College hoops conference previews

By Matt Smith

ACC

North Carolina: With Tyler Hansbrough opting to return for his ninth year (so it seems) the Tar Heels will be the best of this very tough conference. Hansborough has plenty of talent around him with returning sophomores Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Deon Thompson.

Duke: The Blue Devils should shoot back near the top of the conference, despite the loss of Josh McRoberts to the NBA Draft. Greg Paulus, Gerald Henderson and John Scheyer are a year older and DeMarcus Nelson will provide the senior leadership. They have a very, very good trio of freshman coming in with Nolan Smith, Kyle Singler and Taylor King.

Maryland: The Terps are going to be very young, with James Gist as their only established force, but I never count out Gary Williams’ squad so I am not about to start right now.

NC State: This is a team a lot of experts are high on after last year’s run to the ACC Tournament final despite a 5-11 conference record during the regular season. Guards Gavin Grant and Courtney Fells will lead the way, but I am not sold on them just yet.

Clemson: Is this the year they finally reach the Big Dance? Probably not. But they have enough returning talent to make you think they should. James Mays and K.C. Rivers should give them an inside/outside tandem that will keep them competitive in most games.

Georgia Tech: I think the ‘Jackets are a team to watch out for, despite the departure of Javaris Crittenden. Anthony Morrow, Jeremis Smith and Ra’Sean Dickey make a solid trio of upper classmen and they have some young talent in McDonald’s All-American Gani Lawal, to go with it.

Virginia: Sean Singletary is really good. The rest of the team, not so much. He is going to have to score 40 a game for them to repeat last year’s performance.

BC: I hate picking an Al Skinner team so low, because of their grind it out style, but looking at their roster I was still expecting to see players like Troy Bell and Craig Smith. Upon further review, it was pretty much just Tyrese Rice and then a bunch of guys nobody has ever heard of.

Florida State: They always have very athletic players, sort of make a case for the NCAA Tournament and then lose to Dayton or someone like that in the NIT.

Virginia Tech: Last year was a real feel good year for the Hokies, but then all the other good players graduated and left Deron Washington all alone. Welcome back to mediocrity Seth Greenberg.

Wake Forest: Can’t imagine the team being exactly prepared nor excited for this season after their coach dies.

Miami: Bad.

A10

Rhode Island: The Rhody’s return all five starters including Will Daniels and his 17.4 points per game. Jimmy Baron (14.6) and Kahiem Seawright (11.3) also return with double-digit scoring averages.

Xavier: Hard to go against a team with the track record that the Muskateers have, but they lost quite a bit to graduation. Drew Lavender is a gamer at the point guard spot and freshman Dante Jackson is a highly thought of recruit at shooting guard.

GW: Carl Elliot is gone, but Maureece Rice and Travis King are back along with a strong recruiting class led by Miles Beatty.

Fordham: Another team returning five starters, coming off an 18-win season and they will be led by seniors Marcus Stout (15.3 ppg) and Bryant Dunston (14.5 ppg).

Massachussets: The Minutemen will probably finish much higher because they have enough talent at most positions, but the loss of Stephane Lasme is going to hurt.

St. Joe’s: They have a lot of people returning, but they went 9-7 in conference last year. I don’t see them jumping any of the big dogs above.

Dayton: Outside of Brian Roberts (18.5 ppg) and Charles Little (10.5 ppg) the Flyers have very, very little offensive firepower returning.

Saint Louis: The Billikans lost just two seniors and return some talented players, meaning they could make life tough on some top A-10 teams, or become a top A-10 team themselves.

Charlotte: The 49ers have just five returning upper classmen and only one, Leemire Goldwire (14.5 ppg) that made any impact last year.

Temple: In their first year without John Cheany they went 12-18 and nobody was sent in to break another players arm. Look for some improvement this year, but probably nobody breaking another players arm on purpose.

Duquesne: The Dukes have five starters returning. That doesn’t necessarily mean anything. Plus they need to keep their players from getting shot.

Richmond: Despite four starters coming back, the Spiders should be pretty much horrible.

St. Bonaventure: Four wins in conference is a start for the Bonnies. The crazy thing about this season is that they actually have room to go down.

La Salle: They let St. Bonaventure finish in front of them last year…..ouch.

Big East

Louisville: Somehow David Padgett and Juan Palacios are still at Louisville. There must be a special rule for Rick Petino because his players either leave after a year or two or play for seven or eight. With those two bigs, coupled with a very talented sophomore in Edgar Sosa I think the Cards are going to be a serious contender all season.

Georgetown: I do like this team, not as much as the pollsters do with them in the top five. I think Jeff Green meant so much to them. They pretty much have everyone else back including Gigantor, AKA Roy Hibbert along with gaining a pair of McDonald’s All-Americans in Austin Freeman and Chris Wright.

Pitt: We just got done dealing with Aaron Gray for four years, so now here come to more hug freshman in Gary McGee and Austin Wallace. It will be the same type of Pitt team that has been successful for years, grind it out, play solid defense and finish in the top three in the Big East.

Syracuse: Never count out the Cuse!! They have the second coming of Gerry McNamara coming back in Eric Devendorf along with six other upperclassmen and two stellar freshmen in Donte Green and Johnny Flynn.

Marquette: Dominic James and Jerel McNeal are enough to convince me the Golden Eagles are going to compete.

Villanova: Scotty Reynolds will be a legit player despite his inconsistencies as a freshman. He will be joined by another McD’s All-American in Corey Stokes.

Connecticut: I don’t foresee the Huskies going 6-10 in conference again. Maybe like 8-8 this year. They were so young last year and this year they actually have a senior and four juniors.

