Predictions for Alabama Spring Training

The University of Alabama is set to start Spring Training beginning March 12, but wont resume practice until March 22. Alabama is the defending national champions from this past football season and all eyes will be focused on the this years team to see if they can defend the trophy and keep it in Tuscaloosa. The positions up for grabs this spring will be both cornerback spots, safety, left guard, right tackle, two linebacker spots, the whole defensive line, and tight-end position.

Most teams in the country would look at this and panic but with Alabama landing three straight top 3 classes according to most recruiting websites, it looks like they are just reloading at each position. Don't forget that head coach Nick Saban likes to rotate players in and out during the games than most coaches would like to and doesn't really believe in a depth chart, so most of the players filling in will already have game experience.

I would look out for players like Marcel Dareus and Nico Johnson to come out of spring as top players on the defensive side of the ball. Of course Marcel is most known for the biggest spin move made ever in a game on his way of scoring a touchdown in the National Championship game against Texas. Nico Johnson had to come in and play last year due to the injury to Donta Hightower and played well as a freshman could have played due to the situation.

But aside of all of that, what about the returning starters, how will they be able to contribute more to the team than they did last year. First you have to take a look at the runningback position with the reigning Heisman trophy winner Mark Ingram. What more can he do after beating Bobby Humphreys old record of rushing yards in a season, you would think not much but his leadership this year will be very important if he wants to hold the crystal ball again this year. Greg McElroy is coming back but what he lacks with his arm strength he makes up for in his mind, as he has become one of the smartest quarterbacks in the past 20 years wearing a crimson jersey. James Carpenter will be looked upon as the leader of the offensive line and should be the best upfront this year for Alabama. Donta Hightower will need to become what his best-friend Rolando McClain was the past three years for the defense, a leader and the best tackler on the team. Mark Barron will also need to grow up quick this year and use his year of experience to help out all the newcomers in the secondary.

Now whatever happens this spring in Tuscaloosa does not mean that come fall these will be the starters. Take last year for example with Robby Green coming out of spring ahead of Mark Barron for one of the safety spots, but as fall came around it was Mark Barron who was the starter and he ended up leading the team in interceptions with 7 last year. Without further a due here is what the depth chart should roughly look like coming out of spring training:

1st-String

Offense
QB- Greg McElroy
RB- Mark Ingram
TE- Michael Williams
TE- Brad Smelley
WR- Julio Jones
WR- Marquis Maze
LT- James Carpenter
LG- Barrett Jones
C- William Vlachos
RG- John Michael Boswell
RT- DJ Fluker

DE- Luther Davis
DT- Josh Chapman
DE- Marcel Dareus
ROLB- Jerrell Harris
MLB- Donta Hightower
MLB- Nico Johnson
LOLB- Courtney Upshaw
CB- Dre Kirkpatrick
SS- Mark Barron
FS- Phelon Jones
CB- Demarcus Milliner

2nd String

Offense
QB- A.J. McCarron
RB- Trent Richardson
WR- Michael Bowmen
WR- Kevin Norwood
TE- Undra Billingsley
TE- Preston Dial
LT- Tyler Love
LG- Chance Warmack
C- David Ross
RG- Brian Motley
RT- Alfred McCullough

Defense
DE- Milton Talbert
DT- Kerry Murphy
DE- Damion Square
ROLB- Chavis Williams
MLB- Chris Jordan
MLB- Tana Patrick
LOLB- Ed Stinson
CB- John Fulton
SS- Rod Woodson
FS- Robby Green
CB- B.J. Scott

All Decade Teams in the SEC (00-09) Miss. State-Vanderbilt

Mississippi State

Offense
QB- Wayne Madkin
RB- Deuce McAlister
RB- Anthony Dixon
FB- Justin Griffith
WR- Aubrey Bell
WR- Brandon McRae
TE- Donald Lee
T- Floyd Womack
T- David Stewart
G- Anthony Strauder
G- Chris Spencer
C- Kevin Sijansky

Defense
DE- Tommy Kelly
DT- Charles Burns
DT- DelJuan Robinson
DE- Willie Evans
LB- Anthony Littlejohn
LB- Jamar Chaney
LB- Titus Brown
DB- Fred Smoot
DB- Derek Pegues
DB- Kevin Dockery
DB- Anthony Summers

South Carolina

Offense
QB- Stephen Garcia
RB- Brian Maddox
RB- Mike Davis
FB- Andrew Pinnock
WR- Sidney Rice
WR- Kenny McKinley
TE- Jared Cook
T- Travelle Wharton
T- Justin Sorensen
G- Na'shan Goddard
G- James Thompson
C- Chris White

Defense
DE- Clifton Geathers
DT- Darrell Shropshire
DT- Langston Moore
DE- John Stamper
LB- Jasper Brinkley
LB- Eric Norwood
LB- Kalimba Edwards
DB- Ko Simpson
DB- Chris Culliver
DB- Dunta Robinson
DB- Sheldon Brown

Special Teams
K- Josh Brown
P- Ryan Succop

Tennessee

Offense
QB- Casey Clausen
RB- Montario Hardesty
RB- Adrian Foster
FB- Troy Flemming
WR- Donte Stallworth
WR- Kelly Washington
TE- Jason Whitten
T- Arron Sears
T- Eric Young
G- Ramon Foster
G- Anthony Herrera
C- Scott Wells

