Forget about your New Year’s resolution for a second and think about what’s really important as we head into 2008: football! Check out Bullz-Eye.com for previews and predictions for all five of the BCS Bowl games, beginning with the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day and ending with the BCS title game on Jan. 7.

SPORTSbyBROOKS.com picked up an intriguing article from the Miami Herald about Bill Parcells and the internal cleansing he’s about to perform on the Dolphins. Apparently one of the reasons why head coach Cam Cameron might be shown the door is because of his penchant for reading blogs.

The Herald details a bizarre concern The Tuna has about Cameron: “Parcells apparently told (Wayne) Huizenga he has heard stories about Cameron spending some of his time monitoring the team’s website to make sure the players are being asked the right questions by club-employed reporters. Cameron also wanted to make sure the players were giving the right answers.

“Parcells told Huizenga he doesn’t want a coach that is worried about blogs or website interviews. He wants a tough-minded, hard-driven football man who is more concerned with football than facade.”

And to think we thought bloggers were only responsible for plague, pestilence and world hunger. You can add another global concern to the list.

“Real” journalist have this notion that the blogging world is ruining sports and the end of SbB’s post is funny and spot on. And one thing is for sure: If Parcells wants Cameron gone, there’s nothing that’s going to save the first year head coach. Blame it on Cameron’s desire to read daily gossip or whatever else, but the fact of the matter is that Parcells wants people that he can control. He’s going to fill that entire front office with “yes men.”

Redskins 27, Cowboys 6
It’s amazing how things work out sometimes in the NFL. Six weeks ago, safety Sean Taylor was shot and killed at his Miami home. Five weeks ago, head coach Joe Gibbs was lambasted for a bad decision that wound up costing the Redskins a win against the Bills. At 5-7, they had small hopes for the postseason and essentially just wanted to get through the rest of the season and recoup. Now 9-7 after rolling to four straight victories, the Skins will play the Seahawks next week in the opening weekend of the playoffs. Gibbs deserves a lot of credit for keeping this team motivated, focused and determined. He reminded the media that a head coach is more than just a record.

Browns 20, 49ers 7
The Browns had to win to keep their playoff hopes alive, which they did thanks in large part to Jamal Lewis’ 128 rushing yards. However, the Colts have to beat the Titans Sunday night in order for Cleveland to get into the postseason. Who would have thought that at 10-6, the Browns would have a shot at missing the playoffs? Of course, who would have thought the Browns would be 10-6?

Bears 33, Saints 25
The Saints’ season ended in Chicago last year, and it ended in Chicago this year. Why teams still kick to Devin Hester is beyond me, although giving the Bears field position at the 40-yard line all the time isn’t wise either. Kyle Orton threw for 190 yards on 12 of 27 passing and the 19-yard touchdown pass he threw to Mark Bradley was an absolute bullet. Orton will get the opportunity to earn the Bears’ starting quarterback job next year and just based on how he’s performed the past three weeks, he has to be the frontrunner, too.

Broncos 22, Vikings 19 OT
After rattling off five-straight wins to reach 8-6, the Vikings collapsed the past two weeks. Their loss to the Redskins last week cost the Vikings a chance to control their own playoff destiny and a defeat Sunday in Denver sealed their fate. Surprisingly, the Broncos were able to shred Minnesota’s usually stingy run defense and although they mounted a nice fourth quarter comeback, three turnovers doomed the Vikings. This team certainly has a lot of promise and as long as Tavaris Jackson continues to develop, the Vikes are going to be in contention again next season.

Titans 16, Colts 10
Stop and think about this for a second: Kerry Collins sunk the Browns. Collins guided the Titans to three second-half scoring drives after Vince Young left the game with a quad injury. Nobody should blame Indy for not playing starters the entire game. They’re trying to win the Super Bowl, not help the Browns make the playoffs. I don’t think Tennessee is going very far, but they do have two irreplaceable factors heading into the postseason: a defense and a running game.

The Jazz sent Gordan Giricek and a protected first round pick to Philly for Kyle Korver. Utah is in need of good outside shooting and Korver should be able to fill that role. He can play shooting guard or small forward, and will likely back up Ronnie Brewer and Andrei Kirilenko at those positions.

The Sixers are rebuilding and the trade rids them of Korver’s contract, which runs three more years at $15.5 million. It looks like the Jazz got the better end of the deal unless Philly is able to turn the first round pick (which is bound to be late in the round) into a starter-caliber player.

Two coaches were relieved of their duties this past week. Scott Skiles of the Chicago Bulls and Jessie Evans of the University of San Francisco. In the NBA, teams change coaches in mid stream all of the time, but in college it is becoming just as common. After starting 4-8 it was announced by the athletic director (Debra Gore-Mann) at USF that Jessie Evans was taking a leave of absence.

Please Ms. Athletic Director, call it what it was. He was forced out!! In his place steps Eddie Sutton. Let me preface my comments by first saying that I like Eddie Sutton and that he has always been good to me. Also, he is one helluva coach. Only two wins away from 800 signifies that he is one of the best in the profession. However, he was forced out at Oklahoma State after getting into an accident while he was intoxicated. I understand that he admitted a drinking problem, but he was, afterall, on his way to meet his team to fly to a game in the middle of the afternoon.

