

Boys will be boys, and apparently there are only a few men that wear the blue star for the disappointments from
What’s most upsetting about these Cowboys is how much they underachieve considering the talent level. They virtually have two pro bowl receivers, a pro bowl tight end, pro bowl running back, pro bowl quarterback, a couple on the offensive line that could qualify for Honolulu, and a defense to match. On Sunday, none were to be found.
The offensive line looked rather confused with the Eagles’ blitz scheme. Safety Brian Dawkins regularly came on a blitz, linebackers and d-lineman were flying all over the place. Instead of getting rid of the ball and living to live another play, Tony Romo would try and do too much, thus turning the ball over. His swashbuckling style has its moments, but on Sunday it was devastating. He fumbled the ball twice, threw interceptions and was a drive killer when some were just getting started. Romo was not the only one to blame as offensive lineman, especially Mark Columbo, routinely let d-ends blow by. Roy Williams looked clueless running routes and Marion Barber fumbled at the goaline, creating another 14 point swing. Ouch.
Through it all, there’s Wade “fuddy duddy” Phillips stooping on the sideline wondering how to lead a football team. His laid back attitude doesn’t cut it with a team that needs a reality check. He’s too much of a softie to chew out a guy like T.O. for chronically crying, or Pac Man for fumbling kickoffs, or Romo for not getting rid of the ball. We will never win a playoff game, or better yet a late regular season game, with the man as head coach. Demote him to defensive coordinator and lets move on.
Speaking of coordinators, what happened to the prestige of Jason Garrett. The offensive coordinators play calling has been predictable and dreadful. There was no timing, flow, or rhythm to the game plan against the Eagles. What happened to the potent offense that could move the ball at will these past two seasons? He failed to give Felix Jones the ball in a Redskins game, he calls option plays and 'wildcat' draws to Owens, and the offensive cadence is so predictable. I can't recall seeing Romo go on a hard count, say "on three" to throw off blitz schemes. The magic is gone folks.
Jerry Jones must clean house if he wants to see change. Wade isn’t going to change his personality and become a mean guy, Garrett needs to go back to the drawing board and dial up some new “x’s and o’s.” Most of all, this team needs a leader who isn’t scared of threatening these local divas who can’t figure out why they’ve missed the playoffs.
The most underachieving team in all of pro sports will be home for the postseason, relegated to watching the playoffs from Big D like the rest of us.
It’s supposedly the most wonderful time of the year, only I don’t seem to think so. Call me the Grinch. It will be once college football has a playoff, say in ten years, but until then we’ll just keep talking about the subjectivity of the BCS. The bowl games aren’t a bad consolation prize, especially when there’s a quality match up among all the clutter. Let me introduce you to the bowl season, from the games that mean the least to the ones worthy of the Roast Beast!
And he himself, the Grinch, got to carve the Roast Beast.
Notre Dame, the most storied franchise in all of college football, takes their 6-6 record on the road to
The Motor City Bowl showcases Florida Atlantic and
The Feast. Now these are games that we won’t mind watching, good but not great. The first of them comes from the Las Vegas Bowl where BYU takes on
Next is a slew of bowl game mediocrity. North Carolina versus West Virginia in the Meineke Car Care Bowl, Florida State against Wisconsin in the Champs Sports Bowl, and Cal versus Miami in the Emerald Bowl. It’s hard for me to take these games serious with such corporate bowl titles, but at least these are recognizable programs.
There’s just too many to list, but some that stick out include — Northwestern and Missouri in the Alamo Bowl, Oregon State and Pittsburgh in the Sun Bowl (just don’t go to Juarez), LSU and Georgia Tech in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl, Clemson and Nebraska in the Gator Bowl, Georgia and Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl, Virginia Tech and Cincinnati in the Orange Bowl, and finally Texas Tech and Ole Miss in the Cotton Bowl (Red Raiders got the shaft).
The Roast Beast. There are some rather appetizing games, and let me start off with the local favorite TCU Horned Frogs taking on undefeated
And finally, the prime cut of them all, the National Championship featuring
The BCS meant what they said, and said what they meant, a strange ending indeed, 100 percent.
Florida

