In week 8, London hosted it’s second NFL game in as many years. The New Orleans Saints (who were technically the home team) beat the San Diego Chargers. Besides the few fans who looked like they were from the States (they had ridiculous outfits and face paint), there were a lot of confused spectators in the stadium. I guess Americans watching a squash match would draw a similar comparison, or Americans watching an Arena Football game. After week 8, we know two more things for certain in this topsy turvy NFL season:

Long Snappers Do Make a Difference

Giants WR Amani Toomer picked up a key first down en route to the Giants 21-14 victory over the Steelers on Sunday.

Whenever someone scans an injury roster for each game, the focus goes to the skill position players (the “Fantasy” players, if you may). I highly doubt anyone looked at the injury roster for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday and noticed that their starting long snapper Greg Warren was listed. Steelers fans for certain will take notice after what happened on Sunday when their team was holding onto a 14-12 lead over the New York Giants. Steelers replacement long snapper James Harrison flung the football 5 yards over the head of punter Mitch Berger and into the end zone for a safety, tying the game at 14 and opening the door for the Giants to win the game. The long snapper is kind of like the holder on field goals, it’s a thankless position. They are kind of like the janitor that replaces the urinal cakes, his job is very vital and nobody notices the good work he does until he messes up. A couple more thankless positions in the NFL include the kid that runs out on the field to grab the kicker’s tee after a kickoff and the guys that squirt water into the players mouths, as if football players can’t squirt water into their own mouths. I guess it’s just one of those luxuries that few people will ever understand, similar to how NBA players have to have grade school towel boys put their warm up jackets on their shoulders when they go to the bench. You never know, someone might forget how to wear one and try to put their feet through the arm holes. Those towel boys have saved Shaquille O’Neal a lot of public embarrassment and shame. 

Bengals WR Chad Ochocinco was giddy after the game and he got a juice box.

Lions Have a New Challenger

Just when you thought that things couldn’t get worse for the Cincinnati Bengals it does. Right now it’s to the point that you can almost see that the Bengals aren’t trying very hard. They almost look like elementary aged pee-wee football players, I think I saw Chad Ochocinco sitting on the ground and picking grass. He was pouting because he didn’t want to wait until the end of the game to get his treat and juice box. WIth so much talent on the offensive side of the ball, the Bengals are a disgrace. The Bengals rank last in scoring (13 points/game) and yards per game (229). All of a sudden the Detroit Lions aren’t looking like the supreme candidate to go winless and match the ‘76 Buccaneers. It’s amazing that Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis isn’t on the hot seat. I guess that the people and management in Cincinnati are so used to losing that they’ve become pacified to the thought of winning. It’s too bad that the Detroit Lions don’t play the Bengals this year, that game might have had more emotion than the Super Bowl. I wonder how much advertisers would have paid to air a 30-second commercial during that game…

Most years the battle for Texas would be between the Longhorns and Aggies, but not this year. Enter the Red Raiders, the team everyone loves to doubt, but they keep on winning. Coming off of an impressive win on the road at Kansas, the Red Raiders welcome the Longhorns to their house. Texas is averaging about 46 points/game and Texas Tech is averaging about 48. This game should be touted the “Yellow House River Shootout.” Here’s a few headlines that will more than likely be in your newspapers sports section on Sunday: 

‘Hogs Spoil Tulsa’s Perfect Season

Tulsa will face it's toughest challenge this week, which isn't much, or so they think.

Arkansas has one of the most dysfunctional athletic departments in the NCAA. They hired their current head coach Bobby Petrino away from the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons only weeks after Petrino said he was going nowhere. The Razorbacks have struggled greatly this year, they started by narrowly edging two 1AA schools by a combined total of five points. Since those two victories the Razorback have lost five of their last six. Their only win in that stretch was against a lowly Auburn team. Tulsa, on the other hand, is having a great season and Arkansas is being labeled as their “toughest game of the year.” If the Golden Hurricanes toughest game is against a team that is 3-5, then it makes it very difficult to make a judgement on how good these kids really are. It will be much easier though when they lose. 

Golden Bears Maul Ducks

I think they call it “Conference Cannibalism.” Well, maybe they don’t, but we do. Conference Cannibalism is what starts happening this time of year when conference play starts and teams thin each other out. This contest with Oregon and Cal will be a perfect example. Another PAC-10 team has snuck into the top 25 again (a couple weeks ago it was Cal), but they will be knocked right out after getting beat by a lesser conference opponent. The only way to correct this problem would be to have designated losers in each conference, Washington and Washington State would be the designated losers in the PAC-10.  

Utes and Horned Frogs Get Scares

Utah WR Bradon Godrey and the Utes have been putting lots of point on the board, can the continue the trend in Albuquerque?

There is a lot of parody in the Mountain West Conference. You don’t see a lot of ridiculously long streaks of wins or losses in conference play. The Utes will be taking their unbeaten record to New Mexico, where they were defeated on their last visit. Although most of the Utes’ wins have been lopsided, their offense has struggled fumbling the ball and not being consistent. The Lobos have a small, but tough defense that will keep the Utes on the ropes. TCU will head to Las Vegas to play a UNLV team that is hitting strides on offense, they outgained offensive powerhouse BYU last week in a loss. The Rebels defense is a little suspect, but the one thing to pay attention to is how UNLV will respond at home to the Horned Frogs’ quick and physical defense. If all the players on the Horned Frog’s defense tied one hand behind their backs, would still be better than the defense the Rebels faced last week. 

