Music City Bowl Recap

I got it right that UNC would win, but I'm sure nobody would have ever predicted a 2OT, crazy game. Bottles were being thrown by UT fans when the refs announced there was one second left for UNC to kick a field goal. But UT can't say UNC cheated because it was reviewed and UNC wouldn't have won if Daniel Lincoln made the extra point. UT has a future with young quarterback, Tyler Bray, but Thursday night wasn't his time. He threw 3 interceptions, a key one in 2OT. Shaun Draughn was named bowl MVP but the interesting thing is that he would have never played if Anthony Elzy hadn't been held back in Chapel Hill for academic reasons. T.J. Yates goes out with a win, Shaun Draughn goes out with a MVP, and Quan Sturdivant goes out with an interception, all seniors. All in all, it was a great game. 30-27 2OT is everything and more you want in a bowl game and it made for a great first one for my brother and I.

UNC Mid-Season Report

The North Carolina Tarheels have one remaining non-conference game vs. Saint Francis (PA). They are 9 and 4 with losses to tough teams like Vanderbilt, Texas, Minnesota, and Illinois. After their quality win vs. Kentucky, all the hype was about Tyler Zeller. He had an amazing game with 27 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 blocks. He is the leader of this young team. If people say Harrison Barnes is not doing well, that is because nobody could ever live up to his expectations. He was named to the Preseason First Team All American list. No freshman should ever be put under that pressure. If those expectations hadn't been placed on him like that, then most people would think averaging 12 points and 6 rebounds a game was pretty good for a freshman having played against 11 teams 500% or above. I still think UNC will make it to the tournament having played well against quality teams but I'm changing my pick for the Elite 8, to the Second Round.

2010 In Sports

2010 has been a great year in everything. Sports, games, and even new devises. The iPad came out and XBOX Live has topped the charts. Now to sports. Saints Super Bowl, Butler Cinderella, Year of the Pitcher, and the new Big 3.

The Dallas Cowboys are known as America's Team. This year the Saints were America's Team. After Hurricane Katrina that hit the city of New Orleans in 2005, the Saints were the city's only hope. They made their first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history vs. the Indianapolis Colts on February 7,2010. That was when the Saints became America's Team. They started the second half with an onside kick that they recovered and intercepted one of Manning's throws and ran it back for a touchdown to seal the game. The win lifted the spirits of many New Orleans people that are still recovering from the horrible natural disaster.

Butler, a small college located in Indianapolis, Indiana, made an amazing run to the Final Four. Nobody would ever predict that that team would have made it to the Final Four. Oddly enough, the Final Four was in Indianapolis so the team would bring a great crowd. It was great for CBS because people who wouldn't follow the Final Four were now following this Cinderella story. But every great thing has to come to an end and this was no exception. The young, talented Bulldogs lost to a powerhouse, Duke, in the National Championship. The game went down to the final second, but Gordon Hayward's half court shot that hit the backboard didn't fall in and Butler lost 61-59.

This Year was the Year of the Pitcher in the MLB. 61/2 no hitters and 21/2 perfect games in those no hitters.(I'm counting Armando Galarraga's almost no hitter/perfect game as 1/2.) Two of the 61/2 were vs. the Tampa Bay Rays. That may be because the hitting was not very good or that the pitchers were amazing. Leave a comment to tell me what you think.

The Los Angeles Lakers have won 2 straight NBA Championships, but the Miami Heat may have something to say about that. This past summer 3 of the NBA's biggest stars teamed up and took their talents to South Beach, as in Miami, Florida when they all 3 became free agents and signed with the Heat. Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh are the new Big 3. It was a big deal when Boston's Big 3 joined to play in Boston and look how that turned out. They won a championship the first year together. But things might be different with South Beach's Big 3.

