The question has been finally answered thanks to Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom.

Monday Night Football has turned into a painful experience and I stopped watching it, for the most part, last year. I found the personnel in the booth to be boring. But I did manage to watch a few games that interested me enough to turn off the sound and find the game on satellite radio. But this year I find the experience to be a mind numbing exercise in futility listening to the inane banter and guests in the booth to promote the Disney corporations television shows on its various owned networks or movies.

It as if ESPN said to themselves that "since we are paying these big dollars to these "stars" of sports entertainment then lets make them earn it." Very nice but stop punishing the masses with what I will call "the obvious crew." Obvious or should I say oblivious to the fact they actually think their banter to be entertainment, funny, effervescence, insightful or insert any word you want.

While I won't fault ESPN for game selection since they have no control over the play of any team on any given night and that can effect the atmosphere at times but at least when Cossell or Dandy Don were on they made it fun and you wanted to listen to Cossell so you could say what an idiot he was the next day for his remarks or insight. Or you always had Dandy Don and his "singing" to make us realize we were not that only ones that could not sing and we had someone that said it was okay for bad singers to make a fool of themselves in public. Actually we could blame Dandy Don for many of today's singers that our kids think are "wicked" or whatever the term is today.

But I have to point on one person in particular in the MNF booth and ask why he is there? What executive thought this was a good idea that he would bring about freshness to the game and liven the banter and provoke thought and ideas?

There is a saying "in every corporation there is an individual that knows what is going on. That has the answers to the questions and the solutions to the problems. This person must be sought out and fired." I suspect the person that is making "talent" decisions for ESPN found this person and fired them and took over the reigns of power because exactly how bad are they trying to make MNF? Are they hoping to tare down this once proud program and turn into a man made natural disaster so they can get federal funding and help form FEMA. They are dangerously close to succeeding and maybe if the give Tony Kornheiser more air time during the program or bring in Joe Namath with a full bar to serve as sideline reporter with Suzy Kolber that maybe they can finally sink the program.

Am I the only one that understands the TK does not play well in Middle America and most find him a dullard? A boorish individual that for some reason is found to be "refreshing" by some person within the hierarchy of ESPN or Disney. I have read his material and find him as insightful and humorous as Dave Barry. I would rather be entertained by a group of teenage kids because they would probably be more glib and insightful then TK and the crew.

The justice system could use TK for all inmates on death row but even the federal government would call that cruel and unusual punishment.

On January 7th 2008 the Allstate BCS national Championship game will be played in New Orleans between the Louisiana State University Fighting Tigers and a Poisonous nut also called a Buckeye coached by Mr. Rogers twin that were separated at birth.

The team speed of the Buckeye's has moved up from "watching grass grow to sun dial speed" Tressel was quoted as saying "when we saw the collective speed of this team we knew that the Youngstown, Zippers and Kent State games would be as competitive as we have seen."

With those juggernauts on the Buckeye schedule would finally prove that last years contest in the desert was just one that was actually closer then it appeared and Tressel went on to say "this year we have learned not to jump on our star receiver kick returner and injury him after the first play." It has taken a while but adding more color crayons to the game plan has really helped the Buckeye team understand schemes and they "really like the new colors" some players have been quoted as saying. 

But the game which created confusion was the Minnesota game since the Buckeyes used yellow for their route and blocking schemes and Minnesota wore yellow uniforms so the Buckeyes team grew very confused on who was suppose to have the ball and the team captains used all the crayons the night before with their coloring books so they had no way to make changes on the sideline and had to go back and use chalk. Which players instantly ground into a fine powder and snorted and were heard saying "I'm so stoned man." 

Many players this year have been starkly confused and keep on referring to Coach Tressel as Coach Solich. So the OSU academic center has developed a picture book for the players on the deference of Ohio State and Ohio University. Many players still do not understand why the fans are referring to them as Buckeyes and not the Bobcats. 

What is a Buckeye?

Tressel said the difference in his team this year is they decided to utilize the veer. "Those advances" he went on to say "have really excited his team and kept the play calling simple." When asked about the spread he said "in good conscious I really do not understand today's Buckeye women and why they would do that" and shook his head. He asked his team to visit the clinic and get regular shots. 

 When asked about his team loss to Illinois fighting Illini he said his team became confused and lacked focus because the night before the game during the prep rally when the cheer-leaders were shout "crush the Illini" and wanted the fans and team to spell out Illinois they became disoriented and confused as to the spelling of Illinois. "This does not bode well for us with having to play Loozeeeana" Tressel said. He went on and stated "we are not sure exactly where the game is being played if it is in New Orleans, Na-lens, and Naw Leans. We have a map but it has far too many colors and lines for our players and staff to comprehend.