Bulls Still Not Seeing Red

A week after falling to the Louisville Cardinals, the South Florida Bulls are going to drop another to the Cincinnati Bearcats. Eerily similar to last week’s game, the Bulls should win this game from a statistical standpoint; however, this game will be in Cincinnati and the Bulls have not performed their best on the road. It’s going to be a nippy 60 degrees on Saturday in Ohio, which is perfect football weather for most, but not for teams from southern Florida. You might see the Bulls pulling out their winter coats and hand warmers while the Bearcats sit in front of cool air fans. South Florida may be surrendering their “Top Dawg” crown in the Big East. 

Georgia Tech is hoping their option offense with help them beat the Seminoles this weekend.

JIB Picks

Week 9: 14-6 / Overall: 139-29

Week 10: #1 Texas – #5 Texas Tech / #2 Alabama - Arkansas State / #3 Penn State (Bye) / #4 Oklahoma - Nebraska / #6 USC – Washington / #7 Florida – #8 Georgia / #9 Utah – New Mexico / #10 Oklahoma State – Iowa State / #11 Boise State – New Mexico State / #12 TCU - UNLV / #13 Ohio State (Bye) / #14 Missouri – Baylor / #15 LSU – Tulane / #16 Florida State – Georgia Tech / #17 BYU – Colorado State / #18 Tulsa – Arkansas / #19 Ball State (Bye) / #20 Minnesota (Bye) / #21 Michigan State – Wisconsin / #22 North Carolina (Bye) / #23 South Florida - Cincinnati / #24 Oregon - Cal / #25 Maryland (Bye)

The Western Conference has been dominant over the Eastern Conference during the regular season, but have not faired well in the Finals. Perhaps it is because the road is a lot tougher for teams in the West and they are so beat up by the time they make it through the first three rounds of the playoffs. Some people will say it’s a trend that will sway back in favor of the Eastern Conference with time. Trend or not, the NBA needs to look into amending the playoffs to the best 16 teams in the NBA, the West would probably fill 10-12 of those spots. With that in mind, here are 15 questions to ask the teams in the Western Conference before the season starts:

Will Bynum help the Lakers as much as many say he will?

(1) Dallas Mavericks – How will Josh Howard handle the ‘boo birds?” Home video of Mavericks forward Josh Howard disrespecting the US National Anthem spread on the internet as fast as the latest Tina Fey’s impersonations of Sarah Palin. Howard will now be booed just as bad as Kobe is in Denver (where he was charged of raping a girl).

(2) Denver Nuggets – Can the Nuggets keep it together? The Nuggets play strictly on emotion. When things are good, they are really good. When things are bad, they turn into little boys playing recreational basketball and start crying over someone “reaching in.” If you want to get the Nuggets on the ropes, just get them upset and they will dig their own graves. 

(3) Golden State Warriors - Who’s going to run your “Nellie” ball? With Baron Davis leaving in the off-season and Monta Ellis crashing his scooter, the Warriors are thin at point guard. In all honesty though, Don Nelson’s run and gun offense really doesn’t need a point guard, their only set play is to take a shot with 14 seconds left on the shot clock. 

(4) Houston Rockets – Can Yao and McGrady stay healthy? When Yao Ming and Tray McGrady are healthy, they pose major match-up problems for any team. Take one of them away and they become one-dimensional. The addition of Ron Artest makes the Rockets an even tougher defensive team. All they need is to get out of the first round.

(5) Los Angeles Clippers – Will Baron be worth it? For just about a day there were fans all over Clippers Nation (which is Billy Crystal and a bunch of nobodys) excited that they might finally compete with the Lakers, then Elton Brand signed with the 76ers. Now this team is no better off then the Golden State Warriors, which I guess is still better than last year. 

(6) Los Angeles Lakers - What if Andrew Bynum isn’t the missing piece? All the talk from when he got injured to now just weeks away from his healthy debut with the Lakers, we’ve heard Andrew Bynum is the missing piece. He might disrupt their chemistry, or whatever they have left. 

(7) Minnesota Timberwolves – Will Kevin Love contribute enough? The Timberwolves are rebuilding, which is why they sent Kevin Garnett packing last year. The Timberwolves problem is that they keep starting the rebuilding process with the wrong players. Al Jefferson has been great for them, and hopefully Love will be able to contribute in the middle as well.  

(8) Memphis Grizzlies – Will O.J. Mayo contribute enough? The Grizzlies are almost in the the identical boat as Minnesota. They sent Pau Gasol packing last year and have been rebuilding for years now. With O.J. Mayo and Rudy Gay teaming up in the front court they are hoping it will be the start of something good.  

(9) New Orleans Hornets – How much will Posey help? The Hornets are inching ever so close to being a legitimate staying force in the Western Conference, but they want a Championship. Picking up James Posey was a smart move, Championships just seem to follow him wherever he goes.

New scenery and boring jerseys won't change the results for Kevin Durant and his teammates.

(10) Oklahoma City Thunder – Will the new scenery help? Simply put, no. This team is still Kevin Durant and 11 other guys. The front office is soon going to realize how hard it’s going to be to try and convince guys to come play in Oklahoma City, they have bumped Utah out of the top spot on the “places players want to play at least” list. They can reverse that by doing what the Utah Jazz do, win.