Texas, like Horton, wants to hear you "who's" shout! The Longhorns need a playoff, 100 percent.
In a mere consolation prize, the Longhorns get to face a boring Ohio State team in the Fiesta Bowl for their third match up in four seasons. Big whoop.
I got a solution for the BCS if it’s going to be around for a while. How about no guarantees? The Big East champion (
Texas
The Texas Longhorns of 2008 will always be remembered as that season’s team getting the short end of the BCS-stick. They beat the Sooners 45-35 back in October during the state fair yet the pollsters long-term memory escapes them. The Sagarin’s and Massey’s of the world go with teams that draw big money and have Heisman front-runners. No undefeated
The Big XII South produced three one-loss teams and it spelled a recipe for BCS disaster. With three teams tied for the conference lead, it was Oklahoma who got the edge over Texas by a narrow margin in the standings. What happens next is anyone's guess.
In what could be the game of the year, the Florida Gators take on Alabama in the SEC Championship this Saturday. This game has virtually become a playoff semifinal game with the winner headed to the BCS championship, or has it?
The mighty Gators are ranked fourth in the polls, behind Alabama, Oklahoma and Texas respectively. One would think with a win over the Crimson Tide, Florida would jump to the number one or two spot in the standings. From there they would take on the Sooners if they get past Missouri in the Big XII title game, if not, then Texas. But who's to say they won't jump so high? The guys who run the computers, that's who.
Let me introduce you to the six individual computer polls. First up is Jeff Sagarin. He is the sole runner of his own poll, called the Sagarin Ratings. His top six includes Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech, Alabama, Utah and Florida in that order. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a degree in mathematics in 1970 and virtually no athletic background.
Next is Kenneth Massey, better known for his Massey Ratings. He is a statistician where he received his PhD from Virginia Tech. His top six (in order) includes Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Texas, Utah, Alabama and Florida. How about Richard Billingsley? The Billingsley Report follows more along the lines of the standard AP/USA Today Poll. Anderson Sports ranks Florida sixth, the Colley Matrix has them fourth, and Peter Wolfe places the Gators seventh behind Boise State — wow. What brand of football are these guys watching?
To summarize, it appears these enthusiasts running the computers don't like Florida, nor the SEC all that much. Many attempt to stand out and be different, so they put a WAC team in front of one of the most talented teams in the nation. These dorks had to be the last guys chosen in 1960s pick-up games, and now they are getting back at the sports world. They have manipulated the system by working their way up the pecking order upon receiving grand educations in number crunching.
By weighing in their biased opinions, we fans are left with controversial results. There's no way Texas should be behind Oklahoma after its head to head victory, but so be it. The next computer slighting may be dealt to the Gators. Don't be surprised if Florida is on the outside looking in after upsetting the Crimson Tide — we just might get a Red River rematch in the National Championship game to ultimately settle the score.
The President-elect spoke some of his finest words after being asked a question by ESPN’s Chris Berman.
“If you could change one thing about sports, what would it be?”
“I would have a playoff in college football and put an end to the BCS. Lets put together the best eight teams and go from there,” said the intelligent Obama.
Well said Barack. The thing is we fans might need it this season.


Texas Tech is on an astounding run with home wins over
The Sooners will host the Red Raiders in what will be the biggest game of the year. If
It’s an annual problem and it’s about to happen again. The only time it worked was when
In the world of college football, parody runs rampant. A team with two losses that gets hot towards the end of the season should have a chance to win it all – take a look at the Giants of the NFL. Back in 2001, Colorado thumped Nebraska in their regular season finale, and Nebraska still went on to the national championship game and got embarrassed by Miami. Fiascos like this can still happen.
The argument for the current system is that the regular season is amplified. Every game is its own playoff – yea right. If there’s a playoff system intact, the regular season will still be a sort of playoff as teams will play elimination games in order to get into the tournament. Now put that into your web-browser and click it.
When the person of highest rank wants what fans have desired for years, there’s a sense of hope. Obama has the unique power to trump these snooty university presidents who shower themselves with bowl money. This is the change we need. Yes we can.
It was the biggest game in Texas Tech history, and probably college football’s game of the year. The Red Raiders won in dramatic fashion this past Saturday, as No. 7 Texas Tech upset the top ranked Texas Longhorns in a post-Halloween thriller.
The Red Raiders now float near the top of uncharted waters. They sit between traditional powers like Alabama and Penn State with Florida, Texas and USC circling like sharks. Who would have thought Texas Tech would control its own destiny in talks of the National Championship this late in the season? Nobody except for a biased few that have always had their “Guns Up.”
Well it has happened and here’s how.

