NFL 2011 Season.....

I'll expand this on the podcast with a look at each team and division, but here are my playoff teams for the 2011 NFL season. Picked the Packers last year and will ride them again this year.

AFC Division Winners: Patriots / Steelers / Texans / Chargers
AFC Wildcard Teams: Jets / Ravens

NFC Division Winners: Eagles / Packers / Saints / Rams
NFC Wildcard Teams: Falcons / Cowboys

Super Bowl:
Chargers 27
Packers 30

I'm a little concerned about the Charger running game, but if they get just enough production from Mathews/Tolbert, I think they can make their way out of a tough AFC playoff battle and emerge as the conference champions. Easy division allows them to be the #1 seed, which helps them get out of the AFC.

As for the Packers, this team is in the best position to make a repeat run because of all the talent returning who were on IR last year. The Saints are the team I fear the most to dethrone the Packers, but I think Green Bay's defense will help lead them again to the Super Bowl.

College Football 2011 - Week 1.....

The college football season starts tonight and for college sport fans and the NCAA it could not come soon enough after this "summer of scandal". Add the conference movement going on and it is just too much noise for college sport fans. Unfortunately, they will be the stories throughout the year, especially with many of the top teams being a part of this stories.

As for on the field, the consensus seems to put Alabama and Oklahoma in the BCS Title Game. Can Alabama keep the Championship in Charles Barkley's home state for a third straight year? Will Oklahoma give one last boost to the Big 12, before it possibly goes away? What about the BCS Buster in Boise State? I don't know the answers and look forward to seeing it played out each Saturday.

Now onto the field for the week one match-ups.

Week 1 games (Home team in CAPS):

NOTRE DAME (#16) over South Florida - I'm buying into the ND hype and expect to see them in a BCS game in January. Skip Holtz leads USF into the place where his dad coached, but will come up short in his upset bid.
South Carolina (#12) over East Carolina University (Charlotte) - The Ol' Ball Coach has a team which is getting some buzz to get out of the SEC and possibly be a championship contender. Stephen Garcia is back at QB, while Marcus Lattimore stars at running back to lead this offense for the Gamecocks. Game is in Charlotte, but could feel like a SC home game.
TCU (#14) over BAYLOR - Texas Christain may not be as good as they were the last two seasons, but they will still be a force and could work their way into the BCS mix. Gary Patterson is considered one of the best coaches in college football and after last year's graduating losses, he will show his mettle and get the Horned Frogs back to a big bowl game.
MARYLAND over Miami - Too many distractions down in Miami and the Terps will take advantage of those problems in their ACC home opener. Randy Edsall gets his first ACC coaching win on Labor Day night.
Oregon (#3) over Louisiana State (#4) (in Dallas) - The marquee match-up of the opening weekend has a bit of tarnish on it due to the investigation at Oregon, but more so because of the legal troubles of some of LSU's best players, including starting quarterback, Jordan Jefferson. The Ducks will be lead by sensational running back LaMichael James and the rest of their high powered offense.
Boise State (#5) over Georgia (#19) (in Atlanta) - Boise State is back for another shot at the crown jewel and their first, and possibly biggest test, will be against the big, bad SEC representative in the Georgia Bulldogs. The Bulldogs are ranked, but that may be a bit of a "SEC boost" helping them into the early Top 20. The game is in Atlanta, but the Broncos showed last year that they don't shy away from a hostile "neutral" crowd when they faced Virginia Tech in Washington, DC. Kellen Moore is back at QB for Boise and will lead the Broncos to the victory.

Mark Sanchez speaks - The SportsFan Buzz (8/17/2011).....

Mark Sanchez spoke to GQ Magazine and did another photo shoot for the magazine. Biggest noise from the piece was Sanchez saying that he wanted to fight his coach when there was talk of his benching late last year. I think it's time for Sanchez to keep quiet and take the next step towards being a better quarterback in the NFL. Plus that new kickoff rule is not going over so well with the player and the coaches.

