For a week that's supposed to just give rabid fans a taste of the season by pitting the elite against the 1-AA, the opening week of the college football had plenty of exciting games, upsets, season-ending injuries that could shape the title race, and of course, surprises. still, no real high-profile matchups going on this week, mostly the big time schools taking on small time competition to satisfy their fan base's taste for another football season. nothing wrong with that, as my anticipation was already through the roof. the big-time games were between notre dame and georgia tech, as well as tenessee versus the california bears. everyone else was basically playing against a JV team, like defending champ texas with a new QB but with plenty of talent remaining taking on sun belt scrub north texas, and title runner-up usc, also with a new QB and a new running back taking over for 2 Heisman winners, playing the mildly tough arkansas razorbacks, not as bad as north texas but not tough competition either. i thought georgia tech had a legitimate chance to upset the irish, they have maybe the best wideout in the nation in future nfl star calvin johnson, a physical and athletic phenom with a height of 6 ft. 5, a 43 inch vertical, and great strength, big hands, and a knack for getting acrobatic catches. there are really no bad things to say about him, except for the fact that QB reggie ball has been inconsistent in getting the football to him. ball is very talented and athletic as well as being a dangerous runner but he has never had a consistent stretch of games and has had troubles with picks in the past. the irish have the big-time, explosive offense, tons of hype around brady quinn along with running back darius walker and wideout jeff samardzija, all these weapons make their offense more than potent. but their defense is a major question and thats why i thought that tech would give the fighting irish problems. this did end up being a scary game for them, brady looked scared and not like the confident stud i saw last year, and their offense really struggled against the fast and athletic gerogia tech defense, like ive stated they are a very good athletic team. calvin had a quick TD catch that demonstrated how unstoppable he is, just a fade right up in the air that he brought down with ease. trust me, you'll be getting him confused with another c. johnson here pretty soon. well notre dame looked sloppy and not like an elite title team but they still managed the close win thanks to clutch plays by brady, who started heating up in the 2nd half with samardzija and rema mcknight, and their defense kicked it into high gear and stifled the yellow jackets for the rest of the game, i guess a sign of great teams is winning the close and tough ones, and tech is defintely an underrated sqaud. only problem for the irish is their extremly tough schedule that remains, containing games against michigan and penn state over the next 2 weeks. the tenessee volunteers landed a surprise by pretty much whupping cal, who knows if its a fluke or not but their offense was rolling, erik ainge played much better without a qb controversy and the whole offense was balanced, efficient, and pretty much unstoppable. tough injuries to key cal defenders are a main reason, but with offensive stars like speedy heisman dark horse marshawn lynch and strong armed QB nate longshore they should have put up more points, i don't think the volunteers are as good as they showed, i mean they were 5-6 last year, and when their defenders return cal's defense will be dominate and should get them back where they need to be. tenessee's offensive performance, to me, was a fluke brought about by lucky matchups, and even with a tough defense they can't keep that performance up and beat teams 35-17 with a roster like the bears.

i didnt even now that there were games on thursday so that was a pleasant surprise, the games were crappy but it was a great feeling just to watch some football again. south carolina looked crappy and their QB forced some pointless turnovers but they had a lot more talent than woeful mississippi state and the gamecocks got the win there, while rudy carpenter kept up arizona state's tradition of high-powered offenses and showing that sam keller wasn't too important to the team, leading ASU past a slow start to an easy win over northern arizona. surprisingly boston college barely squeaked past central michigan (??), but Matt Ryan showed poise in the clutch and made the eagles look like a winning team at the end, overcoming their earlier sloppy play. the iowa state-toldeo game wasn't even on tv but ended up being the best game of the night, the cyclones have high-expectations for themselves this season, especially on offense with dual-threat QB brett meyer and long/athletic phenom todd blythe, meyer's favorite target and ames hero. the game ended up going into triple overtime, with todd saving the day multiple times with acrobatic catches in the endzone and basically just being a clutch star. on friday fresno state beat conference rival nevada, if anybody even cares it's probably an important win for them seeing as they lost to nevada in one of their final games last season, which kept up their horrible second-half fading and losing streak and lost them the conference title. definitly a big morale and confidence booster letting the bulldogs know they can beat their rival, both team have high-powered offenses. starting with the really-minor games on saturday, a resurgent rutgers program reliant on a new attitude and a high-powered running game, barely beat acc doormat north carolina, but a wins a win, michigan state and drew stanton beat idaho but not by too much. the spartans looked fantastic to start last season and even beat notre dame in an epic instant classic overtime battle, but they faded horribly down the stretch, as bad as any team i've ever seen, and their defense couldn't make any stops. drew stanton is one of the top QB's in college with all-around nfl skills and he has a talented group of recievers and a super-speedy sophmore sensation at running back in javon ringer, so their offense won't be a problem but their menacing schedule and poor defense will be. alabama lost too much on offense to be an SEC contender but their dominate defense got them a win over hawaii, while wisconsin, an underrated big ten team, whupped up on bowling green, they are really missing their athletic and versatile qb omar jacobs, who went to the nfl early.

