TGS 2007 Football Preview Bonus: NFL Fantasy Forecast!

DALLAS...The Cowboys can pat themselves on the back for not having to waste a high draft choice to find their future QB in Tony Romo, who emerged as a fantasy force soon after taking over the starting job from Drew Bledsoe last Halloween. Romo (left) ended with 19 TD passes in a little more than half season of work, and even though his production tailed off in the late going, we’d still rate him near the upper tier of fantasy QBs. Keep in mind, however, that new HC Wade Phillips has pulled the reins in QBs in his most-recent head coaching jobs (John Elway was became noticeably more conservative when Phillips took over the Broncos in ‘93, and Wade opted for Rob Johnson over a livewire Doug Flutie later in the decade at Buffalo), so Romo is going to have to cut down on his penchant for mistakes that became problematic late in ‘06. Just in case, Phillips and Jerry Jones have brought in vet Brad Johnson in reserve. Of course, we have no idea what the next chapter might be in the ongoing Terrell Owens soap opera, except that for now he remains on the roster. If he’s still there in the fall, don’t be surprised is he posts more big numbers (85 catches and 13 TDs in ‘06), as might fellow wideout Terry Glenn (70 receptions LY) & underrated TE Jason Witten (64 catches in ‘06). The RB pair of Julius Jones (1084 YR LY) and Marion Barber III (654 YR and 16 TDs in ‘06) should also be high on fantasy shopping lists. Fantasy ratings: Owens-8, Romo-6, Barber-6, Jones-6, Glenn-6, Witten-5, WR Patrick Crayton-2, PK Martin Gramatica-1.     Read more...

TGS 2007 Football Preview Bonus: Cleveland Browns

We’re talking about the option offense. Air Force’s recent abandonment of the formation, after Army did the same several years ago following HC Bob Sutton’s dismissal, has left Navy as the lone option survivor in the service academy ranks, if not the entirety of college football. (West Virginia still utilizes a variation of it, there are elements of it in Louisiana-Lafayette’s “fire drill” attack, and a handful include a version in their overall packages, but no others use it as the base offense anymore.) Why, even longtime ground gobblers Nebraska and Rice have adopted nouveau “spreads” as their preferred modes of attack. But, like Nick at Nite reruns, the Mids remain an option throwback, and look a good bet to win their fourth NCAA rushing crown in five years this fall because of it. It’s a credit to clever HC Paul Johnson (left), who seems in no hurry to leave the academy. Why should he? After all, the admirals and superintendents at Annapolis take care of Johnson (whose contract reportedly exceeds $1 mill per year, or 2½ times that of President Bush) as if he were one of the Navy’s prized Polaris submarines.     Read more...

TGS 2007 Football Preview Bonus: Houston Texans

HOUSTON — Hey, if politicians can change their image, why can’t the Houston Texans? After all, it’s no fun being the NFL equivalent of the Atlanta Hawks, or rivaling the Texas A&M Aggies as the butt of jokes in the region. Although granted a few mulligans due to their expansion status five years ago, the Texans have still underachieved, failing to reach .500 or coming close to giving their win-starved fans a whiff of a playoff chase. Not exactly what the locals bargained for when welcoming their new team in 2002. But with the failed Charlie Casserly era now behind them, are they going to get any closer to the promised land of the postseason this fall?

Here’s saying they just might. As long as we withhold judgement for passing on Vince Young and Reggie Bush in favor of DE Mario Williams in the 2006 draft, the organization has made few shaky moves since the original brain trust of Casserly and HC Dom Capers departed after the dismal 2-14 disaster of 2005.     Read more...

TGS 2007 Football Preview Bonus: Cleveland Browns

CLEVELAND—When things aren’t going well for a team, front office types can often come up with the darnedest excuses for the continued losing. Take Cleveland GM Phil Savage, for example. Hardly comfortable that his Browns regressed (from 6-10 to 4-12) in their second year under his head coach, Romeo Crennel (left), Savage became quite creative this offseason when looking for scapegoats. Would you believe some old Cleveland Hall of Famers? “They (the current players) are being measured to a Jim Brown, Otto Graham, or Lou Groza,” said Savage. “It’s a lot of pressure to live up to, and when it doesn’t go well, we have to figure out the equation.” Savage added that a lot of his players weren’t even born when those legends were playing, but might as well have included the parents of some of the present-day Browns, and himself, too.

But we doubt even the most diehard old-time Cleveland fans are expecting reincarnations of Jim Brown and Otto Graham these days. They’d probably be just as happy with the second comings of Bill Nelsen, Mike Phipps, Bo Scott, Milt Morin, and Fair Hooker.     Read more...

TGS 2007 Football Preview Bonus: Stanford Cardinal

STANFORD—Rose Bowl trips and Top Ten finishes have never been prerequisites in Palo Alto, where Stanford’s wine-and-cheese crowd will usually be satisfied with a competitive product that occasionally challenges for Pac-10 honors and wins more than it loses vs. Big Game rival Cal. But woe to the coaches who can’t meet those minimum requirements, as the Cardinal has proven as impatient with underachieving mentors as George Steinbrenner once was with Yankee managers. Since, there have been eleven different coaching regimes on The Farm (counting Bill Walsh’s two tenures), and though The Genius and a few others moved to more prominent jobs, a greater number were dumped, some unceremoniously so. The latest to walk the plank was Walt Harris, jettisoned just 2 years into his tenure by AD Bob Bowlsby after a 1-11 mark LY—and another loss to Cal.

Enter Jim Harbaugh (right), the former Michigan and longtime NFL QB who cut his head coaching teeth at I-AA University of San Diego the past three seasons with remarkable success (try a sparkling 29-6!) while featuring an explosive attack. Moreover, the contrast between the outgoing Harbaugh and the introverted Harris is about as stark as the difference between C-SPAN and MTV.     Read more...

TGS 2007 Football Preview Bonus: Cal Golden Bears

CALIFORNIA—Let’s cut right to the chase at Cal. First, is this the year the Golden Bears finally break through, unseat USC as the kingpin of the Pac-10, and seriously contend for national honors? And second, how long is HC Jeff Tedford (left) really going to remain in Berkeley?

As for the latter, despite constant rumors, Tedford seems remarkably content, having stirred heretofore somnambulant boosters into chipping in for the sort of big-bucks contract once deemed unfathomable at this outpost, not to mention getting commitments for the type of facility upgrades no one dare used to imagine at Cal. Sources believe that if Tedford ever bolts, it will be to the NFL, although the rumor mill will likely continue to whirr.     Read more...

