Coach Rod, Wolverine

The University of Michigan hired Rich Rodriguez, formerly head coach at West Virginia as its football coach this weekend, undeterred by the $4 Million buyout clause in his contract with the Moutaineers, his alma mater.

Hmmm...

Those of you who read my blog entry last November know all about my family ties to the Michigan Wolverines, so I thought I'd be expected to say something about this.

At first I didn't know how I felt about it.

I didn't really think Les Miles was that good of a coach and reports that Michigan was going after him AFTER he signed his contract extension at LSU were nonsensical to me.

Next was Greg Schiano at Rutgers and Jim Grobe - who apparently is waiting for the perfect job...whatever that is...to leave small Wake Forest. I liked those names better than Miles, especially Grobe, but nothing about them really inspired me. Both have gotten teams at traditionally weak football schools to the top of their conferences. OK, great.

But - the Michigan program doesn't need rebuilding or a coach who can help players overachieve. A year ago this time they were the #1 team in the country and then...you know. I'm willing to see how this goes, but I'm sure it'll take time for any big changes to "gel". Go Blue!

Dr Hak Fixes The BCS

I've got the medicine for what ails college football fans...



The BCS is not going to be sufficient in seasons like 2007, when not enough (meaning less than 2) teams distinguish themselves as "the best", nor will it be good enough in years where more than 2 teams show themselves to be great.



PAC-10 and Big Ten honchos want to hold on to the tradition of the Rose Bowl, while their fans want to be national champs...and keep the Rose Bowl around too.



The networks want to televise games that will give them high ratings and bring in ad revenue



The bowls, non-BCS that is, don't want to be marginalized any further, as they bring in tourist dollars a'plenty for warm-weather cities across the South and West...and those in the North with domed stadiums.



College Presidents don't want to jeopardize the students academic progress with a longer season...



... unless there's more money at play



Coaches are sick of having to lobby for a spot in the BCS ala' Mack Brown successful journey to the Rose Bowl the year before Texas...scratch that...Vince Young won the National Title, and Bob Stoops' unsuccessful attempt this year (he didn't have enough time).



Fans want their favorite sport to not be diminished or continue to have stupid ish like Oklahoma in the title game after losing to K-State in 03, Auburn getting left out in 04, and USC getting left out in 03, and then weird years like this one.



So how do we fix this? What can be done to appease everyone?



The answer is nothing. But I do have a solution that would take as little compromise as possible - and only add 4 games (not weeks, games) to the season




Tradition is a big deal in college football. Some traditions more than others. I wouldn't dream of asking Alabama and Tennessee not to play on the 3rd Saturday in October (though its happened), but I would ask teams to let go of their thanksgiving weekend matchups if they are in a conference with a championship game. Do you HAVE to play a game on Thanksgiving weekend? How big a deal is that? Why am I bringing this up anyway? Let's get to Dr Hak's "Fix It" solution.





Dr. Hak Fixes The BCS

I now unveil, the "Final Four Plus-One BCS Solution"

1) End (and, if needed, start) the season one calendar week earlier. Championship Week is Thanksgiving weekend.

2) Four games are played on the first Saturday in December among the "Top 8" teams, as determined by a blue-ribbon selection committee. Non-BCS conference teams are promised one spot per year.

3) Semi-final games and Plus One Championship Game rotate between the Fiesta, Orange and Sugar bowls

4) Rose Bowl hosts a "semi" when both the Big 10 and Pac 10 champ survive into the Final Four. Bowl that "loses" the semi-game is the one that will host the title game the next year. If only one of the two conference champs is in the Final Four, Rose Bowl gets first replacement pick.

2006 Results

December Final Four Play-In Games

• Ohio State defeats Wake Forest or Oklahoma
• USC defeats Louisville
• Boise St defeats LSU
• Florida defeats Michigan

Rose Bowl Semi - Ohio State v USC

Orange Bowl - Boise St v Florida

Sugar Bowl - (loses Semi game, gets two picks) - Notre Dame v LSU

Fiesta Bowl - Oklahoma v Louisville

2007 Projections

December Final Four Play-In Games

• Ohio State defeats Hawaii
• LSU defeats Georgia
• Virginia Tech defeats West Virginia
• Oklahoma defeats USC

Fiesta Bowl Semi- Ohio State v Oklahoma

Orange Bowl Semi - Virginia Tech v LSU

Rose Bowl - Illinois v USC

Sugar Bowl - West Virginia v Missouri

Comments and critiques are welcome

The 2007-2008 BCS

Finally...FINALLY, the 2007 College football regular season is over.

Usually this is a sad time for me (see last year's postings) but truth be told, I'm very ready for this year to be over.

The 2006 season was exciting and dramatic, and ended with a bang - Florida destroying Ohio State.

The 2007 season was a Free-for-All with no dominant teams ever establishing that they were the best, leading to 13 unranked teams upsetting Top 5 teams and the #1 and #2 teams both losing in the same weekend TWICE in the last month of the season.

Thats not fun...or exciting...or dramatic...that's annoying.

Think of all the teams that just had to "win out" in November to claim a shot at the title
Missouri
Kansas
Oklahoma
West Virginia
Oregon
Arizona State
LSU

Sure, winning out in November is harder to do when all the teams have backloaded, ridiculously unbalanced schedules like they do this year, but it has to happen to somebody, right?

The fact that USC and Georgia have semi-legit beefs at not getting a shot at the title when both have not only 2 losses, but a really bad loss within that (Stanford a 41 point underdog beating USC, Tennessee blowing out Georgia with no real explanation) shows how sorry this season was.

Usually a few teams have a "woulda-coulda" play or game or two that leads to an offseason (or a lifetime) or "What If?"s. 2007 has a ton of them, so many so, I decided to give out some awards...

The 2007 What If Awards

West Virginia...if they could've not turned the ball over 40 times at South Florida, or actually put up a decent offensive showing at Pitt

Michigan..if they would've made a field goal and not panicked against Appalachain State, would've had one loss going into November (to #2 Oregon) and might've focused properly against Wisconsin and a totally beatable Ohio State team

LSU... more on them later

Kansas... if they wouldn't have waited until the end of the game against Missouri to act like they belonged

Missouri... if they wouldn't have played Oklahoma like rookies

Oklahoma..if they wouldn't have let Colorado beat them, or had a decent backup QB so they could beat Texas Tech

Arizona State... if they could actually beat a top Pac-10 team...like Oregon OR USC

Florida...if they could've stopped LSU on any of 75 4th down conversion attempts

Virginia Tech...if they would've had some safety help to stop Matt Ryan from completing a miracle bomb in their first game

Clemson...if your boy doesn't drop a wide open touchdown with 2 minutes left to go against BC

USC...if they wouldn't have let STANFORD beat them. They're supposed to beat Stanford. Really. Worse loss than the App St loss. Does this mean Jim Harbaugh is as good a coach/motivator as Bob Stoops?



Ok...Now let's talk about the BCS

With all the what-ifs and the late losses, not the dramatic kind - the stupid kind, we have some...underwhelming games on the BCS slate.

And before I go any further - Missouri got effing screwed. No excuse for the Orange Bowl not taking them over Kansas. Kansas must've been in their ear for weeks promising to sell out the stadium and buy every penthouse suite on South Beach because from a football standpoint - no reason to go with the Jayhawks over Mizzou. That being said, Bowl Games are about money, so I did research and found out...Missouri's enrollment is about the same size as Kansas'...meaning they probably have similarly sized alumni bases.

Outside of having more time to lobby the Orange Bowl since they were idle this week and Mizzou had...higher hopes...the only other thing I can think of is that Missouri's football team has been decent, Top 40 for a while. Not that great, but decent. I can name players who have played their. Kansas hasn't sniffed a bowl in like...ever. I think they might've made one last year under Mangino, but a BIG bowl game is probably a huge huge deal in Kansas. I don't know...it still would be to Missouri too, but maybe not after coming up short in reaching the title game (like how Michigan let USC destroy them in the Rose Bowl last year after they couldn't get it done against Ohio State. Go with the enthusiasm)

Whatever. Let's look at the matchups

Rose Bowl - USC v Illinois
The only game I was able to project before this weekend (I was certain West Va or Missouri would lose, but not BOTH!). Ron Zook has brought Illinois a long way and deserves props.
Or perhaps he lucked out. He's a great recruiter. Most of his players are why Florida won the title last year (except Tebow). But let's say he can't really coach them up - like Mack Brown - and so in the SEC, that ain't gonna work. But in the weakened Big Ten, perhaps having enough unique and special talent will get it done. 9-3 later, plus and upset of then #1 Ohio State and here we are.

USC, while slightly rebuilding, is only - ONLY in this game because Dennis Dixon, Oregon QB, got hurt. No wait, let me think about that. If Dixon stays, Oregon is #1, Ohio State #2 and the Rose Bowl could pick USC as the replacement for Oregon...or Arizona State. OK enough of the what ifs, we did that earlier this entry. I expect next year to be better for USC because they get Mitch Mustain. I'll tell anyone who will listen that Arkansas effed up big time letting him walk away from the program. He was 8-0 as a starter. Yes he had Darren McFadden with him, but he was 8-0 as a starter and one of the 4 big time QB recruits to come out that year, along with Florida's Tebow, Georgia's Matt Stafford and Jevon Snead who went to Texas but I believe transfered to Ole Miss.

The Game - I don't expect much out of Illinois against the Trojans, but that being said, USC hasn't been that powerful this year

USC 31- 20 Illinois

Fiesta Bowl - West Virginia v Oklahoma
I'll keep this brief. If Slaton, White and the boys can't score on Pitt, you think they're going to get over on Bob Stoops? Boise State was another story...actually, now that I think about it, Boise State's former coach (he left after 2005) is Colorado's coach. So the same offense beat Oklahoma within a year. Hmm...West Va does use a spread, but its not the super tricky type the Boise/Colorado clan uses. So they should be OK - excuse the pun.
Oklahoma, to me, has the best gripe against being left out of the title game

Oklahoma 38 - 29 West Virginia

Sugar Bowl - Georgia v Hawaii
Some folks in the media seem disappointed Georgia isn't playing USC. Like it matters or something. This isn't a "Plus One" system. Georgia, despite all the hype, is not all that great. (I guess that's like...all teams this year). I was more impressed with Tennessee watching the SEC title game than I expected to be, but they still suck and they BLEW OUT Georgia by like 30+.
I am interested to see how Colt Brennan and the gang do against an SEC defense. A good one at that. (Tennessee game aside)

Georgia 28-21 Hawaii

Orange Bowl - Virginia Tech v Undeserving Kansas
When undeserving teams make BCS games, they get Stomped. Always. Especially in title games but also in the other BCS bowls. The computers say Virginia Tech is #1. You might disagree since LSU beat them like 41-7 or something, but computers don't use margin of victory, and Va Tech avenged their other loss... Still...tweak the formula.

