Lakers Top Atlanta Hawks With 114-109 Win

The LA Lakers won their second game in 11 tries behind Kobe Bryant's 28 points on Tuesday night in Atlanta. Admittedly they only beat the 5-5 Hawks but they handed the Hawks their first loss at home. The Lakers need every confidence boost they can get.

Carlos Boozer had 20 points for the Lakers and Nick Young, playing in his first game of the year following a thumb injury, added 17 in the win.

Paul Millsap had 29 points for the Hawks while Jeff Teague chipped in 23.

The Lakers out rebounded Atlanta 44-38 with Boozer and Jordan Hill each grabbing 10 while Al Horford and Pero Antic had 8 boards apiece for the Hawks.

Royals' Butler Signs With Oakland Athletics

Billy Butler, a free agent from the World Series Kansas City Royals , has agreed to a 3 year 30 million dollar contract offer from the Oakland Athletics. Butler hit .271 with 9 home runs and 66 RBIs for the Royals in 2014. He is a career .295 hitter, an All Star and a Silver Slugger Award winner in 2012.

Charros Defeat Navojoa 8-6

Marco Tovar started for the Charros against the Mayos de Navojoa and went 5 1/3 innings, giving up 5 runs on 7 hits, walking 3 and striking out 5. David Kopp picked up the win as the pitcher of record when Jalisco took the lead in the bottom of the 8th. Kopp pitched 2/3 of an inning. Brian Broderick got his 11th save of the year, pitching a perfect 9th inning. Linder Castro took the loss for the Mayos to fall to 0-2 on the season. Castro gave up 4 runs on 4 hits in the 8th, including a home run to Gabriel Gutierrez.

Navojoa scored a run in the top of the 4th on a solo home run by John Lindsey, his first of the year.

With two outs in the 5th, Jose Chavez singled to center for the Mayos and went to second on a single by Rolando Acosta. Tim Federowicz singled to score Chavez and John Lindsey singled to drive in Acosta for the 3-0 Navojoa lead.

The Charros answered in their half of the 5th. Ivan Araujo singled and went to second on a single to center by Jesus Lopez. Eduardo Arredondo hit into a fielder's choice that scored Araujo and Jalisco was on the board. Manny Rodriguez hit a ground rule double and Leo Heras walked to load the bases. Japhet Amador then cleared the bases on a double to deep left. The Charros had taken a 4-3 lead.

The Mayos wouldn't quit and they retook the lead 5-4 in the top of the 6th. Fernando Flores singled to left. Diego Madero also singled to left. Alejandro Gonzalez singled to score Flores and Rolando Acosta singled to center to plate Madero for the two run inning.

Carlos Orrantia doubled with two outs in the Mayo's half of the 7th. Fernando Flores reached on an infield single to third that advanced Orrantia. Charros reliever, Ivan Salas, uncorked a wild pitch to score Orrantia from third and gave Navojoa a 6-4 lead.

Jalisco put the game away in the bottom of the 8th. With one out, Marquez Smith doubled and scored on a Brendan Harris double to center. Gabriel Gutierrez followed with a 2 run home run to left, his second of the year. Ivan Araujo singled, stole second and came home on a single by Eduardo Arredondo. The Charros had the final margin of victory, 8-6.

Ivan Araujo was 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored. Eduardo Arredondo went 2 for 5 with 2 RBIs and a run scored raising his batting average to .234. Manny Rodriguez got back on track going 2 for 5 with his 13th double of the year and a rub scored. Japhet Amador had a double in 3 at bats with 3 RBIs and a run scored. Gabriel Gutierrez was 1 for 4 with the 2 run home run.

Jalisco is now 19-14 on the year while Navojoa falls to 11-22. The Charros are a full game behind the Yaquis de Obregon for the overall league lead.

Steelers Top Titans 27-24 on MNF

The Pittsburgh Steelers, down 24-13 starting the 4th quarter, fought back to defeat the Tennessee Titans 27-24 behind Le'Veon Bell's 204 rushing yards and 1 touchdown. Bell's rushing total was the highest singe game effort this season.

Ben Roethlisberger was 21 of 32 passing for 207 yards and a TD with 1 INT.  Antonio Brown caught Big Ben's touchdown toss with 9 minutes left in the 4th quarter to seal the win for the Steelers. Brown had 91 yards receiving on 9 catches for the night.

William Gay, of the Steelers, picked off a pass from Zach Mettenberger and returned it 28 yards for a touchdown in the 1st quarter.

