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

Will the Big House be dead silent in Michigan's home opener this year?

One of the greatest times of the year is upon us, the first weekend of college football! It’s that time of year when we can sit and watch live football for a whole day! There is nothing as spirited and hyped as college football. Although amazing as well, the NFL does not come close in comparison. Throughout the college football season, JIB Sports will have a weekly column every Friday with four headlines you just might see on your Sunday sports page, along with JIB Picks for the week.

No Miracle for Appalachian State 

Last year Appalachian State kicked off what turned out to be a topsy turvy ’07 season in NCAA football when they shocked Michigan at the Big House. Although shaky at quarterback, LSU will win on the shoulders of their “tough” SEC defense. Here is a small thought for everyone, so many times we hear that the SEC has the toughest defenses in the nation and every time there is a low-scoring contest it is considered a “defensive struggle.” Could it be that the offenses in the SEC just aren’t that great?

Nightmare in The Big House II

 Is it really possible that Michigan could lose two home openers in a row? With former BCS buster Utah coming to town the Wolverines don’t have a lot in their favor. Besides having to replace Chad Henne and Mike Hart, Michigan will have a new offensive scheme under new coach Rich Rodriguez. Utah is coming in very confident with a healthy offense, which was not the case in ’07.  All the pre-season BCS buster talk has been on BYU, just watch the talk turn after Utah handles Michigan.  You better believe Michigan will not forget what happened last year, nobody will ever forget, but they will have another season opening loss to make a bitter taste in their mouths for next year.

Will there be "Thunder and Lightning" at Clemson this year?

There is title talk on the Clemson campus, and they will start their journey by defeating Alabama. The Tigers are equipped with Cullen Harper, the ACC’s highest-rated QB in ’07. They also bring back James Davis and C.J. Spiller, their running back tandem nicknamed “thunder and lightning.” The only thing that might foil these three from racking up yards is a very inexperienced offensive line they may prevent the thunder and lightning from even getting out of the backfield. Maybe this is the year that Tommy Bowden steps out from behind his father’s old decrepit coaching shadow. Let’s be honest though, this is Clemson we are talking about, they will lose at least one or two times before the seasons end. 

Sleuth of Top 25 Teams Easily Pass Warm-up Exam

Many teams are taking after Ohio State and playing “patsy” teams for their first game. Read some of these schools that will be waxed this weekend: Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Youngstown State, Northern Iowa, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Tennesee-Martin, Eastern Washington, and Northern Arizona. If you can name half of the mascots for the schools just listed then you deserve a cookie. The real competition starts in week two for most of the top schools. Ohio State is getting in one more before they face their first challenge of the year, USC in southern California.

#1 Georgia hopes to runaway from the competition this year.

JIB Picks

Week 1: #1 Georgia – Georgia Southern / #2 Ohio State – Youngstown State / #3 USC – Virginia / #4 Oklahoma – Chattanooga / #5 Florida – Hawaii / #6 Missouri – #20 Illinois / #7 LSU – Appalachian State / #8 West Virginia – Villanova / #9 Clemson – #24 Alabama / #10 Auburn – Louisianna-Monroe / #11 Texas – Florida Atlantic / #12 Texas Tech – Eastern Washington / #13 Wisconsin – Akron / #14 Kansas – Florida International / #15 Arizona State – Northern Arizona / #16 BYU – Northern Iowa / #17 Virginia Tech – East Carolina / #18 Tennessee – UCLA / #19 South Florida – Tennessee-Martin / #21 Oregon – Washington / #22 Penn State – Coastal Carolina / #23 Wake Forest – Baylor / #25 Pittsburgh – Bowling Green

ESPN Game Previews

(1)New Orleans Saints

In 2006 they were the feel good story of the NFL after Hurricane Katrina. In the Monday Night Football opening game, the Saints beat the then Michael Vick Falcons and that was the start of their fairy tale season. Behind the MVP-like performance of Drew Brees, (who was let go by the San Diego Chargers for fear of his durability after a shoulder injury) the tough running of Deuce McAllister and breakout season from late round draft pick wide receiver Marques Colston, the Saints put up lots of points and their defense was nothing short of stellar. In 2007, going into the season, there were high hopes for the Saints to go far in the playoffs. Some experts picked them for the Super Bowl. I even drafted Brees as my starting quarterback on my Fantasy Football team! Needless to say, the Saints disappointed many and left a city once on the top of the hill, ready to break out their old garbage bags to put over their faces. So the question is which season was a fluke? This year we will find out!

Can Reggie Bush and the Saints recover from an upside-down '07 season and prove '06 wasn't a fluke?

(2)Cincinnati Bengals

Will someone please give Keyshawn Johnson Jr.(Chad Johnson) the damn ball?!?!  For a few years now we have yearned to see the Bengals break away from the shadows of their horrific past in the 90s. They showed moments of brilliance in 2005 and sporadically throughout each season after, but a shaky defense and an oft-injured Carson Palmer, coupled with some apparent team chemistry problems with his receivers, have kept the Bengals from making that move from decent team to playoff team. They have become the lovable losers with those one of a kind uniforms and host of players who practice more on what they will do when they get in the end-zone instead of how to get there. 

(3)Cleveland Browns

 My earliest memory of the Cleveland Browns was their last game ever before being “deactivated” for three years in 1996. It wasn’t pretty, middle-aged men in dog masks and football helmets with bones through them tearing apart the benches of the stadium. They were ticked, and seemed to have remained so through 1999 when the team was reactivated and then up to 2007 when their team rose from their dismal run of 13 years without a 10+ win season. Quarterback Derek Anderson and running back Jamal Lewis lead a surprisingly good Browns offense to finish 8th in the NFL in total offense. The Cleveland Browns were quite simply the 2006 New Orleans Saints, the question is will they follow suit of the 2007 Saints or will they keep the good stuff they have rolling, keepng their loyal fans in the Dawg Pound wagging their tails. Is it a coincidence that the dog is the most loyal animal and recently a poll ranked Browns fans as the most loyal in the NFL? I think it was rigged.  

(4)San Francisco 49ers

My second Fantasy Football blunder of 2007 was selecting quarterback Alex Smith to backup Drew Brees, I thought I was a genius! Smith was heading into his 3rd NFL season with Jim Hostler as his new and improved offensive coordinator and an offense that was stacked with good targets and a stellar running game to open up the passing game for Smith. Fast-forward to the  end of the season, 49ers fans were calling for Hostler’s head, and Smith only ended up playing in 7 games, throwing for 2 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Going into his 4th NFL season, and a proven offensive guru at the helm in Mike Matrz, the 49ers have a lot to prove. Not to mention they play in the NFC in which wins are much easier than in the AFC to come by. Smith needs to step up this year and show why he was the #1 pick back in 2005 Draft. If I were a diehard 49ers fan, I would also be sick of knowing the last decent quarterback they had was Jeff Garcia, and he talked with a lisp.   

(5)Minnesota Vikings

Vikings running back Adrian Peterson is one of the newest spokespersons for Vitamin Water, along with knock you down to Chinatown linebacker Brian Urlacher of the Chicago Bears and hit the baseball halfway to the moon batter David Ortiz of the Red Sox! Then again, so is country singer Carrie Underwood so not much to be gained in the toughness category there. Peterson’s Nike commercial with LT however does validate him as an up-and-coming star in the NFL. Last year, on his way to winning Offensive Rookie of the Year, Peterson set an NFL record for most rushing yards in a game, 296. Along with Peterson as a weapon on the offensive side of the ball, the Vikings defense is a collective weapon, finishing 2007 first in the NFL against the run. The Vikings started 2007 very poorly but finished strong. Can they start strong and make a push for the playoffs for the  first time since 2004? Stay tuned!  

3 NFL Teams Who Can’t Prove Anything in 2008

(1)Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins made the right decision to draft offensive tackle Jake Long with their first selection. The only downside to Long is that he can’t block 5 players from sacking the poor quarterback(still to be determined). It will be interesting to see how the next few years do shape out in Miami with the ‘Big Tuna’ Bill Parcells heading football operations. Maybe tuna with dolphin isn’t such a a bad thing. If their union is a success, expect PETA to get involved.

Boy, doesn't he look happy that he gets to play for the Dolphins?

(2)Atlanta Falcons

The worst decision ever made down in Atlanta was making Joey “Heisman” Harrington their starting quarterback. Their has never been a more frightened pocket passer that I can think of, every time he drops back you can see his eyes screaming “GET ME THE HECK OUT OF HERE!!! WHERE’S MY RUNNING BACK TO DUMP THE BALL OFF TOO?!?!?!” Hopefully rookie QB Matt Ryan can rise to the challenge and dethrone him. Call it “The Curse of Michael Vick,” call it “The Curse of Bobby Petrino,” or call it “The Curse of the Falcons Stink,” whatever it is, the Falcons imminent future is not looking bright.  

(3)Arizona Cardinals

Every team the Cardinals play are what they think they are, which is better than them. (Refer to coach Dennis Green’s post-game press conference after a loss to the Chicago Bears) Cardinals have tried everything to win, they have tweaked their uniforms, they have built a new stadium, they have tried to insert old players that were once great (running back Emmitt Smith and QB Kurt Warner), and they’ve tried playing in Mexico. Simple fact of the matter, the Cardinals have proven every year that they can’t prove anything except that they aren’t good.

The BYU Cougars find themselves in a precarious situation that has been partly brought upon by themselves and partly by the media in search of another BCS-buster like Utah in 2005 and Hawaii in 2008. Although a “sexy pick” to go to the 2009 Fiesta Bowl, I for one am not yet convinced that BYU has it in them and I will give you three reasons why.

BYU still has not been able to win non-conference road games consistently

The past two years have been deja vu for Cougar fans. In 2006-07, BYU lost two early non-conference road games to Arizona and Boston College; in 2007-08 BYU did the same at UCLA and Tulsa. In both seasons BYU ran the tables after and went undefeated the rest of the season, but all four of those road losses the past two years were all winnable games.

QB Max Hall Looks to lead BYU to their first undefeated season since 1984

-2006 at Arizona - BYU made made costly turnovers and never got their offense going, lost on a last second field goal after they had missed one that would have sent the game into overime.

 -2006 at Boston College - Jared McLaughlin had a short field goal for the win and missed, quarterback John Beck threw an interception in overtime to secure the win for the Golden Eagles. 

-2007 at UCLA - BYU doubled UCLA in total yards, but did the same in turnovers as well. BYU stormed back in the second half, but only after they were non-existent in the first.

-2007 at Tulsa – In this touchdown party with over 1,000 total combines yards by both teams, BYUs defense was what Head Coach Bronco Mendenhall called “unprepared.” The offense had a costly late turnover. 

BYU can get the monkey off their back early with two challenging games at Washington and at home with UCLA. UCLA comes armed with a new head coach Rick Neuheisel and new offensive coordinator Norm Chow, who is a familiar name to Cougar fans. Chow was only on BYU’s football staff for 27 years, from 1973-1999. If BYU loses one of those two games they might as well kiss a BCS Bowl goodbye and say “hello” to the Las Vegas Bowl for the 4th straight year. 

BYU still must lean heavily on schools ahead of them to lose

Just like Hawaii last year, BYU has to hope that schools in front of them lose at least twice. Even two-loss teams from “Major Conferences” have the potential to jump BYU in the polls. Last year, BYU started their season ranked lower than any other school compared to their previous year. BYU finished the 2006-07 season ranked in the top 15 and started the the 2007-08 season as far down as the mid-30s. BYU finished last year in the top 15 as well, this year they will start #17 in the Coaches Poll and #16 in the AP Poll. College football is very unpredictable though, who would have thought South Florida and Kansas would have been in the top 5 last year? Whoever answered “yes” to that question is a liar and a cheat. 

BYU still has to beat the University of Utah in Salt Lake City

The last two years BYU has beat Utah on miracle catches in what will go down as two of the best rivalry games in their history. Throw records out the window, this rivalry is one of the most heated in the nation. Many may shrug that comment off, but just ask any national reporter who has taken part in this rivalry and they will agree. What adds more to this years rivalry is Utah changed sponsors from Nike to Under Armor. By the way Utah is talking, their new “partnership” will make them faster, quicker, and stronger. Who knew bad commercials could empower a group of football players so much?

