2010 BCS National Championship Preview

1 Alabama vs 2 Texas
Favorite: Alabama, -4
Finally, after waiting through a month of meaningless game, the BCS title game is here. On one side, we have Texas. Colt McCoy is the winningest QB in college football history. However, for all his wins, this is the first time he's led Texas to a Big XII championship. As usual, Texas had one of the best offenses in the nation this season, and they'll obviously try to open things up early. Alabama had one of the nation's top defenses, Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram on offense, and are coming off beating season-long favorite Florida. And in case you missed it, they held Florida's "high-powered" offense to just 13 points. In fact, Alabama has allowed 20 points just twice this season, to Kentucky and Auburn. Nebraska laid out a gameplan to keep the Texas offense out of the endzone when they allowed only 13 points in the Big XII title game. You can bet 'Bama has been studying and studying that game ever since.
Pick: Alabama 31 - Texas 17

2010 Orange Bowl Preview

9 Georgia Tech vs 10 Iowa
Favorite: Georgia Tech, -5
I don't like Georgia Tech. I think they've been overrated all season. They can run the ball well, and beyond that they aren't very good. Their defense gives up 24.8 points per game, a stat hidden by the fact that weak ACC defenses couldn't stop their running game. Iowa's Big Ten opponents weren't much better, but they did beat Penn State, and one of their two loses came against an Ohio State team that played very strong at the end of the season. Iowa also probably has a better defense than any team Tech has faced this season.
Pick: Iowa 27 - Georgia Tech 17

2010 Fiesta Bowl Preview

4 TCU vs 6 Boise State
Favorite: TCU, -7.5
So here we are, in the college football postseason, and instead of being in a playoff, the #1 scoring offense in the nation takes on the #1 defense in an essentially meaningless game. Lets behonest here, no one will confuse TCU with an offensive powerhouse, and they don't need to be one. Boise State scored the more points per game than anybody else, and TCU is right behind them. All the talk has been on their defense, but the Horned Frogs have put up 40.7 points per game, good for a third-place tie with Texas. Boise hasn't played a defense as tough as TCU's, and that will make the difference. Last year, when these teams met in the Poinsettia Bowl, TCU won, 17-16. This year, they have a better offense, and that should make for a higher score.
Pick: TCU 38 - Boise State 24

New Year's Day BCS Bowl Game Preview

Rose Bowl
8 Ohio State vs 7 Oregon
Favorite: Oregon, -4
The big news going into this game was the revelation Monday that OSU's Terrelle Pryor has a partial PCL tear in one of his knees. However, head coach Jim Tressel says the team is as healthy as it has ever been. I don't believe him. Of course he's going to say that. A Big Ten team hasn't won the Rose Bowl since 2000. Any admission of weakness at this point would be an admission that the Big Ten will have to wait another year. Unfortunately for him, an injury to Pryor slows down the entire offense, which is based on the running game. That leaves a huge opening for Oregon to take this game. Considering Oregon beat USC and Perdue this season, two teams OSU lost to, the outcome wasn't really in doubt for me to begin with.
Pick: Oregon 31 - Ohio State 21

Sugar Bowl
5 Florida vs. 3 Cincinnati
Favorite: Florida, -12.5
I'd love to say Cincy wins this one and could claim they should have had a shot at the BCS National Title, but I can't. Florida has too much motivation behind them. Their star QB is graduating, and this is their head coach's last game, at least until 2011. Knowing Urban Meyer has health problems is probably enough for Tim Tebow to will his team to victory. With the added fact that this could be his last game as a starting QB at any level, the entire team can rally around their head coach in the locker room and on the sidelines, and the schools greatest QB ever on the field. Since winning their conference, Cincy has been in upheaval, with their head coach leaving for Notre Dame, and his interim replacement hired away as well. In a state of flux, the team won't be able to match the production they had in their undefeated regular season.
Pick: Florida 35 - Cincinnati 27

Tuesday Morning News - 12/22/09

Jimmy Johnson has been named AP Male Athlete of the Year, and is the first NASCAR driver to recieve the award. [Examiner.com]

Former Seahawks and Packers head coach Mike Holmgren has agreed to become president of the Cleveland Browns. [Ohio.com]

Three members of the USC football team have been ruled academically ineligible for the Emerald Bowl against Boston College. [LA Times]

New Jersey Devils G Martin Brodeur recorded his 104th career shutout, beating the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-0, and breaking Terry Sawchuck's record. [Baltimore Sun]

The University of Kentucky became the first college basketball program to record 2,000 wins by beating Drexel, 88-44. [Bloomberg]

