Hot Topic: Boise State

Boise State to the 'Ship?

Monday night's Boise State/Virginia Tech game was as exciting as everyone hoped it would be. Boise State needed this game to legitimize their number 3 ranking, and Virginia Tech needed this game to move up from their ranking, hopefully getting to the National Championship game.

Boise wins, but this is only the beginning of their battle. They still have a lot to prove in the battle of public opinion, where many still think because of their "weaker" conference schedule in the WAC, they should not be in consideration for the National Championship. It is too early to call if they will get to the #1 spot. Last season, almost every team that was in the #1 ranking managed to lose a game, and thus lose the ranking. The one thing we do know is that there is no way Boise State can lose any game this season, and preferably, they should win by as many points as they can in their victories.

If undefeated, do you think Boise State should have a spot in the National Championship game?

NCAA Football Rankings

Here are the NCAA Football rankings after week one:

AP Top 25
1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Boise State
4. TCU
5. Texas
6. Nebraska
7. Oregon
8. Florida
9. Iowa
10. Oklahoma
11. Wisconsin
12. Miami (FL)
13. Virginia Tech.
14. Arkansas
15. Georgia Tech.
16. USC
17. Florida State
18. Penn State
19. LSU
20. Utah
21. Auburn
22. Georgia
23. West Virginia
24. South Carolina
25. Stanford

Dropped from rankings: Pittsburgh, North
Carolina

USA Today Poll
1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Boise State
4. Texas
5. TCU
6. Florida
7. Nebraska
8. Oregon
9. Iowa
10. Oklahoma
11. Wisconsin
12. Miami (FL)
13. Virginia Tech.
14. Penn State
15. Arkansas
16. LSU
17. Georgia Tech.
18. Florida State
19. Georgia
20. (tie) Auburn
20. (tie) Utah
22. West Virginia
23. Arizona
24. Brigham Young (BYU)
25. South Carolina

Dropped from rankings: Pittsburgh, North
Carolina

Shoes of the Week

Nike Air More Uptempo
In honor of Scottie Pippen being inducted into the Baskeball Hall of Fame, I thought I'd post one of his signature shoes. If you know anything about Nike Basketball shoes from the 90's, it is a must you include these. (They aren't cheap though...)
http://www.pickyourshoes.com/collectible/nike_more_uptempo_hoop.htm

LeTweet

"Don't think for one min that I haven't been taking mental
notes of everyone taking shots at me this summer. And I mean everyone!"

The previous is the now-famous tweet posted a couple of days ago by LeBron James. After LeBron's "Decision," I didn't think the fan/media reactions and comments were going to get to him. I don't think he thought it was going to get to him either. He probably didn't think there would be such a strong backlash after his move to Miami. He probably figured fans would be angry at him, and then eventually get over it and move on.

This tweet shows that it's getting to him.

LeBron recently took a trip to Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. He was heckled through the entire time he was there. (Excuse the first 20 seconds or so are sideways...)

Now, just imagine this EVERYWHERE HE GOES. Reports stated he was booed walking into Carmelo Anthony's wedding, and even DURING the wedding reception. At the ESPY's (where he was absent for the first time since I can remember) when his name was said, a good half of the crowd booed in Los Angeles. I think it would get to the best of us at one point.

I've heard and read a lot of opinions on LeBrons recent tweet. On the Galloway & Co Radio show, Charles Barkley, TNT NBA analyst and NBA Hall-of-Famer, gave his opinion on LeBron's message to the public.

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/player?rd=1#/podcenter/?id=5456630&callsign=ESPNRADIO&autoplay=1

I wouldn't have went as far to use to term "punk," but I can't disagree with anything Barkley said. A ton of people are on this mental list he has created. In addition, LeBron tweeting a threat doesn't make his image any better. So what? If I were him, I would show out on the basketball court and get over it. If he is okay with the decision he made, then he needs to go out and act like this isn't bothering him.

Losing the Eye of the Tiger (Woods)

I'm not much of a golf fan, but due to being raised in a family of golfers, I occasionally check out what's going on in the PGA. Today's headline on the front page of The Akron Beacon Journal says "Erratic Woods tied for 72nd after second round," with a large picture of Tiger Woods looking disappointed.

After the second round of the 2010 Bridgestone Invitational, Woods was tied for 72nd. There is only 80 people in the competition. He hasn't done too hot in previous competitions either. The general media can't help but point to the very public problems Woods has had in the last couple of years. My mother keeps repeating her theory that Tiger is still shaken up from his infidelity and public demise. No one has seen Tiger golf so poorly since before he became a pro. Most athletes have downtime, but his is magnified by his "off-the-course" mistakes. If I were him, I may take some time away from golf (and the public) and figure out what the deeper problem might be.