Virginia Tech 39 - 20 Kansas


I'll be back with my end of the year awards, final regular season rankings, and 2008 Pre-rankings later this week

Dr Hak out!

What? I forgot the title game?

Oh yeah

LSU's Les Miles might not be "going home" to coach Michigan (yet, he will if the next coach gets fired in 3 or 5 years and LSU, the fickle, overly emotional fans that they are, turn on him) but I know he still wants to destroy the Buckeyes.

Will he get to do it?

Hmmm...no so fast.

Ohio State has serious D and a good running game. They also don't want to be embarrassed in the title game 2 years in a row. I'm sure Jim Tressel, a decent coach, has learned a lesson or two. If not, he needs to get fired.

LSU has played down to the level of their opposition all season. Towards the end of the year, the loss of Glenn Dorsey to injury REALLY hurt them

Now, Dorsey has a month to heal. LSU has time to come up with some trick plays, and Early Doucet and Matt Flynn get to heal too.

That is a recipie for an LSU blowout. But they don't blow anyone out. Ever.

Neither did Florida last year, however.

What am I trying to say here?

I can see this game going one of two ways

Ohio State 42-40 LSU in 3OT

or

LSU 42 - 24 Ohio State in a game not really that close.

I'll go with the latter.

This Week in College Football - Nov 25th - Is It Over Yet?

The 2007 college football season is nearly over - thank goodness. I'm tired of writing about this ish.

Nothing makes sense. Too many upsets. Upsets that aren't really upsets because no team is really that good. I mean, let's look at a sample of the "monumental" games that would qualify as a major upset in most years

Appalachain State defeats Michigan
Stanford defeats USC
North Dakota State defeats Minnesota
Navy defeats Notre Dame

Now let's look at some more major upsets, that aren't quite as earth shattering

South Florida defeats Auburn
South Florida defeats West Virginia
Kentucky defeats LSU
Florida State defeats Boston College
Arkansas defeats LSU
ANY of the 13 games where a Top 5 team lost to someone UNRANKED

With all this turmoil, and no truly dominant teams, there's only one way to settle this - on the field with a playoff...oh wait...

We are, however, at that time of the year where you can honestly assess which wins were really "Big" and which weren't that big of a deal. Such as, USC winning @ Nebraska is not a quality win since the Huskers aren't a bowl bound team.

This is useful because there are a lot of 1 and 2 loss teams and I'm ready to throw out last week's poll and start anew for this, the "postseason" - that being the last week of the season when everything is on the line.

So, for your benefit, I've put together my own matrix of "resumes" followed by rankings, predicitions and bowl projections...which will clearly get blown up by midday Saturday


Resumes

West Virginia - beat 4 bowl teams, UConn, Rutgers, Mississippi State, Cincinnati. Lost to South Florida. Not overly impressive but no bad losses

Ohio State - beat Penn State, Wisconsin and Michigan. Lost to Illinois. Not impressive but no bad losses or no huge wins.

Missouri - beat Kansas, Illinois, Texas Tech and Oklahoma (if we're talking next week and a national title debate). Lost to Oklahoma (avenged...see previous sentence. If not act like you never read this paragraph). That makes Missouri the most deserving team in the title game - the non-conference Illinois win.

LSU - beat Virginia Tech, Florida, Auburn, Mississippi State. Lost to Kentucky and Arkansas. They have the best wins but they have 2 losses. Neither loss is a really bad loss (fringe Top 30 teams) and they both came in overtime, but unless voters really care about that, Ohio State is going to the BCS game and they are not. Would've helped if they got to play Georgia in the SEC title game but they don't. Maybe the Sugar Bowl.

Georgia - beat Florida Auburn and Kentucky. Lost to Tennessee and South Carolina. SC loss didn't seem bad at first but now look at Spurrier's Gamecocks.

Virginia Tech - beat Clemson and Virginia. Lost to BC and LSU. Hmm....wins aren't that great, so they might be overranked...oh wait, its a weak year. LSU loss was a big bad blowout. Ugly.

Oklahoma - beat Texas, Texas A&M, Missouri, Oklahoma State. Lost to Colorado and Texas Tech. Colorado loss is the worst of the Top 10 teams except for...

USC - beat Arizona State, Cal. Lost to STANFORD, Oregon. Stanford loss was monumental but the team was ravaged by injuries. Michigan can't say that about their big loss.

Oregon - beat Arizona State, USC, Michigan. Lost to Cal, UCLA (after Dixon). Too bad Dennis Dixon got hurt. This was Oregon's year. Oregon - West Virginia would've been a fabulous display of offensive firepower.

Kansas - beat Oklahoma State, Texas A&M. Lost to Missouri. Didn't look that great against Mizzou but did make a comeback. I'd like to see them against Oklahoma or Texas.

So with all that said...

December 1 - Championship Week Predictions

• Oklahoma over Missouri in the Big 12 Title game
• USC over UCLA
• Virginia Tech gets revenge on Boston College
• Hawaii over Washington
• West Virginia over Pitt

Bowl Projections

I have the 2nd most likely team to get the Bowl Game spot in parenthesis, because you know there will be upsets and I didn't pick any.

BCS Title Game - West Virginia v Ohio State (Missouri)
Rose Bowl - Illinois (Ohio State) v USC
Orange Bowl - Virginia Tech v Georgia (Florida)
Fiesta Bowl - Oklahoma (Kansas) v Arizona State (Illinois)
Sugar Bowl - LSU v Hawaii (Illinois)
Capital One Citrus Bowl - Florida v Michigan
Gator Bowl - Kansas v Boston College
Cotton Bowl - Auburn v Missouri
Chick-fil-A Bowl - Tennessee v Clemson
Outback Bowl - Kentucky v Penn State
Holiday Bowl - Oregon v Texas A&M

I'm disgusted to see Ohio State in the BCS Title game in 2007-08, not because of my Michigan Love, but because they don't in any way shape or form deserve it. This just proves how bad we need a playoff. If they had one, I think USC might win it, if only because they are healthy again, but depending on the draw, West Virginia, Georgia or Missouri could do damage - oh wait, there is no playoff...yet...

I'm also disappointed in LSU, not because I truly thought they were the #1 team in the country (you'll recall me debating ranking Oregon ahead of them before Dennis Dixon's injury) but because LSU v West Virginia in New Orleands would've been CRUNK...and probably ended in quintuple overtime.

Now, we'll get to see Steve Slaton, Pat White, and Noel Devine run crazy over the Buckeyes, and that won't be as much fun.

Plus, now Les Miles is free to go to Michigan since he won't be preparing for the National Title game....I DO NOT WANT LES MILES ANYWHERE NEAR MICHIGAN. He clearly doesn't develop his players to the maximum and his squads perinnially underachieve. If that was the knock on Lloyd Carr, then what's the deal with getting Miles? I'd rather they pluck Kelly from Cincinnati or see what's good with Jim Grobe at Wake Forest...maybe even Steve Spurrier (just seeing if you're paying attention).

Oh, rankings...

RANKINGS
1. Missouri
2. West Virginia
3. Ohio State
4. LSU
5. Georgia
6. Virginia Tech
7. Oklahoma
8. USC
9. Hawaii
10. Kansas
11. Florida
12. Oregon
13. Arizona State
14. Boston College
15. Illinois
16. Tennessee
17. Clemson
18. Texas
19. Virginia
20. Boise State
21. Wisconsin
22. South Florida
23. Auburn
24. BYU
25t. Cincinnati
25t. Arkansas

Week 12 Rankings

First off - Eff Ohio State...that is all

New Bowl Projections

BCS - LSU vs West Virginia
Rose - Ohio State vs Arizona State
Orange - Virginia Tech vs Texas
Fiesta - Missouri vs Oregon/Illinois
Sugar - Georgia vs Boise State/Illinois

Capital One Citrus Illinois or Michigan v Florida

If Kentucky beats Tennessee next week (highly likely), I say Georgia beats LSU and the domino effect begins

BCS - West Virginia vs Ohio State
Rose - Illinois v Arizona State
Orange - Virginia Tech v Texas
Fiesta - Missouri v LSU
Sugar - Georgia v Boise State

Oh, and I still think Oregon is a better team than LSU, but injuries happen.

Week 12 Rankings (Last Week)

1. LSU (1)
2. Kansas (3)
3. West Virginia (5)
4. Arizona State (6)
5. Missouri (7)
6. Ohio State (8)
7. Oregon (2)
8. Oklahoma (4)
9. Hawaii (9)
10. Virginia Tech (10)
11. Georgia (11)
12. USC (12)
13. Texas (13)
14. Florida (14)
15. Virginia (15)
16. Boise State (17)
17. Boston College (18)
18. Illinois (23)
19. Tennessee (19)
20. UConn (21)
21. Clemson (15)
22. Wisconsin (-)
23. South Florida (-)
24. Auburn (-)
25. BYU (-)

This November in College Football

It's all about Kimbo Slice

And Juice Williams
And Kansas - who I will move to #1 if they beat Missouri and Oklahoma, as I expect/hope the "major" polls to do as well. How do you deny a team from a BCS Conference that goes undefeated a shot at the National Title when everyone else has a loss? That would be nuts

But this is more evidence that we at the very least need, a plus one

1. LSU (2)
2. Oregon (3)
3. Kansas (4)
4. Oklahoma (5)
5. West Virginia (6)
6. Arizona State (7)
7. Missouri (8)
8. Ohio State (1)
9. Hawaii (11)
10. Virginia Tech (12)
11. Georgia (15)
12. USC (16)
13. Texas (17)
14. Florida (18)
15. Clemson (22)
16. Virginia (23)
17. Boise State (21)
18. Boston College (8)
19. Tennessee (24)
20. Kentucky (20)
21. UConn (10)
22. Michigan (12)
23. Illinois
24. Penn State (25)
25. Cincinnati

Out - Auburn, Alabama

Big Bowl Game Projections
BCS - LSU v Oregon
Fiesta - Kansas v Hawaii
Orange - Clemson v West Virginia
Sugar - Georgia v Oklahoma (or Texas)
Rose - Arizona State v Ohio State

Plus One Style (fantasy football)
Rose - Oregon v Ohio State
Orange - Clemson v Georgia
Fiesta - Kansas v Arizona State
Sugar - LSU v West Virginia

This Week (Ten) In College Football

I was trying to do my BCS bowl game projections today, when I realized... its too much going on to make any real projections.