TGS 2007 Football Preview Bonus: Pittsburg Steelers

PITTSBURGH—Outside of Jack Murtha (right), John Dingell, John Conyers, and a handful of other long-serving Congressmen, there aren’t many other jobs with the sort of security that goes along with being head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Following Bill Cowher’s retirement after 15 years on the job, and the preceding 23 campaigns on Chuck Noll’s watch, ex-Vikings d.c. Mike Tomlin becomes only the third coach of the Steelers in 39 seasons. Although it might surprise members of the ESPN generation that things weren’t always so stable in Pittsburgh. Indeed, when Noll was hired in 1969, he became the fourth Steelers coach in a 6-season span that also included Buddy Parker, Mike Nixon, and Bill Austin, all dismissed. And oldtimers might remember that Pittsburgh was once the laughingstock franchise of the NFL for decades, never reaching the playoffs until Terry Bradshaw, Mean Joe Greene & Co. turned the trick in 1972. And that prior to those glory years of the Steel Curtain defense and Franco Harris’ Italian Army, kindly owner Art Rooney was regarded as the most-gracious loser in American sport.

Enough of the trip down memory lane. Anyway, only guys as old as Murtha and Dingell can vividly recall the days of the Steelers as the NFL’s punching bag, and the highly-regarded Tomlin has no intention of revisiting that dark period in franchise history anytime soon.     Read more...

TGS 2007 Football Preview Bonus: New York Giants

NEW YORK GIANTS—It’s’ no secret that the rumor mill whirrs faster in New York than anywhere else. The tabloidy Daily News and Newsday, not to mention a variety of other dailies in the tri-state, make sure of it. And, indeed, they had all but buried Giants HC Tom Coughlin (left) after last season’s team wheezed into the playoffs at 8-8 and was immediately dumped by the Eagles in the wildcard game. To their chagrin, however, management pulled a surprise, and instead of giving Coughlin the boot, rewarded him with a one-year extension. Still, that only caused a temporary pause for the rumors. And since coaching chatter goes with the territory in New York (after all, they’ve been talking about replacements for Yankee manager Joe Torre for the last five years), it’s full speed ahead again as the new (or is it old?) topic is already on the table: who is likely to succeed Coughlin...in 2008. Names from Bill Cowher to Bill Parcells to Charlie Weis have already been prominently mentioned in the speculative Giants coaching search, which is nonetheless considered a fait accompli by many in the Big Apple.     Read more...

TGS 2007 Football Preview Bonus: Preseason TOP 25!

1-SOUTHERN CAL...Are the Trojans about to return to “untouchable” territory as they were in the Matt Leinart-Reggie Bush days? Maybe not, but there’s still more reasons to rank SC on top of the pile than anyone else. Ten of them, in particular, that being the number of defensive starters HC Pete Carroll has returning from a voracious, talent-laden stop unit that found its sea legs late last season when Carroll mostly abandoned the 3-4 looks and went back to a more traditional 4-3. And, presto, the “D” suddenly began to terrorize enemy QBs again, and DL studs Lawrence Jackson & Sedrick Ellis, plus arguably the nation’s best LB corps, are back to wreak more havoc in the fall. Of course, the offense figures to be okay, too, with QB John David Booty (left) on a short list of serious Heisman contenders, and a plethora of high school A-A RBs itching for a chance to shine. Meanwhile, WRs Patrick Turner & Vidal Hazelton figure to be the next in the assembly line of NFL-bound Trojan wideouts. Expect to hear more late-season chatter about Carroll moving to the NFL, but as long as that doesn’t become a distraction (and it hasn’t the past few years), a third BCS title game in four years beckons.     Read more...

TGS 2007 Football Preview Bonus: Cincinnati Bengals

CINCINNATI - Discouraging as last season was for HC Marvin Lewis (left) in Cincinnati, maybe finishing at .500 was just about right for last year’s Bengals, who bracketed their roller-coaster campaign with three wins off the bat and three losses to close things out. Along the way, Cincy blew more games in agonizing fashion than the Reds' bullpen, none more so than the last two regular-season affairs against Denver and Pittsburgh, when wins in either would have qualified the Bengals for the playoffs. Not to mention off-field embarrassments that might even make Mike Tyson cringe.     Read more...

TGS 2007 Football Preview Bonus: Washington Redskins

WASHINGTON—Much like the legendary Bud Wilkinson’s thoroughly forgettable return to the sidelines as coach of the 1978-79 St. Louis Cardinals, and Bill Walsh’s uneventful comeback at Stanford between 1992-94, we suspect that future generations of football historians won’t recall much from Joe Gibbs’ (left) second tour of duty as coach of the Redskins, which lurches into its fourth season this fall. With an unimpressive mark of 22-28 since ‘04, there hasn’t been much similarity between “Gibbs: The Sequel” and his wildly successful first run as Washington coach, which lasted 12 seasons between 1981-92 and included three Super Bowl trophies. So much for that supposed “three-year plan” in which Gibbs would restore the glory of Redskin football in D.C.

To the surprise, however, of many onlookers who thought Gibbs might quietly bow out after last year’s disappointing 5-11 mark, the Hall-of-Famer has indeed decided to give it one more try this fall. Perhaps the thought of going out on such a sour note spurred Gibbs to give it one more go in order to leave on his own terms. Many NFC East observers admit that Gibbs’ stature is probably the only thing preventing notoriously impatient owner Dan Snyder, a lifelong Skins fans and longtime Gibbs admirer, from hitting the eject button. Sources say the hard-to-identify “plus” of this arrangement is that as long as Gibbs is around, Snyder at least won’t meddle in on-field affairs as he has done with previous coaching regimes, although, a la Jerry Jones, he believes Gibbs and Player Personnel Director Vinny Cerrato listen to his input on personnel matters. Come on now, do they really?     Read more...

European Soccer Weekly Bonus... Curtain Drawn on 2006-2007

Well, we’ve made it through another European football season!

Technically, however, the 2006-07 campaign still has a pulse. As we go to press, Spain’s crackling domestic race has two more rounds to go, with three teams still very much in the frame for the championship. The Liga festivities end on June 16. And, for good measure, there’s a Cup final still to be played in Spain, too, as the Copa del Rey won’t take place until June 23. Still, for all intents and purposes, the 2006-07 season is history.

How do we rate the overall campaign? To be fair, it probably wasn’t the best, and certainly not the the worst, season we can remember. Indeed, we finally had some good, down-to-the-wire domestic races this year, a far cry from many recent campaigns in which it was hard to find much drama at the top of any league. As usual, the relegation fights, for the most part, proved compelling viewing. And though it might not have been the best European season we can remember, the Champions League had its share of highlight moments, as did the UEFA Cup. Plus, for the first time this millennium, we have a repeat champion in Europe, as Sevilla has gone back-to-back in the UEFA Cup.     Read more...

TGS 2007 Football Preview Bonus: Philadelphia Eagles

ARIZONA—They’re still playing football at Arizona, aren’t they? Yes indeed, although some fans could be excused for losing track of the Wildcat gridders, who have been off of the national radar longer than Arsenio Hall and are still looking for their first bowl bid of the new millennium. But even those familiar with UA football might not recognize the product 4th-year HC Mike Stoops plans to put on the field in Tucson this fall.

