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This has been the most unpredictably ridiculous season of college football ever. If you would have asked me what the chances were that Pitt could knock off #2 West Virginia in Morgantown to keep them from getting to the BCS title game, I would have said maybe one in 100. But it happened. So, too, did #1 Missouri losing to Oklahoma to send the championship game picture into total chaos. Who deserves to play for it all? The question of “who is the best team?” has gone up on websites and radio shows throughout the country with no consensus answer. Ohio State is almost a lock to make it to New Orleans, but who will they face? Solid arguments can and have been made for Georgia, Oklahoma, LSU, USC, Virginia Tech and even Hawaii.

Some people argue that there’s no way Georgia should make it over LSU because the Bulldogs didn’t even win their division in the SEC, while LSU won the conference. But if that is valid logic, then why was Georgia ranked ahead of LSU to begin with? Why would that all of a sudden be a factor now that the national championship is at stake when it wasn’t last week when it seemed neither team would have a shot? Do poll voters only get serious about their selections for the very last poll of the season? If that’s the case, then human polls should be done away with. There should be some level of integrity in the process and moving a team down below another that just a week ago was though to be inferior does not display integrity.

Does college football need a playoff? No. Need is too strong a word. A playoff would certainly generate interest but to say that people aren’t interested now would be ignorant. As controversial as the BCS system might be, it DOES generate interest as well. If this were 1997 or earlier, none of these recent upsets would have generated the excitement about college football as they did because many teams would be locked into their bowls already. The BCS does create interest and excitement because of the national championship game. Period. Now whether that game always features the two best teams in the country is debatable, but the fact of the matter is that it’s never possible to say for absolute certain which team or teams are the best.

There is no perfect system. Even a playoff doesn’t necessarily determine the BEST team - just the team that happened to be playing the best (or getting the luckiest) at the time. In addition, a playoff WOULD diminish the relevance of the regular season, to a more or less significant degree depending on the number of teams in the playoff. There are always going to be arguments. If there is an eight-team playoff, then teams, fans, and critics are going to be arguing about who deserves to be in that 8th spot, just as they do now with the BCS.

But, back to this season, folks seem to be clamoring for LSU - AGAIN - to be the other team in the title game. I say LSU had their shot. They were ranked #1 earlier in the season, then lost. Then, they climbed back up to the top spot and lost again. Enough is enough. They have had their chances. If you want to give the spot to the team that is playing the best, right now, then it would be between Virginia Tech, Georgia and USC. Virginia Tech lost to LSU earlier in the season 48-7. No team that loses a game by 41 points to any opponent should be able to win the national title - end of discussion. USC lost at home to a very bad Stanford team that oddsmakers said they were supposed to beat by 41 points. They also lost to Oregon, who just wilted down the stretch and proved to be not nearly as good as previously thought. That leaves Georgia, my pick to play Ohio State in the BCS National Championship game. They have won their last 6 games - better than Ohio State, USC, Virginia Tech, LSU, Oklahoma or any other serious title contenders (save Hawaii) and have been playing great football as of late. It may not be the popular pick, but in this crazy, crazy season, it’s the right thing to do.

Colt Brennan. Chase Daniel. Tim Tebow. Darren McFadden. One of these four players will likely win the Heisman Trophy next weekend. These four should indeed be the favorites, and it’s hard to ignore the stats: 3,732 yards, 33 TD and a 11-0 record for Brennan at Hawaii, 3,951 yards, 36 TD and a #1 ranking for Daniel at Mizzou, 29 passing TDs and 22 rushing TDs for Tebow @ Florida, 1,725 rushing yards and a 206-yard performance @ then #1 LSU for Arkansas’ Darren McFadden. That stats are utterly amazing.

People base their Heisman votes on many things, but here are a few I expect to see and hear about:

• Consistency. Consistency has to be on the side of Tebow, the Florida QB who has amazingly had at least one passing TD and one rushing TD in every game this season, a statistic difficult to even produce on a video game.
• Career. Career stats and success have come into play in the past; see 1997 and Peyton Manning. Colt Brennan has put together an amazing career at Hawaii throwing for over 13,500 yards in three seasons and 126 TDs.
• Big game preformer. The biggest of the big game performances may not have happened yet as Daniel leads #1 Mizzou against #9 Oklahoma, but Arkansas RB Darren McFadden’s 206-yard performance @ then #1 LSU is about as big as big gets considering Arkansas defeated LSU 50-48 in OT.

