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Ok so I really don’t hate this game. However I wanted to touch upon the touchy subject that is the recent uproar (but now a quiet meow) concerning the NBA referee betting scandal. Keep in mind that my opinions are unsubstantiated, my facts skewed, and my insight totally biased. Actually from what I have read, it boils down to a man who made $260,000 a year at a job that pays $80,000 entry-level, wanting a bit more money in terms of $5,000 per game from the mob. Assuming for a minute that he didn’t need the money (260k a year!??! just to make a few thousand dollars at the risk of his 6 figure salary), and assuming he was not bullied/threatened into assisting his cohorts, Donaghy probably likes the action. However if it were simple as that, he would just bet on the games himself through a close friend or family member and keep the risk of his job at a minimal, no need to go through so many middle-men and shady constituents.

Nevertheless, because we do not know how such a scheme started, it has ballooned into a very serious story with lasting repercussions. The integrity of the league is at stake. The legitimacy of outcomes of games will endlessly be questioned by gamblers all over, and ultimately, the image of the NBA is effectively tarnished. A league already facing image problems brought on by opponents of the me-first, hip-hop culture, and arrogant-above-the-law-outside-the-court drama is now reeling from its most compelling story yet.

Even with all of that in my personal opinion, though very serious and laced with controversy, this scandal should be and needs to be nothing more than the professional execution of a bad apple (as Stern so aptly referred when the story first broke out over the summer). My stance is this, through personal experience and a lot of viewing of NBA games, it is very possible but also pointless if a ref could alter the ending of a game. When you are dealing with spreads, and totals, only people with bets on the game would care about the conclusion of a game to the exact detail. For example, when the San Antonio Spurs played the Dallas Mavericks last year, the Mavericks were favored by 4. That means a line of -4 comes into play if Dallas wins by more than 4. If they win by 4 its a tie, if they lose the game, or win by less than 4, that bet loses. Now the opposite applies, if the Spurs win, or they lose by less than 4, the bet cashes. Now that sportsbetting 101 is over, the point is, the Mavericks in that game last year ended up winning by 5, covering the number. In spite of what the above link says, my personal opinion is that it would be very arrogant, and dangerous for a ref to purposely alter a game for a few thousand compared to the high-end salary they receive for a fairly enjoyable job even with all the pitfalls of pressure. And since that pressure is constant, why would they need to risk it more? The only answer can be action. In addition, investigations have uncovered the fact that Donaghy would receive payment IF he was right, and nothing IF he was wrong. That revelation does not bespeak or support the notion of a ref fixing a game especially IF there are a bunch of IFs involved as variables for him to even receive payment. Wouldn’t it stand to make sense that IF he could alter a game’s outcome outright so easily, there would not be any need for qualifiers for him to receive his reward? Instead through preliminary proceedings, Donaghy has only admitted to providing inside info and advice for which game to bet on. At face-value, he has yet admitted to actually fixing games (at presstime).

Playing devil’s advocate however, and assuming this one man was egotistic enough to try something funny intentionally, he would have to hide it well, and so he has so far until he was caught. Through this line of thought I would have to believe the extent of his tampering would only construe tampering with the total or the spread. Going back to my Spurs/Mavericks example, the Spurs lost to the Mavs late last year 86-91. To the public eye, on the surface it just means the Spurs lost in a very important game that would decide the division winner, and playoff seedings. However to Vegas (and her gambling citizens), it means the Mavericks covered that -4 spread. I think the extent of Donaghy’s power to screw with a game only deals with obscure numbers like this that remain in the shadows of sportsbooks and away from the public eye.

