This will mark the first time the Bulls will pick first in the draft since 1999 when they snagged former Duke product, Elton Brand.  If they had to return to the top spot this isn’t a bad year to get it as GM John Paxson has two very promising freshman prospects to look at in Kansas State forward Michael Beasley and Memphis guard Derrek Rose.  If the pick was made based around all-around hype then Beasley (26.2 ppg, 12.4 rpg, 1.6 blg) would be the consensus choice especially after watching him dominate the Big 12 conference last season.  In fact all season I have been guilty of dreaming about the slim possibility of watching Beasley play in a Bulls uniform.  Although now that the opportunity is right there in front of me I have to admit that it is an option that has to be passed on.

When you look at how the NBA has evolved over the past few years there is one position that links to immediate success, point guard.  It’s evident looking at the impacts had by the Nets after acquiring Jason Kidd, the Suns after signing Steve Nash, and the Hornets getting Chris Paul.  If there is strength at that position it can make everyone around him better.  I mean seriously, have we ever mentioned anything ever about Tyson Chandler’s productivity on offense?  I didn’t think so.  Though you will have to factor in some time for growth but I truly feel Derrek Rose can take his hometown team to the next level.  Though he doesn’t have the greatest jump-shot it was clear to witness the impact he had on a Memphis team and could have lead them to a title, had it not been for a few missed free-throws.  Regardless of who the Bulls plan to take it is obvious that Paxson will have do his homework the next few weeks to ensure that the best decision is made with the team in mind.

Also what the prescience of a top-pick, it could make everything else go towards the Bulls’ favor this off-season.  Even though the team is still without a coach, this makes the job more attractive with the possibility to work with a player like Rose or Beasley and that could stick out to an Avery Johnson or Mark Jackson.  And it becomes more enticing for other possible free agents.  Who knows maybe this news could force Luol Deng to think twice about leaving.  Bottom line, all of a sudden the Chicago Bulls have once again entered the garden of relevance, and signs could be looking up.  But until next time, keep your mind on the fine side.

After taking three of four at home against the Yankees this week, Tampa sits atop the division with a 24-17 record which puts the eleven year-old franchise seven games over .500 for the first time in their existence. As I have already informed several people already this week, I am officially drinking the Tampa Bay Kool-Aid, so much so that if given the chance I would happily pull a Kool-Aid man by sporting a Carl Crawford jersey and jumping through a wall of the Boston clubhouse while screaming out, “OH YEAH!”

So what’s the main reason for the sudden 180? Most of the credit should go to skipper Joe Madden who in only his third season in the dugout has successfully changed the culture in the clubhouse completely. No longer is this a team that would be content with posting a .500 record, now Madden has his club refusing to settle for anything short, which is how a team should think if they want to compete. Also it doesn’t hurt when your starting rotation has shown growth either. Jamie Shields has followed up to his breakout season last year by recording 4 wins and 45 strikeouts. Staff anchor Scott Kazmir who recently came off an injury has looked impressive starting his year off at 2-1 with a 1.69 ERA. Matt Garza is making Minnesota feel stupid for trading him as he also is off to a 2-1 start.

If the Rays are to continue to hover near the top of the AL East they will have to increase their offensive production. Currently Tampa is 16th in the majors in runs scored and does not have a single starter who is currently hitting over .280. Carl Crawford who despite who is currently at .276 has always been known to heat up closer to the All-Star break, and it will needed as well as his leadership for this young ball club. B.J. Upton and Akinori Iwamura continue to heat up at the plate and Carlos Pena won’t be hitting .212 all season, he just needs to learn not to swing for the fences every time ala Sammy Sosa. My biggest question centers on rookie third baseman Evan Longoria. Last month the Rays gave Longoria their biggest contract ever for nine years, $45 million. So far the rookie has gotten off to a sluggish start his first year in the big leagues hitting .210 with 4 HR and 15 RBI. He will need to start showing more consistency or it could have a very negative affect on his confidence now that all the expectations are thrown at him. A similar situation happened with Kansas City’s Alex Gordon who had to be sent down to Tripple-A after hitting below .200 for the first three months.

