Where Nate Talks Sports

The Tourney and a Crazy Race

2010-03-30T09:28:00.004-04:00

Yes I understand it has been a while but with work picking up I find it hard to write all the time. I also made the "wise" decision to join a race team running across Florida. The Sunset to Sunrise Relay has teams run 180 miles from Ft. Myers to Jensen Beach. Each team has 12 members who each run three legs of the race. Our team was a little shorthanded with only nine people so some of us had to pick up the slack. I ran four legs and 21 miles. I'm still sore three days later. It was a good time and something I can say I did but I'm not sure if I will ever do it again.

Even with all of the tournament games and crazy upsets I still have a shot at placing in my pool. I can't win but finishing in the money is a victory. It's late but here are some thoughts on some of the tournament games.

1's vs 16's - Blowouts all around. Was there any doubt?

2's vs 15's - K State and Ohio St. dominated. Morgan State hung around with West Virginia before the Mountaineers flexed their muscles. Apparently Robert Morris was robbed by bad calls in losing to Villanova in OT. I didn't see the game but the hoops Gods got Nova back later.

3's vs 14's - Baylor won a tight one while Pitt and New Mexico took it to Oakland and Montana. Ohio pulled off a stunner against Georgetown knocking out one of my Sweet 16 teams on the first day.

4's vs 13's - From the moment the matchups came out I liked Murray State against Vandy (Jim and KA can vouch for me). The Racers are really athletic and Vandy struggles with those types of teams. It took a buzzer beater to win but Murray State made me look good. Maryland took down a game Houston team. I don't know why everyone didn't like the Big 11 teams but Purdue and Wisconsin both produced big wins.

5'2 vs 12's - There is always at least one upset in this matchup. I got mine wrong. I got Butler beating UTEP and Michigan State beating New Mexico State. Temple coach Fran Dunphy had never lost to one of his former assistants and picked a bad time to start in losing to Steve Donahue and Cornell. I also picked the wrong Aggies when I thought Utah State would beat Texas A&M.

6's vs 11's - Big East teams blew it for me as Notre Dame and Marquette both went down. Xavier and Tennessee did pull off strong victories.

7's vs 10's - Half right and half wrong again. I couldn't pick the Gators so that was easy. Clemson and Richmond lost games they never had a shot of winning. Clemson coach Louis Orr still hasn't won a tournament game.

8's vs 9's - I couldn't pick the Noles to beat Gonzaga because the Zags have too much offense. FSU struggles to score points. It hurt but my money was on it. UNI's Ali Faroukmanesh nailed the first of huge threes to life UNI to victory. I wish Gary Johnson could make free throws and Texas would have beaten Wake Forest. Cal blew out Louisville.

Kansas vs UNI - Thank you Ali Faroukmanesh for ruining my bracket.

Maryland vs Michigan St. - And thanks to you Corey Lucious for taking another of my Sweet 16 teams.

Tennesee vs Ohio - Georgetown ruined this in the first round.

GT vs Ohio St. - Jon Diebler fills it up and the Tech guards can't hang with Evan Turner.

Syracuse vs Gonzaga - The Zags had no shot and the Cuse zone ate them up.

Butler vs Murray St. - The Bulldogs won the matchup of mid-majors by playing the same style as the Racers but better.

Xavier vs Pitt - The Musketeers won this time around in a rematch of last year's Sweet 16 battle.

BYU vs K St. - Jimmer Fredette couldn't shoot the Cougars over the Wildcats backcourt of Denis Clemente and Jacob Pullen.

Wake vs UK - The Deacs never had a shot.

Cornell vs Wisconsin - I had neither of these teams going to the Sweet 16 anyway.

Washington vs New Mexico - I had Marquette going from this spot anyway but the Huskies pulled off a nice win.

West Virginia vs Mizzou - DaSean Butler refuses to let his team lose.

I did get two teams in the final four by getting WVU and Duke into it. How does your bracket look?

UConn Women, Championship Week, and Big Ben

2010-03-09T08:51:00.002-05:00

The UConn Womens Hoops team has again won 70 straight. 71 to be exact heading into the tourney. The question that keeps coming up is is all dominating way UConn keeps winning good for women's hoops? No team has come close to beating them and they are beating teams by an average of 15 points a contest. The Huskies have also beaten the number two team in the country three times. I guess its good for women's hoops that they're winning, I mean at least we're talking about it. What do you think about UConn's dominating ways, and will you watch more women's hoops now?

This a great time of year. All week births into the Big Dance are being decided, every game that's played counts. The teams that are on the fringe are hoping that the right teams wins each of the little conference tournaments. Last night, Gonzaga stole an at-large bid after losing the conference tournament and automatic qualifier to St. Mary's. Later this week the Big 6 play their conference tournaments. It should interesting as their hasn't been a dominant team in college hoops this year.

This thing with Ben Roethlisberger is troubling. Yes I even find myself saying that this girl is in it for a money grab, but why does Big Ben keep butting himself in these situations. Last year he was accused of sexual assault in Lake Tahoe and now again in Georgia. I'm not sure if Ben Ben needs to change the company he keeps but he needs to change something.

Justin Upton got paid, what does it mean for B.J.

2010-03-03T15:24:00.002-05:00

It just scrolled across the bottom line that Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed to pay outfielder Justin Upton $51.25 million over the next six seasons. Upton is 22 years old and going into his fourth season in the Show. He was an All-Star last season after hitting .300 with 26 home runs and 86 RBI. He also stole 20 bases.

While Justin deserved the deal and Arizona may win in the long run by buying out some arbitration and free agent years, this puts his brother B.J.'s employer the Rays in a bind. We all know the story of B.J. Upton. He was rushed through the system as an infielder, then finally found a position in the outfield. After hitting .300 a few seasons ago, B.J. struggled at the plate and with his effort. His defense has been solid for someone learning the position, but he still hasn't completely fulfilled the potential that made him the second pick in 2002.

The Rays just won their arbitration hearing with B.J. to pay him $3 million this season. With Justin getting such a big deal, is B.J. going to want to get a large long term deal?

Now I have been a big B.J. supporter, I'm not sure how this is going to shake out. The Rays have budget issues and Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena are free agents after the season. Pena is expendable, but CC has to be kept around. The Rays have to let people move on at some point, but is now the time for B.J. to go? What do you think the Rays should do with Desmond Jennings on the way and B.J. looking for a payday?

Ryan Miller was Great and Other Thoughts from the Weekend in Sports

2010-02-28T19:37:00.003-05:00

As you probably know Canada beat the USA in OT to claim the gold medal in hockey. The game was great with Zach Parise scoring a late goal to tie the game. Unfortunately, Sidney Crosby ended it. This was a great weekend in sports. The top three teams in college hoops all went down and the Winter Olympics is coming to an amazing close.

- Ryan Miller was gangsta throughout the entire Olympics. The USA goalie kept his team in every single game and led them to victory every time except the gold medal game. Miller was peppered with a lot of shots throughout the tourney and came up big most of the time. He was the best player on the ice in many of the games. Now we'll see if Buffalo can ride the hot hand into the NHL playoffs.

- Canada made the right choice in changing goalies. Martin Brodeur has been the Canada goalie for years but he didn't look crisp early in the tourney. Switching to Roberto Luongo paid dividends.

- Way to clean up the garbage Zach Parise. Just when the USA looked dead Parise put in a goal to tie the game. Luongo had been giving up rebounds a lot and Parise was in the right place at the right time.

- I will be watching more hockey this season. The Olympics helped me to identify with more players. I love the Flyers but Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews are giving me a lot of reasons to watch the Blackhawks.

- The USA defense looked tired late in the game. Brain Rafalski and Ryan Suter played a lot of minutes in the game and it showed.

- I love the P&G commercials with the Olympians Moms.

- Athletes don't win silver and bronze, they lose gold. Do you think USA Hockey was happy receiving their silver medals?

- I like watching the NFL combine, but too much is made about what players do in shorts. Haven't NFL guys been watching all of the players all season?

- My friend Josh doesn't think Tim Tebow can change positions in the Show. I do.

- After all of the hoops this weekend I can't wait for Conference Tourney season and March Madness. I'll post my bracket on here and I still think Kansas will win it all.

- Purdue's title hopes went out the window the Robbie Hummel's torn ACL.

- Danica Patrick isn't ready for NASCAR.

- Jimmie Johnson has decided to dominate early in the season instead of just when Chase time comes.

Let me know your thoughts on the weekend in sports.

Rough Week for RBs, Finally some HGH testing

2010-02-24T08:28:00.002-05:00

Earlier this week the San Diego Chargers released franchise cornerstone LaDanian Tomlinson. Yesterday my team the Philadelphia Eagles released Brian Westbrook. Both moves made too much sense not to happen.

For the better part of the decade, LT was the best running back in football. We all know the numbers: single season touchdown record, 100 catches in a season, 2006 MVP and many others we could go on. However, as many running backs do, he reached 30 and his numbers started to decline. This past season he had the worst season of his career. With the money owed to him the Chargers had to let him go. I will give San Diego some points for bring LT in and speaking with him in person before announcing it.

Brian Westbrook has been one of my favorite Eagles, and one of football's most productive backs over the last five seasons. He has struggled with injuries and was always listed as questionable, but he produced when Philly needed him. He was the biggest playmaker in an offense that didn't have any until DeSean Jackson came along. My favorite Westbrook play was at the end of the Cowboys game a few years ago, when he took a knee at the one instead of going into the end zone. Westbrook will be missed.

As for both of the backs, I wonder if anyone will pick them up and where they will end up.

Secondly, baseball is finally starting to get it. After years of rejecting steroid testing, MLB finally implemented it. Now, Minor League Baseball has said they will add HGH testing as well. It's only a matter of time before the majors follow suit. This is an important time for MLB. With the NFL and NBA having labor disputes on the horizon, MLB needs to capitalize. Hopefully, they can finally start cleaning up the game.

USA vs Canada and other thoughts from the Weekend

2010-02-22T08:51:00.003-05:00

What a hockey game last night. Team USA took on host Canada in hockey and defeated them 5-3. It wasn't the Miracle on Ice of 1980, but it was a great win. Defenseman Brian Rafalski scored two goals and assisted on another while goalie Ryan Miller made 42 saves.

- Before the Games started analyst Jeremy Roenik said Miller would have to be the MVP for Team USA to win the gold medal. Miller was up to the task last night as the Canadians out shot Team USA 45-22. While this win doesn't guarantee a medal, it gives the young Americans some much needed confidence.

- The veterans came out to play last night. Captain Jamie Langenbrunner scored a goal, center Chris Drury scored a goal and both played outstanding defense from their forward positions. We talked about the way Rafalski played. If Team USA can keep getting these performances from these guys, a medal is a good possibility.

- Lost in the shuffle was how well Patrick Kane played. He didn't score any goals but he was the only player who seemed able to put pressure on the Canadian defense.

- While the Miracle on Ice was a memorable win, does anyone remember that that game didn't win the gold medal?

- Talk about redemption for Bode Miller. After being shutout four years ago, Miller has won three medals this year and is still in the running for two more.

- Jimmie Johnson dominated the California race yesterday. The four time defending champion is picking up where he left off last season. That does not bode well for other drivers trying to dethrone him.

Let me know what you think about the hockey win and other Winter Olympic Sports as the last week of the games begins.

Quick Hits from the Super Bowl

2010-02-08T08:51:00.003-05:00

When people ask me why I watch every single game, I always answer you never know when you'll see an instant classic. Its why I stay up until 2:00 a.m. watching the Big East Semifinal or watch a late season NFL game that doesn't mean anything. Last night's Super Bowl was a great game. I didn't have a dog in the fight so all I really wanted was one of the quarterbacks having to drive their team for a winning score late in the game. Mission accomplished.

- Why winning this game would have put Peyton Manning in a new class of QBs who have won multiple Super Bowls, losing doesn't diminish how great he is still.

- The Saints dropped balls in the first half, the Colts dropped them when it mattered most in the second.

- Where was Reggie Wayne the entire game?

- Drew Brees is great. Rough first quarter but he was great the rest of the game. Deserved the MVP.

- I thought when the Colts stopped the Saints near the goal line at the end of the first half, Indy was about to extend their lead and put the game away early. I thought Peyton would drive them down the field for some points, get the ball back to start the second half, and put more points on the board.

- Ballsy call by Sean Payton to go for the onside kick. That play changed the momentum of the game and kept Peyton Manning on the side line a bit longer.

- Dwight Freeney was able to go and even recorded a sack in the first half. In the second half however, he never seemed able to get right and Brees was never hit in the second half.

- I thought that once the Colts were able to establish the run Indy would pull the game out. The Saints just stepped up whenever they needed to.

- Big play by Tracy Porter with the pick-six. Reggie Wayne looked to have finally gotten on the same page with Peyton on the drive, but the Saints were ready for that play. They blitzed and it looked like Wayne tipped the route by stutter stepping which enabled Porter to jump the pass.

-The Porter play looked similar to the one that Eli Manning hit in his Super Bowl win. Eli sent his receiver on a pump and go while Peyton threw the slant and Porter took it to the house.

- The pass Manning threw to Dallas Clark over and in between five defenders is one of the best passes you'll ever see.

- Great play by Lance Moore on the two-point conversion.

- Can't forget Saints Garrett Hartley making three field goals from longer than 40 yards.

- A couple of years ago the Colts picked up Adam Vinatieri to kick for them. Vinatieri got hurt late in the season and the Colts picked up Matt Stover. When the decision to choose one for the postseason came up, they chose Stover. Not saying Vinatieri would have made the 51-yarder Stover missed, but that was the Colts last chance.

Now that football is over we can solely concentrate on pro and college hoops, and counting down the days until pitchers and catchers report. Also, its Speed Week in Daytona. Can anyone stop Jimmie Johnson? And will someone please wreck Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch.

It's Signing Day

2010-02-03T07:59:00.003-05:00

Signing Day is finally here. The day that every college football fan has hope again. After months of watching 17 and 18-year old kids every move, athletes finally make their college choices official.

For months we've been hearing of commitments and decommitments of these players but with the way most of them treat them, commitment shouldn't be the word we use. Commitment means you're making a promise to someone or some place. The athletes are all over the place even after they have "committed" to an institution. While yes the system allows it and in some cases it may be warranted, we need to find a new word. Not sure what word we should use but I'm open to suggestions.

Also, I wouldn't get too caught up in rankings now. Yes its nice to say we have this many great players coming in but realize they haven't done anything yet. Take Arthur Brown from Miami. He came out as a five-star and one of the top linebackers in the country. He never really saw the field except in late game or special teams situations, and now has left school. A few years ago the Canes were gushing about him. Now he's a player looking for a school (Tennessee anyone?).

Further, some of the guys won't even be on the field until two or three years from now. Only the best of the best see significant playing time on really good teams. Anyway, enjoy the whole day and at the end we'll see who ended up where and get started on the 2011 class.

My Wish List for FSU:

1. Christian Jones - LB - Winter Park - Dad and brother played for the Noles
2. Christian Green - ATH - Tampa - Cousin of E.G. Green
3. Corey Lemonier - DE - Hialeah -
4. Calvin Smith - DT - Hialeah
5. Bjoern Warner - DT - Salisbury, CT - has a teammate that already committed.
6. Ego Ferguson - DE - Chatham, VA - would be nice but not so sure

Took Long Enough

2010-02-02T16:10:00.002-05:00

With the world of boxing still reeling from the "postponing" of what would have been one of the greatest fights ever, Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones, Jr. have decided to have a rematch. This comes 17 years after their first fight, a unanimous decision won by Jones for the middleweight championship.

This is a fight that would have a lot more people interested if it happened about ten years ago when the fighters were still some of the best in the sport. Now both are over 40, Hopkins is 45 and Jones 41, and holding onto what's left of their boxing careers.

At one time Jones was considered the best pound-for-pound ever. Now he has lost his last fight by first round KO to Danny Green (who? not the UNC ballplayer) and his glass jaw has been exposed over and over.

Hopkins is still having a shred of success, but he hasn't beaten a top fighter in some time. I appreciate them "giving fans what they want," it just would have been better at the beginning of the decade and not the end. What are your thoughts on these two old guys finally fighting?

Quick Hits on Conference Championship Games

2010-01-25T08:57:00.002-05:00

It was another great weekend for football and after five months we finally know the Super Bowl matchup. The Colts beat the Jets and the Saints beat the Vikings. Here are some quick thoughts that I have as both teams enjoy a bye week and the Pro Bowl approaches next week.

AFC Championship

-There has been a debate about Manning vs Brady for QB of the decade. I've been in the Manning camp for a while, and if he can win this Super Bowl I believe the debate ends.

-Rex Ryan, Darrelle Revis is great but he can't guard everyone.

-Did anyone know who Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon were? Everyone does now after they combined for 20 catches, 274 yards and two touchdowns.

-Count me as one who is impressed by Mark Sanchez. He has been continually labeled a game manager, but that hit he took on his second TD pass was a hard one and he still delivered the ball. Jets fans should be excited. They have a up-and-coming QB, a strong O-Line, a stud rookie RB and a great defense. Now what do they do with Braylon Edwards?

-Sorry Peyton, I counted you out when the Jets got the 11 point lead and again you made me look stupid. I thought that if the Jets could have scored a touchdown to make the score 21-6 instead of only getting a field goal, the Colts were done. Guess it didn't matter.

-Where was the #1 Jets defense? Indy hasn't run well all year and they get 101 yards on the ground in your biggest game of the year.

-I wonder when the Colts were losing how many times their leaders and fans thought, "We should have played the starters the entire game and finished off this team in Week 15."

-What's up with the kickers? Jay Feely missed two kicks (albeit long ones) and went 1-3 on the day.

NFC Championship

-Hopefully this is the last we have seen of Brett Favre. He showed a lot of toughness in playing the entire game and taking a beating, but I'm over him and all of the drama. Also, should Favre retire, does Brad Childress call former boss Andy Reid and inquire about Donovan McNabb?

-It's fitting that Favre's last pass would be an INT, running to his right and throwing back into the middle. That's something you learn not to do when you first come up as a QB and he still does what he wants. Three turnovers in your last game, that's about right for #4.

-Adrian Peterson had another great game (122 yards 3 TDs), but can someone teach the man to hold onto the ball?

-Way to bounce back Garrett Hartley after being suspended the first four games of the season. And what a class guy John Carney is after keeping the seat warm for Hartley, becoming the Saints kicking coach.

-Where was the normal Drew Brees? It looked to me that Sean Payton was worried about Brees getting hit and didn't do all of the things on offense the Saints normally do.

-Is it bad that I don't believe this was a great game? High drama? Yes. Six turnovers and penalties that either kept drives going or stalled them equals a sloppy game.

-Credit does go to the Saints for defense for battering Favre and causing some of the turnovers. However, I wouldn't be surprised if they're losing sleep the next two weeks thinking about Peyton Manning.

Pro Bowl

As many of you know, the Pro Bowl is being played at the site of the Super Bowl for the first time this season (Miami). It's also being played the week between the Conference Championship Games and the Super Bowl instead of after the Super Bowl. Now I tend to watch a lot of the game but not the whole thing. However, with everyone still in football mode, do you think that you'll watch more of the Pro Bowl or about the same as always?

Two Interesting Reads

2010-01-18T16:44:00.002-05:00

I am a huge Sports Illustrated reader. I have been since the second grade and that includes my loyalty to SI.com. I was reading today and found two good articles and stories I have commented on in the past week. The first has changed my perception of new Tennessee coach Derek Dooley by Andy Staples.

The second is how Gaines Adams' enlarged heart could have gone unnoticed for so long by David Epstein.

Gaines Adams Dead at 26

2010-01-18T09:12:00.003-05:00

I didn't plan on writing anything to day but after seeing this story I had to. Former Buc Gaines Adams is dead at 26. He died after going into cardiac arrest from an enlarged. heart. Its a condition that no one in his family even knew he had.

It amazes me that someone who plays in the show and is normally in top physical condition can have something like this sneak up on them. Also, how was this never found in a pre-season physical?

My heart goes out to the people who were close go Adams in the wake of this tragedy.

Derek Who?

2010-01-15T15:44:00.002-05:00

Word on the street is that the University of Tennessee has hired Derek Dooley, the coach and athletic director at Louisiana Tech.

I understand that getting a "splash" hire would have been difficult and something needed to be done quickly due to recruiting, but I didn't think the Vols had to go this low on the totem pole.

Dooley is the son of Georgia legend Vince Dooley and comes off the Nick Saban coaching tree, having coached with Saban at LSU and also with the Miami Dolphins. In his three years at Tech he has compiled a 17-20 record.

Not the hire I would have expected and I'm sure the Vols know something I don't, but I'm not sold. The Vols have taken a definite step backwards. I'm sure people will say I'll be proven wrong and I hope I am. However, as of now, I think the Vols could have done better.