Simply, the Wildcats are going high-tech offensively, importing new o.c. Sonny Dykes from Texas Tech with a directive to make UA’s attack look as much like recent Red Raider versions as possible. Get ready for Lubbock-style football in Tucson, with the new-look Cat “Air Raid” operating out of the spread, with plenty of screens, slants, and lobs to receivers at the back of the endzone, with a dash of delays and draws from the new 1-back sets to keep defenses honest. A radical departure indeed from the many recent sleep-inducing Arizona offenses (such as ‘06) that have been struggling to score points since the early days of the Clinton administration.     Read more...

TGS 2007 Football Preview Bonus: Jacksonville Jaguars

JACKSONVILLE—As far as we know, Susan Lucci (left) hasn’t relocated to Jacksonville. At least not yet. But she might be welcomed at the NFL Network to offer some insight into what was the league’s best offseason soap opera, courtesy of the hometown Jaguars. Along the way, the QB situation involving main characters Byron Leftwich, David Garrard, Quinn Gray, HC Jack Del Rio, former offensive coordinator Carl Smith, and even a cameo from Brady Quinn offered more storylines than six month’s worth of All My Children episodes. And it would be no surprise if there aren’t more twists and turns to this saga in Jacksonville before training camp begins in July.

The drama really began last season, when Del Rio decided to bench Leftwich (slowed by ankle woes) after six games, handing the job to Garrard, whose performances hung in the so-so range the next 10 weeks. Until the finale at Kansas City, that is, when he was pulled by Del Rio for the little-used Gray, the former Florida A&M Rattler who had played in just one game since 2003, but who provided an unexpected spark by leading 3 late TD drives.     Read more...

TGS 2007 Football Preview Bonus: Philadelphia Eagles

PHILADELPHIA - It’s been an uncomfortable offseason for Eagles HC Andy Reid. And, unlike Phillies’ manager Charlie Manuel, it didn’t involve getting into a near-fight with WIP radio’s controversial sports talk host Howard Eskin (left). Although Eskin and many Eagles fans were quick to put Reid on the grill, much as they did after his questionable clock management issues in the Super Bowl two years ago, following his curious decision-making in the final minutes of the playoff loss at New Orleans. With under two minutes to play and trailing 27-24, Reid decided to punt on a 4th-and-15 (after lining up to go for it on 4th-and-10 before a 5-yard penalty) from his own 40-yard line, and the Eagles never saw the ball again. Curious, indeed. But it was also minor stuff compared to the family matters Andy had to tend to a few weeks later, when he took a 5-week leave of absence and contemplated retirement after the drug-related arrests and rehabilitation of oldest sons Garrett & Britt.     Read more...

TGS 2007 Football Preview Bonus: New Orleans Saints

OREGON STATE—Rescue-wise, it might have been the football equivalent of Apollo 13. We’re talking about Oregon State’s gridiron fortunes last season, and HC Mike Riley’s job status in particular, neither of which appeared too promising after the Beavers broke a slow 2-3 from the gate. But while many were busy preparing blindfolds for Riley (left) and his staff, something happened on the way to the gallows. The Beavers effectively converted a 7-10 split by winning 8 of their next 9, including a rousing 33-31 home upset win over powerhouse USC, a wild “Civil War” triumph over hated Oregon, and a thrilling 39-38 comeback win over Missouri in the Sun Bowl. Suddenly, Riley was presiding over a team with the second-most wins (10) in Beaver history, and any OSU fans still bent on complaining had to turn turned their attention to HC Jay John and the struggling basketball program instead. Riley, indeed, had dodged the proverbial bullet.     Read more...

TGS 2007 Football Preview Bonus: UCLA Bruins

BALTIMORE—Let’s get right to the point in Baltimore. Since the Ravens continue to operate as if the future is now, are they really any closer to a championship level than they were a year ago, when they ran away with the AFC North crown but were bounced in the Division Round of the playoffs by Indianapolis?

The answer? We’re not sure.

We do know, however, that Baltimore enters 2007 with much the same look it had a year ago. GM Ozzie Newsome and HC Brian Billick didn’t blow up the roster after that loss to the Colts; indeed, they did a pretty clever job keeping most of the core in tact, as 18 of 22 starters return from last season despite some salary cap limitations, an indication that each believes the team as it existed a year ago still has one more serious playoff run in it. For the most part, the defense again looks to be Super Bowl quality. As for the offense? That’s another matter entirely, although we think we know in which area where the questions have to begin.     Read more...

TGS 2007 Football Preview Bonus: New Orleans Saints

NEW ORLEANS—In the bigger scheme of things, we’re not quite sure what to make of the rollicking reception the Saints received in their hometown last season. It was certainly a year-long party inside the revamped Superdome, as New Orleans experienced an unexpected thrill ride with its football team just a year after the team, city, and region were thrown for a terrible loop by Hurricane Katrina. The feel-good factor carried over to the media, many of its members attaching Tex Schramm’s old Dallas Cowboys “America’s team” label to the new and exciting Saints, who rebounded from their trying 2005 existence and makeshift headquarters in San Antonio to the NFC South crown and all of the way to the conference title game. As fun as everything was last year, however, more serious observers wondered about priorities. Lots of locals used their FEMA recovery money to party and buy football tickets while much of the city (still with only half its pre-Katrina inhabitants) continued to resemble a ghost town, especially the nearby devastated ninth ward.     Read more...

TGS 2007 Football Preview Bonus: UCLA Bruins

UCLA - What gives in Westwood these days? Why are UCLA football fans so much happier after last season’s modest 7-6 mark than they were a year ago when coming off a 10-2 campaign that matched a school-record for single-season wins? The reason is simple—one of last year’s triumphs was a 13-9 stunner at the expense of mucho disliked USC, ending a painful 7-year losing streak in the bitter crosstown series and keeping the Trojans out of the BCS title game. Indeed, most UCLA fans seemed to care less that the Bruins laid an egg in the subsequent Emerald Bowl vs. Florida State. Local order, in their minds, at least, had been partially restored.

Therein, however, was a valuable lesson for HC Karl Dorrell; like it or not, most UCLA supporters would rather have a 7 or 8-win football team that beats SC than a 10-win squad that serves as roadkill vs. the Trojans, as did the 2005 edition. Predecessors Terry Donahue and Pepper Rodgers will confirm as much. Indeed, Dorrell can probably maintain a solid base of support in Westwood as long as he can hold his own against hated Troy.     Read more...

TGS 2007 Football Preview Bonus: Denver Broncos

DENVER—We have our own theory on why HC Mike Shanahan (left) made the abrupt switch from Jake Plummer to rookie Jay Cutler at QB late in the 2006 season. Follow along. Plummer’s future in Denver was officially short-term once the Broncos made Cutler their top choice in last year’s draft. It was hoped that “the Snake” might be able to lead one more deep playoff run after reaching the AFC title game the previous season, and perhaps keep the seat warm for Cutler the way Drew Brees had done in San Diego for Philip Rivers. But by the Thanksgiving loss at Kansas City, Plummer was struggling badly, and Shanahan reckoned that as long as the Broncos probably weren’t going anywhere in the playoffs, he might as well give Cutler his baptism right then and there. If Denver still made the postseason, fine and dandy, it would further aid the Cutler maturity process, and get him even better prepared for 2007. If not, at least the Vanderbilt whiz would have some real experience under his belt when the following season began, when he was slated to unseat Jake anyway.

