Blog Poll Ballot Ten

I’m saying goodbye to Georgia and Missouri this week. The Bulldogs have proven to be inept on offense and just don’t have the tools to be a Top 25 team. Missouri showed against Oklahoma that they are still a one man show on offense, a la Brad Smith of last season, and their defense has benefited from a weak schedule. Despite being 7-2 the Tigers are not a Top 25 team at this time.

I put Louisville in front of Texas because the Longhorns have needed luck two weeks in a row to beat second tier conference teams. Clemson drops the most after getting run over by Virginia Tech. Nebraska is barely hanging on after failing to show up for the second half against Oklahoma State and Oregon gets no credit for beating Portland State.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Ohio State	--
2	West Virginia	--
3	Michigan	1
4	Louisville	2
5	Texas	--
6	Notre Dame	1
7	Tennessee	1
8	Auburn	2
9	Florida	2
10	LSU	2
11	Southern Cal	8
12	California	1
13	Boise State	1
14	Oklahoma	2
15	Rutgers	2
16	Wisconsin	10
17	Arkansas	2
18	Virginia Tech	2
19	Boston College	7
20	Clemson	11
21	Oregon	--
22	Georgia Tech	1
23	Texas A&M	1
24	Tulsa	1
25	Nebraska	10

Dropped Out: Georgia (#18), Missouri (#22).

Your Opinion: Leave a comment below or go to the forum and tell us how you would rank the Top 25.

Monday Night Football Game Thread

If you are watching the Patriots and the Vikings come into the forum and discuss the game with us.

College Football Week 9 Thoughts

Can’t Say We Didn’t See It Coming

Well, maybe not to Oregon State but I think we all knew that USC was going to lose this season. This isn’t the same Trojans team that we have seen the past three seasons and I’m not just talking personnel. They have struggled several times this season and just don’t have the ability to put teams away. To use the famous pun, “they lack that killer instinct.”

You almost get the feeling with this USC team that they need to figure out that they are not going to win just because the name on the front of their jersey. They need to go out on the field and earn it!

Mountaineers Moving Up!
Thanks to the USC loss and another impressive victory on their part the West Virginia Mountaineers are the number three team in the most recent BCS Poll giving them a legit opportunity to be in the BCS Championship Game.

Before you drop the company line about the Big East being no competition and the Mountaineers a fraud consider this. West Virginia's BCS average of .7862 was just slightly ahead of Florida (.7791) and Louisville (.7621). WVU still has Louisville, Pittsburg and Rutgers on their schedule. If they are able to run the table they will move up in the computer rankings which will broaden the gap between them and teams behind them. Ohio State and Michigan own the top two spots and for obvious reasons they both won’t stay there giving West Virginia the opportunity to take the second spot.

Bears Hopes Dashed
The Baylor Bears had hopes, and a legitimate shot, of making it to a bowl game this season for the first time since 1994 until senior quarterback Shawn Bell was lost for the season when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during the fourth quarter of Baylor's 31-21 loss to No. 21 Texas A&M on Saturday night.

Redshirt freshman Blake Szymanski will make his first career start Saturday when the Bears play at Texas Tech. Baylor needs to win two of its last three games to become bowl eligible.

The Streak Ends!
Sometimes it’s a bad thing when a streak ends (see USC) but sometimes it can be very good. The Temple Owls beat Bowling Green 28-14 Saturday, snapping a 20-game losing streak.

"We had more points and it was a great thing to see," said Travis Shelton, who scored on a 96-yard kickoff return for one of his two touchdowns. "Our players were jumping up and down and were so excited. We've worked so hard for so long, and it was worth all the hard work."

The U of the Big Sky Conference?

It appears that the University of Northern Colorado Bears are doing their absolute best to get the nickname Thug U. Former backup punter Mitch Cozad faces charges of attempted first-degree murder and second-degree assault in an attack on starter Rafael Mendoza, who was stabbed in his kicking leg last month.