Who else do you think the Vols should have considered for the job? (Gruden is doing TV so not him and Muschamp of Texas turned the gig down.)

Jimbo can do Wrong, USF Coach, and more Clippers bad Luck

2010-01-14T08:56:00.003-05:00

As many of you know I'm an FSU Alum and avid Jimbo Fisher supporter. While I wasn't one of those who wanted to push Bobby out of the door, I'm alright with the move being made. I like how Jimbo has brought some new, young coaching talent to Tallahassee, and I really like some of the talent that has committed.

Now Jimbo as rubbed me the wrong way by doing two things. One isn't that big of a deal, and one really bothers me. The first, Jimbo wants to make the state of the art weight room more "football centric (fewer athletes from other sports using that room)."

There is no need for that. I believe that all coaches from all sports should support each other for the good of the athletic department.

Jimbo has also said that he wants to ease the non-conference schedule.

"We have a great non-conference game in Florida. I don't mind playing a tough non-conference game, but I think you're crazy, in my opinion, to go out and play three of them. I think it doesn't enhance you. And here's the other thing: we look at it as fans and say 'Well we should play everybody.' Okay, well how about paying bills? When you go three [non-conference games], you're going back to six home games a year. When you do it the other way, you're guaranteeing seven and when they're on the home schedule you're guaranteeing eight, because you get four conference at home and sometimes four non-conference. There's bills to pay."

I understand there are bills to pay but I love traveling to see a non-conference opponent we normally don't get to, and I like the idea of playing anyone anytime. I understand it was a different time, but that is how Bobby Bowden made his name. He played anyone, anywhere. I'm sure that Jimbo and the athletic director have their reasons, but playing good teams is something that I love doing. However, I have said it before and I'll say it again, in Jimbo I trust.

In other news, Mark Whipple, the offensive coordinator of the Miami Hurricanes, keeps coming up for the USF coaching job. It would be a great hire for the Bulls if they could pull it off.

Lastly, the Clippers bad luck continues. They had an easy choice for the number one pick in the draft with Blake Griffin. But he gets hurt to end the preseason and now we find out he is out for the season. Ouch.

Football is a Business

2010-01-13T09:16:00.002-05:00

Dear Everyone who is questioning Lane Kiffin's loyalty,

FOOTBALL IS A BUSINESS! If Tennessee would have fired Kiffin after one season would anyone be outraged? Would anyone question their loyalty? Football is about winning and finding the position that fits you. If Lane feels better at SC then take the job.

Anyone of us would leave a job after one year if a better one opened up. What makes coaches any different?

Yes you can feel sorry for the players (not the other students or alumni). The players bought in and are now in the cold again. And the recruits are leaving in droves. I have seen five that have decommitted immediately.

But as far as anyone or anything else, he made a decision that is best for him and his family. Anyone of us would do exactly the same. As soon as people learn that football is a business, the better of we will be as sports fans.

Lane Kiffin to USC

2010-01-12T20:44:00.004-05:00

Lane Kiffin is done making enemies in the SEC and has reportedly moved on to SC. This is a great hire for SC. Kiffin has shown his chops as both a recruiter and head coach. He also has ties to SC as he was their offensive coordinator before taking the Oakland job. Also, if he takes the Vols staff with him, he is bringing a solid crew. I think SC couldn't have made a better hire. It also means we get another press conference with Lane's wife.

The coaching carousel continues to turn and now it comes to be seen what the Vols recruits will do as well as who they will hire as coach. I ask you, what do you think of SC hiring Lane Kiffin?

Tell Us Something We Don't Know

2010-01-12T09:06:00.004-05:00

Mark McGwire finally admitted he used steroids. That's something we already knew. He went from skinny rookie to a massive behemoth that broke Roger Maris' home run record. Like I said initially, no one is surprised.

I give McGwire small amount of credit. He did call the Maris family and apologize, and he finally admitted he was wrong. Apparently, he wanted to come clean at the Congressional Hearings but was told by his lawyer not to do so since they weren't granted immunity.

What I don't understand is Tony LaRussa. He killed Jose Canseco for accusing people and protected McGwire. Now that McGwire has come out with this, he acts like there was no way he could have known. He talks about the weight program in Oakland and that's how he thought McGwire bulked up. Just tuck tail now LaRussa and admit you blew it. You tried to hide it for your slugger and he finally came clean. The least you can do is the same.

I know many of us have the feeling that we're more surprised by those who haven't used drugs than by those who have. I have two questions: who would surprise you the most if you found out they used steroids? And how should MLB denote that Maris' record is the clean record?

Pete Carroll and SC

2010-01-11T09:34:00.001-05:00

Pete Carroll chastised Mark Sanchez for leaving SC early and saying he wasn't ready for the Show. Sanchez looked pretty good on Saturday and managed the game. I think the reason Carroll really wanted Sanchez to stay was to help Carroll and not Sanchez. Carroll knew his quarterbacks weren't ready and knew Sanchez would be the difference in winning the Pac-10 again.

Now Carroll is jumping ship on SC just as the NCAA seems to be closing in. I don't know if sanctions will ever come down, but Carroll leaving surprises me. 1) He has built a powerhouse in one of the U.S. most fertile recruiting territories. 2) His style didn't work in the show twice before but seemed a perfect fit for college.

He must know something everyone else doesn't. He is from the Bill Parcells school so he is going to have total control, meaning he will make all of the personnel decisions as well. Only time will tell if his latest NFL experience will succeed, and if he got out of SC when the getting was good. Now I want to know, who does SC get as their next coach? Jack Del Rio is an alum and may be out in Jacksonville, and the same goes for Jeff Fisher in Tennessee. Who do you think will be the next coach on the SC sideline?

NFL Playoffs

2010-01-11T09:09:00.002-05:00

Cowboys vs Eagles - As much as it pains me to say it, Dallas is just better than the Eagles this season. They beat them handily three times this season and accounted for half of the Philly losses. Now the question is has Donovan played his last game in Philly? And will Andy Reid finally be run out of town? Philly fans shouldn't jump to getting rid of someone who has had that much sustained success, but they also haven't won a Super Bowl. I say keep him, but other Philly fans don't believe in logic either.

Packers vs Cardinals - Fitting that an offensive show is ended by a defensive TD in overtime. I don't know how Arizona let Green Bay back in the game. The onside kick was a great call by McCarthy. Aaron Rodgers had another amazing game and is the second best QB in the NFC. The Cardinals have to play better defense next weekend or Brees and company will pick them apart.

Ravens vs Pats - No team can get down 21 points and expect to come back. Not even New England. The Ravens jumped on them early and never let them up. There were way too many turnovers. I will say I was impressed with Ravens running attack. I wasn't impressed with Joe Flacco's 34 passing yards. Is this the end of the Patriots run? They didn't make the playoffs last year and lost their first home playoff game under Belichick, I think we can say its over.

Jets vs Bengals - Keep talking trash Rex Ryan. I love it and it gives everybody someone to hate in the playoffs. They do have the best defense and best rushing attack, but I don't think they can beat San Diego. I am openly rooting for them, if only to hear Rex keep talking.

Jim Leavitt Out at USF

2010-01-08T09:44:00.002-05:00

Jim Leavitt is out at USF. The only coach the school has ever known has been fired for hitting a walk-on player in the face. This is bad timing with recruiting winding down. I have no idea where USF is going to look for a coach but this is a huge story. Leavitt was rumored to be considered for the Alabama job before Saban came on and now he is out as the only coach USF has ever had.

Quick Hitters from the BCS Championship Game

2010-01-08T09:00:00.003-05:00

After watching the BCS Championship Game last night I had a lot on my mind. I had no team to root for so my interest was on finally getting a pick right. And for anyone that thinks they can get one over on the odds makers in Vegas, I finished exactly 12-12 picking against the spread for the bowl games. I was only one game better at 13-11 on picking winners.

-Bama won but the game is different if McCoy plays. It had to hurt to finally get to this point and get injured on the fifth play of the game.

- Texas fans were excited about Garrett Gilbert playing for the Horns in 2010, just not in January. Gilbert was serviceable in this game. He did have five turnovers but he made the game interesting in the fourth quarter with two touchdown passes. He won't forget how bad losing in this game felt. With the recruiting that Mack Brown normally does, Gilbert will have Texas bathing in confetti before he leaves Austin.

- Mark Ingram had a great game (116 yards 2 TDs) for the Tide but last night further proved why he shouldn't have won the Heisman. Trent Richardson had an equally impressive game (109 yards 2 TDs). Both players come back next season as well.

- Kirk Herbstreit jinxed the Texas O-Line. Just before Gilbert fumbled on a sack, Herbstreit said the maligned Texas offensive line had not given up a sack. He did apologize for the curse on Sportscenter last night.

- Texas, you have to get touchdowns when you get that close to the goal line, and when you get two quick turnovers to start the game. The score should have been 14-0, or at least 10-0 early in the first quarter. Instead it was 6-0 and the Tide reeled off 24 straight.

- Marcell Dareus should be the player of the game for Alabama. He knocked McCoy out of the game and then had the interception return at the end of the first half to put Alabama up 24-6.

- Texas WRs: you have to make plays for your quarterback, especially a freshman who has that deer in the headlights look. Early when Gilbert came in, Jordan Shipley and company couldn't make a big play and even struggled with some of the routine plays. This made life even more difficult on Gilbert.

- Greg McElroy is alright as a QB, but he is still the Achilles heel of this football team. Julio Jones only had one catch last night and McElroy only threw for 58 yards. By struggling at QB, he takes away one of Bama's best weapons on his own.

- Rolando McClain is going to make a lot of money playing on Sundays. He's big (6'4" 258), fast, and smart. He was the best player on the field a lot of times last night.

- Why do I feel like Terrence Cody is going to be a bust in the NFL? He's huge and clogs running lanes, but he will never be a three down player. He reminds me of Shaun Rogers of the Browns. Can be good when he wants to but can he dominate when he gets tired?

That's all I have for now but let me know what you saw and what you think about the BCS Championship.

Pac-Man vs Pretty Boy

2010-01-07T08:38:00.002-05:00

After months of lobbying and trash talking, and even setting a date, the fight of the century is off the table. Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. are not going to be fighting in Vegas on March 13.

The first snag in negotiations was over loot, which isn't a surprise considering Mayweather. Then the site of the fight was in negotiations after Jerry Jones wanted the fight in Dallas but that didn't work out and Vegas was determined for the fight.

The latest problem had to do with drug testing. While both agreed to drug testing, Mayweather wanted more stringent Olympic style testing. His camp has said for months they believe Pacquiao uses performance enhancing drugs and want to ensure a fair fight. Pacquiao doesn't want this kind of testing because he feels it takes away energy.

With neither side able to agree on testing, the fight is now off. Pacquiao has even sued the Mayweather camp for defamation over the PED accusation. And his promoter Bob Arum, who Mayweather used to work with, says Mayweather is coming up with stuff to avoid the fight.

I think both sides need to figure this out. This is a fight fans would love to see. While many say Mayweather is avoiding the fight, I think Pacquiao is just as much to blame. Do the blood testing and fight. No matter how mad he is over the location or the drug testing, he can do something that most people can't do when their job pisses them off; HE CAN PUNCH THE GUY IN THE FACE! So, Floyd, quit "dodging what will be a great fight and Manny get your panties out of a bunch if you have nothing to hide. How would you get these two in a ring together?

FSU Vacates Wins

2010-01-05T11:46:00.003-05:00

I'm going to admit that I'm biased about this but I think the NCAA was dead wrong to make FSU vacate wins for their academic cheating scandal. All of the athletes that were involved were punished, but its still wrong to make the school vacate the wins. FSU self reported the problems and imposed its own restrictions that included the suspension of athletes and reduction of scholarships.

Now FSU was wrong to let it happen and to spent a lot of time and money trying to get Coach Bowden his wins back, but the NCAA dropped the ball on this one. This week USC self reported violations that a booster funneled money($200,000) from an agent to guard O.J. Mayo. They also proposed restrictions on themselves and the NCAA is cool with it.

SC is still "investigating" over their football players Reggie Bush and Joe McKnight receiving improper benefits.

Yes what FSU did was wrong, but they self reported and had self imposed restrictions and the wins shouldn't be vacated. USC Football is pointing and laughing at the NCAA.

Last Three Picks

2010-01-05T11:32:00.004-05:00

So picking games is not my forte. While I didn't pick the Fiesta Bowl last night due to a long day at the office, I am going to take the loss because I'm sure I would have picked TCU. Here is what I think of the last three games:

Orange Bowl - Iowa vs Georgia Tech (-5 1/2) - Tech's triple option offense gives Iowa fits. I don't care how many weeks they had to prepare, no scout team can simulate Tech's speed and precision running it. Tech also covers.

GMAC Bowl - Central Michigan (-2 1/2) vs Troy - Central Michigan wins and covers. If you need a reason to watch, its CM quarterback Dan Lefevour. He has better numbers than Tebow and leads his team to victory.

Championship Game - Texas vs Alabama (-4) - I'm openly rooting for Texas but I think Alabama wins but doesn't cover. Texas hasn't shown the ability to put up points against a good defense and Alabama has the best in the land.

Rest of the Picks

2010-01-02T12:00:00.003-05:00

International Bowl - USF (-6 1/2) vs No. Illinois - USF wins and covers

Papa Johns Bowl - UConn vs South Carolina (-3 1/2) - South Carolina wins a close one and doesn't cover

Cotton Bowl - Ole Miss (-3) vs Oklahoma State - Dexter McCluster goes off for the Rebels and they win and cover

Liberty Bowl - Arkansas (-7 1/2) vs East Carolina - Ryan Mallet has a big game for the Razorbacks and they win and cover

Alamo Bowl - Texas Tech (-7 1/2) vs Michigan State - The Red Raiders lost their coach while the Spartans have a bunch of players suspended. The game is sloppy. The Red Raiders win but don't cover.

Eve and Day Bowl Game Picks

2009-12-31T10:34:00.003-05:00

Games like the Holiday Bowl are why I could never make a living picking spreads. Not only did Arizona not cover, they made their fans suffer through a 33-0 shellacking in the pouring rain. Having done the same thing before, UF at FSU 2008, my heart goes out to the Wildcats fans. You pay all this money and travel and your team gets crushed. Anyway, after last night's game, I stand 2-3 against the spread and 1-4 picking the winners. Anyway, its time for the best day of the year (I know I say that a lot but I just love sports that much).

Armed Forces Bowl - Air Force vs Houston (-5) - I think Houston covers and wins. Case Keenum and company will put up a ton of points for the Cougars to cover and win.

Sun Bowl - Oklahoma (-10) vs Stanford - Which Sooner team is going to show up? Landry Jones has been lights out in some games (see Texas A&M) and can't find receivers in others (see Texas Tech). Stanford will be relying on Heisman runner-up Toby Gerhart the nations leading rusher a little more with QB Andrew Luck out. However, the Sooner D will be pumped to stop him. Oklahoma covers and wins.

Texas Bowl - Navy vs Missouri (-6 1/2) - I think Missouri wins but I think Navy loses by less than a touchdown.

Insight Bowl - Iowa State vs Minnesota (-2) - this should actually be a pretty good matchup. However, its broadcast on the NFL Network so many of us won't be able to watch. Either way, Minnesota covers and wins.

Chick-Fil-A Bowl - Virginia Tech (-5 1/2) vs Tennessee - the Hokies end their season where it began in the Georgia Dome against an SEC opponent. However, the Volunteers aren't Alabama. The Hokies will win and cover the spread. You should watch this game even if you aren't interested in either team just to see Volunteer Safety Eric Berry. The junior won the Thorpe Award as college football's best defensive back and this may be his last college game before he starts playing on Sundays. He's a sure first round pick.

Outback Bowl - Northwestern vs Auburn (-8) - Auburn has a great offense, scores a lot, wins and covers.

Gator Bowl - FSU vs West Virginia (-2 1/2) - there is no way I'm picking against my team. FSU sends Bobby, Mickey and the rest of the gang out in style.

Capital One Bowl - LSU vs Penn State (-2) - I'm not sure what to make of LSU. I like their defense but don't like their offense. So Penn State wins and covers.

Rose Bowl - Oregon (-4) vs Ohio State - I keep thinking that if Jeremiah Masoli goes off in this game, will Terrelle Pryor wonder what life would have been like in Chip Kelly's spread option offense? Either way, the Buckeyes really need a win in this one but I don't think they get it. Oregon will take advantage with Masoli and LaMichael James running wild over the Buckeye defense. Oregon wins but Ohio State covers.

Sugar Bowl - Florida (-12 1/2) vs Cincinnati - Call this the distracted bowl. Florida has been dealing with guys looking to the NFL and with their coach unsure if he can keep coaching. The Bearcats lost their coach and are dealing with not making the championship game. I'm still going with Florida. Are you telling me Tebow is going to let his team lose in his last game as a Gator?

More picks coming tomorrow.

Sorry for the Hiatus

2009-12-30T14:00:00.005-05:00

So I planned to pick all of the bowl games but I had to study for the Series 7 exam and the blog took a back seat. Now that I have finished and passed, I'm ready to get back in the swing of things.

The last game I picked I was way off. I thought SMU would challenge Nevada but I didn't think they would blow them out the way they did. Anyway, Bowling Green takes on Idaho in the Humanitarin Bowl. The game is played on the Smurf Turf of Boise giving Idaho a small homefield advantage. The spread in this game has Idaho giving the Falcons one point (-1). Since I really don't know much about these teams I'll agree with Vegas.

The Cornhuskers of Nebraska take on Arizona in the Holiday Bowl tonight. The last time we saw the Huskers they were about to throw a big wrench into the BCS but came up one second short against Texas. In tonight's game, they're giving 2 1/2 to the Wildcats. While I'm really impressed with the Black Shirts again, I don't see them beating Arizona or covering the spread. It has been said that Arizona has the most talent in the Pac-10 outside of SC and I think they will be able to score just enough points to beat the Huskers.

As for my thoughts on some stories that happened while I was away:

Colts, take it from Herm Edwards, "You play to win the game!"

Urban, are you really risking your health for football? That's my kind of coach. I'm not a Gator fan, I love the Noles and him leaving would probably benefit us, but if he loves the game that much then keep coaching. Plus the big salary doesn't hurt either.

Tomorrow I'll pick the New Year's Eve and Day Bowl games.

Hawaii Bowl - SMU vs Nevada

2009-12-24T11:44:00.002-05:00

Utah made me look good in the Poinsettia Bowl. After starting slow and falling behind by two touchdowns, the Utes reeled off 27 straight points en route to a 37-27 victory over Cal. I was right on both accounts, picking against the spread and picking the winner.

Tonight I take on the Hawaii Bowl, with June Jones coming back and leading SMU against Nevada. The hard part in picking the early bowl games is that I haven't seen a lot of these teams play. I only saw Nevada get whacked by Boise State and haven't seen SMU at all. I do know that SMU stud QB Bo Levi Mitchell (great Texas name by the way) is a game-time decision on whether he will play. I also know that Nevada is the first team in FBS history to have three 1,000 yard rushers in the same season.

However, I feel like the 12.5 spread is too large. Nevada will be able to run the ball on the Mustangs and win, but now by more than 12 points.

Next I'll pick all of the December 26th games.

Poinsettia Bowl - Utah vs Cal

2009-12-23T09:33:00.002-05:00

So I was way off in my prediction from last night's Las Vegas Bowl. BYU led from start to finish and rendered the Rodgers brothers useless. Either way the picks continue.

Cal is favored by three in this game but I'm never sure which Cal team will show up. Since stud RB Jahvid Best went down with a concussion earlier in the season, the Golden Bears have not been dominant. In fact, I hardly know anyone else on this team outside of Best.

Utah has fallen off from their undefeated season of 2008. I have seen them play twice this season, both losses to BYU in OT and to TCU in a blowout.

I'm taking Utah to cover the three points and to win because with Best not playing, I don't see any explosion coming from Cal offense.

Tomorrow: SMU vs Nevada (-12.5) in the Hawaii Bowl

Pick for Tonight's Las Vegas Bowl

2009-12-22T09:05:00.002-05:00

This is one of my favorite times of year. Most people complain that all of these bowl games don't matter and no one watches them, but I enjoy having football on every night of the week. People complain that they can't wait until football season starts, but then its on every night and they complain that it doesn't matter and no one cares. I'll take what I can get.

Anyway, BYU plays Oregon State in the Macco Bowl Las Vegas this evening. BYU has been a hard team to figure out. They take out Sam Bradford and Oklahoma one week, then get blown out at home by FSU the next. There only other loss came to TCU who pummeled everyone in their way.

Oregon State started the season 2-2 but then beat Stanford and took USC and Oregon to down to the wire on the road before losing both games. The Beavers are again led by the small but speedy duo of James and Jacquizz Rodgers. James and Jacquizz led the Beavers in rushing, receiving and scoring this season. Along with QB Sean Canfield, they were one of the top scoring teams in the conference.