Now, we can’t be sure Shanahan would explain things in exactly the same manner. Especially since it’s hard to tell what he thinks, no matter what the subject, from the sound-bite answers he routinely provides at his press conferences. But we have an idea they were pretty similar. After all, we receommended the same thing, even though the Broncos ended up missing the playoffs when losing their finale in overtime vs. San Francisco.     Read more...

TGS 2007 Football Preview Bonus: Dallas Cowboys

DALLAS - Quick, how many NFL head coaching jobs has Wade Phillips had in his career? The answer? His new assignment in Dallas makes five (although two of them were of the interim variety), qualifying Phillips as sort of a pro football version of noted coaching vagabonds such as Cotton Fitzsimmons and Gene Shue. And it’s not as if Phillips (a modest 48-42 in his career and without a playoff win) keeps getting jobs because he’s won big at every stop along the way. Already terminated in New Orleans, Denver, Atlanta, and Buffalo, there’s probably a good chance Cowboys owner Jerry Jones will make it five for five (dismissals, that is) sometime down the road. After all, it was Wade’s dad Bum who once said, “There are two types of coaches, them that have just been fired and them that are going to be fired.” Little did Bum know how prophetic that would prove in regard to his son.

Then how did Phillips get another head coaching opportunity? The pattern has repeated itself in the past, wherein Phillips does a decent job somewhere as a defensive coordinator (his real calling, perhaps), and earns another shot based upon that success. Most recently, Phillips was in charge of the much-improved defenses in San Diego.     Read more...

TGS 2007 Football Preview Bonus: Boise State Broncos

BOISE STATE— That one, friends, is going to be hard to top.

We’re talking about Boise State’s magical unbeaten run last season that culminated in the breathtaking 43-42, “instant classic” overtime thriller vs. Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, when Bronco HC Chris Petersen dipped deep into his bag of tricks (try a hook-and-ladder, HB option pass, and old statue of liberty at the death of the game) to stun the Sooners. To top things off, star RB Ian Johnson proposed to his cheerleader girlfriend (who accepted, by the way) during Chris Myers’ postgame interview on Fox. Well, we suppose Boise’s 2007 team could theoretically one-up the ‘06 squad by winning the BCS title contest, then have the game MVP propose to Salma Hayek in front of the sideline cameras, but let’s not get too crazy here.     Read more...

TGS 2007 Football Preview Bonus: Indianapolis Colts

INDIANAPOLIS - So, how about it? Can Indianapolis go back-to-back with Super Bowl wins as nemesis New England did a few years ago, and start to get some mention in the pantheon of all-time great teams? We’re not sure, but we guarantee that cool Colts HC Tony Dungy (left) isn’t going to get carried away by the hype. After all, Dungy once played for a coach who knew something about winning back-to-back Super Bowls, Pittsburgh’s legendary Chuck Noll, who passed along some sage advice to a young Dungy long ago. “He (Noll) never really talked about repeating,” said Dungy. “He always talked about every year being like a new model of car. It was still a Corvette, but the ‘77 wasn’t a ‘78.”

That Corvette analogy isn’t a bad one for the Colts, but the different model years might be even more appropriate as Indy prepares to defend its Super Bowl crown this fall. Although shrewd GM Bill Polian has usually been able to minimize losses in free agency by replacing departed players from within and the draft, and by dealing with free agents on his own roster rather than those on other teams, he’s really got his work cut out for him this season despite managing to re-sign his most important offseason priority, impact DE Dwight Freeney.     Read more...

TGS 2007 Football Preview Bonus: Tennessee Titans

TENNESSEE—Not a lot of good comes from hanging out at strip clubs in Las Vegas, especially when someone decides to pull a gun. But no one was too surprised when it was revealed that the Titans’ own trouble magnet, DB Adam “Pacman" Jones (left), was in the middle of such shenanigans last winter. Although that was just the latest off-field escapade for Jones, it also turned out to be the last disciplinary straw, as he was subsequently hit with a one-year suspension by commissioner Roger Goodell. The only wonder is that it took so long. With the NFL now adopting something akin to a “three strikes and ‘yer out” policy, Pacman has already accumulated an Adam Dunn-like number of Ks, questioned by police no fewer than ten times, with five arrests, all since being drafted in April of 2005. That’s enough to get suspended from Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s posse, much less the NFL.

The practical impact of Pacman’s suspension, however, changed the offseason priorities for new Titans GM Mike Reinfeldt (a former DB for Bum Phillips’ teams when the franchise was located in Houston). Remember, Pacman (who was hoping to get the suspension reduced by a handful of games as we went to press) is an impact CB and explosive punt returner (3 return TDs LY!), a rare playmaker indeed, and trying to fill his spot suddenly became a priority in free agency and the draft, forcing other problem areas back in the queue. And unless Vince Young can play every position on the field (and we wouldn’t put it past him), the Titans have plenty of holes to fill.     Read more...

TCU Horned Frogs

TCU—To put the recent TCU gridiron renaissance into some perspective, consider the following. Five Top 25 finishes in the past 7 seasons. Eight bowl games in the past 9 years. An 8-1 mark the last nine games vs. teams from BCS conferences. And the Horned Frogs are one of only five teams (Boise State, LSU, Oklahoma, and Southern Cal the others) to record 11 or more wins in 3 of the last 4 seasons.

Indeed, there’s nothing “mid-major” about the powerhouse program HC Gary Patterson has assembled in Fort Worth. And we’ll find out where TCU stacks up against the really big boys in early September, with a tasty week two date set against Texas at Austin. If we were Mack Brown, we’d be a bit concerned.     Read more...

World Cup 2010 Woes?

The clock is ticking on the 2006-07 European season. The majority of domestic races have been sorted out, and we now know that AC Milan will be meeting Liverpool (in a deiicious rematch of their 2005 matchup at Istanbul) in the Champions League final at Athens May 23.

But the World Cup is never far from our minds, and developments in the last few weeks have thrust Copa Mundial front and center once more. And we suspect we might be hearing more news leading up to, and immediately after, the upcoming FIFA Congress. So, what really is going on with World Cup 2010, or, down the road a little further, World Cup 2014?

Despite our many complaints about Sepp Blatter, we have never labeled the man a dummy. Calculating, yes. Misguided at times, absolutely. But the Seppmeister is nobody’s fool, which is why we weren’t surprised when Blatter went public with his “contingency plan” for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Blatter’s comments to BBC TV’s Inside Sport program broadcast April 30, were reported on the BBC Web site (www.bbc.co.uk) the same day.    Read more...

Notre-Dame Fighting Irish

NOTRE DAME—Much ado about...nothing? Forgive us for playing the role of special prosecutor in regard to Charlie Weis’ two years at Notre Dame, but does the performance really match the hype? We’re still not sure.

Never mind the BCS appearances the past two seasons. We’re still looking for a real signature win in the Weis regime. A 17-10 success over disappointing Michigan in ‘05? Bouncing a sub-.500 Tennessee the same year? Last year’s romp past rebuilding Penn State in week two? A pair of wins over Navy, which hasn’t beaten the Irish since JFK was in the White House? Now, we grant Weis a signature loss in his Notre Dame tenure, that 34-31 “instant classic” against USC and Matt Leinart (and his Reggie Bush-assisted TD) in ‘05. Still, we don’t think we’ve seen a reputation built as much by one defeat since Rocky Balboa lost a split decision to Apollo Creed in Rocky I.     Read more...

TGS 2007 Football Preview Bonus: Washington Huskies

WASHINGTON - The long-spoiled Washington football diehards aren’t used to all the losing their Huskies have been doing the last few years. Indeed, it’s been four non-bowl seasons in a row, the longest UW postseason drought in over 30 years, or since the days when the old Pac-8 allowed only its champion to go bowling. So, perhaps to satisfy win-starved Husky Nation, the school will be retroactively honoring its 1960 Rose Bowl winners as that year’s national champions when USC visits Seattle September 29. For good measure, they’ll be wearing throwback uniforms to the Jim Owens Era that afternoon. But whether Ty Willingham’s (left) third edition bears any resemblance to the old glory days, or other U-Dub bowl squads from more recent memory, remains to be seen.

Much will depend on whether ballyhooed RS frosh QB Jake Locker (a local product from nearby Ferndale) is as good as advertised. Willingham resisted the temptation to use a year of Locker’s eligibility as a true frosh last fall despite a wave of injuries that decimated the Husky QB situation and derailed what looked to be a potential turnaround campaign (remember, U-Dub was sitting at 4-2 at midseason and looked a decent bet for a bowl berth when do-everything QB Isaiah Stanback went down for the count with a severe foot injury).    Read more...

NFL Player Rankings (week 16)

by Bruce Marshall, TGS EXTRA!!! Editor

QUARTERBACKS...1-Drew Brees, NO; 2-Tony Romo, Dall; 3-Peyton Manning, Indy; 4-Tom Brady, NE.; 5-Carson Palmer, Cincy; 6-Philip Rivers, SD; 7-Marc Bulger, StL; 8-Matt Hasselbeck, Sea; 9-Steve McNair, Balt; 10-Brett Favre, GB; 11-Chad Pennington, NYJ; 12-Alex Smith, SF; 13-Michael Vick, Atl (left); 14-Vince Young, Tenn; 15-Joey Harrington, Mia; 16-Eli Manning, NYG; 17-J.P. Losman, Buff; 18-Jake Delhomme*, Car; 19-Matt Leinart, Az; 20-Ben Rothlisberger, Pitt; 21-Charlie Frye*, Cle; 22-Rex Grossman, Chi; 23-Jay Cutler*, Den; 24-Jon Kitna, Det; 25-Jeff Garcia, Phil; 26-Trent Green, KC; 27-David Carr, Hou; 28-David Garrard, Jv; 29-Brad Johnson, Minn; 30-Aaron Brooks, Oak; 31-Jason Campbell, Wash; 32-Bruce Gradkowski, TB. *-check lineup or injury status     Read more...

European Soccer Review

While not always officially the “halfway mark” of the season, the Christmas/New Year's break has always been considered as much in European football. And while the importance of the dates are debatable, the turning of the calendar is always something of a benchmark for soccer fans in Europe. By this stage, the domestic races have taken shape, both at the top and bottom of the tables. Indeed, one of the most enduring Euro football adages about the Christmas break has to do with teams in the drop zone—those stuck in relegation spots at Christmas are supposedly doomed to finish the season in the same spot. Domestic Cup competitions (especially England’s FA Cup, when Premiership sides finally join the fray) always begin to heat up after New Year’s. The formalities of European “group play” competition in the Champions League and, more recently, the UEFA Cup are also in the rear-view mirror. In those competitions, the turning of the calendar means it’s now knockout elimination time, even though we have to wait until late February for the next dose of clashes in those competitions.    Read more...

2006 European Football - Legacy

Looking back, 2006 wasn't the best year in European football. Maybe is wasn't the worst, either, but, unfortunately, the negatives seem to outweigh the positives as we look back and recount the last 12 months.

We suspect future football historians will eventually judge 2006 rather harshly, too, and it wouldn't be altogether unjustified.

A pair of events this year will probably resonate for a good while, and likely recalled whenever soccer "circa 2006" is mentioned in the future. First, the tepid proceedings at the World Cup, which, despite achieving business and organizational success in Germany, proved to be rather disappointing on the field. Cynical play dominated the on-field action in Deutschland, and any memories of positive play at the World Cup were overshadowed by gamesmanship, some very shaky refereeing, and, of course, Zinedine Zidane's now-infamous head-butt against Marco Materazzi in the final match at Berlin. Hardly the sort of stuff to put into any soccer time capsule for upcoming generations to recall.     Read more...

NFL Player Rankings (week 10)

QUARTERBACKS...1-Peyton Manning, Indy (left); 2- Drew Brees, NO; 3-Donovan McNabb, Phil (left); 4-Marc Bulger, St.L.; 5-Tom Brady, NE; 6-Eli Manning, NYG; 7-Michael Vick, Atl; 8-Philip Rivers, SD; 9-Brett Favre, GB; 10-Jake Delhomme, Car; 11-Carson Palmer, Cin; 12-Tony Romo, Dall; 13-Rex Grossman, Chi; 14-Jon Kitna, Det.; 15-Alex Smith, SF; 16-Chad Pennington, NYJ; 17-Jake Plummer, Den; 18-Steve McNair, Balt; 19-Damon Huard*, KC; 20-Seneca Wallace*, Sea; 21-Brad Johnson, Minn; 22-Charlie Frye, Cle; 23-David Carr*, Hou; 24-Mark Brunell, Wash; 25-Ben Roethlisberger*, Pitt; 26-Joey Harrington*, Mia; 27-Byron Leftwich*, Jv; 28-J.P. Losman, Buff; 29-Bruce Gradkowski, TB; 30-Matt Leinart, Az; 31-Vince Young, Tenn; 32-David Garrard*, Jv; 33-Andrew Walter*, Oak; 34-Charlie Batch, Pitt*. *-check lineup or injury status    Read more...

NFL Football Matchups

CLEVELAND at PITTSBURGH (Thursday, December 7)...Steelers “over” 5-0 at Heinz Field TY, “over” 14-1-1 last 16 as host and “over” 34-10-1 last 45 at home. “Overs” 6-2 last 8 in series. Steel has won and covered last 6 in series. Tech edge-“Over” and Steelers, based on “totals” and series trends.

BALTIMORE at KANSAS CITY...KC “under” 3-1-1 last 5 TY, Ravens now “under” last 2 after “over” previous 4. Billick “under” 18-6 last 24 on road (“under” 3-2 away TY). Chiefs 4-2 vs. line at home TY, 11-3 since ‘05 as host. Tech edge-“Under” and Chiefs, based on “totals” and team trends.     Read more...

NFL Superbowl Overview

Following are "the bottom half" (21 thru 40) of our all-time Super Bowl ratings. We'll have next quartile (11-20) next week, and follow up with with the top ten in Super Bowl week!

21-VII, Miami 14 - Washington 7 (at Los Angeles)...Added significance because it was the final installment of the Dolphins’ perfect 17-0 season. But the game was mostly a bore after the Dolphins took control in the 1st half, with the “No-Name” defense throttling the Skins for most of the day. Became mildly interesting in the 4th Q after Garo Yepremian’s infamous flubbed FG and Mike Bass’ subsequent TD return, but that was about the only drama of the afternoon.    Read more...

NFL Playoffs History

Forgive us for reminiscing so often in recent weeks, but we at THE GOLD SHEET happen to be in a reflective mood these days, mainly because we’re celebrating our golden anniversary. And being around for 50 years allows us to have a unique historical perspective on events such as the NFL playoffs, as we remember the days when the pro football postseason bore little (or no) resemblance to the modern extravaganza it has become.

Believe it or not, for the first decade TGS was published, the pro football “playoffs” basically consisted of one game—the league championship battle. Remember, our first publishing season in 1957 even preceded the creation of the old AFL by three years. Although the NFL had rare conference playoff games in 1957 (Detroit, dramatically rallying from a 27-7 deficit, beating San Francisco 31-27 at old Kezar Stadium in the Western Conference playoff) and 1958 (the Giants shutting out the Browns to win the East at Yankee Stadium, 10-0, the week before their epic overtime battle vs. Johnny Unitas’ Baltimore Colts), one-and-done was the norm in the NFL and AFL playoffs through 1966. Moreover, the championship games were almost always contested before New Year’s—another pro football factoid that almost qualifies for “ancient” status, at least in comparison to the modern-day NFL and its TV “sweeps”-extended season that now stretches practically into mid-February!     Read more...

NFL Playoffs Review

We really should have known what to expect from the start!

Indeed, when THE GOLD SHEET began publishing in 1957, that season’s NFL championship game at Briggs Stadium was no nailbiter. Final score: Detroit 59, Cleveland 14. Lions QB Tobin Rote, in for an injured Bobby Layne, directed a relentless attack that posted a 31-7 halftime lead and kept its foot on the pedal in the second half. Rote, who would later QB the 1963 San Diego Chargers to an AFL title-game scoring record in a 51-10 win over the Boston Patriots, tossed 4 TD passes and ran for another score, while rookie Terry Barr (who would later gain more acclaim as a wide receiver) scored on a 19-yard interception return.    Read more...

NFL Football News

In many respects, the last week of the NFL regular season is different than the 16 pro football weekends that precede it. Not that it should cause handicappers to go into a state of panic. Indeed, adherence to traditional forecasting principles (such as identifying strengths and weaknesses of each side, fundamental matchups, personnel situations, psychological and technical considerations) is recommended as always.

But we might suggest altering the usual recipe just a bit for this week.

That’s because the last week of the NFL season often will more resemble the preseason than a normal regular-season weekend. Much like handicapping exhibition games, we suggest paying extra attention to personnel developments and lineup moves, especially involving quarterbacks (most announced in advance), leading up to the games. Keep in mind that several Week 17 contests will have no bearing on the standings or playoff picture. And it’s often the playoff-bound teams, especially those that can’t improve their postseason seeding prospects, that experiment the most as they attempt to avoid extra any injuries of consequence before the knockout rounds commence.     Read more...

NFL Football Player Rankings (week 12)

QUARTERBACKS...1-Drew Brees, NO; 2-Peyton Manning, Indy; 3-Tony Romo, Dall (left); 4-Tom Brady, NE.; 5-Philip Rivers, SD; 6-Carson Palmer, Cin; 7-Jake Delhomme, Car; 8-Ben Roethlisberger, Pitt; 9-Marc Bulger, StL; 10-Michael Vick, Atl; 11-Rex Grossman, Chi; 12-Brett Favre, GB; 13-Alex Smith, SF; 14-Eli Manning, NYG; 15-Joey Harrington, Mia; 16-Charlie Frye, Cle; 17-Matt Hasselbeck*, Sea; 18-J.P. Losman, Buff; 19-Chad Pennington, NYJ; 20-Jeff Garcia, Phil; 21-Jon Kitna, Det; 22-Steve McNair, Balt; 23-Jake Plummer, Den; 24-Trent Green KC; 25-David Carr, Hou; 26-David Garrard, 27-Bruce Gradkowski, TB; 28-Matt Leinart, Az; 29-Vince Young, Ten; 30-Aaron Brooks, Oak; 31-Brad Johnson, Minn; 32-Jason Campbell, Wash. *-check lineup or injury status     Read more...

NFL Football Player Rankings

QUARTERBACKS...1-Peyton Manning, Indy; 2- Drew Brees, NO; 3-Donovan McNabb, Phil (left); 4-Marc Bulger, St.L.; 5-Tom Brady, NE; 6-Eli Manning, NYG; 7-Michael Vick, Atl; 8-Philip Rivers, SD; 9-Brett Favre, GB; 10-Jake Delhomme, Car; 11-Carson Palmer, Cin; 12-Tony Romo, Dall; 13-Rex Grossman, Chi; 14-Jon Kitna, Det.; 15-Alex Smith, SF; 16-Chad Pennington, NYJ; 17-Jake Plummer, Den; 18-Steve McNair, Balt; 19-Damon Huard*, KC; 20-Seneca Wallace*, Sea; 21-Brad Johnson, Minn; 22-Charlie Frye, Cle; 23-David Carr*, Hou; 24-Mark Brunell, Wash; 25-Ben Roethlisberger*, Pitt; 26-Joey Harrington*, Mia; 27-Byron Leftwich*, Jv; 28-J.P. Losman, Buff; 29-Bruce Gradkowski, TB; 30-Matt Leinart, Az; 31-Vince Young, Tenn; 32-David Garrard*, Jv; 33-Andrew Walter*, Oak; 34-Charlie Batch, Pitt*. *-check lineup or injury status     Read more...

College Football Team Trends

Louisville at RUTGERS (Thursday)...Rutgers has circled this one following humiliating, nationally-televised 56-5 bashing at Papa John’s LY. L’Ville made Scarlet Knights pay for jumping on its logo at midfield before the game (when will they learn?), as infuriated Cardinals continued to pass in 4th Q. Rutgers now-starting QB Teel (12 of 24, 2 ints.) went the distance for injured starter Hart.

Wyoming at BYU (Thursday)...After failing to cover previous 6 in series, BYU has covered past 2, and cookin’ Cougars 8-0-1 vs. spread in ‘06.

Western Michigan at CENTRAL MICHIGAN (Friday)...WMU has covered 4 straight in series, but CMU is 7-1-1 vs. spread in ‘06.     Read more...

