Just wanted to drop a few quick thoughts on the NHL playoffs that have been bouncing around my head.

• Biggest Disappointment - San Jose Sharks. Again. They can’t get it done in the playoffs, and that probably means a major overhaul in the offseason.
• Most Disappointing Series - Detroit vs. Colorado. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one excited to see the best rivalry of the last 10-plus years renewed in the playoffs. Granted, Colorado isn’t the same team that they were a handful of years ago, but I had still hoped to see the fire of the rivalry back. I’ve only gotten to watch bits and pieces of the series, but that hasn’t seemed to happen. Detroit has mostly controlled from the get-go, and the tension isn’t there.

It looks like the end of the line for the New York Rangers, in what may become the best four-game series that I can remember. I said in the middle of Game One that the Rangers had to leave Pittsburgh with at least one victory. Sure, the Penguins hadn’t won once in MSG all season, but with the momentum they’d have with a 2-0 lead, I could see them at least splitting the games in New York. Low and behold, the Rangers didn’t get that win, and now are looking up at a 3-0 series that is all but over.

Game One was crazy and back and forth, but the Blueshirts seemed to lose focus after they got the 3-0 lead. They’re passing in the second half of the game was bad and even though they didn’t seem to back off energy-wise, mentally they didn’t seem like they were on their game.

During Game Two my dread grew even greater. Regardless of your religious beliefs, if you watched that game you would have to think there was some greater power that just wanted the Ranger to win. Henrik Lundqvist stood on his head, and when he didn’t get to the puck, the Penguins botched the opportunity. To waste a goalie performance like that is to give away a game, and thats what the Rangers did. You can’t give away games like that in the playoffs. Just like that they went back to New York down 2-0.

Then Game Three proved me right. The Penguins jumped on top early, silencing the crowd for at least portions of the game and using their momentum to take away the home ice momentum. Then, lo and behold, after failing to take advantage of an uncanny performance by Lundqvist the game before, Henrik struggled and an outstanding performance by Jaromir Jagr went for naught. The Rangers were the better team…5-on-5. The man advantage proved to be the key, as the Rangers couldn’t figure out the Pittsburgh penalty kill, and they couldn’t stop the Penguin power play. Just like that New York’s season is on the verge of ending.

Now Sean Avery is gone for the rest of the playoffs, whether than means one game or more. Say what you want about Avery, when he plays for your team you at least accept him, if not like him, for his ability to alter games. He’s the kind of guy that can turn a game one way or the other, and with every game a must-win from here on out, he will be sorely missed.

So it looks like it’s all but over. Last night I fell asleep watching Game Six of the 2004 Eastern Conference Championship - the Mark Messier hat trick in a “guaranteed” win - to try to convince myself that, hey, the impossible can happen.

I am a die hard Marlins fan. I have been since there inception. However, during my time living in Cincinnati and the surrounding area, I somewhat adopted the Reds. This is why I was so shocked when I saw that the team had fired general manager Wayne Krivsky earlier this week.

I understand the realities in modern day sports, where everyone’s job is always on the line, but this is ridiculous and completely puzzles me. This is the man that came on the job two years ago and seemed to have a knack for getting complete steals on the trade market.

He brought in Brandon Phillips for Jeff Stevens. Who? Exactly. For virtually nothing Krivsky found a diamond in the rough who has developed into one of the best hitting second basemen in the major leagues.

Last season he found Josh Hamilton on the Rule 5 draft, a player that suddenly started showing the potential scouts saw in him when he was taken as a first-round draft pick.

In this past offseason Krivsky traded Hamilton…And in return filled a huge need for the Reds. His wheelings and dealings brought in pitchers Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto, two young guys who are off to incredible starts this season. Two guys that could form the core of the rotation for years to come. Just imagine the one-two-three punch if Homer Bailey ever decides to get his act together.

And somehow this all got him fired. Mainly because the ballclub is off to a poor start, which can hardly be attributed to anything Krivsky did. Considering the tight pockets of Reds ownership, there is little Krivsky could do besides look for hidden gems, and he seemed to do that well. He couldn’t make wholesale changes and overhaul the team. This season the Reds look like a team who could contend for a playoff spot in a weak Central division, but they are off to a poor start…just like many teams that have rebounded to make the playoffs.

This move just does not make sense to me, and seems to hint that maybe there was something going on behind the scenes. Or maybe owner Bob Castellini is just insane.

I have been thinking these thoughts since the firing was announced, and then I found the following this evening, by Jayson Stark of ESPN. It inspired me to write this blog entry.

Reds owner Bob Castellini has no idea how many people in baseball he alienated by firing his GM, Wayne Krivsky — as well-liked and highly respected a man as you’ll find in the business.

