.........well here is your chance to make your case!

Tonight on the FoxSports.com Bloggers Show I am going to devote the full time to discussing College Football. The topic for the show will be:

"I believe my favorite college team has a shot at winning the BCS National Championship!"

I have six fantastic guests this week and they will get five-seven minutes to make the case why their favorite team will win the BCS National Championship. Slots for next week will be limited to one person per school so if you want to make a case, drop me a line at Gatordebate@aol.com as soon as possible.

The 14th installment of the FoxSports.com Bloggers Show will air on Wednesday, August 22 at 10:00pm EST. Guests will include:

Marty Walker (Ohio State)

Lisa4USC (USC)

Nostradomus (Nebraska)

Rev (Florida)

Josh Q. Public (BC)

KSP113 (Penn State)

The topic we will be discussing is:

"I believe my favorite college team has a shot at winning the BCS National Championship!"

Special thanks to the folks at FoxSports.com for promoting the show, the FoxSports Funhouse and BlogTalkRadio.com





The call in number is (646) 478-5128

To access the show, click on the BlogTalkRadio Button here:

Let me get straight to the point folks. I'm starting an internet based radio show called the "Fox Sports Bloggers Show." The show will debut next Thursday, May 24, at 12:00 AM (I like to think of it as midnight on Wednesday. Please don't get confused) I am sorry about the late time but the folks at BlogTalkRadio.com will not let us schedule an earlier show until we have three or four shows under our belt. Let me tell you what I'm doing and why I'm doing it.

The angle for the show is that I want an internet radio show spotlighting and profiling Fox Sports Blogs and Bloggers. I've been to the blogs on other sites and I honestly believe we have the best sports bloggers out there. I've been through the programming guide and there isn't anyone else doing anything close to what I want to do.

Social media is fast becoming the cultural phenomenon of our generation . Blogging, social networking and video sharing are, according to BTR, "changing the face of the print and television industries." A network devoted to the development of social radio seems to be the next step and I really think BlogTalkRadio will be at the forefront of that movement. I don't think BlogTalkRadio is going to replace the conventional blog but I think BlogTalkRadio is a platform that extends the blog.

The conventional blog has limits. The blog does not allow for real-time interaction between the blogger and his or her readers or even with other bloggers. BlogTalkRadio extends the blog to allow such live interaction, as well as allow users to generate and consume content in audio format as well as in written format. As for why I'm doing it, I have a few reasons. First of all, I think it would be fun. I blog for enjoyment and I think this would be a fun extension of that. Secondly, I think bloggers are passionate sports fans and I think this is the next logical outlet for the passion. Lastly, as much as I love writing my blog, speaking and #### communication is a bit more in my wheel house. I spent four years in college doing sports broadcasts on our campus TV station with my roommate JW Stewart (from ESPN News). I hosted a radio show just outside of Chicago back in the mid 90's and most recently I spent a year doing the radio broadcasts for Stetson University's D-1 Basketball team. I stopped doing it when I began working on my PhD and I miss live radio and this gives me a chance to get back to doing something I love.

The First Show

There are a lot of sports talk shows out there, both in the terrestrial realm and on the internet, but nothing quite like this. I don't know of another show done by a blogger, with fellow bloggers, for bloggers and about what the bloggers write about and even a little about the bloggers themselves. This project though doesn't get off the ground without getting other bloggers involved. That's why I've secured three great bloggers for the first show:

Lisa4USC

Reverend Rhythm

1steelerfan1

While I have a lot of love for a lot of bloggers out there, I think the three of them are three of the most well known, well loved and well respected bloggers in the Fox Sports Blogging community. I listen to Colin Cowherd quite a bit and he always discusses what "moves the dial" when it comes to talk radio. The three them definitely move the dial. They are frequent holders of the "BOTD" and they receive a large number of responses on their blogs. They are fresh, opinionated, passionate and above all else, they know your sports. My long term vision is to get a lot of bloggers involved as guests, listeners who call in or IM the show or even as folks who may want to take over the reigns of the show for a night (I really do view the show as a collective project and not just my project which is why I named the show "The Fox Bloggers radio Show" and not "The Frank Irizarry show") so if you are interested in being a guest on subsequent shows, let me know.

I would like to stress that this show is not affiliated with Fox Sports and not endorsed by Fox Sports. The opinions on these shows are those of the bloggers and not of Fox Sports.

