College Football Notes: QB battles ahoy in Pac-10

By Matt Smith

At the start of the 2007 college football season, the Pac-10 figured to boast a number of good quarterbacks.
USC’s John David Booty was considered a Heisman frontrunner, Oregon’s Dennis Dixon and Cal’s Nate Longshore figured to be two very good returning starters and the same goes for Washington State’s Alex Brink, Arizona’s Willie Tuitama, Arizona State’s Rudy Carpenter and Washington freshman Jake Locker was supposed to round out a very good crop of signal callers.
Now, Booty, Dixon, Brink and Stanford’s T.C. Ostrander have graduated while incumbent starters have left a lot to be desired, opening up some interesting quarterback battles heading into spring practices.
Longshore appears to have lost his job to Kevin Riley, who was the MVP of the Armed Forces Bowl, playing extremely well in his opportunities when replacing Longshore due to injury or ineffectiveness.
Cal head coach Jeff Tedford will say that the competition is open between the two, but Riley has to figure to have the upper hand.
There will also be battles between returning quarterbacks at UCLA between Ben Olson and Pat Cowan and at Oregon State between Sean Canfield and Lyle Maevao.
Quarterback battles will be the story, at least early on in the Pac-10 as only Arizona State, Washington and Arizona are 100 percent certain who will be under center.
The Trojans have to figure out who will be taking the snaps, Mark Sanchez or Mitch Mustain, both of whom were highly touted coming out of high school.
Sanchez was fairly effective when Booty went down last season, completing 60 percent of his passes for 695 yards and seven touchdowns.
Mustain, the Arkansas transfer, threw for nearly 900 yards and threw 10 touchdown passes when he was starting early on for the Razorbacks as a freshman.
Justin Roper and Cody Kempt were forced into action when Dixon and Brady Leaf went down for the Ducks, and now both fairly untested sophomores will be battling for the job.
Stanford, on the other hand, has four quarterbacks returning from last year’s team, including Tavita Pritchard who made a few starts. But the guy who could emerge from the pack is a very highly touted freshman Andrew Luck from Stratford High School in Texas.
Luck was the No. 7 rated quarterback according to ESPN.com and was their No. 61 overall recruit.
Washington State, who was bad last year and had a terrible recruiting class, will try and decide between senior Gary Rogers and Marshall Lobbestael.

What did he do?: The question on anyone’s mind that pays close attention to college football, is what did Ryan Perrilloux do?
He’s a mercurial talent, playing for the best team in college football and he is just about to take the reigns as the starting quarterback at LSU and the next thing you know he’s been suspended indefinitely. As of right now, what he’s done has been kept top secret as Les Miles continues to tell people that it is discipline for the violation of team rules.
This is Perrilloux’s third suspension in nine months, making some wonder if this is it for the would-be sophomore quarterback of the Tigers.
With that said, that leaves LSU with two very inexperienced quarterbacks as the frontrunners to take over.
Junior Andrew Hatch, a transfer from Harvard, was 1-for-2 for nine yards last year and he will be competing with a redshirt freshman in Jarrett Lee, who was a highly regarded recruit coming out of Brenham High School in Texas. Lee was part of a big Texas quarterback class in 2006 that included Ryan Mallett.
If Perrilloux is not allowed to return, Lee will probably emerge as the favorite by the end of fall practice or the beginning of the season. He will then probably wreak havoc on the SEC for four years.

Terrelle Pryor sighting: Or pretty much a lack thereof. There haven’t been any Terrelle Pryor sightings on any major campuses lately.
He has visited Ohio State and Michigan, but since then has not followed up on Penn State and Oregon. According to rivals.com he is high on Ohio State and Michigan and medium on Penn State and according to scout.com he is medium on Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State.
All signs indicated he was ready to announce his commitment to Ohio State on Feb. 6, but he was talked into giving Penn State a visit.
Since then, Michigan has stepped up its recruitment of the top prep football player of the country, giving Michigan perhaps the slightest edge.
A visit to Happy Valley could change his mind, and if he does indeed fly to Eugene, he could very well fall in love with the multi-million dollar facilities and the fact that he will have as much Nike gear as he wants, not to mention being able to wear a different style uniform at every game.