College Football Team Trends

While we still have a few weeks of the college football season still to go, it’s not too late to check out pointspread trends that have emerged in conference play. Like all such angles, any of these could turn around on a moment’s notice, especially the various team trends noted herein. But now that we have a good sampling of games to draw from, more than a few of these tidbits are at least worth review.

Following is a conference-by-conference breakdown of pointspread trends (league games only) through the games of the November 4 weekend, with spread records of home and underdog teams highlighted.    Read more...

College Football - BSC

We're not quite sure what to make of the latest anti-BCS sabre rattling coming out of Washington. In case you haven't heard, a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee, charged with, among other things, regulating America's sports industry, announced last Friday that it would conduct a hearing on the BCS later this week, after the bowl pairings were announced

Part of us wonders if they shouldn't be spending time on more pertinent social matters on Capitol Hill, and that this particular committee has better things to do than talk about college football (such as unraveling the Medicaid mess, one of the main tosports-articles/pics on its current agenda). The sports fan in us is, though, is intrigued that Congressman Joe Barton (R-Texas), chairman of the subcommittee, at least thinks the BCS is worth a little more probing and discussion. Indeed, a full page on the committee's website is devoted to the BCS topic.    Read more...

College Football Team Trends

While we still have a few weeks of the college football season still to go, it’s not too late to check out pointspread trends that have emerged in conference play. Like all such angles, any of these could turn around on a moment’s notice, especially the various team trends noted herein. But now that we have a good sampling of games to draw from, more than a few of these tidbits are at least worth review.

Following is a conference-by-conference breakdown of pointspread trends (league games only) through the games of the November 4 weekend, with spread records of home and underdog teams highlighted.    Read more...

College Football Teams Overview

As is usually the case in late November, the college football “rumor mill” is whirring, mostly with chatter about who’s coming and who’s going on the coaching front. There’s a little more speculation in this season’s “mill” than a year ago when only a handful of coaching jobs opened. That was understandable, given that the carnage of the preceding few seasons inadvertently rendered 2005 as a quiet year on that front.

But there appears to be more instability in the coaching ranks as the 2006 season concludes. Already, five schools (North Carolina, Michigan State, Iowa State, Florida International, and North Texas) have announced forthcoming changes, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see a few more even before regular-season play officially concludes. It’s interesting that such in-season announcements were once almost unheard of in the college ranks, and much more likely to take place in the NFL. Ironically, that dynamic has reversed in recent years.     Read more...

College Football Bowl Projections

ATLANTIC COAST: Bowl-bound...Georgia Tech (BCS/Chick fil-A/Gator), Wake Forest (Champs Sports/BCS/Gator/Meineke Car Care), Maryland (Gator/BCS/Meineke Car Care/Champs Sports), Boston College (Champs Sports/Meineke Car Care/Music City), Virginia Tech (Chick fil-A/Gator), Clemson (Gator/Peach/Music City), Florida State (Music City/MPC Computers/Champs Sports/Emerald). Notes...Virginia and Miami-Florida each need one more win to become bowl-eligible. Loop might not be able to fill allotted berths (in particular MPC Computers/and/or Emerald).

BIG EAST: Bowl-bound...West Virginia (BCS/Gator), Louisville (BCS/Gator), Rutgers (Gator/Meineke Car Care/Texas), Pittsburgh (Meineke Car Care/International), South Florida (Papajohns.com/Texas), Cincinnati (Texas/Meineke Car Care/International). Notes...Might not be able to fill allotted berths if two league schools (likely WVU & Louisville) earn BCS invitations. Gator slot also available to Big XII.    Read more...

College Football Bowls

Although conference bowl pointspread performance trends don’t necessarily carry over from year to year (indeed, they've been known to reverse themselves completely), they nonetheless remain an important piece of the postseason handicapping puzzle. With that in mind, we're providing a comprehensive review of how respective conferences have performed vs. the pointspread in postseason play over the years, with added emphasis on results recorded in recent campaigns.

ACC...Definitely the best bowl-performing conference against the pointspread the past few years, the expanded ACC enjoyed another solid campaign last season (5-3 vs. number) and now stands an impressive 22-11 against the line in postseason play since 2001. This season—Florida State (Emerald), Clemson (Music City), Maryland (Champs Sports), Boston College (Meineke Car Care), Virginia Tech (Peach), Miami-Florida (MPC Computers), Georgia Tech (Gator), Wake Forest (Orange).     Read more...

College Football Bowls Overview

Some interesting things happened during THE GOLD SHEET’s first publishing season in 1957-58. Within a month of TGS’s debut, the Russians launched the world’s first satellite, Sputnik I. During the same week as Sputnik’s launch, baseball fans of age (including our own Wisconsin-bred Senior Editor, Chuck Sippl) recall the Milwaukee Braves beating the Yankees in 7 games to win a memorable World Series, with Lew Burdette winning 3 games, the last on two days rest (as Mickey Lolich would do for the Tigers 11 years later in the 1968 Series). In mid-November, college football fans with long memories will remember that Notre Dame ended Oklahoma’s record 47-game win streak. In December, the Detroit Lions won their last NFL title, rallying for a wild 31-27 Western Conference playoff win vs. the 49ers at Kezar Stadium, then blasting the Browns at Briggs Stadium, 59-14, to win the NFL championship. That spring, Adolph Rupp’s Kentucky would win the NCAA basketball crown, beating Elgin Baylor-led Seattle University in the finale, 84-72. In other sports news that season, the Montreal Canadiens (surprise!) won the Stanley Cup, while Bob Pettit’s St. Louis Hawks beat the Celtics in 6 games to win the NBA title.     Read more...

College Football - Insight Bowl

Minnesota has gone 3-1 SU (2-2 vs. the spread) in bowls the L4Ys, and Texas Tech 3-1 SU (3-1 vs. the line) over the same period (after losses the two previous seasons). But Red Raiders the preferred side in Tempe, and not just because of their favorable basic matchup (TT third in the nation in pass offense; Gophers 115th in pass defense).

The Raiders have a veteran OL (4 srs.) that allowed only 17 sacks TY, the fewest in the 7 years Mike Leach has spent fine-tuning his pass-happy “Air Raid” offense in Lubbock. The Minnesota defense accumulated only 23 sacks—five in the season opener at Kent State. The Gophers (allowed 365 YP) could not stop Virginia’s less-than-stellar aerial game in LY’s 34-31 loss in the Music City Bowl. On offense, TY’s UM team no longer has the game-breaking ability provided by RB Laurence Maroney in recent years. Moreover, Minny will be missing A-A TE Matt Spaeth (shoulder surgery), with scouts saying his mammoth 6-7, 265 frame will be missed as much in the running game as it will in crucial ball-control situations (Spaeth had 47 recs.).     Read more...

