Let's Go Bears

I've played the Super Bowl Shuffle on average twice a day since Sunday. I'm excited to see my favorite pro team in the big game for the first time since January 26, 1986. Of course I'll be excited if they win and disappointed if they lose, but not nearly as disappointed as say when Miami loses in a big game. The Bears being in the Super Bowl might prompt me to watch 10 minutes more of the pregame show than I usually would. Super Bowl pregame shows are ridiculous if you didn't know already. At least it hasn't come to the point yet where the game still starts and finishes at a decent hour.

As a kid, I used to make a replica of the field because I always thought the Super Bowl field looked cool with all of the extra logos on it. After I made the field, then I would put my electric football players on it and play the game out. It would be great because since I would use crayon, it would rub off on the players' uniforms, so it looked as if they were dirty. Anyway, I think Da Bears win 24-20.

Let's talk hoops:

• Michigan/Indiana. Michigan might as well make their reservations for the NIT. After today, I don't see them beating anyone good on the road or anyone really good at home. Michigan went 29/35 from the line and lost!!!! Indiana hit 10 3s, Michigan hit 2.
• Dayton/Xavier. I couldn't believe my eyes when UD scored 43 in the 1st half. Then the real UD showed up in the 2nd half as X started the 2nd half with a 19-3 run. I thought UD might have a chance since X was without Josh Duncan, but no. X was too much down low, winning the boards by 12 and getting a career high 24 from Justin Doellman. The A-10 might only get one bid again unless Xavier gets hot.
• N. Carolina/Arizona. Talk about a statement. Carolina had no Brendan Wright or Marcus Ginyard and still made it look easy. Granted, UA lost Marcus Williams with an ankle injury, but UNC would've still won by at least 15 if he stayed in. UA has no bench and they play no defense. Mustafa Shakur was outplayed by the freshman Tyron Lawson, who was already good at the beginning of the year and is now stellar. 18 points, 8 assists, and just 1 turnover for the freshman. No Wright, no problem. Deon Thompson and Alex Stephenson are more than capable inside. This was a beatdown similar to the one Maria Sharapova got from Serena Williams last night.
• Oklahoma/Texas A&M. First time watching the Aggies this year and they're not top 10 good in my opinion, but they're good, no doubt. Acie Law is great in the clutch and even though Joseph Jones was a relative non-factor, Antanas Kavaliauskas made up for it and then some. Josh Carter is a nice role player/athlete who can get to the rim and hit the open jump shot. The Aggies aren't a great offensive team, but with their physical defense and discipline, they're a sleeper Final Four team if they get the right draw. Oklahoma will be good with Jeff Capel as their coach. OU was a lot better today than they were vs. Villanova earlier in the year.
• Villanova/Notre Dame. Notre Dame was the stronger team in the end, going 29/37 from the line and limited Nova to 33% shooting. ND needed this win to stop their slide and keep them off the bubble for the time being. If you're Nova, how did you let Colin Falls go off for 23?!?!?! He can shoot and that's it. Curtis Sumpter was back, but his hamstring looked like it was bothering him. He didn't have the lift in his shot that he usually gets.
• Another team heading for the NIT: UConn. The 2nd half of their game today vs. Providence looked like an And 1 streetball game with all of the dunks.
• Big win for VCU at Drexel. If VCU wins the Colonial regular season title outright, they may not have to win the conference tournament to get a bid.
• Memphis is overrated.
• 2 teams you don't want to play right now are Louisville and Vanderbilt.
• Another team going to the NIT: Illinois. The Illini's guards were 5/31 shooting.
• Air Force losing at BYU isn't that big of an upset. BYU is tough at home.
• Duke's home court advantage isn't necessarily their students anymore, it's the number of calls they get from the officials. What horrible officiating at the end of the game.
• I think Winthrop should get an at-large if they win the Big South regular season title. Playing all those major conference teams tough on their respective home floors, you've gotta think they win a couple of those if it's at Winthrop or at the very least a neutral site.
• Michigan St./Ohio St. What a gutty 2nd half by the Spartans. Drew Neitzel is a gamer. I think he got tired at the end of the game because that's the only way he misses those shots down the stretch. Ohio St. helped by coming out flat in the 2nd half. And when you live by the 3, you die by it. OSU's 3s were nonexistent in the 2nd half, consequently they let the lead slip away. As Lewis and Butler go, as I've said, so go the Bucks, and they didn't do anything in the 2nd half. I'll say it again, OSU basketball fans are some of the worst in terms of giving their team a home court advantage. I guess when you can't tailgate and can't identify with anything other than football, they don't know what to do.

