Yeah, we could stay in reality and watch TV religiously every weekend to find out who's going to going to play in this year's Super Bowl, but why wait? I've done you guys the favor of showing you who would win the Super Bowl in nature, before Football even existed.

Perhaps, if mother nature has a hand in it, this could be a preview of this year's Super Bowl..

Nah.

Division One

Most of the first round was weeding out the teams that, well, couldn't compete in nature, such as Jets, Patriots, Redskins, and a Bill (still don't know what that is). The second round got tougher, as a flying animal and a swimming animal faced off, as well as a Giant and a Cowboy. The Giants advanced to the Final Four, because, well because they're Giants, and they can pretty much beat anything up.

Division Two

As in Division One, the first round of this Division was weeding out the teams that just couldn't compete. Packers, Steelers, and Browns were all defeated in a blowout, and the Vikings lost to the Bengals because a Tiger would rip that helmet off their heads and puncture their necks with one bite. A bird lost once again, this time to a Bengal Tiger, because never could a bird defeat a tiger. In the biggest match up of this division, the Lions defeated the Bears. It was a tough battle, but Lions are just awesome animals. In another tough match up, the Lions prevailed over the Bengal Tigers.

Division Three

Division three was one of the strongest divisions in this playoff. While the Buccaneers, Saints, and Texans didn't stand too much chance, the rest of the bracket was anyone's game. The Colts gave the Panthers a run for their money, but man, Panthers are tough animals. In the second round, a bird was defeated yet again, and the Titans defeated the Jaguars. In the Division Championship, the amazingly tough Titans beat out the Panthers in overtime, and advanced to the Final Four.

Note: In these playoffs, I considered Titans as warriors, not Gods. If they were Gods, that just wouldn't be fair.

Division Three

In what some would call the weakest division of these playoffs, there were few surprises. The Seahawks beat the Chargers, because I'm not totally sure what a Charger is. The Raiders beat the 49ers, because while the 49ers have pickaxes, the Raiders have those crazy fans. The Rams beat the Chiefs, and yet another bird team was eliminated by the Broncos. The Rams beat the Broncos with their horns of steel, and the Raiders and their insane fans eliminated the last bird team of the season. The Raiders beat the Rams in a nail biter to clinch the last spot in the Final Four.

The Final Four

In the first match up of unbeatens, the Lions were manhandled by the Giants, who effortlessly (and literally) stomped on them. The Raiders & Co. finally met their match when the Titans defeated them in two overtimes.

In the big game, Natures Super Bowl, The Giants struggled early, but eventually the Titans were so exhausted that the Giants just took over, and defeated the small armies of men with relative ease.

So I give you your 2006-2007 Nature's Super Bowl Winners:

The New York Giants

What will happen next season? Probably the same thing, unless some serious evolution happens.

Until next time, guys.

-GoBlue1013

Buy or Sell: With Vince Young being already the starting field general for the Tennessee Titans, and leading them to a hard fought win over a better Redskins team, he will have the best rookie NFL performance of all of the 3 Heisman contenders of last college football season.

Phil:
I think your right on that one. Vince was impressive last year because he was running against college kids and many of them had not seen a player that was as fast as he is.

With NFL linebackers coming at him, however, he will have to get used to not being able to run wild on them like he did down in Austin.

Austin:
I'm going to sell that one. I usually don't go by stats, but as of right now his stats are abysmal in comparison to Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush.

Vince has three passing touchdowns to four interceptions, 512 passing yards, and hasn't utilized his rushing game, which is was he was known for at Texas.

Matt Leinart, on the other hand, has four very impressive touchdown passes, only two interceptions, on 539 passing yards and is steadily improving.

Reggie Bush is probably the most impressive of them all, and even though his rushing stats don't show it, you have to keep in mind that he is running behind Deuce McAllister. He's got almost 200 rush yards and almost 300 receiving yards, as well as a punt return for a touchdown, his first career touchdown in the NFL.

Vince Young will not be a huge disappointment this season, and will turn out to have a decent career, but he won't be up there with the duo from USC when all is said and done.

______________

Buy or Sell? Adrian Peterson will return to Oklahoma for his senior year.

Phil:
Buy. I think he has no other choice. He's been plagued by injury for 2 years in a row, and I think it is his ambition to win the Heisman trophy. That isn't going to happen this year because of the collar bone obviously, and he hasn't really produced stellar seasons because of his injury woes.

