Cigars all around

Well done, college football. You made yesterday a very entertaining, very profitable day, indeed. Big ups to:

- Willie Tuitama and YOOO! OF! A! for building up a 20-point lead against UCLA and staving off a late Bruin rally. In a game where both head coaches are fighting for their lives, this may have spelled the end for Karl Durrell. I think his only hope of returning next season is if UCLA leave the Coliseum at season's end with a victory. As for Mike Stoops, hey, where was this kind of effort against New Mexico and Stanford? Instead of playing for pride, we could've been playing for a bowl. That being said, the role of spoiler seems to suit us and with Oregon and Arizona State remaining on the slate, you never know. It might be the Wildcats who single-handedly keep the Pac 10 out of the National Championship game.

- Clemson for routing Duke. Sixteen points was far too generous.

- Iowa for winning on the road over Northwestern. I'm sorry, but any team that loses to Duke never deserves to be favored.

- Ohio State for further exposing Wisconsin as frauds. Normally, I'd spit venom at the Buckeyes. But in this instance, job well done.

- Missouri for coasting through the simple Big XII North. No matter who emerges from this conference -- be it Mizzou, Kansas, or Oklahoma -- I have a hard time seeing any of them playing for the national title. That's thanks to the likes of Colorado, who manage to upset OU, then get pummelled by 45 at home.

- Illinois for whipping hapless Minnesota. A nice rebuilding story in Champagne with the Fighting Zooks.

All together, these teams put a smile on this man's face.

And as a bonus, ASU got brought back down to reality after Oregon toasted them. I'd give the Ducks the hat tip for #2 in the nation, right now, ahead of LSU and it's not because I'm a Pac 10 guy. LSU has pulled out last gasp victories the last three weeks. They're a hair away from riding a 4-game losing streak. Before you say, "Well, they're playing in the SEC!" Listen, the Pac 10 is no slouch. Dennis Dixon for the least important trophy in sports (you may know it as "The Heisman").

Saturday Introductions

Hi, I'm Fiji, and I just prevailed in one of the all-time Rugby Union Classics over Wales. Probably the greatest achievement in Fijian sports, I dare say, reaching the RWC quarterfinals. Why is this good for the Bokke?
From a South African viewpoint it was the perfect result, for while the Fijians play some quite spectacular rugby at times, the Springboks are not physically inferior to the Fijians, which was the Welsh Achilles heel in this match. For a start, their pack should be no match for the Boks in the set-scrums.

After making the quarterfinals for the first time in their history, Fiji will probably also feel now that they have played their final, and they did have to dig deep to prevail in the Nantes thriller. It is hard to see them get up like that again for a quarterfinal just a week later, and they lost flyhalf Nicky Little, an influential player on the day, to an injury which looks serious enough to rule him out of the remainder of the tournament.


Hi, I'm Yossi Benayoun, and I rescued my Liverpool teammates for the second match in a row. I can't say enough about how much I love the addition of Yossi to the squad and would like nothing more than to see him get more regular starts on the wing, opposite Jermaine Pennant. Even if it was Wigan, an away league win is always an accomplishment.


Hi, I'm the NHL, and I have unceremoniously returned! I feel a bit ashamed of myself, quite honestly, because I love the NHL and, yet, (along with the rest of the nation) completely missed that the season began today. Maybe it's because the season opened in London with your Los Angeles Kings spanking defending champion Anaheim 4-1! Skreee! Welcome to the fold, goalie prodigy Jonathan Bernier. I still don't expect much from the Kings, this season, but this is a promising start and I'm excited to catch a few games at Staples Center. Go hockey!