Today we will see two of these four in action. Personally, Tebow is the favorite in my opinion coming into today, but a perfect 12-0 record for Brennan @ Hawaii or a Big 12 Championship and appearance in the BCS National championship for Mizzou and Chase Daniel.

Helio Castroneves was crowned champion of Dancing With the Stars 2007 last night as the Indy Car racing champion added the coveted mirror-ball trophy to his case. Dancing with Julianne Hough, who won the 2006 DWTS championship with speedskater Apolo Anton Ohno, was Helio’s partner throughout the competition which also featured boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. Helio’s smile and personality were huge factors in his win, but his quick mastery of the difficult dancing steps and styles helped him edg Spice Girl Mel B for the championship.

Kansas’ Mark Mangino, Missouri’s Gary Pinkel, Arizona St.’s Dennis Erickson, or Oregon’s Mike Bellotti will likely take National Coach of the Year honors when the season comes to an end, but the announcement of the semifinalists for two of the major honors might have come a week too late for one name to be on the list.

While Alabama’s Nick Saban and Kentucky’s Rich Brooks are on the list, there’s a name not on the list that has picked up victories over both. Along with those victories, there’s an impressive road win at Auburn.

Along with those three wins over top-25 caliber teams, this coach has led his team to their most conference and overall wins in seven years, and has them on the verge of their first bowl appearance in that amount of time.

Who’s the mystery coach? None other than Mississippi State’s Sylvester Croom.

Croom was a favorite for the chopping block this season, and it was thought that the Bulldogs would flounder once again, as has been in the previous six seasons, where MSU’s best record at any time is 3-8.

Getting shut out 45-0 by LSU on national TV to start the season didn’t do anything to help those expectations, but it ignited the Bulldogs.

Two weeks later, they went to Auburn and walked out of Jordan-Hare 19-14 winners, and started 3-1.

But, little was still expected, as MSU hadn’t yet reached the meat of their schedule, and after three losses in four games to South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia, the Bulldogs stood at 4-4.

But, they overcame those losses, and went into Lexington to take on #14 Kentucky. They forced Andre Woodson into three picks, and dominated the game from start to finish in a 31-14 victory.

And on Saturday, MSU wrapped up bowl eligibility with a 17-12 victory over Alabama, which came in front of a school-record crowd of over 56,000.

A win in the final two games (at Arkansas, vs. Ole Miss) would wrap up a 7-5 overall record and a 4-4 SEC mark, and likely send the Bulldogs bowling. If MSU could win those two games, they would likely find themselves back in the top 25 for the first time since the preseason polls entering the 2001 season, when the downhill spiral began

It’s taken time and patience, but Croom has turned the program around his way, the (sometimes brutally) honest way, and has turned a program that has been a laughingstock in the last several years into a winner once again. The resurgence has also brought life back into a fanbase that, to say the least, was disheartened by the last several seasons, which not only included a bunch of ugly losses, but NCAA sanctions and probation.

While MSU hasn’t exactly won pretty in some of their victories, they’ve gone from losing ugly to winning ugly. With a true freshman starting at QB, and throwing only one interception in 158 passes, after getting tossed into the fire against some of the top teams in the country.

The defense has had its struggles in a few of the losses, and hasn’t gotten help from the offense in a couple of games, but have created a lot of problems for opponents and are tied for the NCAA lead in interception returns for touchdowns, with five, including a pivotal one just before halftime to swing the momentum in the Alabama game.

And while Les Miles, Philip Fulmer, or Mark Richt may win SEC Coach of the Year for leading their teams to something that they were expected to do, if I had a vote it would be for Croom, who apparently should be packing his bags (sorry ‘experts’) for the land of unemployment, but instead, will be packing his bags for an unexpected trip to the postseason. And if that doesn’t deserve some sort of recognition, then someone’s got some explaining to do.

The Cowboys have tightened their hold over the NFC East in the last two weeks, with convincing road victories over two tough division opponents.

The Packers have kept pace, and are further validating themselves as contenders.

As we all know, the Patriots are 9-0.

As for the defending Super Bowl champions? Well, they’re looking a little…average.