Saturday Morning News - 12/19/09

The Tostitos Fiesta Bowl is facing a political scandal as current and former employees claim they were encouraged to donate money to political candidates and then repaid for it. [ESPN]

Villanova is the 2009 FCS National Champion, beating Montana, 23-21, in the playoff final. [Philly.com]

NJ Devils G Martin Brodeur broke Patrick Roy's NHL record for appearances by a goalie in a 4-2 win over the Ottawa Senators. [NJ.com]

Detroit Red Wings F Henrick Zetterberg will miss at least 2 weeks with a separated shoulder. [NHL.com]

Tiger Woods has been voted 2009 PGA Tour Player of the Year by his fellow golfers. [CNN]

Wednesday Morning News - 12/16/09

CMU's Butch Jones has been hired to replace Brian Kelly as head football coach at Cincinnati. [Cincinnati.com]

The Ohio State WR Duron Carter and DE Robert Rose have been ruled academically ineligible for the Rose Bowl. [Digital Sports Daily]

The Big Ten Conference announced it will explore expansion to 12 teams. [Chicago Tribune]

The NFL has cleared the Washington Redskins of tampering in contract negotiations for Albert Haynesworth. [Washington Times]

Tracy McGrady made his season debut last night, playing in an NBA game for the first time since having microfracture surgery nine months ago. [Hoops World]

Monday Morning News - 12/14/09

Global consulting firm Accenture is the first sponsor to drop Tiger Woods, ending a six year relationship with the golfer. [LA Times]

Former NHL goalie Mertin Gerber was injured in a Russian KHL league game, suffering a spinal contusion. Gerber was originally diagnosed with a compression fracture of his fourth cervical vertebra, but further testing showed the injury was less serious. [Russian Hockey Fans]

The house of former Cincinnati head football coach Brian Kelly is believed to have been egged by Cincinnati fans on Saturday night. [Rivals.com]

The Sunday News - 12/13/09

Heaisman Trophy results: 1. Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama(1,304 points, 227 1st place votes) 2. Toby Gerhart, RB, Stanford(1,276, 222) 3. Colt McCoy, QB, Texas(1,145, 203) 4. Ndamukong Suh, DT, Nebraska(815, 161) 5. Tim Tebow, QB, Florida(390, 43) Ingram is the first player from Alabama to win the Heisman in the closest vote in the award's history. [ESPN]

BJ Penn retained his UFC Lightweight Championship by defeating Diego Sanchez by stoppage in the fifth round at UFC 107. [Sherdog]

Vitali Klitschko retained his WBC Heavyweight Championship, beating Kevin Johnson by unanimous decision. [Miami Herald]

Stanford head football coach Jim Harbaugh has signed a contract extension to reamin with the school through 2014. [The Stanford Daily]

Kansas University has hired Turner Gill to replace Mark Mangino as head football coach. [Lawrence Journal News]

Friday Morning News - 12/11/09

Atlanta Falcons DT Jonathan Babineaux was arrested and charged with marijuana possession after over an once was found on him during a traffic stop. [ESPN]

Barry Bonds's agent Jeff Borris says the sluggers career is over after he has been unable to find a team to sign him since the end of the 2007 season. [MLB.com]

University of Cincinnati head football coach Brian Kelly is leaving the school to take over at Notre Dame. He will not coach Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl. [Chicago Tribune]

Thursday Morning News - 12/10/09

Philadelphia Eagle head coach Andy Reid has been given a contract extension keeping him with the team through 2013. [The Trentonian]

Louisville has a new head football coach, naming Florida defensive coordinator Charlie Strong to the position. [Kentucky.com]

Texas head football coach Mack Brown has been given a raise and contract extension, making him the highest paid coach in college sports at $5 million per year. [ESPN]

Mark Messier has been named GM of Team Canada for the 2010 world hockey championships. [National Post]

Tuesday Morning News - 12/8/09

Whitey Herzog and retired umpire Doug Harvey have been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the veterans commitee. [NY Times]

The 2009 Heisman Trophy Finalists: Texas QB Colt McCoy, Alabama RB Mark Ingram, Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh, Florida QB Tim Tedow, and Stanford RB Toby Gerhart [Associated Content]

Notre Dame's Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate will enter the 2010 NFL Draft and forgo their senior year of college. [Chicago Tribune]

Danica Patrick has reportedly reached a deal to race a partial NASCAR Nationwide series schedule for Junior Motorsports. [Dallas News]