“They just went from a team you root for to a team you root against,” is the way one veteran baseball man put it Wednesday. Sure, Krivsky made his share of mistakes. Goes with the turf. But have there been three bigger steals in the past two years than Bronson Arroyo for Wily Mo Pena, Brandon Phillips for Jeff Stevens, or Josh Hamilton for 50,000 bucks? And Jeff Keppinger for Russ Haltiwanger is right up there, too.

So why was this guy fired again? Because this team came out of spring training with a little promise and then started 9-12? Ridiculous. The Yankees, Phillies, Cubs and Rockies were all 9-12 or worse last year this time — and made the playoffs.

“There’s nothing worse than these owners who treat the national pastime like it’s the frigging stock market,” said an official of one team. “They think it’s got to keep going up, up, up, every day. But that’s just not the way of works. This is a game of human beings.”

My thoughts exactly, Jayson.

• All No. 1 seeds in the Final Four. Sure makes it look like the tournament committee got things right. Does that make things more or less interesting? On paper it looks like some great matchups. On the other hand, there’s no surprise story there.
• I got half of the Final Four right in my early season picks. That wasn’t how I picked my bracket going into the tourney, though.
• The “real” start of the baseball season was tonight. It couldn’t have been scripted much better. Brand new ballpark, and the guy for the Nationals hits a walk-off homer to win the game with two outs in the ninth. It’s hard not to enjoy that.

• More thoughts to come? Possibly.

I had meant to post all my college bowl picks here, but completely forget. We’re a few days into the bowl season now, and with a few games gone by I figured I’d still post my picks. I’ll go forward from here (at this point I’m 4-1, which my only miss coming in the New Mexico Bowl).

2007 College Football Bowl Picks

Hawaii Bowl- Boise State over East Carolina

Motor City Bowl- Purde over Central Michigan

Holiday Bowl- Arizona State over Texas (Texas improved throughout the season, but I just went with my gut on this.)

Champs Sports- Boston College over Michigan State (This one caused me much pause, but in the end Matty Ryan will have too much for the Spartans.)

Texas Bowl- Houston over TCU (TCU is the popular pick here, but I think Houston is overlooked in Conference USA, TCU never lived up to its pre-season billing and, finally, two words- Anthony Aldridge.)

Emerald Bowl- Oregon State over Maryland

Meineke Car Care Bowl - UConn over Wake Forest (We’re starting to get to the bowls that don’t just have sponsors in front of its name, the name is a sponsor. UConn reminds me a lot of Wake Forest last year. This is a very interesting matchup.)

Liberty Bowl- UCF over Mississippi State (A battle between two schools whose stories have been mostly overlooked. UCF had a very good season, almost beating Texas, on the back of the nation’s leading rusher, and Mississippi State saved Sylvester Croom’s job with a very good season in the SEC after struggling so much for years.)

Alamo Bowl- Penn State over Texas A&M (The Aggies have a few players that always make them a threat, but they just have not displayed that threat this season. The Penn State defense will be too much.)

Independence Bowl- Alabama over Colorado (This is a tough matchup. My gut tells me the SEC team wins out here, but either way wouldn’t surprise me. Hawkins [both Coach Dan and QB Cody] has the Buffaloes back on the right track.)

Armed Forces Bowl- California over Air Force (This pick may haunt me. I wanted to pick Air Force, but couldn’t bring myself to do it. California’s skill level is far superior…but that hasn’t meant anything all season. This season for the Golden Bears really has made me question Jeff Tedford’s ability to motivate his kids.)

Humanitarian Bowl- Fresno State over Georgia Tech (Another pick ‘em. I went with the Bulldogs simply because Tech is in a state of flux as far as the coach goes, and I’m sure heading into the season they saw themselves playing in a better bowl than this.)

Sun Bowl- South Florida over Oregon (If Dennis Dixon doesn’t get hurt, Oregon is playing for the national championship and Dixon in your Heisman winner. But he did get hurt. So now a nearly helpless Duck team will fall to a very talented South Florida.)

Music City Bowl- Kentucky over Florida State (Kentucky was going to win this game before half of the kids on the FSU squad [36, to be exact] decided studying music history was a waste of their time. Kind of ironic that they are now suspended from the Music City Bowl. This could get ugly.)

Insight Bowl- Oklahoma State over Indiana (I am very happy to see Indiana get to this bowl game in memory of Terry Hoeppner. This really was Terry’s team, even if he wasn’t there to watch them get to this point. I want to see the Hoosiers win, but I just think the Cowboys’ offense will be too much for them to handle.)

Chick-Fil-A Bowl- Auburn over Clemson (Originally I picked Clemson to win this. Then starting linebackers Nick Watkins and Tramain Billie got suspended [two of their top three tacklers] along with the starting right tackle. Now I pick Auburn.)

Outback Bowl- Tennessee over Wisconsin (What’s with all the suspensions? Funny how teams are quicker to pull the trigger and suspend players for bowl games that really don’t matter. I originally picked Tennessee, and therefore I’m sticking with them. However, suspensions have since been announced, and now I’m not so sure I’m on the right side anymore.)