Interesting editorial in today's Wall St. Journal about the negatives of ethanol. Higher corn prices would in turn lead to higher livestock prices, that's a given. Another given was that ethanol can't be shipped using oil pipelines. But in terms of energy output, ethanol outputs only exceed inputs at a margin of 1.3 to 1 whereas energy outputs from oil exceed inputs at a margin of 10 to 1. So you would need more ethanol to drive the same number of miles you would with oil. And ethanol increases the level of nitrous oxides in the air, which causes smog. Obviously, the sooner we can switch to cellulosic ethanol, then hydrogen fuel cells, the better off we would be. And this one editorial doesn't turn me off to ethanol, but it got me thinking....

I'm not going to waste any space talking about the State of the Union.

If I'm the Cameron Crazies, I jump on this. An admissions department e-mail sent from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill congratulated 2,700 prospective freshmen this week on their acceptance to the school. The problem is that none of the applicants have been admitted. They won't start finding out until March whether they've made the cut. Oops.

Limited Drainage

The last couple of days, my bathtub drain has gotten backed up. The water drains ever so slowly. I returned from work Friday to the smell of old bathwater. Not as bad of a smell as something gone bad in the refrigerator, but it's not pleasant. The service department can't fix it until Monday, so I'm stuck with it. Thankfully I can still shower, but I can't clean the tub, so it's pretty dirty since the water sits there for hours. I've done the put baking soda down the drain and pour boiling water down it to try and help things, but it hasn't worked, so I'll just have to be patient. It could be worse, as I said.

Ok, basketball recap:

• Louisville/DePaul. Ugly game except for Juan Palacios's 21 points in 23 minutes. DePaul would've been in third place in the Big East with a win, but instead are looking like a bubble team. Louisville is working their way back to the bubble, but they don't have anyone who can shoot the ball consistently from the outside.
• Purdue/Michigan. Basically the same kind of game as a week ago, just that Michigan was the home team that won by a large margin. Against Penn St. and Purdue, Michigan shot the ball really well, which should only help their inside game. It's hard to believe but Michigan is 4-1 in the Big 10. Purdue has lost 29 true road games in a row.
• Texas/Villanova. It had to be tough for Texas to fly to Philly after playing their 3OT thriller at Oklahoma State. For most of the game, they didn't play with a lot of energy, especially Kevin Durant, who had no legs. This was an especially good win for Nova because Curtis Sumpter was out with an injury. Scottie Reynolds had a big time game, 26 points, 6 boards, and 5 assists off the bench. He's a better shooter than I thought. Despite losing, Augustin and Abrams for Texas both played great games. Augustin was unguardable at the end. Texas just couldn't get defensive stops when they needed them.
• Wisconsin/Illinois. Illinois put a big effort into the game, but they came up short thanks to poor foul shooting. Alando Tucker was just 6/18, but Kammron Taylor was clutch and Greg Stiemsma was unstoppable from 17 feet, hitting jumper after jumper. If you're Illinois, it's not good when your best player at creating his own shot is Warren Carter. Chester Frazier can't shoot and Rich McBride is still just a catch and shoot guy. Illinois really needed to win this game.
• All I heard was how Kentucky was the sleeper team to watch out for since they were on a long winning streak, especially from Digger Phelps. Well, UK finally played someone worth mentioning, and lost. Vanderbilt beat them, at Rupp. And nothing's really changed, UK is still lacking a consistent perimeter threat. Ramel Bradley, Joe Crawford, and Jodi Meeks were a combined 10/34.
• Don't get too excited about Duke yet. They beat The U, Wake, and NC State, the bottom of the ACC. Let's see them play well, specifically their guards, against someone worth mentioning.
• Indiana/UConn. I have to give Kelvin Sampson credit where credit is due. He's made IU one mentally tough bunch. Of course, it helps when your players aren't hearing about their coach possibly being fired for the first time in 3 years, but Sampson has always instilled mental toughness in his teams. IU started strong, then held on the rest of the way as UConn kept coming at them. But on the road of all places, IU finished strong and got a big win for them and the Big 10. IU is definitely the 3rd best team in the Big 10. That was the best game I've seen DJ White play in 2 years and Roderick Wilmont is shooting the ball confidently. His great game at Penn St. has carried over nicely. UConn is in danger of missing the Big Dance. Tell me, who have they beaten? Their best wins are at home vs. South Florida and at St. John's. UConn has talent and athleticism, but they're young and they can't shoot. When's the last time you saw a college team try 5 three-pointers in a game?
• Arizona/UCLA. Mustafa Shakur, you might as well call Darren Collison your Daddy. For the 4th straight time, Collison badly outplayed Shakur. It doesn't show in the stats, but if you watched the game, you could tell the difference. Collison was under control, in charge of tempo and in charge of his game. Shakur was out of control, rattled, and not in charge of his team. No Luc M Bah A Moute, no problem for UCLA. UCLA's front line combined for 13 points and 16 rebounds. Arizona never got in an offensive flow and were visibly frustrated.
• Kansas/Texas Tech. Mark it down, Kansas WILL NOT win the national championship. They may not even get to the Sweet 16. They continue to play to the level of their competition. Now Texas Tech is a solid team, but Kansas has McDonald's All-American talent at every position. But, they don't have a go-to guy (although Sherron Collins looks more and more like the guy), they don't have consistent perimeter shooting, and they take possessions off. Despite Kansas's late charge, Tech deserved to win the game. Darryl Dora came in averaging 5 points a game, he had 19, to go with Jarrius Jackson's 15 and Martin Zeno's 14. Kansas only attempted 4 free throws, for the game!!!! Not aggressive enough.
• San Diego St./Air Force. I'm glad I got to see Air Force. The only other team I saw them was vs. Duke and Duke took it to them. SDSU played well, but Air Force is a veteran team and anyone can hit the big shot. Nick Welch is their name player, but Dan Nwaelele can get his own shot at the end of games, which is huge for a team like Air Force. 13 of their 16 field goals were assisted, outstanding.
• Washington St. 75, Washington 47. Yo!!!!! Washington St. has now beaten Washington and Gonzaga, so they're state champs. When's the last time Washington was held to 47 points in a game?
• Oklahoma St. also fell victim to the after effects of the 3OT game.
• Georgia Tech/N. Carolina. This game was over when none of the Tar Heels got hurt getting off the team bus. Tech likes to run, which plays right into Carolina's hands. Carolina played good defense for the 2nd straight game. Of course, Tech made it easy by standing around on offense.
• Interesting matchup tomorrow night between Virginia Tech and Maryland. Maryland is only 1-3 in the ACC, they need to win.
• The Big 10 is weak, if you didn't know that already. UConn is in 11th in the Big East and almost knocked Indiana, 3rd in the Big 10. I only see 4 teams getting in, with the 4th being a battle between Michigan St., Illinois, and Michigan. Purdue and Penn St. have played themselves out of it for now.
• In the Horizon League, Butler has the head to head over, don't look now, but Wright St. The Raiders made a great hire in getting Brad Brownell from UNC Wilmington. Wright St. is a program on the rise with him, he's a really good coach.
• Wichita St. is now 3-6 in the Valley after losing at Bradley, unbelievable.
• A team you don't want to see if you're a 1 or 2 seed: Delaware St. They're athletic, but are disciplined and control tempo. They play great defense and won't be intimidated. Remember 2 years ago they had Duke frustrated for the majority of their 1st round game. Delaware St. leads the MEAC at 6-0.
• You want to know how good the Pac 10 is? Arizona is 7th.
• The only conference better: the SEC. In the Pac 10, Arizona St. and Oregon St. are just not very good. In the SEC, even Mississippi made a run at Florida in Gainesville this afternoon.