Defense
DE- Turk McBride
DT- John Henderson
DT- Albert Haynesworth
DE- Parys Haralson
LB- Rico McCoy
LB- Omar Gaither
LB- Jerrod Mayo
DB- Eric Berry
DB- Rashaud Baker
DB- Jabari Greer
DB- Gibiril Wilson

Special Teams
K- James Wilhoit
P- Dustin Colquitt

Vanderbilt

Offense
QB- Jay Cutler
RB- Kawame Doster
RB- Jared Hawkins
FB- Ryan Vans Renburgs
WR- Sean Walker
WR- Earl Bennett
T- Justin Geisinger
T- Chris Williams
G- Eric Hensley
G- Ryan Vance
C- Joey Bailey

Defense
DE- Broderick Stewart
DT- Derrius Dowell
DT- Jovan Haye
DE- Steven Stone
LB- Matt Stewart
LB- Hunter Hillenmeyer
LB- Jonathan Goff
DB- D.J. Moore
DB- Reshard Langford
DB- Marcus Buggs
DB- Myron Lewis

Special Teams
K- Brett Upson
P- Brett Upson

All Decade Teams in the SEC (00-09) Georgia-Ole Miss

Georgia

Offense
QB- Matthew Stafford
RB- Knowshon Moreno
RB- Verron Haynes
FB- Shaun Chapas
WR- A.J. Green
WR- Fred Gibson
TE- Leonard Pope
T- Jon Stinchcomb
T- Matt Stinchcomb
G- Max Jean-Gilles
G- Fernando Velasco
C- Nick Jones

Defense
DE- Richard Seymore
DT- Marcus Stroud
DT-Jeff Owens
DE- David Pollack
LB- Rennie Curran
LB- Odell Thurman
LB- Boss Bailey
DB- Asher Allen
DB- Tim Wansley
DB- Thomas Davis
DB- Resherd Jones

Special Teams
K- Billy Bennett
P- Gorden Ely-Kelso

Kentucky

Offense
QB- Jared Lorenzen
RB- Derrick Locke
RB- Artose Pinner
RB- Rafael Little
WR- Dicky Lyons Jr.
WR- Randall Cobb
TE- Jacob Tamme
T- Zipp Duncan
T- Justin Jefferies
G- Christian Johnson
G- Stuart Hines
C- Jorge Gonzalez

Defense
DE- Sweet Pea Burns
DT- Dwayne Robertson
DT- Corey Peters
DE- Myron Pryor
LB- Micah Johnson
LB- Wesley Woodyard
LB- Danny Trevathan
DB- Trevard Lindley
DB- Eric Kelly
DB- Marlon McCree
DB- Willie Gary

Special Teams
K- Lonas Sieber
P- Glenn Pakulak

LSU

Offense
QB- Jamarcus Russell
RB- Chad Scott
RB- Joesph Addai
FB- Jacob Hester
WR- Michael Clayton
WR- Dwayne Bowe
TE- Robert Royal
T- Ciron Black
T- Brian Johnson
G- Stephen Peterman
G- Will Arnold
C- Brett Helms

Defense
DE- Tyson Jackson
DT- Glenn Dorsey
DT- Marlon Favorite
DE- Jarvis Green
LB- Ali Highsmith
LB- Darry Beckwith
LB- Kelvin Sheppard
DB- Corey Webster
DB- Patrick Peterson
DB- Craig Steltz
DB- LaRon Landry

Special Teams
K-Colt David
P- Patrick Fisher

Ole Miss
QB- Eli Manning
RB- BenJarvis Green Ellis
RB- Dexter McCluster
FB- Jason Cook
WR- Mike Wallace
WR- Markeith Summers
WR- Shay Hodge
T- John Jerry
T- Michael Oher
G- Reid Neely
G- Mark Jean-Louis
C- Corey Actis

Defense
DE- Gregg Hardy
DT-Peria Jerry
DT- Jerrell Powe
DE- Kentrell Lockett
LB- Patrick Willis
LB- Patrick Trahan
LB- Allen Walker
DB- Cassius Vaughn
DB- Marshay Green
DB- Nate Banks
DB- Trumaine McBride

Special Teams
K- Joshua Sheene
P- Rob Park

All Decade Teams in the SEC (00-09) Alabama-Florida

BOL.com gave their all decade Alabama team so it got me to wondering who I would put on my all decade team from each SEC school:

Alabama

Offense:
QB- Brodie Croyle
RB- Mark Ingram
RB- Ray Hudson
FB- Le'Ron McClain
WR- Tyrone Prothro
WR- Julio Jones
TE- Terry Jones Jr.
T- Wesley Britt
T-Andre Smith
G- Evan Mathis
G- Justin Smiley
C- Antoine Caldwell

Defense
DE-Antwan Odom
DT-Jarrett Johnson
DT- Terrence Cody
DE- Wallace Gilberry
LB- Demeco Ryans
LB- Rolando McClain
LB- Brooks Daniels
DB- Ramzee Robinson
DB- Simeon Castille
DB-Charlie Peprah
DB-Rashard Johnson

Special Teams
K- Leigh Tiffin
P- Lane Bearden

Arkansas

Offense
QB- Matt Jones
RB- Darren McFadden
RB- Felix Jones
FB- Peyton Hillis
WR- Jarius Wright
WR- Marcus Monk
WR- Reggie Fish
T- Shawn Andrews
T-Tony Ugoh
G-Mitch Petrus
G-Wayne Grayson
C- Jonathan Luigs