Two weeks ago, defensive lineman and co-captain Jacob Carlson was cited for disorderly conduct after a bar fight. A police report indicated Carlson was punched after telling a Hispanic man he didn't like Mexicans. He has been suspended from the team.

Last weekend, fullback Garrett Bliss was arrested on suspicion of third-degree assault. Police said investigators suspect Bliss was angry over text messages sent to his girlfriend's mobile phone. He was suspended for one game.

Those are definitely not the type of headlines you want your football team creating!

Your Opinion: Leave your comment below or share your thoughts on week nine in the forum.

Have You Been To The New Forum Yet?

Are you watching the games this weekend? Join us in the forum to talk about it. Start a game thread to get others' opinions on the game you are watching or join in on a thread that has already started.

What are you waiting for? Create your free account and jump in here with us. The forum is waiting for you!

NFL Game Threads in the Forum
Chiefs/Seahawks
Jaguars/Eagles
Broncos/Colts
Cowboys/Panthers

College Football Games Being Discussed in the Forum
Oklahoma State/Nebraska
Texas/Texas Tech
South Carolina/Tennessee

Cowboys Fans, The End Is Near

Jerry Jones is disappointed, Terrell Owens is happy and Bill Parcells has got to be getting tired of being a clown in this three ring circus.

The newest saga in the Dallas Cowboys soap opera started Monday night when Parcells replaced turnover prone veteran quarterback Drew Bledsoe with the unproven fourth year backup Tony Romo.

Despite throwing three interceptions (including one on his first pass) Parcells said Wednesday that he is staying with Romo and will start him Sunday when the Cowboys play at Carolina Saturday night.

In the aftermath of the quarterback change Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones has expressed his disappointment.

"I have to be a realist," Jones said. "I hadn't thought or hoped that we'd be sitting here after the sixth game making these adjustments. ... I did not want to this year go to an inexperienced quarterback. I wanted to have the benefit of Drew Bledsoe. It hasn't worked out as of today. It just hasn't worked out. That to me is a step back."

Flamboyant, Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens had a different take on the Romo/Bledsoe quarterback exchange.

"I looked across the formation and he looked at me and he knew what was going on," Owens said. "It's just two players making a play."

Did he and Bledsoe ever develop that bond?

"I honestly tried to do that time and time again," he said. "But for whatever reason it didn't happen."

Give him time Tony and he will turn on you as well. T.O. hasn’t met a quarterback yet that can make him happy to be a team player.

Surely this marks the end of the Cowboys play-off hopes, right? There is no way that Romo is going to lead Dallas to a division title or wild card birth, is there? Did you see him play Monday night?

This has to be the end of the line for Bill Parcells in Dallas. I don’t see anyway he returns to the sidelines for the Cowboys next season. At one point Monday night I didn’t even think he would make it through the game. He’ll either walk at the end of the season or be given his papers by Jerry Jones.

Before you make the argument that Jones wouldn’t do that to a Hall of Fame Champion coach refer to Tom Landry and Jimmy Johnson.

So where is Bill Parcells in all of this? He said that he was not nervous about starting Romo. He said the better description is "anxious to see what is going to happen."

So is the rest of America, Bill.

Your Opinion: Leave your comments below or discuss this post in the forum with other readers.

Blogging the NFL – Week 8

Game of the Week – Indianapolis Colts at Denver Broncos – Denver is rolling on defense allowing just over a touchdown per game (7.3ppg) but will face a strong threat in Peyton Manning and the Colts. Indy has the league’s second ranked passing attack (261.8ypg) and is fourth in the league in scoring (28.5ppg).

I’ll go with the Colts in a game that should make for some great television.

Game Not Worth Watching – Arizona Cardinals at Green Bay Packers – The Cards are 0-3 on the road and the Pack are 0-3 at home. Something’s got to give! Too bad that only the states of Arizona and Wisconsin will be in front of their televisions to witness it.

None the less, I’ll take Favre and the Pack to win their second in a row after beating my Dolphins last weekend.

Worst team in the NFL?
Speaking of my Dolphins, are they the worst team in the NFL? They certainly are a candidate at 1-6 with losses to Buffalo, Houston and Green Bay. They no doubt are the most disappointing team in the NFL!

