Pay for Play - The SportsFan Buzz (6/2/2011).....

Bad year for the NCAA with Reggie Bush / USC, Cam Newton allegations and now the mess at Ohio State. That's just football and does not cover basketball. All these scandals have just made the "pay the players" chant even louder. Do those wanting to pay players really think all these problems will disappear and what exactly is the plan?

The SportsFan Buzz: June 2, 2011 (right click to "save as target")
You can find and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

College Football 2010 (Championship Week).....

College football has finally arrived at its final week with a few rivalry match-ups and the conference championship games. Auburn and Oregon are sitting with the BCS championship in front of them, but they can't trip up looking forward to January 10, 2011 and forget about this week's opponents. By Sunday night we will know the match-ups for the BCS games and all the other postseason bowl games.

Week 14 games:

ARIZONA (#23) over Arizona State
Auburn (#2) over South Carolina (#19) --- SEC Championship
Virginia Tech (#15) over Florida State (#21) --- ACC Championship
Oklahoma (#9) over Nebraska (#13) --- Big 12 Championship
Oregon (#1) over OREGON STATE
USC over UCLA

Week 13: 2-4
2010 season: 49-25

College Football 2010 (Week 13).....

Last full weekend of games before we get to the conference championship weekend and there is a nice full slate of games (five overall) involving ranked teams. Plus there are quite a few rivalry games as the regular season winds down these next couple of weeks. With the holiday, quite a few of these games take place on Friday, so instead of fighting those shopping crowds, grab some leftovers and find the couch and your clicker.

Week 13 games:

ALABAMA (#9) over Auburn (#2)
OREGON (#1) over Arizona (#20)
Boise State (#3) over NEVADA (#19)
ARKANSAS (#12) over LSU (#6)
Oklahoma State (#10) over OKLAHOMA (#14)
North Carolina State (#21) over MARYLAND

Week 12: 5-1
2010 season: 47-25

College Football 2010 (Week 12).....

The craziness of the BCS just keeps on giving as TCU is now being "punished" because their victory over an undefeated Utah team two weeks ago has been written off after Utah got stomped at Notre Dame. No, we don't need a playoff (Very good article about a football playoff in last week's Sports Illustrated.). Many of the top teams are off this week, as we only have four match-ups involving Top 25 teams and none with both teams higher than eighteen. What we do have starting this week are the traditional year-end rivalry match-ups.

Week 12 games:

Ohio State (#8) over IOWA (#21)
Nebraska (#9) over TEXAS A&M (#18)
Arkansas (#13) over MISSISSIPPI STATE (#22)
Virginia Tech (#14) over MIAMI (#24)
Stanford (#7) over CALIFORNIA
North Carolina State over NORTH CAROLINA

Week 11: 4-2
2010 season: 42-24

College Football 2010 (Week 11).....

Well, things are starting to get clearer with regards to the possible BCS champion at the end of this season. It looks like it is down to seven possible teams with Auburn and Oregon controlling their own paths to the championship game, while TCU and Boise St. wait and hope for one of the top two to fall and let them in. Then sitting further on the outside, LSU, Ohio St., and Wisconsin's only hope it a complete collapse from those top four teams.

Very slow week as there are only two match-ups this week that involve Top 25 teams and all those teams are outside the Top 10.

Week 11 games:

ALABAMA (#11) over Mississippi State (#17) - Alabama gets knocked out of the National Championship debate in losing to LSU. Have to wonder if they will be up for MSU, but I think that Nick Saben gets them ready and back on the winning path.
FLORIDA (#24) over South Carolina (#22) - The battle for the SEC East crown. Coach Spurrier would love to get the victory over his old team in The Swamp, but coming off the bye will be a plus for the Gators and they take down the Gamecocks and get their season back on a positive note.
Oregon (#1) over CALIFORNIA - Now it is just up to Oregon to keep rolling and while early in the season this looked like it could be trouble, this now looks like it could get ugly.
AUBURN (#2) over Georgia - Auburn must make sure they don't look ahead to their Black Friday meeting against Alabama and if this game was on the road, I might be worried, but because it is a home game, Cam Newton and the Tigers roll over a disappointing Georgia team.
Iowa (#13) over NORTHWESTERN - Iowa can look back at two tough losses on the road to a "what could have been", but they need to take this Northwestern team seriously as they play tough Big Ten football. The Hawkeye defense is just too tough and they get the road victory.
Virginia Tech (#16) over NORTH CAROLINA - This is not the same Virginia Tech team that came out of the gate 0-2 and while North Carolina has played respectfully despite all their problems, they are missing too much talent to keep up with the Hokies.