After a 10-point lead disappeared in the final ten minutes of a 24-20 loss last week against New England, Peyton Manning had the worst game of his career, and Adam Vinatieri missed a seemingly routine chip shot late in the game, as Indianapolis fell 23-21 at San Diego to drop their second game in a row.

Give a lot of credit to San Diego for putting together a strong defensive performance after getting embarrassed by Adrian Peterson last Sunday. After allowing an NFL-record 296 yards to the rookie, the Chargers defense limited Joseph Addai to only 56 yards on 22 carries.

Even more impressive was the fact that they not only slowed Peyton Manning down, but they forced him into a half that he won’t soon forget.

If you ever thought Manning couldn’t throw six interceptions in one game, well, he‘s as human as the Minnesota Vikings‘ quarterbacks. At many times in the last couple of games, he has looked ‘normal’ or even less than that, when we’re so used to seeing him be at the top of his game. True enough, his numbers haven’t been what we’re used to seeing, while Tom Brady, Tony Romo, and Brett Favre are tearing it up statistically, but he’s still been efficient, at the least - until recently

Inevitably, he composed himself and rallied his team, playing as Peyton Manning should, giving his team a chance to win, but Vinatieri, who’s routinely drilled long field goals to win games throughout his career, missed a 29-yard kick to ruin the Colts’ chance for the win.

Right now, you have to wonder how Marvin Harrison feels. Helpless might be the first word that comes to mind.

While his team has not been at their best in the last few weeks, Harrison has been unable to play, just when his team could use his steady, consistent production, and more than anything, his presence. And along with his, Dallas Clark and rookie receiver Anthony Gonzalez are both dealing with injuries.

Nothing against Craphonso Thorpe, Aaron Moorhead, and Bryan Fletcher, but without those three targets, that offense lacks a little pop.

It’s a little strange that, now that the defense is actually playing well, that the offense is the unit having its struggles.

But, if there’s a team that knows how to get it together at the right time, it’s the Colts.

And with the Jaguars and Titans both breathing down their necks in the AFC South, and ready to pounce on any opening that Indy might give them, that time is now.

I’ve just about had it up to here with these SEC aplogists pretending that their conference has been commissioned by God himself to destroy the rest of college football.  What’s funny is that the major argument SEC fans have is the whooping that Florida put on Ohio State in last year’s BCS title game.  But, come on folks, that was ONE GAME.  All of a sudden the SEC cannot be stopped by anyone but themselves.

The idea that the SEC is far superior to every other conference in college football is a fallacy.  In fact, I would argue that the PAC 10 is the better conference this year, and possibly the Big XII as well.  But does that really matter?  No.  What is the deal with people feeling all this conference pride and needing to express to the world that the conference their team belongs to is superior?  Who cares?  I am a TEAM supporter, not a league supporter.  I am a fan of the Ohio State Buckeyes.  So, apparently, according to most people posting on message boards and comment sections of major sports web sites, I should also be an ardent supporter of the Big Ten conference.  But the truth is, I could care less about the rest of the teams in the Big Ten.  They could lose every game for all I care.  Why, for example, do Florida fans, care what the rest of the country thinks about Georgia, or Arkansas, or LSU, or Auburn?  They shouldn’t.

I remember back towards the beginning of the season, Florida (#3 in the polls at the time) just barely squeaked out a win against Ole Miss.  Craig James, who I absolutely despise, said that it was still a “good” win, because Mississippi was a “SEC Opponent,” as if just being in the SEC makes them a good football team.  It’s that kind of thinking that just makes me sick.  The great part is that Florida has gone on to prove that they are not as good as advertised by losing three games.  One of the main reasons the SEC is perceived to be so good is because of thinking like this.  The other main reason is that fans of many SEC schools are very passionate, and in turn exert a lot of influence on the media members, who are the ones who decide which teams are good.  But passionate fans do not a good football team make.

Several months ago, minor league first base coach Mike Coolbaugh was killed when he was struck in the neck with a line drive.  Recently, the general managers of the 30 Major League Baseball teams voted to make it mandatory that base coaches wear helmets while on the field.  Never mind the fact that even if Coolbaugh was wearing a helmet, he still would have died because he got hit in the NECK, I still wholeheartedly disagree with this decision.  It is a classic overreaction to an unfortunate incident that is likely not to be repeated, and will not be prevented with the measures taken.