MLB Notes: Are the Royals for real?

By Matt Smith

Bob Dutton, the Kansas City Royals beat writer for the Kansas City Star, was on MLB homeplate on XM radio the other day, and he was talking about why the Royals could win it all.
Not that they should, or they would, but that they could. He said everything would have to go right and basically acknowledged many people would have to have career years for them to have any chance this season.
Let’s just get this straight: The Royals cannot, will not and should not win the World Series this year, because of these factors that Dutton overlooks:

1) They’re the Royals.
2) They suck.
3) They have Brett Tomko on their team.
4) Did I mention they’re the Royals?

Don’t get me wrong, I love the small market team and outside of actual Kansas City Royals fans, I would love to see them compete, but they just don’t have the horses.
Kansas City is slowly getting better, and general manager Dayton Moore has made plays to get some big names such as Andruw Jones and Hiroki Kuroda and he did sign Jose Guillen.
I actually do look for the Royals to get slightly better this year and maybe within the next couple of years, having a winning season is something they can shoot for if they can keep young players like Mark Teahan and Alex Gordon around for a while.
A winning season would be a nice start for the fans and the franchise, considering they’ve had just one of them since 1994.
So, with the start of Spring Training, we can mathematically eliminate the Royals along with the Giants, Pirates, Nationals, Marlins, Devil Rays, Orioles and A’s.

No bullpen, no problem: When evaluating the trade that sent Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis, it turns out the smartest part of the trade might have been including the lefty. Cabrera is obviously the better player of the two, but when you look at Detroit’s bullpen situation right now, the acquisition of Willis was pretty genius.
There is really no clear idea when Joel Zumaya will be back to the Tigers bullpen and now Fernando Rodney has been shut down.
This is why having a guy like Willis looks great, because with him joining Justin Verlander, Jeremy Bonderman, Nate Robertson and Kenny Rogers, you have five guys that will get close to or go over 200 innings.
It doesn’t matter that Willis went 10-15 with a 5.17 ERA last year because, A) we know he will do better than that and B) it won’t matter if he doesn’t do too much better because the offense is going to win them games more often than they lose them.
As long as Willis chews up innings, which he will, he will give the Tigers exactly what they need.

Will play for food: What is going on with this year’s free agent market? It was almost a certainty that Kyle Lohse was going to get a lucrative deal, yet he remains unsigned. A guy with great power like Mike Piazza has no job, and Shannon Stewart, who played in 146 games last year, proving he was healthy on top of hitting .290 with 12 homers and 11 stolen bases, signed a minor league deal.
Let’s not forget that the guy who has hit more home runs than anyone else ever has is still looking for a place to work.
It’s a funny market this year where most teams have shied away from throwing money at every free agent in sight. In fact, there have only been a couple of bad signings, with the four-year, 48 million dollar contract that Carlos Silva received leading the way.
Teams would probably be getting a better and younger pitcher with more upside in Lohse, but only the Mariners were stupid enough to offer such a ridiculous contract and it went to the other guy.
For guys like Piazza and Bonds, they will probably have to wait for an American League team to suffer a few injuries, prompting them to bring in a guy that can absorb some at bats in the DH slot.

Milestone watch: A number of players are looking to crack some home run milestones as Ken Griffey Jr. will enter the season with 593 home runs, looking to become the sixth player in the history of the game to reach the 600 HR plateau.
Also, by the time this season is over Alex Rodriguez will likely move past names like Ted Williams, Willie McCovey, Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Mantle and Mike Schmidt and with another year like last year he would move past Reggie Jackson as well. He could end up approaching the top ten when the season ends.Also, keep an eye out for Manny Ramirez (490) and Gary Sheffield (480) who are both looking to 24th and 25th members of the 500 home run club.

