Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd is picking Texas A&M over Alabama

You don't normally catch college players picking a winner in a big game, especially when there's a slight possibility that you could face one of those teams later on down the road.

That didn't stop Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd from picking Texas A&M over Alabama in this weekend's game of the week.

“Honestly? I got A&M,” said Boyd, whose No. 3 Tigers have Saturday off. “A lot of people say Saban won’t be beat twice; it’s at A&M. It’s going to be a competitive game. It’s going to be a fun game. I’m going to watch it. It’s going to be an intriguing game.”

I'm sure Nick Saban will have the Tide ready to go for this 'revenge' game, but it won't be easy for both teams.

If Clemson and Alabama happen to meet for the national title I'm sure Saban will make sure his team remembers that Boyd picked A&M over the Tide.  
 

Oscar De La Hoya to enter treatment facility, will miss Alvarez-Mayweather fight

Former world champion and the head of Golden Boy promotions Oscar De La Hoya says he will be checking into an undisclosed treatment facility for reasons unknown and won't be attending the Floyd Mayweather - Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez fight which he is promoting.

De La Hoya previously went through rehabilitation in 2011 for alcohol and cocaine abuse.

De La Hoya released this statement:

"Canelo Alvarez and I have big fights coming up this weekend. His is the ring and mine in treatment.

"I will not be at the fight to cheer Canelo to victory since I have voluntarily admitted myself into a treatment facility.

"I explained this to Canelo and he understood that my health and longterm recovery from my disease must come first.

"Thank you for your understanding. I ask for your support and privacy during this difficult time for me and my family."

You have to hope De La Hoya can win his battles with his personal demons. He was a great champion in the ring and hopefully he can continue to be one in retirement.

I don't know how it'll affect Alvarez, but it has to be in the back of his mind going into the biggest fight of his career.

Hopefully De La Hoya can overcome this obstacle.

Texas fires defensive coordinator Manny Diaz

A few short years ago defensive coordinator Manny Diaz was a hot name. His Mississippi State defense had manhandled Michigan and the electrifying Denard Robinson in the Gator Bowl.

Diaz parlayed his one year success with the Bulldogs into the Texas Longhorns defensive coordinator job and big things were expected with Diaz and all the blue chip talent in Austin.

Today Diaz has been relieved of his duties as defensive coordinator and has been replaced by former coordinator Greg Robinson who was an analyst at the Longhorn Network. This was after BYU shredded the Longhorn defense for 550 yards on the ground in a 40-21 loss to the Cougars. The Longhorns gave up 679 yards altogether.

 “Our performance on defense last night was unacceptable, and we need to change that,”Mack Brown said. “Greg will be here tonight and get with the staff and players to start preparing for Ole Miss. He will be running our defense immediately. We’re very fortunate that Greg has been around, watched all of our practice video and has a good scouting report moving forward. His familiarity with the staff and players should make for a smooth transition. He knows this place, did a terrific job in leading our defense before, and I’m excited to have him back on the field. We’re back at it and working hard to beat Ole Miss this weekend.”

Robinson last run with the Longhorns ended in 2004 when he took the Syracuse job. Robinson also served as Michigan's defensive coordinator for two seasons in which he was unfairly blamed for their performance despite having to coach a 4-2-5 scheme shoved down his throat.

“This is a tough deal for everyone involved, but I love The University of Texas, and Coach Brown has been wonderful to me,” Robinson said. “I’ll do anything I can to help him, so when he called, I told him I’d be there today. I know the staff, have a lot of respect for them and am excited for the challenge moving forward. I’ve been around the team a lot, watched all of their film and have been self scouting and scouting opponents since I came on board in July. Because of Longhorn Network, I’ve also been able to see these guys for two to three years and am very familiar with the personnel.”

Hopefully for Brown, Robinson can get this defense playing up to it's potential. If not it may be Brown whi gets the pink slip.

UCLA receiver Nick Pasquale dies after being hit by a vehicle

Unfortunately, there’s extremely tragic and sad news coming out of Los Angeles Sunday afternoon.

UCLA wide receiver Nick Pasquale died early Sunday morning after being struck by a vehicle.

Pasquale was on foot when a vehicle hit him at 1:27 a.m. on Camino De Los Mares, west of Calle Nuevo in San Clemente, according to the release. He was pronounced dead at the scene, said Lt. Jeff Hallock, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

The vehicle was identified as a Mercedes sedan and was heading westbound on Camino De Los Mares at the time of the accident, Hallock said. The driver stopped at the scene and called police to report the incident, Hallock added.

There is an ongoing investigation of the incident but the driver of the vehicle has not been cited or arrested.

St. Louis Blues will name Brett Hull as team vice president

Brett Hull started his NHL career with the St. Louis Blues and now he's coming back home.

Hull will be welcomed back to the franchise when the Blues will officially name him as the team vice president.

The club will introduce Hull at a press conference set for 6:16 p.m. at Scottrade Center. It will be open to the public, which is asked to enter through the atrium area of the building.

As the Post-Dispatch reported Thursday night, Hull is rejoining the Blues as a vice president who will focus his attention on the business side of the organization. He will report to Bruce Affleck, who last week had his job title changed to president of business operations.

‘‘If that’s the case (Hull rejoining the Blues), I think it’s awesome,” winger T.J. Oshie said Friday. “Obviously (Hull is) probably one of the most well-known players in town here, an unbelievable guy ... a great team guy who knows the players’ side of the game probably a lot better than most people. It will be great to have him up (in the front office).”

Hull played his first 11 NHL seasons with the Blues and had 527 of his 741 career goals there. Hull also won two Stanley Cups as a member of the Dallas Stars and Detroit Red Wings.

Manti Te'o ruled out this week for the season opener

San Diego Chargers rookie linebacker Manti Te'o has been ruled out for the season opener against the Houston Texans.

Te'o sprained his foot in the preseason opener and was thought to be returning to the field in a week. He hasn't practiced since the injury and has been in a walking boot and occasionally using crutches.

Fans waiting to see if Te'o was worth the second round pick the Chargers spent on him will have to wait to find out.

Miami Heat might take a flier on Michael Beasley

Michael Beasley's NBA career started in Miami and he might be returning there.

 Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported that the Miami Heat might be interested in bringing in  Beasley.

 The two-time defending NBA champion Miami Heat are considering the possibility of bringing back troubled free-agent forward Michael Beasley, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

Several of the Heat's key veteran players are supportive of the signing of Beasley, and he has a strong interest in returning to the franchise responsible for taking him with the second overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft, sources told Yahoo.

No offer has been made and no deal is considered imminent, sources said.

Beasley was bought out of his contract with the Phoenix Suns despite having a wealth of talent on a terrible team. Beasley was charged with marijuana possession in August and has had issues with marijuana in the past.

Beasley is still young enough to salvage a his NBA career and the Heat are good enough and have a strong enough locker room to handle any troubles Beasley could bring. beasley wouldn't be asked to do much except be a solid role player off the bench and maybe spell LeBron James at small forward every now and then. He wouldn't be asked to be a savior or a franchise cornerstone, he would just be able to focus on basketball.

This  deal isn't in the works as of now and don't expect it to be done anytime soon.