Big day of sports tomorrow. Miami hosts OU at 1pm. Then it's Da Bears and New Orleans at 3pm. Colts/Pats at 6:30.

Knowing When To Stop

I have a new man law:
Thou shall not paint thy face or dress up in some sort of costume for a sporting event when either married or over the age of 30.

Some Buckeye fan who looks to be at least 45, probably 50 years old dressed up as "The Animal" for James Laurinaitis. Then today, there were multiple Ravens fans (men and women) at least 50 who had their faces painted in solid purple, the whole face. Wearing a jersey, hat, even necklace is acceptable. But anything more than that does not look good.

Now for today's hoops review:

• Marquette is not a great shooting team, but they're good at rebounding and penetrating, and they did both of those things really well against West Virginia. They got into the gaps of West Virginia's 1-3-1, creating makable shot attempts and giving them offensive rebounds. The one 3-point marksman they have, Cubillan, went 4/4, thanks to the driving ability of Dominic James. It's rare when West Virginia makes fewer 3s than their opponent.
• Ohio St./Tennessee was a very good game. It was also well officiated until the last 15 seconds. Ron Lewis's go-ahead basket looked like a 2 to me, which would've put OSU up 1 instead of 2. Still, it was close enough that the officials should've stopped play to review the shot. OSU would've gotten to set up their defense, but maybe Tennessee gets a better look. Despite that, Tennessee got to the rim, and when the ball was in the corner, Jamar Butler's foot was on the line with the ball with 1.8 seconds left. Oops. Ohio St. will go as far as Ron Lewis and Jamar Butler take them. Today, they were only 3/10 combined for 7 points. OSU needs at least 25 points from the 2 of them. Tennessee is better than I thought and Chris Lofton is a great player. The Vols only went 7/31 from 3, but they stayed aggressive on D and played well down the stretch. In an 11 minute stretch in the 2nd half after falling behind by 10, they only gave up 10 points, on the road. Bruce Pearl is doing another great job.
• Kansas/Iowa St. showcased some great athletic plays. Iowa St. has a guy named Wesley Johnson, who was 6'4 just a couple of years ago. Now he's 6'7, still growing, and he's gonna be good, really good. Iowa St. deserved to win the game, but Brandon Rush and Julian Wright showed up for Kansas at the end. Rush hit big shots at the end of regulation and overtime to put KU ahead. But again, they played down to the level of their competition. Russell Robinson didn't have a good floor game, Mario Chalmers was nonexistent, and there was no overall offensive cohesivenss. Only 9 assists on 26 field goals, there was a lot of 1on1 play going on. Sherron Collins was impressive off the bench. His weight loss is obvious, he's much quicker and stronger than he was earlier in the year.
• UCLA got another big shot from Aaron Afflalo to beat USC, despite Nick Young's improbable 4 point play that gave USC the lead just seconds earlier. It will be interesting to see how USC responds after this heartbreaker on their home floor. They are very athletic, are streaky shooters, and can make big plays. UCLA will need Josh Shipp back, but for now, Russell Westbrook is a more than capable replacement. He's a good looking player for a freshman.
• I actually turned this game off in the waning minutes, so I missed UNC's big comeback, but the story was Va. Tech's backcourt. Va. Tech's guards scored 57 points, UNC's scored 43. UNC needs more than 5 points from Reyshawn Terry. Without him, Wayne Ellington is their only 3 point threat. UNC was exposed in that, if they run up against an athletic, big team like Va. Tech, they won't be able to drive the basket and get the ball inside at will. They will have to make perimeter shots, and they only have a couple of guys who can do that.
• Pittsburgh/Georgetown was one of the cleaner basketball games you'll ever see. Both teams shot at least 60% from the floor, committed no more than 10 turnovers, and had at least 16 assists. Even Patrick Ewing Jr. was 5/6, 2/2 from 3 in the game. Pittsburgh has a lot of offensive weapons. Can they clamp down defensively when they have to? If Georgetown can consistently produce this type of offensive effort, they'll get back on track and win some games. They go as Jeff Green goes, and he played pretty well tonight. Pitt was just better and they had their Oakland Zoo tonight.
• Indiana started out slow, but shot lights out again to win at Penn St. Roderick Wilmont single-handedly kept them in it in the 1st half. IU is 3-1 in the Big 10, though that's not saying much.
• Villanova's backcourt played well, but with the exception of Curtis Sumpter, their frontcourt didn't. Syracuse's did, and they consequently won by 11. Terrence Roberts went for 17 and 14. He should be a double/double guy every night.
• Clemson is no longer unbeaten, but you had to expect Maryland to win after their porous performance against The U.
• If I had to rate conferences in terms of strength, I'd go: SEC, Pac-10, Big East, ACC, Big 12, Big 10, MVC. And the Big 10 isn't that far ahead of the MVC, they're close.
• The two teams tied for the ACC lead: Boston College and Virginia Tech. The team in 11th: Duke.
• Want to know how good the Valley is, Wichita St. is currently in 7th. They were ranked in the top 10 just a few weeks ago.
• Looking forward to Arizona/Oregon tomorrow night (if it's shown here in the metro Detroit area)