There will likely be two or three teams in the BCS with 3 losses! That's amazing and its unheard of.

Also - unless Michigan beats Ohio State, Oregon is going to get screwed. I'm almost of the opinion that Oregon is better than LSU. At the very least I'd like to see them play each other.

So at the least, I'm going to make some preliminary projections for the 5 major bowl games

ACC Title game - Va Tech over BC
Big XII Title game - Uhh...ask me later.
What? I can't do that? OK fine, Oklahoma over Kansas because I haven't seen Kansas yet.
SEC Title Game - LSU over uh...umm...Georgia?
Big East - West Virginia over U-Conn
Big Ten - Ohio State
Pac-10 - Oregon


BCS - Ohio State v LSU
Rose - Oregon v Michigan
Orange - Virginia Tech v West Virginia
Sugar - Alabama / Auburn winner v Oklahoma / Kansas loser
Fiesta - Kansas / Oklahoma winner v Hawaii

But Dr. Hak - what if Kansas wins out...? Wouldn't they have to go to the title game?

Please don't make me consider that right now. I guess it wouldn't be too hard to adjust this though...

BCS - Ohio State v Kansas
Rose - Oregon v Alabama/Auburn winner
Orange - Virginia Tech v West Virginia
Sugar - LSU v Boston College
Fiesta - Oklahoma v Hawaii

But Dr Hak - what if Michigan beats Ohio State? And what if Kansas also wins out, and what if... -
HEY!! Stop that... On to the rankings...


1. Ohio State - still hasn't earned this spot
2. tie - LSU
2. tie - Oregon
4. Kansas
5. Oklahoma
6. West Virginia
7. Arizona State
8. Boston College
9. Missouri
10. UConn
11. Hawaii
12. Virginia Tech
13 Michigan
14. Auburn
15. Georgia
16. USC
17. Texas
18. Florida
19. Alabama
20. Kentucky
21. Boise State
22. Clemson
23. Virginia
24. Tennessee
25. Penn State

FireCoachRubinCarter.com

I'm a proud graduate of Florida A&M University.

When I was on the Hill getting my undergrad and MBA from 1998 to 2004, FAMU had a really good football team

The Rattlers were feared by MEAC and outsider schools alike

FAMU was in the playoffs for 8 straight years. A feat rarely seen or matched, and many times was not the automatic qualifier from the MEAC. We had fear, respect and a good football team

Well...

Then they tried to go 1-A. That didn't work out so well. That's ok. Lesson learned. The time will come for that in the future.

Then they ran off Coach Billy Joe...that might've been a bigger issue. He was accused of some NCAA violations then got his name cleared. We're sorry Coach Joe. You're the man. Enjoy the Hall of Fame.

You see, getting rid of Coach Joe wasn't the problem, it was his replacement.

FAMU went out and hired Temple's defensive line coach. Coach Carter.

Coach Carter came in talking a lot of noise, about getting things back on track. You see, the 1-A move left the team in chaos and turmoil.

But even still, they'd finished 6-6 when returning to a normal 1-AA schedule.

Then...there was this year. Carter's 3rd.

Problems.

The starting QB up and left the team after getting benched. Says he's in too much pain to continue. The Head Coach acted as if he knew nothing of his star QB's massive injuries, but wished him well on his way out the door...

Huh?

I forgot to mention, we started the season out losing to Southern and Delaware State.

Delaware State? Them?

Yes, the Hornets have built themselves a mini-program. Gone are the days where Hampton, South Carolina State and occasionally a senior-filled team from Howard or whoever, were FAMU's only competition in conference. Now we gotta deal with Delaware State.

That's cool. Congrats on getting your program tight...

Whats NOT cool, is at the same time, our program is going the drain fast. Not only are we losing to the hotshot program, but please peruse the scores of FAMU's games this season to date.

September 1 - Loss to Southern 33-27
not nearly as close as the score indicates. On National TV to boot.

September 8 - Loss to Delaware State 20-7 AT HOME
3rd straight loss to new kid on the block, Del State

September 15 - Win over Howard at home 30-17

September 22 - Win vs Tennessee State in Atlanta 18-17
because TSU has no kicker

October 6 - Loss to WINSTON SALEM STATE! in Indianapolis 27-23
do you know who Winston Salem State is? They just joined 1-AA. They are the typical "rent-a-homecoming opponent" for 1-AA teams... Oh but they aren't the only ones...In fact... I'll get to that later...Oh yeah. This game was on NATIONAL TV

October 13 - 49-14 Loss to South Carolina State.
The beatings continue. In 2005 the bulldogs beat us 49-3. Thats how Willingham got let go at Notre Dame. Three straight blowout losses to USC.

October 18 - 33-27 Loss to Norfolk State - at home...
WHAT THE F***!!!!
The original rent-a-homecoming opponent is Norfolk State. So much so, that once when I was in school they came to Tallahassee two years in a row. Because we paid them $40,000 to sell their home game with us, to us and lose to us for homecoming for a second straight year.
Also, look at the date of this game... It was a Thursday night MEAC showcase game. On NATIONAL TV

So in case you are following, that 3 straight embarrassing losses on NATIONAL TV in a 12 day span. Two to bums. One huge blowout to a traditional rival.

Oh wait, one more

October 27 - 14-12 loss to Morgan State
I'm not going to be a jerk about it, but I will remind you one more time of the MEAC's makeup

FAMU
Hampton
South Carolina State
Bethune Cookman
Delaware State
Howard
NC A&T
Morgan State
Norfolk State
Winston Salem (just joined...I think. Maybe this is Savannah State. Who cares they both aren't on our level. )

Not only is that the MEAC list, its in order of traditional Football prowess. So...We lost to the 3 teams at the bottom of the list. Wow.

NC A&T is on a 25 game losing streak....

They are our homecoming opponent this weekend

There is hope, because the game ain't on national television.

But then its AT HAMPTON (need I remind you that Hampton beat FAMU 59-7 last year...in Tallahassee?)

and vs BCC in Orlando.

So 4-7 is the best we can possibly do. And 3-8 is definitely...definitely likely.

This is Rubin Carter's 3rd year as head football coach.

Things are not getting better.

The recruits are not better

They aren't even taking JUCOs right now, which is crazy because they are student-athletes too and OH YEAH, that was the FAMU blueprint that everyone else stole and is winning with now

The team is not more unified

The team is not playing with more discipline

The offense isn't improving at the weeks go by

The run defense isn't getting better

We are not improving. At all.

Is Rubin Carter actually coaching?

Can someone please help?

Dr Ammons,

I am not in the business of getting people fired - usually.
However, this is dire.

You came back to FAMU to restore us and uplift us. So far so good. In your few months on the job that ole Rattler Spirit is coming back!

So I implore you. Please. Fire Coach Carter.
Football coaches have a fraternity. He'll get a job. And soon. But FAMU will continue to be embarrassed and laughed at until we have a competent head football coach. As a recruiter, you know how important the success of our premier athletic program is. You can't invite kids out to the games to come see what FAMU is all about, then watch us get blown out by weak teams who can't themselves believe they are beating FAMU.

Are we going to become one of those HBCUs that is "all-band"? I loved going to FAMU football games not only for the band but for the competition. When the game was good and close at the half, no one left. They stayed and cheered. They played their role. They served as the 12th man.

That can't happen for this team because Coach Carter is not putting our program in a position to succeed.

Please let him go about his business.

FAMU needs better.

Week 9 Rankings

I just realized something...

The fact that there are "BCS Explanation" shows and fantasy football shows really lets you know how much people are looking for answers in this life.
I think I'm going to start providing answers for a living.
Everyone's looking for answers. And Dr. Hak's got the solution...I think I'm about to be a mutha***ing BALLER!

But I digress.

I've moved 3 teams ahead of Louisiana State on my ballot. Perhaps I'm trying to reflect the true situation. Should those three BCS-conference teams remain undefeated, I can't see LSU getting the invite to the BCS title game, but instead, the Sugar Bowl a week earlier. Kansas, I am not moving up that high because...well I don't think they are that good yet. I can be convinced as usual, but I need to see some visual evidence.


You know what else? I don't like this week's rankings. I have a bunch of one-loss teams ahead of a bunch of two-loss teams that are better teams who have played tougher schedules. I'm comforted by the fact that it'll sort out by the end of the season, but still.

On to the rankings

1. Ohio State
2. Arizona State
3. Boston College
4. LSU
5. Oregon
6. Oklahoma
7. Kansas
8. West Virginia
9. Missouri
10. UConn
11. Hawaii
12. Virginia Tech
13. Michigan
14. Alabama
15. Texas
16. Georgia
17. USC
18. Auburn
19. Florida
20. South Florida
21. South Carolina
22. Kentucky
23. Wake Forest
24. Boise State
25. Clemson

Week 8 Rankings College Football

There are a few reasons I don't try to make predictions on football games

Reason #1 - I go with the favorite too often
Reason #2 - The times where the favorite has an obvious flaw that I'm pretty sure the underdog can exploit, I talk myself into going with the favorite far too often
Reason #3 - Random upsets like Vanderbilt 17, South Carolina 6

I guess that 3rd reason isn't really a random upset, so perhaps Reason #3b should read "I have a job and so I don't have enough time to analyze each matchup and team. If I did, I'd be able to say prophetic things like South Carolina's offense has been stuggling and Vandy's D is playing well, therefore, an upset is possible.

