Who's Hot Who's Not
Who's Hot
PURPLE FROGS
A day after knocking off BYU 31--3 and improving to 7--0 for just the fourth time since 1938, TCU was rewarded with a No. 5 BCS ranking and has now won 20 regular-season games in a row. Win out, and the Horned Frogs have a shot to play for the national title thanks to early losses by 'Bama and Ohio State.
ST. LOU'
The Rams' 20--17 win over the Chargers on Sunday was the league's biggest upset last week, and extended St. Louis's home winning streak to three for the first time since 2004 ... the year QB Sam Bradford (right) was a junior at Putnam City (Okla.) North High School.
CODY ROSS
Human replay machine Ross (1.667 OPS in six playoff games) smacked three nearly identical home runs in the first two NLCS games. The Giants acquired the eighth-year journeyman off waivers in August. How did they ever score without him? Oh, yeah, they didn't.
LEAFS
The Maple Leafs started the season with four straight wins for only the fourth time in the franchise's 93-year history. Led by captain Dion Phaneuf (right), Toronto is second in goals per game (4.0) and sits atop the Northeast, a division it hasn't won since 2000.
Who's Not
PURPLE DINOSAURS
A survey conducted last week in The Denver Post revealed that 55.7% of Rockies fans are sick of their longtime mascot, known as Dinger, saying that the triceratops should join his ancestors in extinction. Said one annoyed fan, "Dinger is fat and promotes a poor-health lifestyle for kids."
MAN U
The Red Devils have two wins in their last seven games after drawing lowly West Brom on Sunday. Wayne Rooney refuses to re-sign with the team, and the 25-year-old hasn't scored in his last five games, perhaps distracted by his recent sex scandal. But who isn't these days?
DAYS OFF
Yankees starters CC Sabathia (left) and Phil Hughes combined to give up 12 runs in eight innings (13.5 ERA) through Games 1 and 2 in the ALCS after throwing on nine and seven days rest, further proof MLB needs to speed up its playoffs and that extra time off isn't always desirable.
CHIEFS
Despite a 10-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, the Chiefs (3--2) lost on the road in Houston, surrendering 21 points and 185 yards, including a shaky pass interference call. The good news? K.C.'s next four opponents have a .333 (7--15) winning percentage.
SI PLAYERS NFL POLL
WHO IS THE MOST OVERRATED PLAYER?
Terrell Owens, Bengals WR 14%
Tony Romo, Cowboys QB 7%
Mark Sanchez, Jets QB 5%
Albert Haynesworth, Redskins DT 5%
Eli Manning, Giants QB 4%
FAST FACTS
Did TV fatigue contribute? Two of the top three vote-getters have been all over cable in recent months: Owens on The T.Ocho Show (on Versus, alongside Chad Ochocinco, who also received 4% of the vote) and Sanchez on HBO's Hard Knocks.... Twenty QBs received at least one vote; the highest RB on the list: Super Bowl XLIV winner Reggie Bush of the Saints (eight votes).
Based on 239 players who responded to SI's survey
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AARON SALLEY/CAL SPORT MEDIA (DINGER)
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SIMON BRUTY (BRADFORD)
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MATTHEW EMMONS/US PRESSWIRE (SABATHIA)
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JAY KOPINSKI/ICON SMI (PHANEUS)
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DAMIAN STROHMEYER (OWENS)
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BOB ROSATO (ROMO)