Week 10: 2-4
2010 season: 38-22

Tournament No Shows - The SFB Podcast (11/8/2010).....

Florida State kept their top women soccer players home and did not send them to the ACC Tournament because they wanted to be fresh for the NCAA Championship. It cost them money and a scolding from the ACC "higher-ups", but I wonder in the big picture if FSU was wrong in their thinking and will other teams maybe do this, but maybe not in such blatant ways.

Plus, I will admit that I have been just browsing the NASCAR races and the standing as they wrap up their season, but after yesterday's race in Texas they have gotten my attention. Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton got into a fight and Jimmie Johnson replaced his pit crew in the middle of the race. I'll take a look at what I have been missing this NASCAR season. Plus another college football weekend is in the books and the baseball free agency period started. Did you notice? Enjoy.

The SportsFan Buzz: November 8, 2010 (right click to "save as target)
You can find and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

College Football 2010 (Week 10).....

This is really turning out to be a very fun college football season and the Oregon Ducks are leading the way with how they attack opposing defenses with all their offensive weapons. Then we have Cam Newton leading the Heisman race while leading the Auburn Tigers towards the top of the rankings. The Tigers match-up with Alabama later this month looms large and will greatly influence the final BCS standings.

Who were those impostors in the Spartan green jerseys? Michigan State gets knocked out of the conversation by getting smacked down by a good Iowa team. I thought they had some magic on their side this season, but that was quickly smothered by that Hawkeye defense.

Another great slate of games this week as we will have five match-ups of top 25 teams, including two non-BCS teams facing off when TCU travels to Utah.

Week 10 games:

North Carolina State (#23) over CLEMSON - Living here in Raleigh for most of the last 18 years, I have followed the Wolfpack pretty closely and this sets up as a "break your heart" game for Packer Backers, but I'll put my faith in them to keep this good season rolling.
Baylor (#22) over OKLAHOMA STATE (#19) - Big win for Baylor over Texas in Austin and this is another big test on the road. I like their quarterback Robert Griffin to have another big game.
SOUTH CAROLINA (#18) over Arkansas (#17) - Steve Spurrier knows something about quarterbacks and keeps the Razorback offense in check to get another tough SEC victory.
ALABAMA (#5) over LSU (#12) - I still think Alabama is the best all-around team in the country and they put LSU to the side as they march their way towards that showdown with Auburn alter in the month.
STANFORD (#10) over Arizona (#13) - Arizona has been quietly winning games and now has this showdown with the Stanford Cardinal. This would be one of the biggest wins in recent Wildcat history, but I think the Stanford offense is better with Andrew Luck and will get the PAC 10 victory.
TCU (#4) over UTAH (#6) - A knockout game for one of these two "BCS-buster" teams. Even though they are traveling, TCU is used to this "big game" atmosphere with their recent history and keeps the Utes offense under control to squeak out a close victory.

Week 9: 3-3
2010 season: 36-18

College Football 2010 (Week 9).....

Last Saturday marked the third week in a row where the #1 team in the country lost a road conference game. The latest victim was Oklahoma dropping their game to an undefeated Missouri team. This week it is Oregon on top of the polls traveling to face USC, while the BCS #1 is Auburn and take it to the road against Mississippi State.

Now let's see if I don't fall off the perch after last week's 6-0 record.

Week 9 games:

Oregon (#1) over USC (#24)
Auburn (#3) over Mississippi State
Michigan State (#5) over Iowa (#18)
Nebraska (#14) over Missouri (#7)
Florida State (#16) over North Carolina State
Michigan over Penn State

Week 8: 6-0
2010 season: 33-15

College Football 2010 (Week 8).....