With Oregon State giving 2 1/2 to the Cougars, I think the Beavers win and cover the spread. BYU has struggled with fast and athletic teams. Oregon State has great speed from the Rodgers brothers and also has an athletic defense.

Tomorrow: Utah Utes vs the California Golden Bears in the Poinsettia Bowl.

New Cowboys Kicker

2009-12-21T10:01:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago I commented on former Redskins kicker Steve Suisham missing a 23 yard field goal and losing his job the next day. Well now that Cowboys kicker Nick Folk has done the same thing, albeit his team didn't lose the game, Dallas is trying out Suisham for their kicker position. Aren't there other qualified people to do this? This is like letting the Enron CEOs run another company.

Garrett's Famous!

2009-12-21T08:41:00.003-05:00

With Christmas rapidly apporaching it's bowl game time in college football. All week long ESPN has games going and they always have a commercial to accompany the coverage. This year they chose to use the USF drumline which my cousin Garrett plays the snare. He's the guy up front and to the left of the rapper. Check him out.

http://hiphopblips.dailyradar.com/video/b-o-b-i-am-the-champion-espn-bowl-week/

Who to Watch the Game With

2009-12-18T11:07:00.004-05:00

Most of the time the weekend blogs and radio shows fill their time and space with picks. I'll give you my NFL winners in a moment, but I had something I wanted to write about. I'm newly married and this means less time with the fellas and more time with my wife, including watching games. Now my wife is a sports fan more than most, but I don't learn anything watching the game with her and can't ask her opinions.

This got me thinking, if I had tickets to the Super Bowl/World Series/or other big sporting event of my choice, who would I take? I pose the same question to you. Pick the event and the people you would go with up to five.

NFL Winners Week 15

Saints

Pats

Cardinals

Dolphins

Chiefs

Texans

Jets

Eagles (I'd never pick against my team)

Ravens

Broncos

Chargers

Packers

Seahawks

Vikings

Giants

Jags Game Showing in Local Market and the Perfect Season

2009-12-17T08:19:00.003-05:00

For the first time this season a Jacksonville Jaguars game will be showing in the local market. The NFL has a rule that games need to be sold out three days before the game is played or the local market is blacked out and can't see the game.

Now with the game on NFL Network, it remains to be seen how many people actually see the game. I guess by now the people of Jacksonville are used to going out to watch their team play so tonight won't take them out of their comfort zone.

Now with the Jags having so much trouble selling out their stadium, it has been speculated that they will pick UF QB Tim Tebow in the NFL Draft. Outside of ticket and merchandise sales, I don't see Tebow being an immediate contributor to the Jags next season. Outside of some specialized packages like the Wildcat, its going to be two or three years before he can be a legit NFL quarterback. And I'm not sure he even becomes a legit starting QB without some changes in his delivery, mechanics, and having an offense tailored to him.

On another note, the Saints and Colts are both 13-0 and have locked up home-field throughout the playoffs in the Colts case and close to it in the case of the Saints. Now the question is do the teams go for the perfect record or rest players. The Saints coach Sean Payton had already said his team will go for it while the Colts have a history of resting guys. The Colts also have a history of early playoff flame outs. If you were running one of these franchises, would you instruct your coach to go for the perfect season or rest guys so they are ready for the playoffs?

Fired Over Fantasy Football

2009-12-16T08:20:00.002-05:00

Fantasy Sports is one of the biggest things going on is sports right now. For many people, its how you kill time in the morning before starting your work day and it gives bragging rights with your friends. However, if you work for Fidelity Investments, don't tell anyone about your fantasy leagues.

Fidelity fired four people for playing fantasy football. Yes Fidelity wants their employees focusing their time and equipment on "customers and clients." They also have a code about gambling as well. But isn't firing someone over fantasy football a little much? I find it ironic that a company that plays the stock market gets upset when its employees gamble.

Here is a link to the entire article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

I think the firing is too much but I haven't worked in an office for a while. What do you guys think about firing someone for fantasy football? And do you think the problem gambling is the problem?

Trading Aces

2009-12-15T08:06:00.003-05:00

The Phillies, Blue Jays and on a lesser scale the Mariners are in the final stages of making a huge trade. Most likely the biggest move of the Hot Stove season. The Phils are getting Toronto ace Roy Halladay and a few prospects while giving up their own ace Cliff Lee and a few top level prospects of their own. The Mariners are getting Lee and sending prospects out.

The question is whether Philly will get any better. Lee was a stud for the Phillies after he came over from Cleveland in a mid-season trade and was dynamite in the playoffs. He was the only Phillies pitcher to defeat the Yankees in the World Series. Halladay has better overall numbers, but he has never pitched in the playoffs and I wonder if he could have the same success.

The deal does make economic sense. Lee has stated that he wants C.C. money for his next contract. Halladay is taking a discount to go to Philly. This is one of those trades that we're going to have to see how it plays out. Only the numbers and the success of their new teams during the season will tell us how this shakes out.

While the Mariners have made some moves that look like they want to compete in the AL West, I can't help but think that they will flip Cliff Lee at the trade deadline for a boatload of prospects. They are currently working to keep their own star pitcher Felix Hernandez and I don't see anyway they can afford both.

On another note, the Red Sox pickup free agent pitcher John Lackey. I don't understand why the Angels wouldn't come up with the money for him. He has been their best pitcher for a while now and they lost in the ALCS last year. They can't get any better by losing him. The Red Sox have now added another great arm to go with Josh Beckett and John Lester. The Yankees proved last season that you can go with a three man rotation and win the World Series and it looks like the Sox took note. This means that the American League, and more importantly the Rays in the AL East, (the Jays have no shot after losing their best two pitchers the last two years and the Orioles are a few seasons away) have their work cut out for them if they want to make the World Series.

I know the season is long and there are more moves to be made, but what teams do you think set themselves up to make the postseason and ultimately make the World Series?

Heisman Trophy - Does Tebow Vote for Himself?

2009-12-11T12:41:00.004-05:00

So after months of speculation and many names claiming themselves as the Heisman frontrunner, it comes down to five football players: Stanford RB Toby Gerhart, Alabama RB Mark Ingram, Texas QB Colt McCoy, Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh, and Florida QB Tim Tebow.

If I had a vote I would pick Suh. He was an absolute beast and dominated most of the games he played in for a superb defense. He is the definition of the Heisman Trophy, given to the "Most Outstanding College Football Player." Suh turned about 30 minutes of the College Football Awards Show into his own personal showcase. He claimed the Outland (best interior lineman), Lombardi (lineman/linebacker), Nagurski (best defender) and Bednarik (best defensive player) Awards. He finished the season with 82 tackles to lead his team which is unheard of for a lineman facing constant double teams. He also tallied 23 tackles for loss and 12 sacks.

McCoy also had a banner night in Orlando winning the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, along with the Maxwell (best offensive player) and Davey O'Brien (best qb) Awards. However, McCoy's numbers weren't even as good as his numbers last season when he didn't win the Heisman. He does play on a team in the Championship game.

Gerhart should be the most competition for Suh. He led the country in rushing and rushing TDs while claiming the Doak Walker (best running back) Award. Gerhart was also the focal point of his team's offense. I don't think he has enough exposure to win the award having had time off while his opponents were having showcases on the last weekend.

The same can be said for Mark Ingram. Ingram had a great season but I'm not sure he's the best player on his team. Ingram had five games under 100 yards and wasn't even in the game on the winning drive against Auburn. Ingram did have a big game at the right time though.

Tebow's numbers aren't as good as last season when he didn't win. And his numbers aren't even close to what they were when he won as a sophomore. However, Tebow has one advantage no one else does, he can vote for himself.

My question to you, who do you think should win the Heisman and who do you think does?

Out of Leftfield

2009-12-10T10:55:00.002-05:00

I'm studying for my Series 7 and for a break I turn on MLB Network to see what's going on at the Winter Meetings. The Winter Meetings is where most baseball trades are made that aren't done before the non-waiver trade deadline.

Anyway, I like the pickup of Rafael Soriano for the Rays. They have had trouble shutting the door and this allows J.P. Howell to move back to a setup role. While it is a big hit on the payroll, it is a move that had to be made. The Yanks and Red Sox are starting to solve J.P and the other Rays relievers were average at best. If Burrell hits decent, everyone stays healthy, and B.J. Upton gets it back some how, the Rays can again challenge in the East.

Speaking of the Yankees, they win the World Series and then go out and get a better centerfielder. Curtis Granderson is a team guy and allows them to move Melky Cabrera to left field if New York doesn't re-up with Johnny Damon. I do like the move as the Yankees get younger and better defensively, but Granderson struggles against lefties. Other than that, another good move by Brian Cashman.

On a completely different note, the Blue Jays are trying to move Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay. The Red Sox are a potential suitor, but the Jays want pitcher Casey Kelly and the Sox won't give him up. I remember covering Kelly as an All-State quarterback and shortstop while he was in high school and even then I was sure he would make the show in one of those sports. He was that guy who was just better than everyone else. I'm a little surprised that the Red Sox made Kelly a pitcher, but apparently his hitting numbers were below average and good pitching is hard to come by. Which brings me to the Sox other pickup. Pitcher Boof Bonser.

Bonser is best known as one of the players the twins picked up, along with stud pitchers Joe Nathan and Francisco Liriano, in the A.J. Pierzynski trade. I know him as the guy who single handedly beat my Venice High School Baseball team in the state playoffs while playing for St. Pete Gibbs High School. Bonser hit three home runs and a triple while also throwing a complete game.

I always find it interesting when I see a player that I either played with/against in high school, or who I have covered while working making noise in college or the pros. You guys have anyone out there doing it on the big stage who you saw before they made headlines?

No One Cares about Academics

2009-12-09T16:39:00.003-05:00

So news came out that the University of Alabama is giving its students three days off for the National Championship game. Aren't these the same institutions that say they don't want a playoff because it will hinder student athletes from missing too may classes? And aren't these the same institutions that allow basketball players to miss three or four days of classes a week, sometimes for up a month, during the NCAA tournament?

There is no way for the BCS and college presidents to spin this one. I just want one president or athletic director or someone that keeps feeding us this load of crap to tell it like it is. As Henry Hill said, "F--- y--, Pay Me."

Steve Suisham - Graham Gano makes the Show

2009-12-09T09:09:00.002-05:00

I'm sure you saw it on Sunday. The Washington Redskins had the New Orleans Saints on the ropes. The Saints perfect season hung in the balance. The Skins were up seven at home, and all kicker Steve Suisham had to do was hit a 23-yard field goal to put the game away. And he missed. The Saints were able to tie the game and ended up winning in overtime.

Tuesday the Skins cut Suisham, which they had to do because missing kicks like that will cost someone their job, and signed former Seminole and Groza Award winner Graham Gano to a three-year deal.

This is the part I don't understand, why aren't kickers just signed week to week? If you have a good one liek Adam Vinatieri or David Akers I can see signing them for an extended period of time, but not some of these other guys who never seem to make anything of note.

And further, why haven't the Bucs brought Matt Bryant back? He spent this season kicking in the UFL for the Florida Tuskers while the Bucs three kickers have combined to make only 50% of their field goal attempts. At some point, the Bucs need to bury the hatchet and bring back the successful kicker.

TCU vs Boise St.

2009-12-07T14:05:00.001-05:00

Bowl Season is here After Championship Saturday I was intrigued to see what the bowl matchups would be to end the college football season. I’m not really one of those fans that will only watch the “intriguing” games. I tend to watch all or most of every bowl game that is played, from the New Mexico Bowl right through to the BCS Championship game.

At a later date I’ll have what I think about each contest, but today I’m annoyed by one of the Fiesta Bowl game between Boise State and TCU. I am happy that two teams from outside the Big Bowl Six were able to break up the party, but why do the teams have to play each other? The two of them played last year in the Poinsettia Bowl with TCU winning. While this may not be the case, it looks the BCS doesn’t want a team from outside the family beating one of their own.

All season long prognosticators have challenged the validity of TCU and Boise State continually calling out their strength of their opponents. Instead of having them test their mettle against Georgia Tech, Florida, or Cincinnati, they are playing each other for the second year in a row. I think that playing another school would be the best way to see how good these teams really are, and pave the way for eventually giving a mid-major team the chance to play for the championship. I do think the game will be a great one to watch, but I’d rather see Boise State’s powerful offense try to score on Florida. Or watch TCU’s vaunted defense attempt to stop the Ramblin Wreck’s triple option or Cincy’s 40-point a game offense. Any thoughts what you think the BCS is doing in having the two mid-majors face off?

Championship Saturday

2009-12-07T13:59:00.001-05:00

The college football games from Saturday were for the ages. Three games that had BCS implications came down to the final minute. In Texas’ case, the final second. There were also other games that weren’t decided until late like the USF-UConn game, and the WVU-Rutgers contest. There was also the SEC Championship where Alabama handed out a beat down that few if any expected.

I picked the SEC Championship game wrong. I knew the game would be decided in large part by the defenses and quarterback, but I picked the wrong one. UF returned their entire two-deep and had thoroughly dominated much of the competition all season. And on top of that, they had Tebow. The Tide had a great defense, but I didn’t think their offense had enough firepower to keep up with the Gators. Mark Ingram put on a Heisman showcase with over 100 yards rushing and three touchdowns, not to mention a big catch and run on a screen pass to go with a key block on third down to allow Greg McElroy to pick up a first. Greg McElroy also played better than Tebow in all facets of the game. He didn’t turn the ball over and made big throw after big throw. I was impressed by McElroy. I thought he was nothing more than a game manager at the beginning of the season, but he has turned into a complete quarterback who can beat you with his arm as the season has progressed. I have to say that Bama is going to be favored going into the championship.

Texas almost pulled a Les Miles and let the clock run out on them in the Big 12 Championship. I know Colt McCoy said he knew how much time he had, but why cut it so close? I was really impressed with the Nebraska defense. I think Bo Pelini has the Black Shirts back to playing the way they were when they were winning championships. Texas better get it figured out by January. Ndamakung Suh and the defensive line of Nebraska almost won the game on their own, and Texas has to deal with Mount Cody in the Championship.

Clemson gets over 230 yards and four touchdowns form C.J. Spiller and loses? Not a great showing by the Clemson defense in a game they should have won. Give credit to GT for running all over and having just enough passing to get it done, but the Tiger defense spoiled a great performance.

My heart goes out to the Pittsburgh holder. I’m sure you’ve seen it but he fumbled the snap on a PAT and his team lost by one point. Yes the Panthers defense allowed Tony Pike and Cincinnati to come back from a 31-10 deficit, but I’m sure that doesn’t make him feel any better.

With the games done and the Heisman Trophy presentation this Saturday, who’s performance on Saturday earned them a trip to New York? And who do you think brings home the trophy?

Picks for Saturday and Conference Championships

2009-12-05T12:02:00.003-05:00

This should have been done earlier but here are my picks for the weekend. No spreads, just the winners.

Arizona at USC - SC is at home and can give Zona QB Nick Foles fits

Cal at Washington - Cal even without Best should be better than Washington

Cincy at Pitt - Cincy has a powerful offense and Pitt won't be able to keep up

UF vs Bama - UF has Tebow and therefore they win

GT vs Clemson - GT: the triple option is tough to stop and GT can stop Spiller. The rain may play a factor

New Mexico St. at Boise St. - Boise St. never loses on the Smurf turf

South FL at UCoon - UConn wins. It's cold up there and they're still playing for their fallen teammate

Texas vs Nebraska - Texas: Colt McCoy has a big game and wins the Heisman

West Virginia at Rutgers - WVU: Noel Devine is too tough to stop.

Houston at ECU - Houston has the #1 offense and wins.

Cheating on Your Wife or Cheating on the Sport

2009-12-04T09:42:00.002-05:00

I didn't want to discuss the Tiger thing this much but my wife and I had an interesting discussion on the way to dinner last night.

I have stated previously that I don't care that Tiger cheated on his wife. She is the only person that deserves an apology and not the public at large. However, when baseball players admit they used steroids, they have to issue a public apology.

Now, steroid use doesn't get under my skin that much. Everybody cheated and no one surprises me anymore. I'd like to think that all the players were clean and the few that have come out are aberrations, but I know better. I will say that Barry Bonds cheating bothered me.

Bonds was great, maybe the best baseball player of a generation. It was like he was built in a laboratory. He routinely hit .300, hit 30 home runs and drove in 100 runs. He played gold glove defense, albeit in left field, and also would steal 20 to 30 bags. He even had a 40/40 season. Apparently this wasn't enough for him and he had to cheat to get that obscene 73 home runs season and break Hank Aaron's all-time home run record.

The only reason I can think this bothers me is that Bonds and others cheated the game. We marvel at the feats they achieve only to be disappointed when its tainted. Tiger only made a covenant with his wife and broke that. Cheaters of the game broke the public trust and I guess that is why.

I need some opinions from everyone else about why it bothers the public more when the game is cheated than when an athlete cheats on his wife.

Civil War - Winner gets the Roses

2009-12-03T17:01:00.003-05:00

I'm really pumped about tonight's Oregon State at Oregon game tonight. I really like watching the Pac-10 teams that we east coasters don't get to see all the time. All through college I had the drive to stay up until 2:00 AM to watch the end of the west coast games. As I've gotten older I haven't been as driven.

Now it's not entirely my fault. The Pac-10 television contract is no where near the SEC's where we have to watch everything. In fact, it's not even as good as the ACC or Big 12 contract. So I hope I can stay up for the entire game. I hope they give me something to stay up for.

Last year's game saw Duck QB Jeremiah Masoli shred the Beavers D and end their Rose Bowl hopes. This year, the winner takes all. Last year the Rodgers brothers (RB Jacquizz and WR James) didn't play for Oregon State. However, with the game in Eugene at Autzen, I see the Ducks getting the victory and Masoli along with LaMichael James running wild over the Beavers.

Leave Tiger Alone

2009-12-03T09:08:00.002-05:00

I didn't want to talk about it but the elephant is in the room.

Apparently the guy cheated on his wife and now everyone wants to be mad at him. Guess what...IT'S NO BIG DEAL. The only person who should care is his wife. Jesper Parnevik, the golfer who introduced them, is talking about how he thought Tiger was a better guy than that. Jesper would have done the same thing if he had Tiger's options. And Elin will be fine. Either they'll stay married or should get the joy of just going to the bank the rest of her life.

Now before you get on me and ask me if I'd cheat on my wife and all that nonsense let me explain. I don't care what Tiger does Monday through Wednesday, I watch him play golf on Thursday through Sunday. Anytime outside of that, he can do what he wants. He is not accountable to me, he isn't my role model. The guy just plays golf and I enjoy watching him do his job.

Tiger won't lose sponsors either. Most of the people who buy products Tiger markets are men who really don't care that much. Michael Jordan is still peddling Nike and Gatorade and he cheated on his wife.

At the end of the day, people don't care as much as they're saying now. In a few months when he's playing on Sunday in Augusta, I won't care about what happened. I didn't care about Colorado when Kobe was winning the Finals MVP this summer, I didn't care that Peter Warrick got a deep discount on clothes when he was torching Virginia Tech in leading FSU to its last national title, and I don't care that Tom Brady left his pregnant girlfriend to start dating a supermodel.

They're athletes and I appreciate the entertainment and joy they bring me; however, they're human and should always be treated as such.

Big Ten/ACC Challenge - Whiteout?

2009-12-02T22:04:00.004-05:00

So I'm watching the Big Ten/ACC Challenge and this might be the year the Big 11 breaks through. As you might know, the ACC has won all 10 challenges up to this point. With Illinois pulling out a big upset after being down 23 at Clemson, the Challenge comes down to the last two contests: Duke at Wisconsin and FSU at Ohio State. Duke has never lost a challenge game but playing at Wisconsin is no easy task. However, I still expect the Blue Devils to win.

On another note, I almost saw a whiteout. A whiteout is when all ten players on the floor at the time are white. Occasionally you'll see it during a lower division game, but it rarely happens in big time college hoops. Duke and Wisconsin almost pulled it off. Duke had Kyle Singler, Miles Plumlee, Brian Zoubek and Jon Schyer on the floor; while the Badgers had Jason Bohannan, Keaton Nankivil, Jared Berggren and Jon Leuer playing. If it wasn't for Trevon Hughes and Andre Dawkins, we could have seen a white out on national tv.

I'm happy to see that the other Big Bowl Six (ACC, Big 10, Big East, Pac 10, Big 12, SEC) have started showcases like the Big 10/ACC Challenge. The Pac 10 goes up against the Big 12 and the SEC and Big East square off. It gives great out of conference matchups early in the season before conference season gets going.

Can anybody spare LESS than a penny

2009-12-02T10:04:00.002-05:00

So we know the Tiger Woods story from the weekend. He got into a car accident. I don't really care about the stories that are coming out (domestic violence and cheating), but I do laugh at the fine.