........then you need to check this out!

Here's a hint....he will probably side with whomever can showcase "the human side of sports!"

The Fox Sports Bloggers Show

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Fox_Sport
s_Bloggers_Show

MORE INFO TO COME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

.......then you need to check this out!!! 

 
 The "Fox Sports Bloggers Show"

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Fox_Spor
ts_Bloggers_Show

MORE INFO TO COME!!!

So I'm reading Lisa's blog on the Saban/Spurrier debate and it reminds me of the absolute passion I see in these blogs and in these discussions about college teams and college coaches. The things we debate about are the actual things (among millions of others) that Athletic Directors have to take into consideration when they hire a football coach.

There are some AD's out there doing a sweet job. Jeremy Foley at Florida brought in Meyer and Donovan and he has been rewarded for it. Mike Garrett is a big time AD at USC. Keeping Carroll (although I'm not sure how difficult it is) away from the NFL suitors and working in a fish bowl like LA is amazing. Frank Broyles at Arkansas is a legend. Dealing with the Mitch Mustain/Springdale High clique and hanging on to Houston Nutt when so many backers wanted him fired is incredible. Mal Moore at Alabama must have the patience of a saint and a stomach of iron. Any AD that can deal with the most insane Boosters and the most off the wall State Board of regents/Trustees is godlike. If this Saban thing works out, people will actually begin to believe Mal Moore is God.

So here it goes folks. Do you think you have what it takes to be an Athletic Director? Of course I realize none of us do but this could make for a fun and spirited debate.

Here's what I'd like to see;

1) Pick a school

2) Tell us who you would hire as the Head Coach and why.

3) If the coach you are choosing is an Offensive coach, pick a Defensive Coordinator or vice versa.

4) The only stipulation is that you can not choose the current coach /coordinator of the school you are the mythical AD for. You can choose NFL coaches if you'd like.

So for example:

I choose he University of Florida. I would choose Rich Rodriguez to be my Head Coach/OC and Greg Robinson (former DC at Texas and current Head Coach at Syracuse) to be my Defensive Coordinator.

So who would you choose Fox Sports Bloggers..........................................
.................................................

As a fan of SEC football, I do not hide the fact that I firmly believe that top to bottom the SEC is the strongest conference in all of college football.  The NFL draft this weekend seemed to validate that belief and it showed  that many in the NFL also believe in the strength of the SEC.  Consider the number of SEC first round picks relative to other conferences: 

First Round Picks by Conference

SEC                        11

Big 10                     6

Big East                  5

Big 12                    4

ACC                       3

Pac 10                    1

Independent           1

Mid-American          1                 

35% of the first round picks came from the SEC and the SEC accounted for as many first round picks as the Big 10 and Big East combined. 

SEC 1st Round Selections (11)
#1 Oakland JaMarcus Russell, QB, LSU
#6 Washington LaRon Landry, S, LSU
#8 Atlanta Jamaal Anderson, DE, Arkansas
#11 San Francisco Patrick Willis, LB, Ole Miss
#16 Green Bay Justin Harrell, DT, Tennessee
#17 Denver Jarvis Moss, DE, Florida
#21 Jacksonville Reggie Nelson, S, Florida
#23 Kansas City Dwayne Bowe, WR, LSU
#27 New Orleans Robert Meachem, WR, Tennessee
#29 Baltimore Ben Grubbs, OG, Auburn
#30 San Diego Craig Davis, WR, LSU

The dominance seemed to extend beyond the first round.  Consider the following:

- The SEC had the No. 1 pick in the draft for the fourth time in the last 10 years

- Three of the first five defensive players taken were from the SEC

- Three of the first eight players taken were from the SEC

- The SEC had 11 first round selections, which was the most of any conference.

- The 11 first round draft picks were the most ever by the SEC. In 1998 and 2005, the SEC had 10 first round draft selections.

- The SEC, Big Ten and Pac-10 were tied with the most selections in the second round with six each. The Big 12, WAC and Mountain West each had three selections.

- After two rounds, the SEC led with 17 selections, followed by the Big Ten with 13, Big 12 and the ACC with seven each.

- During the first day (three rounds of the NFL Draft), the SEC led with 21 selections, followed by the Big Ten with 18, ACC with 14, Big 12 with nine and the WAC with seven selections.

