What about Bob?

Bob Bradley has received a four-year extension from US Soccer.  I for one think this is a terrific decision.  Hopefully it will result in an improvement for the World Cup in 2014 and not a step back.  I believe it will be and that Bob will be able to add to the young nucleus that wowed so many Americans in South Africa this summer.  Bob appears to have been rewarded for his effort now hopefully he will respond and continue to take US Soccer to a whole-nother level.  Only time will tell, but for know it will take "Baby Steps" for Bob to get the US to that elite level.

No Huddle Comercials?

NBC has announced that they have met with Notre Dame Coach Brian Kelly about the new quick strike offense he is bringing with him to the Irish this season.  Kelly's Bearcats last year averaged 2:19 for a scoring drive.  He has met with NBC to breakdown how the games are going to be played on the field so they can customize their broadcast to match.  For this season's Notre Dame game telecasts, NBC will switch to the NFL TV model of five shorter commercial breaks per quarter rather than four longer commercial breaks.  The total commercial time per game will still equal the same as previous years.  NBC is not the first to look into changing commercial schemes to match a game.  ESPN sets its broadcast details per each conferences requests on ad time break downs.  NBC will air the 8 Irish home games this season, with ESPN possibly broadcasting some road games.  


It is amazing to me the changes even this year that television has made to College Football.  We have seen conferences expand and teams on the move all driven by the money generated from big television deals with mostly ESPN.  I am all for expanded exposure for the game but hope that it doesn't start to resemble its pro counterpart at any point.  The reason I love College Football is because it is not the NFL.

Who says you can't go home? (UPDATED)

The question crossing my mind at the moment is do you think that Boston Red Sox fans recognize this guy?

It is now known that the Red Sox have claimed Johnny Damon on waivers from the Detroit Tigers.  Damon has a partial no trade clause and Boston is on of the teams listed.  This means it is all up to him to decide whether to make a return visit to Boston.  I know that Johnny is a Puma sponsored athlete but if I had one piece of advice to him it would be "Just Do It".  How awesome would it be for him to play at Fenway again for the home team.  I am not a Red Sox fan so I have no insight on whether they would welcome him back or not but I believe if he helped them make the playoffs almost all would be forgotten.  This is an awesome story and I hope to be able to update later with news of him making his way back to the shadows of the Green Monster.

The story is over now as Damon has denied the move to the Red Sox and decided to stay in Detroit.  It would of been fun to see him back at Fenway but this just gives Sox fans another reason to hate him.

A Few Comebacks & One Goodbye

Well it should be no big surprise to anyone that Brett Favre has begun another year at QB.  New information on the Favre return indicates the Vikings offered to up his salary from last years $13 million.  So is it the money or the inability to let the game go that brought him back yet again?  Brett played for one series in the Vikes preseason loss to the 49ers.

In brighter news of a comeback legendary Vin Scully has decided to return to the booth next summer for his 62nd year.  This is awesome news as I consider him the best voice in baseball.  I am not a Dodgers fan but would listen to any game that had him calling the play by play.  Congrats Vin even at 82 you've still got the magic.  Now lets all just hope this doesn't give Brett Favre any ideas on longevity.

USA Basketball needed a great performance from Kevin Durant to hold of Spain for the 86-85 win.  After trailing by 13 after the 3rd Quarter the US bounced back for the "W".  Yes I know that it was a warm up match for the World Championships but a comeback is a comeback in my book.

Now for the goodbye.  Lou Piniella walked away from the game he has been a part of for more than half a century after Sunday's loss to Atlanta.  The Cubs manager is retiring to be able to spend time with his ailing mother in Florida.  Lou will be missed as he truly was one of the great managers of this era.  My first memories were of the "Refuse to Lose", Mariners team of 1995.  I am fully aware of his time spent as a player and as manager of the Reds also but simply was not around to remember them for myself.  Lou's personality and love of the game will be missed by baseball fans all over.  We wish him the best.

8/21/10 College Football AP Poll

Here is the new College AP Top 25 poll.

 

AP Top 25
No.	School	Record	Points	Prev
1	Alabama (54)	0-0	1491	0
2	Ohio State (3)	0-0	1400	0
3	Boise State (1)	0-0	1336	0
4	Florida	0-0	1237	0
5	Texas (1)	0-0	1223	0
6	TCU	0-0	1160	0
7	Oklahoma (1)	0-0	1104	0
8	Nebraska	0-0	1033	0
9	Iowa	0-0	1007	0
10	Virginia Tech	0-0	973	0
11	Oregon	0-0	870	0
12	Wisconsin	0-0	822	0
13	Miami (Fla.)	0-0	785	0
14	Southern California	0-0	590	0
15	Pittsburgh	0-0	516	0
16	Georgia Tech	0-0	511	0
17	Arkansas	0-0	496	0
18	North Carolina	0-0	397	0
19	Penn State	0-0	382	0
20	Florida State	0-0	379	0
21	LSU	0-0	300	0
22	Auburn	0-0	296	0
23	Georgia	0-0	206	0
24	Oregon State	0-0	198	0
25	West Virginia	0-0	184	0
Others Receiving Votes: Cincinnati(0-0) 108; Stanford(0-0) 81; Utah(0-0) 80; South Carolina(0-0) 71; Houston(0-0) 66; Connecticut(0-0) 32; Notre Dame(0-0) 31; Missouri(0-0) 27; Brigham Young(0-0) 19; Clemson(0-0) 15; Arizona(0-0) 15; Texas Tech(0-0) 14; Navy(0-0) 12; Washington(0-0) 8; Texas A&M(0-0) 7; Mississippi(0-0) 6; Oklahoma State(0-0) 3; Temple(0-0) 2; Central Michigan(0-0) 2; Middle Tennessee(0-0) 2; Boston College(0-0) 1; Southern Methodist(0-0) 1; UCF(0-0) 1

After seeing the other pre-season rankings it surprised me that Utah is not ranked at all.  They play Pitt to start the season and if they win that game should move into the Top 25.  I don't understand why they would rank USC since they are under sanctions this year.  I think that part of the NCAA sanctions should be a disqualification from the rankings.  Oregon, Miami and Wisconsin I believe are over hyped and will quickly fall in the rankings.

FYI Sports Fans

On what seems to be a slow Friday with a lot hanging in the balance but nothing resolved I thought I would plug a website that I love.  The site www.seatgeek.com is amazing!  It forecasts the price of tickets for sporting events and tells you the current percentage of face value each is selling for.  By using the forecaster you can determine to buy now or wait till later to get your seats.  Currently they offer MLB, NBA, NHL, NFL, Concerts, and Theater tickets.  All they really need to make my experience complete is add NCAA Football.  When you select a game they can EBAY, StubHub and other major ticketing sources for available seats.  I will even check out tickets just out of curiosity some times to see whats going on. If you plan on heading to any games or events soon check out their site.

I stand corrected.  I just got a tweet back from seatgeek and accessed the College Football tickets on their site. Awesome now I never have to check another site looking for tickets.

Heisman Hopefuls

With less than two weeks the before 2010 College Football season starts we thought we would give some love to the Heisman group coming into the year.  Like it or not a lot of winning the award is having hype entering the year and then delivering.  It is very hard to come from obscurity and win the award.  That being said we here at the Four6Three are all for the underdog winning any and everything.

Mark Ingram:  It would be absurd to make a list and not include the previous years winner.  Ingram will have every defense and defensive player he faces focusing on him.  He will also have the obstacle of sharing time with Trent Richardson in the Alabama backfield.

Ryan Mallett:  It can flat out be sad that it appears Mallett was born to play QB.  He will be a top draft pick next year and will lead the SEC in passing this year.  Don't let my Arkansas bias fool you Ryan is the real deal and will have a lot of hype to get him to NYC this year.

Jake Locker:  The Washington QB is the closest thing college fans will have to Tim Tebow this year but add in the fact he can throw.  Locker a great two sport athlete will be a big time candidate coming out of the Pac 10.

Terrelle Pryor:  Ohio State has possibly the best athlete in the nation in Pryor.  He is fast, long and has an arm.  However he tends to be more like Michael Vick and less like Payton Manning which doesn't always workout.  He will get lots of attention this year but will have to avoid losing games for the Buckeyes to stay in the Heisman race.

Jacquizz Rodgers:  If this was actually a race we might have the winner from Oregon State.  Rodgers can flat out fly and move.  He will be more experienced this year and could move up quickly in the rankings if his yards carried move as quickly as his feet.

Kellen Moore:  Boise State is finally getting a lot of love and why shouldn't their QB be apart of that.  Moore only threw 3 total interceptions last year and actually finished in the top 10 in the Heisman voting last year.  A great year from the Broncos and strong numbers for Moore and you could see him in NYC.