Mettenberger completed 15 of his 24 pass attempts for 263 yards and 2 touchdowns with the 1 interception. Bishop Sankey was the leading ground gainer for the Titans with 38 yards on 11 carries.

Nate Washington caught one pass all game for the Titans, good for 80 yards and a touchdown for the Titans.

Culiacan Tops Charros 6-3 to Take Series

Culican took the rubber match of the three game series with the Charros, 6-3, behind starter Hector Rodriguez and five relievers who held Jalisco to three runs on just seven hits.

Jalisco scored in the bottom of the 3rd. Jesus Lopez singled to lead off. Eduardo Arredondo hit a ground ball single to first that scored Lopez on a throwing error by the Tomateros first baseman. The Charros had a short lived lead 1-0.

The Tomateros scored two in the top of the 4th on a solo home run by Garrett Weber, a single by Issmael Salas, a walk to Ramiro Pena and a run scoring single by Ali Solis that scored Salas. Culiacan had retaken the lead 2-1.

The Charros came right back in the home half of the 4th to retake the lead 3-2. Gabriel Gutierrez singled with one out. Amadeo Zazueta reached safely on a throwing error by the third baseman and the runners wound up on 2nd and 3rd. Jesus Lopez hit a sac fly to right to score Gutierrez with Zazueta moving to third. Eduardo Arredondo singled to score Zazueta for the Jalisco lead.

Maxwell Leon led off the 5th for the Tomateros by drawing a walk. Jorge Vazquez singled. Garrett Weber was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Issmael Salas walked to force in Leon and Ramiro Pena singled to score Vazquez. Culiacan had regained the lead 4-3.

Culican would score twice in the top of the 6th on a single by Rico Noel and a 2 run home run by Maxwell Leon to ice the Tomateros victory 6-3.

Alfredo Aceves picked up the win for Culiacan to improve to 2-3 on the year while Graham Godfrey took the loss for the Charros, his first of the year against four wins, giving up 4 runs on 7 hits with 4 walks in his five innings pitched.

With the series loss to Culiacan, the Charros record stands at 18-14. After the day off on Monday, the Charros travel to Navojoa for three games against the Mayos beginning on Tuesday the 18th of November.

NFL Picks This Week

UPDATE:  6-7 this week...16-9 for the last 2 weeks!

After going 10-2 last week I thought I would try my luck again this week. The teams playing are a little more evenly matched so the picks are much harder...my caveat if the picks go poorly!

Minnesota @ Chicago     Bears 24-17     Cutler admits he's bad...will bounce back
Houston @ Cleveland     Texans 28-10     Defense wins this one. Maybe 2 Def TDs
Seattle @ Kansas City     Seahawks 24-13     Toss up in KC but Wilson comes through
Atlanta @ Carolina     Falcons 17-14     Newton hurt? Falcons D just good enough
Cincinnati @ New Orleans     Saints 30-21     Saints start their charge today
Tampa Bay @ Washington     Redskins 21-13     Battle of not good teams
Denver @ St. Louis     Broncos 35-10     Offense + Defense win for the Broncos
San Francisco @ NY Giants     49ers 28-24     SF needs to stay ahead of Seahawks
Oakland @ San Diego     Chargers 21-17    Oakland 0-10 looking for QB in 2015 draft
Philadelphia @ Green Bay     Eagles 24-21     Why? I'm not sure. Gut feeling.
Detroit @ Arizona     Lions 28-14     No QB for Cardinals. Stafford and Robotron
New England @ Colts     Patriots 27-17     Brady teaches Luck a lesson in legacy
Pittsburgh @ Tennessee     Steelers 31-21     Roethlisberger recovers and so does D

Tomateros Destroy Charros Pitching With 16-5 Win

The Tomateros de Culiacan left no doubt as to their offensive abilities with 4 home runs and 16 runs scored against 4 Jalisco pitchers in just six innings on Saturday afternoon. Nick Buss, of Culiacan, was 4 for 5 with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs. Culican had 16 hits and drew four walks in the game.

The Charros collected 11 hits but could only manage 5 runs against four Culiacan pitchers. Jalisco left 12 men on base to show that their hitting, though plentiful, was not timely. Marquez Smith went 2 for 5 with his 8th home run of the year.

Robert Coello picked up the win for Culiacan and is now 2-0 on the year. Juan Delgadillo started for the Charros and took the loss, his 5th of the season. Delgadillo gave up 5 runs on 6 hits in just 1 2/3 innings of work. Manuel Flores gave up 5 runs in 2/3 of an inning and Ken Sigman gave up 5 runs in his 2 1/3 innings on the mound. Carlos Vazquez was the most effective pitcher for the Charros, holding the Tomateros scoreless over the 8th and 9th innings.