Hi, I'm the Pac 10, and I'm AWESOME! The Cal-Oregon game lived up to the hype and more. What an electric second half. The Ducks really had every chance to win this game, aided in part by the highly dubious "missed field goal" by Cal in the third quarter (A kick the went over the top of the post -- which meant it was good. But just ask Oklahoma about that officiating in Eugene, OR.), but that bumbingly muffed kick return, a couple of 4th quarter picks by Dixon, and one of the most gutting fumbles in recent memory opened the door for Cal. Desean Jackson picked on heck of a time to have a breakout game. Sadly for Dennis Dixon, his Heisman candicacy took a severe hit. Cal had better hope Longshore's ankle problem isn't too serious, but the Bears are every bit a top-4 team. USC is still the class of this conference, but they'll have to deal with both the Bears and Ducks. Phew... I'd love it if Arizona could pick up a win tonight against Washington State.


Hi, I'm the Big 12, and I'm officially irrelevant. It takes a pretender to blow a 17-point lead to Colorado. I present to you: Oklahoma. And Texas was finally exposed for the overrated frauds that they are. Terribly overhyped by the national press thanks solely to their name, Kansas State smacked the hell out of them, Vince Young on the sideline and all. The Horns are K-State's new bitch. Don't worry about watching next weekend's Red River Shootout. It doesn't matter. Don't set the alarm, sleep in, catch the final score in the following morning's paper.


Hi, I'm South Florida, and you may as well give me the Big East title right the hell now. Beating West Virginia and seeing Rutgers proudly display their "pretender" logo by flopping against Maryland, there's no way the Bulls can blow this? Is there?


Hi, I'm Wisconsin, and I'm inspiring nobody. Even with the tight win over an unbeaten Michigan State, Wisconsin isn't looking too impressive. Isn't it funny to think that the only team that looks to have a shot at rattling Ohio State's tree in the Big Ten, this year, is a janky Michigan team? But wait... Here come the Ilini!


Hi, I'm the National League East, and I'm ridiculous! Pretty insane that the Washington Nationals and Florida Marlins are going to decide this division and a bit of a shame that the Mets and Phillies weren't scheduled to play each other during the final weekend of the season. Even though the Mets have imploded over the last two weeks of the season, Philadelphia fans must have that awful feeling in the pits of their stomachs -- a feeling they're all too familiar with. 162 games and it comes down to the final day? Yeesh.

Football, you wound me

I was so jaded from this weekend's results -- those results being Liverpool's listless, uninspired draw versus Portsmouth, U of A drawing a blue print on how to pathetically lose to inferior opposition at home, and the Raiders getting snaked by Rat Shanahan's timeout -- that I just couldn't bare to deal with the marquee Sunday nighter between the Chargers and Donaghys. I'll admit, it gave me a lot of satisfaction to see that New England routed the Chargers in the end (because it proves me right and continues to make San Diego look absolutely stupid for hiring an entirely new coaching staff headed by Norv Turner), but that bitter OT loss the Raiders suffered really was the last straw for me. Fortunately, football is a weekly sport, so I have until next weekend to recover from the vile taste in my mouth and sheer bitterness of it all. And then, like an addict, I'll drag myself back into the fray for even more irritation.

Words cannot describe my hatred of the Denver Broncos. I hate them so much. Rob Ryan's D and LaMont Jordan deserved a better result, today.

Some thoughts on the college and pro game...

- No one really thought Nebraska had a chance, did they? Really?

- Even though the Pac 10 went 7-3 as a conference on Saturday, the losses by Arizona, Washington, and especially UCLA are an unfortunate black eye for a conference that had such a strong showing just a week earlier. Once again, UCLA dons the title of "The Great Pretender." Seems the more things change, the more they stay the same. Washington at least put up a fight during the first half before being overrun by Ohio State's superior talent. Arizona's loss, as noted already, is just plain unforgivable.

- Speaking of pretenders (such as UCLA), I think it's pretty safe to put a fork in Louisville (who's defense literally is a wet paper bad) after a decent Kentucky finished what Middle Tennessee State started, Tennessee (who, although being on the road for both of their big games, has shown it isn't a first tier program this season), and TEXAS. While still unbeaten, there can hardly be a single, honest pollster out there who truly believes that the Longhorns, based on what we've seen on the field, are a top ten team this year. Save for one half of good football against TCU, they hardly look like a contender.