NFL Goes Global
America's most popular professional sports league will make a major play to increase its appeal to fans outside of the United States beginning next season. A plan approved by league owners on Tuesday will make regular season games kicking off on foreign soil annual events.

The Plan is to start with one international game next season in Canada, Mexico, England or Germany, but I’m not in favor of it. I am in favor of rewarding fans for their faithfulness not punishing them. The international game should go to the two teams with the worst average home attendance for this season. If their fans don’t like it then they can attend more games to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

It won’t matter to the international site. There were over 103,000 people in Mexico City last season to see the 49ers and Cardinals play.


Romo Time
Tony Romo will become the ninth quarterback to start for the Dallas Cowboys since Troy Aikman retired after the 2001 season. Some feel that Bill Parcells had no choice others feel that the bad blood between Bledsoe and Owens was spilling onto the field. I feel that the Cowboys play-off hopes just ended.

Coaches on the “Hot Seat”
Nick Saban, Miami – The Dolphins coach is not in danger of losing his job this season but people are starting to complain. This definitely isn’t what the fans thought they were getting.

Romeo Crennel, Cleveland – Crennel is in the same boat as Saban. He will have to produce a winner next season to get the critics to back off.

Jeff Fisher, Tennessee – Fisher is actually a good coach caught in a bad situation with and over controlling owner.

Joe Gibbs, Washington – The legendary coach just isn’t getting it done in his second stint in the nation’s capital. Unless things turn around this season Gibbs may be forced back into retirement.

Week Eight Winners
Arizona/Green Bay – Packers
Atlanta/Cincinnati – Falcons
Baltimore/New Orleans – Saints
Houston/Tennessee – Titans
Jacksonville/Philadelphia – Eagles
Seattle/Kansas City – Chiefs
San Francisco/Chicago – Bears
Tampa Bay/NY Giants – Giants
St. Louis/San Diego – Chargers
Indianapolis/Denver – Colts
NY Jets/Cleveland – Jets
Pittsburgh/Oakland – Steelers
Dallas/Carolina – Panthers
New England/Minnesota – Patriots

Leave your comments about this post below or discuss it with others on the My Opinion on Sports thread in the Forum. Make your week 8 NFL picks here.

BLOGPOLL WEEK 9

RANK TEAM
1 Ohio State (47)
2 Michigan (3)
3 Southern Cal (1)
4 Texas
5 West Virginia
6 Auburn
7 Tennessee
8 Louisville
9 Florida
10 Clemson
11 California
12 Notre Dame
13 Arkansas
14 LSU
15 Rutgers
16 Boston College
17 Wisconsin
18 Boise State
19 Oklahoma
20 Nebraska
21 Georgia Tech
22 Texas A&M
23 Missouri
24 Wake Forest
25 Oregon

Also Receiving Votes: Georgia(0.5), Brigham Young(0.4), Washington State(0.3), Virginia Tech(0.3), Tulsa(0.2), Iowa(0.2), South Carolina(0.1), Pittsburgh(0.0),

Total Ballots: 51

See how all the voters voted

See how I voted

Are You Watching the World Series?

So are we! Come talk about it with us in the forum on our game three thread.

Big 12 Power Rankings

1. Texas 7-1, 4-0 – The Longhorns backed their way into a win in Libclon thanks to a late fumble and horrible coaching by Nebraska. Regardless good teams find ways to win and Texas will keep their top spot for another week. The way A&M is playing we have to add them to the “potentially dangerous games” list. Potentially Dangerous Games: November 24 Texas A&M. Last Week’s Ranking #1

2. Oklahoma 5-2, 2-1 – Suddenly things have calmed down a little in the Sooner nation. It’s amazing what a win will do for you. The Sooners move up to the second spot by default.
Potentially Dangerous Games: October 28th at Missouri, November 25th at Oklahoma State. Last Week’s Ranking #3