As we go on, I'll try to do better.

The Race For #1 (and #2, BCS-wise at least)
For some reason I thought Boston College played Va Tech this past weekend. But that game is on Thursday. That's cool, because I get to see how they do, then get to watch Ohio State against Penn State. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that they do not both win these games, so next week, we'll have a more clear cut #1...that is, until Arizona State beats Cal and then Oregon and muddles everthing up even further

So let's see where we are:

THE UNDEFEATEDS

Ohio State - 4 Big Ten games left. Toughest appear to be this week at Penn State and to end the season at Michigan. Michigan has a habit of preventing Ohio State from getting to the national title game. Last year was the exception because Michigan was also trying to go. Wolverines are haters/spoilers, not front-runners apparently

Boston College - we'll learn a ton about the Eagles when they head to Blacksburg on Thursday night on national TV. After that, they have those hard-to-figure-out ACC games. I say that because the ACC might be the conference with the most true parity. Anyone can beat anyone in any given week without raising an eyebrow. And that includes once mighty Florida State and Miami.

Kansas - I'm not convinced. They could conceivably skate through to a Big XII title game with Oklahoma and legitimize themselves...BUT, they gotta go to Texas A&M next week. Coach Fran is trying really hard not to get fired.

Hawaii - is not ranked by the computers and has not played a schedule to even really warrant BCS consideration, better yet national title thoughts

Arizona State - I probably don't give teams enough credit when I see they have a tough schedule coming up. I might even be pre-docking Arizona State points in my rankings for having to go through this for the next 4 weeks: vs Cal, at Oregon at UCLA vs USC, and then the rivalry game vs Arizona. That being said, you tell me what the odds should be of them winning all those games...I'd say 15-to-1 at best. Which could be worth it if Vegas was putting that line out there.


THE ONE-LOSS CONTENDERS

LSU - has the most quality wins and the most respect by the pollsters. They have 5 first place votes with 5 undefeated teams still out there in the AP poll. I'd rank them higher if I could..oh wait, I can...hmm...

Oregon - LSU has the #2 spot on lock if Ohio State or Boston College should fall, and so Oregon, which has an easier path remaining than Arizona State, could be trying to upgrade their Rose Bowl tickets to New Orleans if LSU should lose to Alabama or Arkansas (or Ole Miss or Louisiana Tech...I had to add those since this season has been so off-the hook).

Oklahoma - for some reason, I think Oklahoma is going to lose another game. I'm sure Bob Stoops has other ideas though.

South Florida - its a shame that West Virginia is #6 in the coaches poll and South Florida is now #12. They dropped ten spots for losing a close game to a decent Rutgers team? And now they are 6 spots behind a West Va team they BEAT? This is why the phrase "FUCK THAT SHIT" exists.

Virginia Tech - could conceivably get back in the title picture by beating Boston College convincingly. That ugly loss to LSU doesn't help though, especially when you consider it might be a rematch and the pollsters aren't fond of rematches

West Virginia - the pollsters like West Va and I like their offense but they seem to have a focus problem. They haven't played the meat of their Big East schedule (nor has Rutgers or Louisville or UConn either), so we'll see how good they really are.

UConn, Missouri and Virginia - are not likely to get the kind of poll support needed to be in the Top 5 unless they are one of the only 3 or so teams left with 1 or fewer losses by the end of the season.

And now, the Rankings

I cannot ignore quality wins against Florida, Virginia Tech, and Auburn.
However, I promise to move Boston College ahead of LSU if they beat Va Tech. Similarly, I promise to move Ohio State ahead of LSU if they beat Penn State.

1. LSU
2. Boston College
2b. Ohio State
4. Oregon
5. Oklahoma
6. Arizona State
7. Kansas
8. South Florida
9. Florida - I see some role reversal going on with LSU from last season. Difference being, LSU didn't get a rematch in the SEC title game with a chance to play spoiler last year.
10. Virginia Tech
11. West Virginia
12. Missouri
13. South Carolina
14. Kentucky
15. USC
16. Hawaii
17. Michigan
18. Alabama
19. Texas
20. Cal
21. Penn State
22. UConn
23. Virginia
24. Auburn
25. Rutgers

next - Maryland, Texas A&M

Hasta La Vista, South Florida / The Race for #1

Rutgers has done it again...

Last year they took out Louisville and their shot at the National Title (costing all of us a chance to see a true shoot-out between Brian Brohm/Bobby Petrino and Troy Smith/Anthony Gonzalez)

Apparently, South Florida's penchant for sloppy turnovers decided to catch up with them at some point - and chose last night.

This doesn't make me feel bad about ranking the Bulls #1 last week, because as a season's body of work, their wins at Auburn and vs West Virginia meaned they had earned the #1 spot. Now we're going to have a #1 next Monday who may not have earned even a TOP 10 spot in a normal season.

So expect more seemingly random fluctuation in the rankings as I continue to try to figure out who's really good and who isn't.

Since I'm now searching for a #1, let's preview this weekend's games and see who might be able to seize the top spot.

Ohio State v Michigan State - This would be the Buckeye's first decent victory of the season. Their defense is great and the offense has had 7 easy games to get their identity and some practice, so perhaps the backloading of the schedule ISN'T the worst idea in the history of sports.

Boston College @ Virginia Tech - This win would allow me to feel better about putting the Eagles at #1, even though one quality win doesn't really legitimize them. In this case, the Hokies' reputation would carry BC to the top. And yes I know I had BC at #2 last week but I consider there to be no real frontrunner at this point. I'm open to suggestions

LSU v Auburn - How weird would it be for me to put a 1-loss team at #1 with BCS teams still left undefeated? Answer: how weird has this college football season been? Bottom line is, LSU has beaten South Carolina, Florida and Virginia Tech , last week's #7, 14 and 15 picks according to Dr Hak. In truth, I think Va Tech and UF are better than a lot of the teams I have ranked ahead of them and expect them to end up closer to the Top 10 at the very end of the season. So... to me that's good enough. 4 (if they beat Auburn) quality wins would trump the one-loss deal. Weirdo sport = weirdo rankings

Kentucky v Florida - I don't really believe in Kentucky. Probably because they usually don't have a good football team (reputation), but also because they had multiple chances to put LSU away in the 4th quarter and couldn't do it. At home. Just call ONE slant pass. Take advantage of Les "Who's Perriloux?" Miles brain malfunction and get it done. Oh well. This is their last major test for a few weeks. They get by Florida, they get Mississippi State and Vanderbilt back to back, which are trap games, before the down Georgia and Tennessee programs to finish the year. You can beat LSU, but you can't beat them? Anyway, wins vs Florida and LSU could justify #1 to me.

South Carolina v Vanderbilt - not a big enough game to really qualify, especially if LSU doesn't lose. Chances for signature wins are at the end of the year.


Who I didn't mention

Oregon - win over Michigan doesn't look that special now, even though Michigan is playing better. Loss to Cal at first I wanted to forgive them for, but now I'll reserve judgment until they play some more Pac-10 games

Oklahoma - lost to Colorado. I don't care what they do unless they win out, I can't put them at #1 after that.

West Va - should've beaten South Florida

Kansas - umm... 6-0 with wins against Central Michigan, SE Louisiana, Toledo, Florida International and Baylor, plus the one victory against Kansas State will not get you a WHIFF of the #1 spot around here. They don't have any super tests because all of the teams in the Big 12 are down, but, we don't really have evidence that they are better than Oklahoma State, Nebraska, Colorado, or Texas A&M either. Missouri to end the season.

Arizona State - has a bye and then gets Cal, @ Oregon, @ UCLA and USC in a month. If for some reason they win all those games, we have a national title contender.


So, all that being said, I expect to have to put Ohio State #1 on Monday, followed by LSU and then some order of Oregon, Oklahoma and South Carolina.
...

Nowm since I said that, watch Kentucky beat Florida and BC spank Va Tech in Blacksburg or something crazy like that...

Week 7 - College Football Gone Wild

This is getting ridiculous. Are we going to have a matchup of two-loss teams in the BCS National Championship game? Wild. Trust me, the upsets are not over. Take, the three top undefeated teams - all of them have backloaded schedules. Kansas too.
Next week alone you have South Florida @ Rutgers, and BC @ Virginia Tech. Ohio State visits Penn State after a visit from Michigan State next week.

I suppose if you like intrigue, the good news is no one with 1 or 2 losses is REALLY out of the national title picture. I mean look how drastically the Top 10 changes from week to week.

And that's BEFORE the big games later in the year. We're in an era where teams play as many powder puffs as possible to start the season, buying home games against lesser opponents to fatten the home stadium revenue coffers and get some practice that counts in the standings.

Well, its backfiring. Either with direct "upset" losses (Michigan - App State) or with not being prepared for the big games later on (Florida) . I don't know what Cal, LSU and USC's excuses are because they both played at least one big name opponent before their losses (Oregon, Florida and Nebraska respectively)

All this to say - normally this is the time of year where you'd see some jumps on the rankings because you can really evaluate what a loss to who or a win over whom actually means now that enough games have been played and overrated teams have been exposed.

Well, there's still 5 games to play this year. And most of those are the big backloaded conference matchups I mentioned earlier. So we STILL have teams that haven't played anybody, and that, more than actual talent and performance, is why I have no idea where to rank Kansas, Boston College, Texas Tech, Virginia, et al. So Whatever. At the end of the year, I hope voters recognize that early and late losses are less relevant this year and we are really going to have to take into account a teams entire body of work more than normal. Because controversy is coming with the BCS! The first one is released tomorrow...

