MOODY: Te'o should win Heisman

I'm so sick of the Johnny Manziel for Heisman talk that I could literally puke.

The kid had a great rookie season, but would he be getting as much hype if he hadn't beaten Alabama? Probably not.

It ticks me off that the Heisman, probably 98 percent of the time, goes to a running back or quarterback. Are they always the best player in the country? No, and that'sd a hell no.

I remember the year Gino Torretta won the Heisman as quarterback at the Unversity of Miami. Gino managed games well, but I don't think he was the best player in college football that year, but he was on one of the top teams.

Honestly, I would have voted for Torretta's Miami teammate Michael Barrow or Florida State's Marvin Jones over the Miami QB.

I think the Heisman should go to the best player, regardless of position, and I think the most deserving player this year is Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o, who is the face of the defense on the top-ranked team in the nation. He's the best player on the best team in the nation. Need I say more?

Te'o said he doesn't think about winning the Heisman very often, focusng mostly on the national title game and graduating next month.

Te'o has had a great season in the face of a lot of tragedy. Just days after his grandmother and girlfriend dies hours apart, he had 12 tackles against Michigan State. On the day his girlfriend was buried, he led the Irish to a 13-6 win over Michigan.

Only one other defensive player, Charles Woodson (1997), has won the Heisman. He also played some wide receiver and returned punts.

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So much talk has gone on about the supposed QB controversy in San Francisco. Being a guy who covered Colin Kaepernick for several years at Nevada, I'm happy to see him get a shot so quickly.

With that being said, I do feel bad for Alex Smith, who led the 49ers in to the NFC Championship game last year, and had played well before suffering a concussion against the Rams.

It's always been an unwritten rule, at least when I covered the NFL, that players don't lose their starting jobs when they return from injury. However, coach Jim Harbaugh strikes me as a coach that doesn't care about what used to be. He's more concerned about the present.

Harbaugh was going to lose no matter who he picked as his starting quarterback for today's game.

If he chose Smith, Kaepernick's new-found supporters would have been upset, and now that a healthy Smith is on the bench for a second straight week, there are people saying Smith is getting screwed because he's played so well this year.

Smith has prospered under Harbaugh's tutelage. He's learned how to manage games, something he didn't do well under previous coaches.

Kaepernick has more of an upside. He can make plays with his feet; rip off a 70-yard run for a score like he did at Nevada. He also has stronger arm, and can beat defenses vertically with an 80-yard bomb. As long as the Niners' offensive line can protect him, Kaepernick will excel.

I still don't think we've seen the last of Smith as a starter. I think before the season ends, he will get another start. I think the leash on Kaepernick will be a little shorter than normal because of his inexperience.

One thing is certain, I don't see the 49ers keeping both quarterbacks next year, especially if Kaepernck continues to excel.

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I think David Stern, the NBA commissioner, overstepped his authority when he fined the San Antonio Spurs $250,000 for sending home Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobli and Tony Parker home to get some extra rest instead of facing the Miami Heat.

What Stern should do is fine the idot who mde out the NBA schedule. Should any NBA team have to play four road games in five days? No, and make that a hell no. Maybe the NBA needs to go to a balanced schedule, so that fans see a non-conference team more than once a year.

Stern shouldn't have any say as to who plays and who doesn't play. If the fans get ticked, so be it. Frankly, the fans in Miami weren't going to the game to see the three Spurs stars, they were going there to root their team on.

There have been teams that have tanked games and even entire seasons in the hopes of getting a lottery pick, and did Stern ever step up and do anything about that? Nope.

Thank God, Stern is gone at the end of the season.