Music City Bowl Preview: UNC vs. Tennessee

This year's Music City Bowl is between UNC and Tennessee. This should be a good matchup between two close teams that travel well with great fans. Tennessee's freshman quarterback, Tyler Bray, should have a tough time vs. the North Carolina defense, the secondary specifically. This will be his toughest defense he has played thus far. He has led UT to wins over Memphis, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, and Kentucky. I think with him not having ever played in a bowl game, he will not play as well as he has so far. UNC as I said has a great defense. Led by linebacker, Bruce Carter, the defense was one of the best in the country. I think the deciding factor will be the experience of the quarterbacks. Bray has no bowl experience, and Yates has been the starting quarterback for UNC in a bowl game the past two seasons.

UNC 17

UT 10

Georgia State Football

On April 17, 2008 Georgia State ,a college located in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, announced that the college would be starting a football team in 2010. They also announced that they would be competing in the Colonial Athletic Association and later announced on June 12, 2008 that Bill Curry, former NFL and college player and college coach, would be the first coach of the program. Curry brought in the recruits in 2009 and practiced every day from August 1st until Thanksgiving and didn't even play a game. The players said that it was tough to go through because they were looking forward to playing in the NCAA, but they thought it was worth it when they finally played their first game on September 2, 2010 in the Georgia Dome vs. Shorter. They played very hard and excited and won the first game 41 to 7. The team estimated that only about 25,000 would be on hand for the game, but were surprised to see 30,237 fans show up. The team finished up with a expected 63 to 7 loss @Alabama. Their final record to the inaugural season was 6 and 5. This was a great story that I heard about on the pre-game show to the Alabama/Auburn game on CBS.

Rivalries

Rivalry. The dictionary definition is "competition for the same objective or for superiority in the same field." My definition would be a game that two teams who don't like each other are playing. There are many rivalries in college athletics like UNC/Duke, Ohio State/Michigan, Alabama/Auburn, USC/UCLA,Texas/Oklahoma. Every team has a rival. It can be an in-state rivalry in which 2 teams from the same state are playing. Some rivalries just started because a coach went to the other school or just that they played a close game one year. In most rivalries the teams are evenly matched which makes the matchups more interesting to watch. Some families are divided. My mom's friend's family is split in the UNC/Duke rivalry. Her friend went to UNC while her sister went to Duke which makes the games more exciting. UNC and Duke are big rivals in basketball and get much attention while in football it is not big and doesn't get much attention. The Ohio State/Michigan rivalry is huge in football but not in basketball. I wonder why that happens. Please comment why you think this happens and which rivalry you care the most about.

UNC Preview 2010-11

One of my first blog entries was a preview of the North Carolina Tarheels from last season. I thought that they would do okay and make the tournament but not cut down the nets. My predictions were right that they wouldn't cut the nets, but the Heels didn't even make the tournament. It was a rebuilding year as many fans called it. If they meant rebuilding as getting better players then that was exactly what the year was about. The Heels brought in the #4 recruiting class in the nation including ESPNU's #1 recruit, Harrison Barnes. Many think he will be the next Lebron James or Kobe Bryant. Lots compare him to John Wall of Kentucky last year, just without the attitude. He is predicted to be on the NCAA All American team at the end of the season and be the Freshman of the Year. During the recruiting process, he had many choices besides UNC, including Tarheel rival Duke and Kansas. When the Heels play Duke in the Battle for Tobacco Road, Coach K will be frustrated that he didn't get Barnes. North Carolina should be pretty good this year, but Duke is predicted to win the ACC and the National Title. My prediction is that the Tarheels will be a #2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and go to the Elite Eight but lose there. I think many fans will be satisfied with that finnish compared to last season's results.

Randy Moss Traded

Star wide receiver in the NFL, Randy Moss has been traded for the second time this season. He started with New England who traded him just before their bye week to Minnesota who was coming off a bye. He played a few games with the Vikings before they put him on waivers Sunday afternoon. Today, Moss was picked up by Jeff Fisher and the Tennessee Titans. The Titans' young gun, Kenny Britt got hurt in Sunday's game against the San Diego Chargers. The Titans going into a bye week needing a receiver, were the 22nd team in the waivers. They had the best offer, so they traded a third round draft pick to the Minnesota Vikings for Moss. After he was released I said to my dad, "I think the Titans should pick him up because of Britt being injured." That just happened and now Vikings coach Brad Childress is calling the trade a bad move. Hopefully Moss will play great the rest of the year so the Titans can beat out the Colts for the AFC South Division title.