1. South Florida - who has BC or Ohio State beaten? South Florida has won @Auburn and vs W. Va
2. Boston College - beat Georgia Tech
3. Ohio State - hasn't played a decent team yet
4. Oregon -I think their loss to Cal was a fluke, so they get benefit of the doubt
5. Oklahoma - I think this is too high for the Sooners
6. LSU - might still be too high for a flawed team with a coach who refuses to put in his unstoppable option package when he needs two yards...the entire game
7. South Carolina - Defense the mark of all good Spurrier teams. Control destiny in SEC
8. Kansas - ???
9. Arizona State - ??? (**9b. West Virginia - oops, left them off my original rankings)
10. Kentucky - well...I think LSU is loaded with talent but not well coached and has their best QB on the bench...so how much is a win over them REALLY worth? Is Kentucky good or not? We'll see when they play Florida next week.
11. Cal - I dont know what to say about a team that gets to #2 and immediately tricks off their first legit shot at a title in who knows how long.
12. Texas Tech - no idea what to do with Tech
13. Florida - good but young and will probably lose again. But by the time the bowls come around, could probably beat whoever. Next year its on.
14. Virginia Tech - I wonder what would've happened if they didn't get blasted by LSU
15. USC - sucks. The media loves them so its not being put out there. John David Booty = Chris Rix
16. Cincinnati - you lost to Louisville? You didn't put up more then 30 on Louisville???
17. Auburn - stop tricking off "gimme" games Tuberville
18. Hawaii - Colt Brennan is cool and all but this isn't a complete team. And his arm is going to fall off soon, so whatchagonnado then?
19. Missouri - you know its crazy when you only drop one spot after a loss
20. Texas
21. Maryland
22. Alabama
23. Michigan - they're Back...for now
24. Penn State
25. Wake Forest / Virginia / Illinois / Michigan State- maybe they don't deserve to be in the Top 25. We'll see

Way Too Early Heisman Ballot

1. Hart, RB, Michigan - this is not a "homer" vote. Mike Hart is cranking out the 150 yards performances with regularity, considering all of the troubles the Maize and Blue is having.

2. I don't even know - It was Andre Woodson, but he didn't even play well against LSU. It could've been Darren McFadden, but he's not in the spotlight with Arkansas not playing well. Its not Tim Tebow. Its not Ray Rice or any of the pre-season favorites. Colt Brennan is getting fat off of weak opponents, hence Hawaii's drop on my ballot...so... no #2 this week. Give it some time

3. Matt Ryan - if we use the Best player on the Best team rationale, which i'm not really with, he's the standout amongst the current...CURRENT top teams.

And remember - Don't drink alcohol in excess, with Cialis.

Randy Couture QUITS The UFC and I Don't Blame Him

In a very preventable, very dramatic occurence, UFC Hall-of-Famer, Living Legend, and current UFC WORLD Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture has left the company and vacated his title and broadcasting position.

Its pretty easy to jump to conclusions here and blame Dana White.

Dana White, for those of you unfamiliar with the UFC, is the Vince McMahon like figure who runs the UFC for the owners, the Zuffas, with seemingly full autonomy. He's a former boxer and he loves MMA, but he's also very secretive, egotistical, emotional and never wrong. You can tell he believes this from his quotes and general demeanor that he likes the spotlight and thinks he's as important as the fights are to the success of the UFC.

And he may be.

A lot of the success and attention the UFC gets now can be attributed to Dana and his efforts, and I mean a LOT. He's the one that got the Zuffas to keep investing more money when things weren't looking right, he's the one at the forefront of getting the sport legitimized with rules and drug testing, he's the one going out and being the face of the company IN the face of tons of scrutiny from anyone who doesn't want MMA to go mainstream. He's the one who got ESPN coverage, etc etc. At least that's what you are lead to believe based on what info is out there. For that, I commend him greatly because I am a fan and if not for Dana White, I may not have been given the chance to become one.

But...

With the good comes the bad. Many of the recent failings of the UFC can also be contributed to Dana White.

The UFC deal with HBO is not happening because HBO wants to produce it. UFC wants to keep production. Why? They already produce enough TV with The Ultimate Fighter, Ultimate Fight Night, and their PPVs. Why not allow a veteran of the game like HBO to be a full partner and show you some things? I don't see the problem with that. I do see a problem with Dana going out and proclaiming in no uncertain terms that the deal would happen when it ended up NOT happening. But again, I'm not Dana White.

Fedor Emelianenko is not signing with the UFC, but instead, some upstart promotion in Russia called M-1 Mix Fight. Why? Who knows. But White going out and calling his managers "crazy Russians" probably didn't help. In Boxing, at the end of the day, people want to know who the Heavyweight Champion of the World is. Luckily, some big name fights in other weight classes have come on and kept the sport more-than-alive. In MMA, it may not be exactly the same, since the skill and other factors make the Light Heavyweight and Welterweight divisions very attractive, but the #1 Heavyweight in the World is out there and you don't sign him? How?
Fighters want to fight the best. UFC has the most talent so Fedor would naturally want to come here. He even said he's down with fighting Couture. But Dana plays hardball with him and now he goes elsewhere...Well that's dumb.

And now the #2 or 1A heavyweight around, goes and QUITS the entire organization, because you weren't giving him his money. Well, you already had this guy in the fold, so that's dumber.

The UFC has always been very interesting when it comes to fighter salaries and overall negotiations. They tell you what someone's base and win bonus are but they don't report the true amounts fighters make, which includes a lot of behind the scenes bonuses and PPV revenues.

Now, if UFC has a PPV with 500,000 buys at $40 a pop, that's $20 Million. If the fighter base salaries add up to less than $1 Million, that is a problem. These numbers are close to what happened with the Rampage - Liddell PPV. I think there were more buys than that even. And let's not forget sponsorship and live gate. So about $25 Million is made on the PPV and the fighters end up with how much exactly? What are these mysterious bonuses and who is getting them? How much are they and what are they based on? Where's the transparency?

As for the fighteres where is the financial risk/reward for putting your life on the line and getting in the cage in the first place? Its insulting to me to see a fighter listed with a base salary of $5,000 for a fight that airs on Ultimate Fight Night on Spike TV or $10,000 for a PPV. Even with these random bonuses, how are they supposed to make a real living? Who determines your fate if you don't know how much you are making?

At the end of the day, that's why Couture left. He was told he was the #2 paid fighter in UFC. But he did a survey of guys, who talk to each other, and found out that could not have been the case. Plus the new guys from Pride (Rampage, Shogun, and the offer they made Fedor) were given contracts that dwarfed his.

Dana White could've prevented this. He blames the internet fan-run "newssites" that help drive his organizations popularity for spreading rumors and lies, but that's not where the problem lies. I'm not going to say that full fighter salaries need to be disclosed to the public, but at least to the fighters, they should be honest in their dealings. Fighters can be sworn to secrecy or whatever, but they should know who is making what and how they can get to that level. If a fighter comes to you and says "you told me I was the 2nd highest paid guy but I just found 4 people who make more than me", show them your books - if he's important enough to you - and yes the World Champion and top color commentator is important enough.

But maybe in Dana's mind he isn't. Sure, the UFC will continue and Brandon Vera could return to his meteoric rise to the top and come out as UFC champion sometime next year (IF...big IF he can beat up the huge former champion in Tim Sylvia next weekend and then probably Big Nog next year) and you'd have a marketable star with the belt. That would be ok, but Randy "The Natural" Couture has something a lot of fighters just don't have yet.

Respect.

Randy is one of those guys that when he speaks, you listen. That would explain why his gym is cranking out top performances (who REALLY saw Forrest Griffin taking out Mauricio Shogun Rua last month? Be honest. Couture picked him unconditionally and Forrest made him TAP!) and why he keeps picking upset after upset and being right. That's why if Randy Couture comes out with a diet exercise and nutrition book, it'll go platinum. He has the respect of the fighters and fans. That covers everyone it seems, except perhaps Dana White, who doesn't really show a lot of respect to anyone. Like Vince McMahon. And if you didn't know, the WWE is heading DOWNwards and has been for years since they bought WCW in 2001, just like the UFC has been having these issues since they bought Pride last year...Hmm...

Tailgaiting with Tiger Bait - Week 6 College Football Rankings

Lafayette, LA -

So I'm in a hotel on the way home from Baton Rouge, LA where I had my first tailgaiting experience and let me say, its something else. There were 90,000 people inside the stadium and about 150,000+ outside. Ticket prices were ridiculous and the Tiger faithful were OUT.

I learned a lot also... people bring their satellite dishes to tailgate...and even watch the game from outside the stadium. And they bring gasoline powered generators to power the set up. And people cook and cater real food for tailgaiting. And it starts days in advance. For people NOT going into the game. Its an amazing sight...actually is nuts but whatever. I had a good time. Geaux Tigers! What's that you say? Florida is my favorite Sunshine State D1-A school? This is true, but...I don't really care for Urban Meyer. But I do fucks wit Percy Harvin. I want the Redskins to draft him a year early. Plus, I was advised that for my safety I should probably refrain from humming the theme to "Jaws"

So while I'm outside enjoying the Louisiana air and daiquiris, a lot of crazy stuff happened.
Illinois beat #5 (AP rankings) Wisconsin. It wasn't an upset because Vegas had the unranked (AP) Illini FAVORED to beat Wisconsin. Shouldn't this have been a wake up call/bulletin board fodder for the Badgers? They suck. I only had them ranked high because I believe in ranking undefeated teams higher than one loss teams, but I'm thinking eventually I'm going to reconsider. LSU rallied to beat the Gators...and I think something else happened... hmm...

what could it be...

oh yeah...

OH YEAH...THAT!!!

USC lost to STANFORD!

John David Booty is officially the Chris Rix of that program. I thought this before (hey...I smell like bbq smoke) I found out about the game, but maybe that was my psychic nature letting me know he threw one of his 4 picks. Its also about time I get my Heisman ballot tracking together but we'll wait till next week for that.