Why are the Golden Globes on Monday night? Bad move I think. Doesn't matter for me, I usually just watch the Red Carpet coverage (not Joan/Melissa Rivers).

Gator Bait

Well, there's been enough post-game analysis of Ohio State/Florida, but here are my feelings summed up:

• Ohio St. got outcoached, period. If they played 10 times, I really think OSU would win 6. I don't think Florida has that much more talent or is that much faster than OSU. Urban Meyer had a brilliant gameplan and his team executed it to a tee. Jim Tressel had a John Cooper-like gameplan and we know how that worked out for Cooper.
• I've never seen Jim Tressel panic until he went for that 4th and 1. After that, I knew OSU wouldn't win.
• This was the first time a controversial #2 won the championship.
• Troy Smith should give back his Heisman. He had no pocket presence, got happy feet in the pocket.
• I talked about how I didn't know how good Ohio St. really was after Michigan got soundly beaten by USC. Well, I think they're still good, but definitely not all-world good.

So I finished 20-12 in bowl season, I'll take it. But I've failed to pick the winner in the last 3 national championships. I'm going to have to fix that. USC would be my preseason #1 for next year.

Tomorrow, this is what I'm looking forward to in hoops:

• West Virginia/Marquette. Can WVU rebound from their loss at Notre Dame? They'll need to shoot the ball better. Marquette was struggling until breaking UConn's home winning streak to get their first Big East win. Marquette's guards against WVU's 1-3-1 will be an interesting matchup.
• Indiana/Penn St. Indiana 85, Purdue 58. Maybe I've underestimated Kelvin Sampson and IU? I root for IU, I admit it. They're one of the traditional names in college hoops. It's always nice to see Indiana, UCLA, North Carolina, etc., doing well. After such a big win, State College could be a trap. Penn St. is tough at home.
• Villanova/Syracuse. Villanova got a big win at Georgetown, Syracuse won at Marquette. This will be a battle of frontcourts. They might cancel each out which means it will come down to Mike Nardi of Nova and Eric Devendorf of the Cuse.
• Tennessee/Ohio St. Tough week for the Buckeyes (darn). OSU still hasn't beaten a top 25 team. Here's their chance before the Vols fall out of the top 25 after losing to Vandy this week. OSU can't win the Big 10 or the national championship without Greg Oden being able to fully use his right hand. Ron Lewis can't have another game like he did at Wisconsin.
• Kansas/Iowa St. Iowa St. has been playing better of late and the Hilton is always a tough place to play. Will Kansas bring the intensity like they did vs. Oklahoma St and not play to the level of their competition. If they don't, could be an upset here.
• N. Carolina/Virginia Tech. Va. Tech brings it against the big names. Blacksburg will be ready. UNC needs to play a full 40 minutes, which they didn't do at Virginia. If UNC doesn't play good defense, this game will be close. Va. Tech's guards have the athleticism and size to get to the rim.