- The SEC finished the draft with a total of 41 players selected

 
This folks, is yet another example of Southeastern Conference football Dominance! 

SEC Players in the 2007 NFL Draft

Here's a hypothetical scenario for you. It's Week 5 of the 2007 NFL season. The Bengals are in their bye week so Carson Palmer decides to go to Buffalo to watch the Cowboys-Bills Monday Night Football game. Palmer is a bit disenchanted with the Bengals organization and with Roger Goodell's new conduct policy and the subsequent suspensions, the Bengals are starting to resemble Gene Hackman's team in the movie "The Replacements." In the back of Palmer's mind he's also thinking how cool it would be to play Quarterback for Americas team, the Dallas Cowboys. Jerry Jones would pay him an outrageous salary and the endorsement deals would rain down on Carson like manna from heaven. It's late in the 4th quarter and the Cowboys are up by 14. Not a huge lead but fairly comfortable. Romo is pulled from the game and the Cowboys put in Brad Johnson. On his first play, Johnson gets knocked out of the game. The Cowboys put in 3rd string QB Matt Baker. On his first play he gets knocked out of the game. The Cowboys are scrambling. They call for Romo to go back in the game but they realize Romo has left for the day. He figured he was done and he wanted to get a jump on the traffic. The Cowboys are scrambling on the sidelines looking for a QB when out of nowhere Carson Palmer comes down from a luxury box, dressed in a Cowboys uniform, and he tells Wade Phillips "put me in coach, I'm ready to play!" A giddy Wade Phillips hands Palmer the QB wristband with all the Cowboys plays on it and says "go get 'em tiger" and with that, Palmer proceeds to QB the Cowboys to victory.

Now most of you would look at this scenario and say I've lost my mind. You would question what fantasy world I live in to even come up with this ####. You would simply say "THIS COULD NEVER HAPPEN!" Now this is true in the world of most sports but not NASCAR. Can anyone tell me what the hell Dale Jr. was doing running the last nine laps of yesterdays race in Texas in Kyle Busch's car?

Now I'll be the first to admit I don't get a lot about NASCAR. I don't get any sport where the focus is on the arrow and not on the indian. I don't get any sport where 50% of the competitors are sons/nephews/cousins/brothers/uncles of someone else who once participated in the sport. I don't get how you can own a team yet drive for another team (can you imagine Mario Lemieux owning the Penguins but playing for the Flyers?) For that matter I don't get the idea of having a "teammate" in an individual sport. And I don't get how the drivers refer to their cars by make/model/number/and sponsor name with every passing reference. I don't get that stuff but someone PLEASE explain to me why a driver from another team would ever drive someone else's car. Someone please explain to me why Kyle Busch would leave the track before the race ended.

Lots of questions. Now I'm just looking for answers.

Just curious if anyone had any idea whether or not Fox Sports has just completely abandoned this site. Not that I don't like seeing the Rev's face every day for the past 96 days but sometimes I feel like we were all at a party and the hosts just went to bed and didn't tell anyone. I don't know but maybe another NGS or some changes to the site or maybe some form of rating/recognition of the bloggers similar to what SportingNews.com does. Just some suggestions.

Hey Fox Sports.....are you still there?

Yesterday was truly a seminal moment for African-Americans and for the National Football League. There had never been an African-American Head Coach in the Super Bowl and now we will have not only the first, but the first and second African-American Head Coaches coaching on the NFL's biggest stage. This is significant. I get it. We should praise their accomplishments and the fact that we have reached a diversity milestone. Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith are fantastic coaches and by all acounts great men. The NFL has done a lot to increase minority representation at the coaching level and by all accounts, they have made significant strides. The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport gave the NFL a grade of B+ in it's most recent annual rankings looking at the number of minority coaches, executives and owners. The problem that I have with the NFL is that when it uses the term "diversity" or "minority" what it really means is "black" or "African-American."

What about Hispanic and Latino coaches? What is the NFL doing to increase diversity and coaching representation among Hispanics and Latinos? Why doesn't the "Rooney Rule" apply to Hispanic/Latino coaches as well? Why are ther no Hispanic/Latino Head Coaches in the NFL? Lots of questions but very few answers.