NBA Notes: Go Time in the West

By Mike Walsh

The volley of trades has passed. The smoke is rising and what's left is a new landscape for the impending playoff push in the NBA. While it is too early to tell how all of the trades in the West will work out, it's never too early to guess how they will work out.
The Western Conference playoffs will come down to matchups. Given the bottle neck of records at the moment, just about every seed could be up in the air until the last couple days of the season.
Let's take a quick look at the teams in theplayoff picture in the West and see if we can't predict some outcomes...

Lakers- Stole Pau Gasol from Memphis. The move instantly made them a top three team in the West. Once Bynum gets healthy, as long as he didn't get sponsored by Hostess during his injury, the Lakers will be impossible to defend inside. Oh yeah, and they still have Kobe Bryant. The Lakers are looking scary as we head into spring.

New Orleans- Bonzi! We already know he is pretty good when motivated. Now it's time for Bonzi to step up to try to earn a lucrative contract with the Hornets. They didn't give up anything to get him. So they've got that going for them, which is nice. I don't think they needed to make a move, but if they were going to trade with Houston, I would have gone for Battier, an outside shooter who can defend instead of the malcontent who only tries when money is on the line. That's just me. Too little experience to get past the Lakers or Spurs.

Spurs- Everyone talks about how they quietly made moves to get better. You hear about how they go for character guys and don't put up with selfish players and players who get into trouble on or off the court. Then they go and sign Damon Stoudamire. He's been a disaster in the locker room everywhere he's gone. Although he does stimulate the economy with his pot habit. They also traded for Kurt Thomas, a slow, old,under-sized big man. Am I crazy here? How did they get better? Still, they are the Spurs and will be tough in a seven game series.

Suns- What did they do?! I am so confused! Mike D'Antoni needs to figure this out soon, before it's too late. Once teams realize that they barely need to guard Shaq and start paying attention to Amare Stoudemire again, they could really be in trouble. Detroit destroyed them at home on Sunday. The Suns never even made a run in the second half. Bad times in Phoenix.

Mavericks- We are still trying to figure out the Jason Kidd era. I am still not sold on Kidd being the missing piece in Dallas. Especially given all the pieces that are gone now because of him. What matchu-ps did they improve on in the West by trading for Kidd and losing Devon Harris and DiSagna Diop? Chris Paul lit Kidd up already. Who is going to guard Baron Davis, Monta Ellis, Steve Nash, Deron Williams, Tony Parker, and Allen Iverson? Who is going to guard Tim Duncan, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Yao, Amare Stoudemire, Shaq, Carlos Boozer and Tyson Chandler? Why do people think this was a good trade for Dallas? Kidd might make their offense marginally better, but their offense wasn't the problem in the first place. I hope they miss the playoffs.

Jazz- I already talked about how great this trade was. The Jazz are better on offense with Kyle "Don't call me Ashton" Korver. The problem is, and this shocked me, is that they can't seem to guard anyone! They are giving up an alarming amount of points for a Jerry Sloan team. Is it because of all the rule changes and the pace of the game that teams are leaning towards this year? Maybe. Still ,they need to figure something out on defense before the playoffs start.

Rockets- Maybe I'm crazy, but I don't trust the Rockets at all. Tracy McGrady doesn't scare me like he used to and Yao Ming is the same player that he was last year. And the year before. Isn't he supposed to be developing? He won't be developing any further this season (see below). I definitely don't think they got better by trading for Donald Driver...er, Bobby Jackson. Although I love his high socks and our pal Tony is stoked about him being a Golden Gopher. They are just good enough to make the playoffs every year and nothing more with this nucleus.