- Top five after week 3: 1) USC 2) LSU 3) Florida 4) Oklahoma 5) Cal. Sorry, West Virginia. I've got you rated seventh behind Penn State.

- The New Orleans Saints are clear frontrunners to be "that team," this season. You know what I'm talking about. That team. The one that has an amazing season the year before, gets all the pundits and analysts praising every step they take during the offseason -- all but handing them the Superbowl trophy by the time preseason rolls around -- then falls flat on it's face. There's one of these every year. Again, it wouldn't be the NFL if the same eight division winners made the playoffs year-in, year-out.

- Cleveland torching the Bengals' poor excuse for a defense sends two messages. 1) Naturally, never take any team for granted. 2) Brian Billick and the Ravens are really, really stupid. You wouldn't plow McGahee over the goal line with four tries to do it against that defense?!? Shmuck.

- Sure, the results are impressive, but how good are the Steelers really? They ripped the Browns and Bills, not exactly death row (unless you're the Bengals or lucky bastard Broncos -- just a whisker away from being 0-2 . ARGH! I HATE THEM!). I don't think I'm a fan of Pittsburgh's yellow helmets, either. Blah.

- The 49ers may be winning ugly, but the point is that they're winning. Impossible to be better than 2-0 at this juncture. Next week's game with Pittsburgh should be very interesting. And while the 49ers are sitting pretty, their victim today looks to be in a real nasty mess. Not only are the Rams 0-2, but they're 0-2 at home and 0-2 against NFC West opponents. Good night.

- Still decidely unimpressive: The Chicago Bears offense. Stinks. It's almost as if they plugged Marcus Colston in as their #1 receiver and thought things would be okay. Oh wait... wrong team. Still, Grossman & Co. look pretty miserable.

The highs and the lows

Lousy times, this weekend, if you were one of "my teams." Unless you're the Lakers! Couldn't have asked for two better games than the last pair. First, smashing Iverson and the so-called improved Nuggets (yes, I know Carmelo is still yet to return, but it's always fun to rag on A.I.) into oblivion while having five Lakers in double figures and none of them being Kobe. Absolutely brilliant performance, but it was last night's win over the uber-hot Mavericks that was clearly not just the best game of the weekend in the NBA, but in all of the sporting world! And what a result if you're a Lakers fan. Trailing for pretty much the entire second half, right until the end, getting hopelessly outrebounded, particularly on the offensive glass where Dallas made a living on second chance points, and then pulling it out while riding the shoulders of your superstar and the hot hand of (brace yourself for this one) Sasha Vujacic! Now, Sasha probably doesn't deserve that kind of stick because, in his defense, he has played pretty consistently this season and his step-up performance last night was well needed especially in the light of Brian Cook and Vlad Radmanovic having awful games. The key to this latest win streak for LA (going on four games, now), hasn't been Kobe necessarily, but the fact that the supporting cast have been able to step up and produce. Bynum has been white hot since Kwame went down (no surprise there, more minutes for the youngster=more confidence) and if it's not Cook nailing shots, it's Sasha or Mo Evans or Farmar's ability to find the open man or Turiaf's spark off the bench. Even short-handed, there is a legit team here. A legit team that just needs to shore up their defense before they can be considered serious contenders for the championship.

If the Lakers represent my ultimate highs for this weekend, then Liverpool's mauling AT ANFIELD (unstoppable at home, no more) at the hands of Arsenal, 3-1, in the FA Cup 3rd round was surely the lowest low. Got up early to head down to Ye Olde King's Head Pub for the match, too, and had the gross misfortune of sitting directly across from a bunch of Arsenal fans as sloppy defending and the Gunners' efficient counter-attack knocked the confused and unimaginative Cup holders out of the competition. John Arne Riise needs to spend at least one match on the bench, and no, tomorrow's Carling Cup versus Arsenal doesn't count. He's just horribly off form and largely at fault for the first goal conceded (a gem from Rosicky). I want a complete refund on Fabio Aurelio who is just a total liability as soon as he steps on the pitch. Steven Gerrard's presence was missing for extensive portions of the match and, if not for Dirk Kuyt, we probably wouldn't have created a single decent chance on goal. I'm shooting an icy stare in Rafa Benitez's direction, too, for 1) not putting Robbie Fowler on the subs bench when he knew that Bellamy was never going to be fit enough to play and 2) not understanding what so many physical teams in the Premiership understand so well: Arsenal are a finesse team that can be thrown off it's game if you play them physically. If anyone, it was the French Whiner's side that played physical/border-line dirty. For these reasons, I eagerly anticipate Lucas Neill's arrival at Anfield.