I think if he is smart he will stay for his senior season, get more experience, and go out with a lot of draft hype. I think there might very well be the Adrian Peterson bowl in the next NFL season just as there was the Bush Bowl in the last NFL season.

Austin:
Actually, I'm going to sell. He has been in the Heisman race all three years at Oklahoma, including a second place finish his freshman year, and he would be crazy to risk serious injury by returning in his senior year.

He ranks first in all active rushers for career attempts, as well as second in career yards and career touchdowns.

A Heisman would be great for AD, but he if he enters the draft after this season, he is a top ten pick. Take the money, AD. You've proven yourself already.

______________
Buy or Sell: The punishment that the Miami players received for their roles in the worst in game sports brawl that we have seen since The Malice at the Palace, were the correct decisions.

Phil:
I'm going to sell that one. The Miami players bought disgrace to not only themselves, but their University as well. They should be lucky to be still on the football team, but less still be even enrolled at the university. A few games suspension and community service is laughable to me.

Kyle Wright said that "You have to back up your guys, you can let them get beat up." That's something you say in a bar fight, not a college football game.


Austin:
I'm going to buy. I know that's kind of a weird answer because what the players at Miami (and FIU) participated in some of the most disgusting acts that I've ever seen in a College Football game, but this is nothing new to Miami.

They're players have never exactly been 'role models'. From stomping on Louisville's midfield logo, to rapping in an extremely explicit song about group sex, to this, one of the biggest fights in College Football History.

This is why I buy. No one expects too much in terms of class out of Miami, so why punish them harshly for the expected? Players from 'Da U' misbehaving is like the day you take finals. You know it's coming, you don't really know what to expect, you just know it's going to suck.

Suspensions were enough. No need to kick players off the team permanently or cancel the season or anything. Maybe let the players wear brass knuckles under their gloves next time, though. A few of them were getting their #### kicked..
______________

So what did we learn in ATP's first installment of Buy or Sell? Well, Phil and Austin don't agree on too many things sports.

Check back soon, there's plenty more to come.

***

So here we are, October 2006. Days away from the World Series, in the midst of the NBA Pre-Season, the beginning of what looks to be a fantastic hockey season, and right smack dab in the middle of the College Football Season. Incase you missed it, here's what's been going on so far this year in sports...

Number Two's have been made a fool.

From Texas' embarrassing display against the Buckeyes in Austin, to Notre Dame's crushing loss to my boys in Blue, to Auburns embarrassing loss to Arkansas, to Florida's recent blunder against Auburn, College Football hasn't been kind to number two's so far this season.

What's in store for USC, the current BCS #2? Well, there's a good chance of them staying there for a few weeks, until November 11 rolls around and the Trojans have to face four strong teams in a row; Oregon, Cal, Notre Dame, and at UCLA. Call me crazy, but I see them losing two of those, one being Notre Dame. The #2 curse will live on.

Unless of course my boys are ranked #2 when they roll into Columbus on the 18th..

The Tigers are in the Wor- wait, what?!

That's right folks, behind fantastic pitching and timely hitting, the Detroit Tigers are headed to the World Series for the first time in over twenty years. A picture perfect Magglio Ordonez walk off, series-ending home run in game four of the ALCS against the A's, completed the sweep and sent the Tigers to the World Series.

Their opponent, either the Mets or the Cardinals, will have a tough time getting hits off of any of the Tiger's starters, namely Kenny Rogers. Kenny Rogers has been nothing short of a beast for the entire postseason, and I expect him to carry his team to a storybook ending World Series, no matter who they meet in the final round.

Raiders bottom list of NFL teams, Bears top it*

Yeah, that's an asterisk. So what if I don't think the Bears will be the ones wearing rings come February? I was on the same bandwagon as everyone else until Monday night, when I saw one of the least stellar performances out of any team's first three quarters this season. They were down by twenty. The Chicago Bears' defense was down twenty points, and their offense wasn't doing anything to help.

Rex Grossman? 4 interceptions. Four. That's twice as many picks than defensive touchdowns for the Bears, something that should never happen in Chicago.

..What? What do you want me to say about the Raiders? They make my Lions look good, so I'm not going to badmouth them.

_______________

Tune in for my midseason report for the NBA and NHL.. well whenever the midseason for those two sports are. I really struggle to get into those sports when one of them is in preseason and the other has played 5-8 games.

I've got to get ready for the Red Wings game tonight. I actually had the opportunity to meet the Sharks players in between periods, but I turned them down. I'm a Red Wings fan. Sharkie will be visiting us in the box, however. Any suggestions as to how to get him near the balcony?