And now, the new Rankings

1. LSU
2. Cal
3. Boston College
4. South Florida
5. Ohio State
6. Oklahoma
7. South Carolina
8. Oregon
9. West Virginia
10. Cincinnati
11. Arizona State
12. Hawaii
13. USC
14. Florida
15. Virginia Tech
16. Illinois
17. Kentucky
18. Missouri
19. Kansas
20. Wisconsin
21. Florida State
22. Auburn
23. Texas
24. Maryland
25. Alabama

Dr Hak's Week 5 College Football Rankings

You know how some movie plots have the "everyone dies" ending? (The Departed)
Well, this was an "everyone loses" weekend, but I tried to impart in my college football preview for the year that this was a weak year as far as TEAMS go. Lots of talent but a ton of seniors left good teams last year and most of the highly ranked teams are lead by youngsters (Florida, Oklahoma).
What I didn't speak about what that this gives less prestigious programs a shot to sneak in there and grab some "out-of-nowhere" conference titles. Like Wake Forest last year. Down year for Miami, FSU and Va Tech, and the Demon Deacons come "out-of-nowhere" to win the ACC and hit the Orange Bowl.

Well the season isn't even halfway over but Kentucky, South Carolina and South Florida are threatening to be those teams this year. Not to mention Hawaii, which despite a horrendous schedule, could limp into the BCS with Colt Brennan's Heisman fame and a lot of BCS conference teams knocking each other off.

This is how wild of a season its been so far. I have very little confidence in the Top 5 of my rankings. In fact, I don't know if outside of LSU and USC, any of the week 5 Top TEN schools I have listed below will be there at the end of the year. But so far, they have earned it.

And now, to the new rankings

1. LSU
2. USC
3. Cal
4. Wisconsin
5. South Florida
6. Kentucky
7. Ohio State
8. Boston College
9. West Virginia
10. Oregon
11. Florida
12. Oklahoma
13. South Carolina
14. Rutgers
15. Hawaii
16. Texas
17. Cincinnati
18. Arizona State
19. Georgia
20. Virginia Tech
21. Missouri
22. Illinois
23. Purdue
24. Kansas State
25. UCLA

Dr Hak's MMA Rankings - September 2007

In the last month we've seen UFC 74, UFC 75, Ultimate Fight Night 11 and UFC 76. That's a lot of fights, clearly. The trend of upsets that has seen Gabriel Gonzaga take out Mirko CroCop, Matt "The Terror" Serra knockout Georges St Pierre for the welterweight title, and Quinton Rampage Jackson make quick work or Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell has continued, with some of those names involved again in the late summer swarm.

UFC Rankings as of September 24th, 2007

Heavyweight - 220 lbs and above
1. Randy "The Natural" Couture
2. Big Nog
3. Tim Sylvia
4. Andrei Arlovski
5. Brandon Vera
6. Gabriel Gonzaga
7. Cheik Kongo
8. Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic

Of course, if Fedor shows up he becomes 1A/1B with Couture but that may not ever happen. Especially if Mark Cuban gets involved in MMA and decides to throw a bunch of money around. He's smart enough to NOT do that, but you never know. He's a billionaire after all. I don't know how Brandon Vera will hold up after such a long layoff (see: UFC's Pride acquisitions) but his previous body of work holds up well in a "pack" situation.

Upcoming Matches:
#5 Vera v #3 Sylvia

Suggested Matches:
#1a Couture v #1b Fedor Emelianenko or Big Nog
Arlovski v Gonzaga



Light Heavyweight - 205 lbs
1. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
2. Dan Henderson
3. Tito Ortiz
4. Wanderlei Silva
5. Rashad Evans
6. Forrest Griffin
7. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
8. Keith "Dean of Mean" Jardine
9. Chuck "Iceman" Liddell
10. Lyoto Machida
Also: Houston "The Assasain" Alexander , Michael "The Count" Bisping, Matt Hammill, Jason Lambert

You'll excuse me for being confused this month. The title-shot picture is pretty jumbled now. Before this month of activity I had 2. Rua. 3. Henderson. 4. Liddell 5. Silva. 6. Ortiz 7. Evans...but now everyone is losing. Even Jardine just lost not that long ago to the deliciously violent Houston Alexander. Bisping lost too, they just didn't score the fight correctly. So given all this, we need a challenger for Rampage. Everyone just behind Rampage lost and then Ortiz is up for a rematch with Rashad Evans due to their draw at UFC 73. Wanderlei Silva lost two fights in a row in Pride (one to Dan Henderson), so no immediate title shot for him. The UFC is in the business of making money. So let's go ahead and capitalize on Forrest Griffin's popularity and his win over the alleged #1 205-lb fighter in the world. He won the first Ultimate Fighter. Matt Serra got a title shot when he won his. So why not Forrest? If you have another suggestion I'd love to hear it.

Upcoming Matches
Bisping v Hammill Re-match
Ortiz v Evans Re-match (perhaps to determine the #1 contender)

Suggested Matches
#1 Rampage v #6 Forrest Griffin (Feb '08 SuperBowl show)
Liddell v Silva - go ahead and book it before someone else gets beat
Rua v Jardine
Alexander v Machida




Middleweight - 185 lbs
1. Anderson "The Spider" Silva
2. Dan Henderson
3. Rich Franklin
4. Nate "The Great" Marquadt
5. Yushin Okami
6. Martin Kampmann
7. Jason MacDonald
8. Terry Martin
9. Mike Swick

Anderson Silva is destroyings these cats, and I'm not sure Rich Franklin really wants to fight him again. But he will, and its for the belt. Perhaps we're one Muay Thai clinch away from seeing Silva v Henderson. I'd enjoy that matchup a lot

Upcoming Matches
#1 Silva v #3 Franklin
Okami v MacDonald

Suggested Matches
#2 Henderson v Silva/Franklin winner



Welterweight - 170 lbs
1. Matt "The Terror" Serra
2. Georges St. Pierre
3. Matt Hughes
4. Jon Fitch
5. Josh Koscheck
6. Diego "Nightmare" Sanchez
7. Karo Parisyan

GSP dominated a very self-assured Josh Koscheck last month and reclaims his spot at the top of the contender heap. He'll have to wait a long time to get his title shot, maybe until April 08 but it looks like the UFC is working on giving him home field advantage and having that fight be in Montreal. It seems like the convential wisdom is a Hughes-GSP 3 match-up but we'll have to wait and see on that one until December's title tilt. Jon Fitch's domination of Diego Sanchez shows he's in the upper echelon of welterweights in the UFC and I'd probably match him up with Karo Parisyan soon and promise the winner the next title match, which could be a full year away. I think its unfortunate GSP was promised a title shot if he beat Koscheck, if only because he'll have at least a 6 month layoff that is probably not needed. I support Diego Sanchez's decision to go to 155, if that is what he decides to do, but he's a good welterweight as well

Upcoming Matches
#1 Serra v #3 Hughes - December

Suggested Matches
Fitch v Parisyan
Sanchez v Koscheck 2



Lightweight - 155 lbs
1. Sean Sherk
2. BJ Penn
3. Joe Stevenson
4. Kenny Florian
5. Hermes Franca
6. Roger Huerta
7. Joe Lauzon
8. Spencer Fisher
9. Tyson Griffin
10. Din Thomas


The talk of a Sean Sherk steriods suspension brings us to a Joe Stevenson v BJ Penn fight for the vacated title. That's cool, even though BJ Penn is getting older and should probably stop cutting all the way to 155. It'd be interesting to have him in the welterweight division again. Regardless, Roger Huerta isn't quite ready for a title shot...or at least the UFC isn't giving him fights that would suggest they think he is. That being said, he's been marketed hard and he's doing well. So how about a #1 contender match against Kenny "The Finisher" Florian?

Upcoming Matches
#2 Stevenson v #3 Penn - if Sherk suspension upheld

Suggested Matches
Huerta v Florian
Franca v Griffin

Dr Hak's College Football Rankings - Week 4 (9/23)

I didn't see much of this week's action but I've caught up with the comings and goings.

First impression - one time for Andre Woodson.

2nd impression - this is going to be a "wasteful" season in 1-A football. Michigan is wasting Mike Hart and perhaps Chad Henne. Louisville is wasting Brian Brohm. Arkansas is wasting LaDanian...I mean Darren McFadden. That's too bad none of these teams has a defense who can't prevent the opponent from scoring 40 points because their offensive talent is all Top 5 come next NFL Draft

Dr. Hak's Week 4 Rankings for the 2007 Season:

1. LSU
2. USC
3. Oklahoma
4. West Virginia
5. Florida
6. Rutgers
7. Oregon
8. Cal
9. Wisconsin
10. Texas
11. Clemson
12. Boston College
13. Kentucky
14. Ohio State
15. South Florida
16. Hawaii
17. South Carolina
18. Penn State
19. Georgia
20. Virgina Tech
21. Missouri
22. Cincinnati
23. Purdue
24. Alabama
25. Appalachain State

Others: Arizona State, Miami, Nebraska, UCLA, Michigan State, Michigan

You might notice I switched LSU and USC. Why? Well because LSU has beaten tougher (in my estimation) teams so far and they look just as good with their #2 QB in as they do with their starter. The defense is tremendous and if they played USC I think the Tigers would win...right now. Its early and I reserve the right to flip-flop them week to week if they stay undefeated. Will they? LSU has a ton of tough SEC games but they are all at home. USC's PAC 10 schedule is a bit rough. We'll see.

I'm impressed with Oklahoma but we must remember they have a freshman QB. At some point that might catch up with them.

I dropped Oregon because I think I over-ranked them, and I moved West Virginia up because its not fair to have Steve Slaton, Pat White and Noel Devine. How many linebackers would you have to have in the game to stop that attack? Nuts.

I continue to be impressed with Andre Woodson but we'll see how good he really is when Kentucky hits the hard part of their SEC schedule. They have an @South Carolina, v LSU, v Florida spot coming up after their home game against FAU. Woodson looks like the first QB off the board in the next NFL draft.

Dr. Hak's Week 3 College Football Rankings

Dr Hak Sports is BACK! with the season's first college football rankings

No time for chatter, let's get to it...

1. USC
2. LSU
3. Oklahoma
4. Florida
5. Oregon
6. West Virginia
7. Rutgers
8. Cal
9. Wisconsin
10. Penn State
11. South Carolina
12. Texas (you can't be in my Top 10 when you almost lost to both Arkansas State and UCF. Not happening. October 6 will be interesting)
13. Clemson
14. Boston College
15. Texas A&M
16. Kentucky
17. Louisville
18. Hawaii
19. Nebraska
20. South Florida
21. Alabama
22. Arkansas
23. Missouri
24. Virginia Tech
25. Appalachain State

Bellicheat Got Off Easy

Yo,

I'm a little upset.