The SportsFan Buzz: August 17, 2011 (right click to "save as target")
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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

Thome's 600th - The SportsFan Buzz (8/16/2011).....

Quietly Jim Thome hit his 600th career home run and that's too bad, because Thome's numbers should be more celebrated, but have been tapped down due to the steriods era. Plus some are questioning if he is a Hall of Famer and that should not be much of an arguement. Plus a look at Logan Morrison's demotion to AAA by the Florida Marlins.

The SportsFan Buzz: August 16, 2011 (right click to "save as target")
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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

Keegan Who? - The SportsFan Buzz (8/15/2011).....

Keegan Bradley won the PGA Championship in a playoff over Jason Dufner. Who and who? While some, maybe most, were disappointed in the no-names atop the leaderboard and eventually in the playoff, I thought it was exciting golf, despite the lack of star power on the leaderboard. Also, did you think it could get this bad for Tiger?

The SportsFan Buzz: August 15, 2011 (right click to "save as target")
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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

Steve Williams is Great - The SportsFan Buzz (8/8/2011).....

Adam Scott won the World Golf Championship at Firestone CC and after the win, his caddie, Steve Williams, was interviewed by CBS. Well, from listening to Williams, you would not know he actually was the caddie and his golfer won the event. After defending him two weeks ago, now I need to knock Williams down a few pegs and hope he let's Scott be the star of this pairing.

The SportsFan Buzz: August 8, 2011 (right click to "save as target")
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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

Real Wild Card - The SportsFan Buzz (8/5/2011).....

Does it matter if the Red Sox or the Yankees win the AL East, while the other is the wildcard? In the current format, no, but what if the division winner got a few days off, while the wildcard team had to face a second wildcard team in a one or even three game playoff? Would you be excited. I throw out a couple of ideas for adding another playoff team and also take a look at the nice battle brewing for the AL Cy Young Award.

The SportsFan Buzz: August 5, 2011 (right click to "save as target")
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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

NFL Feeding Frenzy - The Sports Fan Buzz (8/1/2011).....

You definitely need a scorecard these past few days as the NFL Free Agent season has been fast and furious. Free agent signings and plenty of trades have given the fan plenty to talk about these past few days. We'll take a look at some of the signings and trades that have occurred and how things are shaking out as all the camps are now open.

The SportsFan Buzz: August 1, 2011 (right click to "save as target")
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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

Welcome back NFL - The SportsFan Buzz (7/28/2011).....

The NFL lockout is over and in the end both sides seems to get some winnings to boast about to all. Fans can now breath a sigh of relief and get those fantasy draft lists ready. Day to day NFL workers, not in pads, can get their jobs and paychecks back. We'll take a quick look at the settlement and what is there that fans will notice and maybe not notice.

The SportsFan Buzz: July 28, 2011 (right click to "save as target")
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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

Woods fires Williams - The SportsFan Buzz (7/22/2011).....

Tiger Woods, in cleaning house and trying to start over, fired his caddie of 12 years Steve Williams and Williams isn't happy about it. In an interview Williams stated he was upset with the troubles Tiger got into, disapproved of those troubles and said so to Tiger. Some are saying Williams should just be quiet and count the money he earned because of Tiger. Why does Williams getting rich because of Tiger mean he must lose his moral compass?

The SportsFan Buzz: July 22, 2011 (right click to "save as target")
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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

Women's Equality - The SportsFan Buzz (7/20/2011).....

Why do we treat our women's teams with kid gloves when they lose, when if the same thing happened to a men's team, the pundits would have a field day. Bryant Gumbel pointed this out in wondering about the "it's OK attitude" towards the Women's World Cup team in its loss to Japan. Know what? He is right and its not just with this soccer team, but in all women's sports. The women deserve better.

The SportsFan Buzz: July 20, 2011 (right click to "save as target")
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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

Lessons Learned - The SportsFan Buzz (7/7/2011).....

