What a busy sports day on this Tuesday before Thanksgiving.  The Stack has a lot to talk about today, so much that we might not be able to talk about it all today.  Some might have to carry over to tomorrow.  What's in the stack you ask?  Let's find out right now what's in "the stack" for today, Tuesday, November 20:

49ers beat up the Bears on MNF

It was supposed to be a big matchup featuring two top-notch defenses.  Then both starting quarterbacks suffered concussion and couldn't play.  Which backup quarterback would have the most success and lead his team to victory?  Without question, it was 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.  He threw for 243 yards and two touchdowns in the 49ers 32-7 romp of the Bears.  Kaepernick was absolutely outstanding.  The placement on his passes was tremendous.  You hate to go all prisoner of the moment right hear, but there may be a real quarterback controversy in San Francisco given that the 49ers have struggled at times this season to move the ball effectively with Alex Smith under center.  Aldon Smith led the defense with a cool five sacks.  Just another day at the office.  The Bears meanwhile were a disaster.  Their defense didn't even show up it felt like and their offense couldn't move the ball at all.  Now the Bears are tied for first in the NFC North with the Packers and could be in some trouble if Jay Cutler isn't healthy for next week's game against the Vikings.  Have to think they're going to come out really angry Sunday though.  Picks by the way this week, 13-1.  Doing awfully well this season so far.

Maryland heading to Big Ten, Rutgers announcement coming today

The NCAA is at it again.  The Big Ten, after being quiet in the whole conference realingment musical chairs game the last year, has a new member.  Maryland announced Monday that they will bolt the ACC for the Big Ten starting in 2014.  The news was first reported Sunday that Maryland was in talks with the Big Ten.  Maryland is not alone though.  Rutgers is expected to announce today that they will leave the Big East for the Big Ten.  For those of you keeping score at home, that will give the Big Ten conference fourteen teams.

This is absolutely disgusting.  The almighty dollar reigns supreme once again.  We are ruining college atheltics with all of these teams shuffling conferences.  Now who will the Big East go after?  Who will the ACC target to take Maryland's spot?  Maybe no one.  But can this be it for a while?  This whole thing needs to stop.  Enough of this crap.  Am I the only one who feels this way?

College Football final weekend thoughts

The quest to get to the BCS National Championship game was completely shaken up over the weekend with both #1 Kansas State and #2 Oregon losing.  K-State was schalacked by Baylor 52-24 while Oregon's high powered offense couldn't get anything going against Stanford defense, losing 17-14 in overtime.  Those losses have vaulted Notre Dame, yes Notre Dame into number one in the BCS standings with Alabama in second.  For someone who wanted to see two different teams in the national championship, this is really disappointing.  I wanted to see Oregon's high powered offense in the national championship game and see how many points they could put up.  Now we have Alabama back in the national championship game picture.  Of course they are going to beat Auburn this week, but will they beat Georgia in the SEC championship game?  That will be a very tough test.  If they don't, then Georgia should be in the national championship game shouldn't they?  Shouldn't they leapfrog Florida assuming Florida knocks off Florida State this weekend?  Now that we have seen one shakeup, we may as well see more top teams lose just to see who will make it to the national championship game.  Honestly, I don't know what will happen next.  Guess that's why college football is so great.

NFL week 11 power rankings

1. Houston Texans 9-1

This is almost by default, but that was not a good performance by the Texans against Jacksonville.  They can't play a game like that against the NFL's best and expect to come out with a W.

2. San Francisco 49ers 7-2-1

That was some performance by the entire team Monday night against the Bears.  The defense was tenacious.  May be a QB controversy after Colin Kaepernick's performance.

3. Denver Broncos 7-3

Willis McGahee's knee injury hurts, but won't stop the Broncos offense which continues to improve week after week.

4. Atlanta Falcons 9-1

Good thing the Falcons were playing the Cardinals or they would have last Sunday's game.  Five INT's by Matt Ryan will not fly in another game this season.

5. New England Patriots 7-3

The Patriots put up 59 points, but all anyone is talking about is Rob Gronkowski's injury on an extra point late in the game.  Wonder how the Patriots can makeup for this loss.

6. Baltimore Ravens 8-2

Finally the defense came to play even if it was against a backup quarterback, but the offensive inconsistency is a bit of a concern altough to be fair, they were playing the Steelers.

7. Green Bay Packers 7-3

Once the Packers get fully healthy, they are going to be very, very dangerous.  Didn't have a great game against the Lions and still won the game.