Tiger just passed $1 billion in earnings this year. He was fined $164 for careless driving. I have spent a while trying to do the math and that was a bad idea. What I do know is that $164 to Tiger is like one of us grabbing a penny from the tray at the gas station. Now yes his car is beat up and he has to fix the fire hydrant, but all of it is still a drop in the bucket to Tiger's immense wealth.

Carlos Dunlap

2009-12-02T09:59:00.003-05:00

I have to say I'm surprised that Urban Meyer suspended Carlos Dunlap for an entire game. While it is warranted, I thought he'd use the misdemeanor/let the legal process take its course excuse and let him suit up. He is a force on the defensive line and leads the Gators in sack for the second straight season. I give the Gator coach some props on this one.

The End of an Era

2009-12-01T12:57:00.000-05:00

After a hiatus that was entirely too long, I have started blogging again. Instead of trying to write about everything that has happened since I last posted, I’ll start over.

For the first time in my life, I woke up this morning and Bobby Bowden wasn’t the coach of my alma mater Florida State. I have mixed emotions about it. In a perfect world, Bobby would have led FSU to the National Championship and announced his retirement while holding the Crystal Football. However, FSU football has not been relevant on the national stage for quite some time. The last 10-win season came in 2003 and the last conference championship was in 2005. With the program not moving forward and competing at a high level any longer, I think it was time to make a change. Bobby made FSU football. We all know the numbers, 14 straight 10-win seasons, 14 top 5 finishes, two national championships, second most wins among major college football coaches, etc. As Dan Sileo said, “he turned an all girls' school into a football powerhouse.” But I don’t think that should allow him to run the program into mediocrity. I wish he could have righted the ship like Joe Paterno did in Happy Valley, but his loyalty to old players and coaches ruined any chance of that. A part of me wants to chastise the University officials for pushing a legend out the door, but with FSU dropping to fourth (hate to say it but have to after losing to USF) in the state football hierarchy, how long would Bobby be allowed to lord over the football program? Now we FSU fans get to see if Jimbo Fisher can return the team back to prominence. Jimbo has never been a head coach before and many viewed the Coach-in-Waiting contract as a knee jerk reaction to the overtures from West Virginia and other schools. I don’t seem to mind him taking over. I have a friend who isn’t sold on Jimbo’s ability to be a head coach. I’m not really sure why, but I’m sure he will let me know. Jimbo is a good recruiter and has improved the offense each season he has been at FSU. A lot of his success will come down to which coaches he retains (bye Chuck Amato and Jody Allen; maybe Dexter Carter, Odell Haggins, and Lawrence Dawsey, hello Terrell Buckley) and who he chooses and the new defensive coordinator with Mickey Andrews retiring. I’ll have to see how everything shakes out. Right now FSU is behind in recruiting and it will take a Bobby Bowden type of close for this cycle to be successful.

On another note, no surprise Notre Dame fired Charlie Weis. He boasted of having a “schematic advantage” when he arrived, and his offenses put up some pretty good numbers, but his defenses were awful. What I find ironic, is that Weis’ best years came with Willingham’s recruits. In 2007 as Weis led the Irish to their worst record ever, the excuse was that Willingham left the cupboard bare. Now we find out that Weis just couldn’t recruit defenders. In listening to AD Jack Swarbrick, Notre Dame still feels they are one of “the” jobs in college football. He should listen to himself. He mentioned finding the person to join the pantheon of Rockne Parseghian, and Hotlz. Does he realize that Holtz left in 1994 and that the Irish haven’t challenge for the title since 93. Recruits now were infants when the Irish were relevant. Now we’re waiting around to see who the Irish pick up and throw a boat load of money. Brian Kelly seems to be the consensus choice, but I think Notre Dame needs a defensive guy with a great offensive coordinator. I’m not sure who that person should be with Stoops taking his name out, but that’s the way I’d go. Who do you think The Irish should choose as their next coach?

Conference Season, Super Bowl, NFL Draft

2008-01-22T12:05:00.000-05:00

The Pats are going 19-0. I don't know if I have said it before but even their bad games are better than some teams good games. The thing that stands out to me the most is how often teams get in the red zone and have to settle for field goals. That was the Chargers demise. The Giants do have a remedy for that in Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs but they still won't beat the Pats.

As much as I love football season and everything that goes with it, there is no better time than conference basketball season. Football has many great games but they all happen on one or two days of the week.

Every night of the week there is a compelling matchup and a great game to see. If anyone has ESPN Classic, I don't know who does anymore, watch in the mid-afternoon when they play classic games of that night's matchup. The thing to notice is how recent some of the games are. For example, with Texas and Oklahoma St. playing last night, Classic showed last years 105-103 triple overtime game where Kevin Durant proved again the monster ballplayer he is. Last night Georgetown beat Syracuse in OT and Texas edged out OK St. 63-61. The Longhorns don't have Durant anymore but D.J. Augustin is an entertaining player to watch.

Another great thing about confernce season is that almost every game is a battle, except for Memphis. The Tigers do play Tennessee next month in what may be their last test to an undefeated regular season. Case in point, Maryland travels into Chapell Hill and upsets UNC while UCLA loses at home to rival USC. In confernence play there are no gimmies unless you get to play Oregon St. Further, anyone can beat anybody else at home or on the road. So lets enjoy another great season of college hoops before tournament time.

As a side note, I don't know if anyone noticed but the Baylor men's hoops team crashed the top 25 this week. After the Patrick Dennehy murder by a teammate and the Dave Bliss debacle, I or no one else could have imagined the Bears program would be able to bounce back. The Bears decided to hire Scott Drew, the son of Valparaiso coach Homer and brother to Bryce. In four seasons Drew imported point guard Aaron Bruce (10.1 ppg, 2.1 apg) from Austrailia, and convinced Top 25 prep star LaceDarius Dunn (12.2 ppg, 4.1 rpg) to come to Waco. Those two are getting help from Curtis Jerrells (12 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.8 apg), Kevin Rogers (11.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg), Henry Dugat (12.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg) and Tweety Carter (9.2 ppg) their first McDonald's All-American recruit. For more check out this ESPN.com article by Dana O'Neil. It's long but worth it to tell a story as good as this one. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?columnist=oneil_dana&id=3189351

NFL Draft Early Entries
(what I think of the notables; listed alphabetically)

Branden Albert, G, Virginia, Big (6'7 315) and battled tested, he went up against Chris Long everyday in practice.

Adrian Arrignton and Mario Manningham, WRs, Michigan, Makes the big plays and the routine ones, great after the catch and can both go up in traffic.

James Banks, WR, Carson Newman, Franklin Dunbar, OT, Middle Tennessee St., Who?

Earl Bennett, WR, Vanderbilt, Not a burner but a great route runner and has the most catches in SEC history

Martellus Bennett, TE, Texas A&M, Matchup problem in the Jeremy Shockey mold. A better blocker too.

Devone Bess and Ryan Grice-Mullen, WRs, Hawaii, Not big guys and will be labeled system guys but they can pick up a complicated offense. They also knew their stock could only drop after Colt Brennan left.

Calais Campbell, DE, Miami, huge defensive end that will probobly be picked in the top 20 by a 4-3 team.

Jaamaal Charles, RB, Texas, Great speed but with running backs that were picked low excelling, his stock will drop because he doesn't do anything special.

Ryan Clady, OL, Boise St., Three year starter and twice all-conference

Anthony Collins, OT, Kansas, not sure at all

James Davis, RB, Clemson, Thunder to C.J. Spiller's Lightning and proved he's a power runner that can carry the load. Will drop b/c for same reason as Charles.

Johnny Dingle, DE, West Virginia, a force who proved unblockable in the Fiesta Bowl and can play in either a 3-4 or a 4-3.

Brandon Flowers, CB, Virginia Tech, solid and physical corner who can play man and in a cover 2, and unlike fellow alums D'Angelo Hallv and Jimmy Williams doesn't think he's better than he is.

Vernon Gohlston, DE, Ohio State, All-American and second DE off the board behind Chris Long.

Letroy Guion, DT, Geno Hayes, LB, Florida St., Fast, physical and athetic talents who could have used another year of coaching. Hayes in particular needs to be more disciplined.

James Hardy, WR, Indiana, playmaker with return skills.

Derrick Harvey, DE, Florida, A playmaker and good pass rusher who needs to put on weight and get stronger.

Erin Henderson, LB, Maryland, Terps leading tackler instinctive and can play inside or out.

Jack Ikegwuonu, CB, Wisconsin, Badgers best cover man and all-confernce pick.

DeSean Jackson, WR, Cal, Great return skills and a decent receiver. Willl run fast at combine but can he be a team guy?

Felix Jones, RB, Arkansas, D-Mac's running mate is a strong runner with home run speed and great kick return skills. Second round pick.

Malcolm Kelly, WR, Oklahoma, Big (6'4 219) with great hands and decent speed. He and the Michigan guys will be compared throughout the process but he's much bigger and not as fast.

Justin King, CB, Penn St., Makes plays and has good cover skills.

Xavier Lee, QB, Florida St., Great athlete with all of the tools who was never able to hold on to the starting job due to discipline problems and trouble grasping the playbook.

Curtis Lofton, LB, Oklahoma, great tackler who can make plays sideline-to-sideline. Only defender who came to play against West Virginia.

Jerod Mayo, LB, Tennessee, does a lot of things well but does nothing great.

Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas, the best running back in the draft can also return kicks.

Rashard Mendenhall, RB, Illinois, Adds to the depth of the draf t his position and showed homerun ability all season.

Phillip Merling, DE, Clemson, DaJuan Morgan, S, N.C. State, Lamar Lyles, LB, Louisville, Orlando Scandrick, CB, Boise St., Taj Smith, WR, Syracuse, you tell me about these guys because I don't know who they are.

Michael Oher, LT, Ole Miss, Poor man's Tony Ugoh.

Brandon Ore, RB, Virginia Tech, Talent has never been a question with him, discipline has.

Kenny Phillips, S, Miami, add his name to the list of UM defenders making great plays in the show.

Chilo Rachal, OG, USC, John David Booty was clean all season, and USC ran the ball at will. This guy is one of the reasons why.

Bobby Reid, QB, Oklahoma St., remember that Mike Gundy rant, this is the player it was about. Great athletic tools for Reid but his toughness and composure will be questioned.

Darius Reynaud, WR, West Virginia, great speed and has return skills, but not much more than a third or fourth receiver.

Pat Sims, DT, Auburn, first team conference pick right in the middle of one of the nation's best defenses.

Steve Slaton, RB, West Virginia, He's fast and can take it to the house but can he carry the load.

Kevin Smith, RB, UCF, Put up huge numbers against second tier competition, 3rd round pick at best, there are too many good runners.

Reggie Smith, CB, Oklahoma, physical corner with return skills as well.

Jonathan Stewart, RB, Oregon, Great talent with power and homerun speed. Good receiver out of the backfield. Second or third running back in this draft.

Aqib Talib, CB, Kansas, great cover skills who took his talent to the offensive side of the ball and scored four TD's.

Devin Thomas, WR, Michigan St., Don't know anything about him.

Mario Urrita, WR, Louisville, not sure why he came out but will cause matchup problems becuase of his size (6'6 228).

Hoops Season and The Season I'm not talking About

2008-01-14T21:05:00.000-05:00

I make the NFL talk really quick. I can't believe the Chargers beat the Colts at home. The first drive made it seem like the Colts would have their way San Diego. Peyton started out 14-14 and looked on his way to a Tom Brady day, but his team couldn't get the plays to get them over the hump. I have always said that Brady and Manning are even and while I would take either one of them, I have to say Brady might have been able to take his team to the win unlike Peyton. When Brady is down and needs that one drive he always comes up big.

After the Jags had to settle for a field goal on one of their drives, I knew they had no chance to beat the Pats.

Way to come back Ryan Grant. Two fumbles on his first three touches that lead 14 points for the Seahawks. He bounces back to finish with 201 yards and three touchdowns. Teams need to be able to run the ball in the cold that routinely envelopes the north this time of year, and Grant is doing that better than anybody in the league since week 8.

I'm happy the Cowboys lost. As an Eagles fan I didn't want either one of my team's division rivals to win but I was happy to see the Cowboys lose. Tony Romo smiles too much and of course my hatred for T.O. was the x-factor. It made my week to see T.O. up on the podium crying. I like when he said he has always supported his quarterback, I think Jeff Garcia and Donovan McNabb could attest to that.

Conference season got off with a bang. I watched the Clemson vs UNC game from last Sunday and the game was great. Wayne Ellington kept UNC undefeated with a three in overtime to win the game. He exploded for a career high 34. I watched UNC again on Saturday and they definitely looked like the number one team in the land. They manhandled N.C. State by almost 40. The Georgetown/UConn had some high drama as well. 7-foot-2 inch Roy Hibbert hit the game winning three with four seconds left on the clock. There is always more conference season to watch and ESPN does a great job of force feeding the big six conferences down our throats with some help from Fox Sports Net regional coverage among others. At 7 and 9 Monday through Thursday they give us quality matchups.

Tonight Pittsburgh defeated Georgetown, and Kansas is flexing their muscles against Oklahoma. The Sooners lost stud freshman Blake Griffin but seem to be hanging in there with the Jayhawks.

Tuesday has Ohio State at 11Michigan State, 17Wisconsin at Penn State, N.C. State at 23Clemson and 24Miami at BC. Wake Forest also plays Maryland, Nebraska at Colorado, Kentucky at Mississippi State, Oklahoma State plays Baylor and in a Big Five Matchup LaSalle plays Pennsylvania. If you have nothing to do Wednesday Gonzaga plays at Pepperdine at midnight.

Wednesday features four of the top 10 teams in the country playing. 1UNC plays at Georgia Tech, 2Memphis at Rice, 5Duke plays at Florida State, and 9Texas A&M at Texas Tech. Florida goes to 15 Ole Miss, UMass at 18Dayton, 20Xavier at Temple and DePaul at 21 Villanova.

In other games Rutgers visits Syracuse, VT and UVA battle over the Commonwealth, Missouri plays Iowa State and Purdue goes to Iowa.

Tomorrow I'll discuss the NFL Draft early entries after the list is final.

End of College Football = Beginning of Conference Season

2008-01-09T13:06:00.000-05:00

I left off at 16-11 after Georgia dismantled Hawaii in the Bowl. Many people are picking UGA as the preseaon number 1 for next year and rightfully so. They return quarterback Matthew Stafford, running back Knowshon Moreno, and three freshmen on the offensive line. They also return eight defensive starters. But I prefer to wait until all of the players declare for the draft and all of the letters of intent are signed and faxed. Then and only then can we predict next year's preseason rankings.

West Virginia showed me something in their 48-28 dismantling of Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. I have been very critical of Pat White for how he figures out a way to get hurt in the Mountaineers big games. West Virginia played without Steve Slaton most of the game and still racked up 349 rushing yards. Freshman Noel Devine (a Florida boy for those who don't believe we have the best talent around) ran for 108 yards and two touchdowns. White ran for 150 while throwing for 176 and another two scores. The question the Mountaineers have to answer for next season is can they continue to put up the same offensive numbers without many key components, mainly their coaches. Also, can they continue to win even though they will lose many key defensive players. My record 16-12.

Kansas finally got a season defining win. All season everyone, myselfe included, has been knocking their weak schedule. By beating Virginia Tech 24-21 in the Orange Bowl, they beat a quality team. The Jayhawk defense played great scoring a touchdown on an Aqib Talib interception return and allowing just 306 yards of offense to the Hokies. They also registered five sacks. Their three interceptions led to 17 points. If they had figured out a way to stop Brandon Ore who rushed for 116 yards in three quarters, they could have crushed the Hokies. All night during the game my roommate Tom and I kept waiting for the Hokies to go on a run and make a big special teams play. Even thought VT got it with an 84 yard punt return by Justin Harper on a reverse to make the score 17-14 in the third, the Jayhawks never lost composure. They even came up with a couple of big special teams plays of their won when Joe Mortensen blocked a field goal and even executed a perfect fake punt. The Jayhawks are certainly going to lose Talib to the pros, but can they use this year to sustain excellence or was it just an abberation? While they avoided the Big 12 South's best teams, next year they play Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech. My record 16-13.

I didn't pick either the International Bowl or the GMAC Bowl but both were blowouts that hardly any paid attention to. We'll call those a push.

In the championship game that I'm sure everyone watched, LSU showed Ohio State (and Mr. Ananymous who loves to comment but won't leave his name, Bill) who the best team was. The Bucks made some serious mistakes but they didn't all decide the game. The game looked a lot like last year's with OSU jumping out to an early 10-0 lead only to fade later. Matt Flynn threw four touchdown passes, two to seldom used tight end Richard Dickson and one each to Early Doucet and Brandon LaFell.

OSU got it started with a 65 yard run by Beanie Wells and a field goal by Ryan Pretorious. LSU bounced back with a field goal by Colt David followed by Flynn's first TD pass to Dickson.

OSU looked they were going to score right back but Ricky Jean-Francois blocked a field goal that led to Flynn's TD pass to LaFell. The key play was a drop in the endzone by OSU receiver Brian Robiske.

OSU qb Todd Boeckman was then picked off by Chevis Jackson and Jacob Hester socred on a one yard run to make the score 24-10.

The Bucks made i the game interesting for a while but I think once they got down they couldn't recover. They didn't have it in them to recover and their body language showed it. Depending on who comes back (Laurinitis, Golston, Jenkins) the Bucks should be right in it again. LSU on the other hand had a senior laden team and their young defense will have to grow up fast if they want to repeat. My final record 17-13-2. Pretty bad.

Clemens and the Title Game

2008-01-07T17:04:00.001-05:00

So Roger Clemens is about to speak to the media for the first time since the Mitchell Report came out. Clemens was on 60 Minutes last night and vehemently denied using any performance-enhancing drugs and last night filed a defamation lawsuit last night against his former trainer Brian McNamee. Clemens will again deny the allegations. McNamee is considering filing a counter-suit. Both have been called to testify in front of Congress on January 16 so this story is not any where near over.

Now onto the Title game. LSU is finally healthy, OSU has a chip on their shoulder. LSU will win in a really close game.

Football and More Football

2008-01-06T11:33:00.000-05:00

Now that the New Year has come and gone, college football is winding down and the NFL is working its way into finding their new champion (it will be the Patriots).

As far as bowl picks go, I did pretty crampy once New Year's Eve came. Going into Monday I was 11-4 but Monday's game were bad to me.

I started off ok as Cal was able to hang on and beat Air Force. The Falcons opened the game the way I expected it to happen. They were happy to be their playing while the Golden Bears were going through the motions. Air Force jumped out to a 21-0 lead before Cal put in backup quarterback Kevin Riley. Riley came in during the second quarter and threw for 269 yards and three touchdowns while also running for a touchdown to lead the Cal comeback and get the win 42-36. My record 12-4.

Here's where it gets ugly. I thought USF's defense, the one that shut down West Virginia, would be able to slow down Oregon. Especially since the Ducks didn't have the services of Dennis Dixon. The game wasn't even close as the Bulls had no answer for Ducks running back Jonathan Stewart who finished with 253 yards and a touchdown while freshman quarterback Justin Roper threw for four scores to lead Oregon to a 56-21 blowout win. The Ducks broke the game open with a 28 point third quarter. My record 12-5.

At least one FSU did me proud on Monday as Fresno State was able to beat Georgia Tech 40-28 in the Humanitarian Bowl. GT had to play from behind as the Bulldogs reeled off 27 straight points between the end of the first and the beginning of the third quarter. The Jackets did battle back to make it 34-28 with 13 minutes left in the fourth on the backs of some young players like quarterback Calvin Booker, but ran out of gas. My record 13-5.

Florida State kept the game closer than many people imagined but lost to Kentucky 35-28. Wildcat quarterback Andre Woodson threw for 358 yards and four touchdowns in leading his team to victory. The Seminole defense kept them in the game by forcing turnovers but finally ran out of gas and made a few dumb plays (yeah I mean you Geno Hayes) to let the Wildcats get their 35 points. I do feel ok about next season for the Noles depending on the suspensions and how they play out, but with many of the guys who played in the game coming back, I hope FSU can get it back together and contend for the conference title. My record 14-5.

I thought Indiana would have a chance to win based on their emotional season after losing their coach Terry Hoeppner to a brain tumor. I was wrong as Oklahoma State won 49-33 in the Insight Bowl. I don't even know what happened in this game because it was broadcast on the NFL Network and no one has it. I do known the Cowboys won. I do know that Zac Robinson had a huge game passing for 306 yards and running for 70 more. My record 14-6.

I said that Auburn's offense would not be able to score enough points to beat Clemson but they put up 423 yards of offense and won 23-20 after an OT touchdown run by quarterback Kody Burns. Burns threw for a touchdown and led Auburn in rushing with 69 yards. Anyone who has watched Troy play in recent years knows the numbers that Trojan quarterback Omar Haughabrook put up. Offensive coordinator Tony Franklin will have Burns making the same kind of plays for the next three years on the plains. My record 14-7.