To the college hardwood, a flat out awesome game between Oregon and UCLA on Saturday morning. Just awesome. The last 30 seconds were of March Madness quality. Props to both schools. The Bruins are still easily a 1-seed in my eyes and Oregon showed a lot of metal, bouncing back from the let-down loss to USC two days earlier.

Disappointing: Arizona falling at the hands of Washington State with an opportunity to take sole possession of first place in the Pac Ten on the line. Granted, it was OT and it was in Pullman, but this was the first challenging away game (proper away game -- Louisville and Illinois were at neutral sites) for UofA since the season-opening three-point loss to Virginia. On the bright side, however, it definitely looks like the Wildcats will be able to chalk this up as a "quality loss" on the NCAA resume as Wazzu is looking more and more formative with each passing day. The Oregon schools come to Tucson this week. Ducks v Wildcats on Saturday. Giddy-up!

The NFL playoffs yielded four intriguing matchups for next weekend. That would be four out of a possible four! Each game has the potential for upset (more on that later this week). The sparkling highlight from Wild Card Weekend? Without question, it has to be the botched field goal attempt by Dallas that ended their season in the most spectacular fashion. If Big Tuna returns next season -- and I expect he will -- I cannot imagine T.O. returning to the team. We shall see. In the meantime, I wonder where all those bandwagon Cowboys fans are? Those fans who were touting Tony Romo as the next messiah, where are they?

Lastly, tonight is the game that makes every other bowl game completely irrelevant based sheerly on it's title: The National Championship game. Ohio State is a touchdown favorite. I'm sticking with my prediction from earlier of Buckeyes 36 Gators 22. I think Ohio State has to make a lot of mistakes and that the Florida offense -- the same Florida offense which the Gators got to the national title game in spite of -- has to execute flawlessly. It's not going to happen. Florida gets a couple of scores late to make it look respectable, but this one is never in doubt. Quite a year for Troy Smith.

The best conference in college hoops

This one's dedicated to the Pac 10. Dynamite matchups tomorrow. Undefeated, top-ranked UCLA visits now once-beaten Oregon and Arizona, owners of a 12-game winning streak, visit dangerous Washington State (the team who has come the closest this season to beating UCLA).

Wazzu has been a major surprise this year. Tony Bennett's got things rolling up in Pullman and getting a split in Los Angeles, last weekend, is proof that their win over Gonzaga wasn't a fluke.

The Trojans pipped Oregon last night. USC is but a narrow Wazzu defeat from being unbeaten in the conference. They're no easy W, this season. Imagine what's going to happen with the men of Troy when O.J. Mayo rolls into town next season.

And then there's Washington. Recognized nationally as a top 25 team (and deservedly so), the Huskies are off to a howling 0-3 start in conference play. Can't help but smile at their game last night. *Cough* All hail Chase Budinger *Cough*

Stanford and Cal both look good enough to get some post-season play, but they're probably looking at the NIT. The Pac 10 has depth, but these two schools won't find room in the NCAA. I'll say now, though, that Stanford is on to something special with the Lopez twins, Brook and Robin. Having those two bigs on the court together makes them a very difficult proposition as Arizona found out last Saturday.

The race for the conference title is on and it looks like there are three teams in the mix. Oregon has as good a shot as any of knocking off UCLA tomorrow. The Pit in Eugene is one of the toughest places to play in the entire country. Their chances would be boosted, though, is the seemingly-always-injured Malik Hairston were available.