Bottom line the surprising productivity from the Rays will make this division race an exciting one to watch during the summer. While Boston isn’t too far behind as expected Baltimore with 21 wins has been almost as much of a surprise. Also even though it might not last forever I would like us all to enjoy the fact that the Yankees are stuck in last place. Suck on that Hank! Until next time, keep your mind on the Fine side.

After too many losing seasons Chicago was able to revamp around a young core making the playoffs three straight seasons, including last year which saw them fall short against Detroit in the second round. The turn of success gave fans new hope and thoughts that returning to a contender wasn’t that far, but in reality it was nothing more than an illusion. For the 2007-08 season everything came into focus as the embarrassment year was tarnished by trade rumors, contract negotiations, lack of discipline and leadership. The overflow of turmoil lead to one head coach losing his job and one superstar shipped out to a divisional rival. Despite all the negativity there was still optimism that Chicago could return to being competitive.

In order to actually turn things around it was clear the Bulls need an offensive minded coach, and who fits the bill better than former Pheonix Suns coach Mike D’Antoni? The Bulls wanted him, he wanted the job, it seemed like a done deal, or at least we hoped that it was. Our dreams were once again ruined this time by the sight of D’Antoni signing on the dotted line to take over for the New York Knicks, a team that has more problems than anyone else in the league.

Now I feel that it is my responsibility to act as the voice of reason because I’m firmly believe that a majority of Bears fans are ready to kick him out of town when in reality there is no chance that it will happen.  In no way do I want to defend Benson’s actions from over the weekend.  Was it smart?  Absolutely not, but since the incident took place there have been numerous conflicting reports.  This simply states that we still don’t know all of the details and until we do it is unfair for the Bears organization or anyone else to think otherwise.

Outside of the entire legal mumbo-jumbo, the reason there has been such an outcry for Benosn’s job is obviously due to the fact that since Chicago snagged him with the 4th overall pick three years ago his stats have been anything but impressive (42o carries 1,593 yards 10 TD’s).  In addition many seem to reading too much into the fact that the team drafted Tulane running back Matt Forte in the second round of the draft just over a week ago.  In the current time of the Jerry Angelo regime I’ve learned two things: first that no matter what the problem may be Angelo is always plan, and secondly after observing how he has handled certain distractions over the past few seasons it is safe to assume that he is not one to admit when he is wrong.  After everything that Angelo and the organization has invested in the former Texas Longhorn, he will refuse to cut him after Saturday’s arrest.  To do it now would contradict all the moves made this off-season the revamp the aging offensive line which paved the way for Chicago to rush just over 83 yards a game (30th in NFL).  Sure he didn’t get exactly get it done last season but why not at least see what he can do now with a more competitive supporting cast.  Furthermore, cutting ties with Benson would mean heading into the 2008 season with a backfield core of Forte, Adrian Peterson and former NIU Huskie Garrett Wolfe, a combined 8 career starts (all from Peterson).  It seems extremely unlikely that Lovie Smith would want to head into the new year with such an inexperienced group.  So why the end of Benson in a Bears jersey isn’t quite over yet, it is nearly a sure thing the his leash just got that much shorter.  Until next time, keep your mind on the fine side.