In 2002, attorneys Cyrus Mehri and the late Johnnie Cochran released Black Coaches in the National Football League: Superior Performance, Inferior Opportunities, a report alleging that black NFL head coaches were held to a higher standard than their white counterparts, and were consequently denied a fair chance to compete for head coaching jobs. When the report was released, the NFL took action which lead to the establishment of the "Rooney Rule," named after Steelers owner Dan Rooney who chaired the league's diversity committee. The Rooney Rule requires that each team interview at least one minority candidate prior to selecting a head coach. There were seven African-American coaches this past season and with the firings of Dennis Green and Art Shell and the hiring of Mike Tomlin, right now it looks like there will be six in the NFL next year. Not great numbers relative to the number of African-American players in the League but a start.

Care to guess how many Latino/Hispanic Head Coaches there will be in the NFL next year?

Zero.

There are only five Assistant Coaches of Hispanic or Latino decent in the NFL, with Ron Rivera being the most prominent. This is a sharp decline from the 22 Hispanic/Latino Assistant Coaches in the NFL in 2002.

Ron Rivera

The NFL is seriously courting the Hispanic/Latino market to increase its fan base. According to a 2003 NFL/Cultural Access Group study, 77 percent of bilingual Hispanic men between the ages of 21 and 34 consider themselves football fans. The National Football League pinpointed Hispanics as the league's top marketing priority in 2002, and in July of that year, the NFL hired a New York Hispanic firm, Lumina Americas, to develop a Latino marketing campaign. In July 2006, NFL launched NFLatino.com, an extensive Web site, which includes columns in Spanish from five different sportswriters. We have seen and continue to see some truly great Hispanic/Latino players in the NFL from Anthony Munoz and Jim Plunkett to Tony Gonzalez and Jeff Garcia. Yet where are the Latino coaches? When will Ron Rivera get his shot? How come Barry Alvarez was never "lured" away from Wisconsin? What about Rich Rodriguez from West Virginia? Why don't we ever hear about NFL teams knocking on his door?

While we spend the next two weeks recognizing and applauding the accomplishments of Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy let's not forget that although they are the first Black Head Coaches to coach in the Super Bowl, they are not the first "minority" coaches to coach in the Super Bowl. Tom Flores holds that distinction. For those of you who don't know who Tom Flores is, he was the coach that replaced John Madden as coach of the Raiders after Madden's retirement. He lead the Raiders to victory in 1980 (Super Bowl XV) and 1983 (Super Bowl XVIII ). Tom Flores was also a Mexican-American. After leaving the Raiders, Flores had a short stint with the Seahawks and then never received another coaching opportunity. Unlike other coaches that can parlay two Super Bowl wins into many more coaching oppoprtunities (Bill Parcells), Flores was out of coaching after his Seahawks stint. There aren't many coaches that win one Super Bowl and the fact that Flores won two puts him in pretty elite company.

I wonder when the next Tom Flores is going to come along?

Imagine an NBA team showing up at an arena for a game and their are loose boards on the court.  Imagine an NHL team showing up to play a game and the home team decides not to use the zamboni to clean the ice between periods.  Imagine a Major League Baseball team showing up for a game and the field looks like an inner city baseball diamond with weeds in the outfield and rocks in the infield.  These things would never happen in other sports where great attention is paid to the quality of the playing surface.

Too bad this isn't the case in the NFL.

The playing surface at Soldier Field is positively deplorable.  It is such a shame to watch athletes for both team slipping and sliding like they're playing on ice.  Sure it effects both teams but it's the fans who suffer having to watch such folly.

The NFL is a billion dollar industry.  NFL stadiums are worth hundreds of millions of dollars and NFL teams are stocked with millionaire talent.  Why is it then that the NFL teams are not willing to fork over the $500,000 - $700,000 necessary for FieldTurf?  We're not talking about old school Philadelphia Veterans Stadium artifical turf.  We're talking about high level synthetic surfaces that will minimize injury risk and increase playability.

Since the Cleveland Browns instaled FieldTurf on September 1, 2000, the Falcons,Bengals, Broncos, Lions, Packers, Colts, Texans, Jaguars, Chiefs, Vikings, Patriots, Jets, Giants, Saints, Raiders, Steelers, Chargers, Seahawks, Rams, and Titans have made the move as well.  That's 21 NFL teams in the past six years.  My question is what the hell are the owners of the other eleven teams waiting for?

According to Tom Brady, "“It's always nice (fieldturf). I think the quarterbacks (like it) because you can plant really well. It's different than playing out there in our sandpit because you can dig in and push off.”