Monday Morning News - 12/7/09

The 2009 BCS Bowl matchups: Rose Bowl - Ohio State vs Oregon, Sugar Bowl - Florida vs Cincinnati, Fiesta Bowl - TCU vs Boise State, Orange Bowl - Georgia Tech vs Iowa, National Championship - Texas vs Alabama [The Quad]

The NFL is ending its $100 million-per-year revenue sharing program after this season. The NFLPA is challenging the move. [ESPN]

Philadelphia Flyer Daniel Carcillo has been suspended 4 games for punching Washington Capital Matt Bradley. [Canada.com]

Jim Furyk has won the Chevron World Challenge by one stroke under Graeme McDowell. It is his first win in two years. [Golf Monthly]

Spain clinched a David Cup win, beating the Czech Republic for their second straight. [National Post]

How Tim Tebow and Urban Meyer Cost Florida a BCS Title

On Friday I predicted Tim Tebow would carry Florida to victory over Alabama in the SEC Championship Game by shear strength of will. My gut said that's what would happen, and I made my prediction on my gut. My logic said something very different: Alabama's D was too good, that they'd practice for Tebow all week, and they'd stop him. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who didn't listen to logic.

If you want to know who the biggest and worst believer in Tim Tebow was, look no further than Florida's sideline. No one has had a better view of Tebow's triumphs than head coach Urban Meyer. No one believed in him more. And why shouldn't he? The analysts and experts bought into it, so why shouldn't the man who has been there for all of Tebow's big plays? Because head coaches are supposed to be better than that.

The opening quarter should tell you all you need to know about Tebow's performance against Alabama's D. In Florida's first drive, he was 1/3 for 2 yards. After the second, he was 5/10 for 39 yards, but had only 9 yards on 3 rush attempts. Alabama was keying in on him, and Urban Meyer wasn't doing anything about it.

With Tebow so far held under wraps, you might think a team would try going a little more conventional in their offensive choices. Call some handoffs, give the ball to someone else, then go back to a Tebow-heavy offense once things got moving. In the entire first half, only two plays had Tebow giving the ball to someone else, one in the first quarter, and one in the second.

At halftime, Florida was still in the game. They only trailed 19-13, and there was plenty of time to make adjustments. Get the ball in someone elses hands, and get the running game started. Coming out of the gate, Chris Rainey got the ball on the second play of the half, but lost a yard. It would be the last time a running play would go to anyone other than Tebow.

Coming into this game, Alabama had one of the best defenses in the country. They had already beaten four ranked teams. Those four teams averaged 11.25 points per game against 'Bama's D. In 44 games against other teams, they combined to average 28.7 points per. Alabama was holding ranked teams to 17 points less than they scored against other opponents. This week, they just had to stop one player. Clearly, Urban Meyer would have to do something about that.

When playing against a team that doesn't have any obvious holes in their defense, the best option is to spread the ball around early. Find one thing that works, and keep doing it until the defense can stop you. That should have been Florida's plan. Tebow running up the middle doesn't work? Try a bubble screen. That doesn't work? Option. Stopped again? Throw the ball. Instead, Meyer's game plan seemed to consist of "Throw the ball, then have Tebow run it." When that didn't work, the plan seemed to change to "Have Tebow run the ball a little more." The results are obvious to see: Tebow carried the ball 10 times for 63 yards, threw the ball 25 times for 247 yards, 1 TD, and 1 pick, and no one else had more than two rushes. Only four plays the entire game were put into the hands of someone other than Tim Tebow. And the result was Florida's first loss of the season.

So what does this all mean? Well, obviously it means Florida lost to Alabama, 32-13. After 60 minutes of football, gone were Florida's undefeated season and BCS title hopes. Thats the short-term outcome. The bigger concern is what happens next season. This was Tebow's last season in college. If I were a Florida fan, and I just saw my team lose after giving the ball to a graduating senior on 45 of 49 offensive plays, I'd be worried about what comes next. Meyer has to figure out how to keep this team successful with Tebow next year. A lot of people think Meyer is a great coach, and cite his two National Championships as their proof. But those championship were won on Tebow's back. If Tebow couldn't get the job done, and Meyer kept going back to him, what does that say about his ability as a coach?

In Notre Dame's coaching search, Urban Meyer's name keep coming up. He has said he'll be in Florida until they don't want him any more. Without Tim Tebow as his QB, the time when Florida doesn't want him any more could be sooner, rather than later.

MY 25 - Regular Season Final

There is probably nothing in sports I disagree with more than the BCS and college football poll system. With that in mind, each week I'll be naming my own Top 25. The only hard and fast rule of MY 25: overall records come first.

1. Alabama
2. TCU
3. Boise State
4. Texas
5. Cincinnati
6. Florida
7. Oregon
8. Ohio State
9. BYU
10. Iowa
11. Penn State
12. Central Michigan
13. Georgia Tech
14. Virginia Tech
15. Miami(FL)
16. West Virginia
17. Wisconsin
18. Houston
19. Pitt
20. Utah
21. LSU
22. Oklahoma State
23. Temple
24. Troy
25. Middle Tennessee State


Performance of the Week: Devan Cunningham
Cunningham is a guard on the Fresno State football team. Normally, he gets no attention. Rarely are his blocks remembered after a game, and when the running game 233 yards, the backs will get the love, andhe'll be forgotten. Sometimes, though, somthing special happens. Fresno State had just scored a TD with 2 seconds left and trailed Illinois, 52-51. Head coach Pat Hill didn't want overtime, and called for a pass attempt for the 2-point conversion. Ryan Colburns throw was batted down at the goalline, right into the hands of Cunningham. He put all 350 pounds of his body into the Illinois defense, and came out the other side with 2 points and coach Hill's 100th win at the school.

Saturday Morning News - 12/5/09

The 2010 World Cup held its draw yesterday. Group G is this Cup's Group of Death, as it is made up of Brazil, Portugal, Ivory Coast, and North Korea. [NY Times]

The New Jersey Nets finally won their first game, beating the Charlotte Bobcats 97-91. [NJ.com]

The Philadelphia Flyers have fired their head coach, John Stevens. He will be replaced by newly-hired Peter Laviolette. [TSN]

Central Michigan won the MAC Championship, beating Ohio, 20-10. [MLive.com]

Notre Dame has decided no to play in a bowl this year, deciding instead to end their season and focus on finding a new coach. [Detroit Free Press]

College Football Championship Saturday Preview

1 Florida vs 2 Alabama - SEC Championship Game in Atlanta, GA
Favorite: Florida, -5.5
I want to tell you Florida will lose this game. I want to tell you Alabama's defense can and will stop Florida's offense. But I can't. Tim Tebow has basically carried the offense on his back all season. Once you get past him, there isn't much of an offense. Somehow, he has simply willed this team to win each and every week. Alabama has played well each and every week, and their defense is second to only Florida's. This will be the biggest game for both teams before the winner goes on to the National Championship, and I just think Tebow and the Gator's want it more.
Pick: Florida 27 - Alabama 24

Friday Morning News - 12/4/09

Seattle Seahawks GM Tim Ruskell has resigned rather than become a "lame duck" manager. [Shutdown Corner]

Oregon has won the 2009 Civil War game over Oregon State, 37-33. Oregon also won the right to face Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. [Register-Guard]

Mark Mangino has agreed to step down as head coach of the University of Kansas football program. Mangino was under investigation for alleged misconduct towards players over his 8 seasons with the program. [Campus Rivalry]

Thursday Morning News - 12/3/09

The NFL has announced a new concussion policy which goes into effect this weekend. Under it, players who leave a game or practice with a concussion will not be allowed to return until he is fully asymptomatic. [UPI.com]

Cleveland Browns RB Jamal Lewis has been placed on IR with a consussion and his career is expected to be over. [Cleveland.com]

The NJ Nets have broken the record for losses to start an NBA season. Their 117-101 loss to the Dallas Mavericks was their 18th straight. [Bloomberg]

Allen Iverson has agreed to a one-year contract to return to the Philadelphia 76ers. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Gary Paterson has signed a contract extension to remain TCU head football coach through 2016. [Dallas News]

Wednesday Morning News - 12/2/09

FSU head football coach Bobby Bowden has announced he will retire following FSU's upcoming bowl appearance. [SI.com]

The Philadelphia Eagles extended the contract of TE Brent Celek. [Delaware Online]

Florida DE Carlos Dunlap has been suspended indefinitely after being arrest for drunk driving. He will miss at least the SEC Championship Game against Alabama. [Palm Beach Post]

Michigan State has suspended eight members of its football team who are believed to have taken part in an assault in campus dormitory. [Detroit News]

Washington Capitals F Alexander Ovechkin has been suspended 2 games for a knee-to-knee hit on Carolina Hurricanes D Tim Gleason. [NY Times Slap Shot]

The NHL has approved the sale of the Montreal Canadiens to the Molson family. [National Post]

Former NY Yankee Tommy Henrich, the first player to hit a walk-off home run in the World Series and the last surviving teammate of Lou Gehrig, has died at the age of 96. [