(11) Phoenix Suns – Can Shaq keep up? Phoenix made the second worse trade last season in swapping Shawn Marion for Shaquille O’Neal (first was Devin Harris for Jason Kidd). In my opinion, there has never been a trade that impacted the chemistry of a team so much as the Shaq trade. Terry Porter is their new coach, but he’s not going to change anything. 

(12) Portland Trailblazers - Can the Trailblazers gel? Portland had perhaps the youngest and most talented team in the league. Rookie Jerryd Bayless has been nothing short of spectacular, and 2nd year man Greg Oden will add depth at the center position. That’s right, Oden is not a rookie, he was injured his rookie season. There is no red-shirting in the NBA. 

(13) Sacramento Kings – Can the Kings sneak into the playoffs? If the Kings are going to get into the playoffs, they are going to have to sneak in at the #8 spot. There are plenty of teams in the West this year that are rebuilding and haven’t found their identity yet. 

(14) San Antonio Spurs - How much longer can you make a run with your same old geriatrics? Bruce Bowen and Robert Horry are inching ever so closer to the coveted senior citizen discount at the local buffet. Even a balding Manu Ginobili is slowly breaking down, which was clearly evident in the Summer Olympics.

(15) Utah Jazz - Do you really believe Carlos Boozer will re-sign at the end of the year? He told Cleveland he was going tot re-sign with them and then he bolted to the Jazz. The Jazz might end up with nothing for Carlos Boozer for being so naive, the Cavaliers could sympathize with them as Boozer is playing elsewhere.

Forget about the 6-0 Tennessee Titans being the last unbeaten and potentially running the tables toward a 16-0 season. The New England Patriots did that last year, and I’m sure the ‘72 Dolphins (who went 13-0) still pop the champagne when the last unbeaten team loses, all while claiming they are still the only unbeaten team because the ‘07 Patriots didn’t win the Super Bowl. I am more interested to see if the Detroit Lions will break the ‘76 Buccaneers record of going winless all year. We still have 10 more weeks of anticipation, here is what we know after week 7:

Nobody Wants to Carry the Torch

Titans QB Kerry Collins has more than filled the void left by Vince Young.

Never has the NFL had such a collective bunch of teams that just don’t look that impressive from week to week. The way things are panning out, just about anybody has a shot to win the Super Bowl and we are almost half way through the season. Some people may argue that the Tennessee Titans are undefeated, but their quarterback is Grandpa Collins, who’s statistics almost mirror quarterbacks at Air Force and Navy. I wouldn’t call Titans a clear cut contender, but they are a dark horse. The Baltimore Ravens were able to win a Super Bowl with an old n’ busted Trent Dilfer, but their defense was a alot more tough than the one the Titans put on the field (probably because they had more arrests collectively than the Titans). Right behind the Titans are the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Giants, who play this Sunday and are predicted by many to go to the Super Bowl (so much for “America’s Team“). For every team in the upper part of the league, there are just as many teams in the middle part that could beat them on any given Sunday. Perhaps we will see some more separation in the next 4-5 weeks. It’s almost like the Olympic torch relay to Beijing this past summer. Everybody is afraid of carrying the torch because angry people protesting the exploitation of Malaysian children in the fashion industry might tackle them. Actually, that’s on “Zoolander,” whoops…and any NFL player, for that matter, afraid of being tackled by a beanpole, wimpy protestor should be kicked out of the league (except for place kickers and punters).

Mike Nolan is the latest head coach to be given the pink slip.

NFL Coaches Are on Shorter Leashes 

People just aren’t as patient as they used to be. Just this morning someone blazed past me and cut me off, only to slam on his brakes and almost ram the car in front of him. If there ever was a race to the stop light, he won it. Owners and General Managers in the NFL are no different, they want wins and they want them now. If a coach can’t get them wins, then they will find one that can. There are only so many wins to be dished out a year and everybody wants a piece of that pie. The San Francisco 49ers fired head coach Mike Nolan on Monday, making him the third coach to be fired this year (Scott Linehan and Lane Kiffin being the first two). It doesn’t seem that Nolan will be the last one fired before the season’s end, grumbling is also coming from Cincinnati, Kansas City, Cleveland, and Detroit. Might as well throw Dallas in there too, there’s nothing Jerry Jones likes more than to fire people and sign felons when he isn’t getting a Botox.

The BCS rankings are out! If somebody wanted to, they could write a Master’s thesis on the absurdity of the BCS. There is no use in fighting it, kind of like why candy corns and Peeps aren’t sold year-round (Peeps in their original form of bunnies and chicks that is), that’s just the way it is. When you think about it, candy corns and Peeps mirror the BCS, good for a short while and get old pretty quick to the point you don’t want them for a year…

Don't count the Louisville Cardinals out yet, they still have some fight left in them.

Cardinals Wings Aren’t Clipped Yet

South Florida ripped the Big East banner away from Louisville two years ago, and have carried the paultry banner ever since. The Cardinals have looked like they got their wings clipped since former head coach Bobby Petrino left to coach bigger birds in the NFL. They haven’t quite come together under current head coach Steve Kragthorpe, and haven’t had a quarterback to match the output of Brian Brohm. Although the Cardinals will win this game, they aren’t exactly going to seize the banner back, tripping up the banner carrier would be a better description. The Bulls are still the team to beat in the Big ‘L’East until junior quarterback Matt Grothe graduates next year.