AJ Greene:  The lone WR in the group is impressive and he will get his catches this year.  He unlike the rest of our field has to really on a QB to get him the ball.  I expect him to have a good year but he could be limited by the abilities of his QB.

This list is more than likely missing quite a few names that could be in the mix.  We will work to update it as the year goes and look forward to watching all of these athletes do work on the field.

Roger Clemens Indicted

Federal authorities have issued a decision to indict Roger Clemens for making false statements on his use of performance enhancing drugs.  Sources have indicated that an announcement will be made later today.  Clemens testified under oath two years ago before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.  

Personally I have been trying to find a reason to go after Roger since he threw a bat at Mike Piazza in the 2000 Subway Series.  I find it hard to be surprised by Clemens using performance enhancers when his lower body seems to resemble to redwoods of California.  


Let us know what you think by voting in the Roger Clemens Poll on the sidebar.

Titans Defense Needs to Duck

Former Oregon RB LeGarrette Blount made famous for punching a Boise St player last year for taunting him appears to be at it again.  Wednesday night at Titans practice Blount took a swing at a defensive player he said was being overly aggressive.
     Blount said "Two plays in a row they pulled my helmet off intentionally, and then they did it again,'' Blount told the Tennessean. "They almost do it every day. They grab you by the back of the head and pull your helmet off. They know that automatically calls the play dead. They kept egging on and provoking 'til it got to a certain point. They did it to everybody.''


I am not sure that he knows that defenses in games will be attempting to do the same if not more.  I understand that throwing a punch in an NFL Training Camp is not a big deal.  Does it happen on a semi normal basis, probably but does that excuse Blount for showing his anger management issues again?  It is clear that he is not in control of his emotions when he gets upset.  If sitting out a year of college for a punch didn't teach him a lesson then will he ever learn?

Mountain Shake Up

Fresno State and Nevada have both accepted an invitation to join the Mountain West Conference.  Now the conference has 11 teams if BYU stays in place.  The move makes the WAC on the bubble of breaking up.  Unless it acquires additional teams the WAC would not meet the NCAA requirement of 6 teams.  This would impact BYU's plans to play non football sports in the WAC.  However BYU has received an invitation to play those sports in the West Coast Conference.  I am sure this madness is only beginning and we will have plenty of more posts tomorrow.

More Conference Movement!

Just when we thought the Madness had ended we were wrong.   BYU likely to go Independent in football has spurred more movement.  The Fresno Bee is now reporting that Fresno State will accept an invitation to the Mountain West Conference.  The question remains as to whether this move is an attempt to keep BYU or replace them. 
Another change that is suprising and to be honest fairly random is the switch of confrences that is being reported between Louisiana Tech and UTEP.  UTEP will join the WAC and Louisiana Tech will leave the WAC for Conference USA.  The only way this makes sense is geographically,since when does anyone care about that, however for these two schools a more regionally based conference may help with travel costs. 
One last thought: if Nevada & Fresno both leave for the Mountain West what will happen to the WAC? This will leave the WAC with six full members. Even if  BYU joins for all other sports, the WAC will still only have seven members and six for football.  It is hard to imagine that as a viable conference.  If the Mountain West can keep adding schools they grow ever closer to the magic number of twelve and the possibilty of a conference championship.    

Are They Coming to Your City?

Today I am all caught up in College Football after purchasing our season tickets yesterday for the Razorbacks.  One of the best college football memories I have was attending Utah vs TCU last year in Fort Worth.  Nothing was better than walking into the TCU commons area and getting booed by everyone in sight.  We had so much fun at College Gameday and even got on tv.  We kept the recording on our DVR as proof.  So in that spirit I am going to try and predict the location of College Gameday for this season as based on the schedule.

(Proof of our Gameday Visit)

Week 1: September 4th

Easily the best game of this week will be Virginia Tech vs Boise State but the game is played on Monday.  So with that being the case I expect that Gameday will come to you live from Atlanta with LSU vs North Carolina.

Week 2:  September 11th
This game was an easy pick with Penn St vs Alabama during the second week of the year its easy to predict Kurt and the gang will be heading to Tuscaloosa.

Week 3: September 18th

This was a hard week to decide because a few of the teams could be ranked very differently by this week.  That being said I think Texas vs Texas Tech will get a visit with the crew heading to Lubbock.  I don't think Tech is that good so we could see FSU get ranked and BYU vs FSU from Tallahassee get the nod. 