1. Miami- Jake Long, OL Michigan (No shit, already happened)

2. St. Louis- Chris Long, DE Virginia

3. Atlanta- Glen Dorsey, DT LSU

4. Oakland- Vernon Gholston, DE Ohio St.

5. Kansas City- Brandon Albert, OL Virginia

6. NY Jets- Darren McFadden, RB Arkansas

7. New England- Derrick Harvey, DE Florida

8. Baltimore- Matt Ryan, QB Boston College

9. Cincinnati- Sedrick Ellis, DT USC

10. New Orleans- Leodis McKelvin, CB Troy

11. Buffalo- Mike Jenkins, CB South Florida

12. Denver- Malcom Kelly, WR Oklahoma

13. Carolina- Ryan Clady, OT Boise St.

14. Chicago- Chirs Williams, OT Vanderbilt

15. Detroit- Rashard Mendenhall, RB Illinois

16. Ariona- Aqib Talib, CB Kansas

17. Kansas City (From Min)- Phillip Merling, DE Clemson

18. Houston- Jonathan Stewart, RB Oregon

19. Eagles- Jeff Otah, OT Pitt

20. Tampa Bay- Keith Rivers, LB USC

21. Washington- Kenny Phillps, S Maimi FL

22. Dallas- Limas Sweed, WR Texas

23. Pittsburgh- Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, CB Tennessee St.

24. Tennessee- James Hardy, WR Indiana

25. Seattle- Tyrell Johnson, S Arkansas St.

26. Jacksonville- Trevor Laws, DT Notre Dame

27. San Diego- Brandon Flowers, CB Virginia Tech

28. Dallas- Felix Jones, RB Arkansas

29. San Francisco- Quentin Groves, DE Auburn

30. Green Bay-Antonio Cason, CB Ariozna

31. New England- Don’t get to pick because they cheat

32. NY Giants-Dan Connor, LB Penn St.

Big surprise here, but this week’s recipient(s) are hard to dispute after one of the most memorable Super Bowls in recent years, but I had to go with the real MVP for the Giants, the entire defensive line.  I really don’t know how else to describe this other than Michael Strahan and company manhandled a strong Patriots offensive line and beat the living crap out of Tom Brady.  In fact I’m not sure the pain would have been less severe if Justin Tuck had Brady in a back alley with a crowbar in his hand.  In addition some big news just broke earlier today that really pays out for New York.  Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo showed us Sunday how good he is at designing a game plan, and was instantly the head candidate for the Washington Redskins head coaching position.  Spagnuolo turned down the Skins, now has a raise from the G-Men.  Factor that in, one more year under Eli’s belt, and a healthy Jeremy Shockey returning next year and the success could be big.  I know I’m in the extreme minority when I say this, but the Giants are more likely to be in Super Bowl XLIII than New England.

THE IGLOO

Usually when I screw up in life I try to use the Homer Simpson philosophy, “If I didn’t see it then its not illegal.  Unfortunately not many missed Pats head man Bill Belichick heading off the field with a second left in Sunday’s contest.  In no way am I buying into his excuse that he “thought” the game was over, even when the video clearly shows the officials trying to tell Belicheck that the game was not yet completed.  If this was anyone else I truly believe it would have been as big of a deal as when Randy Moss walked off the field early a few years ago while still a member of the Vikings.  Even in the heat of the loss, you stay out there with the rest of your team and take it like a man, and Belicheck’s inability to do just that showed immaturity and gave the rest us just one more reason to hate him as much as he is.  For as great of a coach as he is I truly hope that one day when his time in the NFL is over, he will look back on all of this and realize how much of an embarrassment he really is.    THE GOLD STAR There are seriously a million different ways I could go with this title for the week, so I decided to make Alan happy and bust out a hockey reference.  Yes, for many the NHL is an after thought, but you had to appreciate the performance that Washington Capital Alexander Ovechkin put up a week ago in a victory over the Canadians.  Despite suffering a broken nose in the first period he stayed in the game (because he’s a hockey player), and took the game over scoring 4 times including the game winner in overtime.  Now I know all the freaks that call it hockey sweaters go Ga-Ga over Sidney Crosby because of his abilities to set up a score, but if the league wants to grow anytime soon, why is there not more love for Ovechkin.  I mean no disrespect to Crosby, but A-O is the type of player that can be marketed since he’s a guy that score anytime he touches the puck, and we are a country that goes nuts over every point scored.  Now it could be argued that if he played in a city that had more passion for sports it would help because Washington does not care.  As sad as it is, games like last week won’t be foreign to Ovechkin, but sadly most us will never know about it.  Until next time, keep your mind on the fine side of life. 

I mean just think about, instead of a deadly monster say we have an absolute freak of dominance, or in this case the New England Patriots.  The Patriots walk around destroying everything and everyone in their path, and just one bite can make helpless citizens explode.  Then you have J.J. Abrams, the mastermind behind Cloverfield who created something so unique, and at the same time would never spill any secrets of his creation.  Only that instead of Abrams, we have asshole aficionado Bill Belicheck.  The coach designs this masterpiece and knows exactly where to attack his opponents in order to attain success.  And where do we see the monster attacking……..New York.  Who do the Patriots play in the Super Bowl?  Need I say more?