The coach of the New England Patriots just got caught cheating, and he only gets a fine and a loss of a draft pick he doesn't need in the first place.
All this while a bunch of players have been suspended for 4 games, 8 games, a year, or forever, for things that have nothing to do with the game!
But you can get caught cheating...and they don't do nothing to you but take money out of your $4 Million salary, and take a player-pick away who may or may not be worth jack-sh*t in 2 years anyway....
But you do something off the field, and you get your livelihood taken away?!?!?!?!

HOW IS THIS COOL?

I guess I'm just not going to be applying for any jobs at the NFL cuz I'm really on some F*** the Commish type ish right now.
I can't help but notice that Bill Bellicheck isn't black and all these players who get suspended for off field incidents are. I hate to say that but that's what I'm feeling right now. This doesn't make sense...It doesnt feel right to me.

You can't cheat at the game, get caught, and then be back on the sideline the next week.
The Eagles want the Pats to FORFEIT the Super Bowl from two years ago...Cats is mad man, and we don't know how much cheating they did and how much of an advantage they got...so who knows how many games they did this with and what the real results would've been if they'dve played fair.
The problem isn't spying, its employing technology to spy. That's some next level ish right there. Play the game man...
The MINIMUM punishment Coach Bellicheat should've got was 4 games BANNED from the team, with no contact, and the Pats should lose their 1st 2nd AND 3rd round draft picks for the next season. F*** a fine. This dude is rich, man. The owner can slide him a half mil under the table or just boost his salary come next season.
I don't appreciate this AT ALL...

*addendum*

I just read this article

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3019472

Where it appears they suspended the Cowboy's QB Coach 1/3rd his salary and 5 games for using HGH to feel better from diabetes. How the F*** does Belichick get off with a slap on wrist then?!??? Take $1.4 Million and suspend him for 8 games if you're going to get an assistant coach for this... I'm calling BULLSHIT on the NFL for real right now.

*addendum over*

Peace out,
Angry Dr Hak

---------------------------

9/23 Addendum #2

Commisioner Goddell explained that Wade Wilson's HGH suspension comes from the fact that he obtained the HGH illegally and got caught in a bust. I accept that explanation. I still do not think Bellicheat's punishment was strong enough but stealing defensive calls could've been done without technology, so... the effect on the game may or may not have been that bad. I still think he should've been suspended. Two games minimum.

Appalachain State 34 - 32 Michigan + College Football Preview

Given that I put out a long blog on my family connection to the University of Michigan towards the end of last year's college football season, I figure I should probably comment on what might is one of, if not THE biggest upsets in the history of college football, or American sports in general.
Thankfully, I didn't see the game. I still haven't seen the highlights. I hear there were two blocked kicks and some failed two point conversions.

I hear there was some exploitation of the Michigan secondary...for the third game in a row.

I heard of this first from my gay friend Mario...ok he's not gay (not that there would be anything wrong with that if he were) I'm just being evil...from my good friend Mario, who is an Ohio State fan. You already know what that means. If you don't, let's just say "Hatfields and McCoys" or "Capulet and Montagues" or "we don't like each other".

Appalacian State was up on Michigan two touchdowns in the first half, and while I was on my way to The Red Door party, which was great, he calls complaining about something. It was weird, he sounded like he was on drugs or getting tortured in a sauna filled with hot oil...i don't know what he was going through but he was upset about Michigan being overrated or something. As if losing the first half of the first game meant anything.

I eventually told him he was just talking now because it was the only time this season he'd be able to say anything...and I was wrong.

Appalachain State ended up WINNING the game. Sure, Michigan did a few stupid things, but from what I can piece together, they lost the game straight up. No fluke.

App State is the two time defending 1-AA Champions. They could probably beat up on some C-USA teams like Houston or Rice. Definitely, they could be Sun Belt Champions. But beating Michigan? That's pretty heavy. That's huge
And once again, I haven't seen the footage. I'm kind of glad I don't have cable right now or I'd have to have heard and seen all about this all weekend.
So now, to the future. There are two, maybe three distince possibilities here
Most likely, Michigan has a season like Chad Henne's first, where they lost a ton of close games and finished 7-5.
Or they totally wilt as their team psyche is absolutely crushed and they finish...7-5 (they play a weak Big 10 Schedule. App State could contend for the title if they were in there)
Option Three...I think the Wolverines may in fact get motivated by this and destroy...absolutely, f---ing DESTROY everyone else in their path for the rest of the year.
This will be especially interesting if there's only one or two other one-loss teams by season's end. Not that their strength of schedule will hold up (Notre Dame is about to go 3-9. Ohio State 8-4, Wisconsin 10-2) but it would make for a hell of a debate if there's a two-loss Virginia Tech as ACC Champs (or Clemson), a two-loss SEC Champion, and a one loss Big East champ sitting around trying to see who get a crack at one loss USC or Oklahoma.

Just saying...

This is good for college football though (whatever that means)...just like the Boise State - Oklahoma deal from this year Fiesta Bowl. Lloyd Carr is about to retire at season's end. Sucks for him. Henne and Hart came back for this. Bad for them too...more for Hart because he's so injury prone...tough but injury prone...his money making window is small.

Oh well...I STILL rocked my Michigan t-shirt all day yesterday, cuz I'm a real ***** (fan)...though I must admit I only went to Blockbuster to pick up Heroes Season 1 Disc 3 and 4 and went home and cleaned up.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I'm glad I didn't do a college football preview this year. but I guess I still owe it to the readers, so...here we go

LSU is overrated

Florida is overrated and their coach has said as much

Notre Dame and Florida State have shown you what I could've told you, which is that they are in serious rebuilding mode. I was surprised at how bad FSU's offense was against Clemson, however.

Michigan lost a bunch of top stars on defense but the Offense is still there...oh wait...
So then add in the fact that we're talking about kids here...who are developing their skills all the time...and then u have top freshmen coming out the blue, people you expect to develop who don't, etc etc...

Whatever.

Here are my random predictions for the BCS conferences

PAC-10
1. USC
2. UCLA
3. Oregon State
4. Cal

Big East
1. Louisville
2. West Virginia
3. USF
4. Rutgers

Big Ten
1. ... still Michigan
2. Wisconsin
3. Ohio State
4. Penn State

Big XII
1. Oklahoma (South)
2. Kansas State (North)
3. Texas

ACC
1. Clemson
2. Virginia Tech
3. Georgia Tech
4. Miami
5. Boston College

SEC
1. LSU
2. Arkansas
3. Florida
4. South Carolina


National Title...

How should I know? Ask me in November.

I Paid To See Chris Benoit

So... by now you've heard about the pro wrestler that killed his family? Well you might also know that he missed a big show the night before they found them.

Well...I went to that show, and I went specifically to see him perform. He was my favorite. Or at least in the Top 3.

And he didnt show up.
And I was pissed. I felt like I had wasted my money.
And I felt stupid the next day when they said he was dead. But the thought had crossed my mind that he was responsible for some reason.

And then I went home to watch his tribute show, and by the time the tribute show was over, the news had turned on him and said it was a double murder suicide and I didn't know WHAT to think.

And then the next day all the details came out hour-by-hour, and I was at work feeling pretty crummy. But not emotionally distraught because...we don't really know these people we consider ourselves fans of...Hell we don't even know our own friends family and co-workers like that. Spouses even. But all the tv coverage has focused on is steroids.

Why?

I think we need to have a discussion about psychological issues and mental stress and demons. Because that's what this man was dealing with. I don't know how I feel about him anymore but I enjoy watching his work. It doesn't feel weird yet. Probably because I haven't seen any photos of the crime scene. Chris Benoit is a murderer? No wait, I thought that was my dude...whats he doing killing people?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ End synopsis

For those of you that don't know, I'm a huge professional wrestling fan. HUGE. You see the photo of me with the title belt in my myspace photos collection. I've been a fan since I was 5. It appealed to my competitive side the same way that baseball and game shows did, way before I knew it was scripted. By the time I found out it didn't really matter.

Last Sunday, the WWE was in town for one of their monthly pay-per-views. Normally I watch it with the boys at a bar. We use it as an excuse to catch up and drink beer and eat fried food. They've been to Houston before and I didn't go to the live show, but this time was different. Two weeks before the show they finally announced some of the matches, and I was ready to go. Why? Chris Benoit v CM Punk. Simply put, I paid to see Chris Benoit.

One of the best wrestlers of the last 30 years.

I've been trying to write about the Benoit family tragedy for a week.
Chris Benoit is/was one of my five favorite performers of all time, and at the time of his death, top 3 amongst current active performers. Then he went and killed his wife and son in gruesome manners, then himself. What am I supposed to think and feel about that???

Last Sunday, exactly a week from when I was writing this, I was a little crunk. I had just got a $100 ticket right by the floor seats for the low (thanks to the guy who ended up sitting next to me and overpaid, lol), I had a few beers with Don and Aisha at the Flying Saucer on our way in, and I didn't have to wait in line to get in because I'm smooth like that. (That, or I'm just less nice than most wrestling fans, who usually fit the shy, quiet, internet geek mold...oh wait - that means I'm a... nevermind)

The Toyota Center crowd was fired up for the whole show. Most of the early matches kinda sucked, but that wasn't a big deal because this is HOUSTON and folks were ready. Then the referee came out for the ECW Title match, and the energy of the place went even higher. First out, CM Punk. Young up and coming guy with a lot of promise and some cool moves in his set.

I turned around and saw some guy in a black cowboy hat and sunglasses with a sign that said "CM Punk v Benoit = Classic"

That pretty much summed it up for me. That's why I was there. I wanted to see that ONE match. Otherwise I'd be at the bar. I got my camera phone video ready for his entrance when the ring announcer let out:

"And Chris Benoit's replacement...Johnny NITRO!!!!"

I need to post this video. The entire arena was PISSED, the only good match on the card - ruined. The immediate visceral reaction was 20,000 people going "whhhhhhhaaaaaaat???" in disbelief. Punk and Nitro fought for 10 minutes. 8 of them were drowned out with "WE WANT BENOIT! clap-clap-CLAPCLAPCLAP! WE WANT BENOIT!" chants.