ohio state got their national title hopes off to a good start with a throttling of northern illinois, but the huskies running back garrett wolfe is a real beast and one of the most underrated stars in college, and he put up a huge game today and tried his best to keep his team in it. unfortunately the team was no match for the speed and offensive gamebreaking ability of the entire buckeyes offense, and their defense is looking better than anticipated, especially the new guys at linebacker, who are making plays sideline-to-sideline like their predecessors. kenny irons stood out as auburn took out washington state with ease, they look like a title contender with their great running game, QB, and a tough and fast defense. colt mccoy impressed longhorns fans in their win, he looked good (against crappy competition though) and is showing that maybe he can still keep the texas offense rolling, showed nice mobility, poise, and decision making. west virginia's unstoppable rushing attack led by super-fast back steve slaton and qb pat white rolled over a weak marshall team (how are they so bad when they've had chad pennington, byron leftwich, and randy moss play at the school?), while USC overcame a slow start by new starting qb john david booty (name of a bad pirate) to dominate arkansas. booty looked great and leinart-like in the 2nd half, they really are similar qb's in their poise and leadership, leinart was just better physically and taller. running back chauncey washington is a beast as well and still young, he doesn't have the gamebreaking ability or versatility of reggie bush but he's a lot bigger, tougher, and he has a nose for the endzone and for grinding out extra yards, and they still have long and athletic stud wideout dwayne jarrett. the rest of the games saturday were blowouts and whippins by the college powerhouses, nothing really worth mentioning.

on sunday we got to see louisville's supercharged offense destroy kentucky, who shouldn't even have a football team, but the win was completely overshadowed by the season-ending broken leg suffered by star running back micheal bush, who provided a large number of the cardinals' touchdowns last season. their offense is still one of the best with brian brohm and the good cast of recievers, but if they want to beat west virginia and get the BCS bid out of the Big East then they need a complete offensive attack and to establish a running game, i think their offense is good enough to do just that and they will be more ready than the mountaineers are for the WV game because they are better prepared from their tougher schedule, which includes miami. west virginia has a painfully easy schedule and i know their running game is unstoppable, but theres no way to tell if they're overrated or not until they play louisville. the tcu horned frogs squeaked by baylor to keep their nation-long winning streak alive, they may be an underrated team like utah 2 years ago, as in going undefeated but not getting a BCS bid because they play a mid-major schedule. we'll just have to see. the biggest game this weekend may have been the hyped monday matchup between the big inter-state rivals florida state and miami. these two teams always play so scrappy and ugly against each other, especially last year when both young QBs and offensive lines looked embarassingly bad and made the game very painful to watch. this is a defining year for the miami program, these past few years have been disappointments for the high-standards of the U, especially that dismantling in the bowl game against lsu last year, and larry coker is on the hot seat most definitly. miami usually gets amazing athletic talent and some of the best in the state, but they've always had discipline issues and problem guys come out of the program and it became a main problem this off-season, as coker had to suspend two key players, including the running back, for this game. FSU is trying to return to prominence again, and while last year was just average they had a young team and no running game so the fans are hoping those problems will be solved with age. well fsu won in a game almost as ugly as last year's, and thats 2 straight losses to the big rival for larry coker, his ass may be fired. both offenses sputtered, but the big story was florida state getting only like 20 rushing yards and still winning. turnovers and and a still bad offensive line for both sides made both talented young QBs look like scrubs, and it came down to the fast and athletic defenses and the emotion of the seminole players. florida state may have won this game thanks to emotion and tough play over an overrated miami team, but if they can't get rushing production they will have trouble beating anybody.

the rockets main issues heading into the offseason was a lack of depth at key positions and the fact that their backcourt was thinner than paper. they needed some more talent and scoring from the guards immediately, and they needed better shooting and guys who could consistently hit the open jumpers when tmac and yao got pressured, which they did not have last season even without all the injuries. as i have stated multiple times in other blog entries the rockets are a good playoff team with tracy and yao healthy, granted a pretty big "if" with tmacs back problems and yao's foot, but these 2 cats are talented enough to win any game they play and the supporting cast will just fall into their roles alongside them. houston got plenty of shooters in the offseason ranging from rookie steve novak, a 6 ft. 10 three point sharpshooter at marquette and one of college's all time best shooters, as well as memphis forward shane battier, who they got in a controversial draft-day trade for their pick of rudy gay and underacheiving power forward stromile swift, a high-flying athlete with loads of potential but who never put in the effort for the rockets last season. we got some backcourt players through free agency and trade, and we got plenty of good shooters, but we still lack an elite point guard (though rafer could be one if he shoots better) and depth, especially at center behind yao ming. but as long as the two stars are healthy the role players will be fine contributing in small bits instead of stepping into starring roles like last year, and we should be a competitive playoff team and battle with the spurs and mavs in our division, even though h-town is still a little ways away from being on those 2 teams' level in terms of talent and playoff experience.

PGs (rafer "skip to my lou" alston, luther head, john lucas)-weak position for houston with lots of question marks, keep in mind that luther has point guard size but plays shooting guard and lots of the guard spots here are interchangeable. rafer has a lot of talent and could easily be houston's long term point guard and lead them to a title, but he has to improve his shooting big time if he even wants to stay on the team and out of van gundy's doghouse. it's kind of weird, but rafer's shooting percentages have declined considerably over the past few years and last year was his worst, especially from downtown. he's not a bad three point shooter when he is open but he needs to be more consistent in knocking down those open jumpers when tmac and yao get the pressure put on them. rafer gained fame through and1 streetball and all the legendary moves he pulled off, but under van gundy he has become somewhat of a conservative, pass-1st point whose job is to drive-and-kick, get the ball to the team's playmakers and impress the fans occasionally with some sweet handles and dimes, but if his shooting doesn't improve look for him to be out soon. the rockets really wanted mike james back this offseason, they traded him in the 1st place because he is not a traditional point guard but they needed him back desperately now for his scoring and outside shooting, it came as a big blow to them when he signed with the t-wolves. luther head is a very promising young player with versatile skills and a great all-around game, in my opinion one of the most promising young dudes in the league and a rare bright spot from last season. he is real high-energy athlete and playmaker, you cannot classify him for one attribute because he just plays the game, he plays it hard and he can contribute in many ways. he can shoot the three and was often cold-blooded last year, draining some in the clutch, and he was a good passer and hustle player who did the little things that van gundy demands, which is why the usually rookie-hostile coach gave head so much playing time, that and the injuries. luther did hit the rookie wall and shot poorly midseason last year, but that was expected and he recovered and finished strong, and besides that the only thing holding him back is his height disadvantage and the fact that he can't play point for being on 6 ft.3. john lucas hovered around with various 10 day contracts last year but finally got signed for good, he earned it and the rockets need him. he impressed in summer league play with his prolific scoring and high energy play, and i think he can become an earl boykins type of player if he gets enough minutes. he's super short and small, the reason teams were so reluctant to pick him up, but he can shoot from the outside when hot and help in that department, he is quick and a good ball-handler, but most of all he is a playmaker and unselfish passer with scoring skills that could make him instant-offense coming off the bench. they need him for backcourt depth and hopefully he will not disappoint.

SGs (tracy mcgrady, vassilis spanoulis, casey jacobsen, bob sura, kelenna azubuike)-some problems at who will start here, as tmac would be better suited playing small forward, but wherever you put tracy he will find ways to be a dominate scorer. got much more depth but not much quality depth, and lots of these guys should be playing point too, but with tmac playing everyone else just falls into place. mcgrady might move here to accomadate shane battier, but tmac is the team's superstar and he will play where he wants and dominate wherever he is, as i have stated. lots of casual hoops fans and experts forgot about tracy after last season's disaster and the back injuries that tore our season apart and caused many to wonder about the short and long-term future of our boy, but he looks back at 100 percent and ready to kick ass and reclaim his crown in the top 5 of the league and as one of the game's most popular and most prolific scorers. he has always been in the upper echelon with scorers, he has jaw-dropping athleticism, hops, and strength which make him dominate in driving and finishing with all sorts of highlight worthy moves, but his ability to shoot over defenses and drain threes in your eye is rivaled only by kobe. it's true that tmac doesn't bang as much anymore because of his sore back, but he is probably the league's best shooting superstar so that helps. he is also willing to put in the hustle and defensive effort to please coach and help the team win, as he played the role of defensive stopper his 1st year in toronto with vince carter. though tmac has never won a playoff series he is not like starbury, he is one of the most competitive and focused guys to ever play the game and the losing will stop now that this team is the best that tracy has ever been on, and he will be hungry to prove that he hasn't lost his popularity or superstar ability. spanoulis has gained some international fame and american notice with his more-than-impressive play in the world championships, as his greece team beat the u.s. and ended up with silver even though they lack much of any nba talent. spanoulis is known for being a high-energy, exciting, and very aggressive guard with a fun-to-watch style of play involving plenty of driving straight into the defense and flashy passes to cutting finishers. he is pretty athletic and a good slasher and great pass-1st playmaker who plays really tough and really good defense, not a good shooter or much of an offensive guy but the other stuff van gundy loves. jacobsen has been hovering around nba teams with his sharpshooting for a couple years, and the rockets need all the backcourt depth and shooting ability they can get, so this bargain is a great deal. casey was great with shooting and leadership of the young players in the summer league, and while he is not a well-rounded player or a great athlete or the quickest guy out there he should contribute with his shooting and his nice hustle and energy. bob sura is a huge question mark, his recovery from injuries that have sideling him for 1 and a half seasons will be important for guard depth and for houston's success in the backcourt. 2 years ago sura was starting point guard and having a career year, but he is definitly on the downside now and the injuries he has suffered may end his career. he is a great floor leader and a great leader period, he really unites the team when he's on the floor and has great chemistry with everyone, not a great shooter but can make the open ones, his playmaking and passing will be good but probably replaceable by rafer and spanoulis, unfortunate for the hard-working, blue-collar sura. azubuike was a good scorer at kentucky, he's a nice athlete with good slashing skills and an ability to score the ball, plus his wildcat roots give him great chemistry with power forward chuck hayes. been in the d-league and summer league a while trying to land on a team and the rockets, with a penchant for kentucky players and a serious need for depth and more offense, decided that they could get azukuike at a bargain and get some nice bench scoring ability. i like the move, they have him there in case of emergency situations and his scoring will be nice whenever they need him, but he probably won't be used much simply because there are better shooters and better players on the roster that he will have to overcome for playing time.