Nuggets- They were hoping that less would be more in the Western arms race. In a related story, George Karl is an idiot. Maybe Ron Artest wasn't a perfect fit, but doesn't he make them at least a million times better on the defensive end? Right now they are relying on Carmelo Anthony, J.R. Smith and an aging Allen Iverson to slow down the elite perimeter players in the West? That coupled with the fact that their offense is basically Iverson and Carmelo taking turns shooting the ball, leaving the artist formerly known as Kenyon Martin (maybe he's just weighted down by his gigantic contract) and Marcus Camby to clean up their mess. It is essentially the same team they had last year for the playoff push except every other team got better. Hmmmm...

Warriors- A week ago I would have been certain that they would make the playoffs. Since that time they have lost to the Hawks and the Bulls. Now Andris Biedrins is out indefinitely because he had appendicitis. Biedrins was quietly putting together a nice season and was the Warriors only legitimate rebounder, shot blocker and tanning salon/hair gel connoisseur. This injury makes Nellie's Webber signing slightly more tolerable. Stephen Jackson has a bad ankle now. Come to think of it, Latrell Sprewell needs a job. It's 1994! Hang on while I put on a flannel shirt and throw on "Ghetto Jam" by Domino.

Portland- Everyone's most improved pick for 2008-2009 season.

Sacramento- Better than people expected. They did what everyone knew they had to do, which was trading Artest or Mike Bibby. The off season will be big for the Maloofs.

Predictions: It's too early to tell who will come out of the West, but I will say that Houston and Denver will not make the playoffs next year with their current rosters. For this year, given my bias, I say that the Warriors get in and Denver is left on the outside. Eastern Conference breakdown coming next week.

Houston, we have a problem: Storming through February, the Rockets received some bad news on Tuesday. Yao Ming and his 22.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game will be out for the year with a fractured foot. Houston, which had won 12 straight before the injury, will obviously have a harder time making the playoffs in the very competitive West.

College Hoops Notes: Big East Dominance

By Matt Smith

Think about it.
The Big East is going to get at LEAST eight teams in. Probably nine, maybe even 10. The tenth would have to involve a team winning out in the regular season and doing well in the Big East Tournament, or a dark horse winning the tourney altogether.
Let’s take a look at the situation in the Big East right now:
Big East
Ticket punched: Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame, Connecticut, Marquette, Pittsburgh.
Probably: Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia.
Outside, looking in: Seton Hall.
This is unreal, and this conference is by far, hands down, not even close, the best conference in college basketball.
Syracuse and Villanova will not finish in the top five in the conference and might not win 20 games, but going .500 in this conference and getting close to 20 wins should be enough.
West Virginia at 8-6 in the conference and 19-8 overall is the surprise team and at this point, Bob Huggins probably needs one, maybe two wins to be a lock.
So how much fun is the Big East tourney going to be?
If the teams were seeded today, Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame and Connecticut would get byes with Marquette vs. DePaul, WVU vs. Seton Hall, Cincy vs. Syracuse and Pitt vs. Villanova would be the first-round match-ups.
Do you think UConn vs. Marquette, WVU vs. ND, Syracuse vs. Louisville and Pitt/Nova vs. Georgetown would sell some tickets at Madison Square Garden?
The Big East Tournament is always my favorite, but this year’s is going to be a spectacle. There are six or seven teams with a legitimate chance to win it. Being a top seed doesn’t matter that much.
So how are the rest of the conferences stacking up?

ACC
Ticket punched: Duke, North Carolina.
Probably: Clemson, Maryland, Miami, Wake Forest.
Outside, looking in: Virginia Tech.
We know Duke and UNC are in, no need to dwell on them because they will both be No. 2 seeds at worst. The teams to focus on here are the one’s listed as probably. They are all a shaky probably at best.
Miami probably punched its ticket with wins over Duke and Maryland last week. Clemson is doing enough to stay afloat and Maryland and Wake will probably get in based on the fact both teams will be at or near 20 wins, and the ACC still commands a lot of respect, even though it is down.

