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      BCS odds released: Florida 3-point favorite over Oklahoma

      December 8, 2008 /

      The opening point spreads for the BCS bowl games have officially been released with oddsmakers establishing the Florida Gators as 3-point favorites over the Oklahoma Sooners in the national title matchup.

      Rose Bowl: Penn State +10 vs. USC
      Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech +2 vs. Cincinnati
      Sugar Bowl: Utah +10 vs. Alabama
      Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State +10 vs. Texas
      BCS National Championship Game: Florida –3 vs. Oklahoma

      I would say oddsmakers have the opening lines pegged right. And if (“if” – ha!) I were a gambling man, I would definitely lay the wood on USC to beat Penn State and Alabama to beat Utah, although the public will certainly push both of those lines up over the next couple weeks and the Utes might give ‘Bama a game because of their defense and the fact that the Sugar Bowl is a letdown for the Tide after losing to Florida in the SEC Championship.

      The other bowls I’m not so sure about. The Bearcats have had a great season, but Frank Beamer’s defense looked stifling in the ACC Championship Game and you have to like what Tyrod Taylor brings to the table, although Cincy’s defense is no joke either. And the Buckeyes beat the Longhorns three years ago in Austin so a pissed off Texas team should still get a game from Terrelle Pryor and OSU.

      The title game is a doozy. The public loves the favorite, so that line will likely go up, too. And for as well as the Gators are playing, one has to believe Sam Bradford and the Sooners’ dynamic offense will keep that game close. That might be a game to take the over, although the opening total has been set at 71.5.

      Now take all the above information and fade my ass to a nice pay day.

      College Football

      Morten Andersen hangs ’em up

      December 8, 2008 /

      Longtime NFL kicker Morten Anderson has officially decided to retire after a 25-year career. He’ll retire as the league’s all-time top scorer.

      “I realized I no longer can train in an optimal way because of my knees,” Andersen told The Associated Press in a phone interview. “So I am retiring.”

      Andersen said that his knees were worn out after so many years as a professional player.

      “It’s not that I cannot kick, play golf or go bicycling, but it’s not the same anymore,” he said.
      Andersen said that being a member of the Falcons when the team reached the Super Bowl in 1999 “was the culmination. It was the pinnacle of my career.”

      The Falcons advanced to their only Super Bowl after the 1998 season when Andersen’s 38-yard field goal beat the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC title game. Atlanta lost the Super Bowl to the Denver Broncos.

      Mort was the best and he gave me the greatest sports moment as a Falcon fan when he kicked the game-winner in overtime to beat the Vikings in the 1998 NFC Championship Game. Good luck Mort!

      NFL

      New Bang! Cartoon: Dishonorable Discharge

      December 8, 2008 /

      Everyone wonder what really happened the night Plaxico Burress shot himself in a club? Well the guys at Bang! Cartoons have the lowdown, illustrated in their latest hilarious ‘toon. Apparently Burress had motivation to get hurt…

      That jab at Shockey was great. Head on over to Bang! to check out all of their NFL cartoons and podcasts!

      Humor, NFL, Video

      Is Tony Romo choking again?

      December 8, 2008 /

      Jennifer Floyd Engel of the Star-Telegram.com writes that the media should stop giving Tony Romo a free pass and call him what he is in December: a choker.

      Tony RomoSunday was just about that point for Romo. The Cowboys were on the verge of what would have been a gigantic, momentum-building victory in Pittsburgh. It was not a stretch to say this could have been defining. Until they collapsed, in a 20-13 loss to Pittsburgh

      And Romo has to be dropped in the grease for this.

      He was responsible for four of the five Cowboys turnovers. And he is lucky the tuck rule saved him from another. The last, of course, was the worst — a pick to Steelers cornerback Deshea Townsend that went for seven in the other direction. It was the game winner.

      The Cowboys needed him to be his best Sunday, or at least not screw it up for the defense who was finally playing theirs. He was not … not even close. There were moments of good, but not enough. Too often, what we saw from Romo was the recklessness Big Bill had often warned about, the one play in the game that ends up negating the others.

      Romo has a bit of a December problem, much like his team. He has not brought his best self in said games which often is synonymous with big games. And he is no longer young or inexperienced or all of the other things people like me say to defend him when he is being attacked.

      The reality is, if this were anybody else, he’d have no defenders.

      But this is Romo. So we tiptoe around the reality that he has to start showing he has what it takes to win when it counts. Or else he’ll prove something else.

      This fits under the old adage that quarterbacks take too much credit when their teams when win and too much blame when they lose. Romo wasn’t very good in Pittsburgh Sunday but he also was playing without his running back due to injury and he can’t help if Jason Witten runs the wrong route. I will agree that he gets less criticism than say, Donovan McNabb, but the media needs to go on a game-by-game basis and then paint the larger picture.

      Romo was bad yesterday, but the Cowboys were a completely different team without him when he was out with a pinkie injury. The Cowboys aren’t knocking on the door of a playoff berth without him and Pittsburgh’s defense can make any quarterback look silly. So let’s relax on the here-we-go-again mindset with Romo in regards to his December play and let’s see how this thing plays out.

      NFL

      Doyel: Quit your bitching Texas and USC

      December 8, 2008 /

      Gregg Doyel of CBS Sports writes that both Texas and USC should stop bitching about not having a chance to play for a national championship.

      Mark SanchezDidn’t make it into the BCS title game? Boo-fricking-hoo. The system might not have worked in your favor this season, but it will one day. And that’s the thing about being Texas or Southern California, and about being Florida or Oklahoma, for that matter: The even larger system — the college football system — is designed to funnel you into the BCS title game as smoothly as possible.

      So Texas and USC didn’t get there this season. So what. You will soon enough, maybe even next season. And if not next season, then the next. That’s almost a sure thing. By the year 2011, both Texas and USC will have played again for the national championship — and if it hasn’t happened for either school by then, Mack Brown or Pete Carroll has screwed up.

      You’re supposed to succeed, Texas. You too, USC. That’s why I can’t muster up a speck of sympathy for either of you. It’s not like Iowa State or Ole Miss has been left out of the BCS equation despite a worthy résumé. That would be a heartbreak, because Iowa State and Ole Miss might never pass this way again.

      But Texas and USC? You’ll pass this way again, and when you do, you’ll be riding first class. Feeling badly that Texas or USC didn’t make it into the BCS title game with 11-1 records — while Florida and Oklahoma did, at 12-1 — is like feeling badly that Donald Trump didn’t get a Christmas bonus. The man has enough advantages already.

      Put it all together. Texas and USC have better access to better talent than anyone. They have better resources to hire better coaches than anyone. They have better facilities to develop that talent.
      They have to win, and win big. Every season.

      So don’t expect sympathy from anyone outside your fan base because you missed out on the BCS title game, Texas. Or you, USC. Not even if you have the same number of losses as Florida and Oklahoma. And not even if, in Texas’ case, you have beaten the Sooners already this season.

      If perfection is what it takes to make it into the BCS title game, well, so be it. There are very few college football programs equipped to produce a perfect season.

      Well said. But in defense for those of us college football fans who aren’t loyal to Texas or USC, we’re bitching because the system sucks. Texas and USC are just used as props this year for proving a point – the BCS isn’t the best way to determine who the best teams are in college football. But again, Doyel is right that Texas and USC don’t have anything to complain about in the long run.

      College Football

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