8. Chicago Bears 7-3

Bears fans are chanting Jay Cutler's name this morning, but the defense was absolutely pathetic last night.  Expect an angry Bears team Sunday against Minnesota.

9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 6-4

Four wins in a row have gotten the Bucs in good position for a playoff spot.  A win over the Falcons this week would make a huge statement to the rest of the league.  

10. New Orleans Saints 5-5

The Saints offense has clearly found their mojo and with that, they're back in the NFC playoff picture.

11. Seattle Seahawks 6-4

Flying all the way cross-country to Miami for an early kickoff will be a test for the Seahawks.  How they respond will tell us a lot about this team.

12. New York Giants 6-4

Will a bye week and a Cowboys win be enough to get the Giants back to having a sense of urgency?

13. Minnesota Vikings 6-4

Vikings had a bye that they hope shows dividends as they play four of their final six games against the Bears and Packers.

14. Pittsburgh Steelers 6-4

Without Ben Roethlisberger and Byron Leftwich, the Steelers are in real trouble regardless of how well their defense is playing.

15. Indianapolis Colts 6-4

Growing experience for Andrew Luck and the Colts.  With the playoffs getting closer though, can the young Colts hold off a charge from the rest of the AFC?

16. Cincinnati Bengals 5-5

The Bengals beat a bad team that they should and they do it in convincing fashion and are now back in the playoff race.

17. Dallas Cowboys 5-5

Cowboys avoided the upset loss to the Browns, but this is why people doubt the Cowboys can make a run at the playoffs.  They must be focused to beat the Redskins. 

18. Washington Redskins 4-6

RGIII was very efficient against the Eagles.  Can he do it in back to back weeks?  Redskins would certainly like that.

19. San Diego Chargers 4-6

Will the real Philip Rivers please show up?  Haven't seen you the last two years.  The Chargers playoff chances seem doomed.

20. Buffalo Bills 4-6

The Bills defense came to play Thursday night.  Keep that up, and they can perhaps turn this season around.

21. New York Jets 4-6

After all of the noise that came out of the Jets locker room over the week, a win over the Rams was very unexpected.  Can they make it two in a row against the Patriots?

22. Detroit Lions 4-6

The Lions continue to under-achieve.  They're making too many mistakes like they did against the Packers that is dooming any slim playoff chances they may have.

23. Tennessee Titans 4-6

Which Titans team will show up this week: the team that was blown out by the Bears out home or the team that blew out the Dolphins on the road?

24. Miami Dolphins 4-6

Ryan Tannehill is starting to look like the rookie he is and the Dolphins simply don't have enough weapons to put points on the board.  Could be in some trouble.

25. St. Louis Rams 3-6-1

Really thought the Rams would put together a better performance on both sides of the ball against the reeling Jets.  Guess again.  This team still has a ways to go.

26. Arizona Cardinals 4-6

Until the Cardinals figure out their quarterback situation (which is a disaster), this team will continue to fail.

27. Philadelphia Eagles 3-7

Can't find one good thing to say about Sunday's game.  LeSean McCoy is out with a concussion and Andy Reid is as good as gone.

28. Oakland Raiders 3-7

Remember when Richard Seymour said the Raiders had a top five defense?  What a jokester.

29. Cleveland Browns 2-8

The Browns had a chance to pull off a big upset, but had too much youth to the Cowboys experience.  This team is getting there though.

30. Carolina Panthers 2-8

Bad teams find ways to lose late fourth quarter leads.  The Panthers are a bad team.

31. Jacksonville Jaguars 1-9

Tough loss for the Jaguars who had the Texans on the rope.  Perhaps Chad Henne should start the rest of the season.

32. Kansas City Chiefs 1-9

Clearly the Chiefs left their good, hard play (for what it's worth) in Pittsburgh last week.

A final thought or two before we go...congrats to Brad Keselowski for winning NASCAR's Sprint Cup.  He raced well all year and he raced hard.  Nice to see new faces winning NASCAR's championship after seeing Jimmie Johnson win all of those titles in a row.  Last time I'll mention NASCAR for five months or so...And congrats to Chaminade for knocking off Texas in the EA Sports Maui Invitational last night 86-73.  Remember, this is the 40th anniverary of their big win over #1 Virginia led by Ralph Sampson that started this whole tournament.  Great win for Chaminade.  Wonder if they will come out today and win again.

Coming up Wednesday:  Reaction to sports biggest stories.