COLTS LOSE SANDERS AGAIN & MY COLLEGE PICKS
The Colts got safety Bob Sanders back for all of 2 games & now he's gone for the season. Arguably the best defender the Indy has, Sanders suffered a torn biceps muscle according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. He visited noted sports orthopedic surgeon, Dr. James Andrews & it was determined Sanders will need a season-ending operation to repair the problem. Huge loss for the Colts, especially for any playoff run.
Eagle running back Brian Westbrook is expected to play Sunday night versus Dallas. Westbrook suffered a concussion two weeks ago against the Redskins & he was held out of last Sunday's game with the Giants.
The Chiefs are 31st in the league in sacks with a grand total of 9. Can you guess which team is last? The Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City's opponent Sunday, holds down the bottom of the rankings with 5 total sacks. Wow, that's awful. Maybe Matt Cassel will have enough time to look for more than one receiver before being slammed to the ground.
University of California-Berkeley administrators have voted to eliminate some sports from the schools red ink filled budget. Only the football & men's basketball programs make a profit. The board of regents said any other sports could be eliminated for the immediate future while California's massive deficit continues to hurt Berkeley's bottom line. This might be a sign of the future in other college programs, especially in the smaller schools.
I projected the BCS Bowl games last night here & told you I feared a "TV matchup", not one that was really deserved. This morning I read in 2 places a Penn State-Notre Dame matchup in the Fiesta Bowl is a possibility. Just like I said, they'll relegate an unbeaten team or 2 to lesser paying bowls & bring in schools with massive budgets & the income to stay in the black forever. Worst part is, when schools like TCU & Boise State come calling for a game, these schools refuse, preferring to pad their schedule with stiffs & avoiding a team that could actually beat them on their home field. Then sportswriters say crap like "well they don't play anybody". The way they prop Notre Dame up is shameful, this has been an underachieving team for nearly a decade. Notre Dame keeps ALL of their TV money & ALL of their bowl money as they are an independent, no conference brethren to share in their spoils. You know what they say "the rich get richer". No truer words were ever spoken regarding college football.
Only like a couple of college games, here they are:
Houston(-1) at Tulsa
The Cougars had better watch out here, Tulsa has lost 3 straight for the first time in many years. Houston hammered Tulsa last year 70-30. They narrowly escaped last Saturday scoring the winning touchdown with 23-seconds left in the game. Cougar QB Case Keenum is a Heisman finalist in my mind & Tulsa doesn't have an answer for him. I expect the line to move before kickoff to something more like 2 1/2 points, but I like the Cougars tomorrow evening by 10 points. CBS-CHD at 6:30 CT
USC(-10) at Arizona State
Had the Trojans won last week this line would have been at least 13 1/2 & you'd have to worry about a letdown after beating Oregon. Well that didn't happen, Oregon beat the living daylights out of USC, so no letdown in this spot. I think the Trojans will be wired to rough up the Sun Devils in Tempe. ASU has almost no running game & being one-dimensional against USC is almost always fatal. They skunked ASU last season 28-0 & I look for something like that tomorrow evening. ABC/ESPN at 7 PM CT
The only other play I am considering is Miami(Fla) giving Virginia 13 1/2 tomorrow morning in Miami. The Hurricanes are way out of Virginia's league. Cavalier coach Al Groh should be fired at season's end, they have had a horribly disappointing season beginning with their humiliating loss to Wm. & Mary to open the season. These are 2 programs going in 2 different directions. If the game stays at 13 1/2, I might make a small play on the 'Canes.
Eagle running back Brian Westbrook is expected to play Sunday night versus Dallas. Westbrook suffered a concussion two weeks ago against the Redskins & he was held out of last Sunday's game with the Giants.
The Chiefs are 31st in the league in sacks with a grand total of 9. Can you guess which team is last? The Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City's opponent Sunday, holds down the bottom of the rankings with 5 total sacks. Wow, that's awful. Maybe Matt Cassel will have enough time to look for more than one receiver before being slammed to the ground.
University of California-Berkeley administrators have voted to eliminate some sports from the schools red ink filled budget. Only the football & men's basketball programs make a profit. The board of regents said any other sports could be eliminated for the immediate future while California's massive deficit continues to hurt Berkeley's bottom line. This might be a sign of the future in other college programs, especially in the smaller schools.
I projected the BCS Bowl games last night here & told you I feared a "TV matchup", not one that was really deserved. This morning I read in 2 places a Penn State-Notre Dame matchup in the Fiesta Bowl is a possibility. Just like I said, they'll relegate an unbeaten team or 2 to lesser paying bowls & bring in schools with massive budgets & the income to stay in the black forever. Worst part is, when schools like TCU & Boise State come calling for a game, these schools refuse, preferring to pad their schedule with stiffs & avoiding a team that could actually beat them on their home field. Then sportswriters say crap like "well they don't play anybody". The way they prop Notre Dame up is shameful, this has been an underachieving team for nearly a decade. Notre Dame keeps ALL of their TV money & ALL of their bowl money as they are an independent, no conference brethren to share in their spoils. You know what they say "the rich get richer". No truer words were ever spoken regarding college football.
Only like a couple of college games, here they are:
Houston(-1) at Tulsa
The Cougars had better watch out here, Tulsa has lost 3 straight for the first time in many years. Houston hammered Tulsa last year 70-30. They narrowly escaped last Saturday scoring the winning touchdown with 23-seconds left in the game. Cougar QB Case Keenum is a Heisman finalist in my mind & Tulsa doesn't have an answer for him. I expect the line to move before kickoff to something more like 2 1/2 points, but I like the Cougars tomorrow evening by 10 points. CBS-CHD at 6:30 CT
USC(-10) at Arizona State
Had the Trojans won last week this line would have been at least 13 1/2 & you'd have to worry about a letdown after beating Oregon. Well that didn't happen, Oregon beat the living daylights out of USC, so no letdown in this spot. I think the Trojans will be wired to rough up the Sun Devils in Tempe. ASU has almost no running game & being one-dimensional against USC is almost always fatal. They skunked ASU last season 28-0 & I look for something like that tomorrow evening. ABC/ESPN at 7 PM CT
The only other play I am considering is Miami(Fla) giving Virginia 13 1/2 tomorrow morning in Miami. The Hurricanes are way out of Virginia's league. Cavalier coach Al Groh should be fired at season's end, they have had a horribly disappointing season beginning with their humiliating loss to Wm. & Mary to open the season. These are 2 programs going in 2 different directions. If the game stays at 13 1/2, I might make a small play on the 'Canes.
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