College Football Notes: Pryor breaks hearts

By Matt Smith

Terrelle Pryor might not have been known as a heartbreaker before 10 days ago, but on that notorious day he broke the hearts of hundreds of thousands of people as he strengthened an area that is comparable to the Nazi regime.
Okay, Ohio State obviously isn’t that bad, but not one person I know likes them and not one person I know likes the Nazi’s, so there’s that.
By committing to be a Buckeye, Pryor ripped the hearts out of many people, namely fans like me that hate Ohio State, Brutus as well as Jim Tressel and his little sweater vests.
He ripped the hearts out of everyone in Michigan who walks around screaming Go Blue! (which is everyone.) He seemed like a perfect fit for a program that needed a starting quarterback to go with Rich Rodriguez’ spread offense.
It seemed like Rodriguez had the edge originally because he had Pryor seriously considering going to West Virginia. He then leaves for Michigan and it seemed like Pryor would soon follow.
But Ohio State continued to gain steam and was never actually not the favorite which is why his decision wasn’t a surprise, just a disappointment.
Pryor actually broke the heart of Mountaineer fans, who didn’t like to see him drop Morgantown from his list of possible destinations just because of Rodriguez leaving.
It showed that he wasn’t interested in the program as much as the coach….which is now a very disliked coach in that neck of the woods.
He also broke the hearts of every football fan in the state of Pennsylvania by not going to Pittsburgh or Penn State. Pitt was never in consideration and Penn State wasn’t really taken too seriously by the nation’s prize recruit.
Last but not least, he broke the hearts of Ducks fans at the University of Oregon. With the country’s nicest facilities and an endless supply of money (and shoes and jersey’s), all Oregon fans were hoping was that he would actually take the visit to Eugene.
If he did, he might have had a hard time saying no, but because he didn’t Oregon fans can’t be happy thinking of what could have been.

Perrilloux set to return: Turns out that Ryan Perrilloux, the favorite to start at LSU for the defending national champs (kinda) was suspended for missing a team meeting and then missing classes for his father’s funeral without notifying the coaches.
Turns out he didn’t do anything terrible, and despite it being his third suspension, he probably deserves to be reinstated which appears inevitable at this point.
Perrilloux could join LSU’s spring practice early next week, meaning he will probably be LSU’s starting quarterback.
Without him, the Tigers would have had to turn to Andrew Hatch or Jarrett Lee which essentially equaled no experience.

Buckeyes, Vols set to square off: This might not seem like news because it’s 10 years away, but anytime two of the biggest college football programs in the country announce they will play each other, it’s a big deal.
Ohio State (797 wins) and Tennessee (771 wins) will get together for a home and home starting in 2018.
The last time the two programs faced, the Volunteers beat the Buckeyes 20-14 in the 1996 Citrus Bowl 182 yards passing from Petyon Manning and 168 yards rushing from Jay Graham.
The monumental bust of a draft pick for the Raiders, Ricky Dudley, had a touchdown grab for OSU.

NFL Notes: Ocho Cinco's future unclear

By Mike Walsh

There is some serious unrest these days as to the future of Chad Johnson in Cincinnati. Johnson has made every effort to make the Bengals aware of the fact that he is unhappy and would like to play elsewhere.
Meanwhile the Bengals are acting as though there isn’t a significant issue with him and that he will be wearing tiger stripes next season.
With the emergence of T.J. Houshmanzadeh, the Bengals are equipped with the best 1-2 punch at wide receiver in the league. After a lackluster 2007 for Carson Palmer you would expect him to come back with a big year.
The Bengals could have even tried to trade up to get Darren McFadden, which would have given them a fantastic core on offense for the next few years. Instead, Johnson is causing a huge distraction and is likely breaking up what could have been a potent offensive attack. So What lies ahead for the disgruntled wideout now?
I’m sure teams are lining up to trade for Ocho Cinco. Unfortunately, due to the vocal nature of his discontent, other teams will probably be trying to low ball the Bengals for their prized wide out.
So what is to become of him?
His situation has become the biggest story of the off season and where he ends up could determine a lot in the NFL power rankings. It will be interesting to see if Johnson’s relationship with Marvin Lewis, Carson Palmer and the Bengals can be mended or if a contender comes in with an offer they can’t refuse. Stay tuned.

Cowboys hope to gobble up Pacman: Adam “Pacman” Jones is looking for a home and Jerry Jones is apparently fluffing his pillows in Dallas, hoping to lure him there.
ESPN is reporting that, even without official reinstatement from Roger Goodell, the Cowboys are willing to give up “a draft pick and a player” for the rights to Pacman. Dallas is hoping that Pacman will some how tone down his craziness and erratic, immature, dangerous, self-destructive behavior.
Um, good luck with that. In an interview on Michael Irvin’s ESPN Radio show, Pacman said, "It ain’t no sin to be at a strip club."
Thanks for being contrite there Adam.
I think the problem was the fight you instigated that lead to people getting shot and one man being paralyzed. It appears that Pacman hasn’t fully grasped the reasons why people are upset about his behavior, which means it is likely not to change once he reaches Dallas.

Raider Nation: The Raiders are looking at Darren McFadden in this year’s draft. McFadden, who impressed all of the NFL types who came to watch “Pro Day” at Arkansas saw an electric athlete who ran a 4.33 in the 40-yard dash and ran the fastest shuttle time of any running back who worked out at the combine.
McFaddden would be a great addition and would keep some of the pressure, both mentally and physically, off of JaMarcus Russell.

