My Favorite 10: Terrible Quarterbacks

For the foreseeable future, i.e. when I feel like it, I'll be listing my Favorite 10 of something. With Inauguration Day a week from now, what better time to introduce something new than now? I have no set timeline for the future Favorite 10s. Maybe we'll save 'em for rainy days ("But basketball is played indoors through March," you might say; save it, wise guy).

Here is the maiden Favorite 10. And it's Favorite 10: Terrible Football Players

10. Tim Couch -- A friend of mine from Cleveland once told me that Browns fans cheered when Couch went down with an injury. But the best way to decipher if you are terrible is just how terrible your (better) replacement is. In this case, Couch was replaced by Kelly Holcomb, known for his famous middle name, "F-in," as in Kelly "F-in" Holcomb.

9. Ryan Leaf -- In his third game as a pro QB, Leaf was 1 for 15 for 4 yards. And he fumbled three times. Ya gotta love reading stuff like this about a player. Apparently he lied about a hand injury to go play golf. Isn't that fun? This has to be the kicker to it all -- he got fired at West Texas A&M. Not only does that place exist, but it fired Ryan leaf. Fired him! I actually don't like Leaf at all. Dude seems like a jerk. But it's hilarious to hear what crazy things he's up to.

8. Jeff Blake -- My brother would be furious if I didn't include Jeff "Fumbles" Blake in my Favorite 10 Terrible Quarterbacks. Blake played for seven teams in 13 seasons, and wasn't really terrible, but he did average just less than one fumble a game in 1999. And he was on the Bungles, so every drop back was an adventure.

7. David Carr -- He was the first pick for the expansion franchise. He was the No. 1 pick in the 2002 NFL Draft. David Carr. No. 1 pick in the Draft. He's had the wonderful honor of leading the NFL in fumbles not once but twice. Humorously enough, he was the stopgap for the Giants if Eli Manning injured himself. I bet Giants fans are happy that day didn't come this year.

6. Jake Plummer -- He actually was OK for the Broncos, but for the sake of the Top 10, we'll say the Arizona Cardinals Jake Plummer. Jake the Snake averaged a cool 19 picks a year in his six seasons in Phoenix. But it was his ability to rollout, cross his fingers and flip a dying quayle into the wind that really tugs my heart.

5. Chris Weinke -- He had a great last name, but that's not why I love this guy. And the fact that he was 89 when he finally got to the NFL isn't why, either. It's because in his only year as a starter in the NFL, Weinke orchestrated a great Panthers season, helping the young franchise to a 1-14 record, thanks in part to his 30 turnovers. He also has a son named Rex, which is widely known to be my favorite first name.

4. Brooks Bollinger -- When Chad Pennington went down with a hangnail -- and Jay Fiedler left with too big of a brain to be a football player -- Bollinger got the reins of the Jets offense. And Herm Edwards did all he could to not pass the ball. Bollinger looked like he was gonna cry every time he screwed up -- which was often -- and your heart went out to him. But boy, was he terrible.

3. Quincy Carter -- God, I love me some Quincy Carter (and some me). Anyone who quarterbacks a team called the Shreveport-Bossier Battle Wings is great as far as I'm concerned.

2. Rex Grossman -- Man, this was tough leaving Sexy Rexy at second. Is there anyone you'd trust less with the game on the line? Or any kind of lead? Or trying to come back from a deficit? Or tossing the remote to you from across the living room? I bet Rex's wife asks him to pass the salt all the time at dinner, and it almost always gets picked off.

1. Joey Harrington. Is it because he's 30 and still goes by Joey? Is it because he's been on four teams in six seasons? Or is it because he was supposedly so bad at reading defenses when he was on the Lions that their center had to do it for the team? Whatever it is, I don't care. Joey Harrington is still my favorite terrible quarterback. Maybe it's because he's a piano virtuoso.

Standing Tall ... For Now

Well, Joe Lunardi still thinks Pitt is it. At least for now.

But this week will be the first test for the Panthers, and there are plenty more to come.

