December 13, 2009

Well, here we are. Entering the final month of 2009, and so many sports stories to take us to the end of the year. Here are my take on just a few of these hot-button topics....

1) Alabama's Mark Ingram won his school's first Heisman ever on Saturday. The sophmore running back won the closest Heisman race ever, edging Stanford running back Toby Gerhart. Gerhart received a lot of buzz for a couple of reasons. First, his play. The senior had 1,736 yards and 26 touchdowns. His running style was punishing yet Gerhart didn't break down and led Standford to a 8-4 record. The secord reason was the color of his skin. You see, Gerhart is a white running back. Granted, there aren't a lot of white running backs carrying the ball for their teams these days, but shouldn't we be judging all of these athletes by their merits on the field. I just think that Gerhart's play merited his spot in New York City, and not because he was a white athlete doing it.

2) Tiger Woods. Man, why oh why is he leaving golf? That is not the best course of action. The golf course is going to be his place of relief. Remember how Kobe scored 30+ points every game after a court appearance. Imagine Tiger at the Masters, releasing all the frustration for the past two weeks. Now that I would like to see. I definitely don't condone his actions, and I want to see his family remain in tact, but I would also like to see him back in action, as soon as possible.

3) Lastly, the last quarter of the NFL season is upon us. I'm currently watching the games now, so I'll have some thoughts after some of the games are finished.

Sept. 27, 2009 Weekend Wrap-Up (Part 1)

This weekend was a dandy for sports fans. There was another set of upsets in college football, upsets in NFL football, and a golf tourney worth $10 million.

First, the upsets in college football. In every week thus far, a Top 5 team has lost. That trend continued this week. On Thursday, #4 Ole Miss lost to South Carolina 16-10. The score was closer than the game itself. Ole Miss looked tentative on offense while confused on defense. The team never got the stop it needed, and never had any continuity on offense. And because of that South Carolina defeated Ole Miss for the second straight year.

That game was only the first of many upsets. The #5 team in the nation, Penn State, played Iowa, and again lost. Quarterback Daryl Clark had another dismal game against Iowa, throwing three interceptions, after starting the game 5 for 5. The #6 team, Cal, got caught looking ahead to its showdown with USC, and was dismantled by the University of Oregon, 42-3. Javid Best saw his Heisman candidacy come to a screeching halt. After averaging 137.3 rushing yards per game, Best only had 55 yards, while his team could only muster 206 total yards as a team.

The final Top 10 team to lose, the Miami Hurricanes, was making its first appearance in the Top 10 since 2005. In a steady rain in Blacksburg against Virginia Tech, the Hurricanes played sloppy and lost 31-7 for the team's first loss of the season. Jacory Harris was another player who saw his early Heisman hopes end. His early turnovers led to a deficit that his team couldn't recover from.

These upsets have the new Top 25 looking very unusual. Boise State makes its first Top 5 appearance while one loss teams USC and Ohio State make a return appearance to the Top 10. ....... To be continued.....

Week 3 Picks

NFL Week 3 is here!!

Before I get into my week 3 picks, lets recap how I'm doing so far...

Week 1 I went 11-5, and I was sitting high. Week 2 I came back down to Earth a bit, going 9-7 while missing on picks, such as Browns over the Broncos, and the Bucs over the Bills. I did pick the 49ers to get to 2-0, and also got the Raiders pick correctly. Of course I thought the Jets would lose, and that the Steelers would win. Both of those picks were wrong, but I am not deterred.

This week I'm going with the following picks:

Ravens over Browns

Titans over Jets

Giants over Bucs

Packers over Rams

Eagles over Chiefs

Patriots over Falcons

Vikings over 49ers

Texans over Jaguars

Redskins over Lions

Saints over Bills

Bears over Seahawks

Steelers over Bengals

Raiders over Broncos

Chargers over Dolphins

Colts over Cardinals

Cowboys over Panthers

Now after Week 4, I'll do a quarterly report of the NFL season, in which will check in on my playoff picks, give thoughts on the early MVP race, and the surprises of the league.

This week is buzzing about the return of Michael Vick to meaningful football action. Vick prolly isnt ready to play quarterback full-time, but the excitement level when he enters the Wildcat (or Wild Eagle) formation wil go through the roof. I will be tuned, and blogging my thoughts on it.

