GEORGIA: I had the chance to watch the Dawgs take on South Carolina this past Saturday.  I had to drop them one slot because I now have concerns about their red zone offense, and their defensive coordinator's ability to make in-game adjustments.

5. FLORIDA: DNP.  They're gearing up for their annual death match with the Vols this weekend.

6. LSU: The Tigers predictably beat-up on North Texas this past weekend.  Now they get the 'other Tigers' in the Superior than Everyone Conference this weekend in Auburn.

7. TEXAS: The Longhorns have had an extra layoff due to Hurricane Ike.  Let's just hope that the layoff doesn't affect them as poorly as it has affected the Astros.

8. ALABAMA: Note to the SEC, Bama is back!  Saban's boys are coming, and coming hard.

9. AUBURN: These Tigers are going to look like kitties this time next week, after LSU gets their claws in them.  And wow, that was way too many cat/tiger references in one sentence.

10. WISCONSIN: I love "The Wisconsin Winnebego" P.J. Hill.  I really do.  But I can't in good conscience put any team from the Little Ten above good SEC teams right now.

BCS BUSTERS:  BYU, East Carolina

DORM NOTES

--Can someone please tell Ohio State that it's okay for them to be competitive in big games outside the Little Ten?  Barely in the game for one quarter is getting really old.

--In case you were wondering, BYU is for real.  The beat-down they put on UCLA (who recently beat Tennessee), was the worst defeat UCLA has suffered in over 50 years.

--The BYU vs. Utah game is shaping up to be a great late season matchup

--Fantasy Alert:  If you play in an NFL keeper league, Missouri QB Chase Daniel is a great college quarterback, but will be a terrible NFL one.

--This one is special for my friend Ben-Ro:  I am aware that UK had only allowed 3pts. heading into last weekend's game vs. MTSU.  But you need look no further than that very game to see why I'm not giving the 'Cats any love just yet.

BUFFALO FOREVER!  (If you didn't see the ending on their game last weekend, go to youtube and check it out.  You won't be disappointed.)

Green Light, Yellow Light, Red Light – STOP!!! There are some appealing names each week on the waiver wire, I supply my weekly take on whether these players should be considered or not.

QUARTERBACKS
Trent Edwards – You could do much worse at quarterback, just ask the owners of Carson Palmer. The Bills’ young signal caller is delivering on his upside and is capable of putting up 20+ PaTD’s this season.

Brian Griese – Jeff Garcia is in Jon Gruden’s doghouse big time right now and that has left Griese with the starting job in his hands to lose. He didn’t overwhelm me against the Falcons though, and better step up soon or the plug may be pulled on him too.



RUNNING BACKS
Ahmad Bradshaw – Regular blog readers are probably sick of hearing me talk about this guy, but the numbers Sunday don’t lie (31-yard RuTD; 19-yard ReTD).  Bradshaw is frustrating from a consistency standpoint as the Giants have a stable of solid runners, but if he’s still out there in your league snatch him now and hope for an injury as his upside is huge.

Michael Bush – With both Justin Fargas and Darren McFadden banged up, Bush could be the starter this week vs. the Bills. He is at 100% following a trip to the I.R. last year and at 245 pounds, he seems to be a natural fit to be the short-yardage guy even when all three backs are healthy.

Darren Sproles – L.T. owners need to be concerned about the lingering toe injury and they better not hesitate to insure themselves with Sproles.  He only has fantasy value if Tomlinson stays dinged up and has a huge boost if Tomlinson were to get sidelined for a lengthy period.  He’s not worth cutting for a RB that has more a defined role though. For example, I am not cutting Edgerrin James (disappointing start) or a Willis McGahee (battling injury) to take a flyer on him.


WIDE RECEIVERS
Bryant Johnson – The 49ers’ passing attack has been surprising and Johnson appears as if he’s going to be a big part of it, particularly in the red zone. He followed up a slow first week of the season by grabbing 6 balls for 78 yards and a TD in Week 2.

Matt Jones – He has led the Jaguars in receptions in two straight weeks, but that is not saying much. Don’t get me, Jones has upside. However, you don’t need to carry away too much. He’s yet to proven he’s consistent, there are the off-the-field concerns to worry about, and I still think Jerry Porter (when healthy) is going to be the team’s top wideout.

TIGHT ENDS
John Carlson – With nearly every receiver on the Seahawks down with an injury, Carlson is the top option for Matt Hasselbeck to throw to. It showed on Sunday when he pulled in 6 catches for 78 yards.

Dustin Keller – He caught his first career catch, a 19-yard grab, in Sunday’s loss to the Patriots. There was plenty of hype leading up to the season and many owners know that Favre loves tight ends. However, with Chris Baker and Bubba Franks still in the mix it is uncertain how quickly the rookie will develop.



DEFENSE
Packers – Through two weeks of fantasy football the Green Bowl Packers are fantasy’s third-ranked defense. That may not stand true for the length of the season, but they have enough young talent and are fortunate to play some weak offenses ahead. That’s enough to make them a respectable starting fantasy option.

With just 12 games left in the regular season and currently tied for the lead in the NL Wildcard race, the Brewers shocked the baseball world on Monday when they fired manager Ned Yost.  The timing of the firing is unheard of in the history of the game.

Before we question the timing of this move though, let's look at the factors that contributed to it. First was the fact that the team collapsed last year late in the season, eventually losing the division to the Cubs. Secondly, is the fact that the Brewers went out a huge limb to make a run this season as they sent away elite prospects and opened up their wallets to bring in ace C.C. Sabathia. The move has paid dividends based off of the defending AL Cy Young winner's contributions to the team, but only works if the team makes the playoffs. With both Sabathia and right hander Ben Sheets likely headed for free agency at season's end, the Brewers know their window of opportunity is closing quickly.

The Brewers, who haven't appeared in the post-season since losing the 1982 World Series to St. Louis, were flying high entering the final month of the season, having gone 20-7 in August to move 24 games above .500. At that point, they held a 5 1/2 -game lead in the NL wild-card race over Philadelphia.

But when the calendar turned to September, the team went into a deep funk, especially on offense. The Brewers went 3-7 on a home stand to begin the month, then went to Philadelphia and were swept in a four-game series, blowing any realistic chance of catching the Cubs for the NL Central crown. Chicago leads the division by eight games.

"When we talked to (Ned), he didn't have all the answers as to what's gone on the last two weeks," GM Bob Melvin said at a news conference on Monday.

"I'm not sure I have all the answers. I'm not sure this is the right one, either. I don't think any of us know, but I'm going to turn the managerial position over to Dale Sveum and hope we can kick-start a ballclub that we feel has a lot of talent."

It's a bold move for sure.  Was it the right move to make? Only time will tell