Notre Dame: We’ll see if Luke Harongody can stay healthy and if Kyle McAlarney can stop smoking pot long enough for them to win some games.

West Virginia: It’s hard to pick a Bob Huggins coached team this low, but the Big East is going to be tough. I think they will compete, but probably not jump over that hump quite yet.

St. John’s: The Johnnies are slowly, but surely, getting better. Anthony Mason Jr. is the closest thing they have to a star, but they have a lot of talented freshman.

Providence: They always seem to give teams a hard time and they always seem to be led by some guy whose name I can’t pronounce.

DePaul: Off the top of my head, I can’t name a single starter. I know they have some really tall dude from Nigeria.

Cincinnati: Always loaded with good players, never loaded with discipline. They are really young this year, give them a few years.

Seton Hall: Is Danny Hurley still playing for the Hall? If not, it’s going to be a long year. Remember when Duke scored the first 83 points of the game against them?

South Florida: I got nothin. Look for them to win two to four games in conference.

Rutgers: Now if Greg Schiano could only take over the basketball program…….

Big Ten

Michigan State: I’m not going to hit the panic button because of an overtime loss in an exhibition game. A lot of big time teams lose early in the year to small schools, so the Spartans got theirs out of the way before it even matters.

Indiana: McDonald’s All-American Eric Gordon leads a strong group of freshmen into Bloomington, a group that includes a Richmond kid in Eli Holman. Let’s not forget they have that D.J. White guy back. He’s pretty good.

Ohio State: Don’t count them out just because some of the young studs left. They have a new 7-footer, and though he is no Greg Oden, Kosta Koufos could be a good Big-Ten player.

Wisconsin: The Badgers lose some athleticism but still have the big slow guys coming back with the return of Brian Butch and three other players 6-10 or taller.

Illinois: I really hope Jeffrey Jordan gets some playing time. Awesome.

Purdue: They turned a corner last year and I think they can continue to be competitive.

Iowa: How many points a game do you think Luke Recker is gonna score? If not him, it will be some other goofy looking white guy.

Michigan: Wolverine basketball hasn’t been the same since the Fab Five came in and took all the programs money and left them high and dry.

Minnesota: Tubby Smith is an idiot.

Northwestern: Their football team has more wins heading into November than this team will win in conference.

Penn State: See Northwestern.

Big 12

Kansas: They are going to be f&@*ng good. Julian Wright left, but Sherron Collins and Brandon Rush stayed and they still have Mario Chalmers and Sasha Kaun.

Texas: I think the conference will be down as a whole, that’s why the Horns can lose a guy like Kevin Durant and still be picked to finish second. D.J. Augustin better be ready to score 40 a game.

Texas A&M: It’ll take at least a year for them to undo all the good that Billy Gillespie did, so they should be fine for this season.

Texas Tech: Is this the year Bobby Knight gets the Red Raiders over the hump and makes them a very good team? I think so.

Oklahoma: They were young last year, but still talented. I think they will bounce back and could be led by 6-10 freshman Blake Griffin.

Kansas State: Bob Huggins left enough in place for them to be competitive in the conference and they have a McDonald’s All-American named Michael Beasley from Washington, DC coming in.

Missouri: I think they are going to be in just about every ball game because they have enough talent, but in the end they will go 8-8 in conference and 18-12 overall. Same old story.

Oklahoma State: Very young, not enough star power. Probably won’t be a huge threat in the conference for a couple of years.

Iowa State: Remember when they were good? I do. Then Larry Eustachy had to ruin everything by getting drunk with the college kids and groping all the young girls.

Baylor: I like that Scott Drew has them playing hard and they have come a long way since the Dave Bliss thing.

Nebraska: Now they can’t even use the excuse, “Well, we’re better than you in football.”

Colorado: Can’t name one guy. They’ll be bad, so who cares?

Big West

Long Beach: New coach, lost some kids to graduation but should still have enough talent to win the conference again.

Poly: They have a lot of kids returning, and will definitely pose the biggest threat to the 49ers.

Fullerton: Gotta like a team with just one underclassmen and the rest juniors and seniors. I have a hunch about them, but I am too scared to go against the defending champs.

Santa Barbara: Chris Devine, Big West second teamer last year, has to lead the way.

Pacific: Anthony Brown is a solid player and they should be much better than last year.

Irvine: Do they still throw toilet paper on the court if they score the first bucket of the game?

Northridge: Jonathan Heard leads an otherwise pedestrian group of players.

Riverside: Looking to build on that one conference win from last season!!

Conference USA

Memphis: So good for this conference. They are going to roll through it, get a high seed because of it and then lose in the Sweet 16 or Elite 8. I can’t wait to see what stud freshman Derrick Rose can do.

Houston: This is like D.J. Qualls being a runner up to George Clooney in People magazine’s 50 most beautiful people. It will be Memphis, then everyone else battling for second place.

UCF: Six seniors return to a team that won 22 games last year. Could they be the team that Memphis destroys in the conference final?

UAB: I really miss the days of Squeaky Johnson and the crew running up and down the court like bunch of Tasmanian Devils.

UTEP: They killed me in my NCAA Tournament pool in 2005, but I am going to keep rooting for the Miners to do well. That’s why I have them rated probably too highly.

Southern Miss: They won a bunch of games last year, but with just four upperclassmen this year should be more of a struggle.

Tulane: They are very young, fairly talented but it won’t stop Memphis from beating the living crap out of them.

Tulsa: They lack any real returning scoring threat.

Marshall: We are….horrible. Can’t wait to see how bad Memphis pummels them.

Rice: What kind of a name is Rice for a school anyway?

