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Champ and Chump of the Week goes NBA for the first time as we congratulate a rookie who absolutely lit up the scoreboard last week.  It is first worth mentioning, though, that there’s definitely something in that Cincinnati water that has Southern Ohio football teams playing great.  The NFL’s Bengals knocked off the Steelers on Sunday to assume command of the AFC North race, while the UC Bearcats of Conference USA escaped West Virginia on Friday to continue their quest for a second straight BCS Bowl appearance.  On the other hand, this week’s Chump Watch includes three so-called football geniuses whose recent performances seem more appropriate for Dan Hawkins than Stephen Hawking, including the fall of Troy and an unsuccessful autumn for a different Rodriguez (now that A-Rod has a title).  Let’s get to it.

Champ: Brandon Jennings

If Jenning’s season had a slogan, it would probably be, “I told you so.”  Jennings skipped college after thrice failing to post minimum SAT scores and played professionally in Italy last year.  However, he struggled to transition to the European lifestyle, and barely found court time.  He also controversially challenged the hype over ballyhooed guard Ricky Rubio, claiming he had matched up against the Spaniard and won convincingly.  Despite concerns over his skill and maturity, Milwaukee took him tenth in the 2009 NBA Draft – and now looks like a genius for it.  Jennings put up an astounding 55 points last Saturday, breaking the franchise record set by some guy named Alcindor.  Jennings has averaged 24.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.8 assists while shooting 56% from three-point range, and already seems a lock for Rookie of the Year.

Courtesy www.brandonjennings.net

Honorable Mention: the city of Cincinnati, TCU Football, Jim Harbaugh

Chump: Bill Belichick

While fellow supposed gridiron masters Rich Rodriguez and Pete Carroll have experienced tough seasons, culminating in embarrassing losses this past weekend (for Rich-Rod, at 21-point thrashing at the hands of Wisconsin; for Carroll, losing 55-21 to Stanford), no one has had a tougher week than Belichick.  Every sports pundit on the planet has second-, third-, and fourth-guessed his now-infamous decision to attempt a fourth and two conversion from his own 28 with just over 2:00 to go against the rival Colts.  While I personally approved the call – I think Peyton Manning scores from anywhere on the field with 2:00 and a timeout left, so you might as well try to win the game with your offense – the strategy obviously failed, and the media frenzy has descended on The Hoodie.  Even more egregious is that Belichick wasted two timeouts on the infamous drive, eliminating any chance his Pats had to rally after the Colts scored to take the lead.  Regardless of which particular pieces of evidence you hold against him, Belichick has effectively slipped from “genius” status, even if only by a tiny amount.

Courtesy awfulannouncing.blogspot.com

Honorable Mention: Rodriguez, Carroll