Another reason I do not think the legitimacy of the league was that tarnished lies with playoff games being played in series of 7 instead of single elimination. Imagine if the NBA playoffs were formatted in single elimination like the NFL or NCAA March Madness, the outcry over this scandal would be more substantial with proof of a ref needling around a single game for petty monetary gain. In a 7 game series, the best team will win, and in defining fashion. In the rarity of an even match-up that goes a full 7 games, the unpredictable drama only adds to the overall entertainment value. And in the case of a huge favorite choking in the 1st round (sorry Mavs fans), this only credits to the underdogs for being able to topple a top contender winning 4 games. No ref could have single handely alter a series in 4 games. Under such intense scrutiny right in the light of the national stage, it would be ridiculous to think anyone would risk their job, and possible jail time only to “fix” a game. I take that back. With addiction, anything is possible, but I stand by “only to fix a game”. The key here is one game, not a 6 game series like the one that took 4 wins for the Golden State Warriors to upend the tail-tucked Mavericks. There is always a human-element in all of sports-officiating, so this naturally lends to human error when referees will undoubtedly make mistakes in any given game. With enough on their plates to worry about from their own league office, and scrutinizing media outlets as well as degenerate gamblers everywhere, it would be folly to think this goes further than Tim Donaghy. Then again we all have been fooled this far.

To sum up, I believe referees can certainly influence the outcome of a game. However to influence the spread of one game is plausible, but to intentionally alter the winner is still something very doubtful in my opinion due to the backlash and the fact that all games are monitored by varying league officials. Maybe a few games here and there slip between the cracks (in terms of spread winner, not straight up winner), but the outright tampering of a single game (straight up winners) is at best an assumption. The outright tampering of a series would be blasphemy and certainly would cast a doubt on any sort of legitimacy the NBA has left before we start categorizing them with the WWE in terms of “sports”.

Well enough monkey business, on to the NBA Season Preview and my BOLD predictions: (summarized since I took up space for this scandal)

1) Boston’s teetering on the edge of a karma collapse, now that the Red Sox won the World Series again, the Patriots are 8-0, and the Celtics garnered a lot of attention for getting Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen alongside mainstay Paul Pierce. Just wait for it, what goes up must come down. For years we’ve heard the whining from Red Sox Nation, now we have to hear about the smug-ass Patriots, and the Celtics too? Will the universe collapse if all three major sports teams win their respective sports championships? It won’t happen because:

a) the Patriots will meet the Cowboys again in Super Bowl XLII, where the Cowboys will win because they will actually run the ball more, and their 2ndary won’t have that deer-in-headlights-let-Wes-Welker-roam-freely-in-the-2ndary-look in their eyes.

b) the Celtics don’t have a good PG unless Rajon Rondo all of a sudden develops a reliabe jumpshot, and does more than steal the ball. Allen will be hurt, Garnett will do all he can, and Pierce will be gassed by the time they lose to a deep and young Bulls team, who will make a deadline trade to acquire a post player with some semblance of an inside game.

c) The Red Sox in an effort to get younger will FINALLY trade Manny Ramirez to another team, and the curse of Manny will plague the Sox for the next millenia! Maybe my blog will still be around as a time capsule and proof of this when Red Sox Nation btches and moans about 1000 years of suffering to ESPN 2020 (I postulate they will have 3000 channels by then).

d) OK OK it’s just all wishful thinking, but its very annoying to listen to whiners become winners who whine about not winning enough anymore and winning so much spending so much money whining about winning when the very team they used to hate for winning so much spending so much money is now the team they have become, winning only with just as much whining.

2 ) an APB should be put out for the Mavericks’ fragile psyche. After their collapse in the finals to the Heat, and now to the Warriors in the 1st round, it will be left to wonder if they can recover and take that final step.

3) Kevin Durant will be exciting to watch as he auditions to be the star of the future Las Vegas Blackjacks (would be the perfect name for a team huh?)