Coach Sutton was given a second chance by his alma mater, Oklahoma State, after he was dismissed from the University of Kentucky for NCAA violations. I am all for forgiveness and second chances, but let’s be realistic for a moment.

Does he really deserve another chance? I don’t think so!

The hypocrisy of college athletics has shown through again. Instead of setting and example for young student-athletes, this athletic director decided to say that the most important thing is winning. If that is so, then why shouldn’t we pay the players just like the NBA does. (That’s a topic for another day.)

The next time a college athletic director stands up and says we are all about education and the welfare of the student athlete. Ask them why their actions don’t say the same thing. Actions have always spoken louder than words.

Oh and by the way I hope Coach Sutton gets to 800 and beyond. Also, that someday athletic directors and presidents tell the unadulterated truth.

It’s a day you’ve been dreading for months: the end of fantasy football season. But, in my latest column, I outline plenty of reasons why it’s actually good news. For starters, you can stop hating Shaun Alexander and Marvin Harrison for ruining your season. Plus, March Madness is right around the corner.

SPORTSbyBROOKS.com (via Deadspin) posted this YouTube clip of Texas’ Converse Judson High School coach Jim Rackley scaring a sideline reporter. I warn you, if you look directly into coach Rackley’s eyes, fear will immediately hit you like a ton of bricks.

I shutter to think what those kids had to go through at halftime.

As we near the end of the non-conferecne season there I would like to take some time to identify some teams who I think are for real and others who did a great job scheduling. Scehduling has become an art. With so much money to be made playing a home game it is easy to see why the going rate for a guarantee game has averaged out to $75,000. You figure it out. It makes more sense to play at home and pocket $100, 000 (after expenses) than it does to go play on the road. The added benefit is a padded record.

The following is a breakdown of the top 6 BCS conferences and their schedules:

Conference Home game Away Game Neutral Courts
Big East 120 31 38
Big 10 86 24 26
Big 12 110 31 32
ACC 109 30 37
SEC 103 29 38
Pac 10 80 30 14

Percentage wise the winners and losers are the Big East (only 16% of their games on the road) and the Pac-10 (24% of their games on the road). Of course, when you lose four home games like Cincinatti did it doesn’t help you down the road.

With so many home games it is no wonder that every team in the ACC, Big 12, SEC and Pac 10 have winning records. Shame on you Cincinnati, Depaul, and Michigan for not protecting your home court better.

Prospects—

North Carolina, Kansas and UCLA have emerged in my book as the teams to beat when it comes to March. The Tarheels have great toughness led by Tyler Hansborough and excellent leadership by Ty Lawson. UCLA has battled injuries early and seems to be getting healthy as the conference season looms. However, the experience of the upperclassmen at Kansas makes them my favorite to cut down the nets. With a senior and junior dominated roster they appeared poised to get the monkey off Bill Self’s back.

Suspects–

Miami and Clemson are off to unbeaten starts, but have no big wins in the bunch. Remember this was was the Clemson team that started off so well last year and then crumbled when they got into conference play. I don’t think the collapse will be as bad this year, but don’t make resevations for San Antonio if you are a Tiger fan.

One loss teams that are making noise are led by Rhode Island. Jim Baron has fashioned this team in his own image. A tough street fighter from Brooklyn they have already chalked up three wins over Big East teams. St. Marys went half way around the world to get one of the best guards in the colledge basketball. Patrick Mills has led the Gaels to a 10-1 start and looked poised to knock off Gonzaga at the top of the West Coast Conference.

Also, hats off to a special father and son. Homer Drew has the Valparaiso Crusaders off to a 10-2 start while playing in a new conference. His son Scott has the Baylor Bears back in contention for a NCAA bid while starting the season off 9-1. After the mess he inherited he has plugged away and brought the program back from the dead.

New York Giant fans are selling their tickets to this Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots to anyone who might want to witness perfection.

Giants fans are hawking their tickets to Patriots fans who want to see quarterback Tom Brady and his teammates go for a 16-0 record in their final regular season game.

“It looks like it’s on pace to be one of our top 25 events for all time,” said Joellen Ferrer, a spokesman for Internet auction site StubHub. “Although it’s meaningless to the Giants, it’s still going to be a great game to watch.”

Tickets on StubHub have gone for as much as $1,600 apiece, Ferrer said.

$1,600? Holy smokes. That’s a lot of T.J. Duckett’s to sit in cold ass Giants Stadium and watch a team go 16-0. Maybe if my favorite team were on the verge of going undefeated I would shell out that much too, but as an outsider that seems like a lot of coin.

What would you pay $1,600 to see live? I might shell out that if my favorite team went to the Super Bowl, although I would hope that included travel and other accommodations. I wonder if Scores’ contributor John Paulsen would pay that much to see Brett Favre’s last game…

Bummed because your team only won three games this season? Well, don’t fret because I have some good news. Teams like the Bucs, Browns and Redskins rebounded from poor 2006 seasons and in my latest column for Bullz-Eye.com, I note that your team could be next, if they follow my four keys to improving a morbid franchise.