So rained down the  chants in unison from the Trojan faithful without abandon upon the battered and beaten Ohio State Buckeyes, as the number 1 ranked USC Trojans made a complete mockery of any notion that Ohio State could redeem itself and its highly criticized conference on a national stage against an elite football program.

In recent years, Ohio State has relied upon riding the coat tails of the automatic BCS bid by winning the weak Big Ten Conference while bullying lesser divisional opponents and avoiding true tests against proven football powers all season long.

After two consecutive embarrassing BCS Championship Game losses, Ohio State was supposedly out to show the world they were indeed a legit football team capable of winning the National Title.

Instead, all the Buckeyes managed to accomplish this Saturday evening was to assure the football public that they would be spared the agony of having to watch yet another throttling of the undeserving Big Ten school in the BCS Championship Game for a third straight year as the USC Trojans dominated the Buckeyes on both sides of the football throughout the entire game and skated their way to a convincing 35-3 shellacking.

If anything was proven tonight, it was that perhaps USC is under-rated, as hard as that may be to believe.

There is already talk that this is the best USC team ever assembled under head coach, Pete Carroll. With all-time greats like Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, and Carson Palmer to just name a few, that is a pretty astounding statement.

From what the world just saw tonight, even against a team that has struggled repeatedly against the perennial football powers in recent years, those claims appear to be accurate.

What is certain is that USC has tremendous speed, intensity, and talent on both sides of the football and the Pac 10 team is yet to meet an opposing defense or offensive that it can not contain or expose.

With the Buckeyes out of the way, there are no obvious pitfalls awaiting the Trojans as they march towards Miami to appear in yet another BCS Championship.

Even then, what team can possibly claim they can match up with USC?

One of the SEC powers, whether it be Georgia, Florida, Auburn, or Alabama will undoubtedly face the mighty Trojans in that game, but I seriously doubt its a matchup that any one of those programs will relish.

After what we saw tonight, can you blame them?

Trade Mark Teixiera to the Anaheim Angels

The Atlanta Braves can't buy a win right now and currently stand 7 1/2 games back of the New York Mets following two come from ahead loses to the Philadelphia Phillies over the weekend. Realistically Atlanta fans, this season is over. Keeping with the realistic theme, Big Tex is going elsewhere for big bucks after this year.

Of course you don't want to just give him away, and since Arizona won't give up either of the two pieces of interest to Atlanta (Conor Jackson or Mark Reynolds), it appears the only possible match is with a team that has made a habit of lying dormant at the deadline, refusing to deal prospects, winning the A.L. West, and not much else beyond that.

Yes, Mr. Moreno needs to finally heed the demands of countless Angels fans and Southern California sports broadcasters and bring in a "Big Bat" at the deadline. The cost would be pitching prospect Nick Adenhart and possibly Kendry Morales, but the Angels have the pitching to spare and Teixeira will give the Halos the extra bat they need for a major post season push.

Trade Brett Favre back to the Falcons

Ah, the opportunity to finish back where it all began. The dream of every professional athelete! Well, perhaps it wouldn't be all that nostalgic in this particular case, but it is still a move that would make sense for both Green Bay and Atlanta.

If Favre is committed to returning for another NFL season and Green Bay is committed to avoiding him like the plague, then it would make perfect sense for them to get as many teams as interested in trading for him as possible.

Atlanta seems like a perfect fit. Unlike in Tampa Bay where they have Jeff Garcia, Atlanta has no decent QB to even come close to what Favre can offer.

If the Atlanta Falcons are as committed to the success of Matt Ryan as they have made apparent by the contract they gave him, they should create the most favorable environment for him in which he may succeed. The time for Matt Ryan should be next year, and not this year; for a team still reeling from the loss of Michael Vick to the prison system and the arrival of the NFL's recycled garbage (Joey Harrington and Chris Redman) to try and fill the void.

Seriously Mr. Blank, do you really want Matt Ryan learning from Joey Harrington? If I were G.M. of the team I wouldn't want my prized rookie around either one of those guys out of fear of contamination. Whatever they have, you don't want it Matt!

Bring Favre back to the team that originally drafted him for one year and let the rookie carry a clip board and learn from one of the best that has ever played the game. Then hand him the reigns of the franchise when he is ready.

Heck, in a weak NFC South, Favre might even lead the Dirty Birds to a division title!

The "Perfect Finals" has formed on the horizon, and the 11th chapter in an epic 21 years in the making is about to be realized. In what is perhaps the greatest Championship rivalry in all of professional sports, The Los Angeles Lakers and The Boston Celtics stand poised to battle once more for the right to be crowned champion.

There truly is no comparison in any other sport that this Championship matchup presents. You have the two winningest franchises in the history of the game pitted against one another. A major western market vs. a major eastern one. The best trio from the Western Conference, and the best from the Eastern. But most importantly, you have tradition.

Yankees vs. Dodgers no longer holds the same historical significance it once did. Cowboys vs. Steelers comes close in football, but there would be argument from San Francisco, Foxboro, and Green Bay as to just who the best franchises in the history of the game are, and rightfully so.

Yes, Lakers vs. Celtics gives us a matchup unique to the major American sports world, and one that the great hype machine that is the American media will be unable to resist.

Prior to the opening tip we are sure to see endless footage of Bird vs. Magic. The previous big three of Magic, Worthy, and Kareem and their Boston counterparts, Bird, McHale, and Parrish.

Prime yourself for the current day comparisons of Kobe, Gasol, and Odom vs. Garnett, Pierce, and Allen.

L.A. Gear's, "We will rock you" campaign might even make a comeback, but I'm not one to go predicting miracles. I'll leave that to Boston fans who think this one will be all rapped up in less than 7 for their club.

Seriously though, the only question about the hype is the same as it always is; will the real thing live up to it? 

Put aside the fact that Boston gave L.A. problems earlier this season. The Lakers were without Gasol and still in the midst of finding their identity. Boston meanwhile seemed to have peaked late in the regular season and simply survived two matchups in the post season against the 8th seeded Hawks and the Cleveland LeBrons.

Not until the Detroit series did the Celtics show us much of anything at all, and their post season accomplishments pale in comparison to the Lakers who have lost as many games in the post season as Boston did in the opening round to an 8 seed.

Only the Lakers were able to sweep a team this post season, and still sport an unbeaten record at home, also the only team that can claim that distinction.

The post season opponents of the Lakers have been far more impressive as well. Need anyone be reminded of the superiority of the Western Conference to the Eastern Conference? Not to mention, the Lakers did defeat the NBA's best home team in their own house, and made quick work of the defending champs in just 5 games.

Everyone was convinced that Los Angeles vs. San Antonio would go the distance, yet San Antonio looked just as helpless as everyone else against what is the NBA's most poweful offense and a defense capable of playing to the level of their opponents, no matter who they are.

However, Lakers fans are deluding themselves if they think that Boston is just going to sucumb to the offensive might of the Western Conference champs and roll over in 5 games or less.

So what stands to happen this Finals aside from the well greased hype machine firing on all cylinders?

Easy, Boston will come to play and will defend their home court well. They may even be successful in becoming the only team to take a game from L.A. at Staples this post-season, but at the end of the day, the best player in the game will have led the best team to victory.

The Lakers have the better starting 5 and a far superior bench than Boston's. They have also more convincingly demonstrated their ability to overcome adversity at both home and on the road.

Boston's big three will make it interesting, but the West will rule the day once again and the Lakers will seperate themselves from San Antonio and Detroit as the true team of the decade.

Prediction: Lakers in 7.

A little over 26 minutes of play, 15 pts, and 9 boards is what the newest member of the Phoenix Suns, Shaquille O'Neal, contributed according to the statline this Wednesday night in Phoenix.

