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 Despite some of college football’s biggest stars returning from last season – Tim Tebow, Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy – a frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy has yet to emerge.
Maybe that’s because this is the year of the defense.
Through 12 weeks of the season, one thing is clear – the national championship contenders are not finding their way to the top of the rankings because of superstars on offense. They have risen to the top on the strength of their suffocating defenses. ... Read More
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 The top 12 teams in my rankings held serve this week. But three perennial powers, three of the winningest programs in college football history, were not among them.
USC, Michigan and Notre Dame were each taken to task in games that had fans asking damning questions of the men in charge of these storied traditions ... Read More
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 It was the week of threes in college football.
Three teams in my top 10 suffered defeats. Iowa and Oregon watched their national championship hopes fall by the wayside, while LSU saw its hopes for an SEC title fall apart.
Three other ranked teams followed in their footsteps. ... Read More
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 As the Yankees piled on one another in the infield like Little Leaguers (minus the free shirts and hats) and later doused each other in champagne like frat guys (minus the goggles) – all in celebration of the franchise’s latest World Series championship – the rest of the baseball world turned away in disgust.
Listen to any sports talk radio show today, read some blogs, visit a few message boards and I promise that you’ll meet plenty of people dismissing New York’s 27th title. The refrain is as familiar as it is constant: Of course, the Yankees won. They spent $200 million. They bought their championship. It’s not fair. ... Read More
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 While Florida and Alabama held on to the top two sports of this week's rankings and Texas surged into the three-spot, there's a new member of the top five that announced its return to the national title race.
In an absolute butt-whoopin', Oregon handed USC its worst loss of the Pete Carroll era, essentially ended the Trojans' seven-year run atop the Pac-10 and put itself in position to win the conference title. But more importantly, the resounding triumph enabled Oregon to jump into the national title race.
I have them lurking behind the top three – and ready to pounce should any of them falter. ... Read More
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 Watching Alabama and Florida struggle against unranked opponents who are now a combined 6-9 this season made me wonder: Where have all the great teams gone? Because this season, they’re missing.
To be fair, the Tide’s close call against Tennessee was their first this year. And if there’s one thing the Vols can do this season, it’s show up on defense.
But Florida’s unimpressive showing against Mississippi State was just the latest in a string of lackluster performances for the Gators – performances that, if they continue, will eventually catch up to them and knock them from the championship race. ... Read More
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 For the first time this season, a new team has reached the perch of my rankings.
Florida and Texas had held onto the top spots all season, but after both turned in another lackluster performance, a change needed to be made at the top.
Alabama takes over the No. 1 spot after another impressive showing by RB Mark Ingram and an improving defense. Florida falls just one spot and needs QB Tim Tebow and LB Brandon Spikes to get healthy if they are going to beat the Tide in the SEC championship game for a second straight year.
As for Texas … oh Texas. The ’Horns beat their rival in the shootout, but it wasn’t good enough to keep them from falling. Cincinnati is doing just about everything right and deserves not just a top-five ranking, but a top-three ranking. Sorry, Colt.
The rest of this week’s lineup: ... Read More
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 Although the top 10 of this installment of the power rankings remain largely unchanged for the second straight week, don’t expect the trend to continue much longer.
The TV networks can easily throw out catchphrases such as “Throwdown Thursday” and “Showdown Saturday” to hype up this week’s huge clashes with conference and national championship implications. The slate features ... Read More
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 After four weeks of stunning upsets, order was restored in college football over the weekend. Nine of the top 10 teams in my rankings came out on top, resulting in only minor tweaks to this week’s lineup.
But the next few weeks will deliver a series of showdowns that will go a long way toward determining the top teams in college football.
Before the mayhem begins, see how your team stacks up against the rest: ... Read More
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 Talk about a rough week for the teams I had pegged for a national title run.
Four teams from last week’s top 10 suffered upsets – Ole Miss (No. 4), Cal (5), Penn State (7) and Miami (9). The hopes of two Heisman contenders, Jevan Snead and Jahvid Best, all but fell by the wayside. And Florida, the team perched atop the rankings, watched helplessly as Tim Tebow left the stadium in an ambulance.