First things first, thank you Phillip Fulmer for not bringing out the all orange uniforms in the Outback Bowl. It seems that Erik Ainge has been at Tennessee forever and he closed out his career with a 356 yard day as the Vols beat Wisconsin 21-17. Another game I got wrong and didn't watch much of except for the last drive. My record 14-8.

In the Cotton Bowl I was prepared to watch the two Heisman finalists Chase Daniel of Missouri and Darren McFadden of Arkansas, I was treated to the Tony Temple show as he ran for a Cotton Bowl record 281 yards and four touchdowns. The Tigers wore out Arkansas 38-7. I hope Arkansas has enjoyed their time with D-Mac and Felix Jones because I think they both will be gone. McFadden will most likely be a top-10 pick and Jones has to know that his stock won't get any better without McFadden to take the pressure off. Back to the game, the Razorbacks never looked in it from the start as Mizzou had their way with them. My favorite part of the game was Temple scoring his last touchdown he cramped up at the five yard line. One of his lineman scooped him up in his arms and carried him off the field. My record 14-9.

It looked like I would be wrong again as Virginia held a two touchdown lead with three minutes to go in the Gator Bowl. Texas Tech finally broke out of their funk to win the game 31-28 on a last second field goal by Alex Trlica. Graham Harrell continued to put up the crazy numbers passing for 407 yards and three touchdowns. UVA seemed in control until they lost quarterback Jameel Sewell. Harrell will be back next season to put up the crazy numbers. My record 15-9.

Nice way to send off Lloyd Carr Michigan, even if I did pick against them. The Wolverines won 41-35 after the Gators last effort fell short. Tim Tebow continued the Heisman jinx by picking a bad time to play a "bad" game. Tebow still threw for three touchdowns but he was under pressure all game. The game was back and forth the entire game with Mike Hart fumbling twice after fumbling only three time his entire career, Chad Henne threw two interceptions. The Michigan seniors were able to finally win a bowl game and cap their careers. Percy Harvin started his audition for the Heisman next season with 165 yards rushing and a touchdown to go with another 77 receiving and a touchdown. Also of note, my cousing Lutrel Alford, who is a 300 pound defensive lineman, returned a kickoff seven yards. My record 15-10.

USC rolled Illinois 49-17 proving once again that the Rose Bowl needs to stop picking their coveted Big 11 vs Pac-10 matchups. Illinois never looked in the game as USC outclassed them the entire game. My record 16-10.

I thought Colt Brennan and Hawaii's offense would still be able to put up points but they looked just as bad as Illinois. The Bulldogs dominated from start to finish in a 41-10 win. Brennan was under siege all night and did not look like a Heisman contender. Time will tell if Brennan has the game to play on Sundays.

Now that college football is over, time for big conference basketball to season to start.

Orange Bowl

2008-01-03T16:19:00.000-05:00

I know I got last night's game extremely wrong, but tonight will be different. Kansas has been the Cinderella story of the season but they didn't play anyone that good. And when they did Missouri beat them pretty badly. Virginia Tech, even though they are missing linebacker Vince Hall because of a "beach injury,"will beat Kansas.

Fiesta Bowl

2008-01-02T12:50:00.000-05:00

West Virginia is playing without their coach while Oklahoma wants to make sure people forget about the game last year. Oklahoma has too much defense for the Mountaineers and get a close win.

New Year's Bowls

2008-01-01T11:38:00.000-05:00

I missed the beginning of the Outback Bowl so I can't pick it. I think Wisconsin will win though.

Capitol One Bowl

Florida will beat Michigan

Cotton Bowl

D-Mac will lead Arkansas to victory over Missouri

Gator Bowl

Texas Tech willl pass all over Virginia and win. But watch Chris Long the defensive end from UVA.

Rose Bowl

USC will rock Illinois.

Sugar Bowl

Hawaii will put up points but Georgia will win.

The Rest of the Bowl Games

2007-12-31T10:06:00.000-05:00

Now I'm 11-4 thanks to the Colorado vs Alabama game. In the Independence Bowl, the Tide jumped out to a 27-0 lead after picking off Buffs QB Cody Hawkins on the first offensive play. Tide qb John Parker Wilson threw three touchdown passes in this time. Hawkins got CU on the board before the half with two scores to make it 27-14. The Buffs made it interesting in the second half getting a field goal in the third and another tochdown in the fourth but couldn't get over the hump as the Tide held on to win 30-24.

The New Years Eve Slate is full with six games today.

Armed Forces Bowl

Cal (6-6) vs Air Force (6-6)

There was a point in the season when Cal was being mentioned as a national title contender. They blew out Tennesse to open the season and even beat Oregon at Oregon. Then the wheels came off the bus. Cal receiver DeSean Jackson came into the season a Heisman Candidate but disappeared in too many games and qb Nate Longshore has not been consistent. Air Force is in their first bowl game since 2002 and doesn't mind spending New Years Eve at a lower bowl. Cal is just ready for the season to be over. As much as I want to pick Air Force and their triple option attack, Cal has too much talent. I hope it shows up and Cal wins.

Sun Bowl

USF (9-3) vs Oregon (8-4)

USF has had their most successful season in their short history while Oregon looked well on its way to playing for the title until losing Dennis Dixon. Take three weeks away from the Bulls season and they may be playing in the title game as well. I expect this game to be a thriller and whoever gets the run game working will get the win. Even though the Ducks have Jonathan Stewart I think the Bulls get it done in another close game.

Humanitarian Bowl

Fresno St. (8-4) vs Georgia Tech (7-5)

This is another tale of which team shows up to play. Fresno St. will be pumped to have the chance to knock off a BCS opponent while Georgia Tech will be coached by defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta. I think Fresno comes out pumped to play and takes the win after withstanding the GT emotional push at the beginning of the game.

Music City Bowl

What's left of Florida State (7-5) vs Kentucky (7-5)

So by now we have all heard that FSU suspended a third of their team. FSU has two options: they can use the suspensions as an excuse, or use them as motivation to win after being counted out. Kentucky is making a return trip to Nashville after beating Clemson last year. Andre Woodson will put on a show in his last auditon for the NFL scouts and as much as it pains me to say it, lead his team to victory.

Insight Bowl

Indiana (7-5) vs Oklahoma St. (6-6)

Former coach Terry Hoppener made it his team's goal to play "13" meaning they would make it to a bowl game. The Hoosiers made their late coach proud and did more than just squeak by winning their last game. OSU's biggest headline is coach Mike Gundy screaming at a reporter. IU wins by riding an emotional wave for the entire game.

Chick-Fil-A Bowl

Auburn (8-4) vs Clemson (9-3)

The commentators may get confused when talking about these Tigers. Finally Clemson didn't have their late season swoon while Auburn fired offensive coordinator Al Borges and replaced him with Tony Franklin. Franklin is from Troy and well versed in the spread but I don't know if Auburn's terrible offense can figure it out in time to beat Clemson. Clemson wins.

The last of the picks will come later.

Bowl Recap and the Last of the Picks

2007-12-30T16:24:00.000-05:00

The Bowl picks started off really well but currently I'm 11-3 in getting them right. While I picking the finals right I'm not getting to many of the score predictions right. Utah pulled out a victory against Navy and FAU continued its USF like rise with a win over Memphis. The Tigers defense let them down again giving up five touchdown passes to Owl quarterback Rusty Smith. I see FAU using this as a stepping stone to bigger and better things.

Southern Miss coach Jeff Bowers hung around to coach the bowl but his players didn't get up to give him a proper send off as they lost to Cincinnati. The Bearcats acutally lost the turnover battle but Ben Mauk threw four touchdown passes in the 31-21 win.

The New Mexico Bowl is the first game I got wrong. I thought Nevada would have too much offense for the Lobos but New Mexico shut them out and completely dominated. I was way off.

BYU made me right by blocking a last second field goal. After UCLA had driven right down the field for what looked like the winning drive, Eathyn Manumaleuna got a hand on the kick. The Cougars escaped with a one point win and revenge on the Bruins.

I also thought Boise State would wear East Carolina out. I didn't bargain for Ian Johnson not playing or for ECU running back Chris Johnson having a record day in producing 408 all-purpose yards. Chris Johnson picked a bad time to have his first fumble of the season late in the game, but kicker Ben Hartman nailed a 34 yarder as time expired to finish the upset.

Purdue and Central Michigan's rematch in the Motor City Bowl looked a lot like their first matchup this season with the Boilermakers having their way. Purdue opened up a 34-13 halftime lead thanks to two Curtis Painter touchdowns passes and two more Kory Sheets runs. The Chippewas roared back with a 28 point third quarter riding the arm and legs of Dan LeFevour and tied the game a 41. The teams traded touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Purdue was able to pull out the win with Chris Summers 34-yard field goal to make the score 51-48. Painter set a school record 546 passing yards in the game and LeFevour with 292 yards passing and four touchdowns to go with 119 rushing and two more.

Arizona State is used to playing from behind but they had not done it against a team as talented as Texas who won the Holiday Bowl 52-34. The game looked over after Texas recovered a lateral by the Sun Devils but one of the sideline people for Texas "touched" the ball. This gave the ball back to ASU who scored to make the score 21-7. The game was never really close at all as the Sun Devils never had an answer for Jamaal Charles who finished with 161 yards and two touchdowns.

I thought BC would roll Michigan State in the Champs Sports Bowl but the Eagles probobly didn't want to be there and MSU was happy to be in the game. Matt Ryan came up with three touchdown passes in his last college game but MSU was able to keep the rushing game in check.

TCU's defense won the battle of Texas, Oregon St. defeated Maryland, Wake Forest shut out UConn in the second half to win, Mississippi St. kept Kevin Smith from breaking the rushing record and beat UCF, and Penn St. move Joe Pa closer to Bobby Bowden by beating Texas A&M.

I'll pick the rest of the games next post.

Bowl Picks and Last Night's Hoops

2007-12-21T11:59:00.000-05:00

First things first, I hope Bobby Bowden's wins don't get taken away. That would be the beginning of the end of one of the best coaching careers in sports. As it stands, Coach Bowden is two games ahead of Joe Paterno. Many people are calling for Coach Bowden to step down but let the man decide when he wants to leave. The Program may be in a rut of mediocrity and having academic troubles, but all things in sports are cyclical. Bobby bought FSU to where it is and spoiled the very people that want him out but let him leave on his own terms.

Now that that is off my chest:

I got the first game right in picking Utah to defeat Navy in the Poinsietta Bowl (excuse that) its the San Diego County Poinsietta Bowl. My girlfriend reminded me that companies pay a lot of money to sponsor these things so I should use the names. To be honest I got nervous in the third quarter after Navy fullback Eric Kattani had a 38 yard touchdown run but the Utes bounced right back with two scores of their own. Ute quarterback Brian Johnson ran the spread efficiently finishing the game with 226 yards passing and a score to go with 69 yards rushing and another touchdown. I wouldn't feel bad for Navy and first time coach Ken Muiatalo who took over after Paul Johnson left for Georgia Tech, he seems to have picked up right were Johnson left off and all that spells is more Commander-in-Chief Trophies.

If anyone missed the Duke-Pitt game last night from Madison Square Garden I hope you have ESPN Classic. Pitt defeated the Blue Devils 65-64 in overtime when Levance Fields, a junior from Brooklyn, hit a three with 4.7 seconds left. Duke guard Jon Schyer missed a three at the other end and a putback attempt to end the game. Fields finished with 21 points. It looked like the Blue Devils were going to run the Panthers off the floor in the first half taking a 16-point lead. Duke was still up double digits in the second half before a scoring drought allowed Pitt to close the gap and take the lead. Freshman DeJuan Blair was a force all night and exploited Duke's inside weakness to the tune of 15 points and 20 rebounds. I forgot to mention him in the freshmen to watch and there will be more to come. The night wasn't all roses for Pitt, forward Mike Cook hurt his knee and may have taken the Panthers chances of winning the Big East down a notch.

I've been looking forward all season to the Duke vs North Carolina matchups but if Duke gets killed on the boards like they did last night, Hasnborough and Co. are going to manhandle them inside. Why is it that Duke can find guards and shooters all over the place but can't find a stud big man?

Oklahoma pulled out a "neutral" court win in Oklahoma City against number 18 Gonzaga last night as well. Not as exciting as the Pitt-Duke game but it came down to three Sooners players hitting one of two free throws at the end of the game to put away. Jeff Capel has things going in the right direction and once he gets out from under the Kelvin Sampson sacntions the Sooners will be back in the talk of conference championships.

Don't forget all of the games tomorrow. It starts at noon and continues all day.

On with the rest of the bowl picks:

Motor City Bowl

Purdue vs Central Michigan

Another rematch game from eariler in the season. I thought the bowls were going to give us interesting matchups we don't normally get to see. Purdue won the first game in September 45-22 and I don't think Central Michigan is going to be 23 points better the day after Christmas but they do have a little homefield advantage. One good thing is we get to see Chippewa quarterback Dan LeFevour who had 3,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing this season like Tim Tebow.

Pacific Life Holiday Bowl

Texas vs Arizona St.

I don't know how they do it but the Holiday Bowl always ends up with what looks a good matchup on paper. I say looks like becausue of Cal's thrashing of Texas A&M last year. This year game should be a lot better with Arizona State playing Texas. Both looked poised to make the BCS until some late seaons losses. ASU has been the comeback kids of the season after coming from behind in many of their wins. However, I wouldn't want to fall behind the Longhorns and have to stop Jamal Charles in the second half. Texas wins going away.

Champs Sports Bowl

Boston College vs Michigan State

In Orlando's first bowl game Matt Ryan leads Boston College against Michigan State. I don't understand how a 10-win team plays a team that barely made a bowl to begin with. Boston College wins big.

Texas Bowl

Houston vs TCU

If you're gonna name a bowl after the state you might as well as have two teams from the state. The question of the game is can TCU's defense stop Houston's offense? I'll go with defense on this one and then pose another question, when coaching jobs come up whey does Gary Patterson of TCU never get mention when he churns out good defenses every year?

Emerald Bowl

Maryland vs Oregon State

Maryland takes on Oregon State in a bowl dear to my heart, the last time we had to watch Jeff Bowden run our offense. Oregon State wins on the legs of running back Yvenson Bernard before he leaves to be a poor man's Stephen Jackson in the NFL.

Meineke Car Care Bowl

UConn vs Wake Forest

UConn looked like a legit contender for the Big East Title after beating USF and Louisville until West Virginia ran them off the field. The UConn defense gives up a lot of yards but holds their opponents to 19 points a game. This is a virtual home game for Wake Forest as the game takes place in Charlotte. Wake doesn't put up great numbers but there has to be a reason Jim Grobe stayed around. Wake will make enough plays with their gimmick offense to get the win.

Liberty Bowl

UCF vs Mississippi St.

UCF offers up running back Kevin Smith and his quest to rush for 2600 yards. MSU goes to their first bowl game in some time behind Sylvester Croom and with their 30th ranked defense may have enough to stop Smith from breaking Barry Sanders' rushing record. MSU may do that but they won't win the game. UCF still wins.

Alamo Bowl

Texas A&M vs Penn St.

Dennis Franchione is long gone out of Aggieland and a lot richer for it. Mike Sherman hasn't totally taken over and the Aggies are in a sort of limbo. I think the Nittany Lions are relishing the opportunity to put JoePa closer to Bobby in the wins column for next season. At this point, they all count and the Lions beat an Aggie team with nothing to play for.

Independence Bowl

Colorado vs Alabama

They might as well call this We Ran Out of Teams to Invite and Your Fan Bases Travel Bowl. Both teams finished 6-6 and both teams lost to Florida State. Nick Saban hasn't exaclty been the savior that Tide fans expected but if they win he already improved the team by a game. Dan Hawkins is getting all kinds of praise in Boulder for bringing the back. The project continues and his son Cody leads the Buffs to a win.

December 31 games next time.

Coach Parcells/Bowl Picks/NBA

2007-12-20T17:06:00.000-05:00

Bill Parcells is back in football as the V.P. of Football Operations for the Miami Dolphins. Just yesterday it was being reported that Parcells would be taking the same job with the Falcons but apparently that fell through and Parcells took the Dolphins job. I feel bad for Arthur Blank and the Falcon fans. Blank loses his coach, his team gets crushed on Sunday by the Bucs, and now he can't get the right guy to come run his football team. The man wants to win so badly but can't even find someone to run his team. Gotta applaud the effort. As for Cam Cameron, he's as good as gone.

Of all the games I talked about before I forgot to mention that there were two great NBA games last night. Boston matched up with Detroit and Dallas played Phoenix. Boston and Detroit battled down to the wire as both teams made spurts throughout the second half. You've probobly heard that Chauncey Billups hit two free throws to win the game and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see this game as a preview of the Eastern Conference Finals. No one else on that side of the conference has a chance to get even close to either one of these teams. The series will go seven games but I'm not sure who will win, that pick will come later.

The Phoenix/Dallas game looked as if it was going to be a blowout until Steve Nash and Amare Stoudamire took over in the second half and brought the Suns back before they lost a close game. Last night's game is the type Phoenix needs to win if they want to get to the NBA Finals. They won a game in San Antonio on Monday night but the Spurs played without Tony Parker. They have to prove they can win on the road. With Shawn Marion on the way out this may be the last chance the Suns have at winning a championship with this team. Basically, the road to the Finals travels through Texas.

Bowl Picks that are a long time coming:

Poinsietta Bowl
Navy has a contract to get the automatic bid to this bowl as long as they win eight games. Navy won another Commander-In-Chief Trophy and finally ended their 43-game losing streak to Notre Dame. I don't see them beating Utah who is on a roll and has won 7-of-8.

New Orleans Bowl
Howard Schnellenberger is working his magic again in South Florida this time with Florida Atlantic. The Owls play Memphis who fired defensive coordinator Joe Lee Dunn and got worse on defense. Memphis can score points like their hoops team but they can't stop anyone. FAU wins.

Papa Johns Bowl
Southern Miss for some reason decided to fire their long time coach Jeff Bowers earlier this year even though he posted another winning season. Cincinatti some how figured out a way to keep coach Brian Kelly from leaving for another job. The Bearcats have feasted on teams by creating turnovers and setting Ben Mauk and the boys for easy scores. Expect more of that as they win big.

New Mexico Bowl
New Mexico gets a de facto home game against Nevada but it won't matter. Nevada almost beat BCS Cinderella Hawaii and played Boise State well. New Mexico keeps getting to bowl games but doesn't win them. That won't change this year.

Las Vegas Bowl
BYU had a 10 win season but earlier this year lost a 27-17 game to the UCLA. UCLA is coming off another up and down season and is playing witihout a coach after Karl Dorrell was fired. The Cougars pull out a close one the second time around.

Hawaii Bowl
So Boise State loses the WAC and as a consolation gets to go back to Hawaii and get paid for it. Skip Holtz (yes Lou's son) led East Carolina to a 7-5 record. Boise State will want to put on another good showing on national television and a pep talk from Skip's dad won't help as Boise cruises.

After Christmas Bowls come in the next psot.

Mitchell Report, Minnesota and More College Hoops

2007-12-19T17:10:00.000-05:00

Everyone is still reeling from the Mitchell Report but I remembered what I love most about this time of year is that THERE IS NO BASEBALL. But I will mention a couple of things: First, Mark McGwire's name never came up in the Report. A lot of people that came up we knew about but I was suprised McGwire's name wasn't on the list. I don't think it validates him but it will make the people who kept him out of the Hall for this reason think twice the next time.

Also, why is it such an excuse for other players to use the "I only used it once or twice excuse,"? That's not an excuse and doesn't validate cheating.

College hoops season is making its last few runs through non-conference season and the rest of this week offers some great matchups before the big time kicks off:

Wednesday - Bradley at Butler - whoever wins will have another notch in their belt come tourney time

Memphis at Cincinatti - an old C-USA rivlary

UNC Ashville at Tennessee - Ashville could suprise them

Arizona at UNLV - With Kevin O'Neill at the helm the Cats are finally playing some D. Also watch for freshman Jerryd Bayless from Arizona, he's battling O.J. Mayo for Pac-10 freshman of the year.

USF makes a return trip to Wake Forest.

And just for watching: UNC plays tonight and so does Michigan State and Texas A&M.

Thursday - The big one tonight is when Duke travels to Pitt. Its the first big road game of many for the Blue Devils. In the nightcap Gonzaga plays Oklahoma.

Friday - Clemson and DePaul play in Puerto Rico. Friday is soft but that because that's the NBA's big night and Saturday has a lot of good matches.

