Final BCS Bowl Projections and Heisman votes

Final week:

BCS- Auburn vs Oregon- Both have tough, final tests, which should be both teams' main focus, not the game in January.

Sugar- Ohio St vs Arkansas- Arkansas has really impressed the voters with their surge lately.

Rose- Wisconsin vs Stanford- This could be potentially be a very solid game, with possibly a offensive shootout in Luck vs Wisconsin's running game.

Orange- WVU vs VT- One game that features the 2 weakest BCS conferences.

Fiesta-TCU vs Oklahoma- Everyone has TCU in the Rose Bowl, but i think they slide to the Fiesta Bowl once again.

Heisman-

1. Cam Newton- Unless he blows up, he's got it in the bag

2. Andrew Luck- Quietly having the best season in Stanford's history.

3. LaMichael James

4. Kendall Hunter

5. Kellen Moore- We can only ask, " What if?"

NCAAB Holiday Tournaments

Here's a couple of thoughts after the Holiday tourneys:

• Kemba Walker has the lead for the Naismith Award right now. The junior guard led Uconn in impressive wins over ranked opponents Washington and Kentucky, who have plenty of talent. Walker also averaged 30.3 points in Maui, as Uconn now has a legit star player in the making and potential to grab the Big East by storm.
• Duke is still Duke. Even #4 Kansas St. couldn't rattle the Devils, as #1 won by 14. KSU even had virtual home court, with the tournament being played in Kansas City, and still didn't make it close.
• North Carolina and it's star Freshman are starting off slow. Harrison Barnes went 0-12 vs Minnesota and then a loss to lowly Vandy in the 3rd place game spells trouble for UNC. Minnesota highlighted the tourney, as a win over WVU in the championship really boosted their ranking.
• The NIT final is a game I'm sure to watch, even with plenty of good NCAAF on. An athletic Tennessee team goes against a strong and talented guard trio in Villanova. This game is a great way to end the Holiday tournaments.

NFL Mid Season Awards

MVP- Michael Vick- Vick has led the Eagles to the NFC East division lead despite plenty of controversy in the early going of this year. The big stat is that he is 5-0 as the starter with no interceptions.

Offensive POTY- Roddy White- White and Matt Ryan look like Brady and Moss in '07, with White catching everything that is thrown towards him. #84 already has 7 TDs and over 1000 yards for the "Dirty Birds."

Defensive POTY- Clay Matthews- The second year LB out of USC has really strived with the blitzing scheme, as his sack total shows it at 11.5.

Offensive Rookie- Sam Bradford- The Rams actually have shown signs of life with Sam under center. Stephen Jackson has got to love with what he's seeing from him.

Defensive Rookie- Ndamukong Suh- The big D-lineman has been every as advertised, as the Lions have definitely found someone to build around on their defense.

Comeback- M.Vick- Another award for Mr. Vick, as this one is all but racked up for Vick.

Coach- Mike Tomlin- Well, Brad Childress is definitely not getting this award. But in all seriousness, you can't not like with where Tomlin has this team, especially starting the season with no Big Ben.

MLB Offseason Activity

Here are 6 big time free agents and their possible landing spots, plus 3 trades that could happen.

1. Adam Dunn- Future team: White Sox- Other Suitors; Cubs, Nationals, and Tigers.

With Paul Konerko likely gone, Kenny Williams and Jerry Reinsdorf won't hesitate to pay the left handed power hitter( who they've always wanted) the big bucks.

2. Carl Crawford-Angels-Yankees, Red Sox, Tigers.

After LA missed the playoffs last year, they will definitely be looking to upgrade their team, especially with an explosive leadoff hitter. Crawford fits in perfectly.

3. Cliff Lee-Yankees- Nationals, Cubs, Rangers- Unless Lee falls in love with Arlington or another city, i don't see how he turns down Sabathia-type money.

4. Paul Konerko-Red Sox- White Sox, Tigers, Diamondback, and Angels.

As much as i don't want to see Pauly go, i think he bolts to the Red Sox if they offer him ridiculous money. The Angels could get involved too if they lose out to Crawford.

5. Victor Martinez-Red Sox- Tigers, Rangers, White Sox.

I think this is almost a lock, as the Red Sox love him and he loves Boston back. The Chi Sox could get involved too if they lose both AJ and Pauly.

6. Adrian Beltre- A's- Red Sox Tigers and Angels-Beltre will want too much from Boston, but the A's will be waving that 4 year deal right in front of him.

Trades that may be on teams' radars:

Adrian Gonzalez to Cubs-Even with a winning record last year, the Padres will shop Gonzalez from now till July 31. This would be a great move for the Cubs, but is the asking price too much?

