BCS Projection # 1

My first set of BCS matchups is based on a Alabama victory against Florida in the SEC Championship Game and a Oklahoma victory in the Big 12 Championship Game.

National Championship Game: Alabama (SEC champion) vs. Oklahoma (Big 12 champion)
Rose Bowl: USC (Pac-10 champion) vs. Penn St. (Big Ten champion)
Sugar Bowl: Florida (at-large) vs. Cincinnati (Big East champion)
Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech (ACC champion) vs. Ohio State (at-large)
Fiesta Bowl: Texas (at-large) vs. Utah (MWC champion; automatic bid)

NASCAR: 2008 Year in Review

Since 2008 was the first NASCAR season I've followed very closely, this is the first time I can comment with some detailed knowledge of the sport.

Driver of the Year: Kyle Busch

• He did not win the Sprint Cup championship, nor the most Sprint Cup races, but if we're talking about the best pure driver in the entire NASCAR series there no doubt that Kyle Busch is best in the business.
• 21 total wins: 8 Sprint Cup, 10 Nationwide, 3 Craftsman Truck
• He won on every kind of track there is: road course (3); short track, 1.5 mile, superspeedway

Most Improved Driver: David Ragan

• Finished just outside the Chase
• His performance probably solidifies his place at Roush-Fenway in favor of Jamie McMurray - Roush has to get rid of one team in 2010.

Most Disappointing Driver: Tie - Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon

• When you consider that these guys should have the same equipment as Jimmie Johnson, there's no good reason that they should each have multiple victories

Best Race: Spring Richmond race

• This race solidified Kyle Busch's place as the most-hated driver in the sport
• Also, nothing beats a night race at Richmond (ok, maybe a night race at Bristol)

Worst Race: Allstate at the Brickyard

• Nothing's worse than short green-flag runs and numerous cautions - this race had both
  

BCS Scenarios

As we approach the end of the college football regular season, there are many unknowns when it comes to the teams that will participate in the BCS bowl games. Probably the only sure thing we know is that Utah is in. As I currently see it, eight teams have a realistic shot of playing in the championship game. These teams are: Alabama, Florida, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech, Penn State, USC, Utah. Here's how each team can get there:

1. Alabama: beat Auburn, beat Florida in the SEC championship game
2. Florida: beat Florida St., beat Alabama in the SEC championship game
3. Oklahoma: beat Oklahoma St; pray for a Texas loss to Texas A&M or hope the voters keep them ahead of Texas
4. Texas: beat Texas A&M, Oklahoma beats Okla St, voters rank them ahead of Oklahoma; or Texas Tech loses to Baylor
5. Texas Tech: beat Baylor, Oklahoma loses to Okla. St
6. Penn State: Alabama loses to Auburn; Florida loses to Florida St or Alabama; Big 12 South champion loses to Missouri in the Big 12 championship game or TX, TX Tech, OU each lose to their final regular season opponents
7. USC: beat UCLA and Notre Dame and Oregon St. loses to Oregon see Penn State's scenario
8. Utah: at least six of the seven teams ranked ahead of them finish with two losses (this still might not be enough)

Teams that definitely will not play in the national championship game
1. The loser of the SEC championship game
2. A Big 12 South champion that loses to Missouri

The most likely matchup in the title game will feature the SEC champion and the Big 12 South Champion (assuming they beat Missouri)
The SEC and the Big 12 are without a doubt the two best conferences in college football.

Chaos will ensue if both Florida and Alabama lose before the SEC championship game or if the Big 12 South contenders (TX, Tech, OU) all lose their final regular season games. The latter scenario is not likely to happen.

No England in Euro 2008 is good and bad for MLS

Good: If England had qualified for Euro 2008, Beckham would be unavailable to play for the LA Galaxy for a month. All the MLS games Beckham was scheduled to play in would be virtually irrelevant.

Bad: The league's marquee player will miss out on the second-best international squad tournament in the world. If England qualified Beckham would play a significant number of minutes and possibly serve as the team's captain. ESPN would cover every England match which would allow the American audience to see that the MLS has a world-class player as its centerpiece.