There is a reason that this team is 18-0, they are just as good as advertised, especially on the offensive side of the ball.  It is simply something we have never seen before or anything that comes close to this caliber of dominance.

Now I know what you are thinking, even though the Patriots have won each time they have taken the field, they all haven’t been a coast to victory.  In fact their games with Baltimore, Indianapolis, and Philadelphia all gave a scare to the New England faithful.  To that argument I would like to reference a scene near the end of the film.  When over flying jets started bombing the monster, after taking so many hits it appeared that the monster had fallen to his death.  Of course this only happened as the beast bounced up fully energized just mere seconds later.  Even though there have obstacles during the course of the season, the Patriots have always ended the game victoriously and I expect that trend to continue this Sunday against the Giants.

I apologize if I may have spoiled the game’s result for you, but there are always the commercials to look forward to.  I also wanted to point out a key match-up on each side of the ball.  Keep an eye on Plaxico Burress squaring off with Asante Samuel.  Burress is coming of an incredible performance in the NFC title game, but has been bothered with sore knee all week and it will be interesting how the shut-down corner Samuel will attack.  Also keep an eye on Michael Strahan going up against Matt Light.

OFFICIAL PREDICTION:

Giants    16

Patriots  38

MVP: Asante Samuel.  Yes Brady is the safe pick here but I’m going to be daring here.  Expect Samuel to have 2 interceptions, one returned for a score, but most importantly he will hold Burress to less than five receptions.

Now that I have explained how Cloverfield is a trailer for what to expect in the Super Bowl there’s just one question I have.  What will we make of Cloverfield 2??????

Until next time, keep your mind on the fine side.

THE SIZZELER Is there honestly anyone on this planet that’s playing better than the New Orleans Hornets????  During the time of this current writer’s strike, along with new episodes of The Office, probably the biggest thing that you’ve been missing is the realization of how that team in the Big Easy is currently the proud owner of the best record in the Western conference (32-12).  Chris Paul is simply playing out of his mind ranking among the top of the league in steals and assists, while averaging over 20 points a contest.  I am now convinced that in 2 years Paul will officially replace Jason Kidd as the best all-around point guard in the league.  Forward Tyson Chandler has found new life down south and since leaving Chicago he has shown more consistency on his offensive game which is evident by his 60.6% shooting from the field.  Although despite riding a current league-best 9 game winning streak, the question constantly comes up, are they legit?  It’s fair to question, but after a convincing 24 point victory this past weekend at San Antonio, the Hornets and their 4^th best rated team defense has officially made a believer out of me, and doesn’t show any sign of changing any time soon.

THE IGLOO 

You could call this section today as the response to everyone’s favorite crazy geezer in the NFL, Oakland owner Al Davis.  Last week reports began to surface that Davis was demanding Raiders’ head coach Lane Kiffin to issue his resignation, after questioning Davis’ move of firing Defensive Coordinator Rob Ryan.  Kiffin has since repeatedly denied this ever happened.  Even though we don’t officially know what’s going on in Raider Nation, for the few fans they have left you have to hope Kiffin keeps his job.  If that’s not the case, the Raiders would have their fifth different head coach in the last seven seasons.  Not to mention it could possibly have a negative affect on the growth of QB JaMarcus Russell if forced to learn a different offensive system.  Anyone can see that this is not how a franchise should be run, especially one that showed slight signs of moving in the right direction.  Bottom line, the league needs to get rid of Al Davis.

  THE GOLD STAR I would like to give props to ESPN for an exceptional broadcast of College GameDay from Carbondale this past weekend.  As a proud Saluki it’s very pleasing to see Southern Illinois get some national attention.  Although similar to how the producers had to be feeling, I was a little nervous as the SIU Arena would play host despite owning a 9-10 record heading into Saturday’s contest, but it did not have an affect on the broadcast.  Reese Davis and company did not take shots at the Dawgs for their less than impressive season and overall did a great job showcasing one of the nation’s hidden gems for college basketball.  

