What I Saw In College Football

To the detractors of Boise State. Play them. Stop the ducking and dodging and play them on even terms. Home and home series, not some three for one crap you guys throw at them. Until then stop saying the Broncos or TCU aren't title contenders. You can only play who's in front of you.

It may seem like a personal crusade, but the Big East and to a lesser extent the ACC should be forced to give up their BCS bids. I'm going to hate seeing someone emerge out of the mish mash called the Big East to take on an undefeated or one loss team in January. ESPN's Mark May asked does that mean South Carolina wouldn't be worthy of a BCS bid if they had five losses. At least if they went to a BCS game with five losses, it wouldn't be against inferior competition. And that means they would've beaten an undefeated or one loss Auburn team for the SEC championship.

If you know what a team is going to do on so many consecutive plays, you would think a defense would be able to stop it. You should, unless you're the Michigan Wolverines defense. The Badgers throw one second half pass and literally ran over Michigan's defense. Spare me about how Greg Robinson has to go. He has two Super Bowl rings and a national championship to his credit. It's the 3-3-5 and not Robinson that's screwing up the defense.

Illinois won the one way game to become bowl eligible. Congrats to Ron Zook for surviving to see another day on the sidelines in Champaign.

Iowa was an unwilling victim in its own horror movie once again. You know, Iowa holds the lead until late in the game only to see their opponent go the other way to score late in the game. Arizona, Wisconsin, Northwestern, and now Ohio State have pulled the same cruel trick on the Hawkeyes this year. Talk about being snakebit.

LSU got by Ole Miss in a wild one. A classic whoever has the ball last wins kind of game. The Tigers keep their BCS hopes alive.

Nevada steamrolled New Mexico State 52-6, setting up a Saturday showdown against Boise State. I know the WAC doesn't have the most elite teams but they will have three teams with 10 or more wins and they've quietly had a pretty good season as a whole.

Michigan State sleepwalked against Purdue, but came through when it needed to, to claim a 35-31 victory. Once again the Spartans came up with a big special teams play to help their cause. Denicos Allen blocked a punt to set up the winning score. They still have an outside shot at the Rose Bowl or BCS game.

USC was blown out by Oregon State, 36-7. Trojan fans should get used to this because there will be a talent drain and the losses will start mounting.

Nebraska coach Bo Pelini was put in timeout after his behavior in the Texas A&M game. Nebaraska chancellor Harvey Perlman and atheletic director Tom Osborne weren't too happy with the display. Pelini issued an apology to quarterback Taylor Martinez and apologized about the way he acted toward the referees. I can't blame him, the Huskers were flagged for 16 penalties.

Game of the week-Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma St.

Most intriguing game of the week-Nevada vs. Boise St.: Everyone wants to see if Boise can stop Colin Kaepernick and the pistol offense.  


                  

The NBA's D.A.T.: Delicate And Tender

After sitting here and thinking I came up with a list of NBA players that always have to miss time due to injury or some other ailment. Some call them injury prone, I call them D.A.T., delicate and tender. So here goes with the list. A few might be missing from this list, but I just got home from my day job so forgive me.

Vince Carter- The king of being delicate and tender. Any time he gets hurt, he has the look of a European soccer player or someone that just was shot. Right now he's a gametime decision for a knee injury that has no significant damage.

Jermaine O'Neal-Out right now with hamstring, back, and knee problems. A smorgasbord of injuries early in the season. Everyone knew about the but this? He hasn't been the same since the "Malice at the Palace" and when he donned the ski mask for his big contract.

Greg Oden- I kinda feel sorry for the big lug. Even when he started college ball he was behind because of a hand injury. That balky knee isn't doing him any problems. The Sam Bowie comparisions will always be there. Fortunately he's only 22 and has time to salvage his career.

Brandon Roy- Another player I feel sorry for. His knees are taking the same path as Oden's. The Trailblazers' medical staff has been under some scrutiny lately for the plethora of injuries on their roster.

Baron Davis or any L.A. Clipper- Go ahead, pick a Clipper, any Clipper. Most would pick Davis because of his poor conditioning, that leads to back and knee problems for him. He's out until at least Thanksgiving, unless the turkey puts him down for the count.

Luol Deng- He just seems to come down with something every year.

Andrew Bynum- When healthy you can see why he's one of the top centers in the league. Problem is he can never last a full season or a deep playoff run.

Grant Hill- He's just about worked himself off the list, due to most of his problems being in the past. Still going strong in his later years.

Leon Powe- He's a hard worker so I won't rip him too bad. He's just had bad luck with knees throughout his career. This problem goes back to his freshman year in college. More bad luck than being a wuss.


Tracy McGrady-Obviously not the same since microfracture surgery. Every time it seems like he's ready to come back, he does more hard time on the injured list. Everyone knows he's not explosive anymore and he must reinvent his game to extend his career.

T.J Ford- I thought he could've been a solid point guard. He now finds himself chained to the Indiana Pacers' bench. He was diagnosed with spinal stenosis in high school and it has followed him to the NBA. Every time I see him take a hard foul, I hope we don't have to see him go out on a stretcher.

Yao Ming- That bum foot has cost him and the Rockets a lot of games. I don't mean to down him but you simply can't count on him. He's talking retirement if the foot doesn't improve. If I'm in the front office, I say goodbye if his contract comes off the books and start over.

Kenyon Martin- Sometimes you think of what if with this guy. Jason Kidd made him an All-Star and got him his big money deal. It seems like he's spent more time on the sidelines than on the court since he came out of college. Somehow he retains a sliver of explosiveness that will forever keep him in the league. Also he is one of the legitimate tough guys in the NBA. Just ask Tim Thomas and Tracy McGrady.