Carl Francis of the NFL Players Association is a staunch supporter of FieldTurf.  ""We think it's important, and a really good sign that we see all NFL teams taking playing surfaces very seriously, and for the New England Patriots to take this position, I think it's a positive step toward player safety and health." 

Note to the Bears ownership.  Don't be so damn cheap.  Spend the relatively little bit of extra money and have FieldTurf installed at Soldier Field.  The players, coaches and fans will appreciate it.

While I am generally not in the business of prognostication (I leave that to the talking heads on TV with the seven figure incomes and eight figure egos), I am going to go out on a limb and predict the Bears and the Patriots will win today.  I'm not looking at stats, records or any of the usual measurables to make my prediction.  I am looking at one thing.

The "Gator" factor. 

This has been a great year for Florida Gators fans.  An NCAA Basketball Championship, a BCS Football Championship, Emmitt Smith winning Dancing With The Stars.

But it goes beyond that.

If we were believers in Chinese Astrology it would truly be the "Year of the Gator."  Let's look at the other current professional champions:

NBA - Miami Heat: The Miami Heat have two former Gators on their roster, Udonis Haslem and Jason Williams.  The Dallas Mavericks have no former Gators on their roster.  Advantage Miami.

MLB - St. Louis Cardinals: The St. Louis Cardinals have World Series MVP David Eckstein on their roster, a former Gator.  The Detroit Tigers had no former Gators on their roster last season.  Guess who won the World Series.

Which brings us to todays games. 

The Bears have four former Gators on their roster (Rex Grossman, Alex Brown, Todd Johnson and Ian Scott).  The Saints have none.  Advantage: Bears. 

The Patriots also have four former Gators on their roster (Jabar Gaffney, Reche Caldwell, Kelvin Kight, Chad Jackson).  The Colts have none.  Advantage: Patriots.

While I recognize this method of prognostication is about as reliable and reading tea leaves, knife throwing, using astrology or picking based on the nicer uniforms but it will be fun to see if the year of Gator dominance continues.  Now if my predictions hold true, I have no idea what will happen in the "Big Game" since both teams would have four former Gators.  I guess I'll have to resort to dart throwing.

"You have to be able to run the ball to win in the playoffs" is a mantra heard by NFL fans all the time.  After watching this weekends Divisional games, I think an addendum needs to be added to the statement;

"You have to be able to run the ball to win in the playoffs and you have to do it with two backs instead of one featured running back."

Just look at the teams advancing versus the teams that were eliminated;

Advancing:

• Colts (Addai and Rhodes)
• Patriots (Dillon and Maroney)
• Bears (Jones and benson)
• Saints (McAllister and Bush)

Eliminated:

• Chargers (Tomlinson)
• Ravens (Lewis)
• Eagles (Westbrook)
• Seahawks (Alexander)

This weekend we saw the reigning MVP, Ladanian Tomlinson and last years MVP, Shawn Alexander eliminated from the playoffs while teams utilizing two backs all advanced.  Now I'm not saying that it has to be a 50/50 split and I'm not saying that the sole reason these teams won or lost today was based solely on their situation at Running back but I am saying that in a copycat league, there is a chance that we will see the devaluing of the single and premier feature back in favor of a rushing by committee approach.  When none of the top 10 RB's (statistically speaking) are left in the playoffs and only one of the top 17 are left, it makes you wonder if more teams will go to a sharing the wealth philosophy.

Although the majority of the national news media did not give Florida much chance against Ohio State, those few voices that gave Florida some chance of winning touted the SEC's and in particular, Florida's "speed."  With Florida's demolition of Ohio State, the "speed discussion" will probably intensify.  A quick look at how the speed issue is being discussed in the media today:

• The Nashville City Paper: - "In the days preceding the game, Ohio State scoffed at the notion that Florida’s speed — superior either in theory or in fact — would prove decisive. And when Buckeye speedster Ted Ginn Jr. returned the game’s opening kickoff for a touchdown, Ohio State issued a “Take that!” response to the question of speed.
  The difference in speed wasn’t at the skill positions, however. It was at defensive end, where lightning-quick Gator defensive ends Derrick Harvey and Jarvis Moss terrorized Buckeye offensive linemen and produced game-changing plays."
• The Boston Globe - "That brings us back to the eternally popular topic of speed.  Much was made of the idea that Ohio State was no old-fashioned Big 10 team, that one reason the Buckeyes had come into this game at 13-0 was that they had the kind of speed that would impress even an SEC team.  They didn't.  Smith found out first-hand just how disruptive Florida's speed could be in the very first quarter when he was unable to run away from defensive end Derrick Harvey, who chased the Ohio State QB and caught him on an attempt to scramble to his left. Harvey goes 6-5 and a listed 262."
• The San Diego Union Tribune - "Another stat for you: OSU is 0-8 all-time versus the SEC in bowl games. As a conference, the Big 10 can't compete with the team speed and athleticism of SEC Football ."
  