What's the only thing stopping Arizona from taking the whole thing? Consistent defense. That, and I believe we're pretty dependant on the return of Kirk Walter if we're going to be able to battle with UCLA on the interior. Doing my best to secure a ticket to that game when the Cats come to LA. In the meantime, Washington State got us last year. Can't afford to look ahead.

The only easy game on the schedule: Arizona State. Sorry, Herb Sendek. You've got a serious project on your hands.

So there are plenty of storylines for the next two months...
- Three-headed race for the title
- Can Washington recover?
- (perhaps the best one) Can Washington State and USC keep this up all the way to Selection Sunday?

As of today, you have to figure that six teams would see their names in brackets come that fateful Sunday in March. Not bad for a conference that's only been netting 3-4 the last several years. Ah, if only ESPN covered the Pac 10 and not Fox Sports. Then I wouldn't even have to post this.

Pac Ten hoops and the greatest line ever

College basketball is officially on full tilt as we revel in the meat of the December holidays. Pitt v Oklahoma State and Duke v Gonzaga, tonight. Couple of major seeding battles. But it was last night's impressive showing by the Pac Ten that should have the country taking notice. Arizona dismissed an athletic, dangerous Memphis squad and the Washington Huskies finally arrived, dismantling overrated LSU and Fat Baby Davis. It's rare that FSN ever broadcasts a double-header of this quality, but last night was a treat. I'm well aware that no teams are good or bad because of the conference they play in (Arizona State is still a Pac Ten school, isn't it?), but at last check, the Pac Ten conference had the highest win percentage of any conference in America, with scalps like Memphis, LSU, Georgetown, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Gonzaga, Louisville, Illinois, and Georgia Tech on the resume so far. We know about UCLA and Arizona. We know that Oregon is still undefeated and bringing it hard. We know Washington can play. Lurking in the shadows this season, though, be wary of Washington State and USC (yes, even a year before the arrival of O.J. Mayo). Pac Ten play is going to be excellent this year and the conference is getting no less than four bids (none less than a 6-seed) to the dance.

With respect to my beloved Arizona Wildcats, J.P. Prince won't be missed. A fine player, to be sure, but he never had a chance to impact the squad in any true capacity. What's scary about the Cats, though, is that they're playing all of this excellent basketball without the lynchpin that I think is absolutely crucial to them making a Final Four, possibly a national title run: Kirk Walters. You may laugh, but Walters is one of the most hard-working, scrappy big men in the country. His presence on the defensive glass will be a monsterous boost to an already lethal team. When they want to buckle down, Arizona is unstoppable.

Switching gears to the NHL, opting not to discuss how horrid the Kings are, the news out of Pittsburgh is dour, to say the least. And all because of a lousy slots license. That's a new one, isn't it? "Hey, everybody. We're probably going to move the team because our financial backers didn't get permission to cater to 68-year-old slot jockey grandmas. Sorry!" In a perfect world, Super Mario will be able to keep what has now become the NHL's most marketable team (ahem -- Crosby & Malkin) in Pittsburgh, in a new arena at no cost to the team or the city (which is what the Isle of Capri Casinos had proposed), but we shall see. The irony with the Penguins is so incredibly thick. Everyone wants to see them, but they can barely afford to stay afloat.

Speaking of Mario, he appeared on ESPN's top NHL lines of all time, um, a few times. I guess I (and presumably the rest of the reasonable world) were mistaken in thinking that a player could only appear once in this list or that, you know, it actually mattered if they played their natural position. Naturally, Gretzky is centering all four lines. Oh, and while I'm thinking of it, why wasn't Pavel Bure on that list of 50? Where's the love for the Russian Rocket?! Perhaps the most lethal sniper of the 90s!