4) the Spurs will win the championship this year again, making their first back-to-back title for three reasons:

a) their core and bench players essentially all return

b) Ime Udoka. this small forward traded to the Spurs from Portland will be the heir-apparent to Bruce Bowen. As a 3 point specialist and an unsung hero/hustle player on the Trailblazers, he will make a huge splash this year being seasoned in the Spurs system as a role player that will benefit much from playing behind one of the game’s best defenders. A friend of mine who follows the Trailblazers closely has already vouched endlessly for Udoka and also praised/cursed the savvy of the Spurs in picking up the right pieces to help out an already strong squad.

c) Trades-like-this-show-why-San-Antonio-remain-favorites-and-

Minnesota-is-stupid-for-trading-Kevin-Garnett-and-making-trades-like-this.

-notice what ultimately happened to the Timberwolves’ new acquisition.  a 2nd round pick is nothing to scoff at!  Gilbert Arenas, Luke Walton, and Carlos Boozer are some of the few gems unearthed in the 2nd round.  

Enjoy the season! and remember…Chicks dig cabbage!

Across the world, when one mentions “football (or futbol)”, there’s a 90% chance they mean soccer, goalies, hooligans, Arsenal, and David Beckham. The other 10% encompasses Americans who are thinking the sport that involves an oblong ball made from pigskin (well synthetic leather nowadays). That’s the reality, as Americans we are in the minority and sit on our own little island of touchdowns, and hail mary passes while the rest of the world are certifiably “nutters” about soccer. Other than an unfortunate incident back in 1994 when a couple of Dallas Cowboys fans shot a 49ers fan outside then Candlestick Park after the Niners beat the Cowboys in the NFC Championship game, American football fans are kittens compared to the “hooligans” who roam the immense soccer stadiums in Europe, South America and everywhere else on Earth. They take their fandom serious, I’m not even close to kidding when I say their idea of hate crimes involves bloodying the other fans/players of their rival team. Of course my only reference is the movie “Eurotrip”, so I will just leave it at that. Just trust me when I say that the infamous Ron Artest vs. Detroit Pistons fans brawl in 2004 is nothing compared to European/South America nvenues where the police come in riot gear at every game. So while American football may be the tougher sport with the tackling and what not, soccer fans would certainly have bragging rights when it comes to hooliganism.

This is relevant to today’s article because I wanted to touch on the upcoming game this weekend in London. Being the first regular season game played outside the continental U.S. in England between the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins, there are already 90,000 fans ready to soak in some good ol’ American football. Because the game rules are more complicated than soccer, a U.S. based pizza chain even resorted to handing out pamphlets as a guide to newcomers to the sport. “For some fans, the highlight of a football game is the players’ celebratory dance done in the end zone following a touchdown,” the pamphlet states, encouraging fans to watch the pageantry as well as the game. Hate to tell ya England, but you’re gonna be sorely disappointed, the only “pageantry” you’re gonna see is someone spiking the ball, and maybe some high-fives, unless the league decides to slack on the touchdown celebratory rule that fines the player and penalizes the team 15 yards on kickoff. This is bar-none the stupidest and most ridiculous rule in the NFL. Though I am powerless to do anything about it, to no end will I stop criticizing the No-Fun-League’s effort to “clean” up the game yet stifle our most basic right, freedom of speech. There is no reason to go political in a sports blog, but I have always contended, if the league is worried about sportsmanship, and tension/fights between the players of opposing teams, the higher ups in the league office definitely are complete buggers in this situation. It is very simple, if you don’t want to be shown up, don’t let the other guy score! If Team A is down 42-7 with 4 minutes left in the 4th quarter, and the player from Team A decides to perform an elaborate dance after finally putting his team on the board with its first touchdown, then there is no harm done because that in itself is silly and embarrassing. However the NFL does allow solo celebrations without props. So you can win as a team, but you can’t celebrate as a team in the ultimate team sport. Awesome. My heart goes out to thousands of European fans who will never know the intricacies of the “Dirty Bird” or the Ickey Shuffle.