Until next time, keep your mind on the fine side of life.

POINSETTIA BOWL: Utah 35, Navy 32

WHAT I LEARNED: At the time I thought this was the first of what would hopefully be many exciting bowl season, only to see than I would eventually be disappointed.  Right now there are three things I can assume: the sun will rise in the east, set in the west, and Utes will win their Bowl game.  After hanging on for their slim 3 point win, that made it 7 straight W’s.  Although one can’t help but wonder if the outcome would have been different if Navy head coach Paul Johnson wouldn’t have taken the Georgia Tech job.  As soon as Navy got down 17-7 in the second half the team’s body language showed the motivation that had been with them all season simply wasn’t there.

NEW ORLEANS BOW: Florida Atlantic 44, Memphis 27

WHAT I LEARNED: You can’t help but to give the Owls a standing ovation after notching victory in their first ever bowl appearance.  FAU benefited from a stellar performance from quarterback Rusty Smith who threw for 336 yards and 5 TD’s, proving that he might be the second best QB playing in the state of Florida right now.  One other note I wanted to pass along was that I couldn’t help but notice that FAU head coach, Howard Schnellenberger looked exactly like the father in the movie Dirty Work.  It was almost as if once he was interviewed after the game concluded and was asked how he felt, part of me was hoping he said, “Oh I’m feeling great, but I’d be a lot better if you gave me a whore.”

PAPAJOHNS.COM BOWL: Cincinnati 31, Southern Miss. 21

WHAT I LEARNED: Despite the fact that the final score would suggest, you had to figure this one was over before it started.  Maybe if Ciny’s Ben Mauk wouldn’t have thrown 3 picks in the first half, the difference might have been larger.  On the other hand it is good to see the Bearcats turning their program around as reached the 10-win plateau for the first time since 1951.

NEW MEXICO BOWL: New Mexico 23, Nevada 0

WHAT I LEARNED:  In what might have been the most impressive performance that you didn’t see as New Mexico basically took Nevada out back and beat the living crap out of them.  The Lobo’s were shined on both sides of the ball as their front 7 gave Wolf Pack QB Colin Kaepernick fits all game, while quarterback Donovan Porterie and running back Paul Baker lead UNM to a season best 548 yards of total offense.

LAS VEGAS BOWL: BYU 17, UCLA 16

WHAT I LEARNED: Eventually we all at some point need to show some sympathy for Karl Dorrell.  After having all the expectations heading into the season, and many projecting 10 wins for the Bruins, the year was tarnished by injury after injury, and eventually Dorrell’s job.  But in the final two minutes it looked like they were going to send their coach out on top a winner by engineering an 87 yard drive.  Of course it only resulted in watching BYU’s Eathyn Manumaleuna block a potential game winning field goal try as time expired.  OUCH!

HAWAII BOWL: East Carolina 41, Boise St. 38

WHAT I LEARNED:  It’s safe to say that this was one result that nobody outside of Greenville saw coming, but ECU’s Chris Johnson stole the show by setting an NCAA Bowl record with 408 all-purpose yards.  It was hard for the Broncos to get back into the game after Ian Johnson left after just one carry, and Taylor Tharp’s inability to hang onto the football.  In fact had it not been for some careless Pirate turnovers late in the game the score would not have been as close.  Not even the Statue of Liberty could have saved them.

MOTOR CITY BOWL: Purdue 51, Central Michigan

WHAT I LEARNED:  Consider this just one of the very many reasons that the Big Ten was having an off year as they couldn’t even pick up even a comfortable win over the lowly Chippewas.  I’m just glad that Purdue got their win so now their fans can go back into their dark caves until they start 3-0 next season so they start demanding respect.  Nobody respects you because you haven’t had a good team since Drew Brees left.  On the one positive of this game it was a solid showing from CMU quarterback Dan LeFevour who threw for 292, ran for 114, while totaling 6 scores.  If this continues you can almost call him a very poor man’s Vince Young.