Cotton Bowl- Missouri over Arkansas (For me, this was one of the hardest, if not the hardest, game to pick. Missouri doesn’t really want to be here- they deserved a BCS bowl bid. Arkansas has Darren McFadden and Felix Jones. Unfortunately, they don’t have a whole lot else other than inconsistency. In the end I decided the Missouri spread offense with Chase Daniel and Jeremy Maclin and a defense that has been better than expected will be too much for Arkansas, no matter how hard those guys run. However, if Missouri isn’t focused after losing out on the BCS, they’ll lose this game too.)

Gator Bowl- Texas Tech over Virginia (Virginia has had a very good season and showed they can win a lot of close games, but I’m not sure this one will be close. The Cavaliers have faced nothing like this Texas Tech offense, and even with a lot of time to prepare I’m not sure they’ll be able to handle it. Prediction #2: Michael Crabtree will pull in at least three touchdowns.)

Capitol One Bowl- Florida over Michigan (Maybe its a mistake to write off a talented Wolverine team so easily, but I won’t lose sleep over it. Michigan has showed how much they struggle to defend the spread. They might be able to keep this one close, but I don’t think they can win this one. Time to start look forward to part one of the Rodriguez experiment next season.)

Rose Bowl- USC over Illinois (I’m not one of the people who thinks it’s ridiculous that Illinois is playing in the Rose Bowl. Were there more deserving BCS teams? Yes, but this just doesn’t upset me that much. It appears Ron Zook has figured out how to coach his talent on the field, but USC is just a far superior team. Illinois might be able to take out Ohio State, but I don’t see it at this point. The Illinis are just too young at this point.)

Sugar Bowl- Georgia over Hawaii (Colt Brennan in a dome? Oh my. Mark Richt is too good of a coach, though, and Georgia is too balanced of a team to lose this game. The Warriors will put up some points, but they haven’t faced a defense anything like that of the Bulldogs, and they haven’t faced an offense with weapons like Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno [not to mention Thomas Brown].)

Fiesta Bowl- Oklahoma over West Virginia (The Sooners have too many offensive weapons for the Mountaineers to dream of stopping them. White and Slaton are dangerous, but Oklahoma’s defense is good enough to keep them in check. Plus, they have no coach.)

Orange Bowl- Virginia Tech over Kansas (I struggled with this pick, too. In the end I just lean towards the defense of Tech and their ability to get after Todd Reesing and disrupt the passing game. The key will be if the Hokie offense can get anything going. They’ll need to be able to run the ball and keep the Jayhawks offense off the field. If they can’t, Kansas’ offense is potent enough to overcome the tough defense just enough to win the game.)

International Bowl- Rutgers over Ball State (A lot of people, including myself, don’t understand these mediocre bowl games taking place after the new year. Then again, if it’s college football I’ll watch and enjoy it, so I don’t complain about the extra games. Rutgers slid back a little this season, but they already beat up on MAC team this year, and they should win this game without too much trouble. My apologies to Nate Davis and the rest of a talented Cardinals team.)

GMAC Bowl- Tulsa over Bowling Green (Tulsa is another team that few people know anything about due to their location in Conference USA. Paul Smith and the passing attack will take them to victory.)

BCS Championship Game- LSU over Ohio State (And now the big one. After a crazy season that can hardly be explained, you’ve got a two-loss team playing a one-loss team, and I think the two-loss team wins. This could be a very good game, but I think the SEC experience, not to mention athletes, comes out on top. This will be the best defense the Buckeyes have faced [although this might be true in the other direction as well], and a two-headed quarterback monster paired with some dangerous receivers and a pounding run-game brings the crystal trophy home to the bayou.)

Before I leave, I just want to make note of something that just came on my TV screen.
Jamarcus Russell: 6/21 with 3 INT.
Ouch.

There is so much to talk about, but this will just be a quick post for now.

The bowls are set. Ohio State and LSU will play for the national championship. With such a crazy season, there is a ton of controversy, yet at the same time it’s hard to say any team in particular got robbed. You could make a case for a lot of teams, just as you could make a case for OSU or LSU, had they been left out of the big game. Regardless of what you think, this matchup is definitely intriguing and could make for a great game.
I will have plenty more reflection and thoughts as we bridge the gap between now and when bowl season starts.

The exciting college basket season continues. ESPN named a ‘team of the week’ in their weekly column, and this week it was the Texas Longhorns. Andy Katz wrote this:

I was a believer when I saw Texas beat Tennessee in New Jersey on Nov. 25. Sunday, I wasn’t totally shocked that the Longhorns did it again by taking out UCLA, a team deemed more of a favorite for the Final Four than the Longhorns. Texas’ win at top-ranked UCLA on Sunday, coupled with the Longhorns’ win over Tennessee a week ago, may be the two best wins by any team so far. The Longhorns went on a 17-0 run over 8 minutes, 59 seconds against the Bruins. D.J. Augustin’s floating pass/shot that Damion James slammed home to win the game in the final seconds was yet another example how Texas is winning this season. Augustin gets into the lane when he wants and can make something happen. Now, just think about this: Texas looks like it has a better shot to get to the Final Four (in nearby San Antonio no less) than it did a season ago. I know, it’s a long, long season, but there’s no way you can’t say Texas doesn’t have the pieces — and now the proof — that it will be in the discussion all season long.