Defense
DE- Jamaal Anderson
DT- Malcom Sheppard
DT-Keith Jackson
DE- Adrian Davis
LB- Tony Bua
LB- Freddie Fairchild
LB- Sam Olajubutu
DB-Ahmand Carroll
DB-Ken Hamlin
DB-Chris Houston
DB- Randy Kelly

Special Teams
K- Alex Tejada
P-Jeremy Davis

Auburn

Offense
QB- Jason Campbell
RB- Carnell Williams
RB- Ronnie Brown
FB- Jake Slaughter
WR- Courtney Taylor
WR- Ben Obomanu
TE- Tommy Trott
T-Marcus McNeil
T- Lee Ziemba
G- Ben Grubbs
G- Kendall Simmons
C- Joe Cope

Defense
DE- Quentin Groves
DT- Sen'Derrick Marks
DT-Pat Sims
DE- Antoinio Coleman
LB- Craig Stvens
LB- Will Herring
LB- Karibi Dede
DB- Carlos Rogers
DB- David Irons
DB- Johnathan Wilhite
DB- Jerraud Powers

Florida

Offense
QB- Tim Tebow
RB- DeShawn Wynn
RB- Earnest Graham
WR- Percy Harvin
WR- Chad Jackson
WR- Louis Murphy
TE- Ben Troupe
T- Max Starks
T- Mike Pearson
G- Shannon Snell
G- Mike Pouncey
C- Maurkice Pouncey

Defense
DE- Alex Brown
DT- Ian Scott
DT- Ray MCDonald
DE- Carlos Dunlop
LB- Brandon Spikes
LB- Channing Crowder
LB- Brandon Siler
DB- Keiwan Ratliff
DB- Lito Sheppard
DB- Major Wright
DB- Ahmand Black

Special Teams
K- Jeff Chandler
P- Chas Henry

The Great American Race

Daytona, a place where legends are made. A place where up and comers make a name for themselves. A place where drivers give it their all. A place that has potholes?

The Dayota 500 had just about everything this year: from the most lead changes ever, first ever pot hole, three restarts with two laps to go, whatever you wanted it happen and then some.

Jaimie McMurray ended up winning the Daytona 500 or was he just lucky that he did not get caught up in the mayhem? Whatever it was he does not care cause he will be forever known as the 2010 Daytona 500 and points leader. Dale Eardhardt finished second, Greg Biffle third, Clint Bowyer fourth, and David Reuitman finished out the top five.

Hendricks motorsports who was thought to possibly have three cars in the top 10, just had one and two in the top 15 (Mark Martin 12). Jimmie Johnson had an unfortunate accident and hit the pothole during his run and ended up finishing 35. Jeff Gordon just could not seem to get things going and finished 26.

Overall, it was great to see McMurray in victory lane on Sunday. A driver so unappreciated by most NASCAR fans should end up becoming a dark horse to be in the race for the chase.

The total delay time for the pothole- 2 hours and 35 minutes...sorta like a half-time for NASCAR.

Next up Fontana, California...should be another great race!

College Basketball Scores (mens) from Sunday

Top 25 Scores

3. Syracuse gets upset by Louisville 66-60
8. Georgetown gets shocked by Rutgers 71-68
16. Ohio State beats Illinois 72-53

ACC Scores

Florida St.-62 Boston College- 47

Big East Scores

Seton Hall-79 DePaul-71
St. Johns-69 Notre Dame-68

College Basketball Scores (mens) from Saturday

Top 25 Scores

1. Kansas beats Iowa State 73-59
2. Kentucky tames 12. Tennessee 73-62
5. Villanova ruins upset bid by Providence 92-81
6. Purdue boils past Iowa 63-40
7. Duke gets Coach K landmark victory over Maryland 77-56
9. Kansas St. halts Colorado 68-51
10. Michigan States gets back to winning ways beats Penn State 65-54
11. Gonzaga bullies San Diego 82-65
13. Wisconsin cruises past Indiana 83-55
14. Texas hooks Nebraska 91-51
15. Butler bashes Cleveland St. 70-59
17. BYU flies past Air Force 91-48
18. Northern Iowa gets upset by Bradley 68-59
19. New Mexico beats Utah 68-65
20. Georgia Tech gets stung by Wake Forest 75-64
21. Temple rams Rhode Island 78-56
22. Cornel squeaks past Princeton 48-45
24. Vanderbilt slashes LSU 77-69
25. UNLV loses to San Diego State 68-58

ACC Scores

Clemson-74 Miami 66
North Carolina-74 North Carolina St.-61
Virginia Tech-61 Virginia-55

Big East Scores

Cincinnati-60 UCONN-48
Marquette-63 South Florida-52

C-USA Scores

UCF-62 Tulane-54
Houston-66 SMU-60
Southern Miss-66 Rice-50
Memphis-93 Tulsa-86
Marshall-81 UAB-74
UTEP-100 East Carolina-76

SEC Scores

Georgia-66 South Carolina-60
Alabama-73 Arkansas-68
Xavier-76 Florida-64
Mississippi State-85 Auburn-75

Sun Belt Scores

North Texas-64 Denver-59
Western Kentucky- 67 Ark-LR 46
Middle Tenn St.-109 Houston Baptist-79
Troy-81 FIU-78
South Alabama-67 Louisiana-Lafayette-65

College Basketball Scores (mens) from Friday

Top 25 Scores

4. West Virginia gets outlasted in 3 OT's by 23. Pittsburgh 98-95
22. Cornell gets shocked by Penn 79-64

Backyard Brawl Hardwood Style

After getting embarrassed in Morgantown just nine days ago, the Pittsburgh Panthers faced their bitter rival West Virginia on Friday night in Pittsburgh. Pitt came into Friday's night game trailing just a half-game for a tie to be fourth in the Big East, the importance of this is comes into to play during Big East tournament play because the top four teams will get two days off of tournament play.