HOLIDAY BOWL: Texas 52, Arizona St. 34

WHAT I LEARNED:  Traditionally this is one of my favorite games to watch since the match up is annually intriguing and most of the time the game lives up to the hype.  However this year, like several times in the past the representative from the Pac-10 showed up and laid an egg.  I could talk about the strength of Texas but I don’t want to because despite putting 52 on the board, it could not have been done in a sloppier fashion.  One of the bigger storylines to arise was UT assistant Chris Jessie was flagged for inadvertently stepped onto the field and touched a live ball.  Later we would all learn that Jessie is actually the stepson of head coach Mack Brown.  Does that sound messed up to anyone else?  If you want to live up to the expectations of competing for a title every year why don’t you put coaches on your staff that actually know what they are doing rather than just taking care of your own family.  At the same time if you really want to put someone ridiculous like that on your staff than just name Matthew McConaughey an assistant.  He’s always on the sidelines anyway and I’m willing to bet he won’t run on the field.

CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL: Boston College 24, Michigan St. 21

WHAT I LEARNED:  The only way I can categorize this game is more of a Spartan loss than an Eagles win.  MSU junior quarterback Brian Hoyer picked a bad time for his worst game of the year as he posted season lows in yards (131) and completion percentage (38.6), while throwing a season-high 4 interceptions, including one in the final minutes preventing a Spartan comeback.  On a lighter note, Matt Ryan put up a solid showing in his final game tossing 3 TD’s.

HOUSTON BOWL: TCU 20, Houston 13

WHAT I LEARNED:  Based on the fact that this game was on the NFL Network for some ridiculous reason, if you watched it then congratulations!  You clearly like college football more than I do.

EMERALD BOWL: Oregon St. 21, Maryland 14

WHAT I LEARNED:  Beavers were victoriously thanks to a gutsy outing from running back Yvenson Bernard who carried the ball 38 times for 177 yards and a touchdown.  Bernard ended his career at 3,862 which puts him 6^th on the conference’s all-time list.  Bottom line he’s just another reason why the running back position will have plenty of depth in the upcoming draft.

MEINEKE CAR CARE BOWL: Wake Forest 24, UCONN 10

WHAT I LEARNED:  I’ve been saying all season that UCONN has been tremendously overrated, and did you know that if you listen very carefully you can hear Louisville fans complaining about the phantom fair-catch.  In some sense justice has been served by the fact that they simply can’t score if their lives depended on it.  Also Wake’s Jim Grobe is simply a likeable guy.

LIBERTY BOWL: Mississippi St. 10, Central Florida 3

WHAT I LEARNED:  The fact that MSU was even back in the bowl picture was such a feel-good story that we may have slightly over-looked how good the defense was.  The Bulldog “D” was able to do something that nobody had done in a while, which was slow down UCF’s Kevin Smith.  In his previous 5 games he rushed for 1,000 yards.  It’s too bad that he will not return for his senior season because I think there might have been a slim outside shot at a Heisman for him.

ALAMO BOWL: Penn St. 24, Texas A&M 17

WHAT I LEARNED:  Prior to this game at an Aggie pep-rally, A&M cheerleaders started declaring that Joe Paterno was on his deathbed and it was time to put him to sleep. Seriously when will you people learn that nobody messes with Joe Pa.  The man has made more comebacks than Sly Stallone, and that’s without looking like a moron in the new Rambo movie.

INDEPENDENCE BOWL: Alabama 30, Colorado 24

WHAT I LEARNED:  I’m still honestly puzzled as to how Colorado even got into a Bowl game.  This is why we can’t have a playoff?!?!?!?  So sub-par teams like the Buffs can play one more game?  The only real significance behind this game was that it prevented Bama from finishing the year on a five game skid.  It really sounds Nick Saban is really earning that 4mill/year.

ARMED FORCES BOWL: Cal 42, Air Force 36

WHAT I LEARNED: Even though it seems odd to see AFA lose a bowl with that title in it.  Other than that I really want to know where the hell Cal’s offense has been hiding the whole time and why it took 2 months to reappear.