College Football Bowls

The “Intersectional Scoreboard” provides a comprehensive look at how each conference performed against the spread in 2006 non-league action. In the past, those collective results have often, though not always, provided a barometer of the relative strength of those loops and their bowl teams, and has sometimes been a precursor to spread performance in upcoming postseason play. We'll also break the numbers down further with the spread results of “competitively-priced” games (lines of 10 or fewer), in order to more closely approximate results against the type of competitive pointspreads we normally find in the bowls, as well as further refinement by highlighting results of bowl-bound teams.

Although, like most seasons, the majority of conferences didn't display much of a pointspread pattern in non-league play this season, there were a few extremely illuminating numbers in '06. Pnce again, the Big East performed well, although it had never recorded a mark anything close to the 25-8 it delivered this season. On the other hand, this definitely wasn't the ACC's year, with a corresponding 14-24 mark (although it should be noted that the non-bowl teams in the ACC really damaged the overall numbers).     Read more...

College Football Coaches

There’s still almost a month to go in the season, and already we’ve seen the first coaching casualties for the 2006 campaign. However, it was no surprise that either North Carolina’s John Bunting or Michigan State’s John L. Smith was told he'd have to walk the plank at the end of the regular season. We have to assume they’re going to be the first of many coaches who will be receiving their pink slips before the end of the calendar year.

Instead of re-producing another list of coaches on the proverbial “hot seat,” we’ve decided to list some names of coaches (including a few definite up-and-comers) and assistants, in both the college and NFL ranks, who figure to be in the mix to land one of the upcoming openings.

Butch Davis (ex-Cleveland Browns and Miami Hurricanes HC)...Davis’ name is being prominently mentioned for the opening at North Carolina, and less prominently for the expected opening at his old Miami haunt. Although some in south Florida believe Davis (left) burned a few bridges when he abruptly left the Hurricanes for the NFL Browns right before the recruiting signing deadline in 2001, sources say new Miami school president Donna Shalala (who hadn’t arrived at Coral Gables when Davis left) is unaffected by those developments, and might have some interest in Davis after he admirably “cleaned up” the program in the late ‘90s. But sources believe Davis is a heavy favorite for Chapel Hill (if a deal hasn't already been struck with AD Dick Baddour). And he’s not too busy these days, only doing a bit of work for NFL Network.    Read more...

College Basketball Forecast

UTAH at COLORADO STATE...Now that self-doubting Utah could use some advice from Dr. Phil after recent 33-point blowout loss vs. Northwestern and home upset losses vs. heavy underdogs Albany & TCU, must support more-upbeat Colorado State bunch that swept this Mountain West series last season. Fundamental matchups also favor Rams, whose two 7-footers Jason Smith (16.7 ppg & 9.9 rpg) and Stuart Creason (11.8 ppg & 6.2 rpg) can certainly make life difficult for 7-1 Ute C Luke Nevill. And Utah lacks the smooth playmaker (F Shaun Green leads team in assists with only 2.4 pg) to consistently find other scoring options. Much prefer CSU's frame of mind after Saturday's uplifting win at hostile New Mexico, only Rams' 4th win in 39 tries at The Pit!    Read more...

College Basketball - NCAA

BIG TEN

ILLINOIS...The Illini lost 4 of their last 5 games prior to trip to Minnesota January 17, in part because their starting soph Gs Chester Frazier & Jamar Smith are banged up and struggling. Frazier (8 ppg, 4.5 rpg & 5.6 apg, but also 3 turnover pg & less than 40% FGs) sat out 74-70 home win over Iowa January 10 with a sore groin, then was benched for most of second half during 63-57 loss at Michigan State January 14. Says frustrated head coach Bruce Weber of his erratic PG, "He has 15 to 18 pretty good minutes and five, six, or seven minutes where he just goes haywire. He makes tough passes. He dribbles too much. If we're going to be successful, he has to take care of the ball." Smith, the team’s best perimeter shooter, is mired in a slump (only 4 for 29 from 3-point arc in last 4 games!), as insiders say he’s having difficulty getting proper lift on his jump shot due to recent sprains to both ankles. Highly-regarded 6-9 frosh PF Richard Semrau, who had 12 points & 10 rebounds in his last game (a 51-49 win over Miami-Ohio November 24), is expected to sit out the rest of the season due to an infection. However, the Illinois frontcourt received a boost soon after Semrau’s loss when reliable veteran 6-8, 220 jr. F Brian Randle (9 ppg, 5.4 rpg in 2005-06) returned to action following groin surgery that caused him to miss 8 of the first 10 games. Randle had 16 point, 6 rebounds, 6 assists & 2 steals in the victory over the Hawkeyes.     Read more...

College Football Matchups

There really isn’t another sport that’s defined by its rivalries as is college football. Oh, sure, college hoops has its share, and the NFL is dotted with nasty, ancient rivals. So is Major League Baseball. And the NBA. And the NHL. What makes college football unique, however, is that these old rivals only get one crack at each other during the season. There’s more frequency in rivalries in other sports. Heck, the Red Sox and Yankees play each other almost 20 times every season.

Why, can you imagine 20 Notre Dame-USC football clashes each year? Faith and begorrah, indeed!

Historically, the upcoming pre-Thanksgiving weekend has been when many legendary college football rivalries have been contested. Although a handful of long-standing antagonists traditionally have squared off a week later (Texas-Texas A&M has long been a “Thanksgiving Friday” battle, and Army and Navy usually renew their hostilities the first weekend in December), the upcoming pre-Thanksgiving weekend has usually been the big one for rivalries. Times have changed a bit, however, and the old “Rivalry Week” is not quite the denouement of the campaign as it used to be. Expanded conferences, league championship contests, and TV-dictated switches have pushed some of those traditional matchups after Thanksgiving, and in some cases into early December. And the “bowl season” gets going in mid-December these days, so there’s hardly a break until after New Year’s.    Read more...

College Football Overview - Stanford Stadium

Before buttoning things up for the regular-season portion of the 2006 college football campaign, keep one thing in mind.

There’s still a lot of football left to be played.

Sure, Ohio State’s wild win over Michigan last week sets up the Buckeyes for an appearance against an as of yet unknown opponent in the January 8 national title game at the Cardinals’ new Glendale stadium. But it’s still way too soon to pencil in Michigan, USC, or any other side as OSU’s opponent. As we said, there’s still a lot of football to be played.

We’ll talk more about all of that and other related tosports-articles/pics when the smoke begins to clear a bit more next week. For now, however, it's time for another college football “travelogue” installment from our journeys last weekend.     Read more...

College Football Overview

College football aficionados have long placed a premium on visits to “sacred” venues such as South Bend, Columbus, Ann Arbor, and dozens of other legendary gridiron havens. We’re been to most of them, and must say that almost without exception they’re all pretty neat. But for college football fans looking for something a little different, have we got a little secret to share with you!

How about a trip to Reno?

True, not many equate trips to the “Biggest Little City in the World” with sports, other than perhaps skiing at nearby Lake Tahoe and Squaw Valley. People go to Reno to gamble and get divorced, right? Well, time to put most of those stereotypes away. A football weekend in Reno can be a haven for a true sports junkie, and we’re going to tell you why.    Read more...