XU

Check out Stewart Mandel's piece about how Xavier is not a mid-major.

Also, here's my revised forecast of how X will do down the stretch ...

Right now they're 17-4 ... I see them going into the A-10 tourney at 24-7.

Feb. 2 vs. La Salle W
Feb. 7 at St. Louis W
Feb. 10 vs. St. Joe's W
Feb. 13 at Charlotte L
Feb. 18 at Rhode Island L
Feb. 21 vs. Duquesne W
Feb. 24 at Dayton W (depends how healthy UD is but I like X)
Mar. 1 vs. GW W
Mar. 6 at St. Joe's L
Mar. 8 vs. Richmond W

Now, I know you're saying, "They're only going to lose once at home all season?" Yeah, I just don't think any of the teams on their remaining home schedule can beat them at Cintas. I guess St. Joe's is hot and might make it interesting, but I think the Muskies will handle them.

Super Bowl bets

Some of my favorite bets you can make on bodog ...

First offensive lineman called for a holding penalty
(Wager is on which offensive lineman will be called for the 1st offensive holding penalty in game. Centers, guards and tackles only. Opposition has to accept penalty for wager to be official. No Refunds. Singles Only. Max $600)
Chris Snee (NYG) 7/1
David Diehl (NYG) 7/1
Grey Ruegamer (NYG) 8/1
Kareem McKenzie (NYG) 7/1
Shaun O'Hara (NYG) 5/1
Dan Koppen (NE) 7/1
Logan Mankins (NE) 7/1
Matt Light (NE) 7/1
Nick Kaczur (NE) 8/1
Rich Seubert (NE) 7/1
Stephen Neal (NE) 8/1
Field (Any Other Player) 4/1

Historical Matchup – Most Rushing Yards
Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw in Super Bowl XLII vs. Ottis Anderson and Dave Meggett in Super Bowl XXV? (Ottis and Dave combined for 150 Rushing Yardsin SB XXV)

Who will the Super Bowl MVP thank first?
(If Two or More MVP's wagers will be No Action. Singles Only. Max $100)
Teammates 2/1
God 5/2
Family 2/1
Coach 5/1
Doesn't thank anyone 6/1

What song will Tom Petty sing to end his halftime show?
(Only listed options. Singles Only. Max $100)
Free Fallin' 2/3
Don't Do Me Like That 5/1
Learning to Fly 12/1
Into the Great Wide Open 9/1
Last Dance with Mary Jane 4/1
Runnin' Down A Dream 7/5

open mouth, insert foot

I was trying to find out exactly what Dana Jacobson said about Notre Dame at the Mike and Mike roast and I came across this link, which is pretty strong. Gets you to several stories about and clips of personalities saying really stupid stuff that got them in trouble. Highlights include Corso dropping the F bomb, Bert Blyleven dropping a couple, Michael Irvin being an idiot, etc.

Two weeks too much time

Have you ever talked to any fan who likes the fact that there's two weeks between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl? And I'm not talking about TV manufacturers who happen to be fans. Who other than the NFL thinks an extra week of hype is necessary? I guarantee you that even if you're a hard-core Pats fan you're going to get sick of hearing about Brady's foot sometime between now and Feb. 3 (if you're not already).

I know there's a lot of money involved, a ton of TVs are sold during these two weeks, the NFL wants to generate as much hype as possible and people aren't going to refuse to watch just because they're sick of it. So basically what incentive does the NFL have to take it back down to one week? That's the problem. I just want to point out that there are a lot of people who don't like the fact that it's two weeks. Like Marty Strasen of TBO.Com, who says a one-week layoff is a better option and points out that the game is big enough as it is and most of the 13 Super Bowls played after a two-week break (since Super Bowl XX) have been duds.

An interesting analysis on RotoWire.Com points out that most of the Super Bowls that followed one-week layoffs have been upsets. Very few that followed two-week layoffs were upsets. And in this case, I'm sure the underdog Giants would rather not give Brady an extra week for his foot to feel better.

And it's more likely to be a blowout. Of the 11 Super Bowls decided by 20 points or more, just one occurred when the teams had one week of preparation - 2003's 48-21 rout of the Oakland Raiders by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

In case you were wondering ...

I was curious about that infectious song in the Toyota Sequoia commercial that aired about 500 times on ESPN during last night's Kentucky-Tennessee game ... the song is called "Going Whichever Way the Wind Blows" by Pete Droge. I bet Mr. Droge loves that it's getting so much play ... I bet it's getting downloaded a lot based on how frequently I've seen the ad. Pearl Jam fans will be interested to know that Droge has been collaborating with Stone Gossard on and off for some time.

College hoops highlights

My buddy Luke Winn had links to a couple of great YouTube clips in his latest power rankings.

Here they are:

Roy Hibbert's game-winning three-pointer against Connecticut

DeAndre Jordan's super-wingspan follow-slam against Colorado

Russell Westbrook's posterization of Cal's Jamal Boykin

What were they thinking?

Did anyone see the issue of Golfweek magazine with the noose on the cover? Who thought that was a good idea? I realize Kelly Tilghman has been in hot water over her comments about Tiger Woods, but why would you stoke the fire with that image? That image is off limits, period. It is what it is. And you can't put a noose in your front yard for Halloween either ... it's just not courteous or respectful. There are plenty of Halloween decorations/accessories that DON'T offend lots of people; why not just use those? So, in essence, what the magazine did is going to be criticized, deservedly so, just as much as the initial comments they were trying to reference. Anyway, literally as I type this, I looked at the wire and saw this story. Not surprising.

Mock draft update

Too soon? I took a look at a few mock drafts two weeks ago, but there have been a lot of guys who have declared one way or another the past several days. I'll run down real quick the ones I looked at last time and who they have the Bengals taking now ...

WalterFootball.Com : Vernon Gholston, DE, Ohio State. Two weeks ago it was Laurinaitis, who said he's staying at OSU.

NFL Draft Countdown: Still Sedrick Ellis, DT from USC. But they still have Laurinaitis going No. 8, so they need to update.

Draft King: Still Ellis.

Football's Future: Still Ellis.

FF Toolbox: Still Ellis.

NFL Draft Dog: Ellis. Two weeks ago they said we'd pass on Ellis to take Gholston.

Scout.Com: DE Calais Campbell from Miami (FL)

Rivals.Com: Hasn't been updated recently, but they have us taking Ellis.

So, a lot more Ellis. Makes sense to me. I think it's going to be very tough to pass up a guy who could be a dominant defensive tackle. That's a great position to have someone who can dominate.

Classic Rewind review

Just posted to OMGReds.com about fun facts I learned or was reminded of from the 4,192 game. Got a little carried away but hopefully you find them as interesting as I did.

Roy being Roy

freep.com collected some of the best quotes from Roy Williams ... it's pretty amusing. Enjoy.

Reds Classic Rewind

A few of us who start getting geeked for no good reason about the upcoming baseball season about this time of year have gotten a Reds blog off the ground that'll hopefully be worth checking out. I did just post something to it about the Reds Classic Rewind schedule on FSN ... may want to make some notes in your calendar like I did so you don't miss Browning's perfect game or 4,192 or some great postseason games IN THEIR ENTIRETY.

Bucks fall again to SEC

So fans are wondering why the Buckeyes haven't been able to make the past two BCS title games more competitive. I don't think it can be answered by saying the SEC is just better ... I think that's bunk. I think if these two teams play 10 times, the Buckeyes win 4 or 5 (depending on where they played). They're not the Buffalo Bills, and reaching back-to-back title games IS quite an achievement in and of itself. That being said, their problem in this game and last year wasn't coming out flat ... they had the kick return for a TD to begin last year's game and they got out to a 10-0 lead last night. I was just surprised their defense wasn't able to put more pressure on Flynn and control the line of scrimmage a little bit better. I mean, the Bucks have some very talented players throughout their defense ... at least three of them are going to be first-round draft picks and the rest aren't too shabby either.

Also, I wonder how early most Bucks fans gave up. I felt like OSU was still in it down 31-10, only because there was so much time left. Then Jenkins got that INT and almost returned it for a touchdown, and I figured they still had a chance. I turned it off with maybe five minutes left. But my friend who's an OSU fan sent a text message early in the second half that said something like, "I still hate the SEC," and hinted he was going to bed. I wonder how late the casual fan stayed up ... probably not very late. It's tough to watch a 31-10 game, no matter how much time is left ... only because how often does the team on the wrong side of that score come back?

Anyway, here's some better analysis ... Stewart Mandel consistently does a fine job with his coverage ... he knows college football better than anyone I know and he's been in New Orleans for the past 12 days or something ridiculous so suffice it to say he's got some insight.

Also, here's the game story.

In case you missed it ...

Bob Knight brought his grandson to a post-game press conference. Good stuff.

Also from the New York Times' Quad Blog, my buddy Stewart gave me a heads-up about some laughable quotes OSU's Antonio Henton had about his arrest for soliciting a prostitute. He said this was the best online account of it he could find, but the details were apparently pretty outstanding. Let me get this straight, you picked her up because you just like to pick people up and give them rides? But you were really just in a shady neighborhood doing some late-night shoe shopping? And he says he didn't do anything, was wrongly arrested and not read his rights but he pled guilty so he could just get it out of the way and get back to playing football? Who does that? Pleads guilty when they're not? Apparently he also told reporters he went to "John school" as part of his punishment. Wow. If you can find a more detailed account of what he told reporters about it, let me know. Good stuff, I'm told.

Derrick Brown had a SICK dunk on Auburn's Frank Tolbert during yesterday's blowout win. I mean you've got to see this if you haven't ... it was outstanding. I can't find it on YouTube unfortunately. All I can find is the AP's photo of it ...

Clemens

Here's the latest ...

NEW YORK (AP) - Roger Clemens beat Brian McNamee to court, filing a defamation suit against the former trainer who claimed to have injected him with performance-enhancing drugs.

Clemens filed the suit Sunday night in Harris County District Court in Texas, listing 15 alleged statements McNamee made to the baseball drug investigator George Mitchell. Clemens claimed the statement were "untrue and defamatory."

Watched the interview on 60 Minutes last night ... I just think when it comes down to it, it's going to end up Clemens' word against McNamee's. I think Clemens was so defiant during the interview because

a) He really never got steroids or HGH and McNamee is only saying he injected Clemens with them because he was under pressure from someone (BALCO investigators?) to implicate him specifically.

b) McNamee told Clemens he was giving him lidocaine and B-12 when he was really giving him steroids or HGH. Clemens may have asked him, as his personal trainer, to hook him up with something to help in some way, but keep it legal, and McNamee knew what Clemens didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Or maybe it was a "wink, wink, nudge, nudge" type of deal where McNamee told Clemens, "This'll do the trick," and Clemens said, "OK, great, thanks buddy," without knowing what it actually was.

Clemens knew what he was getting into but knew he'd be able to deny everything because it would end up his word against McNamee's and he would just play dumb if HGH or steroids ever came up because nobody else would ever come out and say I was standing there when McNamee told Clemens he was injecting him with either one.

So I guess the point is I couldn't say for sure (I'm not sure anyone could at this point) but if I had to guess I think Clemens will end up OK when it's all said and done. Because he can deny and, to some extent, even plead ignorance. But there are no betting slips like there are for Pete. It's one man's word vs. another's. Unless, like I said, someone corroborates McNamee's claim and says, "I was there, Clemens knowingly had McNamee inject him with steroids and HGH." But I doubt anyone would come forward.

Xavier looking good

The Muskies responded well to their 2-game losing skid (at Arizona State and vs. Tennessee) by throttling Delaware State and Kansas State. They're 10-3 going into Thursday night's showdown with Virginia. The Cavaliers are 10-2 ... they had a huge win at Arizona and they put up 100 points in a win against Penn, but they also lost to a Syracuse team that's supposedly down this year. X will have its hands full with Sean Singletary, but I think it's a game they can win if they hold him in check. Which would be huge, because looking at the rest of their upcoming schedule, they can beat Auburn (no wins on the Tigers' resume so far impress me) and go into the A-10 schedule either 12-3 or 11-4. They've got St. Bonaventure (W) and Fordham (W) at home, at Temple (I'll say W, even though the Owls are 6-6, playing at Temple always makes me nervous) and at GW (W, this year I think). Hopefully they can split with Dayton, though the Flyers are off to an outstanding start. Did anyone see what they did to Pitt? Geez. So home vs. Dayton (W), at UMass (L), vs. La Salle (W), at St. Louis (tough call, we'll say L), vs. St. Joe's (W), at Charlotte (another tough call, we'll say W here), at Rhody (L), vs. Duquesne (L, we'll call this the game they have no business losing but they lose anyway ... it's mandatory, as X fans know), at Dayton (L), vs. GW (W), at St. Joe's (W). So they could be about 22-8 going into the A-10 tournament, which is in Atlantic City again this year.

Mock drafts

Even though I always say it's way too early, there's no denying it's fun to check out NFL mock drafts about this time of year. Here are links to a few good ones I found (and who they've got the Bengals taking at No. 9) ...

WalterFootball.com has the Bengals taking Laurinaitis. They could certainly use a solid linebacker.

NFL Draft Countdown has Laurinaitis going No. 8 to the Pats (from San Francisco) and the Bengals getting Sedrick Ellis, a defensive tackle from USC. Draft King, Football's Future and FF Toolbox have us getting Ellis too.

NFL Draft Dog has Laurinaitis going No. 8, Bengals passing on Ellis to take DE Vernon Gholston from the Buckeyes and Ellis going No. 10 to Denver.

Scout.com has the Bengals trading up to No. 7 to get DE Calais Campbell from Miami (FL).

This guy's blog has the Bengals getting LB Dan Connor from Penn State. (Ellis goes No. 6.)

Rivals.com is an interesting one ... they have Laurinaitis going No. 4, the Bengals taking RB Steve Slaton from WVU, and Ellis goes No. 13 to Arizona. Gholston doesn't go until No. 21.

Personally, I could see them taking either Laurinaitis or Ellis, whichever one is still available. A dominant DT would be great; a great LB would fill a huge void. Gholston and Campbell aren't far-fetched either. They've drafted secondary in the first round each of the past two years, so I doubt they'd take Terrell Thomas from USC or Malcolm Jenkins from OSU (even though they might be tempted). They'd be crazy to take any offensive player (other than maybe a great lineman) with the ninth pick ... let Rudi, Irons, Kenny Watson and DeDe Dorsey battle it out at RB and maybe take a wide receiver in the second or third round if you figure out one of the receivers has to go.