Red Raiders Stood Up By Jayhawks

Texas Tech has not played one team in the top 25, which leads you to really question the BCS because the Red Raiders are in the top 8 (just behind USC and Florida, who were defeated by non-ranked teams earlier this year). Okay, we’re not going to go down that road, we all know the BCS is just as valid as half the opinionated articles on Wikipedia. The Red Raiders will face thier first top 25 opponent this year when they play the Kansas Jayhawks Saturday in Lawrence. The Red Raiders are better than the Jayhawks in every statistical category (even scoring defense), but it’s the intangibles that make the difference. The intangibles in this game are: the Red Raiders are off to their hottest start in almost 30 years (which might get to their heads), they are facing their first real challenge (which will get in their heads), and the game is not in Lubbock (which they can convince themselves that it really is in Lubbock, but they’d be crazy in their heads).

Florida State ‘Nole and Void - Gophers Not So Golden at Purdue 

Every week we have a couple teams that scoot into the top 25 and are swept right back out, kind of like a stray cat. This week’s “stray cats” are Florida State and Minnesota. The Seminoles welcome a Virginia Tech team that just got edged by Boston College last week. If there is one thing that is signature about Beamer’s Hokie teams, it’s that they rebound after losses. If you base the Seminoles offense and defense on their stats, you may be a little deceived. The Seminoles were on the cupcake diet the first two weeks and outscored them 115-7. Meanwhile, over at Purdue, the Golden Gophers are going to get a real challenge and ultimately fall. The Boilermakers have not been impressive this year, but they have played teams tough, especially at home. They’ve got to pull one out sometime, and this is their time. Come on guys, do it for Drew Brees! 

Boise State flexed their muscles when they played in a BCS Bowl in 2006, can they do it again this year?

 Broncos Trample Last Viable Challenge

Boise State is in position again to bust the BCS, but if they are going to do it this year they will do it with a freshman quarterback. Broncos QB Kellen Moore hasn’t seemed to be rattled at all this year, most notably he lead his team into Eugene and spanked the Ducks. San Jose State will be the toughest defense the Broncos will face all year, but this is definitely not a hurdle for the Broncos, more like a speed bump. With how weak the WAC has been the past few years, it seems that every year they will have one team crash the BCS. If the Broncos go this year it will be the WAC’s third straight appearance, I guess it’s getting to the point that we can’t call it “crashing” or “busting” the BCS. Word is they are already practicing the “Hook n’ Ladder” and “Statue of Liberty” on the Boise State campus. Boise State will be kings of those two plays forever more, just like how Doug Flutie is the king of the “Hail Mary.” It seems wierd to say ”Boise State did it better,” just as wierd as it will be to say, “President Obama.”

Tulsa has been pouring on points "Hawaii style" and are undefeated, but they aren't getting much love from the polls.

JIB Picks

Week 8: 13-4 / Overall: 125-23

Week 9: #1 Texas – #8 Oklahoma State  / #2 Alabama – Tennessee / #3 Penn State – #10 Ohio State / #4 USC – Arizona / #5 Oklahoma – Kansas State / #6 Texas Tech – #18 Kansas / #7 Florida – Kentucky /  #9 Georgia - #11 LSU / #12 Utah (Bye) / #13 Boise State – San Jose State / #14 South Florida – Louisville / #15 TCU – Wyoming / #16 Missouri – Colorado / #17 BYU - UNLV /  #19 Tulsa – UCF / #20 Pittsburgh – Rutgers / #21 Georgia Tech – Virginia / #22 Ball State – Eastern Michigan / #23 Florida State – Virginia Tech / #24 Northwestern – Indiana / #25 Minnesota – Purdue

-

The Eastern Conference has long been the laughing stock of the NBA. At the end of every year, for quite a while, teams that are ten games below .500 are fighting for playoff spots. On the flip side, the Western Conference has teams that are ten games above .500 that miss the playoffs every year. An ironic, underlying point behind all of this is that two of the last three NBA Champions have come from the Eastern Conference. With that in mind, here are 15 questions to ask the teams in the Eastern Conference before the season starts: 

Can rookie Derrick Rose make an immediate impact on the Bulls?

 (1) Atlanta Hawks - Did you enjoy the playoffs? I sure hope so, because you won’t be going back this year. The Eastern Conference is going to be better this year and you lost one of your best players to Europe… the Hawks are scrambling just to fill roster spots right now.

(2) Boston Celtics - If you start slow, will you blame the coach of the GM? Head Coach Doc Rivers and GM Danny Ainge were goats in 2006, then they assembled a Championship team last year and were geniuses. The “Three Amigos” (Garnett, Allen, and Pierce) will make another run this year if they stay injury-free. 

(3) Charlotte Bobcats - Will Larry Brown make Pistons or Knicks out of you?  Head Coach Larry Brown lead the Detroit Pistons to a pair of Titles, he then tanked with the Knicks. Chances are he will do that with this group of players. The Bobcats have never been to the playoffs, expect that same utterance next year.

(4) Chicago Bulls – Will Rose speed you up or slow you down? The Bulls are lacking at the point, which is why they drafted Derrick Rose with the first pack in the summer draft. His maturation will directly correlate with the success of the Bulls this year.