One last thing and then I'm done raiding ESPN.com for nuggets of banter. In their on-going top 100 stories of the year, Zidane v Materazzi clocked in at #2 for the year. If you want to talk about sheer coverage, then this is unquestionably the top sports story of perhaps the last three years, but this is an American audience, so not the case for these purposes. This story being #2, however, means that "Vince Young toppling USC in the Rose Bowl" will be #1 and, frankly, I take a lot of issue with that. There's no denying that Young's performance in that game was excellent, but to suggest that he singlehandedly defeated the Trojans is asinine. Let's be clear about this: Texas didn't win the national championship, USC lost it. Reggie Bush's lateral, quitting after going up two scores in the 4th, not having Bush in the game on the last play, shoddy tackling... Vince Young may get the glory, but the reasons why are masked.

At the very least, the following stories have more significance than Texas winning the college football national title: Zidane-gate, George Mason's ultimate Cinderella run, Roger Federer/Tiger Woods (they're inseparable in terms of domination, as far as I'm concerned)

The weekend's heroes and doinks 11/10-11/12

Heroes

Wildcats - Be they from Arizona (hell yeah!), Kansas State, or even Kentucky (okay, maybe not so much UK, although they beat Vandy), they turned college football on it's ear, yet again. Let's quickly thank Kansas State for beating Texas and putting to rest any notion that the champion from the pathetic Big 12 would have a claim to the national title game. Well done, KSU. But more importantly, in the words of Keanu Reeves in Speed, "Arizona Wildcats... good football team." And suddenly, in the third quarter against Cal, they decided that they were! With the Bears complacent, ahead 17-3, what choice was there but to open up the passing game and stand on the shoulders of Syndric Steptoe? Now the Cats stand at 5-5, potent as ever in the month of November under Mike Stoops, and need to win just one of their final two games to become bowl eligible. I'm thinking it happens against Arizona State on Thanksgiving weekend. Bear Down, bitches!

Steve McNair - One of the classiest guys in the NFL sticks it to a miserable franchise who should be ashamed for the way they treated him. For all that McNair has done for the Titans organization (MVP, AFC title games, a Superbowl appearance), they spit on his face. Very pleasing to see McNair exact a bit of revenge yesterday with the comeback victory.

San Diego 49 Cincinnati 41 - That's right, the game itself was a hero. This is why people love football. Offensive explosions, see-saw battle, comebacks, big names having really big games (LDT is easily player of the week and you can only stand in awe at what Chad Johnson and Carson Palmer did, too). What an excellent game. Too bad this pretty much signals the end for the Bengals this season. Up 21 at home and losing? Especially after losing to the Ravens last week? It's over, man. There's no coming back for them in the tough AFC.

Houston Dynamo - Your 2006 MLS Cup champions. First time an MLS Cup match has gone to penalties

Correll Buckhalter - I can't find it on YouTube, but yesterday against the hapless 'Skins he scored one of the coolest touchdowns I've seen in a long time.

Doinks

Pac Ten officials - Watching both the Arizona/Cal and USC/Oregon games (and with the memory of this entire season in mind -- particularly Oregon/Oklahoma), there couldn't be a worse set of officials in the country. No one, under any circumstances, for any play, should take 3 hrs and 12 minutes to review a call. Especially if they end up making the wrong call (Cal's interception of Tuitama when UofA was driving to tie the game at 17) or if they're reviewing a play that was clear as day and was called correctly from the start (Oregon's touchdown against SC). Neither of these were coaches challenges, mind you. Just the refs killing the game.

College football - Say what you will about how exciting Saturday was (and it was good), the system is still pooched. Suppose USC, Florida, Arkansas, and Notre Dame all pick up a second loss in the next couple weeks? It's certainly possible that it can happen. Then throw Rutgers into the mix and the dreaded prospect of a rematch between Michigan and Ohio State for the national title and you have to admit, the B(C)S doesn't work. Say it with me, now: College football is broken.