3. Missouri 7-1, 3-1 – The Tigers returned to thei winning ways against Kasnas State and could return to the #2 spot with a win over Oklahoma this weekend. It will be a tougher chore without sack leader DE Brian Smith. Potentially Dangerous Games: October 28th Oklahoma, November 4th at Nebraska. Last Week's Ranking 6

4. Texas A&M 7-1, 3-1 – How do the Aggies luck into these wins. Fran definitely has his mojo working! Potentially Dangerous Games: Every game left on the schedule. Last Week’s Ranking #4

5. Nebraska 6-2, 3-1 – Coaching mistakes will almost always erase the ability of good players. Welcome to Nebraska football.
Potentially Dangerous Games: November 4th Missouri. Last Week’s Ranking #2

6. Baylor 4-4, 3-1 – This is not your mom and dad’s Baylor Bears. This team is actually winning games. Two more wins will put the Bears in a bowl game. Wow! Potentially Dangerous Games: Every game left on the schedule. Last Week’s Ranking #7

7. Oklahoma State 4-3, 1-2 – A heartbreaking loss at home to A&M has Pokes fans talking about a change a defensive coordinator. Moore losses like Saturday’s will have them talking about a head coach change.
Potentially Dangerous Games: Every game left on the schedule. Last Week’s Ranking 5

8. Texas Tech 5-3, 2-2 – Things will get better for the Red Raiders. Just not this weekend against Texas.
Potentially Dangerous Games: October 28th Texas, November 11 at Oklahoma. Last Week’s Ranking #11

9. Iowa State 3-5, 0-4 – I actually picked the Cyclones to win the Big 12 north. Thanks for making me look good guys! Potentially Dangerous Games: Every game but Colorado (November 11th). Last Week’s Ranking #9

10. Colorado 1-7, 1-3 – Congrats to the Buffaloes for being the first Big 12 team to be eliminated from a post season bowl game. Colorado fans don’t even have basketball to look forward to. Potentially Dangerous Games: Every game left on the schedule. Last Week’s Ranking 10

11. Kansas State 4-4, 1-3 – The Wildcats did nothing to move up from the bottom of the rankings (they were handled by Missouri) but fortunately Kasas looked way more pathetic.
Potentially Dangerous Games: Every game left on the schedule. Last Week’s Ranking #12

12. Kansas 3-5, 0-4 – Good news Jayhawk fans. Basketball is just a few weeks away! Is Kansas the most disapointing team in the conference? Suddenly even Colorado is a “potentially dangerous game.” Potentially Dangerous Games: Every game left on the schedule. Last Week’s Ranking 8

Submit your own Big 12 Power Rankings in the forum.

Blog Poll Ballot Nine

It’s voting time again. I wonder it the Georgia Tech fans a glad that I finally put them on my ballot last week? As it turns out I could be a curse for the Yellow Jackets.

Two teams that I’m done with are the Miami Hurricanes and the Iowa Hawkeyes. I was one of the last to let go of the Hurricanes because I just couldn’t give up on all that talent. Larry Coker is a lame duck at this point and his team is playing with no heart. On the same note while we pointing out the poor coaching in Miami is it not the same story in Iowa City?

I’m welcoming Texas A&M and Tulsa this week. I have a feeling that the Golden Hurricane will be around longer than the Aggies.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Ohio State	--
2	West Virginia	--
3	Southern Cal	--
4	Michigan	--
5	Texas	--
6	Louisville	--
7	Notre Dame	--
8	Tennessee	--
9	Clemson	--
10	Auburn	--
11	Florida	--
12	LSU	--
13	California	1
14	Boise State	2
15	Nebraska	2
16	Oklahoma	1
17	Rutgers	3
18	Georgia	3
19	Arkansas	3
20	Virginia Tech	3
21	Oregon	3
22	Missouri	3
23	Georgia Tech	4
24	Texas A&M	2
25	Tulsa	1

Dropped Out: Iowa (#15), Miami (Florida) (#24).

Leave your comments about my ballot below or tell us what you would do different by visiting the Blog Poll Ballot Nine thread in the Forum.