A sports blog by and for Midwest Sports Fans
March Madness 2012 can’t get here soon enough for me, although last Saturday’s action brought plenty of madness on its own.
Interestingly enough though, finding teams for this week’s stock watch was tough because so many teams appear to be locked into win-one, lose-one mode.
No matter what the outcome was Monday night in the BCS National Championship Game, the SEC was going to have one of its members win the title for sixth straight year.
Unless you root for a team in the SEC, then you are ready for someone else from a different conference to hoist the AFCA National Championship Trophy. Monday night’s game featured two teams from the SEC, and after that unentertaining game, most college football fans are ready for the next champion to come from a different conference.
Now that that season is officially over, it is never too early to look ahead at the teams that could end the SEC’s winning streak in the BCS National Title Game in 2013. [Read more...]
The BCS bowl games are coming up after the New Year’s Day NFL games Sunday, with the Rose Bowl and Fiesta Bowl Monday, the Sugar Bowl on Tuesday, the Orange Bowl and on Wednesday and then the BCS National Championship Game the following Monday, January 9th.
Here is a quick preview of the BCS bowl games with picks and current point spreads.
After 5 days of serious discussions about what has happened off the field in State College, Pennsylvania, it was nice to have two full days of actual games to take our minds off of more serious matters.
This week, I explain how a 1- or 2-loss team from a non-AQ league could realistically clinch a BCS bowl bid, why Oregon is more deserving than Alabama of a rematch with LSU, and why Major League Soccer needs to shift its schedule or risk losing casual fans.
But first things first.
The college football game that will get the most attention this week goes without saying, but the college football game of the week based on national title impact is out on the west coast as the two best teams in the Pac-12 square off with a likely birth in the conference championship game on the line.
#7 Oregon heads to Palo Alto, California to take on #4 Stanford in a game that will spotlight two of the best offenses in college football. Unlike last week’s 9-6 game between LSU and Alabama, this game should see both teams break the plane of the end zone many times. These offenses are very explosive but are completely different from one another and should make for a very entertaining game.
Here is what you can expect from these two elite teams in the Pac-12.
On Monday, the college basketball season officially tips off. Just take a minute to let those words sink in.
Throughout the season, my goal is to highlight notable games so you can plan your weeknights and weekends accordingly. This week is fairly light until we get to Friday…when there are over 120 games to choose from, including the much anticipated Carrier Classic between Michigan State and North Carolina.
Good lord.
When I used to teach at an alternative high school down in Miami, one of the most often used terms my students would say is “duck.” And being called a “duck” was not a good thing. It meant something along the lines of being cowardly and acting like a wuss. (And I know this because they gave me a vocab test one day in return for all the vocab tests I gave them.)
Well, the definition of “duck” is now crystal clear: Oregon Duck running back LeGarrette Blount.
I woke up this morning excited to hear how the college football games went last night that I didn’t get a chance to see, and all they are talking about on ESPN is the sucker punch that Oregon RB LeGarette Blount landed on Boise State’s Byron Hout.
As you’ll see in the video below, Hout appears to be talking trash and makes contact with Blount (and should be reprimanded by his coaches for it), but it certainly does not excuse what happened next.
If you haven’t seen the punch yet, and then Blount having to be restrained from going into the stands to presumably give the same treatment to fans, here is the unfortunate video:
And now what happened after the punch:
And then after the game, Blount offered one of the least sincere apologies I have ever seen. Forgive me for being judgmental — and I realize he’s just a young kid who has some very obvious emotional problems whose head was probably spinning while giving the apology — but hopefully no one at Oregon is fooled by this canned, forced apology like they were fooled earlier this year.
According to the announcers, Mark Jones and Bob Davie, Blount had been suspended earlier this year. He had purportedly learned to control his emotions and was allowed back on the team, at least according to what they were saying while watching everything unfold. Clearly, however, he had learned nothing.
LaGarrette Blount needs help and shouldn’t be allowed back on a football field until he gets it. The Oregon Ducks need to do what is right for him, so he can help turn his life and attitude around, and forget about getting him back on the football field until that is accomplished.
What a terrible way for the college football season to begin.
According to the AP report of the game and Blount’s sucker punch, Blount will most likely not be arrested despite immediate post-game rumors suggesting that he might be. Here is what the two coaches had to say about the incident immediately after the game:
Oregon coach Chip Kelly said he would review the game film before making a decision on Blount’s future.
“I did not see anything. I will see it on tape and make a decision on what we need to do with him,” Kelly said. “There is no place for that. I do not condone that. I will make that decision if that is the case.”
Petersen didn’t want to comment on what happened.
“It’s just unfortunate,” he said.