BCS Bowls and Predictions. These are the games that will help determine the pecking order for next years pre-season polls. Some no matter if they lose will still rank high because of the talent coming back next year. I am looking forward to all these games and I hope each team performs well and all the games are competitive. I hope your teams wins. 

December 31st - Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.  

Auburn v Clemson. I like Tommy Tuberville and I am probably one of the few LSU fans that openly says that. I believe he is a very good coach and an excellent recruiter and far better than Bowden. Bowden while at Clemson has had a roller coaster success with no consistency what-so-ever. I do not understand why he is still the head coach and was just given a contract extension because he beat the gamecocks. Next year expect a 7-5 year because it is his MO to fall the next year. He is average but he does try so hard maybe that is it. Auburn has played some tough games this year. Won some got embarrassed in one and got whipped in one and came close in others. They are a team that fights till the end and I like that about them. 

Tommy wants out of Auburn but he won't just go anywhere and he was waiting in Les Miles and LSU to make a decision because from what I heard is that he coveted that job. After LSU and Miles re-worked the contract Tuberville had his re-worked at Auburn. Coincidence? I think not!!! 

Auburn is a young team and when your kids keep leaving early to go the NFL it speaks highly of Tuberville as a recruiter and coach. I like Auburn in this game and feel the talent and better coach will be on Auburns sideline. 

My Pick Auburn. 

January 1st - Outback Bowl. 

Wisconsin v Tennessee. The Badgers have not lost to an SEC team in I do not know how long. My Badgers go the Outback Bowl again and face the Vols. What I like about my Badgers is there QB and offense. They are scrappy and can score but the offensive linemen come of their blocks just a little too soon for my liking as a former back. You guys need to push them and move their hips okay. What I don't like is the Badgers defense. They have given up a lot of yards and points this year which is not a traditional Badger defense. Tennessee has a good QB and they have adopted that Hog or Wild cat offense play calling which does work from time to time. The Vols are a young team and they just gave Jumbo Phil a contract extension and raise. Tennessee has some very nice talent and they are an athletic team but they have no defensive secondary and the Badgers passing game will open the running game. The Badgers will use its speed on the offense to keep the Vols defense honest and off balance. What most people do not know is that Wisconsin has probably the fastest team speed in the Big 10 and every year when they have gone bowling against an SEC team the Badgers have won and I might say they have exposed the weaknesses of their SEC opponents. This year Badgers defense is not that good and for a head coach that is the former defensive coordinator and after losing some of his coaches when he was named the head coach he needs to seriously address the short comings with recruiting and coaching. The Badgers need to hire a top notch defensive coordinator and linebackers coach right now, today this very minute. Because of the Badgers D the Vols will be able to exploit play action and the hog formation they have been running this year. The weakness in th badgers is over the middle in the linebacker zone between the DB's. If the Vols can utilize play action it will open those zones because the linebackers have been prone to cheat up or play wide. 

With all that being said I am going to homer on this one because the Badgers have not lost to an SEC ever in the bowl games.

My Pick Badgers.  

January 1st - AT&T Cotton Bowl. 

Missouri v Arkansas. First of all let me say this AT&T sucks the big one. Instead of advertising and having a bowl game why do you guys try lowering your rates and practice customer service first? With that unpleasantness out of the way let me get into it. Arkansas has no head coach because they farted around last year and would not come out and back Nutt when he had some issues that were personal and with crazy Mustains mom. She is a loon!!! So that cost them their coach and Houston Nutt is a good coach. Arkansas, in my opinion, has the nations best running back tandem and McFadden is such a threat at running back, kick / punt returner, quarterback, receiver and I would line him up at linebacker or DD, or free safety and he would shut you down. He is a pure football freak and athlete. I saw McFadden in person and he was not as big as most running backs, but tall, lean and ripped. He is also one of th nicest people I have met and was extremely accommodating for the LSU fans when we requested pictures. I suspect he will forego his senior season and enter the NFL draft and being the number 1 pic overall. Arkansas does not have an extremely talented defense but they are fast and physical and will give fits to the Mizzou receivers.  