(5) Cleveland Cavaliers – Is this the year LeBron finally gets some support? One knock on Cleveland is that while LeBron James has been there he has had no supporting cast for him. This year teams might have to rethink triple covering LeBron, he might have players around him capable of making a big shot. 

(6) Detroit Pistons – Can the Pistons get over the hump? The Pistons have made it to three straight Conference Championships and bowed out each and every time. With their head coach Flip Saunders getting fired, the Pistons are hoping that will be the answer. Hopefully they can get to the hump this year. 

(7) Indiana Pacers – Can the Pacers collection of average talent have synergy? Synergy, it’s the only way the Pacers will be successful this year. The Pacers made a lot of off-season moves to collect a lot of talent, but no dominant talent. If the Pacers are going to win, they will have to do it as a team. 

(8) Miami Heat - Will Michael Beasley be a distraction or a help? Michael Beasley has already shown signs he has let the money that comes with the NBA get to his head. He might be one of those talented players that never lives up to his potential. A healthy Dwayne Wade (as showcased in the Summer Olympics) will more than make up for what Beasley doesn’t bring (on the court).

(9) Milwaukee Bucks - Will a disgruntled Jefferson help? Milwaukee traded for Richard Jefferson, much to his dismay. A pouty Richard didn’t even report to the team for days, you have to wonder how much effort he will give. Shawn Marion was equally tiffed when he was moved last season, but he kept playing hard for the Heat.

Will Jermaine O'Neal be the missing piece that Raptors need to make a push in the Playoffs?

(10) New Jersey Nets - Can Carter cope with no success? Vince Carter has earned the reputation of being selfish with the basketball and it will be much easier this year with Richard Jefferson being gone. Selfish or not, the Nets are rebuilding this year, I wouldn’t expect more than 30 wins from them this year.

(11) New York Knicks – How will Mike D’Antoni fair in his first year? With the way D’Antoni bolted Phoenix for another pasteur, you have to wonder what he saw in New York. Obviously more money, but he’s also inheriting a lot of talent that has not formulated into much success the past few years. 

(12) Orlando Magic- How deep can the bench-less Magic go? The front line of the Orlando Magic is so diverse, Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu can go inside or out. Dwight Howard can go in or in further, teams really have no choice. The problem is the Magic have no bench, and their starters can’t play 48 minutes a night, they aren’t Kobe Bryants and Allen Iversons.

(13) Philadelphia 76ers – Will Elton Brand Celticfy the 76ers? The 76ers are hoping that the signing of Elton Brand and resigning of Andre Iguodola will breed as much success as the Celtics big signings last summer. The only problem is Brand is coming off of injury and isn’t what he used to be.

(14) Toronto Raptors – Can Chris Bosh bring winning attitude to Toronto? Chris Bosh was just as happy as the other 11 players on the United States basketball team when they won gold, it was his first feeling of success in professional basketball. If he can exude that to his team, the Raptors could be dangerous. Oh yeah, and they stole Jermaine O’Neal from the Pacers for a injury-prone T.J. Ford.

(15) Washington Wizards –  Can you start good enough to hold on to a playoff spot?  The Wizards will be without franchise guard Gilbert Arenas until at least December. The good thing for the Wizards is they play in the Eastern Conference so they won’t even have to finish above .500 to make the Playoffs. Maybe more people will start to realize the real star on this team in Caron Butler. It takes Butler half the shots to ge the same amount of points as Arenas.

For the first time in many years, we’re almost to the half-point of the season and there are well over 10 teams that could possibly make it to the Super Bowl. America’s Team is struggling, the Patriots are Brady-less and the Colts are just old. We saw a shift in powers in the late 90s when teams like Denver, San Francisco, Green Bay, and Dallas went from relevant to mediocre. Maybe it’s about that time again when the winds of power are swirling and a lot of teams that have been relevant the past 5+ years are being left behind. 

Two Flew Over the Crappy Nest

Falcons QB Matt Ryan is not playing his age.

There are two birds in the NFC that are flying high and exceeding expectations this year, the Falcons and the Cardinals. Both teams were uncertain at quarterback heading into the season, which is usually not an ingredient for success. On top of that, when the Falcons donned Matt Ryan as their starting quarterback, he was the youngest in the league. When the Cardinals tapped Kurt Warner as their starting quarterback, he was the oldest (at the time, now he rivals old farts Kerry Collins and Gus Frerotte). In what is shaping up to be a crazy season in the NFL, the Falcons and Cardinals are both sitting at 4-2 and are playing with a great deal of confidence. Many people are already crowning Matt Ryan the rookie of the year and their coach Mike Smith the Coach of the Year. Wait a second, do the Falcons know they still have to play 10 more games? If they were the Cardinals they might have a little more hope to make such lofty predictions so early, the Cardinals are in the worst conference in the NFL. On a side note, with so many aging quarterbacks getting so much playing time, how much longer will it be until the NFL allows quarterbacks to have Jazzys? 

Browns QB Derek Anderson brought his team back into the AFC picture on Monday night.

Giants Still the Team to Beat; Panthers, Bucs, and Saints Close Behind

So the Giants got embarrassed on Monday night. What was at first thought to be a bad game scheduled by Monday Night Football turned out to be quite the opposite. Many thought the Browns would have been better, so the game was turning into a runway for the Giants to show off they are still the champs. The Browns stole the runway, they were the big angry dogs with something to prove, and the Giants stood there like scared little kids with damp pants. It wasn’t even close, but just about every team can afford a slip once or twice during the season. The Giants will take a mulligan for that game and pick up where they left off next week when San Francisco visits them. Washington, Dallas, and Philadelphia are all showing signs that they may not be able to go deep. Right now the only three teams that might be able to hang with the Giants are Tampa Bay, Carolina, and New Orleans. Tampa Bay is still showing some signs of deficiency on offense, but you know what they say, “The best offense is a good defense.” Carolina has a consistent veteran (Jake Delhomme) running the offense and a surprisingly good defense ranked in the NFLs top 10. New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees is much better than last year (which isn’t saying much, he was horrible last year) and Reggie Bush is starting to feel more comfortable running in between the tackles. “So your telling me that Reggie Bush is turning into a real running back?” “Well, sort of!”

**NOTICE**

JIB Sports has posted two weekly columns during the first month  and change of the NFL and college football seasons. The first is a review of the NFL on Wednesdays and the second is a preview of college football on Fridays. Due to the mass amounts of college teams playing on Wednesdays and Thursdays we will be swapping the college football and NFL columns.

Are you ready for daily articles on the unfairness of the BCS and how there should be a playoff? With week 8 being the last week before the first BCS rankings are announced; ready or not, here they come! The highlight game of the week could be Missouri at Texas, which isn’t as exciting since Missouri lost last week, but will still be an excellent game. Here are a few headlines that will be topics of discussion throughout the weekend:

BYU Gets First “Quality” Win

BYU running back Harvery Unga will try to break through the Horned Frogs' stellar defense.

Let’s all agree that the polls are most ludicrous thing in sports. Reputation, and a school’s record the previous year play the biggest part in them (which is silly considering college rosters change every year based on graduating students so the team can be drastically different from year to year). Not only that, but teams jump up and equally fall based on the ranking they are given, regardless of whether the team upset was really that good. So here sits BYU in the top 10, largely because they are coming off of back to back 11-2 seasons and they currently own the longest winning streak in the nation of 16 games. Many people knock BYU because they have no “quality” wins on their schedule. While a valid argument, the Cougars can only play the teams on their schedule, they can’t control when teams like UCLA and Washington are having bad years. Putting all controversy aside, the Cougars will crash Fort Worth and put up big numbers against a stubborn TCU defense. TCU has lost one game all year, to Oklahoma. At the end of the year, their second loss won’t look so bad either, which will be to BYU this week. 

Arizona Nips the Golden Bears in the Desert

All year we’ve heard about how it’s “USC and the PAC-9,” but every time we turn around there’s another PAC-10 team in the top 25. At the beginning of the year it was Oregon, who then lost it’s top two quarterbacks and fell to Boise State. Then there was Arizona State who, has now dropped three straight games to UNLV, Georgia and USC. UCLA was even in the top 25 for a week after it’s dramatic opening season victory. Perhaps a little too much credit is given to the PAC-10 because it is the only BCS Conference in the west, although certainly not the best conference in the west. Just as a side note, how on earth is USC back in the top 5 after it lost to a non-ranked .500 team only two weeks ago? Don’t worry about it much, it will drive you to drink and if you already drink you won’t take notice to such intricate issues. Arizona has had a few setbacks this season against Stanford and New Mexico, which were both on the road, but they will be ready to trip up Cal in the desert. 

Mizzou Turns Mess Around

Missouri QB Chase Daniel is hoping to bounce back in a big away against Texas after last week's debacle.

With Texas taking down Oklahoma last week, Missouri had a golden opportunity in a nightcap game to move into the #1 spot with a win over Oklahoma State. Texas opened the front door for Missouri, but they didn’t slide the screen door open and Missouri ran right into it. Embarrassing, yes, can’t say that I haven’t ran through a creen door before, sometimes they are nearly invisible. Now Missouri is out of the top 10 facing #1 Texas. What is even more perplexing is how Oklahoma State bolstered up 8 spots in some polls after defeating the Tigers. If the Tigers were so good that the Cowboys jumped up so high, then obviously the Tigers shouldn’t have dropped so low. Looking at the Longhorns, all of the Tigers will have the dejected Prom Queen attitude of, “that should have been me!” Missouri still totes Heisman candidate quarterback Chase Daniel and a very talented offense that is going to have a shootout of their own this week. With a win over Texas they can sneak in the back door and be right back in the thick of things again. They just better hope their isn’t a screen door on the back door too. 

Vandy Going, Going, Gone! 

After Alabama beat down Georgia a couple weeks ago and jumped to #2 in the polls their coach Nick Saban had something interesting to say. Saban said something to the effect of the polls don’t matter this early in the season and asked if anyone could tell him who was #2 last year at this point in the season. The room went silent, somebody even let a few crickets in. When the season is all done with, people will not even see a blip of Vanderbilt on the top 25 radar. It’s a sad truth that it doesn’t matter how you start a season, but how you end it. Perfect example, March madness in college basketball. You would never know that an overachieving Vanderbilt squad was once at #13 in the nation only to lose consecutive games to Mississippi State and Georgia on their way out of the top 25. Every season needs a Cinderella, here’s to you Vandy! 