Friday night was more than just a game but an all out battle that took three overtimes and 193 points to determine the winner. Pittsburgh outlasted West Virginia 98-95 (3 OT).

West Virginia was leading by 7 with 1:11 left to play and looked to have the advantage, but you must finish the game if you want to win the game especially on the opponents home floor. Pittsburgh went on a 9-2 run to end regulation and forced overtime. West Virginia would miss three free throws that would key Pittsburgh's comeback.

One hustle play made by Pitt's Wanamaker gave the panthers the chance to tie the game. Off a miss free throw by Pitt, Wanamaker ran and got the rebound, tight-roped the sideline threw to the top of the key then the ball was swung to Gibbs for three.

During the first overtime both teams went on 5-0 runs to keep the game tied at 78.

Second overtime look to be in Pitt's favor as they were up by three with 28 seconds. West Virginia called a timeout to make sure they get the offensive play they wanted to run. WVA's DeSean Butler shot a three with 20 seconds and missed it, but wait Pitt's McGhee fouled Butler in the act of shooting. DeSean would make all three of his free throws to tie the at 88. Pitt would get two attempts to put the ball in the hoop but failed and thus a third overtime.

Third overtime started off like the first two as Pitt won the tip. Gibbs would turn the ball over and WVA's Butler would make a long two to give the Mountaineers the lead. Pitt came back with two of their own to tie the game back up. The next two minutes would not be kind to Pitt as Wanamaker and Woodall would foul out and seemed to give the Mountaineers' the advantage. One minute to go and Pitt had a 94-93 lead and WVA would have the ball. West Virginia called a timeout with 40 seconds left and again Butler would come out of the timeout and give WVA the 95-94 lead. Thirty seconds left and WVA's Kevin Jones would foul Pitts Gilbert Brown. Brown made both free throws to give the panthers the lead back, 96-95.

Eubanks would shoot a jumper for WVA, but missed it and Pitt would rebound. Gibbs would get fouled and make both free throws to give Pitt the lead 98-95 and eventually the final score of the game.

Pittsburgh's win put them in a tie for fourth in the Big East along with West Virginia and Georgetown and a chance for a two day rest opportunity in the conference tournament.

NBA Scores from Wednesday

Miami crushes Atlanta 94-76
New Orleans beats Celtics 93-85
Orlando bullies Chicago 107-87
Charlotte gets by Minnesota 93-92

College Basketball Scores (mens) from Wednesday

Top 25 Scores

3. Syracuse tames Connecticut 62-57
7. Duke beats bitter rival North Carolina 64-54
16. Ohio State dominates Indiana 69-52
18. Northern Iowa downs Drake 57-48
19. New Mexico runs past 25. UNLV 76-66
20. Georgia Tech stunned by Miami 64-62

ACC Scores

Clemson-77 Florida State-67
Virginia Tech-72 North Carolina State-52

C-USA

East Carolina-71 Tulane-68
Memphis-76 UCF-70
Tulsa-60 Southern Miss-62
UTEP-62 SMU-51

SEC

Arkansas-87 LSU-52
South Carolina-77 Florida-71
Auburn-82 Georgia-63

Let the race begin...

The smell of fresh rubber tires grinding against asphalt along with thousands of screaming drunken fans only means one thing...that NASCAR is about to begin! America's fastest growing sport has seen its popularity decline the past few years, but due to some off-season rule changes and letting the drivers "race" sets up this year to be the one of the best in a very long time.

The tradition continues with the first race being held at the birthplace of NASCAR, Daytona Beach, Florida. This years race has some interesting story lines already as Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. starting 1 and 2 and Jimmie Johnson crashing during practice.

This is a year Earnhardt Jr. will need to be a banner year. After he finished out of the top 20 in last year standings. This is after his teammates finished 1-2-3- in the final standings. Earnhardt Jr. was suppose to be the next great in the sport just like his late father Earnhardt Sr. But after last season's debacle it seems Earnhardt Jr. has become more of a name than a good driver. Winning only one race in two years doesn't make a driver even an average driver, more like a bottom of the barrel driver. I hope to see Earnhardt Jr. come back alive and dominate this season and put his name back up their with names like Johnson and Gordon. Only time will tell to see if he will be able to do this.

Another story line to be looking for in this year's circuit has to go to the Home Depot car of Joey Logano and how many wins will he get this year. After a rookie campaign where he had one victory at New Hampshire, can he build on that success and get into the win column multiple times this year? The answer should be yes as I see him getting at least two wins this season. You better jump on this kids bandwagon early because he is going to be a great one!