SMU: Memphis = murder. At least Eric Dickerson went to school here.

East Carolina: Memphis is going to kill them even worse than all the others.

Missouri Valley

Southern Illinois: Of course the Salukis are going to win this incredibly competitive conference, be ranked all year and then be a thorn in everybody’s side during the tournament.

Creighton: They are pretty young, but I still feel like they will be in the running for a conference title and an NCAA berth.

Wichita State: They were a flop last year after having high expectations, but I expect them to play better this year with no expectations.

Bradley: Jeremy Crouch and Daniel Ruffin combined to score over 27 points a game last year and I would expect them to improve on that this year.

Northern Iowa: Eric Coleman returns with his 13.1 ppg and 9.1 rpg as he looks to get the Panthers back into the tourney picture.

Missouri State: They return nobody that was in the conference’s top 15 in scoring last season.

Illinois State: Levi Dyer was one of the top three-point shooters in the conference last year and will need to be so again for ISU to have any chance.

Drake: The Bulldogs lost their top two scorers and the outlook for this season is bleak.

Evansville: Matt Webster’s production is going to be hard to replace.

Indiana State: They better hope Larry Bird comes back.

Mountain West

UNLV: Lon Kruger has a very talented team and he got them to believe in themselves during last year’s tournament run. We’ll see how the team adjusts with the loss of his son, Kevin Kruger, to graduation. Kevin was basically an extension of the coach on the floor last year.

Air Force: Will last year’s collapse haunt them? Instead of being highly ranked and then crashing, I expect them to fly under the radar most of the year, finish with basically the same record and make the tourney because there won’t be an ugly collapse involved.

BYU: Last year’s champs really lost a lot as Trent Plaisted is their returning leading scorer at 12.5 ppg.

Wyoming: I really like their backcourt of Brad Jones and Brandon Ewing who combined to score 38 points a game last year. Plus, I was Wyoming in NCAA basketball on Playstation once and I dominated, so maybe that will carry over.

Utah: Are there no good Mormon basketball players anymore or are they all going to BYU now? The Utes used to be so good. I expect them to be a bit better this year.

New Mexico: Nine upperclassmen and just three underclassmen. I would expect the Lobos to get back to competing in the MWC.

San Diego State: Graduation really hit hard. They only have one player returning (Lorrenzo Wade) who averaged double figures last year (10.5 ppg).

Colorado State: Expecting a drop off with a young team this year. I guess they can’t drop far, since they went 6-10 in conference last year.

TCU: They have a guy on their roster named Alvarado Parker who doesn’t even have a home town listed. I guess you can’t be good if you don’t even know where your players are from.

Pac-10

UCLA: So they return nearly everyone and then add Kevin Love!?!? This team is going to be scary good.

Oregon: Aaron Brooks will be hard to replace, but nearly everyone else is back.

Arizona: Another great recruiting class and plenty of talent coming back.

USC: Everyone is holding their breath as they wait to see how good O.J. Mayo is.

Washington State: I think they are a quality team that plays a style conducive to their roster, but I think that last year they played a bit over their heads.

Stanford: How is Brook Lopez be at Stanford and be ineligible? Isn’t that an oxymoron?

Washington: They should be able to score a lot of points, as usual.

Cal: I keep seeing DeVon Hardin advertised all over BART on my commute, so I am being tricked into believing he is good.

Arizona State: Herb Sendek will get the program turned around eventually and he has already brought in a McDonald’s All-American in James Harden.

Oregon State: Barf.

SEC
East Division

Tennessee: Chris Lofton is going to shoot a lot. The Vols are going to score a lot. This is supposed to be Bruce Pearl’s year, and I think he really has something going.

Kentucky: Billy Gillispie jumped ship, he got himself an extremely talented freshman in Patrick Patterson and he inherited a quality roster which included a great shooter in Jodie Meeks.

Florida: Don’t count them out at all. They are very young, but they recruited two McDonald’s All-Americans in Nick Calethes and Jai Lucas. I think they’ll be just fine.

Vandy: From year to year I can never figure out who their best players will be, but they find a way to win 20 games most of the time.

Georgia: Rough times have fallen upon them ever since their players couldn’t take classes where all they had to do was answer what a three-pointer is.

South Carolina: Not even good. Not even a little bit good.

West Division

Arkansas: People are high on the Hogs, but I would like Stan Heath and his team to actually do something. I think they are good enough to win the West, but that doesn’t mean I think they are a top 25 team.

Alabama: Will they continue to be a disappointment? Well, this conference is fairly week so it only takes a slightly above average team to do well. Ronald Steele and Alonzo Gee make them a dangerous team.

Mississippi State: They were 8-8 in the conference last year and I expect nothing more than that this year.

Ole Miss: Why do they get to be Ole? What’s wrong with just Miss? What is a Running Rebel anyway? Do most Rebels run?

LSU: They still have some good players hanging on from the Final Four run (Tasmin Mitchell, Garrett Temple) but it won’t be enough.

Auburn: It’s just not a basketball school, plain and simple.

WCC

Gonzaga: Josh Heytvelt isn’t on shrooms anymore and the Professor isn’t there to shoot them out of games any longer. They will win the conference again, and won’t do it with three losses.

Saint Mary’s: Only a couple of seniors, but a lot of returners. The Gaels will be the bridesmaid.

Santa Clara: They had their chance last year, but didn’t take advantage and now graduation has crippled them a bit. It’s all up to Brody Angley now, who I covered in high school. Am I cool, or what?

USF: Had some problems with recruits this year including a very good player out of Richmond, Wendell McKines. They were poised to have a very good team, now they will be just okay.