Andy and I are on the same page, as you can see by my comments on Texas earlier this week. Their upset of UCLA made me look smarter than I really am.

Some interesting thoughts posted by Jay Bilas for ESPN.com, on why this group of freshman (and the trend in general) is so talented and deep:

While everyone is giving reasons for the emergence of so many freshmen this season, there is one I have not yet heard that I think is worth considering. Clearly, this is a great freshman class with unusual depth of players who are ready to be stars. There are several reasons for this: (1) These kids play a lot of basketball all over the country and are more skilled and prepared than ever before; (2) the NBA age limit sends more stars to college that otherwise would have gone pro out of high school; and (3) these freshmen have less resistance from lottery-quality juniors and seniors, because those players are gone to the NBA already. Well, I think you can add another reason for the emergence of so many freshmen: These kids are not really kids in many cases. Because of prep schools and being held back in starting school, freshmen today are older now than ever. USC’s O.J. Mayo is 20 years old. The Trojans’ Davon Jefferson is 21 years old. Arizona’s Jerryd Bayless, Duke’s Kyle Singler, Gonzaga’s Austin Daye, Texas A&M’s DeAndre Jordan, Syracuse’s Donte Greene, Memphis’ Derrick Rose and UCLA’s Kevin Love are all 19 years old. Of the best, the only one who is still 18 years old is Kansas State’s Michael Beasley, which is scary because he looks and plays the oldest.

That’s it for the moment…

I have been spurred on to write again. My motivation? I think I’ve been inspired by the ridiculous amount of dominating freshmen this college basketball season.

As I sat in my living room and watched Duke’s Taylor King knock down threes against Wisconsin like he was in some sort of crazy video game, I knew I had to sit down in front of my computer again and write.

Everything I’ve seen so far indicates that this could be a special college basketball season. There are a lot of teams that are just plain fun to watch (Duke, Syracuse, Memphis and Marquette, among others) and many of them are led by what, in my mind, has to be the best freshmen class in a long time.

Last year there was Kevin Durant and Greg Oden. One had an unbelievable season and the other helped lead his team to the national championship game.

But this year there are players all over the country who are just blowing my mind with their talent and the way they’ve so seamlessly moved into the college game. Here’s my early season shortlist of who has impressed me among the newbies:

Derrick Rose (Memphis)- Has lived up to everything they said he would be on a team that will go far this season. I haven’t been able to watch him play much, but his numbers speak for themselves.

Eric Gordon(Indiana)- After sparking a nasty war of words and emotions between Indiana and Illinois during the recruiting process, Gordon made his college entrance…by scoring 31-points in his first game. I’d say averaging almost 30 points a game and over three assists a game isn’t too shabby. I’m watching him play as we speak (or type/read, as it may be), and he still seems to have a lot to learn though.

OJ Mayo (Southern California)- Hype-wise, it doesn’t get much bigger than this. Do I buy it? I don’t doubt his talent. I question how quickly he’ll mentally grab things and if he’ll ever be a leader. The bigger question is whether he’ll grow into those traits by the end of the one season he’ll be playing college ball. Some people might be swept away by his raw ability, but I’m still not convinced that he can make USC a winner.

JJ Hickson (North Carolina State)- He’s gone under the radar a little bit playing at NC State, but I watched him play against Villanova and was immediately convinced that he’s the real deal. Unbelievably athletic and versatile, they can keep him in the paint or move him out to the wing.

Michael Beasely (Kansas State)- Man-child. In his first game he put up 32 points and 24 rebounds. That’s not a typo. 2. 4. He hasn’t slowed down since then.

Kyle Singler and Taylor King (Duke)- They’re numbers are good, but not mind-blowing, but nobody is putting up mind-blowing numbers for a very balanced Duke team. If you watch these guys, however, you get it. All the Duke-haters who rejoiced last season should now be very, very scared again. The ACC is still North Carolina’s….for now. With only one senior on the roster (Demarcus Nelson) for a team who doesn’t traditionally lose talent early to the NBA (the loss of Josh McRoberts probably makes this team better), this team is going to be a national title contender in a season or two. Mark my words. All they’re missing is a top-notch big guy, and they can still win without one.

Jonny Flynn and Donte Green (Syracuse)- Few teams are more fun to watch than the Orange (the decision to lose the ‘men’ is very regrettable). Both these guys got a lot of attention coming in, but I’m still surprised at just how good they are, and how quickly they have made Syracuse a better team. Flynn is an awesome playmaker who can knock down shots enough to keep defenses honest. Green, in my mind, is the ultimate small forward. He can drive to the basket or he can step back and effortlessly knock down a three. The team needs to play better defense, but these two have seamlessly moved into the lineup and are only going to get better.

I am by no means trying to say these are the only impact freshman this year. This is simply a list of guys who I’ve had an opportunity to watch (unfortunately I haven’t been able to see Kevin Love yet) and who have blown me away and reminded me why college basketball is great. The fact that there are so many guys with the ability to do that right now is pretty special.
Not to mention there have already been upsets and close calls only a couple of weeks into the season, and it looks like this year’s college basketball season might end up resembling this year’s college football season.

With that in mind, here are my shot-in-the-dark Final Four picks:

Memphis- They’ve been so close, but this is their year. Derrick Rose will be the missing piece that pushes them over the hump.

Kansas- You’re probably thinking that I’m getting suckered again. A program that has looked so tantalizing for a couple of years always seems to self-destruct in the tournament. Well, I think that changes this year. An early season win against a good Arizona team, despite not playing even close to their best, makes me think they might be able to get it done…finally. A brutal non-conference schedule will have them ready.

Georgetown- One key component lost (though Jeff Green was a great one), and he’s replaced by a very good freshman class. Roy Hibbert might be college basketball’s premier big man. Their experience will take them far.

Texas- No, I didn’t forget that Kevin Durant is now in the NBA. Let’s face it, every year someone we didn’t expect to be in the Final Four crashes the party, so this is my pick for this year. D.J. Augustin and A.J. Abrams were overshadowed last year, but that doesn’t change their game-breaking ability. They may even be better this year now that they will have the ball in their hands at key moments. They easily handled Tennessee already this season. Next week’s matchup against UCLA will reveal a lot.

And that’s my brief re-entry into the blogging world. Maybe some college football thoughts to come heading into the final weekend of the regular season as we find out who will play for the national championship.

It has been a very long time since I’ve posted.

For those of you who have still checked back to see whats going on, and continue reading, I appreciate your support.

I have now been moved in and working for a little while, and things are going well.
I should return to blogging very soon.

Until then, feel free to check out The Progress. If you search for my name (or try Josh + sports if you don’t know my last name) you can see everything I’ve written so far. The topics won’t interest anyone outside of the area, but if you want to see what I’m actually doing with my life, there it is.

Thanks for the continued support and I’ll be back soon.

I apologize to everyone who has supported my blog and wondered where new posts have been recently.  Life has been hectic and busy, and I just haven’t had the time to write, and when I have had a little time I haven’t had the energy to pump out another substantial post.

I’m excited to announce that I will be starting a new job as a sports writer for The Progress, a small newspaper in central Pennsylvania.  I will continue to post on the blog, but it may be 2-3 weeks before I can manage to write a lot again.  Right now I have to work out a lot of things here and in Pennsylvania, but once I get moved I should have less stress and a little more time.

So thank you for everyone for the patience.  I hope you continue reading in the future.

P.S.  I love NFL throwback uniforms.

 

The Eagles might be the worst, but I still like it for a game here or there.

 

The Redskins should wear these uniforms every week.

 

I have some friends who won’t talk to me for acknowledging the existence of the Steelers, but Ben looks good in that throwback uni.

Taking a nod from a recent College Football News column, we know a little bit more about the college football season now that we are a full three weeks in.  A lot of people, including myself, made predicitons prior to the season.  So, looking at what’s happened so far, what did I get right and what did I get wrong?

 Right:

1. Notre Dame would be very bad.  Even with all the pundits saying the golden domers might have a rebuilding season, only a small handful predicted a dismal season; all those who did received tons of negative response from fans who can’t handle the truth.  This has nothing to do with whether Charlie Weis is doing a good job (so please save those comments for another time).  I knew going in that the Irish would be lucky to start the season 2-6.  The reality is, they will be lucky to win any of there first eight games.  Forget about winning, start with the basics- don’t fumble snaps.  Even the final four games which would be gimmies for most teams are starting to look more and more uncertain.
2. Boston College and Matt Ryan.  A lot of people thought Florida State was going to be back with a new coaching staff, and a few picked Clemson.  FSU at times looks good, and at times looks exactly like they did last year.  Clemson has underachieved in the past with more talented teams and look very inconsistent thus far.  Meanwhile, Boston College went under-the-radar for a lot of people.  They have all the makings of a great team- good veteran quarterback, solid running game, experienced offensive line, balanced defense that can shut down the run or the pass.  I never miss an opportunity to talk about Matt Ryan, and the guy has exceeded even my expectations so far.  I know I picked Virginia Tech to win the ACC (and they have not looked great), and the two teams may very well be undefeated when they meet up in the regular season.