The most intriguing story-line coming into this season will be if Jimmie Johnson can five-peat for the championship, something that has never been done or thought of being capable of doing. No one thought it was possible to four-peat a championship and Jimmie proved them wrong last season and is poised to bring the Lowes car another Sprint cup championship this year. I will be shocked if he doesn't win it this year but having said all that here is my prediction for the Race for the Chase standings:

1. Mark Martin- after coming close so many times, you would think the NASCAR gods will give him one championship
2. Jimmie Johnson- Sense a little Florida/Alabama reversal here
3. Kyle Busch- Remember Me? I still have what it takes to win
4. Joey Logano- Coming out party and yes im old enough to have a license to drive
5. Jeff Gordon- steady as always
6. Carl Edwards- I can do more than flips
7. Dale Earnhardt Jr.- I can still drive people
8. Denny Hamlin- I'm faster than FED-EX
9. Juan Pablo Montoya- Surprise I'm here?
10. Tony Stewart- Proved last year i still have what it takes
11. Ryan Newman- Hello Newman
12. Martin Truex Jr.- I hope Braden is right and I get into the chase

Polls

There is one thing that I have never gotten when watching college sports, the polls. A team loses and automatically is dropped from the number one spot in an instant, even if they were the last team to lose.

Lets take this years Kentucky squad for example. They were the last team in the polls to lose and before they lost, Kentucky's record was 19-0. They played veteran South Carolina team at South Carolina and lost, that doesn't automatically make them not the number 1 team in the country.

Why not reward the last team to lose, and let them hang on to that number one spot. It would have been different if Kansas was still undefeated but they had lost as well but yet they get most of the first place votes. That doesn't make sense. What has Kansas done since to deserve to be the number one team over Kentucky? Nothing! Why not let Syracuse hold the top spot since they only have one loss.

As it stands now in the AP poll the top three go Kansas, Syracuse, Kentucky...these are the teams with only one loss. I wish someone would sit me down and explain this to me. This doesn't make sense at all AP voters. Just because the voters want to be right and keep Kansas on top since that is how Kansas started out was number one in the preseason. Why don't AP voters shock us all for once and swallow their pride and put the rightful team number one in Kentucky. Heck I will hate to see what they do to Syracuse next time the Orangemen lose, since they were not even in the Top 25 to begin the season.

NBA Scores

Charlotte tricks Wizards 94-92
Miami Blazes Houston 99-66
Hawks halt Griz 108-94
Denver beats Mavs 127-91
Oklahoma Lightenings Blazers 89-77

College Basketball Scores (mens) from Tuesday

Top 25

2. Kentucky beats Bama 66-55
6. Purdue steamrolls 10. Michigan St. 76-64
8. Georgetown fends off Providence 79-70
12. Tennessee rocky flops against Vanderbilt 90-71
13. Wisonsin gets surprised by Illinois 63-56

ACC

Wake Forest-92 Boston College-85

Big East

Rutgers-70 Caldwell-61

C-USA

Marshall-115 Rio Grande-73
Houston-74 Western Kentucky 72

NBA Scores

New Orleans Hornets gets tricked by the Orlando Magic 123-117
Dallas Mavericks gets by Golden State Warriors 127-117
Los Angeles Lakers beats the San Antonio Spurs 101-89

College Basketball Scores (mens)

Top 25 Scores

1. Kansas spanks No. 14. Texas 80-68
4. West Virginia gets scratched by Villanova 82-75
15. Butler cruises past Loyola (IL) 62-47
23. Pittsburgh pounces on Robert Morris 77-53

C-USA Scores
Rice-73 Texas A&M International-66

ACC Recruiting (Quick Guide)

The ACC has been known as the lesser "big" conference when its viewed by people in the South. What conference wouldn't be when you are in the shadow of SEC but still this conference is underrated by most people. Most of their classes in recruiting have been no different, as majority of the conference finished in the thirty to forty range in the final rankings done by Rivals and Scout.com.

Conference Rankings/National (Rivals, Scout.com)
1. Florida State 10th in both rivals and scout.com
2. Miami (FL) 24 in rivals and 17 in scout.com
3. Clemson 18 in Rivals and 23 in scout.com
4. Virginia Tech 22 in Rivals and 35 in scout.com
5. North Carolina 30 in rivals and 31 in scout.com
6. North Carolina St. 34 in rivals and 42 in scout.com
7. Maryland 36 in rivals and 43 in scout.com
8.Georgia Tech 43 in rivals and 41 in scout.com
9. Boston College 47 in rivals and 44 in scout.com
10. Virginia 67 in both rivals and scout.com
11. Wake Forest 69 in rivals and 61 in scout.com
12. Duke 72 in rivals and 71 in scout.com

Best offensive recruit: 5-star Offensive lineman Robert Crisp North Carolina State

Best defensive recruit: 5-star Cornerback LaMarcus Joyner Florida State

Most underrated recruit: 4-star Linebacker Jeff Luc Florida State...Watch film and you will see why he is underrated.