Crabtree spun free from double coverage and Tech had shocked the nation.
Quarterback Graham Harrell has been superb throughout the season and is a candidate for the Heisman Trophy. He looks like a future NFL quarterback, gifted with poise and a strong, accurate arm. Surrounding him is a slew of skill position players that have perfected Mike Leach’s aerial assault. Running back Baron Batch hits holes with authority, and Edward Britton is a capable second receiver behind super star Michael Crabtree. Crabtree is college football’s version of Terrell Owens when Romo’s throwing him the ball.
There are two stark differences in the Red Raiders of the present and the Techies of the past. First, it’s the defense. The Texas Tech’s front four was consistently getting pressure on Colt McCoy, something the Raiders needed to do in order to stay in the game. McCoy is too good of a quarterback to be given time, but he was constantly harassed and it made all the difference. One errant throw, due to pressure, was returned for a touchdown. Texas was forced to three consecutive three and outs on their opening possessions while Tech reeled off 19 straight points. Texas could only muster a pair of field goals before halftime, their lowest scoring output of quarters one and two all season.

The heat was on all night as Texas Tech lit up McCoy and later busted his chin.
The second ingredient to their recipe of success was awesome offensive line play. When they listed the rosters on Tech’s opening possession, I was astounded at the size of their line. The center was the only man to weigh under 300 lbs. while the largest was a mere 6’7, 365 lbs. Because of these monsters, Harrell was able to buy time in the pocket and found receiver after receiver. It doesn’t matter if you have four guys named Deion Sanders in the secondary, no one can cover solid wide outs for more than five-Mississippi.
Graduates of Texas Tech and Lubbockites have to be going bonkers. Tech has never been this relevant in the college football world and Crabtree’s game-winning catch will be forever remembered in Raider lore. Yet, there’s no time for the masked rider to sit horseback and dwell on the biggest win in school history. The zorro-like mascot must emerge from under the Panhandle lights and ignite the crowd all over again. Fans have to remember that this weekend’s showdown with Oklahoma State is now its biggest game.
Will the eighth ranked Cowboys restore order in college football? Do these West Texas rebels know they are in uncharted territory and breaking the law of tradition? After Tech hosts the Cowboys a trip to Norman, Oklahoma follows. We'll see if they belong.
If you watch the NBA season opener Tuesday night between the Trailblazers and Lakers, you will see a preview of what the Western Conference Finals may look like for many years to come.
Do you remember the days of Wilt Chamberlain versus Bill Russell, or how about Abdul Jabbar banging with “The Chief,” Robert Parrish? Hakeem “the Dream” spinning baseline on “the Admiral” rings a louder bell for me than say Willis Reed – Moses Malone might for you. I know your sports mind may be marinating in a constant pool of football, but please take the time to watch big men like Greg Oden and Andrew Bynum.
Greg Oden is a mountain of a man at seven feet tall and weighing 260 pounds. The 20 year old center is the first true dominant big man to come out of the college game in more than a decade, going back to the Shaquille O’Neal’s days at LSU. Oden single-handedly carried Ohio State
Teams hadn’t been so excited to win the NBA Draft Lottery since Ralph Sampson came out of the University of Virginia in the early ‘80s.
In the 2005 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Lakers selected seven-footer Andrew Bynum with the 10th overall pick. The jury was still out on this kid when his rookie numbers were staggeringly low for a man of his size. The Lakers nearly sent him in a deal to the New Jersey Nets for Jason Kidd. Lucky for them, they were patient.
Bynum was a monster last season before going down with a knee injury. He has become


All-time scoring leader Jabbar tells Bynum, "I used to play like you and Greg in my Alcindor days."
When these two match up in the Western Conference there will be nothing like it. Only Dwight Howard of the Magic and Amare Stoudamire of the Suns compare in strength and size. I’m sorry to say this, but if you’re not a Lakers or Blazers fan you may get tired of watching the NBA playoffs in the coming years.
Patrick Ewing always had his Knicks there, Hakeem and the Rockets, Robinson and the Spurs, heck even Smits and the Pacers. This is a league filled with the tallest, most athletic men in the world. There's a reason why I’m not in the NBA and a seven-footer with the equivalent skill set is. More so than any other sport, size matters.
As you will see in any NBA game, the action looks pretty when played on the perimeter by flashy guards and three-point specialists. But when push comes to shove, offenses go through the post and defenses must be anchored by enforcing centers. Before last season, the 10 previous NBA Finals involved either Tim Duncan or Shaq.
It just goes to show that no matter if it’s a pick up game or the NBA finals, first choice will always be the biggest man on the court. The