Nevertheless it will be a unique experience watching the game take place in London, I personally think though it will take time, it is a good idea to try globalize a sport that is dominantly popular in the United States. However in a conservative sense, I think any expansion (while Los Angeles still doesn’t have a team) will only further dilute a talent pool that isn’t very deep in this league. The evidence is mirrored in the many mediocre teams most of which reside in the NFC. A comparison can be made to the NHL in general who after each passing year are getting less and less popular. Even America’s past time can attribute that expansion has led to a dilution of pitching and overall quality of play. However the key is always money, and the inexplicable desire for more parity and less dynasties.

On to this week’s picks, but first my weekly beer-goggled analysis of the Dallas Cowboys:

They’ve shown they can run the ball, which is the first step to winning games. They’ve shown they can pass the ball, which is a crucial step to achieve coming from behind in games. They’ve shown a propensity to make the right plays on special teams, which helps blow open a close game. They’ve shown they can stop the run, which is essential for a deep playoff contention. Now if they can solve their weak 2ndary issues, this will ultimately be the final piece of the puzzle for a possible Super Bowl appearance. Of course if it were this easy, everyone would be already crowning them. Oh wait, I’m thinking of New England :)

NFL YTD: 49-46-8
Last week: 7-7

Detroit +5 @ Chicago

Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati +3.5

Indianapolis -6.5 @ Carolina

Oakland @ Tennessee -7

Cleveland @ St. Louis +3

New York Giants @ Miami (London! Bugger!) +9.5

Philadelphia -1 @ Minnesota

Buffalo +3 @ New York Jets

Houston (off) @ San Diego

Jacksonville @ Tampa Bay -4

New Orleans @ San Francisco +3

Washington +16.5 @ New England

Green Bay @ Denver -3

The dawn of a new season precipitates as a dark cloud looms over the NBA. If not for the golden years of Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Larry “The Hick From French Lick” Bird, and later Michael “Air” Jordan, the NBA would perpetually be stuck in TV ratings purgatory behind American football, and America’s past time but in the cellar with the NHL. Yet recent NBA Finals ratings would prove that this possibility is not as far from such low depths.

Football is king and though baseball’s influence is not as powerful as it once was, it still is regarded with honored reverence due to the memory of its rich history and sacred players. Where does this leave basketball? Aside from commercial airtime and TV power ratings; on a personal level, I thoroughly enjoy basketball purely for its intimacy and simplicity.

Though you could toss the ball around and play “catch” with one other person in regards to football and baseball, to take part in a full game would require anywhere from 10-22 people for football and at least 10 people for baseball. Of course you would also need a large open space, and various equipments. Whereas, in basketball, one only needs a goal, with a nylon net (I prefer nylon because of a cool swoosh sound it makes when you drain a three). Then again I’m not sure they make the net out of any other material, maybe polyester? Not requiring ample space (half-court or full-court) or a lot of people (you can get away with 2-10 people for a game), a variety of basketball games range from one-on-one, horse, knockout, 21, and the standard pick-up games.

At the collegiate amateur and professional level, basketball purists will attest that the combination of teamwork, crisp passing, vicious rebounding, aggressive defense, silky smooth shooting, ferocious blocks, and the ever popular spectacular dunks would leave hardcore fans and casual fans alike appreciating the subtle art of basketball, and ultimately yearning for more. Herein lies the problem. In the past 20 years, the advent of free agency, sports agents, and multi-million dollar shoe contracts have effectively strained the dynamic between team and individuality. The key thing to remember is that while NFL teams can cut a contract at any time, thereby precluding the assumption that most players will serve well to play hard to earn their money, NBA contracts are guaranteed; meaning someone like Grant Hill can sign 6 year 100 million dollar contracts, yet only play 200 games (not a lot considering there are 492 games in 6 full NBA seasons). I don’t know much about business, but a 6 year 100 million dollar investment that yields only 40% return of investment is not good. Now Grant Hill seems like a good person, he was a phenomenal player at Duke and with the Pistons early in his career. The key word is “was”. Nevertheless, the 2007 Suns seem to have picked up a vastly better bargain at the veteran mid-level exception of 1.8 million for one year compared to Orlando Magic’s unfortunate investment.