College Basketball
This past spring brought it’s usual and now expected craziness of upsets, buzzer beaters, and amazing comebacks in what we like to call “March Madness.” The craziest part about it was listening to Jim Nance’s post-game interview with some of the newly crowned champion Florida Gator players. Jim Nance asked center Joakim Noah about what the Gators did to win the game. In amazing fashion, Joakim Noah testified of the quality of his education at the University of Florida by saying, “Me and my boys brought it, and when I say we brought it you know what I mean? No you don’t know what I mean, but my boys know what I mean.” It seemed as if Jim Nance was pushing a panic button that flashed the words “COMMERCIAL BREAK! COMMERCIAL BREAK!” on the producer’s screen up in the video room. It didn’t stop there, Nance went on to interview a couple others which only buried the academic validity of Florida athletes. It seemed as if none of them had any formal schooling or had been taught the English language from a book. I don’t think the Florida officials shed a single tear when four starters chose to bypass their senior seasons and declared themselves eligible for the NBA Draft. Those five players’ decision to leave just might have doubled the school’s average GPA.     

Pro Basketball
Can anybody out there look at me straight faced and tell me without even smirking that NBA officials do not show favoritism and that the NBA is free from conspiracies and inconsistencies? Yeah, I didn’t think so. Case and point, I went to game 4 of the Western Conference Finals between the Jazz and Spurs. Steve Javie, the head referee, is a ruthless tyrant that reigns with terror on teams he doesn’t particularly like. Just as Joey Crawford would like to pick a fight with Tim Duncan, I don’t think it would be far fetched to say that, if given the chance, Steve Javie would love nothing more than to line up every player and coach on the Jazz roster and kick them square in the crotch. Although he didn’t do it physically, he did it mentally with the horrendous way he and his crew handled this game. Not only did he kick out Derek Fisher, who has been in the top 5 for “Sportsman of the Year” every year for years, but he also refused to call fouls on the Spurs. Riddle me this Batman, how did the Jazz lose by double digits despite having fewer turnovers and shooting over 53% from the field? I’ll tell you how, by the officials giving the Spurs 20+ free throws in the 4th and the Jazz 2. Here’s an interesting fact, the officials called fouls 90% of the time that the Spurs drove to the basket, and 10% of the time the Jazz did the same. Can you tell me there was that much difference in the physicality on both ends? I think not. Do you really blame the fans for getting a little boisterous and chanting “REFS YOU (OPPOSITE OF BLOW)! REFS YOU (OPPOSITE OF BLOW)!”? Good thing Jazz fans don’t consume as much alcohol as other NBA fans or there might have been another Palace Brawl.

NFL
**NEWSFLASH** JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE A FOOTBALL PLAYER YOU ARE NOT IMMUNE TO BREAKING THE LAW! It seems like there are more convicts in the NFL than there is in every other professional sport combined. It will be interesting to see if Commissioner Roger Goodell throws the hammer down on Michael Vick for his dog fighting regime. Vick danced his way around alleged possession of marijuana, so I don’t see anything coming of this current case. I hope Vick hires a good legal counsel or he might say something stupid on the stand like, “Your Honor, I thought that dog fighting is legal where cock fighting is legal……cock fighting is legal right???”

Baseball
I’d now like to take the time to make a personal announcement. I have meddled over this decision for many, many years. While my parents don’t like it, and lot of friends don’t support it, I feel I will receive enough support from others to sustain and validate my decision. Here it goes, I am attracted to baseball! I’ve never been a supporter of baseball and never had a team, although I would secretly watch the World Series every year growing up in my room with the door locked so my parents wouldn’t know what I was doing. I am strangely attracted to the competitiveness of the sport and having “a team” to root for. Not only am I coming out as a baseball fan, but also a San Francisco Giants fan. Why San Francisco? Well, I think it’s fairly obvious, but for those who don’t know let me give you the rundown. First, Barry Bonds is awesome. I’ve always liked him and have never wavered on my support of him through this ridiculoius steroids investigation by MLB. Will he beat Hank Aaron’s homerun record? Yes. Should it be in the record books? Yes. Should he be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame? Yes! You can’t tell me “steroids” gave Bonds the fluid motion of his swing. Second, what’s cooler than home run balls landing in a bay to be had amongst the person with the swiftest swing of a net or strongest swing of an oar in the general direction of the other people going after the ball. And third, I like the 49ers, so it only makes sense to like the Giants too, right? Because I’m new at this baseball thing, I reserve the right to change teams if “my team” is really bad. Expos fans reserved that right and shipped their team to Washington DC.