And I'm not talking about a showdown tomorrow with USF, although I'm sure it'll be fun for Sam Young and his old pal Chris Howard to meet on the hardwood.

I'm talking about Saturday's showdown with Louisville ... in Louisville. Did you see the Cardinals last night? Sure, Notre Dame gave Pitino's crew all it could handle, but Louisville looked great in OT, winning by 14. And the home crowd really spurred the Cardinals on.

Just wait until Saturday.

Once the point guard position is solved, Louisville will quickly return to elite status. But for now, as long as Terrence Williams is posting triple-double kind of numbers, I think Louisville will be just fine.

Notre Dame sure thinks so.

So as much as it has been fun for Pitt and its fans so far, last night showed how difficult a test it's going to be to hold on to the undefeated record and top ranking. Not that anyone would look past South Florida ...

Elsewhere
-- Last night, I was all about the statement game. In that case, I was referring to Louisville's win against Notre Dame. Today, I'm referring to Oklahoma's clobbering of Texas.

-- Max Good is a name I saw a lot growing up in Rhode Island. He was a very successful coach at Bryant College in the Ocean State. Now, he's taking over Loyola Marymount in L.A. Movin' on up, I'd say.

-- Did "Tool Time" go off-air once "Home Improvement" did, or did Tim and Al stick around for more?

-- Speaking of "Home Improvement," my buddy and I have solved the show's extremely easy formula for each 22-minute episode. In no particular order but in the show somewhere ... an episode of "Tool Time" where Tim makes jokes about Al's mother and then Tim gets hurt or does something stupid; Tim making fun of Jill for being a woman; Tim working on something, either a car or an appliance in the house; Brad and Randy making fun of Mark (who wouldn't, right?); Tim and Jill fighting; Tim seeking Wilson's advice; Tim mangling Wilson's advice in the process of the great dilemma being solved; everyone's happy.

Did I miss anything?

-- This is a nice dunk.

-- If you have any desire to laugh, read the Trillion Man March.

-- And this is always fun.

Statement Game

Louisville just put it down on Notre Dame -- in overtime -- but still, the Cards blew out the Irish. This continues to prove my theory that Notre Dame won't be much of a winner on the road.

Power Rankings

It's Monday. That means there are rankings to be done.

1. Pitt (15-0; previous rank: 1) -- St. John's gave the Panthers some trouble for a good 24 minutes or so, but Pitt came out of its shell in time to blow St. John's out.

2. Wake Forest (14-0; 4) -- The Deacs dominated UNC and we were all about it this morning.

3. Duke (14-1; 3) -- The Blue Devils have a bigger problem than their rival North Carolina -- Wake Forest.

4. UConn (14-1; 5) -- I'd say the Huskies have rebounded well from their Big East-opening loss to Georgetown.

5. North Carolina (13-2; 2) -- I know what you're thinking -- how many times does UNC have to lose before we drop them far down the polls? Well, I'll say three more.

6. Oklahoma (15-1; 7) -- There hasn't been any trouble since the Arkansas loss.

7. Syracuse (16-1; 8) -- How much more does Syracuse have to do before it gets national attention? HUGE game on Wednesday at Georgetown.

8. Michigan State (13-2; 11) -- Sparty had a convincing win against Kansas this weekend. Something tells me MSU is back.

9. UCLA (13-2; 10) -- Big win at USC. Huge win. The Bruins, like Michigan State, are back.

10. Clemson (16-0; 12) -- The Tigers get to play Wake on Saturday. Cannot wait.

11. Marquette (15-2; 13) -- Um, did you watch the Golden Eagles destroy West Virginia?

12. Texas (12-3; 9) -- The Longhorns lost to Arkansas. So did Oklahoma. That's why tonight's game is such an appetizing contest. Oh, and Texas and Oklahoma are two of the best teams in the nation. Forgot about that.

13. Notre Dame (12-3; NR) -- The Irish are momentarily legit after a win at home against Georgetown. I'd love to see them on the road against a Big East opponent -- er, a retry after the St. John's loss.