The common denominator to the decline in popularity of basketball is of course money. It stands to say that it also is a variable for football and baseball, but that is for another blog. It’s easy to sit outside and toss stones at the fishbowl, knowing that if I were in that position, I would assuredly take the money faster than you can say Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo (his real name by the way). However for every Matt Geiger (signed a 52 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2001 and proceeded to retire in 2002 from knee injuries in which the validity has been questioned by doctors and team officials alike, remember… guaranteed contracts in the NBA!), there are also Kobe Bryants and Tim Duncans. Blue chip team foundations that produce an ROI (return of investment) of 100% and much much more.

In truth, I just wanted to gripe about Matt Geiger, because I am extremely jealous! I hear he is a real-estate investor now. Nevertheless, though money is a reason why the team concept in basketball made famous by the Showtime Lakers, the blue-collared Celtics, or even the Bad Boys Pistons, seems to have faded with time, it would be naive to think that such exhibitions of exciting basketball cannot be seen today. One just needs to watch the Phoenix Suns for a break-neck speed uptempo game, the San Antonio Spurs for a balanced game with emphasis on pick and roll, and teamwork/help defense or even the Golden State Warriors for streetball-jack-up-as-many-threes-playing-small-ball-style. The variety is there, you just need to know where to look for it.

As much as critics are quick to point to the “boring” low scoring style of game that the defending champion Spurs play, much of the blame must be attributed to their small market, and uncharismatic “superstar” Tim Duncan. It is ignorant to say their brand of basketball is “boring” when any basketball purist would argue that the Spurs can play a fast break type of game or a plodding half-court just as well, depending on their match-ups or even their mood on some nights. The rightfully popular era of Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls in their last two NBA finals did not even average above 90 points per game. So to say the last NBA finals were too low-scoring for their tastes, antagonists are better served to say, it just plainly lacked the panache of an other-worldly superstar. We all hoped Lebron James would deliver after his sensational 48 points in the Eastern Conference finals, but after all he is still only 23. It is scary to think of what he is capable of next.

The thing to remember here is you will always have your hardcore fans who will stick by their favorite team no matter what (unless you’re Snoop Dogg, a lifelong L.A. Lakers fan caught wearing a bandwagon Golden State Warriors’ jersey in last year’s playoff), but because those numbers are the minority, the obvious aim for the NBA are the casual fans. If you’re looking for a superstar to latch onto, you cannot go wrong with the young crop of ballers such as: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, and even some new rookies such as Kevin Durant and Greg Oden (wait a year on him). As I always preach, when you leave the personal lives out of the picture and ignore whatever drama-filled Kool-Aid the national media wants to feed you, you are left with just the player (not the human) laced with God-inspired athletic talent that will mesmerize you in the manner of crossovers, cross-court passes, around the back dishes, long range bombers, and slamming dunks.

There are six active players who are an integral part of their football teams (there may be more but we’ll touch bases with the recognizable ones) that are over the age of 35. Astoundingly, four start at quarterback for their respective teams: Kurt Warner, 36 (Arizona); Vinny Testerverde, 44 (Carolina); Jeff Garcia, 37 (Tampa Bay); and of course Brett Favre, 38 (Green Bay). Add in the fact that Morten Anderson who is 47!! takes part in placekicking duties for the Atlanta Falcons. If anyone ever needed a shot of Viagra, that would be Anderson who kicked the football 35 yards straight down the middle last Monday Night. The problem? It was a 48 yard attempt. In his defense, he did nail a 47 yard FG earlier, but perhaps due to MNF starting so late, the Falcons may have had to wake him up before his second attempt.