Missouri all you had to do was win and be in but like I said they only team you faced all year was OU and they beat you twice. Missouri has some nice talent and their quarterback has had a nice year. Their coach has done a fine job with the talent they have in creating nice match ups and getting receivers in space. Missouri is a team with some good speed and sound mechanics but they have a weakness that most teams have not exposed besides OU and that is they cannot stop the run or play action and that falls right into the Razorbacks hands. Missouri has difficulty with special teams and with Jones and McFadden it can only be worse trying to stop the Heisman runner up for the past two years. So you both get the breakfast bowl and that is the bowl most do not want as a fan. It is far too early in the morning. Arkansas has the best running backs in the nation period, end of story. They will have all their players healthy and be kinda of pissed off I suspect while Mizzou will be looking in the mirror wondering why this has happened to them. Why they did not get a better bowl game. Well it is a great opportunity for you to ask Arkansas that very question because the same thing happened to them last year. I feel the better offense is Arkansas and the better defense is Mizzou's but Arkansas has more bowl experience even though they lost last year. 

My Pick is Arkansas. 

January 1st - Gator Bowl. 

Virginia v Texas Tech. Virginia just over-achieved a little this year and Texas Tech under achieved until they faced OU. Tech has an explosive offense but on the D side they give up a lot of points like OK-State. I just do not believe nr do I see a Virginia team with enough defense to stop the aerial assault of Oklahoma State nor are they going to be able to stop the play action of Tech. I see tech as one of the most dangerous teams in the nation and have thought that way for many years. Virginia has been a team of some times under-achieving and some times the opposite ad this year they came away with some nice wins when many thought they would get the bloody end of a beat down.  The problem that I see with Virginia is its offensive and defensive schemes are that they are too conservative against a Tech style of play. Tech is known as a having a wide open offensive style of play and an aggressive defense schemes but they lack athletes defensively. With Virginia's style of play it bodes well for Tech and will allow Tech to put up some big points in this one. 

I am hoping for a closer game than what the reality I fear is going to be for Virginia 

My Pick is Tech  

January 1st - Capital one Bowl. 

Michigan v Florida Michigan will be facing the best quarterback in college football, well if his hand is healed by then. But I suspect no matter what Tebow will be playing and this time off give Urban Meyer plenty of time to create his schemes and match ups. Florida has a high powered offense with Tebow at the helm and he is a one man scoring machine. Every defense has to commit at least one linebacker to cover Tebow and that is one man out of your scheme which creates match up opportunities elsewhere. Look at the Florida film throughout the year and team that had problems with Florida were the ones that did not have the athletes to shadow Tebow and the corners were fairly weak. Those teams that had a solid front on the defense with athletic corner and linebackers faired better. You have to game plan for Tebow he is that dangerous of a player but the knock now is Tebow is the Heisman winner and that equals big bulls eye on Tim Tebow. 

Michigan has Hart and he is a one man wrecking crew and running back. I like this kid and Florida has had some problems with teams that run right at them. The weakness for Michigan offensively, and I know I will get crap from Maize fans for this one, is their quarterback. I have never been a fan of Heinen and see him as a slightly below average quarterback that lacks the mental toughness and get it done attitude a major program needs. With him he is bound to error in his decisions and ball placement while selecting targets. His best pass is the post route but he has difficulty with throw backs, hooks, slants and everything else. It almost appears that th receiver has to be stationary for him to hit his target but at times he gets lucky. I hope he enjoyed his college career because it's over after the bowl game and I don't see any team taking a risk with him in the draft. You will get picked up as an unsigned draftee or walk-on somewhere and may make a good clip board holder dude but that's it. 

Michigan, as does Florida, has a lot to prove in this one. If Florida loses then Michigan will have heads up next year in the Big 10. If Florida wins this one then next year they will continue roll through next year with vengeance on their mind for Georgia after the way they were treated by the DAWGS during the season.  

My pick is Florida IF Tebow is healthy and he can throw. If not then it will be a lot closer and Michigan will win in the end.  

January 1st Rose Bowl. 

USC v Illinois. Here's the deal USC improved as the year went along but Booty was still well Booty. A serviceable quarterback but he can lose the game for you with poor decisions. Booty's best pass is the post. He will not be the best quarterback in this game but that won't matter much. USC's defense is healthy finally and they started to play like a solid unit later in the season. Their defense has two stellar performers and the rest good role players that make few mistakes but when they do error they come in bunches. USC's defense is physical and their front is formidable for any offensive line. What I do not like about USC defense is their ability to cover play action or spread offenses. That is their Achilles heal and may work to the benefit of Illinois. Illinois has a mobile quarterback that can pass the ball well in motion and he has speed. Not as much as Oregon's Dixon but fast enough to get to the outside and cause USC defense to lose their gaps and create opportunities.  