Major League Soccer

The Champions League final also proved to me how hard it will be for the MLS to become anything more than a fringe league in the United States. Unfortunately for MLS, it holds the rare distinction of being an American sports league that competes heavily with foreign leagues for television viewers. During the past year, I've personally watched many more English Premier League and Champions League games than MLS games. Trust me, if ESPN thought people in the United States wouldn't watch the Champions League, they would not be spending millions of dollars to televise the games (at least i think they're spending a lot of money, they might not be because of the traditional advertising difficulties that soccer presents).

The MLS has a two-fold problem: (1) Trying to attract more Americans to the game of soccer; and (2) Trying to attract American fans of European soccer to MLS.
Solutions to Problems:
- The televising of the World Cup, Euro 2008, and the Champions League on ESPN gets more soccer on tv
- Getting more European players to play in MLS during their prime (i.e. younger David Beckhams)
- Successful US national teams (deep run in 2010 World Cup and Beijing Olympics; good performances in international friendlies)

Champions League Final

What a great ending to the second-most important match in world soccer. The heavy rain and the fact that the match stretched into the early morning (Russia time) made it even more dramatic. Until yesterday, I've never had the chance to see a penalty shootout that went past the first ten kicks. John Terry's miss essentially and United's subsequent victory saved Ronaldo from losing his "best player in the world" status. Ronaldo will surely be named FIFA World Player of the Year later this year. However, he really needs to consider getting rid of his pre-kick "hitch."

Utah vs. San Antonio - The NBA's worst nightmare

I'm pretty sure that David Stern and the other big wigs at NBA headquarters were not pleased with today's playoff results. Both the Lakers and the Hornets had a chance to put their series out of reach but failed to do so. If the Lakers and Hornets had won today, the NBA was on the verge of getting their second-most ideal Western Conference Finals matchup (Lakers vs. Suns was probably their first choice) . It would be great for the NBA to get one of its glamor teams (Lakers) against the young, upstart team from the city that's still trying to rebuild after a devastating storm.

Unfortunately, we could be stuck with a team with the most boring superstar in NBA history, the Spurs, and a team from a city with less than 200,000 people and little, if any fanbase outside the state of Utah. If this matchup occurs, good luck finding any sponsors willing to spend the big bucks to advertise during the series.

Is Kyle Busch the "real" Dale Earnhardt Jr.?

Dale Earnhardt Sr. earned his nickname "The Intimidator" because of his willingness run over other drivers that wouldn't get out of his way. Kyle Busch has used this same tactic the past few weeks. In Mexico City, radio transmissions indicated that Busch wanted Scott Pruett to "get the f..." out of his way. During a truck race in Martinsville, Busch wrecked a guy that was in front of him with less than five laps to go. Maybe I haven't watched enough races, but I've never seen Dale Earnhardt Jr. use the aggressive driving techniques that his dad and Kyle Busch have used.


I appreciate Kyle's determination to win every race, but sometimes he takes this too far. He's also somewhat of a hypocrite because he loses it every time some other driver hits him from behind.

The NFL Needs a Rookie Salary Scale

While I typically don't support policies that restrict the amount of money people can make, the NFL seriously needs to a plan that limits the amount of money rookies receive. It's ludicrous that Jake Long is now the highest paid offensive lineman in the NFL and he hasn't even played a down in the league. The current system rewards college success and NFL potential, not actual NFL production.

I don't have a problem with guys like Jake Long or Jamarcus Russell making $50 to $60 million over five years after they have played to a level that warrants this kind of money.

American Men in Monte Carlo: Missing in Action

I just looked at the draw for the Monte Carlo Masters Series event and was disappointed to see that only one American male (Sam Querrey) had the guts to make the trip over to Monte Carlo. I'm sure Andy Roddick and James Blake gave the ATP Tour some excuse to avoid being fined. I guess these guys have officially given up on trying to win clay court tournaments outside of the US.

I miss the old days when we had Jim Courier, Michael Chang, and Andre Agassi, three guys that could actually contend for titles on red clay. Neither Roddick nor Blake have ever advanced past the third round at the French Open. Courier, Chang, and Agassi have combined for 4 French Open titles and eight appearances in the final.

Why the drop-off? The biggest reason is that Courier, Chang, and Agassi were just simply better tennis players than Roddick and Blake. Also, Roddick and Blake aren't as patient as the other three.

