Week 1 of college football was all it was wrapped up to be. There were high scores and upsets, and #1 Georgia was replaced atop the polls by USC. Although there are no top 25 head to head matchups  in week 2, there are plenty of good football games on the schedule. Here are four headlines you might see in your Sunday newspaper:

Pirates BCS Ship Still Sailing

East Carolina made some noise in week 1 with their victory over then #17 Virginia Tech (as predicted by JIB Picks). This week the Pirates are confident as West Virginia comes to town, but the Mountaineers have won 7 straight over them. The Mountaineers are equipped with the dangerous tandem of quarterback Pat White and running back Steve Slaton. Wait a minute…Slaton left for the NFL, which leaves the Mountaineers lacking in offense. Not to mention, in their victory over Villanova they surrendered almost 400 yards. “So you’re saying there’s a chance that the Pirates can pull this one off?” YES!!

Smelley Stinks as Gamecocks Lose

South Carolina looked impressive in their week 1 victory over lowly NC State, emphasis on “lowly.” The Gamecocks will face their first challenge this week as they travel to Vanderbilt. It was the Commodores that sent the Gamecocks season into a nose dive after they knocked them off 17-6 at South Carolina. If anything, the Commodores will have a psychological edge, plus home field advantage. Quarterback Chris Smelley will be getting his first start of the year, but he has to face a team that held him to a measly 150 yards passing in their last meeting and two interceptions. Look for Vanderbilt to be a spoiler…again.

Who’s the hottest team in the state of Michigan? It’s not Michigan (for obvious reason) or Michigan State. These guys play in the ‘Little House’ instead, it’s Central Michigan. Georgia has the luxury of no longer have the #1 target on their backs anymore, but expect the Chippewas to give the Bulldogs all they can handle. Georgia will win and dash any thoughts Central Michigan had of crashing the BCS, but a solid performance by quarterback Dan LeFevour will further bolster his Heisman campaign. 

Gators Prevail in Renewed Rivalry

It’s been almost 5 years since the Gators and ‘Canes have clashed, 5 years!! What adds to this on and off again rivalry is that Florida has not been on the winning end for 23 years. 23 years!! So what I’m saying with emphasizing Florida’s winning drought is that Florida has a lot to win, A LOT!! Perhaps it was Miami who put an end to their rivalry after they foresaw the demise of their then head coach Larry Coker and their imminent rebuilding which would take place afterwards. Maybe Miami saw 2008 as the first year they would be back on the upswing. If they did, they are smarter than I think. Miami’s only flaw with that strategy is that they forgot to take into consideration that Florida would be on the upswing as well. The Gators will put an end to all losing streaks and start a streak of their own. Next year we will talk about how Florida hasn’t lost to Miami in 1 year, 1 year!!

JIB Picks

Week 1: 22-2 (Alabama and Bowling Green spoiled a perfect week)

Week 2: #1 USC (Bye) / #2Georgia - Central Michigan / #3 Ohio State - Ohio / #4 Oklahoma – Cincinnati / #5 Florida – Miami / #6 Missouri – Missouri State / #7 LSU – Troy /  / #8 West Virginia – East Carolina / #9 Auburn – Southern Miss / #10 Texas – UTEP /  #11 Wisconsin – Marshall / #12 Texas Tech – Nevada / #13 Kansas -Louisiana Tech  / #15 Arizona State – Stanford / #15 BYU – Washington / #17 South Florida – Central Florida / #18 Oregon – Utah State / #19 Penn State – Oregon State / #20 Wake Forest – Ole Miss / #21 Fresno State (Bye) / #22 Utah – UNLV / #23 UCLA (Bye) / #24 Illinois – Eastern Illinois / #25 South Carolina – Vanderbilt

ESPN Game Previews

Running back LaDainian Tomlinson would be a wise choice with your #1 pick.

The NFL season is upon us which means that one more thing is inching closer, the beginning of Fantasy Football. What started out as a fun game, has turned into a revolution. Fantasy Football with the NFL has become as synonymous as blackjack with Vegas. The interesting thing about it is that much like blackjack, there is skill involved, but whether you win or not is based more on luck. What was obscure a few years ago is now out in the forefront with numerous sports websites that promote starting your own fantasy team and league with friends. Not only that, but there are also websites and TV programs dedicated to lending advice and strategy about Fantasy Football. 

The most crucial part of Fantasy Football is your Fantasy Draft. Just like those nerds we all make fun of that play with Magic cards and have an assmebly of favorite Pokémon, Fantasy Football participants can draft their favorite players and assembly their own dream team. When I participated in my first draft I felt like a real general manager assembling my own ultimate team, I was that into it. I learned that maybe it’s not so easy to be a general manger. In a typical fantasy league you will have:1 starting quarterback, 2 starting running backs, 2 wide receivers, 1 starting tight end, 1 placekicker, 1 optional offensive starter and 1 defense. Each position is awarded points for certain stats. Common advise is to take a running back with your first pick, but I went against the grain and selected a quarterback. I thought I drafted a pretty decent team, but my starting quarterback stunk, and one my starting running back got injured. To add to my humiliation my place kicker earned the most points on my team. Needless to say, I didn’t compete in my league. 