For the second week in a row we saw the #1 team in college football fall. Wisconsin made sure Ohio St. didn't get comfortable at the top of the heap and ran all over the Buckeye defense. Now Oregon is the top team in the land, but will they hold it, or will we see another upset at the top? Plus another week of good top 25 match-ups.

Week 8 games:

Oregon (#1) over UCLA
Oklahoma (#3) over Missouri (#18)
Auburn (#5) over LSU (#6)
Michigan St. (#8) over Northwestern
Wisconsin (#10) over Iowa (#13)
Nebraska (#14) over Oklahoma St. (#17)


Week 7: 3-3
2010 season: 27-15

College Football 2010 (Week 7).....

A rough week for some college football favorites last week, including South Carolina knocking off the top team in the nation, Alabama. Major kudos to Steve Spurrier for getting his Gamecock team back to the ready after their heartbreaking loss to Auburn. Plus for the second week in a row both Florida and USC lost on the same weekend. Yikes.

Week 7 games:

Ohio St. (#1) over Wisconsin (#20) - I thought Alabama was going to run the table, but after their loss, I started to wonder if we might see even more shuffling at the top of the rankings. Don't think it happens this week and the Buckeyes protect their #1 ranking. Key for the Buckeyes is to keep the Badger running game contained and I think their defense is good enough to do it.
Nebraska (#5) over Texas - Nebraska's revenge game, but they won't even breathe a word of it. Texas is on a down year and will get run over by this tough Husker team.
Auburn (#8) over Arkansas (#12) - I am leary making this choice, but the Tigers look strong and seem to be getting better each week. Ryan Mallett needs to step up for the Razorbacks to get the victory and I'm not sure he has it in him on the road in a tough envirnment.
Iowa (#15) over Michigan (#18) - The Wolverine offense was shut down by the Michigan ST. defense last week and Iowa has a better defense than the Spartans.
North Carolina State at East Carolina - NC State looking to get back into the Top 25 and a non-conference win against an in-state rival will boost them back into that position. Tom O'Brein has a healthy Wolfpack team and is showing what the fan base expected when he first arrived in Raleigh.
USC over California - Just because I can't see Lane Kiffin suffering a three game losing streak. The offense is good and I think dad tweaks the defense enough to get the win.


Week 6: 2-4
2010 season: 24-12

College Football 2010 (Week 4).....

Conference play is starting up and this week there are four matchups of Top 25 teams. It is highlighted by #1 Alabama traveling to #10 Arkansas. Plus Boise St. gets its second "test" of the season when the Oregon St. Beavers coming calling up to the blue turf.

Week 4 games:

Arkansas (#10) over Alabama (#1) - Alabama's secondary is young and Fayetteville is going to be a tough SEC road trip. We haven't had a good upset at the top of the SEC for a couple of years, so why not have one here in this spot? A good game here, plus the upset, give a huge push for Ryan Mallett and the Heisman.
Boise St. (#3) over Oregon St. (#24) - I so want to pick the Beavers to go up to the blue turf and pull the upset, but I just can't pull the trigger. Boise St. at home are very difficult to beat and they win again to keep their BCS championship game hope alive.
South Carolina (#12) over Auburn (#17) - The "ol' boy coach" has the Gamecocks playing good football, but they will need a great effort to get the road victory. I am believing in this SC team and think they keep the roll alive and the possible showdown with Florida later in the year.
LSU (#15) over West Virginia (#22) - It is very hard to travel and play LSU, and even more so for a non-conference team. A WV victory would be a big boost to the Big East, but I don't see it happening this Saturday.
Stanford (#16) over Notre Dame - The MSU loss was as tough of a loss as Notre Dame will have all year. Stanford is a very good team and with quarterback Andrew Luck will light up the average Irish defense.
USC (#20) over Washington St. - USC has not looked great these last few weeks and has to travel to Pullman, but I don't think the Cougars have enough talent to pull the upset over the Trojans.



Week 3: 4-2
2010 season: 14-4