Satruday - Georgetown at Memphis - The winner of this game may have a shot at being the number 1 team next week. Also, there will be a lot of talent on the floor with Roy Hibbert, DaJuan Summers, Jesse Sapp and Jonathan Wallace of GT and Chris Douglas-Roberts and Joey Dorsey of Memphis. There will be three stud freshmen logging major minutes in Austin Freeman, Chris Wright and Derrick Rose.

UCLA at Michigan - UCLA will win but and it will be a great time to finally watch the Bruins at full strength.

Texas and Michigan State in Detroit. Great time to watch the Longhorns D.J. Augustin matchup with MSU's Drew Neitzel. Kevin Durant got all of the pub but Augustin has had Texas cruising through this season. Texas may not have Durant but may be a better team now and Augustin is a big part of that.

Tennessee at Xavier - Great battle of two uptempo teams with solid guards.

Lastly, I've said it once and I'll say it again, Minnesota will be a rough matchup in the playoffs. I will also add Jacksonville to that list. A cold weather built team that plays in Florida. If they can run like that they can beat anybody.

The Mitchell Report

2007-12-14T07:36:00.000-05:00

After 20 months and $20 million, former Sen. George Mitchell finally released his report. Thanks to my boss sending it to me I got an hour to pour over it at work. Many people are praising him for naming 80 players as users of steroids or HGH during their careers. Some of the players we knew (the BALCO boys, Ken Caminiti, Jose Canseco) some of them were a suprise (Kevin Brown, David Justice and Nook Logan). I'm not sure what we're supposed to get out of the players being named. Nothing will happen to them as most will deny all of it, retired, or made their transgressions before the MLB had a steroid policy. The only things to come out of this are one: baseball fans can find more players to hate; two, the Hall of Fame credentials of some of these players will be questioned; and three, maybe MLB will now allow an outside agency to conduct their testing. Not sure how much if any of these will take place but I can say that my years of baseball that I enjoyed so much growing up don't mean much of anything anymore.

For those ten people across the country that do have NFL Network, they saw former No. 1 pick Mario Williams have his best game of the season. Williams talled 3 1/2 sacks in the Texans 31-13 win over the Broncos. Williams had this to say after the game, "This was our first big game on television and everyone was watching. We were the only ones on."

I hate to rain on your parade but only a fraction of the people that enjoy NFL Football so much on Sunday got to see the biggest game of your career to this point. Hopefully in the near future, meaning before the Giants make a last ditch attempt to stop the Pats from running the table, the cable companies and the NFL will get it all figured out.

Not sure how many people saw T.J. Ford crash to the floor the other night and get taken off on a strecher but I think his playing days are numbered. Ford missed the entire 2004-05 season after severly injuring his spine. That's what made the fall that much more nervewracking for the team and the fans. Ford is one of my favorite players ever since his days at Texas. I hope he figures out a way to come back and play but if he doesn't it will be another career cut too short.

After Finals Edtion

2007-12-11T21:12:00.001-05:00

Another long delay but sometimes finals will do that to you. I have been out of the loop all weekend b/c of my devotion to not find out the result of the Mayweather/Hatton fight. I wasn't able to watch it on pay-per-view so I'm waiting to watch it this Saturday on the replay. Here are the few things I have been able to keep up with as I've boycotted every sports newspaper and website where I could find out what happened.

Tebow won the Heisman and will be back next year for a shot at it again. I think he has a legit chance to win it again but if his numbers dip any some may consider it a down year.

FSU finally announced that Bobby Bowden got a contract extension, whatever that means. Why don't FSU and Penn State just put in Coach Bowden's and Coach Paterno's contracts that they can coach until the other one dies. They won't fire either one of them, and even though both coaches say the wins record doesn't matter to them, they continue to let the programs they built into powerhouses reside in mediocrity for the sake of their legacy. I hope FSU took a step in the right direction by making Jimbo Fisher the coach-to-be, but their offense this year was still 82 in the country. Now it was these players first year in the offense and the coaches are getting their own players, but if Coach Bowden retires in three years and the offense still doesn't get any better, is making Coach Fisher the next Head Coach the right idea?

Some quick hits from football on Sunday:

After dispatching the Steelers, the Pats are going 19-0. They blow people out and always figure out a way to win the close ones when they need to. Brady and Moss are having the greatest year ever at their positions and this team won't be stopped in the playoffs. The guy that makes the busts in Canton can go ahead and get started on these two.

The Eagles keep finding ways to lose. After A.J. Feeley gave two games away with picks, Donovan McNabb couldn't drive the offense down the field after Brandon Jacobs gave them another shot. I've said it before and I'm saying it again, I've given up on the Eagles season.

I don't think anyone will want to play Minnesota in the playoffs. The way they can run the ball and stop the run, they would be a bad matchup for anyone.

The Bucs may win that division but they won't do anything in the playoffs. They were beaten by the Texans and stud qb Sage Rosenfels. Granted Jeff Garcia didn't play, but the entire defense was there.

I had no problems with LT giving Phillip Rivers the cold shoulder on the sidelines during the Titans/Chargers game. LT has carried that team for a long time and with Rivers playing poorly LT showed how upset he was. He could have pulled a T.O. and screamed at him on the sideline but he chose just walk away and win the game with a big run in overtime. The defense finally decided to play as well. As a side note, Albert Haynesworth is going to make a lot of loot in free agency this year. With him in the lineup LT had trouble going anywhere in the beginning of the game.

If Ryan Grant keeps running the way he does the Pack can get to the Super Bowl.

The Cowboys won another squeaker barely beating the Lions. Jon Kitna's preseason declaration of ten wins is wrong now and the Lions are still reeling after their fifth straight loss.

What made Waynen Huizenga think that Cam Cameron could coach an NFL team? He tanked at Indiana University and had never been much of a head coach. This once proud franchise has hit rock bottom and will take some time bouncing back.

The Cardinals are always a sheik pick to make the playoffs, myself included, but never seem to beat anyone they're not supposed to and feast on bad teams.

Derek Anderson and the Browns are the suprise of the season. Now what does Romeo and Phil Savage do with Brady Quinn?

For those who think the Colts will just get crushed by the Pats in New England in January better think twice. Yes the Colts are playing without Marvin Harrison but something tells me Coach Dungy and Peyton will have their team ready to play.

Something interesting as I'm reading Tony Dungy's book Quiet Strength, he ran a similar offense as the quarterback at Minnesota as the Colts are running now. His offensive coordinator both times: Tom Moore. As for the book, I'm enjoying it so far and I'll have more to say after I get through the first 50 pages.

Heisman Trophy

2007-12-05T08:15:00.000-05:00

I have been trying to avoid talking about football at all but with all the uproar about the Bowls I guess I should at least give my take.

First, Tim Tebow is going win the Heisman and if he doesn't then the voters are stupid. Five guys will probobly be in New York: Tebow, Colt Brennan, Darren McFadden, Chase Daniel and Pat White but none of them is as derserving as Tebow.

I'm not a Gator by any means but Tebow has had the best season with the 51 touchdowns. The only knock on him that anyone has been able to use this season is that he is a sophomore, or that his team lost three games and isn't in the title picture.

Colt Brennan has the out of this world numbers, 4100 passing yards and 38 touchdowns and his team is undefeated. However, they struggled to beat San Jose State and Nevada, two below average teams. He also spent some of the season hurt and his replacement Tyler Graunke put up crazy numbers as well. For June Jones to call Tebow a system qb is like the midget calling the dwarf short. Timmy Chang put up huge numbers in the run-and-shoot and Brennan came in and did it too. Just like Texas Tech qb's put up crazy numbers, Hawaii qb's do to.

Darren McFadden will most likely finish second. He had a few games where he fell off, mainly the 43 yard Auburn game, 66 yards against FIU, and the 88 yard game against Miss State. What puts McFadden in second is teh last game people remember seeing the LSU game where he was amazing, and his record setting performance against South Carolina. While I have no doubts that McFadden is the best player in college football, he won't win the Heisman because he didn't show up every week. I hope not winning puts a large chip on his shoulder and he puts on a show in the Cotton Bowl as a nice swan song out of college football.

I'm really sick of hearing about Pat White's Heisman candidacy. He puts up huge numbers in certain games but most of the time his team is up by a lot when he does. My friend Jason put it best by saying Pat White is a baller but not a gamer. A baller because he has all the talent and puts up, but a gamer comes up in the times his team needs him to. White got hurt in both of the games West Virginia lost. A thigh bruise kept him out at USF, and against Pitt with a chance to play for the national title, he let a banged up thumb keep him out of the game. If he was good enough to come back in when his team needed him most, he should have continued playing in such a big game.

Chase Daniel picked a bad time to play a terrible game. With his team number 1 and all eyes on him in the Big 12 Championship, Daniel threw for 219 yards with no touchdowns. He did run for one touchdown but Mizzou still lost by 21 points in a game that didn't seem that close. The prevailing wisdom was that Daniel could take the Heisman with a big performance, he just didn't have one.

So these are the five guys that will probobly be in New York on Saturday, but when the time comes Tebow will make history again becoming the first sophomore to win.

Talk About Being Wrong

2007-12-02T10:57:00.000-05:00

The season continues to be crazy. Again the number 1 and number 2 ranked teams both lost on the same weekend to baffle the BCS computers and leave everyone wondering what they're going to spit out tonight. Last season the Big 11 ended early and cost Michigan a chance in the title game, this season the two week layoff is the best thing to happen to the Bucks. Ohio State was able to sit around for two weeks and watch all of the teams ahead of them fall by the wayside. Now we have to wait and see who they will play from a gamut of teams: LSU, Georgia, Virginia Tech, USC, Arizona State, Oklahoma and Kansas.

I think I shouldn't pick any games anymore. I wasn't just wrong yesterday, I think I got only one or two games correct.

I started off great in the beginning day with Navy crushing Army 38-3. That was an easy one to pick as Army hasn't challenged Navy in some time now. The game looked competitive early but after Navy's Reggie Campbell ran a kick return back 98 yards for a touchdown to make the score 14-3. After that the Midshipmen did whatever they wanted.

UCF running back Kevin Smith had a huge day racking up 284 yards and four touchdowns. The Knights beat Tulsa going away 44-25. The first half was a shoot out as expected with each team trading scores. UCF went into the locker room up 31-23 but the second half was a different story as Tulsa quarterback Paul Smith was picked off twice near the endzone. The only points Tulsa could muster were a safety in the fourth quarter. With the win UCF earned a berth in the Liberty Bowl and a chance to face a not yet determined SEC opponent.

Here's where I go down the tubes with my picks:

Virginia Tech beat Boston College 30-16. The game was closer than the score shows as VT returned a late INT for a touchdown. I thought Matt Ryan could pull out a victory like he did before in Blacksburg. Ryan threw for 305 yards but also had two costly interceptions, one that was returned for a touchdown. I figured BC's offense would have a better showing in a game where the weather was much better. VT used the two quarterback system to perfection. Sean Glennon passed for three touchdowns and Tyrod Taylor provided the change of pace that wasn't available the first time these two teams met. With all of the rest of the chaos that ensued Saturday VT has an outside shot of getting into the BCS Championship but will most likely meet West Virginia in the Orange Bowl. Normally the second place ACC team goes back to Jacksonville for the Gator Bowl but with all of the empty seats on the BC side I'm not so sure the Gator Bowl people will want that to happen again.

Les Miles had a great press conference about an hour before LSU took the field. He was visibly pissed that word leaked out that he was leaving to go to Michigan. He didn't lose his cool like Mike Gundy but he was stern with the reporters and really pissed off about the misinformation which I also posted yesterday:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jozMfyCX6Hk

What's even better is the look on the LSU higher ups faces as Miles leaves the room.

In the game Tennesse unveiled there hideous all orange uniforms and Erik Ainge played well enough to win. Ainge threw for 249 yards and two touchdowns but also threw two INTs. The second won cost UT the game as Jonathan Zenon took it back for the winning points in a 21-14 LSU win. The UT defense, which was one of the worst in the conference, played up to the task but ultimately their offense did them in. Ryan Perriloux was better than I expected him to be. He came out of high school with all of the hype but this was the first big game he started and he performed. He threw for 243 yards and a score. If LSU does get a shot at Ohio State regular quarterback Matt Flynn will be back but Les Miles should get back to the dual quarterback system that was so successful in the beginning of the season.

The Pac-10 was true to form on Saturday as USC captured their sixth straight conference title. Arizona St. got a 20-17 victory in a touch rivalry game to give themselves a shot at an at-large berth in the BCS. The Oregon and Cal games I was way off. Now let's see what the computers will spit out on Sunday.

Championship Saturday

2007-12-01T10:32:00.000-05:00

I vowed to stop talking about college football last week but it makes up so much of the news right now. With the NBA not on television enough and college hoops not yet into conference season football is still the king. Especially this weekend.

This game hasn't gottne a lot of pub but Army/Navy is still one of the best shows in sports. To see the Midshipmen and the Cadets enter the stadium is a great scene. The game hasn't been much of a rivalry lately, Army hasn't won since 2001 when my high school teammate Ardell Daniels was the player of the game. Even worse, the games haven't even been that close. It would be good for the rivalry if the Cadets won but I don't see it happening. Navy will beat them by at least ten.

UCF opened their new stadium Bright House Networks Field this year and after a 9-3 season they get to host the C-USA Championship Game against Tulsa. Kevin Smith is still running wild for the Knights and today he will need to keep doing so to keep the ball from offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn's powerful offense. Malzahn, the former OC at Arkansas has engineered Tulsa to the number one total offense in the country. The only problem is their defense is also 112th. Smith already has over 2000 yards and will run the Knights to victory.

Virginia Tech and Boston College have a rematch in Jacksonville to decide the ACC Championship. BC won the first time in the much watched Thursday night game as Matt Ryan brought BC back at the end to win 14-10. It rained in Blacksburg the last time but at a neutral site with better weather I expect Matty Ice to lead BC to another victory and this time by a larger margin.

Tennssee and LSU mixed it up in the SEC Championship Game and the question of the day is will LSU be prepared enough to win? Les Miles has been reported to be leaving for Michigan and D-Coordinator Bo Pelini has been rumored to Nebraska. I thought LSU was the most talented team this season but injuries and two triple overtime losses have kept them from being in a spot to go to the BCS Championship Game. LSU is even starting Ryan Perriloux at quarterback. If an upset happens today this is the game where it will happen. LSU has too many distractions and not enough to play for and UT will beat LSU without overtime.

In the Pac-10, instead of having a championship game they have their teams play an extra conference game. Today all of their big rivalries take place with the Civil War (Oregon-Oregon St.), the Big Game (Cal-Stanford), USC vs UCLA, and Arizona vs Arizona St. Oregon is playing their third and fourth string quarterbacks today as both Dennis Dixon and Brady Leaf are both injured. That being said the game is being played at Oregon and with the emotions of a rivalry I think Oregon will pull off the win. It's been 25 years since the band ran on the field but Cal won't need to lateral the ball at all today and will beat Stanford by at least two touchdowns. As hard to believe as it is UCLA still has a chance to get to the Rose Bowl. With a win today and an Arizona St. loss, UCLA will make the Rose Bowl. However, USC is playing like one of the top teams in the country again and with the game played in the Coliseum UCLA won't upset the Trojans like last year. As far as Arizona St. and Arizona go, the Sun Devils still have a chance to make the Rose Bowl with a loss by USC. The Sun Devils will get a win but as I said before USC won't lose. ASU can still get an at large berth into the BCS with a win.

If you want to stay up until 2 this morning Hawaii continues their quest to crash the BCS against Washington. With quarterback Jake Locker still hurt the Huskies are going to have to hope they can score with the Warriors all game. Colt Brennan and his teammates are ready to contiune the WAC tradtion of getting to the BCS and the Huskies don't have a chance.

Lastly the Big 12 championship. Oklahoma won the last time in a game that they blew open in the fourth quarter. Last time the game was played in Norman and this time it will be played in San Antoinio with about a 50-50 crowd. Chase Daniel has a last chance to impress the Heisman voters tonight with a big game. Since losing to OU the first time Mizzou has been lights out. Daniel has thrown 17 touchdowns with only three picks since the last game. Freshman Jeremy Maclin could be the X-factor with a big special teams play on a return. All that being said, I'm still picking OU for one major reason http://dynamic.si.cnn.com/si_online/covers/issues/2007/1203.html - COVER JINX.

Delmon Traded - Coaching Carousel

2007-11-29T12:10:00.000-05:00

So one of my favorite Devil (yes I did say devil) Rays was traded yesterday in a six player swap with the Minnesota Twins. Right Fielder Delmon Young was traded along with Brendan Harris and minor leaguer Jason Pridie for pitcher Matt Garza, shortstop Jason Bartlett and minor pitcher Eduardo Morlan. Delmon had a great rookie season for our team in St. Pete if you take out the time he had to play center field in between Rocco Baldelli and B.J. Upton's injuries. Young hit .288 with 13 home runs and 93 RBI. Harris had a pretty good year hitting .286 with 12 home runs and 56 RBI. I really hope the Twins don't expect Delmon to replace Torii Hunter in center field, otherwise they are in for a rude awakening. He's a good right fielder with a cannon arm, a solid bat, and decent speed. Harris is your perfect utility infielder in that he can play all four positions and provide good speed on the bases as well as a solid bat.

Garza is one of the Twins prized pitching prospects and went 5-7 with a 3.69 ERA. The 24-year-old is a good compliment to Kazmir and Shields in the rotation. Bartlett plays good defense but only hit .265 with five home runs and 43 RBI. He also stole 23 bases. As far as the minor leaguers only time will tell if either of them even make it to the show.

With baseball in Hot Stove Season, Black Monday passes as college football goes through transistions with coaches all over the country getting fired, "resigning," or moving on to bigger and better jobs. In less than a week 10 coaches have been relived of their duties and there may be more to follow. Dennis Franchione is gone for Texas A&M but everyone saw that one coming like a hurricane in the Atlantic. The same can be said for Bill Callahan at Nebraska. Mike Sherman is already in place at A&M but I'm not sure how much he'll chnage the culture in College Station. In Lincoln Tom Osborne decided he will just go out on his own and recruit for the Huskers like he used to except he will choose the coach later probobly from the duo of former quarterback Turner Gill or LSU defensive coordinator Bo Pelini.

Ed Orgeron was fired from Ole Miss after receiving a vote of confidence form the school president in the middle of the season. Orgerson did go 10-25 as the coach in three years and will probobly head back to being someone's defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator, something he excels at.

Speaking of Ole Miss, Houston Nutt resigned from Arkansas on Monday and was the new Ole Miss coach by Tuesday. After all of the off-season turmoil (Mitch Mustain and the Springdale players transfer, offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn left, and his infamous text messaging before games) this was another forgone conclusion. Nutt did it the right in that he can say he was never fired, get a nice payment to leave, and then pick up a job in the same conference and if he's lucky, can stick it to his old team time and time again.

Joe Novak at Northern Illinois was also axed, but I only mentioned this because some hot coordinator could parlay this job into a big job opening.

Ted Roof at Duke. Not suprised either. 6-45 isn't good when the hoops team continually goes 45-6 in the same span of time. It is a lot easier to recruit three gusy that can get into your school and 20 each season. Word on the street is Steve Spurrier may want to go back to the school he made successful and hasn't been since he left.

Chan Gailey is gone and so are many of the players he recruited this year. He does have Calvin Johnson to show for his time there, but he also has Reggie Ball. Gailey will surface as someone's coordinator next year either in the show or in college.

Jeff Bower was let go after 17 seasons at Southern Miss. Good luck finding their next coach. Bower ahd 15 winning seasons there and no one is goin to be there long enough to make waves. After any success whoever they hire will jump to another job.

Sonny Lubick left Colorado State after years of mediocrity and Washington State got rid of Bill Doba who took over for Mike Price. Two bad jobs that will be lucky if they find somone to pull them out of the garbage.

I'm sure more changes will occur after next weeks championship games and into bowl season, we'll just have to wait and see what they are.

R.I.P.

2007-11-27T11:17:00.000-05:00

I know I"m late but its always a sad day when someone dies too young. Redskins Pro Bowl Safety Sean Taylor died early this morning after being shot in his Miami home Sunday night. He was 24.

The first time I saw Sean Taylor was during the Florida State Football Championships in 2000. My Venice team was playing Friday night and his Gulliver Prep team played Saturday afternoon. He was bigger than everyone else on the field it seemed like and he ran the ball, caught all five passes his team completed and played defense. He was every where for that team and led them to the 2A championship. My brother Nejay said to watch where this guy ends up, he's that much better than everyone out there.

My next memory of Taylor is as a sophomore safety at UM. After losing three first round picks from their defensive backfield, Taylor and his new backfield mates kept the tradition going of lockdown corners and playmaking safeties. During the 2002 FSU-UM game Taylor made a hit on Nole receiver P.K. Sam that Sam never recovered from that season. As Sam went over the middle he caught a pass and was immediately helicoptered by Taylor. I enjoy Stanford Samuels' hit on Roscoe Parrish the next year but Taylor's on Sam was just as ferocious. Taylor also for some reason was Chris Rix's favorite receiver during those games. The most impressive thing about Taylor was that in that 2002 season, he was bigger than all three of UM's starting linebackers, two of which were first round picks.