But where some lost ground, others gained. And it makes for a major facelift in this week’s power rankings: ... Read More
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 Three weeks into the college football season and we’re starting to learn some identities.
Some teams are much better than I predicted back in August – that’s you, Cincinnati and Miami. Some aren’t as good as I thought they’d be – I’m pointing the finger at you, USC and Georgia Tech. And for others, I still don’t know much about them because they haven’t played anyone of stature – I’m looking at you, Penn State and Kansas.
That’s why there’s been some major shuffling in this week’s power rankings, complete with big jumps for some teams and precipitous drops for others. ... Read More
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 Jim Tressel had to know it was coming. But I doubt he could have predicted that the anger would be this intense.
At the same time, doesn’t it feel like the wrath was pre-meditated?
Ohio State fans are chastising their coach as if they all got together outside the Horseshoe before Saturday night’s game against USC and decided, “Look, this one’s at home. If we lose another game to a top-five team, it’s time to get on The Vest and let him know he’s run out of free passes.” ... Read More
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 Two major upsets of national title contenders? Check.
Thrilling finishes in some of the biggest games on national TV? Got it.
Ohio State losing to a top-five team? You know it.
The unexpected return of Michigan? Yup.
The expected fall of Notre Dame? Of course.
And the season is just two weeks old. It's clear we're in for another wild ride in college football this year.
See how all the mayhem impacts your team in this week's power rankings: ... Read More
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 Well, that was an interesting start to the college football season.
The tension started early with a postgame punch that ended LeGarrette Blount’s season.
Notre Dame and Michigan got off to hot starts to set an interesting stage for this week’s clash. BYU stunned Oklahoma and sidelined Heisman winner Sam Bradford in the process.
And Miami and Florida State capped it by taking us back to their glory days with a riveting showdown that again had Bobby Bowden and the Seminoles coming up short.
It all adds up to a good bit of shuffling in this week’s power rankings: ... Read More
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 One of the biggest complaints I hear from casual college football fans is that it’s too hard to follow. There are too many teams and too much turnover from year to year to keep track of it all – who’s come in, who’s left and who has enough in place to contend for the national championship.
Well, that’s not a problem this season. All the major players from 2008 are back in ’09, setting up what should be a thrilling season.
I break it all down with my first installment of this year’s college football power rankings. ... Read More
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 With the baseball season at its midpoint, we finally have a good indication of who's contending for the playoffs and who's running haplessly behind.
We also have a good indication of who's in the running for baseball's biggest awards ... both official and unofficial. With the All-Star break upon us, it's time to breakdown both: ... Read More
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 Lance Stephenson finally has a home.
Last week, I wrote about the curious case of Stephenson, one of the top college hoops recruits in the nation, and the plethora of reasons the elite schools have backed off in their pursuits of him. Too many coaches were unwilling to roll the dice on a one-and-done kid whose amateur status is in question and who has a sexual assault case pending, an overbearing father and an attitude problem.
Apparently, Cincinnati's Mick Cronin is not one of those coaches. ... Read More
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 The kid they call "Born Ready" is by all accounts more than ready to play in the NBA. But NBA teams can't have him. He's too young.
Certainly, then, college teams are all over him. Well, not exactly.
The recruitment of Lance Stephenson, a 6-foot-5 swingman from Coney Island who got his nickname from wowing college and pro stars at Rucker Park, is among the most mesmerizing recruiting stories of all time. ... Read More
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 It's time for baseball to act. It's time to release the names. It's time to give us the list.
For six years, Major League Baseball and the players' union have tried to keep the identities of the 104 players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003 anonymous. But one thing has become abundantly clear over the past few months:
Keeping that secret is impossible. ... Read More
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 Debating Manny Ramirez's eligibility for the All-Star Game has proven a moot point. Whether we like it or not, baseball is keeping him eligible ... mostly because it printed the paper ballots before his suspension and doesn't feel like paying for new ones.
The debate now becomes something of a larger issue: If fans vote Manny into the Midsummer Classic, what does it mean?
The answer is quite clear: We don't care anymore if ballplayers are juiced. ... Read More
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 PT Barnum claimed that there's a sucker born every minute. Apparently, a whole bunch of them work at Florida International.
FIU's decision to hire Isiah Thomas is not only brainless because Thomas will undoubtedly burn the school at some point down the road, it's foolish because this is not a man any administration should ever want as face of its institution.