Until then, peace!

Week 2 Picks

So... I went 11-5 in my Week 1 picks....

and here are my week 2 picks.......

Redskins over Rams
Ravens over Chargers
Patriots over Jets
Cowboys over Giants
Falcons over Panthers
Vikings over Lions
Packers over Bengals
Cardinals over Jaguars
Raiders over Chiefs
Saints over Eagles
Titans over Texans
Bucs over Bills
49ers over Seahawks
Steelers over Bears
Browns over Broncos
Colts over Dolphins

Lets see I have better luck this week.

Week 1 NFL Picks

My week 1 NFL picks are as follows:

Giants over Redskins
Ravens over Chiefs
Falcons over Dolphins
Texans over Jets
Saints over Lions
Bengals over Broncos
Cowboys over Bucs
Vikings over Browns
Eagels over Panthers
Colts over Jags
Seahawks over Rams
Cardinals over 49ers
Bears over Packers
Patriots over Bills
Chargers over Raiders

PS: I would have chosen the Titans to beat the Steelers, so my week 1 record stands at 0-1, so far. Check back Tuesday, to see how I do.

Saturday Sports (Sept. 12, 2009)

Wow... one day before the NFL season gets underway an action packed Saturday of sports took place. Mainly the stories resulted from college football games, but one major story came from the US Open.

Defending champion Serena Williams played her semifinal match against Kim Clijsters. Both former champions, the match was widely regarded as the unofficial championship match. The match itself didn't disappoint, as Clijsters really pushed Serena to her limit. She won the first set 6-4, and was leading the second set 6-5, 30-15 with Serena serving.

Here is where the match takes a crazy, crazy, crazy turn. Serena was called for a foot fault, on her second serve, which resulted in a double fault. (The call appeared to be the wrong) Serena is not pleased and gives the line judge a piece of her mind. Serena gets ready to serve and then decides to continue her rant. At this point, the chair judge calls the line judge over and asks her what was said to her. We still don't know the specifics of what was said, (I watched it live, and still couldn't tell) but at the end of it, Serena was penalized, on match point nevertheless, and lost the match.

I am not condoning what Serena did, but come on? To lose a match, any match, but the semifinals of the US Open in this way is ridiculous!!! Especially when there are several far worse offenders of smashing rackets, and some of these are celebrated.

Just earlier this week, Novak Djokovic performed imitations of various tennis players. One of the imitations he performed was of John McEnroe, and it included a rant imitation. Or if you wanted a current high strung player, then look no further than Marat Safin, who is notorious for throwing and breaking rackets.

My point is that Serena had an outburst, but this should not be viewed at some large event. I hear some saying that this taints her image. I ask how? She showed emotion that she wanted to win. The whole situation has me irritated.

Onto college football. USC-Ohio State delivered a classic game. OSU was leading 15-10 with just about 6 minutes left. USC was struggling to move the ball, either by air or on the ground. However, one 21-yard pass to Joe McKnight and USC was back in business, moving the ball downfield to score. Super sophomore T. Pryor had one last chance to score, but he was unable to run the 2-min drill efficiently.

Oklahoma State showed that they aren't fully ready for the upper echleon of college football, losing to unranked Houston the week after rising to #5 in the polls.

ND-Michigan also played a great game. Notre Dame came in felling good about themselves, as their offense looked really good against Nevada. Michigan felt good after scoring close to 30 points. J. Clausen looked good against Michigan's secondary, but in the end it was Michigan's freshman quarterback Tate Forcier who made all the plays. Forcier led the Wolverines down the field and despite having one of his receivers drop a touchdown pass, he kept his compsure and found Greg Mathews for the game-winner with 11 seconds left. Charlie Weis took some heat for not running the ball on tehir finall possession, allowing Michigan to keep two timeouts which came in handy for Michigan.

Weis' seat will now get a little bit hotter as this was a game that Notre Dame should have won. Entering his fifth season, Weis now has no reason for the Irish to be in a BCS bowl. Will it happen? We shall see, but watching this and all of the other college football stories will provide lots of Saturday excitement.

Sept. 10, 2009 (Part 3)

Check back later for my playoff picks... As well as my Week 1 game picks... Football is back!!! Let's welcome it with open arms!