Boston College signed 21 players: QB(2) RB(2) WR(3) TE(4) OL(6) DL(1) LB(2) DB(3) ATH(1)
Top three players
4-star WR Shakim Phillips
4-star LB Kevin Pierre Louis
3-star OL Seth Betancourt

Ranked: 47 (Rivals), 44 (Scout.com)

Clemson signed 23 players: RB(1) WR(1) TE(1) OL(4) DL(4) LB(3) DB(4) ATH(5)
Top three players
4-star WR Martavis Bryant
4-star ATH DeAndre Hopkins
4-star DT Josh Watson

Ranked: 18 (RIvals) 23(Scout.com)

Duke signed 20 players: QB(2) RB(1) WR(3) TE(1) OL(2) DL(6) LB(2) ATH(3)
Top three players
3-star LB Kelby Brown
3-star OL Takoby Cofield
3-star ATH Joshua Snead

Ranked: 72 (Rivals) 71 (Scout.com)

Florida State signed 24 players: QB(1) RB(1) WR(2) TE(2) OL(1) DL(5) LB(5) DB(4) ATH(3)
Top three players
5-star LB Christian Jones
5-star DB LaMarcus Joyner
4-star LB Jeff Luc

Ranked: 10 (Rivals and Scout.com)

Georgia Tech signed 18 players: RB(3) OL(2) DL(3) LB(2) DB(5) ATH(2) K(1)
Top three players
4-star DB Ryan Ayers
4-star ATH Barry Bostic
4-star DT Denzel McCoy

Ranked 43 (Rivals) 41 (Scout.com)

Maryland signed 21 players: QB(1) WR(1) OL(4) DL(6) LB(3) DB(3) ATH(3)
Top three players
4-star OL Nathaniel Clark
4-star LB Javarie Johnson
4-star DB Titus Till

Ranked: 36 (Rivals) 43 (Scout.com)

Miami (FL) signed 28 players: QB(1) RB(4) WR(2) TE(3) OL(5) DL(5) LB(5) DB(3)
Top three players
4-star RB Storm Johnson
4-star OL Malcolm Bunche
4-star RB Eduardo Clements

Ranked: 24 (Rivals) 17 (Scout.com)

North Carolina St. signed 19 players: QB(1) RB(2) WR(1) OL(5) DL(5) DB(4) ATH(1)
Top three players
5-star OL Robert Crisp
4-star DB David Amerson
4-star OL Tyson Chandler

Ranked: 34 (Rivals) 42 (Scout.com)

North Carolina signed 21 players: RB(1) WR(1) TE(3) OL(4) DL(4) LB(1) DB(4) ATH(3)
Top three players
4-star OL James Hurst
4-star DE Brandon Willis
4-star RB Giovanni Bernard

Ranked: 30 (Rivals) 31 (Scout.com)

Virginia signed 17 players: QB(4) RB(2) TE(1) OL(4) DL(1) LB(2) DB(1) ATH(2)
Top three players
4-star OL Morgan Moses
3-star RB Kevin Parks Jr.
3-star QB Michael Strauss

Ranked: 67 (Rivals and Scout.com)

Virginia Tech signed 19 players: QB(2) WR(1) TE(1) OL(3) DL(5) LB(3) DB(3) ATH(1)
Top three players
4-star OL Laurence Gibson
4-star Zack McCrary
4-star DB Nick Dew

Ranked: 22 (Rivals) 35 (Scout.com)

Wake Forest signed 19 players: QB(1) RB(2) WR(2) TE(2) OL(3) DL(2) LB(2) DB(5)
Top three players
4-star DB A.J. Marshall
3-star LB Zachary Allen
3-star DB Joseph Byrd

Ranked: 69 (Rivals) 61 (Scout.com)

*the players stars and positions came from Rivals.com

Top 25 poll

Mens College basketball top 25

ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll:

1. Kansas (29)
2. Kentucky (1)
3.Syracuse (1)
4. West Virginia
5. Villanova
6. Purdue
7. Duke
8. Georgetown
9. Kansas State
10. Michigan State
11. Gonzaga
12. Tennessee
13. Wisconsin
14. Texas
15. Butler
16. Ohio State
17. Brigham Young
18. Northern Iowa
19. New Mexico
20. Georgia Tech
21. Temple
22. Cornell
23. Pittsburgh
24. Vanderbilt
25. UNLV

North Carolina basketball

The defending champions of the NCAA tournament, North Carolina Tar Heels, are looking like anything but a championship team. They have lost six or their last seven with their lone win coming against North Carolina State. Their next game is against arch-rival Duke and it doesn't look like they are going to win this one either. This brings a question to mind:

Why have the defending champs, who started off 11-4, sunk so far and fast?

One factor always looked at is the conference they play in, the ACC, but they are not just losing to the "big boys" but also teams they should beat. They lost to Georgia Tech by two on their home floor, which happens once in a blue moon. Add a loss to a Clemson team that never has near the talent they have by 20, granted it was at Little John Coliseum but home-court doesn't make a team better by 21 points. Then this past weekend they lost by 21 to a Maryland team that is ranked second in the ACC standings but still doesn't have better players than the Tar Heels. Their only two wins are against Virginia Tech and North Carolina State, not too sexy of wins for the tournament resume, not as if they would get in with only two conference wins.

We all knew they would struggle somewhat this year, but i don't think anyone knew it would be this bad.

In the only few games i have watched this year of them, one being the Texas game, it seems like their guards seem somewhat confused about what they are doing sometimes out there on the floor, that usually what happens when you have young point guard. Then you can take a look at Kentucky's John Wall and argue that fact. Larry Drew II is averaging just a little over three turnovers a game. That is not what you look for in your top point guard.

The low post players Ed Davis and Deon Thompson are averaging fourteen points a game but they need more offense from their guards who none of them are averaging over 10 points a game. If the guards come alive and help out the big men down low then they could pull off a run of six straight after this Wednesday against Duke and possibly put themselves into the big dance.

Another point to look at is last years team was so talented, that the back-ups didn't get to play and develop much for this year. This is the biggest reason why they are struggling this year. When you have the talent that Roy Williams had last year no one can really blame you on not playing the bench players for more than ten minutes a game but now he is feeling the effects of this.