In order to be a coach on a MLB team, one has to be of relatively sound mind and able to make rational decisions in one’s best interests.  Therefore, coaches should be allowed to decide for themselves what, if any, safety equipment to wear while on the field.  And, while some people may disagree with this, I believe the same should be the case for players.  If a batter does not want to wear a batting helmet, he shouldn’t have to.  He knows the risks.  If he gets hit in the head, there’s a good chance he will have a serious, debilitating injury, and perhaps even die.  However, in the hundred years that batting helmets were not required in baseball, only one player, Cleveland’s Ray Chapman, ever died as the result of a pitched ball to the head.  Far more have died in car collisions and airplane crashes.  Perhaps MLB should outlaw all forms of motorized travel.

If MLB is going to require that base coaches wear helmets, then it stands to reason that they should require pitchers to wear helmets as well, as they are much closer to the batter and get hit with batted balls FAR more often.  But why would they not do that?  Because players would complain and their precious product would suffer.  They can force the base coaches to wear helmets because nobody really cares what they think and the league can look like it’s doing something important for safety’s sake only, when in reality they’re only trying to improve their image because of the HUGE black eye that MLB has right now with the steroids controversy.

Being ranked in the Top 5 is typically right where a college football team would want to be. Poised for a shot at the national Championship, rated as one of the best teams in the land. But it seems that being ranked in the Top 5 in 2007 is NOT a good thing. Florida, Oklahoma, LSU, South Florida, Michigan and West Virginia have all fallen from Top 5 spots this season, and this past weekend saw two more Top 5 teams get knocked off. The latest victims included #2 Boston College and #4 Arizona State. Boston College (8-1) fell to Florida State for their first loss of the season by a score of 27-17 on Saturday night and #4 Arizona State fell @ #5 Oregon by a score of 35-23.

As a result, the BCS Top 5 has shifted yet again and now looks like this:

• 1 - Ohio State - 10-0
• 2 - LSU - 8-1
• 3 - Oregon - 8-1
• 4 - Kansas - 9-0
• 5 - Oklahoma - 8-1

Well, it’s World Series time again, which means it’s one of the two times every year when people start to debate the merits of the designated hitter in baseball. The first time is during interleague play in the regular season, but when the World Series rolls around is when people really get into it. See, some people believe that having a DH provides a major advantage to the American League team. Still, others say that the DH is, in fact, a disadvantage to the American League team because when they play in the National League park, one of their major cogs will be unable to play and the pitchers will be forced to bat, which they haven’t done much of all year.

There are people who say the DH is bad for the game and should be done away with completely. There is also a segment of the baseball-supporting population which believes that the National League should adopt the DH to level the playing field - and who really wants to see pitchers hitting anyway? Traditionalists will say that the very idea of introducing the DH into the National League is blasphemous to the sacred game of baseball. You know what I have to say? Who cares.

The arguments about the designated hitter are WAY overblown. Frankly, I couldn’t care less if either, both, or neither league uses it. The idea that the DH (or lack thereof) provides some major advantage (or disadvantage) to either league is ridiculous. The AL has dominated the NL in recent years in both the World Series and the All-Star Game. Is it because it’s a league full of designated hitters? NO! It’s because there are, in general, better players, managers, teams and markets in the American League. It has nothing to do with the DH. Nothing needs to be done with the DH, but if something IS done, nobody should care because it is insignificant. The problem is that the ESPNs of the world have stereotyped the AL as being a league of Lou Gehrigs who pitch like Jose Lima, and the NL as being a bunch of Christy Mathewsons who hit like Rafael Belliard. The reality is that the AL has both better hitting AND better pitching. The AL has the Yankees and Red Sox. The NL has a lot of teams with great tradition, but very poor records over the past decade or two, like the Pirates, Reds, Phillies and Cubs (past century or two in their case). I can’t explain this, but I know it’s not the DH’s fault. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that there’s no salary cap. Maybe it’s because the national media has an AL bias and pays off the umpires to call every interleague game in their favor. Maybe it’s because the AL found out about steroids first and decided to keep them to themselves and not tell the NL. Whatever it is, it’s not the DH.

A week after we lost Floyd Mayweather, Jr. from the 2007 Dancing With the Stars, we have lost yet another sports personality. Mark Cuban, the billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks, was sent packing tonight leaving just Helio Castrovenes to blog about here at Sports Shop.