Rafa Benitez - There's only so much I can say about Liverpool's embarrassing defeat to Arsenal before I want to tear my sweet, bodiful hair out. So I'll keep it short. Watching the 3-0 massacre, I was insensed from the start that Rafa insists on playing Steven Gerrard (that would be the same "best midfielder in the Premiership" Gerrard) OUT OF POSITION ON THE RIGHT WING and as a result we're seeing a jaded, disinterested Gerrard out there. With Momo Sissoko unfortunately lost for three months, you'd think the OBVIOUS decision would be to move Gerrard back into the center of the park alongside Xabi Alonso. But no, Benitez thought Bolo Zenden (he who gives the ball away nearly every touch) would be a better choice. Against Arsenal! Mark Gonzalez played his way out of ever being considered for a starting role and Sami Hyypia displayed for all to see why he should be replaced by Daniel Agger for first team. Liverpool's title hopes are officially dashed. Their focus has to be on fourth place in the league because ManUre, Chelski, and the Arse are just plain better than us and that sucks. If Benitez could get out of his own way with this damn rotation policy, the Reds might actually play with some (gasp!) consistency.

New England - First the Patriots stink it up against the Jets (back-to-back losses for the Pats???), then the New England Revolution blow it in yet another MLS Cup. They were favorites this time around, too. The Revs seem hell bent on becoming the Buffalo Bills of American soccer (now 0-3 in the final). To add insult to injury, Clint Dempsey will likely be in Spain by the end of January.

MLS Cup - There's no way it could've been a worse match than last year's Galaxy triumph over New England, but it was still a terribly sloppy, dull, listless match save for the last eight minutes + penalties. I have seen and will continue to watch every MLS Cup, but the gap in quality between this league and the EPL is simply staggering.

New York Giants - I've got egg on my face and it's all thanks to these guys losing to Chicago, last night. When you have a feeb like Rex Grossman shaking and quivering, throwing picks and fumbling like he did in the first quarter, you step on his neck and end it. Instead, the Giants kept giving the ball back to Chicago through turnovers of their own and you're not going to beat the Bears if you don't control the football.

Damon Huard - Someone reminded the KC quarterback before gametime in Miami that he was Damon Huard.

Michael Vick - Second week in a row he's made this list and he's earned it both times. All credit to Cleveland for winning on the road, but they were playing a plastic team. Falcons are officially an afterthought.

Can you feel it? (Part I)

Oh yeah... it's creeping up on us... the glory... the splendor... only five months away... are you ready for the Madness?

Thank the heavens that college basketball is back. You know who doesn't like college hoops? Racists. You're not a racist, are you? Good! Hopefully, this season is just as exciting as last (which was pretty damn exciting), though there isn't nearly the same uncertainty as to who will win the title (stand up if you play ball in Gainesville).

The season officially kicked off yesterday when Maryland and Vermont scored a couple of easy victories. So, on with it! Gimme gimme gimme.

But before the meat of it, I'd like to pimp The Mid-Majority website run by Kyle Whelliston, he who champions the little guy in college basketball and contributes mid-major-related articles to ESPN. Where as Dick Vitale says he's the champion of the little guy, but actually backs anything out of the ACC, Whelliston really backs the little guy. I'm right there with him, 100% For some reason, I've always had an affinity for the MAC. I don't know why, I just love that conference. They always come to play during tourney time. Bad memories of Miami University's 5-12 upset over Arizona in '95, sure, but fond memories of Earl Boykins' Eastern Michigan smacking Duke in '96 and Gary Trent's Ohio winning the preseason NIT. But I digress... If the Mid-Majority is the scrolls of God, then Billy Packer is the cloven-hoofed anti-christ. Actually, there shouldn't be an "if" in that sentence. You better believe this was one of the first links on the sidebar. And because preseason tournaments are one of the great things about November college ball, the site has a handy guide to all the teams in the NIT, Maui, and all the other holiday invitationals. Some things have changed. For one, the Great Alaska Shootout now takes place in late December and, uh, isn't that great. Secondly, the preseason NIT has gone to a round robin format for the early rounds, which I'm for, I suppose, as it ensures the smaller schools get more games in, thus making the event worth their time. I'm sure it blows to take two weeks out of the schedule to play lose one game. Then again, the quality of the tourney takes a huge hit. It's virtually pre-destined that Tennessee, Notre Dame, North Carolina, and Gonzaga will reach the final four in New York.