North Carolina might not make the tournament this year but next year they should be better equipped to make a run next year with Drew, Zeller, and possibly Davis coming back should be a great nucleus to work with and not to mention them signing the top player in the country in Barnes this year.

Watch out for the Tar Heels next season but this year they would be lucky to make the NIT.

College Basketball Scores (mens)

Top 25

4. Syracuse beats Cincinnati 71-54
18. Ohio State downs Iowa 68-58

ACC Scores

Maryland continues their winning ways and downs North Carolina 92-71

Big East

Notre Dame squeaks past South Florida 65-62

Who Dat? The Super Bowl Champions

In a stunning defeat Sunday night the New Orleans Saints beat the Indianapolis Colts 31-17. The first quarter belonged to the Colts who jumped out to a 10-0 lead. From second quarter to the fourth the Saints controlled the game. At half-time the game still belonged to the Colts, who took a 10-6 lead into the locker room after stopping the Saints for four straight downs inside of the ten yard line. The momentum seemed to be on the Colts side. That would be until the second half kickoff.

The Saints came out of the locker room set to kickoff, but little did the Colts know what the Saints had up their sleeve. In what shifted the momentum in the game, the Saints started the second half with an executed onside kick. Not only did the Saints score a touchdown on the in-suing drive but also took momentum back in the game and never gave it back. The game was close all throughout the second but in the fourth quarter with less than five minutes to play Tracey Porter picked off Peyton Manning and took it the distance for the decisive touchdown in the game. The Colts got down to the five yard line on their next drive but could not punch it in. Drew Brees was named Super Bowl MVP.

Peyton Manning finished the game passing with 31-45 for 333 yds, and one touchdown with one interception.

Drew Brees finished the game passing with 32-39 for 288 yds and two touchdowns.

Dallas Clark was the top receiver for the Colts.

Marques Colston was the Saints leading receiver.

This was the first Super Bowl win in the Saints 43 year existence.

Florida State scandal

Florida State will have to vacate 12 wins in football (2006, 2007 seasons) and the 2007 track title. Florida State also gave up wins in basket from the 2006-2007 season also women's basketball and baseball. The penalties were approved by the NCAA fractions committee. All these penalties come from an online music class that students from these sporting teams cheated on while taking the course. The NCAA said that Florida State had the choice on what wins to vacate.



* source espn

Auburn Recruiting

Auburn picked up a commit today for the 2011 class. Spencer Region of Cullman committed to the Tigers Saturday night. That brings Auburn's total up to 2 commits, the other commit was a JUCO wide receiver Izauea Lanier.

Warren Sapp

Warren Sapp has been charged with domestic battery in South Florida and was pulled from NFL Networks Super Bowl coverage.

NBA Scores

New Orleans gets past Charlotte 104-99
Chicago put the heat on Miami 95-91
Minnesota tames Memphis 109-102
Philadelphia beats Houston 102-95
Oklahoma thunders past Golden State 104-95
San Antonio Clips Los Angeles 98-81

College Basketball Scores (mens)

Top 25
1. Kansas beats Nebraska 75- 64
2. Villanova gets avalanched by 8. Georgetown 103-90
3. Kentucky beats LSU 81-55
5. Michigan St. gets upset by Illinois 78-73
6. West Virginia calms the storm of St. John 79-60
9. Duke sneaks past Boston College 66-63
10. Texas gets toppled by Oklahoma 80-71
11. Kansas State squeaks by Iowa State- 79-75
12. BYU lost against UNLV by 14
13. Gonzaga beats Memphis on the road 66-58
14. Tennessee runs past South Carolina 79-53
15. Butler beats Wright St. 74-62
16. Wisconsin downs Michigan 62-44
17. Temple gets caught by Richmond's web 71-54
19. Georgia Tech stings North Carolina State 73-71
20. Vanderbilt gets bit by the dawgs of Georgia 72-58
21. Pitt cruises past Seton Hall 83-58
22. Northern Iowa gets by Southern Illinois 55-52
23. New Mexico gets by San Diego State in OT 88-86
24. Baylor gets beat by Texas A&M 78-71
25. Cornell turns Brown red with a 74-60 victory

ACC Scores
Wake Forest-64 Virginia-61
Va Tech-70 Clemson-59
Florida St.-71 Miami (Fl)- 65

Big East Scores
MArquette-82 Providence-79
Louisville-76 Rutgers-60
Connecticut-64 DePaul-57

C-USA Scores
UAB-76 Rice-65
SMU-66 Tulane-48
Southern Miss-57 Houston-55
Marshall-100 East Carolina-49
UTEP-73 Tulsa-59

SEC Scores
Ole Miss-74 Alabama-67
Arkansas-82 Auburn-79 (OT)
Florida-69 Miss St.-62

Sunbelt Scores
Middle Tenn St.-80 South Alabama-58
North Texas-68 FIU-66
Denver-73 Fla Atlantic-63
WKU-87 Troy-69
Arkansas State-66 New Orleans-52
LA-Lafayette-77 Arkansas LR-51

13 year old commits to USC

No i did not miss type anything in the heading. A seventh grader out of Delaware committed to play for the Trojans of Southern CaL even though he can not officially sign with the school until 2015.

My first thought: Are you serious? After taking a second to stop and think about it. My second thought: Are you serious?

No seventh grader or for that matter a tenth grader should even be concerned about committing to a certain college until he or she is being recruited by the college or has atleast taken his or her SAT or ACT.