SFs (shane battier, kirk snyder, ryan bowen)-at 1st, i really hated the battier trade because i thought rudy gay had superstar potential, while battier is a very solid player and i like everything about him, plus he is the van gundy prototype player and rudy would have a had a tough time getting to play, but gay's potential is off the charts if he ever finds the intensity and work ethic and he could eventually replace the ailing tmac. but enough about what could have been, this is about now. battier changed my mind after i watched him in the world championships playing for america, he started and was a key role player, his defense, hustle, charge-taking (especially the painful looking one off yao ming) and reliable three point shooting were all vital to team u.s.a. success and he will bring all sorts of great intangibles and tangibles to houston. he is perhaps the best role player in the nba with all his versatility and hustle play, and he is the best perimeter defender. his defense, smart play, hardworking play, and all the little things he does are essential on a van gundy team, he will make an already stingy defense even tougher and will probably be coaches favorite. he will also help big time, and be most valuable, with his three point shooting, as he can hit the open shot from downtown when the ball is worked around to him, a main problem for the rockets last year. so overall a very solid pickup for a very solid player who i can find few if any faults with, but lets see how gay performs in memphis down the road before we make any judgements. i think snyder will develop into a quality starter here, new orleans obviously got tired of him and though he didn't fit in with their new style team, and his poor play in summer league didn't help his chances of staying. this is a nice and underrated pickup for h-town, he is a great athlete and slasher who will provide very valuable depth and some nice scoring, i think he will look good with a fresh start, which is all some players need. he brings much needed shot of athleticism and hops that the aging rockets need, and while he won't help with their shooting woes they got enough guys in the offseason to help with that, the snyder pickup is not getting the praise it deserves. that leaves ryan bowen, the coach's pet and the best hustle player in the league. i actually thought he would be gone after last year, when van gundy hardly played him and put him in a much smaller role than the year before, when bowen started against the mavs in the playoffs and became known for his dominate defense on dirk. bowen is basically an unathletic white guy from iowa with limited offensive skill and no shooting confidence, but he makes such a big impact in the short stretches he plays, he gives such great effort, and makes such a big energy boost with a positive attitude that van gundy is forced to keep him, and in doing so bowen has gained the respect of foes around the league. he has a nose for the ball and is always going for steals and playing tough defense, chasing after loose balls and taking charges are also his specialty, definitly a van gundy player.

PFs (juwan howard, chuck hayes, steve novak, matt haryasz)-not much here, but hayes is a good young guy with nice potential, howard is still good and underrated as well at this point in his career. novak and haryasz are both great shooters and will help big time in that department, but neither are really true power forwards. howard is still a good offensive player and he never misses the open midrange shot, still tough and still built well too, but he shouldn't be starting or put in a starring role like he was forced to be thanks to injuries last season. not a great rebounder or defender, but his experience, leadership, and consistent offensive production make him a good role player, here he is asked to do too much. hayes is undersized and lacks an offensive game, also the most awkward free throw shot i have ever seen, but he's a real banger and blue-collar stud, on the boards and with hustle buckets there are few better, his effort, toughness, and promsising all-around inside play really impress van gundy but he has to get his free throws and some more offense together to be a starter. novak was their 2nd round pick in the draft this year, 2nd best shooter in college last year to jj redick, he is 6 foot 10 but doesnt play inside at all, too skinny for nba and not quick or tough enough on defense or in creating his own shot, but his pure shooting ability is enough to make him an impact player and improve the rockets in that area big time, as it was a huge weakness last season. matt is a tough and hardworking guy who does stuff van gundy loves, he can also shoot and probably replace richie fraham's role here, nice intangibles and good shooting will help with depth and bench offense but he probably won't play much unless an emergency comes up, as last year showed that can easily happen.

Cs (yao ming, dikembe mutombo)-big problems for depth here, yao asserted himself as the best center in the west and one of the most dominant offensive big men in the game last year when tmac went down, but dikembe is too old to do much of anything for longer than short stretches anymore, still fearsome with shot blocking and long arms make him a danger on the offensive glass and with put backs, but he is slow getting up and down the court and the offense sputters when he's on the floor seeing as they can't use his limited offensive skill to run their "yao ming sets". yao has always had problems with aggressiveness and using his height to dominate and be assertive, and before his end-of-season foot injury last season he had proved the haters wrong and finally lived up to the hype, looking unstoppable in all areas of the game. he has always had the height and shocking offensive skills and post moves for a a guy that tall, as well a soft touch extending to the midrange, but he has been pretty weak inside in attacking or banging with the tough centers and not assertive enough on defense. he showed that he could carry the load with tracy gone and his scoring will still be the focal point of the offense.

i woke up early on the saturday the hawks were set to open their season, excitement gripping my emotions like an iron glove. i couldn't wait for the season to begin and my iowa boys running out of the huddle hand in hand, always a powerful moment for me. i knew that they were just playing montana, i dont even think they are a division 1 football school, but this is a season filled with promise and one i hope will lead to big ten titles and bcs bowls, so it was imperative we started off on the right note. i was already coming into the game with disappointment because 2 major players, pass-rushing defensive end phenom kenny iwebema, preseason all-big ten, and number two reciever herb grigsby were both suspended for this game for violating team rules. against montana these losses didn't matter but im hoping this stuff won't continue later in the season because we will need them both. we also ended up without number 1 wideout calvin davis for unknown reasons and our kicker kyle schilcher, who was hurt and didn't practice this week. we ended up using redshirt freshman and former walk-on austin signor to kick, and even thouhg he had a strong leg the coach had questions about his accuracy and confidence. mr. signor quickly put these fears to rest by draining all his extra points and a couple long field goals, showing off his 6 ft. 4 frame and strong leg. we ended up blowing out montana 41-7, as we quickly rebounded from their lone touchdown when it was 17-7 and went on a dominating run using the balanced attack of our star running back albert young and the strong, reliable arm of drew tate. im afraid if young keeps up this production and shows off his versatile skill set (speed, power, recieving) throuhgout the season that he may jump early to the pros, as the iowa program has really seen a player so talented and so dynamic in what he can do. young scored multiple touchdowns and all of them in different ways, the most important one being the opening score on a short pass and run from drew tate. tate had a very solid day throwing for 230 yards and 3 scores, his arm strength and red-zone decision making were very impressive and he made some great throws and just made it look easy out there. he did have one or two throws that should have, and would have, been picked off against a tougher opponent but i doubt he would have made those throws against a team like ohio state or michigan. the defense also looked really good and the improvement in the pass rush and on the defensive line was very evident, as norm parker no longer played conservative the whole time, he blitzed and put plenty of pressure on the QB and got some sacks. coverage was also nice and even though the linebackers are mostly new,they all look promising. the offensive line is always good and nothing to worry about, and even though there is no go-to reciever this could be an advantage seeing as they have some depth and one reciver could step up and surprise opponents at any given time. we do need calvin and grigsby back though because there is just not enough there without them. scott chandler started early campaigning for the john mackey by grabbing a few receptions and a touchdown, as he is tate's bailout option and the most consistent player on this team, probably best hands too. very promising start and it should get even better with the return of suspended and hurt players.

Well, it happened. What was looking like a very promising peek into the future of american basketball quickly turned sour this morning when we came up short and failed yet again, falling to a less talented but smarter and very confident greek team. i knew that we were far from having this thing in the bag because there had been many times already in this tourney when we have looked sloppy and looked like the u.s. team of a few years back, but our major talent advantage would pull us together and win the game for us in the end. this is not really a surprise, we just dont have the superior chemistry or team play that international teams have mastered, and they all have tons of confidence that they can beat us as well. we have not shot well lately, settled for bad shots and too much one-on-one play, and greece is a very tough and solid all-around team. i just didn't think if we lost that we would lose to greece because of their lack of nba talent, but we had it coming to us nad there was nothing we could do about their shooting or their pick and roll, they got great scoring from point guard spassoulis and from their own version of "baby shaq" and their unstoppable pick and roll really showed our lack of defensive effort. i still think coach k is the right coach for the job because of the players he has and the values and defense-1st style he preaches, but we really need to get our act together and get serious about winning, we were too laid back and cocky and we can't take that attitude after these losses we've had. we don't need a major overhaul because the best and most promising young guys in the league are playing for the team, but we need to solve the chemistry problems, get better shooting, and just play smarter and tougher ball, and we definitly cannot take the attitude that we are the best in the world anymore because we are not proving it. all the talent in the world, but talent and jumping ability can only get you so far.