While on a Los Angeles radio show Carson Palmer said that he, “Cannot stand the Buckeyes. It's amazing to hear what those guys think about that university and what they think about that football program and Tressel and all the #### I gotta put up with being back there. I just can't wait for two years from now when SC comes to the 'Shoe and hopefully we'll have a home game that weekend and I can go up there and watch us pound on them in their own turf. I'm really getting sick of it and I just can't wait for this game to get here so they can come out to the Coliseum and experience LA and get an old-fashioned Pac-10 butt-whoopin' and go back to the Big Ten.”

I am actually disappointed that Carson slightly backed down from his statements later saying that,” I’m a Trojan all the way, and I was talking to a Trojan audience in California. I guess I got a little fired up, as all good fans will do. But I really do respect the Buckeyes, and I know their fans are passionate, too. I hope they all understand I’m just looking forward to a big game for my school against a very tough opponent, and that it’s all in the good fun of a rivalry. You don’t have a real rivalry unless both sides are great teams.” The fact is that Ohio State is an overrated team in an overrated conference.

Carson Palmer, thank you for coming out and saying what so many people are thinking. Nobody likes Ohio State University. I love how Buckeye fans are so fired up over these comments saying things like Carson is jealous.

What exactly is he jealous of? Palmer actually won a BCS bowl, unlike Ohio State who just seems content on getting there. He has his number retired and has won a Heisman trophy. Carson is about as accomplished as a college quarterback as you can be. (He does lack a championship) Although both teams have great history, USC has more championships and while Ohio State fans will bring out all the other stats, the rings are all that matter.

Now all the “obnoxious” Ohio State fans are going to jump on this and obnoxiously claim that USC fans are horrible and that the Pac-10 is overrated despite the fact that 6 of its 10 teams were ranked in the top 25 at one point or another last year. They will say that even though they lost, at least the reached the title game two years in a row. To that last argument I have two things to say: 1) Who Cares? You lost the championship, which is all that matters, nobody thinks the Buffalo Bills are great why should you be different? 2) You finished your season last year ranked number 7 and sat out for the final few weeks as teams lost and Ohio State snuck into the title game by default. Why don’t the Buckeyes try to earn it on the field this year rather than let other teams lose it?

We should all thank Carson’s Trojans’ as they will prevent everyone from being forced to watch the Buckeyes getting beat in the BCS title game for the third straight year.

Overview:

Towards the end of last season Oregon fans got a preview of life without Dennis Dixon, and it was almost unbearable to watch. The once potent offense suddenly looked lost and confused and they went three and out on every possession. However, with Head Coach Mike Bellotti and Offensive Coordinator Chip Kelly given the entire offseason to retool the offense, it should fair a lot better. The Ducks will not be able to make another National Championship run, but they should be able to finish towards the top of the pack and go bowling once again.

Offense:

A good offense starts with the offensive line. Led by Center Max Unger, Oregon hopes that its line will live up to the expectations. All 5 projected starters on the offensive line are seniors and this very experienced line has the potential to be one of the best in the Pac-10. This offensive line is the reason that Oregon has led the conference in rushing each of the past two seasons. Despite losing Jonathan Stewart, Oregon’s running game should remain strong because of the arrival of junior college transfer LeGarrette Blount. The 6 foot 2, 229 pound running back topped 1,100 yards in each aof his two seasons in community college. Also look for a big season from Jeremiah Johnson who missed most of last season due to a torn ACL. Johnson has great size and speed and is a good fit in the spread offense. He features one of the best stiff arms in the country and has averaged 6.3 yards per carry over the past three seasons. One of the biggest questions in the offseason is who will fill the void left by Dennis Dixon. Although it will be impossible to replace Dixon, Nate Costa and Justin Roper have both shown that they can play and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly should be able to work them into a successful season. Costa and Roper may have problems at receiver if Jaison Williams continues to drop passes. Williams was impressive his sophomore season, but had a tremendous amount of drops last year. Also, tight end Ed Dickson proved last season that he can be a threat to catch the ball down the field as well as over the middle.

Defense:

With an offense that won’t put up nearly as many points as it did last year, Nick Aliotti’s defense will be extremely important. The defense is returning seven starters including lineman Nick Reed who led the nation with 22.5 tackles for a loss. Also returning are cornerbacks Jairus Byrd and Walter Thurmond III as well as strong safety Patrick Chung. This is a defense that forced 33 turnovers last season, the second most in the Pac-10, they will have to continue to be aggressive this year because they won’t have the offense of Stewart and Dixon to help them out.

Special Teams:

Oregon is set with Groza Award semifinalist Matt Evensen at kicker. While running back Andre Crenshaw will replace Stewart as the return man. Kick-off and punt coverage both need to be improved as they were both awful last season.

The Autzen Zoo:

Autzen stadium is one of the best home-field advantages in the country and helped the Ducks achieve some big wins last season. However, Autzen won’t help the Ducks as much this season as the real tests will be on the road. Of the six home games that the Ducks will play, Boise State is the only team that had a winning record last year. However the road schedule is extremely difficult as Oregon has trips to USC, Cal, Arizona State, Oregon State, Washington State, and a trip to Purdue.

The Schedule:

Aug 30: Washington

Sept.6: Utah State

Sept 13: @ Purdue

Sept 20: Boise State

Sept 27: @ Washington State

Oct. 4: @ USC

Oct 11: UCLA

Oct 25: @ Arizona State

Nov 1: @ California

Nov 8: Stanford

Nov 15: Arizona

Nov 9: @ Oregon State

It is not really important at all, but I am having a hard time coming up with a name for my blog. Any ideas? I changed it to "The Way I See It" this morning, but I'm looking for something better?