And of course, I'll be keeping my eye on all of the scores.

I watched Ocean's 12 tonight, the first time since I saw it in the theater. I liked it a lot better and am actually looking forward to Ocean's 13.

The Eagles are the only road team I like in the NFL playoffs this week.

David Beckham coming to play soccer in the US will only help the LA franchise. He's nowhere near the level of Pele. Until there are American born and bred global soccer stars or we win a World Cup, soccer will not take off here. Unfortunately, a sport that doesn't see more offense than hockey will have trouble catching on. Look where hockey has been relegated to, Versus, better known for the Tour De France. I like soccer. I'll watch the World Cup and the NCAA Final 4s. I hope it catches on, but I don't see it in the near future.

Prince William's girlfriend, Kate Middleton, seems perfect. I think I would like her, even more than Keira Knightley.

We've been spoiled with good winter weather in Michigan. That's about to change this weekend as the first big winter storm rolls in.

I'm really looking forward to attending my first North American International Auto Show. Seeing all the cars, especially the concept cars should be very cool.

Should be a great day of sports tomorrow.

Merry New Year

The blog is back from vacation and starting its third year of existence. I can't believe it's 2007.

One of the things I enjoy is reading Sports Illustrated's "Best of the Worst", some short stories from 2006. My favorites were:

• Former Florida St. receiver Fred Rouse, charged with burglarizing the house of an ex-teammate, allegedly left a wide receiver's glove with his uniform number on it at the scene. This happened at Florida St.?!?! What a shock?!?!
• In a red-carpet interview at a post-Oscars party, Serena Williams said she admired the work of actor "Phillip Semen Hoffmore". I think she meant to say Philip Seymour Hoffman.
• And fishermen were drug-tested at the World Angling Championships in Portugal. Glad to see they're doing this, but how could drugs help you fish? And if Fishing is doing it, why not golf?!?!? I wonder if anyone tested positive.

It's amazing how conference play in college hoops never disappoints. Now we find out how good teams really are, and here's what I've found out so far:

• Duke won't beat anyone with experienced, athletic guards. 22 turnovers at home, including 6 by your starting point guard in just 18 minutes won't cut it. Josh McRoberts needs to play the 1st half like he does the 2nd half of games. He needs to establish himself on the block at the start of games, then expand his game.
• Ohio St.'s win at Illinois was impressive to say the least. Illinois doesn't have great scorers, but it's still Champaign, still a tough place to play and OSU controlled the game. I hope Greg Oden comes back to school next year because it's fun watching him impact the game and his offensive game needs work. He doesn't play "big" offensively with his back to the basket. Part of that is that his right wrist still isn't 100%, but he's shooting the ball below shoulder level, leaving himself vulnerable to getting his shot blocked. He'll get it corrected, but I think he should get it done while at OSU.
• UCLA losing at Oregon didn't surprise me, Mac Court is a tough place to play. You knew Oregon would be up for the game after losing to USC Thursday night at home. Oregon's guards are playing really well, despite no Malik Hairston today, and Marty Leunen is doing enough inside to give them balance. I'm not sure if UCLA is #1-worthy. They're good, but they have weaknesses. As good as Aaron Afflalo is, his jumper is ugly, which won't go in consistently when contested. Darren Collison's level of play has slipped since Maui, and is Lorenzo Mata good enough inside to go against Florida, Arizona, UNC, etc. down the road?
• Notre Dame and Michigan St.: overrated. If the Spartans were going to contend for the top 4 of the Big 10, they needed to win at Iowa Thurs. night. Iowa has slipped, and good teams take advantage of that, Sparty didn't. Notre Dame caught Maryland after a big win at Illinois and got Alabama at home, but other than that played cupcakes except for their loss to Butler. They're a middle of the pack Big East team at best.
• LSU will have to rely on their defense even more this year, they're worse at shooting the ball than last year. Big Baby Davis's conditioning improvement is obvious, he's able to do a lot more things offensively and for longer periods of team. But the shooting is atrocious. UConn's freshmen are probably the most immature of all the freshmen on teams. If they can't run, they break down, mentally and physically. The potential is there, but they have a ways to go.
• The Missouri Valley is looking at 4 bids again: Northern Iowa, SIU, Wichita St., and Missouri St./Creighton. Wichita St. had the best non-conference season of all, but are only 1-2 in the Valley so far. That's how tough the Valley is.
• DePaul over Villanova. DePaul is 10-6, 1-1 in the Big East. They have lost to Northwestern and St. John's (bad), but have beaten Villanova and Kansas. After winning big at Oklahoma, Villanova has lost to Drexel, West Virginia, and DePaul (3 of their last 6). Speaking of West Virginia, 3-0 in the Big East, all double-digit wins. John Bielein is one of the top 5 college coaches.
• Duquesne over St. Louis. After their tumultuous off-season, Duquesne has now knocked off Boston College and St. Louis, both on the road. A .500 season would be a great accomplishment for them, but these 2 wins by themselves show how they've come together as a team and how good they could be next year when they're at full strength.
• OU is the best team in the MAC right now, starting conference play with a home win over Akron. Miami opens MAC play at home vs. Kent St. tomorrow.
• And Clemson is the lone unbeaten team left. They'll finish high enough in the ACC to play in the NCAAs. Even though he was at UD, I like Oliver Purnell, he's a good coach and he's done a good job bringing the Clemson program up to the level it is now.

Oh, what else:

• Monday night, we'll find out how good Ohio St. really is. I'm not sure now after how Michigan got beat in the Rose Bowl. Is USC that good? Did Michigan lay that big of an egg or were they overrated? OSU opponents who played in bowl games: 3-4 (counting Texas as a win and Iowa as a loss), Florida opponents who played in bowl games: 6-3. But, Penn St. beat Tennessee 20-10, Florida beat them 20-10. Wisconsin held a full-strength Arkansas team to 14 points, Florida gave up 21 offensive points when Darren McFadden was hurt on the first series. So I don't know. I don't feel as good about my pick as I did.
• By the way, I'm 19-11 and have accumulated 340 points, my best showing in a loooong time. I've been lucky instead of unlucky. My luck has included Oregon St.'s comeback, Georgia's comeback (really lucky), Cincinnati hanging on, and Texas Tech's comeback that cost Glen Mason his job.
• Boise St. deserved to win. If you can control the line of scrimmage no matter what kind of program you have, you're going to win, and Boise St. controlled the line of scrimmage. Jared Zabransky had time to throw and Ian Johnson gained 100 yards against a very good Oklahoma defense. I just wish Miami got their chance 3 years ago to get that kind of win.
• Charlie Weis is 19-6 through 2 years with one so-so upset of Michigan in Ann Arbor in his first year. Ty Willingham was 15-10, and beat Michigan and Florida St. (at Tallahassee) in his first year. Both have been drilled in their big-time bowl games and against big-time opponents on the road. So, when will the criticism start on Weis? ND didn't belong in the BCS, not even close to LSU's level of talent.
• Matt Millen will be back as Lions GM. William Clay Ford is displaying the kind of loyalty that got his company into the trouble they're now in, refusal to change.
• I've got the Ravens over the Bears in the Super Bowl, though goodness knows I'll be rooting for Da Bears and rooting against the Ravens in every round.

I hope you had a great holidays!