Titans-Chargers Preview

Today is Halloween, but it is also Sunday which means there is NFL football on. This afternoon the 5 and 2 Tennessee Titans face off against the San Diego Chargers. The Titans are an elite team in the NFL with a great, but underrated defense. The running backs for both teams are great. Chris Johnson is one of the best in the business. Mike Tolbert and Ryan Mathews are great with much talent. They may have a tough time against this defense of Tennessee. The Titans might get tricked by the rushing attack of San Diego and Philip Rivers' passing skills, or a treat with their first victory over the Chargers in a decade. My prediction is the Titans will get the treat and get the win over the west coast team.

World Series Preview

The World Series starts tonight and features the Texas Rangers and the San Francisco Giants. Game 1 is at AT&T Park on the shore of the San Francisco Bay. Cliff Lee will be on the hill tonight hurling against last year's Cy Young Award winner, Tim Lincecum. I think that not only pitching will affect the outcome of this series, but batting as well. Both teams have great batters like Josh Hamilton and Buster Posey. The catcher for the Rangers, Bengie Molina, caught for the Giants before the rise of Posey. I think he is the best scout for the Rangers during this series. He will know what situations they steal, what types of pitches the pitchers like to throw the most, and how to hit the different pitches. Nolan Ryan, who played for the Rangers most of his MLB career, has led this team stacked with young talent to the first postseason appearance in club history in his first year as the president/owner. I think it will be a close series with Texas coming out with the win. As they say, "Everything is big in Texas" including this series!

Come See Us Play

The OHS 5^th Grade football team plays their last game of the season on Monday. We have played 6 games so far and are still looking for our first win. We have practiced twice a week since the beginning of August and are having a great time. We have lost our last two games on controversial calls. We have amazing coaches and hope we can win this game. We play vs. BGA at BGA at 5:00. We would love to have lots of fans come out and watch us play. GO PANTHERS!

Heisman Hopefuls

Kellen Moore QB Boise State:

Maybe the best QB in college football last year led the WAC conference winner to a BCS Bowl game. Moore had 39 passing touchdowns with only 3 interceptions! With 2 of the best WRs, Titus Young and Austin Pettis, he might just lead the Broncos to a National Championship.

Terrell Pryor QB Ohio State:

After the perfect Rose Bowl game last year, Pryor is the favorite to win the Heisman in many minds across the country, mine also. A very mature QB who can not only pass the ball, but can also run it, could lead an Ohio State program to a National title.

Mark Ingram RB Alabama:

As the returning Heisman winner, Ingram is under lots of pressure not only to win the Heisman again, but also to lead Alabama to a National Championship again. Alabama has a bull’s eye on their back in every game this year. He has yet to play a game this season after having knee surgery.

Andrew Luck QB Stanford:

Luck might have the luck to win the Heisman, as he is the sophomore favorite to win the Heisman this year. The past 3 seasons, a sophomore has won the Heisman: Tim Tebow, Sam Bradford, and Mark Ingram. He was great as a freshman with Toby Gerhart, Minnesota Vikings backup running back, but he will have to be the leader of the Cardinals team this year without Gerhart.

Jake Locker QB Washington:

Locker could have left for the NFL Draft last year and might have been the #1 pick, but he came back to college to try to turn around the Washington program and win a National Championship. That might not happen after a 1 and 1 start, but he might win the Heisman Trophy.

Ryan Mallett QB Arkansas:

With a rocket for an arm, Mallet can throw the deep bomb perfectly but sometimes overthrows the short passes. He plays in the SEC West, maybe the hardest division in football, so he has to play Alabama, LSU, Ole Miss, and Auburn. If he can get those short passes down, he might get into the top 4 or 5 Heisman contenders.