It seem universal that Florida, UNC, and Kansas are the top three programs in the country entering the new season and not many could argue. The Gators are a scary proposition. When's the last time a defending national champion returned their entire starting five? I doubt anyone reading this was alive then. You've got player of the year candidate Joakim Noah, sure, but also Al Horford and Corey Brewer. They say that being the preseason #1 is a jinx, but man, can you imagine anyone in the country beating Florida? I can't.

Fourth in the nation won't be Greg Oden's Ohio State, however. For my money, it will be the Pac Ten champion: UCLA or Arizona. Even as a Wildcat fan, I give the edge to the Bruins, at the moment. Treasonous? Yes, but there are several reasons.

1. While UCLA loses Jordan Farmar, Darren Collison (their sparkplug in the NCAAs) now becomes a starter. Farmar is a better point guard, but the drop off in production won't be too significant.

2. Fewer players to integrate. Josh Shipp comes back to the Bruins lineup and will instantly fallback into the three-guard attack they pride themselves on. Arizona's new/returning stars are probably bigger, but for all the good that Jawaan McClellan did before missing virtually all of last year, he's never had to be a leader before. New territory for the team's best shooter. Freshman sensation Chase Budinger might be the best frosh in the country (Lute Olson's already called him his best recruit ever), but it remains to be seen how he'll mix into Arizona's deep lineup and if he can crack the starting lineup with regularity.

3. Experience. UCLA returns all but Farmar and Hollins and they were one game away from being crowned national champions. I'm also a strong believer that Luc Richard M'Bah Moute is going to be Pac Ten player of the year, despite the praise being heaped on teammate Arron Afflalo and Wildcat Marcus Williams (sorry, Marcus).

4. Arizona's senior leaders are Mustafa Shakur and Ivan Radinovic. No real problems with the latter other than that he often times isn't nearly aggressive as he's capable of being -- something a team leader needs to exhibit -- and often relies on his finesse game. Shakur has been as erratic a point guard as any in college basketball the last three years. I'd assume that the departures of Hassan Adams and Chris Rodgers (and their me-first attitudes) will do far more good to Shakur and the Wildcats than anyone can possibly imagine, but will he grow into that role of leader?

Arizona does have a leg up on UCLA in two areas, though: strength of schedule and depth. Arizona should run about ten players deep and has non-conference games against North Carolina, @ Virginia, @ Louisville, Memphis, Illinois, @ San Diego State, Houston, UNLV... I'm sorry, but no one on the planet can touch them for SOS. The Bruins' slate isn't anything to sneeze at with game against BYU, Texas A&M (who should be a real force this year), Michigan, @WVU, and of course playing in Maui which is loaded, as usual. Just not as tough as UofA's, though.

The Pac Ten may not be the strongest from top-to-bottom this year, but UCLA and Arizona are a pair that can match or best any other conference's top two with relative ease. Washington (still quality without Brandon Roy, but no longer a contender) and Oregon (Aaron Brooks and Malik Hairston HAVE TO step up) figure to be NCAA-bound this season with Stanford (you never can tell), USC (maybe still a year away) and Cal (losing Leon Powe may be too much) flirting with making a run, but the conference isn't terribly deep.

I'm excited about Arizona's prospects, though. Not being a clear-favorite in the Pac Ten is an advantage, I think, as we don't have quite as big a bullseye on our backs. The team shooting percentage can only go up. Lots of weapons with McClellan, Radinovic, Williams, Budinger, and Shakur. A workhorse center in Kirk Walter (easily the most crucial player in this team's plan for success). Depth for days and, oh yeah, some striking guy named "Lute" on the sideline. Striking. If things break our way with the brackets, we'll be talking Final Four.

Predicted Pac Ten finish...
1. UCLA **
2. Arizona **
3. Oregon **
4. Washington **
5. USC *
6. Stanford *
7. Cal *
8. Oregon State
9. Arizona State - it's going to be a long season for Herb Sendek
10. Washington State
** NCAA team
* NIT team

Part II of my college hoops ramp tomorrow (or sometime thereafter). More of a look around the country. I gotta go home, now.