San Diego: Seven freshmen means they are a year or two away.

Pepperdine: Weren’t they good just a couple of years ago? I like their recruiting class, I think they could be a surprise this year.

Loyola-Marymount: Young team. And not good.

Portland: The Professor’s little brother, Nik Raivio, choose Portland. Not gonna matter, they are horrible.

College Football Top 25

By Matt Smith

One of the few weeks where most things went as they should for the most part.

1. Ohio State (10-0): Jim Tressel said that before the season he circled the Wisconsin game as a big game. Wrong. The Buckeyes have only one big game this year and it’s in two weeks.

2. Oregon (8-1): Oregon is looking more and more impressive and it will be a shame if they win out and don’t reach the title game.

3. LSU (8-1): They are very talented, but they are the luckiest team in major college football. A lot of breaks go their way and they win close games.

4. Oklahoma (8-1): Pounded the Aggies and now the Sooners path to the Big 12 title game has been paved.

5. West Virginia (7-1): The Mountaineers are just lurking under the radar. Nobody is talking about them and they are ready to pounce if anyone slips up.

6. Michigan (8-2): All of a sudden they are 8-2. Take into account what Oregon has done, they look like a team that was upset once and then beaten by a better team.

7. Kansas (9-0): I am becoming more and more convinced that this is a very good team. They still have a lot to prove.

8. Missouri (8-1): The Tigers and Kansas for the right to go to the Big 12 title game? Right now it’s looking like that and nobody would have predicted it.

9. Georgia (7-2): This could have been a trap game for Georgia, coming off a big win against Florida and playing a very good Troy team. The Dawgs didn’t look great, but they got it done.

10. Boston College (8-1): I predicted that the Florida State game was trouble, playing a more athletic team that had a lot to prove.

11. Arizona State (8-1): They are still a very good team, but just not worthy of being in the top ten.

12. Hawaii (8-0): Showdown with Boise State is building.

13. Texas (8-2): Somehow they keep digging deep holes against below average teams and then keep coming back.

14. Florida (6-3): The Gators took their fat aggression out on Vandy.

15. USC (7-2): Good bounce back win against the Beavers as they avenged last year’s loss.

16. Virginia Tech (7-2): They demoralized the Georgia Tech offense.

17. Alabama (6-3): They probably should have won that game with LSU, but the breaks late in the game went LSU’s way.

18. Auburn (7-3): Auburn keeps grinding out wins as the Tigers bounced back nicely from a tough loss to LSU.

19. Connecticut (8-1): The more wins they pile up, the more confident they get and the more dangerous they are.

20. Kentucky (6-3): Can they bounce back against Vandy? Probably.

21. Illinois (7-3): The Illini did what everyone else in the Big Ten has done to Minnesota; pounded the crap out of them.

22. Penn State (7-3): Got by Purdue as the Big Ten teams not named Ohio State and Michigan keep slugging it out for position.

23. Cal (6-3): Nice to see the yellow jersey’s and it’s nice to see the Bears stop the three-game skid.

24. Clemson (7-2): The Tigers have quietly won three straight, after losing two in a row.

25. Boise State (8-1): They deserved to be ranked, losing only to a Pac-10 team. The game against Hawaii is going to be the biggest game the WAC has seen in a while if things stay as they are.

NFL hits midway point

By Mike Walsh

Feliz dia de los Muertos! It’s the end of October and that can only mean one thing…that it’s time to take a look at the NFL at it’s mid-way point and try to figure out what is going on. Or, more accurately, it’s time for me to write down random thoughts from across the league to try to piece together some semblance of a hierarchy in the NFL.
Here’s what we know:

The NFC West is horrible. Sean Alexander should have dressed up like Eddie George for Halloween. Since Alexander adopted Eddie George’s ‘jog lightly into the back of the offensive line and fall down at first contact’ style of running it’s been hard to tell them apart anyway. No word on whether Ray Lewis took Alexander’s soul the way he did with George. We do know that Ray murdered two people. Good times.
Santana Moss is AWOL. Can someone check Rae Carruth’s trunk? He might break the fantasy WR record for most times added and dropped in one season.

The Bears are awful. Their two-year window of opportunity was smothered by an overwhelmed Sexy Rex Grossman and their decision to go with a running back who cried on draft day and on his first day of training camp as a rookie instead of the back with the biggest biceps this side of Napoleon Kaufman. Not to mention Mike Brown’s luck ran out and Urlacher having an arthritic back. Ouch.
The Falcons can’t decide between The Pianist and the star of Super Size Me II, Byron Leftwich. And, if Cat Fancy didn't ruin Warrick Dunn’s career, playing with no threat of a passing attack has.
The Vikings should just direct snap to Adrian Peterson every down instead of letting Tavaris Jackson get in the way. By the way, can you name the Vikings starting receivers? Me neither.
The Panthers are choosing between Testaverde and Carr, which is like choosing the way you want to die while on death row. Either way, it’s gonna get ugly.
Daunte is decidedly NOT on a roll. How long can it take JaMarcus to learn the offense? They seem to only run three pass plays, throw it up for grabs deep, try to thread the needle over the middle or just drop back until you get sacked. I think he’s ready. The Raiders defense needs to know that the head coach is actually trying to score points.
Chad Pennington might never start an NFL game again with that noodle arm.
Derek Anderson?
The Dolphins look like they will be the first franchise to have a 16-0 season and an 0-16 season. Congratulations!

So what are we left with? Who are the teams with a chance to get to/win the Super Bowl?