Culican led 11-0 as the Charros came to bat in the bottom of the 3rd. Israel Nunez walked to lead off the inning. Eduardo Arredondo singled and Manny Rodriguez was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Leo Heras grounded into a 3-6 fielder's choice that scored Nunez. Marquez Smith then beat out a ground ball to deep short for an infield single to drive in Arredondo as the Charros narrowed the lead to 11-2.

The score would be 16-2 Culiacan, as the Charros came to bat in the bottom of the 6th. Marquez Smith doubled and Jalisco then loaded the bases on walks to Jesus Cota and Jesus Lopez. Fernando Valenzuela hit a sac fly to center to score Smith and the Charros were behind 16-3.

In the bottom of the 7th with the score still 16-3, Leo Heras singled and came around to score on Marquez Smith's 2 run home run to right. Jalisco had climbed back but it wouldn't be enough on this night as the Charros fell by the final score of 16-5.

Jalisco's record is now 18-13, in a 2nd place tie with Mexicali and just 1/2 game behind Obregon in the Liga de Mexicana del Pacifico standings.

Sunday's game with Culiacan completes the three game series. The Charros are off on Monday before traveling to Navojoa to take on the last place Mayos for three games beginning on Tuesday the 18th of November.

#5 Alabama Outlasts #1 Mississippi State 25-20

Alabama beat Mississippi State on Saturday 25-20 to make a strong statement to the CFP Committee for a berth in the top 4 finalists in this years 4 team playoff for the National Championship.

Dak Prescott, quarterback of Mississippi State was 27 of 48 passing for 290 yards and 2 TDs but threw 3 interceptions. Mississippi State also suffered a safety during the game.

Nick Perry, Landon Collins and Cyrus Jones all intercepted the potential Heisman Trophy finalist Prescott.

With this win and TCU's close win over unranked Kansas, the Crimson Tide should be in the top four of the CFP rankings on Tuesday. If FSU beats Miami tonight they should jump ahead of idle #2 Oregon with Alabama #3 and Mississippi State #4.

Read the box score and ESPN recap here

Wisconsin Badgers Crush Nebraska 59-17

The #20 Wisconsin Badgers ran roughshod over the #16 Nebraska Cornhuskers on Saturday, 59-17. Forget any passing stats for this game. Wisconsin had 581 yards on the ground on 53 carries for an 11.0 average per running play. Melvin Gordon carried the ball 25 times for 408 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Read the account of the other plays in the ESPN article here.

TCU Wins Itself Out of Contention For a CFP Playoff Spot

TCU beat the unranked University of Kansas Jayhawks 34-30 on Saturday. The Horned Frogs did not look like the #4 team in the country as they had to come from behind from a 13-10 deficit at halftime to narrowly beat the 3-7 Jayhawks.

Trevone Boykin was 26 for 36 passing for 330 yards and a TD with 1 INT. Michael Cummings threw 19 completions in 37 attempts for 332 yards and 2 TDs with 1 INT for Kansas.

Aaron Green carried the ball 19 times for TCU with 2 touchdowns and Cameron Echols-Luper returned a punt 69 yards for a touchdown and the difference in this game.

Corey Avery had a rushing touchdown for the 3-7 Jayhawks.

Read the ESPN box score and recap here.

Jalisco Bests Culiacan 4-3 In Front Of Fernando Valenzuela

The Charros de Jalisco, with "El Toro" in attendance beat the Tomateros de Culiacan 4-3 in the first game of a three game series on Friday night.

Fernando Valenzuela, LA Dodger great, threw out the first pitch and looked as if he could have taken the mound for Jalisco. "El Toro" pitched for Jalisco in 1992 and 1994 before financial difficulties forced the Jalisco team to disband.

Ben Kozlowski started for the Charros and went 5 innings, giving up 2 runs on 6 hits with 2 walks and 3 strike outs with a home run. Adrian Ramirez got the win in relief of Kozlowski and Brian Broderick got his league leading 10th save of the season.

Culiacan scored a run in the top of the 4th on a solo home run by Nick Buss.

Jalisco tied the game at 1 all in the bottom of the 5th on Marquez Smith's 7th home run of the year, a solo shot to left field.