What does this all mean? Absolutely nothing other than that hopefully all of these gridiron geriatric gladiators have good health insurance, and that their IRA/signing-bonuses-tucked-away-in-a-savings-account is safe and secure, because between the current state of social security, and the sorry excuse for a retirement fund known as the NFL pension plan will not be enough. Beware, you may soon see all six hocking various ads for Cialis, Viagra and Enzyte. So take heed, NFL Players Association executive director, Gene Upshaw; if the sight of Kurt and Brenda Warner in a commercial for Viagra doesn’t scare you, it should.

How is this relative to the discussion of this week’s matchups? Nothing. I just wanted to see how many times I could squeeze the word Viagra into one article. Three and counting, with the dubious references to erectile dysfunction only serve as reminders that this is Sportsboner.com, and it wouldn’t be kosher to go a day without sophomoric remarks. Plus not to mention internet surfers typing in Viagra (four times now) or erectile dysfunction will be led astray to our site, where we welcome the traffic.

As we are nearing the midpoint of the season, it has become very clear that:

a) The AFC is still better than the NFC, although the denizens of the AFC East (other than New England) are putting football to shame. (see the # 28 on the Power 5 page for more)

b) With Dallas toeing the line but ultimately looking up at elitism, it looks like New England and Indianapolis are the teams to beat. This parallels the early 90s when Dallas and San Francisco drew a better matchup within their own conference than the Super Bowl itself. I cannot think of another team that is as balanced as these two. From Green Bay’s inability to run the ball, to Baltimore’s inability to score at all, many of the various 5-1 and 4-2 teams out there do not offer the balance in my opinion that the Colts and Patriots do. Though the Colts have given up points, they are weirdly 5th in total defense giving up only 278 yards per game. This would obviously be the achilles heel while all of a sudden, the Patriots go from a pass-happy-run-when-we-need-to team, to a team that is leaning on its 3rd string RB, scatback Kevin Faulk. Don’t let the last name fool you, he is no Marshall Faulk, though he has been a very solid role-player for the Pats. But that’s where the problem lies, he is best suited for 3rd down situations, not for carrying the ball 20+ times a game. Think of him as an older, slower, and smaller version of Brian Westbrook. Well if you think of it that way, just think of him as NOT Brian Westbrook.

c) I noticed this all season, but waited until my favorite team got their butts handed to them to mention it. The Patriots dirty tactic of running up the score should/will come back around and bite them where the camera don’t shine. In 5 out of 6 games this year, the Patriots scored a “middle finger” TD with less than 4 minutes left and a lead at least by more than two touchdowns. Apparently they are positioning for BCS seedings. Proponents of the Patriots will say no lead is safe, and it’s only over when the last second ticks, referring to the Cowboy’s Monday night miracle only weeks before. Please. You’re the Patriots, you’re 6-0, and your egomaniacal head coach can’t blow a 14 point lead with 5 minutes left. That would be blasphemy! If for one game, this would be excusable, but 6 games straight with the game not in doubt, a blatant eff you TD at the end to ice it only shows the arrogant self-serving nature of your 2007 New England Patriots.

Why the hate? While it is easy to vilify the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Lakers, and Dallas Cowboys of the sports world, we do it because they were good, they were cocky, and they had every right to show this off. The New England Patriots qualify for all three of the above attributes, only that they added a new one. We’ll disrespect all of our opponents because the world disrespected our leader who was caught with his hand in the cookie jar. It doesn’t matter if everyone is doing it, he was caught plain and simple, on week 1 playing in New York, the headquarters of the NFL of all places, and after the commissioner explicitly warned about such shenanigans of all things. The ensuing half-ass excuse/arrogant smug attitude from Belichick and brazen immediate cover-up by the NFL only throws fuel on the fire.

It’s OK though, because the Dolphins will win straight up this Sunday. Because if there’s a bigger conspiracy than “camera-gate”, there’s the ‘72-Dolphin’s-Champagne-Viagra (the final count is five)-filled-orgy-of-perfection conspiracy. You think a bunch of old men hanging on to memories will let smug-ass Brady and Belichick taint their perfect season? I actually don’t know how they could influence this game, but I am not naive to think they can’t. What does this have to do with anything? Nothing other than I’ve tied the beginning of this article to the end: geriatrics come full circle!