Oklahoma State snagged a top 10 spot away from Missouri last weekend.

JIB Picks

Week 7: 12-4 / Overall: 112-19

Week 8: #1 Texas – #12 Missouri / #2 Alabama - ‘Ole Miss / #3 Penn State - Michigan / #4 USC - Washington State / #5 Texas Tech – Texas A&M / #6 Oklahoma - #15 Kansas / #7 Florida (Bye) / #8 BYU - #24 TCU / #9 Georgia - #23 Vanderbilt / #10 Oklahoma State – Baylor / #11 Ohio State – #17 Michigan State / #13 Utah – Colorado State / #14 LSU – South Carolina / #16 Boise State - Hawaii / #18 Virginia Tech - Boston College / #19 Wake Forest - Maryland / #20 South Florida – Syracuse / #21 North Carolina – Virginia / #22 Cal - Arizona / #25 Ball State (Bye)

NBA pre-season games have already began and the regular season is just a few weeks away. Albeit, you do get to see more play from starters in NBA pre-season than in the NFL pre-season, but it still has little entertainment value. A couple quarters of watching your favorite players dial it down a notch and then a couple more of backups and players that won’t make roster cuts isn’t exactly what I’d call entertainment. I’d be more inclined to watch “Wipeout,” or “American Gladiators,” or the WNBA….no, it’s not that bad. Speaking of the WNBA, Oklahoma City pulled a name out of the “Rejected Names for WNBA Franchises” file when it unveiled their new name, the “Thunder.” The only thing that can salvage the team right now is if the have their mascot be a Thundercat. In case you’ve paid little to no attention this off season, here are three things that you should know heading into the 2008-09 season:

The New Orleans Hornets are hoping that adding James Posey will give them that extra piece they need to go deeper in the Playoffs.

(1) Ron Artest to Rockets, James Posey to Hornets - Ron Artest is the Pacman Jones of the NBA, a proven troublemaker with a history to back it up. Nobody can doubt his talent, especially on the defensive end, but the question becomes “is he really worth the trouble?” At this point the Houston Rockets are willing to do anything to win, having never made it to the second round of the playoffs with Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming. Artest has been there once, which is better than nothing. As for Artest potentially becoming a distraction, the Rockets are no strangers to players running into the stands trying to kill fans before. Portland-1995, Rockets guard Vernon Maxwell ran into the stands after a fan who apparently said mean things about Maxwell’s wife. The Rockets suspended Maxwell for 10 games, in which time they traded for Clyde Drexler, who helped them win the NBA Title that year. If Artest runs up in the stands, it could end up very nice for the Rockets, history is on their side.  

In other free agent signings, the New Orleans Hornets won the James Posey sweepstakes.  Posey is the new Robert Horry, NBA Championships just seem to follow him wherever he goes. For Horry it was at Houston, then Los Angeles, then San Antonio. For James Posey it was Miami, Boston, and the Hornets are hoping New Orleans. Although Posey is not nearly as good of shooter as Peja Stojakovic, he does have a knack for hitting the big shot and doing just enough to help his team win. As good as Posey seems to be, the Celtics aren’t acting like they miss him. I guess it’s like when you get dumped and pretend like you never liked the person in the first place, it eases the pain and aids in the grieving process. 

(2) Mass European Exodus - I don’t think that anybody foresaw the day when NBA players would willingly go play overseas, but that was before European teams were able to dangle millions of dollars in front of players faces. When free agency opened on July 1, the Atlanta Hawks had restricted free agent Josh Childress on the market. The Hawks thought they had their hand all planned out, give Childress a mid-level contract that nobody could match and get him back. The one thing they discounted was the Childress went to Stanford, he’s smart, and he understands that the Euro is stronger than the American dollar right now. Childress ended up bolting the continent to sign with a team in Greece for 3 years and over $20 million! Childress was the Moses of the NBA exodus to Europe this off-season, seven others followed him (although none of them as name-worthy as Childress). While this was big news and a lot of people questioned if this was the tip of an iceberg for the NBA, it clearly is not. Reports surfaced during the Olympics that Kobe Bryant and LeBron James would be willing to play overseas…if they got paid $20 million a year. Of course they would, who wouldn’t? We have to keep in mind who Childress left, the Hawks, it wasn’t a reputable franchise. 

Monta Ellis should have taken notes on fibbing from Ralphie.

(3) Monta Ellis Involved in an “Accident” – The summer started so good for Monta Ellis when the Golden State Warriors signed him to a 6-year $66 million deal, then it got bad all because he was quite frankly an idiot. Ellis suffered a severe ankle sprain in August and said it was sustained while playing pickup ball in his home state of Mississippi. A few days later, probably after watching Pinocchio and hearing Jiminy Cricket repeat “Always let your conscience be your guide,” Ellis came clean. Turns out he injured himself in a moped accident, which violated his contract (riding the moped was a violation). It was all too reminiscent of when Lakers forward Vladimir Radmanović dislocated his shoulder after “slipping” only to find out he was snowboarding. Both of their excuses were as ridiculous as Ralphie on “Christmas Story.” After you shooting his eye, he gave a masterful excuse that worked! Remember? An icicle fell off the garage and broke his glasses! Ellis’ little fib ended up costing him a 30 game suspension with no pay, equating about $3 million. Ouch!