Thanks

Mariano Rivera is arguably the greatest closer of all time. He has developed his legacy and reputation as a member of the New York Yankees, while playing in legendary Yankee Stadium. In the final year of Yankee Stadium, why should anyone else start?

Rivera is having an amazing year this year with an era of 1.06 and 23 saves. He is yet to blow a save and is probably the best pitcher on the American League staff. He is only a closer, but in four of the last ten years the All-Star starting pitcher has only gone 1 inning anyways. It would be a great opportunity to showcase Rivera in front of his hometown fans. If you save him until the ninth inning, there is no guarantee that there will be a save situation or that his innings will be meaningful. The first inning is the only inning that can be scripted and what a great script it would be to see Rivera take the field. He would et a standing ovation and the crowd would be in total uproar throughout the entire inning. It would be special to see all the cameras flashing and hear all the people cheering as that first cut-fastball is released from his hand.

Yes, Rivera would get a standing ovation in the 9th inning, but that atmosphere would not be nearly the same if the game is a blowout either way. The Yankees are not going anywhere this year, this will be the last time that Yankee Stadium is nationally showcased and it is only fitting that a Yankee Legend is on the mound to start.

Sabathia was by far the best pitcher who was known to be on the trade market. There are always a number of teams that want to improve pitching and plenty that would give up a lot for one more ace to lead them to October. That being said, all the Indians managed to get was four minor leaguers. The best player that they got in return was an AA prospect.

Had the Indians held their cards longer they would have been able to get much more in return. They would have had teams such as the Red Sox and the Yankees that will become desperate because they are unable to pass the Rays. Why would the Indians trade him so early rather than wait for the Yankees and the Red Sox to get into a bidding war?

Last year, the Yankees were 11 games back before Roger Clemens showed up and gave them the extra push they needed to start making a run. Sabathia could have been the piece to jumpstart that team. He could have also been a key piece to some positive press and to get rid of some of the A-Rod distractions. Boston could have felt that Sabathia was the missing piece necessary to get their team over the Rays. With Ortiz coming back and Sabathia coming to the team, why would people count the Red Sox out? That team would be hard to beat and a pitching staff of Beckett, Dice-K, Lester, and Sabathia would be nearly impossible to beat in a short series.

I know there is no guarantee that other offers would have come to the Indians of that those offers would have been better. However, I feel that there had to be something better out there than Matt LaPorta. In my opinion, the Indians rushed to trade CC and did not receive what they could have had they been a bit more patient.

Why is Jason Varitek on the American League All-Star team? The All-Star game is about the players who are having a great first half. Nobody is supposed to pay any attention to what these players have done in the past.

This year Varitek is hitting .218 with 7 home runs and 27 runs batted in. A player that is hitting .218 does not deserve to be on the All-Star team. Jason was voted on by the players because of his intangibles and all of the other things that he brings to the game of baseball. I don’t care about all of the other things!!!!!

Fans are often scrutinized for turning the All-Star voting into a popularity contest. Will someone please get mad at the players for doing the same thing? Some disagree with fan voting because they say that the fans lack the knowledge necessary to put the best players in the game. It is argued that fans vote for players on their favorite teams. Maybe I am just one of these “unintelligent biased fans” but I do know that Jason Varitek is hitting .218 and that is not worthy of an All-Star nod. He is not in the top 50 in any of the major offensive categories (avg. hr, and rbi’s). There are 20 position players on the American League Roster and a player that is not in the top 50 in any of the major offensive categories is suddenly one of the top 20? How does this work?

Apparently, Varitek was voted in based on his other intangibles. What other intangibles are we talking about? We can’t possibly be talking about the way he handles a pitching staff that has a 4.06 era and ranks 21st in baseball. There are only 3 American League teams with worse ERA’s!!!!!

Get Jason Varitek off of the All-Star team and replace him with A.J Pierzynski. Pierzynski has led the White Sox to the best ERA in the majors. He has a higher batting average that Varitek as well as more home runs and more runs batted it.

Best Male Athlete: Tom Brady

Best Female Athlete: Candace Parker

Best Moment: John Lester’s No-Hitter

Best Team: Boston Celtics

Best Coach: Pat Summitt

Best Game: Super Bowl

Best Championship Performance: Josh Beckett

Best Play: Eli Manning to David Tyree

Best Finish: Spurs Prevail

Best Upset: Appalachian State defeats Michigan

Best Breakthrough Athlete: Adrian Peterson

Best Record Breaking Performance: Usain Bolt

Best Sports Movie: Semi-Pro

Best Male College Athlete: Tim Tebow

Best Female College Athlete: Candace Parker

Best Male Athlete with a Disability: Marthell Vazquez

Best Female Athlete with a Disability: Susan Beth Scott

Best International Male Athlete: Cristiano Ronaldo

Best International Female Athlete: Lauren Jackson

Best Baseball Player: Josh Beckett (even though A-Rod will win)

Best NBA Player: Kobe Bryant

Best WNBA Player: Lauren Jackson

Best NFL Player: Tom Brady

Best NHL Player: Alexander Ovechkin

Best MLS Player: Luciana Emilio

Best Male Action Sports Athlete: Shaun White

Best Female Action Sports Athlete: Gretchen Bleiler

Best Bowler: Chris Barnes

Best Driver: Kyle Busch

Best Fighter: Floyd Mayweather

Best Golfer: Tiger Woods

Best Jockey: Kent Desormeaux

Best Outdoor Athlete Captain Scott Smiley

Best Male Tennis Player: Rafael Nadal

Best Female Tennis Player: Maria Sharapova

Best Track and Field Athlete: Usain Bolt

Hummer Like Nothing Else Award: George Martin