Football Fading Basketball Booming

College football is now behind us and as I sit here we are one week away from the big game. That's right folks, the sun is setting on yet another football season in America. But the good news is college basketball is in full swing and the NBA is showing very faint signs of being halfway relevant.

First, here's a rapid fire, year-in-review of the 2010 college football season...

• Looking back, the biggest story that won't really affect anyone till next year has got to be the conference realignment. This story sort of lost it's luster pretty quick simply because we won't see any real result of this until next year. Both the Pac 10 and Big 10 will sport exciting conference title games for the first time which should be interesting to see how teams/coaches react to that. Trust me, it matters. Meanwhile, the Big 12 needs to take caution: with no conference title game, it will be difficult to maintain relevancy during that first weekend of December when most conference title games occur. Remember when the Big 10 would go 2 weeks without playing a game? Trust me, it affects the voters/pollsters mindset when they have to struggle to remember the last game that was played. Will be an interesting "new world order" in the college football landscape going forward.
  
• The fall of two great programs - Florida and Texas. Both of these teams were entrenched in national title talks (and in the national title game) over the past few years, but 2010 proved to be a, ahem, rebuilding year for both programs. Florida ended this season 7-5 and Gator country was shocked with the stepping down of Urban Meyer and Longhorn nation will enter the 2011 season with a significant coaching staff makeover. And the icing on the top - Texas' Muschamp leaving Austin for Gainesville to take over the program from Meyer. A lot of eyes and attention will be on these programs in 2011 as they both strive to climb back to national relevance. Both have the pool of talent to make a significant jump, but we'll see.
• Cam Newton - I won't go into this crap, but yeah, it was a big and dominating story line this season. And now he's going pro? Ok, good luck with that. Personally, I just don't see this guy as being anywhere near NFL ready. But what do I know. Here's my prediction - all of the college talking heads have him going high, but I think that after teams get into the intense background checks and interviews, he plummets to the bottom half of first round if not second round.
  
• Fall of USC - Carroll steps down; Bush gets what's coming to him; the school hires arguably one of the most overrated names in all of sports to take over the program. And because of the Bush fiasco, Kiffin starts his tenure by losing 30 scholarships over 3 years and he's now halfway through his bowl ban. Remember? USC wasn't in a bowl game this year and they won't be next year.
  
• Automatic Qualifiers - In my humble opinion, the two words that most embody the BCS era and what a complete joke it is. Oh, there are 120 division 1 teams in college football, but our system only really recognizes half of them. Yet again college football did it's part this year to continue it's momentum as the biggest joke of all major sports. I won't bore you with my usual tirade, but I will admit that much like the NBA in my younger years, I like the college football game less and less each year. The money piece aside (which is the only piece that the powers that be care about), it's laughable how this league operates and governs itself. My biggest fear is I wake up in 5 years and could give a sh*t about college football. Either remove the BCS from the picture, or keep it and only include 65-75 teams. The fact that there are 55-60 other teams in a league where they literally have zero chance to win a championship is ridiculous.
  
• SEC - Five straight titles by SEC teams is no fluke. The teams and coaches I respect, the fans I loathe. Listening to SEC fans jerk off about the fact that there school (or the school they just decide to root for) is getting so old. Yes, they get a TON of help from the BCS and media-driven system (a system that loves SEC teams mind you), but they still win games. Lot of talent bolting or "graduating" (I use that term loosely for the SEC schools....which don't boast the smartest people in the world) next year which should make for an interesting landscape.
  
• Bo Pellini - Overrated or good? My guess is that we're going to look back in a couple of years and realize that Pellini is one of those guys who's a great coordinator (couple of championships as a coordinator), but a crappy head coach. The home loss to Texas, the complete meltdown in Big 12 title game, and the lack of preparation in the bowl game proved that in the biggest pressure moments, Pellini and company come up very small. Quick side note - as Texas fan it's hard to find even the smallest of silver linings in this season, but marching into Lincoln and beating the Huskers was a great moment. Makes it even better that Nebraska is gone for good having been OWNED by Texas from day 1 of the Big 12.
  
• I don't think I recall seeing a game (much less a "title" game) that was so boring even though it ended on a last-second kick. And for those of you that STILL doubt whether or not Vegas knows what they're doing....the line was Auburn by 2. But, I bet the over was quite a bit higher.
• Going into next year, look for OU to come out strong - LOTS of good players coming back. Outside of that - no clue.
  

Super Bowl Preview
And then there were two. I've had this thing sitting in my drafts folder for a couple of weeks so I've had to delete and start over, but here it is. I mean seriously, can you ask for a better super bowl? Top 2 defenses in the league with quarterbacks who are experts at evading pressure and making improv plays on the run.

The Steelers have so many ways that they can beat you - I've never seen a team win so many games with the QB having a mediocre outing. Pittsburgh seems to overcome any slump or struggles that Ben may face and that has to give all of them a ton of confidence. And of course their defense - they can frustrate the most explosive of offenses.

Meanwhile, Green Bay's defense is second only to Pittsburgh's and they've got playmakers of their own, especially in the secondary. Although he is elusive, Rogers is easier to bring down than Big Ben and as both teams work to get pressure on the quarterbacks, that will matter.

I see this as a pretty tight game throughout and I'm giving Green Bay the slight edge - I just think their offense is a tad better than the Steelers' and I think it will come down to a couple of big plays. I picked the Packers in the Super Bowl to start the season so I'll pick them to win.

Green Bay - 27
Pittsburgh - 23

College Hoops:
Well finally, my first real touch on the college hoops this season. Admittedly, I haven't gotten to watch much college ball thus far this year - too much going on. But I have started to pick it up a bit. I have watched a lot of highlights and have kept up with the big players in the news and here's my assessment - whatever it's worth:

• It would seem that parity has ruled the hardwoods this year - with exception of Ohio State who seems to be thrashing through the mediocre Big 10. You've got your usual suspects at the top in Duke, Pittsburgh, Kansas, Villanova and Syracuse. USC is making some noise, but there are questions about their consistency. Texas is certainly making a statement run thus far and the Aggies and Missouri are also playing very good ball right now. Outside of that the Pac 10 is way down; ACC is really way down considering where they usually are; with Tennessee struggling the SEC is a non factor; and other than Ohio State, Michigan State and Wisconsin, the Big 10 isn't turning any heads. That leaves the always-strong Big East and Big 12. Outside of the majors you've got San Diego State and BYU as the "little guy" darlings. Shaping up to be a big run.
  
• How about this run this Longhorn team is on? When you look at their body of work - wins on the road at UNC, Michigan State and Kansas. Home slaughters against A&M and Missouri. They visit the Aggies on Monday night and after the first meeting (and after the Aggies gave one away in Lincoln tonight) I'd say payback will be on the minds of the Aggies. The thing is, I don't know if if they can beat Texas on the road or at home. The way this Texas team is playing, they are so focused and their actually making free throws. And I love how Balbay has come along these past few years - it's like he's finally found and embraced his role - he sets the hustle tone for the rest of the group. And how about Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph? Those are two very mature and developed freshman right there. This is a team that could very easily make a run to the Final Four - they have a great balance of youth and veterans and they are actually playing like a team - we rarely saw that last year and this season has been a complete 180. If they can get out of College Station with a win on Monday they'll have a pretty damn smooth path through the remainder of conference play - but it's tough to win out.
  
• By now I'm sure you're all aware of who Jimmer Fridette is and what he's doing this year. If you only get to watch a few games a year, watch BYU. Chances are very good that you'll see Fridette put up 30+ points. And in college ball, that's fun. Another great player to watch is Kemba Walker for UCONN. Very entertaining players to watch. Check 'em out.
  
• I still say it's early to start this talk, but if I'm picking a Final Four (and assuming the brackets actually play out like this) I'd probably go Ohio State, Texas, Connecticut and BYU. Stab in the dark.
  

NBA:

• Heading into a brutal stretch here of the season - starting to worry a tad about the longevity of my Lakers. Kobe's knee is bothersome and I'm just waiting for the "Bynum is having microfracture surgery" news to break. They still got what it takes, but going to be tough.
• Blake Griffin is stupid good. Ridiculous, stupid good.
  
• I still say the Spurs fade fairly hard towards the last quarter of the season - their age always catches up with them. Always.
• Very interesting trade by the Magic - bold move for sure, I worry about the chemistry. Don't get me wrong, getting Hedo back helps with the outside shooting and Richardson is a great scorer, but that was a pretty big shakeup. Dumping Carter was a must so that was a good move, but we'll see.
  
• Celtics are still the team to beat in the East, no question. I don't care what anyone in South Beach says, the Celtics are 2-3 games better than Miami in a 7-game series. Neither Bosh nor James are very strong in playoffs. Wade will have to carry them.
  
• I can only imagine how the Carmelo BS is killing the city of Denver. Crappy situation - especially for a pretty competitive team.
  
• Still waaay too early to start talking about playoffs and finals, but at this point I can't see picking against LA and Boston. Just can't do it.
  

Non-Sports Thoughts for the Week:

• Well, we just moved into our dream house out between Dripping Springs and Austin. 11.5 acres and great hiking and wildlife. Sitting on our back porch under the stars finishing this up. Truly awesome.
  
• With that said we have cyclists out here. Look, I don't mind cyclists at all, but only as long as you're on a road with a shoulder. When you're riding on a 2-lane, curvy road, you're an enormous part of the problem. I believe in sharing the road, but only to a point. Get out of the way of traffic. Sorry, but roads were built for cars getting from point A to point B.
  
• If you haven't checked out the show Bob's Burgers, (or something like that), check it out. It's a riot. Second episode I was crying I was laughing so hard.
• I got to get a Wii.
  
• We have a floor-to-ceiling wine cooler at the new place - guess I gotta start drinking some wines. Welcoming suggestions - my only thing is I really don't spend more than $10 on a bottle of wine.
  

That's what I got gang - have a great week. Happy Super Bowling.