HUMANIARIAN BOWL: Fresno St. 40, Georgia Tech 28

WHAT I LEARNED: In everyone’s favorite game played on blue turf, and for once FSU head coach Pat Hill can finally walk off with a smile on his face after his club racked up 571 yards of offense.  All though part of me is a bit confused why Tech a banded the run as early as it did (161 yds, 4.0 avg).  One stat that did stand out to was that both teams were very efficient on 3^rd down combining 18-27 (66.7%).

SUN BOWL: Oregon 56, South Florida 21

WHAT I LEARNED:  It was too long ago when USF was ranked 2^nd in the initial BCS rankings, now look how far they have fallen since then.  In the case for Oregon, when Dennis Dixon went down with a torn ACL it was clear that the Ducks were no longer the same team and that showed as they ended the regular season with losses against Arizona, UCLA, and Oregon St.  But when it came time for bowling they did the one thing they should have done the whole time- get the ball to Jonathan Stewart.  The junior set the tone for the Ducks as he rushed for 253 yards on 20 carries, now he looks to take that momentum into the next level.

MUSIC CITY BOWL: Kentucky 35, Florida St. 28

WHAT I LEARNED:  Obviously all the talk heading into this game was how 36 Seminole players, which included half of the team’s starting line-up was suspended for the game as a result of an online music class fiasco.  With that being said it would have been easy to assume a blowout.  That’s why I have to tip the cap to Coach Bowden who got his team playing inspired football that hung with the Wildcats the entire time and very realistically could have pulled off the upset.  Andre’ Woodson walked off with game MVP honors for tossing 4 TD’s, and I have come to the conclusion that at the next level he will be a very solid starter at the position.  He might not ever make the Pro Bowl or win a title, but I truly believe he has all the tools to have a good career.

INSIGHT BOWL: Oklahoma St. 49, Indiana 33

WHAT I LEARNED:  Well even before this game kicked off it would have been easy to tell these teams apart (insert your own Mike Gundy joke here).  When it came to game time it was all about whose playmakers showed up and whose did not.  The Cowboys got an inspiring game from young sophomore quarterback Zac Robinson who manufactured over 370 total yards and 5 touchdowns in just his 11^th career start.  On the other side the Hoosiers were unable to get the ball to wide out James Hardy who only caught 5 balls for 50 yards.

CHICK-FIL-A BOWL: Auburn 23, Clemson 20 (OT)

WHAT I LEARNED:  Slowly but surely this bowl is giving the Holiday Bowl a run for the title of my favorite pre-January game because these games have been pretty close and because some of the last few games in San Diego have been atrocious.  If you were Tommy Bowden you would have to start storming around your home demanding to know what it is going to take to finally win a bowl game.  I was extremely intrigued based on the fact that Auburn revamped their offense into more of a spread formation for this game.  Tommy Tuberville knows what he is doing most of the time but I think he even knows that if the spread is in Auburn’s future than Brandon Cox is not the answer at QB.

OUTBACK BOWL: Tennessee 21, Wisconsin 17

WHAT I LEARNED:  The Vols proved to be superior in the same bowl game that they were unable to win last year thanks to a heavy load from Eric Ainge who completed 25 of 43 passes for 365 yards and a pair of touchdowns.  The win also gave UT their first 10 win season in four seasons.  Hopefully now the critics will get off Phillip Fulmer’s back.

COTTON BOWL: Missouri 38, Arkansas 7

WHAT I LEARNED: After getting cheated out of a BCS bid, the verdict was out as to how the Tigers would respond.  The funny thing is if I told you that Chase Daniel would fail to toss a touchdown it would be safe to say the Razorbacks had their way, however that wasn’t the case as Mizzou showed just how strong their offense really is thanks to the Tony Temple Show (24 carries, 281 yards, 4 TD’s).

GATOR BOWL: Texas Tech 31, Virginia 28

WHAT I LEARNED:  In what just might have been the most exciting 4^th quarter as Tech had some tough defense to get the ball back time after time.  Even though it was in a losing effort, words cant explain how amazing it is to watch Chris Long play for UVA, and it could be the same in the NFL.