So I texted my friends watching at a bar and according to the television announce crew he had to return home to Atlanta due to a family emergency. It sucked but that's real life. Well they didn't tell US that at the Toyota Center, so there were some pretty pissed off people. I wasn't the only person who felt like he had wasted his money at that point. It wouldn't have been so bad but ALL the matches sucked until the semi-main event. Edge beat Batista and that was a lot of fun.

Bad guys who get cheers from the "grown male" demographic at the expense of the good guys makes for great theater. I'd explain but it doesn't really matter. Go Edge.

So I go home a bit disappointed in the show but I still had a good time. Probably because I decided to. The WWE has been putting out some b.s. for the better part of 4 years (They can hire me, Mario and Damien and the ratings will be fixed in a month. guaranteed). Well the next day was Monday Night Raw at 8/7c on USA. This is a weekly show and quite often, the highlight of my tv week. Well...it used to be. See: the rest of this paragraph). I'm looking for a townhouse so at 7 I was driving around The Heights looking at what was out there. I saw a Long John Silvers (hadn't seen one of those in a while) and decided to get some fried chicken and fish, despite my decision earlier in the day to avoid fried foods. (I psychically paid for this later...boy did I pay...)

While I'm in line, I get a text that said Chris Benoit and his family were found dead in their house earlier on Monday. I IMMEDIATELY got mad at my boy who sent that to me and told him to stop wasting my fucking texts with internet gossip. Mario calls me and I told him it didn't make sense, look it up on the internet and he said...it was true.

WHAT?!

I didn't race home, but I did end my townhouse re-con to go see RAW. Sure enough, as they normally do when someone dies (that tells you too many wrestlers die young), they were doing a tribute show to Chris Benoit. If I had wrote this last monday night, it'dve been a tribute blog to my favorite wrestler. Because that's what Chris was. I would've talked about his top notch skills and how his shortcomings (lack of charisma, microphone ability) kept him from being a super rich man but he overcame that to win the title at Wrestlemania 20 in what for me is still one of my 3 favorite memories as a fan. I would've talked about a lot of stuff and probably went into explaining the politics of professional wrestling like I did when my dad called me on Wednesday.

And then he started murking his wife and kid. What the Fuck, Chris!?

WHAT

THE

FUCK!?!?!?

Chris...I called him Chris like I know I actually know this guy.

We really don't know these people we watch on TV. These sports stars(O.J., Rae Carruth), these musicians (R. Kelly), these politicians (too many to name)...How do you see something like this coming? Maybe you don't.

Most of his friends say they didn't see it coming either. So how can I, a big fan of his work, see it coming? And how does that affect my view of his work.

I'm watching a Chris Benoit match from 2002 right now on youtube. I don't identify this man with double murder. I guess thats like people who still listen to R. Kelly or don't hide the fact that they enjoyed watching OJ Simpson at USC and in the NFL.

...I don't know...maybe I should feel weird looking at his matches.

Over time I probably will. Or maybe I won't. As a wrestler, Chris Benoit was pretty good. As a man, Chris Benoit tapped out to real life.

Roger Federer is Clearly on Steroids, Serena, and It's Super Bowl Time!

I just watched the end of the Austrailian Open, and all I can say is...

Are you serious?

This is less Hater-ish than it is me trying to understand how one man can win pretty much every tournament he enters.

This isn't 1920, when one technological advance can give you the edge over the entire world, its 2007 and everyone has extra stuff going for them.

But have you seen this dude play tennis? I don't watch a ton of tennis (especially men's, its too lame - serve, return into the net...rinse repeat) but I do watch the Grand Slams as a result of being my mother's loving oldest son. (When I was like...10, I explained to her what a triple break point was...and she'd played all her life *KISS* LOVE YOU MOMS!)

So I was really trying to see what Serena was about to do...and let me say this...other than the final and her 1st round match...them skinny little Ruso-Chzecko-Spaniard girls wilted under the pressure of a Strong Black Woman screaming at them during the match.

On the real, Serena should've got put out in every round...Especially in the quarters against Peer, the Israeli with a bunch of her countrymen watching...but she didn't.

I promise you...this is exactly what played out...Serena digs herself a hole...she looks at the other girl...gets mad, starts playing a little better...digs herself out of hole #1...only to quickly dig hole #2...a much deeper set or match point hole...and she's start yelling...and whatever tennis waif she was playing against went from "yeah I'm bout to show Serena" to "oh sh*t, I have to change after this...damn, look at her arms...her thighs...she might crush me with a scorpion death lock in the locker room or something...what?...its my turn to serve?"

Every

single...

round...

Until the final.

Serena beat THE SH*T out of Mario Sharapova - whose match highlight was slamming an overhead lob AT Serena when down 4-0 in the first set. The cameras caught Serena saying "what the f..." in slow mo...and that probably was the end.

Oh wait...did I mention Mario Sharapova is the NUMBER ONE ranked player in the world? She beat her 6-1, 6-2. In 58 minutes.

So yeah, Serena could proabably "Federer" the women's circuit if she wanted to...but that would mean she was on Steroids...or Human Growth Horomone...or EPO...
Think about it. Roger Federer is so good they don't even call him Roger anymore.

"That's KING Federer to you, bitch"

I want them to drug test him. Seriously. The ONLY thing he can't do is win on clay, and he still made the French Open final last year and won the first set against "Clay Czar" Rafael Nadal. If I were a pro-tennis player I might go ahead and take the next three years off to rest my body for his eventual decline. He's 4 Grand Slams from tying Pete Sampras' record of 14 Major Titles...At this rate, he'll be accomplishing that feat at the U.S. Open in 2008. And he'll be 27.

Big ups to the Barry Bonds of Tennis...

And no I don't really think you're cheating via performance enhancing drugs.

As for the Super Bowl...The Soul Bowl...whatever they want to call it. I think Bears - Colts was something you could've predicted at the beginning of the year, but not after the Colts lost to the Houston Texans in Week 16. Then again, in sports as in life, sometimes you have to really really trick off a little bit before you pause, and realize "what the **** am I doing???" - at which point the next few opponents you play are in trouble

BUT

I will say this...

No...I'll ask this...

You didn't think the Pats were still going to win that game on their last drive?

I did.

Two timeouts. One minute left...and then they showed a camera shot of STONE COLD TOM BRADY warming up on the sideline.
Having somehow begun cheering for the Colts (despite my respect for the Pats) I said, outloud, sitting alone in my living room with Pizza Hut pizza..."oh sh*t - these mofos are in trouble"

And then Brady completed a pass to get them to the Colts 40 and you just knew it was over...then a PICK! WHAT! They PICKED OFF the coldest clutch QB of the modern era? Wow.
I think the NFL scripts these games.

And whats up with Reche Caldwell? Not only does he drop every easy pass on earth, his EYES...Was he on X? How do you play in the AFC Champship Game high on Ecstacy? Is that a good idea? I mean your eyes are about to fall out of your head dude. He looked like someone was going to put a hit out on him. Or already had...seriously.

But anyway, congrats to Tony Dungy and the Indianapolis Colts...Edgerrin James, I hope you like money homie.

As for the Bears - Lovie Smith has himself a squad. They don't have two of their top playmakers on Defense and still get the job done. Rex Grossman is crazy. That's all I can say about the QB with the 2nd most 100-pt QB rating games and THE most sub 40-pt QB ratings during the season. A "good" QB should be able to get at least an 85 average for the season. A 100 is a great game. 40? That's like going 12-35 for 82 yards and 3 interceptions.

I had Grossman on my fantasy team and am well aware of this. But they still got it done. Thats cool. Because I was cheering for the Saints (Who Dat say they gonna beat them Saints?) because I'm down with Reggie "Hell Yeah I took extra benefits in College, I Earned it" Bush, and Drew Brees and I like how Sean Payton calls whatever plays he damn well pleases. But its all good.

Oh yeah. The FAMU Marching 100 will be performing with Prince at Halftime of the Super Bowl...get ready haters!

Go Gators - Dr. Hak's 2006 College Football Wrap and 2007 Preview

As I predicted, The University of Florida Gators are 2006 National Champions. Congratulations!

Dr. Hak's Final 2006 Rankings
1. Florida
2. Boise State
3. Ohio State
4. Louisville
5. LSU
6. USC
7. Michigan
8. Wisconsin
9. Auburn
10. West Virginia
11. Oklahoma
12. Rutgers
13. Texas
14. Wake Forest
15. BYU
16. Virginia Tech
17. Cal
18. Arkansas
19. TCU
20. Notre Dame
21. Georgia
22. Oregon State
23. Hawaii
24. Penn State
25. Maryland

Others Receiving Consideration: Tennessee, Nebraska, Texas A&M, Houston, Georgia Tech,

Now we can move on the important things...next year, as in 2007, soon to be known as...The Year of the Wolverine!

Top 10 for 2007

*subject to change depending on early departures*
1. USC (two plays away from being undefeated this year. loaded)
2. Michigan (entire offense returns)
3. West Virginia (Slaton and White)
4. Texas (pending McCoy's full recovery from injury)
5. Florida (Defense, Percy Harwin and Tim Tebow)
6. LSU (I'm of the opinion that LSU is better off without alleged NFL Top Pick JaMarcus Russell)
7. Nebraska (seems ready to break through)
8. Arkansas (McFadden and Mustain)
9. Louisville (Brohm returning but Petrino & Bush leaving hurts)
10. Georgia (late season surge worth noting. Stafford will have experience)

Keep an eye on:
11. Kansas State, 12. Rutgers, 13. Virginia Tech, 14. Miami, 15. Wisconsin, 16. Boise State, TCU, Utah, Hawaii, Cal, Tennessee, Auburn, Maryland, Florida State, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Penn State, Alabama (Nick Saban), Arizona State, North Carolina (Butch Davis),

Rebuilding years:
Ohio State, Notre Dame, Boston College, LSU (kinda)

Next year should be a much more exciting year from start to finish. There's a lot of junior-dominated teams out there right now. Action this year didn't pick up until late October.

Viva Le College Football!!!