Niners notes: Alex Smith has been cleared to throw without restriction and is expected to be prepared for training camp. The Niners made a flurry of off season moves to help aid the transition to the …*gulp*…Mike Martz era as well as to make up for not having a first round draft pick this year.
The Niners will look to improve at the wide receiver position and are looking at the second tier receivers that will be available for them in the second round. They would be hoping to get Devin Thomas from Michigan State or Early Doucet out of LSU. And really, anything would be an improvement from last year.

College Hoops Notes: Sweet Sixteen Preview

By Matt Smith

A couple of No. 12 seeds, a 10 seed and a seven seed have advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, which is going to make it a very interesting weekend as one or more of these lower seeds look to continue crashing the party as they look to advance to the Elite Eight.

Thursday
No. 7 West Virginia vs. No. 3 Xavier
The Mountaineers have beaten two very athletic teams that lack a very dominant inside game to get to this point and they are now matching up with another team that is very similar to Duke and Arizona. The difference with Xavier is that its big men, Josh Duncan and Derrick Brown, are more active. This will be a good matchup inside with Joe Alexander and Da’Sean Butler, with West Virginia have a slight edge. This game could be won with guard play, and if the forwards play like they have been and the guards continue contributing, this could be another Mountaineer upset.
Prediction: West Virginia 74, Xavier 70

No. 4 Washington State vs. No. 1 North Carolina
Finally, a team in this tournament that will keep North Carolina from scoring 100 points, but in the end it won’t matter. I expect Washington State to remain in striking distance for most of the game, but when it comes down to it, it won’t be able to get the buckets when it needs it and North Carolina will. It will be interesting to see if the Cougars are disciplined enough to stay within their style of play or if they will get sucked into the Heels up and down style.
Prediction: North Carolina 78, Washington State 66

No. 12 Western Kentucky vs. No. 1 UCLA
Western Kentucky is quick and athletic and creates match-up problems for most teams. Well, UCLA isn’t one of those teams. The Toppers won’t be able to match the Bruins’ experience, discipline or their size advantage inside and since UCLA is nearly as quick and athletic in the backcourt, the advantage heavily favors a UCLA team that knows how to win close games.
Prediction: UCLA 71, Western Kentucky 62

No. 3 Louisville vs. No. 2 Tennessee
Chris Lofton is banged up and Tennessee has had to squeak out wins against American and Butler while Louisville has destroyed Boise State and Oklahoma on its way to the Sweet Sixteen. Conventional wisdom says that Louisville should run away from the Vols, but that won’t happen. This game will be fought tooth and nail from beginning to end as both teams are very similar. The guards are athletic and fast while the big men are multi-talented. The biggest question is how will the Vols handled the Cardinal press.
Prediction: Louisville 85, Tennessee 81

Friday
No. 10 Davidsion vs. No. 3 Wisconsin
Davidson has beaten two very good teams with a lot of tournament experience in Gonzaga and Georgetown while Wisconsin pulled away late from Fullerton and topped a very inept (except for two players) Kansas State. The Badgers won’t shoot the way they did against Kansas State and Stephen Curry will continue to shoot the way he has in the first two games. Davidson is talented, fast and unafraid and as well as Wisconsin seems to be playing, the Wildcats are playing better.
Prediction: Davidson 71, Wisconsin 66

No. 3 Stanford vs. No. 2 Texas
The Longhorns will be able to matchup fairly well inside with Stanford and are head and shoulders better outside, giving Texas a big advantage in speed, meaning it will probably beat Stanford in transition to win this game. Stanford is a gutsy team, and if the Longhorns bigs can just keep the Lopez twins from going off, Rick Barnes’ club has a good chance.
Prediction: Texas 74, Stanford 67

No. 12 Villanova vs. No. 1 Kansas
Villanova has been a great story in this tournament, being the last team in and winning two games. Still, Kansas is too much. The Jayhawks will overwhelm them inside and can match them step for step outside, meaning the Wildcats run is likely over.
Prediction: Kansas 79, Villanova 68

No. 5 Michigan State vs. No. 1 Memphis
If Tom Izzo saw any of the Tigers’ game against Mississippi State, then the Spartans should be able to keep this close. Expect Michigan State to pound the ball inside, drawing fouls on the very aggressive Joey Dorsey and Robert Dozier. Also, the Spartans should foul liberally if it looks like Memphis is going to get an easy bucket after watching the Tigers shoot under 50 percent against the Bulldogs. Kalin Lucas, Drew Neitzel, Raymar Morgan and Chris Allen are going to have to hit open shots to pull off the upset, but in the end the athleticism of Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts will be too much.
Prediction: Memphis 76, Michigan State 71

And the best conference is.....: All year I have been singing the praise of the Big East, and why not? It got eight teams in the tournament and it has been well represented. But, has it had the best showing?
That is debatable.
So far the Big East is 9-5 in the tournament, which is very good and it has three teams in the Sweet Sixteen, but some other conferences might want to argue for supremecy.
Namely the Big 12, which has gone 7-4, a record that was almost bettered by Texas A&M’s near upset of UCLA. Texas and Kansas are still alive as the only team to not win a game was Baylor.
The Pac-10 has had a great run as well, going 6-3 with Stanford, Washington State and UCLA still alive. This weekend will tell a lot.
The SEC has gone 4-5 so far and has just one team left while the ACC has gone 4-3 and boasts the tourney’s most disappointing team in Duke. The Big Ten, which got very little respect heading into the NCAA’s, has gone 5-2 and has two teams left, giving it an argument with the rest of the big conferences.