Justin Upton to Boston- The D'backs are shopping him, as they look to clean out house. There is still plenty of potential in this kid.

Zach Greinke to Rangers- With the Rangers probably losing out on Cliff Lee, the Royals will listen to offers for Zach, but its a steep cost.

Under the Radar players NCAAB

Here's a look at my Terrific 13 players who's names you will know come March-

1. Klay Thompson-PG-WSU- A guard in a forward's body, Klay has every intangible to get the Cougars back on track this year after some lowly years in the recent past.

2. Derrick Williams-PF-Arizona- In a rebuilding year for the Wildcats, this kid really stands out. He could be the player of the conference this year, and only as a Soph. If he stays next year, the 'Cats will be conference favorites with a great class coming in.

3. Jimmer Fredette-SG-BYU- If you don't know this guy's name already, LEARN IT! He could possibly be the next Steph Curry in the tourney this year, as no one wants to face BYU in the first round this year as long as a guy named Jimmer is on the roster.

4. Demetri Goodson-PG-Gonzaga- Goodson isn't the most talented player on Zaga's roster. but he might be the most important. He really needs to distribute and run the team well in order for Zaga's Final Four dreams to come true.

5. Kawhi Leonard-SF-San Diego St- The super sophomore leads the Aztecs, who have their best team in years.

6. Mickey McConnell-SG-St Mary's- The senior, who is a three point specialist, will try and fill the veteran leadership role left vacant by Omar Samhan.

7. Will Barton-SG-Memphis- One of many talented freshman who will lead this Tigers team. He will be their main play maker down the stretch as his young coach will rely on him.

8. David Lighty-PF-Ohio St- The fifth year senior will be the leader or this team, as talented youth surround him ,who seem ready to compete with Michigan St.

9. John Leuer-PF-WIS- The most underrated player in the Big Ten, John will be key in Bo Ryan's Badgers run to March.

10. Quincy Acy-PF-Baylor- Forget Dunn and Perry Jones. Well maybe not Dunn, but Acy is a guy who plays above the rim and he will be throwing it down on the Kansas teams.

11. Travis Lesile-SG-Georgia- A dark horse for the SEC crown, Georgia has Lesile and Trey Thompkins to lead the dogs against rivals Tennessee and Kentucky.

12. Jimmy Butler-SG-Marquette- Buzz Williams squad has plenty of upper classmen leadership, and Jimmy will need to be on top of his game in the always competitive Big East.

13. Scotty Hopson-SG-Tenn- Bruce Pearl lost a ton of talent from last year, but Hopson as well as Freshman Tobias Harris will be a strong duo for the Vols, who i expect to be kinda of a sleeper this year.

NCAA Big Ten Basketball Preview

The season is finally among us and here's a look at the Big Ten Conference, which has been called the best conference in college basketball this year.

Projected Conference finish

*- makes NCAA Tourney

1. Michigan St*- Key players-Green/Lucas/Summers- Izzo's squad has the veteran leadership and experience to make it back to the Final Four once again.

2. Ohio St*- Lighty/Buford/ Sullinger- The Buckeyes need their young, talented freshmen to blend well with the upperclassmen in order to make a run this March.

3. Illinois*- Davis/Mccamey/Tisdale- Illinois's most talented squad since 05-06, but will need the three seniors to step up and lead this team.

4. Purdue*- Jackson/Johnson/Moore- When Hummel went down, so did the Boilermakers dreams of a Final Four. This team can still make some noise in the tourney however.

5. Wisconsin*- Gasser/Leuer/Taylor- Even with losing some major play makers from last year's team, Bo Ryan's team can never be counted out.

6. Northwestern*- Thompson/Crawford/Shurna- I think NW finally gets their ticket punched, as Shurna and Thompson will lead the Wildcats.

7. Minnesota- Sampson/Joesph/Nolen- The Golden Gophers will be on the border the entire season and we'll have to see how Tuby manages them.

8. Michigan- Douglass/Novak/Hardaway Jr/- Losing Manny Harris and Deshawn Sims hurts badly, but a solid Freshmen class will be something to look forward to.

9. Indiana- Creek/Jones/Pritchard- Tom Crean's third year is still a rebuilding one, but Hoosier nation is heading the right way.

10. Penn St- Battle/Brooks/Frazier- Taylor Battle is a flat out stud, and is at least 10 wins to the Lions alone.

11. Iowa- Payne/May/Cole- Bringing in Coach McCaffrey was a great move for this program, but the former Siena Saint still needs time to recruit and get his players.