Illinois has learned to play physical ball but not in every game. In some games this year the players seemed to take off the whole game or at times quarters. You cannot do that and doing that against USC will create a beat down of major proportions. What I like about Illinois is their ability to score and play up to an opponent and this is the biggest "play-up" game they will have for a few years. But I don't think they have enough in the tank or enough fans in the stands to push them along with a USC home game. 

A sane person would have to pick USC in this one for many reasons. The negative on USC is they are a very arrogant program because of all the media attention over the years. That arrogance can and has hurt them in games because they tend to play down to their level of competition like they did last year with UCLA and this year with Stanford. Both games they should have easily won and thought they would but the players believed in their own hype which does not bode well for any team. 

Next year I believe USC will be better than this year because you will be losing some distractions in the locker room which I believe has hurt the team. 

My Pick USC. 

January 1st Allstate Sugar Bowl. 

Hawaii v Georgia. I like the fact that the Sugar does not have the automatic tie-in anymore besides the winner of the SEC or an SEC team. In the old days it was always SEC or Big 12 or ACC team. Georgia finished the year with a solid performance and many believed they deserved a shot at the BCS national title with the way they finished out the year and the fact that they were the BCS #4 vote getter. I had said Georgia was the team to contend with in the SEC EAST but with the loss to Tennessee was the deciding factor in their no show. I like this Georgia team is a fast, talent, athletic team with sound coaching. Th offense had a few rough spot early but they came together and matured as a team and next year they will be very dangerous and should not be overlooked for the SEC crown. Georgia's defense has just as much speed and play making ability.  

 I really do not believe Hawaii has a chance in this game what-so-ever. I don't care about Brennan and his 130 career college passing TD record and all that crap. Georgia is far too talented and will crush Hawaii and hopefully end all this talk about Hawaii and how deserving they are. I know they are a good team but frankly they have struggled against some lesser teams and now they face an SEC team that has come together with loads of depth and athletes. If anybody thinks Hawaii is actually going to win then please email me and I will take your money. 

My Pick Georgia. 

January 2nd - Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.  

Oklahoma v West Virginia. West Virginia just had to score one more point than Pitt but it could not manage that so how does anyone believe they will beat OU?  It did not have to be pretty it just had to be a win and you could not do it how very sad. OU is another team that made the BCS title talk interesting. Oklahoma has probably the best offensive line in the country and while they had some games in which they did not live up to the Stoops standard it was quickly resolved. Their quarterback, I predict, will be one of the top five quarterbacks next year and he is another quarterback that you have to game plan for. He has a quick release and has a very sound understanding of defensive schemes but he should since OU has had one of the best defenses in the nation since Stoops arrival. OU's defense has been consistent this year but they did have some trouble with the speed and schemes of Texas Tech. But lets face it West Virginia is no Texas Tech offensively. 

West Virginia has talent in the backfield and that is a pure fact. With a running quarterback and a solid running back they are dangerous albeit one dimensional offensively. If I were WVU I would give OU a dose of Noel Devine in the backfield with Slaton and run some play action with Slaton and Devine. That along with White is a dangerous combination that WVU has not tried this year. WVU has to throw OU off its defensive scheme and that would help do the trick. But WVU still has a passing game problem and it is compounded by the fact that White likes to pull the ball down and jet at the first sign of trouble instead of showing some patience. White should be all healed for this game but he has to be patient with the ball in passing and play action situations. WVU will not fool OU's defense will quarterback right, quarterback left, quarterback keeper. I heard OU actually has a projector and film so I am just guessing that Stoops has a game plan for that. 

My Pick is OU  

January 3rd - FedEx Orange Bowl.  

Virginia Tech v Kansas. First Virginia Tech needs to thank the Kansas players that were on the Home Deport awards show on television for giving Tech all the bulletin board material you want. I just cannot believe that a Kansas player would say that they will be "12-1" after the bowl game. I thought Chris Fowler or Herbstriet was going to go "say what" but they just tried to get off subject fast. I can bet Hokie fans have the clip youtubed. Okay I will play nice. Maybe.  

Tech is the better team when it comes to talent, athletes and coaching. I know Mangino is coach of the year. Let me first get off topic for a second. Coach please do yourself, and your family a favor and get some medical help for your obvious weight problem. It will kill you. Get gastric bypass, the belt, something but for the love of your family please do this. Tech can win this game but they have to play as a collective unit and not mail in a performance like they have in several games. My biggest problem with Tech has been the inconsistent play and play calling on both sides of the ball. It has shown in the games and on the sidelines. I do not feel tech has strong team chemistry and they have been faltering for the past several years. They consistently have sound recruiting classes but have not been the same team offensively since Ricky Bustle left to coach at UL-Lafayette. He was the soul of their offense.