We’ve just about seen it all in college football and we’re only in the seventh week. The good thing about college football is that it doesn’t matter how many times we see an underdog go on the road and pull off a win or #1 fall, we are still excited when it happens. Check out your Sunday sports section, you might see headlines similar to these, just not as original:

Florida’s Swamp a Friendly Habitat Once Again

Ole' Miss was able to get to Florida QB Tim Tebow, will LSU be able to do the same?

A lot has been made of LSU’s fierce defensive line this week. Tigers defensive tackle Ricky Jean-Francois said that him and the rest of his bosom buddies up front would “knock out” Florida quarterback Tim Tebow. Tebow has been using that as “locker material” to motivate himself and his offensive line to protect him. There is one surprising stat around all this hoopla this week, and that is the LSU has only registered 6 sacks this year. 6!!! That’s barely a sack per game, so if LSU’s defense is going to knock out Tebow, it will have to be when he’s not in the backfield. So much for a fierce defensive line, I’d be just about as worried that Auburn’s offense will pin 49 points on you than I would that LSU will hit Tebow enough to even make the trainers pull out the smelling salts. Tebow is definitely in a slump compared to last year when he won the Heisman, but this is just the game he needs to prove he didn’t win the Heisman because there was nobody else better behind him. As embarrassing as the Gators looked in the Swamp against Ole’ Miss, they will redeem themselves with this win over LSU and jump back into the top 10. If the game is close then LSU will also stay in the top 10 and I’m sure the voters will justify a smaller school like Texas Tech or BYU getting jumped in the polls. Same thing with #1 Oklahoma and #5 Texas, if the game is close the loser will stay in the top 10. 

Third #1 Falls in Red River Shootout

Missouri is in the best position to play for a National Championship. They have just been flying under the radar at #3-5 all year, not ever having to be in one of the top positions, which will almost inevitably change every other week. The year started with Georgia at #1, then USC, and now Oklahoma. The Sooners have been on cruise control all year, scooting by every team this year with their stellar offense and stingy defense, but so has Texas. Longhorns Junior quarterback Colt McCoy is completing near 80% of his passes, and has thrown for almost 1,300 yards and 16 touchdowns. His teammates have given him the nickname “Colt McBoy,” I don’t know how that empowers  a player to have a nickname that a first grader on the monkey bars during recess could have coined. Then again, when you consider the other letters of the alphabet that could be inserted into McCoy’s last name, “McBoy” isn’t that bad. My next best choice would be “McToy,” I think I’ll take that one to McDonalds corporate as a suggestion to name their Happy Meal toys. I am going to copyright that right now, don’t think about stealing my idea. McToy© 

Nittany Lions Kick Badgers While They’re Down

Penn State head coach Joe Paterno stretches in case his team needs him every game.

 Wisconsin is free falling, after winning at Fresno State they have dropped consecutive games to Michigan and Ohio State. After surrendering a 19-0 lead against Michigan, the Badgers have been a shaky team at best and will soon find themselves removed from the top 25. On the flip side, Penn State has been gaining confidence week after week and are forming into a classic Joe Pa team. The Nittany Lions have a consistent offense and stellar defense filled with talented players, none of which stand out more than another. It is amazing that after all these years that Coach Paterno can get so much out of his players, which is more that can be said of Bobby Bowden down at Florida State. Coach Paterno might be watching this game from the box again because of a sore right hip he sustained while trying to attempt an onside kick in practice. You have to love the commitment, but at some point Coach Paterno needs to realize that he’s almost a century old and his body just isn’t what it used to be. Not everybody can defy age like Gandalf, or Regis Philbin.

Texas Tech Pummels Lost Cornhuskers

The Red Raiders have a high-powered, high scoring offense year in and year out. Aside from Missouri, Texas Tech is the only other school touting a quarterback (Graham Harrell) and wide receiver (Michael Crabtree) for the Heisman. Last time Nebraska visited Texas Tech they allowed 70 points, and they aren’t coming in a confident bunch after suffering their worst lost in over 50 years at home last year. This will also be the Cornhuskers first road game of the year, they are going to be lost little kids. Playing your first five games of the year at home has it’s advantages, if you actually win. Nebraska will step away with 2 losses and nobody to blame but their head coach, Bo Pelini. No really, he took full responsibility for last weeks loss. I don’t recall him every putting on pads and getting out there on the field, but that’s his prerogative if he wants to coddle his players an not let them accept responsibility. It works for Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys in the professional ranks…  

#7 Texas Tech WR Michael Crabtree has seen the end zone quite a few times while in Lubbock.

JIB Picks

Week 6: 16-3 / Overall: 100-15

Week 7: #1 Oklahoma – #5 Texas / #2 Missouri – #17 Oklahoma State / #3 LSU – #12 Florida / #4 Alabama (Bye) / #6 Penn State – #24 Wisconsin / #7 Texas Tech – Nebraska / #8 BYU – New Mexico / #9 USC – Arizona State / #10 Georgia – Tennessee / #11 Ohio State – Purdue / #13 Utah – Wyoming / #14 Vanderbilt – Mississippi State / #15 Kansas – Colorado / #16 Boise State – Southern Miss / #18 Virigina Tech (Bye) / #19 Michigan State – #22 Northwestern / #20 South Florida (Bye) / #21 Wake Forest – Clemson / #23 Auburn – Arkansas / #25 Cal (Bye)