So now the Oregon Ducks football program has caught the NCAA's eye after a story has surfaced about possible violations revolving around a scouting service. I don't care about the allegations as much as I want to see how Oregon's staff handles it. Will Coach Chip Kelly learn from the Jim Tressell mess at Ohio State and make sure he holds nothing back? Also, Bruce Pearl tries to explain those "couple of misstated answers" he gave to the NCAA.

The SportsFan Buzz: July 7, 2011 (right click to "save as target")
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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

Labor Lockouts - The SportsFan Buzz (7/1/2011).....

The NBA has now joined the NFL in locking out its players because of a labor dispute. As always, the arguements are over how to split each leagues' revenue. That is the similarity between the two disputes and it ends there. How both are beign negotiated and eventually settled, will be as different as night and day.

The SportsFan Buzz: July 1, 2011 (right click to "save as target")
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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

Dodger Blues - The SportsFan Buzz (6/27/2011).....

It is a sad day for this Dodger fan when I saw the news about Frank McCourt putting the Dodgers through bankruptcy proceedings. One of baseball's and all of sports' storied franchises is at its lowest point in existance. How long before the shine is back on the Dodger Diamond?

The SportsFan Buzz: June 27, 2011 (right click to "save as target")
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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

Rory Roaring - The SportsFan Buzz (6/17/2011).....

Rory McIlroy is a record setting 11 under par after the first two rounds of the US Open. Didn't we see this back in April at Augusta? Can he keep it up this weekend, or will Congressional and the Open pressure bring him back to earth? Also, now that the NHL & NBA are done I turn my eyes back to baseball and get the ugliness that is interleague play.

The SportsFan Buzz: June 17, 2011 (right click to "save as target")
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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

Bruins Win - The SportsFan Buzz (6/16/2011).....

The Boston Bruins captured their first Stanley Cup since 1972 with a 4-0 win over the Vancouver Canucks. While Tim Thomas was outstanding and will get much deserved praise, Roberto Luongo will be facing many questions about his "playing small" when it was on the line. In the end in was a great hockey playoff, which hopefully will bring a few new fans to the sport.

The SportsFan Buzz: June 16, 2011 (right click to "save as target")
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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

Game 7: Nothing Better - The SportsFan Buzz (6/14/2011).....

The Boston Bruins forced a Game 7 in these Stanley Cup Finals, where the first six games have been won by the home team in completely different fashion. Will the pattern continue for Game 7 in Vancouver? Will Roberto Luongo again bounce back after the debacle in Boston or do the Bruins break through and win on Vancouver's home ice? Also, did I really hear someone suggest that Miami should consider breaking up this Heat team?

The SportsFan Buzz: June 14, 2011 (right click to "save as target")
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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

Mavericks Win - The SportsFan Buzz (6/13/2011).....

The Dallas Mavericks are the new NBA Champions and showed everyone that they were not the same old Mavericks from prior playoff disappointments. While most are saying the Heat lost, I want to give props to the Mavericks for their well deserved victory. Also, tonight is Game 6 in Boston for this Jeckyl and Hyde Stanley Cup Final.

The SportsFan Buzz: June 13, 2011 (right click to "save as target")
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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

Shrinking LeBron? - The SportsFan Buzz (6/10/2011).....

The Dallas Mavericks are one victory away from the first NBA Championship after beating the Miami Heat 112-103 last night in Game 5, but all that is being talked about is the failure of LeBron James in the last two fourth quarters and how James will never be "like Mike". What will be said if the Heat win the next two games and he scores 40 in each? That he is Jordan? Ridiculous.

The SportsFan Buzz: June 10, 2011 (right click to "save as target")
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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

Great Finals - The SportsFan Buzz (6/9/2011).....

The NBA and NHL Finals are going on concurrently and right now we both series are tied at 2 games each. What a great time to be a sports fan as these two championships play out over the next week. A quick look at both Finals and who has the advantage as we are now down to a "best of three" for each championship.

The SportsFan Buzz: June 9, 2011 (right click to "save as target")
You can find and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.