CAPITAL ONE BOWL: Michigan 41, Florida 35

WHAT I LEARNED: The best ever use of the “Win one for the Gipper” motivation as Michigan was able to send Coach Lloyd Carr out a winner thanks to an offense that put 524 total yards.  In a lot of ways it reminded of that one scene in Major League 2 when Jake Taylor used that one win one for Lou speech.  Only switch Carr with Lou, Taylor with Rich Rodriguez, and the fact that they were actually playing football not baseball.  One other note to pass along is this marks the third straight year the Heisman winner ends his season with a bowl loss.

ROSE BOWL: USC 49, Illinois 17

WHAT I LEARNED:  I can’t really say that I learned anything because I said from the beginning that this type of result was going to happen and that Illinois clearly didn’t belong to in this game.  Mostly I wish I could leave this spot blank for all the high ego Illini fans who were over optimistic from the day this game was announced.  Although I would say that I was very impressed with the play at the running back position on both sides.  Rashard Mendenhall showed that he does have the skills to play at the next level, and Joe Mcknight could be a better form of Reggie Bush in the making.

SUGAR BOWL: Georgia 41, Hawaii 10

WHAT I LEARNED:  So the BCS novelty was not nearly as successful as last year but let’s be honest and realize that Georgia can make a very strong argument for claiming to be the best team in the nation.  Don’t’ forget had Kentucky knocked off Tennessee in the final week of the season then the Bulldogs would have had a shot at LSU in the SEC title game.  As for Hawaii I’m not so sure that Colt Brennan wouldn’t have had a better showing than if he were in bed.  The truth is that his offensive line has always been suspect, but with the schedule he has gone up against this year it would be hard to tell.  Bottom line I think we should all read into the fact that June Jones bolted the islands to go to SMU, because this is the best Hawaii will ever be and it still wasn’t anywhere near being able to compete.

FIESTA BOWL: West Virginia 48, Oklahoma 28

WHAT I LEARNED:  At some point we really need to start taking the Mountaineers seriously.  Blame them all you want for not taking care of business against Pitt to end the year but it wouldn’t be too far fetch to think this guys would have given LSU a bigger fight because they have an abundance of speed up and down the roster.  As critical as I’ve been calling Pat White overrated, against some big time competition he has officially made a believer out of me with his 2-0 BCS record.

ORANGE BOWL: Kansas 24, Virginia Tech 21

WHAT I LEARNED: Speaking of being proven wrong……….  It still pains me to write this portion out but the time has come for me to eat my words.  I was wrong about the Jayhawks and they shut me up with a win where they flat out punched the Hokies in the mouth.  Having said, I still believe this bid should have gone to Missouri, but it is clear that I simply have not given this team enough credit.  Aqib Talib is by far one of the bigger playmakers in the nation playing on the defensive side of the ball, and Todd Reesing isn’t exactly a stand out passer but he fits their system well taking what opposing defenses give him and does an excellent job managing the game.  There Bob I did it now get off my back.

INTERNATIONAL BOWL: Rutgers 52, Ball St. 30.

WHAT I LEARNED:  With Ray Rice finding the end zone four times on 280 yards rushing wasn’t exactly a surprise.  I think it was more noteworthy that Ball State was able to hang 30 on the board which is impressive for a MAC school to do against a Top-25 caliber team.  We got some early signs of this earlier when the Cardinals nearly knocked off Nebraska in Lincoln, but it was easy to look past that seeing how bad the Huskers really were.

GMAC BOWL: Tulsa 63, Bowling Green 7

WHAT I LEARNED:  I really don’t know how else to put this than to say that there is too many Bowl games because under no circumstance should anyone lose by that margin.

BCS CHAMPIONSHIP: LSU 38, Ohio St. 24.

WHAT I LEARNED:  Aside from all the parameters that took place in the game I have never spent an ending to a season before with such an empty feeling because I don’t know if I honestly know who the best team in the nation is.  LSU deserves to be in the talk, but so does Georgia, and USC.  Bottom line we need a playoff now more than ever.  Don’t give me the excuses that the kids can be pulled away from their academics when at the same time schools in the lower divisions have been doing it for years.  I don’t care if it consists of 4,8, or 16 teams but something needs to be done.

And with that we finally close the book on the college football season, until next time, keep your mind on the fine side.