JoePa can't walk without a cane.  He can't stand on the sideline; he has to coach from the press box.  He can't even walk down to the locker room at halftime, because halftime would be over by the time he got there, and then he would miss the first part of the second half getting back to his perch.  But what he can do is adapt to the changing landscape of college football.  He needs to retire before his body fails him; but he's got plenty left in the tank upstairs.  The Buckeyes were latest team to find that out last week.

POWER RANKINGS

1. Texas:  3 down, 1 to go.  Unfortunately, the last is always the toughest.  The 'Horns outlasted a tough Oklahoma State team last week, now they go on the road to Lubbock to take on the Red Raiders in primetime.  I believe if the 'Horns defense can get one or two stops, they win.  But that's easier said than done.

2. Penn State:  I said last week that Buckeye fans would go home crying.  Check.  Now let's see if the Nittany Lions run the table, which was my other prediction.

3. Alabama:  I know that the Crimson Tide fans are happy with being No. 2 in the BCS, and in most polls.  But until last week, they've been living by their elephant skins.  It won't be long before they fall, and everyone else in the country falls in line with my rankings.

4. Oklahoma: This is a team that is seriously lurking right now.  Their only loss was to the No. 1 team in the land.  They bounced right back by trouncing the entire state of Kansas (KU & KSU) the past two weeks.  And their offense hasn't missed a beat.  If the 'Horns stumble somewhere down the line, look out for the Sooners.

5. Florida: Anytime you hang a half a hundred two weeks in a row in the SEC, especially when one of the opponents are the defending National Champions, you deserve Top 5 status.  I don't care what the computers say.  If they do it again this week against Georgia, look out!

6. Oklahoma State:  I don't get this one with the other rankings.  The Cowboys pushed the No. 1 team in the land to the brink last week, in their house, and had the ball with a last chance to pull off the upset as time expired, and they fall to 9th in most polls?  No way.  They are better than that.

7. Georgia: World's largest cocktail party.  The whole team celebrated after their first TD like a bunch of high schoolers.  Their coach planned it that way.  Mr. Richt, allow me to introduce you "Mr. Payback-Is-A-Bitch".  You'll be getting very acquainted with him this weekend.

8. Texas Tech:  I have resisted putting these guys in my Top 10 because their schedule was so light.  I said last week I would consider it depending on what happened against a good, and ranked, Kansas team in Lawrence.  All the Red Raiders did was blast the Jayhawks and lay 63 on them.  I think they'll have a tougher time with a Texas defense that is the fastest, most athletic bunch, especially up front, that they have encountered all year long.  But it will be a dandy in primetime.

9. USC:  These guys continue to underwhelm me, especially on the offensive side of the ball.  They play in a very weak Pac-10 this season, and I can't believe they are as high as they are in the BCS (5th).  Apparently, computers take into account previous reputation.  These guys are in danger of falling out of my Top 10 if they don't show me something in a hurry.  And I'm not counting this week against a lowly, winless Washington team that just fired Ty Willingham.

10. Utah:  These guys were BCS Buster pick from the WAC all along, right?  Ahem, right ?

DORM NOTES

--Ty Willingham was unfairly fired from Notre Dame; he was not unfairly fired this time around in Washington

--I'm seeing more articles and hype about the Red Raiders this week, than I am about Texas.  If I'm a Red Raider fan, I would sure be wishing it were the other way around.

--What's the office pool on how much longer Phil Fulmer lasts at Tennessee?

--Count me in as a guy who really enjoyed seeing Ohio State lose last Saturday, so that we now don't have to worry about another BCS Championship debacle

--If Penn State fulfills my prophecy and reaches the BCS Championship game, they won't be another Ohio State.  Count on it.

--Unless they're playing Texas, I'm rooting for JoePa to win the crown this year, then retire on top. 

Bye: New Orleans, San Diego, San Francisco, Carolina

QUARTERBACKS 1 K. Orton-DET 2 M. Schaub-@MIN 3 K. Warner-@STL 4 J. Cutler-MIA 5 P. Manning-NE 6 E. Manning-DAL 7 D. McNabb-@SEA 8 C. Pennington-@DEN 9 D. Garrard-@CIN 10 M. Bulger-ARI

RUNNING BACKS 1 A. Peterson-HOU 2 B. Westbrook-@SEA 3 M. Forte-DET 4 R. Brown-@DEN 5 S. Jackson-ARI 6 C. Portis-PIT 7 M. Jones-Drew-@CIN 8 M. Barber-@NYG 9 E. Graham-@KC 10 M. Turner-@OAK

WIDE RECEIVERS 1 L. Fitzgerald-@STL 2 B. Marshall-MIA 3 A. Johnson-@MIN 4 R. Wayne-NE 5 R. White-@OAK 6 A. Boldin-@STL 7 Ca. Johnson-@CHI 8 R. Moss-@IND 9 P. Burress-DAL 10 G. Jennings-@TEN

TIGHT ENDS 1 O. Daniels-@MIN 2 T. Gonzalez-TB 3 Da. Clark-NE 4 G. Olsen-DET 5 C. Cooley-PIT 6 A. Fasano-@DEN 7 K. Winslow-BAL 8 J. Witten-@NYG 9 Z. Miller-ATL 10 H. Miller-@WAS

COMPLETE RANKINGS

from the Denver Post:

Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd said recently the club has important decisions to make with personnel, but indicated that trades wouldn't start taking shape for several weeks.

The groundwork on deals is typically laid at the general managers' meetings, which will be held the first week of November in Southern California.