For the record, Boise State won the game 19-8, their first step towards trying to crash the BCS come January. Â Time will tell what the loss and Blount’s eruption will mean for Oregon.
If you decide to go with my picks I have a few rules, and both are equally important:
This is the time of the year when you make your money. Vegas is not sure how certain teams are going to perform, how new players are going to react to certain situations, and who will be the new stars emerge across the country.
And for the record, I only play the big games, the games you will see on TV (which you can find out at the MSF college football TV schedule). Â Thus, I will not be giving picks on North Texas vs. some other cream puff.
We have a theme this week, so let’s begin.
Game #1 I love; actually, I love all four of the gems I’m going to give you, but I like this game the most.
Follow the link or click the image below to get great deals on college football tickets at StubHub.
Boise St vs. Oregon
The oddsmakers have Boise State favored in this game by 3.5 with the over-under at a whopping 64. I don’t believe either team will have many stops in this game and I expect the over to be in full effect. With that being said, Boise State is at home, it’s the first BIG game of the NCAA year, and oh by the way it’s on a Thursday night.
Folks, for starters, Boise State does not lose many home games, I can probably count on one hand how many losses they have had at home over the past five years. Boise State also has the experience, with 90% of their players having started a game last year. Oregon can’t match that experience, which is HUGE in the beginning of the season.
What does this game mean for Boise State? Well, if they win tomorrow night you might as well pencil them in to BCS Bowl, and maybe even a national championship. For Oregon, this game means a lot, but nowhere near what it means to the Broncos. Oregon did not have this game circled on their schedule as they had Cal, Oregon State, and USC.
Go with the Boise State and give the points.
Georgia at Oklahoma State
Game #2 is Georgia at Oklahoma State. Will Georgia be able to stop the high powered offense of the Cowboys? Oklahoma State has some key players like Zac Robinson and Dez Bryant, who just so happens to be my projected #1 wide receiver in the country.
Georgia, on the other hand, has some players, but when the game is close who are they going to turn to? No Matthew Stafford, and no Knowshon Moreno.
Like the previous game, this game means a lot to Oklahoma State. This will be on Saturday night, on ABC, and the country will be watching. Oklahoma State has added seats for this year, so this will be the largest amount of fans to attend an Oklahoma State football game.
Georgia, well they need to worry about the SEC, so this game again means a lot but nowhere near what it means to the Cowboys. Oh and by the way, when was the last time Georgia traveled outside of their time zone?
Give the 5 and count your cash.
Missouri at Illinois
Game #3 has Illinois giving 7 to Mizzou. I will keep this one quick, short, and to the point.
Mizzou lost everyone, Illinois has not. Gone for the Tigers are Chase Daniels, Jeremy Maclin and Chase Coffman. Mizzou had a great run, but they don’t reload like the top teams in the country do.
Illinois, on the other hand, returns quarterback Juice Williams. He had a great year last year, but still flew under the radar. He will be throwing the rock all day to up-and-coming stud Arrelious Benn. This is a home game for the fighting Illini and they have returning starters.
Give the points as Mizzou can’t stay up with the Illini like Ron Zook can stay up on his skis.
Virginia Tech vs Alabama
Game #4 is Virginia Tech vs. Alabama. The line in this game is 6.5. When I first saw this I almost jumped out of my chair. My first thought was there wasn’t going to be 6.5 points scored the whole game, not that I am advocating the under over in this game, but it just seems like a lot to give Virginia Tech, team with more firepower than the Crimson Tide.
Alabama over it’s past two games has been destroyed, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Nick Saban is sweating tonight thinking about the game on Saturday. I like Tyrod Taylor, and I think he is a playmaker, something Alabama doesn’t have many of on the offensive side of the ball.
Take the Hookies and take the points.
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Keep your eye out for Rich’s next column here at MSF, and you can also follow his blog at http://www.nflandcollegefootball.com/.
* – Ron Zook skiing photo credit: Deadspin
posted by KVB
I tailgated with my brother and father then went to the Purdue-Oregon game in West Lafayette Saturday afternoon and watched the usual tank job by the Boilers. Quoting my dad after the game (an Ohio State grad, current Purdue Employee), “That is why I stopped getting season tickets.”
I also saw more of the norm from Curtis Painter, wobbly deep balls being intercepted, ten yard out passes bouncing off the turf in front of the receiver. Other things bothered me about the game like the near ten thousand empty seats but that is another post by itself. So after watching both Oregon and Purdue play like the kids in Varsity Blues when they were hungover from being at a strip club all night; I was ready to watch the Ohio State versus USC clash in prime time on ABC.
Then I saw Beanie Wells in red sweatpants and no pads (left) on the sidelines and I immediately stop being excited for the game.