Case Keenum QB Houston:

Keenum threw for 44 touchdowns last year breaking many, if not all, school records. This year is his last year to be in the college spotlight so he looks to break not just school records, but NCAA records. He has a slight chance of winning the Heisman.

The 2010-2011 Weekly Titan: Preseason Week 2

The Titans play their second preseason game of the season on ESPN’s Monday Night Football against the defending NFC West Champs, the Arizona Cardinals. The Cards have to replace future Hall of Fame Quarterback, Kurt Warner, with a 2006 1^st round draft pick, Matt Leinart out of USC. Along with Leinart, Vince Young and Jay Cutler both got drafted in the first round of the ’06 draft. People had high hopes for those Quarterbacks. Not all 3 have performed to their expectations. This will be the first year that all three of them will be the #1 QB on their team ever. Cutler has always been a starter; Young has been the Titans starter except when he was hurt in ’08. The last time Young and Leinart played each other was last year in the regular season when Warner was hurt. Young led the Titans to a touchdown on the last drive of the game to win. The Titans should come out of the first home game with a win just like they should have won against the Seahawks last week.

My prediction - Titans 20 Cardinals 17

USA vs. Ghana: World Cup Thoughts

Sorry I haven’t written in so long. It has been a busy summer with lacrosse every Tuesday and Thursday, topped off with pool every day. Let’s get down to business. Many soccer fans were surprised by the USA loss yesterday to Ghana, but if you have followed Ghana, they are not that bad of a team. In Group Play, they were 1-1-1 beating Serbia 1 to 0, drawing Australia 1 to 1, and losing to Germany 1 to 0 in Group D.

Now to yesterday’s match, in the 5^th minute, Ghana’s Kevin-Prince Boateng scored on a break away goal. He just beat the USA men up the field. In the 62^nd minute, Landon Donovan scored on a Penalty Kick to knot the game up at one. The ball hit the post and went in. The game stayed knotted up until overtime. In the 93^rd minute, Asamoah Gyan scored for Ghana what would eventually be the game winning goal. Just before overtime started, Bob Bradley made an odd call to take Jozy Altidore out of the game for Herculez Gomez. Maybe it cost the Americans the game. We will never know.

This run by the Yanks has been an unforgettable one, and we may never see a run like this again. People thought that the USA hockey team making it to the finals in the Winter Olympics would spark hockey in the States. It did a little but not too much. I think the World Cup will boost soccer in the United States. Ghana advances to play Uruguay in the Round of 8.

MLB Needs Salary Cap

Major League Baseball does not have a salary cap but instead the MLB uses a luxury tax. I am not going to tell you about the luxury tax, I am going to tell you why the MLB needs a salary cap.

Last year’s World Series Champion, the New York Yankees spend lots of money each year on star players. This year they got Randy Winn off of free agency. The Yankees’ spending for the 2010 season is followed:

Position Player 2010 Salary

3B Alex Rodriguez *$32,000,000

SP CC Sabathia $23,000,000

1B Mark Teixeira $22,500,000

SS Derek Jeter $21,000,000

CL Mariano Rivera $15,000,000

2B Robinson Cano $9,000,000

RF Randy Winn $1,100,000

Total Salary $123,600,000

2009 Regular Season Record 103 and 59

Postseason Performance World Series Champion

*Highest paid player in MLB

The exact opposite of the Yankees, the best team, would be the Washington Nationals. If there were a salary cap, then the Nationals would have the same amount of money as the Yankees and would have a chance to get the Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez players that they need to be a good ballclub. Here is the Nationals’ spending for the 2010 season:

Position Player 2010 Salary

3B Ryan Zimmerman $6,250,000

SP **Stephen Strasburg $2,000,000

CF Nyjer Morgan $411,500

Total Salary $8,661,500

2009 Regular Season Record 59 and 103

Postseason Performance Did Not Play

** Rookie; going to make 2,500,000 in 2011 and 3,000,000 in 2012

Last years best team in the regular season was the Dodgers. It was the first year that L.A. would have Manny for the whole season. Here is their spending for the 2010 season:

Position Player 2010 Salary

LF Manny Ramirez $20,000,000

CF Matt Kemp $4,000,000

CL Jonathan Broxton $4,000,000

RF Andre Ethier $3,100,000

1B James Loney $3,100,000

SP Clayton Kershaw $404,000

Total Salary $34,604,000

2009 Regular Season Record 95 and 67

Postseason Performance National League Runner Up

Last year’s NL Champion, the Philadelphia Phillies, could have beaten the Yankees in the World Series, if they spent as much money as New York. Both teams made it to the World Series, but the Phillies used more than half as much as the Yankees did. Here is the spending for the 2010 Phillies going for their 3^rd straight appearance in the World Series.

Position Player 2010 Salary

SP Roy Halladay $15,750,000

1B Ryan Howard $15,000,000

2B Chase Utley $15,000,000

CL Brad Lidge $12,000,000

SS Jimmy Rollins $8,500,000

RF Jason Werth $7,000,000

3B Placido Polanco $5,000,000

Total Salary $78,250,000

2009 Regular Season Record 93 and 69

Postseason Performance World Series Runner Up

Last year’s AL runner up, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, spent much less then the Yankees last season. This season they lost many star players including star pitcher, John Lackey and shot stop Chone Figgins to American League teams plus the Mariners gained lots of talent including Cliff Lee. Here is the Angels spending for 2010.

Position Player 2010 Salary

CF Tori Hunter $18,000,000

LF Juan Rivera $4,250,000

2B Maicer Izturis $2,600,000

SS Erik Aybar $2,050,000

2B Howie Kendrick $1,750,000

Total Salary $28,650,000

2009 Regular Season Record 97 and 65

Postseason Performance American League Runner Up

National League Season Preview

NL West – I think the Dodgers are again the best team in the NL West, but I think the Rockies and the D-Backs both have a chance of making a run at L.A. L.A. has a great outfield with Manny Ramirez in Left Field, Matt Kemp in Center, and Ethier in Right. The D-Backs only have a chance if Brandon Webb stays healthy. I think the reason the Giants are not going to win is because they have no offense. They have great pitching from Tim Lincecum, who I think is the best pitcher in the league right now. The Padres are only worth watching to see Adrian Gonzalez hit; otherwise, this team is not worth watching.

Division Ranking Prediction

1 Dodgers

2 Rockies

3 D-Backs

4 Giants

5 Padres

NL East – I know this pick is boring because I am picking the Phillies. After getting Roy Halladay, this team is going to dominate. The Mets got Jason Bay, but the only way they win is if some star for the Phillies gets hurt and Jose Reyes can stay healthy. The Braves are just not worth watching. The reason the Nationals are not on that list is because they got Stephen Strasburg and with the team they have, he should be coming up to the bigs fast. He should do fine this year and next year be a candidate for the Cy Young Award. I say the Marlins come in 3^rd because Hanley Ramirez hits 30+ home runs.

Division Ranking Prediction

1 Phillies

2 Mets

3 Marlins

4 Nationals

5 Braves

NL Central – The NL Central looks very interesting this year. The Cardinals have Matt Holliday for the whole season, and the Reds got Arolids Chapman, a Cuban pitching prospect. I pick the Cardinals to win because of Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday. I think they will each have 30+ home runs. I think Carpenter, Wainwright, and Penny will all have 12+ wins and an ERA lower than 2.50. The Reds have Adam Dunn in his final year before he is a free agent, and he looks to have a great season. The Cubs hope that Carols Zambrano, Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, and Alfonso Soriano can all stay healthy. I think the Brewers only have a chance if they can get some good pitching from Yovani Gallardo and Randy Wolf and great hitting from Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun. I say the Pirates and the Astros have no chance of winning unless a miracle happens.

