In my Thanksgiving Fantasy Focus article last week I said that Sam Mitchell needed to be fired before the turkeys hit the table.  Well, it turns out I was only six days off as Mitchell was fired earlier this afternoon.  After last night's 132-93 ass whooping by the Denver Nuggets, GM Bryan Colangelo had seen enough.  Frankly, it shouldn't have taken this long.  Mitchell lost a ton of close games in his tenure as the coach of the Raptors and he was clearly in over his head.  His penchant for jerking guys in and out of the lineup, bizarre substitution patterns and questionable fourth quarter tactics led to this inevitable move and the team will be better under new leadership...  

  

Call me delusional and/or a glutton for punishment, but I'm taking the Chargers to win and laying the 9 1/2 points tomorrow night.  The Bolts should annihilate a woeful Raiders team at home and win this game by five touchdowns.   However, based on what has transpired this season that probably won't happen.  If the Raiders somehow find a way to prevail, then Dean Spanos should have a locksmith standing by to change the lock to Norv Turner's office before he even is able to leave the field.  I've endured a lot of frustrating seasons as a San Diego Chargers fan (the Dan Henning and Kevin Gilbride Eras in particular), but this one is at the very top of the list.  Incredibly, the Chargers still have a remote chance to win the division and they need to keep their dwindling playoff hopes alive by winning convincingly tomorrow...  

Without Spread - Chargers
With Spread - Chargers - 9 1/2






As predicted by the SDSG a few short months ago, Rajon Rondo is on his way to becoming one of the elite point guards in the league.  Earlier tonight, The Kid put up the following line:  16 points, 13 rebounds, 17 assists and 3 steals.  Barring a major injury to Kobe, Bynum, KG or Pierce, it's going to be the Celtics and the Lakers meeting once again in the NBA finals and the series is going to be even more entertaining than the last one...






Plaxico Burress has now been placed on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list because of the recent self-inflicted gunshot wound.  Without question Plax has already earned the Bonehead of the Week award, but I'm wondering where this ranks on the all-time list of bonehead moves for athletes.  The following list was pulled from CNNSI.com and Burress deserves a spot in the top three.  Can anybody remember a better incident than these? 


1. Gus Frerotte: The crème de la crème of auto-injuries. Gus plus head butt plus concrete wall equals infamy.

2. Bill Gramatica: While playing for the Cardinals, the wee NFL kicker -- and younger brother of Martin -- celebrated a routine 42-yard field goal against the Giants by doing his ritual wild leaping into the air. This time, however, he tore his ACL.

3. Joel Zumaya: The Tigers’ flame-throwing reliever missed the 2006 ALCS with a sore wrist, which he reportedly injured while playing Guitar Hero.

4. Alex Stepney: The longtime Manchester United goalkeeper injured himself in 1975. While screaming at his teammates and encouraging them to shore up their defense, Stepney yelled so vociferously that he dislocated his own jaw.

5. Jimmie Johnson: The three-time NASCAR champ was laid up for about a month after injuring himself by falling out of a moving golf cart.