The Tomateros got a run back in the top of the 6th. Jorge Vazquez singled and went to second on a single by Nick Buss. The Tomateros loaded the bases when Ben Kozlowski mishandled a sacrifice bunt by Issmael Salas to load the bases. Adrian Ramirez replace Kozlowski. Garrett Weber, of Culiacan, hit a sac fly to center to score Vazquez and the Tomateros had retaken the lead 2-1.

Jesus Lopez led of the 6th for the Charros by drawing s walk. Eduardo Arredondo laid down a sacrifice bunt that the Culiacan pitcher mishandled and the Charros had runners at 1st and 2nd with no outs. Manny Rodriguez sacrificed the runners to 2nd and 3rd. Leo Heras was intentionally walked to load the bases and bring the Liga Mexicana del Pacifico home run and RBI leader to the plate. "EL Gigante", Japhet Amador, then hit a bases clearing double to give the Charros a 4-2 lead.

Culiacan scored a run in the top of the 7th. Oscar Robles walked to lead off the inning. Rico Noel hit into a 5-4 fielder's choice. Maxwell Leon sacrificed Noel to second. Noel scored on a throwing error by the Charros' shortstop to make the game 4-3.

Jalisco reliever, David Koop allowed 1 hit but no runs in the 8th and Brian Broderick set down the 4 batters he faced with no hits and 2 strike outs in his 1 1/3 innings on the mound to preserve the win and pick up the save.

Jalisco improves to 18-12 on the year with a 10-4 record at home and an 8-8 record on the road.

There are 2 games left in this series with games on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.   

Dolphins Best Bills 22-9

Ryan Tannehill threw for 240 yards and 2 touchdowns as the Miami Dolphins overcame 5 sacks and 2 lost fumbles to beat the Buffalo Bills 22-9 on Thursday night.

The Dolphins defense held Kyle Orton to 193 yards through the air with no TDs. They also held the Bills to just 54 yards on the ground. Anthony Dixon had 35 of those yards on 10 carries to lead the Bills ground game.

Jarvis Landry and Brandon Gibson had the receiving touchdowns for the Dolphins.

The lone bright spot for the Bills was the play of Mario Williams who had 3 1/2 sacks in the game.

Read the ESPN recap here.

Naranjeros Shutout Charros 4-0

Juan Oramas, starting pitcher for Hermosillo, shut out the Charros on 1 hit through 6 innings last night to beat the Jalisco team 4-0. Oramas walked only 1 while striking out 7. Oramas set down the first 13 Charros he faced before giving up a single to Cory Vaughn with one out in the 5th. Leo Rosales, Heriberto Ruelas and Jesus Castillo allowed just 1 hit over the last 3 innings to seal the win for Hermosillo.

Jerry Owens led off the bottom of the 1st for Hermosillo with a double. Justin Greens singled and Adan Munos singled to drive in Owens with the first run. With one out Greene stole third and then scored on a sac fly to center by Matt Padgett and the Naranjeros led 2-0.

In the botom of the 4th, Yunesky Sanchez singled. Sebastian Elizalde laid down a bunt that the Charros infielders couldn't handle and Hermosillo had runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs. Carlos Gastelum singled to drive in Sanchez and took second on the throw home. Jorge Flores then hit a sac fly to score Elizalde for the 4-0 lead and the eventual final score.

Orlando Lara started and took the loss for Jalisco, dropping his record to 2-1 on the year. He gave up 6 hits over 3 1/3 innings and was responsible for all 4 Hermosillo runs.

Marquez Smith, with a single in the 7th, and Cory Vaughn had the only hits for Jalisco.

The Charros fall to 17-12 on the year, 1/2 game in front of the idle Yaquis de Obregon and atop the standings of the Liga de Mexicana del Pacifico. The Naranjeros, with the win, are now 12-17, five games behind Jalisco in the league standings.

The Tomateros de Culiacan bring their 2 game winning streak to Zapopan for 3 games starting tonight through Sunday.

Charros Take Game 2 From Hermosillo 8-5

The Charros de Jalisco put themselves in an early 5-1 hole but clawed their way back to defeat the Naranjeros de Hermosillo 8-5 behind the excellent relief pitching of Carlos Vazquez, Mario Mendoza, Ivan Salas and closer Brian Broderick.

Marco Tovar picked up the win to go 4-0 on the year but a shakey 1st inning has forced his ERA up to 1.91 on the year. Vazquez, Mendoza and Salas were credited with holds and Broderick picked up his 9th save of the year.

The Charros scored a run in the top of the 1st on a single by Eduardo Arredondo, a walk to Manny Rodriguez, a single by Leo Heras to  load the bases and a double play ground ball by Japhet Amador that scored Arredondo. Jalisco had the early lead 1-0.