Fantasy Football is ingenious! If it’s purpose was to attract new fans and increase ratings then it had succeeded. If you ever hear a fan rooting for their arch-rival team to do good, you don’t need to ask them what they are doing, you will already know….Fantasy Football. 

Start You Own Fantasy Football Team: NFL.com /  ESPN / Yahoo

Fantasy Football Tips: Tipcentral / Fox Sports / FF Toolbox

Growing up I was different from other kids, I played golf. When I was younger, golf was not nearly as popular as it is today. When I was in elementary school my father helped me build my own set of clubs, they were ‘Dukes.’ In middle school I got a new set, they were perfect for me, later I learned they were women’s clubs… I remember going on many golf outings with my father and two of his co-workers, Buck and George. Buck and George were both older guys, George was as skinny as a beanpole and Buck was was a larger squatty man. I remember once George told Buck that he would give him his pants if Buck hit a longer drive than him. Buck hit his ball way past George and grinned at him saying, “Honestly George, what the hell am I supposed to do with a pair of your pants? Wear them on my right leg?” It was with those three men I learned the rules and etiquette of golf, they taught me to love the game. Leave the rake on the outside edge of the bunker, the furthest person out putts first, the person with the best score on the previous hole tees off first, NEVER step in somebody’s putting line or have your shadow in their way, if you enter a hazard you drop the ball where it entered the hazard, if someone is on the fringe of the green you leave the flagstick in the cup, and lastly, if you accidentally tap your ball off your tee just tee it back up, “nobody saw it.” I only received one formal lesson, but they all gave me pointers and tips that helped tremendously. Keep your head down, bend your knees, keep your left arm straight, keep your wrist stiff, follow through your swing, hit before your ball when you’re in bunkers, and don’t try to kill the ball. The one thing I always struggled with was that they were all much better than me, then my father taught me, “you are only competing against yourself. Not me, not Buck, not George, just yourself. I began to appreciate how difficult it was to be good at golf and how as physical the game was, it was also psychological.

David Duval lines up a putt with his sunglasses nestled tightly on the back of his head.

When we weren’t on the course, we were watching golf, to this day golf is watched religously every Sunday. I learned to emulate great players like Fred Couples, Davis Love III, and David Duval. Duval was my favorite, I emulated his swing, I got sunglasses like his, and I put them on the back of my head when I putted just like him. It was all peachy and then something came along that changed the face of the game forever, hybrid woods. I’m kidding, it was Tiger Woods. When Tiger started on tour golf became almost trendy, more people watched golf, more people played golf and public courses started getting thrashed by ignorant fools who thought golf was just about hitting a little white ball into a white cup with some slanted whacking sticks. To this day, however; there are still the people that say “golf is so boring.” I ask them, “do you play golf.” most of them don’t and if they do they stink. It takes a mediocre golfer to appreciate the great ones that play on Sunday. It takes a good golfer to point out what the great ones do wrong when they mess up. With all the new technology, it makes it easier to learn the game and appreciate the intricacies involved with it. After following golf for over a decade, there is something relatively new that I have never had explained to me properly. It’s not because everyone has their own interpretations, it’s just that nobody knows. I’m not talking about Jesper Parnevik’s weird fashions, I’m talking about the FedEx Cup.

Two years ago the PGA incorporated the FedEx Cup. I believe it’s purpose was two-fold. First, it encouraged golfers to play in more tournaments because points were awarded for every tournament played in. Second, it gave more excitement to the end of the season instead of having the interest of golf fans fade after the PGA Championship, which is the last major tournament. After some research it’s still a little vague, all I gather is that it consists of four tournaments at the end of the year. With each tournament the field shrinks. The top 144 compete in week 1, the top 120 from that tournament in week 2, the top 70 from those two tournaments combined in week 3, and the top 30 from those 3 tournaments get to play in the final event, the BMW Championship. Some team of nerds that can get their fingers out of Chinese finger traps in seconds and do Rubik’s cube in minutes came up with a point system for each finishing spot in each tournament. Did it dawn on any of them that this isn’t fun for the fans because they can’t compute the scores unless they have a calculator or a posh abacus in front of them? Why does it need to be so complex? Why can’t they make it like golf scoring? It would only sense, the higher you finish the fewer points you receive, the lowest score wins! The PGA tour could use a little of my advise: keep it simple, keep it fun, and you will keep the attention of your loyal fans.