Taylor was the fifth overall pick to the Redskins after an All-American career at Miami. He was the new breed of safety. There weren't and still aren't safeties out there like him. He was big (6'3 230 pounds), ran and covered like a corner, and was one of the most violent hitters on the field. The Redskins defense is a different team with him on the field. Watch the Dallas game without him playing and the Cowboy recievers are running wild. With Taylor in there teams didn't venture in the middle for catches for fear of losing players.

My thoughts are with his family and his team.

Ovinton J'Anthony Mayo and more college hoops

2007-11-26T21:16:00.000-05:00

After last night's football game (yes the one my team blew), I stayed up late to watch USC play Southern Illinois and get my first look at Trojan super frosh O.J. Mayo. Thanks to Tim Floyd I had to stay up an extra half hour because he didn't start Mayo, or sophomore Taj Gipson for that matter. When Mayo finally did come in I liked the way he played but he didn't do anything that made me get up out of my seat and go crazy (which I tend to do a lot during a good game). I am forgoing sleep to catch west coast games like I always do but I need to send a memo to the coaches out there to play good games so its worth my while, and anyone else on this coast that stays up.

Speaking of hoops, at least FSU's mens hoops team decided to show up and beat the Gators 65-51. I wasn't sure what Coach Ham's guys had in the bag after losing to Cleveland State, but the senior laden backcourt needs it to continue.

Another thing I like about this season is that the other four of the Big Bowl Six Conferences (Big Bowl Six - ACC, SEC, Big 12, Pac-10, Big East and the Big 11) are pitting their teams against each other in showcases like the Big 11/ACC Challenge. The Big 12 and Pac-10 are starting a Hardwood Series, and the SEC and Big East are having a Showdown. Everybody benefits from these showcases. We the fans get to benefit because instead of the normal early season blowouts we get innter conference matchups and the teams get to get good wins on their tournament resumes. Enjoy this week as the ACC and Big 11 kick it off. Wake Forest got the ACC off to a good start with a win at Iowa. Tomorrow features these matchups - GT at Indiana, Wisconsin at Duke, Purdue at Clemson, Northwestern at UVA and my Noles get to host Minnesota. Enjoy the next three weeks of good matchups as college hoops heats up and that other season that I refuse to talk about comes to a close.

Can I get a Football Win this Weekend

2007-11-26T11:25:00.000-05:00

All I asked for last week was to get a win out of one my team's in big games this weekend and neither one of them delivered. FSU got crushed and it was not close ant any point in the game. I wanted the linebackers that did all of the talking in the time leading up to the game to make plays and they made none. Everytime the Gators needed a play they made it and FSU's offense drove down the field but kept having to settle for Gary Cismesia field goals. Cismesia provided the only bright spot hittinga 60 yard field goal.

The Eagles had many chances to win Sunday Night's game until A.J. Feeley made a terrible decision. Philly had been killing the Pats with in cuts all night but Feeley went deep at the wrong time. Late in the game with the Eagles drving Feeley went up top on Asante Samuel who picked off the pass to seal the victory. The Pats looked vulnerable and the Eagles have written the blueprint on how to beat the Pats.

After these two games I have finally moved on from football season and conceded that I am doomed to another long summer of hope that one of them will get it together.

College Hoops

2007-11-21T08:29:00.000-05:00

I have been raving about how happy I am that the NBA has returned, but realized last night that the games are hardly ever on. Furthermore, college hoops is where its at. Most of the time we are subjected to early season blowout games but last night was enjoyable.

Duke played Illinois in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational while number 1 UCLA played number 11 Michigan State. I watched the entire Duke game but only made it to half time of the UCLA-MSU game. Some of the things I did see were that Kevin Love is for real. I read all of the magazines and hear all of the hype surrounding him but I am one that has to see it with my own eyes. Love has a complete game. I haven't seen Michael Beasley of Kansas St. yet but Love so far is the best big man in the freshman class. In last night's game, Love at one point had 9 of his team's 13 points on an array of moves: he hit a short face up jumper, a jump hook, some free throws, and the one that impressed me the most a face up, dribble drive to the bucket from outside the three-point line. I'm excited to watch more college hoops the rest of the season, but I'm not sure how good FSU's hoops team will be.

For anyone to say that television doesn't have a Duke bias I will use this morning's highlights between Mike & Mike segments. Between their talking segments they show highlights from games from the night before and with all the college games played last night, the only highlights shown were from number 10 Duke against unranked Illinois. Number 20 Oregon was upset last night, no highlights. The UCLA-MSU game I mentioned featured two highly ranked teams but there were no highlights from that game either. I don't hate Duke like most people, I actually find them entertaining to watch, but ESPN is adding to the people that hate them.

Speaking of Duke, the team played better defense when freshman Nolan Smith was in the game and not Greg Paulus. Paulus is the veteran and knows the system but the game changed when Smith came in and upped the defensive pressure on Illinois point guards. Kyle Singler, I'm not sold yet. He's supposed to be in the Love, O.J. Mayo, Michael Beasley, Eric Gordon, Derrick Rose class of freshmen but I don't see it.

Jimmy is MVP

2007-11-20T20:23:00.000-05:00

I said it right after the season ended that Jimmy Rollins is the MVP and I'm happy my guy won. Yes I'm a homer but I still think he deserved the award over Matt Holliday. Yes Holliday's team beat Rollins's team in the playoffs but the MVP is a regular season award. Both players had stellar seasons (Rollins hit .294, 30 HR, 38 2B, 20 3B, 94 RBI and stole 41 bases while playing every single game and winning the Gold Glove at shortstop; Holliday hit .340, 36 HR, 50 2B, 6 3B, 137 RBI and stealing 11 bases, he also led the league in total bases). Both were great but I'm happy Jimmy got the nod.

I was wrong about Monday Night Football this week. I was sure that the Titans would just turn around and hand the ball off but with the big plays the Broncos kept getting, Tennessee couldn't do that. Brandon Stokely caught a 49 yard Td pass from Jay Cutler and Glenn Martinez had an 80 yard punt return. Denver was able to ite themselves for the first in the AFC West with San Diego at 5-5. That's a terrible division as they have no winning teams. Mike Shanahan continues to churn out running backs. Monday Night's edition was Andre Hall, the former South Florida running back scoring his first career touchdown on a 62 yard run.

The NFC West is in terrible too and has one winning team in the 6-4 Seahawks. I don't think that will last that long and the Cardinals at 5-5 still have a chance to overtake them.

All the Bucs fans are happy but the NFC South stinks. The Bucs picked a good time for everyone in the division to have misfortune. I don't want them to keep winning but I'm happy for Jeff Garcia after the way my team dumped him in Philly.

Speaking of Philly, it would make my year for them to knock of the Pats in New England on Sunday night. I believe it can happen if they can shorten the game and Jim Johnson's D gets to Brady. Easier said than done.

I wish the FSU LBs would just be quiet. I appreciate their confidence and willingness to want to stop Tebow but make it happen on the field. Let your play do the talking. I really want Geno Hayes and Dekoda Watson to back it up. If I had to choose one victory to get from the weekend I want the Noles to beat the Gators.

Field Goals Aren't Reviewable

2007-11-19T09:07:00.000-05:00

I know William McConnell is very happy about the result of the Browns-Ravens game from Sunday. After Phil Dawson's kick was originally called no good, replay showed that the ball actually hit the support through the uprights and bounced back. While the referee didn't actually go under the hood to review it, the play was still reviewed and the reversed. The Baltimore players were changing and already in the locker room when they were told that they would have to play overtime. Right then I know the Ravens had no chance. When a player takes himself out of the game mode its really hard to turn it back on. For example, in the 2002 Fiesta Bowl the Hurricanes players had already dumped water on their coach and were celebrating their win when the flag came out. Now they have to get ready to play again against a team that has new life. I guess you got lucky again William.

What's wrong with the Colts? I know they're banged up but 13 points against the Chiefs at home? The second straight game Peyton doesn't have a TD pass. I agree a W is a W but two weeks ago the Colts should have beaten New England and now the Pats have distanced themselves even further.

I think Bobby Petrino has given up on the Falcons this season and is waiting to land Brian Brohm. There is no reason for him to be playing Byron Leftwich instead of Joey Harrington. They both are bad but Harrington has been better. Right now the Falcons are just a bad football team and it may be a while before they can fix it.

I still can't believe the Packers are 9-1. I have been impressed with their defense but not with much else. Favre is playing better than in previous years but I don't think they will make much noise in the playoffs.

The Steelers and Jags are both 7-3 now but I still don't think they're in a class with the Pats. After watching the Steelers lose to the Jets they don't have what it takes to beat the Pats or Colts for that matter. I really liked Big Ben after last week but yesterday he didn't make the plays he made the week before and the Jets D shut Willie Parker down.

By the way, did you see Pittsburgh giving Leon Washington the Devin Hester treatment? Maybe Josh Cribbs from the Browns needs to added to the list. The Ravens kicked to him twice late in the game and he killed them.

As for the Jags, their D held LT to 62 yards without Marcus Stroud. They will only play better when he gets back and with the way they run the football they could beat anyone.

I'm never one to say a pro athlete is under paid but Brian Westbrook has a point. He is the Eagles best player and only offensive playmaker. He plays hurt and he puts up yards and points. His latest contract is for $25 million but he has probobly out performed the deal compared to what other starting running backs are making.

In the Monday nighter I see the Titans beating the Broncos. For two reasons, Tennessee runs the ball well and Denver can't stop the run. The second reason is the Titans D is nasty and will give Jay Cutler fits. I think the score will be 23-10.

Football this weekend

2007-11-18T19:54:00.000-05:00

Another one of my friends decided to get married so my football watching on Saturday was limited but I managed to watch FSU play and the Michigan-Ohio State games while treating the soon to be married man to a last second lunch at Hooters. Congratulations Gavin and Katie.

So after I point out that Big 12 should be smiling right now Oklahoma goes out and loses to Texas Tech. The Sooners will still most likely play in the conference championship game but if they beat the North representative then the Big 12 will not have a rep in the title game. I haven't gotten to watch Red Raider freshman Michael Crabtree but after seeing last night's highlights he is the real deal. I thought his numbers were a product of the system but he is outstanding.

Michigan lost to the Buckeyes again and Lloyd Carr is apparantly going to retire. The Les Miles talk can start now. I'm not as sold as most that he is automatically leaving LSU but I do understand why people say he is. He played there, he's a Schembechler guy, he coached there but he would be leaving a lot of talent at LSU. Plus, if he wins the National Title, does he just up and leave? He would have lots of great recruits coming in and a talented team coming back. Maybe the pull of coaching at his alma mater would be too much for him to say no to. I only want Michigan fans to understand that it's not a slam dunk that Les Miles will be their next coach.

The more I watch Preston Parker the more I like him. My buddy Josh who was at the game said it perfectly, Parker is a poor man's Percy Harvin. With Antone Smith, Jamaal Edwards and Russell Ball all hurt Jimbo Fisher decided to turn to Parker as the main running back. Yes he put the ball on the ground a few too many times but he still ran for more than 100 yards and scored a TD. I'm hoping next week's matchup against UF goes in my favor. I'll be there and I don't want to have to deal with any UF people. The Noles already lost to Miami this year and I don't want to lose to both of our rivals in the same year.

I oly got to see parts of the BC-Clemson game but it was an instant classic. Matt Ryan continually leads the Eagles back and now they will be playing the winner of the Commonwealth Cup (UVA vs VT) for the conference championship in Jacksonville.

I'm happy the Eagles won today but #5 got hurt again. I'm getting nervous with all of the trade talk anyway but maybe the Eagles have the right idea.

I'm really happy the NBA season has started but not happy that the Celtics are still undefeated. Boston people don't deserve all of this winning. The Sixers have given me no hope for this season. They have Andre Iguodala and nothing else.

More to come tomorrow and I promise I will be better about posting.

I'm Back After a Long Delay

2007-11-16T10:12:00.000-05:00

So I'm sorry for not posting as much as I should but I think that I have been able to correct my computer problems. I know I missed a lot in the last few weeks (Adrian Peterson's record game, the Antonio Cromartie coming out party, Tim Tebow's 7 TD game, College Gameday at some Division III school, and a lot of hockey check that I always miss hockey) I can only pick up from where yesterday left off.

Three big stories in one day. #2 Oregon loses QB Dennis Dixon and then a shot at the National Title last night losing to Arizona 34-24; A-Rod re-signs with the Yanks for $275 million; and the granddaddy of them all the Feds finally brought charges against Barry Bonds.

Barry's career is over. He had a lot of baggage to deal with anyway and now that he's been charged with perjury and obstruction of justice, his talent can't overcome the headaches he causes. I don't know if I said this before but what bothers me about Bonds is not the he was a jerk to everyone, not that he blew to the size of the Incredible Hulk and broke the home run record, it's that he was so good before all of the steroid talk. He was the definition of a five-tool player. His first MVP season in 1990 he hit .301, 33 home runs, 114 RBI and stole 52 bags while winning his first of eight Gold Gloves. His second MVP in 1992 he hit .311, 34 HR,103 RBI, and stole 34 bases. 1996 he had a 40/40 season, 42 HR/40 SB; and in 1998 (I call this the jealousy season where he was mad at Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa for getting all of the pub) he hit .303 with 37 HRs and drove in 122 runs. In 2001, he hit 73 home runs way above his career high of 49. He's the only player to hit 500 homeruns and steal 500 bases and all of this was before the steriod talk started. So I mad one of the best players in history tainted his already amazing numbers by becoming greedy and jealous. My question now is what changed from what the Feds already had to yesterday? I don't think Greg Anderson sang but he may have gotten sick of sitting in jail.

I'm not even going to devote much time to A-Rod. 10 years/275 million. Less than what Scott Boras his agent wanted to get him but more than he was making. The news is that the Yankees offered Mike Lowell a four year deal to play first base but I don't think he'll leave Boston.

Oregon marked the fifth time this season that the #2 team lost joining USF, BC, Cal and USC. I didn't start watching the game until the third quarter (I was at a wedding rehearsal dinner, that's a decent excuse) and checked my phone on the way back home from Sarasota. My man Josh sent me a message that Dixon was hurt and that Oregon had no hope. Dixon scored on a 39 yard run in the first quarter but later hurt the same knee he sprained against Arizona State. Dixon fell to the turf without being touched and the Ducks shot at a national title fell with him. I felt bad watching Brady Leaf (yes Ryan's little brother) try to bring the Ducks back but only hearing that he was just Ryan's brother and isn't that good. Now Brady didn't play that well but give the guy a shot. Just cause his brother is crazy doesn't mean he is. The Big 12 celebrated huge last night as now they're in the driver's seat to have one of their teams in the title game.

Oklahoma has Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and then the Big 12 Championship Game left; Kansas plays Iowa St. this Saturday and Missouri plays Kansas St. Next Saturday Missouri and Kansas play each other for a shot at the Sooners in the title game. The winner of the Big 12 championship will then probobly play for the National Title. If some how all of the Big 12 beats up on each other and someone loses to a team they aren't supposed to, Ohio State can beat Michigan this weekend and sneak in. Or Arizona State can win out and get a shot. I'm still not a fan of the BCS, but it has made every Saturday an entertaining one.

The WAC commissioner is licking his chops. Its highly unlikely, but if high ranked teams keep falling Hawaii and Boise St. may get into the BCS. Right now Hawaii is ranked 13th and BSU 17th. They have a matchup next week and the winner will probobly crash the BCS as long as they don't lose the game after that one. Hawaii will be playing Nevada at 11 tonight, so you can stay up late to watch ro just catch the end after you get home from a night out. Colt Brennan makes all of the games entertaining.

Lastly, my high school alma mater Venice has a home playoff game tonight against Cape Coral so let's hope Coach Peacock and the boys can get the W.

My computer

2007-11-07T08:53:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the length between posts but I will have to take a hiatus until I can get my computer fixed. I will let you know when I'm back up and running

The Weekend in Football

2007-11-05T08:43:00.000-05:00

Where do I begin? I need to get better about doing this as the games are happening.

First of all I didn't get to watch as much ball Saturday as I would have liked. The wedding tour made a stop in Venice for my boy Brad to get married. I did manage to watch the FSU game.

I'm elated that FSU decided to show up and ball in Boston on Saturday night. Many critics thought the game was a speed bump in BC's run but the Noles proved otherwise. The offense finally showed consistency and Drew Weatherford made me eat crow by having a big game and coming up with the plays when they needed them. Even better was seeing my favorite Nole Geno Hayes seal the game with the pick 6.

There is a lot of space on the USF bandwagon these days. After peaking at number 2 the Bulls have crashed back down to Earth and may be relegated to a second tier bowl game again. It seemed that everytime I looked up the Bulls were turning the ball over. I have been skeptical of Matt Grothe for a long time and while I like him a lot he has a lot of growing up to do. He can't keep making the same mistakes. What would really help him out is if they Bulls got a running game. Between Mike Ford, Jamar Taylor and Ben Williams one of those guys have to start carrying the load.

Dennis Dixon is the truth. All the talk of him not being ready becuase he played baseball this summer is taking a backseat to the stellar perfromances he puts on every Saturday. With the help of Jonathan Stewart the Ducks offense may have a shot to get into the National Championship if they can get a little help from the teams above them.

The Gators looked ok and whoever's decision it was to move Mike Pouncey to defense made a good one. He brings nice energy to the defense. And Percy Harvin is amazing. I'm talking to my dad while he was at the game and all of a sudden the conversation stops when Harvin got the ball. Everytime he has the ball I can't look away because he could do something special. It pains me that he is only a sophomore and the Noles have to deal with him this year and next year.

Darren McFadden just put himself back in the Heisman race. His 300 yard game on Saturday was absurd and to think that sidekick Felix Jones also ran for 100 yards also. Both backs are over 1000 yards again this season. With Arkansas not being that good this season I thought McFadden wouldn't have a chance to win the trophy but the definition of the award is the most outsanding player and D-Mac has been that.

As I said before I didn't get to watch a lot but I did get to see many of the NFL games and I'll have more on that later.

Hingis and Coke, Who's Jerseys are They Wearing, the Yankees

2007-11-02T14:03:00.000-04:00

Someone please explain Martina Hingis to me. She dominates tennis for a while when no one could beat the Williams sisters, reitres to kick it, comes back and plays decent but not great, then retires again so she doesn't have to face a two year suspension for coke? Her excuse for saying why that could never happen is that, "no one could play a game while under the influence of that stuff." I guess in Europe they have never seen Lawrence Taylor play.

Last nights GT v VT game was that entertaining. VT rolled them up pretty easily behind Sean Glennon. I noticed this later that Glennon, backup qb Tyrod Taylor, rover Kam Chancellor and cornerback Brandon Flowers were wearing old GT jerseys. Apparently these players jerseys got lost somehow and GT provided them with old ones. The players blackend out the Yellow Jackets on the front of the jersey and wrote their names on the back with a Sharpie. What I didn't notice was that they had to blacken the Russell Athletic Symbol and drew their own Nike swoosh. Corporate sponsoring at its finest when the players remember to make sure they have a Nike swoosh.

As much as I try to avoid it the Yankees are still in the news. Joe Girardi has chosen the number 27 for what he says, "...is a symbol the goal of the team for the team this season." Championship number 27 for those not scoring at home. Good luck Joe, your team is aging and you'll probobly be without baseball's best player from April to October 1.

Grady Little will be seeing Joe Torre is his sleep. Not only did Torre beat the Red Sawx in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS that cost Little his job. Now the Dodgers decided to court Torre and name him managers without even getting rid of Little first. I'm not sure if Torre is the great manager everyone makes him out to be. Before he came to New York, Torre was 894-1003 as a manager in the National League. I don't know if he can still do it in L.A. I think it will tarnish his image as a great manager but what it will really do is let everyone know he wasn't that good in the first place.

Tonight I'm at St. Pete High again covering Seminole at St. Pete High. STP hadn't won a game until I started covering them and now they are 2-0 since I've been there. For Josh's sake, maybe they can go 3-0

Millsaps v Trinity (TX)

2007-10-30T21:43:00.000-04:00

By now we have all seen it. Seven players, 15 laterals. Trinty (TX) defeated Millsaps 28-24. My good buddy Tom Rinaldi, Millsaps '06, has always complained that he had to explain where his school was and how big it is. Well Tom, you no longer have to. Now when you proudly wear your Millsaps College shirt everyone will say, "That's the team that lost on the last play of the game. Man, that's the best play I've ever seen."