Hermosillo came right back in the bottom of the 1st. with 4 runs of their own. Jerry Owens led off with a double and went to third on a ground out by Carlos Gastelum. Yunesky Sanchez reached safely on an error by Japhet Amador at first. Luis Garcia singled to score Owens and Matt Padgett doubled to drive in Sanchez. Jonathan Aceves hit a sac fly to left to score Garcia and Sebastian Elizalde singled to plate Padgett for the Naranjeros 4-1 lead.

Luis Garcia hit a solo home run, his 3rd of the year, in the bottom of the 3rd to up the Naranjeros lead to 5-1.

Jalisco exploded for 5 runs in the top of the 7th. Jesus Cota led off with a walk. Gabriel Gutierrez singled to put runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs. Jesus Lopez walked to load the bases. Eduardo Arredondo singled to score Cota. Manny Rodriguez hit a sac fly to center to bring home Gutierrez and Leo Heras singled to plate Lopez. Japhet Amador singled to load the bases again for the Charros. Cory Vaughn was called out on strikes but Marquez Smith singled to score Arredondo and Heras and the Charros had taken the 6-5 lead.

The Charros scored the final two runs of the game in the top of the 8th. Gabriel Gutierrez was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Jesus Lopez' sacrifice bunt attempt went awry when the Hermosillo pitcher, Marcos Rivas, threw to second to cut down Gutierrez. Eduardo Arredondo followed with a walk. Edson Garcia came in to pinch run for Arredondo. Manny Rodriguez singled to score Lopez. Leo Heras walked to load the bases. The Naranjeros replaced Rivas with Juan Menchaca, who threw a wild pitch that scored Garcia and the Charros had the 8-5 lead and the win.

Broderick faced four batters in the 9th to get the save and preserve the win for Tovar.

Ecuardo Arredondo was 3 for 4 with an RBI and 2 runs scored. Leo Heras went 2 for 3 with an RBI and a run scored. Marquez Smith was 1 for 5 with 2 RBIs while Manny Rodriguez was 1 for 3 with 2 RBIs.

With the win, the Charros improve to 17-11 on the year while Hermosillo falls to 11-17. The Charros are the leaders of the Liga de Mexicana del Pacifico.

Jalisco has one game to play in Hermosillo before returning home to face the 14-14 Tomateros de Culican for 3 games beginning on Friday the 14th of November.

MLB's Cy Young Award Winners Announced

As if there was ever a doubt about who would win the National League Cy Young Award, let the arguments rest. Clayton Kershaw of the LA Dodgers, is this years winner, his 3rd Cy Young Award. He had a 21-3 record with a 1.77 Era while striking out 239 batters in just 198 1/3 innings. Kershaw spent most of April on the DL. Kershaw was a unanimous choice for the Award.

The voting was quite close in the American League. Corey Kluber, of the Indians, won the award over Felix Hernandez, of the Mariners. Kluber had a very good year for the Tribe, going 18-9 with a 2.44 ERA. He struck out 269 batters in 235 2/3 innings while walking just 51 for a better than 5 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio.

Charros Overpower Hermosillo 11-2

The Naranjeros de Hermosillo hosted the Charros de Jalisco in the first game of a three game series on Tuesday night in Hermosillo, and came up on the losing end of an 11-2 ball game.

Jalisco scored first in the top of the 4th. Leo Heras hit a solo home run to give the Charros a 1-0 lead over Hermosillo. In the bottom of the 4th, with two outs, Matt Padgett singled and Yunesky Sanchez followed with a single to left. Sebastian Elisade singled to score Padgett and the score was tied at 1.

Marquez Smith hit a home run to lead off the 5th for Jalisco. With one out, Gabriel Gutierrez was hit by a pitch and went to third on a single by Jesus Lopez. Eduardo Arredondo then placed a perfect squeeze bunt between the pitcher and first that scored Gutierrez. The Charros led 3-1.

In the top of the 6th, with one out, Cory Vaughn singled and Marquez Smith walked. Jesus Cota singled to score Vaughn and Gabriel Gutierrez doubled to score Smith as the Charros upped their lead to 5-1.

The Naranjeros scored a run in the bottom of the 6th on a sac fly by Yunesky Sanchez to narrow the lead to 5-2 Charros.

The Charros scored three times in the top of the 7th on singles by Eduardo Arredondo and Manny Rodriguez and Leo Heras' three run home run to give jalisco an 8-2 lead.