All Freshman Team

Jared Sullinger OSU

DeShaun Thomas OSU

Jereme Richmond ILL

Keith Appling MSU

Tim Hardaway Jr MICH

1st team Big Ten

John Leuer Wis

Kalin Lucas MSU

Taylor Battle Penn St

Jared Sullinger OSU

JaJuan Johnson PUR

NCAA Basketball preview

This season has everything to make sure it is action packed this year. Lets take a look at a couple of things:

My Preseason top 15

*-denotes predicted conference winner

1 Duke*-key players- Kyle Singler/ Kyle Irving

2 Michigan St*- Draymond Green/ Kalin Lucas

3 Ohio st- John Diebler/ Jared Sullinger

4 Pitt*-Ashton Gibbs/ Brad Wanamaker

5 Kansas St*- Jacob Pullen/ Jamar Samuels

6 UNC- John Henson/ Harrison Barnes

7 Nova- Corey Stokes/ Corey Fisher

8 Kentucky*- Brandon Knight/ Enes Kanter

9 Kansas-Josh Selby/ Markieff Morris

10 Syracuse- Rick Jackson/ Scoop Jardine

11 Florida- Kenny Boyton/ Chandler Parsons

12 Illinois- Mike Davis/ Demetri Mccamey

13 Virginia Tech- Malcom Delaney/ Jeff Allen

14 Gonzaga- Steven Gray/ Demetri Goodson

15 Baylor- LaceDarius Dunn/ Perry Jones

Pac 10 champ- Washington- Isiah Thomas/ Venoy Overton

4 big match ups to watch:

Feb 15- Ohio St at Michigan St- Only meeting between the top 2 teams in the Big Ten.

Dec 4- Butler vs Duke- Shelvin Mack vs Kyle Irving should be fun to watch, as rematch of the championship will be a rocking one in New Jersey.

Jan 29- Kansas St at Kansas- Fear the Beard! Pullen and co. go marching into Jayhawk territory to show they're no fluke

Nov 30- UNC at ILL- A rematch of the '06 championship and also rematch of freshman Barnes and Richmond in an ACC-Big Ten showdown.

My Preseason All Americans-

G- Kalin Lucas-Michigan St

G-Jimmer Fredette-BYU

G- Malcom Delaney-VT

F-Kyle Singler-Duke

F-JaJuan Johnson-Purdue

14 Fab Freshmen- These names you will all know by season's end.

1 Brandon Knight-Kentucky

2 Enes Kanter-Kentucky

3 Terrence Jones- Kentucky

4 Josh Selby- Kansas

5 Perry Jones- Baylor

6 Jared Sullinger- OSU

7 Jereme Richmond- ILL

8 Kyle Irving- Duke

9 Harrison Barnes- UNC

10 Fab Melo- Cuse

11 Will Barton- Memphis

12 C.J. Leslie- NC State

13 Tobias Harris- Tenn

14 Patric Young- FLA

RS- Seth Curry- Duke

3 Cinderella Teams

San Diego St- Defending MWC champs return 5 starters and look for best finish in school history.

Gonzaga- Has eerie, similar talent to Butler's team last year. We all know what they did last year.

Dayton- Even while losing 7 seniors, the Flyers return tons of toughness and athleticism in the always tough A-10

My Early Final Four Picks:

Duke, Nova, Tenn, and Baylor

My big ten conference preview will also be out this week. Sorry for the long article, but i'm pumped for this season.

Bowl Projections and Heisman Hopefuls

Heres my ballot for The Heisman, from fifth to first place:

1. Cam Newton-Auburn-QB

2. LaMichael James-Oregon-RB

3. Kellen Moore-Boise St-QB

4. Justin Blackmon-Oklahoma St-WR

5. Andrew Luck-Stanford-QB

BCS Bowl Projections:

Rose- TCU vs Wisconsin

Sugar- LSU vs Boise St

Orange- VT vs Pitt

Fiesta - Nebraska vs Ohio St

BCS- Auburn vs Oregon

Randy Moss Destinations

Well, that worked out well for the Vikings. Only 2 TD catches in four games and a third round pick later, he's looking for a new job. 4 teams that Moss might be in their jersey by tomorrow:

Rams- #13 in waiver order- This is the first legit team that might take a shot with Moss. The Rams are down 3 receivers( Alexander, Avery, and Clayton) and have a young stud QB in Bradford, who needs veteran receivers for a team that is surprisingly in contention.

Saints-#21- Can you imagine Moss to go along with Brees and all those weapons already there? You talk about scary. Brees would also get Moss to behave better, since he owns that locker room.

Titans-22- Coach Jeff Fisher said they would give Randy Moss " a good, hard look", especially since emerging wide out Kenny Britt went down last week.

Seahawks-#16- Randy probably doesn't get past their spot, as Pete Carroll is always looking for talent for his "sea birds" in the wide open NFC West.

We should know where he lands by 3pm tomorrow. Happy hunting!