X. Lee suspended two games

2007-10-30T19:28:00.001-04:00

Well the FSU quarterbacks are at it again. Redshirt Junior quarterback Xavier Lee was suspended for two games for "violating academic policy." For some reason these quarterbacks can't get it right. I am always one to go with the hot hand but neither Lee nor Drew Weatherford has the hot hand right now. With the season fading, it may be time for Coach Fisher to scarp these two reclamation projects and go with redshirt freshmen D'Vontrey Richardson or Christian Ponder. My brother Nejay, who was a graduate assistant for FSU for a few years, always said, "The fans aren't at practice. They don't see what's going on." I try to take this to heart everytime a coach makes a decision that drives me crazy I try to go on this but I feel I've seen enough of these two quarterbacks. I guess the E.J. Manuel days can't come soon enough and I hope FSU can shock people (can't believe they're shocking people in football these days) and beat BC Saturday night.

Just watching a TNT interview with the Celtics' Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and KG. I don't think they will beat anyone out of the West but Boston is instantly a contender in the East. It will be entertaining to watch them play this season. TNT also showed an interview with KG from 2005. The interview almost had to be stopped because Coach Joh Thompson asked what drives KG still. The thought of losing brought him to tears and he couldn't answer the question. It was refreshing to see an athlete who's only passion in this world of sports is to win. We need more athletes like this and I would love to have him on the Sixers.

The Sixers didn't make any moves this summer and took Thaddeus Young instead of my fellow FSU alum Al Thornton in the first round. This basketball season is lost for me but I will never give up on the Sixers. No A.I., no Al, I still got Andre Iguodola and not much else. Cheers to the beginning of hoops season. I'm counting down, 10 minutes left.

Opening Night/NBA

2007-10-30T17:10:00.000-04:00

I understand its been a while since the last post so I'll try to make it short and sweet and get everything in.

The Pats and Colts held up their ends of the bargain and now we'll have this year's Game of the Century. Boston people don't deserve another championship but I want the Pats to win. But only if I could guarantee they'll win every game and lost in the playoffs.

I admit I was wrong about Cal beating ASU on Saturday and we get another great matchup in the pac-10, Oregon against ASU to decide the conference championship. I don't know how he keeps doing it but Dennis Erickson just keeps winning wherever he goes. If you haven't read this check out what Ducks' coach Nick Belotti's wife and Nanny had to say to a writer that chastised his son for getting two DUIs...http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/25670

So forgive me I didn't get to watch a lot of NFL games this Sunday but thanks to my man Willie B who has the NFL Ticket, I got to watch my team the Eagles defeat the Vikings. Donovan McNabb made a couple throws that made me remember the good old days. I hope the rumors of the Eagles trading him aren't true.

I also got to watch the Lions beat the Bears for the second time this season. As dominant as they were supposed to be the Bears just don't have the defense to support the offense anymore. The loss of Tank Johnson to keep people of Urlacher hurts more than they want to say. Adam Archuleta is overrated and always has been, and the loss of Mike Brown leaves this team without one of its best playmakers. I'm not sure though if I believe in the Lions yet. Are they really that much better or are they just getting lucky?

What's wrong with the Bucs? They had many chances to win the game against the Jags but Garcia missed a lot of throws. And he needs to start sliding. You can only motivate your team so much and if he keeps getting knocked around he'll get hurt and the Bucs will be screwed. 4-4 is better than I thought they would be at this point but they could really be 6-2. The last two weeks haven't been good for them. They are still in good shape if they can beat Arizona and come out of the bye week to beat Atlanta.

As for the World Series, the Rockies never had a chance. The layoff killed their momentum and the Red Sawx were the better team.

Now for the day I've been waiting for. I love hoops season and while most people have lost faith in the NBA I still love watching the best athletes on the planet do what they do. Tonight's slate only has three games but they are: Spurs/Blazers, Rockets/Lakers, and Jazz/Warriors. I will be camped in front of my tv tonight to watch them.

College Football Part III

2007-10-27T23:35:00.000-04:00

What a game played by Tennessee and South Carolina. Carolina battles back from 21 down at half to take the lead 24-21 after Jonathan Succop made a 49 yard field goal. UT drives the ball back the other way and got a fortunate bounce when LeMarcus Coker fumbled but reserve offensive lineman JacquesMcClendon recoverd the fumble eight yards up field. Freshman Daniel Lincoln misses a 41 yard field goal but gets a reprieve when Tennessee gets a flase start penalty. He comes back and makes a 47 yarder to send the game into overtime. As Todd Blackledge said, "That's the best false start penalty of Tennessee's season." Lincoln comes back and makes a field goal in overtime that ends up being the game winner after Succop from SC misses his. Phil Fulmer has to be happy he saved his job by winning that one and with all of the losses in the SEC East UT can still win the division. It's only a formality as everyone knows LSU will thrash whoever they get in ATL for the championship game.

Glad to see FSU stop their two game skid with a 25-6 win over Duke but it doesn't make me feel better to only beat the worst team in the conference by 19 points. How does this sound for a season ending slate: at BC, at VT, at home against Maryland, and at UF. FSU will have to fight just to become bowl eligible. This is getting really old.

Ohio State didn't look bad but the Big 11 has something to show me still. Bill, you can come defend your team whenever you get ready.

I didn't get to see any of it but Kansas held on the beat Texas A&M. Maybe the Jayhawks are for real. This is the most fun that they have had before hoops season started in a long time.

Lastly, I'm trying to stay up for the last game, Arizona State against Cal but I'm don't think I will make it. Right now Cal is leading 20-14 and I think they will knock ASU from the ranks of the unbeaten.

College Football Part II

2007-10-27T20:00:00.001-04:00

Oops. Florida and USF both lost games that they should have won. We can add Kentucky to that list too. This season is full of suprises but I'm not sure that anything from today has really suprised us yet.
The biggest suprise comes from USC losing a second game but Oregon was easily the better team in that game. In a year where the Heisman is up for grabs Dennis Dixon made a lot of noise today. USF started hot but now they have come back to Earth and aren't doing anything we didn't expect them to do.
We never know what to expect from a rivalry game so UGA had as good a shot as anyone. They beat UF by 12 and I'm not sure the game was really that close.
I guess Miss St. counts as a suprise becuase their two confernce wins have both come on the road and N.C. State still has a shot against UVA. There still is a lot of football to play and we still have a lot to learn from today's games and we'll let them play out to see what happens.

College Football Part I

2007-10-27T14:51:00.000-04:00

It's already been a crazy day but the noon games haven't ended yet. Thanks to my boy Jim I'm getting to watch a lot of the games, two TV's and ESPN Gameplan have helped me out considerably.

Early Games:

West Virginia is giving Rutgers the business so USF needs to get their act in gear. Both WVU and USF have one conference loss so anything can happen in the conference and for USf the Gator Bowl won't cut it. WVU is flexing their muscles, they have such a powerful offense and if you get ahead of Rutgers you neutralize Ray Rice and they're screwed.

Texas Tech is on their late season swoon again. Glad to see them come out hot but fade like always and they still have to play Texas and Oklahoma. Another 7-5 season and trip to San Antonio for the Alamo Bowl is in the cards.

Wisconsin and Illinois still don't impress me like anyone one else in the Big 11. This is a bad conference. I hope Michigan wins out and screws Ohio State's season (Bill).

Mississippi State is beating UK and that's bad as far as computer rankings go for LSU. I'm rooting for MSU, (I always root for the black coaches) but I'm getting nervous because Kentucky can make big plays. I hope Coach Croom can finish off the win. It would be funny for his two conference wins to be on the road in the SEC and totally ruin everyone's perception of how hard it is to play on the road.

Louisville was beating Pitt but somehow they came back. USF better not overlook anybody or it will ruin their season. It's a tie game but Louisville may blow another Brian Brohm performance.

More to come during the 3:30 games.

Genarlow Wilson

2007-10-26T23:39:00.001-04:00

So I guess I'm late to come to this but the Georgia Supreme Court has finally decided to free Genarlow Wilson. Wilson was a standout football star in Georgia know for playing Calvin Johnson straight up while in high school.

On New Year's Eve in 2003, Wilson and some buddies had a party at an Atlanta hotel room. Some girls came and the boys decided to tape their encounters with the females. Wilson, who was 17 at the time is on the tape receiving consenual oral sex from one of the girls who was 15 at the time. When another one of the girls claimed she was raped, the tape came forth as evidence that she was not, however, Wilson is seen on the tape performing his act and was convicted of aggravated child molestation which carried a mandatory 10 year sentence. If the two had conventional sex no crime would have been committted but because of what they did the charges were filed.

The law was changed in 2006 to make his crime a misdemeanor but Wilson was not retroactively freed. After spending more than two years in prison, Wilson was finally freed.

I feel that Wilson shouldn't have been punished at all. I just think he was doing what many 17 year-old football stars or any other sports stars do at that age. I'm not condoning breaking the law but I thought he got a bad deal.

But anyway, I promise that the college football talk is coming really soon.

VT/BC

2007-10-25T23:08:00.000-04:00

14 points in two minutes. Lane Stadium is eerily quiet. After Matt Ryan hit Rich Gunnell on a pass to make the score 10-7 after a slopopy first half. Coach Jeff Jagodzinski showed some guts and called for an onside kick with 2:35 left that BC recovered. Ryan showed Heisman poise and made an insane throw to Andre Callendar in the endzone to put BC up 14-10. Even better, ESPN just showed Ryan throw up on the sideline, and now he is dry heaving on the sideline. Shouldn't the VT fans be the ones puking?

The VT defense was all over Ryan all night even harrassing him into two picks. The Hokie fans remind me of the Michigan fans after the App St. game. Now can Penn St. beat Ohio St.? The last Buckeye regular season and Big 11 loss was to Penn St. in 2005, I just don't think Penn St. can do it again. And I torn about what I want the Lions to do. Joe Pa is now at 369 wins and Bobby Bowden is at 370. FSU has fewer winnable games than the Lions so lets hope Bobby can stay out on top for a while. More to come tomorrow.

World Series Game 2/VT vs BC

2007-10-25T21:36:00.000-04:00

Its the top of the 4th inning in the World Series and the Rockies are up 1-0. Wily Tavares scored on a Todd Helton ground out. Lets hope this no name guy for Colorado (actually its Ubaldo Jiminez) is out dueling Curt Schilling but the Sawx keep threatening. I may try to stay up since I don't have to work early tomorrow so go Rocks.

The rain has finally stop in Blacksburg and that isn't a good thing for VT. They got a questionable TD when Eddie Royal barely kept his feet in but if the rain stops Matt Ryan can get into a rhythm. Hopefully their defense can keep doing what they're doing and shutout BC but I'm not counting on it. Hopefully one more post will come tonight at the conclusion of the games. And tomorrow will be the predictions for the college football weekend.

World Series

2007-10-24T22:40:00.000-04:00

Even before they went 8-1.., make that 9-1 in the fifth inning I would have picked the Sawx to win the Series. I'm not rooting for them at all, I actually hate them due to their obnoxious fans that ruin my stadium experience when I want tho watch the Devil Rays, but they have a good team. They do pay a lot for it but Beckett is the truth in the postseaston and no one can argue that.
I don't really want the Rockies to win that much either. While I would prefer a National League team win, the Rockies ruin one of the best baseball years for me in a while after they swept the Phils.
Thank you Bill and the rest of Ohio for making me have to put up with another week and a half of Sawx talk. And Courtney your Facebook status makes me sick.
I'm excited for six days from now when the NBA finally comes back. I really have no reason to anticipate the season: the 76ers didn't take Al Thornton, no one on the team really excites me, A.I. is still in Denver but it will give me something to watch every night and I like seeing the best do what they do.
Plus it will give me something to write about until Florida Football playoffs start (hopefully I will get to cover some games out of that).
So I'm headed to bed now, they really need to start these games earlier so I can stay up for the whole thing but in tonight's game really doesn't matter.

It took a while to recover

2007-10-23T17:10:00.000-04:00

Its been a couple of days since I've posted but a lot has gone down. I apologize for missing so much but I'll make this short and sweet. The weekend in sports was pretty terrible for me all around.

FSU lost to UM like you've read and it will take me a while to get over it. Sunday brought more bad news. The Eagles led the whole way against the Bears when Brian Griese decides to go Elway on me and drive Chicago 97 yards with no helmet communication for the winning score. If that wasn't enough the Red Sawx smashed the Indians to get the World Series (someone call Bill and make sure he hasn't jumped off a tall building). There will be more to come in the near future as the sports day allows.

FSU v UM

2007-10-21T00:30:00.000-04:00

I only got to see the second half because I was camping at a bachelor party, but I'm hurt.
The defense that FSU has been riding for so long has given up the last two games. For some reason they can't make it off the field and get a stop when the Noles need it most. I'm happy Rene hasn't called me yet but I'm expecting him to. And Megan, in class on Monday I'll give you the floor to kick me when I'm down. If the defense makes the stops when we need them the Noles are 6-1 instead of 4-3. I don't understand how FSU can play so well in the 2nd half and not come out with a W. This season is lost and the only to save it now will be a win over the Gators.

Anyway, the Sawx spanked the Indians and I don't Cleveland will recover. Terry Francona needs to get Beckett enough time to pitch three games in the World Series to give Boston their best chance to win.

Its finally the Weekend

2007-10-19T16:12:00.000-04:00

While my boys Rene, Gerry and Josh are headed to Tallahassee to watch the Noles take on the Canes I will be in Venice celebrating my friend Brad's last few weeks of being single. Hopefully the noles can get a W.

I wish USF fans would stop complaining about the officials. Some calls were made that were bad but not necessarily wrong. And moreover, great teams don't let a few bad calls dictate the game for them. The Bulls are still young and only lose five starters so they will keep improving. Stop blaming the officials and blame your own team for not protecting the quarterback, getting burned on special teams twice, going 2-14 on third downs and producing minus-32 yards on their last two posessions. USF needs to bounce back and punish UConn next week.

Can someone explain to me how we get stuck watching Michigan vs Illinois on ABC while LSU and Auburn are relegated to ESPN2? I don't know about anybody else but watching an infeior game doesn't appeal to me. I will say that this is make or break time for both teams. Illinois has to win to prove their a real threat to win the Big 11 while Michigan has to prove themselves each week or hear the overrated talk.

I'm calling it now, CU will knock Kansas from the ranks of the unbeaten. The game to watch in the Big 12 will be Mizzou against Texas Tech. I said it previously that 1000 yards of offense will go up in this game. It may come down to who has the ball last but I'm picking Mizzou for a couple of reasons. Mizzou is at home, Chase Daniel is a stud and this is about the time Mike Leach starts to lead the Red Raiders to the Insight Bowl or Houston Bowl .

Does anyone care about Notre Dame playing USC at 3:30? Most will be watching one of these games: UF at UK, Cal at UCLA for the west coasters, UM at FSU or Michigan State at Ohio State. That's four games that are better than watching USC smoke Notre Dame and listening to the Irish blame Ty Willingham for the loss.

Tonight I'm in Bradenton for Boca Ciega at Southeast and tommorrow I think I will only be able to watch the UF and FSU games so keep me posted on what goes down. With the way the season is going, there may be a lot to tell me about.

USF-Rutgers w/ some icing

2007-10-18T23:32:00.000-04:00

The question now is how far does USF fall? USF did all they could tonight but made too many mistakes. Earlier today I said Rice would be the difference maker and again he was. This is his third straight triple digit game against USF.

Don't hang your heads USF fans, there is still a lot of football to play and the opportunity for a BCS Bowl game is still there. Matt Grothe will only get better and not make the same mistakes he did tonight. Jim Leavitt still has a good thing going in Tampa and one game, as Manny said, its not the end of the world. Teams have to learn how to win big games and USF was able to make it happen at home against West Virginia, but a short week coupled with a big road game was too much to overcome.

I'm happy Joe Torre said no to the Yankees. They pull this guy around and give him an ultimatum only to come crawling back. Good job saying no to the Yankees. Randy Levine said, "the Yankees wanted Joe Torre to come back." If they wanted him to come back it wouldn't have taken this long and all this grandstanding wouldn't have had to take place. Good luck in retirement Mr. Torre, enjoy watching the Yankees tank without you, A-Rod, and Mariano. Joe Girardi, you will have a lot more money being spent but incredible expectations in New York, two things that you didn't have in Florida.

So it looks like the Sawx are going to force a game 6. If the Indians can't take Game 6 I don't see them winning Game 7; however, the Sawx can't throw Josh Beckett in Game 6. Does Terry Francona have the balls to throw Josh Beckett on three days rest? Beckett has done it before pitching a compete game against the Yankees in Game 6 of the 2003 World Series. Win Game 6 first and then we'll get the answer to that question later.

Thursday night

2007-10-18T23:23:00.001-04:00

So I finally finished my article and am able to watch some the USF-Rutgers game and some baseball. Thank you to my girlfriend Callie and my buddy Josh for keeping me up on what was going on. I had to cover the St. Pete High at Pinellas Park football game and Josh you'd be happy to know St. Pete High won 35-14 for their first win of the season. I got a game to watch but the rest of you can check out the article in the Times tomorrow. More to come later

Ron Springs

2007-10-18T07:38:00.001-04:00

I heard some sad news on the radio as I was driving into the office this morning.

Ron Springs the former Dallas Cowboys running back and the father of Redskins cornerback Shawn Springs is in the hopsital after his body rejected the kidney he was given in a transplant.

Ron was in need of a kidney for sometime and his son decided that he would give up his own NFL career so that he could donate a kidney to his father. Ron didn't want that to happen and asked Shawn not to. Later, Ron's teammate, former Cowboys cornerback Lenny Walls (the guy in the endzone for Dwight Clark's famous catch) found out he was a match and donated the kidney to Ron Springs.

This morning it was reported that Ron Springs is alive but has no brain activity. My thoughts and prayers are with the Springs family through this difficult time.

Earhole 'Em

2007-10-17T22:08:00.000-04:00

I wrote about Manny Ramirez's home run last night and after seeing the highlights earlier today I wonder what is going to happen in Game 5?

Manny posed and admired his handywork in a game his team was losing by four runs. He also starred for the Indians prior to joining Sawx.

If I had the choice, C.C. Sabathia is going to come to the mound and stick one right in his ribs. While I'm notorious for wanting to plunk players I don't like (Albert Pujols) or players I think used steroids (Travis Hafner), Manny earned this plunking on his own.

By watching the ball, showing up the pitcher and basically sticking it to all of his former fans, Manny might need to come to the plate in Barry Bonds type body armor. I'm going to need someone to update me tomorrow on how it goes down but I look forward to reading Manny's name next to HBP in the box score on Friday.

I forgot earlier to mention my second favorite high school football team. My oldest brother Nejay coaches at Jackson High School in Jacksonville. They're 4-3 this year and 1-1 in the district with a game against Live Oak Suwannee this Friday. They still have a shot to make the playoffs but they may be a year away.

I should have said this earlier in the week but Venice High alum and current University of Tampa volleyball player Margeau Sinibaldi was featured in Sports Illustrated's Faces in the Crowd section for setting her school and conference record in digs. Congratulations.

Sawx vs Indians

2007-10-17T09:08:00.000-04:00

I was worried I'd wake up this morning and see that the Red Sawx had come back and beaten the Indians, or that the game had some high drama at the end that I missed. Luckily both teams realized that I had gone to bed and nothing happened.

I use to have a rule that I would never go to bed in the middle of a big game but once last year I decided to break the rule. The problem is I did it during the Fiesta Bowl after Oklahoma returned an interception for a touchdown. As we know now big mistake.

Tonight there isn't anything on but I did get to wake up and watch the Magic play the Cavs at 8 a.m. I'm most happy that Drew Gooden cut whatever was on the back of his head during last year's NBA Finals off.

I think I'll be stuck with hockey until tomorrow's USF game that I won't get to watch.

Man Ram

2007-10-16T22:32:00.000-04:00

Just as I went to go to bed Manny hit a bomb. 7-3. Bill you gettin nervous yet?

My assignments from the Times

2007-10-16T22:27:00.001-04:00

I got some great news today from my editor at the St. Pete Times. Instead of covering one game this Friday I get to cover one Thursday and one Friday. They both are big school games too which I haven't had much of a chance to do.

Thursday night I get to cover Josh's alma mater St. Pete High against Pinellas Park. I told you I'd get to step up to the big time soon.

Friday night its the alma mater of Angela Bassett (What's Love got to Do With It, Waiting to Exhale) Boca Ciega against Southeast High School of Bradenton. Famous alumni include Peter Warrick, Adrian McPherson, USF cornerback Mike Jenkins, and Amare Stoudemire's older brother Hazell.

Early tomorrow I will drop some knowledge from the Sawx/Indians game from tonight. As of now its 7-2 Cleveland in the top of the 6th. Kevin Youklis and David Ortiz have just hit back-to-back jacks after the Indians had a seven run inning. I'm trying to stay up but I can't stay up any longer.