Wrong:

1. A couple of the OSU’s as sleepers.  I picked Oregon State to be a sleeper in the Pac-Ten and Oklahoma State to be a sleeper in the Big-Twelve.  Looks like I was wrong.  That’s not to say these teams can’t pull off a big upset at some point, but it doesn’t look like either will put together a particularly great season overall.  Oregon State stumbled against Cincinnati and can’t figure out it’s quarterback situation.  Oklahoma State is 1-2, with it’s only win coming at home against Florida Atlantic.  They failed to even submit an upset bid against Georgia and somehow managed to lose to Troy (no disrespect to the Trojans, but come on…).
2. Florida’s swift demise.  I knew the offense would be fine (I wasn’t one who thought Tebow couldn’t throw the ball), but I didn’t expect it to be this good.  I also expected their defense to be in big trouble with almost no experience.  After three weeks the Gators look like legitimate contenders.  Their first two wins were against lesser teams, but they then proceeded to stomp on Tennessee (who I picked to win the SEC East over the Gators).  I still don’t think this is a national championship teams by any mean, but it definitely looks like a top-ten team and the second-best team in the SEC, which I wasn’t so sure about.

With so much of the season left, some of those things could change, and we haven’t seen enough to even guess whether some of my other predictions are right or wrong.  College football is as unpredictable as any sport, and it’s impossible to say for sure what is to come until we are looking at it in the past.

One thing that we are looking at in the future, and which I’m very excited about, is the start of the NHL season.  The pre-season exhibition games are already underway, and the start of the real deal is only a couple of weeks away.  Hockey is the only sport in which my passion rivals that which I have for college football.  While it may have moved further away from mainstream attention with the lockout and the ending of the ESPN TV deal, hockey has one of the strongest hardcore fan bases of any sport.  In the next week or two I’ll start posting some of my thoughts and predictions for the upcoming season on ice.

Some final thoughts before I go:

• Are the Houston Texans a playoff team?  Looks like they might be.
• Is there anyone that would have guessed the Milwaukee Brewers would lead the major leagues in home runs?  On a related note, I’m sick of hearing how the AL is so much better than the NL because it’s more offensive and produces more home runs.  Four of the five top home-run-hitting teams in baseball are found in the National League.  Four of the top ten (almost half) teams in runs scored are NL teams, as are exactly half of the top ten teams in batting average.  As far is individual stats go-  Six of the top ten batters by average are in the NL and seven of the top ten by home runs are in the NL.  There might be a few more hyped names in the AL, but if you look at the numbers, they might not be what you expect.
• Is there anyway that OJ doesn’t see jail time?  Then again, the same question was asked last time around.  I don’t see him getting a life sentence (which is a possibility), but I don’t see a jury letting him walk this time.  I don’t think there is a single potential juror in the country who isn’t aware of the last trial and doesn’t have an opinion on whether OJ got away with murder.  They’ll put him in jail this time just for what he got away with last time (don’t pretend the justice system is blind or fair).

Sorry to anyone who has been checking back for new posts, it’s been a busy week.

I’m also sorry to anyone who wasn’t paying attention yesterday. There may have not been the huge marquee matchup this week (USC-Nebraska is big in name, but many people didn’t give Nebraska a shot), but that only masked the tremendous games that happened throughout Saturday. Here’s my breakdown of some of the more notable happenings:

Upset Specials

Mississippi State 19, Auburn 14- Are you panicking yet, Auburn fans? This is the second week in the row the Tigers have fallen at home. That’s just not supposed to happen at Auburn. And to throw salt in the wound, Alabama is off to a 3-0 start. Last weeks loss to South Florida was one a lot of people were predicting, but Mississippi State? Only the most dedicated MSU alums would have hoped for that. Auburn better figure out what’s going wrong and fix it quickly, because otherwise they’re just going to be trying to keep their head above water in a rough SEC. Kudos to the Bulldogs for really showing up to play. It may take a lot more efforts like this to save Sylvester Croom’s job.

Florida Atlantic 42, Minnesota 39- Minnesota is bad. Howard Schnellenberger has worked hard with this FAU program, and this is a signature win. It doesn’t matter that the Golden Gophers are going to be pathetic this year, they are still a Big Ten team. This makes it even harder for me to deal with last week, when my Miami Redhawks staged a big comeback before falling to Minnesota in triple overtime, after the Gophers had done everything possible to just hand the win to Miami. Tim Brewster has his work cut out for him, and Gopher supporters can only hope the start to this season (three games against non-BCS opponents, two losses and a near loss) is not a sign of things to come. From here on out it’s safe to say that regardless of who may beat Minnesota, you won’t see it listed as an upset.

Iowa State 15, Iowa 13- The only team with a worse start to their season than Minnesota (hey, at least Notre Dame has lost to teams you’ve heard of) pulls the upset here. Gene Chizik still has a long way to go with this team, but this is a big rivalry game, and anything can happen. In fact, I think this game tells us more about Iowa than it does their State counterparts. For years people have championed the work of Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz. After last year’s flirtation with mediocrity, everyone expects the Hawkeyes to rebound. Does this loss signal something otherwise? The Big Ten is already having to fight off the critics, and this loss definitely won’t help their cause.

Utah 44, UCLA 6- No, that is not a typo. There’s not a person in the country that saw this coming. Utah is a below-average team who lost their starting quarterback in week one. So what do they do? They put up 44 points on what should be one of the best defenses in the country. For all the good things the Pac-10 has been doing, this is something for the naysayers to latch on to. There are still a lot of people who question whether Karl Dorrell is really the best man for the job in Los Angeles, and it’s losses like this that make those questions louder. This is most likely just a bad day for the Bruins, who will get things fixed, but there has to be some worries for a team who is going to face offenses the likes of USC, Cal, and Oregon once they reach conference play.

Kentucky 40, Lousiville 34- In my mind, this is an upset in ranking only. Anybody who has watched these two teams knew something like this could be in the works. Lousiville’s offense is unquestionably prolific, but their defense has allowed inferior teams to stay with them. Kentucky threw a very good (and still under-the-radar) offense at the Cardinals, and came out with an incredible game and a great win. This was hyped as the face-off between maybe the two top NFL quarterback prospects, and it didn’t disappoint in that aspect. It’s ironic that when it came down to it, Kentucky’s Andre Woodson only had to throw to a wide-open man after a blown Lousiville coverage. If Kentucky was in the SEC West instead of the East, I think they’d finish as high as second. Unfortunately in the East they have to deal with Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina, and could very well finish in fifth place and still be ignored by most of the country. Likewise, this Kentucky rivalry is still ignored by much of the country, and it is their loss. This was definitely an edgy, angry matchup that lived up to just about everything it could possibly be.

Troy 41, Oklahoma State 23- Well, I guess Oklahoma State didn’t figure out there defensive problems from last year. Troy may end up being the Sun Belt champ, but this is unacceptable for a Cowboy team that many, including myself, viewed as a sleeper in the Big 12. For Troy, this is a signature win for the program (the Sun Belt got two of them this past weekend).

Should We Be Worried?

Texas 35, Central Florida 32- There were whispers that maybe UCF was poised for an upset: A solid team playing the first game in a brand new on-campus stadium in front of a huge crowd. However, Texas should have silenced those whispers very quickly…and they didn’t. Texas may have avoided the upset-in-the-making against TCU, but this is a team who barely survived week one against Arkansas State, and they found themselves in a similar situation yesterday. What’s going on with this team? Maybe the loss of Gene Chizik as defensive coordinator hasn’t been talked about enough. Maybe Colt McCoy’s great freshman numbers have been talked about too much. Either way, this does not look like a team who can even think about beating out Oklahoma in the Big 12 South. Longhorn fans better be worried.

Wisconsin 45, Citadel 31- It took the Badgers far too long to grab a hold of this game. Honestly, I think they took too long to grab a hold against Washington State in week one. Last week they barely escaped UNLV with a win. This team is supposed to be balanced with a strong ground game, very good receivers, and a strong defense. Citadel should not be a problem for them. Wisconsin may be 3-0 at this point, but they better remember exactly how they got those wins or they’re going to be in trouble in the Big Ten. This team hardly looks like the national championship contender some think/thought they might be.

How Dare You Question Us!

Florida 59, Tennessee 20- It’s interesting that a Florida team widely considered overrated has shown up in this category. Could Tim Tebow be a throw-first quarterback? Can this completely revamped defense stop anyone? The answer to the first is a resounding yes; the answer to the second is, “Who cares as long as they can put up 60 on everyone!” Allowing 20-points to Tennessee is by no means staunch, but as this defense gains experience every week, it could be enough. The offense is versatile and dangerous, and although Tennessee won’t be the best defense they will face, 59 points against an upper-tier SEC team speaks volumes. I know I’m not the only one who cannot wait until October 6th at LSU.

Oregon 52, Fresno State 21- The entire country saw the wallopping Oregon gave Michigan last week, but with questions about how good Michigan is, some still saw a potential upset here against Fresno State (who got nipped in overtime by Texas A&M). Fifty-two points later, are there any further questions? It appears Oregon may have finally gotten their offense to click, in a year when many thought the Ducks would be down. Dennis Dixon appears to have take a hold of this team (ahead of Brady Leaf) and answered questions about his commitment to football. Jonathan Stewart has performed the way many thought he could perform from the day he arrived at Autzen Stadium. This Duck team could be a real contender in the Pac-10.

USC 49, Nebraska 31- This game was not as close as the score indicates. Nebraska really hung with the Trojans for a while, and then USC showed why they are truly elite when they turned on the extra gear and smoothly pulled away. The talent and depth of this USC team just wears on opponents, and even those who can hang for a while eventually begin to lose grip and watch the Trojans disappear into the distance. Nebraska may be a recovering program, but they’re not back at the top yet (and this year’s matchup may have been overstated a bit much). In watching USC’s first two games, it looks to me like Stafon Johnson may be stepping up out of a crowded backfield. At both Idaho and Nebraska he has appeared, at least to me, to be the most versatile back, and he seems to have great vision and is a slippery runner. A lot of voters put LSU ahead of USC last week after the Tigers’ huge win against Virginia Tech, but USC has come right back with a strong volley. USC still looks like the best team in the country.

Other Games of Note (That You May or May Not Have Watched)

Air Force 20, TCU 17- TCU was supposed to be the next BCS crasher. Two straight losses later, that’s not going to be the case.

Virginia 22, North Carolina 20- This game doesn’t have many national implications, but it was a great game that came down to a missed two-point conversion by the Tarheels with less than two minutes to go.

Michigan State 17, Pittsburgh 13- Another good game that may not have a lot of national interest. Mark Dantonio seems to have the Spartans on the right track, while the Pitt Panthers still have yet to show they can beat a decent opponent. Pittsburgh is a team, along with Illinois, who will be watched by many to determine the fates of their head coaches. Both Dave Wannstedt and Ron Zook can recruit with the best of them, but have yet to prove they can coach their way out of a paper bag. The pressure is starting to rise for both of them. Unfortunately for Pitt, a lot of youth and the loss of their best player, receiver Derek Kinder, is going to make it tough for this team to make much noise this season.

Michigan 38, Notre Dame 0- Hurray! Michigan can beat a terrible team! Sorry Notre Damers, but the Irish are just plain bad. It’s not Charlie Weis’ fault, and it would take Touchdown Jesus himself to turn this team into a formidable opponent this season. The future is certainly brighter for Notre Dame (in both future seasons and this one….the second half of the season is filled with weak opponents), but there’s no denying the struggles of the present. I don’t think Michigan is as bad as it’s first two losses, but it’s going to have to do more than beat Notre Dame to prove it can even still contend in the Big Ten. Word has it that the top quarterback prospect in the country has already verbally committed to Notre Dame, and he’s supposed to be better than Jimmy Clausen. Quarterback controversy, here we come!

Alabama 41, Arkansas 38- I’m not sure what happened here. Alabama is winning big, I flip the channel, and next thing I know Darren McFadden is running the ball into the end zone to tie the game, before the Razorbacks took the lead. Then, somehow, John Parker Wilson led the Crimson Tide straight down the field before lofting a touchdown pass with eight seconds left in the game. This is what college football is all about. Darren McFadden may be the best player in the country, at any position, but Arkansas is still (or was going into this weekend) very overrated.

Boston College 24, Georgia Tech 10- By now you are sick of hearing about my man-crush on Matt Ryan. Too bad. This guy is incredible. 435 yards, 1 touchdown against the Georgia Tech defense. That doesn’t even do him justice. You have to watch the guy play football to really understand. Ryan has 985 yards and 7 touchdowns in three games. Call me biased, but this guy really should be sliding into Heisman contention. The BC quarterback may get all the attention, but this is a defense that really shut down the Yellowjacket offense. Tashard Choice is a great running back, and he couldn’t get more than 31 yards on 15 attempts. Forget about individual performances, this is a Boston College team that is now 3-0, and more importantly, those three wins all came against ACC foes. Now the Eagles will face three non-conference opponents in a row, and could come up against Virginia Tech still undefeated at 7-0 with Matt Ryan on Heisman radars other than mine. Seriously, go watch Matt Ryan.

With Saturday come and gone, it means there is NFL football on the slate today. Things to think about as you watch today:

• Indianapolis better be on guard. After a big win against the Saints last week, Tennesse could be dangerous this week. This division may be tighter than it has ever been, and the Colts aren’t going to win as easily as they may have in the past. There have been a lot of questions about whether Vince Young will get hit by the sophomore slump, but it seems after week one that Young still just knows how to win. The Titans put up insane rushing yards against an excellent Jacksonville defense. The Colts D may have looked good last week, but can they keep that up? This week will be a big test.
• Minnesota at Detroit really intrigues me. Both teams may not be very good, but the matchup is interesting. Detroit’s defense is just plain bad, and Adrian Peterson could have a huge second week of his career. Minnesota’s run defense is excellent, but the high-flying passing attack of the Lion’s will put their secondary to the test. Detroit better win if Jon Kitna wants to do good on his ridiculous predictions.
• San Diego at New England is on everyone’s to-watch list. I think the Chargers manage to win somehow. These are easily the two most balanced teams in the NFL, and this could be a preview of the AFC championship game. The Patriots got a big week from Randy Moss last week, but it’s hard to know what Moss is going to give you from week to week. I don’t expect him to fall off this early in the season, though. On paper it would seem that the Patriots have the advantage, but I just feel like the Tomlinson factor is worth a whole lot, and the defense finds a way to get a lot of pressure on Brady. Then again, the Pats are going to know all of the Chargers signals…