However, what he brought to the floor was much greater than his individual numbers indicate.

Upon returning to the Western Conference to join the Pacific Division leading Suns, Shaq vowed he would elevate the game of those around him, most specifically, Amare Stoudamire. That promise was evident on the floor as the Suns met their Pacific Division rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night at the U.S. Airways Arena.

Early double teams against the Suns new Center freed up Stoudamire on possession after possession, and when the Lakers resorted to regular coverage, Shaquille made his presence felt in the paint.

Unfortuately for Phoenix, the Lakers turned out to have more offensive firepower on hand and played Phoenix's style game much better than it could itself on its own home court.

All-World guard, Kobe Bryant contributed 41 pts, his 90th such performance of his career, and both Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom each scored over 20 pts, making the high scoring affair an all-around team effort.

As a result, the Lakers took a share of the Pacific Division lead, and own the tie-breaker against Phoenix since they now lead the season series 3-1.

The Lakers have proven thus far to have the Suns number.  All of the remaining skeptics better come to their senses soon and realize that this Lakers team is for real.

The pending return of Andrew Bynum will only make matters harder for opposing defenses, not to mention the opposing offenses.

As a sports fan who doubted the merit of the Shaquille O'Neal for Shawn Marion trade when it was first reported, I can now honestly state that I should recant my previous position, for the deal may in fact make sense for Phoenix.

Even though you can not tell from the final score of tonight's game, O'Neal's presence on the floor helps Phoenix defensively and does in fact elevate the game of Amare Stoudamire, making for a better team game than perhaps would have otherwise existed with the malcontent Shawn Marion having to share the spotlight (and touches) with Stoudamire and Suns point guard Steve Nash.

Shaquille realizes he is a role player on this team, is secure with that role, and played that role well Wednesday night.

In the end however, It just may still prove itself to be not quite enough for Phoenix to get the better of the Lakers this season.

It certainly wasn't enough this Wednesday night.

After watching both USC and Georgia dismantle their respective opponents Illinois and Hawaii (just like everyone presumed they would do), the question as to why doesn't the NCAA finally fix the system itself now rings louder than ever. Why should teams from weak conferences that play weak schedules get in so long as they pull of a string of meaningless victories over opponents which make a mockery of the sport and why in turn, great teams flat out get eliminated from the opportunity for playing for something bigger than an opportunity to humiliate these pretenders when they get to BCS Bowls?

USC would be the favorite against any team in the country at this point (yes including you Ohio State and LSU) and are not playing in the BCS Championship only because of being seriously hurt by injuries in the middle of the season. If NCAA football were like every other sport worth watching (including college basketball) and implimented some sort of playoff system it would be hard to argue against USC and Georgia being the favorites to make it to the final game.

No other schools in the country are hotter than those two teams right now, period.

It would have made sense (and for some much better television) had the BCS Bowl Committee pit Georgia against USC in the Rose Bowl. However this would have made entirely too much sense and would have greatly increased the possibility of a split National Championship, thus making the need for a playoff system too obvious to ignore. The BCS apologists could not have defended that.

Yes, the "East vs. West" football game would have gotten away from its more traditional Pac 10 vs. Big Ten matchup, but the original intent of the "Granddaddy of them all" would still be served.

If not Georgia, then at least Missouri should have been given the chance.

Their exclusion from the BCS is yet another example of how flawed the system is. They only lose to Oklahoma (no shame in that), yet a team they beat (Kansas) earns a BCS bid over them. What sense does that make?

Many outside of Columbus and Baton Rouge feel as though USC, Oklahoma, and Georgia are all better. And for the most part, the oddsmakers in Vegas agree with them. Yet will never know and that is a shame.

Too many weak teams from weak conferences get into the BCS or other major bowls based off their record.

The solution, start weighing strength of schedule at a much higher rate when ranking the teams and then get an 8 to 16 team playoff system in place already and solve this mess once and for all.

No more Paper Champions please!!!