Holliday, who will be a free agent after next season, is monitoring the trade speculation. He turned down a multiyear contract offer last spring, and there has been no progress on a new deal since. The usual suspects will be involved for Holliday, namely Boston, the Phillies, Yankees, Angels, Mets and possibly even teams like the Royals and Nationals. 

The paper goes on to suggest that trading third baseman Garrett Atkins is the Rockies' first choice, but he is not going to bring back nearly as much in return as he has yet to prove he is capable of produce consistently outside of Coors Field. 

************

Does it make sense for the Reds to make a run at Holliday? They might not be able to compete with Boston and the Yankees in a bidding war, but they certainly have some young players that could lure the proven veteran. Reds' GM Walt Jocketty has a track record of pulling off deals just like this, but I don't think the Reds should come off a Johnny Cueto-type young arm to get Holliday, who could be a free-agent at the end of the season. 

Here's a look at some of the top potential free agents (from MLBTradeRumors.com):

Type A
Bobby Abreu (Yankees)
Milton Bradley (Rangers)
Doug Brocail (Astros)
A.J. Burnett (Blue Jays)
Pat Burrell (Phillies)
Orlando Cabrera (White Sox)
Juan Cruz (Diamondbacks)
Ryan Dempster (Cubs)
Adam Dunn (Diamondbacks)
Brian Fuentes (Rockies)
Brian Giles (Padres)
Orlando Hudson (Diamondbacks)
Raul Ibanez (Mariners)
Jason Isringhausen (Cardinals)
Derek Lowe (Dodgers)
Damaso Marte (Yankees)
Jamie Moyer (Phillies)
Mike Mussina (Yankees)
Darren Oliver (Angels)
Oliver Perez (Mets)
Andy Pettitte (Yankees)
Manny Ramirez (Dodgers)
Edgar Renteria (Tigers)
Francisco Rodriguez (Angels)
Ivan Rodriguez (Yankees)
C.C. Sabathia (Brewers)
Ben Sheets (Brewers)
Russ Springer (Cardinals)
Mark Teixeira (Angels)
Jason Varitek (Red Sox)
Kerry Wood (Cubs)

That's 31 Type As, though Giles and Marte may have their options picked up and Mussina may retire.

Type B
Jeremy Affeldt (Reds)
Moises Alou (Mets)
Garret Anderson (Angels)
Joe Beimel (Dodgers)
Casey Blake (Dodgers)
Paul Byrd (Red Sox)
Mike Cameron (Brewers)
Carlos Delgado (Mets)
Alan Embree (Athletics)
Eric Gagne (Brewers)
Jon Garland (Angels)
Luis Gonzalez (Marlins)
Ken Griffey Jr. (White Sox)
Mark Grudzielanek (Royals)
Trevor Hoffman (Padres)
Bob Howry (Cubs)
Jeff Kent (Dodgers)
Braden Looper (Cardinals)
Mark Loretta (Astros)
Brandon Lyon (Diamondbacks)
Greg Maddux (Dodgers)
Trever Miller (Rays)
Miguel Olivo (Royals)
Brad Penny (Dodgers)
Dennys Reyes (Twins)
Brian Shouse (Brewers)
John Smoltz (Braves)
Frank Thomas (Athletics)
Salomon Torres (Brewers)
Juan Uribe (White Sox)
Tim Wakefield (Red Sox)
David Weathers (Reds)
Randy Wolf (Astros)
Jamey Wright (Rangers)
Gregg Zaun (Blue Jays)

That's 35 Type Bs, though Cameron, Delgado, Embree, Miller, Olivo, Penny, Torres, and Wakefield could have their options picked up and Alou, Griffey, Kent, and Maddux could retire.

Through eight weeks of the season I have picked 75 out of 115 (65.2%) possible winners, despite my average 8-6 effort last week in which I scored 77 out of a possible 105 points... My Survivor picks had mixed resultls as the Texans (My Pick) cruised past the Bengals, but my out a limb choice who'd of left you out of the pool as the Niners failed to show up against the Seahawks... Against the spread I barely hit my under in the JAX/CLE game, but it paid. However, I missed badly on the Niners. The 2-team parly got knocked down to one-game bet as Carolina pushed against Arizona. On the week I won $25, which is better than losing and now puts me over $700 in the account...Here are my picks for this week's action:

CONFIDENCE POOL	SURVIVOR PICK	AGAINST SPREAD
14. BEARS (vs. Det) 13. JAGUARS (@Cin) 12. BUCS (@KC) 11. EAGLES (@Sea) 10. BILLS (vs. NyJ) 9. GIANTS (vs. Dal) 8. COLTS (vs. NE) 7. BRONCOS (vs. Mia) 6. TITANS (vs. GB) 5. VIKIGNS (vs. Hou) 4. RAVENS (@Cle) 3. RAMS (vs. Ari) 2. FALCONS (@Oak) 1. STEELERS (@Was)	MY PICK: BEARS - Lovie Smith's gang had two weeks to prepare for the winless Lions at Soldier Field. Don't think about taking somebody else this week. OUT ON A LIMB: BUCS - For those of you that can't take Chicago this week, take a good look at Tampa Bay. The Chiefs aren't as good as the Jets made them look and Chucky isn't going to stand for two straight losses.	Season Starting Balance: $500 Balance Heading Into Week: $704 $55 Eagles -7 $55 Ravens +2 $30 - 2-Team Parlay --Over 43 Chi/Det --Under 41 Oak/Atl *All lines from Caesar's Palace