What has recruiting for the top players come down to? A big circus show. Is this the high school kids fault? No, its the media fault and no ones else's. A prime example of the circus show is Ahmad Dixon a safety prospect out of Texas committed four times during the recruiting process and ended up committing to Baylor twice and sticking with them after committing to Tennessee and Texas during the process as well.

If Dixon committed four times in just one year, how many teams will the 13 year old commit to before 2015 signing day?

NASCAR

Its that time again, NASCAR is about to be underway with a week until its biggest race, the Daytona 500 in Daytona Beach, Florida. Qualifying took place today with a pair of teammates taking the top two spots. The teammates were Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2nd) and Mark Martin (1st). Both drivers could have caught people off-guard a little for grabbing the top two spots since usually a lesser known driver gets the pole at Daytona.

Heres a link to the ESPN article--http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/cup/news/story?id=4893066

NFL Hall Of Fame

The NFL Hall of Fame was announced today. The two leading inductees were Jerry Rice and Emmit Smith.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4893276

How long will we have to wait?

We are back to square one in the Brett Favre saga as the season for him has come to the close. He deserves all the time he needs since he just led the Vikings to the NFC Championship game, even though his last pass will be known as an interception... just like it was when he "retired" from the Packers three years ago. His age will take a toll on the decision but personally if he comes back i will not be shocked, more like screaming and shouting in joy cause the NFL needs Brett.

Unlike his counterpart, Kurt Warner has already decided to retire from the game. Kurt was one of the greatest playoff quarterbacks of all-time as he led two struggling franchises (Rams, Cardinals) to the Super Bowl (Rams-twice, Cardinals-once). He will be missed by many and is a living proof that if you keep working hard that your dream will come true one day. He started his pro career playing in the Arena Football League after playing at Northern Iowa.

LT

Reports out of San Diego Newspaper say that LaDainian Tomlinson doesn't expect to be retain by the Chargers. LaDainian said "Im not coming back, I don't believe I'll be back in San Diego. I've accepted it."-San Diego Tribune

For those who do not keep up with the NFL LaDainian Tomlinson was the best running back in the NFL during the 2000's, but just like every great running back there is a time where your body just gives out on you and you are not able to be the elite back you once was.

He will not get the money he wants but the team he signs with will pay him good money to either be the second back or as a 1B type option back. I hope a new change of scenery will bring him back to the way he was back in his prime and a dominating back that all linebackers feared to tackle when he was carrying the ball.

Super Bowl Prediction

The Super Bowl this year is being played against the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts. This will be the first Super Bowl for the "Who Dat" nation. We all know about the quarterbacks and the under-appreciated receivers on both sides, but the game will be won in each of the teams pass rush and secondary. Colts Dwight Freeney might have to sit this one out but i highly doubt it and if he plays, how effected will he be? The Colts rookie Jerraud Powers was injured last week during the Jets game but look for him to play in this game.

This game got extra hyped when New Orleans Defensive Coordinator said on a radio in Nashville that the Defenses goal was to knock down Peyton Manning as much as they can and if they get penalized for it, so be it. They want to get inside of Peyton's head and rattle him. Peyton has played in many big games in his career and every defenses goal has been to rattle him but only the Chargers have been able to do that once in Peyton's 10+ seasons in the league.

The match-up to look out most will be the Saints offensive-line against the pass rushing experts of the Colts Defensive-line. If the Saints offensive-line can keep the pressure to a minimum and keep the arms down from the Colts pass rush so Drew Brees can see where to throw the ball then the Saints will have a good chance of winning.

"Who dat? Who dat? Who dat say dey gonna beat them Saints?"- The Colts 35-24

Recruiting Rankings

These rankings are based off of the ratings of Rivals, Scout, and ESPN recruiting services. I took the ratings added them up and then divided them and this is the average of the three put together:

Team Rankings

1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Alabama
4. Southern Cal
T5. Auburn
T5. Oklahoma
7. LSU
T8. Florida St.
T8. UCLA
10. Penn St.
11. Tennessee
12. Michigan
13. Oregon
14. Georgia
15. Notre Dame
16. California
17. Miami
18. Ole Miss
19. Texas A&M
20. Washington
21. Clemson
22. Ohio St.
23. Stanford
24. South Carolina
25. North Carolina

The SEC continues to be the dominate conference not just on the field but also off the field. As the SEC put up 8 team in these rankings and the Pac 10 was second with sixth. The biggest surprise of the class would have to be Auburn pulling in a Top 5 class after coming off a 8-5 season. This year Florida's class has been considered one of the best classes ever with it rivaling the 2006 class of Southern Cal that included Stafon Johnson and Taylor Mays. The most disappointing class would have to belong to the 2010 Rose Bowl Champions Ohio St., not just because they barely made it into the top 25 but because of them losing a sure lock in the top player in the country Seantrel Henderson and most other highly touted prospects going to other rival Big 10 schools. Of course, we will not know the full impact of each teams commitments until two or three years down the road but Florida, Texas, and Alabama seem like they have climbed the top of the mountain and not coming down anytime soon.

National Signing Day

The second season of college football has now past us for the 2010 year. I will post recruiting rankings from the three major sites Rivals, ESPN, and Scout.com and average the rankings from these sites. I will comprise a top 25 rankings and go in-depth with teams from the SEC, ACC, Sunbelt, C-USA, and Big East.