Will Purdue Break The BCS Bank???

 

*Everyone in the Gulf area who is being affected by Katrina are in our prayers.

*It seems that every year, some team comes from a mediocre season to make noise in the college football polls.  Oklahoma did it in 2000.  Ohio State did it in 2002.  LSU did it in 2003.  Auburn did it last year.  Each of those teams finished the previous season with 5 losses.  So, will there be a 5-loss team from last season that does it again???  If so...I'd say Purdue.  The Boilermakers have talent on both sides of the ball....despite losing all-everything Kyle Orton.  But the capper is the schedule.  No Michigan.  No Ohio State.  Their biggest stumbling block is Iowa...and they get them at home.  This could make for an interesting BCS season.  USC has a good shot at running the table; Tennessee, Florida and Georgia are SEC studs;  Virginia Tech will be strong;  Texas looks good;  Louisville may end up undefeated;  and Purdue and either Michigan or Ohio State BOTH could be undefeated and Big Ten co-champs. 

*Last year, Steve Nash won the NBA MVP Award.  This was the first time a player who changed teams won the MVP award since 1983 [Moses Malone].  Will one of this year's moving players take the top prize??  Check my transactions takes on SPORTZ' HOOPS LAND

*For those of us who love MIKE TYSON'S PUNCH OUT....check out this weird knock-off:  Frusion Breakfast Brawl

*Read my blog, much??  ESPN.com's Jay Bilas just wrote this: "To open the season, the NCAA should establish a committee to select what it believes will be the 16 best teams in the nation. Those teams would be seeded and invited to participate in the preseason NIT, which would be the first event of the season each year -- and the first of two meaningful national championships each season. "  In the TWO MINUTE WARNING, I suggested that "I’m really hoping that the NCAA may be open to expanding the Preseason NIT as somewhat a preseason gauge for teams."  Okay, not word-for-word stealing...but the idea was already there.  lol

*I'm normally not one for arguing with a 94-yr old coaching legend....but there is someone out there who is.  Apparantly, due to a rift between himself andthe Los Angeles Athletic Club...John Wooden isn't backing the Wooden Award.  The LAAC are the sponsors of the Wooden Award which is given to college basketball's best player.  The rift is that Wooden wanted to lend his name to another, unrelated, award.  The LAAC didn't like it...as they wanted to protect it's trademark.  Because of that....Wooden wants nothing to do with the award that bears his name.  Wooden did give the LAAC the rights to the trademark name John R. Wooden....and they can do with it as they please. 

*Maurice Clarett will be cut by the Broncos soon.  That really isn't a news story.  He hasn't gotten a carry in any of the preseason games and was 5th on Denver's depth chart.  Guys like that get cut.  The story, of course, is thatit is mouthy Clarett getting cut.  A guy, whom I feel, is one of the biggest wastes of space in sporting history.  One fine season at Ohio State is all that is on his resume.  That is it.  Yet here I am writing about him being cut like it is important.  To me..the story is why did Denver draft him in the 3rd round??  Whomever pulled the trigger on this needs a timeout....and needs to stay out of the 2006 Draft war room.

*Hawaii made us all proud by making a masterful comeback...then winning the Little League World Series.  The LLWS is always that fun event that rolls around and forces nostalgia on you.  Many of us played Little League [I did] and watching these 12 yrolds make you remember that time.  Of course, most Little Leagues we played in didn't have 6 footers....a packed house....nicely cropped grass and soft infield dirt.  No...we had that weed infested field with the all-dirt infield.  That big patch of dirt in right field where the worst player stood all day long.  Being able to hear everything said in the stands.  Ahh...tobe 12 again!

*Despite what people think....this NBA offseason isn't that wacky.  The biggest name to change teams is probably Antoine Walker.  The best one was probably Joe Johnson...and he went to a team that sucks.  If it wasn't for that huge deal that brought Walker to Miami, there wouldn't be much to discuss.  Not to say that these moves won't make impacts.  Larry Hughes to Cleveland is just the right piece to get LeBron James into the playoffs and a threat in the East [not a great team...a threat].  The difference is who is moving.  Last year we had some of the greatest players in the league changing places.  This year...it is the coaches.  Phil Jackson, Larry Brown, Flip Saunders and Nate McMillian will all take over "new" teams.  Heck, even Pat Riley got some run.