• CBS News - "There is speed and then there is SEC speed."
  

This of course started me thinking a bit about Track and Field and speed and the SEC and how it all relates.  Here are some quick facts from the world of Track and Field:

• An SEC team has won the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship in 23 of the past 24 years including 19 NCAA Championships by Arkansas!
  
• An SEC team has won the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship in 15 of the past 22 years including 15 NCAA Championships by LSU!
• AN SEC sprinter has won the 60 Meter Dash in 8 of the past 13 seasons.
• AN SEC sprinter has won the 100 Meter Dash in 10 of the past 25 seasons.
• In 2005, Arkansas, LSU and Florida went 1,2,3 in the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship!

Now a lot of folks will discuss how speed played a role in the National Championship game and SEC fans will continue to tout the incredible speed that their teams possess but the big question that I have is Why is there so much more speed in the SEC then in the Big 10, or for that matter, just about any conference (although the Pac-10 gives the SEC a run for its money).  I don't pose this question to boast or to rub salt in the open wounds of Big 10 fans but I am legitimately interested in hearing others theories as to why the athletes in the SEC are just plain faster then comparable high level athletes in other conferences.  Is it genetics?  Is it something in the water?  Is it the heat?  Is it the training the kids get in High School?  Is it a question of emphasis and athletic philosophy?  is it a race issue (let's be careful on this one folks)?

I was listening to a local Orlando talk show this morning and the host, Dan Sileo said he knew the Gators would win because "there is no way a group of kids from Ohio could be faster then a group of kids from the state of Florida."  Why is that?  To question whether or not there is more speed in the SEC is pointless and not really in question.  The better question is why is there more speed in the SEC then the Big 10.  That's what I'd like to hear opinions on.

What a game for the Gators! No one gave Florida the respect they deserved going into tonights game and the Gators came out and displayed more fire, grit and determination then I have ever seen. Here are some quick thoughts on the game:

1. I predicted the outcome of the last three BCS Bowl games last week. I said LSU would beat Notre Dame and validate the SEC. I said USC would beat Michigan and prove they were not worthy of a rematch with Ohio State. I said Florida would beat Ohio State.
2. lisa4usc should be given a gig at ESPN or Fox Sports because her prediction was the most accurate score prediction I saw before the game. Wow.
3. The SEC, top to bottom (and especially at the top) is a far superior conference to the Big 10. Faster, tougher, better coached. Plain and simple, end of story.
4. Michigan was exposed by USC. Now I hope the Michigan fans finally stop whining and just shut up until next season. Do y'all still think you should have goten a rematch?
   
5. The Big 10 backers (you know who you are) that thought it meant something that Wisconsin beat Arkansas. Big deal. The SEC won more bowl games then the Big 10 and won the only game that mattered.
6. Notre Dame still stinks (just had to throw that in). And that Clausen kid won't make you much better. The second coming of Ron Powlus.
   
7. I hope Kirk Herbstreit goes and hides his head in the sand for the next eight months. He is getting what he deserves. He is a total homer who thought Michigan should have played for the National Championship and he thought Ohio State would wipe out Florida. Heck, if you check out his 2006 Herbies (His preseason predictions for ESPN), he listed Florida as the #1 team "Headin' on Down". How about that for an off prediction. Congrats Herbie...you suck!
   
8. Final Bowl Records: SEC, 6-3, Sugar Bowl Champs, BCS National Champs - Big 10, 2-5, lost the Rose Bowl, hammered in the BCS National Championship. Yeah, I know those two wins came against SEC teams (that would be your argument right Hoit :) but does that really matter right now. I will concede that Arkansas and Tennessee are not as good as Penn State and Wisconsin. But does it really matter?
   