Leo Heras hit a solo home run in the top of the 9th, his third of the game and the 7th of the season, to give Jalisco a 9-2 lead. Japhrt Amador followed the home run with a single and Cory Vaughn doubled to put runners at 2nd and 3rd with no outs. Jesus Cota singled to score Amador and Vaughn and the Charros lead was 11-2.

Hermosillo went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 9th and Graham Godfrey had posted his fourth win of the season for Jalisco. Roy Corcoran took the loss for the Maranjeros to fall to 2-2 on the year.

Leo Heras was 3 for 4 with 3 home runs, 5 RBIs and 3 runs scored. Japhet Amador, Cory Vaughn and Jesus Cota all went 2 for 5 on the night.

Graham Godfrey went 6 innings giving up 2 runs (1 earned) on 6 his, one walk and 2 strike outs. His ERA dropped to 1.55 on the year.

Two more games with Hermosillo before the weekend matchup with the Tomateras de Culiacan in Zapopan.

Showalter and Williams Named Managers of the Year in MLB

Buck Showalter won his third Manager of the Year award for the job he did with the Baltimore Orioles in 2014. Showalter polled 25 first place ballots  from the Basaball Writers Association to beat out Mike Sciosia of the LA Angels and Ned Yost of the Kansas City Royals for the award.

Matt Williams was named the National League Manager of the Yar on 18 ballots after he led the Nationals to a 96 win season in 2014. Williams, a rookie manager for the Nationals beat out Clint Hurdle of the Pirates for the Award.

Shakeup in CFP Rankings

Mississippi State held on to the #1 position in the CFP rankings for the NCAA college football playoffs this week.

Oregon jumped FSU for the second position and TCU Horned Frogged, I mean leap frogged Alabama for #4 in the rankings. I feel Mississippi State should have been punished more for scheduling UT-Martin this late in the season but facing Alabama may be their comeupance later this month. But I also feel FSU has played poorly against opponents they should have beaten handily and should not be in the top 4.

Oregon has dominated the Pac 12 this year and will face an Arizona team in the Championship game that will either solidify their position or remove them from contention. Florida State, with a close win over Notre Dame and a lackluster performance over Louisville, doesn't deserve a top four ranking but is one of two teams that remain undefeated this year. Alabama should be in the top 4 with FSU about 5 or 6.

TCU must win out to remain in the 4th spot. Alabama, with games against Auburn and Mississippi State and the SEC championship game could well be a top 4 team while Mississippi State could drop out of the top four.

Read the ESPN article here and let me know what you think.

Football Rankings Change After Saturday's Game

The football rankings have changed pretty dramatically following this week's games. Mississippi State took on UT-Martin in a gimme game and Florida State had no trouble in their game against Virginia as they beat the Cavaliers 34-20. FSU's biggest test may come against a resurgent Florida team on the 29th of Nvember.

Auburn dropped to 9th after their loss to Texas A&M. TCU climbed to #6 with their win over Kansas State, Arizona State moves up to 7th with their decisive victory over Notre Dame and Ohio State climbed to #8 with a convincing win over Michigan State.

Read the AP article here.

Packers Manhandle Bears 55-14

In seven years as the Green Bay Packers starter, Aaron Rogers has faced the Chicago Bears 13 times. The University of California, Berkely star with a Wonderlic score of 35 has owned the Bears. Rogers, drafted 24th behind #1 pick Alex Smith, has dominated the NFC North. On Sunday night the 2010 Super Bowl MVP had little trouble with the Bears.

The Chicago Bears should be familiar with the Packers schemes and the Packers players. Even the coach of the Packers, Mike McCarthy, has been there the entire 7 years. On Sunday night the Bears lost to the Packers 55-14. The Bears looked as if each formation they saw was from another team, in a different year. Aaron Rogers, the quarterback they have faced for 7 1/2 years, threw for 315 yards and 6 touchdowns - in the 1st half.

The Packers rushed for 132 yards on 32 carries against a team that prides itself on defense. Jordy Nelson caught 6 balls for 152 yards and 2 touchdowns. Randell Cobb, Eddie Lacy, Andrew Quarless and Brandon Bostick each caught a touchdown pass from Rogers.

The vaunted Bears defense recorded no sacks while the Packers got to Jay Cutler 4 times, had 8 tackles for losses and 6 QB hits.

The Pack are now 6-3 and in command of the NFC North while the Bears fall to 3-6 and look forward to the 2015 draft and rebuilding for the 2015 season.