San Diego- I know I know, they looked awful to start the season. But Rivers found a go to target with Gates, who learned how to play football by playing Madden. They are starting to click on offense. Sadly, Norv Turner is prominently involved, which means they have no chance to actually win.

Green Bay- Great young defense. Brett Favre has tricked himself into thinking he doesn’t suck…for now. There will come a time when he thinks it is 1997 instead of 2007 and he will try to wing the ball between three defenders one too many times and cripple the Pack. Plus they can’t run the ball, so their defense will get tired if they try to protect a lead.

Jaguars- If Garrard comes back healthy and Stroud comes back pissed they will be tough. Although we saw what Indy did to them this season already.

Giants- Eli is still inconsistent and is in danger of becoming the Dom DiMaggio to Peyton’s Joe. He could have a nice career, but he’ll never stack up to his brother. There defense is ferocious and will keep them in games when Eli is being Eli.

Dallas- Well, we saw what New England did to them. And Tony Romo might not be ready for primetime. That said they are probably the best all around representative for the NFC.

Pittsburgh- They don’t have dynamic receivers. I don’t trust Big Ben either. They just don’t stack up against…

Colts- They’ve won 12 straight going back to last year. Peyton is controlling games beautifully on offense and their defense is stepping up big time. I still don’t understand the commercial with Marvin Harrison floating in a tank of Dolphins, but whatever. They do everything well, they don’t have any blaring holes and they have the confidence to beat anyone, including…

Patriots- Going through the 2007 schedule like they are playing Madden on all-pro instead of all-madden. They don’t let up and they take the other team’s will and squash it. ’ve never seen anything quite like it. Maybe the 1989 Niners…maybe.

And there’s the rub. The best three football teams play in the same conference, which means that at least one of the three won’t even make it to the AFC championship game. Barring something catastrophic, the Colts and Pats will do battle in the AFC championship game and the winner will steamroll some under-qualified team from the NFC.

So what do we know? We know that the Super Bowl will be played two weeks earlier than usual this year because the AFC Championship will, for all intents and purposes, be the Super Bowl.

Fantasy football flops and surprises

By Matt Smith

There are a lot of people like me, people who wake up on Sunday morning and are either watching or tracking every game in the NFL for anywhere from six to 10 hours.
The reason we do this, is because we are fantasy football geeks and we root as hard for certain players on certain teams almost as hard as we root for our favorite teams. I know there are plenty of people that would not watch as adamantly if they weren’t in a fantasy football league and others wouldn’t watch at all.
The reason is, fantasy football gives us a stake in the game. There is no other reason that I would cheer a Joe Nedney field goal with the 49ers losing 24-0 unless he was on my fantasy team. It can also break your heart, like when Mike Holmgren opted to go for it on fourth down, trailing the Saints by 11 points instead of kicking the field goal to make it a one score game and attempting an onside kick. Because he didn’t kick there, I lost a fantasy game by two points.
But that’s what makes it great. What makes it even better, is how we sit around just before the season starts and we all act like experts as we breakdown which players are going to have breakout years, which are on the decline and which will continue to put up numbers.
Without fail, every year, several players fail us as we watch guys we could have drafted performing at a high level for other teams. Some people with Rudi Johnson are watching a guy like Willie Parker go off, and thinking to themselves that they could have had him.
Some people are patting themselves on the back for taking a chance on Brett Favre and staying away from a youngster like Alex Smith.
There are plenty of fantasy busts, but for the biggest one, let’s start in the city by the bay.

Frank Gore
The guy came off a year where he rushed for 1,700 yards and said he was going after the single season rushing record. Now, he’s going to need about 1,800 yards in nine games for that to happen. Gore is averaging four yards a carry, but he isn’t breaking any big plays in piling up 435 yards through seven games.

Cedric Benson
He is high on the list of busts. The Bears traded away Thomas Jones to make Benson the top back, and not only has he not answered the call, but he can’t even hear the phone ringing. He has scored just two touchdowns, he is averaging just over three yards a carry and is on pace to rush for just over 900 yards.

Shaun Alexander
A lot of people took him high in hopes of him regaining his 2005 form, which hasn’t come close to happening. He has two scores, he’s averaging 3.4 yards per carry and barely on pace for 1,000 yards.

Dolphins, Falcons, Jets
If you drafted Trent Green, Ronnie Brown, Joey Harrington, Warrick Dunn, Chad Pennington or Thomas Jones things haven’t worked out for you. Why? Because these three teams are a combined 2-21.

Clinton Portis
He’s not on pace for a 1,000 yards and he is averaging less than four yards a carry. He does have five touchdowns, so he has produced a bit.

Tatum Bell
What were you thinking if you drafted this guy? You learned that he can’t even take the job from Kevin Jones, a classic underachiever.

Larry Johnson
Ya, so he has over 500 yards but he has just two touchdowns and is averaging just 3.6 yards per carry.

Laurence Maroney
I know a lot of people probably drafted him high, but he has been battling injuries and has not scored a touchdown yet.

Chester Taylor
See Adrian Peterson later on.

The Rams
What was once a high scoring team has seen Stephen Jackson (274 yards, one TD) and Marc Bulger (3 TD, 8 INT) deal with injuries and has seen a steady decline in Tory Holt’s numbers (46-576-4).

Chad Johnson
I know he is second in the NFL in yards, but he has just three touchdowns and has just a single hundred yard game in his last four.

Jerry Porter
Remember how this guy was supposed to be rededicated and was supposed to be the top receiver in Oakland? He has 15 catches.

Deion Branch
He’s been battling injury and inconsistency and has 22 catches and a touchdown.

Alex Smith
He’s been hurt, but still he is ranked 30th in passer rating.

Matt Leinert
Even before getting hurt, the only quarterback with a worse rating was Tarvaris Jackson, who can’t be a bust because he wasn’t good to begin with.

Vince Young
Three passing touchdowns and a passer rating of 66.

J.P. Losman
After a breakout year last year, a lot of people were high on him. He got injured and missed two games and couldn’t even win his job back from Trent Edwards.

With all these busts, there have to be some surprises, right? We know the Vikings drafted Adrian Peterson that high for a reason, but did anyone expect this right away? He leads the league in rushing!! He has made Chester's 1,200 yard season a distant memory.

Marshawn Lynch
I knew he would be good, but I didn’t know he would be on pace to rush for 1,200 yards in his first year.

LenDale White
Apparently you can eat as much as you want, resemble a refrigerator with feet and still have a good season.

Derek Anderson
What? 17 touchdowns and over eight yards per attempt?

Wes Welker
Here’s a tip to any slightly above average receiver. Sign with the Patriots for less money.

Braylon Edwards
It’s hard to call someone with his talent, who was as high a draft pick a surprise but he is going off and making big plays every week. I expected him to be solid, but he is a legit playmaker in this league.

NBA Preview

By Mike Walsh

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

Boston- With obvious improvement, we’ll see if the PGA Tour (Pierce, Garnett, Allen) can be a three-man show or if it takes more. Rumors of them signing Cassell and his gigantic balls could be a plus.

Toronto- They are good at every position. Bosh is an emerging superstar. They are really good for the East but they would be 10th in the west.

New Jersey- One of these years Jason Kidd is going to go down another gear. If that happens this year, the laptop thief is not ready to run the show. Plus there is the inevitable Vince injury.

New York- I’m not sold on the Eddie Curry/Zack Randolph front line. Sure they can score and out-eat any other front line at a buffet, but can they play defense and not commit a homicide or die of heart failure?

Philadelphia- Trying to think of a bright spot….
…
…
I got nothin’. Thank you Billy King!

Central

Chicago- A lot hinges on the Kobe saga. The Bulls are one of the few teams with enough assets to trade for Kobe. If it happens, we’ll see if they have enough left to contend. If they stay put, they are young, freakishly talented and have another year of experience.

Detroit- Prince’s ankle is a concern and everyone is a year older, but they play very well together and can still play great team defense.

Cleveland- The Lebrons missed their chance last spring. Now he has to try to carry one of the crummiest rosters in recent memory back to the playoffs. Also he moved into his house that has a casino inside and he has a baby, so he’s probably not getting as much sleep as he should.

Milwaukee- I have no idea what to expect from Yi since he would only workout against chairs in the pre-draft workouts. Let’s play it safe and put them here.

Indiana- They were kind enough to take on the Warriors trash that they were taking out last year. I can’t think of one good thing to say about this roster. Jermaine O’neal might be the first player to walk off the court during the middle of a game and never comeback.

Southeast

Miami- If Wade and Shaq are healthy that should be almost enough by itself. Employee #8 was traded to Minnesota, as if Wolves fans weren’t depressed enough. If Shaq is out of shape and disinterested forget we had this conversation.

Orlando- The best frontline in the East. OK, that’s not really a bold statement, but still. Who is going to guard Rashard, Hedo and Dwight Howard in the East?

Atlanta- If you pick in the lottery for 17 straight years you’re bound to be good at some point right?...um, right?! Well this is the year that the Hawks sneak up on teams. And really, the East is just bad.

Washington- Hibachi and Jamison need more help from the role players, but this team was starting to click with Caron. I love the addition of Nick Young, but with DeShawn Stevenson, don’t bring your high school daughters to any games.

Charlotte- Every year you look at their roster of young, athletic talent and think they might be good. Then, every year, they are terrible.


Western Conference

Northwest

Utah- I hate them. You hate them. Everyone hates them. But they are good, even if they grab, hold and push in the back to get rebounds. If I sound like a bitter Warriors fan, I am.

Denver- They will be the exact same as last year. A.I. was not the answer to their championship puzzle.

Portland- They would be a top 6 team with a healthy Oden. Instead, they are team with a lot of pieces that will show flashes this year.

Seattle- So bad. I am angry just looking at their roster. How many points do they expect Durant to score a night? 45? 50?

Minnesota- Vomit

Pacific

Phoenix- Really good. They got screwed by an out dated rule last spring. If they can keep Marion and Stoudemire happy they can make one more run at the Western Conference title, which is also the NBA title.

Golden State- I know a lot of people think the Warriors were a flash in the pan last year. They won’t miss J-Rich has much as people think (he’s been hurt for 2 years, so they already know how to play without him). This team loves playing together and it will show this season. That is unless Stephen Jackson loses his mind.

Lakers- What do you do when you have the best basketball player alive who is hyper competitive and in his prime? Surround him with crap and frustrate him until he demands to be traded, right? That’s what Dr. Buss thinks anyway.

Sacramento- It turns out Brad Miller isn’t dead. Unfortunately, Mike Bibby is close to being dead if Ron Artest has anything to say about it. Kevin Martin is good, somehow. They would be a 4 or 5 seed in the East.

Clippers- No Brand, no Livingston, Cassell is 72 years old, and Kaman’s tributary Hulkamania hair has gone too far. I would call them the worst team in the West if not for the Wolves.

Southwest

San Antonio- Tim Duncan might be a robot. Best coach, best team defense in the West and they can all execute on offense when it gets down to crunch time.

Dallas- It will be interesting to see how they recover from last year’s playoff debacle. Let’s hope Mark Cuban doesn’t cry on camera ever again. They have too much talent to fall much, but the first round of the playoffs will be interesting. Especially if they play the W’s again.

Houston- They actually added some talent to surround T-Mac and Yao with Bonzi and Scola. Then they went and added Steve Francis, so maybe it’s a wash. Just kidding. Remember how good Francis was at Maryland and his first few years in the league? Huh.

Memphis- I love Conley Jr. and Pau. The jury is out on Rudy Gay. I’m just saying… they could be good.

New Orleans- Chris Paul is really good. Too bad he’s on the Hornets. I am not sold on Chandler or Peja. They will not be different players this year than they were before. Peja misses the Good Feet store.

Heisman Watch: Who's the favorite?

By Matt Smith

The College Football season is now through October and still, a clear cut favorite to win the Heisman Trophy has yet to emerge. It seems like the experts change their picks daily and this appears to be a race that is going to come down to the wire. I think people are playing themselves out of it, instead of stepping up and winning and I feel that the person that plays the not worst (as opposed to the best) will win the thing.
Here’s a look at the players that I feel are in the running heading into November:

Quarterbacks

Dennis Dixon, Oregon: Dixon hasn’t put up huge numbers, but he hasn’t had to. He manages the game perfectly and ranks sixth in the country in passing efficiency. He is completing nearly 70 percent of his passes, and though he has just 1,885 yards and 16 touchdowns, he has only thrown three interceptions and has also rushed for 492 yards and eight touchdowns.

Matt Ryan, Boston College: Even though he played his worst game of the season, Ryan is still going to come out of it smelling like roses. If you look at just the stats, 25-for-52 for 285 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions it seems very pedestrian. People are only going to remember that he was 11-for-19 for 184 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter as he led BC to a 14-10 win over Virginia Tech with two touchdowns late in the game. His stats overall are good with 2,433 yards, 19 TDs and 61 percent completions, but the 8-0 record is what is working best for his cause.

Colt Brennan, Hawaii: Had Brennan not missed a game with an injury, his stats would be somewhere around 3,200 yards and 30 touchdowns which would definitely strengthen his candidacy. He is still fourth in yards, tied for third in touchdown passes and seventh in efficiency. I think if Hawaii runs the table and Brennan puts up huge numbers they won’t have any chance but to invite him.

Andre Woodson, Kentucky: This was the media darling early in the year, but now that Kentucky has proven to be a middle of the pack top 25 team and not an elite top 10 team, people have fallen off the bandwagon. His stats are very good as he has 2,431 yards and 28 touchdowns but it would take Kentucky winning out and him playing well for him to get invited to the ceremony in New York.

Tim Tebow, Florida: Tebow’s chances are hurt by two things; the fact that he is a sophomore and Florida has three losses. Tebow has good stats and is a horse, throwing for nearly 2,000 yards and rushing for close to 600 more. He has 30 combined touchdowns and only three interceptions.

Brian Brohm, Louisville: Brohm has absolutely no chance because Louisville sucks, but it’s too bad. The senior is second in the NCAA in yards, tied for third in touchdowns and fifth in quarterback efficiency. If a couple of those close losses were wins, he would be in the discussion.

Graham Harrell, Texas Tech: He is regarded as a pure system quarterback, but I would be stupid not to at least mention him. He leads the nation in yards (3,979), TDs (35), completion percentage (72.8) and is fourth in efficiency.

Running Backs

Mike Hart, Michigan: Missing the second half of the Purdue game and then not playing at all against Illinois and Minnesota probably ruined his chances, but he is still a possibility if he plays huge down the stretch and if the Wolverines win the Big Ten.

Ray Rice, Rutgers: Rice is fourth in the NCAA with 1,141 yards and has scored 13 touchdowns. What’s most impressive about the junior is the fact that he totes the rock like a trooper, carrying the ball 234 times in eight games.

Matt Forte, Tulane: Forte has no chance, because he plays for the Green Wave, but I figured he should at least be in the discussion. He leads the NCAA with 1,539 yards and has not rushed for less than 200 yards in a game since September 29 against LSU. He had 73 yards in the game, averaging over four yards a carry but the Wave had to abandon the run to try and come back. He has rushed for over 300 yards twice.

Darren McFadden, Arkansas: He has just 993 yards and 11 touchdowns, but it’s hard to count him out because of what he is capable of. If Arkansas closes strong and he has a big game in the finale against LSU on the national stage, he has a chance.

Jonathan Stewart, Oregon: Maybe the most underrated running back in major college football. He is averaging nearly seven yards a carry and is well over 1,000 yards on only 156 carries.

Receivers

Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech: This guy’s stats are ridiculous. He has 100 catches and 1,451 yards to go with 18 touchdowns. Did I mention he’s a freshman? Did I mention he’s on pace for 133 catches, nearly 2,000 yards and 24 touchdowns? If he breaks Manny Hazard’s single-season of 142 catches, he has to be considered.

Jordy Nelson, Kansas State: You guys are probably thinking who? But Nelson is pretty legit, grabbing 76 balls for 1,008 yards and seven touchdowns.

The invitees: Dixon, Brennan and Ryan will all be invited and I think that Crabtree’s numbers are too much to ignore if he stays on pace, but being a freshman he is likely to be snubbed. I am not sure if a running back (or a fourth candidate) will be invited or is even in order, but whichever of the big three (Hart, Rice, McFadden) have a huge finish have a chance at getting the nod. A fourth quarterback could be invited and if so it will be Tebow or Woodson.