Interesting Factoids:
* Many people probably don't realize this but Jim Courier is actually the last male tennis player to win the first two legs of the Grand Slam, back in 1992.
* Michael Chang was the youngest male Grand Slam winner ever - he was 17 when he won the French Open in 1989.

Pacman Jones Trade

Determining which team, the Titans or the Cowboys, got the better end of the Pacman "Make it Rain" Jones trade won't be known until his reinstatement application is approved or denied by the NFL. Either way, it was probably smart for the Titans to get rid of him now. If the Titans kept the Pacman and Roger Goodell didn't reinstate him, the Titans would be hard-pressed to find a team that would give up anything for an indefinitely suspended player.

If the Pacman is reinstated, keeps his nose clean, and can still play like he did two years ago, the Cowboys will have addressed a need at a cheaper price than it would have by selecting a corner in the first round of the draft.

James Blake - Another Missed Opportunity

Today, James Blake lost in the final of the US Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston to a Spanish guy named Marcel Granollers-Pujol who is ranked 84 in the world. These are the kinds of losses that keep James from being considering an elite player. I think he lost to another low-ranked player (# 244) earlier this year in Delray Beach. I know that Federer, Nadal, and Roddick occasionally lose to players ranked significantly lower than them but at least it's in the early rounds of the tournament.

I would cut James some slack considering the fact that he played a Spanish guy who probably grew up playing on clay, but this was a third-tier Spanish player at best. The top Spanish players were mostly playing in Valencia, Spain and Estoril, Portugal this week.

On another note, the Spanish player made a good choice in choosing to play in the US Clay Court Championships rather than the tournaments in Spain or Portugal. In those tournaments he would have been seeded lower and he would have played much better clay court players. Sure, his travel expenses where much higher, but I'm sure the winner's check will ease the strain on his bank account.

Kyle Busch

I just finished watching Kyle Busch win the Nationwide Series race in Mexico City. I am now convinced that Kyle Busch is the best driver in NASCAR, period. He has wins this year in all three of NASCAR's major circuits and now he has three Nationwide wins in a row on three very different tracks (1.5 mile, 1 mile, road course). I know some people don't like his attitude, but you have to respect his driving abilities.

Picks 11-32

11.	Buffalo - Malcolm Kelly, WR Oklahoma
12.	Denver - Derrick Harvey, DE Florida
13.	Carolina - Ryan Clady, OT Boise State
14.	Chicago - Jeff Otah, OT Pittsburgh
15.	Detroit - Rashard Mendenhall, RB Illinois
16.	Arizona - Mike Jenkins, CB South Florida
17.	Minnesota - Calais Campbell, DE Miami
18.	Houston - Aqib Talib, CB Kansas
19.	Philadelphia - Devin Thomas, WR Michigan State
20.	Tampa Bay - Philip Merling, DE Clemson
21.	Washington - Quintin Groves, DE Auburn
22.	Dallas - DeSean Jackson, WR Cal
23.	Pittsburgh - Branden Albert, G Virginia
24.	Tennessee - Limas Sweed, WR Texas
25.	Seattle - James Hardy, WR Indiana
26.	Jacksonville - Marcus Harrison, DT Arkansas
27.	San Diego - Chris Williams, OT Vanderbilt
28.	Dallas - Felix Jones, RB Arkansas
29.	San Francisco (from Indianapolis)
30.	Green Bay - Kenny Phillips, S Miami
31.	N.Y. Giants - Antoine Cason, CB Arizona 32. New England Patriots - removed due to Spygate

10th Pick - New Orleans Saints

Pressing needs: OLB, DT,
Secondary needs: CB, TE

I was extremely surprised that the Saints did not qualify for the playoffs last season. Injuries to Deuce McAlister and inconsistent play by Drew Brees and Reggie Bush were some of the reasons for they're lack of success.

Selection: Kentwan Balmar - DT North Carolina

9th Pick - Cincinnati Bengals

Pressing needs: DE, DT, LB, WR (if Chad Johnson is traded)

Secondary needs: WR

Despite Marvin Lewis's reputation as a defensive mastermind, the performance of his defense in Cincinnati has been deplorable. The departure of Chris Henry and the uncertainty of Chad Johnson's status make wide receiver a priority even though T.J. Houshmandzadeh will remain with the team. However, even if Chad Johnson leaves, defense is the more pressing concern for the Bengals.

Selection: Keith Rivers - LB Southern Cal

8th Pick - Baltimore Ravens

Pressing needs: QB, WR
Secondary needs: LB, OL

The retirement of Steve McNair yesterday leaves the Ravens with three QB options: 1. Kyle Boller - has not lived up to expectations; 2. Troy Smith - talented but undersized; 3. Draft a QB. The Ravens will be very tempted to select Matt Ryan if he's still available because is value will be greatly increased at the 8th spot. They would basically be getting a top 5 prospect at pick 8.

Selection: Matt Ryan

7th Pick - New England Patriots

Pressing needs: CB, LB
Secondary needs: WR

The departure of Asante Samuel to Philadelphia leaves a huge void at cornerback. The Patriots linebacking core (Vrabel, Bruschi, Seau) is getting older by the minute. The top cornerback prospect is Leodis McKelvin from Troy. I would have real reservations about taking a guy with the 7th pick that's played most of his college career against second-rate competition in the Sun Belt Conference.

If I were going to use this pick on a corner from a small school I would lean towards picking Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie from Tennessee St. He has much better size than McKelvin.

Selection: Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie

6th Pick - New York Jets

Pressing needs: WR, CB, S
Secondary needs: RB

Even though the Jets have Thomas Jones at running back, they have not been shy in expressing their interest in Darren McFadden. The 6th pick is probably too early to select a wide receiver or a safety. I think they'll take the best available player.

Selection: Sedrick Ellis - DT Southern Cal

5th Pick - Kansas City Chiefs

Pressing needs: OT, WR, DE
Secondary needs: QB

The Chiefs are in a tough position because they're not sure if Brodie Croyle can be a "franchise" quarterback. No matter who the quarterback is, the Chiefs are in serious need of some help on the offensive line. They gave up 55 sacks last season.

Unfortunately, Michigan OT Jake Long will be "Long" gone by the time the Chiefs make their selection. They could reach and take Ryan Clady from Boise State. Another option is trading this pick to Dallas for their two first round picks (Jerry Jones wants McFadden) if the Raiders pass on Darren McFadden. The Chiefs could also be in the market for a defensive end since there's news that Jared Allen is going to be traded to Minnesota.

Selection: Vernon Gholston - DE Ohio State

4th Pick - Oakland Raiders

Pressing needs: DT, OLB,
Secondary needs: WR, RB

The retirement of Warren Sapp leaves a big hole in the middle of the Raiders' defensive line. Glenn Dorsey would be the ideal replacement for Sapp, but it's very likely that the Falcons will select him at number 3. The free-agent signing of cornerback DeAngelo Hall turns a weakness into a strength.

A lot of "experts" have the Raiders using this selection on Darren McFadden. I'm inclined to agree with this sentiment but I hesitate because I'm not ready to give up on Lamont Jordan. He had a down season last year but I think he's still capable of giving the Raiders 700 to 900 yards a season. Also, Justin Vargas rushed for a 1,000 yards last year. If I was the Raiders GM, I would be tempted to trade this pick, unless I thought McFadden was the next LaDanian Tomlinson or Adrian Peterson. However, I think the Raiders are salivating at the chance of having McFadden and JaMarcus Russell in the same backfield.

Selection: Darren McFadden

3rd Pick - Atlanta Falcons

Pressing Needs: QB, DT, TE, CB
Secondary Needs: WR

The Michael Vick scandal really turned this franchise upside down. Instead of having a young, dynamic quarterback for several years in the future, the team is faced the possibility of having to invest millions of dollars into another young quarterback sooner than expected.

Although I believe quarterback is the Falcons' most pressing need, the team will probably look to later in the draft to select a quarterback. A year ago, the ideal scenario would have had the team selecting Louisville QB Brian Brohm since he played under Bobby Petrino for three years. However, Petrino's unexpected departure makes Brohm less of a possibility. If I was the Falcons general manager, I would select Michigan QB Chad Henne with the third pick in the second round. The signing of running back Michael Turner essentially eliminated Darren McFadden as a selection.


Selection: Glenn Dorsey, DT LSU

2nd Pick - St. Louis Rams

Pressing needs: DE, WR, LB
Secondary needs: CB, S

The Rams are coming off of a surprisingly bad season considering the level of talent on their roster. Stephen Jackson got off to a horrible start (which actually caused me drop him from my fantasy team!) and injuries to key players like Marc Bulger and Orlando Pace led to their demise.

The Rams could sure up their defensive front by adding Chris Long to the opposite end of the aging former Pro-Bowler, Leonard Little. The Rams also have a fairly mediocre group of linebackers but there's no linebacker prospect worthy of the number 2 pick.

Selection: Chris Long

1st Pick - Miami Dolphins

Pressing needs: OT, ILB, OLB,
Secondary needs: QB, WR, DE

I'm not sure if Bill Parcells has evaluated John Beck thoroughly enough to determine whether he will be the team's quarterback of the future. Even if he thinks Beck can't do the job, it's unlikely that the Dolphins will take a quarterback with the first pick. Most signs point towards the Dolphins selecting Michigan tackle Jake Long or Virginia defensive end Chris Long.

Either Long will be a solid selection. Jake Long dominated opposing defenders in the Big Ten and has incredible size. Chris Long was a sack machine at UVA and has a Hall of Fame DE for a father, Howie Long.

Since offensive tackle is a more pressing need for the Dolphins and the fact that left tackle is critical to the protection of any right-handed quarterback, I think the Dolphins will select Jake Long with the first pick.

NFL Draft Predictions

For the past several weeks SportsCenter has been running a segment called "On the Clock" where a panel including Merrill Hoge, Ron Jaworski, and Mel Kiper Jr. predict which players will be drafted by teams in the first round. Over the next week, I will be doing the same thing on this blog using my personal predictions of what I think is going to happen. I hope to do four teams a day in order from pick 1 to pick 32.

The NBA Playoffs are Near

For the first time in several years, I am actually looking forward to watching the NBA Playoffs. My interest in the NBA has waned for three reasons: 1. Michael Jordan's second retirement from the Bulls (I try to block out the Wizards years), 2. The rise of the San Antonio "we only need 82 points to win" Spurs, and 3. The end of the NBA on NBC.

Jordan's retirement really sucked the energy out of the league, especially since he was still playing well at the time. Couple Jordan's retirement with the owner's lockout in 1998 and you get a disgruntled fan base. As my sports law professor says, starting a labor dispute is the easiest way to get fans to stop watching your sport.

The San Antonio Spurs. Boy, where do I begin? First, let me make a disclaimer: I am a Houston Rockets fan and I consider the Spurs to be their biggest rival. However, I think many non-Spurs haters will agree with many of my observations. My first beef with the Spurs is that they have the most boring Hall of Famer in NBA history, Tim Duncan. Even the folks at PBS probably think Tim Duncan is boring. I'm sure many of you will say "so what if he's boring, he wins championships." If I myself was a Spurs fan, I would definitely agree with that statement. However, since I'm not a Spurs fan, I would like to see a more exciting product when I watch them play on tv. My philosophy on the nexus between sports and entertainment is simple: If my team is playing, I don't care if they win by only scoring 79 points, I just want them to win. When my team is not playing on tv, I want to see the most exciting game possible. Commissioner David Stern's biggest Christmas wish was probably for an NBA Finals without the Spurs and the Pistons.


NBC's decision to let go of the NBA television contract was one of the dumbest moves in sports entertainment history. Now they're stuck with hockey, the drug infested Olympics, and poorly scheduled Sunday night NFL games (not to mention a pitful excuse for an NFL highlights show). In its heyday, the NBA on NBC was a great showplace for the game of basketball. They had great theme music (thanks John Tesh), the best play-by-play announcer (Marv Albert), and a less conceited Bob Costas.

Thoughts on the Masters

At the end of Saturday's round I had a feeling that Tiger Woods would have a chance to win, or at least get in a playoff if he finished at 8 or 9 under. What was the winning score? 8 under. Tiger was having a solid round until he blew the birdie putt on 13. I'm fairly sure that missing the opportunity at 13 affected Tiger when he bogeyed 14.

The most amazing thing about Tiger's performance is that he played very average golf, by his standards, and still finished in second place. This proves to me how much better he is than everyone else in the world. If Trevor Immelman played his average game he wouldn't have even made the cut.