9. Troy Smith is not as overrated as Brady Quinn but what a stat line: 4-14, 35 yards and an INT. Wow. The Heisman jinx continues
10. Ohio State has 83 total yards, 2 INT's and Troy Smith was sacked 5 times. Now you Big 10, Ohio State and Michigan fans understand what real speed is. SEC speed!
11. Chris Leak deserves all the credit in the world. Came to UF with lofty expectations. Had two Head Coaches and three Offensive Coordinators in four years. Had to run Meyer's offense that he wasn't a perfect fit for. Had Tebow waiting in the wings getting a lot of attention (quick side story...I was at Urban Meyer's football camp last summer with my son and Leak and Tebow both came out to the field to sign autographs. The Tebow line was 10 times longer then the Leak line. I know because if you look at my Avatar photo my son is wearing a Tim Tebow autographed T-shirt :) Through it all, he stood tall. He deserves the respect that he has earned. He will forever be revered by Gator Nation.

BOY IS IT GREAT TO BE A FLORIDA GATOR AND A FAN OF SEC FOOTBALL RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!

I wouldn't exactly say this was the best NFL playoff opening weekend that I've ever seen. Sloppy play, poor coaching decisions and untimely tunrovers seemed to be the flavor of the day in the first two games of the '07 playoffs. I'm hoping to see more from the Jets-Pats and Giants-Eagles tomorrow. Just some quick hit thoughts on todays games:

Chiefs - Colts:

• Where were you today Larry Johnson? 15 carries for 32 yards (2.5 yard average) and a long run of six yards? Against the Colts Defense? Big players rarely come up so small in big games.
• Will Shields was irrelevent. For one of the best Left Guards in the history of football, today was not his finest moment. The interior of the Chiefs Offensive line, long considered to be the best in the NFL was compeletly out-hustled, out-classed and out-played by the Colts front four.
• Dwight Freeney is a monster. Did the Chiefs even play with a Left tackle today? Whether he was bull rushing, going underneath the arms of the brittle and stationary Left Tackle or using his patented spin move, he was unstoppable.
• Herm Edwards is a loser. He might be one of the absolute worst game day coaches in the history of the NFL. He might be a "player's coach" (code for a coach with no discipline on his team) but he will never get the Chiefs past the first round of the playoffs. The Jets let him go without much fight and with the job Mangini has done this year with herms players, we can see why. The Jets played disciplined, well coached football, something that was lacking when Edwards was the coach. Herm couldn't get his team ready to run against the worst run defense in the NFL. Wow. I also think Herm kept Trent Green in the game way too long. When your starting QB can only muster up 107 yards, throws 2 picks and allows himself to get sacked four times, you need to pull him. The Chiefs have sputtered since Green came back from his concussion (he had a 48.4 QB rating today) and I'll never know why Edwards did not go to Huard. Speaking of Huard...
• I wonder if Herm realizes that Damon Huard was having a monster season in relief of Trent Green. In eight starts, Huard had 11 touchdowns, only one interception, threw for 1878 yards and had a QB rating over 100.

Seahawks - Cowboys:

• If you were a Seahawks fan, would you feel confident about Matt Hasselbeck leading your team to either Chicago or New Orleans next week? Two picks, barely a 50% completion rate (and without DJ Hackett making some tough grabs, the percentage would have been much lower) and a QB rating of 66.9. I sure hope Shaun Alexander gets it in gear before next week. Speaking of Alexander...
• The only difference between Larry Johnson and Shaun Alexander is that Alexander's team won, with no help from the superstar running back. 24 carries for 69 yards is not very good. If you take away the one good run Alexander had for 20 yards, his stat line would be 23 carries for 49 yards. 2.1 yards per carry. The Bears and Saints defenses will be licking their chops next week.
• T.O., aka "The Player" aka "Team Obliterator" was more like "T.(N)O." as in "no-show." 2 catches for 26 yards against a Seahawks secondary that started a butcher, a baker, a candle stick maker and Ken Hamlin? Are you kidding me?
• Tony Romo. I feel terrible for that guy. To have a truly Bill Buckner moment so early in your career can't be good for the psyche.
  
• 
  

• I wonder if Carrie Underwood and Jessica Simpson will be returning any of Romo's calls in the near future.

• I hear Carmen Electra might be looking for a date if Carrie and Jessica give you the cold shoulder Tony!