14. Minnesota (15-1; 17) -- The Gophers got a huge win on the road at Iowa. And then blew out Penn State. But who doesn't blow out Penn State?

15. Arizona State (14-2; NR) -- A dominating sweep of Oregon catapults ASU back into the Power Rankings after several previously ranked teams struggled.

16. Butler (14-1; 18) -- The Bulldogs have won six in a row since their loss at Ohio State.

17. Cal (15-2; NR) -- Nine wins in a row since the Bears' second loss, plus a sweep of Washington, has me high on Cal.

18. Baylor (13-2; NR) -- Baylor is the third-best team in the Big 12. The Bears are not going to be an easy team to play the rest of the season.

19. Louisville (12-3; NR) -- Three wins since the UNLV loss, including a gutsy buzzer-beating win against Kentucky and a one-point thriller over 'Nova. Two gigantic games follow the 'Nova win: home tussles with Notre Dame and Pitt.

20. St. Mary's (15-1; NR) -- No Gonzaga until the end of the month. Twelve-game winning streak. St. Mary's deserves it.

UNC Who?

ESPN.com's Andy Katz has a column up today about Wake Forest's ceiling in March. Is it the Sweet 16? Elite 8? Final Four? Beyond?

Well, if how the Deacs played last night is any indication, the sky's the limit for Wake. Some are already saying Wake is the team to beat in the ACC.

I don't know if I'd go that far, but how many more games like this will it take for UNC to be taken off of its pedestal?

But this much is clear: Wake Forest is good enough to make the Final Four. Quietly, the ACC has four Final Four contenders -- Wake, UNC, Duke and Clemson.

Yeah, Clemson.

The Tigers are legitimate this year. Their scouting report looks good -- top 30 D and offense. That's important.

So, if you want to see which team -- Clemson or Wake -- is going to emerge as the better threat to UNC and Duke, wait until Saturday, when Clemson hosts Wake. Right now, Wake has the leg up.

Elsewhere
-- Pitt held onto its top ranking with a solid thumping of St. John's after a close start to the contest. DeJuan Blair, as usual, led the way.

-- I called the Cardinals, didn't I? (Pats self on back.) Too bad I was wrong about the Titans. And the Giants.

-- Oh, and here are two hilarious links.

BCS Title Game: Who Ya Got?

I've got Utah, Texas, Florida and USC playing for a title in my head.

And I'm not watching tonight's game.

Welcome (Back) to Earth

At least that's what Harvard was saying last night to BC as the Crimson trampled the Eagles in a Beantown throwdown. Seriously, how do you beat North Carolina then turn around and lose to Harvard?

How? Anyone want to explain that to me?

Talk about soaring out of this world then crashing back to it. One day, you're the toast of the college basketball world, owning a win against the No. 1 team in the nation (a team, might I add, that no one thought would ever lose, including me) and being ranked No. 24. The next day, you're watching zeroes roll across the board when you're still down 12 to an Ivy League team.

If Will Smith's fists of justice don't hit BC while he shouts "Welcome (Back) to Earth!" then certainly all the coverage of the upset today will serve as the gut-punch. How embarrassing.

Now I know I've written about Harvard before. The Crimson have a talented coach who recruits like a mad man. Amaker has another good class coming in for next season. But he has his kids playing good hoops now.

Plus, with the way this season is going, does it surprise anyone that there was another upset? Does anyone want to be ranked and stay there?

Maybe you, Tennessee? No? Oh, OK. Maybe Gonzaga liked being ranked so much that it wants back in ...

UPDATE: I can't believe I forgot to mention that Maryland lost to Morgan State last night. Because that's hilarious.

Elsewhere
-- I. Love. Pacman.

-- I do not love Brett Favre.

-- Gotta love them BoSox.

-- Mangini to the Browns ...

-- I want to be the GM of the Lions. Seriously. If it's anything like Madden ...

-- Are you freakin' kidding me?

-- A nice way to start your morning (after reading J. Greer, of course) is to read this roundtable from college hoops experts at SI.com. Enjoy.