Week 4: September 25th

I love it when some of my favorite teams get some love and I believe that will happen in week 3.  Oregon St vs Boise St will hopefully bring enough momentum and intrigue to get the bus to roll into Boise.  For personal reasons however I am predicting Gameday will make a stop for Arkansas vs Alabama in Fayetteville.

Week 5: October 2nd

The easy pick this week is Florida vs Alabama but will the crew already making one stop in Tuscaloosa, I am going to give the nod to Texas vs Oklahoma from Dallas.

Week 6: October 9th

This was a pretty easy week to predict with not many big time matchups.  I have LSU vs Florida getting the visit for Gameday from Gainesville. 

Week 7: October 16th

This will be the week of Texas.  Both top match ups will be coming from the Lonestar State with TCU hosting BYU and Nebraska vs Texas from Austin.  I don't think Gameday will pass on Huskers vs Horns after last years battle.

Week 8: October 23rd

This is a hard week to predict because there are a lot of mediocre match ups.  That being said I am going to predict that Georgia Tech vs Clemson from Clemson, SC.

Week 9: October 30th

In a battle that doesn't matter I pick Gameday to travel to LA for Oregon vs USC.  Most years this would be a very hyped game but maybe the Trojans will knock of a highly ranked Oregon since they have nothing else to take from the season.

Week 10: November 6th

This being the day after my birthday I was hoping for a great weekend of football and based on the schedule I won't be let down.  My personal pick of this week will be TCU vs Utah from Salt Lake City.  Two years ago my wife bought me tickets to the sold out Utes vs Horned Frogs and it was the best sporting event I have ever been to.  It was so incredible and such a memory but I have a feeling that Alabama vs LSU from Baton Rouge will get the visit.

Week 11: November 13th

I began looking into this match up last year and didn't purchase the tickets because they were expensive and it was a little farther from Arkansas than I presumed. Utah vs Notre Dame from South Bend is one of my favorite  games of the whole year.  Yes I love Utah and yes I hate Notre Dame.  What a perfect match up for me.

Week 12: November 20th

This week I believe we will see Ohio State vs Iowa from Iowa City.  This game very easily could decide major BCS rankings not to mention the Big Ten title.

Week 13: November 27th

 I had to go with the Holy War with BYU vs Utah from Salt Lake City.  It will be the last time that these two teams will meet with MWC implications.  I hope that ESPN doesn't pass on what could be an epic game.

Week 14: December 4th

In what will be back to back wars for Gameday I have them visiting Corvallis  for the Civil War with Oregon St vs Oregon. 

Update from Twitter

GameDayFootball @TheFour6Three We enjoyed your blog! 
              We too are so excited for another season! http://goo.gl/b/ya9V

It was awesome to hear back from Gameday and so far we are 100% correct they announced today Sept 4th will be in Atlanta for UNC vs LSU.

BYU Searches for Football Freedom

UPDATED:

"A source with Utah State University, familiar with the situation, told the Deseret News the move will be announced in the next day or two.

The USU source told the Deseret News it will be finalized on Thursday "after the Quorum of the Twelve (Apostles) meets." [CLICK HERE to read the Deseret News article])"

As of Tuesday night a CSU twitter account claimed the Cougars would announce Thursday on ESPN that they have decided to go independent in football.  This would put them in the same category as Notre Dame.  The difference would be that BYU already owns its own nationally broadcast television station and has everything in place to use it for football games.  Lets be honest the MWC shot itself in the foot when it established the Mountain TV Network.  Besides maybe two good games a year their content is horrible.  Not to mention the fact that you can't even get the channel outside of the Utah/ Colorado Area.
      BYU's move in football will likely be accompanied by a move to the WAC in all other sports.  According to ESPN reporter Andy Katz the only thing holding BYU back would be a consideration from the BCS similar to Notre Dames that if they finish in the top 8 they would receive a BCS berth.

@CSUFootball added this morning that

 "Possible 2011 football schedule could include Notre Dame, Navy, Army, Utah in addition to already scheduled games vs. Texas, Oregon State, Utah State.".  

Colorado State has issued a statement claiming their twitter account has been hacked and they have no control at this point of any of the content posted on the account.

It is important to remember as a side point to this story that if BYU looks to leave the MWC they would have to inform the conference prior to September 1st of any plans for 2011.