Kansas has some nice talent but my biggest problem with them is they played one real top 25 team and lost. While it was fairly close the Mizzou OU game showed the talent, athletic and coaching gap between a top program and an also ran. With that being said I like the Jayhawks quarterback he is a feisty little fella that a lot of teams overlooked because of his size. Well Kansas lists him at 5'11" but that is with pumps on. But it does not take away from his leadership abilities and what he manages to do in the games. With 32 TD's on the season he should get a couple more with his big play making receiver Marcus Henry and Dexter Fields. They are his go to guys. The problem Kansas will have is going to be on the defensive side. They just do not have enough fire power to stop Tech but Tech will certainly stop them selves and they prove that they can do that all by them selves.  

I am going against my better judgment and Pick Kansas. 

January 7th - BCS National Championship Game. 

Ohio State v LSU. First let me say this to those that are crying because Kansas, or Hawaii or (fill in your team here) are not playing. First most of you, besides Hawaii, you just had to win one more game in most cases or not lose to a suspect team (Stanford) that hurt your chances. Hawaii, face it you play in a weak conference and still struggled in some wins against some lesser foes (Nevada, La Tech, etc.) 

Ohio State is a very, very good team and better than last years National Champion runner up team. They are consistent at quarterback but not stellar and they manage the game well. OSU has a sound running game with a running average of 53% if the figures are correct. With 20 rushing TD's on the year and a 4.69 per run average OSU has a sound running game with some nice change up backs. The passing game of OSU is better than last year and more rounded than last years bombs away marching they did. They get into more or a short game or small ball game in the passing attack averaging almost 13 yards per reception but realistically they pass the ball within 10-yards almost 60% of the time but they throw defenses off as they cheat up and then hit them with a nice soft zone play action which they do well. 

OSU does better on kick off returns than with punt returns with special teams. OSU defensively on special teams has problems with fast and physical teams and that may pose a problem as a game wears on. 

Defensively OSU is consistent but their plus minus ratio is not favorable but that has not been a huge factor in their wins or loses. The factor has been the defensive play of the unit and the second teamers that have shown great athletic prowess. Statistically they are the best defensive unit in the nation giving up only 94 yards per game passing with 9 TD' against and 10 picks on the year. Again not stellar but good. Their rushing defense has only given up an average of 2.5 yards per carry and that is due to their front 4 and linebackers. They are very physical and will get into it with the running backs and offensive linemen. 

LSU offensively has a good running game with nice change ups at running back. OSU can expect a dose of Hester who is a hard hitting running back that will not run away from a defender. He is a team leader and sets the pace for the running game. While not a speedster he can be elusive because he is faster than they appear. The running backs are as dangerous but with greater speed than Hester. Keiland Williams is a power house running back with the ability to make dime store cuts. He also likes to put his down and make a defender suffer. LSU averages a little over 5 yards per carry and has 34 rushing TD's in the year. His biggest concern for LSU in the rushing and passing game has to be its offensive line. They are penalty prone and are the most penalized unit in the SEC and maybe in the history of college football they are that bad with the penalties. Another problem they have is getting off blocks too soon in pass protection. It drives me crazy when a lineman is counting in his head how long he needs to maintain his block. From the film I have seen you can put a stop watch to the blocks and see they cover for the 2.5- 3 seconds. That is when you know they are counting in their collective thick heads. It is very poor coaching that is at the heart of that and it kills me to see that with any team. 

In the passing game LSU has a running quarterback in Flynn that does offer a nice change up and makes defenses stay honest. The receivers are very good with Doucet, Byrd, Tolliver, and Lafell with Dixon being the TE animal that fights for every inch of real-estate. I like Byrd and Dixon a lot but Lafell tends to have weak hands and gator arms because he won't stretch out if he feels he is going to take a hit. Doucet is hands down the best of the group. Not only will he go across the middle he is an excellent down the field blocker for the others. Flynn tends to get too focused on a receiver and fails to look off who he wants to throw to which can be a drive killer let alone a game killer. Perrilloux offers a nice change up at quarterback because he is a better runner and passer than Flynn but Miles tends to hold grudges and even though Perrilloux started the SEC championship game and played well don't expect to see a lot of him in this contest. 

Defensively about mid season LSU suffered a lot of injuries but the problem was the second teamers failed to pick up the slack and posed problems. With Alexander out for the year it created more opportunities for the opposing offense to doubled and triple team Dorsey because of Alexander's injury and Ricky Jean-Fran