Sept. 10, 2009 (AFC Picks)

AFC: New England, Indy, Pitt, San Diego w/Baltimore and Tennessee as the wild cards.

Sept. 10, 2009 (NFC Picks)

Real quick... NFL picks for the season. NFC: Philly, Chicago, Atlanta, Arizona w/ Dallas and NYG as the wild cards.

College Football is here!!! And the best sports time begins....

Its here!!! Other than my birthday (August 15th), this has to be my favorite time of the year, definitely my favorite time of the sports calendar.

After Labor Day I begin my 4-5 month affair with football. College football started this weekend and gave enough information to discuss until the NFL season starts on Thursday. There were upsets, near upsets, injuries, and the BCS debate has already started. Here are my thoughts on the first weekend.




On Thursday, the college football season started with a bang, or a punch rather. In a video you've prolly seen 100 times (if not see above), Oregon RB LeGarrette Blount punched Boise State DE Byron Hout after the game ended and after Hout slapped Blount on his shoulder pads. In what can be best described as pouring gasoline on his fire, Blount then proceeded to go after a couple of fans who were heckling him on the way to the locker room. He needed to be restrained by several teammates, a coach, and security officials from the stadium. Add to this, that Blount was already suspended earlier this season, and its really a no-brainer that he was suspended for the year.

Although its a very sad situation because Blount was a senior and now can't play his senior year, but you can't do what he did, and expect a small punishment. Now if he only punched Hout, he probably would've gotten a couple of games. But the actions after the punch make the suspension right. I saw the event happen live on ESPN, and that was my initial reaction, that he was suspended for the year.

Luckily that wasn't the defining moment of college football's opening weekend. The Saturday games more than made up for the notoriety of Thursday's games.

First, there was Syracuse vs. Minnesota. Normally, this wouldn't be a game to talk about, but it marked the first time that Syracuse QB Greg Paulus took snaps. Yes, that's the Greg Paulus who used to be the PG at Duke University. Paulus looked good in his first real football action in 4 years. Syracuse also looked better with him running the QB. He did make a crucial mistake, throwing a interception during Syracuse's overtime possession. That caused Syracuse to lose the game, but gave much optimism for the season.

Saturday also gave us three match-ups of Top 25 teams. These match-ups are usually rare because of the BCS implications that result from them. However, we were treated to match-ups of Oklahoma State vs. Georgia, Virginia Tech vs. Alabama, and BYU vs. Oklahoma. Georgia wasn't able to hang with Oklahoma State, and Alabama outlasted Virginia Tech to seemingly put the Big 12 at the top of the conference rankings, followed by the SEC then the ACC. However BYU threw a hitch into the whole season, not just the first weekend. BYU won the game 14-13, which only is part of the story. Oklahoma was considered a favorite to return to the BCS Championship, and several pundits had a rematch of last year's BCS Championship game (Oklahoma vs. Florida). But not only did Oklahoma lose a game (and valuable ground in the BCS), they may have lost their Heisman winning QB, Sam Bradford, for a lot longer. (At upload time, it was reported that Bradford was out indefinitely)

That injury will be discussed throughout the season. Bradford returned to school, despite talk that he would have been a top-10 pick in last year's NFL draft. He, and several of his teammates, returned to earn another trip to the BCS championship and this time win it. Well that process just got a whole lot harder, and now we'll have to see if his shoulders can handle it, figuratively and literally.

Last thing.... check out my friend Justice's blog. You'll definitely learn some things.

NFL Week 1 Highlights

Man what a way to start the NFL season. Michael Vick finds a team, Tom Brady looks like he never got hurt, and of course Brett Favre returns. Add in local stories, like the Washington Redskins looking terrible in their first preseason game or the Oakland Raiders alledgedly having 'Fight Club' in their coaches' offices and water cooler talk is at an all-time high.


Vick was the hottest story when it broke on Thursday, August 13, 2009. The Eagles were a surprise to get Vick, yet one that we should have seen. The Eagles have the strong owner, coach, and locker room presence that Vick needs off the field. On the field, Vick now gives the Eagles another playmaker, and another headache for defensive coordinators to worry about. Imagine a backfield with Brian Westbrook, Donovan McNabb, and Vick. Then with speedy second year receiver DeSean Jackson on the outside, the Eagles offense can give opposing defenses fits. Stay tuned as Vick gets ready to play in his first NFL game, albeit preseason, in like two years.