Pro-Football Hall of Fame: Class of 2010

Congrats to the class of 2010! They will be inducted today at 7:00pm EST from the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, on ESPN. The group is highlighted by Jerry Rice (who has almost every receiving record imaginable) and Emmitt Smith (the leading rusher in the history of the NFL), but all of these men have racked up a ton of records and accomplishments. I always suggest young people watch functions like this so they understand that so many people helped to shape the NFL.

Here are the inductee's:

Russ Grimm (Guard) 1981-1991 Washington
Redskins

Rickey Jackson (Linebacker) 1981-1993 New Orleans
Saints, 1994-1995 San Francisco 49ers

Dick LeBeau (Cornerback) 1959-1972 Detroit
Lions

Floyd Little (Running Back) 1967-1975 Denver
Broncos

John Randle (Defensive Tackle) 1990-2000 Minnesota
Vikings, 2001-2003 Seattle Seahawks

Jerry Rice (Wide Receiver) 1985-2000 San Francisco
49ers, 2001-2004 Oakland Raiders, 2004 Seattle Seahawks

Emmitt Smith (Running Back) 1990-2002 Dallas Cowboys,
2003-2004 Arizona Cardinals

(http://www.profootballhof.com/default.aspx)

NCAA Football Preseason Poll

Yesterday, USA Today posted its annual NCAA football Top 25 preseason poll.

1. Alabama

2. Ohio State

3. Florida

4. Texas

5. Boise State

6. Virginia Tech

7. Texas Christian

8. Oklahoma

9. Nebraska

10. Iowa

11. Oregon

12. Wisconsin

13. Miami

14. Penn State

15. Pittsburgh

16. LSU Tigers

17. Georgia Tech

18. North Carolina

19. Arkansas

20. Florida State

21. Georgia

22. Oregon State

23. Auburn

24. (tie) Utah

24. (tie) West Virginia

I'm always interested in preseason rankings, because so many sports enthusiasts take it so seriously. This list will spark debates about what teams are too high, what teams are too low, and what teams shouldn't even be on the list. All the while, this poll is completely based on the hypothesis of some coaches. Yes, a person can take an educated guess. They can look at the teams schedule, how many players are back from previous seasons, locations of the games, conferences of the teams, etc. So while there vote is based on those attributes, they can never really tell how any team is going to do when the season comes. Injuries, suspensions, unknown stars, upsets, can all happen rendering this list virtually irrelevant once the season starts.

So for the next 3 weeks, I'll be reading articles about why Boise State is number 5, why Florida is still in the top 5 after losing so many seniors, and many more arguments that I can only imagine.

Let the discussions begin!

Tyson Gay defeats Usain Bolt

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, the current 100 meter dash world record holder, finally sees the back of his competitors uniform. (Something he is not familiar with)

After two false starts, American sprinter, Tyson Gay, runs a 9.84 to win the 100 meter dash in one of the Diamond League Meets in Stockholm, Sweden. Bolt ran a 9.97. This is a far cry from Bolt's record breaking time of 9.58 that he ran in Berlin in 2009. The comments that I've seen all point to Bolt taking a day off on the track. With no World or Olympic Championships to compete for this year, people believe Bolt may not place this race on any list of importance. One writer mentioned that they saw him grimace as he was hitting his stride in the last 70 meters. Or, he could have just gotten smoked.

Track and field will be heating up in the next two years, with the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, and the 2012 Olympics in London, England. I don't suspect that we will see too many more races like this from Bolt.

Tyreke Evans (No Speedracer)

?????

2010 NBA Rookie of the Year and Sacramento Kings guard Tyreke Evans is driving the purple Mercedes that police chased for almost 15 minutes. He was driving at around 120-130 MPH on the highway, apparently racing the silver car also shown in the footage. He was pulled over and arrested at gunpoint. This is beyond a bad judgement call. Evans risked his life, as well as others on the highway.

This took me back to another story of some NBA players speeding. Charlotte Hornets players, Bobby Phills and David Wesley, were both speeding after a shootaround (some witnesses said they were racing) in January of 2000. Phills lost control, colliding into another car. Phills, who was 30 at the time, died instantly. ( http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/news/2000/01/12/phills_reaction_ap/)

People need to stop thinking they are invincible. Thank God Evans didn't hurt anyone else or himself. I hope he can take the lesson out of this and not make this mistake again.

The Big Shamrock

After being drafted to the Orlando Magic, leaving for the Los Angeles Lakers, and short stints with the Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, and the Cleveland Cavaliers, Shaq is now a member of the Boston Celtics. He will be payed the veteran minimum of 1.4 million dollars for the season. He changed his jersey number to 36 (which I would assume to be the average age of the Celtics right now...I kid, I kid).

In the offseason the Celts also picked up center Jermaine O'Neal to play in the post as well. Kendrick Perkins will be out until possibly the middle of the season. The question Doc Rivers and staff will have is which O'Neal is going to start?

In honor of his recent moves, let's look back at some of his memorable moments: