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.