And he's not someone any administration should ever want coaching college kids. ... Read More
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 DETROIT – In the end, when the final buzzer rang and the streamers started falling from the rafters and so many flashbulbs began popping that it looked like giant lightning bugs invaded Ford Field, Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, Danny Green and the rest of the Tar Heels finally had their national championship.
They also celebrated their redemption. ... Read More
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 DETROIT – The 1979 NCAA title game between Larry Bird and Magic Johnson has become as legendary as the basketball icons themselves. But on the 30th anniversary of Michigan State's 75-64 win over Indiana State – when ESPN Classic is playing it seemingly around the clock – Bird claimed he's never watched a replay of that game.
"I try to forget the losses," Bird said at a news conference prior to tonight's national championship game for which they will present the game ball. "I remember that I didn't have my shot that night. I still have never seen that game." ... Read More
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 DETROIT – There's a growing misconception that's been floating around this Final Four, one that's swollen exponentially larger since Michigan State upset Connecticut in Saturday's national semifinal.
The Spartans are looked upon as this little team that could. And I have no idea why, but people are forgetting that this group is no upstart. It's a very good basketball team ... and has been since October when MSU was ranked No. 6 in the preseason AP poll. ... Read More
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 DETROIT - Kalin Lucas looked half asleep. Deon Thompson appeared as if he could nod off at any moment. And Roy Williams sounded like he had his fill.
"I'm doing this now, don't expect me to stay around for 30 minutes after [the players] leave," Williams said at the beginning of North Carolina's main press conference Sunday. "I have more important things to do than stand around here and make fun. Give you 30 minutes, I love doing it, but there's some other things I could be doing."
The Final Four may be all about basketball. But the media commitments rival the teams' time on the court. So I asked some of the guys if they were getting irritated with the constant meetings with the press. ... Read More
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 DETROIT - It's no secret that Tyler Hansbrough is the player college hoops fans love to hate.
He's constantly taunted by fans of opposing teams, heckled on the road when he takes a charge and criticized as the most overrated player in the country.
Ahead of Monday's national championship clash with Michigan State, which will cap the North Carolina forward's illustrious career, Hansbrough shed some light on the contempt he's absorbed over the years. ... Read More
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 DETROIT – The jerseys will look the same. The venue will look the same. Most of the players will look the same. But Michigan State and North Carolina insist this contest will be much different.
Monday's national championship game at Ford Field pits the Spartans against the Tar Heels for the first time since the 98-63 shellacking UNC handed MSU here on Dec. 3. Tyler Hansbrough had 25 points and 11 rebounds in that one, and Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington each netted 17 as four Tar Heels scored in double figures. The 98 points are still the most Michigan State has allowed this season.
"We were very embarrassed," Kalin Lucas said Sunday. ... Read More
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 DETROIT – Coming off of last year’s sluggish effort in San Antonio, Tyler Hansbrough promised that North Carolina would come out more focused for this Final Four. He and his Tar Heels lived up to that promise.
Ty Lawson poured in 22 points, Wayne Ellington scored 20 and Hansbrough – undaunted from a cut on his hand that left him bloodied in the second half – posted a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds as North Carolina stopped Villanova’s spirited run through the tournament with an 83-69 win.
UNC will take on Michigan State in Monday’s national championship game, reaching the cusp of a title that many considered them to be a shoe-in for since November. ... Read More
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 DETROIT – Tom Izzo never lost faith in Raymar Morgan.
Heading into Saturday’s Final Four matchup with Connecticut, the Michigan State coach said he still believed that the beleaguered forward could still have a big impact for the Spartans.
Raymar made his coach look like a fortune teller. ... Read More
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 Four years ago (I can’t believe it’s been that long), I landed three teams in the Final Four: North Carolina, Illinois and Louisville. And I was quick to pat myself on the back and let everyone know.
So, it’s only fair that I admit a blunder that I haven’t made in I don’t know when ... this year I landed zero teams in the Final Four. None. Nil. Nada. In each of the last three years, I was able to pick half of the foursome. And ever since I can remember, I’ve always gotten one.
But this year ... well, I just had a complete meltdown. ... Read More
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