Big 12
Ticket punched: Texas, Kansas.
Probably: Kansas State, Texas A&M, Baylor, Oklahoma.
Outside, looking in: Texas Tech, Nebraska, Missouri.
Kansas State will get in for sure, but it hasn’t quite punched its ticket yet. The Fighting Michael Beasley’s are just a bit inconsistent. Texas A&M has 20 wins, but has two separate three-game losing streaks including the one its going through right now. Baylor and Oklahoma will probably be two of the last teams in. Nebraska is an interesting story, beating KSU and A&M last week, but it probably won’t be enough.

Big Ten
Ticket punched: Indiana, Purdue, Wisconsin, Michigan State.
Probably: Ohio State.
Outside, looking in: Minnesota.
The Gophers might be 17-9 and 7-7 in conference, but the best team they have beat is San Diego State, which has an RPI of 65. The Buckeyes, on the other hand, has wins against Syracuse and Florida. The top four in the conference will get high seeds, but won’t go deep. The Big Ten is bad.

Pac-10
Ticket punched: UCLA, Stanford, Washington State.
Probably: USC, Arizona State, Arizona.
Outside, looking in: Cal, Oregon, Washington.
The only team with absolutely no chance is Oregon State, meaning the Pac-10 is going to get a lot of respect when it comes to Selection Sunday. USC, ASU and Arizona are pretty much in, but anything could happen. Cal, Oregon and Washington are hovering around .500 both overall and in conference, but it’s such a good conference and any of them could get hot.

SEC
Ticket punched: Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State.
Probably: Florida, Arkansas.
Outside, looking in: Mississippi, Kentucky.
The two teams on the outside at this moment are very intriguing. Miss’ 18-8 record looks good overall, but they started 14-0 and are just 4-8 in conference. Kentucky is 9-3 in conference and just 15-10 overall, but it has wins over Tennessee, Arkansas and Vanderbilt over the last six weeks.

Others
Ticket punched: Drake, Butler, Xavier, Memphis.
Probably: Gonzaga, St. Mary’s, Kent State, BYU, UNLV, Davidson.
Outside, looking in: Rhode Island, St. Joseph’s, Massachusetts, Illinois State, New Mexico, Houston, UAB.
Obviously conference winners will get in, but these are teams that are either in, likely or just outside if they don’t win their conference. The reason St. Mary’s is not a shoe in is because they haven’t beat anyone other than Gonzaga, and if the Bulldogs beat them and win the WCC tourney, then the Gaels are really on the bubble. Rhode Island is a very good team that has been sluggish in A-10 play and has put itself on the bubble, along with St. Joe’s and UMass.

Rankings: It’s hard to drop Memphis down more than one spot, so the Tigers will fit snuggly into that No. 2 ranking. Vanderbilt is a team climbing up the charts rapidly as is Louisville. A pair of ACC teams, Miami and Clemson, jump back into the rankings as those schools make tournament pushes. Quietly, Texas and Xavier are putting together quite a resume while Drake and Butler squared off in a great game, featuring two mid-majors who are guaranteed to get in, playing for positioning.
The Big East has a couple of teams, Villanova and West Virginia who are just waiting for someone to slip up so they can slide into the rankings, meanwhile BYU debuts at No. 25.

1. Tennessee (25-2)
2. Memphis (26-1)
3. North Carolina (25-2)
4. UCLA (24-3)
5. Duke (23-3)
6. Texas (23-4)
7. Kansas (24-3)
8. Xavier (24-4)
9. Georgetown (22-4)
10. Vanderbilt (23-4)
11. Stanford (21-4)
12. Purdue (21-6)
13. Wisconsin (23-4)
14. Indiana (23-4)
15. Connecticut (21-6)
16. Louisville (22-6)
17. Drake (24-3)
18. Butler (25-3)
19. Notre Dame (21-5)
20. Michigan State (22-5)
21. Washington State (21-6)
22. Marquette (20-6)
23. Clemson (19-7)
24. Miami (19-7)
25. BYU (21-6)