Division Ranking Prediction

1 Cardinals

2 Reds

3 Cubs

4 Brewers

5 Astros

6 Pirates

Playoffs:

1 Phillies (East)

2 Dodgers (West)

3 Cardinals (Central)

4 Rockies (Wild Card)

Divisional Round:

Phillies vs. Cardinals Series Winner – Phillies

Dodgers vs. Rockies Series Winner – Dodgers

NL Championship:

Phillies vs. Dodgers Series Winner – Dodgers

2009 – 2010 North Carolina Tarheels: A Disappointing Season

The North Carolina Tarheels that we have seen this year has not been the team that any of us expected. At 15 and 14 the Tarheels are last in the ACC, 1 game behind N.C. State. The Tarheels had a very tough non-conference schedule but finished it with an 11 and 4 record. All things fell apart after the loss at College of Charleston. They won their next game vs. Virginia Tech but then lost 3 straight. After losing 3 they beat N.C. State to become 13 and 7. Their next game was vs. Virginia. They lost that one and 3 more, including a loss to Duke at home. They got another win vs. N.C. State and became 14 and 11. Then they got on a 3 game losing streak. They beat Wake Forest in Winston-Salem yesterday ending Wake’s undefeated season at home. They play their last home game of the year vs. Miami on Tuesday, March 2^nd. The ACC Tournament is in Greensboro this year. I think the Tar Heels are a good team but have lost their confidence. They had confidence early in the year because they played a close game vs. Kentucky, Texas, and Syracuse and beat Ohio State and Michigan State. I think the Heels could make a run during the ACC Tournament because teams like Duke, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Florida State, Virginia, and Wake Forest might rest their starters because they are already going to the NCAA Tournament. I think the Heels will make it to the semifinals in the ACC Tournament, but not make it to the finals. I think they will go to the NIT Tournament. Hopefully, they will have better luck next year.

NBA All – Star Saturday

This year’s NBA All – Star Weekend was great. Celtics Forward, Paul Pierce, won the 3 Point Shootout over the Warrior’s rookie, Stephen Curry, in the final round. In the first round Pierce had 17 points, tied with the Point Guard from the Denver Nuggets, Chauncey Billups. The rookie, Stephen Curry, scored 18 in the first to take first place. Billups and Pierce went into a 60 second tiebreaker where Paul Pierce made a great score of 20. Billups could only manage a score of 14, so it would be Curry up next to try to beat the score of 20 by Pierce. Curry could only put 17 up on the board, so Paul Pierce is your 3 Point Champion.

The Dunk Contest this year was great. The 5’ 9” Point Guard from the New York Knicks, Nate Robinson, was trying to become the first three - time champion of the contest. Robinson won the contest in 2006 and last year over Dwight Howard. He was going up against a pretty easy field this year and was picked to win by many people. Nate made it to the final round easily getting a score of 44 on his first dunk and a 45 on his second. DeMar DeRozan had the only perfect score of the night, making it to the finals with Nate. Fans got to vote for the winner, and they picked the defending champ, Nate Robinson. Robinson got 51% of the votes and became the first three – time champion of the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest.

Super Bowl XLIV Preview

This year’s Super Bowl will be held in Miami, FL. Representing the AFC will be Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts, and for the NFC, it is the New Orleans Saints with Drew Brees. I think it will be a high scoring game because both teams have great offenses. If the Colts win, it will be Peyton’s second Super Bowl win, and if the Saints win, it will be the franchise’s first win. Both of Manning’s Super Bowl appearances have been in the city of Miami. This is the matchup every NFL fan wanted because both teams started out 13 and 0, and the Colts even started out 14 and 0.

This year’s Super Bowl presents an interesting situation in the Manning house. Colts quarterback, Peyton Manning, is a native of New Orleans; not to mention his father, Archie Manning, was the Saints quarterback from 1971 through 1982. I wonder whom he is cheering for tonight?

Both Super Bowl quarterbacks were going to be starters in the Pro Bowl but couldn’t participate because of the Pro Bowl being played prior to the Super Bowl this year. I think the Saints are under more pressure in this big game because they have never been in this situation before, and the Colts have. I think because of that the Colts will win the Super Bowl.

MY PREDICTION

COLTS 35 SAINTS 30