Sox sweep shows AL dominance, and that the Rockies are still the Rockies

By Mike Walsh

More important than the World Series this year, I think the question on everyone’s mind was who would be the next Yankees manager and how would this affect the Yankees lineup next year? Alright, just kidding. Can someone tell ESPN that I don’t need around the clock coverage of Joe Torre? He was a good manager for a really good team for 12 years. I digress…

There wasn’t really a question as to whether the Red Sox would win the World Series. The questions going into the Series were more personal curiosities, such as: Why was Todd Helton evolving into David Grohl? Would he come out to play 1st base with a flannel shirt on at some point? And why does Manny Ramirez throw his helmet off on purpose every time he starts running the base paths?

As I sat at home last night watching the Red Sox celebrate their second championship in four years I wondered what I could write about that would be even remotely interesting. I wasn’t sure if the Series was actually that bad or if listening to Joe Buck and Tim McCarver had killed too many brain cells. I managed to pick out five things that made the difference and carried the Red Sox over the Colorado Rockies in the 2007 World Series. (It’s still weird to type World Series and Colorado Rockies in the same sentence)


5. The Streak- The thing about streaks is…they end. And when they do, the team usually goes cold and loses some winnable games along the way once it has cooled down. The Colorado Rockies were running on all cylinders for six weeks. They were crisp in every aspect of the game. Beyond that, they were getting all of the breaks. No really, they were. Just ask Eric Byrnes. Sweeping the NLCS turned out to be the worst thing that could have happened to the Rockies. The nine-day break cooled the Rockies off, the Red Sox punched them in the mouth in game one and, although they played them close the next night, the series was done. The Rockies no longer came to the plate looking confident. They didn’t have the look in their eyes like they knew they would find a way to win. Their body language deteriorated quickly and it became hard to play baseball with giant forks sticking out of their backs.

4. The Rookies- Known for spending insane amounts of money on the top free agents, the Red Sox ended up getting picked up by their rookies. From Pedroia’s leadoff HR to set the tone, to Ellsbury finding holes in the Rockies defense and then Matsuzaka handling the altitude and Okajima being their horse out of the pen, the Sox got help from all of their kids. Meanwhile the Colorado rookie’s bats cooled down considerably. Tulowitzki’s bat was missing and he even had a ball bounce out of the web of his glove during a sox rally that would have stopped the bleeding. Franklin Morales struggled mightily out of the bullpen. The only Rookie who played well at all was Ubaldo Jimenez and even he looked shaky at times, but at least he kept the Rockies in the game.

3. The bottom of the order- After doing almost nothing to help the Red Sox win for six months, the bottom of the Red Sox Order came up huge in the ALCS and World Series. Then, without warning or provocation, J.D. Drew and Julio Lugo played out of their minds. J.D. Drew!!!!! Having watched Drew battle the Giants I had nicknamed him Backwards K. You don’t get a nickname like that if you come through in the clutch. Lugo stopped messing with his cup long enough to double his batting average from the season. Meanwhile the Rockies entire lineup was cold. They got no help from Torrealba, Spilborghs or Hawpe (too little, too late). You have to have some unexpected heroes to triumph in the Series and the Rockies had none

2. The Bullpen- I have two words for you Hideki Okajima; or as Tim McCarver likes to call him, Daisuke Matsuzaka. I know he gave up those bombs in games 3 and 4, but he came in for extended relief appearances and prevented the Sox from having to use The Artist Formerly Known as Eric Gagne. Timlin came back from the dead to pitch well. I think everyone knows at this point that if the Red Sox are leading after eight innings, and in many cases after seven, the game is over (all of Paps saves in the playoffs were more than one inning). Papelbon had little trouble disposing of the Rockies when he came in. Jamie Carroll hit the ball the farthest off of Paps. Unfortunately for Jamie Carroll, that was as far as he can hit a baseball. The Red Sox got the innings they needed from the starters and in the two games that weren’t blow outs, the bullpen did what was needed to win the game.
The Rockies bullpen had been pitching so well for so long….no one knows how. Important cogs in their bullpen were such vagabonds as Matt Herges, who is going for “The Steve Finley memorial-played for every team in the NL west award.” LaTroy Hawkins. who is battling Kenny Lofton and Reggie Sanders for the largest jersey collection, and Brian Fuentes who Matt and I made fun of mercilessly even when he started the season pitching well. It was only a matter of time before they started to pitch more like they have the rest of their careers.

1. The Rockies- Before the season started Matt and I tried to predict the final regular season standings for every division and both of us picked the Rockies to finish last in the West. Our only explanation was this: “They’re the Rockies.” And though we were completely wrong about the Rockies, (and the Diamondbacks, I hate the Diamondbacks) there is no way they will win the west next year. I’m more mad about them winning the west than I am about the Giants being unwatchable and having paid Barry Zito sign for 126 million, try to change his wind up only to have Righetti yell at him, hurting his feelings and…ah, hell, never mind) and they are still the Rockies. If we both thought they would finish last there must be some fatal flaws. They are young, their bullpen cannot be trusted, and they let Josh Fogg start a World Series game for them. The Rockies are actually a scary team going forward. They have a great nucleus with Holliday, Tulowitzki, Atkins, Hawpe, Jimenez, Morales and Corpas. For 2007 though, they were still “The Rockies.” The team that I could make fun of and know that they would not be good. And really, except for the last six weeks, they weren’t good. You know what they were? The Rockies.

So even though the series wasn’t very much fun (unless you were a Sox fan, or more likely, one of the countless Red Sox bandwagon fans), there were some good performances (Beckett, Pedroia, Papelbon). Unfortunately, until the National League figures out a way to catch up with the elite American League teams, this is the likely end product of a six month grind; an anti-climactic series in which the AL champ pummels the NL champ.