Next up in the returning category is Tom Brady. Brady was lost for the season during week 1 of last season. He looked really really sharp in his first live action as he drove the Patriots up and down the field against the Eagles. He did throw one interception as he didn't step into a throw, but other than that Brady looked like he was directing the offense that shattered offensive records in 2007.
Last but not least is the Brett Favre saga. Favre came back to the lVikings on Wednesday, August 19, 2009. This after he told the Vikings that he wouldn't be returning this year. Now everyone is all upset with Favre. I'm not. I don't blame him for the media following him around, or reporting that he has boarded a plane. I don't even feel that bad for the other two QBs on the Vikings roster. Their teammates are sending Favre texts asking him to come back, their coach called Favre and asked him to come back, the owner is allowing him to come back, so really why all the backlash for Favre. But that's just how I see it.

NFL Preseason August 20, 2009

Week 2 of the NFL preseason starts tonight, and if it is anything like week 1, then we are in for a treat. Before I post my thoughts about week 1, I wanted to post something I did a couple of years ago. I recorded myself commentating on a Monday Night Football game between the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants. To hear, click on title.

Let me know what yall think!!

A. Prince

Dog Days of Summer......

Here we are in the middle of July, and we've reached a sports standstill. We're still about two full weeks away from the start of NFL training camps, which means we're in the thick of the baseball season. (More on that in a later post)


While I like baseball, very much, I can't watch every game of the season anymore. I can and do get excited about the postseason, because there is a good chance that one team will get hot and make an unexpected run towards the World Series.

Last year it was the Tampa Bay Rays, who rode their first winning season to make their first appearance in the World Series. Though they eventually lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, the excitement had me watching their games nightly.

This season, though, I'm having a hard time finding a team that will get my attention. The Rays haven't reverted back to their losing ways, but in a division with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, they're finding out, just how it is to compete year in and year out with those big spenders.

The Texas Rangers are enjoying a terrific season, being only 1.5 games out of first place in the American League West Division., but I can't see enough of their games to get a feel for the team. Same goes for the Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Dodgers.



The good thing is that the baseball season is only half over. So there is more than enough time for stories to develop. I will say this though, any more videos like this one, will have me tuning in baseball games more often.

Sweet Sixteen.... Day One

The Sweet Sixteen begins tonight and the match-ups couldn't be much better.

You have UCONN playing their first game since allegations alleging improper benefits given to a recruit. Will this be a distraction for the talented Huskies? I don't think so given this team has already lost its starting PG (Jerome Dyson), and had its coach miss the first game with dehydration.

Then there's Duke, who is playing in the regional semifinals for the first time since 2006. Though the Blue Devils lack a true inside presence, guard Gerald Henderson has taken his game to a higher level for the tournament. He is leading Duke with 18.5 points and second on the team in rebounding. No matter how Duke does the rest of this tourney, Henderson has played himself into a lottery pick in June's draft.

If you want to see a team with a strong inside presence, then look no further than the Pittsburgh Panthers. The Panthers have DeJuan Blair snatching every rebound in sight. Though he is only listed at 6'7", Blair is averaging 14 rebounds in his first two tournament games. His ability to stay out of foul trouble will determine if Pittsburgh advances to the Final Four.

Memphis is trying to have a repeat visit to the Final Four. last year, they were a couple of free throws away from winning the National Championship, but this year they haven't dropped off. Despite losing a trio of players to the NBA, Memphis went through Conference USA undefeated (again) and was in contention for a number #1 seed With rumors that the University of Kentucky job is about to be available, Memphis head coach John Calipari could be looking to make the statement that lands him that prestigious position.

My picks to win tonight's games are UCONN, Pittsburgh, Memphis and Villanova. That Duke-Villanova game was a bit difficult to pick. Both teams are perimeter orientated but Villanova is the tougher team. And all that point guard switching Coach K did during the latter part of the season has me worried. So Villanova it is.

My bracket isn't in total shambles, but I did miss on a couple of second round games. All my Final Four teams remain so I still have a shot for bragging rights amongst my friends for the best bracket. I got 11 of the Sweet Sixteen teams which is about 69%. My Elite Eight number should be better.