I was thinking the other day.. How many Heisman winners actually turn out to be great? So I looked at the winners of the last ten Heisman Awards and gave them a ranking on the old Bust-O-Meter; one being a bust and ten being a hall-of-famer.

1996: Danny Wuerffel (QB, Florida)
Career NFL Stats:
184/350, 2,123yds, 12 TDs, 22 INTs, 56.4 QB Rating
Retired in 2002, after three seasons with the Saints, one with the Packers, one with the Bears, and one with the Redskins.
BUST-O-METER: 2/10
Anyone who throws almost twice as many picks as scores in their seven year career is a bust in my book.

1997: Charles Woodson (WR/DB, Michigan)
Career NFL Stats:
Defense: 398.0Tckls, 5.5 Sacks, 17 INTs, 2 TDs
Returns: 23PR, 172yds, 7.5ypr
Played eight seasons with the Raiders, currently plays with Packers.
BUST-O-METER: 7/10
As far as busts go, he isn't one of them. Granted, he isn't playing up to his Heisman standards, but by no means is he a bust.

1998: Ricky Williams (RB, Texas)
Career NFL Stats:
1,757att, 7,097yds, 47 TDs, 23 Lost Fumbles
Played three seasons with Saints, five with the Dolphins, currently plays in the Canadian Football League.
BUST-O-METER: 3/10
He did pretty well until he got busted for using pot and got sent to Canada to play football.

1999: Ron Dayne (RB, Wisconsin)
Career NFL Stats:
685att, 2,490yds, 17 TDs, 5 Lost Fumbles
Played five seasons with Giants, one with the Broncos, currently playing with the Texans.
BUST-O-METER: 5/10
Another player who hasn't lived up to his Heisman standards. He is doing better than most, however. At least he's still in the NFL.

2000: Chris Weinke (QB, Florida State)
Career NFL Stats:
317/591, 3,175yds, 12 TD, 22 INTs, 60.4 QB Rating
Currently in his sixth season with the Panthers.
BUST-O-METER: 6/10
Anyone who has stayed with the same team for six years after the draft has potential. But it seems like Heisman winners throw more interceptions in the NFL than touchdowns (See: Danny Wuerffel).


2001: Eric Couch (QB, Nebraska)
Career NFL Stats:
N/A. Has never played a down in the NFL.
Due to lack of height and athleticism, he was thrown around a few teams (Rams, Chiefs), and was tried out as a WR. He currently plays fourth string quarterback in the CFL.
BUST-O-METER: 1/10
This is the definition of a bust. Fourth string? In Canada? Sorry guys, but what a waste of a Heisman.

2002: Carson Palmer (QB, USC)
Career NFL Stats:
683/1,061, 7,650yds, 56 TDs, 34 INTs, 90.0 QB Rating
Has played all four seasons with the Bengals, became starting quarterback in 2004.
BUST-O-METER: 9/10
Hell, I'd draft this guy in my fantasy league. He is playing great, and has a decent INT to TD ratio unlike the rest of the Heisman QBs on this list.

2003: Jason White (QB, Oklahoma)
Career NFL Stats:
N/A. The Titans signed him in 2005 as an unrestricted free agent, but he quit professional football due to knee problems.
BUST-O-METER: 1/10
He won the Heisman, and didn't play a game in the NFL. I'm not saying he wouldn't have been great, I'm just saying he can't be considered not a bust if he never played a down. That's another Heisman Trophy that could have been put to better use. Maybe a key ring holder.. Or a weapon.

2004: Matt Leinart (QB, USC)
Career NFL Stats:
5/8, 49yds, 1 INT
Has played one game this season for the Cardinals.
BUST-O-METER: N/A
He's only played one game. Sure he only gave it to his own team five times. So what if he gave it to the opposing team twice? He still has potential.

2005: Reggie Bush (RB, USC)
Career NFL Stats:
45att, 147yds, 1 Fumble Lost
Has played in four games this season for the Saints, starting one.
BUST-O-METER: N/A
He's not doing too well, but he's playing behind Deuce! Once he gets used to the NFL, he'll be great. At least I hope so, he's on my fantasy team..

So.. In the past ten years (not including Leinart and Bush), the Heisman winners registered an average of 4.25/10 on my Bust-O-Meter. I don't know if it's a curse or anything, but man. Two of them never played a down in the NFL, and only two received more than a six. And the Bust-O-Meter doesn't lie.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know..

-Austin