NFL YTD: 42-39-8
Last week: 4-7-2

Tennessee @ Houston +1.5

Tampa Bay @ Detroit -2

New England @ Miami +16.5

Atlanta +9 @ New Orleans

San Francisco +9 @ New York Giants

Baltimore @ Buffalo +3

Arizona @ Washington -7

Kansas City @ Oakland -3

New York Jets @ Cincinnati -6

Chicago @ Philadelphia -4.5

St. Louis +8.5 @ Seattle

Minnesota @ Dallas -9.5

Pittsburgh @ Denver +3.5

Indianapolis -3 @ Jacksonville

At the beginning of the season, I hastily proclaimed LSU, OU, and USC the class of the collegiate league, the cream of the crop, head and shoulders above the rest. Ready to anoint them, or “crown them” as Dennis Green would say, may have been a bit premature.

Speaking of premature, what do you expect from someone who equates sports with erections? Nevertheless here at sportsboner.com, we stand by our predictions because after all, nothing happens when we’re right, and nothing happens when we’re way off (other than loss of credibility). However give us some credit for not pulling a Lou Holtz, and picking Notre Dame or East Carolina to win every game. At least we didn’t guarantee such things unlike a very very large certain running back Jorvorskie Lane of Texas A&M. Props to my friend Micah for sending this picture of J-Traaain defiantly raising his arms in protest to the chants of “Guaranteed” by a ruckus crowd last Saturday that included yours truly. I didn’t yell, I was too busy worrying about my car that was parked at the back of a Josie’s Burrito Mexican Restaurant, being possibly towed because I might have been in the way of the drive-thru. Luckily nothing happened because all of Lubbock was busy cheering on the Red Raiders to a 35-7 victory over the Aggies.

So here we are approaching week 8 and all 3 “elite” teams were beaten by the likes of Kentucky, Colorado and Stanford with the Stanford loss especially damning for the Trojans due to them being a number one team, and playing at home to a team that won one game last year. The lesson? Don’t bet against Jim Harbaugh.

Coincidently, the BCS polls were released last Monday and atop sits Ohio State, Southern Florida, and Boston College. That collective scream you heard Monday morning is the exasperation of dozens of executives at the Fox Network seeing their potential TV ratings hinge on the likes of Southern Florida and Boston College. In that same thread of thought, now there’s a Harris interactive poll which includes a group of former players, coaches, administrators and media members who rank the college teams each week?! How many effing polls do we need to tell America that Ohio State is good, LSU and OU will bounce back and leapfrog the pretenders, Hawaii is overrated, the Big 12’s underrated, and that Texas A&M has no hope with a lame duck coach?

As for week 8, two things I wanted to express my thoughts on:

1) Texas Tech, although in the top 25 for the first time this year in all twelve-super-duper-BCS-AP-Harris-American Idol-USA Today-Myspace polls does not deserve to be there in my opinion. Yet. In a season of ultimate parity in terms of many Cinderella teams jumping over perennial powerhouses in the polls, its understandable that at 6-1, the Red Raiders are the next best choice to be placed in the top 25. However with obvious repercussions, their ranking will not be validated without a win this weekend at Missouri, who have absolutely owned the Red Raiders over recent years. This game will be a huge statement against naysayers who point out Texas Tech’s success versus bad teams with bad 2ndaries. If not, they will fall out of the top 25 as quickly as they came in.

2) Michigan quietly sneaking back into the top 25 after starting out 0-2, winning 5 in a row with wins on their resume such as the whitewash of Notre Dame, a ranked Penn State, and Purdue. With Illinois, Wisconsin and Ohio State still to be played, it will be interesting to see how the Wolverines try to redeem themselves from that week one debacle against Appalachian State.

Enjoy this weekend! And remember, getting Crabs is the newest rage!